Prosperous Words

ME: Christmas List/Recap (vs. 10-11)

My family has always been what I would call a Christmas list family.

You know what I am talking about?

Where everyone is expected to put together a Christmas list of everything we want.

In fact, my family is incredibly persistent about these lists.

If you show up to Thanksgiving without a list prepared,

You can expect to get multiple reminders to “send me a list as soon as you can.”

Growing up, this was completely normal to me.

It was not until Stephanie and I got married that I realized that not every family did this.

After doing this for many years, you learn how to get better at putting Christmas lists together.

I remember when I was really young,

We were at grandma’s house after Thanksgiving lunch,

Grandma, mom, and my aunt were in the dining room with all the black Friday ads.

And they told me they needed to know what presents I want,

So, I looked through the ads and circled all the toys I wanted.

For Christmas, I got a mixture of some of those toys and some random other things.

So, the next year, I came prepared,

When I saw a commercial of a cool toy,

It went on the list!

So, I had my list ready to give my family.

Then Christmas came and most of my gifts were from my list,

But the greedy kid that I was,

All I could think about were the things on my list that I still wanted more.

So, the next year I did the same thing,

But before giving the list to my family,

I ranked everything from what I wanted the most to what I wanted the least,

You know, just trying to make things easier for them!

But what I found was that I would have the hardest time trying to figure out what I wanted most.

I remember thinking, if there were only one thing I could get, what would it be?

This question is so difficult because the answer determines what our heart is set on above all else.

What we prefer over everything else.

So, what about you?

What do you think?

What is is that you want most?

What commercials appeal to your wants?

What things do you feel like you have to have?

What foods do you have to eat?

What is the highest treasure in your life?

What do you wake up thinking about?

What do you go to bed dreaming about?

What do you spend your time planning to get?

What do you prefer over everything else?

This morning we are looking at Prosperous Words in Proverbs 3:11-35.

This passage proposes that wisdom is to be the greatest treasure we can set our hearts on.

And as we have discussed earlier in Proverbs,

Wisdom is more than words,

Wisdom is the Person, Jesus Christ.

So, seek Him above all else!

Prefer the Person who is Wisdom over everything else.

Matthew 6:33 says:

Matthew 6:33 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

If you prefer things in this world,

Even good things,

It will ultimately prove disappointing at best.

And it will wreck your life at worst.

But when you prefer Jesus over everything else,

All other things on your wish list can be enjoyed.

Because Jesus gives you these gifts.

We see this develop in the outline of our passage,

Our heavenly Father gives us the gifts of:

Loving Discipline (vs. 11-12)

Blessed Life (vs. 13-20)

Cursed Prohibitions (vs. 21-35)

Prefer the Person who is Wisdom and prosper forever.

The first part of chapter three we looked at last week.

Where we came to understand this as an address from our Heavenly Father.

We spent most of our time focusing on the three-part command and the conditional promise in vs. 5-6.

And we ended by looking at Proverbs 3:9-10, which says;

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.

When reading this, we like to jump straight to vs. 10,

Oh yea, fill my barns!

Burst my vats!

Make me prosper, Lord!

But before vs. 10,

Comes vs. 9,

Comes honoring the Lord with all our material possessions.

Doing so shows gratitude,

And perhaps more importantly,

It recognizes that He is in control of our material things.

It is a tangible example of trust.

It is dedicating everything to God that He has given to you.

And it is not like we just give God the leftovers.

No, vs. 9 says we give Him our firstfruits.

In Israel’s history,

The firstfruits were the first part of the annual harvest that were given to the priests.

The firstfruits are the earliest and best of the crop.

When we honor God with what He gives us,

We are blessed with more with which we can use to honor Him.

This is a real test of faith for us in our materialistic culture!

This means what we give Him is the first item on a budget,

Not the last item, once we make sure we have covered everything else.

WE: Loving Discipline (vs. 11-12)

This raises the question, do these verses teach a prosperity gospel?

That if we trust God, then he will give us health, wealth, and happiness?

You may be surprised to hear me say, yes.

That is exactly what these verses are saying.

But there is a problem we must take into account,

We live in a fallen and broken world.

Meaning you can obey God,

And still fall sick.

You can be generous to the Lord with all your possessions,

And still lose your job.

You can have faith that moves a mountain,

And still suffer in a variety of ways.

So, while it is true that trusting God will produce health, wealth, and happiness,

It does not mean we will receive it in this fallen world.

