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I was blessed by something that when I

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said as we were singing, he said, nobody

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here, the only person who's important here is

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Jesus Christ.

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And it's good to remember as we share

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that the words, hopefully that each of us

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share, we're sharing as the words that God

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has given us.

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Hopefully we can say with Jesus, each brother

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who stands up and sister who stands up

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to speak or pray or anything.

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I'm only saying what God's given me.

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And so I pray that the Lord would

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get all the glory.

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I really appreciated that reminder when I thank

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you.

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If you want to turn to Ephesians chapter

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five, I wanted to ask you a question.

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If you, especially children, you can think about

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this question for a second.

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Is it okay?

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I want to see kids eyes.

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Can you look at me?

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If you're a child, if you're under 12,

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you got to look at me.

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I want to see is it, here's your

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simple question.

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Is it okay?

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And if you're, if you're over 12, you

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don't have to look at me.

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Okay.

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Is it okay to not be loving?

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Is that okay, David?

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What do you think?

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No.

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Why not?

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Why must we be loving?

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Yeah.

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God tells us to, and why does God

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tell us to, why does God tell us

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to be loving?

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Yeah.

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David, he is loving.

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Okay.

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So God commands us to love and it's

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not okay to not be loving because God

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is loving.

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And that's, there's so much truth right there.

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It's never okay to not be loving because

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it's who God is.

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And even before there was anything, before he

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ever created anything, he was love.

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He was loving and he existed in perfect

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love in fellowship with himself.

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He was perfectly loving before he made any

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of us.

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So we know it's never okay to not

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be loving.

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Now let me ask you children, can I

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see your eyes again?

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Let me ask you a different question.

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Is it okay to not be wise?

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All of us hang on, hands down, please.

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I can say that to my own child.

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Okay.

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I, which I appreciate.

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We'll talk later.

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But the point is if you're like me,

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you go, well, that one's not so straightforward.

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Loving.

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No, there's no exception.

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I must be loving, but wise.

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I mean, I'm still growing.

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I'm still learning.

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Wisdom is a matter of experience, right?

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And we can think it's not, there's things

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like love that I must be.

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And they're automatically, they're wrong if I'm not.

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But then there are things like wisdom.

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I go, that's for later.

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That's for older people.

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That's for elders.

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That's for teachers.

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But me, I'm not wise.

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It's, I can give myself a pass, right?

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But look with me at Ephesians chapter five

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and verse 15.

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See what the Lord says here.

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He's not speaking to older people.

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He says, therefore be careful, verse 15, Ephesians

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5, 15.

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Therefore be careful how you walk, not as

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unwise men, but as wise, making the most

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of your time because the days are evil.

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So then do not be foolish, but understand

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what the will of the Lord is.

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Is it okay at any time to not

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be wise?

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I read that and all of a sudden

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I go, it's a little bit more straightforward

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than I thought it was.

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For a second, I thought it's okay perhaps

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to not be wise.

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But now I read the Holy Spirit's command,

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do not be unwise.

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Old people, do not be unwise.

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Experienced people, no.

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To every Christian, the Lord's command is be

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wise.

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And for me, the message that I wanted

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to share, the message I feel the Lord's

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been putting on my heart for me, is

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I can't treat wisdom as an optional thing.

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Wisdom is essential.

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And I believe that the Lord wants us

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to seek wisdom as absolutely vital and necessary

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to our lives.

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Not as a nice to have, not as

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a someday I might, but today I must

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have the wisdom of Jesus Christ.

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Today, I must.

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I believe it's true for every single born

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again believer.

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And I will confess, I'll be the first

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one I confess, I don't always feel I

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must be wise.

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Sometimes I think I hope to be wise,

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but there's a world of difference between those

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two statements.

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And I want to encourage you, what the

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Lord's been encouraging me, stop saying someday.

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Start saying now, I have to be wise

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today.

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Why?

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Because God has commanded me to be wise.

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He says, don't be unwise.

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Do I take wisdom that seriously?

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If someone were, if you were to hire

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KPMG or Ernst & Young to come and

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audit my life, that'd be a scary thought.

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They see everything.

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Do they walk away going, you know what?

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That guy really wants wisdom.

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It's a challenging thought to me.

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If you look with me at Proverbs chapter

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eight, I was reading this passage earlier this

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week and this first really, or actually a

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little passage really struck me.

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It says at the end of it, 8

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.32, it says, now therefore, O sons, wisdom

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is speaking here.

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Listen to me.

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How blessed are they who keep my ways?

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Listen to me.

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But it says, therefore, what's it therefore?

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Why should we listen to wisdom?

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And if you look with me, starting in

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verse 22, look at this.

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Did you know this about wisdom?

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I knew it about love.

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Did you know it about wisdom?

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The Lord possessed me at the beginning of

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his way.

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Just like love was before God created anything,

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so was wisdom.

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Before his works of old, from everlasting, I

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was established.

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From the beginning, from the earliest times of

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earth, verse 24, when there were no depths,

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I was brought forth.

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When there were no springs abounding with water,

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before the mountains were settled, before the hills,

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I was brought forth.

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While he had not yet made the earth

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and the fields nor the first dust of

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the world, when he established the heavens, I

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was there.

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When he inscribed a circle on the face

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of the deep, when he made firm the

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skies above, when the springs became fixed, when

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he set the sea its boundary, look at

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verse 30.

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I was beside him, a master workman.

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I, wisdom, was daily God's delight, rejoicing always

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before him, rejoicing in the world, his earth,

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having my delight in the sons of men.

