1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,760 Speaker: we are in the same passage we were last week. 2 00:00:01,790 --> 00:00:02,820 We're in Proverbs 1. 3 00:00:04,030 --> 00:00:04,870 Proverbs 1. 4 00:00:04,890 --> 00:00:06,710 So make your way over there in your Bibles. 5 00:00:06,730 --> 00:00:09,930 You might have thought there was a typo on the worksheet, but no, we are 6 00:00:09,930 --> 00:00:13,869 in the exact same verse as last time. 7 00:00:13,940 --> 00:00:17,969 Um, but while you're turning there, have you ever seen something where you're 8 00:00:17,970 --> 00:00:21,479 watching, like, either it's someone doing something really dumb, or maybe 9 00:00:21,479 --> 00:00:24,319 you hear about a story that someone, you know, s- something on the news, and 10 00:00:24,319 --> 00:00:25,530 you're like, "How did they do that?" 11 00:00:25,549 --> 00:00:26,870 Like, why would they do that? 12 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:31,229 Why in the world would someone ever ruin their life that way? 13 00:00:31,249 --> 00:00:33,000 Or why would they ever make that mistake? 14 00:00:33,269 --> 00:00:36,179 I don't know if you've ever … Sometimes even reading the Bible, right? 15 00:00:36,179 --> 00:00:38,479 Maybe you've been reading along with us in the DBR, and you, you read 16 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:40,599 about these Bible characters, and you're like, "How would they do that? 17 00:00:40,599 --> 00:00:41,089 Don't they know?" 18 00:00:41,089 --> 00:00:43,919 Like, uh, we've been reading about Israel in Chronicles, and they're, 19 00:00:43,919 --> 00:00:47,549 like, building idols in the temple, and it's like, why would you do that? 20 00:00:47,599 --> 00:00:49,339 How could you not know any better? 21 00:00:50,349 --> 00:00:55,359 And the problem with all of us, including those people, is actually that we have 22 00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:00,090 the same problem they do, and that's that foolishness comes naturally to all of us. 23 00:01:00,809 --> 00:01:05,090 Doing dumb things, doing self-destructive things, comes 24 00:01:05,090 --> 00:01:06,840 naturally to every single one of us. 25 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:09,539 Me, you, and everyone in between. 26 00:01:09,549 --> 00:01:14,249 And so what we're gonna see tonight is that foolishness is not a matter 27 00:01:14,299 --> 00:01:19,519 of how smart you are or how much you know or how religious you are, but 28 00:01:19,789 --> 00:01:22,320 being foolish is about your heart. 29 00:01:22,649 --> 00:01:23,259 It's a heart issue. 30 00:01:23,270 --> 00:01:25,299 Last week we talked about how wisdom is a heart issue. 31 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:29,429 Wisdom has to do with, um, your heart before the Lord, and foolishness is 32 00:01:29,429 --> 00:01:30,759 exactly the same 'cause it's the opposite. 33 00:01:31,279 --> 00:01:35,999 And so we are gonna be looking at Proverbs 1:7, okay? 34 00:01:35,999 --> 00:01:39,019 And you're probably familiar with this from last week, but Proverbs 35 00:01:39,020 --> 00:01:42,339 1:7 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." 36 00:01:42,359 --> 00:01:44,579 Proverbs 9 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 37 00:01:45,069 --> 00:01:47,779 Fools despise wisdom and instruction." 38 00:01:47,779 --> 00:01:51,189 So Proverbs, right, the Book of Proverbs, the first nine chapters is kinda like 39 00:01:51,189 --> 00:01:55,039 an introduction to the whole book, what wisdom is, what foolishness is, and 40 00:01:55,039 --> 00:01:58,749 then chapters 10 and on are, like, these short, one-sentence little sayings. 41 00:01:59,189 --> 00:02:01,849 And a proverb, right, it's like a, it's like a easy, like 42 00:02:01,849 --> 00:02:03,189 a tablet of wisdom, right? 43 00:02:03,189 --> 00:02:07,180 Something like, um, measure twice, cut once, right? 44 00:02:07,450 --> 00:02:09,770 Um, if you measure something twice, you only have to cut it once. 45 00:02:09,989 --> 00:02:11,978 That you, well, yeah, well, you cut it at the right spot, right? 46 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,350 Or, um, you know, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard, right? 47 00:02:16,350 --> 00:02:16,919 Something like that. 48 00:02:17,179 --> 00:02:17,789 That's a proverb. 49 00:02:17,789 --> 00:02:20,279 It's a one-sentence little saying of wisdom, and that's 50 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:21,139 what a lot of these are. 51 00:02:21,140 --> 00:02:22,810 And so this is similar to that. 52 00:02:22,819 --> 00:02:24,540 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 53 00:02:24,549 --> 00:02:25,429 So the fear of the Lord, right? 54 00:02:25,429 --> 00:02:26,210 We talked about that last week. 55 00:02:26,220 --> 00:02:28,589 That's when you recognize God is God, and I'm not. 56 00:02:29,252 --> 00:02:30,531 And that's where wisdom comes from. 57 00:02:30,531 --> 00:02:36,262 Now the opposite, fools, not wise people, they despise wisdom and instruction. 58 00:02:36,341 --> 00:02:39,822 So that word despise is the key here, right? 59 00:02:39,822 --> 00:02:44,762 Because wisdom comes from embracing God's strategy for living life. 60 00:02:44,902 --> 00:02:48,571 'Cause God made you, he made the world, he made life, and so 61 00:02:49,072 --> 00:02:50,311 he knows the best way to live. 62 00:02:50,591 --> 00:02:53,031 He designed … He actually knows you better than you do. 63 00:02:53,392 --> 00:02:54,641 He knows me better than I do. 64 00:02:55,201 --> 00:02:58,262 He knows what will make me happy, what's good for me better than I do, better than 65 00:02:58,262 --> 00:03:02,491 anyone else does, better than any doctor or any leader or any parent or anyone. 