221 Sermon Illustrations on Wisdom

Don't squat with your spurs on.

Don't interfere with something that ain't botherin' you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

The easiest way to eat crow is while it's still warm.

The colder it gets, the harder it is to swaller.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

If it don't seem like it's worth the effort, it probably ain't.

It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with watches

you shave his face in the mirror every morning.

Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin'

somebody else's dog around.

Don't worry about bitin' off more'n you can chew;

your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger'n you think.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Generally, you ain't learnin' nothing when your mouth's a-jawin'.

Tellin' a man to git lost and makin' him do it are two entirely

different propositions.

If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then

to make sure it's still there with ya.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad

judgment.

When you give a personal lesson in meanness to a critter or to a person,

don't be surprised if they learn their lesson.

When you're throwin' your weight around, be ready to have it thrown

around by somebody else.

Cowboy Wisdom

* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

* Never smack a man who's chewin' tobacco.

* It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.

* Never ask a barber if he thinks you need a haircut.

* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin'

somebody else's dog around.

* Don't worry about bitin' off more than you can chew. Your mouth is

probably a whole lot bigger'n you think.

* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad

judgment.

* Always drink upstream from the herd.

* Never drop your gun to hug a grizzly.

* If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then

to make sure it's still there.

* When you give a lesson in meanness to a critter or a person, don't be

surprised if they learn their lesson.

* The best way to have a quiche for dinner is to make it up and put it in

the oven to bake at 325 degrees. Meanwhile, get out a large T-bone, grill

it, and when it's done, eat it. As for the quiche, continue to let it bake,

but otherwise ignore it.

* There's two theories to arguin' with a woman. Neither one works.

* When you're throwin' your weight around, be ready to have it thrown

around by somebody else.

* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back.

* Always take a good look at what you're about to eat. It's not so

important to know what it is, but it's critical to know what it was.

* The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back

in your pocket.

* Never miss a good chance to shut up.

The richest man in the world, Croesus, once asked the wisest man in the world, Thales*, "What is God?” The philosopher asked for a day in which to deliberate, and then for another, and then for another, and another, and another ... and at length confessed that he was not able to answer, that the longer he deliberated, the more difficult it was for him to frame an answer.

The fiery Tertullian, the early Church Father, eagerly seized upon this incident and said it was an example of the world's ignorance of God outside of Christ. “There,” he exclaimed, “is the wisest man in the world, and he cannot tell you who God is. But the most ignorant mechanic among the Christians knows God, and is able to make him known unto others.”

________

Tan 5220

*Other sources say this should be Thallus.

John and Dave were hiking when they spotted a mountain lion staring at them. John froze in his tracks, but Dave sat down on a log, tore

off his hiking boots, pulled a pair of running shoes from his backpack and hurriedly began to put them on.

"You can't outrun a mountain lion!" John hissed.

"I don't have to," shrugged Dave. "I just have to outrun you."

Eleanor Roosevelt collected these words of wisdom:

Many people will walk in and out of your life,

But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.

To handle yourself, use your head;

To handle others, use your heart.

Anger is only one letter short of danger.

If someone betrays you once, it is his fault;

If he betrays you twice, it is your fault.

Great minds discuss ideas;

Average minds discuss events;

Small minds discuss people. (also ascribed to Admiral Rickover)

He who loses money, loses much;

He, who loses a friend, loses much more;

He, who loses faith, loses all.

Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,

But beautiful old people are works of art.

Learn from the mistakes of others.

You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

Friends, you and me....

You brought another friend....

And then there were 3....

We started our group....

Our circle of friends....

And like that circle....

There is no beginning or end....

Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is mystery.

Today is a gift.

*

William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) was one of the greatest

physicists of nineteenth-century England. When he was away at

college, his father wrote to him: "You are young: take care you be not

led to what is wrong. A false step now, or the acquiring of an

improper habit, might ruin you for life. Frequently look back on your

conduct and thence learn wisdom for the future."

Cited in C.K.C. MacDonald, {Faraday, Maxwell, and Kelvin, 1964}

William Jennings Bryan was a U.S. Congressman, three-time Democratic presidential nominee, and secretary of state who served his country for three decades. He is probably best remembered for the famous Scopes "Monkey Trial" in 1925. This man's influence has been attributed to his wisdom.

Perhaps the secret of his wisdom was his acceptance of advice given to him by his father just before William was leaving for college. His preacher father challenged him to read through the Book of Proverbs once a month for a year. The young son agreed to do so and kept his word during his freshman year. Years later he looked back at his father's request as one of the most important factors in his life.

-- Open Windows

A few months ago, a truck driver shot himself to death, sitting in

the cab of his truck about 180 miles east of Charlotte, NC. He was

despondent over the breakup of his marriage.

