Ever since man was created, God has been making His wisdom available to them.  In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam dominion over all the earth, with only ONE “Thou shalt not”, concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  God was setting Adam up for a wonderful life, and warning him to leave that tree alone.  Then God created Eve and brought her to Adam, and she was also given the warning to leave that tree alone.  So what happened?  We all know the story, they disobeyed God and ate of the tree they were told to leave alone. They threw wisdom out the window.  It is written in Proverbs 1:2-7,

2  To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3  To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4  To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5  A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6  To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

It is one thing to HEAR instruction, and it’s another thing altogether to RECEIVE instruction.  There is something in us that makes us want to do it “my way”, and many times it gets us in trouble.  Imagine living in a world with only ONE LAW, how simple things would be, and yet, Adam and Eve couldn’t even manage to keep that one.  How much more in today’s world with literally thousands of laws governing our lives each day.  So every day, people decide, “I’ll keep this law, but I don’t like this one, so I’m not going to obey it.”

So that person will stop at a stop sign, but disobey the speed limit, or if they don’t see anyone looking, they will even run the stop sign.  Rebellion runs deep in us, but that isn’t how God created us.  We CHOSE to become rebellious.  Here God is trying to give us wisdom and discretion and good counsel, and largely we reject it.  Believe it or not, God isn’t trying to make our lives hard, He is trying to make our lives easier and joyful and productive, but we want to do things our way.

Verse 5 says a wise man will HEAR, and INCREASE learning, and a man of understanding will attain to wise counsels; he will pay attention to instruction and become wiser.  Part of wisdom is knowing what to do and what not to do. Verse 7 says the fear of the LORD, paying attention to what He says is the beginning of knowledge: but FOOLS despise wisdom and instruction.  How about you, are you a wise person or a fool?  How do you tell the difference?  Look at your life; are you always in a jam?  Are you always sick, are you always broke?  You know, life happens to all of us, and it’s impossible to live a life without problems, but I’m talking about life in general here; if you’re always in trouble, then you haven’t been listening to God’s instructions.

It’s like walking down a sidewalk and there’s this huge hole. You see it, but walk right into it, and fall in and hurt yourself, and it takes you a while to climb out. The next day, you’re still sore from falling into the hole, you walk the same way, see the same hole, and fall in AGAIN!   Well, wisdom should kick in here, and although you saw the danger twice, you disregarded it and now you’re hurting from falling in the hole twice, and this time, it’s harder to get out.  The next day you’re REALLY sore and skinned up, and you’re taking your walk again, and yes, the hole is still there.  Now, are you going to fall in the hole again, or are you going to walk AROUND the hole?  If you’re gaining wisdom, you will learn from your mistakes.  But some people never learn, they keep making the same stupid mistakes time and time again, hoping for a better result.

Let me tell you something; if you’re a farmer and you plant corn each year, you will get corn.  If you’re so tired of corn you can’t stand the stuff, wisdom would say plant something else, right?  But a fool will keep planting corn and expecting it to come up green beans.  Doing the same thing expecting a different result, is why they are called a fool.  When God gives us instructions from His word, it is to HELP us, not to restrain us.  God gives us His laws to keep us out of trouble, and if we will hear and RECEIVE His instructions, we will save ourselves untold heartache.

Proverbs 2:1-11,
1  My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2  So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3  Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; note
4  If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5  Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
6  For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
7  He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
8  He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
9  Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
10  When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11  Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

People tell me, we are under GRACE, not the LAW.  OK, fine, but grace does not excuse fools, we still need wisdom, and the only source of wisdom is God.  So we’re still back at square one, you either listen to God and receive instruction, or you remain a fool.

I’m going to pick on healing again, because I want to see all of you well.  God’s Word tells us we are healed by the stripes of Jesus.  So, are we, or aren’t we?  Well, in the words of a past President of the United States, “That depends on what your definition of “is”, is.”  There is something that GREATLY affects if you will live healed, and that is whether you HEAR and RECEIVE God’s Word.

Personally, I chose to believe God, and for that reason I’m living healed.  Suppose I had chosen instead to believe like the rest of the world believes; “Well, sometimes you’re sick, sometimes you’re not.  Everyone gets sick sometimes.”    God gave me instructions how to be well, and I paid attention and did what He said, and I’m enjoying the results.  Listening to God has given me wisdom.  Part of that wisdom means not coming in agreement with the world’s way of thinking.  The world has a system, and God has a system, and they don’t mix, like water and oil. You’re either living in one system, or the other.  Now, if you’re living in the world’s system and speaking God’s Word, you’re trying to mix the two and you will not be happy with the results.  You have to LIVE in God’s system, and SPEAK God’s system to get the desired results.  Only a fool thinks he or she can live by the world’s system and get Godly results.

COMPROMISE CAUSES US GREAT PROBLEMS WHEN IT COMES TO GOD’S WORD.

God says “do this”, and instead we “do that”.  The inborn nature to rebel against God is something we will have to deal with all our lives. We can sanctify our lives unto God, receive His Holy Spirit, but STILL, we must daily choose to prefer God’s Word above our own will.

God’s system affects every area of your life,  not just your health.  Joshua 1:8 says this:

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

How about YOU?  Would you like every area of your life to be successful and prosperous?  Then get you some wisdom: live in obedience to God’s Word.  Let Him lead you by His Word.  When you mess up, let Him correct you and put you on the right path.  Don’t be a bullheaded fool.  God has been around literally FOREVER, and He has seen a thing or two.  He knows the way to guide you and keep you out of trouble, and He will show you the path to AVOID destruction.  But it’s up to you to HEAR and RECEIVE instruction.

Instead of falling in the hole and continually asking God to help you out of the hole, instead, ask God to give you wisdom to stay out of the hole in the first place.  He will be happy to do so, for He delights in the prosperity of His children, which by the way reminds me to tell you, YOU CANNOT BORROW YOUR WAY OUT OF DEBT.  Only a fool will believe he or she can do so.  Let God help you with your finances too.  After all, He provided the way for you to pay off your sin debt by the sacrifice Christ Jesus made in your behalf.  Don’t you think God can also teach you how to get out of debt financially?  Sure He can, and He will.  The question is, will you listen?  If you want to be wise, you will do what Jesus said: Man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Now THAT’S how to become wise!