Why Does the Bible Call Some People Fools?

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, an Oklahoma rancher and farmer. Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for over 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say, time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, good to have everybody back in here again, and I've explained to my television audience before, when I say that every time, I want them to know you go out and get a cup of coffee while the cameras are being ready for the next half hour. So anyway, there's always a reason for what I, when I say things. And again, we're always so thankful that you take the time to come in and be part of our studio audience. And I guess I should remind our television audience, if you're ever out in the Tulsa area, eastern Oklahoma, traveling from north to south, east to west, we'd love to have you stop in and be part of this afternoon of taping. And just always be aware that usually we tape the first full, Wednesday of the first full week of the month. But if you think you can make it, you give us a call, and one of us will give you instructions. Again, we always like to remind our audience that all the past programs are available on videotape, the audio tape, as well as the little printed books. And we've put 12 programs on each one of these for a six-hour format, and you can use them for home study or for Sunday school lessons or whatever. And you just call, and we'll send the table of contents out to you. Again, we always like to remind our audience we're just an informal Bible study, and I guess the letters that thrill me the most are the ones that say, for the first time in my life, I am reading my Bible, and I'm understanding what I read. And what more could I ask for? Because if I can just get people to realize that this is not a closed book, this is not a dusty old book, it's not just a bunch of old fables told around a campfire. This is the miraculous Word of God, and it fits so beautifully from cover to cover, just like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. Or I guess I've used the word dovetails. Everything just dovetails together, but you have to make an effort to search some of these things out. Okay, we got as far as Ephesians chapter 5 verse 13, and we're going to pick up in our next verse now in chapter 5 verse 14. And remember that all of this is Paul's admonition to those of us of the age of grace where we're not under law. We do not have a set of rules and regulations to guide us, but rather it's a common sense approach. The Christian life is so practical. There's nothing kooky about it. There's nothing that should make people say, well, I'd hate to be a Christian because it is so practical. Now I know that from the wicked area of the world, they may think that we're a little bit odd. But on the other hand, I always have to make the point, as we saw in verse 9 in our last half hour, that the fruit of the Spirit is goodness and righteousness and truth. Well, who can argue with those three attributes? They're what make a society good. I don't care where it is. And so again, always remember that Paul's admonition to walking the Christian walk is not something frivolous. It's not something silly. It's not something that the world in general would scoff at if they have any sense whatsoever of things that are good. All right, so now then, as you come on into verse 14. Now remember our last half hour, we were talking about stepping into the light, and Christ Himself is the light. Ephesians 4, verse 14 Well now again, that's a loaded verse of course, and who are the ones that are dead? Those that are still in their darkness, those who still have not stepped into the light. And as one of the fellows was just reminding me at break time, he had picked it up somewhere, that the lost person is blind spiritually and doesn't really know it. And so it behooves us then as believers to let them know how blind they really are. And I like that concept, because they don't know. They don't know what they're missing. And we see it every day when people will call or write, that for the first time they know what I'm talking about. That their joy is just running over, and to have such freedom, that they're not under some legalistic program. And this is all part and parcel of Paul's teachings of course, is that when we step into the light, the light manifests itself, and we are set free then from our darkness. All right, verse 15. Now a lot of people just gloss over some of these words without realizing, what's he talking about? What does it mean to walk circumspectly? Well the word circum comes from circumference. And so what you're really seeing yourself here is a circle. And I like to picture that you and I, as we walk in this world of darkness and wickedness and iniquity, it's just as if we are walking around them constantly, and they can see us from every side. And Paul's admonition is then that as we walk in the view of all of the world around us, they should be able to see nothing but a manifestation of the light that we represent. And of course this is where so many professing believers fail, and as we've said in past programs, that the Lord is grieved that His own people do not live a life that the world can look at without scornfully saying, that's the last thing I'd want to be. But we are to walk in such a way that they could say, I wish I had what that person has. So we're to walk circumspectly. And then what's the next part? Not as fools. Now of course we all