Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] We're clearly moving into an age of technology where our technology is moving from not just telling us things, but doing things for us. And I know there's a way more sophisticated way to talk about this today when we talk about information age, experience age, AI age. But for simple folks like myself, we are moving into an age where our technology is doing things for us, not just telling us about things. Our cars don't just give us direction to places. Cars are being designed to drive us to those places. We're at a time where we don't have to just search on Google different ways to use an Excel sheet. We can ask ChatGPT and it will spit out an Excel spreadsheet exactly the way we want it for us. Our technology isn't just telling us things, it's doing things for us. And I saw this firsthand when I was teaching one of my sons how to parallel park. And this was a very difficult task for this person.
[00:01:11] And I was having to search videos online and just looking for the wisdom of the Internet. How do you teach this person, a person of his capabilities, how to parallel park?
[00:01:25] And we were driving through downtown Richmond after we had gone through a session, and my emotions were very high at that moment. And we pulled beside a car and we watched a lady who was about to parallel park. And I said, jonah. I meant Jonah.
[00:01:48] I think he's in Kids Today. Just don't tell him I used his name. I said, watch how this lady does it. And we noticed she just pushed a button on her car and it began to move into the spot. And knowing Joan, I'm surprised he didn't say, where's my button in this car? We don't have that kind of money, son. You just gotta learn how to do it on your own, the old fashioned way. But even myself, this line is often blurred. In my own life, I found myself looking for my keys, or not knowing where my glasses are, or going out of the garage and looking for a tool, and where is this? I can't find it. And reaching for my phone and beginning to type into my phone, where are my glasses? As if Google is going to know where my glasses are in my house, or as if my phone is going to turn into some sort of transformer and fly through the house and bring back my keys to me. But this line is often blurred between just being told something and doing something. And the Book of Proverbs addresses this. The Book of Proverbs tells us the way life works is you're going to be in all kinds of Situations where you're going to need to know something and you're going to be looking for information, but the reality is, in those situations, you're going to need more than just information.
[00:03:26] You're going to need more than just knowing something. You're going to need to know how to do something. You're going to need wisdom. And wisdom isn't just information. It's. It's doing something. This is what the book of Proverbs is all about. And Today we got 10 points to move through in these seven verses, and we're going to go really fast and then focus on the last few points. But the first point is Proverbs is for the king. It is the king who needs wisdom, who will know how to do something, will know how to rule the people of God well. And that's why Solomon, we see in verse one, writes Proverbs. Notice the Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel. Now, the word Proverbs could be translated a comparison. And Proverbs are very similar to what we see in the New Testament in the parables of Jesus, where Jesus will throw a story alongside a truth to help communicate that truth. Well, Proverbs is very similar. Proverbs are short statements that throw imagery alongside everyday moments to help concretize the biblical wisdom. In those moments, Proverbs will say to us this. In this moment, wisdom looks like this, and these short, simple statements. But notice the Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, King of Israel. This is David's son, David's son who inherited the throne. And what we know about Solomon is he became kind of a Renaissance man of his time. He knew and experienced all kinds of things. And so as we move through Proverbs, we will see imagery of culture, imagery of wealth, imagery of food, imagery of nature. He was a man who was well experienced, who knew a lot of things.
[00:05:39] But Solomon realized as much as he experienced, as much as he knew, as much as he had, he still had to have wisdom. And in First Kings, chapter 3, verse 9, he prays to God, this man who has much and experiences much, this Renaissance man realizes he doesn't know it all. And so before God, he prays that God would give him an understanding mind to discern between good and evil. For what purpose? To govern God's people.
[00:06:13] He says, who can govern your great people? Only a man of wisdom.
[00:06:20] And he's praised God that he would receive wisdom. And God grants this prayer. Solomon eventually is known for over 3,000 proverbs, many even beyond this book. But what we find in the Book of Proverbs is a collection of wisdom. And it's specifically for the kings of Israel to have and to know wisdom inspired by the Holy Spirit so that they might rule well. And next we see begin to see the purposes of wisdom, or what wisdom is.
[00:06:56] Notice verse 2. We see wisdom is skill. Talked a lot about wisdom. What exactly is it? Well, the purpose of Proverbs, notice he says, is to know wisdom. Now, first of all, understand wisdom isn't static information.
