Life For Dummies

Sermon Notes from Celebration Service: Sunday, November 2

Once upon a time, a perfect man and a perfect woman met. After a perfect courtship, they had a perfect wedding. Their life was, of course "perfect." One snowy, stormy Christmas Eve, this perfect couple was driving their perfect car (an SUV) along a winding road, when they noticed someone at the side of the road in distress. Being the perfect couple they stopped to help. There stood Santa Claus with a huge bundle of toys. Not wanting to disappoint any children on the eve of Christmas, the perfect couple loaded Santa and his toys into their vehicle. Soon they were driving along delivering the toys. Unfortunately, the driving conditions deteriorated and the perfect couple and Santa Claus had an accident. Only one of them survived the accident. Who was the survivor? The perfect woman survived. She's the only one who really existed in the first place. Everyone knows there is no Santa Claus and there is no such thing as a perfect man. So, if there is no perfect man and no Santa Claus, the perfect woman must have been driving. This explains why there was an accident.

Today we begin a new sermon series entitled: A Holiday Road Trip…Searching for Wisdom

Let’s join the wise men searching for the messiah
Let’s take a road trip this holiday season
Instead of engaging in all the unwise behaviors of the season…like maxing your credit card
Let’s search for wisdom

There’s no better place on earth to find wisdom than the book of Proverbs
Did you know that Proverbs has 31 chapters
One for each day of the month
I want to challenge you this holiday season
Read a chapter a day of Proverbs
I promise you’ll get addicted and keep reading long after the challenge is up
Who will take this challenge this holiday season???

I’m sure you’ve heard of the dummy books…
Over 125 millions copies sold in over 39 languages…
It has a long way to go to catch up with the bible…
But, this proves that people have a need to understand difficult subjects in simple words…
There’s even a dummies.com!
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but there’s a dummies book for everything…
laptops for dummies, gluten-free cooking for dummies, paint kits for dummies, plumbing for dummies, and the list never ends…

We all need a Life for Dummies book to cover all the questions of life…help for the tough spots…
Guess what, we already have it…It’s found in the Old Testament, the book of Proverbs…
An important part of the Holy Spirit inspired 66 books of the Bible…

What is this book all about?
I’m glad you asked…

Proverbs is different from other books of the Bible…

Let’s turn in our Bibles to 1 Kings, chapter 4, verses 29 to 34

These words of scripture motivate me to read King Solomon’s proverbs…
But not just read, memorize
read them slowly
chew on them
repeat

What is a proverb?
I’m glad you asked…

A Proverb is a short, memorable statement that describes how life usually works.

We have all kinds of proverbs in our society…
Finish these statements for me…
A penny saved is a…penny earned
Look before you…leap
An apple a day keeps the…doctor away

A Proverb is meant to be short, sweet – memorable and easy to apply to your life.

My pastor, Brent Sorlien said… The book of Proverbs could be called “Life for Dummies” because it tells us how to get wisdom!

What is wisdom?
I’m glad you asked…

First let’s talk about what wisdom is not!
When you hear the word you might disqualify yourself…
Wisdom is not about IQ, education, reading books or having a long, grey beard…or maybe you think of yoda…

A minister, a Boy Scout, and a computer expert were the only passengers on a small plane. The pilot came back to the cabin and said that the plane was going down but there were only three parachutes and four people. The pilot added, “I should have one of the parachutes because I have a wife and three small children.” So he took one and jumped.The computer whiz said, “I should have one of the parachutes because I am the smartest man in the world and everyone needs me.” So he took one and jumped.The minister turned to the Boy Scout and with a sad smile said, “You are young and I have lived a rich life, so you take the remaining parachute, and I’ll go down with the plane.”The boy Scout said, “Relax, Reverend, the smartest man in the world just picked up my knapsack and jumped out!

Smart but not wise!

I have good news for you!
· Wisdom is for everyone!
We all have an equal opportunity to gain wisdom! Each person in this room! You can enjoy as much wisdom as anyone here – if you want it!
· Wisdom is seeing life from God’s viewpoint!
We cannot see past the end of our noses; God knows everything! Who knows what tomorrow holds? Next week, next year? Who knows all things! God does!

· Wisdom is about making right choices in life!

Knowledge: The stove is hot
Wisdom: I am not going to touch the stove!

Knowledge: I want to have a great marriage!
Wisdom: I will make the choices that lead to a great marriage!

Knowledge: I want a good relationship with God!
Wisdom: I will put the effort I need into making a good relationship with God!

· Wisdom is practical!
It is not about asking dumb, theoretical questions – “Can God make a rock so big that he cannot lift it?” Or, “Did Adam and Eve have bellybuttons?” No, wisdom is all about living right, living well, making life work.

“Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.
Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others.” James 3:13-17 The Message

“A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.” 15:1 NLT

Is that practical or what? Would living by that proverb make your life better with your friends, roommates, spouse and coworkers?

How do we get wisdom?
Man, you guys are asking good questions today…

1. Wisdom has a starting point.

Get this verse, most important one in the book; sets the stage for everything else:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7
let’s memorize it
I want to challenge you to memorize all the main scriptures of this series…

“The fear of the Lord” does not mean to be afraid of God, as you would be afraid of an unpredictable alcoholic father – or someone that you can’t trust.
To “fear God” is to honor him, respect him, stand in awe of him – give him the worship that he alone deserves!

Fearing God puts him in the right place. If we don’t do that, we put ourselves in the place that only God should occupy.

You cannot have true wisdom if you put yourself in the middle of the universe; if you do not acknowledge God as the Creator of this world and Jesus as his Son, the Savior of the world!
You can be smart, but you won’t be wise. In fact, some of the “smartest” people are very unwise; they trust in their own brain power rather than the revealed wisdom of God!

2. Wisdom has a cost!

You’ve got to place a value on wisdom.
and when you do, once that price is payed
maybe it’s self-discipline or running from sin or character building
this is what scripture promises

13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,
14 for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
those who lay hold of her will be blessed.” 3:13-17

3. Wisdom has a condition – you must ask for it!

In Proverbs 8 & 9 wisdom is portrayed as a person – as a woman! (and all the ladies say)
And she stands on the street corners, calling out, crying out to those who pass by, inviting them to listen to her. But, we all have a choice.

9:13 – Folly is also a woman, who cries out. Who will we listen to?

Desire wisdom, seek it, listen to it – she cries out, she is not hidden, but we must be receptive to it!

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5

And, God has made that “asking” to be easy. We don’t need to go to the church building, talk to a priest – we don’t need to say “Please, please, please!” and beg God.

We can just ask the Holy Spirit – who is with us and lives inside of us as God’s children – for wisdom. Right now!

I invite you to try that this week. Let’s do it right now!

· Where do you need God’s wisdom?
Are you showing God the respect, honor, awe that he deserves?