66 00:03:02,562 --> 00:03:06,011 God knows what I need more than all those people, 'cause he, he knows me best. 67 00:03:06,641 --> 00:03:11,914 And so The problem with that is we don't believe that naturally, right? 68 00:03:11,914 --> 00:03:13,814 We think, "I know what's best for me." 69 00:03:14,053 --> 00:03:15,173 Naturally, that's just how we operate. 70 00:03:15,214 --> 00:03:18,214 "Oh, well, you don't understand 'cause you don't know me like I do," or, "If you 71 00:03:18,214 --> 00:03:21,184 really understood what was going on in my life, this is how you would see things." 72 00:03:21,514 --> 00:03:22,683 That's how we naturally feel. 73 00:03:22,724 --> 00:03:24,303 That's how … You know, no one told you to think that way. 74 00:03:24,363 --> 00:03:25,184 That's just how you think. 75 00:03:25,913 --> 00:03:33,004 And so, the problem with us getting wisdom is that foolishness comes naturally to us. 76 00:03:33,653 --> 00:03:36,773 It's hard for us to think, "God is God, and I'm not, so I need to trust Him." 77 00:03:36,804 --> 00:03:41,843 That's unnatural to us, and that's why wisdom starts with the fear of the Lord, 78 00:03:41,843 --> 00:03:44,244 and foolishness starts with the opposite. 79 00:03:44,433 --> 00:03:46,834 Foolishness starts with saying, "I know better than God." 80 00:03:46,864 --> 00:03:49,853 So that word despise, it means, like, to look down on something, right? 81 00:03:49,853 --> 00:03:54,234 And so our first point is if you wanna ruin your life, look down on wisdom. 82 00:03:54,384 --> 00:03:57,023 So all our points tonight are opposite, right? 83 00:03:57,134 --> 00:03:57,874 Don't do this. 84 00:03:58,433 --> 00:04:00,253 If you wanna ruin your life, these are the things you do. 85 00:04:00,253 --> 00:04:04,074 If you wanna be a foolish person, if you wanna be someone that, you know, 86 00:04:04,074 --> 00:04:08,724 your parents are embarrassed about, if you wanna be someone who lives a life 87 00:04:08,733 --> 00:04:13,433 that is unsatisfying and empty, all right, this is the things you should do. 88 00:04:13,483 --> 00:04:15,234 You should look down on wisdom. 89 00:04:15,234 --> 00:04:16,113 You should despise it. 90 00:04:16,673 --> 00:04:18,822 You should be like, "Oh, it's not that important, not that good." 91 00:04:18,873 --> 00:04:19,033 Right? 92 00:04:19,064 --> 00:04:19,952 "I'm too good for it. 93 00:04:20,284 --> 00:04:21,293 I'm above this." 94 00:04:21,863 --> 00:04:22,033 Right? 95 00:04:22,033 --> 00:04:23,753 That's what we say you look down on something, right? 96 00:04:24,924 --> 00:04:29,823 Uh, my brother, he despises certain types of chocolate, um, because 97 00:04:29,893 --> 00:04:34,363 my brother married a lady from Switzerland, and Switzerland has, 98 00:04:34,363 --> 00:04:37,874 like, the highest quality, best chocolate in the world allegedly. 99 00:04:37,933 --> 00:04:38,963 That's what they say, right? 100 00:04:38,983 --> 00:04:41,383 So I remember my brother, he used to, you know, eat chocolate 101 00:04:41,384 --> 00:04:42,793 with me when we were kids, right? 102 00:04:42,793 --> 00:04:44,363 We loved chocolate, and it was great. 103 00:04:44,674 --> 00:04:48,543 And then he, he starts dating this lady from Switzerland, and they get married. 104 00:04:48,543 --> 00:04:51,703 And he, we, you know, we go o- we don't see each other for a while. 105 00:04:51,704 --> 00:04:54,843 We're back together at Christmastime, and he's like, "Hey, do you want this…" 106 00:04:55,283 --> 00:04:57,873 Like, it was, like, really good chocolate, and he was like, "Do you 107 00:04:57,873 --> 00:04:59,303 want this, this fancy chocolate?" 108 00:04:59,433 --> 00:05:02,293 And I was like, "Uh, yeah, I love that chocolate." 109 00:05:02,293 --> 00:05:04,253 It was like, uh, what's, Lindor, I think. 110 00:05:04,253 --> 00:05:05,923 You know, the red ones, the truffle things. 111 00:05:06,603 --> 00:05:07,883 And he was like, "You want this?" 112 00:05:07,883 --> 00:05:09,203 I was like, "Yeah, that's, like, such good chocolate." 113 00:05:09,454 --> 00:05:10,333 He's like, "I don't like it." 114 00:05:10,543 --> 00:05:11,023 I was like, "What? 115 00:05:11,033 --> 00:05:11,513 You don't like this? 116 00:05:11,513 --> 00:05:12,373 This is, like, the best chocolate." 117 00:05:12,763 --> 00:05:14,004 He's like, "No, it's got, like… 118 00:05:14,494 --> 00:05:16,363 It's, like, too, like, milk chocolatey for me." 119 00:05:16,403 --> 00:05:16,673 Right? 120 00:05:16,673 --> 00:05:19,024 He's like, "I only eat, like, pure chocolate." 121 00:05:19,384 --> 00:05:24,263 Like, fancy, you know, like, not even dark chocolate but, like, the, like, 122 00:05:24,273 --> 00:05:26,133 highest level of dark chocolate, you know? 123 00:05:27,173 --> 00:05:28,203 He doesn't eat regular chocolate. 124 00:05:28,214 --> 00:05:29,094 He's too good for it, right? 125 00:05:29,094 --> 00:05:30,944 He's had the, the best quality chocolate. 126 00:05:30,953 --> 00:05:32,783 He's like, "No, not my thing." 127 00:05:33,003 --> 00:05:33,283 Right? 128 00:05:33,443 --> 00:05:35,573 It's kinda like how Pastor PJ is with his barbecue, right? 129 00:05:35,733 --> 00:05:38,193 He only eats, like, certain types of barbecue 'cause he's like, "I've 130 00:05:38,193 --> 00:05:39,383 had the real barbecue," right? 131 00:05:39,384 --> 00:05:42,363 "The pure Texas barbecue, so I'm not gonna eat barbecue anywhere else," right? 132 00:05:42,363 --> 00:05:44,394 That's similar idea, right? 