Heavenly Wisdom Is Needed

Happy Sabbath, everybody! Good to see you all. You know, we are living, I think, in a time when we are seeing prophecy come alive before our very eyes. However, some do not seem to see it. You know, they look at the world events and see something altogether different, and they seem to go along in life not considering what will happen just ahead of us. Where are things headed in the Middle East? You know, I don't know about you, but when I look at what's going on in the Middle East, what I see is the lovers of the United States of America that we have bought and paid for are probably very nearly going to turn their back on us ahead of us.

And we need to be warned by that because that is something that is told is going to happen in the end of the age here with the United States, where we're going to be isolated from this world. And you know, brethren, it should impact us dramatically in how we live as God's people today, realizing that we are moving closer and closer to the end of this age and the return of Jesus Christ.

And we should be moved to change. We should be moved to overcome in preparation for that time that is ahead of us. Let's go to the book of Daniel in Daniel 12 here to begin the message. But in Daniel 12 in verse 1, it says, and at that time, of course, when it says that, it means that reference to the end of the age, Michael shall stand up, the great prince, it says, who stands watch over the sons of your people.

He is, of course, the angel that stands watch over Israel. And he's an angel, of course, that also stands watch over us, brethren, at this time that we are living right now. And it says, and there shall be a time of great trouble. It's going to be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time.

And I want you to notice what it continues to say here, and at that time, your people shall be delivered. You know, we're going to, of course, have God's protection that is going to be with us during that time, and God will take care of his people. And it says, everyone who was found written in the book. And, of course, that's the book of life.

Hopefully all of us are written right there in the book of life, and that we're going to be there. And it says, and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. Of course, that's the second coming of Christ, those that are in the first resurrection.

It says, some to everlasting life and some to shame. Of course, referring to another resurrection. And it says, and those who are wise. This is what I want to focus on here in verse 3. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament. And those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. You notice that, brethren, where it talks about here that the wise are going to shine at that particular time. I don't know what God is going to do, but I do believe that God is going to allow us to do things that perhaps we'd ever thought would happen in the church of God.

Who is to, of course, disagree with Jesus Christ when he said that we would do greater works than he would do. But it says, the wise shall shine. And, brethren, I would think that all of us would want to be among the wise that are described here in the end times. I don't know about you, but I would like to be there. I'd like to be considered someone who had the wisdom to remain faithful, to go through the trials and the difficulties the church has gone through even recently. And be wise and remain at that time so that I could be counted with those in the end times that are going to shine for this world as lights to this world.

Well, brethren, I want to talk to you today about something that is sadly needed. We need to have wisdom. We need, brethren, to be people of understanding in this end time that we're living in. And Solomon, of course, wrote a book called Proverbs, and throughout it we are encouraged to seek to be wise. We're encouraged to seek wisdom in our lives.

Let's go back to the book of Proverbs, and Proverbs chapter 3 over here. You know, all of us, of course, I would imagine with one voice would say that we aren't very wise, that we certainly need to grow in understanding as God's people more than we are.

And I would expect that we would have that attitude toward our wisdom, because we all need to grow, continue to grow in our lives, until, in fact, we either change or that we die, that we're making that effort, in other words. But here in Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 13, it says, Happy is the man who finds wisdom. Or blessed is he. If he finds wisdom, that word can mean also for happy.

And the man who gains understanding, you know, has an understanding of the times that we're living in, and an understanding of how to apply the wisdom that God has granted him with. It says, for her, proceeds are better than the profits of silver. You know, we should choose this, but more than we would choose gold or currency of any kind. It's like the character that's talked about, you know, in the book of Peter, that we would choose character, that gold character, the trying of our faith.

It's much more precious than gold. Well, wisdom, he says here, is better than silver. And it says, in her gain than fine gold. And she is more precious than rubies. And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. And it says, length of days is in her right hand.

And in her left, riches and honor. You know, it talks about length of days being here in her right hand. Now, not necessarily long life here, but it could mean long life. It could mean a life that is protected as well in this day and age and time that we live in. You know, it could mean a number of things here connected with our lives and how we live. And it says, in her ways are the ways of pleasantness.

It's a pleasant kind of life that we live when we have this kind of wisdom that he's talking about here. And all her paths are peace. All of her paths are peace in our particular lives that we live. And she's a tree of life to those who take hold of her. And happy are all who retain her. You know, so we have to retain this wisdom that it's talked about. Now, let's go over to chapter 4 in verse 7. Because here, we're told in verse 7 of chapter 4, you know, Solomon says, wisdom is the principal thing. Wisdom is the principal thing.

