1 00:00:00,590 --> 00:00:03,070 Speaker: In your Bible, turn over to the Book of Proverbs. 2 00:00:03,420 --> 00:00:05,840 My lovely wife made this cool graphic for us. 3 00:00:06,090 --> 00:00:08,280 It's bright and summery and all that. 4 00:00:08,290 --> 00:00:09,700 But, uh, the Book of Proverbs. 5 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,580 Old Testament, right? 6 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:11,940 So right after Psalms. 7 00:00:12,660 --> 00:00:16,960 And if you don't know what a proverb is, right, a proverb is 8 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:21,370 something kinda like, um, birds of a feather flock together, right? 9 00:00:21,430 --> 00:00:23,230 Or, uh, the early bird gets the worm. 10 00:00:23,230 --> 00:00:24,740 I don't know why the first two I thought of were about birds. 11 00:00:24,740 --> 00:00:26,229 But it's like a short little saying. 12 00:00:26,660 --> 00:00:28,680 And that's what a lot of the Book of Proverbs is. 13 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:34,850 It's short little sayings that are God's wisdom to help people like us live life. 14 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,060 Um, but the first part of the Book of Proverbs is all about what wisdom is, 15 00:00:38,070 --> 00:00:39,300 and that's where we're gonna start, okay? 16 00:00:39,550 --> 00:00:42,490 Um, so we're gonna be in Proverbs chapter one. 17 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,740 So hopefully I stalled long enough for you to be there. 18 00:00:46,110 --> 00:00:50,920 Um, but the, the reason we need wisdom is kinda like, uh, if you 19 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,249 play any board games, there's a difference between knowing the rules 20 00:00:54,250 --> 00:00:58,710 of the board game and knowing the strategy of the board game, right? 21 00:00:58,710 --> 00:01:03,250 There's, there's, uh, this game that Shay and I like to play, and 22 00:01:03,290 --> 00:01:05,010 there's, there's certain strategies. 23 00:01:05,010 --> 00:01:08,110 If you know them, it makes the game a lot easier, right? 24 00:01:08,330 --> 00:01:09,400 Um, you can know the rules of the game. 25 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:10,389 You can read the rule book. 26 00:01:10,399 --> 00:01:13,099 You can understand, oh yeah, I'm not supposed to move this piece here. 27 00:01:13,100 --> 00:01:14,400 You can't do that on this turn. 28 00:01:14,570 --> 00:01:16,910 Or maybe, like we were playing pickleball earlier, you can know the rules. 29 00:01:16,910 --> 00:01:19,080 Oh, don't go in the kitchen unless the ball bounces in the kitchen, and 30 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:21,710 you gotta … You know, the score is weird 'cause there's a third number in 31 00:01:21,710 --> 00:01:22,730 it and no one knows what that means. 32 00:01:23,010 --> 00:01:25,879 You can know the rules of pickleball, but if you don't know the strategy, you're 33 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,900 not gonna be very good at it, and that's kind of how wisdom works in real life. 34 00:01:30,270 --> 00:01:33,880 Wisdom is knowing the strategy for living life, right? 35 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:35,810 You can know a lot of information about God, right? 36 00:01:35,810 --> 00:01:37,350 You can have a lot of verses memorized. 37 00:01:37,570 --> 00:01:39,799 You can know a lot of things about the Bible. 38 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,280 You can maybe have grown up in church your whole life and, and know a lot of stuff. 39 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:45,140 You can have good theology in your head. 40 00:01:45,550 --> 00:01:47,609 But that's like knowing the rules of the game. 41 00:01:48,378 --> 00:01:50,350 If you don't know the strategy of the game, all that 42 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:51,670 information is kinda useless. 43 00:01:52,300 --> 00:01:52,330 Right? 44 00:01:52,340 --> 00:01:55,100 You're not putting that information to work, and that's what wisdom is. 45 00:01:55,190 --> 00:02:01,460 Wisdom is the strategy you need to live inside the rules and to, to win, right? 46 00:02:01,460 --> 00:02:02,129 To win the game. 47 00:02:02,130 --> 00:02:04,409 That's what we wanna do when we, when we play a game. 48 00:02:04,740 --> 00:02:07,100 And in life, you don't just need rules from God. 49 00:02:07,100 --> 00:02:09,550 You need God's strategy for living life. 50 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:14,190 So wisdom, in a sense, is, is God's strategy for living life, okay? 51 00:02:14,190 --> 00:02:17,170 So we're gonna look at Proverbs chapter one, verse seven. 52 00:02:17,220 --> 00:02:22,582 And the reason we need wisdom Is because, um, it's really 53 00:02:22,622 --> 00:02:24,302 actually a life or death matter. 54 00:02:24,322 --> 00:02:27,872 Maybe you've never thought about your life like this, but the Book of Proverbs 55 00:02:27,902 --> 00:02:30,582 portrays us as going down a path. 56 00:02:30,992 --> 00:02:31,082 Right? 57 00:02:31,091 --> 00:02:35,852 Every day, you're making decisions, and you're becoming a certain type of person. 58 00:02:36,581 --> 00:02:40,882 You are either becoming someone who is walking on the path of life or someone 59 00:02:40,882 --> 00:02:42,492 who's walking on the path of death. 60 00:02:42,512 --> 00:02:44,852 You're not just taking steps toward a destination. 61 00:02:44,902 --> 00:02:47,572 You're actually becoming your destination. 62 00:02:47,832 --> 00:02:52,201 You are either becoming more wise or more foolish with the 63 00:02:52,202 --> 00:02:54,161 way you live each and every day. 64 00:02:54,671 --> 00:02:58,902 And so what we're gonna see in, in this one verse tonight is that God is 65 00:02:58,902 --> 00:03:03,612 putting two options before you, the path of wisdom or the path of foolishness. 66 00:03:03,661 --> 00:03:06,971 The path of wisdom is the way God designed the world to work. 67 00:03:06,971 --> 00:03:07,132 Right? 