Sunday Worship Service 1-27-19 - Prov 2,1-11 - Get Wisdom

 1. If-then, what’re you going to do, who are you going to be? What do you really want?? [2:1] My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, [2] making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; [3] yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, [4] if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, [5] then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. a. Couplets are informative: receive-words  treasure-commandments; ear-attentive  inclining heart; call out  raise your voice; discover/find-silver  search for-hidden treasures; understand-fear of LORD  find-knowledge-God. b. Compare this to V1:32 “the complacency of fools destroys them”: V1:5 “Let the wise grow in wisdom, let those who understand gain insight”. Wisdom is a spiral. If I think I’m good, I’m not, If I think I’ve arrived, I haven’t. If I want wisdom, I’ve begun to have it. c. Description of a growing believer. Contrasting the “complacency of fools” in 1:32. An openness, even eagerness, to grow, to change what needs changing. No one drifts into wisdom, we must pursue/seek it. d. Intensity of desire, intensity of quest. What do you want more than anything else?? Wisdom Is better. Because wisdom knows what you want better than you do. It could very well be that when you gain wisdom, your desires will change. e. This is God luring us in like Satan does, by our desires (which he created in us), but then flipping the table – you want treasure don’t you, this is better. Lose your life and find it. And, it’s not even that our desires are evil but that they become evil when they find the wrong object. This is God flipping the table on Satan – Satan wanted to be God, thought there was something missing, thought he could be better: God being God is better than anything else you can imagine. CS Lewis’ illustration in the weight of glory: God finds our desires not too strong but too weak. f. This can’t be half-hearted. If it is, we’re not seeking God. We cannot approach God flippantly. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. IF you sell out, devote yourself fully to this, then what … g. You will get what? Understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. Once you understand, you will see what you really have been searching for, and then you will get it. The first question is “What am I really looking for? What do I really want/need?” If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’ll always find it (or you’ll never find it.) Ecclesiastes – vanity of vanities, all is vanity and chasing after the wind – nothing better for a man to do than to enjoy his work, to eat drink and be merry – this too is vanity. We all want/need something. We’re all chasing something. We don’t even know what it is. We just know there’s an ache; we know there must be more than this. U2: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. Suicide and drug overdose (lower life expectancy in 2017 for the first time in the history of the founding of America. h. The first thing you will be given is the answer to that question: This is what you really need. Wouldn’t the answer to that question lie in where we came from, why we’re here, our Creator? The knowledge of God is what we all really need. It’s the real need behind all perceived needs. I need a car, a spouse, a job, health, … what you really need is to know God. This is Paul’s prayer in Eph 1:16ff that God… may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe … (according to his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand… far above all…) i. ((V5: Wisdom is not merely an abstract principle, it is an attribute of God, it was with God in the beginning, it flows from His character, thus it is personal. To pursue Wisdom is to pursue knowing God and to know God is to know Wisdom. “By wisdom I created…” “Logos”. This centers on and arrives at and flows from our walk with the living God – the alpha and omega. It comes from it and leads to it.))?? 2. Where do you get/find it? Where does it come from? [6] For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; [7] he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, a. The LORD gives it. Not from the inside, from the outside. At least not at first. We have to be changed from the outside in before we can change from the inside out. Change comes from outside of us (contra Disney/Moana), then it gets into us, then it comes out of us  Outside-In then Inside-Out. b. The only virtue is self-identification. Only you know who you are, and the greatest hero is the one who defies the societal norm. In a world now absent of virtue, that’s the only one that has been latched onto. You must know who you are from the inside, you define yourself; don’t let the world define you – you define you. Only half-right. You’re part of the world and aren’t any better at it than the world is. God defines you. Your definition comes from outside of you. And, the community should have something to say about it too. c. From his mouth (not just from him) … there’s an intimacy here, a personal knowledge, a walk, a relationship. d. How do we hear from God primarily? His mouth – what comes from his mouth? Words. Where do we find His words? Scripture. e. If you want wisdom, here it is (Hold up Bible). See V2:1 (commandment, instruction in chapter 1 – torah and mitzvah – as in bar mitzvah, son of the commandments – this is vintage wisdom literature – applying the Law, the commandments, the Word of God to all of life through the reasoned persuasion of parental relationship. f. And, it’s bountiful, stored up for you. g. It’s also bound up with our character/moral life. It’s not detached from it, as if we could be wise and have all of this. Righteous living leads to wisdom. Wisdom leads to righteous living. Again, it’s a spiral. 