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503 - How to Respond During Dark Times
Episode 50320th September 2021 • Leaving Laodicea • Steve McCranie
00:00:00 00:55:05

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Who Do You Trust?

Great question. But the answer is usually less than encouraging. Who do we trust? The government? Not so much. The organized church? Probably not as much as we did in the past. The media? Please. The educational system? Hollywood? Our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram friends? Nope. So who do we trust to tell us the truth? Or where do we go for truth? What source can we truly depend on today?

You know the answer to that question. Our source for truth is God and what we need in these dark times is His wisdom. But this raises even more questions, such as how do we find the wisdom of God? I mean, where would I begin to look for His wisdom? And is His wisdom something like the force in Star Wars? Is it an attribute or characteristic or power of God that He lends to us for a season or for a particular purpose? Or is it something else?

The best way to answer that question is found in an amazing verse in the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth. In this statement, we are told God placed all His wisdom in His Son. So the more we have of Jesus, the more we have of God’s wisdom, which is, again, the point of the Higher Christian Life.

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us (1) wisdom from God and (2) righteousness and (3) sanctification and (4) redemption that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” – 1 Corinthians 1:30-31.

Did you get that? We are “in Christ Jesus” by the sovereign act of God. And, Jesus “became” or “began to be” for us the wisdom from God or the wisdom of God. So, Jesus is what we need, all we have ever needed.  But I think we always knew that. Yet, we still struggle with these nagging questions.

Do I get the jab or not?

What if I can’t see my family unless I get vaccinated?

What if my employer requires it?

What if I lose friends over this?

There are so many opinions out there. Who do I trust?

What am I to do? Or better yet, what does God want me to do?

Do you see the need for God’s wisdom and the ability to hear His voice as He speaks His will to us?

Taking Responsibility for Your Spiritual Life

The greatest need for us as believers facing dark and uncertain times is the ability to hear from God and understand His wisdom in our lives. And this can only take place when we spend the necessary time pouring over His Word and applying it to our lives. But we won’t know what His Word means unless we first understand what it says. Remember, it is called Bible study… and not Bible reading or skimming.

I will make a bold statement. I firmly believe God can and will speak to you about anything He wants using whatever verse you may now be studying, Old or New Testament; it doesn’t matter. Why? Because He is God.

To prove this point, we will look at one verse chosen at random, Proverbs 21:1, and look at it in such as way as to determine precisely what it says, and then glean from it the wisdom we need for today.

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes – Proverbs 21:1.

Now, let’s begin by simply defining some terms.

The king’s (meleḵ – a male, sovereign ruler, one with power and authority over a kingdom)

heart (lēḇ – the seat of one’s inner nature, the focus of a person’s thoughts [mind], volition, emotions, and knowledge of right from wrong [conscience])

is (present tense)

in the hand (yāḏ – physical hand, strength, power, possession, control, and care)

of the LORD (yehōwāh – the proper name of the God of Israel, understood as “I AM THAT I AM”).

Like (just as, in the same way, similar to)

the rivers (peleg̱ – stream, a channel, canal, a natural body of running water flowing on or under the Earth)

of water (same as in English);

He (God)

turns it (nāṭāh – to stretch out, extend, to direct the course, to determine the direction)

wherever (compound word – all and direction)

He (God)

wishes (to delight in, take pleasure in, desire).

Do you think God can speak to us about this dark time in which we live from this one Old Testament verse? You’re in for a great surprise. Because He can. And He will.

So join us today as we discover the depth of His Word and of His great desire to communicate His wisdom to us through His Word.

To download the slides for this message, click – HERE.

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