In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of discipline in our daily lives, even in our interactions with others. He highlights Proverbs 28:20, which warns against the pursuit of wealth and the potential punishment it brings. The blessings mentioned in the verse are seen as earthly provisions that God provides when we prioritize His kingdom. However, when these blessings exceed our needs, they can become a curse. The speaker also discusses the contrast between a hard-working farmer who has plenty to eat and those who waste their time and end up in poverty. This concept is applied spiritually, urging believers to diligently work on their own salvation. The pursuit of wealth beyond one's needs is seen as a temptation and trap set by the devil, leading to foolish and harmful desires that can ruin and destroy individuals and their families. The speaker encourages listeners to learn from the discipline of great men of God who have effectively managed their time and avoided wasting it on useless things.

Chapter 28, and we'll continue our study there from verse 19. He who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows empty pursuits will have plenty of poverty. There's a contrast there between plenty of food and plenty of poverty. And in the Good News Bible, that verse reads like this, a hard-working farmer has plenty to eat, whereas people who waste their time will always be poor. Of course, we want to apply this verse spiritually, because in the New Testament, the farmer spoken of is the believer, as we read in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 6, the hard-working farmer is the first to receive his share of the crops, and that applies to how hard we work on our own salvation. And we are told also in James chapter 5, verse 7, to be patient, because the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it. And so we find this applies to us in the New Testament in terms of diligence in our own spiritual life. And the opposite of diligence, a diligent farmer, is described here in verse 19 as those who waste their time. And that can be a very bad habit among believers. Basically, when we are converted, we can say that all of us waste a tremendous amount of time. But there is an area where every one of us needs to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, so that increasingly in our life, the wastage of time becomes less and less and less and less and less. And that is not an easy thing to do, but if you read the biographies of some of the greatest men of God that have lived through the years, you'll find that they had learned to discipline their time so that there was very little of time wasted for useless things. Now, when we talk about useless things, we don't mean that if you go out to relax in the park with your children, that that's a waste of time. In fact, that can be a very useful thing for body and for fellowship with the children. We don't say that the only useful way to spend our time is always reading the Bible and praying. There are many other useful things to do, but it's a question of priorities. If a man doesn't have time to read the word and to pray, then of course there needs to be something cut out from his life so that he finds time for these things. There's a tremendous amount of waste of time that we can avoid if we are really diligent to ask God for grace to help us to get rid of this bad habit. Tremendous amount of time can be wasted sometimes in useless conversation, in a lot of visiting homes that ends up in waste of time. That's why we need to discipline ourselves even in visiting one another. Verse 20, the pursuit of wealth, this verse tells us, brings a punishment. A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich, that means who's very eager to be rich, will not go unpunished. Now the blessings spoken of in verse 20, the first part, we can say are all that we need for our earthly life. And through these years I've come to see one thing, that if a person puts God's kingdom first, God blesses him in earthly things. When those blessings go beyond a certain limit, much more than we need, what happens is, those blessings become a curse. That's why John Wesley said that it's good to earn all we can and save all we can, but if we don't learn to give and if we don't learn to use what God gives us for his glory, after a while, this accumulation of wealth, the thing which is once a blessing, becomes a curse. A blessing is when God gives us enough for our needs. And the faithful man will abound with blessings, he has no shortage of it, he always has enough for all his needs and his family's needs, but one who is just intent on making more and more wealth, he will be punished. And what is the punishment he's going to get? We read in 1 Timothy 6, verse 9, that those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. That's the punishment, that those who are eager to get rich unnecessarily, it's not talking about those who are trying to earn their living and get something for their family's needs, but for those who are in the pursuit of wealth way beyond their needs, they fall into a temptation and a trap, there's a trap there of the devil, many foolish and harmful desires. What are these foolish and harmful desires? That when they have more, they begin to have desires for all types of foolish and harmful things for themselves and their children, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. You see evidences of that all around, you find that the children of the very rich people are usually spoiled with all types of foolish and harmful things, which their parents never knew how to keep from them. So that's part of the punishment. It says he who makes haste to rich will not go unpunished. He sees the punishment in his own children being ruined spiritually. He sees the punishment in his own life, being caught in a trap of the devil and so many other things. Verse 21, to show partiality is not good, because for a piece of bread a man will transgress. Now partiality is one of the things that James warns us of in