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Now, for this reason, why?

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Because I have always been, long before the

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world was created, for this reason, listen to

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me.

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You value love because God is love?

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Do you value wisdom because God is wise?

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That question came to me and I go,

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I do value love, but I don't hold

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wisdom in the same regard as absolute necessity,

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as a must have, as a can't live

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without it, as a not someday, but today

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kind of proposition.

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And the Lord has been correcting me.

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I don't cherish wisdom sufficiently.

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So what is wisdom?

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When I think about wisdom, when I ask

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for wisdom, you know what I'm asking?

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When I say, Lord, give me wisdom.

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You know what I want to know?

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I don't know about you, but examine your

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own heart.

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The last time you asked for wisdom, what

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did you want?

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For me, it could be defined as which

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one, where, or what?

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That's what I'm asking the Lord for.

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When I say I want wisdom, I am

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saying, which one should I choose Lord?

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Or where am I supposed to go?

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Or what should I do?

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Right?

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That's what I mean when I say wisdom.

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And you know who I was reminded of,

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if you want to turn to John chapter

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14, I feel the Lord really showed me

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in his correction of Thomas, how I've been

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thinking about wisdom wrongly.

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Wisdom is not a where or a what

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or a which one.

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Wisdom is a how.

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Look with me at John chapter 14.

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Jesus says in verse three, if I go

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and prepare a place for you, I will

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come again and receive you to myself that

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where I am there, you may also be.

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And you know the way where I'm going.

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And Thomas says, Lord, and how many times

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have you said this?

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We don't know where you are going.

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How can we know the way?

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If I don't know where, how can I

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know the way?

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Right?

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That's what Thomas is saying.

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If we don't know where we're going, how

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can we know what to do?

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Haven't you felt that way?

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You know the reason I don't know what

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to do right now?

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Because I don't know where I'm going.

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You know, I feel stuck because I don't

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know what the answer is.

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I'm looking for the answer.

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I'm looking for the path.

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I'm looking for the tell me which one

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and then I'll know what to do.

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And you know what Jesus says to Thomas?

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I'm the way.

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Thomas says, I can't know the way unless

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I know where.

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And Jesus says, you don't need to know

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where, you know me.

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I'm the way and the truth and the

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life.

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And I want to say something here.

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This is illuminating because when you say, what

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is the way to do something?

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What do you mean?

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This is the way you wash the dishes.

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What are you saying to your children?

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This is, this is the path that you

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should walk in.

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No, this is how Jesus said, I am

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the way he's how, how he lives is

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wisdom.

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And I don't need to know the job

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I'm going to take in the future or

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the house I'm going to have, or the

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decision about my kid's college or the retirement

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plan or whatever, which I'm wondering about what

277
00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:50,940
Jesus says, you don't need to know where

278
00:09:50,940 --> 00:09:55,800
to know how the question is, how am

279
00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:56,760
I behaving?

280
00:09:56,940 --> 00:09:59,160
Jesus is saying to me, you're concerned about

281
00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:00,300
which one you should choose.

282
00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:02,140
I want you to be concerned about my

283
00:10:02,140 --> 00:10:02,760
life.

284
00:10:03,780 --> 00:10:05,380
Are you living as I'm living?

285
00:10:06,860 --> 00:10:08,460
Thomas's and my question is always, if I

286
00:10:08,460 --> 00:10:10,380
don't know where, then what will I do?

287
00:10:10,420 --> 00:10:12,520
And Jesus says, you don't need to know

288
00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:13,560
where to know what to do.

289
00:10:13,680 --> 00:10:15,420
You need to look to me and you

290
00:10:15,420 --> 00:10:16,820
need to emulate my life.

291
00:10:16,900 --> 00:10:18,640
The life of Jesus Christ is wisdom.

292
00:10:19,500 --> 00:10:22,300
And if I seek to know the conduct

293
00:10:22,300 --> 00:10:25,240
and will and character of Jesus Christ in

294
00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,740
any situation, I have wisdom, even if I

295
00:10:28,740 --> 00:10:29,460
don't know the way.

296
00:10:32,010 --> 00:10:33,790
And I was convicted as I thought about

297
00:10:33,790 --> 00:10:36,170
Jesus' response to Thomas, which I thank Arnaldo

298
00:10:36,170 --> 00:10:38,470
for pointing us to this passage on Tuesday

299
00:10:38,470 --> 00:10:40,470
night, because I hadn't thought about this passage

300
00:10:40,470 --> 00:10:42,270
like that till Arnaldo shared it.

301
00:10:44,170 --> 00:10:46,010
Jesus' way is wisdom.

302
00:10:46,750 --> 00:10:48,590
And the question for me and the challenge

303
00:10:48,590 --> 00:10:49,470
to me is when I ask the Lord

304
00:10:49,470 --> 00:10:51,550
for wisdom, rarely do I want to know

305
00:10:51,550 --> 00:10:52,930
more of Jesus Christ.

306
00:10:53,370 --> 00:10:55,430
Mostly I want to know which, is it

307
00:10:55,430 --> 00:10:55,890
A or B?

308
00:10:57,050 --> 00:10:58,950
And what the Lord is saying is, when

309
00:10:58,950 --> 00:11:00,430
you come to me for wisdom, I want

310
00:11:00,430 --> 00:11:02,510
you to come to me for me and

311
00:11:02,510 --> 00:11:04,690
say, Jesus, what, who are you?

312
00:11:05,390 --> 00:11:06,390
What do you do?

