ISDAMan
10-21-00, 01:37 AM
Well, What Do Ya Know?
I found a great spot on the net. Here's a link to a Gospelcom site where you can play a game and see just how much you really do know about the Bible. <a href="http://www.backtothebible.org/challenge" target="_blank">http://www.backtothebible.org/challenge</a>. Have fun :-)
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<a href="http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Ecclesiastes+9§ion=0&version=kjv&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ec&NavGo=8&NavCurrentChapter=8" target="_blank">King James Version</a>
4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
<a href="http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Ecclesiastes+9§ion=0&version=nlt&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ec&NavGo=8&NavCurrentChapter=8" target="_blank">New Living Translation</a>
4 There is hope only for the living. For as they say, "It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion!"
5 The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.
6 Whatever they did in their lifetime – loving, hating, envying – is all long gone. They no longer have a part in anything here on earth.
7 So go ahead. Eat your food and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!
8 Wear fine clothes, with a dash of cologne!
9 Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you in this world. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.
10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
11 I have observed something else in this world of ours. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise are often poor, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being at the right place at the right time.
12 People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a snare, people are often caught by sudden tragedy.
Does anyone remember where hope comes from? God is where HOPE comes from. He gives a DIRECTION with PURPOSE that equals LIFE!!! That is right about where we left off in the last FNS. There's a good deal of obvious depression in the words of the writer still. Enjoy what God gives and don't fret. So long as you accept His DIRECTION, you have no need to be depressed over the unfairness and travesties of life. Burdens and hardships are often blessings we fail to see. I'll give you an example.
My friend, we'll call her Laura, in an effort to combat the scuttlebutt (gossip) going on about her, told a private truth in her life for everyone to know. You might be thinking, "How Courageous!!!", to yourself. I saw no such courage as she sat there, nearly coming to tears, just hoping to stem the tide of people against her in life. Like everyone else, she needs human acceptance too. Not only had she been buffeted by circumstances she could not control, she was also ostracized by reason of words she could not control. In her thoughts, her best hope was to use the truth as counter propaganda. Later, when we were alone, I gave her a bit of advice. It would do you good, if you are ever the victim of gossip, to remember this. Here's what I said.
"Those people that speak untrue things about you actually do you a favor. They act as a filter, filtering out all of those people that you don't want to have around you anyway. Those people that would listen to them without even taking the time to get to know you and find out who you really are can only be people that would end up hurting you in the long run. It is better to have them turn away from you now than to build a trust with that sort and only have them to betray your confidence later. You're better off. The people that say those untrue things about you help you and they do not know it."
Her response was simply and aptly, "I had not thought of it that way before.", as the tears that were set to fall, began to draw back where they came from.
How have you thought of your situation? Can you find reason to give thanks to God for the hope that was dashed, the outlook that seems bleak, the disappointment, and the shame? You know, my words to my friend, Laura, didn't come from nowhere. They were not some new revelation from God as angels sang in the background and miracle sunlight shone through the roof. They came from my own times of embarrassment. Some, not so recent and some, very recent. Never the less, I must thank God that He drives me on to take hold of the life He gives by way of His direction and that He causes me to remember those dark days. I never want to forget because, the pain I have personally felt, I know, someone else is feeling. God has placed me in a position to help defuse an emotional time bomb in another's life. You don't learn how to work on bombs without going through tough training that puts you at risk of the very thing you are trying to stop. In the midst of your dark day, take time to talk with God and thank Him, because, when He gets you through, you'll be in a position to help others as they face their own dark days. There is always a blessing from God to be thankful for. There is no darkness in God. Jesus is God and we are called to be like Christ!!! Though the day may be dark, there is no reason why our spirits must be, or why we should allow the spirits of other Believers to be.
A bit of advice to you as well. So long as God is still in control of our universe, we need not judge our own lives by the successes we see in others. So long as God provides for our needs, we need not be discontent with the fact that we are not the swift, or the rich, or anything at all. If God is for us, who or what could be against us? Just be ready to pick up your blessings, as though they are mana, daily.<HR>
<a href="http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Ecclesiastes+9§ion=0&version=kjv&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ec&NavGo=8&NavCurrentChapter=8" target="_blank">King James Version</a>
13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
<a href="http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Ecclesiastes+9§ion=0&version=nlt&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ec&NavGo=8&NavCurrentChapter=8" target="_blank">New Living Translation</a>
13 Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.
