PROVERBS 222006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Proverbs 22

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. We begin in chapter 22 verse 1 and it says, A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches. And that's why for the past few months I've been encouraging all the ladies who are having kids to name them Jerry, but none of them did. Of course, it's not talking about that type of name, but it's talking about a reputation. A good name in that a good reputation is better than great riches.

Now, this is something that is very important for us. Our reputation, who people think that we are or know that we are, the things that people say about us. Now, of course, you cannot try to keep your reputation by going around and correcting everybody who has some type of false idea about you.

But the reputation represents the character that you possess, the integrity that you have. And character and integrity are much needed in our lives. Often in a person's life, reputation is sacrificed in order to gain riches.

relationships are ruined in order to gain silver and gold. And Solomon says, that's not good. A good name is better than great riches. And loving favor, that relationship that you possess with one another, it's better then to have that rather than silver and gold.

The things that should be important to us are not the material things, the gain and the prosperity that we could have, but the relationships that we can build and the reputation or character that we possess.

There's an American businessman, very successful, Warren Buffett, who says, It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. And he says, If you think about that, you'll do things differently. It's important for us. Guard and take care of your reputation. Sure, it takes a long time to build it, but understand you can ruin it very, very quickly. Verse 2.

The rich and the poor have this in common. The Lord is the maker of them all. No matter who you are,

Solomon points out, God wants you to know he is your maker. It doesn't matter if you're very wealthy or you don't have hardly anything to your name. God is your maker. Now, there's a tendency in this world for the rich to oppress the poor. And we'll be looking at that a couple of times in this chapter, in chapter 22. But Solomon's point here is interesting.

is important for us to note, and that is that God is the maker of both.

See, if I understand that God is my maker, then I need to also understand that he is the maker of the person that I oppress, that I despise or mock or treat badly. And if I understand that God is the maker of the person that I'm treating this way, then I'll also understand that I shouldn't be doing that because just as God loves me, God loves that person.

And I am in effect insulting God by treating this person whom he loves so dearly, whom he died for the way that I am treating them. We need to be careful and remember that God is the maker of the people you don't like. He,

He created them and he loves them. He died on the cross for them. And so you need to treat them with the love and respect that God has for them. How do you treat people in your life? There's another portion of scripture that says, you know, if you love those who love you, what good is that? What profit is that? Even the nonbelievers can do that.

Sure, you love your family and you love your friends as long as they get along with you. But then when things get tough or things happen and situations develop, then how do you treat them? Or how do you treat the person who knocks on your door and bugs you trying to sell you some vacuum or some other ridiculous thing? Or how do you treat the person who comes and asks for change at the gas station? How do you treat the people who wait on you and serve you at your tables and

And on and on and on we could go. We need to remember that God is our maker, that we represent him and that we ought to love them the same way that he loves them. Because God loves everyone the same. He doesn't love you more than anyone else.

He loves us the same. We all have this in common, that God created us and he loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us. And we would do well to remember that in our relationships. Verse three, a prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.

Now, I say this about all the verses, but I think this is very important for us. Are you prudent or simple? What type of person are you? Are you prudent in that you have wisdom, that you foresee evil? Or are you simple in that you...

Just continue on and suffer the consequences. Now, this verse could be talking about the importance of looking ahead and watching out for danger, just kind of in general. In other words, someone who sees danger and avoids it as opposed to someone who doesn't see it and get in trouble. But I think it's speaking to us about more than that.

Because the word for punished here is a word that's only used in the context of receiving a fine or a penalty for something. It's not just talking about defensive driving or cautious investing. It's talking about receiving a penalty or punishment for wrongdoing. And I believe this verse is speaking specifically to you and I about avoiding temptation, avoiding temptation.

In being involved in sin, it's important for you and I to take sin seriously and to take steps to keep ourselves from sin because we take it seriously.

The wise thing to do is to foresee evil in our lives, to foresee the sin that might easily entangle us, to foresee the sin that is being laid out, the snare and the traps that are being set for us by the enemy. We need to look ahead and ask, where is this path leading me?

If you struggle with alcohol, you should stop and think, should I accept this job as a bartender? It's probably not the best job for you. Of course, that's an extreme. But should I spend time with people I know they will be drinking and enticing me and inviting me to be involved with that? Should I go down that path? Should I enter that house now?

