Living Right
Proverbs 12
Introduction-
Good Morning everyone
Happy you decided to join us as we gather together to hear the word of the Lord.
We are hopeful that you have come with an open heart for Him to speak to you.
We have had so much negative news lately that I would like to open the service with a praise report.
Last week Darlene and Becky both got good reports from their doctors for their cancer treatments. This has been a long process for them and we say a big Amen.
God is still on the throne and He still cares what is happening in your life!
Prayer-
Father, today, hear our cry that we desire for you to do something fresh and new. Not new and improved but fresh and new. We want Lord to hear your voice among the many voices trying to get our attention. We want you Lord to directly speak to each one of us. In Jesus Name Amen.
If you would turn to Proverbs chapter 12, we will be reading from there in a minute.
This chapter is about right living.
Righteous and the unrighteous.
Accepting discipline and those that rebel at correction.
Talk of the upright and the talk of the wicked.
The desire of the wicked and the desire of a righteous person.
Illustration-
It seems to me that everyone has an opinion on every issue, even things that they do not know much about.
Everyone is an expert. Right? You know those people.
Helping Becky put a Holy bush in our yard. If you know me, I know nothing about planting and growing. I do not have a green thumb.
I began telling Becky how to plant this bush, what we needed to do.
I was totally egg her on.
I was just talking, pretending I knew what I was talking about.
She let me go awhile and then she looked up at me and I got the look- you know the look.
I burst out laughing, because I wanted to see how long she would let that go on…everyone an expert on every subject.
When it comes to learning God’s Word…
There are pearls of wisdom in the word of God. Period.
They are there for us to learn, to better ourselves, to understand what God wants for our lives.
There are warnings, pitfalls, landmines, and consequences for not listening to His words.
One of the biggest contrasts between believer and unbeliever is where are you looking for pearls of wisdom? Are you looking to the world? Are you looking into God’s word?
I am going to be reading from the Passion Translation the first 3 verses to set the tone of Proverbs chapter 12.
“To learn the truth you must long to be teachable, or you can despise correction and remain ignorant. If your heart is right, favor flows from the Lord, but a devious heart invites His condemnation. You can’t expect success by doing what is wrong.”
I need to pause and say something…the Bible never debates wither it is the authoritative word of God- it makes a fact statement-
The Bible is …”the inspired word of God”.
It was written by many writers under the anointing of God to direct sinful mankind into a relationship with God through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of His son Jesus Christ.
There is not many ways to be saved from sin, “only one way”.
There is a gulf between a Holy God and sinful man- we cannot fix ourselves.
We cannot be good enough
Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and Man. 1 Tim 2:5- “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
Jesus proclaims “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except by me.” John 14:6
It is right to live for God-
It is right to have a relationship with Jesus Christ
It is the truth of God that sets people free and leads and guides them into eternal life with Christ.
‘Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Those that say they are good people are deceiving themselves because all of our goodness is dependent on God.
In fact, when they called Jesus good, his response was “why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”
If Jesus refers back to God the Father on being good, we cannot stand before a holy God with anything except the blood of Christ and our relationship with Him.
Proverbs 12:5-
“The thoughts of the righteous are just, but the counsel of the wicked are deceitful.”
We are righteous because of Christ
2 Corinthians 5:21, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (ESV)
Illustration- Shopping cart
There are many sizes of shopping carts- grocery carts, box store carts(huge), flower carts that have sliding shelves to put flowers on.
Each cart has a function.
It can be used for other things but is designed for a specific purpose.
Once you get into the particular store, you decide by knowing what you are looking for if you even need a cart. Can you carry it, or do you have so much that you need some help.
Then once you decide if you need a cart, you decide what is going to be put into that cart. You place items into your cart because you need them/want them.
You then decide if the price on the items is the price that you are willing to pay for that item.
Then once you have all the items, you have to make sure that you have enough money to pay for the items in the cart. From going up and down the isles, you have made your selection and these are the items that you are taking to the checkout counter.
If you think about it, you have done research even before you went into the store.
You made sure what you want are available in that store. You don’t go into a grocery store looking for a bag of mulch.
When you get the items home- you have a place for them.
You make room for them, you have some kind of system that works for you. If I am putting things in the wrong place at home, I will be told about it, because I am not in charge of that.
All I am saying this morning is that maybe we are trying the find God things in the wrong store.
Maybe we are looking for some bargains that end up not being bargains when it affects our life and our relationships.
Maybe we need to double check what is going in our carts to make sure that God would be pleased with our purchase.
(3) “You cannot expect success by doing what is wrong.”
I believe there are three principals in Proverbs 12 that lead us to right living-
Be teachable- the verse we have been looking at. (#1 if writing down)
Heart right
Speak the truth
You find that in verses Proverbs 12:16-28- Read from Bible
Heart right
Passion translation says
“If your heart is right, favor flows from the Lord, but a devious heart invites His condemnation.”
God blesses a heart right with Him
His presence walks with a heart that is focused on Him.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life.”
“And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.”
He says that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Your heart reveals what is important to you.
God knows our hearts- Better than we do ourselves-
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
Our prayer-
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O lord, my Rock and my redeemer.”
I know we are in some challenging times- uncertainty, unrest, and trying to find our way.
Some are trying to bury loved ones in the midst of all this, to get closure when it is near impossible.
Peace comes when you choose to align your heart, mind, and actions under the rule of the Lord.
When you trust in the Lord with all your heart… Amen! Then we begin to see God do some amazing things in us and through us!
The Proverb tells us that “a devious heart invites His condemnation”
Romans 8
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death, for what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own son in the likeness of sinful man to be the sin offering.”
The only way that a heart is right with God is to be right with God.
Take time to examine your heart- you don’t like the heart you have toward God, He can change that too-
Ezekiel 36;26- “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
The average heart weighs less than a pound and beats 100,000 times a day. 2.5 Billion times in an average life time.
God wants us to;
Have a pure heart,
Avoid a hard heart/ Guard our heart
Love the Lord with all of our heart
1 Samuel 16:7-
“The Lord does not look at the things people look at- people look at the outward appearance- God looks at the heart (inner being of our life)
Speak Truth
Be careful of the words that you use- the wicked use words to ambush and accuse, but the lovers of God speak to defend and protect.” (12:6)
We have an opportunity right now to lead people to Christ- the time is ripe for God to turn hearts and lives.
It is not a time to be easily offended.
It is not a time to have a short fuse and turn someone away from the faith because of things we say.
“Reckless words are like a thrust of a sword, cutting remarks meant to stab and hurt.”
“Truthful words will stand the test of time, they will sooth and heal.” Even words of correction said right can bring healing and turn a life around.
“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” What is in the heart will eventually come out of the mouth.
As I close, grab these truths from His word this morning-
The only way to be right with God is to be right with God!
That is an active relationship with Him and allowing Him to direct our lives.
Highlighting your notes-
Make sure your relationship is right with the Lord.
Be teachable and know His truth
Make sure your heart is wholly on Him
Speak truth and live truth.
Illustration-
Uncle Oscar was apprehensive about his first airplane ride. His friends, eager to hear how it went, asked if he enjoyed the flight. "Well," commented Uncle Oscar, "it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, but I'll tell you this. I never did put all my weight down!"
God is looking for someone to put all their weight down and serve Him in every way of their lives.
Closing thought
Closing prayer-
