- Well, isn't it great to be outside for those of you that are? I love being out here. Well, we are really unpacking what is quickly becoming a powerful book for all of us, and that is the book of Proverbs, wisdom for life. And so I want you to do a couple things today. First, take a Bible out, go to Proverbs 3 and then I also want you to download the notes if you can't or somehow there's a technical glitch or whatever, it's pretty easy to follow along today, but you can go to our website, rockpoint.church/today, and then you'll be able to pull up all of the words, both for the songs, but then also the outline. And if you need to, there's a QR code inside of the tent, you can just go in there and hold your phone up to it, and it'll get you right there to that point. But Proverbs 3, we're gonna jump into 12 verses today as we take a look at the subject. If I were to ask you, would you like to sign up for peace, for happiness, for joy? Most people would raise their hand, right? I mean, I don't want all the junk that life can throw at me, I want something whereby I can find significance and meaning and joy and peace. And I think most people would raise their hands and say, absolutely, sign me up. Well today, Proverbs 3 talks to us about walking in wisdom and what that really looks like. And it's a fascinating couple of verses because what he does, he walks us through and he gives us counsel in one verse and then the very next verse, he begins to talk about the benefits of walking down that road. And the entire passage today is wrapped around what is probably two of the most famous verses that are found in this book. And it's a couple of verses that Pastor Doug has already referred to. Now, the life that we're gonna unpack today, Paul refers to this life and Galatians 5:16 as a life of walking in the spirit. And the reason for that is because as we walk in the spirit or we walk into this new life that Jesus Christ gives to us, we will not carry out the desires of the flesh and the idea of what he is communicating, that is God, through the book of Proverbs, is how to live this life of wisdom, how to walk down a road of joy and peace and happiness. And remember the entire book can be summarized into two different paths, all 31 chapters, the path of righteousness and wisdom, and also the path that leads to sin and destruction and just a ruined life. And so when you look at those two paths, last week we talked about path of transformation that can happen in our lives. And today we're gonna move down this path of wisdom, so if you'll look down at Proverbs 3 and look at verse one with me and we'll begin to read together. He says, "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'll 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." And then he 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'll 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 first fruits "of all your produce, then your barns will be filled "with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine." And then he closes this section the way he started it with "My son," so that's why it comes together. He says, "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." Did you catch it? The odd verse tells you the counsel, the even verse brings forth the benefit. And what I would like to do is dive in to this incredible opportunity that God is inviting us to walk this road with Jesus. Honestly, I think it's the life of Christ and the teachings of Christ that really beautifully come together in the book of Proverbs. And one of the passages that I've referred to already is John chapter 15, last week as we uncovered this path of growth and transformation, how does that happen? Well, it happens when we go back to the Lord, it's from the words that come from his mouth or God's word, and it is Jesus that calls us, or invites us into this rich life of walking with him or abiding with him. And that means we know him as savior and then as we abide with him, he lives his life through that walk of fellowship with him, his cross, his resurrection become real to us as we begin to live out this life, like Jesus would live. And it says in John 15:10, that if we keep his commandments, we abide in him and that's where we begin. See how it just neatly comes together if you look down at verse one, because it's exactly what he says here. He says, "My son," and then he says, "but let your heart keep my commandments." If we wanna walk this life of wisdom, we begin by keeping his commandments, by loving God and loving one another. Again, as he did in chapter two, he starts with my son, that means this is available to all of us. If you're willing to commit your life to as savior and Lord, he's inviting you to walk down this road, you don't have to be gifted, you don't have to be a genius, you don't have to have everything together. And as you'll see right at the heart of our passage today, he's inviting you to walk and to trust him. Now, if you'll look at the second line in verse one, "My son don't forget my teaching, but let your heart," and then he says a very important word, it's really the key word here, he says, "keep my commandments." Now that word means to guard or to be vigilant. And the idea here is that you need to keep his commandments in your heart, you need to think about them, you need to guard what comes into your mind and then as it comes into your mind, you reflect upon them, you embrace them