[Gary Antion] Did you know that the largest snowflake recorded measures 15 inches across? That's a pretty large snowflake. Did you know the Casu Marzu a Sardinian cheese contains live maggots that could actually jump 5 inches out of the cheese as you eat it? That comes from "Incredibly Weird Facts" from Buzzfeed.com. The DeMilked.com has unbelievable facts that are completely true. Number seven says this. “A cloud typically weighs 1.1 million pounds.” So when you see those clouds overhead hope that it doesn't fall on you. “99 Facts” from blogspot.com, Did you know “your body sheds 10 billion flakes of skin every day.” So just sitting here, you're shedding flakes of skin all over the place. Where’s the cleaners? Get him in here! Okay. Did you know that “the average human being will eat eight spiders while asleep in your lifetime.” Eight spiders. It's good to have some salt and pepper right by your bedside.

Did you know that “children grow faster in springtime than in any other season?” So, get ready to buy them new clothes for the summer because they'll have grown already by springtime. Did you know that “the strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue?” It's also the deadliest. Okay. That's number 486. Number 58, did you know that “children laugh 400 times a day?” That's on average. And that adults laugh 15. No wonder there's so much unhappiness in this world. So you ought to start laughing more, that would be great. Okay, and number 90, now don't switch hands on how you write. “Right-handed people live on an average nine years longer than left-handers.” So if you're a left-hander switch hands, and no, no cheating now, but right-handers do. So those are some knowledge for you. Used to be a book out that I couldn't find. I had it. It says, How to Know More and More About Less and Less.

Now those are facts and that's knowledge. Pretty soon schools and colleges will begin, in fact in about two to three weeks. My grand-daughter in Nebraska, began her senior year of high school just over a week and a half, she'll start school again. Students will go to learn and to receive general and more specific knowledge and instruction so that they can navigate their way through life. And the goal when you go to school is to get knowledge, right? Gain knowledge, hopefully, useful knowledge, hopefully, practical knowledge.

It's exciting to go back to school, whether you're going back to school as a young person or whether you're going back to school as a collegiate person, it's exciting to go back. New classes, new instructors, new schedules, new circumstances, new situation, maybe even new clubs if it's on campus, but I used to really enjoy going back to school. You see, I lived on a farm, well, a rural area. We didn't farm, we just lived there about a mile and three quarters from town. When I came home from school, I was home. I didn't go back into town, so I didn't fraternize with all my buddies that I made in school, all my friends, I had to be back on the farm and that was great for me. I had a loving family. We did lots of things, I was never bored. We had a wonderful time. But I was so excited after three months to go back to school and see what they looked like. “Have they changed? Has the girl that I like gotten cuter, have the guys gotten taller, who's gotten taller and bigger and brawnier?” And every year you'd go back and of course, you always go back to school with your new clothes, your new duds, you know, your new threads on.

And I was always excited to go that first day, well, “I wonder if they'll like this outfit, I wonder if they'll like this outfit?” And I used to like to wear cowboy type outfit. So I have cowboy shirts of different types that I would usually get the new year. And so I can't wait to go to school so they could see these nice shirts, wear these nice threads. So all those things happen and occur. “Will I like my new teachers, will I like my instructors?” Maybe you're going to college. Back to school shopping, “I can't wait!” Take your new backpack, your new iPhone or whatever you're allowed to take get into school. “Will I have an easy time getting off for the Holy Days?” as we heard in the sermonette. “Will I have an easy time getting off or will I have trouble?”

I remember our daughter went to school in Arcadia, California, Jan. And she was excited to be in high school and I don't know, it was 9th or 10th grade. Anyway she right away, the Feast was real early in September. And she was barely into school a couple of weeks and she needed to get off and so she saw her… we sent notes to the teachers. The teachers all said, sure she could go, except the math teacher had on his syllabus, “If you miss a test, you fail the test. There's no reason for getting off. You miss it, you fail.” So she looked at her schedule, she had a couple of tests in that math class. So I called and I explained to the secretary there and I left a note for the… asked if she could leave a note for the instructor. I wanted to talk to him. Said, "Here's my daughter taking off to go to what she believes, practicing her religious faith and her religious beliefs and you're going to stand in her way and you're telling her she can't and our country was founded on religious freedom. So what are you doing? What lesson are you teaching my daughter? If she follows her beliefs, you're going to fail her." I said, "I want an appointment with this guy. I want to go and see him." She said, "Mr. Antion, we have 95 teachers at this school and we have five stinkers. He's one of the five stinkers." I said, "I don't care. I want to see him." So that's how I hang up. I told my daughter about it. She said, "Oh, no, dad, what has he done?” So then the next day she went to school and there's an announcement over the PA system, "Janice Antion, would you please report to the office.”

