Amen, everyone.
Father's Day is fast approaching, in case you weren't aware of that,
and haven't made that all-important purchase.
So I'm going to make a recommendation for you here.
It's called, it's a book called
The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook.
It's a great recommendation.
It's a great book to gather.
It's a book that lists a number of dangerous situations
that you can find yourself in
and how to deal with those dangerous situations.
It's a great blokey book to stick on a bookshelf or something like that.
It's actually a serious book.
These guys are not having a lend to themselves.
They're serious sort of survival trainer kind of guys.
And when I say dangerous situations, I mean dangerous situations.
For instance, page 46.
How, this is full of wisdom, right?
How to fend off a shark.
We all need to know that.
Page 64.
How to deal with a charging bull.
Page 57.
How to wrestle free from an alligator.
Which includes the immortal line.
I love this.
If its jaws are closed on something that you want to remove.
For example, a limb.
Tap it or punch it on the snout.
Now that's really helpful information.
This book, as I said, is totally serious.
It gives you instructions on how to deal with a bunch of worst case scenarios you find yourself in day by day.
Or in most cases, I think none of us find ourselves in those situations.
Such as page 54.
How to escape from a mountain lion.
Apparently, it suggests take your coat off and wave it up really big.
And it makes you look bigger than it is.
And it runs away like a pussycat.
And it goes on and on.
How about this one?
How to leap from a motorbike into a car.
But there's a key footnote.
There's a key footnote to this one.
And it says, remember that in many newer cars, only the front windows roll all the way down.
Key bit of information there.
If you're hoping to get all the way into the car.
Okay.
How about this one?
How to manoeuvre on the top of a train.
And again, a very, very helpful tip in the footnotes.
If a tunnel is approaching, lie down flat quickly.
Like, who hadn't thought of that?
And apparently, it's how to manoeuvre on the top of a train in order to get inside the train.
I find standing at the platform when the doors open the easiest way.
Personally, I'd recommend that.
Or how about this one?
Page 114.
How to land an aeroplane.
And it begins with the rather disconcerting sentence.
If the plane has only got one set of controls, it recommends you push, pull, drag, or carry the pilot out of the pilot seat first.
And then take the controls of the aeroplane.
Really helpful bits of information here.
I can imagine this is great bedtime reading.
This is a sort of wisdom that you want to pass on to your children.
So I'm thinking that it would be great to read to my kids.
And I could just...
And so, you know, how to deliver a baby in a taxi.
There's another one.
How to perform a tracheoctomy.
I could just imagine, you know, my girls, just tell me the tracheoctomy one again.
You know, just in case I might need to know that.
How to do it with a biro.
You can do that with a biro, apparently.
Anyway.
It's all the stuff that you need to survive.
And I've got to suggest that the book deals with situations that most of us will never, ever face.
By contrast, the book of Proverbs, which we're launching into for the next 10 weeks,
deals with things that we face every single day.
It's a book that is full of wisdom for living.
So if you're going to make it through life without making a total mess of it, we need wisdom.
That's what Proverbs is saying.
And every one of us, in fact, will make a mess of life if we don't find and we don't grow in wisdom.
That is, if we don't...
We can have love, but not wisdom.
And if we do have love, but not wisdom, we will harm people with the very best of intentions.
If we have courage, but not wisdom,
we will blunder boldly.
Such as jumping from a motorbike into the front window of a car.
You know, it takes wisdom not to do that sort of thing.
If you have technology, but not wisdom,
you will use the very best of ever communications ever invented
in order to broadcast stupidity.
If you have biblical truth, but not wisdom,
we will make the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus look ugly to people.
If you have revival in the church, but not wisdom,
you will use the power of God to put the church in reverse gear.
Wisdom is essential.
And so I would recommend the complete worst case scenario survival book for a laugh.
And I would also recommend it if you're planning on camping beside the East Gallagher River
sometime in the near future.
But Proverbs deserves our endless attention.
The great Billy Graham used to read a proverb a day every month.
Every month he'd read through the whole book of Proverbs.
And he did that for years and years and years
because he wanted to grow in wisdom.
So I think it deserves our endless attention.
And yet for most case, for most Christians,
what we tend to do with the book of Proverbs is we dive in
and we grab one proverb here, a proverb there, a proverb there,
our particular favourite proverbs.
