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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2019 6:26:13 GMT -6
“Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished” (Proverbs 17:5).
This is pretty much a restatement of 14:31, “He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.” Again, repetition is very much the method of instruction in the Book of Proverbs. The more we hear something they better it will stick.
The reason that verse 5 is true is that God has made the poor: “The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all” (Proverbs 22:2). So, when a man looks down his nose at the poor, he is looking down his nose at God—God did that for a reason. He said, “The poor you will have with you always.” Some folks are just better off poor, and some people can handle being rich. Some folk’s poverty kills them, and others riches kill them. If we are honest with God, we’ll be content to say, “Give me what I need, not necessarily what I want.”
God gave us the Holy Spirit to help control that urge to want more than we need, to rule over our own spirit. Seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God can give us the victory over that thing.
“. . . and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished,” don’t be happy when another person gets their due. It may be well-deserved and a long time coming, but if we take an attitude that we are glad for his circumstances we may well find ourselves in dire straits. Most people are not like this, but every once in a while you’ll find yourself having a grudge against somebody—they may have done you dirty at some point in the past. When their automobile gets crashed, or they have a house fire, God says we are not to rejoice in their misfortune.
Christians ought not to have a vengeful, self-seeking spirit. That is a satanic spirit right out of the depths of hell. That is not to say that we, as a nation, shouldn’t rejoice at the demise of an Adolf Hitler or a Saddam Hussein, it is really talking about another person with whom we have had personal dealings. “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep” (Romans 12:15).
So, what then are we supposed to do? Paul answers this question for us: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). When you get that feeling of “Boy! They deserved that!” it is not the spirit of meekness, but a spirit of pride.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2019 6:31:09 GMT -6
“The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook” (Proverbs 18:4).
I am told that folks that really like to fish have their own secret spot where they love to go because it seems they always have good fortune. Well, by the same standard, when we want good advice, we tend to go to those we trust—those that have given us good counsel in the past. Only a foolish person will go to another fool for advice, unless it is bad advice that they seek. When a person is bent toward foolishness, it is always good for them to have someone else they can blame— “Well, he told me to do it!”
Before us today are two places where a wise man will go to find sound instruction, two similes, if you will.
The first is deep water: “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out” (Proverbs 20:5).
“The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters,” they are not casual or half-hearted. This man is contrasted with the wicked, foolish man of vss. 2-3—so we are free to view that the words of a wise man have a great depth to them. These kinds of words only come from a sea of experience, not a mere puddle of casual acquaintance with the truth. These are the words of a man that has been tried, as silver is tried, and been proven. Often, knowledge comes from learning from one’s mistakes while others have learned even more by learning from others’ mistakes. The Word of God is a repository of other men’s mistakes and how to avoid them in our own walk. The more that a man knows of his Bible and its depths of truth, is he worthy to direct others.
The second is a flowing brook: “The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked” (Proverbs 10:11).
“. . . and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook,” it waters the whole countryside within its path. Wise words are a great blessing to all within their hearing—if, indeed, they have ears to hear. “The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death” (Proverbs 13:14).
“Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?” (Proverbs 22:17-21).
From whence do these deep waters and flowing brooks of wisdom come? In my experience there are two places.
The first is the fountain of heavenly treasures—the Word of God. Despite the opinions of some men, ours is a precious Book divinely preserved by the living God unto all generations. “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Psalms 12:6). The second is from godly men that have dedicated themselves to that Word of God. It could be a faithful, godly layman who, like Enoch, has walked with God for many years and through many miles, or it could be the man who is called of God to be the pastor of a local New Testament, Bible-believing church. Their lifetime of fruitful, spiritual reaping and sowing will set them apart for this purpose.
Truly, there are plenty of opinions that one can listen to, but “to the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2019 7:11:12 GMT -6
“The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil” (Proverbs 19:23).
The phrase, “fear of the Lord” occurs fourteen times in the 31 chapters of Proverbs, denoting it an important subject indeed. We are first told that it is the beginning of wisdom. All that are saved have been saved because they learned a healthy fear of the alternative. We are told again and again that fear has no place in the ministry of the Word. We are told that we catch more flies with honey, meaning that our messages ought to be sugar and spice and all that is nice. We should never ruffle anyone’s feathers as we speak exclusively of the love of God.
We are told that this fear of the Lord is better than great treasure; yet in it are great riches, honor and life. Those that do not fear God hate knowledge, yet an understanding of this fear leads to knowledge. Solomon tells us that those that lack this fear will have short lives, while they that have it will live long lives and be prosperous with riches, honor and life.
We derive the primary meaning of a word in the Bible based on its first usage. In this case, we see that fear is dread: “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered” (Genesis 9:1-2).
Here we have an example of the Bible being its own best interpreter. The word “fear” is immediately associated with “dread,” which is its meaning. Over the years, the word has been watered down to express “deep reverential awe.” Now, it is awesome that we serve a God that has the power to cast multitudes of sinners into a lake of fire, but those that are saved are saved because the threat of hell is a fearful and dreadful thing.
God’s command to Israel captured this very thought: “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).
Here we see that they were to both fear God and to love God. Is that not a contradiction in terms? How is it possible to love one that holds the threat of eternal destruction over our heads? When one understands that judgment is not God’s choice, but rather man’s—we are then free to understand that separation from Himself is His strange work, His strange act.
God has done all that He can to insure man a home in Heaven, yet, He has given man a freedom not allowed the angels. Man is free to choose life or death. Those that choose death have no fear of the consequences. Those that do fear God choose life.
“The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.”
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2019 6:17:33 GMT -6
“Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee” (Proverbs 20:22).