[00:07:13] It's not just facts, it's not even just truths, it's knowledge applied. A good translation for wisdom is skillful living. To be skilled at living, one writer says it's competence with regard to the realities of life, knowing how the world works and being skilled at living in the world. In Exodus chapter 35, wisdom is tied together with the craftsman skills who are building the tabernacle. Wisdom is included there as a skill, speaking of one man who was construct, helping construct the tabernacle. The text says he was filled with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge. He was skilled with knowledge to do what he was called to do. Wisdom is to be skilled at living life, applying what you know to life. But next we see wisdom receives Correction. Notice the second part of verse 2. To know wisdom and instruction. That word instruction means correction, discipline. It actually also means rebuke. Rebuke with the threat of punishment. It is a strong word, but it tells us wisdom doesn't come from within us.
[00:08:44] It comes from God and others.
[00:08:47] And those who are wise are willing to receive correction. We'll see in Proverbs, if you reprove a wise man, he will love you.
[00:08:58] He will respond with love when you correct him, if he's wise. Whoever loves discipline, we read In Proverbs chapter 12, verse 1 loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid, capital T.
[00:09:18] He's a moron if he hates correction. Proverbs 17, verse 10 says a rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding, a wise man. Then 100 blows into a fool, meaning you can beat a fool to death and he still doesn't receive correction. But a wise man, a rebuke goes deep into his soul. He doesn't even need the strikes. The punishment a fool would need to be corrected. Next we see wisdom needs insight. Notice the last part of verse two to understand again this purpose, to have wisdom, to have instruction, and to understand words of insight. Proverbs tells us that there is something beyond the surface in the world that God has created, something that is almost instinctual, or should be instinctual with you. And it's called insight. You understand that God exists and he created the world. And so there's a certain amount of insight to which you approach everything in life. And Proverbs is going to show us that insight.
[00:10:31] See next in verse three, Wisdom serves others. Notice. To receive instruction. Again, a purpose of Proverbs to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice and equity. Now, all of those terms, there are characteristics of God. But notice if this is written to a king, the king of Israel is to reflect God in righteousness, justice and equity. And to reflect God in those ways, he must be wise. And so Proverbs is written so the king would use his authority to represent God well, in serving others, serving the people of God. We see next that wisdom pursues maturity. Notice verse 4. Some of you are shocked. Removing this fast notice to give prudence. Another purpose of Proverbs to give prudence. The word prudence means shrewdness. It can actually be translated cunning. And it's actually used of the serpent in the garden who was cunning. It's translated that way when it's used for evil. But there is a prudence that is used for good, and it refers to plans for good. A wise man sets down, and he is just not responding or reacting. He is planning out good with a certain amount of prudence or carefulness.
[00:11:57] Notice to the simple. This refers to those who are unaware or inexperienced, or we might even say ignorant. And so to those who are unaware or ignorant or inexperienced, they need prudence. They need a plan, a careful plan for wisdom in life. Notice next, more purpose here. To give knowledge and discretion to youth, the young, they need this word discretion, which could be translated discernment.
[00:12:35] Youth need discernment.
[00:12:39] Some of us might call this emotional intelligence that the young need. They are often driven by emotions. They're often driven by lust and anxiety and anger and frustration.
[00:12:55] Wisdom means to be discerning, to have the intelligence to govern your emotions when there is a choice. You have the intelligence not to respond with emotion, but to respond with wisdom. And then we see in verse five, as we continue this thought, wisdom pursues maturity. Let the wise hear and increase in learning. And so in this section, we have the simple, we have the youth, and then we have the wise. Three categories of people. And what Solomon is saying here is, they all need wisdom. Those who are inexperienced, those who are young. But also verse five, the wise, those who think they have it all together, those who you look at, and they're very Knowledgeable, or maybe they are skilled at living, they still must continue to pursue wisdom. The simple, the youth and the wise must altogether pursue maturity. Wisdom, pursue. Pursue maturity. We also say, I'm not there yet. I need to know more. I need to become more skilled at life, no matter what category we are in. Next we see verse five. Wisdom listens to others.
[00:14:15] Notice verse five. Let the wise hear. Let the wise listen and increase in learning. And this is just another word for wisdom. And the one who understands to obtain guidance. What he says here is, wisdom obtains guidance through listening to others. This word for guidance here, it refers to ropes that are used to guide ships.
[00:14:41] And so in some sense, we are all ships, we are all boats on the water. And without some sort of guidance, without something pulling us in a direction, without someone outside of us guiding us in directions, we are going to be tossed to and fro, and we're going to end up where we don't want to be. And so we all need the ropes. We all need the guidance of others. He continues this thought in verse six when he says to understand a proverb, a saying the words of the wise and their riddles.
