 All right, Ecclesiastes, thank you, Ecclesiastes chapter 10. We'll start with verse 1. This is a real encouraging word, dead flies putrify the perfumers ointment and cause it to give off a foul odor. So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. So let's begin. Dead flies putrify the perfumers ointment. Dead flies. When you look at this, this literally would be flies of death. That's what it speaks of. And so what are flies of death? Well, they may be what are referred to as dung flies. And the dung fly is a type of fly that actually stings. And so the point he's making is when they make their way into a vase of ointment, they die. And when they die, they smell up or putrify the ointment. What once was fragrant and valuable is now putrid and unusable. So it only takes a little bad to spoil that which is good. That's the point he's making. Dead flies putrify the perfumers ointment. It only takes a little bad to spoil that which is good. It only takes a little foolishness to spoil what was wise and had glory. And so he's pointing that out. It only takes a little bad to spoil that which is good. And so he goes on and says in verse one, so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. It takes a lifetime for you to be able to build up credibility. It takes a lifetime for you to be earning people's respect for your integrity and character. A lifetime. And it's lost in a moment. All you have to do is one time blow it in a way that is obviously critical. And all those years that you worked to be respected, all those years that you worked to have character, to have a great reputation, well they're lost in a moment. And so he's saying those who are respected for their faith and their character must protect it. And if there's anything that I would encourage you in as we begin our study tonight, it's hold fast to your integrity and maintain your character. Again, it only takes a stupid thing, one stupid thing, to ruin a lifetime of doing good. It only takes one small thing. It only takes a little foolishness to spoil. So guard your reputation, resist indiscretions. Now, obviously foolishness will always cause problems to those who engage in it. So the wise person must be careful to avoid acting like a fool. When he speaks of folly, by the way, a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor, the word folly speaks of that one who lacks good sense, judgment or discretion. So a truly wise person is going to maintain the relationship. They're going to make sure that the relationship with the Lord is guarded and they're going to do everything they can to keep their reputation intact. So remember that, hold fast to your integrity and walk with character. Second, verse two, a wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a fool's heart at his left. Interesting, right and left pointing out wisdom and foolishness. It's interesting how the right hand and the left hand are putting contrast. Often the use of the right hand speaks of a place of power and protection and honor. You'll read that term at my right hand and often it speaks of power protection and as mentioned honor. Psalm 16, verse eight, for example, I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Hebrews one, verse 13, reads to which of the angels has he ever said, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstools. So the right hand is place of honor protection. It's a place of power. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and that's the picture there. When you read that, that he's really in a place of honor and of power. So he's saying the wise man's understanding and his wisdom is always with him and it's there to be used whenever it's needed, but the fool's understanding is never effective and what he understands to be true never affects his life to the positive. It doesn't change the way that he lives. Now someone asks why is one person wise and the other person foolish? Well, the answer lies in the inclinations of the heart. Again, notice verse 2, a wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a fool's heart at his left. So wisdom and foolishness are the inclinations of the person's heart. In Scripture, when you see the word heart, well, the heart represents more than that organ that keeps us alive. In America, we've adopted the image of the heart as being a place of emotion. So we'll say to somebody, I love you with all of my heart. So we use that phrase to speak about the entirety of our emotion, but that's not how it is in the Jewish faith. The heart represents the center of a person's being. It represents his origin of thought, the words and his deeds. It's a center of his being. In Matthew 12 verses 33 through 35, Jesus said it like this. He said, either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. Then he went on in a very flattering way to speak to those who were listening, and he said, brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And he goes on to say, a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. And an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. And so he's not speaking of the emotions. He's speaking of his thoughts, his words, his activities, and he's saying it all originates from deep within. So Solomon says, a wise man heart is at his right hand, a fool's heart is at his left. Again, the right hand representing honor and authority, and the left, weakness and rejection. Now, weakness and rejection. Well, we see that illustrated in Matthew 25 verse 41 where it says there that he will say to those on the left hand, depart from me, you curse it into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. So the right hand is a place of honor and power and authority. Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father. The left hand represents judgment and rejection. And so he says, dead flies, beautify the perfumer's ointment, causes it to give off a foul odor. So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. A wise man's heart is at his right hand, a fool's heart at his left. And so it simply speaks concerning the way that he lives. So we're to be careful. And we're especially because it speaks of inclination of the heart. And this will be an indendum to that. We are especially to be very wise concerning who we allow to bring influence into our lives. We need to be aware that there are distractions that influence us to actually go instead of going off to the right. As he says, we actually can go to the left. And that's why in Proverbs 423 we read above all guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life. Be very careful what you allow to influence you because the inclinations of the heart determine the path that you take. And so again, a wise man's heart is at his right hand, a fool's heart at his left. Verse 3, even when a fool walks along the way, he lacks wisdom and shows everyone that he's a fool. I don't know why, but I grew up, it came to me just as I'm reading this. I grew up watching Disney cartoons. I wonder if any of you did Disney cartoons. And for some reason I just thought of Goofy. You remember Goofy? And when he would walk in the cartoons, when you'd see him walk, you'd always go, And that came to mind because that's what I'm seeing here. I'm seeing that even when a fool walks along the way, he lacks wisdom. You can almost picture Goofy. And that's kind of the picture you have right there. Now you can remove that from your memory if you'd like, but that's what I started thinking of. So since the fool doesn't cherish wisdom, he gravitates towards dishonor. And in gravitating towards dishonor, he ends up falling into sin, difficulty, and trouble. And that's what happens. His chosen path, his way of life reveals itself to be without wisdom. He's called a fool, and his life demonstrates that he is foolish. Proverbs 20 verse 11, even a child is known by his deeds, whether what he does is pure and right. So you're going to be known by your actions, your activities. And it's not wrong for you to be able to observe and to make determinations as to whether or not somebody is speaking truth. You simply watch the way they live. If somebody's telling me the gospel of Jesus Christ transforms life, a life, and yet their lives aren't transformed, I have a good reason to wonder whether or not they've embraced the message they're giving to me. You're known by the way you live. You're known by the activity of your life. And so if somebody's embraced the truth, they ought to walk in truth. And if they've embraced the gospel of love, they ought to walk in love. And if they have embraced the gospel of peace, then they ought to live at peace with others. If they've embraced the gospel of hope, then their life ought to be demonstrating the hope that they have in Christ. You see? It's all demonstrated by the way you live. There are a lot of people who say, I'm a Christian, and there's a lot of cultural Christians today. They're Christian because they aren't Muslim. They're Christian because they're not a Buddhist. They're Christian because they were raised in a home where the parents went to church. And they'll say, I'm a Christian. But they don't live as if they've known the living Christ, the one who transforms lives, the one who forgives you of your sins, the one who cleanses you from all unrighteousness, the one who puts your feet on a straight path, who teaches you to speak with integrity, to live with character. They don't live that way. There's no judgment on them. It's just a fact. And so when somebody says to you that they have a relationship with Christ, it's not improper for you to see the fruit of their life. No, we're not judges, but we are fruit inspectors. And you can see what kind of fruit is being borne by their lifestyle. Jesus already said that you can have good fruit or you can have evil fruit, but a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. And so if somebody is saying, oh, I love Jesus Christ, but they don't live as a believer. They're not consistent in the things that they say they have embraced. Then by their lives, they're demonstrating their lack of faith, not their true faith. And so we have to be aware of those things. Again, even when a fool walks along the way he lacks wisdom, and he shows everyone that he is a fool. Verse four, if the spirit of the ruler rises against you, don't leave your post. For conciliation pacifies great offenses. When you walk in wisdom, there are times when you encounter obstacles, and that can happen when someone in authority over you gets angry with you. And your initial response may be to simply quit your job or abandon your post because they got upset. Well Solomon counsels against this kind of quick decision. He counsels us not to respond rashly and to try to bring peace to the situation. In Proverbs 25, verse 15, through patience a ruler can be persuaded. A gentle tongue can break a bone. In Proverbs 15, one, a gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger. And in Proverbs 20, verse two, a king's wrath is like the roar of a lion, and he who angers him forfeits his life. And so if the spirit of the ruler rises against you, don't leave your post for conciliation pacifies great offenses. Go and reconcile and do whatever you need to do to be reconciled with that individual. Verse five, there's an evil I have seen under the sun as an error proceeding from the ruler. Folly is setting great dignity while the rich sit in a lowly place. I've seen servants on horses while princes walk on the ground like servants. Now a moment before Solomon was speaking about