The Assurance of Guidance

Proverbs 3:5,6

I suppose everyone has a favorite verse or passage of scripture,…this one is mine.

As the Bible says, “All scripture is inspired” but this one really gets to the core of what Christian living is all about.
It speaks to where we are and where we live 24/7/365.
Do I really trust the Lord in all things? Good and bad?

V. 5 FAITH...Trusting God for salvation is much easier than trusting Him for our daily needs and guidance.
It is so much easier to go our own way because that requires no faith at all.

ILLUS...When John Paton was translating the Bible in the South Sea Islands, he was confounded to find there was no word for faith or trust in their language. A native came in and sat down and said, “It sure is good to rest my weight in this chair.” Paton then decided that he would translate trust as “Resting one’s whole weight on God.”
True story; There was once a 75 year old man who was given his first airplane ride for his birthday. After it was over and he landed safely he said he wasn’t scared because he didn’t put his full weight down in the seat of the plane.

The “heart” refers to all of what we are; body, spirit, and soul. After we trust the Lord for salvation, the forgiveness of sins and the matters of the spirit, then we must also trust him for daily guidance and the matters of the body and soul.
The Bible does not present this as optional. After all, going your own way is what got you lost in the first place.
And going your own way will not enhance your walk with God.

“Follow your own heart” is a popular saying in the world, but the prophet Jeremiah knew better, Jer. 17:9; So did King David, I Chron 28:9

Isn’t it ironic that the man who wrote the book of proverbs, didn’t follow this advice?

Solomon was an abject failure.
He was rich, powerful, famous, and wise,...but a failure nonetheless.
Because of his idolatry the nation of Israel was divided, became degenerate, and eventually overthrown by her enemies.

The best reason to trust in the Lord and lean on Him is for the sake of your family.
What kind of example or legacy do you want to leave your children and grandchildren?
By your example, where are you leading them?
Thankfully, Jesus came along and what we lost in Adam we regained in Christ.

V. 6 Prayer...Every area of our lives must be turned over to His control. Jesus Christ is much more than a fire escape from Hell.

ILLUS...A tightrope walker was performing at Niagara Falls. He asked one spectator “Do you believe I can push this wheelbarrow across the falls and back?” “Yes” said the spectator.
“OK then, get in.”

Mark 8:34,35

Matt 6:33...You will lose nothing by living in obedience to Christ, Ex. 34:24.
Thy paths...every Christian’s path is unique to them and none other. Peter asked Jesus about John, “What shall he do?”
Jesus replied, "That's none of your business,...He has his own path to walk." So it is with you and me.

The Goodness of God
Psalm 107:1

For most of us, the first prayer we are taught is, God is great, God is good, now we thank Him for this food. Amen. From infancy we are taught to think of God in terms of His greatness, His goodness, and His provision.


A study of God’s good nature must begin where the Bible itself begins, with Genesis where we read that God created everything and He created it good, Gen. 1:4,10,18.
This is affirmed in the New Testament also, I Tim. 4:4 where we read,...every creature (creation) of God is good…


Gen. 2:18-25...When God created Adam and Eve He placed them into an perfect environment, the Garden of Eden, where they were told that they could freely eat from every tree except one, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
In that perfect place, they had everything they could possibly want except the one thing which God withheld from them for their own good.
It is ingrained in the fallen nature of man to want to have the authority to declare what is good and what is evil. (Of course, what might be good for me might be bad for you.)
In His goodness, God has withheld from mankind the authority to say what is good and what is evil; what is right and what is wrong.
In His greatness, God is able to turn evil to good, Rom. 8:28.


Ex. 33:17-23; 34:5-7...Moses prayed that God would reveal His glory to him,
Faith comes by hearing and receiving God’s word, Rom. 10:17.


Psalm 73 tells us that apart from God and His revelation in the Bible, man is incapable of recognizing goodness.


The word “good” appears only in the first and last verse.
V. 1...Truly God is good to Israel...
V. 28...It is good for me to draw near to God…


Asaph’s problem was his definition of “good” was different from God’s. Remember, we do not have the right to say what is good and what is evil, as God reserves that right for Himself.

Ps. 73:2,3...Asaph admits that he had strayed from the right path.
- He envied the wicked...he did not hate their sin, but coveted their success.
- He was self-righteous...thinking he was better than he was, he was convinced he deserved God’s blessings because of his good behavior, and God “owed him.” . (That’s not Christianity, that’s called karma).
- He was consumed with self-pity, v. 13-16.
Remember too, that Asaph was referring to wicked Jews, not pagans.

The turning point for Asaph comes in v. 15.
- Formerly, good to him meant health and wealth alone.
- But when he came into the sanctuary (God’s presence), then he could see clearly viewing things from God’s perspective. What he realized:
- The foolish and wicked were doing good for now,
but they were actually in danger of judgment.
- Their prosperity had hardened their hearts against
God
- They loved their blessings more than they did the Blesser.
- Nearness to God ( a close, intimate relationship) is a greater blessing than prosperity.

