The Way of Wisdom and Wisdom's Blessings

Notice we were singing two things. We were singing the gospel. I'll kind of give you a little warning there. Don't ever feel like we are past preaching the gospel, sharing the gospel, singing the gospel. We don't just preach and share the gospel with lost sinners. We continuously preach the gospel to ourselves and to one another. When we do that, it reminds us of who we were and who we are in Christ Jesus. That leads us to what we were doing. That is singing our testimonies. Think about it. We're singing our testimonies. We should be able to share our testimonies.

We should be able to share our testimonies when people ask and when that time comes up. There's a time to sing our testimonies. If you can't sing, just make a joyful noise. Some folks can sing, some can't, but let's just make a joyful noise. I love that song. I appreciate it. If you would take your Bible, turn back to Proverbs chapter 2. Proverbs chapter 2. We will be in all of this chapter. We read that earlier. It will be verses 1 to 22. Now what we have here before us in Proverbs chapter 2 is this. It's rather simple. This is all about the way of wisdom, the way of prosperity in life which comes from getting and keeping godly wisdom.

What we have here in Proverbs 2 is the path or the road of spiritual blessings and sometimes physical blessings that come from getting and keeping godly wisdom. This comes from two related themes that are found all throughout the book of Proverbs. First, wisdom and wise living. Wisdom and wise living is the major theme of the entire book. In the book of Proverbs, the words wise and wisdom are used some 125 times. In many times, wisdom and wise living are contrasted up against the opposite. Well, what's the opposite? It should be pretty obvious. The opposite would be foolishness and foolish living. Then second, the path or the way of life.

The words path and way are seen almost 100 times all throughout the book of Proverbs both in the singular and the plural form. The words path and way are used to speak of the direction of one's life, the way of one's life. We can say it like this, the manner that someone lives throughout life. We can truly say that the book of Proverbs presents two ways of living or the two roads of life. We have the road or the way of the wise and wise living which leads to spiritual and sometimes physical blessing. Then we have the way of the fool, the way of foolish living which leads to spiritual and physical ruin.

This morning we're going to be covering all of the chapter and we will see that in chapter 2 it's all about two basic things, the way of wisdom and the blessings that come from wisdom. That leads me to the title of the message. Title is rather simple, the way of wisdom and wisdom's blessings. Some of you take notes, you might want to write that down. The way of wisdom and wisdom's blessings. But before we get started, let me share with you my target audience. I've already mentioned this. Throughout my message this morning, my primary application and challenge will be to our high school graduates and I'll mention our college graduates as well.

This is for a very good reason in our time and in our culture after one graduates from high school, they are truly making a big transition into becoming an adult. And along with that transition comes the decision to take one of two ways in life. The way of wisdom or the way of foolishness. There's only two ways folks. The way of wisdom or the way of foolishness. And this decision comes in many different decisions along the way some of the decisions that they face are big and some of those decisions are small. And of course, I'm going to make application for all of us so adults don't think this is it for you. So let's all strap in. Alright.

Now this is how we're going to examine these verses. First we will look at working for wisdom, working for wisdom from verses 1 to 11. Second we will look at wisdom's protection from verses 12 to 19. And then third we will look at wisdom's future from verses 20 to 22. So let's jump right in. Number one, working for wisdom. This comes out of verses 1 to 11. We'll read them as we progress through the message. But number one, working for wisdom. Now if you look at verse 1, right away you will notice father to son language. And what we have here is this. Psalm 2 was written by King Solomon to one of his sons.

And although these are words of instruction, everything written here in Psalm 2 or Proverbs 2 is full of concern for a son. It's full of love for a son. It's all relational. So these are not just black and white commandments. This isn't just black and white instruction. Everything written here is full of love. It's full of concern for a son. Everything written here is full of a genuine desire for a son to obey the ways of wisdom. It's all relational. Now let me pause here. Graduates let me speak about my relationship to you. I've known some of you longer than others. You would call me your pastor. You've been in my home.

