The Principle Thing

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 4

Key Verse: Verse 7 – “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all                                             thy getting get understanding.”

Key Words: Wisdom is the principal thing 

The word principal is an agricultural term meaning first fruit. It carries the idea of being the most productive, the most fruitful. The principle is that without wisdom we’ll never be productive or fruitful.

There are at least five promises made in Proverbs 4 in regard to wisdom:

·         Wisdom will preserve you (verse 6),

·         Wisdom will protect (keep) you (verse 6),

·         Wisdom will promote you (verse 8),

·         Wisdom will keep you from being straitened (distressed) (verse 12),

·         Wisdom will keep you from stumbling (verse 12).

No wonder Solomon said that wisdom is the principal thing.

We do live in a world that is void of wisdom. The following was taken from Dear Abby, and it proves my point that we are void of wisdom.

·         Dear Abby: Our son was married in January. Five months later his wife had a ten-pound baby girl. They said the baby was premature. Tell me can a baby this big be that early? – Wondering. - Dear Wondering: The baby was on time, the wedding was late. Forget it.

·         Dear Abby: Do you think about dying much? – Curious.  Dear Curious: No, it’s the last thing I want to do.

·         Dear Abby: I am forty-four years old and I would like to meet a man my age with no bad habits – Rose.  Dear Rose: So would I.

·         Dear Abby: What’s the difference between a wife and a mistress? – Bess. Dear Bess: Night and Day.

No wonder Solomon said, “Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore, get wisdom.”

There is a TV commercial that asks, “Got milk?” My question for you is, “Got Wisdom?”

                                                                                               Dr. Mike Rouse        

What to do:

✞Be teachable (verse 1)

✞Desire to have Godly wisdom.

✞As God for wisdom daily.

Our Own Understanding

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 3

Key Verse: Verses 5 & 6 – (vs5)  “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  (vs 6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Key Words: own understanding 

One of the real deterrents to living a life of faith in God is human knowledge. We, more often than not, lean upon our own understanding of things, and act upon this understanding, rather than living a life trusting God and acting and living off His Word.

Is this not what happened in the life of King Saul? He was specifically told to go and destroy Amalek ad all that they had (1 Samuel 15:3). Now, we know he failed to obey and we know why he failed in his obedience. The people of Israel brought back from Amalek the best of their sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord (1 Samuel 15:21). Rather than simply obeying God, they leaned upon their own understanding.

Some years ago, a couple came to me and asked if I could marry them. I gave my usual answer, “If you’ll call the office and set up an appointment, I’ll be happy to talk with you about it.” They did call and make an appointment. I did not know the couple. They had attended our church for a couple of weeks so I had many questions for which I needed answers. Question number one was, “Are you saved?” The girl quickly responded, “Yes” and gave a clear testimony to her salvation. The man, on the other hand, was a different story. Now, he was clear on his answer. He said, “No sir, I am not saved and don’t care to be.”

I informed them that there was a problem Scripturally. I quoted a couple of verses: II Corinthians 6:14 and Amos 3:3. I even went to Genesis 24 and talked about Isaac and Rebekah. The young lady looked at me and said, “But, I’ve prayed about this and I believe it’s all right if I marry him. I have peace about this.”

He believing that the marriage was right, and even her being at peace, came not from God’s Book, but from her own understanding. Needless to say, I didn’t marry them, but they did get married and are now divorced – and the divorce was a bitter battle because she leaned upon her own understanding.

Abraham got in trouble because he leaned upon his own understanding – so did Jonah and David, and the list goes on and on. Don’t lean upon your own understanding, but rather trust in the Lord and His Word.

                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞If your conscience tells you one thing and God’s Word tells you another, obey the                Word.

✞Always remember, God gives us a free will to choose. You are free to do what you                want, but you are not free to choose the consequences of your actions. 

Searching for Wisdom

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 2

Key Verse: Verse 4 – “If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;”

Key Words: searchest for her as for hid treasures 

As you read Proverbs, chapter two, you can see at least three great truths in regard to Godly wisdom. In verse six, you find the origin of Godly wisdom, “For the Lord giveth wisdom.” Wisdom comes from God in two primary ways: naturally from His Word and then through prayer (see James 1:5). Secondly, we see the object of Godly wisdom in verse seven, “He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous.” The words “He layeth up” means to hide. The righteous, when they look for Godly wisdom, will find it. Then we find the outcome of Godly wisdom in the remaining verses of chapter two.

I recently misplaced my reading glasses. This is highly unusual for me, as I normally drive people crazy with structure and organization- you know, “A place for everything and everything in its place.” Now, my glasses are extremely important to me; for without them I have a very hard time both reading and writing. I could not rest until I found my glasses. I looked in things, on things, under things. I found things that I never knew I had, but no glasses. To me, this was serious business. I recruited my wife, my children and my grandchildren to assist me in my search; for without my glasses, life would not be totally impossible, but it certainly would become very difficult.

So it is when it comes to wisdom. Yes I did eventually find my glasses because I diligently searched for them; because to me, they were hidden treasures. Do you need wisdom today? Then search for her as a hidden treasure. 

                                                                             Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Look for wisdom in God’s Word.

✞Look for wisdom through prayer.

✞If all of us could really comprehend the importance of Godly wisdom, it would change both our thinking and our actions.

Introduction to Wisdom

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 1

Key Verse: Verse 7 - “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Key Words: fools despise wisdom 

The cry for man to apply wisdom is a theme that runs through the book of Proverbs.  Twenty-five of the thirty-one chapters in Proverbs speak of wisdom.

I have a simple definition for wisdom.  “Wisdom is the application of knowledge.”  Wisdom is simply putting into action that which I know I should do.  For example, Adam and Eve had knowledge in regard to the forbidden fruiut; but when they failed to apply what they knew, they showed that they lacked wisdom.

