The Exceeding Preciousness Of Wisdom

”The Exceeding Preciousness of Wisdom” (Proverbs 2:1-5)

Introduction: What is precious to you? What do find to have more value than anything else you can think of? If an answer doesn’t come readily to mind, then ask yourself, What do you spend most of your time on? What do you spend most of your money for? What is it that occupies your thoughts more than anything else? The answer to these questions reveal what it is that you find to be the most valuable and precious to you. But what are the answers that you gave to these questions? Was it your work that came to mind? Are you busy trying to build a successful business in life? Was it your family that you thought of? Do you devote most of your time to develop your relationships with your wife and children? Was it sports or recreation that has captivated your time and thoughts? Do you keep up on all the latest scores in pro-sports? Do you often day-dream about the lake where you love to fish? Are you addicted to computer games? But, to go further, what should the answer to these questions be for every Christian? What should the most precious thing be to you? What should you be devoting your time to? What should be on your mind and heart more than anything else? It must be the Lord, of course! If you are a Christian, then the Lord and the things of the Lord are the most important to you, or else you are not a Christian at all. The Christian seeks in every way and at all times to glorify the Lord in everything that he does, because he belongs to the Lord and not to himself. Paul wrote, ”I URGE YOU THEREFORE, BRETHREN, BY THE MERCIES OF GOD, TO PRESENT YOUR BODIES A LIVING AND HOLY SACRIFICE, ACCEPTABLE TO GOD, WHICH IS YOUR SPIRITUAL SERVICE OF WORSHIP” (Rom. 12:l); ”FOR YOU HAVE BEEN BOUGHT WITH A PRICE: THEREFORE GLORIFY GOD IN YOUR BODY” ( 1 Cor. 6:2 0 ) . Jesus said, ”FOR WHOEVER WISHES TO SAVE HIS LIFE SHALL LOSE IT; BUT WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE FOR MY SAKE SHALL FIND IT” (Matt. 16:24). You do not offer your body to God only to take it back again. You are not purchased with a price only to live as though you owned yourself. You do not lose your life only to take it up again for yourself. Does this mean that you may no longer do the things that you please after coming to Christ? Does this mean that your life-style has to change? Yes, it must change drastically. You now have a new name stamped on your forehead which reads, ”HOLINESS TO THE LORD.” You are to be holy in mind and body, words and works. Everything you do is now to be Christ-centered. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:31, ”WHETHER, THEN, YOU EAT OR DRINK OR WHATEVER YOU DO, DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD” ( 1 Cor. 10:31 1. This does not mean that you will never do anything that you want. You always do the things that you want at all times. But what it means is that your new heart will desire to do everything that you do to God’s glory, and if you can’t do it for His glory, then you will not want to do it at all. But you may ask yourself the question, What does this have to do with the preciousness of wisdom, which is the title of this sermon? It has much to do with it, for the wisdom which is being referred to here is no ordinary wisdom. It is the wisdom of God to live daily a life pleasing to Him. It is the knowledge of how to live for His glory. What could possibly be more precious to the Christian than the answer to that plaguing question, What is the will of God for my life? Such knowledge will be very precious to you if you are Christ’s. You already know that the Lord has given to you the book of Proverbs to teach you this wisdom for life. You also know that the fear of the Lord is the place where godly wisdom and knowledge is to begin. And you know that

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the Lord has warned that to turn away from such knowledge will result in the Lord’s turning away from you in the day of your calamity. This morning, you need to see that, You must intensely desire God’s wisdom in your life if you are to obtain it.

I.

First, I Want to Remind You What the Goal Is That Is to Be Reached. A. Solomon says that it is that you might have the ability to discern the fear of the Lord, that is to perceive or to understand it. 1 . The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. It is that holy dread of God that you should do anything against His holy law and incur His wrath and judgment. 2. But the fear of the Lord is also the end, or the goal of all wisdom. a. The more you fear the Lord, the wiser you will be. b. And the wiser you become, the more you will understand what it means to fear God. c. The grand conclusion of Solomon to all of the problems of life in the book of Ecclesiastes is this, ”FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, BECAUSE THIS APPLIES TO EVERY PERSON. FOR GOD WILL BRING EVERY ACT TO JUDGMENT, EVERYTHING WHICH IS HIDDEN, WHETHER IT IS GOOD OR EVIL” (12:13-14). d. To fear God is the beginning of wisdom, and to understand the fear of the Lord is the goal of all wisdom. B.

