Vintage Faith Community

Just as there is a chasm between playing a game and playing it with skill, there is a difference between living and living well. Wisdom is the art of living skillfully and beautifully in God's world.

Plowing A Kingdom Culture: Proverbs 14.4 and the Vision of Vintage Faith

THEME: Wisdom is the art of living skillfully in God’s world

AIM: To lean into the plowing of the kingdom through the art of skillful living

 

INTRO:  This past summer, during the world cup: JOGA BONITO

            Soccer can be played by almost anyone – kids under 5 play it, & do so within the rules

            But: playing it with skill is a whole different thing: hence, Joga Bonito (Play Beautiful) VIDEO

 

LIFE is in this sense like SOCCER: we all play it, we all live everyday; but we don’t all live beautifully, skills

What were some decisions RECENTLY? Did you make the RIGHT CHOICE? (Homeschool, Eggos, iMac)

            How often we end up living with REGRET because of the DECISIONS that we’ve MADE w/o SKILL!!

Indecision is a major problem for many of us: we don’t know what to do in certain situations

 

But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if you could learn to play life w/skill, live beautifully?

Peterson: “Many people think that what’s written in the Bible has mostly to do with getting people into heaven… It does have to do with that, of course, but not mostly. It is equally concerned with living on this earth – living well, living in robust sanity.  On earth as it is in heaven is Jesus’ prayer.”

 

A SERIES in the BOOK of PROVERBS: the book which concentrates on the “joga bonito” of life

            The WORD for it is WISDOM: the art of living BEAUTIFULLY & SKILLFULLY in God’s world

 

WISDOM IS THE FABRIC OF CREATION

1.     Proverbs 8.22-31

a.     Wisdom was there BEFORE and DURING CREATION

                                      i.     Throughout Proverbs, wisdom is personified as a WOMAN to be sought after & desired

1.     Primarily a series of talks from a Father to a Son on Living with Skill in the world

2.     Trying to make wisdom desirable to him (a difficult job by any means!)

                                    ii.     “Wisdom” is giving her credentials here: “I was there in the beginning!”

1.     Before anything, I was there! I was the FIRST PART of HIS WORK!

2.     As he made it, I was his “workman:” the INSTRUMENT of his WORK!

                                   iii.     As GOD CREATED the WORLD, he did so IN and BY WISDOM: “the rules of the game”

1.     Acknowledges that there is a RIGHT, TRUE, and BEAUTIFUL WAY TO LIVE

2.     A way that is CONSISTENT with HOW IT WAS MADE!

b.     Pictures:

                                      i.     One author: the universe is “Woven with wisdom’s threads:” the fabric of Creation

                                    ii.     HTML Code: the “backend” of the webpage, allows what you see to be usable to browser

c.     Scripture teaches God made the world a certain way, and living well in it requires WISDOM

2.     Wisdom: the art of living BEAUTIFULLY and SKILLFULLY in God’s World

a.     The WAY OF FUNCTIONING in relation to GOD and HIS CREATION

b.     To KNOW GOD, UNDERSTAND CREATED ORDER, and OPERATE in it with GREAT SKILL

                                      i.     Ex: Contra – you can play the game, a do OK; but if you don’t know the KEY…

                                    ii.     Wisdom is the “key” to understanding the universe, playing the game WELL

c.     We instinctively KNOW THIS:

                                      i.     Good parenting, bad parenting, just like good/bad coffee when we taste it

                                    ii.     Why PROVERBS covers such a WIDE ARAY of TOPICS: all under the category of WISDOM

3.     Wisdom was God’s delight & the joy of God’s children

a.     Giving order to His Creation was part of SHOWING HIS GLORY:

                                      i.     He made the WORLD from OVERFLOW – he SPOKE it into BEING, reflects his handiwork

                                    ii.     He is the GREAT ARTIST, created colors, sunsets, genes, photosynthesis, dirt

                                   iii.     And HE ENJOYED IT!  “I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always!”

b.     And was THEREFORE JOY and LIFE for HUMANITY

                                      i.     Genesis account teaches us that the CREATION was a GIFT for humanity, the pinnacle

                                    ii.     God made the world in joyful wisdom, and living it skillfully results in JOY!!

                                   iii.     Calvin: “There is not one blade of grass and there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.”

c.     God’s work of Creation was done for HIS GLORY and OUR JOY! Thus, he COMMISSIONS A & E

 

WISDOM IS THE WAY HUMANS WERE MEANT TO LIVE (Genesis 1.26-28)

1.     Creation was a GIFT GIVEN TO HUMANITY, the pinnacle of Creation

2.     BUT – it is an untapped, undeveloped, raw gift

a.     Fruitful & Multiply: make babies and spread out – SERIOUS BUSINNESS

                                      i.     It is a command to get MARRIED & make babies – MULTIPLY!

