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Thank you. Thank you, Father, and all of you who led us this morning in our worship.

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God bless you for using your gifts to serve him and our church in this way.

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Would you open your Bible, please, to look at Proverbs?

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We begin by looking at chapter 2 and verse 6 as we think about finding wisdom's source.

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Proverbs 2, 6.

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For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth, from knowledge and understanding.

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The Book of Proverbs does not deal with theological questions.

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The Book of Proverbs is not devotional to writing.

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Whether it is a book of advice and counsel about personal, social, or economic issues of life.

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It is a book of wisdom, telling us how to live in our world today with no skill.

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The Book of Proverbs tells us how to live our lives so that the process of that building

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and the result of that building are satisfying to us, good for our world, and glorifying to God.

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The Book of Proverbs is a book about values.

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Although God is not mentioned often in the book, we must understand the Hebrew mindset as we approach it.

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The Hebrew saw every dimension of life as related to God, and therefore it was unnecessary

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for him to mention God in every verse.

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But I know we tend to divide the secular from the sacred and the mystic.

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We must know those who are the authors of this wisdom.

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Used by God to write these words for us.

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They saw God in every part of life. His presence was pre-supposed.

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This wisdom is more valuable than gold in the way to our healthy life.

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We have only to read our newspapers to learn that the wealth does not bring happiness.

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One of the leading famous of Minnesota is now involved in a terrible murder, kind of murder.

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What it exposes is the truth for all of us know that having money does not make one a happy person.

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Wisdom, you see, is true wealth, and it always and surely and certainly leads to a happy life.

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I want to talk about the source of wisdom this morning.

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Where does it originate?

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That's the first question I want to pose and ask by God's help.

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The verse we have read tells us very clearly the source or the origin of wisdom.

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Now when I use the word wisdom, remember I'm not talking about smarts.

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I'm not talking about IT.

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When I use the word wisdom, I'm talking about moral skillfulness, learning how to live a meaningful and happy and satisfying life.

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This kind of wisdom resides in only one place in its perfection, and that is in God, our Creator.

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That makes sense.

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God made us. God made our world.

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And therefore He knows how we as His creatures can have a full and meaningful life.

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Wisdom is a tribute to God.

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The world around us attributes wisdom to other things.

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For example, experience.

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Our world thinks that if you are experienced in life or if you're older, you might tend to have more wisdom.

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The world around us attributes wisdom to education.

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We know that if one has a doctorate, he is more wise than someone who is not graduated from high school.

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Our world attributes wisdom to profession as well.

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In other words, if one is of a certain profession, he is undoubtedly wise.

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For example, a psychologist or a psychiatrist.

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Our world says, I'm wise, people.

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But in fact, is wisdom found in experience?

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Is it found in education?

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Is wisdom found merely in profession?

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The answer is absolutely not.

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Some of the most educated people in the world today are some of the most unhappy.

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We can go to the nursing homes of our community and find people who have decades of experience but who are dying, miserable people.

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Certainly some of the most confused and mixed up people in our world are many of the psychologists and psychiatrists.

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Wisdom originates with God.

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It comes to us from Him.

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The King Solomon realized this.

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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.

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God said basically, Solomon, you ask whatever you want and I will give it to you.

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Now suppose God were to ask and offer that to you.

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What would you ask God for?

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Do you have your wishes?

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Solomon prayed and asked God for this.

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He says in verse 9, give your servant a discerning heart, a wise heart,

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to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.

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Who is able to govern this great people of yours?

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Solomon asked for God's wisdom.

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In verse 12, God says, I will do what you have asked.

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I will give you a wise and discerning heart so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.

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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.

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One exception, the one who is greater than Solomon, Jesus Christ, in whom all the fullness of wisdom dwells broadly.

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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.

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He asked for wisdom.

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Turn to chapter 4, look at verse 29.

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We would have a bit of summary regarding King Solomon.

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It says, God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight.

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And the breadth of understanding is as measureless as the sand on the seashore.

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Imagine this.

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God was using the sand on the seashore as an illustration of the breadth of Solomon's wisdom.

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Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.

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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.

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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.

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Solomon was greater than all.

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He was wiser than any other man, including those mentioned here.

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And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.

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He spoke 3,000 proverbs and his Psalms numbered 1,005.

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He described plant life from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the walls.

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He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish.

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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.

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Solomon realized that wisdom originates with God.

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And when God opened the door and said, Solomon, you give me, I will give you whatever you ask of me.

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Solomon said, Lord, I want wisdom.

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And God answered that prayer in abundance.

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The book of Proverbs that we have before us has a total of 915 Proverbs.

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Only about 500 of them are attributed directly to Solomon.

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And so about 2,500 of Solomon's Proverbs are not recorded any longer.

