TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Morning Manna - Dec 16, 2025 - Proverbs 18:13-16 - Listening Before Speaking: Wisdom Opens Doors

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

Proverbs 18:13–16 highlights the sharp contrast between foolish haste and wise restraint. Answering a matter before hearing it brings shame and folly, while a wounded spirit can crush even a strong man. The discerning heart seeks knowledge, pursuing understanding rather than reacting impulsively. A person’s gift makes room for him, opening doors even to great men. In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart explore how careful listening, humility, and cultivated insight shape a life of influence and stability. This passage calls believers to slow their speech, deepen their understanding, and allow God to use their gifts to advance His purposes. Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting FaithandValues.com, calling 1-888-519-4935, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961. MEGA FIRE reveals the ancient recurring cycles of war and economic collapse that have shaped history for 600 years. These patterns predict America is now entering its most dangerous period since World War II. Get your copy today! www.megafire.world Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves! www.AmericanReserves.com It’s the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today! www.Amazon.com/Final-Day Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! www.books.apple.com/final-day Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. www.Sacrificingliberty.com

Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Morning Manna. This is our final week for 2025. I didn't say our final week forever. It's our final week for 2025. We'll be here till Friday. Then we're going to take a two-week holiday break. None of us here will be on holidays except on Christmas, but we've got a lot of things to do. We're rolling out a new platform, Manna Nation. And At the end of this month, there will be a temporary version. I've got to stress, it is a temporary version of the platform that we're building, manna nation.com. If you go to that website right now, there's just a landing page. This is coming soon. In a couple of weeks, we'll have the temporary version of the platform there. And then later, sometime in January, we'll roll out the next phase of Mana Nation. and then each month will improve it, increase it, enlarge it, bring more content to you.

It is going to be awesome. I'm very excited. We had to make the change. The platform that we were using, very good. We had very happy with it with faith and values. However, we didn't have any control over. We had to accept it as it was. It's a take it or leave it type of proposition.

And so we couldn't really structure the way we desired. So we decided to go back to our original plans and build our own platform that we would own. And that's what we're doing. And we've been working with a company in India to help us build it. And we got hit with a hurricane a couple weeks ago. That delayed work for over a week. But you know what, Doc, I've learned this year to rest in God's plan. in his timing, in his way, just rest.

And I'm not going to be, I'm not going to be anxious or nervous or worried about it's not going to be ready on time. Okay, so what? I'm going to be ready on time. But you know what? We're still going to have morning manna. We're still going to have morning manna every day until the platform is built the way we, we envision it.

and it's no different than restaurants and stores and hotels that have to do renovation. They just put up drywall, lay, you know, they put plastic on the floor and you're walking in dust, and people don't mind it, do they? Just go ahead and get their fried chicken. Get their fried chicken because they know it's temporary and they know that what's coming will make it better. So, hey, it's going to be the same way here. Another thing, I know a lot of people have been concerned about the changes and everything. And so we will keep, I promise you, we'll keep you informed about what you can do with your donations and just keep sending it in and everything like that.

So, but everything stays the same for now. That's right. Keep sending it to the same mailing address. Keep using. It'll be, the man of nation will have the donation button. It's the same. It's absolutely the same. Don't worry about it.

Everything's going to be fine, all right? You'll see additional changes in early 2026, but we're not there yet. Okay. All I can say is I have a little glimpse of the finished product, and it's going to be really cool and we're all done. It is. It really is. Okay, so we're in the... the 18th chapter of Proverbs, and today we're looking at verses 13 through 16. Let's pray,

ask the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us and direct us in this class. Almighty God, our Father in heaven, Father, we request the presence of your spirit to lead this morning man-up Bible study as your spirit has done every day. Father, we've been on a journey and we're not the same men and women that we were a year ago. We're not the same a month ago because your spirit and your word is inside of us working and perfecting us. And we thank you for it, Father, and we desire more. So Holy Spirit come and feed us. Feed us and satisfy the hunger of our souls. In the name of Jesus, amen. Amen. We welcome you to this Tuesday edition of Morning Manna, no matter where you are in the world. Thank you so much for joining us for this daily Bible study

where we explore the scriptures. We've studied the Book of Acts. We've done work in the Gospels. We've looked at the parables. Now we're taking a journey through Proverbs. And our journey today finds us at Proverbs chapter 18. And today we'll be focusing on verses 13 through 16. Last Thursday I mentioned when we started chapter 18, you might have noticed a change in the tone of Proverbs here. And you'll see that reinforced again today. That there, it's not more stern, but there's more authority and more knowledge to it. It's as if Solomon said, all right everything you've learned up to the end of chapter 17 that's the foundation course now i'm going to take you a step further a step higher if you will in other words you're saying let's get

serious now let's talk man to man one-on-one because i've got some heavy stuff to lay on you and verses 13 through 16 are no exception i'm going to read from the king james this morning and I encourage you always read the word of God along with me, no matter what diversion of the Bible that you're using. Verse 13 reads in the King James, He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. Verse 14, the spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity,

but a wounded spirit who can bear. Verse 15, the heart of the prudent geteth knowledge, and the ear the wise seeketh knowledge. I'm very excited about verse 16 today, as I hear quoted often, but I believe we have a different insight on this. Verse 16, a man's gift maketh room for him and bringeth him before great men. God bless the reading of his word today. Okay.

