Good morning. I read that back in January of,
I believe it was 1850, Charles Spurgeon wandered into a primitive
Methodist church on a cold, snowy morning. I envision much like
what we've seen here this morning. And it was at that time the Lord
was pleased to speak peace to his heart. At that time, the
Lord was pleased to reveal the gospel to him. Wouldn't that
be a wonderful thing if he would be pleased to do the same here
this morning for us? One sinner, if he'd be pleased
to reveal himself to a sinner. Our text for this morning will
come from Proverbs 3. Proverbs 3, just two verses of
scripture. Proverbs three, look with me,
beginning with verse five. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart and lean not unto thy own understanding. In all thy ways,
acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. Trust in the
Lord. Not in man, but in the Lord. David wrote in Psalm 146.3, he
said, put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom
there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth
to his earth, and in that very day, his thoughts perish. Happy is he who hath the God
of Jacob for his help, whose hope, whose expectation, whose
trust is in the Lord." Trust in the Lord. Don't trust in man. Don't trust in yourself. I've
heard men say this. They say, follow your heart. Just follow your heart. I ask
you, does that sound like good advice? To just follow your heart
or trust your heart? Well, concerning the heart, concerning
my heart, your heart, listen to what the scriptures say. God's
word says this of our hearts. In Jeremiah 17, 9, it says, the
heart is deceitful above all things. Does that sound like
anything that we should trust? or look to, the heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? How about our works of righteousness?
Is that a place to trust? Is that something to trust in?
Isaiah wrote that we are all as an unclean thing, and all
of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade
as a leaf. like the wind we've been taken
away. In Luke 18, our Lord spoke this
parable concerning this thing of self-righteousness. He spake
a parable unto certain who trusted that they were righteous. They
trusted in themselves that they were righteous. And as a result,
they despised others. And listen to what our Lord said.
He said two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee
and the other a publican. And the Pharisee, and he stood
and he prayed thus within himself, God, I thank thee that I am not
as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give
tithes of everything that I own. And the publican, that poor publican,
standing afar off, he wouldn't so much as lift up his eyes unto
heaven, but he smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful
to me, the sinner. I ask you, Which one of these
two men went down to his house justified? Was it the self-righteous
man? No. No, it was the publican,
that one who wouldn't even raise up his eyes unto heaven. That publican, we read, went
down to his house justified, rather than the other, for everyone
that exalted himself shall be abased. and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted." Don't trust in man. Don't trust in
yourself. Don't trust in your so-called
works of self-righteousness. No. Scripture says, trust in
the Lord. Let me ask you another question.
This is another thing men trust in. Would you trust in your profession
of religion? Turn with me to Philippians chapter
3. Philippians chapter 3. Look beginning with verse 4 of
Philippians 3. Paul wrote, though I would have
confidence in the flesh." Paul was a religious man. He said,
though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man
thinketh he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, if any man. Paul said, I more. Circumcised
the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee. Concerning zeal, persecuting
the church. Touching the righteousness which
is of the law, blameless. But what things were gain to
me? Those I counted loss. For one,
who was that one? Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, doubtless, and I count
all things, all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge
of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things. And he said, I count them but
dung, that I may win Christ. and be found in Him. Not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may
know Him. To know Him, to know the power
of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, and being
made conformable unto his death. Who are we to trust? Trust in
the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Trust Jehovah,
God, God Almighty. Trust in God the Father, God
from whom all blessings flow, both temporal on this earth and
spiritual blessings come from Him. We read, blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Trust Jehovah
God, He's the God of all grace. The God of all grace who has
called us unto eternal glory by His Son, Jesus Christ. Trust Him. Trust Him at all times,
all times, in times of affliction, in times of temptation, in times
of darkness, in times of sorrow, and with good reason. All power,
all strength cometh from Him. David prayed, "'Be not thou far
from me.'" Who was he talking to? The Lord. "'O Lord, O my
strength, haste to help me.'" Abraham trusted God. Abraham
believed God. That's what Scripture said. He
believed God. He was willing to sacrifice his own son. Three times in scripture we read
this, Abraham believed God. He trusted God. Trust in God
the Father. Trust in God the Son. His righteousness to justify. The believer, listen now, the
believer is made righteous. in Him, made righteous in Christ,
made the very righteousness of God in Him. Trust Him. Trust in His blood for pardon,
in His power to protect and preserve every one of His sheep. Trust
Him alone for salvation and eternal life, for it can only be found
in Him. And then trust in God the Spirit. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Spirit. Trust in him to complete the
work. Paul writing to the Philippians,
he said that he which hath begun a good work in you, he'll perform
it. He will finish it. He will complete
it. Now turn with me back to Proverbs
3. Proverbs 3. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart. The heart. Let me read to you
from Romans chapter 10 verse 9. It says, if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and shall believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, Thou shalt
be saved with all my heart. I believe that he came to this
earth just as the scripture says that God became flesh. The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. God became a man. Do you believe
that? Do you believe what Scripture
says concerning the Lord Jesus Christ? That God became a man? God became a man in Christ? That
He died on the cross? The Lord Jesus Christ died on
the cross for the sins of His people. Listen, we're not redeemed. This is what scripture says,
we're not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold
from vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of his son, the precious blood of
Christ as the lamb without blemish and without spot. And that sacrifice,
do you believe this? I believe that that sacrifice
was successful, that it was sufficient, that it got the job done, and
that God was satisfied with that sacrifice. How do we know that
God was satisfied? Well, He raised Him from the
dead. He raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Trust in
the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding."
