← Back to sermon library

e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e good evening everybody welcome to Free Grace Baptist Church you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 33 for our call to worship this evening Psalm 33 we're going to read beginning at verse 13 Psalm 13 excuse me Psalm 33 at verse 13 this is the word of God the Lord looks from Heaven he sees all the sons of men from the place of his dwelling he looks on all the inhabitants of the earth he fashion their hearts individually he considers all their Works no king is saved by the multitude of an army A mighty man is not delivered by great strength a horse is a vain hope for safety neither shall it deliver any by its great strength behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him on those who hope in his Mercy to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine our soul waits for the Lord he is our help and our shield for our hearts shall rejoice in him because we have trusted in His holy name let your mercy O Lord be upon us just as we hope in you amen well let's stand together and sing our first hymn it's 145d as in delta 145d let's stand as a church and sing [Music] together will iess by [Music] his mesty [Music] to all th Glory On th and great sing great andure work love and mercy ofing meure Works of Mercy passing and compassion love God is good to all creation all his All Shall bless me shall all my [Music] let's go to our God In Prayer let's pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this evening that we have to come back into the house of God for the worship of of our great god father Son and Holy Spirit we pray that you'd help us now to hallow your name and worship we pray that our minds would be tuned to the worship of our God that we would have no distractions in our way but as we engage in in all of these acts of worship you would be with us that your Holy Spirit uh would Empower us to to high thoughts of our God and His Christ to uh to bring us to those points of of worshiping you and not being stolen away by any other thoughts uh for those that are tuned to worship we thank you for our savior the Lord Jesus Christ we rejoice in the gospel of a amazing and Victorious Grace we praise you for his doing for his dying for his Rising again we rejoice in his current session at your right hand where he ever lives to intercede for his people and to uh oppose with great might his enemies we thank you for righteousness not our own but that which is Christ's imputed to us received by faith alone we thank you for the Forgiveness of sins by virtue of the shedding of his blood we thank you knowing that salvation is not by us uh whether in whole or in part but solely and alone by our precious savior the Lord Jesus Christ we pray Lord that uh you would be with Pastor Butler as he preaches your word as he engages in that Central act of worship the preaching of the word of God do be with him that we pray that your spirit would be with him as he proclaims your truth and with us Lord God we pray as we hear the word preached and and as we engage in all these elements of worship we would be lifted up uh to thoughts of our God we would be uh present in worship that as the word is preached we would uh receive it that your Saints here would be strengthened and edified that Sinners young or old would be saved and Lord God that this would just be an evening where father Son and Holy Spirit is praised where Christ is rejoiced in and where uh your honor is given great attention we pray that you be with those unable to join us whether for illness or travel strengthen them watch over them be with them we pray for any down in spirit that you would lift them up uh by your spirit and For Your Glory sake and uh for the joy that they have in their that they should have in their own salvation and in their God we just pray that you'd strengthen your people both in body and in spirit we do pray that you'd also be with those Lord God who rule over us in a in a different way that you attend to those who oppose truth truth who oppose who oppose lawfulness we pray that those who seek to uh to seek to uh prop up wickedness in the land seek to uh to perpetrate wickedness and uh who raise up sins as those things that are virtues we pray that you would cast them down that you would cause them no longer to bring wickedness and uh and uh infidelity to to lawfulness uh in these lands we pray Lord God that you would even raise up those who would rule in righteousness rule and Equity rule according to a proper Justice and we pray Lord God for uh for some measure of a of a return to to lawfulness where those things that our vice would be called so and those things that our virtues would be would be laid hold of we do pray Lord God knowing that this does not come by political minations but it does come Lord God by the preaching of the Gospel by the power of God we do pray for uh we do pray for Revival and Reformation throughout the world with regards to Christianity and the truth of God we pray that uh whether in churches or by the work of missionaries uh ultimately by your work Lord God throughout the Nations that you would cause many by Sovereign Grace to come to a knowledge of our precious Christ that a a thousand newly redeemed tongues each and every day would call Christ blessed and that we would see a many coming to you in faith we do pray then again Lord that you would now be with us help us as we have gathered In Worship in the name of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ uh do Lift us up cause Us by your spirit to rejoice in the king of kings and in The Lord of lords and might he be exalted Upon Our Praises this evening we pray in his precious name the name of Christ amen amen well let's stand again and sing the hymn is going to be 560 560 let's stand again and sing together of the heav Earth in Jesus Christ son of the Holy Ghost con for he in I God Aly the gra of as the for on the thir day he into might of and he is SE till his coming he the living and the I the holy we through Christ [Music] Church of Jesus holy cath we are Bor through all the ages of the saint are for our will be raised