And we pin everything on those.
We actually look at the whole book
and investigate what the entirety of wisdom is saying.
T.S. Eliot spoke to our times, I think,
when he asked these three questions.
He said, where is the life that we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom that we have lost in knowledge?
And where is the knowledge that we have lost in information?
Just sound bites of information.
That's the way we operate at the moment.
We get on our phones, we look at Wikipedia
and just particles of information floating across us.
And I think what we need is we need Proverbs to counsel us
in how to live well.
And that's what's at stake here.
It's not just about surviving and it's not just about dying,
but in fact about how do we live and how do we live well.
That's what Proverbs is about.
This book works well, I believe, when we slow down
and we think and we listen and we journal and we pray.
I think we need to do that.
It's time to get off the information high,
Googling stuff all the time,
and just to pick up the Bible, go deep and grow in wisdom.
That's what we're seeking to do in the next 10 weeks
and hopefully beyond this.
So let's first of all, Proverbs chapter 8 just read out to us.
In verses 10 to 11, it reveals for us the importance of wisdom.
It says,
Choose my instruction instead of silver,
knowledge rather than choice gold,
for wisdom is more precious than rubies
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Notice the progression.
Wisdom is speaking and wisdom says,
I am more important than silver.
Then it progresses and says,
I'm more important than gold.
And then it says, I am more important than rubies.
And then finally, wisdom gets down to being greater than anything
than you could ever possibly desire.
That's a pretty high call.
Wisdom is infinitely more important
than all the wealth and the fame and the power in the world.
Far more important than the greatest of circumstances in this world
where you've got all the wealth and the power
and the influence and the beauty and everything else.
Far greater than having all the greatest circumstances in the world
is in fact the ability to handle and to grow
and to flourish whatever life circumstances are.
And why is that important?
Because only a tiny, tiny minority of people
in fact get their life circumstances
where they actually want them to be.
And absolutely no one ever keeps them there.
No one.
Not a single person.
Wisdom is infinitely more important.
There are plenty of people in this world
who have got talent and wealth and intellect
and charisma and credentials and beauty
and their lives have unraveled
and there are people who have got very little
of all of those things
and in fact they have lived life very, very well
and the difference is wisdom.
Wisdom is not the same as moral goodness.
It's related to it but it's not identical to it.
It's obvious that to be unethical is stupid in the long run.
Wisdom is not being less than ethical
but it is far more than just being ethical.
For example, it is good and right to help a person
from a position of poverty, to help them out of their poverty.
It's noble, it's good, it's right
and you can do that completely, totally ethically
and still completely screw up their life at the same time.
That is, you can do it with a lack of wisdom.
If you do not understand all the complexities
that are associated as to why people might be in poverty
you can screw it up.
See, it's not even good enough to be people
of high principles and morals.
We need to be people of wisdom
or we will ruin our lives and the lives of other people.
We need wisdom so much.
You know, to make a bunch of decisions in this world
it is, all you basically need is knowledge.
That is, with the right knowledge
you can pick the right car.
It's a Toyota Prado.
You know, it's straightforward.
With the right sort of knowledge
you can, you know, get the right medication.
You can build a bridge.
You can fill out the form correctly.
But what about the decisions that we face every day
across all of our lives
such as, who should I marry?
Who should I date?
Who, you know, should I, in fact, break up?
What career should I go into?
What school should I enroll into?
Should I buy this house?
Should I move to that house?
Where do I live?
What church do I go to?
Should I change jobs?
Should I confront the person right now
or should I just hold back a little bit?
Should I take that risk or just play it safe?
That's the multitude of decisions
that we make every day.
And the rules don't apply.
There's no rules that says
that person is the person you should marry.
And a wrong decision in some or any of those things
can be a real disaster.
And the moral rules don't cover them.
They might give you a broad framework,
but they don't cover the specifics.
And knowledge and facts and principles aren't enough.
I'd go as far as to saying
that the reason why so many of us
are so stuck and anxious and stressed
is because we don't have the wisdom
that we need to deal with the situations
we're currently facing.
It's not just a matter of knowledge.
It's not a matter of IQ or moral principles.
It's a matter of wisdom.
And we are perishing for the lack of wisdom.
It's more important than silver,
more important than gold and jewels,
more important than anything you could possibly imagine.
So what is it?
