Let's take our Bibles and turn
to the book of Proverbs chapter 4. Proverbs chapter 4. I'd like to deal with verses
5 to 10. We continue our study this morning
with the beautiful instruction from our Lord as He speaks to His people. And
they hear His voice. They listen for it. They love to hear. They anxiously anticipate You know, hearing His voice is
real. God's people hear His voice. He said, My sheep hear My voice. And He wasn't just saying that.
It wasn't just words. It wasn't just filler. Listen to the voice of the Master,
starting in verse 5, as He speaks. I pray He speaks to me, speaks
to you. Get wisdom. Get understanding. Get it. Purchase. Get wisdom. Purchase. Purchase Christ. That's what He said. That's what
He's saying to His people. That's what He says to His His
sons, His objects of mercy. Oh, Isaiah 55, 1, Oh, every one
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, he that hath no money. Boy, I tell you, if it's going
to cost me some money and I don't have enough, how am I going to
get wisdom? He that hath no money, come ye
buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without
money, without price. I'm so thankful that there is
a purchase, the purchase of Him. Buy, purchase Christ's wisdom. But do you know, before a man can buy, he's got to be made
thirsty. Oh, everyone's thirsty. I've said before, I can remember
my kids, if they laid down, they didn't want to go to sleep. What
they did, Dad, what? I'm thirsty. I'd bring them some
water. They weren't thirsty. half a
sip, barely made their lips wet. Is that all you wanted? Yes, sir. You weren't thirsty
and you go to sleep. But I'm talking about a slaking
thirst. I'm talking about thirsty. I'm
talking about bone dry, parched, that you can almost Remember
what it was like, just the very thought of being able to find
a cool drink of water. It's so cold and your mouth is
just so filled with it. And it's so good you can't even
imagine how good that water is. It just refreshes you. You just
want to drink and drink and drink. I'm talking about thirsty. Everyone that thirsteth. Everyone
that's been made willing in the day of His power. Everyone that
truly wants to come to the waters, to the preaching of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, whereby the mercy of God is set forth
in Him. You that have no power within
yourself to purchase. You that have nobility, no value, you can come. Everyone that's
thirsty. Oh, what a blessing it is to
see somebody that's thirsty, that truly hungers after Christ. Somebody that's got to have Him. You can come, you can eat by
faith. You realize that the purchase is given, not bought by works
of man's righteousness. Buys wine and milk the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. John 6, 53, Then Jesus said unto
them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh
of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in
you." Life and death. That life that He lived for me
in establishing the righteousness of God. The man, Christ Jesus. the righteousness of God, and imputed that to me. The drink of His blood is to
know that He truly took away my guilt, that my guilt was truly made.
He has mine iniquities, He says, taken hold upon me. Get wisdom. That's what he said
in verse 5. Get understanding. Forget it
not. Don't ignore it. That's what
he said. Forget it not. You know, I don't
really know very many people that you ask them, say, have
you ever forgotten the Lord Jesus? Let's see, Lord Jesus. I used
to know that name. Hold it. No. Oh, wait. That's not what it means. Forget.
Ignore. Don't ignore it. Don't ignore. Psalm 1914, let
the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable
in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Lord, don't let me ignore You.
He says to me to forget it not. Forget not. Don't ignore. Isaiah 26, 3, Thou wilt keep
him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed, born up, and established
on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee. Don't ignore him. Ignore anything else. Ignore
everything else. Let the rest of it go. Forget
it. Forget it. Forget it. But don't
ignore him. Don't you hate somebody ignoring
you? Somebody come up to you? Sean, if somebody comes up to
you and, you know, you ask them something, they just walk away.
You think, what? Neither decline from the words
of my mouth. Don't turn aside from the words
of Christ. John 6, 68, then Simon Peter
answered the Lord when the Lord said, Will you go away also? Will you decline from the words
of my mouth? Will you walk away? Will you
ignore them? Are they that insignificant to
you? Is everything else more important? Whatever else comes first. That's what I'm going to do first.
If I don't have anything else to do, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. I'm so glad he let me be here today. I'm so glad that
he allowed me the privilege to be able to sit and not decline
from the words of his mouth. Verse 6, forsake or not, And she shall preserve thee,
lover, and she shall keep thee." Speaking of wisdom, Scripture
using this terminology, forsake her not. Our Lord used that terminology.
Matthew 11, 19, wisdom is justified of her children. Men forsake Christ when they
forsake the prescribed means of salvation. the hearing of
the gospel. Don't do it. Don't forsake it. Don't forsake it. Oh, I'm telling you there is
coming a day in which those that have forsaken hearing of His
gospel, the means of His salvation, ignored it, thought lightly,
neglected it, will hear those words. Don't do it. Forsake her not. Don't depart nor neglect. You know, a man can depart from
his wife by neglecting her. May never actually leave her
presence. But actually, forsook her by
just neglecting her. Forsook her in his heart. Hebrews
10.25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the
manner of some is, but exhorting one another in so much the more
as you see the day approaching. Forsake her not. And she, that is wisdom. Wisdom. Christ and the knowledge
of Him shall preserve thee, guard you, save you. Love her and she
shall keep thee." You know, for the believer, our love for Christ
is the evidence of His love for us. What's the evidence that
the Lord Jesus Christ loves me? I love Him. 1 John 4, 9. We love Him because
He first loved us. I'm telling you, if He has not
set His love and affection on me, He's not given me a new heart
then. He's not given me a new mind.
