Thank you. Thank you, Father, and all of you who led us this morning in our worship.
God bless you for using your gifts to serve him and our church in this way.
Would you open your Bible, please, to look at Proverbs?
We begin by looking at chapter 2 and verse 6 as we think about finding wisdom's source.
Proverbs 2, 6.
For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth, from knowledge and understanding.
The Book of Proverbs does not deal with theological questions.
The Book of Proverbs is not devotional to writing.
Whether it is a book of advice and counsel about personal, social, or economic issues of life.
It is a book of wisdom, telling us how to live in our world today with no skill.
The Book of Proverbs tells us how to live our lives so that the process of that building
and the result of that building are satisfying to us, good for our world, and glorifying to God.
The Book of Proverbs is a book about values.
Although God is not mentioned often in the book, we must understand the Hebrew mindset as we approach it.
The Hebrew saw every dimension of life as related to God, and therefore it was unnecessary
for him to mention God in every verse.
But I know we tend to divide the secular from the sacred and the mystic.
We must know those who are the authors of this wisdom.
Used by God to write these words for us.
They saw God in every part of life. His presence was pre-supposed.
This wisdom is more valuable than gold in the way to our healthy life.
We have only to read our newspapers to learn that the wealth does not bring happiness.
One of the leading famous of Minnesota is now involved in a terrible murder, kind of murder.
What it exposes is the truth for all of us know that having money does not make one a happy person.
Wisdom, you see, is true wealth, and it always and surely and certainly leads to a happy life.
I want to talk about the source of wisdom this morning.
Where does it originate?
That's the first question I want to pose and ask by God's help.
The verse we have read tells us very clearly the source or the origin of wisdom.
Now when I use the word wisdom, remember I'm not talking about smarts.
I'm not talking about IT.
When I use the word wisdom, I'm talking about moral skillfulness, learning how to live a meaningful and happy and satisfying life.
This kind of wisdom resides in only one place in its perfection, and that is in God, our Creator.
That makes sense.
God made us. God made our world.
And therefore He knows how we as His creatures can have a full and meaningful life.
Wisdom is a tribute to God.
The world around us attributes wisdom to other things.
For example, experience.
Our world thinks that if you are experienced in life or if you're older, you might tend to have more wisdom.
The world around us attributes wisdom to education.
We know that if one has a doctorate, he is more wise than someone who is not graduated from high school.
Our world attributes wisdom to profession as well.
In other words, if one is of a certain profession, he is undoubtedly wise.
For example, a psychologist or a psychiatrist.
Our world says, I'm wise, people.
But in fact, is wisdom found in experience?
Is it found in education?
Is wisdom found merely in profession?
The answer is absolutely not.
Some of the most educated people in the world today are some of the most unhappy.
We can go to the nursing homes of our community and find people who have decades of experience but who are dying, miserable people.
Certainly some of the most confused and mixed up people in our world are many of the psychologists and psychiatrists.
Wisdom originates with God.
It comes to us from Him.
The King Solomon realized this.
I'd like you to turn your Bible to the book of 1 Kings with me, the third chapter, as we read about his request of God for wisdom.
God said basically, Solomon, you ask whatever you want and I will give it to you.
Now suppose God were to ask and offer that to you.
What would you ask God for?
Do you have your wishes?
Solomon prayed and asked God for this.
He says in verse 9, give your servant a discerning heart, a wise heart,
to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.
Who is able to govern this great people of yours?
Solomon asked for God's wisdom.
In verse 12, God says, I will do what you have asked.
I will give you a wise and discerning heart so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.
In other words, God says, Solomon, I'm going to answer your request and I'm going to make you the wisest person in the history of the world.
One exception, the one who is greater than Solomon, Jesus Christ, in whom all the fullness of wisdom dwells broadly.
Among the sons of men and women, there is never in the history of the world that a riser one than was Solomon, he went to the source.
He asked for wisdom.
Turn to chapter 4, look at verse 29.
We would have a bit of summary regarding King Solomon.
It says, God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight.
And the breadth of understanding is as measureless as the sand on the seashore.
Imagine this.
God was using the sand on the seashore as an illustration of the breadth of Solomon's wisdom.
Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
And in that period of world history, the search for wisdom and the writing of it was one of the great searches in the civilizations of men.
You will find other civilizations with their wisdom literature, as it is called, as they sought to put down condensed ideas and thoughts that encapsulated the best of their wisdom.
Solomon was greater than all.
He was wiser than any other man, including those mentioned here.
And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.
He spoke 3,000 proverbs and his Psalms numbered 1,005.
He described plant life from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the walls.
He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish.
Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world who had heard of his wisdom.
Solomon realized that wisdom originates with God.
