We've just finished up, I gather, a series in the book of Acts, looking at how Jesus sends his people out on mission.
And this mission is really what defines the church.
And it's what we're kind of, we're to be part of this mission to go and reach out into the world and to just build these communities which are living in this transformational way which just shows this light to the people around us.
But one of the things that I have realized as I've reflected on this kind of big story that we're part of as a church is that often in the day-to-day of life, I kind of get distracted.
Anyone else like me?
I kind of get sidetracked from that big story because there are little decisions, there are things which happen in my day-to-day which actually affect the direction that I'm going in.
But it's the day-to-day stuff that just wraps me up.
And so we're looking at this kind of series in wisdom because wisdom here is going to be looking at the choices and the forks in the road that we have in our everyday lives and the nitty-gritty of life to see how when we make wise choices in these things like money and relationships and career and plans and all these different things,
that these things are what shape our vision of the bigger picture that we're in and the direction we're going in.
So for the next eight weeks, we're going to be looking in the book of Proverbs and looking at different topics and looking at wisdom in different areas.
So we're just going to kind of intro that a little bit today and then we're going to go on this journey over the summer.
Okay?
Good.
Let me just pray for us before we dive in.
Father, thank you for giving us breath today.
Thank you that today was a day that you made.
And it's a day that you have brought us here, not just to be here because this is what we always do, but it's a day because we want to hear your word and you want to speak to us.
And I pray, Lord, give us tender, soft hearts to hear what you want to say.
I pray, Lord, that your spirit would speak through my words.
Remove what you don't want to say and let people hear like a megaphone what you do want them to hear.
Let us live in the light of your word.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Great.
What I want to do to start off with is I want to do a little kind of trivia quiz for us.
Okay?
So are you ready?
So I'm going to give you some choices.
Okay?
I want some responses.
This is kind of audience participation.
Okay?
I know we're lower on numbers because it's the sum of it.
That doesn't mean you get a pass.
Okay.
Here's your first choice.
Would you prefer to have intelligence or good looks?
Come on.
There's no sitting on the fence here.
No sitting on the fence.
Good looks.
There you go.
I'm sure you've already got them.
Okay.
Next one.
A penthouse flat or a luxury yacht.
Oh, okay.
Nobody's into the sea.
Okay.
Next one.
A trip to the moon or unlimited beach days.
Okay.
You guys are safe here.
You kind of, okay.
Private chef.
That's Gordon Ramsay for you.
A professional trainer.
There's a bit of competition here.
Okay.
Next one.
A hundred million dollars.
Or wisdom.
There's one honest man in the congregation.
Because you see, though you might not have exactly all those choices every day, the choices
that you make reflect what you think is most valuable in life.
Right?
What you think will secure your greatest happiness is what will determine and shape the choices
that every day you are making.
See, if you think your money or career or intelligence or education will make you happiest in life,
then that's what's going to consume the whole of your direction in life.
It will shape all of your choices.
But when we come to looking at the book of Proverbs, we're looking at a book which is a collection of collections of sayings of wise people,
the most significant of whom is King Solomon.
And if you know who King Solomon is, he was the wisest king in the world.
And the kind of backdrop to the story about King Solomon is that his dad, the greatest king that Israel had ever had, King David, has died.
King Solomon takes the throne as a young man.
And God comes to him in a dream and says, ask me for anything you want.
You know, he has that choice of all of those different things.
And Solomon says, without a blink of an eye, he says, give me wisdom.
Give me wisdom.
Give me wisdom more than anything else.
Give me wisdom.
And God says, you have chosen wisely.
Because you see, he knows that if I got that $100 million, I could still be a fool and squander it all.
But if I have wisdom, I have something which is going to be shaping everything in my life.
And so the book of Proverbs, basically, is going to come to us and it's going to say, with a question, it's going to say, what do you want in your life?
What is most valuable in your life?
What's the destination that you want to go into?
Because here now, it is a father talking to a son and he's going to say, hey, listen, this is the destination.
Are you going to listen to me?
Are you going to hear where I want you to go?
And so Proverbs 8, verse 1 to 5.
