Well, good morning.
I only have one letter from my grandfather.
He sent it to me in October 1986, when some of you undergrads were just born.
I was, I'm sorry, 1987, let me clarify that.
I was a freshman in college when I received this letter, the only letter that I can recall
actually getting from my grandfather.
And the occasion of it was Black Monday.
For those of you who are old enough, you will remember the Dow Jones Industrial Average
on one day dropped 22%.
It was the greatest percentage drop ever in the history of the stock market.
And if it were, what happened today, it would calculate to about a 4,664 point drop in the
Dow Jones Industrial.
That would make some waves.
My grandfather was a banker and an investor, and he wrote a letter to all of his grandchildren
telling them to be patient and to be wise and to respond well to this crisis.
He said, think long-term, not short-term.
He said, invest in tested, proven stocks.
Don't fall into this innovation that's going on around us.
He said, don't think that you are going to be independently better than the stock market,
but follow a good consensus lead, and you will do well.
I do not say this to give you financial advice.
The stock market is much more complicated today.
Investing is much more complicated today.
And the financial world has never been as clear as we might hope it would be.
But what my grandfather did encourage his grandchildren to do that day is to think about investing well.
What are you going to invest your life in?
What are you going to invest, and how are you going to think about what it is?
This morning, as we continue in our series in Proverbs, the message that I have for you is fairly simple.
Because the whole book of Proverbs is basically telling us to invest in wisdom from God.
What does that mean?
Well, if you remember back in chapter 1, verse 7, it says,
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Sometimes we think of wisdom as a collection of information that if we master and apply appropriately,
we can be successful in life, it becomes a tool in our hand to try to achieve greatness.
But that, in fact, is not biblical wisdom.
Biblical wisdom is being rightly related to our Creator.
It is recognizing it is He who has made the world and made us.
And that He has given us, in His Word,
much information about how and why He created it.
And as we live under the wisdom that He reveals to us in it,
we find that we live more in harmony with creation.
We find that we live in the redemptive patterns of the God that we serve.
And perhaps, perhaps, it will lead to an easier life or avoid some difficulties.
But more so, it will lead us to a life with God that will begin here and go for eternity.
And that's what wisdom in the book of Proverbs seems to be about.
Not promises, do this and you'll get this.
But this is the way God has created the world.
Live in these patterns.
And you will relate rightly to your God.
Now, many of you are graduating today.
And I want to say this kindly and gently.
Youth doesn't always treat wisdom very well.
We don't always want wisdom.
We can fall into all sorts of patterns
that reflect our culture,
that reflect our society,
that reflect our fallen hearts,
that where we don't treasure wisdom.
Theologian and author J.I. Packer says
that our hearts love this kind of thing.
The newer is the truer.
Only what is recent is decent.
Every shift of ground is a shift forward.
And every latest word must be hailed as the last word on a subject.
It's what C.S. Lewis and Owen Barfield called chronological snobbery.
That is, whatever is presently held to be true must be true.
Whatever was held in the past must be deficient
because we have progressed beyond it.
Now, Lewis goes on to say,
not everything in the past was good either.
Don't think that just because it's in the past it's better.
But recognize that things that are in the past have been tested
and evaluated over time.
And we can continue to look at them
and think about them from a different standpoint.
Whereas the things that we believe and hold to today
are shaped so much by our present context and culture
that we struggle to see it for what it truly is
because we're so enmeshed in it.
Even when that's not true,
that chronological snobbery is one of the reasons
why we resist wisdom.
We often can also fall into a more mechanical view,
as I mentioned earlier.
We love in our culture today
how-tos, 10 steps to,
and the keys to success in.
Think about if you went to Barnes & Noble
or went to go on Amazon and search
for those kinds of titles,
how many titles you would see.
We love that kind of information
because we think that it can put us in control
to get ahead and to find success in life.
The book of Proverbs speaks to us
and tells us that there is a wisdom for us
that is worth pursuing.
And our chapter this morning, chapter 4,
if you want to turn there, it's page 529 in your pew Bibles,
is mostly an encouragement.
