WEBVTT 00:00:10.420 --> 00:00:13.380 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. So good. You 00:00:13.380 --> 00:00:15.080 can all turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:18.019 one. We're heading that direction to talk about 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:20.760 wisdom. Thank you, Pastor Joe, for the introduction. 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:23.219 I got to say, it's a pleasure being with you 00:00:23.219 --> 00:00:25.120 guys here. One thing, even just in the short 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:26.460 time being with you guys, that's something that's 00:00:26.460 --> 00:00:28.600 very obvious about this church is you guys are 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:30.920 a joyful bunch. I think the joy of the Lord is 00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:35.259 very obviously here and marks you all. So I praise 00:00:35.259 --> 00:00:37.219 the Lord for that. It's clear you guys know how 00:00:37.219 --> 00:00:40.240 to have a good time and enjoy Jesus thoroughly. 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:42.679 So thank you for letting us be a part of this. 00:00:42.780 --> 00:00:46.399 I'm not sure if this is on, but... You know, 00:00:46.420 --> 00:00:48.100 we're going to look at Proverbs chapter one here. 00:00:48.500 --> 00:00:50.320 This is a teaching that I did with our students 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:52.340 back at our end of the year conference. We actually 00:00:52.340 --> 00:00:55.439 had three days to walk them through the book 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:58.159 of Proverbs and some teachings from that. So 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:01.159 I want to start us off here just looking at Proverbs 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:02.979 chapter one. Yeah, I think that's still picking 00:01:02.979 --> 00:01:06.060 me up here. To introduce this, I want to tell 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:08.040 you a story from my childhood. So we'll go in 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:09.599 a little time travel device and go back. There 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:12.760 was a time when my mother, I very vividly remember 00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:16.260 telling me, don't put soap in your eyes. Well, 00:01:16.280 --> 00:01:20.200 that's some wisdom, right? And I remember asking 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:22.819 my mom, why? Why shouldn't I do that? And I think 00:01:22.819 --> 00:01:24.280 maybe this was one of those moments where mom 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:26.939 just sort of throws out the, well, because I 00:01:26.939 --> 00:01:28.859 told you so. Sort of quick, trying to move through. 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:31.700 Learned to bathe myself, whatever. So I get in 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:37.299 the bathtub, and very quickly, curiosity overrides 00:01:37.299 --> 00:01:40.480 wisdom. Sort of scrubbing and doing a little 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:42.219 scrubbing, and it wasn't. You know where this 00:01:42.219 --> 00:01:44.280 is going. It wasn't too long before, boop, that 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:46.420 soap bar goes in my eyeball, and I start screeching 00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:48.640 at the top of my lungs. Mom, mom, mom! You know, 00:01:48.659 --> 00:01:49.500 what happened, what happened, what happened? 00:01:49.700 --> 00:01:52.340 I got soap in my eyes! And then the next, you 00:01:52.340 --> 00:01:55.480 know what the words were after that? I told you 00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:58.980 so, right? Mom warned about getting soap in the 00:01:58.980 --> 00:02:02.459 eye, and I intentionally did it anyway. Listen, 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:06.659 we all have this impulse in us to disregard advice 00:02:06.659 --> 00:02:10.909 and rather to do things our own way. Now that 00:02:10.909 --> 00:02:14.469 impulse to disregard advice written large over 00:02:14.469 --> 00:02:16.629 the course of a lifetime is actually crushing 00:02:16.629 --> 00:02:21.710 and destructive. Have you ever met somebody who 00:02:21.710 --> 00:02:25.770 clearly shipwrecked their life? Maybe personally 00:02:25.770 --> 00:02:28.250 you know someone like that. Listen, there is 00:02:28.250 --> 00:02:33.009 objectively a way to do life well and a way to 00:02:33.009 --> 00:02:36.560 do life poorly. And we all stand at the fork 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:40.099 in the road of those two results, and the split 00:02:40.099 --> 00:02:42.719 in the road runs down this verse. It's Proverbs 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:46.439 3, 5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:50.979 lean not on your own understanding. Wisdom has 00:02:50.979 --> 00:02:52.620 been defined. This is a little different than 00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:54.379 the definition that Pastor Joe just gave, but 00:02:54.379 --> 00:02:57.419 it's a complementary definition. The word in 00:02:57.419 --> 00:02:59.400 the scriptures that is translated wisdom has 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:03.520 been defined as the art or skill of living the 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:06.270 good life. The art or skill of living the good 00:03:06.270 --> 00:03:07.349 life. And I'll tell you more about that in a 00:03:07.349 --> 00:03:09.569 minute. Listen, living the good life does not 00:03:09.569 --> 00:03:13.349 come intuitively to us. Rather, it requires us 00:03:13.349 --> 00:03:16.289 to be taught and develop it like any other skill. 00:03:17.430 --> 00:03:20.430 So welcome to the book of Proverbs. The book 00:03:20.430 --> 00:03:24.229 of Proverbs is your introduction to the art and 00:03:24.229 --> 00:03:28.189 skill of living the good life. Do you want to 00:03:28.189 --> 00:03:31.960 know how to not shipwreck your life? how to thrive 00:03:31.960 --> 00:03:34.400 and flourish, how to manage your finances, use 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:36.379 your words, steward your relationships, avoid 00:03:36.379 --> 00:03:38.659 devastating sin, and even leave an impact on 00:03:38.659 --> 00:03:40.620 the spheres of influence that God has given you. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:45.719 Do you want to learn how to learn? Well, welcome 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:48.460 to the book of Proverbs. It is your introduction 00:03:48.460 --> 00:03:51.219 to wisdom. If you're unfamiliar with the book 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:54.780 of Proverbs, chapters 1 to 9, it's a 31 -chapter 00:03:54.780 --> 00:03:57.060 book. Chapters 1 to 9 is all just introduction 00:03:57.060 --> 00:03:59.819 to the topic of wisdom. Solomon explaining what 00:03:59.819 --> 00:04:01.860 it is and how do you get it and all of that before 00:04:01.860 --> 00:04:04.180 ever really dishing out what we typically think 00:04:04.180 --> 00:04:06.759 of as those little nuggets, those two -line nuggets 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:09.139 of wisdom that make up the rest of the book, 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:12.599 10 to 31. What I want to do is just in our time 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:14.900 here together, briefly look at Solomon's introduction 00:04:14.900 --> 00:04:17.579 to the topic of wisdom. to his book of wisdom 00:04:17.579 --> 00:04:21.899 in Proverbs 1 to 7, most of our time spent on 00:04:21.899 --> 00:04:24.740 verse 7 and that filter through which he looks 00:04:24.740 --> 00:04:26.579 at wisdom. So let me pray for us and we'll get 00:04:26.579 --> 00:04:28.740 into it here. God, thank you for the morning. 00:04:28.899 --> 00:04:31.079 Thank you that we could be together and to look 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:33.779 at your word. And thank you that, Lord, there's 00:04:33.779 --> 00:04:36.220 no distant clockmaker going on here. It's not 00:04:36.220 --> 00:04:37.980 that you set the world in motion and stepped 00:04:37.980 --> 00:04:39.939 away, but actually you are intimately involved 00:04:39.939 --> 00:04:43.180 in helping your creatures, namely us, know how 00:04:43.180 --> 00:04:47.019 life is best lived. Ultimately, Lord, we understand 00:04:47.019 --> 00:04:49.720 that that's by coming to you in repentance and 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:54.040 in faith to know you through the blood of Jesus 00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:57.480 Christ and his resurrection. But even as we consider 00:04:57.480 --> 00:04:59.240 the practicals of our lives that you haven't 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:00.860 left us, that you actually care about the nitty 00:05:00.860 --> 00:05:02.500 -gritty details of our lives, and you've actually 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:05.240 instructed us in those things. So help us to 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:08.300 understand even the foundation of that as we 00:05:08.300 --> 00:05:10.459 explore your text here this morning. We ask this 00:05:10.459 --> 00:05:14.459 in Jesus' name. Amen. I'm going to read to you 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:18.300 Proverbs 1, verses 1 to 7. It says this, the 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:21.259 Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel. 00:05:22.659 --> 00:05:25.139 Listen, this is a purpose statement. If you notice 00:05:25.139 --> 00:05:27.519 the word to there, he's about to tell us why 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:31.879 he is writing the book. To know wisdom and instruction, 00:05:32.339 --> 00:05:36.959 to understand words of insight. to receive instruction 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:39.480 in wise dealing in righteousness, justice, and 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:41.860 equity, to give prudence to the simple, knowledge 00:05:41.860 --> 00:05:44.279 and discretion to the youth. Let the wise hear 00:05:44.279 --> 00:05:46.920 and increase in learning, and the one who understands 00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:50.160 obtain guidance to understand a proverb and a 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:53.120 saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. 00:05:53.870 --> 00:05:56.230 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. 00:05:56.829 --> 00:06:00.009 Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Let me 00:06:00.009 --> 00:06:01.410 show you a little bit about what's going on in 00:06:01.410 --> 00:06:03.129 this purpose statement before we get to that 00:06:03.129 --> 00:06:05.350 foundation in verse 7. What is the purpose of 00:06:05.350 --> 00:06:07.350 the Proverbs? He says three things. The Proverbs 00:06:07.350 --> 00:06:11.709 are for the sake of wisdom. The word translated 00:06:11.709 --> 00:06:14.889 wisdom there in verse 2 is the Hebrew word chokmah, 00:06:15.009 --> 00:06:20.290 which is spelled H -O -F -L -E -M. E -M -A. Chokmah. 00:06:20.350 --> 00:06:22.730 Okay, just got to get it in there. You're welcome 00:06:22.730 --> 00:06:24.029 to try that on if you want. You want to do it 00:06:24.029 --> 00:06:26.769 with me? One, two, three. Chokmah. There you 00:06:26.769 --> 00:06:29.350 go. This word is a little tricky to nail down 00:06:29.350 --> 00:06:32.769 in its definition. Bruce Waltke in his commentary 00:06:32.769 --> 00:06:36.250 on the Proverbs says, in Proverbs, wisdom mainly 00:06:36.250 --> 00:06:39.670 denotes the skill to navigate through the maze 00:06:39.670 --> 00:06:41.870 of life so that one conducts one's life to the 00:06:41.870 --> 00:06:44.610 greatest benefit of oneself and the community. 00:06:44.910 --> 00:06:47.839 It is the way of eternal life. Through wisdom, 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:50.519 one is able to read circumstances, interpret 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:53.920 situations so as to act correctly, speak properly, 00:06:54.060 --> 00:06:57.000 and respond appropriately to each situation so 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.860 that beneficial consequences ensue to self and 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:01.540 community. Thanks, Bruce. That was a little bit 00:07:01.540 --> 00:07:03.680 of a mouthful. What he's saying is wisdom is 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:07.240 knowing what to do in any given situation to 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:10.000 the best good of yourself and to those around 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:13.019 you. Or maybe a shorter way of saying that, it 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:15.860 is the art or skill of living the best life. 00:07:16.839 --> 00:07:19.379 Now, an art or a skill, and the word chokmah 00:07:19.379 --> 00:07:21.860 in the Hebrew, they understood it as an art or 00:07:21.860 --> 00:07:25.120 a skill. Think about any other art or skill that 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:27.540 you might be familiar with, whether it's playing 00:07:27.540 --> 00:07:31.879 a musical instrument or building them, or a sport 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:34.319 or some kind of woodworking craft or whatever. 