Paul wrote in the book of Ephesians 4, he said, this I say therefore
and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not as the
Gentiles walk. How did they walk? In the vanity
of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from
the life of God through the ignorance that was in them because of the
blindness of their heart, You know, the unbelieving Gentiles,
they were intelligent, they were wise in evil things, just like
us, but in spiritual things, their understanding was darkened,
alienated from the life of God because of sin. A natural life
and a natural knowledge but no spiritual life, no proper knowledge
of Almighty God. Ignorant. Ignorant. And their
hearts were hardened against God. And that's true of the natural
man. That's true of us apart from
Christ. Ignorant of spiritual things. Our hearts hardened by sin, our
understanding darkened. What's he say here? Lean not
unto thy own understanding. Would you lean to your own understanding?
Would you trust in your own understanding? Turn with me to Romans chapter
three. Hold your place there in Proverbs
and turn to Romans three. Look at verse 11, beginning with
verse 11 of Romans 3. Listen to what God's Word says.
There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all going out of the
way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that
doeth good. No, not one. Their throat, an
open sepulcher. With their tongues they've used
deceit. The poison of asp is under their
lips. Mouth full of cursing and bitterness. Feet swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways. And the way of peace They have
not known. There is no fear of God before
them, before their eyes. By nature, we have no spiritual
knowledge of God, no true sense of ourself, no true sense of
our sin, no true understanding of the way of salvation in Christ. I need a new heart. He must give
me a new heart. I must be given, not my own understanding,
but a new understanding. He must make me to understand. So what am I to do? What is a
sinner to do? What do we read here? Trust in
the Lord. Back to our text. Trust in the
Lord with all thine heart. and lean not unto thy own understanding."
Well, and then he says this, in all thy ways acknowledge him
and he shall direct thy paths. In all thy ways acknowledge him. That word acknowledge, it means
to know him, to know him, to know the Lord. Paul made that
request in the book of Philippians. He said, are you listening? He
said, that I may know Him. To know Him. Listen, this is
the prayer of a man who knew the Lord. Is there any doubt
that Paul knew Christ? And yet, he said, this is my
desire, that I may know him. We read that earlier. He wrote,
doubtless I count all things for loss for the excellency of
what? The knowledge of Jesus Christ
my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of all things, and count
them but none, that I may win Christ This is his request. Is this your request? That I
may know him. Without life, how can a man know
him? How can I have a desire to know him? He said, I know
whom I have believed. You know you can know everything. You could be the smartest person
in this world and know everything. But if you don't know him, you
don't know nothing. You could know everyone. You
might be one of the most popular people around. You may know everybody. But I tell you, if you don't
know him, you might as well know no one. Well, what is it? What is it to know Him? I want to know Him. It says here,
in all thy ways, in everything, acknowledge Him, know Him. You know, back in the book of
Exodus, Moses and Aaron, they went in and they told Pharaoh,
they said, thus saith the Lord God of Israel. Let my people
go, that we may go and hold a feast in the wilderness. And you know
what Pharaoh's reply was? Oh, what a terrible, what a terrible,
terrible thing to say. He said, who is the Lord that
I should obey him? I know not the Lord. Oh, what a terrible, terrible
condemnation. I know not the Lord, neither
will I let His people go. Well, what is it? What is it
to know Him? Well, first, and I mention this
here, it's to know that Jesus Christ is God. Thomas saw the
Lord one day and when he did, he fell at his feet and he proclaimed
this. He said, my Lord and my God. To know him is to acknowledge
him as who he is. And you know the Lord Jesus Christ
didn't correct him when he called him God, did he? Because he is. He's king of kings and he is
Lord of lords. Romans 1, turn there with me
to Romans chapter 1. Romans 1, look at verse 3. Concerning his son, Jesus Christ
our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh and declared to be who? The Son of God with power according
to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. To know Him is to know Him as
God. Jesus Christ is God. Second, it's to acknowledge Him,
to know Him as the Savior. I want to know Him as not just
the Savior, I want to know Him as my Savior. In Isaiah 43, 11,
we read, I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me, apart from me,
there is no Savior. There is no other Savior for
sinners apart from, except for the Lord Jesus Christ. One. Only one. We sing that hymn. The blessed,
blessed Jesus, He is the one. Listen to the words from Acts
4, these words. Neither is there salvation in
any other There's no other name under heaven given among men
whereby we must be saved." Listen, our conversation is heaven, is
in heaven. From whence also we look for
the Savior. What's his name? The Lord Jesus
Christ. All we are, all we have, all
we hope to be, is in the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. Third, to know Him. To know Him. It's to know Him
as He is declared in Scripture, in all of His offices. Listen,
God's Word declares that the Lord Jesus Christ is prophet,
