September 27, 2015

New Fall Sermon Series

Bad choices are very destructive. What does it take to make good choices? Wisdom

1. How Does Proverbs Decribe Wisdom

Insight in Hebrew means to notice differences, to see distinctions.

Prudence—practical, strategic, how to get things done, foresight

Instruction—character, depth of character

Wisdom is competence in regards to how life really works.Knowing what to do with the

knowledge, knowledge is assumedIt is not just moral and law-abiding,

it is more. Knowing the right thing to do in which the moral rules do not apply.

You are offered two jobs and neither is morally wrong. Taking the wrong job is disastrous.

2. The importance of wisdom

a. The simple—young, naïve person, not fully formed, led along by the crowd. Affected by what their friends think, not wise, but wayward. “Why did I think that way?”

b. Fool – opposite of normal foolishness, a person who is wise in his own eyes, set in his ways, self-righteous, opinionated, stubborn, angry if he is corrected, never wrong.

 Wisdom is in touch with reality. Simple are not and fools are not.

A difficult occasion arises with you and your friends—should I speak out, should I keep silent? Sometimes you speak out and sometime not.

 3. The problem of wisdom. Chemistry has wired us to respond to threats.

Aggressive, anxious, philosophical.Anxious-get me out of hereAggressive-let me at itPhilosophical-just calm down, let’s not do anything rash, wait and see.

One of those responses feels right to you. Without thinking

Your habitual response general is wrong.

Highly danger—anxiousmid-level- aggressivethat look worse than they are- philosophical

The most natural way for you to deal with threats is usually wrong.

Modern parents have been taught to let the children be themselves; good parenting will see the dark side of their children and teach them to adapt to reality according to what is wise, not just what is natural.

 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. All of us are born fools. Foolishness is natural. Wisdom is acquired.

 Unless you learn wisdom, receiving correction, getting to know the lies from the truth, you will be destroyed by your choices.

Our culture is against this. Be yourself, and if you have a problem, find a technique.

 CS Lewis “The Abolition of Man”: The ancients saw man’s need to conform himself to reality by sometimes doubting himself and learning virtue and wisdom. Today we see the problem as how to subdue reality to our will and the answer is technique.

 Keller: Christians commonly approach decisions they need to make by saying “I want to discern God’s will. How can I pray to discern his will?”

Tim’s response to them is usually never satisfying. Prayer is a big part of becoming what God wants you to be. But as far as the Bible is concerned discernment is about becoming a wise person over many years. Cultivate wisdom in yourself and then chose what is best.

It sounds very spiritual to imagine that the key to decision making is laying everything out in front of God and having God inform you as to the right choice to make, but you are doing exactly what your culture wants, you are applying a technique. Not conforming the soul to reality, but trying to conform reality to your soul.

 The problem is that we are all fools by nature, but how can we find wisdom, how can we begin the search?

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction”

 Through paradoxical fear, and the foolishness of grace. 

If you have this positive fear he will make you wise.

You won’t care too much about what other people think because you care about what the LORD thinks.

You won’t be a simpleton.You also wouldn’t be an obstinate fool because you wouldn’t are what you think anymore.

You wouldn’t have that insecurity that needs to be right.

You wouldn’t stand upon your own dignity.

This would be the beginning of your wisdom.

 The only way to get it would to be absolutely sure that God will not hurt you. To be sure that despite your flaws he won’t condemn you.

 The difference between just knuckling under and obeying out of compliance and joyfully following God is the difference between positive fear and negative fear. You’ve got to know that there is no condemnation for you. Put it in the context of the whole Bible. There is positive and negative fear in the Old Testament. In the New Testament there is positive foolishness.

 Positive FoolishnessPaul talks about the foolishness of the cross, the foolishness of Christ, the foolishness of grace.

When Jesus comes he says “I’m coming to be the king.” In the world’s eyes you come as a general to smite evil doers. Or as a philosopher to instruct everyone. Jesus goes to the cross and by the world’s standards it is foolishness.

The reason we see the cross as foolishness, when we look at all the evil in the world…Everyone has a theory about what is wrong with the world, and its never us, it’s “them”. We are wise in our own eyes; we are fools. Only by going to the cross and taking our punishment could God be able to end evil without ending us.

Paul says the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men.

If you want to become a Christian, you need to become this kind of fool

 You need to see that you’ve been wise in your own eyes and embrace the foolishness of the cross. You’ll look like a fool especially in a place like NYC but you’ll know there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 130:4: Because you have forgiven me, therefore I fear you.

When I see your grace I’m afraid of disappointing you (God).

2. The importance of wisdom

a. The simple—young, naïve person, not fully formed, led along by the crowd. Affected by what their friends think, not wise, but wayward. “Why did I think that way?”

b. Fool – opposite of normal foolishness, a person who is wise in his own eyes, set in his ways, self-righteous, opinionated, stubborn, angry if he is corrected, never wrong.

Wisdom is in touch with reality. Simple are not and fools are not.

A difficult occasion arises with you and your friends—should I speak out, should I keep silent? Sometimes you speak out and sometime not.

3. The problem of wisdom.Chemistry has wired us to respond to threats.

Aggressive, anxious, philosophical.

Anxious-get me out of hereAggressive-let me at itPhilosophical-just calm down, let’s not do anything rash, wait and see.

One of those responses feels right to you. Without thinking

Your habitual response generally is wrong.High danger—anxiousmid-level- aggressivethat look worse than they are-

philosophicalThe most natural way for you to deal with threats is usually wrong.