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:37.439 Any kind of art or skill, there's two things 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:39.779 that go into that. One is there is a basis of 00:07:39.779 --> 00:07:43.040 knowledge. There are things you need to know 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:47.089 in order to do that thing. You can't play a guitar 00:07:47.089 --> 00:07:49.389 without understanding chord structure, and you'll 00:07:49.389 --> 00:07:51.689 play even better if you understand music theory. 00:07:52.750 --> 00:07:54.870 But like any skill, you can't just read a book 00:07:54.870 --> 00:07:56.670 and suddenly be awesome at that thing. I wish 00:07:56.670 --> 00:07:58.709 that's how it worked. But it doesn't work that 00:07:58.709 --> 00:08:01.750 way. You actually have to put that skill into 00:08:01.750 --> 00:08:05.310 practice. You could read a book on playing guitar, 00:08:05.449 --> 00:08:07.329 but you don't know how to play the guitar until 00:08:07.329 --> 00:08:11.649 you pick it up and start strumming. Wisdom... 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:15.939 is a skill that needs to be practiced over time. 00:08:16.779 --> 00:08:19.959 You need to know which way to go, but you also 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:24.300 need repetition in order to excel at it. In other 00:08:24.300 --> 00:08:29.019 words, wisdom is not wisdom until it is morally 00:08:29.019 --> 00:08:33.019 applied. Solomon is the example of this. He was 00:08:33.019 --> 00:08:36.539 the wisest man in the world until he failed to 00:08:36.539 --> 00:08:39.649 continue applying it. If you know the story of 00:08:39.649 --> 00:08:41.909 Solomon, he nearly shipwrecked his faith as he 00:08:41.909 --> 00:08:43.909 began to give in to the lust of the flesh and 00:08:43.909 --> 00:08:46.269 his love of women, and marriage after marriage 00:08:46.269 --> 00:08:48.750 after marriage after marriage, that nearly destroyed 00:08:48.750 --> 00:08:52.210 him, but he repented in the end. See, he failed 00:08:52.210 --> 00:08:55.789 to continue in the moral application of the knowledge 00:08:55.789 --> 00:08:57.990 and the wisdom that he had, and he felt the weight 00:08:57.990 --> 00:09:00.750 of that. Now, here's a distinction I want to 00:09:00.750 --> 00:09:02.470 make for you here this morning. As a Christian, 00:09:02.629 --> 00:09:05.870 you can be negligent with wisdom and still be 00:09:05.870 --> 00:09:08.419 saved. You can be negligent with wisdom and still 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:11.080 be saved, but you'll have a terrible life for 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:13.940 it. And that's what Solomon warns us of in the 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:18.100 book of Proverbs. He tells us the Proverbs are 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:21.080 for gaining this wisdom. You see that in verse 00:09:21.080 --> 00:09:24.740 two, to know wisdom and instruction, to understand 00:09:24.740 --> 00:09:29.080 words of insight. He also tells us in verse four, 00:09:29.139 --> 00:09:32.039 secondly, that it's to give prudence to the simple. 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:36.059 It's actually to help simpletons to grow. That's 00:09:36.059 --> 00:09:38.500 not a word we use a whole lot anymore, simpletons. 00:09:38.500 --> 00:09:40.720 But here's the way this word is meant. There 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:43.019 are three main characters in the book of Proverbs. 00:09:44.340 --> 00:09:46.539 There's the wise man, the one who has embraced 00:09:46.539 --> 00:09:48.919 the Lord's guide to the art or skill of living 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:50.940 the best life. There's the fool who has rejected 00:09:50.940 --> 00:09:54.379 that. And there's this man, the simpleton. The 00:09:54.379 --> 00:09:57.200 simpleton is a man who is a fool by default simply 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:00.929 because he is young. When I tell my child don't 00:10:00.929 --> 00:10:03.129 stand on the edge of the trampoline outside the 00:10:03.129 --> 00:10:06.110 netting and they don't listen to me, they are 00:10:06.110 --> 00:10:08.610 being a fool. It's because they don't quite understand 00:10:08.610 --> 00:10:10.330 how gravity works and that you shouldn't stand 00:10:10.330 --> 00:10:12.110 on the edge. And so when they fall off, hey, 00:10:12.149 --> 00:10:16.129 listen, you just got some experience. The simpleton 00:10:16.129 --> 00:10:20.210 is an amateur fool. Now, if he does not change 00:10:20.210 --> 00:10:23.669 and he does not grow, he will go pro. And that's 00:10:23.669 --> 00:10:27.200 what the Proverbs refer to as a fool. It's the 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:30.220 one who has rejected God's wisdom. But what Solomon 00:10:30.220 --> 00:10:32.840 tells us in his introduction is his goal is actually 00:10:32.840 --> 00:10:36.460 to take the inexperienced youth who doesn't understand 00:10:36.460 --> 00:10:40.059 how the world works yet, and he is applying God's 00:10:40.059 --> 00:10:43.419 wisdom, God's instruction to that person so they 00:10:43.419 --> 00:10:45.500 don't shipwreck their lives, so they don't become 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:49.600 the fool. Now, I understand, I love teaching 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:52.679 Proverbs to college students because it's the 00:10:52.679 --> 00:10:54.529 right time of life to get it to them. Making 00:10:54.529 --> 00:10:56.830 decisions, setting patterns, all that sorts of 00:10:56.830 --> 00:10:59.230 things. I love giving Proverbs to students. And 00:10:59.230 --> 00:11:01.429 I understand some of you are not in my typical 00:11:01.429 --> 00:11:05.950 preaching range, the 18 to 22 year old. The reality 00:11:05.950 --> 00:11:08.149 is you may look at your life and go, there actually 00:11:08.149 --> 00:11:11.090 are some patterns. There actually are some patterns 00:11:11.090 --> 00:11:12.769 of foolishness that I embraced in the course 00:11:12.769 --> 00:11:14.750 of my life and I see the effects of those things. 00:11:14.830 --> 00:11:17.909 It's not too late. The book of Proverbs applies 00:11:17.909 --> 00:11:20.509 as much to you if you are in your 70s or 80s 00:11:20.509 --> 00:11:24.600 as it does to a 20 year old. You may not have 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:27.279 the time in this life to experience all the blessings 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:29.960 that are designed to be given through that wisdom, 00:11:30.100 --> 00:11:33.000 but it's not too late to apply God's wisdom to 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:36.460 your life, even in particular areas. Proverbs 00:11:36.460 --> 00:11:40.279 is designed to make the simple wise. Thirdly 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:42.039 is this, the Proverbs are for the teachable. 