Walking in the Way of Wisdom

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We're so thankful for your presence with us. We're looking forward to having Pastor John preach for us this evening.

We're also really glad to be able to welcome friends and family for Dara's baptism and for welcoming Callum into membership.

We're so thankful for God's work in their lives. We look forward to that shortly.

But welcome everybody as we gather together to worship our great God.

Just a couple of notices. I've said already we're back here again for worship at 5.30.

John, our friend from the church in Atlanta, will be preaching.

Please do come along if you can to hear God's words again and to worship together.

On Wednesdays we're back with our CDGs, our community discipleship groups in various locations.

Again, check in with your leaders for the details for that.

That will also be the beginning. So this month, our run-up to the election, UK election,

we're going to give some time to praying for our nation and for the church within the nation.

So Wednesday is going to be the first time where we do that within our groups.

We'll do that together as well.

So please come along if you can.

And then one thing, you may have seen it in our notices.

Dara and Shoris and Callum and Ewan and Joshua, they have a charity event for Bethany,

a local Christian organization here.

So that's on the 8th of June.

So it's going to be a day of cycling and running and playing football.

They'll be working hard all day.

If you want to sponsor them, support them, encourage them,

then you can check the newsletter for that.

Our call to worship, which we can share together, comes from Psalm 111.

Let's stand together for our call to worship,

and we'll remain standing for our opening hymn,

which is give to our God immortal praise.

Praise the Lord.

I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

He provided redemption for his people.

He ordained his covenant forever.

Holy and awesome is his name.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

All who follow his precepts have good understanding.

To him belongs eternal praise.

And let's remain standing as we praise our great God together.

Give to our God the immortal praise.

Mercy and truth are all his praise.

Wonders of Christ in the heart below.

Breathe his mercies in your soul.

Qi if for your God of love.

And let's not live for your God in the Bible.

Give to the Lord of the kingdom,

enz Bubba完成.

His mercies never shine too

The lives of dogs are no longer

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

He sent his son, may and God will stay, from the darkness and the grave.

Wonders of grace will come, may he be born, repeat his mercy in your soul.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Please have a seat.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's join our hearts in prayer.

Let's pray together.

We recognize it is good and fitting to praise you, our Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We praise you as the creator of this world, the sustainer of this world, and indeed the sustainer of each one of our lives.

We thank you for bringing us here in this place to hear your word, to receive your grace,

to take time from all the busyness, all the worries and cares of our lives, to be in your presence, to hear from you,

to remember who you are and all that you have done for us.

Lord, we thank you that you have provided redemption, that there is salvation that comes from you, our God.

Father, we thank you for your love in sending your Son, Jesus, into this world to be our Savior.

And we thank you for the perfect life of the Lord Jesus, for his sacrificial death,

taking on himself the sin of his people, dying in our place, taking the punishment that we deserve,

so that we might have life.

Lord, we thank you for the work of your Holy Spirit, showing to us our need of a Savior,

showing us our sin, and showing us the glory of Jesus, so that we might trust in him.

Lord, we thank you that you are the God who has entered into a covenant relationship with your people.

And you've done that not because we deserve it, but simply because of your grace.

Lord, we thank you for the new covenant established in the broken body and the shed blood of the Lord Jesus,

that guarantee that you will always and eternally love your people, your church.

Lord, as we consider all that you have done for us and who you are,

and we pray that you would cause us to worship you, to recognize your great glory.

Lord, your word calls us to trust in the Lord with all our heart.

And as much as we recognize the wisdom of that, we confess the times when we haven't trusted you with all our heart,

when instead we have leaned on our own understanding, where we have pursued our own direction in life.

Lord, your word calls us to worship the Lord our God and to serve him only.

And again, we confess the times in which we have made other things and other people

more important in our hearts and our lives than you, the one true and living God.

We have that capacity towards idolatry, to take good things, good gifts, and to make them ultimate things,

and to live for them above all.

Lord, as we recognize our sin before you, we would confess our sin.

That we would pray as the tax collector in the parable, Lord, have mercy on us as sinners.

And as we confess our sin, we thank you for the wonderful promise we have in your word of forgiveness.