I've been a part of your life. For some of you I've been a part of your life a long time. The rest of you I wish you had been a part of my life longer but God ordained it that way. And I'm not just preaching a sermon to you. I love you as your pastor. I love you genuinely and I want you to get what's given here because this can affect the way you live your life from this day forward, good or bad. But I want to think about another relationship. You profess to know Christ. So you say that you have a relationship with God the Father and He has a relationship to you. And what I'm saying is this. In many ways it isn't just me preaching.

This is God the Father speaking to you through His Word. So this is all relational. Now out of verses 1 to 11 I want us to see two things about working for wisdom. This is all about working for wisdom. First I see a call to the work. We see this in verses 1 to 4. Let's read the verses again. Solomon says, "My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding, yes if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures." Notice that here in these verses we have eight distinct commands which are all about a call to work for wisdom.

Solomon says, "If you receive my words." This is the first step in working for wisdom. It is quite simple and it can be overlooked. The first step in receiving God's Word. The first step in receiving God's instruction is to receive it. Solomon says, "Treasure my commands." This is the second step. This is storing up that teaching because you see it as valuable. And we do this all the time. We store up things that we treasure. We store up money. We store up investments. We store up valuables. We store up deeds. We store up titles. Think about it. We store those things up that we deem as worthy of treasure.

This reminds me of my growing up years. My dad was into collecting coins and all my life as a little boy growing up he had this big box, this big black box that was full of all kinds of coins. Every now and then he would get all that out and show me as a little boy. I love the sound of those old coins. And as my dad is aged in his Alzheimer's, he has enjoyed giving those things away. All of those wonderful coins, all of those treasures that he stored up all those years he's given them all away. Some of them are in my home. And then Solomon says, "Making your ear attentive." This is the first step and this means keeping your ear open.

This is not just hearing one time instruction or hearing instruction every now and then, but keeping the ear attentive to wisdom. And that is because if the ear is not open, then the heart is not open. You see that? Through the years I've known people that had to have some type of surgery on their mouth. I've known people that had their mouths wired shut. That meant that they could only take a liquid diet. I don't know about you, but I probably would benefit from having my mouth wired shut for several reasons. No laughter there. But you know there are some people that have their ears wired shut. You hear me?

Some people have their ears wired shut. Solomon says, "If you receive my words, if you treasure my words," he says, "making your ear attentive." And what he means here is this, opening up your ears, keeping your ears and your hearts open. What to? The instruction of God's Word. Solomon says inclining your heart to understanding. This is the fourth step in this Word. If the ear is open to instruction, that's not enough. The heart must be tuned to attain understanding, to attain the understanding that comes from that instruction.

It is not mere information, but information which has been understood, it's been hidden, it's been treasured, and the heart is fleshed out in understanding it. Solomon says, "Call out for insight." This is the fifth step. John MacArthur calls this a passionate pleading. I like that. A passionate pleading. This picture is one who is desperate to know and to understand God's truth in teaching. They want to be able to see the meaning, not just the words. And then Solomon says, "Raise your voice for understanding." This is the sixth step in this Word. And this is connected to crying out.

The desire here is not just to want to know information, but one who wants to truly know and truly understand and fully grasp the meaning and the understanding of the Scripture. And Solomon says, "Seek it like silver." This is the second step, and it's connected to the eighth step. The eighth step is this. Solomon says, "Search for it as for hidden treasure." We understand what it means for someone to seek after treasure. Prospectors seek treasure like silver and gold. Salvagedivers seek treasure from old sunken ships. Here understanding God's truth in instruction is pictured as a hidden treasure which must be sought after. This takes time.

