PROVERBS 122006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Proverbs 12

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006. Well, we're in Proverbs chapter 12, and we've been looking at Proverbs for a while. And you know, as I was preparing for this portion this week, I did not mean to...

create a situation that would be used as an illustration for Proverbs, but it just happened, just like many things just happen in our life. And so yesterday I was here at the church and I came home to try to spend a little bit of time with my wife. She's been working on the retreat and I've been very busy the past couple of weeks. And so just to kind of touch bases, maybe have a little dinner before she went her way and I had to go do something that yesterday evening as well. And so

I went home a little bit early and I pulled some chicken out of the freezer. And I put it in a bowl and I'm thawing it out and getting ready because it's kind of a routine every once in a while. I'll go home early and I'll take some chicken out of the freezer. And then when she gets home, then she's able to prepare it and we have some dinner or she'll tell me what to do. So I thaw it out and then a little bit... Why is that funny? Okay.

A little bit later, she calls me on the phone. She just got off work. She's on her way home and turns out she's not able to have dinner with me. She has some other things and stuff to do for the women's retreat. And so I'm like, okay, well, no problem. Well, I have this chicken here. And so now I'm thinking, okay, what do I do with this chicken? I don't think I can put it back in the freezer. I think I've heard that that's not good. And I don't think I can put it in the fridge. I don't know if it will last or if it'll be good. I wouldn't want to eat it. So

So, you know, I'm a little lost. Usually I thought the chicken, she comes home and she puts the right spices and everything. And then, you know, she figures out what to do. Or like I said, she tells me what I should do. So I figure, well, she's not coming. I don't know if it'll stay in the fridge. I don't know if I could freeze it. I don't want to throw it away. So I might as well just try on my own to cook something. And so I figured, you know, it's got to work or if not, I'll just throw it away, which is what I was going to do anyway. So.

It's just me eating. It's not a big deal if it tastes good or, you know, as long as it's cooked, it should be fine. So first thing I do is I start with the rice. And that's pretty easy. I've done that a few times. And so I get the rice going, no problem. Well, I have these five pieces of chicken breast that are thawed out now. And so I figure, well, I might as well try a couple things because chances are one of them will work, right? The odds are good. So first dish.

And this was the most experimental because I'd never tried anything like that. And so I got a little kind of porcelain. I don't know what it's called, but it was something you could put in the oven. And I took some honey and I put some honey and some barbecue sauce and put some chicken because I thought I heard honey and barbecue sauce go together somewhere. I don't know. But so I put it in there and put it in the oven. I turn on the oven. I put it in there and I'm kind of excited. I'll wait to see what that happens. And so while that's firing up, I start working on my second dish.

And I felt like I was on a cooking show. It's really cool. The second dish I decided, kind of similar, but again, a little bit experimental. Let me try cooking it in the skillet with some barbecue sauce. Should work, right? So I squirt some barbecue sauce in the skillet, put a little olive oil because, you know, it's supposed to not stick or whatever. And then I put the chicken in there. And so I'm cooking the chicken. It looks promising. You know, it's nice, turning red, a little golden. It's nice. And then I put the chicken in there.

So about that time, I decided, well, I better check on the first dish. And so I open up the oven and I realize it's not hot. I forgot to turn on the oven. So I turn on the oven and then I go back to the chicken that's in the skillet.

Well, in the meanwhile, while both those things are cooking, I decided, well, I'll do the same thing we did last week. And so I took a bowl and got some soy sauce and put the rest of the chicken inside the bowl with the soy sauce so it could kind of marinate a little bit. And that's what Kim did last week, so I figured it should work. And now I go back to the second dish. Now, there's a problem because

the barbecue sauce is kind of, I don't know what it's doing, but it's popping all over the place. And so I'm getting burned. You know, the specks are like hitting me all over the place. I got all over my shirt. The whole stove is covered. And my wife loves that. So I have this barbecue sauce and it's popping everywhere and making a mess. But the chicken looks good. So I'm still hopeful about that. But then I think I better check the first dish. So I open up the oven and I notice it looked kind of funny.

And I looked at it for a minute and I grab a pot holder thing and I pull it out and I realize, and somebody I guess should have warned me, you cannot use saran wrap if you're going to cook something in the oven. Just so you know. Afterwards I learned you're supposed to use foil or something. So the plastic is just melted all across the top of the chicken. And of course I had to throw that away. Okay.

