Wisdom and the Fear of God

We've just finished up, I gather, a series in the book of Acts, looking at how Jesus sends his people out on mission.

And this mission is really what defines the church.

And it's what we're kind of, we're to be part of this mission to go and reach out into the world and to just build these communities which are living in this transformational way which just shows this light to the people around us.

But one of the things that I have realized as I've reflected on this kind of big story that we're part of as a church is that often in the day-to-day of life, I kind of get distracted.

Anyone else like me?

I kind of get sidetracked from that big story because there are little decisions, there are things which happen in my day-to-day which actually affect the direction that I'm going in.

But it's the day-to-day stuff that just wraps me up.

And so we're looking at this kind of series in wisdom because wisdom here is going to be looking at the choices and the forks in the road that we have in our everyday lives and the nitty-gritty of life to see how when we make wise choices in these things like money and relationships and career and plans and all these different things,

that these things are what shape our vision of the bigger picture that we're in and the direction we're going in.

So for the next eight weeks, we're going to be looking in the book of Proverbs and looking at different topics and looking at wisdom in different areas.

So we're just going to kind of intro that a little bit today and then we're going to go on this journey over the summer.

Okay?

Good.

Let me just pray for us before we dive in.

Father, thank you for giving us breath today.

Thank you that today was a day that you made.

And it's a day that you have brought us here, not just to be here because this is what we always do, but it's a day because we want to hear your word and you want to speak to us.

And I pray, Lord, give us tender, soft hearts to hear what you want to say.

I pray, Lord, that your spirit would speak through my words.

Remove what you don't want to say and let people hear like a megaphone what you do want them to hear.

Let us live in the light of your word.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Great.

What I want to do to start off with is I want to do a little kind of trivia quiz for us.

Okay?

So are you ready?

So I'm going to give you some choices.

Okay?

I want some responses.

This is kind of audience participation.

Okay?

I know we're lower on numbers because it's the sum of it.

That doesn't mean you get a pass.

Okay.

Here's your first choice.

Would you prefer to have intelligence or good looks?

Come on.

There's no sitting on the fence here.

No sitting on the fence.

Good looks.

There you go.

I'm sure you've already got them.

Okay.

Next one.

A penthouse flat or a luxury yacht.

Oh, okay.

Nobody's into the sea.

Okay.

Next one.

A trip to the moon or unlimited beach days.

Okay.

You guys are safe here.

You kind of, okay.

Private chef.

That's Gordon Ramsay for you.

A professional trainer.

There's a bit of competition here.

Okay.

Next one.

A hundred million dollars.

Or wisdom.

There's one honest man in the congregation.

Because you see, though you might not have exactly all those choices every day, the choices

that you make reflect what you think is most valuable in life.

Right?

What you think will secure your greatest happiness is what will determine and shape the choices

that every day you are making.

See, if you think your money or career or intelligence or education will make you happiest in life,

then that's what's going to consume the whole of your direction in life.

It will shape all of your choices.

But when we come to looking at the book of Proverbs, we're looking at a book which is a collection of collections of sayings of wise people,

the most significant of whom is King Solomon.

And if you know who King Solomon is, he was the wisest king in the world.

And the kind of backdrop to the story about King Solomon is that his dad, the greatest king that Israel had ever had, King David, has died.

King Solomon takes the throne as a young man.

And God comes to him in a dream and says, ask me for anything you want.

You know, he has that choice of all of those different things.

And Solomon says, without a blink of an eye, he says, give me wisdom.

Give me wisdom.

Give me wisdom more than anything else.

Give me wisdom.

And God says, you have chosen wisely.

Because you see, he knows that if I got that $100 million, I could still be a fool and squander it all.

But if I have wisdom, I have something which is going to be shaping everything in my life.

And so the book of Proverbs, basically, is going to come to us and it's going to say, with a question, it's going to say, what do you want in your life?

What is most valuable in your life?

What's the destination that you want to go into?

Because here now, it is a father talking to a son and he's going to say, hey, listen, this is the destination.

Are you going to listen to me?

Are you going to hear where I want you to go?

And so Proverbs 8, verse 1 to 5.