14 There was a small town with only a few people living in it, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.
15 There was a poor, wise man living there who knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought any more about him.
16 Then I realized that though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.
17 But even so, the quiet words of a wise person are better than the shouts of a foolish king.
18 A wise person can overcome weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
So, do you really want to be among the wise? Do you pray for God's wisdom? Do you really want it? I can promise you something. Ask God. Search God. Petition God. He will give it to you. Weather you seek it or God gives it to you regardless of your will, there is something you ought to know.
John 3:19-20 KJV http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=joh+3&version=kjv&sho wtools=0 (http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=joh+3&version=kjv&showtools=0)
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
If you align yourself with the light, you align yourself against the majority of the world. You'll have few friends. You'll often go unappreciated and your ideas will be regularly misappropriated. Get ready to be misunderstood continuously. You'll be shunned until it's too late and you'll often only be thought of as a last resort of desperation when all else has failed. People will quickly forget how well you helped them. For most people, you'll be a burden to have around. It's not a curse. It's a fact. Why ask for God's wisdom then? Why must this all follow His wisdom? When you ask to think the thoughts of God after Him, you are asking God to make you more like Him. Even more, you are asking God to make you think like Him and turn you into a leader like Him. He's not going to make you wise so you can impress people at parties. The world at large is at enmity with God! If just being a Christian where you are obedient to God isn't bad enough, now, you go and start becoming leadership material, thinking like God and constantly sizing up situations in relation to God's Word, and you'll be marked as a "know it all", "bossy", and a "stick in the mud"! You become a target for the world's and Satan's attacks. Do you think it's unfair? It's not at all. I'll tell you why. All those things I told you that you'll have to endure, God goes through it everyday. Most people don't want Him poking around in their lives. They talk bad about Him and He's done nothing wrong. He made the universe and the world has carved it up into portions and claimed it all as their own. When do most people finally turn to God? You guessed it,... when it's too late, everything has fallen apart, all else has failed, and He's the very last one to turn to on the list. Worse yet, if He doesn't do what they want, when they want, and how they want, they'll dump Him like a load of bricks! If He does help them like they want, they'll probably not give Him the credit. Soon after, they'll forget all about what He did for them and put God on the back burner again. He's just a tool to them. God is even tops on the blame lists of most people, the very same people that try to pretend He doesn't exist. The more of a person of Godly wisdom you are, the more this should sound like your life.
So, do you want to be wise? You'd better think about it. I'm not telling you not to strive for excellence. I'm going to tell you in the same way many preachers will tell you about getting into the ministry, what they'll tell you when you think you might be called of God. Unless you absolutely can't live without it, unless God will not let you be satisfied any other way in life, perhaps, you just need to change your diet. It might be something you ate that you mistook as God's prompting. God has a place for people with normal levels of discernment too. Listen, he even has a place for people with practically no discernment I've seen it. God is amazing! Never the less, there are very few that He expects to remain at those levels.
If you ask for it, you have got to understand what you are asking for when you ask for God's wisdom. You're not asking to be smart. You're not asking to be popular. You're not asking for some system of wealth. Your asking God to place you among the elite of the elite. You're asking for a hard life. You're asking for an extra burden, tougher work, greater responsibility, and less social acceptance. An example would be the difference between being in the Army and being Special Forces in the Army. Sure, there's a certain measure of glory but, there's a greater measure of grit to go with it! BTW, don't point to Solomon's fame and wealth and assume that those things came by wisdom. Those were add on blessings. Not even Solomon was as wise as Jesus and what riches did Jesus have? You'd better check your idea of riches.