3. What does it do, what are it’s benefits? It is your guardian. [8] guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. [9] Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; [10] for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; [11] discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, a. The biggest one is in verse 5, but then here are the side benefits in this life now. b. Start to see this in verse 7b (a shield) c. It guards you (The Lord is your guardian Ps 121). Wisdom/God never sleeps. d. Same as V1:3 – righteousness, justice, equity … every good path. e. These things will come into your heart, and your soul will find a new kind of pleasure. Expound on this. Heart is deceitful. Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. i. Justification and Sanctification! Wisdom will come from the outside in, which is how salvation/justification comes. We are then changed from the inside out. This is how sanctification works. There will then be no need for extra external pressures to point us to the good, for the pressure will come from within, the Spirit working through the heart. (Is this exactly true thought? – still battle with flesh and still need help from church and other believers, etc – the difference is that we will want the help from the church and other believers which is again the evidence of the fundamental inside-change.) f. Still tied to our righteousness!!! (See Jesus here!) 4. Guard you from what/who? [12] delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, [13] who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, [14] who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, [15] men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. [16] So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, [17] who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; [18] for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; [19] none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life. a. From agents of HELL!!! Men and Women. The fear of God is the cure to the fear of Men/Women b. MEN: i. V12-13 Men who twist the truth, who forsake the fountain to dig out cisterns, broken cisterns that hold no water. 2 evils. ii. V14 They have a different desire and delight. iii. V15 – crooked paths – waste of life. From A to B, they go all out into the wastelands. c. WOMEN: i. The forbidden woman – the adulteress – again smooth words … perverse to smooth. ii. Forsakes anything real for something fake. Again forsakes the fountain for the cistern. iii. Forsakes the covenant – marriage is a covenant; relationship with God is a covenant. It’s a commitment. You are not defined by your desires, you are defined by your commitments. iv. It’s not that God is against pleasure. No, he is most certainly for it, of the deepest sort (he created it, it’s his idea); Take pleasure in the wife of your youth, be drunk with her. v. They promise life, but they deliver death. She deceives because she is deceived. The hallway to her bedroom is a hallway to hell, death, destruction. vi. Disney is half-right; half truth. The world wants to define you; Hell wants to define you as it has since the garden, questioning God’s definitions and creating his own, calling man to doubt his good creator’s good intentions for him. Hell’s agents try to define you – perverse men with their twisted words and worldly/alluring women with their seductive ways. You can’t let them define your reality, but the other part of that equation that Disney and our world do not get is that you are also not the definer of your reality – that should be proven by now (how many times have we messed up??) – God is the giver of wisdom and truth and we must give Him the throne of our reality. vii. What trajectory is your life on? We see that word path several times in this passage – it’s a course of life. It’s not just abstract knowledge, it is walking the path. Not just talking about it, but doing it. viii. Doing wisdom, not just knowing it. Jesus: Blessed is the man who hears and does. James: look into the perfect law and do it. ix. There is rich symbolism galore here. Here folly and sin are represented by the alluring woman, and wisdom is also portrayed as a woman in the preceding verses (feminine pronouns). Which will you take as a wife? Israel is portrayed as a wayward wife, a harlot. The Church is the Bride of Christ. The world is portrayed as the whore of Babylon in the end of Revelation. 5. Summary: There are two paths, two ways of life – only two. [20] So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. [21] For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, [22] but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it. a. V20 The confidence of the parents. God speaking not as a law giver, not as a judge, but as a trusted parent with a relationship with his child. b. V21 The upright/integrity  sustained life in a good place, a place of blessing. c. V22 wicked/treacherous  cut off, rooted out. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, you will reap what you sow. You will become like the gods you worship. d. There are only 2 paths, there is no third way. It is not just a matter of a better life, a more successful life, self-improvement – it is a matter of life and death, salvation and damnation. There is no third way. Choose God’s wisdom or be damned, choose God’s wisdom or choose death and Hell. e. Get it. When you get it you’re good. When you’re good, they can’t getcha. 6. Gospel! Reread! [2:1] My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, [2] making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; [3] yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, [4] if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, [5] then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. [6] For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; Jesus sought wisdom, he wanted wisdom more than he wanted air. He gave wisdom from his mouth to those who followed him. [7] he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, [8] guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. [9] Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; [10] for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; [11] discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, Jesus is our guardian. He said he will never leave us nor forsake us. He said he would not leave us as orphans but would send the Spirit to equip us to do battle in this world. He said that His word never fails, but is a sword that divides bone from marrow. We have His love. We have His Spirit. We have His Word. These things that His death and resurrection secured for us. He guards the paths of justice – the justice that He serves for us and mercy He gave to justice. He made us just. Watches over the way of his saints – He made us saints – holy, faithful ones – faithful to the covenant – the New Covenant. He stores up wisdom for those who are in that New Covenant – The Church! [12] delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, [13] who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, [14] who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, [15] men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. Jesus was delivered Himself to evil men of perverted speech who twisted the truth in order to accuse and mock and crucify him. He never forsook the path of uprightness, yet he walked the path of darkness to death while those agents of Hell rejoiced in their doing evil and delighted in the perverseness of crucifying the Son of God. Yet, He looks on them  HE LOOKS ON US and says, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. See, it was not a helpless, hapless surrender. No, this was the eternal plan of the Trinitarian God, Father-Son-Holy Spirit in the eternal council of His will, it was the will of God to crush Him, and He foreordained the evil actions of these evil men in order to accomplish His perfect purpose to save me/you/us and bestow on us wisdom so that we may freely bow our knee to Him in worship declaring Him Lord of all of our lives; and that His name may be exalted above every name. [16] So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, [17] who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; [18] for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; [19] none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life. Jesus sought an adulteress woman and brought her back from death and hell. He is the greater Hosea who woos back wayward Israel caught in Spiritual adultery, bowing to idols of the heart, seeking her satisfaction in the world, forgetting the covenant of her God; and yet He speaks softly to her, calling her back with His faithful love, if she will but listen and turn to the only true lover of her soul. [20] So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. [21] For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, [22] but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it. Jesus walked the way of the good, kept the path of the righteous. He walked the right path. We walked the wrong path. And, do you know what He now says to us??? I AM THE PATH!!! I AM THE WAY (the truth and the life, no man comes to the father but through me). He is our path to forgiveness, redemption, righteousness. He is our path to God. Only trusting Him will we sustain our life in the place of blessing. We will live in the land of promise, that land of pure delight where saints immortal reign, where infinite day excludes the night, and pleasures banish pain. For he was cut off from it that we may enter in. And, when we arrive, we will find Him victorious over every enemy, on His throne, doling out wisdom as freely as the air we now breathe; the same wisdom that created the heavens and the earth will be gladly given to us that we may reign with Him forever. This is why Jesus’ brother James (NT Wisdom book) says to the Church, those who have begun to trust Christ – “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, without finding fault.” He doesn’t see your faults anymore, He desires to make you whole, and holy, and joyous, and free, and mature, and loving, and wise! He who gave us His own Son, will He not graciously give us all things. Believe: Wisdom is the true companion/guardian worth more than all other pursuits, and it is from God and of God. Feel: God’s love for you, giving everything in Christ – even the wisdom of His mouth – the WORD made flesh! Do: Pursue wisdom, choose the path of wisdom, by walking in relationship with Christ, being changed by His Spirit from the inside out as He speaks through His Word.