Every day we are faced with lots of choices, if you don’t believe me, just walk down the cereal aisle at the grocery store. Do I get name brand or generic, apple jacks or fruit loops, granola or raisin bran, chex or special K. And the list goes on and on and on. While some decisions we make might be small, like what kind of cereal I will buy, some are big. As a senior in High School I had been accepted at 2 big ten universities and had to decide which one to attend. That’s a big decision for someone who had just turned 18. I chose MSU and while I went there for HRI management, I realized after a job at a hotel that maybe that wasn’t for me. I spent the next two years searching for majors and once again trying to make a big decision.
There are so many big decisions we have to make in life. After graduation we have to decide where to live and what job to take. There are decisions about relationships and do I want to get married. Then there is the decision about children - should we have them, should we not, and how many. I told my parents once that I didn’t want to get married but I wanted children. We have decisions once we are in a job about staying put, moving up in the company or moving on. We face decisions about retirement, financial planning, how to get out of doubt, do we buy a house now or wait. Every day we are faced with decisions and every season we are faced with decisions and the decisions we make are important because the decisions we make, make us.
Who we are today is because of the decisions we made last week and last year and even years ago, so how can we make sure that we are making the best decisions today so we can be who we want to be tomorrow. I can tell you what we shouldn’t use to make decisions, and that is the infamous magic 8 ball. As fun as this might be, it is not a good way to make decisions. Another way to not make decisions is to open the Bible and point. I know people who have done this, ok, I have done this, but I’m telling you, the Bible is not a magic 8 ball where we just ask God to make the right verse pop up for us. There is a better way to make decisions which leads us to our better verse for today.
We are in a series looking at verses that can help us live a better life and today we are going to look at what God says is needed for us to make better decisions. Proverbs 16:16, How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!
This teaching comes from King Solomon. Solomon was the son of David and when he became the King of Israel, he honored God with a sacrifice of not 10 or 100 bulls but 1,000. Solomon was honoring God in a big way and God was so moved by his heart that he said to Solomon, ask for anything and I will give it to you.
If God said this to you, what would you ask for? And no, you can’t ask for 3 more wishes, this is God not a genie in a bottle. Would you ask for money? Would you ask to become vastly influential on social media because they all seem to have such great lives? Would you ask for a loving relationship, a stronger marriage, or healthy, strong, and faith filled children. What would you ask for?
As a new king, we might think that Solomon would have asked for all the money he would need to be a good king and reign of God’s people, or the power needed to subdue all his enemies, or the influence to shape his nation and the world. Solomon could have had anything but what he asked for was wisdom.
Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 2 Chronicles 1:10.
Solomon asked for wisdom so he could lead God’s people. Solomon understood that if he was going to be financially successful, a strong military leader, and be able to handle all the needs of a nation, he was going to need wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. These things were more valuable than gold and silver. So Solomon asked for wisdom, and God gave it to him.
Solomon was given God’s wisdom and he shared some of that wisdom with the world in the Old Testament book of Proverbs.
If you want wisdom - reading the book of Proverbs is a good place to start. There are 31 chapters so you can read one chapter a day. There are also studies on proverbs that help you read it thematically so you can gain wisdom for relationships and parenting, finances and money, or work and success. If you want wisdom, this is a great place to start. God’s wisdom is right here for us to read, but let’s look at three other ways we can gain wisdom.
1. Fear God.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
Now let’s be clear, when Solomon talks about the fear of the Lord he isn’t talking about being afraid of God. He’s talking about reverence. He’s talking about understanding the sheer holiness and righteousness and power of God. While there is nothing wrong with having a personal and intimate relationship with God, and Jesus Himself said we can call God, Abba, which isn’t Father as much as it is Daddy, we also need to understand that this Dad in heaven is also the creator of the heavens and the earth. God is holy. God is all powerful and all knowing. If God showed up in our lives with His full power and might, we would not be able to stand.
This Advent we are going to hear about the angels who appeared to Mary, Joseph and the shepherds and each time they appeared they had to say the same thing. Fear Not. There was a reason the angels had to keep telling people to not be afraid, it’s because each time the angels appeared, people were afraid. These spiritual beings and messengers of God were so powerful and other worldly that scared the “you know what” out of Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, but they were just angels.
Think about what would happen if God Himself in all His glory, power and might showed up in your life. We would be on our knees, or on our faces, unable to look up. In the full presence of God there would be no worlds, no thoughts, no actions that we could muster. We would be humbled.
Maybe this kind of holy fear is needed because it will be the only thing that will help us overcome our other fears. What often holds us back in life and faith is fear. Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of the unknown and fear of what others might think of us can all keep us from making Godly decisions, so maybe we need our fear of God to overcome our other fears. Standing in awe of who God is might be the first step we have to take in order to accept and then apply God’s wisdom in our lives.
When I need a healthy fear of God, when I need to remember just how awesome and powerful God is, I turn to this passage from the book of Job. It’s a little long, but bear with me and see if this doesn’t humble you just a bit. Job 38-39 (Not on screen)
This humbles me. This reminds me that God is God and I’m not. It reminds me that as good as my thoughts and my ideas and my ways are, God’s are infinitely greater and that I need to learn from Him, listen to Him, live for Him and truly love Him. This kind of fear and awe reminds me that my wisdom is nothing compared to God.
