F.R.O.G.
Fully Rely on God
A father instructing his son.
Andy’s Wisdom:
There are no rules for pa’s and sons.
Each mother or father raises his boy or girl the way
he thinks is best, and I think it’s best that you get a
quarter and work for it.
When you give
something, (clean the
garage), and get
something in return
(a quarter) that’s the
greatest feeling in the
world.
Proverbs 2:1-5 (The Voice)
2 My son, if you accept what I am telling you
and store my counsel and directives deep within you,
2 If you listen for Lady Wisdom, attune your ears to her,
and engage your mind to understand what she is
telling you,
3 If you cry out to her for insight and beg for
understanding,
4 If you sift through the clamor of everything around you
to seek her like some precious prize, to search for her
like buried treasure;
5 Then you will grasp what it means to truly respect the
Eternal, and you will have discovered the knowledge
of the one True God.
If you clean the garage, take out the trash, and set
the table, then you will get a quarter.
God treats his believers similar to the way a father
treats his son: both want the son to obey from the
heart. Both want the son to learn lessons. God does
not force us to obey; we have a will and God wants
us to love and obey
Him from the heart.
If God forced us to
love and worship
Him, it would not
be love, nor would
the worship mean
anything.
If two students sit in the same class and hear the
same lectures, and read the same assignments,
but one learns more than the other . . . why? The
one who wants to learn is the one who benefits
most from school. When a student is made
to sit in class,
and made to
read the
assignment,
but doesn’t
want to learn;
that student
won’t learn.
24 If you sift through the clamor of everything around you
to seek her like some precious prize, to search for her
like buried treasure;
5 Then you will grasp what it means to truly respect the
Eternal, and you will have discovered the knowledge of
the one True God.
Lesson Take Away:
God hides Himself because He wants voluntary lovers
who will do whatever it takes to acquire the treasures of
God (wisdom). Just as we do not want a passive,
uninvolved God… God doesn’t want passive, uninvolved
followers.
So, how bad do you want it (wisdom)?
Are you willing to work for it?
Proverbs 2:6-9 (The Voice)
6 The
Eternal is ready to share His wisdom with us,
for His words bring true knowledge and insight;
7 He has stored up the essentials of sound wisdom for
those who do right; He acts as a shield for those
who value integrity.
8 God protects the paths of those who pursue justice,
watching over the lives of those who keep faith
with Him.
9 With this wisdom you will be able to choose the right
road, seek justice, and decide what is good and fair
The college faculty were in their annual meeting when,
suddenly, an angel appears. Turning to the Dean, the angel
said, "I will grant you one of three choices -- infinite wisdom,
infinite wealth or infinite health."
The Dean thought for a minute, then replied "Wisdom."
"So be it." and the angel disappeared.
In the silence that followed, the Dean sat thoughtfully, saying
nothing and staring off into the distance. Finally, one of the
other faculty members
exclaimed, "Do you have
anything to say? What
words of wisdom can you
provide us?".
Said the Dean, "I should
have taken the money."
Life has many choices, and it seems at times
when we make one choice, we later have regrets
about our decision and wished we had made
another. Some choices are rather simple, while
others—not so much. How do we manage life
choices? Do we consult God in every day in
everything?
The average American supermarket carries
around 36,000 items for sale. Crest offers 36
variations of its toothpaste in the choice of size,
shape, and flavor.
Revlon has 158 different colors of lipstick.
There are 200 new magazines which hit the
market each year.
How often have you stood in front of an aisle of
choices in the supermarket with a glazed look in
your eyes as you were trying to decide which
laundry detergent would be right for your
clothes? Even at the checkout counter you are
faced with choices, paper or plastic meaning
how do you want to pay and what do you want
your purchase put in.
Will I get up and go to work or school today? Do
I call in sick and play hooky?
Will I lie to save my own skin? When someone
insults me, puts me down, or hurts me how will I
react? When I am tempted to do something that
sounds fun but might have negative
consequences what will I do?
How should I handle money? Where should I
spend it? Will I work overtime this week
because the boss wants me to even though my
kid’s game is tonight?
