Wisdom or Not?

Proverbs 2

Introduction:

It was called “The Decision.” A 75 minute, nationally broadcast TV special on

ESPN where then arguably the greatest player in the NBA was to make a huge

announcement. It was free agent Lebron James, and he was scheduled to inform the

world whether he would be remaining and resigning with his hometown Cleveland

Cavaliers or not. Just 28 minutes into the program the decision was revealed, and amidst

several other qualifying statements the gist took the form of these words:

“I’m going to take my talents to South Beach!”

James revealed that he had decided not to remain with Cleveland and he was

switching teams to join the Miami Heat. The decision sent shockwaves through the

league and the nation. Cleveland was devastated, Miami was elated, and James became

the most hated. Most people hated the spectacle and even to this day “The Decision”

became known as a debacle. Lebron, and the Heat along with him, instantly became one

of the most hated and booed of all sports figures. Things still are not the same even six

years later as James and the Heat continue to face some cheers but more jeers from fans

across the nation. Just a week ago, as this year’s finals approached, a survey was taken to

determine who were people rooting for to win this year’s finals—the Spurs or the Heat?

Not one state voted for Miami except Florida. All of this goes back to The Decision.

Right or wrong, it just goes to show you that our decisions matter. They affect

things, especially bad ones. Lebron’s decision was about “Cleveland or not?” This
 morning our text will show that there is a more crucial decision to be made by us all—

”Wisdom or not?”

Recap:

We are in the book of Proverbs and last week Pastor Tony laid a firm foundation. He told

us that

 wisdom is the skill of living; the ability to know and do what is right.

 Proverbs is about applying the Law of God to diverse situations with discretion,

insight, and discernment.

 Wisdom presents two paths; two ways to live

 Proverbs was a playbook for kings’ kids; it is wisdom fit for a king

 Seeing the world through God’s eyes

Today we continue in Proverbs chapter 2 ---please meet me there in your Bibles.

 Solomon is urging his son to choose wisdom.

 Chapter 2 is one long Hebrew verse, and consists of 22 lines which correspond to

the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

Some believe that this is a rhetorical device to communicate, “Son—we are going

to talk about wisdom—from A-Z.

 There are really only two main divisions of this proverb. There is the “if you will”

section (vv. 1-4), and then the outcome or the “then you will” section (vv. 5-22).

 There is the admonition to “go hard” in pursuit for wisdom, and the description of

the benefits if you do.

 This is appeal to us--Wisdom is there for the taking—“wisdom or not?”

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 For the sake our time we will consider:

- The Decision to be made about Wisdom (1-11).

- The Division that is made by Wisdom (12-19).

- The Conclusion to be made about Wisdom (20-22).

There is a decision to made about wisdom (1-11).

The text begins with a cluster of “ifs.”

This whole text hinges on an enormous “if” clause (vv. 1–4), and the “if” indicates a

decision that must be made.

(v. 1) My son, if you receive my words...

(v. 3) - ...if you call out for insight….

(v. 4) ...if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures…

Then (v. 5) —“Then you will...”—the results of deciding in favor of wisdom

You have to decide if you want it (1-2).

1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,

2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;

Wisdom or not? It is a daily fork in the road, and like the vintage rap song by Black

Sheep “you can get with this or you can get with that...”

 Do you want God’s wisdom as communicated in His words and commandments?

 Note: The human teachers “words” and “commandments” are supposed to be a

reflection of the Divine teachers “words” and “commandments.”

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 The earthly father’s principals and precepts are derived from the Heavenly

Father’s principals and precepts.

Do you want His wisdom?

Psalm 50 – “you hate discipline; you cast my words behind you.”

Do you want the wisdom that God provides or do you want to lean on your own

understanding?”

When God told Abram to leave and go to a place He would show.

When God told Moses to speak to a rock for water

When God told Joshua to march around a wall

When God told Gideon to go to war with lamps and horns

Solomon says, if you will receive it, you can get it—Wisdom or Not?

 NOT just “receive it” but “treasure it” ...“treasure up my commandments”

A decision has to be made not just about receiving wisdom but treasuring

wisdom. Solomon presents the appeal for his son to receive his words as treasure.

Ask yourself, “Do you want wisdom like the pearl of great price that Jesus spoke

of? If you come across it do you snatch it up and hold on to it?

