Thursday, February 13, 2014

“SIH’s Think On These Things: Proverbs 20:27-30”


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

Pitfalls In The Lord’s Service: Ignoring the Profitable Things: Proverbs 20:27-30
27) The spirit of man [is] the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
28) Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.
29) The glory of young men [is] their strength: and the beauty of old men [is] the gray head.
30) The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so [do] stripes the inward parts of the belly.

In this section of Scripture, Solomon reminds us of the pitfall of taking lightly the gifts the Lord has given to us to aid in our service to Christ.

EXPOSITION:
27) The spirit of man [is] the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
Profitable thing 1:  Our conscience
1.  The conscience (sprit) within man is like a candle, given to him from the Lord. 
2.  It sends forth light that allows the darkest, most intimate of thoughts and desires to be brought to light and examined.

Our conscience is a wonderful gift from the Lord that gives us insight into His will and our condition before Him.  When we ignore the leadings of our conscience, we scar it and deaden its effectiveness for our life.

“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and [their] thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”  (Romans 2:14-16)


28) Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.
Profitable thing  2: God’s mercy
1.  The undeserved blessings of God and His the Word will extend and strengthen the King’s life.
2.  The King’s authority is established and extended by undeserved blessings from the Lord.

God, the Ultimate Authority, over all, is the one that grants both life and rulership to all the rulers of this world.  Apart from His merciful intervention, the rule of no one would continue.  By remembering it is all a gift from the Lord, it is an encouragement to those in authority to appreciate and serve Him in greater ways.

“A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.”   (Psalms 101:1)


29) The glory of young men [is] their strength: and the beauty of old men [is] the gray head.
Profitable thing  3: Physical strength and  experiential wisdom
1.  Those who are young are praised for their physical strength.
2.  Those who are old are desired for their life experiences.

There is no reason for any of us to not serve the Lord NOW.  For the young they should take advantage of their physical abilities to honor the Lord with their lives.  For those whose health is gradually failing, we can still play an important role by sharing our experiences and lessons learned from the Word of God with those who are more able to actively serve in physical ways.  If we ignore these blessings He has given to us, we will not consistently serve Him throughout our life.

“I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.”    (1 John 2:14)

“The hoary head [is] a crown of glory, [if] it be found in the way of righteousness.”   (Proverbs 16:31)


30) The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so [do] stripes the inward parts of the belly.
Profitable thing  4: God’s chastening
1.  The bruising and after effects of chastening are reminders of the need for obedience to the Lord and the painful results of sin in our lives.
2.  The stripes of a whipping are profitable to remind us of the need to rid our inward man of evil.

When the Lord chastens us, we are reminded and encouraged to rid sin out of our entire beings.  Both our actions and our inward man (desires, thoughts and plans) should be separated from sin for His use and glory.  By ignoring them we do not learn the lessons they were meant to teach, and set ourselves up for more severe chastening at His hand.

“Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [us], and we gave [them] reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?  For they verily for a few days chastened [us] after their own pleasure; but he for [our] profit, that [we] might be partakers of his holiness.  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”   (Hebrews 12:9-11)

SUMMARY:
There are many pitfalls involving ignoring what the Lord has brought into our lives for His, and our, good…
Profitable thing 1:  Our conscience
Profitable thing  2: God’s mercy
Profitable thing  3: Physical strength and  experiential wisdom
Profitable thing  4: God’s chastening

By God’s grace, He has forewarned us of these pitfalls, so that we might not have to experience them ourselves.  Let us all take this wise counsel and apply it swiftly to our hearts and lives, realizing it is counsel that comes from a Loving, Merciful, All Wise, Heavenly Father.

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”.

SIH Homepage: http://www.settledinheaven.org


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