Proverbs 14:14-21

All right. Well, good morning. Good morning. Almost afternoon. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This is where every day you and I, we get together. We get into God's Word and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2021, we'll make it through all the wisdom literature. We are at Proverbs chapter 14, 14 through 21.
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Why don't we go ahead and have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's Word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. It is day you have made, a day that we get to sit at your feet and learn from you, so it is a good day. Father, we pray that as we read your word now, you would bless it to us that we would learn from you and walk in your ways. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, Proverbs chapter 14, beginning at verse 14.
The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above. So the New King James Version here says the backslider, the NIV says the faithless person, right? If you're faithless in your heart, you're not going to be, you're just going to get what you're filling up, right? But if you're faithful to the Lord, If you are diligent about being in his word, he's going to fill you up. And so it says, but a good man will be satisfied from above. So receive the riches that come from following after the Lord.
Verse 15, the simple believes every word, but the prudent considers his steps. Don't believe everything you hear. This is so important. This is, again, a father writing practical wisdom to his son. Hey son, be careful. Backsliding is real. Don't be faithless. Hey, and also don't believe everything you hear, right? You gotta test what you hear. You gotta consider where you go.
Verse 16, a wise man fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident. And so the wise fear and avoid evil. The wise person heeds God's word and takes sin as really sinful and doesn't want to walk in those paths, doesn't sit in the seat of scoffers, nor stand in the way of sinners, but follows after the Lord. His delight is in the law of the Lord. On it, he meditates day and night. So what does the wise person do?
He departs from evil, but a fool rages in his self-confidence. I know what I'm doing. I can do whatever I want. I'm just going to go. That's what the fool does. The wise person is careful how they walk. Verse 17. A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of wicked intentions is hated.
Right? If you're quick to anger, if you're just always ready to fight, always ready to blow, you know? Have you ever seen that movie before? What's it called? Inside Out. The Pixar movie Inside Out. If you haven't, I'd recommend it to you. It's a pretty good movie. I've actually been encouraged lately by some of these children's movies that kind of explore the emotions of children's hearts. Anyway, one of them is inside out and there are different emotions and one of them is anger and he's this little red guy and he's got flames coming out of his head, you know, every time.
A quick-tempered man is a fool. When the red guy is able to quickly take control of the controls, that's how a fool acts. Don't be that. And then what does it say after that? The fool, the simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. All right. So the simple inherit folly, people who will not turn to God's word, will not heed his commands. What are they going to get? They're going to get folly. They're going to get pain. It's going to be hard.
But the prudent is crowned with knowledge. Those who are wise in the things of the Lord, the Lord gives them even. More is what Jesus is talking about when he says those who have who have more will receive even more Verse 19 the evil will bow before the good and the wicked at the gates of the righteous Isn't this true? Right isn't isn't this so true? What what does it say?
It says that The evil will bow before the good. The evil will bow. The evil will bow before the good. And the wicked at the gates of the righteous. This is exactly what Psalm 110 talks about with Jesus Christ being the King of Kings. This is what Philippians is saying, that at the name of Jesus Christ, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Am I not seeing that way today? But Solomon, as he's writing his son, the proverb is saying, hey, the wicked are going to bow. They're going to bow to the righteous. Every knee will confess, or every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends. Isn't that true in this life? And that the poor man is despised, but the rich guy has all sorts of friends. It's amazing when you read stories about people who have won the lottery. They get all this money, they want all this stuff, and now all of a sudden all their friends and family, a lot of the woodworkers who don't talk to them, have nothing to do with them, all of a sudden they want all sorts of stuff, they have all sorts of friends, and the second that money is gone... No more friends. No more friends. Verse 21, he who despises his neighbor sins, but he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he. Don't despise your neighbor, even though they might be poor.
What does Jesus say the second greatest commandment is? That we love our neighbor as ourselves. we love our neighbor. Okay, they're poor, so help them, love them. They're on hard times, care for them, love them. All right, what does it say at the end of that? But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he. It's more blessed to give than to receive. It's better to show love to those who cannot repay.
This is what Jesus did for us. Jesus came And He did not count it somehow a disdain or below Him to come and associate with the poor in spirit. But He comes and He cares for people and He says, come, buy. Buy without money. Come, drink of the living water. You don't have to pay anything for it. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.
Let's pray. Father, we pray. that we might be wise, that we might love you and walk in your ways. We pray that we would be those who would look to you always. Thank you for the love you have shown us and for the hope we have in you, our King, in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, may you rejoice that you worship and serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. May that embolden your heart. May you walk in the wisdom of Jesus Christ. And I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.