Will I help my friend even though I was really
looking forward to watching the game?
Will I eat the french fries or ask for a side
salad?
Our children are also bombarded with choices.
The average young person views more than 3000 ads
per day on TV, on the Internet, on billboards, and in
magazines. Advertisers are targeting younger and
younger children in an effort to establish “brandname preference” at as early an age as possible.
More than 160 magazines are now targeted at
children. Young people see 45% more beer ads and
27% more Ads for hard liquor in teen
magazines than adults do in
their magazines, and the
tobacco industry spends over
$200 million advertising
in youth-oriented
magazines each year.
People in the advertising business are convinced
that a young, satisfied consumer could become a
lifelong customer—eager to buy their products
far into the future.
In a similar way, we need to be influencing our children
to "buy into" the good things God has in store for them
throughout all of life, by making good choices. According
to Proverbs, some fantastic possibilities lie ahead for the
young person who chooses God's way: long life and
peace (Pr 3:2), favor in the sight of God and man (Pr
3:4), direction from God (Pr 3:6), health and strength
(Pr 3:8), abundance
(Pr 3:10), happiness
(Pr 3:13). The person
who trusts, honors,
and fears the Lord
finds wisdom—an
incomparable prize
(Pr 3:15).
The choices we make today have an impact on
the decisions we will be making tomorrow. They
establish a pattern and a foundation for our
lives.
Being able to make the right decision every time
requires wisdom. The biblical word is “Sophia.”
It means insight from a Godly perspective.
According to Webster, a wise person is one who
knows what is true and right and then is able to
make the right decision. Wisdom should not be
confused with knowledge or
common sense. Knowledge
can be picked up in a book,
taking a class, or watching
Dr. Phil. Some of the
smartest people make the
dumbest choices because they
lack wisdom.
A Massachusetts doctor and Harvard graduate
has been suspended for leaving a patient on the
operating table midway through spinal surgery
so he could deposit a check at his local bank.
The state board of medicine said David Arndt,
an orthopedic surgeon, posed "an immediate
threat to the public health, safety and welfare"
after he left the patient
with an open incision
in his back.
Arndt left behind a surgeon who was not
qualified to complete the surgery. After his 35minute trip to the bank, Arndt returned to the
operating room and finished the surgery within
a few hours. (The only problem was that the
spinal fusion was not done properly and the
patient sued for severe pain and malpractice)
The doctor’s license to
practice medicine in
Massachusetts has been
suspended.
We must seek God for wisdom in all situations
because God is the source of all wisdom.
Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom, and from
his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
God is the one who helps us make good choices…
Unfortunately we tend to rely on our own
wisdom and understanding.
The danger of using our
own intellect is that we
make decisions based on
our limited abilities rather
than God’s infinite knowledge.
A pastor walks up to a young man, puts his arm
around him and says, “Son, I’m going to teach
you how to steal, drink, lie, and swear.
“What?” replies the shocked youth?
“I’m going to teach you to steal time out of
every day to read a chapter in the book of
Proverbs, to drink in the
Wisdom of Solomon, to lie
on your bed and meditate
on the truth you discover
there, and to swear by the
grace of God to put it into
action.”
We need to model decision making for our
children based on Godly wisdom. We shape
tomorrow's world by what we teach our
children today.
Lesson Take Away
What we leave in our children is more
important than what we leave to them.
Proverbs 3:5 (The Voice)
5 Place your trust in the Eternal; rely on Him
completely; never depend upon your own ideas
and inventions.
6 Give Him the credit for everything you accomplish,
and He will smooth out and straighten the road
that lies ahead.
7 And don’t think you can decide on your own what is
right and what is wrong. Respect the Eternal; turn
and run from evil.
8 If you depend on Him, your body and mind will be
free from the strain of a sinful life, will experience
healing and health, and will be strengthened at
their core.
We find ourselves having to exercise trust every
day we live:
1:) We trust whoever built our house that it
won’t fall down upon our heads. –
2:) We trust the bank to not spend the money we
deposited so it will be there when we want to use
it.
