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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2019 9:36:26 GMT -6
“Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy” (Proverbs 30:2-3 KJV).
Looking at this “brutish” business, this man claims to even know less than a man, and that's a very humble attitude. This will be true in the last days. We are living in the day when men honestly don't even have the brains of a monkey! Now, this thing of brutish. Brutish means less than natural understanding. A man has a natural understanding, “who know what the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him” (I Corinthians 2:11). A man understands what a man is like, because he has the spirit of a man in him. but this man says, “I am more brutish than any man.”
In the last days, Romans 1 says that when the world has reached bottom, they'll be “without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful” (Romans 1:31). That's where we've reached. We've reached a point where our country, even on the natural realm, is without understanding. Even when you present them with facts and the truth, they reject it and keep on going on their merry way.
It has been proven that the educational system that has been set up for the last few decades is not producing the correct results. Yet, you what they want to do? Pump more money into it. They can't get this message from the voters. The voters are tired of pouring money down a rat hole. Some people just believe anything they hear, they won’t check the information out.
Getting back to this brute business.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents [we’ll be looking at this one shortly], unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (II Timothy 3:1-4).
“Without natural affection,” See, they are below nature. A sodomite is on the level of an animal. That's below the natural; that's less than a man, less than a woman, “without natural affection.”
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2019 8:49:26 GMT -6
“Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:9).
Job was a man that did this: “Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out” (Job 29:12-16).
That was one of the things that Job used to defend himself when he was accused of sin. “Listen,” he said, “I haven't sinned. I've taken care of the poor and needy. I’ve taken care of people that nobody else would take care of.” This was Job’s defense.
These things are true here of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He does judge righteously. He is interested in the cause of the poor and needy. In fact, he said so in Luke 4:18, that He had come to preach the gospel to the poor. If you're poor, Jesus Christ is the best friend you have. I'm here to tell you that Jesus Christ is a friend of the poor. He is a friend of the poor and needy. The rich of this world will just use you and abuse you for your wealth, and when they strip you clean and clear of everything you got, they'll throw you out to the dogs and go find someone else to strip.
Jesus Christ isn't like that. He said, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest,” He's in the business of helping people. Always been, always has been, and always will be.
““I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John 5:30). He judges righteously. His judgment is just.
I guarantee you; Jesus Christ will never put too much on you that's beyond your capacity to bear, nor will he refrain from telling you the truth. He will tell you the whole truth. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the father but by me.” These things are true. The Lord Jesus Christ. That'll make him a pretty good King one of these days.
The Bible says that he's going to reign for 1000 years on this earth, and he will be a man who will not allow anybody to be appointed to destructions without checking it out. Today, people can actually be condemned to die, in countries all over this world; and yet be innocent. That will never happen when Jesus Christ becomes the King. I look forward to that time. I appreciate it when we have a conservative as our president, but I would just as soon have the Lord Jesus Christ as the King of the world. I’ll be a globalist for that. He will judge righteously. There won't be anything wrong in His Kingdom.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2020 9:47:07 GMT -6
“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not” (Proverbs 1:10 KJV).
“My son, if sinners entice thee,” it talks about that in James chapter 1, verse 14, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren” (James 1:14-16 KJV).
“. . . consent thou not,” here is where the teachings begin. “. . . to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28 KJV). The problem is that ungodly companions will work on your lusts. They will appeal to something you like, or things that one desires, “Wouldn’t you like a nice, cool, glass of . . .?” in order to snare you. They will entice you to do something you ought not do. “One won’t hurt, a little bit won’t hurt, we know you know when to stop . . .”, they entice you. They play on your lusts, and when “lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin.” When sin is finished, it wipes you out.
Here is how you get into trouble. There are five steps to getting into trouble.
1. Presentation. That is when the idea, or the ‘enticement’ is presented to you.
2. Illumination. Think of the story of Joseph, when Potiphar’s wife made a pass at him. He is presented with sin. Immediately, he is illuminated, in other words, the conscience says, “no good!” There is illumination. You perceive that the thing is wrong. Usually, it is the Word of God that we know that acts as our illumination in manners of temptation.
3. Debate. You don’t ever want to get to this point. Jesus Christ never allowed Himself to get to that point right there. He was presented with temptation, He was illuminated by the Word, but there was never any debate. If you debate, mark it down, you will sin. Most of us think, in our flesh, that we can argue it out and win, but old Slew foot has been debating a very long time. When Jesus was tempted, He immediately went straight to the Word of God. “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
4. Decision.
5. Act.
These are the five steps to sin. You are presented with it, you are illuminated that it is wrong, you debate about it (I know when to stop, nobody is around, it isn’t really that bad, etc. Forget it, you’ve lost), then you decide to do it, and then you do it. And when sin is finished, it brings forth death.