So, but that's okay. I still got the two dishes left, right? So it looks good. I'm looking at the second dish and I pull out a piece. It looks like it's good, but I cut it in half and now is my second problem. I can't tell if it's done or not. I'm not sure. I always have trouble with that. And so I take out another piece and I cut it in half. I still can't tell it. I don't know. There's most of it on the outside. You know, it's all white, but it's some of it looks smooth and some of it looks rough. And I just, oh man, I get all confused. And so

I put it back in there, but now the outside is starting to burn because it's been cooking too long. So I figure, got it, I'll microwave it. So I cover it and I put it in the microwave for a few minutes. Now I taste it and it's rubbery, exactly, you guys know. So why didn't anybody tell me? So now this chicken is all rubbery and chewy and I can't eat it. So I give up on that one and I have to throw that one away again too. So I finally start on my last dish. It's been marinating.

I did this a week ago. Should be no problem. Pour it out there. But by this time, I had to leave in like 20 minutes. And so I'm kind of in a hurry. And so I crank up the fire a little bit and I do the same thing. The outside's burned and the inside. Well, this time it was a little less questionable. It really wasn't done. And so I knew that I couldn't eat that. So finally, I went to Taco Bell and got a number eight, a couple of tacos and a Coke. And I was good. And that was dinner yesterday.

You know, I can cook if you tell me what to do. A week ago, I cooked the meal. She just marinated it and then told me what to do, and it worked. But trying it on my own, I just make a mess. I always have problems if I try to do it on my own, unless it's like eggs or, you know, something kind of breakfast-y.

And wisdom, as we've been talking about in the book of Proverbs, as I've shared with you over and over again, we equate wisdom to following God's recipe for life.

And you have two options. You can try to live life your way and make a mess of it, just like I make a mess of dinner. Or you could follow God's recipe for life and you'll find out that it makes an exquisite meal. That God has great plans if you'll just follow his directions. And it turns out fantastically delicious if you will follow the directions and the instructions that he gives to us. The answer.

The King Solomon, as he's writing these proverbs to us, he's writing to us such practical principles that we can apply to our lives that can change our lives so that we can be following God's recipe for life. Just taking God at his word and doing what he says and letting him tell you how to live is

You really will be so much better off. And so this evening, as we continue on in Proverbs chapter 12, remember that wisdom is not about how smart you are, but it's about taking these things that God speaks and letting them speak to your heart and change the way you live. It's following his recipe, receiving his commands and obeying them so that you can walk the life that he has called you to live.

And so Proverbs chapter 12, we start off in verse 1. It says this, Again, surprise, the Bible uses such language as stupid, but apparently he doesn't know what a lot of you parents know. Tell your kids not to say stupid. He says that he who loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. Now, it's kind of funny because

If I were to ask, and I won't ask you to show your hands, but does anybody love to be corrected, really? Does anybody really enjoy that or look for that? Of course not. It's against our nature. We had a class yesterday, George and I, and part of the class is that you have to do these presentations of counseling situations in front of the class. And then, of course, afterwards, the whole class continues.

And that's what it's all about.

And that's why we must ask God to change our hearts. We need to change our mind about instruction and be open to it, eager for it. Again, to take the recipe and follow it to the letter. You and I, we need instruction. We need to be told what to do and how to do it.

If you think about athletes, even great and talented, gifted athletes need coaches to see from a different perspective and tell them how to correct some of the areas that need corrected. And so you and I, we need to learn to love instruction, to let God instruct us. And you need to ask God to instruct you. You need to let your boss instruct you and ask him to instruct you.

Or her. You need to learn to love to be given instruction. And we see this theme throughout the Proverbs. We'll see it especially in this chapter tonight several times. And so it's important for us to learn to receive and obey instruction from God, from those in authority that he's placed over us. We need to be obedient. We need to love instruction and not hate correction. But instead, we need to love it.

Verses two and three of Proverbs 12. He says a good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a wicked man or a man of wicked intentions, he will condemn. Verse three, a man is not established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous cannot be moved. Here, Solomon says, listen, it's up to you. You can obtain favor from the Lord.

Or you can be condemned by the Lord. But it's up to you. A good man obtains favor, but a man of wicked intentions, he will condemn. If you live by God's standards, you will obtain favor. And you can follow the things that God has instructed and given us in his word. Or you can try to live life on your own.

