The Wise Are Teachable.

Steve Gentry

[0:06] Go ahead and have a seat. [0:07] Welcome to Village Church. [0:08] If this is your first time here. [0:10] My name is Steve, one of the pastors here at Village Church and as always I am thankful [0:13] and grateful to see almost all of you. [0:15] You know there’s a couple.

[0:21] You guys took that really hard. [0:24] It was called, I’m not telling the truth, I’m joking. [0:29] I’m really am thankful to see all of you. [0:31] There’s just one. [0:33] It’s really just one of you that I wish you would go somewhere else. [0:36] Again, that was a joke.

[0:38] It’s all of you. [0:39] I’m thankful for all of you. [0:41] Every single one of you. [0:42] You are God’s precious little child in my life.

[0:47] This morning, we started off great. [0:49] This morning, we’re going to be talking about a section in Proverbs and I kind of just want [0:55] to put all the cards on the table that this morning is vital and very valuable for every [1:02] sermon in this series that is going to follow it because all of the ones that follow this [1:07] one are about specific issues within the Proverbs and this sermon is about the overarching [1:13] theme in all of those issues.

[1:15] The question that I want to deal with today is are you teachable? [1:20] Over the past 20 years of my life in being trained into leadership in the local church [1:26] and being in tons of different leadership programs and business, church, all types of [1:32] leaders who lead leaders in leadership categories. [1:35] The one thing that I’ve seen is that many people have skills. [1:39] Many people have amazing abilities.

[1:42] Many people have natural talents that will help them in life. [1:46] But the one thing that sets some people apart from others has nothing to do with what you [1:53] are able to accomplish with your abilities, with your talent. [1:57] The one thing that sets people apart is their teachability. [2:02] Are you a teachable person? [2:05] If you are not a teachable person, then quite frankly, all of the talent in the world, all

[2:11] of the natural ability in the world is pretty much worthless. [2:16] Especially where leading people is concerned is that if you come into a situation, I’ve had [2:22] guys do it, is they come into a situation where they’re seeking to learn to lead others [2:28] and they can’t learn anything because they refuse to admit that there is a level of [2:34] wisdom that someone else possesses that they themselves do not possess. [2:39] And so when it comes to the Book of Proverbs and the Bible as a whole, what I hope that you

[2:44] understand this morning is that there is a necessity in your life where God is concerned [2:50] and where the life that he wants you to lead is concerned, is that you have to be the type [2:56] of person that can be taught how to live because so often you will not naturally harness [3:03] that ability on your own. [3:06] And so what I want to do this morning is I want to survey the Book of Proverbs and we’re [3:09] going to be all over the place, but we’re going to be starting in chapter one, verse 23

[3:13] this morning to take a look at the type of posture that God is going to call you into in [3:19] your life where learning is concerned. [3:23] And let’s start in verse 23 of chapter one.

[3:27] If you turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you. [3:32] I will make my words known to you. [3:34] And I want to pause there because this is where we’re going to end. [3:38] But it’s also where I want to begin. [3:40] Book of Proverbs is not a book about how to build a perfect life so that God is pleased [3:50] with you. That is not the theme of the Book of Proverbs.

[3:54] Verse 23 shows us that the Book of Proverbs is a book about how to respond when you don’t [4:03] have all the answers, how to respond when you find out that you are not wise, how to [4:11] respond when you make a mistake, how to respond when you find out that you are a flawed [4:19] individual who has made and is going to make imperfect decisions in your life. [4:27] He says in verse 23, if you respond right, you get the spirit. [4:34] If you respond right, you get the revelation of God.

[4:38] What if you respond wrong? [4:40] Verse 24, because I have called and you refuse to listen, have stretched out my hand and [4:48] no one has heeded because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my [4:53] proof, I also will laugh at your calamity. [4:58] I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and your [5:03] calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you, then they will

[5:09] call upon me. [5:11] But I will not answer. [5:15] They will seek me diligently, but will not find me because they hated knowledge and [5:22] did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel and despised all [5:29] of my reproof. [5:32] Proverbs 1 24 through 30 is undoubtedly very bad news.

