Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we're thankful
for your help throughout the meeting, for the
privilege it's been to meet with you thus far.
We come now once again to confess our great need
of you, our inability to accomplish or do anything
apart from you. Come now in power upon your word.
Overcome me with your Holy Spirit to... Enable
me to bring forth all that your Word contains
and only what your Word contains. Come upon us
as hearers today, Father, that we might truly
hear your Word as it is proclaimed. That we would
be enabled to see you rightly, see ourselves
rightly, assimilate your Word into our very lives,
that we might be better equipped to serve you
in this week. We plead again for the lost father
we ask for mercy That you might yet save some
who were in their sins here and elsewhere those
who were gathered in amongst your people everywhere
father Save some Be glorified then in the time
to follow we ask in Jesus name Well, we're back
in the Proverbs this morning so I invite you
to turn with me to the second chapter of Proverbs.
You'll remember last week I said we're going
to be going through some of the Proverbs. We're
not going verse by verse or every chapter, but
we're going to spend some time, however the Lord
leads, in the book of Proverbs. You remember
the book of Proverbs and really all of the scriptures
are given to display God before our eyes. to
reveal Himself to us, the wonder of the God of
the universe on display. All you have to do is
open the book, read it with seeing eyes, hearing
ears, believing hearts, and you can see Him yourself
in the pages of the wonderful book that He's
given us. So we saw that's the purpose of the
Proverbs to reveal God, to guide us to Jesus
Christ who is wisdom, to give us wisdom and understanding,
enable us to live the Christian life, enable
us to please God, enable us to enjoy God in our
daily living. So last week, We saw that it may
have been a new word for us. It's not a frequently
used word simple And it's used to describe the
people of God you and me were to be simple We
grow from our simplicity from being simple to
be being wise But the need for both the simple
and the wise is the same more and more wisdom
more and more understanding, more and more relational
activity with our Lord God, Jesus Christ. That's
what we all need. Simple. To be simple is to
be ready to learn, to know that you need to learn,
to know that you lack knowledge. Without knowledge,
there's no wisdom. You can't apply through wisdom
what you don't know. So we need to be humble,
humbly simple before our God. But as I was thinking
about that, and that's all true and wonderful,
but additionally, we talk about the simplicity
of God. God is simple, and by that we mean something
entirely different than when we say we are simple.
When we say God is simple, we mean He cannot
be divided into parts. He is of one substance.
So we need to keep that in mind when we think
and learn about God, that when we're learning
about His justice or if we're learning about
His holiness or His love, His faithfulness, these
aren't separate pieces of God. There is only
one God and He's all of these things at the same
time. There's no division in Him. even though
we learn of him in divisions. So applying that
to ourselves, we can say that we should be simple
in our understanding of ourselves, but we should
be simple also in our refusing to be divided.
Refusing to divide up our lives into categories,
or places, or we're this when we're here, we're
that when we're there. We're not divided We're
one person before God We have a lot of different
activities different Roles to play different
responsibilities, but we are all one thing before
God and that is his person his son his daughter
We're not divided and we shouldn't think we can
neatly carve out different places in our lives
for different things. That's a dangerous thing
to be involved with. So we want to be simple
in that way as well. So we're going to continue
on here for one more week in this pursuit of
God, pursuit of wisdom. To pursue wisdom is to
pursue God. Don't forget it. There's no separation
there. Jesus Christ is wisdom. And to pursue
wisdom is to pursue Jesus Christ. So we're going
to spend today, again, looking at this pursuit,
perhaps hopefully in a little more detail than
what we did last week. But the goal of the Proverbs
here in chapter 2 is that, that we would be those
who are after God. We're hard after God. We're
continually searching Him out. So let's read
these first few verses here in Proverbs chapter
2. and searches for her as for hid treasures,
and we're going to pause there. So the common
word here is what if. All throughout here we
see the word if. In other words, there's no guarantee
here that you're going to do this. I can make
this proclamation as clear and as concise as
Draw it out as much as I want the words if still
apply I can't Make anything happen in your lives
It's the word of God God has to own the word
in your life God has to do the work He has to
change your heart change your mind. He has to
give you hearing ears Whatever you need you have
to get it from God So what does that mean? We're
not going to do anything? Of course not. The
if is there. If you do these things. There's
an expectation. If you do these things. So again,
there's man's responsibility and God's sovereignty
is throughout the scripture. If you want to have
wisdom, you should do these things. If you lack
knowledge and understanding, you should do these
things. That's what the scripture is telling
us. So what about it? What is there to do? Well,
the first thing off is that, will you receive
my words? That seems like an odd thing to say,
doesn't it? Does that sound odd to you? That
you the question is will you receive God's words?