313
00:11:06,450 --> 00:11:07,590
How do you think about this?

314
00:11:07,650 --> 00:11:08,330
What do you care about?

315
00:11:08,370 --> 00:11:09,170
What do you value?

316
00:11:09,570 --> 00:11:11,670
Not which one, which is a function of

317
00:11:11,670 --> 00:11:12,290
knowing him.

318
00:11:13,790 --> 00:11:16,170
And I realized, I think about wisdom wrong

319
00:11:16,170 --> 00:11:18,070
and I ask for wisdom wrongly.

320
00:11:19,350 --> 00:11:21,410
And I don't need a where, I need

321
00:11:21,410 --> 00:11:21,890
a how.

322
00:11:22,990 --> 00:11:24,830
And Jesus says to Thomas here, I'm not

323
00:11:24,830 --> 00:11:26,190
going to give you a where, I'm going

324
00:11:26,190 --> 00:11:27,210
to give you myself.

325
00:11:28,170 --> 00:11:28,950
And that's enough.

326
00:11:32,830 --> 00:11:34,350
So what keeps us from being wise?

327
00:11:39,070 --> 00:11:40,270
You know what I learned this week?

328
00:11:40,830 --> 00:11:42,830
I just, this is something that's helped me.

329
00:11:43,290 --> 00:11:45,990
The opposite of wisdom is not foolishness.

330
00:11:46,610 --> 00:11:48,350
I think what keeps me from being wise

331
00:11:48,350 --> 00:11:49,370
is foolishness.

332
00:11:50,610 --> 00:11:53,150
But we've learned, you know, there are two

333
00:11:53,150 --> 00:11:55,250
masters, children, question here.

334
00:11:56,350 --> 00:11:57,230
Z, question.

335
00:11:57,650 --> 00:12:00,470
There are two masters, God and what's the

336
00:12:00,470 --> 00:12:02,070
other one in the back, Sammy?

337
00:12:02,990 --> 00:12:03,670
Money, right?

338
00:12:03,770 --> 00:12:04,310
Not the devil.

339
00:12:05,550 --> 00:12:06,490
Sammy, how old are you?

340
00:12:06,950 --> 00:12:09,630
10, 11, 10.

341
00:12:10,570 --> 00:12:12,810
We've emphasized that enough that a 10 year

342
00:12:12,810 --> 00:12:13,530
old knows it, right?

343
00:12:13,670 --> 00:12:14,670
That's the right answer.

344
00:12:15,370 --> 00:12:16,910
The devil is not one of two masters.

345
00:12:17,450 --> 00:12:18,810
Money is the other master.

346
00:12:19,190 --> 00:12:20,370
So you can say the opposite of God

347
00:12:20,370 --> 00:12:20,970
is money.

348
00:12:21,410 --> 00:12:23,090
A love of money is opposite the love

349
00:12:23,090 --> 00:12:23,490
of God.

350
00:12:24,050 --> 00:12:26,250
In the same way, the scriptures, if you

351
00:12:26,250 --> 00:12:27,790
want to turn with me to Proverbs chapter

352
00:12:27,790 --> 00:12:32,570
nine, the scriptures tell us about a surprising

353
00:12:32,570 --> 00:12:34,470
opposite to wisdom.

354
00:12:35,050 --> 00:12:36,670
And this has really opened my eyes to

355
00:12:36,670 --> 00:12:38,190
see the thing that keeps me from wisdom,

356
00:12:38,390 --> 00:12:39,830
just like the thing that will keep me

357
00:12:39,830 --> 00:12:42,010
from the love of God is not Satan,

358
00:12:42,190 --> 00:12:45,830
but loving money and money being my master.

359
00:12:47,250 --> 00:12:49,930
Similarly, what keeps me from being wise?

360
00:12:51,850 --> 00:12:54,050
It's interesting here, and it's a short proverb.

361
00:12:54,250 --> 00:12:55,850
You can, it just doesn't even fill a

362
00:12:55,850 --> 00:12:58,370
full page for me, but I want you

363
00:12:58,370 --> 00:12:59,090
to look with me.

364
00:12:59,230 --> 00:13:03,490
There's two calls, wisdom calls and someone else

365
00:13:03,490 --> 00:13:06,830
calls, and the call is identical, literally verbatim,

366
00:13:06,910 --> 00:13:07,350
word for word.

367
00:13:07,450 --> 00:13:07,950
It's the same thing.

368
00:13:08,030 --> 00:13:08,870
Look at it with me.

369
00:13:09,110 --> 00:13:12,150
Proverbs chapter nine, verse four, whoever's naive, let

370
00:13:12,150 --> 00:13:13,050
him turn in here.

371
00:13:14,190 --> 00:13:16,370
Who to him who lacks understanding wisdom says,

372
00:13:16,450 --> 00:13:19,030
come eat my food, drink of the wine

373
00:13:19,030 --> 00:13:19,710
that I've mixed.

374
00:13:19,850 --> 00:13:20,790
So that's one call.

375
00:13:21,190 --> 00:13:23,470
The other call is not the call of

376
00:13:23,470 --> 00:13:24,270
foolishness.

377
00:13:24,950 --> 00:13:26,190
That's the thing that surprised me.

378
00:13:26,630 --> 00:13:29,110
I think wisdom calls with this call and

379
00:13:29,110 --> 00:13:31,070
the other call, the other voice that's calling

380
00:13:31,070 --> 00:13:32,670
out in the street is foolishness, but you

381
00:13:32,670 --> 00:13:33,350
know what it is.