[5:40] Sometimes in our lives, we are conditioned by culture and conditioned by a faulty view [5:48] of God and His grace to believe that because God is overwhelmingly gracious and He is [5:58] because God is so gracious that He is somehow obligated to fix all of my mistakes. [6:11] That He is so gracious. [6:13] And since grace and mercy are who God presents Himself to have as great attributes in the [6:19] scriptures, that since those are true, God necessarily has an obligation that when I

[6:25] make mistakes and ignore His word, when I go down paths that are unwise, when I act [6:33] foolish, God is obligated to fix it.

[6:40] Proverbs 1 24 through 30 tell us, no, He isn’t because what God is doing there is [6:47] He’s setting a standard. [6:48] He has not been silent. [6:50] He has been very vocal. [6:52] He has shown you who He is through the gospel. [6:54] He has shown you who He is through the word.

[6:57] He has shown you what you need to do. [6:59] He’s been abundantly gracious to offer you forgiveness and redemption through His Son, [7:03] Jesus Christ. [7:04] He has been abundantly merciful in the fact that He’s not going to make you pay the [7:09] penalty for your sin if you will listen to what He says. [7:12] But He warns you.

[7:13] He says there is a way to go through life where you go so far as to not listen to His [7:21] counsel, because His counsel is seeking to correct your foolishness and you love your [7:26] foolishness, that when your life falls apart and you have to pay the price for your [7:31] You’re going to say, God, I’ve hit rock bottom, fix it, make it OK. [7:36] And God is going to laugh at you and say, no, pay the price.

[7:42] So warning.

[7:44] And so when I say.

[7:47] Being teachable is the number one attribute of anyone in life, that’s why, because when [7:55] you are not teachable, when you’re not correctable, God will laugh at your calamity.

[8:02] God will make fun of you when disaster comes upon you. [8:06] And when you call upon Him from the pit of death, God will not help you.

[8:12] All because you wouldn’t listen. [8:17] You have all the natural ability in the world, and if you won’t listen, it’s worthless. [8:21] Number one, this morning, teachable people know who to learn from. [8:24] Teachable people know who to learn from. [8:27] It’s probably, man, you probably got to be 40 or older to know what I’m talking about [8:32] here, but there was a time when the culture at large told us this thing.

[8:38] They told us that if we continue to use paper bags for our groceries, the rainforest will [8:45] cease to exist, you know, life will end on the planet. [8:49] Trees are all going to be gone. [8:50] And so what was the answer? [8:51] What was the savior of the world? [8:54] Plastic bags.

[8:55] And we were told, I’m telling you, kids, you’re not going to believe this. [8:59] We were told, use plastic bags. [9:01] Man, we’ve engineered this perfect material. [9:04] It’s going to save everything. [9:05] It’s going to preserve life. [9:07] The trees will flourish.

[9:08] Everything will be great. [9:10] Fast forward to around 2018, 2019. [9:12] What did we learn then? [9:14] Stop using plastic.

[9:17] You monster. [9:19] Do you hate turtles?

[9:21] No, I just was doing what I was told. [9:23] You told me to use plastic. [9:24] So I’m using plastic. [9:25] Stop it. [9:26] And so now we’re going back to paper bags. [9:28] I guess the trees regroup, but

[9:33] in life, you are going to need, if you want to be wise, you’re going to need to harness [9:38] an ability. [9:39] You’re going to need to harness an ability to know who to listen to and who to ignore. [9:43] Because you will, when this is one of the issues with being teachable, you need to be [9:46] the right kind of teachable. [9:48] In your life, you’re going to have two people, both of whom you respect greatly.

[9:57] Not having a stroking. [9:59] There was a flash, right? [10:01] And there’s no photographer. [10:03] It’s a secret camera, Joey put up.

[10:08] But you’re going to have to learn in your life that you’re going to have two wise people. [10:11] One of them is going to tell you one thing and the other one’s going to tell you the [10:15] opposite of that thing. [10:16] And you’re going to have to figure out who to learn from and who to ignore. [10:19] It’s inevitable. [10:20] It happens to absolutely every single one of us.

[10:24] And so if you want to be a wise person, you need to understand that there is a filter [10:28] through which you need to put all of the messages that you’re going to learn in life. [10:34] So you will know who to learn from. [10:35] Proverbs 1 7 is the great ability to do that. [10:38] Proverbs 1 7, like I said last week, is the theme of the entire book of Proverbs. [10:41] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

[10:44] So what do you learn there? [10:45] You learn that everyone to learn from is the type of person that’s going to lead you in [10:51] the direction where God is. [10:54] And believe it or not, and for some of you, you are new to learning wisdom and you think [10:59] this is an impossible task. [11:00] How do I know who to learn from?