That because of the saving work of the Lord Jesus, that you are a God so gracious

as to cast all our sins into the depths of the sea, fully and finally paid for.

And so we confess, knowing that you are faithful to forgive.

Lord, we thank you that you have promised to be with us as we gather.

And we pray that we would know your presence, that your spirit would be at work in all of our hearts and lives,

so that together we might praise and glorify and magnify our God.

And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

And now, this is the point where we're going to, just in a few moments, welcome our new church members.

We're going to baptize Dara, and we're so thankful, as we said, to God for that.

Both Callum and Dara have given a clear testimony of their faith in the Lord Jesus,

both in their words and in their lives.

It's been a real encouragement to us as a church, no doubt an encouragement to their families.

Now, just before welcoming them, we're going to read a few verses from Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 2, from verse 38.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

So, Peter is just, the apostle being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Peter has preached a great sermon.

The crowd have asked, brothers, what shall we do?

And Peter replied,

With many other words, he warned them, and he pleaded with them, save yourselves from this corrupt generation.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

So, just a few words about church membership and baptism from that text.

What's happening here, as the church begins, is that there's a whole group, 3,000 people responding to the good news about the Lord Jesus.

So, Peter has told them that Jesus is God's promised Savior King.

That in the coming of Jesus, all God's wonderful promises in the Old Testament come true.

He's spoken to them about Jesus' perfect life.

That His miracles were evidence that He was none other than the Son of God.

He's spoken to them of Jesus' death on the cross.

A death that secures the forgiveness of sin.

He's spoken about the reality that because Jesus is sinless and perfect and God accepted His sacrifice,

that Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day.

And that Jesus gives the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus truly does forgive sins.

Jesus does give the promise of eternal life that it's possible for people like us, by nature separate from God, because of our sin, to be brought near and to be brought home.

And all of this as a gift of God's grace and all of this to give glory to God.

So, they've heard this message.

And how did they respond?

They responded with repentance.

So, acknowledging that need to turn from sin and to turn back to God.

And then they stand up publicly to declare that Jesus is Lord.

Now, that wasn't easy for them in their setting.

And maybe it's never easy to stand up and say, Jesus is Lord.

But that's what they do.

And these first-generation believers, they're all baptized.

And then they're added.

They're numbered among the church.

And this group then, how do they live?

We hear about how they devote themselves.

They devoted themselves to worshipping together.

To hearing God's Word and to hear it be taught.

So, they gather to hear teaching about Jesus.

We hear them devoted to praying together.

That they share food and they share the Lord's Supper.

They commit to serving with one another for the good of others.

It's a great picture of what happens whenever anyone becomes a member of God's church.

It's what we're celebrating today.

Callum has already been baptized as an infant.

Adara is going to come and shortly be baptized.

And baptism is a wonderful thing for us to see.

The eyes of faith allow us to see this gospel sign.

That the water, which we usually associate with washing and cleaning.

It is pointing to the reality that Jesus washes away sin.

By His death on the cross.

We think about water that gives new life.

That gives satisfaction in life.

In fact, we were thinking about that on Friday.

That through the death of Jesus and faith in Him.

A person is now dead to sin and is alive in Christ.

We have this living water.

We have eternal life.

So, there's wonderful messages in baptism.

And then, Dara and Callum, they're going to be added to our church.

To this church.

As church members, of course, members of Jesus' church.

But members of this local church.

Where they will worship, continue worshiping with us.

Where they will grow in faith as they grow in maturity.

And where they will come alongside us to serve with us.

And where we will serve them.

And encourage them.

And pray for them.

So, we welcome them with thankfulness today.

We welcome them because we remember.

God still answers our prayers.

These prayers that we make for our family members.

For our church family.

Our children.

God answers them.

We give thanks that God still loves to save people.

He's not done building His church.

And as we give thanks, we pray.

We pray for all of our children.

All our covenant children.

That together, they might join in professing faith and love for Jesus.

So, without further ado, Dara and Callum, do you want to come up here?

I removed the foliage so you wouldn't have to live in the forest.

We appreciate that.

So, I have these five questions to ask.

So, in Bible class, I know that you've been working through these.