a hot tempered ruler, and now he uses the example of weak and unwise leader. Notice in verse five how he says there's an evil I've seen under the sun as an error, he says, proceeding from that ruler. Now when he says it's an error, that word error is a mistake, a mistake that comes through negligence or accident or forgetfulness, and he's saying it occurs unintentionally. It's an error, it's an evil, but it's come through error. So it occurs unintentionally, but it has serious repercussions. What makes it serious is that it's an error that proceeded from the ruler. So this ruler is one with authority. He ultimately affects the entire organization. The error is folly set in great dignity while the rich sit in lowly places. Receiving advice from the foolish brings disastrous results. Proverbs 15.7 says the lips of the wise disperse knowledge the heart of the fool does not do so. It's interesting how he's contrasting a fool with that one who is rich. Because the word rich speaks of the one who is prosperous, he's wealthy. And often in the Old Testament wealth is equated with blessings from God and would infer wisdom. In Psalm 112 verses 1 through 3 it says praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord who delights greatly in his commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth, the generation of the upright will be blessed. And he goes on to say wealth and riches will be in his house and his righteousness endures forever. And so he's speaking concerning proper honor. And he's saying what I've seen and it starts from the ruler is folly is set in great dignity. Those who don't deserve the place have been given the place. And then he says that the rich sit in lowly places. The one who had really more deserving was more deserving of that honor is in a place that he shouldn't be in. He says I see somebody who didn't deserve being exalted. And I see another person who fully deserves having that place not being in the right place is in the lowest place. And then he goes on and says I've seen servants on horses. Well, princes walk on the ground like servants. And so he goes on and he says I've seen servants on horses. And you need to remember during this day and it may be something that you might not be aware of but not everybody rode horses. The rich normally were those who would proceed on horses and all. So when he speaks about servants on horses he's speaking about a person who's actually not worthy of this badge of honor because riding upon a horse was a badge of honor because it revealed dignity and value. So he's saying servants aren't regarded in that way and therefore they're unworthy of this kind of honor. So the righteous should be placed in positions of honor, not the foolish. He says and this is come straight out of the way some rulers have run the show. They have put people who didn't deserve to be in a position. They've put them in that position when those who deserve to be in that position have not been. And that happens all the time to this day. That's a very practical thought because you may be working hard on the job. You may be honest. You may be on time. You stay late when necessary. Somebody has to work on a Saturday. Put in some overtime on a Sunday. You're there for them at a great expense. At a great expense to yourself sometimes. At a great expense to your family. And there's somebody else who's goofing off constantly. And you know that. You don't rat him out. You don't go and tell the boss. But you know that this guy's, you know, he's supposed to be unloading the truck but you walked into the truck and you see him asleep behind one of the boxes and all. And so you do the work for him to make sure that the work is done and you're an honorable worker and what happens? Well, this guy who really doesn't deserve the position is placed in a place of authority. Well, you are not. That happens all the time. And that's what he's saying. He said, I have seen an error that proceeds from the ruler. I've seen bad leadership where they make bad choices in placing people in positions of honor who did not deserve it. And so it's a simple observation that is true to this day. Verse 8. He who digs a pit will fall into it. Whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. He who quarries stones may be hurt by them. He who splits wood may be endangered by it. And so he who digs a pit will fall into it. Ultimately a person reaps what they sow. And here's something to keep in mind even if it takes a lifetime. Sometimes you may see somebody do something and seem to get away with it. And you may be like me. In the past I've done this and I'm not immune from it to this day. Where I see something that was really wrong. And I'll go to the Lord and say, Lord, I have a few questions to ask of you. Why don't you kill them right now? I would, you know. Why are you allowing this to take place? Why do they get away with it? Why do they lie? They're lying. And Lord, they just, you know, he says they have a charmed life. It's like, they never pay the price. Why do you allow them? And then I've done that to be honest with you, complaining about how he has exposed my heart to me so quickly. Say, Lord, I can't even do anything without getting busted. This guy, I don't get it. You ever think that? I have. How do they get away with it? And here's the simple answer. They don't. Sometimes the Lord is simply patient with them, giving them space to repent. He gives them time, enough rope to eventually draw them back. Not necessarily hang themselves, but to draw them back. And sometimes the Lord seems to do that. And again, as you, as you walk with the Lord for a while and as you grow older in him, you begin to see that he doesn't forget. But a lot of times he shows mercy, extends it and extends grace to