Well, could you please turn with me in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter one? We're not gonna be looking at one particular text. We're actually gonna be jumping around quite a bit this morning, but I guess we can just make a start by opening up our Bibles and turning to the first chapter of Proverbs, but we're gonna be moving around quite a bit within the book itself, and perhaps it might even be best just to kind of jot down some references rather than trying to kind of flick back and forth, because we're gonna be moving quite briskly at times. Let's begin with a word of prayer. Father, we have just sung and pray to you that you would come and speak and nourish us with the truths of your word. And we do pray that you would do that for us this morning, that you would do that for us now, that you would minister your word to our hearts and nourish our souls. We do pray that the words of my mouth and the meditation of all of our hearts would be pleasing and acceptable in your sight. our rock and our Redeemer. Amen. Well, what is wisdom? According to the Bible, what is wisdom and what does it mean to be wise? Well, in the Bible, gaining wisdom, insight, understanding, is more than merely about attaining a sort of intellectual understanding of complex theological truths. Wisdom is about more than that. Wisdom is about living in the light of God's revealed truth. Wisdom is about applying truth to life. Learning wisdom is about learning how to live well in God's world. The wise person is the person that lives in harmony with God and with their neighbor and in fact, with the whole created order. And the wisdom literature of Scripture instructs us how to apply God's revealed will to all of life. Wisdom teaches us how to see God in relation to every area, to every aspect of our lives. Wisdom instructs us how to live a good life, a happy life. A life that leads to blessing and contentment and peace and joy. Wisdom instructs us how to flourish and how to thrive in God's universe. And we learn wisdom from both special revelation, that is God's word, and also from general revelation, God's creation. In Proverbs 3, 19, we read that the Lord, by wisdom, founded the earth. By understanding, he established the heavens. In Psalm 104, verse 24, the psalmist proclaims this. Oh Lord, how manifold are your works. In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. So with wisdom, God created the heavens and the earth. And God's wisdom is, therefore, revealed in creation. Wisdom is infused into creation. And therefore, we can learn wisdom by observing the created order. This is why in Proverbs, we can learn wisdom from the ant, and from rock badgers, and locusts, and lizards. To quote the Belgic Confession. The universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God. You see, a foolish person is like an out-of-tune piano. They are not attuned to God's wisdom, and therefore they cannot flourish and thrive in God's universe. They cannot live in harmony with God and with others and with creation itself. In the Bible, we're instructed that God's wisdom must infuse every area of our lives. As you say, friendship, work, finances, our speech, our words, how we suffer, Thoughts about food and drink of entertainment should shape the way we think about marriage and sex and parenting. And the list could go on and on. You see, because wisdom has something to say about every area of life. Now, according to the Bible, what is the beginning of wisdom? What is the beginning of wisdom? Where does wisdom start? If you want to become a wise person, where do you need to begin? Well, according to scripture, the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 9, 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. But what does it mean to fear the Lord? Many people, I think, are confused by this. For many people, this statement, it sounds strange. John even tells us in his first letter in chapter 4, verse 18, that there is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. So the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but perfect love casts out fear. Is there a contradiction here? No, there's no contradiction. You see, the word fear is used in scripture to communicate a variety of different things. So the word fear has sort of a spectrum of meaning. And we need to consider the context in order to understand the meaning of how the word is being used. The kind of fear that John writes about in his letter that he says has to do with punishment is the kind of fear that we might describe as terror, dread, despair. And Christians no longer need to live in terror of God's judgment. The love of God has cast out that kind of fear. But when we read in scripture that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, we have to understand that we are being exhorted to honor and to revere the Lord. The Lord, who is the Lord? He is the creator of the heavens and the earth. And so therefore, It's God, it's the Lord who determines reality. It's the Lord that determines what is right and wrong, what is good and what is evil. In the scriptures, the Lord reveals himself to us as a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But the Lord is a God who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation. So we are to understand that God is merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love. But we must also understand that God will not and does not tolerate sin. God doesn't turn a blind eye to our sin. Yes, in Christ, if we come to