Introduction to Wisdom

Good afternoon, brethren. Nice to be here on a beautiful 70-degree Sabbath afternoon. Maybe we're in a transition zone as we move from summer into the school year. Maybe the temperatures will become more fall-like as we move along, but it is certainly a blessing to be here on a pleasant Sabbath afternoon. Welcome to those of you also who are online.

During the last decade, I don't know how many of you follow financial news, but during the last decade, America experienced one of the longest-running bull markets. In fact, it was the longest-running bull market in stock market history. 11 years from the spring of 2009 until COVID brought it to an end in March 2020. During that time, no one needed much advice on where to invest. You could have put your money in virtually, or possibly even literally, a hundred different mutual funds, and over that period of time, you would have made 400% on your investment.

Today, the market is in a different world. It soars one week, it plummets the next. In fact, it is capable of soaring and plummeting in the same week. People look for advice on where to find a sure investment. The best investment advice ever given was by a shrewd investor from days gone by. In his day and in his time, he was worth more than Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett combined.

So in terms of wealth, he had it. Now, during his day and time, as it is now and again throughout history, the investment was gold. And he said, I've got a better investment. Sophisticated people who have more money to invest throughout time, and the same is true today, have invested in investment-grade gems.

Diamonds, the most desirable. Ruby's falling just a little behind that. But finding those flawless large gems that are going to go nowhere but up in value. And he said, no, I've got a better investment than that. In fact, he said, I've got the best investment in any market.

Bull market, bear market, good times, bad times. I'd like us to go back to his investment advice. Proverbs 16, and in verse 16, this unbelievably wealthy individual made the following comment. How much better is it, Proverbs 16, 16, how much better is it to get wisdom than gold? That was a rhetorical question. He wasn't asking your advice. He was rhetorically telling you wisdom is a far better investment than gold.

He had said earlier in Proverbs chapter 3, Proverbs chapter 3, and in verse 13, he said, Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding, for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver and her gain than fine gold. So he handled the precious metals market. He said, it's a better investment than silver or gold and more precious than rubies. In his day and time, when it came to gemstone investment, ruby was the top of the stack.

And so he was simply going for the top of the stack. And he said, it's a better investment than rubies. And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. He then went on to make one more comment as he upped the ante. He started with gold and silver, said they don't compare. He said, investment grade gems, they don't compare. And he finally said in Proverbs chapter 4, he said, Here are my children the instruction of a father, and give attention to no understanding. For I give you good doctrine, do not forsake my law.

When I was your father's son, and he was speaking of David, his father, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, he also taught me and said to me, let your heart retain my words, keep my commandments and live. Get wisdom! Exclamation point! Get understanding!

Exclamation point! Do not forget, or turn away from the words of my mouth, do not forsake her, and she will preserve you. Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing. Therefore, get wisdom. His investment advice has fallen out of favor in modern times. You don't hear a lot of people trumpeting that advice. But whether it's in favor or out of favor, it is still the best advice.

There's a rather modern saying about success that goes, he who dies with the most toys wins. If you turn to Daniel chapter 12, you will find by inference that the advice that was given by Solomon is advice that will take you far beyond he who dies with the most toys wins. At the end of the book of Daniel, as it's summing up, the summation goes this way, Daniel 12 and verse 1, At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to this time.

And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament. A whole lot better than he who dies with the most toys wins. Daniel says he who dies with wisdom will shine like the heavens for all eternity. In this day when wisdom is greatly undervalued and out of favor, it's a good time to review what God has to say.

And any of you who have taken the time to study the subject realize the topic is vast. So we're going to limit it to simply an introduction to wisdom.

As I said, those of you who study it realize that you don't have to dig too far into the subject before it starts going in more than one direction and before it starts building multiple layers. Wisdom comes in more than one flavor. The Bible speaks of different kinds of wisdom. One, one you don't want. Two, that will serve you very, very well during this physical life. During this physical life. And one that is priceless and eternal. Let's look at them in order. One of the laments of Jeremiah at the beginning of the book of Jeremiah was regarding the first wisdom, which I said to you was a wisdom that you don't want.