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They've been lost through the ages, not been inspired by God for recording in his words.

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So 2,500 of them are lost.

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And we have only two of the over 1,000 songs that Solomon wrote.

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So over 1,000 of his songs have not been recorded for us to enjoy today.

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The first one, and he claimed that's the one.

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In fact, the last one is not recorded so I will read it from here as well as this one.

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He said, let us not forget

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for that the trunk we have is strong as the trunk of Job.

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Let us not forget that the fruit in the fruit is the fruit of our heart,

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that can happen. The source of wisdom is God himself, none other. Now the second question

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I want to pose is this, is how can wisdom be acquired? How can you and I acquire wisdom

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from God? I have three answers to that question. By the way, this is in your outline if you

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want to pull it out and follow along with me. There are three answers I believe to this

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question, how do we acquire wisdom? The first is found in Proverbs chapter 1 and verse

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7. We'll look briefly at this verse last week where it says, the fear of the Lord is the

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beginning of knowledge. We acquire wisdom in the first place by cultivating the right

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response to God in our lives. And what is that response? It is to fear him. It is to

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fear him. The first nine chapters of Proverbs form a sub-portion of the book. It was indicated

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there in the outline given to you last week. As these Proverbs were compiled, it begins

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in chapter 1 by saying that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And interestingly,

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again in chapter 9 and verse 10 toward the end of this compilation, it repeats almost

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the same word. The beginning of the Lord is the fear of wisdom. We acquire wisdom in the

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first place by cultivating a right response in our hearts to the Lord. And that response

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is said to be fear. Let's turn to one other text that says basically the same thing in

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Psalm 111. You'll see why I need to point this out in just a moment. Psalm 111 concludes

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with verse 10 and with these words. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All

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who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Now, does that

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ring a bell anywhere? Do you see that anywhere on the auditorium this morning? To God belongs

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eternal praise. When you look up here in the front and you see that statement, understand

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where it comes from. Why is the Psalmist giving God eternal praise and why should we? The

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answer is that he is the source of wisdom. All wisdom is found in God. He can tell us

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how to live and be happy in the world. And so to God belongs eternal praise. And as we

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gather week by week over the upcoming months when we look up and see that statement there,

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let's remind ourselves God can tell me how to live. God can show me how to be wise. To

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God belongs eternal praise. And fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And what

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does it mean to fear the Lord? We say in the first place that this word does not mean to

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be terrorized by God. God does not mean that we are to be in a constant state of fright

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of Him. That is not what it means. God invites us indeed after the cross to come boldly into

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his presence. God does not want us to be terrorized by him. But God tells us that we do need to

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fear him in some sense. The right sense of fear embraces several ideas. It means to be

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in awe of God because he is completely other than we are. God is not created. God is uncreated.

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He is eternal. We are created. We are made in his image. But God is completely other

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than we are. He is holy in an infinite sense. And therefore we are to be in reverence of

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him in awe and reverence. Another idea that is part of the fear of God is to be loyal

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to God and obedient to God. If you want to be wise, we need to cultivate those attitudes

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toward him. Not to take God lightly. Not to make God a joke. Not to use his name in a

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blasphemous way. We need to understand that God is to be held in awesome reverence. And

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because of that we are to be loyal and obedient to him and to the covenant that he has made

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with us. The right response in my heart to God can be summarized in the word submission.

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Because he is faithful. Because he is holy. I can and should be submissive to him. When

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do I acquire wisdom in the first place? Not merely by learning a body of truth. But rather

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by a relationship to God that includes this attitude of fear. When one comes to faith

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in Jesus Christ for salvation there is a necessity, a respect for God, a reverence for God, a

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commitment to him, a submission to him. But when he begins there, it goes on to develop.

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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And let me explain that when it says the beginning

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of wisdom it doesn't mean that it's the starting place from which we depart. It's saying whether

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it's the foundation upon which we're built. The fear of the Lord is the foundation of

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it and we retain that attitude toward God and build our lives on that and as we do we

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increase in wisdom. Secondly, if we would acquire wisdom we need to cultivate the right

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response in our hearts to wisdom itself. Turn with me to Proverbs chapter 4. The whole text

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would be verses 1 through 9. But let's pick out verse 7 because that's the nugget in this

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text. It says, wisdom is supreme. Therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get

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understanding. The word get here means to buy. It's the picture of a person going to

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the market and buying something. And what the writer of Proverbs says is that we ought

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to be willing to lay down everything that we possess for wisdom. And so that is the

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right response in our hearts for wisdom. It is determination. Determination. It is saying

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I must have it. Have you ever walked in a store and seen an item there and you said

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look at that. Now it may have been a candy bar. It may have been a new car. I don't know

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what it may have been. But if you ever had that, I'm determined. I've got to have that.

