Proverbs | Wisdom Is Calling (July 9th, 2017) - Mike Armstrong

Proverbs chapter 1.

Proverbs 1 · chapter mention

Alright, would you turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 1 right now?

Proverbs 1 · chapter mention

And as you're getting kind of yourself situated there, a childhood memory of mine that kind of you know really stands out to me is the time where I was, I'm thinking I was probably in grade four.

I think I was in grade four.

My younger brother would have been in grade two, and I remember we were living uh in Barrie at the time.

And I don't know if you've been up to like Kempenfeld Bay and kind of the park that's down there uh on uh right on Lake Simcoe I remember we were down there one evening, uh kind of playing at the park as we would often do.

And I remember it was getting a little bit late, and my brother and I were on those, you know, those like horse, those metal horse things on the spring that kind of go back and forth?

I guess we like those.

We were on we were on those, and the and then the evening was kind of wearing on, and my parents like, all right, we gotta get going, it's it's bedtime.

And so they're like, Michael, right, as my mom called me, Michael, Kevin, you know, time time to go home.

And and my brother and I were kind of like, no, we're not gonna go.

And we kind of had we had this smile on our face.

And my parents were like, no, come on, you gotta go.

And over and over they were calling us, like, come on, come on, we got we gotta get going, we gotta walk to the car, we gotta go home, it's time for bed.

And my brother and I were like, nope, not gonna go.

And so what did my parents do?

My parents slowly started to walk away, right?

And walk towards the parking lot where, of course, the car was.

And it was actually a pretty long walk.

And so we watched them, okay, get further and further and further away, and we were like, nope, and we were kind of smiling, we had this kind of this giddy kind of like fear almost that was kind of going on, and I can't believe my parents are just walking away, right?

That's how we were feeling.

Until I mean, and what do you think my parents did?

They got into the car and drove away.

And I remember, you know, we we see them get into the car, they pull out, and they drive down Lakeshore.

My dad even has the nerve to do one of these to us, turns at the light, and then disappears.

And my brother and I are like like, and we couldn't tell, was this the greatest thing ever or the worst thing ever?

Only here's what we didn't realize.

We didn't realize that it was just my dad that jumped in the car.

Right?

My mom was actually hiding behind another vehicle, which tells you how amazing my parents are, right?

Watching just to make sure uh that we were okay.

Now, obviously, okay, obviously my dad came back, okay, and obviously all of that was uh was in good fun.

Right?

We were having a good time with it.

But in our passage today, what we're gonna look at in Proverbs chapter one is we're gonna see wisdom, uh uh that wisdom is personified as a woman calling, right?

Calling out, calling out to God's people, right?

Calling out to us, you know, uh urging, urging us that to receive her, right?

To receive her words, to receive the good things that that wisdom brings into our lives, you know, urging us to receive her counsel and to heed her advice, you know, and and even insisting that we would turn back from our foolish ways and and really embrace her before we experience any kind of you know dangerous pitfalls or or even disaster.

Now, obviously, I you know I don't know exactly where all of you are at in your you know walks with the Lord here this morning, but uh but perhaps you know wisdom has been calling out to you recently.

Right?

Perhaps you've kind of sensed that.

The Holy Spirit Himself has been kind of pressing on you, you know, urging you to make that choice, you know, or don't make that decision.

That's just gonna take you to a bad place.

That's that's not gonna be wise.

Don't make that mistake.

Right?

Wisdom is calling out to you, saying, saying, listen to me.

You know, I want what's best for you because what?

Because I love you.

Right?

That is the the voice of the Lord.

Okay, but maybe, just maybe, you're kind of like my brother and I in the park that evening.

You know, and wisdom is calling out to you, but you're like, nope, not gonna listen, not gonna follow, not gonna heed the advice, only for you, and for in this situation, it's no joke.

Right?

It's it's it's not a it's not a laughing matter, it's not a game, it's not innocent.

Okay, there are there are real consequences and blessings uh at stake here.

You know, life is just, and I'm sure you know this, life is full of multiple opportunities to make the wise move or make the foolish one.

And so, really, the question for us today is what's it gonna be?

Right?

What's it gonna be for you?

What's it gonna be for me and for us as a church?

Are we going to heed the call of wisdom or or not?

Well, hopefully you're there, Proverbs chapter one.

We're gonna read now, 20 down to the end, 20 to verse 33.

Why don't you follow along with me?

It says, Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice, at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, at the entrance of the city gates she speaks.

How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

If you turn at my repro reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you, I will make my words known to you, because I have called and you have refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel, and would have none of my reproof.

I will also laugh at your calamity, I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you, then they will call upon me, but I will not answer.

They will seek me diligently, but will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel and despis all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.

For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.

But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease without dread of disaster.

Father God, as we talked about last week, and we will continue to talk about for the rest of this summer, Lord, we need wisdom.

Lord, we need wisdom.

We recognize that that true wisdom comes from you, Lord.

We recognize that that we are fickle beings.