For three hours, a crisis team had communicated with him over CB

radio, trying to talk him out of taking his life. But other

motorists, overhearing the dialogue, also contacted him on their

radios. While some were supportive, others egged him on, saying he

didn't have the guts to pull the trigger. Unfortunately, he took the

wrong advice and turned his rifle on himself.

In daily life, we're immersed with advice. For example, advice

columns and horoscopes in newspapers are popular with many readers.

Some of the advice we hear is good, some is bad. We need wisdom to

identify what's wholesome and what's trashy. \reference{Proverbs

2:6}{Proverbs 2:6} reminds us that "the Lord giveth wisdom" and that

from Him "cometh knowledge and understanding."

-{ Open Windows}

Being a mother of two very active boys, ages seven and one, I am sometimes worried about their making a shambles of my carefully decorated home. In their innocence and play, they occasionally knock over my favorite lamp or upset my well-designed arrangements. In these moments when nothing feels sacred, I remember the lesson I learned from my wise mother-in-law, Ruby.

Ruby is the mother of 6 and grandmother of 13. She is the embodiment of gentleness, patience and love.

One Christmas, all the children and grandchildren were gathered as usual at Ruby's home. Just the month before, Ruby had bought beautiful new white carpeting after living with the "same old carpet" for over 25 years. She was overjoyed with the new look it gave her home.

My brother-in-law, Arnie, had just distributed his gifts for all the nieces and nephews - prized homemade honey from his beehives. They were excited. But as fate would have it, eight-year-old Sheena spilled her tub of honey on Grandma's new carpeting and trailed it throughout the entire downstairs of the house.

Crying, Sheena ran into the kitchen and into Grandma Ruby's arms. "Grandma, I've spilled my honey all over your brand new carpet."

Grandma Ruby knelt down, looked tenderly into Sheena's tearful eyes and said, "Don't worry sweetheart, we can get you more honey."

____________________

by Lynn Robertson from Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul, Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne and Marci Shimoff

*

Kids count the days. Teachers count the days. Principals count the days. Until everybody can shout those happiest of all words - "School's out!" Police cars sport bumper stickers that warn drivers to be extra careful - same reason: "School's out." And graduations are real milestones because you don't ever have to go back to that school if you don't want to! I hate to rain on anybody's parade, but that "school's out" thing is actually a myth. Or at least it should be.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Thousand Teachers."

Okay, it may be okay if you don't spend any more hours in a school building ... if you don't have to take any more of those stressful midterms or finals. But there's a sense in which God doesn't ever want us to consider "school" as being "out," because He's got so much to teach us and so many teachers through whom He wants to send it. Smart people are looking for teachers for the rest of their life.

Listen to how God describes people that He considers wise in our word for today from the Word of God. In James 3, beginning with verse 13, God says, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom ... The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive..." Now, notice that God links wisdom with humility. And you can see that link when God describes what wisdom looks like in a person -one way it shows up is when a person is "submissive."

Humble people are wise people. Wise people are humble people - because they're teachable people. An arrogant person is closed - unteachable. For a wise person, school is never really out because they realize how much they have to learn from almost every person they meet.

A person who realizes that virtually every person he meets has something to teach him is an emotional and spiritual millionaire. In fact, I believe God brings into our lives people through whom He wants to teach us things we need to know. Humility becomes more concrete when you think of it, at least in part, as teachability. Which leads us to the million-dollar question, "Are you a teachable person?"

When you meet a new person, do you talk mostly about yourself or do you let them tell you about themselves? Do you approach new people, asking yourself, "What can I learn from this person?" Do you welcome the opportunity to meet people who are from a different background, who have a different kind of personality - someone from a different denominational perspective, a different racial background, another generation? They have so much to give you because they've seen and experienced life from another perspective. And they've learned or become things that you may not know much about.

And how about your response to the suggestions you get, and the ideas, even the criticisms of the people close to you? Are you closed or are you open to what they see and what they say? In humility, do you gain insight from their input? Or are you proud, rigid, and inflexible? Then by God's definition, you're just not one of those folks that He calls "wise" and "understanding." Many of the most important teachers you'll ever have in your life are not the ones you'll necessarily meet in a classroom, as important as they are. It will be the people God brings into your everyday life with something He knows you need to know.

And the more teachers you welcome into your life, the wiser you're going to be.

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. 'Practical Answers to Real Life Issues'

*

Wisdom

A blind man tried to rob a bank in Memphis on 12-28-99. After he had a

security guard help him to the teller's window he handed over a note demanding

money. She mouthed, "it's a robbery" to the guard who was still standing

nearby. AP 12-28-99

TS: What is on your list of things not to do again.

