Quiet Humility of Wisdom

Good morning, everyone. How are you guys doing? Like Ed had mentioned, Sean and I, we had traveled

down to Pennsylvania this weekend to attend our regional assembly of elders, and it was really

such an encouraging time to meet up with other pastors in our region, to be encouraged by them,

to hear how God is working in all the churches along Sovereign Grace in the Northeast. And so

coming back really encouraged by that. Also really tired a little, but we'll make it through.

It's my joy and pleasure to be able to bring God's word to us this morning. If you have your Bibles,

if you would please turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 13. If you don't have a Bible, please raise

Ecclesiastes 9:13

your hand, and one of our church members or ministry volunteers will be able to pass one over to you

for you to keep as a gift. Our passage this morning, again, comes from Ecclesiastes chapter 9,

Ecclesiastes 9:13

verse 13, to all of chapter 10.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father, we are truly thankful that you give us the opportunity to gather as the body of Christ

every Sunday morning. Lord, we are so grateful for your word, scripture, which aids us in encouraging

one another, in rebuking one another, in teaching and admonishing us, and filling us with hope of the

gospel, Lord. We thank you so much for your son, Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins. And we

thank you so much that you give us so much great wisdom through your word. Lord, we confess that we

are people who succumb time and time again to the follies and foolishness of this world.

We ask, Lord, that you fill us with wisdom that can only come from you, and help us to take hold

of this wisdom that is Jesus, Lord, this morning and for evermore. We thank you so much, Lord. We love

you, and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. If you're willing and able, would you please stand

for the reading of God's holy and authoritative word? Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 13 to chapter 10,

Ecclesiastes 9:13

verse 20.

I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. There was a little

city with a few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege

works against it. But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city.

Yet no one remembered that poor man. But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's

wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. The words of the wise, heard and quiet, are better

than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys

much good. Dead flies makes the perfumer's ointment give off a stench, so little folly outweighs

wisdom and honor. A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left.

Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.

If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great

offenses to rest. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as if as it were an error proceeding

from the ruler. Folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in the low place. I have seen slaves

on horses and princes walking on the ground like slaves. He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a

serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who

splits logs is endangered by them. If the iron is blunt and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use

more strength. But wisdom helps one to succeed. If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no

advantage to the charmer. The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume

him. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil

madness. A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be

after him. The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city. Woe to you, O land,

when your king is a child and your princes feast in the morning. Happy are you, O land, when your king

is the son of nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time for strength and not for drunkenness.

Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks. Bread is made for laughter,

and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. Even in your thoughts do not curse the king, nor in

your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature

tell the matter. This is God's holy and authoritative word. You may be seated.

There are proverbs, wise sayings, and folk wisdoms that are used in our world, in our society,

for very specific occasions and situations. What's interesting, however, is how many of these sayings

tend to contradict each other when put next to one another? Let me give a few examples to this.

There's the saying, the early bird gets the worm. It means that it's good to seize your opportunities

as soon as you can. But then there's also the saying, haste makes waste, meaning a hurried life

makes for more inefficiency. There's the saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

You pine after the things and people missing from your life. But then there's also the saying,

out of sight, out of mind. There's the saying, many hands make light work. The more help that you have,

the easier the job will be. But then there's also the saying, too many cooks spoil the broth.

The more help that you have, the worse the end result of the job will be.

And there's another saying that says, when you pay attention to detail, the big picture will take

care of itself. When you're focused on all the minute details that form the entire big idea,

they say that eventually the big idea will form itself. But then there's also this Chinese proverb

that says, when the wise man points to the moon, the fool stares at the finger. It's not good to be

detail-oriented in this case, or else you'll lose sight of the main idea, the main point.

Obviously, common sense will lead us to utilize different proverbs or different scenarios.

And there's certainly a moderate middle ground in between some of these proverbs.

It's good to seize opportunities as soon as you can, but it's also good to step back and consider

whether that opportunity is worth the risk. Or there are instances where having a lot of help

makes a job a lot easier, like setting up and tearing down our church equipment for Sunday service.

Please join our support ministry. But there are also instances where too many

opinions in a single project will result in strife, division, and a haphazardly completed job,

like a class poster project. We've all had one of those, right?