[00:15:16] This sort of just sums up this thought that there are other people in the world who know more than you.
[00:15:25] Everyone here, there is someone who knows more than you. There are people in your life who you are to be looking to those who, in verse six, they. They have words of wisdom. And he even uses this term, riddles. This could just be the secrets of life. The reality is there are people all around you who, who have lived life, they've gone through some stuff, and they can throw out the rope and guide you through. And they can give you secrets that you may not see in the moment to navigate through situations. And wisdom stops and looks around and says, who do I need to listen to? Wisdom listens to others. You say to yourself, I can't sort out life on my own.
[00:16:19] I can't see the world around me clearly. I need others.
[00:16:24] And then we're moving to kind of the main point of what wisdom is. Here in verse seven.
[00:16:32] And we see wisdom begins and even ends, knowing your place in the world. He gives all of these things that wisdom is, or how to pursue wisdom, the skill at living, listening to others, being guided by others, pursuing maturity, wanting to know what discernment is, pursuing more wisdom. If you are wise and you ask the question, well, how do you do it?
[00:17:13] How do I get started in being a person that is skillful at listening, who's easily corrected, who's easily navigated through life with the help of others. How do I become this person?
[00:17:28] Well, he tells us where to start. And it's verse seven, the fear of the Lord.
[00:17:38] Fear. This is where wisdom starts.
[00:17:42] Fear. You could actually translate this word, terror.
[00:17:46] I know a lot of people don't want to think about that when we think about God. The terror of the Lord.
[00:17:54] The Lord here is Yahweh, the promise keeping God of the Old Testament, the one who created all things. And so whatever he says is true and right, and whatever he promises to do, he will do without exception to have wisdom. You are to fear him.
[00:18:17] You are to know your place before him, that you ain't him, he is God.
[00:18:26] Now a lot of times we want to say we shouldn't be scared of God, we shouldn't fear God.
[00:18:36] Well, it all depends on your place before God.
[00:18:42] If you are an unbeliever and are rejecting God and His wisdom, you, you should be absolutely scared out of your mind of God.
[00:18:53] He is your creator. He holds your breath in his hands right now.
[00:19:01] He is God, he is glorious, he is holy, and he is righteous. And you are not.
[00:19:11] One of the things that we got to be more wise about is understanding who God is and having a little tremble in our soul before Him.
[00:19:26] This is where wisdom begins. Now if you're a believer in Christ, you are safe.
[00:19:36] You are safe from his judgment, but you still look at him, understanding who he is, and there should be a tremble in your soul. The same way you would stand before a fire at a safe distance and you understand what that fire could do to you.
[00:19:59] You understand who he is and you know your place in the world. The same way that you would stand on the side of a mountain and look down and there would be a trembling in your soul at the height of this glorious mountain and you would tremble.
[00:20:18] You stand before God and you realize who he is and you put yourself in your place through standing before God and trembling. And he says, this is the beginning of knowledge. This is the beginning of being skillful at living. This word beginning. It actually means a starting point or a doorway. This is how you get into wisdom is standing before God and putting yourself in your place to be wise. There must be an unselfing today because we think we're God by nature. We think we call the shots and we stand before God and say, no, he is holy, he is righteous, and we take ourself off the throne.
[00:21:09] We unself ourself from being God and we put ourself in proper place.
[00:21:18] And notice what the fool does.
[00:21:20] The fool despise wisdom and instruction. Why? Because he doesn't fear God.
[00:21:28] So he doesn't care about changing. He doesn't care about being wise. He wouldn't even know where to start at being wise because he doesn't fear God. Psalm 14:1 says, the fool says in his heart there is no God. He says, in his heart there's no God. Why? Because his heart is wicked and his heart doesn't want to know God. His heart hates the thought that God exists. Why? If there is a God exists, I'm accountable to him and I have to do what he says. So the fool says, in his heart there's no God. He suppresses the knowledge that there is a God, so he doesn't have to receive instruction because there's no authority outside of himself. He hates instruction. This is what it means to be a fool.
[00:22:21] Now, this is one of my favorite words in the Bible. Fool, fool.
[00:22:26] It can actually be translated moron or idiot.
[00:22:31] Idiot is a biblical word.
[00:22:34] If you grew up in my house, you know that.
[00:22:37] Stupid, idiots.
[00:22:41] But it's biblical in this way.