Verse 13, Septuagint translation, he that answers a matter before he hears it, is folly and shame to him. okay so the first segment of this of this proverb he that answers a matter before he hears it it's condemning criticizing rash impatient responses where people speak without first listening and truthfully it's it's signs of arrogance and pride and you know

we all have to watch ourselves on this because even when you think you're getting you're excited you want to share something yes you know what I was saying and I was talking to the Lord about this we get excited we want to share something

we jump in oh yeah we interrupted at someone but it wasn't to you know I didn't want to be rude I just excited I want to share something but you know what the Lord said to me what you're really saying is that what you want to say is more important than what's being said what is the root of that if that see that's pride right is pride because we're saying excuse me I'm going to shut you down I guess something is more valuable than what you're say. And that's what we all have to watch, that we don't do this in conversations. Even when

we're among friends and family, we're just having a great time talking. We've got to wait and listen to, wait until the other person has stopped talking. Okay. So, you know, I'm one the worst at this dog. So, yeah, this is, this one is walking all over my toes, okay? What does it mean to answer a matter? It means to give judgment opinion. Now, I'm going to take this another direction because it's one thing to get excited and jump into a conversation

because you're energized. You got something you want to say, okay? You aren't listening, but you got something that you want to say and you jump in, okay? But you've interrupted somebody. But there's another side. scientist dog. It's one that's very, very negative. And that's when a person isn't listening

to a thing you say. Okay. They're arguing with you in their mind. While you're talking, they're arguing with you in their mind. And some of them are so delusional. They actually hear you say things you didn't say. And you go, I didn't say that. Oh, yes, I heard you just say it. No, I didn't say that. Well, you know, you know why they think you said it? They were imagining in their mind that you said it.

Okay, so they're arguing with you. They're having a debate with you in their mind while you're talking and you're not even saying the things that their mind is. saying that you're saying. Now that, that gets weird. Okay. It gets really. That's a sign of a disordered personality. Okay. To to be excited and be part of a conversation and you jump in to interrupt someone, it's rude. It's rude. Even though you didn't mean to be rude, it is. It's rude. But to to argue with somebody in your mind while they're talking,

that's disordered. It means you have a disordered personality. It means you, there's a serious personality fall there that you're actually imagining a conversation. And then it goes even stranger. You get people that argue with you when you're not even there. You walk in the room and they're on the job of you and you go,

and what's going for? No, they didn't say any of those things. And they're convinced you did because they were arguing with you and you weren't even in the room. But it says, answers the matter before he hears it. Responds without complete information,

without hearing the facts, without understanding the context of what the person is saying. They already got a reply. Okay. So the sin that's highlighted here is not, it does include the speed by which a person responds. But more than that, it's the arrogance of the heart that assumes it already possesses all the knowledge it needs. Right.

And that's the definition of pride. because it's saying, you don't even have to talk. I already know, I know more than you. I know everything you're going to say and I know more. That's pride because they're not even listening to you. They're not giving you the benefit of expressing your opinion because they already know it and they know better. They know more. Now you're getting into arrogance and pride.

So to answer without hearing is to cut speech, it's to sever speech from understanding. And it's a violation of the moral order. Yes, it is. Upon which advice and counsel rest. But you have to listen to others. You have to give them time to talk. So, look, the bottom line is this.

A tongue that can outrun an ear is dangerous. Oh, I like that. Just be careful. If you see a tongue that runs faster than a ear, you need to stay away from it. It's dangerous, okay? The tongue should move slower than the ear. and give people time to talk.

But, Doc, even, you know, it's contrary to God's nature because God himself hears his people speak. I'll give you an example. I'll quote scripture, Psalm 50, verse 7. Hear, oh, my people, and I will speak. Okay? he's saying listen to me and then I'll speak listen pay attention I'll speak

so you know you're violating the law of love that's the other sin that's in here you're putting self above others you're saying my opinion what I want to say is more important than what you've got to say and so you're not showing love to the other person So, yes.

What's your gauntled us. Well, I agree with you, right, that this whole rush to put out the opinion or anything violates the divine order of hearing a manner. You know, like you said, God hears every conversation. God is patient to hear it. You've got to complain, take it up with him. He'll listen. may not agree with you, but he'll listen to it.

But we're back to the divine order. That's right. It's back once again to that divine order. The image here is really a more formal setting, really. It's like a courtroom setting, okay? Where a judge, imagine a judge making a decision before any evidence or any testimony in a case was presented, that he's already decided the verdict. he's issuing judgment without hearing the case. That is a travesty of justice there.

And so really, once again, this kind of action here is a violation of God's nature of justice to hear a matter. So this verse is implying that impatience in hearing a matter is not just merely a social flaw or just a bad character. or flaw, something like that, because what you're doing is you're imitating God. And by imitating God, you're actually mocking him because you are expressing wisdom he don't have because you have not heard the whole matter. So this whole act of interrupting is identified not just as bad manners, but it's a symptom of a problemful hurt that believes that its own thoughts and it. Its own words are superior to others.

You know, a few years ago, we had a young man that was working for us, Rick, and, you know, we would have conversations with this young man. He would, on a regular basis, interrupt you in your conversation. Every time he did it, he was grating against my spirit. So after a conversation one day, I said to him, listen, I know you have a lot of important things to say. There's a lot built up in you and everything. But when Rick is talking, you need to hear him out because I guarantee he's got a lot more, first of all, he's got a lot more experience than you do. And secondly, I know he has more wisdom than you.

Where he lacks maybe a knowledge on a topic, Rick can find out that knowledge. so don't assume that he doesn't know what you're talking about or what we're talking about and the young man he was offended by it

because you know he said are you telling me to be quiet and that's not what I said at all was it see they heard something else they weren't even listening

to me Rick that's right there was arrogance yeah he did come back later and apologize to me, but he kept interrupting you in the future. And so, you know, is he still working for me?

I don't even know who you're doing about it. No, don't, don't worry. He's not. See, I wonder what happened, Doc. He's not there anymore, okay? But it's, that's just an example in real life. You know, maybe you have a family member or an employee or a coworker, maybe a son or daughter, you know, that is falling into the same category here.

You need to understand where it's coming from. It's coming from pride. But more than anything else, we need to check our own hearts, make sure we're not doing the very same thing, maybe to them. And that we're not mirroring that by not hearing a matter all the way to an end. So really, when you do this, it is you're taking on the role of God because you act like you know everything. Doc, you know what?

Another way that you can do this, commit the same, we'll call to sin, you know, rude action, is that when somebody's talking to you, you're picking up your phone and you're reading your phone while they're talking to you. What have you just said? The conversation on that phone is more important than your conversation. The text message is more important than what you're saying. Okay, it's rude. All of us, because of electronic communication, we have to be careful about it. You get a ping, you get a text message, you look down at it.

