God's Way to Health, Wealth, Wisdom - Part 1
taken from a message given by Adrian Rogers
God’s wisdom is available through the promise of the Father, the product of the Spirit, the presence of the Savior, the pursuit of the Scripture, and the prayer of the saint. In this first part, we’ll look at the first three aspects of discovering God’s way to health, wealth, and wisdom.
The Promise Of The Father
What would you do if you had one wish? Solomon found himself in exactly that situation when God appeared to him one night and said, “Ask what I shall give thee” (2 Chronicles 1:7). Solomon could have asked for anything: health or wealth, for example, or power over his enemies. But he told God he wanted wisdom.
It took humility to make that request. And indeed God said that not only would Solomon have wisdom, but he would also have wealth and power in abundance. Why? Because Solomon didn’t ask for them. He asked for what was essential.
What makes wisdom so precious? Because it comes from the Father. All of us treasure that which is passed down to us from our parents.
Solomon offers words of wisdom to his own son: “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee” (Proverbs 2:1). Can you identify with that? As parents, we spend much of our time finding ways to pass on our wisdom to our children.
The Product Of The Spirit
Proverbs 2:1‑2 says, “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding.”
Solomon described a classroom with the Holy Spirit as teacher. In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Wisdom. By the way, He is not called the Spirit of Knowledge. There is a difference. Knowledge can be attained without the Spirit, but true wisdom has only one source and one teacher.
Knowledge is a good thing we all need. It is a necessity and a virtue. But it is learned, while wisdom is given. Knowledge is the product of studying, while wisdom is the product of meditation. And wisdom is the application of knowledge. Knowledge is fine and essential, but without wisdom to bring it to light, it is little more than splendid ignorance.
In the Old Testament there is another word related to wisdom, and that word is skill. For example, the workmen who built the Temple were given the Spirit of Wisdom or the Spirit of Skill, to build in a way that pleased God. The terms are almost interchangeable. Indeed, wise living is about living skillfully. You make the most of your life by becoming an artist with the canvas and palette you’re given when God places you on this earth. You live artfully, with skill.
It is possible to have a tremendous palette of paints and not know where to put the colors. In other words, a head full of knowledge does not imply wisdom.
The Presence Of The Savior
First Corinthians 1:20-21 says:
Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Think about this statement by Paul very carefully. It means that God is too wise to let us know about Him through our own wisdom. Instead, He reveals Himself to us in His own perfect way through His Son.
Paul goes on to tell us that the “Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom” (v. 22). They wanted a god created in the image of their own intellect. And what was Paul’s response?
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. (vv. 23‑24)
Christ turns the wisdom of others upside down. Wisdom is there for everyone. It begins with the promise of the Father. It is the product of the Spirit and comes about by the presence of the Savior, who is Christ, the power and wisdom of God. He enters our hearts, seizes our minds, and shows us what it truly means to be wise.
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