If you find it easy to debate an issue whether than just say no, there is a flaw in your character somewhere. You should not want to even entertain any idea of the thing at all. Once you are illuminated that something is sin, it is sin!
“. . . consent thou not,” notice how strong an emphasis the Bible places on the free will of man. We have a choice when it comes to sin. We can choose “to”, or we can choose “not to.” It isn’t a matter of whether God forces you into to it or predestines you to do something or not to do something. It is up to us to consent not. It’s your choice, it’s your life, it’s your soul you are playing with—so, “. . . consent thou not.”
Now, just think how dumb John Calvin was. If you were in bondage to a sinful, wicked, ungodly, corrupt, depraved human nature, how could you consent not to? But that verse says, “if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” In other words, the Bible takes it for granted that you can make a choice to do right. And not only that, when Solomon wrote that, he wrote that 1,000 years before anyone could ever be spiritually born again. He is writing that to unregenerate sinners in the Old Testament who are stuck to the flesh and none of them are spiritually circumcised. For John Calvin, that was just a dark saying to him. He lost it somewhere along the line. He was more interested in what Servetus was doing—the guy didn’t know much theology. He may have had the church state religious setup down pat back there, but when it came to biblical theology, he was out in left field somewhere.
If you read Calvin’s Institutes, he’ll tell you that water baptism regenerates and uses Acts chapter 2, verse 38 to prove it. He was a bigger heretic than anyone ever thought.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2020 9:08:09 GMT -6
“If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures” (Proverbs 2:4 KJV).
“If thou seekest her as silver . . .”
That’s the bad thing about the flesh, if churches put $10.00 under seats, they could fill up their auditoriums. Some churches do that, and similar thing, just to pull in a crowd. Ten bucks sure isn’t silver, and you can’t even get a piece of silver for that much.
“and searchest for her as for hid treasures,” I don’t believe most Christians really realize the value of this Bible. But this Book is worth far more than any amount of money in the whole world. If you had all of Bill Gates money, you still couldn’t get into heaven, without the message and understanding and accepting of the truth of this Book. This Book will direct you to the One that has purchased your ticket to heaven. And applying this Book will amount to treasure and rewards once you get there. It’s worth far more than the world’s riches. You could not find the door to heaven apart from this Bible. You couldn’t find real joy with all that money; you couldn’t find real peace and satisfaction with all that money. You can find a lot of things with a lot of money, but you couldn’t find the things that people really down inside are searching for, even though they think that money can buy happiness.
“If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures.” When a man is hungry he’ll go out and pound the pavement looking for a job, but if only Christians were that hungry for the Bible, for the Word of God. Jesus Christ said, “They which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Mat 5:6 KJV). People ask, “Why are you reading that old Book for?” “Well, I’m hungry. I’m chewing on a good piece of steak.” Jesus also said, “I have meat to eat you know not of.” God’s food will satisfy you forever.
Now, if we will do these five things that we have been looking at in the first few verses; if you’ll listen, if you’ll work at it, if you’ll cry for it, if you’ll pray for it, and go searching for it—go looking for it—you’ll find it. The riches of the Word of God and the full riches of your salvation, and you’ll accomplish that for which you were saved, or, as Solomon puts it, “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”
Men will risk death and disaster to find real gold, and yet when it comes to the real wisdom and treasures of heaven—the Bible will lay next to them all their life—and they won’t pay any attention to it. What a shame!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2020 8:55:03 GMT -6
“So shalt thou find favour [people will favor you] and good understanding [people will understand you] in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:4 KJV).
Did you know that it is not hard to understand a person that is truthful? It’s difficult to understand a man when you don’t know if he is being truthful or not. You don’t know where they are coming from and you don’t know where they are going.
Some people set too high a standard. Why do people get mad when they don’t accomplish what they set for themselves? Pride. “Only by pride cometh contention,” you get mad at yourself because you couldn’t do what you thought you could do. What we need to realize is that we can’t do anything without Christ. Without Him we can do nothing, with Him we can do everything. If something doesn’t come to pass, and you have relinquished yourself to Christ, then He didn’t want it to come to pass. There is no reason to get made then.
We might say, “I don’t get mad at anybody but myself,” that’s just pride. You expect something out of yourself that you can’t really attain.