If that is going to be the case, foresee evil. Foresee those things that could be a snare for you. And it says that the prudent man foresees evil and hides himself. Take yourself out of those things. Over and over in the New Testament, we're told to flee from lustful thoughts, from sinful things, to flee from sin, not sin.

to dilly-dally around it. If you're struggling with lust, stop and think, should I watch this TV program? Is this going to hurt me? Is this going to lead me down a path that I do not want to go? Should I be involved in this situation or that situation? Don't be a simple person thinking that you're strong enough or that it's no big deal.

Solomon says, be prudent, hide yourself from evil. Another aspect of this is that the prudent person is one who receives the word of God and responds to it, as opposed to the simple person who ignores or disregards the word of God and gets punished for doing so. You might remember Exodus chapter nine, where Moses is there before Pharaoh and

There's the plagues that are going on, and they come to the plague of the hail that was going to come upon Egypt. And before the hail came, as Moses is there in the court of Pharaoh, God gives everyone a warning. And he tells them, there's going to be hail coming. And so take your livestock home, shelter them, bring them in from the fields. Don't leave them out there, and they will be safe.

And it says in Exodus chapter 9, verses 20 and 21, that he who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field. And here in this situation, we see here's not the children of God, not the children of Israel, but the servants of Pharaoh. And they hear the warning.

Now, they've seen plagues already happen. They know what God is capable of. And so they hear this warning and they take heed to it and they tell all their servants, OK, everybody get indoors, bring all the cattle in, take everything home. Don't leave anything out in the field because hail is coming. But others said, and it's not going to happen or I don't care. It's not a big deal. God's not big enough. God can't do that. They disregarded the word of God and they were punished.

See, the prudent foresaw evil, not because they had this great vision, but because they believed and received the word of God. And so they hid themselves. But the simple, those who disregarded the word, continued on and were punished as a result. Take God's word seriously and hide yourself from sin. Hide yourself from evil. Verse 4 says,

By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life. Now, in verse 1, we saw the wrong way to go about getting riches. And that is, do not sacrifice your reputation to gain wealth. Don't make riches more important than your name. But here we see the Lord's prescribed method to obtain riches, honor, and life.

Two things, he says. Number one, be humble. And number two, fear the Lord. Now, we need to make sure that we don't get the impression, nor do we give the impression, that God is out to make your life miserable.

He wants you to have riches and honor and life. He wants to provide for you great and wonderful things. Two things we need to keep in mind as we consider this. Number one, God's priority is not this life, but eternity. He wants to bless us and he will bless us in this life. But his priority is eternity. He's more concerned that you have riches, honor and life now.

In eternity or for eternity and not just in this life. The second thing to consider is that God's ways are not our ways. He tells us that in Isaiah chapter 55, explaining that as the heavens are higher above the earth, God's ways are higher than our ways. We can't understand them. And so we must receive them and be obedient to them by faith.

As we've often seen in the book of Proverbs, Matthew 16, 25 says, you have to lose your life to save it. It's what Jesus taught. Now, it's completely backwards to our thinking because our ways are not his ways. His ways are not our ways. They're extremely, infinitely higher than our ways.

And so our way to get riches might be to sacrifice a reputation, might be to focus on that and be consumed with that. And if you listen to the, I just lost the word, motivational speakers and things, and all you got to do is set your focus on that and keep your passion about that and wake up thinking about that and throughout the day think about that and go to bed dreaming about that. And it's just, if you set your focus on it and you focus your mind and give enough attention,

you will get and obtain that thing that you're desiring and wanting for. But God says, no, that's a bunch of baloney. Here's what you want to do. If you want riches, honor, and life, here's what you got to do. First, be humble. Be humble. What is humility? Humility, just to boil it down and give a simple, quick definition, humility is putting others first.

And here, the natural mind would say, what? How can I get ahead if I put others first? How can I get riches, honor, and life if I'm continually concerned about everyone else and not myself? Humility is dying to self and putting others first. Jesus said this as well. In Mark chapter 10, verse 43, he says this.

In comparison to the Gentiles and their leadership and their rulers, he says it should not be so among you, but whoever desires to be great among you shall be your servant.

