Proverbs Ch2v1-11 - Wisdom's Worth

[0:00] Well, good morning everyone. It's good to see you today.

[0:20] ! References have been made about wisdom and applying that I certainly didn't feel very wise when a little while ago I was doing some plumbing work and detached the pipes beneath the sink and then proceeded to pour all the dirty water down the sink to get rid of it. You know what happened. Not very wise. Proverbs chapter 2. We're going to read Proverbs 2 and then look at it together. If you've missed any of the talks, they're online and there's also a little booklet on the table that has been written for us which gives us an overview of Proverbs.

[1:11] So please take your copy of that. It will help you. Proverbs chapter 2. Starting at verse 1.

[1:28] My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, indeed if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom.

[2:02] From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright. He is a shield to those whose way of life is blameless.

[2:16] For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair. Every good path.

[2:31] For wisdom will enter your heart. And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Direction will protect you and understanding will guard you.

[2:44] Wisdom will protect you and the ways of wicked men. From men whose words are perverse. Who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways.

[2:59] Who delight in wrongdoing and rejoice in the pervertedness of evil. Whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.

[3:11] Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman. From the wayward woman with her seductive words.

[3:22] Who has left her partner of her youth. And ignored the covenant she made before God. Surely her house leads down to death.

[3:33] And her path to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return. Or attain the paths of life. Thus you will walk in the ways of the good.

[3:47] And keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will live in the land. And the blameless will remain in it. But the wicked.

[4:00] They will be cut off from the land. And the unfaithful. They will be torn from it. Well let's pray.

[4:11] As we look at God's word. Father thank you that we can trust your good word to us. And we pray that it would take effect.

[4:24] In our hearts. In our lives. In our lives. Changing us. And making us more like the Lord Jesus. Helping us to see his beauty.

[4:38] And his glory. So that we will love him more. Help us now we pray. Amen. Well a few months back there was a knock on our front door.

[4:54] It turned out to be a young lad called Timmy. And he had the little badge to prove it. I'm here with Swift Energy. Nice house by the way.

[5:06] Have you considered solar panels? It will save you a ton. You'll have your money back in no time. Best decision ever. Ever. Well I am.

[5:19] I can offer you two free panels. And a grant. Nice garden by the way. Just sign here. Well so far it seems that Timmy was right.

[5:32] Get solar panels. Already we haven't had to pay anything on electricity. And we've already built up a tidy sun. For those winter months. Get solar panels.

[5:45] Best decision. It will change your life. But then somebody reminded me. You know you do live in Ireland Johnny. Don't you? It's not this sunny all of the time.

[5:59] You see there's lots of voices out there. Aren't there? Vying for our attention. Try it. And you'll not regret it. Live it.

[6:10] And you'll never look back. Get this. You need that. It'll change your life. Well the writer of Proverbs.

[6:21] Is also wanting our attention. He also has a message. Get wisdom. You see if we want to make right choices.

[6:34] If we want to make good decisions. Then get wisdom. But remember wisdom is not just an opinion or advice.

[6:48] Wisdom is God's word. To live God's way. In God's world. So we are to get wisdom.

[7:00] So how do we get wisdom? How do we do that? Well. Look at verse 1. My son.

[7:13] If you accept my words. And store up my commands within you. Verse 4. And if you look for it as for silver.

[7:24] And search for it as for hidden treasure. Then. You will understand the fear of the Lord. And you will find the knowledge. Or the wisdom of God.

[7:35] You know there's many people. Who spend their whole lives. Looking for treasure. Digging and mining. Panning rivers even still. Diving to shipwrecks.

[7:46] You see. Wisdom doesn't come instantly. Or immediately. Wise people must be patient. And persevere. Like it says in verse 4.

[7:58] Like treasure hunters. We are to keep searching diligently. For wisdom. You see. If we get wisdom.

[8:11] We will see its true worth. In fact. The Bible tells us. That to get wisdom. Ultimately means. To get a person.

