The Benefits of Living Wisely

When you were growing up, did your parents ever tell you to do something and you asked

why?

And they made that famous statement, because I told you to do it, because I told you so.

I'm going to guess the overwhelming majority of us in this room, we heard that numerous

times.

You do it because I said to do it.

Well, have you ever told your child the same thing?

Well, I have, and I'm going to guess a lot of you have done the same thing.

Let's think about that.

On one hand, it is not wrong for parents to say that.

As a part of their God-given authority, parents have the right to command obedience of their

children.

Of course, for appropriate things.

God does the same thing with us.

God authoritatively commands His people throughout His Word to obey Him.

I will give you an example when God gave the Ten Commandments.

God spoke, identified who He is, what He had done for those people.

And I'm telling you, you shall, and He gave the Ten Commandments.

Sometimes, as you read the Bible, God simply commands us, you need to do this.

Do not do that.

And God can do that.

He's God.

He has the right, He has the authority as Almighty God and our Creator.

But on the other hand, it's not wise for parents to always command their children to obey just

because they say so.

A better way is for parents to explain why.

Why it would be beneficial for the child to obey.

Why they are telling the child, commanding or asking the child to do this.

And our authority for doing it this way is also God.

The Bible reveals that God often, often explains why He commands us to do certain things.

The Bible often shows that God gives us incentives for obeying Him.

He lays out the benefits for His people to obey Him.

And again, let's turn back to the setting of the Ten Commandments.

After He gave the Ten Commandments, in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 3, we read this.

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you,

and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you

in a land flowing with milk and honey.

You see, God's saying you need to obey these commandments that I'm giving you

because it'll make life better for you in the place that I have provided for you,

this land of milk and honey.

God, this is not isolated now.

God often says things like that to encourage us, to motivate us to obey Him.

And one of the clearest examples of this is Proverbs chapter 3,

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

where we're going to begin looking at this morning.

Turn with me if you would, Proverbs chapter 3.

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

This chapter has been referred to as one of the most positive chapters in all the Bible.

Here's some of the reasons why, or one of the main reasons why.

Throughout these verses, God never says, do this because I say so.

No, He repeatedly says, do this because it will help you.

And as you read through chapter 3, God provides all kinds of reasons why you should obey me

because it'll help you in this way, in that way.

It'll make a good, positive difference in your life.

As we go through these verses, I want to make it clear.

God is not saying, you do this and you'll be right with me,

and I'll take you to heaven when you die.

Proverbs is not trying to convey a message that we can work our way to heaven

or that we can make ourselves acceptable to God.

Proverbs is really written to God's people who already have a relationship with Him.

And God is instructing us in this book not on how to have a relationship with Him.

He's explaining how He wants us, His children, to live wisely

because it'll be the best for us.

We'll be glad to live His way if we'll do it.

Let's look at what He says.

Proverbs chapter 3, let's begin in verse 1.

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments.

For a 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.

Verses 5 and 6 are probably the most well-known verses in this book.

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.

We're going to focus mostly on verses 1 through 4 this morning

and come back later on.

And next week into verse 5.

What I want us to see in these first four verses,

especially the first two,

living life God's way

will result in living life the best way.

Living life God's way

will result in our living life the best way.

Solomon is writing.

He's writing from the perspective

of a wise, godly father

who loves and cares about his son

and wants his son to experience the best life possible.

When he says here in verse 1,

my teaching,

my son do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep my commandments.

He's referring

to what he has taught,

the wise father,

because it is based on God's law.

So,

Solomon is saying here,

I want you to listen.

As a wise father would say to a son,

I want you to listen.

I want you to pay attention

to what I have been teaching you.

I want you to let it sink in.

Don't just memorize the words,

but let it sink into your heart.

Now,

let me remind you of something.

We saw in chapter 1,

verses 2 through 7,

and in chapter 2,

that the teaching of Proverbs

is focused on teaching

godly wisdom,

godly character,

and how to experience right relationships

with both God and others.

The book of Proverbs

is a book of wisdom,

but not just any kind of wisdom.

The real focus

is that we experience

and use

the wisdom that God gives.

And if we will do that,

we will develop godly character.

And if we will do that,

we will have

the right kind of relationships

with God

and with other people.

Now,

the emphasis of these verses.