Jesus said, I know you want to be great. I know you want to be first in the kingdom. Now, he didn't rebuke them for that. He says, here's how to do it. I don't want to rebuke you and discourage you. Well, just try to be nothing and try to never amount to anything and just really make a miserable mess out of your life. And and then you'll be you know, you'll be good for heaven. No, he doesn't say that. He says, no, you want to be great. That's good. Straight.

Strive for greatness, but don't do it the world's way, natural way. Do it my way and be a servant of all. Put others first and live to serve them. The second thing he tells us to do in order to obtain riches, honor and life is to fear the Lord. Now to fear the Lord is to recognize who he is and obey him completely.

Now again, that's a quick, boiled down, generic version of what it means to fear the Lord, but it works for us this evening. To recognize who he is and obey him completely. To obtain riches, honor, and life.

It's a desire that you probably have. And that's okay. It's great. It's good. But don't seek it out by your own methods and your wisdom. Instead, follow God's principles. Put others first and be completely obedient to God and let Him take care of those things. Verse 5.

Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse. He who guards his soul will be far from them. Now this verse stands in direct contrast to verse 4, which we just read. You can't do it God's way. Sorry. You can do it God's way and have riches, honor, and life. Or you can do it your own way and have thorns and snares. I think there was a little piece of chocolate on my notes. I got it wrong. Okay.

You can do it God's way and be humble and fear the Lord and have all the things that he promises, or you can try to do it on your own and the results will be not honor and riches and life, but it will be thorns and snares. You're going to have problems. If you try to just disregard the word of God, if you try to do it your own way, understand you're messing up your own life.

Being disobedient to God is not good for you. It's bad for you. It hurts and it's painful. That's why God says don't do it because it's going to hurt.

You can foresee evil and hide by being obedient to God's word and following his ways, or you can ignore him and his instructions, do it your way and be punished, finding yourself in the briar patch with the thorns and snares. Guard your soul, Solomon says, by living in relationship with Jesus Christ. He will keep you from those things. Verse 6 says,

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Of course, you've probably heard this verse. It's a hugely popular and famous verse. It's been studied and taught by many, and there's many opinions as far as how to implement this verse so that the promise will come true. I don't have super great wisdom or insight on this, but I have two thoughts and a quote, which I'll go through. Thought number one.

The most important thing to train your child in is in a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you want to train your child, train your child how to have relationship with Jesus Christ. Teach them how to pray.

Teach them what it means to pray. Teach them how to read the word and what it means to have a devotional life. Teach them to walk with the Lord and present requests to God and to look to God for direction. Teach them how to worship God and to express love and adoration for him. Teach, train. That's what your children need the most.

Thought number two, the Bible gives us the way to train a child. It doesn't have to be following these psychological methods or you have to have the cutting edge information. The Bible has everything that you need. And the Bible tells us, here's what the Bible says. If you want to train your children, here's how to do it. Teach them, guess what? The Bible. It's not very complicated. In Deuteronomy chapter six says,

God says, these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. You're to teach this.

These words, God says to your children at all times, when you're sleeping, when you're standing, when you're eating, when you're resting and relaxing, when you're walking on the way or driving down the freeway to be talking about and speaking about the word of God. This is what God says is most important. Teach your children the word. Essentially, you're called to carry out the great commission, but upon your own children to make disciples of them.

As Matthew 28, 20 says, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. Remember 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17. It tells us that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. And it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

This is what your children need. To be complete. To be prepared for every good work. To be prepared for all the things that God has in store for them and the curveballs that life will throw at them. They need the Word of God. And it was given to us for doctrine, for proof, for correction, for instruction or training in righteousness. So those are my two thoughts. And here's the quote. H.A. Ironside on this portion of Scripture says this.

Parents need to remember it is not enough to tell their little ones of Jesus and his rejection or to warn them of the ways of the world. They must see to it that in their own lives they exemplify their instruction.

This will count above all else in the training of the young. Little ones will observe our pretense and hypocrisy if we speak piously of separation from the world while demonstrating the spirit of the world in our dress, relationships in the home and the friends we seek.

