TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Morning Manna - October 20, 22025 - Proverbs 14:26-30 - Fortress, Fountain, and Heart: The Strength of Reverent Living

Episode Date: October 20, 2025

Proverbs 14:26–30 traces the full circle of wisdom—from the fortress of godly fear to the fountain of life, from stable leadership to self-control and inner peace. This Morning Manna study with Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart unveils how reverence builds confidence, patience displays understanding, and a healed heart sustains the flesh—showing that true strength begins in worship and ends in wholeness. Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting FaithandValues.com, calling 1-800-576-2116, 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 on this wonderful, beautiful Monday morning. We're delighted to have you with us to study the Word of God. We are approaching the end of chapter 14, and our verses today are 26 through 30. Proverbs 14, verses 26 through 30. Let's invite the Holy Spirit. Then Dr. Burkhart will read the scriptures and we'll begin our lesson. Almighty God, Father in heaven, Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for life. We thank you for salvation through your son, Jesus Christ. We thank you for the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of us. We also thank you for your word that guides us and is light to our feet, Father.

We come together as sons and daughters. in your kingdom and we ask humbly father for a holy spirit to take charge and lead this bible study and illuminate our hearts and minds to understand your word so that we would be better disciples and witnesses for your son jesus christ in his glorious name we pray amen amen and good morning everyone all around the world we are privileged to have you here today to join us for this international bible study which we conduct every weekday morning at 8 a.m. And for those of you who are able to be with us live, you can actually interact with us here by posting your comments or questions that you might have about the passages that we cover.

And when I say it's an international audience, we have people from Russia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Australia, all around the world across all the U.S. and Canada as well, so we are definitely privileged to have you here. Usually anywhere between 3 and 400 people are with us live, plus the thousands that join us in the recorded version. We are in Proverbs chapter 14 today, continuing our journey there. We're going to pick back up today on verse 26, reading verse 26 through 30. I'm reading from the King James.

In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a found. of life to depart from the snares of death. In the multitude of people is the king's honor, but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince. He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding, but he that is hasty of spirit exulteth folly. A sound heart is the life of the flesh, but envy the rottenness of the bones.

bless the reanimous word today as we continue on in the practical applications in chapter 13 14 15 of day-to-day wisdom amen um verse 26 king james in the fear of the lord is strong confidence and his children shall have a place of refuge the aramaic peshita translation in the fear of the lord is strong trust and his children shall have hope and protection the subduigent translation in the fear of the lord is hope of strength and to his children he will leave a support we'll begin with the first part of this verse in the fear of the lord is strong confidence we've gone over this many times about the definition of the fear the fear of god so we all know we're not talking about a dreadful state of terror yes we're talking about reverent awe an awareness of the holiness of god

of his majesty and awe that leads to obedience yes because Some will bow before the Lord in awe, but that's reflected in the terror of the judgment of God. Whereas fear for the righteous person leads to obedience and to holiness and to righteous in their life. The more awe you have of God, the easier it is to obey him. So this fear is the birthplace of our stability. It sedues pride. It quiets our anxiety. It roots our courage in the reality that's divine rather than our human self-assurance.

strong confidence the Hebrew words for strong confidence denote a fortified trust it's like a fortified tower it's not a passing emotion this is a confidence that is fortified like a military tower yes so our our courage see in the fear of the Lord is strong confidence our confidence our courage owes from humility those who fear God fear nothing else you cannot frighten a man or woman who fears God no matter which you threaten them with the fear of the lord produces a moral backbone not timidity it strengthens the conscience against compromise the lack of reverence breeds insecurity but reverence builds endurance

and so dependence on God becomes the secret of our strength so doc look at this we have two seemingly opposite qualities fear and confidence like that that doesn't go together yeah how can you have

how can fear produce confidence in our human mind we we we see somebody who's fearful is you know cowering in the corner how can that be confident but in the kingdom economy fear and confidence go together yes it's interesting uh i was up pretty early this morning i turned on the television and watched the news and there was a shampoo commercial that came on and the lady she's washing her hair and everything and at the end of the commercial you know really the only thing you buy a shampoo for is what to clean your hair but the tagline was the the confidence it gives a woman in a bottle you bring in in in in

our world confidence comes in a bottle i didn't know that yeah but that's not true confidence is it no no that's what madison avenue devised for a television commercial to convince you that you'd feel more confident if your hair was really pretty now what this is telling us is that holy fear of god is the soil in which our confidence grows yes so the fear of god restrains sin and empowers service it corrects self-trusts courage under pressure our missing brother is going to have some testimonies of courage of courage I have to trust God that he's safe. Some people listening to me right now,

you don't know what I'm talking about because you're not in the live class that we hold here. And so I chatted with the live classmates that are online with me at 8 a.m. I chatted about a missing brother. It's been missing for a week. I believe he's missing because of his. His witness for Christ in an Islamic country.

