May 30, 2021 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll preaching, “Wise or Foolish: Which Are You?”

[Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] hmm [Music] [Applause] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] so [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] yeah i'll join my voice with john's to welcome all of you to our morning worship service this is our second hour of worship the first one is at um nine in the morning and then we meet for this hour we're so glad you're here if you brought your phone with you and it's not a part of your worship i mean you don't have your bible app on there please make sure it's on silent and or turned off same for a pager if you carry one of those we're so glad you're here we hope if you're a guest of ours you'll return always welcome to pleased to have you come back today is a very special day and we want to recognize two particular groups who are represented here we'll do it at the same time there are those of you whose family has been marked by grief as you have lost a loved one while in uniform which is what the memorial weekend is all about and that may be true in your family in a few moments i'm going to have you stand to be recognized and to have us give us a chance to express our gratitude to you for your sacrifice your loss others of you are military in your background you are a veteran and you may have served in years past you may currently be serving if you're in either one of these two groups will you please stand and remain standing even beyond our applause please stand as we thank you for your service freedom is something we never take for granted nor should we it is a right given by god and we are delighted to be free because of his grace free from the contamination and power and the constant plague of sin that once controlled us and we're also free as a nation and we are grateful for that in the second case that must be defended it's not just automatic there are always those who would love to take our freedom away and invade and take charge of our country and we have you to thank for defending our liberty thank you for serving in difficult places for the sacrifice that was involved in your thinking of others rather than yourself we're grateful for your years of service and for you who've lost loved ones from your family in years past today we acknowledge that when i drive by the flags that are flying this weekend i'm i sometimes pause and remember uh my childhood too young to have served but i remember during those difficult years in the great world world war ii there were those we knew whose sons and daughters wore the uniform and a number of them never returned thank you for your faithfulness thank you for being there on our behalf and for serving doing your duty as a veteran we recognize you today and we thank you you may be seated and later later i'll ask you to stand for the time of prayer and we'll remember you then thank you again for your service you'll enjoy what's presented to you on the screens before a very unique call to worship this morning which will also be delightful please pay attention to what she says here we go hi stonebriar family i'm debbie creator ministry leader of awana and here are three fun ways to connect with god and others this summer first up couples don't miss out on our next date night on friday june 18th come to our summer soak in and luau for a hawaiian themed cookout and movie night the cost is 20 per couple and child care is provided so sign up to spend quality time together and meet other couples from our church family next discover simple yet powerful ways you can connect more deeply with your spouse at our one things summer marriage study join us online or on campus beginning wednesday june 16th at 6 30 pm that's the same time as our summer midweek activities for kids and teens so there's something for the whole family on wednesday nights this summer and finally speaking of family fun start your engines for the annual stonebriar grand prix all ages are invited to craft a pinewood derby car and join us for race day on saturday june 26th we'll even help you create your rig at the car clinic on june 12th sign up online for the stone briar grand prix and the optional car clinic and then pick up your car kit in the garden hallway behind the staircase in the atrium after worship find details on these announcements and more at stonebriar.org events to begin i usually look at the family and say tonight let's celebrate the joy of being us and let's celebrate the joy of being together that kind of sets the the tone for our time together i thought this morning that's a good way to to approach a worship service we are gathered in the name of christ let's celebrate the joy of being us the redeemed let's celebrate the joy of being together all right um in a moment after we hear a call to worship by our children we're going to stand and sing christ's people are at our best when we are singing praise to him in a full-throated passionate way so when you stand from your seat and begin to sing do so with great joy but first here's our call to worship praise god from whom all blessings flow praise him all creatures praise father's holy ghost [Music] foreign so [Music] foreign oh jesus foreign so [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] hundreds [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] ah foreign [Music] bye foreign [Music] blessing praises oh is oh [Music] um [Music] come on [Music] i [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] is search my heart as i seek to praise oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] please is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] i failed to mention earlier that next sunday morning you're in for a surprising announcement i could do it all in five words but i'm going to wait till next sunday morning to do that in fact i'm going to make the announcement along with don mcminn our minister of music and charlton hyatt senior associate pastor here we have the joy of telling you something that you will never forget it'll make history for us as a church and we will rejoice together in that announcement that's next sunday don't miss it bring your friend interesting thing when you deal with subjects from the