I read once of a man who was lost in the desert, just dying for a drink of water. He stumbled upon an old shack – a ramshackled, windowless, roofless, weather beaten old shack. He looked around and found a little shade from the heat of the desert sun. As he glanced around he saw a pump about fifteen feet away – an old, rusty water pump. He stumbled over to it, grabbed the handle, and began to pump up and down, up and down. Nothing at all came out. Disappointed and discouraged, he staggered back. And then he noticed off to the side and old jug. He looked at it, wiped away the dirt and dust and read a message that said; “You have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug, my friend. PS…Be sure you fill the jug again before you leave.”
He popped the cork out of the jug and sure enough, it was almost full of water. Suddenly he was faced with a decision. If he drank the water, and he was extremely thirsty, he could get by a little longer. Or if he trusted whoever had written the old note, poured all the water from the jug into the pump, it may or may not work at all. If that old rusty pump worked maybe it would yield fresh, cool water from down deep in the well, all the water he wanted. And if he used up all the water and it didn’t work, he would die of thirst out in the desert.
He studied the possibility of both options. What should he do? Ignore the flimsy instructions written no telling how long ago? Drink the water in the jug? Give it all up and go for the pump? What would you do? Reluctantly he poured all the water into the pump. Then he grabbed the handle and began to pump, squeak, squeak, squeak. Nothing came out. Squeak, squeak and a little water began to dribble out, then a small stream, and finally it gushed. To his relief, fresh cool water poured out of the rusty pump. Eagerly he filled the jug and drank it, filled it again and drank it too. Then he filled the jug for the next traveler. He filled it to the top, popped the cork back on, and added this little note “Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away before you get anything back.
Faith, wisdom and trusting God completely in any circumstance, at any time of our lives. There is a big difference between heart and mind when we trust in God. Our scripture reading addresses wisdom and where it comes from. Solomon, David’s son writes at the beginning of this book in the New King James translation, chapter 1 verses 1-7; “This is the book of proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity; To give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion - A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, to understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Now listen to the translation known as “The Message” written by a man of God Eugene Peterson,
"These are the wise sayings of Solomon, David’s son, Israel’s king - written down so we’ll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it’s going; A manual for living, for learning what’s right and just and fair; To teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality. There’s something here also for seasoned men and women, still a thing or two for the experienced to learn - Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women."
Start with God the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.
Do you know that every time in the Bible when a person is called upon to exercise faith, it’s an intelligent faith? It is faith based on wisdom that can only come from God. Jesus said in the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make, or set, you free.” What is the greatest commandment of all? Jesus Himself gave us this command “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Love God with our hearts and our minds. I believe He is speaking about intelligent faith. Christian faith is not a blind ignorant belief, but it is based on facts and based on wisdom from God. I believe we should never use the term “blind faith” when it comes to our belief in Jesus Christ. To love God with our hearts and our minds. Why do so many Christians stop with their hearts? When we were created, each in God’s image, we were given a mind, empowered with the Holy Spirit to know God, as well as a heart to love Him, and a will to choose Him.
According to one of my favorite authors, Josh McDowell, many people try to put off a personal commitment to Jesus Christ by voicing the assumption that if you cannot prove something scientifically, it is not true and it is not worthy of acceptance. Since we scientifically cannot prove the deity of Jesus Christ or His resurrection from the dead, than we shouldn’t accept this as fact. I guess it can only be accepted by “blind faith.”
With all of our advanced technology, we have widely accepted that if something cannot be proved scientifically, then it cannot exist. That is simply not true. Scientific proof is based on showing that something is a fact by repeating the event. There is a problem about proving anything about a person or an event in history because it cannot be repeated.
Using this method, can you prove you were in church today? After you return home will there be any way to prove you were here. The event passed and there is no way to recreate it. But you say, “I can prove it!” How about legal or historical proof, showing that something is a fact beyond a reasonable doubt? Think about this. Using this method, many things can be proven to be true, beyond a reasonable doubt. You were here today because lots of people saw you here and gave you a hug.
You may have left a prayer request in the offering plate or your name on a tithe envelope. You can easily prove you were here. Can you prove Napoleon existed? George Washington? Martin Luther? The Apostle Paul or Peter? Can you prove the resurrection or that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? I believe we can, and not by blind faith. The life of Jesus has been well documented; His miracles were seen by hundreds if not thousands. His crucifixion was witnessed by many people and His burial was provided and tended too by a very intelligent man. And the scene of Christ’s resurrection was witnessed early on as well. And in the resurrected form Jesus appeared to hundreds of people, and we know that He proved Himself to be alive to one of His chosen disciples who asked Jesus for even more proof. And Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed. And that includes everyone here today, unless you have been waiting for even more proof. Jesus’ literal words were “Stop becoming faithless, but become a believer.” Every year archeology is uncovering more and more that strengthens our faith. The more we dissect the smallest molecule in a microscope or reach the furthest galaxy through the most powerful telescopes; we uncover more and more evidence of the fingerprint of God. God created the entire universe and He knew us before we were born. We have life because God gave us breath. And we have eternal life because God gave us Jesus Christ.
I read of a time in Dwight L. Moody’s life when he was preaching in Chicago. He was speaking to the largest audience in the city that evening. The text had been, “What Will You Do Then with Jesus Who Is Called the Christ?” He said something he had never said before and never said again. He was very fatigued and because of that he said to the audience after he presented the Gospel, “Now I give you a week to think that over. And when we come together again, you will have opportunity to respond.”
Then soloist Ira Sankey came and began to sing. It was 9:00 pm on that chilly October night and even before he finished the song, you could hear the blare of the sirens in the streets of Chicago as that great fire broke out. Not only did his church burn to the ground but most of the church members lost their homes, along with 100,000 more. Four square miles were burned and hundreds of people died in that fire. D.L Moody rose to the occasion a few months later and he said; “I would give my right arm before I would ever give an audience another week to think over the message of the Gospel. Some who heard it that night died in the fire.”
In the quiet of this moment, I would like you to ponder your relationship with God. If you find that now is the time in your life to commit to the less traveled path of Jesus Christ, then I want to pray with you where you are. If you find that now is the time in your life to recommit to a relationship with Jesus Christ, then I want to pray with you where you are. If you are struggling with anything that has burdened you beyond belief, then I want to encourage you to leave it at the cross and give it to God.
