Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire. Here's what's coming
up in today's edition.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
I think we would faint, wouldn't we if somebody said, Wow,
I'll take your suggestions to heart and pray about them.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
Thank you for the input.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
And so as a result, a lot of the times
we miss good godly correction that could save us something.
And you know that's just the way it is. So
he said, you need to receive that rebuke.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
Now.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Better to listen to loving rebuke than the shallow flattery
of people who really don't care much for your welfare.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
When you go to the gym, it's easy to pick
up a small weight and exercise without giving your body
any challenge. You won't feel fatigue at the end of
your workout, but you also won't gain as many of
the benefits of the exercise. But when you push yourself
to look to heavier load, your strength will increase as
your body adapts to the new weight. Pastor Jeff teaches
you today that listening to wise counsel is how you

(01:03):
challenge your heart to make it grow stronger and wiser
instead of opting for easy exercises.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Well, let's join the.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Pastor Jeff and the Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter seven, as
he begins his message wisdom bring strength.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Last time in chapter six and seven we finished. We
did all of six and did part of seven. Solomon
had revisited several of the issues that.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
Had vexed him in earlier chapters.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
I like working hard and gaining wealth only to die
and have someone else take it who didn't work for
it at all. He said, that's a vexation, and then
the realization that really occurred to him down the road
that riches don't bring happiness. Money can't buy you happiness. Happiness,

(01:52):
as we've shared last time, is an inside job, and
the Christian really has joy, not happiness unspeakable and full
of glory. Happiness is dependent upon a happening. And yet
Christianity says you don't have to have an outside happening
to have joy on the inside, because getting right with

(02:14):
God is what brings forth joy.

Speaker 3 (02:19):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
So in chapter seven, at the beginning of the chapter,
he discussed the value of a good name, a good reputation,
and he says that it's better, more valuable than all
the gold and silver. It's very valuable. You're better off
keeping your name and being in poverty, then losing your

(02:42):
good name because you were trying to get rich. So
many people lose their name trying to get money. Okay,
So we closed out with Solomon comparing one thing with another,
a better thing, or a list of comparisons, and if
I remember correctly, there's close to ten of them. For instance,

(03:07):
here's what we looked at last time. How it is
better to soberly consider the realities of life, such as
our own mortality. Everybody in here knows you're gonna die
one day. Raise your hand, the rest of you. You need,
you need revival, or you need a reality check, because
unless the law comes back in the rapture, you are

(03:27):
going to die one day. It's it's it's better to
consider the realities of life than to be in a
constant partying frame of mind where.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
Spiritual things are never explored. You're just partying hardy.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
You're always at a party, and you never think about
the things that are eternal.

Speaker 3 (03:46):
And Solomon doesn't want us being morbid.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
He doesn't want us being morose and walking around with
a long face and a furrowed brow all the time.
He's just saying it's wise to step back and consider,
I need to be ready for eternity. And a lot
of people never do that. How many people die in
that party mode where they've never thought about the true

(04:13):
realities of life.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
So that's his advice for us.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Now, in verses five through ten, Solomon is going to
continue with his comparisons of one thing against another, showing
us which of the two that he compares is the
better thing.

Speaker 3 (04:30):
And this is so like the proverbs.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
This is of course, this is Solomon who wrote most
of the proverbs. And that's what he does. In the proverbs.
He compares one thing with another, showing you which is good,
which is bad, which is best, which is not. That's
his approach, and nobody was better at it than him. Now,
Chapter seven, verses five to six, it is better to

(04:54):
hear the rebuke of the wise then for a man
to hear the song of fools, For like the crackling
of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter.

Speaker 3 (05:05):
Of the fool.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
Now he's telling us that something is better that doesn't
feel good. Have you ever realized that some of the
things that really don't feel good or taste good are
the things that are really best for you. I mean,
my mother never did get me to eat broccoli. Never did.
Now I'll do it now with cheese on it and
all kinds of other stuff on it. But she used

(05:27):
to try to get me to eat and I just
couldn't do it. But she would say, Jeffrey, now she's
probably watching again. Now, Jeffrey, Now this is good for you.
And I didn't care if it was good for me.
I just knew it didn't taste good. But you know,
in life, think about it. Rebuke is like that broccoli
who likes to be rebuked. I don't, okay, but it stings.