68 00:03:07,132 --> 00:03:09,922 God made the rules of the game, and so He knows the best 69 00:03:09,922 --> 00:03:11,971 strategy to play by the rules. 70 00:03:12,721 --> 00:03:16,691 If you try to play your own strategy, then you're not gonna be nearly as 71 00:03:16,691 --> 00:03:17,942 good as the person who made the game. 72 00:03:17,971 --> 00:03:18,192 Right? 73 00:03:18,192 --> 00:03:19,272 God made you. 74 00:03:19,281 --> 00:03:20,012 He made life. 75 00:03:20,012 --> 00:03:20,872 He made the world. 76 00:03:21,242 --> 00:03:25,242 And so His strategy is the best way to live. 77 00:03:25,632 --> 00:03:26,451 Even think about it like this. 78 00:03:26,452 --> 00:03:28,131 Maybe you're thinking, "Why is wisdom so important? 79 00:03:28,132 --> 00:03:29,262 I thought the Bible was all about love." 80 00:03:29,262 --> 00:03:29,432 Right? 81 00:03:29,432 --> 00:03:30,682 Love God, you know. 82 00:03:30,682 --> 00:03:31,531 It's the greatest commandment. 83 00:03:31,531 --> 00:03:32,841 Jesus didn't say, "Get wisdom." 84 00:03:32,841 --> 00:03:33,852 He said, "Love God." 85 00:03:34,101 --> 00:03:34,942 Well, think about it this way. 86 00:03:35,161 --> 00:03:40,341 If you have love but not wisdom, you don't know how to use your knowledge maybe. 87 00:03:40,351 --> 00:03:41,322 Y- you know a lot of things. 88 00:03:41,322 --> 00:03:42,101 You really care. 89 00:03:42,752 --> 00:03:45,321 If you have love and not wisdom, you can have a lot of good 90 00:03:45,322 --> 00:03:46,892 intentions and hurt people. 91 00:03:47,021 --> 00:03:47,581 You ever done that? 92 00:03:47,901 --> 00:03:48,951 Maybe there's a situation. 93 00:03:48,962 --> 00:03:52,311 Maybe you're trying to help, and you had really good intentions. 94 00:03:52,661 --> 00:03:53,952 And then you actually mess something up. 95 00:03:54,551 --> 00:03:54,851 Right? 96 00:03:54,991 --> 00:03:56,802 Like one time, I was, um 97 00:03:57,462 --> 00:03:58,291 It was Father's Day. 98 00:03:58,632 --> 00:04:01,502 And I was like, "Oh, I'll tell my friend happy Father's Day," for, you know. 99 00:04:01,541 --> 00:04:05,272 And then he was like, "Actually, um, my dad isn't alive anymore." 100 00:04:05,572 --> 00:04:05,962 Right? 101 00:04:06,031 --> 00:04:06,921 Good intentions. 102 00:04:07,501 --> 00:04:10,192 Really, really unwise decision on my part. 103 00:04:10,272 --> 00:04:10,622 Right? 104 00:04:11,062 --> 00:04:14,732 So I loved him, and I wanted to s- "Oh, hey, tell your dad happy Father's Day." 105 00:04:15,012 --> 00:04:17,421 He was like, "Sorry, uh, I can't do that. 106 00:04:17,611 --> 00:04:19,250 My dad's not here anymore." 107 00:04:19,281 --> 00:04:19,572 Right? 108 00:04:19,810 --> 00:04:21,021 So I, I was super awkward. 109 00:04:21,021 --> 00:04:23,301 I felt horrible and … Right? 110 00:04:23,391 --> 00:04:24,971 Good intentions, no wisdom. 111 00:04:25,142 --> 00:04:26,962 So we don't just wanna be loving people. 112 00:04:26,962 --> 00:04:28,782 We wanna be wise people, right? 113 00:04:29,802 --> 00:04:32,222 So all that to say is we're gonna be jumping into the Book of Proverbs. 114 00:04:32,222 --> 00:04:35,042 So if you're not there already, verse seven is where we're starting, okay? 115 00:04:35,452 --> 00:04:35,992 Here's what it says. 116 00:04:36,012 --> 00:04:39,532 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. 117 00:04:39,952 --> 00:04:43,441 Fools despise wisdom and instruction." 118 00:04:43,702 --> 00:04:44,082 Okay. 119 00:04:44,262 --> 00:04:49,032 So in poetry like this, so you kinda see there's two halves to this verse, right? 120 00:04:49,262 --> 00:04:51,102 The first half, "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge," 121 00:04:51,392 --> 00:04:54,982 then you have that semicolon, "Fools despise wisdom and instruction." 122 00:04:54,992 --> 00:04:55,752 That's part two. 123 00:04:56,192 --> 00:04:58,672 So a lot of times when you're reading a proverb or something 124 00:04:58,711 --> 00:05:00,631 similar, that, something in your Bible that's, like, indented. 125 00:05:00,642 --> 00:05:03,972 See how in my Bible it, it's indented in the sides, whereas, 126 00:05:03,972 --> 00:05:04,932 like, over here it's not? 127 00:05:05,451 --> 00:05:06,422 That means it's poetry. 128 00:05:06,582 --> 00:05:09,462 So when you're reading something like that, there's usually parallelism. 129 00:05:09,472 --> 00:05:12,742 So here, knowledge is parallel with wisdom and instruction, okay? 130 00:05:12,962 --> 00:05:16,292 And then, um, the fear of the Lord is parallel with fool. 131 00:05:16,301 --> 00:05:18,432 So just, that's a pro tip for reading Proverbs. 132 00:05:18,772 --> 00:05:22,011 Um, but what's happening here is it's saying that the fear of the Lord, whatever 133 00:05:22,012 --> 00:05:24,551 that means, is how you get wisdom. 134 00:05:24,972 --> 00:05:26,732 That's the starting point for wisdom. 135 00:05:27,512 --> 00:05:29,952 Whereas if you don't want wisdom, if you're a fool, 136 00:05:30,772 --> 00:05:31,942 you're not gonna fear the Lord. 137 00:05:32,012 --> 00:05:34,242 You're gonna say, "I don't, I don't need God's wisdom. 138 00:05:34,472 --> 00:05:35,502 I, I'm good enough on my own. 139 00:05:36,242 --> 00:05:37,692 I don't need to learn from God. 140 00:05:38,211 --> 00:05:39,501 I wanna live the way I wanna live. 141 00:05:39,512 --> 00:05:40,652 I wanna play by my rules. 142 00:05:40,711 --> 00:05:43,022 I have the best strategy for living life." 143 00:05:44,152 --> 00:05:45,432 That means you're a fool. 144 00:05:45,642 --> 00:05:47,512 You're someone who's saying, "You know what, God, I know you made me. 145 00:05:47,542 --> 00:05:50,212 I know you know me, but my way is better." 146 00:05:51,022 --> 00:05:51,812 And that's foolish. 147 00:05:53,341 --> 00:05:57,731 And so the foundation here for wisdom and knowledge is the fear of the Lord. 148 00:05:57,742 --> 00:06:02,592 So we'll start, we'll start there, is that the fear of the Lord, embracing 149 00:06:02,772 --> 00:06:08,202 what God says is, is the right way, is the best way to live, right? 