A Treasure worth seeking

I know a lot of you were at New Horizon this year, and one of the speakers was a man named Tim Chester who pastors a church in England. Tim has a really good book called ‘Enjoying God’. And in the second chapter of his book he asks this question, Do you want more of God? Do you want to enjoy Him? Do you want to grow deeper in your relationship with Him?

It seems like a simple question, and it seems like for every Christian it should have a simple and obvious answer! But we don’t want to play the Sunday School game this morning, were Jesus is the answer no matter what the question is! We want to be real, because until we’re real we’ll never move forward! So let’s take one minute, and let’s honestly ask ourselves the question, Do I want to know more of God in my life? Or are there just other things I would way prefer? (Silence…)

…If your answer to that question honestly in your heart was ‘no’. Then well done for being honest! But please don’t stop there. Before this day is out, will you please share that with a brother or sister, and ask them to pray with you and for you! It is so important!

If your answer to that question was yes, ‘I do want to know more of God in my life, I want to enjoy Him and know intimacy with Him’. Then I believe this passage can help us greatly!

Let’s read 2:1-22...

The Pursuit of More (v.1-5)

Last week we heard about Wisdom’s passion as she stands right where the rubber hits the road and tries to fight for our attention! But in our passage this morning we see our responsibility! We have a role to play in our pursuit of wisdom, in our pursuit of more of God in our lives! Gaining wisdom, is not a passive thing, we don’t just stumble into it, we can’t drift along and expect to find it! It must be pursued!

Now remember Solomon is writing here to his Son, but also to the people of Israel. He is addressing the covenant people of God, and trying to teach them what it is to walk as God’s people is a way that pleases Him, to live with skill as the chosen ones of God. This is not a case of salvation by works, it’s not a case of ‘do these things and then you’ll be saved’, this is addressed to those who are already part of God’s people, already partakers of His grace!

But there is always more of God to discover, to delight in, to trust, to enjoy, to marvel at! There is always room to grow in wisdom and in our knowledge of Him! And that’s what Solomon points us to here.

Now I want you to see in these first 5 verses the conditional clause that Solomon uses. You see If 3 times, in v.1, v.3, v.4, and then you see then in v.5. If you do this, then this will be the outcome! The outcome we see here is just wonderful in v.5...

This is the single most important, most satisfying, most glorious thing you can ever find! Better than a husband or wife, better than kids, better than the exam results, the uni place, the job, the home, the holiday! Those things are all lovely gifts, but nothing compared to knowing God!! Nothing!!!

So what must we do, what part do we play to tap into this more!?

And the answer we see here, is passionate pursuit! We’re to receive / take hold of / grasp / seize his words! The words here are the proverbs that will follow from Chapter 10, but we can also add to that all of God’s Word, all that He reveals in Scripture. This moves beyond the call to listen, now we’re called to internalise it, own it, submit to it! Take these words into heart as a treasure!

The more precious we hold something, the more we will treasure it in our hearts! The more we’ll internalise, own it, take hold of it! If someone says something about an area that is dear to you, maybe your family, your appearance, your performance, those words don’t just pass by like so much else of what we hear each day! If it’s precious to us, we treasure up those words, sometimes in a negative sense that leads to obsession, anxiety, paranoia. But sometimes in a positive sense, that brings us joy or helps us grow. Do you remember Mary just after Jesus’ birth... And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ()

We’re to incline our hearts to understanding. Our hearts are never static. They don’t sit still, they are constantly moving.

Like a great sunflower as it turns it’s head following the sun across the sky.

Left to themselves our hearts will naturally run after all sorts of things! Therefore we must fight to incline them, we must struggle to keep deliberately turning them towards the truth of God’s word!

You think of a great ship on the high seas and the captain struggling with all his might to turn the wheel (helm) so that the ship will stay on course!

The Biblical authors knew of this struggle. Listen to the Psalmist…Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! ()

Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds… ()

...ncline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! ESV

This is a fight, it’s a struggle, it comes with great effort!

Solomon goes on to encourage this crying out (v.3). This is something we earnestly ask for! If someone has something that we really want, and we know that they’re willing to give, we ask! Depending on how much we want it, we will cry out!! You get that sense in these Psalms. When was the last time you got alone and cried out to God! Cried out to know more of Him, cried out to see Him more clearer in His Word, cried out to taste more of His goodness!

We’re to seek this like we would treasure Solomon says (v.4)!

Have you ever lost something that you really really needed and wanted? You know it’s there somewhere, and so you begin to search. Now I mean really search!! It’s not a casual looking around the room! This is getting on your hands and knees, this is hands down the back of the sofa even though it’s hurting! This is the type of seeking that only happens when you’re in the zone! No one better get in your way!!

That’s the mindset we need as we come to God’s Word! In it there is treasure, there is wisdom, wisdom that leads to the fear of the Lord, the knowledge of God, more!! It’s there, if we’ll just seek it!!

Life is so busy, there are so many things fighting for our attention at every moment! And what can happen then is we come to the Word distracted, sleepy, rushed! We read our passage, pray and go. But that’s not how we’ll find this treasure, we need to dig, seek, search!

Let me encourage you this morning, think through the place you have in your life where you engage with God in His Word. And prioritize it! Put it in a place that is central, that doesn’t get moved! Not because we have to to earn something from God, but because we want to, to know and enjoy more of God! When you open the Bible read it and cry out, take hold, seek! ‘God show me more of you this day! Lord let me see more of who you are and how great you are!!’

