INTRO.- ILL.- ATLANTA – December 2013 - It’s the most wonderful time of the year for Ira Curry. The Stone Mountain woman purchased one of two winning jackpot tickets in December 17th’s $648 million Mega Millions drawing. She claimed her prize Wednesday morning at Georgia Lottery headquarters. “It’s unreal,” said Curry, 56. “It’s like I’m still dreaming.”
Curry purchased her lucky ticket at Gateway Newstand, 3500 Lenox Road, Atlanta. Curry selected the cash option, which amounts to $173,819,742.50 before taxes for each jackpot winner.
The odds of winning that jackpot was 1 in 259 million. You have more than 1,000 times better chance of an asteroid or comet killing you. And yet people will still take that chance because it’s all about money! Money reigns in the hearts of most people!
ILL.- An angel appears at a meeting of religious leaders and tells their leader that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, God will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom, or beauty. Without hesitating, the leader selects infinite wisdom. 'Done!' says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning.
Now, all heads turn toward the leader, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. One of the others whispers, 'Say something.' The leader sighs and says, 'I should have taken the money.”
Which would you choose: wisdom or money? Most people would choose money over wisdom any day. But here is the wisdom of God speaking.
I Timothy 6:9-10 “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Money can’t buy everything. Money can’t buy eternal salvation. Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” All the money in the world isn’t enough to get a person into heaven. And if Bill Gates and Warren Buffet thinks it will, they are wrong! Of course, honestly, I’m not sure either believe in life after death.
Money can buy a person a lot of trouble. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation. Money seekers often find something they don’t want. BIG TROUBLE!
ILL.- Jack Whittaker won a record $314.9m Powerball jackpot in 2002. But life since then has been a long list of arrests, lawsuits, broken relationships and even death. In 2007, his then wife, Jewell admitted she wished she had ‘torn up the ticket’.
- 42-year-old Abraham Shakespeare who won $30 million in the Florida lottery four years ago. By all accounts, Abraham was a generous guy helping family and friends with his money. One year ago a woman named Doris Moore was convicted of murdering Mr. Shakespeare, part of a scheme to get his money.
- Missouri child services worker Sandra Hayes split a $224 million Powerball jackpot in 2006 with a dozen co-workers. She kept her job with the state for a month after taking a $6 million lump sum, she told The Associated Press. “I had to adapt to this new life,” Hayes said. “I had to endure the greed and the need that people have, trying to get you to release your money to them. That caused a lot of emotional pain. These are people who you’ve loved deep down, and they’re turning into vampires trying to suck the life out of me.”
I recently saw a video posted by Bill O’Reilly who said, “Do you want to be rich? Well here's what happens when a person is wealthy. First, he or she becomes a target. Some folks want a piece of their money and will lie and cheat and steal to get it.”
Yes, you are a target for everybody who wants what you have and you are also a target for the devil!
Do you still want money more than wisdom?
PROP.- Aspects of true wisdom; where it comes from and what it does.
1- True wisdom comes from God
2- True wisdom gives discernment
3- True wisdom saves from wickedness
I. TRUE WISDOM COMES FROM GOD
6 For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, 8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. The Lord gives wisdom and is the author of wisdom. He is God.
Romans 1:18-20 “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
ILL.- An atheist was spending a quiet day fishing when suddenly his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat high into the air. Then it opened its mouth to swallow both. As the man sailed head over heels, he cried out, "Oh, my God! Help me!" At once, the ferocious attack scene froze in place, and as the atheist hung in midair, a booming voice came down from the clouds, "I thought you didn’t believe in Me?" "Come on God, give me a break!" the man pleaded. "Two minutes ago I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness monster either!"
Some people claim they don’t believe in the Creator, at least, not until they get between a rock and a hard place. I’ve always heard it said that there are no atheists in foxholes. I would think that when any person gets to the end of the road in this life and if they still have some sense left, they would most certainly have some belief and want someone to pray that God would have mercy on them.
The evidence is in and it’s very clear! The starry universe, plant and animal life, the human body and the human baby, etc. all speak clearly and loudly there is a supreme Creator who has revealed Himself as God!
ILL.- BEHOLD THE SUN! Do you realize that every square yard of the sun is constantly putting out 130,000 horsepower or the equivalent of 450 eight-cylinder automobile engines? And yet our sun, as powerful as it is, is but one minor star in the 100 billion orbs which make up our Milky Way Galaxy!
ILL.- Did you know that when a beaver builds the entrance to his home, he always takes into account how thick the ice will be the next winter. And even though ice thickness may vary from winter to winter, THE BEAVER NEVER MISSES.
ILL.- Did you know that butterflies never try to fly until their bodies reach exactly 81 degrees F? If they did, the material on their wings would come off.
