"Principle-Driven Life" - The Apostolic Connection

today the book of Proverbs it has been said by many scholars that chapter 3 of the book of Proverbs is the best chapter in all 31 chapters you see we are principle driven people we are principle driven people when we live by principle then life doesn't happen to us but we happen to life when we are principle driven people when we are principle driven people we don't find ourselves in situations to have to decide where we stand what we're going to do how we're going to react when we are principle driven people we understand before tomorrow ever gets here this is how we will act and so proverbs 3 especially is an entire chapter given to principles of how we should behave as children of God is a matter of fact there are some very plain scriptures in the Bible that simply spell it out to us no Greek or Hebrew is needed no kind of explanation is needed when one reads Ecclesiastes 12 and verse number 3 no one has to drag a Greek or Hebrew scholar in the room and say tell us what these words mean in Ecclesiastes 13 12 and verse number 13 the writer just simply says let us hear the conclusion of the whole manner fear God keep his Commandments for this is the whole duty of man for God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil we don't have to really study that out we just have to obey it fear God fear God and keep the commandments this is the whole duty of man can you imagine how simple it would be to live for God if we just all set out every day to fear God and keep his Commandments can you imagine every fashion brother Williams think about this for a moment every pastor if you're a pastoring here in this house how easy it would have been to have been a pastor in the Garden of Eden I mean sermons would be very brief because all you'd have to get up there and say is don't eat the tree that was it don't eat the tree don't eat the fruit of the tree you may stand you may be dismissed see you tomorrow don't eat the fruit you see living for God he is not difficult at all when we simply obey the scripture Micah chapter 6 and verse number 8 again very simplistic micah 6 and verse number 8 he had showed the oh man what he's good and wound up the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God proverbs 3 is jam-packed with all the stuff everything you're going to need you can receive it out of proverbs chapter 3 think about the very first four verses my son forget not my law but let my heart eat them keep my Commandments for length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee let not mercy and truth for safety bind them about my neck write them upon the table of thine heart so shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man look at these first four verses we we understand this in the first four verses of proverbs 3 that we must be constant to our duty to live for God we must be constant in our duty to live for God he said forget not my law and keep my Commandments they will be left of days to you they will be long life to you now we meant verse 2 is it length of days and long life the same thing no they're not you can have length of days but not have long life you can have length of days but only have existed in those length of days but I'm so glad with God he said I came that you might have not existence but I came that you might have life and that you might have life more abundantly is it he our reason for living isn't he our reason for going on isn't he our reason for existing o precious God he is our constant he is our constant we must be constant in our duty to live for God do you know that there's only one other chapter in the Bible that records the word happy twice there's only one other chapter chapter 3 of proverbs lists the word happy twice as another chapter in the Bible that lists the word happy twice but proverbs 3 lists and I think this stands out because what people are looking for happiness they're not starting at the right place you ever heard the old saying you can't get there from here you can't get to happiness from a bar stool you can't get to happiness from a bank account you can't get there from here the only way you can get to happiness is starting with God's Word if you want to end up being happy start in God's Word that's the only place that you can find happiness he said he said let not mercy and truth for safety verse 3 said something about binding them around your neck riding them up on the table of your heart and then he said if you will do everything you can you imagine binding something that was their duty put something on you to bind it behind it around your neck buying mercy and truth mercy and grace around your neck be reaching out to tether yourself to tether yourself to the things of God please church don't ever get in the mindset of untying yourself from God be in the mindset of tying yourself to God he said bind it around your neck tie it about you you want it to go with you let it be let God's Word be like the dog tags they used to wear in the military and I believe they call him that I hope I'm not being disrespectful do you need the military people here but that I've heard him referred to his dog tags and it was name rank and everything right there and it was always there with them you know that's the way we need to be with God's Word put it around our neck come on in case I get knocked out somebody's going to be able to come by know who I am Tyler internet so shalt find favor and good understanding in the side of God and man you know some folks they always go through life at odds with somebody you always go through life trying to think I'm the only one here trying to swing my way up to the top maybe it's because you've not started the right place because when you get God's Word in your heart and you tie yourself to God's Word you have good understanding and good favor with God and then with man if you find yourself not getting along with anybody hmm I mean if you got ten windmills on a hill and you're informed that one of them is broken and you go out and all there's nine of them blowing that way turning that way and you say they say one of them is broken and you look up on the hill nine of them is going that way and there's one in the middle going that way I know which one needs to be fixed all right and so in life if you go through life finding that you're always at odds with people you need to make peace with God and peace with God will put you in peace with people it will verse 5 trust in the Lord with all thine heart trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to their own understanding we must live a life dependent upon God because it's the only way to be safe the only way to be safe in this world is to live a life dependent upon God trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding you know these pilots that fly these commercial jets and some that are not commercial they you can get