Well, as I have already mentioned to you tonight, turn with me to Proverbs chapter 3. Proverbs chapter 3, as we consider for the text of the sermon, verses 5 and 6, which I read earlier to the young people. We read together the first 12 verses of Proverbs 3. As we now give our attention to the reading of the Word of God. My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart. For they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline. Do not resent His rebuke. because the Lord disciplines those He loves as a Father, the Son, He delights in. May God add His blessing to the reading and the preaching of His Word tonight. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, you know that when you want to get a job, you've got to fill out that job application. And an important part of that application process includes previous experience. You see, in order to convince a prospective employer to give you the job and to trust you with the responsibility of that job, you need to sell yourself. You must prove that you are worth it. You must convince that prospective employer that you are able to do the task, the job for which he wants someone. And your resume, which shows the experience that you had, must be crafted in such a way to make you look good, to make you look impressive, to make you look dependable. Not to lie about you, But to take your strong points, those good qualities of yours, and to highlight them. But again, to prove that you are worth it. But that's not how it is in the kingdom of God. You see, those who are enlisted in the Lord's army, those who are called by God for service in His kingdom, have nothing useful in themselves to bring. We are reminded of that. We were reminded of that in that particular question in the Forum for Professional Faith, which asks these young people, do you seek your life, or we might say your salvation, not in yourself, but only in Jesus Christ, your Savior. And for this congregation this morning, as we were called to self-examination in preparation for coming to the Lord's table, we were reminded of this again, that we come to the Lord's table not seeking our salvation in ourselves, but again, only in Jesus Christ. This text from Proverbs 3 instructs us as believers how we are to live and how we are to travel this pilgrimage of this life. And of course we know, at least most of us know, that the book of Proverbs contrasts wisdom with folly, wisdom with foolishness. And these same two characteristics are contrasted in this text. I preach to you this Word of God regarding the path of true dependence. Again, a path that forsakes self. A path that completely submits. And finally, a path that leads to safety. When we talk about dependence and depending upon something, we're talking about where you place your trust. And the idea is that of security, of stability, of a foundation. And the questions that we must ask ourselves and that we must then answer are, what is my foundation? Or where do I place my trust? And if you notice, according to the text, the answer is simple. The foundation must be the Lord. The path of true dependence is trust in Him. You see, that's the path of wisdom. But the path of foolishness, to contrast that, is to trust myself. And that's why we need to consider, first of all, that the path of true dependence forsakes self. The text says, and lean not on your own understanding. The word translated lean has the idea of to lean upon, to trust in, to be supported by, or to rely upon. You see, it carries with it the idea of foundation, of undergirding. Now boys and girls, you know that the proper foundation is important, don't you? A building needs to have the proper foundation because the better and stronger the foundation is, the better and stronger the building will be that rests upon that foundation. If the foundation caves in, what's going to happen to the building? Well, it's going to fall over. It's going to crumble. We know that. We know that the story of the foolish man who built his house upon the sand compared to the rich man who built his house upon the rock teaches us that very truth. But the Word of God commands believers that we not lean on, that we not build upon, that we not use as a foundation our own understanding. We are not to rely upon what we think is best apart from God's instruction. Our knowledge, and what I'm talking about is man's knowledge apart from the illumination of the Holy Spirit, is dangerous because Scripture makes it clear that man's knowledge only leads one down the path of destruction. And to lean on one's own understanding apart from God is to treat God as non-existent. Which, of course, we know is foolish. Because he alone is the source of life. The psalmist David says in both Psalms 14 and 51, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. In other words, he has said, there is no foundation. There is no hope. There is no life. And David goes on to make it clear that the workers of iniquity, those who do not call upon God, they have no true knowledge. they have no true understanding because true knowledge and true understanding only exists in a saving relationship with God. You see, true knowledge understands who God is and who I am as I stand before God. True knowledge understands who Jesus Christ is and what He has done. And true knowledge understands as well that He is the only way of salvation in life. Apart from God, you see, Man's knowledge is just lies. Lie after lie after lie after lie that only serves to lead one further away from God. Beloved, the Bible is clear that the way of the fool is the way apart from God. All you need to do is to do a quick concordance study and that becomes clear very quickly. Proverbs 28 verse 26 says, He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered. Proverbs 18, verse 2 says, a fool has no delight in understanding. He doesn't want it. And of course, Proverbs 1, verse 32 teaches us what the end is. What the end is of leaning on your own understanding when it says, for the waywardness of the naive shall kill them and the complacency of fools shall destroy them. Why is that? Very simply, as verse 7 says of chapter 3, because the way of the fool is the way of evil. And I trust that the warning is clear. We cannot depend upon