And so, Doc, I've personally, you know, this past week with him missing, myself, I'm emotionally, I'm emotionally troubled, I've lost interest in just about everything I was working on. I, I, there's nothing that I can really be excited about right now. I have a missing son. And I don't know if he's being tortured. I don't know if he's being beaten. I don't know what's happening to him. Okay. And yet I pray to God and I,

I know that the Lord knows about his situation. The Lord sees it all. And I'm, I'm like, I haven't asked the Lord why, but I have thought it. Why haven't you rescued him yet? And so I have to rest. I have to rest in the assurance, the knowledge that our father is working in this situation to touch many hearts. I have no idea what's going on behind the scenes.

And our brother is being, he's being tested. He's being tested. Does he have his faith in God? Will he break under pressure? If he is being held because of his. Christian faith are they pressuring him to renounce Christ it gets real serious now

doesn't it those who know what I'm talking about but the fear of God the fear of God that's in my brother's heart gives him confidence puts a different light on this first

now, doesn't it? Yes. The wise are constantly aware of God's presence even if you're in a prison cell. Even if your life is being threatened, they are aware of God's presence. The wise says, I'd rather die

confessing Christ. than to live, renouncing him. So this is a, this confidence is a trust that's rooted deep in the character of the faithful God who defends his own. And that's what I rest on. God defends his own. Amen. And at some point.

our brother in christ will be released and liberated but doc he won't be the same man this this week whatever has happened to him this will have changed him and i will say that he'll be a stronger christian so in the fear of the Lord and nowhere else can you find lasting security only the fear of the Lord endures unshakable through trials and tribulations it's the fear of the Lord that will get our brother through this crisis that he fears God more than he fears his captors and his children shall have a place of refuge so the second half of this verse reveals a generational fruit of reverent faith the security of your family under divine shelter this is a promise from god if you fear him

your children shall have a place of refuge children include your biological offspring and your spiritual offspring. Yes. The young man who is missing is my spiritual son. He's just as much of my family as my son, Jeremy, and daughter, Carissa. And the word says,

and his children shall have a place of refuge. And so I'm standing on this scripture today. Oh, dear God. Our brother who is missing in Jordan, he shall have a place of refuge. Even in captivity, he will have a place of refuge. he's not the first saint to be locked up he wouldn't be the first saint to be led out of a prison by an angel

we're not exempt from tribulation but we know that our children shall have a place of refuge a divine shelter refuge the Hebrew word again like the other word for tower this refuge is a fortress a sanctuary a place defended by divine presence amen your children shall have a place of safety that is defended by the presence of God. The Lord Jesus doesn't have to physically show up. It's just his presence.

He can send his presence somewhere and occupy your place of captivity. Amen. And make it a place of refuge. let me think of her name jessica jessica i can't think of her last name first name was jessica this happened 30 some years ago dog what was her name some of you in texas some of you in texas may remember this a little girl her name was jessica and she fell into a water well oh yes remember that story do you remember the story yeah i remember that i was every news network you know was covering it they had the live crews there and little baby jessica had fallen down

into a well mcclure jessica mcclure yeah was it was in mcclure jessica mcclure she she lived in in midland texas this is over 30 years ago and the lord that day when i heard about it the lord told me to take off work mcclure you got was it jessica mcclure you got it Doc, the Holy Spirit told me to take off a day of work and pray and intercede for that child all day. And I did. I prayed the entire, I fasted and prayed for that child. And it seems to me like another day went by. She was in that well for over a day.