133 00:05:44,673 --> 00:05:45,864 He despises it. 134 00:05:46,033 --> 00:05:47,673 He's like, "That's not good enough for me. 135 00:05:47,753 --> 00:05:49,023 I only want the best." 136 00:05:49,563 --> 00:05:53,832 And that's how a lot of us naturally feel about God and His Word. 137 00:05:54,423 --> 00:05:57,183 When we come to God's Word, we think, "Oh, not for me. 138 00:05:57,803 --> 00:05:58,834 Too hard to understand. 139 00:05:58,973 --> 00:06:00,223 Doesn't work in my life. 140 00:06:00,443 --> 00:06:03,353 God doesn't really understand me the way I do," or, "That's old-fashioned," 141 00:06:03,354 --> 00:06:05,243 or, "It's not really for me anymore. 142 00:06:05,824 --> 00:06:06,943 That's just what my parents think." 143 00:06:08,322 --> 00:06:11,122 A lot of us, we approach God that way at first especially. 144 00:06:11,882 --> 00:06:14,832 We think, "Oh, that's what I, this is what I think, and what 145 00:06:14,832 --> 00:06:15,882 God thinks is not that important." 146 00:06:17,421 --> 00:06:20,081 The opposite of fearing the Lord is self-centeredness. 147 00:06:20,532 --> 00:06:21,561 It's, "I'm important. 148 00:06:21,992 --> 00:06:22,622 I'm smart. 149 00:06:22,812 --> 00:06:23,512 I got this." 150 00:06:24,262 --> 00:06:25,732 That's foolishness. 151 00:06:26,102 --> 00:06:32,161 When you look down on wisdom, it's usually because we're selfish, right? 152 00:06:32,192 --> 00:06:33,061 I don't need help. 153 00:06:33,171 --> 00:06:35,981 God's rules are lame, or God's word is boring. 154 00:06:37,311 --> 00:06:40,792 That's what despising wisdom looks like. 155 00:06:41,662 --> 00:06:45,321 And what Proverbs does is it shows us two paths, right? 156 00:06:45,322 --> 00:06:47,352 It shows us path of life and a path of death. 157 00:06:48,072 --> 00:06:51,692 And the path of life is the way God designed us to live, and the path of 158 00:06:51,692 --> 00:06:54,032 death is the way we think is best for us 159 00:06:56,322 --> 00:06:59,752 And what Proverbs, what the wisest person who ever lived, right, God, will 160 00:06:59,752 --> 00:07:05,692 tell you is that if you think you know better than God, you will ruin your life. 161 00:07:06,262 --> 00:07:08,641 You won't just end up mildly dissatisfied. 162 00:07:09,122 --> 00:07:11,222 You won't just end up somewhat unhappy. 163 00:07:11,452 --> 00:07:13,342 You won't just end up a little bit disappointed. 164 00:07:14,352 --> 00:07:18,651 You will ruin your life if you live thinking your way is better than God's. 165 00:07:20,282 --> 00:07:24,662 You won't just be, "Oh, m- maybe, maybe in my next life I'll, I'll do better." 166 00:07:25,631 --> 00:07:26,901 You won't get a do-over. 167 00:07:27,591 --> 00:07:30,702 You, even if maybe you say, "Well, I'm just not gonna, I'm not gonna 168 00:07:30,702 --> 00:07:31,711 become a Christian till later. 169 00:07:32,651 --> 00:07:33,372 I'll just wait." 170 00:07:34,541 --> 00:07:37,851 Even that, maybe you do, maybe God does save you later in life, right? 171 00:07:37,852 --> 00:07:39,012 You can talk to your, maybe your leaders. 172 00:07:39,012 --> 00:07:39,651 Maybe that was them. 173 00:07:39,951 --> 00:07:41,391 They didn't become a Christian till later in life. 174 00:07:41,921 --> 00:07:44,781 They would tell you, "I wish I became a Christian earlier because I did 175 00:07:44,782 --> 00:07:46,472 so many things I wish I could undo. 176 00:07:47,001 --> 00:07:48,842 I said so many things I wish I could unsay. 177 00:07:48,881 --> 00:07:52,612 I saw so many things and felt so many things I wish I didn't have to remember." 178 00:07:54,381 --> 00:07:57,401 Don't even say, "Well, what if I become a Christian later? 179 00:07:57,401 --> 00:07:57,851 It'll be okay." 180 00:07:58,361 --> 00:07:59,661 First of all, you don't know if you have later. 181 00:08:00,251 --> 00:08:03,681 But second of all, that, even that brief time period you'll regret because 182 00:08:03,682 --> 00:08:05,001 you'll say, "I was being a fool. 183 00:08:06,401 --> 00:08:10,591 I was living on the path to death," and you'll regret it. 184 00:08:11,741 --> 00:08:13,032 And maybe you're out there, you're thinking, "Well, I 185 00:08:13,032 --> 00:08:14,511 don't really despise God. 186 00:08:14,511 --> 00:08:16,671 I don't, like, think God's wisdom is dumb. 187 00:08:17,142 --> 00:08:17,867 I'm just like, 'Meh, it's all right.'" 188 00:08:17,867 --> 00:08:19,441 Maybe you're just like, "Oh, it's, 189 00:08:21,532 --> 00:08:21,941 it's okay. 190 00:08:21,941 --> 00:08:22,641 It's in the middle, right? 191 00:08:23,252 --> 00:08:26,732 Most of the time it's helpful, but only when it kinda fits into my life," right? 192 00:08:26,732 --> 00:08:28,672 That, that's still despising God's wisdom. 193 00:08:28,682 --> 00:08:30,571 That's still saying, "I know better than God," right? 194 00:08:30,611 --> 00:08:31,892 Uh, th- it's the same thing. 195 00:08:31,901 --> 00:08:35,672 You're just not being as extreme about it, but you're, it's the same root issue. 196 00:08:36,971 --> 00:08:37,631 I'm smart. 197 00:08:38,290 --> 00:08:38,760 God's not. 198 00:08:41,525 --> 00:08:43,456 And so there's different ways you can do this, right? 199 00:08:43,456 --> 00:08:45,526 Maybe you're embarrassed about Jesus and what he says. 200 00:08:45,566 --> 00:08:47,806 Maybe you don't invite friends to True North because you don't want them to 201 00:08:47,806 --> 00:08:51,636 hear me preach because you're embarrassed that, oh, they'll-- someone will talk 202 00:08:51,636 --> 00:08:53,936 to them about God's Word and tell them that, that God's way is better. 