Wisdom – and how to Operate It
PSALM 111:10a
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (that word “fear” means reverence and respect, when you respect something, then you will take instruction from it): a good understanding have all they that do his commandments:
***True Wisdom is to apply the word of God in every situation in your life.
PROVERBS 1:7
7 ¶ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Wisdom – and how to Operate It
There are two types of wisdom
1. The wisdom of man which is based on the knowledge and the reasoning from what he has learnt of his past experiences and of worldly affairs and of science and logic.
2. And then there is the wisdom of God which operates at a much higher level than the wisdom of man and is based at a faith level and does not always appear to be reasonable of what man’s knowledge and reasoning would dictate to him at the beginning. In other words, God’s thoughts and ways at first can often seem wrong and even foolish to man’s reasoning, but the reality is that it is man’s thoughts and reasoning that is foolish.
ISAIAH 55:7-13
7 Let the wicked forsake his way (A person that does their own way contrary to the word of God is defined as a “wicked” person), and the unrighteous man his thoughts (…the same thing – if your thoughts are contrary to the word, then that makes you an unrighteous man or woman): and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Notice that prosperity is connected to the wisdom of God when the word goes forth. When the word of God is applied to a situation in your life, then prosperity follows)
12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree (in Genesis when Adam and Eve sinned by Eve reasoning with her own thoughts and placing them above the thoughts of God, what followed that was thorns and thistles, so to place the thoughts of the word above one’s own thoughts must therefore have the reverse affect in your life. The way to go from cursing to blessing is to apply the word of God to your life – operate by the word and not by your own reasoning and watch what happens), and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
In the message “Wisdom verses Faith” – brother Branham is referring to the wisdom of the reasoning of man, but the wisdom that we are speaking of this morning is not the wisdom of man’s reasoning against the word, but the wisdom of God’s thoughts applied to every situation in your life – that is the leadership that leads us to peace and life and prosperity.
**If any of our reasoning is ever against the word, then that is the wrong wisdom because it is the reasoning of man’s thoughts verses the wisdom and the thoughts of the word of God.
I CORINTHIANS 1:19-20
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
Question: - What does the wisdom of God look like?? What do higher thoughts of God look like in the “real” world?
I KINGS 3:9-28 (The LORD had appeared to King Solomon in a dream by night: and God asked him what he wanted to be given – and this was Solomon’s reply)
9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
(Now we are going to see what this wisdom of God operating in a man actually looks like, and how that at the beginning it looked like foolishness, it didn’t look like wisdom at all – but in the end it was to be a far greater wisdom than what man’s thoughts would have ever been)
16 ¶ Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.
17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.
18 And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.
19 And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.
20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. (We know that this first woman is telling the truth, but in man’s thinking and wisdom, how could this other woman have done all this in the middle of the night without disturbing and waking this other woman – this would have been hard to believe and could have been cross examined and questioned and doubted and the wrong judgement given)
22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.
23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.
24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. (At this point it looks like Solomon has lost his mind because this would be against all the reasoning of man’s common sense – but this was actually the very thing that induced the fear that revealed the real mother because of her love for her child)
26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.
27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.
At the beginning, it looked like the wisdom of God was foolishness, but at the end it was a far greater and higher wisdom to that of man.
***So how do we tap into and operate in this realm of the wisdom of God??
I CORINTHIANS 2:4-8
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6 ¶ Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
PROVERBS 2:6
6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. All true wisdom comes from the Lord, and it comes by the revealing of his word that comes out of His mouth.
JAMES 1:5
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.
***True leadership requires the wisdom of God that comes by the revelation of the word, not just the letter of the word, but by the spirit of the word. That is why any decision that is not a word based decision is simply not the correct decision and leadership for your life, and by a wrong decision (made by your own reasoning that is contrary to the word) you will never be led to peace and prosperity and true blessing.