Fri.7.10.15...Do You Belong to God?...Prov.31:1-9

This has been a great study through Proverbs! We have now come to the last chapter in the book. Please read just verses 1-9 of chapter 31 now. Then come back to my comments below on it.

Evidently chapter 31 was not written by King Solomon. The introductory verse declares the words are "The sayings of King Lemuel..." Oddly, we know of no king of Israel bearing that name. However, it's interesting to note that his name means, "Belonging to God." Thus, many Bible scholars take his name to represent the model of an ideal king, who has given himself entirely to God. Of course all mankind belongs to God in the sense that He made them. But man has rebelled and disowned their Creator and Redeemer. Because of this, unsaved mankind no longer belongs to God. To even the religious leaders, Jesus said, "You belong to your father the devil and you want to carry out your father's desires" John 8:44. That's why we need to share the good news with people, that they might become "people belonging to God" 1 Pet.2:9.

This ideal leader, King Lemuel, is being mentored by his mother in this passage. This is fitting, because as you probably know, the last portion of this final chapter of Proverbs presents the ideal wife and mother. She had not only given birth to Lemuel, but vowed him to the Lord, calling him "son of my womb, O son of my vows." She reminds me of Hannah who vowed and dedicated her son Samuel to entirely belong to the Lord (1 Sam.1). That's a wonderful thing, but you don't have to have been dedicated to the Lord to live a life of dedication. Many of you have already prayed a prayer of dedication to entirely belong to the Lord. So what does a life entirely belonging to the Lord look like? Lemuel's mother gives us a few thoughts regarding this.

First she warns Lemuel not to spend his strength on women "who ruin kings." Sadly, Solomon did just the opposite. "King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been" 1 Kings 11:1-4. It's shocking to think that Solomon, who had been given so much wisdom, didn't heed it later in life. This underscores the danger of drifting, of not having any accountability to others who could point out such drifting early on. He was king and did as he pleased. O to belong to the Lord, not to our passions. How are you doing in this area? Are you ruling over your passions, or are they ruling over you? Are you being led astray by women or porn? If you don't conquer it, it will be the ruin of your life. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with it's passions and lusts" Gal.5:24. This initial time of salvation/crucifixion requires continual renunciations to our passions and lusts. So keep fighting the good fight.

Next King Lemuel's mother warns him not to ruin his life craving beer and wine. There are men in M3 such as Guillermo who has openly shared how alcohol ruined his life. He now seeks to help others recover from that ruinous addiction. I happen to be a tea total-er, in part because I never liked the taste of alcohol when I first tried it. I know Scripture condemns drunkenness, not the mere drinking of wine, but I plead with you as King Lemuel's mother did- don't crave it. Don't turn to it as your comfort. Those who are to be comforted with it are "those who are perishing" 31:6. Alcohol was given to numb the pain of those dying in battle. I'm not saying there is no other time a person may drink alcohol, I'm simply pleading that if you are belonging to it, and not to God's best for you, you need to forsake it. God is trying to spare you from much ruin. "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine" Prov.23:30-31. Have the love and courage to speak to someone with a drinking problem. Certainly a man's best friend would get involved.

Finally, King Lemuel's mother encourages him to use his position, influence and voice for good- "Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves..." 31:8. Though we do not hold some high government office, we can speak up in our office, home or school. We can speak up on behalf of those who are being oppressed by man or by the enemy. May we use our voice to share the word of God. I'm so glad you are sharing the life transforming truth with others regularly. It may not make the front page, but it is making it's way to the ears of our Great King. Keep living the life that makes it clear that you belong to him.

1.- How would you describe some of the characteristics of a man who has given himself to the Lord, who sees himself belonging to the Lord, no longer to himself? 

"He (Christ) died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again" 2 Cor.5:15.

2.- As you read through Prov.31:1-9, pick out a verse and then find a cross reference verse to the one you picked and share it with us. If you don't have a Bible that has cross references, there are online Bible helps which can help you with that, such as BibleHub.com. Here's my tutorial video on it, if you haven't seen it before- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCJl7GAAbLM

I like what Louis Ortiz shared about his outreach opportunity. He wrote, "I forgot what day it was, but it was one of my last days at my old job. A man came wanting to enter the building. We are not supposed to let anyone in without a membership. I told the guy "I can't let you in, but if you'd like, I can walk with you to see if you can spot your friend you're looking for." He agreed so we walked and talked a bit. He was telling me that the night before he was riding his bike and a car hit him. He landed in the hospital and had just gotten out that morning. So we talked a bit more and as we were making our way back to the exit, I offered him a card. He was pretty excited about the fact that it said Greatest Mini-movies. I hope he had a chance to watch them." Way to go Louis!

Announcements
Don't miss it! It's our M3 meeting this Sunday at 11:30 at New Life Midway in the elegant, Break Room :) I've got important info to share with you and I'm looking forward to honoring several of you. Plus, you will get to meet some new men who have recently joined us. If M3 has been enriching to you, would you please give to help defray our expenses? Jack is our treasurer and he knows that one of these days, we will bring in enough to get me out of debt for what I'm spending on us:) So thanks in advance!  

We are in a spiritual battle which requires spiritual weapons, such as the sword of the Spirit and the spear of the Spirit- the word of God and prayer. Thanks to all of you who have completed the crucial mission of recruiting a couple of prayer warriors and listing their names and email info on our Contacts tab. If you have not yet done that, please help me and help yourself; complete this mission this weekend. I am sending out a prayer letter the beginning of next week. If there is some reason why you can't get this done by then, let me know. We are here to help you. Thanks again :)