Therefore, get wisdom, and in all you're getting, get understanding. Get understanding. As God's people here, we need to, again, to get that understanding, and we need to get wisdom as well. The word principal, by the way, here, the principal thing in the Hebrew means this first in place, first in place, time, order, and rank, it says, in the strong's concordance. It's the first thing that we need to have, brethren, that's a part of our lives. And, you know, I think we would all agree again that we sorely need this, every one of us.

I don't think that anyone would say that they can't row in this matter. You know, Daniel said, the wise will have an understanding. Now, what is that understanding? Well, you know, through the years, some people have thought that Bible prophecy was the most important thing to understand in life. And some devoted their lives to try to break down Bible prophecy. You know, they do the timelines, they do the grass, and they go into the wee hours of the night to try to figure out exactly when Jesus Christ was going to return.

You know, it's interesting to me that Sir Isaac Newton, in fact, was a prophecy buff. And he probably wearied himself trying to figure out the Bible and look at it from maybe a mathematical science point of view to try to figure out these things. And I've read a little bit about Sir Isaac Newton, and he thought he had a corner on the market as to when Jesus Christ was going to return. And, of course, we know that long since Sir Isaac Newton is dead, and, of course, proving that his understanding about prophecy was not true.

You know, again, many have thought this was the only important thing to be known, and unfortunately to the neglect of their spiritual lives. You know, their lives not necessarily lived in a godly manner. But, brethren, we need to think about, again, what God is saying to us when he said the wise, in the end, are going to shine. What does he mean by that? That they're going to shine. Let's go to Ephesians 5 over here in the New Testament.

So, the Bible in the Old Testament tells us that we need to develop wisdom. But, here in the book of Ephesians, down in verse 15, let's notice, it says, "'See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.'" In other words, you can spend all of your time, and I'm not saying that we should not look into prophecy, but you can spend all of your time studying into prophecy, studying into every little twig in the Bible, and not be wise.

Not be wise. And it says that we should see that we walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. And certainly they are, brethren. The days are evil that we live in right now.

Look around you again in this world that you live in. In fact, we see, of course, a world that is more and more out to lunch, frankly, when it comes to anything close to obeying God. People, of course, today shack up with each other and don't think a thing about it. They really don't. And it's amazing. Sometimes you don't know. It used to be when you saw a man and a woman together, you thought husband and wife. Not so anymore. Quite frankly, my experience in visiting people in the world is the exact opposite. You know, boyfriend and girlfriend. And in some cases, they have several children. I don't know again what's the problem here. Man is so ignorant of the marriage institution itself, and he's thrown to the side. And it says in verse 17, Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Be wise about the will of God. What that is. Now, I talked about the will of God recently and tried to give you a different perspective of the will of God. What the will of God is. And, you know, we need to know again what the will of God is. I gave you a point showing what the will of God is for us with regard to the church. He wants us to be in the body of Christ. He wants us to be with them forevermore. You know, that is the will of God and what God desires, brethren, for us.

And, you know, so we need to, again, to discover the spiritual principles of wisdom. We, of course, discover that God gives us his spiritual guidelines to us as free moral agents. He expects us to walk in those principles in our lives and the laws. And the most important concern God has for his children, brethren, as any parent would, is how they conduct themselves based on what they have been taught. It's like our children, when we reared our children, that is, of course, something that we watch. How are they applying what they have been taught in our home? That's what God is concerned about with regard to us, brethren. You know, of course, parents can be proud that their children are very intelligent. I think every parent is. But, nonetheless, they are concerned what the children are doing, how they are living their lives. Or at least that's the way my wife and I think about it. You know, maybe I shouldn't necessarily say this is what the world thinks about anymore. I think that the world, quite frankly, I would say, is more concerned about how much money their kids are going to earn out there. We should be concerned about all of that today. But we should be concerned about how our children are conducting themselves based upon what they have been taught. The Hebrew word, by the way, in Daniel 12, for the word wise, is this. The word in the Hebrew is sokom. And it means to be circumspect, just like we read here in the New Testament. It means to deal prudently. And an interesting meaning also of this word, sokom, is to behave. Behave. Now, how many parents, when their kids were being reared, said, behave? In other words, straighten up and fly right. You'll live according to what we have taught you. No, we didn't. Very often, a parent would do that, won't they? They will say, now, that's not what I ever taught you. So, that word wisdom, or wise there, means behave. It means to have good success as well. So, the verse says, those who will be wise will shine forth. In other words, they will be lights to other people of God's right way of life. They're going to be lights to this world. So, our goal, brethren, ought to be this, to make sure that we are walking circumspectly in this end of the age. It talks about how the wise will know the will of God. You know, whether we say, walk circumspectly, or whether you know and you put into practice the will of God, they are one and the same, brethren. They are the one and the same, and the wise person will see that. They want to walk wisely, and they want to walk also in the will of God. There is no difference between the two. And, you know, God is looking again at us in our lives. You know, those who do walk circumspectly, brethren, will behave themselves in this wicked world around them. And when all the world is going the wrong way, we're going to try to, again, adhere to those basic principles, those laws, those principles, the will of God, if you will, that God has given us within the pages of the Bible. And those who do are going to have an understanding of what they ought to be as the people of God in this age that we live in.

