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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2021 1:18:45 GMT -6
“The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness” (Proverbs 21:12).
Doing right as a Christian will keep you in the way of blessing, in the way of joy, and in the way of being led by the Holy Spirit. If a Christian does not do right, it doesn’t result in losing his salvation because we are sealed unto eternity by the Holy Spirit at our new birth: “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12-14).
In the Old Testament, it is different. Notice that he says here: “Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.” In the Old Testament, if a man did right he was considered righteous; but if he did wrong, he was considered a sinner. Now, we know now that “all are sinners” –lost sinners and saved sinners—but in the Old Testament, the revelation was that if a man did right and kept the Law, he wasn’t classified as a sinner. He was classified as righteous. Paul wrote: “We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles” (Galatians 2:15).
“The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked,” the righteous man in the Old Testament is defined in Luke 1:6: “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Luke 1:6). He is one that kept the Laws and the commandments an so forth. Today, the righteous man is one that believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, and righteousness is given to him as a free gift (Romans 4).
In the context here, he is a law-abiding Jew or proselyte in the Old Testament.
“. . . but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness,” in Psalm 1 God promises to overthrow the wicked: “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalms 1:5-6).
Good men always win in the end. Though it appears they are losing at times, they know better, and Almighty God is on their side. The wicked assume they are in control, but the Judge of all is committed to destroy them. These are the certain rules of life and eternity.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2021 2:36:31 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).
We have a generation of folks today that are completely trained to believe that sparing that rod is the only way to go; that the worst thing you could ever do to your kid is to smite them in the hindquarters with a rod, and folks, it's just not true. It is true that sometimes the rod in the Bible can be the tongue of the Lord or whatever; but that's not what this rod is. The Bible teaches a loving moderate application of corporal discipline. It's not to be done in anger or in hatred or any such thing; but it does say there that “he that spareth his rod hateth his son.” It is a very serious thing.
Along this line, this shows us what human nature is like. Believe it or not, your little crumb crunchers are human, and they were born with a wicked nature. Their nature is just as sinful as yours is. They look at you out of those little doe eyes and blink, and they're just the cutest little things in the world, yet they have a corrupt nature and they will use you and train you if you won't train them.
Notice further in Proverbs 22:15, which says: “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15).
You can overuse this verse and imagine it as being this harsh, horrible beating of a child. That is certainly the way that it is portrayed in some places, and I'm sorry but it's just not that way. “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child,” I don't know that a child needs a spanking every day, necessarily, but children are foolish. That kid will get himself or herself in trouble if he is not trained to stay away from certain things or forced to do certain things. If your kid will not eat lima beans without the rod, then he'll never eat lima beans if you don't make him eat Lima beans, right? It is best to train them the hard way not touch the hot stove; but would you rather have them have a bruise on their rear end, or a big ugly blister up and down their arm right?
Okay, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child;” but it says there that “the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” That's one of the few places in the Bible that driving something is a good thing. Paul talked about being “driven about with every wind of doctrine,” and in the Old Testament those guys could look up in the heavens and be driven to worship them, how the devil drove the maniac of Gadara out into the wilderness. Okay, this one of the few places where it is good to drive somebody is to drive the foolishness out of the heart of a child.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2021 1:36:04 GMT -6
"Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words" (Proverbs 23:9 KJV).
As Bible believers, the only thing we have is our Bible to comfort, to counsel, to edify, to correct, and to equip. If a man rejects the Final Authority, he is a fool, for he has heard it all before and now he is wiser than the One that gave us His Word. Now, he is a mocker, and a scoffer. Whatever is offered to him from God's precious table is but that which is to be laughed at and put under his feet. Jesus told us how to handle such people, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you" (Matthew 7:6 KJV).
Now, I know that this does not fit the modern concept of the loving Saviour Who would never offend anyone, the One that would gladly sit at a bar and drink with the patrons, and never, no never, judge them. To manufacture such a picture as this of our Holy and Righteous God is only the banter of fools, and very likely the ones of whom 23:9 is addressing.