                                    ii.     Parent, teach & train & raise kids, marry them off, and repeat.

b.     Subdue & Have Dominion: Make Granola, invent the wheel, build cars, play soccer, listen to ipod

                                      i.     Imagine what Adam & Eve and their descendents would have done w/o the fall…

                                    ii.     Built cities, dug wells, farmed, brewed, banked, made music, invented stuff!

c.     They were to “garden” the earth: to draw out the riches he put into the earth, nature, and the human soul at creation.”

3.     All of this was to be DONE IN WISDOM

a.     There was a skillful and beautiful way to do all of this, to live the human life in God’s World

b.     Adam & Eve had a COMMAND from GOD that REQUIRED knowing GOD & knowing CREATION

c.     And then LIVING IN THE CREATION with GREAT SKILL

4.     Wisdom is boundless: EVERY ASPECT of HUMAN LIFE FALLS UNDER ITS SCRUTINY

a.     Science, Art, Relationships, Inventing, Parenting, Sexuality: every aspect of HUMAN LIFE

b.     Everything that they were to do, that WE ARE TO DO, can be judged by this ONE CRITERION

c.     We have a Single Basis for judging all of LIFE: “IS THIS WISDOM, OR IS THIS FOLLY?”

                                      i.     Should I be in relationship with this person? Is dating or courtship better?

                                    ii.     Should I go to this college? Should I shop at this grocery store? Should I eat this food?

 

5.     The FALLENNESS of MAN PERVERTS WISDOM

a.     Adam & Eve, in the Garden, CHOSE SIN: violated the FIRST requirement of WISDOM: fear GOD!

                                      i.     They wanted to do their own thing, be their own gods, develop their own wisdom

                                    ii.     And God let them: they had a CHOICE

b.     Since then, we FOLLOW OUR FIRST PARENTS, we are their DESCENDENTS

                                      i.     We REJECT GOD, REJECT the WAY OF LIFE he intended

                                    ii.     And we CREATE our OWN WISDOM – we do it our WAY, our own SKILLS

c.     Our FALLEN NATURE creates its own WISDOM, set of SKILLS for LIVING

                                      i.     Fundamentally WRONG b/c they aren’t in right relation to God Himself

                                    ii.     We are in REBELLION, no matter how “good” and “skillful” our living is

1.     Brittan at LUNCH YESTERDAY – my HARSH reaction BROKE RELATIONSHIP

2.     I couldn’t “just move on” – forget about it Brit, no big deal: Mending

 

6.     IF WE LOOK AT HUMAN CULTURES, they REFLECT BOTH: we are a REAL MIXED BAG

a.     Soaring Heights of HUMAN CULTURE & Perverse Depths of HUMAN CULTURE (9/11)

                                      i.     Think of the diversity & beauty of the human cultures: creative, intelligent, amazing

                                    ii.     And yet the creativity and diversity of perversion: what will we think of NEXT?

b.     The NATURAL PROGRESSION SINCE THE FALL is TOWARD FOLLY

                                      i.     We do not naturally live BEAUTIFULLY in GOD’S WORLD – we are naturally rebels

                                    ii.     We naturally RELY ON OUR OWN WISDOM, our OWN IDEAS OF HOW TO LIVE

                                   iii.     And WE DON’T LIVE LIFE BEAUTIFULLY

1.     This is why we have so many regrets about life, so many missed opportunities

2.     Why we are indecisive and fearful and noncommittal – we lack WISDOM

3.     I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM DOING.

 

So, we LIVE AT A CROSSROADS: EVERY DECISION PRESENTS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR WISDOM OR FOLLY!

            ALL OF IT FALLS UNDER THIS CATEGORY: Are we WISE or FOOLISH? SINGLE BASIS FOR JUDGEMENT

Are we living with SKILL, or are we just living?

REALITY: most of us are just living (and SOME BARELY DOING THAT!)

 

WISDOM IS AVAILABLE AGAIN IN JESUS

1.     Our need is 2-fold: we need to be RESTORED TO RELATIONSHIP w/GOD & SHOWN THE WAY

a.     RELIGION is man’s attempt at this: try harder! Try to please God, try to figure it out!

b.     JESUS is God’s answer for BOTH: he pleases God with his life and shows us the way

2.     Here is where SCRIPTURE BECOMES of SUCH GREAT IMPORTANCE

a.     It proclaims our situation: we’ve lost our way!

b.     It proclaims the result: heading toward DEATH

c.     It proclaims the solution: God becomes a Man not just to show the way but to BE THE WAY.

