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wise of heart and have understanding and knowledge God would give that to us we have
to ask for though and Solomon's knowledge was obviously God's given here but also I want
us to understand that Solomon's knowledge was learned I don't believe it was just all
supernatural.
God definitely gave him the ability and capacity to learn a lot more than most people obviously
but I believe a lot of that still was something that he was able to
Discover for himself. Okay, and God gave him that ability the Bible says in Proverbs 25
These also these are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out
He said this is one of his his proverbs
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing but the honor of kings is to search out a matter
So yes, God conceals a thing but it's the honor of kings to search out a matter. That's what Solomon said meaning
yes, God gave him the supernatural ability, but
Ultimately, you know Solomon had to search out things, you know, he had he had the largest enough heart
He had an ability and of course he was in a position to be able to learn a lot of things
Right. It was his honor to go and search out a matter
If you would go over to Proverbs chapter 22 go over to Proverbs chapter number 22
You will Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes I communed with mine own heart
Saying lo, I have come to great estate and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have gotten before me in Jerusalem
yeah, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge and notice and I gave my heart to know wisdom and
To know madness and folly I perceive that this also is a vexation of spirit
So but notice he said there that he gave his heart to know wisdom, you know
He was somebody that still sought out a thing. He was still somebody who tried to learn things
You know, it wasn't just like
You know, he just it was like some scene from you know
The matrix forever where he just gets plugged in and all of a sudden he just downloads all this information into his brain
Right. Sorry for the worldly illustration
Okay, but that you know, that's not that kind of thing where he just down God just you know magically downloaded all this wisdom. I
Believe that he still had to search out these things. It's just that he had the
capacity to do it and
The you know the application that we can take from this is that we should be people that seek knowledge
We should be people that seek knowledge in our lives
Never assume you've arrived and just saying well, you know, I know everything I need to know
Look, you probably do know everything you need to know, you know, once you get to a certain point to just survive
You know to do your job and to pay your bills and to and just live life, right? We've all gotten there
But we should we should never just say well that's all I need to know we should be people are trying to learn
You know, how about just for the sole fact so that you don't become senile in your old age
You know, that's probably one of the scariest things to think about isn't it?
You know some some of us it's it's a million miles away, right? But some of us were like that's that's tomorrow
You know, we're gonna be we're gonna be there before we know it
You know
That's something I think about more and more is like I don't want to end up just being some 250 pound liability for my wife
You know
Where my biggest goal in life is just not fall over
You know
I want to actually in my old age still be able to get up and preach the Word of God and be able to teach
People things and teach my family things and and to be a source of it as somebody who's still able to learn something even in
my old age
But is that the only way that's gonna happen is if I start doing that now
You know, you should start learning things and new things now start, you know training your mind to learn because
We've all met these people, you know more likely you meet people if you pay attention where they can't learn anything new
I've seen this out soul-winning, you know, somebody pointed out this to me out once out to me once
We're out soul-winning and it was a sweet old lady, you know, probably well into her 80s
But there was just no getting through to her because she was she was just a robot at that point
She just had a script that she had just followed for decades and never tried to expand her mind
never try to learn new things and her but her mind has just gotten into this just you know, we're just going through the motions and
No new, you know, there's no nowhere where new data can be input
It's just blocked. Right? It's just it's just going through the motions. Look that's scary. I don't want to live like that
I don't want to get into my old age and just be somebody's going through the motions
So to avoid that you have to be somebody who seeks knowledge now who wants to discover a matter now be people who are
Learning now, you know kids that are in school when you get out of school. Don't don't stop your education there
Let's say oh I graduated I'm done learning. You know, that's that's not a good idea. We should be lifelong learners
We should be people are always trying to learn new things
You know reading books trying to get knowledge and understanding we should be seeking those things never assume you've arrived seek knowledge
