Proverbs Intro // June 7, 2020

thank you for joining us for our online service here at Hope Church in Las Vegas Nevada we are honored that you are tuning in and we believe that God is going to use this service in your life and the lives of many others in Las Vegas the West and the world at Hope Church we exists to connect people to live the life of a Jesus follower we believe that a Jesus follower abides in Christ connects in community and shares in the mission if you're watching this we would love to connect with you if you'd like to find out more about who we are please visit Hope Church online comm once again thank you for worshiping online with us today we hope you enjoy the service hey home church my name is Jazmin and I want to thank you for taking the time to watch our online worship service today if you're joining us for the first time I want to be the first to say welcome to Hope Church thank you for spending the next hour with us do us a favor and text new to hope two nine four zero nine zero after you hit Send you'll get an immediate response from our team with a link to a short form for you to fill out so we can get to know you better right now as you're watching you are joining many others in houses apartments and homes all across Las Vegas lowest in the world have you downloaded the hope Church LV app if not text hope church LV - seven seven nine seven seven and we will send you a download link on our app you can stay up to date with everything going on at hope watch or re-watch previous worship services request prayer take notes during today's sermon and more make sure to download today our worship team hope creative is about to lead us in worship but before they do there are two things we want you to know about number one make sure to follow us on social media you can find our account by searching Hope Church LV on Instagram Facebook Twitter and YouTube number two this weekend we are asserting a new series entitled proverbs everlasting wisdom for everyday life last weekend pastor Vance encouraged us to read the proverb corresponding with the day of the month we thought we would have a little fun and create a challenge out of it we are calling it the Proverbs challenge to download the challenge you can visit Hope Church online.com slash proverbs to prepare our hearts for worship let's read isaiah 58:11 and the lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places and give strength to your bones and you will be like a watered garden and like a spring of water whose waters that do not fail what's up everybody tuning in on line today so glad you've joined us for Church online we are gonna worship right now so wherever you are join it with us as we sing to our good guy [Music] myself keep walking [Music] that if you [Music] [Music] [Music] well then and try [Music] [Applause] never believe me [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] feels dry this [Music] provide in [Music] to try [Music] I will bring praise no weapon formed against me shall we [Music] God is not [Music] it's me [Music] [Music] I [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] I will bring praise no weapon Bremen we can AB [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] face [Music] it's flow [Music] again [Music] as followers of Jesus we believe that ultimately everything belongs to the Lord Psalm 24:1 says the earth is the Lord's and all it contains the world and those who dwell in it here is what that verse reveals to us God owns it all and he alone is the one who provides for us and as his people we are called to honor the Lord with everything he provides for us one of the ways we do that with our finances is by giving regularly proportionately and sometimes sacrificially through the church as an investment in God's kingdom I'm so thankful to be a part of a church like hope where there is both a passion and a plan to leverage the resources God provides through his people to see his grand mission accomplished around the world each week at this point in our service we worship God together by giving financially if you have not already I want to encourage you today to be a part of fueling the mission of God by giving through Hope Church there are multiple ways you can give and you can see several of those ways on the screen as we continue with our service today we are going to seek God together in prayer so let's join pastor Vance as he leads us in prayer all week long is a family of faith we have been praying together we beginning on Monday wrote seven days of guided prayer borne out of the names of God and today is the seventh day if you've been praying along with us I've s pastor Teddy to join me here because I think the the prayers as we line them up really we didn't even know everything that was gonna play out in our culture but we knew many things that were already happening but today we're we're landing this on this Sunday is a powerful place for us to pray together and when I thought about the topic we're praying about you know Teddy and I we've been doing this now together for about sixteen or seventeen years here at Hope Church it's been one of the great joys of my life and I just thought as I was back before we even started the service just thinking about the prayer time just thought man I want you and I to pray this together over our people of our community because today the name of God that we're focused on is jehova sholom which means the Lord is our peace as a verse of scripture that I want to read out of John chapter 14 where Jesus talks about this peace listen what he says peace I leave with you my peace I give to you not as the world gives do I give you do not let your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful we need God's peace the prayer that we wrote and gave you to pray today says this Lord give us your unexplainable peace in the midst of the uncertainty of our world and as we pray today Teddy and I are gonna pray through four different areas and here's what I wanna invite you to do right there where you are in your living room or kitchen or bedroom or wherever you are your apartment and your home there and in your heart I want you to pray along with us over these four areas we're gonna ask for God's peace in the midst of first of all