[11:02] It is amazingly easy, more easy than you think it’s going to be because there are so [11:07] many clear things in life where you’re going to think you can learn from someone. [11:11] You’re going to find out that their values and their character are contradictory to the [11:17] values and character of God. [11:19] You’re going to get a job and there’s going to be a person at that job that you think [11:23] has everything that you want to have, materially speaking.

[11:26] They’re closing the most deals. [11:28] They’re making the most sales. [11:30] Their bank account is growing larger and larger. [11:32] And so you want to learn from that person. [11:34] And very quickly you find that they are cutting corners, that they are being dishonest, that [11:39] they are actually just a giant scumbag obsessed with money.

[11:43] And so that’s all that they have. [11:45] And right then and there you have a choice to make. [11:48] Am I going to build the character that God wants me to have, even if it costs me money, [11:55] which I want, or am I going to follow someone that’s going to lead me away from God because [12:00] they have materially everything that I want? [12:03] And I’m telling you, it’s going to be that simple in your life.

[12:07] The rubric through which you grade people’s wisdom is will this person lead me towards [12:13] God or will this person lead me down a path that is away from God? [12:19] But the good news is that God has been abundantly clear as to what his wisdom looks like. [12:24] He’s giving us an entire word, the scriptures, for us to gauge whether or not someone is [12:30] wise through. [12:31] And that’s amazingly loving.

[12:32] There are times when God is going to have to correct you, and that is the source of [12:37] all of the correction that you need. [12:40] Friends, this is chiefly seen to the reality of the gospel. [12:44] The gospel is the ultimate correction. [12:47] It’s the ultimate reproof, in the words of the Book of Proverbs. [12:51] Trusting the gospel requires that you are teachable.

[12:55] It requires it. [12:57] And so if you come to faith in Jesus Christ, here’s what you need to understand that I [13:01] think some people get wrong. [13:02] They think the moment of faith is the great moment where all of the wisdom of God is [13:09] miraculously downloaded into your life. [13:12] That’s not how it works.

[13:13] The gospel is ground one. [13:16] It’s the floor level of wisdom. [13:18] And then the rest of your life is God building the character of your life by discipling you [13:24] in the way that you need to go. [13:27] If you don’t listen to God’s wisdom, he won’t be there to help you, as the message of [13:31] Proverbs one twenty four through thirty.

[13:33] But you also need to refuse to be led by fools. [13:37] If you reject the gospel, then you will end up listening to the wrong people and walking [13:41] the path to hell. [13:42] Look at Proverbs 1114, where there is no guidance, a people falls. [13:47] But in an abundance of counselors, there is safety. [13:51] The college I went to, I went to a Christian college.

[13:54] And the first semester there, now significantly smaller when I went there than it is now. [13:58] And the first semester I went there, they had a freshman assembly and they gathered [14:02] all of us and the chancellor of the college. [14:04] And it was just a few hundred of us at that point. [14:06] And he got in front of us and he warned us. [14:08] He said, there are 50 of you that are absolutely rotten and all of you will find each

[14:14] other by the end of the week and you will be gone by next semester. [14:17] And what was amazing is I saw it happen in my dorm. [14:23] There were just two or three guys and they were delinquents. [14:27] And guess, they immediately became quick friends. [14:32] And so a couple of weeks into the semester, they were getting in trouble over and over [14:35] again. A couple of weeks later, they decided, you know what, class, who wants to go to

[14:39] that? And by the end of the semester, all three of them had failed out and they were [14:45] gone by the next semester. [14:47] Fools travel in packs. [14:49] You ever notice that? [14:51] They have counselors in their life, but they have the wrong kind of counselor. [14:55] Because here’s what they do.

[14:58] People that think like me, people that act like me and people that always want to do [15:03] the exact same stupid things that I want to do. [15:05] They’re the counselors that I want in my life. [15:08] That’s the opposite of what you need. [15:10] You need people that are wiser than you. [15:13] You need people that have learned more than you’ve learned.

