As we continue on the thought that God’s rod of instruction and guidance is designed, not to hurt, but to help us: just as we read in our Psalm, ‘Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.’ Rarely should we use the word ‘punishment’ in relation to the divine disciplines which God effects in our lives as Christians. Although generally there is a sense in which there is usually a consequence to sin in the life of a Christian as well as a non-Christian, but the thought uppermost in God’s mind when correcting anyone as concerning sin and its consequences is not mainly that retribution as a consequence for past misdeeds, but the development of our future spiritual and physical maturity? Bruce Narramore, a Christian psychologist, believed that the word ‘punishment’ should be reserved for non –Christians only because due to their unbelief and atheistic stand, their case becomes entirely different compared to that of an average true Christian. He says, speaking of the relationship that God has with His children, that ‘as Christ took our punishment on the cross, we are no longer sinners, but saints, true believers. Thereafter or as saints the focus of God’s dealings with us is not or no longer retributive, but remedial and correctional and when our case is remedied we then live correctly and thus long to become mature in Christ in all ramification. So from all of these explanations it becomes important as Christians that God’s dealings with us become very clear to us and from its clarity we come to a fuller understanding that as far as God’s dealings with us in corrective disciplines in life are concern we are not under punishment, but under discipline –and the difference is vital.’ I personally find it difficult to believe that God’s disciplines do not contain an element of punishment, but I see the point Bruce Narramore is making –namely, when we do wrong or wander from the divine pathway, God does not pounce upon us so as to even or balance the score: His disciplines follow a divine design that is calculated not merely to punish our wrongdoing, but to promote or advance our spiritual growth and maturity. How consoling this thought is –that when we disobey, God intervenes to correct us, not in anger, or with a desire to get even with us, but out of the deepest concern and interest for our spiritual development, growth and wellbeing. Let this divine understanding continue to move and spur us up to grow in the understanding of our God and in His dealings with us in all ramifications of life as we continue our life journey with Him! Bruce Narramore, Ph.D., is professor of Psychology at the Rosemead Graduate School of Professional Psychology and Theology in Los Angeles California and the author of numerous books, including Help! Bruce holds his M.A. from Pepperdine University Malibu, Los Angeles and his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky near Indiana and Ohio. Bruce Narramore and Dr. Timothy Friesen NCF helped found the Cornerstone Counseling Centre in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2004 to serve missionaries.

Now let us read Proverbs 3:1-12; My son, forget not my law or teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days and years of a life [worth living] and tranquility [inward and outward and continuing through old age till death], these shall they add to you. 3 Let not mercy and kindness [shutting out all hatred and selfishness] and truth [shutting out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood] forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them upon the tablet of your heart. 4 So shall you find favor, good understanding, and high esteem in the sight [or judgment] of God and man. 5 Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6 In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil. 8 It shall be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones. 9 Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the first fruits of all your income; 10 So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine. 11 My son, do not despise or shrink from the chastening of the Lord [His correction by punishment or by subjection to suffering or trial]; neither be weary of or impatient about or loathe or abhor His reproof, 12 For whom the Lord loves He corrects, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

