Wisdom and Will

This is our last week looking at the Will of God. Last week we talked about the will of God being like a fence that keeps us inside and safe. The question is, how are we to be a knowing and discerning people? Truly we need some kind of pattern to live by that helps us along the way, and we do. But what we are seeking is not a directing voice, per say, but a directing way of living life and being in the world.

Scripture calls it wisdom, and it is more than quirky anecdotal advice- it is a way of being in the world. Jesus is not just interested in shouting out directions and having us obey. No, he is about much more about that, he is about transformation. Listen to what has to say- Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

I have these amazing kids in my life- four of them right now, and I want them to grow into mature, respectable, honest men and women. Jess and I give them instruction and direction for many of the tasks of their day. We teach them, and try to help them learn habits and a lifestyle that can support them for the rest of their lives. When they were 2 we had to walk them through how to bathe and brush their teeth properly. We did this, not so that they would continue to need us to walk them through it everyday, but so that they would adopt these habits as a healthy lifestyle, and now that they are 9 they no longer need us to walk them through it.

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

Being transformed by Jesus is a lot like that. We need to be transformed so that we can discern and understand God’s will. You see, Jesus wants us to grow and mature. You see, Jesus guides us not just to put us in the right places and situations, but also to teach us how we are to be in the world.

So, how is this wisdom, this way of being in the world, formed? Well, if it was worldly intelligence we would say things like going to school, reading books, taking training and seminars, and doing a mentorship or internships, right? These are all traditional ways that we seek to grow in knowledge and intellect. We do not just sit around and wait for it to happen, or hope that somehow it will be mysteriously given to us. No, we actively try and develop it with tools and training. The same thing applies to wisdom.

In today’s Scripture, we are encouraged to seek after wisdom, to look for it like hidden treasure, to store it up, listen for it, and apply it. We are not told to sit back and wait for it to stumble upon us. Like Paul’s words in , wisdom and transformation are active process. They take effort and work- it is more than just listening to directions, it is being molded into a new person. What God wants for you is so much more than an obedient robot or a life of stress and worry because you don’t know how or do not want to do God’s will.

So, listen to what Paul prays for the church in Ephesus in 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Paul’s prayer is not that the people grasp the will of God as a direction, but that they would know the person of God and thus be transformed.

You see, the key to understanding the will of God is to deepen our understanding of who God is. When we root ourselves into the love of God, when we allow ourselves to be transformed by that love, following the will of God is much more simple. Part of the reason so many people get off track when trying to find God’s will is they have not dug into who God is. They are chasing after feelings and emotions, sense and logic, and everything else under the sun, and they might as well be throwing darts in the dark, because they are missing the point- the point is not just to know the direction God has for you, the point is to know God, and then everything else falls into place.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Don’t believe me, let’s ask Jesus, because this is exactly what he says, check it out in “25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Jesus says, you want to know what job you are supposed to have? Don’t seek a job, seek me and trust that I will bring it to you. Want to know what house to live in? Don’t seek a house, seek me and I will bring it to you.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Too many times we seek things, and then try and make God part of the process- but that is completely backwards! What we are told is to seek God and seek righteousness- and the rest of the stuff will be added, or given to us. It is that simple. Can I be honest? Some of us in this room would have much better lives is we sought God with as much energy and passion as we chase extra money, or a new car, or a boyfriend, or whatever.

The thing is, getting the answer becomes more important that getting to know the one who gives the answer… God wants you to know him.

Notice the last thing about - Jesus says do not worry. Worrying and trusting the person of God are polar opposites that cannot exist together. If you are stuck in a cycle of worry then you know that you are not in the will of God- even if the thing you are worried about is being in the will of God!

Imagine that you life is a tree- and like a tree you roots are dug into the love of God as says- when we allow worry to dominate our lives it is like someone is coming along with an axe and a hoe and ripping the roots of a tree out the ground. It will not survive. It will topple over eventually because it cannot exist without those roots- the same is true for your spirit.

Finally, remember this- it is impossible to trust the plans of God if you do not trust the person of God. Think of it this way. You are walking down the street and a random stranger stops you and asks for your wallet- someone you have never met before. They explain to you that they want to give you a new wallet, a better wallet, and that they have something good for you- would you give them your wallet? NO WAY! You don’t know them, so you have no idea if you can trust them. But what if I asked you that same question? Or your neighbor? Or a friend from work? Someone you really knew- would you do it?

Can I be honest today? Some of you have a low level of trust in God, because you have never taken the time to get to know him. He is a stranger to you, you meet him on Sunday mornings for 1 hour a week and that is it- you are scared to death to trust God because you don’t know him AT ALL.

So we cycle back to ...

Finding the will of God is simple- trust in the Person of God as revealed in the Word of God. Allow your worry to drive you to the Word.

Study of Scripture- We can never overstate the importance of the Bible. says “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God p may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible is not a crisis management book. It is not meant to open up and read as a troubleshooting mechanism. No, the Bible is a life book. God wants us to be in the Bible so that God can get into us. If the Bible was to be used primarily in moments of crisis or trouble, it would probably read more like a cookbook, don’t you think?

The more we interact with this book the easier it will be to navigate ourselves in the world around us. Jess and I have lived at our home for around 7 years now, and I have driven to our house thousands of times- I do not need a map or a GPS to get to our house from Harrisonburg, Church, the store- many places along the way. Why? Because I have been up and down the route many times. In fact. even if I travel somewhere new, I can get back to our house if I can get to certain landmarks or roads, right? I have never driven to Atlanta before, but hey, a map tells me that I have to take 81 to 77 to get there and I know both of those roads. So if you get me to 77 I can make it home.

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .:

God wants the Bible to be like that for us. He wants us to be so familiar with this story that even if we get to new territory we can find our way to Him by getting to points along the way.

Prayer-

Listening to Counsel

Community Life