racial brokenness secondly physical uncertainty in the midst of all the health concern with the virus thirdly financial challenges many people are facing because of the economic impact of what's happened with the coronavirus and then finally for peace in the midst of the spiritual lostness of our world so I'm gonna open us and pray for racial brokenness and peace in the midst of that and then Teddy is going to pray for peace in the midst of physical uncertainty and financial challenges and then I'll close this up praying for peace in the midst of spiritual lostness so let's pray together father today we thank you that you are Jehovah Shalom you are the Lord God of peace Lord I know we always need to be crying out to you for your peace but Lord it just feels like in these days there is a renewed sense of urgency for the peace that can only come from God to be made known on the earth God specifically as I think about the racial brokenness of the world that we live in God I pray today that your peace would bring an end to the injustice in our society because of that we see it manifested in so many different ways and Lord as I was thinking about this before we began this service so they got what you put on my heart is that as a church we would go from being a church that's simply not racist to being a church that is anti racism God that you would raise us up as an example of the reconciling power of the gospel and you would show us how to bring peace to this city by by leading in ways to bring an end to the injustice and wickedness of racism god we pray for your peace in the midst of racial brokenness God your word says that you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you and God I pray for those who are afflicted in their bodies those who are dealing with health issues those who have been fighting the virus those who have other health concerns God for those who have lost loved ones God for those who are dealing with physical challenges during this pandemic and during this season of our lives god I pray that you will give them the grace and the strength to shift their focus off of their circumstance and to fix their eyes on you to know God if God if we keep our mind if we keep our mind stayed on you as your word says that you will keep us in perfect peace and so God that is what we need today God is so easy to look at the situation is so easy to be led astray by what is before us and to become confused and to become frustrated but God I pray Lord that we will be mindful that you love us God that you are with us that you are in control that you have a plan and God despite our limited knowledge and our lack of understanding God you are sovereign so we submit to your sovereignty we accept what you allow we trust that you are in control God we cast every care on you because you care for us and God I pray for those that are in financial despair right now God for those small business owners God who's whose businesses have been have been looted or have been broken into in God for those that have lost their jobs God and those who are in financial crisis right now I thank you God that your word tells us to be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving to let our requests be made known to you and that the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus and so God we lean on that peace now because that peace is you Jehovah Shalom you are our peace and so God we rest in you got all of our cares all of our anxieties all of our fears our worries God we right now cast them upon you and God we trust you that we may not understand it but we trust you we may not see what the end is going to bring but we trust you we walk by faith and not by sight and God we know that you are guiding every step so have your way in the season God use us for your glory nor do what only you can do in US and through us I pray that we as your people as your sons and daughters are available to you God to minister to the broken to serve those who are lost God - to be your hands and your feet and your voice God to this broken and dark world we need you so take us mold us shape us use us for your glory we are here for you in Jesus name and Father as we bring this time of Prayer to a close God we ask for your peace in the midst of spiritual lostness god when we see a lot of what's happening in our world right now at the end of the day it's a result of sin it's not the world that you created or the world that you created is fallen and broken because of sin God when I think of the wickedness of racism and what we've seen just in our land in the last few weeks and what's happened in our country over the course of generations and what happens in countries all over the world God we recognize that racism is not a skin issue it's a sin issue it's a heart problem Lord we know that the only hope for the lostness of the hearts of men and women the souls of human beings it's not education it's not legislation it's not politics or the only hope is the gospel of Jesus Christ or tits when we are reconciled with you that you reconcile us with one another and God we begin to see each other's brothers and sisters in Christ fellow image bearers made in the image of God so Lord we ask you for revival we ask you for a gospel movement and awakening that loss people would be saved and that the reconciling power of the gospel would bring us together as one family with one father headed to one future oard we need you we need you to move in power our country needs you our city needs you our world needs you God we need you [Music] Lord is Rob pray you're just with my brothers I've been doing life with him now for 15 16 years or even in the midst of all this I just know even more how much I need to grow and learn and listen to my brother Lord you've taught me so much through him through the years and doing life together and exposing me to stuff that I didn't even realize god I pray you'd continue to grow me I pray you'd continue to grow Teddy I pray you'd continue to grow our fellowship I pray you'd continue to grow Christians all over the world to an understanding that can only be found in the gospel Lord we realize that peace is not a feeling peace as a person you are the Prince of Peace so we look to you Jesus we ask you to