DO NOT BE WICKED!(4).

*WISDOM FOR TODAY.*

*DO NOT BE WICKED! (4)*

*Scripture Treasure.*

Isaiah 26:10 *Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.*

*Insight and Highlight.*

You can not appease the wicked.

*Scripture Commentaries.*

Wickedness is stuck in the hearts of those who practice it.

It is good you pray to God to send away any wicked person from you and/or if they operate around you but you do not know, pray God to shield you from them.

Isaiah tells us that if you try to show favour to them in order to appease them or be at peace with them, they will not learn to be upright because of your good works.

Jesus teaches us that knowing Him would help us to first *"....Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;...."*, Lk 6:27-28, and second is *"....If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."*, Rom 12:18

These are possible because Jesus said so but if we do so on our own decision, as Isaiah wrote, it would be almost impossible to appease a wicked person.

We must understand the language of Isaiah compared to Jesus'.

Some of us often see favour as a way to appease the wicked but Isaiah is teaching us that favour can not change a wicked heart. It cannot change a wicked heart without divine intervention.

As much as favour is good, but doing it without God is fruitless.

Proverbs tell us that only the fear of God excels even when favour and beauty are present.

Pro 31:30: *Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.*

Just because someone shows you favour may not mean they love you from their hearts.

King Saul gave his daughter to David as a snare, not out of love.

1 Sam 18:21 *And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain.*

Your first step in life is to pray fervently to overcome your enemies.

Trying to favour the wicked outside God is like helping yourself without God helping you.

While favour is good, it can only be taken as love if you carry God along. God will translate favour to be His love and whereever the love of God is, there God is!

*Remorse corner.*

Let favour be done in the fear of God not in the fear of your enemies.

*Call to Word action.*

The wicked are too wicked to change from their wickedness. They are committed to it.

They can be united, not in love for one another, to achieve an evil end.

*The Christian clarion duty.*

The wicked means their evil business but are you minding God's business as a believer?

Acts 23:12. *And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.*

*Prayer.*

Lord, regardless of what the enemies do, let them never succeed over me in Jesus name.

Good morning all, and be blessed as you come into His presence today.

God bless you.

Shalom.