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Sunday 15 February 2015

'HAVE A *HOLY* NEW YEAR'

Rev. Juliet Schimpf
By Rev. Juliet Schimpf   


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Broadcast Notes

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LINK to CFRA broadcast of Sunday, February 15th, 2015) 
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'Have a HOLY New Year'
God is more interested in our holiness than our happiness:

C.S. Lewis:  "I'm not sure that God wants us to be happy. I think He wants us to be able to love and be loved. He wants us to grow-up. We think our childish toys bring us all the happiness there is and our nursery is the whole wide world. But something must drive us out of the nursery to the world of others and that something is suffering.  "You see, we are like blocks of stone out of which the sculptor carves forms of men. The blows of His chisel, which hurt so much, are what makes us perfect."

On Proverbs
*  Proverbs are like guardrails—they protect and they direct us.
*  Andy Stanley’s definition of a proverb:  "A personal standard of behaviour that becomes a matter of conscience."
*  Personal "guardrails" guide your conscience.  Standards of behaviour that, if you violate, you will feel guilty (i.e. your conscience is bothered).  If you "bump up against it", your conscience is pricked, and you receive a warning regarding finances, dating, marriage, etc.
*  We need to set up some "personal guardrails" so that we have some "conscience crashes" before heading head-on into the terminal areas.

On Wisdom

Wisdom was an important commodity in the ancient Near East.  Every ruler had his council of "wise men" whom he consulted when making important decisions:
                        *  Joseph was considered a wise man in Egypt
                        *  Daniel and his friends were honored for their wisdom while serving in Babylon. 

*  God wants His children today to acquire wisdom:   Ephesians 5:15  "walk circumspectly [carefully], not as fools but as wise"

*  The Book of Proverbs is all about wisdom:  the words "wise" and "wisdom" are used at least 125 times, because the aim of the book is to help us acquire and apply god's wisdom to the decisions and activities of daily life.

* Several synonyms for wisdom:
*  1:2a, 3a:  "Instruction" or "training"--the first synonym for wisdom, giving notice at once that wisdom will be hard-won, a quality of character as much as of the mind
* 1:2b:  The second synonym for wisdom is "understanding" or "insight"--and it usually appears alongside the words "discern between" (e.g. "discern between good and evil")
*  1:3a:  The third synonym is "wise dealing"--i.e. good sense, practical wisdom, savoir-faire...Its particular character shows in its verb-form, which often means "be successful"
*  1:4a:  shrewdness and discretion:  the godly woman or man is in the best sense a man of affairs, who takes the trouble to know his way about, and plan his course realistically
*  1:5  "knowledge" and 'Learning"--implying not so much an informed mind as a knowing of truth and indeed of God himself
           
Wisdom is practical:
*  The word translated "knowledge" comes from a Hebrew root that describes skill in hunting (Gen. 25:27), sailing (2 Chron. 8:18), and playing a musical instrument    (1 Sam. 16:16). 
*  The Hebrew root for "learning" means "to lay hold of, to grasp, to acquire or buy."
*  The word translated "counsel" is related to the verb "to steer a ship"

PROVERBS 3

1.        INSPECT ME

COMMAND
My son, do not forget my [a]teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;
For length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.
Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.

PROMISE
So you will find favor and good [
b]repute
In the sight of God and man.

*  God gave Solomon great wisdom (1 Kings 3:5-15), so that people came from the ends of the earth to listen to him and returned home amazed (1 Kings 4:29-34; Matt. 12:42) 

2.      DIRECT ME
3.     Wisdom is all about choosing the right path.

*  Proverbs 1:20-23  "Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square.  At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:  "How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?  And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge?  Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you..."

*  In chapters 1, 8, and 9, Wisdom calls to men and women to follow her and enjoy salvation, wealth, integrity, truth, and life. 
*  In chapters 5, 6, 7, folly calls to the same people and offers them immediate satisfaction but doesn't warn them of the tragic consequences of rejecting Wisdom: condemnation, poverty, wickedness, deceit, and death.

COMMAND
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge [SUBMIT TO] Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
 

PROMISE
It will be healing to your [c]body
And refreshment to your bones.
Honor the Lord from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;
10 So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.

*  Andy Stanley:  “Direction, not intention, determines destination.”

3.  CORRECT ME

PROVERBS 3  "7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; 
    fear the Lord and shun evil. 
This will bring health to your body 
    and nourishment to your bones."

James 1:5 says:  “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.” 

COMMAND
11 My son, do not reject the [d]discipline of the Lord
Or loathe His reproof,
12 For whom the Lord loves He reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

PROMISE
13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom
And the man who gains understanding.
14 For her profit is better than the profit of silver
And her gain better than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than [
e]jewels;
And nothing you desire compares with her.
16 [
f]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 take hold of her,
And happy are all who hold her fast.

4.  PROTECT ME

COMMAND
19 The Lord by wisdom founded the earth,
By understanding He established the heavens.
20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up
And the skies drip with dew.
21 My son, let them not [
g]vanish from your sight;
Keep sound wisdom and discretion,
22 So they will be life to your soul
And adornment to your neck.

PROMISE
23 Then you will walk in your way securely
And your foot will not stumble.
24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

*  God blessed the first 20 years of Solomon's reign.  He had peace on every side of his kingdom, God blessed him with wealth (an annual income equivalent to $ 328 million in our day); he completed the temple that David his father instructed him to build; he designed and built for himself a magnificent palace.

5. PERFECT ME

COMMAND
25 Do not be afraid of sudden fear
Nor of the [
h]onslaught of the wicked when it comes;
26 For the Lord will be [
i]your confidence
And will keep your foot from being caught.
27 Do not withhold good from [j]those to whom it is due,
When it is in your power to do it.
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it,”
When you have it with you.
29 Do not devise harm against your neighbor,
While he lives securely beside you.
30 Do not contend with a man without cause,
If he has done you no harm.
31 Do not envy a man of violence
And do not choose any of his ways.

PROMISE
32 For the devious are an abomination to the Lord;
But [
k]He is intimate with the upright.
33 The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.
34 Though He scoffs at the scoffers,
Yet He gives grace to the afflicted.
35 The wise will inherit honor,
But fools [
l]display dishonor.

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word. Where would we be without it! Your Word, Lord, is the apple of our eye.
And, today, we dare to say this prayer together: “God inspect me. God direct me. God correct me. God protect me and God, yes, perfect me, through your Word.”
I pledge in 2015, to study your Bible, and put Christ first in my life; choosing Him above happiness, knowing that you desire, ultimately, my holiness, in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Rev. Juliet Schimpf
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To listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link:

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