Proverbs 8:1–5

Do have your bulletin open.

I'm going to kind of refer to it during this morning.

Proverbs 8, 1 to 5.

It says, wisdom, wisdom, does not wisdom call?

Okay, does not understanding raise her voice on the heights beside the way.

And then it says, at the crossroads, she takes her stand beside the gates in front of the town.

At the entrance of the portals, she cries aloud.

Basically, this passage starts off at the busy intersection of a city.

And here is wisdom on the heights where people are going along their way, choosing the lifestyles they want to live.

It's beside the gates of the crossroads of the city where decisions, whether you're going to go left or whether you're going to go right, are being made.

It's right at the gates of the city, of the town, where all the buying and selling and the trading and the political judgments and the work decisions are being made.

Choices everywhere.

Okay, big choices.

Who do I marry?

What job do I take?

What profile picture do I put on Facebook?

Or smaller, everyday choices, like, do I shout at my kids or say nothing?

Do I make that phone call or do I let it be?

Do I pursue that relationship, that school, or do I wait?

All these choices you and I face every single day.

And this is the context where he's saying you're at the crossroads of these choices.

And right in the midst of all the noise, of all the voices which are coming from your friends and your family and your colleagues and the media and everything around you, wisdom calls.

And wisdom is personified as this kind of beautiful, noble woman.

And she says, calling out to you and me, she says, listen to my voice.

Hear, listen to me.

Verse 10, take my instruction instead of silver and knowledge rather than choice gold.

For wisdom is better than jewels.

And all that you desire, all that you desire cannot compare with her.

That's a pretty big statement.

Advertising sells you products on the basis of your greatest desires and fantasies and promises to fulfill them.

Have you seen these adverts like, get this deodorant and suddenly you'll become irresistibly attractive to the opposite sex?

Have you seen those kind of adverts?

And, you know, we believe it because we buy it.

Right?

And that's how advertising works.

And we also believe the advertising which plays to the different kind of fantasies that we have about what makes us happy.

Like, if I just had well-behaved children, then my life would be happy.

If I just had a boyfriend, then life would be wonderful.

And we get this kind of wisdom from everywhere else.

And when the Bible comes and brings this call of wisdom that is different from all the other wisdoms that you'll hear around,

sometimes we can think it sounds like a very sensible Christian middle-aged aunt who is so sensible that she'd never do anything exciting at all in her life.

She just sounds a little bit boring, sometimes we think, when we think about biblical wisdom.

But Proverbs here, it's very clever the way he does it.

Proverbs is us listening into this father and his son talking to each other.

And do you know what?

In chapter 9, his father says to his son, basically he says,

Wisdom isn't your dull aunt who wouldn't even get a tattoo because she's not that fun.

Wisdom is a hot lady who's a great chef.

That's what he says.

Wisdom is a hot lady who's a great chef.

And why does he do that?

Because he's talking to a teenage son, okay?

And he's playing to the desires that he has.

And if you translate that into any of your fantasies, any of the things that you think will make you happy,

he's saying, listen, if you want anything that's going to satisfy what you're chasing after, get wisdom.

That's what he's saying.

And he's appealing to our desires.

So, Proverbs, we're going to go on this journey together about getting wisdom.

Proverbs.

Proverbs.

Just to orient you a little bit, Proverbs comes out of four.

There are four wisdom books in the Bible, in the Hebrew Bible.

Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Proverbs.

And basically, they're like a package deal together.

They're kind of all different threads, which if you take them together,

they form a tapestry of what life is like.

And you need to read them together.

But the way Proverbs works is Proverbs is basically quite a lot of one-liners and catchy phrases

which kind of encapsulate a truth, okay?

So, we understand the idea of Proverbs and things like that.

Maybe let's just have a look.

Here are some modern kind of, okay, modern pictorial versions of Proverbs.

Proverbs, okay?

Learning from the wise.

Okay?

It's a kid with a son, with his dad teaching him how to use a computer.

Next one.

Smart communication isn't always the smartest communication.

Okay?

It's a catchy phrase, but you get the idea, right?

Next one.

The most valuable thing handed down the generation's togetherness.