Do have your bulletin open.
I'm going to kind of refer to it during this morning.
Proverbs 8, 1 to 5.
It says, wisdom, wisdom, does not wisdom call?
Okay, does not understanding raise her voice on the heights beside the way.
And then it says, at the crossroads, she takes her stand beside the gates in front of the town.
At the entrance of the portals, she cries aloud.
Basically, this passage starts off at the busy intersection of a city.
And here is wisdom on the heights where people are going along their way, choosing the lifestyles they want to live.
It's beside the gates of the crossroads of the city where decisions, whether you're going to go left or whether you're going to go right, are being made.
It's right at the gates of the city, of the town, where all the buying and selling and the trading and the political judgments and the work decisions are being made.
Choices everywhere.
Okay, big choices.
Who do I marry?
What job do I take?
What profile picture do I put on Facebook?
Or smaller, everyday choices, like, do I shout at my kids or say nothing?
Do I make that phone call or do I let it be?
Do I pursue that relationship, that school, or do I wait?
All these choices you and I face every single day.
And this is the context where he's saying you're at the crossroads of these choices.
And right in the midst of all the noise, of all the voices which are coming from your friends and your family and your colleagues and the media and everything around you, wisdom calls.
And wisdom is personified as this kind of beautiful, noble woman.
And she says, calling out to you and me, she says, listen to my voice.
Hear, listen to me.
Verse 10, take my instruction instead of silver and knowledge rather than choice gold.
For wisdom is better than jewels.
And all that you desire, all that you desire cannot compare with her.
That's a pretty big statement.
Advertising sells you products on the basis of your greatest desires and fantasies and promises to fulfill them.
Have you seen these adverts like, get this deodorant and suddenly you'll become irresistibly attractive to the opposite sex?
Have you seen those kind of adverts?
And, you know, we believe it because we buy it.
Right?
And that's how advertising works.
And we also believe the advertising which plays to the different kind of fantasies that we have about what makes us happy.
Like, if I just had well-behaved children, then my life would be happy.
If I just had a boyfriend, then life would be wonderful.
And we get this kind of wisdom from everywhere else.
And when the Bible comes and brings this call of wisdom that is different from all the other wisdoms that you'll hear around,
sometimes we can think it sounds like a very sensible Christian middle-aged aunt who is so sensible that she'd never do anything exciting at all in her life.
She just sounds a little bit boring, sometimes we think, when we think about biblical wisdom.
But Proverbs here, it's very clever the way he does it.
Proverbs is us listening into this father and his son talking to each other.
And do you know what?
In chapter 9, his father says to his son, basically he says,
Wisdom isn't your dull aunt who wouldn't even get a tattoo because she's not that fun.
Wisdom is a hot lady who's a great chef.
That's what he says.
Wisdom is a hot lady who's a great chef.
And why does he do that?
Because he's talking to a teenage son, okay?
And he's playing to the desires that he has.
And if you translate that into any of your fantasies, any of the things that you think will make you happy,
he's saying, listen, if you want anything that's going to satisfy what you're chasing after, get wisdom.
That's what he's saying.
And he's appealing to our desires.
So, Proverbs, we're going to go on this journey together about getting wisdom.
Proverbs.
Just to orient you a little bit, Proverbs comes out of four.
There are four wisdom books in the Bible, in the Hebrew Bible.
Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Proverbs.
And basically, they're like a package deal together.
They're kind of all different threads, which if you take them together,
they form a tapestry of what life is like.
And you need to read them together.
But the way Proverbs works is Proverbs is basically quite a lot of one-liners and catchy phrases
which kind of encapsulate a truth, okay?
So, we understand the idea of Proverbs and things like that.
Maybe let's just have a look.
Here are some modern kind of, okay, modern pictorial versions of Proverbs.
Proverbs, okay?
Learning from the wise.
Okay?
It's a kid with a son, with his dad teaching him how to use a computer.
Next one.
Smart communication isn't always the smartest communication.
Okay?
It's a catchy phrase, but you get the idea, right?
Next one.
The most valuable thing handed down the generation's togetherness.