“So shalt thou find favour,” that is approval. People will do you favors, and they will favor you over others. An employer wants someone they can trust, and someone that will do a good job and usually a person that is truthful and honest will give a good eight-hour day. And so, they’ll find favor. That kind of person won’t have as hard a time finding a good job in hard times as other people.
If you work hard, if you are honest, if you are faithful, and if you are true, if people can trust you with responsibility, and people can trust you with money, you will “find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.” All relationships are determined by a man’s relationship to the law, and to his relationship with mercy and truth. Be merciful. Judge mercifully. Consider others mercifully.
If we had a real measure of mercy in us, we would want to witness. When we don’t witness, in a sense, we are saying, “Just go to hell.” That is a judgment that you pass upon that individual that they are not worthy of your witness. But a merciful heart, with a merciful spirit, is like to want to witness to that person and tell them about Christ.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2020 9:13:25 GMT -6
“Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee” (Proverbs 4:8-9 KJV).
“Exalt her, and she shall promote thee,” “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south” (Psalms 75:6 KJV). God is the promoter—it comes out of the north. Exalt her, wisdom, and she shall promote thee. It is not money that promotes us, it is not fame that promotes us, it is wisdom.
“. . . she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her,” take hold on her, take hold on our salvation, take hold on the Bible.
“She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee,” here is an instance where the Bible defines its own words so that we don’t have to rush off to the Hebrew or the Greek to discover it. And “ornament of grace” is a “crown of glory.” That “crown of glory” is mentioned in Peter: “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (I Peter 5:4 KJV).
The “crown of glory” is one of the five crowns listed in Scripture. If a Christian is wise, he can earn himself some crowns. There is no crown ever made on this earth that compares to the one that we are thinking about now. The Bible crowns are eternal. They are incorruptible. That means that they will be there for all eternity. Men are placed in some kind of Hall of Fame down here, but one of these days that Hall of Fame is going to burn up.
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:12 KJV).
So, enduring temptation—and you probably won’t unless you really love the Lord—but enduring temptation is to earn a crown. That’s wisdom.
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (II Timothy 4:8 KJV). Are we looking forward to the Lord’s return?
“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy” (I Thessalonians 2:19-20 KJV). There’s a crown for soul winning. That is wisdom, to try to win others to Christ. We are born to reproduce; we are born-again to win others. Don’t go to heaven empty-handed! It is considered a shame to go through life barren, it is an even greater shame for a Christian to go through this life barren of souls. Be wise! Don’t let the world, the flesh, or the Devil talk you out of it.
It’s wisdom, it’s wise, it’s understanding, it’s knowledge, it’s knowing what’s important and applying that knowledge to the purpose of God.
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” (I Corinthians 9:24-25 KJV). We get this one for keep our wicked, evil flesh under subjection.
“She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee,” she will deliver it to you with joy.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2020 10:30:09 GMT -6
“And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!” (Proverbs 5:12-13 KJV).
“. . . my heart despised reproof,” reproof is harder than instruction. Reproof is, “You are doing that wrong, this is the right way to do it.” Now, nobody likes to be told that they are doing something wrong, but they like even less to be told by someone else how to do it right. Especially if they enjoy it better their way. But that is what reproof is. And that is what a good preacher is supposed to do.
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (II Timothy 4:2 KJV).
Reproof is strong, but a rebuke is even stronger. A rebuke is “Sit down and quit!” “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life” (Proverbs 6:23 KJV).
Most people are afraid of reproofs. They’ll file a grievance if you reprove them. Everybody’s got their rights! That’s why the world is in such a mess. They won’t listen to God; they would rather do it their own way. They won’t listen to those that have been down the road before and know something of the pitfalls and traps along the way. They are classic, “Mother please! I’d rather do it myself!” I know that most of you aren’t old enough to remember that old commercial. Consider yourself culturally enlightened!
In the Bible, 13 is always the number of rebellion and verse 13 says that they “have not obeyed,” that is rebellion in a nutshell. We find 13 in connection with the Antichrist in Revelation 13. Over and over again you will find the number 13 in connection with Judas Iscariot in the Gospels.
13 is connected with the Antichrist, connected with the Devil, and connected with Mystery Babylon.
Verse 13 says, “And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!”
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2020 9:38:10 GMT -6
“A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:17 KJV).
“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him,” seven is the number of divine completion.
Number one is a pride. I guarantee you where a proud look comes from, it comes from a proud heart. You can see pride in an individual just by looking at how they walk. They have a certain cantor about them. They just think that are the answer, and the Trinity needs to move over for them to pass.