[8:22] A person who knows all. Who sees all. Who understands all. Someone who is altogether wise. Someone who is wisdom itself. One who is more valuable.

[8:37] Than the treasures of this world. More valuable than silver or gold. The apostle Paul reminds us.

[8:49] That in Christ. Are hidden all the treasures. Of wisdom. And knowledge. All the treasures.

[9:01] And wisdom of knowledge. Are found in Christ. You see. If we can get wisdom. What we are getting.

[9:12] Is Jesus Christ. The most perfect. And most beautiful person. Ever to live life on this earth. In fact. We are to do everything possible.

[9:24] To gain Christ. Listen to what Jesus said. He says. If you try to. Hang on to your life. You will lose it.

[9:38] But if you give up your life. For my sake. You will save it. You see. Wisdom is. Letting go of.

[9:48] All the things we hold dear. It's forsaking everything. We deem precious. Wisdom is about. Losing your own life.

[9:59] So that we find life. In all its fullness. In the person. Of Jesus Christ. This is the true. Value.

[10:10] And worth. Of wisdom. Wisdom isn't just about. Gaining knowledge. And understanding. In our heads. And in our minds. It's gaining. Life.

[10:21] In itself. If we could get. Wisdom. We get the person. Of Jesus Christ. Get wisdom.

[10:35] And it will save you. And change you. And bless you. So we are going to look at. Three treasures. That we will get.

[10:46] If we have that. Wisdom. If we can gain Christ. Then it will do. An amazing work. In our life. Here is the first treasure. Wisdom.

[10:59] Will change you. Wisdom will change you. Look at verse six. For the Lord. Gives wisdom.

[11:11] From his mouth. From his words. Come knowledge. And understanding. And understanding. You see. Without God. Speaking to us.

[11:22] We do not know. What is right. And best for us. God reveals. His wisdom to us. Through his word. Which is written down for us. That's why we're. Looking at the book of Proverbs.

[11:34] In fact. His word. Taken into our life. Will change us. In radical ways. Verse nine. Then. That is.

[11:45] If we. Get that wisdom. You will understand. What is right. And just. And fair. Every good path. For wisdom.

[11:57] Will enter. Into your heart. And knowledge. Well that will be. Pleasant. To your soul. So how.

[12:08] How do we get. Okay. God's wisdom. God's word. It's wise. It enters. Into your heart. How do we get. The wisdom. From. From here.

[12:18] God's word. How do we get it. Into our hearts. Well look back. At chapter one. Verse 23. We looked at this.

[12:29] Briefly. Last week. Chapter one. Verse 23. Wisdom says.

[12:42] Repent. At my rebuke. Don't go your own path of wisdom. Turn to the true path. Then. I will pour out my thoughts.

[12:53] Literally. I will pour out my spirit. To you. And I will make known to you. My teachings. God promises.

[13:05] That he will give to us. His spirit. So that we can understand. His word. To help us understand this.

[13:16] More clearly. Let's go forward to. First Corinthians. Chapter two. You can keep your finger. In Proverbs. We'll come back to it. But go to first Corinthians.

[13:27] Chapter two. So God is saying.

[13:42] I will pour my thoughts. Into you. I will make known to you. My teaching. Here's how he will do that. First Corinthians.

[13:53] Chapter two. We'll pick it up in the middle. of verse 10. The spirit. Searches. All things.

[14:05] Even the deep things. Of God. For who knows. A person's thoughts. Except their own spirit. Within them. So.

[14:16] How many of you know. What I am thinking here. Yes. I'm talking. But. How many of you know. My thoughts. That are going on. In my head right now. Well. None of you know. What's in my head.

[14:28] Let's continue. The end of verse. Eleven. In the same way. No one knows. The thoughts. Of God. Except. The spirit.

[14:39] Of God. And what. We have received. Is not the spirit. Of the world. But the spirit. Who is from God. So that we may.

