1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,640 We are back. Season 3 starts now on Liberty 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:14,490 at Home. Welcome friends. 3 00:00:14,490 --> 00:00:17,890 We're back from our summer hiatus to begin Season 3 of 4 00:00:17,890 --> 00:00:20,610 Liberty at Home. I'm your host, Adam Rivera, 5 00:00:20,650 --> 00:00:23,530 pastor the Liberty Baptist Church that meets on Route 138 6 00:00:23,610 --> 00:00:26,330 here in town. Today, as always, we're 7 00:00:26,330 --> 00:00:29,370 broadcasting from the cutting edge ECAT studios here in 8 00:00:29,370 --> 00:00:32,600 Easton, a town whose Five Corners has undergone a 9 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:35,120 construction boom over the last three months. 10 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:37,920 We've been gone now since we've been away for a while. 11 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,240 For those of you that aren't familiar with our program, 12 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,280 Liberty at Home is a weekly program produced by our church 13 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:47,240 and broadcast by ECAP. Each week we take around 5 14 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,360 minutes or so to explore biblical truth and engaging, 15 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,560 encouraging, and sometimes eccentric way. 16 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,360 Last season we spent many of our episodes exploring the Proverbs, 17 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,960 which means that today we'll resume that study in Proverbs 18 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,680 chapter 26. So read along with me Proverbs 19 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:09,520 26, beginning in verse one which says as snow in summer and as 20 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,480 rain and harvest. So honor is not seemly for a 21 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,600 fool. As the bird by wandering, as the 22 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:19,680 swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come. 23 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,840 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a Ron for the 24 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,720 fool's back. Answer not a fool according to 25 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,280 his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. 26 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,680 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his 27 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:37,000 own conceit. Now I want to see if you were 28 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:38,960 really listening to what I just read. 29 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,880 Did it sound like a couple of verses maybe didn't make sense? 30 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,640 Like they didn't go together? Did you catch it? 31 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:51,080 OK, then let me read verses four and five again and see what you 32 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,560 think. Verse 4 says, Answer not a fool 33 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,600 according to his folly, lest thou be like also unto him. 34 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:02,080 Verse 5 says, Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he 35 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,280 be wise in his own conceit. Now you're definitely caught at 36 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,039 that time. At first glance, there's no way 37 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:11,440 these verses should go together. They're like oil and water, 38 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:15,880 ketchup and ice cream, pineapple and pizza, socks and sandals, 39 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:20,400 clowns and, well, everything. You get my point. 40 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:22,560 How can these verses go together? 41 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,360 One says to answer a fool according to their foolishness, 42 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,040 and the other says don't answer a fool according to his 43 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:30,720 foolishness. So which is right? 44 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:33,640 Listen, let's start with this thought. 45 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:37,040 There is neither a mistake nor contradiction in the Word of 46 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,320 God. The Bible is a holy book 47 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:42,560 inspired by the Holy Spirit and preserved through the ages. 48 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,480 So we can immediately discard any line of thinking that 49 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:48,040 suggests the Bible's mistaken Psalm. 50 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,920 Chapter 12. Verses 6 and seven say the words 51 00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:54,000 of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the furnace of 52 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,560 earth, purified 7 times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, 53 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,920 Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever. 54 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:06,080 So if these verses are correct, and they are, then what does it 55 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,800 all mean? Well, in my humble opinion, 56 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:12,760 these two verses linked together in Proverbs 26 teach one 57 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:16,040 unmistakable truth. When you argue with a fool, 58 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,280 you'll never win. Think about it. 59 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:21,840 I mean, hasn't that been your experience in life? 60 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,520 When someone is acting the fool and you're forced to see them in 61 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:30,200 the next room, the next cubicle, the next locker, or maybe even 62 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:33,520 in the next Pew, you're quite unlikely to convince them to 63 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,960 stop their foolishness. In fact, in the next chapter, 64 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:41,080 first number 22 says, though thou should US Bray a fool in a 65 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:44,360 mortar amongst wheat with a pestle, yet will not as 66 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,760 foolishness depart from him. Now Solomon says in that verse 67 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,640 that if you were to grind down a fool to a powder with a mortar 68 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,480 and a pestle to teach them a lesson, they still wouldn't give 69 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,560 up their foolishness. So what's a person to do when 70 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,240 they deal with a fool? Well, the answer is that your 71 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,680 first and foremost appeal should be to the Father, not to the 72 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,120 fool. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 73 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:12,600 verse 44 But I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for 74 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:14,920 them, which despitefully use you, and persecute you. 75 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:19,000 James echoes the sentiment when he says in chapter 5 verse 16 of 76 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,960 his epistle, Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for 77 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,320 another, that he may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of 78 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,400 a righteous man availeth much. Make your first and most fervent 79 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:32,360 appeal to the Father, not the fool. 80 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:36,960 Trying on your own to get a fool to recognize their folly is as 81 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,240 much of A lost cause as trying to make a clown, well, less 82 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,440 creepy. I have to admit, it has been so 83 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,520 good to be back in the studio to record another episode of 84 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:49,960 Liberty at home. But it would be even better to 85 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:52,280 see you in church this Sunday. And not just any church, 86 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:54,360 preferably at Liberty Baptist Church. 87 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,080 We meet every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night 88 00:04:57,200 --> 00:04:59,280 on Route 138 right here in Easton. 89 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,920 You can find us on all the Socials podcast platforms as 90 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:07,160 well as at mylibertybaptist.org. Well, this Pastor Adam Rivero 91 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:09,760 signing off for this week's episode of Liberty at Home, 92 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,560 reminding you that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is 93 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:15,560 liberty. See you soon for our next 94 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:17,200 episode of Liberty at Home.