Ep 158 - Sixth Instruction: Search the Scriptures Diligently (Prov 2:4).

Ep 158 - Sixth Instruction: Search the Scriptures Diligently (Prov 2:4).

Prayer. Reading: Prov 2:1-4 Meditation. We will not get wisdom if we give it a half-hearted effort; it requires diligence. People don’t just walk around and find silver lying on the ground. They have to dig, and work, and sweat, and go, and go, and go. They have to extract it from the ground, then refine it. Silver and treasure do not easily come by, and neither does wisdom. Again, you will not get it by accident. If we are slothful or neglectful in the scriptures, we will not find wisdom. We must search the scriptures diligently. Be ye doers of the word… This meditation really is wholly an application. But let me pause here and make a secondary application in keeping with what we’ve just considered: Read good books. God did not make us to live in isolation; he made us dependent on one another, and he ministers to us through other people. One important way he does this is by giving teachers to the church. As Ephesians 4:11 says, “He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry and for building up the body of Christ.” We will not get everything we need just by reading the Bible in isolation. The church is built up in the truth as a community, and preaching is an important means of grace. We need it. Fellowship, conversations, family worship—they are all important. And another very important thing for growing in knowledge and understanding of the scriptures is reading good books. Read books about the Bible, theological books, and books that will help us spiritually. Let me exhort you to become readers of books. We will all have different capacities, but books are a means by which we can access the wisdom that has come to the Church through the ages. Through reading, we benefit from the ministry of great teachers God has provided, and we grow in our understanding of scripture. Let me make a few recommendations. I’ll group them into three areas: studying scripture, studying theology, and books for spiritual maturity. For spiritual maturity, pick up anything by the Puritans—they are a gold mine of spiritual literature, unparalleled in church history. For studying theology, consider Beeke’s four volume “Reformed Systematic Theology, and also A.W.Pink on the attributes of God. For studying Scripture, it is a good idea to use commentaries for individual books. You could start with Matthew Henry for the whole Bible, and then aim to read a commentary per book over time. Why not set a goal to read at least one commentary for every book of the Bible before you die? That would be a great goal. And you can always ask your elders for help and advice. If you want to start in Proverbs to supplement these studies, pick up Charles Bridges’ commentary—it is a wonderful volume. And for understanding scripture, sermons are also very helpful: take notes, review them, and re-listen to Sunday sermons. All of this will help you grow in knowledge of scripture. Let all your reading be aimed at understanding the Book of books. Now let me say one final thing in closing. Some of you may be wondering: Where is Christ in all this? As we have studied Proverbs, how does this point us to Christ? The answer is that Christ is in all of it. The New Testament tells us that Christ is the wisdom of God, and so as we seek wisdom, we are seeking Christ. We have seen that wisdom comes through the Word of God, and in John 1 we see that Christ is the Word of God. As you study Proverbs, this is Christ speaking to us, and Christ being formed in us. As we study the Word diligently, give attention to it, receive it, and cry out for insight in prayer—raising our voice for understanding—it is only because of Christ that this prayer is answered. Through Christ God forgives our sins and accepts our prayers. Without Christ, the prayer of Proverbs 2:3 would go unanswered. So as you put these things into practice, make no mistake: this is all in Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. All God’s wisdom is found in Christ, given through Christ, and given so that Christ might be formed in us and God glorified through us. Do not think these are merely religious practices that we are talking about here. This is the pursuit of Christ, who is the wisdom of God for us. SDG. Prayer of Confession & Consecration. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe [https://rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep 157: Fifth Instruction: Pray for Insight Desperately (Prov 2:3).

Prayer. Reading: Prov 2:3. Meditation. We need to pray for insight desperately. And when I say need, I mean need. As in – we need air to breathe kind of need. Verse three of Proverbs 2 shows us something very important. You can study the Scriptures with the rigour of an academic. You can pour hours into their pages. You can become a biblical scholar whose entire life is spent researching the contents of the Bible. But without God’s help, you simply will not receive wisdom (verse six makes that clear). If we would have wisdom, regular, consistent, diligent, desperate prayer will be needed. Notice that verse three is not calling us merely to pray a little bit. It is not saying that we should ask for wisdom only when we happen to remember. There is a sense of desperation in this verse. We need to know that, without God’s gracious enabling, we are doomed. Therefore, we must cry out desperately and raise our voices for understanding. Be ye doers of the word… How often do you cry out for wisdom? If the answer is “not much” or “not at all,” then the application is very simple: you need to make a change. We cannot afford to rely on our own wisdom. We need God’s wisdom—desperately. So cry out for it. Now, here is an encouragement to match that weighty call: God will give us wisdom. This whole section is structured as an “if... then” statement. If you do this, then this will happen. We see the “if” in verses 1 and 3. But what comes after the “if”? Verse five: “Then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.” This is a promise from God. If you ask him for wisdom, that is not something he is going to refuse you. As James 1:5 says: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” So as you ask for wisdom, stake your life on this promise: it is a prayer that God will answer. He will not leave you hanging. As you look to Christ and cry out for wisdom, he will give it to you. Prayer of Confession & Consecration. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe [https://rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep 156: Fourth Instruction: Work hard in God’s word (Prov 2:2).

