WEBVTT 00:00:01.230 --> 00:00:05.710 Sin has been dealt with by the work that He accomplished 00:00:05.710 --> 00:00:11.929 at the cross. All of it, completely and forever, 00:00:12.390 --> 00:00:16.649 we rejoice in that good news. We're glad that 00:00:16.649 --> 00:00:20.530 we can say it as well with my soul. Father, if 00:00:20.530 --> 00:00:23.370 there be someone here today struggling under 00:00:23.370 --> 00:00:26.329 the load of sin and guilt, oh, this morning, 00:00:26.789 --> 00:00:30.899 may that heart be opened. to the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:00:31.539 --> 00:00:34.899 He may come in and forgive the sin and bring 00:00:34.899 --> 00:00:38.380 eternal life and make it well with that soul 00:00:38.380 --> 00:00:45.200 too. In His name we pray, Amen. I'm going to 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:48.200 ask you to open your Bible to the book of Proverbs 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:52.240 with me as we continue our study in this book 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:59.539 of God's Word. Today the first part of a message 00:00:59.539 --> 00:01:04.340 entitled playing the fool I'm going to read verse 00:01:04.340 --> 00:01:07.719 7 which says the fear of the Lord is the beginning 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:11.560 of wisdom. We've seen that before That's the 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:14.659 source of wisdom. That's where it comes from 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:22.760 But fools despise wisdom and knowledge Kenneth 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:25.180 Aiken, in his commentary on Proverbs, suggests 00:01:25.180 --> 00:01:29.879 that Lady Wisdom is like a school teacher. And 00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:32.680 in her class of students, she has a number of 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.480 different kinds, including three that are difficult 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:42.280 to deal with. Dr. Aiken says that Lady Wisdom 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:45.439 names them for us in verse 22 of this chapter, 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:52.060 which says, Love your simple ways. How long will 00:01:52.060 --> 00:01:55.700 mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? 00:01:57.420 --> 00:02:00.680 The three difficult students in wisdom's school 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:06.540 are named simple, scoffer, and fool. They are 00:02:06.540 --> 00:02:09.939 not exactly the same thing. The simple person 00:02:09.939 --> 00:02:13.599 in the language of Proverbs means one who is 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:19.039 gullible, one who is easily seduced. Chapter 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:22.800 14 and verse 15 gives us a further insight regarding 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:27.879 the simple one when it says, a simple man believes 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:32.919 anything. That's the hallmark of someone who 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:37.020 is simple in the terms of Proverbs. Someone who 00:02:37.020 --> 00:02:41.879 is inexperienced and someone who beyond that 00:02:41.879 --> 00:02:47.139 is lazy and therefore irresponsible. As it says 00:02:47.139 --> 00:02:50.439 in chapter 1 verse 32, the waywardness of the 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:54.120 simple will kill them and the complacency of 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:58.039 fools will destroy them. One who is simple is 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:03.919 one who is irresponsible and lazy as well as 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:10.000 inexperienced and therefore gullible. It is possible 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:13.039 for one who is simple to become like the second. 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:16.360 difficult student in wisdom school whose name 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:21.719 is Scoffer. Scoffer is one who is arrogant. He 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:26.659 is self -opinionated. He is a deliberate troublemaker. 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:31.759 He goes by a couple of other aliases. They are 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:38.180 Mocker and Scorner. His name really means to 00:03:38.180 --> 00:03:42.229 make mouths. It's kind of an odd expression, 00:03:42.310 --> 00:03:45.610 isn't it? To make a mouth. And so you immediately 00:03:45.610 --> 00:03:48.889 get the idea that Mocker is one who uses his 00:03:48.889 --> 00:03:53.289 mouth. He's a very verbal kind of person. And 00:03:53.289 --> 00:03:56.509 he uses his mouth to express his own arrogant 00:03:56.509 --> 00:04:00.669 opinions. Chapter 21 in verse 24 gives us another 00:04:00.669 --> 00:04:05.069 word about this student. And there it says, the 00:04:05.069 --> 00:04:10.289 proud and arrogant man, Mocker is his name. He 00:04:10.289 --> 00:04:15.090 behaves with overweening pride. He's one of those 00:04:15.090 --> 00:04:17.189 people that when you're around