When you have the wisdom of God, everyone wants to be like you. Everyone wants the benefits of being associated with you but, few actually want you as a person. Why? We just read the answer. They don't want their deeds to be reproved! People hate being reminded of their sin. The last thing they want is to have you come around not sinning or, worse yet, owning up to your sins. People hate being reminded that they are not as much of something as someone else. When you are wise, you don't have to say a word. People will begin to become uneasy just for your being there. They'll begin to claim that you think you're better than everyone else. Why? Lack of discernment causes that. Now, low levels of discernment are caused by not seeking the light of God. Whoa!!! Isn't there a contradiction here. Didn't I advise you against asking for wisdom. No, I did not. I advised you against asking for it without really wanting it! The fact is, sadly, this includes far too many Christians, the desire is just not there. That's how false teachers like Kenneth Hagin, Jerry Edmon, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Morris Cerullo, Grant Jeffrey, Donald Perkins, Marilyn Hickey, Jesse Duplantis, John Avanzini, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Fred Price, Peter Popoff, Don & Brenda Stewart, Garner Ted Armstrong, T.D. Jakes, John Heggy, and others get so big in the world and in Christian society. Too many of us are simply looking for what's just enough to get by! These same people are looking for the experience of Christianity instead of the instruction of the wisdom of God. There are far too few of us willing to go Whole Hog and say, "God, use me on the front lines!!! Make me faithful like Paul. Help me to beat my body so that others might live!" The Christian Special Forces are a dying breed! We are being placated by the fulfillment of our own selfish desires. If it is not the desire of your heart to be the Best of the Best; JUST GO HOME!!!!!!!! Don't even bother serving the Lord! He doesn't need any lukewarm servants like you! God want's your dedication!!! God wants your devotion!!! God wants to give you wisdom but, He expects you to use it on the battlefield! People are dying and going to Hell!!! How is it that you can be satisfied with your childlike level of discernment? Don't think that fits you do you? Well, I know I'm about to offend somebody here now. Just take a look at this.
What issue of the Christian faith do you struggle with or study in great detail and vigor? Perhaps, you long to know more about what day we should truly worship on. Perhaps, you struggle with weather or not you should eat meat. It may be that you hope to find secret codes in the Hebrew and Greek texts. You might even be searching to know if women should wear hats and never talk in church. Some here, I'm sure, are delving into the Word with the hopes of figuring out the exact date that Christ will return. Is it your dream to be able to prove that Peter was the first Pope? My friends, Brothers and Sisters, if this is you, if this is the grater focus of your walk with God, you are a Spiritual Idiot! You don't have the level of discernment God gave grape flavored Koolaid! What part do these things play in the Salvation of the lost? The fact is, if we are wise from God, we will have God's DIRECTION!!!! His direction is to save the lost! If the greatest spiritual task on you plate is who to vote for as head usher, or weather or not to sing that solo, you have a problem. I can back it up too:
Titus3:9 NRS http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=tit+3&version=nrs&sho wtools=0 (http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=tit+3&version=nrs&showtools=0)
But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.
Let's talk about the rewarding side now. It's important to see just why we want to have the wisdom of God imparted to us even when it costs so very much. When Adam and Eve were in Eden, they had incredible access to God's wisdom. God meant for them to grow and work and have accomplishments in righteousness and in truth. They were in a perfect state of bliss. As Christians, we have been called back from the desolation of a life of sin and we are now set to attain that kind of perfect craftsmanship again. It's a pity that so very many of us fear gaining wisdom. There's a fear of responsibility, both to others and to God. It's a travesty to have Christians running around with the idea of "what I don't know won't hurt me". Christian, You Should Want To Know!!! You Should Be The One Sticking Your Neck Out!!! There is NO EXCUSE for LAZINESS!!! Laziness is one of the top reasons why many Christians don't study God's Word. They don't really crave the wisdom that they lie to God and say that they do when they bow down on their knees and pray. Let me clue you in on something here. Praying for wisdom is not like praying for healing. This has got to be the No#2 guaranteed to be answered "Yes" prayer there is. The 1st is obviously the prayer for salvation. What's amazing about praying for God's wisdom is that God will always give it to you so long as you don't ask amiss! All you have to do is mean it when you say it. Have you been praying for wisdom for years now and you are no more wise than two weeks after the day you were born? Prove to God that you have been praying for wisdom! Has the rest of your time off of your knees been an obvious prayer for wisdom?!?!?! God's not going to take your two minute prayer seriously while you spend the rest of your day playing ignorant to the truth He has given us in His word. If you want wisdom, if you don't want to ask amiss, you'd better be living a life of asking for wisdom on your knees and off your knees! Learn to be in submission! Listen!!! Shut your mouth and listen to God by way of the Holy Spirit and by way of others of grater wisdom around you!
