A. True character is revealed in what people really want from life - Matthew 6:21
B. Wants become more intense as one becomes more conscious of the brevity of life - Proverbs 30:7
1. James said that life is as a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away - James 4:14
2. The Psalmist in view man's life-span, said, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." - Psalm 90:12
C. The writer of Proverbs revealed a wise request, one that we should give the most serious consideration
A. Falsehoods
1. False doctrines entrap, enslave, and condemn - 1 Timothy 4:1-2
a. Men lie in wait to deceive us - Ephesians 4:14
b. They go to great extremes to make converts - Matthew 23:15
c. God's Word is the only true standard - John 17:17
2. Riches can be very deceitful - Mark 4:18-19
a. They promise a false security - Luke 12:15-21
3. False friendships can discourage and weaken us - Proverbs 19:4; Proverbs 14:20
a. Many otherwise good Christians are ruined by false friends
4. Let us set our hearts only on that which is solid, durable, and eternal
B. Lies
1. Examples of liars in the Bible and the consequences that followed
a. The old prophet lied to the younger one - 1 Kings 13:15-19
b. Gehazi lied because he was greedy - 2 Kings 5:22-25
2. Our prayer, like the writer of Proverbs, is that lies will be removed far from us
a. We pray that lying will not be part of our lives, and that we will not be involved in the lies of others
b. We, as servants of Christ, are to put away lying - Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9
A. He said, "Lest I be full and deny You, and say, "Who is the Lord?"
1. There is a tendency to forget God when we have plenty- Deuteronomy 6:10-12
a. Israel did that very thing - Deuteronomy 32:15; Jeremiah 2:31-32
2. The Word of God teaches us to have the right view of riches - Proverbs 13:7
a. The abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep - Ecclesiastes 5:10-17; Proverbs 23:5
b. Jesus showed that it will be very difficult for rich people to obtain heaven - Matthew 19:23-14
B. He also added, "Lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God."
1. Men often blame God for their misfortune
a. We understand why people steal when they are hungry, but two wrongs never make a right - Proverbs 6:30-31
2. No one wants to be poor, or to be forced to live in poverty
a. Thus, out text becomes a very real prayer for all of us
b. It has been stated that 90% of the American families live only 6 weeks from bankruptcy
- In other words, if their income was cut off, they could survive only six weeks before being in serious trouble financially
- This is true of most all of us
C. We must learn to be content with what we presently have - 1 Timothy 6:8; Hebrews 13:5; Philippians 4:11
1. If we want to be saved eternally, we must learn to put God above all else
2. We must set our minds on things above - Colossians 3:2; 1 Peter 1:13
A. If we had two requests only--we could make no improvement on the appeal made by the writer of Proverbs
1. He prayed for deliverance from moral impurity
2. He asked for worldly goods in moderation
B. This provides a happy life here, and brings eternal life
-- Don Treadway, March 2011 --
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