It takes work. It takes expense. It takes more time, more work, and more expense. And really, this takes an entire lifetime. So notice what we see here. Solomon is not talking about casually reading the Bible. He is not talking about only reading the Bible at church. He's not talking about only reading the Bible when you have a crisis in your life. Solomon is talking about purposely receiving God's Word, placing great value in God's Word, and working hard in prayer to God so as to understand God's Word, and God's Word and understanding God's Word, being of great value in the life.

And look, graduates, all of us, especially you graduates, spiritual and biblical wisdom which is a must in the Christian life, begins and it ends with the Word of God. Now graduates, you have no excuse. You can read. You have a copy of God's Word. Graduates, I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm going to give you a good copy of God's Word. It's a gift from Grace Life Church. So you have no excuse. Now I don't know about you, but I've traveled to different parts of the world and I've met Christians who couldn't read.

I've met Christians in places in the world who struggle to have a copy of God's Word in their own language, one they could read. We don't have those struggles. So young person, what's your excuse? You have no excuse. And that goes for all of us, especially those of us who have been Christian for quite some time. And then second, I see a reward for the work. This is in verses 5 to 11, a reward for this work. Let's read those verses. "Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom in his mouth and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright.

He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity. Every good path for wisdom will come into your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will watch over you. Understanding will guard you." Now if you noticed, verses 1 to 4 are full of what's called conditional clauses. You'll know them when I point them out. Solomon says, "If you receive my words." See the condition? "If you call out for insight.

If you seek it like silver." Solomon is simply saying, "If you do these things I have called you to do, then certain things will happen." And we see what certain things can happen from verses 5 to 11. So we can see there is a reward or certain positive consequences if those conditions are met, if the work is done. And I see this reward of the positive consequences in four ways. I see three things God does and one accomplishment. First, God gives. See that in verse 6. Here we see that God gives wisdom. God gives knowledge. God gives understanding. It's plainly stated in verse 6. And notice this word gives in this phrase from his mouth.

Simply this is God doing a work. But a question, how does this work take place? This is simple. As born again believers, this is through the gift and the work of the Holy Spirit of God in our life. Jesus said in John 14, 16 to 4, that he would give the Holy Spirit. And he's come to God and to counsel and to teach us. 1 Corinthians 2, 9 and 10 says that the Spirit searches the deep things of God. So we must see that the Holy Spirit of God performs this work in us and for us. Now let me give you a warning. Let me give you some encouragement here. This is not just education. This isn't just information. This is impartation and it's relational.

Let me explain what I mean. As born again believers, we know God and God knows us and the Holy Spirit of God is in us to help us in this work. Therefore God imparts this knowledge. God imparts this understanding after we do the work to attain it. It's all relational. We do the work and God does the work. But notice what we have here. We have a paradox or a seeming contradiction. We work and he gives. We work for wisdom but it is God that has to give the work. You see? And look graduate, if you know Christ, the Holy Spirit of God has come to live within you and the Spirit of God can enable you in this work.

And if you don't have the Spirit, you cannot, you can't do it because information, information never does it. Our churches are full of people who have Bible information but they have no Godly wisdom. And then second, God stores up verse 7. For me this is a great encouragement. For the upright or one who is truly saved and working to attain wisdom, God has an abundant supply of wisdom stored up for us. This is a lifetime. This is a lifetime's worth of wisdom. All that we need and more. And then third, God protects. For me this is a great, great encouragement. The shield here was a defensive tool in battle for them.

This means that God and his wisdom become a protection for life. Here in verse 8 we see the language of the path. Here we see that God and his wisdom protect the path of the believer. He is watching over the path. He is watching over the way of the saint of God. Do you see that? Isn't that comforting? Whether you've been a Christian for five years or 20 years, the saints of God, and if you are a graduate and you love God, you're a saint. We learned that in our study of Philippians. The saints of God are protected in the path and in the work of wisdom. And then fourth, God accomplishes. We see this in verse 5 and then in verses 9 to 11.

