The Need for Wisdom (Sermon)

This sermon was preached by Kevin Deane at Fairmont Baptist Church in Saskatoon on

 July 12, 2015.

When Adam and Eve ate that fruit they lost their relationship with God, but there were many things they gained (or gained the knowledge of). Justice, for example had never been known, because God had never previously had anyone to judge. No one in the garden had ever preached a sermon on righteous living. They gained the knowledge of both good, and also of evil. The problem was their natural tendency to choose evil. So just as an example, Cain knew that God was not pleased with his sacrifice of vegetables. He knew that was wrong according to God. But he did not discern that God would be even less pleased with him killing his brother. Cain could have asked God what he should do. He could have sought out wisdom. But instead he ended up being a wicked man. It was not that God was not willing to show what justice and righteousness looked like, but Cain was not willing to listen.

And the rest of human history has been the story of men and women continuing to do evil, because although God has revealed the path of righteousness, we are bent and wired to do otherwise. So I believe the Bible is one large story and one large cry for mankind to rely on something outside of ourselves. That to be righteous we need something that we do not naturally posses. To be made righteous once and for all we need to be justified through Christ's blood, but more than that in, order to live a righteous life we need a wisdom that only God can provide.

The book of Proverbs, is no exception, and highlights the value of wisdom. And I think the first three chapters are one big dissertation, or one big poem on the importance and necessity of gaining wisdom. In order to live righteously, we're going to need a God-given wisdom. Now Solomon writes about gaining wisdom with the assumption that it isn't something we naturally have. But he does write about it as something we need. In fact, he says several times that it is the start of the fear of the Lord. That is to say that in order to understand righteousness or justice or equity, we will need wisdom. So lets' read Chapter 2.

"My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life. So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it."

(Pro 2:1-22)

So if we gain wisdom we will understand the fear of the Lord. These are the promises for the one who gains wisdom: We will understand righteousness and justice and equity and every good path. Knowledge will be pleasant to our souls. We will be delivered from the way of evil. Delivered from men of perverted speech. Be delivered from the forbidden woman. We will walk in the way of good and keep to the paths of righteousness. Godliness is in the hand of the wise.

See all of us naturally know the difference between good and evil (more or less). We know that perverted speech and adulterous women are wrong. But what we lack is the perspective of eternity. We lack a sufficient knowledge of God and His rewards to continually make the right choices. We knowingly choose wrong, not because of a lack of self-control, but a lack of wisdom. We need something that we do not naturally possess. So we are going to look at three tendencies or three common foolish choices that you and I make. They are outlined in the book of proverbs so we can really see and understand how much we need wisdom and where we can get it.

The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!" As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.

(Pro 26:13-16)

I believe every one of us contains at least some tendencies to be the sluggard. The sluggard is the kind of person who makes excuses for not doing the work given to him. There are no lions in Israel. He invents imaginary foes so he may continue to hide comfortably inside.

The sluggard is the kind of person who doesn't give to the church because of an impending financial crisis

The sluggard is the kind of person who can't help with youth because they don't want to be overworked, and goes home to watch TV.

The sluggard is the kind of person who refuses to volunteer at a soup kitchen for the sake of their own safety.

The sluggard is the kind of person who won't lead a Bible study because they don't know enough, but hasn't bothered to try studying or preparing.

The sluggard is the kind of person who wants to cancel church because there is an inch of snow on the ground.

They take a problem that could be a problem, something with very small potential to be real, it grows into a certainty in their minds and they end up staying in their house doing nothing because they believe 'there is a lion in the streets.' And this could be a very genuine belief. It isn't always a conscious excuse. Sometimes it's birthed out of insecurity. Sometimes it comes from a bad experience in the past

The other thing a sluggard does is turns on his bed like a door on a hinge. And buries his hand in a dish but can't find the strength to bring it back to his mouth. Now when eating or sleeping is used to rejuvenate you for working it is a good thing. A God-given thing. But when resting becomes unproductive it is simply a waste of time. I think we are all prone to this. Many people, after a long day of work want to come home, turn the TV on and turn their brain off. We want to do something that doesn't engage, doesn't require effort or a response. One of the most common trends among my age bracket is to take a day off as a day to spend watching through a whole season of a TV show or just watching netflix. We fill our heads with media. When even our resting is unproductive, we are the sluggard he describes.

I think we all contain at least some 'sluggard' tendencies. So what is wisdom? What we lack is the perspective of eternity. Knowing how long eternity is and how short life is changes our work ethic. The wise man knows and understands righteousness. Which means he no longer lives for Himself, but says with Paul, “Whether I eat or drink or whatever I do, I do all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

The second tendency we all have is to desire things that appear good. Let's read 5:1-6:

My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.

