in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs
chapter 3 if you'd like to turn there. We looked at the first part of
these verses last week and we spent most of our time on the
first few words, trust in the Lord, trust in the Lord and the
title was who do you trust in or do you trust the Lord. Tonight
I want to go through both of these verses again, Proverbs
3, 5, and 6. Now there may be some duplicate
statements that I make, I don't know, but that'll be okay if
it is. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, let's read this together. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart, and lean not into thine own understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. The only way to not lean on self,
the only way to not look for understanding in what is seen
naturally, to not lean on self, to not lean on what you see naturally,
is to be born again. It's to be born again. Nicodemus
said, well, how can a man, when he is old, enter into his mother's
womb a second time and be born? The Lord said, that which is
of the flesh is flesh, that which is of the spirit is spirit. Marple
not that I say unto you, you must be born again. Didn't make
sense. Nicodemus couldn't see that,
could he? And that's what I'm talking about. The only way that
we won't lean on ourself, we won't lean on our understanding,
and that word lean means to trust. The only way that we won't trust
in ourself is to be born again, to be given faith to believe
the Lord. The natural man cannot be taught
spiritual things. Natural man can't be taught spiritual
things. You can teach a man doctrine.
You can teach a man religion. There's a lot of that, isn't
there? You can teach a man law. Teach a man morality. But you
can't teach a man the things of God. They're spiritually discerned. Spiritually discerned. No amount
of learning, no amount of self-doing can cause anyone to discern spiritual
things. You must be born again. We must
be taught of God. He says, trust in the Lord, trust
in Jehovah, the self-existing one, the supreme Lord and savior
of his people. Trust in the Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end, the one that was and is and is to
come, the one that had no beginning of days nor end of life, trust
him. That's the only way that we're gonna be born again is
if he does the work himself completely, completely. Being born again
is a work of grace, isn't it? By grace are you saved through
faith. He must birth you and I by the
word of his will. by his choice, by his power alone. James 118 says, of his own will
begat he us with the word of truth. Of his own will begat
he us with the word of truth. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart. Lean not to thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your path. Lean not means not to trust in
self. Trust not in self. Boy, that's
hard to do, isn't it? It's impossible to do. The Lord's
has to be the one that causes us not to trust ourselves. Lean not, trust not in your ways,
not in your understanding. He says, in all thy ways. That
word means journeying. The journey that you're on right
now, in all of your ways, everything that you're doing is a journey,
and we hope that Christ is the destination. Paul says, I press
toward the mark of the high calling. That's the finish line. He is
the prize for his people. But we're in a journey, aren't
we? We're in a wilderness. We're in a desert. We're thirsty
on this journey. He said, don't trust your ways
on the journey. No, in all your ways, acknowledge
me. Acknowledge me, that word acknowledge
means to know, to be acquainted with. Are you acquainted with
the Lord Jesus Christ? Oh, I want to be, don't you?
I want to be acquainted with him. I want to know him in the
power of his resurrection. I want to know how he saved sinners. I want to know that I'm saved.
I want to know him and what he has done for his people. In all
thy ways acknowledge, in all thy ways know, know that it's
him. Know that it's the Lord. That's
capital L. O. R. D. That's Jehovah. That
literally translates the self existing one. He shall direct your path that
were direct means he's gonna make it straight. He's gonna
make it right. He's gonna be just be lawful. We can say with David, Psalm
23, he restoreth my soul. He leadeth me. He leadeth me
in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. God does that. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart. Lean not to thine own understanding and all thy ways
acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path. makes the path straight. He's
the only one that can make crooked things straight. He's the only
one that can make broke things whole. He's the only one that
can make something actually disappear. And he's the only one that can
speak something into existence. This is the Lord that does these
things. And it's marvelous in our eyes, isn't it? God does
this for his people. Now on this journey that we're
on, we must be reminded, we must be reminded of the glorious hope
that is found in the Lord. And how many, times do we get
sidetracked or get distracted with life and the world around
us, our own troubles and trials? How many times does that happen
in a day? We forget to think about the
glorious truth of the Lord, the glorious, his glorious gospels.