When it is something important, you're being drawn to look at it, respond to it. But you get somebody talking to you, okay? And if it's really important, that's where you have to say, excuse me, This is very important. Could you give me just a second to respond? But you don't continue to text while somebody is trying to have a conversation with you. The best thing it is to turn the phone over and not look at it and continue the conversation.

That phone is interrupting the conversation, just like a person's tongue is interrupting a conversation. All these are symptoms of an. attitude that's saying to somebody else, what you're saying to me really isn't that important. Correct. I'm just, I'm just humoring you, sitting here listening to you right now. So, but it's bad enough to get in the Bible, Doc. Yeah.

So this kind of behavior ranked high enough on Solomon's list to get mentioned in the Bible. You know, it's almost as if it's, almost as it. if you can hear King Solomon saying, you know what grinds my gears? Somebody interrupting my conversation. Can you imagine somebody interrupting the king? But obviously it happened, Doc. Yeah.

It obviously happened that there were people in his palace who interrupted him. And he's the king. And if they didn't have enough sense not to interrupt the king, he's probably thinking, well, what do they do with everybody else? Right.

Okay, so the next thing I wanted to say, this kind of goes with what I was saying earlier. If we answer before we hear somebody, we're answering a figment of our imagination rather than the reality of what is being said. Correct. And that I see happening a lot. And again, to the real forage dream

is when somebody is arguing with you in their head. They're imagining that you're saying something. So all of us, let's just check ourselves. All right, let's make this something that as we go into the new year, we're going to be better listeners. Give attention to everybody who's talking to,

You know, I read, I love to read biographies. I like to watch videos about, you know, famous, important, influential people. And there are certain people that I have studied where people who knew them said, let me tell you the most amazing thing about this man or this woman. When you were talking to them, you were the only person on earth at that moment. And you'd have somebody very famous, very influential. But when somebody would talk to them, they would focus, look them in the eyes, and listen to everything that they're saying, and give them complete attention.

Now, do you think, Doc, that was a... that was something they learned over their lifetime that helped make them great were they to you know this is a treat i need to have this is a characteristic i need to have i have to work at at listening intensely intently to what somebody is saying to me cutting off everybody else and just listening to that one person and you know i i can't recall any specific stories right now, but I know I've read them where, you know, just like somebody, everyday person off the street

would meet this famous person. And, but that person would treat that person like he or she is a king or a queen. It's like total attention on that person. And nobody else could disturb them. They would listen. All right, this is the kind of listening that each of us should develop.

give full attention to whoever is talking to you, all right, unless it's your, your lawn charity. So, you know what to say? The trial for things focus patience. Right. Yes. Okay. I shouldn't have said that.

There's a purpose. I shouldn't have said that in a Bible lesson, okay. Because now, see, that's what we're joking about as a gentleman we were talking about. we were talking about a couple days ago who, you know, if you're going to listen to him, you're going to listen for like five to six hours, okay? He had the nice way to put it is he has a propensity for detailed answers. Yes.

The questions that haven't been asked. See, but see there, that's the flip side of this first. Right. Talking so much that you don't give anybody else an opportunity. to talk. See, that's just as wrong. To be non-stop talker that you can go for an hour and never come up for air. And I've been around people like that. It's like they don't

stop talking, okay? So you've got two flaws here. One non-stop talking and another non-stop never listening. They're both flaws. if you're always talking, you're not listening because you don't allow anybody else to talk. Right. But then, as we're talking about in this case, this is when you're interrupting people and not allowing them to talk. Okay, so the next one, the next part of this says, it is folly and shame unto him.

This is linking the habit of interrupting. people with foolishness and shame. So obviously, Doc, this got under King Solomon's skin. Yes. And he put it on his top ten list. He might have had it on the wall in a castle somewhere. Folly and shame. This is a double judgment.

You get both. You're branded a fool and you're marked with shame. Because what is saying is that you're morally flawed, character flaw, and you're publicly disgraced for it for this bad habit. Okay? the shame refers to the exposure to other people of your character fall okay and it becomes an ornament that you're wearing you get named for it you get a reputation for it and you get tagged as a person who is rude and doesn't

listen to anybody. So the shame is self-inflicted. It's like a guy shooting himself in the foot and then he's forced to walk with a limp in public. Right. So you caused your own wound, but the double wound is you have to walk in public with the limp that you caused yourself to suffer. And that in enough else, what this verse is say. I want to go down, Doc, to while I want to give you a chance I'm skipping over to go through.

Well, no, you've explained there's nothing else to really add to this other than there is going to be an accounting for this one day. Yeah, the folly is what's happening in this life. The shame is the judgment that comes upon these individuals. God will always check pride at some point.

I know he's been doing it in my life. And so it's always, you know, it's always one of those, I call them dash dashboard light things. The, you know, the pride and everything, you know, just, you know, raises this ugly hit every once in a while, and you're just going to beat that thing back down. So John Gill said this. about this passage

this is to be understood of answering judicially or giving judgment in a cause before it is thoroughly heard. Basically, he's talking about corrupt judges, but it matters in conversation too. Such conduct is folly as it discovers ignorance and shame as it exposes a man to just reproach. He's like a judge that gives a sentence without hearing the case. I got a good one.

from Charles Spurgeon, you know it's going to be, it's going to be memorable. Spurgeon said, to answer before hearing is not only folly but sin. It is to insult the person who speaks as well as to disgrace ourselves. Wisdom discerns before it decides. Here it comes. Better to be silent and thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Amen. as typical Spurgeon Okay, verse 14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity

but a wounded spirit who can bear As satuagant A wise man sustains himself with courage but a broken spirit who can bear what's it talking about here

what would begin the first part of this the spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity. It's recognizing, it's commending, it's celebrating the resilience that God puts in the human spirit. Right. We can handle a lot. Most of us don't know how much we can handle.

