Sermon: A Book to Bring Us Back (Proverbs 1,2): Pastor Tito Dizon

William Bennett was the Secretaryof Education during the Reagan-Bush years. After that he was the drug czar.  In an article in Ladies Home Journal, entitled “How to Teach Children Values” he said: "We live in an era that almost seems dedicated to the corruption of the young, to assuring the loss of children’s innocence before their time.”

He went on to say: “Since 1960, there has been more than a 500% increase in violent crime, more than a 400% increase in out of wedlock births, tripling of the percentage of children living in single parent homes, tripling of the teenage suicide rate, doubling of the divorce rate, a drop of almost 75 points in the SAT scores of our students.”

We want to address the inculcation of character and virtue. We want to be Street Smart and also learn what God has said about what is right and wrong.  How you ought to treat people and how you ought to live. How your behavior ought to be different if you call yourself a believer in Jesus Christ.

For a world that has lost its way, God wrote a book to bring us back. That book is called Proverbs. We are going to study what it has to say, learning its principles, and trying to become different people so we can make a difference when we go out into the world.

The        Message                                                              NLT

PROVERBS 1 AUTHOR: 1-6 These are the wise sayings of Solomon,    David's son, Israel's king—

1 These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

If I could say anything about the Book of Proverbs, I think it would be this.

#1. The Book of Proverbs is practical and down to earth.

#2. The Book of Proverbs is timeless. Though it was written 3000 years ago, it speaks to us today.
#3. It is amazingly relevant.

What is a proverb? It is a collection of wise sayings & good advice for daily living.
Proverbs may very well exist in every culture. We have many proverbs in our culture. Here are just a few:

“Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.”
“A stitch in time saves nine.”
“Don’t cry over spilled milk.”
“Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
“Hind sight is better than foresight.”
“People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

Proverbs are principles. They tell you how life is supposed to work.

The book of Proverbs includes a collection of short powerful sayings that cover many different subjects  including  marriage, social behavior, friendship, justice, folly, poverty, wealth, family, love,  laziness, & warning against drinking  & adultery.

Examples are:

Proverbs 12:24: Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.
Proverbs 21:20: The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.
Proverbs 22:1: A good name is more desirable than riches
Proverbs 6:26: A prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.
Proverbs 11:24: Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.
Proverbs 28:13: People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.
Proverbs 14:34: Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
"It isn't enough simply to be educated and have knowledge, as important as education is. We also need wisdom, which is the ability to use knowledge. When a man knows the right and does the right he is a wise man.

The        Message                                                              NLT

PURPOSE: 2 Written down so we'll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it's going; 3 A manual for living, for learning what's right and just and fair;

2 Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. 3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.

The  benefits that God promises to you and me from studying this book.

PURPOSE

#1 v. 2 Written down so we'll know how to live well and right,

⁽Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline)

Common Sense. Voltaire said, “Common sense is not so common.” He was right! In a society that has grown increasingly litigious, we are inundated with warnings on products, mostly because some people lack common sense. Just read the following instructions.

On a hair dryer: Do not use while sleeping.
On an iron: Do not iron clothes on body.
On a chainsaw: Do not attempt to stop chain with your hand.

Common sense can be learned from experience or the teaching we receive from those we trust. But God’s Word is the best source of all to develop discernment and good judgment. God has packed this book with common sense. We have a lot to learn. Here’s an example of how to live well & right.

Proverbs 30:24: There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:
²⁵ Ants—they aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer.
²⁶ Hyraxes—they aren’t powerful, but they make their homes among the rocks.
²⁷ Locusts—they have no king, but they march in formation.
²⁸ Lizards—they are easy to catch, but they are found even in kings’ palaces.

Purpose # 2    to understand what life means and where it's going;
   ( to help them understand the insights of the wise).

Example:

Proverbs 27:23: Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds,
²⁴ for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.
²⁵ After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears and the mountain grasses are gathered in,
²⁶ your sheep will provide wool for clothing, and your goats will provide the price of a field.
²⁷ And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself, your family, and your servant girls.

Purpose #3   v.3 A manual for living,
⁽Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives),

We have a great need for wisdom.: Illustration
An imbecile man decides one day that he is sick and tired of people calling him stupid, so he decides to show his wife that he is really smart.  While his wife is off at work, he decides that he is going to paint a couple of rooms in the house. The next day, right after his wife leaves for work, he gets down to the task at hand. His wife arrives home at 5:30 and smells the distinctive smell of paint.

She walks into the living room and finds her husband lying on the floor in a pool of sweat. She notices that he is wearing a ski jacket and a fur coat at the same time. She rushes over and says, “Honey, are you all right?” He slowly nods his head yes.

“What are you doing?” she asks incredulously.

“I wanted to prove that I’m not so dumb,” he started, “and I wanted to do it by painting the house.”

 “Well why do you have both a ski jacket and a fur coat on?” she asks dumbfounded.

“Well,” he says, “I was reading the directions on the paint can and it said: For best results, put on two coats.”

Here are examples of what we can read in our manual.

