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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2019 5:52:30 GMT -6
“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit” (Proverbs 26:4-5).
“Answer not a fool,” here's a fool again. In verses 4-5, you have contradictory statements. “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.” “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.” How in the world do you reconcile that? Well, first of all it says, “answer not a fool according to his folly,” or his foolishness. If he is fooling around, don't you fool around; you answer him straight. “lest thou also be like unto him.” You’ll be just as big a fool as him. In other words, don't go along with him. Tell him the truth. You know, he’s laughing about a situation that shouldn't be laughed at; don't you laugh
You know people like that, just to get along, just not to make any enemies, or not to make any waves. When the fool berates somebody, they'll giggle a little well. They don’t really mean it; they’re just going along. Well, don’t! Don’t answer the fool according to his folly. Don't go along with it. Oppose it.
“A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself” (Titus 3:10-11).
Reject him. Don’t keep fooling with him. You keep trying hang around that guy and trying to convert him, people will think you are just as big a fool as his is. They’ll say, “There’s two fools for you.”
Now, verse 5.
“Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit,” give him the truth. If he won't get right or stiff-necked, “let him be ignorant still.” and give him the rod like in verse three. Just pound him with the Book. Just give it to him; get the old Sword out and cut him to pieces. Listen, if that fool won’t listen, and do right then walk away and leave him to his own devices.
“Lest he be wise in his own conceit,” Romans 11:25 talks about being wise in one’s own conceit. That is the guy that says, “I know what I'm doing! I’m the chosen of God!” “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
If you don't answer a fool according to his folly, give him the truth, and give it to him straight, and not play games with him, why he will think he's pretty smart.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2019 6:18:54 GMT -6
“Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured” (Proverbs 27:18).
“Whoso keepeth the fig tree,” now, this is a husbandman here, or a farmer. “Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof.” In other words, he keeps it fertilized, and keeps it cut back, and keep it properly he will eat the fruit thereof. “So, he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.”
“Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof.” Now, God's got a fig tree—it’s Israel.
“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh” (Matthew 24:32).
All you really have to know is that God's fig tree, that he wants fruit from, is Israel. Remember when He came to the fig tree and couldn't find any fruit thereon?
“He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down” (Luke 13:6-9).
Jesus said that if they didn't find any fruit on the tree, destroy it and the guy said, “Well, let me dung it.” And he came after three years; that’s plenty of time for a fig tree to bear fruit. If it isn’t bearing fruit in that time, probably you don’t have a very good tree. And this pictures Israel.
Jesus Christ tried everything He could try with Israel at His first coming, and they wouldn’t respond—so He tore it down. He sent Titus and his armies in there and they razed it to the ground. That was it. They tore the fig tree down, and it is just since 1948 that the fig tree has grown back. It is now putting forth it’s untimely figs now. You have the fig tree back there, but it is only bearing leaves.
What is the fig tree’s leaves connected with?
The self-righteous covering for sin. In Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve sinned, they covered their nakedness with fig leaves. They made aprons of fig leaves. You see, they used the leaf for a covering for their sin. So now, Israel is back in the land, and the tree is growing, but it is only producing leaves. There is no fruit on it yet. They still have that old self-righteous attitude.
Israel is likened to the fig in Jeremiah 24:2, “One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.”
“Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof.” God is looking to get fruit from Israel. One day He will get praise, honor, and glory, and worship from them in the Millennium.
“. . . so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured,” when you are serving God, God will honor you. Notice, “waiting on,” is exactly what a servant does. In Acts 6:2, they were serving tables, waiting on the people. Paul wrote: “Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?” (I Corinthians 9:13).
Sometimes we want to think about waiting as not doing anything, just biding our time waiting on something to happen, but to wait on tables is to work. Now, that gives a new interpretation to a familiar passage in Isaiah.
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
Isn’t that interesting? Many Christians have always thought that that can only mean not to do anything until God does something. Doing something is the only way to get refreshed.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2019 4:22:47 GMT -6
“He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough. A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent” (Proverbs 28:19).
That's just working for a living, and we've already talked about this in a number of verses in Proverbs. A guy that works, eats; and a guy that goes out and tries to find a shortcut to money will just wind up in poverty, and probably in jail.
