Proverbs 1:20-33: Get Wise Now

Introduction

Meeting Staci for the first time, before the days of Facebook, instagram, etc. “I’ll be the one in the purple shirt…” What if I had seen other women wearing purple shirts? That would have been embarrassing.

God has made wisdom easily identifiable and readily available to you because you desperately need it.

How many of us have thought, “I need wisdom now.” Good news is that wisdom is available now if you seek wisdom.

You know you need wisdom desperately because you live in a fallen world, and you have a real enemy who wants you to walk in foolishness (1 Peter 5:8). Wisdom really is a matter of life and death.

Real wisdom is NOT just good advice to get you out of the messes you make. Real wisdom is seeing God for who He is and responding to Him in worship and obedience on His terms for His glory. Proverbs is NOT a book of good advice. Proverbs is a book of Good News - God gives real wisdom, and ultimately real wisdom is found in a relationship with Jesus.

This passage is urgent. This passage shows us that we need to make a decision to walk in the wisdom of God now, and if we don’t choose to walk in the wisdom of God now, there will be tragic consequences.

From this passage, I want you to see two urgent truths that will help you walk in wisdom today.

Embracing wisdom now will save your life.

vs. 20-21 - In first 9 chapters, wisdom personified as a woman.

Lady Wisdom cries out with a loud voice in the public place declaring truth. You can hear her voice above the commotion.

Good news: God does not hide his wisdom from us. His wisdom is accessible to anyone who desires His wisdom.

Wisdom is for all people. Not just the scholarly or bookish people.

Wisdom is available in the places where you need wisdom - the busy streets of life where there is commotion, various voices pulling us in different directions. In the chaotic places of life, Lady Wisdom calls to us loud and clear showing us the path of God that leads to a life conformed to the image of Christ an eternity with Him.

If you choose to listen to Lady Wisdom, she will pour out her spirit on you (vs. 23) - idea of gushing waters of wisdom washing over you. For followers of Jesus - the Holy Spirit fills us - the wisdom of Christ is ours, it’s in us, it’s accessible as we cooperate with the Spirit.

Lady Wisdom’s voice warns and teaches (vs. 23). She gives knowledge and counsel (vs. 29-30).

If you heed the voice of Lady Wisdom, it will save your life (vs. 33). Specifically, your life will be spared from the consequences of foolishness. Remember, in Proverbs 1-9, Solomon urging his son to pursue Lady Wisdom and to run as fast as he can from Lady Folly.

However, people largely ignore the voice of Lady Wisdom (vs. 22). (e.g., street preachers in New Orleans.)

If wisdom is so readily available why do you tend to ignore Lady Wisdom?

You have an illusion of time. Some of us, especially those of us who are younger, think we have all the time in the world to grow wise. You want to live your best life now and you’ll get serious about walking with God later. But, you don’t know what time you really have, and investing in your relationship with the Lord is always the best use of your time regardless of how old you are. You don’t realize that the choices you make today will always affect your tomorrow. These verses are an urgent call to embrace Lady Wisdom now.

You have already chosen the path of folly. Foolishness is enticing (Prov. 1:10). Solomon clearly show us the path of folly, and it’s stuff we’re drawn to: leisure rather than hard work, gossip and slander rather than encouraging words, sexual gratification instead of sexual purity, the easy path instead of the disciplined path. Ultimately, folly is the path to hell. None of us in this room would say that we want hell. We want heaven, but if you are on the path of folly, it is the path of hell itself. What many of us want to do is claim the path to heaven (“I’m a Christian, I believe…”) while we’re actually walking on the path to hell.

You’re not willing to count the cost of the path of wisdom. Read Proverbs. The path of wisdom is difficult to walk. Following Lady Wisdom is not easy because wisdom calls us to deny ourselves. Wisdom is pursuing a life of sexual integrity. Wisdom is working hard and forsaking laziness. Wisdom is being diligent to save and invest your financial resources instead of squandering them. Wisdom is using your words well instead of running off at the mouth. Wisdom is constantly pursuing righteousness. Wisdom is walking in humility instead of pride.

For some of us, the path to hell is far more attractive than the disciplined path of wisdom. Some of us, not willing to count the cost, not realizing that not counting the cost will ultimately cost you your life.

Masters gnome… That’s what people want? Makes no sense… You want what’s going to destroy you? Makes no sense?

Making the decision now to embrace wisdom will save your life because ultimately wisdom is Jesus (1 Cor. 1:30). Wisdom is choosing a relationship with the One who died and rose again for you.