So, "Oh, what did my dad do this time?" So she went to the office and here it was the office of load distributing or evening the classes, class distributes what they did. And we prayed about this, of course, what they did, they changed her from that class to another class. It was the same lesson, the same subject, with a different teacher. And what they said, what this teacher in her syllabus says, "If you miss school, if you miss a test or if you miss class or anything, I will do my best to help you make up. I will do my best to let you, you know, make up that information." Totally different from the stinker. So I was ready to go in with guns blazing and they didn't, I didn't have to as a result. But God is able to help you work things out if you stand your ground. And she was willing to do it. But will you have good teachers? What kind of teachers will you have? Will they give you trouble for the Holy Days? Will you make the honor society? Will your grades be good enough? Will all your good friends be in your section of that particular subjects class or will some of them not be there and they have to go in a different section.

So all of these are questions you might ask. But no matter what, high school, grade school, college, they're the best times in life. When you get out into the workforce, it's day in and day out work and you may love your work and that's great. But school provides a lot of opportunities for friendships, for classes, for interaction with others and also for successes because you have little exams or tests or various along the way that you can get built up because you did so well in them. So the main purpose of schooling though is to educate you in knowledge for life. Gaining knowledge is the goal. This kind of knowledge, not necessarily the goal, but gaining knowledge, practical knowledge that you can use for life is the goal. After all, if you don't know what the letter A, B or C looks like, how could you ever read? If you don't know how to write, how could you communicate with people who aren't close by? So, education is very important.

And I know when I was going to school at “12 years, man, I've been sentenced to 12 years, you know, in school," and then when I got, “Oh no, another four years to go, oh no, another four years for Master's degree here,” or whatever. Now I got to keep on that. Wow, that's a lot. And admittedly, sometimes you're in classes you may not like. Admittedly you're in classes that you may not appreciate. You just do your best to get through that class knowing that not all your classes will be like that. But don't forget, getting knowledge is only one dimension. Why do you want knowledge? Just so you could say, “I know, I know. I know. Oh, I know. I know.” Or do you want knowledge that is useful? Do you want knowledge that you can use, that you can put into practice every day? But there's also a need as you gain knowledge to also grow in grace.

The apostle Peter said, "Grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Growing in knowledge is not enough. It just says “I know.” You must grow in grace too. And so we're going to cover that as well, that's how this sermon, while it addresses more of the school and college-age young people, we may all benefit from it because we all need to be growing in knowledge and we all need to be growing in grace, which in my mind is practicing the knowledge you have learned in a godly way.

So let's take a look, Daniel 12:4, but I'm not going to turn there, but just give you that scripture, prophesied there would be lots of knowledge at the end time, lots of knowledge at the end time. How much knowledge? Well, I looked up on my internet and Wikipedia came out with this. I said, "How many books are published each year in the United States?" Somewhere between 600,000 and 1 million books are published every year in the United States alone. And many of those perhaps they're as many as half or more are self-published on average. And it talks about how much they sell. But how many books? Between 600,000 and 1 million. Now, brand new titles, something like 340,000 in the U.S. And totally the worldwide 2 million. How many books does the average person read? The average person reads 12 books per year and that's average because they said like five is kind of like a median. And there are a lot of people who don't read even five. And there are some people that read above five. But the average is 12. Now, executives, they say many times read 52 books a year. But how long would it take you, I'm not even going to do that math, to read 600,000 books? You can do it. Astronomical you wouldn't live long enough to do it. But anyway, 12 books per year.

