Chapter 3 – Trust His Discipline
1) How does he instruct us which path to take? (Verses 1, 5-6)
2) What does he say about Discipline? (Verses 11-12)
3) How valuable is wisdom? (Verses 13-18)
4) How is the Lord’s outpouring conditional? (Verses 32-35)
Cross References
How does the New Testament words in Hebrews 12:5-11 and Revelation 3:19 confirm and agree with what we have learned in Proverbs chapter 3?
Pride,
thinking that we have it figured out,
focusing on what has already been conquered,
Instead of what needs to be surrendered today,
It will lead to disgrace.
Disgrace,
When it is found before men,
We have an opportunity to learn,
To be disciplined by the experience,
And given an opportunity to choose
Between remaining powerless in repeating our prideful failures,
Or if we will seek God,
And be lead to humility.
Humility,
When it is found before God,
Provides an opportunity to find Hope,
in Jesus Christ who is faithful and true,
To be empowered by the Holy Spirit,
who is our teacher or guide and our comforter,
To know the Love of our Heavenly Father,
Who is the unseen made visible in Christ Jesus,
And in finding God we will understand the fear of God,
Which leads to wisdom.
Wisdom,
She is more precious than Gold,
She is eternal and nourishes our soul for eternity,
Because wisdom is not worldly knowledge,
But it is the understanding that God is in authority over all things,
That He is ruler and we are servant,
But that He is also Father and we are sons and daughters,
That He knows what is best for us,
That He has a purpose for us,
That He loves us,
Which leads us to Love.
Love,
It is that most excellent fruit,
That grows ripe on the branches of those planted in the Lord’s garden.
It is the fragrance of the incense of the prayers of His saints,
It is a pleasing aroma to the Lord our God,
Because it is the evidence of His very essence breathing within those that are His.
It is the life that we find when we lay down our burdens of sin and death and pick up our cross to follow Him.
It is eternal and it is how He knows us and calls us by name.
Love is the law of Christ,
And it fulfills completely the requirements of God that the law of Moses could not,
Because being reconciled to love is being reconciled to God himself,
For God is love.
To love Him is to serve Him,
To serve Him is to love others,
To love others is to serve them,
To serve others is to carry their burdens,
To serve others is to share with them the very hope that we have found in Christ,
To serve others is to recognize that we have a purpose in life to reach others with the gospel,
To tell them of this ministry of reconciliation to Christ,
To show them this love that flows from the very Spirit of Christ who lives in us.
Where are you today, friend?
Moving up from pride to disgrace,
Moving up from disgrace to humility,
Moving up from humility to wisdom,
Moving up from wisdom to love,
Or falling down in pride?
Even if you find yourself falling,
It is never too late to let your disgrace lead you to humility, friend.
Cry out to the Lord,
Seek Him with your whole heart,
Repent of your evil and rebellious ways,
Knock until He answers,
But remember to be quiet and listen for His answer,
Because He will answer in that still, quiet voice,
And you will recognize Him as the Good Shepherd who loves you.
Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. – Proverbs 11:2 NLT
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT
A rapper that I like (Bizzle) has a recurring theme in his songs that is “God over money”. For example, one of his lyrics is “Will you serve a living God or a dead president?” And then from my favorite song:
“First im a hater cuz I’m broke and my money low
Find out I made a couple hundred on the low
They be like so I thought it was God Over Money though
Hated when I’m paid hated when I’m broke
They hating on my faith hating on my folks
See em drown in the middle of the ocean
When you pull up they be hating on yo boat”
My point, you ask?
Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty. – Proverbs 22:16 ESV
Are we interested in what the Word of God has to say about money, the poor, etc? Can we hear what that call, that conviction is meant to tear us away from and draw us closer to? Is that surrender a difficult struggle for us or a joyful participation?
