GOT
WISDOM
Part
II
Wisdom
from the Sermon on the Mount
Matt 7:24-27
24 “Therefore whoever hears these
sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his
house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was
founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings
of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house
on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and
the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Wisdom teaches us to
prepare for the inevitable. In life rain, flood and storms will come. Trials
and troubles will find us. We will be tested and tried in life by the winds of
adversity. Statistically about every seven years or so Murphy comes to visit
us. But Jesus promises that if we build our house (lives) upon the sayings of
Jesus we will be wise builders able to overcome that storm of life. If we
choose not to found our life upon His sayings it is equivalent to building upon
the sand and we will suffer loss. What are these sayings we are to obey if we
want our lives sure and steady? According to Jesus if we want to be wise we
will:
1.
Live in such a way that others will thank God
because of you
We are
called to do good works to such a degree people give God glory because of us. The
word has lots to say about good works. There are many verses that challenge us
to perform good deeds. Here are some of them.
Matthew 5:16
16 Let
your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works
and glorify
your Father in heaven.
Eph 2:10
”For
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…
Titus 2:6-7
6 Likewise,
exhort the young men to be sober-minded, 7 in all things
showing yourself to be a
pattern of good works…
Titus 2:14
14 who
gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify
for Himself His own special people, zealous
for good works.
Titus 3:8
8 This
is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that
those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works
1 Peter 2:15
15 For
this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence
the ignorance of foolish men.
Over and over again we are commanded to
do good works. Jesus took it to another level by teaching who should receive
such great works. Not just our friends but our enemies as well.
Matthew
5:43-45
43 “You
have heard that it was said, ‘You shall
love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to
you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate
you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that
you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil
and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust
Wisdom will not allow one to
repay evil with evil but rather good.
TIPS FOR DOING GOOD
a.
Exhibit good manners and underserved
kindness towards others
Society has
become increasingly rude. The one who smiles, greets people warmly, holds
doors, genuinely compliments etc. will be noticed
b.
Let people know how much you appreciate
them
Don’t keep
those feelings of appreciation inside. Share them with others. It’s great
motivation.
“I can live
for two months on a good compliment.” – Mark Twain
c.
Do things for people expecting nothing
in return
Find a way to
do things for people who couldn’t possible pay you back. Do this often.
Luke 14:12-14
12 Then
He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do
not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest
they also invite you back, and you be repaid. 13 But when you
give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 And
you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at
the resurrection of the just.
d.
Believe in people and let them know you
believe in them
Express
confidence in people when you have it. Boost their confidence by expressing
yours in them. Do it verbally. Write them a note. Post your thoughts on social
media for all to see.
e.
Tell them the truth
Eph 4:15
15 but,
speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ
f.
Help people help themselves
Prov. 14:23
23
In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty.
Eph 4:28
28 Let
him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have
something to give him who has need
g.
Listen without trying to help them fix
their problems
Prov. 18:2
2
A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.
Prov. 18:13
13
He who answers a matter before he hears it,
It is folly and shame to him.
2.
Recognize absolutes
Matt
5:19
19 Whoever
therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and
teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever
does and teaches them, he shall be
called great in the kingdom of heaven.
a.
The
wise give special attention to keeping even the smallest commandment of the
Lord.
b. More
and more people are abandoning absolutes. According to Barna Research.
Two-thirds of
American adults either believe moral truth is relative to circumstances (44%)
or have not given it much thought (21%). About one-third, on the other hand,
believes moral truth is absolute (35%). Millennials are more likely than other
age cohorts to say moral truth is relative—in fact, half of them say so (51%),
compared to 44 percent of Gen-Xers, 41 percent of Boomers and 39 percent of
Elders. Among the generations, Boomers are most likely to say moral truth is
absolute (42%), while Elders are more likely than other age groups to admit
they have never thought about it (28%).
c. Jesus
summarized all commandments into two of the greatest commandments. These two
commandments didn’t replace the others they simply encapsulated them.
Matthew
22:35-40
35 Then
one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a
question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus
said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And
the second is like it: ‘You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments
hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
3.
Control your temper
Matt 5:22-23
22 But
I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in
danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in
danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell
fire.
The
wise person realizes that anger will hurt her much more than it will hurt
others.
James 1:19-20
19 So
then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow
to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the
righteousness of God.
Eph. 4:26-27
26 “Be angry, and do not sin”:
do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the
devil.
Prov. 14:29
29
He
who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly.
TIPS FOR CONTROLLING YOUR ANGER
a.
Don’t react take a breather
Take a few moments to collect yourself
before responding. Breath, walk away for a moment, count to 10, pray. Take a
break and do whatever calms you down before reacting.
b.
Express your frustration after you are
calm
As soon as you're
thinking clearly, express your frustration in an assertive but non-confrontational
way. State your concerns and needs clearly and directly, without hurting others
or trying to control them.
c.
Don’t carry the anger
Often people
become frustrated by one thing and end up carrying the anger around with them;
long after the actual reason has passed. Don’t do this. Let it go.
d.
Respond with “I” statements
To
avoid criticizing or placing blame use "I" statements to describe the
problem. Be respectful and specific. For example, say, "I felt
disrespected when you laughed at me in front of your friends" instead of
"You always make fun of me in front of people."
e.
Think about mistakes you have made and
have mercy
Take a pause
and consider the times you messed up. Offer forgiveness to the one who has
wronged you.
d.
Release tension with humor
Lightening up can help diffuse tension.
Use humor to help you face what's making you angry and, possibly, any
unrealistic expectations you have for how things should go. Avoid sarcasm,
though — it can hurt feelings and make things worse.
e.
Work on solutions to problems rather
than blaming
Instead
of focusing on what made you mad, work on resolving the issue at hand. Does
your child's messy room drive you crazy? Close the door. Is your partner late
for dinner every night? Schedule meals later in the evening — or agree to eat
on your own a few times a week. Remind yourself that anger won't fix anything
and might only make it worse.
f. Seek
help if needed
Learning to control anger is a challenge for everyone at
times. Seek help for anger issues if your anger seems out of control, causes
you to do things you regret or hurts those around you.
4.
Reconcile offences with others
Matt 5:23-24
23 Therefore
if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has
something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the
altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and
offer your gift
The
wise man doesn’t shrug his shoulder at offences he does his best to attempt to
reconcile them. Even to the point of putting off other important activities to
settle an offence.
This is how Offense Traps you
a.
Let go
Matthew 5:38-40
38 “You
have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for
an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you not to
resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the
other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away
your tunic, let him have your cloak
also
b.
Realize offence is always bait for Satan
The Greek word used in the new testament
for offense in the word (Skandalon) –
bait. Literally the
bait on a trap
Offence
will always entrap you if you embrace it. Satan uses it to pull you into an
undesired place where he can capture you.
5.
Consider yourself before judging others
Matt
7:1-5
“Judge not, that you be not
judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged;
and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And
why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the
plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the
plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from
your brother’s eye.
6.
Sow what you want to reap
Matthew
7:12
12 Therefore,
whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and
the Prophets
a.
It’s a key to walking in love
b.
It’s a universal law
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