Now, brethren, quite frankly, we live in a time, and I think it should be obvious right now to us, when men are rebelling against established governments in this world. I mean, it is an epidemic in the world. In fact, Russia recently told the United States that you better be careful about pushing democracy in some of these countries.

Down there. Because we already have a problem in Russia with this kind of thing and what happens with it. Of course, we know what happens in Chechnya and those areas where they have bombs going off over in Russia now, and many people have been killed as a result of that. And again, I will not argue that maybe Russia is an oppressive government.

I would not argue that Mubarak was probably a repressive leader, a dictator. But I think we've got to ask the question, if we have democracy in some of these countries where you have a majority Muslim population, what are you going to get? What are you going to get? What kind of government are you going to get? I think we need to ask that question. The Muslim Brotherhood that is in Egypt right now, one of their avowed purposes is to destroy Israel. And right now they would not have a majority in Egypt. But eventually these things grow, these things increase, and times change. And so things can happen rather quickly. So we see again a number of countries in the Middle East, many of them again, who are our allies, who have worked closely with us. And these people are trying to throw off the shackles of dictators and to seek freedom. And they want to reform their constitutions and have a democratic form of governments. But you know, it takes rather more than governance to make people free. You know, I saw, in fact, some of the interviews where people say, we want to be free, we want to be free. Of course, their freedoms might very well impinge on other people's freedoms in the process. John Adams, who was our second president in the United States, the beginning of the United States, he said this, he says, we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and religion. He said, average ambition, revenge, or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our constitution is designed only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other. And you know, what I think we're seeing in this country here, the morality of our country being what it is, we live in a get-oriented society. We see that happening, in fact, you know, up in Wisconsin. Wasn't it where the problem is taking place where people are marching, you know, on the Capitol? Because the governor was trying to adjust the budget and somebody's benefits were going to be cut back? You know, we may well see again much of this going on because, I mean, about every state in the Union has a problem with this budget. And what do you do? Do you just keep, you know, increasing the debt? Does it keep going on and on forever and ever? I think, obviously, not. It can't go on forever. So, brethren, we live in a country here where we are morally bankrupt or getting there very fast. You know, you can't govern anyone who is not moral. You can't govern anyone who is not submissive to government.

You know, as the United States, it gets farther and farther from God, the harder it is going to be to govern us as a people. And, brethren, there's been corruption from the head to the toe, as it seems to describe to us in the prophecy in Isaiah. You know, it talks about how the whole head is sick from, you know, the head down to the toes. That our country has gone that way. Britain has gone that way, and I think they're way ahead of us. 2 Timothy 3, of course, was mentioned by Mr. Termitian. We are living, brethren, in perilous times right now. And the most that is perilous for us, brethren, is our spiritual life, our spiritual well-being, as these things keep going along, as we see out here in the world. And it is important for us, brethren, to realize that God gave us His Holy Spirit so that we could bear a certain kind of fruit, to bear a wisdom which is different from this world's wisdom that is out there. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2.

I don't know. Maybe I'm talking to a crowd that already has all this wisdom here. I don't think so. I think we all have to grow in this wisdom. 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 1. Notice what Paul said to the brethren at Corinth. He says, Here Paul was going among them, and he took a certain approach that was not the kind of approach that this world would take in doing the work of God. The world would be very different than us.