And you've been thinking about what they mean.

So, let me ask them.

You can answer them together.

Here's the first one.

Do you acknowledge yourself to be a sinner in the sight of God?

Justly deserving His judgment.

And without hope, apart from His sovereign mercy.

Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners?

And do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the gospel?

Do you now resolve in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit that you will endeavor to live in obedience to God's word as a follower of Christ?

Number four.

Number four.

Do you promise to support the church in its worship and work to the best of your ability by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?

Okay.

And one last one.

Do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of the church and promise to seek its purity and peace?

Yes.

Wonderful.

Now, having professed your faith, Dara, let's baptize you.

It is a wonderful thing to be able to do this in the name of...

Come over here.

I'm going to baptize you, Dara Faulkner, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you.

And for both of you, it's such a wonderful thing to be able to welcome you both into this church, to see you standing up for Jesus.

Because you know, we know, standing up for Jesus is never an easy and a straightforward thing.

So it's a real encouragement, I think, to our faith to see you as young guys ready to do this.

And I know that you're doing it in school and in your lives.

And so it's our prayer that the grace of the Lord Jesus and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit would be with you always.

That you would know, always, that you would know much joy as you serve Jesus.

That you would find encouragement from us here.

You'd always know that you've got elders here within your own family, but within the church family, who want to help you to grow.

And towards that, Keith, who is our Bible class leader, is going to come and pray for you both.

Thanks, Keith.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now we're going to sing together

before the children leave for their junior church classes.

We're going to sing them nothing but the blood of Jesus.

And again, let's stand together to sing praise.

Amen.

Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow.

No other font I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon this I see, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my cleansing despite me, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow.

No other font I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can force sin atone,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Not of good that I have done,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow.

No other font I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my righteousness,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow.

Oh, no other font I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Jesus.

Our first Bible reading this morning is in John chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

If you're using a church Bible, that's page 1082.

And Katrina McDonald is going to come and read that for us.

John chapter 14, verses 1 to 7.

John 14:1–7

Do not let your hearts be troubled.

You believe in God. Believe also in me.

My Father's house has many rooms.

If that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.

You know the way to the place where I am going.

Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?

Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.

From now on, you do know him and have seen him.

Amen.

Let's once again join our hearts in prayer.

Let's pray together.

Lord, we thank you for the wonderful compassion of Jesus, our Lord and Savior,

as he comforted his anxious disciples,

giving them this wonderful picture of heaven as your home,

a home with many rooms,

and of his going to prepare a place for his people,

that he's going to die and then to rise,

to return to heaven,

to send the Spirit,

to come back at the end of time,

all towards this great end

of God being with his people forever.

Lord, we thank you

for the wonderful goal of the gospel,

that we might enjoy your presence now

with the promise of seeing your face

for all eternity

when our faith and our trust is in Jesus.

Lord, as we who are Christians enjoy that good news

and as we find hope and comfort,

we pray for many

who as yet are not followers of the Lord Jesus.

We pray for family members and friends.

We think of neighbors and colleagues.

Lord, we think of our various ministries,

for the folks in Connect,

for our student and young workers group,

for people that come week by week.

Lord, we pray that by your grace,

you would send your Spirit,

you would open people's eyes,

open people's hearts,

that they might receive Jesus as Lord.

We pray that you would help us,

who are your people,

to be faithful in the way that we live,

to be courageous in the words that we speak,

to be able to point to the truth,

that Jesus is our Lord

and that he is good news

and that there is no other way of salvation.

Lord, we also want to give you thanks

as a local church

that we are part of your global church.

Even as we look around the room,

we recognize that we represent

many different countries and cultures,

languages and people groups represented here,

giving us just a tiny glimpse

of that great gathering of your people

around your throne

from every tongue and tribe

and nation and people group.

Lord, we thank you

for our friends from the church in Atlanta.

We pray for their church,

for their ongoing ministry.

May you encourage them

and may you grow them in faith

and in numbers,

enable them to reach their communities

for the Lord Jesus.

And we thank you for their coming

to encourage us

and to serve us

and to serve alongside us

for a few days, Lord,

that they would be an encourager of us

and that we would encourage them.