[15:16] You need people that have learned the wisdom of God so that they can help you through [15:21] your discipleship relationships to learn what the character of God is like so that [15:25] you can learn that character. [15:27] And the great question of where your discipleship is and where your discipleship is [15:30] going. Do you have those people in your life? [15:34] You need an abundance of counselors of wisdom in your life.

[15:39] You need first to refuse to be led or taught by anyone that will ultimately lead you in [15:45] a direction that God wouldn’t lead you himself. [15:48] And you can learn about that in the scriptures. [15:49] This is why we need to ensure that we have a correct definition of success. [15:55] Godly wisdom will often lead you to be countercultural. [15:59] It will. It will lead you to define success by God’s parameters over the world’s

[16:04] parameters. But the question is, are you doing that? [16:07] Are you being led in the right direction? [16:10] Because here’s what Proverbs 15 10 warns us about. [16:13] There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way. [16:16] Whoever hates reproof will die. [16:18] And I love that verse because the first half is actually good news.

[16:22] That’s what shocks most of us. [16:23] Most of us don’t like that first half. [16:25] Who likes severe discipline? [16:26] I know no child on earth likes it when their parents use severe discipline. [16:31] But the good news of the text is the severe discipline, because God says when you [16:36] deviate from the way and what he means by that is the way that God has designed for

[16:41] you to go, God will use severe discipline. [16:44] He doesn’t is a precise. [16:45] He isn’t specific as to what’s going to happen in your life. [16:47] You just probably going to hurt a little bit and to bring you back to the way. [16:53] The second half of the verse is what happens if you ignore God’s discipline. [16:58] He says whoever hates reproof, which is what severe discipline is, will die.

[17:04] There’s no coming back from that one, buddy. [17:07] That’s bad news. [17:09] The key that you need to understand about your life is that in order for you to get [17:14] the type of discipline that you need so that you will stay on the way, you need to be [17:20] led. You need a leader. [17:23] There are so many in our culture because of how isolated we are becoming because of all

[17:29] the social media and everything that we have at our fingertips. [17:33] We isolate from one another. [17:34] By the way, that’s social media is not socializing. [17:37] Socializing involves actually being with people. [17:40] I don’t know if you know this or not, but they’re in the same room and your friends, [17:43] you’re building relationships.

[17:45] But because of that, we believe the false notion that we can lead ourselves. [17:50] The only thing I can tell you if you believe that you are leading yourself is that you are [17:55] being led by an absolute fool and you should stop following that person. [17:59] You need people in your life who can offer you good wisdom and leadership. [18:05] Look at Proverbs 19 20. [18:07] Listen to advice and accept instruction that you may gain wisdom in the future.

[18:12] I love that text because some of the guidance you need now may not apply to today, but in [18:19] five years you will be so thankful because of the wisdom that you have. [18:24] I love that text because we are so prone to be so distracted by the urgent. [18:30] You know, if it’s not applying to something I’m going through right now, right here with [18:35] this situation, that in his wisdom that I do not need. [18:39] But what you don’t understand is when you turn your ears off and you tune out the advice

[18:44] that isn’t applying to the urgent that you’re experiencing right now, you are doing a [18:49] disservice to yourself because you have no idea what you’re going to be facing tomorrow. [18:53] You have no clue as to what you’re going to be facing five years from now. [18:57] And there have been things in my life that I learned years ago that I finally encountered [19:02] that issue and I knew what to do because I had paid attention to something that I wasn’t [19:08] going through right then and right there, which is what we talked about last week.

[19:12] Stop living and learning and start learning to live. [19:17] You will be so thankful because of the wisdom that you have if you will just pay attention [19:23] to leaders. [19:24] Proverbs 24, 6, For by wise guidance you can wage war and in abundance of counselors [19:29] there is victory. [19:31] You may not like the analogy of war.

[19:34] You may not like to think that life is war. [19:36] But friends, it really is. [19:38] You have to fight for wisdom. [19:40] You have to fight your sin. [19:42] You have to fight foolishness from inside. [19:45] You have to fight foolishness from outside.

[19:47] And you have to fight against the enemy Satan because he wants you to stay foolish. [19:53] See, the fact is, though, that many of you are not fighting. [19:57] You are accepting whatever comes your way. [20:00] And you’re acting like you’re some kind of silent observer in your own life. [20:04] And you’ll say things like, well, it’s just the way that I am. [20:07] I am who I am.

