Turn back with me to Proverbs
3. We usually go through John on
Sunday nights and I was trying to study John
and I kept thinking about Proverbs 3 and I'd go look at it and I'd
come back and work on John a little bit and then I'd go back to Proverbs
3. Finally I realized I think the message is in Proverbs 3. All of us have a desire to grow
in grace, don't we? We want to, I want to. We all
want to grow in this word. I want to grow in the knowledge
of this word and the love of this word. We want to grow in
faith. We want to grow in kindness.
We want to grow in liberality. We want to be more and more conformed
into the image of Christ, don't we? That's what we want. I cannot
wait to finally be like Christ. Finally be like Christ. We want
to grow in grace. And when we come to worship our
God, and when he opens up this word to us, and if he doesn't
send his spirit, We've wasted our time. If he doesn't send
his spirit and if he doesn't bless his word, there are places
that open up this word all over this town. But if God doesn't
send his spirit and if God doesn't bless his word in truth, it's
a waste of time. But when he does, when he opens
this word to us and when he blesses us through his spirit, Our minds
become focused. You know what I mean? You know
how we walk in just all over the place and we walk out so
focused. I remember what the purpose of life is.
It's Christ. Our minds, they become focused
and our hearts become full. I have walked in so empty before
and walked out so full. And our resolve becomes strong. Minds are focused. Hearts are
full. Resolve is strong. And then we
walk out that door. And it's like we go right back
to the same place where we started. We come here to hear the same
thing. Nobody who came here tonight
came to hear something different, did they? We come here to hear
the exact same thing and it's because we so desperately need
to hear the same thing. The same thing. That same thing
is Christ. The same thing. Christ, who is
the wisdom of God. Christ, who is our wisdom. I want wisdom. I want wisdom. And Christ is our wisdom. Verse 13 right here in Proverbs
chapter 3. Verse 13 says, Happy is the man
that findeth wisdom. Christ. Happy is the man that
findeth Christ, and the man that getteth understanding." Understanding
of what? Christ. Christ. An understanding of who he truly
is. An understanding of his gospel. Aren't we so happy that he has
given us an understanding of his gospel? He hasn't left us
in the dark on religion. He's revealed the truth to us,
revealed himself to us. Verse 14 says, for the merchandise
of it is better than the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof
than fine gold. Finding the gospel of Christ. is greater value than anything
that silver and gold can buy. It is the most valuable thing
on this planet. It really is. It's called the
unsearchable riches of Christ. I wish I could enter into that
more. the absolute unsearchable riches
of Christ look at Proverbs 23 Proverbs 23 look at verse 23 it says Buy the truth and sell it not. Buy the truth and sell it not.
We buy a lot of things. I used to be in the stock market.
I'm not anymore. I lost it all. What are you buying? We're buying this. It's hot.
You better get it right now. Buy it. Buy it. Hurry, buy it. That's valuable. Buy the truth and sell it not. Don't sell it. Buy the truth
and sell it not. I am burdened to tell myself
and to tell you to buy the truth and sell it not. Nothing in this life means anything. Nothing in this life means anything.
Go with me over to Matthew 13. Matthew 13 verse 45 says again,
this is our Lord speaking again, the kingdom of heaven is like
unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls. Who, when he had found
one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and
bought it. How much is the Lord Jesus Christ
worth? I'll tell you when we're going
to find out. When we stand before the judgment throne. That's when
we're going to find out. You know it? These big, big moguls. These big men. They've gained it all. They've gained it all. They own
islands. They got it all. And when they
go and stand before the judgment throne, they're going to realize
it is actually of no value. It's no value. It was burned
up. What happened to it all? It burned
up. It's all going to burn up. What is the Lord Jesus Christ
worth? He is worth it all. I can tell
you, He's worth it all. The question was asked in the
scriptures, what would a man give in exchange for his soul? Once he has seen the pearl of
great price, he'll give it all. He'll give it all. Go back over
to Proverbs 3. Proverbs 3 verse 13 says, happy is the man that findeth
wisdom and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise
of it is better than the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof
than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies
and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared
unto her. Why? The reason is because silver,
gold, and rubies cannot redeem my soul. They just cannot redeem
my soul. I want to lay hold of that. I
want to lay hold of that. I used to be in business, and
I am thankful every day of my life that I'm not anymore. But
some of you guys have to be in business. You've got things you
have to do. You have to work. You have to
make money. If you don't provide for your
family, you're worse than an infidel. And you have to make
decisions. And you have to make budgets.
You have to buy things. You have to sell things. But I can tell you this, all
of those things mean nothing. They mean absolutely nothing. without the Lord Jesus Christ.
They mean absolutely nothing without the Lord Jesus Christ. Silver and gold and rubies cannot
redeem our souls. There is one thing that will
give us life, life, eternal life. It's the same thing, the blood
of Jesus Christ. The same thing. We all want a
happy life. I want a happy life. And I have
one. I have one. I am happy. We're
happy. I believe we're all happy. This
is a happy place. And we all want a happy life.
