September 26, 2021 | Full Service | Sunday 9am

clouds may gather good so salvation something still to do think that fine oh is shall change so ah me [Music] say by his hand we stand in victory and by his name we overcome [Music] see from death to life [Music] is [Music] crying out glory glory to the king for all eternity [Music] is [Music] the lord shall reign [Music] showering forever [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] victory [Music] good morning everyone what a great day we are heading into the best days of the whole year i just uh have learned to love winter in new ways since moving here to florida and today is one of those glorious days it's a day that the lord has made and he's given to us as a gift and the purpose of this day is to live to the praise of his glory so you've come to the right place where we gather in the name of the lord jesus to declare his praises and i'm glad that you've joined us and for those who are joining online welcome to you as well i want to point a couple things out one is our m25 ministry m25 stands for matthew 25 which is where we are challenged to meet the needs of those in greatest need and as we do that it's a way of serving jesus in a very direct way the way we do that here is there are these orange bags in the entryway and in the container outside the door with a list inside of food certain kinds of food and if you if you were to buy those and fill up the bag and drop them off the second saturday of every month we we distribute them here in kissimmee to a neighborhood with people who who need that food people who need it and so i hope that you'll do it and you'll just feel good about blessing others in the name of jesus in this way i also want to let you know that friday night we had a bunch of our young people locked in to the uh community room that's where you slept right in the community room and no no sleeping although the pictures we don't have any pictures right now but the pictures were like this and then it reminded me of my own lock-ins from the past but uh we're thrilled that what god's doing among the lives of our young people and and so we're grateful for that but today we turn our attention and our affection to the lord we come with our hearts open to him i hope your heart is open to him today i hope that you expect him to uh to impress things upon you today as we listen to his word as we sing his praises and we pray to him so let's stand together i'd like to call us to worship from psalm 100. make a joyful noise to the lord all the earth serve the lord with gladness come into his presence this morning with singing and know this that the lord is god it is he who made us we are his we are his people and the sheep of his pasture so enter his gates with thanksgiving come into his courts with praise give thanks to him and bless his name for the lord is good his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness extends to all generations i was hopeless i knew i was lost [Music] death and darkness were my only songs i needed someone to come rescue me and mercy heard my plea [Music] lord you found me you healed me you called me from the grave gave me real love i think in jesus you washed my sins away and now i'm living like i'm forgiving it came and set me free that's what your mercy did for me you gave [Music] so excuse me if i can't contain my praise [Music] you wash my sins away and now i'm living like i'm forgiven he came and set me free that's what your mercy did for me [Music] every morning mercy will restore me i will proclaim [Music] even if the world may [Applause] [Music] the lord you found me you healed me you called me from the grave you gave me a real love i think of jesus you washed my sins away and now i'm living like unforgiving you came and set me free [Music] that's what your mercy did for me [Music] [Music] me that's what your mercy did for me [Music] [Applause] let's read a soulmate together o lord our lord how majestic is your name in all the earth you have set your glory above the heavens out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy and the avenger when i look at your heavens the work of your fingers the moon and the stars which you have set in place what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him yet you made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor you have given him dominion over the works of your hands you have put all things under his feet all sheep and oxen and also the beasts of the field birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea whatever passes along the paths of the seas oh lord our lord how majestic is your name in all the earth we know how important it is to sing scripture to sing the truth and so this song is really psalm 8 put to music so it goes like this and let's uh sing it together when you catch on praising the lord it's important to praise the lord for all he's done for us the gospel everything he's done for us in christ that's that's the core of our faith but even before the lord did anything for us he's still worthy of worship because of who he is in and of himself and a lot of this psalm praises him just for that so let's do that together chorus goes like this [Music] oh lord our lord oh how awesome are your ways how majestic is your name in all the earth [Music] oh lord our lord may we see your kingdom come father may [Music] how majestic is your name in all the earth [Music] oh lord our lord may we see your kingdom come father may or will be done in all the earth [Music] and when i look at your heavens the moon and stars you set in motion oh god i sing all glory and honor what is man that you are mindful the son of man that you would care for him we sing all glory and here we go oh lord our lord oh how awesome are your ways how majestic is your name in all the earth oh lord our lord may we see your kingdom come father may your will be done in all the earth you gave dominion to your children and you crown them oh [Music] god with glory and honor so we'll sing up your name bear thy last [Music] how majestic is your name in all the earth [Music] oh lord our lord may we see your kingdom come father will be done in all the earth [Music] is the glory of god come make [Music] [Music] jesus we crown you oh lord our lord sing that the earth the earth is full of the glory of god come make much of the name above all near creation cries out every nepal jesus we crown you [Music] how awesome are your ways how majestic is your name in all the earth [Music] our lord may we see your kingdom come father may your will be done in all the earth [Music] is your name in all the events [Music] may we see your kingdom come father mayor will be [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh lord our lord may we see your kingdom come father mayor will be done in all the earth [Music] [Music] [Music] and though the nations rage rise