Christ, we are embraced and welcomed by the Lord. We must never forget that the Lord is holy, holy, holy. The Lord is high above the nations and his glory above the heavens. And God does not sweep our sins under the rug. God cannot sweep our sins under the rug, to quote A.W. Pink. God must necessarily punish sin. Sin can no more exist without demanding his punishment than without requiring his hatred of it. God has often forgiven sinners, but he never forgives sin. And the sinner is only forgiven on the ground of another, having borne his punishment. For without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission. To fear God means that we honor God, we love God, and we glorify God. If we fear the Lord, it means that we will be attentive to his word. We'll humbly receive his word and obey it. We will tremble in his presence. If we fear the Lord, we will forsake sin. We will turn from evil and do what is good. Job 28, 28 says, behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to turn away from evil is understanding. Proverbs 8, 13 tells us the fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Wisdom, therefore, entails loving what God loves and hating what God hates. Now, we can't expect our children to fear God and pursue the way of wisdom if they don't know God. We can't expect our children to embrace and treasure wisdom unless they are faithfully instructed in the way of wisdom. In Ephesians 6.4, Paul writes, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. And the Apostle Paul, first and foremost, directs this word of exhortation, you may have noticed, to raise up children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, to fathers. So fathers are called to be Christ-like leaders in the home. Fathers are to take the lead when it comes to discipline and instruction in the home. Proverbs chapters one to nine. They take the form of 10 extended dialogues. And they're also interspersed with these poems from Lady Wisdom. But really, on the whole, they take the form of these 10 extended dialogues. These are the words of a father giving instruction to his son. However, we see here that mothers, as well as fathers, have an indispensable role in teaching their children wisdom. So Proverbs 1.8, hear my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching. Proverbs 6, verses 20 and 21. My son, keep your father's commandment and forsake not your mother's teaching. Bind them on your heart always. Tie them around your neck. These passages in Proverbs make it clear to us that mothers as well as fathers must instruct their children in the way of wisdom. And children are exhorted to not forsake their mother's teaching. Children must humbly receive and embrace that teaching. Children are to bind their mother's teaching on their hearts and tie it around their necks. And mothers, you must teach your children the fear of the Lord. And you must teach them the way of wisdom. Of course, this first and foremost means that you must joyfully, winsomely, teach your children about God, about the fear of the Lord. You must instruct them and plead with them to honor and to love and to glorify the Lord. You must instruct them to be those that would humbly receive God's word and obey it. You must instruct them to turn from evil and do good. and you are given the amazing responsibility and privilege, both mothers and fathers especially, to introduce your children to God, to the one who has created all things, visible and invisible, whether on earth or in heaven, to the one who is redeemer and savior and friend of sinners. You must proclaim to your children the wonderful works of God in creation, and also in redemption. You see, when a person loves God and reveres God and honors God supremely above all else, that God would be to them the greatest treasure of their hearts, it changes everything. It completely changes how a person lives. If we want our children to flourish and to thrive in God's universe, If we want them to enjoy a life of blessing and contentment and joy, we must first and foremost make God known to them. We must first and foremost seek to amaze them with God. Mothers, teaching your children wisdom also means teaching them how to live well in God's world. Therefore, you must teach them the necessary skills that they need in order to flourish and to thrive in life. You must teach them how to live in harmony with God and with others and with the whole created order. You must teach them truth, and you must teach them how to apply the truth of God's word to their lives. And remember that when it comes to the truth, When it comes to instructing your children in the way of wisdom, rejoice. You're not having to reinvent the wheel. There's a sense in which what you are to do is to simply relay and to transmit the revealed wisdom of God to your children. Ultimately, in the end, it's God who gives wisdom. But God will use you as the means by which your children hear wisdom. Proverbs 2 verse 6 says, for the Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. And so mothers, you have the privilege to be God's spokesperson. You have the privilege to be God's mouthpiece. And you must speak God's words to your children. Last week I said that life can oftentimes feel like navigating a minefield. One misstep and kaboom. Our children need help. They need instruction. They need wisdom. They are walking through a minefield and you must teach them how to tread carefully. You don't step on the landmine of laziness. Don't step on the landmine of selfishness. Don't