[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. We're in Proverbs 14, if you didn't hear me on there in the internet world. I wish we weren't.
[0:13] Is that how you say it? I wish we weren't. I wish we wasn't. It's getting a little harder as we go into Proverbs. So if you want to come to me at the end of the service and say, I don't see how you got that at all, please feel free, okay?
[0:24] Because this one was a hard one. I studied and I studied and I couldn't figure this out. But one thing I do know, Brother Sam, is that Solomon's writing this book. And he's writing to his son. And what is he trying to get across to his son?
[0:37] What is the theme of Proverbs? What is he trying to instill into his son? What is he giving his son? Wisdom. Wisdom. So today we're going to talk about living in wisdom.
[0:48] How do we live in wisdom? And Solomon's going to lay it out here to his son. And we're going to see three things. The first thing in verses 1 through 7, he speaks of your walk.
[0:58] He speaks of your walk. If you have your Bible, and you guys can read this after you get home. You're like, how in the world did he get this? Well, just come and hopefully you figure this out, okay? In verse 1 he says this, Every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with their hands.
[1:14] So in your walk, you're going to have a companion with you, right? You're going to need somebody. And in this life, men, you're going to choose a wife. And that's extremely, an extremely, extremely important decision you make.
[1:27] If you realize this, a woman makes or breaks you. In Proverbs chapter 14 verses 1, he says, A wise woman will build the house.
[1:39] She will build her house. Now, does anybody want to help me out here? I need somebody to take Ruth 4.11. Does anybody want to take a Bible verse? We're going to do this, okay? You got that, Ruth 4.11. Who wants to take Proverbs 18 or 18.22?
[1:51] Anybody want to take Proverbs 18.22? Ed, you got that? Brother Mize, you want to take Proverbs 12.4? You got that? Who wants to take Proverbs 19.14? Okay. So, in this walk that you have, when you live in wisdom, realize this, that a woman has the ability to make or break you.
[2:10] She has the ability to build a strong house. Someone read Ruth 4.11. And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders said, We are witnesses. The Lord makes the women that have come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which too did build the house of Israel, and do thou worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem.
[2:31] So, what happens here is Boaz goes up to the men at the gate, the leaders, the elders, and he wanted to make sure that he could marry Ruth. And when he goes up to these elders, these men give this testimony.
[2:42] They say, Man, we want to give you a blessing. We hope that Ruth is like Leah and Rachel. She, those two women, they built the house of Israel.
[2:52] Men, you have to realize that a woman can build your house. She can help you out in your life. And that's the first thing we learn in wisdom. Not only is that, but she could be the greatest asset that a man has.
[3:04] Who has Proverbs 12.4? What does that Bible say? We'll stop right there, because it does the contrast. What is a virtuous woman to her husband?
[3:16] Yeah, that's his joy. That's his joy. A woman, when you choose a wife, she could be the trophy, the one that you show off, the one that you can rejoice in.
[3:27] Listen to what Proverbs 18.22 says. Proverbs 19.14. All these things.
[3:42] All these things. A good wife is from the Lord. So whenever you live, if you want to live in wisdom, make sure you pick the right woman. That's what Solomon's telling his boy right now. Make sure when you're walking through life, you choose the right companion for you.
[3:55] Make sure, because she has the ability to bring honor. She has the ability to build your house. Think about this. Who controls the atmosphere of the home? You realize that she can make you not want to come home?
[4:09] Or she can make you want to come home? She can help aid her kids in loving their father. You realize that? A good woman can aid their children in loving their father and respecting and revering.
[4:21] She is the thermostat in the home. What is the saying that we say? If mama ain't happy, no one ain't happy, right? She controls the atmosphere of the home. And that's what Solomon's teaching his son right here.
[4:33] He's saying, when you go through life, if you're going to live in wisdom, be careful, be careful who you choose. Because the right woman, she will build the house. She will build the house. She raises the children.
[4:45] Who spends more time with the kids? The mom or the dad? Who does the football players always think come Thanksgiving time when they're giving their interview?
[4:56] Who is it? Do you ever hear dad? I just want to thank dad out there. No, it's always mom, right? Who is always there for the children when they get sick, when they're throwing up?
[5:07] Who's always there for the children? They can build your home. Make the wise decision. Marry up. But he also says in verse 1, he says she can tear it down too.
[5:22] She can be the man's greatest asset or she can be the man's weakest. Proverbs chapter 12, verses 4. You got that still, brother? Brother Mize?
[5:33] Finish that out. What's that verse saying there? Yeah.