In verse 3 it says, Now think about what he just says here. I was with you in fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. You know, brethren, let's face the facts and the reality. If we cannot be converted by hearing the words of God that promises the opportunity for eternal life, and that our sins be forgiven by Jesus Christ and his shed blood, if we cannot be converted to realize what God is offering us, brethren, we will never accept it. I don't care if you have an Apollos or you have the most dynamic speaker that stands before you. It tells you these things.

You know, Paul was a man that didn't have a very good presentation. Not to put anybody down that's bald, but Paul was a bald man. I can't say I'm not too far behind, but he was probably a tiny man. He wasn't that big. He was a man that probably did not have an impressive voice, but boy, could he write.

He could write. You see, the words were what were really important. And, you know, Paul goes on to say, However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing, he said. They're going to come to nothing. You know, he lived, the Apostle Paul, brethren, lived in the Greek world where debate and arguing was often done. You know, remember Mars Hill? What happened on Mars Hill with the Apostle Paul? You know, they like to get up there and they like to discuss, they like to argue, they like to debate some of these things on Mars Hill with Paul there in Acts 17. They prized a manly orator, but Paul's presentation, again, was weak.

He had a lot of challenges as a speaker. In order to be well understood, you know, obviously Paul had to use very direct words, but he didn't speak to people to persuade them. You know, how you can do that with people, you can work them up into a crescendo, if you've probably ever been to some sort of a holy roller type of a meeting. You might have some indication about what we're talking about here, but he was in an order, he didn't make you at one time hate him, and then another time love him, and then another time crying, you know, here you're crying, you're brought to tears.

It wasn't that way with Paul. He just presented the truth. He gave people the truth. You know, in the Gentile world, brethren, also leaders lorded over people. And, you know, they had the swelling vanity, but Paul was different from that. He was different from that. Like you said, he came in a weaker form. He was humble before them. He did not think of himself better than other people. We read about, in fact, what he says about that in Philippians chapter 2. But he came to them on their same level. You know, that was the way that Paul was. He got down among them, you might say, and he was with them.

It wasn't aloof from them. You know, oftentimes in the Gentile world, it's not that way. You know, you've got, you might say those who are in charge, and then you have the plebes over here. You know, that way. And sometimes people can be that way even now. And so he came, brethren, in the wisdom of God and not by worldly wisdom of men. And, brethren, this is what we need to learn and discern today. We need to know what it is, brethren, to come in godly wisdom before people. Let's go back to the Genesis chapter, James, I should say, chapter 3 over here.

James chapter 3. In verse 13, here James, the apostle, in verse 13, it says, Who is wise in understanding among you? And so who is wise among us, brethren? He says, let him show by good conduct. You see that word, brethren, there? That his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. In other words, wisdom of God has a meekness to it.

A meekness, a humility. And so Paul says, who is wise among us? Who sees, who understands and has wisdom? Let him show it by his conduct. Let him show it by his behavior. In other words, what he does. This, brethren, is what the Word and Daniel, the book of Daniel, referred to.

When the wise were going to shine. It wasn't because the wise had all this understanding about prophecy. You know, Daniel was a wise man, by the way, himself. But he didn't even understand the prophecies that God gave to him. And we're going to see that as we go through this. So, this is what we do, brethren, if we are wise. We are meek.

And meek means to be mild. Meek means to be humble. Meekness is not to have a defiant attitude. That's not, you know, a godly wisdom there. You know, it's not to have a rebellious attitude, a defiant attitude. And next, here in the book of James, James contrasts worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. And says what earthly wisdom is. So, let's look at this, brethren, closer here in James chapter 3. And now down to verse 14. He says, but if you have bitter envy, you know how it can be. You know, sometimes in high school, a young girl will be envious of another young girl.

Maybe she's more popular, you know, and she has this sort of mean streak in her. And she's envious of this other girl. I just can't stand her. You know, and she gets bitter about it. Maybe she takes revenge in some way.

Revenge usually is involved when people get bitter envious of other people. And it says, and self-seeking. Again, remember Philippians 2, where it talks about how we shouldn't be self-seeking. Paul says that, that we should think about other people, not ourselves. So it says, and self-seeking in your hearts. And it says, do not boast and lie against the truth. You know, some people, if you talk to them about the fact that they can be a little selfish, they can all know, I'm not selfish.

I'm not selfish. You know, he talks about here, do not boast. Don't lie against the truth. You know, don't boast that you're humble. Don't boast, in other words, that you're not envious if you are. You know, Chris, what do we call that when people do that? When they say one thing and do another.

