20260111 Proverbs 2.1-12 Sunday Sermon Mike Dickmann

Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we're thankful

for your help throughout the meeting, for the

privilege it's been to meet with you thus far.

We come now once again to confess our great need

of you, our inability to accomplish or do anything

apart from you. Come now in power upon your word.

Overcome me with your Holy Spirit to... Enable

me to bring forth all that your Word contains

and only what your Word contains. Come upon us

as hearers today, Father, that we might truly

hear your Word as it is proclaimed. That we would

be enabled to see you rightly, see ourselves

rightly, assimilate your Word into our very lives,

that we might be better equipped to serve you

in this week. We plead again for the lost father

we ask for mercy That you might yet save some

who were in their sins here and elsewhere those

who were gathered in amongst your people everywhere

father Save some Be glorified then in the time

to follow we ask in Jesus name Well, we're back

in the Proverbs this morning so I invite you

to turn with me to the second chapter of Proverbs.

You'll remember last week I said we're going

to be going through some of the Proverbs. We're

not going verse by verse or every chapter, but

we're going to spend some time, however the Lord

leads, in the book of Proverbs. You remember

the book of Proverbs and really all of the scriptures

are given to display God before our eyes. to

reveal Himself to us, the wonder of the God of

the universe on display. All you have to do is

open the book, read it with seeing eyes, hearing

ears, believing hearts, and you can see Him yourself

in the pages of the wonderful book that He's

given us. So we saw that's the purpose of the

Proverbs to reveal God, to guide us to Jesus

Christ who is wisdom, to give us wisdom and understanding,

enable us to live the Christian life, enable

us to please God, enable us to enjoy God in our

daily living. So last week, We saw that it may

have been a new word for us. It's not a frequently

used word simple And it's used to describe the

people of God you and me were to be simple We

grow from our simplicity from being simple to

be being wise But the need for both the simple

and the wise is the same more and more wisdom

more and more understanding, more and more relational

activity with our Lord God, Jesus Christ. That's

what we all need. Simple. To be simple is to

be ready to learn, to know that you need to learn,

to know that you lack knowledge. Without knowledge,

there's no wisdom. You can't apply through wisdom

what you don't know. So we need to be humble,

humbly simple before our God. But as I was thinking

about that, and that's all true and wonderful,

but additionally, we talk about the simplicity

of God. God is simple, and by that we mean something

entirely different than when we say we are simple.

When we say God is simple, we mean He cannot

be divided into parts. He is of one substance.

So we need to keep that in mind when we think

and learn about God, that when we're learning

about His justice or if we're learning about

His holiness or His love, His faithfulness, these

aren't separate pieces of God. There is only

one God and He's all of these things at the same

time. There's no division in Him. even though

we learn of him in divisions. So applying that

to ourselves, we can say that we should be simple

in our understanding of ourselves, but we should

be simple also in our refusing to be divided.

Refusing to divide up our lives into categories,

or places, or we're this when we're here, we're

that when we're there. We're not divided We're

one person before God We have a lot of different

activities different Roles to play different

responsibilities, but we are all one thing before

God and that is his person his son his daughter

We're not divided and we shouldn't think we can

neatly carve out different places in our lives

for different things. That's a dangerous thing

to be involved with. So we want to be simple

in that way as well. So we're going to continue

on here for one more week in this pursuit of

God, pursuit of wisdom. To pursue wisdom is to

pursue God. Don't forget it. There's no separation

there. Jesus Christ is wisdom. And to pursue

wisdom is to pursue Jesus Christ. So we're going

to spend today, again, looking at this pursuit,

perhaps hopefully in a little more detail than

what we did last week. But the goal of the Proverbs

here in chapter 2 is that, that we would be those

who are after God. We're hard after God. We're

continually searching Him out. So let's read

these first few verses here in Proverbs chapter

Proverbs 2 · chapter mention

2. and searches for her as for hid treasures,

and we're going to pause there. So the common

word here is what if. All throughout here we

see the word if. In other words, there's no guarantee

here that you're going to do this. I can make

this proclamation as clear and as concise as

Draw it out as much as I want the words if still

apply I can't Make anything happen in your lives

It's the word of God God has to own the word

in your life God has to do the work He has to

change your heart change your mind. He has to

give you hearing ears Whatever you need you have

to get it from God So what does that mean? We're

not going to do anything? Of course not. The

if is there. If you do these things. There's

an expectation. If you do these things. So again,

there's man's responsibility and God's sovereignty

is throughout the scripture. If you want to have

wisdom, you should do these things. If you lack

knowledge and understanding, you should do these

things. That's what the scripture is telling

us. So what about it? What is there to do? Well,

the first thing off is that, will you receive

my words? That seems like an odd thing to say,

doesn't it? Does that sound odd to you? That

you the question is will you receive God's words?

