Consider What Is Before You

Presented to:

Bethel Chapel Pentecostal Church

Auditorium Sunday School Class

Granite City, IL

21 January 2018

Updated: January 20, 2018

By:

Boyce Belt

Consider What Is Before You

Opening:

• National Sanctity of Human Life Sunday
• I Will Serve Thee
• Prayer

Text:

Proverbs 23:1-23 (KJV) When thou sittest to eat with a ruler,

consider diligently what is before thee:

2 And put a knife to thy throat,

if thou be a man given to appetite.

3 Be not desirous of his dainties:

for they are deceitful meat.

4 Labour not to be rich:

cease from thine own wisdom.

5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?

for riches certainly make themselves wings;

they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye,

neither desire thou his dainty meats:

7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:

Eat and drink, saith he to thee;

but his heart is not with thee.

8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up,

and lose thy sweet words.

9 Speak not in the ears of a fool:

for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

10 Remove not the old landmark;

and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

11 For their redeemer is mighty;

he shall plead their cause with thee.

12 Apply thine heart unto instruction,

and thine ears to the words of knowledge.

13 Withhold not correction from the child:

for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod,

and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

15 My son, if thine heart be wise,

my heart shall rejoice, even mine.

16 Yea, my reins shall rejoice,

when thy lips speak right things.

17 Let not thine heart envy sinners:

but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.

18 For surely there is an end;

and thine expectation shall not be cut off.

19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise,

and guide thine heart in the way.

20 Be not among winebibbers;

among riotous eaters of flesh:

21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty:

and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee,

and despise not thy mother when she is old.

23 Buy the truth, and sell it not;

also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

Introduction:

These verses call for moderation in work.  Although the proverbs discourage laziness, they also discourage any overworking whose purpose is greater wealth.^[1]

Daniel 1:8 (KJV) But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

Though these verses speak directly to gluttony, they deal with so much more.  They point us to greed in general as well as to making a right decision.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (KJV) See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 16 In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20 That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Joshua 24:15 (KJV) And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

1. The Desire for the World

1. Given to Appetite (our own desires)
2. Gifts bring Temptation — “Closely connected with the last verse of the preceding chapter, as if the warning was addressed to the man of skill whom his talents had made the guest of kings.”^[2]
3. The Idolatry of Covetousness

1. Ephesians 5:5 (KJV) For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
2. Colossians 3:5 (KJV) Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
3. God calls covetousness idolatry because a covetous heart puts something else in the place that God rightfully should occupy in our lives.^[3]
4. Society applauds covetousness and calls it ambition and the first step to success.^[4]
5. Unfortunately, this contemporary view of success has invaded the church, and some Christian workers have thrown ethics and godliness aside in their quest to become important and successful.^[5]

2. The Danger

1. Instability — James 1:8 (KJV) A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
2. False Doctrine — 1 Timothy 6:9-10 (KJV) But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
3. Miss Heaven Matthew 19, Luke 18, and Mark 10 all record the story of the rich young ruler.  Mark 10:23-27 (KJV) And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? 27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
4. Bondage — Matthew 6:24 (KJV) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
5. Loose Family (Illustration of Lot)

3. The Deliverance

1. Genuine Love for Christ

1. Luke 16:13 (KJV) No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
2. Our Love is shown by:

1. Keeping the Commands of the Savior — John 14:15 (KJV) If ye love me, keep my commandments.
2. Faithfulness — Luke 16:10-13 (KJV) He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?  13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

2. Be Filled with the Spirit — (KJV) Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
3. Desire Righteousness — Matthew 5:6 (KJV) Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
4. Humble Yourself — Romans 12:16 (KJV) Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
5. Crucify the Flesh

1. Colossians 3:5-7 (KJV) Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
2. Proverbs 23:2 (KJV) And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
3. Matthew 5:29-30 (KJV) And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

6. Flee Youthful Lusts — 2 Timothy 2:22 (KJV) Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Conclusion:

I Have Decided To Follow Jesus

Next Week: Consider Prosperity and Adversity

Prayer: Psalms 141:1-4 (KJV) 1 Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.  2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.  3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.  4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.