Wise People Seek Wisdom, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. Yes what he asked for his wisdom is that God just making life. Think of all the things notice the it says it was pleasing in the side of my contention. Always be delighted all not be honest with yourself and all the things remember facing a light on the versus how many times she asked if circumstances change because that usually.

Please Lord James Marshall joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhart now is once again he shows us how God's word. Our world I think that we all have one thing in common. Sure and that is I believe that all of us a bit of place in our lives where we ask ourselves exactly the same question. What should I do now that I don't know what to do. See, what should I do when I don't know the wise thing to do is see. Eventually we all backed up against our limitations. All of us and wisdom is not readily apparent to us and often by the way, even when we get to those kinds of choices.

There are other factors which made wisdom very difficult for us to find there is the emotional fog of the moment, emotionally charged events.

You hear people blurt out things like but I love him no money down anywhere but here we make decisions like that all the time. Sometimes, by the way, it's not our emotions. It's simply the were ignorant that we have almost no experience many years ago there was a well-meaning man in our church and he wanted to help my wife and I have make out wise investments and up so he we met with him and he started talking to a send up. It's a fog to me, but he was talking about short-term long-term rollover counterintuitive European stocks and it sounded to me you I was sitting there nodding my head and I was thinking it was like a Charlie Brown cartoon is Barbara Gillis. I wasn't understanding anything that he said it wasn't his fault. I was in no position I simply didn't know enough.

I was too inexperienced. Fortunately as the years gone by. If you talk to me now. I might know a little bit before composites are complex but some see sooner or later we all face our limitations. You know that you've done it about the first night when you brought the first baby home the hospital in that something now what about this one. The first time you want to enclose the house the first time there's a 200 stacks of papers you have no idea people sitting around a room and they keep handing you stack after stack.

You're trying to read it as fast as you can, but no one wants to read it. Apparently, and then they have all these tags sign sign sign sign.

We've all been there.

You're not sure all what to do and no circumstances at all. Whenever you face really difficult circumstances, and you're not sure to do it all left with the question what do the wise. What is somebody who actually has wisdom.

What do they do when normally I can say this, I can tell you what the first step is they do nothing, wise people don't make emotional choices wise people don't make choices out of ignorance, wise people do nothing and then they do something else. They move ahead, but only after they have taken the time to gain wisdom. You see there's something special about being wise wise people know when they don't know wise people know what they don't know and wise people are very comfortable seeking wisdom before they make a decision. You know it's kind of paradoxical when you think about it you mean to tell me that wise people seek wisdom. Yes, that's what I'm telling you, but don't take my word for. Let's take the wisest man whoever lived word for this. Take Solomon's go with me to first Kings chapter 3 first Kings chapter 3 were in a series 1 wisdom how to live a foolproof life in the very first week I said that the most important question you can ask no matter what choice or decision you're making is this one. What is the wise thing to do.

You have to ask yourself that question. What is the wise thing to do.

First of all, in light of my past experience, not anybody's. But my in light of my past experience, what's the wise thing to do in light of my present circumstances.

What's the wise thing to do in light of my future hopes and dreams. What is the wise thing to do if you would just apply that to your life. You'd be amazed how much infinitely better your life would be the second week we dealt with this whole idea of the unwise. The Bible calls them in them into three groups.

The naïve who have no wisdom because they have no experience the full who doesn't even mind big and wrong is just going to plow ahead anyway and then the scoffer who, as I said at that time is a full one steroids. The scoffer will do what the fool would do it and then he will be belligerent and defend his position.

Last time we deal with what is the wise way to handle your time. How do we redeem our time and today were seeing something else that we need to understand you will never be as wise as you are capable of being and less you tap into the wisdom of God and others in your life. Verse five of first Kings three then given one context you need. Solomon is now King and he's likely to be about 20 years old. You need understand he's 20. He's not 60 it says in Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night and God said to him, ask what you wish me to give you.

I don't know about you, we've all like movies about genies and stuff like that but this thing to fit. This is God your 20 okay when you were 20 or if you are 20. This is God what you want. Anything you want, I'll give you, you can just see the Rolodex going on in your head. King man. I got some ideas here. See my premises. This Solomon was already extremely wise.

He was already wise when he was only 20 years of age and he was wise because he was raised by a very wise father named David. Notice what Solomon said you have shown great lovingkindness to your servant David my father. He said accordingly.

He said as he walked before you, in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward you and you have reserved him for this great lovingkindness that you have given him a son to sit on the throne as it is this day. The first thing he says the God is. I know why I am here because of how much you love my father.

My father is David a man after God's own heart. He's wise now watch now Lord my God, he said you have made your servant King in a place of my father, David, and yet I am but a little child, I do not know how to go in and go out and come in, but I have no idea ever been in a position like that you have a positioning use and really have no idea what to do in this. He then says this he says your servant is in the midst of your people which you have chosen a great people he said were too many to be numbered or counted. So you give me says your servant an understanding heart. Please to judge your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours. That's what he asked for what he asked for his wisdom. He said God just make me wise enough. Think of all the things notice the it says it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord. Solomon asked for this thing is my contention. By the way that God would always be delighted in you when you ask God for wisdom always now be honest with yourself and all the things of ever facing a life. How many times you asked for wisdom versus how many times you asked for the circumstances, the change because that's usually what we pray about. Please Lord, change my circumstances. He says that the Lord is really pleased with all this and God said to him, because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself a long life, nor have you asked for riches for yourself nor the US for the life of your enemies but you have asked for discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I am giving you a wise and discerning heart so that there has been no one like you before you nor he said sure. One like you arise after you and by the way, oh by the way, verse 13. I've also given you what you have not ask riches and honor, and he said in verse 14.

