This morning I would like you to take your Bible and turn to the book of Proverbs and I'm going to have you look at chapter 3. In just a moment I'm going to take a text from this portion of the Word of God. We're going to share some things out of this text that I think are so basic and necessary in the Christian life. You know there's some things about the Christian life that we learn early on and they follow us through our Christian life and they become very basic. And if we're not careful, those basic things, those fundamental things, those things that are foundational can become so familiar with us that they do not have the profound impact that God intends for them to have on us as we hear about these truths and once again reiterate the advantage of what the Lord has presented to us to be a help to us in our walk with Him. And out of Proverbs chapter 3, and of course keeping in mind that this book is a book of instruction, it's certainly a book in which it has been used to help us in our walk with the Lord and walk before men in a way that would be pleasing to the Lord. And we know that Solomon, for the most part, is the one in whom God used to instill these truths in his head, in his heart, and they became reality on paper. And we actually have a number of truths that came out of the mouth of a man that was stated to be the most wise. God gave him wisdom, as you know, and was considered to be one of the most wise men in all the world. a man that the Lord used to help people in his day and certainly in our day. But also taking into consideration the father of Solomon, David, and what David was and what David did in his lifetime. David lived to be approximately 70 years old. He did not live a long life in comparison to other Bible characters, but he certainly lived a full life. And there are so many things that can be learned from David's life about what it was to walk with the Lord, but as we turn to our subject, there are so many things we can learn about trusting the Lord. The phrase, trusting the Lord and trusting God, that phrase has been used in the congregational singing this morning. It was in the some of the things that have been stated here this morning, and we get to the place where we hear that phrase, trust in the Lord, or trust in God, and we're familiar with it, and we have some basic understanding of it, and even experience in it, and yet we don't, and often we do not take into consideration the value of that statement, the value of that truth of what it is to trust the Lord. And so this morning I'm going to have you turn to a text in this book of Proverbs chapter 3 and we're going to read two verses of scripture in which I know you're familiar with, but they really introduce this subject in a way that is pertinent and certainly challenging to our lives as Christians. And we have these words, and I'm sure that many of you have these words memorized. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding, and all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. These are profound words, and they're words in which we, I would hope, were introduced to early on in our Christian life, because it is of great value for us to learn to trust the Lord. We have students here that are on the verge of when they graduate to go out into the world and be used of the Lord to have impact on those people in whom they will settle near or settle in. And they'll present the gospel to people and they'll help people to come to know what it means to trust the Lord as their personal Savior. Then they'll begin to teach individuals and individuals collectively, their church people, what it means to trust the Lord and it's safe to trust the Lord. And we thank the Lord that we have this truth settled in our hearts and certainly it's once been propagated from this church and from this pulpit, what it means to trust the Lord as one's savior and what it means to trust the Lord in our lives. The Bible says, pertaining to this subject, the Bible says, it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It says it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord. Profound statements are made throughout scriptures, but those statements are made as better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man, or statements that were made by David. David was a man that learned to trust the Lord. There are some things that are very obvious in his life that reveal and manifest the fact that he was a man that trusted the Lord. We know some of the exploits of David going all the way back when he was a shepherd boy. How that he was used of the Lord to slay Goliath and even before that. to slay the lion and the bear as a shepherd boy, and then confront Goliath as an enemy of the army of Israel. And then all the exploits beyond that, the armies, the battles he had with the Philistine army, and defending Israel, all the things that happened in his life, and certainly David was a man that knew what it was to trust the Lord, and if Solomon would not have had the wisdom that God gave him, and these were he would have had an example to look back to as somebody that trusted the Lord and someone that trusted the Lord and learned to trust the Lord from his youth. David says in Psalm 71, I have trusted thee from my youth. And he goes back and he could portray and he could think about the times in which the Lord taught him to trust him. But now we're looking at another man, and we're looking at another life, and we're looking at an individual that proclaims it is wise, that proclaims it is the best thing to trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. The word trust is found 152 times in the Old Testament. It is a dynamic word. It means to rely on. It means to lean on. It means to take refuge. It means to roll on. It means to place confidence. It means to rest in or put hope in. The Bible says, trust in the Lord at all times. Ye people, pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge. In Psalm 62.8, it says in another verse in Isaiah 26.4, trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Thou will keep him in perfect peace, as it says in Isaiah 26 verse three, it says, Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee. These words, these words are given to us by those that learn some lessons about trust in the Lord. But this word, trust