Proverbs 3 – Receive the Blessings of God
Monday, 20th February 2023
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-12 To Trust in the Lord Wholeheartedly
We all want to live a long life, and in Proverbs 3, it tells us how we can live a long life on this earth. V1-2 ‘My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.’ King Hezekiah was attracted to the wisdom of Solomon, not only to live a long life, but also to receive peace. Without peace, then there is no use of living a long life.
V3-4 ‘My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.’ God wants to give us peace, He loves us, and He wants us to stay in His presence. He has already given us the law, the commands, and His Words to guide us, and if we follow, then we can receive the long life and peace from Him.
V5-6 ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.’ Do not try to do things by ourselves, so often we want to do things in our own ways. We have our own thinking and our own mindset, but God told us not to go on our own path, simply follow the path provided by God. Nothing in this world belongs to us, do not choose this world but choose to rely on God.
V7-8 ‘Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.’ It’s just like how a baby receive nutrition from the mum through the umbilical cord, God will also give us nutrition, when we have the fear of the Lord, when we focus on God instead of our problems, then we will receive all that we need to grow.
V9-10 ‘Honour the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.’ Do we have faith in God? Can we give God all that we have and believe that He will provide? When Elijah went to the widow’s house, he asked her to make bread with all the flour she had. Can we do the same for God? When we say to God that we will give all to Him, do we really do it? Let go of what we are holding tightly onto and let God take over. He does not need anything from us, but He wants us to learn to let go. What are we holding onto? Our titles, our family, our work, our finance… Abraham was willing to offer his son for God, God saw his faith and prepared for him.
V11-12 ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.’ Do not despise the teaching and disciplining from God and from our authority appointed by God. He loves us so He corrects us and guides us. Do we know that we are loved and protected? God wants to bless us so stop listening to the lies of the devil.
Section Two V13-26 To Take Hold of the Tree of Life
V18 ‘She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her.’ Let us take hold of the tree of life. Humble and obey, benefit others and deny ourselves, we feel this is heart and this is not beneficial, but God says when we take hold of this then we will be blessed. The godly way is different to the worldly way, but only God knows what will happen tomorrow, so do we choose to follow Him or follow this world?
V24 ‘When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.’ We might feel defeated, but God will uphold us. Why do we afraid of failures? Because we focus on the works in our hands and we don’t focus on God. We feel that the problems in our lives are bigger than God, and therefore we will become afraid of failures. But if we have the fear of the Lord, if we believe that God is with us, then nothing else in this world will frighten us. God is with us day and night, when we are awake or when we lie down, God will give us peace and God will give rest in Him.
V25-26 ‘Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.’ God wants to bless us, He knows what we are thinking in our mind, He will protect us and He will guide us. Do we believe in Him or do we believe in what we see?
Section Three V27-35 To Choose Tree of Life
V27 ‘Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so.’ We thought we are living in the Tree of Life, but is our way of living really the way God wants us to live? We want to do many good deeds in the eyes of the world, we want to live out own tree of life. We must have discernment, what is the real Tree of Life? God has given us enough to give, and He will guide us to those who need our help. This is not by our own mindset, our own knowledge, our own ways, but by following God’s guidance and the instructions from His appointed authority.
V34-35 ‘Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble. The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools.’ Do not think we are being smart, when we do not humble, then when we fail by the tricks of the devil then we will fall harder. There are so many things we want to do in the darkness, we must get rid of all the darkness in our lives, focus on God, let God take over, and receive His true blessings.
箴言 3 – 领受耶和华之福
2023年2月20日 星期一
潘锡安牧师
一、v.1 -12 要专心仰赖神
我们都想长寿，箴言第 3 章告诉我们如何才能在世上长寿。希西家王被所罗门的智慧所吸引，不仅要长寿，还要得到平安。没有平安，再长寿也没有用。神想要给我们平安，祂爱我们，祂希望我们留在祂的面前。祂已经赐给我们律法、诫命、和祂的话语来引导我们，如果我们遵守，那么我们就能从祂那里得到长寿与平安。不要试图自己做事，我们常常想以自己的方式做事。我们有自己的想法，有自己的心态，但神告诉我们不要走自己的路，只要走神所提供的路。这个世界上没有任何东西是属于我们的，不要选择这个世界而是选择依靠神。就像婴儿通过脐带从妈妈那里得到营养一样，神也会给我们营养，当我们敬畏神，当我们专注于神，而不是我们的问题时，我们就会得到我们所需要的一切成长。
我们对神有信心吗？我们能否将我们所有的一切都献给神，并相信祂会提供？以利亚去寡妇家，要她用所有的面粉做面包。我们能为神做同样的事吗？当我们对神说我们会把一切都献给祂时，我们真的做到了吗？放开我们紧紧抓住的东西，让神接管。祂不需要我们的任何东西，但祂希望我们学会放手。我们在坚持什么？我们的头衔、我们的家庭、我们的工作、我们的财务……亚伯拉罕愿意将他的儿子献给神，神看到了他的信心并为他预备了。不要轻看神的教训和管教，也不要轻看神所设立的权柄。他爱我们，所以他纠正我们并引导我们。我们知道我们受到爱护和保护吗？神要保佑我们，所以不要听信魔鬼的谎言。
二、v.13-26 要持守生命树
让我们抓住生命树。谦卑顺服，捨己利他，神说我们持守这个，就有福了。敬虔之道不同于世俗之道，但只有神知道明天会发生什么，那么我们是选择跟随他还是跟随这个世界？我们可能会感到失败，但神会支持我们。我们为什么害怕失败？因为我们专注于我们手中的工作，而不是专注于神。我们觉得我们生活中的问题比神还大，因此我们会害怕失败。但如果我们敬畏神，如果我们相信神与我们同在，那么这个世界上没有任何其他事物会令我们害怕。神昼夜与我们同在，无论我们醒着还是躺下，神都会赐给我们平安，让我们在祂里面安息。神要祝福我们，祂知道我们心里在想什么，祂会保护我们，祂会引导我们。我们是相信神还是相信我们所看到的？
三、v.27-35 要选择生命树
我们以为自己活在生命树里，但我们的生活方式真的是神要我们的生活方式吗？我们想做很多世人眼中的好事，我们想活出自己的生命树。我们要有辨别力，什么是真正的生命树？神已经给了我们足够的，祂会引导我们找到需要我们帮助的人。这不是靠我们自己的方式、我们自己的知识，而是遵循神的引导和祂给我们的权柄的指示。不要以为我们自己很聪明，当我们不谦卑时，当我们掉进魔鬼的诡计时，我们会跌得更惨。在黑暗中，我们想做的事情太多了，我们必须摆脱生活中所有的黑暗，专注于神，让神接管，并领受耶和华真正的祝福。