Men by nature are greedy and lazy. They want more of the good things of life than others have, but they want to exert themselves less than others to get them. Therefore, they are tempted by two economic sins – to resent their basic jobs and/or listen to pipe dreams. Learn wisdom: love work: hate greed! Because Solomon had observed these temptations destroying men’s financial lives, he repeated this proverb in similar language, "He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding" (Proverbs 12:11).
“A faithful man shall abound,” that’s a promise. If a man is full of faith, he will abound:
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58).
“A faithful man shall abound,” you may not about in every little old physical thing, but you will abound in joy, happiness. You will abound with blessings.
“. . . but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent,” he’ll be guilty: “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:9-10).
If you get it honestly, okay! If God gives it to you, hallelujah! Praise God! Have a good time with it. Just be ready to distribute, willing to communicate, and be rich in good works.
“A faithful man shall abound with blessings,” that is a man that waits and trusts God. You have to do wrong to get it quick.
The proverb’s lesson applies to religious pursuits as well. There is no get-spiritual-quick seminar or television offering that can compete with daily prayer and Bible reading and listening carefully to the preaching of God’s word. Do not follow the vain religious personalities that offer their seductive road to God and heaven. They are liars just like the financial hucksters. There is only one door and Shepherd of the sheep, and the abundant life is obtained by obeying Him and His words.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2019 6:38:49 GMT -6
“The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it” (Proverbs 29:4).
“The King by judgment establisheth the land,” and in verse 14, “the King that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.” These are general truths. Of course, it will be a positive, eternal truth, once Jesus Christ takes over, but in our time, you got a good ruler and they try to put him out of office. So, sometimes when a man does try to do right, it doesn't pay off; but that's the exception and not necessarily the rule.
If they had open and fair elections in Russia and ran somebody that was for the church and for the personal freedoms and for open business; he would win in a landslide.
“The King by judgment;” in other words, good judgment, social judgement, economic judgment, military judgment “establisheth the land,” but you have these crazy Democrats that for decades been trying to give our country away and prepares for an invasion from without. We even have some elitist Republicans that have joined them in hopes that we can embrace globalism and eradicate the sovereignty of the United States. That’s not good judgment.
They keep saying, “If we get rid of our arms, we will make peace. That is not the way that you make peace with Russia. That's crazy! It’s just like Lester Roloff used to say when he was with us, “It’s the insane people running the asylum.” You can’t deal with our enemies like that. You don’t deal with China, or Russia, like that. You deal with force and power with those people, that’s all they understand. They don’t understand the American dream.
“The King by judgment establisheth the land, but he that received gifts overthroweth it,” that’s a guy that will take bribes, and that's what's wrong with South American countries and central American countries. They are so full of corruption. You talk to any missionary that's been in any central or South American country, or Mexico or countries like that where those Latin Americans have gotten into power. They are the most corrupt, ungodly, unjust governments you can imagine. You just can't imagine. Everybody is paid off from the top to the bottom, it's just one big payoff.
In those countries, about every house has a wall around it. They have to. It's just finders keepers, losers weepers on a large scale.
“The King by judgment establisheth the land, but he that received gifts overthroweth it,” that’s why those countries can be easily overthrown. Those countries are just militarily shot and morally shot.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2019 7:03:30 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).
Peter writes in Second Peter, “there shall be false teachers among you” (verse 1), and in verse 12 writes, “But these, as natural brute beasts [they think like animals], made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.”
They “speak evil of things they understand not.” They don't understand the Bible, so they speak evil of it. They don't understand the capitalistic system and the free enterprise system, so they speak evil against them. These people are natural brute beasts. A good communist is a person who will continue to do what's wrong at all costs. That statement comes from ex-communists. They say that no matter what, no matter how you prove them wrong, they'll kill you to do it anyway. These natural brutes, no matter how you prove them wrong; they'll die to prove that they are right, even though nothing comes out right.
Jude speaks about things happening like as was in Sodom and Gomorrah. Of course, as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah so shall it be as in the days of the coming Son of Man. Christ said that would be as in the days of Lot. So notice in Jude 10, “But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain,”
Those are prophecies dealing with the last days, like the days of Noah, and the of Lot; and says that men will be like brute beasts. So, what Agur says here will be true of the last days. men will be “more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.” People in America used to understand that there was two ways to raise a kid, the wrong way and the Bible way. They knew that part of a proper, Christian education was a good paddling now and then. They don't even do that anymore. They consider themselves smarter than God and they are paying the piper for it. They don't even teach him how to write any more, don't teach them how to read, they don't teach them how to make a living. they did away with arithmetic, and are now giving them new math, and that didn't solve the old problems.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2019 7:41:37 GMT -6
“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel” (Proverbs 1:1).