Well For those of us who know God and that's

the overwhelming majority here in the room Why

would there be some doubt as to whether or not

you would receive his word? But there always

is isn't there because we were not perfect folks

We mess up we fall we fail. We don't receive

the word What does the word receive mean? Well,

there's no better thing that I could come up

with was that you receive a present from somebody.

It's a gift. You get it. You take it into your

hands. You open it. It's just what you wanted,

you say. It's beautiful. I'll cherish this my

life. I'll put it to use immediately. Whatever.

Some word of acknowledgement. And then what?

The thing goes on the shelf and that's it. You've

forgotten all about it. That's not receiving

it, is it? That's just a temporary reception

that you discarded. Receiving that gift is, yes,

taking it into your possession and then using

it. making use of what you've received. That's

what the question is. We're all going to receive

these words today, really. You can't. Help it.

You're here. You're going to hear them. And on

that level, you're going to receive them. But

are you actually going to receive the words?

Are you going to receive the Word of God today?

Are you going to learn something? Are you going

to treasure what you learned? Receive it. If

you do that. And then he goes on to say, and

if you hide my commandments with thee. That's

what we're talking about. We don't put it aside.

We don't forget about it. We keep it with us.

It's all through the Bible. Thy word have I hidden

in my heart that I might not sin against you.

the parable of the sower they got good seed they

got good soil the word took root what they bore

fruit they actually received it store up the

word in our hearts keep it with us so if you

receive it if you keep it if you put it to use

that's the that's the first emphasis there on

receiving something from the Lord. If you're

going to do those things, if, if, if, it says

yea, or no, it says, so that thou incline thine

ear unto wisdom. Now remember Mac's words? Have

you been able to return any of the sermons from

Mac that he preached when he was here? Do you

remember? What are you hearing he said? What

are you bringing into your life? Do you guard

your ears? To guard your ears is the beginning

of guarding our hearts. What are we taking in?

So again, you know. Do you think that this is

possible to be neutral in this? Can you be neutrally

hearing? No. You are hearing. You're hearing

something. All day long, you're hearing something.

Maybe it's your own voice talking to yourself.

Hopefully it is. But you're hearing something.

You're taking something in. Constantly. What

are you taking in? That's for you. That's a question.

You've got to take in good stuff, don't you?

Jump in, jump out. That's true, right? Bad company

corrupts good manners. That's true. So you've

got to be careful about what you hear. You've

got to make an effort. It's your responsibility

for what you hear. God's put all manner of things

at your disposal. We've got more stuff we can

listen to and hear today than there ever has

been. There was nothing when I was converted.

Nothing. Nothing but false teaching everywhere,

on the radio, everywhere. There's all manner

of good solid biblical truth that's available

to us Are you are you are you using it are you

hearing something that's going to profit you

Or is it just idle chit -chat just entertainment.

I think they call it Maybe it's trash Christian

music. I don't know what it is what you're listening

to what you do But it's your responsibility,

folks. You want to be wise? You want to gain

knowledge of God? You want to walk with Jesus?

What are you listening to? Maybe it's good Christian

music. But you do have that responsibility, folks.

So that you could apply your heart to understanding.

It's a privilege, isn't it, to have ourselves

conform to Jesus Christ, to gain understanding

in the way that we live and move and have our

being, that it's all in Christ, that we're applying

our heart in this thing. It's not anything really

outward until it is inward. You can't possibly

live right if you're not right on the inside.