Hypocrisy, isn't it? That is hypocrisy, brethren. And we should, as God's people, avoid that. This wisdom does not descend from heaven. In other words, Paul is saying, I want you to get this perfectly clear. Get it perfectly clear. This wisdom is not of God, and it is not from heaven. Now, some people think because this is the kind of wisdom that they show and that they demonstrate that it's from God. But Paul says, absolutely not. It is not of God. And it's not from heaven. And don't, again, kid yourself about it.

But it is earthly, he says. It's earthly. It's from this world, this society here that we live in. It's sensual. It's sensual and demonic, he says. And it says, for we're in thee, and self-seeking exists, confusion, and every evil thing are there. Everything. And, you know, we can have people within our midst, and, you know, they can have some of these problems, and it can affect the whole congregation, by the way.

Like a little 11, 11 is the whole lump. And so, we need to, again, get serious about what Paul is saying here to us. You know, some think the way they think is of God because they are in the church. Let's realize that's just simply not true. You know, there have been people who have been in the church for a long time, and have not learned what we're talking about right here today. And, you know, none of us do it perfectly, brethren.

None of us do it perfectly. But James, again, tells the people there, he says, Look, I want you to get that out of your head, that this wisdom is of God, and it's from above. It says it's sensual. In other words, what that means, brethren, it appeals to the senses. In other words, this is where passion streams from. This is where emotion streams from. Hatred, and things like that. Stream from these things. It is worldly, very worldly. And you know what, though? It feels right, doesn't it? Because it's something that's sensual. It feels right. You know, but it doesn't do right.

It doesn't do right. It feels right, but it doesn't do right. He says it's demonic. Here, when he uses this term, you know, being demonic, what does he mean by that? In other words, what James is saying, this is the kind of wisdom that Satan used to deceive the angels. This is exactly what he used. And this is where it comes from. It comes from Satan, the devil. And whenever we see selfishness and envy, we can know that Satan is there, working.

And earthly wisdom values power. It values position. It wants privilege, and it wants prestige. And you know, we as God's people, brethren, need to get those things out of our head. You know, God alone is power. Because we pray that every day, don't we? Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the power. Yours is the glory. You know, we don't get glory. We don't get a power now, you know, except the power of the Holy Spirit. And that's God's power in us. And we don't, the kingdom doesn't belong to us alone, brethren.

It belongs to the Father in heaven. So we need, again, to get the idea of power, prestige, privilege, and position. And we need to be like Paul, and come in humility toward God's people and one another, in fact, also people in the world. So this is not the kind of wisdom we should be seeking to have. Its origin, again, is not of God. It's the kind of wisdom the devil taught the rebelling angels.

And this is the kind of wisdom, brethren, that the disciples had when they argued about who was going to be the greatest. Exactly the same kind of wisdom. And you wouldn't expect them to use any other, quite frankly, because they did not have God's Spirit. They, of course, saw the modeling of Jesus Christ, but it took God's Spirit to really learn this new way of doing things that Jesus Christ brought. Let's go to Matthew 20. Matthew 20. Matthew 20 and verse 20 begin there. The story in the account of the Zebedee boys.

And it says, then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to him, came to Christ with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from him. And he said to her, What do you wish? And she said to him, Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and the other on your left, in your kingdom.

And Jesus answered and said, You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with? And they said to him, We are able. I think it's interesting that Jesus Christ, the way he said this, and he said to them, You will indeed drink my cup. You're going to get to do that.

And be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. But to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give. It is for those for whom it is prepared by my father. And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. Now, the reason why they were really angry with the two brothers is they didn't think of it first. That was usually what probably they were thinking at that time.

And they thought, well, boy, they got in on it. And boy, they pushed us out. And Jesus called them to Himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be among you, but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. Let him be your servant. It's interesting. When I went up to see Mrs. Martin, we had a pleasant visit there. And somebody came into the room where we were. It was the other patient that was in the other bed who happened to be gone. And Jerry said to her, This is my minister. And I was talking to my wife on the way home. I said, You know, the word minister means slave. She could have just as well said, This is my slave. Because, brethren, this is what Jesus Christ is talking about when He uses the word servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. So you see, this is the new wisdom of how we should lead, brethren, in the church. That we are slave leaders, if you will. Servant leaders within the church. If we're going to have leadership, it has to be that way. Of course, Christ was a leader. The apostles were going to be leaders. But they had to be servants one to another.