Son,

remember the wise teaching

that you have heard

as you have grown up.

Remember the wise teaching

that not only I have taught,

but that you have seen.

That would be the idea.

So I want you to think now.

Don't forget the truth

that you've been taught

throughout your life

by wise teachers.

Now,

I know

that everyone in this room,

everyone didn't grow up

in a Christian home.

Everyone was not brought up

in a Bible-believing church,

but most everyone

in this church was.

Most everyone,

if you look around,

the majority of us

had a Christian

father and mother

or at least

one parent.

The majority of us

grew up in this church

or a church

similar in that

it was a

Bible-believing church.

So,

most of us in this room,

we have been taught

the Word of God

in our homes,

in our church,

and maybe in other settings.

So what he says here,

don't forget my teaching.

He's talking to us

and telling us,

don't just think about

the words that have been spoken.

Take it to heart.

Think about what you have heard,

what you have seen.

Let it sink in.

He says,

let your heart

keep my commandments.

The idea is,

make it your own.

Believe it.

And if it's true,

accept it.

Take it to heart.

Live it out.

That's what he's trying

to get across here

in verse 1.

Now,

if you grew up

in that Christian home

and been involved

in a Bible-believing,

teaching church,

I want you to understand

that you have been blessed.

You have been favored

by God

to have been brought up

in such an environment.

But we need to be careful here.

Being exposed,

only exposed

to the Christian truth,

is not enough.

If it was just

word spoken,

if it didn't sink in,

if we didn't accept it,

if we didn't believe it,

I want to ask you,

have you taken

what you were taught

in your home

as a child,

in your church?

Let me pause here.

Even if you didn't

grow up in a Christian home,

by you being here today,

I'm going to assume

that there's very few

who are here

for the very first time.

If you didn't grow up

in a Christian home,

you didn't grow up

as a child in a church,

you probably

have been exposed

to Christian teaching

for a few years at least.

In a church,

read for yourself,

or something along that line.

Have you taken

what you have been taught?

What you have seen

in others?

And have you decided

these are no longer

my parents'

or my teacher

or my pastor's beliefs?

These are my beliefs.

And have you taken them

one step further

and said,

I not only hold

to these teachings,

but these teachings

now have a hold on me?

That's what a conviction is.

Have you taken

what you were taught

as you were growing up

at home,

at church,

and developed

not just strong beliefs,

but have you developed

firm convictions

that you're not

going to be moved,

you're not going

to be swayed from?

You know,

we get our beliefs

and our convictions

tested in this world

all the time.

if you're in

if you're in

elementary school even,

especially middle school

and high school,

you have had people,

some of them

you would consider friends,

some of them

are just classmates,

some could even

be teachers.

You have had people

that have challenged,

that have opposed

what you've been taught

in your home

and at church.

And if you've made

them your own

firm beliefs

and strong convictions,

you've had people

that's tried to

persuade you

to stop believing

that or stop

living that way.

There's opposition

everywhere.

People are going

to oppose you,

they're going to oppose

the Christian truth,

the biblical truth,

because they oppose God

and anything related

to God.

the devil

will tempt us

to sin

throughout our lives

by tempting us

to disobey

what we do know

God's word teaches.

The devil

will work through

people,

he'll work through

situations and

circumstances

to test us

or to tempt us

and most of the time

the devil's going

to try to get us

to compromise

just a little bit.

Not go just

180 degree turn

but he's going

to get us

tempted to

compromise

just a little bit.

And when we

compromise

just a little bit

it opens the door

to compromising

even more.

The little compromises

sooner or later

turn into

greater compromises

if they're not

repented of.

If we don't seek

God's forgiveness

and help

in maintaining them.

Now,

I want you to

take a real

honest look

at yourself

right now.

I want you

to think

do I see

evidence

in my life

of how

I have

compromised

the truth

of God

that I was

taught in my

home

or that I was

taught in my

church?

Things that I

really have

said I

believed.

you think

about it.

How were you

what were you

taught?

I'm talking

about biblical

truth.

I'm not

talking about

just sayings.

You think

about the

biblical truth

you were taught

as you grew

up.

You think

about how

you have

heard and

understood

and believed

the word of

God taught

in your Sunday

school class

from me

and other

preachers.

have you

compromised

any of

those

beliefs?

Have you

stopped

living

that way?

