The Wisest Thing You Can Ever Do
God’s Way Bible Study
The Wisest Thing You Can Ever Do!
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Wisdom
Luke 16:8 The children of this world are wiser in their generation than children of the light.
Generation from the Greek “genea.
Genea has dimensions of time (generation,) , root (genealogy) and traits, (genus.)
Generation: people born and living about the same time. genealogy: a record of ancestry.
genus: a class of things marked by common characteristics and traits.
The phrase, “children of” is a common Hebrew expression that denotes a similarity, a family resemblance between a thing and its antecedent.
Children of the world are those who have the traits of world which can be traced to their ancestor.
John 8:42-45 (NLT) 42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!
Children of the light are those who descend from God and show the traits of God.
The children of the world are called wise because they understand how things work in their world… generation, genealogy and genus.
In their world, all that matters is material and temporary.
1 John 2:15-17 (NLT) 15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
They respect results, regardless of how it is achieved.
“The end justifies the means” is their motto.
2 Corinthians 11:14-15 (NLT) 14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.
Psalms 92:15 (NLT) They will declare, “The LORD is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him!”
Leviticus 19:1-2 (NKJV) 1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God [am] holy.
Children of the light are often unwise in the things of their Father.
Joshua 1:8
It shall not be so among you.
You cannot accomplish godly purposes by using ungodly means.
Matthew 20:25-28 (NLT) 25 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Asking God to bless our enterprise is inviting Him into a partnership. God does not partner with unrighteousness.
2 Corinthians 6:14-16 (NLT) 14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? 16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
The wisest thing you can do is to trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Trust in His love, His power, His ways, His timing, His wisdom.
Trust and rest are interchangeable. Those who trust in God will receive His rest.
Life offers no guarantees.
Waiting on God is the wisest of all options.
Help
Isaiah 30:1-3
Psalms 60:11 (NLT) Oh please help us against our enemies,
For all human help is useless.
Psalms 121:1-8 (NKJV) 1 A Song of Ascents. I will lift up my eyes to the hills-- From whence comes my help? 2 My help [comes] from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD [is] your keeper; The LORD [is] your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.
Waiting
I will go up on my watch.
Nobody who trusts in Him will be put to shame.
Regret is never experienced by those who trust in God. You may not always get exactly what you want, but what God gives you is always infinitely better.
Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above what we can ask or imagine.
Waiting on God is not a passive activity. It is one of the most difficult things we are called upon to do. It is not for the faint of heart.
Waiting on God is preparing for the unknown which may not even happen the way we imagine.
Waiting on God is nurturing a relationship with God.
It is doing things the right way, even when it seems to be counterproductive. It is resisting the temptation to do things our own way or the pressure to succumb to the way of the world.
Those who wait on the Lord will be mocked and derided.
(He trusted in God. Let God save him.)
God’s Name and honor is always on the line when people wait on Him.
Isaiah 48:9-11 (NKJV) 9 “For My name’s sake I will defer My anger, And [for] My praise I will restrain it from you, So that I do not cut you off. 10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do [it;] For how should [My name] be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.
Matthew 24:9 (NKJV) “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
He always comes through. He comes through, not because we are deserving but because we have been called by His Name.
Psalms 25:11-22 (NLT) 11 For the honor of your name, O LORD, forgive my many, many sins. 12 Who are those who fear the LORD? He will show them the path they should choose. 13 They will live in prosperity, and their children will inherit the land. 14 The LORD is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant. 15 My eyes are always on the LORD, for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies. 16 Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. 17 My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! 18 Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins. 19 See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me! 20 Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge. 21 May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you. 22 O God, ransom Israel from all its troubles.
It is not a matter of principle. It is a matter of family relationship.
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NLT) 4 For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened--those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come-- 6 and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.
Turning away from the Lord is tat he root of all apostasy.
Not everyone who struggles to trust in God is an apostate. But every apostate no longer trusts in God.
Apostasy is the sin that leads unto death.
1 John 5:16-17 (NLT) 16 If you see a Christian brother or sister sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. 17 All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.
Hebrews 4:2-3 (NKJV) 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard [it.] 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