and fall there is still walking raining over all so i will not fear for this truth remains that my god is the ancient of days [Music] for his throne it shall remain and ever stand [Music] all the power all the glory i will trust in his name for my god is the ancient of day though the dread of night overwhelm [Music] [Applause] for his love is sure and he knows my name for my god is the ancient of day none above him none before him all the time in his hands for his throne it [Music] all the power all the glory i will trust in his name for my god is the ancient of dead [Music] lord i may not see what the future brings i will watch and wait for the save your king [Music] standing face to face in the presence of the ancient [Applause] [Music] all the power all the glory i will trust in his name for my god [Music] [Music] and [Music] all the power all the glory i will trust in his name [Music] for my god is the ancient [Music] yay let's pray together heavenly father from the first day the earth was created to the moment that all things seen pass away we will trust in your plans and your works in this world nothing nothing has ever happened outside of your view or your sovereignty your ways are awesome and your name is mighty let us celebrate then the new life we have through jesus and empowered by the holy spirit give us eyes to see your hand at work in our everyday lives so that we become grateful for the little things like waking up breathing walking talking laughing and enjoying your creation but that we also don't take for granted how personal you are that you desire to be in relationship with us you know us completely from the inside out and you have provided your word through your church and your son for us to know you more remind us again lord that through jesus christ you are for us and not against us that there is nothing in this world that can separate us from you that you will bring us to be the perfect image of your son that there is nowhere on earth or even under the earth that we can hide from your presence holy spirit we ask you continually bring these truths to our minds and lead us in loving you and following you for all of our days in our church family we have many who are sick and struggling shirley price anne weaver nancy burnett bernie raider and rich golf for these dear brothers and sisters make yourself known to them in their sickness and give their families wisdom and compassion as they walk alongside them and the long road ahead to others in our congregation who are walking through difficult seasons or having to make hard decisions we pray lord that they feel that they are not alone in this time and that together with you they will be able to walk through this season and eventually look back and see where you help them to thrive in the midst of difficulty and finally lord we are grateful for your word through the book of proverbs we ask that you open our hearts and minds to receive your truth that you would plant it deep in our hearts and that we would grow in knowledge and wisdom do this lord we pray in jesus name amen at this time we're going to dismiss our young friends out the backside of the chapel for kids 44. and as the kids are leaving i'm going to have paul stay up here and call tracy up as well back in august we announced that the lord had opened a new door for paul and tracy to spend more of their time focusing on the ministry that the lord had given them here in town focused on our community and athletics and outreach and what one of the things that that means is that paul's going to be leaving full-time staff here at ccc now before you get worried he's not leaving they're not leaving the church paul is still going to serve as an elder here they're still going to be volunteering you're still going to see their smiling faces and his bow tie on sunday mornings and so we're excited about that they're they're going to continue to minister among us but the lord has opened this door and we're excited for them and so the elders have decided that after four plus years of full-time staff work for paul plus many years before that serving as an elder and for both of them serving as key volunteers here that we wanted to gift them uh with a sabbatical leave for the last three months of this year so that they're not spending their time doing uh staff ministry work but they're focusing their time on what god has called them to with this new organization c plus a community plus athletics and he's going to talk about that here in just a moment and so what we wanted to do today uh later on this year there's going to be a time for us as a church family to publicly express our thanks and gratitude for paul and tracy but uh today as they head out on this sabbatical leave we wanted to take some time to pray for them and so uh we're going to do that here in just a moment but first i'm going to ask paul a couple of questions so he can update us so you guys know better how to pray as they head into this sabbatical leave over the next few months so paul would you just kind of briefly tell us what is the next chapter of life and ministry for you i appreciate it so first of all i i'm extremely grateful for the elders and providing the sabbatical i was completely blown away uh by that um you know god has uh done an amazing work through celebration community athletics where we're aiming to point people in celebration to jesus through community and sports and uh god has been stirring in my heart for an extended period of time and when the opportunity came up my wife said go go go it's time and uh and so the opportunity is this is that we're launching this non-profit called computer community plus athletics and cca has become our experimental sandbox of how we engage the community and talk about jesus through sports through drama and other events and activities and so c plus a is going to be this larger organization that helps others to point people to jesus through community and sports so think of churches or missionaries or organizations or other individuals who are seeking to engage their community and c plus a is going to aims to reach out to help them with gospel-centered ministry so that they can be effective in their own communities and so you're heading out on sabbatical what does that look like what are you going to be focusing your time on paul and tracy over the next three months yeah so uh launching a business is something i've never done before uh very very grateful for many people around us in the church and outside the church uh who who really won't let it fail and won't let us fail as we step out here but really it's how do we lay a great foundation so that c plus a lasts even beyond myself that it's stable and not only that that it's effective in what it does so for the next three months it's really providing a stable financial base for c plus a not only for the next three