Proverbs 24

Proverbs chapter 24 we finished chapter 23 last week we'll pick it up in chapter 24 as we make our way through this amazing book of Proverbs so packed full of so much in the way of wisdom and practical application to our lives which is actually what I want to talk about tonight so why don't we pray and we'll ask God to bless our Bible study if you would join with me thank You Lord so much for this time that we have on a Thursday night to come to this beautiful church building that you've given us and put aside all the busyness of the day and all the cares and the affairs of our lives and just settle down and quiet down and quiet our hearts and settle our hearts so that we can give You our undivided attention as You minister to us as only You can and as You're always so faithful to Lord Lord would You speak into our lives tonight will You bless our Bible study tonight bless our time together Lord in Your Word Lord thank You in Jesus' name Amen all right let's jump in verse 1 Proverbs 24 we're going to see this come up again I think about verse 12 but sort of in a different way it says do not be envious of evil men nor desire to be with them for their heart devises violence and their lips talk of troublemaking now we might need to roll up our arm sleeves as it were and kind of through this because it almost is a contradiction in the sense that we're told to be with the world we're in the world not of the world and certainly in the Gospels Jesus was with evil men so here we're told don't desire to be with them don't be envious of them and the warning here I believe is and the difference is that in being with the evil and the wicked carries with it this potential for us to be influenced by them by being with them so Jesus when He was with the prostitutes and the sinners and the worst of the worst it was to change them not be changed by them and that's the difference here and the warning here I believe in this Proverb because if you're going to associate with those who are evil and wicked and those whose hearts devise violence and their lips talk of troublemaking then it's not going to be long before you become like them and isn't it true that we become like those who we are with the most there's another Proverb we already talked about this it basically goes like this don't associate with an angry man someone with a short fuse a hot temper and the reason is is because you'll become like them it's not long before you become angry like them because you're with them and you tend to mimic and imitate those that you're with the most and that's the warning here and the wisdom here concerning evil men verse three through wisdom a house is built notice the the progression here and even the distinction here and by understanding it is established by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches okay first it needs to be built how's it going to be built wisdom now that it's been built it needs to be established how is it going to be established understanding now that it's been built and established what are you going to fill the rooms with you're going to fill them with precious and pleasant riches how by knowledge so wisdom builds understanding establishes and knowledge fills with all precious and pleasant riches here it is likening a house that is built to a life that is lived in other words we live our lives and we build our lives on the foundation of the wisdom from above wisdom from God there's earthly wisdom James talks about and contrasts with the wisdom that comes from above that's first pure and peaceable and gentle and easy to be intreated and full of mercy and good fruits without partiality or hypocrisy bearing fruits under righteousness that's the wisdom from above contrasted with the earthly wisdom which does not come from God which is sensuous selfish it's the worldly wisdom and that is a faulty foundation upon which to build the foundation of our lives we build our lives on the wisdom from God Godly wisdom and then once it's built on that foundation now you can establish it how by understanding oh not our own understanding that famous well-known Proverbs in chapter 3 verses 5 & 6 lean not unto thine own understanding in all your ways acknowledge the Lord and trust in the Lord with all your heart acknowledge the Lord in all your ways don't lean on your own understanding and then He will direct your paths I'm reminded of what Jesus said about how that if we who try to build on any other foundation we do so and we labor in vain it's all for naught and it will not be established and then verse 4 interesting it is filled with riches precious and pleasant riches by knowledge they've got wisdom understanding and knowledge building establishing and filling and by knowledge the knowledge of the things of God the Word of God verse 5 this is interesting a wise man is strong yes a man of knowledge increases strength for by wise counsel verse 6 you will wage your own war and in a multitude of counselors there is safety this is another recurring theme that we've seen throughout the book of Proverbs that when you have the multitude of counsel you're safe your plans will succeed with to few of counselors your plans will fail but what I think this is talking about and even warning us about is that sometimes we lean on the brawn and not the brain and I'll explain what I mean by that you know sometimes there is strength and that can be a good thing but really the better thing to be wise I mean because what good is strength without wisdom I can have all this strength all this brawn but I don't have the wisdom to carry it out and one of the characteristics of that wisdom it's the wise one who seeks out wise counsel who humbles themselves and seeks advice gets input