Of course, you know the most important thing we need to seek knowledge about is the Bible itself
You know, we should be seeking knowledge and wisdom from the Word of God
The Bible says in Hosea, I'll read to you. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge
That's what God said about his people who said they're destroyed for lack of knowledge
You know not having knowledge will get you destroyed. That's what it's saying there
There are some things that you could avoid in life if you just had known about it
You know, there's just you know, I could have not ruined my marriage. I could have not ruined my children
I could have not ruined my life in some way if I had just known better
But the Bible says that people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge
He says specifically would say that my people are destroyed for an act lack of knowledge that God's own people are destroyed
You know a lot of times God's people are chastened, you know, sometimes God's the one that's doing the destroying
God's the one that's having to come down on them
Because they don't know what's expected of them in the Word of God because they don't know the Bible
They don't have the knowledge of it
He says my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because thou has rejected knowledge. I will also reject thee
Because thou has rejected knowledge. I will also reject thee so I don't need to know what's in here. It's really not that important
You know, I mean, it's just a bunch of the you know, do's and don'ts
It's just a bunch of you know rules how important could it be and then God chases you because
And look ignorance is not is not you know, an excuse can't just say well, I didn't know he said well
Look you reject knowledge. I'll reject you. I will reject thee
My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge
Now has forgotten the law. I also will forget thy children. I
Mean of course that's something that he's saying specifically the nation of Israel that's judgment that he's pronouncing on them
But look we could apply that to our own lives
Where we could just say well God I didn't know it's like well
What else I mean, what more did you need? It's all right there. You could have known any time you wanted
Look at Proverbs 22 verse 17
So we should be people that seek to be wise to people that have knowledge and not just go through life thinking
Well, I already know everything, you know, I've already read the Bible a few times
I don't need anything else that's in there. You know, I go to church I hear and I don't need to study anything else on my own
You know, we should be people that seek knowledge
He said in verse 20 Proverbs 22 verse 17
Bow down thine ears and hear the words of the wise
Now notice how you hear the words of the wise you have to what bow down thine ear
You know, that's a lot. That's a lot of time. That's why people can't receive new things
They can't receive knowledge because it requires humility. They're too proud to bow down their ear and say okay teach me something
Bow down my ear and hear the words of the Y and apply thine heart unto knowledge
it's not just something that's just gonna come in and of itself and
Look, there's so many people that are just living their life today and just going through this world with no knowledge
That are not applying their hearts. I
Mean we are living in a very dumbed-down society today
We're living in a society where people just have the shortest attention spans where you know, it's just all about entertainment
It's just all about the next fun thing. They don't want anything to do with knowledge
They don't want anything to do with instruction. They don't want anything to do with learning. They just want to be entertained
That's not gonna that's not gonna make you a wise person what that's gonna make you is a victim
People are gonna take advantage you because you don't have knowledge you're gonna be destroyed
That's why he says apply thine heart unto knowledge, well that sounds like work. Yeah. Well that doesn't sound like much fun
Well, you know what being senile is not much fun either
I'm pretty sure you know how you know being senile my old age that probably isn't it wouldn't be much fun for some people
You know having God chasing me because I don't know the Word of God. I don't have knowledge
You know that doesn't sound like fun either
So we might as well apply ours our hearts now and get the wisdom and get the knowledge and get the understanding now
You know and we can have the fun later
When we're not being destroyed when we're not being chasing when we're not we haven't lost our minds in our old age
He says in verse 18 for is it a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee
They with shall with all be fitted in thy lips. Don't you like having the right answer?
This is not a very satisfying thing, you know, you always have to you almost have to hold back not being too smug about it
right
when you have the words that are just fitted in thy lips when you when someone has an
Question or a problem and you're like, ah, I've got the answer
Right, that's usually it's because you know, you've you learned that right, you know
You went through that or you understood something you studied something out. That's a good feeling, isn't it?