Lord, we thank you again

for the recent visit

of Wilbert Chepenu

from Dumasani.

South Africa has been in the news

for their election process

and as there is so much uncertainty

and so many challenges

facing South African society,

we acknowledge the great need there is

of the gospel of the Lord Jesus

to take root

and to penetrate

through all parts of that nation.

And so we pray

for the church in South Africa.

Lord, we remember

our friends Manuel and Patty

who we support

in their ministry in Colombia

that as they adjust

to life in Bogota

that you would be giving them

fruitful avenues

for a ministry of mentoring

and encouraging pastors

and their wives

for those who are leaders

in the church.

We thank you for all the wisdom

you have given to them.

I pray that they would

keep being refreshed

in the gospel of your grace

so that they might serve others.

Lord, we do pray

that you would help us

in our calling.

We know that Jesus called the church

to go and make disciples

of all nations.

You know the challenge

that we often find that.

We feel small,

we feel a sense

of our own inabilities,

but Lord, we know

that your grace is sufficient.

We know that you have given

your spirit to help us

and so we do pray

for each one of us

who are Christians individually

and for our church collectively

that you would guide us

as we seek

to make disciples

for the Lord Jesus.

Lord, we also want to thank you

this morning

for those who are

in government over us,

both here in Holyrood

and down in Westminster.

as attention turns

to a general election,

we recognize the significance

of that moment

for us as a nation.

And so we pray

that for your church

it would be a time

of seeking your faith,

of seeking repentance

and renewal,

both for ourselves

and within our nation.

Lord, we ask for us

as a local church

that you would give us

the spirit of prayer,

that we would recognize

the darkness,

the fear,

the uncertainty

that grips so many

in society,

the challenges

that face

our political leaders

and that we would pray

for them,

that we would pray

for the light

of the gospel

to shine.

And Lord,

as we pray

for the light

of the gospel

to shine

through our nation,

we also pray

that that light

would shine

as we hear

your word

read and preached,

that you would

speak truth

and that you would

give life.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Now we're going to

stand together

to sing

the first of the psalms,

Psalm 1,

a great wisdom psalm,

reminding us

of those two paths

and those two destinations

for our lives.

So let's stand together

as we sing

Psalm 1.

Psalm 1.

How blessed

the one

who does not walk

where wicked men

would guide his feet,

who does not stand

in sinners' paths

or sit upon

the scorner's seat.

The love of God

is his delight,

his meditation

day and night.

He prospers

like a tree

which has been planted

by a flowing stream

and in its season

yields its fruit.

Its leaves are always

fresh and green.

In every act,

in every word

he knows

the blessing

of the Lord.

Not so the wicked

they are like the chaff

the wind

will blow away.

They will not

in the judgment

stand,

nor sinners

with the righteous

stay.

God knows

the way

the righteous

go,

the wicked's

way

he'll

overthrow.

Now can you turn

with me in your Bibles

to the book of Proverbs?

This is on page 636

if you're using

a church Bible.

And we're thinking

this morning about

walking in the way

of wisdom.

So we're going to hear

Proverbs 3

from verse 1

to 12.

My son,

do not forget

my teaching,

but keep my commands

in your heart

for they will

prolong your life

many years

and bring you

peace and

prosperity.

Let love

and faithfulness

never leave you.

Bind them

round your neck,

write them

on the tablet

of your heart.

Then you will

learn favor

and a good name

in the sight

of God

and man.

Trust in the Lord

with all your heart

and lean not

on your own

understanding.

In all your ways

submit to him

and he will

make your paths

straight.

Do not be wise

in your own eyes.

Fear the Lord

and shun evil.

This will bring

health to your body

and nourishment

to your bones.

Honor the Lord

with your wealth,

with the firstfruits

of all your crops.

Then your barns

will be filled

to overflowing

and your vats

will brim over

with new wine.

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.

Okay, so we're in

the book of Proverbs

today

and the book of Proverbs

is ancient

wisdom literature.

we can think of it

in a sense

as classroom material.

Lessons in the school

of life

in the first instance

given to boys

to young men

teaching us

about God

the wise creator

teaching about

the moral order

within the universe

and instructions

and promises

connected to

growing in wisdom.