Here in these three verses we see an accomplishment. Notice verse 5. He says, "Then you will." Then verses 9 to 11, "Then you will." But notice this long list of accomplishments. The one who works for wisdom will gain understanding, knowledge, and fear of God. Verse 5. They will have an understanding of righteousness and justice. Verse 9. Wisdom will be in the heart and knowledge, something pleasant to the soul. In verse 10, discretion or sound judgment will watch over the saint according to verse 11. So notice what we have here. It's really a lot. We have a paradox or what is a seeming contradiction. It seems a contradiction for us.

This working for wisdom, but yet receiving wisdom from God. You see? Solomon calls his son. Remember, this is Solomon to his son that he loves. Solomon calls his son to work hard for wisdom, and this is not a one-time work, but a lifetime of work, a lifestyle of work. And the seeming contradiction is this. Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge can be acquired by the work of the son, and wisdom and understanding and knowledge can only come from God. Ultimately, this is a work of God for wisdom in the heart. And for you graduates, I want you to see that you are at a fork in the road. You know what that term means?

High school graduates, college graduates, you are at a fork in the road. Before you is one road, which is the way of wisdom, which requires work and working for spiritual wisdom. And before you is another road, which is the road of foolishness and sin. And all you have to do to take that road is follow what you want. Follow your heart. Follow what everybody tells you to do. You don't tick-tock. Do what they say do. Oh, just take all of your social media heroes and just do what they say do. All you have to do is follow your feelings. That's all you have to do there. That's the easy way, but it's the destructive way.

Now graduates, I really want you to listen to me. This is going to show my age a little. I know I look 25, but I'm closer to 55. One of the joys of ministry through the years is being able to look at people that you've seen come to faith in Christ and they live for the Lord for years. It's wonderful. I'll single one particular person out, graduates, because you know him. He's not here. He's under the weather. Jared and Megan, Jared. I've known Jared since he's 16. I saw him come to faith in Christ. I saw him live for the Lord in high school. I saw him live for the Lord in college. You can go to college and live for the Lord.

I saw him live for the Lord when he was single. I saw him seek the Lord in finding a wife and God gave him a wife and I've seen the Lord lead him and ultimately they moved to be a part of our church. I use him as an example because he is an example of joy watching somebody come to faith in Christ and live for the Lord for years. But one of the great heartbreaks in ministry is when you see young people say they come to faith in Christ and they don't live for the Lord. Then sometimes after 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, they call you back.

Many, many young ladies who said they came to faith in Christ under my ministry and preaching, many of those young ladies 20 and 30 years later have called my wife with heartbreak because what have they done? They've taken the path of foolishness instead of the path of wisdom. So this is all about working for wisdom. Look, folks, if you figured it out, we don't come to faith in Christ and voila, everything is just perfect. We come to faith in Christ and that's when the work begins day in and day out. So working for wisdom. And then next, number two, wisdom's protection. Wisdom's protection. We see this in verses 12 to 19.

Now to me verses 12 to 19, really at the heart of the lesson and the teaching from Solomon here. But before we get into the verses, let's notice the progression in Solomon's teaching so far. This is just taking a step back. Solomon called his son to work hard for wisdom. Get this, he was literally calling him to a lifestyle of working hard for wisdom day in and day out. This was truly to be a lifelong search which required discipline, time, and hard work. And then he shows him the reward for his labor. He showed him that God would impart or give wisdom and understanding and insight.

He showed him that God would do the spiritual work of imparting wisdom and imparting understanding and insight to him and in him. Now Solomon takes another step. In verses 12 to 19, Solomon shows his son just how this wisdom or this work of wisdom would protect him in life. This is very, very practical. And in these verses we see protection from two dangers and two temptations. These are two areas of the young son's life where he desperately needed to be prepared. Now think about it. We live in a day of protection, do we not? Culture is changing, crime is rising, we can't escape it. Many want to protect themselves with firearms.