[14:52] Understand. What God. Has freely. Given us. Is not amazing. Let's go back. To Proverbs. You see.

[15:03] The spirit. Of God. That God. Gives. To his people. Takes. The word. Of God. The wisdom. Of God. And. Puts it. Into. Our hearts.

[15:13] To give us. Understanding. Proverbs. Chapter 2. Verse 10. For wisdom. Will enter. Your. Heart. Physically.

[15:24] Speaking. The heart. Is. Is just. A muscle. That. Pumps. Blood. Around. Our body. Spiritually. Speaking. The heart. Is the control. Center. Of our. Desires.

[15:35] Whatever. We. Love. The most. Whatever. We get. Passionate. About. The most. Will. Come. From. Our. Hearts. And. Left. To. Our. Our. Hearts. Will. Only. Produce.

[15:46] Selfish. Desires. Only. Things. That. I. Want. But. When. The. Wisdom. Of. God. Is. Applied.

[15:56] To. Our. Hearts. By. The. Holy. Spirit. Well. Then. We. Begin. To. Desire. What. God. Wants. You. See. Wisdom. Will. Give. Us. New. Affections.

[16:07] Rather. Than. Choose. What. I. Love. What. God. Loves. You. See. Wisdom. Will.

[16:18] Change. Us. Get. Wisdom. And. You. Get. The. Person. Of. Jesus. And. By. His. Spirit. He. Resides. In. Us. Causing. Us. To.

[16:28] Be. More. Gentle. More. Loving. When. You. Get. Frustrated. You. Will. Respond. With. Patience. When. You. Are. Wronged. I.

[16:38] Will. Respond. With. Forgiveness. The. Wisdom. Of. God's. Word. At. Work. Within. Our. Hearts. Will. Radically. Change.

[16:49] Our. Life. We. Will. Become. Like. Wisdom. Itself. Remember. Wisdom. Is. A. Person. So. We. Will.

[16:59] Become. More. Like. Christ. Compassionate. And. Gracious. So. We. Open. Up. Our. Bibles.

[17:09] We. Read. To. Gain. That. Wisdom. We. Pray. For. The. Holy. Spirit. Of. God. To. Take. That. Word. And. Drive. It. Deep. Into. Our. Hearts. So. That. We. Are. Changed.

[17:20] To. Become. More. Like. Him. That. Is. The. First. Treasure. Of. Gaining. Wisdom. It. Will. Change. You. Second.

[17:33] Treasure. It. Will. Save. You. It. Will. Save. You. From. All. Kinds. Of. Danger. You. See. We. Need. To. Know. That.

[17:43] There. Are. Other. Voices. Offering. Their. Wisdom. They. Are. Everywhere. They. Will. Be. There. In. Work. At. College. Amongst. Your. Friends. The. Wisdom. Of. Instagram. And. YouTube. Just.

[17:54] Flick. Through. Your. Screen. And. You. Will. Have. Instant. Wisdom. Instant. Voices. Saying. This. Way. Go. That. Way. And.

[18:05] We. Need. To. Be. So. Wise. About. The. Voices. We. Listen. To. So. Here. Is. A. Question. For. Us. What. Voice. Is. Influencing. Our. Life.

[18:16] Today. It. Could. Be. The. Voice. Of. Easy. Living. Verse. Twelve. Wisdom.

[18:28] Will. Save. You. From. The. Ways. Of. Wicked. Men. From. Men. Whose. Words. Are. Perverse. Now.

[18:39] Perverse. Isn't. Just. Crude. Living. It's. Taking. Something. Good. And. Beautiful. And. Twisting. It. To. Your. Own.

[18:49] Advantage. It's. Choosing. That. Path. That. Will. Make. My. Life. Easier. And. Comfortable. No. Matter. What. To. Anybody. Else. The.

[19:00] Voice. That. Comes. Alongside. Us. And. Says. Be. Kind. To. Yourself. Johnny. You. Know. What. You. Need. It's.