Stewardship or Greed or Wisdom

Tommy's house is packed with relatives for Christmas dinner. Grandpa calls

6yr. old Tommy aside and starts asking about school, girl friends, and other

stuff that he could think of. After a while grandpa notices that Tommy is

losing interest in the conversation so he pulls two bills from his wallet to see

if he can keep him interested. A ten and a twenty dollar bill. He shows both

bills to Tommy and tells him he can keep any one he chooses. Tommy reaches over

and takes the ten dollar bill.

Grandpa is pretty surprised and upset about the unwise decision his grandson

had made so he pulls out another ten dollar bill to see if it was a mistake.

Again he tells Tommy to take the one of his choice and again Tommy takes the

ten. Once again Grandpa is surprised and upset. So he takes Tommy over to one

of his uncles to show him how dumb Tommy is, and the whole process is repeated

in the exact same manner. Throughout the day Grandpa makes a point of showing

Tommy's poor decisions to everyone in the house. Finally he shows the stunt to

Tommy's father. A few hours later Tommy's father could wait no longer so he

got Tommy aside and asks if he knows the difference between a ten dollar bill

and a twenty. "Of course." answers Tommy. "So, why did you always choose the

ten instead of the twenty?" asked Dad.

Tommy smiles real big, pulls out a wad of $10 bills and replies, "Well, if

I had taken the twenty, do you think Grandpa would have played the game eight

more times?" Submitted by Paul Groves, Louisville, KY

Life lessons from every age:

============================

I've learned that I like my teacher because she cries when we sing "Silent Night".

Age 6

I've learned that our dog doesn't want to eat my broccoli either.

Age 7

I've learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back.

Age 9

I've learned that just when I get my room the way I like it, Mom makes me clean it up again.

Age 12

I've learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up.

Age 14

I've learned that although it's hard to admit it, I'm secretly glad my parents are strict with me.

Age 15

I've learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice.

Age 24

I've learned that brushing my child's hair is one of life's great pleasures.

Age 26

I've learned that wherever I go, the world's worst drivers have followed me there.

Age 29

I've learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.

Age 30

I've learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don't know how to show it.

Age 42

I've learned that you can make someone's day by simply sending them a little note.

Age 44

I've learned that the greater a person's sense of guilt, the greater his or her need to cast blame on others.

Age 46

I've learned that children and grandparents are natural allies.

Age 47

I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

Age 48

I've learned that singing "Amazing Grace" can lift my spirits for hours.

Age 49

I've learned that motel mattresses are better on the side away from the phone.

Age 50

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a man by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

Age 52

I've learned that keeping a vegetable garden is worth a medicine cabinet full of pills.

Age 52

I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them terribly after they die.

Age 53

I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.

Age 58

I've learned that if you want to do something positive for your children, work to improve your marriage.

Age 61

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

Age 62

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.

Age 64

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.

Age 65

I've learned that whenever I decide something with kindness, I usually make the right decision.

Age 66

I've learned that everyone can use a prayer.

Age 72

I've learned that it pays to believe in miracles And to tell the truth, I've seen several.

Age 75

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.

Age 82

I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone - People love that human touch...holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

Age 85

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

Age 92

*

MacNeil Jordan was born in Barbados, 100 years ago on Christmas, to parents named Mary and Joseph. He believes in God, family and Cream of Wheat with cinnamon and nutmeg every morning. Jordan speaks in short, simple sentences. His recipes for life and longevity are uncomplicated. “I eat well. I sleep well. I walk quite a bit,” he says. And every week there's church, where “I praise my God.”

“Give God praise every day,” he says. “That's all. That's my life.”

________

Copyright by The Associated Press

[See #22729 for a more complete version]

1. Give something away (no strings attached).

2. Do a kindness (and forget it).

3. Spend a few minutes with the aged (their experience can be priceless guidance).

4. Look intently into the face of a baby (and marvel).

5. Laugh often (it is life's lubricant).

6. Give thanks (a thousand times a day is not enough).

7. Pray (or you will lose the way).

8. Work (with vim and vigor).

9. Plan as though you will live forever (because you will).

10. Live as though you will die tomorrow (because you will die on some tomorrow).

Isn’t it amazing that someone can follow six bingo cards at once without missing a thing, but they can’t follow a big arrow to a hole on a ballot.

To our foreign readers I apologize for once more mentioning our American voting process. It appears that the lawyers are insistent on bending laws on the books in order to gain advantage for one candidate or the other. There are specific laws to deal with our election process, but there are those who would prefer to circumvent those laws. And so, on and on it goes — where it stops nobody knows.

