Finding Wisdom
Storm Warning: Lessons from the Life of Job • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 27 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Storms can make you or they can break you. They can make you stronger or they can stunt your spiritual growth.
Now, one of the things we’ve been learning throughout this study in the book of Job is that the purpose of storms is not to destroy our view of God, but to deepen our trust in God.
So, what makes the difference? What causes one person to come through a storm with a deeper, more robust trust in God while someone else endures tragic suffering and they become angry, bitter, untrusting, and even resentful of God?
Here is the answer—both experience unspeakable pain, but only one is shocked because of the storm.
In other words, the person who grows through the storm has a biblically balanced, healthy understanding of how life in a fallen world works—while the person who is overthrown by the storm never thought such a tragedy could happen to them.
Let me put it this way, one has wisdom while the other has a view of life that is unwise.
So, if you want to grow through a storm, you’re going to need wisdom.
So, if you want to grow through a storm, you’re going to need wisdom.
Why? Because wisdom tells you not only that suffering comes, but how it comes. Wisdom will not stop the pain of suffering, but it will keep you from being shocked by it.
To prove my point, listen to what Job said to his wife after she told him to “curse God and die.”
Job said, why should we expect only good and not expect suffering?
1 Anyone born of woman is short of days and full of trouble.
Wisdom will not stop the pain of suffering, but it will keep you from being shocked and overthrown by it.
So, let’s look at Job, chapter 28 and learn the value of wisdom, where wisdom comes from, and how to get this wisdom that will sustain us and even enable us to grow in our faith through the storm.
12 “But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13 Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living. 14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’ and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ 15 It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. 16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. 17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. 18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls. 19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. 20 “From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? 21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. 22 Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
If you want to grow through a storm, you’re going to need wisdom.
If you want to grow through a storm, you’re going to need wisdom.
But our text this morning is driven by this question, “where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?”
Where shall wisdom be found?
It’s a great question isn’t it?
But the question alone tells us that wisdom is something that needs to be found.
The question tells us that wisdom is something worth looking for.
In other words, wisdom is valuable.
In other words, wisdom is valuable.
If wisdom is something that needs to be found and is worth looking for, then we have to conclude that wisdom is absolutely necessary to function in life.
And, in the context of Job’s life, wisdom is especially necessary to handle and even grow through suffering.
Why?
Because wisdom is not just having a knowledge of the facts, wisdom is knowing what to do with the facts when once you get them.
Let me give you a really simple definition for wisdom.
Wisdom is knowledge applied.
Wisdom is knowledge applied.
Let me give you an example, you might have knowledge that sticking a screwdriver into a live electrical socket will shock you. But wisdom stops you from sticking a screwdriver into a live electrical socket because you don’t want to feel 120v going through your body.
Wisdom is knowledge applied.
You might have knowledge that texting while driving is extremely dangerous to you and everyone else around you—but knowledge stops you from picking up your phone when you get a text notification as you’re driving down the road.
Wisdom is knowledge applied.
Spurgeon once said:
Be Patient 3. Job Seeks God’s Wisdom (Job 28)
“To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as the knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”
But not only is wisdom knowledge applied, but wisdom actually goes beyond simply following the moral imperatives of Scripture—the things God’s Word tells us exactly what to do or what not to do.
For example, if you’re trying to decide whether or not you should commit adultery.
That’s a simple one, right?
The answer is NO!
Listen, you don’t even have to think about that one!
Why?
You don’t have to think about it because God’s moral law says, “you shall not commit adultery.” That decision has already been made for you—there is nothing to contemplate. There is nothing to consider. There are no options to think through. You have the facts and you only need to follow the rule.
But what about the things that aren’t so clear?
Do you break up with this person or do you marry that person? Do you take this job or that job? Do you buy that house or that other house? Do you speak up, or do you stay quiet? Should you push back, or should you simply accept it?
Here is the problem with every one of those scenarios—so long as there is not a violation of Scripture, none of those options are immoral. This means the rules don’t tell you what decision to make.