150 00:06:08,202 --> 00:06:11,271 We have to say, "You know what, God, my way isn't the right way. 151 00:06:11,501 --> 00:06:12,972 Your way is. 152 00:06:13,711 --> 00:06:15,732 My way isn't as good as your way." 153 00:06:15,892 --> 00:06:17,881 And so for our first point tonight, you can put it like 154 00:06:17,881 --> 00:06:20,802 this, embrace God's way of life. 155 00:06:22,572 --> 00:06:25,702 Embrace God's way of life, right? 156 00:06:25,702 --> 00:06:27,512 God's strategy for living life. 157 00:06:30,988 --> 00:06:35,088 I don't know if you've ever tried to cut a, uh, a lemon in half, you know, 158 00:06:35,088 --> 00:06:36,457 or an orange, cut one of those in half. 159 00:06:36,898 --> 00:06:40,298 Um, you know how you're, you're not supposed to cut it from the side with the, 160 00:06:40,368 --> 00:06:41,948 you know, the stem sticking out, right? 161 00:06:42,267 --> 00:06:43,548 You don't cut it that side. 162 00:06:43,548 --> 00:06:44,637 You cut it the other side, right? 163 00:06:44,637 --> 00:06:49,387 'Cause it's way easier to cut it that way in half than the other way, right? 164 00:06:50,248 --> 00:06:52,808 Or when you're cutting against the grain on something, right? 165 00:06:52,808 --> 00:06:54,438 When you're cutting wood, you're, you're supposed to… 166 00:06:54,448 --> 00:06:56,848 You're not supposed to cut across, like im- See this carpet? 167 00:06:57,198 --> 00:07:00,727 You're not supposed to cut, like, that way. 168 00:07:00,967 --> 00:07:03,388 You're supposed to cut this way, 'cause it comes apart easier, right? 169 00:07:04,517 --> 00:07:10,868 Living by God's wisdom is like cutting with the way you're supposed to go, right? 170 00:07:10,868 --> 00:07:14,728 It, it's, it makes sense, 'cause God designed the world, He designed you, and 171 00:07:14,728 --> 00:07:16,088 so that's the way you're supposed to live. 172 00:07:17,158 --> 00:07:22,968 And so when we say, "God, I want to live a life that's pleasing to you," or we say… 173 00:07:22,978 --> 00:07:25,378 Maybe you just say, "I don't, I don't know if I wanna please God. 174 00:07:25,378 --> 00:07:26,158 I just wanna be happy." 175 00:07:27,088 --> 00:07:29,728 God's way is the best way to live. 176 00:07:30,088 --> 00:07:33,988 And so the starting point of being a wise person is admitting, "You know what? 177 00:07:34,008 --> 00:07:36,238 God, you're way smarter than me. 178 00:07:37,548 --> 00:07:41,128 When you say to do something, it's not just because you're like, 'Oh, whatever.'" 179 00:07:41,428 --> 00:07:42,918 You know, God's like, "You should just listen to me, 180 00:07:42,918 --> 00:07:44,058 'cause I said so, and whatever." 181 00:07:44,128 --> 00:07:44,368 Right? 182 00:07:44,707 --> 00:07:46,068 God's saying something. 183 00:07:46,068 --> 00:07:48,758 He's giving you commands because He's way smarter than you, and 184 00:07:48,768 --> 00:07:50,828 His strategy is way better. 185 00:07:52,188 --> 00:07:56,048 So the f- starting point for being wise is actually saying, "I'm not wise. 186 00:07:56,498 --> 00:07:57,138 I need help. 187 00:07:57,748 --> 00:07:59,378 I need someone smarter than me. 188 00:07:59,597 --> 00:08:01,868 I need someone who knows the world better than me. 189 00:08:02,108 --> 00:08:04,128 I need someone who knows me better than me." 190 00:08:04,618 --> 00:08:04,768 Okay. 191 00:08:04,818 --> 00:08:07,488 Sometimes you don't even know why you feel the way you feel. 192 00:08:07,488 --> 00:08:08,168 You ever been there? 193 00:08:08,508 --> 00:08:10,848 You feel something and you're like, "Uh, I don't know why I feel 194 00:08:10,848 --> 00:08:12,068 this way, but that's how I feel. 195 00:08:12,238 --> 00:08:13,688 I don't know why I'm anxious right now. 196 00:08:13,688 --> 00:08:14,857 I don't know why I'm sad right now. 197 00:08:14,858 --> 00:08:16,277 I don't know why I'm angry right now, but I am." 198 00:08:16,788 --> 00:08:18,967 Or maybe you, you, you learn things about yourself, you're like, 199 00:08:18,968 --> 00:08:21,418 "Oh, well, here's why I feel that way," and you're like, "Oh, wow. 200 00:08:21,418 --> 00:08:21,938 That's crazy." 201 00:08:22,578 --> 00:08:23,478 God already knew that. 202 00:08:24,098 --> 00:08:25,558 God, God's never learned anything. 203 00:08:25,568 --> 00:08:26,038 Think about this. 204 00:08:26,298 --> 00:08:29,658 God's never been taught anything in His life, right? 205 00:08:29,658 --> 00:08:31,308 God obviously, eternal life, right? 206 00:08:31,557 --> 00:08:34,368 But God's never had the experience of, "Oh, I never knew that." 207 00:08:35,628 --> 00:08:36,297 Isn't that crazy? 208 00:08:37,128 --> 00:08:40,678 Whereas think about you literally didn't know anything at one point in your life. 209 00:08:41,138 --> 00:08:44,858 Like, you literally knew zero things at some point in your life. 210 00:08:46,574 --> 00:08:49,314 So God's way of life is the best way to live, and that's the 211 00:08:49,314 --> 00:08:52,093 starting point for being wisdom, is saying, "God, I need your wisdom. 212 00:08:52,464 --> 00:08:55,304 I don't just need your help, I need you to teach me." 213 00:08:55,814 --> 00:08:58,294 And that's what we're talking about when we talk about the fear of the Lord. 214 00:08:58,304 --> 00:09:01,964 The fear of the Lord is saying, "God, you're God, and I'm not. 215 00:09:02,933 --> 00:09:05,544 You are the standard. 216 00:09:05,664 --> 00:09:07,294 I have to live by your rules." 217 00:09:08,383 --> 00:09:09,373 That's what the fear of the Lord is. 218 00:09:09,373 --> 00:09:12,564 It, it's saying who I am and who God is. 219 00:09:12,664 --> 00:09:14,814 I'm recognizing those two things, right? 220 00:09:14,883 --> 00:09:16,464 He's way smarter than me. 221 00:09:16,843 --> 00:09:18,953 He's existed for way longer than me. 222 00:09:19,394 --> 00:09:20,323 He made me. 223 00:09:20,783 --> 00:09:21,723 He owns me. 224 00:09:21,904 --> 00:09:23,163 He made the world. 225 00:09:23,623 --> 00:09:24,503 He made all of these… 226 00:09:25,353 --> 00:09:26,544 even these ideas, right? 227 00:09:26,544 --> 00:09:27,694 God just didn't make things. 228 00:09:27,694 --> 00:09:29,623 When you think about it this way, God didn't just make 229 00:09:29,623 --> 00:09:31,384 things, God made concepts, right? 