And, you know, Jesus Christ came to again to serve mankind, and He did it by dying for mankind. I don't know when it kicked in with the disciples, the apostles, but at a given point, brethren, that His disciples became so convinced of what Jesus Christ was saying that day that they became martyrs for God's work. They laid their lives down for the work and for the church. And, brethren, the church should be and is teaching servant leadership. Because, brethren, the time may very well come. I pray it does not happen to us, brethren, that some of us may die in the future for the work of the church. We're going to have to have that attitude in order to endure the things that we may have to go through in the future. And so, this is the kind of wisdom that God wants us to have, brethren. This is the kind of leadership He wants us to have. This is what He wants each of us, of His servants, brethren, to be like. You know, the apostle James – let's go back again to James 3. The apostle James, in verse 17 – let's notice what it says over here.

In verse 17, he says, But the wisdom – and so here he contrasts the wisdom of man to the wisdom of God. He says, the wisdom that is from above is this. This is what it is. He says, it's first pure. So, these are the qualities of godly wisdom, heavenly wisdom, brethren, which we so sorely need as God's people today. Then, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good works, good fruits, without partiality. And it says, and without hypocrisy. And it says, now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. And so, let's go through, brethren, these qualities in maybe a more in-depth manner here. Not spend a lot of time on each one of them, but let's go through them and look at them. It's first pure. That word first means primarily. It is pure. In other words, what does that mean, brethren, to be pure?

In other words, there's no motive. You know, in the world, sometimes somebody is nice to you. You wonder, don't you? Why are you being nice to me? But hopefully in the Church of God, brethren, we don't ask that question, you know. Because that's what we're supposed to be. We're supposed to be nice to people, aren't we? In other words, there's no motive other than that which is good. There's only truth and the will of God that is upheld in this kind of wisdom. That is the approach, brethren, that we take as God's people. So it's first pure. So, brethren, when we, again, demonstrate this kind of thing to our brethren and people in the world, again, are we thinking about? Do we have the right way of thinking if we're having to deal with situations in the Church? Or outside of the Church? Then the next quality of heavenly wisdom is it's peaceable. It's peaceable. You know, sometimes I've had people come to me and, you know, it's like they have a bad attitude already, and I haven't given them an answer about it. Kind of reminds me of the guy, you know, that had the, you know, the flat tire. I don't know if you've heard that story or not, but anyway, he finds out he doesn't have a jack in order to get his car jacked up and everything. And it's raining, you know. And he's looking up and there's a house that's way down the way. And, you know, so he starts walking. He's a pessimist.

And he said, I'll probably get up there and they won't be home. You know, he saw a light there, but he, you know, probably won't be home. He got along a little further and he said, I probably, you know, I walk all the way up there and they'll be home, but they won't come to the door.

And he walked on a little further and, you know, decided, he said, he said, and finally, if I get there, I know what's going to happen. They're going to come to the door and I'm going to ask them for the jack and they'll say, no, you can't use it.

And finally he got up to the door, knocked on the door, and, you know, a nice man came to the door, front door, and said, what can I do for you? And he said, you just keep the dumb jack.

Well, sometimes people, you know, they come and they think, if they're going to ask me a question, that I'm going to say no about it.

But, you know, they only imagine it. Or they think I'm going to get upset about it.

Well, but I would hope that you would know me enough to notice that I don't get upset very often.

I mean, I'm not going to lie to you, I have gotten upset.

But, brethren, I try to be peaceful when I talk to people and try to understand what they're saying.

But only please don't ask me to agree with something that is definitely wrong. I mean, I just can't do that.

But, you know, godly wisdom, brethren, is it's peaceable. It's peaceable.

In other words, there's no envy, there's no strife, there's no selfishness in it.

And what you do is you hold to the truth and make every effort, brethren, to be peaceable, to be at peace.

I'm not going to go to Romans 12 verse 18, but it says, if it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

And so we need to have that wisdom, brethren, about us to live peaceably with people.

And I know, brethren, that I don't know how long my wife and I are going to be here.

Hopefully you'll be here long after we are gone and somebody else comes on the scene.

And I want to keep a good relationship with every one of you here.

I want to be at peace with every one of you in this auditorium.

And I certainly want to have a relationship, a friendship with you, I hope, that goes forever.

That's my goal. That's my desire.

Ephesians 4. Let's go over to Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 1.

Here, the Apostle Paul says, He says, This, of course, has a tie in, doesn't it, to the fact that we need to have godly wisdom.

And it says, And it says, Hopefully, brethren, we have a bond of peace through the love that we have for one another.