down to the core of who you are, your will, and then it flows into your actions. So to keep his commandments means to walk in his ways, to live this new life. And that happens when it begins to allow the truth of God to enter into our mind, to be embraced and then it moves towards action, which transforms our character. And it is God's word that penetrates our heart and life. That was what he was bringing up in Proverbs 2 and again, he does it here. This is why scripture memory is so critical to your growth. We're about multiplying disciples in a healthy church and one of the basic elements of following after Jesus Christ to know him, to grow and then go, flows right out of this idea of not only just reading God's word, but memorizing it and letting it really form your thinking, that's meditating upon it. Now I am so thankful that when I was in high school, somebody walked me through what it means to follow Jesus. That was the discipleship process. For me, they invited me to be a part of that. I met with a pastor, it was like one on two and he began to pour into our lives. And one of those things that I really began to understand for the first time, even though my parents were teaching me about it, and I learned to memorize God's word from an early age, but I really began to go through a process of memorizing to the point to where, we didn't have phones and electronic devices. I would actually use what was called a topical memory system, I don't know if you've heard of the Navigators Ministry, but I would actually take these little cards and they had them all printed out for you, but then I would find verses I wanted to memorize. Like, "Jesus wept," 'cause that was easy to memorize, right? So you write out on the card and I put it in a little vinyl folder thing, it was about the same size and I put that thing in my pocket. And the reason is, I stuck my hand in there, I began to reflect upon that verse. And that's the idea, you're just thinking about it. You're letting it transform you and renew you. Now, why is it important for God's word to enter into our minds first? Well, here's the reason why, your mind is a security system for the rest of your life, because what enters into your mind then begins to move into the rest of your life. And your mind is a security system, which allows you to stay down this path of wisdom. And if you allow God's word to begin to penetrate in your mind and change and transform you, it begins to move you towards action. And here's the other reason why, our minds, quite frankly, and I know it's a bit of honest truth, your mind is an idol making factory. If you think about it that way. And the reason is this, we are driven by sinful ideas and we are called and created by God to worship something. And the trouble is we end up worshiping things that are not God and as a result of that, we think we can find satisfaction in those things and our minds begin to develop idols in our lives. And that has to be renewed and changed. Sin has caused us to seek after everything but Christ and we end up seeking after satisfaction. If you go after your career or relationships, and you're thinking, hey, if I just get that house, if I just get that salary, if I just get that job, if I just marry that person, if we just have the perfect family, then I'll find the kind of peace and satisfaction that Proverbs says can only be found in God. If you've done that, you got an idol brewing in your heart and in your life. And here's the trouble with idols, they promise long and they deliver short. They promise long and they deliver short and they never get you where you need to go, what your heart is after. And that's why Proverbs is saying, I'm inviting you into the only path where you are gonna feed your soul and find the kind of wisdom and life this life of abiding with Jesus that he's calling you into. And it is the truth of God that renews our very life. And then he says for length of days in verse two, of life and peace, they'll add to you. Now, again, Proverbs is not absolutes, but what he's saying here, he's inviting you into an abundant life of fellowship with the Lord that's not cut off by sin, that's the idea. Where you don't have a lack of those basic needs, which I would also put into that category, contentment and joy and delight and pleasure as a gift from God. And you don't experience the hardships and the painful consequences that sin can bring in to your life. Now, whatever you're paying attention to, listening to, watching on a regular basis, following thinking about the question you have to ask yourself, is does this lead to a life of peace? If what I'm pursuing is not leading to a life of peace, then again, I've got something brewing in my heart that's that idol that's pulling me away from the Lord and not allowing me to walk down this path. Am I listening to the father's teaching? Am I my following his path of wisdom? Now, when you look at verse three and four, if we guard our minds, we keep his commandments, verses three and four is the flushing out of walking down that road. Look at what he says, it is so cool. He says, "Let not steadfast love "and faithfulness forsake you, bind them around your neck, "write them on the tablet of your heart so you'll find favor and good success in the sight of God and man." He now moves to flushing it out. Now there's two key words there, we have three, but in the original Hebrew language, there's only