Proverbs 3:1-12: Trust the Lord with All Your Heart
The Book of Proverbs • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13368479/north-carolina-girl-bees-wall-bedroom-attic.html - for months parents did not believe their little girl…
Many of us have “trust issues,” and perhaps rightly so. We’ve been hurt by someone that we loved, and we don’t think we can ever trust that person us again. For parents, we wonder if we can trust our children to do what they’ve told us they would do. For teachers, we wonder if we can trust our students to do their work without cheating. For some, can we trust the church? You’ve been hurt by the church in the past, can you ever trust the church again? We know we can’t trust the government… It is hard to trust.
And, we don’t know if we can trust ourselves. We’ve followed our hearts one too many times and following our hearts has caused us to make some really bad decisions. Can I trust myself to make good decisions?
The bigger question: Can I trust God? After all, life seems so hard - full of struggles, sicknesses, etc. Can I trust God to help me? Can I trust Him to give me wisdom? Can I trust that God really is good?
Proverbs 3 contains one of the most famous phrases in the entire Bible: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart…”
With that phrase in mind, I want to examine Proverbs 3:1-12 and answer two questions: 1. Why should I trust the Lord? 2. How do I trust the Lord?
Why should I trust the Lord?
Why should I trust the Lord?
vs. 1 - Solomon continues to plead with son to listen to his teaching. Teaching = torah. Torah = First five books of the Old Testament or the Law (instruction). You can be sure that Solomon’s teaching to his son was grounded in the Torah.
vs. 1-4 sound like language from the Torah - covenant language. Solomon calling his son to be faithful to the covenant.
In OT - covenant is an oath or promise between God and His people. E.g., covenant with Noah and Abraham are unconditional covenants. To Noah - promise to never judge the entire earth with flood. To Abraham - a great nation that would be a blessing to the nations. Eventually, to David - a King on his throne forever.
Covenant to Moses and the people - the Law - God promises to bless His people as they live distinct from the rest of the world by obeying His Law. They would live long in the land if they obeyed. BUT - if they disobeyed, they would be driven from the land (exile).
Exodus 20:12 - Honor your parents and you will have a long life in the land. Sounds like Proverbs 3:2. Solomon tells his son that if he obeys his teachings, he will live a full life for many days. (Obedience to God does NOT guarantee a long life - but a general principle - life goes much better for you when you in the will of God - and promise is ULTIMATELY true. If you live in the will of God you will live forever.)
vs. 3- Never let loyalty (steadfast love - ESV) and faithfulness leave you. Loyalty = God’s covenant love (hesed). Exodus 34:6-7 (PUT ON SCREEN) - Solomon telling his son to cling to God’s covenant love and faithfulness. You cling to God’s covenant love and faithfulness by walking in faith/obeying God.
vs. 3 - Write them on the tablet of your heart. Similar to Deuteronomy 6:4-8 - A reminder to Solomon’s son that the teachings and commands of God need to be stored deep within his heart (Proverbs 2:1). When you get the Word of God deep in your heart it changes you. Israel’s problem - externally religious, internally idolaters. They needed new hearts!
vs. 4 - If Solomon’s son stayed faithful to the covenant he would find favor with God and people.
The OT is the story of God’s covenant love AND the story of how Israel was unfaithful to the God who was faithful to them.
Why should we trust God?
God has proven Himself trustworthy. All throughout the Old Testament God does exactly what He says. He gives Abraham a family. He rescues His people from Egypt. He provides. He brings His people into the Promised Land. When Israel fails to obey God, He sends them into exile, but as He promises, He brings them out of exile and back into the land. He fulfills His promise by ultimately sending His promised Messiah (Genesis 3:15) to give those who believe a new heart. Jesus lived the life we could not live and died the death that we deserve only to rise from the dead so that all our sins could be forgiven and we could be given eternal life. God has not proven Himself faithful over and over again. In your own life, you have seen His faithfulness as He sustains you every day.