230 00:09:31,384 --> 00:09:37,634 Like peace or love or joy or trust. 231 00:09:38,423 --> 00:09:40,284 Those didn't exist at some point. 232 00:09:41,763 --> 00:09:45,064 Like, there was a point where God made those things. 233 00:09:45,993 --> 00:09:46,164 Right? 234 00:09:46,164 --> 00:09:48,674 Or you could say God always loved in eternity. 235 00:09:48,694 --> 00:09:49,363 I get that, right? 236 00:09:49,794 --> 00:09:52,173 But there was a point where those didn't exist within humans, right? 237 00:09:52,184 --> 00:09:54,243 Or like time never existed, and God made it. 238 00:09:54,954 --> 00:09:58,743 And all these crazy things, you, you realize I'm so small, right? 239 00:10:00,233 --> 00:10:04,723 Imagine if, uh, you were playing, you know, a, a board game with 240 00:10:04,723 --> 00:10:07,404 like a three-year-old, right? 241 00:10:07,423 --> 00:10:08,764 Maybe some of you have done this before. 242 00:10:09,304 --> 00:10:11,464 And your three-year-old sibling is like, "You know what? 243 00:10:11,954 --> 00:10:13,013 Here's what you should do," right? 244 00:10:13,064 --> 00:10:14,723 Let's say you're, you're playing chess, right? 245 00:10:15,123 --> 00:10:16,093 And the three-year-old's like, "You know what? 246 00:10:16,103 --> 00:10:17,884 You should move your queen here." 247 00:10:18,414 --> 00:10:19,144 You'd be like, "No. 248 00:10:19,253 --> 00:10:19,934 Why would I do that? 249 00:10:19,944 --> 00:10:20,674 Why would I listen to you?" 250 00:10:21,314 --> 00:10:21,593 Right? 251 00:10:22,684 --> 00:10:26,733 The gap between you and the three-year-old is way smaller than 252 00:10:26,733 --> 00:10:28,434 the gap between us and God, right? 253 00:10:29,623 --> 00:10:32,584 That's the perspective we need to have when we approach God and His 254 00:10:32,603 --> 00:10:36,044 wisdom, is God, you're God, I'm not. 255 00:10:36,503 --> 00:10:39,863 Now, you won't be wise unless you embrace God's way of life. 256 00:10:40,174 --> 00:10:42,233 'Cause your own way of life has problems. 257 00:10:42,233 --> 00:10:43,093 There's things you don't know. 258 00:10:43,093 --> 00:10:44,584 There's things you never thought about before. 259 00:10:44,713 --> 00:10:45,913 There's things you've never considered. 260 00:10:45,914 --> 00:10:46,824 There's factors. 261 00:10:46,833 --> 00:10:49,703 There's, there's all these things that you have no control over, even. 262 00:10:50,753 --> 00:10:54,023 So embracing God's way of life is the starting point for getting wisdom. 263 00:10:54,184 --> 00:10:55,954 But then where does wisdom come from? 264 00:10:56,733 --> 00:10:56,924 All right. 265 00:10:56,924 --> 00:11:01,774 Well, the only people who gather wisdom are people who have a humble heart. 266 00:11:01,794 --> 00:11:05,033 And we've kinda been talking this already, but point two is humble yourself 267 00:11:07,158 --> 00:11:08,008 Humble yourself, right? 268 00:11:08,028 --> 00:11:11,478 And this is in relation to the fear of the Lord, right? 269 00:11:11,498 --> 00:11:14,148 It's I'm seeing God rightly, but now I need to see me rightly. 270 00:11:15,588 --> 00:11:20,428 When you think about my way of living is not always going to make me happy, 271 00:11:20,757 --> 00:11:22,397 'cause I don't know how to make me happy. 272 00:11:22,398 --> 00:11:24,278 If you think about it, m- let's say your main goal in life isn't 273 00:11:24,288 --> 00:11:26,378 to love Jesus, your main goal in life is to be happy, right? 274 00:11:26,908 --> 00:11:28,958 You don't know what's gonna make you happy all the time. 275 00:11:28,968 --> 00:11:31,948 You think you do, but sometimes you try things and they don't make you happy. 276 00:11:32,588 --> 00:11:35,358 Sometimes you try things and they leave you depressed, or they leave 277 00:11:35,358 --> 00:11:38,178 you sad, or things happen to you that you have no control over, 278 00:11:40,228 --> 00:11:40,408 right? 279 00:11:40,707 --> 00:11:43,497 We are very small and limited, right? 280 00:11:43,497 --> 00:11:46,018 We- there's, there's so many things we can't do, have, we 281 00:11:46,018 --> 00:11:49,328 have no control over that we've never even thought about before. 282 00:11:50,998 --> 00:11:53,858 And so seeing ourselves rightly is also really important 283 00:11:54,358 --> 00:11:55,828 if you're gonna get wisdom. 284 00:11:55,877 --> 00:12:00,028 If you're gonna live a life that's happy and successful and fulfilling, 285 00:12:01,198 --> 00:12:06,488 it comes God's way, not our way, 'cause our way, we don't know very much, right? 286 00:12:06,818 --> 00:12:11,938 Even think about five years ago, how much you've learned in five years, 287 00:12:12,708 --> 00:12:14,878 and then think about how much you will learn in the next five years. 288 00:12:16,698 --> 00:12:20,638 There's so much that you don't know, and the more you learn, the more 289 00:12:20,638 --> 00:12:21,738 you realize, "I don't know stuff. 290 00:12:23,468 --> 00:12:24,128 I need help." 291 00:12:25,618 --> 00:12:29,848 And hopefully you learn that now rather than learning that later, right? 292 00:12:29,848 --> 00:12:32,098 'Cause it's better if you learn it now 293 00:12:34,904 --> 00:12:40,044 A lot of times, um, we want to be wise in our own eyes, right? 294 00:12:40,074 --> 00:12:43,154 A lot of times we think, like if, uh, you ever, uh, I feel like I've talked 295 00:12:43,154 --> 00:12:46,324 about this before, but you know that stat of like 70% of think- people 296 00:12:46,334 --> 00:12:47,864 think they're above average drivers? 297 00:12:48,594 --> 00:12:50,593 Everyone's … If you ask someone, "Oh, are you a good driver?" 298 00:12:50,594 --> 00:12:51,773 Most people are like, "Yeah, I'm a pretty good driver." 299 00:12:52,933 --> 00:12:57,524 Well, if 70% of people are above average drivers, then that's 300 00:12:57,524 --> 00:12:58,714 not how math works, right? 301 00:12:58,714 --> 00:13:02,574 It should be that 49% of people are above average drivers, right? 302 00:13:02,574 --> 00:13:05,403 And then 49% of people are below average drivers. 303 00:13:05,844 --> 00:13:07,544 And then, or I guess 49 and a half, right? 304 00:13:07,544 --> 00:13:10,914 And then there's 1% in the middle that are the actually average drivers, right? 