So, knowledge is there and knowledge is burgeoning and this is exploding in information, information coming. I could get so many psychology books, I can't keep up with them. I can't even keep up with the journals they send me, I'm like, "Oh, nice journal.” And put that one away. Some of them I can't read and read certain ones, but I can't keep up. There's so much knowledge out there. But how much knowledge can you actually store and need to use? Proverbs 12:1. So as you go to school and as you study, I hope that you and I have a love of instruction. I hope you'll love it. When you go to school, I hope you'll be curious, "What am I going to learn? What's going to be taught to me? What am I going to get from this class? How's that teacher going to be?"

Proverbs 12:1, "Whoever loves instruction, loves knowledge." Being instructed. If you, “Oh, I can't wait to get in there and be instructed, what am I going to learn from this person?" And believe me, I've sat with some in other colleges. I won't say Ambassador, although Ambassador could have a few people that weren't terrifically exciting. I've sat at one class that I had to take, it was a requirement at a college I went to. And all the man did was sit behind the desk and in a monotone voice, read his lecture. And I sat there, you could be doing everything else… doodling, standing up, doing exercise. He wouldn't even know that you were doing it. Now, and I thought, “Man,” but this is a college class and I needed it. So, that class, I got… pulled a B or C. I didn't get very much out of it because the guy wasn't much of a teacher. But there's knowledge, some things you had to take so I had to go through it. I know in Ambassador in Pasadena in the early years, they made us take Music Appreciation class and you should have seen some of the evangelists and some of the others in that class. They were some of the guys that became evangelists. They were struggling. They would make fun of the names and then we had to listen to all the different types of classical music and the instructor would love this. “I love this man.” It was like they were buddies with Mozart or a friend of Beethoven. Oh, Beethoven did, oh he's so... And I think you know “What makes people like music and why did they do it?”

Anyhow, I took the class and I did all right because I knew music. But there were some of these guys, it was a class that they had to just ride through and difficult with great difficulty. But Proverbs 12:1 says, "If you love instruction, you'll love knowledge." So sometimes you have to almost overlook the speaker and listen to what he has to say. Sometimes that's not easy either. So again, love instruction. What am I going to learn today? Be Curious, ask questions, ask questions. I know in one of my classes in Ambassador, this one girl thought I was so smart because I could ask questions. I only asked questions because I didn't understand. Ask questions. Put your hand up if you don't understand something or if you missed something in the class, go up and talk to your instructor afterward or before class. Say, "You know yesterday you said this and I didn't quite understand. Can you explain this a little more to me? Perhaps I could see you after school." That will make such a difference with that instructor.

I've had people come to me, at ABC and other places and in Pasadena I've taught for 32 years, 16 in Ambassador College and 16 here and I've had students come say to me, “I don't understand. I'm missing that.” You know what? It gives me a really favorable view of that young person because they are interested in learning and clarifying what they're learning. Don't be afraid to ask. Don't feel like you're being a teacher's pet to do it. You're not. Get knowledge, get information. Ask yourself, "What am I going to learn today?” Love instruction. Be Curious. Proverbs 1:1-5, I will be quoting out of the book of Proverbs quite a bit today. Because it says a lot about knowledge and how you handle it and it's written for young people. Proverbs 1:1-5, "Proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion—” What do I do with this knowledge?

When I was first learning psychology and everything you try to psych… it was constantly you tried to psychoanalyze everybody you see. “I know there's a narcissist and there’s this type of a person…” You're trying to do that because you're learning all this new exciting knowledge. But knowledge isn't just for that, knowledge is for you to use in an appropriate and proper way, using discretion and you'll see why discretion is so important as we go along. So it goes on to say, "A wise man will hear and increase learning." Listen, pay attention. That's the time to focus. "A man of understanding will attain wise counsel." You want to grow in wisdom, you must have knowledge first. You add understanding to that. Knowledge is facts. Just giving you facts and information. Understanding is how does that relate? How do those facts relate to each other and to other facts in life? Then you have wisdom, is taking the compilation of knowledge with your understanding of them and arriving at a proper conclusion or decision. And then beyond that is character. Character is having the ability and the gumption to fulfill what you have wisely attained. Character comes at the end of those.