The prosperity gospel heresy says to live your best life now, in this fallen world.

But Scripture points to our best life being in the future.

So, the promises of these Proverbs will come true,

Not necessarily in this fallen world,

But they will in eternity,

In the new creation.

Vs. 11-12 intentionally follow these promises to remind us of even greater prosperity.

What is this even greater prosperity?

The Lord’s discipline and reproof.

But how in the world could discipline be greater prosperity than material wealth?

Because material prosperity can happen to both the righteous and the wicked in this world.

But those who are reproved by the Lord are loved as His children.

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.

God’s intent behind His discipline is not to cause harm or anger.

But discipline is a form of suffering,

It is purposeful suffering.

So, we are encouraged not to despise discipline,

Because discipline is necessary.

The natural reaction to hardship is resentment.

But God wants His correction to not become something that we grow weary of.

He is trying to keep us from this negative psychological state toward discipline.

He does not want us to shy away from correction.

So, He says do not get mad at Him when He allows you to be disciplined,

Instead, understand that it is for your good.

In order to be wise, you must be disciplined.

That is really the key to the entire book of Proverbs.

Without discipline,

Every single one of us go down the foolish path of sin,

This is our nature as children of wrath.

So, God holds us accountable for our sin,

In order to rid it from our lives.

This means He will allow suffering at times,

Not just as a punishment for specific sins,

But to also produce maturity in our lives.

Discipline, in this context, is what happens when a parent punishes a child,

But we also discipline our bodies when we exercise.

When our physical bodies are broken down under the hardship the weights,

It produces greater strength in the future.

So, we see that we voluntarily allow hard things into our lives to prepare us for something better later.

We do this because God does the same thing in our lives,

But He knows even better what to prepare us for,

Because He knows the future!

This ties back into the capstone of this entire chapter,

Which we looked at last week,

Trusting the Lord with all our heart.

If we do not trust Him,

We do not see the loving purpose of His discipline.

Trusting Him understands that He loves us enough to allow hardship to prepare us for something greater.

He wants to make us like Jesus,

So, He loves us enough to discipline us to produce Christlikeness in us.

Discipline and chastisement is a part of God’s teaching,

But it is not forced upon people.

God’s instruction is for people who want to hear it.

And He disciplines out of love for us.

Jesus says this clearly in Rev. 3:19.

If we ask God to stop disciplining us,

We are essentially asking Him to love us less.

God’s discipline of us is a great model for the way parents are to discipline their children.

Lord willing, as we continue through Proverbs,

We will be able to draw back on these verses to discuss the theme of parenting throughout Proverbs.

At the end of the day, God will reward we who are His children,

This does not mean He will give us what we want, when we want, and how we want it.

Rather, He gives us what we need, when we need it, and how we need it.

By doing so, He conforms us into the image of Christ.

So, yes, at times, you will suffer,

God is using that suffering to mold you for even greater glory.

The problem with the prosperity gospel is that it assumes if we are godly enough then we will never experience suffering.

That is absolutely unbiblical.

Godliness by no means guarantees an easy breezy life in this world.

In fact, the most godly Person to ever exist suffered the most gruesome of punishments.

Things in this fallen world went very bad for Jesus.

Likewise, if you are a child of God and things go very badly for you in this world,

Remember how things ended for Jesus in this world.

He rose from the dead in a glorified body and ascended to heaven.

Likewise, this means you too will one day have a glorified body,

And you will be with Jesus in heaven.

The biggest problem with the prosperity gospel,

Is it expects us to be perfectly wise.

The true gospel teaches that Jesus was perfectly wise for us.

Because none of us are perfectly faithful in keeping our commitments to God.

None of us are perfectly obedient.

None of us perfectly trust Him with all our heart.

None of us perfectly reject evil.

None of us are perfectly generous.

The only One who is all these things,

Is Jesus Christ.

So, He is the One who gets the blessing.

And the good news of the gospel is that He is at the right hand of the Father,

Representing us.

He lived the life we never could and died the death we deserve.

And He offers full pardon to all who trust in Him.

As a result, we experience a blessed life on the merits of His faithfulness.

Once we are joined to Him by faith,

God does the disciplining work by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us,

To conform us into the image of Christ.

As His children,

This is both how we are to live,

And it is how we are empowered to live.

You see,

Becoming a Christian or remaining a Christian is not about keeping God’s rules in order to save yourself.

It is about how God saves you through Jesus,

Then molds you, sometimes through discipline and correction,

Into the image of Jesus to live out the life He meant for you to live.