[20:09] I’m just dealing with the cards that were dealt to me. [20:12] As if you have no say. [20:14] If you don’t like the cards that were dealt to you, go buy a new set. [20:19] All right. You have the choice. [20:21] If you don’t like Uno, go buy phase 10. [20:23] If you want to be really biblical, go get some Dutch Blitz.

[20:26] If you don’t know what Dutch Blitz is, you’ve never hated anyone.

[20:31] Look it up. It’s a great way to make an enemy. [20:33] If you want to hate all of your family by the end of the night, play Dutch Blitz. [20:37] It’s an Amish game.

[20:39] I’m not Amish, but I was Baptist. [20:46] Still am.

[20:50] That was risky.

[20:53] But the fact is, you do have a choice. [20:57] Stop acting like you’re watching life and start choosing to live your life. [21:04] You have a choice as to whether or not you’re going to sit in foolishness or whether or not you are proactively going to grow in wisdom. [21:11] Number two, this morning, teachable people listen to correction. [21:15] Teachable people listen to correction. [21:18] Proverbs 1 23 informs us that correction is a blessing.

[21:22] God doesn’t expect perfection of us, but he gives us the pathway towards redemption so that our lives can be saved from foolishness. [21:31] Proverbs 25 12 says,

[21:37] The biggest blind spot in many of our lives is that we are offended when people offer wisdom. [21:44] God says that if you will listen, it is as valuable as gold. [21:49] I don’t have any gold. [21:51] But I wish I did. [21:53] I mean, you think about it. [21:55] If somebody were to come to my house this afternoon and if this is you, come on over.

[21:58] You can interrupt anything I got going on. [22:01] And gave me a gold bar. [22:03] Have you ever seen a gold bar? [22:05] Oh, man, it’ll make your mouth water because it’s worth so much money. [22:08] I got mouth to feed. [22:09] All right.

[22:10] So I think about these things. [22:11] But if somebody were to come to my house and give me a gold bar, I would be so thankful. [22:15] I would be so happy. [22:18] I wouldn’t be like, I need to run a background check on you. [22:20] Where did you get this gold bar? [22:21] I don’t care about any of that.

[22:23] I got a mortgage. [22:23] Give me the gold. [22:24] All of it. [22:25] And then just go about your business. [22:26] I don’t care where you’re going. [22:27] Just go do whatever any of us.

[22:30] If somebody gave us a precious metal that is valuable in this life, we would treat it with respect. [22:38] We would be grateful. [22:40] So why don’t you treat wisdom that way? [22:44] Why do you get angry when somebody offers you the gift of wisdom? [22:47] The Proverbs notes that some of you reject wisdom because you refuse to be corrected in your error. [22:57] Why are you so committed to rhythms and lifestyles that obviously aren’t bringing you the joy that you thought they would?

[23:07] There’s nothing more foolish than that. [23:09] You keep making the same error after same error after same error. [23:13] Same mistake. [23:14] Same mistake. [23:15] Same sin. [23:16] Same sin.

[23:16] Same foolish decision over and over and over. [23:20] And I talk to people about these things all the time. [23:22] The people ask me about wisdom all over the time. [23:24] And you act like you don’t have a choice.

[23:29] By God’s grace, you do. [23:33] You can form whatever life you want to. [23:38] You have the freedom to do that. [23:41] And so many of you pretend that you’re walking through this world shackled. [23:45] You have to be foolish because that’s your only option.

[23:50] Actually, you’re just a slave to convenience.

[23:54] You treasure leisure.

[23:57] You’re always looking for the easy way out. [24:00] You’re always looking for a quick fix. [24:03] You don’t want to do any hard work. [24:05] You don’t want to enter any pathways that are challenging. [24:08] You don’t want to do anything that’s going to require you any effort. [24:11] And that’s why you keep making the same mistakes, because you’re lazy.

[24:15] Because the path of God requires effort. [24:18] The path of God requires learning. [24:21] The path of God requires you to sweat sometimes.

[24:26] But are you teachable enough to enter the path of God? [24:32] Look at Proverbs 12.1, the most offensive verse in all of the scripture, [24:36] because everybody hates the word stupid. [24:37] I love it. [24:38] Proverbs 12.1, whoever loves discipline loves knowledge. [24:43] But he who hates reproof is what?