Now let me

ask you

do you

think those

compromises

have made

your life

better?

We're

being real

honest.

are you

living

according to

the truth

the wisdom

of God

that you

were taught

as you

grew up

that you

said you

believed?

Have you

compromised

or have you

forsaken

some of

them?

Well

have they

made your

life better?

Let me ask

you a second

question along

that same

line.

Are you

proud of

how you've

changed?

Are you

proud of

the fact

that I

no longer

believe

or live

the way

that my

parents

taught me

to live

or my

son's

school

teacher

taught me

or my

pastor

taught me

I'm

proud of

the fact

that I

no longer

do

or live

the kind

of life

that the

Bible

says I

ought to

live?

Are you

so proud

that you

would tell

your parent

or parents

that you'd

go and tell

your son's

school teacher

pastor

or any

Christian who

has tried

to help

you?

Are you

so proud

of how

you've

changed

how you've

compromised

that you'll

go and tell

those people

that you are

better off

now

because you

have rejected

their teaching

which is based

on the truth

of God's

word?

now

if you

would do

that

so be

it

it is

what it

is

but my

guess is

that if

you're

honest

if you'll

be honest

with yourself

and with

God

you would

have to

admit that

rejecting the

biblical

wisdom you

were taught

has not

made your

life better

it's not

caused you

to experience

any real

joy

contentment

satisfaction

it's certainly

not drawn you

closer to God

and most likely

it's not helped

your relationships

with other people

either

and the reason

I say that

is because

God created

this world

and us

in such a way

that living

life his way

is the best

way

God's the

creator

God's the

master designer

of life

and he created

us to live

life his way

because that's

what works

best

that's what

will give us

the most

satisfying

life

and that's

what God

is actually

saying here

in verses

2

and most

of the

odd

numbered

verses

or the

even

numbered

verses

at least

down

through

verse 12

we see

here in

verse 2

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

verse 2

one of the

results of

being faithful

to the

truth of

God

is a

long life

and peace

that's the

word

shalom

here

it's talking

about having

a sense

of wholeness

a sense

of rightness

a sense

that life

is the way

it should

be

life is

worthwhile

we sense

that

we experience

that

now

we need

to understand

that when

proverbs

says something

like this

it is not

a promise

God is not

making promises

that if you live

a certain way

life will turn out

that way

in the book

of proverbs

that's not

what Solomon

and the other

writers intended

that's not how

God led them

that's not the

kind of literature

that it is

proverbs

are

general

statements

about how

life

usually

works

proverbs

are basically

what wise

people like

Solomon

writing under

the inspiration

of the Holy

Spirit

observed

about life

and how it

works

in most

people's

lives

we can see

how verse

two

usually

works

the idea

of having

a long

life

and peace

wholeness

we can see

how verse

two usually

works

like this

a young

person who

lives according

to the truth

they've been

taught by their

Christian parents

by their

teachers at

church or

other Christian

teachers

a young

person who

lives according

to this

wisdom

is more

likely to

avoid the

kinds of

things that

will lead

to an early

death

or just

a miserable

life

let me give

you a more

specific example

most Christian

youth have

been taught

at home

and at

church

the most

important thing

for you to do

in your

relationship

with God

is seek

to know

His will

and then

do it

it's so

important

if you're a

Christian

seek to know

and do

God's will

in everything

that you

do

most

young

people

have heard

that

heard it

from their

parents

heard it

at church

most young

people have

heard things

like this

don't use

drugs and

alcohol

wait until

you get

married

to have

sex

honor God

by doing

your best

in school

and everything

you do

see the ultimate

purpose of life

is to glorify

God

in everything

now

if a young

man or young

woman ignores

those teachings

they will

usually experience

unwanted

consequences

sometimes

they are

fatal

every one

of us

in this

room

we

we know

someone

that may be

old

that may be

young

who chose

to ignore

biblical

wisdom

and instead

chose a path

just the

opposite

they may

have got

involved in

alcohol or

drugs

committed adultery

or be involved

with pornography

may just be

very greedy

and materialistic

may just be

just downright

dishonest

and one

or several

of those

things

as they

look back

now

they've

seen

that that's

what's

ruined

their life

it's hard

to argue

against the

fact that

rejecting

biblical

wisdom

it just

does not

add value

to anyone's

life

it actually

takes away

value

rejecting

biblical

wisdom

rejecting

God's

way

of living

has cost

many a

person

their job

their family