have our own idea of the definition of a fool, but always have to use the Scripture. The Scripture has the perfect definition of a fool. Some of you should know where I'm going to take you. Psalms 14. Psalms 14. We can go all the way to the Old Testament again. And I don't think we've used this verse since one of our earlier programs, which of course is a few years ago. Psalms 14, verse one. Some of you will probably have it pretty well marked up. Psalms 14. We'll drop in at verse one. You're still looking. Oh, wait a minute. Psalms 14, verse one. David is writing this psalm by inspiration of course. Everything is the inspired Word of God. The fool, see? The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. Now most Bibles will have the there is italicized, which means what? It's been added. The translators added it hopefully to clarify, but I don't think they did this verse any good by adding it. And I like to leave those two words off and read it this way. The fool has said in his heart, no God. Not that there is no God. I don't think there's a man alive that can honestly say that. Now there are some people who try to claim they're atheists, but way down deep when the death angel comes knocking on their door, they're suddenly going to realize that there is a God. There is an eternity. So I don't like to look at it in that light, but rather if you were to put a comma after the word no, the fool says no to God, see? The fool says no God. I'm not going to do what you tell me. I'm not going to believe what you say. Now that's a fool. Now as soon as you get that concept, that the fool is the person who says no to God, he's the man who then is destitute of what? Faith, see? So the fool is actually a person who is destitute of faith. And we've had examples as we've come up through the Old Testament. Cain was the first one. The guy was destitute of faith, and consequently he didn't bring the kind of a sacrifice that God had told him to bring because he didn't believe what God said. He rationalized. Well, one of the next ones that we come on to early on is Ishmael. Ishmael, he was not a man of faith. He went and did just exactly opposite of what God through his father Abraham had said, not to marry Canaanites, but he went and did it anyway. So he showed the fact that he was destitute of faith. He said no to God. Well, then the next one which I call the almost classic example of no faith is Esau. Esau, and when I taught back there, I said he was probably a nicer guy than Jacob. But what was his problem? No faith. He couldn't put an ounce of importance on anything God said. And so consequently what happened? He became the epitome of a man with no faith. And so Israel, in fact we were just studying this the other night in one of our classes. Israel, when they were there at Kadesh Barnea, and God had told them the land is ready for you, land flowing with milk and honey. It's productive. I'll drive the Canaanites out with hornets, and I'll just push them out ahead of you, and you come in and occupy. It's theirs for the taking. You won't have to lose a drop of blood. Just go in and occupy it. And Israel says, no we can't. Those people are like grasshoppers in our sight, listening of course to the spies. And consequently because they couldn't believe what God said, they missed the blessings of the land of milk and honey. And instead ended up out there on that old barren desert and died like flies because they had no faith. And Hebrews 3 of course teaches that. Don't be like that generation who when by faith they could have had the promised land, but because of their unbelief, because they said no to God, they ended up until their carcasses were lying out in the wilderness. Well we see all this through Scripture, where over and over the nation of Israel especially, the nation of Israel, the Messiah came and presented Himself. And because they couldn't believe a word that God said, what was their attitude? Nothing good comes out of Nazareth, and after his three years of performing miracles and signs and wonders because of their unbelief, as a nation of fools if you please, what did they do? They crucified Him. And so we see this all the way through human history, that a person who refuses to believe the Word of God in actuality, becomes a fool in God's sight. He's a man who says no to God. Alright, back to Ephesians chapter 5. So don't walk as someone who doesn't believe a thing that God says, but on the other hand we walk as people of faith, knowing that this Word is true. You know I was thinking on the way up this morning, I remember and I think I put it on the program at the time, a few years ago my wife and I were at somebody's anniversary of some kind, and when they were serving the refreshments, I'll never forget it. I wish it would make as much of an impact on others as it did on me. The fellow sitting in front of us as we were having our coffee, had a stencil on the back of his t-shirt, Eternity. Have you thought about it? Now think of that. How many people today even stop for five seconds and consider Eternity? Quite a thought, isn't it? It's out there, and it's not just a figment of our imagination, it is real. There is an Eternity, and it's never ending, and we've got two choices. It can either be in God's presence, or it can be separated from Him. And so again, the fool says, No God, there's no Eternity to concern myself about. I'm going to live it up here and now. But Paul says, Don't be the fool, and walk circumspectly, and as wise. People of faith. All