God his prais you can turn in your Bibles with me to the Book of Joshua in chapter 10 it's our Old Testament scripture reading this evening Joshua 10 we'll read from verse one to verse 15 once again this is the word of God Joshua 10 beginning at verse one now it came to pass when Adan zedak king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed destroyed it and he had done to Jericho and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king so he had done to Ai and its king and how the inhabitants of gibian had made peace with Israel and were among them that they greatly feared because gibian was a great City like one of the royal cities and because it was greater than Ai and all its men were Mighty therefore Adan zc king of Jerusalem sent to ham king of Hebron Pam king of jth uh jafia king of Leakes and deir king of eglon saying come up to me and help me that we may attack gibian for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel therefore the five Kings of the amorites uh the king of Jerusalem the king of Hebron the king of jth and the king of Leakes and the king of eglon gathered together and went up they and all their armies encamped before gibian and made war against it and the men of gibian sent to Joshua at the camp of gilgal saying do not forsake your servants come up to us quickly save us and help us for all the kings of the amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered together against us so Joshua ascended from gilgal he and all the people of war with him and all the Mighty Men of Valor and the Lord said to Joshua do not fear them for I have delivered them into your hand not a man of them shall stand before you Joshua therefore Came Upon them suddenly having marched all night from gilgal so the Lord routed them before Israel killed them with a great Slaughter at gibian chase them along the road that goes to Beth horon and struck them down as far as aaka and uh mcka and it happened as they fled before Israel and were on The Descent of Beth horon that the Lord cast down large hailstones from Heaven on them as far as ezeka and they died there uh there were more than uh there were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the amorites before the children of Israel and he said in the sight of Israel son stand still over gibian and moon in the valley of aelon so the sun Stood Still and the moon stopped till the people had Revenge upon their enemies and did not hasten to go down oh excuse me is this not written in the book of jasher so the sun Stood Still in the midst of heaven and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day and there had been and there has been no day like that before it or after it that the Lord heeded the voice of a man for the Lord fought for Israel then Joshua returned and all Israel with him to the camp at gilgal amen just a couple of very brief notes it's wonderful to read words like this for the Lord fought for Israel we we have a sovereign God God who promises Victory and we have a God who executes upon his promises uh when God promises something when whenever God promises something to the people he has promised those things it's as certain as if the thing has already occurred great confidence is instilled by God uh upon uh upon Joshua and upon the people of Israel we read in uh we read in verse 8 and the Lord said to J Joshua do not fear them for I have delivered them into your hand not a man of them shall stand before you uh what what a God to have on your side and what a God to worship and Joshua 10 is is something of a typological foreshadowing of the the New Testament reality that Psalm 2 announces these these five Kings these five armies were gathered together and were were mounted and gathered together against Joshua against the Lord and his anointed one Joshua here and God promises Victory through his hero through his Champion that the enemies will be dashed to pieces that the uh the enemies would be dashed to pieces like a pod's vessel and we see this announcement uh of the Kings gathering together and a hero by God being Victorious and it it thrusts us forward into the New Testament where Christ comes where the kings of the Earth the rulers of the Earth are gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ yet by Sovereign uh Sovereign Power by divine intervention by the glory of God Christ and the church are victorious in him we have this the this wonderful it's a very interesting comment that we have uh at the end of the passage here it says there were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword it's an interesting it's an interesting narrative comment and I think it's it's to draw us to reflect upon the reality that it's God who has the strong Victory yes there were some who were killed by the by the Israelite soldiers but there were more who kill who were killed by God who cast the hail the hailstones down from heaven it it it thrusts us into a reflection that it is God who is Sovereign it is God who is for and with his people it is God who will have Victory uh through his agents and praise God that this is the god that we worship and this that this is the god who is on our side let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for your word we thank you for the truth of it the glory of it the promise of it we thank you as we read of these things that we uh we worship uh not a god of weakness uh not a God uh who lacks in power uh but a God who is most absolute in power a God who is strong and mighty a God who is so Sovereign over all things a God who is in the heavens who does whatever he pleases and we thank you as we read your word chapter after chapter page after page it points to Christ upon the cross working out the salvation of men we glory in that subsequent resurrection and Ascension into heaven and we pray that Christ would be with us this evening we thank you that we as we read in the scriptures he walks amongst his lampstands might we know his presence and wa might we glory in our God tonight and we pray in Christ's name amen well let's stand together and sing the hymn is going to be 195 our final hymn before the preaching 195 let's stand and sing together