When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin his heart rages against the LORD.
– Proverbs 19:3
Similar to the man whose way is right in his own eyes, the one who does not listen to wisdom (the fool) will find his path leads to destruction. Ironically, this is often the point at which the ruined person begins to point fingers at God saying he is not good, does not care, or is somehow ‘out to get me.’ I think it is easy to understand this tendency. The wicked person intentionally does wrong and may expect dire consequences. However, the fool simply ignores the truth of wisdom and walks in his own way.
Karma should serve up a simple life to the simple man, but unless the simplicity aligns with wisdom by some grand cosmic accident or loving mercy, the simpleton and the fool alike may expect to come to ruin.
Jesus said the way is broad and easy which leads to destruction and many will find it, but “the gate is narrow and the way is hard which leads to life and few there be which find it. narrow is the way that leads to life and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Even the story of wisdom and folly as characters in the Proverbs show the almost random possibility of the simple man discovering the way of life rather than the way of death. Both of them call out to the one who does not know what to do with their own versions of the good life. How is he to know which one to follow?
The Power of a Simple Choice
If not knowing any better I chose to follow the advice of folly, I would be upset about coming to ruin – especially if I was not aware of what I was doing. In this, I come close to rationalizing the rage from the heart of the fool against the LORD. If I had no ability on my own to walk on the path of life and He did not guide me into the good way, I think I would be angry.
However, I would still be responsible for the actions of folly that brought my way to ruin. Specifically defined, “the fool” in Proverbs is one who has heard the words of wisdom and refused to listen. The fool despises the instruction and discipline that could set him on the pathway of wisdom.
The call to embrace the difficulty of the narrow way must be clearly extended in order for anyone to be called a fool and this is where the irony of this Proverb emerges. The fool has been invited to walk in the way of wisdom and only reached the outcome of ruin by refusing to answer this call. It was a choice clearly granted and rejected by the man himself.
Learn the Way of Wisdom
If the natural tendency of the human being is to require instructions to walk in the way of wisdom, then apart from the mercy of the LORD, who extends an opportunity to answer wisdom’s call, everyone is equally destined for ruin. The only one left to be the object of rage must be the one who chose the way of folly over the way of wisdom. However, after a life spent ignoring the truth, one cannot easily accept the fact that it was their own choice of folly which brought ruin. It is far more comforting to rage against the source of hope, light, and truth that they chose to ignore.
Perhaps this is why the instruction of children is so crucial. For them to walk in the way of wisdom, they must learn early to endure the hardship of the choice between wisdom and folly. Once they have tasted the outcomes of folly and begun to rage against the LORD, it will not be easy to turn back to the LORD as a source of wisdom and life. On the other hand, once they have experienced the reward of wisdom, they will not easily turn back from the difficulty and sacrifice required to align their lives with its demands.
What is the key to a revival of the dead hearts that wander through so many of our churches and Christian education communities?
Bill Johnson at Onething spoke about the commission that Jesus gave to His disciples. It was through this commission that they were given authority to do what He had commanded them. This commission still applies and those in the church have authority to do all that Jesus asks of us. However, even after giving them authority, Jesus did not immediately have the disciples go forth. He had them wait to receive power in order to make this happen (Luke 24:49). Johnson says that, similarly, we do not have an excuse to be powerless people in our generation, but rather it is our responsibility to acquire it.
How?
Through encounter that flows from a life of purity (or a single-minded pursuit of one thing).
Power Comes From Encounter
Do we want to wake up the people around us? Johnson spoke from Luke 10:13-15 and Luke 11:30-32 to show that Jesus expected the people in Israel to be awakened or persuaded by the powerful signs and wonders that were done there. He called them perverse because they could not be persuaded and said that the kingdoms of old like Sodom and Tyre would be their judgement because if the healing and miracles had been done there, the people would have repented. Furthermore, Ninevah repented at the preaching of Jonah, and the queen of Sheba at the wisdom of Solomon. We can walk in the same kind of authority in our fields of influence so that others are drawn to the solutions released by our lives. The first time the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Old Testament was connected to the wisdom given to Bezaleel for the construction of the tabernacle (Exodus 35:30-31). “The level to which we accept the mission that Jesus gave us is the level to which we walk in authority,” said Bill Johnson.
