Transcript The Life Marked by Wisdom and Balance  Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him.

The Life Marked by Wisdom and Balance
 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the
ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk
in them, but transgressors stumble in them. Hosea 14:9
 “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of
wolves: Therefore be wise as serpents and
harmless as doves” Matthew 10:16
 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all
generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him James 1:5
 Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. James 1:19
 “With God are wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. Job 12:13
 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Pro
11:2
 the price of wisdom is more than pearls. Job 28:18
 And he said to mankind, ‘The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to turn
away from evil is understanding. Job 28:28
 For I will give you the words along with the wisdom that none of your
adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. Luk 21:15
 The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord, Pro 9:10
 Solomon
 Types of Wisdom
 Earthly wisdom
 Educational
 Street Wise
 Demonic Wisdom
 Sensual Wisdom
 Heavenly or Godly Wisdom
 QUESTION
 "It is not uncommon that our priorities in life end up
in conflict with one another and we start asking for
advice and direction but are often dissatisfied with the
simplistic answers we get. It is at those times that we
need wisdom, Godly wisdom. So what does this Godly
wisdom look like? And how can it help us balance our
priorities?
 That is what we will try to answer in this talk."
 Spiritual priorities
 Financial priorities
 Family priorities
 Physical priorities
 Mental priorities
 Social priorities
 Work priorities
 Questions
 1) What is Godly Wisdom?
 2) How can we obtain Godly wisdom
 3) How can Godly Wisdom help us balance our
priorities (How can we learn the wisdom to balance)?
 If, our conversation and words have produced disorder,
anger and troubles rather than healing, it has not been
God’s wisdom, but rather a false wisdom.
 “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above,
but is earthly, sensual, demonic” (James 3:15). It finds its
source in one of three places: in earth-bound motives, in
sin, or in Satan himself.
 This is the kind of wisdom we do not want. We want
God’s wisdom from above, wisdom that helps and
heals, that brings about peace and joy in our lives, that
increases love and good feelings among our friends,
families, and among the entire congregation.
 Questions
 1) What is Godly Wisdom?
 2) How can we obtain Godly wisdom
 3) How can Godly Wisdom help us balance our
priorities (How can we learn the wisdom to balance)?
 God is the source of all Wisdom
 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of
mercy and good fruits, without partiality and
without hypocrisy. James 3:17
 “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him
show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness
of wisdom” (James 3:13)
 James is talking about our entire manner of life, not just
words. But we cannot eliminate words from what he
said. He goes on to mention bitter jealousy and selfish
ambition (v. 14), things which are normally expressed by
destructive communication. “And where jealousy and
selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil
thing” (James 3:16). Unwise words harm rather than
heal.
 Wisdom also submits to our Lord and to His
commandments. Proverbs 3:13-14:
 “Happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is the man who
finds skillful and godly Wisdom,and the man who gets
understanding [drawing it forth from God's Word and
life's experiences], For the gaining of it is better than
the gaining of silver, and the profit of itbetter than fine
gold.”
 Questions
 1) What is Godly Wisdom?
 2) How can we obtain Godly wisdom
 3) How can Godly Wisdom help us balance our
priorities (How can we learn the wisdom to balance)?
 But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto
you. (Matt 6:33)
 James gives us steps. “But the wisdom from above is (1)
first pure, (2) then peaceable, (3) gentle, (4)
reasonable, (5) full of mercy and good fruits, (6)
unwavering, (7) without hypocrisy” (James 3:17).
 If we train ourselves to live by these standards we can
be wise as serpents, yet harmless as doves and gain
Godly Wisdom.
 Through Prayer
 Ask and you shall be given…. Luke 11:9
 Through the Bible
 Your words are a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my
path….Psalm 119:105
 Through Readings
 Through Love
 The greatest of these is love...
 Through Practice
 Through Contemplations
 Begin and end the day with God
 Be wise as serpents yet gentle as doves
 Jesus wants us to conduct ourselves wisely, but without
hurting ourselves or others that is-- harmless as doves.
 Strategy - End the Day With God
Set aside 15-30 minutes each night evaluating your day.
Ask yourself
 What choices did I make today? How does God feel
about them? How did I relate to others? Is there
something I need to seek forgiveness for before going to
bed? What were my challenges and opportunities in
living a Holy life?
 Questions
 1) What is Godly Wisdom?
 2) How can we obtain Godly wisdom
 3) How can Godly Wisdom help us balance our
priorities (How can we learn the wisdom to balance)?
 Lazy vs Busy vs Frantically Busy
Think about how many things you are currently
involved in on a week-to-week basis. Now ask yourself,
how many of those things have a specific leading from
the Lord? Routinely, we take on responsibilities and
even "fun" activities that are more life draining than
they are life sustaining. I strongly urge you to partner
with God and allow Him to create your schedule by
asking Him, Is this something You want me/us doing?
 Strategy -Balancing Act
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God loves balance, he provided both spiritual nourishment and
physical nourishment-love and compassion and as His children
He wants us to balance the things in our lives.
With balance in mind, are we spending to much time in a
specific area of our life? (perhaps football or basketball season,
bars, parties, women, etc), and little time in the other areas of
our lives (perhaps church, family, fitness, achieving goals)? Is
there a way we can wisely balance our priorities?
Using Wisdom to Balance our lives can we be better contributors
to society?
Set Boundaries
Be a weighing scale, and monitor areas that are getting out of
balance.
 Strategy – Have goals in life
There are many things we strive to achieve in life. Here
are a few: healthy self-esteem, a good education, and
success, wealth. But how about wanting to develop a
personal relationship with God above anything else?
God desires we hunger and thirst after Him, and seek
Him more than any other person/thing in the world.
What are we thirsty for?
 Sit down and write your own life goals. Take into
consideration your God-given gifts, talents, abilities,
and passions.
 Strategy - Set limitations
No good thing does God withhold from us. As His
children, we may ask him for more material
possessions, more friends, a promotion on our job, or a
new house. Certainly there is nothing wrong with any
of these things. At the same time, what we may need is
more grace, more peace, more joy, or to spend more
time with Him to fill up our mind, will, emotions, and
body with what they crave – His presence.
 Learn to be content with whatever God has given you and
with whatever state you are currently in realize that God
has put you there for a reason. Put God first and ask for the
Heavenly wisdom which can guide your life. God does talk
to us and we need to listen to Him.
 Balancing our priorities using Godly wisdom helps put in
perspective the important things in our lives and at what
stage in our lives priorities change and become more or
less important to us
 If you do - then you will be able to find true peace,
contentment, joy and happiness
 Do not worry about tomorrow or what tomorrow may or
may not bring, for sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
 God wants us to continue to grow in His
knowledge, grace and power. And in that growth
process there will be new advances, new things,
new adventures, new opportunities and new
promotions that will occur during the course of
our lives. But we even have to keep all of this in
proper balance and perspective. If we are always
concentrating and focusing on what God may do
for us in our futures - we will never be able to fully
enjoy what He has just done for us in our present.