In Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 1 to 12.
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments.
For length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you.
Bind them around your neck.
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
so you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes.
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Honor the Lord with your wealth,
and with the firstfruits of all your produce.
Then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.
My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline,
or be weary of His reproof.
For the Lord reproves Him whom He loves,
as a father, the son in whom He delights.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
Most of you, like I do, probably know a health guru or two.
The person who keeps up with all the health fads,
experimented with the alkaline diet,
the gluten-free diet, the vegan diet,
paleo diet, the Whole30 diet,
the Mediterranean diet, Atkins diet,
keto diet, I don't even know what half of these are.
The person who keeps up with all the exercise fads,
I think this is probably before most of us,
but Taibo, right?
P90X, Insanity, Barefoot Running.
Remember those Vibrams?
Zumba, Yoga, Spinning, or CrossFit.
Most of you also probably know a productivity guru or two.
The person that reads all the self-help books
and eagerly applies all the productivity tips
to ensure success and happiness in their life.
Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking.
David Allen's Getting Things Done.
Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
Or Marie Kondo's Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
Certainly not underselling it, right?
Life-changing magic.
I mention all these to show you
that people are generally very interested
in health and well-being,
in happiness and success.
Now what if I told you
that I have discovered something
that will increase your length of days and years of life
and fill your life with peace?
Something that will give you favor and good success
with both God and man.
And if you believed me
when I told you that,
you would do everything in your power
to acquire that very thing.
And that's precisely what
this passage of Scripture offers,
although
I will qualify and explain that as we go.
It teaches us that
we should trust the Lord fully
and distrust ourselves.
That's the main point of this passage.
We should trust the Lord
and distrust ourselves.
First, in the first half,
there's an exhortation to trust in the Lord.
In the second half,
it gives us specific examples
of trust in the Lord,
what that looks like.
It begins in verses 1 and 2 this way.
These first two verses
set the pattern
that the rest of this passage will follow.
The odd number of verses
contain the commands
that we have to follow,
the commands of God.
The even number of verses
contain the consequences,
the rewards that will follow
if we obey God's commands.
And as I said two weeks ago,
the son that is in view here,
that's being addressed here,
is not a specific individual,
but a generic category
that includes all of God's people.
In fact, in Exodus 4, verse 22,
God explicitly calls
the nation of Israel,
his chosen people,
my firstborn son.
So God reveals himself
to his people as father
and calls his people his children.
And so this is,
and this is partly why
God takes paternal relationships
so seriously
because our earthly fathers
are meant to be representatives
of our heavenly father
to their children.
And so scripture repeatedly
places a premium
on the responsibility
of parents
to rear their children
in the instruction
and discipline of the Lord.
And that's why Proverbs
assumes this parental voice
and perspective
when it says,
for example,
in chapter 1, verse 8,
hear my son,
your father's instruction
and forsake not
your mother's teaching.
And if we do not forget
our father's teaching
but let our heart
keep his commandments,
that's the command,
then our keeping
of these commandments
will lead to this.
It will add to us
length of days
and years of life
and peace.
That's the consequence.
That's very similar
to the fifth
of the Ten Commandments
which Paul quotes
in Ephesians chapter 6,
verses 1 to 4.
Children,
obey your parents
and the Lord
for this is right.
Honor your father
and mother.
This is the first commandment
with a promise
that it may go well
with you
and that you may live
long in the land.
Fathers,
do not provoke
your children to anger
but bring them up
in the discipline
and instruction
of the Lord.
Because God intended
our parents
to function
as his representatives
and messengers,
he expected us
to honor our parents
and to heed
their teaching,
their words.
And when our parents
bring us up
in the instruction
and discipline
of the Lord
and we honor them
and heed their words,
then it would go well
with us
because we'll be following
God's words
and we would live
long in the land.
Verses 3 to 4
continue this exhortation.
Let not steadfast love
and faithfulness
forsake you.
Bind them around your neck.
Write them on the tablet
of your heart
so you will find favor
and good success
in the sight of God
and man.
Steadfast love
and faithfulness
in verse 3.
It's parallel to
the Father's teaching
and commandments
in verse 1.