But God has put that resilience in us. We've got a spiritual spine that holds us together. Even when things are falling apart, you could handle a lung, okay? You think, okay, this, whatever, you get something really happening bad in your life. And, you know, it seems like it's overwhelming you, but you get through it. You have this resilience to get through it. That spirit of a man, spirit of a woman. okay it's the inner

that inner being it's who you are at the very center the core it's who you are that part of you that's you is the part of you that's living in a body thinking with a mind

it's your being and this is the this is the reservoir of your courage your will your hope your aspirations your dreams um and so it's saying that a healthy internal life is the best medicine to get through external trouble maintain a healthy internal life be have good mental health have good that your soul is in good

condition. Your heart is in good condition. So you don't know what life is going to bring you. If you're in, if your soul, your mind, your being is in good shape, you can get through adversity. It says it will sustain you. It will uphold you. It will nourish you. It will carry you through. Some of you have been through some difficult times. You, you, you know, you, you You didn't see a coming, nobody would wish it upon themselves. Could be an accident. It could be a death of a family member. It could be the breaking of, you know, a business, something that you didn't anticipate

happening, a divorce, but you got through it. Right. Somehow you got through it. It's because when you went into the storm, you were in good shape. Reasonably speaking, you were in good shape. Inwardly, you were strong enough to get through the storm. Okay? However, there's another side of this, but before I go there,

let's talk about the Hebrew word that God used us for sustain. How does it? You will be sustained. What does the Hebrew word mean? It's interesting, and being that this is morning manna, it's the same root word that God used to describe sustaining people with his manna in the wilderness. So the implication here, Rick, is that that spirit of a man is actually, we're talking about inspired by God, implies a divine provision.

that is activated through his, basically his attitude. So the text here is giving a hierarchy of being. Spirit is superior to the body and is capable of governing the experience of physical pain. And this has been known, you know, in modern medical history, you know, for a number of years. I still remember the book that Norman Cuddle. dozens wrote years ago when he was diagnosed. I forget the way it was diagnosed with, but he started reading funny papers and watching cartoons and getting laughter into his life. As a result of that, he recovered from his illness. So this spirit, the sustaining idea of the

spirit here really is inspired by the Lord itself. That sustaining power is There's a common grace and natural man in this, but for the believer, it becomes a saving grace, okay, because now faith activates a divine flow of that, of that attitude. We have, even if the circumstances in our life, whether it be an illness, or maybe be some sort of tragedy that might have occurred in our lives, as hard as they are for the believer we have a source of power to tap into the spirit acts like a lamp from God but can only be fueled by God

as long as that lamp is burning the darkness of the infirmity the sickness, the illness, the injury the financial circumstance of whatever they may be can't overcome the man and so this challenges the world's thinking that says, man, we're just a shell.

We're a product, you know, billions of years of evolution. We went from a goo to the zoo to you. You know, you're just a body, right? But Solomon's making the argument here that this, what resides inside of us, is more powerful than this flat. Now, the only unbreakable spirit is Jesus Christ.

himself he's the resurrection in the life solomon goes on to say here that a wounded spirit that's the question i can see him just kind of leaning in across the table you know and saying but a wounded spirit who can bear so rick what do you think he meant by that okay well before i answer that doc i want to i want to respond to what you said about the the hebrew work the scripture said the spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity the sustained will get you through get you through the infirmity whatever this infirmity is and what dog pointed out is that the Hebrew word for sustain

is the same word used for manna the manna that God fed the Hebrews in the wilderness. The same word. Right. Now, this is what I want to ask the class. Think back. What was the last very difficult thing you went through?

Not counting the one you're going through right now. What was the last one in your life? Difficult thing. You know, family, a division, a business. business, failure, job, you know, a job disappeared, divorce, something. What was it that you went through a couple years ago? Answer this question. If you went through that same thing today, would you go through it easier than you went

through it several years ago? And I am guessing you're saying yes. and you know why you've been fed manna five days a week i like it rick you've been fed manna every morning five days a week sustaining you yes it's sustaining you now this is why i've been telling people you were being prepared for 2026 amen there are things coming to the world in 2026 that are going to be very very difficult But the Lord has been feeding us manna in 2025. It will sustain us in the infirmity, in the trouble, in the turmoil.

But now, as Doc said, the next part of this verse is, but a wounded spirit, who can bear him? Who can bear her? Who can take it? Who can handle a man? or woman with a wounded spirit. Solomon shifts from the resilience of a healthy spirit

to the terrifying collapse of the wounded spirit of pain that has no earthly cure. A wounded spirit is a deep internal fracture. It's depression. It's fed by betrayal, hopelessness.

A feeling of being abandoned. Maybe some people may feel that they were abandoned by God, but they've been abandoned by loved ones. They've been abandoned by family, by friends. They're broken beyond repair. it's not just sorrow their being has been fractured

they've collapsed inside they have collapsed their inner man has collapsed Solomon asked us rhetorical question who can bear such a person and the answer is no one

Okay, all right, that's, that's, that's, it's a rhetorical question. Who can bear it? No one. Nobody, nobody, because the load is too heavy for a person. It's too heavy for one person to lift up a fallen spirit in another person. We're not talking about somebody who's down, came down today, kind of feel down. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about somebody whose spirit has been, has collapsed.

Their inner man has fallen down, collapsed. Okay. This is a, this is a, this is suffering that is slowly killing the soul while the body is living. Oh, wow. And the pain, the pain to the sufferer. is beyond comprehension, beyond description. The person who's in the state cannot describe to somebody else, the depth of the pain.

I might be talking to somebody right now, and you're in that state. I will tell you, you can come out of it. Praise God. No human will get you out of it, but the Lord Jesus Christ will get you out of it. If you cry out to him, cry out to him, he'll pull you up out of that hole. He may tell you that you've got to separate from certain people who cause the collapse. He may give you instructions that right now you're not prepared for, but you will be in weeks and months.

He'll get you out of that hole. What brings a person to that level? Doc, to me, the number one reason is extreme narcissistic emotional abuse. So prevalent today as well, yes. Yes, where there is a person that has targeted you and they have said to themselves I am going to destroy that person and I'm going to eat their soul

right because that's what this is I'm going to eat your soul I'm going to drain its spiritual cannibalism it is the reason that person's soul has collapsed is because

the soul vampire has sucked all the energy out of them see they're being sustained by your energy, God desires you to be sustained by the manna that he's feeding you. But the narcissist says, I don't want manna. I want your energy. I'm going to suck it out of you. Right.

