Wiser Than an Owl - Proverbs 1:1-6

As a person go about wisdom. What's the mindset we must have if we want to be wise how desperately. Do we want wisdom.

I love that word acquire a little soft in the language. It literally needs to see me grasp it means to watch. There is this sense of desperation is just like that little wisdom sure know this is a must is done for the heart. Although knowledge and wisdom are both byproducts of each other.

They are the same knowledge has limits and can be measured when Socrates made the timeless statement. I know that I do not know he was implying that no man can know everything about everything and he was right.

So how can we measure wisdom in our lives. How can we know when we've got it in today's message Stephen will give you the answer to those questions. Stay with us for this lesson called wiser than an hour so I sent me a list called perks of hitting older and since I am maybe some of you are to I thought I read him if you can appreciate them as I can. I hear here's the first one in a hostage situation, you are likely to be released first.

I would attest that people call at 9 PM and ask apologetically that I wake you. You no longer think of speed limits is a challenge. We'll see about that your investment in health insurance. After all these years is finally paying off. You can sing along with the elevator music and all the words there's a good when your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember the meter one thing to get older it's another thing to grow wiser. I have read the book of Psalms tells us how to get along with God. The book of Proverbs tells us how to get along with people. The book of Psalms helps us know how to worship. While the book of Proverbs helps us know how to walk on the book of Psalms is and can be easily read in church on the book of Proverbs can be read with one eye on the text and one eye on the daily news a sentence or two in the middle of a quick lunch break at a job sorta shape the rest of your day. This inspired collection of God's wisdom can help us navigate our way through the fast lane of life. Derek Kidner wrote in his commentary the book of Proverbs doesn't really take you to church. It calls across to you in the street about some everyday matter. It points things out at home its function in Scripture is to put godliness into working close good one. Where's the wrote of this way. Proverbs is a book that tells you how to become skillful in the lost art of making a life. This book indeed is is a veritable hidden treasure of wisdom and it is available for every treasure hunter cares to dig beneath the surface.

Let's start before we dive into verse one through every verse of every chapter, we have treated thematically, but let me just kind of introduce it and will cover the first few verses as he sets the stage for us, what exactly is a proverb comes from the root word washout which basically means to represent it can even in its verb form into rule or to God. There isn't any doubt that the book of Proverbs contains rules for we call them principles which generally represent the best way to live and gives guidance to life.

The English word proverb tracks back to the Latin word actually came from the Vulgate when Jerome translated it's it's a compound word the proverbial pro meaning on behalf of an verb meaning words you put the two together and you have a proverb that is a short statement on behalf of many words. The truth is Proverbs have been one of the key ways to teach great truths in a very concise way in every culture and in every generation were familiar with a number of them use them often look before you what lead.

Nothing ventured nothing gained.

A stitch in time saves. I've no idea what that means and I don't really care to know, but that's a proverb we talked about. Here's a little longer that I've often thought of before making a hasty decision.

Better to be standing on the shore. Wishing you were sailing and sailing. Wishing you were still on shore. Mark Twain provided proverb Pres. Harry Truman, like so much he framed and hung it in the Oval Office. It was this proverb always do what is right.

This will gratify some and astonish the rest assured saying a proverb.

I put that memory recently. Is this what you are most likely to hang yourself on the loose threads of life. Another one is worth remembering that I talked in my memory some time ago.

It says a lot in a very short space of time. Your silence may be misinterpreted.

It will never be misquote proverb is a small statement with great significance to stand in the place of longer speeches. You don't have to have a lot of words when you have a proverb sort of says it all sums it up. None, however, no matter what culture even in our generation not or more significant or important than the list bound in leather work in some cover on your lab because God gave us these God is the giver of wisdom. In fact, he is the personification of wisdom, and spirit led Solomon to compose the collect fees.

