Wisdom Acquired, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ.

Wow, that's pretty clear then. I can tell you one thing about wisdom. You won't find it out there. You won't. You see, you're not going to find it with your colleague at work or you're not going to find it in the political system of some government.

You're not going to find it out there. He said that's not where wisdom is found. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt.

Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. I have been speaking for some time on the subject of wisdom, and if I were to give you a short definition of what wisdom is, I would simply say that wisdom is skill in the art of living. In fact, in the Old Testament, when a person was considered to be wise, the Hebrew word that was used was the word hokmah, and often then in the English Bible, which translated skilled. We've covered a lot of subject matter when it came to wisdom. The very first time that I spoke, I said that there's a question you need to ask yourself each and every time you're about to make a decision or a choice, and that question is, what is the wise thing to do? And then sort of auxiliary to that, in light of my past experiences, in light of my present circumstances, and in light of my future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing for me to do?

We also spent some time with this principle. Wise people know what they don't know, and so wise people seek counsel when it comes to important decisions and choices that they make. Unfortunately, we spent a week on the idea that most people are not wise. In fact, the scriptures say that they fall into three categories, the naive, the fool, and the scoffer.

And they reap exactly what they sow in life because of the poor choices that they make. We then spend time with looking at wisdom in a particular way, and that is, what's the wise use of my time? And then last week, what's the wise use of my wealth? You see, it's such an important subject because if you want to live life to the fullest, if you want a life of contentment and you want to have a life of satisfaction and a life that's accompanied with things like peace and joy and hope, you have to be wise. You have to acquire wisdom. Open your Bibles to Proverbs chapter four, Proverbs chapter four.

We have spent a lot of time in that book because it truly is the wisdom book. Proverbs chapter four. Solomon speaking, and this is an interesting reflection of a man who was described by God as the wisest man who ever lived. Solomon now is writing to his own sons, and he says, Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, and give attention that you may gain understanding, for I give you sound teaching. Do not abandon my instruction. And then he reflects back to his own childhood, and he says, When I was a son to my father, tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, then he, my father, taught me, and he said to me, Let your heart hold fast to my words.

Keep my commandments and live. And then he says, and you'll notice it's got an exclamation point in English. They don't have those in Hebrew. They do it with word order. But if you were going to say it with the emphasis it needs, what David told young Solomon was this acquire wisdom. The fact that the word order that Solomon uses is there. I have a hunch that Solomon heard this over and over.

You know what it's like. You can think back to a parent and it's like, oh, here it goes again. They're going to tell me this again and again and again and again. I think this is what David heard again and again. I mean that Solomon heard from David acquire wisdom, acquire understanding.

He says, Do not turn away from the words he said of my mouth. Do not forsake her personification again of wisdom. If you don't forsake her, she will guard you. You see, acquire wisdom. Why?

If you don't forsake wisdom, she'll guard your life. From what? Really bad choices. Really bad decisions. A lot of agony. Love her.

She will watch over you. What an interesting way to say it. And then he says the beginning of wisdom is, and here we go again, acquire wisdom. You see, that tells you something.

It's this. Wisdom is not natural to us. It is not natural. Wisdom is not something we are naturally endowed with. Wisdom is something we have to acquire. He said acquire wisdom and with all your acquiring, get understanding. Prize her and she will exalt you.

He said she will honor you if you embrace her and she will place on your head a garland of grace and she will present you with a crown of beauty. In other words, what David told Solomon over and over again, you want a great life, you want to live life to the fullest, you have to acquire wisdom. That's why several weeks ago when I was talking about Solomon at only 20 years of age and then God granted him a dream that he would be the wisest man not only in his world but who had ever lived. But my point was he was already wise. He gained a lot more wisdom but he was already wise. At 20 years of age, he was wise.

Why do I know that? Because he knew what he didn't know. Remember he said to God, how am I going to govern all these people?

I don't have the kind of wisdom to be a king of a country. You see, that was Solomon. But notice he didn't get that just supernaturally from God.

He got it from his father David. In verse 10, hear my son and accept my sayings and the years of your life will be many. Now remember, this is wisdom literature. That's a principle.

That's not a promise. There have been wise people who die young. But by principle, who's more likely to live a full life, a wise person or a fool? You see, it's pretty clear. He says, I have directed you in the way of wisdom. He said, I have led you in the upright paths.

Wow. You see, acquire wisdom and it will be great. In other words, if you acquire wisdom, you're going to have a great life.

So if you read that seriously at all, I know when I read it for the first time and thought about it, I thought, sign me up. And the reason is who doesn't want to have a great life? You see, who wouldn't want that? No, I want to live the life of a fool. I want to make one bad choice after another that I regret for the rest of my life.

No, I want that. But that leads to the question, where do you get it? You see, where do you get wisdom? So I want you to go with me now to the book of Job.

