Prov 3
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Northside Church
Proverbs #3
7\11\2021 6:30 PM
Jamey Mills
My name is Jamey Mills, I am the lead pastor here at Northside Church… So excited to see you all… and to be with you all online.
If you guys missed it, we had a great night last at our outdoor movie night… watching Incredibles 2… on our 30ft screen.
Aug. 14th we are doing it again… watching SING which is another one of my favorites. Go ahead and put that on your calendar if you want… it ends up being a lateish night… but… have the kiddos take a nap… it’s worth it. Invite friends… popcorn… snow cones… the whole works
I’m sure you have had those moments in life… right… where something happened… or you made some choice only to realize moments later… that wasn’t smart…
My life is full of them… and the ones that come to my mind the fastest… is probably the fact that when I was younger I thought I was a pyrotechnic… turns it it was more of a general pyro thing… and I could tell you stories about garbage cans, old abandoned cars, and on one occasion an elk carcass… that I immediately… realized that wasn't smart… It was no whale on the beach… but still nasty.
Years ago we were tearing down a building and I remember asking a friend if the power was off, and he walked over and grabbed the end of bare wire… his eyes lit up pretty good… and I think he lost a fingernail… and it was horrible because I couldn't not laugh… which was also… wasn’t smart.
We are in the third week of a sermon series based on the book of proverbs… We are calling it “Get Smart”... largely because the major theme in the book of proverbs is… Wisdom…. Not just any wisdom… but godly wisdom…
And in week one we talked about how important it is to seek, to desire, to pray for and invest in godly wisdom in our lives… I mentioned how it just doesn't seem like we are as interested in it or desire it or invest in it like we should.
Seeking and applying God’s wisdom leads to all kinds of good things… and we can never exhaust it. We’ll never fully arrive… but it does change things… in fact its intent is to change things… and one of the ways Solomon points that out for you and I… is to continually use three caricatures… These over exaggerated examples that allow us to easily identify… not only what he’s talking about… but the similarities that may live within us.
They often go by differing names, but they can sort of be boiled down to the fool, the simple, and the wise. And if you are anything like me… you’ll see aspects of yourself in all three of them.
The fool is one who steadily opposes God or at least the wisdom of God… and proverbs suggest that these aren’t simply people outside of the church… they exist within it too.
They are hard to honor…
Honoring a fool
is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot.
A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.
Proverbs 26:8 (NLT)
8 Honoring a fool is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot.
They don't apply wisdom and inflict pain on themselves.
Prov. 26:9
9 A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.
I realize it's probably wrong, but… I kinda want to see those two things lived out.
They often resist the forgiveness of God. 14:9,15:8
They are bankrupt and dangerous in their influence and impact on others 13:20,17:12
Cause grief to those who love them… 10:1
They’re often lazy 26:13
The betray relationships and struggle with truth
They often repeat the same mistakes…
As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his foolishness.
Proverbs 26:11 (NLT)
11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.
And just like that I’m a cat person… just kidding gross.
And yet… They are NOT beyond hope…
There is more hope for fools
than for people who think they are wise.
How is the fool desciribed?
Proverbs 26:12 (NLT)
12 There is more hope for fools than for people who think they are wise.
The simple… are those who aren’t firmly committed to God or His wisdom. A bit of a floater, they are unstable… pushed back and forth by emotions and feelings… by culture and public opinion… and maybe their biggest issue is… they simply refuse to invest or at best are slow to invest in the discipline that brings real and godly growth in their lives.
How is the simple described?
Proverbs 14:15 (NLT)
15 Only simpletons believe everything they’re told! The prudent carefully consider their steps.
In 1:4 Solomon says that the proverbs give insight to the simple… in 1:22 infers that those who set up camp here, who linger and live in the simple or hands off the wheel approach to life … are on their way to foolishness.
How are the wise described?
And the wise…
They trust God.
They’re humble.
Listen to wise counsel.
Don’t surround themselves with fools
They learn to hear, recognize, and apply the wisdom of God
They leave an example worth following
They don’t put themselves in environments that rob them of life.
They are disciplined
They have a healthy fear of God
They don't lean on their own understanding
God, through Solomon is not just simply trying to communicate the difference between them… but to help see the outcome of them…
I couldn’t encourage you enough… to dig into this with brutal honesty. Not in any shaming kind of way, but in a way that wants to draw near to God and take hold of everything that God desires for you… Trusting that He really does know best. Over and over again, God comes back to this idea… That Godly wisdom well applied leads to good things in life for you and for those around you…
It reminds me of this…
Deuteronomy 30:15–16 (NIV)
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws...
God sets before you… life and death… prosperity (though it may look different than you think) and destruction… and the key factor… The differentiating thing seems to be how we hear and handle… how we invest in godly wisdom for our lives.
Am I foolish… am I simple… or am I wise.
In my honest look at myself… the answer is yes.
I found it really interesting to sort of read the proverbs with that in the back of my mind… I think there is a lot of power there.
To help show you what I mean… I want to look at Proverbs 4:20-27 with these three caricatures in mind.
My child, pay attention to what I say.
Listen carefully to my words.
Don’t lose sight of them.
Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
for they bring life to those who find them,
and healing to their whole body.
Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.
Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.
Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil.
Proverbs 4:20-27
20 My child, pay attention to what I say.
Listen carefully to my words.
21 Don’t lose sight of them.
Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
22 for they bring life to those who find them,
and healing to their whole body.
23 Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.
24 Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.
25 Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
26 Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
27 Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil.
Solomon says… ABOVE all else… to guard your heart.
Not sure we talk about this enough as a church… or even as parents with our kids.
The ESV says KEEP your heart with ALL vigilance.