And on the next day, and I wanted to say it was a Friday. and it was sometime around 6 or 7 p.m. It could have been 8. Sometime in the evening of the first responders were able to get her out of that well. And I remember sitting in front of the TV set, I was on the floor, sitting on the floor watching it, and the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said,

not a bone shall be broken and I told some of the people in the room with me I said the Lord just said not a bone will be broken and a few minutes later the

news announcer said we just got word from one of the medical examiners the child is absolutely fine she doesn't have one broken bone the one thing I remember in the next day or two the stories came out that the little girl Jessica said that a man dressed in all white clothing

sat in the hole with her they asked her if she was afraid to be in that dark hole by herself and she said no there was a man dressed in white who stayed with me that's the divine presence that's the divine presence that's the divine presence

that the divine presence will show up even when you are in a dark place and he will turn that dark place into a refuge the presence of the Lord can turn a prison cell into a sanctuary

It's the presence. Do you understand? It's the presence. You need to seek the presence. His presence. Make your home a place of his presence. Make everything about your life a place where his presence is at ease as well. come to if there are people in your life who are disrupting the peace you've got to separate from them you have to or you have to separate from their disorder

you have to rise above it you have to stay in his presence so this says and his children shall have a place of refuge so what this says is that the promise extends the blessing of godly fear reverence beyond the person who fears the Lord

that those who honor God become channels of safety for others yes so there's a it says godly fear creates a spiritual inheritance that it builds walls of protection around descendants in your life your children and grandchildren shall have some degree of divine protection so the righteous parents faith becomes a living shelter. And I'll say this right now. If one of the spouses, one of the parents is unsaved and one is saved, the one who is saved, God will honor your faith and your obedience. Yes. And he will put protection around your children. He'll help you develop, shape a moral climate in which

children grow secure. Doc, I've been, I spent a weekend here at the office, daytimes. I've got a mountain of boxes I've been carrying with me for 30 some years. And, you know, I've been telling our class, you know, the Lord is telling me light in the load, become light on your feet, it's time to jettison a lot of stuff. Right now, I don't know. I don't know what's coming. I just know the Lord is telling me, it's time to get rid of a lot of stuff, be light on your feet, be agile, be nimble, be able to move quickly.

Don't be carrying a lot of stuff. Well, I've got this mountain of boxes and containers. I've been carrying for decades with stuff in it. My whole life's in these boxes. No, it's not. meetings and travel itineries and receipts and photograph and I say oh the weekend I'm going through box after box after box and what can I throw away okay and I threw away well except what I put on your desk yeah I got it it's pretty interesting stuff there too

yes yeah so I did put a mountain of stuff on your desk I'd come across oh my doc names of so many true news guests who have passed away and left this world yes I was looking at some of those that you had put on my death copies of emails between me and those guests they're gone you know Tom Horn you know Gordon Thomas You know, I was looking at an email from Gordon Thomas, asking me would I publish his newest book? Okay. And then also letters, letters from partners of this ministry who are no longer here, but they've gone home to be with the Lord. Because I would stop and go, oh, there's a name I've not heard for a long time.

And I looked up online and there's her obituary. I'm like, oh, they're gone. It's tough. And he started thinking, wow, I've outlived a lot of these people. And you know what, Doc, you always tell me, Rick, all you've got to do is outlive all the other ones, all right? So I have to be first. You just have to outlive everybody. But, you know, and I was tossing things away.

like you know what either i throw these things away or the week after i die somebody's going to have to throw this stuff away isn't that the truth think about it doc that's what hit me i thought about that there was a somber thought to me yesterday rick you're not 40 years old anymore you're in your 70s you're carrying things around in boxes from your 40s like throw it away is when you pass away your children are going to have to throw this stuff away they're not going to take it with them they won't know what it means they don't know connections or anything no but here's the one thing this is how i went on this road i came across a paper a pledge i made to all mighty God in the 1980s.

Jeremy and Carissa were children. They were in school. And I pledged to God that I would spend one hour every night teaching the Word of God to my children. Doc, I forgot about that

pledge. But the Lord showed it to me. It's like, do you Rick, do you understand? You made a commitment. You raised a Christian son and a Christian daughter. I'm telling you this because what this is telling us, this verse, is that godly fear establishes a spiritual inheritance.

