January 22, 2020
I. Wise Person #
Proverbs 18
Proverbs 18:1-5
Wise Person (Pro 18:1)
A. Desire #
• You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink
• You can lead a fool to wisdom, but you cannot make him learn.
B. Decision (separate) #
• You decided to come to church, you choose, with purpose to arrive at church.
• People don’t always choose to do the right thing.
• People usually opt for pleasure over wisdom
• Choosing Wisdom, requires separation from foolishness!
◦ Price to pay – WORTH IT! [Pro 3:13-15.]{.underline}
◦ When you decide to follow God, and His wisdom, there are some things you must leave behind: TV, SocialMedia, Friends,
◦ It is not wrong to relax, but we are over the top
C. Seeketh & Intermeddleth – Wisdom! #
• There is an element of seeking that is needed with the Word of God.
Matt. 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
• Intermeddle – to meddle officiously – poke your nose in with great interest.
◦ Those who gossip, often take a great interest in the business of other people, they poke there nose in where it doesn’t belong…
◦ If we would take half that kind of interest in the Book… I believe our world would be a better place.
II. Foolish Person (Pro 18:2) #
A. Delight #
• Fool has no desire to learn, and become wiser.
• Wisdom, requires work, effort, separation from some things,
B. Discover #
• His interest, himself! - “discover itself”
◦ Only those things that please him.
◦ Selfishness is a real problem.
• Wickedness
Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
C. Don’t follow your heart! #
• Leads to the next verse: Proverbs 18:3
III. Wicked Presence (Pro 18:3) #
• These words are all similar. It shows the strenght in which is being described… threefold.
A. Contempt – act of despising #
• A fool is despised because of the public disgrace and disdain he brings upon himself.
B. Ignominy – public disgrace #
C. Reproach – scorn #
• This is often easily viewed in people in the public circles that have a large audience. Look at the corrupt scandals of the people in the entertainment industries.
IV. Words of help (Pro 18:4) #
A. Depth #
• Shallow well -
◦ We had two wells at our house as a teenager. The main well, that had a pump in it, fed water to the whole house.
◦ When the pump broke, my dad taught us about a ‘shallow well’.
◦ The water is not safe, doesn’t taste good, and can be contaminated .
• A deep well, produces cool refreshing water.
◦ The woman at the well in John 4, was in need of some refreshing water!
◦ Not just physical water, but spiritual news, that would refresh her sin torn soul. Jesus said:
◦ John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
• Men are in need of refreshing news in 2020.
◦ When you draw from the deep well of the Word of God, your words will refreshing as from a deep well.
B. Flow #
• If you have spent any time in the outdoors at all, you know where to find fresh water.
◦ You don’t go to the pond (stagnant, gross, bad)
◦ You look for flowing water, and a spring is the best!
◦ AS you draw from the Fresh wellspring of the Word of God on a daily basis, it will allow the wisdom to flow from you to others!
Matt. 12:34 ….for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.Perversity of Judgment (5)
V. Wicked (Pro 18:5) #
A. Person of the wicked #
• A wicked person is someone that is not to be trusted.
• Perhaps they are a liar, perhaps they are a thief, a lazy person, someone with a bad testimony according to verse 3…
• Two cases in the Bible:
◦ Jezabel setup a court case to hold Naboth guilty of blaspheme that he would be stoned, and Ahab could have his vineyard!
▪ 1Kings 21:10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
▪ Naboth refused to sell, it was forbidden by God!
▪ When you don’t give in to wicked people, they will bring in wicked people to work against you.
▪ Brought in wicked men, sons of Belial… whenever you believe people who are wicked… it becomes a problem.
▪ People will lie to you!
◦ Jesus,
▪ Matt. 26:59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
▪ 60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
B. Overthrow the righteous in judgement. #
• Wickedness is in war with righteousness, and they don’t play fair.
• Wickedness looks to overthrow you, if you stand for what is right.