[5:43] It's not a good thing. If you don't get the good one, yeah, she makes the insides hurt. She makes the insides hurt. And we can chuckle because we all have good wives. And if you have to say anything else, please speak up so they can hear you back out there if you don't think so.
[5:59] But you find the man who has a bad wife and you'll find a man who's broken. You'll find a home that's no longer together. If you want to live in wisdom, extremely important, young men, extremely important, find the right woman.
[6:17] Find the right woman. No matter how beautiful she is, she can still have the ability to bring shame to her husband. Someone read Proverbs 11, 22. Who's got that? Can anybody get that for me?
[6:29] And someone take, does anybody want to take Proverbs 25, verse 24? Anybody take her? Micah, you got 25, 24. Daniel, would you take 27, 15? Someone read Proverbs 11, 22.
[6:40] She might be beautiful on the outside, but if she doesn't know how to control her tongue, if she doesn't know how to control herself, if she has no discretion, she's like a pig with a diamond right in the middle of her nose.
[6:58] So the pig, wow, I didn't know that. A pig's now, there we go, there we go. She has the, she has, like I said, the good woman has the ability to control the atmosphere of their home, so does the bad woman. Someone read, who's got Proverbs 25, verse 24?
[7:18] Woman that's always fighting and bickering, angry, causing trouble. God doesn't want to go home. He'd rather take his bed and go up on top of the roof and stay up there than spend time with his wife.
[7:31] We can chuckle, but this young man, when you're picking out your wife, when you're picking out the wife, the one that you're going to spend the rest of your life with, be careful who you choose. Be careful who you choose.
[7:43] What's Proverbs 27, verse 15 say? Okay, we've said enough. We see how a bad woman can destroy you.
[7:55] So, be careful, young man, when you choose a wife. If you pick the wrong wife, then you can basically kiss any peaceable living goodbye. She can keep you out of the ministry.
[8:08] She can cause you to lose your job. She can cause you to lose your job. Old men, if you got a good one, cherish her.
[8:24] Cherish her. Make her, make sure you keep her. A good woman, a woman that builds a house, is hard to come by nowadays. So, make sure you keep her. She's a gift from God.
[8:35] Cherish her. Go out on dates. Write her notes. Tell her how much she means to you. Invest in her like you would want to be invested in. You want to live in wisdom? Make sure you pick the right companion to go with.
[8:47] Make sure you get the right woman. Not only that, but he says in verse 3 and 5, he talks about the words we speak. If we're going to live in wisdom, we've got to learn how to speak right, right? Someone read, well, I'll just read verse 3.
[8:59] He says, In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride, but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. In verse 5, he says, A faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness will utter lies.
[9:11] All throughout this chapter, we're going to see contrast between the right and the wrong. And today, right now, in this verse, we're going to look at the words you speak. You want to live in wisdom? What are you talking? The fool's mouth, the fool's mouth, he speaks of himself because his heart's set on himself.
[9:26] He's prideful. That's what he says. The rod of pride. He stays always on himself. All the stories are always about himself. He only thinks of himself and therefore, he can only speak about himself. That's what the fool does. His mouth always brings, brings him hurt and pain.
[9:41] Proverbs 10, verses 14, the Bible says, A wise man lays up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. Proverbs 18, 18, 17, it says, A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare or the trap of his soul.
[9:57] The words of the fool will speak, will be selfish, and will bring him much pain like a rod or a paddle in his mouth. When a fool speaks, it always comes back to hurt him.
[10:09] That's what he's saying right here. You want to walk in wisdom? Don't speak like a fool. In the words of Mr. T, I pity the fool, right? But that's what, if we're going to live in wisdom, we've got to realize, it's not just the woman we choose, but it's the words we speak.
[10:26] Be careful how you speak. Are you the fool? Are you always talking about yourself? But he says, The lips of the wise, the contrast right here. The wise mouth shall save him, unlike the fool. The fool's mouth gets him in trouble.
[10:38] The wise mouth saves the wise person. In Proverbs 10, 11, he says, The mouth of the righteous man is a well of life. It brings forth wisdom.
[10:49] In Proverbs 10, 31, he says this, The mouth of the just brings forth wisdom. So the question is, how do you get that wise mouth? Well, Proverbs tells us. He says, You must teach your mouth and learn your lips.
[11:03] Proverbs 16, 23 says, The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth and addeth learning to his lips. It comes from the heart. So you want to teach your mouth to be wise?
[11:13] You want to learn yourself not to be a fool? This is how it goes. It comes from the... ... ...
