[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 30th of October, 2016. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Two weeks ago we looked at who our real enemy is. We saw how we are engaged in spiritual warfare, that we battle against Satan and not against man. I think most of us would consider warfare of any type to be a negative thing, something we’d rather avoid if possible. So this week I’d like to look at something very positive, yet still spiritual in essence. I’d like to talk about spiritual wisdom – the wisdom that comes from God.
Listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus. This comes from his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 15 through 23, reading from The Living Bible…
Listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus. This comes from his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 15 through 23, reading from The Living Bible…
15 That is why, ever since I heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and of the love you have for Christians everywhere, 16-17 I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you wisdom to see clearly and really understand who Christ is and all that He has done for you. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can see something of the future He has called you to share. I want you to realize that God has been made rich because we who are Christ’s have been given to Him! 19 I pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly great His power is to help those who believe Him. It is that same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in heaven, 21 far, far above any other king or ruler or dictator or leader. Yes, His honor is far more glorious than that of anyone else either in this world or in the world to come. 22 And God has put all things under His feet and made Him the supreme Head of the Church — 23 which is His body, filled with Himself, the Author and Giver of everything everywhere.
--Ephesians 1:15-23 (TLB)
Let us pray… Father God, just as did Paul, we pray to You now for Your wisdom, that we might hear and understand the message You have for us this morning, and that we might grow ever closer to Your Son Jesus. Speak to us, Lord, and open our hearts. In the holy name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
I wonder if you sometimes think about me after one of my messages like this person did... A preacher I heard about gave an unusual sermon one day, using a peanut to make several important points about the wisdom of God in nature. One of his members greeted him at the door afterwards and said, “Very interesting message, Pastor. I never expected to learn so much from a nut.”
Well, sometimes I am pretty nutty. Columnist Doug Larson once wrote: "Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk." Some unknown wit left us with this: "A wise man learns from the mistakes of others… Nobody lives long enough to make them all himself." And someone else said that, "Wisdom is spiritually opportunistic."
I like that last one, and it brings us back to what Paul wishes for us, that God give us the wisdom and insight to understand just what Jesus did for us. We need spiritual wisdom.
Spiritual wisdom. Since I like to make sure we’re all on the same page, I try to give dictionary definitions from time to time. This is one of those times. Our dictionary defines “spiritual” as “of or relating to the spirit, as distinguished from physical nature”. Something spiritual is not of or bound by physical laws. For our purposes here, we’ll add that it comes from God, or is of God. And “wisdom” is defined as “knowledge, discernment, or insight of what is true or right, coupled with just judgment as to action”.
Did you catch that wisdom has two parts? First is the knowledge or discernment or the insight into what is true or right. Wisdom is knowing what is right. But then the second part is doing what is right – a just judgment to action.
I’m sure you know some of what our Bible says about wisdom. Such as this, from Proverbs chapter 9, verse 10…
I wonder if you sometimes think about me after one of my messages like this person did... A preacher I heard about gave an unusual sermon one day, using a peanut to make several important points about the wisdom of God in nature. One of his members greeted him at the door afterwards and said, “Very interesting message, Pastor. I never expected to learn so much from a nut.”
Well, sometimes I am pretty nutty. Columnist Doug Larson once wrote: "Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk." Some unknown wit left us with this: "A wise man learns from the mistakes of others… Nobody lives long enough to make them all himself." And someone else said that, "Wisdom is spiritually opportunistic."
I like that last one, and it brings us back to what Paul wishes for us, that God give us the wisdom and insight to understand just what Jesus did for us. We need spiritual wisdom.
Spiritual wisdom. Since I like to make sure we’re all on the same page, I try to give dictionary definitions from time to time. This is one of those times. Our dictionary defines “spiritual” as “of or relating to the spirit, as distinguished from physical nature”. Something spiritual is not of or bound by physical laws. For our purposes here, we’ll add that it comes from God, or is of God. And “wisdom” is defined as “knowledge, discernment, or insight of what is true or right, coupled with just judgment as to action”.