382
00:13:33,990 --> 00:13:35,390
Look with me at verse 16.

383
00:13:36,570 --> 00:13:38,750
Someone else says, whoever's naive, let him turn

384
00:13:38,750 --> 00:13:39,150
in here.

385
00:13:39,310 --> 00:13:41,630
Same thing as verse four, right?

386
00:13:42,970 --> 00:13:46,050
To him who lacks understanding, someone says stolen

387
00:13:46,050 --> 00:13:46,910
water is sweet.

388
00:13:48,050 --> 00:13:50,230
Bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

389
00:13:51,010 --> 00:13:52,670
You know what the opposite of wisdom is?

390
00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:55,840
Lust.

391
00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:03,010
This is the harlot speaking, and it rocked

392
00:14:03,010 --> 00:14:04,470
me to realize the thing that keeps me

393
00:14:04,470 --> 00:14:07,310
from being wise is not foolishness, it's lust,

394
00:14:09,890 --> 00:14:11,450
and if I want to be wise, you

395
00:14:11,450 --> 00:14:11,970
know what I need to do?

396
00:14:12,010 --> 00:14:13,390
I don't need to fight foolishness.

397
00:14:13,390 --> 00:14:18,480
I need to fight lust because lust and

398
00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:20,160
wisdom make the same call.

399
00:14:20,500 --> 00:14:23,320
Whoever's naive, let him turn in here, and

400
00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:25,220
the reason that I don't get to wisdom's

401
00:14:25,220 --> 00:14:26,540
door is because I turn in at the

402
00:14:26,540 --> 00:14:30,880
doorway of lust, and before we think, because

403
00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,360
it's really easy, myself, I'm not pointing fingers.

404
00:14:34,660 --> 00:14:36,700
I can't imagine for what sisters think.

405
00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:37,880
I think it's easy for a guy to

406
00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:39,360
go, man, this is a man's problem now.

407
00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:43,960
All right, men, let's think about lust because

408
00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:46,100
that's why the men aren't wise, but let

409
00:14:46,100 --> 00:14:46,720
me ask you a question.

410
00:14:46,820 --> 00:14:50,220
Look at how it describes verse 13, the

411
00:14:50,220 --> 00:14:50,620
harlot.

412
00:14:51,220 --> 00:14:53,560
The woman of folly is boisterous.

413
00:14:54,700 --> 00:14:56,860
She's naive, and she knows nothing.

414
00:14:59,940 --> 00:15:01,400
Look with me, if you will, at Proverbs

415
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:02,680
chapter seven for a second.

416
00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:04,080
You can hold your finger there.

417
00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:05,460
Just go over a page.

418
00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:09,500
Proverbs 7, verse seven.

419
00:15:13,140 --> 00:15:15,680
This is the opposite call of wisdom.

420
00:15:16,420 --> 00:15:19,280
I saw among the naive and discerned among

421
00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:21,820
the youths a young man lacking sense.

422
00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,620
Passing through the street near her corner, he

423
00:15:25,620 --> 00:15:26,800
takes the way to her house.

424
00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:28,420
The way, by the way, Jesus said, I'm

425
00:15:28,420 --> 00:15:28,780
the way.

426
00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,220
We see here, this man takes the way,

427
00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:33,740
but it's not the way of wisdom, it's

428
00:15:33,740 --> 00:15:34,460
the way of lust.

429
00:15:34,820 --> 00:15:36,520
He takes the way to her house, and

430
00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:38,000
in the twilight, in the evening, in the

431
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:39,440
middle of the night, and in the darkness,

432
00:15:44,870 --> 00:15:46,510
behold, a woman comes out to meet him,

433
00:15:46,590 --> 00:15:48,130
dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.

434
00:15:48,210 --> 00:15:51,830
She's boisterous, same word from Proverbs nine, and

435
00:15:51,830 --> 00:15:52,370
rebellious.

436
00:15:52,430 --> 00:15:53,830
Her feet do not remain at home.

437
00:15:54,250 --> 00:15:55,750
She's now in the streets, now in the

438
00:15:55,750 --> 00:15:57,330
squares, and lurks by every corner.

439
00:15:59,110 --> 00:16:01,370
I believe with all my heart that lust

440
00:16:01,370 --> 00:16:06,790
is keeping both men and women from the

441
00:16:06,790 --> 00:16:08,650
wisdom of the knowledge of Christ's ways.

442
00:16:09,250 --> 00:16:11,390
It's so easy for us to think lust

443
00:16:11,390 --> 00:16:12,370
is a guy's problem, right?

444
00:16:12,430 --> 00:16:15,590
But sisters, look at your social media, for

445
00:16:15,590 --> 00:16:15,950
example.

446
00:16:16,850 --> 00:16:17,450
Who do you follow?

447
00:16:17,530 --> 00:16:19,890
Do you follow boisterous women?

448
00:16:21,370 --> 00:16:22,850
This is, I'm not pointing the finger, I'm

449
00:16:22,850 --> 00:16:24,130
just saying how it's relevant to all of

450
00:16:24,130 --> 00:16:24,610
us, right?

451
00:16:25,770 --> 00:16:26,850
Look at entertainment.

452
00:16:28,210 --> 00:16:30,370
Are we taking the way to her house,

453
00:16:30,390 --> 00:16:32,390
or the way of Jesus Christ?

454
00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,040
If so, men and women alike, we are

455
00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:40,900
lacking sense, just like the young man in

456
00:16:40,900 --> 00:16:41,880
Proverbs chapter seven.