[24:48] God’s people said, amen.

[24:51] Most controversial thing I’ve said in the past 10 years here at Village Church [24:55] is that Mormons are stupid. [24:57] I mean, I got so many emails, I got so many complaints, [25:00] I got so many people saying, how could you say that? [25:02] You don’t know all the Mormons, not all of them are stupid. [25:04] I’m going to double down today.

[25:08] Mormons are stupid. [25:10] All of them. [25:12] Every single one.

[25:16] Because here’s what you need to understand. [25:19] They refuse to listen to the reproof of God. [25:23] And here’s the deal. [25:25] If you continuously enter into foolishness over and over, you won’t be corrected by God. [25:33] You won’t be corrected by wise counsel. [25:36] I’m not saying anything about you.

[25:38] Proverbs 12.1, though, what is it saying about you? [25:43] That you are stupid. [25:46] It is not, though, giving this static reality. [25:49] And I think sometimes that’s why people struggle in discipleship. [25:53] They struggle with their view of scripture because you read a text like that and you hear condemnation. [25:59] You see a text like that and you think, yeah, I know I’m stupid.

[26:03] I have no choice. [26:04] This is a dynamic statement where God is calling into your life and he’s actually doing the opposite of that. [26:11] And he’s saying, stop being stupid. [26:17] Make different choices. [26:19] Make a different decision. [26:22] This is your life.

[26:24] Why do you pretend you are condemned to foolishness? [26:27] You are not. [26:30] Proverbs 10.17 notes, Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life. [26:36] But he who rejects reproof leads others astray. [26:40] And here’s the great deception that many people believe. [26:42] It’s in that second half.

[26:45] You believe that you are isolated, that you are an island to yourself. [26:50] You believe that your foolishness only affects you. [26:53] You believe that bad decisions, sin, mistakes, you believe that it’s only affecting you. [26:58] That’s a lie.

[27:01] You have people around you all the time and every foolish decision you make affects every one of them. [27:08] If you continue down the road to foolishness, one of your friends is going to follow you. [27:11] One of your colleagues is going to follow you. [27:13] Your spouse is going to follow you. [27:16] Worst, your children are going to follow you and you are going to reproduce into a second and third foolish generation. [27:25] And you need to own that.

[27:27] You will lead others astray. [27:29] But here’s the good news. [27:32] Correction can save your life. [27:34] Look at the first half of 10.17. [27:37] Whoever heeds instruction is what? [27:39] On the path to life.

[27:42] Friends, Proverbs 1 is clear. [27:45] If you refuse to be corrected, your end will be disaster. [27:48] Foolishness leads to death. [27:50] That is the idea over and over in scripture. [27:52] But if you will listen to the voice of God, if you will trust that he is right. [27:59] If you will have an abundance of counselors pouring into your life.

[28:04] If you will own it and make decisions that are based in God’s word rather than what comes natural to you and seems culturally the most leisurely and convenient thing for you to do with your life. [28:16] God says you are going to be on the path to life. [28:21] You’re going to get things wrong. [28:24] Nobody’s going to make all the right decisions. [28:25] But the good news is that when you do and it is pointed out, you will respond with humility. [28:33] You know, the root of humiliation is humility.

[28:37] And some of you are more afraid of being humiliated than you are remaining foolish to the point of death. [28:45] Friends, even if you have to get humiliated, the good news is that when you get corrected and you heed that correction, you repent of your sin. [28:54] You go over into wisdom. [28:58] You will find the path to life so much so that you will ultimately be able to then become a teacher of wisdom. [29:06] Stop defending your empire of foolishness and trust that God has a path for you. [29:12] Yes, while it will require humility to admit that you need wise counsel, God promises that the wise counsel will be there.

[29:19] Proverbs 15 31, the ear that listens to life giving reproof will dwell among the wise. [29:26] Do you know what that means? [29:28] Means that if you listen, you will dwell with the wise. [29:33] Ultimately, even if it’s through humiliation, you will then become a wise counselor yourself. [29:42] Isn’t that what all of you want? [29:44] Who wants to be a 60, 70, 80 year old person with nothing but foolishness to offer the world?