00:11:42.059 --> 00:11:45.019 You see this in verses five and six. He says, 00:11:45.019 --> 00:11:48.190 let the wise hear an increase in learning. And 00:11:48.190 --> 00:11:50.470 let the one who understands obtain guidance to 00:11:50.470 --> 00:11:52.850 understand a proverb and a saying, the words 00:11:52.850 --> 00:11:55.350 of the wise and their riddles. See, in verse 00:11:55.350 --> 00:12:00.029 5, he says, let the wise hear and increase in 00:12:00.029 --> 00:12:03.990 learning. Wisdom is first and foremost marked 00:12:03.990 --> 00:12:09.570 by being teachable. It's marked by being teachable 00:12:09.570 --> 00:12:13.929 and being a learner. The one who has nothing 00:12:13.929 --> 00:12:19.230 to learn will learn. Nothing. The one who has 00:12:19.230 --> 00:12:21.529 nothing to learn will learn nothing. Additionally, 00:12:21.629 --> 00:12:25.330 the person who cannot be corrected, the person 00:12:25.330 --> 00:12:31.529 who cannot be wrong will learn nothing. If you 00:12:31.529 --> 00:12:34.809 do not have a teachable, humble disposition, 00:12:35.090 --> 00:12:42.370 you will not grow. You will not grow. So, how 00:12:42.370 --> 00:12:46.259 do you develop a teachable disposition? How do 00:12:46.259 --> 00:12:49.700 you develop that humility to learn and to grow 00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:52.580 and to be taught this art or skill of living 00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:55.259 the good life? Solomon tells us in verse 7, the 00:12:55.259 --> 00:12:59.519 fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom or 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:02.659 the beginning of knowledge. But fools despise 00:13:02.659 --> 00:13:06.960 wisdom and instruction. Solomon unveils for us 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.440 his thesis statement in verse 7, or perhaps another 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:11.440 way of looking at it is it's the interpretive 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:14.720 lens through which he understands the art or 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:17.240 skill of living the good life. There's no way 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:21.980 to separate how to do life well from fearing 00:13:21.980 --> 00:13:25.519 God. And so he says, it is the beginning of knowledge. 00:13:25.740 --> 00:13:28.159 In chapter 9, the other end of his introduction, 00:13:28.419 --> 00:13:30.559 verse 10, he repeats this phrase, the fear of 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:33.980 the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. He bookends 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:37.480 his introduction by this reminder, this is where 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:39.659 it begins. So it would probably help us to define 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:42.899 our terms, wouldn't it? Because you notice, what 00:13:42.899 --> 00:13:45.440 Solomon does not do in introducing this, he does 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:49.399 not say that the love of the Lord is the beginning 00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:54.139 of wisdom. Interesting. He does not say faith 00:13:54.139 --> 00:13:57.700 in the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. He does 00:13:57.700 --> 00:13:59.899 not say the grace of the Lord or the mercy of 00:13:59.899 --> 00:14:01.820 the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. He says 00:14:01.820 --> 00:14:04.759 the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:09.200 Why? Now, I don't know about you, but just about 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:12.399 every time I ever heard somebody explain the 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:14.860 fear of the Lord, they used the word reverence. 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:19.759 Fear of the Lord is this most holy reverence. 00:14:20.819 --> 00:14:22.500 But here's what I want to pose for you this morning. 00:14:23.500 --> 00:14:26.179 Every other time we use the word fear, we do 00:14:26.179 --> 00:14:28.860 not mean reverence. We mean something that is 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:32.320 scary. We typically mean being scared about something. 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:34.220 Now, I understand all of us, if you're a Christian, 00:14:34.279 --> 00:14:35.860 been a Christian for a while, there's an intuitive 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:38.360 tug that does not feel comfortable with that 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:41.100 reality. You go, well, wait a minute. God loves 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:43.580 us. God's merciful. What about the gospel? Yes 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:46.659 and amen. But let's not shy away from the word 00:14:46.659 --> 00:14:49.059 that God uses here. The fear of the Lord is the 00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:50.779 beginning of knowledge. I might want to say, 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:53.919 what about God's love, God's mercy, all this? 00:14:54.019 --> 00:14:56.139 But then you run into passages like Matthew 17, 00:14:56.539 --> 00:14:59.059 verses 5 and 6, when the disciples are on the 00:14:59.059 --> 00:15:00.820 Mount of Transfiguration. Listen to what it says. 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:04.870 In verse 5, Jesus was still speaking when behold, 00:15:04.990 --> 00:15:07.149 a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice 00:15:07.149 --> 00:15:09.830 from the cloud said, this is my beloved son with 00:15:09.830 --> 00:15:13.169 whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. The audible 00:15:13.169 --> 00:15:15.929 voice of God. What did the disciples do? Verse 00:15:15.929 --> 00:15:18.809 six, when the disciples heard this, they fell 00:15:18.809 --> 00:15:20.870 on their faces and were filled with reverence. 00:15:20.870 --> 00:15:25.309 No, they fell on their faces and they were terrified. 00:15:27.370 --> 00:15:29.889 Or what about Revelation chapter 1, when John, 00:15:30.190 --> 00:15:32.830 the apostle John, meets the risen Lord Jesus? 