two words. Let not, first one is steadfast love. This is unconditional love or loyal love and get this, it flows out of a relationship with God. So again, I want you to keep in the back of your mind, the unbelievable parallels with what Jesus is inviting us into, this loyal love that comes to us as a son, somebody or a daughter, who's trusted Christ as savior and Lord, we have this unconditional loyal love from God who's made a covenant with us, it flows out of that relationship. And then he uses another interesting word, and faithfulness. This is a character quality that can be counted on, it's a firm foundation. So these two words actually can go together so you could translate it, faithful love. So let faithful love and then he says, which is amazing to me, let it flow into your life so that as you receive the word of God and it transforms your mind, it enters into your will, it goes into your actions, you're keeping these commandments. Then this faithful love, let that become the beautiful ornaments of your life, that's the idea. Wrap it around your neck, live it out from within, why? Because you're experiencing transformation from the inside out. This is the Holy Spirit, as you walk by the spirit who is writing them on your heart and on your life. And then verse four, again, the benefit, you'll receive favor or grace, that's the idea and success in the sight of God and man. Now, it is again remarkable when you look at the parallel with the life of Christ in Matthew chapter 22, Jesus was asked what's the greatest commandment. Here's what he said, he said, "Love the Lord, your God, "with your heart, soul, and your mind, or your strength." Every part of who you are and then love your neighbor as yourself. Now go back to verse three, he's telling you to do the same thing, he's telling you to love God, and then love one another, why? Because who was the one who had perfect loyal love for you? It was God. Who was the most faithful? It is God. And Jesus is connecting all of this together in his life, he inspired his word and his life and he's saying, get in right relationship with God, that's the vertical. And then the horizontal is going to move from that, because now we got stuff falling all over. If you're watching on camera, man, we got a hurricane going on up here, but we are gonna stay down the right path of wisdom here. So what he's saying is, as we are in right relationship with God, he teaches us by his word and by his example of what unconditional love and grace is, as we walk down this road, he demonstrates it to us, which he's gonna unpack in a minute and then we begin to love others the way he loved us. Bottom line, you're living like Jesus. Now let's go to the most famous verses and let's go to the second one to walk in wisdom, keep his commandments. The second thing that he mentions here, it's the key word is verse five, trust. That's it, trust. Trust in the Lord, trust in the Lord with all your heart, don't lean on your own understanding, in all your ways, acknowledge him and he'll make straight your paths. This idea of trust with all your heart, that means your entire life. It means to put your confidence in the person of Jesus. Yes, as savior and Lord that begins the relationship not works, but then you continue to live this life of trust in him as you abide with him. Now, the word actually means to be helpless, to lie face down. And it gave the, it's this image of a servant waiting for the master to give instruction so that they can begin to walk in obedience, just ready to obey, ready to walk. And you trust that God's ways are right best, you're keeping his commandments, you're trusting that he knows what is best for you. And then it's fascinating because as you trust him in all of your ways, you're also having faith in him and you're trusting the very promises of God. Now, if you've been around the church for a number of years, it reminded of a hymn that used to be sung all the time in churches and I grew up in the church. So I think I could remember almost every word in every hymn because we sang them week after week after week. And they taught theology and principles, but there is this old hymn and it says, "Standing on the promises," and that's what he's talking about here. He's saying, look, trust my will, trust my ways, trust me in everything and then trust that I'll come through for you. That's the idea, trust my promises based upon what I am saying. And even if the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer, trust him anyway and it describes wholehearted trust, total trust that if God doesn't come through in my life, I'm in deep, deep, deep trouble. That's the idea, I trust him for everything. I trust him for my sin, I trust him for my shame. I trust him for those things that terrify me and I'm willing to step out and radically trust him no matter what takes place. And I trust his love, I trust his faithfulness, which was referred to in verse three so that I can begin to offer that and find wisdom in Christ alone. Here's the question. The question then is how do we trust him with our whole hearts? How do we trust him wholeheartedly? Well, he says, if you look at the second part of verse five, again, he's walking you through this, trust him wholeheartedly, you trust him by not leaning on your own understanding, that's the point. By not leaning on my wisdom, I refer to him knowing what's best. I trust him in his promises and it