Okay?

You get the idea?

The way to a dad's heart is through his stomach.

Okay?

You get the idea.

We have these ideas of Proverbs in the world, right?

Collective wisdom.

Was there another one?

I think that was it.

Oh, yes.

Okay.

What goes around comes around.

Okay?

These are Proverbs that we understand the concepts,

but they're giving us not everything about the topic,

but they're giving you something that's memorable for you to chew on.

Okay?

So what we're going to look at,

these wisdoms have come through observation,

experience of what works in life.

So we're going to look at this idea of wisdom through three things.

We're going to look at the meaning of wisdom,

the way to wisdom,

and the call of wisdom.

Okay?

The meaning of wisdom,

the way to wisdom,

and the call of wisdom.

Okay.

So if you look through the passage,

you will keep hearing that the passage just keeps talking about wisdom.

But what is wisdom?

Okay?

Let's tell you what wisdom isn't first.

Wisdom is not intelligence or education.

In Hong Kong,

we prize education.

We might say,

take education instead of silver.

Okay?

Instead of our money.

Because education will get more silver eventually.

Some of us think the most valuable thing you can give to your children is education.

Now, education is important,

but Proverbs says that's not true.

Education is not the most important thing.

Going to a seminary doesn't teach you actually how to be a pastor.

You could have a ton of PhDs and not know how to do life at all.

Right?

The most brilliant,

well-read,

intelligent people I know,

some of them have train wreck in their relationships.

Some of them just have no idea,

how to do relationships.

But they're smart.

And Proverbs would say,

wisdom is not just education or intelligence.

It's also not just morality.

Okay?

Wisdom is intrinsically connected to doing and acting in a right way.

In a right way which fits in the way God has ordered the world.

But it's far more than just right or wrong.

You know,

in England in the 1650s,

it's very interesting.

They thought that if we get the most moral people

in the country together

and we make them into the parliament,

then the country would just run amazingly.

So they did this.

It's called the bare bones parliament.

And can you imagine what happened?

They got all these kind of very moral people

and put them in the parliament.

And it was a disaster.

Because morality is not the same as wisdom.

And wisdom is not going to,

morality is not the only way that you can learn to live life.

The Bible word for wisdom is the word chokmah.

Okay?

Can you say that?

Chokmah.

It's like you're clearing your throat.

Okay?

That's the only bit of Hebrew I'm going to give you.

Okay?

Chokmah.

Okay?

In Exodus,

it's applied to those who've got the skill

of crafting wood and crafting silver and gold.

It's the skill of knowing how to do something well.

And in the Bible,

it's not just,

you know,

you could have the skill of,

if you know how to do a successful business,

you have business chokmah.

Okay?

You've got the skill of doing it well.

But in the Bible,

it's more than just doing something with a bit of know-how.

It's actually knowing how to do relationships.

It's knowing,

it's the skill of living well in God's world

and in relationships,

doing relationships well with God,

with your family,

and with the people around you.

That's what chokmah is.

It's in the complexity of life

where, you know,

so much is not black and white.

So much of life is just gray.

Right?

Isn't so much just gray

where you don't know the way to go.

And chokmah is the way of taking biblical truth

and applying it into your life in a way

which helps you to live in the marketplace.

of life.

You know,

it's,

I've had many of these decisions

where I don't know,

I have two choices

and both of them seem okay.

You know,

when Fiona and I,

when Fiona and I wanted to get married,

Fiona's parents refused.

What do you do

in that situation?

Honor your father and mother

is a biblical command.

Don't be a slave to the fear of men

is another biblical command.

Two things.

They both seem right.

What do you do?

What do I need?

Google it?

No.

I need chokmah.

I need wisdom.

It's the same as if you have,

you know,

you've got a kid who's rebellious,

rebelling against your authority.

Two different things.

Do you need love and grace and forgiveness?

Or do you need discipline and justice?

Both of them are good things.

What do you do?

Chokmah.

You need it.

And so it's the way

of getting knowledge

so you understand the way

things generally work in the world.

It's seeing your present situation clearly

and it's having a strategy

for knowing how to navigate the gray

all in God's world

so that you can do relationships right.