So these two attributes,
steadfast love
and faithfulness,
sum up the Father's
ethical teaching.
This is what your life
should look like.
This is how you should live.
And it's not a coincidence
that steadfast love
and faithfulness
are frequently paired
throughout Scripture
to sum up
the attributes of God.
When God reveals himself
to Moses
in Exodus chapter 34,
he describes himself
as abounding
in steadfast love
and faithfulness.
His steadfast love
means he is not fickle.
His love for us
doesn't fluctuate.
He loves us
with an unchanging,
covenantal love.
He's loyal to us.
God's also faithful.
The word behind faithfulness,
the Hebrew word
behind faithfulness
is sometimes translated
as truth.
It's a reference
to God's faithfulness
to his character.
He's true to himself.
He does not deviate
from who he is.
He's not contingent
on changing circumstances
or moods.
He's the same yesterday,
today, and forever.
He's always faithful
and true.
That's what faithfulness means.
As 2 Timothy 2.13 says,
If we are faithless,
he remains faithful
for he cannot deny himself.
That's who he is.
It was God's steadfast love
and faithfulness
that assured God's people
of his enduring
commitment to them.
And so then,
when Proverbs 3.3 tells us,
Let not steadfast love
and faithfulness forsake you,
it's telling us
that as objects
of God's steadfast love
and faithfulness,
we should be characterized
by steadfast love
and faithfulness.
We should reciprocate
what God has done for us,
given to us.
It's referring to
keeping our end
of our covenant relationship
with God,
our obligations,
our responsibilities.
Psalm 26 describes it this way,
To live with steadfast love
and faithfulness,
then it's to live
trusting the Lord
without wavering.
It's a life of faith.
That's what it means
to put on steadfast love
and faithfulness.
Like a wedding ring
that you never take off,
as God's people,
we are to keep
steadfast love
and faithfulness
near our hearts always.
Wear it always.
Engrave it
on the tablet of our hearts.
And so then,
steadfast love
and faithfulness,
they're not some generic,
a-religious,
moral qualities
that anyone can follow.
These are profoundly
religious attributes.
One cannot live
with steadfast love
and faithfulness
without faith in God.
This is confirmed
by verses 5 to 6.
It says,
Trust in the Lord
with all your heart
and do not lean
on your own understanding.
In all your ways,
acknowledge Him
and He will make straight
your paths.
Notice the repetition
of the word all.
The command to trust
in the Lord
with all your heart
requires exclusivity.
We are not to be divided
in our allegiance to Him.
We are not to serve
other lords
or to be devoted
to other masters.
Rather,
we are to trust in God
with all of our heart.
And likewise,
we are to acknowledge God
in all our ways.
That implies
not just that
our commitment to God
is exclusive,
but that it's also
exhaustive.
It's comprehensive.
There's nothing
that it doesn't touch.
Everything in life
is supposed to be filtered
through our devotion
to God,
our allegiance to Him.
So do you trust
in the Lord
with all your heart
or do you trust Him
with half your heart?
Or do you not
trust Him at all?
Is there something
or someone else
that you trust?
Do you lean
on your own understanding?
There's so many
self-help tips out there
along the lines of
trust yourself,
believe in yourself,
bet on yourself.
But this is prideful
and self-serving advice
that's unbecoming
of the Christian.
We are commanded here
to trust in the Lord
and distrust ourselves.
There are too many
people in the world
that think they know
exactly what they are doing
and what everyone else
should be doing.
Leaning on our own
understanding
is like leaning
on a broken crutch.
We should instead
trust in the Lord
with all of our heart.
So let me ask you,
what drives your decisions
and actions?
Is it the Word of God
or is it your own will?
Are you shaped
by the teachings
of God's Word
or are you shaped
more by your own desires,
your impulses,
your experiences,
your past,
and your feelings?
What is the key
or the legend
that you use
in your life
to determine
what is true or false,
what is right or wrong,
what is good or bad,
what is beautiful or ugly?
What is the key
that you use
to determine those things?
We can't assume
that human reason
or intuition
or conscience
can bring people together
and be consistent
and reliable.
They are not.
All of those things
are shaped by our personal
and cultural context.
