Anyone who doesn’t know Jesus is either a simpleton or a fool. I know that’s a shocking statement but I mean it. You cannot be wise without knowing Jesus. You have to know Jesus to be wise. My big idea is this… To know Jesus is to know wisdom. So if you want to be wise, if you want to walk through life making wise decisions, if you don’t want to be a fool or a simpleton, you need to know Christ Jesus. 

Maybe you’re thinking, “But I know plenty of people who aren’t Christians who are wise. They make wise decisions. They’re not stupid.” I agree that anyone can make a smart, intelligent, or savvy decisions but the way the Bible defines wisdom means that true wisdom is only possible through a relationship with God. That’s what our previous foundation verse says. Let’s review it together. Would you say it with me? 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

            but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)

Proverbs is saying that wisdom begins with seeking to understand who God is (the Fear of the Lord). In this series I’ve defined wisdom as:

The skill of living (God’s way)

The words and ways of God

I’ve been equating wisdom with knowing and obeying God’s Word (Psalm 19:7-8; Proverbs 3:1-2). Today I want to add one more way to define wisdom. 

Knowing and obeying Jesus 

The people who first heard the book of Proverbs were called to be in relationship with the Lord, with Yahweh. But we have the rest of the story. We’re called to be in relationship with Jesus. It’s through being in relationship with him that we become wise and grow in wisdom. 

Today we find a call to be in relationship with Yahweh that looks forward to our call to be in relationship with Christ Jesus. To examine this call I want to look at how Jesus fulfills wisdom, embodies wisdom, is the way to wisdom, and grants wisdom. 

Jesus fulfills wisdom.

Today many of the points I’m preaching come from Tremper Longman III’s commentary on Proverbs and his great book How To Read Proverbs. One of the points he starts with is how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament. 

Jesus fulfills the Scriptures.

In other words, when we read Scriptures, even in the Old Testament, somehow, it’s pointing to Christ Jesus. Maybe it’s pointing to our need for him or that he’s coming, or that only he can perfectly live out what the Scripture requires. Jesus affirms this. 

Luke 24:44-45 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. (NIV)

Here Jesus is telling two disciples on the Road to Emmaus that all of Scripture whispers his name. Once we read about Jesus in the New Testament, we can never read the Old Testament the same way. 

I recently watched the 1985 cult-classic movie, Clue. It’s based on the board game Clue. It stars Tim Curry as the butler and Christopher Lloyd as Professor Plumb. There’s a murder (Mr. Body dies) and characters go back and forth between rooms trying to figure out who did it and how they did it. By the end of the movie I had no idea who did it. But that’s when Tim Curry the butler stops the story and explains how it happened, not once, but three different ways. When this movie was originally released there was a different ending depending on which movie theater you went to. But if you watch it on Amazon Prime you get to see all three. But you can imagine why it’s become a cult classic, right? People want to go back and watch it again to see if they can follow the story and see for themselves who did it. I bet if I were to go back and watch the movie I would see it very differently. I would see the small hints. I would see the clues. I would recognize who did it. I wouldn’t be as confused or surprised by the big reveal. 

We know the ending of our story. We know it’s all about Jesus and what he did on the cross. Now as we read back through t

Before I was born, my parents bought a small chicken farm.

The people before us might have been successful at this but my father grew up in the city.

He didn’t have a clue.

But, that didn’t stop him.

He figured that if those simple people could do it, he could do it better.

So, he bought 500 baby chicks and the fun began.

Anyone remember the program, “Green Acres?”

That was my father, a city businessman who moved to the country.

Out in the chicken coop in his suit and tie.

By the time that I was 4 or 5 he had begun to figure it out.

The main lesson to learn is that healthy chickens produce health eggs.

The best product that you can get from unhealthy weak chickens is manure.

Eggs fetch a good profit while manure, not so much.

As we have studied Proverbs, we have seen the difference between the wise and the unwise.

The ones who follow instruction and the foolish.