him, you just 00:04:17.189 --> 00:04:19.750 feel oppressed because all he can talk about 00:04:19.750 --> 00:04:23.149 is himself and his opinions. His world focuses 00:04:23.149 --> 00:04:29.610 on the letter I. Proud and arrogant. Mocker is 00:04:29.610 --> 00:04:35.529 his name, or scoffer. The third difficult student 00:04:35.529 --> 00:04:40.829 in the School of Wisdom is called Fool. Actually, 00:04:40.889 --> 00:04:44.689 there are three different Hebrew words in Proverbs 00:04:44.689 --> 00:04:47.329 translated as ful into the English. They are 00:04:47.329 --> 00:04:49.569 so close in meaning that it's not worth the time 00:04:49.569 --> 00:04:54.269 to try to differentiate them. But a ful is at 00:04:54.269 --> 00:04:56.610 the end of the list. There is sort of a progression 00:04:56.610 --> 00:05:01.310 that is suggested here. Wisdom tells us about 00:05:01.310 --> 00:05:03.970 simple, who's a little difficult to handle but 00:05:03.970 --> 00:05:07.350 who is basically inexperienced and gullible, 00:05:07.430 --> 00:05:12.370 who'll believe anything. The one who's been simple 00:05:12.370 --> 00:05:14.689 too long and who's believed too much becomes 00:05:14.689 --> 00:05:21.329 a mocker and becomes verbal in arrogance. And 00:05:21.329 --> 00:05:23.930 if that is not corrected, the one who is a mocker 00:05:23.930 --> 00:05:27.930 will become a fool, one who is insensible, one 00:05:27.930 --> 00:05:30.810 who is stubborn and completely self -sufficient, 00:05:31.089 --> 00:05:35.389 at least in his own mind. One does not become 00:05:35.389 --> 00:05:39.660 a fool overnight. The fact is that any of us 00:05:39.660 --> 00:05:45.759 can be foolish. But one does not become a fool 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:51.639 overnight. That is the result of a process. It 00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:56.160 is a process that produces a mature disposition 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:00.620 and attitude that is fixed. And basically it 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:08.019 says, I don't need God, I only need myself. I 00:06:08.019 --> 00:06:11.720 don't like the values that God gives and I reject 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:16.040 them. And therefore, he orders his life without 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:20.540 God. That's why the psalmist begins Psalm 14 00:06:20.540 --> 00:06:24.100 by saying, the fool says in his heart, what? 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:29.699 There is no God. Or as someone said, he says 00:06:29.699 --> 00:06:34.660 literally, no God. That is, no God is going to 00:06:34.660 --> 00:06:40.959 tell me what to do. That's a fool. It's someone 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:44.420 who has arrived at that point in life, he has 00:06:44.420 --> 00:06:49.240 processed to the place that he says, no God is 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:52.379 going to tell me what to believe and how to live 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:58.879 my life. Jesus tells us a story about a farmer 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:01.459 in Luke chapter 12. I'd like you to look at that 00:07:01.459 --> 00:07:06.970 a moment because here we have the epitome of 00:07:06.970 --> 00:07:12.509 a yuppie in Jesus' day. Now, you don't exactly 00:07:12.509 --> 00:07:17.250 call farmers yuppies. But remember that farmers 00:07:17.250 --> 00:07:19.750 were the most successful people in Jesus' day. 00:07:19.769 --> 00:07:21.750 They had land. They were able to grow crops. 00:07:23.470 --> 00:07:25.970 And so Jesus tells us about this yuppie farmer. 00:07:27.449 --> 00:07:32.269 Chapter 12, verse 16 of Luke. The ground of a 00:07:32.269 --> 00:07:37.550 certain rich yuppie produced a good crop. He 00:07:37.550 --> 00:07:40.709 thought to himself, what shall I do? I have no 00:07:40.709 --> 00:07:43.990 place to store my crops. You will notice here 00:07:43.990 --> 00:07:47.250 that this man was very capable. He was a capable 00:07:47.250 --> 00:07:49.910 farmer. He was able to get his ground to produce 00:07:49.910 --> 00:07:55.310 and produce very well. And he said, this is what 00:07:55.310 --> 00:07:58.129 I'll do. Here's a man who's an astute businessman. 00:07:58.670 --> 00:08:01.930 He knows what to do. He's had a good crop, but 00:08:01.930 --> 00:08:04.930 he has a vision for the future. He says, here's 00:08:04.930 --> 00:08:07.750 what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build 00:08:07.750 --> 00:08:12.689 bigger ones. And there I will store all my grain 00:08:12.689 --> 00:08:17.350 and my goods. And I'll say to myself, you have 00:08:17.350 --> 00:08:20.470 plenty of good things laid up for many years. 