WISDOM CRIES

Proverbs 1:20-33 (KJV)

Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Proverbs 1:8-19 has the father in the passage pleading with his son.

With Proverbs 1:20 there is a change in voice.

I am sure it is still Solomon, the father addressing his son, but he switches his tactic a little bit.

Now someone else is speaking.

Wisdom has played prominently throughout this chapter in

·   Vs 2

·   Vs 5

·   Vs 6 and

·   Vs 7

But in verse 20, wisdom takes on a personality.

This is important because, as we progress through the Proverbs, wisdom is going to become synonymous with Jesus Christ.

Wisdom becomes the voice. Whereas the father plead with his son.

Wisdom Cries.

The picture you should see is that of:

·   A “town crier”

·   A herald, if you will allow me,

·   A preacher

This is the one who lifts up his voice in the wilderness crying prepare ye the way of the Lord….

Jesus and John the Baptist both came preaching.

So look at the sermon wisdom preaches in Proverbs 1:20-33

I. A QUESTION

How long?

Proverbs 1:22 (KJV)

How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

One of the things a young person always thinks is that they have time.

·   Time to make decisions about what they will do for a living

·   Time to save money to buy the important things in life

·   Time to get serious and stop playing their days away

·   Time to get saved and repent of their sin

·   Time to make Christ the master of their lives

·   Time to witness to that friend God has burdened their soul about

A young person always thinks they have time.

And for a young person, time seems to move so slowly.

When I was in 9^th grade my parents moved us from Richland, WA, to Waitsburg.

We were still in school so mom and dad moved there and we stayed in West Richland with my Grandma Jewell. On the weekends, Grandma Jewell would drive us up to Waitsburg – about an hour.

IT SEEMED LIKE FOREVER.

But when I got out of High School I loved in Waitsburg and worked in Wallula, about an hour away, and drove it each way every day.

Any more an hour in the car isn’t anything.

I can remember when I was about 16 years old talking about the year 2000.

I would be 42 years old when the year 2000 came

And it seemed impossible that I would ever be 42 years old.

I am now sixteen years older than 42.

And the sixteen years since I turned 42 have gone by so much faster than the 16 years it took to reach 16.

Wisdom preaches to that simple young man – how long until you decide to stop wasting your life?

It’s not just kids that need to hear this.

I know some people who have been meaning to get some things settled and right with God for years now.

·   They have been meaning to quit that sin

·   They have been meaning to read their Bible every day

·   They have been meaning to be faithful to church

·   They have been meaning to pray for their kids

Only thing is, time just keeps getting away from them.

If they aren’t careful they will lay down on their death bed and think say to themselves, “I really meant to get real with God but now it’s too late.”

And so wisdom cries “How long?”

I’m just going to tell you straight up, the right answer is, “Right now.”

2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV)

(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Just stop making excuses for whatever it is you make excuses for and step to the plate right now – tonight.

·   You are never too young

·   You are never to sinful

·   You are never to shy

·   You are never too busy

How long will you make these excuses?

God’s calling you!

God’s trying get hold of your heart!

How long will you play Christian?

Right now, today, this service. Get up and throw away your excuses and live for God.

Wisdom cries out the question “How Long”

And then wisdom cries,

II. AN URGING

Proverbs 1:23 (KJV)

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

A question can be thought of as a form of reasoning.

If I ask you a question, I am trying to engage your mind. I want you to think with me about a thing. I am hoping that, if I can get you to think, I get you to realize the truth wrapped in the question.

A reproof is something different.

A reproof is a form of correction or chastisement.

The time of reason is passed, its now time for the scolding.

Things have ramped up a bit.

We’ve gone from reasoning to warning.

Notice though that there is a promise with it, “…behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.”

Even in the reproof the preacher is merely trying to help you see the Word of God.

If wisdom can indeed be thought of as an impersonation of Christ then I am reminded that Jesus rebuked his most beloved followers:

Peter

Matthew 16:23 (KJV)

But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

James and John

Matthew 20:22 (KJV)

But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? …

I got to thinking about it and I can’t recall a time when he rebuked Judas Iscariot.

Hebrews 12:5-8 (KJV)

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

Wisdom cries

·   How long will you continue to ignore the pleading of God and

·   Turn you at my reproof, listen to the Word of God

Because if we won’t one day soon repent wisdom cries, thirdly,

III. A JUDGMENT

Proverbs 1:24-27 (KJV)

Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

No one ever faces the judgment of God without having had abundant opportunity to repent.

·   God gave Noah 120 years to build the ark before he rained judgment on the world

·   God gave Sodom and Gomorrah Lot, who could have preached to them if he had not vexed his own soul instead.

·   God gave Jonah to preach to Nineveh

God has given countless millions over the centuries:

·   The prophets of the Old Testament

·   The Apostles of the New Testament

·   The preachers in the local churches

·   The plethora of evangelists and soul winners

·   The writers of Christian books

·   The testimony of the Christian martyrs

·   The politics of a once Christian American

The Word of God has been poured out in our world

·   On billboards along the freeways

·   On radios in our cars

·   On televisions in our homes

We now have the Word of God poured out through the Internet

·   On our computers

·   On our tablets and even

·   On our smart phones

But the thing is, sooner of later the warnings stop and the judgment begins.

Conclusion

So I want to take us back to the question and ask you:

How long?

How long are you going to procrastinate making whatever it is you need to make right with God?

How long are you going to keep pretending you are a Christian?

How long until you decide to stop living on the outskirts of faith?

2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV)

(… behold, now is the accepted time...)