Jeremiah chapter four. God is instructing Jeremiah on what to say to the people.

And in Jeremiah chapter 24, in verse 22, I beheld the earth and indeed it was out without, excuse me, that's 23, verse 24, I beheld the mountains and indeed they trembled and all the hills moved back and forth.

Now I've got the wrong location. Let me just quote it to you and we'll move on to the next scripture which will enforce it. So, one of the laments of God to Jeremiah was that my people are wise to do evil. He said they have a shrewdness. They have a cunning. And it is a wisdom that gives them the ability to do evil in a very cunning and shrewd way. My wife and I were watching an old episode of Dick Van Dyke, and a mobster and his enforcer came into their room, and the mobster wanted them to write comedy for his nephew. And not only were they to write comedy for his nephew, but it better succeed. Now, the mobster, and if you watch mobster-based movies or TV programs, anything from the old godfather with Marlon Brando and before and after, if you look at them and study them, it's fascinating that a mobster can make every kind of threat under the sun and never say it directly. You know what's going to happen to you. You know how it's going to happen to you. You may even know when it's going to happen to you, but he never said it. In a court of law put on the stand and asked directly, did you say you were going to take this person's life, the mobster can honestly say, no, I didn't. There is that cunning to be able to threaten and intimidate the mobster. To be able to threaten and intimidate without ever explicitly saying, this is what you're doing. That to me is the penultimate example of a wisdom to do evil. Let's turn to James chapter 3. This one I know I have correctly. James chapter 3. In James chapter 3, James acknowledges the same principle.

James chapter 3, verse 13. He says, who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. That's a positive. He then contrasts it. He says in verse 15, this wisdom, no, excuse me, verse 14, for if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. So James puts it even more bluntly than the scripture we were looking for in Jeremiah, where he says, this is diabolical. And as I said, if you ever study the dark side of a gangster's threat as it's portrayed in media, it is diabolical. It is demonic, just as James described it. And so one wisdom that you simply don't want is that wisdom to do evil, which really in our language today we would probably refer to as cunning. Not too terribly long ago, one of the messages addressed Exodus chapter 31 in passing. It is in Exodus chapter 31 that we are introduced to a very positive wisdom, but temporary in nature. By temporary, I mean it can serve you well for a lifetime. But because it is physical at the end of that lifetime, it's over. In Exodus chapter 31, God is beginning to speak to Moses and Israel and to tell them, I have no intentions of living in a cheap house. If I'm going to live among you, I am going to live in an absolutely fabulous home. It may be movable. You may be able to pack it up and move it and set it up again, but it is going to be top of the top. And he said, you don't have the ability to build me a house of the quality that I want, so I'll make up for it. In Exodus 31, then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, See, I have called by name Bezalil, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. So I've called this man, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding in knowledge, in all manners of workmanship. I have given him the knowledge, the understanding, and the wisdom to be able to design artistic works. I have given him all of that in silver and gold smithing. I have given it to him in the capacity to cut, polish, and facet gemstones. I've given it to him in the ability to do the most intricate and beautiful wood carving, and in everything else that I need done, so that I live in the kind of house I want to live in. We refer to the product of craftsmanship, and we refer to the individual as a skilled craftsman. It's a wisdom of the hands and the mind working together to be able to see in the realm of things that you can touch, that you can feel, that you can see, how to deal with them correctly. One of the phrases in our language is the phrase common sense. Our phrase common sense simply describes a wisdom that puts you in good stead with your fellow man during this temporary physical life. While it's available to all mankind, it is still rooted in God's laws. Later on, we'll take a look at this a little more deeply, but common sense is simply God's sense perceived by man and properly applied. The fourth, I said, is eternal. If you turn with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 2.