And our flesh, in spite of what the Word tells us and in spite
of what our heart knows, our flesh believes that the things
of this world are going to bring that happiness if we can just attain them. But
they won't. They won't. Go to Proverbs 15
with me. Proverbs 15 verse 16 says, better
is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and
trouble therewith. This world is a troubled place.
It is a troubled place. And the more we have of it, the
more trouble it will bring to us. Everything in this world
is troubled. And the more we have of it, the
more trouble it will bring to us. Go to Matthew 6. Matthew 6 verse 19 says, Lay
not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust
doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
nor steal. For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. The light of the body is the
eye. If therefore thine eye be single,
thy whole body shall be full of light. I need one thing, and
we all need one thing. We need Christ. We just need
Christ. Our Lord said whoever seeks Him
is going to find Him. Whoever needs Him is going to
receive Him. Any sinner who has been made
to seek Christ as the great treasure, the pearl of greatest price,
our Lord has given to all those sinners six exhortations. for happiness in Christ. We want to be happy, don't we?
He's given us six exhortations for happiness and wisdom in Him. Each exhortation comes with a
promise. Six exhortations and six promises. Okay, go back over to Proverbs
3. Six exhortations, six promises. Verse one. My son, forget not my law. My son, forget not my law. Before the evil days come, and
you have no pleasure in them. I pray that our children, my
daughters, forget not thy law. Forget not this gospel. Don't
forget my word. May the gospel be our main concern
and factor in everything. May the gospel be our main concern
and factor in everything. May the gospel be our life. If we need Christ, we need His
gospel. If we need Christ, we need His
gospel. The hearing of the gospel is what produces faith. And faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ is the evidence of salvation. May all of our decisions be made
in light of the gospel. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by this word. My son, forget not my law. But
let thine heart keep, let my heart hold to, let my heart believe
in my commandments. That's the first exhortation.
Here's the first promise, verse two. For length of days and long
life and peace shall they add to thee. Length of days Long
life and peace. Peace with God, not peace with
this world. We'll never have peace with this
world, but peace with God. All the days of this life, all
the days of eternity. What a promise. Peace with God. Look at Job 14. Job 14 verse 1 says, Man that
is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh
forth like a flower and is cut down. He fleeth also as a shadow
and he continueth not. That's life here on this earth.
That's what every man on this earth has to look forward to.
He comes forth like a flower and he's cut down. But our text
said that the law of God, this word of God, the gospel of Christ,
the word of wisdom himself brings length of days and peace. Peace
in the heart. So here's wisdom. May everything
in our life revolve around the word of God. Everything. All right, let's go back over
to Proverbs 3. Verse 3 says, Let not mercy and truth forsake
thee. Bind them about thy neck. Write
them upon the table of thine heart. So shalt thou find favor
and good understanding in the sight of God and man. What brings
peace all the days of this troubled life? Binding this truth about
our neck. writing this truth on the table
of our hearts. This is one of my favorite verses of scripture.
It doesn't matter what comes. It doesn't matter what doesn't
come. Psalm 85 says that mercy and truth met together. You just keep remembering that.
Mercy and truth have already met together. Righteousness and
peace kissed each other in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have received mercy. I've received mercy. Yeah, but you don't have much
else. What else do I need? Really? I've received mercy. It does not matter what I have.
It does not matter what I don't have. God has been merciful to me in
Christ. My happiness is right there.
It is right there. God has been merciful to me.
The only thing that could make me happier is if He would be
merciful to you and if He would be merciful to my children and
your children. Happy is the man that finds Christ
and receives an understanding of that. Verse four says, so
shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of
God and man. Favor means grace. If I want some peace and happiness
in this life, I just need to be reminded that I have found
the same thing Noah found. I found the same thing, grace. Favor, good understanding. Verse
5 says, trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord. If we did
not have our Lord, we would have nothing to trust in. Nothing
and no one can be trusted but Christ. I can't even trust myself. I don't trust myself. Outside
of Christ, I just do not trust myself. Go over to Psalm 146,
it's about two pages back. Psalm 146, verse one, it says,
praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. While
I live, will I praise the Lord. I will sing praises unto my God
while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes,
nor in the son of man in whom there is no help. If we want some peace and some
happiness, don't put your trust in any man. Don't put any trust
in the next president. We're going to change all this.
Probably not. Verse four says, his breath goeth
forth. That means he dies, he's just
a man. He returneth to his earth, in that very day his thoughts
perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the Lord his God, which made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that therein is, which keepeth truth forever. which executeth judgment for
the oppressed, which giveth food to the hungry, the Lord looseth
the prisoners. The Lord openeth the eyes of
the blind. The Lord raiseth them that are
bowed down. The Lord loveth the righteous.