ourselves because we, very simply, are undependable. Adam and Eve found that out the hard way. And if you think about the history of God's people, particularly the Israelites in the Old Testament, every time, think back, every time they took matters into their own hands, every time they trusted in themselves, They fell into idol worship. They fell into disobedience. And the road led them to misery and punishment. And this was the warning of our Lord Jesus Christ to the religious leaders of His day, the scribes and Pharisees of the New Testament. Don't depend upon yourselves. Don't depend upon your works to secure the kingdom of God because it won't work. You see, beloved, our own sinful understanding will not lead us to God. but it will drive us further from God. Paul makes that clear in Romans 1 when he talks about natural man wanting to suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness. He wants to suppress it, to squish it, to get rid of it. He doesn't want to see it. He doesn't want any hint of it before his face. Ironically, as Paul says and as the psalmist says, the heavens declare the glory of God. In fact, it was man's own understanding that rejected Jesus Christ and sent Him to the cross, remember? He didn't fit the Jews' expectation and understanding of the Messiah, who the Messiah was supposed to be, what He would do, and therefore away with Him. We don't have time for Him because we're waiting for the real thing. But if we put all of this in terms of a building, our understanding very simply is not safe. It is structurally unsound. It is to be condemned because it will fail. and it will fall. Our understanding is nothing more than a sandy foundation that is quickly washed away as we are tossed to and fro by the whims and the ideas of the world. See, apart from God, we cannot help ourselves. We cannot bring about anything good for ourselves. We cannot turn things to our good. The path of true dependence is not found in our own understanding. You see, that's foolishness, but it is only found in the wisdom of God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, in all your ways acknowledge Him. That was Paul's instruction to the Ephesian church in Ephesians chapter 5. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Well, what does Scripture teach about wisdom? It teaches us that wisdom is the way of the Lord. Proverbs is clear about that. Wisdom is the way of the righteous. And if we were to define wisdom as some of the young people heard me mention in the workshop I was privileged to lead at the convention, we could say that wisdom is the proper use of knowledge to choose the right end and then the proper means to accomplish that end. The proper use of knowledge to choose the right end and the proper means to accomplish that end. And we know that this alone comes from God. Psalm 111, verse 10 says, and it's also repeated in Proverbs 9, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The psalmist goes on, a good understanding of all those who do His commandments. And Psalm 37, verse 30 says, the mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom and His tongue talks of justice. And then one more, Proverbs 28, verse 7 says, whoever keeps the law is a discerning son. Beloved, the path of true dependence includes forsaking self and instead trusting in God and His Word. That's what confessing our sins and professing our faith in God is all about as these eleven have done tonight. It is to say, I don't want to trust myself because by the grace of God I understand where I will lead me. I will lead me straight to hell because I am undependable. But also by the grace of God, I believe in God through the Lord Jesus Christ and I trust in Him alone for my salvation. And as parents, when we present our children for holy baptism, we confess, don't we, that they are God's children on loan to us and therefore we don't want to raise them according to our understanding. But we ask God to raise them through us, according to His wisdom, according to His understanding. As believers, it must be our desire to forsake ourselves more every day in the power of the Holy Spirit. And it must be our prayer that God will increase our trust in Him daily. Because in the second place, the text teaches also that the path of true dependence completely submits to God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. In all your ways, acknowledge Him. Now first of all, what does it mean to trust in and to acknowledge the Lord? Well, to trust in the Lord is to have hope and confidence in Him. To find our security in Him. And believers are commanded to do this. We are called to have firm confidence in the wisdom, in the power, in the goodness of God. And that means to believe that He is able to do what He wills. That He is wise to lead to the proper end. And that He is good according to His purpose to do what is best for those who love and serve Him. And our dependence upon Him must be with complete submission and satisfaction. Even when He disciplines us. even when God rebukes us. Notice verses 11 and 12, My son do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent His rebuke because the Lord disciplines those He loves. As a father, the son He delights in. Sometimes it's hard for us boys and girls to think about the fact that our parents discipline us because they love us. The two don't seem to go together. But they very much go together. That is how God treats His children. We read about this in Hebrews chapter 12 as well. And it says there, as we know full well, that no discipline is pleasant at the time. I'm not sure any of us would say that it is pleasant at the time. It might even sting. But yet it's for our good. And that's God's way as well. His discipline, His rebuking of us, is always for our good because God would never do something that would be for the bad of His children. It's a part of that sanctification process that God's people are going through. And this trust, you see, is to be childlike. It is to be, without a doubt, unwavering confidence in our Father's well-proved wisdom, faithfulness, and love. As parents, especially fathers, oh, how we delight in the fact when our children are real small, they have complete, without a doubt, confidence and trust in