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 ESV
Oh, how the world gets this backwards. We can more easily justify helping those who can offer us some help in return, as opposed to trusting the LORD to repay us for serving those who in this life may likely never be in a position to appreciate or honor us. We are even given the wise advice to give our alms in secret so that we wouldn’t be seeking honor or glory for ourselves – because we are to be seeking glory to God in all things.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord ’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord , that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; but you shall be called the priests of the Lord ; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord ; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. – Isaiah 61:1-11 ESV
Be like Christ.
Deny ourselves and serve others.
Commit ourselves to do justice and show mercy.
Care and love for the elderly, the infirm, the needy, the poor, and those who cannot or will not return our kindness.
Yes, this is a Christian life – to show the world a reflection of God’s very nature that lives in us.
Then David returned to the brook Besor and met up with the 200 men who had been left behind because they were too exhausted to go with him. They went out to meet David and his men, and David greeted them joyfully. But some evil troublemakers among David’s men said, “They didn’t go with us, so they can’t have any of the plunder we recovered. Give them their wives and children, and tell them to be gone.” But David said, “No, my brothers! Don’t be selfish with what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us. Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike—those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.” From then on David made this a decree and regulation for Israel, and it is still followed today. – 1 Samuel 30:21-25 NLT
Why do we worry ourselves about what someone else “deserves”? Why are we so quick to point fingers at the imperfections of one another?
Friends, have we forgotten love? Have we forgotten mercy? Have we forgotten that we do not “deserve” His grace ourselves?
Let’s not fall into self righteous hypocrisy by thinking that we deserve anything better than those around us. Let’s not begin to think that our service to the Lord is a burden we bear or a coat we have payoffs for our freedom – or we might find ourselves falling short of the grace of God by submitting ourselves again to the law so we might measure and compare one another in our shameful pride.
No. Encourage one another in good works, and love one another, and serve together in lifting high the name of Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for you and I so that our works may be filthy rags, but His work done through His Holy Ones might be glorious testimonies of His very nature and spirit.
And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all his servants, all who fear him, from the least to the greatest.” Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the Lord ! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.” – Revelation 19:5-9 NLT
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11 ESV
Love.
This word has been twisted by the enemy to be used when talking about things that are so much less than love. Sometimes the world uses the word love when they really mean lust. Sometimes they use it when they mean tolerance. There are all kinds of misuses of the word love these days.
For example, is love a woman’s willingness to be manipulated and abused by her abuser over and over again, whether battered by words or fists – because she has this “feeling” for the man that she just can’t get rid of no matter how many times he betrays her or cheats on her or demean her? No. This is not love.
Is love seeing someone doing wrong or who is planning to do wrong and overlooking it and allowing it to continue without dating or doing anything to correct the person or stop them from breaking the law, hurting someone else, cheating someone in business, etc.? No. This is not love.
Love is not blind, it abounds with knowledge and discernment about what is right and what is wrong. Love does not passively seek the easiest option for ourselves, but love actively sacrifices self for what is right.
Jesus demonstrated love. He did not leave sinners in the traps of their sin, but delivered them and said, “Go and sin no more.” He did not leave the rich, powerful, and secure in their pride, but delivered them with a rebuke that either left them humbled or drive them to anger to the point that they wanted to kill Him. But it was love because it was the cure for the disease that ailed them.
Yes, Jesus came for sinners – and He did it to bring them to repentance, not to join in the debauchery and fornication. Some of the newer Bible translations may leave that out of Matthew 9:13, Mark 2:17, and Luke 5:32 but where is the love in leaving out His purpose, in leaving out the Truth? Many “emerging churches” (that are really synagogues of Satan) may feel most comfortable leaving out repentance and righteousness from their messages and focusing on a feel good message of positive thinking and treating God like a worldly genie who gives us stuff, but where is the love in a message so much more about self and things of the world, and empty, completely lacking, devoid of the basics of the gospel laid out in Acts 17:22-34 or Christ’s own preaching of repentance made clear in Matthew 4:17.
