Throughout my years in church, there have been many buzz-words, catchphrases, and confusing terminology that have been used. One of the most insidious has been “blind faith”. This term has been misunderstood and even twisted over the years to mean something very dangerous. Believing anything as being from God without any confirmation or solid foundation from scripture. With this kind of blind faith, every feeling is from God, every emotion is a divine sign and every word is the leading of the spirit – and this has led many believers astray because they do not understand the concept of Scripture which we will be studying today.

As you might have determined, God has something different to say about proper spiritual leading, and the scriptures actually do not teach “blind faith” at all. Jesus healed the blind, both physically and spiritually. He calls Himself the Good Shepherd, and a shepherd never wants the sheep to heed any voice indiscriminately. So today we will be looking at God’s direction on how to apply wisdom to our walk, and as we see the truth of Jesus in this area, we will no longer wander aimlessly into pits in our life, but we will be led on safe paths by our Good Shepherd.

As we begin our study today, it is always essential to lay the foundation first. Nothing can ever be built without a proper support base. So let’s get right into the scripture, starting with 1^st Corinthians 1:30-31:

“But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made to us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

Now we have already studied this verse in detail in previous teachings, and I would encourage you to request those as well because they will bless you greatly. For now, however, allow me to focus your attention on one single detail. Before any other item in the list of verse 30, Christ Jesus is first made to us wisdom.

You see my friends, there are many people today who are trying to use Jesus to obtain the other items in the list without first receiving wisdom. Always remember this: that whenever you see an itemized list in the Bible, there is always a Divine Order to the items. What we can learn from verse 30 here, is that wisdom always comes before the other things listed in the verse… before we can have righteousness, sanctification or redemption, we must first receive wisdom.

At first you might be tempted to ask why wisdom is so important, but think about it… There are few things more disturbing than seeing an unwise person with power. Can you imagine a person lacking knowledge and sense ruling over a kingdom? It’s not a very pleasant idea. The Bible says it this way in Proverbs 26:1:

“As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not seemly for a fool.”

So if this is the way God thinks, He certainly will not treat His own children in such a way. After all, it would not be a very good idea to promote people who are foolish. It’s not good here in earthly kingdoms or even businesses, and it also is not good for the True Kingdom in Heaven. We all want to be promoted, right? So then, to avoid the fate of a foolish person, we must understand God’s definition of a foolish person. Proverbs 14:15, gives us a simple explanation to start with:

“The simple believes every word: but the prudent man looks well to his going.”

This is not just referring to physical words that men speak to us – although that is certainly part of it, but this verse is also referring to every inclination, impulse and emotion that tries to hook our attention and lead us down paths other than where God is directing us to go. The foolish person believes that every emotion and desire is “the Holy Spirit tugging on their heart”, they believe that every impulse is a Divine Direction, and that every word they hear is God speaking to them. Please understand my dear friends, that these kinds of people will always be wandering from one thing to the next aimlessly and they will fall into one trap after another because they truly have no direction at all. Even if they claim to be believers, God is really not their Lord because they have no real leader other than their human senses and passions.

A foolish person never truly prepares or makes plans by the advice or leading of God, because they are always being tossed wherever their emotions throw them. They may say that they are being led by God, but what they mistake as God is really their own heart and desire. However, Proverbs 20:24-25 tells us that this is never a wise thing to allow to happen:

“Each step of a man is of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

It is a snare to a man to quickly call something ‘Holy!’, and after committing to it, to then make inquiry.”

Take a good look at verse 25. The Bible clearly says that it is a trap for a person to rashly say that something is holy and from the Lord, without proper consideration or examination. I have done that a few times in my past, and each time it was a very troubling and painful experience. And only by repentance (changing my mind to agree with God) and accepting His grace was He then able to deliver me.

In verse 24, we can see the proper leading is always of the LORD. What this means is that we should always seek His guidance and direction for every path we take and every decision that we make. Now those who were here for our recent study on the Name of God, know that when you see LORD in all capital letters in your Bible, it is a placeholder for the name of God YHVH, which as we learned points us to Jesus. So we understand that verse 24 is telling us to consult Jesus in every part of our life. This is simply making Him the leader of our life as He rightfully should be. Furthermore, we know from John 1:1, that Jesus and the Scriptures are one and the same, and to consult Jesus is to consult the Word of God. Therefore in the most basic of ways, verse 24 is telling us to consult the Scriptures before we commit to anything or make any decision. This is making Jesus Lord of our life, this is making Him the leader and giving Him first honor. Otherwise we are being led by something other than Him.

This has been the example all throughout the Bible, consider Psalms 119:103-105:

“How sweet are your words to my taste! yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Through your precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”

Here is an example of someone who loves Jesus, someone who loves the Word of God. He says through your precepts I get understanding. And notice that only after the receiving of understanding from the Word does he then hate every false way.

We also see that the Word of God is what illuminates each step and guides us along the path. Without proper instruction and guidance, without the Word of God we never know the right way, and we are just as the fool; wandering from one way to the next, falling into pits and stumbling.

