The Valuable Pursuit of Wisdom

“The Value of Wisdom”
 Message @ Jericho Ridge Community Church –Sunday, Aug 7, 2016
Text: Proverbs 2 // Series: Wisdom: A Blueprint for Living

Welcome.  My name is Brad, I’m part of the teaching and leadership team here at Jericho. This summer, we are studying the life King Solomon – the wisest man who ever lived.  And as we move through the early part of the book of I Kings, we’re asking what does it take build wisdom into our own lives?  Hence the blueprints theme. 

A few weeks ago when Meg and I were in Africa, Ruth Ellen taught through text in the Old Testament book of I Kings 3 which describes how Solomon came to acquire such a vast repository of wisdom.  I Kings 3:3 says that Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father David.  And so God appears to Solomon in a dream – portrayed here by the 17^th century artist Luca GIORDANO.  And God asks Solomon “What do you want?  Ask and I will give it to you”  Now, I don’t know about you but I’ve never had God appear to me in a dream and give me that option.  I don’t usually have dreams like this painting!     

And if God did that and I was Solomon, I would have probably made a rookie mistake and asked for a long life or maybe asked God for a Million Dollars…. Because as we all know from the popular song “If I had a million dollars” (I’d buy you a K-car, a nice Reliant automobile… I’d buy you a monkey – haven’t you always wanted a mon-key!”  But Solomon didn’t ask for wealth. 

IF in this dream I managed to think of my feet, which is hard to do in your dreams, I may have asked God for the death of my enemies.  Remember, Solomon’s own brother tried to take the kingdom away from him.  This was a time of political instability and so I think I might have asked for military might or at least a huge wall to keep all of my enemies out of my country J. 

But Solomon asks God for wisdom.  And God grants it to him.  I Kings 3:12 says “I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!”  BUT there’s a teeny tiny problem with this dream… The problem is that Solomon’s experience with God in his dream doesn’t help you or ME figure out how I’m supposed to get wisdom!  Last time I checked, God didn’t come to me in a dream and say “Brad, what can I give you?”

Thankfully, there is a solution to this problem.  Thankfully Solomon, because he was so wise, wrote down some of the insights God gave him throughout his life regarding wisdom and they were collected for us in the book of Proverbs.  These are little sayings that teach you and I about how to live with wisdom.  Because the real question becomes HOW.  How does a person gain more wisdom?  Is that possible or is it something you have or you don’t have? 

Today we’re going to look into Proverbs chapter 2 and we’re going to see the incredible benefits of wisdom and also three things that you and I can do to go about getting wisdom or increasing wisdom in our lives.  Let me pray for you as we dive into our text this morning.    

Turn with me in your Bibles or on your device to Proverbs 2.  We’ll be looking at the first 12 verses [3 slides]…  The text goes on to describe two specific types of people who lack wisdom – one is men who take pleasure in doing wrong and another is an immoral promiscuous woman. Using the image of a path, Solomon says “don’t walk down those dark paths with them.  PHOTO - DARK ALLEY.  Steer clear of those shadowy places!  The chapter finishes in verse 20-22 with the admonition to “follow the steps of the good men instead and stay on the paths of the righteous…” [read]  

In the midst of the warnings, did you catch the rich and long list of the incredible benefits of wisdom?  The value of pursuing it?  Look at this list with me!

The Benefits of Wisdom…

• Knowledge (2:5)
• Spiritual Understanding (2:6)
• Common Sense (2:7)
• God’s Protection watching over you (2:8)
• Your life will be filled with Joy (2:10)
• Guidance in the right way to go (2:9)
• Saved from the harmful consequences of evil actions and crooked people (2:12-19)

This is amazing stuff!  I think that all of us would desire these kinds of benefits to flow into our lives. BUT here’s the thing.  Unlike Solomon, these things don’t come to you in your sleep.  You have to work at gaining wisdom.  You have to seek after it like it was a hidden treasure.  You have to pursue wisdom like you would hunt for silver or gold.   