Here is something else—there are some things that are best for you and there are some things that aren’t going to be great for you.
Can you make a bad decision? Absolutely!
Can you make a decision that blows up your life—a decision that could have disastrous, life-long consequences? Unfortunately.
Do you see how knowledge is important—but wisdom will actually guide you to apply all of the knowledge you have and all of the counsel you receive so that you can make the best decision possible?
You see, wisdom is so valuable because it will enable you to make decisions that will leave you with the least amount of regret possible.
Wisdom is valuable because wisdom allows us to know what to do in the majority of life situations where the moral rules do not apply.
I like what Tim Keller wrote:
The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive God Only Wise
If you’re a fool, according to the Bible, it means you make bad choices. You constantly hurt yourself. You hurt other people because you’re making foolish choices all the time. If you’re wise, you make good choices. You make good decisions and you move ahead and you do the best thing in these situations.
That is why I said earlier that wisdom is necessary—absolutely necessary—wisdom is of the highest value.
But the writer of Job asked the question, “where can wisdom be found” two times (v. 12, v. 20) in this chapter.
One of the truths established in this chapter is that wisdom—true wisdom—is valuable because it is not of this world. (vs. 1-12)
The first twelve verses talk about mining—digging deep into the earth—going into the darkness and searching out to the farthest limit—looking for gold, iron, copper, sapphires, and every precious thing.
Mankind will dig into the depths of the earth—they will go into places where birds and beasts never go to try to find great wealth.
But one of the most valuable things of all—true wisdom, cannot be found by human effort because the kind of wisdom we need is not of this world.
Wisdom can’t even be bought. (vs. 13-22)
Why?
Look at verse 13
13 Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living.
According to Job, we don’t even know it’s worth—we can’t conceive the value—let alone have enough to purchase it.
15 It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. 16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. 17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. 18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls. 19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
This goes against conventional understanding, doesn’t it?
How many people think wisdom can be obtained by watching daytime TV, or by purchasing and reading a best-selling self-help book, or by investing 30-40 minutes listening to some popular preacher who teaches a man-centered gospel?
How many people accept the advice of their ungodly friends as godly wisdom—and they embrace that wisdom simply because it seems that it will cost nothing?
Listen, the kind of wisdom we need is far more valuable than any wisdom we already possess and any wisdom we find from any other source.
So, let me summarize what Job is saying—if you are trying to obtain wisdom through human effort, you’re only wasting your time because you will not find it and you will not get it.
Why?
Because wisdom comes from God.
Because wisdom comes from God.
23 “God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. 24 For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. 25 When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, 26 when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, 27 then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out.
God alone understands the way to wisdom, and He knows where wisdom resides.
Do you know what this means? It means that God has what you need. It means that God has what you’re looking for. It means that God is the only one who can give you true, life-changing wisdom.
Why?
Because God is all knowing—He sees everything. He sees the beginning—He sees the end—He sees everything in between.
Why did God point Satan to Job?
Because God knew that Job wouldn’t turn against God and curse Him.
But God is also all-powerful and completely sovereign. God is in control because He alone has the power to control.
Think about this—if God adjusts the pressure of the wind, measures the amount of water in the atmosphere, causes it to rain, and controls the thunder and lightning—is there anything God doesn’t know?
Is there any situation or circumstance that God cannot handle?
Is there anything that surprises God?
Has anything ever happened on this earth that God wasn’t prepared to deal with?
God is wisdom—and the beginning of wisdom for us comes when we realize that only God has wisdom.
Here is the good news—God freely gives His wisdom!
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
The path to wisdom
The path to wisdom
The path to wisdom is laid out for us in verse 28...
28 And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”
We receive wisdom by fearing God.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
The fear of God isn’t dreading God. The fear of God isn’t being scared of God.
The fear of God is being in awe of God.
The fear of God is having reverence for God.
