Wisdom Finds Your Shoes

Chapters

• 0:09 Welcome And Purpose
• 0:33 Reading Proverbs 2:1–11
• 2:36 Opening Prayer
• 3:15 What Wisdom Really Means
• 4:48 Seeking Wisdom Over Wealth
• 8:09 Mentors, Friends, And Growth
• 9:10 God As Our Shield
• 9:56 Peace, Hope, And Closing Prayers

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:09

Welcome to the Christ Court. Thank you for being here with me to take 15 minutes of this day to enjoy the presence of Christ and the words of Christ. Today we will read a section of Scripture and discuss what it means and how it applies to our lives. It is my hope that God will speak to you through these words and bring you closer to Him. I am blessed to have this opportunity to speak with you, and I thank you so much for being with me here today. Today's scripture selection is Proverbs chapter two, verses one through eleven. The King James Version reads as follows My son, if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thine heart to understanding. Yea, if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hid treasure, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom, out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous, he is a buckler to them to walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity, yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee. The New International Version reads, My son, if ye accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understand. Indeed, if ye call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if ye look for it as for silver, and search for it as for hidden treasure, 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 holds success in store for the upright. He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless. For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair, every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the freedom and the ability to discuss your word and enjoy your presence. Help us to understand your word and your will for our daily lives more fully. We ask that you bless this discussion of your word, that it will speak to someone who needs to hear from you. We ask that you use these words to bring someone closer to you, and that you will touch their hearts to love others through action in your name. That each of us will do something to show love to their neighbor in action as well as in word. That each of us will do our best to represent you to the world. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. The verses for today are instructive. They read in some ways like many self-help books you can find in any library or a bookstore. The difference in our verses today is that this advice is not based on one person's life experience or on one person interviewing a lot of people coming up with their best advice for success. The advice we have today is timeless instruction from our creator for how to live our lives. The advice is easily understood and is presented in the form of an elder talking to a younger, less experienced person, a parent to a child, or perhaps an uncle to his niece. The main idea in our scriptures today is that we should seek wisdom. But what is wisdom? Wisdom has more to do with common sense than it has to do with knowledge. The idea of the absent minded professor comes to mind. The knowledgeable professor can go on for hours and hours explaining physics, accounting, chemistry, or some other field, but he cannot tell you where his shoes are when he needs to go to the store. This is an extreme example, of course, but it does show the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom is a practical application of knowledge to your everyday life situations. Wisdom is less about how to predict the path of an asteroid and more about what to do when a bully is in your way, or how to find your way home when you're lost in the woods. These are my examples, and I think they make the point. But fortunately, we have the wisdom of God available to us if we choose to seek it and grow in it. Let's get right to it. In this scripture, Solomon is likely advising his son, but his words are for everyone. The first thing he tells him to do is to hide these commandments within him. He is to have them with him at all times and within easy reach, and not simply as in a wallet or a pocket, but to have them in his heart, so they will come to the front of his mind when he needs them. You never know when you will need a particular bit of wisdom to guide you, to motivate you, or to help get you out of a bad situation. But in order to have them you must first be an active listener of wise people and an active seeker of wisdom. We are on a path of wisdom when we hear and obey God's words. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, but not in a shaking terror. To fear the Lord is to have respect of God and his word to the point of obedience. To know what action God requires of us is not enough. We must have it within our heart to act on this knowledge and wisdom. In earlier verses, wisdom is described as a woman crying out to be heard. We must do our part and cry out for her and find her. In other words, we must actively search for wisdom. Many people in the world are consumed with money and wealth. Many have spent their lives gathering money, cars, homes, land, and more, only to, near the end of their lives, lose the ability to enjoy in it and finally to watch it all go to someone else anyway. While that is a sad picture, there is an admirable trait within it. The person here has been diligent in their search. They probably sought knowledge from many sources, from their family, from schools, from other successful people, etc. We should be even more diligent in our search for wisdom. Our goal, wisdom, is much more valuable than any temporary material possessions. My limited experience with worldly wealth and people who have large amounts of it is that they become bored with it. Their chosen level of wealth is an end to itself, so when they achieve it, what is there to do next? Some raise or go higher and start again, or compete with someone to beat that person's number. Even worse though, some become so obsessed with protecting their wealth that this obsession consumes them. After all, they spent their entire life getting it, and it's all they have to show for their life, and they cannot start over. How much better is wisdom and the search for wisdom? This search for wisdom changes and is as we grow, as we move into different phases of life and have different needs. This search for wisdom connects us to the people around us. It is never ending and it is free. The wisdom we gain from God is fulfilling and brings a humble peace into our lives. In contrast, the knowledge and wealth found in the world often result in violence, oppression of others, and death. Knowledge is a wonderful thing, and God uses knowledgeable people to fulfill his purpose. But knowledge without wisdom is often destructive. All the more reason to seek after the wisdom of God. We need God's wisdom at every stage of our life. We must always seek wisdom, grow in wisdom, and grow in the ways of God. One of the best ways to do that is to seek out mentors. Mentors who are themselves seeking the wisdom of God can share what they have learned with us. We must study the Bible and pray, but we should also have a strong circle of Christian friends around us. Friends we can go to for advice, of course, but also for fun. God wants us to understand his desires for our lives, but he also wants us to have fun and enjoy our lives. What better way to do that than to have a group of like minded Christians around you with whom you can enjoy life without giving in to the non-Christian like temptations of the world? A group of friends who can strengthen you as you strengthen them. As you all grow in the wisdom of God through the different stages of life, you become life examples to one another. As the saying goes, I would rather see a sermon than hear one. While it is good to have this group of friends and family, we are not always able to spend time with them. We are at times alone. At those times we are able to focus more on God and on our search for wisdom. The passage here refers to God being our buckler. A buckler is a shield that is buckled to the arm of a soldier for protection, leaving his other arm free for offense. The soldier with his buckler, his shield, is serious. He is firm in his purpose and is prepared. God is our shield as we diligently seek his wisdom and his desires for our lives. By taking this stance of serious dedication and actively working to understand God, to understand what he wants for our lives, by living in obedience and actively seeking God's wisdom, God will preserve us and keep us. We will live peaceful, joyful lives when alone and when with others. All the while looking forward to the day that we can go to our true home with God. That concludes our scripture discussion for today. Thank you for spending this time with me talking about, learning about, and enjoying Christ. It is my hope that God has used my words to protect you today and has brought you closer to Him. Let us pray. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debt towards. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.