We know that our Redeemer is coming again, many signs point to His return for His Bride. Among those "signs" are the scoffers and the mockers, those that "despise the wisdom" of the Word of God. Those that can no longer blush in the face of their puny attempts to joke about and blaspheme the very One that paid for their sins on the cross, the One that "bought them," as Peter says.
As believers, we need to know when to walk away from a fool and leave them to their folly. If we continue to engage them in theological arguments, they will only despise us and the One that sent us. Leave them to their own devices. Perhaps you have planted a seed, but it is best to let another water it, and pray that another might one day harvest it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2021 3:03:01 GMT -6
"If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small" (Proverbs 24:10 KJV).
Often as we read the Bible and run across a verse like this, we immediately start wondering what we are doing wrong and how we can change our lives so as to not be weak when things get tough. Sometimes the answer is not in us at all, but in something else. In this case, it is in our Saviour . . . as truly most answers are.
Paul boldly proclaimed that, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13 KJV).
But in my opinion, that statement would be impossible to understand without the preceding verse:
"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need" (Php 4:11-12 KJV). Paul learned contentment, which is not an easy thing to learn--especially for those of us living in a country like America, where things are in abundance. Paul learned that "Godliness with contentment is great gain" (I Timothy 6:6).
Paul learned some lessons in life, and one of them is that in himself he is nothing, but with or in Christ he is everything.
Jesus Christ is the God-Man. We could illustrate His humanity with a pencil, which a child can break with a finger, and His Godhood with an iron bar which takes more strength than most men have to even bend. If we take that weak pencil and that strong iron and bind them together with duct tape--we have a very poor illustration of the God-Man. Weakness and strength in the same. That is the One that lives within us. This is our strength, so that we can face any trial, or any adversity, knowing that "all things work together for good," because our Saviour is using even those to prepare us.
If any are unsure whether they have a right to heaven, regard the fact that even in this Jesus Christ understands and has worked even that out!
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6 KJV).
Why?
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8 KJV).
Lord, teach us not to fear. Help us understand that you are Lord on the mountains and You are Lord in the valleys. In the days of peace, and in the days of adversity, You are still the same, and You are good, all the time. Amen.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2021 1:58:04 GMT -6
"Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer" (Proverbs 25:4 KJV).
When the Holy Ghost has taken away by regeneration, the dross of our fallen nature, and newly forms us in Christ Jesus, then as gold and silver from the furnace, we are brought forth as vessels of honor for the master’s use.
Note that silver is refined through the furnace, and it takes as long as it takes, though it result in much discomfort for the refined. We are that dross, and we are that silver, but praise God, we are also that gold that will one day come forth through God's faithful hand on the potter's wheel and testing and trials designed for our good.
One of my favorite songs sung by Ron Hamilton (aka Patch the Pirate), Rejoice in the Lord has this for a chorus.
O Rejoice in the LORD He makes no mistake, He knoweth the end of each path that I take, For when I am tried And purified, I shall come forth as gold.
“Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross” (Proverbs 26:23).
Dross is the scum of the silver. That’s what has been scraped off the top, it is the impurities of the silver. And burning lips and a wicked heart are like that. They’re ugly.
They are ugly in their reason, for they come out of the wicked heart. That’s the reason that they do it. They are wicked. They are saying things for self-gain or revenge.
They are ugly in their rhetoric, burning lips. As words that burn, words that produce wounds as in verse 22, as coals, as throwing wood on the fire in verse 20.
And they are ugly in their result, dross. It just brings about scum. It brings about ugliness. It doesn't produce anything good.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2021 0:40:31 GMT -6
“A whip for the horse, a bridle for the a**, and a rod for the fool's back” (Proverbs 26:3).
Now, I doubt very seriously that, in obedience to Deuteronomy 28, that our country will ever go back to public whippings. I'm not even sure that we would be for that. Who really has any trust in the justice system anymore? At any rate, the fact of the matter is, if the fool was brought justly into the town Plaza to get a few whacks from a rod, I bet there would be a lot less foolishness. I bet if the thief who is proven to be a thief, was brought to the town square, and given 39 licks, I bet there would be a whole lot of people that would think twice about breaking into someone’s apartment and stealing their plasma TV.
