The gifts of the Spirit are as important to the functioning of the Body of Christ as are the fruits of the Spirit. The gifts and fruit are like the primary feathers on a dove, if you remove any of those feathers from one side or the other it flies a little funny, if not just down right poorly. The gifts and the fruit are supposed to work together for the uplifting and blessing of those around us…twice in 1Cor14 Paul says to strive to excel in building up the church, and let all things be done for building up. Eph4:12 speaks of equipping the saints for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ.
In light of that, let us pursue the Lord to reveal the gifts of the Spirit within each of us that we would be able to accomplish the Lord’s directive of “building up”. i find that people in churches who don’t, or won’t, make room for the gifts of the Spirit, spend their time going back and forth, letting out and gathering back in again….like someone who’s face is on the wrong side of wet windows streaked with rain. Those folks who refuse to acknowledge the gifts seem to almost be in a prison made of not anything other than their own never seeing….sure….aren’t we all free to receive God’s endowments and manifestations, but still, those who refuse His gifts confine themselves to always trying to see in without actually stepping through the looking glass into God’s promises.
The topic is one of the gifts of the Spirit, more specifically, the gift of wisdom, as is mentioned in 1Cor12:7. Let’s spend more time talking about the amazing life God has given us, the incredible blessing and gifting, rather than slogging along, dragging ourselves through some constant deep analytical physiological profiling about the stresses of life and how we’re just getting by. We’re not supposed to be surviving, we’re supposed to be prospering. Yea, it’s true, we really, really need to rediscover God’s idea of prosperity because we’ve all but washed all the righteousness out of the word “prosperity” with our ideas. Similarly, i want to revisit God’s idea of gifts, and this broadcast, is about the gift of wisdom, what to do with it, and the value of applying it…all for the building up of ourselves and the Body of Christ around us, not to mention the world around us also gets some of what we’ve got when we live it out loud. You know what i mean?
Wisdom. We read all throughout the Bible about wisdom. It is mentioned over 250 times, so obviously it’s important. We are told by the Lord to get wisdom, get understanding, get knowledge, and then 1Cor12:8 reveals that if you’ve got wisdom it was a gift God gave to you…i want to take that a step further by saying had God not given you the gift of wisdom, you simply wouldn’t have it.
In Prov1:20, wisdom is personified as a woman who calls out to us in the busy streets from the middle of town. Prov9:1 says wisdom has built her house and has carved out seven pillars, like a woman who prepares a meal and invites people to attend, saying: “Leave your simple ways and you will live and walk in the way of insight”. Wisdom invites everyone to come share her satisfying feast.
Wisdom is a gift of the Spirit, not something that is just intrinsically part of us just because we got saved and said some words. It’s more, so much more….it’s a gift… like when Jesus gave His back to the soldiers to be beaten. You know, that part about being wounded for our transgressions in Is53…yea, that was a gift to us that He would take our punishment for us. i don’t know about you, but i’ve suffered an awful lot in life because i lacked wisdom, and sometimes, even though i had wisdom i didn’t put it to work. i hope we all really grasp the idea that having wisdom and doing wisdom are two different things. Knowing better than doing addictive drugs is wisdom common to anyone and everyone. Every addict on the street will tell you, straight up, doing drugs is a death wish, it’s death on the installment plan, dying slowly little by little every time you get loaded. BUT, actually employing that wisdom and NOT doing the drugs which are taking over your life is another story. Again, having wisdom and doing wisdom are two different things. Maybe we should ask God to not only please give us His gift of wisdom, but to also, give us the power to put it to work in ourselves and the world around us.
