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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Come up to 413. Stand up and stand up for Jesus. Stand up. Stand up for 413. Thank you very much. Stand up first. Stand up. Stand up for Jesus Preachers of the cross. Let us lift high his royal banner, make us not suffer loss. From victory unto victory, his army shall be heed. Till every foe is made, which at Christ is Lord in me. Send us enough for Jesus, the trumpet call obey. For to the mighty conflict, this is glorious day. We, heaven now surfing against the hunger flows, with courage rise with danger, and strength to strength of no arms. Send us enough for Jesus, standing with strength alone. Put on the flesh to fill you, keep your God trust your own. Put on the lustful armor, and watch he come to pray. When duty calls for change, be never wanting there. Thank you. Thank you. Reverend Russell. Blessed be thy name, O Lord. Thank you for this evening's service, Lord. For everyone that's here, Lord, and thank you for the salvation we have today, Lord. Thank you for being good, Lord, and that great news. Bless the service, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Can you please open up your song? It's a song for 372. It's a song for 372. Let the lower lights be worn, and you can have a song for 372. Sing it out. God, he gives our fathers mercy, from his lighthouse ever more. But to us he gives the keeping of the lice along the shore. Let the lower lights be burning, send them clean across the way. So for faith, each shall receive it. You may rest for you this day. Dark the night of sin has settled. Loud the angry billows roar. Keep your eyes now watching on me, for the lice along the shore. Let the lower lights be burning, send them clean across the way. So for faith, each shall receive it. You may rest for you this day. Last, trim your feet, won't last, my brother. So for still, our tender spots, running bound to make the harbor in the darkest day be lost. Let the lower lights be burning, send them clean across the way. So for faith, each shall receive it. You may rest for you this day. All right, it's good to see everybody back this evening. If you'd like a bulletin, go ahead and slip up your hand and one will be brought to you. And as always, we have the service times there on the upper left-hand side. Below that, we have the church-wide soul winning, the regional soul winning, the salvation, the baptisms, and the offerings. Don't forget, next Sunday at 10 a.m., we'll be having our donuts in honor of those celebrating the month of July, so come on out for that. We have the annual mega conference schedule below that, so a lot of great preaching will be taking place up in Tempe. And if you want to get up there, at least on the Wednesdays, I'm sure the church band is certainly available if anybody would like to make these times. Also on the back, thank you everybody who prayed for the Nigerian missions trip. That was a great success with the 63 salvations. Also, it sounds like everybody had a good time on the Navajo soul winning trip. Going out of the reservation is always an experience. Whenever you go out there, it's always a very unique experience. It's also, you know, a lot of times, it's very compelling. Some of my most just compelling experiences have been there. Such a burden can be gotten through going out to some of these places. It's amazing. I don't want to sound disparaging of, you know, these reservations and things like that, but it truly is amazing to see the way some people are still living, even in, you know, just a few hundred miles from us. I mean, I've spent a lot of time on the Navajo reservation where there's people that still don't have electricity, they don't have running water. I've ran into elderly folks. I think I was the first white man they ever saw. They didn't speak English, or at least that's what, you know, some people here in Tucson pull that one on us, but, you know, they probably didn't. And, you know, going there, going here, the Tota Odom, these reservation, so really open up your eyes, you know, to the need that we have to go out and preach the gospel to every creature because, you know, people simply aren't going to these places and they're some of the most receptive places, the most needful places, and so it's great to see, you know, 66 soul owners out there doing that work, so congratulations to everybody that did that. Thank you. And then also, below that, don't forget this Thursday on the 4th, we're going to be having hot dogs at 6 p.m. before the service, so there's about an hour before the service if you'd like to come and have a hot dog or two and some chips, you're welcome to do that. We'll have chips, some dip, as well as the toppings as well, so if you want to bring a dish to pass, feel free to do so, but it's certainly not required, but if you want to come and show off, you know, what a great cook you are, we're always up for that too, so let's go ahead and count up the soul winning going back to Friday, if there's anything to report, going back to Friday, and anything for Saturday, obviously the people that were on the trip, that's just getting rolled into the, to the Tempe numbers, is there anything for Saturday outside the groups? Anything for the group today? Two for today, praise the Lord. Alright, well keep up the great work soul winning, let's go ahead and sing one more song before we get into the preaching tonight. Alright, can you please open up your song, it's a song number 65. One, two, three, four, five, six. Song number 65. Just pull it up to your left. Song number 65. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. Let us go over in the glory land, out on the happy angel land. Let us go over in the glory land. Let us go over in the glory land, there with the mighty host house band. Let us go over in the glory land, where the joyful one, my Lord, I'll sing. Let us go over in the glory land, where the angels sing together. Let us go over in the glory land. Let us go over in the glory land, out on the happy angel land. Let us go over in the glory land. First over in the glory land, our Lord, the happy angel land. First over in the glory land. First over in the glory land, there with you, the mighty host house land. First over in the glory land. OK, we're singing at this time the offering play will go around. As the offering play goes around, Brother Gabriel has to reach for us in Proverbs 4. Again, that is Proverbs chapter 4. Proverbs chapter 4. Proverbs chapter 4, verse 1 of the Bible reads, Here, ye children, in the destruction of the Father, I tend to no understanding, for I forgive you of good doctrine, forsaking not my law. For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved, in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words, and keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom, get understanding. Get it now, bear decline from the words of my mouth. For sacred night, she shall preserve me, love me, she shall keep me. Wisdom is the principle. Therefore, get wisdom. For with all thy getting, get understanding. Resolve me, she shall promote me, to honor, thou dost embrace me. She shall give thine head an ornament of grace, the crown of glory shall she deliver to me. Here, O my son, I receive my sayings, and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom, I have led thee in right paths. Without goest, thy steps shall not be straight. Without runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast full of destruction, let her not go, keep, she is thy light. Enter not into the path of awakening, though not in the way of evil men. Avoid her, pass not by her, return from her, pass away. For they sleep not, except they have done mission. And their sleep is taken away, lest they cause them to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. For the path of the just is of the shining light that shineeth more and more till the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness. They know not of what they stumble. My son, tend to my ways, and climb thine ear into my sayings. Do not depart from thine eyes, keep them in the midst of thine heart. There in life is those that find thee and help with all their flesh. Keep their heart, keep thy heart with all diligence, for I admit all the issues of life. Put away from thee your forward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left. Remove thy foot from evil. Amen. So we're there in Proverbs chapter number four and I want to draw attention here to just the first several verses. If you look there in verse five it says get wisdom, get understanding, forget it not neither decline from the words of my mouth forsake her not and she will preserve thee love her and she will keep thee wisdom is the principle thing and that's the title of the sermon tonight wisdom is the principle thing wisdom is something that we cannot live our lives without if we want to live lives that are successful, if we want to live lives that are blessed of God if we want to be efficient and effective in our lives as Christians or whatever capacity in life we have to have wisdom wisdom is the principle thing and the Bible puts such a premium here and really that's what the word principle means you think about like the term prince you know the first the principle think about the term guiding principles you know these are the essential things that guide us and lead us in our decision making the principle thing in life the thing that we need to focus on and make sure that we have in life is wisdom and again this wisdom can also be likened to understanding discernment, knowledge you know we should be people who are gaining wisdom, knowledge, experience so that we have wisdom to guide us and lead us through life the Bible again emphasizes wisdom repeatedly and the book of Proverbs in particular is a book that puts a great deal of emphasis on wisdom the Bible again says wisdom is the principle thing and therefore because wisdom is the principle thing get wisdom you know if we were to say hey this is what you need this is what you have to have you would just stand to reason that we would set about getting that in our lives that we would make a point of attaining whatever that is if I said hey X here is the most important thing in life you need to have that hopefully we would take note of that hopefully we would take heed to that and say well then let me set about getting that and gaining that and having that in my life and wisdom is what the Bible says is the principle thing therefore get wisdom don't live your life without wisdom don't live your life as others do who are just kind of stumbling through life or just kind of fumbling through life who are just kind of figuring it out as they go along who are just repeatedly making mistakes and hopefully learning from them you know there's so much suffering and agony we can spare ourselves if we would just listen to wise counsel if we would just listen to the wisdom of God's word and just apply it to our lives if we would just find this source of wisdom take it unto ourselves and begin to apply it to our lives you know we would just spare ourselves a great deal of unnecessary pain that's why he's saying here get wisdom and with all thy getting get understanding he's saying what you need to have in life is not a bunch of money you don't need to have all these extravagant things you don't have to get a bunch of toys you don't have to have a bunch of time for hobbies and things he's saying the most important thing for you to have in life is wisdom that wisdom is profitable wisdom is what's going to profit you more than anything else in this life and he goes on and likens wisdom unto a woman he says exalt her in verse 8 and she shall promote thee you know if you exalt wisdom you know she's going to lift you up if you make wisdom the principle thing it's going to bring you up above the rest of your peers you are going to excel beyond those around you you're going to stand out people will take notice exalt her and she shall promote thee she shall bring thee to honor when thou dost embrace her one place this is particularly maybe applicable is in the workplace if we go to our jobs and actually try to excel and actually try to get wisdom and maybe do extra curricular learning on the side maybe we go and get that certification that's not required of us but we just think hey this would be profitable let me just go get that get this certification get that certification if we go ahead and get wisdom get the understanding which is going to make us better at our jobs you know somebody's going to promote us somebody's going to take notice and it's going to bring us unto honor when the time comes around for that promotion or whatever someone's going to say hey this guy has been seeking wisdom this guy has the knowledge he has the skills he has the abilities he has the diligence and he has the you know self motivation to go out there and get wisdom okay exalt her and she shall promote thee she shall bring thee to honor when thou dost embrace her so wisdom is a two way street okay wisdom is there but we have to throw our arms around wisdom and say I