especially when it comes to a major decision because sometimes we could be so close to it so emotionally invested in it that we really can't objectively see it and sometimes just having somebody that is looking at it from a completely different perspective advise you concerning it and counseling you with regards to it can be the wisest and the safest thing that you can do verse 7 wisdom is too lofty for a fool he does not open his mouth in the gate now in order to understand this we have to know a little bit about the times in which this was written the city gate was like the main center it was the hub of all activity a lot of business transactions took place there a lot of cases were resolved there a lot of judgments were made there all there at the city gate so you've got this Proverb painting this picture of this fool and carries with it the idea in the original language of an arrogant fool a know-it-all someone that you can't tell anything to they won't listen to anything you say because they're a know-it-all and here they sit in the city gate and they don't open their mouths and so the question is why don't they open their mouth because nobody is asking them why is nobody asking them because nobody wants them to open their mouth because they're a know it all and here they sit in a way fuming and seething here I am and don't they know who I am and yet they won't ask me for my advice because I can I can give them my advice I can tell them a thing or two I could teach them a thing or two they are not wise they are a fool an arrogant full and that wisdom is too lofty for them verse eight he who plots to do evil will be called a schemer the devising of foolishness is sin and the scoffer is an abomination to men kind of self-explanatory I mean there are those and sometimes I think as Christians we in our innocent naivete we don't realize that there are people that are given over to evil schemes people who actually plot evil and they devise these evil plans and they're scoffers and they're an abomination interesting not an abomination only to God but an abomination to men you know I think about in Titus when we're told that to the pure all things are pure and to the evil all things are evil and that's really interesting because it's kind of like this if you're a liar then everybody you talked to is a liar too because we tend to see people through the lens of our own self so if I'm a liar I kind of see everybody else as being a liar and conversely if I'm honest naively sometime I will just assume that people are honest because I'm honest and so I'm unsuspecting of those who are plotting evil scheming devising these things against me verse 10 this can be misunderstood it says if you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small now at first read you're thinking wow that's kind of mean don't read it like this if you faint in the day of adversity your strength is so small it's kind of like this in the Gospels how many times did Jesus say to the disciples oh you of little faith never imagined that He would say it this way oh you of little faith why did you doubt it's not like that it's more like this why is your faith so little when your God is so big so what's this Proverb saying I think it's saying this that if you faint in that trial that difficulty that adversity when adversity strikes it's God's Way of showing you that in and of yourself you do not have the strength and when you come to that place when you realize that you don't have the strength in the face of this adversity then you'll turn to Him and that's what the Apostle Paul would boast about when I'm weak then I'm strong Philippians 4:13 he says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me so sometimes and I think this is what the Proverb is saying there are those days of adversity when adversity strikes and sometimes it may just be that God wants us to come to the end of ourselves and just throw our hands up in surrender and say Lord this is too much for me I do not possess the strength that I need to get through this and it's almost like I imagine the Lord in those times that we do that is saying to us I'm so glad it's about time because now that you're at this place I can do in My strength what I've always desired to do in your life and if it took this adversity to bring you to that place then so be it so be it verse 11 deliver those who were drawn toward death and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter if you say surely we did not know this does not he who weighs the hearts consider it He who keeps your soul does He not know it and will He not render to each man according to his deeds if the Holocaust came to mind there's a good reason for that because that is exactly what this is speaking about deliver those who are drawn toward death don't hold back those stumbling to the slaughter and don't say that you didn't know you know I've just got done watching a series on World War Two it was really interesting and enlightening and sort of eye-opening and the one episode was about the Holocaust and it was so striking to me because they talked about how that when everything was discovered at Auschwitz and all of these camps there were those who said we had no idea we didn't know that Hitler was doing this and I mean this was written long before the Holocaust but you could just turn to chapter 24 and read verses 11 through 13 and or 11 and 12 and say I don't think so this happened to them and you did nothing they were led away to the slaughter to their death in those demonic gas chambers and you did nothing does not He who weighs the heart consider this does He not know it the one who keeps your soul and will He not render to each man according to his deeds my daughter's studying the