Ecclesiastes chapter 2 does not elaborate, but it uses a phrase, a phrase that is reserved for the kind of wisdom that is given to people who genuinely respect God. You know, common sense is not the property of any one religion. There are Buddhists and Hindus. There are Muslims. There are people of virtually every faith on this earth who have exercised and shown common sense. Ecclesiastes chapter 2 takes us up a notch to a wisdom that is reserved for those who genuinely respect God and try to please Him. And it says in Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verse 26, For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in his sight. But God gives wisdom to those who are good in his sight. What does wisdom come from? What does wisdom come from? One of the most delightful stories in all the Bible is the story of the young man Solomon when he takes the throne after his father, who says to God, who offers him anything he wants, I can look in the mirror of life and realize that I am not up to the task that you have put before me. I am a young man. You have a great people. There is a legacy here. I don't have what it takes to fulfill this role. Give me wisdom. And God was so pleased that Solomon's request, he said, you know, most people with their grubby minds and grubby hands are saying, Give me power. Give me wealth. You didn't ask for power. You didn't ask for wealth. You asked for wisdom. So I'll give you the wisdom you ask for, and then I'll give you the power and I'll give you the wealth. Solomon asked for wisdom, and it was given to him. God says we can go the same route. Turn back to James again. I think some of you were aware that James is often referred to as the Proverbs of the New Testament. Much shorter, much less in it, but the same flavor. I think everybody in this room is familiar with James chapter 1 and verse 5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, meaning I won't make fun of you because you ask me for wisdom, and it will be given to him. Sounds easy.

Just ask. But there's a caveat. God has demonstrated in the past, and he promises in the future, to give wisdom miraculously when there is a special need. One of the end-time prophecies is when you are called before leaders and you are called before those who will examine you. Don't think about what you will say. I will give you the words to say. A lot harder to do than to understand. You know, the fear factor in a human being, when they realize their life may be on the line, can lead to motor mouth and everything you can think of to try to get out of the situation you're in. And God says, simply shut your mouth in terms of thinking about what you're going to say. He said, I will give you what to say, and I will pour forth out of your mouth words of wisdom that cannot be dealt with, that cannot be gainsaid, that cannot be countered. And so God has in the past, and He will in the future, give wisdom in this straightforward sense. But generally speaking, wisdom is the product of hard work. Keep your hand here in James 1, because we're going to come right back to it immediately. But I want you to go back to Proverbs again. We'll go to the early Proverbs of Solomon, and then we'll come back to the late Proverbs of James. Proverbs chapter 2. Proverbs chapter 2 shows the way that wisdom is normally accumulated. Verse 1, My son, if you receive my words and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding. All right, we're already into labor words, aren't we? Listen and listen very, very carefully. Then apply. What do you mean apply? It means when you grasp what you're hearing, you then ask yourself, how do I use it? How do I put it into effect? He said, yes, if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding. Now there's heat here. There's emotion. There's appeal. If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. Solomon's depiction here in Proverbs chapter 2 is, you've got to want it. You've got to want it badly, and you've got to be willing to roll up your sleeves and work for it. Go back to James. James chapter 1 and verse 5 is not a freestanding verse. It is in a context. And notice the context that it's in. James, the servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ and the twelve tribes that are scattered abroad greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, then now we transition. What's the context that this statement, if any of you lack wisdom, is in? It's in the context of count it all joy when you fall into trials. It's in the context of knowing that the trying of your faith creates perseverance, and knowing that all of this refines and matures the one who goes through it.

You ever come out of trials and tests wiser than you were when you went into them? You know, it doesn't matter whether it's a positive or a negative. You go through trials and tribulations and you persevere, and when you come out the other side, you're a wiser individual. You understand things, and those who have been through profound trials and tests come out the other side thanking God that I understand things now that I would never have understood had I not gone through these experiences. So rather than just a two-sided coin, in time of need, God can miraculously give wisdom spontaneously. In the normal life of someone who's a Christian moving toward the kingdom of God, wisdom is acquired through the process of living, the process of experience, and sometimes through those tests and trials that we would prefer not to go through, and we thank God over and over again when they're over of what we learned when we went through them.