305 00:13:10,964 --> 00:13:17,114 But we are almost infected by this disease of thinking that we're not that bad. 306 00:13:17,744 --> 00:13:18,714 We can figure things out. 307 00:13:19,884 --> 00:13:23,404 And one of the first things that Jesus actually needs to save us from 308 00:13:23,964 --> 00:13:30,494 is us thinking that we're okay , that we don't need his wisdom, or we just 309 00:13:30,494 --> 00:13:32,234 need a little bit of help from Jesus 310 00:13:34,613 --> 00:13:39,483 Us, our, our sense of not needing God is actually a huge problem because 311 00:13:39,483 --> 00:13:42,264 we think, "Oh, I, I have enough wisdom to, to figure this out." 312 00:13:44,093 --> 00:13:49,074 There, there's a sense of, of hopelessness that you need to feel because I, I 313 00:13:49,074 --> 00:13:53,554 want you to just feel that, oh, I, I don't … I can't do this without God. 314 00:13:54,314 --> 00:13:58,733 I can't live the way I w- the way I should, the way that, the best way 315 00:13:58,733 --> 00:14:02,944 to live unless c- I get God's wisdom, and that's what Proverbs 2:6 says. 316 00:14:02,944 --> 00:14:05,483 It says, "For the Lord gives wi- gives wisdom. 317 00:14:05,644 --> 00:14:08,013 From His mouth come knowledge and understanding." 318 00:14:09,654 --> 00:14:13,184 All right, wisdom doesn't come from reading a ton of 319 00:14:13,184 --> 00:14:14,824 books apart from the Lord. 320 00:14:16,483 --> 00:14:19,553 Wisdom doesn't come from taking a lot of classes or going to a good college 321 00:14:19,774 --> 00:14:25,324 or having good parents unless the Lord gives you wisdom through those things. 322 00:14:27,144 --> 00:14:29,954 Wisdom doesn't come from watching a lot of YouTube videos or, or f- 323 00:14:30,134 --> 00:14:33,973 being really smart or having a high IQ or a good SAT score or anything. 324 00:14:34,613 --> 00:14:36,194 It comes from the Lord 325 00:14:39,199 --> 00:14:43,740 And so we need to be saved from our own sense of thinking, "I can figure this out. 326 00:14:44,770 --> 00:14:47,530 I have the wisdom I need to tackle any problem." 327 00:14:49,539 --> 00:14:53,509 We humble ourselves and we say, "God, you are the master," right? 328 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:55,530 "I am the disciple." 329 00:14:57,079 --> 00:14:57,929 That's what disciple means. 330 00:14:57,929 --> 00:14:58,770 It means learner, right? 331 00:14:58,810 --> 00:14:59,500 I'm here to learn. 332 00:15:00,150 --> 00:15:02,390 God, you're the one who's gonna teach me, right? 333 00:15:02,390 --> 00:15:06,569 It would be silly if you showed up to, let's say, y- you went to the, 334 00:15:06,970 --> 00:15:11,650 um, the Rangers baseball practice, and you were like, "All right, guys, let 335 00:15:11,650 --> 00:15:13,959 me teach you how to take BP," okay? 336 00:15:14,079 --> 00:15:15,849 "Let me teach you how to field grounders. 337 00:15:15,890 --> 00:15:16,670 Let me teach you…" 338 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:17,270 You know what? 339 00:15:17,569 --> 00:15:19,730 Um, you know what? 340 00:15:19,730 --> 00:15:21,640 I don't know any Rangers players, 'cause they're not that good. 341 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:23,750 Um- Corey Seager. 342 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:24,920 Yeah, he's always hurt though. 343 00:15:25,289 --> 00:15:26,389 Um- I know. 344 00:15:26,389 --> 00:15:27,550 Mackenzie Gorham. 345 00:15:27,550 --> 00:15:29,510 Let's, let's just go, let's go with- Adams. 346 00:15:29,510 --> 00:15:29,640 Never heard of him. 347 00:15:30,430 --> 00:15:31,220 Yeah, let's go with Corey. 348 00:15:31,250 --> 00:15:33,589 Let's just say, hey, the Rangers shortstop, Corey Seager. 349 00:15:33,590 --> 00:15:34,730 You're like, "Hey, Corey Seager, you know what? 350 00:15:34,819 --> 00:15:35,620 Here's what you should… 351 00:15:35,630 --> 00:15:37,620 Here's, here's how you should change your swing," right? 352 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:38,410 That would be silly. 353 00:15:38,449 --> 00:15:39,130 That would be absurd. 354 00:15:39,140 --> 00:15:40,760 He would laugh at you, right? 355 00:15:40,980 --> 00:15:41,010 Speaker 2: What? 356 00:15:41,010 --> 00:15:41,770 His swings are like, "Stop." 357 00:15:42,579 --> 00:15:44,060 Speaker: He would laugh at you, right? 358 00:15:44,060 --> 00:15:44,910 He'd be like, "What do you know?" 359 00:15:46,069 --> 00:15:48,260 He would take zero advice from you, right? 360 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:52,890 And again, when you think about this, Haley just said I 361 00:15:52,890 --> 00:15:53,460 should have picked the Dodgers. 362 00:15:53,490 --> 00:15:54,630 I do know more Dodgers players. 363 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,030 Um, mostly because they're more fantasy relevant. 364 00:15:58,240 --> 00:15:58,650 Um- 365 00:16:01,622 --> 00:16:02,852 Anyway, um- Paul 366 00:16:02,852 --> 00:16:04,572 Speaker 2: has all of them. 367 00:16:04,572 --> 00:16:05,002 How 368 00:16:05,002 --> 00:16:06,292 Speaker: would you know? 369 00:16:06,292 --> 00:16:06,922 That is true. 370 00:16:07,442 --> 00:16:09,852 Um, anyway, that idea, right? 371 00:16:09,891 --> 00:16:13,582 Of coming … If, if, if you … Let's say you wanted to learn how to play baseball, 372 00:16:13,692 --> 00:16:16,822 and you showed up at the Rangers practice, you wouldn't be there like, "Oh, hey guys. 373 00:16:17,002 --> 00:16:18,372 Here's, here's all the things you should do." 374 00:16:18,381 --> 00:16:20,432 You would say, "I'm here to learn from you," right? 375 00:16:20,441 --> 00:16:21,311 "You're the pro. 376 00:16:22,061 --> 00:16:22,611 I'm the student." 377 00:16:23,172 --> 00:16:24,762 That's how we need to approach God, right? 378 00:16:24,762 --> 00:16:27,852 We don't approach God's word and say, "God, um, I'm only gonna listen to 379 00:16:27,852 --> 00:16:30,312 things I like," or, "I'm only gonna listen to things that make me feel 380 00:16:30,312 --> 00:16:33,361 good," or, "I'm only gonna listen to things that are easy for me to do." 381 00:16:33,712 --> 00:16:36,502 When you come to God, you say, "God, you get to set the terms. 