Lord, and we often just give in to foolish patterns, even when we know it's only gonna bring problems, it's only gonna cause damage, there will only be consequences in it.

Lord, I pray that we would be wise.

Lord, not just again filled with knowledge or understanding, but actually doing those things.

And so, God, we just submit ourselves before you now.

We humble ourselves before you and cry out to you, Lord, help us, Lord, make us wise, Lord, in the call of wisdom that is coming to all of us constantly, Lord.

I pray that we would make wise choices.

Lord, I pray that we would listen.

Lord, I pray that you would make us mature.

Lord, I pray that we would glorify your name in all of it.

God, would you help us now?

Open up your word to our minds and our hearts, Lord.

Encourage us, challenge us, equip us, build your church, Lord, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

All right, so a mini recap of last Sunday.

We've started up our new series that we're gonna be working through uh this summer, just simply called Proverbs.

We're gonna be looking at wisdom from the book of Proverbs.

And so, uh, what is wisdom?

Right?

What is wisdom?

Well, this is on the screen here for you, right?

And you might want to jot this down.

This is important to know.

Wisdom is not mere knowledge, uh, but rather the application uh of knowledge.

All right, so for example, if knowledge is knowing how to use a gun, right?

If knowledge is knowing how to use a gun, uh, what is wisdom?

Well, wisdom is knowing when to use it, right, and when to keep it holstered.

Okay, so so wisdom, it's not simply book smarts, right?

Wisdom is not mere theological, you know, understanding or giving articulate answers at small group, you know, or the advice that you give to people.

No, wisdom is is you and I actually living in line with the knowledge that we have.

All right, so hopefully that's a bit of a recap and helps you understand.

We're gonna be coming back to this kind of as we go uh throughout the summer.

All right, so here's the first thing.

You've got notes there, hopefully.

I see some pens ready to rock.

All right, let's go.

Wisdom is calling for me, but do I love foolish things more?

Right?

Do I love foolish things more?

An important question for all of us here today.

Take a look at verse 20 as we work through these verses, all right?

This is what it says.

It says, Wisdom cries aloud in the street.

In the markets, she right raises her voice.

At the head of the noisy street, she cries out.

At the entrance of the city gates, she speaks.

And so what we really see here is King Solomon, who wrote a bulk of the Proverbs, and he wrote this section for sure.

What he does for us here is he really paints a picture for us.

Right?

And he he gets us to imagine wisdom as a woman crying out in the middle of a busy city, right?

Crying out to the people.

And so you can kind of imagine the scene here, can't you?

Right?

She's pleading with people to receive what she has to offer.

Would you receive this gift?

I want to, I want to give this to you.

I I want to help you.

But as you can probably imagine, as you kind of close your eyes, maybe even and and kind of put yourself at the scene, what are most people doing?

Most people are just kind of like walking by.

And most people are ignoring the call.

Most people are like, I don't want to make eye contact, right?

And and I just wanna go about my business and do what I want.

And so they're not they're not listening to wisdom.

Right?

And so what exactly does she say?

Right?

She's crying out.

What does she say specifically?

Well, take a look at verse 22.

It says this.

She says, How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

Right?

So this is what she is, this is just what she's proclaiming amidst the city.

Right now, when we see words in Proverbs like simple and scoffer and fool, right, all of those kinds of words are used generally speaking to show us what you know the opposite of wisdom is.

Right?

It's to show us what a person who does not receive wisdom and act upon it uh is and becomes, right?

They become a simple, they become a scoffer, they become uh a fool.

Right?

And so that's what it generally means, but that doesn't mean that these three words, and there are other words in Proverbs as well that we'll get to as it comes, but it doesn't mean that these three words are synonymous exactly.

Right?

It doesn't mean that, because each word kind of sheds a you know a slightly different light on what it means to reject uh wisdom.

All right, so take a look at the first word, right?

Simple.

Right?

It says a simple person, right?

That's somebody who is naive.

Right?

A simple person is someone who is naive, who is who is easily deceived or or easily uh persuaded.

Okay, so so it's a you know, it's a person who hasn't hasn't committed themselves kind of either way to to wisdom or or not.

They're like that they haven't made the decision.

There's no there's no commitment that I want to follow the Lord, I want to, I want to do what is wise, I you know, I want to shelf my desires and what I would like and and and make the Lord and chasing after him uh my priority.

Right?

I I'm not committed to that.

So I'm I'm just gonna allow myself to kind of do whatever I feel like in the moment.

I'm gonna I'm just gonna follow my roller coaster of emotions.

And emotions take us all over the place.

Right?

Like one day we feel like doing this, another day we feel like doing the opposite.

Right?

That is the that is the simple person, right?

Someone who just follows whatever advice is kind of popular at the time.

Right?

And yeah, that that sounds good today, but but next year or next month or even tomorrow, I might I might follow something else.

Right?

So the simple person, they haven't thought through the best course of action.

They're not a critical thinker, but they're not thinking through the potential ramifications and and blessings that come if I were to make the wise and correct choice here.