[00:22:44] It means to live according to one's own, to live in one's own mind, to live according to your own wisdom, to live according to your own desires. And that's stupid. And you're an idiot when you do that. Why?
[00:23:06] Because there's a God who created you and exists outside of your mind. Who you are to live according to who you are, to surrender your wisdom to and your desires and your life to. And it is foolish to. To live in a world that God created as if he doesn't exist and as if he has no authority to tell you what to do. No, you stand before him, trembling before who he is.
[00:23:31] And wisdom begins with this reverent obedience before God. You see, the fear of the Lord assumes obedience. You're not just standing there trembling.
[00:23:45] You're standing there trembling, saying, what would you have me do, God?
[00:23:50] What must I do, God? How must I live before you, God? You gave me this life. How must I live before you? And so you stand before God, ready to obey God. And so all of the words and all of the concepts that we went through before, they all assume obedience, wisdom and instruction. They all assume action. And the fear of the Lord assumes the action of obedience. And that was crucial for the kings of Israel. When it came to the kings of Israel, God required that they would take his law and that they would write it out themselves and they would have their own copy of God's Law that they meditated on day and night, that they held themselves accountable to in Deuteronomy 4:6, before there's even a king.
[00:24:48] The instruction for the king is that they would do the law and that the law would be for them. Wisdom. Wisdom was wrapped up for the king in fearing God and doing everything that he said.
[00:25:02] In Deuteronomy 17:19, the king was to have the law with him, and he was to read it all the days of his life that he may learn to fear God.
[00:25:16] So he has the law and he comes before the law of God, fearing God has exists and he's revealed Himself to me. Now what must I do that he may fear the Lord by keeping all the words of his law. So the fear of the Lord assumes obedience. You stand before God as God saying, tell me what to do and I will do it because you're God.
[00:25:43] We may even say this. Wisdom is the skill of reverent obedience.
[00:25:51] Maturity, skillful living, Correction, insight. Listens to God and is ready to obey Him.
[00:25:59] You understand? That's why you have the Bible, right?
[00:26:05] It's so that you may gain wisdom.
[00:26:09] How do you gain wisdom from your Bible?
[00:26:12] You open it up to see who God is and what he would require of you. In Second Timothy, Chapter 3, Verse 16, we read, All Scripture is breathed out by God and it's profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. All of those are synonyms for wisdom. God has given you a Bible so that you would be skilled at living, so that you would be corrected by him, so that you would be trained in righteousness, ultimately so that you would do what he says and walk in a way that he says. The Bible is God's gift to you for wisdom if you obey what it says.
[00:27:03] It's not just a tip book. Inspirational insights for living.
[00:27:10] It is God's holy word that we see is breathed out by him for a purpose. He is the Creator, you are the creature. He gets to tell you what to do.
[00:27:22] Do you want to know?
[00:27:25] Do you want to know? A fool says, absolutely not.
[00:27:30] The wise man says, yes, because I understand my place in the world. Tell me what to do.
[00:27:38] Wisdom is the skill of reverent obedience. And then we begin to see that we cultivate wisdom through continual reverent obedience. Obedience.
[00:27:49] We approach God's Word every time, intent on obeying, intent on doing what he says, intent on hearing and doing. We don't open up our Bibles for Bible trivia.
[00:28:07] We don't open up our Bibles just for some More information to walk away from today and going, man, that was a good sermon. That was a bad sermon. No, we open up the Word of God to say, God, tell me what to do.
[00:28:22] I'm going to do it. And you should enter into every Bible study, you should enter into every sermon. You should enter into every devotional time intent on doing what God said, intent on being corrected, intent on being instructed. This is why we have the Bible. As we talked about last week in Isaiah 66, God looks with favor on the one who is humble and contrite of spirit, who trembles before the Word of God.
[00:28:56] There should be a trembling as you come before the word of your Creator.
[00:29:03] And I'm telling you this, we would be so more wise. Wiser. Gotta get used to saying all those things.
[00:29:15] If we just practice this on a daily basis, taking your Bible, getting away from all the other stuff, the devices, and getting over here and communicating in your mind, in your heart, God, I'm telling you, you're the most important thing right now. You're holy and you're righteous. Because I'm not going to be distracted with notifications right now because you're holy and I fear you. I'm not going to let anything get in my way of pursuing you and hearing from you. Nothing. Moms, get in the bathroom, lock the door, let the kids go crazy for a little while.
