Lips For The Lord

Proverbs 17:4 (KJV) A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.

The Heart Drives The Lips

When the heart, filled with wicked desire, cherishes that desire, the heart will seek out any false testimony that it can to support its evil. Some time ago I preached a funeral for a man who never had time for God while on this earth. I did as I usually do when someone dies who gave no outward evidence of peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I merely read the obituary, and then preached the Gospel. I made no judgment one way or the other, but preached the Gospel of Christ. At the end of the funeral the man’s mother came to me and said, “What gives me comfort is that my son is in Heaven with Jesus”. I never said that one way or the other. But that’s what she heard.

People hear what their heart tells them, regardless as to what is true or false. Those with darkened and spiritually dead hearts reject the Light of God.

The Pharisees and chief priests did the same thing with Jesus and His ministry. Their hearts were focused on religious ritual rather than a relationship with God. The Lord Jesus declared:

John 3:19 … this is the condemnation, that Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

People who gravitate toward evil will seek out “false lips” so as to justify their behavior. Darkness loves darkness. When you read the Word of God to Israel under Jeremiah, it sounds much like America today. God told Israel:

Jeremiah 5:23-31 (NKJV) this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed. 24 They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the Lord our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.” 25 Your iniquities have turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you. 26 ‘For among My people are found wicked men; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men. 27 As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich. 28 They have grown fat, they are sleek; Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the fatherless; Yet they prosper, And the right of the needy they do not defend. 29 Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord. ‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’ 30 “An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?

When the heart wanders from God and into darkness, God will often allow the wandering. So often I hear lying news reports spewing apparent untruths, while people in the background applaud. We are told:

Proverbs 17:4 (KJV)… a liar giveth ear to a NAUGHTY TONGUE.

Word Study: Evil has its own punishment. The word “NAUGHTY” is the Hebrew haûâ (pro. hav-vaw’) which means “that which brings to ruin or destruction, that which brings calamity”. The Word of God and what God has said is TRUTH, but the word of man is fallible. If you heed the Word of God, blessing comes. Jesus said:

John 15:3 (ESV) Already you are clean because of the Word that I have spoken to you.

The world and its false prophets speak lies from human tradition and human desire. Lies enslave the liar.

God offers blessing through His Word. Jesus said to His people “You will know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall set you free” (John 8:32). It is God’s Word, not just HEARD but APPLIED, that brings us into a right state with God (John 17:17). As we cherish God’s Word and live by it, we are drawn into the light, not into darkness. The Psalmist declared:

Psalm 119:11 (ESV) I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

What a person believes influences their speech and their actions. What a person hears and says, effects what a person will do. Jesus said:

Luke 6:45 (ESV) The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

God Gives Us The Poor For A Reason

Proverbs 17:5 Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

Word Study: The word translated “MOCKETH” is the Hebrew lāʿaḡ (pro. law-ag’) which means “laugh at, to scorn, to mock”. To mock or laugh at those who are in need shows a spiritual deficiency in a person’s life. God gives us the poor for a reason. Our Lord Jesus said

“you will have the POOR with you ALWAYS”
(Matthew 26:11; Mark 14:7; John 12:8).

Why would a loving God as our Heavenly Father is leave impoverished people on this earth? God not only leaves the poor, He MAKES the poor. When Job lost everything that he had (for Job was a well to do believer in Christ) he worshiped God, saying:

Job 1:21 Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD GAVE, and the LORD HATH TAKEN AWAY; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Though we may make bad decisions that bring poverty on ourselves, there are times when poverty is God’s directive.

When Israel turned away from God’s Word, the Lord brought poverty to the land:

Isaiah 42:24 (ESV) Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?

The looters and plunderers did it, but God directed it. In the Book of 1 Samuel, Hannah the wife of Elkanah was a good and Godly woman. But the Bible says

“the LORD had closed her womb” (1 Samuel 1:6).

Hannah was impoverished of children because God directed it. Hannah went to the Temple and prayed that God would bless her with a child. The Bible tells us that:

1 Samuel 1:19-20 (NKJV) … Elkanah KNEW Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

Hannah dedicated her child to God. Following her dedication, Hannah prayed one of the most beautiful and theologically sound prayers in the Bible. In her prayer she said:

1 Samuel 2:6-9 (NKJV) “The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. 7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. 8 He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He has set the world upon them. 9 He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.

To whom was the Gospel given? Jesus said:

Matthew 11:5 … the POOR have the gospel preached to them.

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the POOR

Those who have much often have no need of God. “God is their belly” (Philippians 3:19). In the midst of want we will look up. In poverty, we will seek God.

How you react to the poor is a sign of whether you are saved or lost. The saved person will have compassion on the poor, whereas the unsaved will only care about their own needs. Jesus said:

Matthew 25:31-40 (NKJV) When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Our God is Grace oriented. His people are to be Gracious. The Lord in the Law directed Israel:

Leviticus 19:10 (ESV) And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

Children And Grandchildren Are A Blessing From God

Proverbs 17:6 Children’s children are the CROWN of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

Children are a blessing, not a curse. I watched a show the other day called “The Closer” where the lead character thought she was pregnant. She thought it was the greatest curse she had ever been through! When she found out that she was not pregnant, she told her boyfriend “We must take all precautions to make sure that I don’t get pregnant in the future”. Was she talking about withholding sexual activity until she was Biblically married, as God intends for us all? No. To her, sexual activity is for recreation rather than procreation.