Reverence for God builds walls of protection around your descendants. A righteous parent's faith becomes a living shelter, shaping the moral climate in which the children grow secure. I remember one time in church, and I would say Jeremy was probably 13, 14 years old at the time in his father's day. And the pastor said, on this father's day, we're going to have children come up on the platform and tell us what thought stands out the most about their father. Oh, boy. Oh, my Lord. Oh, no, don't do this. Oh, no.

I was like, Jeremy's going to. get even you know he's going to do something really really onry you know he's never put an unknown factor on the platform that's right wow but doc i brace myself because i really expected i'd speak to jeremy to do something onry and just make me embarrassed you know but he didn't you know what he said he said the one thing i will remember about my dad is seeing him on his knees praying for us. Praise God. I mean, I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

But you know what, Doc? I didn't know they saw me. I didn't know. I just thought it was in the privacy of prayer. I didn't realize my kids saw me praying, not just once or twice. but daily. Thank God.

That's what stood out in his mind. So what is the legacy you're leaving, your children and your grandchildren? You can build a refuge of safety for them. By your example, by prayer? It's a haven of truth in a lying world. Yes. His righteousness is to his children's children.

John Gill said, In the fear of the Lord lies solid confidence, for it rests on his power and promise. Those that thus trust him shall leave behind them a refuge for their children. Charles Bridges, the trembling heart is the safest for its fear is faith. The reverence makes a man brave in his home, a sanctuary to his children. Alexander McLaren, the awe that bends before God, lives a man erect before the world. His children dwell beneath the shadow of that reverence as under the wings of a great defense.

Che Campbell Morgan, the fear that trusts become strength, and its fruit is safety, first personal, then inherited. William are not, the father's faith builds a fortress whose walls, time cannot crumble. within it his children find rest from the storm I just saw what time it is I got to speed it up here I'm sorry verse 27 the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death the Septuagin says the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life

to cause one to turn aside from the snares of death to start with the first half the fear of the Lord is a fountain life. So we've already talked about the definition of fear of the Lord. So there's a shift in the architectural imagery. We're going from tower, a tower strength, we're now transitioning to a fountain. And what does a fountain represent for in Italy culture, life? Life. Life. I vitality, life. Because nothing lived without water. Self-sustaining spring of spiritual vitality, of flowing stream.

The fountain is a continual source of water. And so spiritually, it means renewal, movement. so the fear of the Lord is now portrayed as life's origin point it irrigates the conscience it refreshes hope it purifies our motives it evokes the rivers of Eden from fellowship with God in his presence in the Garden of Eden flowed nourishment for the whole garden. So from holy fear flows life, vitality into our life. See, the Lord, his presence was in the garden. He walked in the garden with Adam and Eve.

The garden was blessed by his presence. what else could a garden do except to be blessed the creator was walking through the garden he created the creatures made by him Adam and Eve are blessed because they're in his presence the self-reliance is a broken cistern you ever had a broken cistern well if you've never had a cistern you don't know what it's like

but a cistern can have a hole in it and then you got to you got to get inside of and find the hole and patch it where all your water is going to drain out well that's a life that's not built on Christ is a broken cistern. The life's just going to drain out. The wise men and women discover that divine fear does not drain

life, it deepens it. So again, we have this paradox. Earlier we had fear and confidence. Now it's fear and joy. all becomes energy reverence becomes renewal so the fear of the Lord is a circulation of grace

perpetual movement between humility and divine strength the fear of the Lord brings the blessing of the Lord circulating in your life like flowing water to depart from the snares of death these are the hidden entrapments of sin they're alluring they're deceptive they're fatal that reverent fear is an early warning system it awakens your perception

before temptation and tightens its grip on you. Yes. When Satan lays a trap for you, he doesn't spring it suddenly. It's gradually. And then at the right moment for Satan, then he grabs you.