people because he ultimately brings them back. And one of the other things I've discovered about that is the things that they did in that time are things that very often in a sense will, and I don't know how to say this properly, but in a sense of the things that they have to deal with later on in the pain that they feel over what they've done. I used to tell my kids when they were growing up, I used to say, if there's anything I don't want you to have, I don't want you to have my kind of testimony. I don't want you to have my kind of testimony. I'm trying to raise you in a way so that you don't. I don't want you to have the pain that I still wake up and live with. I don't want you to have memories that I still deal with, those kinds of things. I don't want you to have those. I want you to have a better life, to live a better life than I did. Because sometimes you may hear somebody giving their testimony and you may even say to yourself, man, now that's a testimony. I don't have a testimony like that. I was raised in the church. I didn't do much that was really wrong. I met someone, got married, I had my kids, but I don't have a testimony. Nobody's asked me to go on Christian TV and say, oh, this is what I was. I watched this guy, I beat this guy to death, I shot this guy here, and that's when I was three years old. I got worse as I got older, and you listen to these testimonies, right? And you say, these are amazing. This guy was a sinner, this woman was something else. Me, I had such an easy life, I didn't do anything. That's how I wanted to raise my kids so that they'd understand that the saving grace and the keeping grace, the keeping grace is just as wonderful in so many ways as the saving grace. I wanted them to be kept from the things I experienced because you know what happens is you may come back to the Lord or come to the Lord later, but there are things in you that you do have to deal with. Memories that you have to put under the blood even every day to say, Lord, you know, Lord, you know. And I'll be honest with you, and I wake up many mornings and the first thing I have to do is say, thank you, God, for your grace that has covered that because my memory is provoked in the morning sometimes to remember some evil thing I did. And I'll wake up and I'll say, God, it's been almost 48 years. Why do I remember being such a creep? Why do I remember? And I finally have come to embrace the reality of that because it keeps me close to the grace of God. And it reminds me daily of his mercy. I mean renewed every morning as I wake up and I say, oh, thank you for your mercy, God. Thank you for your grace. But that doesn't mean that if you're young now that you should add to all the things he forgave you of, do more so that his grace extends even further. God's grace wasn't given to us so we could continue in sin but to give a strength to avoid it. And we need to remember that and we need to understand that. You see, ultimately what happens is you do reap what you have been sowing. And in Proverbs 26-27 it says, whoever digs a pit will fall into it. He who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him. Job 4 verse 8 reads, my experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same. And so he who digs a pit will fall into it. Whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. He who quarries stones may be hurt by them. He who splits wood may be endangered by it. I've never split wood but I've seen others who have and they take that axe and they hit that wood and that's the picture here. When the axe splits the wood it may splinter and the splinters could harm them and that's the point that he's making there. He's saying these are things that actually have repercussions and so there will be repercussions for actions that have been taken. In verse 10, if the axe is dull and one does not sharpen the edge then he must use more strength. Wisdom brings success. Success is the fruit of wise preparation. You should sharpen the axe before you use it because when you do it cuts easily. So the point he's making is why make things more difficult? Save yourself wear and tear. Verse 11, a serpent may bite when it's not charmed. The babbler is no different. Hmm, serpent being charmed. During the time of Solomon's snake charmers were common. They were entertainers. It's interesting that those who charm snakes are mentioned in other places. For example, the Psalmist in Psalm 58 verses 3 through 5, listen to what he writes. He says, even from birth the wicked go astray. From the womb they are wayward and speak lies. Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that has stopped its ears and will not heed the tune of the charmer. However skillful the enchanter may be. And so have you ever seen people's charm snakes? Have you? How many have you seen? I was in India and when I was in India they have these guys with cobras and they have these baskets and they'll take the lid off and then the guys there with a flute and he starts, you know, he shakes, he actually hits the basket and I saw it, I was about a mile away but I watched it. No, with binoculars. Wow, no. And he'll hit the basket and he has this lute and then the basket, the snake, a cobra will come out and it's real. I mean now some of them take the teeth out of them and during the time of Solomon they would do this and the snake would come out and he was speaking of a snake charmer and it's a charmer who is controlling the snake. Well, here's something interesting, I looked this up. Snakes pick up sound waves through the bone structure of their heads and so what causes them to be charmed isn't necessarily the music, you know, because if you listen to that music it doesn't charm me, it's the movement and you'll see that with snake charmer he'll