That is chokmah.

But I find in the issue of guidance,

many people come to me

and I think we have a wrong view

of how God guides in life.

Okay?

I have many people say,

I want to know what God's will for my life is.

How do I know if this job

is God's will for my life?

You know, we're very afraid

of getting it wrong.

You know, if we make something wrong,

we think of life like a doorway.

You know, the journey of life

is a door rather than a path.

And so what we have

is if I choose the wrong door,

then I'm afraid I'm going to screw up

the rest of my life

and I go through the wrong one

and I go, oh, I should have chosen the other one

and we're going to miss out.

That's how we feel in life often.

And so you have like door A, B, C

in front of you.

You know, it could be three jobs.

And I have people come to me and say,

what job does God want me to take?

And I'll say to them,

well, are any of them terrorism?

And they say, no, generally.

Kidnapping, drug smuggling.

And they say, okay, no.

If the answer is yes,

we might have to chat about it.

But they say,

but I want to know what God wants.

And I say, well, it's not here a moral choice.

It's not a sin issue.

It's a wisdom issue.

It's a chokmah issue.

But we struggle with this, I think,

because we like to have the idea

of a kind of a door which you just open

and that's the way you go.

And God to kind of give a little pointy finger

just saying it's that door.

And, you know, we want an instant solution.

We want an instant solution.

You know, 10 steps to raising your kids.

This is how,

you look at the how-to manuals outside.

It's all like, okay,

follow these 10 steps

and boom, the door will open.

Right?

Five ways to a better body.

Okay?

Six ways to greater intelligence.

All those different things.

That's what we like.

And so we have Christian versions of those as well.

We say things like,

just pray and get some peace.

And if you have peace,

then that's the way forward.

Now, prayer is essential as part of this.

Because we've got to depend on God.

Sense of peace is good.

But, you know, in the Bible,

Saul had a great sense of peace

when he was having Christians martyred.

Right?

Right?

And I've heard people come to me

who've said,

I've prayed about joining a church

and I just didn't have peace about it

so I didn't join a church.

And I'm going,

okay,

sounds like you're listening to yourself there.

You're not listening to God.

Right?

Or other people will say,

okay,

follow the open doors.

Now, sometimes that's a good idea.

But, you know,

Jonah in the Bible

got an open door

to run away from God

to go to Tarshish.

You know,

he goes to the ship ticket office

and he says,

hey,

are there any tickets for Tarshish?

And they say,

yes, there are.

And he says,

wow,

it's a sign,

an open door.

Really?

You know,

I've had doors which seem to open

and suddenly they were slammed in my face

and then I thought,

God,

what are you playing at?

I thought that was you.

Right?

And we get confused.

Anyone been there?

Another one is like,

the Holy Spirit told me.

Now,

I believe very strongly

that the Spirit does

and has in my life

prompted me in numerous ways.

We're going to talk about this later,

later in the year.

But,

I believe God uses our intuitions

to guide us.

But here's a very important thing

we need to be careful of.

Don't ascribe your gut

the same authority

as God's Word.

Okay?

Because I had a guy who was,

he was convinced

the Holy Spirit

had told him

to be a worship music leader.

Okay?

And you know what the Holy Spirit tells you?

You can't argue with that.

Right?

You can't argue with anyone

who says,

God told me.

It's like,

okay.

So,

he goes to the worship music practice

and let me just tell you,

if the Holy Spirit

had called him,

he had called him

as a sign of judgment

on whoever he was going to sing to.

Because he lacked chokmah.

But this is some of the ways

that we misunderstand

how God wants us

to operate in the world.

We want a plug and play formula.

Life is more complex than that.

And God is more relational

than just dishing out

a kind of how-to guide.

God wants a relationship with you

and in a relationship,

chokmah comes.

So let's come

to look at,

that's what chokmah is.

Chokmah is the skill

of living well

in a complex world

to know how to do relationships well

and it's in God's world.

Let me say,

how do we get wisdom?

How do we get this chokmah?

The way to wisdom.

Okay?

That's point two.

If you want to just show,

there are many ways

that people think

about getting wisdom.