[00:29:58] I'm getting alone with the Word of God because God is holy and he's revealed himself. Why would I not do that? My Creator is guiding me. He's telling me how to live in his world. And we get alone and we fear God and we're intentional on making changes because we've heard the Word of God. God, what would you command me to do? Who have you called me to be? When is the last time in your life? In my life, I have to think about this, where I have said, I'm doing this because God told me to do it. Period.
[00:30:35] I'm making significant changes in my life because I heard something in a sermon, a Bible study, or my devotional time where I come across that verse and I highlight it and say, I'm doing that right now. I'm doing it right now. I'm praying that right now. I'm stepping into that right now. I'm repenting of that sin right now.
[00:30:56] That's reverent obedience before the Word of God that we cultivate daily. That is actually wisdom. Wisdom isn't about being smart. It's about being obedient. That's why we have bfgs the way we do.
[00:31:12] Because when we hear from God, we got to do something.
[00:31:17] And we need people in our life on this narrow path that we so beautifully heard about.
[00:31:24] We need people in our life who are going to come alongside with the ropes and pull us back and walk with us.
[00:31:32] Because we want to obey God.
[00:31:36] We need help doing it.
[00:31:38] But here's what the Book of Proverbs does with this reverent obedience. We practice this before the word of God. Constantly hearing and doing, hearing and doing, hearing and doing. We practice reverent obedience.
[00:31:52] And you know what happens?
[00:31:55] We begin to hear the voice of God all the time.
[00:31:59] The more that you hear and do, the Book of Proverbs tells you you will begin to hear and do all the time.
[00:32:10] Even when you can't go to a verse, even when maybe you are in a conversation and don't have your Bible. What should I say to this person right now? How do you approach a fool?
[00:32:23] No, you just know how.
[00:32:26] You know how to talk to a fool. You know how to receive the rebuke of a friend. Why? Because you have trained your heart and mind to constantly hear and do, hear and do. And what the Book of Proverbs does is it moves out into everyday life. The Book of Proverbs has something to say about your friendships. It has something to say about your marriage. It has something to say about your money. It has something to say about your parenting. It has something to say about you getting your lazy tail up out of bed every day and going to work.
[00:33:01] That's what the Book of Proverbs is about. And by the way, I don't like this book.
[00:33:08] One reason I don't like it is I love stories.
[00:33:11] I love stories.
[00:33:14] Book of Proverbs ain't a story.
[00:33:17] It's all over the place.
[00:33:20] One moment we're talking about sexual immorality, and then we're talking about how to save money. And then over here, we're talking about how to choose our friends. And then over here, we're talking about don't join a gang. And it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
[00:33:34] But that's how life works, right?
[00:33:38] When you get up out of bed and you begin to go about your day, you are moving down this road of life. And there's all kinds of things that happen. There's all kinds of turns. And in those turns and twists and crossroads, what Proverbs says, if you are ready to be reverent and obedient, you will hear the voice of God in those moments. That's how the Spirit of God works in your life.
[00:34:04] He brings to life the word of God in those moments where you need to know what wisdom is and the spirit of wisdom comes alive.
[00:34:16] But let me warn you of this as we enter Proverbs.
[00:34:20] If you do not practice reverent obedience, you will not hear the voice of God.
[00:34:27] And don't act like you are.
[00:34:30] Because if you practice irreverent foolishness through disobedience, there is no way you know what the will of God is.
[00:34:40] We encounter this a lot of times with folks.
[00:34:44] They're living in immorality, they're in the depths of wickedness and sin.
[00:34:52] And then they're like, I just don't know what God wants me to do with my life.
[00:34:56] Yeah, you're right, you don't. Because you could care less about obeying what he says.
[00:35:04] And so many times we come before the Word of God and we take the word of God as a proof text. God, would you please help me justify this sin in my life?
[00:35:15] And we look for verses to justify sin.
[00:35:19] And that's not how you approach the Bible. You approach the Bible and say, I'm a sinner. God, correct me, change my thinking, change my will, change my desires.
[00:35:31] But if you're justifying sin today, gossip, laziness, sexual sin, there is no way you're listening to the voice of God. No way at all.
[00:35:45] Well, God knows my heart. And you're absolutely right. He knows your heart. And he knows your heart is desperately wicked. And what he is trying to do is change your heart, but you are kicking against it in your sin.
