God's Wisdom - Jesus

 The late Cardinal Cushing started to give last rites to a man who collapsed. He knelt. "Do you believe in God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit?" The man opened one eye. "I'm dying, & you ask me a riddle?" The Trinity is a mystery. And today is Trinity Sunday, the Sunday we focus on something no one understands. Where did the idea come from? Jesus. His disciples finally understood Who He is. The Son. Jahweh. The LORD. That realization upended Jewish monotheism. Our one God exists in more than one Person that we can know. Father & Son. And they sent the Spirit, also a Person we can know. The upshot? Our one God has revealed Himself as 3 distinct Persons. People didn't invent the Trinity. God did. It's wise to accept the mystery: we can know our 1 God in 3 Persons. It's even wiser to get to know each Person. How appropriate for today's verses to come from Scripture's wisdom literature! Wisdom is more than smarts. A minister, Boy Scout, & computer expert were alone in the cabin of a small jet. The pilot came running back. "We're going down. But we have only 3 parachute packs for the 4 of us. I have a wife & 3 small children, so I'm taking one." He did, then jumped. The computer whiz said, "I'm the smartest man in the world. Everyone needs me. I should have one." He took a pack & jumped. The minister turned to the Boy Scout. He smiled, sadly. "You're young, I've lived a full life. You take the last one, & I'll go down with the plane." The Scout laughed. "The smartest man in the world just jumped out with my backpack!" Smart. Not wise. We need wisdom. Churches, leaders, & elders, especially, but we all need wisdom. We all make decisions about ministries, jobs, houses, & our futures. It isn't the world's wisdom we need for those decisions. That's been true from the beginning. In Ge 3:6, 6Eve saw that the tree's fruit was delicious & eye-pleasing. It also desirable for gaining wisdom. She took some & ate it. She also gave some to Adam, & he ate it. Why did God say, 'don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil'? Its "wisdom" led to sin & independence from God. True wisdom is living in obedience to God & depending on Him. Why do we even try to work things out by ourselves? Does that work out better for us than for Adam & Eve? We need God's wisdom! What does wisdom look like? Who has these 6 characteristics? 1. I'm the truth. 2. I walk in the way of righteousness. 3. I existed before the world began. 4. I co-created the world. 5. I followed the Lord's every command. 6. He who finds me finds life. Sounds like Jesus. Yet Proverbs says all 6 describe Wisdom. Let's look. 1st is truth. In Pr 8:7, Wisdom says, "My mouth speaks what's true." And in Jn 14:6, Jesus says," I'm ...the truth." 2nd is walking in righteousness. In Pr 8:20, Wisdom says, "20I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice." In 1 Cor 1:30, Paul says ...30Christ Jesus, ... has become for us wisdom from God... our righteousness, holiness & redemption. 3rd is pre-existence. In Pr 8:22, Wisdom says, "22The LORD brought me forth [born, not created] as 1st of his works, before his deeds of old." Jn 1:2 says Jesus ...2was with God in the beginning. 4th is co-creator. In Pr 8:30, at creation, Wisdom says 30I was the craftsman at his side. Jn 1:3 says Jesus is Creator. 3Through Jesus, all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. 5th is obeying the Lord completely. In Pr 8:20, Wisdom says, "20I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice." In Jn 15:10, Jesus says, 10"I've obeyed my Father's will." Jesus walked in the righteousness that we can't & fulfilled the whole Law. 6th is life. In Pr 8:35, Wisdom says, "35Whoever finds me finds life." In Jn 14:6, Jesus said, "6I'm the ...the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus & Wisdom look identical. Look at Mt 11:19, as Jesus answers criticism. 19Wisdom is proved right by her actions. He's wisdom. And in Mt 12:42 Jesus says He's greater than Solomon, wisest man in the OT. Jesus is God's Wisdom. Let's turn to Pr 8:1-4, 22-31. 1aDoesn't wisdom call out? Doesn't understanding raise her voice? Wisdom doesn't hide from us. God's Wisdom shouts to get our attention! 2On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand. Wisdom stands in our way, & at the crossroads-wherever we travel. 3Beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud. City gates-where people conducted business, where the markets were. Everywhere we go, wisdom tries to reach us. 4"To you, O men & women, I call out. I raise my voice to all mankind. All. Any exceptions? Wisdom makes herself accessible to all of us. She shouts, to everyone who'll listen. Why listen? 22"The Lord brought me forth (childbirth) as the 1st of his works, before his deeds of old. Wisdom isn't the Father but is eternal. 23I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. Who's eternal but God? In vv. 24-29 Wisdom came before 24 oceans, ...springs, 25...mountains & hills, 2 the earth, fields, & dust. Before 27the heavens, ... 28clouds, 29& sea. In all creation, Wisdom 30awas the craftsman at God's side. Childlike, Wisdom was 30bfilled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in His presence, 31rejoicing in his whole world & delighting in mankind. Wisdom helped God with Creation. Wisdom knows how God made it to work. Don't we need t hat wisdom for how to do life? Want to do things God's way? Get wisdom! Jas 1:5 says, Lack wisdom? Ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, & He'll give it. To gain wisdom, just ask God! He gives it freely! Why ask for God's wisdom. We need it for our Christian walk. Jesus gives one of the best reasons in his parable of the 10 bridesmaids (Mt 25:1-13). All bridesmaids had oil for their lamps. All fell asleep. Wise bridesmaids had extra oil in jars. Jesus used the parable to explain the end of the age & coming judgment. Wise bridesmaids got to enter into the wedding feast. The unwise were too late, shut out. We're in the last days. Only Jesus knows how close we are to His return. Only one thing is sure. We God's wisdom. We need to ask for it. We want wisdom to overcome problems. But we need wisdom to keep us from missing God's grace. Wisdom lights our path & readies our hearts for Christ's coming. Question: how does wisdom differ from knowledge? Old Southern Baptist preacher Vance Havner said, "If you lack knowledge, go to school. If you lack wisdom, get on your knees!" Wisdom isn't knowledge. It's the godly use of knowledge about how to live. Want to know how to live God's way? Learn what the Bible says. Then get on our knees & ask. Let's wrap up. Jobless Joey applied for janitor at Microsoft. The HR manager watched him clean a floor, then said, "You're hired. What's your e-mail address? I'll send you an application & start date." Joey replied, "I don't have one." "Without email, you don't exist & I can't hire you," said the HR manager. Hopeless, Joey left with only $10 in his pocket. He went to Super 1 & bought 20 lb. of tomatoes. He sold them door-to-door. In < 2hr, he had $20. He did that 3x & went home with $60. Joey realized he could live that way. Each day he started earlier & came back later. His doubled or tripled his $ each day. Soon, he had a cart. Then a truck. Then his own fleet of delivery vans. 5 years later, Joey is one of the biggest food retailers in the US. To assure his family's future, he goes to buy life insurance. The broker asks for his email. Joey says, "I don't have email." "No email? Yet you built an empire! Imagine what you'd be with email!" Joey thought, then replied. "I'd be a janitor at Microsoft!" Joey didn't have smarts. Nor knowledge. But he did have wisdom. He worked hard. He worked faithfully. God does both. And God honored what he did. Won't He reward us when we do the same? Let's wrap up. Want Biblical wisdom? Start with our Triune God. Ask the Father for wisdom. It isn't knowledge, street-smarts, or even brilliance. It's knowing how to live God's way. Knowing how to depend on Him. Learning to live in His Spirit. Learning to let His Son live His life in us. How do we do all that? It's gonna take getting on our knees. God's Wisdom: Jesus - Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 Page 1 of 1