Proverbs 2
Proverbs 2 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
Text: Proverbs 2:1-9
We need Wisdom. We need wisdom in a day when foolishness is on every single hand.
There are a thousand ways to fall and sin there is only one way to be wise. This is not anything new. Jesus illustrated with a broad way that leads to destruction and a narrow way that leads to life and his warning was simple.
Few there be that find it.
The Sinful Man wont find it, but he will lead you to a path.
The world offers identity and experience.
You see the identity offered by the sinful man.
The Sinful Man’s Way (12)
Scripture does not say that you will be safe from the evil man. But you will not be douped into doing things his way.
History has showed us that the evil man has persecuted many wise men. But the wise man was never tricked into going the way the sinful man went.
The Sinful Man’s Words (12)
The world today promotes a wicked tongue. I mean at one point there were certain words that a lady just wouldn’t say. Today however the world likes there women with a mouth as blue as any man has ever had.
The problem I have is not with the filthy word of the wicked but the words that are sweet like honey. The counsel of the wicked man seems so good. Really that is what makes it so diabolical.
This world has packaged its foolishness in such sweet words.
The Sinful Man’s Walk (13)
Paul said that Demas had forsaken him because he loved this present world. This describes the man that wisdom warns of. The turncoat doesn’t just leave us high and dry he dives into things he knows better than to do.
The Sinful Man’s Wickedness (14-15)
It is not just enough to the wicked man to do his own sin but he has to involve others even if it is damaging it doesn’t matter.
You see the experience in the strange woman.
SEX SELLS
Jezebelle wasnt happy worship baal she had get others involved.
Strange Woman promises to Satisfy You (16-20)
Her Flattery
As dangerous as the sinful man. She is described as strange literally as foreign her pattern of life is strange to those that wish to walk the narrow way.
You have to protect the heart from flattery. This is not something that is left just to men. But there is something to said about a woman that builds a man’s ego.
Her Forgetfulness
She has the background but her heart has a desire for wickedness. The problem is that what she wants is concealed from the eyes.
Her Fatality
Death lives where she is. Doom lives where she is
Wisdom promises to Save You (21-22)
1. The life of the wicked has an expiration date.
2. Their life is measured in minutes not days.
So then you find yourself and for your children begging God for wisdom. There is a call for something that I think might be a little intimidating for God’s people.
That is this idea of the fear of the Lord.
Our greatest enemy in the Western World is not our wealth or Entertainment it is Pluralism. The idea that God is one of many good things that we should be about. The idea that Jesus plus makes the American dream.
Pluralism refers to the recognition and acceptance of diversity within a society or a particular context. It suggests that there are multiple perspectives, beliefs, cultures, and ways of life that coexist and are valued within a community or society. In a pluralistic society, individuals and groups with different backgrounds, ideologies, and identities are respected and have the opportunity to express themselves without facing discrimination or suppression. Pluralism promotes tolerance, inclusivity, and the idea that a variety of viewpoints can enrich social, political, and cultural discourse.
This idea that the values of all religions are equal and deserve an equal hearing is not what we as Christ’s disciples. If you think this you have confused nice and plastic with Godly and patient.
Understand that the wisdom offered to protect you from the destruction does not come because you think a good thought about God. It doesn’t happen because you happen to have been raised in Sunday School. This is the problem we settle for good kids, good friends, good thinking instead of Godly.
Yet Solomon speaks clearly under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
What is missing in the world of fools is people that FEAR THE LORD.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge:
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
And the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
To depart from the snares of death.
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom;
And before honour is humility.
The fear of the Lord tendeth to life:
And he that hath it shall abide satisfied;
He shall not be visited with evil.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
A good understanding have all they that do his commandments:
His praise endureth for ever.
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom;
And before honour is humility.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
CIT: Pluralism steals our wisdom.
We can wonder about the nature of this obscure command.
People argue of the benefit of fearing God. Oh you don’t want to be afraid of God. that wouldn’t be good.
Someone says what you want is to fear or reverence God. Though this is a portion of the command it is not the full picture.
We have gimpses in Scripture about what fear of the Lord is.
The church in response to the striking of Ananias and Sapphira to death over lying to the Holy Spirit resulted in the fear of the Lord.
And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
In 2 Samuel following the death of Uzzah for touching the Ark of the Covenant the Bible records
And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?
Joshua probably put it best when we see his definition in chapter 24.
Many of you are familiar with Joshua’s declaration.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
This comes at the end of a description of the History of Israel to this point. And in it he points out that the reason that God left Israel in bondage was that they had all the other god’s to worship.
The god’s on the other side of the flood is referencing the flood of the Red Sea destroying the armys of egypt and he is reminding them that their fathers were idolaters.
He also points out that if you look the culture that surrounds you you will find a lot of idols to worship and pray to you. But none of them have brought you here. Only the God of heaven. So he requests of them that they would
Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
Here we find the applicable definition of the fear of the Lord.
Fear God and serve him alone and put away all others.
Put away all other God’s including your own way, your own wisdom.
When your wisdom says put the ark on a rolls royce cart get it off the cart that isn’t God’s way.
When your way is to look like something special and deceive the church put that away that isn’t from God.
The fear of the Lord is about abandoning all other God’s including me and my desires.
It is taking as the best Will God’s Will. It is giving all devotion and obedience to him alone. This is the fear of God. It is to put him above all else.
Back to our text:
This is why He commands that his son make His father’s law His law.
We love this book make this book your book. Well I don’t know it as well as my dad… there is a cure for that. Get in the book. 1
When you fear God his is the only counsel you desire. So incline your ear to it. 2
Seek for wisdom as hid treasure. And this will lead the wisdom starved searcher to God. When I want real wisdom the path will lead me to Him.
This is in verse 4-5
If thou seekest her as silver,
And searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
Father
- Emphasize the importance of setting an example of reverence for God within the family.
- Encourage him to lead his family in a lifestyle that reflects a healthy fear of God, showing respect for His commands and teachings.
- Highlight how fearing God can lead to wisdom in decision-making, guiding him in leading and providing for his family.
Employee
- Encourage her to approach her work with integrity, honesty, and diligence, recognizing that she ultimately serves God in her employment.
Tween
- Encourage her to make choices that honor God in her friendships, activities, and school life, fostering a sense of responsibility and accountability to Him.
Single Man
- Encourage him to seek God's guidance in decisions about dating, career, and personal development.
- Address any struggles he may have with loneliness or identity and offer the assurance that fearing God brings fulfillment and purpose even in singleness.
You say living a life of a fear of God isn’t easy I say it’s impossible.
So did Joshua,
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
In other words you cannot in your power live a life fearing God. It doesn’t work.
Solomon wouldn’t fear the Lord all the days of his life.
And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
But hear one who did.
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and might,
The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord:
And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,
Neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor,
And reprove with equity for the meek of the earth:
And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Jesus Christ delighted in the fear of the Lord. He set his Father’s will at the center of his life. Everything he did flowed from this primary purpose. Because of this, he was able to see the heart of every issue and understand its solution from God’s perspective. He was able to judge things rightly and make decisions in perfect alignment with the will of God.
Jesus extends us the Grace.
As we lean on the perfect Grace from Christ Jesus he sets the fear of the Lord in our heart of hearts, we will have access to the same clarity, wisdom, and power.