Okay?
You get the idea?
The way to a dad's heart is through his stomach.
Okay?
You get the idea.
We have these ideas of Proverbs in the world, right?
Collective wisdom.
Was there another one?
I think that was it.
Oh, yes.
Okay.
What goes around comes around.
Okay?
These are Proverbs that we understand the concepts,
but they're giving us not everything about the topic,
but they're giving you something that's memorable for you to chew on.
Okay?
So what we're going to look at,
these wisdoms have come through observation,
experience of what works in life.
So we're going to look at this idea of wisdom through three things.
We're going to look at the meaning of wisdom,
the way to wisdom,
and the call of wisdom.
Okay?
The meaning of wisdom,
the way to wisdom,
and the call of wisdom.
Okay.
So if you look through the passage,
you will keep hearing that the passage just keeps talking about wisdom.
But what is wisdom?
Okay?
Let's tell you what wisdom isn't first.
Wisdom is not intelligence or education.
In Hong Kong,
we prize education.
We might say,
take education instead of silver.
Okay?
Instead of our money.
Because education will get more silver eventually.
Some of us think the most valuable thing you can give to your children is education.
Now, education is important,
but Proverbs says that's not true.
Education is not the most important thing.
Going to a seminary doesn't teach you actually how to be a pastor.
You could have a ton of PhDs and not know how to do life at all.
Right?
The most brilliant,
well-read,
intelligent people I know,
some of them have train wreck in their relationships.
Some of them just have no idea,
how to do relationships.
But they're smart.
And Proverbs would say,
wisdom is not just education or intelligence.
It's also not just morality.
Okay?
Wisdom is intrinsically connected to doing and acting in a right way.
In a right way which fits in the way God has ordered the world.
But it's far more than just right or wrong.
You know,
in England in the 1650s,
it's very interesting.
They thought that if we get the most moral people
in the country together
and we make them into the parliament,
then the country would just run amazingly.
So they did this.
It's called the bare bones parliament.
And can you imagine what happened?
They got all these kind of very moral people
and put them in the parliament.
And it was a disaster.
Because morality is not the same as wisdom.
And wisdom is not going to,
morality is not the only way that you can learn to live life.
The Bible word for wisdom is the word chokmah.
Okay?
Can you say that?
Chokmah.
It's like you're clearing your throat.
Okay?
That's the only bit of Hebrew I'm going to give you.
Okay?
Chokmah.
Okay?
In Exodus,
it's applied to those who've got the skill
of crafting wood and crafting silver and gold.
It's the skill of knowing how to do something well.
And in the Bible,
it's not just,
you know,
you could have the skill of,
if you know how to do a successful business,
you have business chokmah.
Okay?
You've got the skill of doing it well.
But in the Bible,
it's more than just doing something with a bit of know-how.
It's actually knowing how to do relationships.
It's knowing,
it's the skill of living well in God's world
and in relationships,
doing relationships well with God,
with your family,
and with the people around you.
That's what chokmah is.
It's in the complexity of life
where, you know,
so much is not black and white.
So much of life is just gray.
Right?
Isn't so much just gray
where you don't know the way to go.
And chokmah is the way of taking biblical truth
and applying it into your life in a way
which helps you to live in the marketplace.
of life.
You know,
it's,
I've had many of these decisions
where I don't know,
I have two choices
and both of them seem okay.
You know,
when Fiona and I,
when Fiona and I wanted to get married,
Fiona's parents refused.
What do you do
in that situation?
Honor your father and mother
is a biblical command.
Don't be a slave to the fear of men
is another biblical command.
Two things.
They both seem right.
What do you do?
What do I need?
Google it?
No.
I need chokmah.
I need wisdom.
It's the same as if you have,
you know,
you've got a kid who's rebellious,
rebelling against your authority.
Two different things.
Do you need love and grace and forgiveness?
Or do you need discipline and justice?
Both of them are good things.
What do you do?
Chokmah.
You need it.
And so it's the way
of getting knowledge
so you understand the way
things generally work in the world.
It's seeing your present situation clearly
and it's having a strategy
for knowing how to navigate the gray
all in God's world
so that you can do relationships right.
