Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. It seems to me, in spite of all of our education, in spite of all the advances in living in this wonderful country of America, more and more of us are making a mess of our lives. What's the problem? Not lack of knowledge, not lack of education, lack of wisdom. Welcome to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe.
Senior Pastor at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the book of Daniel, we see a young man taken captive by a pagan society. But in this wayward culture, Daniel not only kept his faith, he took a stand and made a lasting impact for God. Today on the verdict, we're discussing what it takes to be strong and to live wisely in a hostile culture.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe. Today we're continuing in our study of Daniel. was taken into captivity by the Babylonians. How is he going to live as a young man in a foreign and pagan culture? Daniel Takes a stand for God.
He honors God, who then in turn honors Daniel. Why did Daniel not compromise like so many? What gave him such courage? Why do you not crumble? How did Daniel and his friends become wise beyond their years?
Today we're going to learn about biblical wisdom. This is our wisdom that comes from knowing God and fearing God. And this wisdom leads to skilful living. You find yourself in a difficult situation. Are you faced with an important choice?
Let's learn how to avail ourselves of this biblical wisdom which comes from God. Daniel 1 verse 17. This is the Third in our series on Daniel. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom. And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them. And among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. and in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.
And Daniel was there. Until the first year. of king Cyrus We've been learning about Daniel in Babylon. Not only did Daniel survive in Babylon, He took a stand for God in Babylon. In a pagan culture, in an idolatrous culture, he made a tremendous impact.
For God. And as we read about Daniel and Understand these things, we ask ourselves what was it about Daniel that enabled him. to take a stand. For God. If there was one word, answer.
My answer would be this one word. Wisdom.
Now we live in an information age. where we have vast amounts of information at our fingertips. I can get a lot of information on the World Wide Web in a matter of seconds. I can get a lot of information very, very fast, as you can. But I cannot get wisdom that way.
Biblical wisdom is skilful living. To be wise biblically is to have this skill, to be skilled in our relationships, skilled in handling our finances, skillful at work, skillful in our home, skillful in raising a family, skillful in our speech, skillful in all of life. And Daniel had this skill. He had wisdom. He was a very wise young man.
But the question then is Where did Daniel get that wisdom? Turn with me to Proverbs nine. Verse Ten. Proverbs nine verse ten, which is really our central verse this morning, and it is a very, very important verse. Proverbs nine verse ten.
It's A truth that Daniel not only knew theoretically, But applied in his life. Proverbs 9, verse 10, one of the great verses of the Bible that all of us need to know. What is it? Written by Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, but writing obviously in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who is infinitely wise. Proverbs 9, verse 10.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the Holy One is Insights. Let me read that again. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the Holy One is Insights.
Central to wisdom. When the writer says the beginning of wisdom, he doesn't mean that once you progress you no longer need it. No, the beginning of wisdom in the sense of wisdom being the controlling principle in our life. The controlling force and principle in our lives is to be this. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Do you understand that the most important aspect of your life Is your relationship With the Lord. The fear of the Lord, the knowledge of the Holy One. That's wisdom. That is through insight.
Now would you say that the fear of the Lord characterizes our society today? Absolutely not. Paul in the first century wrote in Romans three about He says there is no fear of God before their eyes. Sadly, not only is there no fear of God in our society, it seems to me there is less and less a sense of the fear of the Lord in the Church of Jesus Christ. Have you found that?
I have. In an attempt to be cool, upbeat, have fun, seeker-friendly. We're in terribly We are in terrible danger of not worshiping in the fear of the Lord. When preachers start referring to God as dude, When they use vulgarities in their preaching and teaching, we realize that the fear of the Lord is not the highest priority. is the goal of our worship to create an atmosphere, to quote one pastor to create an atmosphere of getting on a ride at Disney World.
I can't think of anything worse. than coming to a church where the goal is to get on a ride. At Disney Worlds. where we are imitating the pop culture in order supposedly to worship God. Do we come?
I trust we do. to experience not the pop culture. We have got that coming out of our ears. but to experience what our culture knows nothing about With all due respect to Disney World, what Disney World knows nothing about. the power and the presence of almighty gods And that when we come together, we say this: we have come in the presence of God.
And we have heard His voice. What is the controlling principle in your life?