Speaking of which, how many of you have even been panning for Gold?  PHOTO: Gold panning.  You can do it at Ft Langley, I think Deb you and Josh were telling me you can still do it in some of the water up outside of Hope?  Well as a kid, I can remember visiting the old town of Barkerville, BC and panning for gold.  Barkerville was the heart of the gold rush here in BC and so they still effectively milk this for tourism hundered of years later.  It’s a great roadside attraction so we camped in Barkerville overnight as kids and we got our gold pans and waded into the creek and began to pan for gold.  Now, if you’ve never done this, you scoop up a clump of dirt, rock and water and you shake your pan and you can see in this photo the ridges on the pans.  They catch the little flakes or nuggets of gold.  So you dig in, you shake, you hunt around, you sift and pour out.  You dig in, sift, hunt, shake, pour out.  In controlled environments like the Fort Langley exhibit, it’s easy because (and I hate to spoil it for you) but they plant a certain amount of gold flakes planted in there.  Parks Canada wants you to have a good time.  But at Barkerville, in the stream when we were there growing up, there was no gold planted.  You found some flakes or you didn’t.  As I remember it, us kids were out there for hours.  Hunting.  Shaking, sifting, digging…  And my brother and my sister found some but I didn’t.  And I decided that the water was getting cold and I was getting bored so I wandered over to the gift shop.  And low and behold, what did they have in the window?  Little vials that you could purchase that had some sand, some water and a few little fake flakes of gold!  A souvenir from your time in Barkerville.  So while my siblings were working hard panning for real gold flakes in the river, I simply walked into the gift shop, paid my $2 and walked out with my fake gold nuggets.  I’m sure that September we all wrote in our mandatory “what I did this summer” essays that we went panning for gold at Barkerville.  The major difference being that my siblings actually earned their real gold with hard work whereas I simply exited through the gift shop, put my money on the counter and got the fake imitation stuff in a vial.  They worked hard for the real deal, I took the shortcut.         

Here’s the point of this story.  When it comes to acquiring wisdom, growing in wisdom, there are two pathways or two options.  You can dig in, do the hard work and get the real stuff which is an incredible treasure and comes with all of the benefits and amazing things we mentioned before. OR, option 2 you can take the easy road, exit through the gift shop and acquire what can LOOK like the real thing but is a cheap imitation.  I have a concern that much of what masquerades wisdom in our day and age isn’t the real thing.  Its cheap knock off that hasn’t been hard won or worked for.  Proverbs 2 actually lays out a series of actions that if we follow them, will lead to you and I growing in wisdom.  BUT fair warning: it is hard work to get it.  You can’t simply buy it in the gift shop.  It doesn’t come automatically just because you add another year to your life. 

So, with that warning in mind – that wisdom has to be wrestled for - grab your gold panning equipment and let’s begin to sift through these verses to find the answer to a powerful question: How Do I Get WISDOM?  Solomon actually clearly lays out for us not only the benefits and value of pursuing wisdom, but also the pathway to wisdom.  He lists three specific actions that anyone can take at any age or stage of life that will cause you to grow in wisdom if you are willing to do the hard work and if you don’t give up. So, How Do I get wisdom? ACTION 1 – LISTEN Attentively.  “Listen to what I say”  Treasure my commands

To whom are we listening attentively?  Verse 6 says that the Lord grants wisdom.  From His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.  So we are to be listening attentively to God’s voice. 

This could be a whole message in and of itself and this November we’ll be offering a prayer training weekend but for now let me lead us through a simple illustration to help us wrestle with the (?) How do you hear God’s voice

• You have to “tune your ears” (2:2)
• You have to concentrate (2:2)

Some of you are too young to remember anything other than digital tuners on your radios and now there’s even a notch above that - HD radio.  BUT there still exists devices that if you want to listen to a given radio station, you have to tune in to that frequency.  Photo: Radio  

I need a volunteer to help me do that this morning.  Can someone come and help me find say, Praise 106.5 on this radio?  [have them find it].  It’s a bit tricky, isn’t it?  You have to know the frequency, you have to work at honing in on it because there is a lot of competing voices in that bandwidth.  I often think about a radio when I think about listening to God’s voice.  The language in 2:2 is tuning your ears to wisdom.  Concentrating on gaining understanding.  Listening attentively can be hard work because of all of the competing noise in our lives.  There is so much vying for my attention.  But when it comes to growing in wisdom, if you don’t’ spend time listening to the source of wisdom – tuning in, searching, seeking, pursuing, then it’s unlikely that you can grow in wisdom.  One of the questions that I try to ask myself to determine if I am ACTION 1 – LISTEN Attentively is this (?) Does my life look like that of a person who wants to hear from God? 