But that comes after you apply your heart that comes after you bow down your ear
You said in verse 20 have not I written to the excellent things in counsel and in knowledge
So do not be ignorant of the Bible. There's a lot of counsel and there's a lot of knowledge in God's Word
That's the primary thing that we read. That's a primary thing that we learn and study, you know
But there are also other things that we could learn
You know if we haven't done a lot of Bible reading, you know
We should probably that should be we should go through a season in our life where this is the only book that we read
We know sometimes people get this attitude. It's like well, I just don't read anything but the Bible
You know
There are other books that are worth reading
There are other books that we can glean knowledge from and get understanding from that would help us in our lives besides the Bible
And what I often find is that when you read these other books, you know
They'll they're teaching some principle or some something like that a lot of times without even you know, it's some unsaved author
It's not as anything to do with the Bible without them even knowing it. They're preaching some you know a biblical principle
You know, they're they start teaching finances like oh that's lat lines up with the Bible
You know, they'll be teaching about you know, child rearing or education or whatever the topic is and without them even knowing it
They're teaching biblical principles
So yeah start with the Bible
Start there get the understanding get the knowledge get these excellent things that God has written unto us out of here
But after that, you know, you know add to that add some other books. Well, I'm not a reader
I don't like reading. Well, look, you know, let's start liking it
You know read something, you know get an audible book learn something that you didn't know for even if it's a boring subject
You know, just just just reading something for the sake of reading just just to become a better reader
You know, so when you do finally read something you like you're you're good at it
Right just to keep the wheels in your mind
Turning, you know to keep those gears lubricated so they don't seize up in your old age
Where you just can't learn anything new
You don't want to be that learn learn of these things learn of the Bible learn of other things
Are you still back there in
first Kings chapter number four it goes on it says in verse
32 and he spake 3,000 proverbs and his songs were a thousand and five
notice the things that he said that that the wisdom that he had and
He spake of trees from the senior tree that is in Lebanon even under the hyssop that springeth out of the wall
He spake also of beasts and a fowl and of creeping things and of fishes
So, you know, he's he's a botanist, right? He's speaking about it was an arborist. He's talking about these trees
He's talking about animals
He's talking about fish and all these other things
He's not just only talking about the things that are in the found in the Word of God
He's talking about things that are found in the creation of God
You know, sometimes that's a good thing to learn just learn about your natural world that learn about the things that surround you
You know learn about what's in this this, you know area, you know, I just talked to somebody last night
They said hey, did you know that one of the best?
Hummingbird areas is in you know, right around in Tucson. It's and I didn't know that and I love hummingbirds, you know
They're cool. Who doesn't like hummingbirds though? I mean, come on if you don't like hummingbirds just get out
All right
Cool little bird right but you know that he did you know that about here we go learn about those things
you know, we take the field trip up to
Rooster Cogburn's ostrich ranch we learn that brother Corbin can likes to kiss goats. All right, I should probably explain
You can go there you can put the food in your mouth and the goat will come up and just take it right out of
Your lips, you know, and yes, I did it several times. All right
Just because it was fun
If you got like in a reaction out of people
But you can go there and learn things about these animals and look well
That's something we're so far removed from in this day and age
Especially those of us that dwell in a city, you know where we don't have a lot of agriculture
We don't have a lot of farm. We don't have a lot of you know, a
Lot of animals farm animals and things like that to see that it's I mean a lot of people didn't realize that goats have weird
Eyes, you know, they have like those little rectangular
pupils
But when you go see it look at a goat you learn something about a goat
So why would I want to learn about the natural world? Well, I don't know Solomon did and he was one of the wisest of all
men
You know, and how about this it makes for a good conversation
You ever ever sit down with some people and just say you want to and it's people you like
But you're just kind of like I don't know what to talk about
But then you're like, oh I read a book
You know
I've been I've been going around just preaching the gospel of no caffeine for a while now because I read that stupid
Book everyone here has had that conversation with me. Let me tell you how caffeine works, right?