a rating as a pilot you can get a rating to fly a plane as long as you can see the ground as long as you can see where you're at you can fly but and then there are those that become instrument-rated and that means they can get up in a cloudy day and they can fly in the clouds they can't see they can't see the other morning we were we were my wife and I were on a plane and we had started the descent and I knew I thought meant when is this plane going to land wintery because it had we had been going down for some time and and and I looked at you just couldn't you couldn't hardly matter you could not see the wing you couldn't see the wing of the plane and when are we going down and all of a sudden all of a sudden boom there was a runway boom we hit the we hit the runway and I told her I have never been on a plane that did this I have never looked out my way i could see i mean the very second I saw the yellow strips on the runway boom we hit that runway you know what we did that man had been trained how to fly by an instrument panel he didn't trust anything going on in his year we didn't trust anything going on he knew how to fly about that instrument panel was telling him if the plane was leaning this way or that way or tilting and he came in at a total foggy place and he landed that plane you know we need to trust God's Word another that when we can't see the wing we know this is the right thing to do it's this is just the right thing to do I don't feel like going to church but this is just the right thing to do I I don't know why that this has happened to my life but this I think of talking to somebody today this is just the right thing to do just try it's the safe thing to do it's the right thing to do you know we really heard a very sad thing that happened this week and I I don't know how it's going to change everything I'm sure there will be changes but that plane that crashed in the Alps and we found out later that one of the pilots got up and went out of the cockpit and the cut the other pilot had been suffering from some breakup evidently with a girlfriend and some mental disorder he locked that door he locked that and he flew that plane in a death dive right in to that mountain the black box records the black box records the sound of that pilot beating on that door and frantically crying let me in let me in let me in you know that's a tragedy everyone lost their lives that's a tragedy that that happened but can I tell you a tragedy that happens every day we have allowed Jesus outside of the cockpit and we have shut the door and we're saying I'm flying this my way now I've got some pretty good understanding i'm a little bit bored with a bible study i'm a little bit bored with those antique relics at church that you keep talking about I'm a little bit bored with all this stuff let me fly that plane and we're destined the Bible says it is not in man to direct his steps you don't have the instrument panel to direct your steps you'll think you're going the right way you're flying into a mountain lady you'll think you're doing the right thing sir you're flying into a mountain sir and all the time Jesus says behold I stand at the door and I'm knock and if any man will open up come on church I wonder how much eternity we reveal from our black boxes Jesus standing at the door said yeah i mean i don't know about you and I want to tell my god come on in it's the only safe way to go the only safe way to go he's to trust in the Lord verse 6 7 and 8 and all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct bypass be not wise and I known the eyes fear the Lord and depart from evil it shall be health to thine able and morrow to thy bones do you know the only way to be healthy I believe most of all spiritually but even physically is to obey God's Word is it amazing that he uses the word here all your ways fear the Lord be not wise verse 8 it shall be health to the navel you know that this is talking about when a baby is growing inside of the mother's womb the umbilical cord that connects the mother's body to the baby's body do you know what that core does that court is a supply do you know that that cord is taking nutrients that the mother eats and putting them in that that court serves two purposes that core it brings nutrients in from the mother and gives it to the baby and so the baby grows in that wound but not only that that baby has wastes that must be carried out and so that same chord that brings life removes waste you know God's Word will bring us life God's commandments will bring us life but then God's Word will take things out of our lives that are waste wasted days guilt shame all of those things do not need to dwell in the heart of a believer but we need and we need a way to take that way stead of our bodies spiritually the waste of a failure the waste of a sin condemnation and kill of something that happened 20 years ago praise God if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ you this now cleanseth us from all unrighteousness you know I'm gonna walk with God he did is my umbilical cord he is giving me life inside and he is taking out the waste of my life I'm free I pre praise God I'm free I wish somebody who is battling with a sin you committed 20 years ago or maybe maybe you later than that I wish someone would believe God's Word of forgiveness and just shout it out loud today I'm 3 praise God I'm free praise God it's health is held it shall be healthy to the neighbor and morrow to thy bones do you know inside of your bones new sales are being made to go through your body you know inside of your bones your bones are just not a solid piece inside your bones is a cavity where new sales are being developed because old cells are dying off and your body's got to keep producing new sales and when he said the word of God has helped to your neighbor and morrow to your bones do you know that my bones are making sales today that I'm going to burn up sometime next week you know I'm here this morning I'm getting strength but things I don't even know I'm going to fail that's why when we're principle driven hear me now when we're principle driven life doesn't happen to me happened to life you see right now sister fallon by the word of god dad has got something going on in his bones that's going to help him later on spiritually we're doing something on this Sunday morning you know not what tomorrow may bring you know not what sister Hazel Green had no idea that last Sunday when she said in this auditorium that she would sit here a week later and have the plans for her husband's funeral but I Got News for sister Hazel dream last Sunday morning Todd was making something inside of her poems and giving her the power to me what happened on Friday afternoon with the assurance that God is in control hey I'm here to tell you something today I've gotta give my god praise for this I'm not gonna give up I'm not gonna stop serving God