James chapter 2. In the church he says, if you favor the rich, or someone who's a big shot, and put aside someone who is poor, you are sinning. James chapter 2 he says, you sin when you are partial, it's a serious sin. And he goes on to say in James chapter 3 towards the end that one of the characteristics of wisdom is that it has no partiality. And that's another thing that does not go away from us as soon as we are converted. Partiality is still in us. Partiality towards one child over another child in the family, we can get the victory over that as we get light on it, but it's more difficult to get victory over partiality towards one brother and against another brother. That's a little more difficult to get rid of. But that's always an indication, as long as I'm partial towards one and against another, that is a constant revelation to me that I have not yet partaken of the divine nature in this area. It's a sad thing if year after year after year after year goes by and I haven't partaken of divine nature in this one area of being impartial. God is impartial. That does not mean that we will not be drawn more to some who are more spiritually minded, of course, but it's not a partiality based on something human. My temperament is that way or my community is that or I like someone because he's like me in so many ways. That's a human partiality which we need to cleanse ourselves from. To show partiality is not good. Then it says, for a piece of bread a man will transgress, which means some people will do wrong even for the smallest amount of profit. They show partiality like a judge showing partiality for a small bribe. Now, in the book of Micah, there's a very interesting verse which reads like this, Micah in chapter 3 verse 5, I want to read it from the Living Bible, Micah 3 verse 5, where Micah is prophesying against the false prophets and he says, you false prophets, you who lead his people, God's people, astray, you who cry peace, that means you who preach saying everything's all right with you, to those who give you food and threaten those who will not pay you. A lot of preachers like that even in Micah's day, who if somebody gave them a handsome gift, they would never rebuke such a brother or correct him, they would only say nice things to him, but someone who never gave them a gift, they'd really feel free to rebuke such people. You see, there were such preachers even in Micah's day and Micah exposed them. He says, you preach peace, that is partiality towards those who give you bread, to those who give you food. Somebody invites you for a meal and you don't feel free to rebuke him. It's very interesting to see in Luke chapter 7 how there was this man called Simon the Pharisee who invited Jesus for a meal and before Jesus even ate the meal almost, he rebuked him. Jesus was never going to be bribed by a meal. That's what it says here. Some people can be bribed just by a meal, a meal is enough to make them partial. Here is where we have to become wise, that we do not allow ourselves to be bribed by gifts or food or anything because God has called us to partake of his nature which is completely impartial. It's not partial towards, you see for example, somebody who hates me does something right and I can't appreciate it and someone who loves me very much, is very kind to me does something wrong and I find it quite easy to be merciful to him. There I am partial, I don't see right and wrong clearly. I'm like that man whose eyes were half opened who saw men like trees walking. I don't see right and wrong, what do I see? I see who likes me and who does not like me and brothers and sisters, as long as we are operating on that level, we have to say to ourselves, I have not partaken of the divine nature. I'm not operating on the basis of right and wrong like God does. I'm operating on the basis of, is he, do I like this brother, do I not like that brother? That's partiality. We have to cleanse ourselves from it. Verse 23, we read here, sorry verse 22, a man with an evil eye hastens after wealth and does not know that want will come upon him. And this again refers to what we considered earlier, the folly of trying to make money quickly that tempts us to go into all types of unrighteous ways of making money. He does not know that finally he will become poor and it speaks in here about the evil eye. You know, Jesus spoke about your eye being evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. And here the word of God speaks about an evil eye. The man with an evil eye is the man who has got his heart set on money. You compare that with what Jesus said about if your eye is not good, your whole body is full of darkness. A man can run after money and however much he may believe the right doctrine, his whole body gradually becomes full of darkness. That's one mark of an evil eye, that he hastens after wealth. What's the mark of a man with an evil eye? This verse tells us, he hastens after wealth. He doesn't believe that God will allow it to come his way. If your eye is clear, your whole body is full of light. That means your eye is not always coveting. See, it's with our eyes that we covet what I see there, what that person has, what the other thing here and the other thing there. And I really need to cleanse my eyes from this type of covetousness and come to contentment so that I can see something that I don't desire. I'm quite free from it. If God wants me to have something, he'll give it to me. If he doesn't, I'm not interested. I'm going to seek the kingdom of God first in any case, this righteousness. Verse 23, he who rebukes a man will afterwards find more favor than he who flatters with a tongue. This is one of those things repeated a number of times in Proverbs, that rebuke is always better than flattery. Now even though it doesn't look like that in the beginning, yet in the long run and certainly in eternity, we'll find that there was absolutely no profit that came out of our flattering people. We flatter people only for our own gain usually, for we want some favor from that person or we