move in power it's in the name of Jesus we pray [Music] you are good you've been so good Lord you are good you've been I can't praise you I told you can't praise you enough even here [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] five [Music] [Music] you've been down [Music] cubed [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] I just wanted four cameras with me let's sing it together listen many tours you so many times you feel me that's my testimony you better than me [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so good [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you lord thank you Jesus God that is the cry of our hearts God in the midst of a season of life where there's so much uncertainty where there's so much despair where there's such a sense of hopelessness and helplessness God as we are hurting and as we are mourning and as we are grieving as we are feeling emptied in our souls and our spirits God we can confess we can cry out we can declare that you are good you have been good because that is just who you are you are a good God and so God we will not give the enemy any foothold to claim our unity to disrupt our lives to throw us off task and off the path god we will declare your glory proclaim your goodness and give you the praise for you are worthy you've been [Music] you thank you Jesus so good good to me [Music] in Jesus name Amen a few years ago the LA Times published an article that was entitled in theory are parts of scripture outdated and in need of change our parts of scripture outdated and in need of change it's actually a common thought among a lot of people in contemporary society they would say that the Bible is an old book that is now outdated and is no longer relevant for today well there's an entire theological argument we could have around that about the eternality of God but setting that aside for the moment I want to just tell you from practical experience I came across some verses this week in the book of Ephesians and I would argue that maybe more than any time in my life these words from Paul to the Ephesians in the first century speak with much power and much needed instruction here's what Paul wrote to the 1st century Church in Ephesians chapter 5 therefore be careful how you walk and when Paul uses the word walk here he's not talking about our gate or the way that we put one foot in front of the other it's a euphemism for the idea of the way that we live our lives Paul is warning the 1st century Church in Ephesians to be very careful about how they live their life then look what he says not as unwise men but as wise making the most of your time because the days are evil so then do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is I don't know where you fall on the spectrum of belief that the Bible is somehow outdated but I'm telling you those words from Paul and Ephesians could not be more relevant for us living in the 21st century Paul says we need to be careful that we walk in wisdom that we make the most of our time because the days are evil listen I'm telling you if the days were evil in Paul's day they are even more evil now and just to help you understand again the context Paul was writing to let me tell you a couple things about that first century city known as Ephesus Ephesus was a large wealthy city it was a port city so there was much merchandise that went through and was and was funneled through the city of Ephesus it had a lot of wealth in the city it was a tourist destination it was a place that people visited and came as tourists it it was the city that hosted I've actually been there I've I've toured the remains of the city of Ephesus there it was a city that hosted every kind of immorality and prostitution and it did it in a very permissive way as a matter of fact you could have said in the first century what happens in Ephesus stays in Ephesus sound familiar in a lot of ways first century Ephesus is very much like the city of Las Vegas that we live in now a tourist City a wealthy City a permissive City as it applies to morals and sexuality Charles Stanley writing about the Ephesian Church said this as you can imagine it was difficult for the believers in Ephesus to maintain high standards their hostile environment made it that much more important for them to be asking the question what is the wise thing to do think about where we're living right now in 2020 I don't think any of us had any idea when 2020 began just a few months ago all that we were in store for in this 2020 this beginning of this new century but I do know this now this question what is the wise thing to do doesn't matter if you're talking about the pandemic that matter if you're talking about the the racial unrest in our country that matter if you're talking about politics government education doesn't matter if you're talking about decisions about reopening or whatever it is all of us are wrestling with this question right now what is the wise thing to do it is imperative today we need everlasting wisdom for everyday life and by the sovereign hand of God God had led us as pastors at Hope Church even last fall before 20/20 had begun God led us to set aside a couple of months in the summer of this year to walk through the book of Proverbs we wrestled with doing something different in light of all that's happening around us but to be honest with you I don't know a book in the Bible more applicable to where we're living right now with this issue of our all of us having this need for wisdom than the book of Proverbs so I want to launch this weekend into a study over the next couple of months through the book of Proverbs we've simply subtitled it everlasting wisdom for everyday life and before I read some opening verses here from Proverbs let me just share a personal word of testimony I came to know Christ in September of 1989 I know that dates me I was a freshman in college that's when I came to know Jesus personally now in over 30 years of walking with Christ personally there is not another book in the Bible that has in a greater way impacted my personal life on a daily cases than the book of Proverbs hands down when I look at scripture the single book of scripture that has had more impact in my life daily in the affairs of everyday