00:08:21.329 --> 00:08:28.629 Take life easy. Eat. Drink. And be merry. Isn't 00:08:28.629 --> 00:08:34.539 that wonderful? Here's good old 1990s American 00:08:34.539 --> 00:08:39.740 life. Here's the American dream fulfilled by 00:08:39.740 --> 00:08:44.519 this man. He's got it all going his way and life 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:46.500 is going to be wonderful. He can take an early 00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:49.539 retirement and can eat, drink and be merry. For 00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:51.960 the many years of his life yet to come, he's 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:58.440 got it all in place. But God said to him, you 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:04.679 fool. This very night, your life will be demanded 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:08.559 from you, then who will get what you have prepared 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:14.080 for yourself?" Jesus says, this is how it will 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:18.019 be with anyone who stores up things for himself 00:09:18.019 --> 00:09:23.940 but is not rich toward God. It is not an overstatement 00:09:23.940 --> 00:09:28.350 to say that we live in a society of fools. Because 00:09:28.350 --> 00:09:31.570 what this parable pictures is the world, the 00:09:31.570 --> 00:09:34.789 society, the culture in which you and I live. 00:09:35.509 --> 00:09:39.529 And God says to the one who epitomizes it, you're 00:09:39.529 --> 00:09:45.389 a fool. You live your life as though there is 00:09:45.389 --> 00:09:50.750 no God. You conduct yourself saying no God is 00:09:50.750 --> 00:09:55.230 going to tell me how to live. And you store up 00:09:55.230 --> 00:09:58.549 for yourself all of those things that your wisdom 00:09:58.549 --> 00:10:08.169 and your ability can gain. And you lose your 00:10:08.169 --> 00:10:17.809 soul. Need to understand that when God called 00:10:17.809 --> 00:10:21.549 this man a fool, he was not saying he was mentally 00:10:21.549 --> 00:10:25.379 deficient in some way. In other words, he's not 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:32.899 retarded. He's a very smart individual. But he 00:10:32.899 --> 00:10:38.899 is a man who is deficient in his spiritual understanding 00:10:38.899 --> 00:10:42.320 and in his moral values because of the choices 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:46.220 that he makes. It's not that he has no capacity, 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:52.100 it is that he has no desire to fear God. He has 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:56.220 closed his mind to God and the result of that 00:10:56.220 --> 00:11:01.659 is his values are all wrong and he dies a fool. 00:11:03.700 --> 00:11:09.080 One who has no moral value, one who has no use 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:12.340 for God's instruction in his life is a fool. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:18.519 It is as true today in 1992 as it was in the 00:11:18.519 --> 00:11:21.500 days of Jesus when he told this parable and in 00:11:21.500 --> 00:11:23.659 the day when the Proverbs were written in ancient 00:11:23.659 --> 00:11:28.259 Israel. The one who has no use for moral values 00:11:28.259 --> 00:11:31.600 and no time for God's instruction in his life 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:36.740 is a fool. And he condemns himself, really. He 00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:43.559 condemns himself to a wasted life. What is a 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:48.090 fool like? Well, Proverbs suggests to us a number 00:11:48.090 --> 00:11:52.830 of different pictures of a fool as comparisons. 00:11:54.129 --> 00:11:57.629 As we look at some of these this morning, I want 00:11:57.629 --> 00:12:02.529 us not to be thinking about somebody else. Not 00:12:02.529 --> 00:12:04.769 thinking about that brother -in -law or that 00:12:04.769 --> 00:12:07.110 cousin or that neighbor or that guy down in the 00:12:07.110 --> 00:12:12.610 office. But let's think about ourselves. Because 00:12:12.610 --> 00:12:18.289 any of us can adopt the ways of fools, at least 00:12:18.289 --> 00:12:24.009 for a while. We can become foolish ourselves. 00:12:26.610 --> 00:12:28.970 And so as we think about what a fool is like, 00:12:29.389 --> 00:12:32.889 let's ask God to expose any foolishness in our 00:12:32.889 --> 00:12:37.269 own hearts. We need to honestly examine ourselves. 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:42.240 The first picture that I found in Proverbs to 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:45.740 share with you this morning of a fool is found 00:12:45.740 --> 00:12:54.860 in chapter 17 and verse 16 of the book. The picture 00:12:54.860 --> 00:13:01.700 is of a student who wastes his opportunity. Proverbs 00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:06.960 17 verse 16. Of what use is money in the hand 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:11.750 of a fool since he has no desire to get wisdom. 00:13:12.990 --> 00:13:17.490 Moffat translates this verse in this way. Why 00:13:17.490 --> 00:13:22.090 does the fool offer the sage a fee when he has 00:13:22.090 --> 00:13:27.389 no mind to learn? The point of this proverb is 00:13:27.389 --> 00:13:32.409 that the fool has his tuition in his hand to 00:13:32.409 --> 00:13:36.559 give to his instructor But he has no serious 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:41.440 interest in learning anything. The result of 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:44.000 that is that he allows his interest to wander 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:47.639 in the classroom. Notice in verse 24 it says, 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:51.480 a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth. 