Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
September 21, 2008 - W0838

There may be a time when it’ll be just you and Jesus. So what do you do? Prepare in advance just as we prepare for stormy weather. I can’t think of a better way of preparing other than tapping into the greatest source. And this is called doing daily devotions. Doing daily devotions is none other than being mentored by the Holy Spirit Himself. If you haven’t started on journaling, now is a good time to start.  All it takes is developing a time and place.

In addition, journaling on scriptures will indeed drive the pillars of His Word deep within us. So when temptations or betrayals are at hand, we’ll be wise. You see, God knows we’ll need wisdom for things ahead of us. We may not know what we’ll be facing next week, but He does. By reading daily devotions, He’ll implant wisdom in our hearts. So as you sit at His feet, He’ll begin to impart into you gems of wisdom that you’ll need next week, next month or next year.

What It Means To Be Wise

“Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateway of the city she makes her speech” (Prov. 1:20).  Who is wisdom talking to? She’s speaking to people who need direction and people who’d like a little bit more navigational wisdom when it comes to life and relationships.

However, there is one prerequisite to hear the voice of wisdom. And that is…to be still.  “Be still and know that I am God” (Psm. 46:10).  This is where we learn to repent and to be good. So how do we tap into the source of wisdom?

Listen, we may have the passion, desire, energy, and opportunity but we won’t have what it takes when we begin. But you won’t have what it takes to finish when you start. In other words, you won’t have the wisdom necessary to be all that you want to be.

For example, most of us want to be a good husband, wife or business person. And this is good. Nonetheless, becoming it needs to be garnered or harvested along the way. This is where bits and pieces of wisdom are gathered. And, this is where you’ll accumulate wisdom you’re going to need, to be the person that you want to be. So it important to understand that you won’t have it in the beginning. Nonetheless, that’s the way it’s designed.

So where can we get this wisdom? There are two places you can gain wisdom from. The first is from personal experience called consequences.  For example, if you run into a wall, bang! You break your nose. You’ll say wall hard, nose soft! Wall wins and nose looses! However, more importantly you’ll learn not to run into things that don’t move. Thereby, from what you’ve just learned from a broken nose you got a little bit of wisdom that has now made you wiser. Moreover, you don’t have enough bones in your body to break in order to accumulate the amount of wisdom you’ll need to become the person you want to be.

Therefore, the second way to gain wisdom is from other people’s experiences. What this means is when they run into a wall, you can ask them the lesson they’ve learned.  Thus, you now have a little bit more wisdom  beyond your experiences.

And this is where doing daily devotions comes in hand. Reading scriptures is better than learning from our experiences and other people’s experiences. You see, God knew we would need wisdom beyond our experience. All in all, He gave us sixty-six books. It’s called a biblios or a library of books. In it are raw unedited accounts of men and women before us. Catch this, every mistake you’ll ever make has already been made in the Bible. So if we’ll take the time to sit at these people’s feet, we’ll be sitting at divine mentors. Imagine, these have been assigned to tutor us! Thus, we’ll have the wisdom of the ages.

Some of my best friends are in the Bible. Many times I’ve walked with Solomon and talked to him about wisdom. Other times, I’ve walked the back sides of the dessert with David. The same it is with Moses. I’d get insights about leadership and how to handle grumbling people. And yes, I’ve talked with Samson as well and asked him, how could you be so dumb with women?

Above all, the Bible still speaks to us all today. “And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead” (Heb. 11:4). And, “For everything that was written in the past was written to tech us,so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). Furthermore, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1Cor. 10:11).

Did you know that God will give us the wisdom of the ages? Yes, our mentors are waiting for our audience. They are your friends as well. “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.” (Psm. 119:98-100).  By this you’ll have the  wisdom of the ages because you followed His testimonies.

As for me, Jeremiah saved my ministry. And, Joseph saved my life. Therefore, when we understand what God has placed in the Bible for us, we’ll begin to understand the source of wisdom.

For example, if you take a look at great athletes or musicians they’ll do certain things over and over again. As for an athlete, he will do certain core exercises every single day to keep them in shape for a contest they’re entering. The same it is with musicians. A  musician will do scales. This will build dexterity, muscle memory and speed. Why? So when a music score is placed in front of him, he’ll begin to navigate through the notes. Otherwise, they won’t know what to do when a music sheet is placed in front of them.

