How to Live the Good Life
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· 7 viewsThe good life is the God-centered life. If we listen to wisdom, we will have blessed and prosperous lives.
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Introduction:
Please open your Bibles to have title my message “How to Live the Good Life.” What would you say is a good life?
The ancient Greeks reflected on this question. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle all believed that the good life was the pursuit of virtue through philosophy.
Epicurus and his followers believed that the good life was the pursuit of pleasure. Do anything that maximizes pleasures and minimizes pain.
Eastern religions like Buddhism believes that the good life is a denial of pleasures and self-interest so one can attain nirvana, the state of enlightenment where one ceases from personal desires.
The modern American believes that the good life is the pursuit of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness which is taken from our declaration of Independence.
The modern secular person’s view of happiness is do whatever makes you happy as long as you are not hurting anyone and you are a good moral and upright person. With this vision of life, each person determines his own happiness.
You may think that a good life is having a good family. A wife that loves you and children who respect you. A good job to provide for your family.
You may think that a good life is having financial security. If you can live debt free, save lots of money, pay off a house and have a huge retirement account, you consider this a good life.
Others will say you need to do what you are passionate about and love. Follow your dreams. Work hard and you can achieve anything. This is the good life.
If the author of Proverbs were to give a commencement speech on how to have the good life, I wonder what wisdom would tell us.
If I were to ask you what is the good life and you fill in the blank? What would you say? I have the good life when.......spouse? bank account? debt free? better job? family? physically healthy? The problem with all these answers is that it leaves out God.
Well, what does the Bible say about a good life? The author of Proverbs gives us answers for how to live the good life. I want to argue this morning that the good life, the happy life, is the God-centered life. What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Or as Piper puts it “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him”. The good life according to the Bible is one that finds its ultimate joy in glorifying God. Glorifying God and enjoying Him are not opposed to one another, but have the same end: the glory of God.
Wisdom will teach us how to live a God-centered life. In , we will see that a God-centered life provides many benefits and rewards:
How to Read Proverbs To Teach Wisdom
wisdom is the skill of living. It is a practical knowledge that helps one know how to act and how to speak in different situations. Wisdom entails the ability to avoid problems, and the skill to handle them when they present themselves. Wisdom also includes the ability to interpret other people’s speech and writing in order to react correctly to what they are saying to us.
What does the Bible think say about what makes a good life? Wisdom has the formula for the good life which includes many benefits like:
The Bible Knowledge Commentary D. The Blessings of Wisdom (3:1–12)
The rewards include longevity and prosperity (v. 2), favor with God and people (v. 4), fewer problems (v. 6), health (v. 8), prosperity (v. 10), and awareness of God’s love (v. 12).
What makes a good life?
Main Proposition: In proverbs 3:1-12, we will look at 5 keys to living a God-centered life, so that you and I would live long and good lives on this earth.
Scripture:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In this passage, the author gives us five keys to living a good and successful life. And with each command, there is a following benefit or reason that accompanies each command.
I. Keep the Commandments (vv. 1-2)
I. Keep the Commandments (vv. 1-2)
The first key to living the good life is to keep the commandments.
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.
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.
Solomon tells his son not to forget the teaching (torah/law). Again, the fifth commandment tells us to honor our parents and here Solomon gives another lecture to his son that in listening he will be blessed.
Proverbs
Solomon may have been familiar with the teaching of where parents are instructed to diligently teach their children the fear of God. Parental instruction was teaching God’s ways to the child.
The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15 a. Introduction: Admonitions to Preserve the Father’s Teaching (3:1–4)
Guard (yiṣṣōr; see 2:8) implies living out the probably memorized commandments (see 1:8; 2:8)
To ‘keep’ something means to guard or watch over it. In this case, it is one’s heart that is protected (cf. Prov. 4:23). The heart is the center and seat of one’s inner life, including mind, emotions, and will.
Notice the benefit of listening and obeying Solomon’s teaching. It would lead to long life and peace. God’s commands and his instruction through our parents our good for us.
for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.
The NET Bible First Edition Notes Notes for 3:2
The noun שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) here means “welfare, health, prosperity” (BDB 1022 s.v. 3). It can be used of physical health and personal well-being. It is the experience of positive blessing and freedom from negative harm and catastrophe.
Listening, remembering, and obeying instruction would:
Listening, remembering, and obeying instruction would:
It refers to well-being, prosperity, bodily health, and the internal condition of being at rest, contented or fulfilled. It is, in short, the state of blessedness one can expect when he lives his life within God’s created design.
