"The Wise in Heart"
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Introduction: The summer has become a time for television to try out new shows. Two new shows, of similar themes, are trying to make it on Fox and NBC. The shows are called “The Singing Bee,” and “Don’t Forget the Lyrics.” The object of the show is to be able to recall lyrics from a song. So they play a part of the song, and then stop and ask the contestants to finish the verse or chorus.
I thought we might play a little “Don’t forget the lyrics” ourselves. So here it is, first song: Shine Jesus Shine- Lord, the light of Your love is shining, in the midst of the darkness shining, Jesus, light of the world, shine upon us…. What are the next 10 words? (SET US FREE BY THE TRUTH YOU NOW BRING US).
SONG 2: “My Way,” sung by Frank Sinatra “…..Regrets, I’ve had a few; But then again, too few to mention. I did, what I had to do. What are the next six words? (AND SAW IT THROUGH, WITHOUT EXEMPTION)…”
One more. Song 3: Kool and the Gang, “Celebrate.”
There's a party going on right here, a celebration to last throughout the years.
So bring your good times and your laughter too…. What are the next 7 words?
(WE’RE GONNA CELEBRATE YOUR PARTY WITH YOU).
There are many things that we put into our brains; lyrics from songs, sayings from movies, jokes, and on and on. But the words of the Bible and the wisdom of Proverbs is something that we should be putting into our brains as well.
I. The Memory of the Righteous- (Proverbs 10:7)
a. Memories- Probably one of the most special things we can do in
life is build memories. I know for me, I appreciate all the many times I have had with my family. Trips, vacations, baseball games, breakfast with my daughter. And we try to keep these memories by pictures and videos. I appreciate the work that Tami has gone through, to make our photo albums special. About once a quarter she will sit down and put pictures in a photo album, and then she will write thoughts about the picture next to each picture. This makes it all the more special when you go back and look at the pictures. AND it is a joy to pop in a video and watch Tyler and/or Tiffany when they were younger. As I said before, these memories are precious.
In Proverbs 10:7, the verse tells us, “The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.” When I think about my kids, only good thoughts come to mind. This verse is telling us, that if we live a righteous life, then our name will be a blessing to others when they think of us.
Now, this can be a challenge, because not everyone we meet and get to know will think good of us. I try to live my life loving others, and being a giving and kind person. But there are times in my life that I have caused others to dislike me.
EXAMPLE- Currently I am the president of our condo unit. Not too long ago the board met and made a decision to enforce the rule that says only one car per unit can park in the outside parking stalls. Each unit has a sticker which allows them to park their car in the stall. So I was the one chosen to tell this one girl that she couldn’t park in our unit area anymore. I was very nice about it, and explained why. But her mother got very upset with me (even though I wasn’t the only one who made the decision). Now, even though this woman is a Christian, she refuses to speak to me anymore. I’m sure when she hears my name, she doesn’t think of me as a blessing!
b. Living righteously- I think the key here is to live righteously. We
cannot control how others will respond to us. But we can control how we live our lives. We can choose to be vengeful, or forgiving. We can choose to be truthful or deceitful. We can choose to be giving or selfish. We can choose to be dependable or irresponsible. And in the end, when God observes our lives, we hope that what is seen is that we sought to live righteously.
Another aspect of this, is to look at the example of how Jesus lived. Jesus was one that made time for all people, especially those who were outcasts. Jesus was one who made sure that people knew of God’s love and forgiveness, and cared about their eternal well-being. Jesus was one who when people talk about Him now, think of His name and His life as a blessing. To do this though, we have to allow ourselves to be challenged by others who we see living in this way. As we see the way they live, it gives us a live example of how to be like Jesus in every day life.
As I think about living like Jesus, I continue to try and be nice to this woman who is angry with me. Whenever I see her I wave to her. If she were to try and resolve the situation with me, I would be very willing to sit down and talk to her, or not hold against her the animosity she feels towards me. Hopefully, by living in this way, I will have more people than not, who think of me as a blessing.
II. The Wise of Heart- (Proverbs 10:8; Hebrews 11:8)
a. Heed- Solomon then moves on to being wise of heart. He says in
verse 8: “The wise of heart will heed commandments…” To heed commandments means we must be obedient. There are many examples of obedience in the Bible. And these stories would probably cause us to say that they exhibited blind faith. When Jesus called His disciples, He simply said: “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And they left their employment to follow Jesus. In Hebrews 11:8 we are told: "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." It simply says that Abraham “obeyed.”
Abraham was given a command by the Lord to leave the place he knew as home, and to travel to a land God would show him, and Abraham did it. Why would Abraham do this? We have trouble understanding this kind of obedience, because we are taught to question everything; especially authority. We have to think things through, and we have to analyze, and we have to question. Then, maybe we will be obedient to what is being asked of us. But this is not the example in the Bible.
Going back to Proverbs 10:8, we are told that the wise heed commandments. There isn’t analyzing, or questioning, or thinking things through. There is just obedience. Which leads us to understand that if we want to be wise, then we should follow what God tells us to do. Would this be so bad to follow what God tells you to do? Do you really think that you have a better plan than God?
b. To be wise- There’s a story about a proud young man who came to
Socrates asking for knowledge. He walked up to the philosopher and said, "O great Socrates, I come to you for knowledge." ….Socrates led the young man through the streets, to the sea, chest deep into water, then he pushed his head under. Twenty seconds passed. Socrates let him up and asked, "What do you want?" "Knowledge, O wise Socrates." said the young man./ Socrates pushed him under a second time; thirty seconds later Socrates let him up. "What do you want?" he asked again. "Wisdom," the young man sputtered….Socrates pushed him under a third time; thirty seconds passed, thirty-five. Forty seconds passed. Fifty. "What do you want?" The young man gasped and shouted out: "Air! I need air!" Then Socrates looked the man in the eye and said, "When you want knowledge as you have just wanted air, then you will have knowledge."