The desire to remain ignorant makes no sense! I tell you it's true. When you can exercise God's wisdom and bring about a favorable outcome in a situation, Life Is GRAND!!!! The satisfaction of sharing God's wisdom is a better high than the high of any drug that money can buy. If you have just a spark of wisdom in you, you will learn to cultivate a friendship with the wise. It is a fool that looks to be paired up with another fool. It is a fool that just wants to go with the flow to avoid making waves. Step outside of your comfort zone and don't be afraid to actually examine the bounds that God has given you. There could be wisdom just over the horizon if you will only not be afraid to be made uncomfortable. What you loose out on in this life is OK. Lay up treasures in Heaven. You just seek God's wisdom and use it as He gives it to you. He'll keep account of what you're due.
We can't all have the same level of wisdom. What we do all have, as Christians, is the same level of salvation, the same level of life which is direction from God. There is a beautiful commonality for Believers. We are one Body. We are under one God. We are never alone or far from a repository of God's of wisdom. Go get some. Learn to shut up and listen. Learn to do as you are told so that you can be trusted with more. If you can't be obedient, don't ask God for wisdom.
Sadly, as I talk to you, my fear is that the great majority of you will have no more drive to seek God's wisdom and greater discernment than you did yesterday. You'll, instead, seek the instant reward of being favored by the people around you. You'll go with the flow. You'll not stand out in the crowd. You, as a supposed Christian, will even stand together with pagans, against the wise ones of God, because that's what everyone else is doing. You are a cancerous growth feeding on the Body of Christ and you think you are fine because there are many like you that surround you and your message grows quickly. I pray that God would do away with you quickly. You'd better check to see if you're really saved! Many will say Lord Lord and still end up in the Pit.
To the future Elite, those that have heard me, those that have shut up and listened, I have this for you:
Matthew 5:4, NIV http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?Matthew+5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Seek first the Lord and He will reward you both here, and greater, after!
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Amos 5:14, NIV http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?Amos+5:14
Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.
ISDAMan
[This message has been edited by ISDAMan (edited October 20, 2000).]
I found a great spot on the net. Here's a link to a Gospelcom site where you can play a game and see just how much you really do know about the Bible. <a href="http://www.backtothebible.org/challenge" target="_blank">http://www.backtothebible.org/challenge</a>. Have fun :-)
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<a href="http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Ecclesiastes+9§ion=0&version=kjv&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ec&NavGo=8&NavCurrentChapter=8" target="_blank">King James Version</a>
4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
<a href="http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Ecclesiastes+9§ion=0&version=nlt&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ec&NavGo=8&NavCurrentChapter=8" target="_blank">New Living Translation</a>
4 There is hope only for the living. For as they say, "It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion!"
5 The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.
6 Whatever they did in their lifetime – loving, hating, envying – is all long gone. They no longer have a part in anything here on earth.
7 So go ahead. Eat your food and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!
8 Wear fine clothes, with a dash of cologne!
9 Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you in this world. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.
10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
11 I have observed something else in this world of ours. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise are often poor, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being at the right place at the right time.
12 People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a snare, people are often caught by sudden tragedy.
Does anyone remember where hope comes from? God is where HOPE comes from. He gives a DIRECTION with PURPOSE that equals LIFE!!! That is right about where we left off in the last FNS. There's a good deal of obvious depression in the words of the writer still. Enjoy what God gives and don't fret. So long as you accept His DIRECTION, you have no need to be depressed over the unfairness and travesties of life. Burdens and hardships are often blessings we fail to see. I'll give you an example.
My friend, we'll call her Laura, in an effort to combat the scuttlebutt (gossip) going on about her, told a private truth in her life for everyone to know. You might be thinking, "How Courageous!!!", to yourself. I saw no such courage as she sat there, nearly coming to tears, just hoping to stem the tide of people against her in life. Like everyone else, she needs human acceptance too. Not only had she been buffeted by circumstances she could not control, she was also ostracized by reason of words she could not control. In her thoughts, her best hope was to use the truth as counter propaganda. Later, when we were alone, I gave her a bit of advice. It would do you good, if you are ever the victim of gossip, to remember this. Here's what I said.