step on the landmine of pornography. Don't be foolish. Be wise. Pursue wisdom. Avoid the landmines and pursue what is good and what is true and what is beautiful. You see, the reality is that we all of us face countless temptations and difficult decisions in life. And that is no different for our children. They face countless temptations and difficult decisions in life. In Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul writes, look very carefully how you walk. Not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand the will of the Lord. There's an important principle here in parenting that we see in the scriptures. Parents need to both warn, but they also need to encourage. So they need to warn and say, look very carefully how you walk. The days are evil. There are many temptations and troubles and trials in life. There's also a sense in which you need to encourage them positively, that they might understand the will of God, that they might flourish and thrive in life. In Proverbs, as the father speaks with his son, He at one and the same time warns his son of the dangers of foolishness. I don't go the way of folly. But he also encourages his son. He speaks positively about the way of wisdom, the way that leads to life. We must try to be, as parents, well, I think just in general, we need to try and be as balanced as the Bible is balanced. Now, because wisdom is about applying God's revealed will to all of life, there are, of course, boundless opportunities to teach wisdom to your children, boundless opportunities. In Deuteronomy 6, verses 6 and 7, the Lord says through Moses, these words that I command you today shall be on your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And what's said in Deuteronomy here about teaching God's law can be said about teaching wisdom. Talk with your children about wisdom as you sit in your house. Teach them about the way of wisdom as you walk in the way. Instruct your children in the way of wisdom both morning and evening, when they rise and when they lie down. Now, it's important to understand that we mustn't simply teach our children about right and wrong behavior. Sometimes people think that the Bible is just a sort of series of commandments to do good and to do evil, and you're to do the right things and avoid the wrong things. It's a very superficial understanding of what's going on in scripture. But we must teach not only our children about right and wrong behavior, but our teaching must engage their minds and their imaginations and their motivations and their desires. See, none of us want to raise Pharisees. You see, our children may quickly learn how to superficially walk in the way of wisdom, right? They may superficially do what is wise and avoid what is foolish, but yet their hearts may be far from God. And we mustn't simply, for example, teach our children the wisdom of working hard, right? Proverbs 14, 23 says, all hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Our children need to learn that and understand that. But we must also teach them to work with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord, so that whatever they do, they might work heartedly as for the Lord and not for men. We mustn't simply teach our children about the foolishness of gluttony, drunkenness, or substance abuse. Proverbs 23, 21, drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags. We must teach them that whether they eat or drink, or whatever they do, they are to do all for the glory of God. And remember, to not only tell your children, but show your children what it means to walk in the way of wisdom. Mothers, you must teach your children by both your words and your way of life. Your words and your way of life. And if there's a disconnect between your teaching and your way of life, your children will most certainly notice. And your words will carry little weight. In teaching your children wisdom, you will inevitably lead them to Christ. In teaching them wisdom, you will inevitably lead them to Christ. Paul tells us in Colossians 2 that in Christ are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And we must teach our children that in Christ, God has made foolish the wisdom of the world. In Christ, God has subverted, he has overthrown the wisdom of the world. Paul says that if anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. You see, this is because God's wisdom is revealed in the cross of Christ. To become wise, you must become a fool and embrace Christ crucified. Paul writes, we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Yes, we must teach our children how to live well in God's world. We must teach them how to skillfully navigate the complexities of life. But we must also teach them that they are lost and hopeless without Christ. And no matter how skillful they may become in wisdom, they cannot earn or merit their salvation. They must learn the wisdom of the cross. They must learn that the righteous live by faith. They must learn the hard truth that All their good works are nothing but filthy rags before the Lord. And that we are not saved by our works, we are saved by the work of Christ on our behalf. So salvation is not earned, it's received. It is the gracious gift of God to all who believe. To quote Martin Luther, he is not righteous who does much, but he who without work believes much. on Christ. The Lord says, do this, and it is never done. Grace says, believe in this, and everything is already done. If our children are truly wise, they will fear the Lord