I like what Tim Keller wrote, the fear of God is “stillness.”
The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive God Only Wise
To fear God is not just to obey him ethically or believe in him mentally. It’s an attitude of the heart in which you see his magnificence and you’re filled with awe and wonder, and you’re still before it. That is to say you attend to it. You want to honor him. There’s a kind of inner reverence, a joyful reverence. That’s the reason why the Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God.”
It’s the fear of God that will motivate you to turn away from evil—this is understanding—responding as God would have us respond.
So, having a healthy fear of the Lord will give you wisdom and understanding.
But how is wisdom going to help you grow through the storm? How is wisdom going to help you endure through suffering?
Don’t forget when this was written—right in the middle of Job’s storm.
This was written when Job was at his lowest point. This was written after Job lost everything. This was written after his closest friends had savagely turned against him.
Job had to be wondering how he was going to move forward. Job had to be questioning if he could make it through this trial.
So, it seems that Job was learning that he needed wisdom to make it through his suffering and the only way that wisdom was going to come was by fearing and trusting the Lord in his suffering.
Elisabeth Elliot talked about an experience she had when she was staying at a sheep farm in Wales. While she was there the sheep had to be dipped in a vat of antiseptic because they would have been literally eaten alive by parasites and insects.
Ms. Elliot watched the process and started to feel sympathy for the sheep because one by one the shepherd grabbed the sheep as they tried to get out of the vat. If a sheep tried to climb out on one side, the sheep dog would snap at it, driving it back into the vat. If a sheep tried to climb up the ramp, the shepherd would catch it, spin it around, and force the sheep under the antiseptic again—holding its entire head submerged in the liquid.
The sheep didn’t know what was happening to it and even if the shepherd tried to explain it to the sheep, it would never understand that the process—as scary and as painful as it was—was actually saving the sheep’s life. The only thing the sheep can do is be still and let the shepherd have its way—even if the sheep will never understand why.
Please listen to this—the distance between the wisdom of the sheep and the wisdom of the shepherd isn’t nearly as great as the distance between your wisdom and God’s wisdom.
When you are in the storm and when you are suffering, you can only know what you see and feel—but God, in all of His wisdom sees the whole picture.
So how do you fear God—how do you stay still when you’re suffering so that you can grow?
Trust God’s wisdom.
Trust God’s wisdom.
All-too-often we call out to God and ask Him to stop the storm—not realizing that there is a purpose for the storm.
Instead, of asking God to make it stop, maybe you should start by telling Him you’re hurting.
Then confess to Him that you don’t understand.
But then you acknowledge that you don’t see the whole picture, but you are going to trust Him, and obey Him, and wait for this storm to end.
Listen, if you fear God through suffering—if you have reverent, awe for God that causes you to rest in Him, then the pressure of the suffering will make you wise.
Is this easy? No.
This is why we fight it. This is why we get anxious. This is why we panic. This is why we worry. This is why we pray frantically. This is why we tell God what to do. This is why we tell God what we need. This is why we get mad when God doesn’t do what we tell Him to do.
The problem isn’t that God messed up. The problem is that we trust our wisdom more than we trust God’s wisdom.
Look to Jesus
Look to Jesus
When Jesus was on the cross the people who mocked Him and told Him to “come down” from the cross and save Himself.
But Jesus stayed and He suffered on the cross for our sins.
Do you know what Jesus was doing—he was being still. Did He enjoy the pain and suffering as He was paying the price for our sin?
No.
But Jesus submitted to the will of the Father. He trusted God and was still in the storm. Because Jesus was still in the storm, the world can see the ultimate wisdom of God through the death of His Son for our salvation.
Now, all those who are in Christ can be still before God in the midst of suffering because Jesus was still for our sake.
Because Jesus was still for us, we can have wisdom.
So, If you want to grow through a storm, you’re going to need wisdom.
So, If you want to grow through a storm, you’re going to need wisdom.
You get wisdom from God by fearing God even and especially during the storm.