to and withing on my Upon Us Lord so theing [Music] anding according to th word and all teaching me so [Music] she will be the Lord answer all our so that our by children my for well please turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Proverbs Proverbs chapter 3 God willing I hope to start the book of Philippians next Sunday night but in the meantime we referred to this text on our Wednesday night bible study we looked at 1st Samuel chapter 28 and the sad and sinful case of King Saul so because of his rebellion in first Samuel 13 and then again in 15 and then God's uh taking the kingdom away from him promising it to a neighbor uh a better than him even David we see how Saul then wanting to go wanting Divine assistance before he goes into battle with the Philistines seeks counsel from the witch at Endor and so along the way I tried to encourage us to consider Proverbs F uh 3: 5 and six so that we don't end up in a sad sinful place like King Saul so beginning in verse 5 trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He Shall direct your paths amen well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you again for this privilege to gather in your name we thank you for the written word the god breathed word we thank you that it's profitable for Doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction and righteousness and even as the Apostle says that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work we see that here in Proverbs 3 5 and six give us Grace to receive these things cause us to have high and lofty thoughts of the scripture knowing it is the Divine word of God most high we ask now that you would forgive us for all of our sins forgive us for that tendency to lean on our own understanding for that tendency not to to trust in you with all of our hearts cleanse Us in the Precious Blood of the Lamb strengthen and encourage us and help us by your spirit by his presence and power that we may indeed walk as as we ought according to that glorious gospel by which we've been called and for any and all who do not know you we pray that you'd open their hearts cause them to see that the the god of absolute glory and Majesty the god of Heaven and Earth is absolutely trustworthy that they would look unto the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and we pray in his Most Blessed name amen so as I said there's connection to what we saw on Wednesday night as Saul had been cut off from priest and prophet and was on his own he understood he needed word or assistance from outside of himself before he fights the Philistines which everything went miserably wrong for him of course he dies in battle the next day and then of course this text as well is connected to what we saw there in John 15 Obed obedience to our Lord as an expression of our love for him so I want to look first at the command that we have in this particular text secondly the prohibition that we see in this text and then thirdly the exhortation in the text but first by way of command notice the object of trust trust in the Lord trust in the Lord God is trustworthy the psalmist describes him as the Lord God of Truth in his Earthly Ministry the Lord Jesus in one of those I am statements in the Gospel of John says I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father but through or except through me so God is trustworthy so immediately we're met by the text calling us to something that as God's people we already know to be the case in other words this passage shouldn't surprise those who have been saved by grace this is what we ought to be about we often need reminder we often need encouragement we often need fresh exhortation but this isn't an instructive passage in terms of this is brand new information I'm glad I went to church on that Sunday because I learned something alog together new this is sort of the ABCs of Christianity trusting in God giving our faith to God or directing rather our faith to God realizing that he is Sovereign in Providence he governs all his creatures and all their actions realizing that the 31 ,000 verses in Holy Scripture are the revelation of his mind and his will for us men and for our Salvation as we reflect upon the New Testament emphasis on the gospel the hearing of it for salvation as God's conquered people of a truth we confess yes we need to trust in the Lord absolutely we want to say with Simon Peter in John 668 when Jesus asked do you want to depart from me as well do you want to leave me like all of these others that simply followed as long as their bellies were filled and Simon Peter says Lord to whom shall we go you have the words of eternal life that emphasis again not just New Testament but throughout the Old Testament on trusting in the Lord in other words acknowledging him directing our thoughts to him having mindful thoughts concerning him we trust in him and acknowledge his trustworthiness with reference to Salvation you can turn to Proverbs chap 28 specifically at verse 13 we're going to look at a lot of the Proverbs tonight so we'll be flipping back and forth from place to place but with reference to the trustworthiness of our God we see it specifically in the matter of Salvation all matters of faith and practice to be sure but certainly faith in our lord for salvation 2813 he who covers his sins will not Prosper but whoever confesses and for forsakes them will have mercy that conf confession and that forsaking I think typifies or rather signifies for us that Act of Faith looking to the shity looking to the blood of another looking to the righteousness of another knowing that if we cover our sins we're not going to prosper know that your sin will always find you out the scriptures are very clear concerning that but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy so the Lord is trustworthy in matters of Salvation the Lord is trustworthy in all matters of Life Matthew P says his wisdom in following his counsels his power and goodness in expecting success from him his sovereignty in managing all thy Affairs so as to please and glorify them uh glorify him so in other words God is trustworthy for the management of all of our Affairs God