Proverbs 1:7 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

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1 Have you ever been on a treasure hunt? MINING FOR GOLD Proverbs 2:1-9 Proverbs 1:7 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 15:33a 33 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom. Proverbs 8:13 13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. Proverbs 16:6b 6... by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil. Proverbs 2:4-5 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. Solomon uses different grammar tools to teach his proverbs. In this passage, he uses couplets. MINING FOR GOLD Proverbs 2:1-8 1 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. We are given 4 tools to dig for this golden treasure of wisdom, the fear of God. I. The Conditions A. DISCIPLINE OF THE WRITTEN WORD 1 My son,... receive my words And treasure my commands within you words something said sayings

2 MINING FOR GOLD Page 2 of 7 The sayings and commandments are God s Word. To use this tool correctly we must do two things. 1. WE MUST HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD S WORD. Our attitude toward the Bible determines virtually everything about how skillfully we will live the Christian life. If we study God s Word and are receptive, putting what we learn into practice, we will be blessed, successful, and our rewards will be great. If not and we ignore its teachings, we will be no more successful than if we were digging for gold with our bare hands. 2. SATURATE YOU MIND WITH GOD S WORD We can learn from Israel s history what happens to God s people as they neglected the learning and obedience to God s Word. We need to recall all the times and hundreds of years they were defeated in battles and had to serve other nations as slaves. Hosea 4:6 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. They neither learned nor obeyed the Law and they starved spiritually. The right handling of this tool, God s Word, includes hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on it. This bit of gold God wants us to hoard. Psalms 119:11 11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. We must be receptive and responsive to God s sayings and God s commandments. Such diligent digging will result in a great golden treasure of WISDOM. B. DISCIPLINE OF INNER DESIRE Our second tool is found in the couplet of v So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding Lose this tool and you are in big trouble. THE DIVINE CONQUEST -- A. W. Tozer Is it not true that for most of us who call ourselves Christians there is no real experience? We have substituted theological ideas for an arresting encounter; we are full of religious notions, but our great weakness is that for our hearts there is no one there.

3 MINING FOR GOLD Page 3 of 7 Whatever else it embraces, true Christian experience must always include a genuine encounter with God. Without this, religion is but a shadow, a reflection of reality, a cheap copy of an original one enjoyed by someone else of whom we have heard. (p. 26) Christianity is not a RELIGION, but a RELATIONSHIP. It is having an ongoing love affair with the Lord Jesus Christ. How then are we to have the right MOTIVATION and not just be going through the motion of mining and ending up empty-handed? THIS DISCIPLINE COMES ABOUT IN FOUR WAYS: 1. HAVE AN ATTENTIVE EAR ILLUS: When our children were babies and Debra was nursing she always heard them crying during the night when it was time to nurse. The day she stopped nursing all three, she stopped hearing them. So we are to be sensitive to God s voice. Our ears are to be attuned to Him and His sayings and commandments. ASK GOD TO MAKE YOU ATTENTIVE TO WISDOM S VOICE. 2. CULTIVATE AN OPEN HEART With the ear we receive wisdom and with the HEART we store it up. Note what kind of heart it takes. v. 2b And apply your heart to understanding; apply - to stretch or spread out AMPLIFIED And inclining and directing your heart and mind to understanding [applying all your powers to the quest for it]; AMP This is the discipline of INNER DESIRE to hear and study God s Word with an open heart and mind to know Him. In couplet #3 we find our 3 rd tool in digging for this buried golden treasure of WISDOM. C. DISCIPLINE OF PREVAILING PRAYER 3... cry out for discernment, Lift up your voice for understanding, In mining or construction, there are tools that we are good at using.

4 MINING FOR GOLD Page 4 of 7 ILLUS: Working as a bi-vocational pastor in Colorado. Timber-jack proficient in using chainsaw, wedges, ax, building a FIRE. This mining tool of prevailing prayer, for most of us, is the most difficult to wield, and become proficient in. Fervent prayer. MARTIN LUTHER 3 of the best hours of every day in prayer. EXAMPLE: My 1 hour of prayer in college. What can we do? 1. DECLARE THE NEED FOR DISCERNMENT...cry out for discernment cry out - accosting a person met; to call out to discernment knowledge that comes from perfect understanding Don t wish for discernment cry out for it pray fervently 2. DECREE THE NEED FOR UNDERSTANDING...lift up your voice for understanding, understanding intelligence on steroids, intelligence as used in an argument James 4:2b You do not have because you do not ask James 1:5-8 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Proverbs 15:33a 33 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom Job 28:12 12 "But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Job 28:20 20 "From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?

5 MINING FOR GOLD Page 5 of 7 Job 28:23 23 God understands its way, and He knows its place. Job 28: Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out. 28 And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.' D. DISCIPLINE OF DAILY CONSISTENCY Our last and final tool is in the couplet in v. 4 v. 4...Seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures To become successful miners and proficient with our tools for mining the golden treasure of WISDOM, we must develop some measure of consistency in our daily digging. Here is the key for DAILY CONSISTENCY 1. SEEK WISDOM WITH DILIGENCE 2. PURSUE WISDOM WITH PATIENCE seek - to search out; to strive after (by any method, specifically in worship or prayer) This wisdom is not to be found with the seeking of the Hide and Seek method. This seek has the idea of a person relentlessly searching for something with the full expectation of finding it. search with a cause finding buried treasure Mining is demanding work! Just as miners searching for gold, silver, and diamonds dig with DILIGENCE and PATIENCE, we are to be seeking WISDOM with DILIGENCE, and with the cause of obtaining the golden treasure of the FEAR OF GOD wisdom, be patient long suffering in obtaining it. This golden treasure is not obtained by the casual student or the chance passerby. They are excavated, enjoyed, and discovered by the DILIGENT, DEVOTED, and DETERMINED. II. The Results What happens IF WE RECEIVE SOLOMON S SAYINGS (v. 1), AND IF WE INCLINE OUR EAR AND APPLY OUR HEART (v. 2), AND IF WE CRY TO GOD FOR DISCERNMENT (v. 3), AND IF WE SEEK UNDERSTANDING AS SILVER (v. 4)?

6 MINING FOR GOLD Page 6 of 7 The answer is in v. 5. v.5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. Our digging and excavating is rewarded 2 fold; 1. We will understand the fear of the Lord, - a deep respect 2. And find the knowledge of God. bosom nearness to Him Commentator Derik Kinder The poles of awe and intimacy III. The Promises Most endeavors of mining are a gamble. I am sure most of us have seen the weather worn dilapidated mines on the sides of mountains long since abandoned. What assurance do we have that if we dig as Solomon directed, we will discover the rich rewards promised in v. 5. v.5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. That assurance is given in vv Proverbs 2:6-9 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. If we faithfully use the mining tools we have looked at today, we can count on at least three benefits. 1. vv. 6-7a FROM WITHIN our hearts and minds will be filled with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7a He stores up sound wisdom for the upright 2. vv. 7b-8 FROM WITHOUT - God will provide protection. 7b He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; 8 He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints.

7 MINING FOR GOLD Page 7 of 7 This implies protection will be needed. He implies we will face opposition, but the Lord promises to shield us, guard our path, and preserve the way. 3. v. 9 FROM ABOVE God will direct us into successful pursuits righteousness, justice, equity, and every good course. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.