Good morning.
So our first Bible reading is from 1 Kings chapter 3, starting at verse 5.
Verse 5.
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said,
Ask what I shall give you.
And Solomon said, You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David, my father,
because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart
toward you.
And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and I have given him a son to sit on
his throne this day.
And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David, my father, although
I am but a little child.
I do not know how to go out or come in, and your servant is in the midst of your people
whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.
Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern
between good and evil, for who is able to govern this, your great people?
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
And God said to him, Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life
or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern
what is right, behold, I now do according to your word.
Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you,
and none like you shall arise after you.
I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honour, so that no other king shall
compare with you all your days.
Our second reading is from Proverbs chapter 1, starting at verse 1.
The Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.
To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in
wise dealing, in righteousness, justice and equity, to give prudence to the simple, knowledge
and discretion to the youth.
Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,
to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
That's the word of God.
Well, good morning, everyone.
My name is also David, one of the pastors here.
And according to my many family members, wider family members, and most of my neighbours,
I would also be considered a loser.
Now, behind general politeness and friendliness, and there is that, on most part, behind general
politeness and friendliness, they think I'm gullible.
Believing what the Bible says about God, about Jesus, about sin, and about my need for salvation
through Jesus.
And they think I'm naive.
To shape my life in service of Jesus.
Convinced that in relationship with Jesus, I have found the good life that they too are desperately searching for.
That's just naive.
And it hurts.
Nobody likes to be considered a loser.
Nobody likes to be considered gullible, naive, a fool, easily swayed and deceived as to what is right and good.
We crave to be validated by family and friends thinking that we're wise.
That we're living the good life every day.
And behind all that, what that means is we're all philosophers.
Phileo means to love and sopia is the word for wisdom.
So we're all lovers of wisdom.
We all have a form of wisdom.
Something we're committed to.
An understanding of the nature of our being.
And an understanding of the nature of the good life.
The problem is that as philosophers, we cannot agree where the divide between the losers or the fools and the wise is.
We cannot agree on what wisdom looks like and plays out in life.
So in Asian, Middle Eastern and Melanesian cultures, age or grey hairs as they're called is wisdom.
But increasingly, that is being rejected by the young people who've come to conclude that grey hairs is the protection of the traditional life.
Not necessarily the good life.
On the other hand, youth is wisdom in Western culture.
And so grey hairs, like myself, are dismissed as sort of past their use-by date to speak wisely on any subject in our changing world.
Information, education and technology is wisdom for many.
That is, touted as a pathway to ending poverty.
Ending conflict.
Delivering the good life.
And yet strangely, with vast amounts of information available at the click of a mouse.
With more people educated to a higher level than ever before.
Greed and poverty continue.
And in fact, we're more disconnected.
More unhappy.
And more dysfunctional than ever.
Some claim that the life of self.
The life of pleasure is wisdom.
So they say, well, accumulate stuff while you're able.
Eat, drink and party.
Others say the exact opposite.
The selfless life.
Of serving others is wisdom.
So declutter your life.
Get rid of stuff.
And invest in experiences.
We can't agree on what wisdom looks like.
Most commonly in Australian culture, people are committed to a form of wisdom driven by autonomy.
That is, self-confidence that says, I know better than anyone else.
And self-expression.
I will do life my way.
And the evidence is everywhere, I think.
So children will naturally back themselves against their parents' advice.
Adults will naturally back themselves against the governing authorities.
People even live contrary to that which hard evidence suggests might be wrong or bad for you.
So committed are they to their particular form of wisdom.
And so I think, in realistic terms, we're caught between a rock and a hard place.
On the one hand, people are unsure what wisdom and the good life looks like and are searching desperately for it.
Yet strangely, on the other hand, they resent and resist anyone who introduces wisdom which is contrary to their own settled wisdom that they've been living by for a long time.
The two just don't gel.
And perhaps the current mantra of no judgment.
It's everywhere these days.
Perhaps that reflects the insecurity we feel about being wise.
It seems to me that people don't want their wisdom, their wisdom, to be challenged.
Lest they be exposed as actually being unwise.
So the way to deal with it is not to rethink your wisdom, but to put out the mantra, no, don't judge me.
Don't challenge me.
I've got to be right.
And from that place between the rock and the hard place, let's jump into Proverbs for clear instruction on the big question of life.
What is wisdom?
And how do we get it?
Now, verse 1 introduces us to the author.
The principal author and compiler of this book we call the book of Proverbs is King Solomon.
The back story, which was read to us, is really, really important.
That Solomon prayed for discernment and a truly understanding heart in order that he might be a good ruler of God's people.
Now, in response to that, God gave him the gift of wisdom.
So we see the correlation there of what wisdom is.
And lots of insights have been recorded in this book called the Proverbs.
