Finding the Knowledge of God

Text:  Prov. 2:1-6

• Intro:
  • Many people get saved and then they stagnate. 
  • The reason is that they don’t find the knowledge of God. 
  • In other words, they know Jesus as their Saviour but that’s all they know. 
  • We say, “Read your Bible and come to church.” 
  • They start but they soon give up because they don’t “get it.”
• Today we’re going to see what finding the knowledge of God takes so that you can grow beyond the principles of the doctrine of Christ [Heb 6:1] and go on unto perfection.
• The process of finding the knowledge of God – Prov 2:1-3 –
  • “Receive my words” – through reading, preaching and teaching –
    • This is absorbing the words and believing them.
  • “Hide my commandments” – Ps 119:11 –
    • Not just memorizing them but getting to know them so well that you can obey them without having to look them up –
    • These “commands” will guide you.
  • “Incline thine ear unto wisdom” –
    • That is to pay close attention to and listen willingly to wisdom by cutting out all of the commotion and distractions that compete.
  • “Apply thine heart to understanding”-
    • That is to employ yourself diligently to –
    • Often you don’t understand something in the Bible because you haven’t “worked at it” hard enough to understand –
    • Other times your lack of understanding may be due to disobedience [Job 28:28].
  • “Criest after knowledge” – this is prayer, which leads to the next point.
• The prayer for finding the knowledge of God – Prov 2:3 –
  • See Prov 2:6; Jas 1:5; Lk 24:32, 45 –
    • You aren’t going to understand this Book unless the Lord gives you the understanding [Prov 2:6] –
    • So pray to him for knowledge.
  • While we’re on this point notice the triad of wisdom, understanding and knowledge –
    • Prov 2:2-3; 2:6; 2:10-11; 1:2-4; 3:19-20; 24:3-4 –
    • These three show up together in many different places –
    • They are briefly described as follows:
  • Knowledge – FACTS – the “what” of what you know
  • Understanding – FAITH – the “how” of what you know
  • Wisdom – FEAR – the “who” of what you know [Prov 1:7]
• The pursuit of finding the knowledge of God – Prov 2:4 – “seekest her… searchest for her” –
  • We are to seek for the knowledge of God as we would seek for silver or search for a hidden treasure –
    • These two admonitions show you the significance of what you are after –
    • They show you the:
      • Value of the knowledge of God
      • Work involved in finding the knowledge of God
      • Time involved – years
      • Persistence it takes – stay with it
      • Difficulty involved – it’s hidden
      • Goal of finding the knowledge of God – you will find it
• The prerequisite of finding the knowledge of God – Prov 2:5 – “the fear of the Lord” –
  • Prov 9:10; Job 28:28 –
  • You say, “I don’t understand” –
  • You won’t until you do the first three things and then when you do those you will understand the fear of the Lord –
  • It is something no one else can quite explain to you – you must know it for yourself.
• The promise of finding the knowledge of God – Prov 2:5 – “and find the knowledge of God” –
  • You will find it –
  • Seeking to find the knowledge of God is not a vain pursuit –
  • We try every way we can to help you with Sunday school lessons, Sunday morning and evening preaching, Wednesday Bible study, radio broadcasts, internet posts, and men’s and women’s Bible studies
  • BUT we cannot do your work for you!
• Conclusion:
  • You must go through the process, you must pray, you must pursue, you must meet the prerequisite and God will fulfill his promise!!