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:54.820 Have you ever seen a person like this in a classroom? 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:00.159 He sits there, the teacher's giving the instruction. 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:03.340 He's paid the price for that college course. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.519 and he sits there looking out the window daydreaming. 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:10.179 Thousands of miles, perhaps, from that classroom 00:14:10.179 --> 00:14:12.240 and what the teacher's trying to get across. 00:14:13.539 --> 00:14:15.860 He's paid his money, but of what use is it? He 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:22.120 has no mind that desires to learn anything. His 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:25.539 interest is wondering, and therefore he does 00:14:25.539 --> 00:14:29.299 not profit from the instruction of the classroom. 00:14:30.059 --> 00:14:35.230 Verse 10 says, A rebuke impresses a man of discernment 00:14:35.230 --> 00:14:39.210 more than a hundred lashes a fool. You see, the 00:14:39.210 --> 00:14:41.789 teacher sees this student daydreaming and takes 00:14:41.789 --> 00:14:45.169 him out and gives him some lashes. Now, this 00:14:45.169 --> 00:14:50.950 is the old days, of course. He takes the student 00:14:50.950 --> 00:14:53.350 out in the hallway and gives the student some 00:14:53.350 --> 00:14:57.590 lashes. And what the Bible says is that a hundred 00:14:57.590 --> 00:15:01.909 lashes will not cause a fool to change his ways. 00:15:03.990 --> 00:15:07.129 A fool is like a student who wastes his opportunities. 00:15:08.029 --> 00:15:12.009 He has the opportunity to learn, he can enrich 00:15:12.009 --> 00:15:15.190 his life, if he will, with what's available to 00:15:15.190 --> 00:15:21.049 him, but he wastes the opportunity. In chapter 00:15:21.049 --> 00:15:24.950 15 and verse 5, the writer says it this way, 00:15:25.049 --> 00:15:32.360 a fool spurns his father's discipline. A fool 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:35.480 turns away from the discipline of the authority 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:38.919 in his life, whether it be a parent or a teacher. 00:15:40.620 --> 00:15:43.320 The fool says, I don't want that. I don't have 00:15:43.320 --> 00:15:47.279 time for that. He may even have to sit in the 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:49.940 classroom like a lot of students do, but he refuses 00:15:49.940 --> 00:15:55.519 to open his mind to learn. You and I are in a 00:15:55.519 --> 00:16:00.139 classroom every day. God is seeking to speak 00:16:00.139 --> 00:16:02.539 to our hearts. He is seeking to instruct our 00:16:02.539 --> 00:16:08.620 lives every day. And so often we waste our opportunities 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:13.639 to learn. That's why James tells us in James 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:16.460 1 that we ought to rejoice in every trial, every 00:16:16.460 --> 00:16:20.440 kind of trial that comes into our lives. Because 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:25.720 those trials are classrooms. that God is taking 00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:30.059 us into. And he says there that if any of us 00:16:30.059 --> 00:16:35.100 lack wisdom, in other words, we're foolish, and 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:38.759 we don't know how to use this trial, we don't 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:42.100 know how to benefit from this classroom, he says 00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:45.700 then let that person who lacks wisdom ask of 00:16:45.700 --> 00:16:51.860 God who gives to all men wisdom liberally. He 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:57.039 does not hold back. A fool doesn't learn in the 00:16:57.039 --> 00:16:59.779 classroom of life because he will not learn. 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:04.420 He will not learn. He chooses not to listen to 00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:11.759 God. He wastes his opportunities. A fool will 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:16.519 not listen to discipline. There were two young 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:22.380 boys who had heard their parents warning about 00:17:22.380 --> 00:17:27.640 playing with particular empty drum that was on 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:31.960 their property. The parents said, you stay away 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:34.400 from that drum. Don't play with it. It's dangerous. 