The Dictionary Of God's Word Series

INTRO.- Words of wisdom can come from many different sources. The better words of wisdom come from above or from God’s people on earth. Here are some words of wisdom from signs at churches:

- "Fight truth decay - study the Bible daily."

- "How will you spend eternity - Smoking or Non-smoking?"

- "It is unlikely there'll be a reduction in the wages of sin."

- "Do not wait for the hearse to take you to church."

- "If you don't like the way you were born, try being born again." - “God makes me the person my dog already thinks I am.”

- “We use Duct Tape to fix everything… God used nails.”

- “ipad, ipod? try ipray.”

- “You have to wonder about humans. They think God is dead and Elvis is alive!”

- “The Devil may be stoking the fire, But God has his hand on the thermostat.”

- “A closed mouth gathers no foot.”

- “Prayer is wireless access to God with no roaming fee.”

- “God does not believe in atheists therefore atheists do not exist.”

- “Prayer is the only call that government can’t hear.”

- “It takes a lot of faith to be an atheist.”

- “Experts made the Titanic. Amateurs made the ark.”

These church sing are cute, funny and contain a certain amount of wisdom. And as good as they are, God’s wisdom in scripture is best of all.

PROP.- More wisdom from God’s dictionary.

1- Hatred stirs up trouble

2- Words can bless or blister

3- God’s way is a refuge

I. HATRED STIRS UP TROUBLE

12 Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. Hatred for others stirs up conflict, arguing, fights, and all kinds of trouble.

ILL.- I’m sure you heard about the man who shot another man in a movie theater because he was texting during some previews. It happened on January 13, 2014 in Wesley Chapel, Florida. Here’s the story. 71 year old Curtis Reeves confronted 43 year old Chad Oulson, who was texting during the previews of the movie “Lone Survivor.” The two argued and Reeves angrily left the theater, grunting and kicking the back of chairs.

When Oulson returned, the two argued again, and when popcorn was thrown, Reeves reached into his pocket, pulled out a .38 caliber handgun and shot Oulson in the chest. The bullet went through the left hand of Oulson’s wife, Nicole, who put her hand up to her husband’s chest just as the single shot was fired.

Mark Turner, a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. and counter terrorism specialist, sat in the same row as Reeves that day, about five seats away. He said he saw Oulson throw a small bag of popcorn at Reeves and moments later, Reeves fired a shot into Oulson’s chest.

“Once he was hit, he took a step as if to turn towards his wife and he said, ‘I can’t believe this’ and at that point, he began to fall backwards and the gentleman who was sitting next to him caught him and laid him down in the aisle,” Turner said. “And I believe those were the last words he spoke.” Turner said after the shot was fired, Reeves said, “Throw popcorn in my face.”

Charles Cummings was sitting in the same row, Row B, as the Oulsons, three or four seats away from the couple. He said after the popcorn was thrown, “A very, very short time after that, there was a bright flash and a gun went off.’’

Why did this happen? Out of control anger. And maybe some hatred thrown in. Haven’t you heard people say, “I hate it when people drive crazy” Or “I just hate it when people disturb others by talking on their cell phone.” And sometimes they hate people!

Hatred and anger often cause nothing but trouble and sometimes, serious trouble.

ILL.- Sometimes ago John J. Harrington, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police and a 27-year veteran of the Philadelphia police force, says, “There is hatred today in this country that’s growing and growing. Near where I live a man was walking to church, and two men came up behind him and cut his throat. Another man was just standing on a street corner when a bunch of kids came along. They said, ‘Let’s give it to him,’ and they killed him. And a little girl was walking up the street from where I live, and a boy just came along and stabbed her. All these things seem to happen for no reason at all—just hatred.”

The evil one is a murderer and is at work in our world.

Ephesians 4:26-27 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Anger that leads to sin can sometimes be hatred. It has to be stopped before it’s out of hand or out of control and in the control of the devil!