Biblical History
When we read the story of the kings, those who did not keep the teaching and forsook God were often punished when God raised up foreign enemies to oppress Israel, and some even died in battle or through their foolish actions because they did not listen to Solomon’s instructions.
Christ
Long Life
As mentioned previously, even Christ in his humanity learned obedience and submission as a young child under Mary and Joseph’s care.
Young Member
Peace
Don’t forget the the teaching passed down to you. Don’t just be a hearer of the word. The Bible often repeats phrases and themes because we don’t often get it the first time. We need to remember what we have been taught and be constantly reminded of what we have been thought. Treasure these words for they are not just for memorization or knowledge, but understand that commands and parental instructions our for life.
Older Members
One of the best things you can do is to pass down the teaching or the law down to the next generation. Paul had this idea in mind:
and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
He had four generations in mind: himself to timothy, timothy to faithful men, faithful men who teach others.
Church
We gather to remember what God has told us. We hear things repeatedly because we far too easily forget what we heard and we fail to practice what we hear.
Children
Obey mom and dad. Trust me. If you have godly parents who love Christ, their commands are generally good for you. Sometimes they will make mistakes, but most of the time they are looking out for you.
Transition: You want to live a good life, keep the commandments. But secondly, you want to live a good life and be blessed....
II. Pursue Faithfulness (vv. 3-4)
II. Pursue Faithfulness (vv. 3-4)
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.
The word steadfast love and faithfulness are terms that are often used in connection with the character of God.
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
The word hesed, can also mean the covenant love of God. The word faithfulness is taken from the word emet which means stability and dependability. The word refers to truthfulness and someone who keeps his promises.
When these words are used of God, they mean that God makes promises and he keeps them. We see this all throughout the Bible. Even though his people were unfaithful, he still remained slowed to anger because he was willing to make a promise and willing to keep it. He did not forsake his people when they were unfaithful because he always remains faithful.
God never fails on his promises. God never fails to keep His Word.
And when we are people of the truth who say things and mean what we say and follow through with what we say, we display the image of God.
Secular Self
The problem with many people today is that they have no commitment to any higher good or the community around them. The only commitment they may have is to advance one’s own happiness and agenda at others expense.
Some people go from relationship to relationship or job to job or church to church never finding satisfaction in what they do because they haven’t learn contentment through ordinary faithfulness.
Christian—You are to be a person who keeps your word. You are a person who should be dependable. You are a person who should be trustworthy.
Often, young people are so easily swayed by their feelings, they fail to keep their commitments and fail to keep their promises. Don’t be loose with the truth. When you fail to keep your word, you misrepresent God properly because God always keeps His Word.
Reflect on Godly examples of faithfulness. I thank God for the many examples of faithfulness in our church. Those who have gone before us. I think about Bob Coger who served faithfully and Pastor Ed serving this church for nearly three decades. I think of Mr. Tumbos still serving the Lord in his old age.
What makes these men admirable is that they served the Lord in very ordinary ways over a long period of time. Imitate these examples.
Church—One way you can learn commitment is to commit to a local church. If you follow through with the basic commitments of a church member, you are getting the training wheels of life. When you serve others and you follow through with what you say, you are practicing faithfulness.
Practice faithfulness is committing to showing up every Sunday.
Practice faithfulness in serving others with a happy heart.
Practice faithfulness in being on time and following through with your word.
Practice faithfulness in regular giving.
Practice faithfulness in regular prayer for the saints.
As you make these investments in the life of the local church, you are pursuing faithfulness to God and you practice faithfulness in your life throughout the week.
Bind them around your neck. Jews took this command literally to constantly remember. But the author goes even deeper. Write them on the tablets of your hearts.
The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15 a. Introduction: Admonitions to Preserve the Father’s Teaching (3:1–4)
Here the metonymies for the teachings are implicitly likened to a necklace that symbolizes protection, guidance, eternal life, and social exaltation (cf. 1:9).
The NET Bible First Edition Notes Notes for 3:2
The noun שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) here means “welfare, health, prosperity” (BDB 1022 s.v. 3). It can be used of physical health and personal well-being. It is the experience of positive blessing and freedom from negative harm and catastrophe.