"Those people that speak untrue things about you actually do you a favor. They act as a filter, filtering out all of those people that you don't want to have around you anyway. Those people that would listen to them without even taking the time to get to know you and find out who you really are can only be people that would end up hurting you in the long run. It is better to have them turn away from you now than to build a trust with that sort and only have them to betray your confidence later. You're better off. The people that say those untrue things about you help you and they do not know it."
Her response was simply and aptly, "I had not thought of it that way before.", as the tears that were set to fall, began to draw back where they came from.
How have you thought of your situation? Can you find reason to give thanks to God for the hope that was dashed, the outlook that seems bleak, the disappointment, and the shame? You know, my words to my friend, Laura, didn't come from nowhere. They were not some new revelation from God as angels sang in the background and miracle sunlight shone through the roof. They came from my own times of embarrassment. Some, not so recent and some, very recent. Never the less, I must thank God that He drives me on to take hold of the life He gives by way of His direction and that He causes me to remember those dark days. I never want to forget because, the pain I have personally felt, I know, someone else is feeling. God has placed me in a position to help defuse an emotional time bomb in another's life. You don't learn how to work on bombs without going through tough training that puts you at risk of the very thing you are trying to stop. In the midst of your dark day, take time to talk with God and thank Him, because, when He gets you through, you'll be in a position to help others as they face their own dark days. There is always a blessing from God to be thankful for. There is no darkness in God. Jesus is God and we are called to be like Christ!!! Though the day may be dark, there is no reason why our spirits must be, or why we should allow the spirits of other Believers to be.
A bit of advice to you as well. So long as God is still in control of our universe, we need not judge our own lives by the successes we see in others. So long as God provides for our needs, we need not be discontent with the fact that we are not the swift, or the rich, or anything at all. If God is for us, who or what could be against us? Just be ready to pick up your blessings, as though they are mana, daily.<HR>
<a href="http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Ecclesiastes+9§ion=0&version=kjv&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ec&NavGo=8&NavCurrentChapter=8" target="_blank">King James Version</a>
13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
<a href="http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Ecclesiastes+9§ion=0&version=nlt&new=1&oq=&NavBook=ec&NavGo=8&NavCurrentChapter=8" target="_blank">New Living Translation</a>
13 Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works.
14 There was a small town with only a few people living in it, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.
15 There was a poor, wise man living there who knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought any more about him.
16 Then I realized that though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.
17 But even so, the quiet words of a wise person are better than the shouts of a foolish king.
18 A wise person can overcome weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
So, do you really want to be among the wise? Do you pray for God's wisdom? Do you really want it? I can promise you something. Ask God. Search God. Petition God. He will give it to you. Weather you seek it or God gives it to you regardless of your will, there is something you ought to know.
John 3:19-20 KJV http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=joh+3&version=kjv&sho wtools=0 (http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=joh+3&version=kjv&showtools=0)
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
If you align yourself with the light, you align yourself against the majority of the world. You'll have few friends. You'll often go unappreciated and your ideas will be regularly misappropriated. Get ready to be misunderstood continuously. You'll be shunned until it's too late and you'll often only be thought of as a last resort of desperation when all else has failed. People will quickly forget how well you helped them. For most people, you'll be a burden to have around. It's not a curse. It's a fact. Why ask for God's wisdom then? Why must this all follow His wisdom? When you ask to think the thoughts of God after Him, you are asking God to make you more like Him. Even more, you are asking God to make you think like Him and turn you into a leader like Him. He's not going to make you wise so you can impress people at parties. The world at large is at enmity with God! If just being a Christian where you are obedient to God isn't bad enough, now, you go and start becoming leadership material, thinking like God and constantly sizing up situations in relation to God's Word, and you'll be marked as a "know it all", "bossy", and a "stick in the mud"! You become a target for the world's and Satan's attacks. Do you think it's unfair? It's not at all. I'll tell you why. All those things I told you that you'll have to endure, God goes through it everyday. Most people don't want Him poking around in their lives. They talk bad about Him and He's done nothing wrong. He made the universe and the world has carved it up into portions and claimed it all as their own. When do most people finally turn to God? You guessed it,... when it's too late, everything has fallen apart, all else has failed, and He's the very last one to turn to on the list. Worse yet, if He doesn't do what they want, when they want, and how they want, they'll dump Him like a load of bricks! If He does help them like they want, they'll probably not give Him the credit. Soon after, they'll forget all about what He did for them and put God on the back burner again. He's just a tool to them. God is even tops on the blame lists of most people, the very same people that try to pretend He doesn't exist. The more of a person of Godly wisdom you are, the more this should sound like your life.