Verse 20:9 said, “I have made my heart clean,” and this verse says, “I will recompense evil.” Do you know what man’s attitude claims sometimes? “I am God!” “I’ve got it going here, and I’ve straightened myself out, and I can take care of my own situation, and I have defeated my enemies, I am the master of my fate, and the captain of my soul!” No, you’re not. It only takes an honest look in the mirror to know that is not true. We are just hunks of flesh susceptible to the mortician.
The fact that there is a broad road that leads to destruction is proof that most men are only interested in what they can do to obtain acceptance by God. They expect that God has to accept their terms and be satisfied with the best they can do. If they would only be honest and compare their “righteousness” with that of the perfect Son of God, Jesus Christ, they would understand how that bargain will never do. God only has one standard, and that is perfection. And it is only God that can make provision for the salvation of a man’s soul. Man needs to read, heed, and understand God’s evaluation of them: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6).
Here is the best advice anyone can get “wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.”
First, as to the area of salvation, we need to understand God’s perspective toward us: “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:7-11).
If unsaved, we are the enemies of God. If saved through His Son, we are reconciled and are now the friends of God.
As to human conflicts in life, God tells us how to handle that also.
“Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:17-21).
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2019 6:01:04 GMT -6
“The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD” (Proverbs 21:31).
Some people are getting ready for the day of battle with physical armaments, and some people are on their knees, praying.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds)” (II Corinthians 10:3-4).
I’m sure there are a lot of people laughing at the folks that are praying, but there is more protection with God than there is with a horse in the day of battle, unless God has told you to get on the horse.
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalms 20:7).
“Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!” (Isaiah 31:1).
There is a time when you don’t need to pray, like when Joshua found out that there was sin in the camp and he would fall down to pray, but God said now isn’t the time to pray, now is the time to bring judgment on this thing and go find out who has done this.
“A horse is a vain thing for salvation; neither shall he deliver any by his great strength” (Psalms 33:17).
This is a great verse. Psalm 33 is one of best psalms for personal comfort for a Christian that there is. If God is against a man, it isn’t going to do the Antichrist and all his armies any good to have all the horses in the world, God’s going to destroy it and them.
“Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those that fear him, upon those that wait for his mercy” (Psalms 33:18).
You trust in God and God will take care of you. Safety is of the Lord, not in horses or weapons.
Verse 31 is a Tribulation passage, and the Antichrist is going to amass his armies against Israel and God, but God is going to crush them.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2019 7:03:25 GMT -6
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). To “train” is much more than just talk. It means that you force a child to do right. When an athlete is in training, he forces himself to be disciplined. He follows a strict regimen whereby he spends time in the gym with the weights, he diligently watches what he eats, and he follows a sensible routine. He intends to excel in his chosen sport. As parents, we want our children to excel in their lives. When a recruit is training in the army, the drill instructor just doesn’t ask them to show up in the morning and run five or ten miles. They whip them into shape doing whatever is necessary. They are creating a fighting machine that will obey any and all orders given to them in the heat of combat, and the boy is turned into a man. “Train up a child,” train them up! Tell them what’s right, and then make them do what’s right. Establish character in them. There are a number of ways to create or form character in a child. These things need to be constantly done, and redone, in the life of a child. A child takes more than just a few admonitions to get him straightened out. There is something called “Bible Action Truths,” or “B.A.T.S.” They are character-principles in the Bible. Like “telling the truth,” they are character-principles. These principles need to be taught to the child. There are various ways to teach them, one way is through mottos. You constantly reinforce Bible truth through the use of mottos: “It doesn’t pay to lie,” “Crime never pays,” you just constantly repeat these truths in the child’s hearing. You also teach children through stories. Good stories, like you would find in McGuffey’s Readers. They taught lessons on trusting God, doing right, and telling the truth. Here is a location on line where you can download them for free: ebook4scaricare.com/gratis/mcguffey-series-mcguffeys-eclectic-readers-series/When children read these stories, they identify with them. Good stories that teach good Bible truths. You can also have signs throughout the house with Bible verses on them, such as, “Trust in the Lord,” “It is better to trust in the Lord than to have confidence in man.” Then there are “adult examples,” this is the positive side of character-building. There is a negative side. You want to promote these things. You want to get rid of television programming that enforce negative behavior and inculcate positive role models in your children’s lives. There is wisdom in ridding the home of humanistic values. Those things are character-destroying instruments. Much on television destroys character, initiative, desire, imagination, principles, and morals. If we haven’t got that figured out yet, we need to think it through. Bad music also destroys character. Humanistic values are “Do it now!” “Have your own way!” Those things need to be done away with. Once you rid your child of these influences today, then you begin to promote the positive aspects of character. Be aware that a public-school education is going to teach them just the opposite of what it is you are trying to do. They are going to instill the world’s values, and not God’s. We form character in a child by reminding the child often of principles that are associated with reward, success, and doing right and pleasing God. It isn’t easy to do. It takes up to twenty years to do it right. “And when he is old, he will not depart them it.” If you embed these principles into the mind of a child, and when he is away, he cannot forget those truths, for they will be a part of his personality.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2019 7:14:13 GMT -6
“Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee” (Proverbs 23:10-11).
There are some landmarks that absolutely have to stay where they are: Calvary, the Bible, the Local church. We live in an age where it seems that everyone wants to bring everything “up-to-date” with the times. We have to make the Bible and the church relevant. Rats! What we need to do is to make folks repent. We need to go back, not forward.
The Democrats are constantly warning that the Republicans are going to take our country back 50 years. Great! I wish they would take it back 100 years, back to the day when they had some real revivals in this country.
“Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless,” technically, the Jews were given an inheritance, and moving a landmark was stealing land from them: “Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof” (Job 24:2).
“Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it . . . Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen” (Deuteronomy 19:14, 27:17).
Ownership of the land was to be retained in the family, but if for some reason they did sell their land to meet debts—that land was to be returned to them at the year of Jubilee.
“. . . and enter not into the fields of the fatherless,” when the patriarch died, the people would take advantage of the widow. They are still doing that today.
“For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee,” God established those landmarks. “Enter not in the fields of the fatherless,” Why? Because “their redeemer is mighty.” It is like a courtroom situation and God will “plead their cause,” and anyone that messes with those ancient landmarks is going to come up on the short end of the stick. It is a direct confrontation with God.
This rule is a serious matter. Solomon also wrote, “Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them” (Proverbs 22:22-23). Moses had written, “Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless” (Exodus 22:22-24).
Love orphans and widows: go out of your way to help them whenever possible. This is the pure religion of Jesus Christ (James 1:27). The consequences of neglecting them or taking advantage of them are dire. And if you see them being oppressed, the Highest is watching (Ecclesiastes 5:8). He is the Father of the fatherless, and the Judge of widows (Psalm 68:5). Let all abortionists, their legislators and protectors, take heed. Judgment is coming, soon.
No man can get away with doing wrong, because it is going to be made right.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2019 6:11:29 GMT -6
“Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief” (Proverbs 24:15-16).
“Lay not wait, O wicked man,” laying in wait to waylay innocent folks, like in this verse: “If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause” (Proverbs 1:11).
“Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous, spoil not his resting place,” possibly looking to kill the dweller in order to take possession of the dwelling. The religious system that Christ dealt with had instituted a way whereby they could take the house from the widow when her husband died: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation” (Matthew 23:14).
The Pharisees had figured out a way to get that house by telling the woman that if she would turn that house over to them, if her husband was in purgatory, they would pray him out. (The Jews do not call it ‘purgatory’ per se, but they do hold to an 11-month period of purification for eleven months while Qaddish is prayed for them. They believed that that period could be shortened, or longer, based on how severe the man’s sins were).
“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief,” you just can’t keep a good man down. Seven times . . . there are seven resurrections in the Bible. And in every one of those resurrections, a just man comes up.
1. Jesus 2. Old Testament Saints: “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose” (Matthew 27:52). 3. The believer, when he trusts Christ—there is a spiritual resurrection: “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12). 4. New Testament saints at the Rapture: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:16-17). 5. Tribulation saints at the second Rapture. Revelation 7:9-17 describes this great multitude. Note that the New Testament Christians are already there since chapter 4:1. 6. Israel, as a nation, will be resurrected at the second coming of Jesus Christ: Ezekiel 36 and 37, where the dry bones are brought to life. 7. The Great White Throne Judgment. You may ask, “Where are the just men there?” They are those that were killed at the end of the Millennium: “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:18).
So, there are seven resurrections in the Bible and each of them involve either a just man, or a group of just men. Seven is the number of perfection, or completion, in the Bible.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2019 6:18:44 GMT -6
“Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen” (Proverbs 25:6-7).
Verses 6 and 7 go together.
Now this principle is given to you in the New Testament by the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke chapter 14:7-11, “And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 14:7-11).
This is a principle of life, a principle of pride and humility.
“Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men,” you do, and it might be expected of you to do the things of a great man. You might not be up to the task. You might not be up to the responsibility. You just might end up making a fool out of yourself. Haman was a man that did that. He put himself in the front of the king, and eventually it cost him his life.
Now, that expression, “Come up hither,” only occurs three times in the Bible. It shows up here, in the Old Testament. It shows up again in Revelation 4:1, “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”
We see it again in Revelation 11:12, “And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.”
In 4:1, it's a picture of the rapture of the New Testament Saints. In revelation 11:12 it takes place with the two Jewish prophets; Moses and Elijah which is a type of the rapture of the Tribulation saints. Is there anybody else that has already gone ahead of us? We have the rapture the New Testament Saints here and the Trib Saints, is there anybody preceding that? So, evidently this verse here in the Old Testament, and notice, you just had a passage on the Millennium and the second coming in verse 5, and then in verse seven, “. . . it is better that it be said into thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower.” Do you know what the expression in the world? “put down,”
So here, you have the rapture of the Old Testament Saints in type. Now, these all take place at specific times in the Scriptures.
- 1. Matthew 27:51, you will find the Old Testament Saints resurrected out, or at least part of them, we don’t know how many of them, but some Old Testament Saints went up in Matthew 27:51 after his resurrection.
- 2. The New Testament Saints. You and I, we go up in First Thessalonians 4:13-18.
- 3. Tribulation Saints in Revelation chapter 14. I don't know the exact verse on it, but there is a reaping there of the earth, right before the destruction of the Antichrist’s army in revelation 14:15.
Now you will see all of these three resurrections in two other passages:
“But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming” (I Corinthians 15:23).
“But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:31-32).
Both of these passages give you the order of the first resurrection. In Revelation 20, John says:
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).
The first resurrection has three parts: 1, 2, 3 and after the third part is over with John then says, “blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.” The first resurrection is complete.
Those different names for the resurrections are in Daniel 12, John 5 an in Acts. The resurrection of life is in John 5:29. In First Corinthians he gives you the order, he said in Adam all die, and in Christ shall all be made alive, but every man in his own order. Christ the first fruits, then they that Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end. Three parts to it, and the last part—the end—is an expression always referring to the Tribulation. Every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits. The first fruits went up right after his resurrection, then those are Christ’s at His coming. That's future yet.
