Knowing God

For the first time in about seven and a half years,

I've produced for you this morning a sermon outline

with some texts in there.

That's either because I'm more organised

than I've been in for seven and a half years

or I'm more confused than I've been for seven and a half years.

And as I go through this,

I don't want you to be as confused as I am.

So hopefully that you can follow along.

Proverbs, as I've said to a number of people

throughout the course of the last couple of weeks,

Proverbs has been doing my head in.

And it's been a lot of work to get to this point.

So there's a sermon in each one of these,

at least in each one of these points I want to make today.

So let's pray that we might get the message

of God's word to us right now.

Father, I pray that you would speak to us

with clarity through your word.

There's a bunch of ideas.

I pray, Lord, as people pursuing wisdom,

that we would not just stop here,

but in fact that we would pursue you

and continue to pursue you regardless of what happens.

In the next little half an hour or so.

Lord, Father, we pray that you would speak to us

with clarity, implant your word deep in our hearts

and particularly your love might be bound around our necks,

that it might be settled in our hearts,

that we might be confident in who we are in you.

Amen.

Alistair McIntyre in his book, After Virtue,

gives an illustration which has become quite famous.

Imagine you're standing at a bus stop

and a young man comes, walks up to you and says to you,

hey, the Latin name for the common wild duck

is Historonicus, Historonicus, Historonicus.

How do you make sense of that?

Why did that just happen?

What does it mean?

There's only one way to make sense of that statement

and that is to put it into a story.

You have to ask,

what is the story in which that incident,

that statement makes sense?

Because without the story, it makes no sense.

And so McIntyre says that there's a few options.

For instance, it could be a sad story

that the man is in fact mentally ill

and that would make sense

of that little interaction you've just had.

Another possibility is that it's a case of mistaken identity.

Maybe a few days earlier,

the man was in a library doing some research

on the Latin name of the common wild duck.

He spoke to the librarian about that project he was doing

to get some help

and maybe you look like the librarian

and so that would explain

it was a case of mistaken identity at a bus stop.

A further possibility,

that is that he is in fact a spy

and he's mistaken you for his contact

and he's inadvertently passed on to you

the contact code.

You see, the statement makes no sense

unless you stick it into a story

and the story that you put it in

completely determines how you will respond to it.

Your response might be one of pity

or it might be one of confusion

or it might be one of anxiety

of looking over your shoulder.

How we live is determined

by what we think the story of the world is.

How we live is determined

by what we think the story of the world is.

And the story of the society in which we live,

the secular society,

is that we are here by accident

and that when we die, we rot.

That's the story of our society.

There is no order or pattern.

Everything is by chance.

There's no absolute truth.

There's no moral standards.

This life is all there is

and therefore,

this is the only happiness

that you will ever get.

And that story determines how you live.

Wisdom equals beshainment.

The attitude of happiness here and now.

Sexual ethics,

the way you think about your money,

how you raise your children,

what the purpose of your work is,

your relationships,

everything,

everything in life

fits in that story.

Everything.

There's nothing that it does not touch.

Now, the Christian person

sees the story of the world quite differently.

Christianity says

that we are all created by God

and so that absolutely everything

that we have is a gift from him,

including the money

that we just handed on just then.

Christianity says

that the problems of this world

are all linked

to our rejection of God.

But this same God

who's been rejected

came into his world

to redeem it,

not just to redeem the world,

but that one day

he's going to renew the world,

his broken world.

And Christianity said

that this life

is not the only life.

It claims that this life

is in fact

a relatively small part

of our entire existence

and the greatest amount

of joy and happiness

is yet to come.

And so that story

shapes everything in your life.

There's not an area

of your existence

that it does not touch.

And Proverbs shows us

how everything

is touched and shaped

and impacted

by that story of existence

with the God of the Bible

behind it

and in it

and through it.

And so this series

is about wisdom.

It's about what wisdom is

and how to get it

and how to grow in wisdom

and it's about

how to allow,

align our lives

with that story,

with ultimate reality,

and Proverbs 9 verse 10

Proverbs 9:10

says the fear

of the Lord

is the beginning

of wisdom.

That's the Christian story.

It starts with God.

That's where wisdom starts.

Now last week

I went with

the following definition.

I said that wisdom

is becoming competent

with regard

to the realities of life.

I ripped it off

Gerhard von Rad.

Wisdom

is becoming competent

in regard

to the realities of life

and I mentioned

two key areas

that were essential

for the wise life.

Firstly,

you have to see

and admit

that there is a pattern

in this world,

that God has made the world

and there is a pattern.

There are principles

by which life

customarily works.

Secondly,

you've got to see

that you cannot know

the whole pattern.

Much of the pattern

is hidden from us

and so

that's the beginning.

But the beginning

as we just read out

in those passages

in Proverbs 1.7

it says

the fear of the Lord

is the beginning

of knowledge.

That's the Christian framework.

That's the Christian story.

And chapter 9 verse 10

says

the fear of the Lord

is the beginning

of wisdom.

Now they are

very similar statements

but they are

different statements.

Proverbs 1.7

reveals

that the fear

of the Lord

is more comprehensive

than we actually think.

Fear of the Lord

is not just about

how to do moral things.

Relationship with God,

faith in God

completely determines

what you know

about the world

and how you know

the world.

That's a pretty astounding

and controversial statement.

In our modern society

it just does not

think like that.

Our society thinks

it's possible

for people

to have different

faiths,

different personal

individual ideas

about God

but they're to be

kept private

and separate.

That's a matter

of faith.

That's a thing

over there.

The general consensus

is that faith,

that stuff about God,

is opposed

to reason

and that reason

and knowledge

can only operate

in its full capacity

if it's separated

from faith,

if it's separated

from God

and knowledge of God.

We're a secular society

and so in the past

couple of weeks

media personality

Andrew Denton

called on those

opposed to euthanasia

on religious grounds

to step aside

from the debate.

Get out of the way.

He's of the view

that if you take

faith out of the equation

we can then have

a sensible,

reasonable,

logical,

knowledgeable discussion

about the issue.

He said this

to the National Press

Club

on the 10th of August,

to those

whose beliefs

instruct you

that only God

can decide

how a human being

should die,

I urge you

step aside.

May your beliefs

sustain you

and those you love

but do not impose

them on the rest of us.

See the thinking?

Faith

and reason,

God

and knowledge,

they don't belong

at the same table

and Proverbs

opens

with a statement

that's exact opposite.

The fear of God

is the beginning

of knowledge.

It's the beginning

of how we know anything.

The fear of God.

Faith is the foundation

from which all

of our reasoning

comes.

Our faith

is the beginning

of our knowledge.

Now Denton's view

is a fairly common view

and it goes like this.

The only things

that we can be

really sure of

are the things

that we can,

that can be

scientifically proven.

The facts.

You might have

your belief

about morality

and about God

and that's fine.

That's for faith stuff.

Keep it over there.

The only things

that we're really sure about

are the things

which are scientifically proven.

But

that statement

can't be scientifically proven.

Therefore,

on its own terms,

you can't be sure of it.

If you don't believe

that anything

that happens

in this world

has a supernatural cause,

that's fine.

But understand this.

In and of itself,

that is a belief.

It's not a statement of fact.

It is a belief.

Once you've adopted

that particular worldview,

that particular view of reality,

by faith,

all of your reasoning

flows out from it.

to be a convinced atheist

is a position

of faith.

And therefore,

all of your reasoning

flows out from that,

of how you view the world.

Everything in life

or every one of us,

every single person,

Andrew Denton,

you, me, whoever,

we all make

faith leaps.

All of us.

And so the struggles

in our society

at the moment

appear to be

religion

against no religion.

When in actual fact,

the real struggles

in our society

is religion

against religion.

It's faith

against faith.

That's the real struggle

in our society.

Including

the religion

of secularism.

A religion

is simply

a system of beliefs

that explains

where life comes from,

what life means

and how we as human beings

are meant to live.

And so,

Andrew Denton

stood in front

of the National Press Club

and

proclaimed

his religion

is what he did.