Let us begin to embrace this authority by reason of the commission Jesus has given to us. However, we cannot stop there. We must also demonstrate the gospel with power, and this only comes through encounter. On the day of Pentacost, the disciples were gathered to pray when the power came upon them to fulfil the commission and begin to act on their authority. They had already received the Holy Spirit (John 20:22), but there was some element in which they needed to be filled up by the Holy Spirit “coming upon” them in power as described in Acts 2:1 and again in Acts 4:31. Jesus told them to “wait in the city” until they had received “power from on high” (Luke 24:49).
I think that the observation of how much prayer and intimate encounter with God takes place can reveal how much power we can expect to see demonstrated in our lives. We have nothing when we try to do this kingdom thing on our own as it was meant to take place in the context of intimacy with Jesus (John 15:4-5). Even He did nothing of his own, but only what he saw his father doing (John 5:19-20).
Johnson described power as the ability to see what God is doing and participate in it: to ride the wave. Power comes through encounter as we have already seen. However, for many of us, this is going to look like a severe challenge.
The Key to Encounter
In the parable of the sower, Jesus tells the story of seeds of the word that grew up in the soil (human hearts) they were planted in, but other seeds grew up also that choked out the work that God was doing. “The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). It is not easy to fight with these things, especially when the entire world around us is dedicated to their pursuit. However, we are called to be in the world, but not of it, to dedicate our lives to the pursuit of one thing at the cost of all others. If we are divided within ourselves we cannot stand (Mark 3:25). It is not possible to serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24).
Jeremiah 29:11-13 is a promise to Israel that the LORD will restore what had been lost while they were in captivity: “For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future an a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jesus said, “blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). David also gives a warning that those who wish to encounter God must “have clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:4). The reason that we do not see the power of God in spite of our asking is that we do not first let our hearts conform to holiness (James 3:4-8). What kind of evil father would give a child power before they were ready to use it well? Until there is a purity of focus and a single-minded pursuit of God (one that is not distracted by the mindset of the world), encounter will be limited and power will not flow through the Spirit that is in us as it could.
When we think we can have both God and the world, we miss out on what God has for us, but are we willing to give up everything to go and find it? The kingdom is like a treasure in a field which when a man found, he went and sold everything he had to buy it (Matthew 13:44).
If we want to see our college campuses and church communities awaken to life, we must be prepared to engage in the process of leaving behind our old way of thinking and replacing it with something new. Jesus said to “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7). This indicates a requirement of action by those who want to demonstrate the power of the gospel to a broken world, and “we do not have the luxury of living a powerless gospel” (Bill Johnson).
We do not have the luxury of living a powerless gospel. – Bill Johnson
It is certainly possible for God to work through broken people, but why would we want to stay that way? What would keep us from pursuing restoration and holiness so that the Spirit can shine through our lives with a greater brilliance? Joshua 1:6-9 showcases the promise God made to do some amazing things through Joshua alongside a warning that this man would have to “be careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” This is repeated twice and indicates the idea that the power of God at work through a person requires them to be consistently exposed to the word of God. It is through the renewal of the mind that a person is transformed to reflect the image of God instead of the image of the world (Romans 12:1-2). We cannot act or become pure on our own in order to see God, but we can embrace the process of humility by which the broken areas of life are exposed to the light of truth and transformed into something beautiful! Intimate encounter with God is necessary for those who want to demonstrate power. This was true even for Jesus, who is renown for how much time He spent in prayer.
The message that Bill Johnson wanted to communicate to the young people at Onething was this: to see the restoration of our lives and communities (to wake up the people around us), we must pursue purity of heart and a single-minded focus that enables us to encounter God in a way that produces powerful demonstrations of the gospel through us. As seen in the mystery of Christ and the church revealed through marriage, encounter and intimacy are only possible in the context of purity. If we want the power of the gospel to be evident in our lives, we must choose to pursue this holiness or dedication to one thing. As Elijah said to the people of Israel, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him, but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). We all know which God answered with fire, but I think sometimes we forget that the same choice belongs to our day. If we want to see the power of God in our lives, we must give ourselves completely to Him.
The pursuit of power (which is essential to the Christian life) is at its core, a pursuit of purity!