That is chokmah.
But I find in the issue of guidance,
many people come to me
and I think we have a wrong view
of how God guides in life.
Okay?
I have many people say,
I want to know what God's will for my life is.
How do I know if this job
is God's will for my life?
You know, we're very afraid
of getting it wrong.
You know, if we make something wrong,
we think of life like a doorway.
You know, the journey of life
is a door rather than a path.
And so what we have
is if I choose the wrong door,
then I'm afraid I'm going to screw up
the rest of my life
and I go through the wrong one
and I go, oh, I should have chosen the other one
and we're going to miss out.
That's how we feel in life often.
And so you have like door A, B, C
in front of you.
You know, it could be three jobs.
And I have people come to me and say,
what job does God want me to take?
And I'll say to them,
well, are any of them terrorism?
And they say, no, generally.
Kidnapping, drug smuggling.
And they say, okay, no.
If the answer is yes,
we might have to chat about it.
But they say,
but I want to know what God wants.
And I say, well, it's not here a moral choice.
It's not a sin issue.
It's a wisdom issue.
It's a chokmah issue.
But we struggle with this, I think,
because we like to have the idea
of a kind of a door which you just open
and that's the way you go.
And God to kind of give a little pointy finger
just saying it's that door.
And, you know, we want an instant solution.
We want an instant solution.
You know, 10 steps to raising your kids.
This is how,
you look at the how-to manuals outside.
It's all like, okay,
follow these 10 steps
and boom, the door will open.
Right?
Five ways to a better body.
Okay?
Six ways to greater intelligence.
All those different things.
That's what we like.
And so we have Christian versions of those as well.
We say things like,
just pray and get some peace.
And if you have peace,
then that's the way forward.
Now, prayer is essential as part of this.
Because we've got to depend on God.
Sense of peace is good.
But, you know, in the Bible,
Saul had a great sense of peace
when he was having Christians martyred.
Right?
And I've heard people come to me
who've said,
I've prayed about joining a church
and I just didn't have peace about it
so I didn't join a church.
And I'm going,
okay,
sounds like you're listening to yourself there.
You're not listening to God.
Right?
Or other people will say,
okay,
follow the open doors.
Now, sometimes that's a good idea.
But, you know,
Jonah in the Bible
got an open door
to run away from God
to go to Tarshish.
You know,
he goes to the ship ticket office
and he says,
hey,
are there any tickets for Tarshish?
And they say,
yes, there are.
And he says,
wow,
it's a sign,
an open door.
Really?
You know,
I've had doors which seem to open
and suddenly they were slammed in my face
and then I thought,
God,
what are you playing at?
I thought that was you.
Right?
And we get confused.
Anyone been there?
Another one is like,
the Holy Spirit told me.
Now,
I believe very strongly
that the Spirit does
and has in my life
prompted me in numerous ways.
We're going to talk about this later,
later in the year.
But,
I believe God uses our intuitions
to guide us.
But here's a very important thing
we need to be careful of.
Don't ascribe your gut
the same authority
as God's Word.
Okay?
Because I had a guy who was,
he was convinced
the Holy Spirit
had told him
to be a worship music leader.
Okay?
And you know what the Holy Spirit tells you?
You can't argue with that.
Right?
You can't argue with anyone
who says,
God told me.
It's like,
okay.
So,
he goes to the worship music practice
and let me just tell you,
if the Holy Spirit
had called him,
he had called him
as a sign of judgment
on whoever he was going to sing to.
Because he lacked chokmah.
But this is some of the ways
that we misunderstand
how God wants us
to operate in the world.
We want a plug and play formula.
Life is more complex than that.
And God is more relational
than just dishing out
a kind of how-to guide.
God wants a relationship with you
and in a relationship,
chokmah comes.
So let's come
to look at,
that's what chokmah is.
Chokmah is the skill
of living well
in a complex world
to know how to do relationships well
and it's in God's world.
Let me say,
how do we get wisdom?
How do we get this chokmah?
The way to wisdom.
Okay?
That's point two.