The words keep and vigilance… help us understand the point… This intentional, consistent, diligent, and sacrificial approach toward the protection of the condition of our heart.
The concept is very similar to hiring an armed guard… whose sole duty is to protect your heart by any means necessary.
This passage assumes a couple of important things…
Our heart will be under attack...
there is some sort of battle happening for your heart.
It’s worth fighting for.
Guard your heart… why?
Why should we guard our heart?
Solomon says… because it determines the course of your life… the ESV says “for from if flow the springs of life”
You hear that right… It sounds like something huge…
One author said it like this…
Everything we do is a manifestation of what's in your heart…
a reflection of the reality of our heart… the condition of our heart.
What we say, how we act, how we spend our time and money… It all stems from what’s happening in our hearts…
Again… God is using Solomon to teach something that Jesus Himself spent a lot of time teaching…
“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Luke 6:43–45 (NLT)
43 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Jesus is saying that stuff flows out of the reality of our heart… and so cultivating our heart… guarding our heart… is exactly how Solomon made it sound… so important.
In the sermon on the mount… one of the major issues Jesus talks about was the importance of your heart…
Where it honestly feels like Jesus again and again points out how our actions are actually symptomatic of whats going on in our heart… and it why He cares so much about it.
He says it's not just about not committing the act of adultery… but not letting lust and sexual sin live in your heart.
It's not just about not murdering, but not letting hate or anger have its home in you.
One author mentioned how this culture has become almost obsessed with symptomatic treatments… we don’t deal with the issue, but only the behavior and it reminds me of when God was speaking through Jeremiah 6:14 (NLT)
They offer superficial treatments
for my people’s mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
when there is no peace.
14 They (religious leaders) offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace.
Sin is a heart issue… and that's why Jesus spent so much time addressing it and it needs to be dealt with on a heart level… it is not just behavior modification.
The springs of life… come from your heart… your heart determines the course of your life… your words, your actions, yoru convictions, your thoughts…
It’s a major theme because Jesus knows that
Whatever grips your heart forms, informs, drives, and becomes apparent in what we do and in who we are becoming.
It leads to life or captivity… to healing or brokenness…
Warren Wiersby said that if you pollute this well spring of our hearts, the infection will spread, our hidden appetites become open sin, becoming public shame… and most treacherous of all… losing all sense of shame.
It really is that important… the course of your life… and the impact your life has on others… your heart is worth protecting… ladies… it's worth protecting… men… it's worth protecting… parents… it’s worth teaching and modeling to your kids.
How…
Acknowledge the deceptive power of the heart… its pronation to be driven by feelings and emotions and selfish motivation.
Jer. 17:9 says that above all else… the heart is deceitful.
The bible warns us against a double heart, proud heart, unbelieving heart, cold heart, unclean heart…
Left to our own devices, our hearts are deceitful enough that the bible uses the language of God giving us new hearts…
And it uses other similar language to help us understand…
I think it's what Jesus meant when he talked to Nickodeums in the middle of the night about being born again… not literally… gross… but having a new heart. So much so that it leads to a life that is almost unrecognizable by those who knew you before… a new heart that is centered on Jesus and is growing in its ability to apply the godly wisdom that brings real and lasting life.
But there is some great advice surrounding vs. 23 that helps us with the how…
Proverbs 4:20-27
20 My child, pay attention to what I say.
Listen carefully to my words.
21 Don’t lose sight of them.
Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
22 for they bring life to those who find them,
and healing to their whole body.
23 Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.
24 Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.
25 Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
26 Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
27 Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil.
Vs. 20-22 talks about being vigilant with our ___________.
Vs. 24 talks about being vigilant with our _____________.
Vs. 25 talks about being vigilant with our ______________.
Vs. 26-27 talks about being vigilant with our ________________.
Vs. 20-22 talks about being vigilant without our ears… being biblically attentive… listening… and applying the wisdom God left for you there. There is no substitute for it in your life. It's centered on believing that God’s word really is profitable… and leads to life. Guardian your heart means filling it with Godly truth.
Vs 24 talks about being vigilant with our mouth… In Matt 15:11 Jesus reminds us that it's what comes out of our mouth that defiles us… it projects the reality of our hearts… and being vigilant here is one of the ways we guard our heart.
Vs 25 talks about being vigilant with our eyes… fixing our eyes on where we are going… and not looking to the right or left… it's like having a godly vision for your life… and being disciplined toward it.
Vs. 26-27 talks about being vigilant with your feet. Being purposeful in your path… and I’d say… even having someone who is further down the road in their faith… who will be honest with you is huge.
Honesty and transparency with yourself… and in time with those who walk with you and will be honest with you is absolutely huge.
Those things… work together. Guarding your heart helps with all of those things… and all of those things are part of what it means to guard your heart.
The way I read it… the examples in proverbs… the wise, the simple, and the fool… they all hear it… hearing it doesn't appear to be the issue. The issue is in how we handle it.
The wise… are attentive to the wisdom of God and let it live deep in their hearts, They bring life with their words, They have set a clear path for their feet and fixed their eyes on it. And… they keep their heart with all vigilance… because they know it has so much to do with how their life will go.
It is a lifelong process… of learning and growing… and that journey… is what God desires with you.
Your heart… will be under attack… through temptation, sin, our culture…
In the world we live in, guarding our heart
It’s so important. Guardian your heart with passion and diligence from all kinds of sexual brokenness, all kinds of lies that we are tempted to believe about ourselves or even our own identity. Guarding our hearts from hate and judgment, from not caring about those around us… from not caring about the things God cares about… from honestly believing we know better than He does… from allowing our lives to become all about… ME.
Communion:
Closing and instructions