Dead Flies and Little Birds (Part 2 of 2)

You may have heard somebody say one time or another.

Once a fool always a fool. The teacher in the Ecclesiastes points out to us the many ways we can spot both folly and wisdom today on Truth for Life will learn how even a foolish person can be transformed.

Alister Vegas teaching today from chapter 10 of Ecclesiastes.

When you come to chapter 10 it provides is if you like with the identikit picture of falling.

Here we see folly walking the streets scaling the heights propounding its notions and what I want to do is simply track a line through it with you. Identifying, first of all, in verses 1 to 4 folly as we find it on the street are folly. If you like down at ground level from folly on the street to folly in high places. That's what is revenge � five and following, and also verses 16 and 17. Thirdly, folly at work verses 8 to 11. In verse 15 folly at work. Whoever digs a pit may fall into it never breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. He goes through these various things and if chapter 10 may be summarized under the heading. Be sensible than this little section may fall under the heading. Be realistic in the pits, which traps its maker.

You will find if you read, for example in the Psalms that it is a picture of poetic justice in Psalms 7 verse 15 Sam nine verse 15 730 5R7 will find that this whole picture of digging a pit and then falling into yourself is a picture of poetic justice and the grabbing impact of an unnoticed serpent is the image in the Old Testament of a lurking retribution verse 10 provides us with blinding glimpse of the obvious. If the ax is dull in his edges on sharpened. You don't have to beat like crazy on the wound and all you going to do is smashing and crashing and bump it but if you would take the time to sharpen the ax before you begin. If you would bring skill rather than strength to bear upon it.

If you would bring bring inspiration rather than perspiration, and of course your endeavor will be met with far greater success, but the fool says I don't want to take time to sharpen the acts. I don't want to take time to make preparations, let me just give me nothing and let me get asset so he flails away makes a dreadful mess in any sensible person, particularly his wife can see that if only he would've taken a couple of minutes to have the thing sharpen that all of the wood would have been shocked and we would be ready to leave now, but instead we got wood all over the place. Perspiration running down his back a little more skill and a little more strength and things would be so different. Verse 11 takes us back to the comedic picture doesn't.

If a snake bites before its charm.

There is no profit for the charmer. So it picture the fool decided that he's going to dig himself out into the bazaar is going to do something bazaar that is easier to charm snakes and soybeans.

A snake in the basket and he said to Don and he gets ready fiddles around looking for his flute because he so silly he probably is left somewhere in that while he is just getting ready to charm the snake snake get so tired of waiting in the basket that upon his head out and bites Mrs. Jenkins who was waiting for the event to begin is going to be very difficult man for the snake charmer, having not done any charming to do a little charging such a foolish venture snake bites before its charm no profit for the charmer folly.

Blisters ahead when it should wait folly delays on Julie when it is time to proceed. The work of a fool. Verse 15 is just an absolute weariness to he doesn't know the way to town. He makes things needlessly difficult for himself and fourthly, I want you to notice folly in words verse 15 verse 12, I should say words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips. Quite a picture is not somebody being consumed by their own lips fight is that it is effete and unimaginable feet makes me think of the early days of their Monty Python's flying Circus and when they were going to the animation and the things we do quite incredible things and what you have here is the cannibal committing suicide.

The way he knows best fool consumes himself a fool's lips, says Solomon may bring him strife.

His mouth invites a beating.

Not that he's dull, but that he is wrongheaded.

He refuses to begin with God.

He refuses to begin with wisdom, therefore there is no surprise when his words, having begun verse 13 in folly and as we could not know, I flipped through the channels same as you do. I have the basic whatever you can get so that I can minimize the impact of mayhem and craziness as it appeals to my sinful propensities and as it reaches into try and grab my attention.

I have minimize the risk as best as it is possible without taking the television and throwing it out into the back garden.

But just in the course of their routine journey of the average male clicking through the thing you do you are confronted routinely by madness and by and by wickedness just by madness and wickedness you find yourself sitting where in the world's oldest wickedness and all this madness come from the ends of his. He at the beginning. His words are folly and at the end they are wicked madness.