And so what do they continually do over and over again?

Make terrible decisions, right?

Constantly, again and again.

Right?

That's the simple person.

Right?

How about the scoffer?

Okay, the scoffer is the person that kind of you know just can't help but kind of mock everybody.

Right?

They're the person that, you know, just everybody and everything, they kind of they kind of get their shots in and they kind of take, you know, kind of take action that way.

You know, and maybe the scoffer is the you know, the person who's become a little bit jaded with reality, you know, and and kind of negative and and again, maybe too critical in general, and you know, even when they hear truth and they hear true wisdom, they kind of take shots, you know, at that too.

They're scoffers.

Right?

Now, if you know a scoffer, or are one, right?

What what what's the vibe that they give off?

What's the vibe of a scoffer?

They kind of act superior, don't they?

Right?

They they make fun of everything and and and everybody, thereby trying to set themselves apart as, you know, kind of looking down on them, and maybe a bit of a of an elitism going on uh in their hearts, maybe some some self-righteousness there, and everyone else is wrong, but you know, I am right, and there's about everything that you or or someone might say, they think they're the smartest person in the room, right?

They they might be good with words and appear, you know, intellectual and sound real bright, but listen, at the end of the day, all of their talk and all of their banter is just meaningless drivel, right?

If it's not in line with the scripture, it's not true wisdom, right?

Scoffers tend to be really you know impressed with themselves.

Right?

I've c I've kind of figured this out.

Right?

So they mercilessly take shots and and jab others and true wisdom constantly.

Okay, now notice what it says about the simple and the scoffers.

Okay, you see that?

It says, how long will you what love being simple?

How long will you love it?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing?

Right?

So it's it's not just that they're simple and that they're scoffers, but you know, they would really love to change.

You know, like I recognize this in myself, as maybe some of you are sensing even here in this moment, right?

And I and you're realizing that that's not good.

No, like it's not just that.

No, they they love being fools.

They think that their position is the good one and the best one and the right one.

They they think that the the wrong things that they're doing are actually the right things.

They love it.

And they love foolish things more than wisdom.

You know, and they they're they're deceived.

And they're really just a pig in mud about it.

They're just living the dream.

Right?

This is you know, this is the way it should go, this is the way it is.

You know, or so they think, of course.

Now, before we, you know, start picturing all of the people in our minds that we think are simple and and scoffers and the people that really need to hear this or whatever, let's, you know, let's really look at ourselves, all right?

That's what we need to do uh as the church.

Let's really, you know, kind of kind of dig deep here and and kind of look at you know our own hearts uh in this matter.

You know, God is calling us to wisdom here.

That's what we need to uh understand.

But the question is, do I love foolish things more?

You know, is that me?

Is that is that you?

We've got something here for you.

Ten signs that I love my foolish ways, but might not realize it.

All right, you're ready for these?

Okay, if you got a pen, you can jot them down if you like.

Here's the first one.

Okay, I isolate myself from community.

Right?

Now you may be you may be foolish, but you're like, maybe I am foolish, but I just I don't see it.

Right?

Maybe I'm blind here.

What are some ways that can, you know, maybe what are some signposts in my life that may show me that I'm I'm being foolish?

Well, here's the first one you isolate yourself from community.

Right?

You're you're kind of the lone, you got the lone ranger, you know, approach to to life and faith and and all of that.

And you know, I don't I don't need people around me, and I would way rather be you know alone.

And you know, what ends up happening though when you when you isolate yourself from community?

Well, you you lose perspective real quick, right?

Because we need other people to sharpen us and other people to point us to God's standard.

When we are by ourselves and we don't allow people into our circle, and godly people, especially into our inner circle, you know, they continually call us to God's standard, and if we're not going down that road, we tend to think that what we think is truth.

And after a while we become, you know, kind of deceived by all of that.

You know, and we can easily assume that we're right, and we start to see everybody else as wrong.

And maybe you know kind of look down on the notion of community and you know, what's the what's with small groups?

And you know, I don't think we really need that in the church.

And why would I serve with a team?

And you know, why would I have accountability in my life?

And why would you know if if that's the road you're going down, you know, it's a sign that you might like your foolish ways because God created life to be in community.

Right?

I think we just spent like seven weeks in a series talking about that.

All right, so don't isolate yourself from community.

Here's the here's the second one.

I don't have deep convictions.

I don't have deep convictions.

This is huge, right?

Maybe you're the person who who's like, well, yeah, I don't I don't feel real strongly one way or the other about about this or that.

And so because of you, you're not, you know, you're not uh passionate about the truth.

You're not you're you know you're not passionate about you know what is right and and what is wise, and and if you don't have these deep, God-given, biblically sound convictions, then what are you gonna continue to do?

Make foolish choices, right?

And and and you would really be what what the this verse says here, you'd be a simple person, right?

You're easily swayed.

And you don't have convictions.

You continually fall into these sinful habits and these patterns and these cycles of sin over and over again because you're not driven by by deep convictions.

How about this one?

Number three, I talk more than I listen.

