The Knowledge of Wisdom

Q: What does the Bible say about wisdom?

The Bible presents wisdom as the knowledge and fear of the Lord, which is sweeter than honey. In Proverbs 24:13-14, the pursuit of wisdom is likened to eating honey, emphasizing its goodness and sweetness. Wisdom, in this context, refers to a deep understanding that comes through a relationship with God. This biblical wisdom is not merely human insight, but a revelation from God that guides His people in righteousness and reveals the beauty of His truth.

Q: How do we know the Bible is God's true word?

The Bible is confirmed as God's word through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and its unified message about Christ. The apostle Peter states in 2 Peter 1:21 that prophecy did not come by the will of man, but was given by holy men of God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. This indicates that the entirety of Scripture is divinely inspired, consistent in its message about Christ, and has no errors. The unity of the 66 books, written by various authors over centuries, all pointing to the same Savior, reinforces its divine origin and authority.

Q: Why is the knowledge of wisdom important for Christians?

The knowledge of wisdom is essential as it leads to everlasting hope and understanding of God's purpose. The knowledge of wisdom is significant for Christians because it reflects a relationship with God and an understanding of His will. Proverbs 24:14 states that finding wisdom brings a reward and an expected end. This 'expected end' is the hope of being found in Christ, clothed in His righteousness rather than one's own. It enables believers to navigate life’s challenges with confidence in God's sovereignty and assurance of salvation.

Q: How does God reveal Himself through wisdom?

God reveals Himself through wisdom as a guide, leading His people to eternal life and righteousness. The revelation of God through wisdom is primarily an understanding of His being and purpose. In Proverbs, wisdom is personified as calling out to people, offering guidance, knowledge, and insight. This wisdom is found in the person of Jesus Christ, as stated in John 1:1, emphasizing that He is both the embodied wisdom and the way to eternal life. Understanding and embracing this wisdom leads believers closer to God and shapes their lives in accordance with His will.

Tonight, our hope is to look in Proverbs chapter 24, if you would like to turn. Proverbs 24. Our call to worship tonight, Psalm 19 goes hand in hand with Proverbs 24 speaks of the honey, the Lord's truth and righteousness being sweeter than honey and honey from the comb, honeycomb. Tonight, I hope that the Lord will cause us to be able to understand what the honey is and what the milk is. and be able to see how that all of these things are allegories and types and pictures of the glorious word of our Lord, the truth that he declares and the righteousness that he declares.

Everything given in scripture is given by inspiration of the spirit. And it's no different than the book of Proverbs. So often men shy away from it because they Well, because it sometimes is a deep subject, isn't it? But if we look at it from a man's perspective, as a flesh perspective, we won't see the real picture and beauty of what the Lord has given in his word in Proverbs.

Here we have our Lord revealing himself, and he uses a phrase that's not used but one place in all of scripture, and it's found in Proverbs 24, and the words are the knowledge of wisdom. We have looked at the knowledge of the Lord. We have looked at the wisdom of the Lord as we've been through Proverbs. This particular time, I titled the message, The Knowledge of Wisdom. The Knowledge of Wisdom.

Some might say that this book is just the word of man, that men wrote down certain words, therefore it has to be flawed or it has to have error in it. But to the Lord's people, we know that it's the inherent written word of God. It's not just a man written book.

It was, well, I'll tell you what Peter said. 2 Peter 1 21 for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And if that prophecy was in old time, do we not think that it was the same? Gift to write the scriptures? Certainly. How can you have 66 books that all point to the same person? Carpenters, fishermen, sheep, shepherds, you name it, farmers. All of them were writing about Christ and they never, they never conferred with each other.

And my intention tonight is not take up for the word of God. It's just to simply declare it's the word of God. We believe that by faith alone, like everything else that we receive of the Lord, it must be received by faith in Christ. It's his faith bestowed. Otherwise we won't receive it. We won't believe it. This is the word of God. This precious book is written, the written word of God.

I would remind us that John chapter one says, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. In verse 14 it says, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. The word of God is Jesus Christ. So here we have the written word of God.

