TRUST IN THE LORD

Good Morning and welcome to CCC. We are so glad to have you with us here this morning. We do have some special guests with us, friends and family of our high school graduates as we honor them this morning. Following the message and invitation time I am going to invite Jackson, Claire, and Logan down to the front as we have a gift for them from the church. After we have done that I am going to invite their families to come stand with them. Then I am going to invite you, their church family and spiritual family to join us as we lay hands on each of the graduates and pray for them and their futures and that they are the salt and light in the world that God designed them to be.

One of the things I had never thought about when God called me here in August of 2018 was today. My youngest son’s Senior Recognition as the pastor. Not only his but his best friend Jackson and his wonderful girlfriend, my princess, Claire. These three are such amazing young Christians and young people who have changed the lives of those around them, including mine, for God!

i have been thinking a lot about this for several weeks. As a pastor I wanted this morning to be very special as well as beneficial for our graduates as well as their families but also to the congregation as a whole. I pray that I get out of the way and God accomplishes that here this morning.

In thinking about what to bring to them and you this morning my thoughts and heart landed on Proverbs 3:5-6. As I began to study and read I realized we need to look at and dive into the entire passage as, despite the fact so many including myself have looked at Proverbs 3:5-6 as a free standing truth, which it is but it is also a part of a larger truth that needs to be looked at in its entirety.

Lets Pray

START OBS RECORDING

Proverbs 3:1-12

“My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands; for they will bring you many days, a full life, and well-being. Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and high regard with God and people. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones. Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine. Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his discipline; for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.”

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As you can see on your notes page we are going to break this down into 6 points this morning. They all stand alone but also all go together to paint a beautiful picture loaded with truths and promises that accompany those truths. Again we do not live out the truths because of the promises but because we love God. God just loves us so much His truths are very beneficial to His children!

Don’t forget my teachings vs 1-2

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Keep my commands.

To those who do not know God they may look to this as a reason to not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Young people especially look to truths like this and say

“See that God is a control freak.

A dictator that doesn’t want you to have any fun”

That couldn’t be further from the truth as we will see here this morning.

I have also heard that

well that is just an Old Testament thing,

they had to learn the scripture because they didn’t have Bibles or smartphones with google.

Again a thinly vailed excuse for not wanting to truly know God or a huge neon sign pointing to one’s lack of knowledge about God.

It could also be an excuse for those that are just lazy and want all of the good of Jesus but refuse to put in effort to know the scriptures

John 14:15

“If you love me, you will keep my commands.”

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John 15:10

“If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”

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Clearly this is not just an Old Testament thing.

Jesus here tells us the same truth in Proverbs.....keep my commands.

I love the reason He says to keep His commands.....LOVE.

As you read the entire passage in Proverbs love jumps off of the page.

In fact verse 2 even points to this.

In verse 1 God says keep His commands, don’t forget My teachings why

Look at verse 2

for they will bring you many days, a full life, and well being.

If that doesn’t point to love I don’t know what does.

Be Loyal and Faithful vs 3-4

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What a world this would be if everyone would keep God’s commands and be loyal and faithful.

Not the worlds definition of loyal and faithful but God’s definition of loyal and faithful.....

not only does God define it in His Word but gives us a perfect example, His example

God’s loyal and faithful means no strings attached.

It means you are loyal and faithful no matter what the other person does.

If you say you will do it you do it.

If you are a friend and you hear someone saying horrible things about that friend you defend them.

You love them.

Even if those things are true you stand with them, just as Jesus stands with you.

Remember you will sin more as a Christian, one who has accepted the forgiveness Jesus offers then you ever sinned before you met Jesus!!!!!!

I want to look at a couple verses in Proverbs that talk about being loyal and faithful.

Proverbs 18:24

“One with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.”

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Proverbs 17:17

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.”

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These verse, and many others, show a distinction between friend and family.

As Christians we are family. I am your brother and you are my brothers and sisters.

We must live like it.

Be there for each other

Live life together

Closer than a brother.

Right there.

In the mud hole.

Locking shields together.

Notice this doesn’t say just when times are good.

When the other person is treating you well.

No closer than a brother.

Born for a difficult time.

You may be saying how in the world can I be loyal and faithful.....

you can’t but if you live from Jesus you can.