(05:54):
It's easy to get defensive. And how much easier is
it to be in an atmosphere of levity where flatteries
and shallow chatter are the rule.

Speaker 3 (06:04):
Of the day. And how much easier is to prefer that?
So much easier?

Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yes, Solomon points out that this kind of atmosphere is
not advantageous to the soul. It is not as advantageous
to your soul to be around people who won't tell
you the truth.

Speaker 3 (06:21):
In love.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Now, I don't want somebody nitpicking me all the time.
But if I have somebody really loves me and can
tell me the truth, Kathy can do.

Speaker 3 (06:28):
That sometimes.

Speaker 2 (06:30):
I'd made I get defensive, she gets defensive. How many
of you take it right? One hundred percent of the time?
Criticism It's not easy. But I know if she tells me,
she's telling me in love that I know. Now there's
other people. I'm not so sure. But isn't it easier

(06:51):
to be around people who are going to lie to
you about you, build you up with flattery instead of
being truthful and telling you things that are to your advantage.

Speaker 3 (06:59):
You're a real So he compares the shallow talk of
the fool to.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
The snap and crackle of twigs in a fire, which
for a time make a great noise and flame up.
But just like the laughter of fools, that fire goes
out quickly, and it was shallow and meaningless and came
to nothing. And he's saying, that's what it's like to
be in the company of fools. That's party laughter, meaningless laughter,

(07:26):
meaningless chatter. Better do he the rebuke of somebody who
genuinely cares about your life?

Speaker 3 (07:33):
You know, David spoke.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
About this, and Solomon talked about it several times in
the Proverbs. Look what David said in Psalms one for
one verse five, Let the righteous strike me, it shall
be kindness. And let him rebuke me. It shall be
as excellent oil. Let my head not refuse it. If

(07:55):
you are righteous and you see something in my life
that needs correcting, and you can tell me in lofe
of let me not refuse it, because I'll grow from it.
Look what he said Solomon in one of the proverbs,
Proverbs thirteen, verse eighteen, Poverty and shame, he writes, will

(08:16):
come to him who disdains correction. But he who regards
a rebuke will be honored. He who listens to a
rebuke given in love and changes based on the rebuke
will be honored. It's broccoli, but it makes you healthier.

Speaker 3 (08:37):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (08:39):
It's been my experience that very very few people receive correction, well.

Speaker 3 (08:45):
Very few.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
Most become defensive, resentful, and even retaliatory if you try
to point out something that needs to change or that
might save them from paying down the road. You say,
I see something that if you don't change it, it's
going to hurt you down the road.

Speaker 3 (09:00):
Road.

Speaker 2 (09:01):
And our generation, our Western culture, has trained people to
say things like this, who are you to judge me?
We've been trained to do that. Bible says don't judge,
which is stupid. The Bible never says don't judge. Did
you know that? What about Jesus said he was talking

(09:22):
about the wrong kind of judgment.

Speaker 3 (09:24):
He didn't say, don't judge.

Speaker 2 (09:27):
Okay, even a bird judges when a cat is coming
its way.

Speaker 3 (09:32):
What would happen to all.

Speaker 2 (09:34):
Of God's created creatures if they decided not to judge?
They would die this week? They all judge. I got
bird feeders out back. I've told you this. I love
feeding those.

Speaker 3 (09:48):
Birds, and I've watched those birds you can have.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
Let's just say you have several sparrows on the feeder,
just sparrows and or doves, and.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
There there are just pecking away at the food, eating it.
But they're always looking for the enemy.

Speaker 2 (10:08):
And I've noticed a blue jay can fly up, they
don't budge.

Speaker 3 (10:12):
A cardinal can come up.

Speaker 2 (10:13):
They don't move, they don't tremble, they don't even pay
they don't seem to pay attention. Any of a variety
of birds can fly right up and land next to them,
but they are not startled at all.

Speaker 3 (10:26):
But if a.