And it's named after a particular style of writing, usually short, pithy sentences that come in two parts, two parallel phrases, which present truth for life.
But when we dig into these first seven verses, we find that even though we call it the Proverbs, the actual title of the book is anything but short and pithy.
In fact, the title of the book goes for the first six verses.
The first six verses is actually one sentence.
And it takes six verses to describe what these Proverbs and what wisdom is.
And verse seven then introduces the theme of the book.
And the prize on offer as we decipher this stuff is wisdom.
True knowledge.
True understanding of life and our place in it.
True discernment.
True ability to live the good life that is beneficial, rewarding, and delightful.
Even as we'll see over the next few weeks, even though it might not be popular.
Now the verbs and nouns of verses two to five map out the pathway to wisdom and describe its essence.
So look at verse two with me.
To know wisdom and instruction.
To understand words of insight.
Now for us to know is just about having lots of information.
But that's not what it is in Hebrew.
To know in Hebrew is to have a really deep personal insight into a subject which actually shapes who you are and how you live.
It captures your heart.
Captures your attitudes, your desires.
And overflows into particular behavior.
Verse three.
To receive instruction in wise dealing.
In righteousness, justice, and equity or fairness.
To receive instruction in wise dealing speaks of the humility.
A humility that recognizes both the need to learn.
Because we don't know naturally what the good life is or how to get it.
And in submitting to the one whose voice is authoritative to tell us what the good life is and how to get it.
The good life here in verse three.
Picked up in these three nouns is all of life lived under God's control.
And reflecting first of all God's perfect character or righteousness.
And expressed.
God's character expressed to others around us.
In justice and fairness.
All of life.
Lived under God's control.
Now why is that in?
Well let's take a step back.
And remind ourselves that sin you see has broken God's pattern for life.
And what sin does is it reduces people to a grotesque distorted sense of self.
Expressed in autonomy from God.
Or as it's called here in verse seven.
Foolishness.
So therefore healer.
Wisdom therefore is the healer of God's world.
God's sinful world.
Wisdom is the restorer of a true sense of self.
Expressed in life lived under God.
It's a big topic.
It's a big prize to win.
A serious prize to miss out on.
Verses five and six.
To nurture prudence.
Sorry, four, five, and six.
To nurture prudence or knowledge.
And I've got discretion down there.
But discernment is the word I wanted.
Not discretion.
Is the word that should be there.
To nurture prudence or knowledge.
And discernment in how to live well.
Making good decisions in every situation and circumstance of life.
See, wisdom is not just an external commodity.
That's there on the shelf.
And we sort of dip into it.
When we find it desirable.
Wisdom is something that changes us from the inside out.
And is constantly modeled, therefore, to others around us in the way we live.
And what we live for.
Wisdom, it talks about the simple here.
But wisdom is not an intelligence boost for people with a lack of intellect.
That's not what's meant there.
It's discernment and understanding of life for those who do not yet have it.
And who are stumbling around in foolishness.
As such, it is particularly relevant to young people.
Who typically are known for their energy for life.
And yet perhaps lack of direction.
In how to apply that energy for good.
Verse 5.
Wisdom is not a fixed state.
It's not as if it's like riding a bike.
You can't get to the point of saying, well, I am wise.
I have nothing more to learn.
As older people.
We need to be learning constantly.
Listening.
Hearing.
And allowing God's word.
To change thinking and guide into new patterns of living.
And I think that's particularly relevant for older people like myself.
Because it's hard for us to do that very thing.
It's hard for us to change as we get older.
Because to do that, we have to admit that we may have been wrong for many years.
In something we've held.
We've held.
And wisdom's not something we grow into naturally.
And that's why the theme of the verse is stated in verse 7.
The key to, or the heart of wisdom, is fear of the Lord.
Now the word beginning is not a journey marker.
It's not that the idea of beginning means, well, we start off in the process of being wise by the fear of the Lord.
And then somewhere, sometime, we move on to some other thing that's not disclosed here in this verse.
Now it's not like that.
The beginning word here is a defining word.
It's an essential foundation, a fundamental characteristic of wisdom is fear of the Lord.
It will always be there over a lifetime.
The fear of the Lord at heart is what wisdom is.
So to know wisdom, back in verse 2, to know wisdom is to fear the Lord.
Put it the other way around.
To fear the Lord is to display wisdom.
And by contrast, verse 7, the word fool in Hebrew is literally evil, E-V-I-L.
A fool is anyone, therefore, who rejects God, His ways, and His instruction.
A fool is anyone who's committed to being autonomous.
Or as the Bible says in other parts, someone who's committed to being wise in his own eyes.
So what is the fear of the Lord?
Well, it's a disciplined, thoughtful response to God's words, desires, directions, rules, and demands.
And it's also a humble relational response, driven by desire to love, honor, trust, and obey God,
given His prior relationship and commitment to us.