In Job28 the question is asked, “Where does wisdom dwell” and then the writer states that man doesn’t know the worth of it, implying men appraise wisdom as no more than a stone on the side of the road. In all of the works of men who refine jewels from the earth, who change the course of rivers and seas, and turn mountains upside down, wisdom is still not found among men. Wisdom isn’t found in the land of the living, not in the deep of the sea, it can’t be bought with silver and gold….. it’s hidden from the birds….even death has only heard rumors about wisdom. Only God understands the path to it, He alone knows it’s place. Wisdom is exclusive to God’s domain and He gives it to us as a gift that we might live. James1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Do you see that part where it says God gives generously to all? The generosity of God is amazing….He even gives wisdom to those without Christ if they’ll ask. What a mercy. We would all be dumb as a door nail unless the Lord in his kindness and mercy gave us wisdom. James1:5 uses the word “all”, and you know, all means all, and there’s no part of all that doesn’t mean all. The phrase “let him ask” is present active, meaning it is action that is now, now, now, and you are the one doing the action, not someone doing it for you, you ask now for wisdom, and at the appropriate time the Lord will open your heart to the gift of wisdom.
It’s one of the gifts of the Spirit….it should be our first stop of the day and the last stop at night. Job28:28 says the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and turning from evil is understanding.
Did you know that not only is wisdom a gift of God, but it comes with it’s own carved out pillars? ….the pillars are carved, meaning they are chisled out of a rough medium. What are the seven pillars of wisdom mentioned in Prov9:1? The seven pillars of wisdom are considered to hold up the roof of the temple, so they must be pretty important….it is no small thing, so i think we should really pay attention. From what i can discover as the Lord gave it to me is that the seven pillars are Ethics, Humility, Instruction, Discipline, Knowledge, Integrity, and Honesty. Ethics, the moral standards governing our conduct, and those standards begin with God. Humility, our being lowly, holding others up higher than ourselves, for even the most gifted people don’t please God if their gifts are unaccompanied by justice, kindness, and humility. Proverbs says humility comes before honor. Instruction, understood through the sense of education for the re-framing and re-forming of His people. Discipline, corrective action, like a father directs his son, comparatively seen in the hardships of the wilderness contrasted by God’s miraculous provision. Knowledge, receiving and understanding words of insight, learning to use interogative words like who, what, where, when, how, and why. Having our spiritual eyes opened through the idea of seeing. Integrity, a character development which purposely chooses righteousness, truth, and a devotion to the word of the Lord, Integrity – like a lamb without spot or blemish. And Honesty, being morally clear, knowing right and doing right where your conscience and your character agree, always opposing the lie, and being vulnerable for others to speak into your life.
So, from that, we can easily see the gift of wisdom is not small potatoes, and not only is it a gift, but it’s also intrinsic to the inspiration of the fruits of the Spirit….it is a fountain of essential life, and like water flowing from a hidden spring, the gift of wisdom inspires valor, and simple faith in the truth. Psalm 111:10 says: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” It begins with knowing who God is and who we are in comparison to Him….which leads to understanding and then to practicing righteousness. Practicing is a key word: friends, we’ve gotta put it in gear, let the clutch out, get on down the road. It’s not enough to just sit in the drivers seat of the vehicle in the driveway, pretending we’re doing the stuff. Having trouble with being motivated in your worship of the Lord, let me say that a life of wisdom ultimately results in the praise of God, it doesn’t end with knowledge, but is more obviously seen in transformed hearts and lives.
i don’t think i’ve ever considered wisdom as a gift until now, but now that i’m digging into it, it is obviously not something i can get just by reading a book. True, the book is highly likely to have at least some words of wisdom, but unless the Lord opens our eyes to see and own those words, they are just words on a page. This appears to be a realization David had, as expressed in the opening words of Psalm119:8 when the psalmist cries out, “Open my eyes Lord”. How often do we read and not comprehend what we read? How often do we hear and not understand what we’ve heard? Oh, we’ve got the words down alright, but do they really get any traction in our hearts?
God’s gift of wisdom enables us to have clear sightedness…. intelligence…. and buried within the very word is the idea of a holy mouth that speaks life to brighten and animate others….meaning God’s gift of wisdom is not just for ourselves, but also for those around us. His gifts, whatever they may be, were never intended for us to have and practice in secret, hidden away in a back room only being practiced for those elite Christians or those in leadership we deem worthy somehow. i don’t believe the Lord ever meant for us to keep wisdom only for ourselves, but to share, give it away. Buy the truth and sell it not, meaning we may give it to others, but not at a price to be exacted from those in need. Grace came by Jesus Christ, it was a free gift to whomsoever would have it, and so are the gifts, endowments, or manifestations for the whom-so-ever’s that would have them.