Now Asaph understands more about God’s goodness:
In v. 1 he thought that goodness was only the absence of pain, difficulty, trouble, sorrow, sickness, poverty, etc.

In v. 28 he came to realize that goodness is nearness to God regardless of his outward circumstances, and whatever interferes with our personal relationship is evil.
Job’s sufferings brought him closer to God, Job 42:5,10
Joseph’s brothers treated him badly and he suffered greatly, but God was in it and turned it for good, Gen. 50:20
Paul’s suffering kept him from becoming prideful and brought him closer to God, II Cor. 12:1-10
God’s discipline always works in us for the good, Heb. 12:1-14

God’s goodness is most evident in the person and work of Christ, that’s why the gospel is called the “Good News.”
It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance, Rom. 2:4

In the temptation of Eve, Satan tried to get her to doubt the goodness of God. When we don’t understand why God says “no,” or, when bad things happen or, when God is silent to our prayers we should not be discouraged or tempted to give up because it is then that we are privileged to exercise our faith while remembering all of God’s goodness to us in the past.

We can’t always understand why some things happen the way they do, but we can rest in the knowledge of knowing that when it has fulfilled its purpose God will deal with it in His own time and in His own way which is always good. I Thess 5:18

Jesus Christ: Prophet, Priest, and King

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, the first and the last. Rev. 22:13

Jesus Christ has a three fold ministry as Prophet, Priest, and King. These are the three Old Testament offices which give us great insight as to what kind of Messiah He would be:
Prophet...spoke to man for God (Jn 12:49,50)
Priest...offered sacrifices to God for man
King...ruled and governed men in the stead of God.

Jesus Christ holds all these offices by the appointment of and anointing by God the Father, Isa. 61:1-3; Lk. 4:18,19.
“Christ” means anointed one of God.
That Jesus is the Christ was divinely revealed to Peter, Matt. 16:16.
Peter reiterated this later in his first sermon calling Jesus Lord and Christ, Acts 2:36.

CHRIST THE PROPHET
About 1,400 years before Christ’s incarnation in Bethlehem, God spoke to Moses about the coming Prophet, Deut. 18:18.
...and in Acts 3:18,22,26 Peter preached that Christ was the fulfillment of God’s promise. See also Jn. 1:45; 5:46; and 6:14.

Of all the Old Testament prophets, Jesus was unique because He spoke as God and For God to mankind. None else could do this. In Islam, Jesus is accounted as just another of the prophets. This does no honor Christ, but it degrades and blasphemes Him.
In Luke 4:18, Jesus speaks of being anointed for His work. When did this take place? At His baptism when Jesus officially entered into His work as a Prophet, Matt. 3:16,17

This work was very important because as the Prophet:
- Jesus authenticated the Old Testament prophets, Lk. 24:44
- Jesus spoke for God as God with all authority, Matt. 5:20,22,26,28,32, 34,39,44; 28:18-20
- Jesus put His seal of approval on the Word of God, Matt. 5:18; 24:35; Jn. 10:35

Jesus referred to Himself as a prophet, Lk. 13:33.

A prophet also foretells the future, and this Jesus did any times:
concerning the end times, Matt. 24,25
concerning His arrest, trial, death, and resurrection, Mk. 8:31; 9:31; and 10:33,34

Jesus also foretold His return, Mk. 14:62; Jn. 14:1-3

There is no margin of error for a true prophet of God, Deut. 18:20-22
Modern day fortune tellers and so-called psychics boast of a 25% accuracy rate, but in the Old Testament days a prophet with a 99% rate would have been stoned to death.

Jesus Christ was that Prophet whom God spoke of to Moses. His prophetic ministry began at His baptism, and ended at His resurrection having spoke the Word of God to mankind and fulfilled His own predictions of His death and resurrection.

CHRIST AS PRIEST
In His present ministry in Heaven, Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest who is interceding with God on our behalf, Heb. 4:14,15.
Christ is the only mediator between God and Mankind, I Tim. 2:5.
In the Old Testament, the priest had a three fold pattern:
to bless, to intercede, and to make sacrifices for the people of God

In doing this, Christ reconciled us to God by offering Himself as the sacrifice for sins, Eph. 5:2, Heb. 7:27; 8:3; 9:11,15,26-28; 10:4,10,12.
As our Great High Priest, Jesus reconciles, interceded for ands blesses us.

As we have seen in a previous lesson, Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek, (and not after the order of Aaron) Heb. 7:21,..that is, a royal priest or Priest/King; the priest on His throne. It was unheard of in the Old Testament for a man to serve as a priest and a king of Israel. When King Saul offered up a sacrifice on his own, he was punished by God, I Sam. 13:8-14.