Pride is probably one of the root sins. It was pride that messed up Lucifer. He figured he deserved a promotion above God Himself and it got him a demotion to his new role as Satan.
“The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalms 10:4 KJV).
Number two is a lying tongue. Lying is deception, and deception sends people to hell. People lie to themselves and to others, and they lie to God. “yea, let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4 KJV).
Within every one of us is the capability and the history of lying. The thing about Americans is, lying isn’t a sin in America. Lying is a way of life. It’s okay to lie. Otherwise, how could they sell stuff? It’s socially acceptable to drink, it’s socially acceptable to lie—as long as you can get away with it. Now, if you get caught—too bad, but you know, how many people really get prosecuted for lying? About the only exception is for those that have perjured themselves on the stand. But what does God say in Revelation 21:8? “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
In God’s eyes a liar is just as bad as a murderer, and that is where you want to take a sinner. Most people haven’t murdered anybody, but you can sure bet they’ve told a lie.
“. . . and hands that shed innocent blood,” there are different ways to accomplish this. Some men do it with a sword, Jezebel did it with a pen. She had Nabal killed by others by writing out a decree. There are all kinds of ways you can kill people. You can do it through violence, you can slander a man, you can ruin their reputation. Jesus said we murder our brother by being angry with him without a cause.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2020 9:29:28 GMT -6
“Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart” (Proverbs 7:2-3 KJV).
God’s emphasis in Proverbs is repetition. We learn by a number of things. We learn by association. If you want to learn what one thing is you can associate it with another thing, you can get the picture. If you want to know what God is like, you can study the creation. The Godhead is revealed in the Creation. He associates it with something you do understand. When someone says something that you don’t understand, they will often say, “Well, it’s like this . . .” We can learn by experience. It is said that that is the best teacher. Just doing a thing, teaches you. A teacher can say, “If you do such a thing, this will happen,” but until you actually do it yourself, you don’t really know if it will happen. We also learn by repetition, and the method of instruction in Proverbs is repetition.
“. . . keep my words,” in other words, keep them in front of you. Go to where there is good preaching. They are like a good savings account, “lay up my commandments with thee,” or put them up for a rainy day. Memorize those promises, that way when tragedy comes, you’ll have something to lean on, something to fall back on. When temptation comes, you’ll have a shield to stand behind. “Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world” (I Peter 5:9 KJV).
When God tests you, like He tested Abraham, we have a promise to fall back on: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13 KJV). “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 KJV) is a good promise to fall back on when God tests us.
“Keep my commandments, and live,” we are encouraged to learn the Word and to keep the Word to protect us from harm. In the passage before us, had Israel kept the commandments would they ever have ended up like they did in Hosea? No. In the New Testament, if we study the commandments and live by the commandments—what will they do for you? They will put you under the Law, and when we put ourselves under the Law—we sin. “And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death” (Romans 7:10 KJV). It becomes the thing that slays you, for “the wages of sin is death.”
In Proverbs, the Old Testament Jew had moral commandments, rituals and feasts to atone for his sins. So, by keeping those things he would live.
“. . . and my law as the apple of thine eye,” children are the apple of the parent’s eye. This is saying that the Law is the most cherished thing that they have. There is nothing better than the “apple of my eye.”
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2020 8:51:21 GMT -6
“For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it” (Proverbs 8:11 KJV).
“For wisdom is better than rubies,” sure it is, it will get you saved—both from hell and from this present evil world. “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (II Timothy 3:15 KJV). It will make thee wise unto salvation, which notice, has only one source for that salvation—faith in Jesus Christ and not works.
A man can live sumptuously in this world for 50, 60, 70 years like the rich man in Luke 16 and then die and perish in hell for all eternity—scream and holler for eternity—you think that is worth all the rubies in the world? Wisdom is better than rubies. If all you got in this life is salvation and a Bible eking by on spare rations—even if you starve to death—you are going to have riches untold in the heavenly city for all eternity. It’s too bad that the world can’t get a hold of this truth. We have a lot of physically fat rich people, what we need more of is spiritually fat Bible believers.
People have their eyes on this life, and the things of this world, and that includes some Christians—and don’t think twice about what will come in the next life.
“. . . all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it,” nothing can be compared to it. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (I Corinthians 2:9-10 KJV).
Christians are not to love the things of this world, but they do. And you know what? All those things they cherished in this world are going to burn. “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2 KJV). “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (I John 2:15-17 KJV). It’s all going to burn!