Seems a good day

a fitting day

to consider that

as we welcome

two young men

into membership.

I'm sure as people

we recognize

that we are searching

for wisdom

maybe all the time.

A quick search

on Amazon

the online bookstore

will tell you

that there are

over 10,000 books

dedicated

to the topic

of wisdom.

So clearly

there is a hunger.

What's the key

to being wise?

Who is it

that can guide me

into wisdom?

Perhaps people

are asking

a more basic question.

What is wisdom?

Wisdom

I think we know

is more than

simply knowledge.

Perhaps we know

people who are

incredibly book smart

but perhaps

quite foolish

lacking common sense.

Wisdom

is also more than

though it includes

moral goodness.

it's not just

knowing about

what is the good

to do.

Wisdom also

includes things

like when

to do it.

Think about it

like grass cutting

in Scotland.

Wisdom knows

you always need

to cut the grass

where information

knowledge knows

that.

Wisdom knows

when to do it.

If you're a fool

like me

you try and do it

on Wednesday afternoon

you get caught

in a deluge.

So wisdom

requires knowing

what and

when.

Here's a helpful

definition of

what is wisdom

from a biblical

scholar by the

name of Von Rad.

Wisdom

is becoming

competent

with regard

to the realities

of life.

So there's a

growing competence

in how we

apply wisdom

to make choices.

Recognizing

that the vast

majority of the

choices that we

make on a daily

weekly basis

are not

strictly

moral choices.

You know

it's not always

the case that

one is good

one is bad.

When it comes

to relationships

or things

to do with

our work

or money

or location

how do we

grow in

wisdom?

If you read

through the

book of Proverbs

you discover

as if we

didn't know

already that

wisdom is

something that's

vital for life.

And without

appropriate wisdom

we can make

a real wreck

of our own

lives and

we can deal

damage to the

lives of those

around us also.

We need wisdom.

Some of the

wisdom in here

is really practical.

So we all know

I think that being

a good neighbor

is good.

It's good to be

friendly and

hospitable but

five o'clock in

the morning is

not the time to

sing your good

morning neighbor

song.

Okay that's part

of wisdom.

Timing matters.

And maybe some

of you read the

book called

When Helping

Hurts.

It's absolutely

right and it's

moral to want to

help with the

issues of poverty

whether that's

locally or globally.

But that book is

making the point

that you can make

a mess of things

if you are well

meaning but you

are unwise in

how you operate

charity.

So the what and

the when and

the why.

And so here we

find ourselves

invited into the

classroom for

wisdom.

And in this

short section

we're going to

think about the

path of wisdom

the practices of

wisdom.

We're going to

consider briefly

the problem of

wisdom and think

about the person

of wisdom.

So let's begin

with the path.

Verse 5 and 6

Trust in the

Lord with all

your heart.

Lean not on

your own

understanding.

In all your

ways submit to

Him and He will

make your paths

straight.

So this is a

popular image in

wisdom literature

that's biblical and

non-biblical.

The idea that life

is a journey and

wisdom is a path

to follow.

We just sang in

Psalm 1 with the

same image.

We could go down

in this chapter

Proverbs 3 verse

Proverbs 3:17

17 speaking of

wisdom.

Her ways are

pleasant ways and

all her paths are

peace.

wisdom.

And this is

helpful for

reminding us that

wisdom is not a

simple technique to

master.

You know, it's not a

door we unlock.

Rather, it's a

lifelong path that

we follow.

If the image was

that of a door to

unlock, well, there

would be that sense

that we could easily

arrive, we could

open, we could get

wisdom.

And we would like

that, wouldn't

we?

It's the appeal of

so much of the

information that we

have.

It's the appeal of

the TED Talks.

It's the appeal of

all those life hacks.

If you've ever gone

to a bookshop and

seen seven steps to

ten ways to improve

your life, download

these six episodes,

subscribe to this

podcast in wisdom,

it'll be yours.

Now, it sounds

lovely, doesn't it?

But we know that's

not how life works.

Somebody said

information comes

through learning,

wisdom comes

through living.

