On April 23, we studied the second part of our lesson on "Wisdom." We talked about five keys to find the true wisdom that comes from the Word of God and how to use this wisdom in our lives.
Here are the notes from our discussion.
Wisdom
Opening
Question: Have you ever locked yourself outside your car or
your house? What did you do?
The key (or keys) is very small, but it does a
lot. We use the word “key” both in its
literal and figurative meaning as a tool to open doors, to create opportunities
for us.
Today, we are going to look at the Bible on how to
find and use the keys to obtain the godly wisdom, the heavenly wisdom that God
wants us to have. I have noted five keys
as follows:
1. Fear the Lord
Last week, we noted that Proverbs 9:10 sums up how we can begin to gain this godly
wisdom. This verse says: 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and
knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
This verse is similar to the one in Psalms 111:10: The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
“Precepts” means “rules or principles prescribing a
particular course of action or conduct.”
This verse says that in order to gain true wisdom, we must follow the
rules or the principles of God, the ones that are found in the Bible. The Word of God may not have a specific rule
for every situation, but the general principles cover every area of our life
and every situation in which we may find ourselves.
2. Listen to God and to Those who Preach
the Word of God
It is important not only to fear God (meaning to
have reverence and respect for God), but to also know what His Word says. We do this by studying the Word of God for
ourselves. We have said in previous
lessons that our salvation is a personal matter, a decision that we make
ourselves and we are solely responsible for it.
Thus, it is important that we study the Bible ourselves, so that we can
learn the principles and the rules of God.
In Proverbs
1:5, we read: let the wise listen and add to their
learning, and let the discerning get guidance. The wise people listen and learn, so that
they can make the right decisions in their lives.
Some passages in the Bible may be difficult for us
to understand, so we may need to turn to other people are seek their help,
either in person or through books or other media. However, we need to be careful when doing
this, because the knowledge of men is limited and sometime things that may be
taught by men are not necessarily in agreement with those taught by God. We must remember that the Word of God is the
only authority by which things should be done in His church and in our lives.
Proverbs
19:20 says: 20 Listen to advice
and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.
3. Accept the Learning with an Open Heart
and with Humbleness
With wisdom may come the temptation to be proud or
arrogant about our wisdom. Usually the
image of a wise man is some old person, to whom everyone bows and everyone
comes to them for a word of advice. We
must always remember that the wisdom we gain from the Word of God and through
other people who help us is not because of our greatness, but because of God
and the people who do His will that we have this wisdom.
4. Realize the Value of Wisdom and Act
Upon it
We talked about the difference between knowledge,
understanding and wisdom in our previous lesson. To be wise means not only to know what is
good and what God wants you to do, but also to do it. In James
3:13, we read: Who is wise and understanding among
you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that
comes from wisdom. So wisdom is
as important as what you do with it.
Once the knowledge of the truth has been achieved, it must be followed
by the action that corrects the situation in which you find yourself or the
action in which you must move forward.
5. Pray to God for Wisdom
The fifth and the last key is the simplest. We should not neglect to ask God to give us
His wisdom, to put us in situation where we may learn from His word and accept
the advice given to us. In James 1:5, we read: 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. Remember that God does not work miraculously
today, and you will not wake up one day completely wise in the ways of the Lord
without doing any study of the Bible and without learning from the people who
teach the Bible. Still, the power of
prayer is that God will work in your life in such a way that you will have
opportunities to learn and to gain His wisdom.
Conclusions
These are some ways in which we can seek and find
the wisdom of God. They may work in
different extents for different people, but ultimately all those who seek God
will find Him and all those who seek His wisdom will be generously blessed with
it. Let us all work and not get tired
trying to find the true wisdom that comes only from God.
