Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

I really enjoy reading warning labels.

And, it’s fun because you always know that there’s an unfortunate story behind each one.

These labels prove that nothing is foolproof.

Frankel Costume Company produces a superman costume that warns: “This costume does not enable flight or super strength.”

And, you know that warning is only given because some guy eating Doritos in his parent’s basement thought: “It’s time for me to finally make something of myself!”

Of course, the ones that are most troubling are the ones that we need ourselves.

I worked in the seafood department when I was in college, and at the end of the night, I had to clean out all of the ice that we used to store the fish.

Nonetheless, my hands were frozen one night, and I got the bright idea to use the shrimp steamer for a quick warmup.

And, let me tell you, a dumb warning would’ve really saved my bacon that night.

The funny thing is that every, single one of us has a dumb story of some type.

We’ve all made a decision or experienced a blunder that caused us to look back on the other side and seriously question whether or not we should be given a driver’s license.

And, this is pointing to something that we are being taught in the book of Proverbs: We are naturally foolish, and life isn’t foolproof.

We must be trained in wisdom so that we can learn the ways of the world as God designed them.

This morning, we’re going to hear the father continuing to train his son in .

God’s Word

Read

The Wise Obey God’s Commands Because They Love God’s Commands.

(v.

1-4)

v. 1 “My son, do not forget my teaching...” We’ll see introductory thoughts in verses 1-4, the main idea in verses 5-8, and then the application in verses 9-12.

First of all, I want us to see that the wise obey God’s commands because they love God’s commands.

We see this in the introduction.

The Wise Live in Obedience

The father calls for his son to live in obedience at all times.

He wants him to hold so fast to what he has said that he is unable to forget it, unable to let all that has been taught to him to leave him.

The father understands that the wise have a conscience that is formed into the shape of wisdom so that it is unable to be set aside, unable to be looked over, unable to be dismissed.

It’s a conscience that has been so sanctified by the Lord that it compels you toward obedience to the Lord.

The wise live in obedience all the time.

Not just when they want to.

Not just after a New Year’s resolution.

Not just when they’ve suffered for being foolish.

The wise desire to live in obedience all of the time.

The father calls for his son to live in obedience at all times.

He wants him to hold so fast to what he has said that he is unable to forget it, unable to let all that has been taught to him to leave him.

The father understands that the wise have a conscience that is formed into the shape of wisdom so that it is unable to be set aside, unable to be looked over, unable to be dismissed.

It’s a conscience that has been so sanctified by the Lord that it compels you toward obedience to the Lord.

There are often times in which we want to forget what is wise, isn’t there?

There are times in which we want to set aside what is virtuous and godly so that we can have something that we crave and something that we desire.

We want to forget about the call to forgive when there’s someone that we like to be angry with and a grudge we want to hold and bitterness that we want to harbor.

We want to forget about God’s standard for our sexuality when our impulses and appetites crave someone who is not our husband or wife, when they crave for us to turn on our computer screens one more time.

We want to forget about prudent spending when we find a better boat, a newer car, or a nicer house that we feel like we can’t live without.

We want to forget about self-control when we want to eat another bit, sleep another hour, take another drink, or say what is on our minds.

Wise People Refuse to Forget

APPLICATION: Wise people people refuse to forget.

Wise people refuse to let wisdom leave them.

Wise people meditate upon what is true and value wisdom over their impulses.

Wise people want a conscience that compels them toward what is godly and that won’t let them off the hook to do what is destructive, no matter how badly they want it.

Wise people will not settle for convenient obedience.

Foolishness and immaturity are marked by convenient obedience and impulsive pleasure.

Wisdom and maturity are marked by perseverance in obedience.

The Wise Love Obedience

v. 1 “let your heart keep my commandments… v. 3 write them on the tablet of your heart” What should stand out most in the first four verses isn’t merely that the wise will be obedient, but that the wise will love obedience.

Notice what the father says to his son here.

He says, ‘let your heart keep my commandments,’ and ‘write them on the tablet of your heart.’

Using ‘steadfast love and faithfulness’ in verse 3, he’s talking about God’s commitment to his people to uphold his promises and his covenant to them out of his own love and his own passion.

And, he’s calling for his son to respond to God’s commitment, God’s devotion in a like-minded way.

As God has commited to faithfully uphold his covenant out of love, so should the wise child of God uphold his commitment, his obedience out of love.

There’s an obvious emphasis on the heart, encompassing the thoughts, desires, and decisions of the person.

We typically relate obedience with outward conformity as a result of outward compulsion.

We show up avoid our phones at work because our boss will flip tables if he sees it.

It’s not what we want to do; it’s what we have to do.

We arrive home by curfew so that we don’t have to face the wrath of our dad.

It’s not what we want to do; it’s what we have to do.

This is typically how we think of obedience.

A More Beautiful Obedience

The obedience of the wise is profoundly more beautiful than that.

The wise obey because they love to obey.

The wise obey, not because of outward compulsion, but because of inward compulsion.

That is, outward conformity to the wisdom of God is the result of inward conformity to the character of God.

The wise do what God would have them to do, they do what is wise to do because now it’s their desire to do it.

They love God inwardly; so, they obey God outwardly.

Again, here we see the gospel in the book of Proverbs.

For it is the gospel that tells us that we don’t obey God so that God will notice us or like us or want us.

We obey God as a response of love, as a result of a new nature and a new Spirit given to us.

Our obedience is the fruit of our passion.

Wisdom Delivers What Foolishness Promises

v. 2 “for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you” And, look at the end gain of loving obedience.

Wisdom delivers what foolishness promises — a better life.

Verse two says that you’ll live longer, and you’ll live fuller.

You’ve probably heard of the Hebrew word ‘shalom’ before.

That’s the word that’s used for peace in verse two, and it means far more than feeling good.

It’s holistic well-being.

It’s being content, joyful, and at rest in your soul.

It’s being satisfied with your life.

Verse 4 elaborates by speaking of humanity’s two fundamental relationships: your relationship with God and with other people, and he says that you’ll find favor and respect in those relationships.

That is, your life will fit together.

It won’t be perfect.

It won’t be easy.

But, it will be satisfying.

APPLICATION: Foolishness promises that you’ll just get outside of the fence, if you’ll just climb out the window of your Father’s house, if you’ll just obtain freedom for yourself, then you’ll be content and at peace and finally satisfied.

Then, you’ll finally have joy.

Foolishness and independence promises you shalom, but foolishness always breaks its promises.

Peace finally comes, joy finally comes, satisfaction finally comes when you are in line with God’s design, and your aligned with God’s design as a result of internal passion and external obedience.

Wisdom delivers what foolishness promises.

The Wise Trust God and Distrust Themselves.

(v.

5-8)

v. 5 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

All of that was for the purpose of setting up and giving the proper context for the main point of our passage.

It leads us to what is most likely the most famous verse in the book of Proverbs, verse 5.

It teaches us that the wise trust God and distrust themselves.