scriptures you um you often think how unusual that sounds a quaint sometimes even you might be tempted to think how dated after all it is an ancient book and all who wrote it during the 1500 years of the writing it's remarkable through these years it has never lost its significance for this book alone like no other book tells us the truth it often is not what we want to hear but it is always what we need to hear today the subject is an unusual one it's about fools you won't hear the word in today's media you won't hear it in any part of our culture the term itself may seem prejudicial it isn't at all it's the truth and we always need to hear the truth hard as it may be to hear it in this case solomon is writing and it's toward the end of his journal i'm calling ecclesiastes his journal and as he rounds the bin for that final distance to the end of the book he's getting increasingly more serious like many do when they reach toward the end of their lives he decides to tell us the truth about fools the wise and the foolish and the reader is left to determine in which category he or she may be i'm in ecclesiastes 10. i want to read for you three sections from the chapter verses one to three five to seven and then twelve to fifteen if you locate ecclesiastes i'll be reading from the new living translation once you find your place please stand and listen to the reading of the scriptures this is the word of god as dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor a wise person chooses the right road a fool takes the wrong one you can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street verse 5. there's another evil i've seen under the sun kings and rulers who make a grave mistake when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth i have seen servants riding horseback like princes and princes walking like servants verse 12. wise words bring approval but fools are destroyed by their own words fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions so their conclusions will be wicked madness they chatter on and on and on no one really knows what is going to happen no one can predict the future fools are so exhausted by a little work that they can't even find their way home if you're a veteran among us or if you're from a family that has lost someone while wearing the uniform please remain standing the others of you please be seated when i served my years in the marine corps i remember leaving the states to make my way to an island 8 000 miles away i guess it was then i fully realized something of the cost of serving in the military little did i realize what the lord had in mind because it was there on that island where i spent 16 17 months my whole life was changed it was there i realized i was called to ministry it was there i saw firsthand and consistently the depravity of humanity the needs of people the brokenness of my own life as well as our own world and the same for you who stand today some of you stand and your loved one lies beneath a white cross we honor those today who have died in battle others of you stand because you served and we're grateful for you each one of you you did your duty more importantly you served your country you held high the honor of liberty some of you saw battle some of the scenes are so dreadful you hope you'll never have to tell anyone about them all of us have known loneliness distance in god's hand in our lives as he taught us things away from all family and friends so today we bow in gratitude join me in prayer will you you alone are worthy of our praise oh father you alone or the one we worship you were the same yesterday today and forever you never abandon us you never forget us thank you for these we honor today here and all around our country whom we remember and are grateful for thank you for our flag that flies thank you for the noble women and men who've worn the uniform and served and represented their country thank you for those who took up arms carried heavy weapons and endured the dreadfulness of war and the loss of their friends today we give you thanks for each one we pause and and we reflect on what it means to be a servant what it means think of others as more important than ourselves guard our nation father you have written in your word if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways i will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and i will heal their land heal our land dear father protect us from the encroachment and invasion of those who would harm us and our children and our parents by your grace may we know more years until your son returns and may we live them to the fullest thankful people humble people we now commit to you our time and your word make it meaningful to each one of us as you speak truth in an age of falsehood and as you reveal to us the mystery of your will in a time of deception we commit to you this passage of scripture and the truths we'll learn from it may we accept the truth your glory finally father thank you for your love that's everlasting we were seeking deep in sin far from the peaceful shore but you lifted us by your love and we today give you thanks for that for christ who loved us and gave himself for us in his name we pray everyone said amen please be seated [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] so [Music] hey [Music] you [Music] [Music] ah [Applause] advice from parents is usually short and to the point during my growing up years i often heard the same four words they were usually followed by the same three words i was that person may have known me when i was growing up i i wasn't the most obedient child to put it mildly and as a result i often heard don't be a fool and then as a result of continuing to be a fool i would hear use your head use your head remember those words wake up apply some wisdom here son you're going to grow up and think of what you're going to look like then then there would be two blunt words like uh that's stupid uh and little by little i i forgot all of that and went on my own merry way and then i became acquainted with the earliest prayer i can recall from my mother god help you if you ever do that again i heard just the other day a cute comment about stupidity when the individual looked at me and said about an individual that had been doing the wrong