As you turn with me to Proverbs 14, let me give a little introduction to this wonderful Book.

Introduction

When I began to make prayer a priority in my life many years ago, I started by praying through the Book of Proverbs. The Book of Proverbs is largely written by King Solomon, a man who was given wisdom from God.

1 Kings 4:29 God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

Solomon was said to be the wisest man who ever lived. Solomon found out that BEING wise and DOING
the wise thing is not always the same.

Solomon often failed in his walk with God, but God’s Grace is sufficient for all who believe (2 Corinthians 12:9). Though Solomon loved and followed the Lord our God, he, like we who are His Children by faith in Christ (Galatians 3:26), often fail the Lord. And yet, our God is faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:13). Though Solomon did not write all of the Proverbs, I believe he collected all of the Proverbs, these 31 chapters of wonderful messages to us. As there are no more than 31 days in a month, you can read and pray over a Proverb each day – and learn much by it. Solomon’s name is found at the beginning of Proverbs 1:1; 10:1; and 25:1.

The purpose of Proverbs is to teach “the fear (or respect of) the Lord”. As the Book begins Solomon wrote:

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Cliff’s Notes on the Book of Proverbs contains this very truthful statement:

“The Book of Proverbs assumes that divine revelation is communicated to individuals through careful and correct thinking, as well as through prophetic inspiration. This conception leads to the view that the wise man lives in harmony with the divine will; the fool brings disaster upon himself.”

I couldn’t have said that better. Let me say it again: “The wise man (or woman) lives in harmony with the Divine Will; the fool (or godless acting person) brings disaster upon himself (or herself).”

What a person believes internally will always dictate
what that person does externally.

You can say “I believe thus and such”, but it is your actions that prove what you actually believe. Every actions has consequences. We have forgotten this in America.

We Need To Take Responsibility For Our Actions
We Need To Get Back To God’s Word

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Two verses, exactly the same. There is a way that seems right unto a person. The person follows that way, believing that the way is right. But because the way is not right, it leads to death.

When I was a young man, peer pressure drove me. My peers offered me alcohol, drugs, a destructive lifestyle. Then I met God through Jesus Christ. Life has become simpler and better when I seek the counsel of God before I commit my way to something.

God loves us, and always wants the BEST for us. He placed Adam in a perfect environment. God gave Adam a perfect wife. He gave Adam VERY CLEAR directions. God told Adam:

Genesis 2:16-17 … Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Adam, I’ve given you much. Just don’t eat of this ONE tree, else you will die. And yet, the serpent (who is Satan) came into the Garden, and said:

Genesis 3:4-5 Ye shall not surely die: 5 for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Let us learn from Adam. The WORLD does not love you. The devil certainly doesn’t love you. God loves you. God says what is right, and what is wrong. Though the way we think seems to be good, in time if it doesn’t measure up to GOD’S WAY then it leads to destruction and suffering. When Adam chose to obey the serpent, he died spiritually in that very moment, just as God said. Adam’s legacy is summarized in …

Romans 5:12 … by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Adam not only hurt himself, but hurt his children as well (and we are all his children). Sin is in the world because of that one, seemingly innocuous act. It was a small thing, to eat that fruit. We were designed by God to eat. We are given the teeth and the bone and muscle to eat. Yet to use what God gave us – our mouths – to consume the wrong thing brought death on a worldwide populace.

What you believe is what you do. If you do not believe and do what the Creator has said, you bring death upon yourself and others.

Illustrate When I was in the Air Force, I saw two very graphic tragedies that happened because of the wrong type of belief. While stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, Georgia, I had to participate in a search and recovery mission for a young F-4 pilot. He was flying a night mission. While on a night mission, pilots are taught to fly by instrument, not by their own sight or judgment. This young pilot was flying inverted, head toward the ground, when he became disoriented. He pushed the stick to cause the aircraft to elevate, but since he was flying head down toward the earth, he succeeded in plowing the aircraft into the ground. He did not live. There is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

We need to watch the instrument that god has given us if we do not want to crash and burn. We need to heed the Bible!

Illustrate Many years later when I was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington the command staff of the base all died while piloting a B-52 Bomber. While negotiating a dive and a hard turn the pilot misjudged the location of power lines at the end of the runway. The aircraft cartwheeled into the ground. There were no survivors. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Father Always Knows Best!

Proverbs 16:2-6 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits. 3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. 4 The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. 5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. 6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

We live in a day where people have no “fear of the Lord”. What establishes right and wrong in our America today? If you watch the news, the television shows, you will find that what people think is right is what is portrayed as right. Humans are the final arbiters of right and wrong. If we do not follow the crowd, the peer pressure, the consensus backed by the television talking heads, then we are at wrong. Secularism has gripped America. Why? Because there is no fear of the Lord. People preach a “God of love and acceptance”, regardless as to what the Scripture says.

According to the world, the Bible is just one book among other books. Humans establish what is truth. If that is true, why do we have so much discord?
Beloved, we’re going to “feel” ourselves to death.

If a person feels that he is a she, then what that person feels is right. If a person feels that marriage is to another, regardless as to who that “another” is, then this is right. If a person feels that they want to pursue a licentious lifestyle and abort the fruit of that lifestyle, then this is right. As it was in Solomon’s day, so it is in America today:

Proverbs 16:2 … All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes;
but the Lord weigheth the spirits.