means this. that you let God's truth overrule thinking. Let God's truth overrule your own thinking. And the reason is this, we are governed by irrational urges that can sometimes control you. That's what we mean when we use big concepts, like you were born with sin or depravity, it's affected every part of our life and our thinking, but God didn't create you to walk that path. And so, because we did as a human race, he came by way of the cross and resurrection to transform you and renew you and now he's inviting you into a new life. And he's saying, now I want you to walk this road with me and as you do, and trust me, don't lean on your own understanding any more, look to me that I have given you this gracious word of truth so it transforms you and it begins to change your heart and change your life. He also can see the potholes in life, he can see things that you can't. Let me illustrate it this way, were you ever in school and this was definitely me. I was in school and you get into those classes, I'm talking high school, college where you sit there and you're in chemistry, you're in math class and I faced this in chemistry and then when I got into pre-calculus and trig, okay, I sat there and it's like, I went back, I don't get this. Anybody been there? And then you got John and Susie to your right and your left and they don't study at all and they walk out of there 10 minutes, they aced the exam. They just got it and I didn't get it. So I had years of counseling to get past all this stuff. But what I'm trying to illustrate is the difference between human wisdom and God's wisdom, he gets it. And because of our sin, we don't get it. And he's saying, I'm inviting you into a life that you can't possibly imagine if you just trust me. If you just walk with me, I will guide you, I will help you down this road because I care about you. He cares about our death, he cares about our pain, he cares about our suffering. He cares about every area of our life. He cares about our singleness and our future. He cares about everything, our money, our job. Here's one, try this one on. Do you believe and trust him that Jesus Christ is the only way? Do you believe that Christ is giving an exclusive call? He's saying I'm inviting all of you to walk this life, come as you are, but don't stay that way, but do you believe that Jesus is the only way? See if you waiver on that issue and you say, well, he is for me, but I'm not so sure he is for all these other people, because you just gotta be sincere and really that's really what he's after there, then I would say this, you're probably not sure about Jesus yourself, and you're not trusting him alone as savior and Lord. The trouble is when you get into that zone, you know what's actually happening? You're beginning to manipulate him according to your will and ways. Well, I'll try him out for me because in actuality, I wanna get here. See that's manipulation. But total wholehearted trust is saying, Jesus, you're it. And unless you're it, we're in real trouble because you've begun to understand the damage that sin has made in your life and that's where real repentance comes from and then the fruit of trusting him alone as savior and Lord. Jesus had to trust the father's will, he didn't wanna go to the cross, no one would have. He didn't wanna be separated from the father, he only knew the father, and yet he did it for us. We whole heartedly trust and yes, it involves risk at times, we have to set aside our life and preferences and things in our lives sometimes that we don't like and then notice this, there's a couple more gems here. If you'll look at verse six, he says in all your ways, that means in every area, surrender to him, trust him, not just those things that you're willing to kind of give over. Well, Jesus, that's kind of the Jesus you're on to my life instead of you're everything. And he says, here, he says, in all your ways, and then notice this, I thought this was really cool and I didn't know all this stuff ahead of time. Just so you know, I kind of learn as I study too this next word, acknowledge him is so powerful. You know how you can literally translate that word? He says, in all your ways, know him, that's it, in all your ways know him. So in all of your ways, know him, know his word, bring him into, reflect upon. It's changing your mind, you're embracing it. Know him, interject him into all of your ways, your professional life, your marriage, your home, your singleness, your purity, working, wherever you might work, at home, as a parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, know him to be true by trusting him in every situation and then here's what ends up happening. You end up knowing him because you grow deeper and deeper with the Lord Jesus in the midst of those experiences, where you interject him into the life he wants to be in so that he can begin to change you and transform you. Do you get that? You see what he's saying there, he's inviting you into this incredible opportunity and it's a chance to trust him and then you'll know him to be true when it comes to your morality and your integrity, when it comes to your finances, your job, when it comes to cancer and a diagnosis that you did not want to receive. You ask the Lord Jesus, because he's just waiting to be a part of that experience and then you find him. In ways you can't possibly imagine as he walks with you. And then verse seven, again, he