have that little flute and he moves the flute like this and the snake is picking up the vibrations of the sound coming out of that flute and what holds the snake's attention isn't the sound, it's his movement and that's what keeps him from being bitten, it keeps its eye on the movement in front of it. It's not threatened by it, but it's watching it and so we get the impression that that snake has been charmed but Solomon is speaking of a charmer that is failing to control the serpent. Well, what happened? Well, he tried to charm the snake too quickly and he ended up being bitten, that's the point he's making. And not only does the audience not pay him, but he may lose his life. So when he's saying that, he speaks of a babbler and he says the babbler is no different. Now when he says babbler, a babbler is someone who speaks useless words and so a person who speaks useless words is likened to a poisonous snake. That's interesting. Why is that? Well, because his words can be deadly and bring great harm to people. Babblers do, especially when they're false teachers. Babblers are dangerous, people who speak useless words. Be very careful again who you allow to influence you, especially in the ways of the Lord. Be very careful who you listen to. Use discernment. You can turn on the television almost any time. As a matter of fact, now you can't 24 hours a day with cable and you can find channels that are broadcasting 24 hours a day. There's several stations that do that. If you have cable, you'll see that. They have particular channels and several of them. And for 24 hours a day, if you want it, I mean you could wake up at 3 in the morning and you can't sleep. So you say, I'd like to get a Bible study. You can go downstairs and you can turn on your TV and you can see somebody speak to you for 40 minutes to an hour. But be careful. Be careful who you allow to influence you. I don't listen to quote-unquote Christian TV very often. Very seldom. There are very few people that I'll actually watch even for a few minutes. There are some, but very few. Why is that? Because a huge amount are just babbling. Because a huge amount aren't giving you a Bible study. Because a few, very few of them actually are teaching through the word of God. Very few are actually opening up the Bible saying, turn to this page. I mean there's one well-known person who will stand holding his Bible and say, this is my Bible, repeat after me. They give an oath to the things they all believe together. And that's the last time he actually quotes from the scripture. It's interesting to me, but that's true. He'll use the scripture out of context every once in a while. He entertained you for 40 minutes. Thousands of people come and listen to him. But anybody who knows scripture will listen and say, but that's not accurate. That's not scripturally true. Those things are air. I've seen guys who are very entertaining. They really are. I've seen them lay on the ground and crawl across. And Moses was in the wilderness. And you see him just crawling towards a glass of water. And very entertaining. Very, and they'd say, why, my, my, my, my? How entertaining. But that's not what that scripture says. So how in the world can you justify that? I call them babblers. The scripture does too. They're saying many words that really are useless. They're really are useless. They're not helping you spiritually. But what has happened today, if you don't mind, I'll say this quickly. But what has happened in the church today is a tragedy in that many people will go to hear somebody speak and they don't ever really check the sources. They don't check whether that's true. They don't have time in the word. Sometimes the only time their Bible is open is in the church service. And then they put it, close it and put it on a shelf for another week. Then they open it up again. But they had not read that. They did not read that book one time during the rest of the week. And they're susceptible to deception. And so snake charmers are dangerous, but so are babblers. Babblers who speak useless words that don't encourage you, don't give you truth. They're actually dangerous. So be very careful. And how can we be protected from this? Well, through discipline and through patience. Because those two attributes are those of a successful snake charmer so don't be gullible. Don't believe everything that is said. You know, we have charmers today on the Internet all the time, so be aware of that. In Proverbs 14 verse 15 it reads, The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps. So be careful. Verse 12, the words of a wise man's mouth are gracious. The lips of a fool shall swallow him up. So Solomon begins to share concerning the speech of fools in comparison to the wise. In contrast to the babbler whose words harm, the words of the wise will bless you. Notice he points out that a wise man's word are gracious. The word gracious is a Hebrew word that means producing favor. A wise man's words bring life to the one who is being spoken to, is what he's saying. In Proverbs 16 verse 24, pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul, and health to the bones. But on the other hand the lips of a fool swallow him, he says. When he says swallow him, that's a picture of destruction. So ultimately he will pay the price for the things that he said. In Proverbs 18 verse 7, a fool's mouth is his undoing. His lips are a snare to his soul. So unbelievers only have unprofitable words because their words are not filled with the grace of God. So be aware of that. Verse 13, the words of his mouth begin with foolishness and the end of his talk is raving madness. That's an interesting thing, raving madness. From start to finish, the fool's words make absolutely no sense. This sounds cruel, I know. Even