II.

That goal is also described as finding the knowledge of God. 1 . They come together and cannot be found apart. 2. The knowledge of God is to be found in the way of the fear of the Lord, and the more that you know about God, the more you will fear Him, for He is a great and terrible God. 3. As much as we might like to gloss over that fact and think of God more in the light of His love, we must not forget that He is an awesome God who is to be feared. The sooner we learn that fact, the more we will live in such a way as to glorify Him.

But There Are Conditions Which Are Laid Down by Solomon Before You Might Obtain this Knowledge. A. There are usually conditions to be met before you can get anything in our society. 1 . In our culture you must be 15 1/2 years old before you can get your drivers permit and 16 years old before you can get your license, provided you have met all of the other conditions. 2. In order to receive an inheritance, you must first be the designated heir to someone’s fortune, and that person must first die before it becomes yours. 3 . In order to get married, you must first have a blood test. Then you must apply for a marriage license. And then you must be married by an officer of the state who has the power to marry. 4. Conditions are not something strange in our society. B.

There are conditions in the spiritual realm as well. 1 . You must be adopted into the family of God before you will ever in the end be glorified. 2. You must be justified by the righteousness of Christ before you can be adopted into God’s family. 3 . You must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ before you can stand

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as just in the sight of your holy God. You must be born again before you can believe on Christ in order to be saved. 5. In most cases you must hear the Gospel before you can be regenerated. Paul wrote, "HOW THEN SHALL THEY CALL UPON HIM IN WHOM THEY HAVE NOT BELIEVED? AND HOW SHALL THEY BELIEVE IN HIM WHOM THEY HAVE NOT HEARD? ANn HOW SHALL THEY HEAR WITHOUT A PREACHER? ANn HOW SHALL THEY PREACH UNLESS THEY ARE SENT?" (Rom. 10:14-15). The only exceptions to this rule are those of His elect whom He saves dying in infancy or from those who never have the mental capacity to understand the Gospel. 6. There are always certain conditions which must be met before you may obtain anything. 4.

III.

Here, Solomon Tells You What the Conditions Are Which You Must Meet Before You May Obtain This Precious Knowledge. A. You must receive this knowledge and treasure up the commandments within you. 1 . There must be a willingness on your part to acquire wisdom. a. The literal reading places the emphasis on your part. You must take these sayings. You must lay hold of them. b. A great banquet of the delicacies of wisdom are laid out for you on a large table. But they will do you no good unless you reach out and take them. You must fill your plate with the best of this spiritual food. c. But you have not really done what Solomon here refers to until you have eaten what you have taken, until you have received those morsels into your body. d. It is a taking which includes the willingness to receive it. 2.

But there is another difference. Food is eaten only to be eliminated after it has been used by the body. Solomon says that you must not only receive it, but treasure it up. a. In terms of our analogy, this would be like eating more than what you need merely to maintain your body. It is eating enough to strengthen it, and to build it up. b. It is a nourishing which brings with it more than the prevention of starvation, but the making of a healthy and vibrant body. c. Wisdom is to be stored, it is to be treasured up as something which will strengthen your soul for the time to come. It is to be hidden in your heart and mind, and used as a precious guide in life. It is not something to be eaten and then eliminated.

3.

But in order for you to treasure up this valuable commodity, you must have a readiness to listen to it, and have a heart inclined towards receiving it. a. Most of the Israelites would not have possessed a copy of the Scriptures. Their main source of information, then, would be from hearing the priests and Levites read it. (i) You too must give careful attention to the Word as it is read, so that you might store up this treasure in your heart . (ii) Not long ago you were also exhorted from Scripture in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 to continually teach these things to

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your children as well. If your child is distracted by something else, how well can you expect them to learn? You must make sure that they are listening before you attempt to teach them. (iv) However, you will more often than not find, that your problem in learning these things is not due to a problem with the ear, but with one of the heart.

(iii)

b.

B.

Solomon says that your heart must be inclined towards these words as well. The natural man does not receive the things of God, not because he cannot hear them, but because he will not hear them. They are foolishness to him ( 1 Cor. 2:14). Christ said that the ungodly will not come to the light, not because they can't see it, but because of the wickedness of their hearts. They hate the light, because their deeds are evil (John 3:20). You must first be born again from above before the holy light of God's wisdom will be lovely to you. And you will show in your life that it is by turning from all of your sins to Christ in faith. Jesus is the most lovely being in the universe. And when the scales of darkness fall from your eyes, and you see His beauty and His holiness, you cannot but be irresistibly drawn to Him, and far away from your former sins. When your heart is changed by God, the light of His wisdom becomes so lovely and precious to you, that you will spare no pains in acquiring and storing up as much godly wisdom and knowledge as you possibly can. It will be to you as the pearl of great price. And so first you must have a heart to receive it, and to treasure it up within you before you may lay hold of it. But there is another condition that the Lord lays down in this passage before you may acquire it.

