| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Carl" |
| Date: |
05 Feb 2008 11:19:01 PM |
| Object: |
The Wisdom Of God |
The following teaching sermon by John McLeod centers on God's wisdom which
is demonstrated all throughout the Holy Scriptures. I hope you find it
edifying.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
The Wisdom Of God
by Jonathan McLeod
In Genesis 37 we are introduced to a young man named Joseph. Joseph lived a
charmed life. His father-who was a very rich man-loved Joseph more than any
of his other sons. He had everything a teenager could want: a huge
allowance, the latest brand name sandals, the fastest camel money could buy.
But his most prized possession was a robe given to him by his father. It was
no ordinary robe. It was a very expensive and extremely rare robe. Every
time Joseph rode through town, people would stare at his "coat of many
colors."
Joseph had ten older brothers, and you can imagine how jealous they were of
him. One day their hatred for Joseph reached an all-time high. He told them
about a dream he had the night before. He said, "We were out in the field
tying up bundles of grain. My bundle stood up, and then your bundles all
gathered around and bowed down before it!" Perhaps it was foolish for Joseph
to mention his dream. Maybe he should have kept quiet. But he didn't. His
brothers taunted him, "So you are going to be our king, are you?"
Soon after this, Joseph's brothers went to pasture their father's flocks at
Shechem. When they had been gone for some time, Jacob sent Joseph to check
up on his sons. When Joseph's brothers saw him coming in the distance, one
of them said, "Here comes that dreamer! Let's kill him and throw him into a
pit. We can our father that a wild animal has eaten him. Then we'll see what
becomes of his dreams!"
But Reuben, the oldest brother, came to Joseph's rescue. "Let's not kill
him," he said. "Why should we shed his blood? Let's just throw him alive
into this pit here. That way he will die without our having to touch him."
Actually, Reuben was secretly planning to help Joseph escape.
So when Joseph arrived, they pulled off his beautiful robe and threw him
into the pit. Just as they were sitting down to eat, they noticed a caravan
coming their way. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders traveling to Egypt. A
brother named Judah said to the others, "What can we gain by killing our
brother? Let's sell Joseph to those traders." His brothers agreed. So when
the traders came by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him
for twenty pieces of silver.
What a difference a day makes! On his way to finding his brothers, he was
dreaming about attending Canaan College in the fall. He was going to major
in livestock trading. He was hoping to star on football team. Now those
dreams were shattered. Joseph was on his way to Egypt to be a slave.
Genesis 39:2 says, "The LORD was with Joseph." You might be thinking, "If
the Lord was with him, why did He allow such a terrible thing to happen to
Joseph?" Joseph may have struggled with the same question. Little did he
know that God, in His perfect wisdom, would turn this "bad" thing into
something great for Joseph.
Definition: God always chooses the best goals and the best means to those
goals. In other words, God makes no mistakes.
God's wisdom is seen:
1. In CREATION
"How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is
full of your creatures" (Psalm 104:24).
Consider the wisdom of God in His creation of the human body:
.. The average human heart pumps over one thousand gallons a day, over 55
million gallons in a lifetime. This is enough to fill 13 super tankers. It
never sleeps, beating 2.5 billion times in a lifetime.
.. The lungs contain one thousand miles of capillaries. The process of
exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide is so complicated that "it is more
difficult to exchange O2 for CO2 than for a man shot out of a cannon to
carve the Lord's Prayer on the head of a pin as he passes by."
.. DNA contains about two thousand genes per chromosome-1.8 meters of DNA are
folded into each cell nucleus. A nucleus is six microns long. This is like
putting 30 miles of fishing line into a cherry pit. And it isn't simply
stuffed in. It is folded in. If folded one way, the cell becomes a skin
cell. If another way, a liver cell, and so forth. To write out the
information in one cell would take three hundred volumes, each volume five
hundred pages thick. The human body contains enough DNA that if it were
stretched out, it would circle the sun 260 times.
.. The body uses energy efficiently. If an average adult rides a bike for one
hour at ten miles an hour, it uses the amount of energy contained in three
ounces of carbohydrate. If a car were this efficient, it would get nine
hundred miles to the gallon (Source: Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic
and Occasion, pp. 135-136).
2. In the plan of SALVATION
"But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness
to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser
than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength"
(1 Corinthians 1:23-25).
3. In our individual LIVES
The Big Idea: God is infinitely wise and we are not. It pleases Him when we
trust His wisdom even when we don't understand what He is doing.
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Romans
11:33).
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).
Example: Joseph (Genesis 37, 39-41, 50)
When Joseph arrived in Egypt, he was purchased by a man named Potiphar, a
member of Pharaoh's personal staff. The Lord blessed Joseph greatly as he
served in the home of his Egyptian master. Joseph soon became a favorite of
Potiphar's. He put Joseph in charge of his entire household and entrusted
with him all his business dealings.
Now you might be thinking, "Aha, I see what God's good purpose for Joseph
was in Egypt. He brought him there to have a great position in Potiphar's
house." Well, not exactly. God certainly did bless Joseph while he was with
Potiphar, but He has something far better in mind for Joseph. And Joseph
must lose all he has now, before he gets to where God finally wants him.
Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man. And Potiphar's wife
began to desire him. Day after day, she asked him to sleep with her, but he
always refused. He tried to keep out of her way as much as possible. But one
day, when no one else was around, she grabbed him by his cloak. Joseph tore
away, but as he did, his cloak came off. She was left holding it as he ran
away.
She kept the cloak with her, and when her husband arrived home that night,
she told him, "That Hebrew slave you've had around here tried to make a fool
of me. I was saved only by my screams. He ran out, leaving his cloak
behind!" After hearing his wife's story, Potiphar was furious! He threw
Joseph in prison. Again, it seems as though Joseph's life has taken a tragic
turn for the worse. But what seems bad at the moment will be used for good.