The book is written by Solomon.
“And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five” (1Ki 4:29-32 KJV).
I don’t know how many proverbs of Solomon we have in the book of Proverbs, but he wrote 3,000 of them in all. We have just a sampling of them here of what he really wrote.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, chapters 1 and 2 we find that Solomon is the most ‘experienced’ man that ever lived. The wisest man that ever lived, the richest man that ever lived, and the most experienced man that ever lived. We need to hearken to the proverbs of Solomon.
But, just to prove to you that “all flesh is grass,” how did Solomon end up? He was an apostate. He didn’t follow his own advice; he didn’t listen to his own counsel. He wound up with 700 wives and 300 concubines (1Kings 11:3), he married the daughter of Egypt, took the idols and gods of foreign lands, and became completely apostate. And it was only because of God’s promise to David that He didn’t split the kingdom under Solomon. Because of God’s promise to David in Second Samuel chapter 7, God did not do anything during the reign of Solomon—but as soon as the reign of Solomon is over with, the next king Rehoboam splits the kingdom and part of it goes to Jeroboam with ten tribes to the north, and the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah stay in the south—and all because of the apostasy and wickedness of Solomon. A man who allowed himself to get carried away with women.
Now you would think with as much as he wrote and with as much as he experienced, that that wouldn’t get him—but that is what got him—wine, women and song, which has taken a lot of men away.
The thing you want to see about this man, and his backsliding in 1 Kings 11, is the conclusion that he came to— “all is vanity” –it says that in Ecclesiastes, and it really is. Now, that is things that are “under the sun,” that’s not ‘spiritual’ things. It is not vain to plant the seed of God, that is eternal, that’s useful. But when it come to things “under the sun,” life and the physical realm, “all is vanity.”
And when he wrote that, seven years later he backslid. It really doesn’t take long to get away from God. A man can be living for God today, and there is just no telling where he’ll be a year from now. That is what we learn from the life of Solomon.
The word “Proverb” means to “make something like something,” so that you might understand it. A “similitude” or “comparison.”
The real “proverbs” don’t actually start until chapter ten, and then you get a bunch of verses that contrast and compare. “You have this . . . but . . . then you have this.” You’ll get comparisons. Now, verse seven is a proverb.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2019 6:22:38 GMT -6
“For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints” (Proverbs 2:6-8 KJV).
“He layeth up sound wisdom,” for who? “for the righteous,” who are the righteous? “he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.” He’ll protect those people—He’ll protect those young people—that will walk right in this world. He’ll protect those parents that walk with God. You can’t expect to raise your kids right, and you live like the devil. You can’t expect them to be right when you are not right.
You say, “Well, I take them to church.” It’s good that you do, but they aren’t going to turn out right for God—the way they should--unless they can see that you have a love for God and a desire to do right, and to walk upright.
“He keepeth the paths of judgment,” do you know how He does this? He “preserveth the way of his saints.” What happened to Paul when even though he didn’t want to go into Europe, but he wanted to go back to Jerusalem. What happened? He went back to Jerusalem, didn’t he? But it was God’s will that he go to Rome. What happened? He went to Rome. God preserved Paul and kept him in His will—even though Paul rebelled. Why? Because Paul walked uprightly. Paul was a man that wanted the will of God for his life, but you say, well, he disobeyed it that one time. Paul wasn’t perfect. Paul was a sinner just like us—but the reason he went back to Jerusalem was to witness to the Jews. He wanted to win his own people. His motive for going back there was right, it’s just that he wasn’t supposed to go. So, what did God do? He preserved him. He kept him right in the ministry.
Now, we’ll make a lot of mistakes as a Christian, but if you want God to work out all those mistakes out to your benefit, then you be careful to put things up there against that day when you make those mistakes. And we’ll be like Paul—even though we make a mistake, and may pay for it in this life somehow, but still and all God will preserve your way, and keep the paths of judgment, and preserve you in the way. He will keep you going in His will. All things do work together for good.
