Tag: simple ones

32.y. “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it”

 

Matthew 13:18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

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

 Proverbs 1:20-22    Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice;  at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:  “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

 Proverbs 2:1-6   My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,  making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;  yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,  if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,  then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

 John 3:19-20    And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

 Hebrews 2:1   Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Satan is always on the watch to hinder the Word of God from having any depth in the lives of people. He is very clever and the father of all lies. He will find any and all weaknesses in a person and exploit them to keep a person from growing in depth and width in the Word of God and commitment to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. He will cast doubt, incite fear, promote anger, cause division, produce lust, marginalize greed, promote pride, invoke jealousy, harden hearts, deafen ears, stiffen necks, create chaos, insert busyness, and whatever else he can do to keep peoples lives from deeply grounded commitment to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all they think, say, and do.  

We ought to never be content with our current understanding and knowledge of the things of God. Certainly, we must be content with what we know so far for it is the basis of our faith and walk with God. However, a plant must be watered and weeded if there is to be growth and fruit produced. 

When we truly and deeply commit and above all else, strive to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do, it is then we will find our desire to produce continued growth and the things of this world and the lies and falsehoods promoted by Satan (though they come at us like thousands of arrows shot from a strong bow) will not hit. They will be recognized/discerned and put in their proper place like weeds plucked from a garden and cast aside to die.

20. Worthless men

Exodus 5:2  But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.

Psalms 10:4    In the pride of his face the wicked

Psalms 14:1   The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.

Proverbs 1:22    “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

Romans 1:28    And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

1 Samuel 2:12    Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD.

John 16:3     And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.

Jeremiah 44:16-17    “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you.

Isaiah 3:9    For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.

How we can read these scriptures and not wonder if anything at all has changed in the world we live.  Culturally, socially, and educationally the door opens wider and wider to the gates of hell.  Fear of God has been replaced with man’s own wisdom and denying God exists.  Love for God has been replaced with love of self also in denial of God existing.  Time in God’s word has been replaced with, well everything else that busies our lives and keeps us from thinking about humbly serving, honoring, glorifying, following and obeying God.

It is easy to get caught up in comparing ourselves to those who deny God and think we are better or not as bad.  We think by comparison that we are made right in God’s eyes.  By comparing what we do and say to those who deny God we end up thinking wrongly about a God honoring life. Comparison is easy.  We don’t need to do anything more and can still feel good about ourselves.  Instead of seeking God and desiring to know Him more and grow in understanding of Him, we sit idly by complacently thinking all is good.

How can we be light unto a dark world if the light of Jesus Christ is not humbly and thankful remembered each moment of everyday?

How can we be led by God if we neglect time in His word?

How can we grow in faith, love, patience, mercy, grace, peace, rest, and joy if we don’t know what precious promises are in His word?

How can we warn others of God’s judgement?

How can we tell others of the Good News of Jesus Christ?

The answer to each of these – be intentional in our daily commitment to seek and desire to honor God.

The way of his own heart

“Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?”

Psalms 107:17  Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;  they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!  And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

 Psalms 14:1   The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good

Psalms 92:6  The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever;

 Proverbs 1:22   “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?  

 Proverbs 7:7    and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense,

 Psalms 38:1-8    O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!  For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.  There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.  For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.  My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness,  I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning.  For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.  I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

 Isaiah 57:17-18    Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.  I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, 

 Jeremiah 2:19     Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

Foolish, simple, backsliding, lacking sense, hating knowledge, and no fear of God all speak of the condition of man and the potential to forsake God.  I sometimes wonder if much has changed in mankind.  Our sinful nature is always sticking its ugly head up into our lives.  Some of these verses were written over 2500 years ago and yet they seem to apply as written for today. Think of the technology today that draws us away from seeking, speaking, following, praising, and listening to Him.  iPad, iPhone, computer, smart TV, and easy transportation all are used to fill our lives.  It does not take long for them to erode our walk with God.  Busyness and technology quickly lead us down a path of complacent neglect and is no excuse.  It takes a fully committed heart, mind and soul to seek, follow, honor, listen to, and obey God.  Do you want to hear His whispers of guidance? – Read His word.  Do you want to find purpose and satisfaction? – Read His word.   Are you tired of seeing everyday as just another self centered meaningless non-fulfilling day?  Read His word.  In His word we find promises of hope, joy, grace, mercy, eternal life, forgiveness, peace, rest, power, strength, and His steadfast love.

My people do not understand

“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’”

Psalms 92:6  The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this:  that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but you, O LORD, are on high forever.

