 Okay, let's open our Bibles together. We're in the book of Job, we're in chapter 28, and it's already been mentioned, but I'll repeat the time of comedy and fellowship. We've had this fellow, Carlos Oscar out before, and I don't know if any of you have ever heard of him or were here when he came, but I have to tell you, he's a lot of fun. He really makes you laugh, and it would be good in relaxing time, even as Dave, who, Dave finally did a peer-a-peer today, you know, that same guy. I thought that the rapture had happened, we all stayed behind and Dave was gone, but he's gonna be fired again, you know, you just have to fire Dave. But anyway, Carlos will be here. He's a lot of fun. I really encourage you to come because it's important sometimes for the church, just together for fellowship, and just to laugh, to enjoy ourselves, have some dessert, and have a date. And so, a lot of people haven't been doing that lately, and so we invite you to do that, and to be part of that. And also, with the Israel trip, we've been working on the dates, and you know, the date is really not exactly what Dave was saying today. I didn't, well, that's the second reason to fire him. It's really the last, it's gonna be more the last week of March into the first portion of April, just for those who may be thinking of going. We do have a great interest. Many people, we've had like 130 some people who've signed up with interest to go, and when we have that many signed up, we usually, well, it tells me that we're gonna have a trip. And so I hope that you guys, if you've never been to Israel, I have to tell you, it would be something well worth going. And if you're afraid to go, and some people are, I don't know why, but sometimes people are, there's no reason for you to be afraid. We are issued bulletproof vests and M16s. It's very safe, and you get a little training before you go. So, no, it's very safe, and we'd love to have you go with us. With that said, we're going to be looking today at Job chapter 28, and I chose to entitle this particular installment of our study, the search for wisdom. And even as we were having our video bulletin today, tomorrow Christi Duff will be sharing about wisdom also. So for those ladies who are watching online, or perhaps here right now, and plan on being there tomorrow, you're gonna get a double dose of this kind of study. And so we'll be looking at chapter 28 today. I'll begin reading at verse 1. I'll read to verse 11, reading all of that, and then I'm gonna take it apart a little bit at a time. So, Job chapter 28, beginning at verse 1. Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. Man puts an end to darkness and searches every recess for ore in the darkness and the shadow of death. He breaks open a shaft away from people and places forgotten by feet. They hang far away from men. They swing to and fro. As for the earth, from it comes bread. But underneath it is turned up as by fire. Its stones are the source of sapphires. It contains gold and dust. That path no bird knows, nor has the falcon's eye seen it. The proud lions have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed over it. He puts his hand on the flint. He overturns the mountains at the roots. He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. He downs up the streams from trickling. What is hidden, he brings forth to light. Job's friends have basically been claiming to have great wisdom in life. They have come to speak to Job and to advise him. We've seen that all the way through up to chapter 28, how they'll come and they give to him their information, their wisdom, their experience and all. They're doing that because they're wanting him to know that they have age, that their experience, they have knowledge of ancient traditions and therefore they should be listened to. We saw in Job chapter 15 verses 9 and 10 where they said, what do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not? Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us older than your father. In chapter 8 verse 8 they said, please inquire of past generations and consider the things searched out by their fathers. And so as they've come and spoken to him and tried to give him advice, they have spoken of their own age, their experience, the knowledge of ancient tradition and all. And they're acting as if they have great experience in wisdom. But Job doesn't agree with them. As we've seen, Job does not see that they do have wisdom. They have failed to impress him with their wisdom. Job shows them where wisdom actually is found. Since they have failed to do so, what he's intended to do is communicate to them so that they may know where wisdom actually originates. And Job, as we go through this study, Job points out that without God, man has no wisdom. And so he begins to contrast human skill and ingenuity, which is what we're seeing in this passage. He's contrasting human skill and ingenuity with God's wisdom. And it makes it clear that man can attain material things with ingenuity and hard work. That'll give him experience and understanding that is very practical in this world. But as good as that kind of knowledge is, it's not equal to the divine wisdom that God will impart. And it's this kind of wisdom that should be pursued because God's wisdom is of eternal value. You can gain experience. You can gain a certain kind of wisdom as it pertains to the job that you work or the things that you do even by hobby. You can gain wisdom and experience. You can learn how to garden and do a great job. And