The Unwise, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. And that's what you find. No matter what they did to justify one way or another and identified for. He said do not reprove with Scott.

He said he only numbers hate to have anything going about decision-making processes, anatomy, or misguided notice. Do not reprove a scoffer he will hate you reprove a wise man joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor know you Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana going pastoral number now is once again he shows us how God's word are always in two ways you can learn through education we can learn with experience. If you're education, you're way ahead of the game. If you are through experience. You have some very painful memories. That's what Solomon is saying you don't have to remain naïve you can actually learn wisdom the psalmist from Psalm 119 is it I have more insight than all my teachers why because I live my life on the basis of the framework of your word. My teachers aren't as wise as I see wisdom for the naïve or something that can be gained, but the naïve is unwise. There is a next group it's unwise.

Solomon calls that group before a full noses choices are unwise, but a full dozen care turned Proverbs 26 Proverbs 26, and a description of the full Solomon says in verse three that a whip is for a horse and I bridle for a donkey and the rod for the back of a full he says do not answer a fool according to his follies.

He said are you will be like him. He said to try to point something out, though full, is extremely difficult. In fact, it's often even foolish to try to answer a fool. He says as his folly deserves. He says that he not be wise in his own eyes is limited when a force like he cuts off his own feet and drinks violence who would never send a message by the hand of a fool. He said like legs, which are useless to the lame. So was a proverb in the mouth of a full so when you try to teach you education and wisdom of full force and by the way, there's a reason the fool won't listen whenever you're dealing with folds and you point not fully tax. They always sort of say the same thing some version of this.

It's my life it's my life. I can do whatever I wanted to you to tell me what to do.

I can do what I want to do. Those are the words of full but it gets worse. He said like one who mimes a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool is, what does that mean while a sling was what they use call slingshot will be different than ours was single but you took a P sing-along strapping to put a stone in it. You spun it and you threw it die. David and Goliath old story is a pretty former weapon is but just think if you took a sling and you put a stone in it and then you tied the stone in the sling. How good is again see it doesn't go anywhere just stays there. That's what he is saying right here. He said like one who mimes a stone in the sling, so is he who gives honor dual fool. Don't waste your time. He said like a form which falls under the hand of a drunkard, so was a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

What's that mean while forms are designed by plants to protect the plant.

If you've ever gotten your plant and plants try to protect its food or its you know flower and there's a thornier as soon as you hit it and give the appropriate reaction it's like wow that really hurt but be careful around this point, but not if you're drunk is drunk just falling to the plant look up you know that it's kinda wasted. Once you're loaded and that's what you're saying.

He said like a form which falls into the hand of a drunkard so is a proverb in the mouth of fools. Like an archer who will please everyone.

I love that is borne out arrows and shooting everyone on his side. He says like an archer who wounds everyone so is he who hires a four or hires those who pass by. Notice the analogies fools are hard to deal with.

That's what he is saying a fool is hard to deal with and then the most amazing statement of all about what it means to be a fool like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool repeats his folly.

You see, that's what fools do better. Fools make a bad choice this week and then a bad choice next week in a bad choice. A week later a month later they repeat the indiscretion over and over and over again.

Boy it's a difficult thing. If you have a child it's a fool.

How many times have you heard this, what were you thinking, how many times like to tell you how well if it's a fool you could never tell them enough times. Repeat the folly you see that's what they do. A fool repeats the folly that's exactly how they work. He said do you see a man wise in his own eyes.

There's more hope for a fool than for him with talk about that group next fools have the same experience over and over again. One of the things he said in Proverbs 10 a wise son makes his father proud. But a foolish son is a grief to his mother whenever fours involved. There is always collateral damage always your friend of a fool will be hurt if you're married if you're married before you have my prayers person you marry a fool you're just constantly reap the consequences of a person that over and over and over again will not learn as a dog returns to its vomit. One piece of parenting advice. If you have a child. It's a full never rescue or enable a fool never rescue or enable a fool all you do is solidify their folly.

You see it and you see that pattern over and over again one time after another apparent trying to bail out a foolish child over and over and over again.