Holocaust and thankfully because she's homeschooled she can study the Holocaust I think you might be shocked to know I mean there's things you have no idea concerning what our kids are being taught in schools today but the Holocaust isn't being taught in the schools today and she was telling me that all of these men that carried out these unspeakable you know deeds some of them actually seemingly got away with it were actually freed and in fact in this documentary there was an actual footage of these men being released from prison having served little time and they committed the most horrendous evil against the Jewish people and I had to kind of encourage her because it might seem like they got away with it but they didn't get away with it it might seem like down here that justice was not carried out proportionate to the crimes they committed and it might seem like that they got away with it but don't think for a second that God will not render to each man according to his deeds to me these two verses are summed up ever so perfectly in a writing by a German pastor who was actually imprisoned his name was Martin Niemöller if I'm pronouncing it correctly and he penned this about the unwillingness of anyone to stand up for the Jews during the Holocaust pictured here is an engraving of this writing it's at the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston Massachusetts a longer version by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust reads as follows listen to this first they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist then they came for the Socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me who's going to stand up for me who's going to speak out for me this is what the Proverb is saying is that we need to say something we need to do something and one need look no further to the horrific numbers of abortions who's going to speak up for these babies who's going to say something who's going to speak out for them they can't are we can I just go back to this just real quick indulge me God takes this very seriously He says deliver those who are drawn toward death and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter help the helpless now you cannot say I mean you could try surely I did not know this you can say that but here's the problem with that he who weighs the hearts considers it he who keeps your soul he knows it and he knows that you know it and as such he will recompense render mete out justice according to each man's deeds so we're going to give an account one day every one of us will give an account one day verse 13 my son eat honey because it is good I'm going to say Amen to that I love honey and the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste so shall and this is key verse 14 and this is why actually verse 14 so shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul if you have found it there is a prospect and your hope will not be cut off in other words you will not be let down you will not be disappointed okay what's this saying here's a thought a couple thoughts actually you know how sweet honey is you know how it is sometimes when this happens to me sometimes at the worst times like at night you're laying there you're trying to fall asleep and all of a sudden just out of nowhere you're hit with a sweet tooth you know I'm talking about and I mean I purposely make sure that I do not have unfettered access to ice cream and butter fingers and sweet things and so that you know I make no provision for the flesh you know as the Apostle Paul says make no provision for the flesh in other words don't create an environment in your life that it's conducive that makes it easy for you to give in to the lusts of the flesh the cravings of the flesh and oh my goodness sometimes I just get this craving many years ago and my wife and I were young this is BC not before Christ before children we would have cereal parties oh they were so fun we I mean we would just take this you know how it is when you take the cereal and then you pour the milk in and you put the honey on top and and and then you've just got to get the right mixture of cereal and milk and then sometimes you've got to add more cereal and then oh I guess I've got to add more milk and then you just keep going and going and going and I'll tell you I think there's going to be cereal in heaven I'm just thinking that there might be and I mean it is just it's so sweet and so delicious and and here's what I found the more you crave the more you crave and the more you give in to those cravings the more you're going to give in to those cravings the more the more sweet cravings you have the more sweet cravings you're going to have you've developed almost this appetite this taste for that and that is exactly what the Proverb is saying the word of God the wisdom of the Lord it should be like the sweet craving that we have for honey and how sweet that honey is to our taste you know that on our tongue we have you know different taste buds that you know that really you know that really taste the sweet and you've got the other taste buds on the tongue that you know taste the sour and just different taste buds are you salivating yet just I am after the Bible study you can satiate this sweet craving you might have but it's like the sweet craving for something sweet creates the craving for something sweet and how sweet taste of the Lord and see that He is good a man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God let me say it this way the more I crave and satiate that craving for God's Word the more of an appetite I'm going to have for God's Word the more I read God's Word the more I read God's Word that's not a play on words that's the truth isn't it true that when you