We need not wonder then if they grow up to ignore our words of instruction while imitating what our lifestyle proclaimed to be the real object of our hearts. In other words, Ironside says, practice what you preach. Put it into practice. Teach them and train them, not just by oral instruction, but by the way that you live your life. Model for them the Christian life, that they would be able to follow it. Verse 7 says,

The rich rules over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender. And all those in debt said amen, right?

Here Solomon has for us a simple observation about life. It's just the way things are. There's nothing new under the sun. The borrower is servant to the lender. Now, in dealing with this subject, Paul in Romans chapter 13, verse 8, encouraged us to owe no one anything except to love one another. For he who loves another has fulfilled the law, Paul says.

It's important for us to understand and recognize that God wants us to be really set free and not bound in the servitude of others through the means of debt. Now, the Bible is not saying that you cannot or should not have debt. It really would be impossible to live in this society without debt. You have to borrow money to buy the house, the car, the boat, you know, the computers and all the things that we have. But there's a line that we cross here.

When we're borrowing more than we would be able to pay back, even if we sold everything is kind of the idea. We owe more than we can pay. It's a bad place to be because then we've made ourselves servants of those that we have borrowed from. We might want to go off and do other things and serve the Lord in other areas, but we can't because we've made ourselves servants of God.

These things and these debtors that we owe. Now, another issue is that it limits us. We're not free to be used by the Lord.

Because we've chosen to serve other masters. And so we need to be careful. Be careful in the way that you spend, especially as we're going to Christmas season. Let's be careful and be good stewards of what God has given to us. And to understand the relationship. When we borrow more than we can pay, we become servants to those that have given us the money. Verse 8. He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, and the rod of his anger...

How many times have we seen this principle here in the book of Proverbs? The principle of reaping what you sow. Galatians chapter 6 verse 7 and 8 spell it out so clearly for us. Paul says, If you sow to the flesh...

You will from the flesh reap destruction or corruption. If you sow to the spirit from the spirit, you will reap everlasting life. We have the choice. What we receive is determined by what we do. If you live in sin, Solomon says, he who sows iniquity, you will reap sorrow and destruction. And again, that's why God tells us to stay away from sin, because it's horrible for us.

Take heed to God's word. Foresee evil and hide yourself. And so repent of sin.

Otherwise, you will receive much sorrow. You will be destroyed. Now, it doesn't matter how upset and angry you get about it or because of it. You will reap what you sow. You cannot change that. It's the law that God has laid down. Just like you plant corn and you get corn. Just like you plant apples and you get apple trees or whatever. You know what I mean. You plant the seeds. You get the plant, the tree, the vegetation that you planted. Right?

The same is true. If you plant and you continue to live in sin, if you sow to the flesh, you will reap corruption, destruction, much sorrow, thorns, bristles, pain, and hurt. Sin is not pleasant. It's fun for a season. It might be fun planting it.

But when you reap the consequences, you'll wish you hadn't done it. So stop, repent. Sow to the Spirit. Invest your time, your life, your money into the things of God. And reap from that benefits for eternity. Verse 9. He who has a generous eye will be blessed. For he gives of his bread to the poor.

The principle that we're talking about is good. It works in both good and bad context. You reap what you sow. Now, if you give to others, Solomon says, you will be blessed. It's a different type of reaping and sowing. It's not the reaping of sin and sowing of sorrow, sowing of sin and reaping of sorrow. It's the sowing of generosity, the sowing of giving and the reaping of blessing and

Jesus told us in Luke chapter 6 verse 38, Now of course, in the subject of giving, we're not just talking about giving everything.

to the church and tithes and offerings, but to those who are in need, to opportunities that God presents to you through people or through different avenues in your life. Now, I think it's that we would all agree it's good to be generous when we're talking about someone who's buying us a Christmas present, right? You want to encourage them to be generous as they give. It's good to give. But the real question is, are you generous? Are you willing to give to those who are in need?

Understand that he who has a generous eye will be blessed. If you want to be blessed, be generous. Give to others. It's the promise. It's the law that God has laid down. You will reap what you sow. He will be a debtor to no man. It means he won't owe you anything. He's going to make sure he pays you back. It's going to be taken care of. You're going to receive for what you've given. Verse 10.