want that person to have a good opinion of us or we want that person to think that we are very gentle and we know how to praise people and all this is usually for some personal gain that we flatter. But nobody will rebuke for personal gain. We really need to be free from seeking our own if we are to be free from flattery, for flattery can take various forms in our life where we say or do something in order to give a person the impression that he is someone we think highly of him and underneath I have some ulterior motive. But if we seek to correct and rebuke, it says here, afterwards, not immediately, you'll find that there's a greater profit from it and a greater blessing and even if some people don't appreciate you right now at the judgment seat of Christ, they will come to you and say, thank you brother, thank you sister for not flattering me but for telling me the truth straight to my face. If we are willing to wait for our thanks till the judgment seat of Christ, we will do what is right. Verse 24, he who robs his father or his mother and says it's not a transgression is the companion of a man who destroys. Now there can be many applications of this verse. A person, a son or a daughter can take money from his house without the knowledge of his parents and say there's nothing wrong in that, that's my own parents. No, that's stealing. That's stealing. Why do you have to hide it from your parents if you took a little money from the purse there? You're a thief and you'll grow up to be a bigger thief and if you try to cover it up saying that's not a transgression, that's just my own mother's money or my own father's money. No, you're a thief. Why don't you go and ask him first? We got to teach our children that. Don't think they can just take something from there and say yeah, that's our own home. And of course it has other applications too. It can apply to those who are waiting for their parents to die so that they can get some inheritance or get their share of the property or some covetous thing like that. And their attitude is the same attitude as that of a thief. They're waiting to get something from their parents. And also it has an application in another way and that's what Jesus said in Mark chapter 7. Verse 10 to 13. There Jesus told the Pharisees, Moses said, honor your father and your mother and he who speaks evil of father and mother, let him be put to death. But you say, Mark 7, 11, if a man says to his father or his mother, anything of mine that you might have been helped by is korban, that is given to God. In other words, I've become a full time worker. I'm sorry I can't help you now. I've got to serve the Lord and give all my money to God and I don't have any money to give to you. And you no longer permit him. You need not be a full time worker. Maybe you're in a secular job but you don't care to support your parents who need your help financially. Or maybe it's your wife's parents who need some help. You won't allow her to send a single pie home. Or your husband's parents need some help and you won't allow him to send any money home. Because you say, well, give it to God, give it to the assembly. And you think you're very spiritual. Jesus said, you're not. You're a Pharisee. You don't permit him, your husband, or her, your wife, to do anything for father and mother. You are invalidating the word of God. All your knowledge is a lot of garbage. It's a lot of rubbish. When you think you're spiritual, you've deceived yourself thoroughly. You've got a tradition. You've made yourself think you're spiritual. No, you do many things like that, he says. Jesus exposed this type of humbug. To rob father and mother means that you don't provide for them financially in their old age when they are in need of help from you. That is to rob them. Because God has intended that children take care of their parents. If you don't do that, you're actually robbing them. And you say, it's not a sin because I've given it to the assembly. Don't give it to the assembly. Take care of your needy parents. It says in 1 Timothy chapter 5 that if a person does not provide, verse 8, 1 Timothy 5, 8 If a person doesn't provide for his own and especially for those in his own family he has denied the faith and he's worse than an unbeliever. Think of that. Think of considering myself to be a new and living way believer and God says you're worse than an unbeliever. Worse than an unbeliever. Think of that. Not just an unbeliever, but worse than an unbeliever. Now that's something we've got to take seriously. Verse 25 reads like this in the Living Bible Greed causes fighting. Trusting God leads to prosperity. Now the word here in the margin in verse 25 is a broad soul. A broad soul means one whose soul is very covetous. That's one meaning. That's why it's paraphrased like this. A greedy man always stirs up strife. A broad soul means one who's always wanting more and more. There we see the reason for a lot of conflict among brothers and sisters also sometimes. It is covetousness which is at the root of a lot of bad relationships and fighting. We expect things from people and we don't get it and then we have a bad relationship with them. That's not good. That shows I'm covetous. It's my greed that has caused a bad relationship with that person. I need to die to that greed. Otherwise I'll always have a bad relationship with that person. And it can be with so many other things. I can have a bad relationship with someone because of some money matter. My greed is so great that I'm not willing to die to myself in this area of some material thing. Just examine yourself and see if some material thing, some money or something has caused a bad relationship between you and another brother or you and another sister. Then you are a broad soul, a covetous one. And you need to cut down your breadth a little bit and not be so broad in your soul. And of course the other meaning of a broad soul is one who is proud. Yeah. As it says here in the living in the Good News Bible, selfishness causes trouble. And that's another cause of broadness, pride. Being lifted up. An arrogant man stirs up strife. But one who trusts in the Lord always leads to prosperity. So greed and pride are the cause of many fights. Verse 26 Here is the definition of a fool. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool. So we see that basically a fool is one who has confidence in himself. In his own ability to handle a problem. In his own understanding. In his own wisdom. People who reason so much in trying to argue and prove a point. They are people who have a lot of confidence in their own reasoning. You find a lot of believers like that. Trying to argue and reason out a particular point. They are quite confident in themselves. The very fact that they argue and reason so much proves that they are fools. But he who walks wisely will be delivered. And that's the contrast. In other words when we trust in ourselves, that is what hinders wisdom. That's why right in the beginning of Proverbs we read in chapter 3, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean to your own understanding. Because if you lean to your own understanding you become a fool. A lot of things your reason tells you which are completely wrong. And when we come to the scriptures, we can argue this, argue that, they argue the other thing. It's always good to be a little humble and say yeah, that's not very clear on that but that's my understanding at the moment. Certain things of course God's word is clear on but a whole lot of unnecessary things I sometimes find many believers are so worked up and occupied and so dogmatic about some small trivial matter in which they think they have got the wisdom of Almighty God. That's pure conceit and it's a mark of an absolute fool that he does not have the humility to acknowledge that there are so many trivial matters in which we don't yet have perfect wisdom. Paul was humble enough to say, I don't see everything clearly yet. Take that position there are things Paul saw clearly concerning the gospel, concerning Jesus Christ and concerning God and salvation and sanctification. But there were so many other things which were not pertaining to life and godliness in which Paul had the humility to acknowledge in 1 Corinthians 13, I don't see clearly yet. And it's very good for us to have the same humility and humble approach in this area. In the Good News Bible it reads like this, it's foolish to follow your own opinions. Be safe and follow the teachings of wiser people. Yeah, we can have our own opinions on so many things but if we are humble enough to accept the wisdom of wiser people, it says here we can be safe. Delivered means protected and that's why God gives us, those who have more maturity to help us when we are young so that we can be protected and saved. I've seen young people who have accepted the advice of those whom they themselves have considered wiser and who have been protected and have grown up without a testimony for foolishness. And I've seen other young people who think quite a lot about themselves and don't take the advice of those who are older and they grow up and they are perpetually getting a testimony for doing one foolish thing after another. I want to encourage you young people, the really younger teenagers and others growing up don't grow up in the assembly and get a testimony that you are foolish and keep on getting a testimony of doing one foolish stupid thing after another just because you are so proud of yourself. A lot of other people have done that type of thing. Don't follow in their footsteps and be a spiritual idiot yourself. Learn a lesson from all that and say, I want to humble myself and go according to the wisdom that my parents give me. You see, if you are a teenager the person whom God has put over you is not the elder in the church it's your parents. Listen to them first. They are wiser than you and you will be saved from so many stupid things. Otherwise you can also grow up to get a testimony like so many others of just doing one stupid foolish thing after another. It never seems to end, you know. That's just one simple thing. Be safe and follow the teachings of wiser people. It's foolish to follow your own opinion. The book of Proverbs is a tremendous amount of wisdom. Same thing I say to wives listen to your husbands and you will be saved from a fantastic amount of folly that can come into your home if you will only humble yourself and submit to the advice of your husband, even if your clever opinion doesn't feel that's absolutely right. God has given your husband over you. If you listen to him, the chances are you will be protected from a fantastic amount of folly in your home. Verse 27 He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes, hides his eyes to the poor, many people will curse him, will have many curses. In other words, what's the opposite of a curse? It's a blessing. Jesus said it is more blessed, or you'll have more blessing, it's more blessed to give Acts 20 verse 35 than to receive. It's always more blessed. A blessed man is one who has learned to give rather than to receive. Verse 28 reads like this in the Living Bible When the wicked prosper good men go away. And when the wicked meet disaster then good men return. That's referring to a country where good men go away when the wicked people are prospering and they return when the wicked meet with disaster. We can apply that to the church as well. When the leadership in a church is not good, then the good people leave that church. See, when we hear of people leaving a church that should never disturb us unless it is the best people in the church who are leaving. Then something's wrong. But if they're not the best people in the church leaving, a lot of people come and they're gone, that's not serious. You see, this is sometimes the accusation that we have received in the church here that some of the best people leave some other assembly and come here. And I say that assembly is so stupid that they don't ask themselves, why are the best people leaving? I mean, if it's just a carnal good for nothing folk are leaving that's