Listen to Wisdom
The sermon emphasizes the importance of listening to wisdom, which is essential for life, and the consequences of hating wisdom, which is death.
Derek Prince emphasizes the importance of listening to the wisdom of God found in the Scriptures, highlighting the blessings that come to those who diligently seek and listen to wisdom daily. He stresses the critical choice between life and death based on our attitude towards wisdom, urging believers to prioritize seeking wisdom each day to receive favor from the Lord and avoid harm. Prince encourages a continual connection with wisdom, as finding wisdom leads to finding life, while hating wisdom leads to loving death.
Text
Proverbs 8:34-36
The wisdom of God speaks to us out of the Word.
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD. But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death. NIV
Those words describe a certain attitude to wisdom, one that's been vivid and real to me for many years. "Blessed is the man who listens to me." You see, your life really depends on whom you listen to. "Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching at my doors, waiting at my doorway." I believe we need to put that first. I believe particularly as we awake each day, we need to be at wisdom's doorway. We need to have our ears opened. We need to be prepared to listen to what wisdom has to say.
I believe that wisdom - the wisdom of God in Scripture - offers us counsel for each day. It pays to cultivate an attitude and a relationship to wisdom that keeps us in continual contact with her. The one who finds wisdom finds life, but on the other side: those who hate wisdom love death. You see, there's a real parting of the ways there. We cannot combine the two. Our attitude to wisdom must be positive or it will be negative, and the attitude that we have will determine whether it's life or whether it's death.
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Listening to Wisdom
- The Attitude of Listening to Wisdom
- The Consequences of Listening to Wisdom
- Finding life and favor from the Lord
- Harming oneself and loving death
Key Quotes
“Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.” — Derek Prince
“The one who finds wisdom finds life, but on the other side: those who hate wisdom love death.” — Derek Prince
Application Points
- We should cultivate a positive attitude towards wisdom by preparing to listen to its counsel and watching at its doors.
- Listening to wisdom is essential for life, and we should prioritize it in our daily lives.
- Hating wisdom will lead to harm and death, so we must avoid a negative attitude towards it.