People's reasoning
is often very
and demonstrably unreasonable.
People's intuitions
and consciences
frequently misfire.
That means our reasoning
needs to be sanctified
by God's Word
and our intuitions
and consciences too
must be calibrated
according to
the Word of God.
As Paul writes
in 2 Corinthians 10, 5,
we destroy arguments
and every lofty opinion
raised against
the knowledge of God
and take every thought
captive
to obey Christ.
So do you filter
every thought,
every idea
through the Word of God?
Do you dare
to risk yourself,
your life,
to believe
and obey
everything
that God's Word
teaches
in every area
of your life?
I'd love
for our church
to get in the habit
of asking ourselves,
is this thought
or is this idea
corroborated
or contradicted
by a passage
in Scripture?
And God's Word
is bound
to challenge us
from time to time,
perhaps
more frequently
for some of us
than others.
Why?
Because God is God
and we are not.
If God
always agrees
with us,
as one preacher
said,
we probably
created God
in our own image.
He's just
an idealization
of our own desires,
not God.
And we should
get in the habit
of testing
our decisions
and actions
by the Word of God
as well.
We should cultivate
a functional
dependence on God
in our day-to-day life.
And we can't
assume that just
because we've been
a Christian
for some time
that this is
something we're
already doing.
There are people
who have been
Christians for decades
who trust in the Lord
theoretically
but do not
trust Him
functionally.
They rely
on their own
understanding
in the way
they actually live.
To illustrate,
many of us,
many of you
are diligent
in your life
and perhaps
not consciously
but subconsciously
you live
with the mantra,
God helps
those who
help themselves.
But that's
the indifferent
and really
distant God
of deism
that's not
speaking of
the loving
and personally
present God
of Christianity.
By this,
I don't mean
that God
doesn't use means.
I don't mean
that we should
passively resign
ourselves
to whatever
happens.
The book
of Proverbs
leaves no room
for passivity
or laziness
on our part.
But too many
of us
use our
diligence
and busyness
to mask
our lack
of faith
in God.
We use
the fact
that God
holds us
humans
responsible
for our
decisions
and actions
as an excuse
for distrusting
divine sovereignty.
I think
that's why
we love
this often
told parable.
I'm sure
you've heard
it.
I don't
know if
it's a joke
or a parable.
A fellow
was apparently
stuck on a
stranded
on a rooftop
because there
was a flood
and he
prayed to God
for help.
God,
please come
and rescue
me.
I have
faith.
I'm relying
on you.
And so
God sent
or
I already
blew the
joke.
So a
rowboat
comes around
and offers
to give him
a ride.
He says,
hey,
come,
jump in.
I'll help
you.
And then
the guy
goes,
no,
no.
I've
been
praying
to God.
I have
faith.
I'll
wait.
And then
later a
motorboat
comes by
and says,
hey,
jump in.
Let me
get you
out of
the flood.
And he
says,
no,
I've
been
praying
to God.
I'm
just
going
to
wait.
I
have
faith.
And
then
finally a
helicopter
comes.
He's
literally
about to
sink.
And the
helicopter
comes and
says,
come on,
climb onto
this ladder
and I'll
rescue you.
And then
he says,
I have
faith.
I'm not
going to go.
And of
course,
he dies.
He drowns.
And then
he goes
to heaven
because he
did have
faith.
And he
asks God,
he brings
God to
task.
God,
I
prayed
with
faith.
Why did
you not
come to
rescue me
and leave
me to
die
stranded
in the
flood?
And
then
God
replied,
I
sent
you
a
rowboat
and a
motorboat
and a
helicopter.
What
more did
you expect?
God
does
use
means.
I'm
not
denying
that.
God
often
uses
people.
He
often
uses
you.
But
this
does
not
mean
then
that
the
man
stranded
in
the
flood
should
have
swum
frantically
trying to
save
himself
without
any
recourse
to God
without
any
reliance
on God.
That's
not what
it looks
like to
live a
life of
faith.
There
is an
important
difference
between
trusting God
to provide
through people
and trusting
people in
the place
of God.
God
to
trust
to
use
you
and
trusting
yourself.
