What is the biggest challenge that you're facing
in your life right now? What relationship, what
circumstance, what is so confusing and so difficult
that you just need God's wisdom to know what
to do? Well, today we're going to teach you about
how to get that wisdom. Stay with me. Welcome
to this edition of Living on the Edge with Chip
Ingram. Our mission is to inspire Christians
to be genuine followers of Jesus and to empower
them to be active disciple makers in our world.
Thanks for joining us as we're a little over
halfway through Chip's series, The Real God,
as he continues identifying fundamental attributes
of God's nature that cause us to worship and
appreciate him even more. If you've missed any
part of this intense study, catch up at livingontheedge
.org or wherever you listen to podcasts. Well,
if you have a Bible, go to Romans chapter 11
as Chip begins his message, The Wisdom of God.
I'm going to ask you to go to a little bit different
place with me, all right? Put your pencil down.
I want you to lean back. And I want you to, in
your mind, think of the most difficult, stressful
area of your life. Okay? I want you to think
of... of an area of your life that not only is
difficult and hard and maybe it's a relationship
or maybe it's work or maybe it's a health issue
that you can't get resolved or maybe it's an
aging parent or maybe it's something with one
of your kids, but I want you to think about something
that is not only difficult for you, but it's
difficult to understand. I mean, something that
in your heart of hearts, you wouldn't wanna say
this, but if you could reverently say it to God,
you would say, God, I'm walking with you the
best that I can, and I know your will is good,
and I know you'll never give me more than I can
take, but these circumstances sure don't feel
like you're a good God. These feelings and these
struggles and this barrier, whatever it is, it...
I don't understand why a good, loving God, I
know I don't have to, but I just don't understand
why a good and loving God would have this situation
in my life. Okay? So just reflect for a minute.
Let me give you just a minute to bring the picture
into your mind. And for some, it will come very
quickly. What is it, put another way, that if
God could remove it in an instant, that's what
you would want him to remove? Have you got it?
Feel free to keep your eyes closed and kind of
lean back and think of this perplexing, difficult,
maybe even very stressful issue that you can't
get unraveled. And as you do, I'd like you to
listen to some words. To believe actively that
our Heavenly Father constantly spreads around
us providential circumstances that work for our
present good and Our everlasting well -being
brings to the soul a veritable benediction. Most
of us go through life praying a little, planning
a little, jockeying for position, hoping but
never being quite certain of anything, and always
secretly afraid that we will miss the way. This
is a tragic waste of truth, and it never gives
rest to your heart. God has charged himself with
full responsibility for our eternal happiness,
and he stands ready to take over the management
of our lives the moment we turn. In faith to
him. Before you open your eyes, let me repeat
that. I want you to think of the situation. I
want you to think of that you can't understand.
Why has God allowed it? And I want you to listen
one more time. God has charged himself with the
full responsibility for our eternal happiness.
And he stands ready. That means this moment.
He stands ready to take over the management of
our lives. The moment we turn in faith. That's
a quote by A .W. Tozer on the wisdom of God.
And I will never forget the circumstances that
led to me learning what the wisdom of God is
all about. A classical definition of the wisdom
of God is that God brings about the best possible
results for the most possible people in the best
possible way. I mean, that's the idea. He's going
to bring the best results by the best means for
the most people for the longest time. And that
sounds like a nice theological definition and
great. Wisdom of God. Share experience where
that truth saved my life. I was in seminary at
the time and I had a conviction that my wife,
I had two small kids that were twins that were
about six years old and then I had an 18 -month
-old little boy. So we had three kids and my
conviction was my wife should be home and be
able to nurture our children. And so I was going
to seminary full -time and I was working full
-time, a straight commission job. It's the only
thing I could do to make enough money just to
make it through. And I went three years straight
through. And so I was up about 4 .30 or 5 every
day and went to a donut shop and studied Greek
for about two or three hours, went to a carpool,
went and went to classes, and every moment I
wasn't in a class, I was reading a book or studying
or doing something, caught the carpool, came
home, played with my family for about an hour
and a half, went to work from about 6 .30 to
11 at night, got up 4, 4 .30, did the same thing
for three years. And on the side, we did a little
ministry because you had to have an outlet. And
the good news was the ministry started to just
multiply and flourish. The bad news, it was just
more and more stress. Then it was a straight
commission job and the company I was working
for went through some major problems. And so
my income disappeared. I've been going on about
four hours to five hours sleep for three years
straight. I'm working full -time. I'm going to
school full -time. My wife has two small children
and a toddler. I am dead broke. I do not have
money to pay my bills. The stress is over the
level that I've ever experienced in my life.