In Matthew 22, he talks about the resurrection to the Pharisees, and they ask him a question, and He said that God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. He said He's the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and these three men picture all three of the resurrections. Abraham stands for the Old Testament Saints; he is the father of Israel. Isaac is a picture of Jesus Christ and pictures the Holy Spirit going for a bride, and that's exactly what the servant did. Then we have Jacob. Well, the tribulation is called “the time of Jacob's trouble.”
- Old Testament Saints, go up there is the god of Abraham. - New Testament Saints go up, God of Isaac. - Tribulation Saints go up, God of Jacob.
He's the God of the living, and in the living resurrection there are three parts to it typified by those three men. That's quite a bit of material to give you.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2019 7:12:19 GMT -6
“He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation” (Proverbs 26:24-26).
“He that hateth,” he’s got hatred, it is just bottled up in his heart. “He that hateth dissembleth with his lips and layeth up deceit within him.” He is a hypocrite. “He layeth up deceit within him,” he deceives people. He acts religious, he acts pious, acts righteous, acts like he is spiritual when he really isn't. Deep down inside he’s got a hatred for people, has a hatred for preaching, he has a hatred for what's right. He dissembleth. He hides his motives with his lips. That’s a word for a hypocrite, the way a hypocrite talks. He dissembleth.
The dictionary says that dissembling means to hide the true motives, or real feelings, and he's deceitful. Something else that dissembler does, he breaks up the assembly. Yeah, he'll take apart the assembly, he will disassemble people.
“For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation” (Galatians 2:12-13).
In this passage, the things that Peter was doing brought about a division amongst the brethren.
Peter was running around and saying, “Well, Paul and Silas and those fellas there are going to go to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles going to get in on it, and then when he got around a bunch of other Jews he kind of held off from the Gentiles; in other words, he wouldn't eat with them. He would assemble with the Jews, and as a result some of the other Jews started doing that too, and they wouldn't accept the Gentiles as well as other Jews. And by that dissembling it says that Paul rebuke Peter for that. Galatians 2:14 goes on to say: “But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?”
Paul said, “I withstood him [Peter] to the face because he was to be blamed” (verse 11).
In other words, before the Jews came, old Peter was sitting down and eating with the Gentiles, you know, like they were part of the family of God; but when his fellow Jews came, he would run off and separate himself, because he was afraid of what the Jews might think. Then the other Jews did the same thing as Peter was doing, insomuch that even Barnabas did the same thing.
A respecter people, you know, will produce that. That's a hypocritical thing. “He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him.”
“When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart” (Proverbs 26:25).
Verse 25 goes along with verse 24. “When he speaketh fair,” or like Romans 16:18 says, “fair speeches and fair words,” “believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.” and you'll find every one of them in Matthew 15:19, “for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”
“Whose hatred,” hatred is mentioned back in verse 24. “Whose hatred is covered by deceit,” he doesn’t let anyone know it, he’s real pious. He’s kind of like the scribes and Pharisees. They were so pious around Jesus; “Good master, what good thing . . .,” or “Would you answer this question?” But deep down inside they held a hatred for Him. They would kill Him if they got the opportunity. If not for the people, they would have killed Him.
“Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation,” verse 10, God will reward him either in this life, or in death in hell.
“Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear” (I Timothy 5:20).
God tells the preacher, “them that sin rebuke before all,” in other words, a man that is wrong or is wicked, he is to be rebuked in the assembly and then later on God will rebuke him.
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2019 7:10:37 GMT -6
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished” (Proverbs 27:12).
Right there is the definition of prudence. Our King James Bible does not leave us wondering what a word means, and we don’t need any Greek scholars and Bible professors to tell us. The Bible is its own best dictionary, and the Holy Spirit is our teacher. You can have confidence in your Bible. You don’t have to worry about the “originals” which no one in the last few thousand years have ever seen. We . . . have . . . God’s . . . preserved . . . and . . . Holy . . . Word . . . in . . . our . . . hands!
The definition of prudence is “seeing things in advance.” It is being concerned with, and dealing with, future results, sowing and reaping and so forth and so on. That's all a prudent man is. Before he does things, or says things, he is concerned about what effect it will have on his future, and somebody else’s future. A prudent teenager would not post something silly on Facebook that will keep him from ever getting hired by a decent company. He looks at how it's going to come out. He's got the long view, and not the short view.
Some people are only concerned in what they can get today. Bob Jones Sr. said, “Never sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.” In other words, don't throw away the future just for a thrill today. That's not a prudent man. That's a simple person. Solomon says, “The simple pass on, and are punished.” They don't see the result of what they're doing, they don't want to see it. They're just so wrapped up in what they're doing they don't want to see the punishment, the result, the judgment that will come upon them.
The prudent man hides himself from all that. That's a great passage! See, all it’s saying there is that a prudent man understands the law of sowing and reaping. And a simple do not understand that what you do today can affect you for bad tomorrow.
Be careful! Be cautious! Do not get surprised! What could happen that might hurt you? Optimism is risky; pessimism is safe. Learn wisdom. Prudent men look ahead and adjust their lives to avoid loss, pain, or trouble. Wise men are vigilant to spot changes coming that could cost them, and so they avoid them. Foolish men live day by day without regard to the future and get caught by life’s frequent changes, and so they are hurt by them.
Do you believe most of what you hear or read? Are you decisive and opinionated? Be careful! Wise men are cautious, critical, pessimistic, and skeptical about unproven assertions or situations. They do not believe all they hear or read, and they do not make decisions without carefully analyzing possible danger (Proverbs 14:15). Only foolish simpletons naively view the future and rush forward optimistically. And they get punished for it.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2019 6:47:05 GMT -6
“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).
“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law,” like the guy back up in verse 4 that forsakes the law: “They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.”
