Sermon by Camille Lang
Are you wise?
Who do you consider wise? What is wisdom?
Here are some random wise sayings I found on the internet
The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom
- H.L. Mencken
Men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives
Abba Eban
Cabbage: A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man’s head
Ambrose Bierce
It’s so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don’t say it.
Sam Levenson
Hmmm not sure if that helps or hinders our quest in understanding wisdom….
The dictionary says that wisdom is having the power to judge properly what is true or right…. is having the power to judge properly what is true or right….
When I read that it kinda surprised me a bit…..it’s not the first thing I think of when I think of wisdom….often in our society we link wisdom with people who are older than us…..I say often rather than always as I haven’t heard the youth say how wise myself and the other youth leaders are!! And on saying that, I can’t remember saying that to Chris either!! However I do see my nana as being one of the wisest people I know…..So in our society wisdom is often coupled with age….
Wisdom I think is also associated with knowledge…..People who have loads of knowledge on a particular topic are considered wise…..My dad for example knows an awful lot about cars…. particularly my car!!! He’s very wise to speak to when there’s smoke from the engine…or it won’t start….or a flat tyre
The point is though that society has definite ideas on who has wisdom and who doesn’t……. We all have ideas and people who we think are wise……However today what I want us to think about is not just what society thinks is wise but what is wisdom in God’s eyes? Who does God consider wise? But before we answer these questions from our passage today…..Let’s recap on where we’ve come
We have been going through the book of Hosea over a couple of months. Now Hosea was a man called by God to speak God’s message to the people of Israel…..So just like when we read the Bible, we read God’s message to us…..Hosea was actually saying, at times yelling, or even pleading God’s message directly to the people of Israel.
Now Israel were God’s people….they were set apart from the rest of the world….. for his purposes of saving that world. This was a big responsibility…… And I just want you to think for a moment how you respond when you are given responsibility…..Sometimes we take it on the chin….. and don’t think about it very much…. and do whatever we have to it……Other times I think we can assume a superiority…..One that is very aware that you have been given responsibility or power over something or someone else….I think it’s easy to let the "power" go to your head if you have knowledge over someone else…..if you are considered wiser or the wisest….. Israel were to be God’s people set apart to be a light to the rest of the world…..You can nearly see Israel thinking…..Wow we’re different?! Chosen by God…. superior to everyone else….You can nearly see them leap from being set apart by God for his purposes…. to how wise or good are we ….thinking they must have the power to judge properly right and wrong because God has chosen them…..
Yet as we look at our passage today….we see that Israel God’s people have turned away from God….We see Hosea’s plea to return to the Lord your God…..Israel had stumbled in many ways……in chapter 4 verse 1 and 2 we read "that there is no….bloodshed follows bloodshed"…..in that same chapter we read from verse 12…Israel had turned to other gods that of Baal and of consulting wooden poles….it’s interesting to note the language of whoredom…..Israel were in relationship with God…..like that of a marriage…..God the husband, the provider, nurturer and deliver has been cheated on by Israel…..
In understanding this….I ask the question "Were Israel a people considered wise?" By all accounts you would have to say a definite no……People who steal and commit adultery don’t fit into our definitions of wisdom….one assumes that they don’t know what is true or right…..or else they would have carried it out….surely??!! What do you think God thinks of Israel’s behaviour…..would it fit by His standards of wisdom??
The first verse in our passage today answers this question ……Read with me from verse 1..(READ)…… Israel has stumbled….They had turned away from their Creator, they had cheated on Him….They had disobeyed his laws for them……Stealing, murdering and idolatry are not part of God’s standard’s of wisdom…..so they’re stumbling…..
However after stumbling they are also hurting…..just like…..when you stumble and your knee breaks open…..It hurts a lot….Israel were hurting…..They needed God…..And that’s exactly what Hosea orders "Return to your God…." The first step in becoming wise in God’s eyes is to acknowledge your Creator and turn to God
Hosea then proceeds to outline what returning to God is…..even giving them the words of a prayer to say to God. Read with me in verses 2 and 3 (READ)….
This prayer acknowledges that Israel have done the wrong thing….they have sinned against their God…..and now they are asking God to take away all guilt – forgive us our sins……
Hosea even details what the sins are……(He’s definitely a details man)…..including having affairs with foreign gods….gods that have been made by the work of human hands….wooden poles…. Or relying on "Dr Assyria" to save them…….a nation Israel was banking on to get them out of hot water…..
