Reading: Proverbs chapter 3 verses 1-6.
• A primary rule in Bible study is to always determine the context:
• So scan with me quickly over the surrounding chapters:
• Chapter 1 verse 8 “Listen, my son, your father's instruction...”
• Chapter 1 verse 10: “My son”.
• Chapter 1 verse 15: “My son”.
• Chapter 2 verse 1: “My son”.
• Chapter 3 verse 1: “My son”.
• Chapter 3 verse 11: “My son”.
• Chapter 3 verse 21: “My son”.
• The context is Solomon (the wisest man whoever lived):
• Is giving some wise 'fatherly advice' to his son in this section of his book.
Ill:
• A Father and his small son were out walking one day;
• When the lad asked him a question.
• “Dad, how does electricity could go through the wires stretched between the telephone poles.
• “I don’t know,” said his father. “I never knew much about electricity.”
• A few roads farther on, the boy asked what caused lightning and thunder.
• “That too has puzzled me,” came the reply.
• The youngster continued to inquire about many things,
• None of which the father could explain.
• Finally, as they were nearing home, the boy said,
• “Dad, I hope you didn’t mind all those questions.”
• “Not at all,” replied his father.
• “If you don’t ask, how else are you going to learn!”
The context is Solomon (a father with something to say):
• Giving some wise 'fatherly advice' to his son.
• These first seven chapters of he book of Proverbs.
• Are intensely potent and practical.
• They contain vital information on how to live a stable, wise, well-balanced life.
Observation
• Before we break down these verses into smaller parts;
• There are three initial observations to note:
(1). There are four verbs in these two verses.
• Verbs are action words;
• And therefore of special interest to all who want to live an active spiritual life.
• “Trust” (verse 5).
• “Lean” (verse 5).
• “Acknowledge” (verse 6).
• “Make straight” (verse 6).
Notice:
• That three of these terms are imperatives;
• In other words, they are commands, not just suggestions.
• They are directed to the child of God (therefore to us as Christians).
• They are our responsibility: “Trust . . . do not lean ... acknowledge ...”
The last term is a simple declaration of a promise.
• It declares God's part in the verse.
• It states His responsibility: “He will make your paths straight”.
Notice: How they fit together:
MY PART
• “Trust in the Lord” (verse 5).
• “Don’t lean on your on your own understanding” (verse 5).
• “Acknowledge him in all your ways” (verse 6).
GOD'S PART
• N.I.V: “He will make your paths straight”
• N.L.B: “And he will show you which path to take.”
Notice: that another repetitive phrase is used in these verses:
• The same term is mentioned four times.
• It is the term “Your”.
• “Your heart” (verse 5).
• “Your understanding” (verse 5).
• “Your ways” (verse 6).
• “Your paths” (verse 6).
• It is your responsibility in a given situation is to “Trust with all your heart”.
• It is your responsibility is to refuse to “Lean on your own understanding”
• God’s part is (N.I.V): “He will make your paths straight”
• God’s part is (N.L.B): “And he will show you which path to take.”
Analyse the terms used:
(1). Trust.
Ill:
During the nineteenth century,
• John Paton was sent as a missionary to the New Hebrides,
• An island group in the Western Pacific under joint British and French administration.
• Since the people had no Bible in their language,
• Paton began to translate Scripture.
• During the course of his work,
• He discovered there was no national equivalent for the word "believe".
• A solution presented itself one day when a local worker came into his office,
• Worn out from a hard day's physical labour.
• The man flung himself on a chair.
• Then he stretched out and rested his legs on another chair.
• Lying full length on two chairs, the man told Paton;
• It felt good to "lean his whole weight" on those chairs.
• Instantly, Paton noted the term the man used for "lean his whole weight on".
• He knew he had discovered the right term for the English word "believe".
• To “Trust in the Lord” means exactly that;
• “To lean our whole weight upon Him.”
Ill:
• Another example would be like when you go to bed tonight,
• You lie down trusting that the bed will fully support your weight.
• My kids will run and jump on the bed using it as a trampoline,
• Me I just collapse into bed at night,
• Whatever your routine or preference;
• You don’t give it a second thought.
• You don’t keep one foot on the floor so that you can get up if the bed won’t support you.