CHRIST AS KING
In the past and as the Prophet, Jesus Christ proclaimed the Word of God.
In the present as the Priest, He ministers the Word of God, In the future as King, He will rule by the Word of God, I Tim. 6:15

Jesus is still fulfilling His office as Great High Priest and is not now the king.
Satan is now the ruler of this age, Jn. 14:30; Eph. 2:2
But one day Satan will be defeated and deposed by Christ, Ps. 110:1;Matt. 22:41-46; Heb. 1:13; 10:12,13; Rev. 21:1-8.
To clarify; Jesus was born King of the Jews (Matt. 2:2) and died as the King of the Jews, Matt. 27:37.
Christ’s kingship was also prophesied: by Jacob, Gen. 49:10; by Balaam, Num. 24:17,19; by David, Ps. 2:6-8, by Isaiah, Isa. 9:6,7 and by Jeremiah, Jer. 23:5,6.
When Christ assumes His throne He will be the king of all nations and all people, Ps. 72:11,17-19; Rev. 5:9-13.
Jesus is now the Head of the Church, (Eph. 5:23) He is never called the king of the church, but when He returns it will be to defeat His enemies and set up His kingdom and rule as the sovereign King of kings and Lord of Lords.

CROWNS FOR CHRISTIANS

There are five crowns mentioned in Scripture which are promised to God's children upon certain conditions.
They may be won or they may be lost...Rev. 3:11
They are spoken of as prizes...I Cor. 9:24
They are described as crowns of gold...Rev. 4:4
Crowns must be distinguished from salvation which is the gift of God freely given for trusting Christ.
Salvation is never earned nor deserved, it is a gift.
Crowns, or rewards, are earned for faithful service rendered that are promised by Christ Himself, Rev. 22:12

Every Believer will stand in the “Bema” judgment, or the judgment Seat of Christ, II Cor. 5:10
This is not a judgment on our sins, that was settled at the cross.
We stand before God justified by faith, Rom. 5:1
and without condemnation, Rom. 8:1

I. THE INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN...I Cor. 9:25
This crown is given to those who are temperate in all things and who are not indulging the appetites of the body, in order that they may faithfully preach the gospel to all men, whether Jew or Gentile, whereby at least some shall be saved, v. 16-27

II. THE CROWN OF REJOICING...I Thess. 2:19
This crown is given to those who win souls for Christ, whether by personal work, by preaching the gospel, or by passing out tracts.

Daniel said that "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever" Dan. 12:3

Every soul saved through the prayers and efforts of the servant of Christ will be a part of his crown of rejoicing when he stands before the Judgment Seat of Christ and is rewarded according to his labors.

III. THE CROWN OF GLORY...I Peter 5:4
This is the crown which is given to faithful pastors who have willingly cared for the flock of God as overseers, not as lords and not for the sake of financial gain, but as a shepherd who cares for his sheep.
Such pastors practice what they preach and are examples to others. They feed the flock with the Word of God, "rightly dividing the word of truth," so that they will grow in grace and become fruitful in their lives and labors.
They warn the flock against false teachers and the prevalent errors of the day, encouraging them to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3,4).
All such pastors and teachers will receive a crown of glory which will not tarnish or fade away.

IV. THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS…
II Tim. 4:8
This crown is given to all those who love the appearing of Christ.
They are trusting Christ for salvation and loving Him because He loved them,
They are also looking forward to the personal coming of Christ in glory and power, when they will be caught up with other Christians in the clouds to meet Him in the air I Thess. 4:14-17



Because of this blessed hope, they endure afflictions, fight the good fight of faith, and speak the truth in love. They are loyal and faithful to Christ at all times, for they know not when He may appear for His own. All such are to receive a special crown.

V. THE CROWN OF LIFE...James 1:12; Rev. 2:10
This crown is given to all who endure trials and temptations even unto death for Jesus' sake. "They loved not their lives unto the death" Rev. 12:11.

Many of those who receive this crown, such as Stephen, James, John, Peter, Paul, Jan Huss, William Tyndale, Hugh Latimer, and many others, are martyrs for the sake of Christ. (Read Foxe's Book of Martyrs.)

The crown of life is to be distinguished from the gift of life, which is mentioned in Jn 4:10;5:24, Rom. 6:23, and Eph. 2:8.
Eternal life is a free gift from God to all who believe on His Son. "He that hath the Son hath life" I Jn 5:11,12

But those who receive eternal life through faith in Christ may also receive the crown of life in addition, if so be that they suffer for Him even unto death.

Don’t have the attitude of, “Well, I don’t care about the rewards, as long as I make it to Heaven that will be reward enough for me.” It’s not about you, even in the case of rewards, it’s still all about Jesus.
Rev. 4:10...The crowns we receive are just our gift back to Christ for all He has done for us.