South Self-satisfaction, self-fulfilment, self-advancement. Are you living a God centred life? Our text says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
So today, I thought not so much to give an exposition of Daniel 1, but rather. for us to try to understand this important subject, I would say this essential subject of the fear of the Lord, that is foundational for wisdom. If you are to live wisely in a hostile world, It is essential. That you live. in the fear.
of the Lord. What does it mean? to live in the fear Of the Lord. First of all, To fear the Lord is to know the Lord. The person who fears the Lord knows the Lord.
The fear of the Lord flows from an authentic relationship with the Lord. Listen to Psalm 128, verse 1. Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord. who walks in his ways. That's it.
So fear of the Lord is not some servile fear which a slave feels towards a cruel master. This fear of the Lord is not opposed to joy, far from it. It is a delight. It is one where we experience the blessing and the joy of the Lord. To fear the Lord.
It is to be in reverential awe of God, knowing who the Lord is and what He's done. I'm sure many of you like me have been to Niagara Falls. I have been there several times. And what does it produce in us? a great sense A ball.
We stand and we watch that huge horseshoe These magnificent falls, we hear the roaring of the of the waterfall. We think of its sheer size. And we think how small and insignificant we are, and we are in awe. of a waterfall. Much, much more.
We're to be in awe. of God. The person who fears the Lord then is the one who knows the Lord. Turn to Proverbs chapter two. If you're in Proverbs 9, go back a few.
pages to Proverbs two. Where the rider is telling us to pursue above all things wisdom. Proverbs two verse one My son. If you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding. Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then You will understand the fear of the Lord.
and find the knowledge of God. In other words, seek and pursue that wisdom. and this understanding. Verse six, for the Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He's a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity every good path, for wisdom will come into your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all of us including our politicians, followed Proverbs two, verses one through eight. to have a society which is just Righteous.
where we live in the fear Of the Lord.
Now, as we read verses like that, we have to ask ourselves, as I ask myself this week, am I really seeking wisdom? Is this one of the passions of my heart to seek wisdom? Proverbs is telling us that this wisdom. It doesn't come from within myself, doesn't come from my education, it comes from. From God's It comes from knowing God, from a relationship with God, and it comes from listening.
To God. Isn't that difficult for us today to listen to God? You know, one of the reasons why I enjoy driving Is But it's quite There I am. My car alone. No noise.
But you stop at a traffic light And some guy drives beside you, he's got his windows down. And he's got this music glaring as if, okay, what did you get for Christmas? I think I know. You go to the gas station, you get out of your car. And we get more music.
I don't know who chooses it, but it's really bad, isn't it? I mean, do you really want music when you're pumping gas? And then you go for to a restaurant, to have a a nice meal with your friends or your family. And what do we have? Blaming nice.
We're trying to converse. But there's this all this noise going on with music in the restaurants. We have our cell phones, our iPods, our stereo equipment, our D V D s and all of this a terrible noise, constant distractions with our technology and all the rest of it. And I thought, you know. Part of the problem That I don't have the wisdom that I should have is that I don't get quiet.
And listen. To God. With all of the noise around us. Psalm 46, verse 10: Be still and know that I am God. But who is this Lord?
That I am. to fear. Turning to Exodus three. Exodus three. We're going to Get you to open your Bibles, blow away the dust.
and open it up with me. Exodus three. There's Thirteen. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We see the importance of pursuing wisdom.
We all want wisdom. But who is this Lord? that I am to fear. That's the question. Exodus three verse thirteen Then Moses said to God, If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name?
And what shall I say to them?
Well, what's God's name? Different names in the Bible to describe God. One of the most common ones, Elohim, in the beginning, God. Elohim created the heavens and the earth. But what's your name, God?
God said to Moses, Verse fourteen. I am who I am. And he said, Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me. Cheer you. This word I am, Yahweh.
is God's personal name. This name, Lord Yahweh. normally translated large in our Bibles, often capitalized. This word Yahweh is so holy. That many Jews, even to this day, don't pronounce it when they're reading Their scriptures, when they come to Yahweh, they say Adonai, another name for God, meaning master.
Yahweh. What's your name, God? What will I say? I am who I am. You say, a strange response.
God is Defining himself and describing himself exclusively in terms of himself. I am who I am. When someone says to you, Now who are you? We describe ourselves, don't we, by what we do, our background, our education. Our interests, our appearance, our accomplishments, and we tell people: well, this is my name, this is my family, this is what I do, this is who I am.
