Wisdom

[00:00:07] Speaker A: Welcome to the Weekday Podcast of Sugar Hill Church where we desire to help you know God and discover your purpose, whether you're exercising, driving, meditating or just hanging out while you tune in with us today. Thanks. We hope these next five minutes help you feel encouraged and inspired for your day. [00:00:23] Speaker B: Hi everybody, Pastor Chuck Allen here and thanks so much for joining me on today's weekday podcast where I want to take a look at Proverbs chapter 2. In verses 6 and 7 we read something that's pretty awesome. It says, for the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk is blameless. Those two verses are packed with all kind of meaning, so let's try to just unpack it a little bit on the weekday podcast. First, verse six says, for the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Now this statement is foundational to the entire book of Proverbs and indeed to the biblical understanding of wisdom. It asserts that true wisdom doesn't originate from our intellect, from any human intellect, or from our experiences. It's not our intellect, it's not our experience, but God Himself. Which means anybody can choose to be wise, but we have to seek it and receive it from Heaven. Got tells us he gives us wisdom. Now don't, don't, don't miss out on this. When we turn to God, the ultimate source of wisdom, it is always available to us. It challenges our modern, open, self reliant approach to knowledge and understanding. The phrase from his mouth is particularly significant. It implies that wisdom is part of God's self revelation. Jesus Just as God spoke the world into existence in Genesis, he speaks wisdom into the lives of those who seek Him. This connects wisdom closely with God's Word, suggesting that you and I can find wisdom through engaging with His Word and listening for God's voice in our life. When you move on to verse seven, he says he holds success in store for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk is blameless. Now this outlines two super cool benefits of seeking God's wisdom. First, it really it promises success for the upright. It's important to note that this isn't necessarily promising material wealth or worldly success. In the context of Proverbs, success refers to living a life that's in harmony with God's will and his ways. In other words, it says peace is the greatest commodity, not finances and I would be living proof. I've lost everything I've owned a couple of times in my life and yet living at peace is the one thing that I truly need to seek, and you do too. He holds success in store for the upright. He's a shield whose walk is blameless. It's about thriving spiritually and morally, not just materially. The second part of the verse uses the metaphor of a shield, saying that God protects those whose walk is blameless. Excuse me. This doesn't mean we have to be perfect, but rather that we're earnestly trying to live according to God's wisdom. It's always a matter of the heart. The shield imagery suggests protection from harm and a close personal relationship with God as a shield must be held close to be effective. A shield doesn't do me any good if it's a mile away. A shield helps me if it's right there with me. So what do you take away from those two verses? Well, true wisdom comes from God and God alone. 2. Wisdom is closely connected to God's Word and His self revelation. 3. Living according to God's wisdom leads to true success and peace. 4. God's promises protection for those who earnestly seek to live according to his wisdom. 5. There's a reciprocal relationship here. As we seek God's wisdom and try to live it out, we experience greater peace, greater protection, greater, greater guidance. Hence greater wisdom. So in our crazy paced life that often prioritizes quick fixes and service level knowledge, these verses remind us of the importance of seeking deep God given wisdom. They encourage us to invest time in our relationship with the Lord, engaging with His Word and listening for his guidance. So as you go about your day to day, remember that true wisdom, wisdom that leads to real success, greater peace and divine protection comes only from God. Actively seek that wisdom and strive to live it out in your daily life and watch the peace and the protection and the provision that follows. God bless you friend. Thanks so much for joining me on today's weekday podcast. [00:04:56] Speaker A: Thanks so much for joining us today for the weekday podcast. Our prayer is that the encouragement you just heard would help you live more like Jesus today. We would love to see you at Sugar Hill Church for one of our gatherings each Sunday at 9, 15 and 11 and we're always streaming live at Live Sugarhill Church. Thanks again for joining us today. As always, if today's message encouraged you, share it with friends and family by tapping the share button. Have an awesome day.