They are soul vampires. And you've got to get away from them. They'll drain your life. They'll absolutely drain the life out of you. Just like being bled out. and you'll just be an empty carcass you might be walking around physically but there's nothing inside

because you've been bled out but it was intentional you've got to understand they do it intentionally because they're after your energy you're getting your energy from eating mana that sustains you

but the narcissus resents it. The narcissist will not eat the manna because they are rebels. The narcissist says, I'm going to suck all of the God energy out of your soul. And when you have nothing left, I'll turn my attention to another person just like you and drain them too. And that's how these people go through life. Right. They're soul vampires. Something, Doc, somebody, something is wounding these spirits.

Something's causing these people to be wounded to the point that they collapse. And if you've got a wounded spirit, can you fix it? You can't, and nobody can fix it for you. There's no psychiatrist, no psychologist, no things. Therapist, nobody, because they can't get inside your spirit at that level, that depth. They can't feel the pain. They don't know.

So if you're the victim of a soul vampire, there's nobody who knows about it. Because you know what? Vampires stop energy out of you in secret. They don't do them public. You know, if they get you while you're walking alone, right? They, you know, like, figure the horror movies, the vampires, okay? They wait until everybody's gone. I mean, Doug, Boris Kurloff never sucked the blood out of anybody in a party, right?

He always got them, he always got it outside of the party, okay? That's the way these people operate. therefore you can't tell anybody about it because they won't believe you they can't believe you it's too bizarre right some of you are going through emotional abuse that's so severe that you can't there's nobody who would believe you if you tried to tell them everything that was happening to you right they just wouldn't believe it when you're in that state your energy is being drained out of you. And you've got to cry out to God for deliverance. You got to cry for

deliverance. Get me out of here. Get sent me free. Get me away from this. Save my soul. Save me. And the Lord will rescue you. Yes. Praise God. When you're desperate enough, when you cry out to him, he will rescue you. Amen. So, I mean, this is, This is a very serious scripture because these wounded spirits, this is what leads to suicide. It's what leads to drug addiction, alcohol addiction. It's an emotional sickness under death. Yes. Doc, one of the young homeless men outside our office, our former office, that Susan would minister to.

And I talked to him at different times, but Susan had a close rapport with him. His name was Josh. And I would say, you know, he looked like he's in his early 30s. Very polite young man. And I talked to him. At first glance, you wouldn't know that he's an alcoholic, that he's living on the streets. He's talk sensible. He's very polite.

What's... Susan asking one day, she said, Josh, what started this? Why are you living on the streets? Why are you an alcoholic? Why are you using drugs? Doc, you know what he said it? What? He said, Miss Susan, you would be doing the same thing

if you had to cut your dead mother's body down from a tree. Oh, my goodness. Wow. See, he's traumatized. He's traumatized. Who can bear it? He can't bear it. People looking at him, say, ah, look at him.

Homeless, look at that piece of, you know. They're homeless, how they're wasted, you know, junk. human trash. No, he's wounded. He can't bear it. His mother committed suicide, hanging in a tree, and he came home as a young boy in school and had to cut his mother down from the tree.

And his spirit collapsed. You're not going to get him off the street. You're not going to revive him until you deal with that wound. Yes. And who can bear it? Who can bear it? that's what we're talking about here

this isn't something where you go hey well I hope you cheer up I hope you have a good day here here's a cookie that doesn't do it get a job yeah it doesn't do it

no these people are broken deeply broken um let's take a look let's see what the commentators had to say about this doc I'll start with Adam Clark here

It says sickness a man may bear But desertion, loss of confidence or wounded conscience This none can endure without divine aid Mental suffering is worse than modeling Albert Barnes said The mind may rise superior to bodily suffering But when the inner spirit is broken When hope is gone

When courage fails When the heart is wounded this no man can endure the soul's wounds are the deepest yes alexander mclairins said pain and sorrow are endurable if the inward self is hope but when the inward self itself is cry all outward help is vain this is the deepest misery a broken spirit the soul's wounds are the worst Charles Spurgeon said a man's spirit will sustain his infirmity but a wounded spirit who can bear it is a burden that crushes the soul

the crushed heart needs more than human sympathy it needs the hand that fashioned it yes and Rick you know in preparing for our lesson today I look at different translations and paraphrases and the way the Living Bible put this I had to check it out to see why they did it this way the living bible said when when you've had the breath knocked out of you how can you help it you know thought the breath knocked out of you and there are commentators

that say you know you get the wounding there but then you have spirit well that word spirit there can also be translated breath and so it is reasonable to say when you you've got the breath knocked out of you. I mean, that's a tough situation. Every one of us has experienced that at one time or another. Maybe we fell in the yard or, you know, we were in some sort of incident where suddenly our breath was taken, or the breath knocked out of us. That is a memory that's, you know, imprinted on us.

We don't like that. And so the picture here is, remember when the breath got knocked out? You know, that's hard to overcome. That is tough to overcome. And so the idea here is there's no way we can physically restore it or any way we can restore it on our own. We need a new spirit. We've got to have a brand new one.

The Bible says, creating me, as Psalm 5110, creating me a clean heart, and what renew a right spirit within me. yes yes you're making me think I was like when's the last time

I've had the breath knocked out of me you know and I had flashbacks to when I was young before it was a Christian all right for me it was recent

a couple weeks I fell off a step ladder fixing a gutter and shouldn't be doing that I fell and boy I don't want that happen again so

no you didn't You didn't even tell me about that, Doug. I didn't know you felt. It wasn't a big deal, so. Me, I thought it was. Well, I was thinking about when I was young before I was saved, it'd be, that's something you're going to shake your head.

You know, being in fist fights, I could be, I could handle being hit anywhere but in the stomach. All right. Punch me in the stomach, it would just take the breath out of me. It was like, okay, fights over, done. I'm wheezing, I'm laying on the ground, wheezing. They can't get up at this point, you know. But that's the feeling, you know.

