Proverbs 11 New Living Translation

Proverbs 11New Living Translation

11 The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales,
    but he delights in accurate weights.

² Pride leads to disgrace,
    but with humility comes wisdom.

³ Honesty guides good people;
    dishonesty destroys treacherous people.

⁴ Riches won’t help on the day of judgment,
    but right living can save you from death.

⁵ The godly are directed by honesty;
    the wicked fall beneath their load of sin.

⁶ The godliness of good people rescues them;
    the ambition of treacherous people traps them.

⁷ When the wicked die, their hopes die with them,
    for they rely on their own feeble strength.

⁸ The godly are rescued from trouble,
    and it falls on the wicked instead.

⁹ With their words, the godless destroy their friends,
    but knowledge will rescue the righteous.

¹⁰ The whole city celebrates when the godly succeed;
    they shout for joy when the wicked die.

¹¹ Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper,
    but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.

¹² It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor;
    a sensible person keeps quiet.

¹³ A gossip goes around telling secrets,
    but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

¹⁴ Without wise leadership, a nation falls;
    there is safety in having many advisers.

¹⁵ There’s danger in putting up security for a stranger’s debt;
    it’s safer not to guarantee another person’s debt.

¹⁶ A gracious woman gains respect,
    but ruthless men gain only wealth.

¹⁷ Your kindness will reward you,
    but your cruelty will destroy you.

¹⁸ Evil people get rich for the moment,
    but the reward of the godly will last.

¹⁹ Godly people find life;
    evil people find death.

²⁰ The Lord detests people with crooked hearts,
    but he delights in those with integrity.

²¹ Evil people will surely be punished,
    but the children of the godly will go free.

²² A beautiful woman who lacks discretion
    is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

²³ The godly can look forward to a reward,
    while the wicked can expect only judgment.

²⁴ Give freely and become more wealthy;
    be stingy and lose everything.

²⁵ The generous will prosper;
    those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

²⁶ People curse those who hoard their grain,
    but they bless the one who sells in time of need.

²⁷ If you search for good, you will find favor;
    but if you search for evil, it will find you!

²⁸ Trust in your money and down you go!
    But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

²⁹ Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind.
    The fool will be a servant to the wise.

³⁰ The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life;
    a wise person wins friends.^[a]

³¹ If the righteous are rewarded here on earth,
    what will happen to wicked sinners?^[b]

Proverbs 11

MAKING DECISIONS GOD’S WAY

March 16, 2019

Life is a series of decisions. One after another, beginning in childhood, we are called upon to make choices. Some of these are minor and not harmful (“What shirt will I wear today?”), but others are life-altering (“Who will I marry?”). Our life is determined by these decisions. Even seemingly small decisions can determine the trajectory of our lives.

There is a truth for us that is repeated continually in the Bible. One of the means that God uses to help guide us in life is the counsel of godly men and women.

Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory. 

(Proverbs 11:14)

MAKING DECISIONS

… is hard. You can either “lean on your own understanding” solely or, “in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” (Prov 3:5-6). In other words, you can try to make that decision yourself or bring God into the equation.

THREE LIGHTS

God does not play games with us. He wants us to know His will more than we want to know it and has everything to gain by helping us make wise, God-honoring decisions.

Therefore, He has given us three wonderful lights to guide us: The Word of God before us, the Spirit of God within us, and the people of God (the church) around us. Every decision should be tested on these anvils:

• Do I have clear direction from God’s Word? Is there a principle or promise that applies to this decision?
• Do I have a peace and confidence that the Spirit of God is directing this? An inner sense of rightness, with no hesitation? 
• Do the godly counselors around me agree or do they have reservations? 

When each of these are aligned, we can have good confidence that we have found the will of God. If, however, one of these is not in sync, there is always cause for hesitation. George Mueller operated by this principle saying, “Continued uncertainty as to a matter is always cause for continued waiting.” God wants us to operate in faith, which is a confidence that we are being led by Him and following His direction. These three lights are designed to bring us to such spiritual confidence.

EVERY STRUCTURE

… that God has designed has this plurality of leadership. The home is designed to be led by a husband and wife in spiritual union and counsel with each other, for instance. We are everywhere counseled in Scripture to make decisions by the aid of wise counselors.

The church is to be led by a plurality of Elders. Such a plurality is to be men who meet the 22 character qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. I have operated with such a group for the last 20 years at The Summit Church. It is impossible to describe the beauty and protection of this group. According to Biblical direction, we operate as an Elder team in total unanimity. We have never made a decision in 20 years that we were not in complete agreement with and could say, “It seemed good to us, having become of one mind,” and “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (Acts 15:25,27). 

Don’t make any important decision in a vacuum! This is not weakness, it is humble strength and godly wisdom to utilize the tools God has put in place to lead you. Your decisions matter to you and all those around you and God has designed a wonderful, accessible way to lead you in this life.

Only The Righteous Have a Secure Future – Proverbs 11:26 – 11:31

Adrian Rogers – Going Through Security

There are certain things when your in a foreign country that you can’t bring back into the United States. Adrian Rogers tells of a time when he was coming back into this country and he was going thru security. Their was a man in front of Adrian Rogers who had some gourmet cheese. The inspector said, “I’m sorry sir, you cannot bring this cheese into this country.” The man and the inspector argued for a few minutes, until finally the man said, ‘oh yes, I am going to bring it into this country you just watch.” Walked to the back of the line and ate the cheese then walked right on thru. They may say we can’t take Jesus into the public schools but as long as He is in us we’re taking Him everywhere we go. (Source Unknown, Lou Nicholes – Missionary/Author).