(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Okay, thank you, brother. So, obviously, the book of Proverbs is the book of wisdom, and if you look at verse number 5 there, Proverbs chapter 8 verse number 5, it says, O ye simple, understand wisdom, and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. So, I'm not going to be preaching so much on wisdom, yet we're going to touch on, of course, being the book of wisdom, but I want to focus in on the fools, and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. The title for the sermon this afternoon is, Don't Be a Fool. Don't Be a Fool. Now, I did not originally plan to preach this afternoon. I had actually planned to preach a sermon on the Roman Catholic Church, okay, and I was like 60%, 70% through it, and I was vexing my righteous soul, because I'm going, I'm trying to understand why the Roman Catholics believe a certain thing, and I'm trying to debunk that which they believe, but just reading their arguments, just reading their things, I just, I kind of hated the preparation. I hated reading their material. Like I said, it vexed my righteous soul, and I just remember just getting to the point where I'm going through this, like 60% done, right, sermon, and I'm just going, it's so foolish. You know, the stuff they're saying is so foolish, and I didn't want to preach that sermon. I just said, what can I preach on? Oh, on fools then. Let's preach on foolishness. That's a good topic to cover, and so don't be a fool, and look, you know, the fool have said in his heart there is no God. You know, as soon as somebody says they do not believe in God, or they seem to have convinced themselves that, you know, the Bible claims that person to be a fool. You know, we go door-to-door soul-winning. How many people do we talk to that say, well, I don't believe there is a God? As soon as someone says that, they think they sound intelligent. They think they sound like someone full of wisdom. God calls them a fool, okay. As soon as I'm with that person, I know just by what you said, you are a fool. It's going to take longer. I'm going to have to put more effort in to try to preach you the gospel, because you're starting from a position of foolishness, okay. Now, it's easy to preach against the fool, the unbelieving fool. It's easy to preach against the fool who does not believe in God, but as I'm going through this, you know, this is a book for us, okay. And the book of Proverbs is telling us, look, don't be a fool. You know, gain wisdom. Get wisdom. It's something the Lord definitely wants us to get. And so, you know, I think when I was thinking about, you know, would we consider ourselves fools? I think it's difficult for somebody to admit, even a Christian, to admit that they are foolish or they are a fool. And so I thought, hey, let's go through the book of Proverbs. Let's see, and I'm not going to go through every verse, of course, but we're going to go through several verses on being a fool. And let's see whether, now it's up to you, you self examine, you know, you examine yourself, you determine whether you're a fool, whether you have some foolish tendencies. And if you do, you need to fix that. You need to get that foolishness out of your life. So we're going to start off there and we're going to just focus on the book of Proverbs there. So let's go to Proverbs chapter one, verse number seven. Proverbs chapter one, verse number seven. Let's first learn what the characteristics of a fool are. Maybe you have some of these characteristics. And if you do, the Bible's calling you a fool. Okay. So this is something we need to change in our lives. Proverbs chapter one, verse seven says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. So characteristic number one of a fool is someone that despise wisdom and instruction. Okay. Do you like being told what to do? You know, some people don't like that. You know, some people don't like their boss to tell them, hey, I need you to do this on the job. I need you to do it this way. And they despise instruction. They despise knowledge. Hey, that's the attitude. That's the characteristic of a fool. Hey, when you listen to God's word and you pay attention and it says, do it this way. Hey, and you hate that. Hey, that's the characteristic of a fool. Drop down to verse number 22. Verse number 22. How long ye simple ones. Say, when the Bible says simple ones, it's saying, it's basically stupid. All right. Someone that does not know much. Ye simple ones. How long ye simple ones? Will you love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge. You know what we ought to be as Christians? People that want to gain more knowledge. We want to be people that learn instruction, that gain wisdom. If you are someone that hates this, hey, maybe it's mom and dad giving you wisdom, giving you instruction. You hate that information. I don't want to hear that. That's the attitude of a fool. Okay. Don't be a fool is a total of the sermon this afternoon. Please go to Proverbs chapter nine. Let's have a look at another characteristic of a fool. Proverbs chapter nine, verse 13. Proverbs chapter nine and verse number 13. So this one's for the ladies. Okay. This one's for the ladies. It says in Proverbs nine, 13, a foolish woman is clamorous. She's simple and knoweth nothing. I don't want any ladies in this church to be a foolish woman. It says she's simple and knoweth nothing. Now it says she's clamorous. What kind of thought do you get when you think of the word clamorous? Okay. Well, I kind of think of a drum kit. You know, someone's playing a drum. The drums is bang, bang. That's kind of being clamorous. It's a loud voice. Okay. But if you look up the definition of clamorous, it is being vigorous in demands or complaints. You know, if you are married to a woman who's always demanding things, always complaining about the situation she's in, the Bible calls her a foolish woman. The Bible calls her clamorous. What else is in that definition? A loud uproar of clamorous. This is clamorous, a vehement expression of desire or dissatisfaction. So I need everybody to know that I'm dissatisfied. You know, there's some ladies that you just know they're not happy. Whatever it is, they want people to know they aren't happy. Hey, that's a clamorous, foolish woman. Okay. And then it says there, she is simple and knoweth