is trustworthy with reference to every jot and tit of Our Lives Bridges says this is the Polar Star of a child of God faith in his father's Providence his promises and Grace he is truth itself therefore he would have us take him at his word and prove his word to the utmost extent of his power and then turn back to Proverbs Chapter 2 just to see the infinite Resources by which our trustworthy God is equipped notice in Proverbs Chapter 2 specifically at verses 5 to9 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of of God for the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding he stores up sound wisdom for the upright he is a shield to those who walk uprightly he guards the paths of Justice ande uh preserves the way of his Saints then you will understand righteousness and Justice equity and every good path and you can turn back to the passage that cam read there in Joshua chapter 10 I thank God for his comments they were very edifying and very encouraging but I wanted to direct our attention to one other thing there in Joshua 10 he rightly pointed out at the end of verse 14 for the Lord fought for Israel but look specifically at verse 10 God is the subject of the four verbs that are used in verse 10 so the Lord routed them before Israel killed them with a great Slaughter at gibian chased them along the road that goes to Beth horen and struck them down so God fights for Israel God is a trustworthy God God is the god in whom we find Refuge his name is a strong tower the righteous run to it and are safe but back to Proverbs 3 notice as well as we consider the command trust in the Lord but then specifically with all your heart now Solomon isn't doing new things here and we need to remember when we come to the Book of Proverbs it's Solomon the human instrument by which God brings us his word but it's Christ speaking as wisdom to us in that word in other words we're supposed to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to us in the Book of Proverbs and notice trust in the Lord with all your heart it's an emphasis again that you find throughout scripture I think one of the most noteworthy places is in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4 we call that the shama that word means to listen or to hear and so Deuteronomy 6 4 says here o Israel the Lord Our God the Lord is one you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength the man of God the woman of God the child of God is to trust in the Lord with all of their heart and I think Gil is on to something he says the phrase Den not denotes not so much the strength of Faith as that it does but the sincerity of it it signifies a Faith unfeigned so the entirety of the heart is to be directed to the trustworthy God for direction in our lives and the management of our Affairs notice secondly after the command we find this prohibition so trust in the Lord but do not lean on your own understanding now I think that Solomon presupposes here the doctrine of total depravity other words the background for a Prohibition like this is the tendency for us to lean on our own understanding we're told to trust in the Lord with all our heart and again it's intuitive for the blood-bought child of God he or she who has the Holy Spirit they know of a truth I should be trusting God but woe is me Wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death the good that I want to do I don't do the evil that I don't want to do I find myself doing that's Paul's words in Romans chapter 5 so I think that Solomon is is assuming or Romans chapter 7 rather he's assuming the doctrine of total depravity and we don't have to wonder if Solomon affirmed total depravity turn to chapter 10 specifically at verse 23 again several passages to show us that Solomon understands the background and the problem that man has when it comes to a wholehearted trust in the living and true God Proverbs 10:23 to do evil is like sport to a fool but a man of understanding has wisdom look at 113 specifically verse or Part B well we'll read the whole thing the Integrity of the upright will guide them but the perversity of the Unfaithful will destroy them look at Proverbs chap 20 specifically at verse 9 Proverbs 20 at verse 9 who can say I have made my heart clean clean I am pure from my sin well the obvious answer is no one it's a rhetorical question he doesn't think that Joe Smith Living in Kansas is the one out there who can actually say yep that's me I indeed have made my heart clean I am pure from sin notice in 214 a hoty look a proud heart and the plowing of the wicked are sin Proverbs 21 10 the soul of the wicked desires evil his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes and then Proverbs 30: 11 to4 which sounds frightening like frighteningly like the generation in which we're living Proverbs 30: 11 to 14 there is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother there is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness there's a generation oh how lofty are their eyes and their ey are lifted up there is a generation whose teeth are like swords and whose fangs are like knives to Devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among them or among men so Rebellion self-righteousness arrogance and covetousness marks the generation of the depraved so going back to uh Proverbs chapter 3 the command trust in the Lord the prohibition do not lean on your own understanding John Gil says the understanding of man is darkened by sin yay is Darkness itself now Gil's not shooting from the hip there I think the Apostle Paul tells us essentially the same thing having their understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart in Ephesians 4:18 and the Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter 3 he says the darkness doesn't come to the light because the darkness doesn't want its evil Deeds exposed in other words man's heart is desperately wicked above all it is deceitful among all things and desperately wicked who can understand it so Solomon is operating in a good theological context where he understands the proclivity or tendency of man to lean on his own understanding so the command trust in the Lord with all