How many stupid things have you repeated before you admitted, that is dumb why am I doing that, I need to stop.

Man’s wisdom is not enough. It is limited, partial wisdom. T. S. Eliot put it so beautifully when he said in “The Rock”:

All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,

All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,

But nearness to death no nearer to God.

Then he asks the question that hangs over this whole generation:

Where is the Life we have lost in living?

Will I waste my life, or for most of us at our age, have I wasted much of my life?

Mark 8:35 For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall save it

Charles Thomas Studd, who served as a British missionary to China, penned a famous poem that helps us to consider the only worthy way to use the life God has given to us, for Christ!

Only One Life

Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way; Bringing conviction to my heart,

And from my mind would not depart; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat; Only one life,’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;

When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say; Only one life, ’twill soon be past,  Only what’s done for Christ will last.

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Mark 8;35 it is better to lose your life than to waste it, only what is done for Christ will last.

America’s colleges and universities have absolutely been ruined and decimated today.

Eighty-five of the first one hundred colleges in America were built for the preaching and the propagation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The path of God exalting joy will cost you your life. If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full.

We should not be concerned about how to avoid a wounded life, but how to avoid a wasted life. Some of us might die because of our allegiance to Jesus, but that will not be a tragedy, the tragedy will be treasuring this life above Christ.

Will I waste my life, what is left of it?

Graduates, and all of us. What really motivates us?

What are our personal goals?

Is the first thing in our life to be a godly person, to seek the Kingdom of God, or are you trying to be a successful person?

Are you more consumed with material things than spiritual things? Have you tried to put God in second place, when the Bible says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33)? Your eyes are looking around, and you see things and say, “I want that. I want that, and I need this; and I want that.”

What are you more concerned about what school your child graduates from, and their degree, and their success; or, their holy, godly character?

Is there any material possession you would not depart with for the glory of God?

What is the Pride of Life for us?

What are we after in this life, what draws us?

There is the lust of the flesh, that’s our passions; it deals with doing.

There’s the lust of the eyes, that’s our possessions; it deals with having.

And  there’s the pride of life, that deals with being. That deals with position.

This world says, “be somebody; I mean, be recognized. Get a name for yourself.”

We Need to Get Wisdom

Proverbs 4:1–13

4:1 Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding:

4And he taught me, and said unto me: Let thy heart retain my words; Keep my commandments, and live; 5Get wisdom, get understanding; Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth; 6 Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee; Love her, and she will keep thee. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; Yea, with all thy getting get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she will promote thee; She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. 9 She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace; A crown of beauty will shedeliver to thee. 10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many. 11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness.

12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. 13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: Keep her; for she is thy life.

 

I believe it is true that all men have this in common: that they want to be happy. They do not all agree on what brings the greatest happiness, but they do all long to have it.

Evil consists in trying to find happiness in ways that displease and dishonor God. Goodness consists in finding happiness in ways that please and honor God

God Made Us to Be In Him, Here and in Eternity.

This does not mean that there is no discipline, no self-denial. “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:34, 35).

It is clear from Jesus’ words that self-denial is a means to saving our lives. This means simply that we must stop seeking our happiness in one way and start seeking it in another. Therefore what sets Christians off from the world is not that we have given up on the universal quest for happiness, but that we now seek our happiness from a different source and in different ways.

We ought to view the Bible as a divine prescription for how to be cured of all unhappiness. The medicine it prescribes is not always sweet, but the cure it brings is infinite and eternal joy at God’s right hand (Psalm 16:11).

It is our responsibility to get wisdom.

We should spend all our efforts to become wiser tomorrow than we are today.  This is not just to students and graduates, but to us all.

Graduation today gives us an occasion to say something that applies to us all, namely, that formal education is only one stage in the process of becoming a wise person.

So much of life has been professionalized and institutionalized that we easily slip into the notion that it is the responsibility of some profession or some institution to impart to us wisdom.

You can see this tendency in the fact that continuing education in many spheres is thought of entirely in terms of taking courses from professionals in institutions. The implication seems to be that wisdom and understanding are something you purchase with tuition and class fees, rather than being a daily, lifelong process of growth.

We should never be content with the wisdom we attained through formal education, and we should not think that the only way to grow in our understanding is by taking more courses.

