How to Live Out Wisdom | Wisdom | Travis Brown

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♪ Lord, we're singing thank you ♪ ♪ I'm a father, faithful one ♪ ♪ We'll cry thank you for all you've given ♪ ♪ For all you've done, we say thank you ♪ ♪ Yeah, for all you've done, oh ♪ ♪ This is a song of gratitude, yeah ♪ ♪ Isn't it great, yeah ♪ ♪ Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you ♪ ♪ Oh, we're so grateful for you ♪ Come on, we sing. ♪ I feel you in the sunrise, the heat upon my skin ♪ ♪ And I see you in the night sky, when the stars are glowing ♪ Come on. ♪ I hear you when the wind blows, the leaves are rising, yeah ♪ ♪ There's nowhere that I could go that you haven't been ♪ ♪ There's nowhere that I could go that you haven't been ♪ Come on, every voice, sing holy. ♪ Holy, holy, holy, yeah ♪ ♪ I can't help but to sing of you alone ♪ ♪ You alone are worthy, yeah ♪ ♪ And I can't help but believe it ♪ ♪ I take a look around back at all you've done ♪ ♪ It's just a glimpse of what's to come ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, yeah ♪ ♪ But if this was it, then that's enough, hey ♪ ♪ I find you in the details of every fingerprint, yeah ♪ ♪ The presence of a father that's closer than a friend ♪ ♪ In the crying of a baby, the laughter of a kid, yeah ♪ ♪ There's nothing that I could find that you aren't already here ♪ ♪ There's nothing that I could find that you aren't already here, yeah, holy ♪

♪ And holy, holy, holy, yeah ♪ ♪ I can't help but to sing of you alone are worthy, yeah ♪ ♪ Alone are worthy, yeah, and I can't help but believe it ♪ ♪ I take a look around, look at all you've done ♪ ♪ It's just a glimpse of what's to come, holy, holy, holy ♪ ♪ But if this was it, then I'd be lost in love, in love ♪ ♪ It's enough, cause you're enough, if she was believing, I've seen enough ♪ ♪ It's enough, cause you're enough, I'm living in the promise of what's to come ♪ ♪ It's enough, cause you're enough, if she was believing, I've seen enough ♪ ♪ It's enough, cause you're enough, I'm living in the promise of what's to come ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, yeah, I can't help but to sing it, you alone are worthy, why? ♪ ♪ I can't help but believe it, yeah, I can't help but believe it, I can't help but believe it ♪ ♪ Take a look around, look at all you've done ♪ ♪ It's just a glimpse of what you've come ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, yeah ♪ ♪ But if this was it, then that's enough, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ If this was it, then that's enough ♪ ♪ If this was it, then that's enough, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ If this was it, then that's enough, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ Amen, what a privilege it is to worship together in this space. And this next song we're gonna sing, I remember singing it in a season in my life where I wasn't sure what was next. I was waiting and I didn't feel like I was hearing an answer from God, and I don't know what season you're in right now in this moment, whether you feel like you're in a season that's dried up and you feel like you're not hearing anything and you're waiting and you're wondering,

or you're in a season that's flourishing, but I wanna invite you that we have an opportunity to worship in it and to worship through it and to believe and sing in faith that He is a God who will come through. Let's sing and declare these words together. The Lord is my shepherd, and He is everything I need. So I will not worry, and I will not fear the end. He said that He loves me, He said that He's with me. Even though I walk through the fire, whatever season, of shadow and death, I will not fear the end. Come on, sing it. He has good plans, yes, He has good plans for me. So I will take heart of deserts and gardens, because He has, yes, You do, Lord, and He has good plans for me. If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans. He's got good plans, good plans. The Lord is my Savior, so why should I doubt my victory? Why should I doubt my victory? And why would I question the rod and the staff that comforts me? He quiets the waters, He quiets the storm inside of me, so what could be better than walking with Him when I believe He has good plans? He has good plans for me. So I will take heart of deserts and gardens, because He has good plans, He has good plans for me. Yes, You do.

