The doctor told me that I could
ease out of this brace. And when he says ease, I thought
it meant quit. I think he meant ease. Oh, I
thank the Lord. I really do. I wish I could explain
the thankfulness that we all have for our Lord's mercy. blessing to bring us through
these light, light afflictions. They are light, they're new,
they are. I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the book of Proverbs, chapter three,
Proverbs chapter three. I had been planning to, I was
planning to preach out of a different passage today, This passage came
to my heart. I kept thinking this phrase in
my mind, and whether it's a good one or a bad one, I don't know,
but it's one I keep thinking. There's certain passages of scripture
that's like an old friend that you can go back to and read again
and again and find great, great comfort in. Proverbs chapter
3. I'd like to look for a few minutes
today in verses 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Every believer, the older we
get, becomes more and more familiar, more and more sure of this one
thing. This life is fleeting and it's
uncertain. I've heard that so many years,
and I believed it. I believed it, yeah. But it's
just something about starting to experience some of these things,
you know? You start saying, you know, I
think that's true. We don't know what tomorrow's
gonna bring. We have no idea. Thanks be unto God that he knows,
but we're pilgrims. traveling through this world,
and knowing that our days are numbered. What if he gives us
another few years? I think back when I read of those
that have gone before us, and I'm sure they thought the same
things, you know, but we're living in a world, I know, now listen
to me. Those of you that are in this
same situation, knowing God, knowing the Lord. Now listen,
we're living in a world that hates Him that we love. I've read that, I've read that.
If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated
you. I know that the Lord has a beloved children, And he has sent unto his beloved
children a message. He sent the gospel. And I just,
I've known it. You that know him know it. You've
known it. But there's something about hearing
it again after a while, after going through some things, after
being taught a few things. the glorious gospel of God's
free and sovereign grace in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Is there any word of encouragement
for those that have come to see that this is just a pilgrimage? Is there any word of comfort
for those that have began to experience some of these things. I know there is. And this morning,
I'd like to just look at these two verses of scripture. I preached on them before. You've
heard me preach on them before. But oh, there's just times that
we just need to hear it one more time. Just tell me one more time.
Tell me again. how the Lord has shown mercy
to a needy sinner. And just for a minute now today,
let's just listen. And I pray even right now, if
you've not asked the Lord before, right now, ask him to speak to
us. Ask him to take these scriptures
and make them real to us, real. I remember Gabe telling me, he
made this statement to me years ago. And it's come back to my
mind so many times. He said, Dad, you know what?
He said, this is real. I said, yeah, it is. It's real. This is real. We didn't just
come to church today. This is real. I want us to look, first of all,
at a divine admonition. I want us to look this morning
at some counsel from the Lord. Something that gives us some
confidence. And here's where it starts. Thrust
in the Lord, capital L, capital O, Capital R, capital D. Trust in Jehovah with all of
thine heart. Trust in God. Trust in God Almighty with all
of your heart, with all your heart, with all of your understanding,
with all your will. Trust in the Lord. Trust Him. Lean on Him. Seek for your temporal... Now listen. I know we've got
needs. I know we've got needs. We've
got to eat, got to drink, got to have a place to stay. Seek
all of your refuge. All of your temporal, eternal
needs. Trust in Jehovah. Trust in the Father who chose you in Christ. Trust Him. Now listen, He chose
His people before the foundation of the world, before there was
anything else, when there was God. He chose to show mercy on His
people. You that know Him, trust the
Father. Trust Him. Trust His providential dealings
with you. Trust His promise. Now listen
to this. You've heard this before. I will
never leave you and I'll never forsake you. I can only trust
Him for that. Because I can tell you this,
if you look into me, I'll end up leaving. I'll end
up forsaking you. but he won't. Trust in the Lord. Trust him in the times of affliction. Trust him who is promised, is
promised in these times of loving chastisement. Those that the
Lord loveth, loveth, he chasteneth. Christ. He's chasing, proving
his promise. I will keep you. I will keep you. I'll keep you. Oh, I'm telling you, sometimes
we don't even know what's going on around us. I'm just oblivious
to what's going on. I don't know what's happening.