thing over and over he said you know chuck you can't fix stupid pretty good response huh i don't know that i agree with that god can fix anything he can change anyone if i didn't believe that i would write people off who keep doing stupid things my parents could have easily written me off and quite likely you with your son or daughter or in your own life solomon has written about fools and he uses the term over and over almost to the point where you weary of hearing it but it's his way of driving home the utter stupidity of living like a fool now before i go any further i need to clarify the way people use the word today is so different from the way the bible uses the word in our day it's a sort of a prankster a jokester like a ferris bueller's day off type character or maybe one of the wild and crazy blues brothers of yesteryear or even further back the three stooges who did stupid and silly things and and that's how they made their living they just did them over and over again but that's not the biblical picture as a matter of fact it isn't at all funny it isn't a joke it isn't about pranks and staying up half the night doing wild and crazy things if i were to limit my words to the psalms and proverbs which i must do for the sake of time the picture i would paint is rather sober listen psalm 14 1 we learn of what's in a fool's heart fools say in their heart there is no god so let's start there the fool in the picture of the bible as he as the bible pictures the fool is the one who says i have no place in my life for god he or she discounts god the verse goes on to say they are corrupt and their actions are evil fools fail to take god seriously and they give no attention to what his word says just a lot of ancient words thrown on white pages that mean nothing to me today that's a fool's evaluation of the scriptures and of the one who saw that they knew were to be written in proverbs 14 8 we learn of specific bents and the will of a fool i read there the wisdom of the prudent is to understand his ways but the folly of fools is deceit fools traffic in deceit they lie they don't tell you the real truth they put up a false front deception is their lifestyle in the new living translation that verse comes across fools make fun of guilt stance reason no god no guilt both are a waste of a fool's time unfortunately i don't mean self-imposed guilt i mean the right kind of divine conviction that brings guilt from wrongdoing proverbs 10 23 doing wrong is fun to a fool in the new american standard i read the fool treats wickedness like it is a sport the picture doesn't get better in proverbs 19 3. foolishness subverts his ways and his heart rages against the lord i found that this fool's rage can turn against those who love the lord and they rage against christians that's happening now all the time because ours is a culture filled with fools correcting or warning fools is a waste of time i'm going to go a step further i've learned in my years of doing my best to deal with fools and handle the consequences of such that sometimes only a dreadful catastrophic event will turn a fool in the right direction sometimes it takes iron bars a prison sentence i remember in a former ministry in another place another time had a good friend who was coming down the aisle and speak to me i was standing down front following a service and i spoke to my friend i didn't know the man he had his arm around him and he said i want you to meet my my friend he's just now coming to church he's been away for quite a while as a matter of fact he just got out of 12 years in prison and i put out my hand to shake his hand and he was very reluctant to shake hands i never did get eye contact from him and uh it was an awkward moment and he said if you had known him 12 years ago you probably wouldn't have wanted to shake his hand i said prison has a way of changing things and the man then spoke and said it changed my life especially those months in solitary confinement so all of a sudden you're beginning to get the picture fools on their own given their own way will traffic in those ways in lies and deception faking it rather than seeking correction wanting counsel appreciating warnings and advice foolishness just fouls everything up it isn't a fun sport though they want to make it that and so when we read uh ecclesiastes 10 all about fools we're not surprised by the way it begins look at this for starters look at verse one very unusual words as dead flies cause even the bottle of perfume to stink i mean how many verses start like that i don't know of another but it's rather vivid isn't it that's like as a drop of poison in a five gallon jug of water ruins the water and only a fool would drink it so dead flies in a bottle of otherwise very expensive ointment or perfume will ruin it and the analogy finishes so a little foolishness spoils wisdom and honor just a little bit of foolishness is all it takes and the reputation is smeared verses two and three go a little further foolishness is quickly apparent look at how it reads a wise person chooses the right road not the fool you'll choose or she will choose the wrong road every time even though you warn them that's a wrong road they'll choose that road i mean what do you know how do you know i like the way that road looks i i like the way it feels i'm going there it goes on to say you can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street it's his way of saying it's obvious if you've ever hired a fool it didn't take you long to realize it if you're married to a fool please no don't answer back okay if you're married to a fool you've probably gone through a divorce they'll ruin a home they'll destroy the structure of a family children are in danger around fools so are mates you see uh it even works its way out when your children grow up and they don't learn because the home is the perfect place to find counsel and advice in our early years when we should be open to such that's where we learn to shed a lot of our foolish ways but if we grow older and resist those words of warning and counsel were a heartbreak to our parents and some of you are dealing with that right now somehow your adult son or daughter is determined to go his or her own way and for some reason they choose a path that is quite the opposite of