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Are YOU A Fool?
Introduction:
1. Not
using the term in contempt …..
Matt. 5:22 "But I say to you that everyone who is
angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to
his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be
guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
2. But as
to one deficient in good judgment, prudence, and wisdom...acting foolish. When
the Bible calls someone a fool, there can
be no mistake.
3. I DON’T
WANT TO OFFEND ANYONE HERE – IF THIS APPLIES TO YOU, YOUR ARGUMENT IS WITH GOD
Who is a fool?
1. Those
Who Won’t Listen To Advice –
Prov. 1:7-8 The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools
despise wisdom and instruction. (8) Hear, my
son, your father's instruction And do not forsake your
mother's teaching;
Prov.
Prov. 23:9 Do not speak in
the hearing of a fool, For he will
despise the wisdom of your words.
Prov.
Prov. 28:26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who
walks wisely will be delivered.
A. “Let me make my own mistakes…”
B. One who won’t listen – already knows it
all
C. Don’t read those things that are anti
scriptural….
D. Watching TV shows
with sex, etc. WILL AFFECT YOU
E. Let your children go to dances, or worldly
parties, etc., & you may lose them
to the world. – but you don’t want to say NO – want to
be their BUDDY
2. Those
Who Pay No Attention To Warnings –
Prov. 14:6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, But
knowledge is easy to one who has understanding. –
(I.E. willing to
ask – but won’t act on info)
Prov. 22:3 The prudent sees
the evil and hides himself, But the naive go on, and are punished for it.
(I.E. the fool doesn’t see the
evil – goes with hand over his eyes)
Prov.
(One who HAS TO HAVE his own way –
no matter what the cost)
Prov.
(A fool will do whatever he wants – makes a game out of getting away
with evil)
Prov. 26:11 Like a dog that
returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly.
(Fools
continue to make the same mistake over and over)
A. Get speeding tickets –– blame the police;
More tickets, lose license, blame the court….
insurance drops you; they’re just gouging
B. Want to take a trip with bald tires – told
it is unwise – get stuck half way
C. Tina’s brakes – $65.00 job (couldn’t
afford) – $500.00 job
D. If you miss services – you will grow
weak….
3. Those
Who Believe Everything They Hear - the wise
investigate
-
Prov.
A. Get rich quick schemes
B. If a job is too good to be true – it
probably is
C. Always trying to get something for nothing
– MOST SCAMS DEPEND ON THESE FOOLS
D. Many in denominations will believe
anything…..
E. “Chariots of the Gods” – then “Crash of
the Chariots”
The wise
prove all things –
1 Thess.
F. Too many Christians trust the preacher to
be right….
G. Preaching
– Books (Lucado) – TV evangelists – lead you away
4. Those
Who Mock Sin -
Prov. 14:9 Fools mock at sin,
But among the upright there is good will.
A. many teens – worldliness mocks “sin”
B. Satanic symbols – Drug jargon (Mary Jane, Skag, etc.)
5. Those
Who Are Contentious & Get Mad Easily –
Prov. 18:6 A fool's lips
bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows.
Prov.
Prov.
Prov. 27:3 A stone is
heavy and the sand weighty, But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both
of them.
Eccl. 7:9 Do not be eager
in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools.
A. Religion & Politics
B. Husbands; parents; children; “be angry
& sin not”
D. When we discuss with denominationalists
6. Those
Who Talk Too Much –
Better to be silent and all to think you
are a fool than to open your mouth & leave no doubt
Eccl.
Eccl.
Eccl. 5:2-3 Do not be hasty
in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God.
For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be
few. (3)
For the dream comes through much effort
and the voice of a fool through many words.
Prov.
Prov. 18:7 A fool's mouth
is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul.
A. Not in a “listening mode”
B. “Know it all”
C. Blow hards
D. Need to train ourselves to truly LISTEN
We are thinking about what we are
going to say while they are speaking
E. Especially when it comes to religion –
1. Must
have emotion – greatest love
2. Must
work to temper our emotion & listen
7. Those
Who Are Deceived By Strong Drink –
Prov. 20:1 Wine is a mocker,
strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.
Prov. 23:29-32 Who has woe? Who
has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without
cause? Who has redness of eyes? (30) Those who
linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed
wine. (31) Do not look on the wine when it is red, When
it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly; (32) At the
last it bites like a serpent And stings like a viper.
A. Smoking, drinking & drugs (partying) –
will bite like an viper
B. “I can do it – it won’t hurt me” –
“Not talking about social drinking –
drunkenness”
8. Those
Who Say In Their Hearts There Is No God –
Psa. 14:1 The fool has said in
his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed
abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.
Rom. 1:20-28 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His
eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood
through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (21) For even though they knew God, they did not
honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations,
and their foolish heart was darkened. (22)
Professing to be wise, they became fools, (23) and
exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of
corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling
creatures. (24) Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of
their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among
them. (25) For they exchanged the truth of God for a
lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is
blessed forever. Amen. (26) For this
reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the
natural function for that which is unnatural, (27) and in the
same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in
their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and
receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. (28) And just as they did not see fit to
acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those
things which are not proper,
A. Science
& “higher” education
B. Satan’s
tools – i.e. Adam & Eve (don’t believe God)
C. Don’t
believe the Bible consequences? You
don’t believe God. You are a Fool!
Conclusion:
The Bible also says the
person who lays up treasures for himself, but is not rich toward God is a fool
(Luke.
READ: Luke
12:16-21 And He told them
a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was
very productive. (17) "And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall
I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' (18) "Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build
larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. (19) 'And I will say to my
soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."' (20) "But God said to
him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' (21) "So is the man
who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
1. The
person who hears the word of God but trusts in himself – is a fool!
2. To
think that you have time to obey the gospel – like above – you are a fool!
READ: Mat
7:21-27 "Not everyone who says to Me,
'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father who is in heaven will
enter. (22) "Many will say
to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many
miracles?' (23) "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you;
DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' (24) "Therefore
everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them,
may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. (25) "And the rain
fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house;
and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. (26) "Everyone who
hears these words of Mine and does not act on them,
will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. (27) "The rain fell,
and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it
fell--and great was its fall."
3. Are
you building on the solid rock – or the sand?
If you are building on the sand – YOU ARE A FOOL! (JUST LIKE IN THE PHYSICAL SENSE)