right, read on, next verse. "...redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Now Paul wrote that approximately 60 some A .D. The world was evil then, just as bad as it is now. Fewer people, of course. But in the realm of the Roman Empire, I was just reading again the other night a series of biographies of something like 15 or 20 Roman emperors. Now this of course was Rome on the decline, and they were just short biographies, probably a paragraph or two long. And you know Otto, however many there were, I wish I'd have kept the article, and that's one of my faults. I don't keep a lot of this stuff, and I should. But however many there were, and I'm thinking there were around 20 of them, you know that only two of those fellows lived out a normal life span, and was buried in a normal old age? All the rest of them were murdered while they were in office. Emperor after emperor was either poisoned or killed one way or another. Every one of them died a violent act, except two. Now those who were with us here a couple years ago, we traced the steps of Paul, and at the time I wish I'd have never taken people to some of those places, but they all agreed that it was quite a lesson, because it showed us the horror of the immorality that was rampant everywhere that the apostle Paul went. So don't think this is anything new. I remember back in the 70's when we came out of the hippie movement of the 60's, and they were talking about the new morality. Well way back then already I was telling my class, no it's not a new morality, it's the same old immorality that has plagued the human race from day one. Nothing has changed, and so when Paul says here to redeem the time because the days are evil, he wasn't looking ahead 2000 years and seeing our day per se, it was evil in his day. It was rotten, and of course that's why the Roman Empire fell. It was rotten to the core. Political corruption, economic corruption, moral corruption, and consequently the empire fell. And we're seeing of course the same thing, especially in western civilization, don't think for mid -America alone, but we're seeing the same thing. The days are evil. But as I said in the first part of the first program, nowhere in Scripture do I see that God tells us to turn it around. But we are to do all we can to hold it in check. So we're to redeem the time, buy it up, use it to the fullest extent. Then verse 17. Ephesians 2. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. There's only one way you'll find it, and that's get into the book. When you get into the book, things begin to happen. Now I'm not a prosperity preacher. I don't tell people that if you do this and do that, you're going to become a millionaire. Anything but. In fact, one gentleman called one morning and told me that he'd been doing this, and he said, I'm bankrupt. And I said, you deserve it. Tough love, huh? I said, I don't feel a bit sorry for you, because there's nothing in this book that substantiates that kind of behavior. You're to be prudent, you're to be wise, you're to use things according to the Scripture, not according to some buddy that's out there giving you all this hoopla that you can become rich. You're not going to tweak God's nose. He's not a Santa Claus. And so we're not to be unwise, but we're to understand what the will of the Lord is. Now verse 18. I'm moving a little quicker now, because I'm hoping that I can get a little further than I'd like to finish the book of Ephesians in these next three and a half hours. Verse 18. This is all part of the same process of living under the light, living according to the wise steps of a man of faith. And then verse 18. And be not drunk with wine, that is wherein is excess, but instead of using wine as the spirit, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now I don't know how many people stop to think of this. How many times have you driven through the city and you'll see a sign over the liquor store, spirits? Now where do you get that? Alcohol is a spirit. It is a mind bender. You know, in the cattle business, I don't know if I've ever seen it anywhere else, but in the cattle business when they have auctions of their purebred stock, they'll usually have a five o'clock in the afternoon and a five o'clock hour in the afternoon, they'll have what they used to call a cocktail hour. You know what they call it now? It's an attitude adjustment time. Pretty coy, isn't it? Attitude adjustment. Well, I guess what they want to do is adjust the guy's mind so that he's willing to spend 100% more than he had planned on spending. But whatever, the concept is the same, that we're not to depend on the spirit of alcohol to affect our thinking, but the flip side is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit becomes our mind adjuster, if you want to call it that, and He is the one who will lead us and direct us into all the things that God would have us to do. Now verse 19, I mean this is all in this same concept of the Christian walk. Is it to be a life of humdrum? Is it to be a life where you've got your chin on your chest, and it's just a horrible life? No, it's a life of joy and singing. When I was looking at this verse last night, preparing for today, I couldn't help when I was reading this, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. I couldn't help, but we were down in Haiti a couple of years ago, Iris and I, and we were teaching about 700 people, and they'd come in 6 o'clock, and for the first 2 hours it was sing, sing, sing. And they would just lift the