Wisdom's Worth
Choosing Wisdom • Sermon • Submitted
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· 22 viewsGodly wisdom is the most valuable asset we could ever obtain. I will deepen my relationship with Jesus Christ, the source of wisdom.
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Wisdom’s Worth
Wisdom’s Worth
{GWFL}
Welcome
Welcome
We are rested (Fall Back) and we are caffeinated (Brewed Awakening). I think this Sunday morning, we are primed for a breakout!
Excellent Youth Rally Friday night!
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Text
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
{TITLE: WISDOM’S WORTH}
Humility Is Required To Obtain Wisdom
Humility Is Required To Obtain Wisdom
I wonder if we could have a show-of-hands in the room: Has anyone in here ever met a know-it-all?
Some of you are like, “Yep - he’s already moving in the Spirit, first thing this morning!”
Or maybe there’s someone here today who is like, “Yes, actually, I happen to know all things. I am consistently correct. I am the best there was, is, and ever will be...” It’s kind of like that song that says, “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way...”
And, you know, sometimes we think of other people as a know-it-all, but then, sometimes we are talking about a topic that we have a lot of knowledge in… we’re really going on about it… and other people start thinking… “I bet they feel I’m lucky to be breathing the same air as they are.”
We got so cracked up at mom at the dinner table the other day… My own mother called me a “coffee nerd!” Probably had good reason…
Knowledge doesn’t always equal wisdom!
As a matter of fact, there’s a man by the name of Brian O’Driscoll (a famous rugby player), who is known for having said:
“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.”
Brian O’Driscoll
You know, we need to acknowledge that we do not know it all. For that reason, I’m going to say that a couple of times.
We do not know it all.
And we need the humility to seek wisdom.
We’re starting a series of Sunday Morning lessons today called “Choosing Wisdom”.
We have to humble ourselves like King Solomon. In 1 Kings 3, when God promised to give him whatever it was he asked, this young King Solomon didn’t ask for honor, riches, or long life. He asked in stead, for wisdom.
There may have been others who would’ve treated God like a genie in a bottle who appeared only to grant them all their wishes. But Solomon knew better than to waste this opportunity on gifts and gold, when he was speaking with the SOURCE of WISDOM!
And so, he sat aside all of his power and human desire for things, and embraced humility in saying, “I don’t have the wisdom I need to lead these people like God wants me to. I need to receive godly wisdom to do this.”
Now, we know that Solomon didn’t always follow in wise ways. He reached the top peak of royalty and was well-known for his understanding. But at some point, wisdom was just theory if it wasn’t being applied right. But he sought to become better, much like David. And he collected proverbs from around the world that we can use today to increase in our own wisdom.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.
And then there are some that are true, yet comical.
Let me pause here and say, to understand and learn from the book of Proverbs, the only way to do it is to take it slow and think on a verse at a time. So, to make the most sense of these, I put them in my own words:
9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
Proverbs 23:9 - “Don’t talk to idiots. They’ll hate you because you sound smart”
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: And with all thy getting get understanding.
Proverbs 4:7 - “Here’s where wisdom starts: get some of it.”
4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: But much increase is by the strength of the ox.
Proverbs 14:4 - “If you don’t have oxen, at least your barn is clean.”
28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: And he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
Proverbs 17:28 - “Even a fool looks smart when his mouth is shut. If he doesn’t say anything, he could actually look intelligent.”
14 It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
Proverbs 20:14 - “‘What a terrible deal!’ people say when they’re negotiating to buy something. Then they go home and brag about what a great deal they got.”
Looking to God Instead of Ourselves
Looking to God Instead of Ourselves
Proverbs 3 in particular contains some of the most quoted verses on pursuing God (who IS the source of all wisdom).
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.
Basically, these verses are calling us to get beyond our human nature, which is to trust in ourselves. We like to be independent and “take the bull by the horns”, not need any help, and “get the job done.” And God has given us some ability. He gave us logic. Common sense (some of us!). And we can and should use the ability He’s given us…
…but also, we need the humility to avoid leaning on our own understanding. There’s a lot of Christians - a lot of Apostolics - who are bound by leaning to their own understanding.
