Reading: Romans chapter 11 verses 33-36.
Ill:
Children’s Wisdom
• Patrick aged 10:
• “Never trust a dog to watch your food.”
• Michael aged 14:
• “When your dad is mad and asks you, ‘Do I look stupid?’ don't answer him.”
• Andrew aged 9:
• “Puppies still have bad breath even after eating a Polo mint”
• Joel aged 10:
• “Don't pick on your sister when she's holding a cricket bat”
• Lauren aged 9:
• “Felt tipped pens are not good to use as lipstick”
• Michael aged 14:
• “Never tell your mum her diet's not working”
• Taylia aged 11:
• “When your mum is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair”
• Armir aged 9:
• “You can't hide a piece of broccoli in your milk”
Quote:
“Socrates was said to be wise, not because he had all the answers
but because he knew how to ask the right questions”.
• This technique of learning actually has an official name:
• It is known as: The Socratic Method -
• Teaching by Asking Instead of by Telling
Note:
• In this section of the letter to the Romans:
• The apostle Paul takes a break;
• He has been teaching some heavy, heavy theology;
• Talking about God’s plan of Salvation regarding the Jewish people.
• Here in verses 33-36 he pauses and takes a break;
• These three verses are a mini poem, a hymn of praise to God.
• Having written about God’s plan of salvation;
• He has to stop and respond by praising God!
• Notice: This poem or hymn follows the Socratic Method:
• That is Teaching by Asking Instead of by Telling
• This hymn starts off with three questions;
• And finishes with three affirmations.
• And although no answer is given to the three questions;
• You can be sure that the answer to each questions is an emphatic no!
(1). Question 1: Has anyone been able to
anticipate what God is going to do?
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?”
• Paul’s words of praise in verse 34 are not original to him;
• They are borrowed from Isaiah chapter 40;
• Which like chapter 11 of Romans deals with the salvation of Israel from her sins.
• The context of the quote is that;
• Israel could not figure out or understand God’s plan of salvation;
• They were unable to how comprehend how God accomplishes His purposes:
• In response to this blankness - Isaiah would go on to say to the people;
• Some very well known verses:
Quote: Isaiah chapter 55 verse 8:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
9 As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Quote: The Message:
"I don't think the way you think.
The way you work isn't the way I work."
God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think
Ill:
• We like boxes.
• ill: Spent Monday morning packing away stuff from ‘Boomerang’ Holiday Club.
• When tried to put everything neatly into plastic boxes,
• And then neatly label them.
• We like boxes.
• ill: We use file boxes.
• ill: We have lunch boxes.
• Ill: We use storage boxes.
• ill: We receive and mail out packages in boxes.
• ill: So much of our food is bought in boxes.
• ill: We wrap presents in boxes.
• ill: As a kid I even had a toy called “Jack in the Box.”
• Boxes give us a sense of control and organization.
• If I got it in a box, and I got it labelled,
• Then I know exactly what I got!
Many people (Christians & non-Christians) try to put God in a box.
• ill: TV Programmes – God who fits there stereo type.
• ill: Photo-fit pictures of criminals.
• Media has a Photo-fit image of God – rarely does it match the Bibles view!
• ill: Christians too create theological boxes in their mind of what God can and can’t do.
• We like to be able to know that we can predict what he might do next.
• We want him to conveniently fits into our lifestyle;
• And to approve the choices we make.
• The problem is that the God in our box;
• Bears little resemblance to the true God living outside our box!
Quote: Job chapter 11 verses 7-9:
"Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens. . . They are deeper than the depths of the grave. . . Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea."
Ill:
• The expression in verse 33: (N.I.V.); “His paths beyond tracing out”.
• Other versions use: “Unfathomable”, or “Profound” or “immeasurable”.
• The Greek word carries the idea of footprints that are untrackable,
• Such as those of an animal that a hunter is unable to follow.
Notice:
• Again the phrase used in Romans chapter 11 verse 33: "the depth of the riches";
• Is simply a poetic way of saying that God’s wisdom and knowledge are infinite,
• That they are immeasurable.
• There is no limitation on God’s knowledge.
• God’s "knowledge" here refers to the fact that God knows everything that can be known.
• ill: God knows every detail about the past,
• ill: He knows everything happening in the present,
• ill: And he knows everything that will happen in the future.
• That’s God’s incredible, infinite knowledge.
• Theologians call this God’s ‘omniscience’, which means; ‘God knows everything’.
Ill:
• There is nothing that God does not know.
• ill: From the spinning of galaxies hundreds of light-years in diameter;
• ill: Down to the vibrations of subatomic particles,
• Everything in creation is known and understood by God.