in the Lord with all thy, at all times ye people, pour your heart out before him. There's a number of advantages that we can experience in the Christian life. Here it talks about the protection of the Lord. It talks about the experience of the power of the Lord as it talks about His everlasting strength. And then it talks about the peace that we can experience by trusting the Lord. There's a number of advantages of learning to trust in the Lord. We're going to explore this thought this morning, what it is to trust in the Lord from our text out of the book of Proverbs chapter 3 and verses 5 and 6. As we take this into consideration, these words, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. Think about the life that we live in, the world that we live in, and the things that we put our trust in. The objects that we put our trust in, the people we put our trust in. I think about the reality of trusting in an object called an automobile, how often we get into an automobile and and turn the ignition on and start going and we trust that the car is going to get us from point A to point B or it's going to get us where we're going. And how frustrating when a car fails us. How frustrating when it breaks down and we're somewhat frustrated because it delays something, it prevents something. And if I was to ask you if you've got total trust in your automobile, I don't care how new it is, I don't care what kind it is, whether it's a luxury car or a a common car, an economy car. The truth is, would you bet your life on your automobile to be dependable? Well, the truth is, no one's going to stake their soul on an automobile. Another thing that we have a tendency to put our trust in is airplanes. how often I have got on an airplane, sat down in the seat, and I've never met the pilot. In fact, I don't know that I've ever met a pilot. And your pastor's flown all over the country and all over the world, and I'll think probably most of us have flown and never met a pilot. We get on and sit on the seat. I'm trusting he knows what he's doing. And I would not be as confident if it would be, I'm your, you know that soothing voice that comes, I'm your captain. I want to have some indication of command. I want some indication that he knows what he's doing. But if a captain came and said, I'm your captain, and I want you to know that I'm so thrilled you've come to fly my airplane today, and I want you to know this is my second flight, and you're gonna be at a great encouragement. They don't do that. because they want you to have confidence in the airplane you've sat on, your seat you're sitting in, the plane you're on is going to get to your destination. So we put our faith so often that... How many of us put our faith in a doctor or trust in a doctor or dentist? and go sit in a chair or lay on a table and allow that individual to examine us and give us advice and a diagnosis. And we have a tendency to do this. And rightfully so. There is this necessity of having a measure of trust that we put in men and measure of trust that we put in objects in this world because that's the world we live in. But the Bible says it's better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in men. And that's what we want to approach this morning as we think about this truth of trusting the Lord with all our heart. Now what is it to trust the Lord and how can we take this this portion of the Word of God that you have been taught on, I'm sure, several times, and your pastors taught you, and taught you by declaration and demonstration of what it means to trust the Lord. But think of these words for a moment. First of all, think of the words trust in the Lord, and be reminded that God is teaching us something here in His Word, that this trust that we're talking about, the trust that the writer of the Book of Proverbs, he's talking about an exclusive trust. He's talking about a trust to put in this individual that is designated as the Lord. The word Lord is the word Jehovah. It is the one that is the self-existent one. It's the eternal one. And the exhortation is this, that we're to put our trust in the one that made everything. We're to put our trust in the one that controls everything. We're the one to put our trust in the one that sustains everything. We're not just putting our trust in something that's good or strong, we're putting our trust in something that has control of everything, and the person has control over everything. So we're to put our trust in the Lord. It is an exclusive faith. And then something else that is obviously, if that's true, we're to put our trust in the Lord, we're to exclusively put our trust in the Lord, then what are some things in which we ought to be cautious as to what we put full confidence and trust? We're not to put our trust in the economy. The economy has the capability of fluctuating and changing. Certainly, being here in New England for a number of years, and you folks in Connecticut know that there's that reality of recession, there's reality of the economy having reversals and being affected by that. And New England's been through that. Our country's been through that. It's obvious that one cannot put their trust completely in the economy. And then we're not to trust in our living. That is the means by which we have the capability of bringing home a paycheck and where we work. We cannot trust in that fully and completely, but thank the Lord there are places that we can work. Thank the Lord there is such a thing as income and yet the Lord would not have us put our trust in the economy or a trust in the living that we make. And then we can't put our trust in employment or the job that we have. There's so many changes that are taking place in what people have done and what companies downsizing and things are changing. And I'm sure that there's many of this church have had to deal with the realization of changing vocations because something was eliminated. And those are times in which I think I can say from experience and certainly say from what the Bible teaches, those are times in which the Lord teaches us to trust Him. We're not to trust in the economy, we're not to trust in employment, we're not to put our trust in education. Education's wonderful and prepares us for life. And so many go away today to be prepared for some vocation or