A
big
difference.
A
telltale
sign
of whether
or not
you're
trusting
God
is the
vibrancy
of your
prayer
life.
Is
prayer
an
optional
thing
that you
tag
on to
the
indispensable
work
that you
do
with
your
own
hands?
Or
is
prayer
an
indispensable
work
that
calls
upon
God's
indispensable
work
to bear
on your
life?
Do you
have a
habit of
taking things
into your
own hands?
Verse
6 is
in all
your ways
acknowledge
him
and he
will make
straight
your paths.
It doesn't
say pave
your own
way.
It doesn't
say forge
your own
path.
It says
depend
on God,
acknowledge
God,
submit
to his
authority,
align
yourselves
to his
purposes
and
priorities
and
then
he
will
smooth
out,
straighten
your
path.
George
Mueller
was a
19th
century
Christian
minister
famous
for his
life of
radical
dependence
on
God.
When
God
first put
it in
his
heart
to
build
orphanages,
he
had only
two
shillings,
equivalent
to have
50
cents
in his
pocket.
And he
fundraised
400,000
pounds,
7 million
dollar
equivalent,
without
making his
financial needs
known to a
single human
being.
Only by
praying to
God.
In
response to
his prayers
of faith,
people sent
him money,
left and
right,
God
even though
he never
asked anyone,
never told anyone of the need.
So he founded and directed the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol,
England and cared for over 10,000 orphans during his lifetime.
He established 117 schools that offered Christian education to more than 120,000 people.
And in his autobiography, Mueller writes about how he learned to trust God so completely.
Quote,
when a trial of faith comes, we are naturally inclined to distrust God and to trust in ourselves, in our friends, or in circumstances.
We would rather work a deliverance of our own than simply look to God and wait for his help.
But if we do not patiently wait for God's help, or if we work a deliverance of our own, then at the next trial of our faith, we will have the same problem.
We will again be inclined to try and deliver ourselves.
With every fresh trial, our faith will decrease.
On the contrary, if we stand firm in order to see the salvation of God, trusting in him alone, our faith will be increased.
I know this example makes some of you uncomfortable.
It should.
I don't think all of us should live as George Mueller did.
I wish all of us could.
But I don't think all of us should, because not all of us have George Mueller's faith.
To do such things without faith is presumption.
A testing of God, not faith in God.
But I do think all of us should push the envelope bit by bit every day to become more and more radically dependent on God.
Is there a way you can be more dependent on God and less dependent on yourself today?
I can assure you that God can get more things done without our help than you and I can imagine.
After the general exhortation to trust in the Lord, we are given specific examples of trust in the Lord in the rest of this passage.
It says in verses 7 to 8,
Later in Proverbs 26, 12, it says that a person who is wise in his own eyes is worse than a fool.
There's more hope for a fool than for a person who is wise in his own eyes.
Why? Because a fool is ignorant, but the man who is wise in his own eyes is ignorant and prideful.
Confident in his ignorance.
He's impervious to instruction and correction.
And the antidote for that, being wise in one's own eyes, is fear of the Lord.
Because fear of the Lord combines the knowledge of God with humility before God.
It deals with both our ignorance and our pride.
To fear the Lord, as I've been saying over this series,
is to live every waking moment before the presence of, under the authority of, and for the glory of God.
That's what it means to live in the fear of God.
It means to live with faith in God and with humility before Him.
And the fear of God is evidenced in our turning away from evil, it says.
To turn away is the word that's often rendered, repent.
Is there a sin in your life that you have not turned away from?
Sin that you condone, that you hide, that you rationalize?
Is there a vice that God is calling you to renounce in your life right now,
that you think God doesn't see or care enough about?
If you fear the Lord, you would turn from it.
And that would be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Whenever we see promises like this, we ask ourselves,
is this promise true?
Or is this just naivete?
Okay.
Aren't there plenty of people who fear the Lord,
that don't have health and healing?
Proverbs is not unaware that, in some cases, wicked flourish and prosper.
That's why Proverbs 23, 17 says,
Let not your heart envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.
The fear of the Lord brings many temporal blessings,
generally speaking.