as I'm saying this, I'm thinking, boy, this sounds judgmental. But anyway, years ago I was watching Christian TV and there was a man who was saying, and I'm paraphrasing but very close to what he was saying. He said this. He said, you may not believe this. He was real dramatic. The louder you yell and the more active you get, the more believable you are. So he says, you may not believe this, but I cast and he said, and it may go against your theology. When you say that to me, we're going to listen and it may go against your theology but I cast a demon out of myself and I was sitting there and I say, no, you didn't. He's still in you and he's a lying demon. You got to be kidding me. I cast a demon out of myself. I mean, what an unbelievable thing to say but it's similar to the guy who said that he was so filled with the spirit. I could tell you where to look it up. I can tell you who said it. I just don't feel like it. But this one fellow said that he was so filled with the spirit that he stepped off the platform and hovered, hovered and then stepped back without gravity itself was suspended because he was so filled with the spirit. We have people today who believe that that gold dust is floating from the ceiling upon them during worship services. And I'm thinking, well, if it is, you ought to scrape it up and go cash it in, man. Why are you asking for an offering from me? There was another guy who was sending out. This is all true stories. I'm not making this up. This other guy was sending out wallets that were guaranteed to never be empty. He said, just send some money to my ministry. I will send you this blessed wallet. And I guarantee it is never going to be empty of money. And me, I'm thinking, why don't you just use it yourself? Why are you asking me to send you money to use one of your wallets? I also was sent, I had a prayer mat, a prayer mat and had a picture of four angels. It was paper, but it had four angels with trumpets at the edges of all four edges. And the instructions that came with the prayer mat was for me to kneel in the center, take my wallet out, take the largest bill that I had. If I didn't have a large bill, put my credit card there and pray and ask God to bless me and then send a gift to this man's ministry and he would guarantee God's blessings in my life. And again, you ask yourself, why don't you just use your own prayer mat? Why are you doing this? But you know what? Believers send money to them. They do. They take out their little wallet. They send their money and they get ripped off. There's a guy on TV. I won't use his name. Another one. All of these are different. And this guy was calling out miracles and he'd say, Elaine? And he'd do this. I saw him do it more than once. Elaine? Elaine? She's off here to the right. Elaine? Then some woman, Elaine. And he says, you have a, you have a, what is that? What is that? A bad heart. You have a bad heart. Elaine? Are you here? Then the poor little baby would stand up. That's me. Yeah. Your husband's name is Dwayne and you live in such a, she's crying. He said, God is, and he does, they always raise their voice for some reason. And it turns out that he was wearing an earpiece and his wife was reading prayer requests and she had written her request and she was just saying, her name is Elaine. She's seated to your right. Her husband's name is Dwayne. She's got a heart problem. And that's what he was doing. Now, I found out where the guy lived before this happened, before this happened. I'll tell you what happened, but I found out where the guy lived and I wrote him a letter and I said, I said, I'm a minister in the area. And I saw you on TV and I'm wanting you to know that God is going to deal with you for the lies that you are saying to his children because what you're doing is bringing dishonor to the name of Jesus Christ. And as a brother who loves the Lord and cares about you, I'm telling you, repent because you will be exposed. He didn't repent, but a man by the name of the amazing Randy who was out there who liked to reveal charlatans exposed him. He exposed him and it was within just two, three months or so after I had written that letter of warning to him, you will be exposed. And everything blew up in his face, but guess what? He went back on TV and you can still see him. He's still doing the same kind of thing, maybe more sophisticated, the same kind of thing. You need to have discernment. You need to be in the Word of God. You need to be aware because, like he's saying, from start to finish a fool's words make absolutely no sense. The longer he talks, the crazier it becomes. The end of his talk is raving madness. Verse 14, a fool also multiplies words no man knows what it is to be. Who can tell him what will be after him? And so, the fool he says has a great number of words he desires to speak, but even though he says a lot, he's really saying nothing. Proverbs 10, 19, in the multitude of words sin is not lacking. He who restrains his lips is wise. There are those who consider themselves the greatest living experts on everything, but one of the Psalms that the Lord gave to me is Psalm 141 verse 3, said a guard, oh Lord, over my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips. You know, you should be using few words, not many. Notice how he says, no man knows what is to be, who can tell him what will be after him. In other words, the fool thinks he knows what will happen in the future, but in reality he doesn't. He may try to predict trends in culture, he may speak concerning a stock market, even the world, but only God actually knows the future. We saw in Ecclesiastes 8 verse 7 that man does not know what will happen, so who can tell him when it will occur, and so only God actually knows the future. Verse 15, the laborer of fools worries them, for they do not even know how to go to the city. The fool works hard, but he never gets anywhere. He doesn't even have the wisdom to get to the city. Something that's standing that's very conspicuous that's there, he can't even find his way to the city, it's just another way of saying, he doesn't know where he's going. And then he goes on to say this. Verse 16, What would you, O land, when your king is a child? Your princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes feast at the proper time for strength, and not for drunkenness. Because of laziness, building decays, and through idleness of hands, the house leaks. A feast is made for laughter. Wine makes merry. Money answers everything. Then he finally says, Do not curse the king even in your thought. Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom. A bird of the air may carry your voice. A bird in flight may tell the matter. Let's look at this in close with these verses. Solomon is speaking of those who work under authority, the authority of foolish rulers. He's spoken of them already in verses 5 through 7, those who are the foolish rulers, but now he's writing concerning those who work for one of those rulers. And he's starting to give us the characteristics of a foolish ruler, somebody who is full in authority. And we're going to look at that in detail to us. Notice in verse 16 how he says, Your prince's feast in the morning. And what they're doing is they're using, basically they're using public funds for parties for themselves. Your prince's feast in the morning. They're using public funds for parties. Instead of self-sacrifice, they think that life is a big party and if it isn't fun, they don't want to do it. He's talking about self-indulgent leaders. So he says first, they are undisciplined and they are unmotivated party animals. He says they are unqualified, they are inexperienced, they are self-centered, and they are immature. That's what he's saying when he says your king is a child. He's saying that these men are really just undisciplined, immature, self-centered people. He says in verse 18 because of laziness, the building decays and through idleness of hands, the house leaks. Well, they are lazy and they're incompetent and they let things go so that everything falls apart. Because of their incompetence and neglect, everything around them begins to look trashed. It's not because of use, but it's the result of indifference and a lack of concern. These people who are self-centered and doing things for themselves don't really care about the people they're supposed to be caring about. When he says because in verse 18 of laziness, the building decays through idleness of hands, the house leaks, he's simply saying things are going without repair. We can look in today and see the same kind of thing and we will for a moment how that public funds sometimes are used for private use by politicians. We know that, I'm not saying anything and it goes for both Republicans and Democrats. It's across the board. They have money and they use it for themselves and you may see the roads around your neighborhood that are in disrepair but the money isn't being spent on repairing or you'll see you know taxes that are levy and a lot of people vote for these taxes which I've often wondered why we do but we do we vote for the taxes and say I'm willing to pay more money for my gas because you're going to fix the road that you promised to fix four years ago that you promised to fix eight years ago oh by the way that somebody 12 years ago promised to fix but now we're going to have those roads fixed because you promised it again I'm so stupid I don't remember thank you very much it's a little goofy going on up here but it's true but it's true we don't really think aren't those the promises that we've heard every election year aren't those the things that are always said and wait a minute didn't I vote for you to correct that last time and you haven't yet and when I ask you why you haven't you say it's very difficult and you've been saying that for 32 years and you're now going to get your pension and I still haven't seen that park repaired I still haven't seen those roads repaired those bridges are still in disrepair and they always say the same things they all do I'm going to fight for you I'm on your side now you're on your own side and that's I have to tell you talk politics Pastor David what is a king person in authority what is he saying a bad ruler does rules incompetently uses public funds for his own well-being it's not new you find this in Scripture he's saying watch out because a good ruler cares about the people and actually does something for him and the self-serving one will say to you well I really believe in term limits and then there are no term limits why because they live off of your tax dollars and there is no incentive for them to vote for anything that will take from them their retirement or their insurance and a lot of times these people might as well go over there here we are sometimes these people don't even live in the districts that they represent they live in poor areas they're represented by the people where they have a home but they use government funds to live in a nice and I'm not against living in nice neighborhoods would to God everybody had one I'm not opposed to that I don't have some kind of envy over that would to God every person lived in a safe neighborhood of course but when you represent a neighborhood that you need and you're not amongst the people and you've got all the things they'll never have where's your conscience in all of this where's your heart in all of this when you make promises that you don't keep and then repeat them four years later and the people don't remember one of the advantages