Confucius said this,

three methods we may learn wisdom.

First, by reflection.

Second, imitation.

And third, by experience.

There is some wisdom in that.

There is some wisdom in that.

And we could talk about

many of those different things

and the Bible would agree

with some of those areas.

But the Bible and Proverbs

is going to tell us

there's something

that Confucius has missed out

in his definition.

And Confucius has missed out

what in chapter 9, verse 10,

the book of Proverbs says

is the beginning of wisdom.

It says,

The fear of the Lord

is the beginning of wisdom

and knowledge of the Holy One

is insight.

The fear of the Lord

is the beginning of wisdom

and knowledge of the Holy One

is insight.

That's weird.

Right?

Just think how weird that is.

The fear of Yahweh

is the beginning of wisdom.

Because we think fear is bad.

Right?

Generally.

But what Proverbs

and what the Bible shows us

there are two types of fear

you can have.

The first type of fear

comes when you

when you fear

that you've messed up

and your boss

is going to shout at you.

You're going to get punished

for something.

Have a look at this verse

that Moses says.

Exodus 20.

Okay?

God showed himself

to the mountain

to sinful people

at Mount Sinai.

They pull back terrified

and Moses says

and they say to Moses

don't let God speak

or we'll die.

And then

Moses says this

do not fear

for God has come

to test you

that the fear of him

may be before you

that you may not sin.

Do you see?

He says

do not fear

that you may fear.

Do you get that?

Two types of fear

that he's talking about.

The first is that fear

the negative fear

of punishment

that brings many people

including many of us

to church

to try and be very moral

because we're worried

that maybe

if we don't do the right thing

then God is going to smite us.

Right?

That's often the motivation

for much religion

that we do.

But that's not

what he's talking about here.

There's another kind of fear.

That's the fear

that the fear of him

may be in you.

And have a look

at the next verse.

The next verse

from Nehemiah.

From Nehemiah

he says this

he says

O Lord God of heaven

the great and awesome God

let your ear

be attentive

to the prayer

of your servant

to the prayer

of your servants

who delight

who delight

to fear your name.

Who delight

to fear your name.

You see

there's something

awesomely terrifying

about God.

If you actually

think about

someone who can create

the whole universe

that is pretty

terrifying.

But there's something

that if you run

to him

the fear of him

drives out

all other fears.

You can care

less about

what other people

think

because you care

more about

what he thinks.

You see

there's delight

and there's fear

together.

There's love

and there's fear

because there's beauty

and greatness

together in God.

And what you love

most

is what you also

fear hurting

or losing

or disappointing

the most.

I mean it's a bit

like if you've

got a kid

who Taylor Swift

is like they're

obsessed with

Taylor Swift.

Okay.

And you suddenly

they're walking

down the street

and they spot

Taylor Swift

in the corner

like just standing

there.

Now what emotions

fill them?

What's going

through their mind?

There's this mix

of love

and excitement

and wanting

to run up

and say hi.

But then there's

also this mix

of this fear

and awe

that someone

who's so great

in their eyes

kind of comes

before you

and you're worried

that you might

say something stupid.

You might do

something stupid.

You might say

something which

will lessen

the greatness

in which

the presence

you're in.

And it's this sense

of an awe-filled

love for God

that leaves you

trembling before him

but wanting to

attract it

and wanting

to run to him.

Because we realize

that God is God

and I am not.

Do you know that?

God is God

and you are not.

And so the fear

of the Lord

is my definition.

It's when I treasure

God in his beauty

and awesome majesty

so much so

that I do not want

to do anything

to displease him.

To treasure him

so much

that I don't want

to, every day

I'm going out

I don't want to put

anything else

before you.

I don't want

anyone else

to come before you

because that's

idolatry.

I don't want that.

I want to treasure

you before anything

else.

Now that kind of

fear sets you

free from

everyone else's

opinion.

It sets you free

from caring too much

about what you

think about yourself

and you think

about things.

You know so often

I have been in

so many arguments

where I'm trying

to prove myself

to be right

even though I know

that I'm wrong

because I just

have to be right.

