Finding the Knowledge of God Prov. 2:1-6 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

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!!