It is an encouragement to value,
to cherish, to esteem highly,
and to go after the wisdom from God.
The wisdom from God that is timeless.
The wisdom from God that is deeper than a how-to
or a keys to success,
but a wisdom from God
that helps us relate rightly to Him.
As we look at it,
we will see this exhortation
coming from His description,
His portrayal of what wisdom is.
So that's what we're going to look at this morning.
Let's go ahead and read,
if you'll read along with me.
Proverbs, chapter 4.
We're going to read the whole chapter,
and then I'll pray,
and then we will continue.
Hear, O sons, a father's instruction.
Be attentive that you may gain insight,
for I give you good precepts.
Do not forsake my teaching.
When I was a son with my father,
tender, the only one,
in the sight of my mother,
he taught me and said to me,
let your heart hold fast my words,
keep my commandments,
and live.
Get wisdom,
get insight.
Do not forget,
and do not turn away
from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her,
and she will keep you.
Love her,
and she will guard you.
The beginning of wisdom is this.
Get wisdom,
and whatever you get,
get insight.
Prize her highly,
and she will exalt you.
She will honor you,
if you embrace her.
She will place on your head
a graceful garland.
She will bestow on you
a beautiful crown.
Hear, my son,
and accept my words,
that the years of your life
may be many.
I have taught you
the way of wisdom.
I have led you
in the paths of uprightness.
When you walk,
your steps will not be hampered,
and if you run,
you will not stumble.
Keep hold of instruction.
Do not let go.
Guard her,
for she is your life.
Do not enter
the path of the wicked.
Do not walk
in the way of the evil.
Avoid it.
Do not go on it.
Turn away from it
and pass on,
for they cannot sleep
unless they have done wrong.
They are robbed of sleep
unless they have made
someone stumble,
for they eat the bread
of wickedness
and drink the wine
of violence.
But the path
of the righteous
is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter
and brighter
until full day.
The way of the wicked
is like deep darkness.
They do not know
over what they stumble.
My son,
be attentive to my words
and incline your ear
to my sayings.
Let them not escape
from your sight.
Keep them within your heart,
for they are life
to those who find them
and healing
to all their flesh.
Keep your heart
with all vigilance,
for from it flow
the springs of life.
Put away from you
crooked speech
and put devious talk
far from you.
Let your eyes
look directly forward
and your gaze
be straight before you.
Ponder the path
of your feet
and all your ways
will be sure.
Do not swerve
to the right
or to the left.
Turn your foot
away from evil.
Will you pray with me?
Lord, we are thankful
for your word.
We are thankful
that in it
you have revealed
yourself to us.
You have spoken to us,
Lord,
through this word.
Lord, and Lord,
we pray this morning
that by your spirit
you would make
our minds alert,
our bodies awake,
our hearts soft,
ready to receive from you
and to learn from you.
Lord, will you teach us
this morning
and stir our hearts,
Lord,
to love you
and to love your wisdom.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
The beginning of wisdom
is this.
Get wisdom.
There it is.
That's all I have to say.
Thanks for coming.
No.
All I'm going to be doing
is explaining that
really for the rest
of our time together.
The structure of this passage,
if you look through it,
it's very clear.
In verses 1,
in verse 10,
and then in verse 20,
the father interjects again
with an exhortation,
Hear, O son.
Hear, my son.
My son,
be attentive
to my teachings.
And so,
that breaks us up
into three sections
where he's encouraging us
to go for wisdom.
He says,
go for wisdom
in verses 1 through 9
because she is a tradition
worth treasuring.
He says,
in verses 10 through 19,
go after wisdom
because she is a path
of light and life.
And finally,
verses 20 through 27,
go after wisdom
for she is a worthy obsession.
So,
let's look at those
together in turn.
Firstly,
verses 1 through 10,
she is a tradition
worth treasuring.
It's fascinating to me
as the father,
we've seen this form
right?
The book of Proverbs
is written in this form
where a father
is advising his son.
And we ought not
to genderize that
too much.
This is simply
the passing on
of wisdom
from one generation
to the next
and to say,
and to recognize
that there is.
