Gracious Heavenly Father, may your word challenge
us, change us, may it comfort us, may it help
us to be wise, and may it drive us away from
foolishness. And we ask this in Jesus' name,
amen. Magnets are so much fun. My wonderful wife
Laura, she's a great mum. And she found these
cool things years ago called kinetics. Has anyone
ever played with kinetics? All right, that's
great. Getting in touch with your inner child.
And so kinetics, these are awesome little magnets.
These ones are so strong, I can't even pull them
apart. And like you can, it's basically like
magnetic Lego. It's awesome. And I've seen Laura
sit with the kids and build the most amazing
things with these kinetics. big towers, big ball
runs, all sorts of interesting things. It is
such a great toy. And as we play, and as Laura
plays with the kids, I don't think our kids realise
just how amazing magnets are. See, magnets have
two poles. They have a field that attracts and
one that repels. And so they attract and repel
each other. I mean, I don't know why I put these
down. These are so cool. have a thing where,
you know, that way they stick together. How clever
is that? But then if you do it a different way,
it's always, oh, it's some way they don't go
together. But, you know, I'm not that smart.
But anyway, they're really cool because they
have this amazing power to attract to one another.
And that phenomenon of magnetism is a powerful
metaphor that we use in our culture, isn't it?
have a magnetic personality. It's that sort of
idea, isn't it? Or in business we go, oh, that's
a really attractive offer. Or romance, that's
the big one, isn't it? You find someone really
attractive. People spend a lot of time trying
to work out how to be magnetic, how to be attractive.
But you know what's something that we spend far
less time thinking about? We spend far less time
thinking about who we're attracted to and why.
That's important too, as good as it is to, you
know, go do the Botox and be as attractive as
possible. We need to work out who we're attracted
to and why. What's going on in me that makes
me drawn to who I'm drawn to? You know, why does
someone like the party girl or the bad boy? Why
not, you know, Mr Nice Guy? Why am I attracted
to those who aren't good for me? Why do I feel
less of a pull to those that are? Now, there's
so many movies and TV shows about that question,
isn't there? The guy or the girl chasing their
unhealthy partner and then they finally wake
up to how amazing the best friend who's been
right there in front of them is the whole time.
and they see them in a new light, they suddenly
feel an attraction towards them. Well, I want
to suggest today the same thing should happen
to us with wisdom. With wisdom, we want to feel
an attraction toward wisdom. We want to understand
why is it that I don't always feel attracted
to wisdom? Why is it that sometimes I'm drawn
to folly, even though folly's not good for me?
We've got to look inward and work out what's
going on. Is there a new light that I need to
see wisdom in? Well, that's what these chapters
in Proverbs do. They help us see just how attractive,
how awesome, how beautiful and wonderful wisdom
is. And they do that by presenting wisdom and
folly as women. you know, not trying to be sexist
or anything, it's that Proverbs was most likely
originally a book for young men in the king's
court. And so the writer is personifying wisdom
and folly as attractive women to appeal to that
particular audience. But it's there to show us
just how wonderful wisdom is. Here's the big
thing our passage is showing us today. Folly
seduces us into ruin, but wisdom offers us rich
blessings. That's what we see with wisdom and
folly in this passage. Folly seduces us into
ruin, but wisdom offers us rich blessings. We're
gonna look at how this works. And the passage
does two things. It says, you can see wisdom
everywhere. We're going to see how great wisdom
is because we can see it everywhere. And it's
going to give us a choice. It's going to say,
you must choose wisdom or folly. So let's look
at the first thing. You can see wisdom everywhere.
Now, we're not just looking at chapter nine.
We're also looking at chapter eight of Proverbs.
And in chapter eight, Lady Wisdom calls out that
she is more precious than silver, gold, or jewels.
And she backs it up by showing how you can see
wisdom's fingerprints everywhere. All over the
world you can see wisdom. It's baked into the
created order. Kings who reign well, reign well
by wisdom. Good governing is done by wisdom.