But Reverend Fear alerts you. You're near a trap. You better run. So it says departs, to depart from the snares of death. That means you've made a deliberate decision to move, to put some distance between you and temptation. It's not an accidental escape, but it's on purpose. You made a decision to depart from the snares of death. and notice it says snares as plural yes there's plenty of them a lot of them you can you can successfully escape 90% of them but if you if you fall for one of them you might as well have gone for all of them so don't judge the other person that you see so hey

He fell, he got a caught in a sin. No, you have a different sin. There can be pride, there can be lust, it can be greed, there can be deceitfulness. There's all kinds of sins. Don't you worry about the other person? You worry about yourself. Charles Bridges, holy fear is the fountainhead of holiness. From it flow streams of living.

obedience that carry the soul away from death's enticements. Adam Clark, reverence for God gives life to the soul, preserves it from corruption. It is both the well of grace and a wall of safety. Alexander McLaren reverence is the pulse of spiritual life where that fear flows, death's traps lie dry, for the stream of divine life floods them over. Charles Spurgeon, the fear of the Lord is the life spring of holiness. It makes the soul flee from the serpent's coils and drink of immortal waters. Oh, wow.

Verse 28, King James, in the multitude of people is the king's honor, but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince. Septuagint, in the abundance of people is the glory. glory of a king. But in the failure of people is the ruin of a governor. All right. So let's take the first half. And the multitude of people is the king's honor.

So the proverb now is moving from our private virtues. It now moves into the public arena. Right. The wisdom that governs nations or the lack of wisdom that governs nations.

so in ancient times the the strength of a ruler of a king a prince a governor was not in his armies or the queen's armies or the king or queen's wealth but in the well-being of his people Great Britain is a common wealth it says that the king the monarch has a duty to protect and enhance the common wealth of the kingdom right so multitude here obviously

it's signifying the population okay and it's saying that the citizens should be prosperous united under the rule of a just king or prince or governor right they should be blessed it should the king's honor doesn't come from the king decreeing you will honor me but it comes from the people loving and respecting and supporting the king right because he's a good king a good prince and the people are blessed they're protected they're fed um there are no worries about the safety of of the nation and so that's his honor that's his glory a true king magnifies his people but a tyrant diminishes them the people are not happy with a tyrant but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince what's the greatest threat to a kingdom

the people become unhappy they become hungry the economy is bad the government is corrupt at some point the people will rise up and overthrow the king or the prince look what happened and what was it in was it Indonesia Malaysia Nepal what country last month the people burned the prime minister's mansion Indonesia was it Indonesia yes that's what this is saying but in the one of people is the destruction of the prince The people of Indonesia said, we've had enough of you. We're going to burn your house down. See, nothing's changed in thousands of years.

Yes. Solomon knew, and I want to stay in power, I better fear the Lord and I better take care of the people. Amen. The one of the people, it actually implies the word implies depopulation desertion

disaffection that people start to leave the kingdom but they leave in their hearts first yes before the feet down so the destruction the ruin that's in this verse it means the king or the prince

He loses downfall. He loses the moral support of his own citizens. And they run him out there, many times through history, kings and princes have been executed by the people, or they flee in exile. So a foolish government is greedy, it's cruel, it's tyrannical, it's unjust. just and in the end it destroys itself. John Gill said a king's glory lies not in conquest but in his subject's prosperity when through his own cruelty or negligence they are diminished he digs his own grave.

Alexander McLaren authority is reflected light a ruler's glory is his people when they fade his splendor dies with them g campbell morgan the greatness of a prince is never solitary it is the chorus of many voices rejoicing under justice william are not the shepherd who loses his flock loses himself the multitude of people is the mirror wherein the ruler's wisdom is seen and charles spurgeon when a ruler's his people gather when he enslaves a scatter God writes the verdict of every government in the number of its joyful citizens okay two more verses verse 29 King James he that is slow to wrath is of great understanding but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly

Septuagint a man slow to wrath is abundant in wisdom but he that is is hasty in spirit is very foolish okay the first half he that is slow to wrath is of great understanding so the phrase slow to wrath means a person who has a restrained temperament his or her emotions are governed they they don't explode with their temper doc the phrase this is interesting i know where you're going what is it slow to wrath uh it's a in the hebrew arabic it's actually meaning long of nostrils yes long of nostrils hey maybe what is why well think about it when you get angry what what what what do you do you you you You take a deep breath, you know, almost like you're gearing up to release something, right?

