There are so many people that rely on their sophisticated knowledge and their worldly wisdom. Mistakenly believing that they are the product solely on their hard-won efforts to excel. They scoff at any idea that all useful wisdom, all enduring knowledge is a gift of the Spirit of the one sovereign God of all there is… and more!
May our prayers and searches this morning lead us to a greater understanding of wisdom, … knowledge, …And all of the associated gifts of the Spirit. A Spirit so holy and majestic, it can only be associated in conjunction with the Godhead. And that is a thought that is very timely on this Trinity Sunday.
Yes, this Trinity Sunday, a whole lot of the Christian world is reflecting on the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Or, how God establishes, creates, redeems, and sustains the creation of everything. You can spend the rest of your life trying to understand some of what God has done, is doing, and what He will do, not ever mastering the subject, and yet it will not be a wasted life.
Last week, our church observed God’s unleashing of His Holy Spirit into the world for our edification. This week, I would like to talk to you about two of the gifts of the Spirit that we all learn about in scripture. Let me just mention in passing 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, and in Romans 12:6-8, list a lot of those gifts of God.
A brief summary of the gifts that you will read about in those two passages are; wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, and mercy. In fact, a person could also add all of the traits resulting from the Spirit, outlined in the Sermon on the Mount (the Beatitudes), described in Matthew 5:3-12, to appreciate even more from God!
Additionally, there are the gifts of Faith (already mentioned in chapter 12 of 1 Cor.), but Faith, Hope and Love from chapter 13, the Love chapter, are the pinnacle of the “Fruit of the Spirit”, that Paul instructs us of. Reading Galatians 5:22-23;
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
No law,… because you have already anticipated anything the law could demand when you are steeped deep in the gifts of God’s Holy Spirit, with its baseline of love, accompanied by wisdom and knowledge.
My thought is that this list is just a beginning of all of the gifts for good purpose given to the family of God, and I believe they are all available to each of you, when you come asking the Lord for His assistance in equipping you for service in Him. And God gives according to His plans for you and your world in Him.
Today’s focus on wisdom and briefly on knowledge, is by describing how both are dependent on God’s Holy Spirit for real gift possession and use in His service. A purpose that goes much deeper than the random thoughts of humanity.
In fact, with all of the great worldly philosophers out there who have spoken about both of these gifts, there is no shortage of sources to quote. Frances Bacon said: “knowledge is power” And Jimmy Hendrix said: “knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens”. Just to name two. Both are deep and basked in a world of distractions, and I want to focus on real understanding in the pursuit of how God equips you and me for the Christian working day.
Beginning with the instruction of the basics by our Lord. Jesus spoke about how the source of our gifts comes from being born again. Please let me revisit the Call to Worship that Cindy Cook read earlier. From John 3:5-8;
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
The Spirit is the beginning of real understanding, and everyone who is born of the Spirit, and surrenders themselves to our majestic God,… trusts in a Lord that will take you to places you thought you never would visit, much less love, and bask in, by living in and with Him!
When we are born from the Spirit, “Born Again” God leads our direction in life, and equips all of the willing with real knowledge through the Holy Spirit. That knowledge is the fact that it is essential to cling to our Lord for direction, understanding, and discernment.
Our Lord in another place goes into detail about this incredible gift from God, the gift of His Holy Spirit that would be given after His glorification. Here are the Lord’s words from today’s Message Reading. Reading again John 16:12-16;
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
I see our Lord in my mind’s eye every time I see a person glorifying God by walking in and with Him. I might add that it is through Christ’s sacrifice for you and me, that we now can have a real and intimate relationship with God. And when people do, they are in fact, reflecting the light that is the Holy Spirit setting up house in … you, God’s Temple within a person’s heart. All are the result when you invite Him into your life.
And then like the wind, our souls reverberate in His magnificent symphony of majesty. When we surrender ourselves to God’s will, He harmonizes our actions for good in this hurting world, and the only one who really knows where you will go, the locations and future destinations along your way to His Paradise, is the Lord Himself!
Knowing this should lead us to ask for more and more time in and with our Lord on our Faithwalk, for growth.
Wisdom begins by understanding that “it” is not a person to be worshiped, but a gift, and it is leading us to understanding just how essential our intimate relationship in and with our Lord is, and wanting to know more. So let me build upon the prelude I read to you earlier by continuing in Solomon’s reflections and description of wisdom. Reading from Proverbs this time 8:22-36;
22 “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old;
23 I was formed long ages ago,
at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;
25 before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
26 before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth.
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30 Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.
32 “Now then, my children, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not disregard it.
34 Blessed are those who listen to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.
35 For those who find me find life
and receive favor from the Lord.
36 But those who fail to find me harm themselves;
all who hate me love death.”
To my unsophisticated ears, this passage sounds like majestic poetry and a sonnet or a hymn to celebrate how much God loves you by providing gifts that are so deep, personal, intimate, … and powerful, that they can elevate your very being and save your life.
Our goal must be to not get too puffed up in our excitement of learning more, or our natural desire for arrogance when we start to understand the deeper things about our God! For that is what “did in” Solomon, when he actually started to believe he was all that special and more.
Yes, when we start to think that our wisdom and knowledge are the sole products of our own doing, that mankind, science, and technology can replace God, and we begin to go it alone without our Lord’s Spirit, we are chasing Solomon and worldly stuff instead of real living in and with our Lord. Proving that: Wisdom Without God is Living Without Life!
Living without life, is full of bling and shinny stuff, but wisdom leads us to know real life and really living is freedom from all the worldly addictions to stuff that doesn’t satisfy. Living without life is a day devoted to binge watching instead of Birdwatching, being force-fed drone entertainment instead of being the entertainment.
Wisdom teaches us to own our lives with God, instead of paying tribute and addiction dues to an idol god that seeks to sap you dry of any; self-reliance, happiness, or self-worth. Instead of an individual one-of-a-kind relationship with the Lord, wisdom without God, leads us to into competition with God. Instead of real growth, maturity, and overcoming adversity with our Lord, the world wants you to live without living!
I would like to conclude today’s message with a passage from Solomon’s father David. Not touted as a wise man like Solomon, but called a man after God’s own heart. As I read, see if you can spot real understanding, authentic reverence, and God inspired Wisdom. Reading Psalm 8; A psalm of David.
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
*Please let me interrupt David to say; Perhaps one of the enemies of God is all of that worldly stuff we are blindsided with in our lives that seek to divide us from each other, and separate us from the Lord.
Well, the light of God’s Spirit shines through the fog of ignorance and sham wisdom, providing a pathway towards a real life in Him! Continuing now with David, wisdom leads us to consider the majesty of God, the littleness of us, and all He has provided. On to verse 3;
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
The ability to listen, read, and comprehend God’s word, comes from His Holy Spirit. Wisdom, leads us to come back to His word time after time to glean greater meaning and a closer real life in and with Him. As confirmed by our Lord’s instruction in today’s message reading from John 16 where Jesus said;
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
In closing, it has been said of late, that our elites are not elite. Perhaps that’s because they believe in God less, and many are instructed by Godless schools of wokeism. Only God’s Spirit leads to real understanding of knowledge and wisdom!
My hope and prayer for you my beautiful family in God, is that you will seek the gifts of God’s Spirit, to praise, glorify, and magnify His Holy and precious name.
Amen!