emphasizes, "Be out wise in your own eyes." He's talking about humility there. Setting pride aside, bowing before him, whole heartedly trusting him. And as you trust him in submission with humility, you find out more about him because you know him. Now, notice the connection here, if I know him for who he is, and I know his promises are true and I experience him as this wonderful God who loves me, who sent his son to die for me, who gave me the cross and the power of the resurrection as he his life through me, what does that evoke in me as his son or you, his daughter? A sense of awe and reverence that I've not had before as I walk down this journey of trusting my Lord and savior, and then it is out of awe and respect and wonder for who he is, living this skillful life of godliness, wisdom in obedience to him, that all of a sudden, I get this deeper understanding of who he is. And then I begin to have this incredible desire to please him. See, that's all bound up in that word in verse seven, to fear the Lord, how do I get there? I trust him, that's where the relationship begins and I keep trusting him. And then I begin to understand through all and reverence who he is and how he can train form and change my life. And then he says, verse eight, it'll bring healing. Healing to your flesh, refreshment to your bones. Again, he's talking about this renewing, the renewal that can happen because of the effects of sin in our lives. Sin damages us. He's not talking about complete and total physical healing here, he's talking about how we've been damaged by sin and he's talking about how he is guiding us down this path of growth and transformation. And walking down this path of wisdom, you'll find healing from the growth of sin in our lives. And eventually, yes it does because you've trusted him as savior and Lord, lead to that time eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. But in the meantime, we're experiencing this abundant joy filled renewal waiting for that day of total restoration, looking forward to the day when he comes again. Well in verse nine, you wanna walk in wisdom. Well, keep his commandments, it shows up in our life, trust him wholeheartedly, that's verse five. And then you get to verse nine and he says, honor the Lord with your wealth. This is giving back to God. Everything belongs to him anyway. 'Cause you want to walk this path of wisdom, this is part of the surrender process because you surrender to him, you trust him. If God chooses, he will provide for your needs, but he will also provide more so that you can give to someone else, but you're trusting that he will provide for you. And he's given you everything in life and you're honoring him. Now, in the nation of Israel, they would honor him with what they brought in from the field at first, the first of the flocks, the fields and all of those kinds of things, why? Because they were saying, Lord, we trust your sovereignty in our lives. We trust your provision for us. If we do not faithfully give back to God sacrificially based upon what God has called us to do, and he has, he says, "Honor me with the wealth that I've given you. "I own it anyway, I've given you enough to live on, "so now I'm inviting you into this relationship." And again, it's all about trust. So if we don't give to him faithfully, we give to him, what's kind of left over after the day, then are you really trusting him? If you don't give to him right off the top, you're waiting, you know, we'll give him the leftovers then, then are you really trusting him? That's the idea here. And then what is fascinating is how he ends this. If you'll look at verse 11, he starts with my son again, so that gives you an idea that this was a message that really went from verse one to verse 12. He says, "My son," again, those of you that have trusted Christ as savior and Lord, he says, "Do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary "of his reproof." So if you wanna walk in wisdom, you keep his commandments, you trust, verse five, you honor him with his wealth really, but he's provided it for you, your wealth and he'll supply for your needs, that's the idea of verse 10, your barns will be filled with plenty. But then he gets to this discipline. And I looked at that I said, well, how does this fit in here? What's the after? Well, the key is verse 12, "For the Lord proves him whom he loves." The path of wisdom is submitting to God's discipline and why is that? Because discipline proves that he loves you. It's a part of his plan for you as a son or a daughter. Now he disciplines us for several reasons. One of them is because of sin that can happen in our life. We'll go through some tough stuff because we've went down the wrong path and he lovingly wants to bring us back. Sometimes he brings discipline into our life, trials or suffering so that we can avoid sin in the future. He's developing character in us, which leads us to that next point and that is he sometimes brings discipline whereby it's hardships so that we might, verse five, trust him more, trust him deeper so that he draws us into this relationship with him so that we begin to experience the peace filled, happiness, joy, incredible abundant life that he's inviting us into, that's the idea. Now there's a new Testament passage that I wanna invite you to spend some time in this next week. So John 15 was last week, this week, you can continue to go through John 15, but I