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stone it will return upon him lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it and a flattering mouth worketh ruin let's pray dear lord god just thank you for your word uh thank you for this church and for our pastors ask you that you would be with them now please just strengthen them with your holy spirit and please just give us ears to hear your word as it's preached and to take heed to it in jesus name we pray amen amen okay we're in proverbs chapter 26 look down in shabbat verse number one it says as snow and summer and as rain and harvest so honor is not seemingly for a fool and on sunday mornings we're going we're going through a series entitled proverbial personalities i'm basically going or giving an overview of each of the individuals that are mentioned in the book of proverbs and uh you know think about for example the wise you think about the simple you think about the sluggard well today this morning we're gonna go over the fool and as i mentioned last week a proverb by definition is simply a short effective statement that imparts wisdom prudence and or knowledge and it's really knowledge about these particular characters that we're going to look at throughout the next couple of weeks last week we talked about the simple and the simple in simplest terms is just someone who is stupid okay now today you know that's offensive to a lot of people to call someone stupid or to say that someone is stupid or whatever it may be but really what what it means to be stupid is to be simple-minded in other words you are deficient of knowledge you are deficient of wisdom you are deficient of prudence and therefore according to the bible there's certain consequences that you're going to suffer now if someone is simple-minded it doesn't mean that they're evil it doesn't mean that they're wicked it doesn't mean they have bad intentions it just means that they are deficient of certain knowledgeable things that can benefit them and really cause them to not suffer certain consequences and here's the thing is that when it comes to the simple and the fool both of them actually experience the same consequences okay the fool and the simple they both suffer the same consequences the difference is the fool knows what the bible says and the simple does not and last week we talked about the the simple person and what it means to be simple i want to encourage you to go listen to that sermon if you haven't already and what you can do to grow from that and remember that last week we basically said that all of us to a certain extent started out started off as simple people or simple christians i mean as children children are simple-minded they're very impressionable they basically believe anything that you tell them if you know that's why we got to be careful with who influences our children but in like manner you know a newborn christian can be simple-minded as well you know they're very impressionable they're born again they don't have a whole lot of knowledge of god's word and so the goal of a christian is to grow in knowledge and wisdom of god's word to grow in the fear of god in order to gain that knowledge now this morning as i mentioned we're going to go over the fool and proverbs chapter 26 is actually the chapter that has more statements about about the fool than any other chapter in the book of proverbs now there's plenty of other chapters that mention the fool maybe about nine or ten times but 26 is the one who really just hits on the fool and really virtually the entire book of proverbs talks about the fool which shows us that this is a really important subject okay and there's a reason why he's being brought up over and over and over again and that is because god does not want us to be foolish okay he doesn't want us to be fools he doesn't want us to be a scorner he doesn't want us to behave stupidly he wants us to have knowledge and wisdom and prudence and the fear of god now if we're to draw a spectrum okay of all these individuals if we're to put them on a scale from the worst to the best you know the fool would be on one side of the spectrum and the wise would be on the complete opposite side okay so they're on opposite sides of the spectrum they're on polar opposites and in the middle you would have for example you have the fool at the one side of the spectrum and then you have you know the angry man you have the slothful man and then you have the simple you have the the diligent and you have the wise and the goal for us as christians is to be as far away or should i say far away from the left as possible amen far away from being a fool far away from being slothful far away from being angry far away from that particular side of the spectrum we want to be closer to being a diligent man a wise man a man who fears the lord okay go to proverbs chapter seven if you would proverbs chapter seven we'll come back to proverbs 26 throughout the sermon and we'll we'll basically remain in the book of proverbs we might go to different portions of scripture throughout the bible let me give you a definition of what a fool is okay and um you know a lot of people will say fool like you know they'll use it in slang terms but the reality is this is that a fool in the bible is actually an individual who knows what god's word says and just disregards him that's a fool okay so a simple-minded man doesn't know what god's word says and he doesn't necessarily disregard it because he just doesn't know it in the first place you understand whereas a fool knows what god's word says he knows what the bible says he knows biblical teaching and he says i'm not going to obey it we would say that person is a fool why because god's word should be regarded it should be esteemed it should be obeyed and you know the the practice especially the practical things of the bible where god says hey if you do this this is the consequence you're going to suffer or if you do this this is how you can become successful the person who looks at that and says now i'm going to do it my way is a person who the bible classifies as being a fool okay so a fool is an individual who knows god's word and disregards it now when you study the book of proverbs you really come to the conclusion that anybody can be a fool okay from the most extreme for example a wicked person an evil person a reprobate a false prophet the bible would classify them as being fools but the bible also tells us that christians or believers can be fools they can become foolish people okay now look at proverbs chapter 7 you know what is a fool good for let me show you what a fool is good for okay it says in verse 21 of proverbs 7 with her much fairer speech she caused him to yield with flattering with the flattering of her lips she forced him he goeth after her straight way as an ox goeth to the slaughter look what it says here or as a fool to the correction of the stocks the correction of the stocks is another way of saying is is to be arrested if you think of stocks that are placed on the feet so they don't move you know these are people who are often put on public display as a public example to everyone else so what is what's something that we can learn from the fool well anything all you have to do is look upon the fool and learn from him they're like a person who is in the correction of the stocks they're not necessarily meant to be discipled they're not meant to be invested in they're not meant to be dealt with or have companionship with they're actually meant to just be observed and learn from