When the wise man says in Proverbs 4:5, “Get wisdom, get insight,” he does not mean, “Go to school, take more courses.” That might be part of God’s plan for you. But for most of us it is not. Yet the command comes to us all: “Get wisdom!”

What does this mean? How shall we do it?

Why is it Important to get Wisdom?

The reason that getting wisdom is important is that it is the practical knowledge by which we gain this true and lasting happiness. Proverbs 3:13 says, “Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gets understanding.”

Proverbs 24:13–14 says, “My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”

When you get wisdom you can make your way into a hope-filled future. It is the key to lasting happiness.

Proverbs 19:8 says, “He who gets wisdom loves himself.” In other words, do yourself a favor: Get wisdom!

The ultimate, eternal happiness that all people long for will only be found by those who first “get wisdom.”

Ultimate and eternal happiness is what wisdom will bring, but not all happiness comes from true wisdom. Proverbs 15:21 says, “Folly is a joy to him who has no sense.” Our thirst for happiness is insatiable in this world, and if we do not have the wisdom to seek it in God, then we will find whatever substitutes we can in the world.

But the happiness that these things bring is not true and lasting. It is not ultimate and eternal. It is not the joy for which we were made. And, therefore, it leaves us unsatisfied, frustrated, incomplete, knowing that there must be something more.

What Is Wisdom?

What are the characteristics of the person who has it?

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10).

The wisdom that leads to life and ultimate joy begins with knowing and fearing God.  “A Woman Who Fears the Lord Is to Be Praised,” that fearing the Lord means fearing to run away from him.

It means fearing to seek refuge, and joy, and hope anywhere other than in God. It means keeping before our eyes what a fearful prospect it is to stop trusting and depending on God to meet our needs.

The fear of the Lord is, the beginning of wisdom not only in the sense that it is the first step in a wise way to live, but also in the sense that all the later characteristics of wisdom flow from the fear of the Lord like a river flows from a spring.

Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but with the humble is wisdom.”

The wise person is characterized by humility. The person who is proud does not fear the Lord, who hates a haughty spirit, and therefore can’t get to first base in wisdom. But the person who fears the Lord is humble, because he depends on God for everything and fears to take credit himself for what God does.

Humility, in turn, is foundational for the other aspects of godly wisdom because humility is teachable and open to change and growth. The proud person does not like to admit his errors and his need for growth. But the humble person is open to counsel and reason, and ready to be corrected and follow truth.

A good definition of godly wisdom, would be: hearing and doing God’s Word.

God’s Word is a divine prescription for how to be finally cured of all unhappiness. Wisdom is the practical knowledge of how to attain that happiness.

It is not enough to say it is a humble hearing and doing of God’s Word, because God’s Word does not address itself specifically to every human dilemma

A great example from Solomon’s life illustrates this (1 Kings 3:16–28).

There was no biblical command to tell Solomon what to do when two harlots claim the same baby. Therefore, wisdom must go beyond knowing and doing the Word of God. Wisdom must include a sensitive, mature judgment or discernment of how the fear of the Lord should work itself out in all the circumstances not specifically dealt with in the Bible.

There has to be what Paul calls in Romans 12:2 a “renewing of the mind” which is then able to examine and approve the will of God. He calls this a “spiritual wisdom”

Of course the wisdom which follows God’s Word and the wisdom which discerns the way to act when there is no clear word from God are not separate.

“Get wisdom,” it is referring to that practical knowledge of how to attain true and lasting happiness. It begins with the fear of the Lord and consists in humbly hearing and doing God’s will perceived both in Scripture and in the unique circumstances of the moment.

How Do We Get Wisdom?

First, desire wisdom with all your might. Proverbs 4:8 says, “Prize her highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you for your embrace.” These are not cheap words. To prize something and to embrace someone are signs of intense desire and love. Wisdom must be valuable for us. We must be willing to sell all in order to buy it: “Seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasure” (Proverbs 2:4). Blessed is the graduate who walks through the commencement line more hungry for wisdom than when he entered school, for he shall be satisfied.

Second, since wisdom is found in the Word of God, we must apply ourselves in study and meditation to know the Word and do it. “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7).

The third thing we should do to get wisdom is pray.

There is one essential thing to do if you would “get wisdom”: you must come to Jesus. He said to the people of his day, “The queen of the south will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42).

Jesus is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30).

Some parts and ideas from John Piper.