Listen to the message
Sermon Structure
Wisdom
In these last days of great deception, our only defence against lies is to put our trust in the wisdom that comes from God alone. We all face many choices and decisions, and we all want to make the right ones. Because of this, we will be looking at what the Bible teaches about wisdom—where it comes from, why we need it, and how God gives it to guide us in our daily lives. 1 Kings 3.
Now Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall all around Jerusalem. 2Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days. 3And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. 4 Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask!
What shall I give you?” 6 And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. 9Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil.
For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” 10The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, 12behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. 13And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. 14 So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” ] A few things stand out from this passage.
Firstly, Solomon humbled himself by saying, “I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.” Secondly, he did not ask for wisdom for himself, but so that he could serve the people well, needing understanding and divine knowledge to do so. In the same way, when we struggle with the challenges ahead of us, we too can ask the Lord for help.
Let us now see how the Lord helped Solomon in the situation that followed.
Example of Wisdom
16 Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him. 17And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. 18Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth.
And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. 19 And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead.
But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.” 22Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.”Thus they spoke before the king. 23And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No!
But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ” 24Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.” 26Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.” 27 So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.” 28And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.] So here we see the wisdom of God in action in this situation.
Who is Wisdom for Us Today
Matthew 12.38
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.] Christ is declaring that a wisdom greater than Solomon’s is now present and available to us in Him.
How To Access More Wisdom
James 1.2 tell us [My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.]
We are Told To Ask God
We are told to ask God for wisdom with a sincere heart, trusting Him by faith to give it. To ask without doubting means to ask with intent and conviction, not merely speaking words into the air with no expectation. True faith believes that God hears, God responds, and God gives wisdom generously to those who seek Him.
What is Wisdom
Wisdom is the God-given ability to live rightly by seeing life from God’s point of view and applying His truth in everyday decisions and choices. It is not just intelligence or knowledge. God’s wisdom is truth is lived out; not merely known. It produces fruit in our lives that is evident.
For Us Today. Access
As believers, we have access to God’s wisdom through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. (Isaiah 11:2) The Spirit of the Lord… the Spirit of wisdom and understanding.” The Holy Spirit is the wisdom of God and Christ and the more we led by the Holy Spirit the more we have access to wisdom. [ 1 Cor 1. 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.] [“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Proverbs 9:10] Reverence and honour towards God.
To Finish – To Live Walking in Wisdom
Most of use have lived lives with little or no wisdom or guidance which has caused us to make poor life choices; however, the Lord wants to change that for us – by helping us live with more wisdom. Remember it’s not how we start our lives but how we finish. Let’s all finish strong.
Final Two Key Points
1. Humility – We are reminded that we must ask God like a little child, humbling ourselves as Solomon did. We may not have a kingdom to rule or a nation to govern, but we still need God’s wisdom in the days ahead for the decisions we face. 2. Born Again – Through Christ, and by the Holy Spirit, we have access to the wisdom of God.
This wisdom keeps us on the right path and protects us from deception. As believers, we must be able to discern between what is good and what is evil. We need wisdom for choosing our next job or business direction, deciding which university or course to take, knowing when to change direction, making better health and food choices, and for making ministry decisions as we seek to serve God and be fruitful.
Wisdom is a vital part of the Christian walk, and it is never too late to ask. Therefore, let us all continually ask the Lord for wisdom.