James tells us that if we lack wisdom, we need to ask God who will give it to us. For the next few weeks we will be going through a portion of the book of Proverbs. I trust you will be blessed and gain godly wisdom as a result.
Proverbs 1: The Beginning of Knowledge
1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth---
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Enticement of Sinners
8 Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching,
9 for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
11 If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason;
12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse"---
15 my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths,
16 for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
17 For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird,
18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.
The Call of Wisdom
20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?
23 If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
30 would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster."
Proverbs 2: The Value of Wisdom
1 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.
16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words,
17 who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed;
19 none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.
20 So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it,
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.
Things to think about…
1. Proverbs 1:1-7 concludes with the fact that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We are told that we are not given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind, 2Tim1:7. What does this say for the unbeliever? Psalms 14&53 says the fool says in his heart there is no God. Can an unbeliever have true wisdom? It would seem not if the source does not involve the Lord. There is a worldly wisdom and then there is a wisdom that comes from the Lord. Proverbs shows us the difference.
2. Proverbs 1:8-19 admonishes young men not to be persuaded by the multitude of godless voices around them, but to listen to the wise instruction from a mother or father. Unfortunately, we have the situation today where mum and dad by and large have dropped the ball, especially spiritually. The church clearly plays a role in giving wisdom and instruction where there is an obvious void in the lives of many young men (and women).
3. Proverbs 1:20-33 doesn’t pull any punches. It basically says “here I am, WISDOM, listen to me, I am calling. But if you refuse to listen to me your judgement is just and I will laugh at your calamity”. The Holy Spirit is personified here in the character of wisdom. God also sits in the heavens and laughs at the folly of men. But does God really laugh at calamity and mock when terror strikes Prov 1:26? Is this the God we serve? If so should we mock and laugh at the rebellious when they get their just deserts? The fool and his folly will be put to open shame.
4. Proverbs 2 says that if we do two things 1. Call out and 2. Seek understanding the Lord promises to bless with these things, knowing that wisdom, knowledge and understanding can only come from Him, vs 6. He then promises an abundance of wisdom, discretion, uprightness, protection, and discernment Prov 2:9-15. The promise is then given that the upright will inhabit the land, vs 21. This is a bit like the Lord’s promise in Matt 5 that the meek will inherit the earth, but the wicked will be cut off, vs 22. Are these promises just for eternity or can we expect earthly blessing and inheritance now? I believe the principles are for now as well. Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” Mark 10:29-31. Note - persecutions are also involved.
5. We see Solomon about to start on the ways and fruit of women who entice men, Prov 2:16-22. He will continue this theme in the following chapters. Solomon of course had a great deal of experience in knowing women, not only as the wisest man on earth, but by the shear fact he would come to have 700 wives and 300 concubines. Even his own wisdom would suffer as a result of being led astray by his love and lust for women.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “Keeping an open mind and heart” – Reading Hebrews 3:7-19.
1. We have all done some things in our past that we are not very proud of. We have gone against wise counsel or done some things that we knew were plain wrong. Can you share something dumb that you have done and later regretted?
2. The writer to the Hebrews is writing to Jews who knew the law of Moses very well, yet they were not following after Christ the way they should. He says that the ancient Israelites in the wilderness didn’t enter the promised land because of unbelief. He used the example of the hardness of heart to what they received in the wilderness. What did they receive, who did this represent?
3. Many disciples turned away from Jesus when He said eat my body and drink my blood. He said he was the manna that came down from heaven in John 6. How are the Jews still missing this today? In what ways do we do the same thing through religion, lack of bible study, lack of meeting together?
Prayer Points
1. Sydney floods – pray for safety
2. That the reversal of Rowe v Wade has a profound effect on future children yet unborn.
3. Safety for those travelling over the school holidays.
4. Peace to rest over Ukraine.
5. Folk sick with Flu A and Covid – relief and healing.
6. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Good response to Newscop article from Ukraine.
2. More new folk came to CBC on Sunday.
3. Worship on Sunday – thankyou and technical team.
4. Café helpers on Sunday.
5. All those who faithfully serve in ministries, Worship, Sound/Technical/Kids Church/ Cell Groups/Admin - Bulletins/Finances/Property/Welcoming/Spiritual Leadership/Cafe
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Remember to check your duty rosters.
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for June...
Q. 5. Will the bodies of the dead be raised to life again? A. Yes; "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust.