We have seen that there are so many benefits to taking the path of wisdom.

And that there are many disadvantages to going the way of the fool.

In the same way as healthy chickens produce healthy eggs,

Healthy Christians produce wise speech.

Your speech is the by product of what you are.

Your speech comes out of you and lets others know what is on the inside.

In Proverbs, we are told over and over again to value wisdom.

In chapter 4 we are told that wisdom is supreme.

We are to look for wisdom and cry out to her.

In chapter 3:13-18 we are told that blessed is the one who finds wisdom and understanding.

Wisdom is more valuable that silver and gold.

More precious than rubies.

Nothing can compare to her.

She is a tree of life to those who embrace her.

This is the same wisdom that God used to lay the foundations of the Earth,

And to put the heavens in their place.

Wisdom leads us on to the paths of righteousness and as I always say,

“All of God’s blessings are found on the path of righteousness.”

Proverbs 12:28; In the way of the righteous there is life, along that path is immortality.

          

The path of sin and foolishness leads to many troubles at best and its end is death.

And, eventually, hell.

Wise speech is a product of righteousness.

Proverbs 18:4 says that wise words flow out of the mouth of the wise.

Proverbs 10:20 says that the tongue or speech of the righteous is as choice silver,

    But, the heart of the wicked is of little value.

Many who preach on this subject will outline all of the benefits of wise speech and try to convince you to change your ways.

They would challenge you to watch each word that you say and to try your hardest to improve.

Many preach this way.

Many believe that you can try harder and that by doing so you will become better.

Many also preach week after week about sin.

Their message is, “just stop sinning.”

But, the book of Proverbs doesn’t teach us that we can just decide to change our speech.

In fact, the Bible doesn’t teach us that we can overcome our sin.

Have you ever become discouraged over the fact that after being a follower of Jesus for so long, that you still sin?

Sin is what sinners do!

As long as you are a sinner you will sin.

The only hope that you have is that God will save you from your sin.

And, the good news is that God has saved you.

My point here is that you can’t just wish your way into wise speech.

What is on the inside will soon be reveled by our words.

Read proverbs 26:24-26: Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit. Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts.

        

Proverbs 12:23 says that the wise man can keep his knowledge to himself, he can hold his tongue, But, the heart of a fool blurts out foolishness.

In other words, a foolish person can’t wait to say something stupid.

Proverbs 18:13 teaches that the unwise speak before listening.

And, by doing so they show others just who unwise they really are.

When you listen to yours

Loans (Prov 6:1-5)

As I studied today’s passage, Proverbs 6:1-19, I realized it can feel a bit disjointed. Last week we looked at Proverbs 5, the second half of chapter 6, and chapter 7, all of which was about adultery. And here in chapter 6 we encounter loans, laziness, and what God hates. It feels out of place. Trying to force them into one common theme felt a bit like trying to fit a square block through a circle or a triangle. So instead of doing that we’re breaking today’s passage up into three smaller messages, giving us a chance to reflect on each one a little more individually. 

Now this doesn’t mean that the author Solomon made a mistake or these Proverbs are in the wrong place. Solomon put them here for a reason, but it can be challenging to understand why. Bernie and I are both writing sermons on Proverbs, he in Worcester and me here. And we’re both listening to Dr. Bruce Waltke’s lectures on Proverbs from BiblicalTraining.org. One of the things Dr. Bruce Waltke did was help translate the book of Proverbs into the New International Version of the Bible, the NIV. So he knows his stuff.

He thinks that just like adultery can lead to financial loss these topics in the first half of chapter six (loans and laziness) can also lead to financial loss (and I think spiritual loss as well). So Solomon put them here “by way of association.” He’s saying not to commit adultery, because that can ruin you, but also don’t give out a loan or be lazy because that can ruin you as well. Now before we jump into our passage let me pray.