• ill: Every word spoken by every person who ever lived,
• ill: Every thought in every mind,
• ill: Every movement by any of the billions of insects, and birds,
• And fish, and mammals anywhere in the world;
• ill: Every chemical reaction going on inside every flower;
• And tree and plant on every continent;
• All of these are fully comprehended by God,
• All of them are known and understood by God simultaneously,
• All the time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• Joke: And I have trouble remembering my wedding anniversary!
• It only makes sense that he would understand it,
• Since He both created it in the first place and now keeps it all going by His power.
Note: now because God’s knowledge is infinitely greater than ours,
• God’s decisions are impossible to figure out from a human perspective;
• And God’s ways are impossible to predict.
ill:
• Trying to comprehend God’s mind and plans with our tiny brain;
• ill: is like trying to put an ocean into a thimble. It cannot be done!
• ill: Just as an ant will never be able to comprehend the mind of a human being;
• So no man will ever comprehend the mind of God!
(2). Question 2: Has God ever needed anyone’s
advice?
"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
• Once again the answer to this question will be a resounding no!
• The wisdom of God means he never needs to ask anyone anything!
• He NEVER lacks wisdom!
Ill:
• If you do a search on Amazon.com;
• It brings up 4392 books with "wisdom" in the title.
• Examples:
• Jewish wisdom,
• Quaker wisdom,
• Celtic wisdom,
• Wisdom of the Zen masters,
• Wisdom of the native Americans,
• Amish wisdom,
• wisdom from ancient Egypt,
• Irish wisdom,
• Chinese wisdom,
• Folk wisdom,
• African-American wisdom
• Wisdom from the Dalai Lama,
• Wisdom from a variety of great men & women e.g. Abraham Lincoln, Billy Graham, Mahatma Ghandi, Tom Landry, Winston Churchill, Confucius,
• Wisdom from taxi drivers, cowboys, football players, wisdom from dogs and cats (!),
• Wisdom from greeting cards,
• And wisdom from country music songs (must be a short book)
• ill: And my favourite - wisdom from car stickers,
• Favourite: “If you can read this sign, I’ve lost my caravan!”
Note:
• In contrast to God we all need advice!
• ill: Parachute Jump/DVD
• ill: Search ‘Google’ or ‘Yahoo’ some many times each day.
• ill: How many of us have a library of books at home.
• ill: D.I.Y – Cooking – Medical – Educational – Recreational
God never needed to ask anyone for advice!
• God is infinitely wise.
• Let’s start with a definition of what we mean by ‘wise’ & ‘wisdom’.
• Wisdom is knowing what the greatest goal is in any situation,
• And what the best way is to achieve it.
• It’s different from knowledge, but it assumes knowledge.
• They overlap.
• You can’t exercise wisdom without knowledge;
• Because in order to figure out the best way to achieve a goal,
• You have to have knowledge of many factors.
• On the other hand, you can have a lot of knowledge and not have wisdom.
• There are many brilliant fools. And many less-educated sages.
Ill:
Joke.
• An atheist was moaning to his religious workmates that it wasn’t fair;
• To his Jewish friend he said; “You have Rosh Hannah as a holiday”
• To his Muslim, friend he said; “You have Ramadan as a holiday”
• To the Christian he said; “You have Christmas day as a holiday”
• But he being an atheist did not have his own day.
• He had to share their holy days – holidays.
• The Christian looked at him and said;
• “You do have your own day – April 1st –April fools day!”
• ill: Psalm 14 verse 1 says, “The fool says in his heart, there is no God”.
• Actually those words do not just apply to the atheist;
• But also too many a Christian!
• There are many brilliant fools. And many less-educated sages.
• On the other hand, you can have a lot of knowledge and not have wisdom.
This talk we are talking about God’s wisdom, not ours.
• The difference is that he always knows the best goal in every situation,
• And he always has total and perfect knowledge;
• Of billions and billions of relevant factors in every situation.
• This knowledge enables him to know the best way to achieve the goal.
(3). Question 3: Has God ever been short of
resources and in need of a loan?
"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
• The words Paul quotes in verse 35 come from the lips of Elihu,
• We read about him in the Old Testament book of Job.
• Spoken to Job as recorded in Job chapter 35:
Because no-one was before God;
• And none can give to God what has not first been received from him.
• Because he is the source of everything!
• ill: Gave to God silver & gold
• He would reply I gave you the mountain where you mined it.
• ill: If you gave him food;
• He would reply I gave you the seed, sent the sunshine & rain etc.
• None can give to God what has not first been received from him.
• Because he is the source of everything!
