OUR WANT FOR WISDOM

"My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path"
Proverbs 2:1-9

No matter who one may be or what station one holds in life, wisdom is needed! If you are father or mother, wisdom must guide you in the decisions you make as you raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. If you are a son or a daughter, wisdom must direct you as you learn to honor and follow your parents. If you are a pastor, the under shepherd of God's flock, then wisdom must be present in your life to enable you to lead the church according to the will of God.

In the Book of James, we find two sources of wisdom. (James 3:13-18) One source is earthly while the other is heavenly. Earthly wisdom is flawed because it is relies on human reasoning and bases its counsel on earthly circumstances, while heavenly wisdom is flawless because it bases its counsel on God himself and this will never cause one to err.

How may we, as the children of God obtain wisdom from the Lord? In this text of Scripture, I believe, we are taught how to obtain wisdom.

I. IF WE ARE TO OBTAIN GODLY WISDOM, THEN WE MUST RECEIVE GOD'S WORD (v. 1 "...receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;")

1. SCRIPTURE: Colossians 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;"
2. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

II. IF WE ARE TO OBTAIN GODLY WISDOM, THEN WE MUST RESPOND TO GOD'S WORD (v. 2 "...apply thine heart...")

• SCRIPTURE: Psalm 119:133, "Order my steps in thy word:..."

III. IF WE ARE TO OBTAIN GODLY WISDOM, THEN WE MUST RESEARCH GOD'S WORD (v. 4 "...seekest her as silver...searchest for her as for hid treasures;")

1. SCRIPTURE: See Job 28:12-21
2. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 119:162, "I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil."
3. SCRIPTURE: 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed..."
   

Our Reasons to Rejoice

"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." Philippians 4:4

This past Sunday our church ended its annual attendance campaign with an "Old Fashioned Day". The sanctuary was decorated. Most of the people were dressed up in old fashioned clothes. Many visitors were in attendance. The choir opened the morning preaching service with the song "I'd rather be an old time Christian than anything I know". The congregational singing was great! The special that was sung by Bro. Hisle was a blessing. After the message, many were at the altars, and four people were baptized. What a joyous morning we were having!

Right after the morning service, folks had their pictures taken. Then, we all went outside so that I could get some whip cream pies thrown in my face. (As you can tell I am a dignified preacher, and we are a dignified church! Right???) Anyway, everyone was excited about the prospect of getting to hit the preacher in the face with a pie!

After the pie throwing was over the treasurer and I went inside the church and found that the money bags with all of the mornings tithes and offerings were missing. Immediately we called all of the ushers, and church staff hoping that the offering was just misplaced, but sure enough someone had stolen it.

Sunday night as I told the church what had happened, I tried to convey to them that every time the Lord gets victory through His saints, Satan fights and seeks to discourage the people of God.

What a great church we have! Instead of the people getting angry and being discouraged, our folks had a sweet spirit which was manifested by the prayers offered up to God. We prayed not for retaliation or vengeance, but for the salvation of the one who had taken the offering.

As Christians, if we are not careful, Satan will turn every height of victory into a valley of despair. We as God's children must remember that God is still on the throne, and no matter what happens God is still good and we should still rejoice.

Here are just a few reasons that we, as believers, have to rejoice:

I. We can Rejoice in our Absolute Pardon

SCRIPTURE: Romans 4:7, "Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered."


II. We can Rejoice in our Awesome Privilege

NOTE: Our awesome privilege is the ability to be co-laborers together with Christ in winning the lost.

SCRIPTURE: Acts 15:3, "And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren."

SCRIPTURE: 1Thessalonians 2:19, "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?"

SCRIPTURE: 2Corinthians 5:20, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God."


III. We can Rejoice in our Answered Prayer

SCRIPTURE: John 16:24, "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."


IV. We can Rejoice in our Assured Persecution

SCRIPTURE: 1 Peter 4:13, "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."

The Wonder of the Word

"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."
-Psalm 119:18

In January of this year, I came across something that has been a great blessing to me. It was a reading schedule that would enable me to read through the Bible in ninety days. The truth is, I had become stagnant in my walk with the Lord. Even the messages that I were preaching did not have the same power as they once did. I knew that the reason that I had lost my freshness is that I was not truly taking in God's Word in my private devotional time. Sure I was reading the Bible, but I was not allowing God's Word to penetrate my heart. Oh, what great conviction grabbed a hold of my soul and shook it to its very core! God has called me to preach his blessed Book, yet his Word was becoming a just a tool to use in sermon preparation. On my knees , I prayed and asked the Lord to forgive his wicked servant and there I promised him that I would begin to consume his Word and esteem it more than my necessary food. So this year I have set a personal goal to read through the Scriptures four times during my personal morning devotions. This may sound like a great feat, but honestly it is only around 15 or so chapters a day. Now, since beginning this schedule, Lord has really opened up his Word to my heart, and once again I am truly amazed and stand in awe at the wonders of God Holy Word. Let me give you just a few thoughts about the Wonders of God's Word.


I. It's Complete in its Compilation

SCRIPTURE:Psalm 119:89 "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven."


II. It's Right in its Renderings

SCRIPTURE: PSALM 12:6, 7 "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."


III. It's True in its Teachings

SCRIPTURE: John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."


IV. It's Preeminent in its Position

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 138:2 "I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."


V. It's Absolute in its Authority

SCRIPTURE: 2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:18, 19 "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."


READING SCHEDULE NOTE: If you would like a copy of this reading schedule it may be found at http://www.havenministries.com/schedule.pdf. I do not know anything about the articles and such on the site itself! This is just where I found the reading schedule.

The Folly of the Foolish

On Wednesday evening, at our church, I usually preach and teach (actually a lot more preaching than teaching) through a series. And tonight I am excited about beginning a new series in the book of Proverbs which we have entitled "Precious Pearls from Proverbs". As I have been studying through Proverbs, I have been amazed by the Lord's great depiction of the folly of the foolish. I hope that these few thoughts will be a help to you as it was to me.

The Folly of the Foolish

I. A Foolish Man Despises Knowledge

SCRIPTURE:Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

II. A Foolish Man Depresses his Mother

SCRIPTURE: Pr 10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

III. A Foolish Man Deceives Himself

SCRIPTURE: Pr 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

SCRIPTURE: Pr 17:10 A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.

IV. A Foolish Man Defies Commonsense

SCRIPTURE: Pr 14:16 A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

V. A Foolish Man Declares His Mind

SCRIPTURE: Pr 29:11 A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.

SCRIPTURE: Pr 15:2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

SCRIPTURE: Pr 14:3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.