The Lord preserveth the strangers. He relieveth the fatherless and
the widow, but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
The Lord shall reign forever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all
generations. Praise ye the Lord. How wise would we be to put our
trust in the Lord? Trust in the Lord. Back over
to Psalm 3, verse 5 says, 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. Forget not my law, and you'll
have length of days in peace. Bind mercy and truth, and you'll
find favor with God. And trust in the Lord with all
thine heart. Lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge him and he'll direct your path. Trusting in
the Lord has everything to do with waiting on the Lord. You
know that? Trusting in the Lord has everything
to do with waiting on the Lord. David said, wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and he shall
strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Wait
on the Lord. Trust his time. Things never
happen in the time that we want it to. You know that? I think
it's time I make a decision here. No, how about let's wait on the
Lord. Wait on the Lord. Trust his will. Trust his way. He will direct your path. Look
at Proverbs 4, one page over. Proverbs 4, verse 14, it says,
Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way
of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn
from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except they
have done mischief. And their sleep is taken away,
unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence, but the path of the just is as
the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect
day. The way of the wicked is as darkness.
They know not at what they stumble. My son, attend to my words, incline
thine ear to my sayings. Let them not depart from thine
eyes, keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are
life unto those that find them and health to all their flesh.
Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues
of life. Put away from thee a froward
mouth and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look
right on and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder
the path of thy feet and let all thy ways be established.
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left. Remove thy foot
from evil. Walk straight in the path. How
can I do that? How can I do that? When I am
wicked, I know not the way, I cannot walk in the way, how can I do
that? Our text said, trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Lean not to thine own understanding
and in all thy way, acknowledge him and he'll direct your path.
David said, he leadeth me in paths of righteousness. Wait
on the Lord. Verse 7, Be not wise in thine
own eyes, fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be
health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones. Be not wise in
thine own eyes. What that means is don't do anything
without consulting our Lord. Don't do anything. Well, I pretty
well know what I'm going to do. Be not wise in thine own eyes,
fear the Lord. Reverence the Lord. Verse seven
says, and depart from evil. That is everything that we are
by nature, evil. But that is especially unbelief. Depart from unbelief. Look to
him, fear him, believe him. Verse eight says, it shall be
health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones. Nothing will make
us more miserable than not waiting on the Lord. Nothing. Not seeking his counsel, but
if we do, and if he sends it, nothing will make us happier.
Nothing will make us happier. If we believe that we are in
the way of the Lord, in his will for us. We'll be happy. We'll be happy. Verse 9 says,
honor the Lord with thy substance and with the first fruits of
all thine increased, so shall thy barns be filled with plenty
and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. What do those two verses mean?
They mean exactly what they say. Exactly what they say. Honor
the Lord, thank the Lord, praise the Lord with thy substance.
You mean with our money? Yes, but not just our money. With everything that is our substance,
if we give him much thanks, we will have much to be thankful
for. If we honor him by believing
on him, If we honor Him with faith, He will increase our faith. Now if we do believe, who gets
the glory for that? He does. It's not of myself,
it's a gift. But it's counted to us and it's
rewarded. I love this. I honor the Lord
with our substance. This is what the word substance
means. Last minute, just before service
tonight, I saw that and I thought, I better look that up. So I looked
it up in the concordance and here's what it means. Two words
mainly. One of them was wealth. The other one was enough. That's what the word substance
means. It means enough. You know, we don't have much.
I know that, but we have enough. Honor the Lord with thy enough. Verse 10 says, so shall thy barns
be filled with plenty and thy presses shall burst out with
new wine. That is a promise from our Lord.
Verse 11 says, My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord,
neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loveth, he
correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. Because we have an evil and wicked
flesh, we should expect chastening. We should just expect it. But we would be wise to not despise
it. That chastening is our comfort. It's our comfort. Comfort that
he loves us, comfort that he's our father. 1 Corinthians, I'm
just gonna read this to you. 1 Corinthians 11 verses 31 and
32 say, if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But
when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord that we should not
be condemned with the world. He chastens us so that we will
not be condemned with this world. Whom the Lord loves, he corrects. Go with me over to Revelation
3. I'll close with Revelation 3. Verse 18 says, I counsel thee
to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich,
and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame
of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye
salve that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If any man hear my voice and
open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him
and he with me. To him that overcometh will I
grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am
set down with my father in his throne. He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. As many
as I love, I rebuke and I chasten. So he said, happy is the man
that finds wisdom. And the man that gets understanding
For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of
silver and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious
than rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to
be compared unto her. I pray that the Lord would teach
us wisdom, wisdom in Christ, cause us to heed his word, send
us his promises, help us, bless us, in spite of us, in spite
of this poor vessel. May we find Christ. All right,
let's stand together.