Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
July 1, 2001 - W0126

Why is it that so many of us suffer from heartburn? I was doing some studying and I found that it comes from what we eat. On an average day in the USA: 200,020 people will visit a doctor, 80 million aspirins will be swallowed, 4,000 people will suffer heart attacks, 2 million people will experience heartburn, 2.4 million dollars will be spent on laxatives, and 2 million dollars will be spent on antacids. In fact, last year alone, $975 billion dollars were spent on keeping us healthy because of what we eat!

These statistics prove that we really need to watch what we put in our mouths. But, God tells us that there is something much more important for us to digest regularly:

It is not only the things we eat physically that will sustain us, but also the things we eat spiritually. For the spiritual things we put into our bodies will last forever. What God says to us is the most important food that weíll take in and if weíre not hearing what God is saying to us, weíll starve to death spiritually.

Today, we will talk about what God has designed to feed our soul, our mind, and our heart to give us wisdom in daily decisions. How do we find these principles from which we will attain wisdom for life? Letís look at three sources:

1. Experiences

   When you go through an experience and the results are beneficial, or the consequences are painful ñ you are now wiser!

2. Othersí Experiences

When someone else goes through a tough episode, we collect numerous gems from the lessons weíve observed. Now, we are wiser without having to go through the experience. Thatís why the hearing of testimonies is so valuable.

The Bible is an anthology of Godís best ñ Men and women who went through struggles and tough times. God has recorded their lives to teach us lessons through their mistakes and successes. When we allow God to speak to us through the Bible, He will give us the wisdom of the ages.

The word ëBibleí means ëlibraryí. It consists of 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New, written by 40 authors over a period of 400 years. Is it accurate? Yes, very accurate. In fact, Jesus Himself read and drew wisdom from the exact same Bible that we read today.

In 1947, an old sheepherder found vellum parchments in some caves in the Kumran desert, near the Dead Sea. Since then, they have found over 10,000 manuscripts which are over 2,000 years old. When they compare these old manuscripts with our modern text, aside from a few typographical differences, it is exactly the same!

It is an amazing book! If you will read the Bible, it will:

1. GIVE YOU WISDOM BEYOND YOUR YEARS.

We each need wisdom beyond what we can get through our own experiences. Letís read Psalm 119:

The Bible is the word of God, so when we read it, God begins to speak to us. Did you know that God sounds just like the Bible? Yes, and when He speaks to me, He breathes life, that goes into my heart. As you read the scriptures, God sets a one-on-one appointment with you and will give you His life through His word.

When you read the Bible on a daily basis, itís:

• THE HIGHEST FORM OF PRAYER.

Often, we have the wrong concept of prayer. We think prayer is talking to God. No, if youíre going to sit with God or someone you highly respect, are you going to do all the talking? No, youíll be listening ñ that is the highest form of prayer.

We mix it up and think that in order to be spiritual, we have to machine-gun words as fast as we can ñ and whoever does it the longest non-stop, is the most spiritual person. Instead of talking to God, we end up talking at God.

We show the greatest respect to God when we share our heart a little bit, and then let Him talk to us. That is why our daily devotions are the highest form of prayer ñ He talks specifically to us, while we underline and take notes. Devotions show how much we want to honor God, because it shows that we want to apply His word.

Why do we need God to speak to us daily? Problems, crossroads, and intersections occur constantly, and we have a tendency, when someone doesnít agree with us, to get offended or defensive very quickly. However, if you read Godís word regularly, He will:

2. GIVE YOU PEACE AND ASSURANCE.

As we begin to affirm our relationship with Him, there will be such a depth of character created, that when someone does something that is difficult to handle, our confidence from God helps us to step over these situations.

When you love Godís ways and law, there will be such a peace and assurance that you will not only have a personal confidence, but:

• GOD GIVES YOU HIS CONFIDENCE.

If there is only a shallow maturity in my life, and someone does something that Iím opposed to, Iíll either be: offended, defensive, or Iíll turn and grumble to another person. However, if there is a depth of His confidence, there is an uncanny assurance that does not come through intellectualism, but only from Godís strength. Now, instead of running into lifeís circumstance, we can step over obstacles and move forward.

Often, people say, "I canít hear God." I know at that moment that they are not doing their devotions, because God would speak to you for an hour a day if you let Him, in a private counseling session ñ giving you the wisdom of the ages.

All of us stumble and get soiled by our mistakes. However, one of the best things that the scripture does when we do our daily devotions is that:

3. IT WASHES US DAILY!

I often come to God with cuts and scrapes, and they will heal only if I keep them clean. But, if I donít present all the problems that Iíve accumulated and keep them unresolved, then it doesnít heal, but it becomes infected.

As we read the word of God, weíll see something that strikes our heart, and as we take it in, all the junk that weíve accumulated is washed away ñ healing and resting our soul.

"Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." The more you study the Bible, the more you will find the Bible studying you. You see, you can fool people, but you canít fool God ñ He uses your conscience and His integrity, and in the end, there is nobody around to impress, but Jesus.

So how do you get started? When you get before the Lord, take 4 things:

1. Bible ñ (not a commentary, or a Christian topic book)
2. Pen ñ (mark up your Bible and underline those gems!)
3. Journal ñ (take notes on what Godís is speaking to you)
4. Bible Bookmark ñ (chart your daily course)