203 00:08:55,265 --> 00:08:58,365 Or maybe you don't want people at school to know you're a Christian because 204 00:08:58,366 --> 00:09:00,995 you're embarrassed about it, right? 205 00:09:00,995 --> 00:09:05,235 That's you saying, "Well, I, I, I think I'm a Christian, and I know that, or 206 00:09:05,235 --> 00:09:09,196 at least my parents are Christians, and I'm embarrassed 'cause I, it's not cool. 207 00:09:09,306 --> 00:09:11,985 It's not a thing I wa- I'm proud of." 208 00:09:12,585 --> 00:09:14,825 That's you despising God and his wisdom. 209 00:09:16,335 --> 00:09:17,905 Maybe you think obeying God's a waste of time. 210 00:09:18,065 --> 00:09:19,225 Maybe you're just like, "This is dumb. 211 00:09:19,315 --> 00:09:19,995 Why do I have to do this? 212 00:09:20,015 --> 00:09:21,545 Why do I, my parents make me do these things?" 213 00:09:23,065 --> 00:09:24,445 That's you saying, "God's dumb. 214 00:09:24,515 --> 00:09:25,096 I'm smart. 215 00:09:25,326 --> 00:09:25,826 I know better." 216 00:09:28,536 --> 00:09:31,616 Or maybe you just believe the world has way more to offer. 217 00:09:32,626 --> 00:09:34,226 You're like, "Yeah, but I wanna try all this stuff first. 218 00:09:34,226 --> 00:09:37,216 I know, I know what you're saying, I know what my parents say, I know 219 00:09:37,216 --> 00:09:39,435 what the Bible says, but I just need to try the world and see." 220 00:09:41,295 --> 00:09:45,315 Right, everyone who's tried it will tell you it's not good enough. 221 00:09:45,375 --> 00:09:47,845 It's not as good as what God has to offer. 222 00:09:49,805 --> 00:09:53,905 Or maybe you look down on Christians who are serious about their faith. 223 00:09:54,586 --> 00:09:56,055 Some Christians even do this, right? 224 00:09:56,055 --> 00:10:00,445 They, they make fun of people who are, um, over-saved, right? 225 00:10:00,445 --> 00:10:02,965 There's a … I know this comedian, he has this whole routine about people 226 00:10:02,965 --> 00:10:06,076 who are over-saved, and he makes fun of them, 'cause they're the people 227 00:10:06,076 --> 00:10:09,895 who always talk about Jesus, and always ask you spiritual questions. 228 00:10:10,605 --> 00:10:12,385 Maybe you look down on those people, you think they're weird, you're 229 00:10:12,385 --> 00:10:13,175 like, "I don't wanna talk to them." 230 00:10:13,685 --> 00:10:14,425 I used to do that. 231 00:10:14,706 --> 00:10:17,125 I remember when I first came to a church where people actually believe the 232 00:10:17,125 --> 00:10:20,496 Bible, I was like, "I just wanna have a regular conversation about sports. 233 00:10:20,496 --> 00:10:21,815 I don't wanna talk about the Bible anymore." 234 00:10:23,185 --> 00:10:25,325 That was me showing that I was foolish. 235 00:10:26,295 --> 00:10:28,735 That was me showing that I didn't wanna talk about God, 236 00:10:28,776 --> 00:10:29,635 'cause I didn't love Jesus. 237 00:10:31,015 --> 00:10:35,465 And not that a Christian always talks about God, but if that's uncomfortable 238 00:10:35,476 --> 00:10:38,485 for you, if that's something you're like, "Oh, I don't like that, I don't wanna be 239 00:10:38,485 --> 00:10:40,435 around this," it's not a good sign, right? 240 00:10:42,186 --> 00:10:44,815 So there's all these different ways we can look down on God and 241 00:10:44,815 --> 00:10:51,325 His wisdom, but the point is that it comes from a foolish heart. 242 00:10:52,046 --> 00:10:55,955 It doesn't come from your brain and things you've learned. 243 00:10:56,586 --> 00:11:01,065 It comes from your heart because you … We all naturally want to 244 00:11:01,065 --> 00:11:02,455 think we know better than God. 245 00:11:03,195 --> 00:11:07,165 Like foolishness, doesn't matter how smart you are, you could be the smartest person 246 00:11:07,165 --> 00:11:09,685 in the room and be a fool in God's eyes. 247 00:11:11,355 --> 00:11:13,335 'Cause part of it, sometimes when you're smart, it's actually 248 00:11:13,345 --> 00:11:15,905 harder to be wise because you think you have it all figured out. 249 00:11:15,936 --> 00:11:16,865 You don't think you need God. 250 00:11:18,866 --> 00:11:22,345 So the correction to looking down on wisdom, right, the opposite of this, 251 00:11:22,345 --> 00:11:25,865 the opposite of the opposite point, would be the, to fear the Lord, right? 252 00:11:25,866 --> 00:11:27,125 To realize that God is God. 253 00:11:27,445 --> 00:11:30,265 And that's how you change your heart is, is you take your heart and you 254 00:11:30,525 --> 00:11:33,845 humble it before the Lord, and you say, "God is way smarter than I am. 255 00:11:34,245 --> 00:11:36,315 God knows me way better than I do." 256 00:11:37,366 --> 00:11:38,685 That's what faith really is. 257 00:11:38,925 --> 00:11:39,865 It's trusting the Lord 258 00:11:42,596 --> 00:11:45,656 And maybe what the problem is, is the way you see God, you don't see God 259 00:11:45,656 --> 00:11:48,786 as very big or important or awesome. 260 00:11:49,856 --> 00:11:54,165 For you, God is very domesticated and tame and just kind of there. 261 00:11:54,706 --> 00:11:58,485 He's more of an intellectual concept than God 262 00:12:01,018 --> 00:12:04,938 And that's because you're not seeing God for who he really is, right? 263 00:12:05,728 --> 00:12:09,088 You need to run into God as someone who's, who humbles you. 264 00:12:09,088 --> 00:12:13,668 You need to see God as, uh, like, "Oh, man, I'm not the 265 00:12:13,668 --> 00:12:15,197 most important person here. 266 00:12:15,208 --> 00:12:17,497 I'm not the best thing in the world." 267 00:12:19,642 --> 00:12:23,982 So the, the bigger you see God, the harder this will be for you, right? 