months but for the next year uh but then it's really honing down what is it exactly that we're doing and how are we going to do it and how can we pray for you guys here over the next three months especially yeah so three things uh for us and i would just sum it up as uh connection trust and wisdom uh so connection not only for so this is one of the first times that uh tracy and i are you know two decades of ministry together in churches and so forth that this is something that we're starting uh as a couple and so tracy is the support especially over the sabbatical time that we continue to grow together as husband and wife but not just connection with each other but our connection with god and then the second word trust is really trusting the lord through this so i have a lot of fears and anxieties as to what's ahead when people ask me how i feel about this i say i have all the feels i'm really excited about what god has i'm really sad to to leave this uh chapter behind and i'm really anxious about exactly how god's going to provide but if i really and we really trust you know trusting god and and the song that we're just saying about the ancient days i mean what what do we really have to worry so pray for us to really trust the lord in the unknown and then wisdom and so um really for me in being a leader here i want to be wise in exactly what we do and how we do it and so for the lord to really give us what it is the next steps are and uh how to do it well and then how to communicate it well so that people are willing to come alongside awesome well we want to pray for paul and tracy now so would you join me in praying for them so we thank you lord for paul and tracy for their son john as well and for all of the ways that they have so faithfully served celebration community church over these years and the way that they will continue to serve and minister to us in the years ahead albeit in new ways and i'm glad that their ministry has been consistently marked by their love for others their desire to connect people into the life of this church to know each of our stories and to care for us even when it wasn't convenient or easy and there have been sacrifices that they have made the depths of which only you know but they have made them with joyful hearts trusting that your promises are better than temporary comforts and we're grateful for the ways that you've opened avenues to reach our community through athletics and arts and school programs for the way that you have gifted paul and tracy to connect with others in a personal way as a bridge to sharing the gospel and so we ask that you would continue to burden paul and tracy with the passion not only for celebration in the surrounding areas but that you would give them a passion for outreach with the goal of saving the lost and building up families to fear the lord and to love jesus so use him and his team in a powerful way to point people to you and to that end we pray for success that you would give them a good reputation in the community that you would lead more and more families to participate that you would network them with other organizations that can be strategic partners and that you will provide for all of their financial and organizational needs so specifically now as they take the sabbatical would you give paul clarity along with his board of advisors on the next steps that need to be taken to grow and sustain this ministry and the order and priority of those steps give he and tracy time to dream together to grow together and to seek your will and an unhurried communion in prayer and we ask for your blessing on their fundraising efforts that the gifts would be multiplied and that they would be wise stewards of the resources they receive keep them humble to follow your lead and the counsel of those around them so protect this time give them focus help them to rest in you and we give you praise for all that you've done in and through paul and tracy and we ask that these next months prepare them for even more fruitful ministry in the years ahead this we ask in jesus name amen [Music] [Music] above him none before him all of time in his hands for his throne it shall remain and ever stand [Music] all the power all the glory i will trust in his name for my god is the ancient of days [Music] for my god is the ancient of days [Music] our scripture reading this uh for today is proverbs 3 verses 1 through 35. it can be found on page 528 and the bible's in front of you please stand for the reading of god's word proverbs 3 beginning in verse 1 my son do not forget my teaching but let your heart keep my commandments for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you bind them around your neck write them on the tablet of your heart so you will find favor and good success in the sight of god and man trust in the lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he might make straight your paths be not wise in your own eyes fear the lord and turn away from evil he will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones honor the lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be will be bursting with wine my son do not despise the lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof for the lord reproves him whom he loves as a father the son in whom he delights blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who who gets understanding for the gain from her is better than gained from silver and her profit better than gold she is more precious than jules and nothing you desire can compare with her long life is in her right hand and her left hand are riches in honor her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace she is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her those who hold her fast are called blessed the lord be by by wisdom founded the earth and by understanding he established the heavens by his knowledge the deeps broke open and the clouds dropped down the dew my son do not lose sight of these things keep sound wisdom and discretion they will be the they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck then you will walk on your way securely and your foot will not stumble if you lie down you will not be afraid when you lie down your sleep will be sweet do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked when it comes for the lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught do not withhold good from those who to whom it is due when it's in your power to do it do not say to your neighbor go and come again tomorrow i will give it when you have it with you do not plan evil against your neighbor who dwells trustingly beside you do not contend with a man for no reason when he has done you no harm do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways for the devious person is an abomination to the lord but upright are in his confidence the lord's curse is on the house