Proverbs 13:1 A wise child accepts a parent’s discipline; a mocker refuses to listen to correction.
³ Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.
⁴ Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.
²² Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.
²⁴ Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.

Purose # 4 -    for learning what's right and just and fair;
⁽ to help them do what is right, just, and fair).

Examples:

^13:5 The godly hate lies; the wicked cause shame and disgrace.
¹¹ Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.

The        Message                                                              NLT

RECIPIENTS: 4To teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality.   5There's something here also for seasoned men and women, still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—   6 Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate, the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.

4 These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young. 5 Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance 6 by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.

Recipients:
#1 v.4  The challenge to the young & inexperienced (simple).

We are now living in what Newsweek calls the “age of enlightenment skepticism,” where it’s OK for you, but not OK for me; it’s right for you, but not right for me; wrong for you, but not wrong for me; you’ve got your way and I’ve got my way. There are no standards of absolute right and wrong.

But if there are no absolute standards, then dishonesty is just as good as honesty and hatred is just as good as compassion and laziness is just as good as hard work.

But God says there is absolute truth:

2 My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.
⁵ Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.
⁹ Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.

#2 v.5 The challenge to the seasoned men & women, the experienced (parents or grandparents etc.).

To Listen and then pass on what you learn.

The wise man never ceases to be a learner. He never gets to a point where he feels satisfied with his attainments.  Many a man, who starts out with great promise in early life, by and by loses his energy and fails of his early hope, because in the elation of his first successes he stopped learning, and then growth was at an end, and when growth stops decay begins.

Chuck Colson called this the “Turning Point He said that America now has gone down to such a point that we basically have done something that has never happened in the whole history of America.  Because we have moved away from a moral spiritual foundation, we have now at the beginning of the 21st century, for the first time raised an entire generation of young people who have no conscience.  We have a whole generation of teenagers, pre-teens and young adults who have no conscience because their parents have no sense of morality or right and wrong.  Since the parents had nothing, they had nothing to pass along to their teenagers.

We have so much to benefit from God’s Word:

^8:14 Common sense and success belong to me. Insight and strength are mine.

¹⁵ Because of me, kings reign, and rulers make just decrees.
¹⁶ Rulers lead with my help, and nobles make righteous judgments.

¹⁸ I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice.

²⁰ I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice.
²¹ Those who love me inherit wealth.

WHERE TO START:  7 Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Verse 7 is the theme of the book of Proverbs.  

[This sermon was preached on June 3, 2012 at Folsom Community Church by Pastor Tito Dizon]

NIV “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…”

A. Heb. word “Beginning”.  Prime or first.  All true knowledge begins with the fear of the Lord.  It means that which is first in order of priorities, that which is basic or foundational.  It does not mean that the fear of the Lord is not only where one starts learning wisdom… Rather the fear of the Lord is the controlling principle, the foundation, on which one must build a life of wisdom.

B. What is meant by fear of the Lord?

1.  Recognition of His might and holiness.  What is the fear of the Lord? It is not cringing terror.  It is respecting God for who he is. It is understanding that God is God and you are not. The fear of the Lord is to bow the knee before Almighty God and acknowledge that he made the world and that it runs according to his plan.

2. It is an affectionate awe & reverence that results in humbly bowing to the Father's will.
3. Submission. It is a desire not to sin against Him because His wrath is so awful and His love is so awesomeFear to displease Him.  Fear to disobey Him.

4. "Fear" includes not only a correct way of thinking about God but a correct relationship with Yahweh.

B. "Knowledge" -Even though many unbelievers have acquired much information without the fear of God, true knowledge rests on a relationship to God that revelation supports.

Illustration: Imagine standing in His presence.

1. Ex. Appointment with the Pres. Of the USA. Respect, honor due to the position, not do anything to displease him….
2. How much more God.

C. How is fear obtained? Sign “No Fear”- No Bible

1. Proper concept of God. Where: Bible, Godly People. From Genesis:   Creator. Righteous- hates what is unrighteous. Just- Judge us. Fair- give us what we deserve, Gracious, Merciful. To: Revelation:  Redeemer

Let me give 3 observations here:

#1 The road of wisdom leads to a temple, not to a palace.
#2 All education that leaves God out omits the central principle of the universe.
#3. God honors those who build their lives on the unshakeable foundation of his unchanging truth.

Let’s go back to God’s word and let’s get Street Smart.

A  friend encouraged me to read a chapter from Proverbs each day. One chapter each day takes me through this marvelous book of God’s wisdom every month. Ex.Billy Graham: “You can get knowledge in college but wisdom comes from God.” One chapter of Proverbs every day. Try it this month and see how God’s Word will give you the wisdom to transform information into insight.

Application:
Read 1 proverbs per day: share your insights in our facebook

 “Fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

And there is the arrogant, stubborn, hard-headed fool who will not listen to anybody’s advice. That’s the word used here. It’s the most extreme form of the word.

Sources: Thanks to the notes of Dr. Thomas Constable, NIV Introductions in Proverbs, Ray Pritchard, Chuck Smith, Rich Cathers, Matthew Henry