And when God opened the door and said, Solomon, you give me, I will give you whatever you ask of me.
Solomon said, Lord, I want wisdom.
And God answered that prayer in abundance.
The book of Proverbs that we have before us has a total of 915 Proverbs.
Only about 500 of them are attributed directly to Solomon.
And so about 2,500 of Solomon's Proverbs are not recorded any longer.
They've been lost through the ages, not been inspired by God for recording in his words.
So 2,500 of them are lost.
And we have only two of the over 1,000 songs that Solomon wrote.
So over 1,000 of his songs have not been recorded for us to enjoy today.
The first one, and he claimed that's the one.
In fact, the last one is not recorded so I will read it from here as well as this one.
He said, let us not forget
for that the trunk we have is strong as the trunk of Job.
Let us not forget that the fruit in the fruit is the fruit of our heart,
that can happen. The source of wisdom is God himself, none other. Now the second question
I want to pose is this, is how can wisdom be acquired? How can you and I acquire wisdom
from God? I have three answers to that question. By the way, this is in your outline if you
want to pull it out and follow along with me. There are three answers I believe to this
question, how do we acquire wisdom? The first is found in Proverbs chapter 1 and verse
7. We'll look briefly at this verse last week where it says, the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge. We acquire wisdom in the first place by cultivating the right
response to God in our lives. And what is that response? It is to fear him. It is to
fear him. The first nine chapters of Proverbs form a sub-portion of the book. It was indicated
there in the outline given to you last week. As these Proverbs were compiled, it begins
in chapter 1 by saying that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And interestingly,
again in chapter 9 and verse 10 toward the end of this compilation, it repeats almost
the same word. The beginning of the Lord is the fear of wisdom. We acquire wisdom in the
first place by cultivating a right response in our hearts to the Lord. And that response
is said to be fear. Let's turn to one other text that says basically the same thing in
Psalm 111. You'll see why I need to point this out in just a moment. Psalm 111 concludes
with verse 10 and with these words. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All
who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Now, does that
ring a bell anywhere? Do you see that anywhere on the auditorium this morning? To God belongs
eternal praise. When you look up here in the front and you see that statement, understand
where it comes from. Why is the Psalmist giving God eternal praise and why should we? The
answer is that he is the source of wisdom. All wisdom is found in God. He can tell us
how to live and be happy in the world. And so to God belongs eternal praise. And as we
gather week by week over the upcoming months when we look up and see that statement there,
let's remind ourselves God can tell me how to live. God can show me how to be wise. To
God belongs eternal praise. And fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And what
does it mean to fear the Lord? We say in the first place that this word does not mean to
be terrorized by God. God does not mean that we are to be in a constant state of fright
of Him. That is not what it means. God invites us indeed after the cross to come boldly into
his presence. God does not want us to be terrorized by him. But God tells us that we do need to
fear him in some sense. The right sense of fear embraces several ideas. It means to be
in awe of God because he is completely other than we are. God is not created. God is uncreated.
He is eternal. We are created. We are made in his image. But God is completely other
than we are. He is holy in an infinite sense. And therefore we are to be in reverence of
him in awe and reverence. Another idea that is part of the fear of God is to be loyal
to God and obedient to God. If you want to be wise, we need to cultivate those attitudes
toward him. Not to take God lightly. Not to make God a joke. Not to use his name in a
blasphemous way. We need to understand that God is to be held in awesome reverence. And
because of that we are to be loyal and obedient to him and to the covenant that he has made
with us. The right response in my heart to God can be summarized in the word submission.
Because he is faithful. Because he is holy. I can and should be submissive to him. When
do I acquire wisdom in the first place? Not merely by learning a body of truth. But rather
by a relationship to God that includes this attitude of fear. When one comes to faith
in Jesus Christ for salvation there is a necessity, a respect for God, a reverence for God, a
commitment to him, a submission to him. But when he begins there, it goes on to develop.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And let me explain that when it says the beginning
of wisdom it doesn't mean that it's the starting place from which we depart. It's saying whether
it's the foundation upon which we're built. The fear of the Lord is the foundation of
it and we retain that attitude toward God and build our lives on that and as we do we
increase in wisdom. Secondly, if we would acquire wisdom we need to cultivate the right
response in our hearts to wisdom itself. Turn with me to Proverbs chapter 4. The whole text
would be verses 1 through 9. But let's pick out verse 7 because that's the nugget in this
text. It says, wisdom is supreme. Therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get
understanding. The word get here means to buy. It's the picture of a person going to
the market and buying something. And what the writer of Proverbs says is that we ought
to be willing to lay down everything that we possess for wisdom. And so that is the
right response in our hearts for wisdom. It is determination. Determination. It is saying
I must have it. Have you ever walked in a store and seen an item there and you said
look at that. Now it may have been a candy bar. It may have been a new car. I don't know
what it may have been. But if you ever had that, I'm determined. I've got to have that.