If you want to just show,
there are many ways
that people think
about getting wisdom.
Confucius said this,
three methods we may learn wisdom.
First, by reflection.
Second, imitation.
And third, by experience.
There is some wisdom in that.
And we could talk about
many of those different things
and the Bible would agree
with some of those areas.
But the Bible and Proverbs
is going to tell us
there's something
that Confucius has missed out
in his definition.
And Confucius has missed out
what in chapter 9, verse 10,
the book of Proverbs says
is the beginning of wisdom.
It says,
The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom
and knowledge of the Holy One
is insight.
The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom
and knowledge of the Holy One
is insight.
That's weird.
Right?
Just think how weird that is.
The fear of Yahweh
is the beginning of wisdom.
Because we think fear is bad.
Right?
Generally.
But what Proverbs
and what the Bible shows us
there are two types of fear
you can have.
The first type of fear
comes when you
when you fear
that you've messed up
and your boss
is going to shout at you.
You're going to get punished
for something.
Have a look at this verse
that Moses says.
Exodus 20.
Okay?
God showed himself
to the mountain
to sinful people
at Mount Sinai.
They pull back terrified
and Moses says
and they say to Moses
don't let God speak
or we'll die.
And then
Moses says this
do not fear
for God has come
to test you
that the fear of him
may be before you
that you may not sin.
Do you see?
He says
do not fear
that you may fear.
Do you get that?
Two types of fear
that he's talking about.
The first is that fear
the negative fear
of punishment
that brings many people
including many of us
to church
to try and be very moral
because we're worried
that maybe
if we don't do the right thing
then God is going to smite us.
Right?
That's often the motivation
for much religion
that we do.
But that's not
what he's talking about here.
There's another kind of fear.
That's the fear
that the fear of him
may be in you.
And have a look
at the next verse.
The next verse
from Nehemiah.
From Nehemiah
he says this
he says
O Lord God of heaven
the great and awesome God
let your ear
be attentive
to the prayer
of your servant
to the prayer
of your servants
who delight
to fear your name.
Who delight
to fear your name.
You see
there's something
awesomely terrifying
about God.
If you actually
think about
someone who can create
the whole universe
that is pretty
terrifying.
But there's something
that if you run
to him
the fear of him
drives out
all other fears.
You can care
less about
what other people
think
because you care
more about
what he thinks.
You see
there's delight
and there's fear
together.
There's love
and there's fear
because there's beauty
and greatness
together in God.
And what you love
most
is what you also
fear hurting
or losing
or disappointing
the most.
I mean it's a bit
like if you've
got a kid
who Taylor Swift
is like they're
obsessed with
Taylor Swift.
Okay.
And you suddenly
they're walking
down the street
and they spot
Taylor Swift
in the corner
like just standing
there.
Now what emotions
fill them?
What's going
through their mind?
There's this mix
of love
and excitement
and wanting
to run up
and say hi.
But then there's
also this mix
of this fear
and awe
that someone
who's so great
in their eyes
kind of comes
before you
and you're worried
that you might
say something stupid.
You might do
something stupid.
You might say
something which
will lessen
the greatness
in which
the presence
you're in.
And it's this sense
of an awe-filled
love for God
that leaves you
trembling before him
but wanting to
attract it
and wanting
to run to him.
Because we realize
that God is God
and I am not.
Do you know that?
God is God
and you are not.
And so the fear
of the Lord
is my definition.
It's when I treasure
God in his beauty
and awesome majesty
so much so
that I do not want
to do anything
to displease him.
To treasure him
so much
that I don't want
to, every day
I'm going out
I don't want to put
anything else
before you.
I don't want
anyone else
to come before you
because that's
idolatry.
I don't want that.
I want to treasure
you before anything
else.
Now that kind of
fear sets you
free from
everyone else's
opinion.
It sets you free
from caring too much
about what you
think about yourself
and you think
about things.
You know so often
I have been in
so many arguments
where I'm trying
to prove myself
to be right
even though I know
that I'm wrong
because I just
have to be right.
Because I think
more of myself
and my opinion
than other people.
But fools
think they know
best.
