Untitled Sermon (2)

Clear Thinking In Midst of Chaos

Proverbs 23:7

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.

Do you know how many thoughts your mind thinks each hour of the day?

Experts estimate that the mind thinks between 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts a day. That’s an average of 2500 – 3,300 thoughts per hour. That’s incredible.

Don’t be snared by your words, be propelled by your words. The key is to not say what you feel, not what you think, not say what it looks like. Say what God says about you. Pay attention to what you’re speaking. Are you talking about the problem, what you don’t have, what’s not going to work out? Your words are setting the direction for your life. Don’t use your words to describe the situation – use your words to change the situation. “Stop saying, I’ll never get out of this problem” – you’re inviting defeat. “I’m not that talented” – you’re inviting limitations. “I’ll never accomplish my dreams. I don’t have the connections” – you’re inviting mediocrity. You need to send out some new invitations. You may be struggling with depression, your report should be “This is only temporary. This is not who I am. I am free, I am happy, I have a bright future. That dream may look too big, but I know with God all things are possible.

This chapter Prov 23 begins with some wise instruction about eating, especially about eating at special feasts and places.

1. Caution (v:1)

“When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee” . Often when one gets in high places, he ceases to be cautious about his conduct and does what his superiors do without considering if it is right.

2. Cutting (v2)

“Put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite” . This is a very strong command; it is like the command Jesus gave about plucking out an offensive eye or cutting off a hand to prevent sin

3. Command (vv:3, 6)

“Be not desirous of his dainties; for they are deceitful meat … Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats” . There are those who would defile you by their apparent favors.

4. Corruption (v:7)

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he; Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee” . This text reveals the corruption of heart of those who would defile you by apparent favor.

5. Consequences (v:8)

“The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose they sweet words” . If you are deceived and partake of the wicked one’s feast, you will experience very unpleasant consequences—here portrayed as an upset stomach.

1. The Calculation of our thoughts

“As he thinketh in his heart, says the man is a product of his thoughts, and in this case, what he is thinking is not what he appears outwardly.

EVS for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.

Thinks” may mean “calculate” or “estimate Because as he has calculated in his soul, thus he.” rsv and some others take the Hebrew (“soul”) as the mind, and regard this line as referring to the host who is counting up the cost of what his guest eats. So niv, for instance, has “he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost,” some take the verb “calculated” in the more general sense as “thinks,” which fits better with the next line. tev, for instance, reverses the order of the two lines, and says for this line, “What he thinks is what he really is.” njb also takes this approach but with a difference: “what he is really thinking about is himself.”

2. The Consumption of our thoughts

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee.

This is the Hebrew way of telling us, in a casual word about feasting, that a man’s inmost thinking is the true index to his character.

Warn against eating food served by a stingy man “Eat and drink!” he says to you: The stingy man says this to his guests, but his heart is not with you. He doesn’t want you to really enjoy yourself as his table, because he wants to keep more food for himself. You will offend him if you are foolish enough to take him at his word.

Eat and drink!” he says to you: The literal sense of this line is clear, but it may not be clear from this form of words that it is an encouragement to the guest to eat plenty of food. This is well expressed in English by tev “Come on and have some more”;in most languages there are similar natural or idiomatic ways of inviting guests to eat plenty.

But his heart is not with you: This line shows that the words of the host are not sincere—he is saying one thing but thinking another. nrsvmakes a change from rsv and says “but they do not mean it”; this is also the rendering of cev, and tev is similar. In some languages it is important to bring out the contrast between the words and the thoughts. One translation, for instance, says:

• When you are eating he will say to you, “Go on, eat and drink as much as you like.” But his words are not true. In his thinking he has decided how much food he is going to give you.

3. The Compensation of our thoughts

Phil 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.

Eph 3:20

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Act 26:2

Paul say I think myself happy, king Agrippa,

Jeremiah 33:3

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’