1. PROVERBS 25

2. Creator – creation Distinction
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Col 1:16-17
One Triune Creator Personal Sovereign God
Independent Infinite Authority
REVELATION
Creation
Dependent Finite Submissive

3. PROVERBS 27:1 ONLY GOD KNOWS THE FUTURE
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring…Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. James 4:13-16
Plan but don’t presume.

4. PROVERBS 27:1 TODAY IS THE DAY!
This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
“I am thankful for each breath that I take – for each new day – for time with those I love. May I never take these things for granted.” Martha Wilson, August 3, 2011
Don’t take life for granted!
Don’t wait to enjoy your life!

5. PROVERBS 27:2, 21 PRAISE: WATCH OUT!
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips. The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.
Praise comes from others.
Self praise is pride.
Don’t keep it: acknowledge God as the giver.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights… James 1:16, 17

6. PROVERBS 27:3, 4 DIFFICULT PEOPLE
A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both. Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
Jealousy damages its subject and its object.
God knows your situation. Be faithful.
How do you relate to others?
Are you a “difficult person”?

7. PROVERBS 27:5, 6 WHO IS THE TRUE FRIEND?
Better is open rebuke than hidden love Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
Reproof is part of love.
“I love you too much to let you act that way.”
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16
How do you respond to reproof?

8. PROVERBS 27:7 FULL OR HUNGRY?
One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
The full are often ungrateful.
The hungry appreciate everything.
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. Psalm 42:1
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6

9. PROVERBS 27:8 THE WANDERING DECEIVED IDIOT
Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Hebrews 13:4
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 1 Peter 2:11
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Ephesians 5:33

10. PROVERBS 27:9, 17 THE BENEFIT OF A FRIEND
Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Genesis 2:18
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27
Impersonal matter doesn’t randomly produce personal people that need relationships.

11. PROVERBS 27:10 A FRIEND CLOSE BY
Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.
Maintain friendships, they are a gift from God.
“A friend in need is a friend indeed.”
Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. 1 Peter 4:9, 10

12. PROVERBS 27:11, 12 THE WISE, THE PRUDENT, THE SIMPLE
Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him who reproaches me. The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.
I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 2 John 4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 4

13. PROVERBS 27:15, 16 A DIFFICULT MARRIAGE
A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Ephesians 5:33
Two biblical reasons divorce is allowed; a quarrelsome wife is not one of them!
Marriage problems never

14. PROVERBS 27:19 ACTIONS REFLECT THE HEART
As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. Matthew 12:33-35
Evaluate your heart by your thoughts and actions.

15. PROVERBS 27:20 NEVER SATISFIED?
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:15-16
Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment 1 Timothy 6:6

16. PROVERBS 27:22 SAVED BY GRACE ALONE!
Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins…For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:1,8
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8