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I don't care what it costs me. It may be the last quarter of my pocket. I'm going to eat

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that candy bar. It looks so good. When you say I've got to have that car. I'm willing

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to take out a loan. I'm willing to get a second mortgage in my house. I've got to drive that.

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I've got to have it. Well it is that kind of determination. That kind of decision that

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says I've got to have it. It is necessary in our hearts that we would acquire wisdom.

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It doesn't come to us just automatically. God doesn't just drip it into our lives by

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osmosis. It takes hard work on our part. There must be an attitude in us that says I am willing

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to give everything I've got to possess this. And instead of Bible Charles Warren's words,

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the first step in acquiring wisdom is to make up your mind that you want it and will strive

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to obtain it. Do you feel that way about wisdom? Now remember, wisdom is what will give you

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a happy life. Wisdom has the ability to even change your physical body to be more healthy.

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As we saw last week, wisdom will bring to you honor and riches and long life. And how

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boldly do you want it? Are you willing to say to God this morning, whatever it costs,

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I've got to have it. The right attitude of our hearts toward wisdom is determination.

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It's saying this is worth it. Whatever changes have to be made in my attitudes, whatever changes

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have to be made in my lifestyle, whatever it costs me, I've got to have wisdom. And

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when we come to that point, God says we're ready to acquire it. But if we want to acquire

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wisdom, there's a third step. And this will respond to Proverbs 4 again, verses 20 to

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23. And here we're going to discover that we have to cultivate the right response in

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our hearts. My son, pay close attention to what I say. Listen closely to my words. Do

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not let them out of your sight. Keep them within your heart. For they are life to those

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who find them and health to a man's whole body. You see the implications there to our

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wholeness, our prosperity, physically, mentally, emotionally, in every way. It's life. Above

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all else, guard your heart. For it is the wellspring of life. So what is the attitude

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that I have to cultivate in my heart? It is the attitude of protection. It is realizing

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that our hearts must be guarded against the evil that is in the world. The wellspring

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of life, out of the heart issues life. The picture here is the head of a spring that

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bubbles up in its fresh, cool water. And the water then flows out into the pool. Our hearts

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are that spring head. Now the heart is more than our emotions. In the Hebrew mind, remember,

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the heart is the mind. With your ability to reason and to think, Proverbs was written

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so that we might learn how to think. And we think with our hearts, according to the Hebrew.

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But it also does embrace the idea of emotion and will. It means the whole inner person

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that you are. The heart is the starting point of life. It's that in you which determines

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the direction that your life takes. It's that in you which makes the choices that you decide

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in life. The heart is what forms the values, those things that you hold to be important.

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That's the heart. And what we're told here is that we must guard our hearts. Why? Because

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they're enemies. We have to guard our minds. We have to be careful what we let in. We live

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in a world that attacks us every day in our hearts with its evil. It presents to us concepts

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about life and ideas about God that are erroneous. The world puts before us images and desires

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and covetousness that erodes like an acid our hearts. That's why if we're going to

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acquire wisdom, we have to take a defensive action. We must guard our hearts and not allow

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to come into our minds and into our innermost beings those things that will corrode and

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eat away at what God desires to do. You'll notice in the text it goes on to talk about

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the mouth, verse 24, the eyes, in verse 25 the feet, in verses 26 and 27. So he does

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a whole little exam here in the body, but he says that the eyes and the mouth and the

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feet are all affected by the mind, the mind, how we think. We must guard our minds against

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the moral garbage of our world, the kinds of things that we see on television, that

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we can see on videotapes that we'll rent or purchase. He said, wait, I'm not sure that

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I want wisdom that badly. Well, the choice is yours. But if you want to have a happy

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life and a healthy life and a prosperous life and get all the benefits of wisdom, you must

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guard your heart against that which will destroy you. I repeat, the choice is yours. God gives

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you that freedom, but you also pay the consequences of the choice. If you want to destroy your

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heart, don't be discerning about what you're going to dwell on. Don't be discerning about

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what you watch on television or the kinds of movies that you go to. Don't be discerning

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about those things and I guarantee you will destroy your heart. That spring of your life

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will become polluted and filthy and will no longer put out wisdom. You don't want to do

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that. Don't allow your mind to concentrate just on the temple game, what you can have

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here and now. That's another whole line of pollution that comes from our age. But the

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most important things are what we can possess and want to have here and now to enjoy. Those

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are not the most important things and how quickly they can disappear. The Bible describes

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money as that which is like a bird that gets up and flies away. What is most important

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is what lasts forever and the game is with wisdom. And so if we want to have wisdom,

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we must guard ourselves against the way the world thinks. That's tough. You fight an uphill

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battle. You are swimming against the whole stream of our culture. You know what? You

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can do it. You can do it because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens

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you. If it were not possible, God would not have told us to do it. God says guard your

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heart. It's always been tough. It's always been tough to do that. It may be tougher now

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because of the kind of world we're living in at the end of the age, but it's always been

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tough. But you can do it. You say, but you don't know that I've already allowed him

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to be mine. Well, maybe not. But I can tell you this, God knows. We see God's able to

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reach down in there and with his wisdom fish out all of those foreign objects and scrub

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out the pollution that's there so that your mind can once again bubble forth the pure,

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clear, refreshing wisdom of God. The right response in your heart is protection.

