Sermon – “Hidden Treasure”

My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, 2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, 4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; 8 He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. 10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you,

This morning a message out titled hidden trays are children. What is a treasure? When you think of traitor as anything come to mind. What would you call a traitor. Come on and we’re going to happen to get the Dulce the help here. What’s a traitor. Something precious something valuable right. Something that you hold very dear and very valuable right that what you consider chocolate. That’s what you consider a traitor. Something very valuable worth great worth a great amount hidden treasure Smorgon my message comes from Proverbs Chapter two verses one through eleven before I begin to have someone the volunteer to open us with a purpose morning. Yes. Amen. Thank you. Proverbs to verses one through eleven hear the word of the Lord my son. If you receive my words and trace your my commands within you. So there’s that word right off the bat. If you trace your God’s commands within you. If you hold God’s commands as something very valuable and precious so that you incline your to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding. Yes if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding. I’m going to pause again because rate dissolute of the something if you cry out for discernment if you lift up your voice for understanding God is not going to hide it from you. He’s going to allow you to have it. He’s going to show it to you a man. If you say Kerr speaking of wisdom if you seek her as silver and search for her as hidden as for hidden treasure. Then you will understand the fear the Lord and find the knowledge of God for the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding he stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield for those who walk uprightly he guards the paths of justice and preserves the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice equity in every good path when wisdom enters your heart and knowledge is pleasant to your sole discretion will preserve you understanding will keep you. May God at His blessing so that hearing and reading of His Holy Word. If you didn’t quite catch it. The main theme of that passage is that wisdom of wisdom wisdom is the main thing that we’re going to be talking about. From that passage today and you know Solomon somehow off mentioned Solomon now for the least three weeks. Solomon considered by many to be the wisest man that ever lived. And saw. Women under the guidance of the Holy Spirit left up to left us with so many verses they give us practical insight and guidance for living a life that is pleasing and to God I mean you read to put the proverbs just full no Train Up a Child in the way should go when he is old should not be part of course there’s one particular verse that I like very well that says a girl ahead of gray is like a crown of splendor. I really like that one. I can use it since I have had a gray is a crown of splendor that I have appeared. But so many words you know he’s a credit credited with writing most of the proverbs all but the last couple were a few chapters. He’s are credited with writing all of the cliche Astley’s and all of Song of Solomon and then as all of this wisdom began with a great act of wisdom. He asked God for wisdom to judge his people you know he could have asked. He says God said Ask whatever you will and it will be yours. He could have asked for riches and fame and glory and all these things but he asked for wisdom in first kings three seven through nine he says now Lord my God you have made your servant king instead of my father David but I am a little child. I do not know how to go out or to come in and yours and your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen a great people to numerous to be numbered are counted there for give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people that I made the Cerne between good and evil for who is able to judge this great people of yours judge means to govern Solomon was asking God for the wisdom to know the difference between good and evil. That he may lead the people in the way of righteousness. A couple weeks from Election Day I wish we had some candidates were saying Father please laid me help me to latest people. Way of righteousness. Oh I wish that we were here Annette. Help us Lord Amen. There is a difference between wisdom and knowledge they can and should go together. I will say that they can and should go together. But we know that that’s not always the case is it. Knowledge is having the facts will call that head knowledge but the problem sometimes with head knowledge without wisdom it puffs up doesn’t it puffs up and makes one proud calls the sun the be filled with pride. There is a story about a young man who came to Socrates asking for knowledge he walked up to the muscular philosopher Polasek her and said Oh great. SOCRATES I come to you for knowledge. SOCRATES recognizing a pompous numbskull when he saw one. He led the young man through the streets down to the sea and waded out into the water chest deep. Then he asked again. What do you want knowledge a wise Socrates said the young man with a smile. Probably more of a smirk. SOCRATES pretty strong hands on