Heavenly Father, help us to understand what you have to say in all three sections of Proverbs 6:1-19 today. As we look at our first topic of loans it seems like they could be something that trap us and ensnare us and we know that you are a God of freedom. Would you grant freedom to our minds and hearts to hear and apply your Word today. Grant us a greater love for you. Amen.

Our first three verses talk about obligation and risk. They warn us not to enable someone else’s debt.

Proverbs 6:1-3

1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

       if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,

2 you have been trapped by what you said,

       ensnared by the words of your mouth.

3 So do this, my son, to free yourself,

       since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:

   Go—to the point of exhaustion—

       and give your neighbor no rest! (NIV)

The argument is simple. If you have backed or guaranteed someone else’s debt, a friend, neighbor, or stranger, get out! Backing a loan means that you pledge that if they don’t repay it on time you will pay for them. Maybe some of us have done this. We’ve helped a family member purchase a car or house by co-signing their loan or we’ve guaranteed debt as part of a business opportunity. Either way you’ve put up something valuable like your house for collateral. So if they don’t pay the bank has the right to take it. 

By putting ourselves at risk we have caught ourselves like a wild animal in a trap and we should do everything we can to get free. Go to the one who wrote the loan, the bank or car-dealership or whoever else, and negotiate with them to let you out of the contract. Why get out of guaranteeing their debt?

1. Your reputation is on the line.

Notice the second half of verse one, “…if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger…” Why do we shake hands? For the same reason they shook hands. It’s an agreement based on mutual trust. I’ve bought and sold some items on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace and I often find that people want to shake hands. Although co-signing for someone else’s loan might feel like just an act of paperwork we are actually putting our name on the line for someone else. If that person doesn’t pay our reputations are hurt. 

Dr. Waltke told the story of co-signing a loan for a young woman who wanted to purchase a car. He co-signed but later found out she didn’t know that you have to make payments. Her not making payments w

Proverbs has presented us all with a choice between two different paths. Path #1 is the way of the foolish and Path #2 is the way of the wise. Over and over again through the first four chapters the father-figure has told his son to choose the way of the wise. But today the father invites his son and us to imagine what it would be like to try the way of the foolish. 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to give yourself over to living for yourself? Just saying, “I’m going to stop trying to live God’s way and I’m gonna live my way. I’m gonna do what I want to do when I want to do it.” Sounds intriguing, right? I think if we’re honest with ourselves most of us in a moment of weakness have imagined what that would be like and how good it might feel.

Today the father takes one temptation many men face and follows that temptation to its final conclusion. It takes the temptation of adultery. Adultery is the act of having sex with someone you’re not married to and either you’re married, or they’re married, or you’re both married, but not to each other. I know this is a temptation for men because you can have the best marriage in the world and still think, “What if…” I’m not sure if this is as much a temptation for women, but I also don’t want to discount that it could be. All of us—no matter male or female, no matter old or young, no matter how godly—could commit adultery.

This is such a serious temptation the father writes not one, or two, but three discourses telling his son how bad this sin is. His son is already married even though he’s probably a teenager. If you’re not married you shouldn’t ignore these passages because adultery is not that much different than fornication. Fornication is sex–outside of marriage. Fornication may not be the exact same thing as adultery but it’s still a step down the same path, the way of the foolish. 

When I lived in Colorado you could drive 15-20 minutes from my house and go on a beautiful hike up a valley or into the mountains. At the trailhead the Park Rangers posted useful information like a map that showed how to get to the different destinations. If you wanted to hike to the Rabbit Ears Campsite you took this trail and if you wanted to get to the Peregrine Campsite you took that trail. If you want to get to Bridal Veil Falls you followed the trail to the end. Bridal Veil Falls is a beautiful 20-foot waterfall that looks misty white like a wedding veil as it falls down.

At the beginning of our trail our Park Ranger, the father, has posted a map. In fact, he starts all three discourses by saying pretty much the same thing, “Pay attention to my commands, God’s Word. Stay on the right path by obeying my words which are the very words of God.” This is not self-righteous or authoritarian. The father is simply passing along the laws of God in his own vocabulary.