To make the point

there's no shortcuts

on the path to

wisdom.

But this idea of

the pathway is a

really helpful

picture.

You'll think about

the progress when

you walk on a

journey.

Progress is steady,

is gradual,

it's the same

habit, step,

step over a

long time.

And the Bible

uses this to give

us this idea that

over time, with

the right habits,

we will grow in

wisdom.

And for those of us

who are more mature,

you probably recognize

that.

That decisions become

a little bit easier.

The right responses

to challenging

circumstances perhaps

come a little bit

quicker or more

naturally.

That's the growing

in wisdom.

Following a path

is nothing fancy.

We don't make much

progress if we

try to cartwheel

our way on

our journey,

so speaking

personally at least,

it's step by

step.

It's a long

obedience in the

same direction.

And verse 5 and 6

tells us how the

journey begins.

The journey of

wisdom begins

with who we

trust.

Trust in the

Lord with all

your heart,

and lean not on

your own

understanding.

It's asking us

basically, which

path are we going

to follow?

Who is going to

call the shots

in our lives?

Whose authority

are we going to

rest in?

The Lord's

or our own?

It's the image of

the two ways to

live, the two

roads that we

can follow.

Jesus used that

same image in

the gospel,

Sermon on the

Mount, Matthew

Matthew 7:13

7, verse 13

and 14.

As he invites

people to trust

him, he spoke

about the narrow

gate and the

narrow way that

leads to life,

but the broad

road that leads

to destruction.

And then he said

towards the end

of his ministry,

and we heard it

in John 14, I

am the way.

That's the same

idea, the same

wisdom, like I am

the path, the

truth and the

life.

No one comes to

the Father except

through me.

And Jesus is

telling us something

remarkable there.

He's reminding us

every path, every

journey has a

destination, and we

know that.

But Jesus is

telling us the

destination that

our lives should

travel along

towards, that God

has designed us

to enjoy life

with him.

And Jesus

says, I am the

way home to

life with God.

He is the track

upon which our

lives are to run.

That to be on the

path of wisdom

begins with

receiving Jesus

as Lord.

That's the

beginning of our

journey towards

God, that in the

end we would see

God.

And knowing that

all the way along

that path we walk

with him.

So that's the path

of wisdom, that

slow, steady,

step-by-step that

begins with trust.

But let's think

now about what are

the steps, what are

the practices to

put on to help us

to grow in wisdom.

The book of

Proverbs again has

many examples of

these, but we can

find three of them

in our text.

The first is here

in verse 3, we

need to know

God.

It says there in

verse 3, let love

and faithfulness

never leave you,

bind them round

your neck, write

them on the

tablet of your

heart.

Love and

faithfulness, those

two words together,

those were words

that God used to

describe himself in

Exodus 34.

It's the language

of our covenant

God, the personal

Lord God who

enters into covenant

relationship with

his people.

And wisdom begins

with knowing God,

to know this God

of covenant love

and faithfulness,

this God who is so

gracious as to

bind himself to

his people.

And wisdom binds

that truth, the

truth of God's love

and faithfulness

around our neck,

inscribing it,

tattooing it onto

our heart that we

would never forget

that we'd grow

deeper and deeper

into the love

and the faithfulness

of God.

Now how does that

lead to wisdom?

If I know and

trust that God

loves me and is

faithful towards me,

how does that help?

Well back in

chapter 2, we're

told that wisdom

has a way of

saving us.

So in verse 12,

it says, wisdom

will save you from

the ways of wicked

men.

And the teacher

warns about the

ways of wicked

men, about the

pull towards greed

and violence and

the love of money.

In verse 16, it

also says, wisdom

will save you from

the adulterous

woman.

So wisdom will

save from sexual

sin.

Sometimes sexual

sin becomes a

picture of idolatry.

So how does

knowing God's love

and faithfulness

save us?

Well if God's

love has truly

captured our

hearts, if we

know that we

have everything

in Jesus

as Lord,

that we

won't need

or want

or be pulled

away by those

other things.

We need to

know God.

Here's another

way of thinking

about it.

In verse 11

and 12,

speaks of the

Lord's discipline.

