Joke: There was a little old lady who was nearly blind, and see had three sons who each wanted to prove that they were the best one. So, the first son we’ll call him Henry bought her a 15 room mansion, thinking this would surely be the best thing that any of them could offer. Son number two let’s call him Sam decided to buy her a beautiful Mercedes with a chauffeur included to drive her around, thinking this will surely get her approval. Then son number three let’s call him Jeff had to do something better, knowing how much she loved to read the Bible but not able to see as well as she used to bought her a parrot that he had been training for 15 years to memorize the entire Bible. You could just ask the parrot any verse in Scripture, and he would quote it word for word. What a gift. Well, the old lady went to Henry and said, “son, the house is just gorgeous, but it’s really much to big for me. I only live in one room, and it’s too large to clean and take care of. I really don’t need the house but thank you anyway.” She went to talk with Sam and said, “the car is beautiful. It has everything you could ever want in a car, but I don’t drive and the chauffeur is quite mean please come by and return the car for me.” She then went to Jeff and said, “son, I want to thank you for the most thoughtful of gifts. The chicken was delicious. ——————————————————————————— 1 The Prayer of Agur - week 2 How many remember the name of the character we started looking at last week who wrote just one chapter in all of Scripture? Remember what chapter that was. .Proverbs 30? How many – since last week – went home and read all of Proverbs 30 including verse 7 – 9: The Prayer of Agur? How many meant to read Proverbs 30, but it just slipped your mind? Let me take a moment for a brief review: Proverbs has 31 chapters. Solomon wrote one through 29. Chapter 31 was written by King Lemuel in which he describes a “wife of noble character.” But Proverbs 30 is written by a guy that is mostly overlooked and really easy for us to do, because he has just one chapter in all of Scripture, his name is Agur. And, in that chapter you’ll find the only prayer in all of Proverbs. And for some reason that powerful, remarkable prayer is also often overlooked. Let’s once again look at that prayer. Proverbs 30:7–9 (NIV): 7 “Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. 2 Last week as we began looking into Agur and his chapter we made several points that we can learn from him in this book of wisdom. Specifically, he reminds us to explore God’s Word, seek God’s purpose, and that even though we may not be famous we can still make a difference, we also learned that we need to realize God is bigger than us, and that His Word is true, and lastly He’s not caught off guard. But I saved the best for this week. A buried treasure, if you will in Proverbs chapter 30 we find a three-verse prayer that delivers a shocking formula for trusting God, discovering his will for our life. Proverbs 30:7 (NIV): “Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Agur’s prayer begins a sincere request. He writes, “Two things I ask of you, Lord.” I love that Agur is ready to just lay out what he desires before he dies. I love how John speaks to us about a similar thing. 1 John 5:14–15 (NIV): 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us— whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. What two things does Agur ask for? The two things he struggles with most: Discerning truth and owning stuff. Let’s spend some time with each of these. 3 Discerning truth. Agur prays, “Keep falsehoods and lies far from me.” You can almost hear Agur’s thought process as if he’s saying, I know the world is filled with lies, and they trip me up way too often. Father in heaven, please protect my ears from hearing lies that might lead me down the wrong path. And keep my lips from lying so that I might not deceive others. I think Agur is on to something. Truth matters. There is truth. We can know it, and when we know the truth it sets us free. Satan, who Scripture calls the father of lies John 8:44 (NIV): You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. And he has been obscuring truth since the Garden of Eden, and we know how that turned out. Agur recognizes God is the source of virtue and integrity. He knows that having those things comes from hearing truth, discerning truth, and speaking truth. I have said this before, but I think it bears repeating. The enemy will try and trip you up over and over again by lying to you about you, and lying to you about God. So when he comes to you with his lies it is important that you take those thoughts captive and replace them with the truth of God’s Word and what He says about you. 4 Once again the prayer of Agur. Proverbs 30:7–9 (NIV): 7 “Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. I think this first part of Agur’s prayer we all desire. Most of us just want the truth. I love that screen in the movie A few good men when Col. Jessup who is played by Jack Nicholson looks at Tom Cruise who plays Lt. Daniel Kaffee and tells him, “truth you can’t handle the truth.” But truth is, most people even through they may ignore the truth, want to know it nonetheless. Agur’s next request, however, is quite a shocking to many. It’s also found in last half of verse 8 Proverbs 30:8 (NIV): . .give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. He dares to pray for a life of contentment: “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.” Contentment? That’s not on anyone’s checklist. Especially in the twenty-first century. We are living in an age of extremes. 5 Bigger is better. More houses. More cars. More closet space. More shelves for more trophies. More activities. More responsibility so you can gain more and more and more. Then there’s another extreme. There’s an entire subculture choosing to live as minimalists. Maybe you know someone who is one they are cutting up credit cards and clearing out the clutter. They don’t want the latest gadgets. Their entire wardrobe fits in one knapsack or a plastic tote. They live in micro apartments and tiny houses. Some say minimalism is a response to the consumerism of Baby Boomers. Let me pause for just a moment and give you a brief history lesson: The men and women who grew up in the Great Depression and fought in World War II came to be known as The Greatest Generation. When they started their families, they were the first to buy TVs, second cars, and houses in the suburbs. Suddenly “faster” was better: interstate highways, commercial jet airlines, direct dial telephones, and fast food restaurants came into being. however, this greatest generation wasn’t motivated by greed. They were building a better life for their families. Their kids— the Boomers—they rebelled. .for a while at least. But they would inherit that taste for bigger, faster, busier, and more expensive. Which turns out might not be a better life after all. As a matter of fact it often leads to heartbreak and despair. Looking back at the world built by the Baby Boomers, it turns 6 out overspending, over consuming, and overindulging might not be the best idea and it makes, at least for some, the minimalist mindset look pretty attractive. Still Agur is not endorsing minimalism. Nor is he saying wealth and influence define success. He endorses neither fast or slow, big or small, fancy or simple. Agur has identified contentment: The perfect mixture of getting what you need and needing what you get.