“. . . even his prayer shall be abomination.” So many people pray their memorized, vain repetitions, which Jesus says, “the heathen do.” So many prayers are directed to the wrong mediator, for there is one mediator between God and man, and that MAN is Jesus Christ. Not his mothers, and not some saved who may or may not be a sinner saved by grace. It is true, some prayers can not penetrate the ceiling of your home, let alone the throne of grace. Today, we are going to look at some hindrances to prayer.
There about seven things that hinder prayer, and this is one of them. Sin, personal sin hinders prayer.
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalms 66:18).
Not only does sin hinder prayer, but also insincerity hinders prayer.
“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:1-3).
It says, you ask, and you don’t receive, because you ask amiss.
Giving God second best hinders your prayers:
“Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 1:7-9).
God said, “You give me second best, I won’t give you anything.”
The fourth thing that hinders prayer is faithlessness.
God said, “Let a man ask in faith” in James 1:6. You better ask believing, or you'll get nothing.
The, five, is selfishness and that's right here in proverbs.
“Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13).
A sixth reason for no answered prayer is marriage problems. When the wife and the husband are not getting along together, and not doing right by one another, then their prayers are hindered.
“Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered” (I Peter 3:1-7).
Seven, an unforgiving spirit. If you don't forgive others, God will not forgive you:
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15).
These are seven reasons that people's prayer life gets shattered. That’s how to kill your prayer life.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2019 6:42:58 GMT -6
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Proverbs 29:18).
Now, we always use the verse in the sense of how it affects us or relates to us but that's not how the verse is meant; that's not really the interpretation of it in the context. Now, look at it, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: BUT HE THAT KEEPETH THE LAW, happy is he.” See, the vision here is a vision of judgment on your sins. Where there is no vision of judgment or hell, the people perish. “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost” (II Corinthians 4:3), blinded by “the god of this world” (4:4). And the people are blind to the outcome of sin, that's the person that lacks the ability to judge the future.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law,” see, there is a person that has got vision. He knows that “the wages of sin is death.” He knows, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” He knows that, and because of that, he avoids that reaping. I do not understand people that know that they are going to hell and know all they need to do is receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and they just sit there doing about it. You can tell them, “You are going to go to hell, you are going to face judgment, you are going to face God,” and they say, “Yeah, I know.” I just can’t understand that. “What are you going to do about it?” “Nothing now, I’ll take care of it later.”
“I mean, when are you going to take care of it, man? You act like you going to live forever!” I guess they figure that when things bad, and their heart goes bad, some doctor will just give me a rubber one or a plastic one and keep him alive. They just don’t fear death, and they don’t fear God. I really believe that they think they are going to live forever, and they'll be suddenly be cut off, and that without remedy.
Now, we generally apply it this way. The saved are to have a vision for the lost: “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:36-38).
When Jesus saw the multitudes, he had compassion on them. That's a vision. See, that's a spiritual vision. So, you send them the gospel because they can't hear without it (Romans 10:14). That's a vision. You got people around the world. You've never seen their country, but you know they are there and lost. You have a vision of Africans dying and going to hell. You have a vision of Asians dying and going to hell. So, you send a missionary over to them. How shall they hear unless they be sent a preacher (Romans 10:14). “He that wins souls is wise,” and happy.
“. . . but he that keepeth law, happy as he.” Psalm 126:6, when you bring your sheaves back you come back with rejoicing. Some people have a vision of that. They know that they're going to get a joy and a blessing out of winning souls, so they have a vision and when people lose that vision, the lost perish, but that's not really what the verse teaches; what we are making now is a spiritual application. that doctrinal application of the thing is that if a man didn't keep the law, he perishes and a guy that does keep the law saves himself and is also happy.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2019 7:01:19 GMT -6
“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Proverbs 30:5-6).
There are three warnings in the Bible concerning taking away or adding to the word of God. God put those warnings in there, because He never left it up to man to preserve His Word. What He gave to man, He intended not only to inspire (which we did all scripture), but he intended to preserve what He inspired. He intended, not only to inspire His word; which He did, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (I Timothy 3:16), but He intended to preserve what He inspired.
Ronnie Bell, a past president of Bob Jones University, a fundamental college, said that God only inspired the original writings and never intended for any translation to be inspired. But folks, that's a lie. What God inspired, He intended to preserve. He didn't leave it up to you and I to preserve it; you see, if He left it up to people to preserve it then obviously we would have left something out. We wouldn't have gotten all these manuscripts and all this stuff, and we wouldn’t know what to put in.it. If God didn't do it, it would be impossible for men to do it. Yet there are some that would like us to forget that “with God, all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).
Right there is an impossible commandment, where He says, “add thou not unto his words,” that's an impossible commandment, if he leaves it up to you or me to do it; because we would surely add something. But since he determined to do it Himself, then it's not impossible. David said, “Thou shalt preserve them,” it is not the church, nor the biblical scholars, nor the critics, nor the schools that shall preserve them, but God! You remember that! It's not up to you and me.
So, when God wants to preserve his Bible, He just gathers men together and he says, “Okay, write it like this, fellows.” That’s all there is to it. And “faithful men of God,” wrote it like He said to write it.
If you study those King James Bible translators, they didn't write it like a lot of them believe it. A lot of them did not believe in immersion, yet they wrote baptism in there and they said baptism was a burial (Romans chapter 6). They would not have put it that way, they did not believe in immersion. You can see God had His hand on that book.
“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you” (Deuteronomy 4:2).
The warning here in Proverbs 30:5,6.
“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19).
Three warnings, two of them in the Old Testament; you would think that would be enough. Every one of these new Bibles takes out hundreds of verses and hundreds of words out of the New Testament. “Add thou not unto his words lest . . . thou be found a liar!”
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2019 6:44:19 GMT -6
“Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10).