268 00:12:23,992 --> 00:12:26,372 The, the bigger you are for yourself, the more important you are for 269 00:12:26,372 --> 00:12:27,642 yourself, this comes really easily. 270 00:12:28,622 --> 00:12:32,422 But when God gets really big to you, you start realizing, "Oh, I'm, I 271 00:12:32,422 --> 00:12:33,642 don't really have it all figured out." 272 00:12:37,464 --> 00:12:43,414 As long as you are proud, you cannot know God because God's not gonna be 273 00:12:43,414 --> 00:12:44,804 God to you if you're proud, right? 274 00:12:47,756 --> 00:12:50,796 And so foolishness is not just decisions you make, it's really 275 00:12:50,796 --> 00:12:52,046 just a heart attitude, right? 276 00:12:52,046 --> 00:12:52,896 It's a heart posture. 277 00:12:52,906 --> 00:12:54,026 It's a position of your heart. 278 00:12:54,836 --> 00:12:58,265 Um, and it's things you enjoy, right? 279 00:12:58,276 --> 00:13:01,196 It's not just things you do, but being foolish is also things 280 00:13:01,196 --> 00:13:02,495 you like, things you don't like. 281 00:13:03,845 --> 00:13:08,415 Um, Proverbs 14:9 says that fools mock at the guilt offering, right? 282 00:13:08,415 --> 00:13:11,575 They make fun of the things that God says. 283 00:13:12,536 --> 00:13:14,455 But the upright enjoy acceptance, right? 284 00:13:14,456 --> 00:13:17,985 The people who do what God says, actually, they get to be close to God. 285 00:13:18,165 --> 00:13:21,516 The fools are over there thinking that they have it all figured out, right? 286 00:13:21,516 --> 00:13:23,945 They get to make fun of the people who raise their hands and sing at church. 287 00:13:24,095 --> 00:13:27,816 They get to make fun of the people who cry during, you know, when they, when they 288 00:13:27,816 --> 00:13:30,676 read the Bible, or they get to make fun of the people who are serious about being 289 00:13:30,676 --> 00:13:32,585 committed and, and not indulging in sin. 290 00:13:32,855 --> 00:13:34,006 They make fun of those people. 291 00:13:34,075 --> 00:13:34,685 But guess what? 292 00:13:35,515 --> 00:13:37,816 Those people who are, who they're making fun of, those are the 293 00:13:37,816 --> 00:13:40,076 people that get God, and they don't 294 00:13:43,425 --> 00:13:46,516 Or even Proverbs 13:13 says, "Whoever despises," there's our 295 00:13:46,516 --> 00:13:49,886 word again, the Word, God's Word, "brings destruction on himself." 296 00:13:49,896 --> 00:13:50,055 Right? 297 00:13:50,055 --> 00:13:51,146 This isn't just a preference thing. 298 00:13:51,726 --> 00:13:53,706 This isn't just saying, "Oh, yeah, Christianity's good for you. 299 00:13:53,706 --> 00:13:54,236 You should try it. 300 00:13:54,236 --> 00:13:54,876 It's the best way." 301 00:13:55,516 --> 00:13:57,136 This is a life or death attitude. 302 00:13:58,815 --> 00:14:01,396 This isn't me just saying, "Oh, this will help improve your life." 303 00:14:02,146 --> 00:14:03,815 This is me saying, "You'll die if you don't." 304 00:14:04,435 --> 00:14:07,045 And it's not me trying to threaten you into becoming a Christian. 305 00:14:08,456 --> 00:14:12,915 That's God really saying, "I love you enough to warn you that 306 00:14:12,915 --> 00:14:14,185 where you're going will kill you 307 00:14:18,330 --> 00:14:20,170 And notice these are attitude words, right? 308 00:14:20,170 --> 00:14:21,620 Despise and revere, right? 309 00:14:21,620 --> 00:14:24,250 Despise, that's like that posture of looking down on something. 310 00:14:24,250 --> 00:14:25,190 I'm too good for something. 311 00:14:25,370 --> 00:14:27,110 Revere is like, oh, this is awesome. 312 00:14:27,110 --> 00:14:27,800 This is cool. 313 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:29,410 This is so, it's so amazing. 314 00:14:30,380 --> 00:14:32,440 These are heartfelt attitude words, right? 315 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:35,410 So it's not just an intellectual thing, it's a feeling thing. 316 00:14:35,420 --> 00:14:39,050 That's why our second point, if you wanna ruin your life, is to enjoy sin. 317 00:14:40,410 --> 00:14:40,999 To love it. 318 00:14:42,420 --> 00:14:45,509 Easy way to ruin your life is to love sinning 319 00:14:48,730 --> 00:14:53,290 The deadliest part about being foolish is that we love it. 320 00:14:54,260 --> 00:14:55,850 It's like poison that tastes good, right? 321 00:14:56,650 --> 00:14:59,750 The deadliest part about sin, about being selfish, about thinking 322 00:14:59,750 --> 00:15:02,520 you're better than God, is we love thinking we're better than God. 323 00:15:03,050 --> 00:15:05,370 We love thinking our way is gonna work. 324 00:15:05,759 --> 00:15:07,280 That's what Proverbs 1:22 says. 325 00:15:07,310 --> 00:15:10,510 It says, "How long, O simple ones," right, that's people who don't have 326 00:15:10,510 --> 00:15:12,760 wisdom yet, "will you love being simple? 327 00:15:13,070 --> 00:15:16,900 How long, O scoffers, how long will scoffers" That's people who, 328 00:15:16,900 --> 00:15:17,920 like, make fun of things, right? 329 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:18,889 People who are super cynical. 330 00:15:18,909 --> 00:15:19,550 They're like, "Oh, well…" 331 00:15:20,630 --> 00:15:22,809 They're, like, waiting to be impressed, right? 332 00:15:23,939 --> 00:15:25,849 How long will they delight in their scoffing? 333 00:15:25,869 --> 00:15:27,579 They love looking down on other people. 334 00:15:27,710 --> 00:15:29,630 They love finding problems with other people. 335 00:15:30,219 --> 00:15:31,730 And fools hate knowledge, right? 336 00:15:31,730 --> 00:15:32,529 They don't like it. 337 00:15:32,919 --> 00:15:34,039 These are preferences, right? 