Do your own thing and you will be condemned. It's very clear. And we have the choice. Again, if you try to live life your own way, you will not be established. It's not going to stand. It's not going to last. But if you live life God's way, then nothing will move you. And this is another theme that we see throughout the proverb or this chapter this evening. Verse 4.

An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones. An excellent wife is the crown of her husband. Now, this word excellent that's used here is the same word you could probably guess. It's in Proverbs chapter 31, verse 10, where it says, who can find a virtuous wife? That word virtuous is the same word that's translated excellent here in verse 4 of chapter 12. And so,

The excellent wife, Solomon says, is the crown of her husband. And if you want to check that out, ladies, I would encourage you to. Proverbs chapter 31, verses 10 through 31, to find out what it means to be an excellent wife and to be a crown to your husband. For those of you who are wives or those of you who will be wives one day, there's something that you do need to remember. A woman was created to be the helpmeet of man. A woman was created for man.

If you want to be blessed, if you want to be satisfied, then be an excellent wife and don't be rottenness to his bones. Again, it's up to you. You have the choice, but be an excellent wife, not because Jerry said so or because I'm a man and that's what men tell the women to do. It's not my opinion. It's God's word. I would encourage you to check it out on your own. 1 Peter 3, verses 1 through 6 says,

You have the option. The recipe is laid out there. Follow it. Allow God to speak to you and minister to your heart in that way. An excellent wife is a crown of her husband, but she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones. Verse 5. The thoughts of the righteous are right, but the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. Now,

Counsel, again, it's something that we see time and time again in the Proverbs and the importance of us receiving counsel is emphasized. But here we see a balancing statement. On the one hand, we are to love instruction. We're to receive counsel. We're to take heed to it and apply it to our lives. But on the other hand, we do need to be careful from whom we receive counsel.

We don't want to receive and we should not receive counsel from the wicked, from those who do not apply and live God's word, from those who are not sharing with us counsel from God's word. We want to apply the counsel that is from God and not the counsel that is from man. And so the thoughts of the righteous are right. We can trust those. And as we learn to walk in righteousness with God, we can learn to trust the thoughts that God gives to us.

But we need to receive counsel, but not from the wicked, not from those who do not know God, do not walk with God, do not have relationship with God. We need to receive counsel from those who will share God's word with us. Because again, wisdom is following God's recipe for life, not man's recipe, not what man has figured out, what science has uncovered, what psychology has learned. It's what the principles that God has given to us that we need to follow.

Verse 6. The words of the wicked are, lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright will deliver them. Another way this is translated is that the words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, which means it's the words that are bringing destruction. And we know that, and it's another thing that we see over and over in the Proverbs and throughout Scripture. Words are so powerful.

In James chapter 3, James compares the tongue to a spark that sets a whole forest on fire. And he says, you know, our tongue, it's a small member of our body, but look at how powerful it is and look at how much it accomplishes, and specifically for evil and not necessarily for good. The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood. They're destructive. The words of the wicked destroy the lives of others.

And I would challenge you to ask yourself, do I use words that lie in wait for others that are meant to hurt, that are meant to cut down or belittle or destroy the lives of others? But of course, if you are upright, your words will not destroy others. But not only that.

Solomon says your words will preserve you as well. As you are upright, as you walk right, as your heart is right before God, not only would your words preserve the lives of others, but it will preserve your own life as you learn to speak the things that are right and true. Verse 7, the wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand.

The house of the righteous will stand. Doesn't it remind you of what Jesus said, the parable in Matthew chapter seven, verses 24 through 27. And I know I share many of these things each week, but it's there on purpose. Again, as we read from Paul, you know, to share the same things to you, it's not tedious, but for you, it's safe. It's necessary for us to hear these principles and understand

over and over again. These are important elements. We must be established like the man who built his house upon the rock. And Jesus said, that man is the one who hears my commands and puts them in practice. The one who does them, not just listens to them. Here Solomon says, the wicked are overthrown.

But the house of the righteous will stand. If you try to live your own life, you will not be established. You will be overthrown. But if you live life God's way, nothing will move you. Your house will stand. Verse 8. A man will be commended according to his wisdom. But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised.

Again, wisdom is not how smart you are, but how well you receive instructions, how well you follow God's recipe for life. Now, if you do that, Solomon says you'll be commended or you'll be worthy of praise. You're going to have a great life. Your life is going to be commendable. People are going to look and say, this person really knows how to live and what life is all about. But if you do not follow God's word, if you disregard those things, you're going to be

Solomon says, you have a perverse heart and you will be despised. Or the New International Version says, you'll have a warped mind and it will be despised. We need to be careful because our minds need to be transformed by the renewing, the power of God, the word of God shaping and molding us. Otherwise, our minds are warped, they're wicked, they're perverse, and we're going to be walking away from God. Verse 9.