John 13:34-35

“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

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Love one another.

This is not a worldly love that depends on feelings and actions and other people.

This is agape love.

God’s love.

Notice that Jesus also says this is how the world will know you are His disciple.....how you love one another

Francis Chan has a book and study series out called Crazy Love. I know for the purists there is no such thing as crazy love. I agree God’s love is not crazy to God but to us as humans it looks, sounds, and feels crazy.

Our nature is not to love as Christ loves us but to love ourselves and anyone who can help us. If they can’t help us or if they hurt us, or lie to us, or take advantage of us we no longer have to love them.

God says love in spite of all that. Love no matter what. Love so much that it costs you something

The only way to love that way is the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit you can try to love like God but you will fail because humans are not capable of God’s love, you can only love like that when you live from Christ!

Let’s look at how this love allows you to be faithful and loyal

I Corinthians 13:7

“It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

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The love of God does all this and more.

This love look to bears all things....looks to believe all things....looks to hope all things…looks to endure all things.

Complete opposite of the world....the world says your problem is your problem and my problem is also your problem. There is no bearing all things.

The world says believe only what helps you....God says His love believes all things…all truth regardless of our emotions or thoughts about that truth

The world says there is no hope…God says look no further than my Son Jesus for all the hope you could ever need

The world says when it gets hard quit....God says endure all things....love will require you to do all of these things!

If you belong to God.

If you have accepted Jesus you understand this love and because of the gift of the Holy Spirit are able to love this way!

John 15:13

“No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.”

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These are Jesus’ words and Jesus did in fact lay down his physical life for you.

Agape love is sacrificial love.

When you surrender control to the Holy Spirit

loyalty and faithfulness are a by product because God is loyal and faithful!

Verse 4 gives us such a beautiful picture of what comes from a life, the fruit of a life lived with loyalty and faithfulness,

“Then you will find favor and high regard with God and people.”

Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart vs 5-8

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As I said earlier so many want to use just these two verses, 5 and 6, and that is awesome because this is very true but if you stop at just these two you miss out on so much God wants to do in and through your life.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

God was all in when He sent Jesus to earth to be beaten, rejected, and hung on a tree.

Jesus was all in when he willingly endure all of the things He endured for you including climbing up on the cross to die in your place.

That is all in.

You cannot trust in the Lord with all your heart if you do not know him.

Logan and Claire and Jackson get in the Word.

Joshua 1:8

“This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.”

Meditate takes this to a whole new level.

The Hebrew word used here that is translated meditate has strong emotions and actions tied to it.

Meditate is to wrestle with the scripture.

To seek to know God. To seek to apply the Word through the Holy Spirit.

To mediate is to dig deep and really think about what God is telling you in his Word.

I know you are but make the Word what drives you.

Where you turn for advice,

Where you turn for guidance,

Where you turn for comfort,

Where you turn for peace,

Where you turn for endurance,

Where you turn for all things.

Let everything begin and end in the Word.

Have conversations with each other and others about the Word of God.

God’s Word must be a true focus in your life!

That is how you trust the Lord with all your heart knowing His Word therefore knowing Him.

God promises you in verse 6

He will make your paths straight, but it takes you trusting Him and not leaning on your own understanding.

yeah but.

Never be a yeah but person.

God I know in your Word you say this BUT I don’t like that

or God I know in your Word you say this but that is so hard or

God I know in your Word you say this but that will require a complete change on my part.

Yeah but.

You agree but don’t want to do it.

Be an even if person

God you say this in your Word and I will do it even if it costs me something.

God you say this in your Word and I will do it even if I will have to endure hardships and persecution

God you say this in your Word and I will do it even if it costs me everything I love you and I will trust you.

James 1:5

“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.”

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Listen if you rely just on your wisdom things will be bad for you.

I am not talking about circumstances and situations because those could be bad even when you do seek God’s wisdom but if you seek your wisdom things will be bad spiritually and that is never acceptable.

Ask and God will give it!

Look at verse 8

“this will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones”

When you see something in God’s Word that you don’t understand, or you struggle to apply

seek God’s wisdom and find healing and strength!

Honor God with your stuff vs 9-10

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God tells you to test Him in terms of tithing.