feed an appetite it just creates a more of an appetite for that which you are feeding it t's in the physical sense and so to in fact even more so is this true in this spiritual sense the more you feed that appetite the more appetite you have to be fed in that appetite and it works both ways it works in the carnal side as well as the spiritual side you know when Paul talks about walking in the spirit so that you won't fulfill the lusts of the flesh when I was a young believer I just never could quite get my mind around what that meant walk in the spirit and I won't fulfill the lusts of the flesh and I'm thinking I don't want to fulfill the lusts of the flesh I mean here's the flesh the cravings of the flesh the lusts of the flesh and they're vying for my attention and they're clamoring for my you know attention to feed that appetite and then here's the spirit and I you know the spirits willing but the flesh is weak and I'm so weak especially french vanilla ice cream but anyway I'm so weak and I mean here's this this craving the spirits willing but the flesh is weak so here I'm told that if I walk in the spirit I will fulfill the lust of the flesh how does that what does that look like what how does that work here's what I mean it was one of those you know how it is when the Lord just shows you something and unveil something and it's just like aha I mean if the light bulb goes off you're like oh now I get it thank You Lord well this is one of those times and here's what the Lord ministered to me if you're so busy in the spirit so full in the spirit and of the Spirit you won't have any desire for the things of the flesh best illustration I think I shared this a couple weeks ago in a different context so let's just say that you invite me over to dinner and I mean you've just prepared this gourmet meal I mean it's just going to be magnificent so here I am I'm in the car I'm on my way over to your place for this wonderful delicious dinner that you worked hard on all day to prepare and on the way there I drive by and I used Taco Bell last time so we use Taco Bell again if you don't mind because I do love tacos too and there's going to be tacos in heaven too so along with the cereal that'll be for dessert but anyway I drive by Taco Bell and all of a sudden I hear this voice and it's speaking to me and it says JD hey why don't you pull in and get one of those you know those cartons they've got 12 tacos you can get 12 tacos in that box hard-shell tacos and then the sauce that Taco Bell sauce you know you can buy that in the store by the way just thought I'd throw that in no extra charge but I mean so it's not too hot it's not too mild it's just got just enough of a little bit of a kick to it and oh man it's just I mean your mouth is watering and next thing you know it's like something took over the steering wheel you're pulling through the drive-through and the next thing you know you're handing them your credit card and they're handing you this carton of tacos and I mean you just dig in and then it hits you I still have to go to dinner and you get there and I get there right this is me I've got to put this me not on you so I get there and how hungry am i what kind of an appetite do I have I mean you could put out this 42 ounce prime rib cooked to perfection but the problem is I'm full and I don't I don't have any desire for it I'm not hungry because I filled myself up with tacos before coming now let's flip that around I'm driving to your place and I Drive by Taco Bell and you know there's that voice and I don't do it because I'm staying in the way that I should go and I show up at your place and I eat this magnificent meal and that prime rib was I mean perfect Haleiwa Joe's couldn't even make it better than that you know I'm talking about right 42 ounce prime rib just medium rare oooh anyway it's like a cow they bring a cow out on the plate and I mean I am so satisfied and that was so delicious and now I'm driving back home and I drive by that same Taco Bell and there's that same voice and it says hey JD why don't you swing through the drive-thru and get one of those boxes of tacos are you kidding me I have absolutely no craving no desire no interest you couldn't for all the money in the world get me to go through that drive-thru because I'm full man I'm satisfied man I just got filled with the Holy Spirit so the flesh try as it may it cannot get me to satisfy that craving that's what this Proverb is saying that the sweet delicious taste of the word of God should so satiate us that we have no desire no craving for anything else and interesting your hope will not be cut off you will never regret it how many times have I regretted I'm just gonna stick with my food analogy if you don't mind how many times have I regretted after I've eaten this kind yeah and of course I'm not going to sleep well after I just binged on you know 532 cookies six gallons of ice cream or three boxes of butterfingers or whatever you know 1,800 bowls of cereal I mean it's that there's always that regret afterwards you know but when I'm filled with the Word of God I will never be let down I will never have any regret my hope will never be cut off I will never be disappointed verse 15 do not lie in wait oh wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous do not plunder his resting place for a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again but the wicked shall fall by calamity in other words there are those and we're going to see this next in verse 17 and 18 but there are those who pile on on one who's down we have that saying boy you sure know how to kick a man when he's down a righteous man may fall and we do I think of Peter he failed the Lord denied the Lord three times and fell but he