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Part 5–"Gift of Confidence"

Proverbs 3:1-12

July 4, 2021

Scripture text: Proverbs 3:1-12 Proverbs shows us how God designed us to live. Proverbs 3 teaches us to "Submit our whole lives to God and He will take care of the rest." As we walk through this life God gives us the gift of confidence in him–that if we submit to him and his ways, he will make it worth it. In this passage the Father is saying, "Pay attention to me... Only my teaching will lead you into shalom, wholeness, peace." 1. Submit Your Personality (Heart) (vv. 3-4) See also: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 the Shema The Shema ties loving God with loving and knowing God's Word. You can't love someone without listening to them. Love takes time. The more time you spend in God's Word the more you will grow to love Him. 2. Submit Your Preference (Will) (vv. 5-6) It all comes down to trust. Do we trust God, who made us and created us and knows how we work, or do we trust ourselves? When faced with decisions like, "What job does God want me to have? Where does He want me to live? Where will I go to school?" God rarely tells us what to do but He always tells us how to do it. That's what it means to walk in the way of wisdom. 3. Submit Your Perspective (vv. 7-8) Avoid thinking that you are wise and therefore forgetting that the Lord is the source of wisdom. Submit your whole life to God and He will take care of the rest. 4. Submit Your Possessions (vv. 9-10) When we start to worry about the future what's one of the first things we doe? We close our wallets and our generosity dries up. We cling to our money. If we trust God will provide for all our needs, even in want we can still find ways to be generous and give to the Lord and others. We can give confidently and joyfully that He will take care of us. 5. Submit Your Pride (vv. 11-12) Godly parents don't withhold loving discipline from their children. The more you love, the more you correct what is wrong and train in what is right. The Father loves us so much that He was willing to discipline His one and only Son in whom He delighted so that You and I can be forgiven. The Father allowed His perfect Son, a Son who had done no wrong, a Son who always submitted to his Father's will, to be punished as a guilty sinner so that you and I can be counted as righteous. The Father sees us through red colored glasses because of the blood of Jesus. Your faith has practical applications. As a follower of God you cannot separate your spiritual life on Sundays, with your practical life the rest of the week. Genuine faith produces good works and will yield tangible fruit. It's impossible for us to perfectly submit to God, but Jesus did. When we surrender to Christ, He empowers us through the Holy Spirit to walk the path of wisdom and gives the gift of confidence. SUBMIT YOUR WHOLE LIFE TO GOD AND HE WILL TAKE CARE OF THE REST.