Proverbs 3:7, another good one, warns us not to be wise in our own eyes.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
Here’s a thought: our perspective might not always be the correct one. And even if we think we are right, we should humble ourselves and seek the Lord. The ones who really are wise will double-check! It’s like carpenters will say (and my men here will know what I’m talking about): “Measure twice; cut once.”
We have to have the humility to pray for a God’s eye view of our situation.
…
Something else about seeking the wisdom of God - it leads to great rewards.
I mentioned this scripture last week, but it’s so important to get it into our spirit:
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Look at how blessed King Solomon was for desiring wisdom.
We have health when we humble ourselves and follow the will and the wisdom of God. God increases us, giving us all we need and more.
The fish tank exercise from “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” Conference.
When you started on this journey with God into His truth and to live a truly Apostolic life, you found that He started blessing all parts of your life.
But here’s the deal about that (spiritual maturity moment, right here!)… if we are willing to receive all those blessings, we must also be willing to receive correction from the Lord. It’s one thing to humble ourselves to be wise, but it’s another to accept thee Lord’s correction and admit when we’ve done wrong.
And all of that is hard. It’s not easy. But you know what? It takes discipline to be a disciple!
I Will Embrace Humility
I Will Embrace Humility
Our society makes humility hard to embrace. I’m talking about a me-first, individualistic world that we’re a part of. A selfie world makes discipline hard.
People are discussing which pronouns they prefer based on a demand for transgender rights as well as confusion about gender. But, if many people were honest, they would discover that humanity’s preferred pronouns have nothing to do with gender. And it has everything to do with pride. What people should do is declare that their pronouns are “me, myself, and I” to admit the selfish and self-centered view we all often have.
There’s nothing wrong with self-care or pursuing godly goals. But we have to humble ourselves to become better the right way.
We would all do well to remember 1 Peter 5:6…
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
I like that “due time” right there. Because humility will help us recognize that God’s timing and our own timing may often differ.
That humility keeps us faithful.
Wisdom’s Reward
Wisdom’s Reward
So yes, there definitely is great reward to adopting the wisdom of God. But, we also need to understand that wisdom is its own reward. If we go down the road of godly wisdom, we’ll have a greater chance of leading happier, healthier lives. And that’s by-products of wisdom.
Some of the most spiritually mature people I know also happen to be wise in the business world. Wise in their dealings or managing their stuff. It’s a by-product.
Now, wisdom doesn’t always lead to great riches because God may choose to bless us in other ways, but poor decisions often do lead to poverty.
20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; But a foolish man spendeth it up.
Now, everyone’s in a different financial position, but whether or not we have money, we need to make a firm commitment to never part from wisdom.
The Benefits of Wisdom
The Benefits of Wisdom
I could talk about all the gifts that come from wisdom. But that shouldn’t be something we focus on too much.
The Bible tells us that Solomon’s wives turned his heart away from God. But, it might be that he forgot some of his own proverbs and started focusing on his wealth.
So, let’s turn aside from the financial benefit for a moment...
Wisdom also has the benefit of bringing peace.
Solomon’s name itself comes from the Hebrew word for peace, shalom. I think it’s likely that David chose that name for his son because he had a strong desire to see all his days of fighting be put behind him and give hi son a strong kingdom where he could work to keep peaceful.
Now, here’s an interesting proverb about wisdom and peace...
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace.
So, because all of wisdom’s paths are peace, we have to be wise enough to recognize when we have jumped into unnecessary conflicts. Anybody ever jump into some fights you wish you’d had the sense to never jump into??? Familiar with that phrase, “Choose your battles wisely?”
Here’s some wisdom in that also: We don’t have to be offended at everything we can be offended at.
Hallelujah. We might be ready to pass the offering plate after that one!
But did you know that there is a spirit of offense? Oh yeah. It works its way in.
“I don’t think they like me.”
“They took my seat.”
“He got used for that and I didn’t.”
“I don’t like any of the songs they sang this morning.”
But then all of a sudden it turns more serious… Satan starts turning that spirit of offense toward your covering. And you start saying…
“That sermon was way too stout.”