life is by far the book of Proverbs somebody taught me years ago to read daily out of the book of Proverbs and we'll talk more about that in just a few moments but for now thirty years I've been not perfectly but as the normal pattern of my life reading daily out of the book of Proverbs if you got ahold of my Bible and open it up the single most marked up book in my Bible on almost every page in Proverbs there are notes and underlines and highlights God has used this book in my life in tremendous ways and so as we begin this journey together I can't tell you how excited I am about what God is going to do in your life and in your family's life as you begin to glean this everlasting wisdom and proverbs for your everyday life and I promise you with what we're walking through right now and I'm going to show you some of this in just a moment but it speaks right to where we're living today so let's begin in proverbs chapter 1 I want to read the first seven verses proverbs chapter one beginning in verse one the Proverbs of Solomon the son of David king of Israel you'll remember Solomon was the the wise king he's still known as the wealthiest person in the history of the world but more than as well solomon is known for his wisdom God allowed Solomon a request and Solomon asked for wisdom and God gave Solomon wisdom and what we're reading in Proverbs are the writings of Solomon under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God we're gleaning this well of practical everyday wisdom verse 2 he begins to tell us why he wrote this to know wisdom and instruction to discern the sayings of understanding to receive instruction and wise behavior righteousness justice and equity those sound like terms that we're dealing with in society today proverbs talks about righteousness justice equity to give prudence to the naive to the youth knowledge and discretion a wise man will hear an increase in learning and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel to understand a proverb and a figure the words of the wise and their riddles the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge fools despise wisdom and instruction so we're gonna begin to dig into proverbs dear then here's what its gonna look like we're gonna ask you and I'm gonna talk about this at the end to begin and we did last weekend to read daily out of proverbs and I'm gonna give you some instruction as to how to do that and each weekend we're gonna be bringing a message out of the Proverbs that we've been reading for that week this week we began reading the first seven chapters of proverbs and so I want to jump in right at the beginning chapter 1 verse 1 and kind of help us understand why we're studying proverbs why proverbs there's the first question I want to get on the table today why proverbs why now why is this the book that we're turning to well let me give you the big idea I want to give it to you up front and then I'm gonna unpack this for the rest of my time here with you today so here's the big idea to answer the question why proverbs proverbs provides wisdom for every area of life at every stage of life I want you to hear that statement proverbs provides wisdom and it provides wisdom for every area of life you're gonna see this in just a minute I'm gonna give you a little sampling and then over the next eight or nine weeks as we walk through this together you're going to begin to see the variety of the proverbs as it speaks to wisdom in every area of life but not just every area of life at every stage of life that matter who you are where you are on your journey of following Christ proverbs is for you so I want to unpack that statement today and I'm gonna do it in three parts first of all proverbs provides wisdom proverbs provides wisdom in the book of Proverbs the words wise or wisdom are used at least a hundred and twenty-five different times there are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs a hundred and twenty-five plus times those chapters mention the words wisdom or wise and they do that because the aim of the book is to help us acquire and apply God's wisdom to the decisions and activities of everyday life so let me give you a definition or answer the question what is wisdom if this is really all about wisdom and applying wisdom to my everyday life what is wisdom let me give you this definition and we're gonna use this throughout this entire series here's what wisdom is the ability to see life from God's perspective that's wisdom wisdom is in every moment of my life day by day as I live through the affairs of everyday life wisdom is the ability to see life from God's perspective and as I apply wisdom I begin to make decisions and live out my life in response to seeing it from the perspective of God Warren where's Bea is was a great pastor he's now in heaven with the Lord went home to be with Jesus last year written a lot of books that have impacted my life but in one of his books listen to what Warren wears B says about wisdom he said wise men and women have the competence to grasp the meaning of a situation and understand what to do and how to do it in the right way at the right time how's that possible because we is seeing life from God's perspective it means we understand a situation we know what to do we know how to do it in the right way and at the right time not because that's who we are but that's who God is you see through the book of Proverbs we're growing to know wisdom that's why solomon opens this book by saying here's why i'm writing this to know wisdom the word know that solomon uses here in verse 2 is the word that's used over 800 times in the Old Testament and the primary usage of this word means to know relationally or to know experientially meaning this a pursuit of wisdom and proverbs is really a pursuit of the person of God God Himself is all-wise and the only way we're able to have wisdom and live wisely is as we begin to pursue him and see life from his perspective a pursuit of wisdom is really a passionate pursuit of God and the wisdom find in his character ultimately wisdom is you and I exhibiting the character of God in the multitude of practical expressions of daily living that's what wisdom is it's seeing life from God's perspective and as I apply that it's living