them you understand as a person who is in the correction of the stocks go to proverbs chapter 26 go back to proverbs 26 if you would i'm going to read you from proverbs 19 verse 29 it says judgments are prepared for scorners and stripes for the back of fools stripes means a whipping a beating it says that the stripes are prepared for the backs of fools proverbs 26 verse 3 says a whip for the horse a bridle for the ass and a rod for the fool's back that's some pretty strong language there so it's comparing the fool to the ass and to the horse which are both animals you know an animal someone who you whip you you know you got a discipline they don't necessarily have human judgment and god places a fool on the same level as an animal sometimes because sometimes they just don't listen most of the time fools don't listen okay so the best thing you can do with the fool is learn from them don't try to convert them don't try to argue with them you know answer not a fool according to his folly lest thou be like also like unto him the bible tells us you know all you're going to gain when you argue with the fool is just frustration you're going to get angry you're going to grow frustrated you're just going to be upset you're going to you know you're going to be stressed out the best thing to do is to observe them from afar and recognize that this person undermines god's word doesn't want to know what god's word says therefore it's not worth engaging with them you understand and this is a practical this is some practical advice for you on the internet on facebook okay on youtube we're on instagram there's a lot of foolish people out there on the internet or they're not no offense to our youtube listeners i'm sure there's some wise people out there but i guarantee you there's some fools who are listening right now you know it's something it's not you know i know it feels good every once in a while to just kind of go back and forth with them especially if you got yourself a good little comeback but the reality is this is that god doesn't want us to engage with fools because there's no profit in it you're not going to be able to help them you can't convert them they'll never see it your way why because they already know your way and they're disregarding the ways of the lord okay let me give you some random verses about the fool before we get into the main characteristics first and foremost go to prophet chapter three if you would prophet chapter three let me give you some random verses about the fool random uh points about them is that a fool will never really succeed or exceed in life the only promotion they'll get is this look what the bible says in proverbs 3 to 35 the wise shall inherit glory but shame shall be the promotion of fools the bible says so the only promotion the only type of success they'll the only way they'll be successful is be successful in being a fool and being ashamed that's what the bible says okay you know i don't know about you but you know i want good promotions i want god to magnify me you know if i was working in the secular world i would want to raise for my boss i wouldn't want to to have the praise of of my boss or whatever the recognition so i can continue to move up i don't want shame to be my promotion but that's the only promotion that is designated for the fool the bible says in proverbs 10 verse 18 he that hideth hatred with lying lips and he that uttereth a slander is a fool so a person who lies because you know they hate you so they tell certain lies or they utter a slander they'll just throw out you know railing accusations out there according to the bible that person is just a fool okay it says in verse 23 it is as sport to the fool to do mischief but a man of understanding hath wisdom this is a good verse for you teenagers out there who go to like a public school you know don't hang out with the young people of this world who are whose only sport they want to be involved in is mischief hey let's go out on friday night let's go out on saturday night and and get involved in mischief and go drink and hang out and vandalize or do whatever you know that's a sport to them and the bible tells us that the man of understanding hath wisdom the man of understanding sees that and says no i don't want to get a dui no i don't want to die you know no i don't want to get arrested i don't want a blemish on my record i don't want to be involved in mischief that's not my sport my sport is soccer my sport is basketball my sport is you know jujitsu or whatever it may be you know but don't let mischief be a sport and if that's your sport then you're a fool according to the bible the bible says in proverbs 13 verse 19 the desire accomplishes sweets of the soul but it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil so fools like why would i want to depart from drinking why would i want to stop smoking weed why would i want to stop you know fornicating i wouldn't want to do that's an abomination to me they're a fool it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil the bible says in proverbs 13 verse 20 he that walketh with wise men shall be wise but a companion of fools shall be destroyed the bible says so if you are if your close circle of friends are just a bunch of fools who sport his mischief who you know think it's abomination to depart from evil eventually you will be destroyed even if you come to this church you hear the preaching of god's word you're king james only you're a baptist you're saved you can have all those things but if you're only surrounding yourself with fools eventually you will be destroyed well i'm trying to convert my fools i'm trying to convert my fools around me well that doesn't really work that way you know if you have one wise man who's surrounded by fools eventually that wise man will be influenced by the fools doesn't really work the other way around you need to outnumber them that's the only way to work and even then you know when it comes to a fool it's not likely you're going to be able to convert them proverbs 14 9 says fools make a mock at sin proverbs 15 14 says the heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness the bible says so their their spiritual diet their entertainment diet is often foolishness the bible tells us proverbs 17 24 says wisdom is before him that hath understanding but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth what does that mean it's telling us that you know a person who is wise wisdom is always before him understanding is always before him it's always on our at arm's length it's always there ready for them as long as they're willing to be wise whereas the fool can look for wisdom all the days of their life and they'll never find it they'll look to the ends of the earth they'll go you know they can go look for the shaman in brazil go go go you know experiment with ayahuasca they can go to the mountains of india to go look for the wisdom they'll never find it why because it's foolish to them why because they have i mean we have wisdom right here the wisdom and the understanding of this world is found right here in this book we don't need to go to antarctica or something to go discover wisdom we can find it right here in god's word you understand go to proper chapter one proper chapter number one so let me give you some characteristics of the fool my my hope this morning is that if there's someone in here who exerts maybe some of these qualities that you would just correct this in your life amen and not take this in an offensive way or think oh man pastor's attacking me