Don’t be a fool, wise up, ….

Preamble: This write-up was written, both as a comment response to Ps Prentis’ blog entry (http://prentis-createdtogivegodglory.blogspot.com/2011/12/have-you-been-fooled.html), and as a word of tribute to my beloved Senior Pastor who is retiring from pastoring the church I attend.

Last weekend, my long-time Senior Pastor, Derek Hong, gave his last sermon in church, as the head of the church before he formally retires (from the church, but NOT from serving the Lord) at the end of the year (he, of course, can still come back to preach, but that would be on an invited basis).

It is befitting I mention a word of tribute to this faithful servant of God. He is most worthy of respect and honor, and it has been my privilege to have sat under such a faithful and God-fearing person who cared for the sheep, and would NOT hesitate to stand on the Word of God against all odds. I have sensed the Lord’s preparation for him for his next leg of ministry, and I believe God will be using him mightily in the international platform, preaching His truths, with signs and wonders following.

As his parting shot, he chose to preach on Hosea 4:6 - "my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children."

God indeed did NOT say that the people were destroyed for lack of food (although one can certainly die of hunger) or money or in poverty (although money can meet certain of our needs), but God chose to say that the people were destroyed for lack of knowledge. It is NOT any knowledge. In fact, it has been quite some time now, we have experienced information explosion, and indigestion, with the advent of the internet. God was addressing His people ("my people"), and the later part of the verse, reveals that God was referring to His laws.

The overly grace preachers, certainly, would skip exposition of this verse, for to them, "laws, they should skip"; but NOT a seasoned pastor who have worked for the King of Kings for more than 3 decades, and would proudly say the Word of God is His laws; and that is wisdom.

Unless we embrace it, what the King says, is law, and we have to obey and take heed, we will NOT begin to learn godly wisdom. Why is the fear of the Lord, the beginning of wisdom (Ps 110:10, Prov 9:10)? Because God is God, in more humanly understandable term, He is King. We have to fear God for who is, first of all. If we have appreciation of what is connoted in the word, “God’” or “King”, the Lord is to be feared, and what is from His mouth, is law (and food – Matt 4:4); one (a person) lives or dies by His (God’s) word.

We all need to have godly wisdom first, before we can be truly wise; and that godly wisdom is in God’s laws, and the knowledge of those laws we must pursue, and if we choose to ignore, we will lack it, and when we lack it, God said we would be destroyed; not only that, there is repercussion for our children – they may likewise go into destruction (Is it NOT true, if we ignore the knowledge of God, our children may end up, likewise, and would suffer the same consequence?). Don’t be a fool, wise up, embrace the whole counsel of the Word of God, wholeheartedly.


Anthony Chia, high.expressions, Say It Like this

{Added - 10 April 2012} PS: "Fear of the Lord" also has specific meaning in Scripture, and it is referring to "to hate what God hates, which is evil".  The Word of God, of course, reveals both sides of the coin, so to speak, what God hates (evil) and what God loves (holiness).  So, when we embrace the fear of the Lord, through His Word, by understanding and practising them, we acquire the wisdom (Scripture said "constant" practise") to distinguish good and evil.  When we have the wisdom, we are to choose, and we are to choose holiness, for without holiness we see God NOT, said the Word. In fact, it is even more correct to say, if we have wisdom, we would have embraced holiness, for God's wisdom always satisfies His holiness.


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