382 00:16:37,781 --> 00:16:39,342 I'm just here. 383 00:16:39,342 --> 00:16:40,542 I'm just here to learn," right? 384 00:16:40,552 --> 00:16:42,732 "You get to tell me how I should feel. 385 00:16:42,882 --> 00:16:44,492 You get to tell me what's good. 386 00:16:44,622 --> 00:16:45,992 You get to tell me what's attractive. 387 00:16:46,192 --> 00:16:47,572 You get to tell me what's important. 388 00:16:49,332 --> 00:16:51,612 I don't get to decide that because I'm dumb." 389 00:16:52,881 --> 00:16:53,151 Right? 390 00:16:53,312 --> 00:16:55,691 Compared to God, I am so dumb. 391 00:16:57,411 --> 00:17:00,592 So God gets to decide those things, and that's part of humbling ourselves 392 00:17:00,592 --> 00:17:01,892 is here's God and here's me. 393 00:17:01,892 --> 00:17:04,592 And it's not that God is like, "You're so terrible. 394 00:17:04,592 --> 00:17:05,502 You're the worst," right? 395 00:17:05,721 --> 00:17:07,502 It's, the idea is God wants to help you. 396 00:17:07,511 --> 00:17:12,050 He's offering you His wisdom, and He wants you to have it. 397 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:14,201 But the problem is is we don't want it. 398 00:17:14,300 --> 00:17:17,602 The problem is not that, oh, w- uh, you know, God's like, "Well, 399 00:17:17,602 --> 00:17:20,300 you're a horrible person and, and you need to listen to my wisdom. 400 00:17:20,300 --> 00:17:23,181 Otherwise, you're gonna die," which is true, but it's more 401 00:17:23,181 --> 00:17:25,281 so, "I want to help you. 402 00:17:25,300 --> 00:17:26,090 Here's my wisdom." 403 00:17:26,090 --> 00:17:27,662 And we're like, "Nah, I don't need that." 404 00:17:28,772 --> 00:17:29,941 That's really what it's like. 405 00:17:32,111 --> 00:17:35,052 So we need to have the right heart posture before God if 406 00:17:35,052 --> 00:17:36,932 we're going to be wise people. 407 00:17:36,942 --> 00:17:40,132 And that's something really interesting, that wisdom is not about your brain power. 408 00:17:40,902 --> 00:17:43,072 Wisdom's not about your test scores or your GPA. 409 00:17:44,011 --> 00:17:47,362 Wisdom is not about your vocabulary or your reading 410 00:17:47,362 --> 00:17:48,991 comprehension or anything like that. 411 00:17:49,272 --> 00:17:52,502 You can be really wise and not very smart. 412 00:17:53,782 --> 00:18:00,042 You can be really smart and a fool because wisdom is about your heart. 413 00:18:01,402 --> 00:18:02,931 Wisdom is a moral quality. 414 00:18:03,471 --> 00:18:05,221 It's not an intellectual quality. 415 00:18:06,742 --> 00:18:09,132 So maybe you're out there and you feel like you know a lot of stuff, or you 416 00:18:09,132 --> 00:18:11,262 feel like you're really smart, and you feel like you got things figured out. 417 00:18:11,552 --> 00:18:13,842 You might be an utter fool 418 00:18:15,852 --> 00:18:18,321 if you're rejecting God and His word. 419 00:18:19,022 --> 00:18:20,801 And maybe you think, "I just, I'm not very smart. 420 00:18:20,801 --> 00:18:21,592 It's hard to read the Bible. 421 00:18:21,592 --> 00:18:22,331 I don't really get it. 422 00:18:22,551 --> 00:18:26,401 I, I just feel like I'm behind people and, and I don't, I can't keep up with them." 423 00:18:26,402 --> 00:18:29,032 And you could still be a really wise person. 424 00:18:29,852 --> 00:18:35,672 You could still live in a really wise way because wisdom is about your heart. 425 00:18:36,872 --> 00:18:37,922 So how do I get it, right? 426 00:18:38,091 --> 00:18:40,191 Well, okay, I need to have the right perspective about God. 427 00:18:40,192 --> 00:18:45,112 I need to say His way is better, His way is good, and my way is usually bad. 428 00:18:47,072 --> 00:18:47,831 Then how do we get it? 429 00:18:47,882 --> 00:18:50,812 Well, it starts with the heart, but it also has to do with our effort. 430 00:18:50,812 --> 00:18:54,822 So point three, diligently pursue God's wisdom. 431 00:18:59,406 --> 00:19:03,515 So in Proverbs 2:6, right, we saw that it was the Lord who gives wisdom, right? 432 00:19:03,515 --> 00:19:06,255 And maybe when you think about that, you're like, "Oh, well, I just need to 433 00:19:06,265 --> 00:19:07,836 ask the Lord, and he'll give me wisdom?" 434 00:19:07,836 --> 00:19:08,786 How does that work, right? 435 00:19:08,786 --> 00:19:10,326 It, it's very passive it seems like. 436 00:19:10,426 --> 00:19:11,245 The Lord gives wisdom. 437 00:19:11,245 --> 00:19:11,886 Okay, great. 438 00:19:11,886 --> 00:19:12,445 He gives it. 439 00:19:12,515 --> 00:19:13,205 I just receive it. 440 00:19:13,226 --> 00:19:14,015 We're good, right? 441 00:19:14,976 --> 00:19:18,966 Well, right before verse 6 in Proverbs 2, here's what it says, okay? 442 00:19:20,036 --> 00:19:23,706 I highlighted all of the action words here, okay? 443 00:19:23,706 --> 00:19:26,115 This is all the stuff we're supposed to do to get wisdom, right? 444 00:19:26,926 --> 00:19:29,875 "My son," right, Proverbs is written from a dad to his, his son. 445 00:19:30,056 --> 00:19:32,995 He says, "Hey, if you receive my words," okay, that's passive, right? 446 00:19:32,995 --> 00:19:34,086 That's how I receive wisdom. 447 00:19:34,375 --> 00:19:35,025 God gives it. 448 00:19:35,045 --> 00:19:35,525 I receive it. 449 00:19:35,525 --> 00:19:35,765 Great. 450 00:19:36,015 --> 00:19:36,755 How do I do that? 451 00:19:37,206 --> 00:19:39,896 Well, I treasure up the commandments. 452 00:19:40,046 --> 00:19:41,386 That means I think they're really important. 453 00:19:41,426 --> 00:19:42,856 They're, they're precious to me, right? 454 00:19:42,856 --> 00:19:43,876 You think about Gollum, right? 455 00:19:43,876 --> 00:19:45,285 He's like, "Oh, my precious," right? 456 00:19:45,505 --> 00:19:47,505 Which we just taught Beckham to say at community group last night. 457 00:19:47,946 --> 00:19:50,796 Um, which was hilarious, by the way. 458 00:19:51,275 --> 00:19:53,515 Um, but you treasure them, right? 459 00:19:53,525 --> 00:19:54,216 You hold onto them. 460 00:19:54,216 --> 00:19:55,306 You're like, "These are so awesome. 