The Winning Life: Putting It All Together                                            Restoration Fellowship

Proverbs 13 and following                                                                                       April 22, 2012

INTRO:  For several weeks talking about Proverbs.  Today I want to illustrate how to put it all together by illustrating how it has worked out in my life... 1984 Nelson Open Bible...

The power of the discipline is reading it over the span of months and years... Various topics are mentioned in each chapter.  As your life changes, the Word speaks to both new and old areas in bold, fresh ways...  Scriptura Divina, divine teaching or divine instruction...

Remember the three-fold cord we have in Proverbs: the Word of God, the Voice of God, and the Walk of God...

CHAPTER 13

The soul of a lazy  man  desires, and  has  nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. (Proverbs 13:4 NKJV)

Applies to spiritual as well as physical...

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But  when  the desire comes,  it is  a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12 NKJV)

The power of disillusionment...

Disappointment, disillusionment, despair, despondency, depression...

He who despises the word will be destroyed (bound painfully), But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded. (Proverbs 13:13 NKJV)

But the person who does  anything  presumptuously,  whether he is  native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt  shall be  upon him. (Numbers 15:30, 31 NKJV)

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26, 27 NKJV)

Poverty and shame  will come  to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored. (Proverbs 13:18 NKJV)

A good  man  leaves an inheritance to his children's children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. (Proverbs 13:22 NKJV)

CHAPTER 14

Fools mock at sin, But among the upright  there is  favor. (Proverbs 14:9 NKJV)

The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man  will be satisfied  from above. (Proverbs 14:14 NKJV)

In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter  leads  only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23 NKJV)

He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy. (Proverbs 14:31 NKJV)

CHAPTER 15

A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1 NKJV)

The way of the lazy  man is  like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright  is  a highway. (Proverbs 15:19 NKJV)

A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word  spoken  in due season, how good  it is! (Proverbs 15:23 NKJV)

CHAPTER 16

When a mans ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7 NKJV)

It is  an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For a throne is established by righteousness. (Proverbs 16:12 NKJV)

The silver-haired head  is  a crown of glory,  If  it is found in the way of righteousness. (Proverbs 16:31 NKJV)

CHAPTER 17

A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame, And will share an inheritance among the brothers. (Proverbs 17:2 NKJV)

Children's children  are  the crown of old men, And the glory of children  is  their father. (Proverbs 17:6 NKJV)

He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends. (Proverbs 17:9 NKJV)

A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity. (Proverbs 17:17 NKJV)

CHAPTER 18

He who is slothful in his work Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer. (Proverbs 18:9 NKJV)

A mans gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men. (Proverbs 18:16 NKJV)

CHAPTER 19

Laziness casts  one  into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger. (Proverbs 19:15 NKJV)

He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given. (Proverbs 19:17 NKJV)

A lazy  man  buries his hand in the bowl, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. (Proverbs 19:24 NKJV)

CHAPTER 20

The lazy  man  will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and  have  nothing. (Proverbs 20:4 NKJV)

The righteous  man  walks in his integrity; His children  are  blessed after him. (Proverbs 20:7 NKJV)

Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes,  and  you will be satisfied with bread. (Proverbs 20:13 NKJV)

He who goes about  as  a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips. (Proverbs 20:19 NKJV)

CHAPTER 21

The kings heart  is  in the hand of the Lord,  Like  the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes. (Proverbs 21:1 NKJV)

The plans of the diligent  lead  surely to plenty, But  those of  everyone  who is  hasty, surely to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5 NKJV)

He who loves pleasure  will be  a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not be rich. (Proverbs 21:17 NKJV)

The desire of the lazy  man  kills him, For his hands refuse to labor. (Proverbs 21:25 NKJV)

CHAPTER 22

Do you see a man  who  excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown  men. (Proverbs 22:29 NKJV)

CHAPTER 23

For as he thinks in his heart, so  is  he. Eat and drink! he says to you, But his heart is not with you. (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV)

Do not remove the ancient landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless; (Proverbs 23:10 NKJV)

Do not let your heart envy sinners, But  be zealous  for the fear of the Lord all the day; For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. (Proverbs 23:17, 18 NKJV)

Truly God  is  good to Israel, But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. For I  was  envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. (Psalm 73:1-3 NKJV)

Do not mix with winebibbers,  Or  with gluttonous eaters of meat; For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe  a man  with rags. (Proverbs 23:20, 21 NKJV)

CHAPTER 24

Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them; For their heart devises violence, And their lips talk of troublemaking. (Proverbs 24:1, 2 NKJV)

For a righteous  man  may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity. (Proverbs 24:16 NKJV)

Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The Lord  will be  a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case And executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness. Then  she who is  my enemy will see, And shame will cover her who said to me, Where is the Lord your God? My eyes will see her; Now she will be trampled down Like mud in the streets. (Micah 7:8-10 NKJV)

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the Lord see  it,  and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him. (Proverbs 24:17, 18 NKJV)

I went by the field of the lazy  man,  And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. When I saw  it,  I considered  it  well; I looked on  it and  received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come  like  a prowler, And your need like an armed man. (Proverbs 24:30-34 NKJV)

For we are Gods fellow workers; you are Gods field,  you are  Gods building. (1 Corinthians 3:9 NKJV)

Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. (Isaiah 5:1 NKJV)

Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. (Matthew 21:33 NKJV)