Wisdom is the product of a progression. It's not the front end, it's the back end. It's the end product of a progression. If you paid close attention when we read about bezelil, God wasn't just throwing stuff out like birdseed on the ground for the pigeons to pick up. He was describing a progression. I will give bezelil knowledge, I'll give bezelil understanding, and I'll give bezelil wisdom. That's a progression. It doesn't work the other way around. Whether wisdom is manual, as it was with bezelil, this was craft. Whether it's mental, so that you can see and perceive. Whether it's moral, and it shapes your sense of right and wrong. Or whether it's spiritual, allowing you to see and understand things about the kingdom of God. That you would not have understood otherwise. The progression is the same. Let's take a manual example. People, people, I think all of us relate to things that are manual, easier than we do. Things that are cerebral, that are mental. So I brought, I brought one of my tools today, a hand plane. Let's walk through knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of the manual type. Because when you understand knowledge, understanding, and wisdom manually, you also understand it mentally. And you also understand it when it comes to spiritual lessons. If you've never used one of these, the first thing you do is become familiar with the pieces and the parts. This piece here is all stationary except for this part. For woodworkers, they say, okay, that's the frog, and the frog is movable. Sitting on top of the frog is a blade. And on top of the blade is a blade cap, and the two of them are screwed together with a screw. All of that is held in place with a device called a lever cap. So I could sit down with you, in a very short order, I could bring you to the place where you said, okay, that hand plane is made up of a body, and there's a frog mounted on the body, and the blade is mounted on that frog, and a blade cap is on top of that, and a lever cap holds it all in place. So what have you got? Knowledge. If I handed all of those parts to you and said, can you name them, and you say, okay, frog, blade, blade cap, lever cap. Good, you got it. Here, go to work.

You won't be able to do it. You'll be frustrated. You'll throw your hands up and say, this thing is useless. Let me go on to something that actually works, because all you have at that point in time is knowledge. Now the intent of all of that, if I didn't crush it, the intent of all of that is to produce a shaving that is as long as the piece of wood that you're working with that is thin enough that you could read the daily newspaper through it. But that knowledge isn't going to give you the ability to do that. That requires understanding. It requires the understanding of how to mount all of those pieces so that they actually will produce that. But even then, you're not home free. Now everyone who shaves understands a principle. Hair grows a particular direction, and you can shave with the direction it's growing, or you can shave against the direction it's growing. And there's a common wisdom learned by experience that if you have sensitive skin, you better shave the direction the hair is growing. Because the opposite is possibly ingrown hairs, razor rash, or other problems. Wood is no different than your body. It has a grain that grows a certain direction. You very quickly come to understand that you have to know which way the grain is growing, and you have to plane with the grain. Because the effect of planing against the grain on wood is more severe than shaving against the direction hair is growing. It tears out chunks of wood. And oh, by the way, for most of human history, planes of a different type are found in Pompeii. They are considered to possibly go all the way back to Egypt. The metal varieties are only a couple hundred years old. This one's about 120 years old.

A craftsman who can use that wisely produces a surface superior to that which is sanded. And so a good craftsman can finish a piece with a plane that will provide a surface superior to a sanded surface. I have thanks to a former deacon that we had a chance to enjoy for a while here in Portland, James McConnell. When James lived up in the peninsula, he worked for a company that cut western maple for instrument backs. And those that didn't meet the standard, they threw away. And Jim had them in his woodshed, and he was using them to burn for firewood. And one day I said, oh, James, you hurt my heart seeing figured maple going into your stove. And he said, do you want some? And I said, absolutely. He said, I'll take care of that.

I didn't want to belabor the issue by bringing a big piece of figured maple. People who have seen figured wood realize there is no direction to the grain. The grain is every direction. There is no way you can plane it from east to west, from north to south, from west to east, from south to north. No matter which way you plane it, you're going to tear it. Wisdom says, don't do it. And so I have some beautiful pieces of figured maple in my garage. And I walk out and I look at them, and my head says, don't put a plane to that wood. The only thing you can accomplish is to destroy it. Knowledge, I see the tool and I know the parts. Understanding, I know how to assemble the parts to be able to create this, and I know that the wood has a mind of its own, and I have to respect it. And thirdly, there are times where you simply walk away and say, this tool will not accomplish what I want. Knowledge, understanding, wisdom. Wisdom helps you walk through life to avoid the traps and the snares. I could ruin an absolutely stunning piece of wood. That's the negative. Wisdom also helps you walk through life and reap the blessings on the positive side. So, wisdom's double-barrel benefit. You avoid all sorts of misery that people heap on themselves, and you enjoy things in life that you would not have enjoyed if you had not approached them wisely. God's Word contains a wisdom that is intended to help us avoid unnecessary pain and suffering. It's also intended to help us enjoy life to the fullest. I think we could see by inference when I held up the hand plane that wisdom is not automatic. There's a slightly cynical but very true statement that says, some people get older and wiser, and some people just get older. And unfortunately, that's true. Life and experience is not an automatic doorway to wisdom. Some people do with age, become wiser. Some with age just get older. Let's go on to wisdom of the third category, the wisdom that we refer to as common sense. Where does that wisdom, that common sense wisdom, come from? I want to take the hand plane illustration and take it a step further and then launch from there. I'd like to start with a simple illustration that everyone who is a parent in this congregation understands. And the front end of it, everybody in this congregation, whether a parent or not, understands. At the knowledge level, everybody in this room understands one thing about parenting.