Well For those of us who know God and that's
the overwhelming majority here in the room Why
would there be some doubt as to whether or not
you would receive his word? But there always
is isn't there because we were not perfect folks
We mess up we fall we fail. We don't receive
the word What does the word receive mean? Well,
there's no better thing that I could come up
with was that you receive a present from somebody.
It's a gift. You get it. You take it into your
hands. You open it. It's just what you wanted,
you say. It's beautiful. I'll cherish this my
life. I'll put it to use immediately. Whatever.
Some word of acknowledgement. And then what?
The thing goes on the shelf and that's it. You've
forgotten all about it. That's not receiving
it, is it? That's just a temporary reception
that you discarded. Receiving that gift is, yes,
taking it into your possession and then using
it. making use of what you've received. That's
what the question is. We're all going to receive
these words today, really. You can't. Help it.
You're here. You're going to hear them. And on
that level, you're going to receive them. But
are you actually going to receive the words?
Are you going to receive the Word of God today?
Are you going to learn something? Are you going
to treasure what you learned? Receive it. If
you do that. And then he goes on to say, and
if you hide my commandments with thee. That's
what we're talking about. We don't put it aside.
We don't forget about it. We keep it with us.
It's all through the Bible. Thy word have I hidden
in my heart that I might not sin against you.
the parable of the sower they got good seed they
got good soil the word took root what they bore
fruit they actually received it store up the
word in our hearts keep it with us so if you
receive it if you keep it if you put it to use
that's the that's the first emphasis there on
receiving something from the Lord. If you're
going to do those things, if, if, if, it says
yea, or no, it says, so that thou incline thine
ear unto wisdom. Now remember Mac's words? Have
you been able to return any of the sermons from
Mac that he preached when he was here? Do you
remember? What are you hearing he said? What
are you bringing into your life? Do you guard
your ears? To guard your ears is the beginning
of guarding our hearts. What are we taking in?
So again, you know. Do you think that this is
possible to be neutral in this? Can you be neutrally
hearing? No. You are hearing. You're hearing
something. All day long, you're hearing something.
Maybe it's your own voice talking to yourself.
Hopefully it is. But you're hearing something.
You're taking something in. Constantly. What
are you taking in? That's for you. That's a question.
You've got to take in good stuff, don't you?
Jump in, jump out. That's true, right? Bad company
corrupts good manners. That's true. So you've
got to be careful about what you hear. You've
got to make an effort. It's your responsibility
for what you hear. God's put all manner of things
at your disposal. We've got more stuff we can
listen to and hear today than there ever has
been. There was nothing when I was converted.
Nothing. Nothing but false teaching everywhere,
on the radio, everywhere. There's all manner
of good solid biblical truth that's available
to us Are you are you are you using it are you
hearing something that's going to profit you
Or is it just idle chit -chat just entertainment.
I think they call it Maybe it's trash Christian
music. I don't know what it is what you're listening
to what you do But it's your responsibility,
folks. You want to be wise? You want to gain
knowledge of God? You want to walk with Jesus?
What are you listening to? Maybe it's good Christian
music. But you do have that responsibility, folks.
So that you could apply your heart to understanding.
It's a privilege, isn't it, to have ourselves
conform to Jesus Christ, to gain understanding
in the way that we live and move and have our
being, that it's all in Christ, that we're applying
our heart in this thing. It's not anything really
outward until it is inward. You can't possibly
live right if you're not right on the inside.