457
00:16:42,500 --> 00:16:45,700
For sure, lust keeps both men and women

458
00:16:45,700 --> 00:16:48,080
from the wisdom of the knowledge of Christ.

459
00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:50,380
So look at the exhortation here, both men

460
00:16:50,380 --> 00:16:52,140
and women, Proverbs seven, verse 24.

461
00:16:53,780 --> 00:16:55,220
Proverbs seven, verse 24.

462
00:16:55,900 --> 00:16:58,400
Now, therefore, my sons, and we could also

463
00:16:58,400 --> 00:16:58,980
say daughters.

464
00:16:59,420 --> 00:17:00,580
There's a movement right now, by the way,

465
00:17:00,620 --> 00:17:01,800
sorry, just brief aside.

466
00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:02,820
There's a movement right now.

467
00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:04,520
If you get the new NASB, I've got

468
00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:06,119
the 1990 version.

469
00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,180
If you get the new NASB, every time,

470
00:17:08,260 --> 00:17:09,220
I haven't looked, by the way, so you

471
00:17:09,220 --> 00:17:11,180
can check me on this, but I think

472
00:17:11,180 --> 00:17:12,640
every time it says brothers, it now says

473
00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:16,220
brothers and sisters, which I think generally is

474
00:17:16,220 --> 00:17:16,859
a great thing, right?

475
00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:18,280
I want my daughters to think that all

476
00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,619
the things that say brothers flee from immorality,

477
00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:21,819
right?

478
00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:23,800
I want them to go, I don't want

479
00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:24,760
them to think that's not for me, it

480
00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:25,119
says brothers.

481
00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:26,339
No, I want them to say, no, it's

482
00:17:26,339 --> 00:17:27,280
brothers and sisters, that's good.

483
00:17:27,580 --> 00:17:30,100
I wonder, I don't know if the new

484
00:17:30,100 --> 00:17:32,380
NASB here says my son and my daughter.

485
00:17:33,700 --> 00:17:35,520
I don't know whether the new NASB thinks

486
00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,220
lust is relevant to women too, but I

487
00:17:37,220 --> 00:17:38,500
think that we all should see that it

488
00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:40,040
does, but look at verse 24.

489
00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,020
Therefore, my sons and my daughters, listen to

490
00:17:43,020 --> 00:17:43,180
me.

491
00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:44,720
Pay attention to the words of my mouth.

492
00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:47,860
Do not let your heart turn aside to

493
00:17:47,860 --> 00:17:48,500
her ways.

494
00:17:48,820 --> 00:17:51,460
Do not stray into her paths.

495
00:17:53,220 --> 00:17:54,660
There's a way here too, right?

496
00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:56,360
Don't let her, don't let your heart turn

497
00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:57,160
aside to her ways.

498
00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:58,560
Jesus said, I am the way.

499
00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:00,060
Solomon said, how do I know where?

500
00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:01,840
I'm asking for wisdom, and Jesus said, I'm

501
00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,320
the way, and the opposite here is don't

502
00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:05,780
turn into the ways of lust.

503
00:18:05,780 --> 00:18:07,120
Don't stray into her paths.

504
00:18:12,890 --> 00:18:14,550
For me, what it spoke to me clearly

505
00:18:14,550 --> 00:18:15,870
was if I want to know why I

506
00:18:15,870 --> 00:18:18,210
am lacking in wisdom, here may be the

507
00:18:18,210 --> 00:18:18,510
reason.

508
00:18:19,110 --> 00:18:22,150
I'm not watchful over the paths I'm straying

509
00:18:22,150 --> 00:18:25,980
into, and I think wisdom, I'll get it

510
00:18:25,980 --> 00:18:27,520
someday, and the Lord says, no, no, no,

511
00:18:27,580 --> 00:18:30,540
the reason you're not wise is because you're

512
00:18:30,540 --> 00:18:33,080
not watching the paths you're walking down.

513
00:18:35,530 --> 00:18:37,210
You're turning in at the gate, at the

514
00:18:37,210 --> 00:18:37,770
wrong gates.

515
00:18:38,210 --> 00:18:39,150
You want to be wise?

516
00:18:39,510 --> 00:18:40,830
Stop turning in at these gates.

517
00:18:41,430 --> 00:18:42,530
Stop following these things.

518
00:18:42,850 --> 00:18:44,270
It's interesting to me that it says it's

519
00:18:44,270 --> 00:18:45,290
late, it's twilight.

520
00:18:45,790 --> 00:18:47,930
I know even social media, right?

521
00:18:48,010 --> 00:18:50,050
It's like, when do we find ourselves doom

522
00:18:50,050 --> 00:18:50,450
scrolling?

523
00:18:50,890 --> 00:18:51,710
It's not in the middle of the day

524
00:18:51,710 --> 00:18:52,710
when there's plenty of work to do.

525
00:18:53,170 --> 00:18:54,390
It's when we should probably be going to

526
00:18:54,390 --> 00:18:54,630
bed.

527
00:18:54,790 --> 00:18:55,790
All of a sudden, oh, I'm just going

528
00:18:55,790 --> 00:18:56,850
to check a little bit more.

529
00:18:57,270 --> 00:18:59,790
Are we turning to her ways there?

530
00:19:01,310 --> 00:19:02,550
It's keeping us from wisdom.

531
00:19:07,770 --> 00:19:08,690
So where do we begin?