[19:10] Your. Life. Your. Choice. Cut. Out. Of. Your. Life. All. Those. Negative. People. And. All. Those. Who. Challenge. You. Get. Rid.

[19:21] Of. Them. And. Surround. Yourself. By. Those. Who. Will. Always. Nod. The. Voice. Of. Easy. Living. Be.

[19:32] Careful. For. These. Voices. Come. From. Verse. Thirteen. Those. Who. Have. Left. The. Straight. Paths. To. Walk.

[19:42] In. Dark. Ways. No. They. Are. Not. Speaking. The. Wisdom. Of. God. Or. Maybe. It's. Not. Easy. Living.

[19:53] Maybe. It's. The. Voice. Of. Easy. Love. Verse. Sixteen. For. Wisdom. Will. Save. You. Also. From. The.

[20:04] Adulterous. Woman. From. The. Wayward. Woman. With. Her. Seductive. Words. Well. Seductive. Words. Are. Enticing.

[20:14] Words. They. Can. Offer. You. Love. And. Pleasure. It's. The. Offer. Of. That. Secret. Affair. The. One.

[20:24] Night. Stand. That. Lingering. Kiss. It's. The. Voice. That. Sex. Says. Sex. Is. Free. And. It's. Got. No. Emotional.

[20:34] Involvement. Whatsoever. Your. Body. Your. Decision. Easy. Love. Is. Enticing. It's.

[20:45] Just. A. Bit. Of. Fun. Well. Be. Careful. These. Voices. Come. From. Verse. Seventeen. From.

[20:57] The. One. Who. Has. Left. The. Partner. Of. Her. Youth. And. Ignored. The. Covenant. She. Made. Before. God. They. Are. Not. Speaking.

[21:08] The. Word. Of. God. Of. Course. These. Words. The. Voice. Of. Easy. Living. And. Easy. Love. None. Of. This. Is. New. These.

[21:20] Are. The. Same. Kinds. Of. Words. That. Came. To. Adam. And. Eve. The. First. Man. And. Woman. In. The. Garden. Of. Eden. Do. You. Remember. What. The. Devil. Said. He. Came. Along. With.

[21:31] His. Perverse. Words. Oh. Will. Be. Opened. And. You. Will. Be. Like. God.

[21:42] In. Other. Words. Don't. Listen. To. God's. Wisdom. You. Are. Wise. You. Know. What's. Best. For. You. And. For. Your. Life. Choose.

[21:53] Your. Path. But. Turning. From. God's. Word. Leads. To. A. Path. Of. Destruction. Verse. Fifteen. Those. Whose. Paths. Are. Crooked.

[22:04] And. Who. Are. Devious. In. Their. Ways. Verse. Nineteen. None. Who. Go. To. Her. Return. Or. Attain. The. Paths. Of. Life.

[22:15] But. Verse. Twelve. Wisdom. Will. Save. You. From. The. Ways. Of. Wicked. Men. Verse. Sixteen. Wisdom. Will.

[22:26] Save. You. Also. From. The. Adulterous. Woman. You. See. Wisdom. Offers. Us. Not. A. False. Life.

[22:36] And. Love. But. True. Life. And. Love. The. Very. Words. That. Jesus. Spoke. To. Us. Who. Says. I. Have. Come. That. You. May. Have. Life.

[22:48] And. Have. It. To. The. Full. The. Words. Of. Jesus. Who. Says. Greater. Love. Has. No. Man. Than. This. That. He. Would. Lay. Down. His.

[22:58] Life. For. His. Friends. And. That's. What. Jesus. Did. In. His. Great. Love. He. Lay. Down. His. Life. So.

[23:10] That. We. Might. Have. Life. And. Experience. Love. In. Jesus. We. Have. All. The. Treasures. Of. Wisdom. And. Knowledge. In. Jesus. We. Have.

[23:20] Life. And. Love. We. Do. Not. Need. To. Search. Elsewhere. It's. All. In. Him. So. Get. Wisdom. And.

