Bill Johnson - How Childlike Trust Qualifies You
We all have God as our Father; we all have One whom we can absolutely trust 100% of the time, and He will lead us literally from glory to glory. He leads us from one realm of wisdom to another realm, from one place of understanding to a greater place. What you and I have to do is steward what He gives us well. Hey, welcome back! Glad you’re joining us. Today, we’re going to start in the Book of Proverbs. We can only take a few verses out of each chapter, so it’s not a verse-by-verse study by any means.
Here’s where I want to start: in Proverbs chapter 1, verse 8, it says, «My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother. There will be a graceful ornament on your head and chains around your neck.» It then goes on to say, «My son, if sinners entice you…» etc. Here’s where I wanted to start today: approaching wisdom as a child is what sets us up to learn quickly. We see it in Solomon. If you remember a couple of weeks ago, we read out of 1 Kings 3, where he says in response to the Lord who shows up in the night, «I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.» We were just discussing here how old Solomon was when he became king—the opinions differ but they range from maybe the age of 12 all the way up to 20. The point is that he viewed himself as not qualified in and of himself.
I know very few people who feel qualified on their own. In fact, if you feel qualified for what God has called you to do, perhaps you haven’t yet discovered what God has called you to do because He tends to put us in positions that are above our heads, beyond our natural abilities and capacities. Really, that’s how we learn to pray, how we learn to trust, and how we learn to depend on Him. We see this in the New Testament with Peter, the rough-hewn individual assigned to the Jews, and Paul, the Jewish scholar assigned to the Gentiles. It’s an unusual process that God takes us through to ensure that we remain people of trust, who trust Him completely.
So, this begins with a cry of absolute dependency on the Lord. Sometimes, we grow—Jesus said that maturity in the kingdom is to become like a child. Sometimes, we actually grow in the opposite direction; we grow out of dependency into great knowledge and great insight, which I do think is important. But it should never make us independent or remove the element of trust in our relationship with the Lord. The thing you find with children is that they are dependent on Mom and Dad for putting food on the table. They depend on them to go to work during the day and to be able to pay for the house payment or the rent—whatever it might be. The point is there’s an absolute dependency that a child has.
I was thinking just a minute ago about Psalm 131. Let me see if I have it here. He says, «Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty; nor do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me.» That’s an extraordinary psalm from David, who must have been the most powerful man on the planet in his lifetime. Yet, he is saying he does not concern himself with matters too great for him. I think the point is he’s not putting himself down; it’s not self-degradation or self-criticism. Rather, he emphasizes something that would become the hallmark of the believer in the New Testament: childlike trust in God. He says, «I do not consider myself qualified to handle the big matters.»
So, where did Solomon pick up this trait? When the Lord showed up, he said, «I’m just a child; I don’t know how to go out or come in.» Where did he learn that? He learned it from his father, who was powerful—a warrior, a priest in the sense that he ministered to the Lord in song, a songwriter who played multiple instruments and created instruments. He was a guy with a creative side, and he had a warrior side, and yet he remained as a child. That’s the pattern given to Solomon.
So when we finally get into the subject of Proverbs, we find that it starts with this absolute dependence on God, and even in this context, his own earthly father. He begins his journey into wisdom as a response to his mom and dad’s instruction. Now, I realize not everybody watching this has godly parents, and even if you do, not all parents instruct us in the pursuit of wisdom. Regardless, we all have God as our Father; we all have One we can absolutely trust 100% of the time. He will lead us literally from glory to glory. He leads us from one realm of wisdom to another realm, from one place of understanding to a greater place, and what you and I have to do is steward what He gives us. It means we manage it well; we honor it well.
You know, when the Lord speaks to me in the night, I don’t know if you’ve done this, but I’ve had times where I’ve had a dream, or something happens, and I think, «Oh, I’ll just remember it in the morning.» Maybe it’s a new tune or words to a song, and I think, «I’ll remember it in the morning,» but then in the morning, it’s not there anymore. It vanishes because He’s actually looking for those who adjust their lives to His pace and His pattern. That means I change my routine to accommodate Him and do not require Him to change His routine to accommodate me. I think this is the life of a child—a child has that kind of dependency.
And look where this ends for me in Proverbs chapter 1, verse 23: «Turn at my rebuke.» So here’s wisdom speaking now. Wisdom is going to demand changes; it is going to set a course of direction that’s different from the one I’m taking. When I see that, I have to adjust my lifestyle, my thinking, my prayers, my ambitions—everything. I’m going to adjust to this new direction that wisdom will set for me. He says, «Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my Spirit on you.» My goodness! Responding to wisdom invites the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
This is an Old Testament verse; this isn’t Acts chapter 2. This is the Book of Proverbs telling us, «Listen, from the very beginning, God designed our cooperation with His heart and His mind to position us for outpourings of the Holy Spirit.» He says, «Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my Spirit on you, and I will make my words known to you.» Listen to that phrase: «I will make my words known to you.» Psalm 25 talks about the secret of the Lord being set up for us as a gift; He’s put it aside to be inherited, the secret of the Lord. Here He says that if we just respond to wisdom, what does He do? He pours out His Spirit on us, and let me use my language: He releases over our spirits not only wisdom but also revelation to understand His Word.
It’s not in addition to Scripture; it highlights what we’ve already seen. I pray that for you. I pray what Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:17—that God would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, and that you and I together would be as children, completely responsive to the moving of the Holy Spirit and the highlights He gives us out of His Word. I pray that for you in Jesus' wonderful name. Next, we’re going to look at the subject of passion and the role it plays in the pursuit of wisdom. Bless you in Jesus' name.