not serious. And I say that's how it must always be. That if we see the best people in a church wanting to leave and go somewhere else, that should bring us down on our face in repentance. Say, Lord have mercy on us, what's wrong with us? But if we find some people come, they're not wholehearted, they're not the best people they're not the most spiritual, they're not the most wise, they come and they go there'll always be such visitors come and go and it doesn't disturb us. Chapter 29 verse 1 Chapter 29 verse 1 reads like this in the Good News Bible. If you get more stubborn every time you're corrected one day you'll be crushed so badly that you'll never recover. Another warning for all of us that God can correct us directly through discipline he can also correct us through those whom he has set above us in the family and in the church but if each time you are corrected, he doesn't soften you, that you get more and more stubborn finally one day it will lead to a complete crushing. In the Living Bible it says if you refuse to accept criticism after constant reproval one day you'll come to the place where you'll never have another chance, you'll just suddenly be broken. That's why it's always good for us to be humble to receive correction. However old we may be however spiritual we may think we are as long as people rule as long as I have not yet become like you I need correction and I want to receive it but when people are unwilling to accept correction then it's a very dangerous position they have come to, it's like a cancer that has spread so much we have to say like the doctor there's not much hope there not much hope for that spread, not much hope for that disease because so many corrections didn't seem to have had any effect on that. Verse 2 show me a righteous ruler, Good News Bible and I will show you a happy people show me a wicked ruler and I will show you a miserable people and of course we see that everything that applies in the Old Testament to a country applies in the New Testament to the Church because in the Old Testament God's people were Israel, a nation in the New Testament it's the Church and it also applies to the family so when it really speaks about a king or a ruler, we've got to apply that to the head of the family and to the leadership in the church when, show me a righteous father and I'll show you a happy family show me a wicked father and I'll show you a miserable family and the same thing with a church the character of a church is usually a reflection of the leadership of the church according to this verse verse 3 a man who loves wisdom makes his father glad we can apply that to our Heavenly Father that he's glad, delighted when he finds a child of his who loves wisdom who longs to get wisdom and of course one who loves wisdom will love correctness that's usually the test of whether we love wisdom, very easy for us to say oh God I love wisdom well the test of it is your attitude when God rebukes you or when you're corrected something you've done wrong you're corrected, you get offended God says you don't love wisdom at all you're not interested in wisdom at all you're just saying that with your lips but he who keeps company with harlot wastes his wealth that also we can apply spiritually, we can apply in the physical realm as well if a person's loose in this area, the sexual area, he can lose all his spiritual wealth in the same way spiritually if you keep company with harlot you lose out spiritually you've got to be careful dear young brothers and sisters of the type of friends you have do you know that it is possible for a person to be a believer and to have the spirit of a spiritual harlot that means there's no fear of God in that person there is no seriousness towards sin in that person lot of foolish talking and useless conversations all these things and it's possible for a person to have the spirit of a harlot and to sit in CFC that's the tragedy and when you find someone like that whose spirit is not leading you to a greater fear of God and contact with whom is not leading you to greater godliness and sanctification I want to urge you young brothers and sisters particularly avoid such a person even if that person is a member of CFC you can be deceived thinking that such a person is going to help you spiritually because perhaps they know the doctrine no he who keeps company with harlots and it doesn't have to be a person who is a prostitute necessarily but one who is spiritually and harlotry who is not wholehearted who knows the doctrine but is not wholehearted in godliness and you find that fellowship with such a person is not leading you to greater sanctification and holiness and godliness in your life avoid it otherwise you lose whatever little wealth you got. Our whole life is meant to accumulate some spiritual wealth don't waste it and ruin it and lose it by keeping company with those who are not also in that pursuit of acquiring more and more of the divine nature if you listen to this advice five years from now you'll be very thankful you can neglect this advice and you'll regret it I guarantee you'll regret it take it seriously what the word of god said watch your company dear young people seek the fellowship of the wholehearted not just believers not even just cfc believers but the wholehearted and if you can't find a wholehearted person like that be alone I would rather be alone than waste my time with those who are not wholehearted any day I say that to every young person here take it seriously be one of those who can make your heavenly father glad by loving wisdom verse 4 the king gives stability to the land by justice but a man who takes bribes overthrows it bribery brings corruption the good news bible says when the king is concerned with justice the nation will be strong but when he is only concerned with money he will ruin his country when a father when a father is concerned about righteousness his family will be strong but when a father is only concerned about money he will ruin his family that's what that verse basically means it's self