Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Walking in Wisdom Part lll

Episode Date: November 17, 2023

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Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. I want to thank you all for continuing to listen to the show. I'm humbled and grateful that each week listeners from over 150 countries dial in, not to hear my opinion, but to hear the truth of God's Word. And in this regard, I want to thank you for leaving comments and reviews on the podcast because it helps other people find out about the show and listen to biblical content, which is what is on my heart. On a personal note, I want to thank so many of you for praying for my family and I as we have begun to settle into the Franklin, Tennessee area and into my role as the

lead teaching pastor at Stonebridge Bible Church. Well, with that in mind, in this episode, I want to continue our series studying the biblical theme of wisdom in mind, in this episode, I want to continue our series studying the biblical theme of wisdom. I've entitled this episode, Listen Before It's Too Late, because the subject we are presently examining is not a trifling matter, but as we will observe, a life or death matter. It's urgent. Job 28 says that wisdom is more precious than pearls. Proverbs 8 says that wisdom is more valuable than jewels. And Proverbs 16 says that wisdom is better than gold. You need wisdom. That is without question. But the question is, will you listen to wisdom when wisdom speaks? Let's dial in.

On Wednesday, April 10th, 1912, a ship embarked on its maiden voyage from Southampton, which is about 80 miles southwest of London, and it set sail for New York. The destination of the ship is as well known as the ship's name, that being the Titanic. The ship carrying 2,240 passengers was, no pun intended, a titan in regards to size, industry, and innovation. At nearly 900 feet long and 100 feet wide, the ship was believed to be invincible and indestructible, and consequently, it was deemed unnecessary to possess the proper amount of lifeboats because, after all, what could possibly happen to the Titanic? Now, in the days after departing from Southampton, the Titanic received numerous warnings from other ships that were traveling in the exact same area the Titanic would be sailing. On the 11th of April, the Titanic received six warnings

from ships stopped in or passing through heavy ice. They received five more warnings on April the 12th, three more on April 13th, and seven more on April the 14th. All of these messages would have been written down as they were intercepted, logged into the radio book, and passed on to the officers on the bridge. There was no way that the captain, along with the officers, would have been unaware of the huge field of ice that now lay directly in front of the Titanic. At one point, a message was delivered that there was a large iceberg and field ice directly ahead of them, and this report was taken to the captain, John Smith. Nevertheless, the captain kept the ship at full speed. He believed that the crew would be able to react in time if any danger was sighted. And after repeated warnings and alerts, the Titanic surged onward. And on board

the ship, the passengers teamed with life. They were eating, they were drinking, they were dancing as they settled into their journey. However, on the night of April 14th, lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee peered into the darkness. And just before 11.40 p.m., Fleet noticed something blacker than sea lying directly ahead of them. And as the ship drew closer, recognition dawned. Fleet rang a warning bell three times

and phoned the bridge. What do you see? Came the voice through the receiver, and Fleet responded, Iceberg right ahead. But at that point, it was too late. It may have appeared that the ship had escaped the iceberg rising above the water, but nine-tenths, as you know, of an iceberg is hidden below the surface,

and that underwater bulk punched and pummeled the Titanic's starboard hull plates. And within moments, water entered the first five compartments below ship and then poured into the sixth and then into the seventh. And roughly two hours after hitting the iceberg, the Titanic's stern rose high out of the water and the bow plunged below. Passengers in the lifeboats watched in horror as those who remained on the boat scrambled to the sloping deck to get a few final seconds before being carried violently below. Others had jumped into the sea, but in the end, more than 1500 people died, ranging from the working class to the ultra wealthy. They all died either from drowning or from hypothermia. Why? Well, because the repeated warnings were ignored. The council was rejected. And in the end, the consequences were deadly and devastating.