your heart wholehearted uh trust in God has to be corrected by or has to be rather there has to be this prohibition to lean not on your own understanding but as well with reference to the demand of the text we are to trust in God with all the heart and the rep repudiation of our own Hearts trust in the Lord do not lean on your un understanding other words be suspicious of your heart be mindful of your heart be understanding what lies in your heart we're to trust in God with the entirety we're to distrust in ourselves hence with entirety now that doesn't mean we don't work out 2 plus two it doesn't mean we don't take food and rest and exercise but it means in matters of Ethics matters affecting us in the man uh of God or in life in general we need to make sure that we're not leaning on our own understanding and then as you trace through the Book of Proverbs you see that the emphasis is Upon A wise man and upon a foolish man and the foolish man gets a lot of as well and it's a cautionary tale for each and every one of us in other words the foolish man is treated in scripture as something of a living illustration of what it looks like to lean on your own understanding now there's probably a lot more categories than can be suggested here but I'll offer up three things alternatives to trusting wholeheartedly in the Lord the three things consistent with leaning on our own understanding I would suggest the first is simply that Reliance upon ourselves Reliance upon ourselves turn to Proverbs 14 specifically at verse 12 there is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death what is Solomon saying what does the fool look like the fool surveys things apart from trusting in God in a wholehearted way and then the fool casts his lot on a particular Venture and its end is destruction its end is death that same proverb is repeated in chapter 16 specifically at verse 25 there is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death Jesus teaches that the broad way or the broad Road leads to destruction so is self-reliance when you turn away from God and wholehearted trust in the Lord is not your option often times what happens is that men choose Reliance on themselves turn to Proverbs 11 Proverbs 11 veres 3-6 the Integrity of the upright will guide them but the perversity of the Unfaithful will destroy them riches do not profit in the day of Wrath but righteousness delivers from Death the righteousness of the blameless will direct his way A right but the Wicked Will Fall by his own wickedness the righteousness of the upright will deliver them but the UN faithful will be caught by their lust drop down to verses 19 to 21 as righteousness leads to life so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death those who are of a perverse heart are an Abomination to the Lord but the blameless in their ways are his Delight though they join forces the wicked will not go unpunished but the posterity of the righteous will be delivered notice in 121 uh 121 whoever loves instruction loves knowledge but he who hates correction is stupid you you just don't get clearer than that this Reliance upon self always includes a rejection of correction from others that is indicative of self-reliance or self-government or Independence or an autonomous spirit that wholesale rejection of a wholehearted trust in the Lord is going to lead to this kind of self-reliance notice in verses 15 and 16 verse 15 the way of a fool is right in his own eyes but he who heeds counsel is wise a Fool's wrath is known at once but a prudent man covers shame and then 1429 14:29 he who is slow to wrath has great understanding but he who is impulsive exalts Folly Jeremiah the prophet tells us cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength whose heart departs from the Lord again that recurring theme Old and New Testaments wholehearted commitment wholehearted trust in the Lord Bridges comments it is nothing less than self- idolatry to conceive that we can carry on even the ordinary matters of the day without God's counsel be in the habit of going to him in the first place before self-will self-pleasing self- wisdom human friends convenience expediency so lean not on your own understanding obviously self-reliance but another theme woven through the Proverbs by Solomon as a king who is a father who's going to pass the kingdom down to his sons is the rejection of Godly Parents the rejection of Godly Parents this is not trusting in the Lord with all your heart because the Lord says in the fifth commandment to honor your father and your mother the Apostle says obey your parents in the Lord and then we see that invocation of the fifth commandment there for Gentile children in ephes in Ephesus with reference to living life in the land so we have all throughout the scripture all throughout the Proverbs positive exhortations to listen to Godly Parents I I I don't know why this is difficult in our generation yet I mean we want kids to make their own decisions about very crucial matters at the the age of 10 or 12 that are going to affect them forever the government the state the schools often times are trying to user parental authority to enable children to make those Earth shattering decisions that are going to have a negative impact on them forever the Bible is very clear that the parent is the authority in the child's life not the Civil State not the statest school not the competitors all around us it is is the parents who are to pass on wisdom and instruction and Doctrine and reproof and correction to their children this is crucial so Solomon assumes that parents Christian parents are going to do their due diligence in instructing their spawn in how they're supposed to live in God's present world now not only does there does the Proverbs contain positive exhortations in terms of children listening to their parents but you see the indictment of those who reject those will look at notice in proverbs 10 proverbs 10 verse 1 the Proverbs of Solomon a wise son makes a glad father but a foolish son is the grief of his mother 155 remember the larger context trust in the Lord with all your heart lean not on your own understanding selfreliance