of the wicked but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous toward the scorners he is scornful but to the humble he gives favor the wise will inherit honor but the fools get disgrace this is the word of the lord amen you may be seated if you go to the online itunes store and you enter in that little search box the word essential you will come up initially with over 85 different albums that are considered essential songs put out by the designated artist so for example you'll see the essential michael jackson you'll see the essential billy joel the essential johnny cash the essential elvis presley just to name the top four sellers there and on and on it goes these are uh collections of songs that are considered so closely aligned with the artist you could not really know the artist without becoming familiar with these particular songs they are so foundational so basic to the style and the personality and the emphasis of the singer that they are virtually indispensable to the process of knowing the artist and since our goal in this teaching series is not simply to grow our head knowledge about the teaching that is found here in the book of proverbs but our goal is to actually become wise men and women it is crucial that we acquaint ourselves with the essentials of wisdom if you don't really understand these then you don't really understand wisdom because these are the essentials there is much more that could be said about wisdom but without understanding what is found here in proverbs 3 you just might miss the essentials that are so crucial to being wise now in in my study this past week there were a lot of different approaches to the structure of this chapter but with the aim toward actually living this way i have chosen to divide the material that we find here like this uh verses 1 through 12 focus on what wisdom does what wisdom is in its essence and then verses 13 to 20 focus on what happens in our lives when we live wisely and then verses 21 to 35 focus on what we need to avoid in the course of living the life of wisdom and the way i've laid out this outline i say in the first section if you do this second section then you will get these and the third section but don't do these so that's where we're going in the course of this chapter and we begin with the first 12 verses if you do this namely live radically centered on god if you want to be wise this is really where it all begins with the fear of the lord radical centeredness on god two things immediately jump out at me as i look at the first 12 verses here from this section and they're these two things number one how intentional we have to be to sustain a wise life it calls for diligence commitment you've got to go after it you've got to want it so i would ask you this morning do you want to be a wise person and the second thing that jumps out at me here is how essential it is to be radically centered on god to be wise in fact i just went through these first 12 verses and put a little black dot by each time god or the lord is mentioned multiple times and we have here a list of admonitions in this section that take the form of commands the son of the father that would be the prince to king solomon and the readers are charged with some very specific actions to take that begin by highlighting the need for diligence in retaining and internalizing what is taught here but then in this first section there is a shift to the very heart of wisdom which is living a radically god-centered life we think back it's as disruptive as what happened in 1514 with nicholas copernicus born in poland when i mean there were people rum rumbling about but he started writing and saying you know what the earth is not the center of the universe everything revolves around the sun he gets death threats and everybody's against him it's a radical thought well we don't naturally live centered on god but you can't be wise unless you center your life on god commentator paul coptuck summarizes the whole thrust of this chapter by saying that it is calling us to give up fantasies of self-determination and self-sufficiency and to turn to wisdom which will be a guide and protector from the real danger of self-destruction because he says wisdom alone leads to life and to shalom the word that is translated peace in the last line of verse 2 there is actually the hebrew word shalom it is a word that most of us have heard but i'm not sure we fully understand it includes our idea of peace but also much more it's a word that is found over 200 times in the old testament in 50 to 60 of these times it does indeed emphasize peace in the sense of a lack of strife which is what we usually associate with peace and sometimes it means that for example first kings 4 24 declares that judah and israel under solomon's leadership had quote peace shalom on all sides a lack of strife they were not at war any longer but most of the uses of shalom two-thirds of them in fact involve not just the lack of strife but a holistic fulfillment that comes as we experience the reality of god's presence in our lives he becomes our peace he becomes our satisfaction he becomes our fulfillment it means that all of a sudden we begin to experience because things are rightly aligned around the god who created us we begin to experience an alignment between our inner harmony and outer harmony that comes to those who have a close relationship with god this is shalom it's why david could still live with a sense of shalom in his life even when his physical well-being was being threatened or he was living surrounded by other dangerous circumstances now how could he have peace like that how could he have shalom in the midst of having his life threatened and the answer was he lived with a consciousness of god's presence with him and this is what brought him shalom according to proverbs 3 this is the same sense of inner and outer harmony that comes to those who are wise but it does not come without intentionality and commitment but you have to be careful here because even though it calls for a high level of commitment to experience it to acquire and cultivate and maintain wisdom in your life it doesn't just come by trying harder to be a better person or by exercising greater willpower alone you don't get wisdom that way let's look at the verses we begin here with the father charging his son not to forget his teaching being wise is not a test that you pass and then just forget all the material that you studied to recall for the test this is teaching that is designed to make you a lifelong learner you've got to retain this information that the father is teaching and the reason that we know that it's not merely trying harder to be good is because of a word that is repeated three different times in this first section of the chapter here's why we know it's not just working harder to exercise willpower to get wise no how