It's like you're gasping. You can't function. All the air has been taken out of you, okay? Yeah. It's a sad, sad. Please be, please be merciful and kind to people that are in that state. You don't know how close. You don't know how close they were to suicide.

son you don't know everything you might be the person that's keeping them from killing themselves yeah you know goes back to our the very first verse for a study don't generate an opinion based on your lack of knowledge you don't know the whole story right you don't know you're making you're putting yourself in god's position again so um wow let's go on to verse 15 Yeah, verse 15, the heart of the prudent getteth knowledge and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. Septuagin says, a prudent man acquires knowledge and the ear of the wise seeketh understanding. Basically the same here. So Solomon is portraying the prudent person as a spiritual entrepreneur.

their heart is actively engaged in getting, acquiring truth, right. They're always looking for it. After they're engaged in, they're practicing, they're engaging in business, over acquiring wisdom, truth, understanding. We know what heart means. It's the inner core of your being, your motives, your loves, your passions your desires your heart okay the heart of the prudent the center being of the prudent man or woman goes after knowledge yes gets it doesn't say

got it that's a one-time deal oh yeah I made a transaction I got knowledge okay check that off the list got to go after something else now no they get it They go after it. It's a continuous perpetual pursuit of knowledge. I got this one down because I'm an obsessive reader. Doc, I read the ingredients on the back of soup cans if I'm, it's like, I got to read something. I can't just sit still, okay? I have to read something.

I'm always looking. I'm always reading. I'm always acquiring information, okay? I am obsessed with it. I'll tell you right now, I'm obsessed with getting knowledge and information. And, you know, I find a new topic and I just go into it. Oh, yes.

I mean, you've probably figured out. Narcissism is my new fascination. That's why I'm talking about so much. It's my new fascination. I didn't, I never studied narcissism before. And now I look around and go, half the world, or half of them are narcissists, you know. I just, I love acquiring information.

And I'll drill down and go as deep as they can and then I'll change something and go to something else, okay? But there's a transaction involved, okay? The prudent man or woman is willing to pay the praise of time. effort, energy, even money, to purchase knowledge. Yes. I've spent money acquiring knowledge. I've got a library.

I've got courses. I have online courses. Doc, you know, you've been in my office. I've got, going back years, I've got cassette courses. I've got CD courses. I got, you know, all the technology. you know. I've got courses going back decades. I'm surprised you don't find stone tablets in Rick's library.

No. But you have, you're paying a price. You're acquiring knowledge. You're pursuing it. Get it. Get it. Get it. Get it. Get it. Get it. Get it. Go get it. It's not a one-time thing. Okay. I don't know how somebody thinks. Well, I went, I graduated from college 30 years. ago, what would you do after that? Did you ever update your knowledge? Did you ever learn more about your skill? What about just life in general? Are you pursuing information, knowledge,

understanding? Alderman says, a wise person, a smart person, is always pursuing knowledge. Yes. And understanding. So you've got to see your heart as a warehouse and you're stockpiling it with more now look not just fact if you don't know what to do with the facts

then it's you're just going to have that makes you one of these what do they call these people that you know that fill their house up dog you know hoarders? Orders? Yeah, hoarder you know

I mean if you just collecting facts. You're just a hoarder. We're going to do with it. You got to pursue wisdom and understanding to know what to do with the facts. I know people that have lots of facts and no common sense, no knowledge, no wisdom. They don't know what to do with the facts, but man, do they know the facts? That's not what this is talking about. You were to store up Wisdom and understanding and understanding. So we have to crave it. We have to crave truth.

Obviously, the audience I'm talking to does it because you come here five days a week. You're craving yours. You're craving truth. You're stopping it. You're getting it. All right. Your friends and your relatives and your co-workers,

they're not doing it. There's no way they're going to spend five hours or more per week in a Bible study. Not going to happen for them. Okay, let them do it. You're in an extremely small group of people on Earth, the entire planet of 7 billion people. You're in a minuscule little percentage of people who pursue knowledge of God every day. Right. I mean, you were in a class by yourself and I hope you never get out of it.

So, Doc, what does this, what's the meaning of the Hebrew word to get? That Hebrew word is Kone, which basically means, or literally means, to purchase, to acquire, to grab, if you will. It suggests that this is active, it's deliberate. not just something, well, you receive by osmosis. If I hung around my uncle long enough, some of that wisdom will rub off. No, more than that, it's out there pursuing it. It's buying it. It's listening. It's investing time, which is the greatest resource to purchase wisdom with. Now, also in the Hebrew, the word of heart there is thought, in Hebrew thought, the heart

is the seat of the intellect, not up here, but here, and that the spirit resided in your lower, in your bowels, but that your intellect resided here in your heart and your emotions. And so

what's saying here is supplying everything, the prudent man, you know, is investing everything. And then they got that word prude. King James is kind of funky on this because it really doesn't expand the full definition but it's someone who discerns and understands the reality of the situation around them but also God's divine order and so it's putting in a sharp contrast between the simple person who will believe anything a prudent person is discerning

under control of the Spirit of God, following God's divine order. So the ultimate fulfillment of this prudent heart that's been talking about here in this first half is Christ. And that's the Bible says, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. So I would say this, if you really want to pursue wisdom, you're going to pursue Christ first. And then he's going to take you into the path. ways of wisdom that you need to know. Yes.

Fall in love with Jesus. Fall in love with the man, who he is. And then fall in love with what he is. Fall in love with his principle. Later, I mean, you won't even be bothered about what he owns. Once you fall in love with who he is, what he owns is, it's secondary.

that'll all come to you. Doc, there is a, I'm thinking, there's like a paradox here. Wisdom is a free gift. It's free. Yes. What you have to labor and work to get it. Okay. So what is the true, what is it?

What's the price of wisdom? What is it? At the core, what is it? The pursuit. That's right. Pursuit is the currency. Pursuit. It's free. God says, here's wisdom. I'm going to bring my treasure chest out every day.