I'm okay with firearms, I own them. I have them. If someone breaks into my home in the middle of the night and I have the opportunity, I will protect my family with a firearm. And if I don't have a firearm, I might grab a butter knife. We protect our property and family with security systems. Think about all the ways we protect ourselves. But let me ask you, are we prepared and are we protected with wisdom's protection? There are many people, they have the protection of firearms and security systems, but they're vulnerable when it comes to the protection of godly wisdom. First, we see protection from evil men.

Let's look at the verses, verses 12 to 15. Delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil, in delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. Here in these verses we see the wrong crowd. We see bad company. And we see peer pressure that comes from this kind of company. Specifically in verse 12, Solomon says that this wrong crowd has perverted speech. Then in verse 13, he says this bad company, they leave the godly or the righteous path for the path of darkness.

Then in verse 14, he says this wrong crowd, they rejoice in doing evil and they even delight in the depths of their evil. Then in verse 15, he says the path of the wrong crowd, they're crooked and they are devious. So notice what Solomon is explaining, that working for wisdom and gaining the fear and the knowledge of god and the wisdom of god actually protects you from the wrong crowd from evil people and to falling in with that wrong crowd. A question here. Young people especially, how many do you know have been unprotected here, therefore they have fallen in with the wrong crowd?

You see, folks, isn't it amazing that if we just open up God's word, how practical it is for us today, how long ago did Solomon write this? And listen, graduates, as you go off to college, if you go off into the workforce, there's always the wrong crowd there. There's always bad company. Parents, we can't live on a deserted island now. Sooner or later, we have to let them go out into the world. We've got to raise them up to live for the Lord. Yes, but unless they're born again, they can't live for the Lord.

And then after they come to faith in Christ and they gain godly wisdom, then they can protect themselves or God can protect them when we don't from what? Bad company. And look, college student, look, high school graduate, there are always the wrong crowd around you. Bad company is always there and if you go the way of bad company, it's because you like protection. Second, we see protection from the forbidden woman. Look at verses 16 to 19.

"So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulterous," with her smooth words, "who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God." That would be the marriage covenant. "For her house sinks down to death and her paths to the departed. None who go to her come back nor do they regain the paths of life." Now, we've already seen the wrong crowd in bad company. Here we see a more specific wrong crowd, a more specific bad company, the forbidden woman. Now, I know that Solomon is speaking of a woman. Think about his original recipient.

He's writing to his son, so naturally he's speaking of the forbidden woman, the adulterous woman. But I do not think we would be wrong here to apply this to any person, any person who would be sexually immoral. We can apply verses 6 to 19 to the sexually immoral woman or man. But notice that Solomon describes her behavior. She starts her seduction of the young man with her speech. Then she moves on to forsake her own husband and marriage vow she has already made in verse 17. And notice what we see in verses 18 to 19. We see the description of her ways in falling for this temptation in death and the fact that no one make it back from her ways.

And the fact that no one who followed down her path regained life. Now, let's make sure we see what we see here. We must see that this wisdom from God protects the young man, protects the young woman from the adulterous young man or the adulterous young woman. Do you see? And look, young person, if you are sexually active at all, you must see that you are not demonstrated godly wisdom and you are falling for the trap of the adulterous woman or the adulterous young man that's seen right here in the verses. And if you're sexually active at all, you need to repent. That goes for you adults too. It's a greediest sin. Repent.

You know, we have these wonderful, blessed, cursed telephones. It's more than a phone. Sir, are you committing adultery on that phone? When you're at the office and no one's around and that computer is in front of you, are you committing adultery? I told you this isn't just for our young people. Sexual sin destroys. Our culture tries to tell you, listen, young person, our culture tells you that's where you're going to find life and fulfillment. That is all a lie. It leads to death and destruction and once you go down that path, you can never return. Oh, there's forgiveness.