got back up the Lord got him back up and restored him but not so with the wicked when the wicked fall that's it it's catastrophic they fall by calamity verse 17 along those lines says do not rejoice when your enemy falls and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles and here's why and this is interesting lest the Lord see it and it displease Him and he turn away His wrath from him this is one of those places in God's Word where we get a glimpse into the heart of a loving God this loving God who through the prophet Ezekiel says I take no delight in punishing the wicked I take no delight when the unrighteous and the wicked fall I take no delight in that it goes against Who I am and how I am and how good I am it's my will that they would turn from their sin it's God's will that all should come to repentance and turn from their sin and turn to the Lord so we have a problem here because innate within our sin nature is this proclivity to kind of gloat I mean this is your enemy after all and something happens something bad happens and you're like yeah they deserve it and we rejoice and God takes notice you should be very careful first of all it's displeasing to me and if I see you rejoicing over your enemy falling I might just turn my wrath away from him that's how displeasing it is to me you know we're told to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice sometimes I think and I think if we're honest with ourselves we'd have to admit this we rejoice when others weep and we weep when others rejoice it's called Envy it's called jealousy it's called sibling rivalry as brothers and sisters in Christ verse 19 here it is again we saw this at the beginning of the chapter do not fret because of evildoers nor be envious of the wicked for there will be no prospect for the evil man the lamp of the wicked will be put out I think about I think it's Psalm 34 that says do not fret when evildoers prosper in their way 37 yeah Psalm thank you Dave Psalm 37 do not fret when evildoers prosper in their way the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday in other words you watch the evildoers and it seems like that you know their life goes unchecked and everything is going fine for them I mean here they're wicked and you're righteous and I think of Psalm 73 where the psalmist stumbled he was having a full-on crisis of faith I've cleansed my hands in vain here I am walking uprightly and righteously and I'm watching my neighbor who's wicked as wicked can be and he's prospering and you look at that and you start envying it and thinking and wishing man I wish that my life was like that and here the proverb is saying no you don't for there is no prospect for the evil man they might shine brightly now and it looks like everything's going great for them now but the time is coming when the lamp of the wicked will be put out and that's what the psalmist in Psalm 73 concluded when he went into the sanctuary of the Lord and the Lord showed them there end when the lamp would be put out and he just came to his senses I'm sorry what was I thinking yeah I I I'm walking uprightly and my life is so difficult and so hard and theirs is not their life seems so good on the outside but in the end when it's all said and done I don't want to be them I want to be them now but don't I want to be them in the end verse 21 my son fear the Lord and the king do not associate with those given to change for their calamity verse 22 will rise suddenly and who knows the ruin these two can bring well that's an interesting Psalm er Proverb what is it saying here's what I think it's warning us against uprisings anarchy don't join in with those or associate with those that would up rise and are given to change because their calamity will rise suddenly don't go against the authorities these are God-given authorities the Lord and the King Romans 13 is a good chapter to read for those who struggle with the obeying of the laws of the land verse 23 these things also belong to the wise it is not good to show partiality in judgment he who says to the wicked verse 24 you are righteous him the people will curse nations will abhor him but verse 25 those who rebuke the wicked will have delight and a good blessing will come upon them and then verse 26 is interesting he who gives a right answer kisses the lips what okay let's try to work through this little by little so you've got those who are showing partiality in their judgment and they're actually saying to the wicked of the wicked you're righteous no you're not you're impartial or your partial in your judgment you're skewed in your judgment and here's what's going to happen if you do that the people will curse you and nations will abhor you because that's not right that's wicked not righteous you're calling the wicked righteous I think about the curse that Isaiah writes about a curse a woe will come upon those who call good evil and evil good and dare I say sad to say we live in a day where evil is called good and good is called evil I mean you want to talk let's let's talk real talk as they say let's get down and dirty let's be real let's be honest you know we live in a day where the Christian is the problem the Christian is the problem but we're the problem and so the world calls good evil and evil good I was talking with my daughter about this as well it's so interesting actually my son it was my son Elias we were talking about this he said you know isn't it interesting that if you are identify or associate as LGBTQ I don't know how many other initials they got all 26 letters in the alphabet now I don't know what they all stand for but you get the point it's almost like you're applauded you're accepted I mean gone are the days when you know I came out oh