Those who earn big bucks and are successful do
so because they tap into something, not always
but often, they tap into something of wisdom.
Wisdom is so incredible that it's actually used
by God in the creation of the world. I mean,
look around, we've got ecosystems, we've got
the water cycle, we've got all these things.
Wisdom is baked into everything. The universe
doesn't run by random chance. It runs because
of wisdom. And seeing this should entice you
and me to go get wisdom. I mean, that's kind
of how sponsorships work, isn't it? For years,
my favourite golf ball to play, and I'm sure
you all care about my favourite golf ball to
play, but it's the only illustration I've got,
it was the Titleist Pro V1. Why? Because it was
the most played golf ball on the PGA Tour. All
the pros played Titleist Pro V1s. And for me,
I wanted to be great at golf. So what do you
do? You've got to go use the ball that the pros
use. See, that's how sponsorships work, isn't
it? And that's what's going on here. Wisdom has
got all its brand ambassadors out. Why choose
wisdom? Well, look around, look at all the brand
ambassadors saying how good wisdom is. Rulers
choose wisdom, the rich choose it, even God uses
it. And there's one more brand ambassador who's
not in this passage who shows just how attractive
wisdom is. It's the Lord Jesus. When he walked
on earth, he literally was wisdom personified.
Lady wisdom here is a preview in some ways, a
shadow of the Lord Jesus. Just as Lady Wisdom
puts limits on the sea, the Lord Jesus would
tell the stormy seas to be still and they'd do
it. When people came with disputes or to trap
Jesus, he'd wisely get down to the real issue.
He lived a life of pure wisdom. That's why he
was so magnetic. People from all over came to
see and speak with Jesus. His wisdom was out
of this world. He even implemented God's wise
plan. He'd be treated like a fool to save the
world. It's amazing wisdom that we see in Jesus.
He is wisdom personified. And when you see that,
it reminds us don't neglect to get wisdom. Make
sure you go get wisdom. The wisdom that's found
in Jesus especially. See, wisdom is very attractive
and this passage is trying to help us see that.
But even as it's trying to call out to us and
draw us in, it faces a rival for our devotion.
Lady Folly. And we have to choose whether we'll
go to the House of Wisdom or to the House of
Folly. And that's the next thing we see. You
must choose wisdom or folly. In chapter nine,
wisdom and folly are placed side by side to each
other. It's there to show that it's a binary
choice. You either choose wisdom or folly. You
can't say simple or naive forever. But it's also
placed like that so we can compare them. They're
there doing the same activities all over the
passage. They're doing the same sorts of things,
but they do it in really different ways. They're
like apples and oranges. They're chalk and cheese.
They're completely different from one another.
Here's some of the ways that they're different.
Wisdom industriously built her house with seven
pillars, seven because it's complete or perfect.
and shrewdly sends out her servants to bring
people in. Folly? Well, she sits there slovenly
at her front door and just shouts as loud as
she can, come on in, come on in! Wisdom worked
hard to make a lavish and delicious meal. Folly's
meal is bland and the only reason it tastes good
is because it's illicit, because it's stolen.
Wisdom meal is given freely to all who come.
Folly's meal is stolen. It's given because she
takes from others. Wisdom gives people life and
insight. It's such a rich blessing. Folly secretly
kills all who enter her home. It's ghoulish.
It presents as attractive and beautiful, but
then when you get in there, you pull back the
curtain and you see it's actually death. See,
both wisdom and folly are seeking to attract
you, yet the reality of each is worlds apart.
It's like when you see ads for Maccas. You know
when, if you were to eat the burger that was
in the McDonald's ads, you would actually die?
I remember, if you've ever watched Gruen, it's
a great show on ABC about advertising, the sesame
seeds that they use on the Maccas ad are actually
glued on. So you'd eat the glue. The patty has
glycerin on it to make it look juicy, so that
wouldn't be good for you. The fries are actually
painted styrofoam. See, the ad is there trying
to seduce you to something that will kill you.