You know, we have more reason to celebrate, to be excited,
to hope. than any other generation of
believers, anybody that's ever been. Why? Because salvation's
nearer than when we first believe. The Lord said, I'm gonna come
back. And we look with that anticipation unto the Lord. We trust in the
Lord that he's going to return. I have this in my notes a little
bit later on, but everything that the Lord has given to us,
We get frustrated, overwhelmed, we get discouraged, but think
about everything that the Lord has given to you, not just in
a physical sense, but he freely offered up his son on the cross
of Calvary. He laid down his life for his people. He poured
out his soul unto death for his people. And if he spared not
his own son, what is he going to withhold from you and I? He's
prepared a place for us already, a place, and I might end up preaching
a message on this sometime, I don't know, but things that are not
found in heaven. There's no sun, there's no moon,
there's no shadows, because there's no darkness. There's no sin.
He's the light thereof. He's the light. He's our hope. And in this dark world that we
live in, this dark time that it would seem that we're living
in, everything's right on time. Everything according to his purpose
is, that clock keeps ticking just as God's purposed it to
tick. Even though it's darkness all around us, we still have
his light. He said, I'll never leave you
nor forsake you. Don't lean to your understanding and thinking,
I gotta figure this out, I gotta figure this out. Throw your hands
up and say, Lord, save me. Lord, save me. Save me from myself,
save me from my circumstance, save me from my sin. We must be put on the straight
path and were kept there by his power alone. I remember in false
religion, men would testify and they say, oh, I used to be on
the crooked road. Now I'm on the straight and narrow. I'm
heading in the right direction now. And I'm thinking, no, you're
not. They're talking about what they've done and what they're
not doing and what they are doing. And it's all about what you can
see. Don't trust in what you can see. Don't lean to your understanding.
No, that's not trusting in the Lord. It's one or the other,
isn't it? We heard that last Wednesday, and I don't wanna
mention that too much, but that's it. It comes down to the two.
Are you trusting yourself, or are you trusting the Lord? Am
I trusting myself, or am I trusting the Lord? And the problem is,
is the flesh hate, doesn't want to trust the Lord. Thank God
the elder shall serve the younger. The elder shall serve the younger.
No, it's him that keeps us. We have more reason to rejoice
than any other generation of believers. His return's at hand. He said, I'll never leave you. I'll
never forsake you. Do you believe that? Do you trust
that? Can you say he hasn't left you
to yourself yet? What grace there is in that?
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life. Several of us have had conversations since I've been
your pastor, and we have communication of where the Lord brought us
out of. Me and Joe were talking just
recently about, hadn't been for the women the Lord brought into
our lives, it's hard telling where we'll even be alive. What
grace the Lord has done in so many ways that we can't even
imagine. We can't fathom. His ways are
above our ways. Just for us to have this building
together, just for us to meet together, to have peace in our
congregation, love in our hearts, one towards another. He did that.
That's not of us. We didn't conjure that up. He did that. He says this, I
will bring the blind by a way they never knew. I will lead
them in paths that they have not known. I will make darkness
light before them and crooked things straight. These things
will I do unto them and not forsake them. He said, I will do this. I will bring, I will lead, I
will make. These things will I do unto you, my people, and
not forsake you, not forsake you. That's what prompted Peter
to say, 1 Peter 5, casting all your care upon him, for he careth
for you. Casting all your care upon him.
That also translates anxiety. We have a lot of anxiety, don't
we, sometimes? Cast all your anxiety upon him, for he careth
for you. He's touched with the feeling
of your infirmities. He felt the fears that you have. He owned every bit of the unbelief. He experienced it on the cross
for his people and put it all away. Put it all away. The Lord knoweth them that are
his and provided everything for them before time. He didn't leave
anything to chance, did he? There's no such thing as chance,
are there? You can do probability and you can do statistics, I
suppose, but chance, there's no such thing as chance. He didn't
leave anything to chance, certainly. Left nothing incomplete. He left
nothing that was not perfectly ordered and sure. Everything
that he did is finished. We've heard the declaration so
many times, it is finished. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart. Lean not to thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path.