You can't possibly live right unless you're living

right. You're governing yourself right. Then

you can expand that area of influence. Becoming

who you are, I wrote. There you are. Very brief

and to the point. We are the saints of God. We

are the representatives of God. We are the ambassadors

of God. Is that how we're living? Have we applied

our hearts to these things? Is this our hearts

desire? Is this what we want? We want a closer

walk with God. We want to know more of Him. We

want to be able to speak for Him. We want people

to be able to watch us and see us not sinning,

refusing to go along with the crowd. Have you

lost any friends since you became a Christian?

I lost all of my friends when I became a Christian.

We were all nothing but a bunch of sinners bent

on sinning. But there were some friends there.

So this is the ifs. If we do these things, if

this is the desire of our heart, if, if, if.

Not the big one here. If thou cryest after knowledge

and lifteth up thy voice for understanding, what's

he talking about? It's a recognition that you

don't have it. You don't have it within yourself

to produce it. It's prayer folks. That's what

he's talking about. He's talking about praying

He's talking about crying out lifting up your

voice Praying for all your words in other words.

This is an important thing. I've got a seek God

for this I've got to go after God for this There's

no place else to go. There's nothing for me to

do. I can't do it. I've got to get it It's got

to be received It's got to be given, and I've

got to go to the giver and ask and beg and plead

whatever it takes for me to get the wisdom and

knowledge and understanding that I need to live

a life that's pleasing to Him. Some serious prayer

needs to go into this. There's no getting around

it. There's nothing else to do after you've done

all of this. If you do all of this, prayer is

vital. Prayer is vital to the Christian life.

It's vital for your survival in the Christian

life. All the armor has to be put on in prayer.

Yeah, you got to put the armor on, but you got

to pray. I don't know. I don't know how anybody

else feels about it, really. I've never heard

it expressed very often. But do you draw close

to God in your prayers? Is that the closest that

you get to God when you pray? And if you don't

pray... How can you claim to be in a walk that

is close to God? That should be the dearest aspect

of our walk with the Lord is our fellowship with

Him in prayer. It's when we get real. It's when

we cry out. It's when he speaks to us many times.

Have you ever received the assurance of an answer

to your prayer? Either right when you were finished

praying or even during your prayer? Have you

ever known for a fact that what you prayed about

is going to be answered? Have you ever received

that? Well, it's possible. It's possible to.

Praying for wisdom. Praying for a heart that

loves God above all else. Pray, cry, get serious

with God. Want to amend your life. Want to grow.

Be simple. It's your responsibility, folks. And

it's, you know, I almost hate using that word

all the time because it's such a privilege. It's

such a great thing. It's such a beautiful life

to exercise your responsibility before God. It's

a privilege. Then lastly in the, in the if columns,

verse four, if thou seekest her as silver and

searches for her as for hid treasures. Well,

that's something that you can easily understand,

right? That's the simplest thing. How do you

seek after treasure? How do you? How do you go

after that thing which you desperately want?

It doesn't, whatever it is, it doesn't have to

be monetary, it doesn't, whatever, whatever your

heart really desires. How do you go after it?

That's how you go after God. And it's obvious

because God is our best treasure. Supposedly,

that's what we declare. Jesus Christ is precious

unto us. To those who know Him, He's precious.

He's the pearl above price. How do you seek treasure?

How do you seek that which you desire? All of

these illustrations here that the Proverbs used,

they're easy to understand. They're easy for

me to get up here and talk about. But the hard

part is the doing. What are we going to do with

this information? What are you ready to do? I

could have started with how do you visualize

or how do you think about the Christian life?

It's an excellent question we all should face.

How do you plan out your Christian life? How

are you going to use this day, the only day that

the Lord has given you, to bring glory to God

and to enjoy Him? You know, we've got to remember

that second half of that catechism. It's not

only the fact that we're supposed to glorify

God, we're supposed to enjoy God forever and

ever, every day, one day at a time. to glorify

God and to enjoy Him forever. That's God's will

for us. That's what He wants. What do you want?

Remember, this is all encompassing, all of our

life's areas, all of the roles that we play,

all the responsibilities that have been given

us. You young men, do you understand the responsibility

that you have in this world? It's overwhelming

to me. It always was. I couldn't do a thing without

prayer. Oh, I could, but I'd mess up inevitably.