Did you catch that wisdom has two parts? First is the knowledge or discernment or the insight into what is true or right. Wisdom is knowing what is right. But then the second part is doing what is right – a just judgment to action.
I’m sure you know some of what our Bible says about wisdom. Such as this, from Proverbs chapter 9, verse 10…
10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
--Proverbs 9:10 (NKJV)
Now “to fear” in this regard means to respect, honor, obey the Lord. We only have to fear His retribution and punishment if we disobey Him, or deny His Son or His Holy Spirit. So obeying God leads us on the path to wisdom.
Earlier in Proverbs, actually at the opening to his book in chapter 1, verses 2 through 7, wise King Solomon said this…
What do we need to do to know wisdom, to receive instructions of wisdom, justice, judgment? Solomon says a wise person will hear and increase learning, and will seek out counsel from the wise. But how do we become wise in the first place?
We begin by obeying God, by honoring Him and His commands, by willingly accepting instructions from those we see as wise. And remember what Solomon said there: fools despise wisdom and instruction. So we shouldn’t be fools.
Have you ever heard the expression, “conventional wisdom”? Conventional wisdom describes a generally accepted theory or belief, an opinion or belief that is held or accepted by most people. That doesn’t sound much like spiritual wisdom, does it? This isn’t what Solomon is talking about, is it? Conventional wisdom is more like “human wisdom”. Whereas spiritual wisdom is defined by truth, conventional wisdom is defined by what is perceived as truth, even though it may not be. What it boils down to, conventional wisdom is just an educated guess.
God is truth. Man is fallible and man’s perceptions are easily swayed and fooled. Wisdom we receive from God, by obeying Him and studying His word and learning all we can about His Son… this is wisdom that will never fail us. It has nothing to do with guesses or the law of averages or flipping a coin.
James, the half-brother of Jesus, in the 1st chapter of his letter, verses 5 through 8, provides this trustworthy advice…
If you think true wisdom is something worth having, then ask God for it. He’s generous; He won’t find fault with you for seeking His wisdom.
But James cautions us to make sure of just where our faith truly lies. Do we put even a portion of our faith in man and our own abilities and knowledge? Or do we trust solely in God to provide us with what we need? Is our loyalty divided? Do we put anything else in our lives ahead of God and worshiping Him? Do we prize and covet possessions more than we do a close, personal relationship with our Lord and Savior? Do we sit in church with one foot still firmly planted in the world? Do we waver in our faith and obedience? Then we are as unsettled as a wave upon the sea, that is blown and tossed about by the wind. We cannot realistically expect to receive anything from the Lord, including wisdom. If our loyalty is divided between God and the world, then we are unstable in everything we do.
Wisdom, especially spiritual wisdom, seems to be in rather short supply these days. We are pulled in so many different directions, given instructions from so many different sources, led every which way by so many different authority figures. This is all part of Satan’s scheme, his counterattack against God and His perfect plan for mankind.
Satan spreads confusion, offers temptations to divide our loyalties, provides soothing words to his followers for them to use to convince us to turn from what we should know is right. And too many of us don’t know which way to turn, which way to go, which voice to listen to.
It’s all right here in our Bible. We turn to our Lord Jesus. We go to our Father God in prayer. We listen for His voice speaking quietly into our lives and we follow His commandments and His will for us. We ask for His wisdom, the only true and faithful wisdom, and He will give it to us.
Spiritual wisdom, straight from God, because He loves us so much. And thanks to Jesus, all we have to do is ask.
Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Father.
In the saving name of Jesus. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You provide so much for us. You meet our needs and then some. You even give us wisdom – true, spiritual wisdom – if we would only ask for it. Father, please help us to always heed Your commands and obey Your voice. Nudge us when we start going astray. Remind us of Your presence when we begin to doubt.