If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans. Good plans. All praise, all praise. We say, surely Your goodness and mercy will follow after me. So fear not, not find me, because I'll be dwelling in the house of God. Surely Your goodness and mercy will follow after me. So fear not, not find me, because I'll be dwelling in the house of God. Surely Your goodness and mercy will follow after me. So fear not, not find me, because I'll be dwelling in the house of God. Surely Your goodness and mercy will follow after me. So fear not, not find me, because I'll be dwelling in the house of God. He has good plans, because He has good plans for me. So I will take heart of deserts and gardens, because He has good plans for me. ♪ Good plans, He has good plans for me ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans ♪ ♪ He's got good plans, yes He does, good plans ♪ ♪ If I know my Father, I know my Father has good plans ♪ ♪ Yes He does, amen ♪ CCB, we love worshiping together with you. You can have a seat.

Well, let me start by saying happy Father's Day to all of you great dads out there. Let's give it up for the dads, man. We love you, we see you, and we need you, we need you, so we hope you feel celebrated this weekend. Well, a few months ago, my wife and I got to go to my son's school concert, and guys, let me tell you, there are few experiences as special as being able to sit next to your spouse. Listening to junior high students passionately attack a recorder. You know, those plastic flutes? It was incredible. Some way, somehow, every single song, it sounded like the recorder was fighting for its life, but there we were. We were celebrating, taking pictures, videos, and acting like we have been in a performance at Carnegie Hall, right? Because when it's your kid, it changes everything. So we get in the car, and it's just him and I, and he's like, hey, Dad, can we go to Chick-fil-A? And I was like, dude, absolutely. After what I just went through, I deserve a good meal. Right? So we're in the car. He looks at me and says, hey, Dad, how did I do? Did you like the concert? Guys, it took me a minute to answer because one of my spiritual gifts is sarcasm, okay?

And I knew I couldn't mess this moment up like I've done so many different times in the past. And I realized that the right answer wasn't based on his performance, because to be honest with you, I couldn't really hear if he was doing well or not. So I look at him, and I said, hey, dude, I just love to watch you play because it had nothing to do with how well he could have performed. I love him because he is my son. And here's the thing. I keep thinking about that moment because I feel it reflects God's heart towards us. A lot of us still believe that if we pray enough, if we try hard enough, if we serve enough, then God will love us, then he will be pleased with us. But communion reminds us that Jesus didn't go to the cross because of how well we performed. This is what the Bible says in Romans 5a. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Before we got our act together, before we cleaned ourselves up, before anything else, Jesus gave his body and shed his blood for you and for me because we belong to him. And communion reminds us that we are loved not because of how well we perform, but because through Christ, we are sons and daughters of the living King.

So today, as we take communion together, let's remember this. The cross is proof that God's love for us is deeper than our failures and stronger than our imperfections. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we look at you because you are the perfect father. You send your one and only son to die on the cross for us, Lord, and when we accept him as our savior, Father, we have hope in you. We have the hope of heaven. Father, allow us to understand how deep and how strong your love is for us. And allow us to walk in that freedom. We thank you, we love you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Amen. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Hi, Dad. I love you. I love when you play the Monster Gym game with me and always play basketball. Love you. You're the best dad I could ever have.

I love you more than the whole world. Hey, kiddo. Just seeing how you're doing. Give me a call when you get a chance. Love you. Hi, hon. Just your old man. Just checking in with you. I haven't talked to you for a long time, so I thought I'd do that. So love you guys. Hey, Paige-a-loo. It's your dad. Just wanted to call and say hey. Probably busy with Georgia right now because you're such a good mom and a good wife. I love you. I'm so proud of you. Talk to you soon. You are a wonderful person, and I love you very much and wish I could see you more. Happy Father's Day, Dad. You've been gone from this Earth for a couple years now, and I miss you, but I want to say how grateful I am for the unconditional love that you showed me in my life. I love you, Dad. Happy Father's Day. Hey, buddy. I just met the Walmart so I could give you a quick call. So I love you. Talk to you soon. Hi, Dad. I love you. You are the best dad when you and me wrestled and go outside together. Hey, Dad.