nothing. Okay. So the clamorous woman tries to convey the idea that she is knowledgeable, that she has a wisdom, and that's why she's loud. That's why she's boisterous. That's why she's always, that's wrong and that's wrong. And you know, I'm not satisfied. You need to give me this or you need to do that. Hey, but the Bible's telling us she's simple. The Bible's telling us she's stupid. It says she knoweth nothing. The reason why she's clamorous and loud and complaining, according to the Bible, not according to Pastor Kevin. Alright, now if ladies, this is you, then you need to take care of this. God is telling you, you know nothing. God is telling you, you are simple. This is the characteristic of a foolish woman. Okay, let's keep going. Go to Proverbs chapter 10, verse number 18. Proverbs chapter 10, verse 18. What else is another characteristic of a foolish person? It says, he that hideth hatred with lion lips, and he that uttereth a slander is a fool. Who's a fool? The backstabber. Okay, so the backstabber does not like somebody, you know. The backstabber has hatred towards someone, but they cover that hatred with lion lips. They pretend to be the best friend of this person. I love so-and-so, you know, but really they hate that person. You know, they pretend to love that person, but really they're backstabbing, because it then says, he that uttereth a slander is a fool. And so they pretend on the outside to be friendly and love so-and-so, but really, behind the scenes, behind their backs, they are uttering slander. What is, what is slander? It's basically bringing dishonor, attacking someone's good reputation by false accusation. Okay, trying to destroy someone's reputation, pretending on the outside, lying to them, lion lips, I love you, backstabbing that person. Hey, that person is a fool, is a fool. Listen, if you have problems with somebody, go to that person and talk about it. Sort it out. Okay, don't just pretend it's all wonderful and then go to other people and tell, you know, gossip about them, backstab them. Hey, that is the characteristic of a fool, the backstabber, the gossiper. Drop down to verse number 23. What's another characteristic of a fool? Verse number 23, it says, it is sport to a fool to do mischief, but a man of understanding hath wisdom. And so the fool enjoys mischief. Okay, they like to stir the pot. Have you heard that saying before? They like to stir the pot and just see what happens. Ah man, I've worked with people like that. It's like, I used to just call them the pot stirrer. Like there's all these, you know, people, there would be problems, people would argue in and the one that's quiet, I just knew that person was responsible for this. That person stirred the pot. That person purposely tried to cause conflict, tries to cause mischief, you know, and that person is a fool. So mischief is the tendency or disposition to tease, vex or annoy. Okay, now I want my children to pay attention here because and others, you know, others that have brothers and sisters, you know how much you love to tease each other to annoy, right, to push the buttons of your siblings and see how they react. Hey, you know what, that's the character of a fool, of a fool. I know we can laugh at it, but actually it's foolishness. Okay, maybe we should save that part of the sermon for the kids' sermon coming up on Wednesday. All right, but hey, you've been annoying and here's the thing about these people that are mischievous though. They do that, but they do it in the form, so mischief is kind of like causing harm or trouble through an agent. So they're the ones that are causing the trouble, but they do it for somebody else or for some other means. So they look like they come out clean. Well, I didn't do that. Yeah, but you caused that to happen, okay, through some other avenue, right, like I said, the backstabber, right, you tell somebody bad things about somebody else, that person then gets angry at them, but hey, you come out clean, hey, well, I didn't cause that, that was between them. No, you're the one that actually caused that. You're the one that showed the mischief, okay, mischief. It says it is a sport to a fool, you know, sport is something you enjoy. Hey, they love it. They love causing mischief. They love causing drama, you know, that is a fool. Please go to Proverbs chapter 12 verse 15. Proverbs chapter 12 verse 15. I hope as you're thinking about this, you're not thinking about others, I hope you're thinking about yourself, okay, thinking of yourself. Do I have foolish tendencies? Proverbs chapter 12 verse 15, it says, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he that harkeneth unto counsel is wise. So what's the next characteristic of a fool? He believes he's always right, always right. You know, if that person has an argument with someone else, it's always that other person's fault. It's never my fault. I always, I didn't do anything. It wasn't my fault. I'm right. My opinion is right. Their opinion is wrong. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what you bring to the table, no matter what facts you show them, no matter how you try to cause them to look at something another way, they are always right. I despise people that just think they're always right. They always have the right answer. You know what, when I talk to somebody, and I ask questions, I want to know what you think, you know, especially if you're, let's say, you know, your job is in a certain field, and I know you have more knowledge in that area. I'll ask you because I'm trying to learn what you have to say. I want to, hey, I'm not always right, I'm wrong. I want to hear what other people have to say. But you've got the, you know, the foolish one. They think they know everything about every topic. You know, no matter what Bible verse you show them, I know the right answer. I know everyone else is wrong. No, that person is a fool. They cannot, they cannot learn. They can, they think every answer is right according to them, okay. Proverbs 12, if you go to, I'll just read another one to you. Proverbs 14, 16. I'll just read it to you. It says, a wise man feareth and departed from evil, but the fool rageth and is confident, is confident. The foolish person is very confident. Like I said, they think they are always right, okay. And they are unmovable from that position. Can you please go