“Treasure Hunting”
Proverbs 2
Intro: The Bible is an amazing book. We so often treat it as a textbook, merely teaching academic truth--when what it really is is a children’s "pop-up" book, showing us glimpses into the very heart and soul of those we find mentioned there.
The Psalms were not merely songs to be ritually sung in church: they were the embodiment of David’s baring his soul to us, opening up his heart to share his feelings and emotions, his depression and frustration as well as his triumph and exultation.
We have become so concerned with knowing what the Bible teaches (dogmatics) that we forget to learn and do what the Bible teaches (greatest commandment, etc.) The Bible is God’s love-letter to man!
What is your attitude to the Word of God today?
As we look to the book of Proverbs, we find a good understanding of what our attitude should be.
Read Proverbs 2:1-11
I. True Wisdom is found in following God’s Word.
God’s wisdom must be sought before it can be found. It is not ability, but industry, effort, and sincerity that enables us to find wisdom. Solomon starts out by stating his wish for his son.
1. "if" - can be a simple "if/then", or it could be better seen as a desirative expression (stating the desire of the father) -"Oh, my son, if only you would accept my words"
Solomon, the wisest man, writes of his desire for us to learn to seek wisdom. He knows that wisdom is the most important thing.
Prov. 4:7 - Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
Prov. 16:16 - How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!
*Remember God asked Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted when he became King. Solomon prayed for wisdom to lead God’s people and God in turn blessed him with all kinds of earthly blessings. Solomon knows the importance of wisdom.
A. Attitudes towards wisdom
"accept" - to receive graciously, to welcome, to accept with open arms. This is passive: we only attain wisdom as God gives (James 1:5), but we must receive and welcome it into our hearts.
#At Christmas, sometimes we accept some gifts with a half-hearted “Thank you” knowing we are going to be out tomorrow morning to exchange the gift.
#Compare to a man in the desert being offered some water
#story - men in desert - oasis ahead - man selling ties $100 - think him crazy - get to oasis - need tie to get in to restaurant. Do we desire for God’s wisdom with thirsty, starving hearts?
"store up" - hide, as a treasure. *Spies: microfilm - place it some place extremely safe, it is so valuable
The president always has an agent a few feet away from him who carries “the football” - the briefcase, handcuffed to his arms, that has all the missile strike codes in it. It is so important, the president never goes anywhere without it.
Just like American Express - Wisdom: Don’t leave home without it!
To obtain wisdom from God requires a receptive faith. The quest for wisdom is a spiritual exercise. Without desire for truth, and desire to act upon it, the Bible will always seem a dry and boring book.
*as we read the Bible, do we really desire to know God’s truth
*do we “store up” God’s commands within us - MEMORIZATION - spies: memorize this then eat the message, or Mission Impossible - message disintegrates
Why do we store up wisdom? most teaching cannot be used as soon as it is received - we store it up for a use later in life. Maybe you read something today that isn’t relevant, but God is planning on using those verses to prepare you to handle a situation you will face tomorrow. Treasure wisdom.
2."turning your ear" - literally is "sharpen the ear" - today would compare to "listen up, "listen sharp." Just as a dog lifts its ears when it hears something. It means to exercise energy, to give careful attention.
*read a text, then say, “What did God say? did you hear that!? WOW!” Pay attention!
"applying your heart" - literally is to "stretch out the heart" - it involves the whole inner man. This is to direct our whole inner being in the pursuit of understanding. You will not find wisdom if you merely seek it casually. A theological search without involving the heart results only in a mere academic exercise.
*BJU Custer sermons - done only to turn in- no real value
*Bell projects - far beyond requirements, done for personal benefit
The question we need to ask ourselves is: Do we really put our whole heart into the word of God?
Isaiah 29:13 - These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.
3. call out, cry aloud - if understanding does not come at once, put forth greater efforts. The term used here is one for “calling out for help.” Think of a man lost in the woods who gets his foot caught in a bear trap. Whenever he hears someone passing near, he will scream with all his might. He knows his life depends on getting help. We need to be just that passionate about learning from God.
4."look for it" - iterative concept, ongoing, continuing, constantly seeking
*remember parable of Lost coin in Luke 15
Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, `Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.
"silver" - the image of a miner diligently applying his strength to his work, in pursuit of his treasure, never giving up. Many miners spent their whole lives waiting to strike it rich.
#Snowy River - SPUR - spent years looking for the vein of gold
"hidden treasure" - divers seeking shipwrecks - spend years to find a wreck, sometimes even a lifetime. But the rewards are worth the time. There is a lot of background information that must be gained before going to look for a sunken ship. Men don’t just sail along and say, “This looks like a good spot for a shipwreck.” They search old records. They check ship manifests. They study currents. They research and prepare so they can understand where the treasure lies.
*silver is not easily discovered. Hidden treasure is not found while walking in the field. Search, labor, perseverance, and effort is required. The anticipation of finding the treasure keeps us going. So also, as we seek to be wise, we will need to put effort into study of God’s word. We don’t just pick it up, open the daily bread, and expect to grow in wisdom. We need to value God’s wisdom, and diligently commit to seeking it out.
B. Results of seeking wisdom
5. Success is promised to those who truly seek. If we earnestly, consistently seek, we will attain.
The end goal is "the fear of the Lord, the knowledge of God."
*The knowledge of God = the fear of the LORD
*Not to fear God is to not know God---to know God is to fear him! To hold him in reverence and respect. To be so much in awe of him, that we do not want to do anything that he disproves of.
Paul shared his goal in Phil. 3:10 - "That I may know Christ"
Our Goal: To find wisdom, which is the gift of God, which is to know of God, which is to fear God.
7 - victory - is mentioned in verse 7. It refers to sound wisdom, and its effect:
deliverance, salvation.
When we seek to follow God’s word and apply it to daily life, it makes us successful in all we do.
Joshua 1:8 reminds us Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
II. What Happens when we use wisdom?
Read Prov. 2:10-22
A. We find pleasant joy in wisdom - once we find wisdom, we find we are able to be content and to enjoy life. When we realize we do not always need more. Paul stated having food and clothing, let us be content. The foolish man seeks more from the world. The truly wise man knows what is valuable.
*Many spend hours away from family to buy them more - they really want time together
B. Wisdom brings protection from those of wrong actions
12 - protection from wicked= those who would bring pain & misery by their wrong actions
Who are the friends we choose? If we choose wisely, we will find that we do not desire to be like the wicked. We can choose to be different.
C. Wisdom brings protection from those of wrong morals
16 - protection from evil woman - those with wrong morals
Sometimes we are tempted not to take violent action against others, but rather to build improper relationships. That which was ordained by God to be good can be used as a source of temptation by Satan for evil. But Wisdom will guard our lives.
Our society flaunts immoral behavior before us everywhere we look. But even though we are IN the world, we are not to be OF the world. When we have committed our life to living according to the wisdom of God’s word, it keeps us from going down the path of immorality.
Concl: What will wisdom offer you? Long life for all who will heed her voice.
Read Proverbs 3:1-6; 8:1-11
Will we choose to seek and receive the wisdom from God’s word?
It comes to those who seek with their whole heart.
It comes to those willing to search diligently.
It will protect us and guard us all our lives.
Let’s commit today to turn to God’s word and find the knowledge of our God.
Let’s pray. (prayer of commitment to reading, studying, memorizing, living by God’s word.)