Proverbs 7:1-2

1 My son, keep my words

       and store up my commands within you.

2 Keep my commands and you will live;

       guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. (NIV) (see also 5:1-2; 6:20-23; 7:3-5)

If there’s one thing I feel like I’m hammering home in this sermon series is that we all need to get serious about God’s Word. We need to get serious about reading, studying, understanding, and applying the Bible because that’s our map for the Christian life. We don’t just read the Bible like we might read a classic in literature class. We read the Bible because we want to know the author, God himself.

At the trailheads the Park Rangers sometimes post serious signs like “Warning Mountain Lions.” When I was a kid a mountain lion killed a hiker outside of the town I grew up in. Those signs made me nervous and a little bit more watchful. But our predator in Proverbs isn’t a feline but a female. Proverbs identifies her as the “forbidden woman” or the “adulteress.” She is married and she is off limits. 

The father warns his son that if he goes after the forbidden woman he will encounter two temptations:

Words of affirmation (5:

My college pastor, Andrew Davies, took an interest in my spiritual growth. He met up with me for lunch, we did a Bible study together with some other guys, he listened to my concerns and prayed for me, he lead me on a missions trip to Chinle Arizona, and he paid for my plane ticket to go to a Christian conference in Seattle. He invested in me and he mentored me. He became one of my spiritual fathers. A spiritual father or mother is someone who comes alongside you and walks with you in your faith, helping you study the Bible and pray, and encouraging you in your walk with Jesus. Andrew discipled me. 

If you could have that would you want it? Would you want a more mature man or woman in the faith to come and mentor and disciple you? This could be someone older, or younger, but the key is that they have walked this path before, it’s not that they have it mastered, but they can help you on your way and maybe you can teach them something too. This is discipleship.

Today in Proverbs 4 we find a biological father who is also the spiritual father to his son. Now this is not always the case. You can have a spiritual father or spiritual mother who is not your biological parent. But in today’s Proverb we find a father who is both. The reason he turned out this way is because he too had a spiritual father who discipled him, his actual biological father. 

Proverbs 4:1-3

1 Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;

       pay attention and gain understanding.

2 I give you sound learning,

       so do not forsake my teaching.

3 For I too was a son to my father,

       still tender, and cherished by my mother. (NIV)

Discipleship is when one person pours God’s words and ways (God’s wisdom) into another person to help them know and follow Christ and that person pours into a third person and so on and so on. Here we see it beautifully illustrated in a family. A father is teaching his sons what his father taught him. That’s three generations of discipleship. That’s three generation of studying God’s Word and living God’s ways. 

Do you want a spiritual father or spiritual mother? Do you want to be discipled? This isn’t a theoretical question. Pray about it this week and if you want one come back next week and we will find you one. Maybe someone comes to mind. Go talk to them. Ask them, “Will you meet with me regularly to pray, study God’s Word, and talk about life?” The point is. We all need discipleship.

We all need a spiritual father or spiritual mother. (v1-9)

Our pattern in Proverbs has been a father writing to his “son” but in verse one he’s writing to his “sons.” It’s plural. Maybe we shouldn’t make too much of it but at the very least this father is expecting his teaching to multiply. He’s expecting his teaching to go to all his sons or his son’s sons, his grandchildren. He expects his teachings to form his sons and daughters and that they too would become spiritual fathers and mothers to their biological and spiritual children (aka. anyone else they disciple).  

Now as I broaden the scope of what it means to be a disciple-maker I also don’t want to be too quick to downplay the family mandate Proverbs 4 is laying out for dads and moms. Remember chapter one?

Proverbs 1:8

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction

       and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. (NIV)

God has called dads and moms to be the first ones to teach their kids the Word of God and the ways of Christ Jesus (Eph 6:4). In January the Elders and myself introduced a discipleship pathway—which is a way we can all try to make sure we’re growing in our faith. One of the key elements of our discipleship pathway, which you can learn more about on our website, is “Prayer & Bible Study” but the pathway explains that one element further by adding this is both “personal” and “family.” In other words, we should all be spending time in prayer and studying the Scriptures personally and as families. 