This process shouldn’t surprise Christians who have observed the same process going on in regard to the Bible — the laws of God. Various groups want to circumvent the laws of God or bend them in their direction in order to support their views. This has been going on for centuries, which is why we have so many denominations, cults and even hate groups trying to use the Bible to support their views.

So, what should a believer do? For one, avoid extremists. Read the Word on your own and simply take God at His word. Is that so hard? God gave you a good brain capable of using common sense, so use it. Instead of bending the Word to comply with someone’s belief, bend your belief to comply with the Word.

James 1:5 (NLT) says, “If you need wisdom — if you want to know what God wants you to do — ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.” Now, is that clear or not?

To a group of aspiring high school graduates anxiously waiting to flip their tassels to the other side of their caps, Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, offered the following words of mood-dampening wisdom: “Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.”

His less than cheery list of life's rules, which began notably with, “Life is not fair; get used to it,” offered a plethora of hard-hitting advice and a few other stabs of reality. Gates concluded his list with a final shot of truth for the proud graduating class: “Television is not real life,” he said, “In real life people have to actually leave the coffee shop and go to work.”

Lest we have visions of depressed teenagers walking across the stage to receive their diplomas that night, we should recall that most likely none of them heard a word of the speech anyway. Or if, in between hoping the 20 bobby pins holding their cap in place were not causing permanent scalp damage and visualizing the crowd's gasp as they tripped on the hem of their robe and tumbled into the front row, they did manage to hear a phrase or two, they surely don't remember it now.

It is once again the season of wisdom-filled addresses, Hallmark homilies, and energetic advice giving to people who are not hearing a word of it. Graduation is the occasion, and we are too excited to listen, even if it is Bill Gates.

To be fair, it is not only beaming graduates that exhibit attention difficulties in the midst of life's pomp and circumstance. The only part of the minister's sermon at my wedding that I remember is when he turned to my almost-husband and me and said, “This is the part of the ceremony when I offer you some marital wisdom that you don't hear and won't remember.”

Events like graduation come only so often, and often after much work. Like weddings, they usher in times of change and anticipation and call us to attention to life in new ways. No one blames a graduate for not remembering the commencement address or a bride for forgetting the advice given to her as she anticipates “I do.” When they fail to hear “The 10 Most Important Lessons in Life” or “3 Vital Steps to Marriage in the Real World” we know they have not failed to see all that is important in life, or all that lies before him in the real world. The opposite is usually true — their minds are abounding with all that they see.

But a graduate that receives the day and his future with disinterest, a bride that looks indifferently at the commitment before her and the days ahead of her, is much harder to understand.

We are prone to these times of assessing life — birthdays and baptisms, weddings and graduations; all seem to require careful attention. And we recognize that to be wholly unconcerned with these moments in life is to be something less than life-like. We gaze at the years ahead and look at the years behind and sense the need to say something profound, to speak into what is gone and what is coming. We see the need to find wisdom in these eventful moments, to see a hope and a future. And it is often such occasions that remind us that those who have found wisdom are particularly blessed.

Unlike much of the commencement advice that is spoken and forgotten, the wisdom of God's Word is wisdom that will not fade, nor speak into our lives passively. It is wisdom worth returning to, speaking hope into the future, bringing meaning into days both marked with excitement and scarred with pain. In times of my own restless wandering, it was often specific psalms and proverbs that kept returning to my mind, calling me to see the foolishness of much of the world's advice and back to wisdom itself, calling me to see with my eyes and ears the very One who made them.

As the proverb imparts, “Eyes that see and ears that hear, the Lord made them both” (20:12). In the season of many events and the many seasons of life, may it be his enduring wisdom we seek. As we congratulate jittery brides and excited graduates with words of wisdom, let us remember that the One who made those overwhelmed ears, the One who made our wisdom-seeking eyes, longs that they would be stirred by his presence.

__________

Copyright © 2004 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

==========================

Version from May 18, 2007:

Imagine offering the following words of mood-dampening wisdom to a group of aspiring high school graduates anxiously waiting to flip their tassels to the other side of their caps: “Life is not divided into semesters and you don’t get summers off... While we’re at it, very few jobs are interested in fostering your self-expression or helping you find yourself.(1)

In his less than cheery list of life’s rules, which begins notably with, “Life is not fair. Get used to it,” author Charles Sykes offers a plethora of hard-hitting advice and a few other stabs of reality for hopeful graduates. He sharpens his list with a few shards of truth as well: “Television is not real life... In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.”

But lest we have visions of depressed teenagers walking across the stage to receive their diplomas at the sound of such reality, we should recall that most likely none of them would hear a word of it anyway. Or if they did manage to hear a phrase or two -- in between hoping the 20 bobby pins holding their caps in place were enough or visualizing the gasp of the crowd if they trip on the hems of their robes -- they surely won’t remember it a year from now.