Once we have this healthy and holy fear of God, we can get wisdom by doing something so simple that it seems almost silly. If we want wisdom we need to ask God for wisdom. It’s so simple and yet too often we just don’t ask. Jesus’ brother James said,
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5.
2. Ask God.
Ask for wisdom and it will be given to you. Jesus said, Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened. If we want wisdom we need to ask for it. That’s all Solomon did, he asked and God provided.
One reason we may not ask God for wisdom is that He just might give it to us and then we would have to change how we live. God’s wisdom might change our plans and our futures. For example, God’s wisdom on finances might completely change our spending plan because God says we should give to Him first, give to others generously and always give joyfully.
Tonight begins the grow workshop which will look at how we can grow in our faith by focusing on the same three relationships that formed the foundation of Jesus’ life: a relationship with God, the church, and the world. Each relationship is shaped by 5 rhythms and one of the rhythms in our relationship with the church is generosity. We grow closer to God and one another when we use our time and treasure, or our money, to further the kingdom of God.
God’s wisdom tells us to give to God first and to give to God’s work a full 10%. God says if we do that we will be blessed and we will be a blessing. But following this wisdom is not easy and at times it doesn’t even seem to make financial sense. With inflation and a looming recession, it might not make sense to give 10%, or more, to the church for the work of God. When gas prices go up 20 cents in a few days, it’s hard to see how giving more to God will help our financial situation, but it is God’s wisdom. Sometimes we might not ask for God’s wisdom because it might lead us to places we don’t want to go or ask us to do things we don’t want to do.
God’s wisdom might tell us that we need to fight for relationships when it would be easier to walk away, or that we need to scale back our hopes and dreams to care for our family. We might not ask God for wisdom because we don’t want to hear it and then have to follow it. But if we genuinely want to grow closer to God and be in line with God’s will for our lives, if we want the better life God says is available to us, then we need to ask for wisdom, trust God will provide it and then apply it to our lives.
If we are going to ask God for wisdom, then we have to be willing to go to the one place we know where we can find it, God’s word. While I don’t advocate for the open and point method of using the Bible, this is God’s wisdom for us. It is a letter God has written to us, it is a conversation God is having with us, it reveals the heart and mind of God so that we can know God more. As we faithfully read God’s word, we will find all the wisdom and understanding we will need for a better life.
To gain wisdom we need to fear God and ask for wisdom and then:
3. Hang out with wise people.
Proverbs 13:20. Walk with the wise and become wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
We encourage people to join a small group here at Faith Church because who we hang out with makes a difference. I’m not saying everyone in those groups is wise, but we are trying to gain wisdom and grow in our faith. Who we hang out with makes a difference. When I started at MSU I was surrounded by a bunch of 18 year old guys who wanted to party. My dorm was an all male dorm and I lived on an all freshman, so you can imagine what it was like. I thought that was what I wanted but at the same time I joined a small group Bible Study and began to spend time with people who loved Jesus. It was that love and their lives that made a difference in me. Faith is more caught than taught and learning God’s wisdom can come from simply spending time with wise and faithful people.
If you want to learn the wisdom of a long and faithful marriage, find a couple who has been married for 50+ years and hang out with them. If you want to learn how to serve God and others, find people who are serving and serve with them. If you want to learn more about the Bible, join a Bible study and learn with others. Wisdom doesn’t come out of thin air, it comes when we seek wise people who can teach us and lead us.
It is our hope that through the life of Faith Church you can rub shoulders with and learn from people who are seeking wisdom. Whether it is in small groups, Sunday School classes, Bible studies, or through spiritual coaches that we can provide, or the people you meet serving on a mission team or at football dinner, there are people right here who are willing to walk with you in life and faith.
As much as Jesus taught others during His life, the disciples learned more by simply doing life with Jesus day after day for three years. They wanted faith and wisdom so they spent time with the embodiment of faith and wisdom - Jesus. One of the best ways to get wisdom is to hang out with wise people. Find them and ask if you can spend time with them. As a young pastor I was moved by the wisdom, faith, leadership skills of another pastor in the area. I asked Steven if I could be part of the things he was doing, and by walking alongside him as I was able to learn and grow. I learned God’s wisdom by hanging out with wise and Godly people.
Wisdom is better than gold and silver or power and influence. Wisdom can make our lives better and God willingly shares His wisdom with us. We can get wisdom.
Fear God.
Ask God.
Hang out with wise people.
Get wisdom any way and every way you can because it will help you experience a better life.
How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver! Proverbs 16:16
Next Steps
Better Is Wisdom
Memorize this week’s better passage.
How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver! Proverbs 16:16
If God said you could have anything you wanted, what would you ask for? Why do you think Solomon asked for wisdom?
What did God give him in addition to wisdom? See 1 Kings 3:1-15.
Three ways to gain wisdom:
1. Fear God
● Describe a time you truly feared God.
● What causes you to stand in awe of who God is?
● Read Job 38-39. How does this help you fear God?
● Why is the fear of God the beginning of wisdom?
2. Ask God
● We are told to ask God for wisdom. Read James 1:5
● Why might we not want to ask God for wisdom?
● When have you asked for wisdom and what was the outcome?
● What one area do you need God’s wisdom in order to make your life better?
3. Hang out with wise people
● Outside of your family, who do you “hang out” with the most?
● Where can you go to hang out with wise and faithful people?
● Consider joining a small group or service ministry of Faith Church. (Stop at the connection table or look online for current opportunities.)
● If there is a wise person you look up to, ask to spend time with them.