What’s really cool is that this lines up exactly with our Children’s Ministry Tea

Do you ever have trouble falling asleep? There’s one little boy in our house who doesn’t always want to go to bed. Monica tucks him in but as soon as his head hits the bed he starts making noises telling her how much he doesn’t want to go to sleep yet. He complains a little bit and sometimes he cries a little bit and sometimes he tosses Mr. Froggy out of bed… Monica keeps telling me to act more mature.

The National Sleep Foundation offers a couple tips for falling asleep: 

Start winding down 30-minutes early. Read a book. Dim the lights.

Stop looking at your cellphone. The light tells you its daytime and keeps you awake.

Do a breathing exercise.

If you can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes get up and do something relaxing. 

Get up at the same time every day, even on the weekends.

What keeps you up at night? What are you worrying about? Or who are you worrying about? A child, a parent, a friend, a coworker, yourself? Proverbs tells us how to get a good night’s rest. 

Proverbs 3:21, 24

21 My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,

       preserve sound judgment and discretion; […]

24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid;

       when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. (NIV)

One of the benefits of wisdom is sleeping well at night. I’m expanding my definition of wisdom today to believing and obeying God’s words and ways. If we’re filling our minds with God’s words and living his ways we’re much less likely to say or do something we’ll feel anxious about during the middle of the night. That doesn’t mean that wise people never sleep poorly but that a life of wisdom can help you sleep well.

We all need wisdom because we all need peace. We need something more than momentary rest. We need peace and rest that is durable. We need it in our hearts and minds and world. Did you know that we once had this kind of peace? 

We had perfect peace in the garden. (Proverbs 3:13-18)

There’s a connection between wisdom and peace and we find it in the Garden of Eden.

Proverbs 3:13-18

13 Blessed are those who find wisdom,

       those who gain understanding,

14 for she is more profitable than silver

       and yields better returns than gold.

15 She is more precious than rubies;

       nothing you desire can compare with her.

16 Long life is in her right hand;

       in her left hand are riches and honor.

17 Her ways are pleasant ways,

       and all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;

       those who hold her fast will be blessed. (NIV)

Did you see the connection between wisdom and peace and the garden? Wisdom is called the “tree of life,” which is found in the Garden of Eden. Not only that, but in verse 13 “blessed are those” in the Hebrew is actually “blessed is the man” or “blessed is the ‘adam…” Blessed is the man who finds wisdom (God’s words and ways) because he has found the paths of peace and the tree of life.

Back in the Garden of Eden before sin entered the world Adam and Eve had perfect peace with God. They lived and ate and walked in God’s paradise but there was one condition. They could eat from any tree, including the tree of life, but they could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Genesis 2:9, 16-17 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. […] 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (NIV)

So what do Adam and Eve do? Satan enters the garden in the form of a serpent, tempts them, and they eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They disobey God, shattering their peace, and enter into a state of restlessness, brokenness, and sin. But there’s a problem. They still have access to the tree of life an

Last week we celebrated our high-school graduates Caleb, George, and Mackenna. When I surprised them by asking for one things we could pray for them George asked for prayer that it would all “end well.” Now we weren’t exactly sure what that meant—the end of college, the end of life? But I think he meant successfully wrap up the end of this stage of his life and smoothly transition into the next stage, college.

I remember one of the things I worried about a lot when I was a high school graduate was my future. What was I supposed to do? What should I get a degree in? What did God want me to do? And those of us who are future-oriented people probably worry about similar things like this. What job does God want me to do? Where does he want our family to live? Or maybe how will I pay the bills or where will I go to school? 

Today in Proverbs God doesn’t tell us what is going to happen in the detail we might like but he does say that if we trust and obey him with today he will take care of the rest. A wise future is not a worried future but something completely different. 