Malachi 3:10

“Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says the Lord of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.”

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This is the same truth as 9-10,

barns completely full,

vats overflowing with new wine

God doesn’t need your money and tithes in terms of things, money, and time.

He wants them because they show Him that you love Him and want to honor Him by giving back out of what He has given you.

It also shows you are looking at this worldly life and worldly things from God’s perspective and truth

James 1:17

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

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He gives you what you have and all he asks back is 10% given out of love for all He has done,

is doing

and will do in your life!

Give out of the love you received in Jesus and the cross.

Honor God with your stuff.

Not just giving but how you use it as well.

The Bible should drive your purchases,

does this honor God.

Is this something that matches the Word of God?

Love God’s discipline vs 11-12

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This may be the hardest to do, especially for young people.

Parents get this because we discipline our children out of love.

Kids struggle because discipline is never painless.

It is easy to get caught up in the pain of discipline and miss the love.

Do not despise the Lord’s instruction

why

because you understand Him

and trust Him

and know that He is disciplining you because He loves you

and because He knows what is best for you

and wants you to know that as well.

His discipline is designed to get you where you need to be,

back on track

or to stop doing something that is going to harm you greatly.

Hebrews 12:3-8

“For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up. In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly or lose heart when you are reproved by him, for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and punishes every son he receives. Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”

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God’s discipline is one way He shows His love for us.

In fact according to this scripture God’s discipline is conformation that you are saved,

His sons.

Instead of fighting discipline you should embrace it.

Revelation 3:19

“As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent.”

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Be zealous and repent.

See God’s discipline as He sees it.

A loving Father correcting His child.

Be a loving child and quickly repent.

The Greek word for zealous is zēloō (dzay-lo'-o) it is a verb and means to have warmth of feeling for or against:—affect, covet earnestly, (have) desire

As you can see this is a word tied to very strong emotions.

You are to have a warm feeling for God’s discipline.

You are to covet God’s discipline.

You are to desire God’s discipline and then repent when God’s discipline comes.

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.”

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Logan and Claire and Jackson, and the rest of us.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Don’t rely on your own understanding.

We have looked at this from a scriptural perspective but I also want to take just a few minutes to look at this from a practical now what point of view.

Find a church and start serving

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This is huge. This is scriptural

Hebrews 10:25

“not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”

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Church is so much more than Sunday morning services.

It is about getting connected with other believers.

Fellowship.

Doing life together.

Finding people to disciple you and for you to disciple.

It is about moving from milk to meat.

Becoming much more mature in your faith and walk with Jesus.

You don’t go to church to be served but to serve.

Get in a college age bible study,

Logan and Jackson find a men’s group to get plugged into,

Claire a women’s group.

That is what today is about. Sure we hope you love and USE your gift we are giving you

Sure we love you and are so very proud of each of you

But it is more than that. It is saying we are family. You are leaving the nest soon but we will never leave you. We are here to underpin you, to support you, to rebuke you, to do whatever God calls us to do.

God designed us for community and the best place to find that community is in a bible preaching and believing and living church!

Stand

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Ephesians 6:10-13

“Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.”

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You are entering a spiritual war zone.

Check that if you are a christian you live in a spiritual war zone constantly until you get called home to heaven.

Don’t be naive.

The nature of higher education is to attack those who do not believe like the majority.

You do not believe like the majority.

Stand your ground.

Stand on the Word of God.

Remember however, your fight is not against flesh and blood. The enemy wants you focused on the flesh and blood therefore moving away from the spiritual! Flesh and blood will hurt you but your fight is not against them so

Love hard,

love well,

be loyal,

be faithful.

Trust God fully.

Don’t rely upon your wisdom but upon the Word of God.

Surround yourself with like minded believers who also stand only on the Word of God.

For the rest of you that challenge applies as well.

You are not preparing to leave for college but the same spirit attacks you day in and day out. Stand.

Stand on God’s Word and the truth we have discussed here today.

As the girls come as this last song plays get with Jesus and respond accordingly

If you have never accepted Jesus that is where it starts. You can not stand alone because you will die alone. Jesus paid the price and set you free wont you accept that freedom this morning.

If you need to be zealous and repent please come.

You know what God is asking you to do....please respond accordingly.