Spiritual Wisdom is Good

Spiritual wisdom is a great thing to go after.  Seek it with all of your heart.  Not to prove how smart you are but to prove how smart God is!  It's not about me; it's all about God.  The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into three categories:  The Law, the Prophets and the Writings such as Job, Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.  Ancient Israel had three categories of ministers:  Priests, Prophets and Sages (wise men).  These wise men were supernaturally gifted with godly wisdom and counsel concerning all manner of life issues.  There is so much to be learned from these very wise sages.  Solomon is noted to be the wisest man in all history.  Much of the book of Proverbs in the Bible today was written by Solomon.  As mentioned in IKings4:32, Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs during his lifetime.  The purpose of the Proverbs is to provide wisdom and understanding concerning wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity (Pr. 1:2-7).  The book is basically a handbook if-you-will on right living.  Right living is based on a healthy fear (reverence) of the Lord. 

Today, let's take a look at Proverbs 2 (NIV).  I honestly believe that the King James Version of the Bible is the most accurate word-for-word translation from the original Greek and Hebrew languages available.  However, I tend to use NIV due to it's easy-to-understand language for today's readers.  The highlights are mine in the following:

PROVERBS 2 

"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, (2) turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, (3) and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, (4) and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, (5) then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.  (6) For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  (7) He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, (8) for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.  (9) Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path.  (10) For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.  (11) Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you.  (12) Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse and (13) who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, (14) who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, (15) whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.  (16) It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words, (17) who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.  (18) For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead.  (19) None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.  (20) Thus you will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous.  (21) For the upright will live in the land and the blameless will remain in it; (22) but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it."

Please note that little, tiny word "IF."  It's small but it's mighty.  I get so sick and tired of listening to the TV preachers (and others) who talk about all of God's promises but they fail to mention the conditions attached to those promises.  Quote the whole scripture, not just half of it please.  There are a lot of "ifs," "buts," and "thens" that need to be applied to the meaning of the verses.  All of God's promises are conditional.  Bet you don't hear too many people tell you that, do you?

We can see here in verse 1 that we need (#1) to accept God's words and then we need (#2) to store up His commands within our hearts and minds.  We need (#3) to call out for insight through prayer and cry aloud for understanding.  He won't just automatically give it to us.  We need to ask for it.  We have to really search for it as if we were looking for a buried treasure.  IF we do those things, then God tells us that we will understand the fear of the Lord and we will find the knowledge of God.  "For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."   Now this isn't just any old wisdom.  This is God's own wisdom, knowledge and understanding.  Imagine that!  God's wisdom is available to us.  That's almost incomprehensible really but it's true nonetheless. 

The rest of Proverbs 2 tells us all the many benefits of having Godly wisdom, knowledge and understanding.  He gives the upright victory, he's a shield to those whose walk is blameless, he guards the course of the just and he protects the way of his faithful ones.  Notice there are some things we need to do here.  There is action on our part involved.  We need to be upright, our walk needs to be blameless, we must be just, and we must be faithful.  It's not a free ride!  It requires some heavy duty work.  Sounds impossible, doesn't it?  It's not.  Faith comes first and that faith will lead us to a sincere love of God.  That love in turn will lead us to a strong desire to do what God wants us to do: to pray, to study His Word, to learn His Word, to talk to Him, to be in relationship with Him.  Pretty soon, out of love for Him, we will find ourselves living a godly life full of faith, right living, blamelessness, justness, uprightness, etc.  We will learn to love the same things that God loves and we will want to DO them too!  He tells us that wisdom will enter our hearts then and knowledge will be pleasant to our souls.  It will save us from wickedness.  It will keep us on the straight path and it will lead to eternal life (versus eternal death) in the end.  The wicked will be cut off but the blameless will remain in God's hands for all eternity.  

Proverbs 2 isn't about wisdom and knowledge for the sake of knowledge alone.  No, it's about Godly wisdom and Godly knowledge.  By putting God's Word into our hearts and minds we will learn to live righteously and wisely in our relationship with God.   We can then become victorious over sin with God's commands and His words in our hearts.  It's not a free ride folks.  We have to DO some things.  We have to earnestly pray and seek and ask for God's wisdom.  We have to study, not so much to become a Bible scholar, but to understand God's character and His ways.  Through prayer, the Holy Spirit will help us have revelations about God's Word and what it means and it will transform us from the inside out.  It's only when God's Word actually enters our hearts that it will produce life and power within us.  Following God's commands will become a pleasure to us, not a chore.  We do it out of love for Him.  We will learn how to discern good from evil; truth from a lie.  God will protect us in so many ways and will make us be able to live a victorious life.  Not everything is easy.  We have to work at this thing called our Christian walk.  But it will come with prayer and study and God's gift of Godly wisdom and knowledge. 