rafters, and some of the songs, even though it was in a language we didn't understand, we understood the melody, and so we'd sing it in English, but it was an experience. Now you want to remember, those people are in abject poverty. They have absolutely nothing of this world's goods, but boy when they started singing, you'd never know that they were lacking anything, and that is to be the Christian's behavior. Ours is to be a life of joy and happiness, and singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Well now you know how David responded more than once. My, he just got exuberant, and there's nothing wrong with that. Alright, then verse 20. All along this same line of thinking, giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Alright, now I've got to turn to Philippians. Next little book, which we'll probably be looking at next, Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4, and we'll just jump in at verse 4 if you will. Philippians chapter 4, and dropping into verse 4. What's the first word? Rejoice, see, rejoice. Now that means exactly what it says. We're not to be a people of chin on our chest, and moping, and thinking, oh what a tough old world this is. We are to be in an attitude of rejoicing, and again he says, I say rejoice. Now look, what were the circumstances that Paul was in when he wrote this? Well he's in a Roman prison, he's under Roman guard, he's got manacles probably on both arms, and yet the man could write rejoice. Earlier in his ministry, you remember when he was down in the dungeon up there at Philippi, and they had just been scourged, which meant that his back and his torso was like hamburger, and they threw him down into the dungeon, put him in stocks, rats and vermin running all over him, you can be sure, and yet did Paul and Silas bemoan their condition? No, what did they do? They sang hymns, sang them so loud that all the prisoners just took note of how these two men, under their circumstances, could still sing. And so Paul didn't say this flippantly. Paul isn't just all of a sudden writing from some great, beautiful hotel room and telling his poor people out there, hey rejoice. No, he's in the worst of circumstances himself, and then he can say it twice in one verse. All right, then verse 5. "...let your moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is at hand." Well if he thought the Lord was at hand then, how much closer is he today? But now here's the next verse that I really want to look at. Be careful or worry about nothing. That's what the be careful means. It says don't worry about anything. You've all seen the plaque on the wall, haven't you? Why worry when you can pray? A lot of times even we believers forget that, but that's exactly what it means. All right, so worry about nothing, but in what's the next word? Everything. Not just in some of the things of the Spirit, but in everything. Every nitty-gritty part of our everyday life God is interested in. Now He's not interested in our flippant things. We're not going to be silly in our prayer requests, but everything that is basically important to us, God wants to hear it. And so He says in everything by prayer and supplication, but what's the key? With thanksgiving. How many people today don't pray and ask and cajole God and they never think to thank Him? They never think to thank Him. All they do is ask, ask, ask. Well I can tell you right up front, those kind of prayers are not very apt to be answered. Every time we pray, we preclude it with thanksgiving. Thank you Lord for what you're going to do. And when it happens, for goodness sakes, don't forget to thank Him again. All right, so make your requests with thanksgiving, then let them be made known unto God. Now how do we make them known? We verbalize it. Now I know God can read our thoughts. Don't think for a minute I don't know that. But does God just expect us to think something and then He takes it as our request? No, He expects us to verbalize these things. Lord this is what I need, this is what someone else's need is. We usually open our TV program in the afternoon with a time of prayer request, and regardless of what it is, we know that God is concerned, but He expects us to verbalize these requests. Talk to Him about it. And then after we've made our requests known unto God, verse 7 I always teach as the answer to every single prayer that you have ever uttered. If you are a true believer, every prayer that you utter is answered in verse 7. And then the direct request may be answered in the way you expect. But whether He says yes, no, or maybe to your request in verse 6, He has already promised the response of verse 7. And what is that? That the peace of God that hath all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Now what does that mean? Regardless of what we're praying for, whether it actually becomes a reality and it's answered, that's moot. But you know what's important? The peace with God. That even if we may lose that loved one that we're praying for, the peace of God puts us in a position to accept that and to live with it. He may respond and answer exactly the way we had hoped He would, but He is not bound to, but He is bound to give us that peace that passeth all understanding through Christ Jesus. Box 760, Kenta, Oklahoma, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, Oklahoma, 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported and your gift is appreciated. Thank you and be sure to tune in next time for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.