The fool has said in his heart there is no God. Therefore, there is no one soon we are accountable. There is no one whom we have to serve there is no one before whom we will one day stand and be facing judgment pending. Remove the possibility of all of that and it is just a continual slide into ever deepening experiences of madness and wickedness. We are not to be taken by surprise verse 14. His words are multiply that in preventing the fact that his words are foolish. It is preventive for from keeping on and on and postulated all of us know this. We are foolish moments, but what is being described here is something far more essential far more serious. It is a description of the ungodly, whose way of speaking reveals their condition and ultimately their destiny in the way of speaking reveals their destiny listen to Jesus in Matthew 12, you brood of vipers, how can you who are evil. Notice say anything good.

One of the ways you will know that you have become a Christian is by the change in your language, the things that you praise will change the songs you sing will change the profanity that you use will go by the idea of hastening now towards January 1, in order that I might get a hold of my tong in order. I might transfer my circumstances. It is a forlorn hope you brood of vipers, how can you are evil actually see anything good. Why do you say that Jesus will let me tell you we set for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Your problem is not your tongue. Your problem is your heart.

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him, but I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken and then listen to this, for by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. What is he saying he's saying this that the heart that is transformed by the wisdom of God will be revealed in the phraseology and the use of language and a heart that remains unchanged and remains in its foolishness will equally be revealed by its language in those words once spoken, according to verse 20 out of one beyond the ability of the fool to control don't revile the king even in your thoughts because if you think about it, you probably said him curse the rich, in your bedroom. Don't go up and have that little private tirade where apparently with yourself because a little bird may carry her words in a bird on the wing.

The report would you say isn't it amazing how when you say good things you can get them to where you want them to go when you say bad things everybody hears them jam your fingers in the door and you and you and you say something you shouldn't say in your and your you and your children safe IR that why did you say that I was down the stairs I heard you but when you are near. During something different. It never seems to go there is an interesting picture.

Isn't it we say to our children in a be very careful little bird little bird and is easily one of Wiseman say you know of any control of your words are finally just a thought folly on the street folly in high places folly at work folly in our words and finally folly in the end folly in the end being a fool in this life means facing the next life totally unprepared being a fool in this life means facing the next life totally unprepared interview with a folly. Now you're not going to have a chance to deal with it after you died. You understand that if you choose still to live in absolute folly, and you die you will die in your foolishness and there will be no opportunity of reparation or forgiveness or change the fool misses the feast verse 19. A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry money is the answer for everything.

What is he saying here will remember his perspective, but don't dismiss it too quickly what is pointing out is that God's wholesome gifts are good and when used properly they are delightful and their perfectly sufficient that God is a God who gives us all things richly to enjoy the enjoyment of food, not the sin of gluttony. The enjoyment of fidelity within the framework of married sexuality, not immorality. The enjoyment of land without resources treasures in heaven rather than just amassing things on our God has planned and purposed that in his wisdom, we may enter fully into that the Christian of all people ought to be able to enjoy life ought to be on enjoy a sunset more than anyone else. The joy of a fresh morning in the companionship of friends, a visit to the stores they in the in the mid-the satisfaction of a good meal, though the wonder of beautiful music from the orchestra, and so on. Nobody ought to get more out of the Christian but the fool doesn't go fool misses it completely new. So I know that he probably explains that money is a bad thing and should be resisted at all costs. And then he discovers here. Money is the answer forever than what is had me where does he come up with these kind of statements. What is he saying I am really saying is simply this, that of all the gifts that we can be given. Money is the most versatile of all those gifts monies the most versatile of all the gifts.