When someone who has the gift of wisdom, or any spiritual gift for that matter, when it is shown by evidence and actions in the right way, it will always point people to Jesus.
John15:26-27, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” As the Holy Spirit points to Jesus, we should also point to Jesus. If you point people to yourself, what have they gained? If we put a picture of ourselves on every other page of a magazine, who is that promoting, who is that drawing attention to? If you write a book but your name is the largest letters on the cover, who is that drawing attention to? Many years ago, the Lord asked me to lose my name, just simply stop putting my name on everything He said to me which i told to others. Many times He had me go through the exercise of going a full day trying not to use the words, “i, me, and mine”. Friends, i’m here to testify, if most of us leave the words “i, me, and mine” out of our vocabulary, i’d wager we wouldn’t speak much. The true sharing and impartation of any spiritual gift will always point to Jesus.
At this juncture i think it’s important to point out that there is a difference between a word of wisdom and a word of knowledge. There is a difference in English, and Paul differentiates them in scripture in the Greek and Hebrew both.
i figure knowledge is the God annunciated accumulation of facts, information, practical understanding, probably even technical skill of how things work, and it’s gained by using six adverbs which are derived from the Hebrew word for knowledge. Who, what, where, when, how, and why. Wisdom is the proper use of that information, words of insight or clear sightedness which recognize that it is information and has value. Wisdom is recognizing and comprehending what the Lord is pointing out, knowledge is the accumulation of facts and information, and understanding is connecting the dots to know what to do with what wisdom and knowledge have brought us. That may be an oversimplification for some of us, but it’ll do within the context of this program.
Probably one of the best stories i’ve ever heard about the difference between knowledge and wisdom is about a young mother back in the 1920’s or so, who’s husband had died and left her with 4 children, aged 4, 5, 6, and the oldest being 8. The young mother went to work everyday, walking the very long walk to work in town, leaving all the children at home under the care of the 8 year old. Back in those days it wasn’t to terribly unusual to find children in the care of another older child during the day. One evening, after a long day at work, as the young mother was approaching the house about dusk, she saw the front door wide open on her little house at the far edge of town by the woods. She was immediately alarmed because the children had been instructed under threat of a sound spanking, to always keep the door shut, and don’t open it for anyone under any circumstances. Yet, there was the front door to the house gape-ing wide open, not a light on inside anywhere except in the living room. As she entered the house on high alert, there…. squeezed together facing the corner she saw all her children, huddled in a circle, being very focused on something between themselves and the walls. As she got closer and peeped over their shoulders to see what could have their attention so firmly grasped, there she saw 4 children and in front of them 4 baby skunks. She panicked and immediately screamed, “RUN children, RUN!!”, wherewith, each child grabbed a baby skunk and ran in four different directions. It is a great example of how things can easily go from bad to worse, and also of the difference in knowledge and wisdom.
She had the wisdom to know she was looking at baby skunks and the knowledge of the potential stink 4 baby skunks carried with them, and she well knew the facts and information about how bad her children and the whole house would smell if each of those skunks cut loose in fear, just spraying the house, children and everything. But she sincerely lacked the wisdom, or clear eyed insight, that if she panicked, the children would panic, and never in her life did it even occur to her to think they would each grab a skunk and run. Wisdom tells you that little black animal with a white stripe going down its back is a skunk. Knowledge tells you that that skunk can spray a terrible odor which will last for days. Wisdom will tell you to calmly get out of there before it hits you with the stink.
Some of the smartest people i’ve ever known, are also some of the most stupid. Stupid is ignorance that’s been told and refuses to listen. They are ever so smart, but really have no common sense….knowledge without wisdom can be an extremely dangerous thing. i often marvel at the stupid things brilliant people believe and do when they have straight out refused Jesus Christ. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and without Christ, we are prone to believe even the most absurd.
Proverbs 4:7, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.” How often do we just jump over that scripture, or worse, we often read it and think, “Oh that’s nice”. We’ve got plenty of hindsight, what we need is insight, clear eyed insight. If wisdom is God-given information, knowledge is knowing what to do with the God-given information. Honestly, i think wisdom and knowledge trade places all the time like tag team wrestlers.