338 00:15:34,039 --> 00:15:37,549 These aren't just decisions and values. 339 00:15:37,579 --> 00:15:40,549 These are attractions and desires. 340 00:15:43,029 --> 00:15:44,919 I don't know if you guys have heard of Stockholm syndrome. 341 00:15:44,969 --> 00:15:45,599 You know what that is? 342 00:15:46,340 --> 00:15:48,729 It's this thing, uh, when people are, are in… 343 00:15:49,129 --> 00:15:49,989 Like, they're captured. 344 00:15:50,609 --> 00:15:55,100 They start to actually really like the, their captors, the people who are 345 00:15:55,609 --> 00:15:59,330 holding them in jail or whatever, and they actually don't wanna leave anymore 346 00:15:59,330 --> 00:16:02,129 because they l- they start liking the people that are imprisoning them. 347 00:16:02,139 --> 00:16:03,139 It's this really weird thing. 348 00:16:03,319 --> 00:16:05,099 It's been, like, tested and all these things, and it's 349 00:16:05,099 --> 00:16:05,909 like, I don't know if it's… 350 00:16:05,929 --> 00:16:09,230 It doesn't always happen, but it's, like, a legitimate thing that really happens. 351 00:16:09,310 --> 00:16:11,869 It happens to people who are, sometimes if they're in jail 352 00:16:11,869 --> 00:16:12,929 or, like, prisoners of war. 353 00:16:12,939 --> 00:16:18,649 They start to really like the people who are, who are really enslaving them, right? 354 00:16:20,389 --> 00:16:21,980 That's what foolishness does. 355 00:16:22,700 --> 00:16:23,600 You start to love it 356 00:16:25,794 --> 00:16:30,863 And in a sense that there, the, the, the path analogy is kind of true in, in the 357 00:16:30,863 --> 00:16:36,134 sense of the more you go along the path of foolishness, the harder it is to, to 358 00:16:36,134 --> 00:16:37,564 come out of it because you love it more. 359 00:16:39,134 --> 00:16:40,103 You enjoy it more. 360 00:16:40,744 --> 00:16:43,324 You start really believing, "Yeah, God is dumb. 361 00:16:44,553 --> 00:16:46,304 God isn't everything people say He is. 362 00:16:47,283 --> 00:16:48,573 God's rules aren't good for me." 363 00:16:50,074 --> 00:16:53,963 And you start cementing that, and you fall in love with yourself, 364 00:16:54,863 --> 00:16:56,623 and that path leads you to death 365 00:16:59,180 --> 00:17:03,320 The most, one of the most foolish things you can do is enjoy 366 00:17:04,108 --> 00:17:05,459 the sin that will kill you. 367 00:17:07,089 --> 00:17:08,319 That's dumb. 368 00:17:08,909 --> 00:17:09,839 You should never do that 369 00:17:14,454 --> 00:17:17,146 And also one of the most foolish things you can do is enjoy 370 00:17:17,156 --> 00:17:18,765 sin when you could have God. 371 00:17:20,285 --> 00:17:24,846 And you're missing out on the, the God who knows you, who made you, who 372 00:17:24,846 --> 00:17:27,616 loves you, and you're saying, "Yeah, I'd rather have my sin and myself." 373 00:17:29,045 --> 00:17:29,706 That's foolish. 374 00:17:29,706 --> 00:17:31,065 That's a horrible decision. 375 00:17:32,676 --> 00:17:35,866 Not just subjectively, not just for some people, for everyone 376 00:17:35,866 --> 00:17:38,366 universally, objectively, bad idea 377 00:17:43,234 --> 00:17:46,764 Maybe you're thinking, "Well, Lewis, that's the problem. 378 00:17:46,774 --> 00:17:49,374 The problem is I, I love my sin. 379 00:17:49,494 --> 00:17:50,424 I love myself. 380 00:17:50,664 --> 00:17:51,344 I don't want God. 381 00:17:51,344 --> 00:17:52,654 I have zero desire for God. 382 00:17:52,783 --> 00:17:53,963 I have zero desire to read the Bible. 383 00:17:53,964 --> 00:17:55,624 I have zero desire to have a close relationship with Jesus. 384 00:17:55,803 --> 00:17:58,443 You talk about how awesome God is and how good it is to know Him, and you're 385 00:17:58,444 --> 00:17:59,553 li- I'm just like, I don't want that." 386 00:17:59,833 --> 00:18:00,374 Maybe that's you 387 00:18:05,524 --> 00:18:09,814 The, the problem here is, right, is it's a heart problem, right? 388 00:18:09,824 --> 00:18:10,854 It's not a knowledge problem. 389 00:18:11,824 --> 00:18:14,064 It's not that you don't know, "Oh yeah, my sin's bad for me." 390 00:18:14,073 --> 00:18:14,694 You know that. 391 00:18:15,564 --> 00:18:18,033 But it's a heart problem, and that's where you have to come to God and say, 392 00:18:18,033 --> 00:18:21,524 "God, I don't just have a knowledge problem or a decision problem. 393 00:18:21,944 --> 00:18:25,733 I have a fundamental problem that I love the wrong things, 394 00:18:25,893 --> 00:18:27,124 and I need you to change me. 395 00:18:27,293 --> 00:18:30,323 I can't even want the right things unless you do something to me." 396 00:18:32,203 --> 00:18:32,313 Right? 397 00:18:32,334 --> 00:18:33,374 That's how you become a Christian. 398 00:18:33,533 --> 00:18:34,243 That's what happens. 399 00:18:34,344 --> 00:18:35,933 We- the fancy word is regeneration, right? 400 00:18:36,563 --> 00:18:37,623 God gives you a new heart. 401 00:18:37,704 --> 00:18:39,693 He gives you the Holy Spirit, who changes you. 402 00:18:39,693 --> 00:18:41,453 We talked about this in Romans 6, right? 403 00:18:41,623 --> 00:18:42,773 You're not a slave to sin anymore. 404 00:18:42,774 --> 00:18:45,033 You're free because you've been put into Jesus. 405 00:18:45,033 --> 00:18:47,183 Your, your old you is dead, new you is alive. 406 00:18:47,954 --> 00:18:49,004 Baptism, right? 407 00:18:49,594 --> 00:18:50,634 Dead, alive. 408 00:18:52,923 --> 00:18:58,213 So you need God not just to, to take away the penalty from your sin, you 409 00:18:58,213 --> 00:19:01,073 need God to change your heart, 'cause you can't even want the right things 410 00:19:03,255 --> 00:19:04,656 And he can do that, right? 