out the very character of God in and through my life day in and day out the bottom line is that the wisdom found in the book of Proverbs is applicable to you whether or not you are a Christian or a non-christian there's a lot that can be gleaned from the wisdom of Proverbs that you don't have to be a Christian to apply into your life and see benefit from it but ultimately ultimately proverbs will benefit you most through a love relationship with God as you read this book as a letter from your father you begin to understand who he is and he conforms you into his image and the wisdom that is found in the book of Proverbs becomes the practical reality of the way you live your life God ultimately designed this letter this book to be enjoyed in the context of a relationship with him so let me stop right here before I go any further and just say this if you're watching this today and you don't have a relationship with God maybe you've tuned in to a church service because a friend told you about it or because of the the struggle of the world today the uncertainty you're looking for something and you've leaned in maybe you're watching this and you said listen I'd love to have wisdom from God but but I don't have a relationship with God listen God I said in a moment ago is all wise all wisdom comes from him the best thing to do to begin to grow in wisdom is to begin a relationship with God you say I don't have a relationship with God how do I get a relationship with God well that's really the whole story of the Bible you see the Bible teaches us that as human beings God made us to live in fellowship with him but because of our sin were separated from a relationship with God but God loved us so much that he sent His Son Jesus into the world and Jesus came into the world as God among us took all of our sin on himself died on a cross for our sin rose again from the dead so that you and I could find forgiveness from God not forgiveness that we have to earn forgiveness that's given to us because of Jesus and because of Jesus by faith we can be given a relationship with God but we lost because of sin were able to get back because of Jesus proverbs tells us how look at proverbs chapter 28 verse 13 here's a gospel reference in proverbs proverbs the writer here says he who conceals his transgression will not prosper if I try to cover up my sin if I try to hide my sin from God there's no salvation in that but look what he says he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion if I get honest with God about my sins say God I'm a sinner but I know that you love me I know that Jesus died for me and I received Jesus into my life as my Lord and Savior I confess and forsake the scripture says I find compassion maybe that's you right now before I go any further you LS I don't have a relationship with God but I'd like to have a relationship with God I'd like to know that I'm forgiven I'd like to know that I'm gonna go to heaven one day when I die I want to invite you right there where you're watching to just bow your head with me maybe just in your heart and just say Lord Jesus I know that I'm a sinner just tell him say I know that you love me I know that you died for my sin and rose again and right now Jesus I confess my sin to you I receive your forgiveness and I trust you as my Lord and Savior now listen if you just confessed your sin to God if you just received him as a savior the scripture says you've been given a relationship with God you just begin a relationship with the God who is all-wise now if you did just pray with me to receive Christ or you'd like to talk to somebody about that I'm gonna ask you to do something right now grab your smartphone just take it out and I want you to text this number nine four zero nine zero you see it on the screen just text the number nine four zero nine zero and here's what I want you to text the words Jesus follower just text Jesus follower two nine four zero nine zero and we'll follow up with you get you some information and have a conversation with you about what it means to follow Jesus because listen this journey of pursuing wisdom begins in pursuing the one who is all wise it begins in relationship with him proverbs begins in a pursuit of wisdom and that starts with a person but let me give you the second part of this statement proverbs provides wisdom but the second part is proverbs provides wisdom for every area of life the Book of Proverbs I told you earlier deals with almost every conceivable area of life you can think of I'm about I'm about to give you a sampling of that let me try to explain that I like to eat if you've listened to me for very long at all you know that I use a lot of food stray shins because I enjoy good food I enjoy eating and one of my favorite places here in town I like to go at times I like to go over to Cracker Barrel by God's grace Las Vegas finally got a Cracker Barrel about a year and a half two years ago and I love to eat the breakfast food at Cracker Barrel the problem for me is I like a lot of what they offer and so when I go making a decision is the hardest part but but here's what always helps me on their menu they have something called the sunrise sampler that word sampler is a good word because you know what that means they put a lot of stuff from a different variety of breakfast items on one plate so I can try it all it's got ham it's got bacon it's got sausage it's got biscuits it's got grits it's got apples it's got eggs it's got all kind of stuff on it that you get to try and I know I'm sorry some of you've not eaten yet you're getting hungry but just hang in there with me for a few more minutes what I want to try to do is for next few moments give you a sampler platter if you will we're not going to be able to drill deep we're gonna drill deep and some of these things in the weeks to come but I want to give you a sampler platter of what the Book of Proverbs speaks to from a wisdom standpoint first of all proverbs gives wisdom for my walk with God wisdom for my walk with God in many ways it does this let me give you an example a sample out of this idea of my walk with God proverbs gives me understanding about the wisdom of giving priority to God's Word in my life if you read through proverbs this week you noticed