Don't Miss It | Pastor Tim Payne

Thank You that You're the same yesterday, today, and forever. Thank You, God, that You do not have highs and lows. Thank You that You are still powerful. Thank You that You are all-powerful. Thank You that all authority has been given to You, King Jesus. Thank You, Lord, that You are still the waymaker. When we're lost, You're the waymaker. When we're struggling, You're the waymaker. When we need a miracle, You're a miracle mover, a miracle worker. That's who You are. God, thank You, Lord, that when we have lost our way, when we're struggling, God, thank You that You don't struggle. Thank You, God, for Your promises, for they are yes and amen. Thank You, God, that surely goodness and mercy will follow us all of our days, and we will dwell, we will live, we will thrive in the house of the Lord. Thank You, Jesus. Lord, we just say thank You for loving us on our good days. Thank You for loving us on our bad days. Thank You, Jesus. We praise You today. You're worthy, O God. We love You, Jesus. We love You, Jesus. We love You, Jesus. We love You, Jesus. We love You, Jesus. We love You, Jesus. God, let Your kingdom come and let Your will be done in our lives and on earth as it is in heaven. We pray it in the mighty name of Jesus.

The name that's above every name, that at that name one day, every single knee will bow, every tongue will confess that You are King of kings, You are Lord of lords. We pray it in the mighty name of Jesus and the church said, amen, and amen, and amen. Let it be so. Amen. My God, how about that worship? Holy cow. He is here. The miracle worker's here. The way maker is here. He's ahead of you. He already making a way for you. He's got to open your eyes. Do you see it? Do you see it? I need a job. He's already got your job. The check's in the mail and I need Him to show up. He never left. He never left. I'm struggling physically. He's our healer. I'm backsliding spiritually like that. I'm stumbling in the darkness. He got you. I didn't fall. It was metal behind. You got something bigger than metal behind you. You got a God who calls the stars out by name, yet He knows my name and your name and no one like Him.

You guys, please be seated. I'm going to ask a few questions. Today we prioritize honor and I wanted to honor our seniors. We did a great job. The team did a great job. I'm so proud of them. So proud to be able to do that. Wasn't that touching? That was touching. A couple of questions just for you, not the person beside you. This is just me and you talking. Here's some questions for you. Number one, what if God gave you a dream? What if God gave you a dream? What if God gave you a dream? Just for you. What if in that dream, what if God asked you a question? And what if that question could change your life for the rest of your life? And what if the God who gave you a dream and then the dream was a question and the question was a question that could change your life for the rest of your life. What if God's question was, ask me for anything. What do you want? Ask me and I'll give it to you. Last question. What would you ask for? What would you ask God for? First Kings chapter three, this is what's happening. God comes to Solomon in a dream. His father David was the king of Israel. Very famous.

By the way, anyone here watch House of David? Anyone watch that? There's two seasons. I think you've got to pay for the second season. It's worth it. Baby it's worth it. Watch that. If you don't know what I'm talking about, what is it? It's on Prime. Is that right? Like watch House of David. It's going to give you. you such insight, they did such a brilliant job. David was a man after God's own heart, but you know what? Even the youth grow weary and faint. We don't always get 100, do we? David took his eyes off Jesus. He stayed back from war when he was supposed to be at war. Word on the street was this hot woman named Bathsheba was taking a bath and she was naked. David's on the rooftop, he sees her, he lusts her, after her, he wants her, he goes after her so much so that he tells his general, hey, when you're in the heat of the battle, get the memo out to every soldier, every warrior, except for Bathsheba's husband, Uriah. And everyone pulled back, retreat. Uriah is advancing and he's left him against the enemy and he drops, he falls, he dies.

David schemed this. Now, he didn't have to feel so bad about taking another man's wife, even though he took the other man's wife, or the other, yeah, I wanna say that three times. Took his life and now David brings her in as his wife and David sins. They have the baby and the baby dies. For all of us, sin has a consequence. I've tried to do my best, our best, to teach our kids, you can make your own decisions, but you don't get to choose your own consequences. There's responsibility and accountability. David sins and he repents. Aren't you thankful that God is good, that he is kind, that his mercy and grace far outweigh our greatest mistakes, our sins? I'm thankful for the blood of Jesus that washed away my sin and he remembers it no more. David doesn't stay stuck there. He continues to raise their next child, Solomon, with wisdom and he teaches Solomon to love God. Dad is teaching son, be a man after God's own heart. And here we have Solomon and God comes to Solomon in a dream and he asked him the thing, what do you want, I'll give you whatever you want. And Solomon said, God, and he said this in the dream, he said, how could one person, and think about who he was, he's royalty. His daddy was David.

Yet the humility he had to be like, God, how can one person rule your people? He had perspective. The right perspective will help you. The wrong perspective will mislead you. And he says, help me. Help me to hear what you're saying and then help me to do it. He asked for an understanding heart, a hearing heart. In the Hebrew, the original language, I want to hear you so that I can do what you want me to do. Is that your heart? God still speaks. Sometimes we feel like, man, God's not speaking, I don't hear God. Then when that's me, I got to think about what's the last time that I heard God? What was God speaking and what did I do with it? Are you with me? And so now Solomon answers correctly and he says, I want a hearing heart and understanding heart. And the Bible tells us that when God saw that he asked for wisdom, he said, you didn't ask for riches, but I'm gonna give you a lot. In fact, you're gonna be the wealthiest person to ever live. And then on top of that, he says, you know, I told you if you would follow me all your days, I'll bless you with a long life, but you didn't ask for a long life, so I'm gonna give you that and riches.

Can you imagine a triple braided cord that's not easily broken? Can you imagine having a long life, all the riches in the world and the wisdom to know what to do with it? Can you imagine waking up and being like, where do we need to spend a million dollars today? And I'm not talking about on yourself, I'm talking about how do we change the world? Oh, it hits different, don't it? This was Solomon. And Solomon is gonna write Proverbs. He writes Proverbs. I don't know if you know this, but 90% of the book Proverbs, like if you take the Bible and just open it to the very middle, you're gonna come to Psalms. That's the middle of the Bible. It's in the Old Testament. And then the next book is Proverbs. And there's 31 chapters in Proverbs. And Proverbs is filled with wisdom. And what is wisdom? Wisdom is the skill for living. The skill. Have you ever saw some people and you're like, they just are living awesome. And I don't mean because their boat's bigger than your boat. I mean, you're like, they. I don't know anyone that does it better

when it comes to family. I don't know anyone that does it better when it comes to finances. I don't know anyone that does it better when it comes to faith. And you just kind of look up to them, are you with me? And that's because they have wisdom. Wisdom is the most important thing that you could ever get. Not a raise, not a promotion, not the biggest house in the world or the most beautiful island, all to yourself. The greatest thing you and I could ever get is wisdom that comes only from above. James chapter one says, do you lack wisdom? Does anyone lack wisdom? And it's kind of funny. I can almost sense God is laughing. That God's sense of humor is showing up. Any of you guys need wisdom? You know, that's like asking your kids, any of y'all need money? See, see what I'm saying? You guys like, any of y'all need wisdom? Let them ask God for wisdom and God gives wisdom generously and he doesn't hold back. So we just gotta ask God for wisdom. The Bible tells us in Proverbs also

that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So get wisdom, wisdom. I wanna go to our text, Proverbs 13 20. And this is what I want you to know. I want you to memorize this verse. Look at the screens, Proverbs 13 20. It says this, walk with the wise and become wise. Walk with the wise and become wise. That's kind of simple. Now in Proverbs, Proverbs is gonna do two things. There's personification in Proverbs. And what does that mean? You know, personification. It's gonna describe wisdom as lady wisdom. Some translations say it. But in all the translations, when it's talking about wisdom, it will say her. Women, you ought to feel honored. God's honoring you. Like get her. Don't ever, ever, ever, ever let it go. Get her. It not only does personification, but Proverbs is filled with comparison. So when you read Proverbs, it will show you, hey, if you do this, this will be the outcome. And if you go this way, this will be the outcome. In fact, one time, I have to say this publicly, but I'd also say it privately. When I meet with people, I say,

hey, do you read Proverbs? Read a chapter a day. A chapter of Proverbs a day will keep stupidity away. A chapter of Proverbs a day will keep the devil away. And half the time, it's not even the devil. It's us. It's our bad decisions. You know what I'm saying? I do, I really need to swipe it here. I already buried five credit cards. And none of them paid off. And I didn't get five new jobs all at the same time. Like, right? And so comparison, and it will show you. One of my friends, I told him about that, and he's like, hey, pastor, this is crazy, I'm confused. I'm reading Proverbs, and it says, don't answer a fool in their folly. And then the comparison is, answer a fool in their folly. And he said, I don't know what to do. Why is the Bible contradicting itself? And I said, it's not. This is comparison. This is someone who's the wisest person in the world trying to make it real simple. Hey, if you go, so I asked him, I said, what do you want in this relationship? If you go this way, if you don't go this way, what's on the other side of that comparison? Proverbs 13, 20, walk with the wise and become wise.

Here's what I want all of us to know, no matter if we're younger or older, proximity shapes behavior. Proximity shapes behavior. I wrestled for two hours as I was studying on Friday because I'm a word guy and I didn't have the right word. So for two hours, I put mental strain, is how I'd like to describe it, into what's the right word? Because the phrase that I had, the three words that I had, was proximity shapes character. But inside, I was like, that don't feel right. You know, you ever put something on you like that? You know, you thought it looked nice, you put it on you like that. It didn't fit, and here's why it didn't fit. Because when I think of character, I think of character meaning someone who has it. I don't look at character like neutral, like they got good character or bad character, just me personally. I look at character like you have it or you don't. You with me? And so wisdom will help you. You need it. You can't live without it. You can exist without it, but you'll never thrive without it. Wisdom, where does wisdom come from? It comes from God.

What is wisdom? Wisdom is a skill for living. It's a skill, it's an art. It helps you. It's a light that lights up your path so you can walk straight. Not stumble in the darkness, not stub your toe. Because you didn't see that coming. I didn't see that bill showing up. We got to think about that. I didn't. So, walk with the wise. Let's just think about it. A couple questions. Who have you let close to you? You show me your friends and I'll show you your future. Whoever, whoever gets close to you is gonna help, gonna shape, gonna control the way that you think. Riley is going to Liberty, that's in Virginia, in the fall, Lord willing. I'm not concerned because it's hundreds and hundreds of miles away. I'm concerned that she gets around the right friend group. Not because she has bad taste, she's got great taste. But as parents, we're concerned. Lord, put the right people in her path. We're praying over people she hadn't even met yet. Are you with me? Young people, pray for your husband, pray for your wife.

Don't just pray that God give you one, pray for them now, because they're probably alive. Or you're a cougar one. You with me? Pray for them, pray for them. Walk with wise. Who's close to you? Because they're gonna control the way you think. You get around people that care about the temple, their body, right? Paul says in Corinthians, what? Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Lord? Your body, like this, a gift. The spirit of God lives inside of you, so glorify God with your body and your spirit, which both belong to Christ. So get around with people, and they're strong, and they're tough, and they got good head on their shoulders, and you know what? You get around those kind of people, it's gonna just be a matter of time before you push them Oreos away. I'm not talking about by the handful, I'm talking about by the dozens. You get around these guys, they're not reaching for a Oreo. They're like, anybody see my Quest protein chips? Because they think different. Everybody wanna be like, they want the product, but it's the process that delivers the product. Everybody wants to have an awesome marriage.