want this and bring it into ourselves she shall give to thine head an ornament of grace a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee now we'll be back in Proverbs several times tonight simply because of the fact you can't preach about wisdom without being in the book of Proverbs a great deal there's so much that it says about it but if you would go back to 1 Kings chapter number 3 and we'll look at the author at least in part the you know the majority in part of the book of Proverbs which is King Solomon and we'll look at the beginning of his reign here when he's beginning to rule in Israel and he's built the temple and the temple and God is coming to him okay I'm trying to get us caught up here in the story but very quickly in 1 Kings chapter number 3 look at verse 1 it says and Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he made an end of building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall of Jerusalem round about only the people sacrificed in high places because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord until those days look at verse 3 and Solomon loved the Lord walking in the statutes of his day incense in high places and the king went out to Gibeon to sacrifice there for there was a great high place a thousand burnt offerings and did Solomon offer upon that altar in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream so this high place is not it's not heathen worship it's where they're worshiping God is in this high place and because of the sac ask what I shall give thee and Solomon said thou has shown unto thy servant David my father great mercy and thou has kept for him this great kindness that thou has given him a son to sit on his throne as it is this day and now oh my lord God what thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father and I am but a little child I know not how to go out or come in now he's not telling his servant an understanding heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and bad for who is able to judge this and he says ask what you want of me and says ask what you want of me and I will give it you and Solomon at least at this point has enough wisdom to ask for more wisdom right it's kind of like the old joke if the genie grants you one wish wish for more wishes right he has the wisdom enough to ask hey give me more wisdom give me more understanding give me more discernment and God is pleased by this prayer and it says there in verse 11 and God said and because thou hast asked this thing and has not asked for thyself long life neither hast asked riches for thyself nor has asked life of thine enemies but ask for thyself understanding to discern judgment behold I have done according to thy words though I have given thee a wise and understanding heart so that there are none there was none like thee before like before thee neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee and I have also given thee that which I was not asked both riches and honor so that there shall be not any among the kings like unto thee all thy days he said I know you didn't ask for it and that's what the carnal person probably would have asked for riches power the life of mine enemies I know you didn't ask for that but I'm going to go ahead and give you the riches I'm going to go ahead and give you the prosperity that you didn't ask for and if thou wilt walk in my ways to keep my statutes and my commandments as thy father David did walk then will I lengthen thy days so God is pleased by this prayer and answers this and you know the same thing is applicable for us today wisdom is there wisdom is to be found wisdom is not hidden away somewhere tucked away somewhere you don't have to find some esoteric knowledge you don't have to find some long lost book that nobody knows about to uncover the wisdom that you need in this life wisdom as it is as it says in Proverbs is crying out in the streets wisdom is apparent wisdom is manifest wisdom is available because God is the source of all wisdom so we have to ask ourselves you know if we have the ability to gain wisdom you know why don't we you know what is it going to take to get it from God and the first thing we need to understand is that wisdom is the principle thing quite simply the reason why a lot of people live their lives without wisdom is just that they don't value it they just don't think it's important enough they just don't think there's any value in gaining knowledge gaining understanding gaining wisdom and they suffer because of it and that's unfortunate because wisdom is available now I want to point out a few things about wisdom here in this story first of all I want us to notice in verse 3 it says and Solomon loved the Lord walking in the statutes of David his father only he sacrificed burnt incense in the high places so he wasn't perfect and nobody is but he did love the Lord okay and the Bible says if a man loved God it is known of him and God knows that whether or not we truly love him and what I want us to understand here is that wisdom is preceded by the love of God you know if we want wisdom we have to love God first of all because we need wisdom in order to live a life that is pleasing unto God okay you need to have wisdom in order to please God you need to know how have the wisdom to know what God expects of you in all these different areas you have to have that and the only reason you would ever get that is because you want to do it everyone follow and the only reason you're going to want to do that is if you actually love God you know the reason why some people have such a take it or leave it attitude when it comes to the word of God even Christians the reason why so many Christians today have such a take it or leave it attitude towards the things of God towards church towards the Bible towards the clear commandments to the word of God well they'll just do the complete opposite where the Bible says the reason why so many people are like that today is because they don't love God now they would never say that they would never verbalize that they would never say oh you know I don't love God but what did Jesus say if you love me keep my commandments that is the love of God that we keep his commandments and that we love one another so if you want to please God and you want to have wisdom it has to there has to be a genuine desire to please God out of a heart that loves God so if we're lacking wisdom in our lives if we're struggling and we're not we don't have the discernment the knowledge that we need maybe we need to go back and search our hearts and see if the love of God