[11:23] ... ... So you have a changed heart. But then it goes through teaching. Okay? It's taught. That means there's discipline involved. That means that there's teaching and there's discipleship going on.
[11:34] And it takes conscious decisions with yourself to make sure, Okay, I'm not going to talk about that. I want to talk about this. You want to live in wisdom? You want to do what's pleasing and honoring to God?
[11:48] Not only choose the right woman, but watch what you speak. Learn what you speak. The fools, the Bible says in verse 5, they lie. The false witnesses lie.
[11:59] You can't trust the false witness. And in the Old Testament, they didn't go lightly on the false witness. In Deuteronomy chapter 19, it talks about what happens to a false witness.
[12:12] We're on trial, and I come up and I accuse Bo of something, such as murder. And I say, Bo did this, and I saw him, he killed such and such down the street.
[12:22] And he deserves a death in me. I've watched it with my own eyes. And if the elders or the judge found out that I was lying, you know what was going to happen to that false witness? Whatever he accused him of, and whatever judgment he wanted to put out on him, would come back on that guy.
[12:39] Deuteronomy chapter 19, verses 18 through 20. We won't read it all, but just for the sake of time. Whatever the false witness wanted to go out and speak against that person, was going to come back and punch the punch towards him.
[12:49] But not only that, not only is there going to be harsh judgment by the social, by the government, but God has harsh judgment for those who are false witnesses. Mount of the Cripe 3.5 says this, And I will come unto you to judgment.
[13:05] I will come near to you to judgment. And I will be a swift witness against the scorners, and against the adulterers, and against the false swears. God, in the Old Testament says, I will be a swift, I will judge you, and I will be swift on those that falsely accused, falsely lied.
[13:26] Those liars, those false sayers, whatever you say, whatever the way you use your tongue, I will judge you. You'll say, well that's not true, this is the Old Testament, we've got grace. Can I remind you of Revelation chapter 21, verse 8 says?
[13:39] Who is going to be thrown in the lake of fire? All liars. All liars. The fool lies.
[13:51] The fool speaks of pride, speaks of himself. We godly people. Our words preserve us. And we speak with truth. It's not what it says in the New Testament, we speak with truth.
[14:05] We speak with truth. A faithful witness never lies. They always tell the truth. This is what it means to walk in wisdom. That work that you, okay, that's what it means to walk in wisdom.
[14:17] It's your words. The third thing that we see in verses 1 through 7, in verse 4, it's the work that you attempt. The work that you attempt. Verse 4.
[14:28] Where no oxen are, the crib is clean. But much increase is by the strength of the oxen. Walk in wisdom means this. Choose the right companion. Speak the right words.
[14:41] And get to work. You want to be wise? You want to be a wise man? Choose the right girl. Speak rightly, correctly. And work.
[14:52] And work. Work is what separates us from poverty and profit. In Proverbs 14, verse 23, right in that same chapter, he says this.
[15:03] In all labor, all labor, there is profit. All labor. Any type of work you do, there is profit. You might say, well, I didn't get as much money as I thought. There is profit in all labor.
[15:15] It might not be material stuff. It might be wisdom that you gain or understanding that you gain. But in all labor, the Bible says, there is profit. But what else does it say?
[15:25] What's the contrast? But the talk of the lips, those that sit around and they talk about work, what's that going to lead to? Poverty. Poverty. You want to live in wisdom?
[15:37] Work. Work. It's easy to make excuses. It's easy to justify your lack of work. And that's what this guy is doing in verse 4. He says, where are no oxen or are the cribs clean?
[15:48] If I don't have any oxen, I don't have to worry about cleaning out the stalls. Right? That sounds good. That sounds really good, right? It's easy to justify a lack of discipline, a lack of work. But when you need that oxen, come plowing time, you're not going to have them.
[16:05] Because where an oxen is, yeah, there might be some manure and some dung that you have to clean out of the stall, but there is also a lot of strength. And when you need it, when you need it, it'll be there. So many times in my life, in my life, I fall in that trap.
[16:19] I think, man, retirement age or getting old age is so far off. And that money, I mean, it could just go for, you know, my comforts right now.
[16:31] I don't have to go, we don't have to cook. We could just go out to eat. We could go to nice restaurants. We could go to get fancy cars. We could get fancy dress. Whatever. We don't have to worry about it.
[16:42] We don't have to worry about it. But one day, down in the future, when I need that money, I sacrificed a clean stall during the time I need it the most.
[16:56] You see what he's saying right here? Work. Work. Work. You have to make daily decisions. You have to go and clean the ox stall in the morning. You have to feed and water the ox in the evening.