Tried to call you, but obviously it took me to voicemail, which means you're probably at the shop. Just calling to let you know I'm about 30 minutes from the house. Really been looking forward to it. Decided to just spend some time with you. Love you, Dad. See you soon. It's the instruction manual for a sender. It comes with the sender. This is the instruction book for my family, and we can fix our lives through this book. Y también cuando he estado enojado. Think you could have been a good dad without it? No. There's a saying that in Mexico or in Spanish that a tree that grows, you know, curvy, it won't be straight. But when you get a piece of wood, it won't come straight, so you have to use sandpaper. It's rough, but makes you smooth. Sometimes you say your son is going to feel like, ugh, my dad, ugh. But, you know, you're just moving. It's life, you know. Was I easier to work with than the furniture you work with, or was I harder? You still need some sandpaper. I still need some sandpaper? If I hear a recording of my voice,

like, I sound like my dad. Or I look at my hands sometimes, and I'm like, man, like, I used to look at my dad's hands when he was working, and I'm like, my hands are starting to look like my dad's hands, how I remember my dad's hands. What I think the most valuable thing that God has passed on to the legacy of, like, my family going forward is that trust that he put in Christ years ago. Like, for me, it's like, you know, like, now being a dad and raising my boy, when I hear my son repeat Scripture back to me as a four-year-old, or out of his own will, like, pray to Jesus, ask him for his hand. stuff or like ask forgiveness for whatever it may be. I can only look back that that only exists because of the legacy that my dad has built in our family. Of like, if it weren't for God taking hold of my dad years ago, my son would not be where he's at. Everything comes to pass, but it's like, the true legacy that exists in our family is the legacy of a God-fearing man that has led our family up until this point. It's been a challenge, and also, believe it or not, I'm proud of him. And as a son, I've always said that my greatest pride is to say that my children are in the arms of Christ and that they are guided by him. Hey, can we celebrate all the dads this weekend? Just happy Father's Day. So many incredible men in this church,

and I'm so grateful for the godly men that are not perfect men. There are no perfect men. There's no perfect dads. No one's perfect. I'm far from it, but we have men all across this church who are stepping up to honor Jesus in the way they lead, in the workplace, in their homes, and especially in the way they're setting a Christ-like example for the next generation. I've been looking forward to this weekend because we have someone very special bringing the message today. Travis Brown is an incredible husband, father, pastor, who's been leading on our staff for many years. I believe in him. I love how God's working through him to serve our church. But Father's Day, I know, brings a mix of emotions for so many of us. Some of us had a great dad. This is a great weekend. Some of us had a dad that brought some of our deepest pain. It's a tough weekend. But no matter your experience with your dad, I've asked Travis to just share vulnerably and personally about his story, and ultimately to point all of us back to the only perfect father that's ever existed. That's our Father in heaven. That's a God who loves you more than you could ever imagine.

I'm excited about what God's gonna speak to all of us today. So lean in, get your notes ready, and would you help me give a huge welcome to Travis Brown? When I was seven years old, my family bought our first pool table, and it was set up in our home, and we were so excited. It was a billiards table, and since I was the youngest of three boys, I was lowest on the totem pole. So after it got set up, I had to wait before I could play my very first game of pool or game of billiards. And so I'm watching my brothers play, I'm watching my dad play, and then it finally came time for me to play my first pool game. It finally came time for me to play my very first game of pool. And not only was I playing my very first game, but I was playing against my dad. And so I go over, and I grab my pool cue, and I start chalking it up, and I'm getting ready for my game, and we rack it, and my dad starts the game by breaking. And then he proceeds not to miss an entire shot. In my very first pool game, I lost to my dad without ever getting a turn. And I ran off to my room, I started crying, which those of you that know me,

probably that explains quite a bit of what my personality is like. And some of you are sitting here thinking like, man, that is so cruel. I can't believe your dad did that. I can't believe he told that story on Father's Day. But let me tell you something, looking back on it, I actually think it was good parenting. You know why? Because eventually when I beat my dad, which I eventually did beat my dad, I knew I beat him at his very best. You know, again, I just wanna say happy Father's Day weekend to all of our amazing dads here at CCV. And I tell that story about my dad because it's funny and it's fitting if you know my family, but you need to know that my dad, man, he was a great dad. He loved me so, so well. He was present, he was engaged, he shaped me, coached all my sports team. He called me a shadow because I followed him around everywhere and he encouraged me when I needed it. He challenged me when I was down. He never let me quit. And he never let me win, obviously, either. I had to earn that. But listen, my dad was not a perfect dad. But my dad loved me and still loves me really, really well. And I know Father's Day weekend, we come to this weekend, and not everybody has that same kind of story.