I'm discouraged, depressed, completely out of
it, and I'm sitting in a seminary class thinking,
okay, I almost went King James in my mind. Is
this how thou treats thy servants? I mean, I
was a school teacher. I was a basketball coach.
I liked what I did. God said he wanted me to
go to seminary. I went to seminary. I've done
it for three years. I've taken all this Greek
and all this Hebrew, and I'm working full time,
and now I don't have any money. I got my rent
due. We haven't bought meat or groceries in 15
days. We've taken the $7 that we put with the
little co -op. And we've been eating fruits and
vegetables for 15 days. And my wife has been
baking bread from the whole wheat flour that
she has left. I can't pay my bills. And I'm just
to where I'm thinking, this is what it looks
like to get rewarded when you, quote, sell out
for God. I want to be in your service. I want
to learn your word. And I'm ready to cash in,
at least Christian service. I thought, you know,
I know enough now. I can never leave the Lord.
But this being a pastor and preparing for ministry,
and I was sitting in a classroom, a theology
class, and just sort of staring. And it was a
class, a room much like this with a couple hundred
students, and it was a big class, and it was
a very famous professor. Have you ever been in
one of those zones where... And I looked up and
someone tapped me on the shoulder. And it was
the professor and the class was empty and I didn't
hear anybody leave. And I wasn't asleep. I was
just so numb. And I was sitting there thinking,
I think I'm going to quit seminary. I can't do
this. And the seminary professor was one in theology.
He was a very thin man. He had wire -rimmed glasses,
and he tapped me on the shoulder, and he gave
me a little comment. He just very discerning
said, Chip, whatever you do, don't make any major
decisions in the next 48 hours. Go home and get
a good night's sleep. Take a day off. Eat a good
meal. And I'll see you Monday. And I just remember,
often he would say things in class, and I wouldn't
even write them down, but he said them in such
a way that I just remembered them. And I sat
there in the stupor trying to decide whether
to quit school, cash it all in, and out of the
blue comes this definition of God's wisdom. God
brings about the best possible ends by the best
possible means for the most possible people for
the longest possible time. And that definition
was rattling in my brain, and I just thought
to myself, okay. What if I believe that? I mean,
what if I just hypothetically, God, I'm not saying
I do, but just hypothetically, because I don't
really want to give up my anger and my resentment
and my depression and my pity party, but in case
I wanted to, what if I believe that just for
a couple seconds? What if I believe that you
do bring about the best possible ends and the
way you do it is by the best possible means?
And people, I'm telling you, I'm sure there was
sin in my life. I just didn't know of any. Man,
I'm getting up. I'm meeting with God. I'm reading
the Bible. I'm studying the languages. I'm involved
in ministry. I'm loving my wife. I mean, you
know, as far as I know, there's nothing between
me and God. So it's not a sin issue. And then
I began to think, well, if I believed it, I'm
not saying I do, but if I believed it, it would
mean that if you are good and gracious and sovereign,
It would mean that these present circumstances
were allowed by a good God who's in absolute
control of the universe and that if there was
an easier or kinder or gentler way to produce
in me and through me what you wanted to produce,
it would be different circumstances. But if I
believe, hypothetically of course, that you were
all wise, then the fact that... The company shut
down. I don't have a job. I don't have any money.