(Pro 5:1-6)

This is like a man who is extremely hungry and he walks to a restaurant. But as he gets closer to the restaurant he is so hungry he can not contain himself, and he dives into the garbage can and starts chewing on the rubbish. Is his hunger satisfied? Yes. But is he given the strength and nutrition he needs? No. See the temptation has all the appearance of being good – this adulterous woman drips with honey and is smoother than oil, but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood.

I want to borrow an illustration from John Piper. He was speaking on the subject of pornography, but I think it is more widely applicable.

If you were sitting at your computer screen, caught fully in the sway of sexual desire, more powerfully than you ever felt before, with every intention to look at something innapropriate online, and suddenly an ISIS member with a black mask burst into your room with a knife to the throat of your best friend. And they said they would kill your best friend, perhaps its your wife, if you clicked on that site, you would suddenly find you have all the self control you need. Likewise, if someone burst into your room and offered you one million legitimate tax-free dollars if you did not click on that site, you would have all the self control you need. There is no one who has a true sexual addiction, there are only people who make poor sexual choices.

He's speaking of pornography but I think the lesson is far more broad. Sin costs us intimacy with God. Purity offers us a chance to experience the riches of Jesus. If we actually knew and believed that losing intimacy with God was more costly than losing our best friend, we would have self-control. If we actually believed the riches of Jesus Christ were more valuable than a million dollars, we would have the self-control we needed.

The Holy Spirit's job is to constantly reveal to us the cost of sin and the riches of Jesus. What is wisdom? Knowing and believing how much sin cost us.

Over the last few weeks, with the legalization of homosexual marriage in the States and the rise of gay pride worldwide, I believe the church is headed into a new and bigger battlefield than ever before. The early church faced martyrdom, the Reformation era saw political and social rejection, but I think our era will be remembered for a different fight. I believe we will be remembered for our sexual purity. I think the church is entering a new age where a pastor having an affair will no longer be a 'scandal,' it will be a permanent stain on the ministry. Now, more than ever, the purity of the believer is of utmost importance.

The third tendency Solomon talks about in Proverbs is having a loose tongue.

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. "Scoffer" is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride.

(Pro 21:23-24)

If you can keep control over your tongue you can stay out of trouble. How you use your tongue is a huge key to righteous living.

How and when we speak can have a huge effect on our life.

Think about what words can do in the context of:

Church life – gossip can rift quicker than murder

Evangelism – We can have the right words but lack compassion. We can offend with our presentation rather than message.

Work – The break room can easily become the complain room

Proverbs talks a a lot about quarrels. It takes wisdom to know when and which fights to become a part of. Jesus knew when to rebuke pharisees and when to stand silent before Pilate. We need His wisdom.

Proverbs also talks a lot about speaking when it isn't necessary. A common image in the book is of the nagging wife – a favourite image for some. Words can put unnecessary tension in a family. Too many words can tear apart a marriage.

So here we are – the sluggard, the one who is tempted by what appears good, and the one with a loose tongue. Maybe you identify with one of those images, maybe you identify with all of them. The point is that we all have tendencies to make foolish decisions. Tendencies to live unrighteous. What we need in order to live Godly daily lives is a perspective of eternity. To know the length of eternity and the value of knowing Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 2 told us very clearly that when we look for wisdom we will find it. The Fear of the Lord and wisdom are two things that inspire and cause each other. God has given the eye, and given light to meet the eye's need, and in the same way, God has not only given the heart, but given wisdom to help meet the heart's need. Wisdom is offered as freely to man as folly is. God 'stores it up' for the upright. Meaning it is free, but it is hidden away for those who seek it according to his conditions. As gold is found by those who dig deep in the ground, wisdom is found by those who dig deep into the Word. Searching for wisdom is a process of refining and purification. As it comes into your heart, knowledge will become pleasant to your soul. When we are given wisdom, it can be put into practical use.

When we are given wisdom, we will understand the Fear of the Lord. And when we understand the fear of the Lord, we will begin to see the value of the time on Earth we have been given, and we will not waste it. As we are given the fear of the Lord, we will see the cost of sin and the riches of Jesus and we will remain pure. As we are given the fear of the Lord we will learn to guard our tongues and use them for building others up. This is the heart of the gospel; we need God's help. And that He is willing to give it. Wisdom calls from the streets. Seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures.