INTRO.- Normally we think that wisdom comes with age, but not always. Sometimes it comes from the mouths of children.
· Patrick, age 10, said, “Never trust a dog to watch your food.”
· Michael, 14, said, “When your dad is mad and asks you, "Do I look stupid?" don’t answer him.”
· Michael said, “Never tell your mom her diet’s not working.”
· Kyoyo, age 9, said, “Never hold a dust buster and a cat at the same time.”
· Naomi, 15 said, “If you want a kitten, start out by asking for a horse.”
· Lauren, age 9 said, “Felt markers are not good to use as lipstick.”
· Joel, 10 years old, said, “Don’t pick on your sister when she’s holding a baseball bat.”
· Eileen, age 8 said, “Never try to baptize a cat.”
Sometimes people may have the appearance of being somewhat ignorant but may be a lot smarter or wiser than we think.
ILL. - A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. “You are hired,” he said. ”Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start.” The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer nor an email address.”
“I’m sorry”, said the HR manager, “If you don’t have an email, that means you do not exist. And he who doesn’t exist, cannot have the job.”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do, with only $10 in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy a 20 lb. tomato crate. He then sold the tomatoes in a door to door round. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home with $60. The man realized that he could survive that way, and started to go every day earlier, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day.
Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. 5 years later the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US. He started to plan for his family’s future, and decided to buy life insurance.
He called an insurance broker, and chose a protection plan. When the conversation was concluded, the broker asked him his email. The man replied, “I don’t have an email.” The broker answered curiously, “You don’t have an email, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an email?!!” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”
Smart man. Wise man. Wiser than many probably thought.
PROP.- Our text reveals much about wisdom; what it is and from where it comes.
1- Wisdom calls from along life’s way
2- Wisdom speaks trustworthy things
3- Wisdom fears the Lord
4- Wisdom produces good fruit
I. WISDOM CALLS FROM ALONG LIFE’S WAY
1 Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? 2 On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; 3 beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud: 4 "To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. 5 You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, gain understanding.
ILL.- Little Johnny walked into the house covered in filth. His Mom asked, "Johnny, why do you always get so dirty?" Johnny rolled his eyes and replied, “Because I’m a lot closer to the ground than you are!”
Smart kid. Smarter than the average kid. When I was a kid I wouldn’t have thought of that answer. So some kids or children may be wiser than we realize. If they have wise parents it could make a difference. IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
ILL.- The old Southern Baptist preacher, Vance Havner once said, “If you lack knowledge, go to school. If you lack wisdom, get on your knees! Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge.”
James 1:5-8 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
We can most certainly ask God for wisdom and He will give it. How does He give it? Through His Word. Through people. Through incidents that happens in life. Haven’t we all learned a thing or two from some of the dumb mistakes we’ve made or from the mistakes of others? Or from the good of others?
James 3:17 “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
True wisdom comes from God but it can also come from a variety of people, places and things in this world. We need to always be alert to wisdom speaking to us.
ILL.- For example, my first job was in a grocery store in Webb City, MO, when I was 16 years old. I sacked groceries for 50 cent an hour and was tickled to have the job. I had a very thoughtful store manager who without realizing it taught me about some things about dealing with people. He was very kind and soft spoken. And wise is the person who knows how to deal with people in a kind way.
Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Wisdom speaks at work, in the world, at home, in friendships, while shopping, when banking, etc.
ILL.- After moving to our new home in Cape Girardeau, MO, we had to choose a new bank. I called two different banks before we moved and decided on one because the bank manager was very nice and helpful over the phone. Was she that way after we moved and started banking? Absolutely. Wisdom spoke from her and another lady that I dealt with in that bank. Wisdom said, “Kindness and good service pays.”
Naturally, they wanted our business but not everyone in business (any kind of business) is as gracious as those people have been.
Wisdom is speaking. Are we listening and learning?
II. WISDOM SPEAKS TRUSTWORTHY THINGS
6 Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. 7 My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. 8 All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. 9 To the discerning all of them are right; they are faultless to those who have knowledge. 10 Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, 11 for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
ILL.- In an interview with David Letterman, President Jimmy Carter passed along an anecdote of a translation problem in Japan. Carter was speaking at a business lunch in Tokyo, where he decided to open his speech with a brief joke.
He told the joke, then waited for the translator to announce the Japanese version. Even though the story was quite short, Carter was surprised by how quickly the interpreter was able to re-tell it. Even more impressive was the reaction from the crowd. Carter thought the story was cute, but not outright hilarious, yet the crowd broke right up. Carter was very flattered.
After the speech, Carter wanted to meet the translator to ask him how he told the joke. Perhaps there is better way to tell the joke?
When Carter asked how the joke had been told in Japanese, the translator responded, "I told them, 'President Carter has told a very funny joke. Please laugh now.'"
