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WHAT IS THE SECRET TO LIFE?
PROVERBS 9:1-18
Introduction:
Tonight is a special service in honor of Michael Ice who just graduated from High School a few nights ago. Michael, I want you to come up here, I have a special gift for you from the Church.
I also want everyone to know that we will be having a fellowship right after the service and we hope that you will stay and have a good time of fellowship together with Michael and maybe offer him some words of wisdom as he treks out into life now.
What is the secret to life? That’s what we all wanted to know when we were in Michael’s shoes.
There are probably some others in here who would like to know!
Charlie Brown's sister, Sally, approached her brother and declared, "I think I've discovered the secret to life--you just hang around until you get used to it."
Sally’s secret to life might be humorous if it wasn’t for the fact that so many seem to live their lives that way. Just hanging around and trying to get used to it.
You might be familiar with “Parade” which is a magazine insert in many Sunday newspapers.
Marilyn vos Savant, who is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records Hall of Fame for highest IQ,, has a regular column in Parade. A gentleman once wrote Marilyn vos Savant with a question about life. This particular inquirer said his life was "more exhausting than he ever imagined" and wanted to know, "Is this normal?" Marilyn told him his life was indeed normal and then gave the following analogy about life. She said, "Much of the time, life is like going through the airport steering a loaded luggage cart with one bad wheel. Sometimes you just feel ridiculous, sometimes you actually look ridiculous, and sometimes all you can do is just try to push it in generally the right direction." (Parade, Oct. 12, 1997, p. 8)
Anyone feel like that tonight?
While there is some truth in both of those statements, surely there has to be more to life than just “hanging around trying to get used to it,” or just trying to "push it" in the right direction.
Thankfully, there is! Thankfully, God has something to say about life. He has given us His Word, the Bible. The Bible is a book that has much to say about life and about how we should live it.
So tonight we are going to go from Genesis to Revelation and see what the Bible says about life!
(Calm down, we are not really going to do that!)
While we don’t have time this evening to look at every passage in the Bible about life and how it should be lived, we do have time to look into this one chapter.
Proverbs 9 breaks life down to its simplest truths and gives us what we will call “The Secret To Life” or we could call it “Life In A Nutshell.”
That is the thought I want to amplify this evening. Notice with me some of the facts of life as they are revealed in this chapter.
I. THERE ARE TWO CALLS IN LIFE. (Vs. 1-4; 13-16)
A. The Call Of Wisdom. (Vs. 1-4)
The context is this:
Wisdom has a fine house held up by seven pillars.
This speaks of spaciousness and stability.
Her house is away from the path of normal human activity. (vs. 3)
She has to send her servants to call people to come.
She seeks them where they live and invites them to come to her place for a better life.
What is "wisdom"?
Understand that wisdom is not intelligence!
Understand too, that wisdom is not knowledge!
Lewis Timberlake said, "Wisdom is not high IQ. It is the best use of knowledge."
Biblical wisdom is knowing, understanding, and living out the Word of God.
A life of wisdom, then, is a life that lives out the truths of the Word of God.
Job 23:12-13–“My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. 12Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”
Psalm119:103–“How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Jeremiah 15:16–“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart:”
1 Peter 2:2–“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
The Words Of Jesus - Matthew. 4:4–“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
B. The Call Of Wickedness. (Vs. 13-16)
The context is this:
Folly also has a house. But, it is built where the fools are already living. (Vs. 15) This makes it far more convenient.
This implies that men may enter the house of folly with little or no change in their lives.
To get to wisdom, they have to put forth effort.
To get to folly, they can continue as they are, where they are.
Folly is presented as a prostitute. She promises the fool a good time, this is the enticement to evil. Hebrews 11:25–“. . .pleasures of sin. . .”
That is why there are more people who live lives of sin than there are who live lives of righteousness!
People (just like water and electricity) almost always choose the path of least resistance. They do what comes naturally and they gravitate toward evil.
Psalm 58:3–“The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”
Ephesians 2:1-3–“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
Ephesians 4:22-24–“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
THERE ARE TWO CALLS IN LIFE. (Wisdom and Wickedness)
II. THERE ARE TWO CHOICES IN LIFE. (Vs. 4, 10-12; 16)
When the calls of life are issued, the ultimate choice lies with the individual.
Even Jesus presented life as consisting of only two choices.
Matthew 7:13-14–“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
So what are the two choices that we see here:
A. One Grounded In Human Understanding. (Vs. 16)
This is the pathway of the foolish. It is the choice that requires no choice!
It is merely man doing that which he does by nature.
This is man going his own way.
Proverbs 16:25–“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
B. One Grounded In Heavenly Understanding. (Vs. 4, 10-12)
The one who chooses the path of wisdom, does so because he has come to understand some important truths.