So, do you want to be wise? You'd better think about it. I'm not telling you not to strive for excellence. I'm going to tell you in the same way many preachers will tell you about getting into the ministry, what they'll tell you when you think you might be called of God. Unless you absolutely can't live without it, unless God will not let you be satisfied any other way in life, perhaps, you just need to change your diet. It might be something you ate that you mistook as God's prompting. God has a place for people with normal levels of discernment too. Listen, he even has a place for people with practically no discernment I've seen it. God is amazing! Never the less, there are very few that He expects to remain at those levels.
If you ask for it, you have got to understand what you are asking for when you ask for God's wisdom. You're not asking to be smart. You're not asking to be popular. You're not asking for some system of wealth. Your asking God to place you among the elite of the elite. You're asking for a hard life. You're asking for an extra burden, tougher work, greater responsibility, and less social acceptance. An example would be the difference between being in the Army and being Special Forces in the Army. Sure, there's a certain measure of glory but, there's a greater measure of grit to go with it! BTW, don't point to Solomon's fame and wealth and assume that those things came by wisdom. Those were add on blessings. Not even Solomon was as wise as Jesus and what riches did Jesus have? You'd better check your idea of riches.
When you have the wisdom of God, everyone wants to be like you. Everyone wants the benefits of being associated with you but, few actually want you as a person. Why? We just read the answer. They don't want their deeds to be reproved! People hate being reminded of their sin. The last thing they want is to have you come around not sinning or, worse yet, owning up to your sins. People hate being reminded that they are not as much of something as someone else. When you are wise, you don't have to say a word. People will begin to become uneasy just for your being there. They'll begin to claim that you think you're better than everyone else. Why? Lack of discernment causes that. Now, low levels of discernment are caused by not seeking the light of God. Whoa!!! Isn't there a contradiction here. Didn't I advise you against asking for wisdom. No, I did not. I advised you against asking for it without really wanting it! The fact is, sadly, this includes far too many Christians, the desire is just not there. That's how false teachers like Kenneth Hagin, Jerry Edmon, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Morris Cerullo, Grant Jeffrey, Donald Perkins, Marilyn Hickey, Jesse Duplantis, John Avanzini, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Fred Price, Peter Popoff, Don & Brenda Stewart, Garner Ted Armstrong, T.D. Jakes, John Heggy, and others get so big in the world and in Christian society. Too many of us are simply looking for what's just enough to get by! These same people are looking for the experience of Christianity instead of the instruction of the wisdom of God. There are far too few of us willing to go Whole Hog and say, "God, use me on the front lines!!! Make me faithful like Paul. Help me to beat my body so that others might live!" The Christian Special Forces are a dying breed! We are being placated by the fulfillment of our own selfish desires. If it is not the desire of your heart to be the Best of the Best; JUST GO HOME!!!!!!!! Don't even bother serving the Lord! He doesn't need any lukewarm servants like you! God want's your dedication!!! God wants your devotion!!! God wants to give you wisdom but, He expects you to use it on the battlefield! People are dying and going to Hell!!! How is it that you can be satisfied with your childlike level of discernment? Don't think that fits you do you? Well, I know I'm about to offend somebody here now. Just take a look at this.
What issue of the Christian faith do you struggle with or study in great detail and vigor? Perhaps, you long to know more about what day we should truly worship on. Perhaps, you struggle with weather or not you should eat meat. It may be that you hope to find secret codes in the Hebrew and Greek texts. You might even be searching to know if women should wear hats and never talk in church. Some here, I'm sure, are delving into the Word with the hopes of figuring out the exact date that Christ will return. Is it your dream to be able to prove that Peter was the first Pope? My friends, Brothers and Sisters, if this is you, if this is the grater focus of your walk with God, you are a Spiritual Idiot! You don't have the level of discernment God gave grape flavored Koolaid! What part do these things play in the Salvation of the lost? The fact is, if we are wise from God, we will have God's DIRECTION!!!! His direction is to save the lost! If the greatest spiritual task on you plate is who to vote for as head usher, or weather or not to sing that solo, you have a problem. I can back it up too:
Titus3:9 NRS http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=tit+3&version=nrs&sho wtools=0 (http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=tit+3&version=nrs&showtools=0)
But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.