And I'm going to open up the lids and all the wisdom, the jewels, the diamonds, the gold bars. It's all in there. It's open. But you have to come and see. seek it. You have to make an effort to get up early in the morning and seek wisdom. It's free. And I'm not going to make it difficult for you to find it. In fact, wisdom stands in the city gate and cries out, hey, fools, anybody wants some wisdom? Wisdom makes it easy. But this is saying that you have to pursue it. You have to make the

effort, there's a transaction. That's what this is talking about. There's a, this word, this Hebrew word for forgetteth, literally means to purchase, to acquire. There is a, like a business transaction taking place. I know a lot of religious people are, oh, you're saying that God's selling wisdom? No, he's telling you, he's giving it away free, but you got to work to get it. Why doesn't make sense. If it's free, you just lay it on me. No. He's not going to treat you like a spoiled little baby. He's developing character. He's developing good traits in you. Yes. And he's not just going to give it to you. He's saying it's here. It's free. Come and get it. But you've got to get up and look for it. Get it. You got to get it. Get it.

Get it, get it, get it, all right? And what is, he's happy to give it to you. Amen. He's desiring to give it to you. And the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. So now we go from the heart, right, to the ear. And that wisdom requires both the inward desire and the outward attention. Yes.

His heart must desire wisdom, and the ear must be willing to listen for wisdom and instructions of where to find it. Which goes back to the beginning of this lesson. What was Solomon talking about? Don't be interrupting people when they're talking. And now what God is saying to you and me is, don't interrupt me when I'm telling you where to find wisdom. Listen The ear of the wise is trained to listen

and to listen carefully and it filters it actions a filter that blocks out gossip blocks out foolishness silliness so the ear has to play

an active role as a filter there are some things you should not listen to amen see you are to get the street you are not to sit and listen to a gossiper you know I mean this may sound contradictory wait a minute one time you're saying you got to listen to somebody

and the next time you say you got to walk out yes yes your ear is to filter if what is being said is contrary to the divine order, walk out. Train your ear only to listen to those things that are spoken in harmony with the divine order. Amen. Your life will be better.

Okay. This is, again, seeketh knowledge. Think of a hunter. The hunter's got an ear. the hunter's listening for sounds the hunter is actively pursuing and tracking down wisdom but the hunter's ear is listening carefully listening for instructions all of this is God training us to listen to him it's what this is really about

train your heart to listen to the spirit's voice turn off the noise of the world stop listening to gossipers turn off the junk or the podcasters and all that and train your ear to listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit yes and the Holy Spirit will lead you to the treasure chest

full of wisdom and the lids open and you can get get get yes and you know what doc there's never a crowd there amen there's never a crowd there's only a couple other people there and you're so delighted to see somebody else is seeking wisdom you're like hey come on there's so there's plenty here that's right come on over i got plenty and the other person said well i got so much over here you know but you're welcome to it but there's no crowd. Yeah.

Because the crowd is down, head the other end of town, listening to the junk. Right. Well, Rick, I know we're kind of limited on time. We want to get to our final verse, but the only other thing I would add to this is we put the whole verse

together. Solomon is doing a real play on words here. It's not evident in the English, but in the Hebrew it is. So that word for seeketh, is the Hebrew word derrish. But what's funny about that is

the root word for it is to look. Like looking with your eyes. And so it's a play here. The ear of the wise looks for knowledge. What we can do if we put the whole verse together, Solomon says, you know what, acquiring wisdom is more than just what happens in your heart. heart that you're getting. You have to activate your physical abilities to access some of that

wisdom. You have to be listening so much it's like you're looking for it. That's the play of words that Solomon is using here. The ear looking. Your air doesn't look, but what he's saying is every part of your physical being should be in the pursuit of God's wisdom for your life. can say, well, in my heart, God knows where I'm at. Hell yeah. Well, faith without works is dead. If you truly want to receive wisdom, you've got to get your ear working. You're here looking for wisdom. And that encompasses your whole spirit, your whole physical body, too.

Amen. I'll give you one quote. Then we'll move in the last verse. The Charles Spurgeon said, The wise man's heart is a purse that is never full. Always room for more. His ear is a funnel. gathering wisdom from every quarter, if you are done learning, you are done living.

And that's the truth. All right, one more verse. Verse 16, a man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. Okay. I've heard this verse quoted all my Christian life, Rick, and I've yet to have heard a really good explanation of it. I don't know if I'm going to give you what. What have you heard it? How have you heard it? Well, I've heard it in terms of a calling on your life or a call to ministry or that if you give a gift, the bigger the gift, the more room it makes for you and greet you access. So I've

heard variations on this, but I think what we're going to discover today is this has a completely different meaning than what's commonly been thrown out there. And why don't you take it? Go ahead. First of all, Solomon is putting forth a recognized principle, okay? That it's almost universal in every culture. Generosity acts like a battering ram. It breaks down barriers and clears obstacles.

And so the one gift here is the, key word. Okay. So when words failing, credentials are ignored. A gracious offering often unlocks the door of relationship. We're not talking about this as a bride or anything like that, but there's a principle there. It may get through. It literally means to broaden or expand. So, and we can see here that that generosity is not necessarily financially. It could be time. It could be service. It could be encouragement. So what this verse is teaching us is that stinginess withholding a gift is really a form of self-sabotop. So by holding on too tight, we are actually suffocating the opportunities that God is presenting and sending our way. So that gift could mean one's natural talents or

or maybe gifts that God has given them, the callings, spiritual endowments. When you exercise your God-given gift with excellence, doesn't the world make space for you? I mean, that's been my experience. The more I've lived within my calling, the more opportunities God opens up. Okay.

So the principle here is very simply. If you want to expand your influence, and everybody wants to be an influencer today, right? They're trying to figure out, how do I get more social media views here? How can I do this? If you really, really, really want to expand your sphere of influence, you've got to expand your sphere of generosity. There's no way around it.

So a gift disarms suspicion. It signals to the recipient that you've come to bless and not to take. And this challenges us to view our resources not as a fortress of protection like we talked about earlier here in chapter 18, but as a bridge that allows us to connect and to connect with others. And so, like I said, that word gift there is different than the word that Solomon uses in other passages where he uses the word bride. No, this is a genuine gift, a gift of the heart.

So it's not a corrupted gift or anything like that. So I just want to make that clear in case there was any confusion. Well, what's the difference between this and a bribe? There is a big difference here. But having this verse and everything is really eye-opening because I was taught something completely different. When you visit an influential person, whether it's a political leader, a business executive, a religious leader, whatever, Or somebody of high importance and influence and status, it is considered good manners to take a gift. Absolutely.