He has come to an understanding of the Person, Position and Power of God.
(vs. 10-12)
The wise person has come to understand that one day, God will judge these lives we are living.
Romans 14:12–“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
2 Corinthians 5:10–“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
Because of this, God is to be honored and feared in our lives as we pass through this world.
In the end, our eternal destiny will rest upon the choice we made concerning Jesus Christ.
Right now, the quality of our life rests upon the choices we make concerning God's Word and Will for our life. (vs. 12)
THERE ARE TWO CALLS IN LIFE–Wisdom and Wickedness (or Folly)
THERE ARE TWO CHOICES IN LIFE– That Which Is Grounded In Human Understanding Or That Which Is Grounded In Heavenly Understanding
III. THERE ARE TWO CONTRASTS IN LIFE. (Vs. 7-9 )
A. The Wicked Man. (Vs. 7-8)
Look at the context:
These verses tell us that the wicked man, or the fool is "unteachable".
He will not listen to reason. He will not listen to the Lord.
Trying to show him his waywardness only creates an enemy!
Someone once said, "Wise men change their minds; fools never. A wise man thinks all he says; a fool says all he thinks." - Anonymous
Too often people change their jobs, friends, or spouses instead of changing themselves.
The person who chooses human foolishness over divine truth is a person determined to life his life on his own terms!
B. The Wise Man. (Vs. 9)
Look at the context and see the contrast:
While the fool persists in his foolishness, the wise man will listen when he is confronted with the truth and he will adjust his life accordingly.
In other words, he has a "teachable" spirit! Look at Proverbs 1:7-9.
The wise man realizes his own limitations and shortcomings and grasps every opportunity to develop his life into one that is more pleasing to the Lord.
"Wise men learn more from fools than fools from wise men." -Cato the Elder
These two kinds of people are all around us!
There are those who are unteachable.
They think they know what is best for their lives and you cannot tell them any different. They are fools!
Then, there are those people who know they aren't perfect. They know they need instruction and they receive the truth of God with joy. They allow it to mold them and make them into the image of Christ! These folks are wise!
Which one best describes you tonight?
THERE ARE TWO CALLS IN LIFE–Wisdom and Wickedness (or Folly)
THERE ARE TWO CHOICES IN LIFE– That Which Is Grounded In Human Understanding Or That Which Is Grounded In Heavenly Understanding
THERE ARE TWO CONTRASTS IN LIFE–Teachable Or Unteachable.
IV. THERE ARE TWO CONSEQUENCES IN LIFE. (Vs. 5-6; 17-18)
A. You Can Attend The Feast. (Vs. 5-6)
Look at the context:
Wisdom spreads her table for those who enter her house.
She strengthens them, she satisfies them, and she sustains them.
She gives them all they need for now and for the future. (vs. 6, 11)
The same is true for the person who chooses the way of God over the way of the world. He spreads His feast for us as we pass through this life.
1 Corinthians 2:9–“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
He promises us that we have a home with Him in His heaven forever.(John14:1-3)
In fact, choosing to live by the wisdom of God will fit you for glory!
B. You Can Attend The Funeral. (Vs 17-18)
Look at the context and the contrast:
While the wise man goes off to enjoy the feast, the fool goes off the endure his funeral. (Vs. 18)
This truth is vividly illustrated in Proverbs 7:5-27. This is the lot of the fool! Living this life to the full with sinful pleasures, but with no preparation for tomorrow!
A rich man failed in business. He gathered up the fragments of his wrecked fortune and had in all a few thousand dollars. He determined to go to the West and start anew. He took his money and purchased a motor home, furnishing it in the most luxurious style, and stocking it with provisions for his journey. In this sumptuous vehicle he traveled to his destination. At length he stepped from the door of his motor home and only then thought for the first time of his great folly. He had used all his money in getting to his new home, and now had nothing with which to begin life there.
This incident illustrates the foolishness of those who think only of this life and make no provision for eternity.
Conclusion:
James tells us that our life is nothing more than a mere vapor. (James 4:14)
It is here for a time and then it is gone!
We only receive one life, so we need to spend it wisely, doing the will of the Lord and preparing ourselves to meet Him when this life is over.
Even as you sit here tonight, the vapor of your life is dissipating into the thin air of eternity.
If you were honest, would you say, "I am living a life based on the word and will of God! I walk in the fear of the Lord and I serve Him with all my heart."?
Or, would you have to admit, "I go my own way, do my own thing and never think about what God wants from my life."?
Those are the two extremes! I suspect that most of us are somewhere in the middle of the two.
If this message is anything, it is a challenge to begin the process of moving your life closer to the way God wants you to live it.
Home Page Contact Us Service Times Sermons Are You Going To Heaven?
NOTICE: THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!