Jacob made many a mess. A great study is to consider Israel when old King Balak was trying to get Balaam to curse them. They were a mess. They were as ungodly a bunch of people as you’ve ever seen. They rebelled against Moses, they rebelled against God, and Balak said, “Balaam, why don’t you get God to curse them? They don’t obey Him.” Balaam said, “Ok, I’ll try.” And he went to God and asked him, “Can I curse that crowd down there? They aren’t obeying you.” God said, “No, you can’t curse them.” Balaam said, “I don’t understand, they aren’t doing right.” God said, “I don’t see anything wrong with them.” The prophet answered, “But, you just killed 20,000 of them?” God said, “I don’t see anything wrong with them.” They were righteous—they had come out of Egypt—they got that land—they followed that man, Moses. Yes, they made some mistakes, and they paid for it. But when it came down to somebody trying to curse them—God said, “I don’t see nothing wrong with them.”
You get to where you understand that, you begin to get to where you understand God. It is all about knowing God. Balaam didn’t know God, Balak didn’t know God. They couldn’t understand why God wouldn’t curse them. Israel was laying up some treasure in heaven along the way. They were not perfect, neither was Paul, neither was Moses, neither was Noah, neither was Samson, neither was David, neither are you and I
“He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.”
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2019 6:36:12 GMT -6
“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold” (Proverbs 3:13-14 KJV).
“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom.” Why is it enough to confess his own sins, forsake them, and do something about them? Why is it enough to not to despise, or be weary of the chastening hand of God? “. . . and the man that getteth understanding,” you want to be real happy? It’s not in how much money you have. It’s not in good circumstances you enjoy. It’s having wisdom, and knowing what’s right and doing it. “For the merchandise of it [of wisdom] is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.”
It’s more valuable. It will take you to heaven. Money can’t take you to heaven. Wisdom will give you peace of mind—money can’t do that.
“She [wisdom personified] is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her” (Proverbs 3:15 KJV).
Man can desire an awful lot, but none of them compare. What does Paul say of those that love God? “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” (I Corinthians 2:9 KJV).
You talk about rewards, inheritance, blessings—it’s incredible what God has in store for His people. “. . . more precious than rubies,” wisdom will get you to heaven, wisdom will help you get your children to heaven: “Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell” (Proverbs 23:14 KJV). The Word warns us that if we will separate ourselves from ungodly people, then you won’t become a companion of fools, and you won’t get caught up in their sins and thereby reap their judgment. The Bible gives wisdom—she is desirable--
“Length of days is in her right hand [There is a good promise]; and in her left hand riches and honour” (Proverbs 3:16 KJV).
You see where the riches are? They come second. They come after you get wisdom. Seek wisdom first, seek what is right, and then God will give you the material blessings. The problem with most people is they are out to get the riches first. That is their priority.
The priority for the Christian’s life is found in Matthew: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33 KJV). No matter what anybody else does, do right. That’s wisdom.
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7 KJV).
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2019 6:55:29 GMT -6
“Attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law” (Proverbs 4:1-2 KJV).
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 Jul 5, 2019 7:07:56 GMT -6
“And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray” (Proverbs 5:20-23 KJV).
In view of 4-5, 9-10 why would anyone do that? They get blinded by all the deceitfulness of unrighteousness in them that perish. They do wrong, and it blinds them, and they just don’t see the thing. They don’t see the wrong in it. They don’t see the end result of it. And sadly, they really believe that they can somehow beat the system. Well, they can’t.
“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings,” first of all in verse 21 you have a man’s motives, and then you have his actions. The Lord knows our ways, your motives, and thoughts: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 KJV). The thoughts of man are open to Him, and He is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
“For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad” (Mark 4:22 KJV).
The Lord watches our doings and ponders our goings.
“His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins,” first of all there is a trap in sins . . . his own iniquities shall take . . . his lust for money took Lot to Sodom, Haman’s pride took him, it was his desire to be lifted up that took him to the place where he built a gallows for his enemy Mordecai, and he ended up hanging himself. His own way took him there, and trapped him, he was “holden with the cords of his sins.”
Sin has cords. The problem with it is when you first start to try out sin, the cords are very light, quite loose, and can be easily broken. Most people, once they start enjoying a sin, cultivate that sin. The further a man goes with sin the tighter the cords become until they wrap themselves around him. If you can’t break a sin, it didn’t happen overnight. It took some time for the bondage to set in—and once it does, it is hard to break free from it.
