Proverbs Part 4
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
Announcements:
Announcements:
CK
Next Steps
Intro:
Intro:
We’ve been in a study through the book of proverbs
Where we’ve looked at certain topics and discussed them through the lens of how Proverbs teaches us wisdom on that specific topic
Proverbs is all about wisdom and knowledge
Teaching my kids to not eat mint chocolate chip ice cream
Not allowing it in my house
Now, Proverbs is all about teaching us, it’s a part of what is considered the wisdom literature which comprises of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job which are all here to teach us wisdom
It wants to show us how to gain and use wisdom, instruction, knowledge
How to use discernment and guidance
How to not become fools and foolish
And we don’t even have to read very far to see the purpose because right from the beginning of the book it tells us
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 2 for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; 3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; 4 for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— 5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— 6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
And so we’ve stated every week so far how important verse 7 is for us to understand
That the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction
Now, when we see the word wisdom in Proverbs it’s the word hauk-mah in Hebrew
It actually translates best into skillful and more often then not when Solomon speak about it throughout this book it is referring to the art of skillful living
And so, Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, is making the argument that, in order to live a skillful life, I would argue that you could say, (In order to live a full life like Jesus talks about in John 10) it begins with a proper fear of the Lord.
But what does that mean exactly?
Does that mean we should view God as a dictator who is constantly looking for ways to strike fear into us?
Does it just mean that we should respect Him?
Does it just mean that we should acknowledge Him?
Let me pray and we will dive into those questions this morning
pray
I believe that the discipline of wisdom takes 3 primary things to accomplish
Submission
Understanding
Obedience
Submission
Submission
Solomon sates in chapter 1 vs 7 that the fear of the Lord is the beginning.
The assumption is being made that you cannot make sense of the world or live a full and successful life unless you see God behind and involved in it, and seek understanding and knowledge of His created world from Him with reverence and humility
In other words: You must submit to the Lordship of Jesus
Let me just be honest here for a second, without fully submitting to the Lord, Proverbs just becomes a book of insight that you can take or leave without real implication on your life
If you are not submitted to the Lordship of Jesus over this world and your life than you can probably gain some knowledge and wisdom here but there will be nothing that drives you to do anything with it
But Solomon is assuming and maybe at best urging you to see God as author and creator over everything
As One who is involved in the very intricacies of your life
If the Fear of the Lord is the beginning than we must begin with submission
Submitting our lives, as Romans 12 would put it, as living sacrifices holy and acceptable to the Lord
If God is just a judge to keep happy
If He is an object only worthy of 2 hours of our week
If He is a creator who has no barring on our lives
If you don’t believe He did what He said He did
Or that if He doesn’t exist at all
Than you will never have a proper fear of the Lord and you must certainly will never submit the way Scripture calls us to
And without fear and submission to the Lord, proverbs will argue that you will not and cannot be wise
Wisdom apart from God is impossible
Understanding
Understanding
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
We see that same phrase again, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”
“And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
So here, Solomon states that “knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
That wisdom is found in understanding God
Holy One here is another term for God
It’s qa - dosh in the Hebrew
It means “singled out, awesome, commanding respect”
In terms of flow here, what should happen is, we submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ
Then we seek to understand Him more and more
And what we should find is that there is none like Him
He is singled out
He is truly Holy
And His nature and character demands and commands respect from us
In other words, because of our condition
Sinners that fall short of the glory of God
And because of God’s nature
Holy, set apart, commanding respect
Our search and understanding of God should invoke a certain awe toward Him
That we are inadequate and yet invited into a relationship with a Holy and Perfect God
And what should happen next is that should then result in our obedience to Him
The discipline of Wisdom take obedience to the Lord
When we understand the situation we find ourselves in and the invitation we have been given
We should always seek to obey the Lord
This is the difference in acknowledging God and submitting to His Lordship
And if we were honest with ourselves this morning I think most of us in this room would easily admit that God exists and that He is creator and maybe even sustainer of life.
We have no issues in believing that He is God but we also don’t live as if He is Lord
If we just believe that God exists than Scripture would say that you are no better than demons
The thing that sets the church apart is that it is a people who live like Jesus is Lord
Because He demands it.
And what happens is, the more you obey, the more you realize that His ways are higher than our ways - Is 55.
That life in and through Jesus is so much greater than anything I could have ever mustered up for myself
That life with Jesus is far greater than anything the world could have offered me
That wisdom is submission to the Lord
Wisdom is understanding His holyness and greatness
Wisdom is obeying His commands over our life
And wisdom in these areas leads to life itself
27 The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Wisdom is not just knowing what to do next, it’s knowing Jesus and living for Him
The dichotomy of gospel wisdom is that in the world you could have it all and still be a fool
In Christ, you could be stripped of everything and still be wise.
Our pursuit of wisdom is not done to gain outwardly but to rest inwardly
The prize of gospel wisdom is peace and joy and purpose and fulfillment
The fool is in constant search
The wise is satisfied in Christ
So, we have to realize that to be wise we must be like Solomon in this regard
We must ask for it and realize that true Godly wisdom comes from the Lord
When was the last time you asked the Lord for wisdom?
It begins with submission, understanding, and obedience