It is not about your human effort.

Trust in the Lord is the key to living out the life God has for you.

Confidence in God empowering you to be obedient to Him.

So, you become generous, not because you try harder to make more,

But because you are confident He will provide for you.

You forgive others, not because you will make the effort to enact revenge,

But because you are confident God is a fair and just judge.

That is how Jesus lived on this earth,

And that is how we can live in Him.

GOD: Blessed Life (vs. 13-20)

Proverbs 3:13–18 ESV

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.

That is the problem with the prosperity gospel,

Not that it promotes a blessed life,

God does promise a blessed life.

The problem is that the prosperity gospel misunderstands that the righteous still suffer in this fallen world,

It overlooks the fact that Jesus is the only one who is faithful enough to deserve a blessed life,

And it limits its understanding of blessings to this physical world.

This limitation is a gross underestimate of the blessed eternal life God promises.

The true gospel teaches that Christ,

The perfectly faithful Son of God,

Suffered and died in this world.

But rose to indestructible life,

And promises a world where there is no more sin.

That is true prosperity!

And it is available through Christ.

Vs. 13-20 give additional details about this blessed life.

It is one of many wisdom writings throughout this book on the subject of money, wealth, finance, or prosperity.

Lord willing, we will be able to dedicate an entire sermon to this subject later in our study through Proverbs.

For now, I would like to show how this section compares wisdom to wealth.

Because this section is more of a praise of wisdom than a piece of instruction.

To be blessed is to discover life the way God intended it.

It is the idea Jesus leverages in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.

Ultimately, it refers to future blessings,

But it does not exclude present blessings.

Godly wisdom blesses us,

More than silver, gold, and jewels.

Wisdom is better than material stuff because it cannot be destroyed,

And because it shapes you into the image of Christ.

Yes, money can put food on the table,

But not fellowship around it.

Yes, money can buy a house, but it cannot make it a home.

Yes, money can buy a gift, but it cannot give love.

Wisdom is greater.

Because wisdom can give physical blessings,

But it also gives spiritual and relational blessings.

Proverbs teaches that wisdom gives loving homes, marriages, and friendships that cannot be bought at the market.

Material riches cannot give you a blessed life,

But wisdom can.

So, get this wisdom!

Get Jesus at any cost!

Nothing else you desire is better.

Jesus is the treasure that is worth selling all things to get.

So, the question for you is,

Do you prefer anything over Jesus?

Is there something supremely valuable to you?

Is there something in your mind that says,

“All I need to be happy is Jesus and_______.”

Perhaps it could be Jesus and a happy marriage,

Jesus and a healthy family,

Jesus and a certain amount of savings,

Jesus and a good job,

Jesus and a nice car or a nice home or the right neighborhood.

Whatever you put in the blank is what you treasure most,

Because you are putting it on the same level as Jesus.

If your heart is set on the things of this world as a means to happiness,

When these things are gone,

So too goes your happiness.

But when you set your heart on Jesus,

He is eternal and you will certainly find happiness and blessing,

Regardless of what things of this world you have or do not have.

So, seek wisdom above all else,

And you will be blessed.

A blessed life is more than a subjective feeling,

Which can be influenced by temporary circumstances.

A blessed life is a life that enjoys God’s grace and favor.

This blessed wisdom is a greater treasure than silver and gold,

It is more precious than jewels,

There is nothing in this world that compares.

It is better than any material possession.

We are to prefer wisdom over anything else.

Vs. 16-18 explains why in one of the most concise assessments of a blessed life in the entire OT.

Wisdom gives you long life,

It gives you fruitfulness, a good reputation, and blessing.

Wisdom keeps you from the pitfalls that lead to death and dishonor.

Making the supreme blessing wisdom itself.

Meaning Jesus Christ is ultimate wealth, blessing, and prosperity.

And we can know Him personally.

We can have a relationship with Him,

We can treasure Him above all else.

The benefits of wisdom motivate us to prefer Christ over everything.

This goes back to God’s earliest promises to His people.

In Gen. 15, after God made His covenant with Abraham,

He told Abraham, “Fear not, I am your shield and your very great reward.”

God was the reward of His covenant with Abraham.

So, what is the prize of heaven?

Heaven is promised to have streets paved with gold.

But who cares?

Because the real wealth,

The real reward is God Himself.

The gold is merely a reflective object that can shine His glory even brighter.

None of the gold and silver and rubies in heaven matter,

What matters is God’s presence!

