Wisdom for Living: How Does It Come? | Mac Hammond
 
Recap
This past weekend, Pastor Mac preached the second message in his series entitled, “Wisdom for Living: How Does It Come?” Wisdom, we learned, is the capacity to discern the best ends and best means for achieving God’s plan for your life. We learned about how wisdom is needed in the two types of reality in which we live: spiritual and natural. “Faith,” said Pastor Mac, “is the bridge between those two arenas of truth.” We learned how to apply wisdom from both the spiritual realm and the natural realm to the situations in our lives.
 
Dive Deeper
Pastor Mac preached the second message in his series entitled, “Wisdom for Living: How Does It Come?” Wisdom, we learned, is the capacity to discern the best ends and best means for achieving God’s plan for your life. We learned about how wisdom is needed in the two types of reality in which we live: spiritual and natural. “Faith,” said Pastor Mac, “is the bridge between those two arenas of truth.” We learned how to apply wisdom from both the spiritual realm and the natural realm to the situations in our lives.
 
The Bible is all about imparting wisdom for living for believers. The Bible is a revelation of the truths that will set you free, the truths that will enhance your quality of life.
Finis Dake (Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible) defines wisdom as “the capacity for a believer to discern the best ends and the best means for achieving those ends.”
The most important reason you need wisdom is to fulfill God’s plan for your life.
God’s specific plan for your life is not written in the Bible. The Bible is God’s general plan for the lives of all believers.
God’s individual and unique plan for your life is communicated to you through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reveals His intermediate goals and objectives for your life.
The Bible is a revelation of what we would refer to as “spiritual wisdom.” The Holy Spirit reveals to you practical wisdom on how to live in this natural world.
We need both types of wisdom: spiritual and natural. Faith is the bridge between these two arenas of truth.
Wisdom lives in those two realms as well. There’s spiritual wisdom that comes to us through the Word of God. And there’s natural wisdom that comes to us through secular wisdom or the mind of man.
When you ask for wisdom, you’re asking for wisdom spiritually and wisdom naturally, that corresponds with the spiritual truth.
There are things naturally that will correspond to the spiritual mandate for healing that you receive by faith. For your faith to be sustained, you’re going to have to do the natural things as well.
 
Read About It
1st Corinthians 2:7, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.”
1st Corinthians 14:2, “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.”
Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
 
Discussion Questions
What are the two realms of reality in which we live?
What is the bridge between these two realms of reality?
Can you think of a situation where you tried to apply spiritual wisdom without applying natural wisdom as well?
 
 

Recent Sermon Notes

At Wit’s End | Jim Hammond

Have you ever been “at your wit’s end?” When you’ve exhausted all your emotional and physical resources and have nothing left to give, what do you do? When the Apostle Paul was at his wit’s end, the Lord gave him direction saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Pastor Jim went on to expound on when we are at our wit’s end, how we can lean on His grace.

Grace Unveiled, #9: Established in the Gift of Righteousness | Jim Hammond

This past weekend, Pastor Jim taught his 9th installment in his series on the book of Romans entitled, “Grace Unveiled.” The first three and a half chapters of Romans, Paul talked extensively, driving home the point, on how no one can make himself righteous in God’s eyes. The Apostle Paul didn’t leave anyone out. He listed the Pagans in the secular world, people just trying to do good, and the zealous disciplined Jews… he made sure they knew that none of them measured up in God’s eyes. No matter what they did, they would never be able to escape God’s wrath… unless there is something that appeases that judgment. That was Paul’s way of working up to a point. Paul then introduced the righteousness of God through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

The Principle of Connection | Mac Hammond

Pastor Mac taught a message entitled, “The Principle of Connection.” Oftentimes, we struggle with obedience to the Word, where our obedience to the Word is not done in faith but out of legalism. We don’t do it from our heart, but we do it out of obligation. However, as Pastor Mac pointed out, if the Word is going to work for you, it has to come from our heart. There is a remedy that puts an end to legalistic obedience: once you understand the principle behind a particular mandate, obedience to the Word becomes exciting. Pastor Mac goes on to discuss the Principle of Connection.

A Faith-Building Weekend With Nancy Dufresne

What a weekend we had with guest minister Nancy Dufresne. She shared on the power of faith and reminded us that God and the Holy Spirit should always remain our focus. That means when we face difficulty, listening to the Holy Spirit, our guide on the inside, is the best thing that we can do. You can walk in faith toward your miracle!

GRACE UNVEILED: “All Under Sin,” #7 | Jim Hammond

Pastor Jim delivered his seventh installment in his series on the book of Romans, entitled, “Grace Unveiled.” The first three chapters of Romans focuses explicitly on the definition of sin. “Because,” as Pastor Jim says, “if you don’t understand what sin is, you will not understand the solution to the sin problem.” Paul wanted them to understand that all of mankind has a sin problem, and no matter who you are, you will never, ever be able to achieve righteousness through your own merit. If doesn’t matter if you’re a secular pagan who worships Zeus or a religious Jew who strictly follows the law, God will never see you as righteous through your own effort. Pastor Jim has much more to say in this message subtitled, “All Under Sin.”