Bible Prophecy and Inspiration

Proverbs 4:7-9 – ⁷ Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.  Though it cost all you have, get understanding.  ⁸ Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.
⁹ She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor.”

Intelligence has proven that it can be an enemy of God.

Wisdom, ah wisdom!  It comes from the Lord.

Job 28:20-23 –   ²⁰ “Where then does wisdom come from?   Where does understanding dwell?
²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air.
²² Destruction and Death say, ‘Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.’ ²³ God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,

Proverbs 2:6 – ⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

There’s a lot of people who would state it (wisdom) is experience that comes with age.  He who walks 50 miles get tired feet.  However, that’s really not wisdom but experience.  He who put hand on hot stove, burn hand.  Once again, I consider that experience which leads to some obvious intelligence.

Wisdom is not in us naturally.  He alone knows where it dwells.  Wisdom from the Lord has allowed me to look at myself and see when I make my own decisions outside of what He would like, that I’m a pretty ignorant critter.  Without that wisdom and if I mixed in a little pride, I would never see that or acknowledge it.

Wisdom slowly removes a veil that blinds us towards the Lord.  The more we receive His wisdom, the better we see Him.  Where can we find His wisdom?  In His Word.

So what will it cost you on earth?  We read it up in verse 7.  It will cost you all you have.  Because once you realize what God wants from you, it will cost you, YOU.

Satan has been trying to sell you all along that you don’t have to do that.  You can be your own god.  You don’t have to serve Him.

To believe him (Satan) will cost you eternity in a place that is for those who reject the One true living God.

God wants to give you more than you could ever achieve on your own.  He wants to reward and bless every one of us.  We just need to trust Him and give our lives to HIM!  It will be the wisest thing you ever do.

John 12:27-28 – ²⁷ “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Our Lord and Savior came and died for us.  It was for that reason He came the first time.  He showed us how to live and revealed to us many truths, but He came to die for us.

Is He worthy for us to give Him glory?

He helped create us with the Father.  He came down and died for us, when we were sinful ungrateful beings.

Oh yeah, He is worthy of praise and honor and glory, forever.

Revelation 7:11-12 –  ¹¹ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

He is Lord!  And for all of those not too boastful, ungrateful and proud, we need to give Him glory.

Matthew 4:4 – ⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

In the next verse the devil took Him to the city.  So that’s the emphasis on what man needs to live.  Some nutrients for the body and one huge dose of God’s Word.

What happens to the body when it becomes malnourished?  It becomes weak.  What happens when we or the church go without the Word?  We become weak.

It’s the beginning of the year.  It’s a good time to break out the One Year Bible and make sure you get through it.  If you don’t have one, it’s the best way to read the Bible.  Get one that starts both in the OT and NT simultaneously.  It makes it easier on some of the tougher books to get through.

We don’t hear much about Joseph, the father of Jesus.  However, you know he had to be a man who God knew would listen and that He could count on to raise the Son of God.

Matthew 1:18-24- ¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”-which means, “God with us.”

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Joseph was a nice enough guy that he was going to divorce Mary quietly not to disgrace her.  He also was the kind of guy to follow the Angel’s advice (ironically probably Jesus Himself since it is the angel of the Lord).  Later He listened and took the family down to Egypt and obeyed when told to return.

He listened to God’s voice and commands.  We just recently wrote on Abraham believing God and it was considered righteousness. 

We need to read the Word and hear His voice in our lives.  There isn’t one person who loves God today that isn’t going to wish they did that more often while they had the chance.

There is no greater calling in everyone’s life than serving your Lord.  Listen to His voice.  Make sure that voice in line with His Word.

Galatians 3:6 – ⁶ Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

So how did Abraham believe God?  Was it by just saying, okay God, I believe that?

No Abraham showed he believed God by his actions.  However it’s important to note when he didn’t take God at His word it led to repercussions.  The story of not believing the seed would come from Sarah and he tried to force it through Hagar is still having ramifications till this day.

Actions speak louder than words.

If you keep telling me your going to do something and you don’t, your words mean nothing.  If you tell me you love me and then give me no time, do anything for me, or talk well about me to others, then the talk is meaningless and cheap.

What is the most important thing in your life?  If people watched you for awhile they would probably be correct in their guess.  It would be where you spend your time and efforts and where your goals are aimed towards.

Did Abraham chase after His own goals?  When he did it backfired.  When he chased after God and the goal God had for him he flourished.

Believing God is listening to His voice and taking action.

We can all be used by God.  Yet not many allow God to work through them.

Matthew 9:37 – ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

There have been workers since the disciples walked with Christ, but the workers have always been few compared to those who could be helping the Kingdom.

You can help your Lord.  It may be doing nursery once every 10 weeks, or helping to clean.  It may be in being a prayer warrior or fixing something for a gathering.  You have a ministry.  Let Him use you.  Listen to His voice.  Because if you do and you believe God fully, it will be credited as righteousness.

Ephesians 4:1-3 – ¹As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Clearly it’s not rolling over and not standing for Truth, but staying gentle and loving.  The battle is for the heart of man, not that your personal will be done, but God’s.

Love and spread truth from the Word.  Ask God to use you.  Prepare yourself.  One can never get upset if someone chooses to not listen to the Truth.  They are not rejecting you, but God.  That’s why we need to stay gentle and loving.  You never know what tomorrow will bring to the continuation of nurturing or watering the seed.