3:) We trust our alarm clock to go off when we
set it for a certain time.
4:) We trust the lights to come on when we flip
the switch.
5:) We trust the car to start when we put the key
in the ignition-
6:) We trust the best before date on the milk jug.
7:) We trust the teenager making our burger at
McDonalds washed his hands after his last
bathroom break.
And we will continue to trust all these things
until they fail us for some reason.
1. A man visited the Grand Canyon and while he was looking over
the side he slipped, as he fell he caught a scrub bush and held on for
dear life:
Man - “Is there anybody up there?”
Voice - “Yes, there is”
Man - “Can you help me? Can you help me?”
Voice - “Yes, I can most likely be of assistance. What is your
problem?”
Man - I slipped and fell off of the cliff and I am dangling by this
bush”
Voice - I’ll do my best. Do you believe?”
Man - “Yes, I believe!”
Voice - Do you have faith?
Man - Yes I have faith
Voice - Do you trust me?
Man - Yes I trust you!
Voice - Let go of the branch and
everything will turn out fine
Man - Is there anybody else up
there?
When we fall, God will catch us and pick us up
and set our feet upon solid ground. He will never
fail those who place their trust in Him.
GOD DOES NOT LIE:
Numbers 23:19 (The Voice)
19God is not a man—He doesn’t lie. God isn’t
the son of a man to want to take back what He’s
said, Or say something and not follow through,
or speak and not act on it.
Exodus 14:31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the
Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the
Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. (NIV)
The people learned to trust God. After everything they had
been through they finally came to the point where they had
confidence in God. Unfortunately this same group of people
later forgot the lesson they had learned. When they came to the
promised land
they did not trust
God to give them
the land. Instead
they believed the
“giants in the land
would squash them
like bugs.”
How often are we just like the nation of Israel?
We put our trust in God today, only to later
think God has abandoned us to figure things out
for ourselves.
We must learn to trust God EVERYDAY and
seek his wisdom—whether big or small our
confidence needs to be in God and not ourselves.
How do we seek His wisdom?
Proverbs 2:3
Cry out to her for insight and beg for
understanding
Wisdom is not an automatic thing. We don’t just
suddenly become wise even if we become a Christian.
It is a gift from God, which is given to those who
pursue it and ask for it.
A certain bumper sticker conveyed a similar
sentiment with these words, "You are only young
once, but you can be immature your whole life.”
James 1:5-7 (NLT)
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and
he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for
asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that
your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a
person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a
wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the
wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive
anything from the Lord.
We can also seek God’s wisdom when we read His word,
the Bible.
2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us
what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our
lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is
right.
We are given God’s inspired Word to help guide us in
making the right choices. Unfortunately, for many the
Bible just sits and collects dust because we think we
don’t have the time or we just
don’t understand it, so why
bother. We grow in God’s
wisdom by reading the
nuggets of wisdom he
has already given in His Word.
When was the last time you asked God for help in
making a decision? When was the last time you
looked at your daily schedule and asked God, “what
do you want me to do today?” Unfortunately, we
tend to run our own life without God’s input, until
after we’ve blown it.
Then, we want God to bail us out. Fortunately, God
is loving and kind, and frequently helps us out. But
we still face the consequences of our decisions. All too
often we don’t ask God for his wisdom until we are
at the end of our rope, or we cannot come up with a
solution on our own. What would happen if we
started every day with God instead?
A man was out walking in the desert when a voice
said to him, “Pick up some pebbles and put them in
your pocket, and tomorrow you will be both sorry
and glad.” The man obeyed. He stooped down and
picked up a handful of pebbles and put them in his
pocket. The next morning he reached into his pocket
and found diamonds and rubies and emeralds. And
he was both glad and sorry. Glad that he had taken
some—sorry
that he hadn’t
taken more.
And so it is with
God’s word.
How To Manage Life Choices--Bob Briggs
IF, Then, When!--Jimmy Haile
Seeking God’s Wisdom-- Lanier Christian
Church