I don't care what it costs me. It may be the last quarter of my pocket. I'm going to eat
that candy bar. It looks so good. When you say I've got to have that car. I'm willing
to take out a loan. I'm willing to get a second mortgage in my house. I've got to drive that.
I've got to have it. Well it is that kind of determination. That kind of decision that
says I've got to have it. It is necessary in our hearts that we would acquire wisdom.
It doesn't come to us just automatically. God doesn't just drip it into our lives by
osmosis. It takes hard work on our part. There must be an attitude in us that says I am willing
to give everything I've got to possess this. And instead of Bible Charles Warren's words,
the first step in acquiring wisdom is to make up your mind that you want it and will strive
to obtain it. Do you feel that way about wisdom? Now remember, wisdom is what will give you
a happy life. Wisdom has the ability to even change your physical body to be more healthy.
As we saw last week, wisdom will bring to you honor and riches and long life. And how
boldly do you want it? Are you willing to say to God this morning, whatever it costs,
I've got to have it. The right attitude of our hearts toward wisdom is determination.
It's saying this is worth it. Whatever changes have to be made in my attitudes, whatever changes
have to be made in my lifestyle, whatever it costs me, I've got to have wisdom. And
when we come to that point, God says we're ready to acquire it. But if we want to acquire
wisdom, there's a third step. And this will respond to Proverbs 4 again, verses 20 to
23. And here we're going to discover that we have to cultivate the right response in
our hearts. My son, pay close attention to what I say. Listen closely to my words. Do
not let them out of your sight. Keep them within your heart. For they are life to those
who find them and health to a man's whole body. You see the implications there to our
wholeness, our prosperity, physically, mentally, emotionally, in every way. It's life. Above
all else, guard your heart. For it is the wellspring of life. So what is the attitude
that I have to cultivate in my heart? It is the attitude of protection. It is realizing
that our hearts must be guarded against the evil that is in the world. The wellspring
of life, out of the heart issues life. The picture here is the head of a spring that
bubbles up in its fresh, cool water. And the water then flows out into the pool. Our hearts
are that spring head. Now the heart is more than our emotions. In the Hebrew mind, remember,
the heart is the mind. With your ability to reason and to think, Proverbs was written
so that we might learn how to think. And we think with our hearts, according to the Hebrew.
But it also does embrace the idea of emotion and will. It means the whole inner person
that you are. The heart is the starting point of life. It's that in you which determines
the direction that your life takes. It's that in you which makes the choices that you decide
in life. The heart is what forms the values, those things that you hold to be important.
That's the heart. And what we're told here is that we must guard our hearts. Why? Because
they're enemies. We have to guard our minds. We have to be careful what we let in. We live
in a world that attacks us every day in our hearts with its evil. It presents to us concepts
about life and ideas about God that are erroneous. The world puts before us images and desires
and covetousness that erodes like an acid our hearts. That's why if we're going to
acquire wisdom, we have to take a defensive action. We must guard our hearts and not allow
to come into our minds and into our innermost beings those things that will corrode and
eat away at what God desires to do. You'll notice in the text it goes on to talk about
the mouth, verse 24, the eyes, in verse 25 the feet, in verses 26 and 27. So he does
a whole little exam here in the body, but he says that the eyes and the mouth and the
feet are all affected by the mind, the mind, how we think. We must guard our minds against
the moral garbage of our world, the kinds of things that we see on television, that
we can see on videotapes that we'll rent or purchase. He said, wait, I'm not sure that
I want wisdom that badly. Well, the choice is yours. But if you want to have a happy
life and a healthy life and a prosperous life and get all the benefits of wisdom, you must
guard your heart against that which will destroy you. I repeat, the choice is yours. God gives
you that freedom, but you also pay the consequences of the choice. If you want to destroy your
heart, don't be discerning about what you're going to dwell on. Don't be discerning about
what you watch on television or the kinds of movies that you go to. Don't be discerning
about those things and I guarantee you will destroy your heart. That spring of your life
will become polluted and filthy and will no longer put out wisdom. You don't want to do
that. Don't allow your mind to concentrate just on the temple game, what you can have
here and now. That's another whole line of pollution that comes from our age. But the
most important things are what we can possess and want to have here and now to enjoy. Those
are not the most important things and how quickly they can disappear. The Bible describes
money as that which is like a bird that gets up and flies away. What is most important
is what lasts forever and the game is with wisdom. And so if we want to have wisdom,
we must guard ourselves against the way the world thinks. That's tough. You fight an uphill
battle. You are swimming against the whole stream of our culture. You know what? You
can do it. You can do it because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens
you. If it were not possible, God would not have told us to do it. God says guard your
heart. It's always been tough. It's always been tough to do that. It may be tougher now
because of the kind of world we're living in at the end of the age, but it's always been
tough. But you can do it. You say, but you don't know that I've already allowed him
to be mine. Well, maybe not. But I can tell you this, God knows. We see God's able to
reach down in there and with his wisdom fish out all of those foreign objects and scrub
out the pollution that's there so that your mind can once again bubble forth the pure,
clear, refreshing wisdom of God. The right response in your heart is protection.