The gift of wisdom, is an anointing of the Holy Spirit which is released into action when issues arise, or even when issues are merely on the horizon to occur at some later date. i find that God often gives me a word of wisdom that, in the moment, doesn’t seem to apply to anything specifically. But by and by, as the days turn, and the sun comes up and goes down again, the Lord alerts me to a rising need for important decisions to be made and, there, in the moment, He’ll bring back to my remembrance the word of wisdom He seasoned my heart with so many days ago. In John14:26, Jesus said …at the right time, the Holy Spirit will bring back to our remembrance the things He’s spoken to us when we need to know it. My memory is poor sometimes, so i am absolutely banking on the Lord reminding me of things.
James3:17-18, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
We really need to learn to feel the weight of God speaking. Learn to weigh the words to know what is of the Lord and what is not. Words without God’s presence are thin and weightless as a shadow. Glory is in His words, and glory has weight. Glory is heavy, the cursed are light. Something which is cursed (Hebrew kaw-lal) has no weight, it carries no momentum, it’s a light thing with no authority…. but the Lord’s words and presence have glory, the Hebrew word kabod, meaning He has weight, and in His words are ultimate authority, always ….the Lord has weight to move mountains and change the heart of even the most difficult person. Curses and the cursed have no weight for accomplishing anything, much less anything of righteousness. The only thing curses and the cursed can achieve is the propagation of more weightlessness. Again, His words have glory, weight, and we really need to learn to perceive the weight of His words over simply being impressed by someone’s opinion.
Now, let me add, many times i believe the gift of wisdom is set and exercised without us knowing it has been exercised as the word of wisdom. i’m a witness. Many times when issues arise, people express what’s on their heart and what rolls out is the word of the Lord, and we aren’t even particularly aware of the operation of the gift. There is no neon sign which suddenly appears saying to pay attention, we don’t typically get a buzz in our middle which alerts us, nor some distant bells chiming to tell us wisdom is amongst us. But we can know the word of wisdom if we pay attention to the Holy Spirit in our heart and learn to recognize the press of His presence.
From where i’m standing, i believe we often expect the supernatural to happen in some supernatural way….something dramatic which bowls our senses over, but in truth, i think it happens all around us and we simply don’t notice because the supernatural just naturally happened in such a natural way we didn’t recognize the miraculous right in front of us. In looking back across my life, from where i’m standing now, i see the Lord’s leading in such a simple fashion, in ways which, at the time, i had no idea that God was directing my steps…. from here i can see the hand of God on me there. And you? Can you look back and see the miraculous just naturally occurring in your life? Think about it!
Exodus28:3 is the scripture of first mention of the gift of wisdom….it says the Lord filled craftsmen with the Spirit of wisdom, not only did they understand, but they knew by the power of the Holy Spirit how things went together. In Exodus31:3, there was a craftsman named Bets-uh-lale’, his name means “shadow of God”. It says, “And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.” The Lord gave it to them to not only conceive ideas, but they also knew what their ideas meant and how to put them into motion.
Exodus35:31 reveals that God gifted Moses in wisdom, knowledge, understanding…. According to Deut34:9, Joshua had the same gift, except it was imparted to him through Moses laying hands on him. Not only was Joshua filled with Holy Spirit wisdom, but suddenly he had the ear of all Israel.
In Acts15:19-22, after others tried to create division, leading men among the brethren, along with Paul and Silas, were sent with a message from the church that settled all issues. But, really, can you see the solution that James gave? ….it was the gift of wisdom…. and the result was that the potential division was cured and everyone was satisfied with the way that James proposed the solution concerning a very divisive issue.
How wonderful that within the church, even though it is inevitable that divisions will arise…when they do arise, there is someone with the word of wisdom, the gift of the Spirit, offering a fitting solution in the time of need. To me it is hard to understand why, when God has made available to us His wisdom, why do we often rely on our own and then we make decisions without seeking His guidance or His wisdom. Hmmm….Prov3:6 comes to mind. Wisdom is free from God for the asking…what keeps is from ardently pursuing Him for what He freely gives?