But today, instead of offering people the cure for what is killing them, it is said to be more loving to give more drink to the drunk, more drugs to the addict, more pornography to the lustful, more sex to the immoral, more weapons to the murderers, more money to the wealthy, more poverty to the needy, more power to the oppressors, more persecution to the persecuted, until the stench of a nation burning wildly out of control either finally awakens our nostrils to the warnings of destruction or we remain asleep and unspecified until the Lord steps in Himself.
No, love is not adding fuel to the fire. It is not putting on a Sunday mask of religion and continuing to add fuel to the fire. It is not finding a gathering that makes you feel more comfortable with your participation in sin, death, and destruction. Love is about loving God and His ways and in turn loving others enough to want to see them delivered. Love is about living the light and yes, hating the darkness. Because the darkness comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
Is God the love of your life that He should be today?
Is sin the enemy that it should be?
Do you know about the type of love that I’m talking about?
Will you live it today?
Will He demonstrate it through you today?
He can, and He will, if you surrender your life.
Do you just know about Him as Savior, and know how to cry out His name, but don’t yet know Him as Lord in your daily life?
Seek Him today. Lay down your old life and let Him walk with you today.
Today is the day of salvation. Today.
You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another. – John 15:14-17 NKJV
You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
Instead of putting on the title of Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Protestant, etc – or wearing the name of “Such and Such” Church – what if we just identified ourselves as “Friends of Christ” and then lived up to that statement?
These things I command you, that you love one another.
What if we stepped past the religion and stepped right into the deep waters of loving and helping and serving people who won’t always love us back?
Are you bearing fruit that will last forever?
Are you a friend of Christ?
Are you friends to one another?
Lord, teach us to love you by teaching us to love others – love that isn’t just a concept in our minds, but that is action and evidence in our daily lives of your presence.
“keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
– Jude 1:21 NKJV
TRUTH
“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”
Psalms 95:8-11 NKJV
[We were once in the wilderness, a part of the rebellion, an enemy of God – interested in our own ways and desires and not His.]
HOPE
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
I John 4:7-10 NKJV
[God loves us. In fact, this is our ONLY hope, that God loves us, because we have proven to ourselves and to others many times in our actions and our words that we are imperfect, flawed sinners. It is only through His love, His sacrifice that we find salvation, that we learn love.]
FAITH
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
– Psalms 95:1-2,6 NKJV
[Our response to His love, to His mercy towards a people undeserving of His love is grattitude, is thanksgiving, is praise. Praise not just in occassional religious ceremonies, but in our daily lives, even moment to moment throughout our day.]
LOVE
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
I John 4:11-16, 20-21 NKJV
[Yes, He teaches us love through His life, through His Word, and through His Holy Spirit that lives within us believers. And our purpose is to demonstrate this love, to testify to this love, by accepting it and pouring it out onto those around us. We are called – yes, we are even commanded – to Love God, and to Love others. And this isn’t a burden, but a blessing.]
PRAYER
Lord God, plunge me into your love so that I can love you with all that I am. I know that I’m asking you for the very thing I’ll give right back to you, but my heart feels small and shrunken; I struggle to live you well or even love at all. Immerse me in your love so that my heart, soul, strength, and might find their true home, and I will find the room in my heart to love my neighbor. Amen. (WSC 42)
TRUTH
————
O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs—
O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
Rise up, O Judge of the earth;
Render punishment to the proud.
Lord , how long will the wicked,
How long will the wicked triumph?
Understand, you senseless among the people;
And you fools, when will you be wise?
He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?
He who formed the eye, shall He not see?
He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct,
He who teaches man knowledge?
The Lord knows the thoughts of man,
That they are futile.
Psalms 94:1-3, 8-11 NKJV
[Judgement, wrath, and punishment lies ahead for the proud and the wicked. The Lord is not blind to their heart, their thoughts, and their desires.]
