Daniel - Part 3
Knowledge vs. Wisdom
Daniel 1:3-6, 17-21
King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Ashpenaz, his chief officer, to bring some
of the Israelite men into his palace....to teach them the language and
writings of the Babylonians... The young men were to be trained for
three years, and then they would become servants of the king of
Babylon. Among those young men were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah from the people of Judah...
God gave these four young men wisdom and the ability to learn many
things that people had written and studied. Daniel could also
understand visions and dreams.
At the end of the time set for them by the king, Ashpenaz brought all
the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked to them and found
that none of the young men were as good as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah. So those four young men became the king’s servants. Every
time the king asked them about something important, they showed much
wisdom and understanding. They were ten times better than all the
fortune-tellers and magicians in his kingdom!
Why did Daniel and his three friends outshine the other
students?
Was it because they had higher IQs than other students?
Was it because they had studied harder than other students?
Was it because they had they could quote more facts than other students?
No. King Nebuchadnezzar's test of his students was not just how well
they memorized facts. He wanted to see how well his students
could solve difficult problems. The king wanted to see integrity,
wisdom, and character.
The other students only had information --
and a lot of it was wrong information,
based on the best guesses of other people...
Babylonian philosophers and cultists.
Daniel and his friends had better information. They had
TRUTH. They had God's Word.
If you are in search for truth, evaluate your sources!!!
Do they really know?
How do they know?
Or are they only guessing?
If the source is from God, it will agree what God has already revealed
in His Word, the Bible.
If the information disagrees with God's revelation, no matter how good
it looks, it is counterfeit.
Daniel & his friends had not only better information (because they
had a better Source),
they also had WISDOM, which they learned,
not from their Babylonian
teachers,
but they learned from God.
There is a big difference between knowledge vs wisdom.
Washington DC is filled with educated fools.
#1 test of a person with wisdom
is not how much that person knows.
Check his personal (private) life. (Character.)
Story: One famous Dallas businessman fired
adulterers.
Why? "Because if they can’t keep their promise
to their
spouses,
how can I expect them to keep
their promises to me?"
Character is important!
How do you get character?
Psalm
119:105
"Your Word is lamp for my feet
and a
light for my path."
Knowing the Bible is very, very important,
but simply knowing the Bible is not enough.
I know many people -- some who even have the title "Rev." --
who know the Bible, but they reject it.
Wisdom from God’s Word is learned in its application in LIFE.
Romans
12:1,2
So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you
to
[#1] offer
your lives as a living sacrifice to him.
Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him,
which is the spiritual way for you to worship.
Do not change yourselves to be like the people of this world,*
but [#2] be
changed within by a new way of thinking.
* "Wisdom" of this this world...?
Proverbs
14:12
"The way that seems right to man,
really leads to
death."
Notice Romans 12:2 says, "be
changed."
We can’t do it ourselves. Christ has to do it
for us.
That’s why step #1 (sacrifice our lives to Him) is
necessary.
Story:
I will never forget early in the summer of 1972, I was home after
graduating from Concordia Senior College. My father invited me to
lead family devotions after dinner. I hesitated and Dad sensed
that I had something I wanted to say. So he invited me to say
it. As I remember it, I described how I [thought I] had grown in
the Lord the preceding four years, how I had learned how to pray and
discover how the Lord answers prayer. And I was a little angry,
because I could tell that Dad and Mom knew and experienced in their own
lives what I was talking about. "Why didn't you teach me these
things?" I scolded.
Dad simply sat looking at me from the opposite end of the table,
resting his chin in his hand and your elbow on the table, smiling and
gently shaking his head. After I was finished, he said, "There are some things that we can't
teach you, that you can only learn from Jesus Himself."
I get into discussions with some of my Christian friends about "what is
saving faith?"
They tell me that saving faith means having a head full of information
about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done,
agreeing that this information is true,
and believing that what Jesus has done, he has done for me.
Our Lutheran understanding of what faith means is not what you know, but Who you know.
When you know Him,
you have
(1) His way to eternal life,
(2) His wisdom for daily life.
Without faith in Christ, you miss both... eternal life, and
wisdom for daily life.
James
1:2-8
My brothers and sisters, when you
have many kinds of troubles, you
should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your
faith, and this will give you patience. Let your patience show
itself
perfectly in what you do... But if any of you needs wisdom, you
should ask God for it. He is generous and enjoys giving to all people,
so he will give you wisdom. But when you ask God, you must believe
and not doubt. Anyone
who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up
and down by the wind. Such doubters are thinking two different
things at the same time, and they cannot decide about anything they do.
They should not think they will receive anything from the Lord.
How do we sign "doubt?"
[1] uncertainty, standing on a fence.
[2] "I doubt it."
At a time when I was seeking the Lord's wisdom for an important
decision,
I checked the word "doubt" James 1. I found that here the word
"doubt" does not mean uncertainty, and it does not mean, "I doubt
it." Rather, the Greek word for "doubt" used here means reserving the right to veto what
God reveals as His will. In other words, when I pray, "Lord, show
me what You want me to do, then I will decide whether or not I will do
it," I am still running my life as if I were still my own god. If
I have that attitude, I shouldn't expect that God will offer me His
guidance.
On the other hand...
Romans 8:31,32
So what should we say about this? If God is with us, no one can
defeat us. He did not spare his own Son but gave him for us all.
So
with Jesus, God will surely give us all things.
...including His wisdom for life's difficult decision.