Speaker 2 (10:27):
Hawk even comes near, they know his flight pattern, they
know his shape, They know everything about their enemy.

Speaker 3 (10:36):
And they flee. They judge, and it saves their life.

Speaker 2 (10:45):
We're supposed to know the hawk when we see it,
all right, But now Jesus just said don't judge like
a pharisee.

Speaker 3 (10:57):
But he didn't say don't judge.

Speaker 2 (11:00):
We've been so trained by the PC culture that if
anybody judges us, who are you to judge me?

Speaker 3 (11:04):
Don't judge? You don't have any room to judge.

Speaker 2 (11:07):
Or well, you do us and so on and this
and so and this and so so, who.

Speaker 3 (11:12):
Are you to judge me?

Speaker 2 (11:16):
I think we would faint, wouldn't we if somebody said, Wow,
I'll take your suggestions to heart and pray about them.

Speaker 3 (11:24):
Thank you for the input.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
And so, as a result, a lot of the times
we miss good godly correction that could save us some pain.
And you know, that's just the way it is. So
he said, you need to receive that rebuke. Now, better
to listen to loving rebuke than the shallow flattery of
people who really don't care much for your welfare.

Speaker 4 (11:48):
Thanks for listening to Hardwired. We're exploring the wisdom of Solomon.
Solomon entertains thoughts related to the futility of life. Something
that stands out is that without God, you're left in
a place of emptiness and potentially despair. Instead of that,
let's navigate the complexities of life with wisdom and peace.

(12:09):
Each sermon is complimented by a devotional designed to help
you as you relate to the things written in this book.
If you're seeking a deeper understanding about this series, text
the word edge to eight one seven four eight four
four seven sixty seven. Join us as we explore the
edges of life's mysteries and find guidance for today's world.

Speaker 2 (12:33):
Aliga, verse seven, he goes on, Surely oppression destroys a
man's a wise man's reason, and a bribe debases the heart.
Now he's telling us two things can destroy the wisdom
of a wise man. How many of you want to
hang on to your wisdom? Let me tell you two
things that can destroy it. The intoxication that comes from

(12:56):
having the power to oppress others, and a bribe that
seduces the wise man into making decisions contrary to his
good character. And yes, I wrote that last line. Can
anyone say, Washington, if you want to talk about bribes,

(13:20):
Bribes corrupt people, Bribes destroy good character.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
So you're in there you're.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
Elected by a bunch of people, and you go in
there to serve the people that elected you, and suddenly
here comes folks that wants you to write a certain law,
vote a certain way, and they offer you an advantage.

Speaker 3 (13:40):
We call it pork, we call it a payoff.

Speaker 2 (13:48):
And they receive that bribe, and they don't know that
the minute they take that bribe, it corrupts their character
and destroys their wisdom. Wisdom should never be for sale,
nor should our character for any price, because it will

(14:11):
bite you down the road. It may not immediately, but
like I said at the beginning, what you sew will
come back more than you sow, later than you sewed it.
So you accept a bribe, think you got away with it. No,
you immediately were corrupted. And down the road he'll turn
around and bite you when people learn of how you

(14:33):
sold your character.

Speaker 3 (14:36):
So you hold on to your character. You hold on
to it.

Speaker 2 (14:42):
In verse eight, we're given two more better things. What
he says, the end of a thing is better than
it's beginning. The end of a thing is better than
it's beginning. Now, let's keep in mind here that Ecclesiastes
is the record. It's really the Diary of a quest
by Solomon after the chief good, What is best in life?

(15:05):
What fulfills me, what really satisfies my soul. The preacher,
as he's called, tries one thing after another and shares
his experiences. And he makes many, many blunders along the way.
And it's the final lesson which he would have us learn,
not the mistakes he made, reaching what he learned. He's

(15:28):
not telling us to make the same mistakes. Never did
he say I want you to go and get drunk
all the time, like he apparently did. Never did he
say go be promiscuous. But he lets us know what
he learned at the end. Okay, And that's what we're
to take out of Ecclesiastes now. So he's saying, the

(15:49):
end of a thing is better than the beginning. At
the beginning of something, we have foresight, which is usually
wrong at least in many ways, and full of presents
and misconceptions. But in the end of a thing we
have hindsight, which is generally much clearer and more accurate.