I'm absolutely exhausted. I'm discouraged, depressed,
and I don't see how I'm going to make it through
tomorrow, let alone today. That this actually
could be from the hand of a good, sovereign God
that knows all things actual and possible, and
therefore... What needs to happen in me from
your eternal, all -wise, loving, and good perspective
is exactly the circumstances that I'm living
with. But here's the problem. It's hard to trust
in the wisdom of God if you don't know what it
is. If someone would have said, what's the wisdom
of God to me, probably before I went to seminary,
I would say, it means he's real smart. I mean,
he must be the smartest guy, right? But wisdom
is not smartness. Wisdom is not IQ. Wisdom is
something quite different than what we think.
And so in our time, here's what I want to do.
I want to define what the wisdom of God is. I
want to reveal how God has shown us his wisdom.
And then I want to look at how do we respond
to that wisdom so that here's the goal. You can
rest and you can trust in the wisdom of God in
the very area that you were thinking about. So
that's the game plan. Let's define the wisdom
of God. It is a attribute of God whereby he produces
the best possible results by the best possible
means. That's by Berkhoff. He's a German theologian.
That's just a classical theological definition
of the wisdom of God. Webster says it's the quality
of being wise. It's the power of judging rightly.
It's following the soundest course of action
based on knowledge, experience, and understanding.
Now, this is interesting. Catch this. The root
words to wisdom have the idea of the ability
to see. And two, no. You need to see, in other
words, wisdom is kind of life savvy. It's not
IQ. It's not intelligence. It's not what you
do on a test. Wisdom is understanding how life
works and then living your life in a way that
cooperates with how God has designed life to
work to bring about the best possible results
in relationships and in decisions and in parenting
and in marriage and in singleness and all that
God has for us. But it involves the people that
you go to for wise counsel, they have two abilities.
One, they can see. Either by experience or knowledge
of the scriptures or insight or giftedness, they
can kind of see some things you can't see. And
second, they have knowledge. And they take that
knowledge and they take what they can see and
they help you make good decisions. That's what
wisdom's all about. So the wisest person on the
face of the earth is someone who can what? See
everything. from beginning to end, who knows
everything, who has all power. In fact, Dr. Ryrie
at Dallas Seminary, I love his definition of
the omniscience of God. God knows all things
actual and possible. Short, brief, and unbelievably
accurate. God not only knows all things, he knows
all things actual and all things that are even
possible. And say, where do you get that? Don't
you remember the little passage when Jesus was
being attacked by the Pharisees and people were
rejecting him? And he said, I'm telling you,
if Sodom and Gomorrah would have heard the message
that you just heard, they would have repented.
Wait a second. You mean you know how people would
have responded hypothetically in another timeframe
hundreds of years earlier? Yes, he's God. God
knows all things actual. and all things possible.
He sees all things. He has all power. He is eternal.
He's outside of time. He lives in the current
now. He knows the beginning from the end and
the end from the beginning. And so since he sees
all things and knows all things, he's all wise
and can give us the greatest and best direction.
In fact, the scripture says it, 1 Timothy 1,
17. Now to the king eternal, immortal, invisible,
the only God be honor and glory forever and ever.
Amen. Or my favorite passage on the wisdom of
God is Romans 11, 33. Oh, the depths of the riches
of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable
are his judgments and his past beyond tracing
or finding out. God's wisdom, what he orchestrates.
Here's what you've got to understand. How things
appear so often in your life. How things so often
appear in history. God has a silver thread. He's
doing things that we can't see and you don't
see God's wisdom until you see it over here.
So much of life is like that. So much of what
he's doing in your life, it just, I mean, Joseph
is thinking, this doesn't look good, this doesn't
look good, this doesn't look good, this doesn't
look good, this doesn't look good. And then you
turn it over and what? He has woven a man into
a position of the second highest power in the
known world to accomplish a goal and a task.
But he didn't see the wisdom of God. All he saw
was the knots and the strings on the back of
the tapestry. As God was weaving his life through
a series of circumstances, none of which he would
have chosen. All of which he needed, not only
personally, but for the purposes God would fulfill.
