The Bryce Crawford Podcast - Proverbs Series Chapter 2 (EP 102)

Episode Date: July 2, 2025

Proverbs 2

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fall what's going on guys welcome back to the second episode of the proverbs series my name is bryson today we're going to be going over proverbs too if you guys want to follow along and print out the pdf to track your progress go to jesus in the street dot org slash proverbs download the free pdf today it's going to be awesome guys i'm super excited for proverbs chapter two it's going to be great now something i forgot to mention in the last one is the book of proverbs it says the proverbs of solomon most of them were written by solomon but there's a couple other authors in the book of proverbs and they clarify it, but this is Solomon's book. He probably took a collection of the writings and put them together, okay?

So we're going to read Proverbs chapter 2 and break it down, starting in verse 1, My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you. Let's stop right there, right off the bat. If, if, meaning you have the option to choose to receive the words of God or not. This means that wisdom cannot benefit us if we don't receive, or treasure it. Store it up. Prepare. Right? Because here's the thing. We have to be ready. There's going to be times in life and trials and life that are going to come at you and that you don't expect and things are going to happen in your life and moments and interactions. You're going to lose

friends, gain friends. You're going to lose your job. Get a new job. This, that, and the other. But if we store up the word of God and write it on the tablet of our heart, then we will be prepared to make a defense to anything that happens in us. We will have the hope inside of us. it up. Wisdom can't benefit you if you don't store and treasure up in your heart. Verse two. Making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding. What does it mean to incline your heart to wisdom? This means that it implies effort. There is a sense of effort necessary and required to incline your heart to wisdom. That means you have to try. That means you have to care. That means you have to be ready.

Be active. Be moving. Be focus. dialed in, sharp, trying to apply yourself to the heart and wisdom of God. It must be sought out like hidden treasures. Verse three. Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding. If you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 25, verse two later on we'll get to it.

It says it's the glory of God to conceal. things, but it's the honor of kings to search it out. God conceals things for a reason. It's the glory of God to conceal things. But man, there's something about pursuing God and pursuing wisdom that God loves and it tugs on his heart and it moves God's heart. So in those verses down to verse six, Solomon actually writes, here's the ways to receive wisdom. So if you're wondering how to receive wisdom, here's what Solomon says. He says, we receive wisdom. These are the ways to seek wisdom. Sorry, we receive wisdom, treasure wisdom, incline your ear to wisdom, apply wisdom to your life, cry out for wisdom, seeking and searching out wisdom.

James tells us if anyone lacks wisdom, ask God, and he will give it to you generously. Holy smokes. Did you know what then when you read the Bible and when you better be doing this when you read your Proverbs series, when you're following along in the Proverbs series and you're reading your Bible on your own and you're researching things, you have this dude. Yeah, his name's a Holy Spirit. and John 14 tells us that he's a helper to teach us things, bring conviction, and be the seal on our heart so that we know that we know that we know. And when we ask God for wisdom, he will give it to us

generously. Meaning if you don't understand something, hey God, can you help me understand this passage? God, I'm going through the situation. Help me understand what you have in store for me through this. So we can receive wisdom, treasure it, incline our heart and ears to it, apply wisdom to our lives, cry out for wisdom and seek and search it out. Then verse six, for the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth, comes knowledge and understanding. The most significant way God speaks wisdom to us is through his word. There are four ways that God speaks to us. Through his word, through signs, through people, and intrusively. His word is going to be the number one way you speak to us. If you're not in the word of God, then you're in your feelings. If you're wondering why you're messing up, if you wonder why you're sin in so much,

if you're wondering why you're stumbling so much and you feel like you're falling all the time, you must not be in your word. You must be basing everything off of feelings. Because when I'm not in the word of God, right, and my feelings triumph the word of God because I'm not, I'm not feeding myself. Man shall not live by bread alone. We can't just live, but we live by every word that is breathed off of the mouth of God. If we are living in our feelings, then they're going to triumph us and live on us and they're actually going to dictate our lives. And that's not good. Like we said last episode, Proverbs 14, there's a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death. So the word of God, we need the word of God. Then through signs, God can use signs to speak to us. people to speak to us. God might be using me to help you understand Proverbs right now by the grace

of God, his spirit speaking through me. Lastly, intrusively, if God lives inside of us, then that means he consumes our thoughts. Now, not all of our thoughts are going to be from the Lord, but that's where we use discernment. Now, how do we use the sermon? We need to know the word of God to understand if thoughts are aligned with God's character or far from his character. We need the word of God stored in our hearts so that we can understand if that the thing that is in my thought, if it's going to draw me away from God or draw me to God, because God's not going to speak something to you that draws you further from him. God's going to call you to something that draws you closer intimately to him. All of this is founded on the Word of God. If we don't know the Word of God, then we're going to be

lost and confused. Verse 70, he stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He's a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way as with saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity and every good path. Verse 10 and 11. For wisdom will come into your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will watch over you. Understanding will guard you. Spiritual joy humiliates sin. When you have the joy of the Lord inside of you, it makes sin look like a pile of dog crap because it is. It doesn't benefit you. It only harms you. Sin feels like freedom until you try to stop. Then when you try to stop sinning, you're dying inside. You're trying to starve your flesh.