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Dr. Robert Alden says, indirectly, this verse tells us to fill the empty places of our minds

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with good things in order that our lives may be shaped by them. You know what we're

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letting into our minds shapes us? It shapes us in our character and in our conduct.

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What you allow into your heart eventually will become what you are.

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You say, I'm hiding it pretty well now. Well, you may for a time. But you can't hide it

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forever because what we allow into our hearts becomes the issue of life. It determines where

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we go. It determines the choices we make. It determines what we become. And believe me,

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what you will be, you are now becoming right now, today. And so, Proverbs says,

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you want wisdom? You can have it. But you must cultivate in your heart the attitude of protection.

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You have to put a screen up so that you receive what is good and wholesome and healthy and godly

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into your mind, and you do not allow to remain in your mind what is ungodly and wicked and evil.

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The source of wisdom is God. To receive it, we must cultivate in our lives. Submission,

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the third God, worshiping God, understanding He is the awesome creator, submission to Him.

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We must cultivate in us the determination to have wisdom. We must say, I am willing to pay

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whatever price is necessary to have it. You must be saying, in your hearts, if they want wisdom,

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I will protect my heart. By God's help and God's grace, I will swim against the waves of

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grace. I will swim against every influence in my life to protect my heart so that I can have wisdom.

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Again, I quote Robert Alton, who said, the book of Proverbs is like medicine.

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You cannot live on medicine alone. But few of us go through life without some medicine now and then.

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At least we take a part in it. Likewise, a spiritual diet of Proverbs alone would be unbalanced.

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But how sick a person might be that didn't occasionally ingest some of these potions

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and antidotes for the sake of his mental, spiritual, and even financial well-being.

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With God's help in the next few months, we're going to be looking at specific

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themes in the book of Proverbs that are very practical and apply to our lives.

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It's going to be like medicine to us. Antidotes and potions that God will prescribe for us

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to help us become more healthy. I hope that you will be with me in this search

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and the study of Proverbs. We need it. We live in a sick world. As we said last week, a world of fools.

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So that if we want to have the wisdom of God in our lives, God's got to do something.

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God wants to do it. And God's going to be here to do it. I hope he'll be here.

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And here with an open heart and here cultivating the great energies we've talked about this morning.

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It's submission and determination and protection. It's saying, God, give me wisdom. Make me like Solomon.

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As James said, if any man likes wisdom, let him ask what? Of God. And God will give it liberally.

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He does not hold back. Let's determine to get wisdom.

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Knowing that we're going to get wisdom, the result will be a happy life. A truly happy life.

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Let's pray. With our heads bowed, I wonder this morning how this prayer of God may be applying this to your heart.

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Listen to him. Listen to his voice right now inside of you. What is he saying?

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What is the issue that he's popped to the surface? Are you willing to deal with it?

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I don't know how you may need to deal with it, but let him tell you. Have a attitude of submission.

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Determine in your heart to seek wisdom, whatever the cost may be. Ask God's help and go it in your heart.

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It begins with the fear of the Lord.

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It begins with the fear of the Lord. And Lord, today I trust, reverence you, and behold you in awe.

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You are almighty. You are full of majesty and glory that is beyond our ability to comprehend.

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But you invite us to come through Jesus to yourself. Thank you. Thank you.

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And you invited us to ask of you whatever we want in Jesus' name that will be given to us.

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You've said that we can ask wisdom if we lack it, and Lord, we lack it.

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We are far too much like the world that we live in. We need your wisdom and we ask for you to teach us.

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Our first steps may be feeble and small, but we know that even those steps will delight you.

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But carry us along. Carry us along and make us wise men and women in the midst of a foolish world.

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Let's stand together with our heads bowed and sing just this chorus that we know is a chorus of perfect commitment.

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It says, Have Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own way.

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Thou art the pattern I am the clay. Mold me and make me.

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After Thy will, while I am waiting, yield it and speak.

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Lord, there it is, submission. And we've offered it to you in those words.

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That's the beginning. Now take us on, I pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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Today, if you have some spiritual need in your life that you'd like to talk with a pastor or someone about,

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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,

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elders and pastors who can pray with you.

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If you prefer a car scene from this week, we'll be glad to talk with you. God bless you. We're dismissed.