In this Gospel Partner episode, see how God’s wisdom is what we need to overcome our challenges and experience good success in all areas of our lives. About Gospel Partner Gospel Partner is a publishing house committed to advancing the gospel of grace. Our mission is to find ways to make Jesus-centered, grace-based teaching resources completely free for those who cannot afford them. If you would like to join us in this global publishing mission reaching over 150 nations, and receive access to more than 1,000 sermons by Joseph Prince, visit: https://bit.ly/3Q356Mx

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Success is not an end. It is
actually a journey. In every

venture, in every endeavour,
ask God for wisdom. It’s a

wisdom that that gives success
in every area of your life.

Don’t be hasty! Take your
time, especially in the major

decisions of life, what to
embark on. If you need a

specific direction, God can
speak to you. Take your time

to consult the people that
love you, that God has

surrounded you with. God is
more willing to give you

wisdom than you want it. He
cares for you, and He cares

for what you’re going through.

Hello, church. What a
privilege to once again bring

you God’s Word, His Word in
season for you during this

time. So whatever you’re going
through right now, God knows

all about you. Even like you
feel like, “I’m a face in a

crowd. Does God give me
personal attention?” Yes,

Jesus said your Father numbers
the hairs on your head. That

is very intimate, detailed
concern, amen? He cares for

you and He cares for what you
are going through. That’s

love, and we cannot fathom
this kind of love because our

love is very general. We love
a person because of what they

do for us, not because of
unconditional love many times,

amen? We are learning to walk
in unconditional love, but

God’s love for you is
unconditional. He pays

attention to every detail in
your life. “Fear not, little

flock.” And when He said that,
there were many around him who

were people who were out of
fellowship with God, people

who were not walking with God,
besides His disciples, who

were learning to walk with
God. But nonetheless, He said

to all of them, “Your Father,
who cares for the birds of the

air, He knows what you are
going through. He numbers the

hairs on your head. Know you
not that you are of more value

than all the birds of the air
whom God feeds,” amen, whom

God takes care of. Then He
says, “Behold the lilies of

the field, all the grass of
the field, which today is, and

tomorrow is cast into the
oven.” It is all dried up when

the sun comes out during the
season of summer. But yet He

says, “Your Father cares for
this temporal grass. How much

more will He care for you?”
Amen? Then He says this, that,

“Even Solomon,” who was the
richest man in history, He

says that, “Even Solomon in
all his glory was not arrayed

like one of these,” flowers,
one of these grass, amen? Then

He says, “If God so clothed
the grass of the field, which

today is, and tomorrow is cast
into the oven, how much more

will He clothe you?” Think
about that. He compares

Solomon with the grass and
said that the glory of that

grass that God gives to it is
greater than the glory of

Solomon. But then He goes on
to say, “But God cares for you

more than the grass, which is
greater than Solomon’s glory,”

amen? So how much more will
God care for you? Praise the

Lord. I believe that we are
going through a season where

we are seeing things happen
all over the world that is

shouting out lack, shortage,
amen, recession, and yet God’s

people are worried, they are
anxious, they are troubled by

what they are seeing. That
goes to show that we are

spending lots of our time on
social media. We are watching

the news. We are look–hearing
the reports of the world

instead of spending time in
the Word of God. And the Word

of God is the only place where
you can find faith. The Bible

says, “Faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the word of

God.” You cannot find faith
anywhere else. You know, if

faith comes by hearing the
Word and the Word of God, then

fear comes by hearing and
hearing the word of man, amen?

And the fear, that fear brings
a snare. That fear will cause

bad things to happen. In fact,
in the book of Job, it says,

“The thing which I greatly
feared has come upon me.” So

fear has no part in the child
of God’s life, amen? And for

you, God doesn’t want you to
be afraid. That’s why every

time an angel appears to a
servant of God, a child of

God, it’s always the first
word from the angel’s mouth

is, “Fear not.” And Jesus’s
favorite expression is always,

talking to His disciples
especially, “Fear not. It is

I; be not afraid.” And it’s
always His refrain, amen, time

and time again, “Don’t be
afraid.” So how? How can we

not be afraid, seeing what is
happening all over the world?

We can by listening to God’s
Word. You know, if you are

depressed, if you are anxious,
you are worried, amen, you

wake up in the middle of the
night and you are thinking

about what is to come and
there’s a foreboding kind of

fears that is closing in upon
you in the hours of darkness

especially, then you’re
experiencing depression, the

only way out of that is to
hear your way out of it. “And

faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God.”

And that Word of God, we have
established in another sermon,

that we have shown you that
faith comes by hearing, and

hearing by the Word of God,
but the preceding verses tells

us, “How shall they hear
without a preacher?” So find a

preacher whose word you know
is gospel-centered, is

Jesus-centered, and is
grace-centered, because that’s

a new covenant word, amen? And
as you listen to it, you’ll

find yourself– all of a
sudden faith springs eternal,

amen? Health springs speedily,
amen. You’ll find that that

fear will just– you will look
for it. Like the Bible says,

you’ll look for your enemy,
and you will find him no more.

All of a sudden it’s gone,
without focusing on it. You

know, the way you get rid of
darkness in a room is not by

cursing the darkness, by
scolding the darkness, but by

switching on the light, amen?
Listen to God’s Word, amen?

Listen to anointed preaching
of God’s Word. You know, I’ve

made my sermons, thousands of
them for all these 15 years of

sermon, amen, on
grace-centered, Jesus-centered

sermons available online as–
for all those who are our

Gospel Partners and all those
who subscribe to

JosephPrince.com, amen, and
download that Joseph Prince

app. You will find thousands
of sermons there for every

need of your life. And time
and time again, we are

receiving so many testimonies
of people whose lives are

transformed, marriages turned
around, and bodies are healed,

supernatural breakthroughs in
the area of finances, and

great restoration especially
in the area of seeing God as

who He is for the very first
time, a God of love, amen. So

you cannot have all these
visions from God, you cannot

have all this perspective and
wisdom without hearing

anointed messages, amen? And
that’s where faith comes, in

the context of a preacher
preaching the Word, amen? If

we look at the Bible, the Word
of God, and we look at the

richest man, the wealthiest
man in history–and we have

established that we are not
into love of money. We are not

into wealthy–just being
wealthy, because you can be

wealthy and still be a poor
man, amen? Wealthy in finances

and accumulation of
possessions, and yet they’re a

poor man. Why? You don’t have
God. You don’t have a blessed

family. You don’t have
successful relationships, you

know? People talk behind your
back and you just live with

plenty of money. It’s like the
one who beats another person

when he ends his life with
more possession wins. No, my

friend, that’s the greatest
way to lose in life, amen? To

enjoy life, you know, it is
important for us to really,

first and foremost, know who
God is, not who we are. You

know, people say you gotta
know who you are, that’s the

beginning of knowledge. No,
it’s knowing who the Lord is,

the God who loves us. And in
finding Him, we find

ourselves. Like the Bible
says, “As Jesus is, so are we

in this world.” When we look
at the wealthiest man in the

Bible, Solomon, amen, we find
that when he was a young man,

he had a big pair of shoes to
fill. His father, David, had

passed on, and God appeared to
him in his dream. And God

said, “Ask! What I shall give
you?” And this is what Solomon

said, “‘Give to Your servant
an understand heart to judge

Your people, that I may
discern between good and evil.

For who is able to judge this
great people of Yours?’ The

speech pleased the Lord, the
Solomon had asked this thing.”

The speech pleased the Lord.
This remark here tells us that

God is pleased with people
asking wisdom from Him, amen.

