1. Established: to be firm; be stable; be fixed; be stable; be secure; be enduring; steadfast; prepared; ready

2. The term is used in the following passages: (these give a flavor of its meaning)

• Josh. 3:17 – they stood FIRM on dry ground
• Josh. 4:4 – men who were trained, prepared, and ready…
• II Sam. 5:12 – David perceived that the Lord had ESTABLISHED him as king.
• I Kings 5:18 – the timbers and stones were cut and PREPARED
• I Chron. 16:30 – the world is made STABLE that it move not
• II Chron. 29:35 – the service of the Lord was SET IN ORDER
• Ezek. 7:14 – They have blown the trumpet, even to MAKE ALL READY

3. Everybody wants to be established…

a. We want our family established…

b. We want our health to be established…

c. We want our finances to be established…

d. We want our job to be established…

e. We want our friendships to be established…

f. We want the world political scene to be established…

g. We want the world economic system to be established…

h. We want our country to be established…

4. Change can be unnerving.

a. Prov. 24:21 – My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change…

b. Stability is good; change should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism. This is certainly true in the realm of theology and truth.

c. Of course, there are situations where change is good.

d. In one sense, we should be changing every day: more and more changed into His likeness. Growth involves change.

e. But what the proverb speaks of is something quite different than that. Solomon is speaking of a PERSON being established. That is a GOOD thing.

5. As a human being… as a father… a mother… a church member… a son or daughter… a worker… it is GOOD to be established… solid… steady… reliable…

a. In Prov. 12:3, Solomon is not talking about circumstances being established, but the PERSON.

b. Not his job, health, finances, or even family—but the PERSON…

c. As a human being, God wants us all to be ESTABLISHED… solid… firm… unmovable… fixed in heart…

d. We SHOULD want our heart to be established… our soul… our inner man.
• Ps. 57:7 – my heart is FIXED…
• Ps. 119:5 – oh that my ways were DIRECTED to keep thy statutes
• Ps.37:23 – the steps of a good man are ORDERED by the Lord.

6. When trials strike… we NEED to be firmly fixed in place…

a. If YOU are fixed… your heart is established…solid… then the winds can blow all they want, and you will not be blown away.

b. Ps. 46: 1-3, 10 – the solid person will rest and be still in the midst of a storm.
• He doesn’t run away. He doesn’t bury his head. He doesn’t pretend there is no storm.
• But, he is not moved… he is solid… built on a solid foundation… of reliance upon the Lord.
• He doesn’t fall apart even if his world seems to be!
• He is established… not because he is something in himself, but rather, because he takes refuge in an omnipotent God…
• There he can be still… poised… unshaken… still and resting… he stands on his foundation in all confidence…

c. This MAN… the PERSON is established and firm, even though circumstances around him are not. The earth is removed, but he is not.

7. This man’s confidence and steadiness did not arise in a context of wickedness.

a. In other words, the wicked man will NOT experience this kind of confidence… he will not be established… unmovable…

b. Prov. 12:7 – the wicked are overthrown and are not…

c. Prov. 10:25 – the storm comes and the wicked are gone!

d. The righteous are solid… stable… built on a solid foundation.

e. The unrighteous are unstable… built on a foundation of sand… and the wind will knock over whatever they have built on that foundation—no matter how elaborate a structure it appears to be… a building is only as solid as its foundation.

f. Godly people weather the storms… the ungodly do not.
• Serving God in the local church means that we too will have some storms to endure.
• The righteous are not moved. They are solid. Secure.
• I have seen so many folks pack up and leave when the winds begin to howl… even men in the ministry.
• Here is an important principle: apply it to your service in the local church; apply it to you marriage; apply it to your schoolwork; apply it to your job: you don’t pack up and leave because of a storm!
• Godly people weather the storms of life… and over time build up a testimony of one who is SOLID… established.
• Wickedness does not produce this kind of a testimony.

8. The opposite of being established…

a. Gen. 49:3-4 – Reuben had much going for him, but he was unstable as water. He would not excel at anything.

b. This is a tragic character flaw…

c. James 1:6-8 – unstable in all his ways. This man should expect nothing from the Lord.

d. This is the flip flop person… unstable… tossed to and fro… never able to make up his mind… never certain about anything… never settled… never resting in the will of God… always searching and never finding… going from one fad and phase to the next…

e. We see this kind of person often today… flipping and flopping from marriage to marriage… from church to church… from one job to another job… from house to house… from one circle of friends to another… from one state to another… from one hobby to another…

f. His insecurity is seen in every area of his life… this trait affects everything!

g. This man’s cellar would be stuffed with THINGS that he tried for a while and then ditched… an exercise bike; kayak; snow shoes; scuba diving gear; ½ stamp collection; an old trumpet…

9. The righteous man shall not be MOVED.

a. Moved: to totter; shake; slip; to be shaken; be moved; be overthrown; to dislodge, let fall; drop

b. The mountains may shake about him. The earth may fall into sea. But he stands firm… unshakable… not overthrown… not dislodged from his place…

c. That which would cause others to be blown away does not cause him to move. He SHALL NOT be moved!

d. I Chron. 16:30 – the earth shall not be moved (same word—and same word as established)

e. Ps. 55:22 – cast your burden on the Lord; and He shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

f. Ps. 62:6 – with the Lord as our ROCK, we SHALL NOT be moved! This is not said in pride, but rather with a boldness that comes from our confidence in the Rock…

10. The root of the righteous…

a. The storms of life may cause his leaves to quiver… his branches may tremble in the fierce winds… but his root is solid… stable… steadfast. He is not going to be moved out of place.

b. Solomon is careful to point out that the trials that a righteous man faces may scare him… it may upset him… may discourage him for a while… it may perplex him… it may even knock him over for a time…

c. But the root of the righteous shall not be moved… That’s a promise!

13. The point of the proverb: wickedness breeds instability; righteousness breeds steadfastness… endurance… reliability…

a. This kind of stability does not result from a life of wickedness.
• Wickedness and sin result in guilt, insecurity, an uneasiness, and instability… unstable in all his ways.
• Righteousness results in just the opposite: the righteous man is stable, secure, safe, poised, at rest and ease… not flipping and flopping… but settled into his beliefs… settled into his lifestyle… and secure because he is on a good foundation.