The same goes for Christians. We too have scales and exercises we’ll need to do on a daily basis. Every one of us must choose to do this. One way is being at Jesus’ feet and listening to His teachings. “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman names Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t’ you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luk. 10:38-42)

Yes, there will a lot of things you’ll be doing in life. However, the Lord says in order to be successful, there is only one thing you need to do, scales. And here are the scales of a Christian. The thing is, you’ll need to choose it just like Mary. If you ask, when do I start this? Remember, wisdom’s source will come when you still your heart. From there, you’ll begin to draw from it daily. Thus, wisdom isn’t built in a day. But more importantly, it will be built daily.

So choose a certain time of day to do your Christian scales. In otherwords, reading your daily devotions. It is important to do your devotions when you’re at your best. So, if you’re a morning person that’s when you’re at your best. And, if you’re an evening person that is when you’re at your best. You’ll know the best time for you to be at the Lord’s feet.

Going to church is good thing. Moreover, sitting with the Lord and doing daily devotions is being taught by the skilled Master Himself. Furthermore, we should give an hour a day for devotional time. Listen, by the time you know it somehow will notice a difference in you and will ask where you’ve gotten that insight or inspiration from.

Most importantly, when you are doing your devotions something will be highlighted for you. Please receive and reflect on this. These are the gems of wisdom you’re going to need next week. Why? Because the Holy Spirit knows what you’ll be needing next week.

Before God can make us wise, we’ll need to break a famine. “The days are coming” declares the Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.” (Amos 8:11). Although listening to tapes and reading books are good, let us disciple ourselves with the Word of God, for it is the best spiritual food we can feed ourselves with. By doing so will show your spiritual condition.

For example, if I ate once a week and snacked on tidbits for the rest of the week for ten years. What do you think I’d look like? I’d look pretty skinny.  The same goes for our spiritual bodies. We will need to feed ourselves daily. And, it is our responsibility.

Here are four tools you’ll need as you choose the time to do daily devotions.  These are your mining tools to search for wisdom.

1.  BIBLE – God will breathe into you or inspire you His Word with wisdom. Read the Bible so you can eat. It’s for you! This is the making of a disciple.

2.  PEN – use to underline scriptures that the Holy Spirit brings to your attention.  Because you intend to do something with it.

3. READING PROGRAM - this is our GPS that will take you through the whole Bible in one year.

4.  JOURNAL – when you find a scripture that speaks to you, this is what you’ll enter into your journal. This is a record of your journaling.

When you have the four tools, here is a guide to follow in journaling. It’s the acrostic S.O.A.P. which stands for …

S – stands for scripture. When you find a scripture that stands out for you, write it down.

O – stands for observation. Still your heart and listen to the scripture. For He will whisper to you. For example, “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight, what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs”(Mt 10:27). So be still and listen to what God has to say.

A – stands for application.  For example with Mt 10:27, in your journal you can write . something like this. Today I’m going to still my heart so that I can harvest some wisdom.

P – stands for prayer. This is where you’ll enter your prayer. For example, Jesus help me to have ears that hear, so that I might have eyes that see.  Speak Lord, your servant is listening.

Then, after you’ve done your SOAP, fill in your table of contents. It is located in the front of your journal. It is here where you’ll give a title for your entries. Basically, you’ll write in the date, the title and the page number.

Catch this, after a few months if I wanted to know what God has been saying to me, all I would need to do is turn to the table of contents. This is where I’d scan over and see what page I would need to go to. And it’s pretty amazing having journal entries brought back to light.        

Solomon had one prayer and it was, God make us wise. He and many other left for us the source of wisdom that each and every one of us can tap into. My prayer is for us to be people of great wisdom. There’s no greater time to begin doing daily devotions than the present. If we want to be people of God, we’ll need to know God. His Word revealed to us is His wisdom. And it is available to all who would be still and listen.

Although we have no inclination of what’s coming in our lives next week, God does. And because He loves us, He’s equipped us with His Word so we won’t be blind sided.  So remember, we can learn from our own personal consequences or other people’s consequences. Moreover, through reading our daily devotions, wisdom will teach us. So choose a time of day when you are at your best. Bringing with you a Bible, pen, reading program and journal. Next, simply follow S.O.A.P. It’s that simple!

My prayer is for us to become a people of wisdom! So if you need wisdom, just ask! “if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives generously to all people without reproach”

DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS

1.  Do you have the 4 tools to journal with? And, do you understand how to  S.O.A.P. ? 
2. What time of the day/night are you at your best? What time of the day/night can you “be still” to listen to His whispers?  
3. Is there a reason why you’re unable to do devotions? Are you ready to do them now? 
4. Please help those who need tools or help with S.O.A.P. Then do today’s devotion.  
5. What impacted you most today, and how will you become a better person because of  it?