“For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.”
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2020 8:39:47 GMT -6
“For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it” (Proverbs 9:11-12 KJV).
An OT promise to an OT Jew who is promised physical blessings isn’t necessarily true of you and me. I realize that in America, it is different in the sense that we haven’t suffered very much persecution over here. But if you get saved in some countries across the world, and live it, it might be the end of you. In those places, wisdom might mean a short life. God’s promise to the church today isn’t necessarily physical blessings but spiritual blessings.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3 KJV).
The Jew was blessed with all physical blessings. If he did right and lived the way that God told him to live, God would allow him to live a long life. One of the promises of honoring parents was that their days would be long upon the earth. And if they kept the Law, they wouldn’t be sick: “And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26 KJV).
Now, you can keep the Law as a Christian, and you can keep the commandments of God and do what a Christian is supposed to do and die a martyr. Especially is this true on a foreign field of service somewhere.
So, it’s an Old Testament promise and a general promise. It doesn’t always happen. If the whole nation was out of the will of God—even though a few might live right—the promise was often withheld from Israel. Israel needed to be in the will of God to be blessed by the conditional covenants.
“If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.”
The teaching here is that a man reaps what he sows. If a man is wise, he will profit by it. If a man is a scorner, he will bear it. He is not hurting anybody but himself. He is not increasing anyone else’s judgment, he is increasing his own. “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:4-6 KJV). He will reap what he has sown.
Now, it is true that others will be affected by his actions, but ultimately, he will bear his own judgment, his own burden.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2020 7:36:56 GMT -6
“Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked” (Proverbs 10:6 KJV).
Obviously, you do right, and you’ll reap God’s blessings. People, however, don’t judge it in that fashion. They say, “What am I going to get out of it here?” A man might not get anything here for being just. Down here, if you are honest, folks look at you like you are some kind of peculiar. But as far as God is concerned, God is going to bless you. The Bible says about the New Testament Christians that they are “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Why? Because he is just, and “blessings are upon the head of the just.”
“. . . but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked,” there are a number of ways that you can look at this. (1) it covers up what the wicked say. It doesn’t really come to pass. Even though the wicked may give you counsel, it will come to void. (2) it speaks of their end in hell where violence is all they know. They scream and weep and wail and gnash their teeth, but there will be no end of it. There are a number of ways you can try to interpret the thing. “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Romans 3:19 KJV).
“. . . but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked,” the world has been saying for centuries that there is no God, there is no Bible, that is all just a bunch of nothing! Then all of a sudden, the second coming of Jesus Christ, that will cover the mouth of the wicked. Their mouths will be stopped then. “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips” (Romans 3:13 KJV).
Another way violence covers the mouth of the wicked is that when they open their mouths, this is what comes out. Vile words, vile attitudes, and vile philosophies. One of the worst places for it are those situation comedies and talk shows on TV where they blast us with their view on life and their bad advice. All of it is the epicureanism of eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die.
That is all these late-night so-called comedians have been putting out for decades. They are liberal socialists and they have been pumping out that anti-social, antichristian, anti-church garbage and people are just eating it up. They don’t have any sense any way, staying up to all hours of the night. They just open themselves up for that junk and are swallowing it hook, line and sinker. It’s just all fake.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2020 8:28:56 GMT -6
“By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked” (Proverbs 11:11 KJV).
“By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted,” in other words, if a city will let the saved do what they are supposed to do and leave the upright alone, and not punish the upright, the city will be exalted. It will prosper. And that has just been a general truth of history. And when the wicked rule, the people are oppressed, and the city is eventually destroyed and fails because of it.
“By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted,” God will bless it. Look at America. In the short space of 230 years, America becomes the most powerful and richest nation in the world. How is that possible? Well, in general, America allowed the upright and the righteous to serve God and live for God, and God bless America because of it. America allowed for religious freedom and did not interfere with the church’s liberty to worship, teach and preach the Word of God. America was established with that kind of freedom in mind, and not many other countries have ever been set up like that. There is no doubt that this country has been exalted.
“. . . but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked,” the wicked start getting in control and start running things. They enact laws limited freedom of speech, freedom of religion and worship, and this nation is growing weaker by the year. At present, the ideologies and the evil principles of the wicked have overtaken whole cities and crime is rampant. Once safe cities are becoming war zones. New York and Chicago are in shambles. The murder rates are increasing beyond reason. The homosexual agenda has captured the government to where now it is a crime to call a he a he, if it prefers to be a she. People are being arrested for using the wrong pronouns to identify transgenders. Things are going downhill quickly, and God can’t bless it, and the cities are being overthrown.
