Following God’s Lead

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Wow…it’s that time again where we get to look at Scripture and see what God has for us this morning. You know as I was working through things this week, I ended up expanding what we are going to talk about today. You can go ahead and open your Bibles to Proverbs 3 just so you have that ready.

However, before we get into Proverbs we need to review our memory verse together, right? Ok, so I hope you are all ready to look over

Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Very good…we are getting closer and closer to the end of our series here, but we aren’t going to be at the end of our mission until that time that God sees fit to send Jesus back in glory to bring us up to be with him. Until then…this is Jesus final mission to us as disciples of Jesus, so we better be about his work, amen?

Now this morning we are going to be talking about some things that probably most of us know…at least intellectually. But i want to challenge you to go beyond intellectually knowledge into real and lived knowledge. Something I’ve shared with some of you from time to time is sometimes we need to move our knowledge 18” from our head into our heart. There are many people who will die and go to hell for 18”…they know of God, but they have never moved towards God with their hearts…don’t let that be you. Just like that though…there are many people who will live a miserable Christian life for 18”…You know what the Bible says, but you aren’t truly living it out daily…and listen, I’m talking to myself today as much as anyone else because as I was writing this message there was a pretty big financial weight that was hanging over my head, and not a single thing that I could do to ease that weight…and I know each and every one of us in this room has been in that exact same situation where there’s nothing we can do ourselves…Well that’s ok because that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Today we’re going to talk about how to move from knowing things, to believing, trusting, and acting on the things that we know to be true, and then how that impacts our ability to move according to God’s mission for you and your family, and God’s mission for LRBC.

So…this morning we are going to work through a bit further than the simply 3:5-6…This morning we are going to actually seek to understand so that we can make those decisions to trust, and then actually trust…not just with the big stuff, like salvation…but with the small stuff like you’re every day circumstances…

So, let’s start off by seeing what it looks like to

Submit to the Word:

Now, just right off the bat this seems like a pretty run of the mill phrase that we always say around her. I mean I am always talking about reading the Bible for yourself for a reason. That reason is that I want you to know what Scripture says for yourself…and not what someone else has to say about it. However, what we are about to see, goes a little further than a simply reading of Scripture. Go ahead and turn over to

Proverbs 3:1–4 (ESV)

My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

What does it mean here to not forget this teaching, and to let your heart keep these commandments of the Lord? Well…let’s take a look at that together this morning. A few moments ago I spoke of a difference between 18”. That is the difference between your head and your heart. That is the difference between knowing and believing, or knowing and living. The author of Proverbs here wants you, the believer, to both know and believe…to know and live out the things that are true in Scripture. This is where wisdom comes from.

More than that…God’s Law is meant to live inside of the believer. …not just in words, but in actions. That is what is meant by binding them around your neck, and writing them on your heart. This steadfast love and faithfulness is the same steadfast love and faithfulness that carried Israel away from Egypt. This is God’s covenant faithfulness. This is a call for you to live faithfully with what you know. This is a call to bring what you know, into your heart and live it out.

When we adopt God’s divine commands as our guide, that is when we will find peace and wisdom in our decision making, not just individually…but also as a church.

Of course we need to do more that adopt those commands. You have to make the choice to…

Trust in True Wisdom:

When you rely on God’s wisdom instead of your own, you experience God’s faithfulness in a new way. Don’t take my word on that though…let’s see what Scripture says

Proverbs 3:5–6 (ESV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

You see when you finally decide to stop trusting yourself in the midst of your struggles, you will be able to see God work in way that you could not even imagine.

Let me say that in another way, When you move your trust from your head to your heart, God will do more than you can imagine. Listen, and let me be clear, this does not mean he will take away your struggle…but he will handle it for you. I could tell you story after story in my own life, but I won’t…I’ll just tell you this.

I told you earlier about while I was writing this sermon there was a hefty financial decision that was weighing on me very heavily. However, as I was praying through this sermon, I was convicted that I had been trying to deal with this situation on my own and in my own strength. So…I stopped and turned to God and confessed my sin of self reliance and laid out this situation to God and asked him to do with it whatever he wanted to. You see, I decided that it would be better to not trust in my own understandings, but to trust in the Lord with all of my heart.

Maybe you are here this morning and you have been trying to make something work on your own understandings…you have tried and tried, and nothing seems to work for you. Let me encourage you to simply turn to God and confess your sin of self reliance and lay out whatever this situation is before God’s feet and simply trust him. This is where the knowing in the head, needs to move to the knowing in the heart.

So as a church, let’s rely on God to make our paths straight. Proverbs tells us a little more about this concept though. Actually, the author gives us a warning and I think we would be wise to pay attention to that warning. Let’s look at what it means to have

Fear and Flourish:

This might seem odd to consider the idea of fear in the midst of a passage about trusting the Lord. However, we are going to redefine fear this morning. Before we do that, let’s take a look at our next section of Scripture.

Proverbs 3:7–8 (ESV)

Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

We do have a bit of a warning here and we are talking about fear…but we aren’t talking about this is the same way the our modern culture might express a warning or fear. You see, today if you think of fear you will think that something awful is coming…you know, the way I fear vegetables. This is deeper than that though. This is a warning against self-reliance…and fear of the Lord. But what does that mean?

Well, first of all we see a warning against self reliance. This is a warning against the false belief that you can do anything for yourself. You are nothing more than a helpless child in a vast universe that we live in. There is nothing you can do to to gain your own salvation…You can’t even make your own life work the way you want it to. There’s something else missing whenever you try, and things just don’t seem to line up and work out…That’s because you can’t do it, and one day you’re going to learn that.