There can be forgiveness and cleansing but you never do away with the ramifications. Young person, listen to me. One of the most difficult things to do in ministry is to try to help people put their lives back together when they've gone down the path of the adulterous woman or the adulterous man. It always destroys. And you know what happens young person? If you go down that path, one day you meet a guy or you meet a girl and you want to get married and you have to look at them and say, "Well, but we must see how the forbidden woman or person works." Solomon carefully explains her plan of seduction.

He then masterfully shows his son the results of this path in life in verses 18 to 19. That is death and no return to life. And look graduates, you must see that death and destruction come to the sexually immoral. I know I've covered that song. And every voice in the world and even your own sinful flesh will tell you that life and freedom come from sex and sexual activity outside of the confines of marriage. But God's word says that death and destruction come instead. It always does. It always does. So what do we have here? God's protection. Again, notice how practical God's word is. It's just how relevant it is.

It's almost like God's writing that to us today because He is. And then last, number three, wisdom's future. We see this in verses 20 to 22, wisdom's future. Let's go ahead and read those verses. "So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land and those with integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land and the treacherous will be uprooted out of it." I think it is easy to see a transition here between verse 19 and 20. And notice how all of these things are progressing. This is a big picture.

We have seen how Solomon was calling his son to work hard and seek after wisdom. That's obvious. And he showed him that wisdom and understanding and knowledge are given by God to the one who searches after it and works hard at it. And then he went on to show very practically wisdom's protection from evil men in the adulterous man or woman. Now Solomon shows his son the future. You know there are several things I wish to have in life. I wish I had a way to open up a window and let you look into your future. I don't have that. But listen, young person, graduate, think about your future. All of you have dreams. All of you have dreams.

If you're a young person, you can listen to me listen. All of you have dreams. You have dreams of education. Our graduates are going to college. You have dreams of education. You have dreams of job and career. You have dreams of family. You have dreams. But do you want those things to be stolen? Do you want those things to be robbed? If they're stolen and robbed, they're first stolen and robbed because you let them be. The path of wisdom is right here. The work of wisdom is right here. And all you have to do is do nothing and you'll go right down the path of foolishness and it'll all be robbed and it'll be nobody's fault but yours.

Now here in verses 20 to 22 we see a contrast between the wise and the fool. It's very obvious. It's very pronounced. And here I'll make two observations. One observation for the wise and one for the foolish. First, the future of the wise. Look back at verses 20 to 21. "So you will walk in the way of the good and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land and those with integrity will remain in it." Notice what Solomon was saying. If, if, if, if, if you heed these instructions, if, if, if you do this work, you will walk the way, the path of the good.

He says if you do all these things that I have instructed you, you will keep on the path of the righteous. And notice this is the opposite of verse 18. The one who embraces the forbidden woman or man goes down the path of destruction and the path of death. But here we see the one who embraces wisdom and works for wisdom and right living inherits fruitful living and they will remain in the land. You know all this talk about instruction. Graduate, how much instruction have you received from me from this pulpit? How much instruction have you received from me in the classrooms of this church? In my home.

How much instruction have you received from Brother Keith faithfully on Wednesday night in another context? We have been faithful to give you the instruction of God's Word. And again, think about your future. What will you do with all that we have taught you? And second, the future of the foolish. Look at verse 22. "But the wicked will be cut off from the land." The treacherous will be rooted or uprooted from the land. Here the foolish one is again revealed. Verse 22 is the opposite of verse 21. In verse 21 we see that the wise are blessed with a bright future.

But here in verse 22 we see that the wicked are cut off, they are uprooted, they are destroyed. And graduates again think about your future and know this. If you reject wisdom and accept and live by the foolishness of the world, you will not have a bright future. It is a guarantee. Your future will be that of spiritual destruction and death. But, but, but if you embrace wisdom, if you set your life on a path of working for wisdom, you will have a bright future, a spiritually prosperous future. It's a guarantee. Can I guarantee you that you won't have trials? No.

