.JPG)
The Bible Breakdown
Bible reading plan and SOAP guide: www.experiencerlc.com/the-bible
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: www.brandoncannon.com
The Bible Breakdown
Ecclesiastes 10: Sharpen the Axe
Could the simple act of sharpening an axe transform your life? In our latest episode, we unravel the timeless wisdom found in Ecclesiastes, chapter 10, where Solomon teaches us the profound impact of preparation and wise decision-making. We'll break down Solomon's proverbs, revealing the stark contrast between wisdom and foolishness, the critical importance of thoughtful leadership, and the often-overlooked power of our words. Plus, we'll share a cautionary tale about a mistaken text message that underscores the need for vigilance in our communications.
But we don't stop there. We extend Solomon's principle of "sharpening the axe" to various facets of life, from nurturing relationships with family to deepening our spiritual journey. Reflect on Ecclesiastes 12:13 with us, as we discuss the fulfillment that comes from fearing God and following His commands. We'll guide you through a heartfelt prayer asking for divine assistance in recognizing and utilizing the tools at our disposal. Join us as we prepare to move forward with the rich insights of Ecclesiastes, chapter 11, in our next session.
SOAP Bible Study Method- https://www.brandoncannon.com/soap/
Bible reading plan- http://www.experiencerlc.com/the-bible/
Free weekly newsletter- https://www.brandoncannon.com/
Social:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/thebrandoncannon
Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandoncannon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brandoncannon
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theBrandonCannon
The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, hello everyone. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today. Ecclesiastes, chapter 10. Today's title is Sharpen the Axe. Sharpen the Axe.
Speaker 1:For those of you who've ever read the book the Ten Habits of Highly Effective People, one of the things that they say is sharpen the saw. Well, actually it wasn't. The author of that book was the first person to say that. It actually came years and years ago by the smartest man to ever live, solomon, and he's going to talk to us about the importance of sharpening the axe before we ever try to do something. We'll get into all that in just a moment. But, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share, subscribe to YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're leaving us a five-star review on the podcast, us a five-star review on the podcast. You are forever and always my favorites. Thank you so much. And also thank you everyone for sharing our podcast recently.
Speaker 1:Recently, our podcast has started getting more and more traction. More and more people are listening to it every day, and it is just a testament to how all of you are engaging with God's word. And then you're sharing it with other people, and so thank you so much for spreading that. Please keep doing that because, man, I love the idea of us just rallying together and creating this community of people who are reading God's Word one chapter at a time, and it's changing us from the inside out. And another place you can connect with God's Word is on the Facebook discussion group Bible Breakdown Discussion, because, man, the more we dig, the more we find. If you have your Bible and want to open it with me to Ecclesiastes, chapter 10, if you have your Bible and want to open it with me to Ecclesiastes 10, remember the overall theme is the key to a life well lived is a life full of God, and Solomon is in the advice section of what he's doing. He's already laid out that so much of what we do in life don't matter, but what we do need to do is we do need to focus on what does matter, and so he's got all these different things. Remember, this is the guy who wrote Proverbs, all right, and so he's got a lot of little Proverbs in here and we're going to read through this. But he says something in here I think is so important and I think it's so challenging to all of us, and so, if you're ready we're going to get out.
Speaker 1:Of the New Living Translation, ecclesiastes 10, one says this as dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink. So a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor. That's disgusting. A wise person chooses the right road and the fool takes the wrong one. Thank you, captain.
Speaker 1:Obvious Number three who can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street? Boys, I don't know exactly what that means, but maybe, all right, you can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street. Leave that up to your imagination. All right, verse 4. That's wonderful, wonderful wisdom. Sometimes the very best thing you can do is just go home for the day, right?
Speaker 1:Verse five there is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes and princes walking like servants. When you dig a well, you might fall in, and when you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake. When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you. When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your axe. Using a dull axe requires great strength. So sharpen the blade. That's the value of wisdom. It helps you succeed. If a snake bites you before you charm it, what's the use of being a snake charmer? Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words.
Speaker 1:Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions. So their conclusions will be marked are wicked madness. They chatter on and on. No one really knows what's going to happen. No one can predict the future. Fools are so exhausted by a little work they can't even find their way home. What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant and the land whose leaders feast in the morning. In other words, idleness leads to a leaky house. A party gives laughter, wine gives happiness and money gives everything. In other words, money can't buy happiness, but it does have a way of buying the things that can bring you momentary happiness, right. So don't get it twisted. We don't seek after money for the sake of money. He's just saying it does kind of help a little bit right. Verse 20, nothing makes light of a king. Never make light of a king, even in your thoughts. You don't make fun of the powerful even in your bedroom, for a little bird might deliver your message and tell them what you said. Now, verse 20,. That last one is super important. We have to be so very careful not to criticize others, because if you're not careful you'll end up saying it out loud one day.