explanatory we don't need any explanation for that verse 5 again about flattery a man who flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his steps in other words we don't need to apply that to ourselves I hope we are not going to flatter anyone but we got to be careful when someone else comes to flatter us think of this verse why is this person saying so many nice things about me now he is spreading a net what do people spread a net for what do they put a net into the sea for to catch the fish the bait to catch us for something it's a net spread on the ground with a big pit underneath for the elephant to fall inside it's a trap net and if you are wise you will always be a bit careful when you find somebody saying a lot of nice things to you and you say I am not going to take that seriously but if on the other hand you find someone rebuking you or correcting you there you can listen carefully there is no trap there there is no net there that's going to be for your good there we see the folly of worldly people who prefer flattery to correction there we see also whether a believer is worldly or not when a believer loves flattery he is a worldly believer and when a believer hates correction he is a worldly believer that's all there is to it verse 6 it's amazing to see how much the book of Proverbs has to speak about correction and rebuke and how much it warns against flattery verse 6 by transgression an evil man is ensnared but the righteous sings and rejoices in the good news bible it says evil people are trapped in their own sin while honest people are happy and free when a person is trapped in a difficulty it's very often because of his own sin that he is trapped done something wrong and he is trapped but a person who is honest and upright and happy and free we can see in so many situations that when we find ourselves in a trap it's because we have done something sinful that if we were honest and clear and lived with a clear conscience toward god and man it says here honest people are happy happiness comes through godliness through happiness the joy of the lord comes through happiness through holiness through holiness comes happiness honest people are happy and they are free they are not in a trap they may be in difficulties but god delivers them the devil may put them in a tight corner but they are free because god delivers verse 7 the righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor the wicked does not understand such a concern jesus always cared for the poor people who were oppressed and we must also have a concern for people who are being oppressed that's why jesus was so much against the religious rulers of his day why? because he had a concern for the poor israelites there who were being led astray and deceived by all these religious rulers and i tell you if we are like jesus we will also be 100% against all these so called christian leaders and bishops and priests and pastors who don't allow their people to hear the whole truth of god and come into a life of victory and into sanctification not enough to say yes i desire that myself we have to be against all these religious rulers who hinder the oppressed poor from coming to an understanding of god's word the righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor think of all the sincere believers simple people who are sitting in so many denominations today who are just in a trap they are told their marriage won't be conducted their funeral won't be conducted if they don't stay there and therefore they are in that trap they are not allowed to come to obedience to god's word and godliness jesus cared for the oppressed poor but also it means that the righteous man is merciful to others whereas the wicked person is not merciful one manifestation of righteousness is mercy that's why we see the pharisees did not have true righteousness they had a counterfeit righteousness because they didn't have mercy in it that's a very good test for us to apply to ourselves when i think i'm righteous i'm getting victory over the lust of my eyes i'm righteous in paying my taxes and i'm not losing my temper and so many other good things about me i can think myself righteous and yet if mercy is not there i have to write across all my righteousness counterfeits counterfeits pharisaical not the true thing mercy is one of the characteristics of true righteousness a truly righteous person is concerned for the rights of the poor that he is merciful to someone who does not have the righteousness that he has verse 8 in the living bible it reads like this fools start fights everywhere that means spawners set a city aflame with their fights but wise men always try to keep peace the one who starts a fight in a home is the fool in that home remember that always the one who starts a fight in a home is a fool, whatever doctrine he or she may believe the one who starts a fight in a church is the fool of the church and the one who wants to make peace is the wise man very simple, straight forward and continuing on the same theme, verse 9 reads like this in the living bible there's no use arguing with a fool he only rages and scoffs and tempers flare up it's useless to argue with a fool and a fool is one who is self confident as we saw earlier and who has no sense of need in his life, no desire for godliness it's foolish to argue with such people and to reason with such people and I need to go further and see that when I argue and reason with a fool it just proves that I'm a fool myself and that's why we need to run away from all arguments and all controversy all types of argument and controversy even over doctrinal matters because argument brings a manifestation of folly so let's steer clear of that verse 10 men of bloodshed hate the blameless but the upright are concerned for his life what that basically means is that the living bible says evil people long to kill the godly but the godly person prays and is concerned for the evil person attitudes are completely different the evil person's attitude to the godly he hates them and I believe that's