the way you've chosen to live your life and you are often at a loss you will say in unguarded moments i can't believe he's our son or she's our daughter i mean they live on the wrong road and again i say it isn't funny it's heartbreaking because they're out to ruin another marriage or another place of employment that's what the chapter is about so he goes on to describe foolish leaders verses 4 through 7. look at verse 5 there is another evil i've seen under the sun this is in the days of kings and and servants and so he uses those words i've seen kings and rulers make a grave mistake and what's that well it's when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth a nation led by a fool is a nation in trouble a body of people that have as their leader a fool are off course they suffer for it the way solomon writes it is of rather eloquent great authority given to foolish people they can't handle great authority but when they're given positions of authority they operate in the realm of authority their authority is skewed embarrassing faulty off target that's what he's saying and then of all things those who are really qualified are walking along like like like servants they're not the ones on horseback in other words they don't have the places of of responsibility and then he moves into foolish workers in verses 8 through 11. follow along and you will see you will notice in each case the fool doesn't realize the consequences of his actions or her actions look at verse 8 when you dig a well you might fall in if you're a fool you will so stand clear because there's the danger in this deep hole you're digging falling in the fool falls in here's another when you demolish an old wall you could be bitten by a snake he doesn't think about the danger lurking when the house is being demolished or the wall is being rebuilt so there are uh those uh snakes that will bite and then next when you work in a quarry stones might fall and crush you and uh the fool doesn't uh give attention to that just pounds away and and danger happens when you chop wood there's a danger of with each stroke of your axe if it's dull you have to work harder the wise person works smarter why because it keeps the edge sharp but the fool keeps using a dull edge the analogy is clear the symbolism it's not about an axe and a forest you know what it's about it's about life keep your edge sharp stay alert pay attention discern none of those things is a quali qualification is a characterization of a fool they miss it at every point and he says if you're going to charm a snake and back in those days where that was done in that particular culture be sure you've uh got that snake well charred before you get underway with your uh uh music because that snake is going to bite you it's going to hurt you all the way through the worker lacks wisdom we've all made the mistake of hiring wrong people having them in our employ and then realizing the mess they're making and the problem is that mess travels to other people fools proliferate other people learn their ways and so they affect the whole company and there's just no other way to handle it than to let them go you confront and you confront and you confront and you ward and then you build in some probationary period and you finally say there's the door because you realize if the person is determined to remain a fool the wrong road is the way of life for that individual until they learn as we often say the hard way and then there are foolish talkers in verse 12 that begins wise words bring approval but fools are destroyed by their own words uh and and we we've all made foolish mistakes with our tongues so one of solomon's favorite subjects is the tone he uses it frequently in his writings proverbs is full of references i once did a study on the tong in proverbs and filled pages uh in in my research he says much about the tongue and here it's the tongue of the wise of the uh wise words bring approval but fools destroy with their words they speak and they're ill-timed words or they're inappropriate words or they're too harsh words or they're said to someone who ought not be hearing them and maybe they're confidential words they should be kept secret we've all made mistakes like that in some time they're inadvertent but you think i i just bite my tongue for saying that i was teaching a class one time and there were a number of people there and a couple of three empty chairs and a couple came in later and i noticed and i blurted out without thinking why don't you and your mother sit here these these seats are open see some of you are already smarter than i was at the time it was his wife i i thought why in the world did i say mother by the way they didn't stay for much of the teaching after that with a full teaching like i i was at the time and we do that you know why we do it we don't think so pause pause i don't care what your degrees are i don't i don't care how uh how uh financially stable you are you you have a tongue it's going to get you into trouble solomon is uh picking up on this same thing when he gets to verse 13. the fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions i have a very good friend who uh will say on occasion never assume anything and he's right assumptions will usually include some wrong information and if you base what you're doing on those assumptions it leads to a kind of madness translated here in the new living as wicked madness uh and and but uh unfortunately you don't learn and so they chatter on and on and on let me say again there's nothing funny about this if you wonder how severe this the tongue can be read james 3 1-10 probably the best treatise ever written on the tongue in the bible and in that three analogies are used for the tongue each the tongue is is is illustrated by something small that affects something large as the bridle and bit in the horse's mouth so is the tongue to a life isn't it amazing just a couple of straps of leather and and the bit in the mouth of the horn and you can you can guide that horse even with that massive neck and that that large powerful animal just the turn or the pull of the bridle and then after you've analyzed that he goes to the rudder on the ship a massive ship small rudder in comparison to size but a rudderless ship is a dangerous thing