411 00:19:04,656 --> 00:19:10,616 He's done that for all the Christians in the history of Christianity, right? 412 00:19:11,525 --> 00:19:15,045 Every person who's ever gotten saved, that's happened to them. 413 00:19:15,876 --> 00:19:20,335 They've had their love for sin replaced by love for God 414 00:19:22,745 --> 00:19:28,255 But also, even if you are a Christian, if your relationship with Jesus 415 00:19:28,436 --> 00:19:32,005 is just about following rules, that's not gonna last you very long 416 00:19:34,426 --> 00:19:39,716 You won't follow Jesus out of duty for very long. 417 00:19:39,775 --> 00:19:44,426 That's really hard to have external relationship with Jesus, right? 418 00:19:44,426 --> 00:19:45,745 It's all about, "I just have to do this. 419 00:19:45,745 --> 00:19:46,755 This is what I need to do. 420 00:19:46,866 --> 00:19:47,535 I should do this. 421 00:19:47,645 --> 00:19:48,586 My parents told me to do this." 422 00:19:48,985 --> 00:19:49,155 Right? 423 00:19:49,156 --> 00:19:52,535 That's the type of Christian, Christian who goes to college and they don't 424 00:19:52,535 --> 00:19:55,395 have the rules anymore because their parents aren't there, and now they love 425 00:19:55,395 --> 00:19:57,055 the world, because it was all external 426 00:19:59,235 --> 00:20:00,995 I don't know if you remember in our, in our daily Bible reading, 427 00:20:01,005 --> 00:20:05,696 we read about, um, King Joash and his friend Jehoiada, right? 428 00:20:05,706 --> 00:20:06,466 The, the priest. 429 00:20:06,765 --> 00:20:09,606 And when Jehoiada was alive, he was helping Joash do all the right things. 430 00:20:09,606 --> 00:20:14,145 He was helping him follow the law and, and do worship the Lord and, and do all 431 00:20:14,146 --> 00:20:15,315 the, the things he was supposed to do. 432 00:20:15,485 --> 00:20:18,505 And then when Jehoiada died, Joash starts going, "Oh, I actually 433 00:20:18,505 --> 00:20:19,216 don't need to do that anymore. 434 00:20:19,325 --> 00:20:20,245 No one's here to tell me to do that." 435 00:20:22,807 --> 00:20:25,567 And he ends up turning away from the Lord, right? 436 00:20:25,587 --> 00:20:28,307 It's not that he became unsaved, it's that he never was in the first 437 00:20:28,307 --> 00:20:30,717 place, 'cause his relationship with God was just, "Oh, I have to do this. 438 00:20:30,717 --> 00:20:31,337 I should do this." 439 00:20:32,107 --> 00:20:33,918 There was no internal desire to do it. 440 00:20:35,827 --> 00:20:38,117 So if your relationship with God is, is really, there's n- there's 441 00:20:38,117 --> 00:20:41,287 no enjoying God, there's no love for God, it's just, "I have to do this. 442 00:20:41,287 --> 00:20:41,967 I should do this. 443 00:20:42,037 --> 00:20:44,907 I know I'm supposed to do it, so that's what I do," right? 444 00:20:44,907 --> 00:20:46,187 That's not gonna last you very long. 445 00:20:47,987 --> 00:20:49,668 Rules don't keep you safe 446 00:20:52,088 --> 00:20:54,548 Obligations don't keep you saved, right? 447 00:20:54,658 --> 00:20:55,968 God keeps you saved. 448 00:20:58,298 --> 00:21:02,977 It's kinda like, um, when people get burned out of, like, sports, right? 449 00:21:02,978 --> 00:21:04,228 I don't know if you've ever seen this happen to my brother. 450 00:21:04,567 --> 00:21:05,218 Happened to me. 451 00:21:05,578 --> 00:21:06,827 Um, well, mine wasn't a sport. 452 00:21:06,838 --> 00:21:07,098 It was… 453 00:21:07,288 --> 00:21:10,947 I played trumpet, and I loved playing trumpet with people. 454 00:21:11,648 --> 00:21:15,158 But then as soon as I didn't have people to play with, I stopped playing, 455 00:21:15,458 --> 00:21:16,608 'cause I didn't like playing by myself. 456 00:21:16,638 --> 00:21:17,547 I didn't like practicing. 457 00:21:17,548 --> 00:21:20,168 I didn't like playing in my room, you know, l- doing my 458 00:21:20,168 --> 00:21:21,177 own thing on the trumpet. 459 00:21:21,357 --> 00:21:22,517 I only liked playing with other people. 460 00:21:23,157 --> 00:21:25,397 And so then when I didn't have the people, then I was like, "Oh, I 461 00:21:25,398 --> 00:21:27,187 guess I'm not gonna do this anymore, and I don't really like it." 462 00:21:28,747 --> 00:21:29,417 Maybe that's you. 463 00:21:29,517 --> 00:21:32,227 Maybe you're only a Christian when you're with other people 464 00:21:34,522 --> 00:21:36,972 because there's no internal desire to, to love God. 465 00:21:37,552 --> 00:21:38,891 It's just a social thing you do. 466 00:21:39,072 --> 00:21:41,091 "Oh, my friends are Christians and my parents are Christians. 467 00:21:41,091 --> 00:21:41,492 This is what I do. 468 00:21:41,881 --> 00:21:43,341 I grew up around it, so I just do it." 469 00:21:45,689 --> 00:21:48,799 You have to enjoy God to stop enjoying sin, right? 470 00:21:48,799 --> 00:21:52,590 That's really the root of self-control is I want something else more than 471 00:21:52,590 --> 00:21:53,889 this thing, so I'm not gonna do it. 472 00:21:55,340 --> 00:21:57,840 When I think about all the people that practice really hard at 473 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:00,669 something, it's not that they're like, "Oh, I have to do this. 474 00:22:00,729 --> 00:22:01,820 I guess I'm gonna do it," right? 475 00:22:02,149 --> 00:22:02,959 Those people quit. 476 00:22:03,860 --> 00:22:07,849 It's the people who say, "I really want to be great at my sport or my 477 00:22:07,850 --> 00:22:11,499 instrument or whatever," and that's what they want, and they want that more 478 00:22:11,499 --> 00:22:14,939 than they want the bad diet, right? 