some high profession. And they graduate from a college or a university and they go out and some can't even find a job or some can't experience doing those things that they've been trained for. And finding out that even education, as good as it is, and how it prepares us for life, it should not be. that we put all of our trust in education? Well, the Bible says, trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Not only is it an exclusive person, and it is an exclusive trust, but it is an extensive trust with all thine heart. The Bible reveals that we are to put our faith, our confidence from our heart, but it says, with all thine heart. He refers to the individual that's being addressed, for he has addressed this exhortation to his son, or generically, or in a way of introducing this subject to that individual that needs counsel, that individual that needs advice about the future. The Bible says in chapter 3, And verse one, it says, my son, forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments. And so this exhortation is being addressed to an individual that is starting out in life. And what good advice, what better advice can a father give to his children or parents give to their children than to learn to trust in the Lord with all their heart? But there's something very significant here. It says, trust in the Lord with all thine heart. You see, trusting the Lord is something that is learned individually. It can be experienced corporately, but it's something that's to be learned individually. The things that Solomon had learned about trusting the Lord, he could not learn those things or could not experience those things by proxy of his father. He had to experience what it is to learn to trust the Lord in his experiences, in his season of life, in his stretch of life. And the truth is, this morning, you have examples around you, people here that are teaching you and leading in this church that have learned what it is to trust in the Lord by experience, and you can glean from their testimony, you can glean from watching them. But you cannot experience trust in the Lord by just watching and just seeing the fact of trust in the Lord being demonstrated. There is the fact that you have to, and I have to experience, my children have to experience to learn to trust the Lord. And trust in the Lord with all thine heart. The Bible does not say trust in the Lord intellectually, though that is necessary. But it's talking about giving heart trust. It's talking about giving a confidence that's more than intellectual. It is leaning on, as we'll see, it is leaning on the person that has the capability, the one that is in control of the world and has control of life. Now the Bible says, trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Now when should we trust in the Lord? What are some indicators in the scriptures? What does the Bible teach about when it is appropriate to trust in the Lord? When it is necessary to trust in the Lord? When is it advantageous for us as individuals, as Christians, to trust in the Lord? Well, I think there's some obvious things. I think there's some obvious things that come out in the scriptures that would teach us about the importance about when we are to trust the Lord and the advantage of trusting the Lord in those seasons of life. Well, first of all, we're to trust the Lord in the decisions of life. The Bible makes it clear that it's wise, it's fruitful, it's beneficial to trust the Lord in the decisions of life. Over the weekend, we talked a little bit about Abraham. And I think Brother Boyle is going to be teaching a series in Sunday School on the life of Abraham. What an interesting character. So much can be learned and gleaned from his life. But here's a man that was called up Earl of Chaldees and went to the place in which the Lord was eating. But he did that by trusting the Lord for for what the Lord had revealed to him. As much as he revealed to him, he took a step and took his wife and started towards the place in which God promised. And Abraham learned some things about trust in the Lord and the decisions of life. There's a number of decisions pending in this room, even as I speak. There's decisions of adults that are thinking about domestic issues, and there's health issues, and the things that pertain to an adult life. But the young people that are here, there's decisions pending. There's decisions depending about the future of your life, and we'll talk more about that, time permitting, in just a few moments. But we're to trust the Lord in the decisions of life. That means we're to go to the Lord. And Brother Young, this morning I listened to his good teaching out of the book of Nehemiah talked about this and talked about his life and how the Lord led him and guided him as he and his wife trusted the Lord. Well, that's learning what it is to see the Lord work in one's behalf or in a family. It's learning that trusting the Lord for direction is wise, it's good, it's profitable. But there's something else about when we should trust the Lord, not only in the decisions of life, but in the difficulties of life. The Bible would reveal to us that there were individuals in the Bible that trusted him in the difficulties of life. What character in the Bible could so depict and reveal how safe it was and how secure it was to trust the Lord in the difficulties of life? Joseph comes to mind. the young man that was severed, taken away from his family, and sold into slavery, and went down into Egypt, and was in Potiphar's house, and all the things that happened to Joseph, his world unraveled, and there he is in the midst of a foreign people, and they stripped from his family, and the potential of his future, and all the security. All of that's all gone because the Lord had allowed something he didn't fully understand. And by the way, we'll see that we don't all fully understand what the Lord is doing. But he was able to trust the Lord in the difficult time of his life. And for 13 years, the Lord taught lessons to this this man by the name of Joseph in whom we've grown to love and appreciate, this man who teaches us so many lessons about trusting the Lord in difficult times and domestic disputes and all the lessons that we learned about this man that had such a difficult time for 13 years of his young life. And then