If we do this, then we will find! Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever. 9“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. ()

The Source of More (v.6-11)

As we seek, we will find, because (note the for in v.6), the Lord gives wisdom. He is the source! He’s the fountain, He is the One from whom it all comes! And Solomon wants to make clear here that He is willing to give! IF, then, because! Obviously Solomon has had first hand experience of this, he sought wisdom, he cried out to God, and God gave more than he could ask or imagine!

Do you ever struggle to believe that God is a willing giver? I know I do! I often feel like I need to deserve, convince, persuade God to give. Partly because of times I’ve asked for in the past and He hasn’t given in the way I’ve expected, or hasn’t given at all! Yet, when we ask according to His will we know he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. ().

He is that Father who delights to give His children good things. Not all we ask for is good, that’s why it’s so important to ask according to His will revealed in His Word! He defines good!

But here He tells us to seek the best, to ask for the best, that wisdom that brings us deeper into the knowledge (not just head), of Himself! And look just how He gives it…from his mouth...

God is this great source, and the way that we drink is through the words that come from His mouth! God has spoken, He has revealed Himself. He has made Himself and His will known to us through the Words that He has inspired in this book! What a joy that is! In our seeking, we know where to go! We know where to search! God has given us the perimeters! That again was the experience of the Psalmist…..

And what a beautiful picture of what happens when that wisdom lands on us, when we go to the source and receive from His mouth, when we grow in Him…He becomes a shield to us, He guards our path, watches over our ways! There’s a sense in which God becomes intimately involved in every area of our lives! We’re more conscious of His care and presence in all circumstances!

We walk in His ways, but it’s not some burdensome thing, it’s not legalism, its not obedience out of compulsion! Rather v.9-10...

We begin to understand what it is to walk closely with God and please Him in various situation, and it’s pleasant, it’s a joy, it’s our delight! For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome… ()

If you’re here this morning and you want to walk in wisdom, you want to know more of God in your life. Then remember He is the Source! He is the One who gives, and He gives to us mainly and centrally through His Word!

The Path of More (v.12-22)

The last thing I want us to just notice from this passage this morning is the path that more wisdom, more of God leads us down! Did you notice in these verses just how many times Solomon mentions way or path. 9 times! As we seek more wisdom, and more of God in our lives, it leads us down a very definite path! But there are 2 things in particular Solomon is keen to warn his son, and all of us of...

The Danger of Perverted Speech (v.12-15)

This word perverted here (v.12&14) literally means ‘to turn upside down’. And here is the danger that this son faces, and we all face! The world around us is so full of lies, ideologies, opinions, insights, ideas that take the truth of what God has revealed, the truth that comes from His mouth and turns it upside down!

And there’s great temptation in it! Who wants to fail to move with the times! Who wants to be seen as opposing the seeming joy and delight that comes from walking down this path! We all have that desire to be accepted, to be included! We all have that desire to be one of the crowd and not stand out! But Solomon makes clear to us here, their ways are devious! They lead down a path that is false, and will only lead to destruction.

I don’t know if any of you listen or have heard of the TED talks. They’ve been going for many years now, and are billed as a place to share new ideas, new ways of thinking. I’ve listened to a number of them, and have been so intrigued by the so called evangelicals that I’ve listened to. Men and woman who speak in such a way that turn the words of God upside down! Make them seem contrary to what they so clearly mean! Trying to make the teaching of the bible unoffensive and culturally acceptable. It’s so sad!

But it’s so common! Yet the wisdom that God gives us in His Word, as we grow to know more of Him, the more we are delivered from these things. The more we are protected from the danger of these perverse words and ideas! The more we can stand against the tide and against the pressure to conform, and we can walk in every good path!

The Danger of Smooth Words (v.16-19)

We also see here another kind of speech! This time its the smooth words of the adulteress. She doesn’t turn the words of God upside down, rather she just abandons them all together. She forsakes the companion of her youth, and in doing that, the covenant of her God! And she wants to bring others with her!

There’s a real temptation to be in with the crowd, to be one of the guys if you like, with their perverse words. But there’s another great temptation for this son, and for us all, and that’s the lure of lust! Sexuality is such a central theme throughout the Scriptures, there’s no other picture sums up and helps dramatise the dangers of sin quite like it!

Here the words that seek to draw us away are smooth, slippery, they flatter! But just like the perverse they are contrary to the words that come from the mouth of the Lord! And their fruit is chilling, none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.

The words seem so attractive, they seem so good, so pleasant, just like the fruit in the garden that Eve looked at yet knew it was forbidden! If sin wasn’t attractive then we wouldn’t be tempted by it! But it always leads to death! Solomon here is telling us how this danger will be avoided! It’s through the wisdom of God, that skill for living, that growing in the knowledge of Him!

And how we need that today as much as ever! We live in a world that is hyper sexualised! Everywhere we look we see, we hear those smooth words! But the path of wisdom, the path of more brings us down a different route! It delivers us by overcoming the smooth words, with the true words that really satisfy!

v.20-22...

Do you want more this morning? More wisdom, more of the knowledge of God in your life! Then we must pursue it! It’s not a passive thing! We must recognise the Source, God Himself, He is the One who gives, who delights to give, and from His mouth has given! And we must understand the path it leads us on! To know more of Him, leads to paths of righteousness, it protects us from the dangers of sin in this world!

How beautifully we see all of this fulfilled in Christ! The One who sought God perfectly, always inclining His hearts to His testimonies. He always went straight to the Source and submitted to that revealed Word. And He at every moment was delivered, guarded protected from the danger of sin! Tempted just as we are, yet never once failing, but rather constantly staying on the path of righteousness! Which means that as we pursue this, we do so securely! We do so knowing that Jesus has gone before us and completed it for us! When we fail, He lifts us, we we stumble, He upholds us! We can freely pursue this more, because Christ pursued us!