do we know that because three times we see the emphasis on the son's heart his heart you don't just keep the commandments that the father gives you you obey them it says from the heart you let your heart keep the commandments this is why we say that parenting is shepherding the heart of your child look at verse 3 you retain them by writing them the teachings of the father here the teachings about wisdom you retain them by writing them on the tablet of your heart so it's an obedience that flows from transformation on the inside of you it is a wholehearted engagement to obey the father's teaching the general truth is that this kind of living tends to lead to a long life and the wholeness of shalom verse 4 living this way will also lead to favor and good success in the eyes of other people and more importantly in the sight of god so if that's what you want then this is how you have to live you have to take what god has revealed you have to write down the word of god you have to memorize it you have to internalize it you have to wear it around your neck so that you will never forget it and you will never neglect it because your default will always be to move away from it so hold on it's reading the word not just with your brain so that you can understand it here the emphasis is on reading it retaining it with your heart think about reading the scriptures with your heart i've mentioned this before the renovare spiritual formation bible describes reading with the heart like this it means that as you read the bible you are actually listening to the text of scripture you are really listening listening yielded and still to read with your heart they say means submitting to the text of scripture which means allowing its message to flow into us rather than just trying to master its meaning so i accumulate more knowledge and i can win arguments no i'm reading so i submit myself i'm letting it come into my heart and achieve what god sent it to do it means reflecting on the text of scripture it means permitting ourselves to become fully engaged both mind and heart it means praying the text of scripture as you read letting the biblical reality of the with god life give rise to our heart cry of gratitude and confession and complaint and petition and it means that as you read you are applying the text of scripture see why you have to slow down contemplate this because in your reading what you're trying to do is see how god's holy word provides a personal word for your life circumstances at that moment you're making these connections good teachers should do that for you but you have a responsibility in feeding yourself from the word to do that and of course it means obeying the text of scripture turning always turning from our wicked ways into the way everlasting as it describes it in psalm 139 reading with your heart all of that is true and it will revolutionize our lives if we really made a priority of not just reading the bible but reading it that way with our hearts fully engaged but our text here in proverbs 3 i think would add one more thing to the list it would add faith that as you read and reflect and submit and apply and obey make sure that you believe what you read in god's word verse 5 adds this to the life of wisdom it says if you're going to be wise you really will need to trust in the lord with all your heart when we emphasize intentionality and commitment we are talking then not just about external conformity and obedience by trying harder we are talking about the obedience of faith making sure that you obey and making sure that that is flowing from a heart that is trusting yahweh because remember whenever you see lord in all capitals as we do here in this chapter it's god's personal name for himself it's talking about drawing us into a relationship a close personal relationship day to day moment by moment with this god who has revealed his name yahweh to us and trusting yahweh is not just something that you add over the top of how you have been living trusting yahweh means that you renounce self-sufficiency and you renounce self-determination the way jesus put it you have to die to yourself this doesn't mean that you become a nobody that you just live with a kind of shredded self-esteem and you practice a doormat mentality that's not what it means to diet yourself dying to yourself means exchanging your personal will for the will of christ as he has revealed it it means what he says takes precedence over your feelings and over your personal preferences you die to those and live for christ wycliffe bible translator ken jacobs tried to translate the word deny when he was working with the chamula indians in mexico he found however that in their culture and language they had no concept of self-denial they had flagellation or beating themselves they had a word for that but to deny self was foreign to them when finally ken came up with the word he translated it this way if anyone wants to follow me let him put out of his own heart what his own heart wants to do and take up his cross daily and follow me so here's the starting point of wisdom fearing the lord dying to self surrendering your will to his trusting the lord unconditionally and absolutely not placing your own understanding above the clear teaching of the bible acknowledging god in everything so that he will lead us forward he will make the way plain to us he will make it straight even if it's difficult we will know what we are to do verse 7 don't be wise in your own eyes make reverence of yahweh your priority turning away from all evil and look at what you experience when you do this healing and refreshment just think of the amount of energy and money that's being spent by people today to try to experience healing and what kind of supplements and drinks are they putting in their bodies to try to maintain a sense of refreshment and here is where it is to be found trusting your own wisdom is the kind of foolishness that has a history all the way back to the garden of eden that was their problem from the very first sin well we know god said this but we really think it's better to live this way so they leaned on their own understanding and they did not trust the lord in all their ways and look at the price that we have all paid ever since but the way back to healing and refreshment is the same path trusting the lord with all your heart and not leaning on your own understanding how dangerous it is to think that we know best without soaking in the bible you can know what's best but you are not the source of that wisdom prioritizing the lord you'll notice in verse 9 also means that your wealth is completely at his disposal and his direction boy this really starts to get a little bit too personal for some of us but then we remember that it all belongs to him anyway and pretty soon we're going to hear the whistle everybody out of the pool and it