“Four Keys To Wisdom”
“Four Keys To Wisdom”
2 Chronicles 1:7-12; Psalms 111:10
INTRO: In James 1:5 we read, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God,
that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him." In 2 Chronicles 1:7-12, Solomon after the death of his father
David became King in his stead. Although David was a man after
God's own heart, it was his son, Solomon whom God chose to build a
house for Him to dwell in! It is said of him in v1, "...and the LORD his
God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly." In other words,
Solomon feared the LORD and the LORD blessed him because of it!
Now we know that Solomon did not always fear the LORD during his
reign as He should have, or else he would have not did some of the
things he did, but at the beginning of His reign He feared and
reverenced the God of his father, David.
Solomon did not receive his great wisdom because he feared God, but
because he asked of God with the right spirit. We can't harbor a wrong
spirit within us and expect to receive anything of the LORD! The fear
of the LORD is not wisdom, although it is wise to fear God, but is the
beginning of wisdom. The ability to acquire wisdom from God depends
upon your attitude. For God to speak to us from His Word, we need to
develop at least four attitudes within us. These four attitudes are the
four keys to wisdom.
(1) (First Key) A HUMBLE SPIRIT
We Need To Have A Proper Understanding of Our Relationship With
God (Proverbs 1:7). We are the creature, He is the Creator. He is the
Potter, we are the clay. He is the shepherd we are His sheep. A man who
is a fool thinks he can live his life apart from God’s direction and
wisdom. God says, “Let no man deceive himself. lf any man among you
seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be
wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is
written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, the LORD
knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are vain." (1 Corinthians
3:18-20).
B. To Fear God Is To Understand Who God Is And How We Relate To
Him. We need to realize His awesomeness and then humble ourselves
before Him! Solomon's request, due in part to his youth and
inexperience (v10), shows that he needed God’s help to he the kind of
ruler that God would have him to be.
There's not one of us here tonight that could not use a good dose of
humility; that we might realize how much we need the LORD every day
of our lives! Charles Spurgeon said, “Humility is the proper estimate of
oneself.” (Albert M. Wells, Jr. Inspiring Quotations-Contemporary &
Classical. p. 92).
The apostle Paul had a proper estimate of himself and all of us, who are
just sinners saved by grace, when he wrote in Romans 7:24-25a, “O
wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this
death? I thank God through Christ Jesus our Lord…”.
ILLUS: Alex Haley, the late author of ROOTS had a unique picture in
his office. Framed on his wall was a shot of a turtle sitting on
top of a fence post. Haley prized the picture because it was a
constant reminder of a lesson he had learned long ago: "If you
see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help. Any
time I start thinking, 'wow, isn't this marvelous what I've done!'
I look at that picture and remember how this turtle, me, got up
on that post." If you're sitting on a fence post enjoying the view,
remember you had help! (Raymond McHenry. The Best of In
Other Words. p. 135).
C. Many Times We Grow Complacent Thinking We Can Handle Our
Situations All On Our Own, But Oh, How We Need God's Help! Being
independent, trying to handle things on our own, will keep us from
receiving the wisdom of God. Dwight Moody Said, "God sends no one
away empty except those full of themselves."(Albert M. Wells, Jr.
Inspiring Quotations-Contemporary & Classical. p. 165). Look at
Solomon's words in v10 again, "Give me now wisdom and knowledge,
that I may go out and come in before this peoples for who can judge this
thy people, that is so great?" The Lord invites in Jeremiah 33:3—“Call
unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things,
which thou knowest not.”
(2) (Second Key) A HUNGRY SOUL
A. Jesus Said That If We Hunger And Thirst After Righteousness, We
Shall Be Satisfied. For God to impart His wisdom unto us, we must
hunger and thirst after it (Psalm 63:1-2).