Babies cry. Don't have to be a parent to know that? Everybody here knows, knowledge-wise, babies cry. As a parent, nobody likes to have a crying baby. And worst of all, they hate it when they're in public, especially when they're in public and they can't get out of where they are. A parent, in very short order, comes to the place where they move from that simple knowledge that they had before they had the baby to understanding. And that parent can tell you when that baby cries, why. They can tell you whether that baby is crying because that baby's hungry. They can tell you whether that baby's crying because the baby's wet. They can tell you if that baby's crying because they are really in significant pain. They can even distinguish between that more elevated cry of pain and a cry of fear. And they can tell you when the cry deals with fatigue. And so here's a parent with a little package. And here's a little bundle that can't talk. All it does is why. And that parent can tell you he's hungry, he's wet, he's in pain, he's afraid, he's tired. Understanding. Evening comes. A parent of a baby has their little intercom in the den where they are, the other end in the baby's bedroom, and the baby's crying. The mom or the dad who hears it listens to the cry, says, that cry is a tired cry. And the baby's fatigued. The baby's tired. They continue to listen, but they don't go anywhere. They say that cry is the fussing of a tired baby who, biologically, for some strange reason, resists going to sleep, even though that's what they want more than anything else. And I'll just sit here. It is not too terribly much longer that everything is silent because the baby's asleep. You just witnessed a parent with wisdom.

There's another parent that, every time they hear the cry, will respond to every whimper and every fuss. And lo and behold, it doesn't take very long before the baby has trained them. This is the lack of wisdom.

I can't handle the, I don't know what term to use. I can't handle the chaos. I guess it's a lack of a certain level of tolerance for things that just don't make sense. But there was, it may still be, I don't know, a reality program. Was it NANI 911? Or it was a NANI program. And every one of those programs was a program built around a woman who was wise going into the home of a family that lacked wisdom. And by the application of wisdom, created an order and a piece that the parents lacking wisdom had no idea how to find. If you want to see wisdom and lack of wisdom in a human physical package, package in a half hour, it's a good way to experience it. Wisdom comes from observation and paying attention to cause and effect, and then taking the proper course of action to either avoid suffering or to gain blessing. Even better, wisdom allows others to make mistakes and allows us to learn from them and avoid the mistakes they've already made.

Earlier, I said that God's law in many instances is synonymous with common sense. And I said we would come back to that, so let's do. Romans 2 Romans 2 addresses this somewhat obliquely, but it still addresses the principle. Romans 2 and verse 14.

Paul makes a statement about the Gentiles. And all the word Gentiles means, in the purest sense of the word, is everyone outside of those that God has called. It's the world. When God dealt solely with Israel, it was everyone who wasn't Israel. Paul said, for when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature. And so they don't have God's instruction. They don't have God's book of wisdom. But when they, totally absent of God's book of wisdom, do the things contained in that book. These, these Gentiles, although not having the law, are a law to themselves.

Who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them.

It doesn't matter where you're from. God's law is common sense. And Paul said, there are people who have had absolutely no exposure to the laws of God, who through observation, who through watching, who through looking, who through looking at other people walk a path and it's end result, come to the place of grasping and understanding how they should walk to avoid heartache, misery, unhappiness, failure, and all the other negatives that nobody wants to really go through.