us. Of course, as they grow a little older, they begin to see that we're human too. They begin to see our faults as well, and maybe their trust and confidence in their earthly dad's wavers a little bit. But yet, as a young child, their trust is completely in us. If they're stuck up in a tree, and we just can't quite reach them, but they're right there, we say, jump, I'll catch you. And they believe us as dads. They trust us. They know that we love them. If a stranger comes by and says, jump, I'll catch you, they're not sure because they don't know them. But they trust their dads. We are to have childlike, without a doubt, unwavering confidence in our Father. And this trust, as the text says, is to be with all your heart. Psalm 62, verse 8 says, Trust in Him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before Him. Why? It says God is a refuge for us. You see, the whole heart is to be used. We know that the heart is the command center for life and all of its activities. And from the heart proceed the thoughts and words and actions and emotions and intentions and desires of man. And to trust and love God with the whole heart is to concentrate the whole inner life on actively contemplating God and thinking on Him and always being ready to obey His will with the whole heart we are called to confess our dependence upon God. You see, beloved, the idea of leaning on something is included in this trusting. It is the idea of trusting by leaning with the whole body upon something. Just as we are not to lean on our own understanding, we are to lean completely with all of our weight as it were. In other words, with 100% of us. upon God and His Word. Proverbs 3, verse 1 says, My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart. And the heart of the matter, as Paul says in Romans 12, verse 2, is that believers are to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. You see, beloved, the way to trust in God is with His Word deposited in our heads and in our hearts. That it becomes a part of us. That we hide God's Word in our heart that we not sin against Him and instead trust completely in Him. But this complete submission also includes acknowledging the Lord in this in all your ways. Acknowledging Him in all your ways. Often, when we acknowledge someone, it may be no more than acknowledging their presence with a nod of the head or maybe with a wave of the hand, simply letting them know that we notice them and nothing more. But the idea here is so much more than that. To acknowledge the Lord is to give Him first place. It is to consider Him and His importance. It is to discern that there is no other equal to, there is no other more important than Him. And whereas trusting Him with a whole heart speaks to the inner man, this acknowledging Him in all our ways is then talking about that inner trust as it comes to outward expression. As it is demonstrated. As it is lived. As it is spoken. And then of course, as it is observed. By God, first of all, and by the eyes of a watching world. And therefore, all of life, all of my actions, everything that I say is to be done in the realm of God's presence, acknowledging that my life, every last bit of it, is bound up with Him. And this means that all of our decisions, big and small, are to be made in the light of and by the counsel of the Word of God. And there's nothing that we should not take to the Lord in prayer. Everything is to go to Him. That's about the simplest way to say it. I don't know how else to say it. We could begin to list that which God is concerned with, but all means all. The whole of life belongs to Him and is to be lived according to His will. And do you know what? This is true even when we don't agree with His Word. Because when we don't agree with the Word of God, It's not His Word which is wrong, but it is our understanding of His Word which is wrong. And you see, when that is the case, then we are to humbly and completely submit to His will. But our whole walk of life, our occupations, our education, our raising and educating of our children, how we worship, how we spend our private time or our free time, all things, you see, must flow from God's wisdom. and not our own and this includes giving did you notice in the passage we read it talks about giving i don't speak much about giving from the pulpit maybe i should but this passage does so i'm going to look at verses 9 and 10 honor the lord with your wealth with the first fruits of all your crops then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine you see one of the most difficult things for people, and this includes you and me, let's be honest about it. One of the most difficult things, even for Christians, is parting with our money. Sometimes we forget that it's not our money, it's the Lord's money given to us to take care of. But that's one of the most difficult things, is to part with our money. But God says, trust me. He says, trust me by honoring me with your wealth, with the first fruits of your wealth. In humility, beloved, we are to ask God for direction, knowing that we are completely dependent upon Him if we are to follow the right way. And the path of true dependence is the path of trusting and obeying God, and only this path then, And the third place leads to safety. The text says, and He will make your paths straight. Now, most of us are familiar with another translation that says, and He shall direct your paths. And the point is obviously the same. Now, this is not saying. This is not saying that no evil will attack believers. It is not saying that temptation will be a thing of the past. It is not saying that we will always be healthy and wealthy with no earthly worries it does not say that we will be free from persecution if that's what it meant then it would contradict the rest of scripture especially when jesus says whoever wishes to come after me let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me and we were reminded of that this morning again too with ephesians chapter 6 put on the full armor of god well why do we need to do that if if the battle has already been won well indeed the victory belongs to our lord jesus Christ, but as we live this life, we are still in the midst of that battle in this life. We are to walk firmly or