461 00:19:55,316 --> 00:19:56,005 These are so important. 462 00:19:56,005 --> 00:19:56,706 I love these." 463 00:19:57,936 --> 00:20:00,866 And then you- … you make your ear attentive to wisdom, right? 464 00:20:01,376 --> 00:20:04,556 When you're attentive to something, y- y- it, it shows. 465 00:20:04,976 --> 00:20:05,806 You can see. 466 00:20:06,036 --> 00:20:08,725 I, I, I can see right now which one of you are attentive and which one 467 00:20:08,726 --> 00:20:12,136 of, of you aren't because of your posture, because of your expression. 468 00:20:12,136 --> 00:20:14,856 I can, I can see what being attentive is, right? 469 00:20:15,245 --> 00:20:17,015 Incline, literally inclining, right? 470 00:20:17,046 --> 00:20:19,495 Lean in, like, you know, like a incline on, on a treadmill, right? 471 00:20:20,106 --> 00:20:21,056 Incline your heart. 472 00:20:21,076 --> 00:20:23,545 You lean in to God's word, right? 473 00:20:23,545 --> 00:20:28,406 So being a wise person, to receive wisdom from God, something we're supposed to 474 00:20:28,406 --> 00:20:30,505 do, right, is, is to lean in, right? 475 00:20:30,505 --> 00:20:33,966 Not necessarily with your body, but with your heart, right? 476 00:20:33,966 --> 00:20:37,366 With a, with a heart that says, "God, I'm here to, to learn," right? 477 00:20:37,366 --> 00:20:41,515 When you open your Bible, when you read it, you s- "God, I'm here to learn. 478 00:20:41,515 --> 00:20:42,545 I need your wisdom." 479 00:20:43,186 --> 00:20:45,725 And then you receive it, and you treasure it up, right? 480 00:20:45,906 --> 00:20:47,335 And then but verse three, look at this. 481 00:20:47,346 --> 00:20:48,745 You call out for insight. 482 00:20:48,866 --> 00:20:51,196 There's, like, this active, like, "I need it, God. 483 00:20:51,196 --> 00:20:52,656 Please give me wisdom. 484 00:20:53,525 --> 00:20:55,086 Please, I, I want wisdom." 485 00:20:55,096 --> 00:20:56,936 You raise your voice, right? 486 00:20:56,936 --> 00:20:59,576 You s- you know, "Hey, I need it, I need it, I need it." 487 00:21:00,066 --> 00:21:03,706 You seek it like silver and search for it as in, for hidden treasures. 488 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,840 It reminded me of when I was a kid, um, my dad and I would play FIFA all 489 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:12,550 the time, and when we played FIFA, we did the mode where, like, you 490 00:21:12,550 --> 00:21:15,000 each controlled one player, and then the rest of the team was computers. 491 00:21:15,619 --> 00:21:16,040 And my… 492 00:21:16,090 --> 00:21:18,290 I really didn't like playing with my dad, 'cause he would always… 493 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:19,970 They had this option where you could call for the ball. 494 00:21:20,489 --> 00:21:23,620 My dad would always call for the ball, all the stinking time. 495 00:21:23,630 --> 00:21:24,630 Like, "Oh, I'm open, pass it." 496 00:21:24,630 --> 00:21:27,000 And, and, like, the, the computers, they have to pass it when you call for it. 497 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:27,490 That's how it works. 498 00:21:27,890 --> 00:21:28,770 It was the most annoying thing. 499 00:21:28,770 --> 00:21:29,750 Like, I never got the ball. 500 00:21:29,890 --> 00:21:31,550 But then I realized, oh, it… 501 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,370 he's just calling for it, so he's getting it, right? 502 00:21:34,380 --> 00:21:36,540 It's like the saying, you know, like, the squeaky wheel gets 503 00:21:36,540 --> 00:21:38,210 the oil or whatever, right? 504 00:21:38,430 --> 00:21:40,699 Um, there, that's, which that's a proverb, by the way. 505 00:21:40,820 --> 00:21:45,170 Um, but you're calling out for it, and so he got it, right? 506 00:21:45,350 --> 00:21:50,190 Part of your responsibility, if you wanna be a wise person, is to, to lean in, to 507 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:55,240 be attentive, to ask questions, to, to call out for it, to search for it, right? 508 00:21:55,279 --> 00:21:55,780 We don't just… 509 00:21:55,819 --> 00:21:58,810 When we say the Lord gives wisdom, well, how does the Lord give wisdom? 510 00:21:59,949 --> 00:22:02,140 He gives it through your pursuit of it. 511 00:22:03,410 --> 00:22:08,340 You have a responsibility to put yourself in the way of God's wisdom, right? 512 00:22:08,350 --> 00:22:12,650 You can't make yourself wise, but you can put yourself in the way 513 00:22:12,650 --> 00:22:15,490 of where God's wisdom is, right? 514 00:22:15,490 --> 00:22:17,030 You can spend time in God's Word. 515 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:18,870 You can ask questions about God's Word. 516 00:22:19,010 --> 00:22:21,730 You can not give up when it's hard to read God's Word. 517 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:23,540 You can pray every day. 518 00:22:23,550 --> 00:22:23,970 Pray. 519 00:22:24,020 --> 00:22:25,879 Ask God, "Make me wiser." 520 00:22:26,300 --> 00:22:27,970 You can spend time around wise people. 521 00:22:28,470 --> 00:22:31,029 That's why we put you in these small groups with these leaders, 522 00:22:31,029 --> 00:22:34,030 is 'cause these are people who are wiser than you, who can help you. 523 00:22:34,050 --> 00:22:35,010 You can ask them questions. 524 00:22:35,010 --> 00:22:37,280 Or if, if you never talk to your leader about anything that's 525 00:22:37,310 --> 00:22:40,120 going on in your life, you're not gonna grow very much in wisdom. 526 00:22:40,790 --> 00:22:43,769 The more you share with your leader and the more involved they are in your 527 00:22:43,770 --> 00:22:45,400 life, the more you can grow in wisdom. 528 00:22:45,409 --> 00:22:46,160 Same with your parents 529 00:22:48,590 --> 00:22:52,580 If you're not involving wise people in your life, if you're not seeking after 530 00:22:52,580 --> 00:22:58,260 God's wisdom, and wise people could also be, right, wise people on YouTube, right? 531 00:22:58,300 --> 00:23:01,820 Or wise people in sermons, or wise people in books, right? 532 00:23:01,820 --> 00:23:06,529 But, um, you have a responsibility to put yourself in the way of wisdom 533 00:23:09,772 --> 00:23:13,831 And so that's why we say diligently pursue God's wisdom, right? 