You Can't Go Wrong By Doing Right

                                   You Can’t Go Wrong by Doing Right
                                                   Proverbs 3:1-10

Intro: When it comes to living for God; there is a COST; there is a Price to pay. Jesus never tried to fool anyone when it came to being a follower or a disciple. He told them plainly that if they were going to follow him they had to forsake all; they had to deny themselves; they had to take up their cross daily.
Still- sometimes we emphasize the Cost; the Price; the Sacrifices we have to make and we Neglect to Consider the Glorious Blessings that we Receive when we live sincerely for the Lord.
For every so called Loss; there is a glorious Gain; For every spiritual investment there is a wonderful return. You Can’t Go Wrong by Doing Right!
This passage in Proverbs is a powerful reminder of What We Get From our Spiritual investments.

I. We Get Peace and Life for Obedience (1,2)
“Forget not my law; let thine Heart keep my commandments.”
Obedience is required and commanded throughout the Scriptures. Jesus himself said, If a man Love me, he will Keep my words. 1 John 1:3 Hereby we know that we know Him, if we keep his commandments; he that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. Obedience to God and his Word is a very serious matter;
There are some who are disobeying God’s Word through Ignorance- they really don’t know what the Bible says about how we should live.
There are some who disobey even when they do know because of Rebellion- they do whatever they Want to do and insist on their own way.
Some disobey because Obedience seems difficult at times; no one ever said that Obedience to God and His Word is EASY; But it is RIGHT- and you can’t go wrong by doing right!
When you pay the price of Obedience you get a Return of Life and Peace.
Obedience to God’s commandments adds real LIFE to your life. Some want more days in their life; God gives more Life in your days. Jesus said he would give Abundant Life- life with purpose and meaning; and Eternal Life- life with no end.
Obedience to God’s Word adds real PEACE to your life. While the world stumbles thru life in confusion and fear, the true child of God has assurance and confidence; while those who are lost live in dread and turmoil, the child of God has the Peace of God that passes all understanding.

II. We Get Honor for Mercy (3,4)
It’s not always easy to be Merciful or Meek. It’s not easy to surrender our own “Rights” and not retaliate when we feel like we have been done wrong. Still, when we Bind Mercy and Truth around our necks, so to speak, and write them upon the table of our heart- We Get what Solomon called, “favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.”
Favor is another word for mercy or graciousness; so when we show mercy to others; we get mercy from God! Rom 12:19,20 say that Vengeance belongs to God and not to us. It’s much better for us to do right and show mercy, for then we will be blessed with mercy from God and with Good Understanding or Good Success in the eyes of God and man. You can’t go wrong by doing right.

III. We Get Direction for Trusting (5,6)
These two verses are probably some of the most familiar in the whole book of Proverbs; and they contain a powerful message for us today. Trust in the Lord- with all your heart- Lean not to your own understanding- In all your ways acknowledge Him- He will direct your paths.
Trust in the OT equals Faith in the NT. The word trust is in the OT 152 times! It is vital that we Trust in the Lord.
- It means to Believe what he has said.
- It means to roll or cast yourself upon the Lord.
- It means to have confidence in the Lord.
- It means to take refuge in the Lord as a safe and secure place.
We must TRUST in the Lord and not Lean on or trust our own understanding. This is not about what I WANT; or what I think is best; this is about God wants and what God Knows is best.
We must Acknowledge Him:
- recognize and confess him as our Savior
- reverence him and worship Him as Lord
- respect his Word and his Will
In every area of life- not just church matters; but matters of physical life; home and family; job, work, income, finances, purchases, all decisions of life.
When we Trust in the Lord with all our heart and acknowledge Him in all our ways; we Get Divine Direction. He will Direct Our Paths. What a great return on the investment; we don’t know how to order our own life anyway; we Need divine direction. Isaiah said that at times we would hear a Word behind us, saying, “this is the way walk ye in it.”
I know the world thinks its crazy to Trust in the Lord and acknowledge him in all our ways- but to us it brings great blessings; you can’t go wrong by doing right.

IV. We Get Strength for Separation (7,8)
We are told to fear the Lord and Depart from Evil.
It is not always easy to Refrain from things the world promotes and takes pleasure in. We often feel “odd” or “weird” because of our separation from the World’s fashions and the world’s functions.
Many people have decided that separation is too much of a price to pay; it is too costly to them so they have given up and compromised. But look at the return on the investment of separation: We get STRENGTH; Solomon said it like this: it shall be health to thy navel & marrow to thy bones.
This is the Galiher interpretation of that phrase: It will bring power to your inner man and strength to your soul.
What a great return on the investment of separation- power in our spirit and strength in our soul! You can’t go wrong by doing right.

V. We Get Plenty for Giving (9,10)
We could be on this subject for a long time because the Bible has so much to say about it; but I will condense my remarks on this final point.
While giving seems too costly to some; while even tithing seems too costly to some; there is a great blessing that comes to us for faithful giving. After all, it’s all God’s anyway! We are only stewards of God grants to us. We are instructed to give in at least the three following ways:
- Tithing is the first 10% of what we earn that goes back to the Lord and his work.
- Offerings are given for special needs of the church; for evangelists, missions, etc
- Alms includes giving to those who are in need
So we are told here in our text that we need to Honor the Lord with our Substance and with the Firstfruits of our Increase; so shall our barns be filled with plenty...
2 Cor. 9:6-8 He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
Even when Giving seems Hard to do; remember God promises that he will supply all of our need according to his riches in glory; You really can’t go wrong by doing right.