These are ones for us to hunt through waiting words on a lot of different issues visiting reveal wisdom regarding our hearts, our minds are tongues or spirits talk about what we shouldn't be, but we are what we should be, but we aren't going to delve into relationships, you can begin to stick his nose in family business is talking to parents, children, friends, neighbors, coworkers and even enemies.

He is going to tell us the truth about temptation, lost greed, gossip, hatred, and disappointment. Talk about finances and freedom rebellion and relationships, and Jos�. Each grand truth in just a few words at the time. Book of Proverbs is not the sum and substance of all wisdom, but it is sufficient to allow the reader and student to walk in wisdom, in fact, Solomon clearly delivers that purpose statement for this Old Testament book of the Bible turn chapter 1 verse one the Proverbs of Solomon the son of David, King of Israel fights with the purpose of these Proverbs.

Well, he's gonna give us seven treasure, as a result of reading and studying these Proverbs I give it to you first.

First and foremost the overarching treasure of wisdom. He says I'm giving you these to know wisdom and of course I have given you these this collection to developing and you to describe for you wisdom in a world that has no idea what wisdom is. I show you in living color what it's all about the Hebrew word for wisdom is shocked, this is the ability to make the right decision for the right reason at the right time.

Wisdom sets the human being apart from any other created beings the intellect and reasoning capacity of human beings is along the source of of debate as to where that wisdom came from where.

Where does wisdom come from the Celtic religions believe their goddess cared when created of the Romans believed that Minerva created it.

The Hindus pointed their goddess of wisdom, known as Harris sloppy.

The Greeks believed that wisdom in a long drawn out pathologies came from the offspring of Zeus and Zeus was evidently accorded their believe her prophecy that his wife was in heaven daughter and he wasn't happy and so he swallowed his wife hole which was in a very nice thing to do. However, when it was time for the child be delivered. Zeus got a headache and his head open Dobbin Athena stepped out because she came from his head. His mind that she was considered the patroness of wisdom so course, the Greeks bought into it named Athens after her and build the Parthenon in her honor.

She was represented by her sacred bird, the aloe gave rise to the superstition that lasted this date at the owl is a wise bird fact another word related to the owl that was adopted by the Greeks and use this day a group of vowels is not referred to as a flock. The word that is used to speak of a gathering of vowels is the word Parliament. We as believers know wisdom comes from God is first and foremost is it is his attribute. He is the all wise God. June 25. He is the only wise God, the written word of God imparts the ability to make the right decision for the right reason at the right time. Paul reminds Timothy of this when he wrote but you have known the sacred writings, which are able to give you wisdom that only under salvation but couple verses later said you do not have a lot of equipped for every good work. 315 to 17.

In other words, wisdom is developed as a result of hearing and obeying the Scriptures listen. A wise person is not necessarily somebody is the smartest person in the church is the most submissive person to the Scripture. The Bible considers to be a person whose wines.

This is the point, Solomon. I'm delivering truths to use and you will have this treasure does wisdom notice Solomon offices in verse two gives us another treasure for the seeker of truth that Elizabeth verse two says and instruction to know wisdom and to now and instruction instruction carries the idea of appearance, instruction or discipline builds character. One Jewish commentator pointed out, the star which is the word here refers to gaining knowledge base not only hearing the truth but learning from the mistakes of others. Solomon saying you read this book and you can learn from the fruits of other people's experiences. She isn't necessarily the best way to learn to experience everything well you know you just had to experience that. I don't know the best ways to learn to read it or seen his wife and learn from it and avoid never learn from somebody else's mistakes probably didn't. I remember my three brothers and I learned a lot of things from each other's mistakes. I've never been convinced that a person could jump off the back side of our garage roof which slowed down to about 10 feet above the grassy backyard without getting hurt if they just carried an umbrella.