priest, and king. In Acts 3.20, He shall send Jesus Christ, which is preached
before you from heaven until the time of the restitution of
all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets
since the world began before... Because Moses said this, Moses
said this to the fathers, a prophet But what a prophet shall the
Lord your God raise unto you of your brethren. He's going
to raise up a prophet like unto me. Him, Him shall ye hear in
all things, whatsoever He saith unto you. And it shall come to
pass that every soul which shall not hear that prophet, what's
going to happen? they're gonna be destroyed from
among the people. He is that prophet. He is the prophet. He's the great
high priest. As the high priest, he must be
suitable, listen, for the men for whom he stood, and also he
must be accepted of God. Every high priest, this is what
God's Word said, every high priest is taken from among men and ordained
for men in things pertaining to God. And there's only one that can
do that. The high priest of old, those
old high priests, listen, they offered sacrifice after sacrifice
after sacrifice which could never, never take away sin. Scripture
says, but this man, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, our
great high priest, this man, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sin, sat down, having obtained eternal redemption for us. He's prophet, he's priest, and
listen, he's king. God's word says he's king of
kings, he's lord of lords, and as such he reigns over all, and
all will bow to him. Fourth, to know him. To know him is to have fellowship
with him. Years ago, me and Isaac traveled
to California I traveled out there to preach to a congregation.
And when we got off the plane, we passed, I'm convinced, thousands
of people. I didn't know one of them, not
one. And we walked out to catch our
ride. And there were cars, there were
taxis, There were limousines, there were buses and vans, just
all kinds of activity. And suddenly, I saw someone I
knew. I'd never met him in person, and yet I knew them. That fellow's
name was Cass. Cass, and all I knew about him
was something a preacher, Don Fortner, had told me. He had
told me about him. And out of all those people that
I did not know, I saw one that I did know. One I immediately considered
a friend. I knew him and he knew me. And I believe when I saw him,
I'm pretty sure I smiled. I know that person. And when
he got close enough to recognize me and Isaac, he smiled. And we rode back to his house
and we talked and we communicated like we had known each other
our entire life. We had fellowship. How is that? There were thousands of other
people there. I didn't have fellowship with them. How is it that this
one person I had fellowship with, we had fellowship with, Well,
we knew each other and we had something in common. We both
knew Christ. We both knew Him. You know, there's
a difference. There's a huge difference about
knowing about someone and knowing someone. There's
a great difference in knowing about a man named Jesus. and knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. A lot of smart people out there
that can recite all kind of facts and things about the Bible. But it's a far different thing
knowing about and actually knowing Him. In 1 John 1, 3, we read,
that which we have seen, that which we've seen and heard, we
declare unto you that you might also have what? Fellowship with
us. And truly, truly, our fellowship
is with the Father. and with his son, Jesus Christ. Fellowship with him, united,
united to God in him. It's by him that we have acceptance,
that we have communion, that we have fellowship, that our
joy might be complete, that we might have perfect happiness,
that we might have eternal life Now quickly, turn with me back
to Proverbs 3. Proverbs 3, look at verse 5 and
6. Trust in the Lord with all thy
heart, lean not unto thy own understanding, in all thy ways
acknowledge him, know him, and he shall direct thy paths. Trust him. Not yourselves, not
this flesh, but Him. Look to Him. Look to the Lord
Jesus Christ and He shall direct your path. And that leads me
to the fifth point. Listen, to know Him, to acknowledge
Him, is to trust Him. To trust Him and Him alone. What do we read? He shall direct
thy path. How often do we not know the
way to go? How often do we think we know
the way to go and yet we don't? Scripture says, He shall direct
your path. In Hebrews 8, let me close with
this passage from verse 11. Hebrews 8 verse 11. It says, By faith Abraham,
when he was called to go out to a place which afterward he
should receive as an inheritance. What did he do? He obeyed. He obeyed and he went out not
knowing whether he was going." God's call of grace came to Abraham
down in Ur of the Chaldees. It was a land of idolatry. What said of Abraham? Abraham
believed God. Abraham believed God and he journeyed
to a land that he had not seen. God often leads his people in
ways only known to him. It's not always known unto us. And yet faith follows. Faith, trust in the Lord. We may not know where. We may not know how. We may not
know why. And that is often the case. But praise God, we do know this.
We know who, huh? What's scripture say? I know
whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able. He's able. I'm not able. I don't know anyone who is able,
but I know he is able. What's a sinner to do? Trust
him. Trust him. Trust in the Lord
with all thy heart, and lean not unto thy own understanding. In all thy ways, what am I to
do? Acknowledge Him, know Him, rest
in Him, and He shall direct your path. I pray the Lord would bless
his word and I pray that he would enable us in all things to look
to him, to rest in him, to trust him and him alone. All right.