00:15:33.309 --> 00:15:35.690 In verse 12 and 13, it says this, then I turned 00:15:35.690 --> 00:15:38.190 to see the voice that was speaking to me, and 00:15:38.190 --> 00:15:40.889 on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands. And 00:15:40.889 --> 00:15:43.490 in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son 00:15:43.490 --> 00:15:46.250 of man, clothed with a long robe, with a golden 00:15:46.250 --> 00:15:48.330 sash around his chest. And if you know that passage, 00:15:48.409 --> 00:15:50.870 he goes into describing the risen Lord Jesus 00:15:50.870 --> 00:15:54.470 in all this detail. In verse 17, he says, when 00:15:54.470 --> 00:15:59.000 I saw him, I fell at his feet as though I was 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:03.740 dead. That's not reverence. That's not just reverence. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:07.799 But he laid his right hand on me and said, fear 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:10.899 not. I am the first and the last. And he goes 00:16:10.899 --> 00:16:14.299 into his teaching to John. Those guys definitely 00:16:14.299 --> 00:16:19.940 seem scared. They trembled. They hid. They crumpled 00:16:19.940 --> 00:16:22.440 to the ground. That's not just reverence. That's 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:24.460 perhaps something far bigger than reverence. 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:28.970 That is. Fear. Fearing the Lord, at least in 00:16:28.970 --> 00:16:32.190 part, has to do with this understanding that 00:16:32.190 --> 00:16:35.889 we should drop dead in the presence of God Almighty. 00:16:36.889 --> 00:16:39.289 Listen to what God says to Moses in Exodus 33, 00:16:39.649 --> 00:16:44.389 verse 19 to 23. It says, when God, when Moses 00:16:44.389 --> 00:16:48.330 asks him to see his glory, God says this, and 00:16:48.330 --> 00:16:50.590 he said, I will make all my goodness pass before 00:16:50.590 --> 00:16:53.289 you and proclaim before you my name, Yahweh, 00:16:53.330 --> 00:16:56.090 the Lord. And I will be gracious to whom I will 00:16:56.090 --> 00:16:58.049 be gracious and show mercy on whom I will show 00:16:58.049 --> 00:17:02.929 mercy. But, he said, you cannot see my face. 00:17:04.069 --> 00:17:08.089 For man shall not see me and live. And the Lord 00:17:08.089 --> 00:17:10.349 said, behold, there's a place by me where you 00:17:10.349 --> 00:17:13.089 shall stand on the rock. And when my glory passes 00:17:13.089 --> 00:17:15.230 by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock. 00:17:15.369 --> 00:17:17.809 And I will cover you with my hand until I have 00:17:17.809 --> 00:17:20.869 passed by. Then I will take away my hand and 00:17:20.869 --> 00:17:23.869 you shall see my back. Listen to this. but my 00:17:23.869 --> 00:17:29.170 face shall not be seen. Jesus says, man shall 00:17:29.170 --> 00:17:35.210 not see me and live. Jacob experienced something 00:17:35.210 --> 00:17:37.549 very similar in Genesis 32, 30. If you know the 00:17:37.549 --> 00:17:39.650 story, that's when God leaps out of the woods, 00:17:39.690 --> 00:17:41.210 throws Jacob in a headlock, and they have this 00:17:41.210 --> 00:17:43.730 all -night wrestling match. At the end of it, 00:17:43.750 --> 00:17:45.990 after God puts Jacob's hip out of socket and 00:17:45.990 --> 00:17:48.849 blesses him, changing his name to Israel, Jacob 00:17:48.849 --> 00:17:52.069 says this. Verse 30, he says, so Jacob called 00:17:52.069 --> 00:17:55.880 the place, Peniel saying, I have seen God face 00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:59.079 to face, and get this, and yet my life has been 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:03.839 delivered. He understood, I saw God's face, I 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:08.339 should be dead right now. And yet I am not. And 00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:10.960 it's all of grace. It's all of grace that I'm 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:14.039 not. See, brothers and sisters, the fear of the 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:16.740 Lord is understanding that God is transcendent. 00:18:17.369 --> 00:18:21.009 That he is beyond us in every way. That God is 00:18:21.009 --> 00:18:23.849 holy and morally perfect and without the stain 00:18:23.849 --> 00:18:25.650 of sin. And when all these people throughout 00:18:25.650 --> 00:18:28.349 history interacted with God, they crumpled before 00:18:28.349 --> 00:18:30.730 him because they understood their sinfulness 00:18:30.730 --> 00:18:34.529 and their insufficiency. They understood that 00:18:34.529 --> 00:18:36.990 being a sinful person in the presence of a holy, 00:18:37.069 --> 00:18:39.670 perfect God meant that they were actually in 00:18:39.670 --> 00:18:44.130 danger in that moment. And yet, God was gracious. 00:18:45.829 --> 00:18:47.650 Do you know what the most repeated command in 00:18:47.650 --> 00:18:53.430 the scripture is? It's fear not. The irony here 00:18:53.430 --> 00:18:57.369 is that God both comes in all his fear -inducing 00:18:57.369 --> 00:19:00.549 glory and yet in his grace comforts with the 00:19:00.549 --> 00:19:04.839 words fear not and he draws them out. Fearing 00:19:04.839 --> 00:19:08.519 God includes knowing that you and I should die, 00:19:08.619 --> 00:19:12.000 that our sins deserve his full and unbridled 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:16.019 wrath, and it is only grace that restrains that. 00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:20.759 See, brothers and sisters, the fear of the Lord 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:25.420 is trembling before him. It's understanding additionally 00:19:25.420 --> 00:19:28.519 that we are not like him. That certainly we're 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:30.640 not holy, but think about the other attributes 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:33.799 of God. That there's this infinite contrast between 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:36.640 us and God. That he is creator and we are creature. 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:39.559 That he is Lord and we are servant. He is infinite. 00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:42.200 We are finite. He is everywhere. We are confined. 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:45.359 He is all -knowing. We know actually not all 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:49.799 that much. That God can do all his holy will 00:19:49.799 --> 00:19:52.920 pleases him to do. If you think you can pull 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:55.039 that off, try explaining that to a police officer. 