“A whip for the horse, a bridle for the a**, and a rod for the fool's back,” it seems to me the chief question to be asked here would be, “Okay, I know that I have foolish tendencies, but am I a fool? Because, if I am a fool that is all but a promise that God’s going to whup me, take me to His woodshed.
That is all but a promise. I mean, if you're going to act the fool, think like a fool, be a fool, I’ve got news for you; life is not your apple. The Lord is going to bring some stuff down on you and you're going to wind up with a whipping. Right? We've seen it, most of us, in our own lives.
The fool shows up 11 times in the first 12 verses of Proverbs 26. Plainly, this section is dealing with the fool and foolishness. One of the things that fools need is a whipping. I'm not suggesting that any of us should do the whipping on him, but I am suggesting that God will do it. If the Book of Proverbs is written to establish us, and to grant to us wisdom, and prudence, and discretion, then it is our sacred duty to do all we can to absorb its truths. We do not want to be found a fool in these last days.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2021 2:25:32 GMT -6
“For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens” (Proverbs 27:24-27).
When things are good, the tendency is to not be so vigilant, not be so diligent because things are good, and we just tend to be very optimistic when things are really good. Things do not always stay good for long. One day my wife was healthy and doing well, and in the space of a few years she suddenly got sick and has gone on to heaven. That entailed a whole new set of circumstances where things were not so good and, in some folks’, lives the loss is so devastating that they totally walk away from their commitments to the Lord. I thank God that He is just as real to me today as He was when my family was together, and that only by His grace.
Well, do you really think the devil is going to let you get by unscathed entirely? I’m not saying there has to be catastrophic disaster; but do you really think there are not going to be challenges? Do you really think there is not going to be depressing times? Do you really think they are not going to be downturns in your health?
“For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?”
Well, no, it doesn't. Israel doesn't have a crown today. Nobody's sitting on the king's throne in Israel today. You would not have thought that back in the psalmist’s day. You would not have thought this in Solomon's day, when this was written; but it is been a long, long time since Israel had a king. Well, the crown didn’t endure to every generation.
“The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.”
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2021 0:41:51 GMT -6
"Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once" (Proverbs 28:18 KJV).
A double contrast: “whoso walketh uprightly” vs. “he that is perverse in his ways” and “shall be delivered” vs. “shall fall at once”. “He that walketh uprightly walketh surely; But he that perverteth his ways shall be known” (Proverbs 10:9). The right way to live proves to be the best way to live!
We should note that when the word "saved" is used in the Bible, it is not always talking about spiritual redemption. Often it refers to a physical safety. Stories have been told about men living for the Lord that have been protected in a dangerous situation because they had not yet finished their course, and the Lord still had a purpose for them on this earth. Honestly, when I've nothing left to do for the Lord in this life, I would not want to stay here five minutes more than absolutely necessary. I have family I'm in a hurry to see again.
This verse will have a future component for the remnant of Israel during the horrendous days of the Tribulation period, when they will flee from the Antichrist's grasp to enter into the mountainside fortress of Petra where they will be cared for, fed and protected for the remainder of the time of Jacob's trouble. These will be those that are living for the Lord in the midst of unprecedented evil, and in this case, God will certainly make a way of escape for them.
As to the wicked, well, "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:1 KJV).
This is one good argument for not fellowshipping and accompanying a fool that is openly and violently at odds with the God of the universe. At any moment God may say, "Enough!" and judgment may fall. It is best not to be in the same car as that person when it happens.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2021 3:53:16 GMT -6
“The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul” (Proverbs 29:10).
“The bloodthirsty,” this is people that are hunting for blood, like we had back in chapter one:
“If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil” (Proverbs 1:11-13).
That's just people trying to steal men's livelihood. We say that the life of the flash is in the blood, but if you can’t feed the flesh food, you will destroy the flash. And you can destroy a man by taking his livelihood away from him. Stealing his money, or taking away his money, ripping him off. There is more than one way to be classified as bloodthirsty. the bloodthirsty hate the upright like they did Noah (Hebrews 11:7), because he built the boat and he did right. He condemned the world.
If there are bad people around, and you live right, the bad people are going to hate you. Jesus Christ said in John chapter 15:18, “If the world hate you, ye know that hated me before it hated you,” that that's just the facts of life.
