Tag Archives: wisdom

13 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – THE POWER OF WISDOM

Christian Life, ,

13 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – THE POWER OF WISDOM

WISDOM ACCORDING TO THE OLD COVENANT

The next topic we will explore is the kingdom power of wisdom which is an intricate study with many facets.

From the beginning, God wanted a family of sons and daughters who would live together with Him in love and harmony in a beautiful and perfect environment. His verdict on everything He created was “very good”.

All was perfect for a while until sin entered the world through His first son and marred His plan. Instead of love, peace and harmony, Adam’s decision to be his own god brought chaos into the world and produced a dysfunctional family of enemies alienated from God and one another through selfishness and greed.

God set in motion a remedy which would reverse the effects of Adam’s rebellion on the whole human family and eventually restore His creation to its original state. This intricate plan was the product of divine wisdom to get mankind back to living with Him as a loving and harmonious family.

He chose a couple to start a family and a nation  that would be the prototype of His restored relationship with mankind. He made a covenant with them, the legal framework within which He would be free to have fellowship with them.

This covenant showed them God’s holiness, righteousness and truth. If they kept His covenant, He would bless and prosper them; if not, He would banish them from their inheritance, the land He gave them, His blessing and His presence.

In the Old Covenant, righteousness, or doing the right thing was tied to obedience to the law. The children of Israel, in the main, failed to keep the covenant, rebelled and were exiled to Babylon for 70 years.

However, Job, who lived in the time of the Patriarchs, is an example of a person whom God judged to be righteous because of what he did. Job believed the philosophy of his day that God’s blessing was the reward for living a righteous life. Yet God put him through a severe test.

Job, in the intensity of his suffering, searched for the meaning of what he was enduring. He never mentioned the devil in his quest for understanding. Instead, he saw God as responsible for his pain but could make no sense of his suffering since he considered himself to be righteous. Why was he being punished for what he had not done?

“But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?  No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living…  Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?  God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,… And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” Job 28:12-13, 20, 23, 28 NIV

It is wise to live according to God’s requirements because right living makes for a harmonious family.

Solomon reached the same conclusion at the end of his quest for the meaning of life…

“That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.” Ecclesiastes 12:13 NLT

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 NIV

This was God’s prescribed way for people to return to His original plan for His human family. If people lived in the fear of the Lord, they would live the right way by doing what God required. However, Israel’s failure to live by God’s law reveals two things about human nature:

  1. Since we are born with a sinful nature, no amount of right living now cancels out the sins of our past.
  1. It is impossible for a sinful person to live a righteous life.

Let’s examine “the fear of the Lord” in the context of the Old Covenant.

What is the fear of the Lord? This is also a huge subject. My definition of the fear of the Lord is very simple. TAKING GOD SERIOUSLY.

Wisdom and folly are often contrasted in the Old Testament, particularly in the book of Proverbs. It is wise to do the right thing because it works. It is folly to do the wrong thing because it does not work, i.e. it does or does not satisfy God’s requirement for a righteous life.

The significance of folly is that the fool does the wrong thing out of rebellion, not ignorance. Although he knows what is right, he doesn’t do it, and it ends in disaster.

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.  The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.  All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Psalms 14:1-3 NIV

“Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.” Romans 1:21-22 NLT

In the Old Covenant, therefore, God set the standard for wisdom… to live in the fear of the Lord… but showed us how impossible it us for human beings to live up to His standard because  our old nature is in rebellion and at enmity against God….

THE POWER OF WISDOM IN THE NEW COVENANT

God’s revelation of His holy requirements in the Old Covenant was a preparation for His wisdom to be revealed in all its glory in the New Covenant.

Proverbs 8 gives us a hint in poetic language, that God’s wisdom was personified in someone called Wisdom who was with Him from the beginning, was involved in the creation of the universe, and was in joyful fellowship with Him.

“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech…. I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice. Proverbs 8:12-13, 20 NLT

“I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,  when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,  when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. 

Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,  rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.  Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.  For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord .” Proverbs 8:27-31, 34-35 NIV

John, in his gospel, clarifies this thought that it was Jesus, THE WORD, who was with God in the beginning and was the agent of creation. God spoke and the Word did what God said.

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.”John 1:1-3 NLT

When we join together what Proverbs 8 says about Wisdom and what John says about the Word, we have the beginning of God’s amazing plan to recover and restore what was ruined at the Fall.

