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Guest (Male): In the pursuit of wisdom, the first question is where do we begin? For that reason, I want to turn your attention to chapter nine and verse 10. Here is where wisdom begins, a very clear statement: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I think if you were to ask anyone, "Do they want more wisdom in their life?" pretty much everyone would say, "Well, yeah, I want more wisdom." I'm guessing you would too, Colin.

Colin Smith: Absolutely. My goodness, you can never get enough of that. Right. So, if we want more wisdom in our life, that begs the question, where do we even begin? Right here in the book of Proverbs, we find out exactly where we start. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Isn't that a surprise? It is not what you would expect. But what is made plain to us repeatedly in the Scripture is that having a sense of the sheer weight and wonder of who God is, so that God himself carries more weight in a person's life than anything or anyone else, that is going to be the beginning, the foundation of making wise decisions.

In other words, if God does not weigh heavy in my mind and in my heart, if he is not first in regard to my thinking and my deciding, then I am going to make all the wrong decisions. I am not going to find the path of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Actually, I come across some folks who think, "Well, that is just an Old Testament idea."

But "fear God" is a command in the New Testament. Peter says this quite directly in his first letter. So, this is of huge importance. It is a bedrock kind of principle, and it is not something for us to run away from. It is something that we want more of. Steve, you say, "Do you want more wisdom in your life?" I say yes. If you were to say, "Do you want more of the fear of God in your life?" I have got to say I want more of that too.

Steve Hiller: I think all of us would say yes, we desire more of that. Today, we're going to look more at that in our message. We're in the book of Proverbs, chapter nine. So, if you have your Bible, join us there as we continue our message simply called "Fear." Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: We're looking here at Proverbs, not promises. But I want you to look at the normal pattern that prevails in this world. Look at Proverbs 3:13: "Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than the gain from silver and her profit is better than gold. She is more precious than jewels." Something better than diamonds! "And nothing you desire can compare with her." That is quite a statement.

So, we immediately say, why? Where is the value? What then will wisdom bring for us? Notice line on line, that question is answered right here. First, long life. Chapter 3:16: "Long life is in her right hand." Now, remember, we are talking about a proverb, not a promise. We are talking about the normal pattern that prevails in this world. Think this through with me, please.

Everyone understands that eating a proper diet will lead to better health than living on junk food. Can we have agreement on that here? Universal agreement. We all agree, whatever we actually do, we know that this is true, that if we eat a proper diet, we will be more healthy than if we live on junk food. The same principle that applies to your body also applies to your soul.

This is why Peter says in the New Testament, "Whoever would love life"—you want to have a good life?—"and would see good days"—length of days—"here is what you should do: Let him keep his tongue from evil... let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it." Some of us can become quite unhealthy because we have allowed patterns of conflict to so characterize our lives that it stunts us, and we would be much more healthy if we could live in peace.

That is precisely what wisdom calls us to. The principle is very simple here: there is a healthy way to live, and there are unhealthy ways to live, and wisdom will show you how to live a healthy life. Here we are at the beginning of this new year. If you want to be more healthy, I say to you, study the book of Proverbs.

Walk with Jesus Christ, and as you do, he will give you wisdom through the Spirit of wisdom from the Word of wisdom for you to build patterns of life that will be healthy for you. And you will be blessed. Not only that, look at what comes next: "Long life is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and honor."

You see that wisdom is being presented to us here as a lady. Think about it. This lady holds long life in her right hand and riches in her left hand. This is quite a lady. This is a lady you want to know, isn't it? Again, we are looking at a proverb, not a promise. We are looking at the normal pattern that prevails in this world.

What is it? Look up at chapter 3:9, just before there, and you will see this: "Honor the Lord with your wealth... then your barns will be filled with plenty." This is not saying, "Give God money and God will make you rich." But would it really surprise you that when a person honors God with their money, the normal pattern in this world is that God trusts that person with more?

Why would that surprise you? That is the normal pattern in this world. If a person basically keeps to themselves everything that God has given to them, why would God ever give that person more? Why would he trust that person with more? We are talking here about the normal pattern that prevails in this world, and it is laid out for us in the book of Proverbs.

Matthew Henry said, "Those who do good with what they have shall have more to do good with." That is the principle. You are faithful in little, God trusts you with much. Would you like God to trust you with more? I say to you, study the book of Proverbs. You will gain wisdom from the Word as you walk with Christ, the very wisdom of God in the power of the Spirit.

Then look at what comes next, verse 17: "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." If you seek wisdom and pursue her—or to put that another way, if you this year follow hard after the Lord Jesus Christ as a disciple—you will have more joy and you will have more peace. Is there anyone here who would say from their heart, "I wish I had more joy in my life. I wish I had more peace in my life"?

I say to you, study the book of Proverbs, the way of wisdom that will lead you into pleasantness and peace, joy and peace. You will gain wisdom from the Word as you walk with Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. I am trying to encourage you, motivate you for this journey. Is this working? Are you getting it?