Prov. 30:26 “Coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags.” CEV “Badgers, who seem to be weak, but live among the rocks.”
This small, feisty animal (also called a coney) knows exactly where to go when danger comes. The large tattered crags jutting up from the mountains form a perfect hiding place for the badger. For example, if an eagle decides to swoops down and capture this little animal for a meal, he is protected by the rock. The eagle would virtually have to tear the entire mountain apart to get to its prey! But when the badger wanders away from the rock, he is dead meat. And if we have the wisdom of a badger, we’ll know where our true security is – the Rock of ages.
True wisdom comes from God the creator of heaven and earth!
II. TRUE WISDOM GIVES DISCERNMENT
9 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. God’s wisdom gives us discernment in life, discernment of good and evil.
ILL.- Two women came before wise King Solomon, dragging between them a young man in a three-piece suit. "This young CPA agreed to marry my daughter," said one. "No! He agreed to marry MY daughter," said the other. And so they haggled before the King, until he demanded silence. "My sword! Bring me my biggest sword," said Solomon, "and we shall hew the young man in half. Each of you shall receive a half."
"Fine. Sounds good to me," said the first lady. But the other woman said, "Oh Sire, do not spill innocent blood. Let this other woman's daughter marry him."
The wise king did not hesitate a moment. "Indeed, the accountant must marry the first lady's daughter," he proclaimed. "But she was willing to hack him in two!" exclaimed the king's court. "Precisely!" said wise King Solomon. "That shows she is the TRUE mother-in-law."
Seriously, the wisdom of God is contained in His Word and it will give us discernment in life if we listen to it and obey this wisdom. Now here’s that real story.
1 Kings 3:16-28 16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us. 19 “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”
22 The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.” But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king. 23 The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’” 24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
26 The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!” 27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.” 28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.
God’s Word/wisdom is always correct about everything in life. If there is anything the Bible teaches us about God, it is that He is all-wise.
Job 12:13 “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.”
Isaiah 40:28 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”
Roman 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
ILL.- An ill-prepared college student taking an economics exam just before Christmas vacation wrote on his paper. “Only God knows the answers to these questions. Merry Christmas!” The professor graded the papers and wrote this note: “God gets 100, you get 0. Happy New Year!”
Because God knows everything, we must seek His wisdom in order to be discerning in this world of sin and evil.
III. TRUE WISDOM SAVES FROM WICKEDNESS
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, 13 who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, 14 who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, 15 whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. 16 It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words..,
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse. Wicked people are everywhere; in school, at work, everywhere in the world.
ILL.- A very long time ago I dated a girl whose brother went into the Army. She said that when before he went into the Army he was clean-cut, didn’t drink, didn’t cuss, etc. But by the time he got out of the Army he did! He did those things and a whole lot more. WHY? Here’s why.
I Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Bad company, bad friendships, bad associations can corrupt good people. Some people become who they run with or associate with!
ILL.- When I was a kid in high school I admired one of my classmates who was something a tough guy. He wasn’t a big guy but boy, could he ever fight! He often whipped most bigger guys because he wouldn’t quit or give up until he whipped the other guy. And it didn’t make any difference whether they were standing toe-to-toe, slugging one another or wrestling on the ground. He was just plain tough! I admired his tenacity and toughness, but I quickly realized that if I was going to be his friend I, too, was going to get into some fights!
You are sometimes who you hang with! Fighters cause others to fight. Those who cuss bring out cussing in others. Drinkers often cause others to start drinking. And so with all kinds of evil things in this world. Monkey see, monkey do. We often imitate others. And we sometimes imitate evil more than the good we see in others. HOW SAD IS THAT?!
Because we live in a world of temptation and evil people tempt others to involve us in their evil, what must we do? How can we avoid this evil?
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.
The wisdom of God can save us from the evil that people do! But only if we listen to God’s Word and live by His wisdom.
Psalms 119:9-11 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Psalms 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
To avoid evil in this world, to not do the evil that others do we must guard our thoughts and our lives with God’s wise Word and make a commitment to live by His Word. God’s Word is powerful and can keep us from evil but only if we surrender to that wisdom. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus and no other way to avoid evil in this world.
CONCLUSION-----------------------
The wisdom of the speaks to us every day. But the wisdom of this world is a lie. The wisdom of this world says there is no God, no hell, no afterlife. The wisdom of this world says that “everything goes" so do whatever you want. The wisdom of this world says that gay is ok. The wisdom of this world says it’s ok to lie about anything because everybody does, including the president.
But the wisdom of God says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." Isaiah 55:8
The wisdom of God says, “Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18
The wisdom of God says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
The wisdom of God says, “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
What do you choose? Whom will you serve this day and the rest of your life?