Better is the one who is slighted but has a servant than he who honors himself but lacks bread. This is a great proverb. The word slighted, it means lightly esteemed. And the point is, don't worry so much about what others think. It's okay to be lightly esteemed. He says it's better to be lightly esteemed and have a servant than to honor yourself and lack bread.

In other words, it's better to not be well known yet provide for yourself well than to try to honor yourself and have nothing. You know, it's foolish to buy all the things that you can't afford to. I don't remember the saying, but impress the people that you don't like anyway or something like that.

It's foolish to try to honor yourself and push up yourself, whether it be by boasting about yourself and talking about yourself and telling everybody how wonderful you are, or by purchasing things or by dressing a certain way to try to bring honor to yourself.

It's best to not worry about what people think and be lightly esteemed. That's okay. But just be diligent and faithful with what God has given to you. Be diligent and faithful with the money and the resources that God has given. You know, it's a good heart check for us when we buy things. Is this for a show? Can I really afford this? Is this what God would have me to spend my money on? We need to be good stewards of what God has given to us.

And not to try to use it to bring honor to ourselves. If we do, we try to bring honor to ourselves, we'll end up begging for bread and not having what we really need. Verse 10. A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. The righteous have a genuine care and concern is the idea of this.

They have a genuine care and concern for life, life in general, specifically the life of animals, but as well as the life of others. Literally, it's talking about the righteous man knows the soul of his animal. He knows how to treat his animal, how not to overwork him, how to provide for them and feed him and take care of the animal's needs.

The wicked, though, are not capable of such compassion, Solomon says. They're cruel. And even when they show mercy, it's a mask of cruelty. There's still cruelty in their mercies. Verse 11. He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, but he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.

Diligence is another important theme that we see throughout the Proverbs. And it's such an important character in all of us. Work hard. Use the resources that you have, that God has given to you. And Solomon says you will be satisfied with bread. If you till the land that God has given to you, you'll be satisfied. But if you follow frivolity, trivial things, Solomon says you don't have understanding. If you're occupied by things that don't matter,

You don't have understanding. And we can really apply this spiritually as well. As we've seen so many times, the things of this life are temporary, but the unseen things are eternal. And if we are not tilling the land, sharing the gospel and watering and reaping and gathering, planting seeds, we're not going to be satisfied. If we're caught up in other things, rather than the things of God,

We lack understanding. We don't understand that these things are temporary, but that the things of God are eternal. And again, as Jesus says, we need to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Solomon says, he who tills his land will be satisfied with bread. The lives and the hearts of the people that God has brought into your life is land laid out before you. And the sower went out to sow. Remember, he throws the seeds. We need to be doing that, throwing the seeds. But

Verse 12. Verse 13.

One thing about the wicked is that they are always lacking. That's what I meant to say. The wicked are always lacking. They're coveting the catch of others, thirsting for what evil men have. But notice the righteous. They're fruitful and satisfied. And again, we see that you can chase all the things that this world has to offer.

You can chase after the money that others have or the status or the success. You can chase after the relationships and the sex. But you'll find and you'll discover that there will always be a thirst. You will never be satisfied with those things. You'll always be craving and coveting more. But notice what happens if you follow God's recipe. If you walk in the path of righteousness, if you live according to God's ways and God's purposes.

He says the root of the righteous yields fruit. The root gives out. The root produces. Now, typically, if you're familiar with vegetation, the root is what brings in, brings in the nutrients and things from the soil and the water and brings it to the rest of the plants. But the righteous, if you live according to the design that God has given, you will be so fruitful that

Solomon is saying, even your root will be giving out everything from top to bottom. Your whole life will be in abundance. Jesus said, I have come that you may have life and have it to the fuller overflowing. There's not enough to contain the life that he will give.

You can be a person always coveting more or you can be a person who gives and gives and gives because of the abundant life that Jesus has given to you. Verses 13 and 14. The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will come through trouble. A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth and the recompense of a man's hands will be rendered to him.

Again, we see the importance and value of our words. They can be so destructive and they can be so beneficial. They can be destructive, but not just to others. In verse 13, he says the wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips.