he surfaced and came out of that. He found himself to be the governor of all of Egypt. What an incredible story about this young man that submitted to the Lord. And actually, we don't see Joseph saying, I'm trusting the Lord. We don't see phrases in the Bible about Joseph saying, I just want you to know that I don't understand this, but I'm trusting the Lord. He did not state it, but he lived it. He lived it. It was obvious that Joseph was trusting the Lord in Potiphar's house. And Joseph was trusting the Lord in the pit of the prison. And the Bible says that the Lord was with him. Isn't that a wonderful thing when we don't fully understand the difficulties we're going through, we can go back to the truth that this one that said, trust in the Lord with all thine heart, this one that says, trust me, that we can be sure that he's on the premises, he's there with us, he's going in it with us, and he's coming out the other side with us, and so we can learn what it means to trust the Lord in the decisions of life and the difficulties of life. We can learn what it means to trust the Lord in the darkness of life. You have to grow a little bit in this life as a Christian to come to the place where, and I don't mean that young people do not face this because in many cases they do, but as we get older sometimes the reality of life and and age and more responsibilities so often, Christians will face darkness in their life and darkness maybe in their ministry and darkness in their marriage because of what is transpiring that has come into their life and they don't understand it. If there's a man that can tell us a little bit about darkness and a dark life, it would be, it certainly would be Job. You know, the Bible says that Job was a perfect man, he was an upright man, and he feared God and skewed evil. If the Bible gives that summary of his life, and he was a man that was upright, and he was a man that was perfect in the sense that he had a right standing before God. Here's a man that if the community looked at him would say, there's a man that has some character, there's a man that has some, like the world sometimes, there's a man that has some good solid religion. But others that looked at him would agree, yes, he is a man. He is a man that is perfect before the Lord. He is a man that eschews evil, and he lives like it, and he walks like it, and he's an example to his children. And all of a sudden, his world caves in, and it's all gone. In a matter of just a short time, Job lost everything, including his children. He lost not only his children, but he lost the confidence of his wife, and it was his wife who said to him, Job, why don't you curse God and die? There could not have been a life that demonstrates more clear and more obvious how low we can go in world and the experiences that we have to bring us to a place that looks so dark and so difficult and so hopeless. And in the midst of that, that this man could say, though he slay me, I will yet trust him. It's amazing, it's amazing that that came out of his mouth. And that didn't come just out of his mouth, it came from his heart. It came from his heart. Job learned what it is to trust the Lord, not in his dark hour, but in his development hour. The development time of his life, in the period time of his life, there was times when Job learned to trust the Lord. Maybe he trusted the Lord for the substance that he had gathered, and all the benefits that had come. Maybe he trusted the Lord for his children that came, that they were blessed with. But we do know this, that he loved his family, loved his children, and thanked the Lord for his children. And all of a sudden I was gone. But in his darkest time of life, he could say, though he slay me, yet will I trust Him." And then we get to the end of the book and there's another side of the story and how God returned to him the things that he had. He had children again and how God blessed him. And his latter end was better than his beginning, the Bible says. Isn't it wonderful that God can take what seems to be even like the book of Ruth and Naomi who thought life was over and so dark and she was so depressed about what had happened, losing her husband, yet God was able to give her hope as she put her trust in Him and went back to the place of Bethlehem, Judah. You see, it's safe to put our trust in the Lord in the decisions of life and the difficulties of life and the darkness in the dark times of life. See, not everyone in this room is facing a dark time in their life. In fact, you may be in a stage of delightful times in your life. This may be a high point in your life, and things are going so well, and your health is good, and the job is secure, and the home that you live in, all these things that are blessings of the Lord, and you have all these things, and you can say, bless the Lord, O my soul, and you can sing as it was as we sang the chorus, that the Lord is good, and He is good, He's always good, but so often when things are going so well, we just want to praise the Lord for His goodness in our lives, but there's people that are going through darkness and difficulty. Then we're to trust the Lord in the dangers of life. I have to tell you that we talked about flying in airplanes. I have flown quite a bit with my wife, and we've flown extensive distance, as your pastor has. And we've had some times when, talk about turbulence, a little nerving, but you know, there's always that promise in the Bible, Lo, I am with you always. But the problem with that promise is that it's low he's with us always. You'll get that in just a moment. Isn't it good that he is with us always? But I know there's times I've bowed my head when we're flying in turbulence, and I have to tell you, I don't get real disturbed, but I tell you, one pastor's flying, and when the stewardess was crying, he got a little bit disturbed about the turbulence because she was a little uncertain whether they're gonna make their destination. But isn't it good to know that in those times of danger that we have the Lord, isn't it good that we have the story of Daniel lion's den, who in that time of danger was thrown into the lion's den, and the lion in darkness, and he can't see the lions, he can hear them, and certainly could hear their roars and their breathing, and not knowing what was going to