God’s plan was to do the right thing by sending His Son to earth as a human being to live a perfectly righteous life and die as a sacrifice and substitute for all sinners, and it worked!

“So, the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” John 1:14 NLT

To ensure that there would be no mistake about the identity and character of the one He would send, God, through His prophets, painted a word picture of His Redeemer in the Old Covenant writings.

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.  The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord —  and he will delight in the fear of the Lord… ” Isaiah 11:1-3 NIV

“Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven, he will make Jerusalem his home of justice and righteousness. In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.” Isaiah 33:5-6 NLT

So, Jesus is all of God’s wisdom in one person.

“Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:21-24 NLT

“God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit, God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.” 1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT

Jesus did everything necessary, through His perfect life, sacrificial death and powerful resurrection, to reconcile us to the Father, restore us to God’s family, recreate us in His image and set us apart from sin to God.

“I want them (all believers) to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3 NLT

How can we apply this wisdom to our daily struggles so that we participate in God’s plan rather than unwittingly fight against it?

James gives us a clue.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So, let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 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. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” James 1:2-8 NLT

Let me paraphrase.

When we face trials and tests, God is putting into action His plan to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28-29). He wants sons, not brats, in His family, those who submit to His discipline and training. When we don’t understand what’s going on, instead of floundering in our faith and resisting God’s discipline (Heb. 12:8-11) we can ask God for wisdom to respond and act in the right way so that we learn from and not waste our hardships.

So, the wisdom God revealed in Jesus and shows us how to live is a powerful kingdom tool to help us navigate and gain the most out of our struggles and hardships. In this way, we learn to co-operate with rather than fight against the ups and downs of life. We are learning to be sons and daughters in God’s forever family.

“If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. Hebrews 12:8-11 NLT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All Scripture quotations in this series

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

The Key To Hidden Treasure

Christian Life, , , , ,

THE KEY TO HIDDEN TREASURE

Children love stories about hidden treasure.

How exciting to discover the legend of a pirate ship that was wrecked just off the coast where they live and to find an ancient map that holds the clues to the secret place where the treasure chest lies buried! They diligently follow the instructions, dodge the villains who are also after the treasure, and endure capture and imprisonment until they are miraculously rescued. They eventually defeat the would-be thieves and dig up an ancient chest which is filled to the brim with gold nuggets.

A story like this holds children spellbound to the very last page!

God has His treasure chest, hidden in an ancient document written thousands of years ago. He has disclosed, in the pages of this manuscript – the Bible, details of His treasure and the way to find it. What is this ancient document, what is the treasure and how do we find it?

The Lord is exalted for He dwells on high; He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness. He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure (Isa. 33:5-6).

Many areas of the world are in a ferment of unrest; crime, violence, protests, discontent, racial tension and war, not to mention family disintegration; divorce, drug and alcohol abuse, rebellion, and even family murders are tearing society apart. Our world is in desperate need of divine intervention.

However, most of the world is not even looking for a treasure like the one God offers. Gold is what they are after – gold to satisfy all the needs and wants of this life, even though gold is as transient and perishable as any other earthly treasure. People use every means possible, even to plundering others to achieve their goal of gaining more wealth, but where does it get them? More alienation, more aggression, more disruption in society and more personal disintegration – all in the name of “progress”.

In spite of the pursuit of money, deep in our hearts we know that the possession of wealth does not bring happiness; ownership is transient (it can disappear in a heartbeat) and money cannot buy what our hearts crave. We cannot throw money at our problems in the hopes that money will solve everything.

God’s treasure is indestructible – salvation, wisdom and knowledge. What does He mean by salvation? We have narrowed our understanding down to having our sins forgiven so that we can go to heaven when we die. Is that really the reason for Jesus’ appearance on the earth? Did He come to save us from hell? Perhaps, but He came to earth for a far greater purpose than that.

Adam’s declaration of independence put the entire universe on a path of destruction. Jesus came to reveal, to reconcile and to restore. He came to reveal the true nature of the Father – not the demanding disciplinarian His people made Him out to be but the Father who loves His erring and wayward children enough to sacrifice His Son for them.

He came to reconcile the Father’s estranged children to Him and to restore everything that Adam’s rebellion ruined, including our fellowship with the Father, to God’s original intention. He came to give us life, His life in its fullness. He came to restore God’s just and righteous rule on the earth so that His human family can again enjoy His love, joy and peace in harmony with Him and with one another.