A few books to your left. The book of Job, Job 28. Now, remember, Job was a pretty impressive guy, not because I said so, but because God said so. God said to Lucifer, to Satan, hey, Job's the most impressive guy on earth. He's the most righteous man on the whole planet. So Job was an impressive guy.

And you know what he went through and how terrible it was for him. But in Job 28, Job says this in verse 12. He says, but where can wisdom be found?

In other words, where do I find it? Where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?

And then he says something interesting. Man does not know its value. Boy, that's so true. Man does not know the value of wisdom. And then he says, nor is it found in the land of the living. Well, that's pretty clear, then I can tell you one thing about wisdom. You won't find it out there. You won't. You see, you're not going to find it with your colleague at work or you're not going to find it in the political system of some government.

You're not going to find it out there. He said that's not where wisdom is found. He says that in verse 15, he says, pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can silver be weighed as its price.

We said this last time. You can't buy it. You can't buy it. You see, wealth and wisdom are not necessarily traveling companions. And we talked a little bit last time about the stupid rich and the decisions that they can make. You can't buy wisdom. Then he says in verse 20, where then does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding? He says, thus is it hidden from it is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the sky.

He said, it's you know what that tells me? The wisdom you need, the skill you need to literally live your life to the fullest is counterintuitive. My natural instinct is not to be wise.

It's not my natural instinct. It's counterintuitive. It's hidden from the eyes of all the living. And then in verse 23, he says, God understands its way and he knows its place. He says, for he looks to the ends of the earth and he sees everything under the heavens. And when he imparted weight to the wind and met it out the waters by measure. And when he set the limit of the rain, he's talking about creation and the course of the Thunderbolt. Then he saw it and he declared it. God has declared wisdom.

Just like he did when he created. And looked at his creation and said, it is good. He said, implied in the creation is God's wisdom.

He established it also and he searched it out. And to man, he said, behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. Wow, and to depart from evil is understanding. The fear of the Lord, he said, that is wisdom. Solomon writes in Proverbs chapter 9, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord.

Now, what does that mean? Well, I don't think it means what you might think it does on the surface. You mean if I'm really afraid of God, I'll be wise? No, I'd say it's wise to be afraid of God.

But that's not what he's talking about. It's not fear and trembling kind of thing. And to some extent, you'll hear people say it means that you respect the Lord. And I think that's certainly part of it. But I think that when you fear the Lord, there is a reverence and a recognition that's way beyond respect.

Ken Boa writes this. He writes that fearing the Lord relates to trust and humility and teachability and servanthood and responsiveness and gratitude and reliance on God. It is the exact opposite of autonomy and arrogance. That's the place of the naive, the fool, and the scoffer. The source of wisdom is God. But God's wisdom is not mysterious. You know, it's not like, you know, I went to a cabin in the woods and I spent a weekend and when I came out, I had the wisdom of God in some mystical deep prayer.

It's not like that. Wisdom is extremely practical. Even the way God makes wisdom accessible to us is very, very practical. Turn with me to Psalm 19. Psalm 19. It's a great Psalm by David. David is praising God. And what he's praising God for in Psalm 19 is because God has revealed himself.

And that's a wonderful thing. Remember, God didn't have to do that to us. He could be totally transcendent. He could be wholly other as he is but never reveal himself to us. But David says God has revealed himself. And what he says in verse 1 is he says, the heavens are telling of the glory of God and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. The first thing he says in praise is all creation reveals God. Now, that's something Paul picks up in Romans chapter 1. He says if you look at creation, you can see that there is a God.

It doesn't matter if you examine creation on the macro or the micro level. God has revealed himself. And David praises him for that. But there's another way in which God reveals himself, a very, very practical way. And that is in verse 7. He says in verse 7, the first part of the verse, the law of the Lord is perfect and restores the soul. Now, please understand, every time he uses words like law or precept or anything like that, they're all synonymous. I've said this before, but when a Hebrew writes poetry, they use parallelism in their poetry.

They don't rhyme the words. They use the same kind of thoughts. A lot of it is called synonymous parallelism.

In other words, what I say in one line, I'm going to say differently in the second line, but it's going to mean the same thing. And so you could put in the word, word of God in every one of these and it would be appropriate. The word of God is perfect.

It restores your soul, restores your relationship with God, meaning of life, that type of thing. Notice what he says in the next part of the verse. The testimony or the word of the Lord is sure, and there it is, or there we are, making wise the simple.

That'd be us. The word of God has the capacity to make the simple wise. He then goes on and says, the precepts of the Lord are right. They rejoice the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure.

It enlightens the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean and endorsed forever. The judgments of the Lord are true. They are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

Now the wisdom part. Moreover, by them, your servant is warned. You see, we live as sinful people in a fallen world. The capacity that you and I have to make really terrible choices is almost endless. And you can see it every time you turn on the television or watch the news. Bad choice after bad choice after bad choice after bad choice.

And notice what he says. Moreover, by them, by the word of God, by those principles, he said your servant is warned. And in keeping them, there's great reward. In other words, there's the two lives again. You see, you can either live the life that you don't heed the warnings of God and you reap what you sow. Or you can make wise choices in your life and he says there's great reward in that.