happen, not knowing if he'd be eaten alive, and in that That pit, that den, he learned something that he could never have learned if he'd have been delivered from the den. He could never learn what God could do for him in the den. And God allowed him to go into a den that he'd be able to teach him a greater lesson as to what it means to trust Him. When he came out of that den, he had a measure of trust for God that was far greater, as did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they went into the fiery furnace, they had a measure of trust in the Lord. They did have that, and they did trust Him, and they did not bow, would not bow, but the fact is, these individuals went into that furnace were individuals that had trust in the Lord, but when they came out, knowing that that individual that was seen in the fire with them, the one like unto the Son of Man, they came out of that fire, and you couldn't smell smoke on them, there was no hair singed on them, they didn't have any indication that they'd ever been in a fire, and yet, the realization they had been in it. But the realization was, they had trusted the Lord, and the Lord not only allowed them to go into the furnace, but He brought them out. There's so many other things, times of disappointment. And then the decline of life. So often there's great concern about the decline of life, that is age and health. And it is David who said that from my youth, from my youth, let me just read that to you. Sometime in the near future, you might want to go to the book of Psalm 71, but he said, For thou art my hope, O Lord God, thou art my trust for my youth. And then verse 17 says, O God, thou hast taught me from my youth, and hitherto I have declared thy righteous works. Now also, when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not until I have showed thy strength unto this generation and thy power to everyone. that is to come. Here's a man that learned from his youth to trust the Lord. Now he's old. By the way, David was a little less than 70 years old, I would suspect, when he said this. I don't consider myself old. Can somebody say amen to that or something? I don't feel old. But I know this, the inevitable is, things are gonna change. Capabilities are gonna change. I hope it's not mentally soon. I know there's gonna be changes physically. I know there'll be changes in my wife physically. And if there's ever a time that we need to trust the Lord, and continue to trust the Lord, it is this time in declining years of our life. That's where some of you are. the prospect of having provision, the prospect of having help, all those things that we might get concerned, the prospect of guidance in our lives, and so often we get concerned about, but you see, the Lord that we learn, and by the way, there's great benefit in learning to trust the Lord from our youth. And then we can trust the Lord, as David did, and as Solomon did, all through life. And then it says, lean not onto thine own understanding. So what does this refer to? Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thy own understanding. The word lean means to support oneself. It means to rely. It means to rest oneself, such as a crutch. And so often we, when we're going through something, we look for a crutch or we look for something to lean on, something physical, something that has flesh. And so often we put our trust in the substances that, the substance we put our hands on. And God would have us to learn in those times that we're not to lean on our own understanding. The word understanding means to separate or distinguish, to come to a conclusion by weighing information. It's rationalizing. And if Job would have done that, if Job would have used his rationale to evaluate all that was happening to him, it would have robbed him from the experience and the opportunity to trust the Lord in this dark time, in this difficult time in his life. May it be that we learn what it means not to lean on our own understanding, and when God brings things into our lives that we don't understand that we'd be able to commit them. Our understanding is lacking the capability to discern what is best for our lives. God providentially gives guidance and purpose for our lives. He is always engaged. He is working things for our good and His glory. The fact is, when it doesn't appear that God's engaged in our lives, in our schedule, in our ministry, in our marriage, the fact is He's faithful, He's engaged. It sometimes doesn't appear to be that way because, rationally speaking, intelligently speaking, it doesn't look like that is transpiring. But the Bible says, knowledge in. So this trust is to be an exclusive trust. It's to be an extensive trust with all thy heart, but it's also to be an expanding trust. As we go on in our lives as husbands or wives or fathers or mothers or in the roles that we have in leadership in the home or in the church. There's this necessity for us to have an expanding trust in the Lord because we desire for Him to guide us in all the ways of our lives. And so the Bible says, trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not unto the understanding and in all thy ways acknowledge Him. Ways refer to the course of life. Our ways are not God's ways, Isaiah 55 verses 7 and 8. Let the wicked forsake his way, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah said, Thy and thine ears shall hear the word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walking in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. The truth is, our ways must be yielded to his way." Wise is the young person early in life. Wise is the individual that submits to God's ways and God's purposes and God's plan and yields to that. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him. The word acknowledge is a significant word, very important because it has to do with how we respond to what God is doing in our lives. The word acknowledge means to recognize the rights or authority of. It means to express recognition verbally and experientially. You think of the individuals and the classes in society or individual society that we respond to and we acknowledge that it is right and proper for young people to respond to their parents. Parents are God's means of leadership and counsel in the life of children, in the life of young people. And so we are to give respect and recognition of their authority and respond with manners and obedience. There's others in the world in which you live in. Certainly we've come to understand the importance of acknowledging a policeman or someone that has authority to enforce the law. When a car comes up behind you and the blue light's flashing, it's not a Kmart truck or car. It's usually a police officer that's not satisfied or completely pleased with the speed we're traveling or the violation we may have committed. You pull it over. And the first thing he asks you for is your identification. You say, well, I prefer not giving that to you. I would prefer just going on my way and thank you, officer, for pulling me over. Do you have anything to say? That isn't the way we approach it at all. We approach it with respect and respond to the worst. That's acknowledging that authority. But there's a greater authority in our lives. There's a greater authority than parents. There's a greater authority than the pastor. There's a greater authority than a policeman. There's the authority of God, and we are to acknowledge that. We're to respond to that verbally, and we're to respond to that experientially. so often we can respond verbally and not respond experientially. And there can be a statement made, I'm gonna let the Lord have His way in my life and I'm gonna do what the Lord wants me to do. And then when the Lord begins to reveal His will, there's a resistance, there's a response of half-heartedness or disobedience and we don't follow through on what the Lord is revealing to us or the lesson that He wants us to learn. Trust in the Lord. will all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways," the Bible says, in all thy ways, He shall direct thy paths. And He shall direct thy paths. And that brings us around to the most important lesson of trust in the Lord. It is the experience of trust. It's the actual doing it. It's the actual experiencing what it means to let go and to leave the Lord, to do what He's going to do, or what He desires to do, or teach us what He desires to teach us. He says this, and He shall direct your paths. The word pass is an interesting word. It's a word that is found several times in the book of Proverbs, but it's a word that refers to a well-trodden road. It refers to a way or passage. It refers, as the word ways does, to the course of life. He marketh all our paths. It reveals to the road of life, the highway of life, the course of life. And the Bible here is revealing to us that God wants us to trust Him all through life, all the things that we experience, every direction we go, all the things that He leads us into. And what He allows in our life, we are to allow Him to direct or to lead or to guide. The word direct means to guide. God wants to guide your life, and God wants to guide my life. And now being older, and those of you that are here that have walked to the Lord, you can give a testimony what it means to be, and again, Brother Young gave a testimony this morning about being guided by the Lord. There's confidence in an individual that prays and asks the Lord for direction, and the Lord reveals direction by steps, and we take those steps, and it's obvious by what the Lord's allowing circumstantially, that the Lord is direct to us, and God wants to guide us. But He wants to guide us in your paths. The word paths is plural. It's not singular. It's a word that reveals a broad spectrum of life. And there's a lot more than just a narrow path that we walk in this life, and one thing we do. But there's many things out there for young people. And as we grow into adulthood and become husbands and wives, there's a number of decisions. But young people, think about the things, the paths that are before you. Your vocational path is before you. Your vocational path is before you. Your marriage partner is before you. And they say, where, where? That's what I want to know. That's really what I want to know, is where is the one in whom is going to be my partner for life? There's marriage in your future. There's location in your future. Where am I going to live? Where am I going to settle? Where would God have me go? God wants you to know all those minute details about life, but He'll teach you those things one step at a time. Pastor and Mrs. Townsley are here in this community because they were guided by the Lord, and we would not All you folks that know the Townsend's would not question, well, I think they might have made a mistake. I don't think they should have come to Connecticut. I don't know if God was in that. We'd all agree by our observation that God has been in it and God has led them here. But you know, those steps that they took way back when have developed into paths and guidance in a number of areas, not only planting a church, but all the other things that have happened. And those things were learned by acknowledging the Lord that He might be able to direct our paths. This statement that is made about directing. How is it that God directs our paths? That is not to be an abstract thought or something to grasp on. How does God, in this day and hour, how does God direct the paths of God's people? First of all, He directs your paths, or our paths, by the compliance of His precepts. That is, His Word is a lamp under our feet and a light on a path. God uses His Word to direct our paths. And so I have to have a close association with the Word of God, certainly have to have the Holy Spirit in me, but I have to have an association with the Word of God. And my association with it is not just to learn the content of the Bible, but it's to learn the truths of the Bible so that I can comply to the Word of God. And the picture here is that individuals that want to know the direction of the Lord, He directs your life by your compliance to His precepts. Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. The word of God is a compass to those that acknowledge the Lord in His word. James takes it further, but be doers of the Word and not hearers only. You see, you cannot know the path of the Lord and the direction of the Lord without having an integral and an intimate relationship with the Word of God. That's why it's so beneficial for you college students to be here. You're not only learning the content of the the Scriptures, and you're in a school that teaches you the practical application of what you're learning from the Scriptures, that becomes great value, not only in the process of going from here out into the world to serve the Lord, but it's in the process down the road because you're laying a foundation of what it means to trust in the Lord and to acknowledge Him that He might be able to direct your paths." And so He uses the Word of God and He uses our compliance. The second thing, He directs your paths by the counsel of people. God uses people, that's what we have in our text. God is using a father to direct his son and give advice to his son and that's what the book of Proverbs is about. It's a human individual that has a connection and a reverence for God and has an understanding of the ways of the Lord and he transfers that information to to the one in whom he's concerned about, the one who he loves, and the one he's responsible for. So he begins to reveal some things to him that are an asset to his life, and he says, "...enter not into the path of the wicked, nor go in the way of evil men. Avoid it, and do not pass by it. Turn from it and pass away, for they sleep not." except they have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall. For they eat bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence, but the path of the just is a shining light that shineth more and more unto a perfect day." I don't have time to read that whole text. But the realization as a father, an individual figurehead of authority in this individual's life is giving him counsel that will benefit him as he takes into consideration, what does God want me to be and what does God want me to do? How does God want me to live? God used the Word of God and the compliance to his precepts to give direction and he uses the counsel of of parents and pastors and individuals who are figures of authority to give advice and counsel that a young person or a younger person can understand what it means to follow the Lord and trust Him. The last thing is, He directs your paths by the circumstances of His providential involvement. God is providentially involved in your life, in my life. I had the experience of pastoring on the other side, on the west side, of a city by the name of Providence, Rhode Island. Providence, Rhode Island, as you know, is a place in which Roger Williams settled after being persecuted in Massachusetts. And because of doctrine and because of the persecution he experienced from the Congregationalists, he was actually banished and went down there and made friends and the Indians befriended him. And they gave him some territory, gave him some space, and gave him some land. And he settled there. And God began to reveal to him that he was going to provide for him, and help him, and sustain him. And then came the day in which a name would be given to that territory or that place. And because he had experienced the providence of God and God had guided him and led him and found himself in a place of protection and security, he believed that God enabled him to experience that as he trusted him and the scripture reveals The Scripture reveals it's safe to trust in the Lord and God that He will direct all our paths. And here's a man by the name of Roger Williams, and we know him as being an individual who had significance in early American history, but here's a man that believed in the providence of God. I have been living for nearly 40 years in the providence of God. Actually, on the edge of it, on the west side. But for 60-some years, as a Christian, I have been living in the providence of God. Those of you who have been saved for any length of time, you can look back over your life, you can see markers and you can see experiences, you can see what the Lord did in your life to maybe divert you or turn you or get you to go another direction, guiding you. Because you see, God not only guides through the precepts of His Word and the counsel of other individuals, but He guides us through the circumstances. And that's not the primary way, but it gives some credence and it gives some indication that God is in what is happening in our life. Oh Lord, Thou has searched me and known me. Thou hast known my down-sitting and my up-rising. Thou hast understood my thought afar off. Thou have compassed my path in my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways." I'm not going to read all of that in Psalm 139, but it's obvious that there is the realization of the omnipresence of the Lord and the omniscience of the Lord and the omnipotence of the Lord and these wonderful characteristics and these These things that reveal the power and the nature of God and how He brings those in our lives and those wonderful truths about God, His power and His guidance, all those things, He releases to us. He brings those things to our service and to our lives to be able to direct us and give us security. And the truth is, it is a wonderful thing to learn to trust, to trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thy own understanding. Last night, early last evening, I received a call from a husband of a couple that we've come to know and are going through, even today, they're going through a very, we talk about a dark thing in their life, they're going through a very dark time in their life and family. And I can remember observing this couple for a number of years, we've known them for several years, and how the Lord's used them, all the things they've learned, about trusting the Lord for guidance, trusting the Lord for domestic issues, trusting the Lord for financial and material things, trusting the Lord. They knew what it is to trust the Lord. But the point is this, they've never needed the Lord more. as far as I know by testimony, they've never needed the Lord more. They never needed to know that God is there. They've never known it more important to understand the omniscience of God, that He knows everything that's going on, His omnipresence, that He's there with them, and the realization of His omnipotence, that He can release His power and help them through this crisis that is in their life. See, today I talk to you folks, and many of you, as I mentioned, everything seems about an even keel. But you see, here's a family that had come to a time in their life where they desperately needed