[23:31] It. Will. Save. You. From. All. Kind. Of. Danger. Third. Treasure. Get. Wisdom.

[23:42] Search. For. It. Because. It. Will. Bless. You. Verse. Twenty. One. For. The. Upright. Will. Live.

[23:52] In. The. Land. And. The. Blameless. Will. Remain. In. It. But. The. Wicked. Will. Be. Cut. Off. From. The. Land. And. The. Unfaithful.

[24:04] Will. Be. Torn. From. It. Can you. See. What. It's. Saying. There. In. Those. Couple. Of. Verses. To. Live. In. The. Land. Well. That's. Going. To. Be. Blessing. If.

[24:15] You're. Cut. Off. From. The. Land. It's. Going. To. Be. Curse. But. What's. What's. This. Land. All. About. Where. Where. Do. We. Find. This. Land. What. Is. It. Well.

[24:27] Go. With. Me. Back. In. Your. Bibles. To. Deuteronomy. Again. Keep. Your. Finger. Please. In. Proverbs. And. Go. Back. To. Deuteronomy. Chapter.

[24:38] Twenty. Eight. Deuteronomy. Chapter. Twenty. Eight. Here.

[24:52] God. Is. Speaking. To. His. People. Through. Moses. And. He's. Talking. About. Blessing. Or. Curse.

[25:03] In. The. Land. Or. Torn. From. The. Land. Deuteronomy. Twenty. Eight. Verse. One. If.

[25:14] You. Fully. Obey. The. Lord. Your. God. And. Carefully. Follow. All. His. Commands. That. I. Give. You. Today. The. Lord. Your. God. Will. Set. You. High.

[25:24] Above. All. The. Nations. On. Earth. All. These. Blessings. Will. Come. To. You. And. Accompany. You. If. You. Obey. The. Lord.

[25:35] Your. God. Verse. Eight. The. Lord. Will. Send. A. Blessing. On. Your. Barns. And. On. Everything. You. Put. In. Your. Hand.

[25:45] To. The. Lord. Your. God. Will. Bless. You. In. The. Land. He. Is. Giving. You. Now. Look. At. Verse. Fifteen. However.

[25:58] If. You. Do. Not. Obey. The. Lord. Your. God. And. Do. Not. Carefully. Follow. All. His. Commands. And. Decrees. I. Giving. You. Today. All. These. Curses. Will. Come.

[26:08] On. You. And. Overtake. You. Verse. Twenty. One. The. Lord. Will. Plague. You. With. Diseases. Until. He. Has. Destroyed. You. From.

[26:18] The. Land. You. Are. Entering. To. Possess. Let's. Go. Back. To. Proverbs. You.

[26:29] See. Very. Simple. And. Clear. Isn't it? Follow. Every. Command. Listen. To. God's. Word. Do. What. It. Says. Follow. The. Path. Of. Wisdom.

[26:39] And. You. Will. Live. In. The. Land. You. Will. Be. Blessed. That's. All. You. Have. To. Do. Just. Obey. But. We. Know. That.

[26:49] God's. People. Didn't. Obey. They. Chose. Their. Own. Path. They. Followed. The. Wisdom. Of. The. Wicked. Man. And. The. Adulterous. Woman. They. Were. Verse. Twenty.

[27:00] Cut. Off. From. The. Land. And. Torn. From. It. They. Were. Cursed. Now.

[27:10] The. Problem. Is. We. Are. Simply. No. Better. We. Are. Just. Like. God's. People. The.

[27:21] Truth. Is. I. Do. Not. Always. Seek. The. Wisdom. Of. God. I. Am. All. Too. Eager. To. Listen. To. Perverse. Words.

[27:32] And. Seductive. Words. I. I. Am. So. Conscious. That. I. Listen. To. My. Own. Wisdom. And. I. Deserve.

