How to Be a Wise Guy
Happy New Year! How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions? Not so good, huh? As the year unfolds before me, I often find it difficult to even remember what I resolved to do. I tell myself, “This year I’m going to turn over a new leaf. I’m going to start rooting for the Illini…” But then somehow I forget. Maybe you have that problem, too.
That reminds of a single man who had moved into a retirement community and soon met a single woman. They spent a lot of time together and finally one evening he proposed, asking her to marry him. The next morning when he woke up he remembered his proposal, but he couldn’t remember her answer. So he tracked her down and said, “I’m really embarrassed. I proposed to you last night but I can’t remember if you said ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ To which she replied, “Oh, thank goodness! I remembered saying ‘yes,’ but I couldn’t remember who asked me.”
Most of us think of a resolution as a decision to stop doing something that’s bad for us or as a promise to do something that’s good for us. We wish each other a “Happy New Year,” (whatever that means) and we want the same for ourselves. And yet, if the truth were known, many of us are the same this year as we were last year, and we’re not really sure that we even can change.
On Thursday, when I was working out, I asked several people how their new year was going. When I was leaving, I asked one guy, “How’s your new year so far?” His answer jarred me. This is what he said, “Great. Nothing’s changed. Nothing’s changed. Everything’s the same.” I thought for a minute and then replied, “That’s good if you don’t want your life to change and not so good if you do.”
I’m going to make an assumption this morning that one of the reasons you are in church is because you want to change. And instead of encouraging you to make some resolutions, as helpful as they can be, I want to challenge you to make just one request that will not only alter your year, but will literally change your life.
If you could ask for one thing in 2002, what would it be? Fame? Power? Money? Good health? Long life? Be honest. What would you ask for? One night God appeared to Solomon in 1 Kings 3:5 and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” This was his chance to have anything he wanted. Solomon’s answer was startling in its simplicity. He merely requested a discerning heart and the supernatural ability to distinguish between right and wrong. God was pleased with this kind of request and said in verse 12: “I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart…” Because he didn’t ask for riches and honor, God poured out His material blessings on Solomon as well.
1 Kings 4:29 says, “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.” His fame spread to all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. Verse 34 tells us, “Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom…”
Many of Solomon’s words of wisdom ended up in what we know as the Old Testament Book of Proverbs. This book is part of the section of the Bible known as wisdom literature, which is made up of five books. Each of these books emphasize something different:
Song of Solomon love
Job pain and suffering
Psalms the heart
Ecclesiastes the mind, on a search for meaning
Proverbs the will, or choices we make
We all live by proverbs, whether we know it or not. Unfortunately, some of the sayings we follow today are contradictory. Let me illustrate.
“Look before you leap” is hard to reconcile with “He who hesitates is lost.”
“Many hands make light work” runs contrary to this one, “too many cooks spoil the broth.”
The proverbs in the Bible are not contradictory because they are inspired by God and speak to life itself. These wise words to live by are for the everyday world, not just for church. Listen to Proverbs 1:20: “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech.” A proverb has been called a “short sentence founded upon long experience.” That’s probably what was behind one of my favorite ones: “Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own” (26:17). That’s wisdom from experience!
I’ve never preached a series of messages on Proverbs before, and my guess is that you haven’t heard many sermons from this part of the Bible. Part of that may be because the book is difficult to outline and at first glance doesn’t have much order to it. However, it may help to picture Proverbs as an instruction manual that covers all of life. The beginning chapters present a series of lessons that a father is teaching his son and the latter chapters emphasize how God’s wisdom applies to his changing life situations as he matures. As we listen in during the next month, we can become skillful at:
Watching Our Words (next week)
Finding Wisdom for the Family
Becoming a True Friend
Making Wise Decisions
Purpose of Proverbs
The purpose of the Book of Proverbs is found in 1:2-6: “For attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young-- let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance--for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.” Proverbs was written so that you and I can become wise people, so that we will be more disciplined, and able to do what is right. In other words, the aim of the book is to help us acquire and apply God’s wisdom to the decisions and activities of daily life.
It’s not enough simply to be educated and have knowledge, as important as education is. We also need wisdom, which is the ability to use the knowledge that we have. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for “wise” is used to describe people who are adept at working with their hands. Those who have wisdom have the ability to face life honestly and to live it so that God’s purposes are fulfilled in their lives. Wisdom is not theoretical but practical. A wise person does not just say wise words, he or she is skillful at living life to its fullest.
We’ll focus this morning on five pathways to wisdom. We’ll spend most of our time on the first one because of its importance.