to Proverbs 12, 16. Proverbs 12, 16. What's another characteristic of a fool? Proverbs 12, 16. It says, a fool's wrath is presently known, but a prudent man covereth shame. So this is a fool's wrath. That's the anger, is presently known. You know, if you're someone of a quick temper, you lose your temper, okay. You get angry quickly. You are a fool. That is the characteristic of a fool. It says, a fool's wrath is presently known. As soon as they get upset about something, presently, immediately, they're angry. Everybody knows it's presently known. Everybody knows that person has gotten upset and gotten angry. No, that's not the characteristic of God. The Bible tells us God is slow to wrath. God is slow to anger. Hey, we are commanded to be slow to anger, okay. But no, the fool gets angry. Everybody knows. It's presently known. Everybody knows this person has lost their temper. Hey, that is the characteristic of a fool. It says there, but a prudent man covereth shame, okay. So the prudent man does not bring shame upon himself by getting angry so quickly. You know, the prudent man will consider, will think about this, will meditate on it. And you know, yes, it's nothing rough and wrong with getting angry. Hey, but he takes his time, okay, before he judges the situation. Is this something that I ought to get angry about or is it not, okay. But the fool loses their temper. They've got a quick temper. Please drop down to verse number 23. And what it's saying there is, because it's comparing the prudent man, it's saying if you lose your temper quickly, okay, that is a shameful thing. That's a shameful thing. But anyway, Proverbs 12 23, Proverbs 12 23 says, a prudent man concealeth knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness. So how do you know a fool? Do they speak foolishly? Do they proclaim foolishness? Do they say stupid things? Okay. And if you're someone that's known to just say stupid things all the time, hey, that is the characteristic of a fool, the fool, okay. Now look at the first part of that verse. A prudent man concealeth knowledge. That's not saying that you hide knowledge. It's not that you hide knowledge, okay. But listen, the prudent man, if you're going to pass on knowledge, you do it a little bit at a time, right? You help someone grow, you get them grounded on some foundational things, and you build from that line upon line, you know, precept upon precept, that would be a wise or prudent man, right? Concealing knowledge. He doesn't let it all out. It's not like, hey, I'm the widest man on the earth. I'm going to tell you everything that I know. That's not his character. But the foolish is like, yeah, I'm going to tell you everything that I know. I've got all of this knowledge. But all that knowledge is foolishness. It's all stupid things. They can't help but, you know, not stop their mouths from saying stupid things. That is a characteristic of a fool. Please go to Proverbs 15 now. Proverbs 15 verse 14. Again, brethren, please, is this you? Don't worry about so and so. Don't be like, I know sister so and so. I know brother so and so. No. I know pastor. No. Think about yourself right now, right? Think about yourself. Do you have these characteristics of a fool? Proverbs 15, 14. Not only does the foolish say stupid things, but he feeds on stupid things. Okay? He feeds on stupid things. Proverbs 15 verse 14 says, the heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge. That's where you want to be. But the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness. No wonder they're always talking about stupid things. Because their desire, what they enjoy, what they feed on, is foolishness. That's why. Okay? But no, we ought to be people that seek understanding, that seek knowledge, right? That's where we ought to be. Not seeking foolish things. Please go to Proverbs 14, back to Proverbs 14 verse number 3. Proverbs 14 verse number 3. I like the next one here. Proverbs 14 verse 3. It says, in the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride. Now what's a rod? That's the rod of correction, right? When you need to correct somebody. Okay? In the mouth of the foolish, they've got a rod, but it's a rod of pride. But the lips of the wise shall preserve them. Okay? So what is this telling us? Okay? That a foolish person is prideful in correcting others. You know, they desire to correct someone with that rod. Okay? But that rod, and look, there's nothing wrong. Parents, you know, use the rod on your children, you know, to teach them, to discipline your children. But the foolish also wants to use a rod, a rod of their mouth, but it's a rod of pride. Okay? A rod of pride. What am I, what are you talking about here, Pastor Kevin? Well, have you ever had somebody come up to you and say, you know, can I ask you a question? Let's say, let's say me with a bunch of kids, right? Let's say, and I don't know, doesn't really happen that much, but anyway, you know, someone comes up and says, let's say, goes to Christina, my wife, and says, can you tell me how you, I don't know, you know, with the little ones, how you breastfeed? What's, what's your, what's, how do you breastfeed the little ones? Right? And you think that person's trying to ask you a question. So then you give a response, but then the foolish will say, well, that's a bad idea. You know, what you, what you really should be doing, the right way to breastfeed is blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's like, why did you ask me? Why did you ask? Now that, look, that happens a lot. Why? And that's how I learned how to respond. Okay, you can do it that way. But why did you ask? Didn't you ask so you could learn something? Isn't that why you go and ask somebody a question? Look, if I go and ask you a question, I'm not trying to trip you up. I'm just seeking clarity. I'm just seeking to know where you're coming from. Or maybe you have information that I don't have. So I want to attain some of that information that you do have. I'm not there to ask you a question and then shoot you down with my response. Because really what that foolish person wants is for you to be asking what they do. They are full of pride. They think, again, that they are always right. Okay. You know, how old is your, I don't know, I'm just thinking parenting right now, you know, how old is your, you know, your