How To Acquire Wisdom - Part 2

Welcome to the intense podcast fictile Stanley for Tuesday, March 15. The Bible tells believers that if we want with them for it. Could it really be that easy. The book of Proverbs guides you in learning how to acquire wisdom.

It is amazing how much information we have, how much knowledge is floating around out but one thing out notices as we have a lot of information about knowledge but not a whole lot of wisdom and there's a difference between wisdom and knowledge and information, and is also interesting that nowhere in the Bible does the Scripture say that God is calling them to have information and knowledge, though he certainly wants us to be knowledgeable, but he's not pleading with those please find more information but he's constantly crying out for us to gain wisdom to be men and women of godly wisdom but think about this. If God says that from his perspective that wisdom is more valuable than anything else in the material thing in a human thing you not to conceive of. Surely you want to understand is I want to understand how do we acquire wisdom so that's what we want to talk about what I want to do is I want to give you these steps so now let's begin with. Step number one step number one is you will acquire wisdom you seek wisdom if you want to acquire wisdom you seek wisdom if I really want to be wise, I'm going to ask myself the question, how to become a wise person then I'm going to go about it in a way I'm not going to give up.

I'm going to study I'm going to seek I'm going to look and I'm I'm going to do what I know to do in order to find wisdom and what these steps are. These steps all follow that person. If I really and truly want to be a wise person there certain things I can do to become wise. So step number one is to seek wisdom step number two. Meditate upon God's word God's book is full of wisdom. If you like of the wise people we have to get the source.

This is why you can't walk wisely and keep this closed from Sunday to the next Sunday.

Notice what he said. He said keep it close to your heart.

God's word living in our heart you will wisdom how to raise your children. His good place to start wisdom in business his appraiser start what God's wisdom about finances want God's wisdom about family. God's wisdom about relationship God's wisdom in every aspect of life. God's wisdom about your talent, your abilities, your gifts, your future, your plans, your goals, your dreams, what we get galaxy point right here so step number two is simply this.

If I want to be a wise person.

I'm going to pursue wisdom where my going to pursue it the first place. I want to start is to get the mind of God. What did he think about thus and so how did those whom he led respond. Step number three everything together people who was it's not enough to desire to be wise is not enough to read and meditate upon the Scriptures, but number three. If I'm gonna be a wise person acquire wisdom. I must be willing to obey God's word and think about this for moment if God allowed you would be to simply read his Scriptures, and that we destabilize one thank you got. I want to be wise and and we move on living in our sin, that would be God condoning something that he cannot by his very nature Kendo and so therefore God's word, his principles are his direction for us and if I apply those directions is what's going to happen. I'm going to be able to understand how God operates. I'm going to see what God does not do what God says I will never know what God will do if I do what God says unless I do what God says and so I'm going to be wise is going to be this cause-and-effect is going to be this action this reaction.

I'm going to see what happens in my life.

I do what God says do so. A wise person discovers the principle in Scripture that that concerns a particular circumstance and then they obey that principle and watch the results and so is very important that you not put obedience as a major factor in learning to be wise and so one person says well, I'd like to be wise. The question is are you willing to submit yourself to the will of God. Are you willing to do what God tells you to do and let him demonstrate that his way is the best way.

Step number four step number four is the one that most everybody says Royale that's when I will and that is we acquire wisdom by praying for now. Look in the Chapter 11 and let's look if you will, adverse to, he says when pride comes, then comes this honor, but with the humble is wisdom now was a beam of that with the humble is wisdom.

When a person is genuinely humble. They acknowledge that they have a need they acknowledge they don't know it all that knowledge they need wisdom will need understanding and need direction in their life and so we are coming to God acknowledging our need of him and so when a person is coming to pray most of the time. Let's face it, most of our present our request. God, here's what I need his leave my heart we humble ourselves before him, and acknowledge and need of him.

