Series in Proverbs - Consistency and Truth, God’s Way

       

Consistency and Truth, God’s Way

Proverbs 13:19-25

In a world of inconsistency and lies, many of the lives of people in the world are on a path that is filled with chaotic variances, roads taken that dead end or are filled with roadblocks, potholes, and detours. God’s path is solidly filled with truth and consistency, signs and guidance, with rest stops of restoration and relief (Sabbathes), and with a gradual grade with no hairpin turns and harrowing steep dropoffs.

So, as we continue in the proverbs of Solomon and his wisdom to those whose life is consistent or inconsistent. Let’s read the first portion of the text. “Desire realized is pleasant to the soul, but it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil. He who walks with the wise will be wise, but the friend of fools will suffer harm. Evil pursues sinners, but the righteous are repaid with good. A good man leaves an inheritance to his ]children’s children, and the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.” (LSB)

Last week's lesson talked about desires and dreams, when they are amazingly fulfilled and when desires and dreams aren’t. Solomon continues with the delight of consistency in a life whose desire is the Lord. In God’s hands and His kingdom is consistent truth that enriches the spirit and is pleasant and sweet to the soul. He is consistent in His love, faithfulness and strength. And as David stated in the Psalms and Solomon in the proverbs, when we desire the Word of God, it is sweet to the soul. “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”“They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.” “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (Psalms 119:103, 19:10; Prov. 16:24 NIV)

And when God has fulfilled our desires in alignment with his Word and will, our path is well alighted with grace, mercy, and provision.

 Whereas the road of folly and evil is littered with trouble and destined for devastation. Yet those who are relying on their self-reliance or are hell bent on their ways; will not turn away from the pathway of the world and the evil one. They continue in worldly wisdom and are conjoined to companions of dull wittedness and foolishness. Harm is their back-seat driver and they give way to the advice of the imprudent and the unexpected. Driven into experiencing the thrill and exhilaration of the acceleration towards deviancy and adversity.

But Solomon exhorts that the wise will be consistent in their seeking God’s plan and purpose, and will seek companionship with those who follow in the ways of God and His Word, their endeavor is in striving for God’s wisdom and insights.

Adversity comes upon all of mankind to test mankind's resolve and determination. Those who rebel against testing will be hounded and pursued by sin. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Gen. 4:7 NIV). 

But the consistency of the righteous is to pursue God; and He rewards the faithfulness of those who follow in His way. They will be rewarded with refinement of purity and a prosperous life filled with the treasures of the Kingdom of God.

Application - I have drank from both of these cups: consistency and inconsistency. I ask for and desire the former and repent of the latter. I like when life is sweet to my soul. I have found that to walk in the path of God is to be consistently in His Word and prayer, in seeking His guidance in making key decisions in my life. But I have traveled the road of the foolish as well, and realized the damage to my life and to others close to me. The exhilaration of the wild life of inconsistency almost always leads to furtherance from God and His truthful path, and the camaraderie with the dull-minded and dimwitted. For example, driving on the freeway with 4 passengers who desire to go as fast as possible, and at 140 miles an hour the car desires to launch and become airborne. Stupid!!

It pays to be wise and the companion of those who seek God's wisdom. Jesus told us to not be unequally yoked to those whose desires and dreams are to stray away from God and strive for trouble. “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Cor. 15:33 NIV)

The way of the world leads to only one consistency: continual anxiety, with its pursuit of negativity. But like the prodigal son’s inconsistencies, he finally sought out godly wisdom, and turned away from rebellion and was rewarded with prosperity of a life reconciled to His Father. (Luke 15:11-32)

The Love of the Father for his son, as he ran to him was a sight to behold. The rejoicing of the beloved son with the Father was a scene of pure love. Though the son had wandered away with and squandered his inheritance, his return was sweeter because he came back with a change of heart and mind. He now walked in companionship with his Father, a dream fulfilled beyond either of their expectations. And a bright future for his future family, his children and children’s children.