In all thy ways, all the journey, All the journey long, trust the
Lord. All the journey long, lean not to your own understanding.
All the journey long, brethren, trust in the Lord. In all thy
ways, look to him, look to him. Look to Christ to order and provide.
You know, he promised he would and he can't lie. He said, ask
and you shall receive. God said that. Seek and you shall
find. What is it that the believer
asks for and seeks for? What is he knocking for? Give
me Christ. Give me the Lord Jesus Christ.
Give me a covering. Give me the surety, the lamb. Give me the blood lest I die. Show me that it's finished. One
more time. You know what he says? He'll
direct your path. He'll make that crooked straight.
He'll make that crooked thing straight. He'll straighten out
the path. He's broken down the middle wall of partition for
his people by his own blood, endured the torments of hell
for his elect. He satisfied the wrath of God
and judgment on the cross of Calvary. All for his love for
his people. Son's love towards his father.
What do you think he's gonna keep withheld from us if we needed
it? His soul was poured out unto
death. What's he going to withhold from you and I? He that spared
not his own son to redeem you. Lean not to your own understanding.
Lean to his understanding, that Christ is our wisdom. We don't
have understanding, do we? Not enough ourself. Christ is
our wisdom. He promised to only withhold
that which would harm us. What will his purpose Ask yourself
this, what will his purpose cause you to go through as his people?
What will his purpose cause you to go through as his people that
is not for your good and his glory? We have to say nothing. It'll all be for my good and
his glory. Is it gonna hurt? Yes. Is it
gonna be frustrating sometimes? Maybe. Are we gonna get overwhelmed
about it? Probably. but it's for your good
and for his glory. And the scripture says that he
makes the vessel the finer. What does that mean? He's removing
that dross of unbelief in us is what he's doing and he's causing
us to look to Christ. That's what the fire does, doesn't
it? Makes us look to him again. You know how they take silver
and they have to melt it down and they take, it's what removes
the dross, the fire does. And that's the only way to purify
the vessel. Well, you and I have already been sanctified in Christ.
So what does that mean now? Well, that unbelief that we still
wrestle with, he causes us to draw the confession. Lord, save
me. Lord, save me. Lord, give me Christ again. Shall the judge of the earth
not do right? Believe him. Look to him. Trust him. Acknowledge him. Philippians
4.7 says, in the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. So as he's
saying, because I acknowledge him, I'll obligate him to direct
my path. Because that could be said here,
if we read it, it says, in all thy ways acknowledge him and
he shall direct your path. So as long as I acknowledge him in
all my ways, first of all, we can't acknowledge him in all
our ways, can we? Not really. Not another flesh. So we're obligating him to direct
our path if we acknowledge him. We're obligating him to give
us peace. No brethren, if you find yourself acknowledging him,
if you find yourself looking to him, it's because he already
has directed your path. He's already made the crooked
thing straight. He's already, we're the crooked thing. That's
it, isn't it? He's already straightened it out. Shows us, not unto us,
O Lord, unto thy name be glory and honor and praise. No, we acknowledge Him because
He has caused us to see Him. Looking to Him is where His people
have rest, where His people have peace. We don't try to do something
in order to have peace. Looking to him is the peace.
He is the Prince of Peace. It's the peace that passes all
understanding. We don't need any information
after that. We rest. It passes our need to know, our
need to understand. It shuts up all the questions.
You heard me say this recently. I had a lot of questions whenever
I first heard the gospel and I was asking a pastor. What does this mean? What does
that mean? He said, come and listen, come and listen. And the longer
I listened, the less questions I got. About a year or two went
by and he actually approached me at a conference and he said,
do you ever get those questions answered? I said, yeah, I did.