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:39.480 But they spurned the instruction and the discipline 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:42.960 of the parents. They decided they wanted to find 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.579 out what was inside that large drum that was 00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:48.539 sitting out there in the property. And so they 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:50.980 went over and took the top of it off, unscrewed 00:17:50.980 --> 00:17:53.690 that lid and... decided to see what was inside 00:17:53.690 --> 00:17:56.230 they needed to light a stick and so they they 00:17:56.230 --> 00:17:58.589 found a match and lit a stick and poked it down 00:17:58.589 --> 00:18:02.410 in the drum except the drum was filled with fumes 00:18:02.410 --> 00:18:05.309 from gasoline and it exploded in their faces 00:18:05.309 --> 00:18:10.589 they both lived but one of them was blinded and 00:18:10.589 --> 00:18:13.210 they were both crippled the rest of their lives 00:18:13.210 --> 00:18:16.630 because they did not listen to the discipline 00:18:16.630 --> 00:18:22.259 of their parents There are some of us who bear 00:18:22.259 --> 00:18:28.480 wounds because we have not listened to God. There 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:30.900 are some of us who are entering into the next 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:34.059 phase of our lives crippled because we would 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:38.599 not heed the discipline of the Lord. He sought 00:18:38.599 --> 00:18:41.599 to bring wisdom to our lives in that moment of 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:44.259 instruction, in that trial that pressed hard 00:18:44.259 --> 00:18:48.319 upon us. Instead of listening to God, we said, 00:18:48.380 --> 00:18:53.930 God, no. I don't want to hear it. God gives us 00:18:53.930 --> 00:18:58.269 the privilege of doing that, but he weeps because 00:18:58.269 --> 00:19:02.109 he knows that we will pay a price when we turn 00:19:02.109 --> 00:19:06.829 from his wisdom. Wisdom requires teachability 00:19:06.829 --> 00:19:10.750 in the students. A teacher in a classroom today 00:19:10.750 --> 00:19:14.250 can only work with what he's got in that classroom. 00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:18.599 We hear a lot about how teachers today are not 00:19:18.599 --> 00:19:21.059 producing like they ought to do, like teachers 00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:23.640 used to do. I'll tell you what, they don't have 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:27.299 students like they used to have. Especially back 00:19:27.299 --> 00:19:35.140 in your day and mine, right? Oh, it's true. I 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:38.720 remember a Spanish teacher in high school. Really 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:43.750 unique individual. A lady who had retired from 00:19:43.750 --> 00:19:46.150 one school and came over to ours to teach us 00:19:46.150 --> 00:19:50.569 in her retirement. She told us the story. She 00:19:50.569 --> 00:19:52.509 was talking about her teaching and the trouble 00:19:52.509 --> 00:19:55.450 she was having with these poor students in this 00:19:55.450 --> 00:19:59.470 class that I was in. And she told the story about 00:19:59.470 --> 00:20:05.109 this man who arrived in heaven. And St. Peter 00:20:05.109 --> 00:20:07.490 took him by the hand down the golden streets 00:20:07.490 --> 00:20:09.930 they walked and he pointed out this mansion and 00:20:09.930 --> 00:20:13.319 that mansion. This man was all impressed with 00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:16.960 these houses in heaven. Finally they got down 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:18.920 to the end of this block and they turned and 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:21.720 they went back into an alley and there in the 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:24.339 corner of the alley was this little tar paper 00:20:24.339 --> 00:20:29.319 shack. Saint Peter said, here sir is your home. 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:33.680 The man was utterly flabbergasted. Everybody 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:36.460 else had these mansions and he had just this 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:40.690 thing of sticks and tar paper. And he said, what's 00:20:40.690 --> 00:20:43.769 the reason for this? Saint Peter said, well, 00:20:43.869 --> 00:20:46.769 sir, I'm sorry. We did the best we could with 00:20:46.769 --> 00:20:51.410 what you sent ahead. Well, the Spanish teacher 00:20:51.410 --> 00:20:54.269 said, I'm doing the best I can with what I've 00:20:54.269 --> 00:21:00.730 got in this classroom. We blame a lot on teachers 00:21:00.730 --> 00:21:02.730 today, but I'll tell you what. Students are not 00:21:02.730 --> 00:21:04.890 coming to school to learn like they used to. 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:08.740 And the problem for that often goes back to the 00:21:08.740 --> 00:21:11.119 home and the crisis in the home and the family 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:17.900 and our culture. Students must be teachable if 00:21:17.900 --> 00:21:20.539 they will be taught. And it's up to each person 00:21:20.539 --> 00:21:26.079 to make himself or herself teachable. Let me 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:30.480 ask you a question. Are you teachable? Are you 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:34.779 teachable? Will you allow God to speak to your 00:21:34.779 --> 00:21:38.910 heart? Some of you have just sat down in the 00:21:38.910 --> 00:21:42.410 classroom of life. You're entering into a session 00:21:42.410 --> 00:21:47.190 this week with God. And God is saying, I want 00:21:47.190 --> 00:21:50.410 to instruct you. I want to teach you the values 00:21:50.410 --> 00:21:54.410 that are important in life. Are you teachable? 