Repentance led to restoration which brought reconciliation, and reconciliation brought hope and new desires and fulfilled dreams.

This is a great example of God’s love for mankind, and how we are his beloved children, which he desires to bond with for eternity.

Next, Solomon reflects back to the law and God’s commands. So let’s read the final portion of the lesson.

“Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but it is swept away by injustice. He who holds back his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently. The righteous eats to the satisfaction of his soul, but the stomach of the wicked lacks.” (LSB)

Solomon, as the king, was to bring justice to all of His constituency. This called for consistency in his verdicts and in the matters of the law. The poor had only the land that was their inheritance from the tribe into which they were born. And in keeping with consistent farming practices, leaving the ground fallow to restore its fertility and its preparedness for abundant crops in the coming years. But there were those whose desires and dreams were to rob the poor by stealing the land or obtaining it through other methods (Ahab and Naboth’s vineyard).

But God was watching and listening to the prayers of the poor and in His consistency, He gave an abundant harvest to the poor as they obeyed the Law of God and his commands. 

As well, the father of the household was responsible for the consistency of the rearing of his children. And just as God uses the rod of His Word to discipline His children because He loves them and in His disciplining He was consistent and diligent towards each child; knowing that love was the motivator for disciplining the child. 

Whereas the father who held back discipline, treated his children as illegitimate. He didn’t care how their lives turned out, and this neglect of discipline truly demonstrated the hate in the heart of the father.

Last, the righteous kept order in their home through Godly training and the meals and activities of the home were times of satisfaction and enjoyment that brought joy to the soul of each in the home. As for the inconsistent father, his home was chaotic and lacked discipline. The manners, morals, and attitudes of the family reflected in all aspects of life in the home. The inconsistent father reaped what he had sown. The anxiety and stress took their toll on the stomach as well as the other organs, the mind, and the soul.

In conclusion, Solomon, like every other human being, lacked consistency in his life. Though he was gifted with wisdom and abilities from God, in his latter years fell into inconsistency in his life. He forsook the Word of God and the commands which led him to multiple wives, idolatry, and disorder in the home as well as in the kingdom. 

Paul’s admonition to the church is proper here, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:7-9 NIV) If we are consistent in our walk with God, we will reap consistency in the other areas of our lives. As the Word of God states those who hold to the consistency of God’s Truth will be set free from sin’s hold (John 8:32)and when we are consistent in the Truth we will know the truth that liberates us from the follies and outcomes of a wayward life and walk in the path of God’s ways and truth.

 So where are you on your path today? Are you consistently walking in the ways of God or are you seeking the path of the world and its inconsistencies that lead to chaos and trouble? The choice is yours to make, as God said through Moses, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” (Deut. 30:19 NLT)

As always, I want to conclude by presenting the gospel in the form of the basic principles of salvation for all those who have not yet received Jesus Christ. For Jesus, God the Son, came into this world to save all who believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you; he is the light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and has given him all authority in heaven and on earth. He will answer you if you truly believe. If you haven't yet asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

First, A: Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a just God, and a change of heart takes place: we change our minds, and God changes our hearts and regenerates us inside and out. Romans 3:10: As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners, so we must be born spiritually to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.) Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death; in other words, our sin means we have been sentenced to death; we have the death penalty hanging over our heads; that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, lest anyone should boast. Secondly,

B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised him from the dead. This is trusting with all your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is righteous, and with the mouth confession is made and is saved. Third,

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every person who sees lThose who have lived since Adam will kneel andthey confessed with hismouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, Lord of lords, and King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: “As I live,” says the Lord, “every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will confess to God.” Don’t wait, do it now. Romans 10:13 - For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” “O God, I am a sinner. I repent of my sin. I want to turn away from it. I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son; I believe that he died on the cross for my sins, that he was buried, and that you raised him from the dead. I have decided to put my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting in his shed blood alone as sufficient to save my soul and take me to heaven. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen.”

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please visithttp://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In Your Service Mike Davis

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