The problem is, we want to be wise, but only for our own selfish endeavors. God wants us to be wise so that we can lead the life He has created us to live. To be wise, we must crave this wisdom for the purpose of good and for God’s glory. To be wise, we must need it as the air we breathe. To want it in this way will cause us to be determined enough to seek God, and listen to God, and follow God. Then we will have the wisdom of the heart.
III. Walking in Integrity- (Proverbs 10:9; 2 Chronicles 14:1- 16:14;
Daniel 6:1-28)
a. Adversity- In life, there is much adversity. Adversity is a good test
of our resiliency; our ability to cope or recover from misfortune. On the other side of the coin is prosperity. The truth is, prosperity is a tougher test than adversity. Thomas Carlyle (the Scottish essayist) agreed with this when he said: “Adversity is hard on a man, but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.”
The reason is that when we experience prosperity, it challenges our moral and spiritual equilibrium. It is because when adversity strikes, life becomes rather simple. Our need is to survive; to make it through one day at a time. But when prosperity comes, life gets complicated. Invariably our integrity is put to the test. Our integrity is put to the test, because prosperity often causes us to compromise.
Now I’m not suggesting that we aren’t meant to be successful. What I am saying is that being successful, having much in our life, these things cause us to have to make choices. And many in this situation struggle to let God continue to guide their ways and their decisions. In times of prosperity, it is what will continue to allow them to be successful, hich drives their choices. They often choose compromise.
You can search the scriptures of the Old Testament, and see king after king who followed God in the beginning, but as they prospered, they turned from God. One such king was Asa. As king, he established the Lord over the people again. He listened to God. He prayed for God’s guidance and help. He became prosperous. But then he feared he might lose this status and inheritance, and so instead of trusting God, he made a pact with King Ben-hadad of Aram. And with this, Asa began to lose control of his kingdom, and his integrity.
b. Integrity- But there are many who have found success, and still
stood strong in their integrity. Daniel is such an example. Daniel was lifted up from a lowly peon in a boot camp at Babylon to become a national commander in charge of one-third of the kingdom. But the other leaders in the kingdom became jealous of Daniel, and sought to discredit him. So they talked King Darius to set an edict that people could only pray to King Darius. We turn to Daniel 6:10 to pick up the story:
“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” Daniel continued to be a man of integrity by praying to God alone, even though it cost him. Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for punishment, but God protected Daniel and did not allow the lions to kill Daniel. Then we are told the result of Daniel’s integrity in verses 25-26, “Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: "May you prosper greatly! 26 "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. "For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end”
Integrity is giving your word, and then doing it. Integrity is sticking to what you believe, even under pressure. Integrity is not changing your beliefs to fit the situation. Integrity is being able to stay balanced because God is your center.
IV. The Mouth of the Righteous- (Proverbs 10:11; James 3:8-10;
Philippians 4:8-9)
a. Encouragement- At the end of our passage, Proverbs 10:11, we are
told: “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.” The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life. Why is this? How is the mouth of the righteous a fountain of life? This verse is telling us that the mouth of the righteous have good and encouraging things to say. The mouth of the righteous lifts up others. The mouth of the righteous doesn’t seek to hurt others with their words.
There are people in this world that I just don’t like being around. Maybe it is because they only want to talk about themselves. Maybe it is because they are always negative. Maybe it is because they love to point out to you all your faults. Maybe it is because they are so down on life. Whatever it might be, they do not have a mouth that is a fountain of life.
How do you know if you have a mouth that is a fountain of life? Well, for some it might be very easy to know for yourself. But another way that is simple, and yet difficult, is to ask someone. Ask others who know you well, and who will be honest with you, if you have this kind of a mouth.
Charles Swindoll, the great preacher from the Evangelical Church in Fullerton, once said this about encouragement: “The lack of encouragement is almost an epidemic. To illustrate this point, when did you last encourage someone else? I firmly believe that an individual is never more Christ-like than when full of compassion for those who are down, needy, discouraged, or forgotten. How terribly essential is our commitment to encouragement! Is there some soul known to you in need of encouragement? A student off at school? A young couple up against it? A divorcee struggling to gain back self-acceptance? A forgotten servant of God laboring in an obscure difficult ministry? A widow who needs your companionship? Someone who tried something new and failed? Encourage generously! ENCOURAGEMENT! A new watchword for our times. Shout it out. Pass it around.”
b. The mouth- We have to be careful with our mouths, don’t we? In
the New Testament, in the book of James, chapter 3, it has much to say about how difficult it is to control our mouths. Verses 8-10 tells us: “8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” We have a tendency to say something nice, and then in the next breath, we can lose control and be very mean. It is not easy to control what we say. It is not easy to keep everything that comes out of our mouths to be positive.
So what are we to do? One of the best things is to dwell on the things of God. As Philippians 4:8-9 says, “8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Also, it is helpful to learn self-control. You’ve probably heard the statement: “If you have nothing good to say, then don’t say anything.” That is good advice. And even more, because as Christians we have the Holy Spirit within us, and the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God, we too can know the mind of God. That is why the mouth of the RIGHTEOUS is a fountain of life, because the righteous are those who regularly seek God, and seek to be like Christ.
posted by Logan's Blog at 4:22 PM
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