532
00:19:09,250 --> 00:19:11,750
To me, as I thought about my own

533
00:19:11,750 --> 00:19:14,150
longing for wisdom, how I haven't valued it

534
00:19:14,150 --> 00:19:16,830
highly enough, how I haven't properly defined it,

535
00:19:17,050 --> 00:19:19,330
how I haven't seen what its opposite even

536
00:19:19,330 --> 00:19:24,870
is, what I've felt is a tendency to

537
00:19:24,870 --> 00:19:28,330
be discouraged, and what the Lord has spoken

538
00:19:28,330 --> 00:19:29,450
clearly to me, and what I want to

539
00:19:29,450 --> 00:19:31,270
encourage all of you with is, forget the

540
00:19:31,270 --> 00:19:31,670
past.

541
00:19:33,470 --> 00:19:35,510
What the apostle Paul says is, forget the

542
00:19:35,510 --> 00:19:36,430
things that lie behind.

543
00:19:36,950 --> 00:19:39,250
Press forward to what lies ahead, to the

544
00:19:39,250 --> 00:19:40,230
upward call of God.

545
00:19:40,750 --> 00:19:44,690
Forget how you've wasted time doom scrolling last

546
00:19:44,690 --> 00:19:45,010
night.

547
00:19:46,630 --> 00:19:48,230
Forget how you aren't as wise as you

548
00:19:48,230 --> 00:19:48,530
could be.

549
00:19:48,750 --> 00:19:50,090
It's easy to go, man, if I had

550
00:19:50,090 --> 00:19:51,670
known, I could be so much wiser.

551
00:19:52,510 --> 00:19:57,810
That is a worthless speculation.

552
00:19:58,910 --> 00:19:59,650
Don't do it.

553
00:20:00,130 --> 00:20:01,570
Just say, today's the day of salvation.

554
00:20:02,770 --> 00:20:04,490
I never knew I could be wise today.

555
00:20:05,150 --> 00:20:06,150
I thought it was something like when I

556
00:20:06,150 --> 00:20:07,390
was 40, when I got old.

557
00:20:08,750 --> 00:20:09,730
I just turned 40.

558
00:20:10,110 --> 00:20:12,130
Yeah, it's not about being old.

559
00:20:13,430 --> 00:20:14,830
I can have wisdom today.

560
00:20:15,950 --> 00:20:17,010
Today is a day of salvation.

561
00:20:17,230 --> 00:20:18,770
I can know the ways of Jesus Christ

562
00:20:18,770 --> 00:20:19,170
today.

563
00:20:19,570 --> 00:20:23,250
I can refuse the ways of lust today.

564
00:20:25,030 --> 00:20:28,410
And I can be victorious now by choosing

565
00:20:28,410 --> 00:20:30,750
to glorify God, and praise Him, and thank

566
00:20:30,750 --> 00:20:30,890
Him.

567
00:20:31,210 --> 00:20:32,510
You know, it brings glory to the devil

568
00:20:32,510 --> 00:20:33,850
if I wallow in discouragement.

569
00:20:34,830 --> 00:20:36,630
And if you think about all the wasted

570
00:20:36,630 --> 00:20:38,810
time in the past, you're only going to

571
00:20:38,810 --> 00:20:39,690
glorify the devil.

572
00:20:40,390 --> 00:20:41,890
You know how to glorify the Lord?

573
00:20:42,590 --> 00:20:45,530
When you feel you've wasted your past, here's

574
00:20:45,530 --> 00:20:46,070
how to do it.

575
00:20:47,350 --> 00:20:50,270
Praise the Lord and say, thank you, you've

576
00:20:50,270 --> 00:20:51,950
brought me to the point that I realize

577
00:20:51,950 --> 00:20:53,050
I've wasted my past.

578
00:20:54,030 --> 00:20:54,510
Thank you.

579
00:20:55,470 --> 00:20:56,690
I praise your name, Lord.

580
00:20:57,470 --> 00:21:00,270
And I reject the temptation to be discouraged.

581
00:21:01,010 --> 00:21:02,330
I'm going to hold on to your promise.

582
00:21:02,690 --> 00:21:03,630
I'm ashamed of the devil.

583
00:21:04,370 --> 00:21:06,230
And the devil might have been glorified before

584
00:21:06,230 --> 00:21:07,870
by my wallowing in discouragement.

585
00:21:08,170 --> 00:21:09,510
He's not going to be glorified today.

586
00:21:10,310 --> 00:21:12,150
But you go, but I don't know the

587
00:21:12,150 --> 00:21:12,410
way.

588
00:21:12,550 --> 00:21:13,110
I don't know where.

589
00:21:13,330 --> 00:21:14,770
No, you know how.

590
00:21:15,270 --> 00:21:15,650
Praise the Lord.

591
00:21:15,710 --> 00:21:18,950
As we heard, praise is the red carpet

592
00:21:18,950 --> 00:21:19,550
for the Lord.

593
00:21:19,630 --> 00:21:20,910
You want to roll out the red carpet

594
00:21:20,910 --> 00:21:21,670
for the Lord today?

595
00:21:22,130 --> 00:21:23,250
Say, I praise you, Lord.

596
00:21:23,310 --> 00:21:26,550
You've let me know I've been unwise.

597
00:21:27,130 --> 00:21:28,970
I praise you, Lord, that you've shown me

598
00:21:28,970 --> 00:21:30,390
I've defined wisdom wrongly.

599
00:21:30,730 --> 00:21:33,690
I praise you, Lord, that I've been deceived

600
00:21:33,690 --> 00:21:34,950
about what the opposite of wisdom is.