he's calling me a fool or something like that you know all of us can have a tendency or propensity if we're not careful to become foolish in our christian life and the goal should be that we correct it the goal should be that we add to ourselves knowledge and wisdom and prudence so what's characteristic number one well the fool as i mentioned has an aversion for knowledge now what does that mean fools tend to be hostile towards knowledge and wisdom okay in other words they just kind of scorn at wisdom they scorn at knowledge they don't really have a diet for it you think of a a woman who is pregnant for example okay they'll often talk to each other and they'll say what is your aversion is that correct you know like what what what is repugnant to you because you know sometimes women when they're pregnant they can you know their hormones are kind of going all crazy and stuff and then you know there's certain foods that they liked in times past then now while they're pregnant it's just completely repugnant to them even the look of it or the smell of it i mean you know what i'm talking about ladies don't leave me up here on the island by myself jose why are you raising your hand i was like like yeah witness are you the witness he raised both hands he's like that's true though you know it's just like a meal that they that they would consider to be delightful or their favorite when they're pregnant just like oh i can't even look at that like i don't even want to smell it i want to look upon it it's like an unclean thing to them right that's an aversion well the fool is the same way but with knowledge so the fool has an aversion to knowledge it's repugnant to them and in fact look at the bible says in proverbs 1 verse 7 the fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction look at verse 22 how long ye simple ones will you love simplicity and the scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge that's some strong language there they hate it they despise it they scorn at it this is why we should never seek to convert the fool because you're trying to convert the fool with rubies and gold and treasures and god's wisdom which is valuable but they despise that okay they hate it it's repugnant to them now why is that well proverbs 24 go to proverbs 26 if you would proverbs chapter 26 proverbs 24 verse 7 says wisdom is too high for a fool he openeth not his mouth in the gate so why is it that they hate knowledge and wisdom because it's just too high for them they can't understand it it's just it's not on their level you are not on their level and their level is you know they're they fools according to the bible are of the baser sort you are on a higher level it doesn't mean you're better than them it means you're better off because you have knowledge and wisdom of god's word it's too high for them okay proverbs 26 verse 7 says the legs of the lame are not equal so was a parable in the mouth of fools now lame here in the bible is not the way you know people use it today like as a diss or an insult dude you're lame you know that was lame lame means just simply means you know crippled unequal you know the legs of the lame is referring to a person who is crippled they're kind of uneven they're incapable of walking they don't really go together okay they're not compatible the legs are not compatible one with another so it says there so is a parable in the mouth of fools a parable is a dark saying it's a proverb it's something that requires spiritual discernment and the bible says that just as the legs of a crippled person are not compatible in like manner a parable or god's word is not compatible in the mouth of a fool that's why never go to a fool to interpret the bible because they'll give you some crazy interpretation of it you don't want to go to like the mormon church for for interpretation of the bible okay you never want to go to joe's witness for the interpretation of the bible okay why because it's like a parable it's like the lames of the lame that are not equal they don't go together don't try to go to a fool for advice if you know that someone around you is a fool don't go to them say hey what do you think about this what's your advice about this why because a parable does not belong in the mouth of a fool it's incompatible it says in verse 9 as a thorn goes up into the hand of a drunkard so is a parable in the mouth of fools so a fool hates talking about god's word it's like a thorn going into the hand of a drunkard they despise it you understand so just as a thorn is in the hand of a drunkard and it's there and it just kind of hurts you know because because they're just being stupid they're being a drunkard in like manner that's the way a parable is in the mouth of a fool they despise god's word they don't want to know what you're what do you have to say about god they scorn at knowledge what does it mean to scorn it means they kind of make fun of the bible they mock the bible okay oh you believe in that sky daddy no i believe in god what's a sky daddy that's a scornful statement you know oh your christianity is a white man's religion what do you mean i'm brown i see a bunch of people here who are not white there are some white folks in here my wife being one of them i see another white man right there in the corner jacob oh that's a white man's religion uh no it's a human race religion it's a religion for the human race not for the white race not for the black race it's for everyone but statements like this should lead you or be an indication that the person you're talking to is a fool because they're scorning at the bible oh there's so many look how many times have you heard this oh man i don't even believe that that book was written by man why should i believe that's that's written by man it's like well duh yeah i mean josea is a man peter's a man but the author of the book is is god all scripture is given by inspiration of god is profitable for doctrine for proof of correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of god may be thoroughly furnished perfect into all good works so yeah man god used man to pen down the word of god but it's his content he is the author of this book oh why should i i don't believe the bible there's all kinds of contradictions anytime someone tells me that i close the bible and i say go show me at least one of them oh it's all over oh then you should be able to find it easily then oh it's it's there i mean it's it's it's all there i don't really have time to you know but you have time to criticize the bible but you don't have time to back up your claims that there's all kinds of contradictions in the bible folks the bible has zero contradictions no prophecy of the scripture is given of any private interpretation for you know holy men of god's spake is they're removed by the holy ghost they're the ones who were instruments in god's hand to pen down the word of god but there are no mistakes in the bible the person who says there's mistakes in the bible has never read the bible cover to cover once every single person who claims that the bible has contradictions has never i guarantee has never read the bible cover to cover once how do you know that you know how i know that because i know there's christians out there who haven't even read it cover to cover once and they believe god's word i mean they they know that it's true in spite of not reading the cover to cover how much more those who hate the word of god scorn at the bible mock the bible they don't read it they're parroting what some atheists said out there but