Are you getting the sense that there is something here for you? Long life, riches and honor, joy and peace. No wonder the book of Proverbs says, "Get wisdom." Verse 18 of chapter three: "She is a tree of life to all who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast, they are called blessed." Blessed. I love that word.

Every time I see the word "blessed" in the Bible, of course, I think about the Beatitudes that we looked at a number of years ago here at the Orchard, where Jesus lays out a blessed life. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." In the New Testament, the Son of God gives us 10 verses, wonderful verses, that lay out a blessed life.

Here you have got the voice of the Son of God speaking to us in the book of Proverbs: 31 chapters of what it means to live a blessed life. I want to get as much of this into my life as I possibly can, and I hope I have encouraged you with this little sample to feel the same way too.

This is where we are heading over these next weeks. We are looking at how the blessing of God comes into the lives of those who pursue the path of wisdom—or to put it another way, follow hard after the Lord Jesus Christ—and what that looks like in particular in the most practical areas of the friendships you form, the family that you raise, your words, your work, and your wealth.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called "Fear." It's part of a larger series called "Wisdom for Life." We've been looking at what wisdom brings. When we continue in just a moment, we're going to see where wisdom begins, and we're going to continue to look at Proverbs chapter nine, so I hope you'll stay with us.

By the way, if you ever miss a broadcast, you can always listen online. Just come to our website, openthebible.org. Another thing that we all need is hope. In fact, the Apostle Paul talks about the need to grow in faith, hope, and love. But how do you grow in hope? Pastor Colin's newest book is entitled *Grow in Hope*, and it's going to show you that hope comes from God, is found in Christ, and is yours through grace.

We'd love to send you a copy of this book as our thanks for your financial support this month. You can give a gift online at openthebible.org or when you call 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365 or openthebible.org. Back to the message, here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: I want in the last minutes that we have here this morning to focus in on the first step. It is one thing to describe the journey, but really we have to begin with the first step. We have to get started. In the pursuit of wisdom, the first question is where do we begin?

For that reason, I want to turn your attention to chapter nine and verse 10 that was read for us earlier. Here is where wisdom begins, a very clear statement: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I wonder what is your first reaction to this phrase, "the fear of the Lord"?

There may be some folks in this service, and you will be inclined to say, "I don't want anything to do with fear. Doesn't the Bible say that perfect love casts out fear? I want to go with love; I don't want anything to do with fear." If you have endured a religion that was based on fear, or if you had an upbringing that was dominated by fear, I understand where you're coming from in saying, "I don't want anything to do with that now."

So, I want to plead with you before you switch off. I'm asking you for a moment to suspend judgment and to look at the good that is promised here in order that you may discover something wonderfully new that you may never have seen before. Let me describe the good that the fear of the Lord brings, and then I'd like to define for you what it is.

But we're not going to even be interested in what it is unless we are convinced that it has something good in store for us. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In other words, as we've seen, what that means is the fear of the Lord is the beginning of following Jesus Christ. It is that important.

This is where following Jesus begins. And all the blessings of wisdom that we've seen already just in this brief introduction—health, trust, peace, joy—where do they all begin? The beginning of all that wisdom brings: the fear of the Lord. Not only is this where wisdom is found, it is also where strength is found.

If you look at chapter 16 and verse 6, "By the fear of the Lord, one turns away from evil." What a wonderful statement that is. Remember, this is God speaking to his own children. If you are a child of God, you will have a sense of, "I want to get rid of the sins that cling too closely to me." And the question that runs in your mind is, how can I do that?

Here is the answer right here: it is by the fear of the Lord that one turns away from evil. By the fear of the Lord. This is what gives you the strength to do it. We're being told specifically that this fear of the Lord—we'll get to what it is in a moment—but here is why it is of such value: this is what will give you the strength, this is what will make it possible for you to overcome particular sins and temptations that you battle with in your life.

It's by the fear of the Lord. By the fear of the Lord, by this being secured in your life, that you will be able to turn away from evil. Moses said this way back in the desert to God's people: the fear of the Lord will keep you from sinning. By the way, that's Exodus 20:20. The fear of the Lord will keep you from sinning. That's exactly what we're being told here in the book of Proverbs.

So, not only is this where wisdom is found, it's where strength is found. And as if that was not enough, Proverbs tells us that it's where life itself is found. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life. So, if this is where wisdom is found, this is where strength is found, and this is where life is found, I want more of this fear of the Lord in my life, whatever it is.

I don't want less of it; I want more of it. It's the beginning of wisdom, it's going to give me strength in my struggle against sin, and it's going to be a fountain of life to me. What then is the fear of the Lord that I want to have as much of as possible in my life? It's simply this.

Let me give you this definition that I have adapted from a man by the name of John Brown, who was a Scottish pastor many centuries ago: to fear the Lord means so to love him that his frown would be your greatest dread and his smile your greatest delight. That's what the fear of the Lord is. Think about the person you love most in this world and how you would hate to ever hurt them.