The Lord is the same
yesterday, today, and forever,

and that speech will still
please Him today when you ask

God for wisdom. The Bible
says, “If any of you lack

wisdom, ask of God.” I think a
lot of people don’t ask of God

because they don’t see
themself lacking wisdom. They

think they know. “I know, I
know, I know what to do. I

know, I know, leave me alone.”
But the Bible says that those

who lack wisdom, they will ask
God for it, amen? And the

Bible says God will give it
with no doubt. Don’t–let

there be no doubt that God
will give it. It goes on to

say that, “But let him ask in
faith, nothing wavering. For

he that wavereth is like a
wave of the sea driven with

the wind and tossed,” in the
context of, if any of you ask

God for wisdom, God will
definitely give it. Don’t

doubt it, amen? This one
prayer He will answer. And

what does wisdom give you,
God’s wisdom, amen? Not the

wisdom of the world. The Bible
is very clear. In James, it

says there’s a wisdom from
above and there’s a wisdom

that is sensual, that is
fleshly. But the Bible says,

“The wisdom from above is
pure, peaceable, gentle, easy

to be intreated.” This is the
wisdom from God, and it’s a

wisdom that gives success in
your life, in every area of

your life. The Bible says in
Proverbs chapter 3, it talks

about wisdom having two hands.
So wisdom here personified as

a woman with two hands, and it
says, “Length of days is in

her right hand, in her left
hand riches and honor.” Notice

right hand is always the hand
of prominence. Most people use

their right hand, okay? So
length of days is in her right

hand. That’s the priority.
Would you agree that health,

wholeness, amen, peace, and
longevity is a priority, amen?

Not riches. Riches is in her
left hand. But notice what it

gives, what wisdom gives. “In
that right hand are length of

days, in her left hand are
riches and honor. Her ways are

ways of pleasantness,” ways of
pleasure, “no’am” in Hebrew,

which means it is pleasurable,
“and all her paths are peace,”

shalom. So first of all,
wisdom gives you length of

days. That is health. Then
after that, it gives you

riches. It gives you honor,
esteem, amen? The ways are the

ways of pleasure, so it gives
you pleasure, and all her

paths are shalom. It gives you
shalom peace. Praise the Lord.

It comes by embracing wisdom.
Just like it goes on to say

later on, “Embrace wisdom.”
And when you embrace wisdom,

what happens? When you embrace
your wife, both her hands are

behind you, supporting you,
right? So you have all the

blessings of the hand, but you
don’t go for riches on one

hand or for the health on the
other hand, you go for wisdom,

the wisdom of God. And the
Bible says the Lord was so

pleased with the wisdom– with
the wisdom request of Solomon

that God gave him– and God
says, “I’ll give you what you

didn’t ask for.” “God said to
him: ‘Because you have asked

this thing, and have not asked
long life for yourself, nor

have asked riches for
yourself, nor have asked the

life of your enemies, but you
have asked for yourself

understanding to discern
justice,'” God says, “behold,

I have done according to your
words; see, I have given you a

wise and understanding heart,
so that there has not been

anyone like you before–
before you, nor shall any like

you arise after you. And I
have also given you what you

have not asked: both riches
and honor.” Can you see that?

It’s like Proverbs chapter 3
we read just now, riches and

honor in the left hand, amen?
So God says, “I’ve give you

what you have not asked: both
riches and honor,” which comes

with wisdom, “so that there
shall not be anyone like you

among the kings all your days.
So if you walk in My ways, to

keep My statutes and My
commandments, as your father

David walked, then I will
lengthen your days.” Now,

notice this one comes with a
proviso, okay? It comes with a

condition. Notice we have
established that God says,

“I’ll give you what you have
not asked.” He actually asked

for wisdom. He didn’t ask for
riches and honor, but with

wisdom come riches and honor.
So God says,”I have given,”

all right? “I have given,”
what? “Both riches and honor.”

That’s the left hand, right?
That’s the left hand we read

just now, but notice the right
hand has not been given yet.

God says, “I have given you.”
So riches and honor has been

given that same night that
when God appeared to him in

the dream, amen, and God
asked, “What I shall give

you?” That same night he asked
God for wisdom, God gave him

already riches and honor,
amen? That was the beginning

of it, praise God. But notice
that God did not give him the

right hand yet. The right hand
comes with a requirement,

amen, a condition. “So if you
walk in My ways, to keep My

statutes and My commandments,
as your father David walked,

then I will lengthen your
days.” Notice the length of

days comes–health and length
of days comes with the right

hand. Unfortunately, we know
that Solomon didn’t live long.

Solomon actually began well.
He prospered and became the

wealthiest man, not just king,
the wealthiest man in history.

Now, if you look at his wealth
in terms of today’s

assessment, he will be the
first trillionaire in history,

okay? Because all the measures
and the amount and all that is

specifically mentioned in the
Bible that came into his

kingdom, okay? He’ll be the
first trillionaire. Now, he

had riches and honor, but he
didn’t live a long life.

Notice why? Because he
deviated from God’s

commandments. He deviated from
God’s Word. And God says that,

“If you keep My commandments,
I’ll lengthen your days.” So

that came with a condition,
amen, “If you keep My

commandments,” which Solomon
did not. Later on, he married

many, many wives, many foreign
wives, and with the wives came

all their idols and their
gods. And Bible says the heart

of Solomon– remember, Solomon
actually asked God, “Give me

an understanding heart.” By
the way, in the Hebrew, the

word “understanding heart,” is
actually a hearing heart. That

heart, later on his
wives–because of his love for

his wives, all his foreign
wives, the wives turned his

heart away from God. Notice,
that’s where it all starts.

The–his blessing all start
with his heart, amen. He asked

God for this, “Therefore give
to Your servant an

understanding heart.” That
word “understanding” is the

word “hearing.” Hearing heart,
amen, “to judge Your people,

that I may discern between
good and evil.” So he actually

asked God for wisdom, but
wisdom in a sense that an

understanding or a hearing
heart. The Hebrew word “shama”

is used here, a hearing heart.
Even in the Septuagint, the

Greek version of this verse,
it says–the word there is

actually “hearing.” Hearing,
amen? So that’s what Solomon

deviated from. And later on in
his life, and he actually

started worshipping idols,
started to move away from

worshipping God, the true God,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob, and he moved away. That
tells us something, people,

that wisdom is a person and
it’s our Lord Jesus Christ. If

you look at 1 Corinthians
1:30, the Bible tells us, “Of

him are you in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us

wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification,” that’s

holiness, “and redemption.”
“Of him” means it is not of

your doing or your works. “Of
him” means it is of God’s

doing that you are in Christ
Jesus. And Christ Jesus is

made unto us all, unto you,
you can say, “Christ is made

unto me wisdom,” amen? Before
I counsel someone, I always,

you know, just say this under
my breath. I make a confession

of faith, “Christ is made unto
me wisdom. Christ is my

wisdom.” Just like I say,
“Jesus is my righteousness,”

amen, Jesus is my wisdom. So
that’s what Solomon did later

on in his life. He rebelled
against God. How? By deviating

away from the Lord, and the
Lord is his wisdom. So wisdom

is not something that is, oh,
it’s in your head, in your

heart, and it’s there forever.
No, you can lose that wisdom,

why? Because wisdom is a
person. When you turn away

from the person of the Lord,
amen, you turn away from

wisdom. Sometimes it’s very
shocking for me to see how

Solomon, you know, so wise–
and the Bible says he was

wiser than all the wise men of
the east. “And God gave

Solomon wisdom and exceedingly
great understanding, and

largeness of heart like the
sand on the seashore. And then

Solomon’s wisdom excelled the
wisdom of all the men of the

East and all the wisdom of
Egypt. For he was wiser than

all men– than Ethan the
Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol,

and Darda.” If you study these
people, most of them are the

people during the time of his
father David, and they were

the wisest men then. In fact,
they were all in temple

worship, amen? You will find
psalms by Ethan the Ezrahite.

Heman also was a worship
leader. And Chalcol, which

means the dance. And all these
people were the wise men of

Solomon’s day. “And his fame
was in all the surrounding

nations.” See, the Bible says,
“He spoke three thousand

proverbs, and his songs were
one thousand and five.”