You know, I'm now I've started the book on sleep
So now you're gonna have to put up with that
You know if I yeah
I'm gonna corner somebody in the church after service someday and start talking about what happens when you go to sleep
Right, but look I didn't learn that from the Bible
You know Bible does talk about sleep, you know, he giveth his beloved rest
But those are things that you know, man has discovered that it's been of the honor of man to uncover a thing
Right. God conceals a matter. It's the honor of a king to search a thing out right, you know, God gives us
You know, I think God conceals some things because he wants us to engage our minds
He wants us to pursue pursue these things and learn about the world that he's created how our bodies work
How the world works what you know nature is like I mean, that's what we see here in in the in the chapter tonight folks
He's speaking of trees, right? He's speaking of beasts and a fowl
You know, he had something to talk about
You know some I that the one thing whenever I well you go soloing with Pastor Anderson
I've noticed that sometimes you get a botany lesson along the way. I've gotten more than one botany lesson from him
You know, you know what kind of cactus this is. Oh, you know this plant that you know
It's because he studied that because he actually took the time to learn about those things
Well, that's interesting. And now I'm learning about the you know, the state that I live in
Did you know it's a wild crap cactus could crush a car
Did you know that?
It would it's so full of water you look at that things
It doesn't look very dangerous if it fell on you it would it would crush you
right
That's something I learned right because somebody else took the time to figure that out
So, you know, I'm just trying to encourage tonight to not just be people who just say well, I'm not learning anything new
You know, I'm too busy. I don't want to learn anything
You know, sometimes it would it would behoove us to you know
Put the remote down and actually pick up a book and read it and and and make ourselves learn something new
You know something interesting, you know, there's a lot of great things to learn
You know, but you have to make time to learn you have to make time to learn don't you?
You know, you're gonna have to sacrifice some other things in order to learn, you know
And while we're talking about learning and education, you know, let me just you know touch on this is that you know
You should consider it a privilege to receive an education, you know, especially the young people in the room the kids
You know that are being homeschooled that are in school, you know, let me just remind you that it's a privilege to be educated
You know because I and I know it's work and I know kids, you know
They get bored and they want to just go run around outside do something else and you know mom
You know is making them do the do the schoolwork, you know, the teachers making them do the schoolwork
You know, you know, they got to drag themselves through I don't want to do this
Well, whenever you feel like that, let me just remind you that it's a privilege for you to be learning something
You know if you if you learn to read, you know, that's a huge
advantage that a lot of people didn't have for a very long time a
Lot of people just kids just grew up illiterate never learned to write their own name
You know they and I mean consider how and think about that
People could take serious advantage of you
You know, I mean I've read books about the Native Americans that was something they were illiterate they didn't have a written language
They they were sighing they were signing contracts with the US government. They had no idea what they were signing
They would a lot of times they wouldn't even know how to write their own in these
We'll just touch the pen to the paper and they say oh you signed it
No, all your lands ours or whatever, you know, I
Mean that's the that's and I'm just using it as illustration to show you that look that's how
Important education is and never take that for granted never take learning as something like you could just drag yourself through
Look, there's a lot of benefits to getting wisdom to getting knowledge to getting understanding
Yes of the Word of God, of course primarily but of other things too, you know, they keep you from being a victim
You know, you know what victims love they love entertainment
They just just entertain me just bread and circus just all day long
Right, but you know what leaders love people who actually get things done. They love education leaners love education. That's a quote I read somewhere
victims love entertainment
leaders love education
You know learn to love education learn to love knowledge and and and learning things go over to Proverbs chapter 4 Proverbs chapter 4
You know Proverbs is a book that talks a lot about
The importance of getting wisdom and knowledge and understanding and I think it's a book that we should all be in
Every day, you know get in the habit of reading one chapter of Proverbs every day. There's 31 chapters
Most months, you know, there's there's 31 months, you know, you got an odd month here and there or 31 days in a month
Excuse me
But you know you could you could get through Proverbs several time and look you'll learn things about life. You'll learn things
