Sunday, March 9, 2014

“SIH’s Think On These Things: Proverbs 23:4-8”


He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)

Sources Of Ruin For Our Lives: Love Of Worldly Pleasures: Proverbs 23:4-8
4) Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
5) Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for [riches] certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
6) Eat thou not the bread of [him that hath] an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
7) For as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart [is] not with thee.
8) The morsel [which] thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.


Solomon now shares with us teachings on many different sins that can ruin our lives…

EXPOSITION:
Solomon addresses the love of worldly riches

4) Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
1.  Do not exhaust yourself to accumulate worldly riches
2.  Put off the worldly wisdom that encourages the hoarding of wealth

Putting the accumulation of wealth as our chief priority of life is to live a wasted life.  This type of lifestyle is motivated by the worldly wisdom that says we must rely upon our worldly possessions for our future security, exalted social standing and fame.   Little does the world understand that, in reality, wealth can only bring to us a temporal type of exaltation and security while, with faithfulness to the Lord, we can find eternal exaltation and peace…  

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.   (1 Peter 5:6-7)


5) Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for [riches] certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
1.  Will we turn our attention upon that which does not permanently exist?
2.  These temporal things of the world will disappear, much like an eagle who spreads it wings and flies away.

Why should we place our attention and diligently seek for those things that give us no lasting benefit?  Only those who do not understand the temporal nature of the things of this world, in comparison to the eternal nature of the things of God, would be silly enough to live for that which is temporary and fleeting.

But this I say, brethren, the time [is] short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;  And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;  And they that use this world, as not abusing [it]: for the fashion of this world passeth away.   (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)


6) Eat thou not the bread of [him that hath] an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
1.  Do not partake of the bread offered by those who possess lawless view
2.  Do not place our affections on the delicacies that he possesses

When we allow our fleshly desires to control us, we will be placing ourselves in a position to be manipulated and used by the wicked.  When our flesh is uncontrolled, the wicked man can use worldly riches to entice us to ruin our lives pursuing those riches.

And he said,  That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
 (Mark 7:20-23)
    

7) For as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart [is] not
with thee.
1.   What a man’s desires concentrate on, that reveals the man’s true nature.
2.  The wicked offers for you to partake of his delicacies, but his actions are based upon other motives than being generous and kind. His desires are in opposition to your good.

The true nature of an individual is shown by what he desires, not what he says with his lips.  A wicked man will offer us his enticements, saying that all he desires is to help us to satisfy us, but really he knows they will only harm us and our testimony for the Lord. 

They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: [with] flattering lips [and] with a double heart do they speak.
 (Psalms 12:2)

“God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.  He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.  [The words] of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war [was] in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet [were] they drawn swords.”   (Psalms 55:19-21)



8) The morsel [which] thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
1.  When we partake of these small pieces of meat, they will be vomited back up
2.  Then, we will no longer think highly of the wicked, nor the delicacies that he offers.

After we are enticed by the gifts of the wicked, we will understand the harm that we have partaken of.  We will attempt to rid ourselves of them and learn a very difficult lesson.  Many times, these things can actually destroy our testimony for Christ.  It will only be by God’s grace, if these things do not permanently ruin our testimony and render us ineffective in our service to the Lord.

As a result, we will not speak well of the wicked, not of his enticements.  It will be a lesson that was learned the hard way.  However, if we listen to the Lord’s teachings found in His Word, we will not have to go down this path of learning through experience that following our fleshly lusts is dangerous for the Christian and his testimony for Christ.

HE. Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it [unto] the end.  Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with [my] whole heart.  Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.  Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.  Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; [and] quicken thou me in thy way.  Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who [is devoted] to thy fear.   (Psalms 119:33-38)



SUMMARY:
Our fleshly desires can be a very weak point for a Christian.  Many times, in pursuit of their fulfillment our service to the Lord can become greatly compromised, our testimony destroyed, and many future opportunities for service to the Lord lost.

By God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value that they deserve.

May the Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.



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