Fools think
they know best.
Do you notice
in chapter 8
13
the fear of the
Lord
is the hatred
of evil
and then the
first thing on the
list is pride.
Okay.
First thing on the
list is pride.
And what is pride?
What's pride?
Pride is thinking
you know best.
Pride is thinking
you know best.
And I mean
just think about it.
Just take dating
for example.
Take dating.
Some of us
because we think
we know best
some of us
are so picky
we won't date
anyone unless
they're perfect
for you.
Right.
Unless you know
according to your
criteria and in
your mind
that makes sense.
and so you
complain about
the lack of guys
and the lack
of girls here
but you're
passing out
perfectly good
godly guys
and godly girls
because you're
looking for
Scarlett Johansson
or you're looking
for somebody
who's going to
buy you
able to have
the financial
ability to
buy you a
flat on the
peak.
And
that's foolish.
That's not
the real world.
That's idolatry
even.
And the fear
of the Lord
sets you free
from elevating
your criteria
and this
idolatry of
perfection
and what you
think
above
because you
think that's
what's going
to satisfy
you
above
fearing God
and allowing
him to then
shape the
reality of
your world.
And seeing
that just
frees you
to actually
see clearly
and not
stupidly.
You know
other people
you'll date
anyone
whether they
love Jesus
or not.
And you
know you
say well
there's no
rule in the
Bible that
says about
don't date
and don't
Christian.
And it's
true.
Dating was
invented in
the 20th
century.
That's why
it's not
in the
Bible.
But if
you have
the fear
of the
Lord
which is
a command
you don't
want to
date anyone
who doesn't
love Jesus
because you
don't want
to go
anywhere near
there's
something
which will
draw you
away from
you.
Draw you
away from
loving Jesus
because you
treasure him
more than
anything else.
That's the
fear of
the Lord.
And you
know that
counts of
whether somebody
is a
non-Christian
that counts
as somebody
whether says
they're a
Christian but
isn't living
a life that's
following him.
And you
know it'll
save you so
much regret
and heartache
later from
making foolish
decisions.
The fear of
the Lord is
the beginning
of wisdom.
How do you
grow and
get that
wisdom?
That wisdom
is a
lifetime
journey of
getting in
God's word
allowing it
to shape
your life
allowing it
to shape
your character
and allowing
wisdom to
be the lens
through which
every sign
of peace
every sign
of open
door
every sense
of intuition
everything else
is shaped
through that
door.
because sinful
people like
you and
me we
mess up
continually
we continually
turn left
instead of
right but
we should
only we
often should
have that
negative fear
of God but
we can only
have that
positive fear
of God when
you realize
that in
God's word
he speaks
this word of
the gospel
it says there's
now no
condemnation for
those in
Christ Jesus
which means
you can be
free from
the negative
fear
to be free
to love
and fear
him because
you realize
your identity
is no longer
at stake
what others
think about
you is no
longer the
key thing
what he
thinks about
you is the
main thing
in your
life
that's why
let's do
one more
thing
that's why
if we want
to be a
wise community
we need to
be an
awe-filled
community
and to be
an awe-filled
community
we need to
be a
bible-soaked
community
because it's
as we get
in God's
word that we
get to know
who God
is
and then as
we rehearse
that with
each other
that is going
to guide us
and lead us
in the paths
of life
that we keep
coming to
the crossroads
of life
but it's not
just a fear
of God
this way
there's also
this sense
of if you're
a fool
you believe
you know
best
and so you
don't involve
others in
your decisions
but if you
notice
proverbs 9
verse 8
says
don't reprove
a scoffer
or he'll
hate you
reprove
that means
correct
a wise man
and he will
love you
give instruction
to a wiser man
and he will
still be wiser
what is he saying
he's saying
wisdom is also
a community
experience
do you get that
it's a community
experience
it's people
growing together
teaching each
other
and walking
along
together
as they
walk in
the fear
of God
together
because God
the fear
of God
gives you
a teachable
humble spirit
to realize
that you
don't know
all the answers
do you know
people who think
they know
all the answers
they're some
of the most
foolish people
there are
do you know
why I know
this because
this is very
personal for me
I had a mental
breakdown