Everyone has

a faith view

of reality

because it is

the only way

to get a view

of reality

once you have

taken on

that faith view

all of your

reasoning

of how you

understand the world

flows from it.

And everybody

has to base

their entire life

and all of

their reasoning

on some view

about God

that they have

taken on by faith.

Whether you're

the committed

Christian

or you're

the atheist.

Even to say,

well,

no one really

knows in the end.

How do you know

that statement's true?

It's more true

to say,

well,

I hope

no one really

knows in the end.

We need faith

to reject God

and we need faith

to embrace God.

And the Christian

story that we're

beginning in with

the book of

Proverbs

is that the

beginning of

our knowledge,

the way things

actually are

and the way

things actually

work

and what we're

meant to do

about it

is God,

the God of

the Bible.

He is the

God of the

Bible who is

ultimate reality

in and of

himself.

God is the

beginning of

knowledge and

wisdom.

He is the

foundation of

knowing how

things actually

are, how

things actually

work and what

we are to do

about it.

That is how we

are to align

our lives,

live our lives

according to

reality.

And what this

means for you,

that if you are

a Christian,

is that your

relationship with

God, therefore,

is absolutely

central to your

life.

life.

It's not just

something that

you do on

Sundays.

It is

absolutely

central.

It means that

God is not

an add-on to

your life.

God is not

something else

that you have

in your

backpack to

help you live

a better

kind of life.

Your

relationship

with God

is the

most central

thing in

your life.

Jesus

influences and

flavours and

shapes and

determines

everything you

think and

do in this

world.

Everything.

That's the

book of

Proverbs.

Notice,

though, that

it's not just

that God is

the beginning

point or

the foundation

of knowledge

and wisdom,

but the fear

of the Lord

is the

foundation.

It's a

theme, this

idea of

theme of the

Lord is a

theme that

runs through

the whole

Bible, not

just in

Proverbs.

There are

over 120

occasions in

the Old

Testament and

New

Testament where

this statement

occurs.

It is, if you

like, the sum

of everything

that we're

meant to be

and do.

There is a

place in

Job where

God shows

how important

the term

is when

he says,

have you

considered my

servant Job,

there is

none like

him in

all the

earth, a

man who

fears God

and shuns

evil.

But the

concept of

fear of God

raises negative

connotations for

it's a sense

of dread,

you know,

be scared,

be very,

very, very

scared of

the Lord.

And this

is not what

the sense

is when

it's used

here or

in fact in

other parts

of the

Bible.

It's a

little bit

of it but

it's not

the entire

sense.

Deuteronomy

10.12

says,

and now

Israel,

what does

the Lord

your God

ask of

you but

to fear

the Lord

your God,

to walk

in obedience

to him,

to love

him,

to serve

him,

serve

the Lord

your God

with all

your heart,

with all

your soul,

and to

observe

the Lord's

commands

and decrees

that I'm

giving you

today for

your own

good.

Notice it

doesn't say

you either

fear God

or love

God.

They're not

put up

against one

another.

The more

in fact

you fear,

the more

you love

him and

the more

you love

him,

the more

you will

fear him.

They are

actually

connected and

they roll

together.

Sinclair

Ferguson

in his

book Grow

in Grace

describes

the fear

of God

as the

indefinable

mixture of

reverence,

fear,

pleasure,

joy,

and awe

which fills

our hearts

when we

realise who

God is

and what

he has

done for

us.

Fear of

God does

include some

sense of

dread.

There is a

very real

sense that we

should dread

God's

judgement.

You see,

after Adam

sinned,

he was

afraid in

Genesis 3.10.

It's a

right response.

It's an

appropriate

response.

It would

be a

presumption

for him

not to

be afraid.

When Paul

describes the

abject

depravity of

humanity

which they've

fallen into,

he says in

Romans 3.18,

there is no

fear of

God before

their eyes.

That is,

people are

neither in

awe of God

nor afraid of

his judgement.

And so,

fear,

dread is an

appropriate

response.