00:21:57.769 --> 00:22:01.690 Will you say, Lord, I will listen? Lord, I will 00:22:01.690 --> 00:22:05.130 take heed to what you say. Open my ear to hear 00:22:05.130 --> 00:22:10.359 you write. Don't be the fool. Don't play the 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:15.319 fool. Don't turn God off. Don't harden your heart 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:21.599 to Him. You're going to pay the tuition one way 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:25.000 or the other. You might as well decide while 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:28.319 you're in the classroom to sit there and listen 00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:36.900 to God and take heed of what He says. Secondly, 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:43.579 A fool is like a merchant who hawks his wares. 00:22:44.180 --> 00:22:47.960 Chapter 15 in verse 2 suggests this picture. 00:22:48.059 --> 00:22:50.680 It says the tongue of the wise commends knowledge, 00:22:51.720 --> 00:22:56.839 but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. The NESV 00:22:56.839 --> 00:23:01.220 says it spouts folly. Literally, should I tell 00:23:01.220 --> 00:23:04.980 you this? You will remember what this word means, 00:23:05.180 --> 00:23:11.069 gushes. In the Hebrew it means It belches out 00:23:11.069 --> 00:23:14.710 folly. Pretty descriptive, isn't it? Not very 00:23:14.710 --> 00:23:22.269 tasteful, but it's quite specific. The mouth 00:23:22.269 --> 00:23:28.150 of the fool belches out his foolishness. The 00:23:28.150 --> 00:23:30.769 picture here seems to be of a merchant. Just 00:23:30.769 --> 00:23:34.349 imagine in your mind this Oriental merchant. 00:23:35.069 --> 00:23:38.849 He's very real. He exists in many of the markets 00:23:38.849 --> 00:23:43.329 of the East and the Middle East. His merchandise 00:23:43.329 --> 00:23:47.650 is spread out on the table behind him. And his 00:23:47.650 --> 00:23:50.190 words are like those of a circus barker in our 00:23:50.190 --> 00:23:52.490 nation. And he calls the people of the street 00:23:52.490 --> 00:23:56.630 to come and look at his wares and to buy. He 00:23:56.630 --> 00:23:59.309 brags and he boasts about what is on his table. 00:23:59.329 --> 00:24:01.589 But in fact, if you look closely, what is there 00:24:01.589 --> 00:24:05.990 is cheaply made. It's a poor imitation and just 00:24:05.990 --> 00:24:11.359 junk. for the most part, without any value. That's 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:14.619 the merchant that is suggested here in this verse 00:24:14.619 --> 00:24:17.960 by the writer of Proverbs. The merchant who is 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:22.359 out in the street hawking his wares. It's a person 00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:25.799 who cannot keep his mouth shut. He really has 00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:28.819 nothing to offer of any value. He has nothing 00:24:28.819 --> 00:24:32.440 to say, but he always has an opinion. There's 00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:36.200 always a story to share. And instead of being 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:40.920 embarrassed or flustered by the lack of true 00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:44.420 values and what he's talking about, he just brazenly 00:24:44.420 --> 00:24:48.240 boasts openly of them. This is suggested more 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:53.720 in chapter 18. Look in verse 2. A fool finds 00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:56.519 no pleasure in understanding, but he delights 00:24:56.519 --> 00:24:59.400 in airing his own opinions. Do you know anybody 00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:03.420 like that? You see him every year at the family 00:25:03.420 --> 00:25:08.799 reunion, don't you? Look in verses 6 and 7. A 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:12.759 fool's lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites 00:25:12.759 --> 00:25:16.660 a beating. In other words, when he's talking, 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:19.980 he's saying, please beat me, please hit me, because 00:25:19.980 --> 00:25:22.720 he just talks and talks and talks and has nothing 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:26.640 of any value. Verse 7. A fool's mouth is his 00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:29.500 undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul. 