It just gets deeper and worse deeper and worse and the reason is for this is this is the reason there is hope for a full, but normally, a fool has to face the full consequences of their choices they have to face exactly what the cost is for what they've done and sometimes sometimes that will promote change in a fool sometimes a fool just has to say. You know what I found. I not only want to the bottom. I felt through the bottom and change my life. I'm not going there again. That's the way it is with a fool, you don't educate a full they can only learn through the consequences of their experience they repeat the folly the naïve or unwise. The fool is unwise and there's one more group this time.

Go to Psalm one the book of Psalms chapter 1. The third group, not the naïve and not the fool is called by Solomon, the scoffer or depending on your translation. The mocker now I scoffer is a fool on steroids. That's really what a scoffer is a scoffer not only knows what they're doing maybe unwise, but they don't.

But they're not like the fool the folder says I don't care. I'm just going to do it anyway. The scoffer will be extraordinarily defensive and combative when it comes to any view of choices, decisions, wisdom, life.

That's what the scoffer does. They spend all their time arguing about what is wrong with what is right.

That's I starts out the book of Psalms, the psalmist says how happy, how blessed is the man first who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked day. I'm a person to be happy as a person who doesn't live the life surrounded by wicked people. Then he says nor stand in the path of sinners see God walking in and standing and then he says this, nor sit in the seat of scoffers.

You see, that's what scoffers do they they scoff, that's what markers do they mock.

In other words, they take an anti-God view of life and then they constantly just beat that drunk.

You find out all kinds of settings. The best setting I was ever in force coughing was that at the University of Pittsburgh in my undergraduate work by one of my majors was philosophy so it was really interesting because when you sit in philosophy classes. You sit with the scoffers.

And that's exactly what they do. That's what philosophy is this. It's the art of scoffing and be at the University of Pittsburgh at that time they have very fine philosophy department is measured by academic terms, but the prevailing mood of the department was clearly existential what you want into every classes that you basically were taught over and over again that the only view of life that makes any sense is existentialism which is by the way a really depressing view of life because basically an existential philosopher is basically saying this.

Everybody who ever thought they knew what light was about as wrong okay there's nobody that ever understood what life's about, and there's no way that you could really ever understand what life is really about. And so consequently if you stop and really think about it, you'll realize that life stinks and then you die. Now the only use over and over again I would hear that nothing really matters. And everything's existential by men, by the way, who taught the University of Pittsburgh and made sure they got tenure so they have job security. So you have nice houses and drive cars all the things they said that don't matter, but it seemed a matter to them. I can still remember one professor in particular who he enjoyed me being an evangelical Christian, more than anybody else, and that he was usually kind of me was very, very bright, and I can remember one day he was really given me the business and making fun of me and I told him in the class because he said as the Bible have an answer for that. That kind of thing. It was just having fun and I still will not exactly that. But the Bible does presuppose you and me because the Bible says that God has chosen the foolish of this world, that's me to make the wise of this world that you look foolish and he just had a big time with he.

He enjoyed it. He had no mean-spirited about them at all that he but that's what they do. That's what's coughing is in a you get a bunch of guys out of high school guys or girls get to college, and a basic go sit down and places in scoff, because in. After all, if you're 19 years old. You figured it all out.

You understand virtually everything now but that's the scoffer now watch what happens. He says when you're dealing with a scoffer. Let's go to Proverbs chapter 9 verse seven. Solomon says this he who corrects a scoffer gets dishonored for himself.

You can tell in her string to form a scoffer when you point the foolishness to a scoffer. The scoffer fights the scoffer goes on the attack. That's what they do. He said he will reprove the wicked man gets insults for himself again. That's what you been a fine from the scoffer. No matter what they did there been a justified one way or another and they're gonna fight for it. He said do not reprove a scoffer. He said he will hate you scoffers hate to have anything pointed out to them.

It the decision-making process is inadequate or misguided notice. Do not reprove a scoffer he will hate you reprove a wise man and then what you will love you now before we get too pious in here as any church group gets little pious. You were always talking about these other people here, not us. Let me ask you. I asked the guys this because I think guys have attempts to be more of a scoffer than women do.

But whenever your wife points just how stupid and foolish. You connect when she does do you say thank you honey I love you more for that or you become defensive and attacking because if you do your the scoffer.