You would tremble at the thought that you would hurt the person you love the most. Do you see then that there is a fear that love removes and there is a fear that love brings? The fear that love removes, obviously, is the fear of condemnation. Perfect love casts out fear. There is no fear of condemnation when we know the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But there is a fear that love brings, and the fear that love brings is the trembling lest we should hurt, wound the one we have come to love so much. Now, then the question is, where do I get this fear of the Lord? How could I really come to a place at the beginning of this new year when I love the Lord like that?

The answer is that this kind of love for the Lord is birthed at the cross. David puts it this way in the Psalms, Psalm 130 and verse 4: "With you," he says to God, "there is forgiveness so that you may be feared." I find that one of the most remarkable statements in Scripture. You might expect him to say, "Lord, with you there is forgiveness so there's no more fear," and of course, there's a profound sense in which that would be true.

Perfect love casts out fear; there's no fear of condemnation for those who are in Christ. But what David says in this very important verse is, "With you there is forgiveness so that you may be feared." In other words, your forgiveness brings me into this. Lord, I see that your forgiveness has come to me at such a cost that I would tremble ever to wound a love like this.

The fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom, it is birthed at the cross where, as a forgiven sinner knowing the grace and the mercy that are yours in the Lord Jesus Christ, you come to say, "How can I ever resist a love like this?" And that's the beginning of wisdom. That's the beginning of strength. That's the beginning of life.

So to love the Lord that his frown would be your greatest dread and his smile your greatest delight. In the coming weeks, we're going to look at what a life of wisdom, a life of following Jesus, a life that begins with this kind of love for the Lord, the fear of the Lord, what it looks like in relation to your friends, in relation to your family, in relation to your words, your work, and your wealth.

We're going to come to the book of Proverbs knowing that Jesus Christ himself is our wisdom and that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in him. Think about this as we just anticipate these practical areas. Friendship: Jesus is the friend who sticks closer than a brother. He will give you the wisdom as you walk with him through his Word.

He will give you the wisdom that you need to be a good friend to others. Right now, Jesus is bringing many sons to glory. Think about that. That's what he's doing right now; he is bringing many sons to glory. So, as you walk with Jesus, the wisdom of God, he will give you the wisdom you need for raising your children as well.

Jesus speaks words of life. As you walk with him in his Word, you will find that he is able to give you the wisdom so that your words will become life-giving words and not words that are tearing down the lives of others. Christ has fulfilled all the work that the Father has given him to do.

As you walk with him, he will through his wisdom teach you from the Word what it takes for you to fulfill all the work that God has given you to do. You will find the way of wisdom to do it as you walk with Christ, the wisdom of God, in the Word of God, in the power of the Spirit of God. And Jesus gave himself freely for us. Therefore, he, as we walk with him, will give us the wisdom to know what it is that we should give back to him.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called "Fear." We've been looking at Proverbs chapter nine and what it means to fear the Lord. If you missed any part of today's broadcast or the first half of this message in our previous broadcast, you can find that when you come to our website, openthebible.org.

Another way to listen is to get the Open the Bible app. You'll find that for free at your app store. It's a great way to listen to Pastor Colin's teaching on demand as it fits your schedule, and you can listen to both his daily radio program as well as our weekend broadcast and even our daily devotional. You'll find the Open the Bible app at your app store.

Another way to listen to Pastor Colin's teaching is to order a copy of this entire series called *Wisdom for Life* on CD. Ask about that when you call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365 or you'll find ordering information at our website, openthebible.org. Open the Bible is a listener-supported program.

It's your generosity that allows us to bring you Pastor Colin's teaching each day. As you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to send you a copy of Pastor Colin's brand new 30-day devotional book. It's called *Grow in Hope*. Colin, who is this book for?

Colin Smith: Well, this is for everybody who wants to have hope, and I think that's absolutely every person. We all need hope. If you would like to have hope drip-fed into your life for 30 days, then *Grow in Hope* is a devotional that will do just that.

It's full of the promises of God. It shows that hope comes from God, it comes to us through the Lord Jesus Christ, and it comes to us by his marvelous grace. 30 days of hope—I think that's something that everyone can use, and I hope it's going to be a blessing to everyone who reads it.

Steve Hiller: We'd love to send you a copy of this as our way of saying thank you for your financial support. You can give online at openthebible.org or when you call 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. Again, the website is openthebible.org. For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening and I hope you'll join us next time.

Guest (Male): *Fly Through the Bible* is a short, simple, and shareable book that you can use with a friend, a neighbor, or a loved one who needs to know Jesus. It's also freely available online. *Fly Through the Bible* will introduce you to five people in the Old Testament, five events in the life of Jesus, and five gifts God gives to every believer.

You could ask a friend to read *Fly Through the Bible* with you. The book has 15 chapters; you could read a chapter and meet together over coffee and discuss the questions. *Fly Through the Bible* is designed to help you open the Bible with others. It will give you a better grasp of the Bible's story, and most of all, it will help you to grow in your love for Jesus Christ. For more information, visit openthebible.org/fly. That's openthebible.org/fly.