I want to give you my big idea up front. Here it is. Submit your whole life to God and he will take care of the rest. As we we walk through this life God gives us the gift of confidence in him—that if we seek him and his ways he will make it worth it. The first verse of Proverbs 3 introduces us to this future-hope.

1 My son, do not forget my teaching,

      but keep my commands in your heart,

2 for they will prolong your life many years

      and bring you peace and prosperity.

If we seek to understand and obey God’s teachings and commands found in the Bible one of the benefits God may grant us is a long, peaceful, and prosperous life. But this is different than the prosperity gospel, which promises that you will get what you want if you just have enough faith. This is saying that as we treat others well and live the way God intends natural blessings will result. But Proverbs are not so much promises for this life as they are principles for this life and promises for the life to come. A life lived God’s way will generally result in long-life, peace, and prosperity in this life and will most certainly result in long-life, peace, and prosperity in the life to come with Christ Jesus. While the short-term benefits of Proverbs aren’t guarantees the long-term benefits are. Submit your whole life to God and he will take care of the rest.

Verses 1-2 act as an introduction to verses 3-12, which includes five-admonitions (speaking with authority) that all fall under this umbrella concept of “How to submit your whole life to God:” First, if you want God to take care of your future…

Submit your heart. (v3-4)

3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

      bind them around your neck,

      write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 Then you will win favor and a good name

      in the sight of God and man. (NIV)

What type of love and faithfulness are we to have? As these verses come right after verses 1-2 I think it’s first talking about a love for God and his Word. We find this same thing in a famous passage our verses in Proverbs are echoing, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, the Shema (which is Hebrew for “hear”), which goes like this:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (NIV)

The Shema ties loving God with loving and knowing God’s words. You can’t love someone without listening to them. We talked about ways we can receive God’s Word last week—by believing it, memorizing it, accepting it. So submit your heart to God by lo

Have you ever had someone try to sell you something? What’s the typical pattern a salesperson uses? First, they tell you all the amazing benefits of their service or product. “Our miracle product…

…will lower cholesterol…”

…will help you burn fat and lose weight…”

…will keep your information safe and secure…”

…will give you better gas mileage…”

…will make you happy and content…”

And then once you’re convinced they show you the price tag…

“For only four payments of $999.99…”

“If you only eat Subway for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day…”

“If you sign up for our monthly never-ending subscription-based service…”

“Your monthly car payment can be as low as…”

“If you sign your life and soul over we will…”

The typical pattern is—here’s the benefits and then here’s how you get them. Today, I want to reverse that pattern. First, I want to tell you how to get wisdom, and then I want to tell you its benefits. This is the pattern our passage takes and I like it because when I finally tell you the benefits of wisdom you’ll be able to weigh in your own mind if it’s worth it. So first… 

How to get wisdom:

Wisdom is “skill for living”, but living God’s way instead of our own way. Once again the father-figure in Proverbs is teaching his son (who we can all put ourselves in the place of) how to get wisdom. He tells him four ways to get wisdom (not four different ways). You should do them all if you want to get wisdom.

Proverbs 2:1-5

1 My son, if you accept my words

and store up my commands within you,

2 turning your ear to wisdom

and applying your heart to understanding—

3 indeed, if you call out for insight

and cry aloud for understanding,

4 and if you look for it as for silver

and search for it as for hidden treasure,

5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God. (NIV)

The first way to get wisdom we find in verse one.

1. Belief in God’s Word (v1)

The father-figure says, “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you…” The author Solomon is talking about a father’s words found in the book of Proverbs, but he’s also talking about God’s whole Word, the Hebrew Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament today). The word for commands (mitsvah) can also mean the laws God gave his people Israel (Gen 26:5; Exod 26:28). So it’s like Solomon or the father-figure is saying, “My son, if you want wisdom, believe in God’s Word.” 