Everyone wants to have a wonderful family. It's the process, and the process goes along wisdom way. Wisdom, walk with the wise, and you'll be wise, because proximity shapes, not character, it shapes behavior, and behavior creates future. You wanna do your future self a fav, get wisdom today. Wisdom warns, don't go down this path, but wisdom also rewards. We need wisdom. Tell your neighbor right now, turn to your neighbor. Come on, preach him a message, it's your turn. Turn to your neighbor right now, let's hear some good preaching. Say, you need some more wisdom. I didn't do this at the last gathering. Let's say the best for last, you guys get this. Come on, turn to that same person, say, did you get wisdom today? Come on, that same person, say, did you hear me? I said, you need some more wisdom. Proverbs chapter four, verses four through nine, it says this, my father taught me. This is Solomon saying, my father David taught me. Fathers, what are you teaching your kids? What are you teaching them? Can our kids say that? Can our kids say, mom and dad taught me this? My parents were here last gathering, and yesterday was their 45th anniversary, so. This is really cool.

Dad's outside with me, and I fired up the green egg, and I'm cooking, and I was like, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna turn on some Kenny Rogers, because when I grew up, dad always had Kenny cassettes, and if you don't know what cassettes are, you need to Google them. Trust me when I say streaming is way better, but he would play Kenny Rogers, and so I turned it on, the hits. Lady, and all of a sudden, I began to sing songs I haven't sang in 30 years, and I remembered all the words. Hey fathers, hey mothers, you know what? We need to teach our kids to memorize the word. David said this, he said, God's word have I hid in my heart, so I will not sin against God. I know those Kenny Rogers songs from 30 years ago. You know what? We need to have the word of God on demand like that. Some of us, we. You can say so many movie clips. What if you lost the Bible? What if it was outlawed? How much word have you buried? How much treasure have you secured? My Father taught me, take my words to heart. Follow my commands and what you will live. Get wisdom. Now, what did I tell you I wanted you to know? Here's what I want you to know.

Ready? Walk with the wise and you will become wise. Second part of that verse says, if you hang around fools, you'll be destroyed. That's what you need to know. Walk with the wise, I'll be wise. Hang around fools, I'll become like a fool, right? Hang around with gossip, people who gossip, guess who's gossiping next? Hang around with negative people, you know, like God gave us the most beautiful day, the most beautiful weather, isn't today a beautiful day? And the negative person says, but tomorrow, have you seen, it's going to be raining tomorrow. They can't enjoy today because they're worrying about tomorrow. Are you with me? Uh-huh. My God. See what I'm saying? Walk with the wise and you'll be wise. Hang around fools, you're a fool, right? That's what I want you to know. What do I want you to know? All right, I feel like I'm getting an F. Let's try it one more time. That's what I want you to know. That's what I want you to know. And some of you, this is a painful topic because you've made a life of hanging around the wrong people and you've blamed everybody else, but you got to look in the mirror and you got to redirect, you got to reroute and God will get you there. That's a good news. That's a hope, right? But we can't fix something that we won't admit is broke. We just get broker. You like that?

I like that. That's what I want you to know. What I want you to do, get wisdom, get her and never, ever, ever, ever, never let her go. Never let her go. Get wisdom, embrace her all the days of your life. That's what I want you to do. I want you to know, walk with the wise, I'll be wise. If I hang out with fools, that's not good. What I want you to do, get wisdom. Look what the verse says. God tells us right here. He says, get wisdom. Look at it. Verse five, get wisdom, develop good judgment. Don't forget my words or turn away from them. So get her at any cost. Some of you guys at one point, you're like, man, I got to get this girl. Like that's the one. And then you spent a long time trying to convince her that you were the one. You're like, come on. You're like, but she's the one and you stayed with it and you got her. God is saying, get wisdom, treat wisdom like that. Like this girl can't get away. Right? Right? Wisdom. It's a, it's a real deal. It says, don't turn your back on wisdom for she will, here it is. If you're, if you've got a pen, I would, or a marker, I'd highlight this in your Bible.

If you're on you version, it's digital. I would highlight this. This is so important. Look, look what wisdom will do. All right. Don't turn your back on wisdom. Number one, she will protect you. Number one. Number two, love her and she will guard you. I like people protect me. I like people help guard, don't y'all, right? Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do. Wisdom translation says it is the principle thing. It's the wisest thing you can do. So not only will she protect you, not only will she guard you, but look at, look at verse eight. If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her. She will honor you. So the more that you and I love wisdom, which means we're taking the time to go to God and ask for wisdom. Well, I don't know what I should do. I've got two different jobs. I've got this job that I'm at. I got two different offers. This one pays 60,000 more. This one only pays 20,000 more, but I'm going to have to compromise my values if I take 60,000 and what do I do? That's Proverbs three, five, and six. Trust in the Lord.