is there or if our love is waxed cold go to Proverbs chapter number 2 keep something in 1 Kings 3 I'm going to draw several applications out of 1 Kings 3 with the story of Solomon when the Lord appeared to him and asked him what is it that you want from me I'll give it to you and Solomon at least at that point had enough wisdom to know that wisdom was the principle thing that's what he needed and the only reason he asked for it is first of all because he loved the Lord he said in Proverbs chapter 2 verse 1 my son if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thy heart unto understanding okay so again we're getting the source of wisdom right now my words my commandments this is the source of wisdom right here heart to understanding it's going to take effort but notice verse 3 yea if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding if thou seekest her as silver and searches for her as for hid treasures then thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God you know God doesn't just hand out the wisdom willy nilly it's not just this flippant thing with him and if we want the wisdom that comes from God we have to want it you have to cry after it you have to lift up your voice oh God give me wisdom oh God help me to understand give me discernment make me a better father make me a better pastor make me a better soul winner make me a better employee make me a better mother give me the wisdom that I need to excel in these areas you know that's the kind of fervent prayer that we have to have towards God if we want these things but a lot of times people are just like wisdom I can just Google it you know I'm sure the internet has all the answers for me you know I'll just search YouTube I'll figure that out and look I'm not saying we can't get profitable things from these sources but I mean that's kind of the attitude that people have towards the wisdom that they need they're just kind of eh whatever and as a result they live their lives without wisdom without the knowledge of God we have to cry after these things there has to be a fervent desire for the wisdom of God and that's only going to come from a heart that loves God then thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord he said if thou seekest her as silver and as for hid treasures look I have no doubt if I walked up to one of you and slid a treasure map across the table and said hey you know there's it would probably wouldn't have to be that much money certainly not in my case you know it doesn't even have to be that whole lot I mean a million would take the edge off okay but if someone was just like hey there's even a few thousand dollars I mean I won't bend over for a quarter practically anymore but you know if it folds I'm going for it okay but if I you know any amount really I mean how much would it be for me to have to go invest in a shovel and take my time off to go you know dig for this treasure you know if you did that to me I'd be like I'm on it try me you know believe me go bury a shoebox full of twenties and tell me where it is and I'll prove to you that I mean business okay but hey if someone can you say hey here's a source of great wealth here's a source of you know of invaluable knowledge you know would we go after it like we would a box of you know a bushel full of fifties or whatever someone hey here's there's silver buried here I mean look at the things people do for silver and gold people dig just unbelievable holes into the earth looking for this stuff and the thing is you know God's wisdom isn't it's not buried somewhere it's right here it's right on the surface a lot of times obviously there's deep things in the Bible that we have to mine out diligently and through consistency but he's saying you know if you want knowledge if you really want wisdom you have to seek it it's not it doesn't come easy and you know you can apply this to the wisdom of God or just life in general if you want to have actual knowledge about a subject you're going to have to do some actual diligent study to know what you're talking about wisdom requires sacrifice that's the other thing I want us to see here first of all you have to have the love of God you have to have a love for the Lord I mean Solomon he's saying he loves the Lord his main concern is God's people he wants to do a good job for the Lord he understands how important his role is and he wants to make sure he leads the people righteously so he's crying out for that knowledge he's saying give me wisdom but it doesn't you know that's not enough wisdom requires sacrifice you have to seek it as silver you have to dig for it as if for a hid treasure you're going to have to put some sweat into it you know you're going to have to you're going to get some blisters going for that treasure look at verse four of first Kings three he says and the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there so what's preceding this prayer for wisdom the love of God and the willingness to sacrifice he went to Gibeon to sacrifice there for that was the great high place a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon the altar now I'm not suggesting we need to go get a bunch of cattle and you know go up on mount lemon and start you know slaying some beasts to get wisdom from God but the application is this is that you're going to have to make some sacrifice if you want the wisdom of God in your life and you know it's yeah here it is it's you know there's so much of it's right here in this book but you're actually going to have to open it up and read it you're going to have to actually carve out time out of your day to read this book and there might even be things that you should probably memorize there should probably be some things that you should just know and understand out of this book and just make a part of who you are you have to weave some of these things into the fabric of your being and that's going to take time and energy and effort it's going to take sacrifice you know you might have to turn the TV off you might have to put the phone down you might have to put the video game controller down you might have to get off your bicycle kids or quit playing you know put the basketball down for a little while whatever it is and I'm not saying you can't do anything else or have time for anything else but you're not going to have the wisdom of God if you don't sacrifice anything to get it it's not just going to come to you it's like well if I just put the Bible on my head long enough maybe somehow the words will just seep through my skull and find their way into my brain this is