601
00:21:34,990 --> 00:21:36,550
Whatever it is, today you can praise the

602
00:21:36,550 --> 00:21:38,090
Lord and thus glorify him.

603
00:21:38,810 --> 00:21:39,750
That's what the Lord said to me.

604
00:21:39,830 --> 00:21:42,270
That's really encouraging because then I don't have

605
00:21:42,270 --> 00:21:42,790
to lose heart.

606
00:21:42,890 --> 00:21:43,710
I don't have to despair.

607
00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,940
I've been encouraged to know God's glory is

608
00:21:52,940 --> 00:21:55,160
not contingent upon my knowing what to do,

609
00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:58,040
but choosing to honor him, even when I

610
00:21:58,040 --> 00:21:58,780
don't know what to do.

611
00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:00,940
And right now, as I think about wisdom,

612
00:22:01,020 --> 00:22:02,180
I go, Lord, I don't know the first

613
00:22:02,180 --> 00:22:02,960
thing about how to grow.

614
00:22:03,380 --> 00:22:04,960
Then the question is, what next?

615
00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:06,780
Am I discouraged?

616
00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:07,720
Am I disappointed?

617
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:09,920
Or I say, praise the Lord.

618
00:22:10,740 --> 00:22:11,340
He'll show me.

619
00:22:12,780 --> 00:22:14,880
I believe the Lord is glorified by my

620
00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:16,180
emptiness, by my helpless.

621
00:22:16,340 --> 00:22:17,520
He has no problem with that.

622
00:22:18,460 --> 00:22:19,120
Just praise the Lord.

623
00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:20,680
Okay, what next, Lord?

624
00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:22,520
He'll show me the pathways of life.

625
00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:27,500
The last thing I want to say, how

626
00:22:27,500 --> 00:22:29,160
do I know if I have come to

627
00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:29,800
value wisdom?

628
00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:32,680
We saw earlier, we might have, I don't

629
00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:34,160
know if I read it, but there's a

630
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:35,880
proverb that says wisdom cries out in the

631
00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:36,100
street.

632
00:22:36,260 --> 00:22:37,460
If you want to turn to Proverbs 2.

633
00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:40,960
Wisdom cries out in the streets.

634
00:22:43,850 --> 00:22:44,830
Oh yeah, we saw that.

635
00:22:45,130 --> 00:22:46,010
And so does the harlot.

636
00:22:46,090 --> 00:22:46,690
So does lust.

637
00:22:49,420 --> 00:22:50,400
Here's what encouraged me.

638
00:22:50,660 --> 00:22:53,600
I can prove that I value wisdom if

639
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,120
I don't let wisdom be the only one

640
00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:56,180
crying out in the streets.

641
00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:58,540
Wisdom's not supposed to be the only one

642
00:22:58,540 --> 00:22:58,880
crying out.

643
00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:06,630
You look at Proverbs 2, verse 2, make

644
00:23:06,630 --> 00:23:09,330
your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart

645
00:23:09,330 --> 00:23:09,950
to understanding.

646
00:23:10,070 --> 00:23:10,530
How do you do it?

647
00:23:10,730 --> 00:23:14,010
If you cry for discernment, lift your voice

648
00:23:14,010 --> 00:23:14,770
for understanding.

649
00:23:15,290 --> 00:23:18,070
If you seek her as silver and search

650
00:23:18,070 --> 00:23:20,070
for her as for hidden treasures, then you

651
00:23:20,070 --> 00:23:22,370
will discern the fear of the Lord and

652
00:23:22,370 --> 00:23:23,830
you'll discover the knowledge of God.

653
00:23:23,910 --> 00:23:25,190
What an incredible promise.

654
00:23:26,050 --> 00:23:27,490
Wisdom is crying out in the streets and

655
00:23:27,490 --> 00:23:29,530
the Lord's saying, will you cry too?

656
00:23:30,790 --> 00:23:31,990
Will you cry out too?

657
00:23:32,050 --> 00:23:33,470
If you will, then you'll discern the fear

658
00:23:33,470 --> 00:23:33,930
of the Lord.

659
00:23:34,590 --> 00:23:35,850
It's an amazing promise.

660
00:23:38,230 --> 00:23:39,950
I can know that I value wisdom if

661
00:23:39,950 --> 00:23:40,830
I'm crying out too.

662
00:23:40,910 --> 00:23:41,870
That's the easy way.

663
00:23:42,970 --> 00:23:43,870
Do you value wisdom?

664
00:23:44,410 --> 00:23:46,990
Just look, are you crying out for wisdom?

665
00:23:48,990 --> 00:23:50,710
I was blessed to remember the story of

666
00:23:50,710 --> 00:23:51,090
the widow.

667
00:23:51,270 --> 00:23:52,490
If you want to turn to Luke 18,

668
00:23:58,020 --> 00:23:59,840
Jesus is telling us how to pray here.

669
00:23:59,900 --> 00:24:01,560
And you can think about this as a

670
00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:03,540
parable for how to cry out for wisdom,

671
00:24:04,020 --> 00:24:06,460
among other things.

672
00:24:07,940 --> 00:24:09,660
In verse 1, it says, he was telling

673
00:24:09,660 --> 00:24:12,180
them a parable to show that at all

674
00:24:12,180 --> 00:24:12,980
times they ought to pray.

675
00:24:13,100 --> 00:24:14,460
So Jesus is teaching us how to pray

676
00:24:14,460 --> 00:24:14,760
here.