Imagine you are a songwriter
and you have written 1,005

songs, amen. So his wisdom is
manifold. It’s diversified in

many, many areas, amen. When
God gives you wisdom, it’s not

just to make money, amen,
though riches and honor has

been promised by God. By the
way, if riches and honor are

things that God does not want
us to have, he will not be

giving it to Solomon. He won’t
be saying that, “In the left

hand of wisdom are riches and
honor,” okay? Just to

sidetrack a little bit to talk
about, you know, how people

can preach and share that
riches would destroy you. It’s

true, friend, if your ambition
in life is just to be rich,

you’ll be pierced through with
many sorrows. The Bible says

that, amen? We don’t have an
ambition to be rich. And this

area of being hasty to be rich
or wanting to be rich as your

ambition in life, that rich is
in the area of just one area:

money. But God wants to give
you riches and honor, includes

money as well, amen, but in
every area of your life. You

will prosper in your
relationships with your

spouse, with your children,
with everyone around you,

amen? Praise the Lord. And
that’s God’s desire for all of

us. That’s why He put all this
wisdom into Solomon, amen,

that Solomon can put them all
in the book of Proverbs. And

the book of Proverbs is
divided into 31 chapters, why?

Well, I believe that, you
know, God wants us to hear for

that particular day, if it’s
the 5th of November, let’s say

it’s the 5th of December or
the 10th of December, right,

we can actually go to the 10th
chapter and start reading on

the 10th chapter. And you will
find that every month, that

10th day, that 10th chapter
will speak differently to you.

All the verses there, you look
for that verse that sort of

leap out at you, the verse
that sort of arrest you, amen,

and say, “Look at me. Study
me,” that’s the verse for you

for that day. It lights up.
It’s like the urim and thummim

of the priest in the temple.
The word that lights up,

that’s the Word of God’s
direction, God’s wisdom, amen.

So you study the corresponding
day, 31 days in a given month,

all right? Most months have 31
days, and if not, you just

read twice, amen? Or you can
read more if you want, amen?

But particularly if you do
that, I believe God designed

it for modern man who live in
31 days in a month, amen, for

them to study and find wisdom
for that particular– Every

day you can find wisdom for
that specific day. Praise God.

You can share with your
children these truths as well,

and just read to them that
particular chapter and ask

them, “All right, I’m gonna
read this chapter to you,”

that’s what I did with Justin
as well, “and then you’re

gonna tell me which one speaks
to you.” It’s very interesting

exercise, amen? You will find
that later on he will tell me,

“That one speaks to me. Yeah,
this one speaks to me. I find

this one speaks to me.” Then I
ask him, “Why does it speak to

you?” Amen? You’ll find that
the same chapter next month

will speak differently, amen?
Different verse will speak to

you. So isn’t it amazing that
God has ordained this way for

us? And another way you
receive wisdom is by

meditating on God’s Word,
amen. The Word that you

receive when you– like for
example, you’re hearing this

sermon right now. Take what
speaks to you, that particular

aspect, and meditate on it.
Take the verse that speaks to

you, amen, that sort of lights
up to you, and meditate on

that verse. Memorize that
verse and start to meditate on

it. You know, Solomon asked
God for wisdom and for a

hearing heart as well, amen?
And also he says, “That I may

discern.” That’s another river
of wisdom. There are many

rivers. There’s–in the
Hebrew, there’s the word

“chakam” for wisdom, and
sometimes in the English Bible

they don’t differentiate, all
right? They’ll say “wisdom”

for quite a few things, but
the main word for wisdom is

“chakam,” but there’s another
river of wisdom from God

called “bin,” and then there’s
also “mada”, and then there’s

also “yada.” “Mada” is
actually–“yada” and “mada” is

the same. There’s also
“sakal”, amen? If you look at

what Solomon asked God, he
asked God for, “an

understanding heart to judge
Your people,” and the word

down there, “judge Your
people,” all right, is that

it’s a good judgment. In other
words, it’s like story of the

two mothers that came,
claiming that the baby is

hers, right? And he wants to
arrive at the righteous

decision, amen, and really
give to the mother, the

rightful mother, that child.
So that is how he judges his

people, not in a negative
sense to condemn people, okay,

but he asked God for “a
hearing heart to judge Your

people.” Notice it’s
unselfish. In fact, earlier on

he says to God, if you read
the first part in his prayer,

he says that, “I’m like a
child.” At that time, he was a

young man, but yet he says,
“I’m like a child; I do not

know how to come in or how to
go out.” You see, God gives

wisdom to people who are
humble, not people who are

proud. In fact, you never ask
God for wisdom, you don’t even

want to read the book of
Proverbs if you think that, “I

can do it. I’ve got it under
control, all right? I don’t

have to read the book of
Proverbs. I don’t have to

listen to anointed sermons. I
don’t have to ask God for

wisdom.” It takes humble
people to ask God for wisdom.

As for me, every day I need
the wisdom of God. Every day,

amen, I need God to give me,
supply me the understanding,

and the knowledge, and the
know-how, amen? After all

these years that I’ve lived,
amen, I still feel like I’m a

child when it comes to the
things of God. When it comes

to even preaching and teaching
and all that, I still ask God

for wisdom, and I’m so
desperate, amen. When I ask

God, there’s a sense of, “I
really need.” Because if God

doesn’t speak to me, if God
doesn’t give me His wisdom,

what can I give you, amen? So
whatever area, or field, or

occupation you are in, or
ministry that you’re in, ask

God for wisdom. God has a
wisdom for success in that

area. Now, notice, the Bible
says that, “The speech pleased

the Lord, that Solomon had
asked this thing.” If you keep

on reading, this is the very
first thing that Solomon did.

It’s a sign that he has
received wisdom, all right? In

verse 15, “Then Solomon awoke;
and indeed it had been a

dream. And he came to
Jerusalem and stood before the

ark of the covenant of the
LORD.” Notice the very first

thing he did was stand before
the Ark of the Covenant of the

Lord. “He offered up burnt
offerings, offered peace

offerings, and made a feast
for all his servants.” Notice

the very first thing, right,
that he did when he woke up,

after he has received wisdom
from God, after he has

received a hearing heart,
amen, the very first thing was

to seek God’s presence, to
seek the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that’s why wise men will
always seek Him, just like the

wise men from the East came to
seek the Baby Jesus. Today,

wise men will still seek
Jesus, amen. Are you seeking

the Lord, amen, especially
seeking the Lord for wisdom,

amen? So the very first sign
that someone has received

wisdom is that he cherished
the person of our Lord Jesus

Christ. He valued the presence
of our Lord Jesus and he will

come to the Lord Jesus. Anyone
coming to the Lord Jesus is a

sign that he has received
wisdom, amen? So we know that

the ark of the covenant is a
picture of our Lord Jesus

Christ, right? I’ve said
before that even the structure

and that furniture being
overlaid with gold, that His

deity because gold is always a
symbol, a type of deity,

divinity. And then it overlays
the wood, acacia wood, which

is incorruptible wood. That is
His humanity. Then we have the

mercy seat. That’s the work of
Jesus on the cross where the

blood is sprinkled. And God
says, “When I see the blood, I

will pass over you,” right?
And God says, “There I’ll meet

with you, there I’ll talk with
you.” Where? Above the mercy

seat, and that’s the holiest
place. So that place that is

the holiest place of all,
that’s where the ark is

placed, in the Holy of Holies.
The holiest place of all, the

greatest holiness, right at
the heart of holiness is

mercy, amen? So grace is the
greatest holiness sermon you

can ever preach, friend,
because mercy seat is found

where? Directly in the center
of the Holy of Holies, the

holiest of all, and it is the
work of our Lord Jesus Christ

at the cross, amen? So the
gold and the wood speaks of

His deity and His humanity.
The mercy seat speaks of His

work at Calvary, amen? And the
blood is shed on the mercy

seat, and that’s where God
says, “I will commune with you

and I will talk with you.”
Praise God. So a sign that

someone has received wisdom,
the very first thing is that

he will seek the Lord’s
presence, amen? So right after

he received wisdom, he sought
Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus,

amen, which is– the ark of
the covenant is a type of–

the reality is our Lord Jesus.
So the sign today that someone

has received wisdom is that
he’s always focused on Jesus,

and he comes to Jesus with
every need, amen, and he

always talks about Jesus.
Praise the Lord. That’s a sign

that someone has received
wisdom, amen? Praise the Lord.

