1. Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard www.GraceDoctrine.org Tuesday, September 4, 2012

2. Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

3. The Book of Proverbs Chapter 2:3-4 The Pursuit of Wisdom!

4. In vs. 1-2, the four things we are to receive, treasure, attend, and incline toward in GAP are: Sayings, Commandments, Wisdom, Understanding.

5. 1) Sayings, [‘EMER] “Words or sayings”, the teaching of God’s principles.

6. 2) Commandments, [MITSVAH] Orders from God (His Law).

7. 3) Wisdom, [CHOKMAH] EPIGNOSIS Doctrine in the right lobe of your soul, the launching pad for application of His Word.

8. 4) Understanding, [TEBUNAH] The principles of discretion and reason applied skillfully in everyday life.

9. In vs. 3 we are to summon Wisdom to come to us, rather than wait for Wisdom to happen along, we pursue it, both in prayer and in practice.

10. As wisdom calls out and lifts her voice, Prov 1:20, so too the believer must cry out and lift his voice to receive her, Prov 2:3.

11. “Cry” is QARA. As a request for help from God, Psa 17:6, “I have called upon you, for you will hear me, O God.”

12. As for petitioning God for help, Zech. 13:9c, “They will call on My name, and I will answer them”.

13. “Cry” = prayer and the fact of reading / studying the scriptures.

14. “Lift your voice” is to give of yourself in totality in the pursuit of God’s Word.

15. Deut 6:5, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

16. Mark 12:30, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

17. Only after intense desire, earnest prayer and diligent study, with willingness to believe what God has said and obey what He has commanded, do we find the true knowledge of God.

18. “Discernment” is the right perception of truth, and “Understanding” is learning the principles of discretion and reason to apply them skillfully in life.

19. Prov 9:6, “Forsake your folly and live, and proceed in the way of discernment.”

20. Prov 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is discernment.”

21. Prov 4:7, “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; and with all your acquiring, get discernment.”

22. Prov 8:1, “Does not wisdom call, and discernment lift up her voice?”

23. We do not always discern or understand the implications of Bible doctrine when we first hear it.

24. Many times our understanding is not fully awoken until after we have applied it in a temptation or crisis situation.

25. Prov 3:5, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” Deut 4:29; 6:5; 10:12; Josh 22:5; Prov 3:5; Jer 29:13; Mat 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27

26. Knowledge obtained from God’s Word gives us a solid grounding in faith and enables us to make good choices. It arms us for victory over temptations and trials.

27. Vs. 4, “Seek and Search” – Seeking wisdom which is concrete and searching for it as if it were hidden treasure.

28. Mat 13:44, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Cf. Isa 45:3; Mat 13:44; 6:19; Rev 3:11; Prov 4:7.

29. Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday, September 4, 2012 Tape # 12-100 Proverbs 2:3-4 Pursuit of God’s Wisdom Prov 2:3-4; 9:6, 10; Psa 17:6; Mat 13:44; Mark 12:30 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2012