Rejecting wisdom now will wreck your life.

vs. 22 - Lady Wisdom calls to the inexperienced/simple to stop living in ignorance. To the mockers (arrogant) who mock God’s wisdom, stop it. To the fool (belligerent), see the errors of foolish ways. Stop it. Heed the warning before it’s too late.

Heed the warning because a time coming when it will be too late to turn to lady wisdom.

vs. 23-32 are harsh - a time when there will be no opportunity left to embrace wisdom, and instead of Lady Wisdom give you wisdom, Lady Wisdom will:

Laugh at your calamity (vs. 26).

Mock when terror strikes (vs. 27).

Will not listen to your cries (vs. 28).

Will hide from you (vs. 28).

Will let you reap what you sow (vs. 31-32).

Seems a bit harsh, but Lady Wisdom is angered by those who choose to reject her clear voice. What Lady Wisdom predicts will become the reality for those who walk in foolishness. When you consistently walk in foolishness you can expect:

calamity like a whirlwind(vs. 26, 27).

terror like a storm (vs. 26).

trouble and stress (vs 27).

destruction (vs. 32). (Apostasy of the inexperienced = deliberate disobedience/turning from God).

Seems so harsh that wisdom would laugh and not listen, but the imagery of a laughing woman helps us to understand the significance of the warning:

Foolishness will catch up to you. Remember, in Proverbs, foolishness is not simply a bad decision. Foolishness is a rejection of the way of God. Foolishness is sinfulness, and sin always has its consequences. The habitual lies will eventually be exposed. The secret porn habit will ultimately be brought to light. The sinful financial decisions may lead to bankruptcy. The constant decision to be yoked to relationships that you know are not relationships that are drawing you closer to Jesus will eventually break you. When foolishness catches up to you, you’ll find yourself in trouble, terror, calamity, etc.

When foolishness catches up to you, you will not have wisdom to get out of the mess you made.

if you consistently walk the path of fools, you will find yourself in calamity, and wisdom will not be accessible because you won’t have any wisdom to access!

NOW is the time to become wise before it’s too late! You need wisdom now so you will not make foolish choices that will drastically alter the course of your life.

Some of us this morning can look back over our lives and see a path of foolish choices we’ve made, and now we’re suffering the consequences of those foolish choices.

When you made the choice to walk the path of folly, you thought to yourself, “This is what I want - even more than I want God, I want to give in to my desires. I want to have my way.”

However, now that you are reaping what you sowed, you’re probably thinking, “I wish I would have walked the path of wisdom. I wish I would have made wiser choices.”

Fools don’t look back and say, “I’m glad I was a fool. I wish I would have been more foolish.”

However, even if you’ve been a fool who rejected wisdom, there’s still grace for you. God loves you in spite of your foolishness, and God wants to save you from your foolish sin and give you new life if you will believe that He died the death you deserve and rose again from the dead to give you abundant and eternal life. Jesus is the wise Son of Proverbs. He is the One who walked in the wisdom of God for us so that His wise, righteous life might be applied to our sinful life.

Repenting of your foolishness and surrendering your life to Jesus will not remove the consequences of your sin, but it will remove the eternal punishment for your sin. Repenting will put you on the path to heaven as you learn how to walk in the Spirit of God in a relationship with Jesus.

If you are a follower of Jesus, maybe you’ve found yourself at times reverting back to the path of fools. You’ve found yourself ignoring the voice of wisdom. If so:

Stop procrastinating. Stop saying, “I’ll grow in wisdom/get serious about my faith later.” Some of you in this room have been to thousands of Bible studies and have heard thousands of sermons yet you choose to put off applying God’s Word to your heart. No wonder you are prone to foolish decisions. Today is the day to begin growing in wisdom.

Put in the work. The book of Proverbs calls us to a disciplined pursuit of the wisdom of God. Are you putting in the work? Are you pursuing? What is your plan for spiritual growth? Do you think spiritual growth is just going to happen by showing up at church every now and then, or are you actually going to pursue it? Putting in the work means putting yourself in discipling relationships, calling out sin in your own life, and committing to a local body of believers. There’s no room for laziness in your walk with the Lord.

Trust God to do a work in you. You won’t put in the work until you are convinced that the work is worth it - that the bath of wisdom is better. That takes a step of faith. You have to believe God when He tells you His way is better. As you put in the work, you can know that God will do a work in you (Philippians 2:12). The more you pursue God’s wisdom, the more He grows you in wisdom.