How do you measure success? Is it the car you drive and the house you own? Is it in the happiness you enjoy with your family? Or is success achieved by how highly others esteem your accomplishments in life?
This week we will be taking a break from our I Samuel series as we consider Proverbs chapter 3 which tells us how to be truly successful in life. The great Old Testament scholar, Bruce Waltke says of Proverbs 3, This chapter will give you a finer education than you will get from almost any modern university (and I would add at a much cheaper price).
You may remember that the first nine chapters of Proverbs contain several extended discourses which appeal to the reader to seek wisdom. The discourse in Proverbs 3 sets forth the great benefits of wisdom. Verse 4 summarizes the chapter. The one who gains wisdom will be successful in his dealings with both God and man. The chapter goes on to explain four ways you can act wisely towards God and three ways to act wisely towards men, along with resultant blessings.
Some who read Proverbs 3 may question, however, whether the wise are most blessed in this life. Sometimes godly people suffer from disease, calamity, and injustice. There is much more going on in Proverbs 3 than initially meets the eye. The blessings of wisdom are not all experienced in this life. This chapter points to the blessings of wisdom which are sure to come to the wise in the everlasting kingdom of God (for example see verse 18).
Another tension an honest reader experiences is the realization that none of us meet the high standard set by this chapter. This is why we need Christ who has become to us Wisdom from God (I Co. 1:30-31 Col. 2:3). ...
SERMON ACTIVITY
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