Then we see a need to fear the Lord. But what does it mean to fear the Lord? It doesn’t mean that you are scared of the Lord. No, it means that you have a healthy respect for the Lord and for who he is. You see, you are really nothing next to the Lord. You are no more than a speck in a vast universe that the Lord created with his own voice and his own hands. You are also the one he sent his son to die for though. You and I need to have a reverent awe, respect, and submission to God. More specifically, it involves acknowledging God's sovereignty and moral governance, being open to His guidance, and trusting in His ways

These verses here are such a beautiful picture. Turning away from evil and worshiping the Lord is the essence of repentance. When we actively embrace repentance we are able to experience the continual healing and strength of the Lord. When we do this as a church, we are able to put away self-sufficiency, and trust in God’s sovereign will.

God’s will is sovereign over more than our activities though which is why we always remember to…

Honor with Resources

This next section is so powerful, and it’s something we talk about around here all the time. It’s always good to be reminded of these same truths.

Proverbs 3:9–10 (ESV)

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Honor the Lord with your wealth and your firstfruits…Listen, I know there are some here today, or maybe joining us online that are struggling to trust the Lord with your finances because your finances are not strong. I heard something the other night that I think is really interesting, and it really fits here. This is from a comedian named Michael Jr.

The way you do anything, is the way you do everything. -Michael Jr.

Now, let’s apply that to this scenario. I struggle to trust the Lord with my finances because I’m not sure if i have enough…Well, friend…finances aren’t your problem. Your problem is that you don’t trust the Lord. Apply this to your job…I struggle to trust the Lord with my job because I can’t loose this job. How about your marriage…I struggle to trust the Lord in my marriage because things are in such a precarious balance right now…My friend. the way you do anything is the way you do everything. If you don’t trust God in your resources…you just don’t trust God.

When we trust the Lord with our resources, he will 100% make sure you have what you need, and more. You might have to redefine the word need in your home, and you may have to look past your bank account for those provisions…but you will have what you need. I promise you that. So, make today the day that you begin to trust the Lord with your resources. Whatever that means in your situation…trust the Lord with your resources.

As a church I can tell you that we pray over the budget and there are a group of faithful beleivers that are weekly praying that God will continue to supply the resources that we need as a church in order to minister in the way God is leading. Then we acknowledge that we can’t do it without the Lord and we chose to trust him with everything…that is the prayer every single one of us would do well to remember as we are lifting up our own situations when we are praying.

Now…this last part is gonna be a little hard to tell you the truth. I say that not because the words are hard, but because the idea is hard for us to realize sometimes. You see…we need to…

Embrace His Discipline

I know this is not a popular topic that we like to think about is it. But what kind of God would we serve if he did not discipline us when we needed it? Let’s go ahead and see what our final section tells us this morning.

Proverbs 3:11–12 (ESV)

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Men did you just see that? Did you see what Solomon just wrote there? We were told not to despise the Lord’s discipline. I know I’m not the only one who’s ever despised the Lord’s discipline am I? I mean, it’s not in our makeup to appreciate being disciplined right? Think about last time you got called into the office at work to get written up…you were defensive weren’t you. “it’s not my fault, the other guy, the machine, the clock, my kids…”think back to Adam, “it was Eve…the woman you gave me” uh oh. Listen, whatever the excuse you used, you were defensive. Don’t get mad, I only know that becuase I struggle here to, ok.

However, we are told not to despise this discipline because it means that the Lord loves us. This is really powerful because it means that if the Lord has been convicting you lately about the fact that you have not been trusting him, that shows you how much he loves you. Now it’s time to start trusting again.

Now, when we accept God’s discipline, which is more than simple conviction, we are able to see the Lords correction and care. we experience the Lord concern over our life and our decisions that we’ve been making. This is the Lord correcting you so that you are able to more accurately reflect him to your kids, to your spouse, to your coworkers, or whoever you’re interacting with daily. Accept the challenges God places in front of you as an opportunity to trust the Lord again, both individually and as a church.

Earlier I told you there was a financial weight that was heavy on me. Well, remember I told you that as I was working on this sermon I was convicted…well, that was God working in my heart to show me that I wasn’t trusting him in this situation…I had been trying to make it work myself for the past year or so. Well, God gave me a little talking to and disciplined me a bit and brought me into right relationship with him and this situation. You know what happened next…I got an email saying that it was covered and I didn’t need to worry about this anymore. I mean, God does not always work that fast, but when he does…wow!

Closing

What about you? What is it that you are struggling to actually trust God with? I know we kind of hit alot today, so let me bring some things into focus for you this morning. What we just read shows us where real wisdom comes from…it comes from tru reliance on God and his commands. When we apply God’s commands into our heart and making them a part of who we are, not just what we know, that leads to fruitful living and growth as a believer.

Then we can take that as a church. This year the Purpose Discovery Team is working hard to answer some questions…the same things are true. If we individually trust the lord with his church then we can trust that God’s sovereign will is being accomplished in the life of LRBC. When we commit our ways to the Lord, both individually and corporately, and trust Him with all our heart, He has promised to guide our steps as a church into His plans.

Here’s what I want to do this morning. I want to ask every single person here this morning, or every single person listening to accept a challenge with me today. Here’s the challenge: Trust God over personal preferences. (on screen) That’s not all…Pray for the leadership of LRBC. Then participate in discussions, attend some of the Purpose meetings if you would like to and see what is going on. They will be in the bulletin from now on so you always know where it will be. Seeking God’s direction as a church is the most important thing we can do…and we have to do that together as a body.

Let’s Pray: pray for clarity as we continue to seek God’s will as a church and individually.

Guided by Faith: Trusting God's Leading Together

How this passage could point to Christ: In the context of the Bible, Christ is the ultimate embodiment of wisdom and the way we should trust God's leading. Through Him, we learn what it means to follow God's will faithfully, even amidst uncertainty.