The Lord was with Joseph in prison too. The jailor quickly recognized Joseph's
ability and put him in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything
that happened in the prison. Some time later, Pharaoh's chief cup-bearer was
put in the prison where Joseph was. One night the cup-bearer had a dream,
and the next morning Joseph noticed the dejected look on his face. "Why do
you look so worried today?" he asked. The cup-bearer replied, "I had a dream
last night, but there is no one here to tell me what it means." "Tell me
what you saw," Joseph said.
"In my dream," the cup-bearer said, "I saw a vine in front of me. It had
three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon there were clusters
of grapes. I was holding Pharaoh's wine cup in my hand, so I took the grapes
and squeezed the juice into it. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand."
"I know what the dream means," Joseph said. "The three branches mean three
days. Within three days Pharaoh will take you out of prison and return you
to your position as his chief cup-bearer. And please do me a favor when you
get out of here. Mention me to Pharaoh, and ask him to let me out of here. I
was kidnapped from my homeland, and now I'm here in jail, but I did nothing
to deserve it."
Pharaoh's birthday was three days later, and he gave a banquet for all his
officials and household staff. He must have been in a good mood because he
decided to restore the chief cup-bearer to his former position, just as
Joseph had predicted. But, much to Joseph's dismay, the cup-bearer quickly
forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.
Two years later, Pharaoh had two dreams. The next morning, as he thought
about them, he became very concerned as to what the dreams might mean. So he
called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt and told them about his
dreams, but not one of them could suggest what they meant. Then the king's
cup-bearer spoke up. "Today I have been reminded of my failure," he said.
"Some time ago, you were angry with me, and you put me in prison. One night
I had a dream. I told the dream to a young to a young Hebrew man. He told me
what my dream meant, and everything happened just as he said it would."
So Pharaoh sent for Joseph. After a quick shave and change of clothes, he
went in and stood before Pharaoh. "I had a dream last night," Pharaoh told
him, "and none of these men can tell me what it means. But I have heard that
you can interpret dreams, and that is why I have called for you." "It is
beyond my power to do this," Joseph replied. "But God will tell me what it
means and will set you at ease."
So Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream. Joseph said, "The next seven years
will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt. But
afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the
prosperity will be forgotten and wiped out." Then Joseph added, "My
suggestion is that you find the wisest man in Egypt and put him in charge of
a nationwide program. Let Pharaoh appoint officials over the land, and let
them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years. Have
them gather all the food and grain of these good years into the royal
storehouses, and store it away so there will be food in the cities. That way
there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come. Otherwise
disaster will surely strike the land, and all the people will die."
Joseph's suggestions were well-received by Pharaoh and his advisers. As they
discussed who should be appointed for the job, Pharaoh said, "Who could do
it better than Joseph?" Turning to Joseph, he announced, "Since God has
revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, you are the wisest man in the
land! I hereby appoint you to direct this project. You will manage my
household and organize all my people. Only I will have rank higher than
yours."
Joseph has gone from a pit to a palace. He has gone from being a prisoner to
being the prime minister. Looking back we can see how God, in His wisdom,
was working behind the scenes to cause this amazing promotion to take place:
.. God used Joseph's brother's jealousy to get him to Egypt.
.. God made sure there was no water in the pit. Had there been water in it,
Joseph's brothers might have immediately drowned him.
.. God brought the traders along at just the right time. If the brothers had
not spotted them, Joseph probably would have been murdered.
.. God caused him to be sold to Potiphar, the captain of the palace guard. As
a result, when Potiphar threw Joseph in prison, he put him in the prison
where the king's prisoners were held. And this allowed him to meet Pharaoh's
cup-bearer.
.. God placed forgetfulness in the mind of the cup-bearer after Joseph had
asked him to mention his case to Pharaoh. If the cup-bearer had remembered,
Joseph probably would have been released from prison and may have left Egypt
to go back home.
.. Instead, God kept Joseph in prison until Pharaoh had two dreams two years
later. He then caused the cup-bearer to remember Joseph, and He gave Joseph
the interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams. After all this, Joseph was named
second in command in all of Egypt.
Joseph understood that all of the bad things that happened to him were, in
the end, actually used for his good: "But Joseph said to them, 'Don't be
afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended
it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives'"
(Genesis 50:19-20).
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love
him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).
How can knowing that God is perfectly wise help me today?
1. Trusting God's wisdom frees me from BITTERNESS.
2. Trusting God's wisdom gives me a new PERSPECTIVE on my tragedies.
3. Trusting God's wisdom gives me COURAGE to keep going in hard times.
Remember: God is infinitely wise and we are not. It pleases Him when we
trust His wisdom even when we don't understand what He is doing.
THE WISDOM OF GOD
The Reason for Trusting God When Life Doesn't Make Sense
Definition: God always chooses the best goals and the best means to those
goals. In other words, God makes no mistakes.
God's wisdom is seen:
1. In _______________
"How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is
full of your creatures" (Psalm 104:24).
2. In the plan of ___________________
"But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness
to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser
than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength"
(1 Corinthians 1:23-25).
3. In our individual ____________
The Big Idea: God is infinitely wise and we are not. It pleases Him when we
trust His wisdom even when we don't understand what He is doing.
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Romans
11:33).
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).
Example: Joseph (Genesis 37, 39-41, 50)
"But Joseph said to them, 'Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You
intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now
being done, the saving of many lives'" (Genesis 50:19-20).
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who loved
him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).
How can knowing that God is perfectly wise help me today?
1. Trusting God's wisdom frees us from ______________.
2. Trusting God's wisdom gives us a new ______________ on our tragedies.
3. Trusting God's wisdom gives us _____________ to keep going in hard times.
.
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