Some of us listening to this message have deep wounds from our father, wounds that we still feel many decades later. And some of us had fathers who gave us an example that was incredible to follow. Some of us had fathers who gave us examples that we promised we'd never repeat. But either way, our fathers shape who we are. And now today, I have five kids of my own. And this is what I know to be true, is that there are no perfect earthly fathers. It doesn't exist. In fact, if all of us dads, if we were being honest, there are times when we don't feel like we can live up to this calling, right? There are times when we feel so inadequate to do all the things that we think we need to do as dad to protect, and to lead, and to shape our families well. We all feel inadequate at times. But listen, great dads don't seek perfection. Great dads seek godly wisdom. And I think every single one of us, no matter who you are, whether you're a dad or anybody else here today, you desire to gain godly wisdom in your life, especially when it comes to our families. And that is exactly what is offered in the book of Proverbs. Today, we're wrapping up a series that we've been in for the last couple of weeks,

where we've been going through the book of Proverbs, talking about wisdom. And we've talked about wisdom for work, and wisdom for our character, and wisdom for worship. And today, we're going to be talking about having wisdom for our families. And I think Father's Day weekend is a pretty fitting weekend to talk about wisdom for family, because Proverbs was written by a father to his sons. King Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs to his sons. In fact, in the first nine chapters of the book, you'll see the phrase, my son, 15 times. In fact, most of the first seven chapters of the book of Proverbs start with the words, my son. See, the book of Proverbs is not simply a book of wisdom. It's a father talking to his kids. And here's something that we all need to understand, is that wisdom is not transferred through information. It's transferred through relationship. And the greatest thing that we can give to people today, no matter who you are, whether it's to your kids, or to anybody we come in contact with, is wisdom. And so today, I want to look at three things that's required of us in order to get wisdom. And when we do these things, we will naturally become better dads, and moms, and grandparents, and kids, and humans. And then at the end of this message, I just want to give us one challenge that every single one of us can apply

that will help us live out wisdom. So let's dive into this. You know, there's a pattern in the book of Proverbs that before it tells us what to do, or how to live, or how to speak, it says the first thing that we need in order to gain wisdom is we need to listen. Proverbs 4, verse one, King Solomon writes these words. He says, listen, my sons, to a father's instruction. Pay attention and gain understanding. I'm picturing Solomon in today's day and age trying to get his son's attention. You know, I'm picturing them sitting on the couch with their AirPods in, or their headphones on, and they're looking at their phone, and they're slouched. And he's like, hey, pay attention. I need you to listen to me. Because the first part of gaining wisdom, the first thing that we need to do is we need to listen and pay attention to the right things. We need to listen and pay attention to the right things. But listen, we know this. It's never been harder to do that than it is today, right? You know, we used to live in an economy that was driven by industry. Like, you made something, and that's what brought value, right, you made a car, you made a product, you worked a trade, and that's what brought value. And although we still make things today, we move from an industrial economy to an information economy.

All of a sudden, everything shifted where the more information you had, the more education you got, the more specialized training you got, the more value you brought. But now we live in a day and age where information, it's everywhere, isn't it? I mean, you can find an answer to any question you ask at any point on your phone. You probably have an answer within three seconds. And so the most valuable resource that we have today is no longer information. The most valuable resource that we have today is now attention. Companies are trying to get it. Apps are challenging each other just to get your attention. Entrepreneurs are spending billions of dollars every single year just to get a few moments of it. We no longer live in an information economy. Now we live in an attention economy. They say that the average American now consumes more information in one day of their life than a person who lived just a couple hundred years ago consumed in their entire life. Information is coming at us everywhere, and we're doing little to stop it, right? There's this guy I see at the gym all the time, and he gets on the elliptical, and when he gets on the elliptical, he has two iPads open with work going on. He's got his phone in between those iPads. On top of the elliptical, he has his laptop opened up, and he's working on that. Not to mention the six TVs that he can see from the elliptical. Listen, access to information now is no longer the problem, but the challenge for us is listening and paying attention to the right things. Let me summarize it this way for you. The world is fighting for your attention. Everywhere we go, every time we open up our phone or see a billboard, everybody wants our attention. The world is fighting for your attention, but listen to me. Your world needs it. The world is fighting for your attention, but your world needs it.