And we know that only God can do this. When we remember his faithfulness to us in Christ, we can be faithful to Him and to others. And through the new covenant, God writes his law on our hearts so that we can obey him from the inside:
It refers to well-being, prosperity, bodily health, and the internal condition of being at rest, contented or fulfilled. It is, in short, the state of blessedness one can expect when he lives his life within God’s created design.
Jeremiah 31:33-
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
What happens when you pursue faithfulness in the home? In the church? In your work?
This is a general principle true in this life, but certainly true in the life to come.
So you will find favor and good success
in the sight of God and man.
Churches, marriages, and communities are built on integrity and faithfulness.
Job was a righteous man who experienced tremendous suffering.
Marriage thrives when there is honesty and commitment to one’s spouse.
Covenant love and covenant keeping qualities be around your neck. It should be warn like a necklace which means it should be close to our hearts.
Churches thrive when members are faithful in their responsibilities to care for one another and promote the glory of God.
Write them on the tablet of your hearts. We understand only God can do this through the New Covenant.
Businesses are looking for people who are reliable and dependable, not lazy or people who are doubleminded and only work to promote their own personal self-interest.
You will gain a good reputation before men and live a life that is pleasing to God.
Proverbs
Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,
but a faithful man who can find?
Faithfulness often looks very ordinary. One pastor wrote,
Don’t devote your life to doing something big. Devote yourself instead to a good direction, and then do all the small things that God commands. Every day. Over and over and over. Then a day just might come when you discover you’ve accomplished something big. Jonathan Leeman
Transition: You want to live a good life, keep the commandments, pursue faithfulness, and trust God with your whole being...
III. Trust God with Your Whole Being (vv. 5-8)
III. Trust God with Your Whole Being (vv. 5-8)
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.
I say trust with your whole being because that is what heart means in the Bible. The heart is not a body part, but the center of a person’s will, affections, and mind. The heart is where life flows and acts and lives.
To trust God with all your heart means to trust Him with your whole person and trust God with your life. All of life is to be lived under his gracious rule. To trust in the biblical sense is to literally throw your weight upon something.
The NET Bible First Edition Notes Notes for 3:5
11 sn The word בְּטַח (bétakh, “trust”) is used in the OT in (1) literal physical sense: to physically lean upon something for support and (2) figurative sense: to rely upon someone or something for help or protection (BDB 105 s.v. I בְּטַח; HALOT 120 s.v. I בטח). The verb is often used with false securities, people trusting in things that prove to be worthless. But here the object of the secure trust is the LORD who is a reliable object of confidence.
The NET Bible First Edition Notes Notes for 3:6
The sage is calling for a life of trust and obedience in which the disciple sees the LORD in every event and relies on him. To acknowledge the LORD in every event means trusting and obeying him for guidance in right conduct.
The New American Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (4) The Third Exhortation (3:1–35)
The command to trust God “with all your heart” means that the total personality is to be committed to God’s care, although it emphasizes the mind and volition.
Trusting in yourself is spiritual suicide.
The New American Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (4) The Third Exhortation (3:1–35)
The commitment of the heart to God means that all the beliefs and decisions of life are to be submitted to Yahweh.
Lean not on your own understanding.
To lean on your own understanding is to believe you know better than God. To lean on your own understanding is to think your way is better than God’s way. Trusting in yourself is spiritual suicide.
Think about Adam and Eve who trusted in themselves and look what happened: death.
Think about Israel who trusted in the foreign nations and look at what happened: exile.
The Christian life is built on trust. We are saved by trust. We continue in trust. We grow in the Christian life through trust.
This Hebrew verb translated “trust” is cognate with an Arabic verb that means to throw oneself down on one’s face, to lie down spread-eagle in complete reliance—to make it as graphic as I can, to do a belly-flop on God with all our sin and all our failure and all our fears. We stake everything on the gospel promises of God. If God fails us, we are damned. If God comes through, we are saved forever. Real trust is that blunt and daring and simple.—Ortlund
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Non-Christian
If you are a non-Christian, the first step in salvation is not working, but believing or trusting. Christianity is a religion of trust. It is trusting the character of God and trusting that He will do what he says and he has the power to to do what he says.
The word acknowledge may mean know in a personal way. What the author may be saying is this: “In all your ways, or whatever you do, do what God would do, think what God would think, and obey what God would say.”
The word acknowledge may mean know in a personal way. What the author may be saying is this: “In all your ways, or whatever you do, do what God would do, think what God would think, and obey what God would say.”
Trusting in yourself is spiritual suicide.