God’s treasure chest holds three great treasures – salvation (wholeness of body, soul and spirit), wisdom (living in harmony with God’s ways) and knowledge (personal experience of the love and fellowship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – what Jesus called “eternal life” – John 17:3).

How do we gain access to this treasure?

We don’t need a map to find the way or tools to dig it out of the earth. God has given us the simple answer – The fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.  What is the fear of the Lord?

“Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy, just, and righteous. Deuteronomy 10:12, 20-21 records, “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.” The fear of God is the basis for our walking in His ways, serving Him, and, yes, loving Him.


Some redefine the fear of God for believers to “respecting” Him. While respect is definitely included in the concept of fearing God, there is more to it than that. A biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin—even in the life of a believer. Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God’s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love (Hebrews 12:6), it is still a fearful thing. As children, the fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some evil actions. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline, and therefore seek to live our lives in such a way that pleases Him.

Believers are not to be scared of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe.”

http://www.gotquestions.org/fear-God.html – retrieved May 2106

When we fear the Lord in such a way that it affects the way we live, we will have free access to the treasures of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. This is the treasure that can never be destroyed and anyone can freely find it if we fear the Lord. Society does not change through revolution but through transformation – one life at a time being transformed by the power of God as we trust in and submit to His authority and rule in our lives.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Do you like this post? Then buy your own copy of my book, Learning to be a Disciple, which is also available from www.amazon.com or www.takealot.com in South Africa. You can also order a copy directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com

Watch this space!

My latest book, The Heartbeat of Holiness, will also soon be available.

 

 

It’s All About Him!

Bible Study, , ,

IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM!

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!

“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has been His counsellor?

“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?”

“For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things.

“To Him be glory forever! Amen.” Romans 11:33-36.

Could Paul have concluded his presentation of God’s wisdom in any other way than a grand doxology of praise?

How mistaken we are if we think that salvation is all about us! Have you ever wondered why God created Adam and Eve in the first place, knowing full well that they would disobey Him and drag the whole universe into disarray?

This salvation saga goes much farther back than the Garden of Eden. Before God spoke the universe into existence, He created an order of spirit beings called angels (or messengers) who would share His domain of the unseen realm, and worship and serve Him with unceasing praise.

There were different orders and functions of angels; those who worshipped Him around the throne (Isaiah 6); those who carried out His instructions (Psalm 103); warrior angels headed by the archangel, Michael (Daniel 10) and the archangel, Gabriel, God’s special messenger who would later be sent to announce the imminent arrival of Messiah (Luke 1). After the creation of angels, God created the heavens and the earth and the angels celebrated His magnificent work with Him (Job 38).

Lucifer headed the throng of angels who worshipped around the throne. He was the most beautiful (Ezekiel 28) of all the “sons of God” (Job 38) who perpetually celebrated His glory and holiness. However, pride in his beauty crept in (Ezekiel 28) and turned him from a worshipper into a rebel. He had designs on God’s position (Isaiah 14) and lost his place in heaven, taking a third of the angels with him.

God banished him and his minions to the earth (Revelation 12), where he would mount a campaign to discredit God, steal the allegiance of God’s human children and lead them down a path of self-destruction. In spite of His foreknowledge of what would happen, God created the beginnings of a human family with the purpose of revealing Himself to them and winning their love in spite of the devil’s efforts to turn them away from Him.

Why did He do this? Without man’s fall, there was one aspect of the God’s character which remained hidden – His mercy, the weightiest of all His attributes. In the unfolding of His salvation plan which He put in place before the foundation of the world, His mercy is revealed in His rescue of rebellious and undeserving sinners. He purposely created a race of people who could and would choose against Him and then won them back by His bold plan to send His representative – His own son – to become one of them. Jesus risked the same fate as theirs, eternal death, if He failed to live as a perfect son.

Where the first Adam failed, the last Adam, Jesus, overcame and exposed the devil’s deception. He revealed both the Father’s love and His justice by taking the punishment for sin in Himself and forgiving the sinner. Was there ever a display of mercy like that!

Who taught God wisdom like that? Does He owe us anything? Who but Almighty God could think up a plan like that and carry it out with such outstanding success? He showed the world that love and mercy are far more powerful than bombs and guns. Only through love could He rebuild and restore what was destroyed through man’s disobedience.

And it’s all about Him!

