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Heartfelt Trust in the Lord
Introduction: A. Proverbs = “pro – words” i.e. UpWords B. Solomon to his son/teacher to student a. Like Ecclesiastes it is wisdom under the sun C. Proverbs 3 is one of 10 sermons of wisdom from Solomon to his son in the first 9 chapters. D. Broken hearted; wounded heart; joyful heart; wicked heart; a hard heart; a heart of worship – the Bible refers to the heart often. We know that thinking takes place in the brain and the content of that thinking affects the heart. Just what is the Bible talking about when it mentions the heart? I. The Place of the HeartA. The heart defined 1. Vessel of the will, mind, emotions, your being 2. Center of character: something we call soul 3. How critical is it to maintain this core? Purity in the center of our being is required to “See God” (Matt. 5:8) a. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” Pro. 23:7 b. This is the private life; the private thoughts; the habit of the person’s inner life; the home of the basic desires; hopes and dreams. c. This is why it is so important to be loving “from the heart”; forgiving from the heart; serving from the heart; loving God with all your heart… B. The heart kept commands (1-2) 1. Children only have one command, obey your parents a. it is about being teachable: a learner b. it is about having a mind/brain system the properly interprets the world around c. it is about learning to discipline the self nature… d. all the years of schooling set patterns; teach skills and transmit information… but the most important of them all is a well trained heart… 2. Let your heart keep my commands a. it implies an act of the will/personal responsibility beyond circumstantial feelings b. choose to have a good attitude – bring every thought into the captivity of Christ. Pump into your thoughts the Word of God and out of your heart Worship and good deeds. C. The heart kept loving kindness (READ: 3-4) 1. “Let not” again we have personal responsibility 2. Mercy –KJV; Love-NIV; Kindness-NRSV a. The first person to call upon God’s mercy was Lot (Gen. 19:19) 3. “And truth” a. difficult sometimes because you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings b. NT “speak the truth in love” -- sometimes it’s hard to know what to do c. Why do we always think about this in a negative context? “Rebuke a wise man, he’ll love you. Rebuke a fool, he’ll hate you.” What is also true? The Word of God… D. The heart kept trust (5-6) 1. “Trust” lit. “to go for refuge” a thought through process verses a spur of the moment situation or immediate convenience… to be bold, confident, secure, without care, put your confidence in, make to hope, and trust 2. Fact of security and feeling of trust II. The Protection of the HeartA. Warnings 1. Don’t be wise in your own eyes (7a) a. Pride makes a person not teachable and rebellious. It is the undoing of the discipline of the heart b. Unable to take instruction without personal offence 2. Despise not the chastening of the Lord (11-12) B. Wisdom (is to…) – note the imperatives 1. Fear the Lord & depart from evil a. do something about the fear of the Lord b. Jesus is coming “Let this hope burn within you…” 2. Honor the Lord – now that’s a concept… how DO you honor God? · with all your possessions… the fruit of loving Him with all your heart = be a good steward · with the first fruits of all your increase = tithing · tithing made the rest of the money usable and holy · the promise of an overflowing blessing (Mal. 3:10) · Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” You’ve heard people say, “Put your money where your mouth is.” Jesus basically said, “Where you put your money your heart and mouth will follow: indeed your whole life will follow.”(Mat. 6:21) 3. Trust the Lord and lean not: literally is don’t support yourself by... b. Understanding: root is intelligence and by extension means intelligence c. Ways: Heb. “derek” which means “roads” by extension means course of life 1) Back to the root: roads -- “don’t go down that road” 2) What road is your heart and mind traveling? 4. Acknowledge the Lord: root “to know” i.e. “know God in all your roads of life” 5. Direct: to be made straight or even: i.e. to be made right or direct to the destination III. The Promises for the HeartA. The Happy heart (13) 1. the Hebrew for happiness is from their word “straight” “to be on the level” 2. i.e. happiness is in straight forward living B. The Healthy heart (Length of days) (16) 1. harkens back to the first verse about obeying parents... this is the first commandment with promise C. The Peaceful heart (Pleasantness and peace) (17) 1. from the word “agreeableness” and means grace, suitable and pleasant 2. peace: shalom D. The Fruitful heart (Tree of Life) (18) 1. fruitful 2. healing (Rev. 22:2) IV. Communion A. Heartfelt Passover – very personalized B. Jesus’ – very personalized C. You -- personalize
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