But it

doesn't explain

the entire

picture of

the Bible

when it

talks about

the fear

of the

Lord.

The Bible

tells us

that in

his grace

and his

mercy,

God

allows

himself to

be our

place of

refuge.

So,

get this

from Proverbs

Proverbs 14:26

14,

verse 26.

Whoever

fears the

Lord,

has a

secure

fortress.

And for

their

children,

it will

be a

refuge.

The God

we fear

is our

refuge and

our

fortress.

Ferguson

makes a

distinction,

I think,

quite helpfully,

between servile

fear and

filial fear.

The word

servile comes

from the

Latin word

service,

which means

slave,

and filial

is from

filius,

which means

son.

And so

servile fear

is the

sort of

fear

a slave

would have

towards a

harsh and

unyielding

master.

And Christians

fall into

servile fear,

in fact,

too often,

if we don't

understand the

grace of God

and his

acceptance of

us in the

Lord Jesus.

If we

believe that

we're in a

performance

relationship

with God,

then he

will always

appear to be

a hard

taskmaster

who we

can never

please.

He will

be the

divine ogre

ready to

judge us

for our

failure to

live up to

his standards.

That is,

if your

relationship

with God

is a

slavish

fear,

then any

obedience

is somewhat

reluctant.

I'm always

looking for

the bare

minimum.

When it

comes to

radical

generosity,

you know,

what's the

limit on

radical?

always

looking for

the bare

minimum,

rather than

desiring to

please a

loving

father.

See,

filial fear,

on the

other hand,

is the

loving fear

of a

child towards

his father.

And what

is central,

I think,

to this idea

of fear is

the sense of

reverential

awe, just

awe at

God.

Now, it's

unfortunate that

we have robbed

the word

awe of some

of its

impact these

days.

It's been

lost through

a lot of

flippant use,

something that

I do way

too often and

my children

do.

Drove into

the car park

at Chats

with Chase

the other

day and

one of the

kids pointed

out a car

and said,

oh, Dad,

that is an

awesome car.

And my

immediate

response was,

yes.

I said,

why is it

awesome?

It's

orange.

Now, it

just so

happens it

was a

half million

dollar

McLaren.

And orange

wasn't the

first thing

that came

into mind

when I

saw it.

I did

agree it

was an

awesome

car.

You know,

there is a

sense of

dread.

You get

behind the

wheel of a

McLaren and

put your

foot onto

the floor,

there is

going to be

an element

of fear

that's going

to come

to mind,

I think,

and you're

going to

feel that

in a way

that I

don't

feel it

in my

Ford

territory.

So there

is a

sense of

awe,

but even

then I

think a

McLaren is

pushing the

boundary of

the definition

of the

word

awe.

A

tornado

is awesome.

It's

something you

want to

look at,

but it's

something that

you're afraid

of.

A burger

is not

awesome.

It's

tasty,

it's not

awesome.

Niagara

Falls is

awesome.

A music

CD might

sound

great,

but it's

not

awesome.

You see,

a fear

of God

acknowledges

the greatness

of God,

that he

is unfathomably

great.

He is

infinitely

greater than

the tornado

of Niagara

Falls.

He is

infinitely

greater than

the most

significant

of nations.

He controls

all rulers.

He puts

the heavens

in place.

He spreads

out the

earth.

He holds

all things

together by

the power

of his

word.

He is

a God

of transcendent

holiness.

He is

glorious

perfection,

more than

moral purity,

no darkness,

no evil,

no brokenness

at all.

He is

awesome.

He is

worthy

of our

awe.

That's

why you see

throughout the

Bible,

whether anyone

is confronted

with God

at all,

they fall

down on

their face

and say,

I'm not

worthy to

be in your

presence.

fear of

the Lord

is

trusting

God.

A

relationship

where you

trust God

is what it

looks like

to fear

God.

Proverbs

Proverbs 3:5

3,

verses 5

and 6,

trust in

the Lord

with all

your heart,

lean not

on your

own

understanding

and in

all your

ways submit

to him

and he

will make

your path

straight.