Now it’s interesting that verse 105 says that the Word of God is a lamp and a light. We know that Jesus calls Himself the Light of the World in several places in scripture. Let’s also cross-reference this with Proverbs 4:19:

“The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.”

We can see that the the way of the wicked is a path of darkness and they do not know what they even stumble over because there is no light, there is no Jesus, so they have no wisdom or knowledge to guide them. Take a look at Proverbs 10:32:

“It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding has wisdom.”

That word “sport” in the original Hebrew, means joy and laughter. And the word “mischief”, in the Hebrew, is wickedness.

Fools not only travel paths of wickedness, they enjoy it. There was a time in my life when I enjoyed my sin. There was a time in my life when I felt like I needed my idols and my desires; a time when I thought that I would die without them. In the end however, they actually were what was killing me. The Bible says that there is pleasure in sin for a season (Hebrews 11:25) , but in the end it hurts us more than we can ever imagine. This is why God desires to lead us. He leads us down right and safe paths (Psalms 23).

There is one more thing about the fool for us to see today, turn now to Proverbs 26:11-12:

“As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.

See you a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.”

I had a dog once. And occasionally the dog would vomit. If for some reason, it was not cleaned up immediately, sure enough about five minutes later, that dog would be there licking-up its own vomit and then repeating the cycle.

Gross? Yes. Foolish? Absolutely!

This is the imagery that the Holy Spirit chooses to use to reveal the nature of the fool to us. A person who never learns, even from their own actions and consequences. Even after the trouble has passed, they walk right into it a moment later because as we have learned their way is darkness and they do not even see what they are tripping on.

Next in verse 12, with an almost sarcastic tone, we see that those who are wise in their own conceit, they have less hope than a fool to come to the truth. Because someone who is prideful and conceited gives no place to God at all, they see God as lower than themselves. The word “conceit” used in verse 12, is the Hebrew word ayin, meaning “eye”, but notice that it is one eye and not two; it is the eye of the mind, and so this is again teaching us that anyone who trusts in their own reasoning and thinking above what the Word of God says, is on a path to destruction. This brings us to the heart of the matter (pardon the pun). The very heart of a foolish person, together with everything else we have seen is summed-up in Proverbs 28:26:

“He that trusts in his own heart is a fool: but whoever walks wisely, he shall be delivered.”

This is the heart of a fool, and this is unfortunately what we see so much of today. In church and out of church, people everywhere are following their own hearts instead of God. The Bible has said it in a variety of ways and we have also studied it in a variety of ways these past few weeks. What then is the solution? How do we know when something is the voice of God or when it’s our own heart? The good news is that we are not left to wonder or guess… The Bible tells us how to rightly discern the leading of the Spirit in Hebrews 4:12:

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

We see here that it is the Word of God, the Scriptures, the Bible that discerns between soul (your mind and emotions) and the spirit (the part of you that communicates with God)

To truly have Jesus leading your life, you must allow Him to lead! You must bring every thought, every idea, every feeling and every emotion into subjection to the Word of God, and if something doesn’t line up with the Word, you should throw it away.

Now you might say, “James, that’s extreme! I believe the spirit is more of a feeling on the inside!”

No my friend, it’s not extreme, it’s what the Bible says. And Jesus Himself tells us where the Holy Spirit can be found, in John 6:63-66:

“It is the spirit that vivifies; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life.

But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

And he said, Therefore said I to you, that no man can come to me, except it were given to him of my Father.

From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.”

We see that Jesus plainly says in verse 63, that the words which He speaks are Spirit and Life, and the place where we find the Words of Jesus today is in our Bible, the Scriptures. To be filled with the Scriptures is to be filled with the Spirit, and the scriptures will always verify or reject any other word that we might receive. The scriptures will expose lies,  the scriptures will bring into the light any evil intent or desire and expose it. Many people try to make the leading of the Spirit to be a mystical, ethereal thing. But Jesus makes it simple, His Word is Spirit and life. To be led by and filled with the Spirit is to be led by and filled with His Word, the Scriptures.

In verse 64, we see that Jesus already knows who they are who do not really believe this word. Those who still love and cling to their feelings and emotions, are only really deceiving themselves, because He already knows. But I thank God that He has made the recognizing and leading of His Holy Spirit simple, and that today we can be certain of what His will is and not have to guess what His will is. It is all written down for us.

In closing, verses 65 and 66. My dear friends, while every religion of the world is man trying to reach for God, a true relationship with Jesus always begins with God reaching for us. It was true for me, when He revealed Himself to me as I was at my lowest point with no more of myself to cling to. And I know that this teaching today is difficult for many of you because you may have believed all your life that the Holy Spirit was some kind of feeling or emotion on the inside of you, but my friends, we know quite plainly that feelings and emotions are the realm of the heart which leads many to destruction (Jeremiah 17:9). The only solid foundation upon which to stand and the only true voice of our Good Shepherd is that of Jesus Christ, and His Words are found in your Bible.

So I encourage you today, do not cling to your heart or your emotions any longer. Do not walk away as so many did in verse 66. These scriptures which we have studied today were written by God to benefit us all, to rescue us from our own foolishness and bring us into wisdom. It’s the wisdom of God for you in Jesus Christ.