If you looked at my week coming up, would there be any intentional time and space devoted to hearing from God?  What does your drive to work look like?  What do your mornings look like? What do your summer Sundays look like?  Is there time set aside were you can hear from God?  If God wanted to speak to you, and I believe that He does to each of you uniquely and wonderfully and powerfully!  If God wanted to speak with you, would He be able to get an appointment?  Does your life look like that of a person who wants to hear from God?  For many of us, if we are honest, the answer is no.  My life looks like that of a person who wants to hear from my friends, from the media, who wants to watch hours and hours of the Olympics… Many of us our lives are oriented to hear from many other sources but not so much like we want to hear from God.      

Let me encourage you with a few practices that I have found helpful for me in this category.  3 Practices to Enhance Listening

• Schedule a block of time this week to be alone with God – For me, I find mornings work the best. I get up, coffee is on, I sit out of the patio with my Bible, my journal, and just spend some time being quiet and listening.  That time of day may not work for you – you’ll need to find a time.  Might be on your commute – you turn off the radio and listen.  Might be on your lunch break. Find a time, put it in your calendar.  “Time alone with God”. 
• Read a book or blog about hearing God’s voice – especially as you are learning to listen, to tune in to God’s voice, it can be helpful to have some training. I love the book “Your Ears Will Hear” by friends of JRCC Steve and Eve Klassen.  It’s $3.28 on Kindle. It has stories, questions and journal entries to prompt listening.  That’s the 2^nd practice that might help you. 3^rd:
• Have coffee with someone you trust who is attentive to God & ask them to teach you. One of the ways that I learned to distinguish the voice of God speaking to me was through mentors and wise older saints who had spent years of their lives learning that habit.  And hanging around them you can test the things you think God is saying to you.  Parents, this is something to do with your kids.  Kids, your teachers at Kids at the Ridge are amazing at this so ask them to assist and coach you in this process.   

Alright, so action #1 if you and I want to develop a life of wisdom: you and I need to learn to Listen Attentively to God’s voice.  That makes sense.  If you want to grow in wisdom, get closer to the source of wisdom.  Second action…

How Do I get wisdom? ACTION 2 – ASK Persistently

Here’s something that I am not so great at.  When I think about what I ask God for, I’m all over the map.  Sometimes I am asking Him to help me with a specific project or situation, other times I am praying for my neighbours to come to faith.  Persistence in prayer is not a strength that I currently possess. 

This spring, as a staff, we attended the Multiply Conference in Vancouver.  One of the speakers there was author Francis Chan.  And he said something that stuck with me.  When talking about persistence in prayer, he asked:
(?) “If a transcript of your prayers were typed out over this past month, what would your ‘one thing’ be that you would ask God for over and over?”

If there was a list of everything you talked with God about over the course of this past month, and it was printed out in hard copy for you to read, what would that look like?  One of the things that I am sad to say is that for me, it would not have the hallmarks of persistence!  It would be a few prayers about this here and there and then, PEW, on to another thing.  I wonder if one of the reasons that you and I don’t have more wisdom in our lives is that we simply don’t ask God for it!

Proverbs 2:3 says that we are to cry out for it, to ask, to search diligently like we would search for a hidden treasures.  In other words, you’re not likely to trip over wisdom taking the easy path in life.  In the New Testament book of James 1, we are reminded that if we lack wisdom we are to ask God who gives generously!  But I wonder if we ask and then, PEW, we are off to the next thing.  What would it look like for you and I to persist in our pursuit of wisdom?  To grow the tenacity and resolve necessary to keep at it, even when things are difficult? 

If you are paying attention, you’ll know that the Olympics started this week.  One of my favorite summer games moments has to do with persistence.  It’s the story of British runner Derek Redmond at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.  Listen to how it is told on the blog “Weekly Heroes”     

“At age 26, Derek Redmond had already broken two British 400m records and was preparing himself for the 1992 Summer Olympics, which would be taking place in Barcelona, Spain. A year prior, Derek had been a part of the British team that beat the favored American team in the 4x400m relay at the World Championships. In 1988, he withdrew from the Olympic races in Seoul, Korea only ninety seconds before his first heat was about to begin due to hamstring problems. This time, he wanted to walk away with a medal, he wanted to show the world what he was capable of. On the day of the 400m, Derek's father Jim found his way to his seat in the stadium among 65,000 other fans. He prays that today will go flawlessly; no more injuries, no more set backs. The race begins and Derek Redmond quickly lurches ahead of the other competitors. He knows he can make it to the finals. He had won his first two heats, all he needed to do was make it through the semi-finals.”  Let’s watch this clip to see what happens. 