Notice, I like, it says in the Holy Scriptures,
wisdom, when used of God and good men, always
carries the strong moral connotation. It's conceived
as being pure, loving, and good. Wisdom, among
other things, is the ability to devise Perfect
ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect
means. I'm back to quoting Tozer, can you tell?
Wisdom is the ability to devise, not good, perfect
ends and to achieve those ends how? By... Perfect
means, what if God is perfectly orchestrating
a perfect end for your life? And what if even
in this naughty, yicky circumstances that seem
so unbearable, they are actually his perfect
means to accomplish his perfect end in you? Would
that change your perspective in how you deal
with life? He goes on to say, It sees the end
from the beginning so there can be no need to
guess or conjecture. Wisdom sees everything in
focus, each in proper relationship to all, and
is thus able to work toward predestined goals
with flawless precision. You're listening to
Living on the Edge. We'll get you back to our
series, The Real God, in just a minute. But first,
if this teaching has ministered to you, consider
becoming a monthly partner. Your regular financial
support goes a long way to help us encourage
pastors, create resources, and share Jesus with
today's youth. Visit livingontheedge .org today
to learn how to support us. Well, with that,
here again is Chip. Let me give you an illustration
that has helped me so much. This is a picture,
and then we'll look. at how God has revealed
his wisdom. Are you ready for this picture? It's
a dramatic picture. Try and really let the color
of your mind and the cinema scope just begin
to really gravitate in to this picture. I want
you to imagine there's a railroad tracks coming
right across here and there's a nice little hill
that goes up and on it is a small house where
the railroad track man lives. And you come across
the tracks and there's some gravel and you go
up and then there's some steps and over here
is a little booth. And the railroad track man's
job is he has a lever and the trains come and
his job is to push the lever at the right time
so that the tracks slide over so the trains,
some trains go off to the north and some trains
will go off to the south. And as they come through,
he gets radio wires and he hears what's going
to happen, but it's an old -fashioned time, so
he must flick the switch to change the tracks.
That's his job. And so he lives on a little hill
and he has a cute little wife and they have a
beautiful little four and a half year old. And
so he is over doing his job. And his little boy
is running down the hill, papa, papa, papa, daddy,
daddy, daddy. Can you visualize him? He's coming
down the hill and he sees his daddy doing his
job. And often he would bring daddy his lunch
and they would have good times together. And
as he runs and comes across, he trips on the
track. And as he trips on the track, his little
tiny foot gets wedged underneath the track. And
as you and I would look down about 500 yards,
there is a train coming at a very high speed.
There's not enough time for Daddy to come down
from his post and pull his little boy off that
track. He now has a decision to make about what
is wisest, what is best, what should he do. And
he has option number one, is that as the train
is coming down the track, he could switch it.
But if he switched it, because the track that
it's on, it would jolt that track and probably
400 to 500 people would go to their death. It's
coming at a very high speed. Or he could leave
it as it is. And as it is, he will watch a freight
train filled with passengers go right over the
top of his son. If he asked you, what's the wisest
thing to do? What would you tell him? I didn't
say the moral thing to do. I didn't say what
he wanted to do. I didn't even say the sacrificial
thing to do. What's the wisest thing to do in
this situation? And I would suggest that we as
Christians, most of us would come up with an
answer like this if we were given this in a small
group. And we would discuss it together and come
up with the noble and righteous answer that the
wisest thing to do, though painful and sacrificial,
of this father will get to experience something
like God the father must have experienced. And
he should not kill the 450 or 500 people, but
he should watch his son die. Now that may be
the most loving and sacrificial and noble thing
to do. I didn't say that. I said, what's the
wisest thing to do? It's a difference. Because
wisdom has to do with what? The best possible
results for the most possible people for the
longest possible time, right? And you say to
yourself, well, I mean, this is it. 500 people
versus one? Let the kid die. Wait a second. What
if the kid is the next Billy Graham? If he's
the next Billy Graham, would it be better for
500 people to die in a train wreck and possibly
millions of people to spend eternity in heaven?