This past week, I went to dinner with my mom and dad. I took the two big kids with me and Helen decided to stay home because she was not feeling well.
We ate at a Chinese restaurant that is let’s just say not the healthiest option. I got my kids a strawberry boba. Our kids don’t usually drink sweet drinks. And I ordered the kids a triple crown meal at this restauraunt, which is pork chop, chicken and steak, spaghetti and vegetables. The kids eat terrible when they are with daddy.
There is a sense in which I know what my wife will think and say. The kids don’t need to have each large boba cup, they can share. The kids need to eat their vegetables, not just fatty meat.
Because I know my wife in a personal way, I know what she is thinking and going to say even though she is not with me.
To acknowledge God is to know what God would say and what God would think as you make decisions throughout life. Sometimes God’s will may not be crystal clear in a certain decision, but as you grow in relationship with him through reading his word and prayer, there is a sense where you just know what God would want in making whatever decision. You have an intuition of what God may think because you know Him.
Making your paths (derek) straight does not necessarily refer to God’s plan for your life, but refers to ethical conduct. What Solomon is saying is as you trust God and acknowledge (know) him, he will make your life upright and you will live a blessed life through obedience to Him and righteous living. Derek Kidner says in his commentary...
The reward is more than the promise of simple guidance. It includes the removal of obstacles (Isa. 40:3; 45:13) from the path of the wise and the surety of arriving at one’s destination.
Wisdom has to to do with living. It is a skill in living righteously.
Wisdom has to to do with living. It is a skill in living righteously.
Trusting God does not simply mean things will turn out to be ok, but trusting that his ways and living his ways are better than yours.
Trusting God means also Fearing God
Trusting God means also Fearing God
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
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.
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 26:
Verse seven repeats verse five a different way: be not wise in your own eyes. Don’t be a wise guy. Don’t be a know it all, because you don’t! It is arrogance and foolishness to think you know more than the all-knowing God! The theme is repeated again.
Fear God and turn way from evil. A life that trusts God will fear God and will turn away and hate evil. This is the Christian life: A life that trusts God clings to God’s righteousness and turns away from self.
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
Here is the irony. The more you fear the Lord, the less you will fear man. The more you depend on the Lord, the more independent you will be. The more you resemble Christ, the more an individual you will be. The more you obey him, the freer you will be. Life will work for you with healing and refreshment. Ray Ortlund
Why? What will happen as a result of trusting, knowing, and fearing God?
It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
Physical and emotional well-being by walking in righteosness.
The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15 b. Body: A Lesson in Piety: Trust, Fear, and Honor the Lord (3:5–10)
By turning from his sinful nature one experiences spiritual, psychological, and physical healing (ripʾût, i.e., the restoration to a former state of well-being).
The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15 b. Body: A Lesson in Piety: Trust, Fear, and Honor the Lord (3:5–10)
In sum, a right relationship with God leads to a state of complete physical and mental well-being, not simply to the absence of illness and disease.
All of this tells us that righteous living and a clean conscience is one of the avenues through which God brings good health to us. ‘They are life to those who find them, And health to their whole body’ (Prov. 4:22). Our spiritual well-being and our physical health are intimately connected. ‘Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers’ (3 John 2).
Your soul will be well fed. Your body will be healthy. You will have a clean conscience. And you will be blessed both spiritually and physically by honoring and trusting God.
Christian—As many of you are graduating, many of you are trying to figure out what to do with your life. Let me encourage you, you don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to trust the One who does have it all figured out. Fear God, turn away from evil, in whatever season or age, and God will direct and guide you and bless you.
Older Member—Are you still striving to know Him? You and I know that there are some people who are married for decades, but when you look at their marriage, they seem more like partners rather than lovers. Some married people who have been married a long time sleep in separate beds, rarely talk to one another, and the marriage seems very dull and stagnant.
I fear that for some of you, that is what your relationship with God is like. It’s dull and boring because you fail to do what you did at first. When you first were married to your spouse, you were intentional, passionate, and selfless. But as the years go by, you just get busy and lazy, and your relationship with God drifts. Now going to church seems like a chore rather than a feast or worship. You don’t sing anymore because your heart is rarely moved anymore because you don’t strive to know God and his ways. Your saved, but your relationship is cold, dry, and almost lifeless. Strive to know God.