You have not proven yourself trustworthy. vs. 5 - “Do not rely on your own understanding.” vs. 7 - “Don’t be wise in your own eyes.” We’re naturally foolish. Ancient Israel did not uphold their end of the covenant, and we join Israel in their foolishness. We constantly make unwise decisions that in the moment we think are wise. E.g., “I think I should live with girlfriend before marriage because that would help us financially…” even though you know what God says. “I think I should lie to get myself out of the mess I’m in…” even though you know what God says. You make sinful choices and find yourself in a bigger mess. You cannot be trusted to do what God says. (UMC church?) (Prov. 26:12, 28:26)
Even though you have proven that you cannot be trusted to do what God says, He has faithful love for you. He fulfills His promise to save you and give you life as you turn to Him in faith. He promises you assurance of salvation even when you sin even after you come to faith in Jesus. He is faithful.
How do I trust the Lord?
How do I trust the Lord?
vs. 5 - No wonder Solomon says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” God is faithful even when we are unfaithful (2 Timothy 2:13).
How do you trust in the Lord with all your heart?
Always acknowledge God in everything (vs. 5-8). A wonderful promise - if you acknowledge God in all your ways, He will make your paths straight. NOT He will make your life easy, but He will protect you from the consequences of folly.
Requires humility - in every situation of life you need the wisdom of God so you will know how to respond in a way that honors the ONE who is faithful to you.
Requires patience - Notice - in Proverbs, Solomon likes to talk about paths - e.g., the path of wisdom, the path of folly. Paths can be long and paths lead to a destination as you walk the path over time. The path of wisdom is a slow journey - As you acknowledge God in the daily decisions of life, you will get further and further down the path of wisdom. Small steps of obedience (serving in your church, living out Fruit of the Spirit in tough situations, sharing the Gospel with your neighbor) lay a foundation of growth and faith so that when the big trials come, you are more able to trust God. Obedience in everyday situations prepare you to take bigger steps of faith - like going on that mission trip or stepping into a dying church to help it live again. As you walk the path of wisdom, you will see God healing you - giving you true life; spiritual life with Him (vs. 8).
Requires knowing how God gives wisdom - God doesn’t tell you the specifics about your life that you want to know as much as he tells you how to live your life. Instead of being a path, we want wisdom to be a key that opens the door to give us all the answers to our questions: “Who should I marry? Where should I live? What neighborhood should I buy a house in? What job should I take?” God cares about those things, but God also cares about how you live. The Book of Proverbs and the Bible as a whole is teaching you how to live before God - in holiness, with love for others, bearing the fruit of the Spirit, using the resources He’s given you well. You need wisdom in how to live well before God trusting that as you live well before God, He will place you where He wants you for His glory. We focus for too much on what God wants us to do and far too little on who God wants us to be.
Always live with open hands (vs. 9-10). When we fail to trust God, we place our trust in what we have. Evidence that you trust the Lord is that you live an open-handed life. Solomon NOT teaching prosperity theology but a general principle: God blesses people who trust Him rather than trust their stuff. PROMISE: Even if you are not financially blessed in this life, it’s a blessing to know you have obeyed, and you will be eternally blessed with riches untold.
When you give, you are acknowledging that God is the true giver. When you give, you acknowledge that you trust the Lord. Financially speaking, If you were to be faithful in giving, what would God want you to give? 10%? Grace giving for me = 10% is the starting point, but I want to be as generous as I can be because of how generous God has been to me. Some of you have a lot of work to do in this area, and some of you are walking in disobedience to God in this area because you trust your stuff more than you trust God.
You can give excuses (e.g., state of economy), but excuses don’t excuse from obedience.
Your giving also shows that you know that the only Kingdom worth expanding is the Kingdom of God; not yours.
Always live with a teachable heart. Solomon has repeatedly told his son to listen to him, but his son needs the reminder. Ultimately, what Israel lacked was a teachable heart. They lived in rebellion. They needed a new heart! A heart that actually desired God! (Ezekiel 36:26)
If you have trusted Christ, you have a new heart, a moldable heart. Don’t resist what the Spirit wants to do in your heart.
Embrace His discipline. Because God loves you, He disciplines you. He will allow you to experience the consequences of your sins so you might see the error of your ways and repent (Hebrews 12:5-11).
This morning, God is worth trusting with all of your heart because of His covenant love. In His covenant love, He sent His Son to die for your sins only to rise from the dead so your sins could be forgiven and you could be given the gift of life abundant and eternal. Prov. 3:3 - in the New Covenant He has written His law on our hearts - Jeremiah 31:33 - Now, because we have seen the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus, our heart’s desire is to obey Him because we love the One who first loved us (1 John 4:19). This morning, trust God by surrendering your life to Jesus.
