Episode Transcript
Proverbs 14, 24, the title of the message tonight is A Crown That Never Shines.
A crown that never shines.
So in our text tonight, we're going to be learning about a certain type of crown. that wise men wear.
And it's a it's a it's a odd proverb.
It really is.
It's a strange proverb.
You you would think you understand it when you first read it, but it's it's really kind of a bizarre proverb, and and I like those Because usually they hold a really precious truth within them, and of course this one does.
And so it begins by saying the crown.
The crown.
And since this is the book of Proverbs, and Proverbs being a work of the Holy Spirit, then it's full of spiritual truths, and therefore this is talking about a spiritual crown tonight.
Not an earthly crown.
Not the kind of crown that sits on the on on one's head as a king would wear.
But one that sits upon the head of someone in a spiritual, in a figurative sense.
The purpose of a crown is to place a symbol of glory, of dignity, of honor. on the head of the person wearing it.
For a king that would be a crown of gold and of jewels, maybe silver. signifying his reign over the kingdom.
That would be his glory, his honor, signified by that crown.
For an athlete, at least back during the biblical times It might be made of a wreath placed upon the athlete's head to bring him the glory and honor of victory in the athletic event that he was in.
But Solomon is not talking about the crowns of kings and athletes tonight.
He is talking about the crown, look back in your text, of the wise. of the wise.
And simply put, to remind you, a wise person is someone who applies God's word to the circumstances of their lives.
That's simple.
They apply God's word to the circumstances of their lives.
I don't know if y'all have been following it lately, but uh someone Uh, how many of y'all know about the GoFundMe for the Colvins?
How many of y'all know about that?
How many don't know about it?
All right.
So a week or two or so back, some brother Brother Colvin was door-dashing about 10 o'clock at night.
And uh someone saw him on the door dash and being an older veteran thought he didn't need to be out here door dashing at 10 o'clock to pay the bills.
So they started to go fund me for them.
Well then they called the news media and CBS News came down.
And then next thing you know, he's on KLTV News out of Tyler And they've got a very sizable donation right now that that's built up to.
And uh wisdom will take God's word and apply that to those finances.
Because you could take that money and you could a person could take that money. and foolishly lose it quickly.
Or they could take that money and stretch it the rest of their lives.
And wisdom Whatever circumstance we've come into, whether we run into finances, whether we run into big decisions that we have to make, whether we run into family trouble, whether we run into something at work.
Wisdom takes God's word and then applies that word to the circumstance of their lives.
And uh I heard someone say recently that uh they know what God's word says about a certain matter.
And they said, but that's neither here nor there.
And I remember when I heard that person say that, I remember thinking, no, God's word is all that matters.
And what anyone else says, that's neither here nor there.
That's really the way we should look at it.
And a wise man will apply God's word to every area of his life.
And if he does so, then he will enjoy a crown of glory.
A crown of dignity and respect.
Wisdom brings dignity. in respect to our lives.
That's the crown.
Both in this life and also in the life to come.
And while there are many honorable crowns that wisdom bestows upon wise people, one of the honorable crowns that wise people wear, look in your text, is their riches.
They're riches.
And contrary to what some people think Because there's passage in the Bible about the love of money is the root of all evil, and it is.
And about rich men, how hard it is for them to get into the kingdom of God, and it is.
But riches themselves, in having riches, is not frowned upon in the Bible.
In fact, it's the opposite.
God actually encourages us to have riches if we can.
God didn't create us to be poor He created us to be rich, not necessarily with silver and gold, but not excluding silver and gold.
He created us to be rich in the abundance of what he created.
The Bible says in First Timothy chapter six verse seventeen.
Charge them that are rich in this world, that means that have earthly riches, that they be not high-minded, in other words, don't think yourself higher than somebody else. nor trust in earn certain riches, because then your faith would be in the riches instead of God who gave them to you.
That's why rich people have problems.
He said, but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.
That word richly means copiously, abundantly.
So God gives us the things of this world in abundance if we'll exercise wisdom.
And not all wise people are rich in this world's goods.