it should come as no surprise because the bible tells us in second peter three three knowing this first that there shall come in the last days scoffers scoffers just a simple simple way of another way of saying mockers okay walking after their own lust saying where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation for this they willingly are ignorant of so when it says that they're willingly ignorant it's referring to a fool because they know what the truth is but they choose to be willingly ignorant about it you understand it's a mocker a scoffer of god's word that is what a fool is now i'm not saying that there aren't christians out there who have sincere questions about the bible even of questions that may pertain to uh uh you know some sort of what they would think to be a contradiction in the bible i mean haven't you ever read a passage in the bible it's just like i don't really understand what this says you know because i'm young in the lord i could almost see that this could be like a contradiction i know that it's not because it's god's word i just don't know how to interpret it how many of you've ever had a time like that okay plenty of times in the bible that i've read it that's like that but you know reading the bible for the last 15 years i've learned there are no contradictions in the bible so even those that i thought well this doesn't really make sense with other any other passage but i'm gonna believe it anyways eventually later on in the future with reading it over and over again the answer came and i'm like okay i understand it now okay so there's nothing wrong with having a sincere question about the bible the wrong attitude towards the bible is like oh well you know because i don't understand it therefore it's wrong i don't understand it therefore it's not inspired by god don't mock or scoff at the bible okay the bible says in proverbs 10 21 the lips of the righteous feed many but fools die for want of wisdom proverbs 8 5 says oh you simple understand wisdom and you fools be of an understanding heart proverbs 27 go to proverbs 27 by the way fools are stubborn they're adamantly stubborn okay and you know what you may have dealt with the fool in your family or something okay or at your job you know or in church i don't know you know hopefully not in church they're stubborn people sometimes let me give you an example proverbs 27 verse 22 though thou shouldest pray a fool and a mortar among wheat with the pestle yet will not his foolishness depart from him now what is mortar with the pestle what does it mean to do that or pray a fool and mortar with the pestle i don't know when i was like 21 i went to guatemala and they used to have this bowl this almost like a stone bowl and it was like a grinder you would grind meal or whatever it may be what this is basically saying is when you if you're to compare that wheat to a fool you can just dig into them and say look this is what the bible says look this is wisdom and you can do it over and grind and grind and grind and then when you when you open it it's still wheat like it's not it hasn't even changed you can try to grind a fool to powder it will not work foolishness will not depart from him you can argue you can come up with the best arguments you can show him a hundred verses from the bible you can come up with the best comebacks foolishness will never depart from him this is basically showing us that you can go to some extreme measures in order to convince a fool but his foolishness will not depart from him it's part of who he is because he hates knowledge and wisdom go to proper chapter 17 so number one is he has an aversion for knowledge and we as god's people should never ever despise knowledge and let me say this knowledge of the bible or even secular knowledge right common sense scientific secular knowledge and wisdom we should not despise that right oh yeah but it's not in the bible yeah but if it's if it's scientific it could be proven folks the bible is not a science book okay there's some scientific stuff in here in the bible but it's a spiritual book there's plenty of other material out there that is actually you know scientific it's true it's knowledge we should esteem those things okay and not follow cunningly devised fables or science falsely so-called we should desire true knowledge and true science right and the yeah well i can get on other things about science and stuff that people believe today but what i'm saying is this is that you know we should not be despisers of knowledge we should not be despisers of wisdom we should we should have a thirst for knowledge and wisdom okay whether from the bible or from the secular realm obviously the bible should be preeminent but we should never have an aversion for it okay uh we should always have an appetite for knowledge okay always wanting to learn and grow and have wisdom you're in prophet chapter 17 number two this the fool listen to this will not take correction the fool will not take correction okay the fool can't accept any type of correction or admonishment let me say this you know sometimes you know children can be this way right toddlers they have a hard time taking correction you know especially if you got yourself a rambunctious one okay they're just a little stubborn little strong-willed right you know i i got i got one of those you know in my in my household you know it doesn't mean he's a bad little boy it just means that he's just strong-willed he's stubborn and he has a hard time taking correction you know like i'll give you an example okay we have one particular child we all we all put we put them all to sleep we have a certain time where we put them asleep they're upstairs my wife and i are downstairs talking and sure enough you know because they're supposed to stay in bed it's like stay in bed go to sleep it's time to sleep and he comes down and he gets a spanking because he needs to obey it's time to sleep you get it and you go back upstairs five minutes later comes downstairs gets another this happens for like six times and i'm like surely on the seventh he will understand and and you know and he the boy has a high tolerance for pain apparently you know and but you know what he comes back down and then he just peeks out he peeks out the corner mommy it's like why are you laughing son you know he peeks out and he gets it it's just stubborn no matter how much we correct the boy you know he's just stubborn and obviously the bible tells us foolishness is what bound in the heart of a child right so this is just this is just natural thing okay so moms don't get frustrated when your kids are just strong-willed and you feel like man the spankings aren't working it's not gonna work i just been doing it i do it so much uh it takes a lifetime sometimes okay and look don't get discouraged if you have a strong-willed child that's a good thing you want them to be strong-willed they just need a little more training and trust me when they grow up they'll be very adamant about the things of god if you train them right okay you gotta raise them and the nurturing the admonition of the lord you know they just need a higher degree of discipline sometimes doesn't mean you're a bad parent it doesn't mean you just don't know what you're doing doesn't mean you're supposed to give up it just means god gives you different degrees of children some just obey more readily right i mean some kids are just like okay the other one is just like no you know and it doesn't you can't look at that and say oh man i'm such a bad parent i just can't no you'd