because I
thought I knew
better than
anybody else
and I
wouldn't go
to other
people for
wisdom
and I
still see
that tendency
for independence
in my life
and this is
the challenging
part that to
be part of a
community
who loves
Jesus
is not to
just live our
lives independently
and then come to
church on a Sunday
and think we just
praise God
and then we go
away and make
all the decisions
by ourselves
but at the
significant forks
in your road
in your life
Proverbs is
telling you
if you want
to be wise
you will bring
the counsel
of other people
godly people
not just anybody
but godly people
into your life
you know
it's things like
do we have the
humility and the
teachability to say
things like
hey I'm fighting
with my spouse
every day
and I don't know
how to deal
with this
could you help
me
could you walk
with me
through this
are we humble
enough to be
open enough
with somebody
in this church
to do that
it's the things
of saying
I'm struggling
with same
sex attraction
I'm struggling
with thoughts
about somebody
else who is
not my spouse
and I don't
know how to
handle it
will you
walk with me
in this
guide me
because so
many of us
are actually
fools
like so
often I
am
because we
think we
know best
that's why
we don't ask
other people
godly people
for wisdom
in our world
and in our
crossroads of
life
and you've
got a thousand
other people
who are speaking
to you at the
crossroads of
your life
and the choices
that you have
right even now
and the point
is where are
you going
for wisdom
do you go
to God's
word
do you go
to other
godly people
or are you
just trying
to figure out
your own way
by yourself
and he's
saying you're
a fool
if you do
that
you'll be
a fool
you realize
that's one
of the reasons
why in the
church we
don't just
want to
segregate
married people
over here
single people
over here
because if
single people
get together
and they're
just together
do you know
what and
they're talking
about relationships
relationships
it's pulling
ignorance
together
right
how much
better is
it if you
have somebody
who's been
through that
and has
walked with
God
and you can
draw on their
wisdom to bring
help along those
crossroads so you
don't keep turning
left when you
should be turning
right
it's the same
with those of
you who are
older
are you involved
in the lives
of other people
so that
there can be
an impartation
of what God
has imparted
into you
and to somebody
else
and be careful
it's not that
you are now
the old sage
wise one
who just
dumps advice
on people
because humble
wise people
are teachable
and know the
limits of their
wisdom
but you walk
alongside other
people together
that's how a
community becomes
wise
and our society
is so filled
with individualism
and independence
that we've
forgotten
the collective
wisdom of people
who've walked
with God
together here
in this
community
so wisdom
it's the skill
of living well
in the complexity
of life
we need the
fear of God
treasuring him
above everything
else through his
word in community
very final thing
it's the call
of wisdom
the call of wisdom
I don't know if
you noticed
in verse
well in the
beginning of
verse 8
chapter 8
and the beginning
of chapter 9
who is wisdom
talking to
do you notice
he's calling out
to the simple
and to fools
did you see that
he's calling out
simple and the fools
the simple
are people who
are easily
persuaded
and just
easily
choose the wrong
direction
fools are those
who have already
taken the wrong
term and just
believe in their
own lives
but it says
whoever
9 verse 4
says
whoever is
simple
let him turn
in here
verse 6
says
leave your
simple ways
and live
right now
in your world
I don't know
what's going on
in your world
but right now
in your world
wisdom is
calling out
to you
and isn't
that grace
think about it
you could have
been
I don't know
what you've been
doing in your life
but I know me
and I know
probably you
are all like me
that you've been
turning left
a lot of the time
in your life
you know we turn
left to head
towards foolish town
we're at the
crossroads
the GPS of wisdom
is telling us
to go right
but we've gone
left
that voice in
your conscience
has said
hold your tongue
that voice in
your conscience
has been saying
don't dwell on
that thought
about that
woman
or that guy
that voice
has been telling
you spend time
in God's word
pick up your phone
to your dad
even though he hurt you
that voice has been
telling you that
