Experience is a hard teacher.
Wisdom is the best teacher.
God's wisdom can only be spiritually discerned.
The natural man cannot discern the things of God...
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)
5 prerequisites of wisdom…
Ignorance - absence of truth
Knowledge - accumulation of truth
Understanding - assimilation of truth
Wisdom - application of truth
Foolishness - abandonment of truth
3 areas of our life we should apply wisdom...
Apply wisdom to our walk
Apply wisdom to our work
Apply wisdom according to the will of God
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:15-17)
We must walk circumspectly.
Circumspectly in greek -
1. exactly, accurately, diligently.
We must redeem the times.
Redeeming in greek -
1. to buy back
by payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, buy off
2. to buy up, to buy up for one's self, for one's use
to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own
Our time is bought with our work.
We work for money & we don't spend money on things... it's time we put in to get money in exchange for our time.
The enemy tries to destroy us by distracting us... which is why we are called to buy back the distraction by focusing on what's God!
We must understand the will of the Lord.
Understanding God's will is important.
His ways are higher than ours.
God's will is found in God's word.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)
3 Keys With Wisdom
#1 Wisdom requires fear of the Lord.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
#2 Wisdom will preserve you
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; 8 He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. (Proverbs 2:7-8)
#3 Wisdom will promote you
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. (Proverbs 4:7-8)