(Illus.) They say “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Living in student housing we see this in our apartment complex regularly. Because

seminary student are always coming and going, there is always every imaginable

item at the dumpster. Furniture, appliances, bikes—you name it—it shows up

at the dumpster. So regularly people are taking from the dumpster what someone

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 else has taken to the dumpster. I have gotten a few things myself. Someone’s

trash has become someone’s treasure.

God’s wisdom is so valuable that even if the world discards it like trash, we can

treasure it.

 God’s wisdom about marriage/ relationships is treasure

 God’s wisdom about sex is treasure

 God’s wisdom about money is treasure

 If only you would received it as as treasure

 God’s gospel is wisdom that is treasure, but many don’t receive it as treasure.

 To many the gospel is foolish...it’s trash

 (2 Cor 4:3) – their minds have been blinded so they can’t see the light of the

gospel of the glory of Christ.

 Oh for the grace to see the value of the wisdom of God.

 PLUG: Our parents wisdom, when godly, is treasure.

“wisdom or not?”

You also have to decide that wisdom is worth it (3-4).

3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,

(ILLUS.) – Offers in the airport or on the street. You can want it but,

after they tell you all the things you have to do to get it, you may pass on it

because it’s not worth your time or energy.

 Is wisdom worth pleading for; is it worth crying out for it?

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 Is it worth you singing, in the words of a cleaner version of the old TLC song, “I

ain’t too proud to beg.”?

 Is wisdom worth seeking and sacrificing to obtain it?

 Solomon likens the pursuit of wisdom to a treasure hunt which is why he says, “if

you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasure.”

(Illus.) A 57 year old Japanese man has been searching for his wife ever

since she was swept away by a tsunami in 2011. After searching for three

year for her remains on land, to no avail, he paid for scuba diving lessons.

He now searches for his wife’s body in the ocean in a desperate attempt to

recover her so he can lay her to rest.

He said, “I still feel just as I did when the disaster hit. Emotion-wise, I

have not moved a bit since then. I will feel like this, I think, until I find

her. I do want to find her, but I also feel that she may never be discovered

as the ocean is way too vast - but I have to keep looking.”

This man treasures his wife, and though she may be a hidden treasure, he

says, “I have to keep looking.” This is how Solomon says we ought to feel and

respond to wisdom—we should “seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden

treasures.”

If you decide you want it, and it’s worth it, you will find that HE IS IT!

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 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of

God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and

understanding;

 The wisdom found in the written word leads directly to the Living Word.

 The Bible leads to a revelation of Jesus.

 Wisdom is a treasure and a treasure map leading you to ultimate Treasure

Jesus is the Person of Wisdom and the Provider of Wisdom (5-11).

Biblical wisdom leads to a knowledge of the Person of Wisdom (5).

Verse 5 teaching that if vv. 1-4 is responded to in the affirmative, then this will

lead to a right understanding of God.

This will lead to a relationship with God.

This will lead to Jesus Christ who is God.

Thus Paul says,

1 Cor 1:23-24

23 but we preach Christ crucified a stumbling block to Jews and folly to

Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God and the wisdom of God.

Col. 2:3

Christ is the mystery of God, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom

and knowledge.”

Pastor Merida told us that wisdom is multi-faceted. Wisdom is found in the

Scriptures and it is found in Jesus. Wisdom reveals and points to Jesus, and Jesus

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reveals true wisdom. This is why the Scriptures speak of Him and He always

spoke Scripture. We should imitate this.

The Fear of the Lord

 The “fear of the Lord” is mentioned 14x in this book.

 In 1:7 it is described as the beginning or the foundation of wisdom.

 It has a range of meaning in the Bible, from—sheer terror, to awe, to

respect. God is worthy to be feared in the utmost way, but based on the

fact that He made mankind to commune with Him, to walk with Him, to

talk with Him, to trust in Him, and represent Him, the fear should not be a

paralyzing or repelling fear.

 Nor should it be to the other extreme—”Jesus is my homeboy.”

A healthy, biblical fear of the Lord is awe, a reverence that just recognizes that

 He is the Lord of heaven and earth;

 the One who controls everything.

 The lions come to Him for food, and the flowers come to Him for clothes.