child? Oh, he's not walking yet. My child started walking when he was nine months old. Pride. Pride. Okay. And you're trying to knock someone down with that rod of pride. Right. And this is why, you know, one thing that I preach, because this happens in every church. I don't want this in this church. I have some level of control in this church. Okay. And I don't want to see that prideful attitude. I know better than you. Listen, okay, maybe you know better than me. And when I need that information, I'll come to you and ask. Okay. I'll come to you and ask. You don't have to show me how prideful you are and tell me everything that you know. Okay. And this is why I'm always very careful to preach. Families. That's your sphere of influence. Dads. Your wives are under your authority. Train your children. That's your focus. Not other families. Not other children. Not other wives. That's their sphere of influence. Okay. It's not for you to go to someone else and say, you need to live like this. Okay. The Bible gives us guidelines. Okay. But it doesn't tell us what to have for breakfast. It doesn't tell us what time to wake up in the morning. It doesn't tell us every little detail in life. If God doesn't do that to us, then you don't do it to another person. That's prideful. Whatever it is in life. Okay. That's the attitude of the prideful. I love asking that question. Why did you ask? Because the prideful, the foolish, don't know how to answer that question. When you ask, why did you ask? Like, I don't mind you having that opinion. I don't mind you thinking that way. But why did you ask us? If you're just going to shoot down our answer. That makes no sense. It sounds like all your desire was to shoot somebody down. Was to use that rod of correction, correct others through your pride. Look, drop down to verse number nine. Proverbs chapter 14, verse nine. What's another characteristic of a fool? It says here, fools make a mock at sin, but among the righteous there is favour. Fools make a mock at sin. They make a mockery at sin. So the fool will do something sinful and be like, oh, well, that's nothing. Right? The kid does something sinful. You know, parents, you know, you ask your kids, can you come here? And they don't obey you. Can you do this? They don't obey you. Children. That's making a mockery of sin. Children are required to obey their parents. It's not funny. If you laugh at them, all you're saying, hey, it's entertaining to sin. How can you expect your children to grow up respecting authority? If you've just laughed at them, you made mockery of sin. Or you're sitting in the church and the pastor preaches and touches on your sin. Oh, what does the pastor know? What does the preacher know? You know, they touch on your sin. You get offended. Oh, nothing like that. You know, you make a mockery. What does he know? You make a mockery at sin with that kind of attitude. Okay? Mockery at sin. This is the behaviour of a fool. Can you drop down to verse number 17? Proverbs 17. Not verse 17, sorry, chapter 17. Proverbs chapter 17. Proverbs chapter 17. Verse 24. Proverbs 17, verse 24. Again, consider yourself, brethren. Proverbs 17. I think all of us have some foolishness in us. The Bible says the thought of foolishness is sin. The thought of foolishness. I'm sure we all have foolish thoughts from time to time. Okay? This is not a sermon to think about somebody else. Think of yourself. Think of your family. Okay? This is about you. Alright? Proverbs 17, verse 24. What else does it say here? It says wisdom is before him that have understanding. So let's just stop there for a minute. Wisdom is before him. So the one that has understanding, the one that wants to gain knowledge and know the Lord more, he'll have it before him. It'll be close proximity. He's desiring to learn something. That's what I mean. When it's before him, it's kind of in front of him. Right? So what's the foolish like? It says, but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth. What is that about? It's the daydreamer, the head in the clouds person. Right? And, you know, I feel bad using my kids. I don't like because my kids get upset with me when I use them as an example. But I won't name the names. Okay, I won't name the names. But you know, some children when they've been homeschooled, some are more studious than others. Right? All kids are different. Right? They all learn differently. There are some kids, you just put a textbook in front of them and say, look, you need to complete this chapter. They'll be focused just like that first bit. Right? Wisdom is before him that have understanding. Get the job done. All right, I've got to get this done. I've got this time. I want to get it done quickly because I want to have fun afterwards. Then you have the other kids. You know, you go and check, you know, have you done your chapter? Just like this. Have you done the work? Oh, I was waiting for you to come and tell me what to do. I've already explained it to you. Hey, head in the clouds, daydreaming. Hey, that is the characteristic of a fool. They're at the end. You know, instead of it being something close by, right, they're focused about the ends of the earth, how far, you know. And this, I think about also people that, and I'm sure we all know people like this. It's like, they'll say, you know, next year, I'm going to knuckle down. I'm fine. I'm going to knuckle down next year. I'm going to, you know, get my studies. I'm going to get a job. I'm going to do this. Next year rolls around. They're back in the same place. You know, it's always in the future. You know, it's just within grass there in the future. I'll be doing this. I'll be doing that. I'm going to be earning this much money. I'm going to be serving God. You know, I'm going to, man, I'm going to focus and I'm going to just do, no. Within a few weeks, they're back to their old ways. You know, it's like, do you ever accomplish anything? Do you get anything done? They don't get anything done. All right. And then they're 30 years old, they're 40 years old, they're 50 years old. They've not accomplished anything in life. You know why? Because they're daydreamers. Okay. They're not focused on the here and now. They're focused on the ends of the earth. Now, if you were to take a much more literal view of this, I'm just thinking about the flat earthers. All right. Aren't the