the rejection of Godly parental counsel this is probably subset Reliance on self and the way that we see this displayed is the rejection of Godly Parenthood notice in 155 a fool despises his father's instruction but he who receives correction is prudent notice in Proverbs 15:20 a wise son makes a father glad but a foolish man despises his mother notice in Proverbs 17 specifically at verse 21 he who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow and the father of a fool has no joy 1913 a foolish son is the ruin of his father and the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping Solomon would have been a good family counselor wouldn't he he would have came into the house he would have said K Kids you need to submit to your parents and and sister you need to quit being a dripping sound on a roof with your husband anyways notice in verse 26 he who mistreats his father and chases away his mother is a son who causes shame and brings reproach and then 2020 2020 whoever curses his father or his mother his lamp will be uh put out in deep Darkness so when it comes to self-reliance that's sort of the overarching alternative to wholehearted trust in God definitely we see that self-reliance manifested in the rejection of Godly counsel the rejection of Parental Authority the rejection of Parental love your parents want the best for you are they perfect no remember the Apostle deals with that in Hebrews chapter 12 they disciplined as seemed best to them they got it right a lot of the times they got it wrong some of the times but it was always remedial it was always for the purpose of good it was always driven by a desire out of love rather to to to make sure that things go well for you but also under self-reliance we see the rejection of Godly Parents and coupled with that can be the reception of ungodly influences the reception of ungodly influences is so in other words we don't listen to what others have to say but we'll listen to what these ones say look in Proverbs 1 10-19 Proverbs 1 10-19 that's a large chunk we'll just sort of pick out a few spots notice in Proverbs 1 verse 10 my son if Sinners entice you do not consent if they say come with us let us lie and wait to shed blood let us lur secretly for the innocent without cause let us swallow them alive like shield and whole like those who go down to the pit we shall find all kinds of precious possessions we shall fill our houses with spoil cast in your lot Among Us let us all have one purse you hear the the the peer pressure there so the the the overarching concern from Solomon my son of Sinners and ta you do not consent and then he portrays what it's going to sound like come on come with us it's going to be a Payday it's going to be beneficial it's going to be great we're going to make money we're going to have fun we're going to do all the things that are that are fulfilling to us notice in verse 15 my son do not walk in the way with them keep your foot from their path for their feet run to evil and they make haste to shed blood surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird but they lie and wait for their own blood they lurk secretly for their own lives so are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain it takes away the life of its owners notice in proverbs 4 vers 14- 17 Proverbs 4:14 to17 do not enter the path of the wicked and do not walk in the way of evil avoid it do not travel on it turn away from it and pass on what was that Dad stay away from them do not enter the path of the wicked and do not walk in the way of evil avoid it do not travel on it turn away from it and pass on for they do not sleep unless they have done evil and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall for they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence it's Reliance on self this failure to wholeheartedly trust in the Lord leads to the rejection of Godly counsel and the reception of the ungodly and that is specifically what Solomon is trying to caution his sons against Proverbs 13:20 He Who Walks With wise men will be wise but the companion of fools will be destroyed 23:17 23:17 do not let your heart Envy Sinners but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day for surely there is a Hereafter and your hope will not be cut off 2319 to 21 hear my son and be wise and guide your heart in the way do not mix with wine bibbers or with gluttonous Eaters of meat for the drunkard and the Glutton will come to poverty and drowsiness will clothe a man with Rags if you as young people or children or and children are blessed and privileged enough to have parents that confess faith in our Lord Jesus Christ you're in a home where the scriptures regulate that conduct you come to a church where the gospel is preached you're exposed to Genesis to Revelation I would suggest you ought to have a great heart of gratitude to our wonderful God and listen to his exhortation listen to his counsel and his command to trust in him with all your heart come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and you will be forgiven do not uh uh uh whoever conf uh uh covers his transgression will not Prosper but the one who confesses and forsakes it will find Mercy listen to Solomon listen to Christ speaking to us in his word Proverbs 24 1 and2 do not be envious of evil men nor desire to be with with them for their heart devises violence and their lips talk of troublemaking so you see the command is simple Trust on the Lord with all your heart the prohibition is valid why because that's the tendency selfreliance autonomy Independence our culture preaches it at a fever pitch our culture tries to come between parental Authority and their children we as God's people need to resist that we as God's people need to reject that we as God's people need to take up that prophetic mantle that has been given to us by the Lord and instruct our children in the way that they should go and then notice thirdly and finally with reference to our particular text after the command after the prohibition there is this exhortation trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He Shall direct your paths there is this exhaustive