you can teach your children or grandchildren or whatever, what kinds of plants that you plant at certain times, things like that. And that's good. That's experience. And I appreciate that when somebody helps me with all of that. Or you can have a job that you do for many years. You become an expert at it. You become very good at it. You're able to train other people that this job, that's good too. My father was a truck driver. My father attempted to teach me to drive. And eventually he hired somebody else to do it. He got so frustrated with me. But he was a great driver and he could have done it had he wanted to. And I learned by watching him how to do certain things. So he had a certain kind of wisdom. He had a certain kind of experience. And he was able to give that kind of thing to me. But it's not eternal. It's not the kind of thing that profits not only in this life but in the life to come. And that's really what we're looking at here in chapter 28. And so Joe begins to speak concerning that. And we'll look at it a little bit out of time. As he's speaking concerning wisdom and its origin. And so in verses one and two once again, surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. He goes on to say iron is taken from the earth and copper is smelted from ore. And so he points out that man makes great effort in achieving things that are material. He digs into mountains searching for silver and gold for iron and copper. And then once he has found that he refines it. And that requires great effort. He refines it with great heat. He makes it pure and he makes it usable. And so he's speaking concerning how that they will go after that which is material. He says in verse three, man puts an end to darkness and searches every recess for ore in the darkness and the shadow of death. And so he's willing, man is willing to enter into dark caves to illuminate them as he searches for the treasure. And he thoroughly searches every inch of the area, even in the darkest regions of earth. Then that's a point he's making when he speaks of every recess for ore in the darkness. In verse four, he continues and says he breaks open a shaft away from people in places forgotten by feet. They hang far away from men. They swing to and fro. And so that's a picture of a deep mineshaft far away from the houses above. He speaks of places forgotten by feet. That speaks of places that you can't walk. It's like speaking of shafts, mineshafts. He speaks of them hanging far away from men, swinging to and fro, which is a picture of being suspended by lines as they enter in and they are looking for that ore. And so again, it speaks of effort. In verse five, he says, ask for the earth from it comes bread. But underneath it is turned up as by fire. Its stones are the source of sapphires. It contains gold dust. And so he's speaking about earth's surface here. And once again, he's illustrating, he says, a man can plant crops and grow food to provide for his needs. But underneath, he says, it's turned up as by fire. That could be a picture of the precious stones that he digs up. And when he brings them up, they reflect the light. They seem to be on fire. And so he's describing what they're digging for and what they're getting as they do so. In verse seven, he says that path no bird knows nor has the falcon eyes seen it. The proud lions have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed over it. So man descends into the earth. Man minds ore. Birds don't even enter into the shaft. Even lions and the young don't descend into its depths as man has. And once again, this is all illustrating the effort that man makes in order to gain materially and to live. He says in verse nine, he puts his hand on the flint. He overturns the mountains at the roots. He cuts out channels in the rocks. And his eye sees every precious thing. He downs up the streams from trickling. What is hidden, he brings forth to light. And so he digs through even the hardest of rocks. That's what it speaks of when it says he puts his hand on the flint. So he digs through even the hardest of rocks and he persists until he gets through. He'll even dig into mountains in search of the precious ore and the minerals. In verse 10, it speaks of cutting out channels even in the rocks to divert water. So he can continue mining. He keeps his eye on the prize. He searches diligently until he finds it. In verse 11, he downs up the streams from trickling. What is hidden, he brings forth to light. So the metal that he is seeking, those metals are found in. And he brings them to the surface with him. So all of this is intended to show man's diligence and ingenuity as he seeks for material and natural benefits. This is what man will do. He's willing to rise up early, go to work and work long hours. He's willing to go down into a mineshaft, a dangerous place to be, and to work all day until it's night. And then to come up with whatever he can dig out of that mine. He's willing to do that. He's willing to put effort into doing all of that. And that's for material things. That's for things that will provide sustenance for him and all of that. But now he's going to ask a very important question. He says in verse 12, with all of this, but where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man is capable of searching for and discovering precious stones and ores and all of that. That's material. It's necessary. But where does true wisdom, wisdom that informs us how to live, where does that come from? Is that something that you can go out and mine and dig up and refine and something that will benefit you in the sense of how to live a life that is blessed? Will that help you? And the answer to that obviously is no. And that's why he's going to turn our attention to where wisdom can be found and where the place of understanding actually is. And now he begins to speak about that. And he's actually comparing or contrasting the material efforts with the spiritual effort. And so speaking of wisdom, verse 12, rather verse 13, man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living. The deep says, it is not in me. And the sea says, it's not with me. It cannot be purchased for gold, nor can silver be weighed for its price. It cannot be valued in the gold of warfare, in precious onyx or sapphire. Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral or quartz, for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. So now he begins to give to us a contrast in order to give to us the a sense of how valuable wisdom is. When he says in verse 13, man does not know its value. He's actually literally saying man does not know wisdom's incredible value. It isn't found in the land of the living. Sinful man does not value the wisdom that comes from above. It's not something that you can buy in the marketplace. It's not something that you can sell for profit. And none of us, I don't think, have ever gone into a supermarket and gone up an aisle and found wisdom for sale. That's the point he's making. You can't buy it. It's not something that you gain. It's not something like like looking for ore. It's not something you refine like you do gold or silver. It's different than that. And the thing is, and the contrast is, is man values and is willing to work for something material like gold or silver or precious stones. Man is willing to do that. Will do everything they can to have that. But when you contrast the value of gold with wisdom, he's saying wisdom has an incredible value that people don't really understand. You see, true wisdom is something that the natural man does not intentionally seek. Part of the reason for this is it doesn't promise immediate material gain. People don't necessarily look for wisdom. It's not something that as a child, most people are ever raised thinking is valuable. It really isn't. Wisdom isn't something that people will say you ought to have. Now, your grandparents might have said that to you. Perhaps your parents did. They may have said, you need to gain wisdom in life, son or daughter. You need to. But that really was, I was never taught that. I don't know how many in this room, if you were raised a Christian, perhaps you were raised to value wisdom. But I was raised and it wasn't in a wrong way. It wasn't in an ignorant way of my father or anything. It was the way he felt was right. I was raised to be, he taught me to be a hard worker, be honest and things like that, but my father never said, son seek after wisdom. So a lot of people have grown up seeking after material things and that's what's being contrasted. That's what's being spoken of here. They've sought after the material and this is a picture, material is pictured by precious stones, by silver, by gold, things like that, because sinful man doesn't value wisdom and especially is not going to value the wisdom that comes from above. True wisdom is something that the natural man doesn't intentionally seek. In Ecclesiastes, in chapter 7, verse 12, the Bible tells us wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter. But the advantage of knowledge is this, that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor. Wisdom gives to you that practical way to live that actually blesses you and even protects you and money really can't do that for you. You see, he says true wisdom does not come from the land of the living. That's an interesting way to put it. True wisdom is something that the natural man doesn't intentionally seek. It doesn't come from the land of the living. In James, in the New Testament, James chapter 3, verse 17, it says the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. True wisdom doesn't come from the land of the living. True wisdom comes from above. It's imparted by God. He'll point that out in just a moment. In verse 14, the deep says it's not in me. The sea says it's not with me. In other words, it's not hidden in the depths of the sea and even if a man could dive deep enough to find it, it wouldn't be there. It's not there. It can't be purchased for gold nor can silver be weighed for its price. It's not something that can be bought even by the most pure gold or silver or precious stones. True wisdom is the most valued possession anyone can have. I have to tell you and we'll be looking at this. I'll be developing this with you in a little bit, a little bit more. But true wisdom, you're having trouble with your kids and you've got money but money isn't going to buy peace in the home and your kid's going through a hard time and you may have a good amount of money in the bank. You may have a lot of material things but your material things are not going to help your son or your daughter to know how to live. It doesn't matter sometimes how much you have. That's a great advantage in having material things of course but my kids didn't need to get raised with a lot of material things. My kids needed to be raised by parents who sought the Lord and had wisdom to have a practical understanding of how to live in the age that we're living in to have the capacity to give advice that would benefit