Though your heart don't lean on your own understanding, my own understanding, but in all my ways, acknowledge him. What do you think? God, where do you want to lead me? God, how would you lead me here? Should I go into business with this partner? I'm a millionaire. I'm not a millionaire, but I'm saying, you say you're a millionaire. They're a millionaire. You're wise. They're wise. Lord, is this right? We're seeking wisdom. We're seeking God's approval. We're asking God to point us and listen to me, friends. If you ask God. for direction. God's not going to go. If you come to our Father and say, God, am I supposed to marry him? No, you just met him last week. God's going to speak. Lord, am I supposed to buy myself a new car? No, you have four other car payments, aka you have children. God, he'll lead you, he'll guide you, he'll direct you, protect you. Don't you want that? I want that. I need that. The picture is the more that you and I love wisdom, the higher wisdom lifts us. See, God leverages wisdom to lift you and God will keep. Promotion doesn't come from the East or the West, but from above. God is the judge. He raises up one and he puts down another. Wisdom, wisdom, get wisdom and embrace her all your days. That's what I want you to do. And then this last verse says, verse nine, she will place a lovely wreath on your head. She will present you with a beautiful crown. In ancient Hebrew culture, in Bible times, God's people, children of Israel, Hebrew children, this would happen. The bride would place an ornament of grace on the head of her husband. So now we get this beautiful picture of this is how wisdom will love you. If you choose her, if you wed her, if you make a commitment to the lady wisdom that I need you, I want you and I don't

ever want to, I can't afford to ever let you go. I watch people wreck their lives and it's not because they're bad people. It's not because they're stupid people. It's because they forget that wisdom has a way. They get off on feelings Boulevard, you know, where feelings is your chauffeur, where feelings drives you wherever you feel like you want to go. But wisdom won't shout. Wisdom will speak. Wisdom warns us, don't, but it also rewards us. Aren't you glad you did? Wisdom. Walk with the wise, become wise, hang around fools. And it's not a pretty picture. Where in your life have you been muting wisdom, refuting wisdom? Where in your life have you minimized the power of wisdom and not just wisdom is godly wisdom. And that only one place you can get it. That's from above. And it comes down from the father of lights with all his love. And as soon as you ask God sends wisdom your way. Here's a question I want to end with since I started with a question questions want to end with this question. I wish I had it as a teenager. It would have protected me if I'd had it earlier in my life. It wasn't until my late twenties when I learned this question. And this question is so helpful. You're going to want to write this down. So you'd never forget it. This will not just change your life for the rest of your life. This has the power to change your legacy. And the question is just simple. And it helps us because there's a tension in life. Sometimes we know this is right and this is wrong. And we know this is what we should do. We know this is what we shouldn't do. And it's right or it's wrong. Sometimes what do you do when it's not a matter of right or wrong? This is where this question helps. This question is this. What's the wise thing to do? What's the wise thing to do? What's the wise thing to do? You need friends like that and you need to be that kind of friend. You find out something's like, what are you going to do? What's the wise thing to do? Got to make a big decision. What's the wise thing to do? do? What would wisdom do? Because if you choose wisdom, she got your back. She changed your life. She'll set you up. She won't break your heart. She won't cheat. Wisdom's way. There's a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. It's another proverb. So don't let feelings take you where you think you're supposed to. Choose wisdom and that question will help you financially, maritally, relationally, spiritually. I just don't know if I should forgive him. I'm so angry at what's the wise thing to do. Stay angry and bitter and end up with disease because you won't let it go. You're trying