not how it works you actually have to drag your eyes across the page and comprehend what you're reading you know and that's a point in and of itself right there and I'm certainly not ever trying to embarrass anybody but the fact is that if we have poor reading skills that's an area we need to work on if we read the Bible and we're struggling just with understanding the reading of it then you need to sacrifice to learn how to become a better reader read other books read books about reading if we have a hard time with learning let's read books about learning right? well that sounds hard I know but you know that's what buried treasure is buried it's underneath earth and rock and stone like people have to dig that out of the way it's difficult work to go mine silver out of the earth but people do it because they want it because they see the value in it and if we see the value if we love God and we see the value of having the wisdom of God in our lives we'll do whatever it takes to become readers of it and better readers of God's word read to know and to understand what it's saying so that we can apply it to our lives and I only say that because I know that's just a struggle that some people have and I'm not down on people that are like that you know sometimes the education system fails us and we have to go back and redo things that unfortunately we didn't learn maybe earlier on in life and we should become more proficient and efficient readers I believe that it requires sacrifice you're going to have to sacrifice your time and effort to get to mine the wisdom out of this book the next thing I want us to see in 1 Kings chapter 3 and I've already kind of alluded to this in verse 5 after Solomon goes and makes the sacrifice in verse 4 after we know in verse 3 that Solomon is one that loves the Lord and is willing to sacrifice it says in verse 5 that in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon by a dream in a dream by night and God said ask what I shall give thee what I want us to understand is that wisdom is something that is offered to us wisdom again is not hiding wisdom as it says there is you know is available God's saying ask what you will ask what you want from me and I'll give it you what do you want Solomon? I want wisdom God's glad He's like that's exactly what you need that's what I want to give you look at Proverbs chapter number 2 again Proverbs chapter number 2 verse 6 for the Lord giveth wisdom out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding I mean God is in heaven God has written the Bible for us God is just pouring out wisdom God has just given us all the wisdom that we need to live this life and all we have to do is go get it take the requisite time to read and understand to apply it to our lives it's right there God offers wisdom to anyone who wants it verse 7 he layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous I mean he's laying it up like in a storehouse God's just got all this wisdom he's like you want more? you want more? oh you've had enough do you need some more? do you want more wisdom? God's weird and there's no end to us and there's no end to it and honestly part of it obviously a big part of getting wisdom is just through the knowledge of this book but it's also through the ministry of the Holy Spirit which is something that a lot of people don't give a lot of thought to as we read this book God will give us wisdom the more we know the word of God he will bring those things again to our remembrance people will ask us questions people will ask us about situations people will come to us for knowledge and counsel and you know what? God's word will just come out of us we'll have that wisdom laid up ourselves in our own hearts in our own selves in order to impart that wisdom to others you know and part of it is kind of supernatural I don't want to get all mystical up here but there is a supernatural aspect I believe to the wisdom of God God will give you an answer if you've been diligently seeking it or maybe you know if you're asking God for wisdom and how to do something God could just kind of help you to discern and know how to do things I believe that's very true you're out on some job and you run into some difficult situation and you just pray, God give me wisdom how to do it maybe God will just slow your heart rate down a little bit so you can think clearly God's not going to like it's not like a set of instructions are going to float down from heaven you know and be like, oh right, all of a sudden a certain part of the directions are highlighted like, what's a miracle? right, but God you know you just might start thinking more clearly oh if I get this bit or if I, whatever it is you know, you'll figure it, you might be able to figure it out I mean God filled men in the Old Testament with wisdom in order to do certain physical tasks when they built the tabernacle, when they built the temple you know, men were filled with wisdom men that already had ability and skill were filled with wisdom and knowledge and how to go about doing it there wasn't like an actual blueprint I believe supernaturally God kind of just showed everybody how to do that that's why we can't recreate these things from the scripture to an exact team, right but God gives wisdom that's the point I'm making and part of it is, I believe, supernatural which is amazing to think that God would give me wisdom, right out of his mouth cometh knowledge he layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous he is a buckler to them that walk up uprightly, he keepeth the path of judgment, he preserveth the way of his saints then thou shalt understand righteousness and judgment and equity yea, every good path go to Proverbs chapter number 22 you know, if God gives you wisdom, you're going to have understanding as he says there, you will understand righteousness, judgment, and equity yea, every good path having the wisdom and the knowledge of God will guide you in this life when choices are put before you, when decisions have to be made when you have to go to the left hand or to the right you're going to have the knowledge of God the wisdom of God, if you've made the sacrifice if you've put in the time if you know the word of God, if you have the spirit of God if you're filled with spirit, you'll make the right decision and you'll do it with confidence you know, sometimes that's why a lot of people have a really difficult time making a decision in life because they just, they get paralysis by analysis they're not sure which one's right they're like, this looks good, but this I don't know, maybe