and it's killing you in inside and it feels like the only way to stop that feeling is to sin more, but then you're really killing your soul. Sin feels like freedom until you try to stop. Verse 12, delivering you from the way of evil from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness, who walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. Solomon is writing here and saying,

the wisdom of God is going to help you use discernment on who to freak and listen. to because there's an abundance of information but a lack of clarity, meaning there's a lot of people saying a whole lot of mumbo-jumbo that isn't going to help you. And so if you don't know the wisdom and understanding of God, if you don't know the wisdom and instruction of God, then of course you're going to walk down the path of evil. It's going to be easy to listen to men of perverted speech. It's going to be easy to walk in the ways of darkness. But if you have the word of God stored up in your heart, then it's actually going to help you stay away from bad company like Proverbs 1 says. Stay away. Keep your foot from the path of evil like

Proverbs 1. Verse 16. So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman from the adulteress with her smooth words. Here we go. This is big. We're about to talk about something huge who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God for her house sinks down to death and her paths to the departed. None who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life. Now we see what I mentioned in the last episode. There's going to be two different types of women described in Proverbs. A woman is, wisdom is described as a woman, and sexual immorality is described as an adulterist we see in Proverbs chapter 2.

Sexual immorality is a sin that is completely different than any other sin, and the Bible, because it says sin against your own body, when you commit sexual immorality, you are devaluing the vessel that God is graciously giving you. So what he's saying here is the Word of God is going to actually help you stay away from sexual immorality. So, and what does he describe here? This adulterous woman has smooth words. They're enticing.

It's like an adulteress. You know what sounds good. Who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. Her house sinks down to death and her path to the depart. None who go to her comeback, nor do they regain the past the light. Solomon is saying, hey, most of the people that go down this road of sexual immorality, there's very few that make it back. There's very few that don't die down that path.

Sexual immorality will kill you physically. spiritually, it will callous your heart from hearing the voice of God. Sexual immorality will callous your heart from knowing what love actually is and what the love of the father is. And the wisdom and instruction of the Lord will help you stay away from sexual immorality. That's beautiful, isn't it? So many people always ask, Bryce, how do I stop watching porn? Bryce, how do I stop having sex outside of marriage?

Bryce, how do I do this, that, and the other concerning sexual immorality? And my first response is like, man, what is in your heart? What are you consuming? Are you consuming the actions and the exaltation of the world? What the world is exulting? Are you consuming the word of God? Verse 20 through 22 to close. So you will walk in the way of good and keep to the paths of the righteous.

For the upright will inhabit the land and those with integrity will remain in it. But the wicked will be cut off from the land and the treacherous will be rooted out of it. Verse 20 through 23 tell us the consequences of the path of the adulterous. There's an invitation of the judgment and discipline of God when you go down the path of the adulteress. And this is a reflection of the covenant with Israel, right? We see all throughout the Old Testament that the upright, the righteous will dwell on the land and the unfaithful will be uprooted and kicked out. We see that in the Old Testament. So it's important for us to understand that we will walk in the way of good and keep the paths of righteousness if we treasure and store up the Word of God in our heart.

if there was a thesis statement for proverb chapter two it would be if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you verse one proverb chapter two verse one is a thesis statement of proverb chapter two store up and treasure the righteous words and wisdom and instruction of the lord and it will keep your path straight and i really believe that verse 20 in proverbs two is a prophetic declaration spoken over us by the Lord by saying you will walk in the ways of the good and you will keep the paths of the righteous meaning this doesn't have to be your life you don't have to live a life of foolishness you don't have to be a simple one anymore you don't have to keep struggling with the same sin happy you don't have to keep indulging in sexual immorality this doesn't have to be your life anymore there is freedom

if you will just submit yourself to my instruction my way is better the lie of the american dream is that money, sex, women, and power is the American dream, but it will crush your soul. But God's way is better. Guys, I pray that Proverbs chapter two was an encouragement to you guys. I love you guys, and we'll see you guys tomorrow for Proverbs Chapter 3. Guys, thank you so much for watching and listening to this episode. If you guys like it, subscribe to us on YouTube, follow us on Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok. Bless you guys and see you guys next week for the next episode.