I watched Mary Poppins too often evidently I wasn't quite sure of the hypothesis and and and all of the engineering facets regarding this experiment, but I convinced my younger brother to do it, it'll work to make it work so he got up there on the back of it roof near the back and and had his umbrella and I said okay job immediately went inside out. Yet the grass I was able to learn from that experience. I need to try that anymore. Solomon is going to show us by just good decisions and shows bad ones. Solomon goes on to deliver another treasure he says in verse two to discern the sayings of understanding, not only do you get wisdom and instruction, but are able to discern the sayings of understanding the word discern the verb here is describing an ability to distinguish between opposites that which is honorable and that which is dishonorable, that which is good, that which is evil, that is, that which is right from that which is wrong. Discernment then is activated by the living word through the indwelling written word and the spirit of God, the living word. As we submit to it and him and live it out. Solomon at the fourth treasure he writes in verse three to receive instruction in wise behavior.

That's why giving these Proverbs was wise behavior look like he tells us here. It looks like this righteousness, justice and equity you live right you treat people right and you work with fairness.

The younger generation is now one off the road living on the moral which pulled the book out by Josh McDowell with statistics and he gave some new statistics listen to these every day in America 1000 unwed teenage girls become mothers every day 1100 girls have abortions every day. 40 204,219 teenagers contract a sexually transmitted disease every day. 1000 teens take their first drink every day, 500 teenagers take their first fix every day.

2200 teenagers drop out of school every day. Six of them take their own lives. He went on to write, the government says the solution is better education, job opportunities for graduates active essay we need to eradicate oppression and injustice. Others say we need more police punishment prisons and social programs are only dealing with the symptoms. Are they there only the reasons better clean exes for life-threatening pneumonia.

What you will discover in Proverbs, Solomon is saying is that the answer is a radical infusion of wisdom from the Scriptures which is demonstrated in life and communicated to somebody else.

Here's how to live law now so you have Solomon at the fifth Jewel for the treasure hunter Proverbs have been delivered to you. Verse 40 says to give prudence to the na�ve word prudence can be translated with the nuance of shrewdness. This is the just thinking critically.

This is helping others and yourself as you study this to discern to be shrewd and wise as a serpent harmless as a dove.

The na�ve are gullible. He says I'm giving you Proverbs to deepen your thinking process so that you won't be na�ve, gullible, you won't go along with the crowd. Threat Proverbs. The na�ve are worn to think rightly. Our world is so gullible they believe everything you're told. As relates to moral issues pay heavy price for this article in my files for quite some time and perfectly illustrates and in humans waving the gullibility of people in Richard them will be of the BBC News was famous for pulling April fools joke's on the BBC radio April 1, but he normally covered all of the Royal ceremonial events and he was a sort of the epitome of the careful person and circumspect person and so he just got a full everybody one year.

He did a current affairs purgatory show the film of the spaghetti harvest in Switzerland.

The film showed trees gripping with long ribbons of white spaghetti while dimple be voiced over very plainly spaghetti cultivation here in Switzerland is no is not, of course. On anything like the scale of the Italian industry. Many of you I'm sure at seen pictures of the best spaghetti plantations in the Po Valley Swiss villagers were shown carrying great baskets of harvested pasta. They were laying it out to be dried in the sun.

Workers were seen trimming the spaghetti out of the trees, he concluded, shall I say for those who love this dish. There's nothing like homegrown the switchboards lit up. They live and people were asking how they could begin to grow spaghetti and run gardens.

The BBC answer was, place a sprig of spaghetti in a jar of tomato sauce and hope for the best. Another year, Patrick Moore, a British astronomer. He had everybody fooled.

He told BBC listeners in the morning.

The planet Pluto passed directly behind Jupiter causing a slight gravitational pull on earth would make everyone feel lighter, the urge listeners to jump at precisely 9:47 AM at 948. The switchboards were blazing with delighted callers. This article said the talk about how they experience the floating sensation when they jumped one woman said her entire coffee group of 11 women floated around the room drinking coffee as far as I'm concerned. Another man complained he had his head on the ceiling, leave the selling to file a lawsuit over anything so he was upset believe that well yeah we can as it comes to things that are really significant. The pull of the crowd. Common sense the status quo. The politically correct these Proverbs will help you take the stand but you need to take Solomon goes on to deliver another hidden treasure converse for the latter part to give to the youth knowledge and discretion that were used can be used for anyone on the threshold of maturity, anything on the threshold of taking a new step in official solvent because were not just throwing all Lord willing, we are growing up so this could refer to us, that's exactly what Solomon described in verse five.