And the higher up the person, the better that gift's got to be. Yes. Okay? Because they've already seen a lot of gifts. They've already received a lot of stuff. So you have to do your homework. What does this man like? What does this woman?

What impresses her? What is it that really would make that man or woman smile if I handed that gift to them? Okay. I mean, for me, what else? Yeah, if you're going to be Jordan, you don't want to, you know, say, hey, here's a gift card for, it takes a steakhouse. And so, no, you're going to find the gift that's appropriate for the relationship that you find yourself in. Now, folks, this is business wisdom, too. for you.

Right. I mean, this is something you can take to heart. And don't be stingy. Don't be stingy in your business dealings or in your giving.

I'm learning that more and more. The more I open up my hand, it seems like God's opening more opportunities. And so, yeah. And I would encourage everyone here on Morning Manon today to really consider this verse today. Open up your hearts.

Open up the generosity of your hearts. It'll make room for you. your influence will expand the more generous that you are. He'll bring you before kings, won't it, Rick? Yes, absolutely. It will. I had a flashback when I was

a young guy I don't know, something. She was like everything I ever did was in my 30s. I was working at a television network in Washington, D.C. I was a marketing manager there for a television network.

And I don't remember the details they I arranged a visit from an important delegation I think they were from Japan and they wanted to get into our offices okay I arranged for the visit

you know and everything and so they came in and I had the chairman I had the whole board of directors of the organization there and and so the leader of this delegation and handed me this gift.

Doc, it was like a giant Fabrizate egg. I mean, it was this big painted egg with jewels. Yeah, I still can see it. It was like, this thing is, it was exquisite. It had all kinds of little gyms on it. It was beautiful. It was a stand that it sat on. And I'm like, oh, thank you.

And he's like saying to me, Rick, we were so. grateful for all that you did to bring us here to get us in here to see everybody we wanted to give you this gift I'm like okay I don't know what I'm going to do with this big

egg okay but thank you I'll take it on to the kids they'll put candy in it well they we'll cut the top off we'll cut the top off and fill up with jelly beans

and let's something So I'm, you know, I'm like, oh, thank you, thank you. I've always wanted this big egg, okay? But it was, I knew it was expensive, okay? Like, I've never seen anything like this before, okay? We don't have any birds here in Western Maryland have laid eggs this big, okay. But anyhow, as the group was leaving the room to go to the next,

you know, like they were going to the, you know, the conference room, okay? And they were being led out. The chairman of the board of the company I worked for, he taps me on the shoulder and goes, Rick, give me the egg. It's my. Okay. I go, oh, okay.

I'm going to say, you know, I don't ever remember seeing a giant egg in your office or anything. No, I never carried it away on it. He took it from me. He said, Rick, give me the. egg, it's mine. I said, yes, sir, you can have the egg, okay? But he knew it was valuable. He recognized the value of it. Right. And he was the chairman. He was like, if anybody's going home with his egg, it's me, okay? I'm going to put that on my, on my fireplace mantle. So this is what this is talking about. I don't want to spend much more time about it. It's just

saying, wisdom will tell you when it's time to present a nice gift to somebody. Right. Not to get in the door, but after you've gotten in the door, to show your appreciation, to show your recognition. I recognize you as a very important person. I recognize you as, that your time is important, that you're allowing me here, and I recognize it, and I appreciate it, and here is this gift. It's recognizing the divine order, isn't it? Yeah, it's the divine order. And I'll just tell you, it's classy. See, I'll just, it's classy. You're just acting with some class. You're showing, you're showing this person, you're not a country bumpkin. That you recognize their status, their importance, their role. That you took time to figure out a gift that was

appropriate. That's right. And so it brings you before great men. Amen. It was. It will take you before the highest officials all right god will get you in those places uh matthew henry said those that have gifts of wisdom or grace must use them for the benefit of others and they will make room for now see doc he's using estes that's the explanation that you were talking about earlier a gift offered with humility and respect gains favor and opens a way of access it is not a bribe to prefer justice but a token of respect to express love. G. Campbell Morgan said a man's gift makes room for him.

It enlarges his sphere and brings him before great men, repeating the proverb. The exercise of a gift is the surest way to the recognition of the giver. I'll read that again. The exercise of the gift is the surest way to the recognition of the giver. In other words, what he's saying there is understanding the purpose of the gift and the reception of the gift beforehand grants you access to those that you give things to. Amen. And Alexander McLaren said, a gift is a key that opens many doors.

It brings a man into the presence of the great. The world is so constituted that the hand that is full of gifts is the hand that will be shaken. Yes. Do you think McLaurin handed out gifts at times? Yeah. I bet whenever he would go before royalty, he always had a gift. He was the first president of the World Baptist Alliance, I think 1905, somewhere in that early 1900s. The man had international access. He lived in Great Britain. Obviously, I don't know if he ever met any of the monarchy. But he understood the principle. He was wise. He knew if that occasion occurs, then I know what to do. And that's what G. Campbell Morgan was saying. The exercise of the gift is the sure's way

to the recognition of the giver. The giver will be recognized. That's right. All right. That's it for today. Great lesson. Great lesson. It's good. And you'll remember that big egg story. That's right. I'll be asking about the egg again sometime in the future. Well, we want to encourage everybody to join us again tomorrow. Tomorrow will be on Wednesday as we continue in Proverbs 18. And we'd love for you to invite a friend to come and listen.

As Rick said, this Friday is going to be our last day for 2025, not the last day of morning man. Make that clear. The last day of 2025, we'll take a brief break to the end of the year, and then everything gets restart at the beginning of the year as we ramp up toward TV broadcast again the first week of February. So a lot of things happening. New Manitination site coming as well, and we appreciate your prayers and your support.

Love you. Nothing's changing as far as contacting us, phone numbers, mailing addresses and everything. If anything changes, I guarantee you, You will be the first to know. We'll let you know. Absolutely. And don't send me any big eggs, all right?

I got an egg for you. So, all right, God bless you. You'll be thinking about eggs until tomorrow, won't you? All right. God bless you. We'll see you. Bye-bye. Bye.