And yet,
what he says there,
interestingly,
right,
is in verses
3 and 4.
He says,
my son,
listen to what
I'm saying.
Oh,
and by the way,
I want you to know
it's not coming
from me.
This is a part
of a tradition
that's been passed
down from generation
to generation.
Go get wisdom.
This is what
my father taught me
and it's what
I want to teach you.
And it's not just
go get it,
but go get it
in a particular manner.
Do you see
the heart orientation
of it?
Look with me
in verse 4.
Let your heart
hold fast my words.
Verse 6.
It's not just
know wisdom,
but it's love her.
Verse 8.
Prize her
and embrace her.
As the father
is holding up wisdom
before his son
saying,
pursue this.
There's almost
a romantic imagery
going on here.
Like a young man
pursuing the object
of his desire.
The woman
who he has set
his affection on.
If you've ever
fallen in love,
you know what it's like.
It fills your mind.
It moves
your actions.
It drains
your bank account.
The pursuit
of a romantic
relationship
is the image
that the writer
here pulls on
to say,
like that,
with all of your being
and particularly,
this is not just
a pursuit of knowledge
and a head thing,
but this is a heart thing
that you would prize
and cherish.
Be captivated
by wisdom.
Spend your energy
wooing her
so that she may be yours.
And he says,
and there's good reason
for this
because she will
do you good.
Verse 4 says,
do this
and you will live.
Verse 6,
you will be kept
and guarded
by her.
Verse 8,
you will be exalted
and honored
by her.
And verse 9,
you will be adorned
with beauty.
You will be given
this garland
and a crown
which perhaps,
again,
may be a marriage
imagery,
but whatever it is,
there is this sense
of royalty
and a sense
of great honor
and glory
that is being
bestowed on one.
And so it is not
just something
worth going after
altruistically,
but in fact,
what we find
when we pursue wisdom
is that it is good
for us.
The very thing
that we want most,
we find in it.
Wisdom,
contrary perhaps
to our youthful
evaluation,
is not crusty,
it is not dull,
it is not stale,
but it is glorious
and beautiful
and exhilarating
to learn about
and to walk in
the paths of wisdom.
So go get her.
Now,
we need to recognize
this is not the pattern
of our human heart.
From the very beginning
in the Garden of Eden,
God gave simple commands.
Here's how this world works.
Do this
and you will live.
Eve,
and Adam and Eve
chose not to follow that.
We have an independent streak
in our sinfulness
that is strong.
I remember
when I was a
young believer,
I had been a Christian
for one year
when I went off
to college,
and I came across
this ministry,
and they were crusty,
and they were stale,
and they were kind of boring,
and I thought,
goodness gracious,
Jesus is so wonderful.
How can you be so dull?
And I spent my first year
criticizing,
challenging,
pushing,
seeking for change.
I wish I hadn't.
There was a good heart
somewhere in the middle of it,
but in the midst of it,
in my impatience,
in my judgmental spirit,
in my arrogance,
believing that I knew better
than they,
I destroyed relationships
and damaged hearts
along the way.
Thankfully,
they were gracious
and patient with me.
But I wished
I had listened more
and thought less
of my own ideas.
I wished I had been
less headstrong
and been more willing
to follow for a while,
to learn.
I wished I had
a better awareness
of how little
I actually knew
and how much
I had to learn.
I thought I was wise,
because in my own eyes,
I was.
But the beginning
of wisdom is this.
You don't have wisdom yet.
Go get it.
You need it.
So how do we apply this?
How do we think about this?
Well, it's very simple.
God has given you
a church full of people
and there are wise people
among you.
They have walked
with the Lord
through many things.
And you may look at them
and wonder,
do they have,
do they really love Jesus?
They seem pretty quiet.
Do they really love Jesus?
Because they're not
as active as I am.
Do they really love Jesus?
Whether you stay here
or whether you move on
as you graduate
and go find a church
that has intergenerational worship,
go find older people
and sit with them
and learn from them.
Don't assume
what they have to teach you
and bracket
what they have to say to you.
But ask them
about their lives.
Ask them
what they have learned
from God.