So pick up that sword (Word/Bible) and read it, study it, pray over it.  Guard your hearts and minds.  Put on that full armor of God.  Ask God to reveal things to you as you read and study His Word.  He will.  Strive to live a life that is pleasing to God.  The benefits of living for God are worth it all! 

Always Learning....

Do you know people who are always learning, highly intellectual, well-studied yet they know absolutely nothing about what is really important in this life (and beyond)?  Paul speaks about this in 2Tim 3:7 where he says, "always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth."    Oh boy, do they know a lot!  They may even have many degrees next to their names to prove it too.  Some of them know quite a bit about a whole lot of different subjects and some are more "specialized" in one or two topics but, either way, these are smart people.  Trouble is, many of them don't "know beans" about what's really important. 

Ps 14:1 says, "The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."  Verse 2 continues with, "The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God."  In this context, a fool is someone who lives like there is no God.  Their lifestyles show their rebellion against God.  They willingly reject God's revealed Word and treat it with contempt.  They don't believe what the Bible says about God.  They think the Bible is a collection of myths and fairy tales that mean nothing.  They scorn the moral principles laid down in God's Word and, instead, rely on their own concepts of right and wrong.  Nowadays, this is called "moral relativism."  Let's look at verse 3 now and see where "moral relativism" has taken us:  "All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."

Not even one?!!!  I'll bet this just breaks God's heart.  So that's the end result of man relying on his own concepts of right and wrong.  Not so great, is it?  God doesn't WANT anyone at all to perish (2Pet3:9) but, unfortunately, many will perish in the end.  I've heard some use this scripture to try to prove that everyone will be saved in the end because it "isn't His will that any should perish."  God is patient.  Do you ever wonder why He just doesn't hurry up and send Jesus back for His Church?  He delays because he really wants the entire world to hear the gospel (Mt24:14) and so be saved.  He "wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1Tim2:4).  That's why we are commanded to go out into the world and preach the gospel to all creation (Mk16:15).  However, none of these scriptures mean, though, that all WILL in fact be saved.  All of those who continue to reject God's grace and His offer of free salvation, in sad fact, will be lost eternally.  Remember Mt7:13-14 which says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it."

I've been accused of being negative and legalistic.  But, hey, just look at God's own words.  He says that only a few will find it (the gate leading to eternal life).  Well, if only a few are going to find it, I sure want to be one of those who do.  Read His own words in the Bible.  It's all right there.  As I've said before, just read the book.  We must be obedient to ALL of God's commands.  Not just some of them (those that make us happy and feel good) but ALL of them.  Seek out that personal relationship with the Lord through prayer and Bible study, and fasting sometimes (Ugh- yes, even though fasting is hard).  Really learn what God has to tell us in his Word.  "For the word of God is 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.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Heb4:12-13).  Ouch! That ought to make us think twice before we disobey Him! 

A friend of mine recently told me of an atheist acquaintance who was so proud of the fact that he had diligently studied the various religions, evidently trying to be open minded about it all.  He was particularly proud that he'd even read the Qu'ran.  He said that none of it really convinced him about the existence of God though.  She asked him if he'd ever read the Bible and he said no.  Such a shame.  The Bible really is the only "book" that claims to be and truly is alive!   I've heard many testimonies over the years of people of other religions (or no religion at all) who have read the Bible and felt it come alive to them as they were reading it.  They couldn't explain it at the time, but they said they really felt like "someone" was talking to them as they read the words in the Bible.  These people are now born-again Christians and they now know and understand that it was the Holy Spirit speaking to them and drawing them to God; to Jesus.  There is nothing in the Bible that is a lie.  When it says it's alive, it really is alive!  I wish more non-believers would just pick it up and read it like a book; like a novel even; a storybook.  Who knows what might happen to them if they did?  That narrow gate is just waiting for them to enter in!

In the meantime, look up, your redemption is drawing near (Lk21:28)! 

Right Doctrine Is Important

Rightly divide the Word.  Whatever happened to that?  Folks don't seem to care about doctrine anymore.  It's like it's a bad word or something.  No one seems to talk about it much these days.  It's not touchy-feely, lovey-dovey enough.  We all just sort of agree to disagree like that's an okay thing to do.  Politically correct I guess.  You believe your way and I'll believe my way.  We all just need to get along and be nicey nice to one another.  Yes, we do need to be nice to one another.  In fact, we need to love one another within the church.  But, a part of loving one another is keeping each other on the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life with God.  Having knowledge is a part of that.  No, not secret, esoteric knowledge.  Just plain, simple Truth type knowledge easily and clearly obtainable from the Word of God.  Just read the book! 

Satan is on the prowl deceiving everyone as he goes. 

1Tim. 4:1 (NIV) says, "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons."  Yes, it does say demons!

Verse 2 continues with, "Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." 

2Tim. 4:3 says, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." 