The point of sharing all of these conflicting proverbs is to show how fickle life and life

circumstances can be. At some point in someone's life, their circumstance made them come up with this

life wisdom that the early bird gets the worm. But the chances are that another person is like,

oh, that sounds like a good wisdom, and tries to apply it into their own life. And they realize

instead that haste makes waste. The irony of these folk proverbs and wise sayings to live by in this world

is that they shed light all the more on how transient worldly wisdom can be. Because everything in this life

is up to time and chance. It's futility, it's vanity, hevel, a striving after wind, breath,

to rely fully on the wisdom of this world to sustain us, to grant us success, and to give meaning to our lives.

Church, earthly wisdom is not going to save our souls.

And so this is our main idea for our passage this morning. Knowing that the wisdom of this world is

fleeting, trust in the God-given humble wisdom that is Jesus Christ. I'm going to touch on three points

this morning. The value of wisdom, the fragility of wisdom, and Christ, our greater wisdom.

First, the value of wisdom. Right before our passage in Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 11 and 12,

Ecclesiastes 9:11

the preacher observes the futility of life, and the futility of trying to take control of life.

It's like trying to chase after wind or breath, hevel. Like fish that are caught in a fishing net,

or birds that are caught in a snare, we humans, whether we're wise or we're foolish,

will all succumb to time and chance. There is no set formula in this life. The fast will not always

win the race. The strong won't always win the battle. The wise won't always bring bread to the table,

nor will the intelligence always gain riches. Everything in this life is up to time and chance.

And so it's a vanity for us to try to take control of life.

In chapter 9, verse 13, our passage this morning, the preacher, he brings forth another example of the

uncertain circumstances of life. With the story of a little city that was besieged by a great king.

The invading king built powerful siege works, forts, catapults, all sorts of weapons that can destroy

the walls of the city in order to capture this small city. But the king's plans are thwarted by

the wisdom of a poor, wise man. The city was preserved thanks to the wisdom of this poor man.

We'd expect this man to be commended and commemorated for saving the city,

and yet the poor, wise man was forgotten. And he became irrelevant in his words and wisdom to others.

Verse 15, yet no one remembered that poor man. He doesn't get the reward that we expect him to

receive. And instead, his wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. Church, life circumstances can

and will go against our expectations because everything is up to time and chance. There is no

perfect formula to life. C'est la vie. That's just how it is.

But this isn't to say that wisdom has no place in this life. That wisdom is pointless to pursue,

that we should instead settle for a life of folly. The preacher, he makes the point to emphasize the

value of wisdom, even amidst the vanity, the hevel of life.

As a note, the wisdom that the preacher is referring to throughout this passage is earthly wisdom.

This is the ability to make good decisions and judgments based on the knowledge that you have

in order to be successful in life, in order to get through life. This differs from godly wisdom,

which is focused on the moral characteristics of fearing the Lord and obeying his commands,

in order to give God the maximal glory. Earthly wisdom and godly wisdom can coincide.

Proverbs chapter 14, verse 29 says, whoever is slow to anger has great understanding.

Proverbs 14:29

This is godly wisdom, but it's also very practical wisdom in this world.

If we're slow to anger, if we're able to slow down and ask more questions and not be instantly enraged

at what people say or do to us, there's a lot more wisdom in doing that than immediately exploding on anyone.

But the key difference between earthly wisdom and godly wisdom is our end goal.

Is it to be more successful? Is it to be better in this life? Or is it to give God the glory and to live a life that is pleasing to him?

And so the preacher in this passage is seeing the great value of exercising earthly wisdom

as opposed to following after earthly folly and foolishness.

The preacher continues in verse 16,

Even though the speaker of wisdom will be forgotten,

wisdom itself will prevail over might.

When wise words are spoken to those who quietly listen and heed the words,

it's far better than a mighty ruler who loudly and recklessly speaks into an echo chamber of fools.

These fools who, like parrots, will only repeat back what he says,

whether he's right or wrong.

Though wisdom is presented in this scenario in a very humble circumstance,

it has great impact and value over displays of strength and might.

The preacher values the quiet humility of wisdom over the boisterous pride of might.

Even in our context today,

our world still relishes wisdom over might.

We relish those stories of the underdog who uses their wits and their wisdom,

their cleverness to overcome the odds against a larger or mightier foe.

Let me give a modern, maybe not so modern,

a kind of modern example of this.

In the movie Star Wars Episode 5,

The Empire Strikes Back.

Wow, that is not modern.

Star Wars Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back.

Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, the Empire,

they sent out these giant four-legged tanks of destruction called AT-ATs.

And they called on these AT-ATs to attack and destroy the rebel base.

And so to defend their base, Luke Skywalker and the rebel alliance,

they flew out these ships about 20 times smaller than these AT-ATs.

They literally looked like little ants compared to these giant tanks.

And they used their wits to circle about the AT-ATs with cables

in order to wrap the tank's legs and trip it.

And so that it trips over, it falls over, and it explodes.

The rebels' clever use of their humble vehicles

was enough to triumph over the Empire's behemoths of destruction,

the Empire's siege works.

That's an example of earthly wisdom.

Another example, in Judges chapter 7,

Judges 7 · chapter mention

Gideon, he follows God's instructions

and reduced his army of 32,000 to a mere 300 men.

These 300 men, they snuck onto the enemy Midianite territory

in the middle of the night,

and they suddenly blew their trumpets and smashed their jars to alarm

and confuse the Midianites.

And the Midianites, they fled from their camp,

abandoning their stations.

Gideon and his humble band of 300 men

defeated an army of 135,000

because the Israelites trusted in God

and the wisdom that he gave them.

The wisdom of the Lord manifested in the humble 300-man army of Gideon

prevailed over the massive might of the Midianites.

And so the preacher says,

Wisdom is better than might,

even when the words of wisdom may be despised,

not heard, or small.

Jumping ahead to chapter 10,

the preacher again emphasizes the value of wisdom

with a series of examples.

In verses 2 and 3,

the preacher points out

that while a wise man's heart inclines him to the right,

a fool's heart will go to the left,

where the right stands for righteousness

and the left stands for wickedness.

The fool's heart will veer him to the left

over and over again

to the point that when he walks on the road,

his leftward inclination

is going to be a clear indication to everyone

that he is a fool.

Whether he's verbally communicating that himself or not,

whether he's proclaiming to everyone,

I'm a fool or not,

he doesn't even have to say that.

The way he just keeps leaning over to the left,

the path of destruction,

will indicate to everyone else,

oh, this guy is a fool.

His very action speaks for himself.

Jumping to chapter 10, verse 10,

the preacher concludes that wisdom would teach a man

to sharpen his iron blade

in order to maximize efficiency

in cutting or chopping things.

We see that wisdom would teach a snake charmer

to make sure that the snake is indeed charmed,

else the serpent may bite the charmer.

A snake charmer who forgets to charm his snake

may want to wisely consider a career change.

And finally, the preacher observes in verses 12 and 13

that while the words of a wise man's mouth

gain him favor,

the lips of a fool lead to his own destruction.

From start to end,

the words of a fool's mouth are of nonsense

and evil madness, wicked delusion,

and he does nothing but spout out more foolishness

out of his own ignorance.

A fool multiplies words, verse 14,

a fool multiplies words,

though no man knows what is to be

and who can tell him what will be after him.

The fool continues to blabber and yap

and perhaps even talks about the future,

about his own grand schemes,

his plans and aspirations.

But here we have the preacher saying,

no man knows what is to be

and who can tell him what will be after him.

No one knows what's going to happen in the future.

And so we can't say with absolute certainty

what is in store for us ahead.

It would be considered foolish to do that.

We have many church members at Trinity

who have big dreams and goals for their future.

Some aspire to become aerospace engineers.

Others want to go work in the highest political sectors

of the United States.

We have aspiring dentists,

nuclear physicists,

PhD candidates,

and many more who love to talk about

what they're striving toward in the future.

What sets many of our brothers and sisters apart

from the fool in verse 14, however,

is that they don't multiply their words.

They don't double down and say with certainty,

I know for sure,

I swear,

I will become that dentist.

I will gain that position in this political sector.

I will solve all of nuclear physics.

Or may lightning strike me down.

While those with wisdom

will share their aspirations and their dreams,

while remaining humble

amidst the unknowability

and uncertainty of life,

the fool will speak as if he knows for sure

the future outcome of his life.

Church, we're really blessed

with intelligent and talented folks in our church.

And that's all the more reason

we need to be humble

in the face of the unknown of the future.

It's wise to speak in humility

even about our own hopes and dreams and goals.

Proverbs chapter 21 verse 1 says,

Proverbs 21:1

Do not boast about tomorrow,

for you do not know what a day may bring.