Ask them
how God has worked
in them
and through them.
Ask them
the lessons
that they have learned.
Now look,
I wanted to say this.
Not every old person
is wise.
You can choose foolishness
for your whole life.
So be a little discerning.
But be gracious
in your discerning.
And look for God
to teach you
to find wisdom,
the tradition
that is worth treasuring
in those among us
who have walked
with the Lord
longer than us.
Trust that you will
find good things.
Wisdom then
is not only
a tradition
to be treasured
but then as we move on
to the second section
starting in verse 10.
Wisdom is a path
of light
and life.
The Father
brings up a contrast
that we've already seen.
There are two paths
to go.
There is a path
of wisdom
and a path
of foolishness.
One of them
is light
and one of them
is darkness.
He says
don't take
the path
of foolishness
and the path
of darkness.
Interestingly
this path
is not simply
a framework
of thought
or a particular direction
but it's also people.
Look with me again
in verse 14.
Do not enter
the path
of the wicked.
Those are people
not a pattern
of activity
or behavior.
Don't follow
people
who are foolish
and who reject God
and have no fear
of Him.
And then the second half
do not walk
in the way of evil.
This then
is the patterns.
Look for the patterns
of thought
and of behavior
in our culture
and in our society
that have no regard
for God
and have no fear
of Him.
Look for those patterns.
Recognize
that these patterns
are, verse 12,
a pattern
of stumbling.
Verse 16
and 17,
a path
that obsesses
and consumes
your heart
with being destructive
in other people's lives.
It is,
in verse 19,
a path
of darkness
in which you stumble
because you can't
even see clearly
to know the things
that you are
stumbling over.
recognize,
this Father says,
recognize that
the way of foolishness
is a way of darkness
and you will stumble
and you will fall
in the midst of it.
We resist this.
We think,
how could we ever do this?
Why would we ever
want to do that?
And yet,
we do.
Think of
3,000 years
of human civilization
in history.
And yes,
there have been
great lights
and wonderful progress
and there are certain evils
that exist less today
than they have
in the past.
And yet,
when we look
at the overall picture
of humanity,
are we actually
better off
in our pursuit
of life
apart from God?
Is our world
a better place?
Because of that.
Has it actually
progressed that much?
Nick's sermon
last week,
if you weren't here,
reminded us
that the greatest
problem we have
is that we think
that wisdom
can be found
in us.
Where in fact,
wisdom needs
to be found
in God
who is outside
of us
and outside
of our creation,
who has created it
and who therefore
is able to instruct
us in it.
But how little
we follow
in those patterns
and therefore
how much we walk
in darkness.
Father says
there is another way.
The path of uprightness
in verse 12,
she says,
she is your life.
The path of wisdom
is the path of life.
You may have seen it.
This is a theme
over and over
and over again
in this passage
that wisdom
actually leads us
to life
because it is
in accordance with,
it is in harmony
with the God
who created the world
and created life.
And he says,
pursue this path.
And the language
he uses in saying
pursue this path
means it's not
a once for all decision.
You don't say,
okay,
I'm going to choose wisdom.
Now that's done.
Now I can move on.
But in fact,
this is a decision
that you make over
and over
and over again
because in every situation
there are new opportunities
for us to choose foolishness
instead of wisdom.
Think of David
who for year after year
after year
chose faithfully
to trust the Lord
and walk in wisdom
as he was persecuted,
as he faced great enemies,
as he lived as an exile,
as he was brought
into the kingdom
and the palace.
And when it seemed
like wisdom
had finally given him
everything that he ever wanted,
he stumbled.
Instead of going out to war
and fighting with his men,
he set his eyes
on his own pleasure
and he walked in foolishness.
It didn't destroy him.
God was merciful to him
which is a good word for us
that we may stumble
in foolishness at times
and yet God's grace
can continue
to sustain us through it.
And yet,
his stumbling still
had grave consequences.
And so the father says,
pursue wisdom.
There is a path to go on.
Stay on it.
And it is a path
of life for you.
It is a path of light.
There is this beautiful image
at the end of the chapter,
or at the end of this section,
verse 18.