We have Jesus Christ in written form, which cannot be separated from his, Uh, person, we have the person, the word and the written form. It's all the same person. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. This book is the final authority. It is the living word of God. Those of you who have been called out of darkness into the Lord's light know this to be true. We can look at a certain passage of scripture.

For example, Psalm 19 tonight, I've read that. I don't know how many times. There's something stuck out that I never saw before. How can that be? Well, the Lord calls it his living word. It's living word. You and I are awakened to it each and every time that the Lord is pleased to do so. And we, I never saw that before. Well, there he is again. Never saw that before.

Isn't that glorious how the Lord did that? It's inexhaustible. Christ told the Pharisees, search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, but they are they which speak of me. And the Lord even said, in the volume of the book it is written of me. It's all about him. It's all about him. This must be established as our foundation tonight for this message.

Now I just want to read our text here in Proverbs 24. Verse 13 through 22, he says, my son, eat thou honey because it is good, and the honeycomb which is sweet to thy taste. So shall the knowledge of wisdom be into thy soul when thou hast found it. Then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

Lay not weight, a wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous. Spoil not his resting place. For a just man falleth seven times. And we know what that seven times represent, don't we? It's perfection, it's completion. The righteous man falleth seven times and riseth up again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth, lest the Lord see it and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked, for there shall be no reward to the evil man. The candle, the candle of the wicked shall be put out. My son, fear thou the Lord and the King, and meddle not with them that are given to change, for their calamity shall rise suddenly. And who knoweth the ruin of them both?

Now this all goes hand in hand because he begins this particular part by saying, my son, eat thou honey because it is good, and the honeycomb which is sweet to thy taste. So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul. When thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall be Shall not be cut off knowledge of wisdom. So shall the knowledge of wisdom be into that soul. That's our title knowledge, the knowledge of wisdom.

How can this be about honey in the honeycomb, which is sweet to the taste? And yet he says the knowledge of wisdom, what is he talking about? Well, he can't be talking about natural honey then, can he? He's talking about the wisdom that can only come through and by the Lord, who is our wisdom. He's talking about the knowledge that's given of the Lord and to his people, the knowledge of and by wisdom. It can't just be honey that you get from bees in this natural life. And we know that Honey is a very sweet substance, but there's none sweeter than our Lord. He's sweeter than honey and honey and the honeycomb, as we read in Psalm 19.

These verses are not talking about things, brethren. These verses are talking about a person. Look at verse 15. He says, lay not weight a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous. Spoil not his resting place. This came exactly after he said, knowledge of wisdom be to thy soul.

He is our resting place. Do we see that? He is our resting place. So what does this honey, this sweet substance that the Lord's people must have, what does it reveal? What does it teach us? What is the Lord teaching us in this passage? Well, turn with me if you would. We have a few places tonight.

Exodus chapter three. Promise was made unto Moses. children of Israel would be set free by the Lord's hand, but He would be the one to lead them. and he promises to bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey, the promised land, the land of Canaan, the land of the Jebusites and the Hittites and the Canaanites and so on. He says, I'm gonna deliver them all into your hand and I'm gonna bring you into that land flowing with milk and honey. I would remind us that the children of Israel have been in bondage 400 years, 400 years they've been in bondage, they've been in captivity. And the Lord heard of their affliction, heard their cry in the land of Egypt and chose at the appointed time to call Moses.

I heard somebody say one time, well, I'm, I'm ready to be a preacher. I'm ready to be a pastor. I would remind us that Moses was on the backside of a mountain herding sheep for 40 years for the Lord ever called him. The Lord knows when it's time to call a man. The Lord knows when it's time to use a man or a woman for that matter to, um, for his own purpose and glory.

Let's read this Exodus chapter three, verse one through 10. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to the mountain of God, even Oreb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Now what is that a picture of? Is that not the Lord Jesus Christ who endured the full wrath of God on the cross of Calvary? The hell that you and I deserved as wretched sinners, being our substitute on the cross? but he was not consumed. How can that be? Because he was the perfect sacrifice. That's what this is a picture of.

Verse three, and Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight while the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, here am I. And he said, draw not nigh hither, put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover, he said, I am the God of thy father and the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God.

The Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people, which are in Egypt. and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. And I am come down to deliver them out of the land, out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is coming to me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppressed them. Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.

So the promise is the children of Israel are in bonded as they're in captivity under the Egyptian authority. They cannot leave. They must do the hard labor that's been given to them by the taskmasters. And we see how that plays out in the book of Exodus, how difficult it was for them for day-to-day life.

And yet the Lord says, and I love this, I have come down to deliver them. I have come down. He says, I'm going to send you, Moses, to speak to Pharaoh, and you're going to tell him, let my people go. And I love the fact that Moses starts kind of arguing with the Lord. Who am I? I'm slow of speech. I can't go to Egypt. You got the wrong guys, what he was saying. The Lord said, who taught the lame to walk, the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear? Did not I? Now go. And I will surely be with thee, Moses." And you know the miracles that the Lord wrought through Moses. And we're going to see that this hour, Lord willing, some of them. But the point is, is that the bondage of Israel represents the bondage that you and I are born into under the law.

Because of our sin, because of what the law has said, In the day the soul sinneth, it shall surely die. You and I are born in sin, shaped in iniquity. Therefore, we're in bondage. We're in bondage to self when we're born. We're in bondage to Satan. We're in bondage to our sin. And we have no hope of getting out of that situation. Every child of Israel that was born at this time in Egypt, they were born in bondage, weren't they? Did they choose that bondage or was it chosen for them by their ancestors? Well, it's the same with everyone that's ever been born upon the face of the earth. Spiritually speaking, we all died in Adam.

The scripture tells us clearly, for by one man's disobedience, all were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. This is the Lord Jesus Christ that makes his people righteous. This is the fall that took place in Adam, our father, we being in his loins, he being the covenant. of works, our head in the covenant of works.

He couldn't keep one rule, one law. Man says, I have a free will. I can keep the Lord's law. Adam and Eve couldn't keep one law. That was it, just one. Can you imagine? Yeah, certainly we can, because we're the exact same way, aren't we? We're the exact same way.

Unless the Lord reveals himself, we won't, we won't fear him. We won't reverence him. We'll just think that he's a puny God that can't do anything unless we let him. But no, he reveals himself to Moses. What does Moses do? He hid his face. I can't look upon God. I'll die.

That's the fear that the Lord gives to his people, reverence and respect, because we see him as sovereign and holy. We see him as seated as the successful king of kings and Lord of lords, the savior of his people. We don't see him as puny or weak. Lord calls us to see that the Lord has caused us to see that. Scripture says this, somebody said, well, I used to be a sinner. You know, I'm a lot better than I used to be. I've heard people say that. Scripture is clear on this brethren. If any man say he hath not sin, he maketh God to be a liar and the truth is not in him. No, we're all sinners by nature, by practice, by choice.

We don't even mean to think the things that we, I love that. We don't mean to think the things we think. Psalm 19, he talked about cleanse me from secret sins. That secret's not something I'm intentionally hiding from the Lord. It's things that I'm not even realizing that I'm doing. Not that I'm intentionally, I'm going to do this and nobody's going to know about it. No, no. It's the secret of the heart. It's desperately wicked and deceitful of all things. We do things and don't even mean to do them. That's what Paul said. That which I would do, I do not. But that which I would, I can't do it. Cannot find myself do it. Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?

So here we are in bondage to the law, bondage to Egypt, if you will. And Moses is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ sent from God as God manifest in the flesh, the triune Godhead to deliver his people from the bondage that they are in because you and I cannot deliver ourself no matter what we do.

Notice the solution though, the Lord gives the solution. In verse seven, and the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters for I know their sorrows. Can you think of all false religion as being the taskmasters? Ones that are saying work harder, work harder, work harder. And what does the Lord say? Rest, it is finished. Lord saw the affliction of his people before time ever began. He elected those people into eternal life.

And although this is a physical Israel we're talking about here, this is a picture of the spiritual Israel, which the Lord has set free from her captivity, from the church's captivity. Verse eight, I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land and to a land and a large unto a land flowing with milk and honey. Look at verse nine, now therefore behold the cry of Israel, the cry of the children of Israel is coming to me and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore and I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. I am come down because I have heard according to my purpose, my will, and I'm going to send you to deliver them by my hand.