You can't possibly live right unless you're living
right. You're governing yourself right. Then
you can expand that area of influence. Becoming
who you are, I wrote. There you are. Very brief
and to the point. We are the saints of God. We
are the representatives of God. We are the ambassadors
of God. Is that how we're living? Have we applied
our hearts to these things? Is this our hearts
desire? Is this what we want? We want a closer
walk with God. We want to know more of Him. We
want to be able to speak for Him. We want people
to be able to watch us and see us not sinning,
refusing to go along with the crowd. Have you
lost any friends since you became a Christian?
I lost all of my friends when I became a Christian.
We were all nothing but a bunch of sinners bent
on sinning. But there were some friends there.
So this is the ifs. If we do these things, if
this is the desire of our heart, if, if, if.
Not the big one here. If thou cryest after knowledge
and lifteth up thy voice for understanding, what's
he talking about? It's a recognition that you
don't have it. You don't have it within yourself
to produce it. It's prayer folks. That's what
he's talking about. He's talking about praying
He's talking about crying out lifting up your
voice Praying for all your words in other words.
This is an important thing. I've got a seek God
for this I've got to go after God for this There's
no place else to go. There's nothing for me to
do. I can't do it. I've got to get it It's got
to be received It's got to be given, and I've
got to go to the giver and ask and beg and plead
whatever it takes for me to get the wisdom and
knowledge and understanding that I need to live
a life that's pleasing to Him. Some serious prayer
needs to go into this. There's no getting around
it. There's nothing else to do after you've done
all of this. If you do all of this, prayer is
vital. Prayer is vital to the Christian life.
It's vital for your survival in the Christian
life. All the armor has to be put on in prayer.
Yeah, you got to put the armor on, but you got
to pray. I don't know. I don't know how anybody
else feels about it, really. I've never heard
it expressed very often. But do you draw close
to God in your prayers? Is that the closest that
you get to God when you pray? And if you don't
pray... How can you claim to be in a walk that
is close to God? That should be the dearest aspect
of our walk with the Lord is our fellowship with
Him in prayer. It's when we get real. It's when
we cry out. It's when he speaks to us many times.
Have you ever received the assurance of an answer
to your prayer? Either right when you were finished
praying or even during your prayer? Have you
ever known for a fact that what you prayed about
is going to be answered? Have you ever received
that? Well, it's possible. It's possible to.
Praying for wisdom. Praying for a heart that
loves God above all else. Pray, cry, get serious
with God. Want to amend your life. Want to grow.
Be simple. It's your responsibility, folks. And
it's, you know, I almost hate using that word
all the time because it's such a privilege. It's
such a great thing. It's such a beautiful life
to exercise your responsibility before God. It's
a privilege. Then lastly in the, in the if columns,
verse four, if thou seekest her as silver and
searches for her as for hid treasures. Well,
that's something that you can easily understand,
right? That's the simplest thing. How do you
seek after treasure? How do you? How do you go
after that thing which you desperately want?
It doesn't, whatever it is, it doesn't have to
be monetary, it doesn't, whatever, whatever your
heart really desires. How do you go after it?
That's how you go after God. And it's obvious
because God is our best treasure. Supposedly,
that's what we declare. Jesus Christ is precious
unto us. To those who know Him, He's precious.
He's the pearl above price. How do you seek treasure?
How do you seek that which you desire? All of
these illustrations here that the Proverbs used,
they're easy to understand. They're easy for
me to get up here and talk about. But the hard
part is the doing. What are we going to do with
this information? What are you ready to do? I
could have started with how do you visualize
or how do you think about the Christian life?
It's an excellent question we all should face.
How do you plan out your Christian life? How
are you going to use this day, the only day that
the Lord has given you, to bring glory to God
and to enjoy Him? You know, we've got to remember
that second half of that catechism. It's not
only the fact that we're supposed to glorify
God, we're supposed to enjoy God forever and
ever, every day, one day at a time. to glorify
God and to enjoy Him forever. That's God's will
for us. That's what He wants. What do you want?
Remember, this is all encompassing, all of our
life's areas, all of the roles that we play,
all the responsibilities that have been given
us. You young men, do you understand the responsibility
that you have in this world? It's overwhelming
to me. It always was. I couldn't do a thing without
prayer. Oh, I could, but I'd mess up inevitably.