That’s how you gauge it.
Number two, another sign that

someone has received wisdom is
that he becomes even more

humble. You know, in this
chapter, this chapter 3, when

he asked God for wisdom it’s
in chapter 3, but notice what

happens in chapter 4. I used
to read chapter 4 and I didn’t

understand why all the sudden
it became like– chapter 3 was

kind of like interesting to
read how a young man, you

know, had a dream from God and
all that, but in chapter 4 it

was more administrative.
Notice chapter 4, the very

next chapter, it says, “So
King Solomon was king over all

Israel. And these were his
officials: Azariah the son of

Zadok, the priest; Elihoreph
and Ahijah, the sons of

Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat
the son of Ahilud, the

recorder; Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok

and Abiathar, the priests;
Azariah the son of Nathan,

over the officers; Zabud the
son of Nathan, a priest and

the king’s friend; and
Ahishar, over the household;

and Adoniram the son of Abda,
over the labor force.” The

reason I take time to read all
this is that you can sense,

like, it’s just like–you
know, on a superficial reading

it shows, like, you know,
administration, who is in

charge of what, right, who is
placed over which department

in his kingdom, but there is a
reason and a purpose for all

this, all right? Nothing is
without significance in the

Word of God. Every nuance,
every turn, every chapter,

every word has a meaning,
amen? It will seek God for the

wisdom of it. So I used to
read this and think, “Why is

all of a sudden God talk about
administration and all that?”

No, God is telling me, “I’m
still continuing what happens

to a man after he receives
wisdom. First of all, he

values the person of My Son.
Number two, he becomes humble

and he surrounds himself with
people that he can tap into

their advice, into their
counsel, into their wisdom.”

And that’s why it says here,
“And these were his

officials,” verse 2, “Azariah
the son of Zadok, the priest.”

So right after he received
wisdom, he begins to value and

prioritize the person of our
Lord Jesus Christ, amen,

worshipping Him as central in
his life. Number two result of

receiving wisdom is that he
became humble. Now, we said

just now–we showed you that,
“Solomon’s wisdom excelled the

wisdom of all the men of the
East and all the wisdom of

Egypt.” Then it goes on to
say, “He was wiser than all

men–than Ethan,” and all the
rest. These are the wisest men

at that time, during the time
of his father David

especially, and yet the Bible
says he was wiser than all

men. So we see that Solomon’s
wisdom, the wisdom that God

gave him, excelled the wisdom
of all the men of the East. So

you can think of all the
famous men in history from the

East, the wisest men at that
time, and the Bible says

Solomon’s wisdom excelled them
all, and all the wisdom of

Egypt, Egypt being a type of
the world. All the wisdom you

can find in this world today,
Solomon’s wisdom, which is the

wisdom of God given to him,
excels them all. He was wiser

than all men, amen. And all
these men here now is

referring by name to people
who were the wisest men during

the time of his father David,
amen, and yet he excelled them

all. So this wisdom is
preeminent. It’s superior

against all the wisdom you can
find in the world and anyone

else that’s wise. So friend,
ask God for wisdom. Wisdom is

not intellect. It can involve
intellect, and many times it

does, but the wisdom is a
wisdom from God. It comes as a

flow. In fact, you will find
the Holy Spirit is involved.

When you are filled with the
Spirit, you are filled with

wisdom. And here, you find
that Solomon’s wisdom excelled

them all, yet when he received
wisdom from God, the very next

chapter tells us he surrounded
himself–just think of it. He

surrounded himself with people
who would give him advice,

especially people in positions
to give him advice. The very

first person is Azariah the
priest. And why would he need

a priest? I mean, doesn’t he
have direct contact with God?

After all, God appeared to him
in a dream directly. God

appeared to him, God spoke to
him directly. Why would he

need a priest? And yet he was
humble. Now, this speaks to me

today that all of us need a
pastor. We need leaders,

pastors, you know, care
leaders, people who are– we

esteem and respect as people
who hear God, amen? Not that

they are in a position of
authority over us, no, but a

position of feeding us, a
position of responsibility, of

grace over us, amen? As they
hear from God, concerning our

life and whatever they need to
affirm, or even correct, or

warn in our lives, it’s
because it is a direction from

the Lord. We trust them,
especially in their ability to

hear God, and that’s why they
are in our lives, amen? But

many times, you find that when
people think that they are

wise, they are smart, they
don’t ask, you know, any of

their leaders for advice,
amen? They just, you know, run

roughshod into the situation,
and only to find that being

hasty of spirit, like the book
of Proverbs tell us, is to

exalt folly or to exalt
foolishness. Don’t be hasty.

Take your time, especially in
the major decisions of life,

what to embark on. This
financial plan that someone

gave you for you to invest in,
is it really–is it really

good? Is it really from God?
And many times, you look at

your leaders, okay, and you
start thinking, “Well, what do

they know about financial
acumen, you know? What do they

know about financial
intelligence? They are not in

this field.” But then, they
are in the field that covers

all this. They’re in the field
of hearing God, amen, and God

has a Word to say about all
these areas, amen. His wisdom

surpassed all these people in
all these areas, amen. They

can confirm, even if they are
not knowledgeable about that

area. I’ve seen it time and
time again, as they seek the

Lord, they receive from the
Lord the Word that’s needed

for that situation.
Personally, I find that–and I

say this to the glory of God.
I find that many times I’m not

knowledgeable, I’m not
experienced in some of the

areas that people come to me
with for counsel, for help in

the area of their concern, but
it’s an expertise, it’s a

skill, a skill set that I
don’t possess myself. But then

God gives me a Word and that
Word is what sustains them.

That Word is what brings them
out. Friend, you need to have

spiritual leaders around you,
care leaders, or cell group

leaders, or– they function as
people who hear God for you.

And even if they don’t have
that Word right now, there’s

no need to rush into
something. Every time someone

tells you to rush into
something, make that decision

right now, sign on that dotted
line, you know, and there’s a

push to do something, just
stop for awhile and tell

yourself, “He that is hasty of
spirit exalts foolishness,

exalts folly,” amen? It’s
never God’s way. The Bible

says, “He that believeth shall
not make haste,” amen? Relax,

amen, breathe, amen. Take your
time to consult the people

that love you, that God has
surrounded you with. Ask them

to hear God. Ask them to pray
about this, especially your

spouse, amen. There are people
who are–they undertake

financial venture, amen, or
investment, or whatever

without even consulting their
wife. And I know of cases like

this. In fact, a lot of
marriage failures have come

specifically in the area of
finances not handled properly.

And you know, they don’t tell
their wife about using their

money, their money– it’s not
his money, it’s their money,

okay– to invest in something
that they feel their wife have

no knowledge about. You know,
I always like to say that men

are like that, you know?
Sometimes they will go to a

financial conference to listen
to advice, all right, that–

and they pay for it, like $200
for that conference or

whatever it is, and they pay
for it just to hear the same

advice for free at home from
their wives, amen? And you

know, wives, they might not
know everything about your

finances– financial side of
things and all that, but they

have this intuition. God has
given women this special gift

of intuition, amen, and that’s
where God speaks to us. That’s

where they are sensitive. And
they can confirm something

that God is speaking into your
spirit, amen. That’s why Eve

was hanging around the tree of
knowledge of good and evil,

because she was intuitive. And
the devil knew that and the

devil started speaking to her.
Of course, she heard the wrong

voice and she obeyed the wrong
voice, but the thing is this,

nonetheless, doesn’t change
the fact that the devil knew

who to approach, amen, because
of the intuition of that woman

that God has given her. So
just check with your wife.