Okay, this is a sign that you might like might like your foolish ways more.

Right?

People that talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk.

Guess what?

They usually say something dumb.

Right?

Pretty important for a preacher to understand that.

Right?

But it's true.

Right?

Do you do you talk more than you listen?

More than you just quiet your heart before the Lord and and seek him?

Okay, a couple of verses for you to jot down from Proverbs.

Proverbs 13 verse 3.

Proverbs 13:3

Okay, 13 verse 3.

It says, Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life.

He who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

Right?

That's huge.

How about this?

Proverbs 21, verse 23.

Proverbs 21:23

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Right?

So the talk, talk, talk person who's constantly doing that and always has advice and is never quiet and dominates the conversation and discussion constantly, continually.

Listen, if that's you, uh you might love your foolish ways.

Here's the fourth one.

Yeah, I love happiness more than holiness.

I love happiness more than holiness.

Listen, this just sums up everybody in the world.

Okay, so you feel like, no, that's not me.

Yeah, it is.

It's me too, right?

It's it's all of us.

We we love happiness.

We we get married.

Why?

Because we think that our spouse is gonna make us more happy.

We think that that is their mission in life, and that is what they've been placed on earth for.

It's to make me happy.

No, God allows you to get married and brings you a spouse to make you holy, right?

That is he or she will be, you know, one of the greatest agents of your sanctification.

So I would just ask you this.

What drives you?

What drives you?

It is is it this this ravenous search for happiness in your life?

It's it's I I want money, and and I and I am yearning for that because then if I have money, then maybe I have power or I have, you know, I have money to buy all the things, right?

And I can, you know, I can get you know entertainment.

Maybe that's the thing that you're looking for.

It's you know, I just want I want rest, I want vacation, I want, you know, I want the cottage, I want.

You know, is it happiness?

Is that what drives you?

Or are you driven by holiness?

Listen, listen, if you are driven by happiness, you will make foolish decisions, right?

You will you really will, because at some point these things will be idols in your life.

And you're gonna want them more than you want the Lord, and they will let you down uh horribly.

Here's the fifth one I constantly justify my actions.

Right?

Is this you?

Like maybe you're here, maybe you're here last week and you're hearing the message, and it's on wisdom, and you know, I need wisdom, and you're hearing it already this morning, and and for You, you're like, yeah, but, yeah, but yeah, but yeah, but you're that person.

Right?

Every time anyone says anything or you come before the word of God, you're you know, well, yeah, but and then you justify the action that you're doing.

Right, and that and that's you.

And I don't I don't like hearing what I'm hearing.

I'm not heeding, you know, wise counsel and all of that, and right, that's not wise.

That's a sign that you love foolishness.

Constantly, you know, making excuses.

All of it uh eventually just leads to compromise.

Okay, ten signs that I love my foolish ways, but might not realize it.

Number six, I experience regret on a regular basis.

Does regret plague your soul?

You know, do you wake up in the morning thinking, why did I do that last night?

You know, are you like, you know, I had such great intentions, but but I I failed again.

You know, and for you it's that it's that nagging sense of regret constantly.

If if you have that quite often, you know, it it means that you're making foolish choices.

Here's the seventh one.

I'm great at seeing others' faults.

Right?

Are you the kind of person that has, you know, you think you've got everyone pegged?

Right?

Yeah, but he's still like this, and yeah, she's got this thing, and he, you know, on and on and on it goes, and you have, you know, you've summed everybody up in the room already, and you kind of know where they stand, you know what they need to work on, you know their faults, you know all of that.

Listen, you're a fool if that's you.

Because what always happens is those kinds of people don't near don't hold themselves to the that same standard nearly as much as they hold other people, right?

And so they're fools.

They're fools.

How about this one?

I'm lazy.

I'm lazy.

Okay, so this is the person who just constantly puts off changing, right?

And you you've heard the message, and and maybe your temptation will be to come every single week this this uh summer, and you're gonna hear message after message on wisdom, and you're like, yeah, I know I need to do that, but and you put it off.

Yeah, you know what?

I'm I'm I'm just gonna kind of take the summer off of my walk with the Lord.

There's such like a North American Christian thing to do, right?

I'm gonna wait till September and the kids are back in school.

That's like the busiest time ever, right?

No, do it now, right?

Like, don't be lazy, don't, don't put all of that stuff off.

Change.

Submit yourself to the Lord, cry out to Him.

Don't be lazy about it.

Ninth one.

I'm stubborn.

Right?

Stubbornness uh can be foolishness.

Right now, it can be it can be very good, okay, if your if your foolishness or sorry, if your stubbornness is in line with your convictions, and your convictions are in line with the scriptures.

You're like, no, I will, I will not compromise, I will not let anything unholy come before my eyes.

I refuse to do it.

Right?

That's a good thing.

It's good to be stubborn in that way.

But if you're stubborn in the sense of, I will not change, I don't care what you're saying, Pastor, I don't care what my wife says, I don't care.

No.

That's stubbornness, right?