that chapters 2 3 4 5 6 & 7 all begin in the first two or three or four verses the exact same way let me give you example proverbs chapter 7 that you read this morning look what it says in verses 1 and 2 of proverbs chapter 7 my son keep my words and treasure my Commandments within you keep my Commandments and live now the words word commandment those those are terms used throughout proverbs that are references to God's his word his Commandments his principles his instruction all of those words refer to the Word of God and 4:6 proverbs in a row six chapters and proverbs in a row we're instructed that wisdom gives priority to the Word of God why does it do that well look what it says it says do that and live then this word lives an important word it's a word that really means to enjoy life you see many would tell us man if you give priority to God's Word if you believe all that's in that book it's gonna rob you of the joy of life but here's the wisdom proverbs gives us it's the exact opposite it's in giving priority to the word and giving value to what God's Word says that I find the ability to really enjoy life as God intended it to be lived there's a lot of noise in society right now the news social media politicians celebrities even pastors here's what I'm telling you proverbs says we need a steady dose of God's Word to enable us to get the most out of our lives wisdom teaches us listen it's not just the church saying hey here's what you have to do to be a good Christian no wisdom demands I give priority to the word so that my mind and my life is not inundated by the noise of the world but I'm rooted and grounded in the Word of God this book that is a love letter written to me by the one who loves me most I'll give you a second example proverbs speaks to wisdom for my relationships relationships and when I say relationships it's a broad category proverbs speaks to relationships in the home talks about marriage children parenting proverbs speaks to wisdom at work it deals with employers and employees and coworkers a lot of wisdom and proverbs regarding work relationships it deals with relationships inside the church and gives us wisdom as to how we're to interact with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ let me give you an example of one of those in the church the principle of account ability that comes from the book of Proverbs proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 listen to what it says iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another the illustration is taking those iron tools from the ancient days and they would rub them together they would bring them together to sharpen them and sharpening them was important because it made them more useful for the task whether that was digging or cutting or sawing whatever it was the the bringing of the iron together sharpened it and made it more useful for the test proverbs teaches me that just like iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another as brothers and sisters in Christ God created community to sharpen us and to shape us proverbs teaches us there is wisdom too inviting others into our lives wisdom recognizes I need others to become the man God desires me to be to this day I've been walking with Jesus for over thirty years been in pastoral ministry almost thirty years to this day I still have three people that I invite into my life on a regular basis to hold me accountable why do I do that because I've learned that from the book of Proverbs wisdom for my relationships number three wisdom for my decision-making wisdom for my decision-making let me ask you a question you got to make any decisions this week do you make any decisions last week if we're gonna be honest we're all making a lot of decisions right now a lot of decisions are being made proverbs gives us wisdom for decision-making let me give you a verse out of proverbs chapter 12 verse 15 it says the way of a fool is right in his own eyes but a wise man is he who listens to counsel when facing a decision wisdom always seeks counsel from other people if you've ever come and asked for my input or counsel about anything you've heard me say this principle to always seek counsel our staff team is probably tired of hearing me say this statement don't make decisions on an island it's one of the kind of laws that we use here with our staff team at Hope Church DOMA nobody has a right as the pastor of the church I don't have a right to make decisions on an island where does this principle come from it comes right out of Proverbs proverbs teaches us that one of the wise things we do to make right decisions is be sure we're getting counsel from godly people this single wisdom principle has impacted my life in ways that are too numerous to count I can't tell you how many times God's protected me God has redirected me God has changed me all through the seeking of counsel from people that love God in the midst of making decisions we'll talk more about this in a few weeks but here's what I've learned and when it comes to decision making my input is never enough I don't know at all my perspective is always limited I can't see it all and my flesh is always deceitful my heart is capable of it all apart from the grace of God and for those three reasons I can't I can't see it all I don't understand at all my flesh is capable of it all I always need to seek counsel from others proverbs over and over and over and over again drills this wisdom principle into our lives here's the fourth area of wisdom for my words wisdom for my words listen to this proverb about a chapter 17 verse 9 he who conceals a transgression seeks love but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends well there's some wisdom he who conceals a transgression seeks love II knew what that means when somebody does something and wrongs you here's what wisdom says hey let's keep that but let's make that right keep that between us the scripture goes on to say but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends let me tell you two damaging ways we do that in the body of Christ one of the damaging ways we do this is through the vehicle of a quote prayer request we take something that has happened to somebody and we say you know I don't want to gossip but