But knowledge is a start as you go to school, as we study the Bible, as we read books, all that is knowledge. That's input, that's data coming into you. You must understand it. How does it relate to other data? How does it relate to other situations into circumstances? So again, that's why Proverbs were written Proverbs 4:5-7, "Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth." This is wisdom personified saying, “Don't turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you." So the ultimate is to finally come to where you're a wise person. But knowledge is the first step. You've got to get the information and then while you're getting, you get and so understanding of it. And that's where you can ask questions. How does this relate to that? How would I use this? How does this apply? How does this principle work? That comes into it. So, and he says, "In all your getting, get understanding." That's verse 7. Verse 13, "Take hold of instruction, don't let it go; keep her, for she is your life."

So when you look upon learning, learning is going to help us have life. I marvel, I'm able, being retired, I'm able to just sit and read. I don't have to jump up and get to a meeting. I don't have to jump up and get to a class most of the time. I have counseling scheduled during the week but that's at a time when I can deal with them. But I'm reading I can just read it. Say, “What does this mean now?” Pull out my iPhone and look up. “What is this? What is the Greek word here? What is the Hebrew word?” I could get more understanding. “What was God trying to say here?” Check a commentary. Check how to use other translations. Get understanding while you're studying and always, always, always you can go to your parents and ask for help.

Proverbs 19:20, we give the encouragement to apply yourself. I'll tell you if you let yourself get behind in any of your studies, you're going to have a hard time catching up. Apply yourself. Look at Proverbs 19:20, "Listen to counsel and receive instruction, and that you may be wise in your latter days.” So it'll help you because it's like a building block. Proverbs 23:12, Proverbs 23:12, "Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to the words of knowledge." Another place it says, "Incline your head" And what's the goal? Set a goal. “What do I want to do? Do I want to achieve always this semester? Do I want to keep a 2.75 GPA? Do I want to keep a 3.0 GPA? What is my goal? I need to apply myself to this class. Well, I really need this class, and I like this class. But maybe I'm struggling in this class so maybe I need to take time to ask. Maybe I need to put more time in.” And this is where scheduling comes into it.

I loved going to college because I have my schedule and I knew when I had some free time I could take that free time but I had very little free time. But when I had it, I used it, I used it. But study, study, learn. Some will say in college you have to study two hours for every one hour in class. I didn't always study two hours, but if not for German, I studied two hours for every one hour in class and I became pretty good in German because I studied two hours learning the vocabulary, reading and practicing reading it and all the rest. Yeah, but you have to study. You have to apply yourself and what is your goal? Some people's goal. Let's just float by. “I'll just float by. That's all. I just get by, C is good enough for me.” One man told me in our master's program he said, "All I want to do is just pass. I just want to get...I don't want to get...and I don't want to go for A's or good grades, I just want to get passed." Yeah. I said, "Do I want this man counseling me?" No, I don't. That all he wants to do is just get by.

Now, as you have knowledge coming into you, we all need to be careful. Even as you study and as you learn, you get new ideas, you get ideas, you get them from other people. Use a filter, use a filter. 1 Timothy 6:20-21. Know this that there are people out there peddling information. It's not true. Both whether it's church wise or whether it's school wise or whether it's college wise. And by the way, I have a stat on college. I asked the question, what is the ratio of liberal professors to conservative professors in college? There's the article that came up it's from the Washington Times by Bradford Richardson, Thursday, October 6, 2016, that's two years ago. “A new study confirms what even the most casual observer of higher education has long known — that conservative professors are vastly outnumbered by liberal ones — but it also shows that the problem is getting worse. Published in the Econ Journal Watch last month, the study looks at faculty voter registration at 40 leading universities and finds that out of 7,243 professors, Democrats outnumbered Republicans 3,623 to 314, that ratio is 11 1/2 to 1.” So they rounded it off. 12 to 1 "Study comes after tumultuous few years at American colleges and universities, marked by campus race riots, disinformation, invitation of conservative speakers and the popularization of phrases such as ‘trigger warnings’ and ‘safe space.’"

So they find that as you go to college, a huge number of your professors are going to be liberal. And that trickles down into high school, into grade school, into middle school. You must be careful to filter what's coming in. So 1 Timothy 6:20 we read this, "O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and vain babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge." You'll be getting a heavy dose of evolution because man wants to figure out how he's here without God. He doesn't want to acknowledge a Maker, a Creator. So what is evolution? Man's way of figuring out how he's here without God. And if you going to establish that, of course, it's based on theory. It's always called the theory of evolution. Theory means we think, we think, I don't want to know what you think. I want to know what's so.