HOPE
———
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:1-6 NKJV
[When we realize our need to no longer walk proud and wicked, we can rely upon Christ – who died on the cross for us, who defeated sin and death, who rose from the dead, and who will come live in us and teach us the way, the truth, and the life.]
FAITH
———-
Blessed is the man whom You instruct,
O Lord , And teach out of Your law,
That You may give him rest from the days of adversity,
Until the pit is dug for the wicked.
For the Lord will not cast off His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
But judgment will return to righteousness,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.
Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?
Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
Unless the Lord had been my help,
My soul would soon have settled in silence.
If I say, “My foot slips,”
Your mercy, O Lord , will hold me up.
In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.
Psalms 94:12-19 NKJV
[In grattitude for our salvation and inheritance of eternal life, a Child of God grows in faith by trusting the Word of God, learning from Christ’s example – from being convicted by the Holy Spirit against sin – and by choosing to seek righteousness, surrendering our will and desires, and walking out His will for our lives.]
LOVE
———
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
Jude 1:20-23 NKJV
[Godly love looks past our own salvation and seeks fellowship with other believers. It is active in both encouragement and accountability – understanding that all situations call for love. Sometimes that love is demonstrated compassionately with soft words and actions – while other situations require swift, decisive, and bold words and actions in order to save some from the flames of destruction.]
Do you love Jesus?
I ask this question with people that I know and strangers that I meet, because it is the core foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ – and I’m amazed at the answers that I get.
“I’m the pastor/deacon/elder at blah blah blah…”
“I go to church at…”
“I read the Bible and pray every day…”
That’s not what I asked, friend. Do you love Jesus?
Rarely do I see that response of deep joy spring up and rejoice with “Yes, I love Jesus!” Rarely do I find someone eager to deny themselves, take up their cross, follow Jesus, give generously to the needy, love their enemies, and expect nothing from this life but the opportunity to serve Him until our days are through. Rarely do I find someone who wants to be used by the Lord to have His will done in our lives.
But far too often, I find a world that is interested in using the idea of Jesus and of religion and prayer to get what they want. Far too often I see a world that seeks to make God their slave and themselves the master – even in prayers as they name and claim all kinds of things for themselves as their portion instead of Jesus Christ being their portion and prize. I find so many selling their eternal soul for a bowl of soup – giving up the imperishable for more things that perish.
I find a world that has little interest in serving and loving God, but that wants to be served and loved by God. I find ac world that even when blessed by trusting in the Lord, is quickly distracted and falls into chasing after things and security and pleasure and honor amongst men instead of chasing only after God.
I find a world full of wolves that profit off of religion and the traditions of men, who make merchandise and slaves and followers of the very ones they are supposed to equip and send out. I find a world of kings who gather their flocks to be fleeced to advertise their name wide and far that is not the name above all names – instead of a world of servants gathering together to be fed and provided for and loved so they can go out and do the same to others.
I find so many eager to talk and be seen, but so few who want to walk and be clean.
What an evil and rebellious generation we live in, with people chasing after whoever will tell them whatever lies they want to hear – and so few actually seeking to find Jesus Christ in the Word of God, so few actually wanting to know Him personally and intimately, so few who want to love God more than self, so many that like the idea of Him as Savior but aren’t interested in the reality of Him as Lord.
Do you love Jesus?
Is He the love of your life?
Is He the steering wheel of your life instead of the spare tire?
And yes, I shine this light on myself daily and I am thankful for His grace when I fall short, but He loves us more than to leave us there.
Peter denied Christ too, but was restored from his disgrace, from his shame, from his letting down the Lord yet again – and He was restored to walk in his purpose and mission. It’s time that we step past religion and rise up as the true church, alive with his Holy Spirit alive and active in our lives. It’s time that we walked out our mission.
It’s time for us to love Jesus.
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
John 21:15-19 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/jhn.21.15-19.NKJV
So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
Luke 10:27 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/luk.10.27.NKJV
Harold J. Ballinger 