[27:42] To. Be. Cut. Off. To. Be. Torn. Away. From. God's. Blessing. I. Do. Not. Deserve. It. So.

[27:53] What. Is. Our. Hope. If. We. Cannot. Simply. Obey. God's. Word. And. Receive. His. Blessing. Well. Remember. Get.

[28:03] Wisdom. And. You. Get. Jesus. The. One. In. Whom. Are. Hidden. All. The. Treasures. Of. Wisdom. And. Knowledge. You.

[28:15] See. What. We. So. Desperately. Need. Is. Somebody. Who. Will. Come. And. Walk. The. Path. For. Us. That. We. Could. Never. Walk. One.

[28:26] Who. Look. At. Verse. One. Accepted. The. Words. Of. His. Father. And. Stored. Up. His. Commands. One. Who. Verse.

[28:36] Nine. Understood. What. Was. Right. And. Just. And. Fair. Every. Good. Path. One. Who. Didn't. Give.

[28:46] In. To. Temptation. When. The. Words. Perverse. Words. And. Seductive. Words. Came. Along. But. Faithfully. Obeyed. God. In. Everything. You.

[28:57] See. Jesus. The. Person. Is. Our. Wisdom. He. Alone. Verse. 20. Walked. In. The. Ways. Of. The. Good. And.

[29:08] Kept. To. The. Path. Of. The. Righteous. He. Walked. The. Path. The. We. Could. Never. Walk. In. Fact. He. Walked. The. Path. To. The. Cross. Because.

[29:20] On. The. Cross. There. He. Took. The. Curse. For. All. Of. Our. Disobedience. So. That. We. In. Turn. Might.

[29:30] Receive. The. Blessings. From. His. Good. And. Perfect. Life. You see the promise of land and blessing was never really about a place.

[29:47] The promise of land was always pointing towards a person. For Jesus is the true land of blessing that we all long for.

[30:00] We are called to live in him. We are called to remain in him. To abide in him. To reside in him. Jesus is our land.

[30:12] He is our home. Come to Jesus and we will receive his life and his love. A life that is full of peace in times of worry.

[30:23] Comfort in times of our grief. Assurance in times of our doubt. A love that will come to us that is steadfast and faithful. And secure in the midst of all the times we mess up and fail.

[30:40] Come to Jesus. Our true wisdom. And we will receive a better and eternal land. The kingdom of heaven to come.

[30:52] Where there will be no more suffering and no more sadness. There will be no more sin or disobedience. Instead we will be there and we will delight in the wisdom of Jesus forever.

[31:08] For we will be with him. Never ever to be cut off or ever to be torn away. Jesus. The truly wise one.

[31:25] Once told a story. He said it like this. The kingdom of heaven. Is like treasure. Hidden in a field.

[31:36] When a man found it. He hid it again. And then in his joy went out and sold all that he had. And bought that field.

[31:51] Wisdom is making Jesus the treasure of your life. Live in Jesus.

[32:03] And you will enjoy all the blessings of Jesus. Let's take a moment to reflect and pray.

[32:14] Amen. Amen. Amen. Lord God.

[32:41] You know the things that are on our hearts. The things and the people that we treasure so desperately. Help us, Father, that we would hold on to them lightly.

[32:58] That we would treasure you above all things and above all people. For in you, Lord Jesus, is all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

[33:17] You will give to us everything we need. A life that is changed so that we become more like you.

[33:28] A life that is saved from the many dangers of temptation that come our path. And you will give us the blessing of Christ himself.

[33:43] And of an eternal land. The kingdom of heaven. Thank you for the treasures that are ours today.

[33:55] Help us that we may rejoice in them. And live in them. And this we ask. For your glory.

[34:06] And for our good. Amen. Amen. We're going to stand together as we finish our time together.

[34:23] Our greatest treasure. Or as the song says, Christ is my reward. It is the best and the greatest thing that we could ever have.

[34:35] Let's stand together if we're able to and we'll sing together. Amen.