The Reward of Wisdom – Walking In Power with Nate Ortiz

Everyone, my name is Nate Ortiz and this is Walking in Power.

So, if you're checking this out, we're going to be in Proverbs chapter 2.

We're going to be going throughout the whole book of Proverbs, but with some breaks in

between.

But we know that you guys are all about the Proverbs and so we want to just take us some nuggets

from each chapter to be able to go a little bit deeper in it.

There's so much in Proverbs, but we just want to, from each chapter, take a little bit.

So we're being Proverbs chapter 2 talking about the reward of wisdom.

We understand that with wisdom comes in many things and there are certain rewards that

come with it.

Now, in our natural thinking and understanding, I think sometimes we equate wisdom to just

being older or having experience which those are part of having wisdom.

But we just can't leave it that place because we understand that as God expands our territory,

maybe it's leading more people, maybe it's expansion of businesses, maybe just

expansion on whatever level you have to understand that you are not going to know everything

about everything.

You will be in situations that you have not been in before, you will have to really think.

And sometimes the day that's thing is people say, well, I've done this before, this

will do now.

And sometimes that works, right?

But I think there's something about saying, God, I need your wisdom in this situation

that sometimes I think there's different things that God wants to reveal to us, that God

wants to show us.

But if we just always rely on ourselves, if we always just think about, well, this is

how I'm going to do it, this is how I've done it.

It's how I've always done it.

And I think we missed the opportunity for us to partner with God and say, what do you

want to do?

Because sometimes God will take us in different places.

Sometimes God will give us a solution that maybe no one else in the room saw.

So I want to encourage us that we think about wisdom, let's not just equate it to age

and experience, but let's also say there's some wisdom that only comes from God.

And Proverbs chapter 2, it talks about some of the rewards.

That we get from wisdom.

And so when we think about that, you know, and acquiring just a way of life that's beyond

just what we know and what we've just experienced, there's something special about when God gives

us this divine answer, this divine solution to the problems that we face and leadership,

right?

It's only more responsibility.

That's what you get.

When you are a good leader, when you are growing things, there's just more weightiness

for responsibility.

But when you really lean into God, it's amazing how much it will give you the grace to lead,

but also the ability to bless other people to encourage them to speak a life over them.

And so we're going to be in Proverbs chapter 2.

I want to read from verses 6 through 10.

You can follow along.

I'm reading on the NASB today.

But in verse 6, it says, for the Lord gives wisdom.

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright.

He has a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the path of justice, and he preserves

the way of His Godly ones.

Then you will discern a righteousness and justice and equity in every good course.

For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

So in these passages that we just read, there's three things that guys require to walk in

that we will get this reward.

And the three things he talks about, if we are upright, if we have integrity and we are

godly.

And so these are words that we typically use all the time right now, the actor, maybe

integrity, but no one says, hey, gotta be upright and he had a godly.

But I think these are important things to understand that disbelief in God is not just enough

to say, well, I believe in God.

There's lots of things people believe, but really doesn't change how they behave and they're

actions.

Right?

When we really believe in God, we believe that there is a transformation that takes place

in us.

And so when he talks about being upright and having integrity and being godly, it talks

about we will be able to receive Sabbath wisdom, a shield, passive justice, discernment,

and wisdom in our hearts.

Now those are all things that we want.

But I want to talk about the three things that we must be.

So the first one is upright.

Right?

So when we talk about upright, what does that mean?

And for me, that means walking and living above reproach.

So when we are upright, right?

That means that what people see is what they get.

That there's not this part of us that is hidden away.

That's saying, well, this is who I am when no one's around, but who you are is who you

are.

How you deal people, how you do business, how you handle things, how you talk about them

in public, how you talk about them in private.

That speaks to who you are.

Even in our faith, right?

When we talk about we're going to pray for people.

We pray for people.

Do we speak life or do we help people when we can?

Are we upright in our dealings with people?

That's so important.

I think sometimes we want the wisdom in our lives that God gives so we can just benefit

ourselves or we can get what we want.

But I think when we get the wisdom that God gives, it really should benefit other people

around us.

And that's where God wants us to be serving and loving people who are near to us who are

around us.

And so when you live in that way, it's a freeing place to live.

I love to say that every conversation you're in, every place to live, it's better than

you found it.

Right?

If you're in a conversation with people, maybe people will stop talking negative.

They want to talk about this person or that person.

Right?

Leave the conversation better than you found it.

And speak life over situations.

People don't bring them down.

And so live above reproach that people can't say, well, hey, I knew you were saying this or

knew you were saying this, but no, they know exactly who you are and what you stand for.

Is anyone perfect?

No, but let's be those people who live upright.

The second thing he talks about is integrity.

Integrity is so important to wisdom.

When we operate in integrity, it creates a level of trust with people around us.

It's hard, you can't fake integrity.

People can do it, it may be a little bit over time, like we say, the truth comes out.

And who you are.

And so when you walk in integrity, think about your life.

Just take a moment.

Think about the areas of life that you need to have integrity in.

Right?

You need to have integrity in your marriage, integrity with your kids, integrity in business.

And when we think about it, so we just think about it being honest.

But really, if you think about a piece of steel, when it talks about the integrity of a piece

of steel or the integrity of gold or something, right?