My son,

do not despise

the Lord's

discipline,

because the

Lord disciplines

those he loves

as a father,

the son he

delights in.

If I know

the Lord,

he is my

father and

he loves me

and I can

trust him,

then I can

receive his

discipline,

his testing,

his shaping,

his refining

as something

that is good

for me even

when it's

hard.

To read the

stories of

anyone who

is creating

a masterpiece,

whether that's

a novel or

a piece of

music or

some artwork,

is to

understand that

there is in

some ways a

painful process

of editing,

of revising,

of sometimes

scrubbing,

of cutting

that work.

And those

acts,

painful,

but it's a

sign of love.

Crafting

something

beautiful

requires love

and commitment.

Now God

is seeking

to craft

each of

us

into

the

beautiful

image

of God.

We were

made in

God's

image.

Jesus is

the perfect

image.

God would

make us

more like

Jesus.

That's

a refining

process.

That's going

to require

discipline.

Our rough

edges

need to

be removed.

Our sin

needs to

be exposed.

Dependent

faith

needs to

develop

sometimes

through

hardships.

But wisdom

knows he's

my father

and I can

trust him.

Wisdom

grows in

the knowledge

of God.

So in

verse 5,

we know I

can trust

him as

Lord and

Savior.

Verse 6,

I will

submit to

him as

king in

all my

ways,

not just

in the

ways that

it's

convenient.

Verse 9,

I will

worship

worship and

honor him

as

Lord.

So that's

the first

practice.

We need

to know

our God.

We need

to also

know

ourself.

And that's

related.

Since God

is created

and we

are made

in his

image,

we only

truly know

ourselves

as we

know

our

God.

Look with

me at

verses

5 and

7 again.

Trust in

the Lord

with all

your heart

and lean

not on

your own

understanding.

Verse 7,

do not be

wise in

your own

eyes.

Fear the

Lord and

shun evil.

We need

to know

our own

hearts.

We need

to know

the battle

that rages

within our

hearts.

Whose

wisdom is

going to

guide me

today in

this moment?

Whose

rule will

I live

under in

this

circumstance,

in this

relationship?

And the

warning comes,

don't be

wise in

your own

eyes.

Don't lean

on your

own

understanding.

Perhaps it's

helpful to

think of a

person with

a broken

leg.

So their

leg is

in plaster

and they've

got crutches.

So the

leg is

broken.

If you

have a

crutch

that's

broken,

you try

and lean

on that,

what happens?

Well the

crutch breaks

and there's

collapse.

And the

wisdom of

the Proverbs

is saying,

learn to

mistrust

your own

understanding

as it is

separate from

God's

wisdom.

Why is

that?

Well it's

because the

reality of

sin in

our hearts

and our

lives that

pulls us

out of

sync with

God's

good design,

that causes

us to go

against the

grain of

the moral

order within

the universe.

It is

folly to

lean on our

own

understanding.

It's

wisdom to

know God

and His

word and

His promises

to lean on

those because

they are

solid and

reliable and

unchanging.

So we need to

know ourselves.

And the third

practice is we

need to know

God's word.

This takes us

to verses

1 and 2.

My son,

do not forget

my teaching,

but keep my

commands in

your heart.

So the premise

here is that

there is a

creator.

And we are

invited to

follow the

creator's

guidelines,

the maker's

manual.

That's the

key to life

lived well.

here is the

way to

know deep

and true

joy.

Joy in

God.

C.S.

Lewis put it

this way,

like a car

is made to

run on

petrol by

its inventor,

we are

designed to

run on

God

Himself.

And God's

word informs

us of God's

design for

our lives,

which is

God's

design for

our joy.

And so we

need God's

word to

tell us what

God teaches

because,

as we

discover,

it often

runs counter

to the

wisdom of

the age.

So here's

one example

in verse

9.

Here's

God's

wisdom,

honour the

Lord with

your wealth,

with the

firstfruits of

all your

crops.

And so you

read the

Bible,

what's the

Bible say

about money?

It says,

it's better

to be

generous,

it's better

to be

sacrificial,

it's better

to use it

for the

sake of

others,

for God's

mission,

for God's

church.