No one knows what the future will bring,

whether that's a year from now,

whether that's a week from now,

or even within the next 30 minutes.

Our church, we're like unable to figure out

what we're going to have for lunch after service.

We don't know what's going to happen in the future.

It would be wiser to speak,

to not speak so surely about our future plans,

knowing that we don't have absolute security

and control of our future.

Nevertheless, the fool speaks of things

that he doesn't know about,

the things that he doesn't even have security about.

And as a result, he bumbles about,

not even sure about how to get to his goal,

to his destination,

even to a city,

which is supposed to be his destination

that the preacher speaks of in verse 15.

Wisdom has value.

And the preacher shows that there's great merit

to pursuing wisdom and being wise in this life.

Wisdom helps to preserve us,

keep us alive.

Applying wisdom helps us to succeed

in our work and our toil.

Wisdom helps us not to boast

and to speak instead out of thoughtfulness and humility.

And wisdom helps to gain favor from those around us

because they find what we say

to be trustworthy and helpful.

God gives us the common grace,

the common grace gift of earthly wisdom in this life,

knowing that it's a blessing

that allows for humans to flourish in this world.

Even today, this wisdom is of good value to our own lives

rather than living recklessly,

recklessly living out our lives without prudence.

It's considered wise to set daily schedules

and boundaries for your health,

that you sleep at a reasonable hour,

that you eat a healthy diet,

that you exercise regularly

so that you overall feel good.

It's considered wise to set aside money

for a rainy day

in case accidents or hard times fall upon us.

It's considered wise to practice

a certain skill set in advance

so that you're comfortable with it

when your next project,

your next performance,

your next competition approaches.

Practice makes perfect.

There's value in wisdom,

and so there is value in pursuing wisdom

in our lives in this world.

However,

wisdom is not the panacea

to all of life's problems.

It's not going to solve everything in this life.

Wisdom, too,

will fail in this life of vanity

because we live in a fallen world.

Wisdom in this life

still has its limitations and shortcomings.

While it offers great benefits

to those who seek it in life,

wisdom is also very fragile.

The preacher first makes this observation

in the final verse of chapter 9,

verse 18.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war,

but one sinner,

one sinner,

destroys much good.

Wisdom is fragile

because it's easily overshadowed

by folly.

When a sinner commits a foolish act,

wisdom goes flying out the window,

and what is meant for good

becomes swiftly ruined.

The preacher makes a comparison

of this fact

at the start of chapter 10,

verse 1.

Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment

give off a stench.

So a little folly

outweighs wisdom and honor.

When flies smell

the sweet scent of perfume,

they fly towards the jar,

they land in its oil

only to get stuck and trapped,

and they die,

and they begin to rot.

Such a tiny thing like a fly

can ruin an entire jar

of that sweet,

aromatic perfume

instead with a foul stench.

Folly can easily ruin wisdom.

I remember when I was in second grade,

our teacher promised

my class of 20 kids

a pizza party,

a pizza and movie party on Friday

if we behaved well

throughout the week.

We were like saints

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

Our behavior was so good

that even other teachers

from other classes

were complimenting us,

being like,

oh, these kids are so well behaved.

But then,

during a fateful Thursday

fire drill exercise,

our class got a little too goofy.

We got a little too talkative

when we should have been

quiet and attentive,

and we were reprimanded.

Our teacher was greatly disappointed,

and she canceled

our pizza party.

No pizza,

no movies.

I'm pretty sure it was

High School Musical

when it first came out.

No High School Musical.

I'm not mad about that.

But we would have to try

to earn that good thing later.

In that one moment,

a little bit of childish tomfoolery

completely overshadowed

all of our hard work

to behave well,

and our chance for a fun Friday,

a good thing,

was ruined.

Wisdom is fragile

because a little folly

outweighs wisdom.

Just as it's quicker

to destroy something

than it is to build it,

it's easier to ruin

a good thing with folly

than to build it up

with wisdom.

Wisdom is also fragile

because of the vanity

and the futility

of life

in this fallen world.

As the preacher

had said earlier,

there is vanity in life,

and there's futility

in trying to take control

of life

because everything

is up to time

and chance.

Just because you plug in A

doesn't mean you will

always generate B

as a result.

There is no formula

that will give us

the exact life circumstances,

and wisdom

is no exception to this.

There will be moments

when wisdom

is sought out

and exercised

and will still encounter

unexpected circumstances,

disappointments.