That's that's a sure sign of foolishness.

Really, what it means is you're full of pride, right?

And you're you're unteachable.

Ten signs that I love my foolish ways, but might not realize that last one.

I'm totally blind to all of the above.

Right?

You're going through all of this and you're like, I'm in the clear, I'm in the clear, I'm in the clear.

Like through all through nine, right?

If that's you, you're for sure falling into these, all right?

I mean, there's not one of these ten things that I am not struggling with on some level in my own life.

Right?

This is just it.

Like, we do wrestle with these things and we do, you know, struggle.

If you're if you're unaware of this, it means that your heart is hardening.

It means that you're caught up in foolishness.

Okay, so a good question is, is there any hope for us, right?

I just feel the temperature in the room go, whoa, right?

Am I just like fully, thoroughly a fool?

Is there is there any hope for me whatsoever?

Absolutely there is.

Right, absolutely there is.

Take a look at verse 23.

Verse 23 says, if you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you.

I will make my words known to you.

Right?

That is incredible if you turn, right?

That is the picture of repentance right there.

Right?

I don't want to go in my foolish ways.

I don't want to go down this path that I'm going.

I want to turn back to the Lord in repentance.

I want to heed the rebuke.

I want to be wise.

Right?

And if you do that, what does it say will happen?

Well, it says here that the spirit of wisdom will be poured out on you.

Right?

Not like a couple of drops, right?

Like bucket, like ocean load of uh of wisdom poured out on your life.

That's amazing.

And remember, it doesn't mean that that you'll be given mere knowledge to kind of you know know what to do, because you know, wisdom isn't just knowledge, right?

Wisdom is knowledge applied.

So it means that God will actually give you the grace, he'll actually, you know, give you the ability to choose the right path and actually reject foolish things.

Right?

That's that's that's what it's saying here.

If you turn, he will help you, he will give you the ability, he will pour out his spirit on you.

And so listen, repentance is the starting point towards a life of profound wisdom.

If you want to be wise, start with repentance.

And again, listen, church, there's not a person in this room, myself included, who doesn't in some way love foolish things more than wisdom.

Right?

And we don't just like make a decision to never sin again and then and and then you know we're successful.

Right?

That's not the way that it works.

Sanctification is a process.

We have, you know, we have a flesh that that constantly chafes against our desires and and and wants to drag us down into the pit and and and wants to ruin us.

But thanks be to God, he is stronger, he is greater.

And so the call here, once again, as it continually is, it's repent of foolishness.

Right?

It's turn away from those things.

And and as you do that, as you cry out to the Lord, the Lord will give you a greater love and a greater passion for wisdom.

You're gonna want more of it.

Here's the second thing.

Wisdom is calling me.

So will I listen before it's too late?

Will I listen before it's too late?

Okay, verse 24, take a look at this.

I mean, this is the person who just like flat out refuses.

I'm not gonna accept wisdom, I'm not gonna listen to wisdom, I'm not gonna choose wisdom, none of it.

I'm, you know, thanks for you know the good words there, but you know, take a hike.

Right?

This is the person who's gone down that road, verse 24.

It says this, because I have because I have called and you refuse to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my repro reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity.

I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.

Now, when you read that, is your impression kind of like, wow, like Lady Wisdom, kind of harsh.

Right?

Like she's like, you know, kicking fools when they're down and stuff.

Like, really?

Is this what's happening?

Laughing and and and and mocking when when terror strikes?

Like, ouch.

Well, you need to understand this.

Okay, this these words here, they're they're not an expression of heartlessness.

And I don't care about you, and good, I'm glad that it's going badly for you, and you know, it's not that.

But more the laughter is more about the you know, the absurdity of foolishness and and the complete vindication of wisdom when when someone falls into a foolish trap.

Okay, uh, you know, have you ever watched those like fail videos?

You know, you see those online, and maybe you're following some of them on Instagram or something like that, and they're kind of hilarious, right?

And you know, I follow a few of those, and every once in a while I'm kind of snickering and I'll show Ange and all that, but but you've seen some of them before, right?

And you watch, and it's like it's like a guy climbing up like a really tall tree, and then he goes up to the top branch and he starts to like inch his way out to where it gets skinnier and skinnier and skinnier.

You're like, I I know what's gonna happen here, right?

And then and then what happens, of course?

The bow breaks, right?

The the branch snaps, and the guy goes bam, bam, like snaps on his back and flips and falls and lands, and his buddies are like laughing at him, and you probably you know laugh as well.

Only a big part of you, the the laughter coming out about you is like, oh, what else were you expecting, bro?

Like this is this is what this was only and and ever gonna be the the outcome of that.

Like nothing good was gonna happen.

That's really the mindset here of Lady Wisdom.

Right?

Like, what were you expecting?

Right?

You you make these these poor decisions, and and you've made them before, and you you've fallen terribly before and and brought these consequences on yourself, and yet you continue to do it again?

Like, this is this is laughable.

Why why are you doing this?

You know, what what's the point of all of this?