Which would be the wisest? Which would be the
greatest benefit long term? Or what if this little
boy has in his DNA, he will find the cure to
HIV? Would it be better for 500 to live? Or to
have a million people or millions of people or
to stop a plague that's going worldwide? Or,
well, stop, stop, stop. Maybe that's not right.
What if there's a person on the train and they
have the cure for cancer and they will discover
it two years from now? Or what if the next Billy
Graham? is on that train. Do you see how complicated
it gets? See, all of a sudden, wait a second,
we're not talking about a train in 500 or one.
Unless you know all things actual and possible,
unless you can see the beginning from the end,
every one of our lives is like a huge bolter
that's dropped into a pond and there are ripples.
And you make a decision today and that affects
children and grandchildren and friends and workers.
And everyone's making all these decisions and
they're happening with all these people all over
the world. And in colliding these ripples of
your decisions and my decisions and corporations'
decisions. military decisions. Who in the world
can know all things actual? The only person that
can make a wise decision about what should happen
in this situation is someone who knows everything,
someone who sees everything, both now and on
into the future and in eternity, and only that
person can see and know to make the wisest decision.
And my suggestion is, we don't have a clue of
what the wisest thing is to do. Now think of
that. Think of the logic you've just gone through.
And now think of some things where we say, how
could God let that plane go down? How could God
let that seven -year -old boy die of cancer at
his age? I don't understand how God could...
You see, God is a good God. There is limited
evil. He does work all things according to...
His will for the good of those who are called
and who love him. And he knows the beginning
from the end. And he knows the implications of
every decision, of every relationship, of every
human being for all eternity in an omnipresent
present now with all the implications. And he
is all wise. And his decisions and his decrees.
And his will is orchestrated for people, not
just in view of his sovereignty, not just in
view of his power, not just in view of his love
and compassion, or in his goodness and desire
to bless, but it's filtered through his wisdom,
which means he brings about the best possible
ends by the best possible means for the most
possible people for the longest possible time.
Tozer summarizes by saying this, All God's acts
are done in perfect wisdom, first for his own
glory and then for the highest good of the greatest
number for the longest time. And all his acts
are as pure as they are wise. Isn't that great?
And they are as good as they are pure. Not only
could his acts not be done better, a better way
to do them could not be imagined. Can I suggest
something? that's true in your life. I mean,
if you're in blatant sin, and I certainly have
had times where I have been, so there's consequences
to our sin, and we often blame God for them.
But if you're not in blatant sin, and as far
as you know, you're walking with God, you're
trying to be the man, the woman that he wants
you to be, and you have certain... things in
your life that you're saying, God, I don't understand.
This isn't fair. This is hard. Please take it
away. I'm praying, I'm praying, I'm praying,
and nothing changes. Could it be? Could it be
that the all -wise God of the universe is actually
drawing you toward a perfect end by means of
perfect methodology? to produce in you and through
you beyond and better what you could ever dream.
See, that's how you rest in the wisdom of God.
But when you come to understand that this isn't
something, this is not a concept, this is God.
The God that you pray to, this is what he's like.
Well, let's talk about how has he revealed his
wisdom? I mean, if this is true, this could change
your life. How has God revealed his wisdom to
us? One, through creation. Psalm 19, verses one
through seven. Listen to how God has revealed
that he's wise. The heavens declare the glory
of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day, they pour forth speech. Night
after night, they display knowledge. There is
no speech or language where their voice is heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth, their
words to the ends of the world. In the heavens,
he's pitched a tent for the sun, which like a
bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like
a champion rejoicing to run its course. It rises
at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit
to the other. Nothing is hidden from its heat.
