WISDOM, INSTRUCTION, PERCEPTION (Proverbs 1:1-7)

Verse 5 - "Gain wise counsel" (GWT) / "attain" (AMP) / "acquire" (NET) Gaining wisdom is a quest.

Verse 7 - it begins with the fear of the Lord. No matter how sharp our best practices are, and our contemporary application of today's tools, honouring God is top priority.

i) If we don't fear God, we have not begun our quest for wisdom, no matter how clever we are.

ii) If we do not keep "fear of God" (honour for God) at the forefront, any gains we make will cause pride to take over.

What makes Christianity irrelevant is the distance between what we preach and its outworking in our lives.

The capacity to see and perceive (verse 2) "Jesus perceived their thoughts." (Luke 20:23)

i) Build perception on godly wisdom.

ii) Perceive = discern, understand.

In leadership, we need to exercise discernment, perception: not only with regard to issues, trends and other people, but also with regard to ourselves.

Have the mindset that we don't have all the answers.

With the answers we do have, some of that will come from experience, but unless that is accompanied by a heart that honours / fears God those answers will lack wise application.

Experience is what we've already done and already know, wisdom & perception relates to what is yet to be done.

Experience is what I know, wisdom is what God knows.

Experience is tied to history; wisdom is tied to the future.

Godly wisdom builds the house (Prov 24:3).

Experience builds parameters, wisdom explores possibilities.

A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel (Verse 5)

i) Keep hearing (listening, discipline).
ii) Increase learning (verse 5).
iii) Attain, gain, acquire.