The hostile forces of darkness were left in no doubt about who was right and who was wrong. Mercy won the day, and the rebel hoards of demons and all the humans who side with them now, await the day of their final judgment; banished from the presence of God then; banished to a place of everlasting darkness and torment when Jesus comes again to complete what He started – God’s eternal kingdom of love and light.

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Hands Off These Men!

Bible Study, , ,

HANDS OFF THESE MEN!

“When they heard that, they were furious and wanted to kill them on the spot. But one of the council members stood up, a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel, a teacher of God’s Law who was honoured by everyone. He ordered the men taken out of the room for a short time, then said, ‘Fellow Israelites, be careful what you do to these men. Not long ago Theudas made something of a splash, claiming to be somebody and he got about four hundred men to join him. He was killed, his followers dispersed and nothing came of it. A little later, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and acquired a following. He also fizzled out and the people who were following him were scattered to the four winds.

“‘So I am telling you: Hands off these men! Let them alone. If this programme or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it — and you had better not be found fighting against God.'” Acts 5:33-39 (The Message).

Wise words! If only they had heeded them!

Gamaliel was the only one in the Sanhedrin with enough sense to realise that something was happening that was more than human. He was a contemporary of Jesus and one of the few rabbis in Israel with authority, having a following of disciples and teaching his “yoke” to them.

Apart from the threat to their own position of power and wealth, this new movement that was dubbed “The Way” had political implications for them as well. They were allowed limited power in Israel under the Roman governor responsible for this remote outpost of the Roman Empire. They could rule their people as long as they did nothing to stir up rebellion against Rome.

From time to time, as Gamaliel explained, there were uprisings led by hothead rebel leaders but nothing came of them because they were ruthlessly dealt with by Rome. But what was happening now was something bigger than they could handle. The Sanhedrin was aware of the threat of Roman intervention because the apostles were leading a revolt against the very foundation of Roman power – Caesar worship.

The Caesars played on the superstitious nature of their subjects by declaring themselves to be gods and demanding worship on pain of punishment. The password to favour was “Caesar is Lord” and that confession allowed the people to live a life relatively untroubled by the authorities.

Israel had long been a trouble spot in the empire. Rome had declared a truce with them by allowing them to worship their God and not be subject to the many gods recognised in the rest of the empire. That maintained an uneasy peace until this! A group of uneducated Galilean Jews were propagating a dangerous new teaching, that another Galilean peasant named Jesus, who had been put to death for blasphemy and treason, had actually risen from the dead and was claiming the title belonging to Caesar. They were adamantly declaring that “Jesus is Lord” and teaching that His resurrection was the proof.

What’s more, supernatural things were accompanying their preaching for which the religious authorities had no answer. The leaders of The Way were saying it was God and, instead of their action against them shutting it down, it only served to fan the flames and increase the popularity of the movement.

They could not understand where the courage and boldness of their leaders came from and they were afraid that, when the Roman authorities got to hear about it, it would spell the end for Israel.

Gamaliel was the only one who had the wisdom to recognise that this was something bigger than their blustering threats could deal with. “Let it take its course,’ he advised them, ‘and then we will know its origin.’ Wise words, Gamaliel. At least you had the sense to know where your power ended!

Delight in the Lord

Pastor's Desk, ,

Dear Family

David brings to us the following words of wisdom found in Psalm 1:1–2 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

I got thinking recently about the phrase “But his delight is in the law of the LORD….” I was just marveling about just how incredible God’s Word actually is and just how easy it is to take delight in it. “Delight” as defined in dictionaries means “to please greatly, to take great pleasure”.

There is something there for every situation, every question, every doubt, every anxiety, every sticky situation. It’s simply incredible! Furthermore, it just never gets boring, or stale, or ‘heard it all before’ or ‘who cares?’ It somehow remains vibrant and personal and challenging and true to life. The writer to the Hebrews defines the Word as “living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Wow!

And then of course, it never ceases to surprise us and literally delight us! Have you ever noticed that you can read the same verse a hundred times and suddenly, out pops a meaning you hadn’t thought of before? Like a windscreen wiper will bring vision to a driver, so the Word can bring clarity to a situation in a instant. Eish!

So David draws this comparison – Don’t waste your time doing what everyone else is doing, or follow the ways of the world, rather, get cosy in extreme joy with God’s Word all the time. When we do that we automatically become the recipients of a further promise (not that we need one after all this good stuff), but God promises we are then “Blessed”.

So what are you waiting for? Delight and blessing just by getting stuck into His Word. It’s a win-win!

Paul