8-29-17 The Great Treasure Hunt

25^th August 2017

Shabbat Shalom to all:

The Great Treasure Hunt:

Many modern Christians are spiritually lazy. They are ignorant, and spiritually blind. They’ve given themselves whole heartedly to the opinions of blind guides.

Here’s a formula for you: Biblical ignorance + a YouTube channel = great danger!

Of course there are many very good and needed ministries on YouTube and the like.

I wonder why so many, and it’s always the same ones, never get tired of being so wrong. Why do their followers carry on following them?

Blind teachers and their ignorant followers have no spiritual wisdom. They have no fear of the Lord, which is why they are tossed about on every wind of doctrinal error and fancy bit of speculation.

Our Lord said that the conditions on the earth and in the church in these end-days would be just like this.

What the Christian world needs now is a heavy dose of truth, the fear of the Lord and God’s wisdom!

Safety in these darkening days is not guaranteed! It is not automatic. Spiritual, doctrinal safety and physical safety are conditional.

Let’s begin our search for hidden treasure:

Psalm 91:1-7 “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty...His truth shall be a shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, or the arrow that flies by day...nor the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.”

Notice in these wonderful verses above that there are conditions to safety. You must abide (stay and remain) in the secret place and in His truth. You must know the truth, you must not be afraid of the terror and destruction.

Now let’s go deeper into the secret hiding place:

Psalm 32:7 “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble.”

Psalm 17:8 “Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings.”

Psalm 31:19-20 “How great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You...You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man. You shall keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of man.”

Do you see what wonderful protection there is deep in the things of God and exclusively for those who fear the Lord? The fear of the Lord is the key into the secret place.

These verses above are God’s A-bomb shelter!

Now let’s go even deeper into our search for God-inspired wisdom in these dangerous days of doctrinal error.

Job 28:12-18 “Where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living (or YouTube)...It cannot be purchased with gold, silver, onyx, jewellery. The price of wisdom is above these things.”

Proverbs 2:1-4 (“The value of wisdom”.) “Incline your ear (bow down) to wisdom; apply your heart to understanding. “Search for it as hidden treasure... Then you will understand the fear of the Lord.

Do you see what is hiding in the secret place with you? It is a treasure trove, a bonanza of a lot more than gold. It is a stash and cache of God’s wisdom!

A secret place is secret. Hidden treasure needs to be sought after. You need to seek it to find it, before you can enter into its wonders. When you find the secret place and enter in, you will be struck down by fear. But that is good. That is exactly the point at which you become theLord’s treasure.

Proverbs 2:10-14 ”When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from every evil way and from the one who speaks perverse things and leaves the path of righteousness to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice in doing evil, delighting in perversity and wickedness.”

Isaiah 45:3 “I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of the secret place that you may know that I, the Lord who call you by name, am the God of Israel.”

Psalm 25:14 “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him and He will show you His covenant.”

Isaiah 33:6 “Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of your times and strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.”

The evil twin:

The fear of the Lord has an evil twin, called the fear or approval of man.

“Wisdom” that emanates from those seeking the approval of man is devoid of God’s Spirit. It operates in the characteristics of man. It uses the fear of man and other tools of manipulation. Above all, it is shallow and inconsistent. It does not come from the secret hiding place with God.

Proverbs 13:10 (Amp) “By pride and insolence comes only contention, but with the well-advised is skilful and godly wisdom.”

Much of the modern gospel comes from polluted sources – the fear of man! The veracity of the Bible is downplayed. Interpretation of key doctrines becomes variable. Private interpretation takes precedent. Feelings and experiences become central. Sin becomes relative and irrelevant while repentance is ignored.

Finally:

The fear of the Lord is the key to the secret place and cross is the doorway. The cross is offensive, fearful, but life and wisdom generating.

The most precious and valuable thing in the universe is the shed blood of Messiah – the cross. It is more valuable than anything. It is treasured, worthy, profitable, admired, cherished, esteemed and precious.

So, this is the treasure-seeking hunt of immense importance and great eternal value. There is great safety and security in the secret hiding place with our Lord and what comes out of that hiding place is fully trustworthy – God’s wisdom.

Shalom † Joel.