Prayer. Reading: Prov 2:2. Meditation. One of the things about mining is that it takes hard work. Sometimes you’ve got to bend your back into it and work. And it’s the same with wisdom. We must work hard in God’s Word to get wisdom. Pay attention to that statement: “incline your heart to understanding.” This word incline means to stretch out, to strain. It’s like a runner at the end of the race stretching out to reach the finish line. We are to stretch out our hearts to understand. In other words, we must work hard. We must strain and strive. We must do everything in our power to understand God’s Word. Again, wisdom won’t just come to you. By nature, you’ll have to work hard to get it. You’ll have to work hard in God’s Word. So let me ask you: How’s your Bible work ethic going? Are you a Bible study sluggard, or a biblical study workhorse? Are you at it, working and straining yourself to understand? Or are you happy to sit back and turn up once a week on Sunday? Be ye doers of the word… To gain wisdom, we must be constant, continuous, and diligent in our effort to understand God’s Word. We must always be straining to grasp it more deeply. As an Olympic athlete dedicates themselves and strains for physical excellence, so too we must strain for spiritual excellence as we seek to understand the Word of God. Prayer of Confession & Consecration. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe [https://rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep 155: Third Instruction - Focus your attention on God's Word (Prov 2:2).

Prayer. Reading: Prov 2:2. Meditation. How do you spend your week? Where are the places that you go? What are the things you do? Pause and think about that for a moment, perhaps write down your answers. Now ask yourself this question: Where are you focusing your attention? What are the things that occupy your mind? Where is it that your eyes are looking most of the time? As we consider and answer these questions for ourselves in our own lives, we start to get an idea of whether or not we are focusing our attention on God’s Word. How much time do you spend reading the Word? And, having read it, how much of the time does it occupy your mind? How often during the regular business of life does the Word of God come to mind and effect your life? If you can answer those questions with clarity, then you can say with certainty how well you are doing when it comes to focusing your attention on the Word of God. If we would have wisdom, if we would avoid the life of foolishness, then we simply must make our ear attentive to wisdom. We must make the word of God the centre of our attention. We must be focused and alert constantly to the Word of God. We must train our ears to be attentive. Be ye doers of the word... One of the key skills needed on the cricket field is attention, because you need to be ready to catch the ball if it comes to you. Let me tell you a little bit about slip fielding in cricket. The fielding captain in a Test Match often puts about 4-5 men just behind the batsman in various positions. He does that so that if the ball deflects of the edge of the bat, one of those men might have a chance to catch it and get the batsman out. Now here’s the thing about a good slip fielder: they are constantly vigilant. They are constantly watching in case the ball comes to them, so that when the chance comes, their hands are ready. Now here’s the point: we need to listen to the word of God with the attention of a first-class slip fielder. We need to be ready to catch what is said. Listening in church, or in family worship, or in personal devotion is not a passive activity, we need to listen attentively. This is especially important if you’re young, because it can be easier for our minds to wander at that stage in life. Here is the application: listen carefully to God’s Word. God doesn’t want us to be distracted, but to be self-consciously attentive to his Word. Especially, he would have us listen carefully to the reading and preaching of his Word. So then, hold your attention on God’s Word. Hide it in your heart and memorise it so that it is ready at hand in busy parts of the day. If it is in your heart, then you can bring it to your attention at any time. SDG. Prayer of Confession & Consecration. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe [https://rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Ep 154. Second Instruction: Treasure God’s Commandments (Prov 2:1b).

Prayer. Reading: Prov 2:1. Meditation. What do you do with treasure? As I write these words, I’m visiting a regional Australian city called Ballarat, staying in a mansion-come-resort previously owned by a gold-prospector who struck it rich. Around the back of the property is a solid blue-stone store house where he used to keep his gold (at least I think it’s bluestone). Anyway, it’s sold, thick stone! The point is, no one was going to be easily breaking in to that store-house, because that’s what you do with treasure. You lay it up as securely as you can. As Solomon instructs his son to receive his words, he uses this imagery of a treasury to describe how he should be treating the commandments that he receives. He ought to treasure them up, not in a blue-stone store-house, but in the bank-vault of his heart. Imagine if you had a famous painting on the wall in your home, perhaps a Monet, a da Vinci – choose your favourite artist! If art isn’t your thing, try a very large diamond worth millions of dollars, or the treasure of your choice! Question: What would you do with it? That’s right, you’d make sure it was secure. You would take great pains to make sure it wasn’t lost to you. You would treasure it, marvel over it, and you would stare at it and study its every detail. You would check it often to make sure it’s still there. This is how we must treat God’s word if we would gain wisdom. We must treasure it up in the storehouse of our hearts. Don’t just leave the word lying around to be read every few weeks when the fancy takes you. Don’t just pull it out on a Sunday and forget about it the rest of the week. We must not be careless with the word of God, for it is a treasure beyond treasures. Treasuring God’s Word is an essential step toward gaining wisdom and making the leap into spiritual maturity. Be ye doers of the word... What do you treasure in your life? What are the things you spend your time enjoying? Do you treasure God’ word? To have wisdom, you must treasure the word up, store it up. Buy it and sell it not. In Ps 119:11 the psalmist says: “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” If we do not treasure God’s word, sin will increase in our hearts. As far as application here is concerned, a line has been drawn in the sand. Do you treat God’s word like a million-dollar diamond? Or like yesterday’s newspaper? Which side of the line are you standing on? Again – the good news is that if you’re on the wrong side, you can turn to God, ask for mercy, and step on over. But we do need more instruction on this, because how do we actually do this well? How do we treasure up God’s word in our heart? How does this work? We will learn more next time as we open up verse two. For now, ask the Lord to truly change the attitude of your heart towards his word, that you might treasure it, and begin to invest the best of your time and energy into the word. SDG. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe [https://rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]