all goes back in the box to mix the metaphors but you know what i'm saying it all belongs to him whereas your own understanding might make you want to hoard it all for yourself because you never know what we're going to need in the future instead see that would be leaning on your own understanding of course we have to be wise stewards and we have to prepare ourselves for the future and so on but don't just prioritize that because because your default position will just be the horde and horde and horde and when you when you take that route you never have enough and it also brings with it a great deal of anxiety but when the lord calls us to trust him unconditionally we have this assurance that as you honor him as your first priority you will experience financial blessing full barns and overflowing barrels of wine for those of you who drink wine overflowing barrels of wine and full barns and how do they come they come counterintuitively they don't come from hoarding everything they don't even come from just leveraging everything you have to get more they come from giving it away submitting it to the will of the lord it's another proverbs generalization here there are exceptions but it is nevertheless true that when you honor the lord first with your money he will give you he'll just blow you away one of the songs which is a soundtrack of my life during my college years uh came from an album by randy stonehill and one of the songs was called the gods of men and there was a i i recalled this last week studying this there was a verse in there that said i used to dream of being a rich man yeah i swore i'd have it all one day but once you chase it you will find that it isn't worth a dime until you're free enough to give it all away this is the way of wisdom generosity is not a gimmick it really is the best and happiest way to live and now it turns out to be the wisest way to live as well stay intentional and committed to yahweh first so that whenever you do experience his discipline in your life you don't resent him for it see this is again an example of where you have to turn away from your own understanding and trust god as as discipline begins to come into your life meaning disappointment meaning he takes things away from you sometimes he ordains that things be taken away and it grieves you deeply but the way of wisdom doesn't resent god's discipline don't let yourself it says grow weary of his reproof even his discipline comes from his love for you he's only settling for the best out of that love i remember growing up in a family that loved and prioritized christ and yet i remember getting to college and learning in greater depth as i began to study for myself the bible and and dig into the character and the actions of god and to realize to start to be enamored and really in love with this all-glorious all-sovereign god first it may it unsettled me to think that god is really this way and that god does all things for his glory and that that's why all of his promises to me are guaranteed it gave a whole new dimension to my faith it was like going from two-dimensional understanding to three-dimensional it was like turning off the black-and-white tv and all of a sudden watching in color because i moved from a just you know in in my childhood growing up in a really solid christian family but now i was starting to see that this idea of trusting god and honoring god was not just like one slice of my life that is siloed off from all the rest i started to realize that it had to do with the whole pie and i would say that this more than anything else is essential to wise parenting that you let your children see a passion for god's glory in you they need to see that god's centeredness doesn't mean that you are perfect but what it means is that even when you do fail when you do make mistakes and when you do sin you then seek to respond to that in a way that is centered upon god because many times experiencing failure can be a course in wisdom if we learn from it that's one of the ways we can grow wise and one of the things our children need to see because they're not going to be perfect either and if all you're doing is having these high standards and trying to externally force them to live up to them then they won't know what to do when they start to get in touch with their own depravity but when they see a mom and a dad who know what to do when they fail know what they've done with their sin have sometimes even asked their children to forgive them when they've been overly harsh or have have been insensitive to them in some way see your children that you're passing on wisdom to your children this is radical god-centeredness if you do this then you will get these in verses 13 to 20 you will get incomparable temporal and eternal benefits it's conditional on the first 12 verses but this is what you will get so glance at those verses 13 through 20 and now you'll see that it's not just that you have to be very intentional and completely committed now we discover that choosing wise living from the heart that is trusting god experiences blessings that are beyond what you can know in any other way verse 14 this kind of living this was wisdom is better than money see how radical that is it's better than profit it's better than silver it's better than gold verse 15 it's better than precious gems in fact and then this statement that's repeated more than one place in this book of wisdom wisdom is better than anything else you could desire what are your greatest desires right now how deeply do you crave wisdom where would it rank in the list of your desires right now so one of the ways i've had to get creative in taking my grandkids to disney on tuesdays my grandpa time tuesday morning started with piper the oldest grandchild he used to be just piper and me going every tuesday morning and piper and then in turn all the kids shared one thing in common and that was that as we would leave say magic kingdom if i would if i would walk out by going through the stores especially when it's really hot out it's nice to go out by by being in the stores piper would go oh papa can i get this can i get this oh and she would just run around and she'd see all these wonderful things and this is where i had to get creative so or poor one of the two things but what i decided is that i came up with this idea that i know piper why don't you hold that up and i'll take a picture of you and we'll send it to your mom and maybe your mom and dad will buy it for you for christmas so i've got photos of piper with almost everything in those stores and that's kind of worked for a while but eventually what i would do some days as i would as i would say the kids okay here's what we're gonna do we're gonna go out we're gonna go start going home now we're gonna walk through the stores but you know what you can pick one thing papa will let you buy one thing