You are in a war. Which side are you on? You are in a war. Are you prepared for battle? It is here; it will get worse. The wicked of this world hate the righteous and want to get rid of them, but good men love the righteous and pursue their prosperity and friendship.
From the beginning, in the first family on earth, this violent conflict was quickly visible, for Cain murdered his younger brother Abel. Why did Cain do such an evil and terrible thing? Because he loved sin, and he hated Abel for being better than him.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2021 1:03:31 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 KJV).
The Word of God is eternally true and above man’s comprehension without the indwelling Holy Spirit sent to us to be our Teacher in all things spiritual and holy. How is it that mere man dares to sit as it’s judge and critic? The Word of God is God’s Word on paper. It is sealed with His promise to preserve His Word unto all generations, and He tells us that His Word is even above His name.
I find it utterly amazing that most of the “higher critics” of the Bible are themselves unredeemed men that denied many of the essential doctrines of the Bible. How is it possible that men, devoid of the Holy Spirit, should assume the responsibility to correct and manipulate the Bible to fit into their theological system—when the primary requirement for even understanding John 3:16 is that very same Spirit Whom they know not of?
Man has been playing a dangerous game with God for centuries, but it really become manifest in the 1800’s with the onset of German rationalism and the discovery of Egyptian copies of the Word in St. Catherine’s monastery by Count Tischendorf. Since that time, man has been the final authority over the Final Authority and has threatened man with many woes as a result.
“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 KJV).
In order to ignore these dire warnings from God, the ‘critics’, have deemed the Book of Revelation to be nothing more than parabolic allegory and completely figurative. “There,” they assume, “God can’t touch me now!”
But what about the very next verse in our passage today? Is Proverbs also figurative?
“Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (vs. 6).
But, as it is necessary to have two or three witness to a matter, shall we see that Moses had something to say on the issue as well?
“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 KJV).
I know the view that the Word of God is perfect and that it is preserved unto all generations is not a popular position, but somehow, I believe that standing with God in this is the better option.
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15 KJV).
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2021 2:04:08 GMT -6
“Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted” (Proverbs 31:5).
There are two things there in verse 5 that you need to see. Number one, when a King or a ruler or a leader or a father, or anybody that has authority drinks, they do two things; first, they forget the law. Now, that means that they rebel against God. They'll disobey god. They will forget the Law of God, what the Law really said. Do you know what the Law says? It says, “Thou shalt not covet.” It's easy for a man that is drunk to covet. The Law says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” It's easy for a man that's under the influence of liquor to tell a to tell a half truth or a lie. It says, “Thou shalt not steal,” it’s easy for a man to steal when he's drunk.
So first of all, when a man drinks he forgets the law of God; and secondly, he “perverts the judgment of any of the afflicted.” In other words, the first thing is he rebels against God; and secondly, he destroys his relationship to other people. Your relationship to God is damaged when you drink; and secondly, your relationship with people is damaged when you drink.
Nobody really, honestly, truthfully, loves a drunk. You feel sorry for them, you pity them, but you wish they weren't there. If you women have ever had a man that drank and was as mean as a bear when he came home, you understand that. If you have been around, or had a father or somebody in your family, that drank up all the food money; you didn't like it.
So, a drunk will destroy their relationship with God, and will destroy their relationship with men. They become so obsessed with themselves, and their own desire and their own wants that they could care less for God, and care even less for men. That's what drink will do to you.
If alcoholism is a disease, it is the only "disease" that:
If bottled and sold Requires license to sell it Is sold in stores. Has to be purchased. Has a legal age of infection. Is spread by advertising. Produces tax revenue. Brings death on the highway. Results in fines and jail terms. Is habit-forming. Is contracted by an act of the will. Can be cured by an opposite act of the will--by a personal decision to stop drinking.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2021 1:24:05 GMT -6
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).
Where does it all start? Verse 7 tells us: “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,” The Lord starts by saying, “First thing first! Here is rule number one!” Here is the Drill Instructor that fresh new recruits see right out in front of the bus when they arrive for basic training. The first thing is, “Fear me!” If any of us are veterans, the first thing we learned was to stay scared of that man that was standing there yelling at us. But you know what? After eight weeks under this man’s tutelage, we were changed men. Well, the Word of God, both the written and the living, will change our lives, and knowledge is one of the key components in the successful Christian life. We need to learn early on that for as long as we live, we need to fear God; and that is not some kind of gosh, reverential awe or any such nonsense. We need to be scared straight!