Dr. Robert Alden says, indirectly, this verse tells us to fill the empty places of our minds
with good things in order that our lives may be shaped by them. You know what we're
letting into our minds shapes us? It shapes us in our character and in our conduct.
What you allow into your heart eventually will become what you are.
You say, I'm hiding it pretty well now. Well, you may for a time. But you can't hide it
forever because what we allow into our hearts becomes the issue of life. It determines where
we go. It determines the choices we make. It determines what we become. And believe me,
what you will be, you are now becoming right now, today. And so, Proverbs says,
you want wisdom? You can have it. But you must cultivate in your heart the attitude of protection.
You have to put a screen up so that you receive what is good and wholesome and healthy and godly
into your mind, and you do not allow to remain in your mind what is ungodly and wicked and evil.
The source of wisdom is God. To receive it, we must cultivate in our lives. Submission,
the third God, worshiping God, understanding He is the awesome creator, submission to Him.
We must cultivate in us the determination to have wisdom. We must say, I am willing to pay
whatever price is necessary to have it. You must be saying, in your hearts, if they want wisdom,
I will protect my heart. By God's help and God's grace, I will swim against the waves of
grace. I will swim against every influence in my life to protect my heart so that I can have wisdom.
Again, I quote Robert Alton, who said, the book of Proverbs is like medicine.
You cannot live on medicine alone. But few of us go through life without some medicine now and then.
At least we take a part in it. Likewise, a spiritual diet of Proverbs alone would be unbalanced.
But how sick a person might be that didn't occasionally ingest some of these potions
and antidotes for the sake of his mental, spiritual, and even financial well-being.
With God's help in the next few months, we're going to be looking at specific
themes in the book of Proverbs that are very practical and apply to our lives.
It's going to be like medicine to us. Antidotes and potions that God will prescribe for us
to help us become more healthy. I hope that you will be with me in this search
and the study of Proverbs. We need it. We live in a sick world. As we said last week, a world of fools.
So that if we want to have the wisdom of God in our lives, God's got to do something.
God wants to do it. And God's going to be here to do it. I hope he'll be here.
And here with an open heart and here cultivating the great energies we've talked about this morning.
It's submission and determination and protection. It's saying, God, give me wisdom. Make me like Solomon.
As James said, if any man likes wisdom, let him ask what? Of God. And God will give it liberally.
He does not hold back. Let's determine to get wisdom.
Knowing that we're going to get wisdom, the result will be a happy life. A truly happy life.
Let's pray. With our heads bowed, I wonder this morning how this prayer of God may be applying this to your heart.
Listen to him. Listen to his voice right now inside of you. What is he saying?
What is the issue that he's popped to the surface? Are you willing to deal with it?
I don't know how you may need to deal with it, but let him tell you. Have a attitude of submission.
Determine in your heart to seek wisdom, whatever the cost may be. Ask God's help and go it in your heart.
It begins with the fear of the Lord.
It begins with the fear of the Lord. And Lord, today I trust, reverence you, and behold you in awe.
You are almighty. You are full of majesty and glory that is beyond our ability to comprehend.
But you invite us to come through Jesus to yourself. Thank you. Thank you.
And you invited us to ask of you whatever we want in Jesus' name that will be given to us.
You've said that we can ask wisdom if we lack it, and Lord, we lack it.
We are far too much like the world that we live in. We need your wisdom and we ask for you to teach us.
Our first steps may be feeble and small, but we know that even those steps will delight you.
But carry us along. Carry us along and make us wise men and women in the midst of a foolish world.
Let's stand together with our heads bowed and sing just this chorus that we know is a chorus of perfect commitment.
It says, Have Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own way.
Thou art the pattern I am the clay. Mold me and make me.
After Thy will, while I am waiting, yield it and speak.
Lord, there it is, submission. And we've offered it to you in those words.
That's the beginning. Now take us on, I pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Today, if you have some spiritual need in your life that you'd like to talk with a pastor or someone about,
I want to encourage you after we've dismissed to come here to the firm where I'll be and there'll be some others,
elders and pastors who can pray with you.
If you prefer a car scene from this week, we'll be glad to talk with you. God bless you. We're dismissed.