As long as well all agree (or a large, shouting mob agrees), then whatever we want to do is clean in our eyes. The old words for sin, fornication, adultery, theft, riotous living, no longer apply in America. We think our way is right. But it is God Who weighs the spirits. It is God Who determines what is right or wrong, good or evil.

I have had, as a Pastor, people come to me and say “this is what I want to do. Is it all right, or not?”. My reply has always been, what has the LORD told you about your action? What does the Bible say? If God has decreed the action is wrong in Scripture, if your conscience feels a bit off from even contemplating the action, then it is not right.

Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Could you do what you propose to do with Jesus Christ standing by your side? If not, do not do it. The reason there is so much INSANITY and RIOTING in America today is because people are not committing their works unto the Lord. Are you glorifying God by your actions, or are you glorifying yourself? The Bible says:

Proverbs 16:4 The Lord hath made all things for Himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil

The Lord made all things – even you – for Himself. If you pursue wickedness, God allows you to live for His purposes. But sooner or later we all will return to the Lord. We are told in:

Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as unto the Lord, and not unto men.

The Apostle reminds us as Christians:

Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

Christian, you belong to God. You were bought with a price, the precious Blood of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23). You will return to God one day, and be judged for your works. Live as unto the Lord. Unbeliever, you are declared by God to be a FOOL:

Proverbs 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

You may reject God now, but one day your souls will also return unto God. God has said:

Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Your lack of the fear of the Lord has made you callous. Unbeliever, God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29). You are lifted up with pride, believing that what you do will never be punished. Your parents, perhaps, did not teach you discipline. You believe you are unaccountable, and will never be held responsible. This is foolishness!

If You Are RIGHTeous, You Walk RIGHT With God

Proverbs 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination unto the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

It was PRIDE that led Adam to fall. Beloved, we have no justification to be proud. What we have, we have of God.

You may believe yourselves to be invincible, joining with others like you hand in hand. But God is omnipotent, and omniscient. Your sins are an affront to the Holy God Who made all things. Sin as defined by God is unnatural, something that God would have banned from creation. Sin was not crafted into Adam’s body by God. Sin is no friend to anyone. Sin is a slave master that, in time, will bring death. The Apostle said:

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Sin is no trifle – it is a bringer of death.

• Drink alcohol unto intoxication, and you receive a hangover. Continue to do so and your liver will be destroyed. Alcohol is a poison. God does not want you to poison yourself.

• Abuse drugs for the good feelings that they bring. The drugs will destroy your God given bodily systems, your organs. Many have abused drugs, believing it to be a trifle. Many have been buried because of it.

• Use your body as a sexual playground. You may escape unharmed a few times, but in time it will bring disease, and with it destruction and death. Adrian Rogers once said:

“Don’t let a little sin in, all hell will break loose!”

• Disobey the lawful order of a policeman, contrary to the teaching of God’s Word (Romans 13:1). “He beareth not the sword in vain” (Romans 13:4). It is not the policeman’s fault if he has to shoot you. Obey the Law. God said so.

Illustrate Don’t be an I-an, be a CHRISTian! If you profess to be a Christian, then you will walk with Christ. There are many Christless who profess to be “Christian” today. Do you know what a Christian without Christ is? He or she is an I-an. The true Christian does not live for I, but for the Lord. The true Christian walks daily with Christ. The Apostle said:

1 John 1:5-7 … God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Proverbs 16:6 … by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil

We live in an America today where there is little good old fashioned “fear of the Lord” today. Did you know that the phrase “fear of the Lord” is found thirty times in Scripture, and “fear God” is found twenty-two times. We must get back to the highway of righteousness if we want to be blessed of God.

As Christ’s Children, We Walk With Him
On The Highway Of Righteousness

Proverbs 16:17-19 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil:he that keepeth His way preserveth his soul. Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

God’s Children by faith in Christ do not walk in the way of darkness. We walk so as to please our Lord. Christian, if you are indeed a Christian, you are now members of the Kingdom of God. We are to serve the Lord with the lives He has allowed us to have. When we who are His serve Him out of love and respect, He blesses us. The Bible says:

Ephesians 6:5-8 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 6 not with eye service, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7 with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8 knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

God the Father will bless your obedience. Had Adam heeded God, we would all still be in Paradise. Follow the Lord Who loves you. Not your feelings, but the Lord. Walk worthy! Walk worthy!

Colossians 1:10-14 … walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness; 12 giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Had Cain listened to God, he would never have been marked for destruction. Had Lot’s wife listened to God, she would have never been turned into a pillar of salt. Had the world listened to God in Noah’s day, destruction would have been averted. Had David listened to God, his firstborn child would never have died.

If your life has become tedious and tasteless, do not blame others. Look in the mirror, and blame the one who is looking back at you. Then look up. Turn to Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:4 ..{Jesus} gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world

Jesus did not just come to this earth to take us to Heaven. He came to this earth to bring Heaven to us. Oh Beloved, give your life to Jesus. Live not by feeling, but by faith. Turn to God’s Word daily, and recommit each day to walk in the light with Jesus. Have the attitude of faith that the Apostle had, saying:

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Do not live for the “I”. Live for the Lord. There is where life is. There is where joy is. Live for Jesus! Jesus freely bore our sins in His body on the tree of Calvary. Why? So that we could die to sin, but live to righteousness, live under His leadership (1 Peter 2:24). There is no freer or more blessed life than to live by faith in Christ, searching out God’s truths through His Bible and His Spirit.

May God touch your hearts and minds through His Word and His Spirit. Amen and Amen!