Choose Wisdom and Avoid Destructive Waywardness
How the Holy Spirit Leads Us With Wisdom - (Isa 11:2)
"The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."
Illustration: Emptiness - Internal Weakness from the lack of wisdom
When the Statue of Liberty was remodeled, it was discovered that the entire inside support system had to be replaced. The outside copper skin of the
statue was okay; it only had to be cleaned. Rust and corrosion had ruined the inner iron supports. If repairs had not been made, the statue in 20
years would have fallen over. The iron supports were replaced with stainless steel. Now it can withstand 125 mph winds. A nation without inner supports of wisdom and moral integrity is doomed to lose her liberty.
John R. Brokhoff, Preaching the Miracles, CSS Publishing Company, 1991.
Wisdom - Prudence conveys the idea of one who has stripped off of the superficial, insignificant and frivolous.
Solomon wrote about wisdom in Proverbs 1:7:
" The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and discipline."
The Spirit of God teaches us how to gain a healthy fear, awe and worship of the Lord so we gain a spiritual wisdom that gives us the perspective on truth, love and the realities of people, problems and situations.
Illustration:An angel appears at a faculty meeting and tells the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom.
"Done!" says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispers, "Say something."
The dean looks at them and says, "I should have taken the money."
Point - We all need wisdom from above that comes from God that is gained over time through consistent obedience to His word and Spirit.
Betsy Devine and Joel E. Cohen, Absolute Zero Gravity, Simon & Schuster.
1. The Holy Spirit is the embodiment of Godly wisdom understood by those who are intimate with Him. Isaiah wrote, "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." (Isaiah 11:2)
Ask the Lord to fill you with all of His prudence, sagacity and the power of applying truth to every situation.
Illustration:A colleague of mine at NASA was assigned to prepare a presentation on lessons learned from our bad experiences with the Hubble Space Telescope. On his chart at the briefing, lesson No.1 read: "In naming your mission, never us a word that rhymes with trouble."
Reader’s Digest, March 1993, Page 128
2. The Holy Spirit gives direction to leaders when they ask for it. Dr. Luke wrote, "During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them." (Acts 16:9,10) Ask the Lord for the Spirit’s wisdom needed to lead you to the kinds of ministries that will accomplish God’s priorities rather than your own.
Illustration:Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.
J.I. Packer, Knowing God, p. 80.
3. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom to those who are called to speak in a way that solves complicated problems. When others are not able to come up with the solutions, the Spirit often gives a Godly leader the way when there seems to be no way out of a fix. Paul wrote, "Praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding." (Col. 1:9) Ask the Lord to fill you with the spiritual wisdom so that you can unlock the doors of opportunities for the accomplishment of God’s greater will in your personal life and ministries.
4. The Holy Spirit illuminates more of the wisdom that is found in Christ, His words and His ministry examples. Paul wrote, "We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, the power and wisdom of God." (I Cor. 1:23,24) Ask the Lord to help you to find more of your wisdom through the study of the scriptures and in the life, words and ministries of Jesus Christ.
5. The Holy Spirit gives divine insight through intuitive thinking and senses. James wrote, "Wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." (James 3:17) Ask the Lord to help you finely tune your intuitive thinking and senses to be alert to what the Spirit is leading you to do, think and be.
6. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom for the understanding of a problem, a complex person or a troubling situation so that resolution can be found. James wrote, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him." (James 1:5) Ask the Lord to give you supernatural wisdom to solve problem and bring resolution to all types of conflicts.
7. The Holy Spirit gives the gift of wisdom to some people who can speak creatively and righteously concerning a problem, a crisis or a complicated situation. David wrote, "Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost places." (Psalm 51:6) Ask the Lord to give you creative solutions to complex problems that will be evidence of His supernatural intervention and help.
8. The Holy Spirit gives special wisdom to people like Solomon that serve as examples for generations. Samuel wrote, "God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore." (I Kings 4:29) Ask the Lord for great wisdom to accomplish all that the Lord has planned for you enabling you not to miss out on any opportunity to serve.
9. The Holy Spirit gives timely wisdom to avert crisis.
Illustration: One day two prostitutes came before Solomon claiming a baby son to be their own. Solomon said, "Bring me a sword. He then gave an order: ‘Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.’ The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, ‘Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him... Then the king gave his ruling: ‘Give the living baby to the first woman, Do not kill him; she is his mother."
When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice." (I Kings 3:24-28)
Application: When you are in facing complicated decisions, ask the Lord for a special measure of His wisdom to decide justly.
10. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom to people who meet God’s conditions for its bestowal. Solomon wrote, "My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." (Proverbs 2:1-6)
Application: Ask the Lord to help you meet all of the conditions for the acquiring of wisdom: teachableness, humility, fear of God, knowledge of God, searching attitude, obedience, endurance and prayerfulness.
Illustration: I once counseled and prayed with a husband and wife who were struggling
with a problem of self-control in the area of overeating. Because of
their overweight, they had lost self-confidence and were plagued with
guilt. As a result, their witness for Christ was greatly hindered.
Then one day, while reading the Scriptures, they realized that their
bodies were the temple of the Holy Spirit and that they were actually
dishonoring the Lord by their lack of self-control.
In a spirit of brokenness, they prayed, "O, God, please help us. We
have tried and failed again and again. Now you must help us. We invite
you to control our appetites. Help us to be more careful in choosing
the kind and quantity of food we eat."
In answer to their prayers of faith, God enabled them to discipline
themselves. In time they slimmed down. Their self-confidence returned,
and they again became bold witnesses for our Lord.
After counseling with thousands of people through the years, I am
convinced that an undisciplined Christian cannot be an effective witness
for Christ. Do you lack self-control in some area of your life? You
may not have a problem with alcohol or overeating, but you may be
struggling with a critical spirit, with lustful thoughts, addiction to
pornography, a feeling of defeat, an uncontrollable temper, or something
else. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Ask for His help. Believe Him
for the answer that you know is His will, according to 1 John 5:14-15:
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask
anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he
hears us -- whatever we ask -- we know that we have what we asked of
him" (NIV).
God says, "It is better to have self-control than to conquer a city"
(Proverbs 16:32, NLT).
Yours for helping to fulfill the Great Commission
each year until our Lord returns,
Bill Bright
11. The Holy Spirit gives us warnings if we do not get His wisdom. Solomon wrote, "Wisdom calls aloud in the street; she raises her voice in the public squares; "How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? (Do not be gullible, naive and imprudent or easily misled)
How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?
... But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, I in turn will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamity overtakes you - when calamity overtakes you like a storm when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. you will eat of the fruit of your ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm." (Proverbs 1:22-33)
Application: Choose wisdom from the guidance that comes by trusting and obeying God’s word as led by the Holy Spirit or suffer terrible self-destructive consequences!!!
Conclusion:Automaker Henry Ford asked electrical genius Charlie Steinmetz to build the generators for his factory. One day the generators ground to a halt, and the repairmen couldn’t find the problem. So Ford called Steinmetz, who tinkered with the machines for a few hours and then threw the switch. The generators whirred to life--but Ford got a bill for $10,000 from Steinmetz. Flabbergasted, the rather tightfisted car maker inquired why the bill was so high.
Steinmetz’s reply: For tinkering with the generators, $10. For the wisdom to know where to tinker, $9,990. Ford paid the bill.
Today in the Word, MBI, April 1990, p. 27.