You'll be warned just by reading the book of Proverbs
But if you read Proverbs one thing you'll notice is how much it emphasizes people getting knowledge and getting understanding and getting wisdom
How important it is for us to not to for us to not be without knowledge to have wisdom to have understanding
You say well, I know I'd rather just entertain myself
I'd rather just you know, the learning things is too hard, you know learning something reading is boring
You know, I'd rather just waste time on on something that's just gonna entertain me right
Well consider Ezekiel, I know you're gonna Proverbs 4 he said in Ezekiel 16 behold. This was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom pride
fullness of bread and
Abundance of idleness. He said that was the sin of Sodom now look we know what the the sin of Sodom was ultimate sodomy
Right, a lot of people turn this and say well, that's why God destroyed
Sodom and Gomorrah. No, he destroyed why Sodom and Gomorrah because the cry, you know, the cry of it was great
And he went down to see if the things were so and he found out yeah, that's why and that's why he destroyed it folks
But this is what led to that
Pride and what fullness of bread, you know pride and and and you know, I don't want to learn
I don't need anything to learn anything. I already know everything that I need to know pride fullness of bread
You know just I have everything I need and what abundance of idleness
I'm just passing time just wasting hours. Um, you know just being idle
He said in Proverbs 19 also that the soul be without knowledge it is not good
It's not good to have not have knowledge folks
We should be people who want to be wise and have wisdom have knowledge and have understanding
Proverbs chapter 4 verse 5 get wisdom
chapter
chapter 4 verse 5
Chapter chapter 4 verse 5 get wisdom get understanding forget it not neither decline from the words of my mouth
Forsake her not and she shall preserve thee love her and she shall keep thee
look if you embrace wisdom if you go after wisdom if you if you
Seek for it if you get these things if you do not decline from the words of her mouth
Look, it's look at all the benefits you get from it. It shall preserve thee it shall keep thee
You know, it's gonna help you in life to learn about these things to learn different things learn, you know
All manner of subjects look obviously we don't need maybe we don't need to learn about fish
Maybe but maybe that would be something we should learn about. I don't know probably not here in Arizona
You know, but we can learn about a lot of other things
But look you just you say what would it what would it benefit me from from understanding the local botany?
from learning some up, you know obscure fact about a an animal
or something like that
Here's how it would benefit you just that your mind would learn how to learn
Just that your mind would be in the habit of of taking in new information
That's how it would benefit you. So then when something that really is important comes across, you know comes across your path
Some information that you really do need to learn to retain your mind just knows how to do it
Because yeah, because I because I read some book about some guys that went down to the south pole
You know and got stuck
You know, I I read some book about Custer
You know that that arrogant general that went out and got slaughtered
What's that gonna benefit me in this life? Nothing really. I mean, maybe I could bore you with the story about Custer later
You know
But here's how it'll benefit me is that my mind, you know
My mind, you know has gotten into the process of absorbing new information
rather than just you know, staring at a screen somewhere just
And just letting it just just be forced into me
My mind has learned to absorb new information
Because I forced it to do that
That's how that's how it's going to pursue preserve you
You know when you get into your old age, you're not just going to be
A mindless zombie on the brink of senility like that's not what any I want for anyone in this room
But look that's what happens to a lot of people today, isn't it?
They just they they graduate, you know, maybe they go through college
They learn a few things
And then they just kind of get in this rut and they say well, I just don't need to learn anything new now
I know everything I need to know. I don't need to read books. I don't need to you know
Learn about things I don't take any any kind of additional education because I just got this path and that's it
And what happens is the mind just kind of gets in that rut and we've learned we forget how to absorb new information
Look at verse seven wisdom is the principal thing
Therefore get wisdom and with all thy getting get understanding
Exalt her and she shall promote thee
She shall bring thee to honor when thou dost embrace her
She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace
And a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee go over to Proverbs chapter one. We'll close in Proverbs chapter one
So that's you know that I thought that was a real important part of the the the chapter
Here tonight in first kings chapter four is that you know, we like to talk about the wisdom of solomon
Of course, god gave him wisdom
And knowledge and largeness of heart, right?