1 Corinthians 2:14     The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Jeremiah 10:14    Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.

Psalms 94:8     Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise?

Proverbs 1:22    “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

Psalms 32:9     Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.

Psalms 14:1   The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

Psalms 37:35-36     I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree.  But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.

This is a summary of Johnathan Edward’s sermon “In the hands of an angry God”.  If you have time, look it up and read the full context.  https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/edwards_jonathan/sermons/sinners.cfm

Johnathan Edwards pulls no punches when it comes to condemning the sinfulness of human beings. Those who belong in the unrepentant category may be those who are outwardly wicked and reject God, or they might be people who are complacent. They could belong to a community of people who believe, and they think they can ride that community’s or family’s coattails to avoid judgment. But Edwards’s view of sin is that it’s an active force in the world that’s ultimately controlled by the devil. Anyone who hasn’t experienced an inward renewal or ‘awakening,’ as had the many who had been converted during this time, are considered a servant of the devil: ‘They belong to him; he has their souls in his possession, and under his dominion.’ This way of portraying ‘sinners’ emphasizes their helplessness, precarious position, but also the nastiness and corruption of their ways.

Some of the metaphors that Edwards uses to portray the situation of unbelieving human beings make this point clear. He describes even the greatest, most powerful rulers in the world as ‘feeble, despicable worms of the dust’ and as ‘grasshoppers.’ In Edwards’s most enduring image, the sinner is described as ‘a spider, or some other loathsome insect,’ which God is dangling over the fire in preparation for destruction. Each of these metaphors reiterate how puny, weak and disgusting the sinner is in the sight of God. There’s no room for pride here and no room for justification. They can’t simply be respectable or admirable – they must be ‘born again.’

According to the sermon, the judgment of God awaiting such sinners as those described above will be truly terrifying. As would be expected, the image of the fire is central in descriptions of hell, following in line with the Biblical texts about judgment. But Edwards’s descriptions are particularly strong, such as when he describes the ‘dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God.’ He also incorporates images of an infinite pit as descriptive of the judgment, drawing theologically on Scriptural texts about the abyss and psychologically on the primal fear of falling: ‘you have nothing to stand on, nor anything to take hold of.’ Combining the two, Edwards describes this chasm as ‘wide and bottomless . . ., full of fire and wrath.’

God’s judgment just isn’t fearful, but it is truly violent. Picking up on a Biblical theme of the grapes of wrath, the sermon gruesomely describes God’s retribution against sinful human beings: ‘He will crush out your blood, and make it fly . . . so as to stain all his raiment.’ And once this judgment begins, there’s no turning back and ‘your most lamentable and dolorous cries and shrieks will be in vain.’

Light shinning in the darkness

“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?”

John 1:5  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 3:19    And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

John 12:36     While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.  Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him,  so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?  Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,  “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”

Job 24:13    “There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths.  The murderer rises before it is light, that he may kill the poor and needy, and in the night he is like a thief.  The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he veils his face.  In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light.  For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.

Proverbs 1:29    Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,  would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof,

1 Corinthians 2:14     The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

God’s word is a light unto our soul and a path for our feet.  In our homes we have lights and as it approaches night we turn them on so we can over come the darkness.  We choose to turn the light on because we see benefit from being able to function as though the darkness is not there.  There is much darkness in our world.  Some of this darkness is right there in our face and some of it is hidden and just below the surface.  The light of God’s word pulls us out of this darkness, lighting up the path for our feet to walk on daily.  It lights up hope, joy, love, grace, mercy, courage, strength, peace, within our soul.  The light of God’s word – The light of God’s word – The light of God’s word…..  Reading God’s word turns on this light and the more this word is read and remembered and thought about the brighter it gets.  Can you imagine a person who would turn the lights on at night only on Sunday and then trying to remember what that light illuminated   the rest of the week.  They would be walking in darkness  fooling them selves with this false hope of remembrance of the light.  We need the light of God’s word in our lives each day if we are to commit to humbly serving, honoring, following, and obeying God.

What’s in your heart?

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,”

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”

Psalms 14:1
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.  Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD? There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous. You would shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge.

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

Proverbs 1:22
“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

Proverbs 13:19
A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.

Luke 12:20
But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’

Revelation 21:8
But 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.”

Matthew 12:34
You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks

Romans 1:21-32
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

At times I wonder what is worse, those who claim there is no God and live like it, or those who claim there is a God but don’t live like it.  For although they knew God they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him.  A good way to determine where God is in your life is to listen to what comes out of your mouth – “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”