He said, what was the answer? Christ is all. It was that simple
for every single one of them. That's what it came down to,
Christ is all. And his peace passes understanding. Whatever
he says, truth, Lord. Truth, Lord. If we find ourself
looking to him, acknowledging him, it's because he has already
given us his peace. He's already put, straightened
us out, if you will. Only the Lord's people that are,
only the Lord's born again believers have His peace. Only the Lord's
people trust in Him. It's all His doing, isn't it?
His peace passes all the need to understand. His faith bestowed
just believes Him. It takes us out of the equation.
The Lord ain't saying, well, you better do this or I'm not
gonna do this. No, He says, you're gonna do this because I've done
this. I love that about our Lord. I'm gonna say to you, believe,
and you're gonna believe. I'm gonna make you believe. Trust
in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not to thine own understanding.
It's hard to do. It's temptation every day. Lean
to my own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him
and he shall direct thy path. Are you trusting in your power?
Are you trusting in his? Trusting in your power or trusting
in his? There is a way that seemeth right unto men, but the end thereof
is the ways of death. Are you trusting in yourself? Are you trusting in him? Are
you leaning to your own understanding, or are you looking to Christ
as all your wisdom before God? Are you looking for self-righteousness
in yourself, or are you looking to Christ as all your righteousness
before the throne of God, all your justification? Are you trusting Him in this
dark world we live in as your only source of light? Have no
light in us, not unless He's in us. Although there are shadows and
darkness all around, He's prepared a place for His people where
there's no shadows, there's no darkness anymore, there's no
sin. You know what that takes away? There's no sin, that means
there's no pain, there's no sorrow, there's no sadness, there's no
death, there's no hurting, there's no hunger. Lord's people are
given all that in glory when they awaken His likeness. What
about food and water? He's the bread and water, isn't
He? Everything needed he provided for his people. Even right now, he's the light
for his people. In Exodus 13, it says, and the Lord went before
them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way. And by
night in a pillar of fire to give them light to go by day
and night, he took not away the pillar of cloud by day nor the
pillar of fire by night from before the people. That's exactly
how it is today. He leads his people. Leads his
people in the paths of righteousness. Why? For his name's sake. He directs the path of his people,
the steps of the righteous man, the scripture said, are ordered
by the Lord. In closing, I want to turn to Psalm 139. If you are believing on the Lord
Jesus Christ, if you are trusting in Him, you have nothing to fear.
Not hell, not death, not life, not eternity. Psalm 139, O Lord,
thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting
and my up-rising. Thou understandest my thoughts
afar off. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is
not a word in my tongue, but thou, O Lord, but lo, O Lord,
thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and
before. That's that pillar of fire, isn't
it? The cloud by day and the pillar by night. Thou has set
me behind and before and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge
is too wonderful for me. It is high, I cannot attain to
it. Whether shall I go from thy spirit, or whether shall I flee
from thy presence, if I ascend up into heaven, thou art there.
If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the
wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the
sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall
hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, even
the night shall be light about me. This is what he's done for
his people. Yea, the darkness hideth not
from thee, But the night shineth as the day, the darkness and
the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins,
thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee, for
I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are thy works,
and that my soul knoweth right well. Brethren, if you're believing
in the Lord, he's given you faith to believe him. You have nothing
to fear whatsoever. You can't get out of his sight. You can't escape him. You can't
mess it up, no matter what you do. You can't mess up salvation. No, it's finished. Everything
about it's finished. We can't add to or take away
from it. If we're his, no matter where we go, no matter what we
do, we will always be his because he bought us. He redeemed us. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart. Lean not to that on understanding
in all thy ways. Acknowledge him and he shall
direct that path. Let's pray. Father, cause us ever to trust
you more. Cause us to not look unto ourself,
but to look unto your precious son. In Christ's name, amen. In closing, let's turn