and how much larger than a horse the rudder is a small by comparison it's a small part of the ship it needs a good rudder needs to be steered carefully and then the ultimate and what the spark is to the forest fire then he comes to the conclusion the tongue is a fire a world of iniquity when you realize that you you you really become cautious in the in the way you use your tongue unless you're a fool and fools just chatter on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and interestingly when they're through they said nothing so if you can't contribute do us all a favor and don't share your ignorance so adding ignorant things to the information being given doesn't help anyone and just adding words doesn't make it more helpful and you'll notice here they chatter on and who do the fools they talk too much and they say too little in fact they even make statements about their future they're going to do this or this is going to happen they live their lives with dreams and here he says you no one really knows what's going to happen no one can predict the future and then finally he comes to the subject of this last characteristic look at them 15 through 20 what sorrow for the land ruled by a servant the hebrew renders servant child i don't know why it's translated servant it really has in reference is in reference to a child meaning much immaturity an immaturity a leader is an accident getting ready to happen and they'll make them and they don't even know their accidents they'll make their decisions like children verse 17 happy is the land whose king is a noble leader and whose leaders feast at the proper time to gain strength for their work and not to get drunk he's describing the the world of wise leaders and the benefit that comes from this i wrote down the words of eugene peterson as he renders this he in the message he talks about being led by by one who is just so immature and they want to party all night is the way he handles it great leaders don't do that there's a time to party there's a time to work fools don't know the difference and there also uh please stay with me here verse 16 laziness lens leads to a sagging roof and idleness leads to leaky houses it's a picture of indolence and a lack of restraint never make then finally there's the fool that that puts down those in authority in public never make light of the king even if you're by in your thoughts and don't make fun of the powerful even in your bedroom be careful about open criticism against individuals why because a little bird might deliver your message and tell them what you said swimming at the words a little bird told me or not of ecclesiastes i learned in the military that you salute rank not the person wearing the uniform uh you may not respect the person but you respect the rank uh there are positions of authority that are to be respected and uh out of respect for the authority of that position you uh you guard your your tongue here's the peterson quote where he captures the essence of all this he refers to the land led by a king who was a young pup and by princes who party all night there's incompetence and there's a lack of ability to to make the right decisions now enough of the analysis it's time for application sit tight it won't be easy to hear this i've spent hours on this message and thinking through how it applies knowing that there's a price to pay for speaking this openly about such things what i'm going to say isn't what you'll ever hear from the media or from the culture you'll hear it from the scriptures or someone who represents the scriptures and it's not a guarantee to solve all problems related to fools it will help i think but it may not solve the problem and may take half a lifetime third thing i want to say is it shouldn't be implemented without much thought prayer and counsel with those that you respect remember i said these things these are all disclaimers so that you won't rush into my suggestion later and fourth i need to warn you things could get worse before they get better here's the first thing i want to say if you find yourself connected to a fool you may be married to one she may be your wife he may be your husband you may have a son or daughter who has picked up foolish ways you've done your best to help them to warn them to pick up the tab to keep them from the pain of where they're heading and they perpetually return to their foolish and wayward ways you may have hired someone that has worked havoc wreaked havoc on your company and because you're a christian and i understand this we all are given to spending too much time if i would use the word from scripture wasting time and giving too much effort trying to fix stupid or to correct a fool which only god can do i'm going to give you the principle that i'm going to give you the verses if there is continued folly isolation is usually the most effective response isolation they need to be left alone need to disconnect in the workforce you release them from your company in a marriage there must be a separation or there usually is is the need for separation maybe for the safety of the children maybe for your sanity fools destroy homes i mentioned that earlier so to save the home you separate i'm i'm all for marriage i've i've i've i believe in it uh minds lasted by the grace of god all these over 65 years and and i'm grateful for that but some marriages don't last like that because there's a fool that has gone to the altar with the other person and it wasn't known when they married and they found out about it so listen to the verse proverbs 14 7 leaving or leave the presence of a fool or you will not discern words of knowledge leave the presence of fools or you'll suffer you begin to question your own thinking you will not discern words of knowledge being a christian you've given advice you have shown compassion you have pled you have warned you have waited you have prayed it's time to act there needs to be isolation proverbs 29 23 9 don't waste your breath on fools for they will despise the wisest advice you've given money you've given counsel you've done everything you know to do stop it here's a thought i got this past week i've never had before isolation provides its own therapy isolation provides its own therapy that explains the young man who came to the front