The preacher

seems to be cognizant

of this fact as well

based on his observations

of a wrongdoing ruler

in chapter 10, verse 4.

The preacher,

he first exercises

a word of caution

and wisdom

telling us

to appease

an angry ruler

with calmness

in order to lay

offenses to rest.

The preacher

sheds light

on why he gives

this advice of wisdom

in verse 5.

He's seen

an evil

under the sun

as it were

an error

proceeding

from the ruler.

The ruler

has done something

wicked

that has resulted

in error,

and his offenses

have revealed

the waywardness

of wisdom

in a fallen society.

under that king's rule.

The preacher

observes in verse 6

that folly

is set in high places

and the rich

sit in the low place.

The rich here

are considered

the wise

as they've gained wealth

through their wisdom.

And so we'd expect

that the wise

and the rich

would be able to sit

in the high places

while the fools

sit in the low places.

But in this fallen

and vain society,

the rules are reversed

and what we expect

is all backwards.

We'd expect princes

to be on horses

while the slaves

walked on the ground

guiding those horses.

But here again,

we have the rules reversed.

The princes walk

on the ground

while the slaves

ride the horses.

Our traditional wisdom

has gone out the window

because of the vanity

and futility of life

in this broken world.

all the more exacerbated

by the ruler's evil errors.

This is the reality

that we live in today

as well.

There are rulers,

there are principalities

of evil in this world

that have turned wisdom

that is supposed

to be good

upside down,

inside out,

in a way that

doesn't make sense for us.

We expect wisdom

to bring us good,

but there are so many instances

where instead

the folly of this world

takes over

and we're instead met

with negative circumstances,

disappointments,

hurt in our lives.

The preacher gives us

four more instances

in which he has seen

those circumstances

not go as expected

as a result

of the unknowability

and the uncertainty

of life and wisdom.

Verses eight and nine,

we see that there are

four men

who are doing

their regular

day-to-day jobs.

one man

who's digging pits,

presumably for hunting traps,

one man

who breaks down walls,

probably for construction,

another man

who queries stones,

also for building,

and one man

who splits logs

for wood.

What each man does

should be nothing

out of the ordinary

as they're simply

performing

their usual duties

in life.

But what we see next

is an ironic twist

to their life circumstances

where folly

takes a hold

of their wisdom,

of their skill,

and their jobs.

The man who digs a pit

is going to fall

into his own pit.

The man who breaks

through a wall

will be bitten

by a snake

that's hiding in the wall.

The man who quarries stones

will injure himself

with his own stone,

and the man

who splits wood

will be endangered

by his own logs.

These scenarios

feel very much

like some sort of

Looney Tunes,

Tom and Jerry

sort of slapstick comedy.

Just like dynamite

blows up in

Wally Coyote's face,

or just like Tom

accidentally shaving

his own tail,

the schemes of man

fall into circumstances

of folly,

ridiculousness.

Not necessarily

because people

have done wrong,

but because random

and uncertain things

happen in this

fallen world.

Life,

and the control

of life

is vanity

and futility,

and fully trusting

in wisdom

in this vain

and futile world

will lead us

to destruction as well,

for even wisdom

will fail.

Chapter 10

ends by once again

reflecting on the ruler.

From verse 16,

the preacher points out

how valuable it is

to have a mature

and a wise ruler.

A ruler who feasts

and drinks

at the appropriate time

for strength

and not for the sake

of drunkenness.

A foolhardy

and immature king

like a child

will laze around

and not care

for his kingdom

to the point

that the roof

sinks in

and the house leaks.

To the foolish king,

bread and wine

are meant

solely for pleasure

and not for energy

to exercise

great wisdom

in his rule.

And money

is simply a means

to have more access

to that pleasure.

The preacher

laments

of the folly

that this king

indulges in

when there's so much value

and opportunity

for wisdom

to bring the kingdom

back into order.

And yet,

the preacher

still advises

not to criticize

or curse

the ruler,

the king,

and to instead

offer calm silence

lest any criticism

reach the king's ears.

Once again,

there is vanity

in valuing wisdom

because bringing up

what is considered

to be wise

will only enrage

the king

and cause

even more

folly

and strife.

Church,

while wisdom

has great value,

it's also

very fragile

because we live

in this broken

and folly-filled world.