And that we have God's Spirit, and that is a spirit, by the way, of unity.

That Spirit, that Holy Spirit, should cause us to be in unity with one another.

And, you know, we always have to have, you know, humility about us so that we can bear with one another.

You know, I would imagine, brethren, that all of us have people we feel more comfortable with, you know, in terms of who we like, maybe enjoy spending time with.

However, we should love all of the brethren. You know, some people maybe have a personality that they, you know, we might feel that they're more likeable.

But again, we should love everyone.

And, let's face it, brethren, sometimes people have personalities that are not so easy to bear.

But isn't that what the Spirit is about?

We bear. We bear with one another.

You know, and sometimes it's not easy for us to do that. But this is what, again, godly wisdom does. We bear with one another and we're at peace with them.

We strive to be at peace.

Now, let's go back again to James 3 and verse 17.

It tells us that also this godly wisdom is gentle. It's gentle.

In other words, simply as we could put it, brethren, it's kind in its dealings with other people.

We respect other people. We understand that they have as much right to voice their opinion as we do.

And, you know, they have a right to their feelings that they may have.

So we, again, need to be gentle with people. We may not agree with people all the time.

But, you know, we don't have to raise our voice when we're talking to one another. If we don't agree with each other, we can just agree to disagree about something.

And so being gentle means we're not being harsh in our dealings with people.

You know, sometimes I would have to say that I've seen people that have been so harsh to somebody in the church.

In some cases, I'm surprised that they did not leave the church. And to their credit, they didn't.

To their credit, they didn't.

So, you know, of course, I've seen also people that have been tremendously gentle with people.

And then they got upset and they flew off the handle.

So I've seen that happen.

You know, sometimes when I talk with people, by the way, I try to be gentle in talking with them.

But I have to admit, in the years that I've been in the ministry, even though I try to speak gently with people and not to be abrasive in any way, you know, some people are so sensitive.

They wear their emotions on their cuffs.

And the next thing I hear is that the minister hollered at me.

I don't know how that translated that way.

But some people are that way. I understand that people can be that way. But it talks about in 2 Timothy 2, in verse 24 through 25, and I'll read it to you, but it'd be good to write it down.

2 Timothy 2, verse 24 and 25, A servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient in humility, correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth.

So, a servant of God, that's you, brethren. A servant of God has to have this kind of godly wisdom.

The next point with regard to godly wisdom, brethren, is willing to yield.

Of course, not on matters of truth, but in matters of personal opinion.

You know, I think we do certainly have to stand our ground when it comes to truth.

But, brethren, I think sometimes people, it's not talking about matters of truth sometimes when people are unwilling to yield.

It's matter of vanity, a matter of being thought of as being wrong.

You know, sometimes, brethren, we're wrong, aren't we? We just are.

And we need to be willing to yield. You know, we can say to somebody, you know, you're right about that.

Maybe I misspoke myself. Maybe I said something I should not have said.

In other words, that's the godly wisdom that we need as God's people.

The next one is full of mercy. Full of mercy.

Now, why do we have to be merciful, brethren? Because if we have a merciful attitude, then God will show us mercy.

And if we're not willing to forgive other people, if we're not willing to do that, brethren, then God will not forgive us.

Just as simple as that.

And I'll quote to you James 2, verse 13. It says, Remember that Jesus Christ said that the Pharisees had ignored the weightier matters of the law.

That is judgment, mercy, and faith.

So, brethren, we need to be full of mercy for people.

And what that means, brethren, we have to be merciful for that person and this other person.

No, we can't ever have the attitude, well, you know, it seems like I am always sort of knuckling under for this person.

And next time I'm not going to do it.

Well, we have to be full of mercy, brethren, and willing to do it again and again and again as God's people.

The next quality of heavenly wisdom, brethren, is good fruits.

You know, Jesus said, By their fruits you shall know them.

You see, it is not what they say, brethren, that is important, but what they do.

What do they do?

And what are we doing, brethren, to produce the fruit?

You know, there's an old adage that we used to have in the Spokesman's Club years ago.

What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say.

Certainly wisdom, isn't it? There.

In other words, we need to be doers of the word and not hear his own only, as we're told in the book of James.

And then, two more.

Qualities of godly wisdom is without partiality.

In other words, God is not a respecter of persons.

You don't show mercy to one person and say, I'm not going to show it to another person.

Because I don't like that person.

You know, people can be very carnal.