Sometimes era desperate need of him our hunger for him at thirst for him and yearning for God. We need you. So if I want wisdom certainly must acknowledge the fact that I need him that I need wisdom. And so I'm gonna come to him in the spirit of humility, making my request that we return to the one Scripture was a look at in James look there for moment and in that third chapter because is his distinction between godly wisdom and worldly wisdom, the wisdom from above, the wisdom from the lows we talked about last time. Listen to what he says in James chapter 1 verse five.

This is a verse of most people claim they say what you know what is what he said that's what I did and it didn't work out.

I watch this verse five but if any of you lacks wisdom, need wisdom, let him or her ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to it but let him ask in faith without any doubting. The one who doubts is like the surf, the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Now to three things he wants this. This is one of those verses you can take out of context. If you do present.

The Bible says, ask God for wisdom and he will give you wisdom. Let's think about this. Well, he certainly will. What he says now if you asked with wavering faithful. Hope he is. I'm certainly money on that and I don't know if it's that he says not going to get. Let me ask a question what causes our faith the waiver so often what causes us to make request of God in deep down inside our faith is not strong now asking that question and to say this if you and I are living in sin. If we are disobeying God, is God going to hear my request for wisdom, but I want to see things from your viewpoint. I will respond according your will. I want to follow your principles and all the time over here living in disobedience to God when you and I know that we are deliberately living in sin and disobedience to God, have faith is going away.

You cannot have strong godly fate and living in sin at the same time so we do have the promise that if we ask for wisdom is certainly God will give us wisdom. He says he started up for. He says he's stored up wisdom for he gives wisdom and he stores up wisdom for the upright for the upright, that is, those who want godly in Christ Jesus. And so we can pray and receive wisdom, but that is based upon the kind of life will living a wise person examines the wrong decision sees it from God's viewpoint and corrects it and gets in God's will and so is very important that you and I know what God says is his principles obey his principles and then we certainly have the privilege of praying for God to give us wisdom.

But remember he says it stored up for the upright, not just the people who ask. Step number five. This is a very very important step in this whole search in seeking after wisdom extremely important. Listen now, but if you will in chapter 6 of Proverbs because I want to show something here.

Chapter 6.

The third step is observing God's work in the world around us. He wants us to look around the world in which we live, the people we live around the people we work around the people that we hear about on the television, the radio the newspaper the magazines he wants us to observe, listen to lifestyle. Observe how they operate hear what they say. See what they do and observe what happens as a result of their lifestyle, their approach to lie their beliefs down doubts their unrelieved agnosticism their atheism. We are to observe the world around us.

And so a wise man and woman will observe what happens to those who live ungodly. A wise person will observe those who trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior and backslid him a wise person would, acknowledging, and the view and observe what happens to a person when they stop reading God's word when they cease to pray when they cease to go to church when they cease tithing and you see, I've heard enough testimonies of these years. I know with the principal is scripturally about tapping. I also know what happens to people when they know the truth and they don't do it and so the Bible is full of wisdom and God wants us to know wisdom and one of the ways we learn wisdom and become wise is now in searching the Scriptures, but watching how people respond to life circumstances and what happens to them sooner or later it's going to happen you just look around the people you know you work with, for example, a smoke, they drank their own drugs. What's gonna happen to whatever we so we reap what we sow more than we so later than we so that is that your revocable principle of God and so wise men and women don't just read the newspaper and watching TV in this know these things and say well at that event that event. This event, they look they ask questions and they observed the consequences like this move.

Over the next number six of that is heating listen heating godly counsel.

It isn't enough oftentimes for us to just praise the Lord, show me what to do at this point, but sometimes we need godly counsel. Sometimes we need to go to someone.

Maybe we can't see something exacted the way God would have insisted so much with the several verses deleting the 12 chapter for a moment and let's look in the verse 1512 chapter and verse 15 he says the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel that is godly counsel.

Not just any kind.

A wise person is one whose when the listen to godly counsel that what you pay close attention this because a very important well let's look if you will, in the 13th chapter and looked in verse 10 he says through presumption comes nothing but strife, but with those who receive counsel is wisdom that is God uses other people to give direction for our life. When he knows certainly that we needed. Look, if you will, in the of 19 chapter and the 21st.

