Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Who Has Wisdom?


Proverbs 9:1-6 ESV

Wisdom has built her house;
    she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
    she has also set her table.
She has sent out her young women to call
    from the highest places in the town,
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
    To him who lacks sense she says,
“Come, eat of my bread
    and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Leave your simple ways, and live,
    and walk in the way of insight.”

Oh, don’t we need this so much today, especially here in America? The naïve seem to abound, trusting in just about everything they hear, without even knowing if what they are believing is really the truth or not. For, there is so much deception going on in our nation, and in the church, too. And, too many people are just buying in to whatever sounds good, or whatever they have been programmed to believe.

So, wisdom is calling out to the church here in America, and across the globe, too. And, she is calling out to those who are naïve and gullible, and who fall for the lies, and who are easily persuaded and easily tossed here and there by every wind of teaching of men in their deceitful scheming. And, she is encouraging the naïve and the gullible to eat and to drink of wisdom, the wisdom of God, as taught us in God’s Holy Word.

But, the “simple” are not just the naïve and the gullible who fall for every trick and lie coming from the mouths of master manipulators and deceivers. The “simple” are those who lack good sense and judgment, not necessarily because they don’t know any better, but because they choose to be stupid. They choose to ignore the wisdom they do know, and to pretend ignorance, and to act as if they didn’t know, when they did know.

They choose to go the way of foolishness rather than the way of insight and good sense. They choose to deny that they must leave their senselessness behind them and their idols and their sinful practices. And, they choose to buy into a cheap grace gospel which promises them heaven but still leaves them in their stupidity and in their sinful practices. So, wisdom is calling them to leave their willful ignorance behind them to follow the right way.

Proverbs 9:7-9 ESV

Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
    and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
    reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
    teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

As a general rule, this is wise instruction. But, it doesn’t always fit with God’s instructions to his servants and messengers.

"But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious” (Ezekiel 2:7).

“They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 1:19).

“O Lord, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me” (Jeremiah 20:7).

“I have become a laughingstock to all my people, Their mocking song all the day” (Lamentations 3:14).

Also, look at the example of Jesus who corrected the Pharisees, the Scribes and the religious rulers within the temple of God. And, they definitely returned his counsel to them with rebuke, hate, mockery, abuse, injury, and rejection and persecution. The same happened to Paul, Peter, John and Stephen. They all received abuse in exchange for them correcting wrong beliefs and wrong behaviors. And, some of them were killed for it, too.

And, Jesus told us that we would be hated and persecuted as he was hated and persecuted for righteousness’ sake. And, he said that the world would hate us, not love us as its own, because Jesus called us out of the world. And, if we are truly living separate (unlike, different) from the world, because we are being conformed to the likeness of Christ, we are not going to be well liked. And, the “world” includes the worldly church, too.

For, we have to remember here that Jesus’ greatest persecutors, and the ones who had him put to death, were not the people out in the world, but they were rulers in the temple of God, and they were teachers of the scriptures, who knew what the scriptures taught regarding the coming Messiah, the Christ. They knew God’s moral laws, and yet, while following ceremonial laws often to the “nth degree,” they willfully engaged themselves in much wickedness behind closed doors. And, they killed the author of life.

Proverbs 9:10 ESV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

So, if you want to be wise, and you want to act with wisdom, and to do what is right, and if you want to do God’s will, then it begins with the fear of the Lord. And, what this means is that we need to give God the honor, the value, the esteem, the respect and the obedience which he so deserves.

So, we aren’t going to be wise if we buy into the cheap grace gospel which says we can just acknowledge who Jesus is, or that we can just make an outward profession of faith in him, or that we can just repeat some words after someone in a prayer, and we are now congratulated that we are part of the family of God, and that heaven is guaranteed us no matter how we live our lives from that moment forward.

If we want wisdom, then we need to respect God, and we need to obey our Lord and do what he says, not in our own flesh and willpower and in our own strength, but in the power of the Spirit of God living within us and in the strength of the Lord. We need to submit to his purposes for our lives, and surrender our wills to him, and truly make him our Lord (owner-master).

So, what this means for us is that we understand that faith in Jesus Christ is God-given and divinely persuaded, and thus it submits to God and it surrenders to his will. So, if we have genuine believing faith in Jesus Christ, it means we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we have been resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

It means we have left our old lives of living for sin and self behind us, too, in order to follow our Lord Jesus in obedience to his will and to his ways. But, it also means that this is something continuous in our lives as day by day we die with Christ to sin and we live with Christ to his righteousness. By the Spirit daily we must be putting to death the deeds of our sinful flesh and we must be walking (in practice, in lifestyle) in agreement with the Spirit of God (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 2 Co. 5:15; 1 Pet. 2:24).

For, God’s grace to us is not just forgiveness of sins, freedom from punishment, and the promise of heaven when we die. God’s grace, which brings salvation, instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions (fleshly lusts) and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s soon return (Tit. 2:11-14).

So, if you are not following after the wisdom of God, but you are following after the wisdom and counsel of men, then you need to come and partake of God’s wisdom and walk in the fear of the Lord if you want to have eternal life with him. For, scripture teaches that if we walk (in practice) in agreement with the flesh, then we are going to die in our sins, not have eternal life with God. So, please know this, for your eternity depends on it (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8).

To Be Like Him 

An Original Work / March 16, 2014 
Based off Scripture

Crucified you are with Jesus.
To be like Him, oh, you’ll be,
Because He died at Calv’ry,
So from sin you’d be free.
Oh, what joy He brings into your life,
Giving life with Him endlessly.

Oh, what plans He has for your life.
Share the gospel faithfully.
Show the people He loves them.
Now His witness you’ll be.
Tell the world of sin about Jesus,
How He died for them on a tree.

Purifying hearts, He saves them,
Who believe on Christ, God’s Son.
Turning now from their idols,
New lives they have begun.
Jesus saves from sin; we’re forgiven.
Over sin, the vict’ry He won!

When He comes again to take us
To be with Him evermore,
There will be no more crying.
Gladness will be in store.
Heavens joys will now overtake us:
We’ll be with our Lord evermore.



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