In other words, we ought to do, in fact, what Jesus Christ did.

He said, do not look on the outward appearance of a man but the heart.

We need to look at people's hearts.

And finally, brethren, quality of heavenly wisdom is without hypocrisy.

That we need to be true and blue as God's people.

In other words, what we do is real and from our hearts.

And it's not just how to show for the moment that when we're away from the church that we're doing something entirely different.

That we're being true and blue as God's people.

I don't know about you, brethren. When I read these scriptures here in the book of James, this is a beautiful picture, isn't it? What if the whole world lived this way? What if people were this way in the whole world, brethren?

And what if the world submitted to God in this way?

We as God's people, brethren, need to think about that and realize that we are the ones that ought to be putting this into practice.

That we need to be the ones to, again, to initiate this is going to be a part of the entire world before all is said and done. Now, brethren, let's now go back to Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5.

In verse 15. Ephesians 5 and verse 15.

And so here he had talked about, he says, See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.

Again, we see what Daniel meant, that the wise will shine.

In other words, they're going to actually practice Christianity. They're going to live by Christianity.

And the Apostle Paul instructs in what wisdom is and is not.

Wisdom is living by God's way of life.

Now, let's drop down to verse 18.

And we're talking about the carnality of the world.

And it says, But it says, But it says, In words, you're living by God's Word.

And it says, And giving thanks, it says, And notice here, that we all have to submit to one another, brethren, in the fear of God. In other words, out of respect for God.

That's what that word fear means.

Respecting God, reverencing God, and living this way of life as God's people.

In verse 22, it says, So it talks about why submitting to their husbands.

And on down, it talks about how that husbands ought to love their wives, as Christ loved the church.

In other words, both men and women are honoring the marriage institution.

Husbands are supposed to love their wives, and children should listen to their parents by keeping the fifth commandment.

He talks about that in chapter 6, verse 1.

So this is what godly wisdom is, brethren. This is what it's all about.

This is what the will of God is all about.

That God desires in us.

God wants, brethren, us to produce godly seed.

This is the only way that godly seed is going to be produced.

Though if we are in fact doing these things, that marriages are conducted according to what God commands, our children are keeping the fifth commandment.

And we're keeping the fifth commandment of honoring our parents. And those who do this, brethren, are those who are resisting this world that is all around them, and they're submitting to Almighty God.

These are the whys, brethren.

These are the whys in this world and society.

And when God gave the prophecies to Daniel, you know, this is what he said.

The whys are going to shine.

Let's go to Daniel, back to the book of Daniel, over here.

There's a lot of things in the book of Daniel here, prophecy.

And of course, we've spoken about some of these things with regard to prophecy in the past, and we'll probably do so in the future.

But in Daniel 12 and verse 8, here Daniel himself says, although I heard, he said I did not understand.

And then I said, my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?

Of course, he's talking about the end of the age, brethren, when these things are going to start to happen.

And he said, go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

So he was going to die and pass on, and would never understood the prophecy that he heard.

But let's notice in verse 10, it says, that many shall be purified.

In other words, the bride has made herself ready.

Many are purified, being purified, as it says here, and made white.

Purification means that we're overcoming, brethren. We're changing.

And made white means this refers to the righteousness of God that we have as God's people.

And refined as well.

I think all of us need to be refined, don't we?

You know, the week of the world, God is going to one day make us kings and priests over this entire globe.

But God is refining His way within us so that we can take those jobs that He has for us in the future.

But then notice here, He says, but the wicked shall do wickedly.

In other words, they're not going to pay any mind.

Sermons like this are not going to make any difference to them.

They're not going to be wise, but they're going to continue on as they always have, and they're going to do wickedly.

And it says, none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.

They're going to grasp it. They're going to get it.

And I submit to you, brethren, this.

If we are among the wise who are truly living according to heavenly wisdom, that we will understand what Daniel did not have the privilege to understand before all is said and done.

We'll understand Chapter 11.

We'll understand other parts of the Bible to put it together, because God wants us to understand, brethren.

He wants us to have that understanding, and we will grow in it.

But we have to be wise in the way that we've talked about here today, demonstrating heavenly wisdom in our lives.

Brethren, are you going to be there to be among the wise who are going to shine?

Are you going to be there?

Brethren, we are to be the shining lights of this world.

We should be lights and examples to one another.

Let's let God's heavenly wisdom, brethren, be reflected in our daily conduct, in our daily behavior, as God's people, so that we can be counted among the wise.