Hearing & Doing | Proverbs 1:20-23

Hearing

What’s the loudest noise you’ve ever heard?

Take answers

Hearing is when sound waves send vibrations to your eardrums. The intensity or loudness of those vibrations is measured in decibels.

The Loudest Sound

The loudest animal on earth is the sperm whale. When it clicks for communication and echolocation, that sound can reach 200 decibels.

Here’s a crazy fact: 200 decibels is considered lethal, which means the sound of a sperm whale could kill you if you were close enough to it.

Researchers believe a whale song can travel up to 10,000 miles underwater.

Other Loud Sounds:

A jet engine: 150 decibels

Airhorns: 129 decibels

Thunder: 120 decibels

Jackhammer: 100 decibels

Quietest Sounds:

A whisper: 15 decibels

The Most Important Sound:

Proverbs 4:7, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

Wisdom matters because you have a lot of choices to make in your life and you need help with them.

Wisdom is different than knowledge.

Knowledge is what you know.

You go to school to gain knowledge. To help what you know.

How many of you like school?

How many of you don’t like school?

You may not like it, but it’s important.

It’s good for you to know things like math and reading and science. It will help you have a better life the more you understand those things.

That’s knowledge.

But wisdom is different. While so many people live to get smart, Solomon knew that there was more to life than just what you know.

Knowledge is what you know. But wisdom is what you do with what you know.

Illustration: Crossing the street. How many of you know that it’s dangerous to cross the street?

Who can tell me what you’re supposed to do when you cross the street?

That’s knowledge. And plenty of kids have that knowledge, but don’t look both ways before they cross the street.

They have knowledge, but not wisdom.

Wisdom is knowing what to do and actually doing it.

The Bible actually says that a person is called a Fool if they know what to do but don’t do it. Not foolish as in dumb, but foolish because they didn’t apply wisdom to their daily life.

So here’s a good definition of wisdom: Doing something with what I know.

Illustration: Learning something in school and thinking, “When am I ever going to use this?!”

It doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of time learning something that you’ll never use.

But this happens all the time when it comes to the Bible.

All kinds of kids know what the Bible says, but when it comes down to it they don’t practice it.

So back to the most important sound you’ll ever hear: It’s wisdom.

Wisdom will help you live your life in a way that pleases God.

And Proverbs 1:20 says “Wisdom crieth without; She uttereth her voice in the streets:”

Whether or not you realize this, wisdom cries out to you. It’s trying to get your attention.

How does that happen?

Through God’s Word.

God’s Word is crying out to you. It’s trying to get your attention. It wants to help you make decisions. It wants to help you do the right things. It’s calling to you when you hear teaching and preaching. It cries to you when you read it.

The most important thing you can do is listen to God’s Word with your ears and especially with your heart. That you take it seriously when it’s read.

The Word Of God Is Trying To Get Our Attention

Proverbs 1:20-21 say that wisdom cries out in the streets and in the public places. Basically, the Word of God is not hidden. It’s loud. It’s hearable.

How many of you have a Bible at home?

How many of you go to church?

So that means that you have access to God’s Word. It’s available to you.

And it’s wisdom is the most important sound you can hear.

Unfortunately, most of us are listening to other voices.

In other words, there are other voices in our lives that we consider more important than wisdom.

Here’s the problem most of us have: We don’t listen to wisdom as much as other things.

Applications:

Some of you play a lot more video games than you spend time reading God’s Word.

Some kids hear God’s Word at church or home but never actually think about what they’re hearing.

Some hear it and mock it - they don’t want to hear it and they make fun of it.

Some hear it and just disobey it. They think they know better and don’t have to obey.

Proverbs 1 talks about how certain kinds of people ignore God’s wisdom.

When you ignore God’s wisdom, you’re fit into one of three categories.

Illustration:

This side represents safety

That side represents a cliff with a 1,000 foot drop

Person #1 - Wisdom cries out (Hey listen, watch out for the cliff, it will kill you, don’t go that way)

Person #2 (vs. 22)- Simple love simplicity (walks along looking at butterflies and not watching his step, has earbuds in)

This means ignorant. Those that just don’t know.

This is talking about a person who is naive and untaught.

How many of you know what gullible means? Did you know gullible means you have bad breath?

Simple simply means something who doesn’t know better. They just have never been taught.

They’re not dumb. They just don’t know. No one has ever told them.

He needs wisdom because he doesn’t know any better

As a kid, there are a lot of things you don’t know

That’s why you need wisdom, because you don’t know any better

And even if it’s not on purpose, if you ignore the wisdom, you’re going to fall off the cliff

So you need some help

You need wisdom

There’s another person mentioned in vs. 22 “How long…will the scorners delight in their scorning?”

Person #3 - Scorners delight in their scorning (can hear wisdom, but makes fun of it, won’t listen, mocks it)

This person hears wisdom and yet purposely mocks it

This person knows the truth but is actively hateful about it

This is the kid in class that makes fun of the teacher

This is the kid that tries to get other kids to mock the Bible stories in SS

This represents some of us in this room

You have access to wisdom, but you have a hateful spirit toward the help that wisdom has for you

Or you think you know better than wisdom, so you mock and jeer and make fun of it anytime someone tries to help you

And because you ignore wisdom, you fall off the cliff because you’re too busy mocking to notice you get close to the edge

Person #4 - Fools hate knowledge (these also hear wisdom, but they think they are too smart for it, they are full of pride and arrogance so they dismiss the help)

This person hears wisdom and yet purposely ignores it

They know the truth, but they think they know better than wisdom

This is the person that sees a sign that says, “Warning, bridge out” and thinks, “I doubt the bridge is out. I’ll be fine. I’m moving forward.”

This is the kid that hears the Bible stories but thinks he’s too smart to learn anything.

And guess what happens, they fall off the cliff because they despise the wisdom.

Any of us can be in one of these three categories:

We can be Simple, a Scorner, or a Fool.

But notice, all three fall to their destruction because they don’t listen to wisdom.

Proverbs 1:31–33 says this, “Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices.

For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, And the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, And shall be quiet from fear of evil.”

Kids, who would you rather be: The Simple that falls off the cliff because he never knew?

The Scorner that falls to his destruction because he mocked wisdom?

The Fool that thinks he knows better and goes over the edge?

Or the wise that hears the wisdom, obeys it, and dwells in safety, free from evil and fear?

If you ignore God’s wisdom, you will end up like the simple, the scorner and the fool.

But if you hear God’s wisdom and obey, you will end up like the wise.

Proverbs 1:23 says, “Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.”

If you want God’s help, you must turn when you hear God’s Word.

Applications:

OBEDIENCE

Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.”

Ephesians 6:2–3 “Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”

It doesn’t matter if you’re simple, scorner, or fool, if you miss this wisdom, the Bible says the quality of your life will be affected.

A wise child will hear that wisdom and turn at it.

HONESTY

Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: But they that deal truly are his delight.”

An abomination is something God looks at and hates.

So lying is something God hates. But He loves it when we tell the truth.

You can either keep going toward the cliff or turn.

SALVATION

God’s Word says you’re a sinner in danger of hell unless you turn to Jesus

Two options: Hear Gods wisdom, turn and be safe

Or ignore it and face spiritual destruction

The choice is yours

Hear God’s Word and be saved

Or ignore it and face destruction

In what area of your life have you stopped listening to God’s wisdom?

Do you need to spend more time listening?

We need to be better hearers. Will you choose to listen to God’s wisdom?