Listen, Proverbs 1:8-33J. Josh Smith, MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church, attended June 20, 2010
These are conversations between father and son that we get to listen into. They are not casual conversations. You can sense the love, passion, and desperate emotions of the father in encouraging his son to walk the way of wisdom. He is pleading with him. He focuses here through chapter 9, not on the specifics of what one should do, but the character qualities that one should possess.
Although they are conversations between a father and his son, they are also communications between our Father and His children. When we see a father in Proverbs we should think of our Heavenly Father. When we see children in Proverbs we should think of us, the children of God, those who have repented and trusted Him for our salvation. When we see wisdom in Proverbs we should think of Christ.
The father says that you have to learn to listen to walk the way of wisdom. Listening is mentioned in every single chapter of Proverbs. Learning to listen, i.e. to listen right, is imperative. Listening as Proverbs defines it is listening externally and responding internally.
The voice you listen to determines the direction you go.
We are bombarded with thousands of voices. You hear a voice in every book, song, movie and friend. All are telling you of a different way to live. You can’t escape these voices even when alone. Our mind and flesh has its own voice. We must practice “discerning listening”. The father doesn’t shelter the son from these other voices. There is the perverse voice, the wicked voice, the idolatrous voice, and many others. All are the voice of folly.
The voice of wisdom is standing at the crossroads, warning and inviting.
The father tells his son that he:
1. Must hear what you have heard – Proverbs 1:8-9
The son here is obviously in a home where they took seriously the command of God in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
Listen right. The father knows there are two kinds of hearing. He wants the son to outwardly hear and inwardly obey. The way to do this is not to close down all the voices. The way to do this is to tell them what they are going to hear and teach them how to discern. God commands all families to “homeschool”. Not necessarily science and math, but God’s instructions.
2. Must see the stupidity of folly – Proverbs 1:10-32
He shows here the plan, promise and path of the fool. Their plan always makes light of the things God takes seriously. Their plan always breaks down.
Proverbs 1:14 shows the promise of brotherhood and acceptance. They also promise life (Proverbs 1:12) and wealth (Proverbs 1:13). All of their promises (life, wealth and brotherhood) can only be fulfilled by God.
Proverbs 1:17 compares their folly to a bird. No bird watches a net and just sits there waiting to be captured. Even the small brained bird knows when danger is coming and flees.
Proverbs 1:18 is a re-statement of Proverbs 1:11. It turns their own words against them. They are ambushing themselves. They are dumber than a bird in that they don’t even see that their plan leads to their own destruction.
Proverbs 1:18-32 shows us that they are going to want wisdom at some point in their lives but they won’t get it. Proverbs 29:1 tells us that they will reach the point of no return if they continually ignore wisdom. Your heart hardens every time it is ignored. Folly always writes checks that can’t be cashed. If you listen to folly you are accepting fraudulent checks that can never be deposited. The promises can’t be fulfilled.
3. Must listen to the voice of wisdom – Proverbs 1:33
Christ can keep every promise He makes. His path always leads to life.
The plan of wisdom is always the plan to sanctify you, to make you like Christ. Proverbs 8:35-36; Proverbs 3:17, 23; and Proverbs 9:6 highlight and contrast the way of life.
The call of wisdom in this first chapter of Proverbs reminds us of Jesus’ call in Matthew 11:28-30. The offer of wisdom is always the offer of Jesus Christ. If you refuse to listen you will receive the fullness of the consequences of your decision.
What are the prevailing voices in your life? Who has your ear? Choose to immerse yourself in the voice of God – His Word.
Train yourself, through the constant reading and memorizing of the Word of God, to recognize the messages that you are hearing. If you are being bombarded with opposing voices, you must fill your mind even more with the Word of God. We must think carefully and critically about the messages that we are hearing every day. Satan is purposefully using the messages from media, friends, and culture to lead us down the path that leads to destruction. Therefore, we must moment by moment examine them and reject them. Every moment of the day, recognize that each choice you make is leading you down a certain path. Choose wisely and quickly, lest you be forced to eat the fruit of your wrong choices.
NOTE: These are my notes, taken as I listened to the sermon live. Any errors, misunderstandings or misinterpretations are my responsibility entirely and not the fault of the preacher.