Don't you love how the Lord gets all the glory? If he just stayed seated on his throne, nothing would have changed. But God became a man to deliver his people from bondage. Now, we're still talking about the knowledge of wisdom. We're still referring to it as the milk and the honey that the Lord gives unto his people. And by the time this is over, I pray the Lord gives us some understanding of that. But our Lord was the only one who could have set his people free.

He has all power. Do we understand that if Moses just said, okay, I'm going to go back down to Egypt without the Lord ever saying anything to him, I'm going to go back down to Egypt, but I'm going to set the people free. That's what men think that they're doing when false religion, is it not? I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that. I would remind us that Moses was a murderer.

And what was the consequence in Egypt back then? Same as today. Well, not today, apparently, but back then it was death. It was death. Murder meant death. You killed somebody, you died. That's just how it was. So he couldn't show his face back. And he was enemy of the Egyptians. Do we see that? Not our Lord with the law, though. Our Lord was not the enemy of the law. He fulfilled all righteousness in the law. He satisfied the law's demands perfectly. He wasn't coming now. Was he the enemy of this world? Absolutely. Everybody hated him.

And yet he still established righteousness for his people. He still conquered death, hell, and the grave for his people. He still made certain that the law has nothing to say to the child of God, but things that are peaceful, satisfy justice. I would remind you of this, there was a lot of unbelief in Egypt.

They worship, they still have a bunch of gods that they flock to and some are the body of men with the head of a bird and so on and so forth and I'm not even going to get into it. And that's what it's talking about in Romans chapter 1 where it says it likens God unto four-footed creatures and beasts and things that are birds in the sky and everything. That's what men will do by nature. We'll make God out to be something that we can relate to when in all reality, he's other than we are. He's other than we are.

Because of their unbelief in Egypt, when Moses shows up and talks to Pharaoh, he says, the Lord hath said, let my people go. And what did Pharaoh do? Did he say, okay, yeah, I think I'll do that. No. He said, I don't know your Lord and I will not let your people go. And the scripture says this, and this is interesting because it tells us that, uh, Pharaoh hardened his heart, but it also says that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh.

Whenever we see those words, we ought not be discouraged because the scripture's clear, the king's heart is in the Lord's hand. He can do whatsoever he will with whomsoever he wants to. He's sovereign and holy and everything he does is right and good.

I'm reminded over in the book of Isaiah 43 that he said, I've, we'll turn with me over to Isaiah 43 quickly. Can't quote it, we'll look at it. Yes, this is talking about Israel, but this is talking about the true Israel, the spiritual Israel, God's elect. Verse Isaiah 43, but now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee.

I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou is precious in my sight, thou has been honorable and I have loved thee, therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy life. That's God speaking. That's our Lord, that's His sovereignty, and His purpose, and His glorious will that He can exercise however He so chooses. He says, I've given Egypt for thee, and Ethiopia, and Seba, because this reason you were precious in my sight.

I didn't choose Egypt, I didn't choose Ethiopia, I didn't choose Seba, I chose you, therefore, Verse five, fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the east and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north, give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from far and my daughters from the ends of the earth. even everyone that is called by my name."

That's why his people are called by his name. For I have created him for my glory. I have formed him, yea, I have made him. Do we see the sovereignty of our God? Moses was bearing the burden of the Lord, his word going into Egypt. And we see that the Lord was with him and yet Pharaoh hardened his heart and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. And 10 plagues, it took 10 plagues for Pharaoh to let the Lord's people go. But you know what's most interesting about that?

Not a single plague touched the children of Israel. Not one. The only one that threatened, that threatened, to harm the children of Israel was death of the firstborn. Their responsibility was to take a lamb of the first year and take the blood of that lamb, kill it and take the blood of that lamb, and put it on the doorpost and the lintel. And he said, when I see the blood, I will pass by thee. That's the only one that if they didn't obey that, their firstborn would have died. But everyone else, all the other ones, when it was dark in Egypt, it was light in Goshen. When the flies were in Egypt, the flies weren't in Goshen. When all the cattle and all the livestock died in Egypt, nothing happened in Goshen.