to punish them, but you're killing yourself. What's the wise thing to do? It's a wise thing to do. Ask yourself, what's the wise thing to do? Teach your kids to ask, what's the wise thing to do here? They got to be at work. It's 7am the next morning. I'm going to stay out till 3am. What's the wise thing to do? Right? Got a final exam, but we want to go to steak and shake for a long time because they got the milkshakes. Huh? What's the wise thing to do? How about this one? Any married couples here? Want to be married? Wish you could be married? Anybody? You ever find yourself in a moment where something harsh is said from your spouse? Maybe there's some eight on the Enneagrams in here. He's just ready to come right back. I'm an eight. That's why I'm poking fun at myself. The Bible says a soft answer turns away wrath. So someone ever jump on you? How about this? You're driving and someone just totally goes off on you and you're doing nothing. You're like, what in the world? Some people are just angry. They're like a garbage truck. They're filled with crap. Now I'm being honest. There's some people that just got a lot of trash and they got to dump it somewhere and you just happened to get in their path. You ever met someone so angry and you're like, what's wrong with him? What's wrong with her? They're just angry. They say something and then you're like, oh, today's the day. Why am I ready for you? I've been rehearsing in my dreams in the shower. I was thinking if this person says this today, I'm going to let them have it. You think Ronda Rousey took her out? Oh, I'm telling you. Just be culturally relevant there. 17 seconds ain't nothing. When I'm fixing to drop, your spouse comes at you. What if you had the wisdom to realize, okay, they haven't had coffee. They're up with a baby all night. See, wisdom will teach us. So we ask the question, what's the wisdom to do? And I pray that for you. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? Lord, would you teach us to choose wisdom, to never let her go? Would you raise your hand to God if you have some things in your life where you need more wisdom or you want to start receiving wisdom? If you're here and you're like, I got to do it my way all the time, it's a better way. If you're like, I got to learn the hard way, there's a better way. See, we can learn from everybody, from the good things they do and the wrong things they do. Wisdom speaks. I just pray wisdom for you today. And then if you're here today and you're not a Christian, you can put your hands down. If you're here and you're not a Christian, what does that mean? It doesn't mean, you know, a lot of things, but what

it does mean is that your sins have been washed away because of the blood of Jesus. And there was nothing you could do to earn it or deserve it. But you came, you asked, he gave, you received, and now you're a child of God. And I would say, whether if you're here and you're doubting that, I spent a lot of my days doubting if I was really a Christian or not. You don't have to spend another day. I want to invite you, whether you're lost or maybe you're just wrestling with, did I, was it real? Did I mean it? Hey, let's just take care of it today. Come on. Let's just commit today. Let's let's stop letting the. Devil have all the leverage, keeps you up at night, fear in your heart. Let's just settle it today. I wanna lead you in a prayer, it's called a sinner's prayer. You're gonna pray to Jesus, we're gonna pray together, and then I'm gonna ask at the end if that was you who prayed it for the first time, and this was your moment, and you know it's your moment, I'm gonna ask you to share it with us so it could be our moment. I'm gonna ask you to raise your hand and we're gonna clap and we're gonna celebrate because Satan lost another one. That's something worth celebrating. So let's pray, you're not praying to me, let's pray to God. Would you say Jesus, I confess I am a sinner and I desperately need you to be my savior. You are the Lord, I confess Jesus is Lord. I want you to be my Lord. I believe you love me, bled for me, died for me, I believe you rose again, and right now I give my life to you would you teach me how to live?

In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Would you stand to your feet, prayer team, would you come forward? If you prayed that prayer for the first time, I want you to raise your hand on the count of three. Don't be shy, just come on, hold it up high. That one guy last gathering, as soon as I said it, he's a big dude, his hand went right up in the air, I was like, yes, love it. When the devil loses people and heaven gains, you prayed that today, you're watching online, our online campus, there's a lot of you out there, thousands of you out there, you're watching on the Pando app, thousands of you out there, you're watching in Blackwater, hundreds of you coming every week, or you're right here in Pensacola, this is your moment, let's celebrate together, hold it up on the count of three, here we go, ready, one, two, three, would you hold it up high? I give my life to Jesus, Pastor Tim, come on, God bless you, God bless you, online, God bless you, there's a number on the screen, text Jesus to that number. And here's what I wanna do, we're gonna sing, we're gonna close out today.