 He has to open the venetian blinds of the universe so the radiance of the

sun can illumine life.

 Jesus is the One to whom the demons cower saying, “I know who you are,

is it time for you to destroy us yet?”

 Jesus said not to fear man who can only hurt the body, but fear the One

who can not only destroy the body, but also cast soul into hell.

So to stand in awe of this God is to recognize His glory, take him seriously, and

exalt Him as King!

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 As Pastor Tony Merida said, 1:7 is the motto of the book.

Wisdom is the key to succeeding in God’s world and “fear of The Lord” is the

foundation of that.

(Illus.) When I was a kid living in New York City I loved riding the train. The

first thing any parent teaches his kid about riding the NYC train is “fear of the 3rd

rail.” The 3rd rail is what makes the train go, and go fast, but it can kill you. Just a

note—you cannot t enjoy riding the train if you’re electrocuted. As long as you

have that clear, you can get on with experiencing the speed, excitement, and fun

of riding the train.

Or for you deep southerners, I am reminded of what our Mississippi friends the

Browns told us about a 5 year old being given guns. Now that is crazy to me but, I

figure at least the first matter of business is to teach him to “fear the gun.” Once

they teach them that guns can end you, then experiencing and enjoying the gun

can begin.

The Lord is meant to be experienced and enjoyed but you must first know that

He is a 3rd rail; He’s is a shotgun. The same power that is for you for life can be

against you to death. Wisdom teaches you to come to God on His terms so that

you can “worship and enjoy Him forever.”

Biblical wisdom leads to the provider of wisdom—(vv. 6-8)

6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and
understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in
integrity,

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 8 guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.

 He’s the source of wisdom and the resource of wisdom

 He is wisdom, has wisdom, and gives wisdom.
 He walks in wisdom and He talks in wisdom.
 The apostle James says that God gives wisdom generously in times of

trials.

 Solomon is saying if you want it, you will get Him and in getting Him you

get it! He is wisdom, He gives wisdom, He talks wisdom, and He walks

wisdom.

 His wisdom preserves and protects those who have it like a shield.

Verse 7 says, He gives wisdom to the upright and watches over the way of the

saints.

 God’s ways works better than our ways.

 The upright have it better than the crooked.

 The honest person has it better than the schemer.

 When we tell the truth it goes better than when we lie.

 Good business is more advantageous than bad business.

 Kind words produce better results than harsh words.

 The studious does better than the class clown

His wisdom preserves and protects those who live according to it.

 These are maxims, so it does not mean that there are no exceptions to the

general rule, but generally wisdom is demonstrated to yield better results.

The results are not just pragmatically better, but also principally better.

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Biblical wisdom leads to a spirit of wisdom (9-11).

9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good
path; 10 for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant
to your soul; 11 discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,

 The person who gets their wisdom from above gets a heart of wisdom, a deep

rooted bent toward God’s way of doing things in God’s world.

 Wisdom in the heart and soul goes beyond pragmatics, it is principal.

 The joy of obeying God accompanies the necessity of obeying God

“For wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your

soul.”

I will admit that for me, Christianity was not a pleasure until God gave me a

passion and affection for spiritual things. Wisdom had to become pleasant to my

soul before I would be motivated by anything other than the pragmatics.

Jesus can produce affection for wisdom, and a desire to please the Lord who

imparts wisdom.

There is a better reason to be sexually pure than because you can catch a STD

or get prematurely pregnant. The best reason is because it displeases the God who

gave us the gift of physical intimacy. Since you want to please Him and His

wisdom is pleasant to you, you obey joyfully.

So the indwelling person of wisdom creates a passion for wisdom by creating

a passion for His person.

This separates the earthly wise from the truly wise.

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 This leads to: the Division Caused by Wisdom

There is a Division Caused by Wisdom (12-19).

Wisdom divides paths and people.

Wisdom steers you clear of the godless man and the godless women.

Godless Men

12 delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.

Godless Women

16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with
her smooth words, 17 who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the
covenant of her God; 18 for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to
the departed; 19 none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of
life.
There is the wicked path and the righteous path filled with both men and women.

We each have our issues.

There is the way of Christ and the way of culture.

There is the way of the kingdom of God and the way of this world.

