Sermon for 9/12/21 15 Minutes "Today Is the Day"

Proverbs 1:20-33

This morning I'll be reading Proverbs chapter 1 verses 20 through 33. And I'll be reading from the King James Version Bible. Proverbs 1:20-33 Proverbs,,, is a collection of sayings that deal with many of the problems in life that we will face at one time or another. And these are written to help keep us from making some of the mistakes that others have made.

Proverbs 1:20–33 (KJV 1900) 20 Wisdom crieth without; She uttereth her voice in the streets: 21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: In the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge? 23 Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof: 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, And your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29 For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the Lord: 30 They would none of my counsel: They despised all my reproof. 31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices. 32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, And the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, And shall be quiet from fear of evil. God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- Here we are,,, we just had the 20th anniversary of 9/11 yesterday,,, and I’m sure for those that remember that day,,, it doesn’t seem that long ago,,, or it doesn’t for me.

After the planes struck the towers,,, the pentagon,,, and flight 93 was crashed,,, because of the brave men and women on that plane that foiled the terrorist plan,,, the country came together to unite like it hadn’t in a long time.

But,,, it hasn’t since.

Maybe the internet has hampered our ability to get along since we now have a voice that can be heard almost everywhere in the world.

I don’t know why,,, but I do know that God cannot be pleased with the results.

That’s why that we need to get back to God quickly as a nation,,, or we will go down even quicker.

So let’s remember the brave men and women in our prayers,,, and do our part to move this country back to a Godly nation,,, and a united nation!

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Last Sunday we looked at Psalm 124,,, and that it began with,,, ”If”.

We learned that,,, just like the Israelites,,, if we don't remember the “ All Important “If”,,, and give God the praise and glory that He deserves,,, our future will not be near as bright.

This morning,,, we will look at these verses in Proverbs,,, and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 20 says: 20 Wisdom crieth without; She uttereth her voice in the streets:

Wisdom is portrayed,,, or written,,, as a woman because the Hebrew word for wisdom,,, is feminine.

And in all of these verses that we look at this morning,,, Wisdom pleads with those who foolishly think they can get along without her.

Notice that Wisdom stands and calls aloud in strategic places so that everyone can hear her message.

She raises her voice in the city squares.

In the verses before this,,, the voices had been quieter and personal,,, trying to entice someone to join in whatever type of sin at the time,,, compared to the voice of “wisdom” who is now,,, shouting out loud,,, and to all that will listen.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 21 through 23 say: 21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: In the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge? 23 Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

She is crying out at the noisy intersections,,, and at the entrances to the city,,, and she cries out to the “simple”,,, the “scorners”,,, and “fools”.

The “simple” are naive,,, impressionable people who are open to all kinds of influences,,, both good and bad; where their instability seems to be leading them in the wrong direction.

“Scorners” are those who treat wise counsel with contempt; nothing is sacred or serious to them.

“Fools” are those who senselessly refuse instruction; they are conceited and opinionated in their ignorance.

We know by responding favorably to wisdom’s words of warning,,, a foolish person can become wise (v. 23).

But if they don’t pay attention like they should,,, then we see that they get themselves into trouble.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 24 and 25 say: 24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof:

When you reject and ignore wisdom,,, and you never learn from its warnings,,, you run the risk of being ignored when you are having problems later on.

Then,,, you will have to face the consequences as we see when we read further.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 26 says: 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

Does this mean that God laughs at our troubles?

Of course the answer is no!

God wants the best for us,,, but,,, that line can be crossed,,, and if you go that far,,, then it will be too late.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 27 through 30 say: 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, And your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29 For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the Lord: 30 They would none of my counsel: They despised all my reproof.

After they have gone this far,,, the “simple” the “scorners” and the “fools”,,, are reaping what they have sown,,, because they have chosen to ignore the fear of the Lord,,, and they despised all of wisdom's warnings.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 31 and 32 say: 31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices. 32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, And the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

Now we see that they must pay the price for their mistakes,,, remembering,,, that we are all free to make our own choices,,, but we are not free from the consequences of those choices!

God has given us rules to live by,,, and when we break those rules,,, we must accept the punishment,,, either here on earth,,, or in hell,,, if we don’t turn from our wicked ways.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 33 says: 33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, And shall be quiet from fear of evil.

But now we get to the best part of these verses,,, if they listen to wisdom’s words,,, they will live in safety and have freedom from fear.

God designed this world so that people would get what they deserve.

If they are righteous,,, they are blessed,,, if they are wicked,,, they are punished.

----------------------------------------------------------- These verses are written to help us live life the way that God wants us to live by warning us that our actions have consequences.

If we pay attention the way that we should and follow this advise,,, everything would be perfect.

But,,, we already know that we don’t live perfect lives,,, and,,, so does God.

If you have been in the position where you have messed up,,, and you have made mistakes that aren’t right,,, thankfully God is still available to you.

Thankfully,,, because of Jesus Christ,,, you have that opportunity to change your life.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:2 “For He says: I heard you in an acceptable time, and I helped you in the day of salvation. Look, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.”

You see,,, we don’t know what tomorrow brings,,, we don’t even know what the rest of this day will bring.

So now is the day of salvation.

There were close to 3000 people that got up 9/11/2001 with plans,,, that were never fulfilled,,, because of the terrible events of that day.

And I prayed that day,,, that they were prepared.

Hopefully they were all prepared,,, but some of them might not have been.

But,,, God doesn’t want anyone to leave this world without a relationship with Him,,, but,,, we must accept His offer.

And,,, if you have never accepted Christ as your Savior,,, don’t put this off because we never know what tomorrow brings.

We don't know the hour or the day when Jesus comes back nor do we know if we will be called home,,, we are just told to be ready.

And to be ready,,, you must have made the decision to follow Jesus,,, be sure that you have made that decision today!

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So as we sing our final hymn,,, let me remind you that the alter is always open,,,

If you feel God speaking to you,,, don't hesitate to come,,, maybe you just have questions,,, God will answer,,, you just have to ask Him,,, whatever the need may be,,,

As we sing the final hymn,,, come if needed!

----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------