one reason why people oppose the message of sanctification but if our attitude if we are godly and our attitude to someone who opposes us is a test of our own godliness too you see it says here in 1 John 3 12 Cain was of the devil and he slew his brother why did he slay him? because his own deeds were evil and his brother's deeds were righteous and there's something that works up a person who is defeated by sin when he hears someone preaching about victory over sin for example, if you say that what it says in the book of Ecclesiastes anger dwells in the bosom of a fool that when you get angry you are just manifesting and shouting to the whole world I am a fool! did you hear that? I'm going to get angry again I am a fool! you didn't hear it clearly last time I'm telling you today now, I am a fool and when a pastor hears that who still hasn't got victory over anger you can be sure that he'll oppose that message because it's manifesting him as a fool in the eyes of his congregation this is the reason why the sons of Cain ate the righteous sons of Abel because their own deeds are evil their brother's deeds are righteous that has continued from the beginning of creation the very first two children of Adam are like two streams of humanity and that's what we see here but the attitude of the God-fearing person is the attitude of Jesus Father, forgive them they don't know what they are doing or as David says in Psalm 35 David says in Psalm 35 and verse 11 to 14 malicious witnesses rise up against me they ask me of things I don't know they repay me evil for good but verse 13, as for me when they were sick my clothing was sackcloth I humbled my soul with fasting I went about as though my own friend or brother was sick I bowed down with mourning but when I stumbled they rejoiced you see, here's the contrast between the attitude of a wicked person towards the righteous person and the righteous person towards the wicked person David says, when they were sick when they were in difficulty I was grieved but when I had a problem that's the mark of a wicked person and a godly person because a god fearing person says, I am my brother's keeper he doesn't say like am I my brother's keeper he's concerned but a godless person he just thinks of himself right, we go on to verse 11 a fool always loses his temper but a wise man holds it back here's another of those verses that I was just referring to a fool always loses his temper but a wise man holds it back we can read that here, it says stupidest people, verse 11, Good News Bible express their anger openly but sensible people are patient and hold it back when we feel something rising up within us in our flesh in a certain situation we must remember this verse a fool lets it all out like the psychiatrist says let it all out and you'll feel more relaxed inside that's the advice of the devil but the holy spirit says now is the time to fight that lust in your flesh that's coming up put it to death and die don't just keep it within be patient cool it and let it die let there be a dying, in the old testament they couldn't understand this matter of dying they could only go this far and say a wise man holds it back, that's the old testament but in the new testament we have something more we don't just hold that anger back inside and keep it there we bear the dying of Jesus there so that that disappears altogether it's not just holding it back a wise man just puts it to death and it disappears verse 12 reads like this in the good news bible if a ruler pays attention to false information all his officials will be liars there again we can apply that to a father of a family and to all of us as we grow up to be those who are older to others if we pay attention to false information in other words a ruler should not pay attention to false information or in other words you should not believe everything that you hear if you believe everything that you hear and then you go about tomtoming it all over the place what you heard one thing it proves is you're a fool the other thing it proves is that you're not really an older brother or an older sister you are not fit to be an older brother or sister to any human being under the sun you're just a baby Jesus did not believe everything his ears heard he did not even believe everything his eyes saw and that's much more difficult we can get victory over the first part alright I'm not going to believe everything my ears heard that may not have been true but to get victory in the second area that I'm not even going to believe everything I see there may be some reason behind it I can't explain it that's really to become like Jesus he would not judge by his ears or by his eyes Isaiah 11 3 but with righteousness he'd like to listen to the Holy Spirit that's the place we are to come to then we can truly be examples to others who are younger to us forerunners to them don't listen to everything that you hear anyway of course when a person older person is like that all his ministers become wicked we can apply it like this that if a father is like that his children are going to be like that think of a father and mother who sit around the table and gossip and speak evil about others in the church they're going to produce a brood of children who grow up to be like that and it's no use the father and mother getting angry with their children for being gossipers because they've got to ask themselves what have I been doing at home myself to teach them all that rubbish at the dining table when they were sitting around with me don't blame them it's like a father who smokes and smokes and smokes and then his child becomes addict to cigarettes and then he gets upset with his child why do you get upset with your child? you're the one who taught him how to smoke, you're the one who taught him how to gossip, you're the one who taught him those evil habits, you're the one who taught him to be so selfish that's good for us to judge ourselves in this area verse 13 the poor man and the oppressor have this thing in common that the Lord gives light to the eyes of both