Walking the Way of Wisdom
Notes
Transcript
Welcome/Encouragement
Welcome/Encouragement
Worship
Worship
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
Housekeeping
Housekeeping
Announcements
Announcements
Share about National Conference
In September, we will likely go as a group
We have set up our Initiative as a hub for Vineyard College. Starting tomorrow evening we will be doing history and distinctives of the Vineyard together over Zoom. We can send out the invite link. It is free.
As part of our evangelism initiative, we will launch Alpha as something to invite people to, which will mean we will need some help with that, and it also means that we will have material and some marketing so that when we go out and talk to people about Jesus and the Kingdom, we have something to invite them to that is designed for those who are searching. The proposed start date will be the week of 8 July.
Pray
Introduction
Introduction
Who here thinks Wisdom is a bad thing?
When Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was that bad or good?
Why?
Did Adam and Eve not need Wisdom to do what God had commanded them to do?
Of course they did and so do we!
We can not make the mistake that they did, we need Wisdom from God.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
It matters who we get wisdom from, that was Adam and Eve’s mistake, they wanted a good thing at the wrong time from the wrong source.
Today we are going to explore Wisdom’s Way.
Here is the passage for today
Passage for Today
Passage for Today
1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. 1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” 7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. 8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. 12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
As we set out in this walk in wisdom, I want us to see what wisdom is asking of us. What is Scripture trying to show us. I see 3 main ideas,
Walking Wisdom’s Way; Hearing Wisdom’s Way; Resting Wisdom’s Way. Let’s dive in
1. Walking Wisdom’s Way
1. Walking Wisdom’s Way
Psalm 1
Perhaps consider emphasizing how Psalm 1 sets forth the path to true wisdom through a deliberate choice to delight in God's law rather than walking in the counsel of the wicked. This can show the congregation the critical decision of choosing daily to engage with God's Word, reflecting Christ's obedience and how He is our example of living in wisdom.
In Classic Wisdom Literature style, the Psalms opens up by contrasting the wicked and the righteous. This is common place in the this genre of literature. We see the wicked/righteous compared, we see the wise/foolish compared. It is very similar to a jeweler who views a diamond from every conceivable direction.
Psalm 1 and the Psalter as a whole open with the word “Blessed” the word itself is another of those very common church words that due to overuse has just lost a lot of it’s meaning.
So let us reinvest some meaning back into it.
The Hebrew word baruch means to enjoy the fruitfulness and multiplication that comes from the LORD. This word used here is another Hebrew word Asre, it is the same word that Jesus used in the beatitudes.
It is related but a little different, Asre is what someone would call another person who they recognise as Baruch.
Basically it is like saying, someone is living the good life.
So here in this Psalm it is written from the perspective of an onlooker, someone is saying, look at that person over there, their life is good, they are living the good life.
How do they have the good life, well according to Ps 1 one reason is that they do not walk with the Wicked, that being people who do the wrong thing intentionally
They do not stand with people who make a lifestyle out of intentionally not loving people or God.
They do not stay in the company of people who make a lifestyle of Mocking everything, we know who these people are, they make a joke of everything, incredibly cynical. They treat what is valuable as worthless.
Psalms opens with the wisdom, that we must be wise in our selection of company, who we associate with matters and according to Scripture, it is a path to the good life.
So what do we do then?
We become Bible Nerds!
v.2 says that what we do instead is that we delight in the instruction of the LORD, we meditate on it.
This word Hagah is the sound animals make when they are eating. What scripture is saying is that just as animals make noise when they eat their food, our sound is us mumbling when we eat our food, that is the Word of God.
Biblical Meditation, is muttering God’s Word, Chewing it, Day and Night.
Reading our Bibles Day and Night.
Consider what Jesus said, while being tempted:
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
Psalms is making the same claim here. Scripture transforms us, as we eat of the LORD’s instructions, day and night, having a good diet on Scripture, this is what leads us into intimacy with God. Consider what God said to Joshua
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
You would think that Joshua would need battle strategy, but no, God’s advice to him was to keep himself in the Word. As we look at that prosperity promise, we go back to Psalm1.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
It’s the same language.
This is not the first time Scripture is telling us this. Anytime Scripture repeats itself, it should be like a blaring alarm to us to pay attention.