But those that are slow to wrath, they don't do that. They take a step back. They consider the situation. They don't just react and just do that, you know, get that response immediately out there. And so it's interesting that that phrase is used, long of nostrils. I see it doc as an idiom for patience yes I agree that the person is breathing deeply and slowly to that's the moment when that man or woman is is restraining their emotions they're taking in a deep a deep slow breath long of nostrils thinking I need to Stay quiet. And I don't know if we'll get to this or not, but in the second part of this proverb,

that phrase, hasty of spirit, actually means shorter breath. And so, you know, the way that you react to your situation of circumstances, you know, gets reflected in your body language and in your reaction. You're breathing. Yeah. So Solomon noticed this too. He said, you ever notice somebody when they get angry or if they get upset, they start breathing really fast and everything? He said, you know, these are things to watch.

So there's more to the wisdom here, folks, than just the surface level. So the wise man or woman delays anger into truth. The facts have been weighed. They don't burst out with an emotional response. The patience is always a strength, not a weakness. And to be short-tempered, you end up having a message. You're going to have to clean up later. Okay.

So anger has to be bridled. It has to be controlled. If not, it becomes destructive. To govern your anger is to imitate divine composure. Boy. God restrains themselves, doesn't he? Yes, yes. He is long of nostrils.

You don't want God to be hasty of spirit. But he that is hasty of spirit, exalted folly. Hasty of spirit is impulsive anger, impulsive temper. A soul whose emotions outrun judgment. Exalts means lifts up. So a hasty of spirit person, short-tempered, doesn't govern his or her emotions, lifts up foolishness, puts it on display. I'm going to act like an idiot right now.

I'm going to huff and puff and toss things around and kick the dog. What are you doing? You're putting your foolishness on display. Your anger, unrestrained anger, becomes a self-advertisement of your instability. Everybody sees it. Yes. publicly displayed for everyone to see you know this past weekend we had the the all these no kings rallies across the country we didn't have a king beforehand so but they just i guess they

just want to be sure but what was the common factor you'd see in all the different responses it didn't matter what network was interviewing folks people were just angry just angry about what they didn't know this that guy when we don't want no king well you didn't have a king anyway but you know that's a whole other story but what was the common denominator anger this is anger and I'm sure what they're angry about isn't that and doesn't anger do that to you sometimes you get angry and maybe you get in a fight with your spouse or somebody and you get an argument and then you get far enough in the argument you forget what the argument was all about it just becomes anger at that point just becomes the pain you can inflict on one another

but one that is slow to rat long of nostrils that marks somebody that marks a righteous person she Campbell Morgan said the patient spirit is power under control the hasty spirit is weakness out of control, exalting folly to the throne. William are not. The angry man raises folly as a monument to himself, while the patient man buries wrath before it is born. Charles Spurgeon, the short-tempered, exalt their folly as a tower. The meek hide their wisdom in a calm and quiet spirit. Okay, one more verse. First 30, King James, the sound heart is the life of the flesh, but envy the rottenness of the bones. The Septuagin says

the heart of the meek is the health of the body, but the envy of the heart is a moth in the bones. Yes. It's interesting, isn't it? A moth in the bone. So sound heart is the life of flesh. Sound heart literally means, in the Hebrew words, a healing, tranquil, wholesome heart

a mind and spirit that's at rest that is free from inner turmoil that is not a troubled soul and there are a lot of troubled souls in the world yes they're tormented, they're troubled they don't have inner peace

but a sound heart is a person that has that again a wholesome heart a sound tranquil peaceful heart of course that the heart represents the center of your being your thoughts your desires your affections your emotions so sound heart implies inner peace and harmony and that can only come about with being reconciled to God. Amen. So a person with peace of soul becomes vitality of body. There's a link between moral health and physical strength,

moral health and physical health. Yes. So really, this verse is teaching the psychosomatic wisdom long before modern science said, hey, there's a link between the way people think and the way their body is acting. A lot of diseases are caused by stress. and the stress is caused by being crossways with God. So a peaceful heart sustains the nervous system. And it becomes a strength to your life.

Stress produces cortisol in your body. It's not good. That's why if you're in a stressful environment, you have to make changes. It's physically hurting you. Right. So the body, this is not the universe. It tells us that a calm, peaceful heart is your body's own physician. It's medicine.

