Watch who you eat with

Know who sent them and why

Dear overcomer,

When meeting strangers remember wisdom. Doing so can prevent a whole heap of trouble coming back to bite you later.

“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

Proverbs 4:7 KJV

The New Testament also reveals how it works (both types)

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 

15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 

17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 

James 3:13-17 ESV

So clearly.

There are two wisdoms…

1. One wisdom is earthly (fleshly) even demonic.

2. The other showers down from heaven. Pure. Peaceful. Gentle.

And so,

To our subject…

Watch who you eat with.

Or who you take counsel from.

When someone speaks, ask yourself...

"What type of wisdom is operating here? Is this advice I hear doing good or harming me? What source is working behind the scene?"

Here’s a (brutal) case in point.

When things ended very badly (or did they?)

Once upon a time...

My newly married wife and I returned from Church to find a man in the house of my father and mother.

In tow were his girlfriend and son.

Now to be clear…

My mum and dad had never seen these folk before... yet they all seemed to be having the best of times.

They’d arrived to carry away a large haul of Dad's free logs.

And so,

Good banter flowing freely, when the wood was loaded into the visitors trailer…

As was my dad’s normal affable nature one thing led to another and he cracked open the best whisky in the house... (he was a Scotsman after all ;)

Then invited them to have Sunday lunch with us.

And here’s the point…

Our hallowed visitor was obviously a very successful man.

A very rich man.

Plus…

It would appear, the life and soul of any party too.

Full of jokes. Full of (my dad's roast) beef.

Stuffed with opinion...

One of which was on the sacrament of marriage.

For when he heard my wife and were only just married, he began to openly deride our happy decision.

That was nothing though.

Because...

When he found we’d just arrived back from a Church service, he vilified us even more for being Christians.

It got worse.

Yup.

Seated at head of the generous Sunday lunch my mother had set before them, he began deriding not just me and my wife…

Worse still he turned his attacks on my dad.

Coarse jokes.

Belittling my dad’s position in life (despite him being a great man, with an important position in London)…

All while boasting his own power, wealth and success.

Anyway,

I wanted dad to speak out.

To defend himself. To shut this pest up. He couldn't though, this chap had an iron grip on the entire room. It was spellbinding.

Of course I was praying.

Yet,

Nothing came.

The LORD did not speak to me.

Which honestly, upset me.

“Lord, why do you have nothing to say? This man openly insults us all. He insults your Church. It's upsetting me to hear him attack dad.

Please speak."

Then after a few more minutes,

My wife whispered gently into my ear…

“Vanity. Vanity. All is vanity." (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

And suddenly…

Whoosh!

The arrow of the LORDS deliverance arrived (2 Kings 13:17).

Deliverance for us... and mum and dad too.

Yet terrifying for this poisonous man.

Terrible for his son.

And shocking for his girlfriend.

Because,

In a flash of light...

The LORD showed me his fate.

And I had no choice…

I interrupted him, but he refused to listen and started arguing. He told me to be quiet and 'stop interrupting his story.'

So, as I said, I had no choice...

I pushed my chair back, stood up and COMMANDED HIM these words...

"Shut up!

Just SHUT UP!

And LISTEN TO ME because I have something very important to say to you. You will hear it from NO ONE ELSE.

After today, you will never ever be the same again.

The LORD Jesus Christ has told me...

This is your LAST CHANCE.

Today,

Whether you believe it or not....

The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY whom you openly mocked brought you here. You mocked not only Him, you mocked my generous kind dad, who set a table before you.

How dare you speak of my dad like that!

How dare you put my mother down?

Now the LORD says to YOU...

This is your LAST CHANCE to change.

LISTEN!

The LORD Jesus has shown me something about you which is terrible. You must take what I am about to say to you very, very seriously indeed...

He had shown me that very shortly YOU WILL DIE.

It is not me that wants you to die.

It is not the LORD who wants you to die...

Nonetheless YOU WILL DIE and shortly too.

There is ONLY one thing you can do about these words you hear now. This is very serious. These words are NOT MINE...

These words are from God. They are not mine.

He alone brought you here to warn you what is coming for you.

And there is only one way out.

Repent of all your ways. Repent of all your sins.

I do not know what they are, nor do I want to know,

But you do, and know this, they are serious enough for the LORD to make you hear His words against you today.

There is only one way out...

Ask the LORD to forgive you.

Believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross in Jerusalem thousands of years ago. Believe that the blood that Jesus shed will wash your sins away.

Believe this by faith.

And then by faith, ask Him also to heal your body and turn away DEATH. Because if you do not, in all seriousness...

You will die.

And it will be soon.

The LORD loves you,

Despite all you have done in your past as well as today in this house.

He loves you so much Jesus died to give you eternal life,

And now...

He pleads with you.

Please repent. And change your ways.

He will help you."

Well,

To say this man, his son and girlfriend were shocked would be to put it mildly.

The girlfriend sat open mouthed. The lad the same.

The man squirmed in agony. And (maybe for the first time ever) was speechless.

As for me,

As soon as I'd delivered what the LORD gave me, I burst out crying stood up and left the table.

In the living room I sat alone crying and crying...

Not because I had done anything wrong.

No.

I was weeping for this mans soul.

He was in such a desperate state. So close to destruction. So perilous.

And next, these such loud visitors...

Got up from the lunch table and left without a word.

The man stumbling out into the afternoon light.

So,

Dear one.

What of it?

What of all this 'Stramash' as we Scots say.

Simple my friend.

Many hold forth as this man did on everything under the sun,

Yet one word from the LORD ends it all.

GOD’s wisdom comes from above,

ONLY.

That's all we need…

Plus a good wife maybe ;)

She heard the LORD that day, not me.

I never would have said anything if she hadn't lit the touch paper.

Without which this person would have been lost forever.

Let’s fear GOD saint.

It’s the beginning and ending of it all…

“From where, then, does wisdom come?
    And where is the place of understanding?

It is hidden from the eyes of all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.

Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

“God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.

For he looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.

When he gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,

When he made a decree for the rain
    and a way for the lightning of the thunder,

Then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.

And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Job 28:20-28 ESV

Bless you.

Dave.

NOTE: This happened in 1984. I have never spoken to another person in this manner all these years since. I feel it is not how Christians should converse 99.9% of the time. Especially with unbelievers.

There was no wrath in what I said. No malice. Just a room full of the glory of GOD. And a sense of His holy majesty speaking to this man. Quite terrifying actually.

Yet this was all the LORDs mercy grabbing this fellows attention.

Slamming the brakes on in his life and making him listen,

So Jesus could save him.

As Paul puts it...

"Note then the kindness and the severity of God:

Severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness.

Otherwise you too will be cut off."

Romans 11:22 ESV.