Let's talk about the rewarding side now. It's important to see just why we want to have the wisdom of God imparted to us even when it costs so very much. When Adam and Eve were in Eden, they had incredible access to God's wisdom. God meant for them to grow and work and have accomplishments in righteousness and in truth. They were in a perfect state of bliss. As Christians, we have been called back from the desolation of a life of sin and we are now set to attain that kind of perfect craftsmanship again. It's a pity that so very many of us fear gaining wisdom. There's a fear of responsibility, both to others and to God. It's a travesty to have Christians running around with the idea of "what I don't know won't hurt me". Christian, You Should Want To Know!!! You Should Be The One Sticking Your Neck Out!!! There is NO EXCUSE for LAZINESS!!! Laziness is one of the top reasons why many Christians don't study God's Word. They don't really crave the wisdom that they lie to God and say that they do when they bow down on their knees and pray. Let me clue you in on something here. Praying for wisdom is not like praying for healing. This has got to be the No#2 guaranteed to be answered "Yes" prayer there is. The 1st is obviously the prayer for salvation. What's amazing about praying for God's wisdom is that God will always give it to you so long as you don't ask amiss! All you have to do is mean it when you say it. Have you been praying for wisdom for years now and you are no more wise than two weeks after the day you were born? Prove to God that you have been praying for wisdom! Has the rest of your time off of your knees been an obvious prayer for wisdom?!?!?! God's not going to take your two minute prayer seriously while you spend the rest of your day playing ignorant to the truth He has given us in His word. If you want wisdom, if you don't want to ask amiss, you'd better be living a life of asking for wisdom on your knees and off your knees! Learn to be in submission! Listen!!! Shut your mouth and listen to God by way of the Holy Spirit and by way of others of grater wisdom around you!
The desire to remain ignorant makes no sense! I tell you it's true. When you can exercise God's wisdom and bring about a favorable outcome in a situation, Life Is GRAND!!!! The satisfaction of sharing God's wisdom is a better high than the high of any drug that money can buy. If you have just a spark of wisdom in you, you will learn to cultivate a friendship with the wise. It is a fool that looks to be paired up with another fool. It is a fool that just wants to go with the flow to avoid making waves. Step outside of your comfort zone and don't be afraid to actually examine the bounds that God has given you. There could be wisdom just over the horizon if you will only not be afraid to be made uncomfortable. What you loose out on in this life is OK. Lay up treasures in Heaven. You just seek God's wisdom and use it as He gives it to you. He'll keep account of what you're due.
We can't all have the same level of wisdom. What we do all have, as Christians, is the same level of salvation, the same level of life which is direction from God. There is a beautiful commonality for Believers. We are one Body. We are under one God. We are never alone or far from a repository of God's of wisdom. Go get some. Learn to shut up and listen. Learn to do as you are told so that you can be trusted with more. If you can't be obedient, don't ask God for wisdom.
Sadly, as I talk to you, my fear is that the great majority of you will have no more drive to seek God's wisdom and greater discernment than you did yesterday. You'll, instead, seek the instant reward of being favored by the people around you. You'll go with the flow. You'll not stand out in the crowd. You, as a supposed Christian, will even stand together with pagans, against the wise ones of God, because that's what everyone else is doing. You are a cancerous growth feeding on the Body of Christ and you think you are fine because there are many like you that surround you and your message grows quickly. I pray that God would do away with you quickly. You'd better check to see if you're really saved! Many will say Lord Lord and still end up in the Pit.
To the future Elite, those that have heard me, those that have shut up and listened, I have this for you:
Matthew 5:4, NIV http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?Matthew+5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Seek first the Lord and He will reward you both here, and greater, after!
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Amos 5:14, NIV http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?Amos+5:14
Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.
ISDAMan
[This message has been edited by ISDAMan (edited October 20, 2000).]