It was too late. The book of Proverbs wants to issue a similar plea. And that is to listen before it's too late. Don't reject wisdom. Because if you reject wisdom, it's not just that you fail to live life to the fullest, but that your life itself may be forfeited. Because if you reject wisdom, it's not just that you fail to live life to the fullest, but that your life itself may be forfeited. Wisdom grabs you right now by the proverbial collar and urgently pleads with you,

listen before it's too late. Now, wisdom, as you recall from our previous episodes in the series, is not just knowledge, nor is it knowledge applied, because you can have a great deal of knowledge and apply that knowledge and still be in the eyes of God a fool. The distinction is that wisdom is righteous knowledge that is rightly applied. In our first episode in the series, we observed that wisdom begins with a fear of the Lord, and that is to put God in his proper place. It's to be stunned by the fact that a holy God has condescended and called you his friend, and to be in awe of the fact that the sovereign king bids you to call him father. This creates an awe of God, and this is the first step of pursuing wisdom. And if you miss this, you miss everything.

I've always liked the story about the legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus, who some would say is the greatest golfer to ever live and who holds the record for the most major championships ever won. Well, despite his numerous accolades and widespread accomplishments, Jack Nicklaus was only coached by one man. In fact, it was the same coach he had since the time he began golfing at the age of 10. That man's name was Jack Grout. But year after year, Jack Nicklaus would return to his coach, Jack Grout, and ask him to remind him of the basics. And his legendary coach would always evaluate one thing,

and that was Jack Nicklaus' grip. The coach would remind Jack that if the grip was messed up, then everything would be messed up. The grip is fundamental to the swing and the club path and consequently essential to the contact that the club makes with the ball. The grip was everything to Jack Grout. And I liken this to the fear of the Lord, because if this area of your life is off, then your entire life is off.

But if you begin to fear God, then and only then you have the beginning seeds of wisdom. Now, we have already observed this reality in Proverbs 1-7, but at the end of this same chapter in verses 20-33 of Proverbs 1, wisdom is personified and Lady Wisdom is going to preach a sermon that urgently calls for you to choose wisdom before it's too late. I want you first of all to notice in verses 20 through 22, wisdom's invitation. In verse 20 of chapter 1 of Proverbs, it says, Wisdom shouts in the street.

She lifts her voice in the square. At the head of the noisy streets, she cries out. At the entrance of the gates in the city, she utters her saying, how long, oh naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge. Listen again. Proverbs 1 says that wisdom, watch this, shouts, lifts her voice, cries out, utters her sayings, and asks you a question. Listening even now through the living and active word of God, wisdom is asking you, how long will you love being simple-minded? How long will you love being a scoffer? And how long will you hate knowledge? Wisdom here makes an invitation.

The idea here is that in the square where people are passing by and at the noisy streets where there is the clamor and commotion of the world's world view, there is lady wisdom and she is making her invitation known and presses and probes your conscience and ask you today, how long are you going to spurn wisdom? Here, wisdom is calling out to those who are described in verse 22 as simple, scoffers, and foolish. Three terms to describe those who lack wisdom, simple, scoffer, and foolish. The term for simple is used 14 times in the book of Proverbs, and it refers to a naivety

and complacent attitude towards wisdom. The simple person can also be someone who is ignorant. The next term, scoffer, is used 15 times and it refers to a sarcastic pride that believes the individual doesn't need to learn anything or apply anything. And even if they don't do better than anyone else, they know better and think better. and this arrogance produces a scoffing disdain towards others. The third description is the fool, and this term is used 64 times in Proverbs and refers to the person who, although they may know a lot of the world's wisdom, has ultimately

rejected and not applied the wisdom that comes from God. The foolish person may have once been simple and ignorant and naive, but when the ignorant hear wisdom and then reject wisdom, they have gone from being ignorant to foolish. The foolish person is impervious to instruction and they suppress who God is as creator and refuse to embrace the fact that they could be dead at any moment. The fool ignores the warnings, spurns the pleadings, and will one day face the consequences. For the simple scoffing and foolish person, there are only two options. Turn towards wisdom and receive life,

or turn towards folly and consequently receive death. And here in chapter 1, wisdom is seen to be in plain sight and making her invitation. And you may be asking then, why if wisdom is in plain sight and calls out for people, why is it so hard to find wisdom and why do so many or so few people find it? Well, a couple reasons. Number one, there is a competition between the world's wisdom and biblical wisdom. You are awake 16 hours a day. The television, the internet, and social media are bombarding and seducing you with worldly wisdom.

