Wisdom

The following two commentaries, previously published, are on the subject of wisdom.  Hopefuly they can shed more light on the topic of Godly widom.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Wisdom

Wisdom

There was a man called Raymond. Raymond was a self professed atheist. Everywhere he went he found a way to argue that God did not exist. Raymond was pretty good at it. His logic seemed flawless. He could always find a weakness in the arguments of those who dared to argue against him. After which he would pounce them. Once he had out argued and humiliated his opponents, he would proceed to gloat and brag about his victories.

One day he decided to pick on this young lady – Rose -, who unaware of Raymond's operating mode, lovingly mentioned the name of Christ. Raymond approached her as he approached the rest, with a smile, and speaking softly, words carefully chosen to arouse. This is where he thrived. As she heard his voice and the words coming from his mouth, she realized it fit the profile of the man she had been warned about. She looked at him and said, "So, you're the one that claims he's an atheist." He replied indignantly, "Excuse me, what do you mean by 'claim to be an atheist?" Rose replied calmly, "Well, my grandfather always told me, that there is no real atheist. I believed him." Raymond answered with a mocking tone, "Ha! Your grandfather? What can that old man know? What reasons does he give for his assertion?" Rose looked at Raymond compassionately and said, "He told me, 'the Bible says that the fool says in his heart that there is no God." But, let that fool feel like he is dying, and immediately he calls on the God he said did not exist.'" Raymond laughed loud and sarcastically, and then said to her, "That will never happen to me." She said softly, "Never say, 'never.'"

You have an idea of what happened next. Raymond wakes up in the middle of the night, gasping for air. He felt his esophagus burning. Before, he could think about it, he muttered the words, "Oh, God help me!" Immediately, Raymond's throat cleared up, and he was able to breath. The next day Raymond decided to go to the Doctor's office to make sure all is well. No one in the office would dare speak, afraid of one of Raymond's outburst. However, Raymond waited patiently for his turn and he started no arguments. This concerned every one in the office, but they were all afraid to ask.

Raymond's name was called, but he still had to wait for the doctor. Finally, a dignified and distinguished old man, with a white beard and a pleasant disposition walked in. They exchanged the usual pleasantries. After this the old Doctor asked Raymond, "So Raymond, What can this old fool do for you?" Raymond remembered Rose. He remained silent for a few seconds. Raymond did not know what to do; He put his thoughts together and answered the Doctor. Raymond said shyly, "When I met your granddaughter she told about your thoughts on how atheists call on God when they feel they are dying. Well, it happened to me. I called on God. In fact, I even think He answered." The old man listened attentively and then answered, "What happened?" Raymond told him with vivid details what had happened the night before. "Well, Raymond, you were wise to call on Him. You were wise to come here for a checkup. However, in a few days you memory of what happened will start to fade, and you will go back to your old foolish ways. It happens all the time. You will forget about the wisdom you have heard now. And, soon enough you may even despise it." Raymond just listened silently, as the Doctor checked him.

The story reminds me of the one Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 9:13-16, let us read,

Ecclesiastes 9:13This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
Ecclesiastes 9:14 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:
Ecclesiastes 9:15 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.
Ecclesiastes 9:16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

Like the Raymond and the people in the little city many only remember God only in times of crisis. And, soon after the crisis is over, and life goes back to the same old routine they forget Him. You see, very likely the reason there was a crisis is because they ignored and despised His wisdom. So, they plead with God, and God bails them out. But, God's wisdom not only bails out, it also may spare us from the impending crisis by giving us discernment to avoid it. God's wisdom may also give us the strength and insight to go through with the crisis. But, for this we must be imbued with His wisdom before, through, and after any crisis. It is easy to do this when we realize the extent of our sinfulness and are grateful about the extent of His sacrifice for us. It is easy when we learn to listen to and trust the voice of His indwelling Holy Spirit. He is the source of God's wisdom in us. Will you let Him dwell in you? He will make you wise.

The Special Insights web page resides at:
http://www.1888message.org/sabbathschool/
Posted by Ulee at 3/09/2007 11:29:00 AM Links to this post  
Thursday, December 23, 2004

Who are the Wise?