As we turn to the rest of Psalm1.4-6
4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
We see the outcome of the wicked, there is no weight or substance to them, they blow away like chaff.
They have no part in a righteous community, they have no place in court, they have no capacity to execute justice because they have no idea what Justice even is.
What is more, is their way leads only to destruction. This type of language Jesus used at the end of the sermon on the mount:
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
This is common wisdom saying, the outcome of the wise and the fool, the righteous and the wicked. As we see here in Luke, it is the ones who hear the Word of the LORD and do something about it, who dig deep, so that when life comes at them, they are able to stand.
The destruction comes for the wicked lazy person, who can not be bothered to dig deep, put in the work, have a regular diet of the Word…that path only leads to destruction.
So now we go from the personal level to the national stage.
2. Hearing Wisdom’s Way
2. Hearing Wisdom’s Way
Psalm 2:1-6
You could highlight how these verses present a vivid contrast between the rebellion of earthly kingdoms and God's sovereign decree, establishing His King. This might help to draw parallels between the futility of seeking wisdom apart from God and the assurance of finding true wisdom and security in acknowledging Christ as the ultimate King.
What happens to all those people who reject God’s invitation for Wisdom, they reject God’s Word. Psalm 2 talks about it.
1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”
The question presented is rhetorical, why do the nations conspire…because they are the wicked, the sinners and the mockers from Ch.1 but now we are looking from a national level.
The rallying cry is that the shackles that God’s Word puts on us is something to break free from, instead of recognising that God’s Word to us is our ultimate freedom, they have believed the lie, that there is a better form of freedom and salvation.
Is this not exactly what we see happening today?
People, who consistently keep terrible company, start thinking they have the answer, that they have the better way of doing life. It is all rubbish, as the Psalmist says, they plot in vain.
They do, however, band together against the LORD and His anointed. This would be a good time to remind you all that Christian means anointed one.
This Psalm for sure is referencing God’s King, but as we are that King’s representatives here, expect them to rise up against us as well.
I mean look at what the Psalm says, God’s response to this large scale wickedness is to install His ruler/s as his example.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
This is Zion language, the Kingdom is God’s answer to this problem, we are God’s answer to this problem. We are to hear Wisdom’s call and be light to this world, we are to reflect God’s way of doing life and people are meant to see it.
So Psalm 2 concludes with a call to Resting Wisdom’s Way
3. Resting Wisdom’s Way
3. Resting Wisdom’s Way
Psalm 2:7-12
Maybe focus on the call to serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling, recognizing Jesus as the Son, the anointed King. This can encourage believers to see how submitting to Christ, the source of true wisdom, brings blessing and refuge, aligning their life with God's ultimate plan of redemption.
7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. 8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. 12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Recognise that first line? It is what God said to Jesus at His baptism.
Much in the same way are we called to this, God is our Father. Now to the original audience we know this Psalm was used in coronations of kings, but we understand it today as the battle of kingdoms. We know it is not against flesh and blood that we war, but with the powers and principalities.
All of this is the nation’s response to God’s Anointed King. It is Wisdom’s call, compared to God it is like iron vs. pottery, no contest.
What people may think that throwing off the LORD’s instruction as being good, is in fact the most foolish thing you could do, so there is the call to serve the LORD, turn away from the path that leads to destruction.
This sounds a lot like evangelism hey?
It is also the introduction to the whole book of Psalms, people may say in response to this call, “What do I do?” well the Psalmist would say…read on.
Contained in Psalter are the answers. The Psalms meet us on the human level, they give us the words to pray back to God, they teach us how to engage with life as it is, they teach us how to take refuge in God, which is how Psalm 2 ends.
It ends as the intro started, Blessed.
Blessed is the one who takes refuge in the LORD. The good life is for the one who knows how to rest in God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
See how Scripture did that. It started with Blessed and finished with Blessed, it gives us the invitation to life and it begins to show us the way.
So, for us, what will we do.
Will we listen?
If you are like me, which I imagine many of you are, you are going to need God’s help to get you on a good diet of Scripture.
I want us to have a bit of ministry time around this, for anyone who would say that they want to grow in this area, that they want the good life.
Ministry Time
Ministry Time