to growing older is your memory lengthens and you start going but I remember those promises 30 years ago I remember those promises more than that I've been voting for 50 years and I can look back over that now and I can say all of these promises of all these politicians and very few have kept their promises very few what do they do they feast in the morning they have parties for themselves they let things go they're indifferent they have no concern about it they're big spenders a feast is made for laughter wine makes merry they're big spenders they're indifferent to how the money is spent for them the real fun in life is spending other people's money money he says answers everything money is the answer to all of their problems in other words if you have a problem throw money at it so you have money sent to countries recovering from catastrophes but somehow it's used for bureaucrats personal pleasure they skim the proceeds and buy themselves cars and homes they raise taxes so that we can have a train that nobody's going to use right? I mean that's a fact who's going to take a train to Sacramento who wants to go to Sacramento let alone be on a train they vote themselves raises for them money is the answer to everything it's used for feasting it's used for their wine it's used for buying things when they party they collect more they spend it all and that's all they desire to do there's no sense of budget there's no preparing for the future they don't care in Proverbs 1322 a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children we ought to be those who budget and care for the future but they don't we're stewards of God's resources so we need to be faithful in all of our finances and therefore we live moderately we do enjoy the fruit of our effort but we're aware of our future and we need to be so and then finally in verse 20 do not curse the king even in your thought do not curse the rich even in your bedroom for a bird of the air may carry your voice a bird in flight may tell the matter this is an old saying some of you have heard it have you ever heard the term a little bird told me this is where you get that from a bird of the air may carry your voice so he said be careful don't even think about cursing the king don't curse the rich even in your bedroom you know you may not respect the person in office but respect the office don't curse the king even in your thought you may not respect the person in office respect the office in the military I learned that prior to going into the military and I'll close very quickly saying this prior to going into the military I was a hippie three months before I went into the army so as I got saved and now I'm serving in the military I had an awful lot of rebellious heart that God had to start purging because I was against authority I I didn't like being told what to do it's very rebellious like a lot of my generation and so now I'm in the military and I have a sergeant telling me what to do and I didn't like it I I didn't like it because very often and I don't say this weirdly it's just true very often I was smarter than the sergeant and so when he's going blah blah blah I'd be looking at him like oh and that's when I began to be broken by the Lord and I began to be taught in the military and I brought that into my life that you may not respect the person who holds the position but you respect the position I may not have liked that sergeant that captain or whomever but I was yielding not to him personally but to the position he held I was actually yielding to proper authority though I may not care for the person wielding it and that's what I brought into my life as a citizen there have been a lot of presidents that I have not respected because they were not worthy of my respect that's a fact but I respect the office I respect the office of the president and that's why I don't speak ill normally of that it's not because I agree with everything or even disagree with everything it's that I have a tendency of respecting the office and so he's saying don't even curse the king in your thought what is he saying he's saying show respect even if you disagree not to become some kind of mindless robot but to be aware that a person in authority has authority and thus he wields it and when he does it right he's representing actually the kingdom how do I know that well Romans 13 verse 1 it's off to the governing authorities there's no authority except that which is from God the authorities that exist have been appointed by God so that's how I can be a citizen live under law and though I may not I do not agree with let's raise some more tax dollars by charging for this and that and taxes and I don't agree with that but I pay my taxes I pay my taxes because that's what I'm supposed to do as a good citizen that's what I do you know and I pray for I pray for those in charge I pray that God will work in them that God will touch them I prayed for every president since I've been a Christian everyone God help Jimmy Carter God help Ronald Reagan God help George Bush the first and later on and you name it Bill Clinton I prayed a lot for him and the and Obama God help us and I pray for Trump God help us all God help us all and I prayed so often Lord in Jesus name I pray that you will grab hold of our president President Trump and Lord touch his heart so that he can be a transformed man seen my all as a beacon for you not because I'm Republican or I hate Democrats but because that would be a great testimony and I pray for that you know and I don't want to be one of those who's always angry at the government what I want to be is a good citizen who's influencing people for the kingdom and that to me is much more important in the end it's because that's the key you know that's true that's true