flat earthers focused on the ends of the earth? Like, you know, let's go to the ends of the earth. That thought, I mean, I know that's not what it's about. We're taking a figurative view, but just a literal view of that. You know, people that are focused on the ends of the earth, this is a thought of foolishness. Okay. We need to be focused on the here and the now, not on the ends of the earth. All right. Let's go to Proverbs 18. Proverbs 18 verse two. Proverbs 18 verse two. It says, a fool have no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. Okay. What is that telling us? That the fool makes decisions based on emotions. Okay. So he doesn't have delight in understanding. When he makes a decision, it's not logical, it's not factual, it's not grounded on something solid. It's about his heart. All right. It's about his heart. It says that, but the heart may discover itself. You know, so the thought there is, you know, follow your heart. You know, mom, should I marry this person? Dad, should I marry this person? What does your heart tell you? What? The Bible says the heart is desperately wicked. You know, it's, you know, people that make decisions on emotions. Hey, that's, that's, that's a characteristic of a fool. You know, when you make decisions, make sure you make decisions with understanding. You thought through the scenarios you've brought, you know, you've thought it through logically. That's when you make decisions. The foolish were just his heart, which is desperately wicked. So the decisions are going to be desperately wicked, right? Because they're following after their heart. Isn't that what Hollywood tells you? Do what your heart tells you, follow after your heart. Of course, that's why Hollywood is filled with perverts and wicked people. It's because they are following their wicked, wicked heart. I'll just read another passage in Proverbs 28, 26. I'll just read it to you. It says, he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool, but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. So he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. Proverbs 28, 26. Can you please go to Proverbs 18? I think you're there already. Verse number six. Proverbs 18 verse six. It says, a fool's lips enter into contention, but his mouth calleth, sorry, and his mouth calleth for strokes. So the next characteristic of a fool is they seek contention. They seek to fight. They seek to, look, it says that, what does it say? The fool's lips enter into contention. So there's already contention somewhere. I want to get into that. That's what I like. Hey, that's the characteristic of a fool. To get into arguments that do not belong to you, and his mouth calleth for strokes. Strokes is the act of striking. Okay, so the fool is like, yeah, okay, yeah, you know, you've seen these, you know, people, I don't know if you've seen people like this, right? I've seen this in high school. Yeah, go ahead, punch me, you know? Fight me, come, come fight me. Yeah, you know, that's a fool. They're trying to show how tough they are, trying to show how, you know, they think that they're all that. If I would cause that person who's calling for strokes for fighting, that's a fool. Okay, the person that gets himself into contention is a fool. Okay, so this is just some, I'm sure there are others, you can go through the problem yourself to look at the characteristics of a fool. But now that we've seen some of the characteristics, and I hope, I hope you can be honest enough and say, look, some of that is me. I hope you can be honest enough. So let's now look at the consequences. What are the consequences of being a fool? Now let's go back to Proverbs chapter 3. I'm trying to work our way through the book so it's easy, right, chapter by chapter. But Proverbs chapter 3 verse 35, please. What are the consequences of being a fool? We've seen what fools are like, okay, but what are the consequences? Proverbs chapter 3 verse 35 says, the wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the promotion of fools. Shame. Okay, so shame is the consequence. You know, you're going to live a shameful life. You know, people will look at you and say, hey, that fool, boy, that person brought a lot of shame, shame onto his life, shame on his family, shame for his reputation. You'll be ashamed if you act like a fool. And brethren, if you have any of these foolish tendencies, you better change it. You don't want to bring shame upon yourself. Go to Proverbs chapter 7, Proverbs 7 verse 22. Proverbs 7 22. Proverbs 7 22. It says, he goeth after her straight way, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks. Okay, so do you guys know what stocks are? You know, it's basically, it's kind of like being detained. You know, the stocks, you know, you might get your hands in stocks. Some of the Bible characters were put in stocks as well, their feet were put in stocks, they were, they couldn't move. Okay, and sometimes stocks is taken not just in a place of imprisonment, okay. Yeah, you can be thrown into a cell, a jail cell, and you can be put into stocks. But you know, what's been used throughout history as well, is a public humiliation, where they would take some criminal, take some someone that's done something stupid, right, they put into stocks, you know, out in the open in the hot sun, and people walk by and they're just publicly humiliated, you know. But I was telling us, this is one of the consequences of being a fool, you know, you'll be arrested, detained for acting foolishly, or just publicly humiliated, okay. You know, again, destroying your reputation with others. These are the consequences of being a fool. Please go to Proverbs 10. Proverbs 10, verse 8. Proverbs 10, verse 8. It says, the wise in heart will receive commandments, but a prattin' fool shall fall. A prattin' fool shall fall. The other consequence of being a fool is that you will ruin your life. You know, you will take a great fall, okay. You will ruin your life. Drop down to verse number 14, same chapter. It says, wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. Near destruction, okay. So yeah, you say foolish things, but you're near to be destroyed, right. If you act upon those foolish things, you continue down that foolish path, you're going to destroy yourself, you're going to ruin your life, you're going to take a great