to trust in the Lord. They do, even this day as I speak. But if they were just taking the step to trust the Lord today, He never learned to trust the Lord in those steps along the way, as did David with the bear and the lion and Goliath and the Philistines and his life of struggling with Saul who tried to kill him. All those things that happened in his life. The interesting thing about David in 2 Chronicles chapter 21, the Bible says, and Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel. He's an old man now. All the lessons he learned about trusting the Lord, they're all in his hope chest. They're all there in a file to pull back and read all the times and in his memory bank all the times the Lord delivered him. But something's happened in David. He makes a decision to go from trusting the Lord and the strength and his omnipotence and his omniscience And all of a sudden he says, Joab, go out and number my army. And so Joab, even knowing himself, that's not a wise thing to do. That's an indication that you're looking to your army. You're looking to the arm of flesh. You're not acknowledging the Lord as the one who has led you and guided you and preserved you. You're making a grave mistake. You're not going to trust the Lord now at this age. And the Bible says the words of David prevailed. Joab went and numbered them and brought the numbers back to David. David heard the numbers. They didn't do for him what he thought they'd do. They didn't bring a measure of greater confidence. It really brought about a measure of conviction. Then the word of the Lord came to him and made it very clear that the Lord was not pleased with that. see the Lord takes it as an insult when we do not trust Him. And He takes it as an insult, especially for those that He has provided for, and protected, and loved, and led by His providence, and they know what it is to trust the Lord, and they know the goodness of the Lord, and they know the power of the Lord, and all of a sudden, that doesn't seem to be sufficient. In a moment of a flesh thought, a moment of maybe a pride thought of how vast his army was, he calls for the number of his army and the Lord reveals to him it was a grave mistake he made. And the Bible says that God called him on the carpet for sinning against him, for numbering an army, sinning against him for something that seemed so slight and so insignificant. All I did was a number. No, what you did, you revealed that you're not trusting me and that I'm not sufficient in your life and I can't help you through this. And all the other times that I've helped you, those are all just history. And no longer am I going to do it. Well, that's not the case. And David experienced the judgment of the Lord as an old man because of his failure to trust in the Lord. God help us that have gone down the path a little ways, that have learned some things about trusting the Lord, that we would finish that. David's prayer in Psalm 71, as an old man, is that he would live long enough to reveal to the next generation the goodness of the Lord and the power of the Lord. How can we do that if we give indication the Lord's power has diminished? He's not safe to trust Him. I would remind you that He is safe to trust Him. It's still wise to trust Him. We're simply trusting every day, trusting through a stormy way, even when my faith is small. Trusting Jesus, that is all. Trusting as the moments fly. Trusting as the days go by. Trusting Him whatever befall. Trusting Jesus, that is all. singing if my way be clear, praying if the path be drear, if in danger for him call, trusting Jesus, that is all. Trusting him while life shall last, trusting him till life be past, till his glorious advent call, trusting Jesus, that is all. this simple phrase, this simple truth, that has such a profound impact on our lives, that we embrace, I trust early on as Christians, and we hold on to it, and we embrace it, and we experience the exclusiveness of trusting in the Lord, and the extensiveness of trusting Him with all of our heart, and the experience of trusting Him in the hour in which He's allowed to come into our lives. The very experience that's in your life right now is a lesson. It's an opportunity. to trust in the Lord, Father in heaven. Thank you for your word that reveals to us this glorious truth of the experience. First of all, the exhortation to trust the Lord and the experience to trust the Lord. Lord, I pray that it would go from the exhortation to the experience of trust in the Lord in all the circumstances of life. Lord, there's people here today that have been Christians possibly forever, for a long time, but there may be someone here today that's not a Christian. They don't trust, excuse me, they do not understand the language, the biblical language, maybe theoretically or textbook, they can relate to it, these words, trust in the Lord. but experientially of trusting the Lord as their Savior. They're having a time and place when they place their faith in the One who died on their behalf on the cross and shed His blood and was resurrected. They've not experienced salvation through trusting the Lord. The Bible says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him. That's the word trust. should not perish, but have everlasting life. Lead someone to the place where they see and understand they need Jesus as their personal Savior. And then take the message this morning and encourage hearts of people that love you. I'm so grateful for this church. I'm so grateful for this pastor. He's been a dear friend, but he's been an example All that they've experienced of trusting the Lord and they continue day at a time, week at a time, year at a time and now pressing towards 40 years. What a wonderful place to be and what a wonderful place to learn to trust the Lord. Now take this invitation, Father, and I pray that you draw folks to the altar. If it would be beneficial for them to come and say, Lord, I'm burdened about this, but I've been reminded that I need to place my trust in you. I need to trust you with all of my heart and not lean on my own understanding. I need to trust that you're gonna guide me and direct me through this current problem, this current dilemma that's in my life. or the decisions that have been made. Lord, you just guide me. Well, thank you for it in Jesus' name.