and humbly receive the gospel. But we must remember that in the end, salvation, it belongs to the Lord. Salvation belongs to the Lord our God. You see, as parents, yes, we can influence the behavior of our children through discipline and instruction for their good. And we can help to shape their character and their interests and their desires for good. But we cannot change their hearts. We cannot cause them or force them to truly fear the Lord. Only God can change their hearts. In 1 Corinthians 2.14, Paul tells us that the person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. We must love our children, we must instruct our children, we must plead with our children, and we must faithfully pray for our children. We must earnestly pray for the salvation of our children. Proverbs 22 verse 6 says, train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old, he will not depart from it. There's much truth here in this verse, but it's important to understand that most proverbs are not promises. They are maxims. They are short, pithy statements expressing a general truth. If you train up your child in the way of wisdom, it does not guarantee their salvation, because God is sovereign over salvation. The Lord says, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. And therefore, Paul writes in Romans 9, that salvation depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. That being said, Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. God changes hearts, but Christian parents are nonetheless instructed and commanded to teach, to teach their children and to proclaim the gospel to them. And mothers, as you teach your children wisdom from God's word, remember that God's word is living and active. Remember that God says of his word that it shall not return to me empty, it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I send it. Therefore, teach God's word, instruct your children in the way of wisdom, and pray that God's word might be planted in good soil. Earnestly pray that God would plant his word in the heart of your child. and that they might hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, 30-fold, 60-fold, or even 100-fold. Remember with me just a moment the example of Timothy, of Timothy. This is very encouraging. In 2 Timothy 1.5, Paul writes to Timothy, I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your mother Lois and your mother Eunice, And now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. Paul does not mention Timothy's father, and it's unlikely that he was a Christian. In Acts 16, verse 1, we read that Timothy was the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. Timothy's father was a Greek, but unlike Timothy's mother, he is not identified as a believer. In 2 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 15, Paul writes to Timothy, From childhood, you have been acquainted with the sacred writings that are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. You see, how was it then that Timothy became acquainted with the sacred writings? How was it that he became acquainted with the scriptures that made him wise for salvation? Well, no doubt he received teaching from his grandmother Lois. And he received teaching from his mother, Eunice. And God was pleased to work through the ministry of these two faithful women to raise Timothy from death to life. So mothers, be encouraged. Continue to faithfully minister the word of God to your children. And it may please the Lord to raise them from death to life. I just want to end here in a few minutes. And before I do, I just want to give a word of exhortation, first and foremost, to our children. Because Proverbs 1, verse 8 and 6, 20 and 21 is really directed toward children. Children, forsake not your mother's teaching. Children, understand that your parents are a gift to you from God. And do you remember what is the fifth commandment? What is the fifth commandment? to honor your father and mother. In Ephesians 6, verses 1 to 2, the Apostle Paul writes, children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land. This is why parents, you may want to nudge your children here. Children, obey your parents in the Lord. Honor your parents, listen to their teaching, submit yourself to their good teaching and discipline, and joyfully receive their loving correction. Proverbs 21 verse 1 says, whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid. And none of us want to be stupid. God has placed your parents in authority over you to discipline you and instruct you. You are to hear and receive God's word from their lips. To reject their authority, to reject their faithful teaching, is to reject the Lord. To quote Martin Luther again, children should think of their parents as standing in God's place. They should remember that however lowly, poor, frail and strange their parents may be. Nevertheless, they are the father and mother given to them by God. If you honor your parents, God will bless you. The fifth commandment is the first commandment with a promise. It will go well with you if you respect and love and honor your parents. But the flip side is you will likewise suffer God's judgment if you disrespect and dishonor your parents. Proverbs 20, 20 says, if you curse father or mother, your lamp will go out in utter darkness. Many children sadly treat their parents with contempt. They are selfish, disobedient, and ungrateful. Don't be that child. Don't sin against God and dishonor your father and mother. Listen to their teaching, receive their