Why? It's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, enduring the full wrath of God in our room instead, so that that wrath has been completely remedied. That wrath has been satisfied. God's justice has been satisfied. Our sin has been put away. Therefore, the judgment of unbelief, the consequences of pride and arrogance and of a hard heart The Lord took all that from his people and gave us the righteousness of Christ in him. He set us free from that bondage. And that's exactly what the Lord did for the children of Israel. After the 10th plague, they marched out of Egypt and spoiled Egypt, the scripture says.

And I see that I'm taking a while here, so bear with me. I'm already seeing it's 22 and I'm like, I better hurry up. They leave Egypt and they go and Pharaoh decides, OK, I'm going to hunt them down and kill them. Yeah. Yeah, that's what our adversary would like to do, isn't it? That's what the world would like to do, isn't it? That's what our flesh would like to do. Get rid of the new man? Can't do it. Why? The Lord's already prepared a way.

Children of Israel were brought across the Red Sea on dry land, the scripture says. That's a picture of the new birth when we're brought into, we see the world as a wilderness now. And for 40 years, we wonder, it's a picture of our life upon this earth. And so they're wandering in the wilderness and Pharaoh's army was drowned in the deep.

You can't, he tries to climb up any other ways, the same, the thief and a robber, the Lord had to bring them across that. But it's interesting as scripture says, he opened the waters with the breath of his nostril. Is that not him blowing his spirit upon his people, bringing life into them at his appointed time and purpose according to his gospel. We're brought across on it. Water always represents death like it does in baptism. When we're brought on dry land, death can't touch the Lord's people. Death can't touch, but Pharaoh and his army certainly drowned in the deep. Children of Israel now in the wilderness.

And because of this obedience, they had to wonder for 40 years, 40 years. And it's interesting because that 40 year mark, um, They never had any issues with anything fading or going bad or anything. What I mean by that is, is their shoes never gave out, their clothes never got raggedy. Imagine 40 years and wearing the same garment. I mean, that's, it's going to wear out. All of this, brethren, is a spiritual picture of the knowledge of wisdom.

It's the honey that the Lord revealed unto us. They were hungry in the wilderness, and what did the Lord do? He sent manna. It rained food. It rained food. How can that be? Because that's what the Lord gives to his people every day. Give us our daily bread. Lord, if we're gonna have our daily bread, you're gonna have to give it to us. What did Christ say in John chapter six? I am that bread that came down from heaven. Your fathers that eat man in the wilderness and are dead, but whosoever shall eat of this bread shall live eternal life. They said, well, he's a cannibal. That's what they thought. He's just a cannibal. He's talking about cannibal. No, no, it's a spiritual picture in the children of Israel. That's the picture that the Lord gives. And what happened? Well, for six days, they could harvest the manna, but on the Sabbath, they rested. So on the sixth day, double was given. And I love the fact that it's the sixth day. We know what the number six means. That's the number of man.

The Lord gives double, and isn't that what he said in Isaiah? Tell her her warfare is accomplished, and that she has received double for her sin. Is that not what the Lord does? Therefore, we rest on God's Sabbath. It's all a picture of Christ. It's all about His finished work. It's all about Him bringing us where? To the land flowing with milk and honey, the promised land. It's to bring His people back to glory. That's what it's all about, to sit at His feet for eternity and just feast upon Him, the sweet honey of His word and the milk.

That was just, we know that the scripture talks about the milk of the word, being babes, sincere babes in Christ, you desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. And we do, don't we? We desire the milk, the simplicity that's found in Christ, the simplicity that's found in Him. And we desire the honey, the sweetness that's found in Christ.

Nowhere else is that sweetness found. I got ahead of myself a little bit, but that's okay. We are now in the wilderness brethren. We crossed the Red Sea. Lord brought us out of darkness into his light and we're wandering in this lost and dying world. It's a wilderness.

The sands of this world, the dirt and the filth get on us. from the time we walk out of this building to the time we come back in and the Lord promises to wash us. He says that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by what? The word, the honey, the milk, the knowledge of wisdom, the truth of his gospel. He washes us clean again. We have an oasis to come to. He just washes us all over again. So I said, well, my shoes have given out, my clothes go bad. He's not talking about the physical clothes of us.