Speaker 3 (16:10):
Let me give you an example.

Speaker 2 (16:12):
For instance, if you were to start a business for
the very first time, you might assume that you know
how to do it, what to expect and how it's
going to turn out. You have all these preconceived notions
of how to do a business, what to put into place,
how to handle it, how to manage it, and you
believe it's going to.

Speaker 3 (16:32):
Turn out a certain way.

Speaker 2 (16:33):
But then you start the business and in a few
years you look back in hindsight and see that some
of the things.

Speaker 3 (16:41):
You assumed were wrong.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
Your wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are now enhanced.

Speaker 3 (16:49):
So you can say, now the end of this thing
is better because.

Speaker 2 (16:54):
I've got more wisdom, I understand more, I understand the
game better.

Speaker 3 (17:01):
Better is the end of a thing, then it's beginning.

Speaker 1 (17:06):
Now.

Speaker 3 (17:06):
I can tell you that's true of starting churches.

Speaker 2 (17:08):
When somebody tells me they're going to go start a church,
I say, have you ever done this before?

Speaker 3 (17:13):
They say no.

Speaker 2 (17:15):
I say, I will pray for you, I will fast
for you, and I'll be here if you need to call.

Speaker 3 (17:23):
Invariably they call.

Speaker 2 (17:26):
Wow, pastor DeFi was not counting on this, that and
the other and the other. I say, all right, keep going,
take your bumps, make your mistakes. When you get to
the other side, you will say the end of this
is better than the beginning.

Speaker 3 (17:41):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (17:42):
Now next he's making another comparison, same verse, verse eight.
The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Now the word patient. You know, words matter. I tell
you that all the time, especially Bible words. The word
patient here means literally long of spirit, long of spirit,

(18:06):
as the phrase short of spirit is used in Proverbs
fourteen twenty nine Jove twenty one, verse four to describe
somebody who who loses his temper and is impatient.

Speaker 3 (18:22):
So he's telling us.

Speaker 2 (18:23):
Better is the person who can put up with something
for a long time without losing their cool than the
person who's proud.

Speaker 3 (18:34):
The ability to wait calmly.

Speaker 2 (18:36):
Please catch this, The ability to wait calmly for the
result of an action and not to be hasty in
blaming God.

Speaker 3 (18:48):
When things don't.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
Go your way is the part of a patient man.
While the proud, inflated, conceited man, who thinks everything's got
to be a ranged according to his notions and plans
and will, is never resigned or contempt but rebels against
God's hand. That's what the proud man does. He can't

(19:10):
wait on God, he can't wait on others. It's all
about him. You got to move when he wants to
stop when he wants to go where he wants to
do it the way he wants to do it, or
he's short of spirit and loses his temper. That's the
proud man. But the patient man. Here's what the patient
man says. I trust the providence of God. I trust

(19:34):
the timing of God. I can sit here and wait
on God. I can Psalms forty six tenant be still
knowing that I am God. The amplified Bible says, let
go and relax and know that I am God. The
patient man knows that God is in charge. The impatient man,

(19:58):
the proud man, doesn't know that. He doesn't I realize
that God is in charge. But the patient man knows
that God is in charge. As David said, my times
are in your hand. And he's able to wait and
wait for God to open that door for God to
move in that particular issue. He's able to wait for God.

(20:19):
And that's why the patient man is a powerful man.
He may not look like it to the world. He
may look like he's not a man of action. But no,
the patient man understands, I'm not going to get ahead
of God. I'm not gonna get behind him. Either I'm
gonna wait on God, and when God gives me his word,
I'm moving then. But until then, I'm not gonna get

(20:41):
mad at him. I'm not gonna say where are you?
I'm going to trust him and I'm gonna wait on
his timing. Because for everything there is a season and
a time for every purpose under heaven.

Speaker 3 (21:01):
So the patient man knows that and he can wait. Now.

