 Here we go Proverbs chapter 11. I'll read, I'll read just verse one. We'll get into our city from there We'll be looking at the 11th chapter 31 Proverbs beginning at verse 1 Proverbs chapter 11 dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but a just wait is his delight And so some of these Proverbs I'm just going to give a couple of thoughts about because they're in many ways self-explanatory others I'll take a while to develop in this one here I'll develop with you as an introduction and it'll take a few minutes, but let me develop it with you Notice again dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but a just wait is his delight in the life of faith It's obvious that believers are to have integrity as well as honesty Because integrity and honesty are fundamentals of true faith and integrity and honesty are to be Foundations of a believer's life You see the Bible teaches us that loving and serving God will naturally result in our loving and serving other people In 1st John in chapter 5 verse 1 John writes everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and Everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. So if you love the Lord, you're gonna love his children So for someone to say I love God Well, it would be obvious that if they really loved God that they would also love other people as a matter of fact in 1st John 4 verse 20 John wrote if anyone says I love God yet hates his brother He's a liar for anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen and So the scripture makes it very clear that a life of faith is going to be earmarked by honesty and integrity and so if honesty and integrity of love are What are within our hearts? Well, that would mean then in a very practical sense that a believer would not defraud another person This is obviously something that that Solomon feels very very strongly about because as we go through Proverbs He actually repeats this sentiment more than once in the book of Proverbs You see something similar in chapter 16 at verse 11 chapter 20 at verse 10 as well as chapter 20 verse 23 and that would suggest to us that this kind of dishonesty had become Common during the time of the writing of this particular book the book of Proverbs and So this is something that needs to be addressed and Solomon is addressing it again throughout the Bible God condemns dishonesty and Solomon is referring to it here and by the way in this context He's speaking about dishonesty in business and he's making it clear that this is an abomination to the Lord dishonesty in business is Actually strictly forbidden in the law of Moses in Deuteronomy 25 verses 13 through 16 It says you shall not have in your bag differing weights a heavy and a light You shall not have in your house a differing measures a large and a small you shall have a perfect and just weight a perfect and just Measure that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God has given you for all who do such things all who Behave unrighteously are an abomination to the Lord your God So God speaks concerning honesty integrity especially in this context in business and so in verse one It says that just weight is his delight To please God you must deal honestly You see at the heart of dishonesty in business is greed and Jesus gave us a warning in Luke 12 15 He said take heed and beware of covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses So dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord But a just weight is his delight verse two when pride comes then comes shame But with the humble is wisdom When pride comes then comes shame the word pride speaks of insolence or arrogance When pride comes then comes shame very often the proud are disliked and Ultimately, they will have their ego deflated the Lord is very gracious to Humble those especially who have said that they're followers of him He he has a way of humbling us and so when pride comes comes shame He has a tendency of humbling that's why it's wise to walk with truth humility Because you'll become humble one way or another It says with a humble is wisdom verse three the integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful Will destroy them the integrity of the upright we use the word integrity quite often in our society The word integrity literally speaks of that which is impaired unimpaired rather it speaks of that which is complete Undivided someone or something that is uncompromising that speaks of having integrity So the integrity of the upright the fact that their heart is undivided that they're uncompromising The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful Will destroy them so developed character produces a pattern of living that pleases the Lord Psalm 26 verse 1 reads vindicate me. Oh Lord. I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord I shall not slip verse 4 riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death riches having riches has Gifts to us advantages. There's no doubt about it You have advantages when you're rich if you're very well known and you walk into a restaurant and you're very wealthy They're more than likely not going to have you wait in line for two hours They're more than likely going to take you to a booth that you already have that's pretty much yours or They're going to bump somebody out of the way so that you may be seated You know, that's what happens when you have wealth. So riches has advantages You have money and you can buy life insurance. You can buy Automate you can use it for whatever you want. You've got money But the advantages you have because you have wealth are limited to earth That's limited to earth. You'll have advantages here on earth But you don't have advantages in eternity because you're wealthy The fact is you cannot bribe your way into heaven