Now, yes, certainly the children of Israel, but what did the Lord say? In the Ephesians, put on the whole armor of God. that you may be able to withstand the fiery dark or the the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take into you the armor of God. And he says, and having done all to stand, stand therefore with your loins girt about with the truth.

Where'd that truth come from? Christ is our truth. Having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Where did that peace come from? He just told us it's his gospel that's given us peace with God. Um, having the breastplate of righteousness. What is that breast?

That's Christ's righteousness given to us, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit. Scripture is defined, Scripture is called the sword, two-edged sword. Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing into the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. We have the word of God as our sword. It's our only line of offense.

What does he give us as a shield? Faith, to believe him. Absorbing all the fiery darts that Satan would throw at us, all the fiery darts of the world, all the things of this wilderness that we're in. He's given us everything. And you know what the glorious part about the Lord's armor is, is it's never gonna fail. He won't let it. He told Peter, he said, Peter, Satan has desired to sift thee as wheat, but I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith fail not. And did you know he did the same thing for every single person that he died for on the cross of Calvary? So that our faith would never fail. He's provided everything for his people to bring us through this journey.

And I'm gonna say this, and it's gonna sound really weird, but it's true. When we get there, it'll be like this never happened. Because if we had memory of this place, that wouldn't be heaven. We'd remember sin, we would remember sorrow, we would remember suffering, we would remember pain, and all those are gone. Former things are passed away, behold, all things have become new. That's the new man created in righteousness, and that's what will be remembered when we get there.

So I said, well, the scripture says we'll be known as we're known. That's true, how are we known? in Christ. That's how we're known of God. It's the only way we can be known of God. He's not talking about me knowing Rob or Greg or Jonah. You're gonna recognize Caleb when we get there. We're just gonna, we'll talk with Moses and Noah and no, no, no, no. We're known of God in Christ.

There's the knowledge of wisdom and the honey that's sweet to the Lord's people to be found in him. Lord brought the children of Israel through the wilderness as he does his own people. Just like them, we are seeking a land flowing with milk and honey. But it's not of this world. The Lord said this, let not your heart be troubled.

You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. What people get hung up on the mansion, don't they? I got me. There's a song. I got a mansion just over the hilltop. No, we don't. No, we don't. The reward that we're going to get to that, I hope get to that in a second. The reward is the end. It's the expected end. That's the reward. Christ is the goal. When Paul said, I pressed towards the mark of the high calling God, what's the mark? Christ is the mark. He's the honey. He's the milk. He's the promised land. In my Father's house are many mansions.

If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also. John 14, one through four. God has provided everything for his people in this life and moreover, and most importantly, in the life to come. You know what he said? I already told you this. I'll tell you again, Deuteronomy 29. How do we know that their shoes never got old?

It says, I have led you. And I love that. By daytime, they had a cloud to follow. That's the Lord. Follow the cloud. And at nighttime, they had a pillar of fire. So they were never without light, and they were never without shade. Think about that. They always had what they needed. The Lord gave them everything that they needed. I've led you 40 years in the wilderness. Your clothes are not waxing old upon you, and thy shoes, thy shoe is not waxing old upon thy feet.

That's our Lord. That's his power. That's how he keeps his people. He sustains us with his honey, his word, his truth. And what he has clothed us in, in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, it'll never wax old. It'll never wax old. It'll always be fresh.

Now, turn with me back to our text in Proverbs chapter 24. Notice verse 21. My son, fear thou the Lord and the King, and meddle not them that are given to change. I'm reminded that during the time the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they murmured and they complained, which seemed to be constant. You know what they said about the Lord's manna that came from above?

We loathe this light bread. We loathe it. Have you brought us from Egypt just to have us die in the wilderness? Give us something of sustenance. Give us meat. We desire meat. And the Lord gave them quail. Isn't that amazing? They said, we're thirsty. Did you bring us here for us to thirst to death? What did Moses do? He smoked the rock, didn't he?

That's a picture of the law that smoked the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, the Lord pouring out his wrath upon his darling son. We see that water came forth, life-giving water, the fountain of living water, as the Lord said to the Samaritan woman at the well.

