Bryce Crawford (0:00)

We're going on tour this fall. We're bringing the live podcast show to four new cities. We're coming to Nashville, San Diego, Chicago, and Birmingham, Alabama. If you've ever wanted to see the live podcast in person, go to jesusinthestreet.org tour and get your tickets. It's going to be a powerful night of worship, and the word that God is storing in my heart is going to be different and unique to each city we go to. So come out jesusinthestreet.org tour, get your tickets, and we'll see you in Nashville City, San Diego, Chicago, and Birmingham this fall. What's going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Bryce Crawford Podcast. I'm Bryce, and today we are on episode three of 31, breaking down the book of Proverbs for the month of July. Guys, I pray this series is helping you guys. If you want the free downloadable PDF to track your progress, go to jesusinthestreet.org Proverbs Download the PDF for free, print it out, put it on your phone, check it off whenever you follow along. But today we're going to be in Proverbs 3, and if we could give a thesis statement to summarize Proverbs Chapter three like we're doing every Proverbs chapter, it would be trust in the Lord with all your heart. The famous Proverbs 3:5 through 6 verse is in this chapter. We're going to break down the whole passage. Let's start out with verses one and two and begin to break this thing down. 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. So Solomon is writing to his son. All right, we got to give a backstory here. Solomon, he was a little bit of a player, all right? He had 700 wives, 300 girlfriends, but only one son. And the one son he had was named Rehoboam. So when Solomon is writing this collection of Proverbs, now, he wrote most of them, there's a few other extra authors, but for the most part, this book that Solomon put together is speaking to Rehoboam. And he says, my son, do not forget the law. He is warning his son not to forget the word of God. And this is more than just a mental exercise. This is more than just memorizing scripture. It's also connected to a life of obedience to God, right? So when he says, let your heart keep my commandments, he's saying, look, memorizing Scripture is a Part of it, memorizing the law of God and writing it on your heart is great. We're going to read that down a few verses later, but he says we've got to actually apply this to our lives to keep our heart near his commandments. And so he's giving a warning to his Son to not forget God's Word. But we also have to understand not only Solomon writing to his literal son, this is also God speaking to you and I as his children, saying, hey, my son, my daughter, don't forget my word, don't stay near to it, don't forget it, everything's okay. Then you go to verse two. The length of days and years of life and peace will be added to you. This means that the obedience to God and obedient life to God is going to lead to a long peaceful life. Now what does that mean? Because the Prince of Peace exists and he lives inside of you and his teachings and His Word lives inside of you, it is going to produce a long peaceful life. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Verse 4. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Psalm is saying, do not turn away from the loyal love of God. The crazy thing about today's society is, is that your friends, your co workers, that friend group at school, this, this, that and the other, the people that follow you on social media, they can change what they think about you. They could be great, amazing, sincere people, but even they will let you down. But the most beautiful, magnificent thing about the loyal love of God is that he doesn't change his mind about you and him being an all knowing God, knowing all the mistakes you're going to make, all the times you're going to turn and rebel from him in the future, not even from this present moment. And his love is so loyal to you, do not turn from it. Solomon warns. Verses 5 through 6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. Verses 5 through 6 tell us to walk rightly with God. Solomon has realized that God is trustworthy. He sought out wisdom from God. He understands through communing with God, spending time with him and, and, and, and understanding his character that this man is trustworthy. So he's saying, trust him, trust him. It is in the human nature to trust someone or something. You want to trust the bottle, you want to trust the sex, you Want to trust the money, you want to trust the social media. I mean so many people put their trust and identity in their social media platform. And I remember when TikTok was going to get deleted, everyone was having an identity crisis because all these things, these foundations are sand, they're rocky. It's in our nature as human beings to trust someone or something. And Solomon's saying, put your trust in the Lord, all of it. He has put all of it in there. Because if your trust in God isn't true, then it's not complete. If your trust in God isn't complete, then it's not true. You can be give, giving God 50 of yourself and then the other 50 or 50% of yourself is unknown. So if you don't trust God completely, then your trust is isn't true. And he says, do not lean on your own understanding. Trust in the Lord. To lean on is implying to rely on, don't rely on yourself. Proverbs 14 says, There's a way that seems right to a man, but what in the end, it leads to death. Your feelings outside of the word of God and discernment with God's word and his character are going to lead you astray. Now can someone be a good moral person without God? Absolutely. But you have no purpose to your life. So when we lean on the discernment and wisdom of God, it actually helps us and invites us into this peaceful long life. And so to acknowledge God, to acknowledge God and trust God in verse 6 In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths means to invite God into everyday life and conduct. Invite