The path of the righteous
is like the light of dawn
which grows brighter
and brighter and brighter.
Part of what he is saying
is as we continue
in the path of wisdom
more and more,
it makes more sense to us.
It makes,
it brings life
to our souls.
And we find it
to be more and more good.
And like the light
of the dawn
which breaks on the horizon
and then as the sun
continues to rise,
envelops us
in the warmth
and the clarity
and the beauty
of its light.
It says,
this is what wisdom
is for us.
Sometimes I think
we fear
that wisdom
will be like
walking into a dark tunnel.
I don't know why
this is going to be good for me.
It doesn't seem right.
I don't see
the end of the tunnel.
It just seems like darkness.
I feel like
if I go back out,
I have more freedom.
I have more opportunities.
I'm not limiting myself.
But in fact,
the way of wisdom
leads us to life.
And as we go down
that tunnel
which maybe
at the beginning
looks constricting
and small
and uncertain
as to why
it would be good,
the more we live in it,
the more we see
that it's good.
Here's a silly example.
My kids don't know
that they need
to go to bed.
I have to have wisdom
for them to say,
you need to go to bed.
And you need to turn off
your light
and you need to stop
playing with your toys
and put your head
on your pillow
and go to sleep.
They don't know
that if they followed
their own foolishness
in bedtimes
over a period of days,
they will end up
being a wreck
and they won't enjoy
anything.
Their souls
will be a mess
and their relationships
will be a mess
and I will be a mess
because I have
to clean it up
or at least
I have to deal with it.
But if I show them
the way of wisdom,
getting a good night's sleep
is good for you,
they will find,
yes,
that is good
and I'm glad
to wake up every morning
not tired
and I'm glad
to have energy
to live the day
and to do things
and to not feel like
all I want to do
is go sleep
and I enjoy my days
when I'm not cranky
and crabby
because I'm tired.
Proverbs will take
that pattern
and it will apply it
to things like
your marital relationships,
your sex life,
how you spend your money,
how you use your words,
what your friendships
are like.
There are ways
that may be initially
unfamiliar
or feeling constricting
to us
but they are in fact
a path of light
and life for us
and if we trust God
and follow them
we will find
the goodness in it.
So wisdom
is not only
a tradition
worth treasuring,
not only a path
of light and life
but finally
in those last verses
in 20 through 27
she is a worthy
obsession.
It strikes me
when you look
at this again,
look at verses
20 through 23.
Be attentive,
incline your ear,
be active
in listening.
Don't let them
escape from your sight,
keep them
within your heart,
grasp onto them
and hold onto them.
Verse 23 again,
keep your heart
with all vigilance.
There is a
grasping for
a picture
of jealously
guarding
something
that we have
taken hold of.
Father says,
if you would have wisdom
you must keep her.
Wisdom is what
your hearts need.
It is the thing
that will allow
your heart
to work
the way it is
meant to work.
And then he goes on
in verses 24 through 27
he says,
and it's going to take
everything you have.
One of the most
striking things
in these verses
is the various parts
of the body
that he uses
to say,
this is what it's like.
Keep your mouth
away from foolishness.
Keep your eyes
fixed on the right thing,
your attention,
your focus.
Verse 26, 27,
all the way down
to your feet.
What is the direction
of your life?
Where are your feet
headed?
The writer of Proverbs
is saying,
there is wisdom
out there
and you ought
to engage
every faculty
you have
to treasure it,
to value it,
and to go after it.
With the focus
of an Olympic athlete
training for the gold,
with the earnestness
of a lover
pursuing his beloved,
with the eagerness
of a treasure hunter,
taking all of his resources
towards this one thing
that is worth gaining
above all.
The beginning of wisdom
is this,
get wisdom.
Understand how to relate
rightly to your God.
We don't always do this.
It's easy to become careless
in our life.
To pursue whatever
our whims of the day,
whatever seems to be
before us,
whatever others lead us
to or push us into.
There are times
when we choose poorly.
We don't engage
all of our energy
in one direction.
Sometimes we hedge
our bets.
