Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Today we conclude the introductory chapters of Proverbs before we look at the Proverbs thematically.

We have already noted that our choices matter and will affect how we live.

The Proverbs were given to help us live skillful lives in the fear of God.

The proverbs teach us as we will see in the coming weeks what fearing God looks like practically in everyday life in how we use our speech, how we use our time, what type of spouse we should pursue, how we should spend our money, how we should work and various other practical matters that get down to the nitty gritty.

Solomon, a father, instructs his son with very practical down to earth instructions so that he can live a blessed and fruitful life.

We have seen how we should avoid the path of the wicked, we should avoid the immoral woman and immoral sex, how we must avoid stupid agreements that can get ourselves into debt, sloth and laziness by looking at the ant, and the hate the things that the Lord hates like pride, arrogance, lying tongue, murder, and division.

Today we come to , which concludes the prologue of this book.

One pastor entitled his sermon on “Decision Time” because this chapter calls you to make a decision regarding what type of life you live by either either wisdom or folly.

You will be either growing in wisdom or growing in foolishness.

You will either be closer to Christ or growing colder to Christ.

Chapter nine summarizes the contents of the previous eight chapters and calls us to make a decision: will you choose wisdom’s invitation that leads to life?

Or will you choose folly’s invitation to death?

Your response will determine whether you will walk in the fellowship of life or the fellowship of death.

Let’s read .

Scripture Reading:

I. Wisdom Invites You in the Fellowship of Life (vv.

1-12)

Notice where wisdom dwells.

A. Wisdom’s Dwelling (vv.

1-2)

Proverbs

Wisdom’s house is a magnificent building.

The building is a massive because it has seven pillars.

We can think of the Temple in Jerusalem or think about the ancient temples of Greece that housed the Greek deities.

The number seven is often a symbol of perfection.

Wisdom has plenty of spaces and plenty of room for all to come in.

The point is that wisdom dwells where God dwells.

It is in the place of the temple.

It is the place where God is worshipped.

In the NT, the church is called the pillar of truth.

If you want to be where wisdom is, be where God is.

Where is God?

But in the preaching of His Word and the fellowship of his people.

Wisdom is found in the Temple where the Law was preached, but also in the Temple which is God’s people governed by God’s Word in the NT.

Christian: If you want to fellowship with wisdom, you fellowship where God is: In His Word, with His people, led by His Spirit.

Commit to a local church where you can grow in wisdom through expositional preaching.

You want to grow in wisdom, commit to a church and commit to learning in a church.

The Harvest Crusade is coming up at Anaheim Stadium.

Often people who make a profession of faith, the next step for them is to commit to a local church.

We have that opportunity to invite them to our fellowship.

Pray for that.

If you want more details about that, you can talk to me about how to get involved.

Wisdom dwells where God dwells, but also wants to fellowship with us.

B. Wisdom’s Fellowship

Wisdom has prepared a meal for us.

When I was in the Philippines visiting our missionaries, before I left we had a big meal and going away party.

In the Philippines, if you want to throw a nice party and a feast, what do you do?

You get a pig, slaughter it, and roast it.

Tita Lilia bought the fattest pig, and in 6am in the morning, they slaughtered that thing.

And they roasted it and put it on the table for all to eat for 30 pastors and workers.

We can say wisdom invites you to eat.

She has prepared the pig (not for the Jew).

She has prepared the steak.

She invites you to fellowship with her.

To further understand this rich image, we need to consider more closely the ancient Near Eastern notion that to dine with someone is to enter into a deep and intimate relationship with that person.

Food was a sign of fellowship in the ancient world.

It was a sign of friendship.

Look at the people you eat with potluck, you tend to eat with your friends don’t you?

You eat with people who have common interests.

We can say that as Christians, we have been invited to the feast/banquet of God.

We don’t have to have money.

We don’t have to have it all together.

We just need to respond to the invitation.

John

Look at the people you eat with potluck, you tend to eat with your friends don’t you?

You eat with people who have common interests.

Salvation is pictured as a feast.

We live as we feed on the true bread of life, our Christ.

By faith, we receive his sacrifice.

And by faith, we receive his benefits.

Church—Isn’t this what communion symbolizes?

It is a salvation feast!

It is a spiritual feast by which we remember what we have been delivered from, the provision for our salvation, the lamb of God, and God’s promise to bring us to our eternal home!

It is a sign of fellowship with Christ and it is a sign of our fellowship with one another.

This is why Christians are only allowed to take the meal because we have been united to Christ and united to one another by covenant.

C. Wisdom’s Invitation

Indeed, the Hebrew text stresses that her house is at the highest point of the city.

Here we need to transport ourselves back into the world of the original text, where we discover that the building on the high point of the city is the temple.

The location of her house makes clear that Woman Wisdom stands for God.

She is a poetic personification of God’s wisdom and represents God, as a part for the whole (synecdoche).

Christian—God has invited you through the prophets, through the apostles, through the pastors, through the teachers, through the Sunday School teachers, through the VBS teachers, through a believing family member.

The invitation has been sent to fellowship in the Son of God and fellowship in life!

Christian—If you have received the invitation to life, you are now a messenger to give this same invitation to others.

You must call others to come to the feast!

Come to the fellowship!

Come and find life!

The gospel is the wedding invitation.

We are to invite others to the wedding party.

Excuse Christian—Do you make excuses for coming to Christ?

Coming to Church?

Luke 14:15

Sadly, some people make excuses and they will face eternal consequences for rejecting the invitation.

Who does she call?

D. Wisdom’s Audience

Proverbs

The invitation is not to the wise, or to the worthy, but it is to the simple.

The gullible.

The inexperienced.

The person who lacks spiritual discernment.

The person who does not think about his actions.

The person who lacks sense.