yeah come out come out from the closet is the you know metaphor you know I'm going to come out in the open you know where the implication being that you know I be accepted oh my are you kidding me you're not only accepted now you're applauded you're applauded you're almost rewarded and here's the Christian he I'm a Christian boo no is it right am I right or am I right notice I didn't say am I right or am I wrong no am I right or am I right because I'm right that's the way it is and that's what this Proverb is saying what's this what's up with verse 26 he who gives the right answer kisses the lips here's the thought so you know how pleasant kissing somebody that you love very much on the lips is that's how pleasant it is when you do what's right you call evil evil and good good you know in the Middle Eastern culture this is a cultural dynamic pardon me we greet each other in fact Paul's going to say this to the Thessalonians greet each other with a holy kiss this is a cultural thing we're in the Middle East to this day the way you greet is you kiss on the cheek and then he kissed on the other cheek and then sometimes they keep going this was weird one time I'll never forget this I I was in where was I I think it was Egypt might have been Jordan and it was a family member and they were so excited to see me and I'm you know I'm I'm very American but I'm trying to you know be you know have the cultural etiquette so I knew what to expect so he embraces me and he kisses me on the cheek and then he kisses me on the other cheek and I thought we were done so I start pulling away not so fast he kisses me on the cheek again kissing me on the other cheek I mean this went on and on and on I'm like enough already so the kissing on the cheek is different than a kissing on the the kissing on the lips is very different and I think that's what this proverb is saying is that it is so pleasurable it is so pleasant it is so pleasing as pleasing as a kiss not on the cheek but on the lips verse 27 you know I think couple weeks ago might have been last week we talked about the book of Proverbs being the best manual on business ever written the best book ever written on business and really across the board in every arena of life and verse 27 is a good example of that listen to what it says prepare your outside work make it fit for yourself in the field and afterward build your house and I'll add start your family in other words first things first get a job get established and then you start building your life you start building your house you start building your family you know what's sad in this day and age in which we live we've got it all backwards first young people will have babies and then they'll move in together and then they'll start thinking hey maybe I need a job right again I'm going to say it you'll forgive me am I right or am I right and this is the Proverb is talking about priorities where are your priorities we say to our young children where are your priorities you need to get your priorities in order what's the matter with you first things first you need to get a job prepare your outside work you need to start earning an income and then make fit for yourself in the field you need to get established then you can get married and get a place to live and start having children in that order in that order that's what this Proverb is saying verse 28 do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause for would you deceive with your lips kind of a rhetorical question verse 29 do not say I will do to him just as he has done to me I will render to the man according to his work in other words don't repay evil with evil interesting on Sunday Lord willing in 1st Thessalonians 5 we're going to talk a little bit about this where Paul says do not pay evil with evil do not try to mete out revenge vengeance belongs to the Lord it reminds me of a Oswald Chambers quote that has always stuck with me over the years in fact it's really been a game changer for me in every aspect of my life it goes like this it's not have you been wronged it's have you wronged changes the whole complexion of the situation it's not you wronged me no it's have I wronged you I think about in marriage in the marriage relationship where you know it's your fault no it's your fault and then here you have this standoff between husband and wife and sometimes the silent treatment will go on for days until somebody finally is the first one to say I'm sorry I'm not going to do it don't look at me I have I'm the pastor I have a perfect marriage right don't talk to my wife she'll tell you about this but it's kind of like well I'm not going to say I'm sorry they need to say I'm sorry I'm not going to say you know the three hardest words to say in the English language I was wrrr right I was wrrr I was wrong what'd you say I said I was wrong okay all right it's about time here well no I'd better I'll wait till Sunday you have to come on Sunday we're going to talk going to about that verse 30 this is a please allow and we'll finish out the chapter and we'll bring it to a close but as I read verses 30 through 34 allow the Holy Spirit to paint this picture on the canvas of your imagination this is very picturesque and I'll just maybe kind of fill in a couple of blanks here I went by the field of a lazy man so you're driving in your car and you're driving and you you you see and you go by you drive by this field and you're looking out your window and you drive by the vineyard of this man devoid of understanding and what do you see as you're driving by and there it was verse 31 all overgrown with thorns its surface was covered with Nettles it's stone wall was broken down busted up if you prefer when I saw it verse 32 I considered it