But because we live in a sinful, upside-down world,
sometimes fearing the Lord and living with the fear of God
brings injustice and persecution.
In such cases, we are not to envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of the Lord,
trusting that God's justice will ultimately prevail.
And that there will be eternal blessings.
Verses 9 to 10 teach us about another way
in which to trust God practically.
It says,
Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce.
Then your barns will be filled with plenty
and your vats will be bursting with wine.
The Hebrew word behind the word honor
literally means to count as heavy,
to give weight to someone.
So then to honor the Lord with your wealth,
then it's to give weight to God
in the way you use your money.
It's very helpful to think about it this way
because that gets us away from this
kind of minimum requirement mentality.
God, how much must I give
so that I can spend the rest of it for myself?
What is the requirement?
I'll do it.
Just tell me where the line is
so that I can have this under control
and live the way I want.
This command doesn't allow for that.
Honor the Lord with your wealth.
God's concerned about the balance of it all,
the weight of it all.
Is your budget weighted toward God
or toward yourself?
Will someone who looks at your budget say,
God is counted heavily in this budget?
Or will the person not even know
that you believe in God?
We are to honor the Lord
with the first fruits of all of our produce,
he says.
First fruits refer to the first produce
of the season
and the first offspring of one's livestock
that God's people were expected to bring
as an offering.
It's a form of tribute,
an acknowledgement that we are a people
under God's authority
and that all of our blessings
ultimately come from God.
And it's the first fruits,
not leftovers,
that are required.
We're not to give God the worst things,
but the best things.
We don't merely give what is expendable to us,
we give what is expensive to us,
costly to us.
This is so countercultural
because in our society,
we live in a society that trusts in capital,
not in God's worth,
not in God.
The way we use our money
will often reveal whether or not
we actually trust God
to provide for us
or whether we're trusting ourselves
to provide for ourselves.
Job 31 puts it this way,
verses 24 to 28,
If I have made gold my trust
or called fine gold my confidence,
if I have rejoiced
because my wealth was abundant
or because my hand had found much
and my heart has been secretly enticed
and my mouth has kissed my hand,
this also would be an iniquity
to be punished by the judges,
for I would have been false to God above.
To trust in your wealth below
is to be false to your God above,
to distrust God.
Proverbs 18, 10 to 11
mocks trusting in wealth this way,
The name of the Lord is a strong tower.
The righteous man runs into it and is safe.
A rich man's wealth is his strong city
and like a high wall in his imagination.
Your wealth might make you feel safe and secure,
but it's only an illusion
because true safety and security
is found in God alone.
At any given moment,
there are billions of possibilities,
things that can happen to you.
You think money will protect you from that?
Certainly, it's possible
to neglect responsible saving
in a sinful, ungodly way.
Spending things we shouldn't be spending,
indulging in ourselves,
not being generous.
But it's also possible
to save more than we should,
to compensate for our lack of faith in God
through saving.
In the parable of the rich fool
in Luke 12, 13 to 21,
Jesus rebukes the rich fool
who says to himself,
Soul, you have ample goods
laid up for many years.
Relax, eat, drink, be merry.
God says to him,
Fool, this night your soul
is required of you.
And the things you have prepared,
whose will they be?
So is the one who lays up
treasure for himself
and is not rich toward God.
Are you rich toward yourself
or are you rich toward God?
Where is the balance of it all?
Where does the weight of it fall?
This is not advice you'll hear
from people in Wall Street.
They're always talking about
the risk of living too long,
the unreliable investment returns,
the unforeseen medical expenses,
warning us that you can never
possibly save enough.
But if our functional trust
is in our own ability
to provide for ourselves
rather than in God's provision,
we will never be rich toward God.
But if we're rich toward God,
God promises in verse 10,
then your barns will be filled
with plenty
and your vats will be bursting
with wine.
That's literally new wine,
which refers to the first
drippings of,
I guess,
of juice from grapes
before it's pressed,
before they're trotted upon
in the wine press.
It's the most potent,
the most delicious part
of the wine,
new wine.
Your vats will overflow
with this new wine.
God's not saying,
God's saying
he's not going to be stingy with you.
He's going to give you
the best affair.