them not just in the decision they're about to make but in the decisions that they'll make throughout their life and wisdom is something that that you gain and I'll show you this in just a moment over time but it is something that is much more valuable than giving your your son or daughter some money to go out and have a good time. Wisdom is something that prepares them and equips them for a lifetime and it's the most valued possession anyone can have and it's the most valuable possession anyone can give. That's why in Proverbs chapter 8 verses 10 and 11 it reads received by instruction instead of silver and knowledge rather than pure gold for wisdom is more precious than rubies and nothing you desire compares with her. I feel sorry for ruby she's always told in scripture she's not valuable at all I think ruby sweet but anyway in Proverbs 8 19 my fruit is better than gold pure gold and my harvest surpasses choice silver that's how wisdom speaks and so he asks again in verse 20 from where then does wisdom come and where is the place of understanding now he had already said it in a different way in verse 12 where can wisdom be found and where is the place of understanding he basically repeats that in verse 20 where then does wisdom come from where does it come where is the place of understanding since godly wisdom can't be acquired by any natural means the question is how can you get it if it's unattainable in any normal way then how do you attain wisdom and and the question is where does true wisdom actually originate and who can show us where it is and who can show us how to gain it somebody once said wisdom the wisdom of god is not something that is acquired by man but something that is bestowed by god it is a divine endowment and not a human acquisition so where does true wisdom come from he says in verse 21 it is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air on one hand there's a kind of wisdom that belongs only to god and is not to be disclosed to us there are things that god is hidden from our eyes from the eyes of all living and remain concealed there are things that he's reserved for himself and he doesn't reveal to us in our lifetime Deuteronomy 29 29 says that like this the secret things belong to the Lord our God but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever that we may follow all the words of this law there are some things that belong only to god that we will not know this side of heaven and there are our other things that god chooses to reveal to us that are not only to benefit us but to be handed down to our children and our grandchildren so there are things god desires us to know and to have but wisdom is not obtained by any natural hunger or natural means he says in verse 21 it's hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air so god's ways are beyond man's attempts to find it they're higher than the birds can fly it reminds me of romans 11 33 and 34 where paul said oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of god how unsearchable his judgments his paths beyond tracing out who has known the mind of the lord who has been his counselor god's ways are beyond our ways they're beyond our finding out god has never called me up and asked me for counsel he's never called him and said you know i have a problem could you give me some advice that's the point that paul's making who has known the mind of the lord who has been his counselor god knows all things he discloses to us the things are necessary and he's pointed that out he says in verse 22 destruction and death say we have heard a report about it with our ears and so he's saying here very basically that that wisdom isn't found in the upper world it's not found in the seas nor is it found in the air because it's concealed from birds and so even the underworld doesn't possess great wisdom now these are our word pictures intended to illustrate that wisdom is hidden from man but he goes on and he says in verse 23 god understands its way and he knows its place for he looks to the ends of the earth and sees under the whole heavens to establish a weight for the wind and a portion the waters by measure when he made a law for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt then he saw wisdom and declared it he prepared it indeed he searched it out and so god is the author of wisdom god possesses wisdom wisdom resides in him alone and because that's true he alone can make it known to us he can tell us what wisdom actually is notice how he says in verse 24 he looks to the ends of the earth and sees under the whole heavens god sees everything and god knows everything in the universe that's so beyond anything i can comprehend heber's 413 says nothing in all creation is hidden from god's sight everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of of him to whom we must give account nothing is hidden from him nothing is he sees it all every single thing and so in the universe god is aware of all things that's so beyond me to understand but in the universe god sees everything and knows everything and so he looks to the end of the earth he sees everything under the whole wide heavens in verse 25 it's interesting how he says to establish a weight for the wind and a portion the waters by measure he's saying god's wisdom even governs nature the winds force and the amount of rain that is going to fall is measured by him because the word waters it speaks of rain he speaks of it being laid up in storehouses it says in verse 26 he made a law