It is once again the season of wisdom-filled addresses and energetic advice-giving to people who are not hearing a word of it. Graduation is the occasion, and we are too excited to listen, no matter who is giving the advice.

To be fair, it is not only beaming graduates that exhibit attention difficulties in the midst of life’s pomp and circumstance. The only part of the minister’s sermon at my wedding that I remember is when he turned to my almost-husband and me and said, “This is the part of the ceremony when I offer you some marital wisdom that you don’t hear and won’t remember.”

Events like graduation come only so often, and often after much work. Like weddings, they usher in times of change and anticipation and call us to attention to life in new ways. No one blames a graduate for not remembering the commencement address or a bride for forgetting the advice given to her as she anticipates “I do.” When they fail to hear “The 10 Most Important Lessons in Life” or “3 Vital Steps to Marriage in the Real World” we know they have not failed to see all that is important in life, or all that lies before them in the real world. The opposite is usually true; their minds are abounding with all that they see.

On the contrary, a graduate that receives the day and his future with disinterest, a bride that looks indifferently at the commitment before her and the days ahead of her, is much harder to understand.

We are prone to these times of assessing life. Birthdays and baptisms, weddings and graduations -- all seem to require careful attention. And we recognize that to be UNconcerned with these moments in life would be something less than life-like. We gaze at the years ahead and look at the years behind and sense the need to say something profound, to speak into what is gone and what is coming. We see the need to find wisdom in these eventful moments, to see a hope and a future.

Unlike much of the commencement advice that is spoken and forgotten, the wisdom of God’s Word is wisdom that will not fade, nor speak into our lives passively. It is wisdom worth returning to, speaking hope into the future, bringing meaning into days both marked with excitement and scarred with pain. In times of my own restless wandering, it was often specific psalms and proverbs that kept returning to my mind, calling me to see the foolishness of much of the world’s advice and back to wisdom itself, calling me to see with my eyes and ears the very one who made them.

As the proverb imparts, “Eyes that see and ears that hear, the Lord made them both” (20:12). In the season of many events and in the many seasons of life, may it be his enduring wisdom we seek. As we congratulate jittery brides and excited graduates with words of wisdom, might we remember that the one who made those overwhelmed ears, the one who made our wisdom-seeking eyes, longs that they would be stirred by his presence.

________

1. Charles Sykes, “Some Rules Kids Won’t Learn in School,” SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE, September 19, 1996.

________

Copyright © 2007 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

*

[Original illustration here was a duplicate in HolwickID 25837-26027]

In the introduction of his book, COERCION, Douglas Rushkoff offers a non-camouflaged glimpse of our bombarded minds within the battlefield of societal persuasion. He has titled the chapter, “They Say.” Writes Rushkoff, “They say human beings use only 10 percent of their brains. They say polyunsaturated fat is better for you than saturated fat... They say our children's test scores are declining... They say you can earn $15,000 a week in your spare time... They say the corner office is the position of power... They say mutual funds are the best long-term investment... They say you haven't met your deductible.” To this Rushkoff responds pointedly, “Who are 'they' exactly, why do they say so much, and why do we listen?” [1]

A good question, isn't it? Our lives are saturated with information and ideas, overwhelmed by voices vying for our attention, and bombarded with distractions contending for our allegiance. There are two extremes in dealing with this reality and we readily see both today. We can become increasing cynical, shutting out every voice. Or we can become incapable of thinking for ourselves, listening to every voice, every “expert.” Of course, the majority of us fall somewhere in the middle, though the challenge remains the same. Time has become our most precious commodity — that which we guard most closely. And books like, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," and countless others like it, have become necessities. Nonetheless, how do we choose which voices we will listen to? How do we guard our minds from contradiction and noise? How do we protect our lives and our time from distraction? These too, are good questions.

What is fascinating is that Scripture makes incredibly clear what we all know and feel — the human heart is easily distracted. Through many voices, God has communicated this truth. Though sadly, His is one voice many are absolutely uninterested in hearing. Even so, distractions abound. And undeniably, we see people all around us who are held captive by many things — including time itself. But this is not unique to our culture or distinctive of the information age. Indeed, in the 16th Century, John of the Cross admonished: “Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing.”

Moreover, two thousand years ago, seated around a table over what would be their last meal together, Jesus broke bread with his disciples and said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:18-20) Which means, as Charles Spurgeon once noted, that it is possible to forget. In fact, it is not only possible, but it is likely. And fully knowing this, Christ asks us to remember him — to remember his broken body, to remember that He communes with us, to remember that in the continual gazing of a soul at its Savior, distractions melt away.