fall. Brethren, we've got to be careful, especially as Christians, as ambassadors of the Lord, you know, as people that take the name of Christ and proclaim His truth. We cannot afford to be foolish. We cannot afford to destroy our lives. There are so few people living for Jesus, so few people preaching the gospel. We cannot afford anyone in this church to act like a fool, to be a fool, to destroy your life, ruin your life, ruin your testimony. We need you guys. You know, all of us are soldiers fighting in this war that Jesus Christ has put us in, this spiritual warfare. We need to fight, not just fall in the ditch, all right. Drop down to verse number 21. Proverbs 10, 21. Proverbs 10, 21. It says, the lips of the righteous feed many. So the righteous person can speak and a lot of people benefit from that person's speech. But then it says here, but fools die for want of wisdom. But fools die for want of wisdom. The other consequence of being a fool is that the fool will suffer an early death. He'll suffer an early death. Now, let's read that carefully. The second part of it says, but fools die for want of wisdom. That's not saying that when the fool dies, he wanted wisdom. I want wisdom so much that we already saw the fool hates wisdom. It's not saying he dies because he wanted wisdom. He dies because he had a lack of wisdom. That's what it's saying, right? You know, he didn't have the wisdom. If he had the wisdom, he would have preserved his life instead of dying early, right? But the righteous, the lips of the righteous feed many. How do you want to go down to the great brethren? How do you want your family, your friends to remember you when you pass away? Do you want to be remembered as someone who bestowed great wisdom, great instruction? Hey, you were a blessing to others, others fed from your words. Or do you want to be remembered as, well, he died, he died early because he was stupid. Why did he do that? You know, why did he drink and drive? If he just didn't drink that alcohol, he would have still been with us today. Hey, that's how the foolish die. The lack of wisdom, the wants of wisdom. He didn't have it. You can suffer an early death. That's pretty scary to think about that. Lack of wisdom. And of course, you know, I'll target the children again. This is why your parents are strict. This is why your parents tell you this is allowed and this is not allowed. They're trying to preserve your life. Okay, you know, don't go up there. It's too high because your parents know if you just take a stumble, you'll fall and you'll hurt yourself. You know, you might, yeah, lose your life early or you might cause damage that you're going to suffer with the rest of your life. You know, your parents are looking out for your best. You know, don't be a fool. Don't die early or ruin the quality of your life by being disobedient to your parents. Please go to Proverbs 11. Proverbs 11 verse 29. Proverbs 11 29. It says, he that troubleth his own house, of course his own house speaking about his family, he that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. What is that saying? So the foolish person troubles his own house, right? What this is saying is he's disliked by his family. Now, I don't know if you've got something like that in your family or extended family. Like that person, he's the black sheep. Nobody likes him. Why does nobody like him? Because he's a fool. That's why he's a fool. You know, it says that he troubleth his own house. All he, he's not a blessing to the family. He doesn't look out for his family. He's a hindrance. He causes problems. You know, he's always attacking people in the family. Hey, you're disliked by the family because you're a fool. That's one of the consequences. And it says here, he that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind. So normally, parents give their children some inheritance. But the foolish person, they're so disliked, right? The parents say, you know what? He doesn't even deserve an inheritance. He's just going to inherit the wind. Right? He doesn't get any possessions. He doesn't get anything from a bank account. When we sell everything, he doesn't get anything because we know he's just going to destroy his life. We know he's just going to take it and waste it. So why give it to him? He just inherits wind. He's disliked by his family. Right? Loss of inheritance, disliked by the family. That's another consequence of being a fool. And like I said, yeah, maybe they won't inherit it because like the parents realize or the family realizes he's going to be wasteful. And that's another thing that I have here. Please go to Proverbs 21 now. Proverbs 21 verse 20. Proverbs chapter 21 and verse 20. Proverbs 21 verse 20. It says, there is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise. Okay? But a foolish man spendeth it up. Okay? What is that saying? That the wise person will make sure there's treasure. There's oil. Okay? There's possessions. There's a bit of savings. Right? The wise person will make sure, you know, that they save up. They're not wasteful. But the foolish man spendeth it up. Okay? He's unwise with his possessions. He's unwise with a bank account. Right? No matter what inheritance he inherits it, it's gone. Okay? No matter what he does, he doesn't know how to look after his things. He doesn't know how to manage possessions. He wastes it. Right? It's gone. He'll buy the iPhone. What's the iPhone now? X10? I don't know what it is anymore. 