PRINCIPLES OF HEAVEN

 

Nov 30 – Principles of Heaven for Men on Earth – Prov 1:1-7

 

Intro:  Today I am beginning a two part series on the Book of Proverbs.  The principles of heaven for men on earth.  Today from our scripture we learn that the proverbs were written by Solomon, the Son of David and a child of restoration. 

 

1.  Solomon was the wisest man of his time and except for Jesus the wisest man of the

     Bible.  Talk about how it happened in 1 Kings 3:1-15.  Now the word proverb as we

     Learned from your outline means a short sentence showing some moral truth.

 

a.  The book of proverbs is a collection of moral, religious and spiritual truth.  It is a

     Brief discourse on wisdom, purity, justice, temperance and a strong work ethic. 

b.  The proverbs are the breathings of the Holy Spirit to help us today. 

 

2.  Our passage today is Solomon’s prologue and reason for writing this collection of 560

      Proverbs.  Interesting enough this book is not the whole collection of his proverbs.  In

      1 Kings 4:32, we learn he wrote 3000 proverbs and 1005 songs.  He obviously

      Inherited his father’s musical ability.  He taught on botany, biology, animals, fish,

      Reptiles and birds.  We learn that some 2440 proverbs are missing. 

 

Now Solomon shares with us there are eleven reasons why the proverbs were written.  Which we will look at briefly..

 

1.  For attaining wisdom and discipline.  Wisdom is knowing what to do with the

     Information and knowledge that has been revealed.  It is skill in life.  Common sense.

     The ability to discern between the godly and the wicked.  Solomon wants his readers

     To have this skill.  That is why he presented these 560 proverbs.  Those who trust in

     God have found true wisdom instruction and understanding.  Discipline is self control.

     The ability to live the priorities, follow through with goals and plans, to stay focused,

     To live your values and morals, to stay true to your convictions and attitudes.  To

     Conduct your life in a manner that is pleasing to the philosophy of life, that you

     Subscribe to.  For the Christian it is patterning your life after the life, example and

     Teachings of Christ and following through with it in your thoughts words, actions and

     Attitudes.

2.  For understanding words of insight.  Solomon knows that is a skill to understand

     Words of insight so he chose a simple grammatical format.  He showed the contrast

      Between the godly and the wicked.  The godly are one way and the wicked are the

      Opposite.  The wise are one way and the fool is opposite.  Yet the true skill is to

      Under stand this comes from the Holy Spirit.  To have real understanding, it must

       Begin with God and end with Him also.  To understand means to fathom, conceive,

        Make sense or simply put, “Get the message.”  Vs 2 

3.    For acquiring a discipline and prudent life.  It means following through what you

       Say, think and do.  To be prudent means you, think things through, are careful and

       Discreet.  To have discipline, you must be self controlled, have proper discernment

       Justice, faith, love and peace.   

 

 4.  Doing what is right, just and fair.  True morality is always following God’s word

      And following it through.  You will do what is right.  The law of love will always

      Guide you.  Matt 22:37-40  You will always be just.  Your personal bias will be set

      Aside and you will treat people as you would want to be treated.  You will be fair.

      The proverbs help show you these things.  The proverbs and the word of God is the

      Solid foundation and it is grounded and centered on your relationship with Christ.

     Vs 3

5.  Giving prudence to the simple.  These proverbs help bring an ability of being able to

     See long range to the person who normally sees things short term.  Help the impulsive

     Person to be discreet and careful.  To help the self absorbed person to think about

     Those around them. To help the person who doesn’t know God to see godly

     Principles.  The simple are straight forward and ordinary people who chose to stay that

     Way.  It also means that a person can be easily persuaded.

6.  Knowledge and discretion to the young.  Solomon wanted to help the young who are

     Normally immature, inexperienced, impulsive, self absorbed and generally know it

     Alls to have a little help.  He wants to give them working knowledge of life.  Some

     Common sense help.  This book was designed to give moral instruction to young

     People.  This collection of moral, religious and godly maxims are designed for young

     People.  Thus the simple format.  It is written at a grade six level of understanding. 

     He has aimed these sayings at a young audience.  He wants the following generations

     To benefit from the wisdom he received from the Lord Himself.  Solomon was not

     This wise himself.  This wisdom came from the Lord.  Solomon understood that every

     Generation would face the same devil, worldly and fleshly influences.  He knew that

      Successful generations would need these tidbits of kingdom living.  Vs 4

7.  Let the wise listen and add to their learning.  Solomon lived in a age and society that

     Valued wisdom.  1 Kings 4:30-31 says he was wiser than all the men of the east and of

     Egypt, which was the centre of learning and thought.  His exhortation to the wise is to

     Listen and these proverbs will add to their learning.  Proverbs show us the good side

     And the bad side, to get the message across that we must show forth God in our lives.

8.  Let the discerning get guidance.  Those that are able to see the right and wrong.  The

     Person who sees that good and bad are linked with the concept of reward and penalty

     The individual who has insight and distinguishes the fact that God shows Himself in

     Love and justice.  Solomon wants that element of his audience to use these proverbs

     To help guide their lives.

9.   For the understanding of proverbs and parables.  We have learned what proverbs

      Are.  A parable is a simple story or account that reveals a moral, religious and godly

      Truth.  Jesus used this method in his teachings.  His are the supreme example of this

      Form.  Jesus never taught the people of his day without using a parable.  The pearl of

      Great price, the prodigal and the house on the rock are just some examples.  This

      Book applies to many avenues of life and we can learn greatly from them. 

10. The sayings and riddles of the wise.  I want to remind you that Solomon and the

      Writers of the Bible were men of eastern and middle eastern thought.  In the east they

       Love riddles, mind puzzles, pithy yet weighty sayings.  They value wit, intellect, and

       New ideas more than the west.  The west is concrete and logical thinking.  The east is

       Abstract and more esoteric thinking.  The west is five senses orientated as the east is

 

       More, spiritual, and para-physical.  Solomon in this book brought to light the

       Philosophy And teachings of his day to us.  He gave us a glimpse of his world

       And view of life.

 

11.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and

       Discipline.  The fear of the Lord is mentioned 14 times in the proverbs.  It is the

       Major theme.  Solomon is a prime example of what happens when a person forgets

       This.

 

a.  He started off well but in the end it was his love for his foreign wives that made him

     Fall away.  In this way Solomon acts as a guide post but fails as an example.  He

     Points the way to wisdom but shows the path of folly.  It shows us that it is not how

     You start that matters, but how you end. 

b.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.   James writes in James 3:13-16, that

      Human wisdom is bitter, envious, selfish, ambitious, boastful, denies the truth, it

      earthly, unspiritual, disorderly, is based in every evil practice and of the devil. 

c.  James then says true wisdom is pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of

     Mercy, good, fruitful, impartial& sincere.  Wise people are peacemakers who sow

     Peace and raise a harvest of righteousness.  James 3:17-18.

 

Conclusion

 

1.  We have spent some time in the proverbs.  We have learned about who wrote them

     And why.  Next message we will learn things we need to survive and prosper in this

     Crazy mixed up world. 

2.  The proverbs are designed primarily for young people.  This is your book.  Spend

     Some time in it and gain, wisdom, knowledge, understanding and experience.