God has given us this picture to see it's not our sacrifice that equaled the manna. It's not our service that equaled the water. It's not anything about us that equaled anything good. As a matter of fact, all we do is murmur and complain in this flesh. That's what our flesh does. That's what it's geared to do. That's what it does by nature. We become upset over the littlest thing. I'm saying we. I mean, we're the same. There's no difference. And yet, he's saying here, what verse was that?

21, meddle not with them that are given to change. They wanted change, didn't they? They wanted something new. Give us something new, something better. We're tired of this. And that's why we see sometimes people fall away from the truth. They don't want the truth.

It's too simple, it's too plain, it's too straight. The scripture's clear about that. Straight is the way. Narrow is the gate that leadeth to life eternal. Few there be that find it. The Lord has to be the revelator of his truth. The Lord has to be the one that gives us the honey and the milk, the simplicity that's found in Christ.

And it sustains us, and more than that, it's all we want. We don't want something new. If I got up here and started telling you something new, and you'd run me out, and rightly so, you should. Somebody gets up and they declare anything other than the gospel of Christ, they should not be in the pulpit. That was just plain and simple. Christ is all in salvation. And this simplicity is what we crave. It's what we need.

It's what the new man lives on day by day by day. That's why we wake up in the morning and we're like, Lord, show me your face in your word. Show me your face in a message. Show me your face in this passage, I read Hawker sometimes I read Mason sometimes most of the time it's back and forth just depending on the day and Lord I need some manna. I need to see some truth. I need some rest because I got to go out into this wilderness again and I got to face all these things. I can't do it. I'm going to die of thirst. I'm going to die of hunger. I need a place to rest.

And the Lord's faithful. He's faithful to deliver His knowledge of wisdom. What is that knowledge of wisdom? That salvation is of the Lord. God chose to elect a people. Christ redeemed those people. The Spirit regenerates those people in His time, and we're kept by His power. Christ is all, and this salvation's all of grace.

At what point did the children of Israel say, okay, I've decided to leave this bondage and go in the wilderness? Not one time, did they? Why? Salvation is not a choice of man. It's a choice of God. God had to come down from his throne to Moses. I've come down. I've condescended. And I'm going to send you, which is a picture of the word of God. He was bearing the word of God. It's Jesus Christ setting the Lord's people free. Tell me one thing.

How many people was like, I think I'll just stay in this hard bondage and just endure these 40 lashes or however many they were getting a day. I think I'll just keep on, Moses made them tread bricks with no straw. And I don't know if you all know this, but back then they would put straw in mud. And the idea was that the straw was the binder of the mud. Otherwise it would just crumble and crack and break apart. Useless. I think I'll just stay here and keep treading this mud. and without straw and make bricks that don't work. This is what I want to do. No. Left to ourself, we would, because we delight in the gods of Egypt in our flesh. We delight in the things of Egypt in our flesh.

The Lord says, no, come out from among them and be you separate. And the Lord brings us out of that bondage. He did that once and for all on the cross of Calvary. I want to turn to one other place, but I want you to hold your place because we're going to finish up in Proverbs. But turn with me here to Revelation chapter 10. Here we have John, the revelator, and before I read this, I must remind us that this whole entire book of Revelation starts out by saying the revelation of Jesus Christ. People are like, oh, this is, this means this and this means that. The revelation of Jesus Christ. Don't ever forget that. That's the new things people are wanting. A wow factor, something that they can latch on, no, No, don't look for change. Look for the simplicity of Christ always.

Verse eight of chapter 10, the voice, which I heard from heaven spake unto me again and said, go and take the little book, which is open in the hand of the angel, open in the hand of the angel, which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went into the angel and said to him, give me the little book.

And he said unto me, take it and eat it up. and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as," what? Honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand and I ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey, and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, thou must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. What is that a picture of? That's the word of God, is it not? How can it be sweet to the taste but bitter to the belly?