it's been telling you
to go right
and you've been
going left
deliberately
and it may be
you've been turning
left for a long time
maybe you're
you're kind of
you've gone to
foolish town
and you're now like
you've got a nice
bed and breakfast
there and you've
settled down
you've been there
for a long time
making foolish
choices
but the amazing
thing of grace
is that wisdom
is still calling
out to you today
and saying
it's not too late
though you have
turned left
today is a day
where you can now
turn right
and listen to me
the call of wisdom
goes out to you
today
and says
come
come eat
of my bread
drink of my wine
I've got a banquet
for you
I've got a feast
for you
I've got my love
for you
I've got my grace
for you
today you can eat
of the satisfaction
of saying no
to your porn habit
to say yes
to the freedom
from shame
today
the word turn
it says
it's what Jesus says
it's the word repent
it's the same word
and when the New Testament
says the idea
of wisdom
do you know
what it says
it's not talking
just an idea
in the mind
it's not talking
a concept
it's not just
nice advice
when the New Testament
says wisdom
it says it's talking
about a person
it's talking
about Jesus Christ
1 Corinthians
says
God chose
the foolish
in the world
like you and me
to shame
the wise
because of him
you are in Christ
Jesus
who became
for us
wisdom
from God
that means
Jesus himself
is calling out
to you
with all the choices
that you have
and he's saying
run to me
turn to me
come to me
right now
with whatever
is going on
in your life
and you will
find
a feast
prepared for you
experience my love
so you're not craving
for it from everyone else
my forgiveness
so you're free
from the guilt
and shame
which stops you
from learning
how to discipline
and bring out
your kids so well
with wisdom
come to me
because
Psalm 130
says
with the Lord
there is forgiveness
therefore
we will
fear
you
Jesus
is calling
you
will
you
come to him
for wisdom
let's pray
maybe as you just
think about
what's going on
in your life
at the moment
actually on the screen
we will have
just a few questions
for you to just reflect
for a minute
because I don't want
us to run away
from actually
responding
to what
Jesus is trying
to say to you
right now
so have a look
at these four
questions
because
some of you
here
you have got
issues in your life
that you know
are real
and you've gone
and talked to
nobody about them
and today
Jesus is calling
you
to say
who are you
going to go
to
for godly
wisdom
some of you
are wrestling
with choices
at the moment
and you're
wondering
what do I
do
and it's
felt like
you've been
waiting
for a long
time
and Jesus
is just
saying
come to
me
trust
me
treasure
me
and I
will lead
you on
this path
you will
not
miss out
some of you
have just
never got
enough
into god's
word
enough
to really
understand
wisdom
and all
and god
is saying
to you
will you
come
into my
word
with my
people
and will
you let
me speak
to you
just like
you to
pray by
yourself
in reflection
of those
questions
just respond
to Jesus
yourself
right now
if you're a
Christian
if you're not
a Christian
where do you
get your wisdom
from
father
you sent
your son
to a world
full of foolish
people
like me
like all
of us
and it's
your grace
that you
keep
chasing
after us
you chased
us to
the cross
that you
draw us
back
that we'd
come into
this
relationship
with you
so that
we'd see
how the
world
works
we'd see
clearly
beyond
the foolishness
of the
things
that we
believe in
please I
pray for
us
pray for
us
that you'd
help us
to see
the beauty
of your
forgiveness
of your
grace
of your
honor
of the
glory
that you
have brought
us to
know you
and in
knowing you
we can
walk with
you
and know
that we're
not going
to screw
up our
lives
because when
we walk
with you
you make
a way
for us
I pray
for those
of us
who know
that actually
we've screwed
up in many
ways in
our lives
I pray
that they'd
hear you
speaking this
morning
that word
of just
come
and that we
turn and
find that
banquet of
forgiveness
and grace
waiting for
us
that you
purchased
on that
cross
for us
I pray
make us
a wise
people
who are
not so
independent
that we
don't just
try and
figure out
life by
ourselves
Lord
creating us
that humility
that teachability
that sense
of knowing
how much
we need
you
and we
need
each
other
and grow
us in
wisdom
to love
you
to do
our
relationships
well
that we'll
honor you
in Jesus
name
Amen