Practical Principles from Proverbs

Trevor S. Ferguson

June 30, 2012

Proverbs 1:10 (KJV)

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

Proverbs 3:5-10 (KJV)
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
⁷ Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
⁸ It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
⁹ Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
¹⁰ So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

INTRODUCTION

The Christian walk is quite challenging. Many persons start on the journey but falter somewhere along the way. Indeed if all the persons who came to the kingdom remained in the church, the church today would be many times its current size.

What are the reasons for this attrition?

Many falter because when faced with difficult circumstances they fail to trust God and end up losing out on their faith. Some have been deceived by other persons who led them into error. Still others came up on hard times and in desperation gave up on God.

Today I want to share three principles from the book of Proverbs that if we adhere to, will help to cement our faith and keep us strong in the kingdom of God

PRINCIPLE #1: PUT ALL YOUR TRUST IN GOD – PROVERBS 3:5-6

What does it mean to trust God? According to the NIV Bible Commentary trust in this context means to rely on someone for security. The person on whom we should rely is God. This of course is difficult for many.  We cannot see God, we cannot touch him; how then can we rely on Him as our security? This requires faith! The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God. He that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). This therefore says to us that in all our doings we must practice faith. Although it is not always easy, it is a necessity. Let us pray like the disciples: Lord, Increase or Faith! (Luke 17:5). If we trust in God, He will lead us all the way to heaven!

PRINCIPLE #2: GIVE TO GOD ALL THAT WHICH IS DUE UNTO HIM – PROVERBS 3:9-10

Many of us fail to trust God when it comes to our finances. Although the church has established the biblical principle of tithing and giving as the means of supporting the ministry, many people hold back. In this however we fail to realize that we are in fact holding back on our own blessing. I am not a proponent of a give to get policy because I believe this is flawed in principle. We however give when we believe that the cause to which we give is just. We should note however that when we give with the right perspective, God will certainly bless us. The principle outlined by Solomon here is that we should honour the Lord with our substance and the first fruits of our increase. This essentially means that we should give willingly to God from our possessions and also set aside the first portion of our income or profits as a gift to God.  The promise given in verse 10 is that when we do this we will have full barns (i.e. adequate possessions) and our winepresses will burst with new wine suggesting that we will have in abundance. Let us give willingly to God. He will richly bless us.   

PRINICIPLE #3: DO NOT FOLLOW OTHER PEOPLE INTO ERROR – PROVERBS 1:10

This verse gives a strong and direct instruction that if we consistently follow, we would avoid huge amounts of trouble. How many of us have followed others and ended up on the wrong side? Children, particularly teenagers are often influenced by peers. Most of these pressures involve doing things and getting things.

One of the most pervasive challenges facing the church today is premarital and extra-marital sexual activity. If we apply this principle however we could keep ourselves out of mountains of trouble. If someone entices you, just say no. No discussion, no argument, no negotiation, no rationalization. No at the start, no at the end! Do not underestimate the power of self will and personal decisions. The bible tells us: Resist the devil and he will flee from you! (James 4:7)

There are several others areas where we must resist pressure from others to get involved in things that are not acceptable to God. These include areas of worldliness such as how we dress, the types of movies we watch, or sites we visit on the internet, the types of songs that we sing and the places we go for entertainment. Let’s reiterate the principle of Proverbs 1:10. My sons (and by extension, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers), If sinners entice you, Do not give in to them!

Another area that is often overlooked is in the area of our business arrangements. Many times we are lured by others to get into shady, ‘under the counter’ or ‘back door deals’. Others are lured into white collar fraudulent transactions. Again brothers and sisters, if sinners entice you, consent thou not!

CONCLUSION

Today we have highlighted three principles:  

1. Put all your trust in God
2. Give to God all that which is due unto him
3.  Do not follow other people into error

I firmly believe that if we put these principles into practice we will live more fruitful Christian lives and fewer persons will fall by the way. Let us therefore put them into practice!

Abigail’s Intercession: You Can Save Your Household from Destruction

Trevor S. Ferguson

June 2, 2012

1 Samuel 25:2-11, 14, 18-19
² And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
³ Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
⁴ And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.
⁵ And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:
⁶ And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.
⁷ And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.
⁸ Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.
⁹ And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
¹⁰ And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.
¹¹ Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?

¹⁴ But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.

¹⁸ Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.
¹⁹ And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.

INTRODUCTION

Intercession may be defined as the “act of intervening or mediating between differing parties, particularly the act of praying to God on behalf of another person” (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary). Intercession is a vital part of Christian living and has been demonstrated by several persons in the scriptures including Abraham, Moses and Daniel. Most examples relate to interceding between God and man, but as can be seen from the definition, intercession can also occur between humans.

The passage today is one example of intercession between humans, as Abigail interceded between Nabal and David and as such saved her household, and saved David from an unnecessary blemish on his character.

Today I want us to briefly review this story as I challenge the women and mothers to take on the role of intercessors and so save their families from possible disasters. The intercessory role in this context will involve both Divine and human intercession.

EXPOSITION

David was in the wilderness of Paran (otherwise called the desert of Moan) as he fled from Saul. Living close by the desert was a wealthy man named Nabal. Despite his wealth Nabal was of poor character, churlish (i.e. rude in a mean-spirited and menacing way) and evil in his doings.  Abigail, Nabal’s wife, however was of good understanding and beautiful countenance.

While David was in the wilderness, his men assisted Nabal’s servants as they looked after his sheep and goats. However when David sent his servants to ask Nabal for assistance with provisions he sent them away, refusing to assist. David was understandably upset and set out with his army of 400 men to destroy all the men of Nabal’s household.

One of Nabal’s servants told Abigail of the incident. Abigail immediately recognized the error of Nabal’s response and set out to take corrective action. She took an ample supply of provisions and rode upon an ass to meet David. When she met David, she apologized for her husband’s behaviour, beseeched David to accept her gifts and spare the household. David gave heed to her advice and thus her household was spared.

When Abigail returned home, Nabal was having a great feast and was quite drunk, she therefore could not speak to him until the next morning. When Nabal learnt of what had transpired the bible tells us his heart died within him so that he became as a stone (various translations ascribe this to a heart attack or stroke). He died ten days later.

David later proposed to Abigail and she became his wife.

APPLICATION

What can we learn from this story? 

I want to highlight the importance of Abigail’s intercession. If she had not intervened in this situation her entire household would have been wiped out. Women and mothers have been blessed by God with a softer temperament and therefore often serve as a good foil for their harsher husbands and children (particularly sons). If you find yourself in a situation where a rash action by one of your relatives could bring danger to your family, your intervention could save the family. Remember also the bible tells us “blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God” (Matt 5:9).

A second point of importance is the need for women to intercede for their family’s salvation. Many women in the church have unsaved husbands and children, your intercession could save your family. I want to challenge you to pray persistently for the salvation of your husband and children. Your intercession can lead to their salvation.

Finally, I would like to say a word to the men, and to all persons prone to mean and rash behaviour. Your behaviour can lead to your own destruction and the destruction of your family. When God blesses us with earthly possessions we must be willing to help when we are able to. Nabal was foolish and this brought about his ultimate demise. Although he escaped David’s sword, God ultimately brought about his demise. Remember the rich fool of St Luke 12. While we strive for wealth and possessions, let us make sure that our heart is right with God and that we are benevolent with what God had entrusted to us.

CONCLUSION

Today, I extended a call to intercession to all the women and mothers of Zion. Too many of your sons and husbands have been destroyed by rash and foolish behaviour. Let us talk to God about these situations. Where you have an opportunity to intervene, make sure you do so for in so doing you could save your households.