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
3 My
son, do not forget my [a]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 Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
But let your heart keep my commandments;
2 For length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.
3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
* 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
5 Trust
in the Lord with all
your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge [SUBMIT TO] Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge [SUBMIT TO] Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
PROMISE
8 It
will be healing to your [c]body
And refreshment to your bones.
9 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.
And refreshment to your bones.
9 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.
8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones."
fear the Lord and shun evil.
8 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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