God into your decision making. Ask God what you you should eat for breakfast. Ask God what you should wear because God could use the clothes that you're wearing to minister to someone. Ask what restaurant you should go to. Should I go to Chick fil A or McDonald's for breakfast? Because you might meet someone that needs the love of Christ that day. Invite God into your everyday life. Also help him make decisions because you might make a stupid decision out of your flesh that leads to total destruction. But if you invited God into that decision, you wouldn't have blown up your whole life. Verses 7 and 8 Be not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and and refreshment to your bones. Solomon's like, dude, don't be puffed up with conceit. Don't feel entitled. People that are entitled and think that they have the authority to speak on things are actually not Teachable. And we have to live in this place where we never stop being teachable. Because the second we become entitled, the second we think we've made it, the second we think we know better than God, we've lost. We've lost. And Solomon is echoing this proud message, this incredible message, the thesis of the thing. Trust the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on your own understanding. Don't trust yourself. You, yourself, your feelings, your emotions, what you want, your pride is going to lead you astray. But God is saying, if you trust me, the one who knows you better than your own self, the one who knows the number of hairs on your head, the one who made you with a purpose. Yeah, trust me, I know what's best for your life. And I'm not trying to control you. I'm trying to actually free you to be who you were originally designed to be. Because the good, the American dream is actually living for God and living under his judgment and under his righteousness and under his trust, rather than trusting yourself. Because trusting yourself is going to blow your whole world up in your face. And I know personal from personal experience, the times that I've trusted myself have been the worst decisions I've ever made. Verses 9 and 10 honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce. Then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with line. This is another way that we can trust the Lord is with our finances. Why? Because we don't earn money. God gives us money. So for an example, like when it comes to tithing and honoring God with our finances, like, we don't give God money, we give back God the money that he's given to us. Does that make sense? And so back in the Old Testament, when it was time to tithe and give 10%, you didn't just give some random 10%. So when they would tithe, they would tithe their, their livestock, they would tithe their flock, and they would give not just any 10, they would give the best 10. Meaning if they had a hundred sheep, they wouldn't just give some dirty old random tent. Oh, let me get rid of this one. It's got a lint. Let me get rid of this one. Half its fur is missing. It would give the best 10. So when we give God our first fruits, the first fruits in verse nine, he's saying, Give God your best 10. So some practice that I like to take into play is when I tithe, I. I try to pray and go, God, this is my best 10. I'm giving my best 10 to you right now because that's something I like to do. I want God to know what that looks like. Because we are trying to honor God with generosity. We can honor God with generosity that realizes that he's the great provider. That's what it is. When you honor God with your generosity, you're acknowledging that he is the provider and that all the money is actually his money and that you live in abundance because He's. He's in control. And God knows how to take care of those who honor him with the resources that he's given them. And so I'm not preaching some prosperity gospel. See, that's the lie. There's this prosperity gospel out there that says if you give God $5,000, he's going to return you $5,000 and more. But the reality is God blesses you when you honor him with your wealth. It just may not be in return with wealth. God will bless you when you honor him with your tithes and with your money. But that doesn't mean he's going to give you money back. He might give you a friend or a brother for a lifetime in adversity. He might give you good community, or you might grow in deeper revelation and intimacy. Whatever that may look like, he is going to bless you. Verses 11 and 12 My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his repro, for the Lord reproves him who he loves as a father, the Son in whom he delights. This is when God brings or allows some sort of discomfort in your life. Discomfort produces character. Trial produces character. The one who endures till the end will be saved. There's something about rejoicing with God at the peaks of the mountain, but there's something about fellowshipping with God in the suffering that actually does something with our relationship with God. And so it's powerful. And God's correction to his people, to you and me, and is a wonderful sign of his love. God's correction in your life is actually a sign that the Spirit of God lives in you. Can you go figure out what's going on with Him? God's correction to his children is a sign that the Spirit of God lives in you. If you're not being convicted, if your life isn't changing, if your steps aren't being altered and fixed to the righteousness in the Word of God, then I would actually ask yourself, does God love you? Are you listening to Him? Because God's trying to correct you. Because He Cares about you. Verses 13 through 18. Let's read the benefits of God's correction Now after we realize, hey, the correction of God is actually a beautiful thing from a father to a son. He's not a dictator over a socialist economy. He is a father to a son who cares about your heart and your physical and spiritual needs. Now we're about to read the benefits of God's Correction in verses 13 through 18. Let's