this is the right, I don't know if we have the wisdom and knowledge of God, we'll understand we'll understand every good path oh, this is the right way, this is not the right way we'll make wise decisions in life God offers wisdom He told Solomon, what do you want? He says in James 1, if any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God and it shall be given him It says that God giveth to all men liberally and abraitheth not God's not going to get mad if you ask for wisdom God's going to be pleased if you ask for wisdom I think if God sees you in the prayer closet crying after wisdom, seeking wisdom begging for it, if he sees you in the Word, reading, being diligent looking for the wisdom of God applying into your life, God's going to be pleased by that and give you more wisdom He's not going to be upset by it, look at Proverbs 22 Verse 17 Bow down thine ear and hear the words of the wise and apply thine heart to knowledge So we have to put in our part We have to apply our hearts For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee withal shall be fitted in thy lips You know, giving an answer in due season, how sweet it is Right? Isn't it nice when someone comes to you and you have the answer? It's not nice not having the answer And look, we're not going to have the answer for everything Sometimes people come to me with questions and I just say, I don't know I'm not sure I'll give back to you, right? Or I can direct them to someone else that would know But isn't it nice when someone comes to you and it's a pleasant thing that that's been kept within you and it's fitted in your lips And people walk away and they go, thank you Thank you for being able to help me with that question Help me with that problem Thank you for the wisdom that you have Well, the only way you're going to get there is if you do what? Bow down thine ear and you hear the words of the wise and you apply your heart to knowledge Look at verse 20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsel and knowledge? That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth That thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee? It's a hypothetical question God has the answer God has written unto us excellent things in counsel and knowledge God has given us the wisdom in his word that we'd be able to know the certainty of the words of truth that we might be able to answer them that send unto us It's all right here God has given us excellent things in counsel and knowledge And we have to take the time to read it, to apply our hearts to bow down our ears But again, you have to bow down your ear Wisdom is offered and if you love God you'll seek it But wisdom requires humility That's what we see in the story if you still have something there Again, keep something in Proverbs all night But if you want to go back to 1 Kings 3 and Solomon said Thou showed thy servant David my father great mercy according as he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee and thou hast kept for him this great kindness that thou hast given him a son to set on his throne as it is this day and now, O Lord, thou hast made thy servant king and said of David, my father and notice these next words and I am but a little child and I know not how to go out or come in Now he's not literally a child, right? Cause we read how he took a wife you know, the daughter of Pharaoh, right? So he's married man, he's a grown man But here's a grown man, the king of Israel You know, most likely the most powerful man on the planet at this time And he's saying, I'm a little child What is that? That's humility, my friend And he's building up to ask for wisdom And he's admitting to God, I don't have it You know, this is another reason why people never get the wisdom that they need Cause they're too proud to understand how desperately they need it They think they have all the answers Well, I got all that figured out You know, I don't need advice in marriage I don't need advice on finances I don't need advice on child-rearing I got it all figured out already I already figured that all out And it's like, I know it's contrary to what the Bible actually says, but you know I guess I'm just smarter than God And look, people would never say, again, say those words but, you know, actions speak louder than words You just watch the way people live their lives the decisions they make And it's like Why are you saying and doing things that are completely contrary to the Bible? It's not wise You know, it might be because people have too much pride They can't swallow their pride and just say, I know not how I don't know how to do this You know, there's a good lesson, too You know, you want to succeed on work Be someone who's teachable Be somebody who can actually be told how to do something and be told you're wrong Cause you don't know everything You show up on some job I already know how to run all this structured cabling Oh, you've done it before? No. How hard could it be? Way more complex than you probably think Right? Or whatever it is You know, a lot of times that's all employers are looking for They're not interested how much experience you have sometimes sometimes they just want someone who can be told what to do and how to do it Just say, I know not how Hey, I don't know how to do this, but I'm willing to learn I'm a little child, teach me You know, before we want or before we can get, rather, wisdom we have to have humility There has to be an admission that we don't know There has to be an admission of our inability You know, this is something that, you know, people need to learn to just be able to say, I don't know how to do it And that can sometimes be kind of discouraging to sit there and think, I don't know how to do this But really, when you're there when you're at that point where you're willing to admit I don't know what I'm doing I'm a little child, I know not how to do this You're in the perfect position for God to step in and say Well, let me show you You're in the perfect position for somebody who's more seasoned, who has the wisdom who has the knowledge, who has the understanding to come alongside you and say, now that you're humble enough to receive instruction and wisdom, and now I'll show you But wisdom is preceded by humility By an admission of an ability Look at verse 8 I serve in the midst of this people which thou hast chosen a great people that cannot be numbered for multitude What I want us to see here is that wisdom is needed Wisdom is needed You know, I don't have to worry about humbling myself Because I really don't need the wisdom of God I