there's a lot of difference in the world between the poor man and the oppressor sometimes masters can be oppressors to their servants and they forget who has given light to your eyes God, he can blind you in a moment to that poor person God's given light to his eyes too be humble and recognize in all situations that God can judge you even if in some situation you have power over another humble yourself and recognize that God can judge you very easily don't be so haughty and think that you are something or someone it's good to have small thoughts about ourselves even if we are elevated above others in the social structure of this world verse 14 if a king judges the poor with truth his throne will be established forever and that is in righteousness without partiality back to the same theme of no partiality there should never be partiality and I really believe from all the experience that I've had in these last 26 years of various types of denominations in this country it is partiality by which the devil has prevailed the gates of hell have prevailed against so many churches because you go to most churches or most Christian organizations just see who are the board members you'll always find they are the big shots in society who happen to be members there some of them may not even be converted some big shot or you go to some of these Christian functions and see who is asked to open, dedicate some hall or have the opening of some building they'll call some big shot in society who may happen to be a Christian also but he's not called because he's a God-fearing brother, he's called because he's the director of this or some big official, some secretary or some police official or some thing like that he's a big shot and therefore he's invited that's the surest way to destroy a church because God will stay a million of miles away from such a church where there's partiality no the king judges the poor with truth, his throne will be established forever and God will only find himself in a church where there is no respect of persons given to a person's position or education or color of skin or community or anything the fear of God is the only thing that is valued in the true church verse 15 the rod and reproof give wisdom but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother the good news bible it reads like this, correction and discipline are good for children if a child has his own way, one day his mother will be ashamed of him beware of giving children their own way, that will has to be broken very early in life and I think that danger comes usually with the youngest child having their own way there's only one child also there's a danger but even when there are many with the youngest because usually when there's a fight for toys the youngest gets it or there's something, the youngest gets it gradually that youngest person youngest child begins to have its own way in almost everything and we've got to be most careful with the youngest sometimes the youngest tends to be the darling as well tremendous problems and if a child has its own way, one day the mother will be ashamed of that child, the other children will grow up alright, that child the mother will have to be ashamed that puts the responsibility on the mother there you've got to take that seriously it says the shame will come on the mother and of course the father too there's an example in the old testament remember Solomon wrote this book of Proverbs and he could have probably thought of his half brother Adonijah, you read of Adonijah in 1 Kings chapter 1 he was a step brother of Solomon and we read in about Adonijah in 1 Kings chapter 1 verse 5 and 6 Adonijah the son of Haggith the son of David exalted himself saying I will be king and it says about him that his father David had never pained him never caused him pain at any time by even asking him a question like why have you done this think of a father like that who never asked his child even once why did you do this and that child grew up to rebel against the god appointed king Solomon rebellion is sewn into the heart by parents who don't correct and discipline their children who allow them to have their own way that's a warning for all of us let's take it seriously verse 16 when the wicked increase transgression increases but the righteous will see their fall in some cases we see their fall immediately on this earth in some cases we see their fall only in eternity but one thing is sure the righteous will one day see the fall of every wicked person it may look on this earth as though the wicked are prospering and it looks as though the righteous person is not really getting on but one day with your own eyes you will see that wicked person fall so don't envy him correct your son and he will give you comfort verse 17 he will also delight your soul as the good news bible says discipline your son and you can always be proud of him he will never give you reason to be ashamed again a repetition discipline your son think of the number of times it says in the book of proverbs discipline your son and he will never give you reason to be ashamed we really need to take that very seriously brothers and sisters as parents because the spirit of rebellion is increasing in the world as we approach the end of time 50 years ago even in the days when some of us were in school we can't remember the type of rebellion against teachers that we find in schools today there was a fear of teachers I remember in my younger days you don't find that today in today's 10, 11, 12 year old children it only proves that we are approaching the end of time the devil knows he's got a short time the spirit of rebellion is rife in the world that's why we need to really in the church protect our children from that spirit by disciplining them at home never allow them to speak rudely to older people never allow them to disobey father and mother that spirit of rebellion has to be disciplined beware of allowing a child to have his own way discipline and correction will protect him and he will never give reason for us to be ashamed