The Poor Wise Man

The poor wise man
Curtis Shelton
Ecclesiastes 9:13-16
13. This wisdom have I seen also under the sun and it seemed great unto me:
14. There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
15. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
16. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.


Now consider this little city that is mentioned here; consequently, this city is indeed little but, it has a few men dwelling within it. Think of all the great cities in this country like, Atlanta, Los Vegas, New Orleans, New York, Memphis, and so on.   These cities have a lot of men dwelling within them, but are these men heeding the cries from the streets? Their cries go out on the corner, on the pulpits, on the radio, on the internet, by word of mouth and so on.
Who will give heed to the voices that cry out daily, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” who has given heed to the voices that cried out  just recently concerning the rapture and the coming judgment. Many have taken the cries from the doomsday prophets as a joke, many men have turned their head, many have stomped


Their ears from hearing the messages from the voices of those who then feared and took their messages throughout the world.   Surely, if you would have ears to hear, this little city is the church, and it has just a few men within it.  You would ask yourself, “Where are all the men these days”? They are in the clubs, they are in the prison system, they are chasing the women, they are strung out on drugs, they are homeless, and they are in the hospitals, in rehab, unemployed, in mental institutions, wondering in the streets trying to panhandle just to get by. And yes, this great king has besieged this little city, he has put strongholds around it, he is  attacking it on a daily basis, he has some bound up with poverty, he has some burdened with debt, he has some bound by their jobs so that they can’t break this stronghold. And as long as this little city is besieged by this great king, it is in a difficult position to reach out to the few men within its borders.
Who will be willing to break down this bulwark that the enemy has placed around the little city? Jesus our warrior is the one who will break down this fortification against his church; even so, he will tear it down and break it into pieces.  But he is looking for able body men who will be willing to be his voice. Who will be bold enough to cry out to the men in bondage and bring them back to the city where they belong? Shall we lure them with the message of prosperity or shall we lure them with a message of hope?  Satan, the enemy has taken away their hope, they do not see a future, they think that hope is what they can see, so if
They can’t see hope, they wonder off into oblivion and despair. For hope that is seen is not hope, how can you hope for what you already see?    
We want to introduce to them the real hope. They can’t see Jesus, but they can see you, are you the ones to offer them hope? You are ones the light of the world, they need to see your light, they need to see your Love, they need to see your concern.  They know about the many mega churches today, they know about the leer jets that the preachers possess, they know about the fancy mansions, the expensive cars the pastors have.  But do they know about the love of giving and reaching out to them in these times of need?  Now in this little city is a poor wise man who delivered the city from this great king.  Not many have remembered this poor wise man, yet it was by his wisdom that the city was delivered. Not many are listening to the poor wise man, his voice is taken for granted, his voice is very seldom heeded, but his voice is uttered daily.
“Come unto me” the voice of the poor man utters.   Yet again he says:  “give me all of your heart, take my yoke upon you, seek and you shall find”. Oh, this poor wise man has an abundance of wisdom, he has all the answers to your problems in life; he will comfort you, he will be your helper if you let him.
Surely, some little cities have not been delivered yet. Obviously they have not consulted with the poor wise man, in the same manner; they have not even let him in their services.  Yes, they are the ones who just preach and go; yes, they preach to the lost and go their way.  They carefully observe the time on the wall; O’ old man time has no time to waste.  Why are they looking at old man time? His job is to keep on moving, keep on ticking all his time away.   Just consider the poor wise man and all the churches he has delivered, they were delivered from this great king.  It was not by might, nor by power, so says the scripture.
We have seen some set free, we have seen some delivered from all manner of alcoholism, we have seen some delivered from drugs, and we have even seen some delivered from homosexuality and lesbianism.  Sadly, some are not heeding his voice; some do not trust his wisdom but their own ways.
Rise up young men from the bondage of drugs and alcohol,
You have been taken captive and bound by your own desires, the taste of something that you don’t really need; and what you really need, that you have turned away as foolishness. For over four-hundred years we have been in bondage, bound by slavery and hostility and treated like common animals.  We are being turned away for past failures, yes, and even by the tone of our skin color. We shouldn’t let these distractions deter us. We sometimes fall but we always get back up and stare adversity in the face and say, “We are strong, we are young, we are warriors, we are conquerors.”
Some of you, of which you don’t even realize who it is that, causes you to stumble, who has crippled your morals and has taken you down the road of adversity and failure. And yet, where there is a step to failure, there is always a path to success that is being offered you by the poor wise man.  If you have ears to hear, and eyes to see, his words are wisdom and his ways is understanding. That ole great king that has kept you in bondage appears in many shapes and forms, he is a deceiver and a great liar. If you will be intent to heed his ways, you will fail and slip into oblivion.


Rise up and hear, rise up and take heed, rise up and be the men God intended for you to be, rise up and be accounted for, rise up and war against this great king who has taken your cities captive and placed you children in bondage. Be firmed, take a stand, girdle up yourself, take shields and bucklers, fight like men or perish like fools. You were made to conquer, you were born to take territories, regions, and boundaries, but the enemy has blindsided you and left you to wonder in grief and in a state of delusion and despair. Give him back his drugs, his alcohol, his life of crimes and hardship; let the poor wise man serve him his eviction notice and consider him vacated from your inner premises.
Let this be a lesson to all the faithful ones who are reading, we are the ones considered overcomes, and we are the voices in the wilderness; we are the ones who have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.














©2015 by elder Shelton