confidently clothed in the full armor of God. And we are reminded again, as we hear in the news reports, time after time again of the terrorism activities, the things that continue to go on in Iraq, and sometimes that's so far away, we give it a slight thought, but just as quickly as we think about it, it's gone again. But we need to be concerned, don't we? Because it could very well affect our homeland again. The threats are real. You see, what this does mean, beloved, is that when the difficult times of life and the persecutions of life come our way, the believer's way, then by the grace of God, we can count it all joy. For Jesus' sake. For the young people who were at the convention this past week, you remember Reverend Grotenheist talking about the fact that we are not to be crabby conservative Christians. There's no room for crabby conservatives. In fact, it's a sin to be a crabby Christian. How can we be, anyway, when we have such a great salvation and when we have been given such wonderful promises? You see, what this does mean is that with God leading and directing our paths, we will get to where we need to be. Those who faithfully follow that spiritual pillar of cloud and fire shall find that although it might very well include quite a pilgrimage in this life, one that we would never choose, yet quite a pilgrimage, it will lead them the right way and will bring them to the heavenly Cain and at last. Our God, whose Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our paths, not only lights up the narrow way, but He removes the harmful effects of any obstacles that may stand in our way. Did you hear what I said? How I said that? Removes the harmful effects of any obstacles. God does not remove all the obstacles, you see. But He removes the harmful effects. We're safe. And therefore, think about evangelism. Think about sharing your faith. We don't need to be afraid. We don't need to worry about that. because the One we serve is the One who is sitting on the eternal throne forever and ever, and therefore we are safe. We don't need to be afraid, and we can witness, and we must witness for Him with confidence. But again, He removes the harmful effects of any obstacles that we might face in this life's path, so that we may have the confidence and the comfort of Isaiah 43, verse 2, which says, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. When? See, that's His promise. And what a promise it is. Proverbs 1, verse 33 says, But whoever listens to Me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm. In chapter 2, verses 7 and 8, He holds victory in store for the upright. He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for He guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones. And beloved, this is our confidence because our God is faithful. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13 says, No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. And as well, Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 3, But the Lord is faithful who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. And that means, congregation, that to walk by faith means obeying and trusting in God even when you don't have all the facts. Even when you don't, and I don't, totally understand it. We can still have, without a doubt, trust and confidence in God. Dear people of God, our God is the one and only sovereign God who knows the end from the beginning. And He has secured the path for the believer through His Son, Jesus Christ. He has proven His faithfulness and already guaranteed His promise of eternal security through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You see, those who lean on their own understanding travel down that broad road that leads to eternal death and destruction and apart from repentance of their sins and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they can never get off that road. They cannot get off that road by themselves. But those who trust in the Lord with all their heart and in all their ways acknowledge Him by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, they are directed by the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ who is the way and the truth and the life and He directs His people down the narrow road that leads to eternal life. And therefore, beloved, where do you place your trust for salvation? Upon whom do you lean and depend? Indeed, may it not be yourself, because the truth is, the only thing we contribute toward our salvation is our sin and our need to be saved. That's the only thing we contribute. But God is faithful. He alone is to be our portion and our delight, Our sure foundation whose resume is the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son. In Jesus Christ, our eternal inheritance is secure. It's kept in heaven for those who believe. And together, may we be challenged to trust in the Lord with all of our heart. And may our daily prayer be with the psalmist, Lord, send out Your light and Your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy hill. What is the chief end of man, the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks. Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. You see, that's the straight path which God promises to those who truly depend upon Him. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You for Your Word again in this night. Your Word, which indeed is a lamp unto our feet and a light upon our path. And Father, we thank You, Lord, that You not only call us to depend completely upon You for this life and the next, but that You equip us by the power of Your Holy Spirit to put our faith, our hope, our trust in You, to love You above all. And Father, we pray that each one of us might take an accounting of our lives. That once again, whether we've done it only once or twice or a thousand times before, that we might indeed examine ourselves, not only as we look forward to coming to the Lord's table next Sunday, the Lord willing, but that we might always examine ourselves to see if our trust and our dependence truly is in you alone and not in the things of this world. For indeed, you are completely dependable. You will not fail, for you are our God. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake. And in His name alone, Amen.