“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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