wanna add to it. It's Hebrews 12:1-12 or one through 11 actually. And so Hebrews 12:1-11 talks about how God brings discipline into our life and it actually says it there, the author of Hebrews quotes verses five and six here and 11 and 12 I should say, but it's in verses five and six of Hebrews 12. He quotes from 11 and 12. And he actually says that it's the discipline of the Lord that proves you're in relationship with him, that he loves you. And he wants you to grow through those experiences, why? The only way you're gonna grow in the midst of a hard time is going through the hard time. I mean, it's kind of like what he says eventually in the book of Proverbs, it's in chapter four, I believe we'll get there, "You want wisdom, go get wisdom." It's what he says. If you want patience, you're gonna go through times where you're gonna be tried in patience. If you want endurance, you're gonna have to go through times of endurance. And God brings you through those times to help us grow and help us move in the right direction. You know what he's doing there, he doesn't want us to be comfortable in this life, why? Because it's not at home. He's calling you to a new world, he's calling you to a new life, an abundant life, it's eternal life, that's our home. And in the meantime, he's saying to you and me in a world full of sin and trouble, don't be surprised by the events of our world today, but instead trust him in it because he's going to give you the ability to walk in wisdom. He's going to change you and transform you and renew you. Why is he doing that? 'Cause this is not your home, he's preparing you for an eternity with him. And once again, I love how he brings together all of this in John 15, because it says in John 15, Jesus starts out this way and he's talking to believers. He says, "I am the vine and my father is the vine dresser." Or the one who does the clipping in the vines in order so that it bears fruit. It's like any fruit tree, you got to clip off the stuff, certain branches so that all the energy is generated to other branches and you actually get the kind of fruit you want. Well, the idea in John 15 is God prunes our lives. He cuts out everything that doesn't look like Jesus, all the sin, all this stuff and then he oftentimes cuts off those things that are keeping us from trusting him and walking in a deeper relationship with him. And as he begins to walk us through those moments and those times, he is pruning us and he's guiding us, why? So that we can grow because this world is not our home. And you know what's amazing to me, he invites us to walk down this path of transformation and change, he's saying to us, come as you are, but don't stay that way. And there's one thing, one thing I'm asking of you, I'm gonna put it that way, just trust me, just trust me. He says trust in the Lord with all your heart. And so my question, you today's do you trust him? Do you trust Jesus as savior and Lord, have you come to that point in your life where you have really understood unless you wholeheartedly trust him, you are in deep trouble when it comes to your sin on this planet and your eternity. And so you trust him wholeheartedly, you acknowledge your sin and then true repentance comes and you turn and you embrace the wonder of his grace and you trust in the person of Jesus alone, who died for you and rose from the grave. And you say, yes, Lord Jesus, I trust you, I commit to you, I surrender to you so that I can walk this new life. And then if you are a son or a daughter, you've trusted Christ as savior and Lord, are you continuing to trust him so that you're renewed, so that you're changed. As we come to the communion table today and we think about what Christ has done for us, how he gave his life and the bread represents how his body was nailed to that cross for us. And his blood was shed, that's the cup represents his blood and how his blood was shed, he gave his life so that the payments on our behalf, which God required a perfect sacrifice was made and his blood can wash away your sin by trusting him. And he arose from the grave to give us the abundant life he's now inviting us into. And so my question to you as a son or a daughter is, do you trust him? And as we come to this communion table, it doesn't save us, it reminds us of the hope we have in Christ. So if you've never trusted him, this is that moment. It's this moment where you can embrace him as savior and Lord. And if you have, I'm inviting you to take communion with us. And to once again, renew that commitment, say, yes, Lord Jesus, I wanna keep your commandments, I wanna trust you and all your ways. I don't wanna lean on my own understanding, renew that faith, renew that desire to walk deeply with Jesus down this path and come as you are, but don't stay that way. I'm going to pray, we're gonna sing and I'll be right back up just a few moments and we'll take communion together, let's pray. Father, thank you for joy of your word. I thank you for the power of the wisdom that you offer us, of the opportunity to abide in Jesus, to walk with you, to really allow you to penetrate every area of our life so that we may know you, know your ways are true and sense your power in our lives, as we walk with you. So now in the next few moments, we commit our lives to you and we ask that you would renew our hearts as we seek to walk with you until the Lord Jesus comes again. It's in Christ's name we pray, Amen.