in the day of judgment In Deuteronomy 10 verse 17 the Lord your God is God of God's Lord of lords The great God mighty and awesome who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe So, you know, if you were using the picture of st. Peter at the gate, you can't slip him a hundred dollar bill and get it It isn't going to work Going on into verse five The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way or right But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness the righteousness of the upright will deliver them But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust So the path of the righteous The way of the righteous the path of the righteous is actually literally is actually a smooth path and Because it is a smooth path the righteous is able to avoid traps as well as pitfalls so the righteousness of the blameless directs his way rightly in John 8 verse 12 Jesus spoke and said I'm the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness But have the light of life and so that's the same sentiment that you have here when he says the righteous of The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way or right And verse 6 the righteousness of the upright will deliver them It's it's speaking of of the light that you walk in that keeps you from the pitfalls of this world But on the other hand a wicked person walks in darkness and he because he walks in darkness He stumbles In John 11 verse 9 Jesus said are there not 12 hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble for they see by this world's light so in choosing wickedness the wicked person will fall into ruin and destruction Verse 7 when a wicked man dies his expectation will perish the hope of the unjust perishes When a wicked man dies his expectation perishes he expected to live a long life But he didn't and Psalm 146 verses 3 and 4 do not put your trust in princes Nor in a son of man in whom there's no help his spirit Departs he returns to his earth in that very day his plans perish So he thought he was going to live a long time and he thought his plans were going to be Fruitful and all but in fact because he didn't choose the fall of the Lord He ends up with a shorter life very often and no joy. I Wonder how many in this room have ever taken the time to read anything by the French infidel Voltaire Most of us have heard his name, you know, it's it's a famous name by in many quarters is a philosopher and he was very well known for his evil and I Have a book that is called the last sayings of saints and sinners and Voltaire His last saying is actually recorded in this book. And so I I took it out just to read You know this the famous French infidel Voltaire Attempted to demolish Christianity He said in in 20 years Christianity will be no more my single hand shall destroy the edifice It took 12 apostles to rear That's pretty strong statement. I by myself will destroy Christianity Shortly after his death the house in which he printed his literature became the depot of the Geneva Bible Society The nurse attended his death said for all the wealth in Europe. I would not see another infidel die His physician said at death that he cried out desperately These are the words of Voltaire. I am abandoned by God and man. I will give you half of what I am worth If you will give me six months life Then I shall go to hell and you will go with me his last words. Oh Christ. Oh Jesus Christ When a wicked man dies his expectation will perish Voltaire was a great example of just that In verse 8 the righteous is delivered from trouble. It comes to the wicked instead God's justice ultimately brings the recompense to the world When you read the book of Aster, it's an interesting book and you read through the book of Aster there are Main characters. I'm not going to give you a summary of the entire book But just give you an illustration from the book of Aster there is Man by the name of Haman there's another man by the name of Mordecai and then there's a woman by the name of Aster and Then there is her husband who was the king and Haman hated Mordecai He hated him because Mordecai would not show him great respect in reverence Everybody else would show Haman this great respect except for Mordecai and he hated Mordecai and he began to formulate ideas and how to to get Mordecai killed and One of those ideas he had would be to work it out in such a way that all the Jews would be annihilated in the kingdom and So ultimately what happens in the book of Aster is his plans are actually foiled and The gallows that he had constructed that he intended to have Mordecai Hanged on are the gallows that he himself was hanged on You see that in the book of Aster and so when the scripture speaks Concerning the fact that the righteous is delivered from trouble and it comes to the wicked instead Haman is a good example of that the evil plans he had against Mordecai Actually came upon him and there's a tendency for these kinds of things to happen and The Bible says in Esther chapter 7 verse 10 They they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai and then the king's wrath subsided verse 9 The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous will be delivered Notice that the hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor the wise in heart knows how to deal With gossip and slander that sometimes occurs every person in this room is More than likely has more than likely been a victim of gossip if not give me your name I'll talk about you tomorrow you know all of us all of us have had somebody in our life that hasn't liked us and Has spread rumors and and said things that were simply untrue. How do you handle that? How do you handle it when somebody? Has it in for you when somebody's spread lies and rumors? How do you deal with that? The Bible says the hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor and that's exactly what they do they say things that are untrue and and it's destructive and and And there are many people today I think it's because we as as a people are are really more inclined towards believing bad than good anyway There are many people who have had their reputations really really sullied by by people who simply hated them people who Who are saying things about them that are untrue, but because they sounds like it's true or it's it's It's posed as if it could be true It has a certain ring to it that well Why wouldn't it be true that that that people have a tendency of just buying into the lie And that's what it's saying here the hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor It's true that the slander and the gossip that that can be that can be Just disseminated in and people are so willing to listen. So how do you handle that? Well Proverbs 264 says do not answer a fool according to his folly Lest you also be like him do you go out and start defending yourself every time something bad is said about you No, of course not Of course not you you don't go out and you don't defend yourself sometimes it is just better to remain silent and Remember who is the one defending you? When when you remember that God is your defense You don't have to stand up all the time and say I didn't say that I didn't do that I didn't whatever you don't have to do that The Lord has a way of taking care of his children Psalm 59 verse 17 to you Oh my strength I will sing praises for God is my defense my God of Mercy the Lord takes care of you. You know my pastor Chuck Smith taught us something many years ago. He said listen He said I can fight my own battle But the fact is I don't always win Or I can trust in the Lord to be my defense and he never loses So you tell me who I should trust in myself? I can lose or the one who never loses So it's always wise It normally is wise and it's not always sometimes you might have to State your case sometimes you might have to do that because you're forced into the position of having to do so But in general when somebody is gossiping about you Don't lose sleep at night Don't cry yourself to sleep because someone didn't like you guess what if they start liking you Somebody else won't like you. That's just a fact so Instead of wanting to hear people say to you well done It's just a good idea to look forward to hearing those words from the one that really matters well done and So I began to learn this particular lesson many years ago because In the pastoral ministry there are always people who will say things about you that are untrue And there are always people who will believe them That's just the way it is that's just the way it isn't so I've told young men who want to go into the pastoral ministry I've said to them. Do you have thin skin? Because if you do don't go in the ministry Don't go in the ministry. Well, why not that because you won't make it because the church sometimes is filled with cruelty and and You know just because they're saved doesn't mean that they can't be mean and So just be aware of that and so rather than having to defend yourself constantly You have to learn just allow the Lord to be your defense. It'll be all right in the end going on verse 10 When it goes well with the righteous the city rejoices When the wicked parish there is jubilation By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked so righteous rule is always to be preferred over the wicked ruling right in Proverbs 29 verse 2 when the righteous are in authority the people rejoice But when a wicked man rules the people grown and that's obviously very very true When it says in verse 12 he was devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his peace He's devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor. Don't gossip about your neighbor and don't ridicule him Proverbs 329 says do not devise evil against your neighbor. He dwells by you for safety's sake. You know Jesus made a statement in Matthew 22 39. He said you shall love your neighbor as yourself so a man devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor now and In many cases that neighbor is dwelling close to you and in many ways Not always but in many ways can can actually provide a kind of security For you in the fact that they may notice if somebody is breaking into your house They may notice if somebody is breaking into your car or something of that nature, so it's always good It's just wise. It's just basic wisdom here just to do your best to live at peace with all men Especially those who are living around you in your neighborhood verse 13 a tail bearer reveals secrets But he is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter tail bear. What an interesting word You know, I don't use that word every day. So So today I thought tail bear what is the literal definition of that? You know because normally the word is is gossip. We'll just translate it by the word gossip and So I looked it up and the word tail bearer It literally speaks of somebody who's wandering around carrying something with them and This a tail bearer is Somebody who takes gossip and it's not that they just keep it to themselves or share in their house This is the person who walks around telling everybody else this gossip And so he's speaking concerning the tail bearer. He travels around is there's another old phrase. That's no longer used That's it's a scandal monger and a tail bearer reveals secrets so what you have is a contrast you have a contrast between a gossip and One who is trustworthy somebody who's gracious because the one who is of a faithful spirit conceals the matter But the tail bearer wanders around wanting to tell everybody what they've heard There is the there were