read through it. Blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who gets understanding. For they gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand. In her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her. Those who hold her fast are called. Blessed Solomon longed for his son to seek wisdom. Just as God longs for you to cling on to his wisdom. And he's saying a couple things in verses 13 through 18 that the wisdom actually guides to a long, happy life. Wisdom is better than any material gain. Knowing God and growing in deeper intimacy with God is better than any physical monetary gain that anyone can gain. And he is saying that long life is the equivalent to pleasantness, peace and happiness. When you cling to the wisdom of God and achieve this long life, this long life is a life of pleasantness, peace and happiness. Happiness is this joy found in the Lord that He sustains you. Not the things of the world sustain you, but. But he sustains you. Verse 19. The Lord by wisdom founded the earth. By understanding he established the heavens. By his knowledge, the deep deeps broke open and the clouds drop down do in God's great work. He showed great wisdom. When God created you, he created you with intentionality, with beauty, with design. God loves the way you look. God loves the way he designed you. And you have his likeness in you. Which means you bear the image of God. You bear the imprint of God on your life because he created you in his image. This means you're not an accident. This means you weren't just a mistake your parents made on their honeymoon. This means you were created on purpose, for purpose. When we understand that God created everything in this earth, you and I, with majesty, beauty and intent. This means that you and I are in an accident. This means that our life has purpose. And our ultimate purpose is to glorify God with our life because he gave his life for us. Verses 21 through 22 My son, do not lose sight of these Keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and the adornment for your neck. The wisdom of God will keep your heart healthy. Verses 23 through 26 is going to tell us about safety and walking in wisdom of God. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or the ruin of the wicked when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Verses 23 through 26 of Proverbs 3 echo the three questions that I asked us in Proverbs chapter 1 Where's your satisfaction, significance, and your security? If you're satisfied in Christ, you won't idolize other things. You will be content in him. You'll enjoy things that God's creating. You'll enjoy nature, you'll enjoy social media. You'll enjoy these things, but they won't be an idol in your life. Where's your significance? Do you find your value and worth in that God created you with beauty and majesty, or do you find your value and worth in the opinions of man? If you find in the opinions of man that you'll be shaky and where's your security? We can feel safe and know that what verse 26 the Lord is our confidence, meaning when trials come, when temptations come, and when hard times come. We don't have to shake in our boots because we're founded on the rock, and the Lord is our provider and our protector. He's our confidence. He gets us through the storm. Verses 27 through 30 are just going to be some practical lessons on the wisdom of God. Do not withhold good from those to whom it's due when it's in your power to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, go and come again tomorrow, and I will give it to you when you have it with you. Do not plan evil against your neighbor who dwells trustingly beside you. Do not contend with a man for no reason when he has done you no harm. Here's a couple lessons Solomon first says we should do good when the power is in our hands to do so. Meaning if you have the ability to bless someone, encourage someone, serve someone, do it. Don't wait for someone else. God's going to use you. Then he says, the good that we do, we should do promptly, meaning procrastination and hesitation is a lack of obedience to God. And so if there's a need and we're able to provide, do so and treat others well. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Love your neighbor as yourself. When you see yourself the way that God sees you, then you realize that everyone else is of equal value. So you want to treat them with with the utmost servanthood, respect and humility. And verses 31 to close do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways. For the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are his confidence. Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways. Some people are jealous of where Satan has other people than where God has them. Oftentimes we look at other people's circumstances and get jealous and covet. But we have to understand a covet thing. Why would I be jealous of someone who doesn't walk with the Lord when I have the greatest gift ever, ever, which is intimacy with God? I saw a podcast clip where an interviewer asked someone, he said, if you could spend five minutes with Jesus, what would you say? And the person on the podcast said, you could spend 5G 5 minutes with Jesus. Every day, all the time, because we have access to God. The veil is torn. Verse 33 the Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor. The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace. The thesis statement and the ultimate goal and the ultimate thing that is echoed in Proverbs Chapter three is to trust God with all your heart. Give him all your heart. When we trust God fully, we experience the fullness of God. Guys, I pray the Proverbs Chapter three was a blessing to you guys. I love you guys. See you guys tomorrow for Proverbs chapter 4. Guys, thank you so much for watching and listening to this episode. If you guys like it, subscribe to us on YouTube, follow us on Spotify, Instagram and TikTok. Bless you guys and see you guys next week. For the next episode.