Righteousness Delivers From Death Series

INTRO.- ILL.- Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production.

The Model T was introduced on October 1, 1908. The car was very simple to drive, and easy and cheap to repair. It was so cheap at $825 in 1908 ($21,430 today) (the price fell every year) that by the 1920s, a majority of American drivers had learned to drive on the Model T.

Sales passed 250,000 in 1914. By 1916, as the price dropped to $360 for the basic touring car, sales reached 472,000. By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model T's. All new cars were black; as Ford wrote in his autobiography, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black".

Henry Ford was also something of a wit. Here are some of his famous quotes and most of them could easily be backed up with scripture.

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” Psalm 92:14 “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green...”

“Failure is simply an opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” James 4:8-10 “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.” Philippians 3:13-14 “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

“I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn't need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about.”

Isaiah 46:9-11 “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.”

One of my college professors said long ago, “Beginning with chapter 10 the book of Proverbs reads like a dictionary; every verse is a different subject.” And it’s true.

PROP.- Let’s examine several verses from God’s dictionary on wisdom.

1- RIGHTEOUSNESS DELIVERS FROM DEATH

2 Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death.

Ill-gotten treasures. Do you have any? I’m sure you wouldn’t admit it if you did. Ill-gotten treasures are treasures, money or material things that a person got by doing evil or wrong, by cheating others, etc.

ILL.- Bernie Madoff had plenty of ill-gotten treasures for many years. And so did O J Simpson and look at where both of these men are now! Bernie Madoff was convicted of fraud as a former stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier. He “made off” with the money that belonged to others.

He is the former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, and the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered to be the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.

On December 10, 2008, Madoff's sons told authorities that their father had confessed to them that the asset management unit of his firm was a massive Ponzi scheme, and quoted him as describing it as "one big lie".

On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies and admitted to turning his wealth management business into a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars. Madoff said he began the Ponzi scheme in the early 1990s. On June 29, 2009, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum allowed.

Bernie’s cheating and thievery got him nowhere but in prison for the rest of life. And I doubt seriously that he has ever repented of his sin, although God has given him that ability. He could repent, give his life to Christ and be delivered from death but I doubt he will make that decision. His heart seems to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Even the stories that we hear about him in prison say that he is not a changed man and still lives for himself.