Welcome to Wisdom Today with Bill Kelley. Today we will be going over Proverb 17. I will then key in on verse 14 - The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts. Friends - as I often bring up on this podcast our words are vitally important. We should do all we can to avoid strife. The best way to do that is to weigh our words carefully before we speak. Many times we can avoid beginning quarrels just by being discerning in our words. On today's podcast I will wrap up this week by bringing a bit more clarity and offering a few suggestions of things we can do in our life to demonstrate our Christian walk. By the end of the lesson I ask that you consider three points:
1. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
2. If someone compels you to go one mile, go with them two.
3. You may be sons of your Father in Heaven.
Call to Action - Be mindful of the fact that we are to be led by the Spirit of God, and not by our flesh. This week we learned that we should love our enemies, that we should not judge others, and that to lead a successful life, we need to build our life on the Rock - that is Jesus Christ Himself. Pray that God will help you in doing those things.
[00:00:06] and I'll be your host. In this podcast we will be exploring the book of Proverbs.
[00:00:21] But in prayer, Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today. Lord, I pray
[00:00:28] that you would reveal to everyone listening how much you truly love each and every one of them.
[00:00:34] I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. This is Proverbs 17, beginning in verse 1.
[00:00:42] Better is a dry morsel with quietness than a house full of feasting with strife. A wise servant will rule
[00:00:51] over a son who causes shame and will share and inheritance among the brothers. The refining pot is for silver
[00:01:00] and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts. An evil doer gives heed to false
[00:01:09] lips, a liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue. He who mocks the poor reproaches his maker,
[00:01:19] he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. Children's children are the crown of old men
[00:01:28] and the glory of children is their father. Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool,
[00:01:35] much less lying lips to a prince. A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor,
[00:01:44] wherever he turns, he prospers. He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter,
[00:01:54] separates friends. Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool.
[00:02:04] An evil man seeks only rebellion, therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
[00:02:13] Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cobs rather than a fool in his folly,
[00:02:20] whoever rewards evil for good, evil will not depart from his house. The beginning of
[00:02:29] strife is like releasing water. Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts. He who justifies
[00:02:39] the wicked and he who condemns the just, both of them alike, are an abomination to the Lord.
[00:02:47] Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom since he has no heart for it?
[00:02:56] A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. A man devoid of understanding
[00:03:06] shakes hands in a pledge and becomes surety for his friend. He who loves transgression loves
[00:03:15] strife and he who exalts his gate seeks destruction. He who has a deceitful heart
[00:03:24] finds no good and he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil. He who begets a scoffer
[00:03:34] does so to his sorrow and the father of a fool has no joy. A merry heart does good like medicine
[00:03:44] but a broken spirit dries the bones. A wicked man accepts a bride behind the back to
[00:03:53] pervert the ways of justice. Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding,
[00:04:02] but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. A foolish son is a grief to his father and
[00:04:11] bitterness to her who bore him. Also to punish the righteous is not good nor to strike
[00:04:19] princes for their uprightness. He who has knowledge spares his words and a man of understanding
[00:04:29] is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace, when he shuts
[00:04:38] his lips he is considered perceptive. Friends today I'd like to take a closer look at verse 14
[00:04:49] and proper 17 verse 14 says this, the beginning of strife is like releasing water.
[00:04:59] Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts. Friends we will take a closer look at that
[00:05:09] verse prior to closing today but what I'd like to do is end the week, basically by wrapping up
[00:05:18] and culminating everything that we have learned this week. We have been in the sixth chapter
[00:05:27] of the Gospel according to Luke and on Monday's podcast I talked about how difficult it is
[00:05:36] to do some of the things Jesus instructed us to do. And on Monday's podcast the primary thing
[00:05:44] that Jesus asked us to do was to love our enemies and I went into great detail about how difficult
[00:05:53] that is for most people. But that is if we are being led by our flesh and not by the spirit
[00:06:02] of God which the Word of God tells us that we can do. Jesus said that example for us when he was
[00:06:12] on the cross himself and he asked God to forgive those people who had condemned him to die
[00:06:22] on that cross. So if Jesus had the ability to do that we certainly have the ability to love our enemies
[00:06:33] but what I'd like to do today and an example that I want to give everyone listening today is that
[00:06:40] Matthew also talked about loving your enemies. Now friends this is part of the sermon on the
[00:06:50] Mount and the two Gospels that talk about the sermon on the Mount was Matthew's Gospel
[00:06:59] and Luke's Gospel. They are not found in either Mark or John's Gospel but I identified
[00:07:10] three things that we can find in Matthew's account of this story that Luke does not bring up.