Growing up in a Catholic country in the Caribbean, Santa Claus and Christmas were not
as celebrated as the Three Kings Day which occurs in January. This Holiday is better
known in some countries as Epiphany, and the 3 kings as the Magi or wise men. Many
have asked "who are these men?" however the scripture is not clear concerning them. Matthew 2:1 merely says, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem." The scripture does not say why they were wise. I have heard that they were astrologers who saw something in the night sky that was unusual. While observing the star, they studied the prophesies (of Daniel), understood them, and therefore knew it was time for the King to be born. There was wisdom in finding this baby, just as today, there is wisdom in finding the Cross.

According to Proverbs 1:20 & 9:10-- "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction...(not realizing that) the knowledge of the holy is understanding." The wise men were wise, because having access to the prophesies concerning the Messiah, they studied them. Scripture says, that the wise have an understanding of the times, and that they hear the word and build upon its foundational principles (Matt. 7:24, 25). In Matthew 16:1-4, Jesus tells the Sadducees and Pharisees that they are not only foolish, but wicked and adulterous because they can discern the signs of approaching weather, but are blind and deaf to the signs of the times. Thus we can reason that the Wise Men of the East were wise in that they were able to discern the signs of the times from the scripture. Not only that, but they prepared themselves and went to welcome and worship the King. If we are undiscerning of the times, with the word of prophecy
all around us, are we wise?

Who are the wise? According to John 8:32 -- "... you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." So the wise have knowledge of the truth, and hearing His voice (John 18:37, 10:27 & 8:47), they worship in Spirit and in truth, as did the Magi (John 4:23, 24 & Rev. 14:7). Having access to the prophecies concerning King Jesus, they were led to come and worship Him. You know, we not only have access to the same prophecies which we are studying now, but we also have access to and understanding of Revelation, which is a complimentary book to Daniel. Yet do we really know what time it is? Do we have understanding as well as knowledge of the great event now taking place in the Most Holy of Holies, where God is judging the living? We shall be very foolish indeed if we ignore the prophecies till the time is more pleasing or convenient. According to Daniel 12:10, "the wicked shall not understand (that the time has come to be purified in character, and made clean
and white through the righteousness of Christ's indwelling Holy Spirit). Continuing to do wickedly, they shall not understand, but the wise shall understand--" and that's a promise.

Another definition of the wise is found in Daniel 12:3, and in Proverbs 11:30. Daniel 12:3 states, "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." Proverbs 11:30 states, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. From these two texts we see that the wise person is the one, who through possessing the indwelling Holy Spirit, has the character of Christ shinning brightly, and thus wins souls.

Often we don't view wisdom this way. Instead we think that the person who gets the best grades in the class is the smartest, or the wisest. We think that the person who is most frequently chosen for work projects is the wisest or most talented. We tend to think that those who are effective at multi-tasking are the wisest, and we wish we could be like them. Unfortunately, our human tendency is to see things not as Christ sees them, but as the world does. In Luke 16:14, Jesus says that the Pharisees who heard all these things were covetous. And in verse 15, He "said unto them, You are they which justify yourselves before men: but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God." He further said, that we are to "look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal (passing away); but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).

Sadly it seems that the wise are often not honored until they have passed away. Then we build monuments to them, repeat their stories, and if possible, show their works. Through Ellen G. White, Christ has said that every worker for Him receives a reward. Although it may not be visible here, the work, if done in simple faith, shall not fail to receive a wonderful reward. We shall not be disappointed. To everyone who is seeking to win souls for Christ, in the sight of heaven your work is a success and
you are ranked as one of God's noblemen (E.G.W. Notes, pp 86).

The wise then are those who seeking to win souls to Christ through the Cross. They study the prophecies, worship God in Spirit and truth, and like Daniel and the pioneers of old (i.e... William Miller, Ellen White, James White...) wrestle with God in prayer for enlightenment. The ultimate meaning of the visions was sealed for Daniel, but it began to open for the pioneers through Revelation. And, it can open for us too, if we choose to yield our preconceptions and bow humbly at the foot of the cross. Wisdom is the application of discernment, knowledge and understanding. Friends, let's take the instruction of the scripture seriously, and "study to show ourselves approved, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth." And if we lack wisdom, let's "in faith, ask God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him (2 Tim. 2:15 & James 1:5, 6)."

The Cross of Christ is the science of all sciences. Let's choose today to view the prophecies concerning the "Time of the End" in the light of the Cross. We can be assured we'll become wise as we do so.

--
Raul Diaz & Maria Greaves-Barnes
rdiaz@wolfsoath.com
http://www.wolfsoath.com

Raul Diaz