THE GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING!
LORD, GIVE ME AN UNDERSTANDING HEART ---
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
I. THAT I MAY KNOW HIM ...
TEXT:
Philip. 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
A. WE MUST SUBMIT TO GOD.
B. RESIST THE ENEMY.
FLEE FROM SIN.
C. AS WE DRAW NIGH TO GOD --- HE PROMISES TO DRAW NIGH TO US.
D. TO UNDERSTAND:
To grasp the meaning of
To be thoroughly familiar with
To have the power to comprehend
To show sympathetic or tolerant attitudes
To have a firm mental grasp
A true and just evaluation or judgment of worth and value
E. TO KNOW :
To understand the meaning of something
To perceive directly
To apprehend
To have direct cognition of
To discern, to recognize
To be familiar with
To have experience
To be aware of the truth or facts
To have knowledge
To be in possession of exclusive knowledge or information
F. TO LEARN:
To gain understanding or knowledge or skill by study, instruction or experience
To come to knowledge
II. OUR GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND THE CHURCH THAT IS MUCH BIGGER THAN WHO WE ARE? OR WHAT WE ARE? DREAM BIGGER!
A. WE MUST KEEP OUR HEARTS AND MOTIVES PURE.
B. WE MUST ALIGN OUR HEARTS WITH HIS WORD.
C. CONDITIONAL BLESSINGS ARE OURS TO CLAIM.
THE PROBLEM OF THE HEART IS THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM.
1 Kings 3:14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
III. WILL WE DARE TO ASK WHAT WE WANT GOD TO DO?
THERE ARISES BEFORE US TODAY THE OPPORTUNITIES OF DIVINE POSSIBILITIES!
WILL WE SEE GOD CAN DO ABOVE OUR POTENTIAL?
A. Do we understand the choices we make today can set in motion God’s potential?
B. Poor choices can become a trap of great doom?
1 Kings 3:5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
C. We must arise with the heart of a humble, willing servant. We must acknowledge our limitations in the LIGHT OF HIS DIVINE POSSIBILITIES.
1 Kings 3:7 And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
D. SOLOMON KNEW TO ASK BOLDLY --- WHY NOT BELIEVE FOR A RELEASE AND DELIVERANCE.
We can not allow the failures of the past dictate our DIVINE POSSIBILITIES!
1 Kings 3:9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
E. THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING IS THE GIFT THAT REACHES BEHIND THE VEIL OF TODAY --- INTO THE REALM THAT PLEASES GOD!
BLESSINGS ARE RELEASED WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE MAKE GOD PLEASING CHOICES.
1 Kings 3:10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not
asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern
judgment;
F. GOD RELEASES A SPECIAL GIFT TO SOLOMON.
1 Kings 3:12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee
before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
IV. HOW SHALL WE DECIDE A SITUATION WHEN OUR UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWLEDGE IS LIMITED?
GOD CAN GIVE DISCERNMENT INTO SITUATIONS AND PROBLEMS THAT IS BEYOND HUMAN POWER OF REASONING.
A. Solomon’s first case before the throne was impossible, the best lawyer or judge cannot resolve this?
B. God knows, God reveals when man conceals.
1 Kings 3:16 Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.
C. There were these two Momma’s.
Their integrity was at question, neither of the women were reliable sources of truth.
D. One baby was dead, one baby was alive?
E. One woman claimed the baby was hers?
The other lady claimed the baby was hers?
F. Solomon hears the case, and there were still serious questions?
G. UNDERSTANDING KNOWS THE POWER OF TESTS, TESTING IS A PROCESS OF GROWTH.
1 Kings 3:24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
H. TO UNDERSTAND SOLOMON HAD TO LEARN TO LISTEN?
Some suggest that listening can hurt?
May I suggest NOT LISTENING can not only hurt but it can kill!
1 Kings 3:26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the
living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
I. WE NEED MORE THAN A LIE DETECTOR, WE NEED A TRUTH DETECTOR.
A small country police department captured a criminal.