these guys and they were in a park three old guys and they were pastors And they were sharing amongst themselves and and one pastor turns to the other two and he says, you know You're my close friends. I can share with you. He said if I can't be open with pastors Who can I be open with? He says, you know, I've got a drinking problem and and I've been hiding it from the church I don't know what to do with it and it's killing me, but I have to tell somebody I've got a drinking problem You guys need to pray for me And the guy seated next to him says, you know, seeing that it's open sharing time and we're going to bear You know one another's burdens. I've been dealing with lust. I've got lust for my secretary and several of the women In the church. I don't know what to do. God help me I'm getting it off my chest and I'm sharing it with you And then the third one is seated there and he's saying, oh man He says my problem is gossip and I can hardly wait to get out of here You know and tell everybody what I just heard You know, so that's what he is. He is a person who digs up things. It's like burning a fire in their heart They have to share and the gospel travel far and wide to share things that should be left unsaid Proverbs 16 27 an ungodly man digs up evil. It's on his lips like a burning fire It's kind of like our reporters our news reporters today But a faithful person can be trusted with someone's secrets He doesn't expose his friend's weaknesses. Not like the gossip does He keeps him any praise from verse 13 verse 14 Where there's no counsel people people fall In the multitude of counselors their safety This is one of those things that I share with people quite often um There is a certain wisdom In listening to other people speaking to them And asking their advice or opinion not to say that the people should make up your mind for you But it's a wise thing to gather as much information as you can when you're making a decision It's always a wise thing to do that It's always wise to ask of other people And it requires a certain humility to ask for advice You see what one person fails to see another may see very clearly And if you don't ask advice if you don't say i'm considering this, what do you think? It's just not a wise way to to live your life Personal between me and all of you Um That's how that's how I lead That's how I lead I have ideas that the spirit of the lord will place on my heart. That's what leaders do They seek the lord god places things on their heart But I don't make decisions without speaking to other people I'll say i'm considering this What do you think? And I listen because they're seeing something I may not see I may be blind to something that they can see So it's always wise to seek out advice not by just anybody But those who who who have the ability to give good advice those who have proven track records those who have a Reputation and you have an experience with them that they have wisdom it's just a good thing and It and that's what the scripture says because the bottom line is where there where there's no counsel people will fall And so in the multitude of counselors there really is safety because you ask You seek the lord you're able to make a decision and that's a good thing So you seek advice, but you do so from godly people In proverbs 18 verse 1 a man who isolates himself seeks his own desire He rages against all wise judgment So no it's a good idea that when you're making especially the more important decisions It's a wise thing to seek counsel. I remember when my when my my father Uh, when my father went home to be with lord, my father was to me a very a very wise man He he was an uneducated man by any means my father Went to eighth grade and that was as high he went that he went educationally It wasn't like he was a well educated man a philosopher of any sort But my dad was uh, uh down to earth very real person And uh, even as an as a man even as his pastor I would have felt very comfortable saying dad. What would you do in this circumstance? My pastor chuck smith Pastor chuck was not one who would give you advice. I learned that By just being with them because I learned it this way and it's interesting I'll tell you how and I know you're just dying to hear. No, but this is how I learned it. Um I I remember as a young pastor speaking to him saying, you know, chuck I'm thinking of doing this and And that's how I put it to him. I'm thinking of doing this and I still remember My pastor leaning back saying oh Okay, and he kind of the shrugdish chuck had a if you knew chuck smith and maybe you did He had a habit about him. He would peel his thumb when he talked to you sometimes He would just look down and kind of peel at his thumbnail And then he shrugged his shoulders chuck. I'm considering doing this Okay, that's what I thought wow, you know, we're on the same page Later on Later on as I got to know him on a more personal level I I realized that This is how chuck was if you want to do that learn your own lesson You're not asking me for advice. You're telling me what you're going to do That was chuck. I'm exactly the same way Exactly if you came up to me and you said I'm going to do this. I'll just look at you and I'll smile I'll go oh So this is what I learned to do with chuck And I'm letting you know if you ever talked to me. That's what you ought to do with me I learned to say to him. I'm thinking about this And I tell him Then I'd say what would you do? That made it entirely different He'd say oh, I would do this that was his advice. That's how he gave advice So I would simply say what would you do? Because he never would impose on me What he would do He believed that the holy spirit should lead me to do what I ought to do So he's not going to take the blame or the credit for any of my decisions