But God's word does give us good financial wisdom And if we'll apply that financial wisdom consistently, we will benefit from it, whatever our economic class is.
And I believe that this proverb is speaking about finances, riches, money earthly wealth.
And the thought of earthly riches, the thought of money, of silver and gold being a crown upon wise people's heads, it may sound like a carnal and unbiblical concept to us.
The crown of the wise is their riches.
You think, what?
How could that be?
Wouldn't it be better if the proverb said, the crown of the wise is their meekness?
That would be nice.
The crown of the wise is their righteousness, their faith?
I mean, at least something that sounds like a holy and godly quality for us to have.
But money Wealth, silver, and gold, riches are the crown upon a wise man's head So, why is that?
How can riches be a crown upon a wise person's head?
Well, to answer this question, which is created by this strange proverb, it reveals a very beautiful truth to us.
And I I kind of wish I would have labeled this, Brother Rick, as a kingdom truth, but I didn't.
But here's you an unkingdom kingdom truth.
How about that?
An unofficial kingdom truth Because it's not going to be on the uh the slide tonight, but it is a kingdom truth.
And it's this something used wisely is made holy.
Something used wisely is made holy.
If it wasn't for these awkward proverbs, these awkward verses like this that force us to examine them, we wouldn't be put in a position of discovering these precious biblical gems, that something used wisely is made holy.
You see, wisdom belongs to God, right?
Wisdom, therefore, is holy because God is holy.
And when something is used wisely, therefore, it becomes holy.
I'm sure most everyone here has seen the uh infamous vehicle that Bonnie and Clyde were shot up in.
I've seen the holes bullet-riddled vehicle.
And when I see that vehicle, I think of the murders that they committed, the robberies that they committed, the laws that they broke.
When I see that vehicle.
That vehicle is not a crown to them.
Now, Brother Doug.
He bought Sheila another new vehicle.
Another Hyundai.
He went to the dealership To get his vehicle fixed and while he was out there, he just started looking around on the lot.
And boy, like a hawk, a salesman came out there.
He said we're selling these with no interest right now.
Payments with no interest.
Next thing you know, Brother Doug's walking out with a new vehicle.
It's a nice car too.
I like it.
Now if Brother Doug. were to use that nice vehicle as a getaway vehicle in a robbery.
That would be an unwise and unholy financial decision.
It just would not be good at all.
It'd be a bad, unholy activity for him.
But if he takes that same automobile and uses it to drive to the nursing home, to share God's word, then what could have been an infamous vehicle Like Bonnie and Clyde's vehicle for Brother Doug.
Having the divine wisdom of God applied to that vehicle, it now becomes a holy vessel unto the Lord.
You see how that works?
A holy vessel unto the Lord.
You think about the jawbone of the ass that Samson used to slay those Philistines It's just a common jawbone.
But when he picked it up doing the Lord's work, it now becomes a holy instrument.
It's a beautiful thing.
And you know what?
It's the same thing with earthly riches.
We can say, oh, with that money, money corrupts people.
I don't believe that.
I believe money reveals corruption in people.
It doesn't create corruption.
And uh you can take those riches that could be used for such terrible things.
I was reading today in the news.
How that Fox News has uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars being funneled from communist China.
Did y'all read that?
into the United States to left-wing organizations to begin conditioning Americans' minds to accept communism and to break down the the the the freedom and the the the mindset that americans have. in any any form of of of Christianity, that's definitely not going to fit in with communism.
And so they they they're they're pumping in hundreds of millions of dollars into these left wing groups to get out.
You wonder where all those signs come from?
Suddenly, boom, they got these signs.
You can't even print them that fast.
And they're holding these signs up, they're protesting everything.
They're fighting against everything.
And a lot of that is coming from communist China.
So riches can be used foolishly or wisely They can be used like George Soros to destroy godly institutions such as the family unit here in America.
They can be used like he does to prop up wicked leaders, or that same money can be used, that those same riches can be used like Franklin Graham does. to extend mercy and help to millions of people around the world in the name of Christ So a wise man will take the riches that God has given him, and he will sanctify those riches as holy vessels to God And by doing so, those riches then become a crown upon that wise person's head. where they could have otherwise been infamous, like the getaway card.