These are conversations between father and son that we get to listen into. They are not casual conversations. You can sense the love, passion, and desperate emotions of the father in encouraging his son to walk the way of wisdom. He is pleading with him. He focuses here through chapter 9, not on the specifics of what one should do, but the character qualities that one should possess.
Although they are conversations between a father and his son, they are also communications between our Father and His children. When we see a father in Proverbs we should think of our Heavenly Father. When we see children in Proverbs we should think of us, the children of God, those who have repented and trusted Him for our salvation. When we see wisdom in Proverbs we should think of Christ.
The father says that you have to learn to listen to walk the way of wisdom. Listening is mentioned in every single chapter of Proverbs. Learning to listen, i.e. to listen right, is imperative. Listening as Proverbs defines it is listening externally and responding internally.
The voice you listen to determines the direction you go.
We are bombarded with thousands of voices. You hear a voice in every book, song, movie and friend. All are telling you of a different way to live. You can’t escape these voices even when alone. Our mind and flesh has its own voice. We must practice “discerning listening”. The father doesn’t shelter the son from these other voices. There is the perverse voice, the wicked voice, the idolatrous voice, and many others. All are the voice of folly.
The voice of wisdom is standing at the crossroads, warning and inviting.
The father tells his son that he:
1. Must hear what you have heard – Proverbs 1:8-9
The son here is obviously in a home where they took seriously the command of God in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
Listen right. The father knows there are two kinds of hearing. He wants the son to outwardly hear and inwardly obey. The way to do this is not to close down all the voices. The way to do this is to tell them what they are going to hear and teach them how to discern. God commands all families to “homeschool”. Not necessarily science and math, but God’s instructions.
2. Must see the stupidity of folly – Proverbs 1:10-32
He shows here the plan, promise and path of the fool. Their plan always makes light of the things God takes seriously. Their plan always breaks down.
Proverbs 1:14 shows the promise of brotherhood and acceptance. They also promise life (Proverbs 1:12) and wealth (Proverbs 1:13). All of their promises (life, wealth and brotherhood) can only be fulfilled by God.
Proverbs 1:17 compares their folly to a bird. No bird watches a net and just sits there waiting to be captured. Even the small brained bird knows when danger is coming and flees.
Proverbs 1:18 is a re-statement of Proverbs 1:11. It turns their own words against them. They are ambushing themselves. They are dumber than a bird in that they don’t even see that their plan leads to their own destruction.
Proverbs 1:18-32 shows us that they are going to want wisdom at some point in their lives but they won’t get it. Proverbs 29:1 tells us that they will reach the point of no return if they continually ignore wisdom. Your heart hardens every time it is ignored. Folly always writes checks that can’t be cashed. If you listen to folly you are accepting fraudulent checks that can never be deposited. The promises can’t be fulfilled.
3. Must listen to the voice of wisdom – Proverbs 1:33
Christ can keep every promise He makes. His path always leads to life.
The plan of wisdom is always the plan to sanctify you, to make you like Christ. Proverbs 8:35-36; Proverbs 3:17, 23; and Proverbs 9:6 highlight and contrast the way of life.
The call of wisdom in this first chapter of Proverbs reminds us of Jesus’ call in Matthew 11:28-30. The offer of wisdom is always the offer of Jesus Christ. If you refuse to listen you will receive the fullness of the consequences of your decision.
What are the prevailing voices in your life? Who has your ear? Choose to immerse yourself in the voice of God – His Word.
Train yourself, through the constant reading and memorizing of the Word of God, to recognize the messages that you are hearing. If you are being bombarded with opposing voices, you must fill your mind even more with the Word of God. We must think carefully and critically about the messages that we are hearing every day. Satan is purposefully using the messages from media, friends, and culture to lead us down the path that leads to destruction. Therefore, we must moment by moment examine them and reject them. Every moment of the day, recognize that each choice you make is leading you down a certain path. Choose wisely and quickly, lest you be forced to eat the fruit of your wrong choices.
NOTE: These are my notes, taken as I listened to the sermon live. Any errors, misunderstandings or misinterpretations are my responsibility entirely and not the fault of the preacher.
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2 comments:
great notes! great preacher! GREAT GOD! -lg
Thank you and AMEN!
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