Because God has given his people two natures. When you're sitting at the Lord's table right now, that's what this is, that's what worship is. We're sitting at the Lord's table, we're sitting at his feet. Lord, feed me your truth, give me your bread, give me your living water, give me this honey, this milk. We're tasting it, and as the psalmist said, oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

We enjoy what the Lord has given because the new man is feasting upon the truth of the Lord. The new man is feasting upon the knowledge of wisdom, the Lord Jesus Christ. We're enjoying it. The new man is enjoying it. If I can, I guess that's the best way to put it.

It's, it's, it's our life sustaining necessity to have him and his truth in the new man. but our flesh hates it. That's the bitterness. It's bitter to our belly. I don't, you ever, you ever thought before, I mean, even after you heard the truth, you think you sit there and think, yeah, it's this thing about election and God not loving everybody. I just, I don't know. It seems kind of odd. You ever thought that before? I know people, I know I've even had some thoughts like that after I heard the truth. Why?

Because my flesh hates it. My flesh hates it. That's not, I should be able to do something with, no. God is sovereign and on the throne and he purposed all things and salvations of the Lord, period. Flesh says, well, that's not very fair. Well, who asked you flesh? He's the one that's seated, not us. We would dethrone him if we could. That's why it's bitter to the belly because the truth of God The flesh hates it, it renders it powerless, renders us the chief sinner, shows us what we are by nature, no hope of salvation in and of ourself. The new man rejoices. Not into us, O Lord, but that thy name be all glory and honor and praise forever.

You've brought us out of Egypt. You brought us out of the hard bondage of the law that we could not keep to please you. You brought us into this wilderness and you're sustaining us as we go. And you've already promised. You're already seated as the successful redeemer of your people. And we are already in you in the promised land.

We're feasting upon the honey and the milk now, the bread of life and the water. the living water. We're already getting tastes of it, aren't we? Just a little taste. Is that not why we're here? Just a little, I need a crumb. I need another crumb from the master's table.

And one day we're going to have the entirety. You know, if the Lord was to give us the entirety, now it'd kill us. The flesh couldn't handle it. I mean, truly, Lord said, no man's looked upon the Lord and lived. We saw him as he is right now. This flesh would just fall off. That's how it worked. Because he says, when we shall see him, we shall be made like him. We'll see him as he is. That's exactly what's going to happen. He didn't come to save the flesh. He come to save the soul. And he did a perfect, perfect work on the cross of Calvary. Now, I don't know how many things I've written down that I have not said, but that's okay.

In closing, I want to go back to Proverbs because I want you to see this. I've mentioned the change that men would desire. They want to see something new, something different. I saw recently that there was a, well, I guess it was not too recently, Easter's a while back now.

They had a, they brought live animals in for a play that they had. They had a man portray Christ and they brought in camels and donkeys and all kinds of things like that. And, uh, and everybody's like, wow, that was just amazing to have all these things that are happening. It's acting and carrying on.

What did Paul say? I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God and the salvation to everyone that believeth that you first and also the Greek. You can start at Paul's beginning of his ministry to his very end. And what was his declaration to all the churches? Christ is all in salvation. Christ is all in salvation. That's the simplicity. It's never going to change. And we love it that way, don't we? We don't need it to be anything other than what it is. Look at verse 13 and 14.

My son eat thou honey because it is good. And the honeycomb which is sweet to thy taste, so shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul. When thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward and thy expectations shall not be cut off. That word reward means end. And that word expectation means hope. So let's read it in that light. When thou hast found it, then there shall be a end, and thy hope shall not be cut off. When God gives faith to believe, our expected end and hope is this. that I might be found in him, not having my own righteousness of the bondage of Egypt, the law, but the righteousness which is by the faith of the Son of God that loved me and gave himself for me. This is the honey. This is the knowledge of wisdom. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would bless this according to your purpose and will. Allow us to understand these things by faith. Give us the faith to believe. In Christ's name, amen.

The Knowledge of Wisdom

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about wisdom?

How do we know the Bible is God's true word?

Why is the knowledge of wisdom important for Christians?

How does God reveal Himself through wisdom?

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The Knowledge of Wisdom

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about wisdom?

How do we know the Bible is God's true word?

Why is the knowledge of wisdom important for Christians?

How does God reveal Himself through wisdom?

Sermon Transcript

About Caleb Hickman

Comments

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