Okay, now in verse 10, and on through the rest of the chapter, we're dealing with the qualities of the virtuous woman. He's given us warnings in vss. 2-3, wholesome words for leaders in vss. 4-9, and now, how to be a virtuous woman. This is what his mother taught him about a good woman, and I'm sure she taught him these things so that when Lemuel went to pick out a queen and a wife; he got the best that he could find.
It says here in verse 10 and we're going to use the letter P. As we go down through these verses, I'll show you some things about each verse that begin with the letter P.
Number one, in verse 10; her principles. “Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies.” What is virtuosity? what is virtue? It is goodness. It is high, moral quality. Who can find a good woman, with good character? Good moral excellence, pure, well, when you have a woman like that you have a valuable treasure.
“Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies.” You can apply this to the body of Christ, the church, in Matthew 13:46. The church is called a “pearl of great price.” I guarantee you when Jesus Christ cleans up the church at the Judgment Seat, she will be very beautiful, very virtuous.
“Who can find a virtuous woman?” Well, let me take you and show you one. She is found in Second Samuel, chapter 20. I love this story. This is a virtuous woman, and a wise woman. Now, she isn't very articulate. I mean, she's not very educated, not very scholarly, but she knows how to get the job done. A man by the name of Sheba had revolted against David, the king and Joab and the armies are going out to find him, and to punish him.
They go into a city called Abel, in verse 14. “He went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel,” and that's where this man Sheba had escaped to and hid himself in the city. “And to all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him. And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city.” In other words, they are putting dirt up against the wall. David's army with Joab the general is about to besiege the city and go up over the walls and go into the city and find this man, kill him, and probably the whole city with him if they think that that city is defending this man. They'll kill the whole city.
And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.”
Now look at this in verse 16, “Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee. And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear. Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter” (2 Samuel 20:16-18).
She said, “Used to be around here we found out what was going on before we went and hurt somebody and that ended the matter.” And she said, “Now, here you are, you are building this bank up here and you got all these armies out there and it looks like things are getting kind of dark around here. What’s the problem?” She said, “They used to ask questions first before they shot people.” She said, “It look like you're only getting ready to shoot first and ask questions later.”
And she says in verse 19, “I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?” (2 Samuel 20:19).
Joab answered and said, “Far be it, Far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall” (2 Samuel 20:20-21).
That’s it! The city was in trouble. She asked, “How do we get out of it.” Joab answered, “Throw that rascal’s head over the wall.” She said, “it's done!” That’s it! The guy was a rebel. He was a conspirator. He planned to overthrow the king, so he was guilty of high treason and he deserved to die, and she wasn’t about to die with him.
That's a problem in America. A lot of folks are saying that we ought not kill all these killers and rapists. Well then, why don’t you just die with them. I don’t believe he ought to live. I believe if a man takes another man’s life, the Bible said that his blood shall be upon his head. I also guarantee you, if he kills one man and we kill him, he's not going to kill anybody else! Anyway, the woman told Joab, “You are about to get ahead!” She was virtuous. It was right to do what she did, and she did it. I wish we had more women in America like her! I know of at least one in Virginia, but she’s retired now.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2019 6:42:37 GMT -6
“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding” (Proverbs 1:1-2 KJV).
The Proverbs of Solomon are to accomplish nine things for the believer, found in verse 2 to verse 4:
1. “To know wisdom and instruction.” 2. “To perceive the words of understanding.” 3. “To receive the instruction of wisdom.” 4. “To receive the instruction of justice.” 5. “To receive the instruction of judgment.” 6. “To receive the instruction of equity.” 7. “To give subtilty to the simple.” 8. “To give the young man knowledge.” 9. “To give the young man discretion.”
Nine things. The number nine just happens to be the number of the ‘fruit of the Spirit.” And in I Corinthians 12 you’ll find that there are nine gifts of the Holy Ghost. Nine is connected with the Holy Ghost—that is a good number. There are nine fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5, nine gifts of the Holy Spirit for the ministry in I Corinthians 12, and here are nine purposes for the Book of Proverbs.
The Book of Proverbs is written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and of course, “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (I Peter 1:21).
To “know wisdom and instruction.”
To “perceive” is to see a thing, to see it “as it is,” “the words of understanding.” Or “about understanding.” Sometimes the word “of” goes one direction, depending on the object, and sometimes the other direction depending on which one is the subject. It’s a strange little word to deal with. Take the expression, “The love of God.” What is the subject? You don’t know. That’s the problem, you see. In one verse, the subject may be love. In other words, the object may be God . . . the subject is you loving God. “The love of God,” in some other cases, could be reversed—and only the context can give you the differences. And in some places, it can be both.
In Romans 5 we are told that the “love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.” Well, God loves us, but not only that—but God gives you the ability to love others, even some that are unlovely. And you won’t really love Him until the “Holy Ghost is shed abroad in [your] hearts.” So, it can run both ways. In some other phrases, it may not. It may have to go in one direction; only one can be the subject, only one can be the object. And there you just have to search the context for the answer for it.
It is strange how some people get saved and then a year later they think they are a Bible scholar. I tell you what, there is a whole lot of the Bible you and I don’t know. I mean, you can get down to a little word like “of” and you can get into trouble, if you haven’t got the subject right, or the object right.
Not only does he say to “know understanding” but to “perceive the words of understanding,” but to “receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity” to “give subtilty to the simple.”
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2019 7:58:43 GMT -6
“When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee” (Proverbs 2:12).
What will it do? There are three things that will happen from verse 12 to the end of the passage. The first two are negative—it’ll keep you away from two things that are negative, and it’ll give you something that is positive.
First thing, it will “deliver thee from the way of the evil man.” We see that in verses 12-15.