I mean, think about it. Husband, father, employee,
employer, deacons. Elders. Church members cleaning
the church. It's overwhelming what's before Christian
men. Standing against the world. Protecting your
family. It's overwhelming. How are you going
to do it without God in your life? How are you
going to do it without a close walk with him?
You're not. You're going to fail. Let me just
tell you. You're all gonna be failures if you
don't get on the program Seeking God first seeking
him above all else the greatest treasure Getting
the wisdom that we need to go through this life
Well, that's the ifs what are you gonna do that's
the scripture wants to know if you do this if
you do that If you pray, if you're in the Word,
if you're seeking God with all of your heart,
then we come to the good part, so to speak. The
promises. The promises are there. So after he
tells us what our responsibility is, he then
says in verse five and following, then shalt
thou understand the fear of the Lord and find
the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom.
Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous.
He is our buckler to them that will walk uprightly.
He's the helper, the keeper. He keeps the paths
of justice and preserveth the way of his saints.
Then shalt thou understand righteousness and
judgment or justice and equality every good path
God's gonna do his part Remember last week let
God be true and every man a liar Here's the promise
of God. We sang about it today Coincidentally,
no the spirit worked it out Standing on the promises.
How do you stand on the promises? By doing all
those ifs. You don't have a promise without the
ifs. You don't have a promise without the responsibility
of man. But when we are responsible before God,
God does what he promised to do. Meet our every
need, guide, guard, give us wisdom. Give us understanding.
Take us through life. Enable us to overcome every
obstacle. Give us the victory in Jesus. Amen.
When we walk seriously with our God. I mean,
what better, is there anything better? What better
word could we be given today? All I gotta do
is have the greatest time in my life following
hard after God. And He's going to do all the
rest. You mean all I have to do is be in the
Word? Well, Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet.
I love His Word. Why is that? That's easy. I
have to pray? Yeah, I love to pray. I love to
commune and fellowship with my God. Hopefully,
I mean, it's such an encouraging word, is it
not? You don't have to wonder. Life loses all
of its vagueness. You're going to receive from
God all of these great things. Your life is going
to be meaningful. It's going to have purpose.
You're going to be useful to your kids, to your
wife, to your husband. When all of this stuff
works together. That's what he's telling us.
That's the Proverb. He's going to give us again
specifics in a lot of areas as we as we continue
on through the book But it's there's a reason
that it starts here. It's there's a reason that
Solomon put this right here in front Because
this is how you do it. This is how you walk This
is how you stand. This is how you resist the
devil This is how you avoid sin seeking after
God for all that you're worth. It's not a part
-time job, folks. It's not a part -time activity.
It's not something you do in this section of
your life, and then when you walk out the door,
you're an entirely different person out there.
That's not it, is it? They call that hypocrisy.
They don't call it Christian life. So at the
end of it all then, in verse 10, 10 and following.
When wisdom enters into your heart and knowledge
is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve
thee. Understanding shall keep thee, to deliver
thee from the way of the evil man, from the man
that speaketh un... unwise things, foward. That's
the end of it. Your problems are solved. That's
it. You can do it. You can go through life. The
end is better than the beginning. It's another,
I think, was that a please -ee -esty? The end
is better than the beginning. This, but that's
not, this is really the end, the middle, and
the beginning. when wisdom entereth into thine
heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul
discretion shall preserve thee understanding
shall keep thee to deliver thee from the way
of the evil man praise the lord praise god for
his great salvation praise god for his beautiful
word praise god for the privilege we have uninterrupted
access to Him anytime that we want. Come into
His presence with singing. Come into His presence
with lamenting. Come into His presence with any
type of prayer, any place, anywhere. And be assured
of a hearing. You know, when the Bible says that
God remembers or hears, it means He's going to
take action. It's not, you know... When he's
not remembering, there's no action. When he hears,
if the Bible says he hears our prayers, that
means he's going to answer our prayers. When
he says he sees the righteous, that means he's
guarding, he's with you, he's with me. It doesn't
just mean he's looking and seeing. He's involved
with the righteous in all areas of life. So serve
him today. Put these ifs into practice. Come
to knowing better. Get a closer walk in a relationship
with Jesus Christ. Gain wisdom and understanding.
What could be better? Right? Amen.