Cast out the scoffer and contention will leave. Yes, strife and reproach will cease. How is it that we are to deal with contention and strife? Well, here God says, here's what you want to do. If there's contention and strife going on, if there's problems and struggles going on, well, there's probably a scoffer in the bunch. If there's division and backbiting, there's a scoffer in the bunch.

People aren't getting along very well. There's a scoffer in the bunch. And so here's how to deal with it. He says, cast out the scoffer. Now, a scoffer is one who will not receive instruction and disregards the word of God. And so God says, cast them out. The word means to drive out or to drive away.

The example of the way the word is used is found in 1 Chronicles 17, 21, where it's described how God drove out the nations before Israel as they came into the promised land. The way that they were driven out by war, but also by pestilence, by beasts, and so on and so forth. They were driven out by the Lord. And God says, this is how you're to handle a situation where there's contention and strife and problems.

You drive out the scoffer. Get them out of the picture. Get them out of the scene. And that contention...

will subside. The way to deal with the scoffer is to drive them away and allow God to do the work in them. We can't do it ourselves. Only God can do it. And Paul taught this several times in the New Testament as well. In Romans chapter 16, verse 17, he says, I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned and avoid them. We

We're to stay away, to drive them out, to not deal with those who are scoffers. But understand when there's contentions and strife, there's a scoffer in the midst. And so we need to drive them out to avoid them and keep them out because they're just causing problems. And we can't correct them. It's not up to us. But as we avoid them, as we drive them out in obedience to God's word, he deals with their hearts. Verse 11.

He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king will be his friend. Now, as we saw a couple of weeks ago, when we're talking about the king in the book of Proverbs, it's teaching us how to relate to authority.

All types of authority in our life. We have lots of authority in our life. We have our employers and there's a list of bosses and supervisors that are over us. We have our government and so on and so forth. There's authority that we are called to submit to. And here we're learning how.

How to relate to that authority. And here's what it says. Here's how you can get along with the authorities in your life. Number one, love purity of heart. And number two, have grace on your lips. If you want to get along and find favor with authority in your life, maybe you don't get along too well with your employer or your bosses. You don't get along too well with the government, maybe.

Here's how to get along with them. Here's how to mend those relationships. Love purity of heart and have grace upon your lips. First, we need to endeavor to keep our heart pure. Now, of course, this is done by right relationship with Jesus Christ.

But specifically in the relationship of authority, keep yourself from bitterness, from holding grudges, from having bad motives or ulterior motives or trying to manipulate and do things. Keep your heart pure and that you simply do the things that you're asked to do are obedient and submissive to the things that God has called you to do.

Also to have grace upon your lips, which doesn't mean that you flatter and puff up and tell all kinds of colorful lies with your speech. But instead it means to speak in a way that is not deserved. Grace is unmerited or undeserved favor and kindness. And so favor and kindness then.

In the words that you speak. In the tone that you use. In the things that you share. Not with ulterior motives trying to obtain things. But just simply out of love. To share and to speak with grace.

To your employers, about your employers, to your government, about your government, to the authorities that are in your life and about the authorities that are in your life. Have a pure heart towards authority. Do good and be obedient to authority. And do not speak evil of authority, but speak with grace, favor and kindness that is not deserved.

If you want to read a little bit more on this, you can read Romans chapter 13, verses 1 through 6. Paul deals with the authorities and how we're to relate to them there in Romans chapter 13. Verse 12, the eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the faithless.

The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge. Now, we've learned many times in the book of Proverbs that knowledge and understanding come from the Lord.

And so knowing that knowledge comes from the Lord, it helps us to understand that the eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, because the idea here is that God will fulfill his word, knowledge of him, his principles. As you live by them, he'll be faithful to preserve them and they'll be found true in your life. As you apply what you learn about God to your life, as you walk in those things, he will be faithful to preserve knowledge. He'll

He'll be faithful to make sure that it is found true in your life. But the faithless, in contrast to the faithful, to those who have knowledge, the faithless are those who do not keep God's word, those who do not live by God's principles. And God says they will be overthrown. Their words will not last. They will come to an end. Verse 13.

The lazy man says, there is a lion outside. I shall be slain in the streets. And so here we learn that if you're not willing to go outside and fight a lion, you're lazy. No, I'm just kidding. Of course, that's not what this is saying. The point is, there's no lion. It's just an excuse to stay inside. We need to be careful of excuses, especially the ridiculous excuses.