“To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths” (Proverbs 2:12-15 KJV).
In verse 16, he switches to the strange woman:
The first thing that wisdom will do for you, and what discretion will do for you is to “deliver thee from the way of the evil man.” You say, “I don’t have any problem staying away from the boogeyman!” True, we don’t have trouble from him, but we can have trouble from that individual that appears to be good and nice outwardly but isn’t. The man that has the smooth tongue and smooth talk. Paul warns, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17-18 KJV).
There are people out there who are just as silver tongued as anybody you’ve ever met. Some men are just natural-born salesmen and can sell just about anything to anyone, including themselves to unsuspecting folks. And sometimes what you see isn’t what you get.
Peter talks about these evil men, in fact there are evil man and evil women—he calls them false prophets. They are all through chapter 2. They both wind up in the same place, and they are both classified as the same. The world is full of these false prophets—in advertising, in pulpits, in business, and politics. “But it is happened unto them [the wicked] according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his [false prophet] own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her [false prophetess] wallowing in the mire” (II Peter 2:22 KJV). In verse 17, they are “wells without water,” they have all kinds of promise, but there is never anything that they follow through with. That is the evil man—always promising something good, he’s always promising a benefit or a profit to you—but behind it is a hook.
And what we need is discretion to deliver us from that, “from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things,” those are perverse things. A perverse statement is very hard to catch. The truth is, though, the only people in the world that can be conned are crooked people. If you are looking for an easy buck, or a short cut, you are con material—or as some say—a soft touch, or a ready mark. A con man knows that. He can never con an honest person.
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!” (Isaiah 5:20-23 KJV).
They pervert a thing, they twist it.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2019 4:58:22 GMT -6
“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth” (Proverbs 3:11-12 KJV).
“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction,” that ought to tell us something about the chastening of our children. We are going to be doing it for a long time. You are not going to mold that child into what he ought to be in fifteen years—we’ll be doing it right up until the time when he leaves out our front door. That can be depressing. We think we finished our job in four or five years to get his character straightened out, but he is still as crooked as a dog’s hind legs. They’ll get to be fourteen or fifteen years old and stand there and smile at you, and lie to you like a rug. Kids are crooked. They got that from their parents.
“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” (Hebrews 12:5-7 KJV).
“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD,” there are three reactions to the Lord’s correction according to this verse in Hebrews:
(1) Don’t despise it. Getting angry at God is despising it. (2) Don’t faint. A lot of Christians just wilt under it. “I know I Corinthians 10:13 is in the Bible, but the Lord has gone beyond with this one, this is more than I can handle!”
Remember, the Bible promises that, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9 KJV). If we faint not. How often God pushes His child right to the edge, and that is when He steps in and resolves an issue. God may lay the rod of correction on us and we may holler a little bit—that is normal—but what is not normal is to allow a root of bitterness to form. That’ll just lead to more chastening, and some more unpleasantness. Don’t get angry with God, and don’t wilt under the pressure.
(3) Endure chastening, that is, take it patiently. For it will reap the benefit of verse 11: “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11 KJV).
“For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth,” see there, it just proves that the Lord loves us. Don’t despite it, God is doing it for our own good. God is developing character in us, just as we are doing with our own children. For “afterward it will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby,” it is wonderfully good for us.
Most people don’t have the self-disciple to push themselves, so God will push us. Worry about the time He no longer pushes us because He has given up on us.
“For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth,” as Job points out: “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty” (Job 5:17 KJV). Paul also adds: “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (I Corinthians 11:30-32 KJV).
Remember that if we will not chasten our children when they are correctable, the government will do it later when they are not. When we punish our children, we take away the guilt of their wrongdoing. If the government doesn’t do it, God will.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2019 6:47:43 GMT -6
“Attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law” (Proverbs 4:1-2 KJV).
Notice that doctrines are laws. The doctrines of salvation are absolute laws—they cannot be broken. If you get saved in this church age, you can’t get unsaved. That is an absolute law, the doctrine of salvation is the law of God. The doctrines of the second coming of Jesus Christ are absolute laws that God has instituted and established they cannot be broken. “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mat 16:18 KJV). That’s a law—that’s an absolute law. The Church, the body and bride of the Lord Jesus Christ is going up in glory.
It doesn’t matter what the local church might do, it might go down into apostasy, which is likely will, but the church of Jesus Christ is going up in glory. When we are resurrected, we get a glorified body—and the Saviour comes back to lead us into glory, I guarantee you, it will be a glorious entering into heaven. There won’t be any failure or fault of any kind, it will be a glorious thing. It will prevail, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it at all. Those are laws.
We could consider physical laws. We have gravity. There is condensation, there is evaporation, physical laws in the physical universe. Those laws are fixed laws. Now, they can be overcome temporarily. Obviously, gravity, as a force, can be overcome by a different force in the other direction can overcome it for a while, but sooner or later gravity will prevail.
Some people believe that the laws of God are not working. There are the laws of sin. The Bible warns us that “the wages of sin is death,” and people sin but don’t die. Temporarily they overcome it, but eventually it will overcome them. The laws of God are fixed. It may take some time for it to work out, but the law is fixed. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” A man might not reap in this year, or next year, or this decade, or that decade, it may be until 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 years later, but it’ll catch up to them. Some things might not even catch up to them in this life, but it will in the next. Those are laws, and they cannot be broken.
