Proverbs 3:1-4 (NKJV) 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.Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, And so find favour and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Like all parents who give their children good advice out of love, God wants to give us good advice because He is a good Heavenly Father. Perhaps you recall a time when you struggled to obey your parents. Do you face the same challenge in obeying God today?
Many of us are not receptive to God’s instructions and plans for our lives because we want Him to be our Saviour and not the Lord of our lives. We want to be prosperous and successful without the influence of God’s Word in our lives. There is often friction and struggle between what God asks us to do and what our flesh wants. Consequently, we often only become more open to His plan when we reach the end of ourselves.
In this passage, God offers a piece of excellent advice in a fatherly tone, addressing us as sons. We all want to live long lives while experiencing peace, but the prerequisite for peace and prosperity is ensuring that the Word of God occupies a central role in our lives. His Word should be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
The word “peace” is shalom in Hebrew. It encompasses the absence of military conflict and the sense of prosperity. It signifies a state of “wholeness”, free from anxiety, stress, distress, or agitation.
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were bound by the Mosaic Covenant, which included blessings and curses, as it was a conditional covenant. Therefore, there were consequences for violating God’s commandments, but blessings when they followed them. This is why God urged His people to choose life in Deuteronomy chapter 30. God wanted the best for His people and still wants the best for you and me today!
These two passages help us to understand God’s love for us through reason and logic, along with the principle of sowing and reaping the consequences of our actions. Although we now operate under the New Covenant, it doesn’t mean we won’t reap what we have sown in the flesh. If we sow to the flesh, living independently from God, we will reap corruption and the consequences. Conversely, if we sow to the Spirit, we will reap the abundant life of love, joy, peace, and everything we need without any sorrows added to it.
How blessed we are that as believers today, we can now walk in the Spirit, and be obedient to God by yielding to His leading, avoiding evil, immorality, unethical behaviour, and all the works of the flesh!
Sermon Series: Wise Saying
让神的话语成为中心
箴言3:1-4 我儿，不要忘记我的法则。你心要谨守我的诫命。因为他必将长久的日子、生命的年数与平安，加给你。不可使慈爱诚实离开你。要系在你颈项上，刻在你心版上。这样，你必在神和世人眼前蒙恩宠，有聪明。
约书亚1:8 这律法书不可离开你的口，总要昼夜思想，好使你谨守遵行这书上所写的一切话。如此，你的道路就可以亨通，凡事顺利。
如同所有苦口婆心的父母一样，神也想给我们好建议，因为他是良善的天父。 也许你想起自己曾经心不甘情不愿地服从父母。如今的你是否也同样地难于顺服上帝？
我们中的许多人不接受神对我们生活的指示和计划，因为我们只想祂作我们的拯救者，而不是作我们生命的主。我们希望自己的生命在不受神话语的影响下亨通而成功。在“神要求我们做的”与“我们的肉体想要的”之间，经常会有摩擦和斗争。至终，我们往往唯有到了山穷水尽之时，才会对祂的计划更加开放。
在这段经文中，神以慈父的口吻提供了极好的建议，祂称呼我们为儿子。我们都希望在太平的世道中得享长寿，但平安与繁荣的先决条件是确保神的话语在我们的生命中占据核心地位。祂的话应该是我们脚前的灯，路上的光。
“和平”一词在希伯来语中是shalom。它包括没有军事冲突，以及一种繁荣感。它象征着一种“完整”的状态，免于焦虑、压力、痛苦或不安。
在旧约中，以色列人受摩西之约的约束，其中包括祝福和诅咒，因为这是一个有条件的契约。因此，违反神的诫命是有后果的，但当他们遵守诫命时，会得到祝福。这就是为什么神在申命记30章中敦促他的子民选择生命。神希望他的子民得到最好的，今天仍然希望你我得到最好的！
这两段经文帮助我们通过理性和逻辑来理解神对我们的爱，以及种与收的原则—我们的行为是有后果的。虽然我们现在在新约下运作，但这并不意味着我们不会收获我们在血气中种下的因果。如果我们播种于血气，即独立于神而活，那么我们将收获腐败及其带来的所有后果。相反，如果我们向圣灵播种，那么我们将收获充满爱、喜乐、平安的丰盛生命，以及我们所需要的一切，而不加上任何忧虑。
今天的我们何其蒙福，作为信徒我们可以在圣灵里行走，顺服神的带领，避免邪恶、败坏、不道德的行为以及所有血气的工作。
讲章系列：智慧的言语
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