534 00:23:13,831 --> 00:23:16,682 Not just half-heartedly, not just sometimes, not just when it's easy, 535 00:23:16,682 --> 00:23:17,742 not just when you feel like it. 536 00:23:18,492 --> 00:23:22,591 If you've ever done something hard, you know that the difference between people 537 00:23:22,591 --> 00:23:26,071 are really good at something hard and people that aren't very good at something 538 00:23:26,072 --> 00:23:29,822 hard is they don't give up, right? 539 00:23:30,232 --> 00:23:30,831 If, if there's… 540 00:23:31,152 --> 00:23:33,722 Maybe you're playing an instrument or you play a sport and you're like, "Why 541 00:23:33,722 --> 00:23:34,872 is that person so much better than me?" 542 00:23:35,772 --> 00:23:38,351 A lot of times it's because they practiced when you didn't. 543 00:23:39,142 --> 00:23:40,792 They kept practicing when you gave up. 544 00:23:41,961 --> 00:23:46,341 And so our pursuit of wisdom is, "God, I need your wisdom." 545 00:23:47,002 --> 00:23:47,162 Right? 546 00:23:47,162 --> 00:23:49,532 And I'm gonna keep praying when other people may have given up praying. 547 00:23:49,932 --> 00:23:52,341 I'm gonna keep studying and asking questions when other people may 548 00:23:52,341 --> 00:23:53,822 have said, "That's too confusing. 549 00:23:53,822 --> 00:23:54,111 I'm out." 550 00:23:54,652 --> 00:23:57,541 I would have been honest about something I'm struggling with 'cause I needed 551 00:23:57,542 --> 00:24:00,152 help from a wise person when someone else would have been, "I'm, I'm too 552 00:24:00,152 --> 00:24:01,522 scared they might not like me anymore." 553 00:24:03,222 --> 00:24:05,522 That's what pursuing wisdom looks like. 554 00:24:06,702 --> 00:24:10,392 And the best part is that God is ready to give wisdom, right? 555 00:24:10,392 --> 00:24:14,162 He's not, like, hiding it for you to be, like, digging through, 556 00:24:14,162 --> 00:24:15,111 you know, all this stuff for it. 557 00:24:15,112 --> 00:24:18,782 God has given, he's offered it to you, and you just have to put 558 00:24:18,782 --> 00:24:20,302 yourself in the way of it and take it. 559 00:24:20,611 --> 00:24:21,572 It's there for you 560 00:24:23,914 --> 00:24:29,834 So hopefully, um, when you think about wisdom, you don't just think about, 561 00:24:29,834 --> 00:24:33,814 "Oh, uh, that's for smart people," or, "That's for people that know a lot of 562 00:24:33,814 --> 00:24:36,064 stuff," or, "That's for- I can't be wise." 563 00:24:36,104 --> 00:24:39,284 You can, because it's a heart posture. 564 00:24:39,883 --> 00:24:43,004 It starts with saying, "God, I n- You are way better. 565 00:24:43,194 --> 00:24:45,684 Your way is the best way to live, and I want that. 566 00:24:46,094 --> 00:24:49,024 Your way is actually the way I'm gonna be happy, 'cause You made me, You 567 00:24:49,034 --> 00:24:51,263 know me, and I don't know very much. 568 00:24:51,344 --> 00:24:52,224 I need You, God. 569 00:24:52,294 --> 00:24:57,203 I, I need, I need everything You have to say in as much of it as I can." 570 00:24:57,783 --> 00:24:58,664 And then you pursue it. 571 00:24:58,924 --> 00:25:01,154 Uh, you don't just say, "Oh, well, I need it, and I'm gonna wait 572 00:25:01,154 --> 00:25:02,204 for God to, to give it to me." 573 00:25:02,514 --> 00:25:05,774 You put yourself in the way of God's wisdom, and He'll give it to you. 574 00:25:06,114 --> 00:25:09,963 James chapter 1 says, "If you lack wisdom, pray for it, and God will give it to you." 575 00:25:10,724 --> 00:25:11,993 That's what he says, right? 576 00:25:11,993 --> 00:25:13,234 And so maybe that's something you wanna do. 577 00:25:13,243 --> 00:25:15,373 You say, "I'm just gonna ask God for wisdom every single day." 578 00:25:16,354 --> 00:25:17,573 God will answer that prayer. 579 00:25:17,913 --> 00:25:18,684 He's not hiding wisdom. 580 00:25:18,684 --> 00:25:19,674 He's offering it to you. 581 00:25:19,914 --> 00:25:22,064 So hopefully you see your need for wisdom, and hopefully you see 582 00:25:22,064 --> 00:25:27,214 the, the joy of having wisdom, of living in such a way that is along 583 00:25:27,384 --> 00:25:29,513 with the, the grain of life, right? 584 00:25:29,573 --> 00:25:30,894 Uh, this is the way it's supposed to go. 585 00:25:31,344 --> 00:25:32,293 It's the way it's supposed to be. 586 00:25:33,054 --> 00:25:34,644 That's what living wisely feels like. 587 00:25:34,973 --> 00:25:36,664 So let's pray, and you guys will go to your small groups. 588 00:25:41,358 --> 00:25:46,687 Father, we need your wisdom, not just because we want to, um, make it about us, 589 00:25:46,717 --> 00:25:53,788 but because your wisdom really shows us that everything's about you, and we are 590 00:25:54,037 --> 00:25:56,727 happiest when our lives are serving you. 591 00:25:57,428 --> 00:26:00,157 We make terrible gods, even for ourselves. 592 00:26:00,628 --> 00:26:05,217 Um, we're never gonna make us as happy as you can, and we're gonna let us down. 593 00:26:05,238 --> 00:26:06,588 Other people are gonna let us down. 594 00:26:06,868 --> 00:26:11,138 Um, pleasure or money or success, these things will all let us down 595 00:26:11,138 --> 00:26:12,207 'cause they're, they're not enough. 596 00:26:12,638 --> 00:26:17,258 We need the joy that you offer, and a lot of that comes by living wisely. 597 00:26:17,258 --> 00:26:19,808 So I pray that you help us, everyone in this room, grow in wisdom. 598 00:26:20,168 --> 00:26:22,467 Help us to pursue wisdom when we don't feel like it. 599 00:26:22,628 --> 00:26:25,898 Help us to have humble hearts that are ready to receive your wisdom. 600 00:26:25,898 --> 00:26:30,748 Help us to even compare our wisdom with your wisdom and, and find that 601 00:26:30,748 --> 00:26:33,508 your wisdom is far better than our own. 602 00:26:34,137 --> 00:26:37,348 So I pray that you make us desperate for your wisdom, and I pray that you help us 603 00:26:37,358 --> 00:26:39,788 to be receptive to it each and every day. 604 00:26:39,848 --> 00:26:41,648 We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.