6-20-12. Prov 28b. BLESSED IS HE WHO TREMBLES BEFORE GOD

Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Proverbs 28:13-28
Key Verse: 28:14

“Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.”

Dear Lord, thank you for helping me to be led to a morning men’s prayer meeting. It was very refreshing and full of possibilities. Please grow it so that it may be a source of blessing to others. Lord, I pray that you help us to seek your face and to know you more deeply this summer. May it be a summer of immense spiritual growth. I pray that you bless the summer reading program. Help all of my kids to read Christian books and deepen their knowledge of the Gospel. Please grant me one word of God through this passage. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: Blessed Is He Who Confesses His Sins (13-18).

It is always in our best interest to humble ourselves before God and repent. Verses 13-14, 17, “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. 14 Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble…17 Anyone tormented by the guilt of murder will seek refuge in the grave; let no one hold them back.” He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but he who confesses and turns from them finds mercy. The willingness to repent before God shows that we fear God. It shows that we have a sincere desire to please God and do what is right before his eyes. Such a person who has this attitude of heart will be blessed, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble. A man who does not repent will be a fugitive tormented by a guilty conscience until death, but the blameless will be kept safe.

I need to keep a tender heart towards God. I need to be humble and ready to confess my sin and repent before the Lord. This is not easy to do. I have a tendency to downplay the seriousness of sin. I tend to just forget about my sin, chalk one up for experience, and then move on. But I need to really have a heart to please God and truly repent and accept Jesus’ complete forgiveness and move ahead with the Lord, leaving my life of sin behind me. I pray to always live in the fear of God. I pray for this generation of young people that they may not be desensitized to sin, but they may repent before God on a daily basis and grow as God’s holy people.

Verses 15-16, 18 read, “15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people. 16 A tyrannical ruler practices extortion, but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign. ….The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.”

How terrible are tyrants! We think of tyrants as those who are like dictators. These people are tyrants are brought low. Many are killed at gun point. But we can also be tyrannical rulers towards our family. We can be like this to our kids and our wives. We can b like this towards our fellow employees at work. We can be like this towards our neighbors. We can even be like this towards ourselves, always pummeling ourselves with self condemnation. We can even be extortionists, exploiting others for selfish gain. How many spouses are doing that to their partner? This type of behavior does not pay off. They will be not have a blessed life. Their lives may be cut short. They will also fall into the pit of their own sin and eventually be judged by God. I find that people, who are tyrannical to others, are very sad and bitter and live and die a lonely life. Who knows how God will deal with them in the end. That is up to God. They need to repent and find salvation in Jesus. Christ.

Part ll: He Who Trusts In The Lord Will Prosper (19-28).

God helps us to prosper. Verses 19-20 read, “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty. 20 A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.” How true this is. When we are faithful and work hard and focus on the task God has given us then we will prosper. Such a person will be richly blessed. But an unfaithful person, who chases after this and that and is only eager for selfish gain will suffer for it. Think of being a student. A student who studies hard and chases after one thing and then another, changing their majors again and again, will suffer. They may not graduate and have all kinds of debt and never be able to pay it off. We need to focus. We need to find and follow the will of God like a pointed arrow.

Verses 21-28 read, “21 To show partiality is not good — yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread. 22 The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them. 23 Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one who has a flattering tongue. 24 Whoever robs their father or mother and says, “It’s not wrong,” is partner to one who destroys. 25 The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the LORD will prosper. 26 Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe. 27 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses. 28 When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding; but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.”

This is all about people who are selfish and stingy. They exploit others and use them. They want to get rich, but poverty awaits them. They have a partnership with those “who destroy”. They stir up conflict. They are fools. They receive many curses. They cause their neighborhoods to go into hiding. In the end they will perish and receive God’s judgment. How foolish it is to be selfish and stingy! It is so much better to follow Jesus’ example of laying down his life for others. We must follow Jesus’ example of giving and loving and serving.

Prayer: Lord, let me repent and fear you always.

One Word: Living to please the Lord is the most blessed life.