I don't know what's going on tomorrow. I don't know what's
happening today. I don't know. But I know this, I can trust
in the Lord. I can trust in the Father who
chose me. Trust in the Lord. L-O-R-D. Trust in the Son. Trust in Him who has betrothed
Himself eternally to his people. Trust him. He has given himself. Given himself. Trust him who
has lovingly betrothed. Married you. You that know him. He who has married himself. Trust in him who has power over
all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as the
Father has given him. These things that we've heard,
we hear them all the time. Trust in the Lord. Trust the Father. Trust the Son. And trust the Holy Spirit. The one right now. that's guiding
us, directing us, bringing back to our memories. You say, I've
heard this before right here. Well, let's hear it again. Let's
hear it one more time. Trust in the Lord. Let's trust
Him who's working all things after the counsel of His own
will. Trust in the Lord. Trust the
Lord Jesus Christ who lived perfect obedience, who humbled himself,
made himself of no reputation, who took upon himself the form
of sinful flesh. You know, the sad thing about
this is that I hear these glorious truths. I hear of God who eternally
chose His people. I hear of the Son who bore the
guilt of all His people, made sin. He was made sin. I hear
of the Holy Spirit who guides and directs. And I realize how
ignorant I really am. I mean, you that have sat under
the gospel for years and years and years, You're gonna admit, just like
I do right now, there's so much I don't know. I don't know. I know this, I know we're gonna
leave this world. I know that. What then? Eye hath not seen, ear hath not
heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man. That ought
to be enough right there. Neither hath entered into the
heart of man. That which God has prepared for
those that love him. Trust in the Lord. Now listen to this. With all thine heart. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart. You know, that phrase, and I
looked this up and tried to get a little light on that. Trust
in the Lord with all thine heart. And you that know Him, right
now, let me tell you what you're thinking, because I'm thinking
the same thing. I feel so inadequate. I feel so incapable. Trust in
the Lord with all thine heart. But that phrase right there,
it speaks not so much concerning the strength of my faith. If you had the faith of a grain
of mustard seed, the Lord said, you could say to this mountain,
be moved, and it'd be moved. If you had the strength of a
grain of mustard seed, I'd just kind of look up and see how little
a mustard seed was, and it was little. How little? Little. If you had faith as a grain of
mustard seed, you'd say to this mountain, and that mountain was
moved. I don't remember seeing anybody
ever speak to a mountain and it moved. Oh, how little. When the Lord says, trust in
the Lord with all thine heart, it speaks not so much of the
strength of my faith, but as the sincerity of it. I was reminded
when the Lord asked Peter, after Peter had denied him Lord was
raised and the Lord met him, you know, on the seashore there.
And he said to Peter, he said, Peter, lovest thou me more than these? And if you want to just really
bring it home, just ask yourself, Marvin, do you love me more than
these? Three times the Lord asked him
that, lovest thou me more than these? and just make it a question
to you. Peter was just like us. Make
it a question to you. Marvin, do you love me more than
these? Lord, you know that I love you. Feed my sheep, feed my lambs,
feed my sheep. Third time the scripture says
that the Lord asked Peter, lovest thou me more than these? Peter was grieved because the
Lord asked him. Not grieved at the Lord, grieved
at himself. He was grieved. And Peter said
these things, Lord, you know all things. And I can only imagine,
and I'll put myself in this position, Lord, you know all things. You
know me better than I know myself. You know that Lord, I've exhibited
the appearance by my actions, by my thoughts. You know that
I have exhibited the appearance that I don't love you. You know
I have. Lord, you know all things. You
know I love you. Lord, you know that just hearing you ask me
this question breaks my heart. Marvin, do you love me? Marvin,
do you love me? Marvin, do you love me? Lord, you know that I love you, not
as I should, not as I will by your grace and mercy. Lord, you
do know that I love you. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Oh Lord, I want to. I desire
to. Lord, help me. Thank you that
you don't deal with me after the completeness of my sincerity. I don't love you as I should,
but Lord, I do love you. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart. And listen to this next part.
And lean not unto thine own understanding. Lean not. Lean not. Don't support yourself, your
own understanding. There's many things in this world
that we completely fail to grasp hold of. Lean not to your own
understanding. Explain the Trinity to me. I
can't. I cannot. The scripture declares
that the Father is. that the Son is and that the
Holy Spirit is one God. Explain that to me. I cannot
explain the Trinity. I cannot grasp hold of it. I know that the scripture says
that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only begotten of the Father
He's the only birth of a father. Explain that to me. I cannot
explain that. I can't. I cannot explain that
he who knew no sin was made sin. I know it's the truth. 2 Corinthians
5, 21. He who knew no sin, himself personally,
was made sin, was made the guiltiness. You explain that to me. Explain
it to me. Thanks be unto God. Lean not
to your own understanding. Lord, if I had to understand
the depth of who you are, I can't. I know things in part, I see
things in part, but to understand the depth,
thanks be unto God, I don't have to lean on my own understanding. Scripture declares that God's
people were made the righteousness of God
in him. You that know Him, do you see
it? The scripture declares that He, the Father, has made Christ
sin for us. He made Him sin, not pretended
to be sin. He was made sin. I told you about a man one day
that was gonna take me to the cleaners on that one. He told
me, he said, you will never find me saying of my Lord that he was
made sin. You'll never find me saying that.