commitment involved to our blessed God in all your ways not just your religious ways not just your Sunday ways but all your ways whatever your particular Pursuit is wherever you find yourself in the Continuum of History whatever your station or your lot in life is in all your ways acknowledge Him and the acknowledgement is certainly connected to this idea of a wholehearted trust those who wholeheartedly trust in the Lord acknowledge the Lord by seeking out his word they acknowledge the Lord by prayer they acknowledge the Lord by the use of the means that God has ordained for their benefit and for their well-being so this exhaustive commitment includes all matters of faith and practice and when Solomon says in all your ways acknowledge him certainly he means the Bible certainly he means special Revelation certainly he means that God breathed word that is profitable for Doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness Bridges says now if we be weaned from the idolatry of making our bosom our Oracle and our heart our counselor if in true poverty of spirit we go every morning to our Lord as knowing not how to go ourselves for this day are I constantly looking upward for direction the light will come down he shall direct thy paths we want no New Revelations or visible tokens study the word with prayer you see in all your ways acknowledge Him that's not esoteric that means super spiritually out there it's a due use of the ordinary means ordained by God for the furtherance of the soul in communion with Christ the due use of the ordinary means show up at church come to Bible study pray read your Bible on your own construct a family altar not physically but spiritually lead your children to the throne of grace in all your ways acknowledge him again Deuteronomy 6 after the shama we see it teach Eed out you shall talk of the Lord your God when you rise up when you walk by the way and when you lie down it's not just a Sunday morning sort of a thing in all your ways acknowledge Him when you go to the beach point out that the god of Heaven and Earth made this he spoke it into being and what a glorious God Of Heaven and Earth in all your ways acknowledge Him so we've got the word of God but we also must be mindful of the Providence of God the Providence of God God's doings and his dealings with us in our lives in all our ways acknowledge Him Now Brethren I think there's a tendency at least in my heart and probably in some others as well to be what they call in sports a fair weather fan you root for the Canucks as long as they're winning when the Canucks stop winning you turn your attention to whatever other hockey team is out there I actually do think there's an Oilers or not a hockey fan not a sports fan as a whole but but the fair weather fan Christians can do this we'll acknowledge the Lord in all our ways provided those ways are good provided those ways are comfortable provided those ways are are are are beneficial with reference to the overarching concerns that we have remember job he says Naked I came into this world and naked I will depart from this world the lord gives the Lord takes blessed be the name of the Lord remember job's wife wife of the Year material there curse God and die what does job do does he submit he say you're right honey we've got to B at these providences of God I'm going to go ahead and respond by rejecting God he doesn't do that he maintains Integrity but about the Apostle Paul the Apostle Paul knew how to abound he knew what it was to have but he also knew what it was to be a based and he had learned that whatever condition he was in he was content that's the mindset with reference to God's Providence it's easy to be prog god with a good job it's easy to be PR god with a nice house it's easy to be prog god with access to Costco it's easy to be PR God when everything is going just so but when things aren't going just so the challenge comes so what's Solomon's instruction and all your ways acknowledge yet your good ways and your bad ways you appreciate the Providence of God and and you look and you reflect and you try to realize that that yeah even through this difficulty even through this hardship and trial God's teaching me God's instructing me God is shaping me God is conforming me into the image of his own blessed son perhaps a good text to meditate upon is Hebrews 58 the son learned obedience through suffering and if the endgame of God With Us for our sanctification is to conform us under the image of his son I would suspect there's going to be a bit of suffering involved in our lives such that we can be conformed to the image of his beloved Son so don't be AF be weather fan trust in the Lord with all your heart do not lean on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him the Providence of God whatever is happening to you is happening because God governs all his creatures and all their actions that's a wonderful Westminster Shorter Catechism question to remember or to memorize what is God's Providence he governs all his creatures and all their actions and he does so for his most Most Holy wise ends but is well as we can bring this to a conclusion back to Proverbs 3 we've got this exhortation in all your ways acknowledge Him and then it ends with a promise it ends with this wonderful statement and he shall direct your paths now notice it doesn't say he shall direct your paths into a beautiful you know 6,000 ft Square house a beautiful car and the drive driveway it says he'll direct your paths it doesn't describe the nature of those particular paths we need to make sure that we understand that Solomon is not Benny Hinn Solomon is not Kenneth copelet Solomon is not Joel ostein with the sparkling tooth Solomon is a man of God who was taught theology by a man of God David Sol is given inspiration by the holy spirit so he is not preaching health wealth and prosperity the direction of our paths may take some winds and turns and curves that perhaps aren't going to Thrill us but they are God's purpose for us in terms of conforming us under the image of his blessed son we won't flip to every passage but in the Proverbs we see God's government include the