You see,

fear of

the Lord

means

unconditional

trust,

not relying

on how

we think

the world

works,

not relying

upon our

knowledge

and our

wisdom

of what

we think

the patterns

are and

what the

patterns

should be,

but trust

in God's

revelation

of how

things actually

are and

how things

actually work

and what

we're meant

to do

as a result

of it.

In

Isaiah 40

we get a

glimpse of

God's

infinite

greatness

in holding

the vast

waters of

the earth,

all the

oceans,

it says

he holds

them in

the hollow

of his

hand and

he weighs

the

mountain

ranges

on a

scale.

End of

Isaiah

talks about

God,

the earth

is God's

footstool

and in

Isaiah 40

when he's

talking about

the greatness

of God

Isaiah says

this,

who can

fathom the

spirit of

the Lord

or instruct

the Lord

as his

counsellor?

Whom did

the Lord

consult to

enlighten

him and

who taught

him the

right way?

Who was

it that

taught him

knowledge and

showed him

the path

of understanding?

In other

words,

so,

who was

God's

advisors?

Who

served as

his

advisors?

You?

Me?

No,

Isaiah,

you're

ridiculous.

Who was

there when

he was

plotting out

the design

of a

DNA and

said,

actually,

God,

you need

to do it

this way?

Anyone?

Everyone?

Point of

Isaiah 40

is God

wants your

trust,

not your

advice on

how the

world works.

It's absurd

to think that

we can add

anything,

and yet so

often we want

to be his

advisors.

We continue

to tell him

how certain

circumstances

should be

changed,

and we

question his

wisdom when

we don't

understand what

he's doing.

every area

of life.

There are

two questions

for us.

Firstly,

are you

willing to

do whatever

God says

in the

Bible on

issue,

whether you

agree with

it or not,

because his

wisdom is

infinitely greater

than yours?

Are you

willing to

trust that

he and

only he has

the whole

pattern of

the way the

world works?

trust?

And second

question is,

are you

willing to

accept anything

that God

sends to

any area

of your

life,

whether you

understand it

or not?

Because he

is worthy

and he

is wise

and he

knows what's

best.

He knows

how to

grow you

in wisdom.

See,

the fear

of the

Lord is

a life

of trust

even

through a

life of

discipline.

One of

the key

things we

need to

see and

to lean

on is

what God

says about

the times

when the

patterns of

life don't

make sense

for us.

Those times

when we

can't see

what God

is doing.

Now I

think that

if we're

to hold

on to

this,

that even

when the

bad times

come and

the suffering

hits,

I believe

this turbo

charges our

growth in

wisdom.

It's

right there

in verses

11 and

12 of

Proverbs 3,

my son,

do not

despise the

Lord's

discipline and

do not

resent his

rebuke because

the Lord

disciplines those

he loves.

As a

father,

the son,

he delights

in.

You see,

what a

father does

at times

is that

they bring

things into

a child's

life which

are painful.

We actually

bring them

into a

child's

life which

are painful

in order

for the

child to

grow and

to flourish.

And I'm

assuming that

every parent

wants their

child to

make the

right choices

in life and

so therefore

discipline is

essential.

People who

live charmed

lives live

shallow lives.

Our

strengths and

our weaknesses

become obvious

when they are

tested.

God's

discipline shapes

us in the

same way.

You see,

we don't often

really trust

God until we

are drowning.

We don't

often come

to see that

Jesus is

all that we

need until

Jesus is

all that we

have.

God's

discipline is

designed to

grow us in

wisdom.

It

turbocharges

all the

things that

move us

towards wisdom.

Bible reading,

prayer,

the community

of believers,

all that sort

of thing.

You see,

it's also

true that

suffering can

have exact

opposite effect

on someone.

It can

make you

prouder.

Suffering can

in fact make

you prouder.

You know,

you don't

understand,

Steve,

what I've

had to go

through.

You've just

never had what

I've had to

go through.

Make you

feel better

than other

people,

more noble

than other

people.

Suffering can

also make you

a coward

because you

become so

broken you

couldn't face

another thing.

