WISDOM’S CHILDREN—Luke 7:24-35
A traveling salesman who was in a terrible rush, drove up to the only bridge across a wide but lazy river/The bridge had been washed out by a recent storm & the water was murky/The salesman stops his 4X4 at the water’s edge & notices a local(a very short man) sitting on the bank perched upon one of the remaining pilings/
‘You live around here doncha? How deep is the water, do ya think I can drive my car across it?’/
‘Can’t be that deep, I could wade it easy if I wuz to try’/
The salesman drives into the water & it immediately sinks out of sight in a flurry of bubbles almost drowning the salesman/He escapes to the surface gasping for breath & pulls himself onto shore beside the local/
‘Whaddaya mean sending me into that river, its at least 30 feet deep!’/
Local scratches his head & says, ‘I can’t understand it’, motioning across his thighs, ‘It just comes up to here on them ducks!’
The local man’s Wisdom was completely Vindicated/justified thru the duck’s actions.
God’s wisdom is also vindicated thru those who put their trust in Christ.
Jesus revealed to the multitudes that those supportive of John the Baptist’s ministry vindicated God’s plan of reconciliation.
Vindicated—Shown to be what it is/Justified/Made sure
Those who become God’s children, justify the wisdom of His design for the world’s reconciliation.
How is God’s wisdom vindicated thru His children?
4 ways God’s wisdom is vindicated/justified by His children.
1—Wisdom is vindicated thru
OUR SEARCH(:24-26a) Diligent Search
—Explanation:(:24-26a)
:24—“And when the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the multitudes about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?
“Reed”—Writer’s quill
:25—“But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are splendidly clothed & live in luxury are found in royal palaces.
:26a—“But what did you go out to see? A prophet?...”
Know who God is working thru & thus where God is working.
—Argumentation:
Ps. 42:1-2—“As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come & appear before God?”
2Chr. 7:14—“...if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, & pray & seek My face, & turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, & will forgive their sin & heal their land.”
Isa. 55:6—“Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.”
—Illustration:
Cordless phoneOR TV controller/Lost/Search in likely locations/Call from cell phone/SEARCH Vindicate
Lost Child/Think of every viable location possibility/the childs likes & dislikes/Where would that lead you?/Your SEARCH vindicates your wisdom
—Application:
?Your ‘SEARCH’ Vindicate God’s wisdom?
?You one of Wisdom’s Children?
2—Wisdom is vindicated thru
OUR TREASURE(:26b-28)
—Explanation:(:26b-28) Distinguished/Honor/Greatness/Treasure
:26—“But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, & one who is more than a prophet.”
“More than a prophet”—Harbinger of an entirely new thing.
Jer. 31:31-34—“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel & with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, “declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, & on their heart I will write it; & I will be their God, & they shall be My people. “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor & each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, & their sin I will remember no more.””
:27—“This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOUR FACE, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’”
Mal. 3:1; 4;5-6—“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, & he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; & the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts...Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great & terrible day of the LORD. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, & the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come & smite the land with a curse.”
:28—“I say to you, among those born of women, there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
“LEAST”>“GREATNESS”
—Argumentation:
Mat. 6:19-21—“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth & rust destroy, & where thieves break in & steal. “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, & where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Mat. 13:44—““The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found & hid; & from joy over it he goes & sells all that he has, & buys that field.”
Col. 2:2-3—Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge.
—Illustration:
My love of Biology/Geared high school toward’s it—College/TREASURE
My love of preaching/Geared graduate studies to it/TREASURE
Investments/Land, Money,Family, Lord!/TREASURE
—Application:
?Your ‘TREASURE’ Vindicate God’s Wisdom?
?You one of Wisdom’s Children?
3—Wisdom is vindicated thru
OUR IDENTIFICATION(:29)
—Explanation:(:29)
“And when all the people & the tax-gatherers heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.”
“All the people”—Common, unlearned
“Tax-gatherers”—Despised & rejected
“Justified God”(KJV)—
—Argumentation:
Acts 2:41—“So then, those who had received his word were baptized; & there were added that day about three thousand souls.”
Rev. 7:3— [An angel stayed the hands of those at the four corners of the earth]“saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.””
Rev. 13:16-17—“And he causes all, the small & the great, & the rich & the poor, & the free men & the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead, & he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.”
Mat. 10:32-33—“Everyone therefore who shall confess Me[Jesus] before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”
Rom. 1:15-16—“Thus, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first & also to the Greek.”
2Tim. 1:12—“For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed & I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”
—Illustration:
The fish symbol on front of our car/
Letter closings—In the Son—by Grace—Graced
—Application:
?Your ‘IDENTIFICATION’ Vindicate God’s Wisdom?
?You one of Wisdom’s Children?
4—Wisdom is vindicated thru
OUR SUBSTANCE rather than form alone(:30-32)
—Explanation/Argumentation:(:30-32)
:30—“But the Pharisees & the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.”
“Rejcted God’s purpose”—
Rejected God’s method
:31—“To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, & what are they like?”
:32—“They are like children who sit in the market place & call to one another; & they say, ‘We played the flute for you, & you did not dance; we sang a dirge, & you did not weep.’”
—Joyful Music with no cause for celebration.
—Dirge with no death to mourn.
Expecting others to react & move at their bidding.
True Christians act on Gods revelation not their’s.
—Illustration:
Gutted aircraft at Air Museum in Warner-Robins/Beautifully preserved planes but No substance
Disney/360degree Surround movies/Pictures but not the substance
—Application:
?Your ‘SUBSTANCE’ Vindicate God’s Wisdom?
?You one of Wisdom’s Children?
5—Wisdom is vindicated thru
OUR SATISFACTION(:33-34) Acceptance/Common Thread
—Explanation:(:33-34)
:33—“For John the Baptist has come eating no bread & drinking no wine; & you say, ‘He has a demon!’
:34—“The Son of Man has come eating & drinking; & you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man, & a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers & sinners!’”
No matter what God worked or what He provided for salvation, the Pharisees were unwilling to accept it because it didn’t fit their ideas of salvation preconceived in sin.
—Argumentation:
Rom. 10:11—“For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.””
—Illustration:
Sam whining says, ’Dad get off the internet(downloading Adobe Acrobat Reader—45 min. operation)! Alex(Sam’s friend) won’t have time to come over now!’/Well if you know he won’t have time then get over it & find something else to do/
Continuing his tirade of whining, ‘There’s nothing to do—Its taking too long’—blah, blah, blah/ ‘Go sweep the garage & by that time I’ll be off’/ ’I don’t want to sweep the garage...’/UNSATISFIED with everything.
—Application:
?Your ‘SATISFACTION’ Vindicate God’s Wisdom?
?Wisdom vindicated thru your SATISFACTION?
?You one of Wisdom’s Children?
CONCLUSION:
Wisdom is vindicated thru our...
SEARCH(:24-26a)
TREASURE(:26b-28)
IDENTIFICATION(:29)
SUBSTANCE(:30-32)
SATISFACTION(:33-34)
Presented 01/13/02pm to;
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 31797