wisdom. Proverbs 23, 25. Let your father and mother be glad. Let her who bore you rejoice. All of us are faced with a decision. Will we embrace wisdom or folly? Children, you face this choice. Wisdom or folly, foolishness? Throughout Proverbs chapters, One in nine, the father contrasts these two ways of life, the way of wisdom and the way of foolishness. And the son's decision to receive or to reject his parents' teaching is, in the end, a decision to receive or to reject wisdom, to embrace wisdom or to sadly embrace foolishness, which is ultimately seen, in the end, as a decision to receive or to reject the Lord. We're told that the fool says in his heart, there is no God. Psalm 14, 1. But those who are wise fear the Lord and trust in the Lord with all their hearts. Proverbs 3, 5. You see, the foolish, they are those who live as though there is no God. In Psalm 10, we read that the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord. In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek him. All his thoughts are, there is no God. The foolish do what is right in their own eyes. The foolish are lovers of pleasure and lovers of self. They are not lovers of God. The foolish are driven by their own selfish desires. They do not seek God and there is no room for God in their hearts or in their minds. You see, many children, especially teenagers, think that they know best. Don't they? They are wise in their own eyes. They do not listen to their parents. They do not humbly receive God's word from their parents. And thinking they are wise, they become fools. This tendency among children to reject their parents' instruction is exactly the reason why we find these words in Proverbs. Hear, my son, your father's instruction. and forsake not your mother's teaching. Bind them on your heart always. Tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you. When you lie down, they will watch over you. When you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life. Children, listen to your parents and pursue wisdom. Embrace wisdom. Fear the Lord. will lead you. Wisdom will watch over you and protect you. Wisdom will counsel you in times of trouble. The wisdom of God will be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. I've said that navigating life can oftentimes feel like navigating ourselves through a minefield. And trying to navigate life without God's word, trying to navigate life without The light of God's wisdom is like trying to navigate a minefield in pitch black darkness. If you humbly receive God's word and obey God's word, you will find blessing, joy, and peace. You see, you have everything to gain. You have everything to lose. It's foolish and self-destructive to pursue sin. because sin destroys and enslaves. Don't be a fool and despise wisdom and instruction. Fear the Lord and walk in humility. Proverbs 3 verses 5 to 8. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge God and he will make straight your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. And to make one final point to conclude, children, you must understand that the choice between wisdom and folly is ultimately a choice between life and death. Proverbs 14 verse 12 says, there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. To forsake your father's instruction, to forsake your mother's teaching. If you forsake God's words, you are embracing death and misery. But wisdom graciously invites you, welcomes you to receive life and blessing from God. In Proverbs 3.18, we read that wisdom is a tree of life to all who lay hold of her. Those who hold her fast are called blessed. In Proverbs 8, wisdom is personified And Lady Wisdom says, blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord. But he who fails to find me injures himself. All who hate me love death. So children, one final word here. Your parents, they teach you about the Bible. They teach you about the gospel. They teach you about wisdom. And they do so because they do not want to see you perish. And your parents long for you to find life and peace in Jesus. You see, your parents, first and foremost, teach you what the Bible says. Not that you might just cram your heads filled with full of knowledge. Not that you might just acquire skills for living well. but they teach you what the Bible says in order that you might know God. To quote A.W. Tozer, the Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men and women to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God that they might delight in his presence and may taste and know the inner sweetness of God in the core and center of their hearts. Let's pray. Father, we do thank you for your word, for your word that is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, your word that gives to us instruction and wisdom. I do pray especially for the mothers of this church that you would be with them and bless them, that you would encourage them as they seek to provide teaching and instruction from your word to their children. Please, would you be at work also in the lives of our children here to open up their minds, to open up their hearts, to receive the truths of your word, to receive wisdom that they might flourish and thrive, to receive wisdom that they might be blessed, that they might be filled with joy unspeakable. We pray that you would be at work among us, that you would be at work to save those that are lost, that you would bring them to yourself, that they might come to know life and peace in Jesus Christ. We do pray in his name. Amen.