oh see now all of a sudden it took a long time for them to go through and look at everything on every shell what have i got to buy one thing well this chapter would tell us what's that one thing in your life you should pick wisdom and when you pick wisdom verse 16 you will experience long life you will experience riches and honor these are generalizations with exceptions but nevertheless true verse 17 your life will be one of pleasantness and peace there's that word again shalom so the real lasting peace and prosperity comes through wisdom verse 18 wisdom becomes a tree of life to the wise where have you heard that phrase before tree of life and and don't say animal kingdom because that's not what i'm talking about i'm talking about genesis 2. in genesis 2 there was the tree of life bruce walke says proverbs functions symbolically and provisionally as the tree of life that was lost in genesis 2 22-24 the author makes clear that until we reach the tree of life which is in the paradise of god if you remember revelation 2 but until we get to the tree of life we hold fast to the life-giving wisdom of this book and more importantly to jesus christ whose wisdom is greater than that of solomon the tree of life here represents eternal life it represents healing and immortality the wise life trusts yahweh and turns from evil and we now know this involves trusting wisdom personified jesus christ and experiencing the fulfillment of what is metaphorically presented here we get to enjoy fruit from the tree of life which is life with god himself a restoration of what was lost in eden temporal and eternal benefits verses 19 and 20 even demonstrate for us the value that wisdom had to yahweh jonathan akin there is a wise order to the world according to verses 19 and 20 the world works in a certain way according to the pattern of wisdom so that you can know the order and live by it if you possess wisdom and in a fallen world that has been broken by sin this order generally works out but it will always work out later wisdom gives you the ability to perceive god's order and live by it you must live by this order don't try to live against the grain because that is ruinous microwaves were designed to work in a certain way certain materials are not supposed to go into them have you ever had a fireworks show inside your microwave that's true with creation as well if you live against the grain of how things work or how wisdom has ordered the world it will go badly for you and this this order to the world and creation by a wise god is also centered upon jesus christ it points to him god created the whole world through jesus and jesus is the one who upholds the world by the word of his power right now also all things are in the process of being united in christ and so all things are centered on him including the created order so just to give one example seasons the seasons of the world point to christ there is a reason that god created the seasons in a way that the flowers and the plant life die in the winter and come back to life in the spring and the reason is jesus of nazareth to point us over and over and over again to the reality of his death and resurrection in our place and since the created order is centered on christ you must know him in order to perceive it and live according to that order and the order is personal because it is the one he is the one who created and upholds all of creation if you do this if you live radically centered upon god then you get these incomparable temporal and eternal blessings but verses 21 to 35 don't do these okay these are like deal breakers on the way they're like land mines on the path of wisdom you got to look out for these things and you've got to get rid of them if they're in your life you got to purge you got to do what i did this last thursday you got to extract in this case the biggest tooth in my mouth on thursday yeah it was a great experience i mean it wasn't even loose or anything and she got this clamp on there and she was shaking me back and forth trying to get it loose it's like whoa whoa whoa but it was infected it had a crown on it it was infected and uh and they sent me to a specialist to find out if they could drill through the crown and fix the in the cavity in the crown underneath the crown and i i kid you not the specialist looked in my mouth for 10 seconds said no can't do anything for you you got to go to a surgeon they got to pull this out oh so big had curled curled roots in it all the roots had been i'd gone through root canal on all of them this tooth had been with me for a long long time in fact i thought about it when they pulled it out and i saw it there i said man that thing's been in my mouth since probably like third grade you know and i started thinking about all i was telling ann weaver this when i called her to check out what she was doing this week he's thinking about all the things that that tooth was experienced with me and now it's gone some of these attitudes and actions that you read about in the last section of this chapter you may have fallen into these patterns for a long long time and it's going to take you a while to get used to living without them but if you don't you will never know the way of wisdom don't lose sight of wisdom and discretion don't do that don't let them slip away don't fall asleep at the wheel don't lose sight of them and if you don't if you maintain wisdom and discretion guess what verse 24 you'll sleep much better verse 25 and 26 you won't be afraid now why is that well it makes sense that um that if what we're studying is true to the ancient scriptures it would also seem to be true in some of the classic works throughout the ages and that's true here with thomas akampus book the imitation of christ in book number three chapter 17 he talks about what it means to have wholehearted trust in the lord just like we're called to do in this chapter and he said there's a little dialogue that goes on between him and the lord and he's saying oh lord it's so hard sometimes but you know what lord i know that you reign over all things and i know that you love me and i know that you don't allow anything in my life except that it's going to work for my good and then christ says back to him that's right my child i ordain all things and only what comes in your life is good even if it's difficult to experience you know that it's good for you that i will in the end bring good out of it and glory to my name and guess what when you believe that about god just like it says here you don't have to be afraid of sudden terror anymore you can sleep better because when you lay down to sleep you're just putting yourselves in the hands of this sovereign god who loves you more than you could ever imagine and his love protects that relationship nothing can separate you from his love in this life or the next see how that would affect your