We ensnare ourselves with our own words, is what Solomon is saying. You know, we always think we can get away with it. We think we could cook the meal anyway, even if Kim's not there to tell us what to do. But we'll always wind up in trouble. We'll trap ourselves with our own words if we do not walk with God. The righteous will not be entrapped, though. They will come through trouble. They will be satisfied.

Solomon says it's so important that we use our words well, that we use them for God's purposes, not for our own, not for man's, but to do the work of the Lord. Verse 15, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise. Again, this idea of receiving counsel, the wise thing to do, the right thing to do is

is to heed counsel, to receive it and apply it, to obey it, to live it out. The wise thing, the right thing, the best thing for us to do is to hear what God says from him in his word or from those that he's placed in our lives and do it. It's the best thing for us. It's the right thing to do. See, there's a problem, though, because he says that the first part, the way of a fool is right and

Now, this phrase, right in his own eyes, it's an interesting phrase. It's used throughout Judges as a reference to how wicked the men were of that time. It says everyone did what was right in his own eyes, which talks about their wickedness. And they just did whatever they wanted, whatever they felt like. And it wasn't good things that they were doing. They were involved in all kinds of perversion and idolatry and walking away from God. But they were doing what was right in their own eyes. And they were doing what was right in their own eyes.

They weren't doing what was wrong in their own eyes. They were doing what was right in their own eyes. And that is the mentality of the day. There's no absolute truth. Just do what you think is right. Do what's right in your own eyes. But that is not a mark of righteousness. It's a mark of wickedness. And it says the way of a fool is right in his own eyes.

And so here's the thing that we need to consider and think about. It's foolish, it's foolish to look at your way and have it be right in your own eyes. It's foolish to do the things that are right in your own eyes. The problem is our ways are usually right in our own eyes, right? Wouldn't you agree? Usually we do what's right in our own eyes. Usually what we do, what we think is right. Think about it.

I think I'm right. Otherwise, I would change my mind. Why would I think I was wrong? If I thought I was wrong, then I would change my mind to find out what's right. And I would think what's right. I would change my decision, change my stance or point of view if I thought I was wrong. But I think I'm right. And so I base my life on what I think. But what I need to do is to not base my life on what I think and what's right in my own eyes.

but to receive counsel. Not to trust my own judgment and my own heart, but to receive counsel, to look to God and His Word. And what does God say I should do in this situation? What does God want me to do? And how does He want me to respond to this situation? We always have our justifications of why we think we're right, but that's foolish. We need to be obedient to the Word of God. We need to remove...

any limitations from where we will receive instruction there's those times where in cooking i have no problem admitting i need the recipe i need to receive instruction but you know there's other areas in my life where i think i'm right and i'm not going to be so apt to receive instruction in those areas and god's saying listen i want you to remove those limitations let me counsel you in all points of your life in every aspect regardless of whether you think you're right or not

Because it's foolish to think that you're right. It's wise to receive counsel, to hear it, to obey it, to apply it. We need to allow God to speak to every part of our life. Even if I think I'm right, I need to examine my life and my heart, my ways by what God says. I must listen to God's counsel constantly.

You know, you don't have to understand to obey. You don't have to have it figured out to apply it. You don't have to know why, but you just have to receive it and obey, even if you think you're right, because it's foolish. The way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise. Verse 16 says,

More about the fool. A fool's wrath is known at once, but a prudent man covers shame. The foolish thing to do is to fly off the handle when something happens in your life. Wrath is known at once. Boom! Out it comes. When somebody does something to you, something happens. But the wise thing to do, Solomon says, is to cover it. To cover it. James 1.19. We'll talk about it in a few moments. I think I have it somewhere in my notes here. But we all should be quick to listen.

but slow to speak and slow to anger. We need to be slow to wrath, not to fly off the handle at every little thing, but the wise thing to do is to cover. Even if someone has inflicted pain or hurt you or done malicious things towards you, the best thing to do, Solomon says, the wise thing is to cover rather than to have your wrath be known at once. Verses 17 through 19. He who speaks truth declares righteousness.

but a false witness, deceit. There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health. The truthful lip shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. All three of these verses, 17, 18, and 19, deal again with the mouth, our tongue, our words, and how we use them. He who speaks the truth declares righteousness.

The tongue of the wise promotes health and the truthful lip shall be established forever. What type of words do you use? If you were to review your conversations of this day, maybe this week, are they the things of righteousness? Are they the things of the truth? Are they things that promote health or are they the opposite of that?