the man’s shoulders pushed the Munder thirty seconds later he let him up he says What do you want. He asked again. Wisdom the young man sputtered a great wise Socrates. SOCRATES crunched him under again thirty seconds passed thirty five seconds and forty seconds. SOCRATES Let him up again. The man was gasping. What do you want young man between heavy heaving breast the fellow we. Knowledge of wise and wonderful so awkward to use Jannie Monder again. Forty seconds past fifty seconds that him up. What do you want ere the young man screeched I need air. He says when you want knowledge Jeff as you have wanted that air then you will have it but that sink in for a moment when we want the knowledge of God as much as we want the air that we then we shall have a man. Today we are living in a great information age a time when knowledge is expanding at a tremendous rate we can travel the world by plane in hours news can travel the world in virtually seconds language barriers are becoming quickly a thing of the past science and technology seem to have no limits to their capabilities they are already talking about cars that will someday drive themselves. They’re saying now by twenty twenty five or twenty twenty seven they expect to have cars that will drive themselves so you just kind of hop in Punch in your destination set back and leave the driving to well I guess you leave it to the computer. Isn’t that comforting knowing how computers sometimes work you might punch in while Want to go to Charlestown and wake up in Charleston if you hop in there took a nap. In that covered of knowledge you know in this step with this explosion in knowledge is an explosion of pride in a survey taken in one thousand nine hundred fifty S. twelve percent of high school seniors responded that they thought that they were a very very important person today. Eighty percent see themselves as being a very important person and a recent poll of college students. It shows that the majority of college students would rather receive a compliment. They need their favorite food or have relations if you know what I’m talking about almost all of our social problems around the world today can be traced to pride pride in oneself pride in one’s culture and even pride in one’s religious. Paul says in First Corinthians a now concerning things offered to idols we know that we all have knowledge knowledge pops up but love edifies if anyone thinks he knows anything he knows nothing yet as he ought to know but if any one loves God This one is known by God to know God when knowledge is joined together with wisdom. It is a good thing because wisdom allows one to apply the facts to a plow the knowledge they have to life. So knowledge without wisdom really is no good. It’s not going to help us in life if you don’t know how to apply it more to the point of more to the point of Solomon’s point is wisdom allows you to apply what you have learned to live in a life and God’s service being faithful to him. The fear of the Lord is beginning of wisdom the verse that really jumped out at me and just reason why I’m preaching Oneness was verse four it said if you seek or if you seek or a silver and if you search for as hidden treasure. Then you will find you know someone came to you and told you. Without a doubt. I am absolutely certain that I know where there is a treasure of great value buried and I know that it’s within this. Let’s say one acre perimeter. I know that there’s a treasure there and this trader is worth millions of dollars while some are probably going to say well man digging for treasure is hard work. It’s back breaking work I don’t think I can do it why don’t you go dig it up and then share it with me. But there are some that would say hey count me in let’s go. Let me give myself a point the way you know and they could take. Days. I mean Uyghurs a pretty good size you know I didn’t say ten acres. But even a neighbor’s a pretty good size it could take days could take weeks it could even take months even take years but if you know for certain that it’s there. You know it’s going to require a lot of work to find the treasure. It’s going to require a lot of dedication the fund that trades or so it’s not for the half hearted or that we card but you know what it’s with great dedication and great diligence they God wants us to search his word. And Search for Wisdom as if it is the greatest treasure ever. Why because it is the greatest treasure ever. How many here have their Bibles today thank your Bibles and put it in your hand hold your bible for me. If you would you’re holding a great treasure right dear in your hands your hold in a treasure in your hands. That is worth more than all the gold in the world. It’s worth more than all the silver in the world. You know we speak we think of a treasure we think of gold and silver. Presses jewels and all these sayings all these things that we hold highly as treasure in this world is nothing but an ordinary thing in heaven because what we think of while gold is precious minutes. How much an ounce. I don’t know. Twelve hundred dollars an ounce. It’s an ordinary thing in heaven. We’re going to walk on it. We think of those precious jewels as something a great treasure while they’re used in the building of the foundation of the New Jerusalem. So what we consider a great treasure here is an ordinary thing in heaven. This is the greatest treasure right here this is the words of