Quote:
"God owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
The wealth in every mine;
He owns the rivers and the rocks and rills,
The sun and stars that shine.”
• Quote: Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 14:
• “To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens,
• the earth and everything in it"
• Quote: Psalm 50:10
• “For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.”
Ill:
In his book ‘Gods, Graves and Scholars’, C. W. Ceram writes that:
• “Large numbers are of comparatively recent conception in the Western World.
• The Greeks, for example,
• To whom we accord such high mathematical-astronomical regard,
• Still thought of the number 10,000 as a „large, uncountable aggregation.”
• So the ancients used numbers on a more human scale,
• And tended to use large numbers in a figurative way.
Ill:
Today, we use large numbers in much the same way:
• “Millionaire” means a person who has at least a million pounds,
• But in actual usage simply means the person is rich;
• In like fashion “billionaire” means a person who has at least a billion pounds,
• But in actual usage simply means the person is super-rich.
• Psalm 50 verse 10:
• Is obviously not meant to limit God to only the cattle on the thousand hills - & no-more!
• It is simply a poetic way of saying; ‘God owns ALL the cattle on ALL the hills’.
Ill:
• God spoke those words to the nation of Israel way back in the Old Testament;
• They thought they were doing God a favour by sacrificing animals to him;
• The Lord reminded them;
• He was not impressed by their outward religion that lacked inward reality;
• In fact that actually they were only giving back to him what was already his!
Conclusion of the three questions is summed up by that word ‘depth’:
• “Depth” probably goes with all three nouns in this verse:
• “Riches, wisdom, and knowledge.”
• Question: How deep is the ocean?
• Answer: Not deeper than God’s riches.
• Question: How vast is the Grand Canyon?
• Answer: Not vaster than the wisdom of God.
• Question: How expansive is the Milky Way?
• Answer: Not as expansive as his knowledge.
Note:
• This poem/hymn starts off with three questions;
• The answer to each of these questions is an emphatic no!
• And this poem/hymn finishes with three affirmations.
• Three statements of truth.
(1). He is the creator - “From him”
• This God who we learned has infinite resources is the Source of all things.
• We proceed from Him.
• Yes “In the beginning God created…..”
Ill:
• By design or by accident?
• For many that is the big question!
• This book teaches: “Not a little higher than a monkey”
• “You are a little lower than an angel!”
(2). He is the sustainer - “through him”
• God the Sustainer is a theological term;
• Referring to the concept of a god who sustains and upholds everything in existence
Ill:
• God chose your birthday,
• And he will choose the day you die.
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from his hand;
Till he returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand!
• God chose your birthday,
• And he will choose the day you die.
• He is the one who keeps the planets in their orbits,
• And he gives all living things life and breath.
Question: What does it mean to be “sustained’ by something?
Answer:
• No matter where you find yourself,
• Whatever sustains you - is there to keep you going.
• A sustaining force never falters, leaves you in the lurch or fades away.
• Question: Can you think of one thing on this earth that has that kind of testimonial?
• Answer: Me neither!
• Listen, anything made by the hand of man can be unmade.
• ill: Just look at the Titanic, the Hindenburg or the Twin Towers.
• God tells us that even heaven and earth may pass away,
• But His Word will remain intact.
• It is that same Word found in the Holy Bible that sustains us,
• If we let it.
Quote: The Catechism of the Catholic Church says in 301:
• “With creation, God does not abandon his creatures to themselves.
• He not only gives them being and existence,
• But also, and at every moment, upholds and sustains them in being,
• Enables them to act and brings them to their final end.
• Recognizing this utter dependence with respect to the Creator;
• Is a source of wisdom and freedom, of joy and confidence:”
(3). He is the goal - “for him”
• We are created for Him. “To Him be the glory.”
• This is the ultimate goal & purpose for our lives!
We were created for His glory.
• Quote: The authors of the Westminster Confession of Faith got it right;
• When they affirmed,
• “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”
To live to the glory of God is the reason for our very existence as well as our highest calling.
• From Genesis to Revelation,
• God exhorts mankind through His prophets, poets, priests and apostles,
• To both give glory to and live to His glory.
Note: To both give glory to and live to His glory.
• One is an act of worship;
• One is a life of worship.
• To give glory to God - is an act of worship;
• To live to His glory - is a life of worship.
• To give glory to God - our act of worship;
• May be a spontaneous expression of a moment;
• To live to His glory - a life of worship.
• Is a learned habit, the result of a disciplined life.
Conclusion:
• This doxology, poem or hymn starts off with three questions;
• And finishes with three affirmations.
• And although no answer is given to the three questions;
• You can be sure that the answer to each questions is an emphatic no!