I said, well, thanks be unto God. God said, he hath made him
sin. To be is in italics. Look, he
made him sin. He the Lord who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God. Explain that to me. I can't. That we might be made
the righteousness of God, not pretending to be righteous. God's
people in Christ are made the righteousness of
God. Now, if you want some hope, say,
Lord, I don't understand it. I don't understand the depth.
I don't, I don't. But Lord, because you said it,
I rest that. Beloved, trust in the Lord with
all thine heart and lean not to your own understanding. I'm
so thankful that the Spirit of God moved on Solomon, put that
in there. Don't lean on your own understanding. Oh, how much man by nature likes
to just think about how much he knows. Oh, I'm telling you. Years ago, I was in Louisiana,
and there was a guy that would come on TV, and they called him
the walking Bible. And he could just quote stuff,
you know, or appeared so that he could, you know, I couldn't
see if they didn't have a teleprompter out there in front of him, he'd
just read, I don't know, but I used to think to myself, man,
I wish I knew, I wish I could do, lean not to your own understanding. Don't lean on what you think
you know, what you think you've learned. Trust in the Lord, and
lean not to your own understanding. Turn to this scripture. Jeremiah 9, Jeremiah chapter
9, verse 23, 24. Jeremiah 9, 23,
24. Thus saith the Lord God, let
not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Neither let the mighty
man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches, but let him that glorieth, let him that boast,
let him glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me,
that I am the Lord, which exercise righteousness in the earth. For
in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Let him, I was looking
at that this morning. Let him that understandeth and
knoweth me. The more I looked at that, the
more I thought, let him that understandeth. Understands what? Well, I can tell you one thing
I understand. I'm a sinner. I am a helpless, needy sinner. Let him that understandeth, let
him that knows something about himself. Man by nature doesn't
know. Man by nature thinks that he
knows. Man by nature does not know what
he is by nature. Let him that understandeth, listen
to this, let him that knows me. Isn't it a comforting thing just
to be able to say, Lord, Thank you for giving me some understanding
of me and some understanding of you. Thank you for showing
mercy to me. Verse six, in all thy ways, acknowledge
him. In all thy ways, acknowledge
him. Take notice In all your ways,
take notice and recognize Him. He's the author. He's the director of our ways. In all thy ways, acknowledge
Him. Lord, you said that you order
the steps of your people. You order our
steps. that you have predestinated ourselves,
our steps, according to your eternal will and purpose. In
all of your ways, acknowledge Him. The Lord put me where I'm sitting
right now. The Lord put me here. In all of your ways, acknowledge
Him. It was good. It was good. David said that I've been afflicted,
that I might learn of your statutes. In all your ways, acknowledge
him. We can trust him. We can trust
him. Oh, how often we forget and we
complain about our steps. Oh, we pray, Lord, lead us and
guide us and direct us Do you realize how easy that is to just
flippantly say it? Lord, order my steps. That sounds
so spiritual. Order my steps. Oh, in the moment,
a little affliction comes and we start griping. Lord, forgive
me. In all our ways, acknowledge
him. Here's a passage of scripture
that has been brought back to my mind, my memory often now
lately. You know it really well, Romans
828. How many times have you heard me quote Romans 828? And
we know, and we know that all things work together for good,
for good. Realize how good it is All these
things that God's brought about, how good it is. It worked together
for good to them that love God, to them who are called according
to His purpose. Believer, in all our ways, acknowledge
Him. Acknowledge His presence. Acknowledge
His promise. I'm not going to forsake you.
I'm not going to leave you. acknowledge his purpose. The
Lord's done this. It's good. It's good. And lastly,
those that trust in the Lord with all their heart, those that
lean not to their own understanding, knowledge in him and all of his
ways. And listen to this last part
right here. And he shall direct thy path. Trust in the Lord with
all thine heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In
all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct. He shall cause our path to be
right. He shall cause our path to be
prosperous. and he shall cause our path to
be pleasant. Pleasant. You say, well, I don't
see how going through some of the things that the Lord's caused
us to go through is pleasant. They're pleasant when we're made
to see that this was his will. Lord, you've done that which
is right. You've done that which is good. We may not understand
it, We may not know what the Lord's doing in our lives. We
may truly be made to wonder, why? Why are we going through
this? Because the Lord willed it. He who loved us, chose us in
Christ, directs all of our paths. He who has made sin for us, do
you think that he's going to cause us to walk through something,
anything, that's not gonna be for our good and for His glory? You think He's gonna do something
just to see us suffer for no reason? Trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Lean not to your own understanding.
In all of your ways, acknowledge Him. He'll direct our path. I pray
God, give us a heart to see this again and rest in it for His
glory and our good.