be a bad parent if you don't do anything about that the bad parents are the ones who are like in the grocery stores and the kids are just throwing themselves on the floor and they're just throwing this tantrum and you just don't do anything about it okay because look even my kids have thrown tantrums foolishness is bound to the heart of a child okay they throw tantrums they get all crazy you're a bad parent if you just don't do anything about it i remember growing up you know going with my mom to a grocery store and you know uh we'd see some kid and he's just like throwing a fit he's throwing himself on the floor he's just like i mean he's doing the whole theatrics and everything and i remember i remember like uh my mom you know i was little my mom used to tell me man if he was my child and she would look at me she's like you better never do that i've been learning from the fool for a very long time because i looked at him and i was just like yeah because my mom can whoop so i'm not gonna do that my mom says no to a candy bar it's it's a no and i'm not gonna ask again the bad part is if you just don't do anything about it okay and i understand you know discipline your children can get tiresome and wearisome you feel like you're not making any progress sometimes but you are making progress okay just remain faithful trust god's word just keep doing it keep plugging away and and in the long run it will pay off okay but the problem is this you know we expect children to behave that way and to not accept correction sometimes it's when an adult does that then it becomes a problem so the adult who does not accept correction was the child who did not get the spankings when he was smaller so hey you want to raise a fool for a child as an as an adult then don't spank them when they're younger that's a good way to raise a fool they don't like correction and let me just say this is that um sometimes i have to deal with this in church where i you know people ask me for advice or they ask me for counsel and you know i give them my advice i give them my counsel and then they just do the complete opposite and i'm like that was foolish why even come you know it's just like but let me explain something to you sometimes people come for advice and counsel not because they really want advice for counsel they want you to tell them what they want to do so all they really want is for you to just kind of confirm what they really want you understand whereas you know i'm not going to tell you what you want to hear i'm just going to tell you what what i believe is benefiting you or will benefit you and you know but sometimes christians they lean on their own understanding they think themselves well what do you know pastor you're only 35 you know you haven't been pastoring that long and i think we should do it this way okay then don't ask me right it's like don't ask for advice if you're asking for advice and you get the advice that you don't want you shouldn't have asked in the first place okay i know that's a little rough but you know i love you guys you understand and i'm this is this is preventative okay you know and and here's the thing is that i give you my advice from my personal experience but you know what my experience is not the only experience i have believe it or not i have the experience of people who have been in the ministry for 40 plus years 50 plus years that i've gleaned wisdom from and i've taken you know because i'm young i understand that so therefore i've hung around wise people to get wisdom from them because i know if i'm going to be a pastor i need to help people in these areas when people don't take my advice you're basically just disregarding the wisdom of the ancients sometimes you understand so don't be a fool okay and be be willing to take correction by the way what's the number one reason why people don't take correction pride pride pride is often the number one reason why people don't like to be corrected because who likes to be told that they're wrong who likes to be told hey what you did there was actually wrong this is the right way to do it you know the person who's prideful will buck at that they will resist that but the person of humility who really loves knowledge and wants to learn is willing to correct things because they want they want things to change okay where do i have you turn go to proverbs nine if you would proverbs nine so the fool will not take correction verse seven of proverbs one you're in chapter nine i'm in proverbs one verse seven says the fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction they don't like being told what to do so the extreme fool we should not instruct at all the extreme fool should not be instructed at all let me give you an example of this you guys remember the fool who came and disrupted our service he's like knocking on the window he's doing all these weird stuff i went out there and i chose i didn't give him any instruction he had alcohol in his breath he's telling me to f off or whatever he's saying all these things and then he said why didn't you like you know admonish him and and because he's a fool no matter what i tell him he's just going to disrespect me if i bring him in here he's going to cause some some some big stir he's going to disrupt the service so you know i told him to get off the property he went on the parking lot i said okay great you know whatever you want to do do it but just do it away from me because i don't like being around fools okay now if the guy was sincere and if he's like whoa i'm really sorry about that i didn't know you can see me through the window or something you know i really apologize for that if he was like kind and humble about it you know if he was like a regular human being who just is considerate of other people then obviously we show mercy folks like oh yeah no problem you know come in there if you want you know you want you want some coffee come listen to the preaching we get them saved but right off the bat he's showing pride you know oh i'm not looking to be religious even though and then this is what i told him i said well this is a religious service what do you think this is like like uh the ymca or something or what this is a church where people are religious you know it doesn't have to be that way this is what that's what he said it doesn't have to be that way he said what kind of what kind of wisdom did you impart into him when he said that this is what i said well it is so he said why didn't you like expound because he's a fool so why waste my words hey my words are precious folks your words are precious don't waste your words on people who are just going to mock what you say so just say well it is a religious service so there let me call the police i can call the police you know and that's it look what the bible says in proverbs 9 verse 8 reprove not a scorner lest he hate thee so the scorner and the fool are likened unto one another and the bible says this if you correct a fool or a scorner he's going to hate you for it so it's not even worth doing it who should we be correcting look what it says we're a buka wise man and he will love thee so a person who's wise you can rebuke them you can reprove them and they'll take it because they want to grow hey no pain no gain okay no stripes to the inward parts of the belly no cleaning up your life they understand the connection and the importance of being corrected being instructed being told that they're wrong because they know well i want to know where i'm wrong so i can correct it because i want to succeed in