Chuck Smith emphasizes that the fear of the Lord is the foundational starting point for wisdom, urging believers to recognize the importance of reverential awe towards God. He discusses the desire for new beginnings in life, highlighting that true wisdom begins with yielding one's will to God and living to please Him. Smith warns against the high tolerance for evil in society and the need to hate evil as part of fearing the Lord. He stresses that understanding holiness is crucial for gaining true knowledge and wisdom.

"THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM" Intro: In 1:6, we are told "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Different Hebrew words translated beginning in one-six word means sum total. Here, the Hebrew word means primary or commencement, starting place. I. THE DESIRE TO BEGIN AGAIN. A. There are certain days set. 1. New years. 2. Birthday or anniversaries. B. I want to start over fresh. 1. I hope to have better wisdom. 2. I want to avoid the follies of my past. 3. I'm starting my new diet tomorrow. C. There is for us no true beginning. 1. Everything has been preceded by something else. a. If I desire to plant an Avocado tree. b. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? c. I may desire to start anew, but there is all my past HET. D. Where can I begin.? "The fear of the Lord is the starting place of wisdom. II. WHAT IS MEANT BY, "THE FEAR OF THE LORD?" A. The classical definition is reverential awe. 1. This is more than bowing my head when I pray. 2. Or removing my hat when I come inside the church building. 3. This means giving God proper place in my life. a. Yielding my will to His. b. Living to please Him rather than myself. c. Seeking to love the things God loves and hating the things God hates. B. "To fear the Lord is to hate evil." 1. We have developed a high tolerance for evil. a. We have been glutted with evil. 1. Survey indicates that by the time your child graduates from High School, watched 16,000 murders. 2. Evil no longer shocks. 3. No longer a strong revulsion. 4. We've been too satiated with it. 2. Those doing evil are demanding acceptance. a. Our bachelor governor pushed for the consenting adult bill. 1. He pressed for anti-discrimination laws to protect those with sexual preferences. 2. Featured guest for the fund raising dinner for gay rights. b. In the name of freedom, people are being let into bondage. 1. Bondage of their own flesh. 2. Your flesh is the world's greatest tyrant. c. The public school system is dominated by humanistic teaching. 1. A Dr. Simon has introduced a concept known as value clarification. a. It's okay to lie, steal, cheat, have sex, if that's a part of your value system and you have clarified these values for yourself. 1. Makes own choice freely, must disregard what he was taught by parent or church. 2. Investigate all alternatives. 3. Weigh the consequence of each. 4. Select what you prize most. 5. Make public affirmation of choice. 6. Act on choice. 7. Adopt it as your lifestyle. C. The knowledge of the Holy is understanding. 1. What is holy or pure?