to meet me after the service with my friend and said to me it changed my life especially uh that time in total isolation solitary confinement why are we so quick to bail out those children of ours that get in trouble with the law what's gained by bailing them out are you cutting in on what god is trying to do in their lives and i'm not trying to be overly severe i'm trying to be realistic and what do you gain because you keep paying the bills it's time for cutting them loose remember the father of the prodigal gave him the inheritance let him go he didn't follow the boy he didn't seek information about how the boy was doing he didn't forget the boy but he let him go and you read nothing of the father after the boy is cut loose pleading with him and following him down the path and begging him not to leave go and i'm sure the father had enough wisdom to know he was going to squander the money that's exactly what he did and he would suffer the consequences let him suffer and he winds up uh knee deep in a in a swine pen with all the filth and excrement of a swine this jewish boy did and he we read he came to his senses and he thought in so many words what's wrong with me everything i long for is back home everything i now miss is with my father and the father still doesn't come and rescue him he leaves him you see i believe much of foolishness is temporary insanity and during that period of time an individual must come to terms with himself remember we read earlier that the wise person seeks to know himself the fool doesn't he thinks everything is your problem he's full of blame that's why he's so short-sighted that's why you can't fix stupid let the lord fix it he's able to do that now that brings me to my second comment please hear this if genuine repentance and clear evidence of brokenness and a contrite heart is present restoration and celebration are appropriate when the boy finally returned read it for yourself luke 15 20-27 you might write that in the margin luke 15 20-27 great story of restoration when the boy came home there's the father open arms no probation no lecture he welcomed him home there was celebration the boy was pleading with him just to let him become a servant the father would hear nothing of it you're not a servant you're my son kill the fatted calf get the ring get the robe get the sandals what is that lack lack of judgment it's fullness of forgiveness we're not really good at that either so let's get better at that when there is recovery when there is repentance when there is a contrite heart when there is a brokenness time to forgive the only one who didn't was the older brother remember the father didn't even lecture the the younger son when he came home what have you been doing all this time you're away how much of that inheritance have you spent none of that you don't do that when you forgive you forgive just like you're forgiven when you come to the cross and the lord forgives you and removes your sin as far as east is from west now hold it be discerning here take time think is there brokenness is this really a contrite heart is there real humility here and the answer to the above is yes forgive welcome them home one man who knows a little of what he's talking about writes the toughness i have recommended in response to irresponsibility can be destructive and vicious unless it is characterized by genuine love and compassion it was love that let the boy go he's rushing in his god to take charge of his son no matter how badly we have been mistreated or how selfish the other person may have been we're called upon to release them that's the meaning of true forgiveness march of all heart writes forgiveness is surrendering my right to hurt you for hurting me it takes a big person to do that makes a wise person i i know i'm speaking [Music] tough things today i know it's hard to hear this i care i don't want ecclesiastes 10 to just sort of wash around and get lost on the pages of other parts of the scriptures i want us to stand out i want you to think through the issue of foolishness and folly and fools stop playing with it call it what it is deal with it correctly and it'll break your heart i understand that i could tell you so much more personally that i won't go into but i know what i'm talking about sometimes it doesn't work out and there isn't a change and there isn't a change and there isn't a change and you think lord will there ever be a repentant heart you may not live to see it that's in the lord's hands you've done all you can do now just as the one who gave you the child when the child was born you now release the one and if it's a matter of employment you don't rush out and hire them back because they can't find a job not finding a job may be part of it and isolation is a painful thing to go through but so it is for the one who is a fool i want you to bow with me please and um for a moment i'll not linger needlessly here i just want you to close your eyes and think i don't know where you are in this message but most of us are involved in it somehow in some way i want you to pray for wisdom and how to respond ask the lord to guide you into doing what is best to give you the strength to follow through to see the truth for what it is and then to act upon it if you've never trusted in the lord jesus maybe all of this has happened to bring you to your knees and you turn your life over to christ it's a whole new beginning in fact scripture calls the whole process you become a new creature a new creation old things are passed away and all things become new so i turn i invite you to turn to him now lord we need discernment we need wisdom we need your direction we need courage we need the strength of character we need to believe what we've read and heard and where it applies we need to act upon it where it doesn't we need to let it pass but these things are in your hands and we ask for you to lead us this sermon doesn't end when i stop speaking you continue to speak may we not miss the aftermath of this message i ask in jesus name everyone said amen [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Stonebriar Community Church

Views: 13,767

Rating: 4.8279572 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: 9ro7BXi4bOw

Length: 88min 11sec (5291 seconds)

Published: Sun May 30 2021