It's somehow like how pure that it is.

Right?

The integrity of steel, it's like, hey, this one makes sure that this piece of steel or

this piece of equipment area or this element is strong or it's pure.

And so when we think about integrity in our lives, what is the purity?

I mean, pretty like when you're around, we're not being fake, you're not being phony, but

there's true integrity around you where you're not just that person being nice so you can

get something from them.

You're not that person just trying to get something that you want but you operate integrity

that's how I'm a trustworthy person that time after time, year after year, I've been

a person that's been consistent, I've been a person who operates with the most pure

heart, the most pure intentions.

And people respond to that.

And I think God honest when we have integrity in our lives, but if we're the kind of person

that's always hard to nail down and the person who just really is honest or forthright, that's

troubling because it's always going to be, hey, God, I need to give you out of this

situation.

When we operate integrity, we understand that God is always going to honor that in everything

that we do and that's important.

So the third thing he talked about was being godly.

So when we think about being godly, right, it's just as it says that we are being like

God that we are showing the heart of God to people around us that we are not confusing

people to say, well, I thought you were a follower of Christ, but you're doing this, you're

doing that and that really doesn't seem to line up all of us, right, we have to get

into place where we are lining with what God wants to do in our lives.

And that could be challenging for many reasons.

And so I always say like this in our lives, there's many times we may get an argument, we

may be in discussion with someone or maybe it's organizational decisions that are taking

place.

And there's part of us in our hearts that we would be like, I'm right, I know that I'm

right, right, we're arguing with a friend or a spouse saying like, I know that I'm

right, I know that I'm right.

And you can lance that person, let them know that.

But at the end of the day, right, we're righteous, right, we're used someone who we're saying

God, I want to be like you and the way I was talking to this person wasn't like you

were talking to them, right, we could be direct, right, God was 100% truth, but he was also

100% grace, he was both.

And so we could do that.

And so for us in this life, we have to find that place where we say God, I just don't

want to be a person that is getting what I want, but I want to be godly, I want to be

like you.

And so you just don't want to be right in my, which want to be righteous, you want to be

a person saying, I just don't be right and blow people up all the time, but I want to be

someone who can walk in righteousness that I can be the type of person that people come

to for prayer, people come to for encouragement, but they also come to for the truth.

So listen, be godly in all your dealings and how you work with people.

And what we do is say that we will receive sound wisdom, a shield, path of justice, discernment

wisdom in your heart.

We think about sound wisdom, right, we think about what God gives, right, that he understands

our desires and our hearts and understands things before they happen, but we he will give

us the sound wisdom that we need.

He will give us a shield, right, a shield to protect us.

When people, when they're trying to operate and tell you, you're trying to be an upright

and turn to be godly people will attack you.

People will come at you, people will speak, get your character, your name because that is

so valuable, your name who you are and people try to come against it.

But when you are saying, God, I'm walking these things.

I can receive wisdom so I can receive a shield.

You will be protected from those things.

Even people are coming at you and feels like it's dark or it's bad.

You can't be, you've helped this person, they're coming at you.

You're saying, God is my shield.

I'm walking these ways and God's giving you wisdom and how to deal with these situations.

He will give you paths of justice.

So when things are coming at you and you feel like, man, I don't even know how to move

forward.

I just show you the way to move forward.

Sometimes you might go through what people yell and get you on both sides and come and

add you, trying to discourage you and trying to tell you to stop and try and say, you don't

need to be focused on God.

You don't need to be praying or what's the purpose or where's your God and all those kinds

of things.

But God will give you the path of justice.

We have to be dedicated and disciplined to walk it through and that He will give us

wisdom in our heart.

It's amazing the time when we acquire ourselves before the Lord and we can really think about

things that are going on in our lives.

He gives us the wisdom in our hearts.

He really does.

There's times in my own life where I've had to just sit back as a God.

I know there's nothing I can do about the situation at hand.

I don't have enough resources to change it.

I can't do anything but Lord, I'm just going to sit here and look for the wisdom that

only you can give inside my heart.

But first, before I, you know, I always want to check myself as a God.

Am I really being upright?

Am I really operating integrity and being godly?

And how I'm doing things?

Because if I'm not doing those three things, I can't walk in the promises that God has

given.

So I want to encourage as you're listening to this.

If I wish your life, take a moment, maybe shut this video off and you sit there and

think, man, have I been doing those things?

What areas do I need to grow and maybe I need to go to a person and ask for forgiveness

just because I haven't been that person.

Now as you walk in the wisdom, understand, wisdom goes beyond your own understanding, right?

It comes from God.

And we need to understand that we just can't reason away the things that we want

to reason away.

And say, well, this person deserves it or I had to do it.

But even if we make mistakes, we want to go back and make sure that we are the type of

person that we trust, not just professionally, but also in life that someone comes to you,

if they pray with you, if they open up a share with going on the lives of you, you'll be

there for them.

They look at you, person has the wisdom to speak to them.

So listen, be encouraged as you walk in wisdom as you look through the words of wisdom.

Always, we fluck back and look at the words in God.

What things might not do?

Where do I have to line up?

Where do I have to grow and that receive all the wisdom that you have?

Hey, thank you for checking in, walking, and power.

We look forward to catching you next time.

Thank you.