11 now. Next year he'll buy the iPhone 12. The 11's in the bin. The year after that 12's in the bin. He's got the 13. He just spends it all up. He's got nothing left. Okay? That's the consequence of being a fool. You got nothing. You got nothing to show. You know? You got nothing to appreciate. Nothing to enjoy. He's wasteful. Alright? Go to Proverbs 14 now. Back to Proverbs 14 and verse number 1. Proverbs 14 verse number 1. Every wise woman buildeth her house. Hey, that's awesome. That's a great title. Every wise woman buildeth her house. Right? Her house, again, the family. Not talking about the bricks and mortar. She's not building a second story on top. Alright? She's looking after the wellbeing of her house. Right? She's a help to her husband. She loves her children. She's training and teaching the Bible to her family. Right? She's a wise woman building her house. But then it says but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. She destroys her own family. Okay? So the next consequence is the broken home. The broken home is a consequence of foolishness, of a foolish person. You know, that's a wife that does not honour her husband, does not respect the authority of her husband. Right? That's a wife that tells the children, don't listen to dad. Just listen to me. Don't listen to dad. Hey, that's a foolish person. You're destroying your house. You're making it a broken home. Okay? And so these are the consequences. You're going to be left with a house that's destroyed. So we've seen the characteristics, some of them. We've seen some of the consequences. I don't think any of us want to die young. I don't think any of us want our families to be broken apart. I think all of us want to have some savings and some things that we look after and have something. Alright? You know, I think we all, you know, want to, what else was there? You know, I can't remember right now, but you know, I'm sure we've gone through this. I'm sure we don't want to be fools, is what I'm trying to say. Right? I'm sure we don't want to be fools. We want to be the wise. So as I said, the title for the sermon this afternoon is, don't be a fool. So let's have a look at how we can avoid that. If you have any of these things brethren, don't be a fool. Let's overcome these foolish behaviours that we have. So please go to Proverbs chapter nine for me. Proverbs chapter nine verse six. So let's get some advice from the book of Proverbs. Okay? Proverbs chapter nine verse number six. The Bible says forsake the foolish and live. Right? And live. And go in the way of understanding. Okay? Whatever it is that you have that is foolishness. You know, foolish television shows. Foolish entertainment. Foolish friends. Foolish books. Whatever it is brethren, it says there, forsake the foolish. Get rid of the foolish things in your life and live. Okay? So it's saying here, if you hold on to foolish things, you're not going to be able to live properly. Like I said, you may lose your life early or you don't have a good quality of life. Okay? God wants us to live. He wants us to enjoy life. But the way we enjoy life is to get rid of the foolishness. Alright? And go in the way of understanding. Start to learn. Okay? Start to gain understanding. Gain knowledge. Go to Proverbs 13. Proverbs 13 verse 20. Proverbs 13 verse 20. You know, when I was a teenager in high school, I had a lot of foolish friends. In fact, if I'm honest, I was probably one of those foolish friends as well. Okay? But as you get older, your time for friendships are limited. Okay? You don't have, you know, six hours in school to make friends with everybody. Okay? As you grow in life, you've got to work, you've got to have family, get married, have your own kids. You're responsible. It all changes. The world changes around you, right? And so, kind of a natural process is that you've got to start choosing who are the people that I want to hang around with? Who are the people I want to be? Hopefully, the foolish ones get dropped off. Hopefully, as you mature and grow, those that remain foolish, they're the ones that, you know, you no longer hang around with. What it says there in Proverbs 13 verse 20, he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Listen, if you've got foolish friends, I don't know what kind of friends you all have. If you've got a foolish friend, you know what? Stop hanging around that person. You're going to be destroyed. All right? They might be the one that leads you into destruction. So what do you have to do? You have to walk with wise men, and you'll be wise. You say, I'm not very good at learning things. Well, get some wise people around you. You know, come to church. I'm not the one that's wise, but the Word of God has a lot of wisdom. All right? We're learning things from God's Word. This is where wisdom is. You've got to be a place where you can be around others that are seeking wisdom or are wise themselves. You've got to make new friends, is what I'm trying to say. People that have wisdom. Go to Proverbs 14 verse 7. Proverbs 14 verse 7. The Bible says, go from the presence of a foolish man. Go from his presence. Don't hang around him. When thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge. That's how you know. This person doesn't speak of knowledge. This person speaks foolish things. Well, what does God command of you? You know, he says, go from his presence. Get away from foolish people. Okay? Get away from foolish people. They're going to destroy your life. Now, please go to Proverbs chapter 30. I read a few passages just to show you how many times. Get rid of the foolishness. Get rid of the foolish people that are around you. Get rid of foolish friends. Get rid of foolish companions. And this is something the Bible drills into us. Proverbs 30 verse 32. This one's a good one. This one's easy. It might be hard to put away your foolish friends because you might hurt relationships and all that kind of stuff, right? But this one's easy. This one's really easy. Okay? Proverbs 30 verse 32. If thou, so this is wrong to you, if thou has done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou has thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth. Do this. Shut up. Stop talking. If you're a fool, just stop talking. And if you have to put your hand over your mouth, that's what you got to do. That's easy. We can all do that, can't we? Just shut up. Okay? Now, God puts it in a nicer way, but that's what he's saying. Stop talking. Okay? Stop talking. Stop being foolish. In other words, start listening. Instead of you, you know, conveying foolishness, start listening to wisdom, right? Now, go to Proverbs 17 verse 28. Proverbs 17 verse 28. Just in case you say, Pastor Kevin, I think you're misinterpreting that passage. You know, would God surely say shut up? Well, let's have a look at it. Proverbs 17 verse 28. Proverbs 17 verse 28. Now again, if this is you, if you're a fool, okay, it says in Proverbs 17 28, even a fool, okay, when he holdeth his peace, when he doesn't talk, is counted wise. Boy, you know what, if you're a fool right now, someone will consider you wise right now, brethren, if you just stop talking. Okay? If you just hold your tongue. People say, wow, you know, he's not saying foolish