If you walk in my ways of give you long life to so we got a lot of other stuff, but he only wanted was wisdom, which tells you that he was wise right in the beginning, wise people know what they don't know they know when they don't know it, and they have no trouble going to God and others for wisdom. Now, what's astounding to me about a 20-year-old king then asked this year you wake up in the morning your thinking wow that was a dream. Wonder why not just the talk. I wonder how wonderful the wise, if you notice the word first word in verse 16 is the word then so apparently almost immediately he gets a chance to see if he is wise now member your 20. This is then to women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him, the one woman said oh my Lord, this woman and I live in the same house and I gave birth to a child when she was in the house and it happened on the third day after I gave birth at this woman also gave birth to a child and we were together and he says there was no stranger with his in the house. Only the two of us in the house since 20 oh came to harlots in both is that babies then this woman son died in the night because she laying on it. He says and she is so she arose in the middle of the night and she took my son permit beside me while your maidservant slept and laid him on her bosom and laid her dead son on my bosom and when I arose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold, it was not my son, whom I born, and then the other woman said no for the living one is my son and the dead one is your son and then the first woman said no good one is your son of the living one is my son later 20-year-old thinking you're just sitting there listening to this the king said okay let me see if I understand the problem. The king said the one says this is my son who is living in your son is the dead one and the other says no for your son is the dead one and my son is a living one. I have the problem figured out. Yes then the king said, give me a sword and they brought a sword before the king, and he said, divide the living child in two and give half to the one after the is famous for this.

See, I don't think what people think about it.

He's 20 see this as a young man you get the sword and then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred over this, her son and she said oh my Lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him, but the other one said he shall be neither mine or yours. Go ahead and divide them. Then the king said give the first woman the living child by no means kill and she is the mother Mrs. when all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered Don they feared the king that means respected, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice while what a first test, life and death became famous by the way, one of the great acts of wisdom all through history, but Solomon there something about Solomon amazes me. He's the wisest man who ever lived. By God's decree and yet Solomon says over and over again. If you're wise you'll know what you don't know you'll know when you don't know it and you will seek counsel or wisdom.

This go to Proverbs, I just want to serve a few verses of the Proverbs chapter 1 with me Proverbs chapter 1 verse five.

Solomon writes this, he said I wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel. You see, what we want to say is when you don't have any wisdom. All that's when you need to find it. So Mrs. is exactly the opposite was true. You see when you don't have any wisdom of all, you're very likely to be a fool in your life if you are for their something that fools all have in common self-sufficiency. I can do this. I know what to do.

I can handle what I've got control of the situation. Don't worry, I like to make these decisions. Solomon was wise he goes. Be very careful thinking that way. Look at the chapter 12 of Proverbs verse 15. Here he contrasts the two the way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel. You see, no, don't forget who's writing this by God's estimate, the wisest man whoever lived.

So if anybody could say hey look, I really don't need a lot of counsel by anybody I know.

Kind of what I'm doing it be Solomon's is just the opposite is notes before. What does that you see is the form it says I've got this handled. I can handle this. He says no you can't. He says the wise men listens to counsel look at that chapter 15 in verse 22. He says in verse 22.

He says without consultation. Plans are frustrated, he said, but with many counselors may succeed.

Again, this whole idea of seeking counsel in one last one I want to look at his chapter 19 a Proverbs in verse 20 chapter 19 in verse 20 he writes this, listen to counsel and accept discipline that you may be wise. He says the rest of your days you what that tells me Solomon not only listen to counsel when he was 20. But he did it when he was 30 and 40 and 50 and 60. He said counsel now that almost seems in estrangement. Why would the wisest man in the whole world. Put such a premium on asking the advice of others.

Here's the answer because he was the wisest man in the whole world. You see, that's why he did it. You see, what is it that stopped us from doing this. It's all foolhardiness. The sense of self-sufficiency says don't do that. Don't do that. You see biblical wisdom is not intellectual, biblical wisdom is, is the skill to cope with life the way it is. That's what biblical wisdom is, is the skill to be able to cope with life the way it is.

Were falling people living in a cursed world.

This requires an awful lot of insight and motor weight. Make your way and so wise, people know what they don't know they know when they don't know and have no problem at all gaining wisdom from others. But there's another time in your life you have to make a specific kind of decision concerning wisdom. What you do when your life goes bad what you do when it's one of the worst days of your life, what you do when you're in a lot of pain and a lot of suffering. What you do that hi, how does it work that you see that requires a certain amount of experience, wisdom many years ago we had a have a pilot in the church as a commercial pilot and I was involved in discipleship ministry with him and I originally was a fighter pilot. Then he flew the airlines and I was have all these questions for this kinda guys and I would know how you fly a big airliner. One time he said to me you said you know in two weeks I could teach you how to fly commercial airliner that take it off and no takeoff in New Orleans and land another city. Two weeks so I so the wise guy that I am I said what if they need you know and he said because things go bad. And when you get it goes batting during the carpet.

Everybody dies seek that's what I am all yes all Ottoman.

That's why am. In other words, there is a certain amount of wisdom and experience you mean when things go bad, and that's what we need in our life.

We need wisdom to bathrobe on the radio ministry of fellowship in the world.

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