They could not afford modern equipment.
The Policeman taped some wires to the back of their copy machine and placed a blood pressure cuff on the criminal’s arm.
Then the law officer placed a piece of paper in the copier, and on it was written: TRUTH.
They asked the man a few questions that they knew the answers were true, the criminal answered, the police pushed the copy button, and out came a piece of paper that said TRUTH real big.
They changed the paper in the copy machine that said in real large letters: LIE!
They asked the criminal some questions: they pushed the copy button, and out came the word: LIE.
After several LIES, the man confessed to his crime.
1 Kings 3:27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
J. GOD’S POWER IN YOUR LIFE CAN NOT BE HID.
Others will see and know the difference.
1 Kings 3:28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him,
to do judgment.
K. Did you see the news?
A man robbed a local store, he wore a mask and gloves.
As the police watched the video tape, they noticed the man had on a high school jacket from a high school down the road, with the year of graduation and a last name.
The Sheriff went to the high school, asked for that years annual, looked up the last name, saw the man, went to his house and arrested him.
The man was wearing the key that solved the crime?
V. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE DEBATE OVER CAN A SINNER OR THE CARNAL
PART OF MAN REALLY UNDERSTAND THE WORD OF GOD AS MUCH AS A CHRISTIAN?
A. When I was a teenager my Dad pastored in Jellico, TN.
I was madly in love with this pretty girl, Vauda John.
I loved writing her LOVE NOTES!
She would write me LOVE NOTES, and I kept them.
I played music on the praise team.
B. Each service, I would save my LOVE NOTES and hide them in the back of my amp.
Occasionally I would get them out of the amp and read them. They were precious to me.
C. One day I came into church and I saw a teen age boy reading MY LOVE NOTES. Several other teenagers were standing around listening as he read of my girlfriend’s love for me.
They all LAUGHED and LAUGHED.
D. The LOVE NOTES WERE NOT FUNNY TO ME, THEY WERE PERSONAL EXPRESSIONS OF OUR LOVE.
E. Why did they laugh? Why were they serious to me?
They laughed because the LOVE NOTES were not to them.
E. Sure the carnal mind can understand some aspects of the Bible, but the deep things of God are PERSONAL LOVE NOTES to the church and believers.
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
VI. THERE ARE TWO MEASURING EVALUATION SYSTEMS.
JESUS SAYS THAT CHURCHES AND BELIEVERS SHALL KNOW HIM AND THAT HE SEARCHES THE REIGNS AND THE HEARTS, AND THAT JESUS WILL GIVE EVERY ONE ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS... Rev. 2:23
A. We must realize KNOWING JESUS is more than words.
To KNOW HIM is to know and keep His commandments.
1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
B. WE ARE LIARS IF WE SAY WE KNOW HIM AND WE DO NOT KEEP HIS COMMANDS.
1 John 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
C. LOVE IS THE MEASURING STICK OF REALLY KNOWING THE MASTER!
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true,
even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
D. KNOWING GOD IN A PERSONAL WAY AND TRUSTING GOD IS A TESTIMONY TO OTHERS.
1 Samuel 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into
our hands.
VII. THERE ARE BENEFITS IN UNDERSTANDING, KNOWING, AND LEARNING OF GOD.
A. TO KNOW GOD IS MORE THAN INSTINCT, IT REQUIRES EFFORT, STUDY,AND LEARNING.
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
B. As we learn of God and His Word, there are several benefits, and one is freedom.
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
C. You will be known by your words, and your works, but never forget that you are known by the fruit that you bear or do not bear!
Matthew 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Matthew 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
D. WILL WE SEEK UNDERSTANDING IN OUR FAMILIES AND CHURCHES?
E. God gives white robes to believers. Judges wear black robes.
You do not have a black robe, so quit playing judge.
Love others and seek understanding!
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Help me? Tell another of my work?