Look there. A wise man will hear and increase in learning in a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel. I love that word acquire to little soft in the English language, it literally means to see means to grasp.

It means the clutch. There is this the sense of desperation he is adjusting well take it or leave it. I like to have a little wisdom sure the grade know this is all I must have it given.

I must have wise counsel.

How desperately. Do we want wisdom. How ready are we to seize wise counsel Solomon had one more treasure in his purpose statement verse six to understand a problem and figure the words of the wise and their riddles, I think it Solomon is referring to the riddles of life go back to Solomon's de facto go back about 500 years before the time of Christ in the world was mesmerized by the newest riddle. Sophocles, the Greek writer who lives 500 years before Christ birth had written of the Sphinx. This fallen angel. She had Alina's body and wings of an eagle in the face and head of a woman and she would stand in the marketplace and she would offer these riddles in, and if you got it right good if you didn't, she killed so you avoided the marketplace when she was around.

Well, her famous riddle. Was this what has one voice, and yet is four-footed in the morning to footed at noon and three footed in the evening to get a wrong that this is a reference to a baby who in the morning of life: all fours midlife standing up on the altar is an old life that came three footed.

I think Solomon hears when he talks about giving his wisdom is not just talking about can figure that one out. He started I can figure out the riddles of life because are coming at you fast. The coming at you seriously are you ready for the riddles of life. James Dobson wrote an article that I file away for later use. He told the story the friend of his that was flying a small single engine airplane Torah country airport a few years ago he was behind schedule and the he arrived flying overhead of uptime sun dropped behind a nearby mountain. By the time he maneuvered into a position to land the field was dark was hazy at best he can see clearly enough to to risk a safe landing was no one on duty at the small local airport lights along the runway. He circled the runway for another attempt to land by then the darkness had become even more impenetrable now it was too late for two hours.

Dobson writes he flew his plane around and around and around the clearing. He knew was below that with that small airport and grass runway, but the darkness of night and swallowed him. He knew that if he did land he was going to face certain death in his fuel ran out. But by now is no way to even determine which way the landing strip was heading great panic gripped him the wonderful thing happened but neighbor who lived near the airport had heard the continual droning of this man's plane engine and realized his predicament. He hopped in his car and he drove out to that grassy airstrip and erased back and forth, back and forth, back and forth a number of times until he was certain the pilot spotted and he had this man drove to the end of the runway and put on his high beams so that plaintiff could see in that man was able to safely land his plane. This man's kindness serves somewhat like the book of Proverbs. It's dark out very dark here. The guideline hears the direction of the runway stay within the guidelines of this inspired light. These high beams of divine revelation which will tie to the only land safe live wise.

This is the purpose statement. Would you like to be wiser than an hour.

Here's the answer to give you several observations before we wrap it up number one.

A person is not considered wise because he knows everything because he longs to learn more to a person is not considered wise because they know what to say because they know how to listen one more person is not considered wise as he knows every but because he obeys what he knows.

You want to really be do you want to be truly discerning alert and shrewd well according to today's lesson from God's word.

Here's what you do. Listen, learn and obey Stephen's practical lesson today is helpful for anyone who wants to grow in wisdom. We listen to God's word. We learn what it says and we obey whatever we find there. If you joined us late. You've been listening to wisdom for the heart with pastor and author Stephen Davey Stephen is the pastor teacher of colonial Baptist Church in Cary, North Carolina. Today's lesson is called wiser than an owl and is part two of our current series called the quest for hidden treasure. If you missed part one and you want to get caught up, go to wisdom online.org.

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