You see, the scoffer hates to have their folly pointed out by anybody and it is a little scoffer in all of us and that's what he says right there naïve unwise the fools unwise in the scoffers unwise, but you don't have to stay there, let's go back to where we started. Proverbs 1 and verse 20.

Now the appeal to all of us to seek wisdom. Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts up her voice in the square at the head of the noisy streets she cries out at the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings. How long, O naïve ones, will you love being simpleminded and scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge, how long wisdom says another way of saying it to all of us. Don't you ever get tired of learning everything the hard way. Don't you get tired of it. You see, that's what wisdom is saying, you don't have to learn that way. In verse 23.

Wisdom says turn to my reprove, behold, I will pour out my Spirit on you and I will make my words known to you, turn to my reprove, repent, if you're naïve for scoffer and made it that's what it's saying just turn and admit what your problem is notice. If you respond the last verse in the chapter, but he listens to me shall live securely and shall be at ease and the dread of evil. You want a stable life. Be wise, apply wisdom, and you have a stable life every day will be better if you apply wisdom to your life. We all should be tired of learning the hard way. So if you're a mocker. Maybe you should start admitting that you're not the smartest guy in the room. Maybe you should admit that because by the way everyone else in the room already knows that. Secondly, if you're a fool.

You have to realize that it's not just about you, your life touches everybody who loves you everybody who's close to you and the collateral damage that you're doing is not good for any of them as well as for yourself.

And if you're naïve you have the opportunity of a lifetime for the naïve, there's the most hope for the young people, you realize that you can both be young and wise for how many of us would've liked that as our experience, but a teenager right now you have the opportunity to be young and wives to live life with skill, but you have to seek many of us would be labeled as naïve or a fool or scoffer.

But we must admit we all have moments of that finger Solomon for a moment, Solomon is set in the word of God to be the wisest man whoever lived but you know what he did a lot of foolish things he did a lot of really foolish things said in the past.

The probably my favorite book in the Old Testament is Ecclesiastes and the reason I love it is this brilliant brilliant man is writing. Looking back over his life and basically he says you know what almost everything that I thought was important in my life is an important, he said, and I tried everything he said, look, you can learn from me because there's nothing I haven't tried. He said I was a committed hedonist committed there was no pleasure.

I withheld from my own experience anything that you could try to give you pleasure. Solomon said I tried I tried it. He said talk about materialism. He said I accrued more wealth than anyone else in my world.

I was the richest man in my world. He said you talk about achievement and counting to do something constructive. I built cities I go buildings. I built gardens I built forms I built all kinds of stuff and you know what it's all vanity. He said I'm wise enough to realize looking back it was all vanity.

It's all vapor. It's all smoke it just here for a moment and then it's gone. He said that's what I did. He said I've come to this conclusion late in my life that it's all vanity. He writes at one time in the book of Ecclesiastes that for him all things became wearisome. Ever been there.

You know I'm wearing a worry of everything I don't need another project around the house to feel better about myself. I'm tired of those I don't need another promotional work. I'm tired of that. I'm tired of all this.

I'm just weary. This is the reason is is you gave it value that it doesn't have vanity vanity always vanity and then he said this a poor wise lad is better than a foolish king, a poor wise lad is better than a foolish king. He says learn from me, don't think of all those things are so important you pursue life with such a foolish perspective. He said I did that doesn't work, wisdom by the one the most important things you can have as a companion of yours, day in and day out. The next time you make a choice. The very next time you ask yourself the question, what is the wise thing to do in light of my past experiences in light of my present circumstances. In light of my future hopes and dreams.

If you do that you may make the wise choice, not the naïve are not the foolish one, not the one of the scoffer but the one of the wise man is pray father. These words are so practical for us.

You simply asking us to consider wisdom to look at life from the point of view in which you look at life and be able to make our choices and decisions on that basis. Father, we know just how susceptible we are to naivety and foolishness in scoffing it's everywhere around us and there's a lot of it within us. Father I pray that we own up to our own deficiencies that we turn from them that we seek wisdom, we seek it from your word and we seek it from people we know to be wise and then father as we begin to wake wise choices in our life, we will reap what we sow a life of peace, not fear a life of hope not worry life happiness, not just pastoral giver.

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