2 Timothy 3:7, Paul, continues this theme with Timothy. 2 Timothy 3:7, "Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." You must be careful to filter what you're taught through truth. Is this true? Is what this person's saying true? Is this true information or isn't it? Does he support what he's saying with facts? Does he have that information? Proverbs 8:7 personifies wisdom and I'm not going to go there, but you can read it. Proverbs 8:7-12. But I am going to go to Proverbs 19:27. And how can you help filter with the truth? I would recommend all young people at college-age going down, to read the Proverbs, slowly, one chapter at a time or even half a chapter at a time. And think about it. Meditate because this is knowledge that's true knowledge that Solomon is giving. Wisest man who ever lived, learn from the wisest man who ever lived. And learn the scriptures, learn what God has to say.

Proverbs 19:27. "Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge." Cease listening to instruction, my son and you will stray from the words of knowledge. So here he's telling you to be careful if it's not the truth. Listen, yes. Listen but if it's not the truth, don't stray. You don't want to stray from the truth. Proverbs 1:7-9, it never hurts to ask your parents if you're not sure about what's being taught you. "Dad or mom is this so? I learned this at school." And it's also good for parents not to just put it on the kids to come to them. As you sit around the dinner table, and I hope you do sit around the dinner table while you're eating you're relaxed, "Oh, I like that. Oh, there's more mashed potatoes oh, that chicken tastes good, oh," you know, and as you're eating that, you're relaxed, you're relaxed. And while you're relaxed, you talk freely. Ask your children, "So how was school today? What'd you learn? Do you learn anything new? What did you learn today? What did you pick up? Oh, how are your friends?" Talk to them. Ask them. Give them opportunity.

And young people ask your parents. Ask your parents. "What about this, the instructor said this, is that so?" “Well, they said this happened, you know, several million billion years ago that man did this or that, is that so?” Ask them, put them on the spot. Proverbs 1:7-9, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." See, if you have God and you honor Him and His way as a young person, as a parent, as a Christian, you will have that filter. Proverbs 1:8, "My son, hear the instruction of your father." Listen to your dad. "And do not forsake the law of your mother." So, parents, it puts it on us to be able to help our children filter what's coming into them, "for they will be graceful ornaments on your head, and chains,” necklaces “about your neck."

So listen to your parents. If there are any conflicts between what's being taught at school, taught at college, and what's being taught from God's perspective, from God's way of life, which your parents are engaged in, ask them. Ask them if that makes sense. I was so glad that my dad was there for me. My dad only went through seventh grade and he would help me do problems in algebra. Because of all the wisdom he had learned. He could work crossword puzzles better than I could, better than I can do now, seventh grade. But he had wisdom. He had understanding. He could guide me, he could help me. Talk, talk, talk, ask for help, talk, talk, talk.

As you know, God's Word, John 17:17 says, "Thy word is truth." That's the definition and that we read the scripture on 2 Timothy. “From a child you have known the Scriptures.” Is it wrong for you to sit and read? Take a break from your studies and read a Proverb, a chapter or half a chapter of Proverbs. It gives you wisdom. It gives you truth. Study. Do a correspondence course. Study. Learn about God's way of life so that you can filter and there's a lot of it out there. Jesus Christ warned that in the end time there would be what? Deceivers. People out not only to deceive you spiritually but to deceive you in every way. Deceit is all around us and it's up to us to make sure we know the proper path to walk and to trot.

Okay. So, that's knowledge. Gain it, get it. Do the best you can. Learn it, filter it, but learn it. Study it, you know, reject that which is the agnostic or the atheistic view or his perspective. "Here's my perspective." I don't care what your perspective is when it comes to rules of life. Fine, tell me your perspective. But what I want to be guided by is the Word of God. I want to live by what God says, not by your perspective. So it's very important. Filter, gain the knowledge, apply yourself to learn, study, study hard. “I want to make the honor society. I'm going to get all straight A's. I want to going to make the Dean's List, the President's List.” Show yourself strong in that way. But study.