3.     The LIFE, DEATH, & RESURRECTION of JESUS is GOD’S WISDOM

a.     This is the SOLUTION to our INABILITY to LIVE WISELY (know God & live in his world w/skill)

b.     Because it REQUIRES MORE than a change of BEHAVIOR: it is SICKNESS & DEATH

4.     Scripture PROCLAIMS JESUS as the WISDOM of GOD – the only WAY, TRUTH, LIFE

a.     CHRIST, our WISDOM: John 1.1-2; Col. 1.15-18; Heb. 1.1-2

b.     The life God intended for us, “wisdom living,” comes through REPENTANCE & BELIEF

                                      i.     Even PROVERBS requires the FIRST THING: the FEAR of the LORD

                                    ii.     Step ONE in LIVING WISELY is GETTING RIGHT WITH GOD, FEARING HIM AGAIN

5.     WISDOM is the ART of LIVING SKILLFULLY AND BEAUTIFULLY in GOD’S WORLD, available again!

 

This is the REASON for STUDYING PROVERBS Peterson: “Many people think that what’s written in the Bible has mostly to do with getting people into heaven… It does have to do with that, of course, but not mostly. It is equally concerned with living on this earth – living well, living in robust sanity.  On earth as it is in heaven is Jesus’ prayer.”

 

Life was MEANT to be LIVED in a CERTAIN WAY, because God CREATED IT THAT WAY: WISDOM

            Humans REJECTED GOD’S WAY, and our NATURAL WAY of LIVING is not WISDOM but FOLLY

                        God dealt with our FOLLY in the LIFE, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS

                                    BY FAITH in HIM, WISDOM becomes an OPTION AGAIN!

BUT – you are MOVING AGAINST THE NATURAL FLOW OF HUMAN LIFE

            THERE IS CONFLICT BETWEEN GOD’S WISDOM AND THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD!

                        SCRIPTURE teaches us the way of WISDOM, the skills necessary to live beautifully

 

6.     The MISSION of the CHURCH is to be the KINGDOM CULTURE, modeling & proclaiming WISDOM

a.     A city on a HILL – let your light shine before men, that they might see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven!

b.     We are to PLOW a WISDOM CULTURE, a KINGDOM CULTURE, Reflects the WISDOM of GOD

c.     It ISN’T JUST ABOUT SPIRITUAL THINGS – IT IS AN ALL-OF-LIFE WAY OF BEING

 

Proverbs 14.4: Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

*Without OXEN, you’ve got a really clean barn: life is easy, you’re barn is clean, you have a few crops

            And this is NICE for most people: rather go the easy road, keep life neat & clean, no hard work

            And consequently, no crops, or atleast not much of them – you can’t plow a whole lot w/a shovel

 

*Add a few OXEN, and your BARN changes dramatically! Suddenly you’re up early shoveling oxen crap

            Not just a bit – a TON of it: the ox is a large animal (700lbs), eats constantly, and poops by the ton

            There is no “staying clean” with oxen, no “I don’t feel like doing it today,” it is HARD WORK

                        I don’t know much about ox, but I grew up in Central California, smells like crap all the time

 

BUT – “abundant crops come by the strength of the ox” – the END RESULTS are WORTH the HARD WORK

The REASON your LIFE IS HARD is because you are PLOWING with OXEN – it is HARD WORK.

Wisdom calls us to a WAY of LIFE that is HARD WORK because it GOES AGAINST the FLOW

 

Luke 9.57ff: As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Think about Spokane for a minute:

            Our city is the biggest city between Seattle and Minneapolis: over 1500 miles

Our city is the cultural hub for over 1.2 million people

            The downtown urban core is growing by 300 households/year, mostly younger singles & couples

            While not as diverse as many major cities, it is rapidly changing: more than 30 different lang!

                        German, Ukrainian, Tagalog, Hmong, Portuguese, Japanese, French, and Vietnamese…

                        The nations are coming to the CITY, and missions to the City can potentially reach nations!

 

The VFC  is downtown for a REASON: not all of you need to live downtown in order to be called to the City

            But being downtown is STRATEGIC because we want to change the area by reaching the CORE

We want to engage politics, the Arts, the rich & the poor, the homeless & the new urban dwellers, to be involved in Social Justice and Mercy ministry, to love our city b/c God has called us to it.