The question many of us will be asking today is how many of us can truly boast of being true embodiments of God’s word, His laws and His teachings as spelt out in the Scripture and in the Gospel, not to talk of taking it to our heart and living it in our daily life? Do we even know His Ten commandment not to talk of knowing His other laws? Proverbs 3 emphasizes a father's concern that his son live a life of trusting the Lord. Coupled with this is his desire that his son be trustworthy—both to man and God. The person who lives a life trusting the Lord our God will find much treasure in God's accompanying promises. But the truth is that for us to develop a habit of trusting God, we must first of all make good efforts to know God the way God wants Himself known, otherwise it will be difficult to trust who you do not know anything about; you do not know His Character, the way He deals with things, you do not know His Being more than other gods you know, that is His being the God of gods and the Lord of lords! Worldliness have so carried us away that we do not even know how to make a U-Turn and make a comeback unto God, until we do that (make a U-Turn back to God) and always learn and know how to do that, things cannot work out well for us, this is the raw and bitter truth that many of us find very hard to embrace and live out in our life! We can summarize vv. 1–12 as “trusting and trustworthy.” The father knew that God is trustworthy and he wanted to pass that knowledge to his son. We will study these verses under two major headings: (1) the command to trust (vv. 1–4), and (2) the consequences of trust (vv. 5–12). Today how many of us as fathers and mothers knows how to teach our sons and daughters to know God as trusting and trustworthy? Proverbs 3 emphasizes a father’s concern that his son lives a life of trusting the Lord. Coupled with this is his desire that his son be trustworthy—both to man and God. The person who lives a life trusting the Lord will find much treasure in God’s accompanying promises. Atkinson summarizes: “Proverbs 3:1–12 focuses our attention on love to God which is expressed in keeping His commands (3), trusting His leading (5-8), honoring Him with gratitude for all of our possessions (9-10), and accepting His correction (11-12).” But the main theme is that of trust. Trust in the Lord, because, after all, He is trustworthy. The father knew that God is trustworthy and wanted to pass this on to his son: That is good parenting. Good parenting focuses on the child’s faith in God. This, of course, is essential for the salvation of their soul, but it is also essential for the child to become godly. And “godliness with contentment is great gain” as seen in 1 Timothy 6:6. This, in many ways, summarizes the first section of Proverbs 3. In these verses, the father exhorts his son to trust God and provides incentives to do so. These verses contain several promises (treasures) that attend trust in the Lord. As said above, we will study these verses under two major headings: (1) The Command to Trust (vv. 1–4); and (2) The Consequences of Trust (vv. 5–12). May we leave our time together being more committed to trust. Such individuals will have a character that others can trust. The Command to Trust: First, in vv. 1–4, we must consider the command to trust: My son, forget not my law or teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days and years of a life [worth living] and tranquility [inward and outward and continuing through old age till death], these shall they add to you. 3 Let not mercy and kindness [shutting out all hatred and selfishness] and truth [shutting out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood] forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them upon the tablet of your heart. 4 So shall you find favor, good understanding, and high esteem in the sight [or judgment] of God and man. (Proverbs 3:1–4) As noted, these verses portray a wise father exhorting his son to trust God. But, as we will see, such a life of trust in God produces a life that is trustworthy. This is the first promise we discover in this passage. Don’t Forget: The exhortation is straightforward: The son must not forget the commandments of God that the father has taught him. “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments” (v. 1). Newheiser comments, “Forgetting [godly] parental instruction in wisdom is not merely a moral flaw, a bad attitude but a moral evil as seen in Deut 8:11.” Commentators have noted the parallels between these four verses and the opening four verses of Deuteronomy 6. And since Proverbs is about living faithful to God’s covenant, this makes perfect sense. This is or can you now see why it is very important for us to be comparing passages of the Bible so that we will be getting fuller understanding of God’s Word and how God’s word is applied to our life and why it is very good that we always use it to guide our life! This is why we should not forget anything about God and His Word!

If the son will not forget God’s commands, a glorious promise can be his, is the assurance: “For length of days and years of a life [worth living] and tranquility [inward and outward and continuing through old age till death], these shall they add to you.” (v. 2). As in Deuteronomy 6, the trusting and trustworthy son will be blessed with fullness of life as seen in 1Timothy 4:8. Eric Lane comments on the concept of “peace” that “shalom includes material prosperity, but is combined with mental serenity and spiritual joy.” This is a wonderful promise. Children, will you experience this promise? Then embrace the responsibility (v. 1). Parents, are you preparing your child for this promise of shalom? Remember that last week 28th April 2024 from our sermon explanations of Paul’s model of greetings in the Bible, we saw that Paul used two important words: ‘’Grace’’ from Greek meaning favor in the sense of ‘May the gods show Favor to you’ and ‘’Shalom’’ in Jewish meaning ‘May God’s blessing of Wholeness, Prosperity, and Peace be yours.’ Then Paul added a third word ‘’Mercy’’ emanating from his experience with God, making it that today we have Mercy, Grace, and Peace: ‘May the Mercy, Grace and Peace of God be yours’! Don’t Forsake: Solomon continues: “Let not mercy and kindness [shutting out all hatred and selfishness] and truth [shutting out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood] forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them upon the tablet of your heart. (v. 3). In Deuteronomy 6:5–9, Moses exhorted fathers to teach their children well by teaching them the word of God. As head of the family the father was to bind the word to the home. Here, the faithful father exhorts his son to bind the qualities of “steadfast love” (mercy) and “faithfulness” (trustworthiness) to his “neck” and to his “heart.” “Love and faithfulness … these are two of God’s most glorious perfections, at the very heart of His covenant with Israel” (Lane). The father exhorts his son to remember these truths about God, yet the emphasis seems to be more on the son exercising these qualities. In other words, the father exhorts, “Like Father, like son.” “Your heavenly Father is faithful and trustworthy; you are to be as well.” Perhaps he mentions the neck to speak of outward obedience, while the reference to the heart speaks to inward obedience. Both are called for. But today these qualities are lacking in us because we are lacking in God’s Word! Let us make efforts to be embodiments of God’s word because that is the only time the words don’t forsake will be truly realized in our life. The Promise 2: Another promise is given in v. 4: “So shall you find favor, good understanding, and high esteem in the sight [or judgment] of God and man.” We can summarize this promise as an approved character. Integrity is the fruit of one who obeys God. Though the godly person will have plenty of enemies, the godly will respect her. In fact, the words translated “good understanding” could also be translated “good repute.” Most importantly, this individual who doesn’t forsake God’s word will live under the blessing of God as seen in Psalm 15. If we learn to trust God, others will be more prone to trust us. It is in this way that we will find favor/success with people. Those with integrity are in a position, generally, where they will be respected. And such respect will open doors that disrespect will close. Integrity or uprightness is the quality of being honest and having good strong moral principles that you refuse to change your good stand in the affairs of life in the midst of men and God! It is the state of being whole and undivided in every state of being trustworthy. Remember that wholeness is the state of having your body, spirit and soul working perfectly together, in unity not divided; this state can only be realized by God’s Presence and Indwelling in your life, meaning only God can make you whole in life but being carnal or fleshy makes you a split personality or divided in life, makes your body spirit and soul not working together, which is the reason why your body will be desiring a thing while your spirit is rejecting that same thing in life but your spirit desire is superior to that of your body and it is only your spirit desire that is aimed for your well being in life. Know that your soul is the seat from where everything that is governed by reason, decision and action come from in your life. But this verse also informs us that, by keeping our promises, by being covenantally faithful, even God will be favorable to us (see Jesus in Luke 2:52). Paul made the claim that God put him into the ministry because he counted him faithful as seen in 1 Timothy 1:12. That verse has different interpretations, but at the least we can say that God found Paul to be a man who was trustworthy with God’s gospel and therefore he was entrusted with it. Is this not precisely what the requirements in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 teach us? Today God is still looking for men and women with integrity to entrust His word in their hands not minding their pasts! To have the approval of God—the applause of heaven—is what separates the happy from the unhappy. So if you want to be truly happy in life and be at peace, the peace that comes from God, you must have to be upright with God having God’s approval in the things you do, meaning you have got to have the fear of God in your heart and everything about God must be the thing that gives you delight and joy. Earning trust is a hugely important quest in life. But this arises from a character that is shaped by the character of God and having the character of God comes from being an embodiment of God’s word and living it. Have you received this promised and prized possession? You can. Trust and obey the Lord and watch your testimony improve.