understand it's there, but I'll be fine without it No, you won't The Bible says in Proverbs 26 verse 12, if you're there you can turn there I'll just read to you Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit there is more hope of a fool than him People who are wise in their own conceit have no hope of having any real wisdom in this life But what I want us to see now is that wisdom is something that is desperately needed Because Solomon said he was in the midst of what a great people that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude He's supposed to lead this nation There's, you know, just all these people that are looking to him for leadership, looking to him for guidance looking for him to lead them in righteousness and to show them how to worship God and how to serve God as a nation And he's saying, I don't know how to do it, God And God said, well I'll show you I'll give you the wisdom that you need But he had to be able to admit his inability He had to be willing to admit the fact that wisdom is something that's needed Look at verse 9 He says, it says there, give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may be, may discern between good and bad For who is able to judge this so great a people, verse 10 And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon asked this thing, and God said unto him, because thou hast not asked this thing and hast not asked for thyself long life neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast hast the life of thine enemies but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment behold, I have done according to thy words, though I have given thee a wise and understanding heart So there will none like thee before thee neither after thee shall any arise like thee You know, wisdom is something that is needed to discern good and bad And here we see in this passage, wisdom being defined That wisdom is being able to discern between evil and good It's able to It's having the ability to make judgment It's the ability to be able to understand, okay That's why wisdom is so important To be able to discern between good and bad To make the right decision I mean, think of how dangerous that would be to not understand between good and evil Like, this is something we teach our children hopefully, early on Stove, hot, right? This is a gun, do not play with it You know, whatever, you know We teach them safety, we teach them this is bad, this will hurt you Right? This is good, this will not hurt you And that doesn't end at childhood, obviously it does when it comes to those childish things But you know, we have our whole lives to live, where we have to make decision after decision, after decision, after decision And we have to have the ability, the wisdom, the understanding to be able to discern between what is good and what is bad And that ability, that wisdom comes from God If you would, well, we'll just wrap up I know it's been a long weekend for some of you but wisdom is discerned is defined as discernment between good and evil Bible says in Proverbs 14 Actually, you know what? Go to Proverbs 28, let's look at it It says in Proverbs 14 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death This is why you need to have wisdom so that you can discern between good and evil Cause, you know, you could live this life and say, well this seems right this seems good, this sounds good, this must be correct, and you could actually be going down the wrong path, making the wrong decision Listening to bad advice Listening to bad counsel and not even know it and actually think it's good Because you don't have wisdom, you don't have knowledge, you don't have understanding You don't have the wisdom that comes from God, there's no humility, there's no admission of inability The Bible says there's a way which seemeth right unto man but the end thereof are the ways of death Oh, I don't need to listen to my parents I don't need to listen to that preacher I don't need to listen to the word of God Cause I know this is right. You know what? The ends of those ways are death Look at Proverbs 28 verse 26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool Well, you know, I'm just gonna follow my heart I'm just gonna trust my heart tells me differently. You're a fool I mean the Bible just says it, you're a fool But whoso walketh wisely he shall be delivered You know, how do you walk wisely? By having a word that has a light unto your path and a lamp unto your feet Having a light that's gonna guide you through this life and the word of God The other thing I want us to see in the story is that not only is wisdom needed but wisdom will be tested Your wisdom will be tested And that happens to Solomon immediately in the story He asks for wisdom, God gives it to him, and then it says in verse 16 Then came there two women that were harlots unto the king and stood before him And everyone knows the story This is one of the most famous stories in the Bible Where there are two harlots They both had young children At the same time, pretty much And the one overlaid her child and it died And in the night she went and took and switched the children Then they woke up and said, oh, you killed your kid by sleeping on it And they had this dispute Like, no, that's my child And that's the dispute And Solomon in his wisdom says, bring me a sword and guide the living child and give each one a half And on the surface you say, that sounds ridiculous But Solomon in his wisdom knew that we're going to have to follow through on that because the mother of the living child would want to see it live Rather than see it destroyed, she'd rather just somebody else have it She's not one of those people, if I can't have you no one will That's not her motto And that was a very wise thing When people heard that, it spread abroad and everyone understood the wisdom of God Rather that Solomon had the wisdom of God But the point I'm making is that your wisdom will be tested in life The decisions that are coming to you whether you like it or not You are going to be drawn to crossroads You're going to be drawn to places of decision in your life You're going to have to be able to discern between good and evil and if you don't have wisdom, you will make the wrong decision If you If you do not have the knowledge of God you will make the wrong decision If you haven't been seeking her as for silver and hid treasures If you haven't been crying and lifting up your voice If you haven't been in the word of God and applying it, you will make the wrong decision If you're trusting in something Right? You're trusting either