I'm the same way I've had people say I'm going to go on planet church and so and so and I'll smile at them If they said would you that's a different question And so it's always wise to seek advice from experienced individuals godly individuals And in the multitude of counselors There is wisdom But a fool will rage against wise counsel because he's already made up his mind He's going to do what he wants anyway Verse 15 He who is surety for a stranger will suffer The word surety speaks of a cosigner He who is a cosigner for a stranger will suffer But one who hates being surety Is secure so don't cosign for strangers And be very slow in cosigning even for those that you know Well And some of you can say amen to that right Even if they call you dad or mom anyway verse 16 A gracious woman retains honor But ruthless men retain riches Interestingly you have a comparison gracious woman ruthless man The word ruthless speaks of a violent oppressive individual And he's saying that this man values riches and will do anything for them Graciousness on the other hand has its own reward especially Producing or bringing honor into the person's life Verse 17 the merciful merciful man Does good for his own soul But he who is cruel Troubles his own flesh The wicked man Does deceptive work But he who sows righteousness Will have a sure reward When a man sows he will also reap He reaps now And he will reap also in eternity The merciful man does good for his own soul Matthew 5 7 says blessed are the merciful they shall obtain mercy Verse 19 Righteousness leads to life so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death The faithful and good man pursues a life of righteousness, but the evil person chases after evil And it leads to eternal condemnation chases after evil So you pursue godliness and you pursue righteousness. That's your pursuit But and that will result in life, but there are those who pursue evil they go after it And as a result of that they receive eternal judgment Those verse 20 who are of a perverse heart are An abomination to the lord But the blameless in their ways Are his delight God detests The twisted mind the word perverse heart it speaks of a twisted mind It speaks of the one whose heart is constantly influenced towards evil Your heart already has a natural bent towards evil We have this argument all the time you hear it in society when people will say well, that's a he's a good person Well, there's this there are certain degrees of goodness and when you start looking at goodness and all you have human goodness And yes, there are people that are are outright Good they're good people. I mean, you know, I like being around good people, of course But you're not talking about perfect people. You're talking about relatively good people And goodness is usually going to be determined by the general standard of what goodness is in the society that you're in So somebody may be regarded as being good, but in the society the society itself is very evil So somebody who's only killed three people is better than the guy who killed ten So in many ways it's relative in that way So goodness is something very often as used as a standard and we will speak about the innate goodness of men But we're speaking in terms of the fact that that man being created in the image of God Hasn't lost all the capacity to do good things and therefore even an evil man will love those who belong to him Even a ferocious murderer can love his children. He can But that doesn't make him good It just means it's a relative term in that he treats the kids better than he treats those who are not his kids So in fact There's only been one good person on the face of the earth and we crucified him That's jesus He's the only one who is ever really good that he could say which of you can convict me of sin And he could say that to his mom and he could say it to his sisters and his brothers Those who knew him best he could stand in front of him think about that for a moment Could you do that could I do that in front of my brother and sisters? No, of course not Of course not if I say can you convict me of sin? They'd say how how long do you have? You know, I remember when you and they can go through my whole life because of course they can but jesus think about that for just a moment jesus could in front of his sisters and brother in front of his mom brothers in front of his mom Could actually say which of you can convict me of sin and not a single person could Because there was no sin in him At all goodness is relative when it comes to human beings, but it is not relative when it comes to god God is not relatively good. God is absolutely good So there is none good. No not one Not a single human being who's ever lived is good, but there is relative goodness And so the bottom line Is our hearts are already naturally bent towards evil We lie And become liars Not because we lied But we are already sinners awaiting opportunity To say something that's not true We are thieves before we steal something We just haven't had an opportunity to take things that we would take if given the opportunity There is sin that is bound up in the heart of every human being. It's called human nature And so we're already naturally bent towards evil romans 8 verses 5 and 6 says Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh But those who live according to the spirit the things of the spirit For to be currently minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace and so As the righteous leads to life So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death When you get saved you pursue the lord you live a life of righteousness And it leads to your eternity with the lord But without christ you will pursue evil and ultimately will receive judgment because of the pursuit and the