You know,

I've had so

many disappointments

with people

in life,

I'm just

going to

completely

withdraw away

from people.

That's a

cowardly

response.

Suffering can

make you

quite bitter.

And so

God's

discipline

that comes

from his

all-knowing

wise hand

pushes you

in two

different

directions.

Either in

growth in

wisdom and

greater trust

in God,

or it pushes

you further

and further

towards foolishness.

One or the

other.

One or the

suffering is

inevitable.

It will

make you

wise,

it will

make you

stupid.

The fear

of the Lord

is the

key.

God's

wisdom,

the

God's

wisdom,

the

God's

wisdom,

the

God of

tremendous

wisdom,

this God

who is

awesome,

is the

God who

delights in

you when

it happens.

It's so

essential for

us to know

this,

know this,

know this.

The Lord's

disciplines

those he

loves.

As a

father,

the son,

he delights

in.

You have

to be

absolutely

sure that

he loves

you and

delights in

you when

the bad

things happen

or the

suffering is

going to

harden you

and it's

going to

make you

turn away

from God

and life

and make

you arrogant

and proud

because you

think you

know better

than God.

Discovering

the love

and the

mercy and

the delight

and the

grace of

God is

the key

to the

life of

fearing

God,

which is

the beginning

of wisdom

and the

key to

growth in

wisdom.

In

Proverbs

3.3

it says

let love

and faithfulness

never leave

you,

bind them

around your

neck,

write them

on the

tablet of

your heart.

The words

love and

faithfulness

there are

very specific

in the

Hebrew Old

Testament.

They are

referring to

God's

covenant

love and

God's

faithfulness

and they're

about his

never giving

up,

never dying,

always and

forever love

for his

people.

The grace

of God,

his delight

in us

because of

Jesus is

the key

to suffering,

softening

us and

humbling

us and

growing us

in wisdom.

So how

can you be

sure that

God delights

in us?

In

Hebrews 12

in the Old

Testament,

sorry,

in the New

Testament,

back towards

the back,

these verses

from

Proverbs

Proverbs 3:11

3,

verses 11

and 12

are picked

up and

they're

dumped into

Hebrews 12

and they

go like

this,

just before

it in

Hebrews 12

it says

this,

let us

fix our

eyes on

Jesus,

the pioneer

and perfecter

of faith,

for the joy

set before

him endured

the cross,

scorning its

shame and

he sat

down at the

right hand

of the

throne of

God.

right there,

right there

in Hebrews

12 is the

confidence that

we need.

We get the

confidence there,

right there,

that we are a

child of God

when we see

what Jesus

has done for

us.

You see,

the baptism

of Jesus,

you might

remember this

back right at

the beginning,

baptism of

Jesus,

the spirit

of God

descended on

him and

a voice

came from

heaven and

said,

this is my

son with

whom I am

well pleased,

or this is

my son,

I delight in

him.

And right

throughout his

life,

whenever Jesus

turns to

God,

he says,

Father,

Father,

Father,

when the

disciples say,

Jesus,

teach us how

to pray,

he says,

Father,

begin with

our Father,

except for

one place,

it's at the

cross.

Jesus cries

out,

my God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

why have

you abandoned

me?

And the

reason he

cries out that

is because he

was being

expelled,

he's being

rejected.

He was

getting what

we deserve

from God

so that when

we put our

trust in

him,

our sins

are forgiven.

He took

the punishment

from God

that we

deserve so

that when

we believe

in him,

our sins

are dealt

with.

But not

just that.

In John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

which we

looked at

last week,

where Jesus

is the

wisdom of

God,

it says

this about

those who

put their

trust in

the wisdom

of God.

Jesus, it

says,

to all

who did

receive

him,

to those

who

believed in

his name,

he gave

the right

to become

children of

God.

Children

born not

of natural

descent nor

of human

decision or

of a husband's

will,

but born

of God.

God,

Jesus

faced

rejection,

suffering,

rejection,

so that we

can be

included as

sons of

God,

sons to

whom he

delights

him.

Through what

Jesus done,

we adopted

as sons of

God,

brought into

God's