Verses 8 to 16, we have wisdom speaking again.
And we get a few clues as to what wisdom is here.
It says,
I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence.
I possess knowledge and discretion.
To fear the Lord is to hate evil.
I hate pride and arrogance,
evil behaviour and perverse speech.
Counsel and sound judgment are mine.
I have insight, I have power.
By me, kings reign and rulers,
issues, decrees that are just.
By me, princes, governors, nobles,
all who rule on earth.
So there are at least three things here
that wisdom speaks about
and gives us an idea of what wisdom is.
Notice firstly that wisdom has insight in verse 14.
The word insight there is translated from a Hebrew word
which basically means to know how things really are.
It's understanding of how things really are.
Secondly, it also says that wisdom dwells with prudence.
That's not an old-fashioned girl's name.
In verse 12, so it's not,
she's hanging out with prudence,
wisdom's with prudence.
It's actually not probably the best English translation.
A better translation is the word shrewdness.
Shrewdness, not prudence.
Shrewdness here,
we often regard it as a negative thing,
but here shrewdness is positive.
It's not scheming and plotting.
It's a resourceful cunningness about life.
Wisdom here is knowing how things not just are,
but how life works,
how things happen in life.
And thirdly, verse 15, it says,
by me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just.
So wisdom is not just about how things are
and how things actually work,
but it's knowing what to do about it.
It's very practical.
So wisdom is very, very practical.
It's not just theoretical.
Think of the difference
between the great English detective Sherlock Holmes
and his sidekick, Dr. Watson.
A client would walk into Holmes' apartment
in 221B Baker Street,
and he could...
Holmes would take one look at the person
and know 19 things about them,
just like that.
And he'd always say to Watson,
it's elementary, elementary, my dear Watson, elementary.
And Dr. Watson would see the same person
but not have the same insight or the same shrewdness.
The not obvious, the non-obvious,
was obvious to Holmes,
whereas it wasn't so much to Watson.
Holmes sees clues.
Watson sees a blur.
Holmes sees distinctions.
Just had more clarity.
So what is wisdom?
Gerhard von Rad,
a 20th century German theologian,
you have to be German to have a name like that,
wrote a book called Wisdom in Israel,
and it's a pretty hard, difficult book,
so you just read the conclusion,
that gives you the answer.
And in it,
he gives a definition of wisdom
according to Proverbs.
And it's a great definition.
He says,
wisdom is becoming competent
with regard to the realities of life.
I love the word becoming.
It's saying there that wisdom
is something that you grow in.
It's becoming competent
with regard to the realities of life.
It's knowing how things really happen,
how things really are,
and knowing what to do about them.
So it's intensely practical.
It's not theoretical.
Kind of ironic,
me doing a sermon like this.
It is the art of being successful
across all of life.
It's knowing how life works
and living it well.
And wisdom finds its seat,
its centre,
not in the mind,
but in the centre of the being,
what the Bible calls
the heart of the individual,
the soul of the individual,
which incorporates the intellect
and everything else,
it's the centre of,
the heart of the person
is the centre of the person's
moral and intellectual decision-making.
But there's this huge problem
in gaining wisdom.
The problem is highlighted
in verses 22 onwards.
And here we have wisdom speaking.
And wisdom says,
I was there
when this world was made.
That's the bottom line.
So let me have a read through here.
It says,
The Lord brought me forth
as the first of his works
before his deeds of old.
I was formed long ago,
ages ago,
at the very beginning
when the world came to be.
When there were no watery depths,
I was given birth.
When there were no springs
overflowing with water,
before the mountains were settled
in the place,
before the hills,
I was given birth.
Before he made the world
or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth,
I was there
when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon
on the face of the deep,
when he established the clouds
above and fixed securely
the fountains of the deep,
when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters
would not overstep its command,
when he marked out
the foundations of the earth,
then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight
day by day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.
And so what we have here
in Proverbs 8
is wisdom being there
as God creates
the created order,
brings everything into being.
And the creation account here
is a unique creation account.
You see,
most ancient societies
either regarded the creation
of the material world
as an accident
of the gods,
it's like they lend against something
and the universe is made,
that was a bit of a mistake,
didn't mean that to happen.
Or it's a result
of the gods having a battle
and they create the world
for some strange reason.
And here it says
the creation account
is based on the wisdom of God.