Each one of us comes to a turning point in our lives where we have to decide the final rule for our lives. Is it going to be God’s unchanging perfect words and commands that although they are hard we know they are good, true, and best? Or are we going to choose our own feelings and intuitions and desires and what the world says is best? God’s Word offers us a firm-foundation for our lives, a foundation that won’t let us down. But if we choose anything else we’re choosing something that might say one thing today and a different thing tomorrow. Eggs are good for you. Eggs are bad for you. Drink coffee. Coffee is bad for you. Drink more milk. Drink soy milk. Drink almond milk. How about with the serious things? Divorce is bad. Get a divorce if it makes you happy. Divorce is actually detrimental to society. How many issues can you think of where 10-20 years ago everyone said one things and now today people say just the opposite? That is shifting sands, that’s stormy waters (James 1:5-8). I want to build my life on the rock of God’s Word that never changes. First, we get wisdom by believing in God’s Word.

2. Memorization of God’s Word (v1)

We’re still in verse one. What does it mean to “store up” something? Did any of you prepare for Y2K? So kids, a long time ago everyone was worried that when the clocks on our computers turned from December 31st 1999 to January 1st 2000 there was going to be a computer meltdown that would cause food shortages and financial errors—the apocalypse. So to prepare people stored up canned food, powdered food, dried food, and water and drinks that wou

Have you ever taken a wrong turn? In today’s world if you have a smart phone wrong turns should be less and less common. If you have Google or Apple Maps or Waze you should never miss a turn, and yet sometimes we still do. When I get to the place my GPS says to turn it’s not as clear as my phone says it should be. The off-ramps merge into two lanes going generally the same direction and you have to guess which one to take, the left or right. Once when Monica and I were driving on I90 we missed an exit and the next option was ten miles away. A wrong turn can cost you significant time and energy. 

Today I want to explain how not to take a wrong turn in your walk with God. I want to tell you about two paths, one that leads to life and the other death, and I’m hoping Lord willing by the end of today’s message you will understand how to take the right turn. I’m hoping there won’t be any confusion about the pathway. God offers each of us a clear way forward that leads to eternal life with him. Now the first seven chapters of the book of Proverbs are written to “my son.” A son figure is being presented with a choice.

“My son” – Presented with a choice. (v8-9)

I’ve gone ahead and illustrated “my son” with a small icon in the shape of a man. This does not mean Proverbs is only written to young men. It’s written to whoever wants to read and learn from it. Anyone can pick up and read a copy of the Hunger Games, but it’s young adult fiction. Likewise Proverbs is written with young men in mind. It’s written with an ideal father and mother giving advice to their son. Usually it’s the father who speaks but here we see both father and mother offering parental wisdom.

Proverbs 1:8-9

8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction

     and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

9 They are a garland to grace your head

     and a chain to adorn your neck. (NIV)

What does the father do? He presents his son with two paths, the way of folly and the way of wisdom. If you keep a two-paths framework in mind as we read the book of Proverbs it will make things simpler as we will often encounter a contrast, “choose this, not that.” 

Proverbs 28:10 

Whoever leads the upright along an evil path

     will fall into their own trap,

     but the blameless will receive a good inheritance. (NIV)

Here we see that contrast between a bad path and good path. Together the father and mother urge their son to stay away from the evil path, the way of the foolish. 

Path #1 – The way of the foolish (v10-19)

The way of the foolish is a life lived against God and for oneself. Proverbs unashamedly calls anyone who rejects God a “fool” because the final consequence is death. In today’s Proverb the father warns the son of a specific type of fool—the type who is willing to take advantage of others for their own gain.

Proverbs 1:10-11, 15-16, 18-19

10 My son, if sinful men entice you,

       do not give in to them.

11 If they say, “Come along with us;

       let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,

       let’s ambush some harmless soul; […]

15 my son, do not go along with them,

       do not set foot on their paths;

16 for their feet rush into evil,

       they are swift to shed blood. […]

18 These men lie in wait for their own blood;

       they ambush only themselves!