Solomon says, secondly, you must CALL OUT for insight and LIFT YOUR VOICE for understanding. 1 . You will so yearn for this knowledge, that you cannot be restrained from crying out for it. 2. Solomon is speaking here of prayer. a. Prayer is the crying out of the holy longings of your soul after God. It is the seeking of God for the fulfillment of your spiritual thirst. It is the asking of God to let you drink deeply of the waters of His grace. b. And since you know from this passage that God is the source of the wisdom that you most desperately need, you must cry out to Him, you must give your voice over to the holy exercise of this means of grace, if you are to obtain it. c. You know that when you pray, you will only be heard if you pray according to His will. d. But here the Lord tells you that it is His will that you be filled with godly wisdom. You needn't fear that you will be turned away by God. "BUT IF ANY OF YOU LACK WISDOM," James writes, "LET HIM ASK OF GOD, WHO GIVES TO ALL MEN GENEROUSLY

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AND WITHOUT REPROACH, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO HIM. BUT LET HIM ASK IN FAITH WITHOUT ANY DOUBTING, FOR THE ONE WHO DOUBTS IS LIKE THE SURF OF THE SEA DRIVEN AND TOSSED BY THE WIND. FOR LET NOT THAT MAN EXPECT THAT HE WILL RECEIVE ANYTHING FROM THE LORD” (1:5-7). e. And so your renewed heart will cry out to God in prayer for this most wonderful of holy possessions. C.

And lastly, Solomon says that you must seek her as silver and search her out as hidden treasure. 1 . There are few things that men value more in life than money.

Some give their whole lives to obtain it, and yet when it is found, they are no better for it, but often much worse. Paul wrote to Timothy, ”FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY IS A ROOT OF ALL SORTS OF EVIL, AND SOME BY LONGING FOR IT HAVE wANnEREn AWAY FROM THE FAITH, AND PIERCED THEMSELVES THROUGH WITH MANY A PANG” ( 1 Tim. 6:1 0 ) . b. Money is only of use in this life, but not as an end in itself, but as a means to an end, the end of the glory of God. c. If you seek it for itself, in the end it will not profit you at all, but destroy you. Jesus said, ”FOR WHAT WILL A MAN BE PROFITED, IF HE GAINS THE WHOLE WORLD, AND FORFEITS HIS SOUL?” (Matt. 16:26). a.

2. But the wisdom which leads to godliness, on the other hand, ”IS PROFITABLE FOR ALL THINGS, SINCE IT HOLDS PROMISE FOR THE PRESENT LIFE AND ALSO FOR THE LIFE TO COME” ( 1 Tim. 4:8). a. How can a few measly dollars, which are held very uncertainly in this life, compare with the eternal glories of God’s kingdom? b. Would you trade your soul to obtain it? c. Why then do you spend so much of your time worrying about it, but neglect the gaining of the precious gold of God’s wisdom? d. Why do you lay up your treasures on the earth where they will certainly be lost to you forever, instead of gaining those precious things which will help you store up your treasures in a place where they can never be lost? e. If you could really see the value of eternal wisdom, you would look at yourself now and think that you were mad to place so much value on worldly things. f. But until you see the preciousness of godly wisdom, you will never pursue it in the way that will make it yours. You must seek her as silver; you must search her out as hidden treasure. g. People of God, are you seeking the knowledge of God? Is this the most precious thing in the world to you? Do you see the utter worthlessness of everything else compared to it? Then go to those places where it is found. Buy it up! Treasure it up in your heart! God’s Word is a treasure of information, made beautiful through the Spirit’s work, and able to guide you daily in the paths of righteousness. Cry out unceasingly to God for it! Lift up your voice to the Lord and plead for it! For its worth is greater than

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anything else in this world. For by it the gates of God’s glorious kingdom are opened to you, the treasures of His love and mercy are revealed, but apart from it you are poor and beggarly, and may only grope around blinded by the darkness. May the light of His wisdom shine in your heart! Amen.