Proverbs 17
Wisdom: The Principle Thing • Sermon • Submitted
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Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith,
Than a house full of sacrifices with strife.
It is better to have little and have peace (with God and others) than for your life to filled with religious rituals, “Christian” service, and ministry while your relationships be full of contention. This shows that stuff and service is not the ultimate goal. The heart of the matter is always a matter of the heart.
A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame,
And shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold:
But the Lord trieth the hearts.
God knows what is in our hearts and He will allow circumstances to come into our lives that will reveal those impurities. We then have the opportunity to get it right and live a life of purity, holiness, and righteousness that pleases God.
A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips;
And a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker:
And he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
We should never rejoice when calamity overtakes an individual. We should have compassion on the poor, even when their own choices put them in poverty.
Jesus’ said we are to do unto others as we would have them do to us.
You want respect? Show respect!
You want peace? Be at peace with others.
You want kindness? Be kind!
Children’s children are the crown of old men;
And the glory of children are their fathers.
The true test of how you have performed your job as a parent is how your grandkids turn out.
As children, my boys had to obey and to be kind to one another. As they have gotten older, they have learned that it is to their advantage to obey and be kind to one another. When they move out on their own, the proof of the training they received will begin to be seen as they make their own choices. However, the goal of parenthood for a believer is not to just get them to adulthood without major incident or death. It is not just to train them to be good. It is to train them to train their children to honor God and to have a good relationship with them through it all.
Train and treat your children in such a way that they are proud to say, “That is MY dad!” or “That is MY mom!”
Excellent speech becometh not a fool:
Much less do lying lips a prince.
A foolish person does not take care to speak properly or wisely. Likewise, a respectable person should be careful to speak with wisdom and grace.
A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it:
Whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.
As light strikes a precious stone, it glimmers and shines. Every turn of that stone causes the light to reflect in different way, bringing out more beauty from the stone.
He that covereth a transgression seeketh love;
But he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
If you truly care about someone, you will respond to their transgression with grace. You will seek to restore them without exposing their failure before everyone. Also, when someone gets right, we should forgive them and not hold it over their head for the rest of their life.
A gossip and a trouble maker is going to keep the story going. They are going to never let the guilty party forget that they are GUILTY!!!!
This even causes those who were considered friends to walk away and forsake them because of how it affects their reputation to be associated with that GUILTY person.
I am so glad that Jesus did not have that take on life. He was called the friend of publicans and sinners!
A reproof entereth more into a wise man
Than an hundred stripes into a fool.
A wise person can hear a whispered rebuke and will receive it and correct his direction or behavior. A foolish person will transgress and be punished severely for it and still not learn his lesson. Revelation tells us that there will be people who have rebelled against God to the point that even when they are experiencing the torments of the tribulation period, they will grit their teeth in anger and curse God.
Notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone said, “I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man.”
On May 7, 1931, New York City police officers tracked down the criminal known as “Two Gun” Crowley. These officers surrounded the house where Crowley had sought refuge. In the ensuing gun battle, Crowley was hit. As he lay on the floor, with blood flowing from his wounds, he took a pencil and paper and wrote these words, “Under my coat is a weary heart, but a kind one - one that would do nobody any harm.”
Those are interesting words coming from a man who was on the run from police because he had killed a police officer. Crowley and his girlfriend were making out in a parked car on the side of a road in Long Island. A police officer approached and said, “Let me see your license.”
As if on cue, Crowley turned on the officer and shot him. He crawled out of the vehicle, took the officer’s gun, stood over him, and shot him again.
Later, while on death row in Sing Sing, he was asked if he had any last words. This was his reply. “This is what I get for defending myself.”
An evil man seeketh only rebellion:
Therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
We often hear that our choices have consequences. Here is a strong warning about heeding and submitting to the Lord. Someone who will not submit but is bent on doing their own thing is rebellious. Scripture tells us what the consequence will be.
In the Bible, God often would send a message to man by an angel. The word angel means messenger.
We also learn in the Bible that there are good angels and bad, wicked angels. Those wicked angels are known as demons. Demons are real beings that do the work of Satan, opposing God and His church, deceiving people into rejecting God and His gift of salvation.
Demons seek to inhabit individuals who make themselves vulnerable to the evil spirits. Demons cannot possess a child of God. They are driven out as Jesus gives the victory over them and sets a person free. However, a child of God can rebel and disobey their Father. That rebellious child of God can be oppressed by demon spirits.
In Luke, we see the effects of demons. Once a person, believer or unbeliever, gives in to the influence of domonsThey make a person miserable. They are
Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man,
Rather than a fool in his folly.
Whoso rewardeth evil for good,
Evil shall not depart from his house.
The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water:
Therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just,
Even they both are abomination to the Lord.
Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool
To get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?
A friend loveth at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.
A man void of understanding striketh hands,
And becometh surety in the presence of his friend.
He loveth transgression that loveth strife:
And he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.
He that hath a froward heart findeth no good:
And he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow:
And the father of a fool hath no joy.
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:
But a broken spirit drieth the bones.
A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom
To pervert the ways of judgment.
Wisdom is before him that hath understanding;
But the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
A foolish son is a grief to his father,
And bitterness to her that bare him.
Also to punish the just is not good,
Nor to strike princes for equity.
He that hath knowledge spareth his words:
And a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise:
And he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.