[00:07:18] So we are going to begin in Matthew chapter five and these five verses are entitled Go The
[00:07:28] Second Mile. So let's begin Matthew chapter five verse 38. You have heard that it was said
[00:07:39] and I for an eye and a tooth for a tooth but I tell you not to resist an evil person.
[00:07:51] So friends the first point I'd like to bring up today is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
[00:08:01] Now this goes back to the old testament law and friends I am reading out of the Nelson study Bible
[00:08:10] what I'd like to do is go over the commentary found in my Bible for verse 38
[00:08:17] and it says this important old testament law and it was known as the lex
[00:08:25] Toli honest the law of retaliation covered what type of punishment should be
[00:08:34] needed out to transgressors. It limited the retribution that an offender would have to endure.
[00:08:44] So basically at that point if you caused harm to a certain individual the same measure
[00:08:52] and the same harm that you did in individual was what is going to happen to you. So an eye
[00:09:02] for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. In other words if you caused damage to a person's eye
[00:09:11] and he no longer could see then they would take away your eye just like you took away their eyesight
[00:09:20] and that is the old testament law but Jesus went against what we used to do. He set a new
[00:09:31] example for what we should do so he told us that we should have grace on individuals we should not
[00:09:39] do tipped for cat this for this. He told us not to do that let's continue in verse 39
[00:09:50] but I tell you not to resist an evil person but whoever slaps you on your right cheek turn the
[00:09:59] other to him also if anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic let him have your cloak also
[00:10:09] and whoever compels you to go one mile go with him too and friends the second point I'd like to
[00:10:19] get across is whoever compels you to go one mile go with him too. Now I'd like to read the commentary
[00:10:31] for verse 41 compels is a technical term that refers to the law of the imprisonment the
[00:10:41] Roman government could press anyone into its service to carry a load as far as one mile. An example
[00:10:52] of this is a Roman officer doing this to Simon of Syreen and Simon was asked to carry the cross
[00:11:04] of Jesus to the point where he was going to be crucified. Jesus had been beaten he had been beaten
[00:11:14] severely and he no longer had the strength to carry his own cross up to the hill where he would
[00:11:23] be crucified so they asked this man to carry that cross this was a common thing that the Roman
[00:11:33] government had the ability to do and did but the point I am trying to make is this friends if we
[00:11:43] consider ourselves Christians and I'd like to think that everyone listening today considers them
[00:11:50] self that is we are to go that extra mile. If all we do is what we see other people do then we're
[00:12:01] not going to stick out but the Bible tells us that we are to be the salt of the earth we are to
[00:12:10] be the light of the world friends by our actions and by our words we should stick out from ordinary
[00:12:21] people. We simply should the Bible tells us that we are in this world but we are not of this world
[00:12:32] that means that we are to go contrary to what the norm of society is we are to be different. We
[00:12:42] are to stand out and people should identify us as being different that's what being a Christian is all
[00:12:51] about. Let's go to verse 42 give to him who asks you and from him who wants to borrow from you
[00:13:01] do not turn away. You have heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy
[00:13:09] but I say to you love your enemies bless those who curse you do good to those who hate you and pray
[00:13:20] for those who spitefully use you and persecute you that you may be sons of your father in heaven
[00:13:29] for he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
[00:13:42] So friends I am going over the same four identical elements that we talked about on Monday's podcast
[00:13:52] that we are to love our enemies. We are to bless those who curse you. We are to do good
[00:14:01] to those who hate you and to pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.
[00:14:09] But the third point I wanted to bring up is you may be sons of your father in heaven.