• You simply ‘Trust’, you simply put all of your weight on the bed.
• The word translated from the Hebrew as ‘Trust’;
• Simply means “To put all of your weight”.
• To “Trust in the Lord” means exactly that;
• “To lean our whole weight upon Him.”
• We are commanded by the Lord to cast ourselves completely,
• Fully, absolutely on Him-and Him only!
(2). Lord.
• The Hebrew word translated in our English Bibles as “LORD”.
• Notice it is capitol letters to distinguish it: “L-O-R-D”
• Is the most intimate and sacred name for God in all the Bible.
• To this day Orthodox Jews will not even pronounce it.
• In Hebrew the name is a tetagrammaton (tet-a-gramm-a-ton) just four letters “YHWH”.
• Because that title is unpronounceable
• The English translators of the Bible tried to make that name pronounceable.
• They added vowels to make the name “YAHWE”.
• Other translators added vowels and used the letter ‘J’ instead of ‘Y’.
• And spelled out the word ‘Jehovah’.
• Most editions of the English Bible;
• Simply spell this name in capitol letters and translate it as ‘LORD’:
• The importance of the title is what it represents;
• Not necessary how you pronounce it:
Ill:
• Grandad,
• Grampy,
• Grams,
• Pop.
• The important thing is not the pronunciation of the name;
• But the relationship it points to!
This name ‘LORD’ describes God’s nature, his character:
• "Jehovah": Self exist ant one.
• Absolutely unique in the universe!
ill:
• Complete opposite of humans who depend on so much:
• Depends on sun & rain.
• Depends on food and water.
• Depends on oxygen and so many other things.
• In contrast God is self-sufficient.
• He needs nor depends on no-one!
• We are to rely fully upon Him, finding our safety and security in Him.
• Because He, unlike everything else in our world is 100% dependable.
Ill:
• One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof.
• The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms,
• He shouted out to his son, “Jump! I’ll catch you.”
• He knew the boy had to jump to save his life.
• All the boy could see, however, was the flame, the smoke, and the blackness.
• As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof.
• His father kept yelling: “Jump! I will catch you.”
• But the boy protested, “Daddy, I can’t see you.”
• The father replied,
• “But son, I can see you and that’s all that matters.”
• Trust or faith is never blind;
• It is sourced, it is rooted in information.
• God has revealed himself in his word;
• And he has shown himself to be trustworthy!
(3). Heart.
Ill:
On September 4th, 2006 the Australian wildlife expert and television personality.
• Steve Irwin died,
• Steve Irwin was known around the world as the Crocodile Hunter.
• The world was stunned, not that he died,
• Because he faced tremendous dangers on a daily basis.
• But we were stunned at the way he died.
• He was killed by a Stingray.
• About the only way that a Stingray could kill you;
• Is to stab you directly in the heart with his barbed spine (which of course sadly happened).
• If we had to guess before-hand how he would be injured or die:
• We would think it would be his leg, his hand, or maybe his head,
• But no-one would have guessed that it would be his heart!
• This word ‘heart’ does not refer to the bodily organ in the chest that pumps blood.
• It is used throughout the Old Testament to refer to our 'inner being',
• Ill: In the Hebrew it means the “kernel of the nut”.
Quote: Fan The Flame, J. Stowell,
• “Heart is used in Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person.
• It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide.
• It has been described as “the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity,”
• “the comprehensive term for a person as a whole;
• His feelings, desires, passions, thought, understanding and will,”
• And “the centre of a person. The place to which God turns.”
• So the word heart has reference to the centre of an object.
• In the Hebrew it means the “kernel of the nut”.
Ill:
• Today most of the health education is focused on keeping the physical heart healthy.
• Many people have their cholesterol checks.
• The reason why is because;
• More people die from a heart attack than any other killer.
The same is true spiritually.
• God always begins with the heart, then works outward.
• The heart comes first.
• "The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God;
• And the greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God."
Ill:
• Luciano Pavarotti was an Italian tenor in opera music;
• Before he became famous and before he embarked on his career as a singer,
• He was undecided as to which career to follow;
• Should he be a teacher or a professional singer?
• His father was a baker and one day he asked him for some advice;
• This is what he was told:
• “If you try to sit on two chairs you are bound to fall to the ground.