The two could not be more divided. The world has anthems like

(Illus.) the rappers Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dog

Young, Wild and Free.

“So what we get drunk?
So what we smoke weed?
We’re just having fun
We don’t care who sees

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 So what we go out?
That’s how it’s supposed to be
Living young and wild and free

But there is another path; the path of the wisdom of God says that the world is on the

broad road that leads to destruction and many find it. But God has a way and a song too;

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

NOTE: Wisdom is spiritual but always works itself out ethically and morally.

The first thing Jesus demands of all people who would become His is “REPENT”--

change directions and switch paths!

Oh the grace that leads to repentance--a change of direction from the path to destruction

to the narrow road that leads to life.

 Wisdom preserves you from becoming thugs and pimps. Wisdom keeps you

from becoming a cheat and a tease.

 Though wisdom God can get you out of the street life, the club life, the night

life, the drug life.

 He preserves you and protects you by opening your eyes to the folly that life,

and blessing of new life.

 Wisdom will keep you from those w/o wisdom and w/o Chris
 Wisdom will keep you from Duce’s apart from Christ (i.e. Eph 2:1-5)

This leads to... The Conclusion to made about Wisdom

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The Conclusion to be Made About Wisdom (20-22)

The conclusion about is wisdom is that, all things considered, wisdom is better.

It is better to have wisdom than to not. Wisdom is better; Jesus is better.

This life provides sneak peeks of this truth, but the real story will be seen ultimately in

the end. Jesus’ wisdom results in a better end—vv. 20-22:

20 So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the
righteous. 21 For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will
remain in it, 22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the
treacherous will be rooted out of it.

Solomon says that the wise person ends up in the land and will remain in it.

 In the land refers to the promise land promised to Israel.

This is a part of redemptive history in which God promised a place of provision

and protection and peace for those in right relationship with Him.

 Wisdom leads to that ultimate Rest, ultimate Peace, and the ultimate

fulfillment of Promise. There is still a rest to be had, BUT only in Christ.

Heb 4:8-11--”For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have
spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the
people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from
his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest...

Matt 11:28-29--Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

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 This is what really separates the path of the fool from the path of the wise--THE END!

Wisdom or Not? Based on everything and especially the end, wisdom is better.

There is a way that seems right to man but in the end it leads to destruction. Jesus

promises that there will be eternal rest for the weary, peace for the plagued, wrongs will

be righted, and faith will give way to sight.

If you are not in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the Bible states

that you are on the wrong side. We are all born on the Folly side, and through Christ

who is the wisdom that leads us to wisdom, we are transferred to the kingdom of the

beloved Son. The cross, where Jesus died was viewed as foolishness, but that is your only

hope. Trust Christ and live. Wisdom is better; Jesus is better!

Conclusion:

As I conclude: I am reminded of the AT&T commercials where the guy is

surrounded by little kids discussing “what’s better.” The commercials are geared to show

the obvious, and based on what AT&T claims to have, the man would pose these kinds of

questions: “What’s better, bigger or smaller?” The kids respond “bigger!” The man

proceeds, “Now let’s say a friend invites you over and they have a really big, really fun

pool, and another friend invites you over who has a much smaller, less fun pool. Which

pool would you rather go to?” After a cute response by the kids who obviously prefer the

bigger pool AT&T concludes, “It’s not complicated, bigger is better.”

There were others—”Is it better to save money or not to save money?” The kids scream

“save money.” “Is it better to do two things at the same time or one thing? The kids yell,

“Two things.” AT&T would conclude after each, “It’s not complicated...” It’s better to

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save money, and we save you money. It’s better to do two things at once, and with AT&T

you can do two things at once.

But for me the funniest one is when the man asks, “When it comes to being better,

what’s better “being better or worse?” The kids shout, “Better!” After some cute

discussion about the better-ness of “better” AT&T concludes, “It’s not complicated,

better is better!”

Wisdom or Not?” Wisdom is better!

When you think about the fact that:

 wisdom leads to Christ,

 wisdom leads to knowledge of His ways,

 wisdom penetrates the heart and permeates the soul.

 Wisdom preserves and protects;

 Wisdom keeps you from harmful paths and people.

 Wisdom leads you to justice, and ultimately to peace.

It’s not complicated. Wisdom is better, Jesus is better.

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