It was deliberate.
There's a sense here
of this overwhelming joy
where God designed the world
to be a place of beauty
and power and order
and joy and peace.
God made the world
with wisdom.
And that's why
the wise of Israel
said that wisdom worked.
Because it aligned,
wisdom is just simply
being aligned
with the wisdom of God
in creation.
That's why it works.
If God created the world
according to wisdom,
then there is a pattern
to all that he's made.
It's connected.
That is,
reality's not random.
And if wisdom made the world,
then wisdom can be perceived.
And to a great degree,
can be lived in accordance with.
Now, it's obvious for most people
that there are physical patterns
patterns
in the reality
of our physical world.
There are patterns there,
such as
the pattern
of aerodynamics.
If an object
fits with the pattern
and the rules
of aerodynamics,
it will fly.
If it doesn't fit
with the pattern
of aerodynamics,
it won't fly.
Such as
falling off a ladder.
You won't fly.
You will crash and burn.
If you disregard
the patterns
of aerodynamics,
you will crash and burn.
And the wise of Israel
also concluded
that there is
a relational fabric
to reality
that if you don't follow
those patterns,
you will relationally
crash and burn.
And they also
concluded
that there is
a spiritual fabric
to the created order
that God has made.
And if you don't follow
those spiritual patterns,
you spiritually
will crash and burn too.
That's the wisdom
of Israel.
That's what we see
in Proverbs.
And so what
foolishness is,
is going against
the grain,
going against
the weave,
going against
the pattern,
going against
the structure
that God
has put in place
in his created order
that he made
with wisdom.
It's going against
wisdom.
That's what foolishness
is.
But,
and here's the problem
in gaining wisdom,
there are two things
that you must know
about these patterns
in order to be wise.
And you must hold
both of these things
together equally.
Equal weight.
Firstly,
you have to see
and admit
that there is
a pattern.
God has made
the world
and there is
a pattern to it.
There are principles
in life
which customarily
work.
Secondly,
you've got to see
and know
that you cannot
see
the entire
pattern.
You can't see
the entire
pattern.
much of the pattern
is in fact
hidden from us.
And that's the problem
of gaining wisdom.
For instance,
in chapters
10 to 15
of Proverbs,
you get
Proverbs
about the principles
of how life
normally works.
And they say
things like,
if you work hard,
you'll prosper.
If you're lazy,
you'll be poor.
If you
raise a child
in the right way,
they will love you
when they get older.
And if you read
those chapters
with a
conservative,
moralistic
bent,
and you believe
that there is
order,
you believe
there's a pattern
in the created
life,
you will say
things like,
yeah,
that's right,
I knew there was
a rule for everything.
There's a rule
for everything.
And then you get
to chapter 16.
And you get
to chapter 16
and suddenly
there are exceptions
to the principles
of how life
normally works.
For instance,
some people
who live
according to
God's moral
absolutes
have a fairly
lousy life.
Some people
who work hard
but stay poor
because of oppression.
And some people
raise their child
right but they
go off the rails
at some point
in life.
And so if you
read that
section
with a
liberal bent,
that is you
don't believe
that there's
an order
that you
need to
abide by,
you go,
yeah,
that's right,
life's messy,
always said it
was messy,
can't predict
anything.
And yet wisdom
is holding
the both
together.
It's a matter,
it's admitting
that there is
a pattern
that I must
submit to
and that I
can't make up
the rules
for myself.
I don't
define reality
for myself.
But if I
live like that
then Proverbs
says I'm a fool.
But wisdom
is also
acknowledging
that I can't
see the whole
pattern.
There are
hidden things.
And if I
think that I
can see all
the pattern
and if I
think I
know how
all of life
works
then I'm
a fool
according to
Proverbs.
So you
can be a
conservative
fool or
you can be
a liberal
fool.
You can be
a moralistic
fool, you
can be a
relativistic
fool.
We are
all one
or the
other depending
on our
ideology and
our personality
I suspect.
So in a
nutshell if
you're a
person who
thinks that
if you have
a good
life, live
a good
life, it
will go
well for
you, then
you are a
conservative
fool.
But if
you're the
kind of
person who
says I
can decide
my own
reality, I
can decide
what is
right and
wrong for
me and I
don't believe
there's any
divine order
that I have
to submit
to, then
you're a
liberal
fool.