Many women today grieve that they chose their careers over having a child when they could. Children are not a curse, but a blessing from God. God says:

Psalm 127:3-5 (NKJV) Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. 5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

Sadly, many women get abortions because of illicit and unbiblical sexual liaisons. After the pleasure, the lost man will often shun the impregnated woman and move on to another woman to use. Such men are not only selfish, but are fools.

the GLORY of children are their fathers

Word Study: The word “GLORY” is the Hebrew tip̄’ārâ (pronounced tif-aw-raw’) which means “that which is an ornament, something upon which you boast, splendor or like a fine jewel”. Children raised with a father who loves the Lord will turn out to be glorious, children to be bragged on. The world has spent several many years mocking fathers. Feminists like Irina Patsi Dunn, Australian writer, senator, and film maker popularized the phrase,

A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.

Feminists like Gloria Steinem popularized this concept, denigrating men in order to seek out equality for women. Yet their mocking of men – and of fathers – does not stand up to truth. The Association of Child Psychotherapists notes:

“Dads really do matter. Children need fathers – just as they need mothers – to love them, to be interested in them and to respond to their needs, making them feel valued and understood. … Fathers also matter because they are important to their partners. Their parents’ relationship is the model of relating that children take on board, so the success or failure of their own future relationships will be deeply influenced by how their parents manage things. That is not to say that parents have to be perfect. But it is important for children to see their parents working together to try to sort out the difficulties that every family face from time to time.”

It is my belief that the increase in gender dysphoria is because children are being raised in families where fathers play no part. Children need exposure to both a mother and a father. When our Lord Jesus quoted the Fifth Commandment, He said:

Matthew 15:4 God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother (Exodus 20:12): and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death (Leviticus 20:9) see also Deuteronomy 5:16; 21:18-21; Proverbs 23:22).

Children are to honor both father and mother. Both father and mother are to honor God by training their children to love the Lord. For the father who stays the course, lovingly raising his child to honor God,

Children’s children are the CROWN of old men

You will be rewarded in this life, and in the life to come, for showing your children Biblical masculinity!

Good Rulers Speak Truth

Proverbs 17:7 Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.

Nothing bothers me more than a liar. I was raised not to lie. My daddy whipped me if I lied. Daddy told me, “The only thing you have that no one can take away from you is YOUR WORD. Don’t become known as a liar.”

In politics and on the mainstream media, people love to lie. One of the biggest liars – blatant liars – on television is the ABC tragedy called “The View”. Recently they had one of their “hosts” say, “77% of Americans in 2023 said Joe Biden was too old to run again. And they were told ‘Sit down, shut up, he is the nominee’. At this point their guest Damon Imani spoke up. Damon is a comedian and a political commentator. He spoke up.

“Wait, wait! When Americans were watching Joe being barely able to walk and put a sentence together, every single one of you at this table were telling them not to believe what they could see with their eyes and what they could hear with their ears. You and your friends in the media were constantly rejecting those concerns as disinformation and cheap fakes. Remember that one, Joy? Cherry picked clips to mislead people. You said that. Sunny, you even said those concerns were rooted in ageism, just like you connect everything to sexism and racism. You’re a race hustler – you know that, right? … for the record, you two were doing the telling.”

The problem with lying is that you have to remember the lie you told! Lying is foolish.

Excellent speech becometh not a fool

Fools may sound good, but their speech is not excellent, but destructive and deceptive. God despises liars. The devil is a liar. He told the first lie in the Garden of Eden. “You won’t die, but God doesn’t want you to eat the forbidden fruit because the day you do so, you will be like gods!” A lie believed brought creation to a fatal stop. We have previously seen in this Book:

Proverbs 12:22 (ESV) Lying lips are an ABOMINATION to the LORD …

and Proverbs 6:16-17 (ESV) … the LORD hates … a LYING TONGUE

Who will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever? The Bible tells us:

Revelation 21:8 (ESV) as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

Who will be forbidden entrance into God’s Heaven? Once more we read:

Revelation 22:15 (ESV) Outside are the dogs {unbelievers} and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

I was told by my daddy that “If someone will steal the truth, they will steal anything”. I believe he was right. God demands that fathers teach their children the truth, that Pastors and Deacons teach the Church truth, that the leaders of countries be truthful – even if it hurts. When the world suggests that we follow the lies of Satan, the darkness of the world, let us who believe remember the standard that the Apostles gave us. Pastor J.D. Greear notes:

“The early Roman world did not understand Christians and felt threatened by them, and so they made up lies about them. They thought Christians were superstitious (because they believed in miracles), called them atheists (they denied Roman gods) and incestuous (they were marrying their “brothers and sisters”), even that they were cannibals (they were eating “flesh” and drinking “blood” together). Christians were the preferred scapegoats for societal problems. When Nero burnt Rome and the Visigoths attacked the city, both blamed the Christians.”

The Apostle Peter warned the Church that – just as Jesus was unjustly attacked, we who believe will be attacked (1 Peter 2:21-24). When Jesus was attacked:

1. He was patient.
2. He trusted His life to the Father.
3. He kept telling the truth, though reviled.

There is a temptation for us all to be part of the lie. After all, “Don’t rock the boat”, “It’s easier to go with the flow”, “Go with the status quo”, and “Don’t make waves”. Beloved, the only way you will make a difference in the darkness is to be the light. The Apostle Paul stood strong, though imprisoned numerous times, stoned nearly to death, and hounded by the religious establishment. He was slandered as a “reprobate” (Greek adokimos, someone who is worthless, a castaway from God or useless). Paul tells us:

2 Corinthians 13:6-8 (KJV) … we are not reprobates. 7 Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.

God’s truth will OUT.
It will OUTlast the lies.
It will OUTlive the evil.
It will OUTachieve the falseness.
His truth will certainly OUTrage the world,
but in the end His Word will OUTdeliver and OUTperform
Satan’s lies and Satan’s children.
Don’t let the devil and this world fake you OUT,
with its OUTlandish lies.
I’m standing with Jesus. How abOUT you?

Amen!