PROVERBS ON HOPE FOR THE FOOL

September 8, 2019
Good morning. We are going to conclude our study in the Proverbs this summer, so if you have your Bible, you can make your way there. We’re going to close this series with a bang by taking a close look at the fool. I thought this would be an interesting study until I studied it & discovered that I have played the fool most of my life, so I need prayer before we jump into this study. 
Our world loves folly, but according to the Proverbs, that is not wise. The fool is a major character in the Proverbs. Solomon painted a picture of the fool 3,000 years ago, and it is striking how much it resembles a 21stCentury American. I simply want to look at a few character traits, and then see how the Bible offers hope for the fool. 
First,fools are self-protective.If God doesn’t exist, the rules of evolutionary science must apply to every element of your life. Only the strong will survive, so you must protect your dignity, your worth, your reputation, your status, your stuff. And so, fools are extremely protective. Their personal Department of Defense is a highly budgeted, well oiled machine.
This is God’s brilliant plan. Jesus says that the meek will inherit the earth. The humble will be exalted. If you want to navigate this broken world with skill, you can only do it in power of the gospel. And you can only experience the power of the gospel when you humble yourself before the Lord. As Tim Keller says, all you need is need. All you need is nothing.That is the key to wisdom. For the rest of our time, I want to briefly see how the humble, Spirit-filled life stands in direct contrast with a foolish life.  
Listen, this world is frustrating, and until Jesus returns, it’s not going to change. As long as you drive on a road, you will get cutoff. As long as you live in a home with other people, you will get frustrated. As long as you have a job, you will get looked over and passed by and devalued. The fool cannot handle these little scenarios. Every offense is an attack on his dignity. But the man with good sense can overlook offenses. It is his glory. He can take it to God in prayer and let God vindicate him.(Did you know that the Psalms are filled with prayers for just this occasion?)If Jesus didn’t overlook offenses, he would have never made it to the cross. What offense do you need to let go of this morning? 
God teaches us a better way. Humble people love to listen. They know that they don’t know everything, so they engage their ears before their mouths– not out of strict self-discipline, but out of pleasure & curiosity. You know you’re in the presence of a wise person, when they’re asking you great questions. The wise person takes genuine pleasure in understanding!
Is there a better gift you could give to another soul? To take a genuine interest in knowing another soul… What would happen if we evangelized this way? Most of us think evangelism is all about an effective presentation. But I think good evangelism begins with good listening. Tell me about the home you grew up in… How did that impact your view of Christianity? What do you think about this verse?If we can give people the gift of genuine concern & interest, I bet they’d be more receptive to our position. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. 
Finally,we saw that fools are self-defeating. Foolishness looks powerful, but it really isn’t. It’s like a shadow on a wall. It looks scary and intimidating, but soon enough the lights will come on and your folly will be exposed. Foolishness doesn’t work. It doesn’t work because it’s based on the assumption that God doesn’t exist.
If you need help understanding how this paradox works, just think about the life of Christ. He is clearly the most influential human that has ever lived. 2,000 years after he came, people are still gathering to worship him. How did he achieve this position? 
*Did he come as a powerful king? No, he was born in a manger and lived his entire life in poverty. He worked as a carpenter in a Podunk town.
*Well then, surely he was a beautiful & attractive leader. No, Isaiah said that he had no beauty that we should desire him. 
*Ok, he must have achieved his success by foolishly demeaning his opponents. That’s how we find success in our world today. But that’s not how Jesus did it. He never played the fool. Instead, he faithfully entrusted his soul to God. 1 Peter says that when he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten. He was perfectly humble. And because of that humility, God exalted him to the highest place so that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is the LORD! This is the brilliant wisdom of God. He uses the weak things of the world to shame the strong. The path to glory goes through the cross. Humility comes before honor. 
(Prayer – Fools despise wisdom, but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.)
Lord, you have shown us over and over that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools cannot stand your good and sovereign rule, but we want to learn to submit to you.)