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TH1124: On-Line
Teaching Notes
Please turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 12, as we continue our study through the Word of God.
PROVERBS 12
VERSE 1
1. Throughout life we are learning and growing in our relationship with the Lord. But for those that think they are "Mr. know-it-all's" God says you are stupid, you are a fool.
VERSES 2-3
1. As much as the wicked amass wealth and possessions, their kingdom will not be established on the earth for it is built upon the shifting sand. But for the righteous, they are building upon the Rock and they shall not be moved. Their roots are sunk deeply into Christ from which they will be nourished. For those that continue to draw from Him, love His Word, mediated upon His Word, Psalm 1:3 says that they "...shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever [they do] shall prosper."
VERSE 4
1. How precious it is to have a wife that brings honor to her husband. We will deal more with this subject when we get to Proverbs 31.
VERSE 5
1. That sounds very narrow minded. How come only the thoughts of the righteous are right? Because they are not based upon the wisdom of man, which is deceitful, but upon the Word of God which is perfect. It is as David said in Psalm 19:7-11, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward." Thus, our final authority must be the Word of God.
2. If someone is trying to get you to accept some new revelation from God, put it to the test. First, did Jesus teach it. Second, is it found in the book of Acts. And thirdly, is it found in any of the epistles. If not, you can dismiss it as a wind of doctrine that is blowing through the church.
VERSE 6
1. The righteous seek to help people, rescue them while the wicked seek an opportunity to rip them off, kick them when they are down.
VERSE 7
1. The righteous will stand because they have built their life upon the Rock, Jesus Christ.
VERSE 8
1. As you look at our country today, those with perverse minds, twisted in their thinking, bent on evil, are looked up to and the righteous are looked down upon.
VERSE 9
1. In other words, "It is preferable to be unknown...And yet be in an honorable position...Than it is to boast that one is somebody and yet be starving." Don't be ashamed of the work you do, God has placed you in that position and thus, in all you do bring glory to Him.
VERSE 10
1. Animals are part of God's creation and thus we should treat them kindly and not abuse them. On the other hand, many groups give more rights to animals than they do to man! That is wrong.
VERSE 11
1. There are those who speak of all the things they are going to do to make themselves wealthy, and yet they never work. It is far better to work so you will have bread to eat for dreams will not satisfy your hunger.
VERSE 12
1. The wicked are looking to take from others while the righteous, who are rooted and grounded in Christ, will bear fruit naturally.
VERSE 13
1. People that commit crimes love to boast about it, and it is the thing that will bring them down. They are trapped by their own words.
VERSES 14-15
1. Walking in the wisdom of man is foolish, and as right as they may think they are, they are heading in the wrong direction. It is as Jeremiah 10:23 says, "O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." So what are we to do then? Psalm 119:133 says "Direct my steps by Your word..."
VERSE 16
1. Don't allow your flesh to overtake you and blow up, don't be a hot-head! Allow God's Spirit to speak through you.
VERSES 17-18
1. Our words should build up and not tear down.
VERSES 19-20
1. Truth will stand and as we speak the truth it will bring forth peace to peoples lives who receive it and what joy that brings to our own hearts.
VERSE 21
1. Solomon is not saying that in this life the righteous never are harmed. But in the end the righteous will stand and the wicked will be judged.
VERSE 22
1. Think about that for a minute. If you are speaking lies then whose son are you? In I John 1:5 we read "...that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." But in John 8:44 Jesus said "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." You see, lying is wrong no matter how you slice it up. And if you are lying you are not manifesting the character of God but of Satan!
VERSE 23
1. Sometimes it is better to say nothing than to speak foolishness.
VERSE 24
1. If you want to be a sluggard you better be careful for you may end up being a slave to someone or something.
VERSE 25
1. Many people are anxious today about a variety of things. And sometimes all it takes is a kind word to lift their spirits.
VERSE 26
1. Be careful who you hang around with. As Paul said in I Corinthians 15:33-34, "Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits. Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame."
VERSE 27
1. The slothful man may enjoy the hunt but does not like to dress his kill. What does that mean for us today? Life is not always easy, but don't give up. Continue doing what God has called you to do. As Paul said in I Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
VERSE 28
1. There truly are only two paths to walk, one that leads to life through Jesus Christ and one that leads to death outside of Christ. What path are you going to chose?
PROVERBS 13
VERSE 1
1. Solomon is going to speak a lot on discipline. The reason being is he saw what the lack of discipline by his father David accomplished. One example is when his son Amnon raped his step-sister Tamar and then threw her out. David did nothing. Yes he was angry but that is as far as it went. No action on his part. So Absalom, David's son and brother of Tamar, kills Amnon. David was a very godly man, he loved the Lord but he missed the mark in the area of discipline. (II Samuel 13).