what should love for you to pray for them let me tell you what happened and we use that as a vehicle a cloaked way to to share what's happened in somebody else's life here's another thing we do that's very damaging inside the body of Christ specifically today is the vehicle of social media missions social media is not the platform to reconcile with your brother and sister in Christ period it's not the platform if I take the wrong and somebody else's life and I broadcast that on social media without walking through a process of restoration and reconciliation what the Bible says I'm doing is separating intimate friends wisdom chooses words very carefully wisdom chooses the way we say those words we'll talk about this in the weeks to come but there's wisdom and proverbs for our words and how we use them and maybe more than ever before we need to be careful with our words there's a fifth area proverbs gives wisdom for my life and I put in quotes in the world and there's what I mean by that we're called to be citizens ultimately of another Kingdom this world is not our home but as we live here we are to be ambassadors for that Kingdom we're to live in such a way we're to live in the world in a way that we represent the world that we long for we represent Kingdom principles and proverbs gives us tons of wisdom to do this listen to this proverb I'm giving to you out of chapter 17 verse 15 I'm reading it out of the New Living Translation tell me this doesn't sound current acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent both are detestable to the Lord we seen any of that happen in society lately a quitting of the guilty or condemning of the innocent proverbs speaks to where we're living right now that sounds to me like wisdom we need today let me tell you what that means but keep that verse up there for a minute this is this idea of the ability go but go back to that verse for a second out of proverbs 17 the acquitting of the guilty and the condemning of the innocent those are kind of two opposite things but the Bible says both of them speak to this issue of wisdom let me make it real practical according to proverbs it's biblically wise for us to demand justice for someone like George Floyd or Ahmad R burry it's biblically wise to do that the scripture teaches us that that we should do that that the wise thing to do is we live out kingdom citizenship is to demand justice in situations like mister armory and mr. Floyd but at the same time it's also biblically wise to support those that are brothers and sisters in Christ that are in the world of law enforcement that are making a difference in the system every day by laying their lives on the line politically those things may be mutually exclusive but biblically they are both the wise thing to do you see it's detestable to the Lord to acquit the guilty but it's also detestable to the Lord to condemn the innocent both of those things so wisdom gives us practical ways to live in this world that that we're experiencing right now let me show you another one proverbs chapter 31 tell me this doesn't sound like something we need to hear today again out of the New Living Translation speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves ensure justice for those being crushed yes speak up for the poor and helpless and see that they get justice I want you to let that sink in for a minute what I just read for you is not propaganda what I just read for you is not political spin what I just read for you is from the Bible it's from proverbs proverbs says wisdom demands that we use our voice on behalf of those that are being treated unjustly why is that because as Kingdom citizens as we live in this world the wise thing to do is to use our voice to speak up for those that are being unjustly treated it's in the same spirit that Jesus in the model prayer said please pray this your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven proverbs provides wisdom for every area of life I just gave you a small sampling we're gonna dig deep in a lot of this let me give you the last part of this proverbs provides wisdom for every area of life at every stage of life three words Paul the writer proverbs or solomon uses in these first seven verses he says i'm writing this to the naive end of the youth and of the wise the naive are those that are young by experience the youth are those that are young by age so solomon begins and he says man I'm writing to you either either naive or you're young you're you're inexperienced because of your age or you're just inexperienced because of the life that you've lived the way that you've been raised but proverbs says this book is written from a perspective of a father to a son it's speaking wisdom to the inexperienced so whether they're young and experienced or an aged proverbs promises prudence proverbs promises knowledge and discretion all three of those words really mean the same thing let me give you a definition it's the ability to use good judgment to carefully consider consequences and act accordingly so to the naive to the youth proverbs is written to allow them to do this to use good judgment to carefully consider consequences and act accordingly the proverbs is not just for the young and the inexperienced he goes on to say here in verse number 5 that proverbs is for the wise look at it proverbs 1:5 a wise man will hear an increase in learning and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel proverb proverbs is not just for the young Christian or the new Christian who's inexperienced the scripture says proverbs is for the wise Christian it's the one who is skilled the one who is experienced it means those who have been walking the journey called Christianity for long periods of time proverbs allows us that the verse says to increase in learning it's a word that means first of all what I'm learning but also then what I'm able to pass on to others by way of learning so proverbs provides wisdom for every area of life but also every season alone it doesn't matter where you are on this journey of Christianity maybe a brand new Christian you might have been a Christian for 40 years the book of Proverbs provides wisdom for you so that's why we're going to study the book of Proverbs let me close with this