reality of it being Your nature Those who are of a perverse heart are in abomination to the lord the blameless in their ways are his delight Though they join forces the wicked will not go unpunished, but the posterity of the righteous will be delivered Interestingly in verse 21 it says though they join forces the wicked will not go unpunished teamwork will not overcome the lord The majority vote Doesn't establish righteous rule Psalm 2 is an interesting psalm in verses 1 through 4 It reads why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the lord and against his anointed saying Let us break their bonds in pieces cast away their cords from us He who sits in the heaven shall laugh the lord shall hold them in derision We can join forces and we can oppose the lord But we will not go unpunished verse 21 the posterity of the righteous will be delivered verse 22 This is an interesting one As a ring of gold in a swine snout So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion Ring of gold in a pig's nose What an interesting description that is Okay, what does that mean? When it speaks concerning that ring of gold This is he's he's he's he's he's he's he's he's he's he's he's he's he's he's he's he's looking back to the The nose rings that were worn during his day And you've seen these before it was a ring that actually had a chain It was in the nose and it had a chain that would come down to the To the to the from the nostril the right nostril it would hang down over the mouth Well, this is a picture of a woman Um With no moral judgment no ethical judgment. This is a woman who is physically beautiful, but spiritually unclean, and morally distasteful. Okay, I was thinking about this one today, and I thought, how many beautiful Hollywood type actresses I've seen that are just absolutely breath-takingly beautiful at least in the airbrushed pictures I've seen, but when they open their mouth and they say some of the things that they say, distasteful, distasteful, morally repugnant. Sometimes they'll say things that are just so opposite of what the word of the Lord teaches us. So you see the beautiful woman, and that's a picture Solomon has here, you see a beautiful woman, but she is morally wrong, and that's his point. There are many people who have outward beauty whose hearts are simply not beautiful, and it's inappropriate. In verse 23, the desire of the righteous is only good, but the expectation of the wicked is wrath. The consequences of hope are determined by your moral character. The righteous person's desires are in line with the will of God, and God grants his desire. But the expectation or presumption of the wicked is that God will give them what they want, but instead they receive his wrath because they don't honor him. They only want to use him. Verse 24, there is one who scatters yet increases more. There is one who withholds more than is right. It leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich. He who waters will also be watered himself. What an interesting way to put it as you look at this. There is one who scatters yet increases more. One must sow seed in order to reap any harvest, and the amount of seed that is scattered very often determines the yield that will be reaped. Solomon, when he was writing in the book of Ecclesiastes, said something similar, and he said cast your bread upon the waters and you will find it after many days. So it's a similar thought when in verse 24 here it says there is one who scatters yet increases. There is one who withholds more than is right. It leads to poverty. But scattering and increasing, it's the sowing kind of thing. It's the casting kind of thing. So I was thinking of that today when I was preparing the study, and when he said cast your bread upon the waters, and he said, I'll give you a few days. This is in reference to faithgiving, faith-filled giving. And the point he was making is faith-filled giving has a way of bringing future reward. That the phrase in Ecclesiastes 11-1, casting bread upon the waters, well that gives you the impression that you're actually throwing it away. So giving always requires faith and trust in the Lord's promises to supply your need. And in the end, faith often determines prosperity. Jesus illustrated that in one of his teachings in Luke chapter 6, verse 38. He said, give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you used, it will be measured back to you. And so there's one who scatters yet increases more. Well, Jesus would teach the same thing. Solomon repeats the same sentiment so when Jesus speaks concerning giving, it will be given to you. Notice how he says good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. It's a picture of going to, we have these to the stake to like a farmer's market and you're buying grain or vegetables or whatever or fruit and you bring your basket and you take this basket of bushel and you put the grain in it. And what do you do? Well, you press it down. Why? So you can put more in it and you keep pressing it down and then you will shake it and press it and that's the point he's making there when he says good measure, pressed down. When you give to the Lord and you bring the basket, he gives to you and it's pressed down and running over. So I was thinking, I don't think too many people in our church actually go to farmer's markets with bushel baskets anymore. So how can I illustrate that in another way? You know the Mongolian barbecue? Mongolian barbecue. Some of you know what I'm talking about, right? I like Mongolian barbecue. When I took Marie, my wife, for the first time, they say what kind of meat do you want to give you four kinds of meat in this and I usually take two of the kinds anyway. And they would bring the bowl to you with meat in it and Marie would take it like that