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:34.849 He openly displays his lack of values and is 00:25:34.849 --> 00:25:40.430 so foolish, he doesn't even realize it. I will 00:25:40.430 --> 00:25:43.009 not name the politician, but there is a representative 00:25:43.009 --> 00:25:46.130 from this area who is putting on an ad on television 00:25:46.130 --> 00:25:49.589 in which he espouses all the things that he stands 00:25:49.589 --> 00:25:52.849 for, things which have absolutely no value to 00:25:52.849 --> 00:25:56.769 God or to decent society. And yet, he's voted 00:25:56.769 --> 00:25:59.390 for this, and he's been a part of that, and he 00:25:59.390 --> 00:26:02.809 stood for this in Congress, and what he is is 00:26:02.809 --> 00:26:07.920 a fool. who is hawking his wares, his foolishness, 00:26:08.059 --> 00:26:11.599 he's belching out of his mouth his own foolishness 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:15.220 and doesn't even realize it. And the sad thing 00:26:15.220 --> 00:26:18.700 is that a lot of people in our area take in everything 00:26:18.700 --> 00:26:24.980 he says, which says something about them. The 00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:27.799 story is told about a minister who was opening 00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:33.579 his mail one morning and as he drew a single 00:26:33.579 --> 00:26:37.240 sheet out of the envelope. It had written on 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:41.779 it one single word. He opened it up and it read, 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:47.960 Fool. Well, the next Sunday, he got up in the 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:50.720 pulpit and he said, I have known many people 00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:52.920 who have written letters and forgotten to sign 00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:55.759 their names, but this week I received a letter 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:58.220 from someone who signed his name and forgot to 00:26:58.220 --> 00:27:10.359 write the letter. Isn't that great? A fool is 00:27:10.359 --> 00:27:15.240 like a merchant who hocks his wares. And it's 00:27:15.240 --> 00:27:19.420 worthless. Wisdom requires, on the other hand, 00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:23.740 a quiet willingness to listen and then a thoughtful 00:27:23.740 --> 00:27:28.960 response. A wise person listens more than he 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:33.369 speaks. A wise person does not say everything 00:27:33.369 --> 00:27:37.450 that comes to his mind. He weighs his words and 00:27:37.450 --> 00:27:42.430 then speaks thoughtfully. I don't know about 00:27:42.430 --> 00:27:46.190 you, but my shoes are getting tighter. My toes 00:27:46.190 --> 00:27:49.210 feel a little cramped as I talk about this. We 00:27:49.210 --> 00:27:54.970 can all be foolish, can't we? And this morning 00:27:54.970 --> 00:27:57.589 we need to ask the Holy Spirit to expose in our 00:27:57.589 --> 00:28:02.740 lives where we're playing the fool. Those of 00:28:02.740 --> 00:28:04.880 us who are Christians, where we too have played 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:09.759 the fool, and ask God to give us a heart of repentance 00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:13.700 about that, and to acknowledge our sin before 00:28:13.700 --> 00:28:17.000 Him, and if necessary, to go to someone else 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:19.160 that we may have offended by our foolishness 00:28:19.160 --> 00:28:22.299 and ask forgiveness, and then to sit down in 00:28:22.299 --> 00:28:26.680 that school and say, Lord, teach me. Teach me. 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:31.009 I need to learn. Wisdom invites us to come into 00:28:31.009 --> 00:28:34.230 the school room. Let's not sit back there in 00:28:34.230 --> 00:28:39.369 the corner with simple and scoffer and with fool. 00:28:39.789 --> 00:28:42.029 Let's not sit over in that corner. Let's sit 00:28:42.029 --> 00:28:45.190 up here in the front and open our hearts to God 00:28:45.190 --> 00:28:47.950 and say, God, I am teachable. I am clay in your 00:28:47.950 --> 00:28:53.109 hands. Show me the values of life that I ought 00:28:53.109 --> 00:28:58.529 to have. And you know when we do that, The blessing 00:28:58.529 --> 00:29:04.109 is ours. The blessing is ours. Our lives are 00:29:04.109 --> 00:29:06.769 full, they are rich, they are meaningful, they 00:29:06.769 --> 00:29:11.269 are lengthier. All the blessings that come to 00:29:11.269 --> 00:29:14.150 the wise as recorded in Proverbs will be ours. 00:29:16.549 --> 00:29:21.470 It is wise then to listen and to be taught. Let's 00:29:21.470 --> 00:29:26.490 bow together. What would the Holy Spirit be saying 00:29:26.490 --> 00:29:28.690 to your heart this morning about this matter? 00:29:30.309 --> 00:29:35.230 Have you played the fool this week? Have you 00:29:35.230 --> 00:29:41.410 listened to the wrong party? Have you shut God 00:29:41.410 --> 00:29:43.930 out of an area of your life saying, no God, I 00:29:43.930 --> 00:29:47.890 don't want you in there? That's foolishness. 00:29:49.150 --> 00:29:51.430 That's like a student who wastes his opportunity. 00:29:52.629 --> 00:29:55.250 God wants to be in there. He wants to be involved 00:29:55.250 --> 00:29:57.630 in that thing in your life right now that's creating 00:29:57.630 --> 00:30:00.309 such a hassle, such a struggle, such a heartache. 00:30:01.130 --> 00:30:06.730 Let Him in. Let Him teach you what He wants to. 00:30:09.170 --> 00:30:16.369 It'll be for your good. Have you been like a 00:30:16.369 --> 00:30:20.930 merchant? spouting off, hawking your wares, belching 00:30:20.930 --> 00:30:27.950 out your own opinions, and you realize that that's 00:30:27.950 --> 00:30:31.309 wrong, and God's brought you under conviction, 00:30:32.170 --> 00:30:35.690 that you need to listen more, tell Him that right 00:30:35.690 --> 00:30:43.089 now. It may be that there's someone here without 00:30:43.089 --> 00:30:47.920 the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Maybe you're 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:50.119 like that man that Jesus told about. You have 00:30:50.119 --> 00:30:52.359 lots of things stored up. Your retirement looks 00:30:52.359 --> 00:30:58.079 pretty good. But your soul is on its way to hell. 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:02.960 As this group sang this morning, Jesus has something 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:06.500 to offer to you that you can't say no to. It's 00:31:06.500 --> 00:31:09.519 eternal life and forgiveness of your sin. Will 00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:13.000 you receive it today? Will you believe on Him 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:17.710 for the salvation of your soul? In just a moment 00:31:17.710 --> 00:31:19.289 we're going to stand and we're going to sing 00:31:19.289 --> 00:31:22.190 a verse or two of Just as I Am without one plea, 00:31:22.390 --> 00:31:27.289 but that Thy blood was shed for me. That's the 00:31:27.289 --> 00:31:31.230 only plea we've got. And if today you need to 00:31:31.230 --> 00:31:33.390 make some commitment public, perhaps you need 00:31:33.390 --> 00:31:35.230 to trust Christ as your Savior this morning. 00:31:35.250 --> 00:31:39.029 You'll do that right now. Or you've trusted Christ 00:31:39.029 --> 00:31:42.170 in private, but you've not made it public before 00:31:42.170 --> 00:31:44.809 others. Will you come and make that public confession 00:31:44.809 --> 00:31:49.819 that you have? trusted Jesus Christ for salvation. 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:53.400 Maybe as a Christian you will come today saying, 00:31:53.420 --> 00:31:57.019 Pastor, I need to pray with someone. My life 00:31:57.019 --> 00:32:02.000 is in shambles. I've played the fool and my life 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:04.940 is a mess. I need someone to pray with me this 00:32:04.940 --> 00:32:09.039 morning. I want to invite you to come as soon 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:12.000 as I finish praying. will stand and sing a verse 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:14.400 of Just As I Am. You prepare yourself now to 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:18.119 obey God and do what He tells you to do. And 00:32:18.119 --> 00:32:22.119 now, Father, bring to fruition your work in those 00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:26.559 lives that you desire to, and give, I pray, the 00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:30.480 courage to make that step, that decision, that 00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:32.720 commitment that needs to be made at this hour 00:32:32.720 --> 00:32:36.480 in obedience to the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, 00:32:37.079 --> 00:33:03.099 amen. Would you stand with me, please? My friend 00:33:03.099 --> 00:33:05.480 of Christ is speaking to you. Come right now 00:33:05.480 --> 00:33:08.829 and join me here. And let someone have prayer 00:33:08.829 --> 00:33:21.329 with you today. Thou bidst me come to Thee, O 00:33:21.329 --> 00:33:34.109 Lamb of God, I come. I come. Just as I am and 00:33:34.109 --> 00:33:45.589 waiting not. Don't wait. Just as I am, and waiting 00:33:45.589 --> 00:34:01.789 not To claim my soul of one dark part To Thee, 00:34:01.990 --> 00:34:28.090 whose blood can cleanse Lord Jesus, I'm glad 00:34:28.090 --> 00:34:31.469 that your invitation extends beyond the end of 00:34:31.469 --> 00:34:35.900 this service. And I pray that you will continue 00:34:35.900 --> 00:34:39.760 to urge and to invite and compel anyone who's 00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:43.559 troubled this morning, who's living a life that's 00:34:43.559 --> 00:34:47.000 a lie, who's out of step with you, I pray that 00:34:47.000 --> 00:34:49.460 you will continue to compel that one to come. 00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:53.760 And Lord, as we go our way, we pray that we may 00:34:53.760 --> 00:34:57.639 live wisely, fill us with the spirit of wisdom 00:34:57.639 --> 00:35:00.880 and of revelation, the Holy Spirit, control our 00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:04.300 lives, And this week teach us in the classroom, 00:35:05.059 --> 00:35:07.360 and when we return for another time of worship, 00:35:07.440 --> 00:35:11.019 may we come back a wiser people, because we have 00:35:11.019 --> 00:35:14.019 sat in the classroom of wisdom this week and 00:35:14.019 --> 00:35:18.219 have learned. And God is in the midst of our 00:35:18.219 --> 00:35:22.099 lives, and we're living our lives in obedience 00:35:22.099 --> 00:35:25.519 to him. Bring us back together that way. Dismiss 00:35:25.519 --> 00:35:28.000 us now, Lord, with your blessing, and may your 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:31.820 grace be upon each of your own. Amen.