You know, this is this is the approach that wisdom is is coming at it here with.

You know, of course it of course this disaster occurred.

Okay, you take a look at verse 28.

This kind of continues the thought.

It says, then, okay, then they will call upon me, but I will not answer.

They will seek me diligently, but will not find me.

All right, you notice that too.

Again, it might seem kind of harsh at first.

Now, we need to be really careful that we don't understand this as uh as as prayer, strictly speaking.

Right?

It's not saying that when you cry out to the Lord honestly and and truthfully, even in your brokenness, that he's not gonna hear you.

That's not what, that's not what you know this is saying here.

Rather, this is the idea that when when fools are are finally ruined by their disaster, by the horrific decisions and awful decision-making skills, and you know, their their refusal to listen when wisdom calls.

What's gonna happen when they're kind of caught up in that is in that moment they're gonna they're gonna kind of feverishly look for wisdom and and they're gonna look for a for a way out.

Not to truly be wise, that's what we're studying here, but what?

To get out from underneath the consequences of their dumb decisions.

Right?

This is what they do.

And in in this moment, this is where wisdom says, you're gonna look all you want, but you're not gonna find me.

It's too late.

It's too late for you, and you're gonna be left to s to kind of stew in your own juices.

You're gonna be left holding the bag.

Right?

And the consequences are gonna be gonna be felt, they're gonna be painful, they're gonna be very real.

Now, verse 29, take a look at that.

It says this, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.

Now remember, last week we actually looked at that, right?

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, right?

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and and wisdom here is saying you didn't you didn't choose that.

You didn't you didn't decide to commit your your way to uh to that in the power uh of the Lord.

Okay, you didn't choose the fear of the Lord, you would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproofs.

So this is showing us that there was warning after warning after warning after warning, right?

You had your chance, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, they shall have the fill of their own devices.

What you reap is what you sow.

That's what this is saying here.

For the simple, this is this is this is wild, for the simple are killed by their turning away.

And the complacency of fools destroys them.

These are heavy words, these are these are strong words for us.

But the question is clear, right?

Wisdom is calling.

So will you and I listen before it's too late?

Right?

Will we listen?

Now listen, but by too late, we don't mean that that God is going to reject his followers.

Okay, we're not saying that.

I don't believe the scriptures at all teach that once you are truly saved by Jesus Christ, that you can lose your salvation.

I don't think that's biblical.

I think that's wrong.

If you are if you are saved, if you are truly saved by Jesus Christ, you're always saved.

And so let's remember Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Nothing can separate us from the love of God, including our own foolishness.

So that that's not what it's saying.

It's not saying, you know, you better, you better follow me before it's too late and I reject you.

Okay, that's that's not it.

No, too late means wise up before it all blows up in your face.

Right?

The Lord will, in his, you know, in his wisdom and his understanding and in his sovereignty, he will let things detonate in our lives.

Right?

He will he will use those situations to to discipline us.

He will use those situations to humble us.

You ever been there before?

I have.

Right?

It is painful, uh, it is it is awful, it is not fun whatsoever.

But listen, it is of the Lord.

It is of the Lord.

But listen, he's urging us and he's you know, he's calling us to heed wisdom before it gets to that point.

You know, stop making those poor decisions because the the consequences are just gonna continue to pile up and pile up and pile up until you know the dam breaks and it all comes flooding your life and brings it to utter ruin.

I mean, that's the that's the warning of these verses here today for for God's church.

Okay, but listen, I think I think sometimes the the truly scary thing about consequences and not heeding wisdom is that consequences aren't always immediately felt.

Do you notice that?

I think maybe the you know a classic example of that is partying.

Right?

Maybe you you'll you grew up in a home where your you know your parents and you maybe heard it at church before, and you know, don't go down that road, and you know, don't abuse alcohol, and and maybe it's it's drugs too, and you know, don't go down that.

That will bring your life to utter ruin.

And maybe for a while you're like, yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna heed that advice.

Right?

I'm gonna I'm gonna follow that.

But then what happens?

You get a little bit older, and you know, you get a little bit more independent, and you know, maybe I wanna I wanna try this and I want to dabble in it, and what happens is you do that, you dabble in it, and then what kind of consequences happen?

None.

Not right away.

And all you're left with is, hey, this is pretty fun.

And and I don't know what my parents were talking about, and they're just too old, right?

And they don't they don't get it, and you know, the church is just being too legalistic about these things, and and and you know, what what are they talking about?

And and I'm just gonna continue to do this until you dabble and dabble more, and on and on it goes until what?

Disaster strikes, right?

And you're filled with regret, and you're filled with pain.

And, you know, uh a drunken or drug-filled evening can turn into lifelong consequences, right?

And yes, you didn't you didn't experience that right away, but it will happen, and it will happen soon.

And listen, I don't know who needs to hear that specifically uh here this morning, and really think about that.

Especially if you're like a young person and just sort of, you know, kind of spreading your wings and you know, you're figuring out the you know, high school and the college scene and and all of that.