Make sure she has the peace
before you do anything. You

know, Wendy and I, we have
this agreement. If she doesn’t

feel the peace, I won’t do it.
Even like my decision to go

without salary, all right,
from the church was something

I had to bounce off her and
have her pray, amen. But until

she comes back to me and tells
me she’s okay with it, all

right, then we are in
agreement, I will not embark

on it, all right? We must be
in agreement. The Bible says,

“How can two walk together,
except they be agreed?” So

like I said, there are guys
who, you know, they just want

to get into this financial
investment thing using their

money, all right, the wife’s
money as well, okay, and then

later on, you know, just to
come up with all this coming

back on them with no profit,
you know, and they have lost

thousands of dollars. And then
they explain to their wife and

still there’s this hastiness
to be rich, you know, always

looking for the next fad that
comes along. And friend, the

Bible tells you that if you
are hasty to be rich, you do

not know that poverty is on
its way to you. That’s what

the Bible says. The man who is
hasty to be rich, he has an

evil eye and does not consider
that poverty is coming, all

right? Poverty will come. So
just be aware of this. God

doesn’t want us to be hasty to
be rich, or hasty just in

life, in anything, in
decision-making, all right?

Take your time. Take your time
and hear the voice of God. You

say, “God speaks to me
direct.” Friend, I just

established that from Romans
10, that even the faith that

comes by hearing is hearing
through the voice of a

preacher, the Word of God
through the voice of a

preacher, amen. “How shall
they hear without a preacher?”

But we say, “We can hear
without a preacher. God speaks

to me direct.” Well, not
according to the Bible. The

Bible says, “How shall they
hear without a preacher,”

okay? We know God can speak to
anybody, and at times He does,

all right, but it’s the
exception and not the rule.

The rule is that He speaks to
you clearly through the voice

of your preacher, amen. And
many times it confirms what

you have already in your
spirit, because you hear God.

But the thing is this,
God–it’s like God gives you a

sense on the inside that is to
be confirmed, and God wants

you humble. God wants you
teachable. He doesn’t want

pride to come in, so He will
give you a sensing, an

intuitive feel inside, but He
knows that you’ll be looking

for confirmation. And God
wants to confirm to you that

intuition through the voice of
people that are, number one,

His people, amen, who have the
Holy Spirit in them, and who

love you, who have been placed
in a position of

responsibility over you, okay?
So check with that. And let’s

continue reading that portion.
And it says he also appointed

Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons
of Shisha, scribes, teachers.

Now, he wrote 1,005 songs, all
right? He has many proverbs,

and the Bible says thousands.
And why would a man like that

need scribes? And a scribe in
those days, if you keep on

reading, it says Jehoshaphat
as well, the recorder. Why do

you need a recorder? Scribes
and recorders in those days,

they write down events that
happen so later on they can

tell the king and remind the
king, especially in his later

years, what transpired, what
happened. We learn a lot from

history, okay? Unfortunately
some things that people learn

from history, they learn from
history that they learn

nothing from history, okay?
When history is actually there

to tell you going by this
route has proven fatal in

times past, okay? So, instead
of that, we don’t learn from

history. Just remember,
history is made of His story,

amen? Go to the right one and
you will find wisdom just in

that particular hour of need.
You need a specific direction,

God can speak to you, amen? If
you have some sensing in your

heart that God is speaking to
you, confirm it with someone

that you trust, amen, someone
who is filled with God’s

Spirit as well. Because if you
have the Holy Spirit and they

also have the Holy Spirit, and
together you can come, and

pray, and ask the Lord, and
then you have the

confirmation. Especially in
the areas of major, you know,

decisions of life, amen, make
sure that you hear God for it.

All right, Jehoshaphat the
recorder, again, the recorder

in those days– Today we have
recordings, right? We record

down. And all my sermons, like
I said just now–I speak for

myself because I know myself
best, amen? All my sermons on

Joseph Prince app is all
available down through the

years, amen? Thousands of
sermons is available. So, why?

Because there was a recorder,
amen? It has been recorded. In

those days, they record
manually, amen, the Word of

God, the book of Proverbs. So
he has a recorder, amen?

Again, the scribes and
recorders is to remind him.

But why need a reminder? I
mean, he has the most

brilliant mind. God has given
him wisdom. His memory is a

near-perfect memory. Why would
he need someone to remind him?

And that’s a sign that someone
has received wisdom, amen?

They surround themself with
advisors. They surround

themself with people–the
priests, amen? They surround

themself with recorders to
remind him. You don’t take for

granted all these things just
because you have received the

wisdom of God. In fact, all
this demonstrates that you

have received God’s wisdom,
amen? Praise the Lord. And not

only that, Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada, over the army,

right? Zadok, Abiathar, the
priests. You can also say

that, “Why be concerned about
areas of warfare when God has

given me peace in my kingdom?”
In fact, the Bible says

Solomon never went to war.
During his reign, it was

peaceful. It was a golden era
of Israel, all right, and for

the kingdom. So he never went
to war, yet you find that he

appointed Benaiah over the
army. Why? That’s wisdom,

amen. During times of peace,
when you have an army, amen,

that’s a guarantee for your
outward peace, amen? It’s a

sign to all the nations around
the world not to attack, amen,

and Benaiah, we know from
other places in the Bible,

that this is a mighty warrior
of God, especially during the

time of David. And Zadok and
Abiathar, the priests. Again,

this plural noun. Just now he
had a priest, which is the

pastor, right? And now he has
priests, all the spiritual

overseers, the spiritual
people that God has placed in

his life. So friend, a sign
that you have received wisdom

from God is that you surround
yourself with people who can

speak into your life. And
sometimes it is corrective.

Sometimes when they speak to
you, all right, it’s not

pleasant. For example, from
the book of Proverbs, it says,

“Poverty and shame will come
to him who disdains

correction, but he who regards
a rebuke will be honored.” You

know, today we have a
generation of people, “Don’t

correct me. Don’t tell me what
I did wrong, you know? I don’t

wanna hear it. And I know what
to do.” In fact, the younger

they are, the more they know
what to do. You know, our

children even, especially, and
they believe they know what to

do. And it grieves us because
we look at them and we know

that there’s a better way of
doing that, there’s a better

way of doing this, but yet
they want to go on their own

way, and usually they fall
flat on their face. It’s the

same thing even for adults.
Many times, you know, the

rebuke comes, and the Bible
says, “Open rebuke is better

than secret love,” from the
book of Proverbs again. Open

rebuke is better than someone
saying they love you secretly.

No, God wants you, if you love
someone, you see them going

down the wrong path, correct
them. That is someone who

loves you, amen? Someone who’s
not out for your money,

someone who’s not just out to
benefit themself. They care

for you. Surround yourself
with people like that. And

when they see you going on the
wrong path, they will tell

you, “Look, bro, I love you
enough to tell you this is not

the way to go. This is not the
way to do it,” amen? And time

and time again, we see in our
counseling and all that,

families break down because of
the father, you know, all of a

sudden going on a wrong path,
amen. It might start with a

little flirtation and then
later on became an affair, all

because no one came in. When
they saw the thing happening,

they saw them flirting, no one
came in and said, “Bro, what

you’re doing, you are saying
those kind of things to a girl

who’s not even your wife. Come
on, what’s happening, bro? I

can see it,” amen? You need
people like this in church.