A merry heart is medicine to the bones. A happy heart. It's health to you. If you're suffering from a lot of physical ailments, you might want to work on becoming happy. But envy the rottenness of the bones. that specifically says envy yes jealousy is the sin of envy corrupts from within it's a decay that's hidden beneath the surface envy is obviously jealousy jealous resentment of another person's prosperity their physical looks their success their success

something's causing another person to be rotted out from the inside. They don't understand it, that their resentment of another person is actually causing them to rot on the inside. Yes. They're decaying. Going to the doctor. I don't know what this disease is. I don't know why I hurt so much. Well, you might want to look at your heart.

heart yes so we don't do that we don't doctors don't talk to people about their emotions and their their morality so an envious heart is a person who cannot rejoice in another person's blessings yes so what does it do it deprives itself of joy and life and life and the end they shorten their own life rottenness of the bones that word rottenness is the same word to choose in in the old testament for decomposition like decaying flesh yeah you imagine i don't know if you've ever encountered a dead animal in the woods or something like that and that putrid smell the rottenness and it or if you've ever gone and someone has passed away and it's been a day or two

the odor my goodness it it's striking it's uh it's recognizable it's putrid there's no other way to describe it but that's the same word that's being used here that putridness that's what envy does to your to your body physically but people can be jealous of another person's happiness. People can be jealous of another person's walk with God. I've encountered this, people who have been mean to me, and the only reason is they resent my walk with God. I can't think of any other reason why they resent me. Never done anything against them, haven't been unkind to them. They just mean to me. okay why because they're envious of my walk with god and so there's an inner rot that's spreading

inside their body and their anger their resentment their anxiety their depression all this is flowing from this asset that's in their mind and their heart it's polluting rotting out their physical body, their soul. And so their perceptions blinded by their poison. This envy, this resentment, this jealousy is poison. And it blinds their sight. So envy destroys the very framework of stability. Matthew Henry said

A heart satisfied in God gives health and cheerfulness But envy waste the spirits And praise upon the body Yes Charles Bridges said The calm of contentment is a continual feast Envy is the worm of life It eats while it hides

The worm of life it eats while it hides um Alexander McLaren the sound heart beats in tune with heaven every beats envy beats against itself until it breaks Albert Barnes yeah go ahead dog I was just say just a picture of that evil envy beats it beats it self until it breaks Albert Barnes Presbyterian pastor in Philadelphia envy is self-torture

the passion that punishes itself a tranquil heart resting in God is life to all within its reach G. Campbell Morgan the fear of God quiets the heart and so preserves life envy D thrones peace and breeds inward death.

William are not. The contented heart is a fountain of youth. The envious spirit carries its own skeleton within. And Charles Spurgeon, the man of peace lives twice over, once in his flesh and again in his heart. But envy buries its owner alive. True. And Spurgeon. Okay, doc, that's it for today. I'm over the time limit.

All right. Well, another great lesson, Rick. Some very practical lessons that we derive from this passage of scripture here today. And you're going to see that same pattern throughout the rest of chapter 14 and even as we get in the chapter 15. We're in that practical application of wisdom in day-to-day life. And I hope you are applying these words of wisdom in everyday life as well. Jesus embodies wisdom, and by studying the scripture here in the book of Proverbs, we are putting the life of Jesus to practice in our own lives today.

And Proverbs does not hold back on our personal responsibility or our public responsibility in displaying wisdom as well. Hey, I want to remind you that Rick's new book, Megafire, is available right now. And I want to encourage you to get it if you haven't gotten it so far, we still have copies available we'd love for you to have a copy of your own go to megafire dot world megafire is all one word uh when you go to the website megafire dot world and you can order multiple copies of megafire what is megafire well it's rick's latest book on america's next fourth turning crisis rick analyzes uh cycles that he has observed and others have observed

and he's compiled that in this book. This is really a manual in how to live over the next five to ten years and dealing with the ups and downs of the economy, environment, political upheaval, wars. The war cycles talk about various cycles in this book. Megafire.world is where you can order it, and I encourage you to do that today. Praise God. Rick, any other thoughts as we start off this week of Morning Manna? Now, you all know what's on my heart, you know what to pray.

I can't rest until there's a answer to this prayer. So just keep praying. And those of you who were in the class earlier, you know what I'm referring to. Okay, so all right, on that note, we encourage you to continue to continue to pray for that situation no matter where you're at in the world and god does hear our prayers we're confident in that god bless you we love you and we will see you tomorrow on the next edition of morning manna