Non-Christian—As mentioned, the Christian life begins not with works, but with trust. It is beholding, seeing, savoring, and trusting God in how he has worked in history to save you from eternal damnation. We cannot save ourselves. So God sends His Son to bear our punishment and rise again from the dead. You begin to trust Him when you turn from being right in your own eyes and begin trusting that God is right. Saving faith begins with trusting that God is right in what he has said about you, about your life, and what He has done to save your life.
Transition: If you want to live a good life, you need to keep the commandments, pursue faithfulness, trust God with all that you are, fourthly....you need to Honor God with your wealth...
IV. Honor God with Your Wealth (vv. 9-10)
IV. Honor God with Your Wealth (vv. 9-10)
If you live in America, you are considered wealthy than half the world’s population. Even a poor person in America is richer than some who live in third world countries. We are able to get government assistance for those who are in need of help and there are wealth of resources that we often take for granted. Solomon assumes that his son is wealthy and says:
Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
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.
Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
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.
The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15 b. Body: A Lesson in Piety: Trust, Fear, and Honor the Lord (3:5–10)
Honor (kabbēd), whose root kābēd means “to be heavy,” signifies to esteem a person as having value and to declare him such to give him social weight or prominence.
The NET Bible First Edition Notes Notes for 3:9
To honor God means to give him the rightful place of authority by rendering to him gifts of tribute. One way to acknowledge God in one’s ways (v. 6) is to honor him with one’s wealth (v. 9).
The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’
God should get the best, not the leftovers. God should get the firstfruits, not the tip.
Proverbs
Honoring God with the firstfruits was a simply acknowledgement and act of worship that God came through with his promises. God does not need our wealth because He owns everything. But the firstfruits was symbolic act of gratitude for God’s great act of deliverance and God fulfilling his promise to us.
Giving firstfruits meant that you trusted the Almighty God and not the Almighty Dollar.
Notice it says give God the firstfruits, not the last fruits. The text does not say honor the Lord with the leftover fruit, or the rotten fruit, but the first fruits.
Deuteronomy 26:
When you are blessed, you bless God in return for his goodness to you.
Giving is a reflection of our worship and gratitude towards God.
What would your giving saying about what you worship and how grateful you are?
God should get the best, not the leftovers. God should get the firstfruits, not the tip.
It reminds us that how we spend our money and use the possessions God has blessed us with is a very practical and very telling test of the quality of our faith and trust in God. It is a poor faith that has nothing to do with planning the family budget and providing for the family needs.
What about tithing?
I do not believe tithing is a NT mandate. If you believe tithing is a NT mandate, then I would say that you would have to give more because there were other taxes in Israel which meant that giving was about 23% of your income.
However, some Christians say that because we are not under the Old Covenant, we are no longer required to tithe. And therefore, they justify their disobedience by not giving at all.
Tithing as one writer puts it can be training wheels in giving. If you do not know how to begin giving, tithing would be a good training wheels giving before you giving more generously and sacrificially.
I practice tithing even though I know its not required in the NT as a foundation for giving and build on this when needs may arise.
The Blessing of Giving
Reason:
then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.
God will bless you with an increase of that which is for use, not for show, for giving away, not for hoarding. Those who do good with what they have shall have more to do more good with. Matthew Henry
God honors those who honor him. Pastor Ed would often say, “Take care of God’s business and he will take care of yours”
Is this teaching a prosperity gospel?
Prosperity preachers love to use verses like this to justify a health, wealth, and prosperity gospel.
But remember, when we look at proverbs, proverbs are pithy statements that are generally true, not promises. They are wise sayings, not contracts that if you do this this will happen.
If you are generous, you will be generally blessed. We do not take a text like this and give to God only to get money in return. If we did that, money would be our true God.
The point of giving is to value and honor God’s character for what he has done for us in our great salvation and deliverance from sin and death.
Giving is an acknowledgment that we understand what He has done for us.
Giving is acknowledging we are stewards of God’s wealth he gives to us.
Giving is acknowledging God is first in our hearts not wealth.
Ignorant Christian—If you are not giving, I would say practice tithing as training wheels. And eventually, the training wheels will come off and you will learn to give proportionately, regularly, generously and sacrificially.
Indifferent/Greedy Christian—Our money is a reflection of our values. Show me your bank statement and I will show what you and I value. Your checkbook is a spiritual barometer of what you value in life. What does giving say about how much you value God?