Now let's go to grace. 1 Corinthians 8:1. We read that knowledge by itself will just do what? Puff us up. “I know, I know.” I always remember as a sophomore in school, I always said to my dad, he tried to show me something “I know,” you know I got… because I didn't want him telling me how to do something. “I know.” Now, he said to me," Gare, how do you know? You have never done that before. How can you say you know?” That always sticks in my mind. You don't know everything, you could learn. And I was glad I learned some things from my dad. I didn't learn as much as I wish I had now that he's gone, but I learned some things from him about life and about various mechanics and different areas of that and electrical, a little bit, not much.

1 Corinthians 8:1. "Now concerning things offered to idols," he says, "We know we all have knowledge." But he says, "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” Love builds up. If you have the love of God if you have the grace of God in your life and you'll see what grace means. That's why Peter said, "Grow in grace and knowledge." What is grace? Grace means that which gives pleasure, delight, beauty. It has to do with attractiveness, it has to do with gracefulness, it has to do with goodwill, it has to do with being grateful, it has to do with giving, it has to do with lovingkindness. It has that mercy. It has to do with being bountiful and it has to do with having favor. Jesus Christ, it is said of Him, had favor with God and man. The word there is charis, which means grace. Favor.

You want to do the best you can do with that knowledge. You want to use it in a profitable, faithful, graceful way, and it should change your life. It should help you to be a better person. I remember talking to Dr. Ward and I said, he and I both taught General Epistles. I said, "You know, Dr. Ward, you can't read General Epistles, just teach them without it changing your life. There are so many principles and maxims of life." I said, "You can't read it without it changing your life." And he said, "That's true.” Because we both taught and we could spend time really going through James, Peter, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John and Jude, we could take our time going through those books. I said, "There's so much in there and every year I teach it I learned more. I learned more about me. I learned more about what I need to do." So again, applying these things, having favor, Jesus in Luke 2:52. Look, Proverbs 12:1-2. as you learn, Proverbs 12:1-2, here we read about a good man. And by the way, you can be a good person, not as good as God. Nobody's as good as God, but you can be good. The Bible does call people good. You can be good.

Proverbs 12:1 "Whoever loves instruction, loves knowledge." We read that. "But he who hates reproof is stupid." Verse 2, "A good man obtains favor from the Lord." A good man. The person who's practicing doing the right things, the person who's making the right choices is the one who will be called a good man and will set an example. We already heard about example, young people, college-age students, as you go to school and as you go to work, do people recognize your demeanor and who you are and what you're about? Do they know you? Do they appreciate you?

I was humbled this past week. I had a couple come in. The woman was wanting to help salvage her marriage and she wasn't sure her husband would come. The husband came and I spent about an hour and a half with them, in counseling. And before he left he shook my hand. He was not in a good mood to even come and he said, "You're a smart man. You're a smart man." You know, when he left I thanked God. I said I know where I got the wisdom because I pray before they come that God will give me the help I need. And when she called back to ask for another appointment, she said, "My husband said he'd be willing to come back another time." And she reinforced to this he said, "That man is a smart man. He knows what he's talking about." There is a difference, brethren, there is a difference when you're walking in God's ways and our children are considered to be holy when they are our children, they're considered to be set apart for God to bless them and be with them and use them and help them. So don't discount grace. Don't discount how you live your life, what you can do. You don't have to shrink back.

Proverbs 11:16-17. "A gracious woman retains honor." Young ladies at school. If you're honorable and right, and my daughters went to school, Arcadia High School is a big school and there were lots of people there offering drugs. And I said, "Well, do they ever offer them to you?" She said, "No, they stay away from us. They stay away from certain people because they know where they stand." So, my daughters had some good friends that didn't go down that route. We'll talk about choosing friends too, but they figured no chance with them. There's no chance they're going to turn and do drugs or take drugs from the pusher. "A gracious woman retains honor, but ruthless men retain riches. The merciful man does good for his own life, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh."

So, how you act at school, what you do at school, what you do at work, what you do in life is observed, is known, is seen. Will you choose that way or we just throw in with the lot? “Well, everybody's doing it. Why don't I just do it? Everybody's doing that, why don't I just do it?” Why don't you just do it? Because you're special. Why don't you just do it? Because you're different. Why don't you do it? Because God favors you and He wants you to favor others by how you act and what you do. And set an example. And you know, Proverb 16:7, look at that real quickly. You know what it says there, Proverbs 16:7. "When a man's ways please the Lord, he even makes his enemies to be at peace with him." So if you have people giving you trouble, just please God, let Him take care of it. Let Him take care of it.

