Surely I am more stupid than any man, and I
do not have the understanding of a man. Neither have I learned wisdom, nor do I
have the knowledge of the Holy One. Who
has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of
the earth? What is His name or His son's name? Surely you know! Proverbs 30:2-4
We have been going through a sermon series on one of the
all-time best-selling books in any category: “The Prayer of Jabez.” This week we are looking at another person in
the Bible that also had a special prayer – a man named Agur (awgoor). Yesterday we learned that Agur asked God for
only two things: Remove from me falsehood & lying and
give me neither poverty or riches. Today we are going to start
with the first request:
Remove
from me falsehood & lying
Agur prays for the removal of some specific things that are false in his life:
·
Remove:
to cast or drive away; to loose
·
Falsehood:
useless, vain living; idolatry
·
Lying:
to be found as one
It is as if Agur at one time or another has walked in the
false things of this life and now desires to be set free from them. We too must guard our mind, motives and mouth
from the falsehoods that come knocking upon our hearts door.
Falsehood of the Mind
Our mind is to be set on Christ and, like Agur, we must pray
seeking from God that falsehood be removed far from our minds. The apostle Paul speaks of the war of
falsehood going on in us. But there is another law at work within me that is at war
with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is
still within me. Romans 7:23 NLT Years ago Tim LaHaye wrote a
book entitled “Battle for the Mind”
with the premise that if Satan can control the mind he can control the
body. For
as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs
23:7a Like Agur we should
pray for God to remove falsehood from our minds and protect them!
Falsehood of the Motives
How pure are your motives?
You know … the reason you do what
you do and say what you say? Are they
lingering in false motives of glorifying self or pure and upright motives of glorifying
the Lord? In verse 2-3 Agur speaks of
lacking understanding and knowledge and in verse 4 he speaks of being inferior
in attitude and ability. Jesus speaks to
us of pure motives in the Beatitudes. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8 The "why" of all we do is to be guarded against
becoming self-motivated leading us into falsehood.
Pay close attention to the falsehoods all around you. Ask God to remove any falsehoods that are
hindering you and to protect your mind.
Ask Him with a sincere heart to make your motives pure as well.
Scripture to Claim:
Mixed motives twist life into tangles; pure motives take
you straight down the road…
Proverbs 21:8a (MSG)
Proverbs 21:8a (MSG)