Bob Jones Sr. said, “Sin is the result of a long process of wicked thinking.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2019 6:18:33 GMT -6
“How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep” (Proverbs 6:9 KJV).
Sleep can be a dangerous thing, if you get too much of it, or if you like it too much. It is especially hazardous for young men, whom Solomon emphasized in writing Proverbs.
When do you get up? How do you get up? The time and manner in which you rise in the morning affects your success or failure in life. Great men get a head start on the day.
They attack every day as an opportunity, rather than dreading it as a punishment. There are other factors also, but love of your bed in the morning will squander your potential.
“How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?” Now sometimes a Christian goes to sleep, spiritually. In Ephesians, Paul wrote: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:11-17 KJV).
So, we are to consider the ant. She provides her meat in the summer, gathers her food in the harvest, so “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?” Are you going to sleep through the summer? Are you going to sleep through the harvest? Are you going to sleep through the opportunities to better yourself? The unsaved are sleeping through their opportunities of salvation. You talk to them and they don’t even seem to care, they just roll over and go back to sleep spiritually.
The ant takes a hold of the opportunities that she has and takes advantage of them. While it is summertime, lay by in store for harvest time. While the church in America is still open, and still free, take advantage of what is available. When it comes to spiritual things, you ought to get all that you can get. Another few years from now and we may see churches boarded up. It’s almost a hate crime now to be a Christian.
“How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?” Are you going to sleep through all your opportunities? Are you going to sleep through all the chances you have to be a witness, to study your Bible, to pray?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2019 7:32:35 GMT -6
“With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him” (Proverbs 7:21 KJV).
“With her much fair speech,” Paul warned us about fair speeches and great swelling words. “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).
People listen to these false preachers on the television and don’t use a lick of discernment. “Well,” they say, “He preaches the Gospel.” Sure! But which one? “But he changes people’s lives!” Okay, just go ahead and send him your money. Good luck, though, finding out what they are spending it on. By the way, who are you going to call when you or some member of your family is in the hospital and you want a pastor to visit? TV preachers don’t make house calls.
Sin sounds good and looks good, and it looks like you can get away with it: “He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed,” He took plenty of money with him, he’ll be gone a good long time and we have the house all to ourselves. She used her fair speech, or as we might say, her beautiful words, and “caused him to yield.”
“. . . with the flattering of her lips she forced him,” now, her conscience might well be seared, but his isn’t—yet. He’s got a conscience. This woman does not, she can sin and not think twice about it—in fact, she is even at the point where she can justify it in her own mind. The young man cannot. He still got caught. At one point, there was a wall there, but she pushed him beyond it, and he is captured.
Too many things have overcome the young fool. And empty head, the wrong companions, out late at night, nothing to do with his idle time—and then sin looked good, sounded good, smelled good, tasted good. Everything was just right for his fall. Even a person with a lot of character would likely have struggled in these circumstances—but this boy had no character—nothing to hold him back.
“With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him,” he can’t win. The best thing to do is to just stay out of the place of temptation. David said, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes” (Psalm 101:3), because he finally knew better—he learned the hard way. That is probably the way that most people learn, but it doesn’t have to be that way. James wrote that “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:14).
This woman enticed the young fool, she has played on his lust of the flesh. Looking at this whole passage you see every aspect of the flesh is stimulated. With sin, you just reach a point where you don’t care, you can’t stop—you just keep on—and you keep going further down. At one point you even see you are going down, and you see where the road is going to end, but you just can’t stop. It is like something is pulling you, forcing you.
What can a man do when he reaches that place in life. The majority of men just go right on down the drain and are finished. A few are granted repentance and are restored. “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (II Timothy 2:25-26 KJV).
For everyone that gets out of it, there are a hundred that perish. “Flee youthful lusts!”
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2019 6:32:48 GMT -6
“I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness” (Proverbs 8:17-18 KJV).
It all goes back to the same thing, when you do right.
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21 KJV).
People claim that they don’t believe in the wrath of God, but they don’t show any love toward God and they expect God to show love toward them. Even though it isn’t reasonable, yet that is the way they want to play the game. Well, God doesn’t play the game that way.