But the Lord That's one that we are to fear. The Lord doesn't derive his being from anyone else. He is the great I am. He is independent of any other being or cause. Yahweh, I am, speaks of God's self-existence.
There is no beginning to his being. Science says that the universe is not eternal. But began by a big bang, they say a cataclysmic explosion billions of years ago. All matter Material, time, and space were created, science says, by a big bang. According to the Big Bang theory, the universe came out of nothing.
Strange, isn't it, for nothing? to produce something? Surely from nothing comes nothing.
Something can't come from nothing. Therefore, there must be a cause which brought the universe into being. A being who transcends time and space and material, namely the great God who is eternal in his being, not the God who was. But the great I am who Who I am, the Lord. Present.
He's eternal, he's uncreated, he's the uncause cause. He's the self-existent one. We are born, grow old and die, but God is eternally Himself all sufficient. Self-existence. The Lord, who doesn't need anyone or anything.
I am who I am. What an awesome God. And this. is the Lord. Where to fear?
And that That is the beginning. of wisdom. Yesterday I went to Barnes and Noble. And so that English atheist, Richard Dawkins, has produce yet another book. It's called The Greatest Show on Earth, subentitled The Evidence for Evolution.
And in the current edition of Newsweek, I see that there is an ad for Richard Dawkins' book. Listen to the ad. Quotes. In reading Dawkins, the English atheist In reading Dawkins, one is left. awed at the beauty of the theory.
and humbled by the power of science to understand some of the great mysteries of life. I thought how strange And they say atheism isn't a religion. And I'm to be in awe at a theory of evolution. And I'm to be humbled by all of this. I thought how wonderful.
I'm not in awe at the theory. But I trust I am and we are in awe of the Creator of our universe. Who in the beginning said, Let there be light and there was light, who speaks and it's done, who commands and it's stood fast, who is the great eternal God. And that awe, that fear of the Lord, It's the beginning. of wisdom.
Now, let's look at this a little closer: this thought of Yahweh, to understand this Lord who I am to fear. And I want to give you two theological words.
Some of you may never have seen them before. First of all, Yahweh is transcendent. We're saying if we are to fear the Lord, we must understand who the Lord is, He is transcendent. When we say that God is transcendent, we're saying that God is above. And beyond the world.
He's separate from the world. He's independent from the world. He doesn't need the world. And he can't be fully understood by any created being. And so we speak of the mystery.
And the transcendence of the Lord. You're in Exodus 3. Look back to the beginning of the chapter. We're going to read about the burning bush. The burning bush phenomenon is an illustration of God's transcendence.
You say how's that? Read with me. Exodus three verse one.
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father in law Jethro, the priest of Midian And he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, The mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked. And behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.
When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush. Moses, Moses. And he said, Here I am. Then he said, Do not come near. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.
And he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face. for he was afraid to look at God. This burning bush phenomenon is an illustration of the Lord's transcendence. The bush burned with fire, And yet the bush was not consumed.
We're very familiar in this country with burning bushes, burning trees. They're hit by lightning, someone sets them on fire, and soon the bush is consumed. But this one doesn't do that. It continues to burn. and the bush is not consumed by the fire.
That defies all laws of science, doesn't it? And the point is that the fuel for the fire is not coming from the bush. There is an independent energy source. The transcendent God never runs out of fuel. His glory never fades.
He is apart from and beyond his creation. He's self-existent and self-sufficient. He is. Transcendent. And this is why Which I live.
in the fear of the Lord. Don't you want to be God? I hope you do. This is why when we come like this we worship the majestic, awesome, sovereign Lord of the universe, who is beyond the universe, beyond time and space. We fear this Lord, we worship Him, we are in awe of Him, we love and serve Him, He is transcendent.
This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World.
Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org. While you're there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry. Whether it's $5, $50, or more, your gift today helps cover the cost of sharing these gospel messages to listeners around the world. And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Verdict Podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam.
It's available wherever you get your podcasts, or simply go to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, We invite you to join us for our Sunday services.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe. Well, what's your verdict? Would you say that you fear the Lord? Isn't that the beginning of true wisdom? Isn't that the secret of spiritual strength and power?
Do you ask God for wisdom? Is he at the center of your life? If not, what then is the foundation of your life? Be more concerned about what God thinks of you than what people think of you. Join me next time.
as we continue this very important subject So that you may live for the glory of God. despite hostile opposition. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