VIDEO – Derek Redomond.  

Later in an interview Derek said to a reporter: "I told myself I had to finish. I kept hopping round. Then, with 100 meters to go, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was my old man." His father Jim had pushed his way from the back of the stadium to help his son off the field. Security tried to stop Jim, but he brushed them off, running to Derek's aid. Derek told his father that he was going to finish, no matter what. Without arguing Jim supported his son, both mentally and physically, as the two finished the last 100 meters. Jim let Derek cross the finish line himself, but afterward rejoined him in a tearful embrace. 65,000 fans cheered and cried with them that day, along with countless others watching from home. That race will forever be in the memories of thousands, not for who won or who lost, but for the amazing courage and spirits of Derek and Jim Redmond.”  To this day, Derek Redmond holds an Olympic record – that of the slowest time in the 400 M. But he finished it.  He persisted!  He fought the good fight, He finished the race. 

I wonder if some of us when we don’t seem to get wisdom or insight in a given situation after we ask God once, we simply give up and walk off the track and think “oh well, I tried that whole praying for wisdom thing!” or even more deeply “Yeah, I tried that whole church and God thing… It didn’t work for me.”  But I wonder if sometimes we give up just because something is hard or doesn’t go exactly as we had planned.  Look at the words used to describe how we get wisdom: cry out for it, search for it…  Persist!  Just like Derek Redman. 

Let me give you quickly  2 Practices to Enhance Persistence

• Choose one thing to persist in prayer around through the end of this month

Today is the 7^th, so you have 24 more days left this month.  Could you choose one thing to focus in on in your prayers and grow your persistence in this Aug?  Some of you are really good at this already.  You have been asking God for the same thing for a long time – don’t give up!  Don’t grow weary in doing well.  Persist!  Help teach the rest of us who need help in this area.  Second practice…

• Write it down when people ask you to pray for them

This is my journal – I use it for three things.  My Life Journaling in the morning (we handed out new bookmarks last week – pick yours up at the Welcome Centre).  I use it when I’m at a conference to take notes but in the back, I keep a log of prayer requests.  If I’m at pre-gathering prayer and someone says “can you pray for such and such?” I write it down.  If it comes through on the e-prayer chain, I write it down.  Why?  Because it helps me persist in prayer.  Find a way that works for you.  Put it in an app Evernote.  The point is you can’t persist in something that you don’t remember so find a way to prayerfully persist in prayer. 

The third and final answer from Proverbs 2 to the question of How Do I Get WISDOM? Is ACTION 3 – LIVE Ethically 

Look at verse 11 – wise CHOICES will watch over you. 
Wisdom is just aspirational unless you put it into ACTION!

You have to live it out.  And wisdom will be seen in your actions and your choices.  Ten days ago, when we were coming back from our ministry time in Africa, I decided on the 16 hour plane ride from Qatar to Los Angeles to watch the Harry Potter movies.  One line stood out to me from the Chamber of Secrets:

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The same thing is true when it comes to wisdom.  It is how you choose to live that shows if you are wise or not, far more than anything else.  Far more than your potential ability to grasp wisdom… the real question becomes how are you living?  Do your choices reflect that you are growing in wisdom?  Does your life increasingly look like a person who is walking the pathway of wisdom?  As we close the teaching time, let me suggest for you 1 Practice to Enhance Ethics

• Invite accountability into your life

Invite others to examine your choices, your finances, your speech, how you spend your time.  Ask them “do you think this is a wise way for me to use these resources this year?”  It can be a scary proposition because you may not like their answer!  But if you want to grow in wisdom, you’re going to need the help of others to live ethically.  So, as Ron and the team comes, let’s review our wall of wisdom Today’s Key Lesson: To Get Wisdom, LISTEN Attentively (set aside time to be with God) ASK Persistently (keep seeking, keep knocking) LIVE Ethically (you prove you have wisdom in your life when you act in wise ways).  Let me pray for you as we sing two songs and our prayer response team (Gary & Betty / Meg, myself and Sylvia Nickel).