27 November 2013 - source of wisdom

27 November 2013 - source of wisdom

There are times when following Jesus can lead to difficult circumstances:

“They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.

What are we willing to suffer because we put his name first in our lives?  When we encounter suffering our first response is often to try to escape by any means we can think of.  There is the real possibility that sufferings we encounter in following Jesus can cause us to fall back onto our own resources.  But we must not.  For at these times Jesus wants his wisdom and power to be visible in us.

Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.

That is not to say that we aren't supposed to be prepared, exactly.  The truth is what sets us free.  We need to know it.  We need to be near to Jesus in the power of his Spirit so that we can indeed hear him when he gives us a "wisdom in speaking".  But we don't need to be prepared for every possible question.  We don't need to have every possible answer.  We just need to be close enough to the one who has all the answers. 

Daniel is one whom God gives a "wisdom in speaking" which becomes so famous in Babylon that even King Belshazzar hears of it.

I have heard that the Spirit of God is in you,
that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom.
It is not by his own wisdom that Daniel surpasses all of the learned of Babylon.  It is because the Spirit of God dwells in him.  He dwells in us as well.

If we give in to preparing our defense beforehand there is the liability that we will end up defending ourselves and our lives in the flesh.  If this happens we don't have the courage to speak up for Jesus in his kingdom when it his hard.  Daniel, on the other hand, is bold is proclaiming what he knows to be true.

MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it;
TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;
PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

He knows that the truth God gives is ultimately the only source of freedom.  Any freedom a human defence can purchase is short-lived.  God wants to give us this same wisdom he gives Daniel.  He wants us to have freedom which is based in his truth.  We need to have the same degree of trust in him that Daniel does.  We need to be willing to endure hatred for the name of Jesus and to nevertheless perservere.

You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

Our God is the LORD of the sun and moon, the stars of heaven, every shower and dew, the winds, fire and heat, and cold and chill. We must therefore not fall back on worldly resources, "gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone" as though they can help us in the place of the God who makes and sustains them.  We must use the resources God gives us in accordance with his purpose for them.  We must not take vessels from the temple and use them to serve drinks at parties.

Our God is willing to give us "brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom." With the wisdom and the wealth that come from God let us give "glory and eternal praise to him."