Verse 4 continues with, "They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."  So we've definitely been warned that this is going to happen someday.  Well, guess what, that someday is now!

The Holy Spirit is clearly revealing here that in these latter days, there is going to be a falling away.  Not only a falling away from a personal faith in Jesus but also a falling away from scriptural truth. 

2Th. 2:3 says, "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way,...." 

Jude 4 says, "For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.  They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." 

Verses 12-13 say, "These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm - shepherds who only feed themselves.  They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted - twice dead.  They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever." 

It's pretty clear here that we are talking about things going on WITHIN the church!  It's also pretty clear from tons of other scriptures that I'm not going to quote just now that we are indeed in the latter days right now.  So watch out for church leaders (pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.) who appear to be highly gifted and powerfully anointed by God.  Some of them will in fact do wonderful things for God and they'll even preach the gospel truth effectively BUT, later on, they will depart from the faith and ever-so-gradually turn to seducing spirits instead and to false doctrines.  Because they were formerly highly anointed and Godly, many Christians will continue to follow after their ministries just based on their earlier reputations. 

Many Christians will be misled by leaders like this.  They too then will fall away from the faith themselves because they will fail to love the truth (2Th. 2:10 - "...they perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.") and resist the sinful and worldly trends in these last days.

Mat. 24:5: "For many will come in my name, claiming I am the Christ and will deceive many." 

Mat. 10-12: "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.  Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold."  This now distorted gospel made up of all these compromising preachers and/or teachers will find very little, if any, resistance in many of today's churches.  Sadly, this is already happening and has been for quite some time.  Pay attention.  It's all the more reason why we simply MUST carefully study and know the Word so that we will be able to recognize the truth versus a lie. 

All of this unbiblical teaching is, of course, being craftily directed by Satan, the great liar and father of lies himself.  Satan recognizes that the time is short and getting shorter every day.  He's busy running around like the madman that he is (except he's not a man) telling his demon buddies to speed it up, step on the gas.  "We've got to work harder and faster at opposing God's work while there's still time," says he.  That explains why the closer we get to Christ's second coming, the more intense it gets.  No wonder we see so much spiritism, the occult, demonic deception and even demonization in the world now and, unfortunately, in our own churches too!  We absolutely have to wake up and smell the coffee before we allow our own selves to be tricked. 

This stuff is going on WITHIN the church!  That is the horrifying truth.  That's why correct doctrine does matter.  It's critical to know the Word of God well and, even more importantly, to have a very close personal relationship with our Lord.  An intimate relationship with Jesus!  This is no time to be lazy; to slack off.  Instead, this is the time to study and to pray continuously about everything. 

How do I protect myself from this deception?  I'm not going to say it's easy because it's not easy.  No, it requires hard work.  We must be totally in line with the Word of God and in order to do that we must really KNOW the Word.  We must study it fervently.  We must think about it and talk about it with other Godly and mature believers.  Pray constantly.  Pray for God to protect your mind from deception.  To put a shield around your heart, your mind, your spirit. 

We must be obedient to the Lord.  Jesus said that his sheep would know his voice.  Learn to recognize His voice.  Pray and listen.  Spend plenty of quiet time in prayer and meditation on God's Word.  Do NOT practice any other kind of meditation.  Forget about so-called "Contemplative Prayer."  It's just another "New Age" thing that has crept into the church.  Go online and research it.  There's plenty of information about it out there.  Just be sure you're reading the right thing. 

Examine your friendships.  Who do you spend the most time with?  Make sure they are spiritually mature, Godly Christians who truly know the Word and who have "fruit" to prove it.  Desire the Truth, seek the Truth, make it your obsession.  Be careful who you listen to.  Don't accept everything you hear just because he or she is some TV "personality" preacher or teacher.  Not all Christian television is good.  In fact, a lot of it is deadly; dangerous.  Beware!  Be observant.

Be tuned in to the fact that there will indeed be many charismatic type persons with great appeal and even an apparent anointing who have been deceived themselves and are now far from the truth.  They may not even realize it themselves.  If you're not on your own toes, you too will be deceived.  Many within the church will be deceived because of preachers, pastors, and teachers like this.  They have been deceived themselves and have fallen for "the lie" and then they, in turn, will deceive many more after them.  Remember that Satan is sneaky, crafty, sly.  He's not stupid.  Just mixing a tiny little bit of error with 99% truth is all it takes.  Seek after God with all your heart.  Be obedient to Him.  Live righteously.  Never give up your reverential fear of the Lord.  Desire with all of your heart to do God's will.  Don't allow yourself to be tricked!  Study, pray and work at it.  Pray about this topic.  I'm sure God will answer your prayers and help you.  Ask for spiritual discernment.  We all need plenty of that.  Never give up.  It will be worth it all in the end!

Be diligent my friends.  Be diligent!