the christian life the fool on the other hand doesn't want to be corrected in fact if you do so they're going to hate you for it okay why well the bible says in proverbs 12 verse 15 the way of the fool is right in his own eyes why are you correcting me i'm already right that's what they're thinking but he that harkeneth unto counsel is wise and this is good this is a good point for you young men okay because young men today have a tendency to be a little prideful they can be a little arrogant they can be some know-it-alls you know because they've been around the block for 20 years 19 years 17 years 15 years or whatever they've been in this world for so long they just know everything there is to know about life and marriage and relationships be willing to take correction by the way i'm being sarcastic about that you don't know all those things sorry to break it to you but you don't know those things you know be willing to take counsel be willing to take correction be willing to take instruction the bible says in proverbs 23 verse 9 speak not in the ears of a fool for he will despise the wisdom of thy words proverbs 17 10 a reproof entereth more into a wise man than a hundred stripes into a fool so if you verbally correct a wise person he will benefit far more from that more than a person who you just whip a hundred times isn't that crazy you can whip a person a hundred times and he still won't get it at the hundredth whip it'll be like so what are you trying to say that's the fool oh you're persecuting me or whatever you know by the way that's why you know prison systems don't work folks it don't work you can give a person 20 years 30 years 40 years 50 years 100 years not that someone would even live that long they're still not going to learn right yeah it's like well we just got to put them in now obviously you know the reasoning behind putting people in prison is not to help them to correct themselves or to reform them it's something called a prison industrial complex there's money to be made in keeping the prison systems full okay they don't they don't care to rehabilitate people they don't want to help people out they don't really want to punish criminals and evildoers they want to they are the evildoers yeah yeah they're trying to make money off of the prison systems but that's a discernment for another day powers 14 3 says in the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride and the lips of the wise shall preserve them powers 14 verse 7 go from the presence of a foolish man will not perceive us not in him the lips of knowledge so this is good advice for you soul winners out there amen this is good advice for soul winning when you knock on the door and you perceive that the person you're talking to you know doesn't have knowledge to start scorning at the bible what are you supposed to do you go from the presence you don't stick around and argue with them you don't stick around and debate them you don't stick around and try to just like you know you don't spend 45 minutes talking to that person i think jesus is stupid and the bible is dumb and i think you're stupid too all right well see you later you go from the presence of a foolish man you don't say well why do you think that well do you have a couple minutes i can show you why he's not stupid that's not what you do you go from the presence of the foolish man don't waste your time with people who don't want to hear it and look let me say this some of the let me just say it some of the most annoying soul winners it's a good way to start the sentence some of the most annoying soul winners are those who just can't get it they just don't get it i mean the person is scorning mocking the bible they're just not receptive and they just persist to stay there to talk to them to just debate with them you're wasting your time it's better to just walk away and say all right well thank you have a great day and you leave okay that's it oh i just thought but i want to get the last word in why what for why do you need the last word anyways are you going out solely to get the last word in or are you going out there to win souls to christ to preach the gospel you know that sounds like a rod of pride to me okay go from the presence of a foolish man and by the way this will help you this will help you avoid a lot of conflict in life all right you know because sometimes people will come to you and they'll say stupid things that will offend you or they'll they'll be you know they'll insult you or something and the worst thing you could do is add fire to that conflict so what you do is say this well i'm just gonna walk away all right we'll see you later thank you bye and let it be like water off a duck's back off a duck's back don't let it simmer on you i can't believe you said it to me if i wish i would have had a good comeback for that and oh just you know you're just upset and angry why be humble walk away forget about it come tell the story when you come to church this guy said the bible was stupid you know and he said this just like that's out there you know go from the presence of a foolish man hey children the bible says in proverbs 15 5 a fool despises his father's instruction but he that regardeth reproof is prudent hey children you want to be wise you want to not be a fool you want to be prudent listen to your dad's instruction don't disregard what your dad tells you to do listen to him and if you're a teenager you're still living in your parents house listen to your father's instruction well my parents aren't saved though yeah but here's the thing is that your parents have something that they didn't get from the bible it's just called experience there's a lot of people out there who are just wise about life who've just been around the block they've been alive longer you know they just they've had trials through trial and error they've learned things that you can learn from them so they don't have to be this just this magnificent christian for you to learn something from them because here's the thing you know every person is not born a christian did you know that some people get saved later on in life and people have survived in this world for thousands of years you know i'm talking about survived living in this world and and making wise decisions and people being people of judgment even without the bible because of the fact that life just sometimes gives you experience and it's obviously the cause and effect that god has set forth in this world so people who don't have the bible and just live life and they have experience and they have judgment you know they get wisdom sometimes learn from them learn from your parents go to proverbs 12 so they hate knowledge they won't take correction here's another one a fool has no filter what is a filter well you know you think of uh when you when you brew coffee for example you put a coffee filter you put the beans inside the filter and when you know it's percolating or whatever just liquid comes out it extracts all the oils and all the you know i'm not a coffee connoisseur i just drink it you know we got some guys here who know the process better but you know you get it and then you know the the filter keeps the grinds because you don't want grindy coffee you know where it's just muddy and you're just you know you want to you want the filter to be able to keep that which is unnecessary okay well a fool doesn't have that so a fool would just like you know they'll just do instant coffee only thing is they don't it doesn't dissolve right they don't they don't filter what they think