and she'll go and she'll put stuff on top of it and sometimes she ever went with me that was many years ago. You know what I do? You give it to me and I put my fist on it and I'll press it down. Like that's what I do. And so the meat will compress and then I can go put on all the toppings and it's just loaded to the top and I press that. That's the picture. Now Marie, she's okay with not getting much. I'm not. I'm going to press it down and shake it. And so I'm that way. So I thought of that when I was reading Luke 638 given it would be given to you good measure, pressed down shaken together, running over. Mongolian barbecue. That makes sense. And the same measure you use will be measured to you. Interesting, huh? So as you give to the Lord there's one who scatters yet increases more. You give to the Lord and he blesses you when you give in faith. Giving to the Lord is always an act of faith. If you give to the Lord with this attitude of just getting that's not an act of faith. That's an act of greed. But when you give to the Lord God honors that because your heart is right and it's always an act of faith because whenever I learned to give to the Lord I realized that that was one of the more tangible realities of an expression of faith that I actually have because it's easy for me to talk about how much I love the Lord. It's easy for me to speak concerning how how the word says this and that but the one area that the Lord took eight years in my life to teach me was in the area of giving. It's not that I didn't but I did on occasion because I didn't believe that the Lord actually would bless and yet it's interesting how Malachi it's the only Scripture where God says test me and see and that's related to your giving to him. He says see if I won't open the windows of heaven and a lot of Christians don't understand that a lot of Christians that is where a lot of Christians fail they don't trust the Lord to provide and so this is one of those promises there is one who scatters yet increases more there is one who withholds more than is right it leads to poverty the generous soul will be made rich and he who waters will also be watered himself the Lord will take care of you the reward that is being provided for by the Lord. In 2nd Corinthians 9 verse 6 to 11 Paul said it like this whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly whoever sows generously will also reap generously each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give not reluctantly or under compulsion God loves a cheerful giver God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things at all times having all that you need you will abound in every good word as it is written he has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor his righteousness endures forever now he who supplies seed to the sower bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness you will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion and through us your generosity will result in Thanksgiving to God verse 26 the people will curse him who withholds grain but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it we understand this if we look at it in this way a hurricane hits gasoline prices skyrocket food supplies reach high prices I was looking up for example hurricane Irma in Florida when the hurricane hit airline prices for tickets to New York went from $358 to $3,358 they gouged $3,000 increases the people will curse him who withholds grain 101 ounces of water went for $64 packs of bottled water reached above $40 some motels tripled their rates overnight and gas prices went to $9.99 a gallon and so the people will curse him who withholds grain blessing will be on the head of him who sells it merchants need a social conscience too is basically what's being said here verse 27 he who earnestly seeks good finds favor but trouble will come to him who seeks evil if you seek the things that are good you will find favor with the Lord as well as others if not you receive consequences from men and ultimately from God himself verse 28 he who trust in his riches will fall the righteous will flourish like foliage they fall because they trusted in uncertain riches in 1 Timothy 6 verse 17 Paul said command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy so when you trust in your riches they're uncertain but on the other hand the righteous flourish like foliage in other words they produce fruit and they're blessed and they grow in the grace of God verse 29 he who troubles his own house will inherit the wind the fool will be servant to the wise of heart when it says inherit the wind it signifies that you well inheriting the wind signifies something that cannot be held you can't hold the wind in your hand so if he mismanages the finances of the home and all he ends up coming into the power of the wise money manager who takes all that he possesses maybe even as he has sold himself as an indentured servant verse 30 the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life he who wins souls is wise I think of Billy Graham even as I read that he who wins souls is wise winning souls you actually capture them through the wisdom of the gospel in Daniel 12 3 those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever and finally if the righteous will be recompensed on the earth how much more the ungodly in the sinner if the righteous are dealt with for their sins here and now how much more will sinners be dealt with in first Peter 4 17 and 18 the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God and if it begins with us first what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God now if the righteous when is scarcely saved where will the ungodly in the sinner appear if the righteous will be recompensed on the earth how much more the ungodly and the sinner