Do you give God the leftovers? The last? It will be a reflection of your priorities. If you never gave to the Lord’s work, if you never gave to gospel ministry, if you never give to the support about missions, what does that say about your value for God? You may need to examine whether you are in the faith.
Willing Christian—Let the example of Christ be your guide and motivation for giving.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Church—Practice regular, faithful, sacrificial giving. For some of you, this may mean you give every week. For others you may give two times a month when you receive the pay check. But give to God to show that he has the throne of your heart and not money. Now you can give online.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Transition: The God-centered life is one that keeps the commandments, pursues and prizes faithfulness, trust God with your whole person, honors God with one’s wealth, and finally accepts God’s correction.
V. Accept God’s Correction (vv. 11-12)
V. Accept God’s Correction (vv. 11-12)
We need to learn to trust God in wealth, but also trust God in suffering. I am listening to instruction. I do the trust the Lord. I do give. Why do I still suffer? Proverbs gives a balanced picture on life. You may do all the right things and still suffer in this life. Think about Job. He was healthy, wealthy, and prosperous, but he lost everything and still trusted in God.
Not all suffering is a result of God’s judgment, but some suffering is a result of God’s love.
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.
My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
Health, wealth, and prosperity are promised in the next life, not necessarily in this life.
Sometimes when I correct Serene, she tells me “I don’t love you anymore.”
In fact, for God’s children, they may experience, pain, suffering, and persecution as a result of righteous living. And when this happens, we are not to despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof.
We are not to hate God when he brings hardships into our lives.
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
:
Jesus Christ even embraced suffering to teach his obedience.
Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15 c. Conclusion: Do Not Reject the Lord’s Discipline (3:11–12)
C. S. Lewis says, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.”
Suffering is not proof of abandonment, but of divine favor. God proves his love to us in suffering and correction.
for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.
Not all suffering has to do with retribution, but some suffering may be corrective so that God can mold a greater piece of art. And that discipline is often painful, but it will bring appreciation if we do not despise God.
Discipline brings freedom and brings about the intended results of what God is trying to do in our lives.
Do not despise God when he is doing that. Don’t be unbelieving, but be willing to trust His wisdom.
We learn some of life’s greatest lessons in suffering. Suffering may be a sign of God’s favor upon your life.
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
Revelations 3:19
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
Psalm
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Christian—If you are experiencing pain and suffering and not aware of any conscience sins in your life, God may be allowing pain and suffering to mold Christ-like character and virtue in your life. You may not understand it now, but you will be thankful later.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Israel Had to Learn this Lesson:
And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Despising God: Do you despise God? Maybe you are experiencing trials. Maybe God hasn’t brought someone into your life yet? Maybe you are still going through a physical sickness? Maybe you can’t seem to shake off a problem in your life? Instead of despising God, remember the character of God and that he works all things together for good for those who love Him. Trust Him. If God is your Father, he will bring every circumstance, whether good or evil, for your good and His glory.
Summary:
What is the Good Life?
The good life is the God-centered life. And a God-centered life
Keeps the Commandments
Pursues Faithfulness
Trusts God with Your Whole Person
Honors God with Your Wealth
Accepts God’s Correction
Conclusion:
And we know in Scripture there is one who modeled the God-centered life perfectly.
The Lord Jesus Christ kept all the commandments of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ was a faithful Son who did not let steadfast love and faithfulness forsake his neck and heart.
The Lord Jesus Christ was the One who trusted in Christ not only in his living, but even when he was being forsaken by God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the one who would not give the firstfruits, but give up everything by leaving heaven itself and descend into the regions of the earth and live in poverty so that we might be rich.
And although he had no sin of his own, the Lord Jesus Christ would suffer the punishment you and I deserved. And by rising again from the dead, he would wipe away our sins and extend forgiveness to us when we turn from our sins and trust in Him.
You and I can live a God-centered life because Jesus lived the God-centered life by going to the cross for us to pay for our sins and to bring us to God.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
And when we live like this, we are being conformed to the image of the Son of God who was made like us to suffer for us.
The God-centered life is one that prizes God above all things because of the person and work of Christ done for us.
We can trust One who is so faithful to us.
We can trust One who was so generous to us.
We can trust One who is so trustworthy to us.
We can trust One who is so generous to us.
We can trust One who is so loving toward us even when we don’t understand our pain and suffering.
Because Jesus lived the God-centered life for us in his life, death, and resurrection, we can live the God-centered life for him and thus live the good life not only in this life, but in the life to come for all eternity.