Fear of the Lord is not a cringing terror of a child before an abusive alcoholic father.
Fear of the Lord is not the grudging, minimalistic obedience,
driven by a desire to pacify God's anger or a fear of God's revenge.
Fear of the Lord is not trying to buy God off.
Fear of the Lord says, God is God and I am not.
I am not the source of wisdom and truth.
God is.
And I ought to listen and learn.
I am not the author and sustainer of my life.
God is.
And I will gladly submit to His rule.
Now, some scholars suggest that the Proverbs, when you read them at face value,
is proof that God trusts people to steer their own lives with their own wisdom.
And so they would say these Proverbs are just moralistic, just nice little moralisms.
That anybody can take them on board and discover wisdom.
And that God is totally comfortable with the sufficiency of natural human virtue to achieve well-being in this life,
apart from divine assistance.
that we can actually say with confidence,
I did it well and I did it my way through my own understanding.
Through my own intuitive sense of what the good life is,
I have discovered it and I've lived it.
Well, Proverbs blows that right out of the water.
Verse 7.
The very theme, the very first statement of the theme,
which opens up over the next chapters, as we'll see over the next few weeks,
blows it right out of the water.
Because wisdom is completely anchored in
and defined by
fear of the Lord.
Not the natural wisdom of humanity.
Which is actually declared to be foolishness.
Because it promotes autonomy
for being wise in your own eyes.
And so it's precisely because we naturally lack wisdom,
and precisely because we naturally default to foolishness,
that the person seeking wisdom
needs to look to the Lord
for its foundation
and for its development over a lifetime.
And when we look to the Lord,
we discover
that Jesus is the face of wisdom.
Literally,
Jesus is the face of wisdom.
Now, Proverbs is entirely consistent with the whole Bible,
which identifies two types of wisdom,
two kinds of wisdom.
James 3 puts it like this,
wisdom of the world
and wisdom from above,
or heavenly wisdom.
As I've already said,
worldly wisdom promotes a life of autonomy from God.
Wise in my own eyes.
Self-reliant.
Self-made by obeying external rules.
Even doing religious deeds.
And with no need for instruction about good life,
because I've already discovered the good life.
I've got it under control.
This popular wisdom,
and it is popular,
believes that then God accepts us
on the basis of our self-generated wisdom.
And is happy to be in relationship with us
on the basis of our self-generated wisdom.
Proverbs tells us
that it's totally
wrong.
It's deadly,
says Proverbs,
to believe that.
And so what we actually need
is someone who will break through
the dullness
of our own minds,
the foolishness
of our own thinking,
and reveal true wisdom to us.
And that,
my friends,
is exactly what we see
and hear
in the gospel.
In Luke chapter 6,
verse 46 to 49.
Sorry,
it's so small.
I'm not much good
at these PowerPoint things.
Luke chapter 6,
verse 46 to 49.
Jesus tells the story
as he's speaking the gospel
about
two builders.
One is wise,
one is foolish.
the wise one
is the one
who hears the word of Jesus
and obeys.
That's like building your house
on a rock.
The other
hears
but doesn't pay any attention
and builds his own house
in his own place of choosing
like
on a sand pit.
Wisdom
and foolishness.
My friends,
the gospel
is,
in other words,
a call
to wisdom
in Christ.
Wisdom
is built
on the foundation
of submission
to the word
or rule
of God
in Christ.
And quite literally,
Jesus was
the word
of God.
But even better than that,
Jesus
is our wisdom.
Look at
1 Corinthians 1.
If you want to turn over
to that with me now
or look at it
up on the screen
if you've gone,
that's even worse,
isn't it?
My goodness.
Sorry.
That's embarrassing.
Damien did try
to bail me out of trouble
but not even Damien
could save me from that.
So,
believe me,
it's actually 1 Corinthians 1
verse 1825.
Let me read it to you.
Paul says this
to the Corinthians.
Remember,
Corinth
was the center
of intellectual
life.
It was the center
of knowledge
and wisdom
in the very comments
in Paul's day.
It was a magnet
for philosophers,
professors,
scientists,
and the arts,
the performance
of wisdom.
And Paul has this
to say to them.
For the word
of the cross
is folly
to those
who are perishing.
But to us
who are being saved,
it is the power
of God.
For it's written,
I will destroy
the wisdom
of the wise
and the discernment
of the discerning
I will thwart.
Where is the one
who is wise?
Where is the scribe?
Where is the
debater of this age?
Has not God
made foolish
the wisdom
of this world?
For since
in the wisdom
of God
the world
did not know
God through wisdom,
it pleased God
through the folly
of what we preach
to save those
who believe.
For Jews
demand signs
and Greeks
seek wisdom.
But we
preach
Christ crucified,
a stumbling
block to Jews
and folly
to the Gentiles.