Your spouse needs it. Your kids need it. Your schools need it. Your community. Your church. Your neighbors. Your world needs your attention. And I can already hear some of you parents right now. I can hear you saying, like, yes, finally, somebody preach this message. Please tell my kids to start listening to me because they're not listening to me. I'm going to go home, and I'm going to read Proverbs 4, verse 1, to make sure my kids listen to me. But let me just ask you a question. Are you listening and paying attention to the right things? Dads, are you listening and paying attention to the things under your care? Are you paying more attention to what's happening in the White House or what's happening in your house? Moms, are you listening more to the feed that's coming over your phone or the people who are in your own home? Young adults, are you listening more to wisdom that somebody is trying to give you on how to live your life from an influencer out there, or are you listening more to God's Word? Listen, as a parent, those of you that are parents, you know this, that it gets really frustrating when your kids don't listen. And I just wonder, I wonder how frustrated God gets with us because of how much we're not listening and paying attention to Him. I'm so guilty of this. This convicts me so much because I think there's so much wisdom that I have missed out on because I've been busy or distracted. But have you ever, you ever got to the end of your day, and you're like, man, I wish I had gotten God's Word more, and then you realize that you spent two hours scrolling

on YouTube shorts? Or you ever been listening to a preacher give a message in church, and you realize you haven't listened to a word that he said because you're too busy looking at your phone? It's a couple people that just sat up pretty quick. Listen, Solomon is saying, listen. If you want wisdom, Solomon's saying, don't listen to everything, make sure you listen and pay attention to the right things. But we've all met people who have heard a lot, but they've learned very little, right? The second part of getting wisdom is not just that we listen, but we have to learn. The most dangerous moments in life is when we stop learning, when we stop listening to feedback, when we stop being curious and asking questions, when we stop learning from our mistakes. You see, the moment we stop learning is the moment we forsake wisdom. And one of the myths that life has is that age automatically produces wisdom. Listen, I've met some older people who are incredibly wise, and I've met older people who are just older. Wisdom isn't always a by-product of time, right? Proverbs 15, starting in verse 31, he says, whoever heeds, which basically means just put into practice, whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise. Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.

Listen, you can't have wisdom if you think you already know it all. And I bet if I asked everybody listening to me today, when was the season of your life that you grew the most, where you got the most wisdom? My bet is that you wouldn't talk about all of your successes. My guess is that you gained the most wisdom during the challenging and tough times, and you gained the most wisdom by the mistakes that you made. Many of our greatest lessons came disguised as our greatest regrets. And one of the biggest differences between wise people and foolish people isn't that wise people have gone through less challenges or tough times or made less mistakes, it's that wise people learn from their mistakes, and foolish people repeat them. Wise people learn from their mistakes and foolish people repeat them. Wise people learn from their mistakes, but foolish people keep repeating them. We've all made mistakes, but wisdom is not defined by our mistakes, it's defined by how you learn from them. Several years ago, I was in my living room one evening with all three of my boys and we're wrestling, I'm throwing the boys all around, and one of my boys was on my back and I flipped him over, and he's like, oh man, my finger hurt.

I'm like, oh, you're fine, let's go and keep going, right? The next morning we wake up and my wife comes to me and she's like, hey, his finger's like black and blue and it's swollen, I think we should go get it x-rayed. I'm like, pfft, he's six. Like, right, there's no way he could have broke something and with my medical expertise, let me go look at this, right? So I look at his finger and I thought, you know what the remedy for this is? Let's tape it up, let's tape it up, and we sent him to school, I'm thinking it's all good, that's what good dads do, and then a couple hours later I got a call from the nurse. She says, no, this finger's broken, okay? And she said that when he came into the nurse's office, she asked him, hey, what happened? And he. He said, my dad did it. The nurse said, she says to me, she says, hey, this is the type of injury that you don't tape, you have to cast, okay? But I felt so bad. I'm like, how could I not take my son's health more seriously? I felt like such a bad dad. But you ever been there? You ever made a mistake or done something? Like, man, I can't believe I did that. What was I thinking? Maybe you said something that you wish you took back.

Maybe you made a decision that you deeply, deeply regret. Or maybe you lost your temper. But we all make mistakes, but the question isn't whether you're going to make mistakes. The question is whether or not you're going to learn from them. Because growth, it doesn't happen when we pretend to be perfect. Growth happens when we learn from our imperfect moments. One of the reasons Proverbs is so practical is because Solomon continually calls his son and he calls all of us to be constant learners, especially from our mistakes. If you want wisdom, it begins with. listening and paying attention to the right things. And then you must learn what God is teaching us, but it doesn't stop there because in order for wisdom to be complete, we must live it out. We must live it out because godly wisdom requires living out what God has taught us. Now I had the privilege of coaching so many of my boys' sports teams, my girls' sports team. And I loved coaching all my boys in flag football. And one season I was coaching flag football and we had this kid on the team, his name was Jake. He was such a great kid. He was one of our best athletes, great family.