Hear us now, Father, as we come to You in this place, calling upon You and praying silently straight from our hearts…
Lord Jesus, You gave Your all for us, and You continue to give. We pray that our Father God grant us the wisdom to see You more clearly, to better understand how much You have done for us, to grow ever closer to You and more like You. You are the Head of the Church – we are the body. Help us to move and work together to carry out Your mission on earth.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus, our Lord and Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
Earlier in Proverbs, actually at the opening to his book in chapter 1, verses 2 through 7, wise King Solomon said this…
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
5 A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
--Proverbs 1:2-7 (NKJV)
We begin by obeying God, by honoring Him and His commands, by willingly accepting instructions from those we see as wise. And remember what Solomon said there: fools despise wisdom and instruction. So we shouldn’t be fools.
Have you ever heard the expression, “conventional wisdom”? Conventional wisdom describes a generally accepted theory or belief, an opinion or belief that is held or accepted by most people. That doesn’t sound much like spiritual wisdom, does it? This isn’t what Solomon is talking about, is it? Conventional wisdom is more like “human wisdom”. Whereas spiritual wisdom is defined by truth, conventional wisdom is defined by what is perceived as truth, even though it may not be. What it boils down to, conventional wisdom is just an educated guess.
God is truth. Man is fallible and man’s perceptions are easily swayed and fooled. Wisdom we receive from God, by obeying Him and studying His word and learning all we can about His Son… this is wisdom that will never fail us. It has nothing to do with guesses or the law of averages or flipping a coin.
James, the half-brother of Jesus, in the 1st chapter of his letter, verses 5 through 8, provides this trustworthy advice…
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
--James 1 5:8 (NKJV)
But James cautions us to make sure of just where our faith truly lies. Do we put even a portion of our faith in man and our own abilities and knowledge? Or do we trust solely in God to provide us with what we need? Is our loyalty divided? Do we put anything else in our lives ahead of God and worshiping Him? Do we prize and covet possessions more than we do a close, personal relationship with our Lord and Savior? Do we sit in church with one foot still firmly planted in the world? Do we waver in our faith and obedience? Then we are as unsettled as a wave upon the sea, that is blown and tossed about by the wind. We cannot realistically expect to receive anything from the Lord, including wisdom. If our loyalty is divided between God and the world, then we are unstable in everything we do.
Wisdom, especially spiritual wisdom, seems to be in rather short supply these days. We are pulled in so many different directions, given instructions from so many different sources, led every which way by so many different authority figures. This is all part of Satan’s scheme, his counterattack against God and His perfect plan for mankind.
Satan spreads confusion, offers temptations to divide our loyalties, provides soothing words to his followers for them to use to convince us to turn from what we should know is right. And too many of us don’t know which way to turn, which way to go, which voice to listen to.
It’s all right here in our Bible. We turn to our Lord Jesus. We go to our Father God in prayer. We listen for His voice speaking quietly into our lives and we follow His commandments and His will for us. We ask for His wisdom, the only true and faithful wisdom, and He will give it to us.
Spiritual wisdom, straight from God, because He loves us so much. And thanks to Jesus, all we have to do is ask.
Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Father.
In the saving name of Jesus. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You provide so much for us. You meet our needs and then some. You even give us wisdom – true, spiritual wisdom – if we would only ask for it. Father, please help us to always heed Your commands and obey Your voice. Nudge us when we start going astray. Remind us of Your presence when we begin to doubt.
Hear us now, Father, as we come to You in this place, calling upon You and praying silently straight from our hearts…
Lord Jesus, You gave Your all for us, and You continue to give. We pray that our Father God grant us the wisdom to see You more clearly, to better understand how much You have done for us, to grow ever closer to You and more like You. You are the Head of the Church – we are the body. Help us to move and work together to carry out Your mission on earth.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus, our Lord and Master, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
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