And you know, one thing I noticed about sometimes our young people and I was this way in my early ministry, sometimes we're a little bit maybe defensive or guarded on who we are, what we do, what we stand for. And I don't mean you need to be a loudspeaker broadcasting everything and telling everything about your life or your religion. But don't be ashamed of who you are. Walk with your head up, walk in confidence, have an "I can do it" attitude. Philippians 4:13, I can do it. Get involved where you can and still consider and walk in God's ways. Get involved. Be a part of something, "Hey, I can do that. I'll do that. You need some help? I'll come and help." Where you can help. Pitch in, be an "I can do" person, be a positive person, be an example. If you can participate in extracurricular activities, do so.

I'm proud of our granddaughter over in Nebraska. She plays the xylophone. She's the band leader. The director of the band asked her to be kind of like the organizer to organize it, but come Sabbath, she doesn't do it. And they know she won't do it. They know she's not going to march on that day because she does not march anyway. She stands in front place, but she's not going to be there, but for the concerts and everything else she has, there is a leader in that percussion section. She stands for what she believes, but she's involved, she's part of it and you will earn their respect. Don't shrink back. “Oh, I can't do this. I can't do that, I can’t..." Why don't you try? I can do it. Can you be a leader?

What about Esther? Was she a leader? Who knows if you were born for just such a day, this has come to you for just as such a time, Esther, that she stood up for her people and risked her life because to go into the king without him calling for you was a death sentence unless he extended his sword to her. And he did. She saved her people. What about Deborah for you ladies? Deborah, one of the judges who had Barak, as not Obama, but Barak, who was her leading military guy and she says, "These people you need to go there." "I will not go unless you go with me. Unless you go." David… sorry, Daniel and his friends when they were taken into captivity as some of the brighter young Jewish boys, they were given a diet that was prescribed for them and who knows what was in it. Probably pork and other things and they said, "We don't want that." Yeah, well, the king wants you to eat that." No, he don't. "He's afraid you'll get emaciated, weak and you won't be wise. You won't be able to learn." They said, "Give us a chance." And their faces were rosy. They ate vegetables basically and whatever was clean that they could eat. And he found them wiser, many, many times wiser than all of his men that he'd given on their own food. He was willing to stand up, he was willing to step forth, he was willing to be able to be a leader.

Be a leader in your school. Don't shrink back, "Well I can't do that, well, I'm..." So what? They don't accept it, fine, but you tried. You know if you try it out for a sport and they wouldn't let you… accommodate you because of the Sabbath, they might just be missing one of the best players that they could have had. That's okay. You stood up for what you believed. Again, step forth. Be a leader. Don't sit back. Don't shrink back. Proverbs 19:22. When you talk about grace in your life. Proverbs 19:22, "What is desired in a man is kindness." Kindness makes a man attractive as the Living Bible puts it. Kindness in a man. Show that kindness at school, be a leader. "Whatever you set your hand to do, do it with your might." Ecclesiastes 9:10. Be a light to the world. Let them see you and let them see your faith. Don't bury your light. Don't put a lampshade over it where people can't see it. Don't put a basket over it. Don't hide it. You know who you are. That doesn't mean you go out and publicize everything. “Look at me, I'm eating unleavened bread, see this?” And you try to preach to them. Nobody wants that, but why are you ashamed if you're doing what God asked you to do, scripturally, why do you have to be ashamed? You know who has to be ashamed? Those who keep Christmas, those who keep Easter. Easter, named after a pagan goddess. Christmas, part of the Saturnalia Brumalia celebration, and that's godly?

They're not ashamed to keep Christmas, why would you be ashamed to keep the Days of Unleavened Bread? Why would you be ashamed to take off for the Feast? I know when our girls were in junior high, some of their friends wanted to find out about our church because they said, "Man, you get to go to Italy, man, you get to go to Israel. Yeah, you get to go here for the Feast, man. You get to go… Maybe we should find that about…" plus you miss school. Of course, they were looking at that part of it too. You get out of school to do that. Because they saw what they were able to do because they were trying to live a godly life. Be an example to them. Maybe intramural sports might be all you can do. You want to be going along and being the best you can be participating, being a leader as much as you can be a leader and still be godly too.