[17:09] You're going to have to wake up the next day and do it again. And the day will come when you'll need a plow. Plow a field. And guess what? When you have that ox, it's just that much easier. And guess what?
[17:20] Whenever that ox is old and you can no longer use it anymore, he makes great barbecue. You know what I'm saying? But that's what Solomon's saying, son. You might not see the rewards right now, and there might be a little bit of work right now, but in the end, it far exceeds or far weighs out.
[17:37] That's just plain wisdom. If you want to live in wisdom, get the right woman. Say the right words. Get to work. That's what he says in verses 1 through 7.
[17:49] Then he goes from verses 8 through 15. He talks about the unseen. In chapter 14, verses 8, he says this. He says, The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of the fools is deceit.
[18:04] And in verse 16, he says this. He says, A wise man feareth and departeth from evil, but the fool rageth and is confident. A couple things we see from this.
[18:15] A fool doesn't get the big picture. A fool has no understanding. He lives in deceit. He doesn't get the big picture.
[18:27] But the wise man gets the big picture. The wise man gets the big picture. The fool has no understanding. Therefore, he has no purpose. And because he has no purpose, he has no way. That gives him the right of way to be careless and reckless.
[18:41] He can play with sin, and he doesn't have to think about the consequences. This is all brought because they don't understand the way. They don't understand the end. They don't have any purpose.
[18:54] You want to live in wisdom? Realize your purpose. Realize the big plan. Realize there is a God. Realize one day he does judge. Realize one day that he has gifted you with talents, and he expects you to work.
[19:09] So get busy. But the fool doesn't understand that. They don't see it. They don't understand it. So they just go and live life whatever way they want. Because there is no understanding, and understanding is truth.
[19:21] All the fool has to do, all the fool has to rely on is deceits. They can rely on lies. But the prudent, or the wise man, they have understanding.
[19:33] They understand who they are to fear. And unlike the fool who is confident in his reckless behavior, the prudent has purpose in his life, and lives for that purpose.
[19:45] The prudent man makes decisions based on that purpose. And that's why he forgoes sin. And that's why he stays away from it. That's why the purpose of, that they have a purpose, and evil keeps them away from that purpose.
[19:59] You want to live in wisdom. Realize and understand that you have something that you need to live for. And so, because you're going to live for that thing, that means you need to stay away from other things that are going to keep you from there.
[20:11] Does that make sense? Is anyone following? This is Solomon crying out to his son, saying, Hey, you're going to be the next king. And we're like, Yeah, I already know this. Can I tell you Solomon already knew this?
[20:22] Solomon knew that he needs to pick the right wife. But can I tell you, he chose the wrong woman. And that's what took him away from God. Head knowledge is never enough. We've got to put it into practice.
[20:33] We've got to put this truth into practice. You see what I'm saying? Solomon knew, he is teaching his son, choose the right woman. The woman can build a house, or tear it down.
[20:44] And the women of his life, tore down his life. Tore down his house. There's a difference between head knowledge, and the feet knowledge, put it into practice.
[20:55] Know that you have a purpose. Know that you have a purpose. So how do you live out your life? This is a question I'm going to ask you. What guides you, and what directs you in your life?
[21:06] A fool does whatever pleases him in the moment. A fool doesn't think long term, therefore he doesn't really have a plan. A fool is confident that there will be no consequences to hazardous living.
[21:20] But the prudent and wise man, he knows his path. He knows why he was put here on earth. He knows what he should be doing. And then he takes that path, and he stays away from those things that keep him off track.
[21:35] In the New Testament, in Hebrews chapter 12, verses 1, the author says this, he says, the Holy Spirit says this, Wherefore, seeing we are compassed, or we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witness, let us lay aside every weight, and let us lay aside the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience, the race that is set before us.
[22:02] You know what the wise man says? He says, I know I can't do what I'm put down here to do, what God has put me down here to do, with sin. There is no way that I can accomplish what God wants me to do, and be continually sin.
[22:14] So I'm going to lay aside. I'm going to avoid it, like the plague, and I'm going to figure out what He wants me to do, and like a flint, I'm going to set my mind on that, and I'm just going to go for it. And though the world might bring in temptations, and they might bring in sins to get me off track, and it doesn't have to be drugs, and it doesn't have to be sex, and it doesn't have to be alcohol.
[22:33] It's sometimes material stuff. It's sometimes your job. It's, God forbid, sometimes even your family. But God says, I have a purpose, and so what the prudent man says, okay, I'm going to follow that. I have understanding.
