Friday, August 28, 2009

08/26/09 Rev. Steven Hedgecoth Proverbs

Four Traits That Cause Loss In Your Life – these traits are natural so that makes it difficult to see that they will drop seeds in your life so that before you know it you have weeds growing throughout your life.

  1. Anger – Proverbs 27:4 ASV - “Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; But who is able to stand before jealousy?” If you are angry you have loneliness, contention. Productivity in anger is unnatural but good. Anger that is destructive is natural but will cause loss. Anger + D is Danger.

  2. Greed – an overwhelming desire to have more of something than is needed. A deep longing for something that we are willing to do whatever it takes to get it even violating someone else.
    • Proverbs 1:19 ASV – “So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; It taketh away the life of the owners thereof.” – greed will take away life, suicide, emotional loss, loneliness.

    • Proverbs 28:22 ASV - “He that hath an evil eye hasteth after riches, And knoweth not that want shall come upon him.” – if you are greedy you will experience financial loss.

    • Proverbs 15:27 ASV – “He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; But he that hateth bribes shall live.” – family at risk.

    • Proverbs 28:20 ASV – “A faithful man shall abound with blessings; But he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be unpunished.” – get rich quick – lose integrity.

    • Proverbs 11:28 ASV – “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; But the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.” – get rich quick.

    • How do you know you are in the early stages of greed?
      1. Coveting

      2. Want what you want now

      3. Compromising

      4. Turmoil – conflict around you.

    • How do we overcome greed?
      1. Proverbs 3:5-6 ASV – “Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, And lean not upon thine own understanding: In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he will direct thy paths”.

      2. Proverbs 21:26 ASV - "There is that coveteth greedily all the day long; But the righteous giveth and withholdeth not.”

      3. Proverbs 23:7 ASV - "For as he thinketh within himself, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; But his heart is not with thee."

      4. Proverbs 27:19 ASV - "As in water face answereth to face, So the heart of man to man."

  3. Pride – arrogance, self-centeredness.
    • Michelle Kwan said she could win by herself, then she fell – pride goeth before a fall Proverbs 16:18 KJV – “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” I caused all this to happen attitude.

    • Proverbs 26:12 ASV – “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.” – lose happiness.

    • Proverbs 28:25 ASV – “He that is of a greedy spirit stirreth up strife; But he that putteth his trust in Jehovah shall be made fat.”

    • Proverbs 18:12 ASV – “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty; And before honor goeth humility. This is not the pride you feel when your child does well.”

    • Proverbs 11:2 ASV – “When pride cometh, then cometh shame; But with the lowly is wisdom.”

    • Proverbs 16:5 ASV – “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to Jehovah: Though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.” – lose relationship with God.

    • To overcome pride: Proverbs 29:23 ASV – “A man's pride shall bring him low; But he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honor.” – Humility a grateful spirit of a learner that values the input of others and always puts the needs of others first. What brings you honor is when your core is humble.

  4. Laziness – slothful, sluggish, unwilling to give the effort needed. Unable to think things through.
    • Proverbs 26:13 ASV – "The sluggard saith, There is a lion in the way; A lion is in the streets." – Excuses.

    • Proverbs 10:4 ASV – "He becometh poor that worketh with a slack hand; But the hand of the diligent maketh rich." – God’s get rich quick is diligence.

    • Proverbs 12:24 ASV - "The hand of the diligent shall bear rule; But the slothful shall be put under taskwork." – lose freedom.

    • Proverbs 13:4 ASV - "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." – lose satisfaction.

    • Proverbs 15:19 ASV - "The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns; But the path of the upright is made a highway." – lose direction.

    • To overcome laziness:
      1. Look at nature Proverbs 6:6 ASV - "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise:" harvester ant, they work for the harvest. We need some harvester ants in the church.

      2. Don’t sleep to much Proverbs 6:9 ASV - "How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?" Proverbs 20:13 ASV - "Love not sleep, let thou come to poverty; Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread." this refers to sleep or downtime.

  5. Losses that you can experience
    1. Loss of relationship

    2. Loss of success

    3. Loss of happiness

    4. Loss of joy

    There are some things you can’t tame.

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