Sunday Sermons
Father to Son
“I give you sound teaching” (Proverbs 4:2)
No one need adlib or merely guess as to what might be the right way to live. What first Solomon, and those God fearing men who have followed Solomon tell their sons, is from the word of God; it is wisdom that has been “tested” and found accurate by countless generations throughout history. The recipients of such wisdom must pass this wisdom on to their own children, not being negligent or assuming they will know what to do in any given situation. While none of us have lived perfect lives, we must avoid the mistake of saying, “Well, I made mistakes, so who am I to tell my son how to live?” To the contrary, we should instead say “Seeing that I have experienced sin first hand, and have made wrong decisions, I am quite qualified to tell you the honest truth about Satan’s temptations”. The only short cut to get ahead in life, is to learn from and not repeat the mistakes of others.
“When I was a son to my father, tender and the only son in the sight of my mother” (Proverbs 4:3)
I was not born innately knowing how to live wisely. Do not feel inferior if you don’t just know things automatically. Like you, I was born with the need to learn and grow. This path to understanding must include humility, patience, a willingness to listen and a deep love for the truth. The first step in becoming wise is that you first must be willing to acquire, that is, pay the price for wisdom (4:7). Solomon reminds his son of something very important about his upbringing. Both David and Bathsheba cherished him— he was loved! This likewise tells us something else. Some of David’s other sons did not turn out so well, yet the problem was anything but a lack of instruction or love. David dearly loved Absalom (2 Samuel 18:33) as well as Solomon. Beware of making the mistake of thinking that your personal failures must all go back to the fact that your parents did not love you. “The affectionate and pleading tone of these verses shows why parents make the best teachers: they love their children” (Proverbs, Garrett p. 87).
“Do not forsake her…Love her, and she will watch over you” (4:6)
The path to life and wisdom must involve much more than just a passing interest. When the Holy Spirit speaks of acquiring wisdom, the language is that of a lover or ardent pursuer (“Prize her, and she will exalt you” (4:8); “If you seek for her as silver” (2:4); “Happy are all who hold her fast” (3:18); “I love those who love me” (8:17); “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, watching at my doorposts” (8:34). The only way to truly acquire wisdom is to constantly be around her, to be constantly open to her message, to love her and never be untrue to her.
“I have led you in upright paths” (4:11)
I have not only taught you the truth, I have modeled it to the best of my ability. I have given you both the concepts and the concrete example.
“If you run, you will not stumble” (4:12)
There are times that you will need to hurry in life, when decisions must be made in a split second. If you have been listening to the truth, then when these times arrive, your haste will not result in bad decisions or making a bad situation worse, rather, you will be able to navigate dangerous waters and move quickly and safely toward stability.
“Do not enter the path of the wicked” (4:14)
Evil is so extremely dangerous, no one can is designed to play with it without consequence. It is not a matter of “Don’t you trust me?” For I cannot play with sin either. Sin is so deceptive, addictive and dangerous and one cannot remain safe while flirting with it. “Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house” (5:8) is more than just a good idea. The addictive nature of sin is further seen in the words, “For they cannot sleep unless they do evil” (4:16). Sin will naturally create a restless personality that is unable to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. The Bible mentions people who have gone into sin and have then come out of it (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), yet the Bible also mentions people who yielded to temptation and never recovered (Proverbs 2:19 “None who go to her return again, nor do they reach the paths of life”). There is no contradiction here. You can recover in the future if you ignore this instruction now—but, in my experience, the number of people who actually do recover, and come back to the Lord, is a number a whole a lot closer to “none” than to “many”.
“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day” (4:18)
Not everything is clear when one first becomes a Christian, yet things do become clearer with each passing day. From my own experience I know that most questions do have answers, yet one must be willing to honestly listen for the answer and do one’s own study. Beware of religious people who claim that things are not as clear as the Bible presents them, as well as people who are becoming more spiritually confused as they grow older.
“Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart” (4:21)
Temptation is extremely deceptive, and at times all that Satan is trying to do is merely distract us. Often the Christian who thinks that they may have completely lost their faith, in reality, have not. They may be merely distracted or lost sight of the goal. So if you ever feel that Christianity isn’t working for you, ask yourself a couple of questions before you abandon it: (1) How hard have you been working at it? Have you even given it a fair chance to succeed? (2) Have you really been living as a Christian, or only making a half-hearted attempt? (3) Instead of losing your faith—might you have instead lost your focus? (4) When was the last time that God was truly in the “midst” of your heart? Keep God right in the middle of your heart—do not allow your love for Him to move to the precarious outside edge of your life.
“Health to all their whole body” (4:22)
Since you are a soul in a physical body, it should be obvious that the body is going to experience problems if the soul is being neglected or malnourished. It is very difficult to remain happy, healthy or emotionally balanced when the needs of the soul are being ignored. The warning is, neglect God and you are neglecting happiness in your future, “And you groan at your latter end” (5:11). One way to avoid looking back at your life on this earth and having so many regrets or becoming bitter over the years is to feed your soul on a daily basis. Do today what you will have wished you had done ten months or ten years from now. Think forward. What lies at the end of this week’s choices?
“Watch over your heart with all diligence” (4:23)
When our children were younger we watched over their hearts. This is one reason why we had rules in our house and why they were not allowed to listen to, watch or do certain things. Eventually, when our children display the maturity, they must watch over their own hearts. What this means is that they must take responsibility for their own frame of mind, attitude, mental health and perspective. Good parents look forward to the day when they can be relieved of this grave responsibility. God has placed each of us in charge of your private world and thought life. So do not make the mistake of thinking that other people, circumstances, life in general, or society at large is the cause for your bad attitudes, anger or inward struggles. At the end of the day, only you can guard or watch over your own heart, only you can alter your perspective, only you can change your attitude, and only you can control over thoughts. You are in charge of your own head—never forget that. Your anger or any other sinful attitude is not someone else’s fault, rather, it is your choice. Remember, temptations start in the thoughts (Matthew 15:18-19).
“With all diligence”
Living a good life is never effortless—for anyone. The key behind every successful Christian is diligence in this area. Every spiritual person whom you will ever meet has made the decision to fight temptation at the thought level. This is not easy for anyone, so don’t feel sorry for yourself and do not think that living the Christian life is harder for you than for others. The need for diligence at this level never ends. When you are sixty years old you still will need to watch over your heart with all diligence.
“For from it flow the springs of life”
The battle against temptation is lost or won at the thought level. If you try to overcome sin without dealing with the thoughts that lead to it, you will fail. There are no shortcuts or easier paths in this area. If you honestly take charge of what you allow yourself to ponder and dwell upon (Philippians 4:8), and take every thought captive for Christian (2 Corinthians 10:3-5), you will succeed. But if you have the attitude that your private thoughts are off limits to God and that you have the right to dwell upon and think about anything you want, or if you decide to be rather lazy in this area, then life will be frustrating for you. Guaranteed.
Watch your mouth, eyes, and feet: (4:24-27)
It is amazing how much trouble we can cause for ourselves by failing to control what we say. Do not get side-tracked or distracted, keep your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3), and do not let anything, I mean anything, deter you from the goal of eternal life. It’s just not worth it.