You may have some serious trials and difficulties, but you'll have a spiritually bright future. So it is simple. What we see here in this, we see the blessed life of the one who works to find wisdom and they find it, and we also see the life of the one who does not. And graduates, I want to call you to another exercise, not to look at your future, not to look into the pastor's crystal ball that I wish I had, no. But graduate, I want you to look around you in your life. Look around you. Now don't call any names. Look at your parents, look at your grandparents, look at your family, look at all of those around you.

Pause in all of your activities and look at those around you and take note of what you see. Do you see a life of wisdom or do you see a life of foolishness? In church, especially Grace Life Church, our children and our teenagers should see a church full of adults who have and they do the hard work for wisdom. And they are living a life that is protected from all manner of sin and sinfulness by wisdom. Our children and our teenagers that are growing up all around us so fast should see a church full of believers who are growing older and they have a bright future. Why? Because it has been protected by wisdom. And one more exercise, graduate.

I challenge you to do something that's going to seem very strange. But the adults here who love the Lord are going to nod their head and say, "Yeah, pastor, that's really good." Find you a spiritual mentor. Somebody that loves God, walks with God, you need a spiritual mentor. If you go into college, you might need some mentors in your studies. If you're participating in sports, you might need a mentor in your sports. But what about a spiritual mentor? You need someone that will keep you accountable.

You need someone that can say, "I know right where you are because I was there." Someone who knows God's Word, who can open up God's Word, someone who can rebuke you and encourage you and everything in between. Kind of seems biblical, doesn't it? It's kind of like Timothy had a mentor. His name was Paul. Now, I want to close by calling your attention to baseball. Baseball. A little confession here, baseball is not one of my favorite sports. I know some of you love baseball. I've been hearing you talking about college baseball. But I'm not talking about college baseball. I'm talking about professional baseball.

If you look at major league baseball and its history, hands down, there is no debate which franchise has been the most successful, the New York Yankees. The Yankees have won 27 World Series titles, starting with the first in 1923 and continuing in 2009. To give you an idea of how dominant the Yankees have been, the closest franchise to the Yankees has been the St. Louis Cardinals and they have won a mere 11 World Series compared to 27. I think behind that was a couple of teams sued of one nine. But when you look at the Yankees history of great players, the list is long and rich. You have Babe Ruth who played from 1920 to 1934.

He is probably the most famous baseball player to ever exist. You have Luke Garreg. They called him the Iron Horse because he never missed a game. He played from 1923 to '39. You have Mickey Manil. You have Joe DiMaggio. He played from '36 to '42, then from '46 to '51. You know why he had a gap there? Well, he left his lucrative baseball career to serve in World War II. You have Derek Jeter who played from '95 to 2014. But probably the most overlooked of the greatest Yankees is Yogi Berra. He was their great catcher and hitter from 1946 to '63. Spent a lot of time as manager and coach. He is in the Hall of Fame.

But Yogi Berra was famous not just for his baseball. He was famous for what is called his Yogiisms. He always had these pithy, seeming unintentional, seeming contradictory comments that were loaded with truth. Let me give you a few. He famously said, "It ain't over till it's over." You hear how contradictory that is? But yet it's got truth to it. Isn't that right? It ain't over till it's over. He famously said, "Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical." If you think about it, it's true. He said, "You can observe a lot by watching." You hear the contradiction? That's true.

Sadly, I have learned a lot by observing people do it wrong in ministry. He said this, this is a good one, "You should always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours." But he is famous for giving some direction to his home. I read about this a couple weeks ago. I believe it was to a sports writer, but he said, "When you come to the fork in the road, take it." When you come to the fork in the road, take it. Look, graduates, put your eyes on your pastor. It is an amazing and mysterious thing that is right before you. When you graduate from high school, you have this fork in the road.

You have this fork in the road, and I'm calling you to take it. I'm calling you to take the fork in the road, which is the way of wisdom and wisdom's blessings. If you don't, you will automatically take the road of foolishness, destruction, and death. So you are out of fork in the road. It's up to you. Take it.