The creation, the ecosystem. I mean, take an
electron microscope and look at the smallest
things you can find and you'll see an amazing
order and wisdom and balance. And then take a
telescope and blast it into all of the universe
and we see what? These planets that are in these
amazing orders and gravitational pulls and balance
one another. You could take our earth. And just
tilt it one degree or a portion of a degree and
some people would freeze to death and the other
people burn to death. The oxygen of the plants,
the carbon dioxide of the people. You know, we
as humans, we mess with the environment just
a little bit and man, it just starts going crazy.
God, in his wisdom, bringing the best possible
results. Why do birds fly certain places, certain
times? Why do they mate the way they mate? Why
do they have certain boundaries? Why is there
this balance of certain animals that eat other
animals and others that don't eat other animals
and so much grass? And how God orchestrates weather
and patterns and animals, his creation. This
is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and you've
been listening to part one of Chip's message,
The Wisdom of God, from our series, The Real
God. Chip will be back shortly to share some
helpful application for us to think about. You
know, we've all unintentionally projected some
of humanity's worst qualities into our Creator.
Many view God as moody, weak, unfair, impatient,
and merciless. But those ideas couldn't be further
from the truth. Through this series, Chip explores
key Bible passages to reveal seven fundamental
characteristics of our Heavenly Father, attributes
that reflect the very essence of His divine nature.
Join Chip on this journey to reshape your perspective
toward God, which will deepen your relationship
with Him like never before. You won't want to
miss a single part of this study. Well, I'm joined
in studio now by Chip, and Chip, the idea of
discipleship is at the heart of this ministry.
And we believe there's a specific group of people
responsible for continuing that work all around
the world. So if you would identify these difference
makers and explain how we're investing in them.
Well, Dave, the fact of the matter is this, is
that we want to help Christians live like Christians,
but God has ordained there is a place, there's
a supernatural community, and it's called the
church. The church isn't a building. It's a group
of people. And there's a person or a group of
people, pastors, who are morally responsible
to lead churches. If there is a godly pastor
who's healthy, who teaches God's Word practically,
clearly, relevantly with orthodox theology, guess
what? It produces people, young people, middle
-aged people, and older people that are Christians
who live like Christians. So one of the main
things we do at Living on the Edge is we train
pastors right here in the United States. all
across the globe. If that's on your heart, would
you help us? If you would give a gift to help
us reach, train, develop, and encourage pastors,
it would mean a lot to them, but it will create
the disciples of the future. That's absolutely
right, Chip. And if you'd consider becoming a
monthly giver, it would make all the difference.
If we can depend on your regular support, we
can continue ministering to pastors all over
the globe. Learn more about becoming a monthly
donor by going to livingontheedge .org or by
calling 888 -333 -6003. That's 888 -333 -6003
or visit livingontheedge .org. App listeners
tap donate. We'll hear again as Chip with his
application. When we started today's program,
I asked you a question. What's the biggest challenge
that you're facing right now? What gives pressure?
Where is there stress? Is it a relationship?
Is it your marriage? One of your kids? Is it
the fact that you don't have a relationship and
you're single? Is it finances? Is it the world
situation? Is it the stock market? I don't know.
But here's what I do know. The toughest challenges
that you face or I face can be revolutionized
when we look at them through the lens of God's
wisdom. God is orchestrating events and circumstances
and people in your life to produce the best possible
ends by the best possible means for the most
possible people. Have you got that? He's working.
He's wise. He knows what he's doing. understanding
God's wisdom, this concept that life isn't just
haphazard. Not only is he sovereign, but if there
was a better way to help you learn, if there
was a better way for God's will to be worked
out in your life, he would do that, okay? You're
not getting a raw deal. You're not getting God's
second best. He knows you. He loves you. He's
working for your good. And the plan that you're
experiencing right now is the wisdom of God.
This has brought more comfort and more peace
in the midst of my most difficult challenges
than probably any other aspect of God's character.
Now the question is, how do you tap into that
wisdom? How do you get it? That will be on our
next program. Hope you'll be there. Looking forward
to that message, Chip, next time as we continue
our series, The Real God. But until then, I'm
Dave Drewy, thanking you for listening to this
edition of Living on the Edge.