You need people to tell you
straight, amen, because they

love you, amen? Or you see
someone, you know, and they

are investing in a business
that is not moral, that is not

right. And I’m speaking from
experience here. I know of

families that break down
because the husband wanted to

become rich quickly, and they
feel like they are in for a

good deal, even though the
wife says no. The wife doesn’t

feel peaceful about it. And
the Bible says clearly in the

book of Proverbs, “He that
gathers by labour shall

increase,” amen? But no, I
don’t want a labor way. I just

want the easy way. I know I
can make money by this

whatever fad that comes.
Friend, the Bible says,

“Blessed is the man who walks
not in the counsel of the

ungodly.” Notice the ungodly,
they have counsel. It’s not

that they don’t have counsel,
but the Bible says what?

“Blessed is the man who walks
not in the counsel of the

ungodly.” They will tell you
how to spend your money, how

to invest your money, but if
they are people who are not

filled with God’s Spirit and
you don’t bare witness with–

even if they are Christians
telling you to do that, but

you feel like there’s a check
in your spirit, check with

someone who doesn’t have a
private interest, amen, in

this venture. Ask someone who
can be neutral, who can ask

the Lord for you, so that
together you can confirm that

this is of God, someone you
respect. Like we established

just now, all right, surround
yourself with people like

this, your care group leaders,
your pastors, amen, before you

make a major decision,
especially one that involves a

lot of money, or a change of
location, or a change of

career, amen? It’s important
you listen and listen to the

wisdom of God in them, amen?
But friend, don’t walk in the

counsel of the ungodly. And
the Bible says, instead, walk

in the Word of God, amen? And
where do you find the Word of

God? You find the Word of God
from the Bible. You find the

Word of God, the rhema Word,
the specific Word, in the– in

your spirit, in your heart, to
be confirmed by all those that

God has placed in
responsibility over you, in

shepherding over you, amen?
Praise the Lord. And the Bible

says the result of, the same
chapter that starts with,

“Blessed is the man who walks
not in the counsel of the

ungodly,” ends with, “Whatever
he doeth shall prosper.” So

don’t walk in the counsel of
the ungodly. Meditate on God’s

Word, amen, day and night and
you will prosper. Your leaf

will not wither and whatever
you do prospers, amen? So the

wisdom that we are talking
about is a wisdom from God, my

friend. It’s a wisdom from
God. Remember Joseph. The

Bible tells us that when
Joseph was a slave in Egypt

and he was thrown into prison
because of false accusation,

and in prison he interpreted a
butler’s dream, and he

reminded the butler, “When you
are released, don’t forget to

mention me, all right? I’m
still in prison. Mention a

good word about me so that I
can be released from this

place, because I’m thrown here
because of a lie.” But that

butler forgot Joseph, but God
never forgot Joseph, praise

the Lord, and God will never
forget you, amen. So the Bible

says, “At the end of two full
years, Pharaoh had a dream.”

And he had two dreams in one
night. The first dream, he saw

seven cows. They were
good-looking and plump, fat

cows, healthy cows. And the
Bible says that these cows

came out of the river, right,
and they were healthy-looking,

plump. Then all of a sudden,
seven other cows came out, and

they were ugly, and they were
gaunt, and they were so

scrawny. And these thin,
scrawny cows ate up the seven

cows, okay? You know, dreams
usually is symbolic and they

don’t make natural sense,
okay? Then he slept again. And

then he had another dream, and
this time he dreamt of seven

ears of corn, of wheat, right?
And from one stalk came seven

heads, and the seven heads
were plump, all right? They

were plump. It means full of
wheat, amen, and full of

kernel. So that means it’s a
healthy harvest. And then he

had–he saw another seven
ugly, blighted, withered

heads, seven heads of grain
that were withered, blasted by

the east wind, the Bible says.
And then these seven, you

know, withered heads ate up
the plump heads. So he slept.

And he was thinking when he
woke up, “What is this dream

all about?” And again, the
butler that Joseph interpreted

for was summoned, and when the
butler was before Pharaoh, he

says, “It’s my fault, you
know, not to mention this

earlier, but there was a young
Hebrew and he interpreted my

dream correctly. It all came
to pass.” So they got Joseph

out of prison and Joseph heard
the dream, and this is what

Joseph said. “And the dream
was repeated to Pharaoh twice

because the thing is
established by God, and God

will shortly bring it to
pass.” You know, I have a

special thing that, you know,
down through the years I would

dream sometimes. Not all my
dreams are of God. Most of

them are not, okay, but there
have been times that God will

give me dreams. And if it’s a
dream from God, usually it

will happen twice, all right?
“The dream was repeated to

Pharaoh twice,” Joseph said,
“because the thing is

established by God, and God
will shortly bring it to pass.

Now therefore, let Pharaoh
select a discerning and wise

man, and set him over the land
of Egypt.” Do you remember

that Joseph, earlier on his
life, he had dreams from God,

but he was not able to
interpret. Many of us are in

the place where we feel like
there’s something significant

about a dream, a prophecy, or
something that God spoke to

us, but we are not able to
really interpret it, or you

know, make sense of it in a
way that we can understand. So

what is happening here?
There’s a difference. Even

King Nebuchadnezzar, the most
powerful kingdom at that time,

all right, the king of
Babylon, he had a dream from

God, but he was not able to
interpret. He had to have

Daniel come in to interpret
the dream. He had to have

God’s man to come in to
interpret the dream. So the

ability to interpret is
something from God, uniquely

from God. To dream a dream can
be for any man, and they don’t

have to be filled with God’s
Spirit. They can just be, you

know, having that dream and
just dream, but they are not

able to interpret. So there’s
a difference. At one time,

Joseph was not able to
interpret. He had a dream and

he was not able to interpret
it. And he just told his

brothers, “I saw you all
bowing before me,” and all

that, but he was not able to
interpret it, okay? But later

on, he was able to interpret
dreams. What was the

difference? The difference was
this: The ability to interpret

came after he said no to
Potiphar’s wife with all her

seductions, right? He said no,
and there is something about

this. There’s something about
walking with God and not

sinning. The Bible says, for
example, “Whoever commits

adultery destroys his soul,”
all right? His soul here is

not just your life, but
also–it can mean life, but

also “soul” is the realm of
the mind and the emotions. The

more you indulge in fleshly
lusts, you’re into porn, and

you are into adultery, or
whatever, let me tell you

this, your mind cannot think
straight. You’re not able to

make good decisions. I find
many times people who are

involved in fleshly lust, they
become more and more ignorant.

They become more and more
unintelligent. They become, in

other words, stupid, okay? The
Bible says it’s stupid to do

all these things. Whoever does
these things, right, destroys

his soul. So his soul was
okay, but he destroys it. So

the ability to–notice the
ability to interpret. Any man

can have a dream from God. God
can give a man a dream even

though he’s not a believer,
and yet the ability to

interpret it is only for those
who will walk with God, amen?

So we find that Joseph said no
to the fleshly lust, amen, and

after that he was able to
interpret even though he was

in prison, all right? That
came to pass. I thought that’s

an important note for us to
take account of. And over

here, you find that Joseph
said about the two dreams,

they are actually one dream,
he told Pharaoh. And that

means the fat cows and all
that, and the fat ears of

grain, right, signify seven
years of plenty, all right?

There’ll be seven years of
plenty. The harvest will bring

forth plentifully. There’ll be
a bumper crop. And for seven

years, it’s gonna be just wave
after wave of bumper crop.