What Paul is saying obliquely is God's law is common sense. And when people who've never seen a Bible, you know, if you look at wisdom literature, many years ago, I've lost track of when it was, I was in Pasadena at the auditorium and Secretary of Education Bennett was the guest speaker at one of the lectures at the auditorium. And following that, I bought his book of virtues. Now, if you go through the book of virtues, it's yea thick, there are stories from every culture, from every corner of the world, from every philosophy, but they are stories that are intended to probe what is the wise way to deal with this issue. Secretary Bennett's book of virtues is nothing more than an update of Paul's comment here in Romans 2, verses 13 and 14. But let's go back to Deuteronomy.

Paul was versed in the Bible. I don't know if he had the scripture running through his mind while he was saying what he was saying, but they say the same thing in spirit. This is a longer read, Deuteronomy chapter 30. Let's begin in verse 1. Now it shall come to pass when all these things come upon you, the blessings and the curses which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you.

And as you read this front part and you try to find a parallel, the only real true parallel to this is what's ahead of us. This is the coming tribulation in captivity.

And you return to the Lord your God and obey his voice according to all that I command you today, you and your children with all your heart and with all your soul, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity and have compassion upon you and gather you again from the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.

If any of you are driven out to the farthest part under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you and from there he will bring you. And then the Lord your God will bring you to the land where your father is possessed and you shall possess it. He will gather you and multiply you more than your father's. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants.

This is millennial. This is millennial. He'll circumcise your heart to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, that you may live. Also the Lord your God will put on all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you and who persecute you. And you will again obey the voice of the Lord and do all his commandments which I command you today.

The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers if you obey the voice of the Lord your God to keep his commandments and his statutes, which are written in this book of the law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

And notice what he says now, for this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you. Nor is it far off. It is not in heaven that you should say, who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it. Nor is it beyond the sea that you should say, who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it.

But the word is very near you in your mouth and in your heart that you may do it. You know what we say today? It isn't rocket science. That's what Moses was saying. He said it's not rocket science. It runs through your head. It comes out of your mouth. Did you notice the refrain on the third hymn this morning? You know how that refrain started? Give us wisdom for this hour. The next verse, give us wisdom for this day. The third, give us wisdom. He said it's in your mouth.

It's in your head. It's in your heart. It's not rocket science. It's common sense. God gave all mankind a guide to wisdom. To Israel, he said, in essence, in the verses I just read you, this isn't rocket science. The gist of things is that you probably don't see the end result. But the steps I encourage you to take one at a time are really quite clear.

Everyone is familiar with the term, the law of unintended consequences. What God was giving right here was the law of unforeseen benefits. Mankind has a perverse nature. He says, God, I'm very happy to obey and follow you. If you will just explain everything for me where I can think it all over, consider it and get back to you.

And God says, I am not your servant. I am your Lord. I don't have to explain to you. In fact, the benefit of the wisdom that I have to offer you is in that I tell you what to do, and when you do it and you live it, it's only a matter of time until you have the aha moment. And you say, ah, that's why you do that. That's why that works.

That's the basis. Let's wrap up with a question of where does godly wisdom come from. I don't need to read these to you because you know them backward and forward. I'll give them to you three places. Each of them is coming at the topic from a slightly different direction, but the core is the same in all three. Psalm 11110.

Proverbs 1.7 Proverbs 910. They all three state the same thing. You want to know where godly wisdom comes from? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We're all mature enough to know that fear means reverence. A very deep, profound, abiding respect and reverence for god. So deep a reverence and respect that when god says something, we don't say, why daddy? We do it. We don't say, explain it to me first and I'll consider it. We do it. We do it saying, I know God well enough that if I do it, I will come to understand it after I've done it.

