1. Every Road Leads Somewhere
Notes
Transcript
Me:
Me:
Welcome to Iowa City Church online! I’m glad that you are joining us this morning as we get ready to begin a brand new series, just in time for Christmas entitled: Hidden Hope. This series is part of a larger spiritual growth campaign called Core52. What we are doing is spending 52 weeks learning about the 52 core verses that tie our Bible together. The goal here is biblical literacy. If we can become more comfortable reading our Bible, we will not only discover how amazing it is, but how is always points us to Jesus. If you would like a guide book to join us, please contact me via the church website.
When I was doing youth ministry in Quincy, Illinois a couple girls in the youth group went on a road to trip to visit some guys they had met at a youth conference who just happened to be from Des Moines. So let me give you the geography here. Quincy is on the Mississippi Rive two hours south of IC. So, to get to Des Moines they traveled up 218 to Interstate 80, then west to Des Moines…sounds simple right? Well, they made it there safely without incident. On Sunday afternoon they headed back to Quincy from Des Moines, about three or four o’clock in the afternoon, Stacey calls me on her cell phone, cell phones were fairly new at the time and she was not able to get a hold of her parents. She called me because she felt like they were lost. They had been driving for a while and nothing looked familiar. So I asked her if she had any idea where they were, road signs, towns, cities, etc. She knew they were on I-80 but didn’t know of any cities except they had just passed a town that had a water tower that was painted yellow and had a big smiley face on it. Immediately I knew where they were, they had just gone by Adair…about an hour and a half passed Des Moines to the west. They were heading in the wrong direction. I told them that they need to find the next exit and turn around and head the other way—and yes they did eventually make it home.
In this funny little story we do however, pick up on some very interesting truths.
Every road leads somewhere. Roads are made specifically to take you to a destination. Even if it’s a dead end, the road leads somewhere.
Even though the girls pulled on to the wrong road they thought that it would would take them to their destination. So what we learn is that good intentions don’t help us reach our destination.
Choosing the right road determines your destination.
If you’re on the wrong road you need to get on the right road.
You need to make sure that you stay on the right road…no detours.
Maybe you’re thinking, “What can we possibly learn from Stacey and Missy’s story?” It’s just a story about some girls who got lost. What can we possibly learn.
Here’s the truth: We actually can learn a lot from their story, because their story is our story. Every single one of us has and is doing the same exact thing that they did, and not just with a car, but with our lives.
We:
We:
Some of you may have set out with the great intentions to be financially stable as your destination, but you took a wrong turn and you found your self spending money you didn’t have. Now you are in a pit of debt and you think to yourself, “What happened?” Well, you got on the wrong road, remember good intentions don’t get you to your destination, choosing the right road does.
Some of you have set out, with great intentions to be in a relationship, a great relationship, maybe even be married one day. So you get on the relationship road, and your date around, mess around with anyone who’s cute or hot, or makes you laugh, or has money or influence…because of course that’s how you find a great relationship or find a great spouse. Instead, you find yourself in this endless cycle of bad relationship or hurt heart or repeated abuse. Good intentions. Wrong road. Only choosing the right road will lead you to your destination.
Some of you really want to grow in your relationship with God. You want to be closer to him. You want to know him and his word better. It’s a great destination and you have really good intentions! However, you work too much, you spend too much time on social media, and you binge watch show after show on Netflix. Again, good intentions, but the wrong road. This doesn’t have anything to do with God’s love for you. This is a matter of determining what is the right road to get on to grow in one’s relationship with God....and then staying on it. Does this make sense?
I’m assuming that some of you are recognizing that you are probably on the wrong road right now. Rest assured, we have all been there or we are currently there, on the wrong road, heading to who knows where…with really good intentions. Here’s one of the things we need to recognize. Sometimes you can love Jesus and still be one the wrong road. You can even read the Bible, and still find yourself on the the wrong road. So what we can recognize is that you can have faith in God and still not be very good at life.
You can love Jesus and still find yourself on the wrong road to reaching your destination of a good marriage, or financial freedom or solid relationships.
Listen, being on the wrong road is nothing new, it’s been going on since the beginning! Don’t you think Adam and Eve had good intentions regarding their relationship with God? They chose to follow a road that lead them away from God and we have been scrambling to find the right road ever since! Thank God, for engaging with us, and never giving up on people…providing us with what we need to reach our destination.