He's not given me a new spirit. He's not spoken to me. David
said, if you're silent to me, I'll be just like those who go
down to the pit. Be not silent to me. The Lord's love toward us is
the cause of our love toward Him. Almighty God loves His people
in Christ. He said in Jeremiah 3.13, I have
loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee. Eternal love. Everlasting love. That is that love that's sent. the Lord Jesus Christ into this
world, for God so loved the world, the order, the arrangement that He gave His only begotten
Son. Believing on Him, loving Him,
trusting Him, longing to be with Him, be near Him, that's the
effects of a new heart. God's people want to be where
He is. That's the way it is. That's just the way it is. Hope maketh not ashamed, because
the love of God is shed abroad, poured out and distributed in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. Verse 7, Wisdom is the principal
thing. Therefore get wisdom, and with
all thy getting, Get understanding. Wisdom. Christ. The knowledge of Christ. To know
Him. That's life eternal. Wisdom is
the principle thing. It's the first thing. That's
what it means. The principle. Number one. He's
the only begotten Son. The one Mediator between God
and man. It's the man, Christ Jesus. He
is the way. He's the King of Kings. He's
the Lord of Lords, the Shepherd, Bishop of our souls, the beginning
and the end of our salvation. Wisdom is the principal thing.
Therefore, get wisdom. Purchase Christ as we just talked
about a moment ago. We don't come to the doctrines
of grace. I don't know anyone that really has any stability
tool that speaks like that. Well, when I came to the doctrines
of grace, Scripture doesn't say, come to
the doctrines of grace. What does it say? Come to me. Come to me. Well, when I got
saved, Christ is the principle. Principle thing. Get wisdom. Get Christ. Purchase Him. Without money, without price,
you that are thirsty, and with all thy getting, get understanding.
With all your substance, with all your getting, that's what
we're getting, with all your substance, own Christ. All other possessions are draws.
He's the pearl of great price. What is a man profited if he
shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What shall
a man give in exchange for his soul? Christ is all in all. Wisdom. Principle thing. Get wisdom. Verse 8, Exalt her
and she shall promote thee. She shall bring thee to honor
when thou dost embrace her by faith. Search Him out who has revealed
Himself unto you. Search Him out. Do you know Him? Read His Word. Lift Him up in praise that is
due His name. That's what believers do. Kings
and priests are offering the sacrifices of praise. Worship Him as God. He is the prophet, priest, and
king, the only Redeemer and Savior. Trust Him. He shall promote thee. Christ shall bring to you honor. She shall bring thee to honor. when thou dost embrace her." I think about that. The Lord wrestling, wrestling. Jacob, let me go. You that know him
this morning, would you let him go? You think, by the grace of
God, He has given me a heart to hold on to Him by faith. And
by faith, by faith, I hold Him and love Him and long to see
Him. We hold to Him who holds us. There is a growing intimacy.
He will bring thee to honor when thou dost embrace her, the knowledge
and the wisdom of Christ. Embracer, you come this morning and you
didn't come just to, you know, have till 11 o'clock. I'm just
about done, just maybe 5, 6, 8 more minutes here. 20 minutes till 11. Did you come
just to fill up the time? No. Know you that believe. Let me tell you what you came.
You came this morning desiring, wanting, praying. I want to hear Him. As the bride says in Song of
Solomon, have you seen Him who I love? Cried in the streets. Have you seen Him? I want to embrace Him. I long
to embrace Him. You want to hear something. You
want to hear of Christ. You want to hear of Him. And
you want to be taught by Spirit. That's what you want. You didn't
come here this morning just to go through a religious service. No, truly, you desired to come. And to truly say in your heart,
it has been good to have been in the house of the Lord. She shall give, verse 9, to thine
head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory shall she deliver to
thee. The grace of God that is given by Christ, which is Christ,
an ornament to His people. He is our crown. Justifying grace. Oh, that covers
us, beautifies and adores us, adorns us. His righteousness
that robes us. Our beauty. That righteousness by which He
lived. immediately imputed to us a robe that covers
us, that wedding garment, sanctifying grace set apart as
holy without blame before Him in love. A crown of glory shall
she be to you. ornament of grace, a crown of
glory shall she deliver to thee, eternal glory, by Him who has
made us kings and priests unto God, a crown of life, not earned
by us, but given to us, that shall appear with Him. And last
verse, Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of
thy life shall be many. Hereby faith, which is only by
the grace of God." Oh, what a miracle of God that God would give anybody
faith to believe Him, truly to believe Him. Day and
night, sickness and health, that a man can believe God. Lord, help me. Lord, I want to
believe You. Lord, I want to trust You. Lord,
if You grant me faith to believe You, come what may, all is well. Looking unto Him, looking unto
the end, bypassing all that I You know, it's in front of me right
now, just looking past, looking and seeing Him. All this is going
on around here. Then all is well. If I see Him,
if I believe Him, if I trust Him, then everything else is
a delight, a light aflitch. Hear, O my son, and receive my
sayings, the years of thy life shall be many." Many. How many? Well, John 10, 28 says, I give
unto them eternal life. And they shall never perish,
and neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. You know,
oh, that's some instruction in it. Isn't it wonderful just to
sit at His feet and just listen? And just listen to Him speak.
Listen to Him instruct. And by His Spirit, His people
are taught. You think, Lord, it's so good
to hear from You. Thank You that You speak to me.
For Christ's sake, Amen.