for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt god placed rain fall under a fixed rule when it's going to fall how it's going to fall and he proportions it out it says he gave laws concerning even how lightning would strike and what causes lightning so it's interesting that job is making it clear that god has control of everything including nature remember in chapter two of the book of job we saw that lightning fell it burned up his sheep and killed his servants and that wind caused his oldest son's house to collapse killing all of his children at one time well job is aware that without god's knowledge or permission that would not have occurred and he's pointing to that in verse 27 he saw wisdom and declared it he prepared it indeed he searched it out so in a sense in his creation wisdom was visibly expressed the rain the storms the thunder the wind thunderbolt the visible expressions of his wisdom and these were searched out or examined and it shows the wisdom that governs nature and now i want to make something real practical hopefully as we look at verse 28 you may be thinking boy that's a quickest study i've ever had with this man don't worry i'll keep you here for a while verse 28 and to man he said behold the fear of the lord that is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding and so i want to share with you a few things about that i want you to notice how he says in verse 28 the fear of the lord that is wisdom now it's interesting read this with me again in verse 28 it says and to man he said when did he say that we know that job is what has been called chronologically the oldest book of the bible when did he say that well perhaps it was when he was ministering to adam when adam was created that may have been and the commentators that i use pointed to that they said this would more than likely have been something that that as god was communicating to adam the things that would make for life that he made it very clear that the fear of the lord is wisdom departing from evil is something that he needed to do so the fear of the lord is wisdom to depart from evil is understanding it's the reverence of god that motivates us to live holy lives pleasing to him in proverbs 1533 it reads the fear of the lord teaches a man wisdom and humility comes before honor and so when he says to man he said behold the fear of the lord that is wisdom to depart from it from evil is understanding i want to share with you by taking you to proverbs chapter two would you please turn your bibles there because we're going to actually close our study of joe by looking at proverbs chapter two i'm going to give you a few verses verses one following in proverbs chapter two and i'll take you to verse six and i'm going to spend a few minutes here i want to develop this with you where does wisdom come from so in the book of proverbs chapter two begin in at verse one my son if you receive my words and treasure my commands within you so that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding yes if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding if you seek her as silver search for her as for hidden treasures then you'll understand the fear of the lord and find the knowledge of god for the lord gives wisdom from his mouth from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding we'll look at that for a few minutes so Solomon says son if you receive my words where does wisdom come from well Solomon is giving some insight to us to know that wisdom originates with God but he's giving to his son counsel as to how he can be a godly man one of the things that i believe every man every man who is a father one of the things that i believe that every man who is a father ought to be dispensing to his son and his daughter for that matter is we ought to be dispensing wisdom to our children we ought to be giving them devotions when they're young we ought to be praying for them when they go to school when they get up in the morning and leave as they're growing older we keep them in prayer and saturate them in prayer we know that the enemy hates our children we who are parents we know that we know that both in the old testament and the new testament satan hated babies in the time of moses when he was born babies were killed in the time of christ when he was born babies were killed we know that the enemy hates our children and we also know that the enemy does not want a godly heritage we know on top of that that god is given to the man the husband the father the responsibility of being the quote-unquote priest of the home leading the home in in prayers and in devotion and in ministry that's what my job was i i personally knew that and and therefore i i never expected somebody else to do my job for me i always knew it was my job and so i did the best marie my wife and i together did the best that we could but i as a father did the best that i could to raise my children up to to live a life that was respectable before them because i knew that even though they were they were very small when this church was was birthed you know they they would always know their father as as pastor they would know that but they would know that that was what i'm called by people in the church i needed to make sure that they saw me as their pastor i needed to make sure that in my home my children respected and reverenced god and so in my home i needed to make sure that that home was was not simply a place that that people live it was a place where a family a family dwells and i knew that that by the way i would treat