I want wisdom
with God,
but I don't know
if that doesn't work out,
I want to have a plan B.
Sometimes we avoid
the responsibility
and let other people
make decisions for us.
As you head out
into your next stage of life,
for those of you
who are graduates,
you will always have a boss.
You will always have
an advisor.
You will always have
someone else in your life
who is willing
to make these decisions
for you
and to tell you
what you should value
and what you should pursue
and what you should
set your heart on
and what you should live for.
But here,
in this passage,
the writer of the Proverbs
says,
pursue wisdom,
pursue being rightly
related to God.
And of course,
friends,
this is exactly
what Minois
read for us
earlier
from Philippians chapter 3.
This wholehearted pursuit
of wisdom
finds its ultimate fulfillment,
again,
not in a body of knowledge
that helps us
navigate life
a little better,
but in a person.
Because what we see
in the New Testament
is that
when Christ has come,
He is now
the wisdom of God
for us.
He is now
the way
through which
we find
life
and light.
He is the one
who,
through His life
and death
and resurrection,
allows us
to be rightly
related
to God.
And so,
Paul says,
I count all things
as loss
for the sake
of knowing Christ
and being found
in Him.
Because what I find
in Christ,
a righteousness
that allows me
to stand before
a holy God,
even in my own
sinfulness
and foolishness,
what I find
in Christ
and that righteousness
is so precious
and so unique
and so wonderful
and so essential
for me to relate
to God rightly
that everything else
doesn't matter
in light of it.
He says,
Christ Jesus
has made me
His own,
therefore I
pursue Him
with all
that I have.
He is the tradition
that's worth treasuring.
He is the path
to life.
He is the one
who commands
our obsession
because He is worthy
of all of our lives.
That we would count
all things as loss
for the sake
of knowing Him
and having fellowship
with Him
in His sufferings
and in His death
and in His resurrection.
Because He is the one
who has rescued us
from our foolishness.
He is the one
who has rescued us
from our rebellion
against God
by taking on the cross
the penalty
and the death
that we deserve
and by reconciling God
to us
so that all
who put their faith
in Christ,
all who,
like Paul,
have seen the beauty
and the treasure
and the wonder
of what God
has done for us,
take hold of it.
and as we take hold
of Christ,
then,
what happens?
All of our life
is relativized.
It is not that we put off
all these other things.
It is not that we stop
being students,
parents,
teachers,
friends,
workers,
but all of those things
take their place
under this one single passion.
My life is to be lived
pursuing a knowledge of Christ.
Whatever successes I have,
whatever fame I achieve,
whatever honors
or praise I get from others,
those things are only
worth anything
when they are under
and out of
this single-minded pursuit
of Christ,
our wisdom,
and our life.
And we find that
when we say
Christ is our wisdom
and our life,
all of our lives
are energized.
Again,
like the lover.
When we wake up
in the morning,
we think,
today I get to serve Christ.
When I fall asleep
at night,
I get to think,
Christ,
help me.
I'm so weak.
When we find ourselves
in times of crisis,
we run and find Christ
to be our refuge
and our strength.
We find in Christ
the thing that we want
to live for and die for.
We find in Christ
the things that we want
to pass on
to our children.
Not just wisdom
about how to live,
but wisdom about
how to know God.
And from that,
everything else comes.
So for you,
particularly graduates today,
but for all of us,
this is always a good question
for us to be asking.
What will your life be about?
Where will you invest?
My grandfather was great
at investing his money.
I wish his life
was characterized
by investing spiritually
in Christ.
What about you?
As you enter your career,
as you take the next step
in your life,
will you again
determine
that Christ is the one
that you want to pursue?
As you develop friendships,
relationships,
will God's wisdom
shape you
and guide you?
As you set your life goals,
will you let Christ
be the one who leads you?
Let's pray.
Father,
we thank you this morning
for this word.
Lord,
we pray,
Lord,
especially for those today
who are moving on,
that as they go,
Lord,
they would heed this call.
The beginning of wisdom
is to get wisdom
and to find it
in Christ.
Lord,
may this be true
for all of us,
we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.