VERSES 2-3
1. This is very applicable to our day. If you open your mouth to the wrong person you may get your head blown off. Thus, preserve your life by not speaking foolishly.
VERSE 4
1. You can desire many things, but unless you get up and work, you will only have empty dreams. One writer illustrates it this way. "Adam Clark is reported to have spent 40 years writing his commentary on the Scriptures. Noah Webster labored 36 years forming his dictionary; in fact, he crossed the ocean twice to gather material needed to make the book absolutely accurate. Milton rose at 4 o'clock every morning in order to have sufficient hours to compose and rewrite his poetry which stands among the best of the world's literature. Gibbon spent 26 years on his book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, but it towers as a monument to careful research and untiring dedication to his task...These men enjoyed what they were doing, and each one threw all of his energy into his effort no matter how difficult the job. The most happy and productive people are those who are diligent in their labors for the betterment of mankind and the glory of God."
VERSE 5
1. Lying is evil and God hates evil, thus we should hate lying!
VERSES 6-7
1. In the eyes of the world, he that has the most possessions is rich. In the eyes of God, he who has a relationship with Him, He who's sins are forgiven, has GREAT RICHES!
VERSE 8
1. If you are poor you don't have to worry about anyone kidnapping you for ransom, only if you are rich. One of the advantages of not being rich I guess.
VERSES 9-10
1. Pride and contention go hand-in-hand. Why? Because with pride comes the attitude of "Mr. know-it-all" who is never wrong. Wisdom will listen and pray instead of quarreling.
VERSE 11
1. When you work for wages you appreciate it more and you usually don't spend money foolishly.
VERSE 12
1. Without hope the heart fails. But, as that hope becomes a reality, it refreshes, it brings us joy.
VERSES 13-14
1. Jesus said to the religious leaders in John 5:39-40, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." Thus, we must first come to Christ and then remain in His Word for it gives us life, nourishment as it points us back to the giver of life, Jesus Christ.
VERSE 15
1. God has given us good understanding of what we should do through His Word. If we transgress, that is willfully move in the opposite direction, you are tempting God to do something about it. You will learn the lesson that God is trying to teach you the easy way or the hard way.
VERSE 16
1. If you are wise you will think things through instead of acting on impulse.
VERSE 17
1. Our words can bring health to people or they can bring destruction. When there is gossip, slander, and-so-on in the body of Christ, that will not build-up, but it will tear people down.
VERSE 18
1. Many who refuse to listen to wise counsel, the counsel of God, will end up spiritually bankrupt!
VERSE 19
1. Doesn't it feel good to accomplish a goal through honest work? Of course it does. But the fool is bent on evil, caught in its grip, and he refuses to let go.
VERSE 20
1. If you walk with evil people that is the wisdom you will gain. Don't allow their habits to corrupt your ways - don't walk with them. As Psalm 1:1 says "Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful." Fellowship with wise people so you may gain that wisdom and walk in the path of righteousness.
VERSES 21-23
1. In the end the righteous will be rewarded. The unrighteous may have had their time for 60 or 70 years, but we will have an eternity with the Lord. You see, our full reward will be received when we go home to be with the Lord!
VERSE 24
1. If you love your children you will discipline them early and quickly. Don't wait. Ecclesiastes 8:11 says "Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." If you don't deal with issues when they are young, many times the issues will be dealt with by others when they are older. And we see this played out in the criminal justice system, people who are sentenced to death are on death row for 10 or 15 years, and that is no deterrent. Justice must be done "speedily!"
2. We hear so much today about not spanking your children, to allow your children to get away with things, and that is what Dr. Benjamin Spock taught, he was the baby doctor. Now, after years of seeing the results of that kind of mind set, this is what he has to say. "Inability to be firm is, to my mind, the commonest problem of parents in America today...the child psychiatrists, psychologists, teachers, social workers, and pediatricians, like myself." he says are to be blamed, at least in part, for this mentality with its devastating results.
VERSE 25
1. The wicked are never satisfied, always trying to feed that monster we call greed. But the righteous should be satisfied in the Lord. His soul should be satisfied. Think about this for a minute, if all you received from God was His salvation, what more do you want? The truth of the matter is that God does bless us more than we could imagine, more than we can think!
PROVERBS 14
VERSE 1
1. This may offend some women, but the priority of a wife, a mother, is her home. To build her family up. The tragedy today is their focus many times are on other things, and instead of building up the family, it is being torn down!