their reputation

just about

anything of

value

many people

have lost

because they

refuse

to listen

to the

Lord

accept

his word

as this

is what's

right

and then

seek

by God's

grace

to live

it out

give you a

quick example

go to a

high school

reunion

go to your

high school

reunion

especially if

you've been out

of school

20 30

40

50

years

and just

observe

just look

around the

room

and especially

if you

know a

little bit

about

your fellow

classmates

you can

look at

them

and you

can hear

just a part

of their

life story

and you

can tell

who sought

to live

according to

godly wisdom

and who

didn't

you can see

it in their

appearance

you can hear

it in their

life stories

living life

god's way

it does

add value

it does

make life

worth living

it does

make life

better

emotionally

physically

and

spiritually

look at

verse 3 and

4 quickly

let not

steadfast love

and faithfulness

forsake you

do you know

that steadfast love

and faithfulness

is the way

god chose

to reveal

himself or

describe himself

as he revealed

himself to the

people of

israel in the

book of

exodus in

chapter 30

god says

i am a god

of steadfast love

and faithfulness

some translations

say i'm a god

of grace

and truth

let steadfast love

and faithfulness

god's character

let not

let it forsake you

bind them around

your neck

write them on

the tablet of

your heart

internalize them

let it be a part

of who you are

on the outside

and on the inside

and just look

at what he says

so you will find

favor and good

success in the

sight of god

and man

again

what verse 2

and what verse 4

says here

these are not

promises

if you live your

life according to

the truth of god's

word

you're going to

live long

you're going to

be prosperous

you're never going

to be sick

or anything

like that

but the fact

of the matter

is

you see

in your life

and people's

lives around

you

that people

who develop

wisdom

character

and right

a right relationship

with god

and other people

they most

often

are the ones

who live longer

and better lives

and they certainly

live longer

and better lives

overall

than people

who live foolish

the people

who live

and act

immorally

and people

who have

poor relationships

with other people

you know

we're going to

look at verses

5 and 6

next time

but look

quickly here

in verse 6

after he says

to trust in the

Lord with all

your heart

and understanding

in all your

ways acknowledge

him and he

will make

straight

your paths

the book

of Proverbs

is filled

with that word

about how

we live

being described

in terms

of the path

or the road

that we take

whenever we

think about

the path

that leads

to right

and good

relationships

with god

or to a right

and good

relationship

with god

we need to

always remember

that it begins

with jesus

jesus is the

one who told

us in john

14 6

i am the way

and the truth

and the life

and no one

comes to the

father except

through me

so i want to

ask you this

morning before we

leave

do you really

and truly know

jesus christ

as your savior

and lord

that's the only

way having a

relationship with

him

that we really

can know god

and experience his

wisdom and experience

his blessing in our

life

if you don't know

christ i'm not

saying if you

profess faith or

been baptized do

you know him

have you truly

repented of your

sins and put your

trust in him

wholeheartedly and

are you following

him as the lord of

your life

if you have it

and you want to

start now

by turning from

your sin and

repentance and

trusting him and

calling upon him

to save you

it may be that

you are a christian

and you started

down the right

path with him

but you've strayed

the only way that

things are ever

going to be any

different be better

is for you to

come back humbly

repentantly

confessing your sin

and renewing your

commitment to the

lord jesus

you know the

christian christian

life really is the

best life

and god graciously

encourages us

in proverbs 3

to seek him and

his wisdom

so that we will

experience life

as he intends for

us

will you do that

will you listen to

the lord this

morning

and all these

incentives that we

find in proverbs

3 to live a

life that honors

him that obeys

him that does

things his way

let's pray together

father we pray that

right now that you

will help us to

honestly look at our

own lives and the

way the path that

we're on

father just drive

home this point

the living life your

way according to the

truth of your word

according to your

wisdom is the way

you intend for life

to be lived in the

most meaningful way

in the best way in

every way

so help us to

clearly see

ourselves

help us to

understand the

truth that you

have given us

this morning through

your word

show us now how to

respond

and in an attitude

of prayer you just

respond to the lord

if i could help you

i would be happy to

here at the front

i'll pray for you

share with you in any

way

would you listen to

the lord and

respond to him

you