Things That Are Profitable Is 48:17 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Is 48:17 says, “… I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.”  What are some things in the Bible that God has taught us are profitable to us?  In chronological order, the following things are profitable:

Labor is profitable – Prov 14:23 – you must work, therefore, it is essential that you teach your children how to work.  They should help you repair things, mow the lawn, work on the car [or at least keep it clean], do the chores, and so forth.  They’re much better off learning to work than sitting around texting and shooting off their mouth.  Dr. Ian Clarke, in his book, How Deep Is This Pothole?, said, in essence, that if a country could be built by a bunch of men sitting around talking, Uganda would be one of the greatest countries on earth.  You don’t have to be rich to be profitable.  As a matter of fact, Solomon said, “Labour not to be rich.”  Yet, there is profit in all labour.

Wisdom is profitable – Ecc 10:10 – Solomon said, “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her,” [Prov 3:13-15].  Then wisdom is very profitable when you compare it to wealth.  A man can do much more with wisdom than he can with money.  Contrast wisdom with wealth in 2 Ki 17:1-6 and Ecc 9:13-15.

Spiritual gifts are profitable – 1 Cor 12:7 – the Lord has great work for us to do in the body of Christ.  And since we can do nothing without the Lord, he gives us spiritual gifts in order to be profitable in the work that we do for him.  Yet, when these spiritual gifts are not mixed with charity, they lose their profitability.  So, if you want your work for the Lord to profit, work with your spiritual gift charitably.

Godliness is profitable – 1 Tim 4:8 – there is not nearly enough preaching on godliness. Paul said, “But godliness with contentment is great gain,” [1 Tim 6:6].  We certainly need more godliness in our lives and with it we would see more profit.  We get it by exercising ourselves unto godliness [1 Tim 4:7].  It’s like working out; only spiritually rather than physically.  Too much attention is on the body these days.  Bodily exercise is also profitable but compared to godliness it only profits a little.

Scripture is profitable – 2 Tim 3:16-17 – when you receive scripture by the inspiration of God it is extremely profitable to you, if you believe it [1 Thes 2:13].  Sound Doctrine [Acts 20:20; 1 Cor 10:22] is good for strengthening believers and good for bringing the lost to Christ.  There is profit in instruction [Titus 3:1-8].  Reproof and correction are likewise profitable.  Together they make you perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Good men are profitable – 2 Tim 4:11; Phile 11 – in the ministry, there is nothing like good men to help you in the work.  I thank God for the good men we have been privileged to work with in the ministry.  Other pastors have been a great source of wisdom and counsel.  And men who have helped in our local church have been invaluable as they carry a significant amount of the load.  They truly are profitable because by them we can do way more for the Lord than we could ever do alone.  So, be a good man helping in your local church by using the spiritual gift God has given you charitably.

Chastening is profitable – Heb 12:10 – God knows just how to correct us and how to chasten us.  He wants us to be partakers of his holiness and he wants his chastening to yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness in us.  So, “despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,” [Heb 12:5].  The resulting holiness and righteousness are very profitable to us.

Conclusion: God has identified these seven things in the Bible to teach us to profit by them.