B. Christians Have As Much of God In Their Lives As They Want, And
As Much As They Hunger After. The reason why there is such a lack
of spiritual perception in our Churches today is because we are
satisfied with the condition we find ourselves in! The people in Hosea's
day were satisfied with their spiritual condition, therefore Hosea 4:6
tells us, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou
hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no more
priest to me: seeing thou hast forsaken the law of thy God, I will also
forget thy children."
How many of you can explain to me how you know you are saved? How
many of you could lead a seeking sinner to the LORD? For many
Christians, the Bible, prayer, and Church attendance are a sideline,
they do it when they want to, but to God it is serious business! God
wants to be first in your life, not merely an after thought! And because
many have made Him so, the Church today is being destroyed by a lack
of knowledge!
C. To Have God And His Wisdom We Must Go After It With Intensity!
The great truths of God’s word can't be found by causal study! That is
why Paul told young Timothy, “Study (The Greek word means “to give
diligence to, to endeavor, to labor," it implies that we get into the Word
and dig it out) to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”
(3) (Third Key) A HEARING HEART
*The word "knowledge" deals with the ability to understand. Solomon desired that the LORD not only grant him wisdom, but also the ability to understand certain circumstances that might come his way as he ruled God's people!
A. "Understanding" Then Means "Listening With Respectful
Attention." Also it is the wisdom or the ability to use what we have
learned (James 1:19-25)!
B. We Can Be Humble and Hungry, But We Need To Be Sensitive To
What God Says To Us!
C. There Are Many Classes Out There On How To "Speak Well". We
Need Classes On How To "Listen Well."
ILLUS: President Roosevelt once became tired of the smiling
superficiality that accompanied many White House receptions.
On this particular evening he decided to see whether or not
anyone was actually paying attention to what he said. As he
shook hands with each guest filing through the line, he smiled
real big and said, "I murdered my grandmother this morning."
No one ever noticed. They just gave the usual protocol, "How
lovely!" or "Keep up the good work." One foreign diplomat was
listening and added a little humor to the night as well. When
FDR told of his scandalous deed, the diplomat tactfully
commented, "I'm sure she had it coming to her." Jesus' half
brother, James had trouble listening to his brother’s message
(John 7:5). As a result of initially missing his brother's
important message, James later wrote, "Everyone should be
quick to listen" (James 1:19) so that vital information won't be
missed (Raymond McHenry. The Best Of In Other Words. p.
155)!
(4) (Fourth Key) A HEEDING MIND
A. To Know That You Need God is Important! The apostle John wrote,
"He must increase, I must decrease." (John 3:30). We need Him every
second of every minute of every hour of every day. We need Him every
day of every week of every month of every year. Without Him life is not
worth living!
B. But It is Foolish For Us To Know That We Need God If We Are Not
Going To Obey Him. "The only part of the Bible you truly believe is the
part you obey.” (Raymond McHenry. The Best Of In Other Words. p. 173).
We can talk about how much we love the Bible and how much it means
to us, but if we are not willing to obey it it means little to us!
C. God's Word Is Not For The Purpose of "Possible Obedience." It must
be heeded or else it will never change us!
ILLUS: In March of 1986, a 25-year-old man named Roger Moore, was
given a traffic ticket for not having his toddler secured in a ear
seat. The young man grumbled about the ticket and fastened
his son into the appropriate restraint. The ticket was grudging
stuffed in the glove compartment. Nineteen minutes later, Mr.
Moore and his young son were involved in an accident. The
little toddler sustained a few minor injuries but was protected
by the restraints of his car seat. Unfortunately, the father was
killed. Although he heeded the warning to fasten his son's seat
belt, Moore never buckled his own. James 1:23 paraphrased:
"For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like
a man who...died in Bel Air, Maryland in 1986” (Raymond
McHenry. The Best of In Other Words. p. 173).
CLOSING: To be wise in the LORD, we must first fear Him. For if we fear Him
then we will have a humble spirit, a hungry soul, a hearing heart,
and a heeding mind. Will you by faith, ask God to help you be more
open to the Holy Spirit so you can be wise in your faith?
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