You're going to have plenty
to eat and drink.
Once again,
Proverbs is not unaware
that there are exceptions
to this rule.
But exceptions do not
disprove the rule.
They actually,
by their very existence,
prove the rule,
that it applies
in all the other circumstances.
But even if your situation
is the exception,
Proverbs 16.8 says,
Better is a little
with righteousness
than great revenues
with injustice.
Hold on.
Continue to fear God
and live faithfully
for Him.
Even when you don't have much,
trust in God
and not in your riches.
And you will ultimately
be rewarded.
Heavenly treasure
will be yours.
The sage gives us
one more example
of trusting God
in verses 11-12.
My son,
do not despise
the Lord's discipline
or be weary
of His reproof.
For the Lord reproves
Him whom He loves
as a father,
the son in whom
He delights.
If you don't trust
in the Lord,
you will despise
His discipline
and reproof.
Isn't this true?
Isn't this how
our parents raised us?
Isn't this how
we raised our parents?
Raised our parents?
Raised our children?
Sorry.
Please don't try
to raise your parents.
This is how
I treat my kids.
It seems like
nowadays,
parenting is increasingly
a kind of
lazy affair.
Just let them be.
Let them take
the course of life.
let them figure out
things for themselves.
Let them discover
their true selves.
I don't know
where that idea
came from.
My kids would be
dead already
if I let them do that.
Kids,
by definition,
don't know
what's best for them.
That's why
they have parents.
And parents
who don't
discipline
children
and teach them
right from wrong
that parents
don't correct
their misbehaviors
are not
being good parents.
They're neglectful
parents.
Likewise,
God says,
if you want me
to care about you,
if you want me
to invest in you
as my child,
as my son
and daughter,
beloved children
of God,
I am going to
be in your life.
And there will
be discipline.
And that's not
something to dread.
It's not a sign
of God's displeasure.
It's not a sign
of God's hatred.
It's a sign
of God's love.
God's love.
But if you don't
trust in God,
when your life
is miserable,
when things are not
going the way you want,
when you're suffering,
when you're sick,
when you're not making
as much money as you want,
when people are not
nice to you,
when all of these
things happen,
you're going to
start to get insecure.
You're going to
start to resent God,
be bitter toward Him,
because your trust
was not in the Lord,
but in your circumstances.
When we trust
in the Lord
and distrust ourselves,
verse 4 promises,
you will find favor
and good success
in the sight of God
and man.
If we are honest
with ourselves
in the ultimate sense,
yeah, sure,
in a relative sense,
maybe we are behaving
properly,
we're living righteously,
and we experience
favor with God
and man.
Relatively speaking,
that may be true,
but speaking absolutely,
there's not a single
person in this room,
not a single person
on earth
that lives
to deserve
this favor
and good success
in the sight of God
and man.
because we have
all sinned.
We have all
failed to trust God.
But there is
one man
that lived
this way.
Luke 2,
chapter 2,
verse 52
describes Jesus
this way.
It says,
Jesus increased
in wisdom
and in stature
and in favor
with God
and man.
Jesus trusted
in God
his Father
perfectly
and he increased
in favor
with God
and man.
He was the
obedient
Son of God
that conducted
himself always
with steadfast love
and faithfulness.
He was the one
that fulfills
all of these promises.
His life
should have
been characterized
by longevity,
health,
eternal,
endless riches.
But he dies
in poverty,
in suffering,
unjustly persecuted
on a cross.
What happened
to your promises,
God?
What about
these Proverbs?
And here's
where we find hope.
Jesus
is the obedient
Son
that's characterized
in this,
described in this
proverb,
but in order to
make all of us
the rebels,
the disobedient
children of God,
sons and daughters
who have brought
shame and reproach
to the face
of our Father
in order to bring us
and reconcile us
to God,
in order to give us
these blessings
that we have
cut ourselves up from.
That's why God
the Father
sends His Son
Jesus to die
on the cross
for us.
That's why
He hangs
on that cross
so that we
might experience
these promises.
Have you
trusted
in Jesus
who fulfills
this word
for you?
Have you
trusted
in Jesus
who fulfills
this word
for you?