1 Develop the Fear of the Lord
Proverbs 1:7 is both the theme of the book and the key that unlocks the way to wisdom: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” The main emphasis of the entire Bible is the fear of the Lord. In this verse we see that there are two classes of people: those who fear the Lord, and the fools who do not. The beginning of knowledge refers to its origin or principal part. The first lesson we must learn in the school of wisdom is to develop a proper view of God.
A fool is not just someone who is a couple bricks short of a load, or one whose elevator does not go to the top floor. A fool is not somebody who is a few fries short of a Happy Meal or a little light in his loafers. He’s not even the guy who has two signs on both ears saying, “Space for Rent.”
In Proverbs, the fool is the one who doesn’t follow God’s ways. He’s the one who knows the right thing to do but instead does the opposite, or simply does nothing. 1:32 says that the “complacency of fools will destroy them.” In the New Testament, the contrast is between the believer and the unbeliever, the saved and the lost, those in the light and those who walk in darkness.
Around the turn of the previous century, people had become so tired of hearing about the wrath of God that preachers started focusing more on the love of God. That was probably necessary but I wonder if we’re out of balance today. We talk so much about God’s love that many times we dilute His hallowed awesomeness and His majestic magnificence. Scripture never depicts God’s love and His holiness as opposing attributes. Both are fully exhibited without conflict or compromise in the Godhead. God is unconditionally loving and very close to us. He is also utterly holy, totally transcendent, and to be revered.
At the beginning of this New Year, it’s good for us to be reminded that everything’s about God, not about us. Martin Luther’s great cry was to “let God be God.” A.W. Tozer said that to know God is to fear Him and to be “stunned” by the splendor of His presence. God is not there just to meet our needs. We are here to bow before His supremacy in an attitude of holy fear so that we will worship Him with our lives and our words. We hear the longing of God in Deuteronomy 5:29: “Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!”
The “fear of the Lord” can involve two things. One is that God might hurt us. The other is the fear that we might hurt Him by our behavior, that we should run away from Him by seeking refuge, joy and hope elsewhere. The word “fear” can refer to reverence or respect, but I wonder if this definition goes far enough. Philippians 2:12 challenges us to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” Most of us could stand to tremble more in the presence of God. He’s not just the big buy in the sky, or the man upstairs. He’s the Lord of Hosts, the Most High God, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the Almighty who is holy, holy, holy.
The concept of fearing God in order to acquire and apply wisdom may seem confusing because we tend to think of fear as something to be avoided. By contrast, Psalm 19:9 tells us that the fear of the Lord is healthy or “pure.” Fearing God can purge away every lesser phobia that paralyzes us. I love the perspective of Oswald Chambers: “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”
When we truly fear the Lord, we will recognize that He is the Creator and we are the created. He is the master and we are His servants. He is the Father and we are His children. The phrase “fear of the Lord” literally means to, “live before the face of God.” It’s the idea of being so in awe of God that I long to obey Him. Fearing God is really a synonym for worship. It involves a consciousness of being in the presence of the Almighty, a thrilling sense of privilege, which results in an overflow of respect and admiration. You can tell that you fear God when His opinion about your life matters more than anything else.
Instead of fearing others, or wanting what they have, we’re to follow the admonition of Proverbs 23:17: “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.” The Book of Proverbs lists some practical benefits that come our way as we determine to be zealous for the fear of God:
We’ll become wise. 9:10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..”
We’ll live longer. 10:27: “The fear of the Lord adds length to life…”
We’ll become content. 15:16: “Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.”
We’ll become more holy. 16:6: “Through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil.”
We’ll live life to its fullest. 19:23: “The fear of the Lord leads to life...”
We’ll experience great blessings. 22:4: “Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life.”
We won’t develop a fear of the Lord without some work on our part. We can’t just wait and see what happens. We don’t just stumble into a deeper walk with Him. In fact, as we’ve said before, our natural inclination is to head south spiritually. Let me give you four ways to cultivate the fear of the Lord in your life.
1. You must first have a desire to develop it. Do you really want to revere God? If you do, God will help you. If you don’t, He’ll help you if you ask Him to. Listen to the prayer of Nehemiah in Nehemiah 1:11: “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name.”
2. Next, you must be willing to learn. None of us have arrived spiritually and if we were honest, we’d have to admit that our view of God is anemic at best and faulty at worst. We need to be taught. And in order to be taught we must be willing to learn. Deuteronomy 4:10: “…Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land…”
3. Thirdly, you must choose to fear the Lord. We must engage our wills and decide to treat God like He deserves to be treated. Proverbs 1:28-29: “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD.” This is an individual decision. No one can do it for you. Have you ever decided to order your life around a reverential respect for God?