Paul told Timothy that the doctrines are important. “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1Timothy 4:13 KJV). Verse on in today’s chapter tells us to “attend to know understanding.” Paul was writing to a young person when he wrote to Timothy, so young people out to learn doctrine while they are still young. What good will knowing all the batting averages of baseball players do you down the road? Learn something practical that will suit you for the rest of your life. The heroes of today are forgotten tomorrow, but the doctrines of God are eternal—they won’t be forgotten tomorrow or through eternity. In verse 16 he says, “Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine.” We have a hard time keeping ourselves straight without knowing doctrine. People say, “Well, you know, we just want to love everybody, and win the world through love and peace.” I’m glad people have compassion, but know they need some good understanding of God and His Word. It’s called balance.
All love and little doctrine is Pentecostalism—just looking for an experience in the flesh. All doctrine and no love is dead orthodoxy. One is just as bad as the other.
Paul further tells Timothy, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1Ti 4:16 KJV). Now Paul is not speaking of salvation here—every time we find the word save in the Bible—we need to realize that it can also be speaking of a temporal, physical sense of being rescued. We see this also in I Timothy 2:15 about the woman and childbirth, “Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing,” is not speaking of salvation and going to heaven—every woman in the world would be trying to bear kids in order to go to heaven if that were the case. There would be a new gospel to preach, “Hey, bear kids, and you’ll be saved and go to heaven!” With all the cults in America, you would think that somebody would be teaching that already.
So, the word “saved” in the Bible isn’t always talking about eternal salvation, sometimes it is talking about the flesh. Likewise, the word, “damnation” isn’t always speaking of hell. Sure, in most cases it is speaking about going to hell, but there are couple of places where it does not. We have to remember to let the Bible be its own interpreter. Paul, speaking to Christians says that they can eat and drink damnation to their bodies (1Co 11:29), in other words, we can destroy our bodies through gluttony. Eternal damnation is the destruction of the soul, temporal damnation is the destruction of the body and health.
If there is any one problem with the Bible-believing crowd, and the King James Bible crowd, it is that they get so hung up on doctrine, and knowing their doctrine, and getting the doctrine right—that they are so doctrinally sound that they are not really much practically good. “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein” (Heb 13:9 KJV).
By “diverse and strange doctrines” is meant those areas that are not generally accepted or believed or taught by the average Christian—but yet are biblically true—just not something that a preacher should go to seed over, such as preaching nonstop about how the universe is shaped like a pyramid. “not with meats,” is constantly preaching heavy or hard doctrine. It’s good to know them, it’s good to be planted firmly, and know what you believe—but the Bible says, “that the heart is established with grace.” It takes grace to suffer, it takes grace to serve, it takes grace to be saved—those are the kinds of things that God gives to the individual to do the things He calls him to do that he can’t do himself. That is how a person is established. That is where we need grace. If we balance doctrine with grace, and compassion and love, we’ll have the right king of life.
Dozens of things are true about balance. “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 11). You can’t just spend all your time learning doctrine, but you also can not completely avoid it. You can’t spend all your time winning souls, or your whole Christianity becomes wrapped up in one element—and you begin to judge others by that one element. You started thinking that folks that don’t win souls are not spiritual, and that folks that don’t win souls are out of the will of God.
Paul wrote: “For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment” (Php 1:8-9 KJV). “Bowels,” are compassion, and inner feelings. “That your love may abound,” the Philippians had plenty of love. The name meant, “lover of horses.” Paul said that their love needed to about with knowledge and judgment. He said that they needed to know “what to love,” “how to love,” when to “stop loving.” We can’t love everybody. I doubt that any man ever loved Adolf Hitler, Fidel Castro, or any other terrible murderous dictator. We might be allowed to witness to them, but that does not imply that we have any kind of love for them. Psalm 5 says that God hates all workers of iniquity (vs. 5). Christianity is becoming almost pantheistic with all the “love this, love that” mantras. Contemporary Christian music is all about love, but little to do with truth. Paul finishes the thought with, “That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:10 KJV).
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2019 5:02:56 GMT -6
“Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love” (Proverbs 5:19 KJV).
There are verses that are hard to discuss in a mixed audience. Verse 19 is one of those verses. A lot of it is like the Song of Solomon, hard to read with your date.
“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4 KJV).
The marriage bed is undefiled before God and what happens there is between the man and the woman.
“Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe,” a hind is a deer, and a roe is a swift gazelle, “let her breasts satisfy thee at all times,” she will be your helpmeet, “and be thou ravished always with her love,” that takes us right back to verses 15-16, just be content with what God has given you. You’ve been together long enough to know that she isn’t as perfect as you thought she was when you were dating her—that doesn’t mean that you should start comparing her to other so-called “perfect” girls out there. You’ll find no better. If you did, you would just be a rat in a vicious circle of your own making. Paul knew exactly what he was saying when he wrote: “But godliness with contentment is great gain” (I Timothy 6:6 KJV).
There again, a man gets to looking at other women. You’ve seen your wife in every kind of situation. She’s looked bad in the morning, and she’s looked bad at night, even bad in the afternoon. When you go out in public, women have fixed themselves up and they look really good. Believe me, that woman that you see out in public that looks so good can look just as ugly as your wife can in the morning. Don’t be fool by Satan! Stop thinking that the grass is greener on the other side—it isn’t!
But that is the problem with men—they are affected by what they see. God put that in a man—He made women attractive to look at. The problem is for a man keeping his eyes where he ought to and love his wife: “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?” (Job 31:1 KJV). We need to be more like Job in this area! Be satisfied with her, be ravished with her love, and don’t allow yourself to let your eyes roam.
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11 KJV).
Just teach that old flesh to be content with what its got. If you are unmarried, don’t try to get married. If you are married, don’t try to get unmarried. “Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife” (1 Corinthians 7:27 KJV).
Listen, God may give you a wife, and that is fine. But don’t you go looking for one. Just turn it over to God and say, “I’ll just leave it with You, God. You can pick out the right one if that is Your will.” Yea, that’s rough—but that is best.
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