• Luciano you must choose one chair.”
• This obviously was wise counsel for his son,
• Who 14 years later became one of the most famous tenors in the world.
This what the Lord is saying to us:
• “Choose one chair.”
• In other words guard your heart and put me first!
(4). Understanding.
Ill:
• A Church Pastor received a call from another church;
• They offered him a salary four times what he was receiving.
• They offered him a company car, and the use of a house complete with swimming pool.
• Oh…….and the Church was based in the Bahamas!
• When one of his Church leaders heard that he had received such an offer;
• He straight away popped round to speak to the pastor
• He knocked on the door of the Pastors house and the Pastors son opened it;
• “Is your dad in”, asked the Church leader.
• The son replied, “Yes, but he is in the study praying for guidance!”
• “Well, is your mum in”, asked the Church leader.
• The son replied,
• “Yes, but she is upstairs, packing the suitcases!”
When it comes to important decisions:
• Do not merely rely on human understanding!
• We are not to turn first to our own limited point of view,
• Our own ideas or way of thinking,
• But rather we are to seek out God's wisdom.
Notice:
• The strong negative command:
• "…do not lean on your own understanding.'
Ill:
• If ever you have broken a leg or been on crutches:
• You will know that it is hard work to get around.
• And if you look at that persons hands they will normally be red and sore.
• Leaning on crutches was exhausting.
So too is leaning on our own understanding in the things of God!
• If you want to be spiritually exhausted:
• Try to work out your circumstances & way ahead by leaning on your human viewpoint.
• That is an excellent recipe for 'instant depression'.
• Furthermore, you will be mentally exhausted. Peace will flee from you.
• MAN SAYS: Why trust when you can worry?
• GOD SAYS: Why worry when you can trust?
(6) Acknowledge.
Ill:
• One day the great Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo
• Happened to overhear a group of people admiring his Pieta,
• A statue of Christ on His mother's knees after His death on the cross.
• One man attributed the work to another sculptor,
• Much to the chagrin of Michelangelo, who took particular pride in the Pieta.
• Returning to the sculpture after dark that evening,
• Michelangelo carved his name on it so that no similar mistake would occur in the future.
Acknowledge:
• This word means 'to recognise'.
• Rather than leaning on the manmade crutches of our own devices,
• We are exhorted to recognise God's presence and His will in our plight.
• By acknowledging Him we remind ourselves that we are not alone.
(7). Make straight.
iLL:
• Someone wrote:
• All I will ever need to know I learned from Noah.
1- Don’t miss the boat.
2- Remember that we are all in the same boat.
3- Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark .
4- Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old someone may ask you to do something really big.
5- Don’t listen to critics, just get on with the job that needs to be done.
6- Build your future on high ground.
7- Speed isn’t everything. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
8- When you’re stressed, float awhile.
9- Remember the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals.
10- No matter what the storm, when you are with God there’s always a rainbow waiting.
• Noah was a man of faith.
• Noah trusted God and the Lord made his paths straight!
Note:
• The Hebrew term means' 'to make smooth, straight, right'.
• It includes the idea of removing obstacles that are in the way.
• When the Lord is fully relied upon to handle a given situation,
• He will remove all the obstacles and smooth out our path thoroughly, not half-heartedly.
4 things to look out for:
Note:
• Do not rely on any one thing;
• 3 out of 4 or 4 out of 4.
(1). God’s word - The Bible.
• Reading the Bible is important;
• Not random, ‘lucky dip’ style readings.
• But regular systematic reading;
• e.g. Through a book or Q.T. notes.
• God may also confirm his word;
• Through the preachers who speak at your Church!
(2). God’s people - Other Christians.
• Be careful which ones you listen too!
• Ill: John Paton: “But you will be eaten by the cannibals”.
• Choose one or two mature Christians;
• Share with them and ask them to pray for you.
• Ill: William Wilberforce went to John Newton;
• Who wisely told him to stay in politics.
(3). Circumstances.
• Never just rely on circumstances;
• Ill: Jonah – found a ship heading for Tarshish.
• God puts people and situations in your pathway;
• When you are trusting in him!
(4). Conscience.
• I believe God gives us a peace when we are in his will;
• Ill: Philippians chapter 4 verse 6-7:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
“…and the peace of God which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”.