in your own heart in which case you're a fool or you're trusting in the knowledge of God. You're saying, I'm a child I don't have the ability, I don't have the humility enough to admit that we don't have the wisdom that we need, that we need it from God and you'll make the right decision or you're trusting in your own heart and you're going to make the wrong one But my point is that your wisdom will be tested You're going to have to make a decision every single one of us And we're going to you know, if we don't have the wisdom of God we will make the wrong one. But the good news is if you have the wisdom of God if you make wisdom, the principle thing in your life you'll make the right decisions The last thing I want us to notice in the story is that wisdom is given in proportion to our need If you look in 1 Kings chapter 4, look at verse 20 It says, and Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude eating and drinking and making merry Must have been Baptists So he's saying, look there's just so many of them you couldn't even count them They were like the sand of the sea How much is that? Nobody knows You can't calculate that It would be a fool's errand to go and try and count how much sand there is They're innumerable And look at verse 29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much and largestness of heart even as the sand that is on the seashore Now that just jumped out at me when I was reading this in my devotions It says that God's people were like the sands of the sea They were as the sand which is by the sea in multitude That's who Solomon was seeing over That's the situation he was in having to rule over this huge group of people But in turn God gave him the wisdom and understanding exceeding much and largest of heart Even as the sand of the sea He said hey I'm going to give you the wisdom in proportion to your need To me that's a comfort Because wisdom will be tested We're going to find ourselves in life going I have to make a decision I'm going to have to be responsible for the consequences of this decision I'm going to have to lead my family I'm going to have to lead my home Whatever it is That can be overwhelming sometimes Especially if we don't have that wisdom If we haven't been seeking it We can become very apprehensive about whether or not we're making the right decision But the good news is Just like Solomon was giving as much wisdom as he needed So will you and I I'm not saying God's going to give us so much wisdom That we're all going to go into competition with Elon Musk or something Cause it's not necessary But God will give you the wisdom that you need in this life God will give you the wisdom in proportion to your need If you see your need If we have the humility to admit it And I know that I said that was the last point But I have just two more quick points From the story Cause who knows when I'll be back again Look at verse 34 And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon From all kings of the earth which had heard of his wisdom You know Wisdom is going to make you useful to other people And I think this is something I've thought a lot about over the years The reason why I think so many people feel so unfulfilled in life Is because they make it all about them And really the greatest joy we get out of life Is when we The greatest joy we get out of life is when we are helpful to others When we're a people of utility Right? And this used to be something that was taught and practiced Earlier on in our country Where before the rise of mass consumerism And it just became all about getting stuff for yourself There was a great emphasis put upon being a useful person Helping your neighbor Who is a person of utility and has something to offer to society Not just a consumer Right? The problem is today we're all take now We're consuming media, we're consuming this, we're consuming entertainment Which is all about us and all the stuff we can get and the things we can do It's more this way We're like gimme, gimme, gimme Right? But the real satisfaction in life comes when we can help other people That's what I've found And the more wisdom that we have the more people we can help I mean they heard about the wisdom of Solomon, his wisdom was tested And they came from all around All people came to hear the wisdom of Solomon From all the kings of the earth I mean these great powerful men are coming to Solomon and saying let's hear what this guy has to say How did he get there? Solomon understood that wisdom is the principle thing That's why he wrote it when he wrote the book of Proverbs He said wisdom is the principle thing Therefore with all thy getting get wisdom It's gonna require that you love God That you're willing to make that sacrifice But it's worth it Because your wisdom will be tested in this life And you will or will not make the right decisions based upon that It's worth it to make that sacrifice Because you will actually be somebody that is useful to other people If you have wisdom and knowledge and understanding Let's go ahead and close the word of prayer Lord again thank you for the wisdom that we can find in your word Lord I pray it help us to be found daily Reading it, meditating upon it, allowing it to guide us, to lead us, to make the right decisions Lord help us to be a diligent people That desire to serve you with our lives And Lord to be able to do it with wisdom Make us a useful people Lord A useful people Lord for your glory We ask these things in Christ's name Amen Alright we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we are dismissed Alright would you please open up your song books This is song number 63 This is song number 63 What a day that will be This is song number 63 There is coming a day when no heartache shall come Summer clouds in the sky No more tears to give me up All is peace forevermore On that happy golden shore What a day, what a day that will be What a day that will be When my Jesus I shall see And I'll look upon his face The one who saved me by his grace When he takes me by the hand And leads me through the promised land What a day, glorious day that will be There'll be no sorrow there No more burdens to bear No more sickness to gain No more farting over there And forever I will be With the one who died for me What a day, glorious day that will be What a day that will be When my Jesus I shall see And I'll look upon his face The one who saved me by his grace When he takes me by the hand And leads me through the promised land What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be What a day, glorious day that will be