19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;

       it takes away the life of those who get it.

So here’s the point our proverb is making. Don’t take advantage of others and avoid those who do. Those who do are sinful men, evil men, and even though in the short-term their decisions seem good in the end their actions will prove harmful, even destructive, to themselves and any who join them.

In Proverbs chapter one the father is essentially warning his son not to join a gang. Now the likelihood of most of us being recruited by the Crips or the Bloods or the Jets or the Sharks is pretty low. But we do regularly encounter a way of thinking that says to take care of “me and my own first” and that way of thi

If you had to choose one proverb to live your life by, what would it be? Would it be?

“If you want something done right, do it yourself.” Maybe you’re all about individual responsibility and high quality work. Or how about?  

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That’s the golden rule, right? That seems like a pretty good proverb to live by. Or maybe you’ve heard this one?

“Good things come to those who wait.” I don’t think I would recommend choosing that one even if that one proves to be true. Some of you may know someone who would choose this proverb.

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” On the other side some of you may be thinking…

“Cleanliness is next to godliness.” By the way. This is not a Bible verse. Some believe…

“Fortune favors the bold.” But others think… 

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” 

What if you choose a proverb from the Bible? Would you live your life by one of those?

Proverbs 15:22

Plans fail for lack of counsel,

      but with many advisers they succeed. (NIV)

That one tells us its good to get advice from many people before going forward with your plans. How about?

Proverbs 16:9

The heart of man plans his way,

     but the Lord establishes his steps. (ESV)

Making this one your life-proverb would bolster your confidence in God, wouldn’t it? But there are other proverbs that might not make so much sense.

Proverbs 16:33

The lot is cast into the lap,

     but its every decision is from the Lord. (NIV)

So should Christians always pick straws to make decisions? Proverbs are generally true but not true all the time. For example the saying “many hands make light work” is a type of proverb. That’s often true. The more people that chip in on a job the faster it usually goes. But what if those hands belong to babies? Then many hands make more and more work. So we should never read a proverb as a universal truth but try to understand the general truth it is trying to communicate to us. If we don’t they can really confuse us.

Proverbs 26:9

Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand

     is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. (NIV)

Has anyone ever quoted a proverb at you instead of for you? Proverbs can hurt. It’s easy to misapply them. But I believe there is a Proverb in this book that God is calling us to live by and it’s one that is always good all the time. As I begin to tell you about that Proverb I have four questions I want us to answer. 1) What is a proverb? 2) Why Proverbs? 3) Who is Proverbs for? 4) What’s the big idea of Proverbs? So first… 

1. What is a proverb? (v1)

The first seven verses of the book of Proverbs are a preamble. Preamble is not a word I use very often but it means an introductory remark or opening statement. So the book of Proverbs introduces itself and explains what a proverb is in the first seven verses. It starts like this…

Proverbs 1:1

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: (NIV)

The word “proverb” comes from the Hebrew word “mashal” and means “a short, pithy saying” that’s “easy to remember.” The exact same word in Hebrew can also mean “to rule” or “govern” so you get the idea that proverbs are short, pithy, statements we use to rule or govern our lives. So with that in mind I’d like to propose this definition of what a Proverb is. 

Proverbs are brief poetic sayings meant to teach us wisdom.

Have you ever heard someone say something that was both brief and poetic and you thought, “Wow, that was really good!” I short clip went viral recently with Keanu Reeves and Stephen Colbert. Colbert was interviewing Keanu Reeves, the star of the Matrix, and he asked him. “What do you think happens when we die, Keanu Reeves?” Keanu sat back, took a deep breath in and out, and said, “I know that the ones who love us will miss us.” To which Stephen Colbert shook his hand. What he said sounded like a Proverb. It was short, poetic, and meaningful.  

But Proverbs are God’s word and they have something special to teach us—wisdom. The Hebrew word for wisdom—“hokmah”—a