[00:14:17] Now it did not make that distinction in Luke and that's why I like this particular account
[00:14:27] in Matthew. Now friends let me go over the commentary for verse 45 and it says to be a son of
[00:14:37] was to be like someone or something that you may be sons of your father in heaven means
[00:14:48] that you may be like the heavenly father who displays his love without discrimination.
[00:14:57] Now friends I'm going to add a little bit more to that. The Bible tells us that God is not
[00:15:04] a respecter of persons. James goes into detail about that in chapter two of his book of James.
[00:15:14] It tells us that we are not to show partiality. We're simply not supposed to do that because God
[00:15:22] set the example for us that we are not to do that. So friends what I'd like to do is to point out
[00:15:32] the three things that I pointed today and I for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. We are no longer
[00:15:40] to follow the law and do the things that they have always done in the past we are to do things
[00:15:48] differently. Number two, whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him and extra mile. Friends
[00:15:57] we are to go and extra mile, go out of our way to make people comfortable and to let them know
[00:16:06] that they have someone that they can count on in their time of need. We are to be helpful to people
[00:16:14] and finally number three so you may be sons of your father in heaven. In other words we should
[00:16:24] be identified as someone who acts like Jesus would have acted if he was on earth.
[00:16:35] But friends what I'd like to point out is for those of you who are not all that familiar with a Bible
[00:16:43] and simply have not read it that much what I'd like to show you by demonstrating my lesson today
[00:16:53] is that if you find a compelling story in the Bible especially as you do this story which is in the
[00:17:03] gospel look and see if that story is in a fellow gospel and I invite you to do that because what you
[00:17:15] might find in one gospel is different or added upon in another gospel and what I'd like to
[00:17:24] remind everyone is friends there are four gospels that were written but the gospels were written
[00:17:32] to different people. So the motivation of each of these writers was probably a little bit different.
[00:17:41] Yes they were compelled by the spirit of God to write their gospel but they were motivated
[00:17:49] by different things and that's why each gospel is a little bit different and sometimes I like a
[00:17:58] particular account in one gospel more than a particular account in another gospel. Friends before
[00:18:07] we close today I'd like to go back to our proverb of the day and we were in proverb 17
[00:18:14] and I asked you to look at verse 14 and it says the beginning of strife is like releasing water.
[00:18:23] Now friends what happens when you turn the tap on with water? Water starts gushing out
[00:18:31] and it just keeps coming out until you turn off that tap and that is what happens when you begin
[00:18:43] strife. So therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts so it all begins with thinking about
[00:18:54] the words that you were going to speak in a particular situation. Friends remember that our words
[00:19:02] can bring forth death or they can bring forth life. That is why it is so important that we
[00:19:11] weigh our words carefully. Choose your words carefully ask yourself if I say this or they're going
[00:19:23] to be consequences. Choose your words carefully it can be the difference between life and death.
[00:19:34] Friends my call to action is very simple today we have had a wonderful week
[00:19:41] learning about the difficulty and how important it is that we love our enemies. That is
[00:19:49] difficult to do on Wednesday's podcast I talked about not judging other people and on Thursday's
[00:19:57] podcast we culminated it by putting our trust in Jesus and building your life on the rock
[00:20:07] and the rock is Jesus Christ Himself and the Word of God. Friends I will never end a podcast
[00:20:17] without giving anyone an opportunity to receive Jesus as their Lord in Savior. If there is anyone
[00:20:24] listening today and you've never taken that step I invite you to repeat a simple prayer after me
[00:20:31] today. Jesus I confess that I am a sinner and indeed of a Savior I believe that you are the Son
[00:20:40] of God and that you came to earth and were crucified on across and were buried on the third day
[00:20:49] I believe that you rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and now sit at the right hand of
[00:20:57] God the Father. By doing that I believe that you have forgiven me of all of my sins but Jesus
[00:21:04] I still need your help. I ask that you come into my heart I ask that you lead me and guide me from this
[00:21:12] point forward. I ask this in Jesus name amen now may the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord
[00:21:22] make a space shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give
[00:21:31] you peace. Friends this is the weekend. Go out with your spouse take your kids with you have a great
[00:21:40] family time together let everyone know how much you love them and how much God loves them and I will
[00:21:49] see you back on Monday as we further explore wisdom.