It all depends on what you do with the money.
It all depends on what you do with a car.
It all depends on what you do with your body.
The Bible says that we are to present ourselves to God as living sacrifices and our bodies as instruments of righteousness to Him.
To do so is wisdom.
To do so is to sanctify our bodies and make them holy unto the Lord.
So the crown of the wise is their riches.
Look back in your text now.
But the foolishness, the foolishness, now what we have to do is study the contrast here.
What is being contrasted here?
Foolishness here is being compared to a crown.
So the crown of the wise and the foolishness of Fools.
We're going to see here in just a moment.
Crown, wise.
Foolishness, fools.
And a foolish foolishness is a crown for fools.
And as our title of the message tonight indicates, foolishness is a crown that never shines.
It has no glory.
Foolishness has no silver.
It has no gold.
It has no jewels.
It has no glory.
It has no value at all.
Spiritually speaking, the wise can take wealth, and they can take that wealth and set it like a crown upon their blessed heads.
Oh, there's been so many people blessed with wealth who then have been a blessing to others with wealth.
When uh I lost my voice around two thousand five, two thousand six I was pastoring a little church with some good folks in it And we had several thousand dollars in the uh, not a great deal, but we had several thousand dollars left over after everything was paid.
And we merged in with another church.
And the people of that church, I told them about my burden to start a website called knowimesaved. com.
Hadn't been done yet.
Hadn't started yet.
It wasn't wasn't in existence at the time.
I told them, I said, I'm telling you, there's people out there who need to know, and they're struggling.
They have no place to go right now And uh, that church graciously uh gave that money to me to start the website and to fund it.
And uh Yeah I think about those people and then their their their their pictures are in my mind right now.
A lot of them have already gone to heaven And some of them are still alive, but a lot of them have gone to heaven.
And they worked.
And they sacrificed and they gave to that church.
And I I I've lost track of all the people over the years who've reached out and said thank you for this ministry.
Now send me an email.
Thank you for this ministry.
This has helped me so much.
I've been on your website or I just read your book.
I get those emails all the time.
By God's wonderful grace.
Now that's a blessing to them.
But but do you know whose head that that crown goes on?
It goes, yes, I share the crown.
Yes, I thank God that it's a crown.
But financially, it goes upon those people that gave In wisdom they thought, you know, there's something we could do with this That could help people for eternity.
And in wisdom that when they gave to the church to begin with, before the idea of the website ever even come up, they're thinking, this is God's church, and this is worth supporting.
We can reach people. for the name of Christ.
And that money becomes a crown on their head.
It's beautiful.
But fools don't wear shiny crowns.
And the reason is because crowns of honor and crowns of glory.
They're only made of one thing.
They're not made of silver and gold and jewels.
They're made of wisdom.
That's the only thing that can instruct.
A crown of glory that endures past this world is wisdom.
So the crown of the wise is their riches.
It belongs to them.
But the foolishness of fools, look back in your text, is folly.
And now you're going to love this.
You're going to absolutely love this.
The foolishness of fools is folly.
Underscore the word foolishness.
Now go down and underscore the word folly Now draw your line out to your margin from the word folly and draw your little line from the word fools and let those lines intersect.
So they'll point to what you're about to write in your margin and write down this the same word.
The same word Foolishness and folly are the same word, the same Hebrew word Brother Richard, why am I going to love that?
Why is that so important?
Well, wisdom makes crowns.
Foolishness makes folly.
Wisdom makes crowns of glory.
Foolishness just makes more foolishness It can't ever go up from there.
It can't ever advance from there.
You can advance money.
You can turn money into a crown of glory.
You can turn the jawbone of an ass into a crown of glory.
You can turn an automobile into a crown of glory if you use wisdom But you can't turn foolishness into anything but foolishness.
Just can't do it When I was growing up, Sister Ann will relate to this, I assure you.