That is true prosperity!

And it comes through a spiritual relationship with God,

Made possible by grace through faith in Christ.

That is the relationship between wisdom and wealth,

That God is the ultimate wealth,

And this blessing comes through the wisdom that is given by God,

Specifically the Person who is Wisdom, Jesus Christ.

This is why we must prefer the Person who is Wisdom over everything,

And we will prosper forever.

That is what vs. 18 implies.

The tree of life is an indirect allusion to the Garden in Gen. 2,

Where it is said that eating from the tree of life gives you immortality.

It is symbolically saying that wisdom functions in the place of what was lost in Eden by sin.

So, what was lost in Eden?

A relationship with God.

But this relationship can once again be enjoyed through the Person who is Wisdom.

The first people in the Garden,

And every person since,

Has sought to determine right and wrong for ourselves.

As a result, we have become unwise and inherited death.

But if we are humble and trust in Jesus,

We are once again granted what had been lost in the Garden,

And that is a blessed life,

A relationship with God.

So, wisdom is concerned with our relationship with God first.

From there, it extends into proper relationships with other people,

And with God’s creation.

Look at what vs. 19-20 say;

Proverbs 3:19–20 (ESV)

The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.

Wisdom is used by we small and finite humans for the most ordinary of means.

Making wisdom deeply interpersonal.

But we also see that wisdom is used in the most majestic of operations.

Making wisdom deeply profound and powerful.

God’s understanding established the heavens.

His wisdom founded the earth.

His knowledge broke open the deeps and dropped dew out of the clouds.

This implies that there is a wise order to the entire universe.

Another reason wisdom is so valuable.

Because the wise order of the world means the world works in a certain way,

In a pattern of wisdom.

So, you can know the order of this world and live by it,

If you have wisdom.

Wisdom gives you the ability to perceive God’s order and live by it.

If you live against this created order, it will end poorly for you.

This created order is Christ-centered.

Meaning the order of this world points to Christ.

God created the world through Christ,

Jesus upholds the world by His Word,

And all things are being united in Christ.

So, all of creation is centered on Christ.

And that means you must know Christ in order to perceive and live according to the order of creation.

YOU: Cursed Prohibitions (vs. 21-35)

In light of this,

God appeals to you to not let wisdom and discretion depart from your sight.

Vs. 21-35 give this appeal through Cursed Prohibitions.

Proverbs 3:21–35 (ESV)

My son, do not lose sight of these— keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you. Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you. Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm. Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways, for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence. The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor. The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.

These verses are clear that wisdom means walking with God.

It is expressed through this quiet and humble integrity.

This peaceful serenity comes on one level by good management of God’s principles,

But on an even deeper and truer level,

It comes from God’s personal care for His children.

This guidance is seen in terms of making wise decisions.

The result is safety and security.

Part of this wisdom includes avoiding life-threatening situations,

This does not mean we refuse to embrace dangerous situations when necessary,

But overall, we are wise to pursue right relationships.

Vs. 24 paints such a relatable picture.

The sense of safety and security wisdom promises,

Is like laying your head down on your pillow at night and sleeping sweetly and soundly.

If you have ever had those restless nights where you are tossing and turning,

Because of fear or racing thoughts,

You can understand how wonderful of an appeal this pleasant sleep is.

And it is being offered on an eternal level!

This is attained through Jesus,

He keeps you secure from the ruin of the wicked.

We do not need to fear sudden terror and ruin.

Because we can trust in the Lord.

The point is that wisdom keeps you safe from sudden trouble.

That is why wisdom must be preferred over everything.

When you maintain wisdom,

As you lie down,

And as you rise up,

As you walk along the way,

God will protect you.

Even death cannot destroy you,

Because Christ has overcome death.

God wants you, His child, to be safe by walking the wise path.

You will not have to lose sleep worried about the foolish things you have done.

You do not need to fear being caught or found out.

You do not have to lie awake thinking what if this happens or what if that happens?

Wondering who else might know or how you can prevent your foolishness from being found out.

Walking in wisdom and avoiding the foolishness of sin keeps your conscience clear,

And keeps your mind free of worry.

So, if you get wisdom, you will be safe because God watches over you.

The Almighty will be looking out for you!

Vs. 27 then, moves the focus of our passage from our vertical relationship with God,

To our horizontal relationships with others.

Wisdom teaches that a right vertical relationship with God,

Spills over into your relationships with others.

A practical example is simply being a good neighbor.