my wife that my sons would learn how to treat theirs and i knew that as the way that i as a man treated my wife that my my daughters would one day hopefully want a man who would love them that way to see i knew that even as a young man growing up as a christian i need to be somebody who can be respected because this is nothing that is is is more more to be avoided than for for a man for me to be a hypocrite in the side of my children i wanted my kids to know that they had a father who is sincere about his faith who doesn't just pretend to be something in front of people but is actually that behind closed doors i had a girl that i was dating before i met marie a couple years before i met marie i think of all the time no i and uh and you know we're just kind of going out i had letter to the lord and uh we went out for a little while and i would come to her house and her father was really it was kind of mean he was mean he really was he is an ex marine and he wanted me to know that and he had attitude and um i'll be honest with you i was a young christian and a young man and i i didn't really appreciate his attitude it was it was rude very disrespectful and he really wasn't very kind to his daughter and and i saw that i we went out long enough for me to see those things and and then one day i came to the house to pick her up to go someplace and i knocked on the door and she came to the door and i hear his voice as he says okay honey you'd have a great time baby i love you see when you get home and i heard him say that and so as we walked out i said i've never heard your father say that she says oh we have friends over he does that whenever people are listening to him he just does that in front of people because that isn't my father and i said i know that's not she says no he just does that so they'll think he's a good guy i never wanted that to be said of me i never wanted my kids to know the real david as just some kind of a harsh overlord um but i pretend to be loving to them i never wanted that because i knew that if there's anything that smells terrible in the nose of people it's hypocrisy and i never wanted to be that hypocrite and so neither did my wife so my wife and i loved our babies still do obviously we still call them our babies even though they're not babies obviously my baby joseph is turning 40 this this sunday yeah 40 years old how'd he get so old and how'd i stay so young i don't it's one of those miracles but uh i wanted to be able to sit down with him and say this is the way a man should live son this is how a man should treat a woman this is how a man should live his life this is what a man of god really is solemn's doing that solemn speak into a son and he says again in verse one my son if you receive my words if you receive my words you see if i want to be wise i need to receive godly words godly words of instruction receive my words welcome my words within your heart and and this is the seed that comes and and it would the best wisdom obviously is going to be scriptural wisdom and so we receive the seed of the word and we we take it by faith because wisdom is found in god's word and and practical wisdom develops as we receive what god has to say and then act on it obey it so if if we're to become wise it begins with the willingness to learn the ways of wisdom like it says in psalm 19 verse 7 the law of the lord is perfect converting the soul the testimony of the lord is sure making wise the simple and so where does wisdom originate it originates with god how do i become wise while one received the word let the word be implanted and grafted within us so that we might know what it what it says and and that we might determine to to the best of our ability with a help of the spirit to obey and to grow over time so that our hearts are changed and transformed by the word of god he also says in verse one a second thing he says treasure my words and when he says treasure my commands within you the word treasure means to store something up it's a it's a picture of of actually protecting something valuing something encasing it and and and what he's saying is you need to treasure my commands you need to store my commands in your heart so that you carry about these things with you so that when in need you can you can turn to the things that you've learned and you can call upon those things you can remember those things that were taught you store these things store these things within you and and treasure these things value these things within you like it says in Psalm 119 127 therefore i love your commandments more than gold yes then find gold your commandments are are more important to me than anything else even even more important than than the purest of all gold why because gold will not bail me out in a time when i need wisdom and so he says what you need to do is receive the things they say welcome those things within you treasure them have a value place a value on my commands and then a third thing incline your ear he says in verse two if you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding incline your ear the word incline speaks of being attentive it means to listen closely to to to hear and mentally interact with what you're hearing so when you're inclining yourself you have a desire to hear it and you want to think it through and you want to make application that's what god's word is supposed to do in us it's not just a matter of knowing a scripture in its words we want to know its scripture the scripture in its meaning and there's