Modern parents have been taught to let the children be themselves; good parenting will see the dark side of their children and teach them to adapt to reality according to what is wise, not just what is natural.

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. All of us are born fools. Foolishness is natural. Wisdom is acquired.

Unless you learn wisdom, receiving correction, getting to know the lies from the truth, you will be destroyed by your choices.

Our culture: Be yourself, and if you have a problem, find a technique.

CS Lewis “The Abolition of Man”: The ancients saw man’s need to conform himself to reality by sometimes doubting himself and learning virtue and wisdom. Today we see the problem as how to subdue reality to our will and the answer is technique.

Keller: “Christians commonly approach decisions they need to make by saying “I want to discern God’s will. How can I pray to discern his will?” His response to them is usually never satisfying. But as far as the Bible is concerned discernment is about becoming a wise person over many years. Cultivate wisdom in yourself and then chose what is best.”

He says: It sounds very spiritual to imagine that the key to decision-making is laying everything out in front of God and having God inform you as to the right choice to make, but you are doing exactly what your culture wants, you are applying a technique. Not conforming the soul to reality, but trying to conform reality to your soul.”

The problem is that we are all fools by nature, but how can we find wisdom, how can we begin the search?

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction”

 Through paradoxical fear, and the foolishness of grace. 

If you have this positive fear he will make you wise.

You won’t care too much about what other people think because you care about what the LORD thinks.

You won’t be a simpleton.You also wouldn’t be an obstinate fool because you wouldn’t are what you think anymore.

You wouldn’t have that insecurity that needs to be right.

You wouldn’t stand upon your own dignity.

This would be the beginning of your wisdom.

 The only way to get it would to be absolutely sure that God will not hurt you. To be sure that despite your flaws he won’t condemn you.

 The difference between just knuckling under and obeying out of compliance and joyfully following God is the difference between positive fear and negative fear. You’ve got to know that there is no condemnation for you. Put it in the context of the whole Bible. There is positive and negative fear in the Old Testament. In the New Testament there is positive foolishness.

 Positive FoolishnessPaul talks about the foolishness of the cross, the foolishness of Christ, the foolishness of grace.

When Jesus comes he says “I’m coming to be the king.” In the world’s eyes you come as a general to smite evil doers. Or as a philosopher to instruct everyone. Jesus goes to the cross and by the world’s standards it is foolishness.

The reason we see the cross as foolishness, when we look at all the evil in the world…Everyone has a theory about what is wrong with the world, and its never us, it’s “them”. We are wise in our own eyes; we are fools. Only by going to the cross and taking our punishment could God be able to end evil without ending us.

Paul says the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men.

If you want to become a Christian, you need to become this kind of fool

 You need to see that you’ve been wise in your own eyes and embrace the foolishness of the cross. You’ll look like a fool especially in a place like NYC but you’ll know there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 130:4: Because you have forgiven me, therefore I fear you.

When I see your grace I’m afraid of disappointing you (God).

The problem is that we are all fools by nature, but how can we find wisdom, how can we begin the search?

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction”

 Through paradoxical fear, and the foolishness of grace. If you have this positive fear he will make you wise.

You won’t care too much about what other people think because you care about what the LORD thinks.

You won’t be a simpleton.You also wouldn’t be an obstinate fool

because you wouldn’t care what you think anymore.

You wouldn’t have that insecurity that needs to be right.

You wouldn’t stand upon your own dignity. This would be the beginning of your

wisdom.

The only way to get it would to be absolutely sure that God will not hurt you. To be sure that despite your flaws he won’t condemn you.

The difference between just knuckling under and obeying out of compliance and joyfully following God is the difference between positive fear and negative fear. You’ve got to know that there is no condemnation for you. Put it in the context of the whole Bible. There is positive and negative fear in the Old Testament. In the New Testament there is positive foolishness.

 Positive FoolishnessPaul talks about the foolishness of the cross, the foolishness of Christ, the foolishness of grace.

When Jesus comes he says “I’m coming to be the king.” In the world’s eyes you come as a general to smite evil doers. Or as a philosopher to instruct everyone. Jesus goes to the cross and by the world’s standards it is foolishness.

The reason we see the cross as foolishness, when we look at all the evil in the world…Everyone has a theory about what is wrong with the world, and its never us, it’s “them”. We are wise in our own eyes; we are fools. Only by going to the cross and taking our punishment could God be able to end evil without ending us.

Paul says the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men.

If you want to become a Christian, you need to become this kind of fool

 You need to see that you’ve been wise in your own eyes and embrace the foolishness of the cross. You’ll look like a fool especially in a place like NYC but you’ll know there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 130:4: Because you have forgiven me, therefore I fear you.

When I see your grace I’m afraid of disappointing you (God).

Positive Foolishness Paul talks about the foolishness of the cross, the foolishness of Christ, the

foolishness of grace. When Jesus comes he says “I’m coming to be the king.” In the world’s eyes you

come as a general to smite evil doers. Or as a philosopher to instruct everyone. Jesus goes to the cross and by the world’s standards it is foolishness.

The reason we see the cross as foolishness, when we look at all the evil in the world…Everyone has a theory about what is wrong with the world, and its never us, it’s “them”. We are wise in our own eyes; we are fools. Only by going to the cross and taking our punishment could God be able to end evil without ending us.

Paul says the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men. If you want to become a Christian, you need to become this kind of fool  You need to see that you’ve been wise in your own eyes and embrace the

foolishness of the cross. You’ll look like a fool especially in a place like NYC but you’ll know there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 130:4: Because you have forgiven me, therefore I fear you. When I see your grace I’m afraid of disappointing you (God).