[29:52] Here’s the deal. I’ve met 60, 70 and 80 year olds that had nothing to offer but foolishness because they chose that. [30:02] You can become a wise person. [30:04] The greatest lie that I think I must speak specifically to men, men between the ages of, let’s say, 35 to 55 years old. [30:12] The greatest lie that most people between 35 and 55 believe is that you have no more wisdom to gain. [30:19] That’s so untrue. [30:20] You are shortchanging yourself so much.

[30:23] The fact is that between those ages, you actually have the most wisdom to gain in your life. [30:29] If you will buy into the reality that you need growth. [30:34] Here’s the key. Until God takes you home, you need growth. [30:38] You need to learn. [30:41] Number three, this morning, teachable people learn from mistakes. [30:44] Teachable people learn from mistakes.

[30:47] You need to break the cycle. [30:50] Break it. [30:52] So many people that come asking for wisdom, they have non-negotiables. [30:58] Here’s what I mean by that. [30:59] I want to change. [31:02] Unless.

[31:05] I want to grow. [31:07] But I won’t give up this. [31:10] I want wisdom as long as I don’t have to stop this. [31:15] I want to grow as long as I don’t have to change this.

[31:21] Stop this nonsense of putting non-negotiables out there. [31:26] My wife and my kids know that if I believe it will give me wisdom, if I believe that it will grow me in my faith, [31:32] there is literally nothing I won’t say yes to so long as God will give growth into my life for it. [31:38] I will move anywhere in the world. [31:40] I will do anything that it takes because the one thing that I am committed above absolutely everything in my life, [31:46] it is becoming the person that God wants me to be.

[31:50] And I have a yes on the table no matter what it takes for me to be that. [31:55] And you need the same thing. [31:58] Why isn’t your yes on the table? [32:00] If it could give you life, if it could give you joy, if it could give you the peace of God and the wisdom to know what [32:08] you do in any and all circumstances, why would you say, well, but if it’s on Saturday morning, I don’t know. [32:16] That’s when I like to eat muffins.

[32:21] You’re a fool.

[32:24] Honestly, the greatest gift you could give me is if you just admitted it. [32:27] Say, Steve, look, here’s the deal. [32:29] I want to be a fool. [32:30] I like it. [32:32] I’ll say, well, at least you’re honest.

[32:35] You need to stop putting barriers and you need to break the cycle. [32:39] I’ll be honest with you, husbands. [32:42] Some of you are the greatest barriers to your wife’s growth and wisdom that she has. [32:48] Wives, some of you are the greatest barrier to growth and wisdom that your husband have. [32:55] This morning, commit to breaking the cycle of being a barrier. [32:59] Commit to breaking the cycle of putting up your own barriers.

[33:03] Commit and say, I want to be wise.

[33:11] Proverbs 18, two notes, a fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

[33:20] That’s a timely verse for us, man, because everybody wants to be understood, but nobody wants to understand. [33:28] We live in a culture in which we believe the lie that if someone points out anything in us that needs to change, obviously they don’t love me because if they loved me, they would take me just as I am. [33:40] Are you serious? [33:42] Come on.

[33:45] I’ve been married for 15 years and I tried that the first six months. [33:50] Wasn’t a good marriage. [33:52] I needed to change. [33:54] I needed to grow. [33:56] And by God’s grace, I have my wife needed to change. [34:00] My wife needed to grow.

[34:02] And by God’s grace, she has the one constant for 15 years that we have realized is we have a lot of sin to repent of. [34:10] We need to change. [34:12] We need to grow. [34:13] And so do you. [34:16] Stop believing this lie that people just don’t understand you. [34:21] And if they understood everything that you’ve got going on, they would know why you are so imperfect.

[34:26] I’m perfectly flawed.

[34:29] You’re perfectly pathetic is what that sounds like to me.

[34:34] Embrace the reality that growth is possible and God promises that the spirit will give you that growth if you will just give way to his wisdom. [34:45] Proverbs 13, 8, poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction. [34:50] But whoever heeds reproof is honored. [34:52] Proverbs 24, 16, for the righteous person falls seven times and arises again. [34:58] But the wicked stumble in times of calamity. [35:01] That text means that when a wise person makes a mistake, he learns from his mistake.

[35:06] He gets up and he keeps going. [35:08] A fool keeps making the same mistakes over and over and over again, like they’re walking on a path. [35:14] They know where the hole is and they just keep falling in it again. [35:17] And then the grossest text in all scripture, Proverbs 26, 11, like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.