Antisemitism is growing stronger and God told the Jew that He would bless them that bless Israel and curse them that curse Israel. Righteousness once exalted our nation, but it no longer can as it once did.
“By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.”
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2020 8:13:00 GMT -6
“The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. (Proverbs 12:5).
“The thoughts of the righteous are right,” God is concerned with our thoughts and mind; not just our words.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
Now, what that should settle in verse two is (1) the outside is not everything, but the outside does count. In the modern mega-backslidden-all-the-nonsense churches, it's become less and less that the outside matters at all. Some guy can still be a “Christian” and be tattooed up one side and down the other (after they are supposedly saved), and they can get new piercings all over. I can hear someone saying now, “Well, they can be Christian!” and we don’t question that, they can be Christian too; but there is also a good chance that many of them are not.
Still, for one to deemphasize the outside to the extent that anybody that is concerned about what the outside says is a Pharisee, is way out of line. There is a lot of Phariseeism, there can be no disputing of that fact. To obsess on any one thing on the outside of a person dress, hair, or whatever, one can go too far with that; but to say that the outside doesn't matter is stupid, because it does. Paul here says, “Be not conformed to this world,” so the outside does matter, “but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The fact is that change starts on the inside by the renewing of the mind, and as the mind renews, then the outside changes, and is not conformed to this world. The key is the “renewing of the mind.”
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation [that is your lifestyle] the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts [that is what's going on inside]; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:22-23).
You can't do that with anything but the word of God, or the application of the word of God.
There is a lot that passes for mental illness that is actually nothing more than a spiritual problem, and it can be solved by being born again. But being born again doesn't fix it all. Just because you are saved doesn’t fix your character.
That is the basic problem with the guys that are in prison. They get saved and they're just as saved as any born again Christian, but the problem is that they have deeper character ruts than folks that have never been in trouble with the law. Just because you got saved doesn't change your character, and part of character is the way you think. That has to change. That's why salvation doesn't fix everything down here. Sure, it fixes it all for heaven, but the reason the Lord left us here was so that we would be transformed into the image of his son, and not conformed to the things down here. Its character, and a lot of it is hard work.
“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:9-10).
That’s a renewed mind; it’s a renewed heart, and it’s renewed in knowledge.
All this started with, “the thoughts of the righteous are right.” Everybody reading this knows that all your thoughts are not right, and that's because there is an unrighteous guy inside of you, alongside of the righteous one. And he is thinking stuff too. When you have an unrighteous thought, at least you know which guy was thinking it, right?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2020 7:34:32 GMT -6
“A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health” (Proverbs 13:17).
“A wicked messenger falleth into mischief,” there is an example of this in Ahimaaz, found in 2 Samuel 18:28. He was a wicked messenger even though it didn’t appear to be wicked—he just didn’t have the right news. He just got a hold of the wrong information and ran with it. He got ahead of God and he got ahead of himself and didn’t really have a message when he got in front of the king, so it wasn’t really a message to the king at all. It was the fellow that came up after him that told David what really happened. Ahimaaz’ “all is well,” wasn’t well at all. When a messenger is carrying the wrong message, he has fallen into mischief, and is headed for mischief.
“. . . but a faithful ambassador is health,” when a child of God is a faithful witness, we are told that we are “ambassadors for Christ” (II Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador represents his country and his king, and faithfully delivers the message of his king in the matters of court. And that is what we are to do—we are to tell others what God says about sin, salvation, heaven, hell, judgment, etc. We let the citizens of the other country know what God thinks about them.
Faithfulness and integrity are great character traits. You should have them yourself, and you should only associate with those who have them. When others trust you or depend on you, it is your duty and privilege to fulfill their desires and needs as perfectly as possible. This is noble performance that brings God’s approval and blessing and man’s as well.
Faithfulness and integrity are shown here by a messenger or ambassador. Wicked men get in trouble – they are easily waylaid by foolish distractions or pressure to compromise – they are not trustworthy or reliable. A faithful man brings prosperity to those trusting him, for he finishes the job as desired and expected. How often do you get waylaid?
The lost are living in the Devil’s world. The Devil is referred to as “the god of this world” (II Corinthians 4:4), and before we were saved we belonged to that country: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:2-3). Paul tells us that we no longer belong to that country: “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). In this verse, “conversation” speaks of “citizenship.” We are “ambassadors for Christ.”