What about friends? You need to use a filter for friends too. You'll have buddies at school. I had lots of nice buddies at school. Good. When I was in school. I loved them. I love being with them. I enjoyed them so much, but I wouldn't walk in their ways. What about you? One guy, I was at college, he said to me, at Ambassador, he came to counsel with me, was counseling for baptism and he said, "You know, I used to drink a lot. I used to go drink a lot with my buddies in college and drink and all this, and that's what we do every weekend. We'd just do it. And now the course Ambassador College is ending for the summer. I've got to go back. I'm going back home and my friends are going to be calling me up and asking me to go out with them. What should I say?"

I said, "Tell them what's going on with you. Just say, you know what? I've had a year to evaluate what I've been doing and I'm not doing that anymore. I don't want to reject you as friends, so if you're going to go out and have a good evening, I'll be happy to be your designated driver, but you'll find out pretty soon when you’re ordering soda instead of booze that they're not going to want to be with you." But he made the change despite the fact that all these friends, they were his circle of friends back home. Do you stand for what's right? Do you filter?

Proverbs 13:20 gives us some good things about friends at school and I'd say make friends at school as you're able. "He that walks with wise men will be wise." That's the principle. Where are they going? What is the direction they're headed? And the last part of it says, "But the companion of fools will be destroyed." That's the positive. Proverbs 27:9-10. Another positive area on making friends at school. Having friends that you like to be with. My buddy used to always save a seat for me in the back. We'd sit there and I didn't try to sit in the back. And by the way, one suggestion is sit toward the front if you're able, in classes. You will not be as distracted. You'll not think you can hide back there and the teacher doesn't see what you're doing and you show more interest when you're sitting closer to the front. But Proverbs 27:9-10, "Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man's friends does so by hearty counsel." So if you have good friends, they will give you good advice. They'll help you, they'll help you walk in the right way and they'll appreciate who you are.

Proverbs 27:10, "Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, nor go to your brother's house in the day of calamity." You won't have to just go to a relative because you'll have friends who are in your school, friends that you've made who are genuine and true. It says, "For better as a neighbor nearby than a brother far away." When I went back to college to get my Master's degree I was 48 years old. Most of the people in that class, it was designed for professionals, were a lot younger than I was. And I went and I happened to just sit down in the front row and there was somebody there sat down beside me. He was a Jewish young man and he and I got to be best friends. We'd save seats for each other as time went on and we both respected each other for who we were and helped each other and encouraged each other when we were in class together. And it made it easier for me to transition from having been out of school since I was what… 22 to 48 what's that? 26 years out of school and having to start in a Master's program.

So make friends, good friends, stay with them, but also watch the friends that'll turn your heart away. Proverbs 22:24-25, we read this. Proverbs 22:24-25, "Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go." And Proverbs 1 tells you, if they say, "Hey, let's go act out. Let's go do our thing. Let's go humiliate this person. Let's go haze this person. Let's go do that to them. Let's go steal something.” He said, “Don't do it, young man. Don't do it.” So with your friends, you also have to filter to make sure they're going the same direction. Not necessary they're godly or converted, but the same direction in life. Amos 3:3, the filter is, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" Now, agreed in what? Not obviously not maybe agreement with your religion, but agreed with being decent human beings. Agreed with being decent in this world and not acting out.

So, school is an exciting time. Gaining knowledge is wonderful. I could show you all my sheets of paper that I've been working on. All of these that I have here for Labor Day. I've got one on the go because I'm supposed to speak here on Labor Day. I've got some here for the Feast. I've got notes on different ones that I write when I study, I love it. I say, "How are these scriptures put there? What a mind that had all these scriptures inspired for me and they're truth." Love God's Word. Love that scripture. Love this scripture. Learn that scripture so that you as a person can have that to help you through life. So I'm excited for you to gain knowledge and I hope it's good knowledge. And as you return for school, for a new venture of learning, remember that knowledge and grace go together. Please apply this sermon so that you may have a very successful and great year.