let me just give you a piece of advice you know think before you talk even if you have a really good comeback something that you feel needs to be said sometimes you just got to keep it to yourself but a fool doesn't even know what that means a fool just blurted it out say whatever just blurted out they don't think about what they're saying they could be offensive they're here's the thing how about this fools are just not self-aware there can be like children by women by there and they'll just say whatever comes to their mind because they're being foolish folks the opposite of that would be to be discreet to have discretion to be self-aware to understand your surroundings to understand the people in the ears that are listening okay and look obviously we as christians shouldn't be vulgar we shouldn't be you know talking about things that uh are shameful to speak of but there's certain things that can be said but maybe not necessarily be said in front of families children that they just can't necessarily handle especially in church look at proverbs 12 verse 16 so a fool will say anything that comes to his mind it says a fool's wrath is presently known now folks wouldn't you say that we as men we get angry don't we get ticked off sometimes don't people just tick us off don't situations just make us really mad that's just a natural thing right i mean i don't know a man who doesn't get mad over something if you don't get mad over something you you know your estrogen levels are too high testosterone levels are too low okay men should get upset about things that's how god made us be angry and sin not that's what the bible says so it's possible to be angry and not sin but here's the thing is that you have to be you have to control yourself but the person who's a fool is presently known when he's being angry everyone knows about it he proclaims it to the lord he is his own tabloid proclaiming why he's upset who he's upset at just telling everyone that is a fool according to the bible a fool's wrath is presently known but a prudent man covereth shame look at verse 23 a prudent man concealeth knowledge but the heart of fools proclaim it foolishness go to proverbs chapter uh let's see here go to proverbs 14 proverbs 29 11 a fool uttereth all his mind not good because we're sinners in the fall of food a thought of foolishness is sin sometimes we think stupid things but the fool is like well i'm just gonna say it anyways i'm just gonna say everything that comes to my mind every little judgment every little criticism every little thing i'm just gonna say it all well the bible says you're a fool but a wise man keepeth it in the whole time no until afterwards because why don't you say there's times when we have to say something something needs to be said but sometimes it doesn't need to be said right now sometimes it's like that's a good thing to say but it's not the right time to say it so let me just hold it until afterwards and then i'll blow up hey it's good to plan your blowing up you gotta plan it you know schedule it put it on your calendar your task list blow up at this time i think that's necessary sometimes proverbs 13 16 says every prudent man dealeth with knowledge but a fool layeth open his folly proverbs 14 33 wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding but that which is in the midst of fools is made known proverbs 15 2 the tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright but the mouth of fools poureth foolishness no filter proverbs 29 verse 20 seeest thou a man that is hasty in his words there is more hope of a fool than of him proverbs 10 verse 8 the wise in heart will receive commandments but a prating fool shall fall what does it mean to prate it means you just speak just babble you're just talking talking talking talking talking you know this is something we have to constantly teach our children my children you know i'm teaching my children like hey you don't always have to say something okay just talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk it's not good to just prate all the time okay i feel like you just got to say something but you know something you expect from children but as adults we understand we can't just babble on all the time you know they used to say if you don't have something nice to say don't say nothing at all it should be if you don't have something uh intelligible to say or profitable to say don't say nothing at all don't just speak for the sake of speaking okay prate all right let's go let's move on proverbs 14 we're almost done number four the fool has no rule over his own spirit what does that mean to have rule over your own spirit it means they have self-control okay proverbs 14 16 says a wise man fearth and departed from evil but the fool rages and is confident verse 7 says he that is soon angry dealeth foolishly and a man of wicked devices is hated proverbs 17 12 let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man rather than a fool in his folly so a fool in his folly if you're going to meet a fool in his folly when he's angry when he's upset you're better off meeting a bear in the wilderness with her whelps your children that's what god says why because you know at least the bear just kills you and walks away the fool just keeps going he just keeps going and going and going why because he has he has zero self-control a bear will eat and consume what is necessary for him to consume and be done a fool doesn't know when he's done he just keeps going and going and going and going why because he has no self-control and let me say this men you need to practice having rule over your own spirit he that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he that rule with the spirit than he that taketh the city that's what the bible says men you should be able to have some self-control okay and and not blow up over every insult or every you know uh sneer that someone makes at you or criticism have some self-control be a person of discipline control your emotions you know if someone offends you in our church uh this is what you don't do you don't punch them in the mouth it's never happened here it'll probably never happen that shouldn't be the the desires i'm just gonna punch this guy right in the mouth or this you just start criticizing other people about that individual or something that's nonsense a man who has self-control will walk away be upset it's okay to be upset go to the person and say you know what you insulted me and i'm i'm offended by that i just want to get things right with you because we're both men and this is how men should square things off not be like oh gossiping around the church and so-and-so offended me can you believe he said that about me it's nonsense don't deal foolishly becoming soon angry don't be a wrathful person yeah but you don't understand he made me so mad we'll be so self-control then a stone is heavy and the sand is weighty but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both proverbs 18 6 a fool's lips enter into contention now i know this by experience because i was in high school where i i knew a lot of people who had uh foolish lips that would just let things fly and then it would just create a fight all right it says a fool's lips enter into contention and his mouth call it for strokes now what does it mean to stroke it doesn't mean like strokes is referring to blows punches my wife was actually just telling me yesterday because i was preaching this to her not this particular point i'm just saying like the sermon and she was telling me she said um she