00:19:55.319 --> 00:19:58.700 You and I are limited, weak, bound by outside 00:19:58.700 --> 00:20:03.299 constraints. The fear of the Lord is what you 00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:07.099 and I would experience if God himself spoke to 00:20:07.099 --> 00:20:11.039 us the way he spoke to Job. In Job 38, verses 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:14.089 1 to 4. Maybe you're familiar with this. After 00:20:14.089 --> 00:20:16.589 Job's complaint is lodged, God responds to him 00:20:16.589 --> 00:20:18.890 and he says, the Lord answered Job out of the 00:20:18.890 --> 00:20:22.710 whirlwind and said, who is this? Who is this 00:20:22.710 --> 00:20:26.490 who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 00:20:26.690 --> 00:20:29.450 Dress for action like a man. I will question 00:20:29.450 --> 00:20:32.369 you and you make it known to me. Where were you 00:20:32.369 --> 00:20:35.150 when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell 00:20:35.150 --> 00:20:39.970 me if you have understanding. Brothers and sisters, 00:20:40.569 --> 00:20:44.150 What if you and I actually attempted to argue 00:20:44.150 --> 00:20:50.690 with God? Who would win? Who would win? That's 00:20:50.690 --> 00:20:53.769 the fear of the Lord. That's the fear of the 00:20:53.769 --> 00:20:58.009 Lord that he's talking about. Well, why? Why 00:20:58.009 --> 00:21:01.730 is that? Why is that experience of trembling 00:21:01.730 --> 00:21:07.369 before God? Why is that the beginning of the 00:21:07.369 --> 00:21:12.039 art or skill of living the good life? Bruce Waltke, 00:21:12.059 --> 00:21:13.980 again, he says what the alphabet is to reading, 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:16.559 what notes are to music, what numerals are to 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:19.759 mathematics, the fear of Yahweh is to gaining 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:23.700 the book's wisdom and instruction. It's our foundation. 00:21:24.700 --> 00:21:26.880 If wisdom is the art or skill of living the best 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:29.559 life, then who actually knows how life is best 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:33.559 lived? Is it you? Is it me? Give me a break. 00:21:34.500 --> 00:21:37.960 You, in your meager, however many number of years, 00:21:39.210 --> 00:21:42.150 You might not be a 20 -year -old anymore, but 00:21:42.150 --> 00:21:46.369 look, in light of immortal, eternal God, you're 00:21:46.369 --> 00:21:50.690 a spring chicken. Who has more experience, you 00:21:50.690 --> 00:21:53.150 or the one who exists outside of time? Friends, 00:21:53.269 --> 00:21:56.730 God is right in any argument. Which of us has 00:21:56.730 --> 00:22:00.329 a better handle on how life is best lived? Additionally, 00:22:00.430 --> 00:22:02.210 if you layer on top of this that you and I deserve 00:22:02.210 --> 00:22:04.289 to die for our sins, and God in his grace has 00:22:04.289 --> 00:22:07.819 not. done that, but rather died for us, where 00:22:07.819 --> 00:22:11.440 does that leave us? Where does that leave us? 00:22:13.019 --> 00:22:14.940 Brothers and sisters, the fear of the Lord leaves 00:22:14.940 --> 00:22:21.519 us listening. It leaves us listening. It should, 00:22:21.619 --> 00:22:26.079 if there's even a teeny tiny bit of sanity in 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:29.380 us and the work of the Spirit, it should leave 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:32.250 us listening. The fear of the Lord is the beginning 00:22:32.250 --> 00:22:34.490 of wisdom because it puts you in the student's 00:22:34.490 --> 00:22:37.309 chair and correctly identifies the right instructor. 00:22:38.069 --> 00:22:40.150 If you want to live the best life, then why not 00:22:40.150 --> 00:22:42.430 learn from the author of life? Why would you 00:22:42.430 --> 00:22:45.250 dare argue with him as if though you or I knew 00:22:45.250 --> 00:22:47.890 better? Why would you disregard his counsel? 00:22:48.410 --> 00:22:52.329 As James says in his book, he says, be slow to 00:22:52.329 --> 00:22:55.829 speak, quick to listen, or quick to listen, slow 00:22:55.829 --> 00:22:58.089 to speak, and slow to anger. I think he's actually 00:22:58.089 --> 00:23:02.849 talking about listening to God's word. Slow yourself 00:23:02.849 --> 00:23:06.109 down. Be quick to listen to God and stop talking 00:23:06.109 --> 00:23:09.049 over him. And certainly do not get angry with 00:23:09.049 --> 00:23:13.009 him. Well, let's be honest. That's a work of 00:23:13.009 --> 00:23:15.170 the Spirit. That's not something that you and 00:23:15.170 --> 00:23:17.349 I can manufacture in and of ourselves. Prior 00:23:17.349 --> 00:23:19.670 to Christ's work in us, we default to resisting 00:23:19.670 --> 00:23:22.880 the fear of the Lord. Now, that doesn't mean 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:24.759 that a non -Christian can't stumble upon these 00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:27.480 principles of how God has made the world to work 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:30.220 best, but they'll always be missing the foundation. 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:33.380 They'll always be missing the interpretive lens. 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:36.140 It may be a part of the truth, but it won't be 00:23:36.140 --> 00:23:40.619 wisdom in its entirety. If you're in Christ, 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:43.319 you have the Holy Spirit, and so he is already 00:23:43.319 --> 00:23:46.380 predisposing you through conviction and remembering 00:23:46.380 --> 00:23:50.380 his word toward wisdom. But like our growth in 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:52.200 Christ, there's a work of the Spirit, or the 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:56.039 work that the Spirit is doing in us, in spite 00:23:56.039 --> 00:23:59.319 of us, but we are also called to work out our 00:23:59.319 --> 00:24:01.740 salvation with fear and trembling. You have a 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:05.160 part to play in embracing the fear of the Lord. 00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:10.079 So let me pose the question to you. Do you fear 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:16.900 God? Is your life marked by a fear of the Lord? 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:20.859 Because that predisposes you. That is the foundation, 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:23.539 the beginning of knowledge and wisdom, knowing 00:24:23.539 --> 00:24:26.900 how life is best lived. Brothers and sisters, 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:29.140 the evidence of fear of God in your life is listening 00:24:29.140 --> 00:24:35.380 to God over listening to yourself. The evidence 00:24:35.380 --> 00:24:38.240 of fear of God in your life is listening to God 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:43.240 over listening to yourself. As I mentioned in 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:45.519 the beginning, Proverbs 3, 5 is maybe the most 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:49.279 famous expression of this dichotomy. It says 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:52.079 this in verses 5 to 8, trust in the Lord with 00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:55.759 all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. 