“. . . and those that seek me early shall find me,” that’s a qualification. If you want to find Him, you had better get ready to get after Him right quick. It is not something to put off. Here are some statistics that someone came up with. 60% of the people that are saved are saved before they are 25 years old. When a man gets over 25, the chances of him getting saved drop off. 20% of the people get saved between the ages of 25 and 35. So, up to the age of 35, 80% of people get saved. Then another 10% by the age of 40, and the last 10 % between 40 and 70. In other words, after a man turns 40, if he is not saved—his chances of getting saved are about 1 in 10. Very slim indeed. So, he better seek Him early.
This also has a reference to the Jews in the Tribulation period. They better seek Him early, or quickly. Things will turn against them early, according to Hosea: “Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1 KJV).
“. . . and those that seek me early shall find me,” that’s a promise. It can be applied to early in life, or even early in the morning. Once you discover that you need Him, don’t put it off. Don’t take the attitude, “Well, first I have to experience life and enjoy life.” Get saved first, and then you can really experience life and enjoy life.
If you seek Him, here is the reward: “Riches and honour are with me.” Riches: “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 KJV). Honor: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:7 KJV). He will give us honor and glory at the second coming.
Not just “riches and honour,” “yea, durable riches and righteousness.” Durable means that it will last, it won’t wear out. Seems like a good Old Testament word for the New Testament “eternal.” It won’t rust or corrupt. That is not talking about anything down here, Jesus told us to “lay up treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt” (Matthew 6:19-20). So, these are heavenly riches—heavenly honors.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2019 6:55:31 GMT -6
“He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot” (Proverbs 9:7 KJV).
This is some Old Testament good advice. In the OT, if a man was a scorner, always looking down on things, always ridiculing holy things, good godly things, the OT advice was “He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame,” in other words, just leave them alone. You just don’t waste time, or breath, on this type of individual.
Here is a fine Old Testament example:
“So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king” (1 Kings 22:15 KJV).
Here we have Ahab, which is a scorner of godly truth, asks a prophet of God what he should do. Do you know what the prophet tells him? The prophet tells him exactly what he wants to hear—he doesn’t reprove him. But then later the king says, “You didn’t tell me the truth. Tell me the truth.” Then the prophet tells him the truth, and the king gets mad at him and throws him in the jail. Soon after, Ahab is dead.
The thing about it is, the Old Testament prophet wouldn’t fool with a man that was a scorner unless God told him to. He would only if God told him to go to that man and point out to him his sin.
Now, for you and me, it is a little bit different. Jesus Christ reproved them, and He was crucified for doing it. Paul reproved them and he was jailed for doing it. And you and I are to do it, and we will suffer persecution for doing it. All lost people look down on what we believe and what we think—but we still have to tell them. We are not living in the Old Testament. We are living in the New Testament, and Jesus Christ has called us to “preach the word.” Therefore, “he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.”
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2019 7:38:37 GMT -6
“The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall. He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known. He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall” (Proverbs 10:8-10 KJV).
“The wise in heart will receive commandments,” they are willing, and they are submissive.
“. . . but a prating fool shall fall,” that’s a talker, and usually about nothing of any consequence. “What do you think of the weather,” “Did you catch the ball game?” “Did you watch that latest movie?” Things that amount to nothing in importance. These are matters of extreme importance to them, but things of eternal importance don’t even phase them.
“He that walketh uprightly walketh surely,” he has a firm foundation. “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock” (Matthew 7:24-25 KJV). That is why he walketh surely, because he is standing upon a rock. He has assurance, he has confidence.
“. . . but he that perverteth his ways shall be known,” the fact that he is a pervert, or that his ways are perverted, it will come out. “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). One of these days, somebody is going to find out.
The wise in heart stands on a firm foundation of faith and convictions, while the fool’s foundation will crumble. A crooked politician may fool the people for a while, but eventually it catches up with them. One can only imagine what it is like for a perverted man to live 30-40 years hiding his lifestyle to suddenly have it all come out in the open.
“He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall,” he comes and listens, but he is a know-it-all. He can’t be shown anything because he’s already been there and done that. He can’t be told about the cross, because he has had an experience. He can’t tell you for sure that he is saved, but he can sure tell you about the time he spoke with tongues.
“The wise in heart will receive commandments.”