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” If you don't begin there you won't understand love. If you were never concerned about going to hell, you will not appreciate your salvation. If you never got a hold of the fact that God is a lot different than you, then there are going to be some things that you miss and will eventually will to have to learn. It took Israel 40 years in the wilderness to learn some important things, and even then, she didn’t learn enough to get it right.
That’s often what happens when your little kids get saved at 5, 6, or 7. They are literally scared of going to hell but the simplicity of things in a little kid’s mind causes them to look at things naively; and then he grows up to be young adult and then he discovered some of his own depravity. He discovers some of the depravity of his own heart that he hadn't perceived when he was 5, 6, and 7 and it's almost like getting saved all over again. In fact, a lot of people go through thing where they wonder if they were actually saved when they were 6 or 7. It doesn't mean they weren't, and it doesn't mean necessarily that they were; but one of the things that you have to get is that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” and over in Chapter 9 “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (vs. 10). If you don't start with the fear of the Lord, you didn't start with point number 1.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2021 0:28:03 GMT -6
“If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God" (Proverbs 2:4-5).
One thing that we've learned over the years is that men think they understand stuff, and they don't understand stuff at all. The average guy thinks he knows all he needs to know about “religion,” but start to talk to him using Scriptures and they are totally ignorant of the most basic thing of all, biblical salvation by grace through faith without works of any kind. Their understanding is that nothing in this life is free, and everything costs something; including God’s riches though they be at Christ’s expense.
People think that they understand life; that they understand how things are. They don't understand how things are. They think they understand how things are done and how things should be done and how the world works and so on but they don't understand. They really don't. They're under delusion. Consider this verse:
“Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?" (Proverbs 20:24).
Now, that verse isn’t saying that everything a man does is ordained of God, and therefore when a man steals, defrauds, rapes, kills, and murders that it is of the Lord, the man didn’t have any choice in the matter. Sorry Calvinists, but it just doesn’t. That's not what it's saying at all. It's saying that there are things in this life that the Lord ordains, and no matter what a man does, the Lord winds up by having him painted in the corner that the Lord wants him in. And when the Lord gets him in at the intersection of a rock and a hard place; and all the time the man thought he knew what he was doing. Do you know what it proves? It proves that he doesn’t don't know what he is doing.
This is why we need understanding. This is why sometimes in life we get in a strange place, because we think we know what we are doing, and we wound up in a disorienting place. We thought we had all the steps laid out and the plan seemed to be coming together, but we wound up in this place and it's obvious that we didn't know what we were doing. That's exactly what it's all about! It is why you need the understanding of God. That is what wisdom is all about.
We're talking about understanding here.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2021 0:47:48 GMT -6
And then, if you do these things described in verse 21, then will we have this promise:
“So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.” (Proverbs 3:22 KJV).
You recall that in verse 21, we are told to “keep sound wisdom and discretion.”
What you could probably get out of verses 19-20 is the Trinity: wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. If you worked hard enough at it. Jesus Christ is wisdom personified in chapter 8. You really don’t know anything spiritual until you get the Holy Spirit. Just figure how to connect understanding with the Father, and you could get the Trinity—if any are so inclined.
In the Old Testament sense, verse 22 is speaking of health to the body. It is speaking of the physical reward of wisdom. The Holy Spirit used soul and body interchangeably, such as in Genesis 12:13 where it says: “. . . and my soul shall live because of thee,” so, “life unto thy soul,” is speaking of physical life.
“. . . and grace to thy neck,” is character. It will give you grace, convictions, it will teach you things and you will be able to walk uprightly. As a person gets old, that neck begins to bend down. The effects of sin and the wages of sin begin to wear upon the body so that there is no grace in the neck anymore, it is stooped. Character and conviction will give a Christians grace in the neck, give them stature, so that even though they are old—they will be respected. “. . . grace to thy neck,” is like an ornament. A lady puts on a necklace, as the Bible speaks of giving more honor to our uncomely parts, as the neck is just a lump of flesh. A lady puts something on it to draw attention to it, to bestow some honor upon it. Wisdom will put a necklace about your neck of and understanding and protection.