Nothing is certain

in this life

and even our efforts

to be wise

won't always bring us

the positive results

that we want.

The reality

that wisdom

is fragile

can be

very discouraging

for many of us.

We live

in a community

in East Cambridge

and greater Boston

where we really

take pride

in our wisdom,

in our intellect,

in our intelligence.

And so to hear

that

moments when we

apply wisdom,

moments where we

apply our wits

and our intelligence,

it will fail us

can be deeply

discouraging.

No matter how much

we try to pursue

wisdom

and exercise wisdom

in our lives,

we can't entirely

trust in wisdom

to consistently

come through

for our benefit.

Wisdom

will fail.

And that's because

there's sin in this world

and sin brings forth

folly,

disaster,

and unforeseen

hardships.

Whether that's a result

of our own error

or not,

this is because

we

who pursue wisdom

are also sinful.

We may think

we are exercising

good wisdom,

but the heart

is deceitful

above all things.

We are broken

and sinful people

operating in a broken

and sinful world.

And so even

our best of intentions

can lead

to folly

and destruction.

There are probably

many of us here

who have experienced

the failure

of wisdom

and the folly

of this world

in disappointing ways,

deeply disappointing ways.

You may have taken

all the necessary measures

to be qualified

for a job

or an academic program

only for your application

to be

utterly,

brutally rejected.

You've saved up

your money

for years and years

wanting to save

for a good thing

like a home,

a car,

only to have to spend

it all in order

to make repairs

for a sudden accident

in life.

You've spent

so much time

trying to make sure

that you're healthy

and you're well

only to be diagnosed

with an illness

or unforeseen condition.

Or you've worked

so hard

to try to build

your community,

your friendships,

and your relationships

only to suddenly

be relocated

to another city

or state

or nation.

There are so many

unexpected

and difficult

misfortunes

and disappointments

in life

that are worth

grieving over.

And these things

will show us

that the wisdom

of this world

will fail us

in innumerable ways.

But while the wisdom

of this world

is fleeting,

the wisdom

of our God

is not.

God's wisdom

will never fail

those who trust

in him.

The apostle Paul

writes in Romans

Romans 8:28

chapter 8,

verse 28,

we know that

for those

who love God

all things

work together

for good.

For those

who are called

according to his purpose.

God is working

all things

for our good.

Even the things

that seem like

folly,

foolishness to us.

Though we may not

understand how God

is using our hardships

or the foolish things

of the world

for our good,

we're called

to trust in him

and his word,

which clearly says

that he will work

for our good,

for his purpose

and his glory.

While we can't trust

in our own wisdom

to sustain us

in this world,

we can submit to

and trust

in God's word

and his wisdom,

which will carry us

and sustain us

in joy

and in hope

until the ends

of our days.

even when

the folly

of this world

seems overwhelmingly

perplexing

and discouraging,

godly wisdom

teaches us

to trust

in God's

redemptive work

of a better future.

Though we may not

know the future

of our lives,

though we may not

know what happens

a year from now,

a week from now,

30 minutes from now,

we continue to hope

in God's

redemptive work

in our lives.

That one day,

all the folly

and evil of this world

will be undone

and God's goodness

will pervade

across all the world.

God's wisdom

will pervade

across all the world

and those who believe

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ

will be in eternal

fellowship

with him forever.

We have assurance

of God's perfect wisdom

and his sovereignty

over us

through the crucifixion,

death,

and resurrection

of his son,

Jesus.

We had read this

as our assurance

of pardon earlier,

but Paul writes

in 1 Corinthians 1,

1 Corinthians 1:18–25

verse 18 to 25,

for the word

of the cross

is folly

to those

who are perishing,

but to us

who are being saved,

it is the power

of God,

for it is written,

I will destroy

the wisdom

of the wise

and the discernment

of the discerning

I will thwart.

Where is the one

who is wise?

Where is the scribe?

Where is the debater

of this age?

Has not God

made foolish

the wisdom

of the world?

For since

in the wisdom

of God

the world

did not know

God through wisdom,

it pleased God

through the folly

of what we preach

to save those

who believe.

For Jews

demand signs

and Greeks

seek wisdom,

but we preach

Christ crucified,

a stumbling block

to the Jews

and folly

to Gentiles,

but to those

who are called

both Jews

and Greeks,

Christ the power

of God

and Christ

the wisdom

of God.