It's so important that our words are used for the glory of God, for the kingdom of God, and not for our own purposes, not for deceit, not for the piercings of a sword. And those are so easy. We know those words so well. The pierced us right through. I know how to get them going. I know really how to hurt them. And there's those who use words like the piercing of a sword, but they will not be established.

Those words will not last. Those who use their words in that way will be overthrown, Solomon says. Ephesians 4.29, Paul encouraged us, one of my favorite verses to remember and apply to my life. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

When you're taking that moment to count to ten, it's a good idea to remember this verse. And let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth. Don't let it come out. You can stop it. You can have control. You can close your mouth and not say anything. If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all, as your mother's probably told you. But instead, only let good come out. What's necessary to build up, to promote health,

to impart grace to the hearers. Build up others with your words and you will be established forever, Solomon says. Verse 20, Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy. Again, looking at the subject of counsel, but this time he looks at the other side. Not only are we to receive counsel, but we're to give counsel. We're to give good counsel. We're to be counselors of peace,

Good counsel that leads to peace. To counsel people toward peace, we must first counsel them towards peace with God, the truth of the gospel, how to have right standing with God. And Solomon says, listen, if you will do that, counsel people towards peace, first of all, with God. It's the most important thing in a person's life is that they have peace with God and you will have joy. If you counsel others to draw close to God, to have peace with God, you will have joy.

The second most important commandment, you can check it out. It's in Matthew 19 or 22 or one of those. Read Matthew 19 through 22. You'll find it in there somewhere. Jesus says there's the two important commandments. Number one, love the Lord your God. Number two, love your neighbor as yourself. And so as counselors, we are to counsel people in that priority, in that order. We're to give people good counsel that will draw them close to God, but also will promote peace that they would love their neighbor as their self.

It's what God has commanded us and told us is the most important things in our lives and the lives of those around us. Verse 21, no grave trouble will overtake the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil. No grave trouble. Now, as I read that, I have to ask, well, from whose perspective is grave trouble?

Sometimes I experience grave trouble and you look and say, well, that's just silly. I mean, that's not even a bad thing at all. And maybe I look at you and say the same thing sometimes. So, of course, it doesn't mean that we'll never have trouble or we'll never experience hardship. And I think to bring it in perspective, we need to understand and take Jesus's words into consideration. In Matthew chapter 10, verse 28, Jesus says, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.

but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Jesus says, listen, don't worry about those who can just kill the body and they don't have any effect on the soul at all. Don't worry about those guys. That's nothing. That's not grave trouble. Terrorism, accidents, murders. It's not grave trouble, according to Jesus. He says, don't fear those things. Those things are not worth being afraid about.

Instead, fear God. Walk before God. Have right standing with God because that's the most important thing. And that's really what matters. So no grave trouble will overtake the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil. We must remember that anything in this life is just temporary and will not last. And whatever we go through in this life is not grave trouble because in comparison, we have eternity with God

That will last. Every tear will be wiped away. Every problem forgotten. As we experience the glory of God. There's no comparison. It's not grave trouble. Verse 22. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. But those who deal truthfully are his delight. Lying lips are an abomination or disgusting to the Lord. But he delights in truth. There's not much more to say about that. We need to be truthful people.

truthful lips rather than having lying lips. We need to speak the truth. We need to act truthfully. We need to write and email truthfully. It's not just our words that come out audibly, but everything we do needs to be based on truth. And it's a delight to the Lord. But lying lips are disgusting to him. Verse 23 says,

A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims foolishness. A prudent man conceals knowledge. And here's where I have James 1.19. Not about being slow to wrath, but about being slow to speak. Every one of us should be quick to hear, quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

Now, it's not that knowledge is concealed and never shared. That's not the point of what Solomon is saying. But the contrast is of one who is quick to speak and say what's on their mind, which turns out to be foolishness. Have you ever said something in response to someone and realized afterward it had nothing to do with what they were talking about? I've done that. Solomon says, don't be so quick to speak. Don't just speak immediately what's on your mind. It's foolishness.

conceal knowledge, hold onto it, guard it. And at the proper time, share it, release it, distribute it. But don't be so quick to speak what's on your mind. Verse 24, the hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor. Again, the value and importance of diligence, the hand of the diligent will rule. Cisco is trying to share with me a proverb and it was a Spanish proverb. I don't know what it was in Spanish, but it

essentially meant something like this. The lazy man works twice as hard. And being lazy, you think you're getting away with something. You think you're not doing as much work. But the reality is, as Solomon says here, the lazy man will be put to forced labor. So you can work hard of your own accord because you're diligent. You can be motivated yourself to work hard

to be faithful, or you can be forced to work hard. It's up to you. Either way, you're going to work hard, but you can do it yourself and be diligent and rule, or you can just be put to forced labor. But either way, you will work hard. You're not going to get out of it. Life is hard work many times. Verse 25, anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.