Speaker 2 (21:07):
I don't do it perfectly. I do it better than
I used to. Oh, I've many times looked up and said,
when are you gonna move? I've looked up, Hey, I
understand Abraham saying, Hey, God, do you realize I'm in
my nineties.

Speaker 3 (21:24):
Now I'm waiting on a sun. It ain't happening.

Speaker 2 (21:28):
So me and me and Sarah we've hatched a scheme,
and it the scheme hatched an Ishmael, and the Ishmael
haunted him the rest of his life and troubles the
world to this day because he couldn't wait on God.
So everybody say with me, wise to wait on God,

(21:50):
wise to be patient. So to be patient is better.
He continues this thought in verse nine. You're gonna notice
a stream of thought as these verses continue. Verse nine,
he says, don't hasten in your spirit to be angry,
for anger rests in the bosom of fools. Now, have

(22:10):
you ever noticed, it's the impatient person who's usually the
angry person as well. I'm gonna say that again, and you'
al must be under conviction.

Speaker 3 (22:18):
I'm kidding.

Speaker 2 (22:20):
It's the impatient person who's usually the angry person as well.
They're always mad because they can't wait. They're always mad
at circumstances, always angry at the way things are going
are not going. So this verse, when he says, in
this verse, don't hasten in your spirit to be angry,
this is not a general exhortation against unrighteous anger.

Speaker 3 (22:44):
That's not what he's talking about.

Speaker 2 (22:46):
But it's leveled at the haughty indignation that a proud
man feels when things don't go the way he wants
and he gets angry. These kind of people don't have
a lot of friends because nobody likes to be around
somebody that's explosive and angry all the time, and if

(23:06):
you make one little mistake with them, they're snapping at you.

Speaker 3 (23:11):
It's not easy.

Speaker 2 (23:16):
This person is angry at the providence of God. That's
the anger that rests in the bosom of fools when
you don't trust the providence of God. Now, what do
I mean by providence. He's sovereign over everything. He's sovereign
over you. He's sovereign over the timings in your life.

Speaker 3 (23:38):
You are where you are.

Speaker 2 (23:39):
By the providence and sovereignty of God. If the sovereignty
of God were not for you to be alive right now,
you would not be alive. He holds your next heartbeat
in his hands. He's sovereign. That means he's king. He's
ruler over his universe, not the devil God. The devil's
a dog on a The devil can't do anything apart

(24:02):
from God allow him to do it.

Speaker 1 (24:06):
God's sovereignty isn't just a game or an excuse to
wave away some minor inconvenience in your life. Recognizing God's
sovereignty is saying that you know you're not in control
of the course of your life, that His ways are
higher than your ways. And Pastor Jeff remind you that
only a fool reject God's sovereignty over your life. The
actions of a wise person are to acknowledge God and

(24:29):
his authority and surrender to what he wants to do
in their life. If you'd like to learn more about Hardwire,
here's some info.

Speaker 4 (24:38):
Isn't it great to hear these teachings from Pastor Jeff Wickwire.
We wanted to bring your attention to something you can
easily find through pray dot Com. We'd love your prayerful
and financial support of this ministry. There are a few
easy ways to do this. When you see Pastor Jeff's profile,
just click on the give button. Another quick and easy
way to find out how to support us is by
tapping on your present icon, which will take you to

(25:00):
the Hardwired Giving page. Right now, let's give you a
sneak peek into what's coming up on the next edition
of Hardwired.

Speaker 1 (25:07):
Surrendering to God's sovereignty for your life requires you to
be patient. Maybe He's made a promise to you and
you wish you would finally make good on it, but
God doesn't operate on the same timeline that you do.
So Pastor Jeff reminds you to have patience and know
that God will fulfill his promises at exactly the.

Speaker 3 (25:24):
Time they need to be fulfilled.

Speaker 1 (25:26):
If you have any doubts of His power, look back
and see how He has brought you this far. That's
all the time we have for today. Thanks for tuning
in for this edition of Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire. You
can listen to more messages from this and other books
of the Bible by visiting hardwired dot org. Join us
next time to continue our study in the Book of

(25:47):
Ecclesiastes right here on Hardwire