Whereas I've got a mate, Joe, back in Perth.
He's got this little group called Feast on Beasts.
And they cook the most delicious burgers you've
ever seen. Like, you know, he's there and he's
trying to decide which potato bun or milk bun,
what brioche bun, what bun is best. And then
he picks one and then he, like, smashes the patty
beautifully and he gets the best meat for it.
And, oh, you go in and, smells so good. You see
it, it looks amazing. There's no glue on it.
You taste it and it not only tastes amazing,
but it's like pretty good for you. It's pretty
healthy, puts a bit of salad in it and all the
nice things. Now both are attractive, but one
is fake and deadly isn't it? And one is real
and wonderful. And that's just like wisdom and
folly. So how do you tell which one you're actually
attracted to? Well, look at chapter 9, verses
7 to 9. The one who's wicked is drawn to folly.
They insult, they lash out, they despise anyone
who tries to correct them. The wise, the righteous,
they're attracted to wisdom. It's the opposite,
isn't it? They love those who correct them. They
keep learning. They keep growing. They're teachable.
They live life with their L -plates on all the
time. Now, it's not saying that the wise are
like tofu. You know how tofu just absorbs everything?
The wise aren't like that. Proverbs 14 .5 talks
about the simple believes everything. The wise
people are the ones, they hear things and they
discern and they think and they work it out.
But they are open minded. They're not defensive
or dismissive. They listen. The wise welcomes
hard words. It can look like this. You're sitting
there in church or in growth group and someone
says something really cutting and unsettling.
And it's so easy to just shut it down, isn't
it, and dismiss it. They don't know what they're
talking about or the Bible surely can't be saying
that. Or you can sit with it, think about it,
chew on it. Maybe it's possible that is what
it's saying. Or a spouse or a family member or
a friend calls you out on your bad behaviour.
Do you know, it's so easy to do. I do it, you
know. Defend, argue, justify. Well, you weren't
there if you'd understood what I'd gone through
all day. I had five kids, okay? No, I'm not using
any real life examples here. It's so easy to
justify, to prove you're in the right, isn't
it? Or you can just be receptive. Yeah, you're
right, you know, there's something in what you're
saying. Can I think about it? What a great question
to ask is, how can I be more receptive? How can
I be more receptive? Well, the wise is drawn
to uncomfortable truths because they are secure
in the Lord Jesus. See, we lash out, we jump
into fight or flight when we feel threatened.
Insecurity makes us act like fools. The more
I can see that I'm secure in Christ, The more
I can sit with hard words, the more I can be
wise. At the cross, Jesus did something amazing.
He was our sin magnet. Think of these nails,
they're like all of our sins and they've all
been attracted, drawn onto Jesus. He did that
so that we can be forgiven our sins, so that
we could be right in God's sight. We don't have
to justify or prove ourselves to anyone anymore.
We're justified in Jesus. Sin won't hurt you
if you're in Jesus. Not ultimately, not fully.
You're secure. You're safe in Him. And do you
know what, that's the most freeing thing, because
it means that you, Christian, you can face the
darkest things within you, and you can grow.
That's just one of the many blessings and benefits
of Jesus dead for us. So how are you going with
that? Have you got a deep sense of Christ's love
for you? Or is it shallow, surface level, maybe
non -existent? The deeper it is, the more secure
you are in Jesus' love, the wiser you'll become.