For the foolishness

of God

is wiser

than men

and the weakness

of God

is stronger

than men.

Christ

is the power

of God

and Christ

is the wisdom

of God

and Christ

displays the power

of God

and the wisdom

of God

by dying

on the cross

for our sins.

Talk about something

so unfathomable,

so wondrous,

so unimaginable

that God

would send

his only son

to die

for us.

How can we

fathom

Jesus dying

for us?

We're people

who can't even

fathom

when others

do favors

for us.

We're people

who can't even

fathom

when others

offer to buy

a meal

for us.

We say,

oh,

why are you

doing this?

You don't need

to do this.

I don't deserve

this.

But this Jesus,

the son

of the living

God,

willingly

gave his

life for our

sins

by dying

the most

humiliating

death on the

cross so that

we sinful

beings can be

in right

relationship

with God

so that we

can behold

his glorious

power and

wisdom and

share an

eternal life

with him.

To this

foolish world

full of folly,

they see the

gospel as

folly.

I remember

when I first

encountered the

love of God.

in high school

and I just

began to

fathom the

gravity of

Jesus dying

for my sins.

I was a

mess.

Weeping at

my bed,

I asked God,

why?

Why would

you die for

me?

It's so

ridiculous that

such a big

God would

die for such

a small

being like

me.

Why have

you chosen

me?

I don't

deserve this.

You didn't

have to do

this.

To our

foolish world's

understanding of

wisdom,

this is the

most reckless,

nonsensical,

unwise thing

that God

would do for

us.

Paul even

says so in

1 Corinthians

1.

The word of

the cross,

the gospel,

is folly to

those who are

perishing.

the difference

for us

believers,

however,

is this.

We recognize

and accept

the miraculous

salvation that

we've received

from Jesus

on the cross

as a gift

of grace.

Yes,

we don't

deserve this

salvation.

Yes,

the salvation

that we

receive through

Jesus'

sacrifice does

not make

sense.

Why would

such a holy

and mighty

God give

his son

for us?

It doesn't

make sense.

But God,

being infinitely

gracious and

loving toward

us,

gave us

his only

son,

Jesus,

as the

atonement

for our

sins,

to give

us the

opportunity

to accept

this gracious

gift of

salvation,

to be in

right and

eternal

relationship

with him.

Jesus,

who is

the great

word,

the logos

of God,

and the

wisdom of

God,

became our

righteousness,

our

sanctification,

and our

redemption,

so that putting

our faith in

him will be

the greatest

wisdom we

could ever

receive.

Through the

cross and the

resurrection,

Jesus is

magnified as

the power and

the wisdom of

God.

And when Jesus

comes again,

he'll bring to

completion the

good work that

he began in

us.

And we'll be

able to see

clearer than

ever and

understand better

than ever God's

infinite wisdom

in our lives

manifested through

his son,

Jesus.

Church,

earthly wisdom

will bring some

level of benefit

and success to

our lives in

this life and

in this world,

but it's also

going to surely

fail us and

disappoint us

sooner than

later.

Earthly wisdom

will not be what

saves us,

for that's what

only godly

wisdom,

the logos,

the wisdom

that is Jesus

can do.

And so amidst

the fragility,

the futility of

earthly wisdom,

let us trust in

God and his

eternal word,

who is Jesus

Christ,

our greater

and more

perfect wisdom.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Lord, we

confess that

time and time

again, we're just

so enamored by

the wisdom of

this world,

which is actually

foolish folly,

Lord.

Lord, we confess

that we often

try to take our

life into our own

hands, that we

try to take control,

that we try to

trust fully in our

own wisdom, the

wisdom of this

world, to make

much of our own

lives.

Lord, we confess

that that is

idolatry.

Because if we

don't trust in

you, we don't

put you in the

first place,

Lord.

Lord, help us to

be a church.

Help us to be a

people who look

to Christ as our

greater wisdom.

Lord, help us to

be a people when

we're faced with

the folly, the

foolishness, the

hardships, and the

disappointments of

this life.

Help us to look to

you when our

wisdom disappoints us

and fails us,

knowing that you

are our greater

wisdom, that you

are our perfect

wisdom manifest in

your son, Jesus.

Thank you for being

our greater wisdom

and filling us with

hope of a greater

future because you

are our wisdom.

You are our

eternal word,

Lord.

We thank you,

Lord.

We love you, and

we pray all this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.