The wisdom

of the

world often

says,

well,

take,

take,

take,

and hoard

it for

yourself,

spend on

your

pleasure.

We need

to hear

the wisdom

of Jesus.

For example,

Jesus said,

love your

enemies and

pray for

those who

persecute

you.

That's

very different

to the

wisdom of

the age that

says,

revenge,

that says,

tit for

tat violence.

The wisdom

of Jesus

is better

wisdom,

but if we

don't know

God's

word,

we don't

know that

wisdom.

We also

need to

hear and

to know

God's

word to

discover the

gospel,

to discover

the good

news of

what God

does to

save a

people for

himself,

according to

his perfect

wisdom and

for his

glory.

And that's

actually really

important,

even for how

we read a

book like the

book of

Proverbs.

Because to

read the

book of

Proverbs,

without thinking

about God's

wisdom for

salvation,

we might

think,

well,

if I live

the right

way,

then I

will gain

reward.

If I

do this,

then God

must do

that,

and we'll

find ourselves

on the

road that's

known as

legalism,

and we'll

think about

that problem

in a

moment.

So it's

really important

for us to

read,

to study,

to meditate,

to memorize,

to worship

God,

to hear

him,

wisdom,

that we

would discover

more of

his character,

that we

would be

staggered by

his love

and salvation,

that we

would grow

in wisdom.

So those

are the

practices of

wisdom.

But thirdly,

we need to

think for a

moment about

the problem

of wisdom.

So I

wonder if

anybody,

as we were

hearing this

being read,

if you

sensed a

tension

growing within

you.

So these

statements

all sound

like,

here's the

condition,

and then

here's the

consequence.

If X

happens,

then Y

happens.

So just

hear this

again.

My son,

do not

forget my

teaching,

but keep

my commands

in your

heart,

for,

here's the

consequence,

they will

prolong your

life many

years and

bring you

peace and

prosperity.

Here's another

one, here's

the condition

of verse

three,

let love

and faithfulness

never leave

you.

Here's the

consequence,

then you

will win

favor and

a good

name in

the sight

of God

and man.

Verse

seven,

here's the

condition,

do not

be wise

in your

own eyes,

fear the

Lord and

shun evil,

here's the

consequence,

this will

bring health

to your

body and

nourishment

to your

bones.

Do we

sense the

tension?

As we

look at

our own

lives,

as we

look around

at the

world around

us,

is this

how life

always

works?

We know

it's not.

We know

godly

people whose

lives are

cut short.

We know

those who

honor Jesus

and it

does not

bring them

honor and

a good

name.

We know

people who

fear the

Lord and

does not

bring them

health and

wealth.

love.

And so

there is a

problem and

sometimes this

is true and

generally as

people live

God's way we

might expect

this but we

need to

understand that

these are not

fixed laws.

This is not

like a slot

machine.

If I put in

X then

out comes

Y.

There is a

problem.

So we need

to say there

is an order to

the world that

God created and

we absolutely

need to say

that life by

God's design

is and

always will be

the best path

to flourishing

but we also

need to say

that we as

people we have

broken the

moral order

within the

universe.

That ever

since the

Garden of Eden

with Adam

and Eve we

have turned

our back on

the God of

wisdom on

God and his

wisdom.

If wisdom

begins with

fearing and

honoring the

Lord then

folly is

pursuing my

own honor.

It's putting

my own glory

first.

And ever

since Adam

and Eve did

that in the

Garden there's

been an

unraveling.

There's been

a disorder

as a result

of our sin.

So when we

read the book

of Proverbs

in a broken

world as we

recognize this

problem we

cannot expect

to see this

cause and

effect always

play out.

So how do

we read a

book like

the book

of Proverbs?

It's like

any part of

the law.

It exposes

our failures.

Who of us

can say we

have always

kept God's

commands in

our heart?

Who of us

can say we

have always

trusted in the

Lord with

all our

heart?

Who of us

can say in

all our

ways we

submitted to

God?

We've never

sought to be

wise in our

own eyes.

That we've

always honored

the Lord with

our wealth.

We read this

and we

understand we

simply don't

do it and

indeed we

can't keep

the conditions