https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/PrudentPerson.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: I Thessalonians 5:1-10<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. The Hebrew word arum<\/i> refers to a clever or crafty person.<\/p>\n A. In a negative way it refers to a person who deceives or tricks another person, such\nas the serpent in the Garden – Genesis 3:1\n B. But it can also refer to the person to thinks ahead and so avoids future problems\nby being clever in the present.\n
C. It is wise to be numbered among the prudent – Proverbs 16:21<\/p>\n
II. The knowledge of the prudent<\/p>\n
A. The prudent gathers information first before acting – Proverbs 18:15<\/p>\n
1. Then act- Proverbs 13:16<\/p>\n
2. You do things because you know it is the best way – Proverbs 14:8<\/p>\n
a. The fool deceives himself in “because I think, therefore it is best”<\/p>\n
3. Fools tend to be impulsive.<\/p>\n a. It doesn’t cross their mind that others lie. If it sounds good, then it\nis assumed to be good – Proverbs 14:15\n
b. The prudent thinks carefully before acting.<\/p>\n 4. When you have a problem, do you lash out or do you gather as much\ninformation as you can first so you know what you are doing? – James\n1:19-20\n
B. The prudent person doesn’t reveal everything he knows<\/p>\n 1. When you play a game of cards, it isn’t very smart to show the cards you\nare holding to your opponents.\n
a. You limit your options.<\/p>\n
2. A prudent man conceals what he knows – Proverbs 12:23<\/p>\n
a. This isn’t saying he lies or practices deceit<\/p>\n b. You don’t show off what you know to look important because that\nis pride.\n c. The smart thing to do not let other people know the extent or limits\nof what you know.\n 3. Because the fool is ignorant, he demonstrates his lack of knowledge by\ndoing whatever comes first to his head. He reveals how little he knows –\nProverbs 13:16\n
4. Your mom did this to you when you were young.<\/p>\n
a. “OK, young man. Out with it.” <\/p>\n b. Suddenly your guilt rises to the surface and you just know mom\nhas eyes in the back of her head, so you might as well confess and\nthrough yourself on the mercy of the court.\n c. By not saying how little she knew, your mom learned what she\nneeded to know.\n 5. It also means you don’t always show your emotional reactions – Proverbs\n12:16\n
a. Your emotions can be wrong – Proverbs 28:26<\/p>\n
C. The prudent man learns from his mistakes – Proverbs 15:5<\/p>\n 1. No one knows everything. We all will make mistakes, even when we try\nhard to minimize it.\n 2. Therefore, the wise thing is to recognize when you do wrong and then\nlearn from it so you won’t repeat it.\n
3. Stubbornness can hurt you – Proverbs 29:1<\/p>\n
D. Knowledge results in further knowledge – Proverbs 14:18<\/p>\n
III. Prudence is thinking ahead<\/p>\n
A. This is mentioned twice – Proverbs 22:3; 27:12<\/p>\n 1. Evil doesn’t disappear if you ignore it. You can’t always avoid it, but\nwhen you see it coming, the smart thing to do is get out of the way.\n
2. You pick your times for making a stand – Amos 5:13<\/p>\n
B. You don’t let your emotions blind you to danger – Proverbs 14:16<\/p>\n
1. There were Egyptians who were smarter than Pharaoh – Exodus 9:20-21<\/p>\n
C. It isn’t just anger that can blind us – Proverbs 9:16-18<\/p>\n
D. Don’t make promises you can’t keep – Ecclesiastes 5:1<\/p>\n
IV. You aren’t prudent just because to claim to be prudent – Isaiah 5:21<\/p>\n
A. If you think you are being clever, you’ll eventually make a mistake.<\/p>\n
B. Pride is not prudence – Isaiah 10:13<\/p>\n C. Just because you’ve been wise and clever in the past, it doesn’t mean you are\nalways wise and clever – Matthew 11:25\n
V. The truly clever realize they can never be as clever as God – I Corinthians 1:19<\/p>\n
A. Therefore the wise thing to do, is follow the wisdom of God – Hosea 14:9<\/p>\n B. That is why we don’t follow the ways of the world. We’re thinking of what is\nahead – I Thessalonians 5:2-6\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Thessalonians 5:1-10 I. The Hebrew word arum refers to a clever or crafty person. A. In a negative way it refers to a person who deceives or tricks another person, such as the serpent in the Garden – Genesis 3:1 B. But it can also refer to the person to thinks…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[642,1344],"class_list":["post-36736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-christianity","tag-prudent"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":97327,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-the-five-foolish-virgins-lost\/","url_meta":{"origin":36736,"position":0},"title":"Were the five foolish virgins lost?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I would like to discuss with you the ultimate fate of the five foolish virgins who were shut out. My understanding is that the five foolish virgins simply missed out on sharing the Millennial Feast with God and rejoicing in Christ's presence; God's statement that He did not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60915,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-our-desires-produce-within-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":36736,"position":1},"title":"What Our Desires Produce Within Us","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 28, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Galatians 5:19-23 Context: Paul has severely chastised the Galatians for attempting to bind the Old Law upon Christians. As he wraps up his arguments as to why this is wrong, Paul points out that those who desire to bind the Old Law are worldly-minded. They\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35473,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-survival-preparation-sinful\/","url_meta":{"origin":36736,"position":2},"title":"Is survival preparation sinful?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: First of all let me thank you, brother Hamilton, for maintaining such a wonderful, informative, godly website for these past years. I can personally attest to how your advice has helped me to understand, more clearly, the Word of our Lord and apply it to my life, not only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63232,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-path-i-choose\/","url_meta":{"origin":36736,"position":3},"title":"The Path I Choose","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Galatians 5:19-23 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the book of Galatians, Paul has severely chastised the brethren for attempting to bind the Old Law on Christians \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was a different gospel, not what they were taught - Galatians 1:6-9 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul has stood opposed to such trends - Galatians\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11868,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-pride\/","url_meta":{"origin":36736,"position":4},"title":"What is pride?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was just wondering what pride really means. Checking the dictionary gave me too many definitions. I was wondering why it would be a sin. I mean, of course, you should love God with all your heart, but can't you also have some self-esteem or self-confidence? Answer: Pride is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62808,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/would-god-deny-a-person-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":36736,"position":5},"title":"Would God Deny a Person Heaven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36736\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}