[00:36:01] And there is no way you know what direction to take because you are rejecting obedience before God. And that's why many of us are paralyzed. We have no godly inclinations in our life. There are no reflexes that honor God. Because we haven't spent time in the word of God saying, God, you tell me what to do. I need to be instructed and led.
[00:36:25] And that right there is a harsh word for all of us.
[00:36:30] But here's the good news about Proverbs.
[00:36:34] Jesus makes wisdom beautiful.
[00:36:40] As you hear all of that, you think, man, that's harsh.
[00:36:44] And it is harsh. The book of Proverbs is a father to a son. And he's saying, don't ruin your life, boy.
[00:36:51] Don't ruin your life by chasing sin. And he's serious about it. And he warns him in some very graphic ways. Wait till we get to chapter five.
[00:37:01] He's warning his son because he loves him and he cares about him and he wants him to hear his voice in those moments of decision. I want you to hear my voice. I want you to hear the voice of God so that you would not run down the path of destruction.
[00:37:20] And if it's just that, it's going to be hard and difficult for us. That's why Proverbs is about Jesus.
[00:37:30] Jesus is the one who ultimately makes wisdom beautiful. As we move through this seemingly harsh book, at times, Solomon and other writers are going to say, well, wisdom is a beautiful crown.
[00:37:46] It's a treasure. It's a jewel. You're over here chasing foolishness.
[00:37:52] God has for you a treasure of wisdom. Over here, choose the treasure, and Jesus makes the treasure beautiful.
[00:38:04] Without Jesus, Proverbs is hard and difficult, and it's unachievable.
[00:38:09] Proverbs will make you look foolish.
[00:38:14] Just ask Moms on Mother's Day. Some of y'all have heard the Proverbs 31 sermon over and over and over again. We got a couple online that's a little different.
[00:38:24] But you've gone and you've listened to Proverbs 31, and you've thought, I don't know who that woman is, and I will never be that woman.
[00:38:35] Good news.
[00:38:38] Jesus is the voice that comes through that woman.
[00:38:44] Jesus is the wisdom that we ultimately pursue in proverbs. In Isaiah 11, Isaiah is writing about the Messiah, and he says, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. History is full of fools.
[00:39:07] History is full of foolish kings until there is one king who has the spirit of God. And the spirit of God on him means wisdom, and it means fear of the Lord. You know what it means that Jesus feared the Lord?
[00:39:23] Not my will, but your will be done. Father, you tell me what to do, I will obey you. And this is who Jesus is. The wisdom from God that Paul tells us in First Corinthians 30.
[00:39:38] And the good news that Proverbs is about Jesus is this.
[00:39:45] All of this wisdom that we're about to read about. How to talk, how to live, how to make good decisions, how to resist temptation, how to manage your finances, how to stay pure. All of that wisdom is describing who Jesus is and when you believe in him.
[00:40:07] All of his wisdom covers your foolishness. We're going to read this book and you're going to say, hopefully. We all say, I'm the idiot, I'm the fool.
[00:40:18] But Jesus is the Savior who saves fools and idiots with his perfect life credited to us. When we believe in him, his death, that dies for our foolishness. And so how does that make Wisdom beautiful?
[00:40:36] The same way you would look at that fire.
[00:40:40] The same way that you would look at rushing water or a mountain. And you would tremble. You tremble before those things because they're massive and they're huge and you're really small.
[00:40:53] The same way that you would tremble before a lion in a cage, even though he can't do anything to you. And you're sort of mesmerized by his power.
[00:41:04] You're mesmerized by who he is. And then you're drawn to his beauty, you're drawn to his glory. You're sort of amazed by Him. The same thing happens when you're in Jesus if you are covered in his wisdom, covered in his righteousness, forgiven by his cross. When you look at the wisdom of Christ, you see a wisdom that should condemn you. When you read through the Gospels and you see the way Jesus lives and interacts with people, and you go, I wouldn't have done that.
[00:41:37] I would have been with the disciples that said, let's rain down fire from heaven on these people.
[00:41:43] I wouldn't respond it that way. You are seeing wisdom that condemns you because it's in Jesus.
[00:41:50] But when you are covered in his wisdom, you're able to look at the wisdom of Jesus. And you are not condemned by it. You are compelled to it.
[00:42:01] You are safe in him, but you're still amazed at his wisdom. And you long to be wise like him. And like Solomon, you begin to pray for wisdom. Not just information, not just how to do something. And the good news is that Wisdom has done something for you. Wisdom has said it is finished.
[00:42:26] Wisdom's name is Jesus.