“So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.”
A man can no more take in a supply of grace for the future than he can eat enough today to last him for the next six months or take sufficient air into his lungs at once to sustain life for a week to come. We must draw upon God's boundless stores of grace from day to day as we need it.
- D. L. Moody
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2021 1:28:59 GMT -6
“Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble" (Proverbs 4:10-12).
Do you know what you know? You know that God's right no matter anything else. You have to like that because at least you can then go ask God what's right and wrong. Some of us grew up around religious leaders enough in some churches that you could go ask the priest what was right versus wrong and you couldn't get a straight answer if you paid him. Right? It's true.
Your 5-year-old children know right from wrong many times better than those political candidates running around making promises about how they are going to make things better for everyone. Do you know why that’s true? Because you have trained them to honor the word of God. Because they have the godly examples of their mom and dad over them.
“I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened,” the straight gate, the narrow gate. “Thy steps,” when you're walking with the Lord, if you're doing the right things, the Lord will not close you down so that you can't go the right way. You can go the right way.
“. . . and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble,” a lot of people say, “Well, you know I want to do the right thing, but it was just too hard. I realized that I just couldn't do it.” No, that's not true. Paul commented on this. He got on the Corinthians about it:
“O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels" (2 Corinthians 6:11-12).
Do you know what keeps you from doing right? You do. Do you know who closes themselves
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2021 1:45:44 GMT -6
“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" (Proverbs 5:21-22).
You know what most people think of God. They think that God is a big ogre with a big axe and he's just waiting to whack your head off, just as soon as you mess up; or God is waiting in the heavens to punish them, and there's a degree of truth to this, we understand the Lord will come back one day in vengeance and with fire and judgment and that's very true. That is a theological fact. But, it is also true that God is not the only thing you have to worry about if you're going to do wrong; because one of the things that you have to worry about is that you will get trapped and taken in your own sins, in your own iniquities, and your own transgressions will catch up to you and you wind up trapped and bound in them. This is what it says verse 22, “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself,” and folks, this is testified to over and over and over again.
We could look at plenty of Bible verses in this study, but we’ll only consider a few. Perhaps it will whet your appetite to go searching for a few more in your own Bible study.
“He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate" (Psalms 7:15-16). It’s just not that an unusual thing in the Bible at all, at all, at all.
Then, talking about folks that lay a snare for somebody else, “And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives" (Proverbs 1:18). They end up falling in their own pit. In verse 31 we read, “Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.” So, again, the danger is that you wind up not just being judged by God, but that you wind up being caught up and trapped in your own sins, and those sins wind up destroying you.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2021 0:59:29 GMT -6
“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren" (Proverbs 6:16-19).
That’s why the Lord speaks about a woman having a meek spirit and shamefacedness. That’s not the look of the models on the cosmopolitan cover. That is not a shamefaced look, basically that's exactly the opposite. Now, that is not to say that it's just women that should have a shamefaced look, okay? I'm saying the Lord cannot stand that cocky, high, proud look. So, looks do matter. You see, grace is very important, and what's going on inside you spiritually is the most important thing; but the outside does count. It does. We live in a day that has discarded the outside. Now, if you go for a job interview, you're going to dress for a job interview; but when you go to church you can go any way you want to, because the outside doesn't matter. The outside does matter.
The outside says something. It’s not the only thing, and it may not even be the most important thing; but what is on the inside eventually works itself to the outside, and when somebody's outside stays a certain way for long enough there are some things that are inside there aren't right.
“. . . a lying tongue.” The Lord cannot stand a lying tongue. Most parents would admit that they despise a lying tongue. They try to rein that thing out of their kids. Just be sure that you're just as careful to rein it out of you, because the Lord does not like, in fact he hates, a lying tongue.