When I was growing up, certain certain communities in the country, like crossroads, We're down little community crossroads down from where my mom and dad have a house and where I grew up as a teenager.
They used to have cow patty tossing contests.
Have you ever participated in that, Sister Ann?
No.
Is your husband?
Don't okay.
Has anyone ever participated in one?
Has everyone ever watched one or seen one?
Nobody?
You have?
You've seen it?
All right.
Good.
What you do, you take a uh they don't they can't be wet now.
They gotta be dry, really dry.
And you take a dry cow patty, and you know they're circular when they land and just like a discus, you spin around and and hurl that patty across the pasture.
And then you have a contest on how far they can be thrown.
It's kind of like the Olympics.
But Hick style, country, country style.
But in its glorious of an event that the discus throw might be at the Olympics.
The cowpatty throw would never achieve that level of Olympic glory.
Just couldn't do it.
In fact, when I started talking about it, I could see the looks on your faces.
I could see him.
Why?
Because no matter what you do with a cow patty, no matter what you do with it, it's still a cow patty.
You can chunk it like a discus.
It's still a cow patty.
You may shape it just like that discus But it's still a cow patty.
Do whatever you will with a cow patty.
You can shape it into whatever shape you desire.
You can uh set it on your coffee table at home as as a piece of uh uh decor.
You could even cut out a hole in the center of it, the size of your head, and set it on your head like a crown.
Do whatever you want to with it.
And it's still going to be a stinking cow patty.
The Bible says in Colossians chapter 1, verses 21 and 22, and you. that were sometime alienated in enemies in your mind by wicked works.
You At one time you were alienated from God.
At one time you were an enemy of God, and at one time you did wicked works.
Yet now, that is, after your faith in Christ, hath he reconciled How?
In the body of his flesh, talking about Jesus through death when he died on the cross, to present you, the alienated enemy that did wicked works, to present you that person.
Holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight That means through the cross of Christ.
Now remember, the Bible says Christ is two things, the wisdom of God and the power of God.
The Bible says the cross of Christ is the wisdom of God and the power of God.
You getting that?
And so through wisdom, God was able to take aliens.
Enemies and wicked people, filthy people, dirty people, because all of our unrighteousnesses are as filthy rags.
And through the cross, through his wisdom, God is now able to present us holy people, unblameable people, unreprovable.
In other words, you can't find any fault at all in us now. through Christ in his sight.
You see, by wisdom, God redeemed wicked sinners like us.
Wisdom can make the filthy holy.
Wisdom can make the unholy holy Even money, wisdom, can make holy and set it as a crown on a wise man's head.
But foolishness can't make anything good at all.
With that, we'll go ahead and close for tonight.
And what an encouragement that is.
That if you'll take that golden truth of God's word, you'll soon find that whether you have a car, say, well, I don't have a car to travel the nursing home.
All right, well do you have something else you can use for God?
I don't have a bunch of riches Do you have a jawbone of an ass lying around?
Whatever God has put in your control If you'll exercise wisdom and use it for the glory of God, God can take whatever it is. whether a jawbone, a car, or a million dollars, and in the hands of God, dedicated to him, or a filthy person like we were And he can make it a crown upon your head.
Father, we thank you so much for your precious word.
Thank you, Father, that Brother Neil, dear Lord, is learning in the nursing home A man, dear Lord, God, who has to ask for necessities, Lord, from his church fellows, someone who truly is without much of this world's goods.
Yet at the same time, you've given him an audience.
You've given him a nursing home.
You've given him a place to witness.
And instead of whining and saying, God, why me?
He's saying, God, send me and thank you for the opportunity to be a blessing where I am.
And taking a nursing home, something that's so despised in people's eyes that I've heard so many people say, I'd rather die at home.
Don't send me to a nursing home.
And yet he's taking that which is despised.
And now in all of our eyes here, watching what you do with that nursing home, it's now becoming a crown. on his head.
And Lord, even so you can do with us, with things, Father, like money, that often is despised. that often causes people to trip up.
Lord, dedicated to you, it can go from corruption to a crown.
We thank you in Jesus name, Amen.
