In previous lessons – we talked about how the whole armour of God – is
something that enables us to continue in the truth . . . and
how wisdom is what allows us to see the difference between good and
evil . . . if we do not possess the wisdom – or the foresight
to put on the whole armour of God – then why would we possess the
wisdom or the spiritual foresight to avoid the wiles of Satan . . . as he
tempts us to walk down the path of evil – which he has disguised to
have the appearance of that which is good?
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil.
To stand against the wiles of the devil – is defined as continuing to
travel in a direction that is going away from Satan.
The whole armour of God – is what allows us to stay on the path of
righteousness – and the whole armour of God - is what prevents us from
following the path of unrighteousness.
To stand against the wiles of the devil – refers to the ability to see
through the deception of Satan . . . Satan puts up detour
- signs as we are walking along the path of God’s will – and these
signs are intended to trick us – into leaving the path of God’s will.
Wisdom . . . is the ability to see the difference between good and evil
- wisdom is something that comes from God . . . Wisdom
is what enables us to see the detour signs and to recognize them as a
trick.
James 1:5 If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth
not; and it shall be given him.
How do we recognize whether or not we possess wisdom . . . well if we
are constantly being tricked by The Lies of Satan – then we
have forgotten God’s armour - and we lack the wisdom to recognize the
difference between The Truth of God and The Lie of Satan.
Now none of us are able to live above sin – but there is a difference
between stumping our toe while walking on the path of God’s will – and taking a
detour so that we leave the path of God’s will altogether.
Do we constantly wonder where the path of God’s will is located . . . if
so we lack wisdom.
Or can we see the path of God’s will clearly – but do we simply lack
the strength to keep from stumbling as we walk along the path of His will . . .
this does not describe the man
who is perfect – but it describes the man who has obtained wisdom in
his life . . . wisdom which is able to teach him how to avoid that which is able
to cause him to stumble.
This is what God desires of his children – not
for us to be perfect – but for us to have learned to fear Him – to be
careful - and to pay attention to where we walk . . . so that
we will learn to stumble less and less through life . . . The armour of
God begins and ends with wisdom
Wisdom is what shows us the real path – as opposed to the detours of
Satan . . . and wisdom is also what shows us the difference between living a
godly life and a worldly life.
Pr 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with
all thy getting get understanding.
In order to understand the meaning of righteousness – we must first be
able to see the differences that exist between righteousness and
unrighteousness . . . and we practice
wisdom – by simply paying attention – and by being careful - not to
stumble.
Pr 8:12 ¶ I wisdom dwell with prudence, and
find out knowledge of witty inventions.
To dwell with prudence means that wisdom lives with – stays with –
resides with prudence.
To be prudent – is to exercise caution – to be careful – practical –
discrete or far sighted.
We would describe prudence as thinking ahead – for instance consider
how we dress for work or school . . . if we look outside and the
sun is shinning we plan on dressing one way . . . but if it is raining
or snowing - we will dress entirely differently . . . well what is there
- about the sunshine that causes us to dress for warm weather – and
what is there about the snow or rain that causes us to dress for cold weather .
. . likewise - what is there
- about the truth that directs our lives in one direction – and what is
there about The Lies of Satan that directs our lives in the opposite direction
. . . now over the years - we have
learned that sunshine brings warmth – and that snow brings us the cold
. . . now if we always got confused and wore a coat on sunny days – and short
sleeves on snowy days
we would understand that we had a problem – and we would go to mom and
dad for help.
Likewise – if were constantly in doubt concerning what God’s will for
our lives was – we should also understand that we have a problem – and go to
God for help . . . he that
Lacketh wisdom – let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally
and upbraideth not {does not chide us for asking}.
Spending the day out in the cold without a coat – would motivate us to
do what - it would teach us to be prudent – cautious - careful –
practical – far sighted {to pay attention} concerning the weather and
the type of clothes that we wear.
That is what it means when Proverbs tells us that wisdom dwells with
prudence . . .
If we do not pay attention – if we are not careful . . . then we are
not wise - and we will get caught unprepared in the rain – or in the cold.
Pr 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge
of the holy is understanding.
If we have no fear of being miserable all day – out in the cold . . .
then we will not consider how to dress before we leave home.
Imagine – never having been cold or wet out in the rain . . . but if we
have ever experienced the pain of being chilled to the bone – with no way to
find warmth . . .then we will
- be careful – we will be cautious – we will be practical – we will be
far sighted and pay attention to the weather so that it will not happen to us
again . . . if we have no
fear of God – no apprehension {no dread or uneasiness} concerning
conviction or condemnation . . . then we will not be prudent concerning getting
caught in the cold - outside of God’s will . . . now remember
- prudent means being careful – cautious – practical – far sighted or
paying special attention . . . in order to avoid unpleasant circumstances.
And this exactly what we as parents teach our children as we give them
discipline . . . an undisciplined child – is a child that has not learned
wisdom
Pr 29:15 ¶ The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself
bringeth his mother to shame
A child that is not spanked for being disrespectful to a parent – is a
child that will never develop a fear of being disrespectful
- and this will result – in his not being cautious or careful to avoid
this - in his later life . . .
As a child of God – we suffer conviction {or a
spanking} in our heart – as we rebel against God’s will for our lives .
. . and as we continue to rebel – or to fight against this
conviction . . . we only become more and more miserable until we
finally reach the place of repentance and humble ourselves before God.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed
unto the day of redemption.
The mistake that many often make in their lives – is that they struggle
against God’s conviction in their heart - far too long as they
seek comfort in The Lies of Satan – instead of in The Truth of God . .