We tell our kids, “In the end, you can sneak stuff past us; but don't count on the Lord not showing me that you tried to sneak something past us, but we’re smart enough to know that you can sneak stuff past, but we're going forward on a basis of trust here. If you'll show me that I can trust you, I will trust you, and you’ll keep getting more slack and more slack until one day you go off on your own and live your life independent of us. And then you’ll begin that same culture of trust with your own kids.”
“A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin" (Proverbs 26:28).
If you are going to lie to somebody, you hate that person.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2021 2:16:19 GMT -6
“He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death" (Proverbs 7:22-27).
It's too bad that the that the weight of the warning gets lost in the repetition of it. It’s really too bad, because the picture has been painted there, and then a father turns and says, “Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children!” Why? So you don't wind up shot like an ox. So you don't wind up like a bird in a snare. So you don't wind up dead somewhere.
“O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth,” and once again the emphasis is on the words. “Let not thine heart decline to her ways,” once again you are told what to do with your feelings. You're told what to do with your passions. “Let not thine heart,” okay, do not let it go there. Do not let your thoughts go there. Do not let your affections go there. Do not let your passions take that route. “Well, I can't help it!” Yes, you can. Yes, you certainly can. You can. You can.
“Let not thine heart decline to her ways,” she's always down. She's always down. You never go up to meet her. She's always down, it's always a decline.
“Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.” Samson, David, Solomon, many a strong man. It doesn't matter how strong you think you are.
Verse 27, “Her house is the way to hell,” there is no better way to go to hell than the emphasis on structure. “Her house is the way to hell.” A church isn’t a “house of God,” it is best to emphasize the personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You can send an entire generation of people to hell emphasizing the house. We have to be careful. “Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.”
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2021 2:04:33 GMT -6
“For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death” (Proverbs 8:35-36 KJV).
“For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD,” speaking of finding the way to eternal life, in the Person of Whom wisdom speaks, and to find Him is to find favor of the Lord. “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6 KJV). This man, by faith, becomes one of God’s children and finds favor of the Lord.
“But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death,” this is bad. This speaks of self-destruction.
“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:18-19 KJV).
To hate Christ is to love death. To hate God’s only path to righteousness is to love condemnation. People are playing with something that is so valuable, but they prefer the darkness of their own souls to the light of God’s truth. But they that sin against the light, hate their own soul.
Young people say, “I don’t want to go to church, because my mom and dad always make me go.” Well, they are not hurting mom and dad when they don’t want to go, they are hurting themselves. And when someone gets the idea that when they grow up, they are not going to go to church, he is not hurting anyone but himself.
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36 KJV).
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2021 1:35:31 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).
Notice, “knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.” Now, you know what you have to watch out for? You have to watch out for being a scorner. And I know, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful” (Psalms 1:1).
And the reason why you don't want to be a scorner, and one of the marks of the scorner is that he's made up his mind already what he's going to believe, and when he hears something along the lines of what he's already made up his mind he's not going to believe, his response is to scorn it and mock it, okay? There's a reason why you can't teach a scorner something, and it's because of what he is, and it is because of what he wants to be.
“Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things” (Proverbs 28:5). This relates to somebody who is not a scorner, but a wicked man or an evil man. Look, we pray for folks, and we long for them to get right with the Lord. I’m willing to reason with a guy maybe even beyond what I should at times. We are only required to reprove a heretic twice, and I know that many of us are willing to go more than twice; but there comes a point where a guy not only has to have light from the Holy Spirit, and there comes a time when he not only needs to be born again and no longer be a natural man anymore, there comes a time when a guy has to want the truth, no matter what it costs. Until someone gets to that point, it’s real hard dealing with them.
“Evil men understand not judgment,” and some will say, “That’s not fair!” Yes, it is, because verse 5, “They that seek the Lord understand all things.” That's the problem. The burr in their saddle is seeking the Lord. The thorn under their skin is the Lord. The problem for them is things like Hell, sin, and judgment which when you bring them up people go “No! No! No!” Well, they are scorners and evil men. They don't understand, and they just don't want to understand. “Why, I just don't understand why a loving Lord allows little kids to get killed in tsunamis!” They don’t want to understand, and if somebody undertakes to explain it to them, they won't accept it anyway. Why do bad things happen to good people? They don't want the answer to that. People have given them the answers, but they are not interested in hearing the answer to the problem.
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