Remember, Jesus makes this dramatic statement in Luke chapter 16 which we stumbled over when we studied it a long time ago now, I tell you use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourself so that when it's gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

Use your money wisely said I gave you money. Make sure you use it wisely. And money is the most versatile of all gifts. Remember when you are married and you got those almost presence and you sat around and and and you took another box with one of those dreadful flat trees on which you put who knows what mean and a con there always about this size. You know them now by the box there that and add a little bit of scrolling or something on the and or whatever might be you can put everything on it but frankly, you don't want. Certainly when you go to the seventh of the one and they're all laid out in a pile, your girlfriend, your wife, and she is now looked across at you and says I wish they'd given us the money. I wish they'd given us the money. Of course you know I because I don't have enough money to put stuff on all these plates that they bought for me. If they give me six less plates and money in his place.

Then I would build or buy something put on the one plate that I wanted to keep, but I have seven blades and no money.

If they give me the money I have versatility supporting that is making this is one of all that is wonderful and money is the most versatile of all the gifts that's why is the greatest responsibility to those who are entrusted with much of it I don't have to run around frowning and groaning is aware and apologizing because it is God who gives you the ability to make money and given the versatility of your giftedness.

You have the opportunity to spread it into use it in multiple ways. In a way that someone else doesn't.

Because there gifts are difference with a fool. He's not at the feast normal to the fool their CD. He's in his house with the sagging rafters dodging the leaks moving the plastic pails around to catch the water to prevent the puddles from landing on his threadbare rocks. What is the problem with this man while he skipped wisdom 101 the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

He rejected that and it all went from there. Listen to me as carefully as you can, especially young people, I've observed something through my years. Most people who turn aside from foolishness to embrace wisdom do so when their young, and those who remain foolish and repeat their foolishness and compound their foolishness often die as fools. Therefore the indications would seem to be that way and in your youthfulness as you set up your life as you make your plans as you think these things out. It is imperative that you turn from falling to wisdom for sin is folly and it is folly, because it is disobedience to and it is rebellion against the will of God who has made you who loves you who sustains you and who will finally assess you. What could be more foolish in the minds of people this morning and the message of the gospel itself that the death of Jesus, this baby born in Bethlehem living a sinless life keeping all of the world works of the father doing all of the law and its exactitude dies upon the cross, a sinless man and by his death in the shedding of his blood. He makes provision for our sins and enables us to be reconciled to God nor says they wise person in the greater Cleveland area and sounds so foolish to me. Well, the Bible knows you're going to say that for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us being saved. It's the power of God, but it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the intelligence of the intelligent. I will for straight rain on the scholars. Where is the wise man. Where is the philosopher of this age has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world. For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him. God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe God was pleased through the foolishness of this crummy sermon from Ecclesiastes 10 to say all and any this morning who will believe not because the sermon is good, not because the speaker is passionate not because your inclinations are peculiarly towards God, for none of the above may be true, but simply to show that he is gone and all of his manifold wisdom.

He beings to use the voice of mere mortals and set aside such circumstances as this to take on life and bring it to the great wisdom of the cross are you there did you begin the day with falling we will end the day with wicked madness did you begin the day of your life with falling yes you did for all of us like sheep of gone astray were not in a morally neutral position whereby we may choose folly or embrace wisdom.

We have already chosen folly the verify that we disregard God is indicative of the answer. He comes to us and he says here what should you do or just cry out from your heart Lord Jesus Christ. I am so foolish. Give me your wisdom to see and follow your truth Lord Jesus Christ. I am so foolish I don't listen to my parents. I don't listen to my teachers. I just don't listen to anybody. I'm foolish, Lord Jesus give me your grace that I might see and follow your truth, and the promise of the Bible is the person who cries out in such away from their heart.

He absolutely promises to grant that. All in all, in a summary phrase be sensible about these things, the starting place for wisdom. According to the Bible is the fear of the Lord listing to Truth for Life Alastair big has been urging us to turn from folly to wisdom will be back with us in just a minute to close today's program. If you prayed along with Alastair at the end of the program and you'd like to know more about the gospel, but what it means to follow Christ. You can watch a couple of videos available on our website. There only six or seven minutes long. Visit Truth for Life.org/learn more that you may be listening to Alastair today on a local radio station or hearing the program through your smart phone or tablet may be your listing via YouTube or Alexa.

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