Thankfully God has provided us with the information and skill to learn how to stay on the right path and not veer off. Let’s take a look.
God:
God:
If you have a Bible or device, find Proverbs 1:1. If you are using the YouVersion Bible app, go to Events. Our church name should pop up. Click on it, and all of the sermon notes and Scriptures will be available to you.
Let me give you just a little bit of back ground on the book of Proverbs. This book is apart of what the Jewish people called, Wisdom Literature. There are three books of your OT included in Wisdom Literature, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job. They are intended to be read together because they speak of how wisdom can be applied to three different distinct situations.
The main influence behind the book of Proverbs is Solomon, King David’s son. He wrote, collected and compiled many of the proverbs that are in the book. As we learn in 1 Kings chapter three, when Solomon took the throne, replacing his father David, God reached out to Solomon in a dream asking Solomon what he could give him and Solomon asked for wisdom to lead Israel. Thus the name Solomon has always been connected with wisdom. So with that being said, let’s see what Solomon teaches regarding how to find the right path for life. (Proverbs 1:1-2)
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
Let’s stop here. Circle the word, “wisdom.” There are a few different words used in Proverbs translated as wisdom, this is the most common—it’s the word hak-ma. This word literally means, skilled or skillful. One who is skilled or skillful in their craft, work, or ability. A skillful carpenter or musician, or writer. To be able to play the guitar well you can’t just think to your self that you are going to be a great guitar player, and you can’t just randomly pick it up every once in a while and expect to become a skilled guitar player. There is a road one has to get on, a road of developing the skill of guitar playing. This skill will require discipline and focus.
So Solomon is writing these proverbs, a proverb is a wise or pithy saying, to help the people of Israel develop the skill and discipline to live life. But not just any life, let’s keep reading and you will see what I mean. ( vs.3)
for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
Solomon wants to give the people of Israel skill in how they are to live a right life, or a good life…even more specifically a life that reflects the character of God. He is trying to instruct them in how to be good at living a godly life. This I think describes what we want when we talk about living a good life.
If I want to be good at life, I want to be good at how God designed life to function. Does that make sense? Then Solomon goes on to talk about who will benefit from these proverbs. (vs. 4-6)
for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
So it sounds like just about anyone and everyone can benefit from these proverbs, from the ones who are lost and confused, the young, to the wise and mature. These are sayings to help teach the skills of staying on the righteous road of life. Think of these proverbs as guardrails that you see when you are traveling on a mountain. The guardrails help keep you on the road and not veer off and over the cliff. The guidelines help people stay on the road and reach their destinations. You could say it this way: God is using Solomon as an instructor for how to help people be good at living a godly life.
Solomon wraps up this introduction with two instructions about getting on the right road and reaching our destination of being good at living a godly life. Check out (vs. 7) which happens to be our Core52 verse for the week. This verse is definitely worth memorizing!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Here are the two key instructions to reach your destination of being good at living a godly life.
1. Fear of the LORD is where our journey begins. Sometimes people push back from the thought of fearing God. Think of it this way. Imagine yourself standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon. It’s so huge, massive and deep. It’s majestic, and dangerous! You don’t want to get too close. In fact, people fall to their death their every year because they get too close, usually while taking a a selfie. They climb over guard rails, and go to places that are too close. Is the Grand Canyon evil? No! But it can be dangerous if you don’t respect it. We appreciate and enjoy the views at the Grand Canyon, yet we also respect it and revere it’s majesty.
The same could be said for a volcano. To stand near it, in it’s presence or even in the same vicinity while it is active…it’s intimidating, even a bit scary! It’s not evil or bad, but it is worthy of your respect. You respect it, I obey the signs, I listen to instructions. Stay Out! Don’t Go Near! Not a problem for me because I fear the volcano or the canyon. It’s a deep respect.
To reach your destination of being good at life you need to respect the source. Fear the one who created everything, who wired it and put it into motion, and who even knows our hearts. He is the one we should revere, submit to and fear because he is the source. To be good at living a godly life, we have to have a deep reverence for the one who created it.