well stop right there ah he considered it well he wanted to learn from it and that's what he says I looked on it and received instruction Lord what can I learn from this I'm driving by this this lazy man's field and I mean this field is overgrown with weeds it hasn't been tended to in who knows how long Oh Lord what can I learn from this you know a mark of spiritual maturity is - in every situation in life is ask the Lord with an open heart and an open mind Lord what do You want to teach me what do You want to show me I'm I'm I'm looking at this thing and I'm saying okay that this is a teachable moment and I want to be teachable Lord I want to receive instruction I want to consider this and look at this and receive from You that which You desire to teach me in and through this that's what the Proverb is saying oh so what did you learn what was the lesson what was the takeaway as you drove by this vineyard this field of this lazy man this man devoid of understanding this is what I learned this was the lesson this was the instruction and I didn't even have to pay tuition for this this was this came only at the cost of the gas in my car to drive by this field this is good here's what I learned a little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to rest so shall your poverty come like a prowler and your need like an armed man that's what I learned from that well that's an educational field trip man you're out you're just driving in your car and you pass by this vineyard in this field and that's what you've got out of it that's good Oh would to God that we would be those who would learn be instructed receive the instruction and consider well things like this one more thing here and we'll bring it to an end I never thought of this and then I just heard this recently and I never thought of this before it really makes sense Jesus when He called the disciples every single one of them was hard-working they all had a job they were all employed they were all working the point being he never called a lazy man think about that let that sink in he called the ones who were working hard all hard work leads to profit mere talk only to poverty as we already have seen in the Proverbs I know we talked about this as well maybe it's worth repeating one more time but work was blessed before the fall and did you know that we're going to be working in heaven oh it's not by the sweat of our brow it's not work as we know it now Adam and Eve were given work to do there in the garden prior to when the fall came and sin entered the world work was blessed by God before the fall now that was of course part of the curse when sin entered the world we've seen this throughout Proverbs we're going to see it again before we finish the book of Proverbs but how do I say this without sounding mean I don't want to sound mean but God is not interested in lazy people can I say that yeah alright I just did God is not interested in lazy people and and it seems that God takes notice how many times have we read about the sluggard I love that word it's one of those words that sounds like what it is a sluggard you sluggard I don't to be a sluggard yeah you lazy you're lazy now this is not a license to be a workaholic overwork no in fact overwork is a symptom of a deeper problem of not trusting God overwork so there's a balance there well there's an important takeaway from this chapter and it's one of those simple truths that it's almost it's one of those things where you think about it you know it's like well yeah that makes sense it's that of practical wisdom if applied to our lives can totally change our lives I mean a lot of little can make a lot just applying the practical truths and the wisdom that we have here in the book of Proverbs just applying it can make such a huge change in our lives one application of one simple truth from God's Word can have a profound effect on how we live our lives and the sway and what I mean by sway is minus 10 and plus 10 is 20 you're on opposite sides of the spectrum as it were so you're experiencing the negative consequences of your folly minus 10 and then you apply the practical wisdom of God's truth plus 10 and that's not a change of 10 that's a difference of 20 you follow me that's the amount of change that applying this wisdom can have on our lives just a simple truth can have such a profound change and impact why don't you stand we'll pray Lord thank You for Your Word thank You so much for the wisdom oh that the Holy Spirit would help us to bridge the gap between the information and the application Lord we've looked at a lot of information here in Your Word we've read Your Word we've heard Your Word but it can be all in vain and come to nothing if we don't take it to the next level and apply it to our lives Lord I just would ask that and I pray us for myself that even the application of the simplest even smallest truths Lord that You would use that and take that and make that have a profound effect on our life so that once we experience that it will ruin us for You just that that change that can come in that area in our lives Lord thank You that Your Word is truth in Jesus' name Amen

Channel: J.D. Farag

Views: 15,457

Rating: 4.9344263 out of 5

Keywords: Proverbs, Wisdom, Knowledge, Discernment, Understanding, Suffering, Pain, Trials, Loneliness, Prayer, Joy, Bible, Hope, Love, Help, Free, Depressed, Life, Strength, Peace, Truth, Happiness, Rest, Harmony, Light, Freedom, Happy, Old Testament, Salvation, Forgiveness, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Lord, Jesus, Pastor, Grace, Mercy, Ministry, Messiah, Heavenly Father, Hebrew, Preaching, Teaching

Id: DLdRYjGx75A

Length: 63min 24sec (3804 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 07 2020