. if any lack wisdom let him ask of God . . . how do we know if
we are among these who lack wisdom . . . Well – one way that we can
tell – is by looking at where we go to find rest from our burdens.
Do we actually find rest and get rid of the
burdens that weigh us down – or are we simply tricked by a detour sign only
to have
- these burdens show up again and again in our lives – after we thought
that Jesus had taken them from us?
If this describes our life – then we are in need of wisdom . . . so
that we can see the difference between The Truth which will
take these the burdens from us for good . . . and The Lie of Satan that
will only give us temporary rest.
Pr 14:8 ¶ The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the
folly of fools is deceit.
When someone tricks us – they are actually telling us a lie . . . and
Satan has no greater weapon than The Lie which he presents to us because of his
hate for God . . . while God’s
- greatest weapon – is The Truth that He gives to us – out of love.
Gen 2: 16 ¶ And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree
of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not
eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Gen 3: 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
The wisdom of the prudent – the wisdom of those who are careful,
cautious and far sighted as they pay attention so they can
avoid the cold weather of deception - this is to understand his way . .
. now what this means - is that if we look outside at the snow – and
then we look at our short sleeves . . . but are so anxious to get out
and play in the snow – that we do not want to take time to get our coat . .
. we simply do not understand what will happen to us if we go out into
the cold –
wearing only our short sleeves . . . the wisdom of the prudent is to
understand his way – means that we see the cold weather – we see
our short sleeves . . . we see everyone outside having fun in the snow
– but we understand how necessary it is - for us to take the time to dress
properly.
but the fool – does not understand the price that he will be required
to pay – if he does not wait until he is properly dressed before going out to
play in the snow.
The Bible clearly teaches us that there is pleasure in sin for a season
. . . but the wisdom
- of God – the fear of God also teaches us that the punishment of
unrighteousness is far greater – than the pleasures of unrighteousness
And this is The Big Lie . . . that the pleasures
of sin – will be worth any
punishment that comes later . . . the fun I will have
disobeying – will be worth the spanking that I will get later . . . if
we do not fear the Lord
– then we do not possess wisdom – and we will not practice caution – we
will not be careful – and we will not be far sighted and pay
attention – so that we can avoid His punishment.
So what do you think about Satan’s Lie – is the pleasure of Sin . . .
worth the punishment that it will bring into our lives after the pleasure is
over?
Hebrews 11: 24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be
called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
25 Choosing rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a
season;
26 Esteeming the reproach of
Christ greater
riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the
recompence of the reward.
Suppose that we just cannot wait to get out and play in the snow . . .
we go out without a coat and gloves – and we have a blast – the best
time that we’ve ever had in our whole lives - it really was that much
fun.
But when we come inside to get warm – we notice that our fingers are
frozen . . . we didn’t notice it outside because we were
having so much fun – but when we
came inside they began to hurt . . . so we go to the doctor and they have to be
amputated.
Now we will have the rest of our lives – to remember how much fun we
had in the snow without a coat and gloves . . . but none of
these memories of the pleasure we had – will take the place of not
having any fingers on our hands . . . but the scars of our rebellion
- will be with us long after we forget the temporary pleasure which
that rebellion brought to us . . . this is what
wisdom was able to show Moses through faith
This is what it means – when we are told that wisdom dwells with
prudence and that the folly of fools is deceit {or the fact that they can be so
easily tricked by the pleasures of sin}.
Have we chosen The Truth of God’s Love – or the folly of Satan’s Lie .
. . ?
Ice Cream tastes really good – but if we eat too much we will get
really fat . . . So just because something tastes good – does not
mean that it is good for us . . . Likewise - just- because something
‘feels good’ – this does not necessarily mean that it is good for us.
As part of the human race – and specifically as children of God – we
all have a choice to make in our lives – when we experience the discomfort of
conviction . . . when we are
- outside in the snow of rebellion – we can choose to stay outside in
the cold and continue in rebellion – or we can make the
choice to leave all of the fun - and go inside to the warmth of
repentance.
When we experience conviction in our heart – from God . . . do we stay
outside in the cold of rebellion – or do we leave the temporary
pleasures of this rebellion . . . and go to Jesus- in order to find
rest.
Mt 11: 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light.
Lets’ notice what Moses did – when he was confronted with such a choice
. . .
By faith Moses when he was come to years – refuses to be called the son
of Pharaoh’s daughter . . .
And it is by faith – that when you and I come to years – we also refuse
to be called a friend of the world – or a son of Satan.
To come to years simply refers to the time in Moses’ life – when he was
responsible for dressing himself.
When we are young – our Mom tells us when to wear a coat or short
sleeves . . . but as we grow older – we become aware of the weather ourselves –
and we are able to make these decisions on our own.
Likewise – from a spiritual perspective – there is a time in each of
our lives – when God protects us from the cold weather of rebellion.
But before long we grow to understand for ourselves what it means to
rebel so we can experience pleasure . . . or to obey so we
Avoid punishment – this is when like Moses we also come to years and
either refuse to believe Satan – and accept Christ . . . or
Refuse to believe Jesus and accept The Lies of Satan.
What choice have we made . . . Does Satan continue to deceive us – or
has wisdom shown us the truth?
Do we possess wisdom - or do we live as a fool?
How many times have we clearly seen the difference between good and
evil . . . only to lack the courage it takes - to avoid the evil way - and to
walk in the way that is good.
Who is the greater fool - and who will have more to answer for in the
day of judgment . . . the man who walks in the way of evil out of because he
cannot see . . . or the
Man who can see - but who walks in the way of evil - because he lacks
the courage to turn away from it.