Listen, be careful, be wise.

Follow the Lord in this.

Listen to people who have gone before you and have made foolish decisions and have paid the price for it.

Listen, that's just one example.

But if that's you or you know, there's some other area of your life where you're you know you're kind of playing with fire, you know, this is this is kind of fun right now, and and and all I see is that, and you know, I don't feel really guilty.

I I I don't feel bad.

I was expecting to.

I was expecting, you know, the roof to cave in the second that I did this, but you know, it's not happening.

Listen, are you gonna listen to wisdom before it's too late?

Are you gonna listen?

Are you gonna heed the call now?

You might be thinking, well, how do I do that?

How do I listen to wisdom?

Well, here are four wise moves to make now before it's too late.

All right, four wise moves.

First one get low.

Okay, get low.

This is the idea of humbling yourself.

Okay, humbling yourself.

This is an action that you need to do.

Right?

The Bible, you maybe heard me say this before, the Bible never says be humble.

Right?

As that's something you just kind of need to act out and and and sort of you know put on a front.

That's not what it is.

It says humble yourself.

Get low.

Get on your knees, cry out to the Lord.

Lord, I sense myself going down this road.

I sense that it's gonna be painful.

Maybe I don't care like I should.

Lord, would you have mercy on my soul?

Lord, would you help me and stop me in my tracks?

Lord, would you give me the desire to make the right decisions and the right choices here, even though I don't have the desire currently to make those right choices?

Humble yourself.

Pray until your heart yields to Christ.

Well, I don't really feel like praying.

So what?

Do it anyways.

Pray until the Lord grabs your heart and then keep praying some more.

Ask Him for mercy.

Get low.

That's the first one.

Here's the second one.

Get perspective.

Get perspective.

Well, where do we find that ultimately?

Well, we find it in God's Word.

Right?

You need to get some perspective here.

Again, you're starting to think what you want to think.

And the scriptures are kind of like, I'm just gonna go, you know, leave the Bible, you know, kind of over here on my nightstand or whatever, and now I'm just gonna kind of live my life the way I want to, according to the wisdom that I think I have and that I want, right?

And you're losing perspective.

Now maybe you're like, well, I don't I don't really, I don't really want to read the Bible.

Who cares?

Read it anyways, right?

You need to.

Listen, I heard someone say once that only children only do what they want to do.

Right?

Adults, mature people, fight through that.

They master their desires, they master their impulses, and do what's right, even if they don't feel like it.

So listen, I challenge you this morning, and so many of us can't, again, we get lost in the Bermuda triangle of summertime, don't we?

Right?

And and constantly we come back in September and life gets kind of back to normal.

It's like, yeah, I need to like get my life back on the rails again and my walk with the Lord.

And you know, it's been a couple of months since I've been in the Bible, uh, because and I don't really feel like it, but I know I need to.

Don't fall into that trap.

Don't do it.

Get some perspective, get before God's word.

You don't want to, who cares?

Do it anyways.

Do it anyways, and allow the Lord to slowly build that desire.

Right?

He will do it as you as you discipline yourself.

So get some perspective.

Listen, get some get some godly counsel.

That's perspective as well.

Come before somebody that get somebody that you know and that you trust and that is godly, that can kind of help you think these things through.

That can that can show you, listen, am I making a mistake here?

Can you pray for me?

That's perspective.

Third one, get a plan.

Get a plan.

Right?

There's nothing worse than like repentance, right?

With no plan to change.

Right?

So what you're what we're really waiting for in that moment is a feeling.

Lord, would you give me this feeling of remorse?

Lord, would you give me this like this sense of where I feel bad about the unwise decisions that I've made?

And you know, if I feel bad, you know, that that's what I'm going for, that'll be enough.

That won't be enough.

You need a plan.

Right?

If you just like feel bad in this moment, or you know, because we're gonna do communion in a minute, and you know, you you know spend time you know drinking the juice and taking the bread and have a bit of you know time with you and the Lord, that that's that's gonna be no, you need to have a plan.

Right?

You need to have a plan.

You need to you need to get low, you need to have perspective get perspective, get a plan.

Plan for success.

Right?

I don't want to make these foolish choices.

And let's say it's like hanging out with the route wrong crowd, right?

And maybe maybe that's you, or or maybe it's not, you know, on the outside doesn't look like the wrong crowd, but are they really pushing you in the right direction?

Do they do they love the Lord?

The strength of people that they that you need around you, is is that them?

Well, if they're not, then why continue to hang out with those people constantly, over and over and over again?

Have a plan.

No, I'm gonna I'm gonna hang out with these other people instead.

Right?

I'm gonna again, we need a plan.

We need a plan for reading scripture, we need a plan for prayer, we need a plan for uh this next one.

Okay, four wise moves to make now before it's too late.

Get accountable.

Okay, get accountable, get people around you, right?

Who love you, who care for you, who again we we need to stop thinking that we can do this alone.

Now that is like such foolishness.