Because of the instruments, the tools of the lazy person. Oh, I can't do this because, well, we need to check our hearts. Are we just being lazy and making up excuses? Are we really being diligent and obedient to those that God has placed in authority over us? Verse 14. The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit. He who is abhorred by the Lord will fall there.

Now, we dealt with this in great detail in Proverbs chapters 5 through 7. If you remember Proverbs 5, 3, and 4, it says, There's a great attraction, allurement there in an immoral woman. Her lips drip honey, but in the end...

It's destruction. It's bitter. Sexual immorality is destructive. It causes great destruction in your life. Stay away from sexual immorality. Flee from it, Paul said. Now, how do we protect ourselves from immorality, from sexual immorality, from the immoral woman?

Very simply, by having right relationship with God. Because when we're in right standing with God, when we're living lives to please Him, we will be protected because He says that it's He who is abhorred by the Lord that will fall there. When we do not have right relationship with God, when we're living in sin or rebellion, then we need to be concerned. We're like a sitting duck, vulnerable prey.

To fall into the pit of immorality and to be destroyed by it. Now, Psalm chapter 7 verse 11 tells us that God is a just judge and that God is angry with the wicked every day. It's interesting though, that word angry that he uses, it's the same word that's used for abhorred here. He's angry with the wicked. They are abhorred by the Lord. And it's those, the wicked, abhorred.

Who will fall into the pit. Who will be destroyed by sin. Stay away from wickedness. And walk in righteous relationship with God. Verse 15. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. The rod of correction will drive it far from him. Now remember verse 6. We're to train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old he will not depart from it. And so here's another element. The rod of correction. Now can you train up a child.

According to the word and yet disregard what the word teaches about how to do it. No, of course not. It's an important element. It's part of parenting. According to the scriptures, we need. Well, for now, you need to discipline your children. Parents, it's a responsibility. If you do not, you're allowing foolishness to persist in their hearts because it's bound up in the heart of a child. But the rod of correction will derive it far from them.

A couple quick verses to remind you of the importance. Proverbs 13, 24. Proverbs 19, 18. Proverbs 23, 13. We'll look at that in a couple weeks. Proverbs 24.

Proverbs 23, 14, you shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell. Now, we're not advocating child abuse, but sometimes a good beating is necessary. There needs to be discipline. It's an important element. God says, if you do not chasten your children, you're setting your heart on their destruction. You're setting them up for failure. You're leaving the foolishness bound in their heart and they will be bound by it.

Unless the Lord sets them free. Verse 16. He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches and he who gives to the rich will surely come to poverty. Now we learned in verse 2 that the Lord is the maker of us all, the rich and the poor. And so to oppress the poor whom God loves dearly, again, it's an insult to him. Proverbs 14.31 tells us that he who oppresses the poor reproaches or insults his maker.

Now, do not think that you can get away with treating people poorly. God is the defender of the defenseless. If you take advantage of people and you treat them badly or oppress them, God says, you will come to poverty. You're not going to get away with it. I'm going to make sure. I'm going to take care of you because I am the defender of those whom I have created. As we move on now in chapter 22,

verses 17 through the rest of the chapter, we are starting a new section here in the book of Proverbs. It's entitled The Sayings of the Wise or The Words of the Wise. This new section, it's random, not random, but various authors as opposed to what we've been studying so far has just been authored by Solomon and

And so what we have here is other wise men unidentified. We don't have their names. We don't know who they were. Some of them might have been Solomon. They might all be Solomon's. But all we know is that there are other words of the wise. And this will continue through chapter 24. And then in chapter 25, we'll pick up again with the teachings of Solomon.

Verse 17 through 21 says, incline your ear and hear the words of the wise and apply your heart to my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you. Let them all be fixed upon your lips so that your trust may be in the Lord always.

As we begin this new section, we have an exhortation to us on how to treat these proverbs.

And so the sayings of the wise, he says, first of all, incline your ear and hear.

Here's the first thing you should do. Pay attention. Listen up. The idea of inclining the ear is like you would cup your finger or your hand around your ear to be able to make sure that you catch every detail, that you hear it completely. He says, incline your ear. Pay attention. Listen up. As the words of the wise are read, as they're spoken forth, listen up and pay attention. It's important for you to hear what is about to be said. He tells us also to apply your heart.