Anyone who will deeply respect and honor God in this manner will develop godly wisdom because that wisdom is the byproduct of that respect. That respect picks up the Bible and says, I don't understand how this works and why it works, but if God says, do it, then I do it. God says, I've built in the understanding from the doing. And you will come to the place you say, ah, ah, now I get it. And when you paid your dues to arrive at understanding that way, wisdom is not that far off because you don't forget those experiences. And when something similar comes up again, you process it and you make a sound, i.e. wise decision of where to go next. We write about the earthly wisdom. James said in that same section, James 1, 13 through 17, he said there is a wisdom from above. He said the physical wisdom is demonic. It's destructive. It's painful. It's hurtful. It's hurtful. There is a wisdom from above. And that wisdom from above produces all the fruits that you see as fruit of the Holy Spirit. It produces all the evidences that you see in Peter when he says, add to your virtue knowledge and add to your knowledge this and add that. But it all begins with the fear of God, the fear of God that we have just explained. You know, brethren, you're the recipients of a wisdom that is eternal. There is a doorway to wisdom that is reserved for those whom God calls. A miracle happens at calling for those who respond to that calling. When you respond to your calling, God opens your eyes to receive knowledge and understanding. We could sit down in a group discussion, and the avenues would be different. I've heard Mr. Sexton refer to Lutheranism. I've referred to the Mennonite faith. There are others of you that your experience would fall in a different denomination. My wife, a Southern Baptist, and on and on it would go. But it doesn't matter where you come from. If your family and your ancestors have pursued those ways of life seriously, with devotion, you may have even gone through generation after generation after generation of devotion to that way of life, yet lacking understanding. It's a phenomenal experience in the road that God gives us, referred to as calling. That a day comes where the light bulb comes on and you say, Saturday is the Sabbath. Saturday is that day back there in Exodus 20. Saturday is that day that Jesus Christ went to the synagogue. Now, my family didn't know that. My grandparents didn't know that. My great-grandparents didn't know that. My great-great-grandparents didn't know that. Now, the light bulb comes on. You learn the wisdom that God said. There are things that I don't want you to eat because they harm your body. I'm not trying to keep you away from pleasures. I'm trying to keep you away from pain. Respect it. I'm going to ask you to do something that makes no sense to you. I'm going to ask you to give me of your tithes. I can't even tell you how many people have come to me over time shaking their head, and they said it does not mathematically add up. On paper, I should be going south economically, and I'm going north. And there's nothing on paper that will make that make sense.

We go through our lives believing what we've been taught, believing what our fathers believed, believing what our grandfathers believed. They all had this book. They all listened to this book. They all had sermons preached from this book. And they were all ignorant of the fact that heaven is not where God is sending us. And a God of love does not burn people forever and ever and ever in eternal, never-ending torment. That when you die, you're like Rover. You're dead all over. And you won't be alive again and conscious again until the resurrection when the Trump blows. And on we go. We all believed a certain way.

And it wasn't through lack of sincerity that we didn't see what we didn't see. There is a knowledge and an understanding that is a gift. And it is given to those who will respond to the calling of God. I'd like you to turn to 3 John for my last scripture.

The last epistle before the book of Revelation. Such a teeny tiny little book that only has one chapter. But in the second through fourth verses of this little bitty book, John says, Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoice greatly when brethren came and testify to the truth that is in you just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. He said, I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health as your soul prospers. He said, I want you to be physically and spiritually healthy. I want to see you blossom physically and spiritually. The foundation for all of that, which he repeated again and again, testified of the truth, walk in the truth, no greater joy than to hear my children walk in the truth. What is the truth? Scripture says thy word is truth. It's that same word that Moses said in Deuteronomy chapter 4 when the Ten Commandments were given. And he told ancient Israel, don't add to it, don't subtract to it, read it, respect it, and honor it. And the reason he told them to do that was this. Be careful to observe everything I've said to you. For this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the people who will hear all these statutes and say, surely this great nation is wise and an understanding people. What John was saying in that very short letter was simply the substance of what Moses said to Israel when he gave them the commandments. This that we refer to as, quote, the truth, this is your wisdom. Well, as I said at the beginning, all we can do really is give you an introduction. You now can look at the different kinds of wisdom. You can picture the progression of wisdom from knowledge through understanding to wisdom. See the importance of common sense in a biblical manner. Refresh ourselves on the tremendous importance of the fear of God as the foundation and the basis. And thank God once more that with his calling, he has given a wisdom that is eternal in its effect.