Here is an important benefit of fearing God. If you believe in God, there are two things you should fear: God and Nothing. If you fear God, there is no need to fear anything else. There is nothing left. Fear enemies? Fear making the wrong decision? Fear rejection? Fear Covid-19? Fear death? Here is what the psalmist writes about fearing the LORD. (Psalm 34:7-9)
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
A healthy sense of reverence and awe of God reminds me of my place in the universe and who ultimately is in control. If you want to reach your destination of being good at life, it all starts with the one who put it all together.
Solomon’s second instruction is this:
2. A Fool Despises Wisdom. They don’t want to develop the skill to be good at life, they don’t want to develop the discipline to find the right road and stay on it. A fools response is essentially--”I don’t need God, I’m good on my own.”
Now, most of you are thinking, “Well at least I’m not the fool.” But I would like to suggest that every one of us is in some way, shape or form is being foolish in some area of our life right now. This is because in some area of your life right now you are despising wisdom. Sure you may be on the right road, but two of your wheels are on the rumble bars. Or maybe worse, you are right now getting ready to exit the road and take a detour. Or, maybe you are not even on the road. This is probably a good time for all of us to tap the brakes, stop and ask ourselves these two questions about our lives: “What is my destination?” and “Am I on the right road?”
So here is what we can take away from what Solomon writes:
To be good at living a godly life, we must have a deep reverence for the one who created it and a willingness to do what he says.
You:
You:
Here are some ways we can begin to develop the skill of wisdom in our lives.
Develop Wisdom Disciplines In Your Life
Here’s what typically happens when we want to make changes in our lives. Take exercise for example. We go to the gym, work really hard, come home and look in the mirror…and we look the same. We do it for a week. Nothing seems to change. After a few weeks we don’t we changes and we give up. The same with learning to play a new instrument, or learning a new language or developing any new skill. There is no short cut for daily disciplines that we carry out over a long period of time. Wisdom is not information you know. Wisdom is a skill that is practiced everyday. Let me give you a couple of wisdom disciplines you can start to do on a regular basis:
Discipline Yourself to Read Through the Book of Proverbs For One Month - Proverbs has 31 chapters, so read on chapter a day for a month. Make that a regular practice for taking in these bits of wisdom that deal with family, neighbors, love, marriage, money, sex, and work. Begin to develop this wisdom skills to be good and living a godly life…and to stay headed toward your destination.
Talk With Wise People And Learn From Them - There are a couple of young men in our church who actually do this. They invite someone out for coffee, and then they just start asking questions about life, about the Bible, about marriage and love. There is a lot of wisdom available to us, if we would simply build relationships with wise people and then buy them coffee! This is why we encourage Growth Groups, discipleship and mentoring…to establish these key relationships to pass on the skills of wisdom. Who is someone you could call up and talk with. Develop your skill of being wise.
2. Commit Your Life To Following Jesus
Often times as Christians when we talk about putting our faith in Jesus, the sole focus is on saving people from their sins. The work of Jesus is more than that however…on multiple occasions he declared that he provides a new life or that he is life. Not only does Jesus save us, but he provides us with a clear path regarding how to be good at life. Following Jesus specifically helps us develop this skill of wisdom. The apostle Paul in his letter to the Colosse church says as much. Listen to what he writes about Jesus.
My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
To know Jesus, more fully and deeply begins to unlock the best way to live life. If you have never declared your allegiance to Jesus, the journey to being good at life begins there.
We:
We:
Let me give you a picture of what this looks like. Christmas is right around the corner, and when we talk about Christmas we always think of Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, Shepherds and Wise Men. Did you catch that? Wise men. Some of you ladies might take issue with that…and can’t argue too much! What made them wise? Was is it their great knowledge…they were indeed intelligent and with a vast array of resources at their fingertips. Were they wise because they saw a strange, bright light in the sky? Why are they called wise, even more so, why are we even told about them? They are wise because God called out to them through this amazing star in the sky. Then they disciplined their lives to get on a very specific road to reach a very specific destination. They are wise because they recognized God’s pathway, and kept their eyes on it until they reached their destination…Jesus.
God has provided for each of us, even more information, resources and direction on how to be good at living a godly life. The decision comes down to this: Will I follow.