To apply your heart. Again, we're dealing with application. Apply yourself to this wisdom. How can you use these things? How does this impact your life? How can you follow it and allow these things to change the decisions that you make, the way that you act, and the lifestyle that you live? He also says to let them all be fixed on your lips.

So we're to incline our ears and listen attentively. We're to apply our heart to think about and meditate how we can apply these things to ourselves. But we're also to let them be fixed on our lips, which means to keep them in our mouths at all times, to be talking about them, thinking about them, meditating about them, letting our answers come from these words, letting our conversation center around these words.

Our mouths are to be completely committed to the words of God. And the purpose, the reason why you should incline your ear, apply your heart and let your lips be fixed on those things...

In verse 19, it says, so that your trust may be in the Lord. And again, in verse 21, that I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth. Here's the reason why to listen up, to pay attention and apply your heart to these things, because your trust will then be in the Lord and you will know the certainty of the word of God. Do you want to grow in your faith?

Do you want to learn to trust in the Lord more? Here's what you do. Listen to his word. Apply yourself to his word and let it be upon your lips all the time. If you do not learn how certain God's word is, how can you trust his word in all things? Now, if you trust in his word, if you listen and apply yourself to

And keep it upon your lips. You will learn the certainty of it. You will learn to trust it. And you will learn to trust in the Lord with all of your heart. And so as we look at these things the rest of this evening, as you spend time meditating on the Word of God later, as we continue on in the coming weeks,

Hear what God has to say. Be ready to receive. Write them down. Apply them to your life. Meditate upon them. Let it be upon your lips at all times so that you might learn to trust in the Lord. Verse 22 and 23. Do not rob the poor because he is poor, nor oppress the afflicted at the gate. For the Lord will plead their cause and plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

Again, he warns us, be careful how you treat the poor and needy. Don't rob the poor just because they're poor. Don't take advantage just because you can, because God is going to plead their cause and defend them. Now, notice what the consequences are. God is serious about this. You may rob them of money or mistreat them for your own gain, but the Lord will plunder your soul.

It's not just your money and your gain or your wealth that God is concerned about and that is going to be dealt with. He is going to plunder your soul, your life. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 16, 26. What profit is it to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul? We need to be careful. Remember, God is the maker of us all and treat others appropriately.

Verse 24 and 25. Make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man. Do not go lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul.

Here Solomon tells us, or whoever the author is, the Lord tells us, choose your friends carefully. As Christians, this is something that we really should give time to consider. Who is it that you're spending time with? Who are your close friends? Who do you receive counsel from? Who do you hang out with? 1 Corinthians 15, verse 33 tells us, do not be deceived. Evil company corrupts good habits.

Evil company corrupts good habits. Now, why is it, do you think, that Paul told us not to be deceived? Any ideas? Because we're easily deceived. Because we think, no, I'm reaching out to this person. Or, no, I'm being a good influence on this person. Or, no, it's not going to happen to me. They can't corrupt me. They can't influence me in that way. But Paul says, do not be deceived. Evil company corrupts good habits.

Your proverb says, make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man do not go. If someone that you spend time with is a scoffer, they bring division, they cause problems and strife, or if they're always angry or if they disregard the word of God, separate yourself from them so that you do not learn their ways. God calls us to come out from them and be separate. Check it out in 2 Corinthians chapter 6.

To be separate from them and not to be partners with them. Verses 26 and 27. Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge. One of those who is surety for debts. If you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you?

In other words, be wise in your borrowing, your lending, your cosigning. Don't loan anything that you cannot afford or are not willing to give. Don't cosign for anything that you cannot afford or are not willing to give. Otherwise, you may very well suffer the consequences for their inability to pay. Verse 28 says,

The ancient landmark, it refers to the

The time when the Israelites went into the Palmist land and they divided the land by lot. And each tribe and each family within the tribe was given their portion and it was marked out by landmarks. And so each family would have their appropriate size property for their family. And they would have these landmarks around so they would know what the boundaries of their property were.