chastening of his people well we can look at that one just Dro down a few verses to verses 11 and 12 my son do not despise the chastening of the Lord nor detest his correction For Whom the lord loves he corrects just as a father the son in whom he Delights we see God's blessing upon the home of the just Proverbs 3 verse 33b we see his favor upon those who seek wisdom Proverbs 8:35 we see temporal provision Proverbs 103 Proverbs 10:22 we see his favor toward the good Proverbs 122 his protection Proverbs 14:26 and 27 Proverbs 18:10 we see his care for the Widow Proverbs 152b we see his provision of intellectual stability in fact let's turn there because our generation desperately needs that look at Proverbs 16:3 commit your Works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established whenever we are perplexed in thought it would probably be a good I don't I can't bind your conscience but rehearse scripture what is the psalmist say in Psalm 119 your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you you know what the prevalence and availability of scripture does on the one hand it causes us not to memorize it if our only contact with the Bible was to come to church on a Sunday and look over a page of Leviticus I would think that we would be dutiful to try to memorize some of it so we had the resources to draw off of during the week we're not forced to memorize scripture because we've always got the phone we're not forced to memorize scripture because I can just poke in a few presses of the button and and and props you know up Pops Proverbs 18:17 so so when it comes to this whole idea commit your Works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established there needs to be an intellectual stability on the part of God's people and then God's Vindication of the poor Proverbs 2222 and 23 and his provision of Justice Proverbs 25 21 and 22 again those are just illustrations of what it looks like in the book of Proverbs with reference to God directing your paths so in all your ways acknowledge Him and He Shall direct your paths and ultimately this results in the blessedness of the man who trusts in the Lord with all his heart the blessedness of the man who does not lean on his own understanding the blessedness of the man who acknowledges God in all his ways and then is directed by the Lord in terms of all of his paths we have the favor of God look at 11:20 11:20 verse verse 20 those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination of the Lord but the blameless in their ways are his Delight look at 1222 1222 and again you see both of the the statements here are contrasts so verse 22A lying lips are an abomination of the Lord what's the contrast but those who deal truthfully are his delight and then look at 158 same sort of a pattern 158 the sacrifice of the wicked is an Abomination to the Lord but the prayer of the upright is his Delight so we have the favor of God in the directing of our paths and the favor of God is even there as we pass through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff they comfort me we wrongly conclude that when we're going through trials that God is absent that is a bad conclusion remember when Jesus got into the boat with the disciples the storm came what's that indicate the presence of Jesus does not mean the absence of storms there are rainy days with Jesus there are cloudy days with Jesus there is depression and sorrow and Melancholy you are not to interpret that as if Jesus has abandoned you that is is an impossibility God never leaves us and he never forsakes us he is there in the midst of the trial and affliction with us and all our ways we are to acknowledge Him trusting that he will direct our paths well in conclusion a good way I think to sort of summarize this I think I'm taking this from possibly walkey in his commentary I forgot to put it down but basically the text calls for an entire commitment and an entire commitment with all your heart it calls for an exclusive commitment lean not on your own understanding and it calls for an exhaustive commitment in all your ways acknowledge Him that my brothers and sisters is not something that we presently probably possess but it's certainly something we ought to Aspire to relative to Solomon's instruction in Proverbs 35 and 6 an entire exclusive and exhaustive commitment to our blessed God who has provided to us his word who has given us his holy spirit having conquered Us by Sovereign Grace having washed us through the blood of the lamb and giving us a righteousness that avails with him as our reflex as an expression of our sanctification entirety exclusivity and in exhaustiveness in terms of our commitment to the living and true God and if you are not a Believer this God is trustworthy believe on him and you will be saved well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for this uh teaching of Solomon by inspiration of the Holy Spirit we know that this affects us at the individual and personal level we know it affects us at the family level in the church and as uh persons in in a civil society so help us God to be thoroughly furnished unto every good work help us to appreciate your word help us to embrace your Providence to bless and praise and glorify you in the midst of Providence and as well God to learn the lessons you have for us in those times of a frowning Providence bless all the brothers and the sisters in our local church here bless all of our children our young people the babies in the womb we see a great stewardship as parents and his Grand uh grandparents bringing up these little ones in the training and admonition of the lord we know there are many competitors we know there are many the many trying to usurp and trying to to breach that particular relationship so help us to be tenacious help us to be persevering and God may move in the hearts of our young people and cause them to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ to know that salvation and then to express that commitment to the Lord and trusting him with all their hearts and we ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well we'll close with a brief time of meditation e e e and