677
00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:16,360
And look at verse 5.

678
00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:20,520
This unrighteous judge says, yet because this widow

679
00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,020
bothers me, I will give her legal protection.

680
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:26,760
Otherwise, but continually coming to me, she'll wear

681
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:27,220
me out.

682
00:24:27,660 --> 00:24:29,160
And it blessed me to see Jesus is

683
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:29,900
teaching us to pray.

684
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,000
You know, he's teaching us to pray.

685
00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:32,580
What is he saying?

686
00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:34,140
Bother me.

687
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:36,860
Bother me for wisdom.

688
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,200
One incredibly encouraging thing to realize.

689
00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:42,820
Again, I mean, James also says he gives

690
00:24:42,820 --> 00:24:44,300
generously without reproach.

691
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:45,200
We know that, right?

692
00:24:45,860 --> 00:24:47,740
This, I feel what Jesus says even one

693
00:24:47,740 --> 00:24:48,220
step farther.

694
00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:49,820
Not only do we know that God will

695
00:24:49,820 --> 00:24:51,560
give without reproach, meaning he's not going to

696
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:52,880
say, you should already have that.

697
00:24:53,220 --> 00:24:56,240
But he's actually saying, bother me.

698
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:00,840
I cannot say, I have to be honest.

699
00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:02,480
I cannot say I'll be first in line

700
00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:03,580
to confess my need.

701
00:25:04,140 --> 00:25:05,900
I cannot say that the way I would

702
00:25:05,900 --> 00:25:08,260
characterize my pursuit of wisdom is, you know

703
00:25:08,260 --> 00:25:08,380
what?

704
00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:10,020
I've been bothering God about this.

705
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,060
That's not how I describe my pursuit of

706
00:25:13,060 --> 00:25:13,240
wisdom.

707
00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:14,820
I don't value it highly enough, or I

708
00:25:14,820 --> 00:25:15,780
still think someday.

709
00:25:16,300 --> 00:25:18,400
And the Lord's saying, start bothering me today.

710
00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:20,660
See it as a matter of life and

711
00:25:20,660 --> 00:25:20,860
death.

712
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:21,940
And then, you know, the picture I got

713
00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:24,380
of a baby that wants milk.

714
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,060
If you ever, we don't know the mind

715
00:25:27,060 --> 00:25:28,720
of a child, but you can't think a

716
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:30,940
baby's going, I was going to cry, but

717
00:25:30,940 --> 00:25:32,140
I don't want to bother my mom right

718
00:25:32,140 --> 00:25:33,100
now, right?

719
00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:35,220
No baby thinks that I don't want to

720
00:25:35,220 --> 00:25:35,760
bother mom.

721
00:25:36,220 --> 00:25:38,860
And by the way, and no mother is

722
00:25:38,860 --> 00:25:40,480
bothered by the baby's crying.

723
00:25:40,580 --> 00:25:40,960
You know why?

724
00:25:41,180 --> 00:25:43,640
A baby needs food and a mother loves

725
00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:43,960
to give it.

726
00:25:44,020 --> 00:25:45,180
And why does a mother love to give

727
00:25:45,180 --> 00:25:45,320
it?

728
00:25:46,420 --> 00:25:48,280
It's a matter of life or death.

729
00:25:49,540 --> 00:25:51,880
Why does God say, bother me for wisdom?

730
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,140
It's a matter of life or death.

731
00:25:57,420 --> 00:25:59,600
I want to start taking wisdom that seriously.

732
00:26:00,180 --> 00:26:02,000
It's not a nice to have.

733
00:26:02,420 --> 00:26:03,700
It's a matter of life or death.

734
00:26:04,780 --> 00:26:06,560
And just like a baby cries out without

735
00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:07,820
going, oh, should I?

736
00:26:07,900 --> 00:26:09,020
I don't know if I need milk right

737
00:26:09,020 --> 00:26:09,220
now.

738
00:26:09,580 --> 00:26:11,480
I need to have that same attitude towards

739
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:11,760
wisdom.

740
00:26:11,860 --> 00:26:14,260
And I can trust that God has the

741
00:26:14,260 --> 00:26:15,880
attitude of a loving mother towards me.

742
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:16,980
I long to give it.

743
00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:18,880
I was just hoping you'd ask.

744
00:26:19,700 --> 00:26:20,980
I want to give you more wisdom.

745
00:26:28,300 --> 00:26:29,900
I'll end again with that same verse that

746
00:26:29,900 --> 00:26:30,440
we started with.

747
00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:31,320
I'll just read it again.

748
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:35,000
Ephesians chapter five, verse 15 through 17.

749
00:26:36,020 --> 00:26:37,720
May the Lord help us to do this.

750
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:44,800
Therefore, NCCF, therefore Jeremy, be careful how you

751
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:45,180
walk.

752
00:26:45,620 --> 00:26:49,360
No longer as an unwise man, but as

753
00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:53,260
a wise man, not in a year, not

754
00:26:53,260 --> 00:26:55,560
in five years, not in 10 years.

755
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,800
Today, make the most of your time because

756
00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:00,680
the days are evil.

757
00:27:01,820 --> 00:27:07,720
No longer be foolish, but understand this is

758
00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:08,160
God's will.

759
00:27:09,180 --> 00:27:10,460
Pray that the Lord would help me and

760
00:27:10,460 --> 00:27:13,120
he'd help us all to long for wisdom

761
00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:16,120
as the Lord loves and longs to give

762
00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:16,280
it.

763
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:16,840
Amen.