If our roots are in heaven, and our affections are on heavenly things, then we ought naturally to be excited about our country and be willing to tell others about our country and our King. Heaven is so fantastic that the streets are not just paved with gold, they are completely made of it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2020 9:15:55 GMT -6
“The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends” (Proverbs 14:19-20).
“The evil bow before the good,” they may not do it in this life, but the day will certainly come when this will be accomplished: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
One day every evil person will bow before that which is good—Jesus Christ. He said that “there is none good but God,” and to the rich young ruler in Matthew 19, he said “and you are looking at Him.” Man will save himself a whole lot of trouble then, if he’ll just go ahead and do it now.
“. . . and the wicked at the gates of the righteous,” and not only will one day they will bow before Jesus Christ, but they will also do so before us. All those people that mocked us, whether in person or online, they will fall on their faces before us and acknowledge that we were right and they were wrong. I can only imagine that many of them will beg us to intercede for them before God but they will be reminded that there was only one intercessor between God and man, and that was the Man they rejected in life: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5). Not Mary, and certainly not us, the saints. Not Mary Baker Eddy, not Joseph Smith, and not Judge Rutherford.
This event will occur before the gates of the New City Jerusalem. It is just the reverse of this now, but this will happen in God’s perfect timetable.
Now we get into some money matters.
“The poor is hated even of his own neighbour,” other poor folks. “I’m poor, you’re poor—you can’t help me. You are not my friend.” Poor folks can barely stand themselves, let alone other poor people. One fellow said, “If you are poor, ain’t nobody know you; but if you are rich, you don’t even know yourself!” Who wants to run around with poor folks? Well, the Bible says to “be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits” (Romans 12:16).
In other words, Paul is saying that we would be better off running around with people that know what life is all about, and don’t have all the junk that the world considers success. These would be saved people that are very rich in heaven’s treasures, though poor of the trappings of earth. Their concern is for people, and not for things and money.
“. . . but the rich hath many friends,” they are temporary. The prodigal son of Luke 15 had all sorts of friends while the money held out, but once the money was gone, they were gone—and all he had left to hang around with were the hogs. That’s just a maxim of life. “. . . but the rich hath many friends,” and friends of that nature are very expensive.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2020 8:27:05 GMT -6
“A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise” (Proverbs 15:12).
We have seen the scorner a number of times throughout Proverbs. He is the fellow that looks down his nose at God, the Bible, the truth. He openly expressed his contempt towards things of faith.
This is why people stay out of Bible-preaching churches. They don’t like to be told they are sinners. They don’t want to be told that their lives are moral wrecks. The neither like being reproved, nor do they love the one that reproves them.
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Hebrews 11:7).
There was a man one time that was doing the will of God and was said to be a preacher of righteousness, and because of the way he lived and the things that he said, the people hated him. Notice that the motivation for Noah’s preaching was fear. There is nothing wrong with that, and one of the great themes of Proverbs which is often repeated in our studies is that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Noah built the ark, and notice this phrase, “by the which,” by preparing that ark, by being moved with fear, he condemned the world. He became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
We condemn other people when we live right, and witness to the lost. It condemns them. That is why they don’t like to hear the Gospel and they despise the sound of Bible preaching. It condemns their way, their thoughts, their heart, their lives, their motives, and their actions. They don’t like that. In fact, they hate that. “A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue” (Proverbs 17:4).
Where do they go? They go to professors of colleges; they go to listen to men and women that will tell them what they want to hear—who will flatter them and build them up—and who will tickle their ears. They will not go to the preacher of righteousness. They will go to the ones that will tell them, “I’m Ok, You’re Ok.” They won’t go to church; they won’t go to a Bible believer. Well, there is one time when they will go, and that is when they get into desperate trouble. When they find themselves in deep trouble, that is when they will listen to the truth.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2020 8:36:36 GMT -6
“Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud . . . The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning” (Proverbs 16:19, 21).
This is another way of saying what the Bible says in the New Testament, “Condescend to men of low estate.” In other words, don’t hang around proud folks. Don’t hang around folks that have their mind and eyes set on high things of this world. That is, “Come down from your high horse.”
We are better to be around poor, humble folks that are trying to live for God, then we are to be around high-minded, snobby people that are more interested in earthly success than heavenly joy.
“Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Obviously, you might make money now hanging around with the crowd, but sooner or later you are going to lose it. You might think you are going to divide the spoil with the proud now. Haman thought he was going to get it all, Ahab finally got possession of Naboth’s vineyard, but he didn’t get to keep it very long. Belshazzar had the whole wealth of the Babylonians in his hand, he lost it in one night. He got so proud that he was having a party and drinking liquor out of the golden cups of the temple, but God wrote on the wall that his time was up—and it was.