VERSE 2
1. It is as Jesus said in John 3:19-20, "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."
VERSE 3
1. Don't use your words to beat people down but to build them up.
VERSE 4
1. If their are no oxen in the barns of course the stalls will be clean. Solomon is saying that to have any type of meaningful results in your life it is going to take the investment of your time, it will take work, and it may even get messy
VERSE 5
1. Be faithful in the things you say.
VERSE 6
1. The world is out trying to find the meaning of life and how it all got started, and they are not looking with the right viewpoint. For the believer, things make sense for they start from a proper viewpoint, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Once you look at things through that understanding, it is easy to believe what God has said in His Word and look at nature to see how true His Word is.
VERSE 7
1. Don't hang around people that are going to bring you down.
VERSE 8
1. A wise person will consider where he is going and the consequences of his actions. A fool will not.
VERSE 9
1. People love to speak of their sin, many times even more when they find out you are a Christian. But one day they will no longer be boasting and laughing about it.
VERSE 10
1. This is important. You are the only one that knows what you are going through, the pain your heart is in. And yes, others who have experienced a similar circumstance know something of what you are going through, but not completely. But there is one who knows for He searches the hearts and the minds, He has experienced what we are going through, and that person is Jesus. In Hebrews 4:14-16 we read "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Thus, bring your cares and anxieties to Him.
VERSE 11
1. The earth dwellers, the wicked live in houses. The righteous in tents for this is not our home, our citizenship is in heaven. In the end their homes will be destroyed for they sold their soul for the things of this world. The righteous will enter into glory with the Lord.
VERSE 12
1. It doesn't matter how sincere you are, if you are heading down the wrong path you are not going to get to the destination that you wanted. All roads don't lead to God, only one and that is through Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:6, "...'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"
VERSE 13
1. Many people who are the life of the party are broken on the inside. Think of the comedians, those who make their living making others laugh, and those that have died because of a drug overdose or suicide over the last several years.
VERSE 14
1. We should be satisfied with what God has given us. For those that aren't, many times God will give you your requests but it will hurt you spiritually. When the children of Israel complained about the Manna or "angles food" that God was providing for them, and they wanted meat, dead things, God finally gave it to them. But Psalm 106:15 tells us of the result of their cravings, what it brought to them. We read "And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul."
VERSE 15
1. Don't be gullible, consider the steps you are going to take according to the Word of God.
VERSE 16
1. A person who is wise will consider the consequences of his actions, and if they are evil, he will depart from them.
VERSE 17
1. A person who is hot tempered acts and speaks foolishly.
VERSES 18-19
1. As God comes to set up His kingdom, these things will come to pass.
VERSE 20
1. If you are poor, people don't care, but if you are rich, you have a multitude of friends. The reason is because people are respecters of persons, and God is not. We are equal in His eyes!
VERSE 21
1. There is joy in helping others in need.
VERSES 22-23
1. In other words, talk is cheap. Don't talk about what you are going to do, go out and work!
VERSES 24-25
1. We are called to go out and make disciples -see souls saved! That means we must speak the truth of God's Word instead of the lies of the world.
VERSES 26-27
1. We need to give our children a godly heritage, a place of refuge from the world. It will be life to them. Again, as Solomon opened up this chapter he spoke of the building up of the home life, and that also includes the fathers responsibility.
VERSE 28
1. A king is strong when the people support him. When they don't he is weak.
VERSE 29
1. In other words, the answer to someone who has a short fuse, one who is hot tempered, is a long prayer. As James 1:19 says "So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath."
VERSE 30
1. A person that is coveting what others have will never be satisfied and it will eat away at their life. As Dr. Paul Adolph said: "Some of the most important causes of so-called nervous disease which psychiatrists recognize are guilt, resentment (an unforgiving spirit), fear, anxiety, frustration, indecision, doubt, jealousy, selfishness, and boredom. Unfortunately, many psychiatrists, while definitely effective in tracing the causes of emotional disturbances which cause disease, have significantly failed in their methods of dealing with these disturbances because they omit faith in God as their approach."
VERSES 31-32
1. In death the wicked are banished from entering into eternity with the Lord, but the righteous can take refuge in the Lord and enter into eternity with Him.
VERSE 33
1. It is wise not to speak all the time, to be a person of few words and that those words would be godly!
VERSE 34
1. Folks, we see this played out in our country today. As you look at the history of mighty nations, such as Rome, you will discover that prior to its fall blatant homosexuality was running rampant through the land. Moral decay caused the nation to crumble and fall from the inside, and I wonder how much longer God's mercy and grace will continue on this nation?
VERSE 35
1. The king will honor those who faithfully serve Him. It is as Jesus said in Matthew 25:21, "...'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'"