In chapter 9 Solomon is encouraging and instructing us in the pursuit of godly wisdom. Godly wisdom: 1) Trusts God’s wisdom even when we do not know; 2) Trusts God’s leadership even when we do not understand. It is the wisdom of obedience and submission to God. Godly wisdom says, “Trust and obey God even when things happen that we don’t understand.” But just because wisdom is presented, that does not mean that it will always be accepted. Remember from last week, the fastest should win the race, the strongest should win the battle, the wisest should be the most successful. But 9:11 says, “time and chance (incidents) happeneth to them all.” (The fastest might have an injury; circumstances might prevent the strongest from prevailing; wisdom might be ignored and not accepted.) Understanding this can bring us comfort. Sometimes our godly wisdom may not be followed or accepted, but it is not necessarily our fault. In vs. 13 he is giving us wisdom “under the sun” that is very important. It was BIG to him. This message is a lesson all preachers have learned. If not we become depressed and despondent. I thought, just get up and preach the Word, and people will respond. Not always! In fact, if you have ever tried to share the Gospel with anyone, you have seen it. You can share godly wisdom with the world, but there is not guarantee the world will accept it. (“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”) You can preach, teach, instruct, and witness, but there is no guarantee that anyone will listen. My saying around the house – and here – is “no one listens to me.” In America we are too busy talking, expressing our thoughts, to really listen. Consider the prophets. See what God said to Isaiah in Isaiah 6:8-12. See Jeremiah's reaction in Jeremiah 6:10 ; 20:8-9. Look at God’s instruction to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3:4-7 ; 33:30-33. God said, "They say, 'Let’s go hear the preacher,' but they aren’t coming to hear a message from God’s Word. Instead, they are coming to see a good performance." Make a note of this: Rejection does not mean that we are wrong or that what we are sharing is bad. (Rejection of godly wisdom is a reflection on the hearer.) Godly wisdom is good, but do not be surprised if it is ignored. In these verses we are going to see why and how godly wisdom is oft times ignored.

  I.  WHEN IT IS NOT HONORED – VV. 14-16.

 II.  WHEN IT IS NOT HEARD – VS. 17.

III.  WHEN IT IS NOT HEEDED – VV. 9:18 – 10:1.