an inclination of our heart he says in Psalm 119 112 the psalmist said i've inclined my heart to perform your statutes forever to the very end i have made a determined effort and inclined myself in that direction that i would know your statutes forever and that i will live by those things and so what we do is we receive and and we treasure and we incline our hearts in that direction we apply our heart he says to understanding so an inclination of the ear without the application from the heart is useless so we need to hunger for and desire something that causes other things to fade in comparison when my son joseph who turned out to be my little student he'd like to go to school and i was very proud of him my son went to the bible college in marietta and while he was there he made friends and one of his friends said to him one day joseph i feel sorry for you and joseph said why would you feel sorry for me he says i feel sorry for you i feel sorry because you um you're a pastor's son and joseph says what is why would that be something you'd be thinking is something you should feel sorry for me about he says because you see your father the way he really is and the rest of us will only see him when he's in the pulpit now this is many years ago and my joseph one day told me about this he said that to me i said oh really he goes yeah he says yeah dad he said my friend was saying i feel sorry for you because you see your father for what he is and and i said and and he said to that guy he said i told him dad he said what you see my father to be in the pulpit is the way my father is in his front room my father doesn't change those were words that i wanted to hear i'll have to be honest with you i wanted to hear those kinds of things for myself because if there's anything that i want my sons and daughters to know and fathers and mamas we all ought to have an agreement on this is i wanted them to know the sincerity of our faith not just that we go to church or attend to church but that we understand that we are the church and that the church when it gathers in a certain in certain places for feeding and equipping and encouraging it and worshiping together as a community but then we leave and the salt leaves the salt shaker and goes out into the world to have an impact that's what we're supposed to do and so with my son he wanted he wanted me to know that dad i've seen that you you've actually applied those things i see that you have applied your heart to understanding you have a hunger you have a desire that is that is great so that other things fade in comparison and so do you want wisdom well apply yourself to understanding and then again in verse three he says if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding once again cry out for discernment lift up your voice you cry out to god for understanding and prayer and it requires god's spirit to illuminate his word and that's why we cry out that's why we say father open our eyes like it says in psalm 119 verse 18 open my eyes that i may see wondrous things from your law like it says in psalm 119 130 the entrance of your word gives light it gives understanding to the simple cry out for discernment father in jesus name i need wisdom in jesus name i need discernment in jesus name father i want to know what to do it is right open my eyes that i may see open my eyes because the entrance of your word brings me light if you want to gain wisdom it comes through the word of god and by the spirit of god and then in verse four he says if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasure be diligent to seek be diligent to pursue god make that a daily habit why because where your treasure is there your heart will be also when you're pursuing the things of the lord on a daily basis and this is one of the reasons i have to say this in an honest fashion i'm blessed that you come on wednesdays i really am because it tells me that there are people who are hungry for the word of god and i praise the lord because you know you know you're getting a bible study not entertainment and and and you come and i have always been blessed by that because where your where your your treasure is your heart is and and when you have a value when you value the things of the lord you're going to search for her you're going to make a diligent effort to know you're going to continue to seek you're going to continue to pursue god i was interviewed a while ago now by by a pastor for a podcast that is directed towards pastors and and various ministries and all and and he asked me that question the pastor was interviewing me asked me when is it that that you would feel has has been the explanation for you living and serving the lord for the 50 years that you have and for me you know i never realized that 50 years is a long time for some reason i never did you know i thought you know i i still feel in many ways that i'm i'm still a young guy you know until i try and jump off this platform then my body lets me know otherwise but i'll tell you what is it that has kept me my wife marie got saved uh in 1974 you know what has kept my wife solid with christ for 46 years 46 years what is it it's a daily pursuit of the lord it's so simple you wake up in the morning and say god here am i used me today lord i i just want to be used i'm available father in jesus name if there's something you want me to do today just reveal that to me and i'll do my best to be to to be faithful in that i've been doing that for all of these years especially for the last many years