I mean, think about it. Husband, father, employee,

employer, deacons. Elders. Church members cleaning

the church. It's overwhelming what's before Christian

men. Standing against the world. Protecting your

family. It's overwhelming. How are you going

to do it without God in your life? How are you

going to do it without a close walk with him?

You're not. You're going to fail. Let me just

tell you. You're all gonna be failures if you

don't get on the program Seeking God first seeking

him above all else the greatest treasure Getting

the wisdom that we need to go through this life

Well, that's the ifs what are you gonna do that's

the scripture wants to know if you do this if

you do that If you pray, if you're in the Word,

if you're seeking God with all of your heart,

then we come to the good part, so to speak. The

promises. The promises are there. So after he

tells us what our responsibility is, he then

says in verse five and following, then shalt

thou understand the fear of the Lord and find

the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom.

Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous.

He is our buckler to them that will walk uprightly.

He's the helper, the keeper. He keeps the paths

of justice and preserveth the way of his saints.

Then shalt thou understand righteousness and

judgment or justice and equality every good path

God's gonna do his part Remember last week let

God be true and every man a liar Here's the promise

of God. We sang about it today Coincidentally,

no the spirit worked it out Standing on the promises.

How do you stand on the promises? By doing all

those ifs. You don't have a promise without the

ifs. You don't have a promise without the responsibility

of man. But when we are responsible before God,

God does what he promised to do. Meet our every

need, guide, guard, give us wisdom. Give us understanding.

Take us through life. Enable us to overcome every

obstacle. Give us the victory in Jesus. Amen.

When we walk seriously with our God. I mean,

what better, is there anything better? What better

word could we be given today? All I gotta do

is have the greatest time in my life following

hard after God. And He's going to do all the

rest. You mean all I have to do is be in the

Word? Well, Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet.

I love His Word. Why is that? That's easy. I

have to pray? Yeah, I love to pray. I love to

commune and fellowship with my God. Hopefully,

I mean, it's such an encouraging word, is it

not? You don't have to wonder. Life loses all

of its vagueness. You're going to receive from

God all of these great things. Your life is going

to be meaningful. It's going to have purpose.

You're going to be useful to your kids, to your

wife, to your husband. When all of this stuff

works together. That's what he's telling us.

That's the Proverb. He's going to give us again

specifics in a lot of areas as we as we continue

on through the book But it's there's a reason

that it starts here. It's there's a reason that

Solomon put this right here in front Because

this is how you do it. This is how you walk This

is how you stand. This is how you resist the

devil This is how you avoid sin seeking after

God for all that you're worth. It's not a part

-time job, folks. It's not a part -time activity.

It's not something you do in this section of

your life, and then when you walk out the door,

you're an entirely different person out there.

That's not it, is it? They call that hypocrisy.

They don't call it Christian life. So at the

end of it all then, in verse 10, 10 and following.

When wisdom enters into your heart and knowledge

is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve

thee. Understanding shall keep thee, to deliver

thee from the way of the evil man, from the man

that speaketh un... unwise things, foward. That's

the end of it. Your problems are solved. That's

it. You can do it. You can go through life. The

end is better than the beginning. It's another,

I think, was that a please -ee -esty? The end

is better than the beginning. This, but that's

not, this is really the end, the middle, and

the beginning. when wisdom entereth into thine

heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul

discretion shall preserve thee understanding

shall keep thee to deliver thee from the way

of the evil man praise the lord praise god for

his great salvation praise god for his beautiful

word praise god for the privilege we have uninterrupted

access to Him anytime that we want. Come into

His presence with singing. Come into His presence

with lamenting. Come into His presence with any

type of prayer, any place, anywhere. And be assured

of a hearing. You know, when the Bible says that

God remembers or hears, it means He's going to

take action. It's not, you know... When he's

not remembering, there's no action. When he hears,

if the Bible says he hears our prayers, that

means he's going to answer our prayers. When

he says he sees the righteous, that means he's

guarding, he's with you, he's with me. It doesn't

just mean he's looking and seeing. He's involved

with the righteous in all areas of life. So serve

him today. Put these ifs into practice. Come

to knowing better. Get a closer walk in a relationship

with Jesus Christ. Gain wisdom and understanding.

What could be better? Right? Amen.