sleeping patterns and the shalom within your mind as you lay down at night verses 27 to 29 don't put off doing good to people don't put it off when there's when it's within your ability to do it now love your neighbor remember how crucial this is in the in the uh priority of jesus the most important thing is to love god and this one's just like it love your neighbor is yourself that's how you know you love god so if it's in your power to do good to your neighbor but you say ah maybe come on let me think about you come back tomorrow maybe i'll pay you then no don't do that love them now and speaking of neighbors verse 30 don't pick fights for no reason see how practical wisdom is verses 31 and 32 don't envy what some other people may achieve through violence yeah they can get some temporary satisfaction or maybe even money and wealth and all that it buys but don't envy that because it's all built on a house of cards and then this general conclusion verses 33 to 35 the lord's curse is on the house of the wicked but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous if you're scornful toward god he'll be scornful toward you but if you humble yourself before god you receive his favor so all the wise gets his honor and all the fools have left is disgrace there's the case for wisdom there it is these are the essentials write them down remember them keep them visible let them shape your heart and your attitude and your actions trust in the lord with all your heart and stop leaning on your own understanding give up fantasies of self-sufficiency and self-determination and let wisdom be your guide and protect her from the real danger of self-destruction because it alone will lead you not only to this life and success in this life but to the very tree of life itself and the experience of shalom if you're someone who really likes to respond to teaching like this with a practical assignment i would give you this one how about sometime this week you take at least the first 12 verses of this chapter and you spend time reading them with your heart would you do that and then turning them into a prayer lord make me wise like this make me into this kind of person read verses 1 to 12 with your heart these are the essentials of wisdom let's pray it just seems so clear lord that what the world and the flesh and the devil proposed to us is so far off the road of wisdom that they're really lies and yet we must confess lord our tendency to believe those lies would you let your truth today act as the key to set us free from the shackles that have often been self-imposed would you deliver us lord from the land mines along the way of wisdom would you carve out deep within our hearts a longing to be wise to trust you more than we trust our own inclinations to live for the praise of your glory to fear you above all else defined in you that satisfaction that we know we were made to experience god grant us grace toward this end we pray in the name of jesus amen sorry there are some sections of scripture that are difficult to understand uh this section is not one of them it's very simple trust in the lord with all your heart lean not on your own understanding you have life life eternal if you don't trust in the lord and lean on your understanding you'll be like the full have a short and difficult life and eternal death in the same way jesus says i am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the father except through me and so any one of us wants that eternal life that wants to live the life of wisdom and have the blessings that come along with it we trust and we follow jesus that he has saved us from our sin by paying our penalty on the cross because he was raised up to new life so too will we and we celebrate that with communion so if you're watching with us online feel free to pause the video get some bread and some juice if you're with us in one of the venues you can take out the communion cup and peel off the top portion and jesus when he was on the night that he was betrayed he was at the table with his disciples he took the bread he raised it to heaven gave thanks to god the father for it he broke it and he gave it to him saying this is my body take and eat let's eat together later on in the meal he took the cup and he said to them this cup is the new covenant in my blood let's drink together and so every time we celebrate communion we're celebrating his death his resurrection and we look forward to his return let's stand and worship [Music] [Music] do [Music] and i'm forgiving because you were forsaken [Music] i'm accepted [Music] and i'm alive and well your spirit is [Music] [Music] i'm accepted you working down and i'm alive and well your spirit is within me because you died and rose [Music] amazing love how can it be [Music] and here my king would die for me amazing love i know it's true it's my joy to honor you amazing love amazing love how can it be that you my king would die for me [Music] amazing love i know it's true and it's my joy to honor you [Music] because you were [Music] me [Music] [Music] my king would die for me [Music] amazing love i know it's true it's my joy to honor you [Music] amazing love how can it be [Music] i know it's true [Music] all [Music] you are my [Music] jesus [Music] amazing love how can it be [Music] [Music] i know it's true it's my joy to water [Music] [Music] you would die for me amazing love i know it's true it's my choice [Music] you [Music] [Music] emotion oh god i sing all glory and honor what is man that you are mindful the son of man that you would care for [Music] how is your name in all the earth oh lord our lord may we see your kingdom come father [Music] all the earth gave dominion to your children that you crowd them [Music] for your greatness [Music] how much [Music] [Music] mayor will be done in all the earth [Music] is the glory of god come make much of the name above all days creation cries out and every knee bounce jesus we crown you oh lord our lord the earth is full of the glory of god come make much of the name above all days creation cries out in every neighborhood [Music] jesus we crown you oh lord our lord r [Music] how majestic is your name in all the earth oh lord our lord may we see your kingdom come father may or will be done in all the earth [Music] how majestic is your name in all the earth lord our lord may we see your kingdom come father may or will be done in all the earth [Music] how majestic is your name in all the earth oh lord our lord may we see your kingdom come father may your will be done in all the earth [Music] the lord bless you and keep you the lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you the lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you his shalom amen [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] hey are you

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Published: Sun Sep 26 2021