Series in Proverbs - The Heart and Soul of the Matter

 

The Heart and Soul of the Matter

Proverbs 14:10-18

It doesn’t take long in this life before the person feels the elation of joy or the pang of bitterness in their souls. For this world can go sideways very quickly, and if the heart of the person has set itself on a treasured event of this world they may be disillusioned when the end comes and the fulfillment of its elation is short-lived. Like a child on Christmas day when the battery-operated toy winds down and there are no more batteries to reenergize. The fluctuation of the moment steals into mixed emotions.

Solomon understood these mixing ambivalence emotions from his writings in Ecclesiastes. He learned that the heart and soul of a person can only be truly fulfilled by the One who created it, God. “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” (Ecc.3:11 NLT)

And David wrote in the forty-second Psalm of the craving nature of the heart as well. "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?...Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.””So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed."(42:2,11; 143:4 NIV)  

The theme of this proverb and the Psalms selections reveals the heart and soul before God. So let’s read the first portion of the text. “The heart knows its own bitterness, and a stranger does not share its joy. The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent of the upright will flourish. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, and the end of mirth may be grief. The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above.” (NKJV)

Solomon had his ups and downs in life, his heart-felt desire to please God fulfilled in his elation upon the finishing and dedication of the temple and God glorious pleasure experienced.

Solomon reveled in that glory of God for a time and then the realities of kingship brought bitterness of soul. He knew the House of David was blessed by God and that the Mosaic law described the curses and blessings (Deut. 28) upon the nation of Israel that didn’t obey his laws and commands. The people of the nation of Israel would either obey and submit to God’s ways or continue in rebellion and experience the curse of God’s discipline or wrath.The wicked would be overthrown and the righteous would flourish in the blessings of God. 

For the natural heart and soul of a person’s desires would direct them on the road of least resistance, even though the destination was eternal devastation. Solomon saw the devastation from his own exploits and adventures. Many relied on their own understanding and peripheral view of the world. They neglected the insight from acquiring God's direction and wisdom.

And the elation and laughter of the forthcoming adventure was short-lived when adversity or the short-comings of expectations abounded and then failed. The heart and soul’s sorrow and grief overcame the mirth of the dreamt delights. Even to the point of falling away, backsliding in their trust and faith in God. Then their reliance upon themselves filled the moment as they plan their own ways and solutions to overcome the melancholy attitude over their lack of faith and insight.

 But the righteous will turn their face to God and acquire His wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. And upon receiving these divine treasures; their hearts and souls are satisfied with the joy and assurance of God’s presence and blessings.

Application - I’m no stranger to the roller coaster of a life when I failed to inquire of the Lord and then suffered in my heart in my resolve to overcome the outcome. It didn’t take divine discernment to see the brokenness in me, but those around me understood neither my bitterness nor my joy during the time of prior elation and satisfaction. 

Like the House of David there were the moments of God’s presence and the joy of the Holy Spirit filling the heart and soul. He was elated in His presence and guidance. Then the world and its allure grasped its spindly fingers around him and tried to drag him down into its depths of fear and anxieties. But God, rich in mercy and faithful in strengthening him, overthrew the melancholy attitude and restored him in His presence. God’s promise held firm and true.

In the moments when the person lapses into the ways of the world, thinking and planning their own destiny, captaining their own ship, and recklessly believing in their rightness. The road ahead soon sees a detour sign, and the route now changes the heart and soul for it leads away and from preconceived life to possible life-altering situations. 

The laughter ends and the bleakness of the situation takes hold. Such were the people of the roaring twenty. They placed their trust in the ways and mindset of men of questionable temperament and nature. The economy crashed and the world went into a tailspin of death and ruined lives, dreams, in both hearts and souls of millions of people.

There was the absence of laughter and mirth in many homes, and it was replaced with sorrow and grief. But God saw the people’s hearts and souls and reached out to those who would seek and trust in His ways. 

Though God gave generously to all who would seek His kingdom, there were many who backslid into the abyss for their trust was still in themselves and their finite understandings. But to the soul who sought God’s kingdom as Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (MAtt. 6:33 ESV)

Restoration was oncoming and the fulfillment of God’s provision, mercy, grace and reconciliation changed the life and the mood of thousands to joy and righteousness, and a reinstatement of His presence and guidance. The narrow road was the fulfilling path of God’s way.

Next Solomon again references his familiarity with the simple, naive, foolish, and quick-tempered. For their heart and soul entrusted in their own abilities or lack of them. So let’s read the final portion of the text. “The simple believe every word, but the prudent considers well his steps. A wise man fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident. A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of wicked intentions is hated. The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.” (NKJV)

The nations of the known world at large stood in Solomon purview, and he dealt with the righteous as well as the foolish. For the heart and souls of the masses, whether foreigner or commoner, were all created by God. And the mind and spirit drew from their understanding of God and wisdom or lack of. Many were the simple who merely trusted in what one claimed as truth or fact, but it was the prudent of heart and mind that sought God for wisdom and insight to the truth and then adjusted their lives accordingly. 

But the defiant and rebellious rushed into fool-hardiness with self-confidence, whereas the prudent feared God and departed from the thoughts and practices of evil by considering the heart and mind of God’s will and His purpose. It was in this decision they were crowned victoriously with spiritual knowledge and wisdom. While the defiant and rebellious ended up embroiled in foolishness of mind, beset to vile intentions and resolved to anger. They inherited the imprudence of thoughtlessness and indiscretion. And the aftermath was an inheritance of folly and a cursed heart and soul, and the deprivation from the departure of the presence of God. 

Application - Awe the voice and mindset of many youths. As a jr. High teacher for many years, the one trait that crossed over from childhood to adolescents was wanting to be an adult without maturity or wisdom. They simply would believe whatever or whoever was the latest trend on social media or their peers, and to be honest there are many adults who fall into this mindset as well. Simply believing just because someone said so, leads down the road to disaster. 

The prudent person checked out, considered, researched the words spoken for truth and fact. And in seeking God’s truth they found the path that led them in wisdom and understanding. As they perceived the dangers and snares of the wicked and evil, their fears were never realized for they took prudent steps towards God’s path. Whereas the foolish placed their lives on their self-confidence and the strength of their limited reasoning, leading to rage, anger, and entrapment. The stories of the young persons who run off with someone they don’t know, ending in the dangerous situation of drugs and prostitution are numerous. They realize and acknowledge the rage in the heart and soul, the fears of uncertainty, and the wicked intention of evil people who use them till they are no longer profitable. They know the world of inheriting folly and degradation, of bondage and death. It is a horrible statistic globally, that over 12 million young people between 12-14 are entrapped in the sex trafficking and 316 million in drug abuse and substance use from age 15-64. (UNODC) 

Chances are you may know someone who is entrapped and encaptured by the addiction and allure of these sins. God asks us to be a light in a dark time, a voice of Godly reason and wisdom in a world of total mental depravity and social illogic. Both are products of sins and the lies of the evil one.

Conclusion, a famous quote by Hillel the elder, a first century jewish man, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But when I am for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" reminds me of self-reliance of man thinking. 

God’s statement in the book of Isaiah was God went looking for someone who would yield to His service. “I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm achieved salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me.” (Isa. 63:5) The Lord Jesus brought the victory, and He is still our victory today, but He wants to enlist those that are willing to be used and empowered with His strength and wisdom and through His plans and purposes as light and salt in this world. Let us seek His wisdom, and His will and purpose in our lives, and not to be among the foolish and those destined for devastation.

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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