We live our lives before a God who wants us to actively, dynamically, and wholly remember Him. Isn't that comforting? The God of Scripture is not, as the Dave Matthews band sings, a God with a “mischievous grin.” He is so profoundly in love with you that He can't settle for part of you. And it is He, at whose word the heavens came into being, who cries out repeatedly for your complete attention, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (See i.e., Matthew 11:15, Mark 4:9, Luke 8:8) Will you listen?

____________

1. Douglas Rushkoff, Coercion. (New York: Riverhead Books, 1999)

____________

Copyright © 2003 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

*

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable [are] His judgments and His ways past finding out! ‘For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?’ ‘Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?’” (Romans 11:33-35 NKJV)

The Wisdom And Mercy Of God

• O…riches — Ps 36:6, Eph 1:7-8, COl 2:2-3 — thus should we exclaim, instead of finding fault with what we doubt, cannot fully comprehend. Treasures of goodness and mercy

• wisdom — Ps 107:31 — comprehending relations of all times and events

• knowledge — acquaintance with each detail

• ways…out — Job 11:7-9 — cannot be traced — see Cowper’s “God moves in a mysterious way” — (illustration: foot-prints of animals, etc., in the sand)

• who…Lord? — what angel or man can comprehend all God’s reasons?

• counsellor — adviser (illustration: cabinet councils of earthly kings)

• who…him? — 1 Cor 4:7, 1 Chr 29:14 — who has granted a favour to God?

• it…again? — if he can prove the debt

The deep things of God — W. Stevens

God reveals Himself to man in –

I. The idea of the Deity:

1. Self-existence;

2. Immensity;

3. Invisibility;

4. Omnipotence.

II. Nature.

III. Providence.

IV. Revelation.

Application:-

1. Learn the decrees of God;

2. Listen to the whole truth as in Christ, and support it

The Divine fulness and faithfulness — A relative one day said to the late Rev. W. Day, of Bristol, “It is a comfort to you to see your children round you.” “Yes,” he answered, with an allusion to the occasional dimness of his vision, “it is. It would be more so if I could see them. But I can only see one now, and another then.” “You can, however, see Jesus by the eye of faith.” His countenance kindled with a smile of joy, and clasping his hands, he exclaimed with a loud voice, “He is my great, my only object. 0 my God! my portion! my all! Blessed be Thy name, Thou, hast said unto me, ‘Thou art mine.’” Then, with much energy, he added, “The Bible is nothing to me; the Bible is nothing to me, but as it reveals to my soul a covenant Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. There I see perfection. When I look at man — when I look at myself, I see nothing but vileness:-a rent here, a chasm there. It would drive me to despair. Oh when,” he wept profusely, “when shall I behold Christ as He is, and cast myself at His feet? He has offered me a pledge of this beyond all your imagination can conceive. I have seen Him rising before me in all the majesty of the Godhead. The world has shown me its favours, and has taken them away again. I have enjoyed many tokens of the loving-kindness of my God, and I have at other times been stripped of what I most valued. But, O my God, my Redeemer, Thou hast never failed me!” Then stretching out his hands to his family around his bed, he cried, “0 Lord, shine forth, shine forth in Thy glory upon these dear ones — Thou wilt never leave them — Thou wilt never forsake them.” It was an affecting, a sublime scene. It was like a patriarch standing on the threshold of heaven, looking back to bless his family, and looking forward, earnestly longing to take his last step.

“It remains for us dutifully and reverentially to adore that in the Divine counsels and ways which we do not, and indeed cannot, understand. There is no government that hath not its arcana; and it, would be very foolish for us to imagine that there should be no secrets belonging to the Divine government.” — Howe

“Simplicity is a pre-eminent mode of the essence of God, by which He is void of all composition, and of component parts, whether they belong to the senses, or the understanding.” — Arminius

There is a story told about the one-time heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali. Ali was flying to one of his engagements, and during the flight the aircraft ran into foul weather. Moderate turbulence began to toss the plane about. All nervous fliers well know that when a pilot signals “moderate turbulence,” he is implying, “If you have any religious beliefs, it is time to start expressing them.” The passengers were instructed to fasten their seatbelts immediately, and all complied but Ali. So the flight attendant approached him and requested that he observe the captain's order, only to hear Ali audaciously respond, “Superman don't need no seatbelt.” The flight attendant did not miss a beat and replied, “Superman don't need no airplane either!”

I draw attention to that story because I would like to consider the larger context in which many of us find ourselves. Unquestionably, we live in a nation of immense wealth and are offered an array of possibilities for material and educational success. Some of us will be granted access to the finest education available anywhere, thus positioning ourselves for extraordinary success in a rapidly-changing world and engendering a sense of invincibility — regardless of what measure of turbulence may lie ahead.