But to those
who are called
both Jews
and Greeks,
Christ
the power
of God
and the wisdom
of God.
The power
of God
and the wisdom
of God.
Their knowledge
in Corinth
was,
so-called knowledge,
was in
learning
and words,
intellectual
attainment,
dramatic
performance.
But the
irony of it
was
as they
pursued
wisdom,
their brand
of wisdom,
it actually
kept them
from knowing
God
and from
discovering
true wisdom.
That is,
until they
met
and responded
to Jesus.
We're told
here that
Jesus
is the
embodiment
of God's
wisdom.
How does
that work?
Well,
because he
himself was
God,
he saw
God
properly
in his
entirety
as the
ruler of
this universe
in all
his holiness
and righteousness.
righteousness.
Jesus
understood
God's
demand
and
righteous
requirements
clearly.
He
responded
perfectly,
living the
good life
of perfect
obedience,
justice
and fairness,
expressing
God's
character
to all
around him
at every
moment.
And what
happens in the
gospel is
that as we
get Jesus,
we get
wisdom.
Perfect
wisdom.
God has
uploaded his
wisdom into
us by his
Holy Spirit.
Our
challenge,
therefore,
as Christians,
is simply
to, well,
it's not that
simple sometimes,
but in one
sense it's
simple.
Our
challenge is
on a daily
basis to
express the
mind of
Christ in
every situation
and circumstance.
of our
lives.
And as we
struggle to
better and
better express
the mind of
Christ in
every circumstance
and situation
of our life,
that is to
grow in
wisdom.
But here's
the problem
for us,
because we
constantly
default to
displaying our
own form of
wisdom.
and we
default to
that by
grasping at
our own
abilities and
our own
competencies in
life.
So we
think wisdom
comes in
being seen to
be competent
as parents,
or competent
in the
workplace,
or competent
at sport,
or competent
in relationships.
and we
measure wisdom
by our
competency,
even though
we cannot
carry the
load of
that on a
daily basis,
it crushes
us.
We just
cannot do
it consistently,
and we
know and
fear that
it's exposing
us every day
as being
really unwise.
it suggests
to us that
we've not
got true
life.
My friends,
the comfort
for you this
morning is that
Proverbs tells
us we can't
be competent
in the way
we want to
be.
Proverbs tells
us we don't
need to be
competent in
the way that
we think we
have to be.
we tend to
drag all our
competencies from
God's sphere.
We drag them
into our own
sphere of effort
and ability
and action.
But what we
need to do as
Christians is
recognize that
God is competent
in all things,
including your
life and mine.
We need to
trust and value
his competency
for us
and in
us
in Christ
producing
righteousness,
justice,
and equity.
Proverbs shows
us the extent
of God's
demands
on our
lives,
the fear of
the Lord.
It's a huge
thing.
But it
should not
lead us to
despair
as we
contemplate
how do we
do that?
Instead,
it should
humble us
and point
us to
the Lord
Jesus
who promises
to transform
us,
to transform
us from
the inside
out into
the wise,
godly person
that we
want to be
and that God
has created
us to be.
And you
see, that's
the aim of
Proverbs.
The aim of
Proverbs is
not simply
to modify
your behavior
and make
you a better
version of
your old,
distorted,
sinful self.
The aim of
Proverbs is
to show you
how to be
transformed
through the
work of
Jesus for
you and
in you
by his
spirit to
make you
the wise
image bearer
you were
created to
be.
So my
friends,
I finish
with just
a very
simple but
I hope
a profound
question for
you.
Which side
of the
divide are
you?
Are you
defined by
autonomy from
God?
And you
may well be
defined by
autonomy from
God even
though you
claim to
live under
his rule
and even
though you
are quite
active
religiously,
you're here
this morning,
it's quite
possible still
to be defined
by autonomy,
self-reliance,
self-made,
self-promoting,
self-satisfying,
wise in
your own
eyes.
Now I'll
bet if that's
you,
your friends,
your wider
family and
your neighbours
will admire
you because
of what
you've
achieved for
yourself,
what you've
made of
your own
life.
But God
will judge
you a
loser,
a fool.
The other
side of the
divide,
are you a
fool in
the eyes
of the
world
because
they can
see
clearly
your
first
point
of
reference
is
always
obedience
to God
in the
Lord
Jesus
Christ.
Yet
confident
you're a
person of
true
wisdom,
defined
by Christ
and glad
submission to
his word
at every
point in
life.
there is
no third
alternative.
Let's pray.
Lord,
help us
to be
wise,
not in
our own
eyes.
Help us,
Lord,
to come
to Jesus
for power
and wisdom.
Help us
to stand
firmly
alongside
him,
gladly living
under
his
rule
and
seeking
daily
to express
his
character
in
ourselves
and to
those
around
us.
In
Jesus'
name
I
pray.