[22:44] I know what God wants me to do with my life, and I'm going to live in wisdom, and so I'm going to do what I need to do, no matter what happens. I'm going to avoid those things that get me off track.
[22:56] Then we see, in verses 9 and 15, we see the fool's attitude versus the righteous's attitude. Verses 9, in Proverbs chapter 14, verses 9, it says, The fools make a mock at sin, but among the righteous there is favor.
[23:13] If you skip down to verse 15, the Bible says, The simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his going. Due to the fact that there is no big picture for the fool, that results in an attitude that scoffs at the things of God.
[23:31] They mock at sin. They enjoy their evil. They enjoy their evil. Proverbs chapter 1, verse 22, he says, How long, ye simple ones, will you love simplicity?
[23:46] And scorners delight in their scorning. They love their sin. They love it. Romans, this comes in my head, Romans chapter 1 at the end, what does Paul say when he's writing to the Romans?
[24:00] Not just the people that do it, but those that delight in those that do it. They love their sin. That's the attitude the fool has. But we as Christians, we as born-again believers, we don't do that.
[24:13] We have favor. They laugh on the inside of the thought of wrong. They don't fear. The fool doesn't fear God, so there is no rule for right and wrong. There will be no judgment, so they ridicule God's word.
[24:28] That's why they believe. That's why they believe every word. That's why they believe stuff that, how could somebody truly believe that we, billions of years ago, this primordial soup, something clawed out, and turn into a frog, and you just take the fairy tale story, you know, where the prince, the princess kisses the frog, and it turns into a prince.
[24:51] Instead of a kiss, we'll just give it a billion years, right? We'll just give it a billion years, and that frog turns into a human being. How in the world do they believe that junk? How in the world? The simple.
[25:02] They believe anything. There is no wisdom. There is no fear of God in their life. That's why they're not living in wisdom. That's why the simple, those ones that won't fear God and trust Him, and they won't trust His words, they believe anything.
[25:21] But that should not be true of us who believe in God. And that's why with the righteous there is favor. Because who we believe in, the righteous one, the righteous one, we believe in the righteous one, we now have good will.
[25:35] There is now peace, there is now favor, because we believe in the righteous one. Because of what Jesus Christ has done on Calvary. And also because we now know that the righteous one has now changed us and made us able to serve Him and follow after His righteousness.
[25:54] And because the righteous have favor, they are careful on how they go down the way. Does that make sense? Because God has changed us. Because God has changed us. He has made us able to do righteousness.
[26:06] We can now serve Him. We can now obey Him. We are now careful when we go down our way. We don't like sin, so therefore we avoid sin. And we find favor with God.
[26:19] Not because of us. Because of what He's done in us. They know what to avoid and where to go. That is the heart of those who want to live in wisdom.
[26:30] You want to follow God. You want to obey Him. That's the heart of those who live in wisdom. And then the third thing that we see in verses 9 through 16, we see the heart.
[26:43] Solomon speaks of the heart to his son. He tells him it's the complicated part of you. He says, it speaks of bitterness and how joy and how happiness both come out of the heart.
[26:55] Do you realize that? The heart, you can be happy one day and down in the dumps the next. You can be extremely joyful and then you can be extremely bitter. Bitter.
[27:07] And that's all from the heart. Laughter in verse 13 is temporary. And like any season, it turns into heaviness. The heart has all the government of emotions. There's all the emotions.
[27:18] And I'm going to close with this. I'm going to close with this. In the last part, he talks about treating others. He talks about how they treat the poor and how they treat all these other people and how kings treat them and how they should treat God.
[27:35] And he talks about all this. But I'm going to leave you with this. To live in wisdom, we must walk in it. So, be careful of women.
[27:47] Be careful of your words. Be careful of your work. Living in wisdom, living in wisdom, there is a battle in the unseen. So know your big picture.
[27:58] Know your attitude will be results of what you truly believe. And know the endings. That's what he says later on in Proverbs. Know the endings because death and destruction always comes to the wicked. Know your endings.
[28:09] But the righteous will flourish. So be like a tabernacle. They shall flourish. Know your endings. And living in wisdom will spill over in how we treat others. We win in the end. So today, we are merciful to all.
[28:21] That's what he says in the chapter. We are merciful to the poor. We are merciful to the poor. Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Lord, thank you for giving us the ability to live in wisdom. Lord, thank you for your word.
[28:32] Thank you for this chapter. Lord, I ask that you would just bless these men. Help them as they go on their day. And help them as they go on their week. And help them to live like you were one. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia.
[28:43] For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.