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2019 6:33:13 GMT -6
“The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness” (Proverbs 11:5 KJV).
“The righteousness of the perfect,” in the Old Testament sense, a man that was perfect was a man that followed the Law, kept the feasts, and everything that God asked him to do. When he broke the law, he sacrificed for it—he wasn’t sinless—but he followed the precepts faithfully. Paul said, in this respect, that he was blameless as touching the Law—he kept it—and when he didn’t, he sacrificed in order to get forgiveness.
A person wasn’t sinless back then, or today, it is just that they strive to do right, and when they don’t do right, they do what is required. In the Old Testament, sacrifice; in the New Testament, confession and cleansing by the Blood of Jesus Christ. Confession to God through Jesus Christ, not through some man.
“The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way,” to keep him out of trouble, “but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness,” he is constantly looking for trouble. He does not have righteousness in his heart, and I frankly do not understand it. I know why we don’t do right, we are sinners, but I don’t understand a person that doesn’t want to do right. Now I realize that even when you want to do right, you don’t always do right; Paul said, “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me” (Romans 7:15-20 KJV).
I realize that we are still in the flesh and we still sin, we rebel against God and do wrong; but like David wanted to do right. Daniel wanted to do right. He would not defile himself with the kings’ meat. I believe when you just want to do right, you’ll be a whole lot better off and deliverance is to them that have a right heart and a right attitude. “. . . but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness,” he doesn’t want to do right, he is just looking for something that is just not right.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2019 7:34:34 GMT -6
“A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn” (Proverbs 12:2).
“A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD,” now, the Lord said that there is none good but God, and so that part is true, but at the same time you do find in the Bible good men. By good man, we are talking about someone that is saved, somebody that is trying to do right, somebody that loves the Lord, and is going forward in his Christian life. He is not always what he should be, and he is certainly not perfect, but he is doing his best to live for the Lord.
Well, that good man obtains favor of the Lord. You might ask, does favor mean money? Well, it might. Does this favor mean blessings? It might. Does favor mean I get to live to be 100 years old? Possibly, but we tend to kind of overrate things that are important to us, and to underrate things that are important to God and what He might mean by favor. We Americans are idolaters, it’s just our nature; and if we are not careful, we will substitute health and happiness, and Caribbean cruises, a nice place, and a lot of money, and a nice retirement and a beautiful wife or a handsome husband or healthy kids for what God intends to bless us with. We tend to confuse all the things we want with all the things we really need.
Well, it says that “a good man obtaineth favour of the Lord,” sometimes it is easy to underestimate the value of favor.
Now, you can go find a bunch of verses on favor if you want to; but favor is essentially where you abide in the presence of the Lord. Those of us that were blessed to have good mothers and fathers were “favored” with a good family. We weren't necessarily rich, and we didn't get a new gold plaything every day, or anything like that; but we were favored to grow up in a family that loved us. You can’t put a price on that, amen?
Sometimes we want the Lord to bless us. We want Him to answer our prayers, and often our prayers are that material things would come to us that, or that things would work out in our favor in everything, and that we get what we want, or that our car doesn't breakdown and all that good stuff. Sometimes things just don't happen that way. We need to be careful not to overlook favor. Well, in that respect, consider Proverbs 19.
“The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass” (Proverbs 19:12).
Now, you know who the King is, right? It is the King of kings and Lord of lords, the King of heaven. If you are going to say that if there is something that the Bible says that favor is like; the Lord's favor, it's like dew on the grass. Now, dew on the grass is a subtle thing. Dew doesn't come in the middle of a thunderstorm with winds whipping around and thunder crashing and lightning flashing and all that kind of stuff, it comes quietly. Imagine falling asleep on the grass, then then suddenly waking up to find everything is wet without really noticing the process of it.
The surface of something has to be cooler before the dew forms on it. Practically, you will have to be cooler toward this world, and you'll have to once awhile stop and be still: “Be still and know that I'm God: I will be exalted among the heather, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10), before the dew settles and condenses, and one day you wake up, and you realize in looking back, that the Lord's favor has been upon you.
Again, it's not just about one segment of life; just health, or money, or a raise, and a job. It's a bigger picture and so much more subtle picture, but it says there in Proverbs 12:2, “A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
Haven't you found at times that the Lord's blessings are like that? You start looking back and you realize that you have really been blessed?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2019 7:08:11 GMT -6
“The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke” (Proverbs 13:8).