After that will come, all
right, seven cows, scrawny and

ugly, and they will eat up the
cows. In other words, there’ll

be seven years of famine.
Right now, prophetically

speaking, we are in a famine.
We’re in a recession and it’s

global. So we’re in a famine,
and God has wisdom for us

here. And the famine of Joseph
was such that all the seven

years of plenty was forgotten.
But then God never gives a

dream without giving us wisdom
to apply it in our lives, and

God gives wisdom to who? In
the case of Nebuchadnezzar,

God did not give it to him.
God gave it to His man,

Daniel, the man of the hour,
amen? God gave him wisdom and

then he was able to interpret
the dream and prepare King

Nebuchadnezzar for what was to
come, okay? In fact, even

establishing his identity as
someone that God raised him

for such a time as the time
that Daniel was in and to know

what he should do, okay? So
every time God gives a dream

to an unbeliever, only a
believer, a man who is filled

with God’s Spirit, is able to
interpret it, and then that

gives you a connection there.
At the same time, during

famine, God’s people always
rise to the top, and God will

give them the wisdom and the
Word for that season, for that

time. And this is what
happened as well when Joseph

gave the interpretation to
Pharaoh. Joseph says, “Prepare

yourself, all right? Let
Pharaoh do this.” Now, in a

way, Joseph was not
recommending himself, yet he

was, right? He said, “Let
Pharaoh select a discerning

and wise man, and set him over
the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh

do this, and let him appoint
officers over the land, to

collect one-fifth,” that’s
20%, “of the produce of the

land of Egypt in the seven
plentiful years. And let them

gather all the food of those
good years that are coming,

and store up grain,” okay? So
here, the wisdom was to

appoint a discerning and wise
man, and set him over the land

of Egypt. Now, Joseph wasn’t
saying, “I recommend myself

for the job, okay? I
volunteer.” No, he says, “Let

Pharaoh select a discerning
and wise man.” And this is

what Pharaoh should do, ensure
that during the seven years of

plenty, set aside– with every
harvest, set aside 20%. Set

aside 20%. Live off the rest,
amen, sell off the rest, but

store up the 20%. So this is
what Joseph advised Pharaoh,

“And look for a wise,
discerning man that you can

put in charge of this.” Notice
Pharaoh’s response. “So the

advice was good in the eyes of
Pharaoh and in the eyes of all

his servants. And Pharaoh said
to his servants, ‘Can we find

such a one as this, a man in
whom is the Spirit of God?'”

Notice, a man who is wise and
discerning, here Pharaoh says

something quite prophetic,
right? We know that it’s

prophetic because he discerned
correctly. He says, “Can we

find such a one as this,”
pointing to Joseph, “a man in

whom is the Spirit of God?” It
goes to show that a discerning

and wise man is a man in whom
God’s Spirit dwells. “Then

Pharaoh said to Joseph,
‘Inasmuch as God has shown you

all this, there is no one as
discerning and wise as you.'”

And it goes on to say, “You
shall be over my house, and

all my people shall be ruled
according to your word; only

in regard to the throne will I
be greater than you.” Wow,

just in a short while, Joseph,
who was brought out from

prison is now the most
powerful man beside Pharaoh,

okay? Pharaoh says, “Only in
the throne will I be greater

than you,” so he’s the number
two man in the whole realm of

that kingdom. And the kingdom
of Egypt at that time was the

most powerful kingdom at that
time. So with the wisdom of

God, he rose through the
ranks. And friend, that’s

where you find God’s wisdom
will propel you into a place

of promotion. I’m not talking
about for pride–you know, for

proud reasons and all that.
Would to God that we stop

praying just for a job and
pray for a position, a

position of influence that we
can impact many lives for our

Lord Jesus, amen? Don’t just
pray for a job, don’t just

pray for, you know, something
that you just wanna live by,

but pray that you might be an
influence to many people.

Remember later on, Joseph said
to his brothers that, “God

sent me here to save many
people,” amen, “to save many,

many lives,” amen? So he
realized he has a greater call

than just fulfilling a job. So
friend, that’s you and I as

well, but I wanna point to you
this thing in closing. Joseph

recommended a man who is
discerning and wise. That’s

what he advised Pharaoh. Now,
Pharaoh says, “Well, who can

find a better man than you? A
man in whom is God’s Spirit

and a discerning and wise
man.” And he became–he was

promoted. This word
“discerning” in the Hebrew is

the word “bin.” And the word
“wise” is the word “chakam.”

Now, why am I showing you
this? Because it’s very

interesting that this word
“bin” was also used in the

prayer of Solomon, “That I may
discern,” okay? It says “bin.”

It’s the same word in the
Hebrew, “That I may discern,”

discerning man. Wise, chakam,
chakam. But also, remember

that there is a translation of
the Old Testament in Greek.

Your Old Testament is actually
in Hebrew, translation in the

Hebrew, and your New Testament
is written in Greek, right?

But there’s Old Testament
translation of Greek which is

the Septuagint version. If you
look at the Septuagint

version, it says–where it
says, “A discerning and wise

man,” the word “bin” for
“discerning” is the word

“phronimos.” Phronimos. And
the word “chakam” for “wise”

is the word “sunetos.” Now,
“phronimos” is very

interesting because
“phronimos” means someone who

is sharp, all right, in his
discernment, someone who is

very discerning, someone who
is able to look at the true

nature of things. And there’s
a–he’s a sagacious person, a

person who is recognized for
his prudence. He’s able to see

things before it happens,
amen. Discerning, “phronimos,”

very interesting word. And
“chakam,” wise, “chakam” in

the Hebrew, the Greek is
“sunetos.” “Sunetos” means,

literally, someone who is able
to take two and two, bring it

together to find the solution,
amen? He’s able to put two and

two together and conclude. And
this is what Solomon had also

when the two women came to
him, all right, claiming that

the baby is hers. He was able
to put two things together and

come up with the right answer,
the right mother actually. So

here, this word “sunetos” is
interesting because we find

this word– this is in the
adjective form, “sunetos,” but

in its verb form, it’s found
here in Joshua 1:8. In Joshua

1:8, again, just like Solomon,
Joshua is about to fill up a

big pair of shoes. Moses has
died and gone on to be with

the Lord, and he’s gonna fill
up Moses’ shoes, right? I

mean, anyone who would
intimidated by that. But the

very first instruction God
gave him was this, “This Book

of the Law will not depart
from his mouth.” God says,

“Don’t let this Book of the
Law depart from your mouth.”

What does it mean? Mutter on
it. Memorize it and mutter on

it. “You shall meditate in it
day and night.” And the word

“meditate” is the word
“hagah,” which is to mutter on

it, meditate. You know when
you are–like, you’re talking

to yourself, you’re thinking
or you’re planning something,

you talk to yourself, right?
That is God’s way of

meditation, amen? Meditation
is not emptying your mind.

Meditation is filling your
mind with God’s Word, with

substance, amen, of power,
substance of grace, amen. You

meditate on it day and night.
And God says the result will

be, “For then you will make
your way prosperous, and then

you will have good success.”
Now, this word “good success”

in the Hebrew is the word
“sakal,” but in the Greek it

is the word “suniemi.” Now, it
sounds like “sunetos” because

it’s the same word actually.
“Sunetos” is the adjective in

the Greek and “suniemi” is the
verb. So in other words, when

you meditate on God’s Word day
and night, you will make your

way prosperous and you will
have good success, suniemi,

amen? How do you get suniemi?
Just like Joseph, all right,

he had suniemi. He had
sunetos, amen, putting two and

two together. He’s able to
discern. He’s able to put even

literally the two dreams as
one, and he’s able to see the

answer. That comes from
sunetos. It’s one of the

rivers of God’s wisdom that
God releases into your life

when you have sunetos.
“Sunetos,” again, is the

adjective. In the verb form,
it is “suniemi.” So here, you

have suniemi, good success,
sakal. Very interesting word,

“sakal,” because you find
David behaved himself in a

sakal way. When it says,
“David behaved himself

wisely,” all right, that is
“sakal,” amen, “suniemi.”

Praise the Lord, amen. So how
do you have suniemi in your

life? How do you have this
sakal in your life? How do you

have this wisdom to put two
and two together when others

are not able to even reconcile
them and see the solution? God

says by meditating on His Word
day and night. Another way of

meditating of course is also
to hear sermons, amen, day and

night. You know, if the devil
is bombarding you with

depressive thoughts, and dark
thoughts, and negative

thoughts all day long, “You’ll
not be well. This disease is

gonna kill you. And this is
what happened to so-and-so.