00:24:56.140 --> 00:24:58.140 In all your ways acknowledge him and he will 00:24:58.140 --> 00:25:01.460 make straight your paths. Be not wise in your 00:25:01.460 --> 00:25:04.680 own eyes, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:07.859 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:10.910 to your bones. Look, there are only two options. 00:25:11.009 --> 00:25:13.930 Either you will trust the Lord with all your 00:25:13.930 --> 00:25:16.230 heart, or you will lean on your own understanding. 00:25:16.710 --> 00:25:19.049 You can choose either one. You're free to do 00:25:19.049 --> 00:25:21.789 that. One puts you in the driver's seat, and 00:25:21.789 --> 00:25:24.269 I think we tend to like that until we realize 00:25:24.269 --> 00:25:27.529 the consequences of it. One puts you in the driver's 00:25:27.529 --> 00:25:28.789 seat, and that feels empowering. But remember, 00:25:28.910 --> 00:25:30.690 you do things like consistently stay up too late 00:25:30.690 --> 00:25:32.710 to watch stupid YouTube videos. You worry about 00:25:32.710 --> 00:25:34.430 your future when you can't actually do anything 00:25:34.430 --> 00:25:37.269 about it. You get irritated when other people 00:25:37.269 --> 00:25:40.180 do the same things you do. Look, you're just 00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:43.920 a very silly person and me too. You're welcome 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:46.740 to ignore wisdom. And as I said, look, as a Christian, 00:25:46.819 --> 00:25:50.059 you will still be saved. It is Christ's work, 00:25:50.180 --> 00:25:53.019 not your adherence to wisdom that saves you. 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:55.160 You're free to ignore wisdom, but listen, you'll 00:25:55.160 --> 00:25:57.559 have a terrible life and you will die in shame. 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:01.019 See, trust in the Lord puts the Lord in control, 00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:03.960 puts him in the driver's seat. And perhaps that's 00:26:03.960 --> 00:26:09.029 the part we resist the most. are you marked by 00:26:09.029 --> 00:26:12.210 being teachable? That's another way of saying, 00:26:12.289 --> 00:26:15.589 are you marked by listening? Have you acknowledged 00:26:15.589 --> 00:26:18.750 that God actually knows how life works better 00:26:18.750 --> 00:26:22.089 than you do? Now, you may have done that in some 00:26:22.089 --> 00:26:23.690 areas of your life, but are there areas where 00:26:23.690 --> 00:26:25.730 you're saying, no, God, I'm not going to let 00:26:25.730 --> 00:26:28.650 you into that one. I have to hold on to this 00:26:28.650 --> 00:26:34.789 one because it's too scary to trust you. Does 00:26:34.789 --> 00:26:37.700 your life reflect this? Do you see evidences 00:26:37.700 --> 00:26:39.839 of where God has taught you and you trusted him 00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:43.000 more than yourself? Have you seen evidence of 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:46.579 repentance in your life because God corrected 00:26:46.579 --> 00:26:51.700 you through his word? This is the fear of the 00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:54.400 Lord. Now, wait a minute. What about the love 00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:56.640 of the Lord? What about his grace? What about 00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:58.299 his mercy? What about all of those things that 00:26:58.299 --> 00:27:03.190 we actually can approach the Lord? come boldly 00:27:03.190 --> 00:27:04.930 before the throne of grace to find help and mercy 00:27:04.930 --> 00:27:06.730 in times of need. Yes, all those things are true. 00:27:07.789 --> 00:27:09.390 You know, for most of us, that's what brought 00:27:09.390 --> 00:27:11.089 us to Christ was the promise of forgiveness, 00:27:11.309 --> 00:27:13.809 the welcome of his adoption, all of those sorts 00:27:13.809 --> 00:27:15.950 of things. So how do we think about this fear 00:27:15.950 --> 00:27:18.210 of the Lord when the Bible also tells us that 00:27:18.210 --> 00:27:23.150 God loves us and invites us in? What I want to 00:27:23.150 --> 00:27:26.529 submit to you is that fear of the Lord and faith 00:27:26.529 --> 00:27:28.450 in Christ are actually two sides of the same 00:27:28.450 --> 00:27:32.289 coin. It's two sides of the same coin. Right 00:27:32.289 --> 00:27:34.690 before that passage in Proverbs 3, 5, trust in 00:27:34.690 --> 00:27:35.970 the Lord with all your heart and lean not on 00:27:35.970 --> 00:27:39.210 your own understanding. In Proverbs 3, 3, he 00:27:39.210 --> 00:27:42.089 says, let not steadfast love and faithfulness 00:27:42.089 --> 00:27:44.950 forsake you. Write them on the tablet of your 00:27:44.950 --> 00:27:47.369 heart. He's talking about God's steadfast love 00:27:47.369 --> 00:27:50.069 and faithfulness. Why should you trust in the 00:27:50.069 --> 00:27:52.029 Lord with all your heart? Because his love for 00:27:52.029 --> 00:27:56.089 you is covenantal and it is un... That's why 00:27:56.089 --> 00:27:57.970 you should abandon leaning on your own understanding 00:27:57.970 --> 00:28:00.609 because he is absolutely and imminently trustworthy. 00:28:01.750 --> 00:28:05.069 He makes and keeps his promises and his love 00:28:05.069 --> 00:28:07.869 is covenantal. If someone with all that power 00:28:07.869 --> 00:28:10.509 and authority and knowledge, my goodness, he 00:28:10.509 --> 00:28:12.509 commits to you when he knows what you and I are 00:28:12.509 --> 00:28:16.130 like. If someone like that sets his affection 00:28:16.130 --> 00:28:19.329 on you and does so chiefly by dying for you, 00:28:19.450 --> 00:28:24.009 then perhaps he's worth trusting. Perhaps he's 00:28:24.009 --> 00:28:25.990 worth trusting more than myself, and perhaps 00:28:25.990 --> 00:28:27.789 he's worth trusting even with the fine china 00:28:27.789 --> 00:28:31.890 of my life. Listen, fear of the Lord means you 00:28:31.890 --> 00:28:34.289 tremble before his power and his holiness, and 00:28:34.289 --> 00:28:36.549 so you listen. You take him at his word. He knows 00:28:36.549 --> 00:28:39.690 better than I do. But isn't that what faith is? 00:28:40.670 --> 00:28:42.950 Isn't that exactly what faith is, is taking God 00:28:42.950 --> 00:28:45.009 at his word, that when he says something, it's 00:28:45.009 --> 00:28:48.029 as good as done? Trusting the Lord with all your 00:28:48.029 --> 00:28:49.789 heart combines this incredible understanding 00:28:49.789 --> 00:28:53.940 that God is God and I am not. And that God in 00:28:53.940 --> 00:28:56.579 all his godness has set his affection on you 00:28:56.579 --> 00:29:01.220 and on me. So it's only saying to tremble before 00:29:01.220 --> 00:29:05.660 the Lord and therefore to listen to him. What 00:29:05.660 --> 00:29:07.539 is the most important thing that we could possibly 00:29:07.539 --> 00:29:10.819 listen to God about? Perhaps it's something like 00:29:10.819 --> 00:29:13.880 this. But God demonstrates his own love for us 00:29:13.880 --> 00:29:16.720 in this. That while we were still sinners, Christ 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:18.359 died for us. Are you going to argue with him 00:29:18.359 --> 00:29:21.579 about that? Are you going to lean on your own 00:29:21.579 --> 00:29:23.140 understanding about something like the gospel? 