A ‘ransom” is the redeeming or buying back of a captive by meeting the demands for his release. That is salvation. Christ met the demands of the Law, He paid the entire price for your sins. You were ransomed, or redeemed, or bought back and He paid the price—the full price.
“The ransom of a man's life are his riches,” you may not have much in this life, but your salvation is a great treasure. If you have the payment for heaven, and a reservation in the heavenlies, you’ve got it all! This is also true in the physical sense, what good is a dead man with great riches?
“. . . but the poor heareth not rebuke,” they simply don’t want those kind of riches. They want riches they can hold in their hands, not in their heart. They won’t listen to the kind of preaching that brings salvation. They are not interested in how to get that redemption, or to get their soul redeemed from the devil’s kingdom. They are content being a child of the Devil. Jesus tells them exactly what they are: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). They want nothing to do with anything that will change their circumstances now and for eternity: “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).
Their end will be justified: “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29).
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2019 7:17:11 GMT -6
“Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge” (Proverbs 14:7).
This is just good old-fashioned Bible separation. Don’t spin your wheels around somebody that isn’t a Bible believer. Unless you are on a job and you are working with them, the only real purpose you have in dealing with that person is their soul. Your concern should be whether they are going to heaven or they are going to hell.
When folks get saved, then you can fellowship with them in other aspects of life, assuming that they are walking in the light of the Lord and His Word. “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother” (II Thessalonians 3:14-15).
Anyone that is unsaved is a fool. A man that rejects the Bible thinks the Bible is foolishness unto him. He thinks that your God is a fool and wants nothing to do with Him or His Word. So, you go from the presence of that man, no matter whether he says he is saved or not. The Bible demands that you separate yourself from the lost (II Corinthians 6), but also from the saved man that is not living for God. You run around with some Christians and they’ll get you in more trouble than some lost people will.
“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat” (I Corinthians 5:11).
The thing is that your guard is down when you are around some Christian people and you don’t think that they will do you in, but they will do you in in a heartbeat. Do you know Christians that are covetousness? They desire things that other people have. Have nothing to do with them. Isn’t a man foolish in spending his life in covetousness? ““Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.” The danger is that his attitudes might rub off on you, and you’ll be just as covetous as he is before long.
The principle is in Haggai. If you hang around holy things, you’ll be holy. If you stay around dirty things, you’ll just gravitate toward it. That’s because our human nature is dirty anyway, and there is a gravitational pull toward it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2019 7:09:05 GMT -6
“The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain” (Proverbs 15:19).
“The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns,” the slothful man is the lazy man in the Bible. His way is full of troubles, full of problems, and unexplained events. Hedges will hinder you from going somewhere. The hedge is full of thorns which will stick you and prick you.
Conviction is said to be a prick in your heart. In Acts 9, Jesus told Paul that it was “hard for thee to kick against the pricks,” or to fight against a clear conviction of truth. In Acts 2, we read that Israel was “pricked in their heart” (verse 37). There comes a point where you can no longer deny your own conscience as to the truth of the Gospel. This is exactly what Paul is saying in Romans 1: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). . Every man that hears the Gospel knows instinctively that it is true.
When a man has sinned against God the Holy Spirit reproves and convicts of sin, and there is a thorn in their heart. After a while, if they continue to ignore that thorn, they wax over it and sear their conscience to the place where it no longer bothers them. This is what the Bible speaks of when it talks of “hardening one’s heart.” This is what Pharaoh and others have done down through the centuries. At first, there is conviction and sorrow—but over time it is covered up with spiritual callouses.
“The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns,” he is too lazy to get out and do right, so everything goes wrong. He is too lazy to read, too lazy to study, too lazy to work so, it just seems that every time he turns around things are falling apart, and things are looking bad.
“. . . but the way of the righteous is made plain,” notice how God contrasts the lazy man with the righteous man. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). The slothful man says that his way is just as good as the other man’s way. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21).
The slothful man is a lazy man, he doesn’t care about doing right, he just cares about something being convenient and easy. Well, life is not easy. It is not easy to be righteous. “. . . but the way of the righteous is made plain,” God makes it plain how you are to live and how you are to walk. Just do right. Anybody that wants to do right can do right. “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6).
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