That’s what happened to
so-and-so,” and you don’t keep

your mind. How do you do that?
If the devil is bombarding you

24 hours, okay, a day, 24/7,
okay, let me tell you this,

it’s time for you to meditate
on God’s Word. Listen to God’s

Word day and night. And when
you’re not listening to God’s

Word, meditate on what you
have listened to. Meditate on

God’s Word. Mutter it under
your breath, because the devil

is not playing fair. He’s
bombarding you all day and

night. You need to meditate
God’s Word day and night,

praise God. This is one of the
greatest pleasures in my own

personal life. I’ve done this
for many years, take a verse

to meditate on. You know, when
I wake up in the middle of the

night, and I don’t care
whether it’s because I ate the

wrong kind of food, or too
much coffee, or the devil is

trying to disturb my sleep,
but if I wake up in the middle

of the night, one of the
things I always do is always

to meditate, meditate on God’s
Word. Oh, I pray in the

Spirit. I don’t stay up there
and worry about not having

enough sleep and what’s gonna
happen in the day. You know,

many times in the dark moments
of the night, you find your

thoughts going astray. You’ll
find your thoughts getting

very dark, just like the
darkness around you, but

friend, that’s the time you
need to focus on God’s Word.

You need to make your mind
focus on God’s Word and start

muttering it, amen? Muttering
helps to control your mind to

focus on something. You know,
people do not know how to

focus nowadays. They have so
many distractions all around

them. And meditating on God’s
Word will make you focus,

focus on that one verse, focus
on the word in that verse,

amen? It will help your
concentration, which is a key

to success in life which is
sadly lacking in today’s

generation, in today’s world,
because they are so pulled in

so many directions and there’s
a lot of distractions out

there. So friend, meditation
will give you, what? Suniemi,

amen, the ability to put two
and two together and see the

wisdom of God in it. It’s one
of the branches of God’s

wisdom. I wanna close with
this Word: “You will make your

way prosperous,” tsalach,
amen? In the Hebrew, it’s the

word “tsalach.” And in the
Greek, the word here is

“euodoo.” “Euodoo” is used in
3 John 2, “Beloved, I wish

above all things that you
prosper and be in health, even

as your souls prosper.” All
right, the word “prosper”

there is the word “euodoo,”
okay? Same over here. In

Hebrew, it is “tsalach.” And
very interesting, this word

“tsalach” is used also
when–in the Old Testament, it

says the Spirit of God came
upon Samson and Samson did

this exploit. The Spirit of
God came on Samson in another

occasion and he did this, he
did that, all right? The word

there for coming upon Samson
is the word, “The Spirit of

God ‘tsalach’ on Samson.”
Later on, the Spirit of God

“tsalach” on Saul, and also
David. When David was anointed

by Samuel the Prophet, the
Bible says, “The Spirit of the

LORD came upon David.” The
word “came upon David” is the

word “The Spirit of the LORD
‘tsalach’ David.” What does

that mean? Success and the
Holy Spirit are together.

Whatever areas of life you
wanna be successful in, you

wanna be prosperous in, amen,
you can trust the Holy Spirit

will bring you there, amen?
He–the Holy Spirit coming on

you is tsalaching, amen?
Tsalaching, the Hebrew word,

all right? Tsalach. He will
tsalach. He will prosper your

way, amen. Even in your
marriage, in your

relationships with your
friends, with your colleagues

and people around you, He will
tsalach those relationships,

amen. He will tsalach your
parenting with your children.

He will tsalach your business
life. He will tsalach every

area of your life, especially,
amen, in the area of soul,

because as your soul prospers,
so you are in health and then

you prosper outwardly. That’s
what 3 John 2 tells us, amen?

So I pray in Jesus’s name that
you will become that

discerning and wise man, that
you will become that man that

has the “chakam,” that has the
“bin,” or in the Greek, that

has the “sunetos,” as well as
also the one who has the

“phronimos,” amen? Someone who
is wise and discerning,

someone who is able to flow
with what God is doing in this

occasion. And remember that
when God gives a dream, God

gives a prophecy, whatever,
it’s to prosper His people,

amen? There’s a verse in the
Bible, in the book of Ezra, it

says that, “God’s people
prospered through the

prophesying of Haggai and
Zechariah.” So these two

prophets was raised, amen, and
prophesying is today like

hearing a sermon being
preached to you, amen? It will

prosper you. It will “tsalach”
you, amen, just like the

people of God prospered
because of the prophesying of

the prophets in those days,
amen. I pray that you will be

a discerning and wise man, a
man who prospers in his way.

Something interesting about
the word “prosperous” also, in

the Greek it’s actually the
prosperous journey. So that

tells us prosperity or
success, amen, is not an end.

It is actually a journey,
amen? While you are journeying

to the end, amen, you are
prospering in your way. Praise

the Lord. So my friends, ask
God for wisdom. In every

venture, in every endeavor,
ask God for wisdom. You know,

I ask God for wisdom every
day, because every day I see

my need, I see my lack, and I
need God. I need His wisdom

desperately, amen? May you
also find yourself every day

in that place, in that place
of being humble, being

teachable, and asking God for
wisdom, amen? God is more

willing to give you wisdom
than you want it. And then

number two, all right, once
you know that you value the

person of Jesus, all of a
sudden you see, “My goodness,

Jesus is what all this thing
is all about. I want to love

Him more. I want to worship
Him more. I want to know Him

more,” amen. That’s a sign
that you have received wisdom.

All of a sudden Jesus becomes
central in your life. Every

sermon you hear, you want to
hear Jesus in that sermon,

amen? And then another result
of knowing that you have

received wisdom is this: All
of a sudden you are willing to

hear advice, advice from
people who are spiritual,

people that are flowing with
God, amen, especially your

leaders in your local church,
amen? You start listening. You

start bouncing off them. If
God is directing you, if it’s

God, you can bounce off them
and hear the same thing. It’s

like a word of confirmation,
amen? You will surround

yourself with people that are
like-minded, people who have

the Holy Spirit just like you
have, and you will bounce off

them, especially in the areas
of major decisions in your

life, amen. Have them pray
together with you, like the

book of Acts. The Bible says
time and time again, “Being

let go, they went to their own
company. Being let go, they

went to the–” always to
gather together, “And they

prayed with one accord.”
Notice the togetherness,

togetherness in the early
church, all right? That’s how

they operate in wisdom. That’s
why, “Great grace was upon

them all. And with great power
they gave witness to the

resurrection of the Lord
Jesus.” Praise the Lord,

hallelujah. Father, in Jesus’s
name, I thank You for everyone

that’s hearing this word right
now, Father. I pray, Father

God, that You will raise
discerning and wise men and

women out of this sermon,
Lord. I pray, Father, in

Jesus’s name You will raise a
whole new generation of

Josephs, Daniels, and
Solomons, Father, with a good

ending, Father, hallelujah,
amen. Praise the Lord. And

Father, I pray that You will
fill them, Father, with Your

“chakam,” with Your “bin,”
with Your “phronimos,” and

with Your “sunetos.” Father, I
pray You will fill them with

every branch of Your wisdom,
that they will operate not

with fleshly wisdom, not with
human logic, but with the

wisdom of God. I pray You will
prosper them, Lord, in all

that they undertake. May their
lives make a turn right now

because as they receive Your
wisdom, Father, I pray they

will continue, Lord, to walk
with You and to continue that

wisdom, Lord. Not as Solomon
did, Lord, but as Jesus did,

Lord, to the end of His life,
the Author and Finisher of our

faith. And prosper their
journey, prosper all the way

until we see You, Lord Jesus,
face to face. In Jesus’s name

I ask, amen.

I hope you enjoyed today’s
episode, but don’t go just

yet. If you’d like to receive
prayer, share your testimony,

or find out more about Gospel
Partner, just click the link

on this screen. If not, I’ll
see you in the next episode.