In vv. 5–12, the concept of trust in the Lord remains the dominant theme. But this trust is exercised and revealed in various settings and contexts of life. Let’s explore these: Trust God in Your Trials: First, God can be trusted in trials: “5 Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6 In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” (vv. 5–6). These are some of the most well-known verses in Scripture. We often find help here when we are faced with the trial of making decisions that, on the surface, are difficult to make (career, university studies, marriage, etc.). Of course, these verses apply in many other areas as well. We learn here, first, that our trust must be entire—“with all your heart.” No double-mindedness is permitted. How do we do this? What does this mean? Well, at the very least, the Hebrew parallelism means that to trust the Lord entirely means that we do not lean on our own understanding. In other words, though Proverbs encourages understanding, but that understanding must be informed and shaped by God’s Word. Worldly understanding is excluded. So whenever you are exhibiting understanding, you have got to be clear the type, whether Godly understanding or worldly understanding! Second, we see that our trust must be exclusive: “in all your ways acknowledge Him.” Literally, Solomon is saying, “In all your ways, know God.” ‘’Understand God’’ This is how we learn to trust God, and this is how we know that we can trust God. When you try understand His dealing with you in life, seeing it as guide, as discipline, as training, as correction, as instruction! In our various trials—in whatever ways we are tried—we must pursue the knowledge of God. As Lane has well said, “it is not important that we don’t know the future, only that we know He knows; It is not important that we don’t understand what happens to us, only that we know He does; It is not important that we can’t control events, only that we know He does and submit.” If our trust is entire and exclusive, there is a wonderful promise: “He will make straight your paths.” The idea of a straight path indicates the promise that you will get where you should. Gary Brady captures a large part of this promise when he writes, “It is a promise of guidance, of entrance onto the narrow road that leads to life, and of God’s leading all the way to heaven.” Yet certainly included in this promise is that, on our earthly sojourn, the Lord will graciously shine His face on us and keep us. He will not let us down. He will lead us to where we need to be by His divine plan and purpose. This is the assurance when we truly trust, obey and follow our God! I personally leaned heavily on this promise more than 25 years ago when the missionary door to Australia closed in my face said the narrator. I was sure that God was calling me to be a missionary, but when the Australian authorities would not grant me a visa, I needed to learn to trust in the Lord. As I did so, he directed my paths to South Africa. Do you see how God works? This is part of what is meant by ‘understanding’ God and God’s ‘’dealings’’ with us! Trust God in Your Temptations: A second major area in which we must trust God apart from our trials is in our temptations: “7 Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil. 8 It shall be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones.” (vv. 7–8). These verses speak to the temptations we face as we embark on a life of trusting the Lord. As we walk through this world, we face various temptations that seek to get us off the path, to chase “evil.” But if we choose rather to trust the Lord and His word, we will not succumb. Three trusting responses are required: First, we must trust humbly: “Be not wise in your own eyes.” We must be dependent on God’s “eyes,” not our own. We must trust someone else—and that someone else is the Lord God Almighty. Second, we must trust reverently: “Fear the LORD.” We must develop a proper view of God and respond accordingly. We must honor someone—and that someone is the Lord God Almighty. Third, we must trust resistantly: “Turn away from evil.” We must take personal responsibility to eschew evil. Do something! Run away from evil! As we trust humbly, reverently and resistantly, we are again given a wonderful promise: “8 It shall be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones.” (v. 8). “Flesh” is, literally, a reference to the umbilical cord. It speaks of that which nourishes life. “Refreshment” could be translated “moisture.” The idea is of bones that are healthy and that have not dried up. The promise, therefore, is that of a life that is healthy. To the degree that we trust, and therefore obey, God, we will enjoy a healthy life. The more we avoid sin, the healthier a lifestyle we will enjoy as seen in Psalm 32, 38, 51. Trust God with Your Treasures: A third major area of trust is seen in vv. 9–10: “9 Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the first fruits of all your income; 10 So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine.” These verses address an area