Hard Lessons From Wisdom Series

Sermon Brief

Date Written: January 16, 2010

Date Preached: January 17, 2010

Where Preached: Oak Park (AM)

Sermon Details:

Sermon Series: A Series on Job

Sermon Title: Hard Lessons from Wisdom

Sermon Text: Job 28 [HCSB]

20 Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located?

21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the sky. 22 Abaddon and Death say, "We have heard news of it with our ears." 23 But God understands the way to wisdom, and He knows its location.

Introduction:

In this sermon, we are going to look at Job 28 to help us to see the biblical truths about wisdom.

Crisis intensifies our need for wisdom.

God is our only source of true wisdom.

Godly wisdom leads directly to godly action.

There’s a difference between intelligence and wisdom, as illustrated by the old story of the favorite course at the University. The favorite course? A survey of the New Testament.

It was a favorite because there was no homework, no reading, and no tests before the final. And on the final, for 25 years, the same professor had always presented the same question: "Describe the Missionary Journeys of Paul."

A young man by the name of "Meathead," a star on the school's football team, took the course. And a tutor helped him prepare, all semester long, for the final exam. When the day of the test came, Meathead was ready.

He knew everything about every journey Paul ever took. He knew about Philippi and Thessalonica, Rome and Tyre. He knew about Timothy and Barnabas and Luke. He was ready.

But when the final exam was passed out, students all over that great auditorium were stunned to see a new question. For the first time in a quarter-century, the professor decided to ask a different question. Instead of a question about Paul's missionary journeys, there was this question: "Critique the Sermon on the Mount that was preached by Jesus."

The shock was felt across the room. And a young man got up, took his blue book - a little book that was designed to hold his essay - and threw it down on the professor's desk. It was empty. He didn't know how to answer the question. And one by one, all of the students left, none of them able to answer the question ... except for Meathead.

Meathead opened his blue book and began to write. He wrote and he wrote and he wrote. The professor's assistant came back an hour later, and Meathead was still writing. Two hours later, and Meathead was going at it. For a full three hours, Meathead filled up his blue book.

That afternoon, the professor had two stacks of blue books. On his right, a tall stack of empty blue books, all with the grade of F. On his left, one, single blue book, with a big, bold A+ right on top. It was Meathead's.

"What in the world did you write about?" Asked a classmate. "Read it," said Meathead. And on the first page was the opening sentence. "Who am I to criticize the Sermon on the Mount? Instead, let me tell you about the missionary journeys of Paul." Meathead … had discovered wisdom.

1. Crisis intensifies our need for wisdom.

We all know the devastation that was brought about with Katrina, and we all know that much of that devastation could have been prevented had the people heeded the warnings and if they would have evacuated the city.

We all know of the nightmare that was the immediate aftermath of Katrina, tens of thousands of people in New Orleans began wondering how they were going to survive because there was no power, no food, no water… no basic law enforcement!

For what seemed like an eternity for some, the conditions deteriorated and the people’s questions became more and more panic stricken! This storm left so many homeless, and they fled to places of refuge in 2 main areas, Superdome and Convention Center.

With NO law enforcement to speak of and under the cover of a black darkness every night, there were countless looters in the streets… they eventually were brazen enough to not care if it was dark or light and would loot at will.

The government agencies, that many of these stranded people had relied upon to help them, was woefully unprepared for the magnitude of this crisis. So with each passing day, the crisis intensified, and the demands for action grew more strident.

Eventually things were done and steps were taken to help these people and alleviate their immediate needs of water, sanitation, protection and food. However it was NOT before hundreds had died and world-wide criticism was leveled at the leaders’ at all governmental levels, Federal, State and local, who hadn’t prepared well enough for the storm.