Speaking of politicians, can they be trusted? Do they speak trustworthy words?
ILL.- A little girl asked her father, "Daddy? Do all Fairy Tales begin with 'Once Upon A Time'?" He replied, "No, there is a whole series of Fairy Tales that begin with 'If elected I promise to'."
Politicians aside, what about us? Do we speak trustworthy words? The wisdom of God does. That’s one of the reason why I try to use as much as scripture as possible in my sermons. I know that God’s Word is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I also know that I can’t go wrong if I quote God’s Word and apply it as accurately as I can.
Psalm 119:11 “Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.” Chances are that if we work at hiding God’s Word in our hearts then we will speak trustworthy words.
Ephesians 4:22-25 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”
Because of Christ who lives within us we speak trustworthy words.
III. WISDOM FEARS THE LORD
12 "I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. 13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
ILL.- When Robert Morrison, the first missionary to go to China around 1807, disembarked from his ship in a Chinese port, the captain sneeringly said, “So you think you are going to make an impression on China.” Morrison quietly replied, “No, sir, but I believe God will.”
Robert Morrison was a man who feared in the Lord in that he trusted the Lord and that’s a part of fearing the Lord. Fearing the Lord deals with holding Him in great respect or reverence and trusting Him in all things.
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” A person who trusts the Lord also fears the Lord.
ILL.- One day, some years ago, a policeman walking his beat in Chicago, observed a man standing before a little building, with bared head, acting—as the cop thought—“pretty strange.” “Either sick—or drunk,” he concluded, eyeing the man suspiciously. Then he walked up to where the man stood with eyes closes, and grunted: “What’s the matter, Mac? Sick?”
The man opened his eyes, and smiled. “No, officer. My name’s Bill Sunday, and I was converted right here in that little mission. I never come by here that I don’t take off my hat and say a prayer.”
The cop grinned now, reached a giant hand to Billy, and said, heartily: “Put ‘er there, Bill! I’ve heard about it. You keep right on with your prayer, and I’ll keep the crowd away.”
Billy Sunday was a man who feared the Lord and it showed in his preaching and his prayer life. Any person who truly fears and respects the Lord will be quick to pray. They will pray without ceasing and walk with the Lord.
ILL.- A great British statesman, W. E. Gladstone, who often served as Prime Minister between 1868 and 1894, once sat in Christ’s Church College and talked at some length about happy changes he had witnessed during his lifetime in the lot of the English people. His outlook was so radiantly optimistic that it aroused a challenge. One of the students said, “Sir, are we to understand that you have no anxieties for the future? Are there no adverse signs?”
The grand old man of England answered slowly, “Yes, there is one thing that frightens me—the fear that God seems to be dying out in the minds of men.”
I fear the same. Some people need to literally fear the Lord because sin controls their lives, but all people need to fear the Lord in the sense of respect, reverence, honor, and praise.
I Corinthians 1:31 “Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
I Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." The person who is quick to honor the Lord and give Him the glory is a person who truly fears the Lord.
IV. WISDOM PRODUCES GOOD FRUIT
19 My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, 21 bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full.
ILL.- Do you know what is America’s favorite fruit? According to US Economic Research Service (Department of Agriculture) Americans consumed an average of 46.5 pounds of fresh fruit per person in 2010, up from 34.7 pounds in 1970. Bananas top the list with apples a close second.
God’s wisdom says, “My fruit is better...” God’s wisdom is better than any fruit. And God’s wisdom is better than the fruit of fine gold or silver.
ILL.- Some wise person wrote: Dear Lord, I have been re-reading the record of the Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18) and his obviously wrong choice. But it has set me thinking. No matter how much wealth he had, he could not-- ride in a car, have any surgery, turn on a light, buy penicillin, hear a pipe organ, watch TV, wash dishes in running water, type a letter, mow a lawn, fly in an airplane, sleep on an innerspring mattress, or talk on the phone. If he was rich, then what am I?
And that person was right. Most Americans are rich by comparison to the rest of the world, but no matter how wealthy we become, our wealth is nothing in comparison to the wealth of knowing God and acquiring His wisdom.
Matthew 16:26 “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?”
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.”
Wealth brings many things to us in this life, but it can’t buy eternal life and eternity is coming! If we are blessed with plenty of material things or goods (and we are) we need to be humbly thankful to God, but at the same time we must realize they are nothing in comparison to the gift of eternal life which cannot be bought with material things.
ILL.- There is saying which goes like this: “He who dies with the most toys wins.” That’s the thinking of the world, but not God!
Luke 12:15 Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
The wisdom of God produces good fruit, fruit that exceeds anything and everything this world has to offer!
CONCLUSION-----------------
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.'
No, he was right in choosing the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God will do things for us that nothing on earth can do for us. It’s always right to walk with God and listen to Him. God’s wisdom is speaking. Are we listening?