4. Finally, obedience is the fruit of fearing God. What you think about God is the most important thing about you. There is a direct correlation between our view of God and how we behave. When we fear God we will live holy lives. Proverbs 14:2: “He whose walk is upright fears the LORD, but he whose ways are devious despises him.” A life lived in the fear of the Lord will tell on you. It’s easy to spot those who live in the fear of God just by watching how they live. By the same token, a life lived outside the reverence of the Lord is easy to pick out as well.
Genuine fear of the Lord always leads to obedience. Proverbs 8:13: “To fear the LORD is to hate evil…” If we want 2002 to be different, then perhaps we need to start by viewing the Lord differently. Are you living in light of the fear of God? Does your view of Him propel you toward right living and godliness? In Exodus 20:20, Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.”
The primary way to become a wise guy or a wise woman is to live in light of the Almighty’s awesomeness. The second pathway to wisdom is to devote ourselves to Scripture.
2 Devote Yourself to the Word of God
Psalm 19:7: “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” Psalm 119:130: The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. 2 Timothy 3:15: “…The holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation…”
Friend, there is no way to become wise apart from the Word of God! It doesn’t matter how smart someone is, if he or she does not know the Bible, they are wisdom deficient. Here are some practical things you could do this year in order to become devoted to the Word of God.
· Read the Bible through in 2002. One of the best ways to understand the overall picture of the Bible is to simply read it from cover to cover. There are several Bible reading plans available. We’ll try to have some here next Sunday so that you will have something to follow.
· Read one chapter from Proverbs every day. Since there are 31 chapters, you could simply read the chapter that corresponds with the day of the month. For many years Billy Graham has read a chapter from Proverbs and five Psalms every day. You might want to try the same thing. When you read, discipline yourself to write down one verse from the chapter and meditate on it throughout the day. This morning as I forced myself out of bed I wrote Proverbs 6:9 down: “How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?”
· Bring your Bible to church each week. As you follow along in your own copy of the Scriptures, you will get more out of the sermons and be more motivated to do your own study between Sundays.
· Attend a weekly Bible Study. The women’s Bible study that meets on Thursdays is synchronized with the texts that we preach from on Sundays. If you’re not in a small group yet, I encourage you to join one this year.
3 Determine to Get Wisdom
After developing the fear of the Lord and devoting yourself to the Word of God, the next step is to determine to get wisdom. In order to get it, we must desire it with all our might. Listen to the action verbs in Proverbs 2:1-5: “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.”
Three times Solomon writes: “if you” in order to show that if we want it, we must be determined to go and get it. Wisdom doesn’t come just as part of getting older. We’ll get it when we go after it. As the saying goes, “We can only be young once, but we can be immature indefinitely.” Proverbs 4:7: “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”
What price are you willing to pay to get wisdom? What sacrifices are you willing to make? Proverbs 8:11: “For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”
4 Decide to Ask For It
Once we want wisdom more than anything else, we must decide to ask God for it. Proverbs 2:6 says, “For the LORD gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Solomon became the quintessential wise guy simply because he asked for wisdom. Daniel admitted that he did not have any wisdom in himself but gave credit to God in Daniel 2:23 as he prayed: “I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power.”
You can become wise by following the admonition of James 1:5: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” If you want this year to be different than last, if you want your life to change in ways that you never thought possible, then ask God for wisdom.
5 Dedicate Yourself To Jesus
The final pathway to wisdom is found in Jesus Himself. As we discovered in our study of Colossians, in 2:3: “…That they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” If you’re here this morning and you don’t yet know Christ, then you need to come to Him in faith. If you are already a believer, then rededicate yourself to Jesus and tell others about Him. To know and love and follow Jesus is to own the treasure of ultimate and eternal happiness. The command, “Get wisdom” ultimately means, “Come to Jesus.”
If you truly want a Happy New Year, then make it a Holy New Year and request the wisdom of God. Proverbs 3:13 says, “Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gets understanding.” While many resolutions become dissolutions, researchers have discovered that most people will keep the promise they put at the top of their list. Have you put wisdom at the top of your list? If you want to become a wise guy or a wise gal, then develop the fear of the Lord, devote yourself to the Word of God, determine to get wisdom, decide to ask for it, and dedicate yourself to Jesus. I guarantee your year will be different than last year…and your life will never be the same.