And we're
all fools
one way or
another.
Let's just
close the
sermon there.
No, we'll
keep going.
We're all
fools one way
or another.
And we as
a society
are split on
this.
We are pushing
each other
more and more
into areas
of foolishness.
The same
sex marriage
debate is a
classic example
of this.
Church goes
all moralistic
and over
here the
liberals go
whatever.
It's all
relative,
there's no
order.
And we're
pushing ourselves
more and more
into foolishness.
So what's
the solution?
There is a
solution.
Did you
notice that as
chapter 8 was
read out to
us that
wisdom is
personified?
Wisdom is
I, me,
my.
You see that
right through
chapter 8.
Wisdom is not
an abstract
quality but in
fact a
person.
That's how
wisdom is
perceived in
Proverbs.
And as
hopefully we've
seen in the
introductory video
which we saw
last week and
hopefully you've
seen it throughout
the course of
this week,
wisdom in that
little video as
it is in
Proverbs is
depicted as a
woman.
A woman in
fact who
calls, lady
wisdom who
calls, calls,
calls.
And interestingly
enough that the
Proverbs were
originally a
manual, a
wisdom manual for
the young men
of Israel
which is why
most of the
Proverbs are
addressed to
my son.
They were
four.
They were a
wisdom manual for
the old men of
Israel training the
younger men in
Israel and so
you want to get
their attention?
Make wisdom a
woman.
You know, who's
calling you?
Of course their
attention is there
all the way
through.
So wisdom
here is not so
much a matter of
mastering a bunch
of rules and
principles.
wisdom is in
fact a love
affair in
Proverbs.
It's a love
affair.
We need to
long for
wisdom.
We need to
love wisdom.
We need to
pursue wisdom.
But what if
wisdom in
fact was a
person?
What if you
got into a
relationship with
this person and
they made you
wise?
They helped
you to see a
pattern to the
world and they
helped you to
see your
limitations that
you don't know
the entire
pattern of the
world and so
they called you
to trust them
because they knew
the entire
pattern of the
world.
What if this
person made you
competent with
regard to the
realities of
life?
Helped you to
know how
things actually
are, how
things actually
work and what
to do about it?
This at least
means that those
of us who have
never had wise
parents, never
had wise
counsellors, never
had wise guides,
never had the
wise mentors,
would have
someone who
could make us
wise even if
we were into
our 80s and
90s.
It's not too
late.
The wisdom
train had
left and you
weren't on it
but it's not
too late.
What if there
was still a
chance to get
on the wisdom
train because
wisdom was a
person who you
could have a
relationship with,
someone like a
wonderful counsellor?
What's
interesting is
there's a lot
of other
wisdom literature
in ancient
Israel apart
from what we
have here in
Proverbs and
in the rest of
the Bible.
Another piece
of wisdom
literature in
ancient Israel
is called the
wisdom of the
son of Syriac
and in it
there's this
interesting call
and challenge.
The son of
Syriac says
this,
turn unto me
you who are
untaught,
why do you
say you are
lacking in
these things?
Why are
your souls so
thirsty?
I say to
you find
wisdom,
put your
necks under
its yoke and
bear its
burden.
If you are
intent you
can find
wisdom,
see with
your eyes
that I
have laboured
for it and
I have found
for my soul
much rest.
Now that
is a typical
invitation to
pursue wisdom
in ancient
Israel but
can you imagine
the listener
who,
how they
would have
responded a
couple of
centuries later
when a
rabbi and
a teacher and
a wise man
got up and
said these
words,
come to me,
all who are
weary and
burdened and
I will give
you rest.
Take my yoke
upon you and
learn from me
for I am
gentle and
humble in
heart and
you will find
rest for your
souls.
for my
yoke is
easy and
my burden
is light.
Similar
statements.
In fact,
most biblical
scholars think
Jesus was
actually quoting
the son of
Syriac.
The son of
Syriac says
put your head
into the yoke
of discipline
and training
and you
work hard,
you work hard,
you work hard
and you pursue
wisdom and
you will get
rest for your
souls.
And Jesus
says come to
me,
come to me,
take my
yoke upon
you,
learn of
me and
I will
give you
rest for
your souls.
You see,
what Jesus
is saying
there in
that moment
and Israel
would have
realised this
in that
moment is
that Jesus
is saying
I am
wisdom.