Maybe for you you've been like, I don't know if I want to, you know, I I just wanna come on Sunday mornings and then kind of leave, but I don't really want to get involved in the church.

I you know, the small group, you know, idea thing kind of sounds awkward and weird.

And I don't want to go there and you know, I'm just gonna contend to live, you know, in my own little bubble by myself.

No, get accountable.

Right?

You need people.

God created life to be a community of life, right?

He commit He created life to be relational.

Right?

And so we need people to help us with all this.

We need people to pray for us when we're struggling.

We need people to encourage us when we're down.

Right again, we need to stop thinking that we can do this solo.

Make these moves now before it's too late, before ruin comes upon you.

Now listen, I love how this passage ends.

This is like the greatest, like kind of ending verse to all of this right here.

Verse 33.

Take a look.

It says, But whoever listens, okay, whoever listens to me will dwell secure and at ease without dread of disaster.

But how great is that?

I mean, don't you want to be in that place?

I'm secure, right?

I'm not I'm not I'm not rattled continually.

I'm not dealing with you know negative consequences of things that I've done.

I'm not, I don't lack peace and caught up in that turmoil of foolish living and and all of that.

I don't want to have this feeling of impending doom because I keep making foolish choices, and at some point this is all gonna get out in the open and it's all gonna make a mess and everything's gonna fall apart.

Make the wise move now, before it's too late.

And listen, while we're on the topic of you know, before it's too late, if you don't know Jesus Christ as Savior, would you trust him now?

Right?

Would you trust him right here in this moment?

Would you understand that he loves you?

Would you understand that that he died for you, that he offers you forgiveness?

He wants to wipe the slate clean of all the mistakes that you have made.

He wants to offer you uh entry into heaven, where you will have a brand new body on the other side of this life, where you will be with him, where there will be no more sin, where there will be no more consequences, where there will be no more tears or shame or you know this this threat of disaster, all of that will be done and gone.

Would you trust him today before it's too late?

Before it's too late, in the sense of, listen, we're not we're not promised tomorrow.

You know, we often live, you know, we have we have plans for what we're doing in our you know, after church today.

You know, we've got career plans that we want to engage in the fall.

We've got, you know, we want to go back to school, we want, you know, kids, whatever.

Right?

We've got all these plans.

Listen, we're not we're not guaranteed any of it.

So make the wise decision.

Embrace Christ as Savior.

Recognize your sinfulness, recognize your brokenness.

I'm not standing here on a you know on a pedestal looking down on you.

Right?

I I'm I'm with you on this.

I I need Christ as much as anybody.

You know, I would I would encourage you, I would implore you.

Allow me to turn the temperature up on you a little bit.

Trust the Lord Jesus Christ now before it is too late.

Before it's too late.

Admit your sin.

Ask Him to be your Savior.

Listen, that literally is the wisest move you will ever make.

Well, hey, we're gonna have a time of uh communion right now.

And I'm gonna have our worship team uh come on up, and uh, we've got some uh servers who are gonna be uh up here as well.

And uh this is an opportunity for us uh as a church to uh surrender our hearts to the Lord again, right?

Surrender them.

Communion is an opportunity for repentance, it's an opportunity for getting right with Christ as we remember his death on the cross, as we remember his broken body, we reflect on his shed blood, how all of that was to wipe out sin once and for all.

Right?

Would you would you think about these things?

Would you, as you kind of reflect on all of this and the worship team is gonna be playing?

Would you think about what are what are the areas of of my life where I've been foolish, where I've not been appreciating the gospel, where I'm I'm going down this wrong path?

Maybe it's been for years and years and years.

Maybe for you it's just recent, and I'm starting to dabble, starting to dabble, but it it's gonna come apart at some point.

Would you repent of these things?

Would you bring these things uh before the Lord?

Listen, uh, the way that we're gonna do this uh today is uh I'm gonna pray in just a second.

But then afterwards, uh you can just make your way up to the front uh when you're ready.

And uh, we've got uh a couple of trays here, and we've you're gonna find uh two cups double stacked, all right?

And so you're gonna find two cups together.

One cup has uh the cracker, which represents uh Christ's broken body on the cross.

In the other cup, you're gonna find uh juice, which represents Christ's shed blood.

And he did that for you and for me.

So listen, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, get your hearts right.

And then come up and take communion together with your church family.

And listen, if you don't know Christ as Savior, do what I just talked about.

Receive him today.

How awesome would it be if you literally made the best decision ever and trusted him.

Right?

We long to see that in our church.

We don't want to ever make the assumption that everyone here knows him just because we're gathered in a room on Sunday morning singing some songs and opening our Bibles.

Right?

So if you have not yet done that, two things.

Don't come up here.

Right?

You don't need to come up and take all of this.

The way I like to look at it is we don't want you to think that by you know drinking some juice and eating a cracker, that somehow brings you closer to God the Father.

Nothing you can do can bring you to God closer to God the Father.

Only Jesus does through the cross.

We need to rely on him and what he has done.

Amen?

Amen.

So let that just pass.

And instead consider how today could be the day of salvation.