And Jake being one of our best players, I was coaching defense that year and I always played Jake at linebacker. And for those of you who don't know, linebacker just plays a little bit closer to the line and just kind of reacts where the ball goes. But one particular game, I decided because of the team we're playing that I'm gonna move Jake back to safety. Okay, and I didn't have a lot of time to explain what safety meant to Jake, but I say, okay, Jake, here's what it is. I need you to line up behind the whole defense and the very back of it. And then when you're gonna cover this half of the field, and then when the ball's snapped, you're not gonna run forward. You're actually going to back up and make sure everybody is in front of you on the field and nobody runs by you. You got it? Yeah, I got it, coach. Great. First series, first play of the series, ball gets snapped, Jake runs towards the line of scrimmage. The receiver runs right by him. They score a touchdown right where Jake was supposed to be. I was like, Jake, what happened? I was like, all right, okay, let me explain this to you again.

Remember, you gotta stay back. Last time you ran forward, next time I need you to back up and make sure everybody stays in front of you so they can't run by you and score a touchdown. Got it, Jake? Got it, coach. Great. Next series, first play, ball gets snapped. What does Jake do? He runs forward and not back, and they run right by him again for a touchdown. And I'm so fresh, I'm like, what? What's going on? And I'm like trying to like take responsibility for it as a coach, right? So I go up to the other coach and I'm like, hey, am I saying this right? Like, I think these words are coming out of my mind, but is there a better way to teach a 12-year-old what safety is? And he's like, I don't know. And so I'm walking down the sideline and kind of frustrated. And Jake, I get to the end of the sideline and Jake walks up to me. And Jake looks up at me and he says, coach, I don't think this defense is working. I say, yeah, you're right, Jake, it's not working. You know why?

Because you're not doing what I asked you to do. I didn't say that to him. I just put him back at linebacker, by the way. I said, okay, he's not ready for safety. But isn't that, isn't that a picture of what our faith at times looks like? Doesn't God give us instructions and tell us what to do and then we go and decide to do our own thing? And we know, we know we should forgive. We know we should be patient. We know we should be generous, but we still decide to do our own thing. And then we go up to God and we're like, God, I don't think this life's working. I don't think you know what you're doing. And he's like, yeah, you're right. It's not working because you're not doing what I asked you to do. Listen, I'm convinced that we don't have a knowledge problem in our world today. I'm convinced that we have an application problem. Most of the time, we know what to do. As a pastor, I've never sat with somebody who was like, man, does God want me to cheat on my spouse or not? Does God want me to put him first in my finances? Does God want me to forgive? Does God want me to forgive? No, we know. Most of the time, we know what to do, but wisdom isn't simply knowing the right path.

Wisdom is walking it. And Jesus summarizes how wisdom is completed. I think he summarizes it perfectly in Matthew 11, verse 19. He says, but wisdom is proved right by her deeds. Jesus says, wisdom is not about what you know. Wisdom is about what you do. And wisdom is not complete until what you've listened to and what you learned is actually put into practice. Let me ask you to be honest with yourself. Is your faith, is it more hindered by what you don't know and haven't been taught yet? Or is it more hindered because of what you do know that you're not living out? It's usually not a knowledge problem with us, it's usually an application problem. And if you want wisdom, then you have to live it out. Wisdom requires us to listen to the right things, it requires us to learn what God is teaching us, and then it requires us to live it out. If you want to put wisdom into practice, especially with our families, and then let me leave us today with one challenge that every single one of us can do, and here's the challenge. Let's build bridges to the people you love. Build bridges to the people you love. You know, there's a lot of walls being built in our society today, and a lot of it is under the umbrella of wisdom and right and wrong, and unfortunately, a lot of these walls are being built within our own homes and in our families. And too many times we build walls and create distance with people that we love the most, but we build bridges and connect with things that don't really matter. What if, what if our wisdom played out by building bridges and connecting with people who we love the most and we built walls with the things that don't really matter? Wisdom should bring us closer into a relationship with the people that we love the most, not