Yet unfortunately, academic or material advancement does not necessarily confer wisdom. How foolish it would be for us to take what generations preceding us have valued in coping with life's turbulence and cast it all aside because we are “modern.”

G.K. Chesterton once said, “Before you pull any fence down, always pause long enough to find out why it was put there in the first place.”

King Crimson, the rock group, once sang: “Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules.” In other words, we need wisdom as we process and distill all knowledge. But where does one find it?

In one of his Proverbs, King Solomon writes: “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding, for they are more profitable than silver and yield better returns than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with it.” This is the same Solomon who said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” — meaning reverence for God. This is where we must start.

May you remember that falsely posing as a Superman will certainly ensure a crash landing, yet humbly seeking wisdom and following it will lift you to glorious heights.

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Copyright © 2003 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

*

I remember vividly a warm day at age six with my family at a park on Lake Michigan. Much to our delight, my youngest sister and I had each been given a granola bar to snack on. Most likely I ate mine quickly, probably with the hope that someone would see my empty hands and give me another. My little sister, however, who has always walked through life with an unhurried contentedness about her, was savoring each crumb as she walked along the lawn, charmed by the ducks who were marching along with her. But in a manner of minutes her charming procession shifted parade leaders. The next thing I remember was the angry cry of a four-year-old who found herself literally backed up against a wall by a flock of granola bar-stealing ducks!

The book of Proverbs depicts a similarly dynamic scene. The portrait is inescapable. One gets the clear sense that we are to live watchfully, that wisdom is something to be guarded carefully, lest it be snatched out of our hands before we have time to object. “He who guards his way guards his life,” reads one verse. “Do not forsake wisdom,” advises another. Like an animal stalking its prey, folly and wickedness are personified as luring and lurking enemies, often disguised, always vying for our attention, meeting with anyone who will hear, ready to seize all that is not guarded. “The woman Folly is loud;” notes the writer of Proverbs, “she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, “'Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!'“ (9:13-16, ESV).

In a world where we are saturated with information and ideas, overwhelmed by voices vying for our attention, and bombarded with distractions contending for our allegiance, it is not hard to see why folly and wickedness are personified voices. It is not a truth preached abstractly; but a reality we know all too well.

But the book of Proverbs also personifies wisdom. “Does not Wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: 'To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man'“ (8:1-4). In the battlefield of societal persuasion, it is a comforting truth that is easily forgotten. Just as voices that tempt and fool cry aloud for our attention, so wisdom calls out to us and understanding raises its voice. But who is the voice of wisdom? And do we find it as tangibly as we find the voices of folly?

Scripture makes it incredibly clear that God not only speaks but from his mouth comes wisdom and understanding. Though sadly, his is one voice many are absolutely uninterested in hearing. “The tragedy,” writes A.W. Tozer, “is that we have trained our ears not to hear.” Through many voices, God has communicated this truth. “For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes” (Matthew 13:15, Isaiah 6:9-10).

Let us, as the writer of Proverbs admonishes, be as those who make our ears attentive to wisdom, inclining our hearts to understanding. Let us cry out for insight and raise our voices for understanding, guarding our minds lest they be snatched away like the treat in a young child's hand. Let us seek the Source of wisdom as we would hidden treasure. It is He, at whose word chaos became order and darkness became light, who cries out repeatedly for our complete attention, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15, Mark 4:9, Luke 8:8).

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Copyright © 2004 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

*

Ted Williams, the last baseball player to hit better than .400 in a season, died [in July 2002] at the age of 83. “There is no joy in Red Sox nation, a.k.a. New England, or in any heart where baseball matters,” George Will reported in a column memorializing the star hitter.

Will described Mr. Williams as “an alloy of innocence and arrogance,” an obsessive player who gave the local sports reporters lots to write about. “He used a postal scale to check that humidity had not added an ounce to the weight of his bats,” he writes.

“Challenged to find from among six bats the one that was half an ounce heavier than the others, he quickly did. He once returned to the maker a batch of his Louisville Sluggers because he sensed that the handles were not quite right. The handles were off by five-thousandths of an inch.”

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Source: World (7/20/02)

*

This last spring I spoke at a university in Southern California. After explaining the value and purpose of a Christian mind, a student raised a question. “Ethicists can arrive at the ethics of Jesus without his teachings,” she said. “If so, then why follow Jesus?”

Jesus' ethics were fresh and shocking to the world he addressed. The Jewish people around him in the first century were deeply rooted in Torah, the Law of Moses. They regarded the Ten Commandments with deep respect and even made additional laws to protect themselves from breaking Jehovah's laws. Jesus steps into this context and makes remarks like: “If you even lust after a woman it is like committing adultery with her.” This deepened the meaning of “Thou shalt not commit adultery” beyond a behavior issue to a heart issue. To a people who were obsessed with minute behavior obedience, Jesus' words were an unsettling addition.