Contentment, satisfaction, peace, joy, all those kinds of things. The New Testament, by the way, picks up on the same idea. 2 Timothy chapter 3, 2 Timothy chapter 3. It's an idea consistent with scripture. In fact, in Psalm 119, the psalmist there said, Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies and I have more insight than all of my teachers. In other words, what that psalmist was saying is, look, my teachers may have more knowledge than me, but I have more wisdom than they do.

Why? Because your word I've hidden my heart. You see, the word of God basically is the source of our wisdom. Now, notice what Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3. The context of 2 Timothy 3 is pretty simple. Paul says to Timothy, Timothy, you're now living in the last days and the last days, well, they stink. The last days are going to be just awful. Now, if Timothy was in the last days, in the first century, we're further along in the last days than he was. We're still in the last days. And so Paul says in verse 1, realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come.

Why would they be difficult? Well, let me explain, he said, for men will be lovers of themselves. They'll be narcissistic. They'll be lovers of money. They'll be materialistic. They'll be boastful and arrogant and revilers and disobedient to parents and ungrateful and unholy and unloving and irreconcilable. They'll be malicious gossips without self-control. They'll be brutal. They'll be haters of good. They're treacherous. They're reckless. And they're conceited. And they'll be lovers of pleasure, hedonist, rather than lovers of God. That's our world.

That's the world at large. He says they're going to be difficult times. He said that's the way it's going to be. He goes on, he says to Timothy, in those difficult times, there's two things you need if you're going to live life successfully in difficult times. And he said, one of them I've already provided you with.

In fact, he provided both. The first one is Paul says you need a godly example to follow. And Paul said to Timothy, by the way, that's me. That's an interesting thing to say.

He said to Timothy, he said, look, I was just the kind of guy that you needed, he said, in order to be able to cope with these difficult times. Isn't that interesting? By the way, that's such a good warning to parents. Most Christian parents I know are really pretty successful at teaching biblical truths and principles to their children. And even holding them accountable to it. But I think sometimes what's really missing, at least having talked to so many children over the years, is they're not the example. They just don't prove to be the example. And I don't think there's anything, anything that will affect your child more than your example.

It's a sad thing to watch, by the way, as you watch your children get older and older. But you might not want to believe this, but I have shortcomings. And they show up in my boys. You know, they just show up. It's an example. You're an example.

It's just the way it works. He said, you need a godly example. But he said, there's also something else you need if you're going to live wisely. He says this in verse 16. He says, and all scripture is inspired by God. Now notice, he told Timothy in verse 15, that from the childhood you have known the sacred writings, which are able to give you what? The wisdom.

You've known Timothy. And he said, that's where wisdom comes from. He said, and the reason is, all scripture is inspired by God.

Over the years I always say this, but it's Theos Numitas. All scripture is God-breathed. All of it. He said, all scripture is God-breathed.

Now watch, and it's profitable! For what? For teaching.

In other words, to teach what? The truth. If I want to know the truth about life, it's in the Word of God. If I want to know the truth about me, it's in the Word of God. If I want to know the truth about you, it's in the Word of God. If I want to know the truth about human government, it's in the Word of God. If I want to know the truth about being a neighbor, it's in the Word of God. If I want to learn the truth about work, it's in the Word of God.

I want to learn the truth about how to relate to my enemies. It's in the Word of God It's all profitable for teaching, but it's more than that He says it's not only profitable for teaching, but it's profitable for reproof What's the reproof of the Word of God I do something I say something I go into the Word of God And what's the Word of God say to me? It says bill that wasn't wise That was not wise You see it reproves you that's what the Word of God does He says not only does it reprove me. It's also good for correction That's one of the great things about the Word of God It doesn't just condemn me for not doing what I should have done It corrects me in order so that I can get back on the path of doing the things they should be doing So he says all scripture is God-breathed And he says it's profitable for teaching and reproof and correction for the training in righteousness So that or with the result that the man or woman of God will be adequate and equipped for every good work Let me paraphrase that so the man or woman of God will live a wise life You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the radio ministry of Fellowship in the Word If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time Remember that you can go to a great website called one place calm That's one place calm and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online at that website You will find on only today's broadcast, but also many of our previous audio programs as well at Fellowship in the Word We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help this radio ministry continue its broadcast on this radio station By supporting us monthly or with just a one-time gift Support for our ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word 4600 Clearview Parkway, Metairie, Louisiana 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format That is as a sermon that pastor bill delivered during a Sunday morning service at fellowship Bible Church Then you should visit our website FBC NOLA org. That's FBC n o la dot o RG at our website. You will find hundreds of pastor bill sermons You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for or you can search by title Once you find the message you are looking for you can listen online Or if you prefer you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience And remember you can do all this absolutely free of charge Once again, our website is FBC NOLA org For pastor bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word