They grab, seduce, and lure you to think the way this current culture thinks, and they attempt to press you into the world's mold. Secondly, because our sin nature alienates us from the wisdom of God, the world, the flesh, and the devil seduce us and incline us towards folly. And even when wisdom is in plain sight, we're tempted to think along the path of the world's thinking. In Proverbs 1.10, it says, My son, when sinners entice you, this is to say that the world is aggressive.

Satan is a hunter and your flesh is vile. And all three work together to get you to spurn godly wisdom and chase after worldly folly. The devil is going to try and sell you counterfeit wisdom today and every other day. He disguises himself as an angel of light. He takes almost truths and sells them as whole truths. Satan lies and then he dresses up his lies and deceit as wisdom. When wisdom speaks though, it speaks in life and truth, but the adversary attempts to mimic the words of wisdom and passive wisdom in order to sift the naive and ignorant like wheat. Maybe you though, like the radio transmitters aboard the Titanic have received

many warnings and have rejected those warnings. And the scripture and Proverbs 1 here is preaching to you, don't be a fool. Wisdom is available and she invites you to come. Wisdom is not just offering you life lessons. It gives you prudence. That is the communicated goal in chapter 1 verse 4 of Proverbs. It says to give prudence to the naive. Prudence implies skilled living and the use of reason

and the implementation of necessary caution and good judgment. The references that contrast the prudent, you may not even be aware of this term or use this term in your day-to-day life, but the references that contrast the prudent and the fool in Proverbs are replete throughout the book, and wisdom invites you to come and learn. Listen just to the truth of scripture. Proverbs 14, 15 says, the simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps. Proverbs 14.3. Proverbs 27.12. So here is this invitation in Proverbs for you to come and choose wisdom.

And wisdom is grabbing you. Listen before it's too late. So not only first is there wisdom's invitation. Secondly, in Proverbs 1.23, I want to look with you at wisdom's exhortation. Verse 23 says, Turn to my reproof behold i will pour out my spirit on you and i will make my words known to you the call of wisdom and the exhortation of wisdom is to turn that's the first word of verse 23 to turn this means to repent wisdom is Wisdom is not offering a lesson, a lecture, a talk, a speech, a monologue.

It's not offering any of those. It's preaching a sermon. And to repent is the central message of all of Scripture. When Jesus shows up on the scene in Matthew 4, he preaches a message of repentance, to turn. When Peter shows up, he preaches a message of repentance in Acts 2. Paul preached a message of repentance. John the Baptist preached a message of repentance. And wisdom in Proverbs chapter 1 is preaching a message of repentance. Wisdom says, turn. Turn from thelly, turn from ignorance, turn from naivety and complacency towards wisdom.

Why? Because a time is coming when you will not be able to turn. So wisdom is not only inviting you, but exhorting you to repent before it's too late. Listen to Psalm 7, verse 10. It says, If a man does not repent, he, that's God, will sharpen his sword. He has bent his bow and made it ready. There is a time when you will no longer be able to turn towards God and turn towards wisdom. Those who continue on in their folly, they will one day face the consequences,

and we're going to talk about that in a moment. But Isaiah chapter 1 verse 18 says, Come now, turn now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow. They were red like crimson. But you can turn. Many people do not repent because they do not sense their outright rebellion. Therefore, the scripture draws our attention to the reality that those who are foolish are not always explicitly and outrightly aggressively rebellious, but those who are complacent and indifferent. At times, the fool looks like the one who runs to the far country like the prodigal son. And at other times, the fool is the one who sits in the pew,

nods their head, and yet does not heed wisdom nor apply it, but rather they are apathetic towards it. The call to turn is made towards the one who is rebellious and the one who is bored sitting in the church. The rebel could be hostile or the rebel could be indifferent. And in both cases, they are on the road of the fool. Wisdom is calling. The question is, are you listening? Rejection is not always clenching your fist. It could be a rolling of your eyes and a mumbling under your lips saying, I already know this. So first there's wisdom's

invitation. Secondly, there's wisdom's exhortation to turn third here. There's wisdom's rebuke and verses 24 and following wisdom says, because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention and you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof, I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock you when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel. They spurned all my reproof, so they will eat of the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel. They

spurned all my reproof so they will eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices. You need to understand this. Wisdom is preaching to you. There are consequences for the actions that we do that are outside of the will of God. You cannot erase the decision to choose folly and spurn wisdom. Some of the most tragic consequences in life are because people chose to reject the wisdom that comes from the word of God and continue to drift towards complacency and naivety.