as a pastor of this church 40 years this upcoming july lord help me to to not grow weary in doing what is good help me to not rest on on previous blessings but to expect you to move in the future help me not to feel that uh i've got nothing else to learn my goodness five seventh of my life has been with you i should know a lot but i don't i don't know anything and if you ask any of my friends who know me well they'll tell you that that i know i'm still a work in process after 50 years that that god is not finished with me yet and then one day one day i'm gonna say oh he's finished with me and i'll die and that'll be it i'll be god and then i am completed in him pursue the lord every day search out the lord seek the lord get into his word and pray oh god help me do you want to have wisdom do you have a desire for that well he says that's how you get it because in verse five he says then you'll understand the fear of the lord and find the knowledge of god then you'll understand and then you'll have it this wisdom will protect you in life and god will work in your life to make you righteous you're going to be protected by his wisdom and and when you're protected by his wisdom you don't get ripped off by the world in the devil you'll be protected by him you'll be able to walk with confidence knowing that that you have found the ways of the lord and you're walking in his ways because verse six the lord gives wisdom from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding where does wisdom come from and he said once again and i'll close with this in chapter 28 of joe verse 28 to man he said behold the fear of the lord that is wisdom to depart from evil is understanding when you search for wisdom god gives it to you in first john chapter five verses 14 and 15 now this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us and if we know that he hears us whatever we ask we know that we have the petitions we've asked of him father in jesus name i desire to have practical knowledge wisdom to know how to live in this age and where is where is this wisdom deposited well the treasures of wisdom are hidden in christ it's revealed by his word it's received by faith and it comes by the spirit because colossians chapter two verse three says in whom in jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge jesus is the wisdom and power of god that's why it says in first grintians 130 it is because of him that you are in christ jesus who has become for us wisdom from god that is our righteousness holiness and redemption and that's why proverbs 1616 says how much better to get wisdom than gold to choose understanding rather than silver may this church may may we covenant before the lord with our own hearts in him that we will pursue him daily father we want to have your wisdom i asked that you would just even now lord as we as we pursue you that you lord would would would continue to aggravate our heart in the direction of pursuit that lord we would love your word that we would treasure your commands that we would be diligent to pursue you for lord we saw a contrast of a man who's digging a a shaft in order to mine for gold or silver and and the work of refining and the work of all that that he has to do in order to have that and and yet your word tells us oh to pursue you and to have your wisdom is is more valuable than gold or silver and in a time lord when it really is obvious that many don't have even a small bit of of wisdom may we the church shine as lights in this darkened world and may people come and realize that even as the world came to solemn and asking him for advice that people would see the way that we live and they would they would come to us and say i see the way you live and i just want to know how i can live like that may we remember lord that we are walking letters that we are epistles known in red by all men and may we lord may we may we pursue you may we seek after you may we hunger for you may we thirst for you especially lord may we live in this darkened age with the wisdom from above for lord from you comes wisdom and i ask lord that you would increase ours may we love jesus pursue him because within him in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and even as ours are closed perhaps i have some right now who who desire prayer you need to get right with the lord maybe you haven't been pursuing him with all of your heart and you know it's time to yield areas of your life to him or it may be that you've never even yielded anything to him and you need to get right with him right now whatever the case whether online or in this room if you need prayer you want to be right with him before i close i'd like to pray for you would you raise your hand and let me pray for you right where you're at father you see these hands lord you know the reason why they're being raised to you and i ask in jesus name that you'd reach down now and that these practical things that we looked at today would become real things in us and lord as we pursue you i pray that you would be not only found but reveal yourself in deeper ways to us for lord you are more valuable valuable to us than anything else and to know you is is to have eternal life so we ask that you would work within us we yield ourselves to you we ask that you'd cleanse us of any sin and that we would walk with righteousness lord before you we lift these things to you now in jesus name we bless you thank you you can put your hands down and jesus please keep moving in us to your glory in your name amen amen