It’s very easy to be like Israel….who in their wisdom decided to rely on humans either themselves or other humans as people who have the power to judge properly what is true and right……particularly in the world we live in presently, a world of terrorism….It’s very easy to find refuge in statements made by people like George Bush……
On the day of September 11….George Bush responded with this…."A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining."
Now to America that was a very inspirational speech…..one that would have encouraged them in their grief……but where are the results of such a speech……there’s still terrorism in the world…..Bali, the UK….there’s still violence in the world…..Ultimately man or woman cannot save us…..just like Assyria could not and did not save the people of Israel…
In our society today we have many gods made by human hands…..many things we worship that lull us into a false sense of security….nice house, good job, money in the bank, being nice to people…..giving money to charity….lots of things we think will ultimately save us…….lots of good deeds done by humans hands…..
Well God says to all return to me, return to your God….Forgive us our sins….take away our guilt…. so that we may offer you the fruit of our lips….so we can praise you God with our words and songs and prayers…. For you God and only you will the orphan or the fatherless find mercy and be saved.
Now if Israel had returned to God and prayed the prayer outlined by Hosea……we see what God’s response would be…. Look at verse 4 onwards and note the language straight away of….I, I , I…this is God speaking through Hosea….(READ) "I will heal their disloyalty…I will love them...because my anger has been turned away"….. The results of God healing them, loving them……are found in the poetic, flowing language of verses 5-7 (READ) ….This describes a beautiful picture of Israel’s bountiful prosperity which would result from being in a restored relationship with their God….They will blossom and their beauty will be like that of an olive tree, the dew will enable Israel’s dry climate to give life to dying grass and plants….. there is such richness in this language, in this imagery describing how Israel could have been healed….
In our last verse…verse 9 we see the message of today summarized……the message of today has been leading up to this verse….please read with me….(READ)…Here are the wise….Here are God’s standards for being wise clearly specified…..And we see it’s not just about understanding what has been outlined in our passage….there must be action…..Note the action words returning, discerning and walking……returning, discerning and walking….
In our intro today….we looked at various definitions of wisdom…..one such definition was having the power to judge properly what is true and right…..but being wise in God’s eyes is so much more than that…..it’s not just having the power to judge properly it’s actually carrying out what is true and right……And Israel….though they might have known what is true and right…..didn’t actually carry it out……one assumes that they didn’t heed to Hosea’s words…their capital city of Samaria was invaded and the people were taken captive…….they continued to stumble tragically….. And this was a pattern repeated generation after generation…..How were people to be wise in God’s standard?
Well it wasn’t actually until Jesus, God’s only Son, came that we would see the glorious bountiful prosperity as described in verses 5 and 7. He was right with God, without sin, perfect in every single way. Jesus dealt with the sins of the whole world when he died on the cross…..He is how we can have our guilt removed, our sins forgiven, because He took on the punishment / the wrath that God has for sin……..Israel’s, ours, our neighbours….all sin by all peopleWell who are the wise? Who are those considered wise in God’s eyes? Well it’s not those necessarily who are aged, it’s not those who have knowledge about something…..it’s not even those who have the power to judge properly what is true and right…..It’s those who are walking in the ways of the Lord….who turn to Him….who ask for forgiveness of their sins…..knowing that Jesus has paid the price……
Well what are you relying on to save you? Your partner? An assuring friend that says "Don’t worry mate you’ll be fine"….The next charismatic world leader……Your good deeds…..The common denominator in all those is humans trying to save themselves or one …..God’s wisdom is completely opposite to the what the world says is wise that of humans or other gods…..1 Corinthians 1:18 (READ)…..what is at the very core of being saved is Jesus Christ dying on a cross…..which in the world’s view is utter foolishness…..yet in 1 Cor 1:20 we read that God makes foolish the wisdom of the world …..no human wisdom or human made thing is going to save you…..turn to God….and ask him to take away all guilt….ask for his forgiveness through Jesus and you will be saved not just for this life but for the next as well…….And understand that God’s response is unchanging to those who ask for forgiveness "I will heal their disloyalty, I will love them freely"…..all you have to do is ask….
For those who have turned to God who have been healed by Him……who have received their salvation…….understand that it doesn’t stop there……we are to keep asking for forgiveness ……as the Holy Spirit keeps working in us and convicting us of specific sins…..we need to keep confessing and being active putting to death….. sin in your life
And understand that you are living a blessed life….you will be like a blossoming lily, a deep-rooted tree, a fragrant garden…protected by God’s shade….He is the God who promises to save you and look after you… living a blessed life…..
Would you be considered wise in God’s eyes?
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