with which most of us perhaps struggle the most when it comes to trusting God: the area of our personal financial stewardship. But in this passage dealing with trusting God, and thereby growing in our own personal integrity, being trustworthy with our money is deemed important but very difficult to practice. The old covenant Israelite was commanded to bring the first fruits of his harvest to the Lord as seen in Exodus 23:19. The word translated “honor” means “heavy” or “weighty.” When we give a proportion back to the Lord of what He has given to us, we testify that He “carries weight” in our life. We testify that He is trustworthy. Notice that this is not merely talking about our “tithe.” He says that we are to honor Him with our wealth. Those who trust God understand that God gives to us to give through us. Are we being trustworthy with what He has entrusted to us? This will look different in different contexts. At BBC, one way in which this displays itself is in our missions giving. Missions at BBC is sponsored through a faith promise offering. This is an amount that members of the church pledge, over and above regular giving, to give to the missions ministry of the Church. It is called a faith promise commitment because it is a commitment, made by faith, by which we further the work of the Great Commission, trusting God to resupply as we create need by our sacrificial giving. Once again, a promise attends this manifestation of trust: “So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine.” Or “then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” The agrarian culture sets the backdrop for this metaphor of God’s blessings upon those who trust Him enough to be trustworthy with what is His. The picture is of abundance. This is no prosperity gospel, but neither is it merely something to be spiritualized away. God promises to meet the needs of those who trust Him to seek Him and His kingdom first. Lord Jesus made this quite plain: And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:29–34) Trust God in Your Training: A fourth, and final, area of trust is displayed in vv. 11–12: “11 My son, do not despise or shrink from the chastening of the Lord [His correction by punishment or by subjection to suffering or trial]; neither be weary of or impatient about or loathe or abhor His reproof, 12 For whom the Lord loves He corrects, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” The Christian life is one of growing trust in the Lord. And this requires training. It requires discipline. It requires chastening. “To become a Christian is to become a child of God, and that means to come under His discipline” (Brady). This is what we find in these final verses of this section. We are told that the person who trusts God will sometimes experience pain from God, but this is for experiencing the pleasurable promise of God. “Discipline” speaks of instruction through chastening. When we fail to trust God, there will be consequences—often painful consequences. But not all discipline is necessarily because of our sin. It is, as with Job, to mature us so that we honor God always. As Newheiser observes, “While verses 9–10 tell us how to honor God during prosperity, verses 11–12 train us to honor God in the midst of adversity.” How should we respond to “discipline”? First, don’t under react: “Do not despise the LORD’s discipline.” Do not treat it lightly; do not treat it as insignificant for God is lovingly at work in your life. Learn from it! Second, don’t overreact: “not be weary of His reproof.” Don’t let it bring you down or get you annoyed. Don’t be crushed by it. Rather, thank God for it and learn to trust Him more and try to learn or find out what He is pointing out to you. As Thomas Brooks wrote, “God would not rub so hard, were it not to fetch out the dirt and spots in His people.” In other words, God has a holy, helpful and happy purpose in such painful training and discipline He mates out to us. A promise again attends this manifestation of trust. The promise here is implied, and like so much of the Old Testament, it awaits fuller revelation in the New Testament. Hebrews 12:11 says, “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Notice the promise: “the peaceable fruit of righteousness.” The fruit of the painful process is growth in godliness. This results from growth in trust in God. The training has built our trust! And in the light of this passage, this means more of God’s blessed treasures! The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of this. Hebrews 5:8 reveals that He “learned obedience by the things that He suffered.” This is both amazing and unfathomable; that God Himself learned by the things He suffered! But thank God that He endured the difficulties faithfully trusting God. For this reason, we have a Savior. And because we have a Savior, we have someone that we can trust completely. He is the same Lord that this father exhorted his son to trust. We can trust Him because He is trustworthy. Will you trust Him? I am making efforts to trust Him, asking Him to always help me!