Finding And Staying

On God’s Path

Joshua 1:6-8

• "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. "Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

What Is Wisdom?

• Proverbs 3:15-18 “She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, And all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast.”

What Is Wisdom?

• Wisdom is the key to a life of beauty, fulfillment, and purpose.

• Wisdom is the skill in the art of living life with every area under the dominion of God.

• It is the ability to use the best means at the best time to accomplish the best ends.

How Do We Pursue Wisdom?• Proverbs 2:6 “For the LORD gives wisdom; from

His mouth come knowledge and understanding”• James 1:5 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him

ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

• James 3:17 “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

• The treasure of wisdom rest in the hands of God.• Since it comes from above, we cannot attain it

apart from Him.

What Are The Conditions For Attaining Wisdom?

• True wisdom can only be gained by cultivating the fear of the Lord.

• Job 28:28 "And to man He said, `Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding."‘

• Psalm 86:11 “Teach me Thy way, O Lord; I will walk in Thy truth; Unite my heart to fear Thy name.”

What Are The Conditions For Attaining Wisdom?

• Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.”

• Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

• Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

What Is The Fear Of The Lord?

• To have an attitude of awe and humility and show reverence towards Him.

• To recognize Him as creator

• To render complete dependence upon Him in every activity in our lives.

• Proverbs 15:33 “The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.”

Why Do So Many People Not Fear The Lord?

• 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Why Do So Many People Not Fear The Lord?

• 2 Corinthians 5:7 “for we walk by faith, not by sight”.

• The temporal value system of this world is based upon what is seen.

• While the eternal value system of Scripture is based on what is unseen.

• The temporal exerts a powerful influence upon us, and we struggle with giving up the seen for the unseen.

What Can Enable Us To ChooseThe Eternal Value System?

• The choice is based on faith.

• That means to believe in God in spite of appearances and circumstances.

• Faith is based on trust.

• Hebrews 11:1 “ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.

How Do We Grow In Faith?

• Our ability to trust God is directly proportional to our knowledge of God.

• The better we know Him, the more we can trust Him.

• We draw near to Him, and He will draw near to us.

How Do We Increase Our Knowledge Of God?

• Talk with Him in prayer.

• Listen to Him in scripture.

• The more we learn of His love, the more we want to reciprocate with love.

• We want to please Him in all things we do.

• We learn to trust Him, and trust that He will keep His promises and blessings offered to us.

Conclusion

• With God, all things are possible.

• Trying to live without God is vanity.

• Ask for wisdom, seek wisdom, learn wisdom.

• And God will supply it.

• Then our way before God will be successful.

• Do you trust Him?