Because I think

more of myself

and my opinion

than other people.

But fools

think they know

best.

Fools think

they know best.

Do you notice

in chapter 8

13

the fear of the

Lord

is the hatred

of evil

and then the

first thing on the

list is pride.

Okay.

First thing on the

list is pride.

And what is pride?

What's pride?

Pride is thinking

you know best.

Pride is thinking

you know best.

And I mean

just think about it.

Just take dating

for example.

Take dating.

Some of us

because we think

we know best

some of us

are so picky

we won't date

anyone unless

they're perfect

for you.

Right.

Unless you know

according to your

criteria and in

your mind

that makes sense.

and so you

complain about

the lack of guys

and the lack

of girls here

but you're

passing out

perfectly good

godly guys

and godly girls

because you're

looking for

Scarlett Johansson

or you're looking

for somebody

who's going to

buy you

able to have

the financial

ability to

buy you a

flat on the

peak.

And

that's foolish.

That's not

the real world.

That's idolatry

even.

And the fear

of the Lord

sets you free

from elevating

your criteria

and this

idolatry of

perfection

and what you

think

above

because you

think that's

what's going

to satisfy

you

above

fearing God

and allowing

him to then

shape the

reality of

your world.

And seeing

that just

frees you

to actually

see clearly

and not

stupidly.

You know

other people

you'll date

anyone

whether they

love Jesus

or not.

And you

know you

say well

there's no

rule in the

Bible that

says about

don't date

and don't

Christian.

And it's

true.

Dating was

invented in

the 20th

century.

That's why

it's not

in the

Bible.

But if

you have

the fear

of the

Lord

which is

a command

you don't

want to

date anyone

who doesn't

love Jesus

because you

don't want

to go

anywhere near

there's

something

which will

draw you

away from

you.

Draw you

away from

loving Jesus

because you

treasure him

more than

anything else.

That's the

fear of

the Lord.

And you

know that

counts of

whether somebody

is a

non-Christian

that counts

as somebody

whether says

they're a

Christian but

isn't living

a life that's

following him.

And you

know it'll

save you so

much regret

and heartache

later from

making foolish

decisions.

The fear of

the Lord is

the beginning

of wisdom.

How do you

grow and

get that

wisdom?

That wisdom

is a

lifetime

journey of

getting in

God's word

allowing it

to shape

your life

allowing it

to shape

your character

and allowing

wisdom to

be the lens

through which

every sign

of peace

every sign

of open

door

every sense

of intuition

everything else

is shaped

through that

door.