This is a good verse to reflect on as times of depression come and go in our lives. One of the things that cause depression, Solomon says, is anxiety, stress, worry. It's a lesson to learn for us. But a good word makes it glad. And of course, it's the word of God that is able to direct us. Now, anxiety and stress. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, verses 25 through 34,

Do not worry about anything of this life. Don't worry about what you're going to wear, what you're going to eat, where you're going to live. Don't worry about those things. Don't have anxiety and stress about those things. Jesus says you can't even make one hair in your head gray or turn it back to brown or black, which it originally was. You can't change the color of your hair without dying it. You can't make yourself taller without putting on those shoes.

You can't change anything in simple things in your own life. You can't change simple things of your own body by worrying, by thinking, by stressing, by being anxious. So Jesus says, don't worry about it. Don't do it. Instead, Matthew 6, 33, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you. See, the good word that makes it glad is not

you know, well, you're a good person. You should feel good about yourself. No, the good word that makes it glad is look at God. Seek the Lord first. He'll take care of it. Trust in the Lord. Have faith and confidence in him to be faithful to his word. And then that will make the heart glad rather than depressed. Looking to the Lord, our attention and our focus needs to be on him.

anxiety in the heart causes depression, but a good word makes it glad. Verse 26, the righteous should choose his friends carefully for the way of the wicked leads them astray. This is why it's so important for us to surround ourselves with other believers in Jesus Christ, other people who love the Lord and want to be obedient to his word. Have you chosen your friends carefully? You ever think about that? Thinking about and purposing

I'm going to spend time with this person. I'm going to get to know this person. I'm going to hang out a lot with this person because the way of the wicked leads me astray. I know that this person is right with God and walks with God and seeks to have a closer relationship with God. Now, I know this person does not. And so I must purpose. I must choose carefully who I am friends with.

who I am close to, who I share my heart with. It's so important because we're so easily led astray. Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 15, 33, to not be deceived. And that's important. Do not be deceived. Evil company corrupts good habits. Now he tells us not to be deceived. Why do you suppose that he tells us not to be deceived?

Because we're easily deceived, right? We always say, they're not going to affect me. I remember, there's this guy across the street. This is not in my notes, so I'm not sure what's going to come out right now. But there was this guy across the street that, as I was growing up, and my mom would always say, I don't want you hanging out with him. And

Learning all the things. Oh, he's not going to affect me, mom. You know, he won't change anything. And after a few months, she points out disrespect, disobedience, all of the things that are now taking place in my life that were not happening before. And it happens so easily.

And we're so often deceived. Oh, it's not going to happen. I won't be led astray. It's not a big deal. We're not close friends. We're just acquaintances. We just spend a little time together. I just receive counsel. You know, he's a good businessman. Or he really knows about this computer thing. And I just need... And so that's why I'm spending... Don't be deceived. You must choose your friends carefully. For the way of the wicked leads us astray.

You know, this is also why a Christian should not enter a dating relationship with a non-Christian. Again, do not be deceived. You're not going to convert them, chances are, statistically speaking. You're more likely to be led astray. You must choose your friends carefully. You must choose your relationships carefully. That's why Paul told us in 2 Corinthians 6 to not be unequally yoked.

Now unequally yoked, it's a picture linking together two different types of animals or two animals that are going in different directions or different places in life. And you need to look down the scope of life. Look ahead. Are your hearts aligned? Are you in the same place? Are you going the same direction? Do you want the same things in your relationship with the Lord and all other things, but your relationship with the Lord most of all? And don't be yoked together.

whether it be in a dating relationship or any other type of relationship, with those who are not believers. Verse 27. The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man's precious possession. Where's Larry? He's around here somewhere.

There he is. Hey, Larry. Looks like we have to have another fish fry because I know you still got some fish in your freezer. And the lazy man doesn't roast what he took in hunting. And Larry's not a lazy man, so we need to plan a fish fry pretty soon. Diligence is man's precious possession. And we all get experienced fish tacos. Isn't that great? Diligence is so important once again. And it's something that we are all learning. It's so easy to be lazy and put off things till tomorrow.

