The Fear of God ...Towards Being Wise
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. Psalm 111:10
We have heard a lot of people call themselves wise, boasting of their great wisdom and how influential they are but these ones do not regard God nor His Word. They have Sin as their best friend, adviser , counselor and Master, no wonder they end up in misfortune.
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Ezekiel 18:4
The book of James talks about two kinds of Wisdom - Wisdom from God and Wisdom not from God (earthly and sensual wisdom). In this context, We shall focus on the true kind of Wisdom, Wisdom from above (Godly Wisdom). True Wisdom is the Wisdom that is from above. the other type of wisdom is what the scriptures calls wisdom that comes to naught.
The Beginning of True Wisdom
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. Psalm 111:10
The fear of the Lord is necessary for anyone that wants to triumph in life. It is also very important to anyone who desires to enrol with the WISE. The person who fears the Lord, the Lord will help.
Lets examine the following cases- people that feared God and excelled and people that were wise in their mind without fearing God. lets see their end.
The Case of Joseph
In chapter 41 of Genesis, wisdom lifted him to a position of authority, and he became a ruler in the land of Egypt.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. Genesis 41:39-41
But he walked in wisdom by regarding Gods Word. He said, "... how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9.) And also, "...For I fear God"(Genesis 42:18).
The Case of Daniel
Daniel also arrived on the scene and would not defile himself with the king's rich food; therefore, God lifted him. Any man can be distinguished and enthroned on the earth today, if he will part ways with sin.
What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.
Psalm 25:12,14
The Case of Jesus
The scripture says, that men marvelled at His wisdom, and exclaimed,"What wisdom is this!". But that was because He did not toy with sin. Jesus was Lord over every element of nature.
As long as a person fears God, He is in charge! making it impossible for Him to be under any form of physical, mental or spiritual oppression.
Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than my enemies: for they are ever with me. Psalm 119:98
God's wisdom makes you wiser than sickness, barrenness, poverty, failure, etc; and when a man is wiser than his enemy, he overcomes the enemy easily!
That is why the enemy strives to corrupt you with iniquity, to ensure that you don't get wiser than him, so he can keep oppressing you. Wisdom (Fear of God) takes you to the realm of exploits, victory and outstanding success; but it is only accessible by the fear of the Lord!
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.
Psalm 25:14
True Wisdom demands purity
Let's be at variance with Sin
Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour. Proverbs 14:9
Everyone that mocks at sin is a fool and ends up in mockery.
You have a glorious destiny in Christ Jesus which you cannot afford to sink with sin. Sin is a sinker, it can sink the destiny of a man like lead in water. Sin is also as dangerous as poison. In other words, it is a murderer!
The Case of Samson
Look at Samson. He was born a prophet, called while he was conceived in his mother's womb. He grew and became a mighty warrior, yet he allowed his enemies to rejoice over him. Sin destroyed him. He was slain by fornication!
The Case of Solomon
What about the man Solomon? He was an embodiment of wisdom in the Old Testament; yet his wisdom was corrupted through immorality.
But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites. 1 Kings 11:1
Solomon's wives turned his heart away from the Lord, the Source of his wisdom, and his wisdom was converted to folly. So at the end of his journey on earth, everything was vanity to him (Ecclesiastes. 1:1-2). Sin is a destroyer. Its victims end their lives in regrets.
The principal reason Jesus came is to remove the heavy weight of sin tied around the neck of humanity. Remember that when you tie a heavy weight to anything and drop it in a river, it sinks. To enable it float again, you would need to remove that heavy weight.
Now that Jesus has removed the heavy weight of sin from off our necks, we can get back on top! We can go up in life operating the wisdom of God.
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. Job 28:28
Sin Kills The Mind
T. L. Osborn once said, "When you sin, something in you dies."
The Case of Adam
That was the lot of Adam after the fall. Although he was the man who had single-handedly named all the animals, when he sinned his mind was corrupted, so he used leaves as clothes to cover his nakedness.
Leaves! That was strange, because it was a well known fact that Adam was walking in the same mental realm as God. He had the mind of God. Yet, the moment sin came, his mind was corrupted and could no longer function at its original capacity.
CONFESSION: Lord Jesus, I have heard your word today, i refuse from this day to walk against your written word, i will fear you from henceforth and will work in all your ways. In Jesus Name i Pray, Amen.
All Scriptures taken from KJV version of the bible except otherwise stated
