The Wisdom of Faith

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The Wisdom of Faith

Proverbs 3:1-12; September 22, 2024; Don Willeman

September 22, 2024 • Don Willeman • Proverbs 3:1–12

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION

“Everything has been figured out, except how to live.”

~Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), French existentialist philosopher

“God writes straight with crooked lines.”

~Portuguese Proverb

“[‘Acknowledge God in all your ways’ (Proverbs 3:6)] has far more to do with one’s experience of God than with comprehension of doctrinal points about God.”

~John F. Evans, professor of Hebrew and Presbyterian clergyman

“The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits.”

“A madman is not someone who has lost his reason but someone who has lost everything but his reason”

~G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), author and literary critic

“Isn’t it interesting how simply being in proximity to God creates a moral self-awareness…? [T]here is something about God that is so pure, even if unspoken, that when near Him, it becomes so plain that nothing is like Him, especially in terms of righteousness.”

~Jackie Hill Perry, Holier Than Thou: How God’s Holiness Helps Us Trust Him

“It is easier for us to get to know God than to know our own soul...God is nearer to us than our own soul, for He is the ground in which it stands...so if we want to know our own soul, and enjoy its fellowship, it is necessary to seek it in our Lord God.”

“The greatest honor we can give Almighty God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love.”

~Lady Julian of Norwich (c. 1343-c.1416), theologian, anchoress, and mystic

“I have come to one conclusion: All that I am, all that I aspire to be, all that I was before, is by the grace of God.”

~Leymah Gbowee, Liberian peace activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and 2016 Dartmouth Commencement Speaker

SERMON PASSAGE

Proverbs 3:1-12 (ESV)

Proverbs 3

1 My son, do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep my commandments,

2 for length of days and years of life

and peace they will add to you.

3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;

bind them around your neck;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 So you will find favor and good success

in the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.

7 Be not wise in your own eyes;

fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

8 It will be healing to your flesh

and refreshment to your bones.

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth

and with the firstfruits of all your produce;

10 then your barns will be filled with plenty,

and your vats will be bursting with wine.

11 My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline

or be weary of his reproof,

12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,

as a father the son in whom he delights.

Hebrews 12

5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

The Duty and Delight of Wisdom

December 15, 2024 • Proverbs 8

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “…wisdom is the spring of joy, for the joy breaks out whenever and wherever the Creator’s wisdom is exercised.” ~Derek Kidner (1913-2008), British Old Testament scholar “You are happy when God blesses you, but not as happy as God is.” ~C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892), famed London preacher “People don’t get depressed when they face threats collectively; they get depressed when they feel isolated, lonely, or useless.” ~Jonathan Haidt in The Anxious Generation “To me there is in happiness an element of self-forgetfulness. You lose yourself in something outside yourself when you are happy; just as when you are desperately miserable you are intensely conscious of yourself, are a solid little lump of ego weighing a ton.” ~Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), English chemist, philosopher, and educator “There cannot be done so great an injury and displeasure to almighty God our Father, as to tread underfoot Christ, His only-begotten and well-beloved Son. All other sins in the world, gathered together in one, be not so heinous and detestable in the sight of God. And no wonder, for in Christ crucified, God doth show Himself most noble and glorious, even an almighty God, and most loving Father, in His only dear and chosen blessed Son. And therefore I count myself one of the most wicked and miserable sinners, because I have been so much contrary to Christ my Savior…. “But, now, what maketh me so bold and hardy, to presume to come to the Lord with such audacity and boldness, being so great a sinner? Truly, nothing but His own Word: for He saith, ‘Come to me all ye that labor, and are burdened, and I shall refresh you.’ What gentle, merciful, and comfortable words are these, to all sinners! What a most gracious, comfortable, and gentle saying was this, with such pleasant and sweet words to allure His enemies to come unto Him! Is there any worldly prince or magistrate that would show such clemency and mercy to their disobedient and rebellious subjects…? I suppose they would not with such words allure them…. But even as Christ is Prince of Princes and Lord of Lords, so His charity and mercy surmounteth all others.” ~Katharine Parr, the final wife of Henry VIII, in “Lamentations of a Sinner” “Only the unconditional love of God for sinners will inspire sinners to love God more than their sin.” ~Dr. John Ashley Null, English Reformation scholar SERMON PASSAGE Proverbs 8 (ESV) 1 Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? 2 On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; 3 beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: 4 “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man…. 22 “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, 26 before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man. 32 “And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. 34 Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. 35 For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, 36 but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.” John 1 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Power of the Tongue

December 8, 2024 • Chris Audino • Proverbs 15:1–4, Proverbs 18:20–21, Proverbs 21:23–24, James 1:26, Proverbs 13:3

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche “Words are not in the power of men; men are in the power of words.” ~Hermann Bahr “I consider looseness with words no less of a defect than looseness of the bowels.” ~John Calvin “Even though our tongue cannot be tamed by human nature, it can be tamed by the Holy Spirit.” ~Jackie Hill Perry “A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejection makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me. It takes very little to raise me up or thrust me down. Often I am like a small boat on the ocean, completely at the mercy of its waves. All the time and energy I spend in keeping some kind of balance and preventing myself from being tipped over and drowning shows my life is mostly a struggle for survival: not a holy struggle, but an anxious struggle resulting from the mistaken idea that it is the world that defines me.” ~Henri Nouwen “That non-bony, flappable instrument between our bicuspids can be an instrument of tremendous good or cataclysmic destruction. It can be used to build people up in the faith or to destroy their hard-earned reputations. It can help bring about peace among nations or can start a war.” ~Curtis Thomas SERMON PASSAGE Proverbs 13:3, 15:1-2, 4, 18:20-21, 21:23-24, James 1:26 (ESV) Proverbs 13 3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. Proverbs 15 1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly…. 4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 18 20 From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. Proverbs 21 23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. 24 “Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride. James 1 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.

The Wisdom of Marriage

December 1, 2024 • Don Willeman • Proverbs 31:10–12, Proverbs 31:27–31, Proverbs 14:26–27, Proverbs 18:22, Proverbs 5:15–18

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “In your love you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal—it is a status, an office…. As high as God is above man, so high are the sanctity, the rights, and the promise of marriage above the sanctity, the rights, and the promise of love. It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love. “God makes your marriage indissoluble. ‘What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder’. God joins you together in marriage; it is His act, not yours.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), to his niece on the announcement of her wedding, written while imprisoned for opposition to Adolf Hitler “Yet man being made last of the creatures, as the best and most excellent of all, Eve’s being made after Adam, and out of him, puts an honor upon that sex, as the glory of the man, 1 Cor. 11:7. If man is the head, she is the crown, a crown to her husband, the crown of the visible creation. The man was dust refined, but the woman was dust double-refined….” “That the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” ~Matthew Henry (1662-1714) in his commentary on Ephesians 5:21-25 “A good marriage is one where each partner secretly suspects they got the better deal.” ~Unknown “To keep your marriage brimming with love in the wedding cup, whenever you’re wrong, admit it; whenever you’re right, shut up.” ~Ogden Nash (1902-1971), American poet “Never laugh at your wife’s choices. You are one of them.” ~Unknown SERMON PASSAGE selected passages from Proverbs (ESV) Proverbs 2 1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you… 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God…. 16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, 17 who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God…. Proverbs 5 15 Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. 16 Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. 18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth…. Proverbs 12 4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones. Proverbs 17 1 Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. Proverbs 18 22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. Proverbs 19 14 House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord. Proverbs 31 10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life…. 27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” 30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. Proverbs 24 3 By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; 4 by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs 14 26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. 27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.