00:29:23.259 --> 00:29:25.779 Are you going to trust him with that? Trust in 00:29:25.779 --> 00:29:28.839 the Lord with all your heart and lean not on 00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:32.720 your own understanding. When he tells you he 00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:35.319 has died for you, he has forgiven you, he has 00:29:35.319 --> 00:29:39.039 welcomed you. See, brothers and sisters, fear 00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:41.720 of the Lord includes both trembling and trusting. 00:29:43.669 --> 00:29:46.150 If God knows better than I do, then I need to 00:29:46.150 --> 00:29:48.490 listen to him, even as he reveals his love and 00:29:48.490 --> 00:29:51.190 grace to me. Fear of the Lord and faith in Christ 00:29:51.190 --> 00:29:55.650 are two sides of the same coin. Let me loop back 00:29:55.650 --> 00:29:57.670 to the beginning. If we understand all this, 00:29:57.829 --> 00:29:59.809 then we understand that wisdom is not merely 00:29:59.809 --> 00:30:03.349 life advice. It's not just about managing your 00:30:03.349 --> 00:30:05.609 finances or knowing how to use your words, though 00:30:05.609 --> 00:30:09.519 it is that. A fuller definition of wisdom is 00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:11.339 not just the art or skill of living the good 00:30:11.339 --> 00:30:13.799 life for the best life, but perhaps it's something 00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:17.200 like this. It's learning how to live from the 00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:20.000 author of life who could have rightly destroyed 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:23.819 you, but he loves you instead. That's what true 00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:27.039 wisdom is. Now you're off to a good start by 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:29.720 being here and you're sitting yourself under 00:30:29.720 --> 00:30:32.240 the ministry of God's word. That is a good place 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:34.480 to start. But will you take a full advantage 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:37.869 of what you have in this church? You do that 00:30:37.869 --> 00:30:39.970 by being teachable, by coming and preparing to 00:30:39.970 --> 00:30:42.809 hear God's word. Whether that's by ensuring that 00:30:42.809 --> 00:30:44.269 you get a proper night's sleep on a Saturday 00:30:44.269 --> 00:30:46.869 night so you're ready to hear God's word or by 00:30:46.869 --> 00:30:48.630 positioning your heart in prayer and saying, 00:30:48.670 --> 00:30:50.750 God, convict me of what I need to be convicted 00:30:50.750 --> 00:30:52.930 and encourage me of what I need to be encouraged 00:30:52.930 --> 00:30:56.430 in. Perhaps it looks like as you are listening 00:30:56.430 --> 00:30:59.190 to the sermons or Bible studies or whatever ministry 00:30:59.190 --> 00:31:00.769 of the word you sit under here at the church 00:31:00.769 --> 00:31:02.990 that you ask yourself, God, what needs to change 00:31:02.990 --> 00:31:07.990 in me? What do I need to hear? Perhaps it means 00:31:07.990 --> 00:31:09.630 going up to a fellow church member and saying, 00:31:09.690 --> 00:31:13.589 do you see any area of my life where I am not 00:31:13.589 --> 00:31:16.029 being faithful to the Lord? Would you speak into 00:31:16.029 --> 00:31:22.670 it? Ooh, boy. Friends, here's my challenge to 00:31:22.670 --> 00:31:24.869 you. Resolve in your heart that God knows more 00:31:24.869 --> 00:31:29.250 than you. Resolve in your heart. Therefore, even 00:31:29.250 --> 00:31:31.349 this week, as you go out from here, ask him to 00:31:31.349 --> 00:31:34.910 convict you where you need to be convicted, that 00:31:34.910 --> 00:31:37.700 you would trust him more than yourself. and ask 00:31:37.700 --> 00:31:40.539 him to encourage you where you need to be encouraged, 00:31:40.759 --> 00:31:42.859 that you would trust him even with those things 00:31:42.859 --> 00:31:46.420 more than yourself, even this week. Let me pray 00:31:46.420 --> 00:31:50.099 for you to that end. Go to him. Lord God, thank 00:31:50.099 --> 00:31:53.539 you that you speak into the nitty -gritty of 00:31:53.539 --> 00:31:56.019 life, that you really do care about the details, 00:31:56.220 --> 00:31:59.539 and we thank you, Father, that you... have loved 00:31:59.539 --> 00:32:01.880 us enough to instruct us on these things. We 00:32:01.880 --> 00:32:03.500 pray, Father, that you would help us to have 00:32:03.500 --> 00:32:05.660 that teachable disposition, that we understand 00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:08.180 as we tremble before you that you know better 00:32:08.180 --> 00:32:10.740 than we do. Lord, would you forgive us for our 00:32:10.740 --> 00:32:13.519 arrogance? Would you forgive us for our arrogance 00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:17.519 wherever, Lord, we have acted as if though we 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:20.859 know better than you? Lord, we admit to you that 00:32:20.859 --> 00:32:23.420 we are foolish people in that regard, and we 00:32:23.420 --> 00:32:26.019 plead with you that you would humble us and help 00:32:26.019 --> 00:32:29.240 us to learn. God, convict us of the Spirit so 00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:31.519 that we might repent and turn. Teach us what 00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:34.960 we don't know yet or have forgotten. Remind us 00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:37.359 of those truths all so that we would follow you 00:32:37.359 --> 00:32:39.579 and that we'd receive the blessings for living 00:32:39.579 --> 00:32:41.859 the wise life. We ask this all for your glory, 00:32:42.019 --> 00:32:44.319 Lord, that even in our lives that that wisdom 00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:47.240 would radiate your goodness and your glory. We 00:32:47.240 --> 00:32:49.180 ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.