divide us. The longer I'm a parent, the more I realize that parenting is not a formula. As a young parent, I thought, if I just do this and this, then it's going to equal that, and that's not how life works, is it? Now don't get me wrong. I am all for all the godly parenting principles that are all throughout this book, and for us living in it, I'm all for discipline and boundaries and bringing your kids to Jesus. The best thing you can do is introduce your kids to faith in Jesus, but none of that can happen if there's not a relationship, because when we prioritize rules over relationship, that usually equals rebellion. So let me ask you, who is it? Who do you need to build a bridge to today that you deeply love? Maybe it's your spouse or your kids that there's been so much division and you need to start building a bridge. Maybe it's to your own parents today. Maybe it's to your mom or your dad, and you've been saying this for so long, you're like, I know, I know I need to reach out to them. You've been saying, I know I need to forgive them, or I know I need to ask for forgiveness, but remember, wisdom isn't proven by what you know. Wisdom is proven by what you do, and some of us have spent years building walls with the people we love the most, walls of silence and disappointment and pride, and some of you, I bet you're actually right. But the pride of being right has built a wall in your family, and wisdom doesn't build walls. It builds bridges. A few years ago at a high school in Shreveport, Louisiana, things were getting out of control. Violence was becoming the norm. There were constant fights and tension. In fact, in just a two-day time frame, there were over 20 students who got arrested from constant fights that were going on. Gang tensions were rising, and the atmosphere was spiraling out of control, and then the

school held a parent meeting, and after that parent meeting, the very next day at school, there was a group that showed up, and they called themselves Dads on Duty. They weren't security guards. They weren't law enforcement. They were dads and grandfathers and uncles and construction workers and factory workers and truck drivers. They were men willing to sacrifice their time to simply be present, and they stood in the hallways, and they greeted students and high-fived, and they told bad dad jokes, and they built relationships, and they let the kids know that somebody knew them, somebody cared about them, and somebody believed in them, and they started showing up every single day, and something remarkable happened. Almost instantly, the fighting stopped. gang activity disappeared and the culture of the school changed. Why? Because when men and dads and godly men show up and get involved in schools and coach sports teams and start serving in church and start serving in their community and start building bridges and live out godly wisdom at home, everything changes. Because that's what wisdom is. Wisdom is not just listening and learning. Wisdom is living it out and building bridges to the people that you love the most. Now why do we do that? We build bridges because that's what God modeled for us. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Listen, God didn't wait for us to come to him but he loved us so much that he built a bridge for us by sending his son Jesus. And listen, we know this, there are no perfect earthly fathers but we all have a perfect heavenly father who loved us so much that he did whatever it took to build a bridge back to him for us. Jesus is the greatest bridge that ever got built and when he showed up, listen, everything changed. You want to have wisdom? Then ask yourself, am I listening to the right things? Am I learning what God is teaching me and am I living out what I know? And when you do those things, that's wisdom. Listen, I have the privilege of being a pastor here at this church and seeing so many amazing dads and men who are making such a huge impact in our community and in our church and in their homes and they're building bridges and they're living out godly wisdom. And I ran across this letter, there's this dad who took his family camping in Yosemite National Park and during his camping trip he found a handwritten note

left on his car and this is what it said. It said, bro, I camped in the spot behind you last night, let me just tell you, you're killing it as a dad. First off, I watched your wife guide you in as you backed up your trailer and nailed it on the first try without any yelling. Then your kids unloaded from the truck and were mild-mannered and well-behaved. You told stories around the campfire and I had the pleasure of listening to the sounds of giggles and laughter. From one dad to another, you're killing it. Keep it up. P.S., whatever you cook for dinner smelled delicious. Dads, from one dad to another, let me just tell you thank you and tell you you're killing it. Thank you for the impact that you have. Thank you for the influence that you carry and for making all of us better. Thank you for what you do in our community and what you do in our church and thank you for living out godly wisdom and pointing your family and others to Jesus. I just want to say happy Father's Day to all of you and then to all of us. You want to live out wisdom, especially for our families. Let's listen to the right things. Let's learn what God is teaching us and let's live out what we know and when we do that and we keep building bridges with the people that we love, that's when we'll have wisdom for our families. Let's pray together. Father, thank you. Thank you for allowing us to to celebrate dads. Thank you for being our perfect heavenly father and we understand and we know that we don't have any perfect earthly fathers. That doesn't exist, but thank you for for stepping in the gap for us and modeling for us what fatherhood looks like. I just want to celebrate all of our dads in this church and I just pray they feel empowered and encouraged and I pray that we can all live out godly wisdom in every area of our lives. Lord, we love you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you all for being here this week. God bless you. Have a great week.