“I feel like he’s always preaching to me.”
“I wish he would focus on what matters around here.”
And satan would just love to divide by using a spirit of offense.
Wisdom doesn’t involve division. It involves unity! The Lord’s business isn’t dividing - it’s uniting! You know what we need to do in stead of getting offended??? We need to grab our brother or sister’s arm and say, “Let’s go brother! Let’s go sister! I’m ready to worship with you! I’m ready to work in thee Kingdom and get involved in that event at the church, because we’re better when we’re united!
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I Will Pursue Godly Wisdom
I Will Pursue Godly Wisdom
Sometimes, in living for God, we find ourselves on wild goose chases, if you will. Pursuing things that are not of God. And we come to ourselves, realizing that we were duped. Led astray for a minute. And we reign ourselves back in to God.
Jesus is wise. And He’s more concerned about meeting our needs than giving us gifts that might lead us away from Him.
A lot of times, we thank the Lord for answered prayers. But maybe we should also thank Him for many unanswered prayers - prayers we prayed that God wisely didn’t answer because He knows what we truly need.
We like focusing on the “logical” things to do. What “makes sense” for the situation. But Proverbs 3:21 talks about “sound wisdom.” In other words, there are lots of people and places that advertise to have wisdom… but there’s such a thing as sound wisdom.
In a world where many people offer advice and all forms of help, we have to be careful to follow the right kind of wisdom. Worldly wisdom might have some benefits, but worldly wisdom alone won’t lead to the life God wants us to live.
Sound wisdom is what will literally lead to our success. It may not be what you thought success should look like, but it’s what God wants it to look like.
When we talk about success, the earliest mention of success in Scripture is found in Joshua 1. Joshua found success in battle when he conquered the land of Canaan because he meditated on the Word of God (Joshua 1:8). Interesting… If you’re looking for a self-help book… or a volume on wisdom… it’s this thing called Read Your Bible.
True Wisdom Is Found Only In Jesus Christ
True Wisdom Is Found Only In Jesus Christ
In the New Testament, we find that wisdom is found in the life and teaching of Jesus. And His life defied worldly wisdom and logic.
He talked about “saving your life by losing it.”
He talked about “winning the ultimate battle through loss.”
His words made little sense to people sometimes. Some just left because of how difficult His sayings were. Even the apostles had issues understanding sometimes. I like this scripture…
34 But they didn’t understand any of this. The significance of his words was hidden from them, and they failed to grasp what he was talking about.
Worldly Wisdom Will Not Save Us
Worldly Wisdom Will Not Save Us
So, it’s like there are some reversals that have to happen to achieve wisdom. Paul wrote about it:
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
To the bystander hearing that, it might seem goofy. But Paul was talking about the humility required to get wisdom.
Paul realized that he had acted like a fool when he was chasing down Christians and killing them. He lacked wisdom that was only going to come from an encounter with the God of all wisdom.
Paul would tell the Corinthian church that…
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
And you remember, it was through weakness that Jesus defeated sin and death. That defied humanity’s logic. And God is good at that.
We really have to be careful about focusing on worldly wisdom. To us, it may seem logical and profitable. To God, it may seem absolutely foolish. There are people convinced that they are doing a great and upstanding thing by allowing their preteen to choose what gender they are. They actually think they are doing something helpful. Blinded by “worldly wisdom.”
Paul ended 1 Corinthians 1 by reminding us of this connection between wisdom and humility. He warns that no flesh should glory in the presence of God (1 Corinthians 1:29). Instead, we should be humble. And that humility leads to us being made wise through Christ.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
Jesus is the beginning of a better life. And that better life begins with wisdom.
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I Will Deepen My Relationship with Jesus Christ, the Source of Wisdom
I Will Deepen My Relationship with Jesus Christ, the Source of Wisdom
Today, Jesus is calling us to deepen our relationship with Him. That relationship goes beyond Him just being our Savior.
He’s not only saved us and redeemed us - He’s also ready to advise us and be our wise counselor. If we’ve got a strong relationship with Jesus, we will grow in wisdom.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Internalizing the Message
Internalizing the Message