In Proverbs, chapter one, we are instructed to know wisdom (verse two).  We are instructed to receive wisdom.  That simply means that we are to be teachable (verse three), and then thirdly, we are to hear the cry of wisdom.  The principle is that wisdom is everywhere, but we have to be willing to hear it and heed it.

Never underestimate the value of wisdom.  Automaker, Henry Ford, once asked electrical genius, Charlie Steinmetz, to help repair a man’s generator in his auto factory.  It seems as though none of the other engineers or repairmen could find the problem. 

After a few minutes of Steinmetz working on the generator, it roared back to life.  Ford told Steinmetz to send him the bill – which he did – for $10,000.00.  Ford was astonished at how high the bill was.  “Why so high?” inquired Ford.

Steinmetz replied, $1.00 for tinkering with the generator and $9,999.00 for knowing where to tinker.”

Wisdom is worthless until applied, but priceless when applied! 

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞Daily ask God for wisdom.

✞Ask God for wisdom in each decision you make.

✞Always remember, Godly knowledge applied is wisdom.  Godly knowledge forsaken is foolishness.

Freedom

Bible Reading: Romans 8:1-17

Key Verse: Verse 15 - "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

Key Words: For ye have not received the spirit of bondage 

A man who lived in a foreign country became a citizen of the United States of America. In the country where he was raised and grew up, there was a curfew overseen by the military. Beyond a certain time, the streets had to be cleared and everyone had to be in their homes. When he immigrated to the United States, he began immediately sightseeing to see part of the country that he was now becoming a part of. However, when he saw darkness set in and looked at his watch, he saw that he was about to pass his curfew time.

Seeing a man getting in his car, he said, “Sir would you please rush me to my hotel so that I won’t overstay my curfew and get in trouble?”

The gentleman in the car couldn’t figure out what in the world the man was talking about until it dawned on him that he was a foreigner and that he was a little mixed up about his new life in America. He explained to and assured the man that in the U.S. the law that he had been used to no longer applied. He explained that he was no longer under the jurisdiction of the country he came from. He was in a new country now and that meant he was free to stay up and stay out. The restrictions of the old homeland no longer applied. This man was in the United States but had not yet learned to cast off the bondage of the old country.

A lot of us are in Christ, but we’ve not yet learned how to cast off the old bondage of being Adam. So we sing about freedom, talk about freedom, and yet we feel the pressure of the curfew and the bondage and oppression of the old law system under which we operated. Far too many Christians today are in chains because they’ve just spent so much time in the old country. In getting used to this thing about being free in Christ, they have not adapted yet.

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:  

✞God’s freedom is not the freedom to do as you please but to do as He pleases.

Created for His Workmanship

Bible Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 10 -"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Key Words: we are his workmanship 

Everybody has in their homes manufactured products. Appliances such as a toaster, refrigerator, stove, microwave, or an electric can opener are commonly found in people’s homes and each of those has a different workmanship. They are designed differently. They have different parts that make them operate. Each one has its own unique reason for being. Now, if that appliance operates outside of its reason for being there, we have a problem. If you want to cook things in the refrigerator and freeze things in the stove, you are going to have a difficult situation in the home because that’s not what the workmanship is for. Workmanship is used for whatever the creator designed it to do. The toaster does not tell the creator what it’s going to do today. The stove does not tell the creator what it’s going to do today. It is the creator that dictates to the appliance the reason why the appliance exists. The appliance does whatever it’s been designed to do.

            In the same way, we are God’s creation and He dictates to us why we exist and can tell us what we are designed to do. He gives us our purpose. If we operate outside of our reason for being, that’s when we experience problems. Walking in the purpose God designed for us is how we fulfill our unique reason for being.

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

✞ Not fulfilling God’s purpose for our life leaves us unfulfilled.

Letting Them Go

 Bible Reading:  Luke  15:11-24

Key Verse: Verse 12 -  “And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.”

Key Words: give me the portion of goods that falleth to me 

So the father did; he gave his son his portion and off he went thinking that he had life by the throat and all would be well. Well, it won’t. The boy left with his head held high and an arrogant spirit. He wound up with his head bowed low and a humble spirit. He left full of himself and came back empty.

            A young man, a successful wrestler, challenged his father once. He was the all-state wrestling champ, in the unlimited weight category in fact. He weighed 360 pounds as a senior in high school – really big and strong. He had a period of rebellion where his father wanted him to do something and he told his father he wasn’t gonna do it. His father thought he was hard of hearing. “What?” The young man then got more indignant. “I said, I isn’t gonna do it.” The father simply turned around and started walking upstairs, beckoning his son to come with him. When they got to the top of the stairs, he said, “I’m going to help you pack, because it’s obvious you are grown and don’t need me. Since you are grown and can make it on your own, I’ll help you pack.”  The young man started packing with an attitude, huffing around the room and throwing things into a suitcase. Item after item got unpacked as his dad pulled things out as he told his son, “No that’s mine. I paid for it!”

            The teenager was mad. He was determined to be autonomous and independent from his dad. He took the suitcase and walked out of the house, angry and mad, only to discover that he had no car. Even his friend’s parents wouldn’t let them come out to help him. It was freezing outside and snow was falling heavily. This guy discovered that while he didn’t prefer home, compared to what was happening outside, home really wasn’t that bad.

            See, the father, the loving father, had to let the prodigal son go and discover that while he didn’t like everything at home, out in the world on his own there was no protection, covering, or love. He had to let him experience the harsh reality.

            Thirty minutes later, that prodigal son rang the doorbell. “I’m sorry.”

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

✞Sometimes in order to get them back we have to let them go.