because sinful

people like

you and

me we

mess up

continually

we continually

turn left

instead of

right but

we should

only we

often should

have that

negative fear

of God but

we can only

have that

positive fear

of God when

you realize

that in

God's word

he speaks

this word of

the gospel

it says there's

now no

condemnation for

those in

Christ Jesus

which means

you can be

free from

the negative

fear

to be free

to love

and fear

him because

you realize

your identity

is no longer

at stake

what others

think about

you is no

longer the

key thing

what he

thinks about

you is the

main thing

in your

life

that's why

let's do

one more

thing

that's why

if we want

to be a

wise community

we need to

be an

awe-filled

community

and to be

an awe-filled

community

we need to

be a

bible-soaked

community

because it's

as we get

in God's

word that we

get to know

who God

is

and then as

we rehearse

that with

each other

that is going

to guide us

and lead us

in the paths

of life

that we keep

coming to

the crossroads

of life

but it's not

just a fear

of God

this way

there's also

this sense

of if you're

a fool

you believe

you know

best

and so you

don't involve

others in

your decisions

but if you

notice

proverbs 9

Proverbs 9:8

verse 8

says

don't reprove

a scoffer

or he'll

hate you

reprove

that means

correct

a wise man

and he will

love you

give instruction

to a wiser man

and he will

still be wiser

what is he saying

he's saying

wisdom is also

a community

experience

do you get that

it's a community

experience

it's people

growing together

teaching each

other

and walking

along

together

as they

walk in

the fear

of God

together

because God

the fear

of God

gives you

a teachable

humble spirit

to realize

that you

don't know

all the answers

do you know

people who think

they know

all the answers

they're some

of the most

foolish people

there are

do you know

why I know

this because

this is very

personal for me

I had a mental

breakdown

because I

thought I knew

better than

anybody else

and I

wouldn't go

to other

people for

wisdom

and I

still see

that tendency

for independence

in my life

and this is

the challenging

part that to

be part of a

community

who loves

Jesus

is not to

just live our

lives independently

and then come to

church on a Sunday

and think we just

praise God

and then we go

away and make

all the decisions

by ourselves

but at the

significant forks

in your road

in your life

Proverbs is

telling you

if you want

to be wise

you will bring

the counsel

of other people

godly people

not just anybody

not just anybody

but godly people

into your life

you know

it's things like

do we have the

humility and the

teachability to say

things like

hey I'm fighting

with my spouse

every day

and I don't know

how to deal

with this

could you help

me

could you walk

with me

through this

are we humble

enough to be

open enough

with somebody

in this church

to do that

it's the things

of saying

I'm struggling

with same

sex attraction

I'm struggling

with thoughts

about somebody

else who is

not my spouse

and I don't

know how to

handle it

will you

walk with me

in this

guide me

because so

many of us

are actually

fools

like so

often I

am

because we

think we

know best

that's why

we don't ask

other people

godly people

for wisdom

in our world

and in our

crossroads of

life

and you've

got a thousand

other people

who are speaking

to you at the

crossroads of

your life

and the choices

that you have

right even now

and the point

is where are

you going

for wisdom

do you go

to God's

word

do you go

to other

godly people

or are you

just trying

to figure out

your own way

by yourself

and he's

saying you're

a fool

if you do

that

you'll be

a fool

you realize

that's one

of the reasons

why in the

church we

don't just

want to

segregate

married people

over here

single people

over here

because if

single people

get together

and they're

just together

do you know

what and

they're talking

about relationships

relationships

it's pulling

ignorance

together

right

how much

better is

it if you

have somebody

who's been

through that

and has

walked with

God

and you can

draw on their

wisdom to bring

help along those

crossroads so you

don't keep turning

left when you

should be turning

right

it's the same

with those of

you who are

older

are you involved

in the lives

of other people

so that

there can be

an impartation

of what God

has imparted

into you

and to somebody

else

and be careful

it's not that

you are now

the old sage

wise one

who just

dumps advice

on people

because humble

wise people

are teachable

and know the

limits of their

wisdom

but you walk

alongside other

people together

that's how a

community becomes

wise

and our society

is so filled

with individualism

and independence

that we've

forgotten

the collective

wisdom of people

who've walked

with God

together here

in this

community

so wisdom

it's the skill

of living well

in the complexity

of life

we need the

fear of God

treasuring him

above everything

else through his

word in community

very final thing

it's the call

of wisdom

the call of wisdom

I don't know if

you noticed

in verse

well in the

beginning of

verse 8

chapter 8

and the beginning

of chapter 9

who is wisdom

talking to

do you notice

he's calling out

to the simple

and to fools

did you see that

he's calling out

simple and the fools

the simple

are people who

are easily

persuaded

and just

easily

choose the wrong

direction

fools are those

who have already

taken the wrong

term and just