Have you got some hard work to do, not only to
face the darkest parts of yourself, but to let
Jesus' love go deeper? Let's tie some threads
together. We started by asking, are you attracted
to what's really good for you? If you're attracted
to folly, is there a new light today in which
you need to see wisdom in? Is there a new way
you need to see folly today? Hopefully you have,
because here's the thing we saw today. Folly
seduces us into ruin. but wisdom offers us rich
blessings. Folly seduces us into ruin, but wisdom
offers us rich blessings. Now, what difference
does this make? You know, as we go out that door,
what impact should this have on our lives? Well,
I think we've got to do that work. We've got
to look in. What's going on in you that's shaping
what you're attracted to. If you're attracted
to folly, I suspect you're being drawn to how
easy it seems. See, folly in all its forms always
appears as super easy. It never appears like
it's actually cutting corners, but it is. See,
being dismissive and defensive, it's easy, rather
than thinking about your part of it. Laziness,
being a slugger, it's easy. They don't have to
do anything. Greed is easy. Lying is easy. Adultery
is easy. Lashing out is easy. The seduction of
folly is it promises easy gains. And such shortcuts
actually harm us. It's not worth it. When folly
looks good, Remind yourself, remind one another
of reality. It promises a lot and delivers a
little. And when wisdom is not attractive, look
around. See where wisdom is. See that it's baked
into all of creation. See her in a new light.
See that Jesus is wisdom personified. Bathe for
a while in her beauty. Don't be repulsed by how
tough it is walking in her paths. Yes, expect
that getting wisdom will sting sometimes. It
takes work, but know that it'll be worth it,
especially with things like constructive criticism
and loving rebuke. And this is so, so, so important.
I think this is like the closest thing to a silver
bullet for personal Christian growth. There was
a church I worked at in WA and we had a man on
our parish council who could never be wrong.
And you know, of course, he was wrong on a lot
of things, and that's putting it mildly. Not
only in just his thinking and how we were trying
to do things, but he was rude, he was rigid,
he was legalistic, he was unteachable. And if
he was ever confronted on anything, put your
hazmat suit on, it was about to go nuclear. I
mean, it felt like people were always walking
on eggshells with this guy. And he would get
angry and defensive. I remember sitting in a
parish council meeting, where he had to be called
out on something. My boss called him out on something
and it went nuclear. I remember just giving him
a little bit of constructive criticism about
something and he told me he'd been doing this
for 30 years and what did I know? And I feel
sad for the guy because he's perpetually stuck.
Because how can you change if you're never wrong?
It's actually so foolish. And I tell you that
to let it be a cautionary tale. I tell you that
to remind you of Proverbs 26 -12, that there's
more hope for a fool than one who's wise in their
own eyes. It is not a good place to be. Please,
please, please don't be that person. At another
church I worked at in WA, I worked with two wonderful
men. I'll tell you their names because they were
wonderful men. A guy named Tyler and a guy named
Roger. Both had a rare quality. They received
rebuke and criticism really well. They were so
gracious, so receptive. And you could just look
at them and you could tell they'd done it for
years and years and years. They'd been like this
for such a long time because you looked at them
and you went, those guys are so grounded and
so godly and so secure in Jesus. And they were
both deeply wise people because they were keen
to learn. They were willing to see their faults.
That's what I want to be like. I think that's
what we should all be like. Let me close with
this. Imagine if Northern Hope in one year, imagine
if all of us took this to heart. If we all felt
extremely secure in Christ, if we were so secure
in Christ that we were drawn to wisdom's critique.
If we were willing to heed, rebuke, I reckon
our spiritual lives would be off the charts.
There'd be sins that we'd been hiding, sins that
we'd been struggling with, that would be lovingly
dealt with and we'd be growing. Our interactions
at home, at work, at church, they'd be caring,
but they'd be raw. There'd be something unique
and different about them. There'd be a harmony
and a love and a godliness and a vulnerability
to how we do things. There'd be a rich delight
in God and a praise of him. And I reckon it would
make many new people flood through that door.
Because people would be saying, there's something
magnetic about that church. That's the sort of
church I want to go to. Why are they all like
that? That'll only happen if each of us are attracted
to wisdom. Will you seek wisdom even when it
hurts? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank
you so much that wisdom is there and it's available
and most clearly, most wonderfully available
in the Lord Jesus. Help us to receive wisdom.
When we are challenged, when we're called out
on things, when those darkest parts of our self
pop up, help us to heed rebuke. Help us to want
to be wise. Help us to be secure in Christ. And
we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.