“The wise in heart shall be called prudent,” the wise heart comes from the Scriptures, that is where you get it. Wisdom comes from the Scriptures; wisdom comes from the Holy Ghost.
“The wise in heart shall be called prudent,” the prudent are careful. The prudent are worried about consequences. They just don’t go rushing in where angels fear to tread.
“. . . and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning,” not necessarily your lips, verse 24 shows that it could be someone else, “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” Like one man said, “Get under the spout where the glory comes out, and you’ll have to shout and never need to pout!”
This is why folks ought to come to church. They need to be encouraged. They need to be under the sweet words of the Scriptures and hear the sweet testimonies of believers that God has blessed and how they got through problems with God’s help. We ought to hear those things. As long as you can find a faithful Bible-believing church that has not compromised with the world’s methods.
“. . . and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning,” the Bible is likened to honey, and food, sometimes it is sweet. And sometimes it is bitter. Often the bitter comes first, because we enjoy desert after the dinner.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2020 7:57:53 GMT -6
“The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with. He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 17:14-15).
“The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water,” this is an interesting comparison. Did you ever let water out of a bucket and then try to put it back in? It pictures that cartoon where it shows a man getting real red in the face until a mushroom cloud forms over his head and the caption reads, “Looks like Harry blew his top again!”
“. . . therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with,” stay away from it, don’t be contentious. Romans 12 tells us to “give place to wrath.” Don’t start with it, because once you let it out, you’ll never get it back to the way it was before. This is like words that we foolishly let escape out of our mouth that are hurtful to another. Once they are said, they are remembered forever.
What he is saying is that you can never get it back. “Only by pride cometh contentions.” So, just remember that it is your pride that is hurt, and that is why you want to get involved in it.
They condemned Christ, and they condemned the Apostles all of whom were just men. They are abominations to the Lord.
This is what God thinks of our judicial system when it justifies the wicked and condemns the innocent as a result of a tainted judge. When a city is fully controlled by wicked men, the courts are often rigged in favor of those that run with the political sway of the leadership. One thing that has become very clear in our country these days is the double standard that permeates our whole nation.
One side of the issue, generally the left, are very rarely called to question for their actions; yet when the very same thing is assumed to have been done by those on the right, they are prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.
In some cities, parents that put their children in a Christian school in order that they may become patriots and Bible-believers, are persecuted and condemned. Yet, that same community will justify modern education and some of the things that take place in the classroom that would have been unacceptable just a generation ago. Our modern education system is the result of atheists like John Dewey that sought to create a society where God is simply not welcome. These days we are being told that anyone with long-held convictions of righteousness and morality are bigots and racists.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2020 8:55:19 GMT -6
“The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster” (Proverbs 18:8-9).
“The words of a talebearer are as wounds,” people out telling tales on people, or spreading rumors and gossip, just revealing the worst about other people is talebearing, and it is ugly. Nothing hurts worse in this life than a former friend that decides to talk about you behind your back. It is right that these things are described as “wounds.” It hurts longer than fifty stiches you might get after an accident, they certainly sting a lot longer.
People you once held in the highest admiration to turn around and stab you is just hurtful. Of course, nothing took Jesus Christ by surprise, but it still had to hurt terribly when Judas betrayed him in the garden. The Bible calls him, “my familiar friend.”
Folks have a right to leave their church. Something might come along that feeds you better spiritually than the one that you were previously a member of. But that does not give you the right to bad mouth your former preacher. Many pastors have poured out their lives in other people, helped them when they needed help, even financially—to have those people speak poorly of that pastor is a deep wound and totally uncalled for. In some cases, the art of simple empathy is lacking in America today.
It is a wound down in the heart, deep in the belly. It would be much better for you to just walk up to him and smack him in the mouth than to talk vicious things about him behind his back.
“The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”
This is the lazy man, but not everyone is actually lazy—they just run around in circles and waste a lot of time. Some guys just don’t have the motivation to get up and do something, and others get up and don’t do a thing, but they stir up a lot of dust just running around in circles, aren’t doing a whole lot better. Others think just because there is a lot of activity going on, it must be all right. Well, that isn’t always true.
People waste time, waste money, waste opportunities fooling around with the wrong thing. They may be busy, but that doesn’t mean that they are productive, or even doing the right thing.
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