Nevertheless, a thoughtful Israelite in the ancient world would know that God cared about the heart. Loving God is a primary commandment. “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is One. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:4-5). This is deeply relational and delves straight to the heart issue. We should not be surprised that the behavioral aspect of the law earned more attention. Behavior is easier to manage. The Jewish people's ethic provided prolific case law examples and direction. But the heart remained untamed.

The Jewish people were not alone in their quandary. The Greek world also had a developed view of virtue ethics made popular by Aristotle. Virtue ethics depends on the soul being properly ordered with correct thoughts, controlled emotions and a robust will, in order that proper actions overflow from the well-ordered soul. This combination makes each citizen an asset to the city. But it was necessary to find a person whose internal life provided the correct external life. The problem with the Greek system of virtue ethics, they admitted, was that they needed a virtuous person to emulate in order to live virtuously. They needed a role model to watch and copy. Unfortunately, there were no perfect models alive. Virtue Ethics had trouble getting started. In theory, the ethical system was brilliant, but in practice it lacked ultimate guidance.

It was into this Greek culture in the Jewish land that Jesus arrives, declaring the kingdom of God is at hand and teaching and living what it means to walk as a citizen of that kingdom.

In my estimation many of Jesus' teachings can be deduced from reason and observations. With just a little pondering, Jesus' ethic makes sense. The Jewish and Greek peoples had a general idea that morality goes beyond behavior and down to the condition of the heart. But it was the heart condition that remained unsolved.

Solomon was the wisest man in the world, according to God's promise. But even Solomon realized that wisdom was not enough to live virtuously, and this played itself out in his later years as his scores of wives and pagan gods testify.

Wisdom was not enough in the ancient world, nor is it enough for us today. We have more information today at our disposal than the world has ever seen, yet, it could be argued, we are one of the most unloving, ungenerous, narcissistic generations as well. The dilemma is still present. Knowing the ideas of ethics is a chasm away from practicing them well.

This is where we need Jesus most desperately. He says that when you come to him, you are coming to his kingdom. And there you will have abundant life. This abundant life isn't merely about going to heaven, but about being granted the power and ability to begin practicing the virtues and morals that a citizen of his kingdom practices. We no longer have to be shackled to our failed behavioral attempts, knowing what is right but unable to do it. As Oswald Chambers has said, “When we choose deliberately to obey him, he will tax the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist us with all of his almighty power.” This is why our ethics need Jesus. We have alighted upon the Greek role model; we have uncovered the keys to the kingdom. With this kind of promise, who would want otherwise?

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Copyright © 2004 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

*

Today we have people who seek experience for the sake of experience, wanting to have what they think is a touch from God. We have self-proclaimed prophets who give their messages and proclaim their visions, but are rarely held accountable for the outcome.

We must be careful. On one hand, we don’t want to limit God through unbelief, because we want Him to do His miracles in our lives. On the other hand, we simply cannot believe everyone and everything.

I believe in miracles. I believe in the supernatural. I believe God can heal. But we cannot seek experience at any cost. Experience must always be subservient to truth. It must always be ordered under what is right. We cannot say something is true because we have experienced it. Rather, we should know something is true because it is found in Scripture and it verifies our experience.

In the Book of Acts, we never read about a miracle that was announced ahead of time. When God used Peter to heal the man at the gate, Beautiful, we don’t read that it was advertised beforehand: “Be at the gate Beautiful today. Miracles! Signs! Wonders! Don’t miss it!” They never announced miracles in advance, because their focus was not on miracles. Their focus was on proclaiming the Word of God. They left miracles up to the Holy Spirit.

We must be especially careful in these last days, because not all miracles come from God. Remember, Satan is a great imitator.

The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. — Job 28:28.

A knowledge of electronics — that is wisdom? No! A knowledge of psychiatry — that is wisdom? No! A convincing line in salesmanship — that is wisdom? No! A skillful propaganda — that is wisdom? No! “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom.”

So that starving, illiterate, scantily-clad tribes-people of the mountains of South-east Asia and Formosa and the Philippines, converted to the Christ, through hearing the gospel are wiser than the most learned scientists, if the latter know not the things that are spiritually discerned. The Christians have “Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom.”

Say, wilt thou come and enter this strange, yet blessed school

Where only fools learn wisdom, the wise become a fool,

Where littleness is greatness, and bigness becomes small,

Where pride strips off her glory, where nothingness gains all? — M. I. Reich.