believe in their

own lives

but it says

whoever

9 verse 4

says

whoever is

simple

let him turn

in here

verse 6

says

leave your

simple ways

and live

right now

in your world

I don't know

what's going on

in your world

but right now

in your world

wisdom is

calling out

to you

and isn't

that grace

think about it

you could have

been

I don't know

what you've been

doing in your life

but I know me

and I know

probably you

are all like me

that you've been

turning left

a lot of the time

in your life

you know we turn

left to head

towards foolish town

we're at the

crossroads

the GPS of wisdom

is telling us

to go right

but we've gone

left

that voice in

your conscience

has said

hold your tongue

that voice in

your conscience

has been saying

don't dwell on

that thought

about that

woman

or that guy

that voice

has been telling

you spend time

in God's word

pick up your phone

to your dad

even though he hurt you

that voice has been

telling you that

it's been telling you

to go right

and you've been

going left

deliberately

deliberately

and it may be

you've been turning

left for a long time

maybe you're

you're kind of

you've gone to

foolish town

and you're now like

you've got a nice

bed and breakfast

there and you've

settled down

you've been there

for a long time

making foolish

choices

but the amazing

thing of grace

is that wisdom

is still calling

out to you today

and saying

it's not too late

though you have

turned left

today is a day

where you can now

turn right

and listen to me

the call of wisdom

goes out to you

today

and says

come

come eat

of my bread

drink of my wine

I've got a banquet

for you

I've got a feast

for you

I've got my love

for you

I've got my grace

for you

today you can eat

of the satisfaction

of saying no

to your porn habit

to say yes

to the freedom

from shame

today

the word turn

it says

it's what Jesus says

it's the word repent

it's the same word

and when the New Testament

says the idea

of wisdom

do you know

what it says

it's not talking

just an idea

in the mind

it's not talking

a concept

it's not just

nice advice

when the New Testament

says wisdom

it says it's talking

about a person

it's talking

about Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians

says

God chose

the foolish

in the world

like you and me

to shame

the wise

because of him

you are in Christ

Jesus

who became

for us

wisdom

from God

that means

Jesus himself

is calling out

to you

with all the choices

that you have

and he's saying

run to me

turn to me

come to me

right now

with whatever

is going on

in your life

and you will

find

a feast

prepared for you

experience my love

so you're not craving

for it from everyone else

my forgiveness

so you're free

from the guilt

and shame

which stops you

from learning

how to discipline

and bring out

your kids so well

with wisdom

come to me

because

Psalm 130

says

with the Lord

there is forgiveness

therefore

we will

fear

you

Jesus

is calling

you

will

you

come to him

for wisdom

let's pray

maybe as you just

think about

what's going on

in your life

at the moment

actually on the screen

we will have

just a few questions

for you to just reflect

for a minute

because I don't want

us to run away

from actually

responding

to what

Jesus is trying

to say to you

right now

so have a look

at these four

questions

because

some of you

here

you have got

issues in your life

that you know

are real

and you've gone

and talked to

nobody about them

and today

Jesus is calling

you

to say

who are you

going to go

to

for godly

wisdom

some of you

are wrestling

with choices

at the moment

and you're

wondering

what do I

do

and it's

felt like

you've been

waiting

for a long

time

and Jesus

is just

saying

come to

me

trust

me

treasure

me

and I

will lead

you on

this path

you will

not

miss out

some of you

have just

never got

enough

into god's

word

enough

to really

understand

wisdom

and all

and god

is saying

to you

will you

come

into my

word

with my

people

and will

you let

me speak

to you

just like

you to

pray by

yourself

in reflection

of those

questions

just respond

to Jesus

yourself

right now

if you're a

Christian

if you're not

a Christian

where do you

get your wisdom

from

father

you sent

your son

to a world

full of foolish

people

like me

like all

of us

and it's

your grace

that you

keep

chasing

after us

you chased

us to

the cross

that you

draw us

back

that we'd

come into

this

relationship

with you

so that

we'd see

how the

world

works

we'd see

clearly

beyond

the foolishness

of the

things

that we

believe in

please I

pray for

us

pray for

us

that you'd

help us

to see

the beauty

of your

forgiveness

of your

grace

of your

honor

of the

glory

that you

have brought

us to

know you

and in

knowing you

we can

walk with

you

and know

that we're

not going

to screw

up our

lives

because when

we walk

with you

you make

a way

for us

I pray

for those

of us

who know

that actually

we've screwed

up in many

ways in

our lives

I pray

that they'd

hear you

speaking this

morning

that word

of just

come

and that we

turn and

find that

banquet of

forgiveness

and grace

waiting for

us

that you

purchased

on that

cross

for us

I pray

make us

a wise

people

who are

not so

independent

that we

don't just

try and

figure out

life by

ourselves

Lord

creating us

that humility

that teachability

that sense

of knowing

how much

we need

you

and we

need

each

other

and grow

us in

wisdom

to love

you

to do

our

relationships

well

that we'll

honor you

in Jesus

name

Amen