Proverbs: Life in the Real World
The book of Proverbs is uniquely edifying because life isn’t easy, but it is complicated. There are so many decisions to make and relationships to navigate. Since life is complex, we need more than God’s law to navigate life well. We need wisdom. Therefore, God gave us Proverbs so that we can learn to be wise. Wisdom is skill in navigating the complexities of life in the real world to the glory of God. Above all, Proverbs is deeply encouraging because it draws us into rich intimacy with Jesus Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom” (Colossians 2:3).
Proverbs 3:13-35 exists to meet us in the midst of our second-guessing to keep us from stumbling on the path of wisdom that we have learned about over the last few weeks. We’re continuing in the incentive mode that began last week: “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.” (Proverbs 3:13)
Now, what does it mean to be blessed? 3:13 is the first time in the book of Proverbs that this word is used, and it could be briefly described as being “supremely happy.”
The big idea of Proverbs 3:13-35 comes from v.13 and it is this: Blessed is the one who finds wisdom.
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Read sermon transcriptIn Proverbs 3, God, through the voice of a father mentoring his son, incentivizes all of us to apply wisdom to all of life. In Proverbs 2, the father told his son to seek wisdom like treasure because wisdom will protect you. In Proverbs 3, the father tells his son to apply wisdom because it will bless you. Proverbs 2 was defense, but Proverbs 3 is offense. That brings us to the big idea of our passage this morning: Apply wisdom to your life and your life will be full of blessing. Apply wisdom to your life and your life will be full of blessing. This raises two key questions: How do we apply wisdom to our lives? What blessings does wisdom bring? To answer those two questions, we’re going to take our passage in four parts. Apply wisdom to your life and your life will be full of blessing. How? 1. Imitate Jesus (vv. 1-4) 2. Trust Jesus (vv. 5-8) 3. Honor Jesus (vv. 9-10) 4. Submit to Jesus (vv. 11-12).
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Read sermon transcriptOur scripture today comes from Proverbs 1:20-33
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Read sermon transcriptI bet you can’t think of a single wise person or fool who got that way on their own; we all know, your companions can make you or break you. In our passage, God, through the voice of a dad speaking to his son, wisely says to all of us this big idea of our passage this morning: When sinners entice you, do not consent. When foolish friends tempt you, as Nancy Reagan said, “just say no.” In our complex world, how can we possibly do that? Our passage provides four ways to avoid consenting when sinners entice us to join in with them.
1. Hear your parents’ instruction (1:8-9)
2. Imagine where sinners will lead you (1:10-18)
3. Turn to the better way (1:19)
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Read sermon transcriptResources:
How To Read Proverbs by Tremper Longman III
Proverbs: Wisdom That Works by Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.
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