But we can't just walk away from that and just say well, you know
He didn't have to do anything to get that any of that wisdom on his own
Because we see that, you know, he he did look into some other things, you know, he spoke about the natural world
and again, I understand that god was with him, but I believe that
Solomon was also part of that wisdom is that that he was wise enough to to learn on his own to seek things out
to learn things
Say well, you know, that's just not for me
You know, i'm just i'm not a reader. I'm just not interested in it. I don't want to learn anything new
We'll look at proverbs chapter 1 verse 22
How long ye simple ones, you know, and simple is the bible's way of saying and very gently and nicely stupid
I mean basically that's what it's saying as we bring it into the modern vernacular
You know how I you know, the king james so hard to understand. What does it mean by simple? It means stupid
And just simple being without understanding. I mean that's what you say about somebody who's stupid
Just they don't know anything. They're kind of dumb, right?
They're stupid they're simple
How long you simple ones will you love simplicity?
Isn't that why a lot of people?
Some people just don't have a lot of knowledge
You know, why why do they end up like that? Because they love simplicity
Why why would they love simplicity because simplicity is easy
Entertainment is easy. It's easier to be entertained, right than to actually try to apply yourself and learn something
So how long you you you simple ones we love simplicity and scorners delight in their scorning
And look at that last part and fools hate knowledge
I mean that would be any one of us say hey, you know
Here's some information. Oh, I hate learning things
I hate knowledge
Hey, I got an opportunity for you to be a wise person to have understanding to have wisdom to have knowledge
To be somebody who has some intelligence. Oh, I hate that
I hate knowledge. We would say you're a fool. That's what the bible says fools hate knowledge
Well, I don't want to know that
And that's why a lot of people live their lives like fools because they hate knowledge
You know, they're just all about getting into sin and just entertaining themselves
And just chasing after the flesh and chasing after the things of the world
They don't want the knowledge of god, right? That's a lot. That's what this is some knowledge. A lot of people reject today, isn't it?
This is some knowledge a lot of people reject today, isn't it? You know what they are they're fools
They're fools for rejecting the knowledge that's in this book
And then we look at their lives and say well no wonder your life's a wreck
You reject the knowledge that's in here. No wonder that you know, you're in the condition that you're in
That you're dealing with the things that you're dealing with you. You reject knowledge. You're full
That's what the bible says people about people who reject knowledge
That they're fools. Look, that's not let that be said of us
Let's not live our lives in a way we would say well that's a we're foolish because we just don't want to learn anything
We just love simplicity too much
And look i'm not saying you got to walk out of here and go earn a phd somewhere
But you know would we should stay in the habit of learning new things
If for the very at the very least to preserve our minds in our old age
You know and we'll and we'll learn things along the way that'll that'll benefit us
And of course, you know if if if we're ignorant of this book
This is where it begins
This is where you know, the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom
The knowledge of the holy one is understanding that's where it all begins is right here
Of course learn this book, but never get in this place to say well, i'm not going to broaden my horizons beyond the bible
You know learn other things too, you know find something that interests you
Maybe you know history is very interesting
History's got a lot of cool things. You can learn a lot of interesting things
And in a very entertaining ways, you know
But don't don't be a person who hates knowledge who hate love simplicity
And just doesn't want to learn anything. It'll only harm you. Let's go ahead and pray dear lord again
Thank you for the knowledge that we have
And lord i pray to help us to be people that love to learn or that love to learn what's in the bible
Read it and study it
that we
help us to be people that just have more than a
Passing acquaintance with god's word. There are people that know
We can benefit from going in our own lives and we can benefit others by the knowledge that we have and we can share
All right
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