The lazy man, he hunts and he goes and gathers, but he doesn't even cook it when he gets home. And there's so much of that. How many times, man, have I bought things and I think it's going to be the wonderful thing and it just sits in the bag on the counter at home for weeks upon end. We need to be diligent and faithful in the things that we do and the way that we live. And finally, we end with verse 28. And the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.

And the way of righteousness is life. Righteousness is right standing with God. And in right standing with God is life. In its pathway there is no death. Again, Jesus said, I've come to give you life. And life more abundant, overflowing in John 10. We've seen so many topics this evening. So many different proverbs and nuggets of wisdom about how we are to live. The choices that we have before us.

We have before us the choice of life and death. We have before us the choice of being established or being overthrown and overwhelmed. We have the choice of being satisfied or always thirsty. The choice of building up with our words or trapping ourself with our words. We have the choice of being diligent or being put to forced labor. The choice of receiving counsel or hating correction and on and on and on we go.

I encourage you and I counsel you this evening to choose life, choose God's way, whatever it is that God is speaking to your heart and that you need to hear and receive. Even if you think you're right in your own eyes, receive God's word and the things that are contrary to your life and the way that you're living. You need to change. You need to repent. There's no death here.

In the life of the righteous. And Jesus said that in John 11. He says, I'm the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. There's no death in the life of the righteous. But we need to be righteous. Now, it's not a righteousness that we accomplish on our own. It's not our own righteousness. But it's the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ. By a loving relationship with him. But the catch is...

Jesus said in John 14, 15, if you love me, you'll keep my commands. There's a connection. James chapter 2 talks about it. It's faith that works. And these principles, yes, we're not under the law and you don't have to do these things to be saved. But if you want to live life the way that God has intended, if you want to be blessed and have abundant life, apply these things to your life. Let God speak to you and direct you.

Let him tell you where you're off. Let him correct you and instruct you where you need to be instructed, even if you think you are right. I'll close with this portion and the worship team is going to come up and close us in a couple songs as I read this portion out of Revelation. Revelation chapter 3 verses 15 through 20 says, I know your works that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Because you say, I am rich, I have become wealthy and have need of nothing. And do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed and anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me.

Jesus is speaking here in Revelation chapter 3 to some of us this evening. And he says, I know your works. You're neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other. And you're not cold or hot because you say, you know, I'm rich. I don't need anything. I'm okay how I am. I'm right in my own eyes. And God says, you don't know that you're wretched and miserable, poor, blind and naked.

There's such great need in your life, but you won't see it because you think you're right. And there's these areas, maybe some of what we've talked about tonight, or maybe some that has just been speaking to your heart over the past several days or weeks. God wants to work and he counsels you to come to him and buy gold refined in the fire. His words tested and tried and true his righteousness by your faith in him.

He counsels you to come and receive. He says, those whom I love, I rebuke and chasten. So be zealous and repent. Whatever it is, it's upon your heart. Whatever God is speaking to you, be zealous, be eager and repent. Come running to him to repent in any of these areas. It might be the words that you speak or the relationships that you have. It might be the lies that you've told.

the life that you're living in wickedness instead of righteousness it could be in many things but you know what it is and Jesus says I stand at the door and knock and if you will hear and open the door I will come in and dine with him and he with me he offers to us abundant life intimacy with him if we would just come to him and admit our need and learn that we really are not right even though we're right in our own eyes

We must receive his counsel. Tonight, you need to get right with the Lord. And as they lead us in worship, I ask you to go to the Lord and buy from him gold refined in the fire. Seek his will for you. Be zealous and repent. He's standing at the door. Let's pray first and we'll worship the Lord. Heavenly Father, I do lift up our hearts to you this evening, God. And I ask that, Lord, you would help us to be zealous and repent.

Lord, that we would come to you, Lord, and even in those areas where we're right, we think we're right. Lord, it seems right. It's what we've thought always to be right. But God, you want to change our hearts. And so, Lord, help us to be zealous and repent. Lord, I pray that you would burn within our hearts the things that you're speaking to us, the areas that you want to deal with. I pray, Lord, that you would speak powerfully to us, God, that we would be eager to repent.

eager to turn and receive your counsel, Lord, that it would change our lives. Help us, Lord, to follow you and the recipe that you've given to us that we might have a blessed, abundant, joyful life. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.