I am
wisdom
personified.
Wisdom
is not a
body of
knowledge that
needs to be
mastered,
it's not a
body of
principles to
be memorised,
it is
knowing Jesus,
coming to
Jesus.
That's where
wisdom begins.
And that's
what John
chapter 1
affirms too.
There are
so many
parallels between
Proverbs
chapter 8
and John
chapter 1
and this is
how John
chapter 1
starts,
it says
in the
beginning
was the
word.
Now the
word there
is translated
from the
Greek word
logos which
has massive
connotations for
wisdom attached
to it.
So without
too much
paraphrasing,
you could
read it like
this,
in the
beginning was
the wisdom
and the
wisdom was
with God
and the
wisdom was
God,
he was
with God
in the
beginning
and through
him,
that is
through the
wisdom,
all things
were made.
Without
him nothing
was made
that has
been made,
in him
was life
and the
life was
the light
of all
mankind.
Then down
into verse
14,
the wisdom
became flesh
and made
his dwelling
among us
and we have
seen his
glory,
the glory
of the
one and
only Son
who came
from the
Father full
of grace
and truth.
John is
telling us
here what
the secret
of wisdom
is.
John reveals
that Jesus
is the
wisdom of
God to
us.
He is the
wisdom of
God on
display.
So those
of us who
are potentially
even gathered
here now
waiting for
an airtight
argument about
God before
they would
believe in
God,
I think you
need to be
encouraged just
to think again
a little bit.
When Jesus
says I am the
wisdom of
God to
you, he
is saying
that he is
the ultimate
argument for
the existence
of God.
What if God
did not send
an airtight
argument but
he sent an
airtight
person?
What this
means is
that it
doesn't matter
who you
are or
where you
are in
your faith
journey or
how much
you or
how little
you believe
or whether
you believe
nothing at
all,
sit down
with a
group of
people and
go through
the life
of Jesus.
Read about
him, work
through his
life, his
teaching, his
accomplishments and
his promises and
you will be
shocked because
it will be the
first time in
your life that
you've ever met
someone who's
perfect.
No one, no
wise person ever
makes a guy like
Jesus up.
He is the
ultimate argument
for the
existence of
God in the
form of a
person.
He is
wisdom
personified but
he is also
the wisdom
of God
for us.
Jesus is like
in many ways
like a whole
heap of
wise guys that
came before
him and after
him and they
all say he is
the wise way
to live.
Jesus did
that like a
bunch of
other guys
did but no
other wise
person in the
history of the
world apart
from Jesus ever
said but I've
come to live
that wise life
for you.
No one's ever
done that.
Otherwise people
say this is how
you should live
do it and you
will live well
and you will
flourish.
Jesus is the
only one who
says this is how
you should live
but I've lived
it the way you
should have lived
and not only
lived the life
you should have
lived I've
actually died the
death you should
have died because
of your failure
to live the
way you should
have lived
because of
your foolishness
and that's
why Jesus
says here my
yoke is the
only yoke which
is light my
burden is the
only easy
one and
what's more
Jesus is the
wisdom of God
with us in a
very confusing
world where the
patterns don't
always make
sense.
and they
don't always
make sense.
They're the
source of great
anxiety for us
in life when
the patterns
don't work the
way that we
think they're
going to work
and we think
in those moments
that God's
abandoned us
he's got no
idea what he's
doing but
Jesus is wisdom
of God with
us because the
tragedy and the
injustice of Jesus
dying on the
cross followed
by the triumph
and the
victory of
the resurrection
is the
clarity and
it's the
ultimate example
and the most
brilliant clarity
of how even
though we can't
see that there's
wisdom at play
wisdom is in
fact at work
in and through
the same event
that's the
wisdom of God
the death and
resurrection of
Jesus the
wisdom of God
on full display
knowing that
even though it
doesn't look
right God's
at work and
the patterns are
in play and
this is the
wisdom of God
and Jesus calls
us to it and
so as we begin
these ten weeks
in Proverbs
hear the call of
Jesus on your
life come to
me come to
me all who are
weary and
burdened and I
will give you
rest take my
yoke upon upon
you and you
learn from me
for I am gentle
and I am humble
in heart and
you will find
rest for your
souls for my
yoke is easy
and my burden
is light
numbers
for you and I
and I have