He says listen the Council and accept discipline that you may be wise the rest of your days now is what that means we want to be a wise person than the time so we need to listen to someone who will say to us, don't do that and none of us like for someone to tell us don't do that, or you can't do that on you must not all, you should not or someone in their disability. Counsel would say this is what you must do this is a wise way to go other words, we must be open to godly counsel. Sometimes it's reproved. This is what you did. This is not right. You need to ask him to forgive you.

You need to make this decision.

You need to change this. Absent this a million times and that is you can go to just counsel.

You better find out who you going to seeking godly counsel someone whose life is governed by the word of God. Someone whose lifestyle is governed by the word of God. Someone whose direction and counsel comes from the principles of Scripture. And when you go to counsel for someone who ignores God, leaves a principles of Scripture out. You are going to head down the wrong road the wrong direction and there will be disaster. Ultimately, somewhere along the way and so we do see godly counsel (proof when necessary. Open for conviction when necessary. Open to be discipline when necessary, and open for approval when necessary. Godly wisdom must be more important than our own personal pride. The point we are unwilling to go and ask for help or to say, you know, I think I can handle this without any help will be wise must be willing to seek other counsel, then number seven to acquire wisdom. This is very simple.

Must be willing to associate with wise people and the Scriptures very clearly keep you on the 13th chapter 1 of the wise, we associate wise people 13th chapter linkages.

He says in the verse 20 he who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

We will be wise, we find wise people we walk with people who wise I think about this.

Think about for a moment. The people who influenced you the most intimate it can be a husband to be a way to be a doctor to be your friend. It could be someone who influences you financially influences you and your marriage influences you had raise your children influences you and your vocational risk who in your life influences you the most. All of us have somebody who influences you the most.

Now would you say that that person is a wise person you think about this the person who is influencing you the most in your life.

Otherwise, motivated and foolish things. Let me ask you this. Do you run with wise people and foolish people. The people who influenced you the most. They prompt something within you that causes you to want to know God better than they prompt something within you that makes you want to get the word of God found a what he's all about what is up to.

Are they impacting your life to the point that that you're asking the question God puts what's best for my life. What is your will, life how do you want to use me how you want me to serve what you want me to give you where you want me to go to whom do you want me to share my faith God is his account of influence you're having existing kind of influence that someone is having on you. The person is influencing you the most, or would you have to be honest, to say they are very critical. They drag me down the not pure in their heart when you told him about God answering prayer. They laugh about it. They just sort of stuck it off under the kind of people whom you feel you're always having to defend yourself with and what you believe in what you think and how you operate. Ask yourself this very very serious question who is influencing my life the most. And is that influence of the quality that it would lead me to become a wiser person. If you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your personal savior.

The master something is the person who is influencing you the most of the talking here about Jesus have ever sent to you. Let me tell you how to trust Jesus Christ as your personal savior. Ellen eternal is around all of us are influencing somebody ask yourself this question, the person or persons that are influence the most in my life and my influencing them to war godly to walk holy. To be obedient to God to follow his principles to spend time in prayer to spend time in his word and my influencing them in such a way that they have a hunger for God's word MI impacted them in such a fashion that they just want to know the same cry think they want the same kind of intimacy that you have. You see, wise men and women run with wise men and women and the ungodly are uncomfortable around wise, godly men and women but are influence our impact as believers as we tried to walk holy before God and walk on the admonitions of God. The principles of Scripture, we want to be wise people we want to live in such a fashion that those around us cannot help but be impacted.

Listen, not by us but by the Christ who indwells us lives in us lives through us to all those of others. God wants us to be wise, we want to be wise and if you apply these simple steps in your life you will begin to find something happen in your relationship to him, to yourself and others. God will begin to use you in a way you not been using. Thank you for listening to part two, and how to acquire wisdom.

If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley for intense ministries, intense tantalizing after the presentation of intense ministries Atlanta, Georgia