life the words of wisdom God’s holy word Amen. Burst two said incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to one. Understanding of plier hard to understanding you know I think we have enough teachers here among us today. Teachers and retired teachers that I think that you will agree with the statement that I’m going to make I think the absolute most important thing that every single student must do to be able to do well in school is to apply themselves as my teachers agree with that apply themselves to give their absolute very best. Now I know I’m not so naive to think that every single student has the ability to be a straight A student but I believe that most students now unless they have some kind of a learning disability is going to be able to do better than average. I think of most every student they really truly apply themselves they’re going to make a zombie’s at least they might have a C. in their once in a while but they’d give it their very best they have applied themselves. You know if we all was born and had had insight. I would apply myself a lot more in school than I did. If I had a teacher that didn’t really care if you goofed off. Guess what I did. I goofed up but if I had a teacher it. I’m a Jew want made you learn. Guess what I did. I learned the stricter teachers that I have is the best grades that I ever got in school if I had a very strict teacher I had a very very strict teacher in the fifth grade I got more a’s in the fifth grade and I got my whole school career. Because I was afraid of that teacher. And I’m not afraid to tell you that. But if I had I had an English teacher I don’t think you care if you did anything. So that’s about what I did apply yourself children apply yourselves in school. But I’m not just talking about these to these young kids. I’m talking to everybody here apply yourselves. You’re never too old to learn apply yourselves to God’s word apply yourselves to gaining wisdom and understanding and knowledge. God wants us to apply ourselves. He doesn’t want to say Oh God I just take so much time and so much effort I just can’t do it. I don’t have the time for God why don’t you just supernaturally fill me with your wisdom while asleep but would it be nice if he did it that way but he doesn’t he wants us to apply ourselves to gain understanding sake for search for study is word to gain knowledge. God’s word is so vast. We can read it every day and it can be new There are sixty six books total in the Bible. I’m probably going to share information and most of you just know. Thirty nine books in the Old Testament twenty seven books in the New Testament but there are one thousand one hundred eighty nine chapters in the Bible nine hundred twenty nine chapters in the Old Testament two hundred sixty chapters in the New Testament. There are thirty one thousand one hundred three verses in the Bible total to twenty three thousand one hundred forty five in the old seven thousand nine hundred fifty eight verses in the New Testament his word is so vast. There’s so much knowledge there to be gain you know God could have to said we could just put it all down in the pamphlet really he got to just said I am God I created you but you sin and I sent my son to die if you believe in Him That is good if you don’t it’s not going to be so good for you but I’m going to send my some back so you better be ready or not ready. Sorry about your luck he could have made it real simple easy right. But he didn’t he didn’t. Why I praise God that he chose to give us this work. Heard and said Put it down a little pamphlet. Why because it helps us to learn of his love. It helps us to learn of his interaction with mankind. Do you realize it. Of the Bible is just a fraction of all he’s done. John twenty one twenty five says and there are also many other things that Jesus did which if they were written down one by one. I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. So this is just a wee bit. This is a pamphlet in God’s eyes. Ah this is a pamphlet in God’s eyes. If he wrote it all down. The world couldn’t how them all. How do you what an awesome God God designed his word in such a way that we would have to search for it and did for understanding why because as we search and did we become closer to him. We understand more his love for us anything three one through six speaks of the mystery. So as when I think of all this. I Paul a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles assuming by the way that you know God that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his Grace to you. Gentiles as I briefly wrote earlier God himself revealed his mysterious plan to May God revealed His mysterious plan to Paul as you read what I have written you will understand Paul was saying to us who give Paul the words god did as you read what I have written you will understand my insight into the plan regarding Christ. Paul says it’s not like you might. Dand if you read it you will understand it. God did not reveal it to the previous generations but now by speared he has revealed it to His holy apostles and prophets and this is God’s plan. This is God’s plan. Listen. Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the good news share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body and both enjoy the promise of blessing because they belong to Christ Jesus. Now that is simple. This is the plan he says there’s They are both Jew and Gentile both God’s children. Those who belong to Christ Jesus. Now doesn’t get a whole lot simpler than that as you know many years ago my wife and I when we were youth leaders at Holy Cross United Methodist Church we had a very good sized youth group and we come up with the idea of challenging the use to read through the Bible in a year and most of them said Yeah we’ll do it will do it. And so we went and bought the one your Bibles for everybody to have and tell you that there were days. Some days readings were pretty long it would take half Irene forty five minutes some days and you get into the Old Testament there was a lot of reading and not only did we challenge in this that they would have the reward of having a closer relationship with God having a greater knowledge of God but we had a reward for them at the end of the year that any that would follow through with this commitment we would take and want to drop the Busch Gardens. Well at the end of the year we had five which is pretty good. I mean I’m not saying that but we had five out of all that fulfilled that commitment and got to go on a trip to Busch Gardens but they did get the. The knowledge of growing closer to God and a greater understanding know there’s great value in learning Howard Hendricks teacher a preacher shares this insight about the value of learning. He said When I was a college student I worked in the college dining hall and all my way to work at five thirty every morning I walked past the home of one of my professors through a window I could see the light on it is Desk morning after morning and at night I stayed late at the library to take advantage of evening study time and returning home at ten thirty or eleven o’clock every night I would again see his desk light on he was always poring over his books and one day he invited me home for lunch and after the meal I said to him. Would you mind if I ask you a question for us or set of course not. He says What keeps you study every morning every night. You never seem to stop his answer. Son I would rather my students drink from a running stream than a stagnant pool. From a running stream. So as one vs one through three says bless it as a man who walks not in the council the godly nor stands in the path of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in season whose leaves also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper. Do you feel as though your fate is withering do you feel as though your faith is becoming stagnant. I can tell you how to get refresh to open this poor over. Let it be filled with the wisdom and understanding of God verse six in our passage says for the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding he will freely give it. If we deliberately seek it. When we faithfully seek it. He will faithfully give it the results from wisdom and knowledge and understanding is this Barbara has nine ten says the fear of the Lord of again in the wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding you know that there is an ethical discernment. Some people say that you know I wish I had the gift of discernment. Yes there is a gift of discernment just like there is the gift of healing there is a gift of miracles or a gift of teaching there is a gift of preaching there is a gift of discernment. But there is also a disarmament that is learned it is learned when we grow in our understanding of God’s Word which reveals that which is good and that which is evil. If God’s word says that murder is wrong. That doesn’t take a lot of the sermon then the know that murder is wrong right there is a discernment that is learned then also there’s the things that come to those with wisdom and those that seek the seeker will also be forded protection from the wicked it said in verse ten to twelve. When wisdom enters your heart and knowledge is pleasant to your SO. Discretion will preserve you understanding will keep you to deliver you from the way the evil from the man who speaks perverse things. Verse twenty twenty two. This is beyond what I read says. So if you walk in the way of goodness and keep to the paths of righteousness for the upright will dwell in the land and the blameless we will remain in it but the wicked will be cut off from the earth and the unfaithful be uprooted from it. When it closes Proverbs eight seventeen three twenty one the Lord says I love those who love me and those who seek me diligently will find me riches and honor are with me and during riches and righteousness my fruit is better than gold. Yes then fine gold and my revenue then choice silver I traverse the way of righteousness in the midst of the paths of justice that I may cause those who love me to and Herod wealth that I may fill their tracery God says if you diligently seek Him you will find him. And guess what he wants to feel your tracery as he wants to feel you. He wants to fill your mind in your heart with all the knowledge and wisdom that he had but he wants you to come to him and diligently seek are you seeking or you apply yourself to understanding God and if you are his word to me as a promise you will find him you seek Him you will find him you seek understanding you will find it you seek knowledge you will find so I encourage you today. That’s the word to seek seek out God’s knowledge as you would see. And seek and search for a hidden treasure. Because as this word just said it’s better than fine go searching today. A man.