Now, the property in those times, according to God's laws, was not to be sold in the idea that we have for selling property, but it was more like a lease, that after amounts of time, it would be able to be purchased back or be given back to the original family so that it would always remain in that family's name. And so what God is saying here, do not remove the ancient landmark, which your fathers have said, is the idea of people when

they would move landmarks in order to enlarge their territory. It would be like, hey, you know, neighbor Jones over here doesn't really use this back section a little bit. I'm just going to scoot this back a couple feet and get a couple more, you know, rows of grain and be able to sell a little bit more to have a little bit more property and they would move

use the landmarks and moving the landmarks, you know, maybe just a couple inches a day so you don't notice. And one day you walk out and go, hey, didn't my fence used to go all the way to the street? I can't remember. But the people would do this in order to enlarge their territory. And this was forbidden by God in Deuteronomy 19, 14.

It speaks to us today about our business practices and dealings. We are not to advance ourselves by lying, cheating, by deceitfulness or thievery. Even if it's not outright stealing, we're not taking money from the cash register. It's condemned by God if it's a deceitful practice or we're using things and manipulating things to obtain things that are not ours.

If I say this, you know, I could get more. I could get a better raise or I could accomplish this or that. Or if I claim this deduction, then I could pay less taxes or whatever the case. God hates such practices. Verse 29, our last verse this evening, he says, Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings. He will not stand before unknown men.

It's not the one who lies, cheats, and deceives to get ahead that does well. It's the one who works hard and does his job well. Promotion does not come from the east or the west, Psalm 75 tells us. It comes from the Lord. You and I need to learn to work hard, to do our best, and to become good at what we do. Whatever your job is, it doesn't matter if you like it, you don't like it, that doesn't matter. Become good at it.

It's how to build the relationship with the king, with the authority in your life. Be good at what you do. Learn to be good at it.

And you will stand before kings. Luke chapter 16 verse 10, Jesus tells us that he who is faithful in what is least is also faithful in much. The way to success, the way to prosperity is not by using our own methods to get ahead, but by being faithful in the little things of what God has called us to do. By becoming good at what we do and God will entrust us with much.

On that same note, if you remember the parable Jesus told, and I'll close with this, in Matthew chapter 25. He gave out the talents to the different servants according to their ability. To one he gave five, to another two, and to another one. And they were to put their talents to use as the master was away. And when he came back, they had to give an account. And as they came to give an account, the one with five came back with ten. He had put it to use. He had made...

twice as much as he had been given. And his master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You are faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. And he said the same thing to the man who had been given two talents and made two more and ended up with four talents. He said, Hey, good and faithful servant, you are faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things.

And I want to close this evening with an encouragement. Be faithful in the work that God has given to you. We've talked about parents this evening. You're a parent. Be faithful with the child or children that God has given to you. Be faithful.

Use the talents that God has given to you. Talents not being the abilities that you have, but the resources and the things that he has given to you. We've looked at being generous. Be faithful with what God has given to you materialistically or financially. Be faithful and be obedient to the Lord in those little things and he will make you ruler over many things. We've talked about authorities. We've talked about a lot of things.

Whatever God is speaking to your heart, be faithful to the Lord. That's who you need to be serving. That's who needs to be your master. Not this earth, not this life, not lenders, not creditors, not your bosses, not your spouse. You serve the Lord and be faithful with what God is speaking to you. And if you're faithful in a few things, he says, I have great things in store for you. Riches, honor, and life.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, this evening you've given us great promises. Help us to follow the instructions that were given here to incline our ears, to apply our hearts, to keep these things upon our lips and in our mouth. Lord, that we might learn to trust you and see how certain and true your word is. God, help us to put these things into practice.

Lord, because you will be faithful to fulfill them and accomplish them in our lives. And so, God, I pray that you would help us to be faithful. Teach us, Lord, and show us if there's areas where we're not being faithful. I pray that you would open our eyes. If there's new areas that you want to open up, Lord, lead us and guide us. Give us direction. We ask, Lord, that you would help us to walk with you in right relationship with you, understanding who you are and what you've done.

But Lord, then taking it the next step and allowing the things we know about you and the things we've learned from your word to change our lives. Help us to not just be hearers of the word and deceiving ourselves, but to do it, to put it into practice, to live it out. God, teach us to be obedient to you. It's in your precious 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.