And in turn, they drifted towards destruction. You might be saying, whoa, whoa, whoa. What about God's forgiveness? Well, there is indeed forgiveness and reconciliation that is offered from God. And yet God's forgiveness does not eliminate sin's consequences. Many people see the trajectory they are on and their sinful patterns, and they see the storm that is coming, the whirlwind that is approaching, and instead of turning towards safety and life, they run towards the eye of the storm. God can forgive that individual, but that individual will still face the consequences in this life. It says in 31 of chapter 1, they will eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices.

Do you know what that means? Proverbs says that you will eat of the fruit of your own way. It means this. You reap what you sow. When you reap foolishness, you sow destruction. Galatians 6 verse 7 says, Do not be deceived. God is not mocked.

For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. If you have not reaped the consequences of sowing folly, that isn't because God is not keeping his promises, but because he is patient and merciful. But you need to understand this. God's patience is not unlimited. God does let people go their own way. That is the truth of Romans one. People who continue to reject God and spurn God and rebel against God, eventually God lets them do their own thing. That is the worst thing that can happen to an individual, the absolute worst thing. That is that God continually bids them to come to him and find wisdom in his word. And the fool repeatedly says to God, no, no, no, no. And

then eventually God looks at the fool and says, thy will be done. And when God does that, when he gives people to their sin, there are terrible realities and devastating consequences to spurning wisdom. I don't know if anyone can accurately assess how much loss there is in this life from choosing folly over wisdom, but Proverbs says it's the difference between prosperity and destruction and joy and sorrow. Again, this is not to say that God cannot forgive the sinner and the former fool, but it is to say this, that folly at times has permanent consequences. When the drunk driver hits a man and kills him, God can forgive the drunk driver, but the driver still has to live with the consequences.

God can forgive the adulterer, but the man or the woman who commits adultery still has to live with the consequences. And in some cases, the consequences of folly may be subtle, but they are nevertheless real. You do not always know the devastating fruits of foolishness, but one day you will. In scripture, the foolish person is the one who thinks they have their sin on a leash that they can control.

And they lose sight of the fact that over time, it isn't they who control their sin, but sin that is controlling them, and they will one day reap what they have sown. Often in scripture, it takes a catastrophe, a disaster, for a fool to recognize that they are one. And the catastrophe itself has lifelong consequences. So wisdom pleads with you. God's word is grabbing you and maybe even pressing your conscience even now and telling you, listen before it's too late. On the final verse of this Proverbs chapter one, it's wisdom's promise, wisdom's promise.

It says, but he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil. This is not to say that the righteous live a life that is free from trouble, but it is to say that the righteous person is the only person in the world who can experience trouble and know that it is not the fruit of their folly, but the trials that God has sent them to refine them.

I remember a man telling me something similar after I preached one time. He told me to pursue holiness and to never compromise my integrity because I'm going to face trouble and persecution. And if I'm not walking in holiness, then I will always ask, am I facing this, enduring this, or going through this because of my own foolishness? Now listen, wisdom is available to you in God's word. Are you seeking it like silver? Are you searching for it as hidden treasure? Are you alternatively plugging your ears and covering your eyes and running from wisdom and running

towards folly. Wisdom pleads with you. Listen before it's too late. In our next episode in the series, after a brief excursion next week for Thanksgiving, I want to look at the model of wisdom because Proverbs can tend to become moralistic legalism if it does not point us to the person that embodies the book of proverbs that is Jesus Christ talking about wisdom is like trying to explain what a camel looks like to someone who has never seen one you can describe the humps and the lumps in the long legs but

cannot imagine without a proper picture. And that is what talking like wisdom can be like without showing you a person that actually embodies and personifies wisdom. And that is Jesus Christ, whom Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 24, is himself the wisdom of God. Till next time, stay dialed in.