[35:29] Any dog lovers in here? [35:32] So one of my favorite things about my dogs is that when they vomit and my wife hates it when I do this, but I’ll see them vomit and I’ll say, oh, just serving up a hot meal, huh?

[35:44] Because I’ve watched this. [35:47] She will vomit and immediately eat it. [35:52] I have never vomited and immediately wanted to eat anything, much less that. [36:01] And it’s the craziest thing. [36:02] And what this text tells us, that’s been true for thousands of years. [36:05] There’s just some instinct inside of Fido that he sees that.

[36:10] And he says, well, looks a lot like what you put in a bowl anyway.

[36:14] At least this is warm.

[36:17] I don’t know. [36:19] But what the text is telling us is this amazing analogy that is so fitting because he’s letting us know that when we continue to enter back and to return to the [36:31] same mistakes over and over and over, year after year after year, the same sin, the same error, the same foolishness, God looks at us and he sees a dog returning to his own vomit. [36:48] When you choose, I know what the fix is. [36:51] I’ll just keep going further into debt. [36:54] When you choose and you say, I know what the answer is.

[36:57] I’m just going to go after the same type of romantic partner that I went after the last time that failed miserably and led to a land of sin. [37:03] I know what I’m going to do. [37:05] I’m going to keep having the same arguments. [37:08] I know what I’m going to do. [37:08] I’m going to keep refusing to change my commitments for discipleship. [37:12] I know what I’m going to do.

[37:13] I’m going to refuse to listen to wise counsel. [37:15] I know what I’m going to do. [37:16] I’m going to blame others. [37:17] I know what I’m going to do. [37:19] I’m going to refuse to work. [37:20] I know what I’m going to do.

[37:21] I’m going to keep scoffing at the successes of others. [37:24] I know what I’m going to do. [37:24] I’m going to keep scoffing at the growth of wise people and hold it against them.

[37:32] As a dog returns to his own vomit. [37:38] That’s what you’re doing when you do those things. [37:41] No one’s doing it to you. [37:44] You’re doing it to yourself. [37:47] Friends, I want you to understand making a mistake doesn’t make you stupid. [37:53] It doesn’t.

[37:54] But getting offended when someone tries to help you not make it again is what defines [38:02] stupidity. [38:03] Proverbs 17 10 puts it this way. [38:06] A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. [38:14] Think about that. [38:17] Think about that.

[38:18] A wise person.

[38:21] You just tell them you’re being unwise. [38:25] Have you thought about this? [38:26] Have you looked at God’s word and that goes straight straight into their soul and they’re [38:31] convicted and they say I need change. [38:33] I need to repent. [38:35] Then it says if it’s a fool you could hit him over the face with it a hundred times

[38:39] and it’s not going to have any effect whatsoever.

[38:42] Is that the path some of you were on? [38:45] See the key to life that some of you need to understand is that often the goodness [38:50] of God is actually seen in the middle of your mistakes. [38:54] Like I said to return to Proverbs 1 23 he says if you will turn at my reproof. [39:04] See that lets you know the standard that God has. [39:07] You are a sinner.

[39:09] You are imperfect. [39:12] But he says the good news is you don’t have to stay that way. [39:16] He gave you his word. [39:18] He’s given you the gospel of his son Jesus Christ. [39:21] And he says stop accepting sin. [39:25] Stop accepting those patterns.

[39:28] Turn. [39:30] Trust the gospel of Jesus Christ. [39:32] And then you will begin a path of growth that he says I will pour out my spirit to you. [39:39] I will make my words known to you. [39:43] Friends are you willing to grow. [39:47] Are you willing to be taught.

[39:50] If so God promises you will be wise.

[39:57] Every Sunday we reflect on the pathway to wisdom through what’s called the Lord’s Supper. [40:04] The bread on the tables represents the broken body of Christ. [40:07] The cup represents his shed blood. [40:10] When we eat and when we drink we proclaim to everyone in this room. [40:15] First I accept God’s reproof that I am a sinner and I also trust in his grace through the [40:23] work of his son to save my life.

[40:28] And friends when you eat and when you drink God promises he will change your life through [40:32] And then you can go and you will grow into a person of God’s wisdom. [40:39] If you’re a follower of Jesus and only if you’re a follower of Jesus come proclaim the [40:44] death of your king.