If you love God, it will spill over into love for your neighbor.

The first way to do this is by avoiding sins of omission.

The example gives is a prohibition against neglecting doing good when it is due.

This is a prohibition against injustice.

It is addressing a higher level than simply being considerate,

This is saying when someone deserves something good,

If it is in your power to do so, do not withhold it from them.

Vs. 28 follows up by fleshing this out.

It is saying if it is in your power, do not delay in doing this good,

Do not put it off,

Do not be lazy or forgetful,

Do not be indifferent or selfish,

And do not just try to get rid of the person.

To do so is foolish, wicked, and sinful.

Then vs. 29-30 moves from prohibiting sins of omission to sins of commission.

These commands could be summarized as being a good neighbor or a good friend.

Throughout Proverbs, the terms friend and neighbor are almost used interchangeably.

Sin drives people apart,

It depersonalizes other people,

Makes us see one another as less than human.

Social media is a great example of how we do this.

But God intends for His people to reverse the course of this depersonalization.

So, God calls us to be loving neighbors and friends.

We are to be peaceful,

And reluctant to start or spread strife.

We are to be kind and generous to neighbors and friends.

Do not intend to harm them.

Do not conspire against them.

This does not mean you can do evil to those who are not your neighbor or friend.

But it implies that if you do evil to those closest to you,

Then you will certainly do evil to others.

So, do not be critical of your neighbor.

Rather, help your neighbor.

This will be as much a service to your neighbor,

As it will to be a testimony to the rest of the watching world.

Likewise, vs. 30 continues by prohibiting vain confrontations.

This is talking about empty accusations.

It is literally accusing someone for nothing.

It could be a false accusation for personal gain.

It can be an accusation rooted in jealousy,

Or to get something from them.

When someone does nothing to harm you,

Do not accuse them with no reason.

To do so, breaks the neighborly idea of community trust.

Lastly, you are prohibited against being jealous of a violent man in vs. 31.

It is saying do not desire to be violent like others,

Do not adopt violent ways.

Because violence comes from a place of greed and hate.

So, why be jealous of this type of person?

Because they get their way,

And the temptation is to wish you would have the boldness to do the same.

There are times where it looks like following Jesus won’t work.

So, following evil seems to be able to lead to success.

There are times in this fallen world where the path of sin seems to lead to what we want.

So, you become jealous of those people who are successful at getting what they want this way.

This is why the Proverb is pleading with you,

Do not envy this type of person.

Because in the end, the tables will turn,

They will lose,

Their destiny is one of destruction.

Judgment is coming for them.

They may seem to prosper in this world,

But they will not prosper forever.

If you belong to Jesus,

God is for you.

So, even if you feel like you are not prospering now,

You will.

Things will work according to God’s purpose.

All of creation is moving toward final judgment.

On that day,

Fools will be punished,

They will be cursed,

They will be mocked,

And they will be dishonored.

Meanwhile, the wise will prosper,

We will enjoy intimacy with God,

We will be His friends,

We will be blessed with life and righteousness,

He will be gracious to us,

And we will be honored.

Words of wisdom are prosperous words.

This is our motivation to gain wisdom.

If you trust that Wisdom,

That Jesus Christ, can give these rewards,

He will empower you to walk in wisdom.

Devious people, however, are an abomination,

They go against the created order.

They are alienated from God.

They turn away from what is right.

They cannot resist this appetite for perverse ways.

God sees them as detestable, offensive, and abhorrent.

They make Him sick to His stomach.

So, God will punish this type of person.

Vs. 33 says there is a curse on their house.

It is a removal of His life-giving presence.

Yet, vs. 33 says, there is blessing on the house of the righteous.

This is both a warning and an encouragement for us.

If we humble ourselves, we are wise,

And the wise will be honored,

While fools will be dishonored.

WE: Conclusion

Jesus is the model for us in this.

Jesus is wisdom.

As wisdom, He humbled Himself,

Took on the curse for our foolish, wicked sins,

And instead, offers us the blessing for His wisdom.

He offers prosperous words.

This is more precious than silver,

More costly than gold,

And more beautiful than diamonds.

Sure, riches in this world would be great.

A long life is something I am certain pretty much all of us hope for.

And a peaceful night’s sleep is a wonderful thing.

But Jesus is better than all of these things.

Jesus is better than everything.

Seek Him above all else,

And you will prosper eternally.

If you prefer the Person who is Wisdom, you will prosper forever.

Pray.