things. He must be deep in some serious wise thoughts. That's what's going in the thoughts of others, right? You're counted wise for not saying stupid things. Let's keep going. And he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Yeah, shut up. Let people, let people think you're wise. Let people think you're a person of understanding. Just stop talking. Okay? That's, that's a good thing to do. That's, you know, sometimes I'm around other people, and they're talking, I might go quiet. There's several reasons for it. Number one, I'm trying to learn from somebody else. Number two, if I speak, and I'm going to say something stupid, I'd rather than think well of me, I'd rather than think that I know what I'm talking about, I'm thinking about to convey how foolish I am. Okay, so this is easy. Anybody can do this. Anybody can shut their mouths. And you can see, you know, this is a legitimate way to overcome foolishness, right? Proverbs chapter eight, please. Proverbs chapter eight, verse five. Proverbs chapter eight, verse number five. And this is the verse that I started with, just a reminder here. Oh ye simple, understand wisdom. Oh ye fools, be of an understanding heart. So you got to change your, what's the word I'm looking for? Behavior, you know, you got to just take the view, you know what, I need understanding. I need to learn. I need to stop. I need to stop mucking around. I got to stop being foolish. I got to stop hanging around foolish people, and I just got to start understanding. You got to make a decision, a conscious decision. I need to stop being foolish. I need to stop being childish, and I need to start to learn and understand, okay? Now I think one reason why people feel that they cannot get understanding is they think it requires a lot of work. And yes, it does require work, okay? But you know, God has made it actually easy. It's easy work, is what I'm trying to say. It does require work. It does require diligence, but it's not complicated. It's quite easy to gain understanding. Please go to James chapter one for me. James chapter one. We're going to end on that passage. You go to James chapter one, and I'm going to read to you from 1 Kings chapter three. So we know the book of Proverbs is the book of wisdom. We also know that King Solomon is the one that wrote the book of Proverbs, okay? Either all of them, or at least a great majority of that book was written by King Solomon. And let me just read a portion to you from Solomon, okay? In 1 Kings chapter three, verse nine, you may recall the story that God basically, you know, King Solomon comes into the throne, takes over from King David, his father, and the Lord asks him, hey, what do you want? You know, and King Solomon could have asked for anything. He could have asked for wealth. He could have asked for popularity. He could have asked for anything, right? And this is what King Solomon says in 1 Kings chapter three, verse nine. King Solomon says to God, give therefore thy servant and understanding heart to judge thy people. He says, Lord, I need understanding, okay? I need understanding that I may discern between good and bad for who is able to judge this, thy so great a people, okay? So he recognizes his faults. He says, Lord, I've got foolish ideas. I need understanding. I need to judge your people. You need to give me that understanding. You need to give me that wisdom. And then in verse number 10, it says, and the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. So Brevin, you want to gain wisdom? You want to stop being foolish? It's not complicated. God, give me understanding. You bow your head. You go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, give me wisdom. In fact, when you wake up in the morning, I always encourage you to read your Bible first. Before you read your Bible, just bow your head. Lord, give me understanding. Give me wisdom. I'm about to read this chapter. It's a complicated one, Lord. I haven't understood it before. Please give me wisdom. Give me understanding. That's what King David did. And then he wrote the book of Proverbs, okay? The Lord can make you wise. You say, well, you know, King Solomon was lucky. He had this innate knowledge. It's all here. It's all here. We've got all the Proverbs, okay? We went through many of them, okay? And they're great. And there are many more to go through. We've got all the word. It's right here. It's laid out here. It requires a little bit of work, but it's easy. You already have it. And you can just go to God and ask Him for it, right? You're in James chapter 1, verse 5. James chapter 1, verse 5. I'll end on this one. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him. What a promise. You need wisdom? You go to God, He will give it to you. He gives to all men liberally, freely. God's like in heaven with all this wisdom. I don't know what it looks like. All this wisdom. And He's like, why are they asking me for it? If they just ask, I will just give it all to them, okay? You go to God. You ask Him. He says, look, and upbraideth not. God's not going to get angry at you, okay, for asking for wisdom. You go to God, God, I need to understand. I need to learn this, Lord. I need wisdom. God's not going to get angry at you. In fact, He's going to delight, right? When He talked about Solomon, it said that He pleased the Lord. He pleases God. When you go to Him, Lord, I want to stop being foolish. I've gone through those characteristics of a fool. Lord, I have one. I have two. I have three. I have five. I'm going to stop being a fool, Lord. Please give me wisdom. Give me understanding. You're going to please God, and He's going to give it to you, okay? And it's found here. He's going to lead you in His word. So yes, it requires work. You've got to read this Bible. But look, could God have made it any easier for us brethren? The knowledge of God, the wisdom of God. It is a big book. It does require, you know, if you read 15 minutes a day, yeah, you'll get through the whole Bible cover to cover in one year. It does require effort. You've got to put it in, right? You've got to put it in. But how much easier could God have made it? Ask me for it. I'll give it to you. Here's my word. Read it. Read it every day. How much easier? It's right there. The wisdom of God is right there, and it will help you overcome foolishness. Don't be a fool. Let's pray.