question where do I begin where do I begin well it starts with an attitude an attitude of the heart Solomon in verse seven said the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom the beginning of knowledge the starting place is to understand a fear of the Lord now when it says fear it's not talking about being afraid of God it's talking about a reverence and all for God it's kind like I grew up in a house with my dad my dad was a large man in many ways my dad was six foot four weight over 300 pounds for most of my life big man but he was not just a big man in stature he was a big man in our community and reputation my dad pastored the largest church and our small town and gave him a lot of influence and platform in our society so I lived much of my life out of a expect for my dad now not because I was afraid my dad would hurt me I lived my life in respect to my dad because I didn't want to hurt my dad that's this concept of the fear of the Lord it's not I'm afraid of God it's a desire to please my father so begins with a hard attitude that says God I need wisdom I need to know your perspective I don't have it all figured out I need your instruction but then it requires action today I want to launch for you what we're calling the proverbs challenge you'll actually be able to see on the screen a link where you can go to our website or app and you can get this particular challenge the challenge has got multiple things on the page as you look at it but I want to highlight three specific parts of this proverbs challenge first of all there's a daily part of this challenge we're asking you every day to devote time to be alone with God in proverbs so throughout this entire series that we're going to be in over the next two months June and July I want to ask you to daily read in Proverbs and here's what I want you to do it there are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs there are 30 or 31 days in most months they're 30 month 30 days in June 31 days in July I'm gonna ask you to daily set aside some time and your God time to read the proverb that corresponds to the day of the month this is a practice that I've been doing now for over 30 years and I challenge you to daily do this daily read the proverb that corresponds to the day the month so tomorrow morning Monday morning will be the 8th of June I challenge you in the morning to read the eighth chapter of the book of Proverbs and then do the ninth on the ninth tenth on the tenth and do that for June and July as we walk through this series so there's the first part of the challenge daily time with God in Proverbs and as you begin your time with God just open it to that chapter and say God give me wisdom today as I read the book of Proverbs here's the second part of the challenge it's a weekly challenge weekly join us online for our worship services as we teach from Proverbs and then spend time with your small group either in person now that we're allowed to do that in smaller groups or if your small group is still meeting virtually online you can do it that way but discuss the wisdom that you're gleaning from proverbs weekly with your small group and lean in as we worship and then the third part of this challenge is a monthly challenge I want you to begin to do this practice with us for the next two months but then I want to challenge you to do this for the next 12 months we won't be preaching out of it that long but for the next 12 months I'm asking you 12 times in a row to read through the Book of Proverbs you say man that's gonna get old I'm just telling you I've been doing it for thirty years it never gets old I can't tell you how many times I experienced something in my day that God gave me the wisdom and proverbs that morning to deal with so I want to challenge you to build into your life for the next 12 months this discipline of daily pursuing wisdom in the book of Proverbs so there's the challenge daily read the proverb weekly lean in on line and with your small group and then monthly for the next 12 months continue this practice of reading the book of Proverbs I shared earlier how you can come to know Christ listen if you're listening to this and you would love to talk to somebody about how you could have a personal relationship with Jesus I want to just remind you there's a number you can text nine four zero nine zero just text the words Jesus follower will reach out to you have a conversation with you about how you can know this all-wise God how you can begin a relationship with him but then secondly maybe you're listening today and you're hurting maybe you just need somebody to pray with you you can also text that same number nine four zero nine zero and just text the phrase pray for me we'll reach out to you and we will pray for you our pastors our team will pray for you by name lifting you to the Lord let's pray together today father we ask you in the name of Jesus to have your way God as we begin this journey together in the book of Proverbs would you use it for your namesake for your glory God would you create in us a desire to be wise men and women of God would you lead us through this journey in Proverbs and impart your wisdom into our lives God have your way Holy Spirit daily as your people begin to read from Proverbs would you speak to them and very clear and very practical and in very powerful ways it's in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen your son [Music] yes your son [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] ensure this life preached suffering good we'll remember what Calvert has bought for me both now and forever [Music] I'd be ice [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] thanks again for watching our service today did you ask Jesus into your life we want to celebrate with you make sure to text Jesus follower to nine four zero nine zero if you have a prayer request we would be honored to pray for you text pray for me 10940 nine zero we want to stay connected during this season as a church so let us know how we can come alongside you we will see you right back here next week we hope you have a great week [Music] you

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Length: 78min 26sec (4706 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 07 2020