Speaker 1:I remember one time I was texting back and forth with somebody and I was really not liking this conversation. I was really frustrated with them and what I thought I was doing was texting a mutual friend to say hey man, you really need to pray for me because so-and-so is just getting on my nerves and I'm trying to be patient, all this stuff. And then I hit send only to realize I sent it to that person and you know what I did. I ended up. I tried at first to act like, like to spin it a little bit, but then eventually I just called him and said look, I'm a jerk, I'm really sorry, and we laughed about it and it actually made him feel better and made me feel worse. So always be careful. But the verse I really love is it says in verse number 10, using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That's the value of wisdom and it helps you succeed.
Speaker 1:I heard a story one time of a two people who had a competition to see who could cut down the most trees over the course of a day. One was this young, strong man and another was an older gentleman, and the race got started, and at first they were both doing pretty good, but as the young man kept cutting trees, and cutting trees and cutting trees, every third or fourth tree, the old man would stop, and he would sharpen his axe and sharpen it. Well, while he was sharpening, the young man was getting further and further along, and the guy kept doing it, and it looked like, for a long time, the young man was just winning by so much, but as the day kept going, it started getting more and more difficult for the young man to cut down the tree, because his axe was getting duller, but he kept thinking well, I'll just be stronger and I will cut these trees down. Well, after a while, it doesn't matter how strong you are, if the axe is dull, it's just not going to cut. Well, what happened, though, was, because the older gentleman kept sharpening his axe, the trees kept being just as easy to cut, and, by the time it was over with, he ended up cutting down twice as many trees as the young man. And so, when it was over with the young man, accepted his defeat and he went over to the old man and he said you know, you got to teach me what you did. And he said, of course he said I learned, just like you're learning today, that it's better to have a sharp axe than a strong back.
Speaker 1:And the idea is that every once in a while we have to pull back from what we're doing to work on it, not in it. Someone once asked Abraham Lincoln if he had one hour to chop down a tree, how would he do it? And he said if I had one hour to chop down a tree, I spend the first 45 minutes sharpening the ax. I spend the first 45 minutes sharpening the ax. In other words, I would try to get as much, I would try to get as prepared as possible before I went and did the thing. And it's so very important for us every once in a while to take a few minutes out of what we're doing to try to make sure are we doing it the best possible. Let me give you an example.
Speaker 1:If you have been going through the motions for a while with your walk with God, let's say you read your Bible at a certain time of the day, you pray at a certain time of the day and you do all this kind of stuff a certain time of day. Every once in a while, it's important to back up and go okay, how am I doing? How is my walk with God? Am I growing? Am I developing? Am I passionate about God? If so, great, keep going. If not, what are some things I can change so that, when I get back in it, I can grow and that is so very important with everything. I'll be very honest with you.
Speaker 1:This happened to me recently when it came to my prayer time. I have a very specific time I pray, a very specific place I pray and a very specific process I go through in prayer. But I'd gotten to notice that I wasn't feeling as close to God in my prayer time, and so I stepped back and I looked at it and I started going okay, right now, well, it's not my prayer time, let me look and go. What is it? That is really kind of going on, and I worked on it instead of in it, so that when I got back in it, I was able to move forward. And I want to ask you this question Is there an area of your life where you need to pause and think about it.
Speaker 1:Maybe it has to do with your relationship with your spouse or your relationship with your children, or something else. But what would it look like for you to take an hour and just step back and sharpen the ax, like read a book that talks about how to be a better spouse, how to be a better parent maybe in your walk with God, or something like that and to sharpen the ax so, when you step back into it, you can have more confidence and you can get further faster. I don't know what that area of life might be, but I guarantee you, if you sharpen the ax, you may find that you're actually better than you realize. You just need to sharpen your tools a little bit more. Let's pray, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you've given us everything we need to do, everything you've called us to do.
Speaker 1:The challenge is many times, god, though our ax has gotten dull. So I pray that we won't try to throw away our ax or throw away our effort, but rather just sharpen the tool a little bit to realize, god, that you have given us everything we need. It's just we need to sharpen it every once in a while. Thank you, god, for trusting us, sometimes more than we trust ourselves, by giving us these opportunities. We celebrate you today In Jesus' name. We pray Amen. And what God's word says Ecclesiastes 12, verse 13,. Here now is my final conclusion Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty. In other words, solomon is saying if we want to have a life that is full, it needs to be a life that is full of God. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Ecclesiastes, chapter 11.