said when she was growing up you know that her her siblings would come to her mom be like mom he hit me and then she said did your mouth call for strokes that's sometimes what it is now obviously we don't advocate for you punching someone in the mouth but sometimes people talk so much crap they're just like i like some strokes please they're calling they have strokes on speed dial siri call strokes right because they talk so much trash they say so many stupid things they invoke the wrath of others now this is not saying that the person who's being provoked is right for answering the call okay because obviously that person should have self-control but sometimes what i'm saying is both parties are guilty sometimes one party's calling for strokes and the other one's answering it the other one should just be like i'm just gonna no i'm not gonna answer i'm gonna put my phone on silent mode i'm putting in airplane mode i'm gonna delete this number rather than answering and then you you actually end up stroking that person's mouth you know and then regretting it later okay it says proverbs 10 14 wise men lay up knowledge but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction verse seven a fool's mouth is his destruction and his lips are the snare of his soul his mouth is going to get him in trouble proverbs 20 verse 3 it is an honor for a man to cease from strife but every fool will be meddling so for a wise person it's an honor for them to be able to cease from strife to be able to diffuse the situation that's an honorable thing you know when there's like a fight going on and you're able to come down and just calm everyone down remind everyone that they're big boys and say hey we're in church we don't act like this in church those are grown men that's an honor to cease from strife but the fool will be meddling the fool wants to continue to fight proverbs 15 verse 7 the lips of the wise disperse knowledge but the heart of the foolish doeth not so proverbs 17 verse 7 excellent speech becometh not a fool much less do lion lips a prince let me see here go to proverbs 26 and we're pretty much done last two points are pretty basic the fool is unreliable so don't rely on a fool to with responsibility don't give them responsibility why because the bible tells us in verse 1 of proverbs 26 as snow in the summer as rain and harvest so honor is not seemingly for a fool they don't deserve a position of leadership they don't deserve responsibility why because it's not seemingly from them it's not becoming to them fools don't deserve that look at verse 6 he that sendeth the message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet and drinketh damage so he says look if you send a message by the hand of a fool you might as well just cut off their feet because it's not going to get there anyways because they are unreliable you cannot depend on a fool to take care of responsibility okay they're like a broken tooth and a foot out of joint lastly the fool is grievous to those around him go to proverbs chapter 10 and we're done proverbs 10 verse 1 last verse a simple person can be frustrating to work with but if they are sincere they will grow and become wise respectable wise not just tolerable but a pleasure it'll be pleasant to be around it's like you want to be around that person because they're pleasant they're wise they bring something to the table they offer something it's a blessing to see simple-minded people grow into being wise men and wise women because you can see it in their speech and their conduct and their behavior but if the simple does not choose to learn from that then they quickly become a fool because they become admonished and they reject that instruction and then when they start going down that path of being a fool they end up being a grief to those around them people don't like being around fools we can be around simple-minded people as long as they're willing to grow but a fool it's just like distasteful to be around them look at proverbs 10 verse 1 the proverbs of solomon a wise son maketh the glad father but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother what does that mean the mother's just like grieve like i got a fool for a son i got the dad is just like i got a fool for a son he's so foolish he's making so many foolish decisions why is he doing this it's a grief so it's a grief to the parents it's a grief to anybody who's around them and this is why parents this is why parents hey invest in your children now do your due diligence now so that they don't become foolish in the long run you know i don't want to speak for my mom but i'm going to right now my mom's sitting around over there i'm sure she's very proud of me right now i'm sure she is her son's pastoring a church you know has a great church i have a married i have four children i've only been married once you know i i'm faithful to my wife i love my children i'm raising them in the nurturing the admonition of the lord we live a fairly decent normal life her son does not drink i don't do alcohol i don't do drugs i'm not involved in in any uh criminal activity i'm not in jail i'm not involved in the gang i'm just kind of living a normal life and you know what i guarantee you i'm not a grief to her she's not thinking like oh man why does he preach so hard against the sodomites why is he just this is such a grief to me i'm sure she's happy you know why i know she's happy when she sees her grandkids because they're they're byproduct of her training of me so she's i'm sure she's happy she's proud and if that that's not the case you know then just ignore whatever i just said now i'm sure she's i'm sure she's happy about everything that's going goes on in fact anytime i talk to her about the church she always gets emotional about it you know but you know what i guarantee there's parents out there that cannot say the same about their children they're just like they're grief they're just lives are down the toilet making bad decisions in their life just a grief don't be a fool and if you're a fool today if you if i went over these points and you're like oh man you're stepping on my toes oh man i do that oh man i'm guilty of that okay change receive understanding don't make me preach this again i like to preach this sermon like a year from now i'm not three months from now you understand learn from it take wisdom take knowledge take prudence learn from this and don't don't go like this either like it's like it's for your neighbor or something like that like it's for your husband or something like it's for your wife or for your children you know take it yourself you know don't don't start scanning the audience oh yeah that's for so and so for sure it's for you this is for you don't be a fool grow from it repent from that be wise let's pray father we thank you so much for your word and lord um thank you so much for we thank you for the fool because we learn from the fool we learn from their mistakes and their disobedience and their rebellion their anger their wrath the foolish things that they do lord and lord that's the best way to learn from him and we know that the parable is incompatible in the mouth of a fool so therefore we will look at his life the decisions that he makes and and unfortunately the fool is a byword and a proverb and that's how we learn from them and i pray god that you'd help us to not be foolish christians to be wise prudent knowledgeable lord and in jesus name we pray amen amen song number 364 standing on the promises song number 364 as our last song standing on the promises