479 00:22:16,779 --> 00:22:20,580 If they have a superior affection, something they want more, something 480 00:22:20,580 --> 00:22:21,969 that's, that they think is better. 481 00:22:22,550 --> 00:22:24,390 That's really where self-control comes from. 482 00:22:25,949 --> 00:22:28,789 Superior joy, superior happiness, right? 483 00:22:28,789 --> 00:22:31,019 This will make me more happy than that, so I'm gonna choose that. 484 00:22:31,679 --> 00:22:32,589 And that thing is God. 485 00:22:33,550 --> 00:22:35,370 God will make me more happy than my sin will make me. 486 00:22:35,370 --> 00:22:36,169 That's what you have to believe 487 00:22:42,138 --> 00:22:46,457 But we talked about how, at the beginning, right, how all of this comes 488 00:22:46,457 --> 00:22:48,428 from your posture before God, right? 489 00:22:49,078 --> 00:22:52,838 Do you feel like you need God, or do you feel like God is just somewhat 490 00:22:52,848 --> 00:22:55,818 helpful, mildly useful, right? 491 00:22:55,818 --> 00:22:58,747 'Cause if you think, "Oh, I, I'm mostly fine on my own. 492 00:22:58,747 --> 00:23:02,558 I just only rely on God when I really need to," right, that's the 493 00:23:02,558 --> 00:23:03,867 opposite of fearing the Lord, right? 494 00:23:03,878 --> 00:23:06,457 That's really just God as a supplement to your life. 495 00:23:07,457 --> 00:23:12,717 And so the third way to ruin your life is to declare independence from God. 496 00:23:14,658 --> 00:23:16,017 To declare independence from God. 497 00:23:16,737 --> 00:23:19,507 Easy way to ruin your life is to say, "God, you're optional. 498 00:23:20,607 --> 00:23:21,657 God, you're just an add-on." 499 00:23:24,641 --> 00:23:24,822 Right? 500 00:23:24,822 --> 00:23:30,542 God's just the, the grilled onions on your, on your In-N-Out burger, right? 501 00:23:31,072 --> 00:23:35,451 You don't need them, but it's nice when you can get them, right? 502 00:23:36,781 --> 00:23:39,411 I actually don't put onions on my burger, but … 'Cause then your 503 00:23:39,421 --> 00:23:42,441 breath smells horrible after, and it's, like, not worth it, right? 504 00:23:43,292 --> 00:23:46,242 Also, animal fries are, like, one of the biggest scams in history. 505 00:23:47,801 --> 00:23:48,982 They're so expensive. 506 00:23:49,371 --> 00:23:51,971 You could literally just get a p- you can ask them to make you cheese fries, go 507 00:23:51,971 --> 00:23:54,492 get a spread packet, and make your own. 508 00:23:54,741 --> 00:23:55,141 Anyway 509 00:24:04,351 --> 00:24:05,962 These guys are like just as intense No, they're not. 510 00:24:05,962 --> 00:24:05,972 Really? 511 00:24:05,972 --> 00:24:06,072 Well, I don't get those either, so I don't know. 512 00:24:06,072 --> 00:24:06,081 But 513 00:24:08,090 --> 00:24:09,030 That is worth a Google. 514 00:24:09,699 --> 00:24:11,840 Some, one of you can go to In-N-Out soon and let me know. 515 00:24:13,649 --> 00:24:17,790 Anyway, God's not an add-on, right? 516 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:21,589 Sometimes I think we feel like, well, God's just a crutch to get 517 00:24:21,590 --> 00:24:22,929 me through hard times, right? 518 00:24:22,929 --> 00:24:24,250 Or maybe some atheists say that. 519 00:24:24,250 --> 00:24:27,279 They, they'll be making fun of Christians and they say, "Oh, God is just your 520 00:24:27,279 --> 00:24:31,129 pillow to help you sleep at night or to help you deal with your problems. 521 00:24:31,129 --> 00:24:32,490 That's really the only reason you believe in God." 522 00:24:34,270 --> 00:24:35,179 And that's not true, right? 523 00:24:35,179 --> 00:24:38,369 The reason I believe in God, well, one of the reasons, is the 524 00:24:38,369 --> 00:24:40,250 fact that I absolutely need him. 525 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:43,679 It's not just like, "Oh, well, yeah, he's my crutch and whatever, and, like, 526 00:24:43,679 --> 00:24:44,889 sometimes I need him when it's bad." 527 00:24:44,889 --> 00:24:48,959 It's like, no, no, I need him when it's good because he made it good , right? 528 00:24:48,959 --> 00:24:49,899 It's all from him anyway. 529 00:24:50,790 --> 00:24:53,110 All right, wise people let God be God to them. 530 00:24:53,909 --> 00:24:56,629 Foolish people think God is optional 531 00:25:00,154 --> 00:25:04,544 Proverbs 26:12 says, "Do you see a man who's wise in his own eyes?" 532 00:25:04,544 --> 00:25:04,694 Right? 533 00:25:04,694 --> 00:25:06,614 Someone who thinks he's got it all figured out. 534 00:25:07,034 --> 00:25:09,124 "There's more hope for a fool than him." 535 00:25:09,524 --> 00:25:10,254 So this is even worse. 536 00:25:10,264 --> 00:25:13,244 This is, like, the worst spot you could be in, is I've got this. 537 00:25:14,114 --> 00:25:15,434 God says that's foolish. 538 00:25:15,564 --> 00:25:17,084 That's one of the dumbest things you can feel 539 00:25:22,532 --> 00:25:26,141 When I was in college, we had, um, on our syllabus, I don't know why they ever 540 00:25:26,141 --> 00:25:29,331 did this, but there was required reading and there was recommended reading. 541 00:25:31,522 --> 00:25:33,311 Required reading, okay, right, I gotta do that. 542 00:25:33,831 --> 00:25:36,581 Recommended reading, not doing it, right? 543 00:25:36,661 --> 00:25:40,341 I mean, it's not required, not part of the grade, definitely not doing it, right? 544 00:25:44,378 --> 00:25:48,108 That's me saying, "Oh yeah, I'm just gonna, I'm gonna do the required reading. 545 00:25:48,118 --> 00:25:48,908 That's what I have to do. 546 00:25:49,158 --> 00:25:52,747 The recommended stuff, really, uh, it's not important, not worth it," right? 547 00:25:53,928 --> 00:25:58,558 I don't want you to treat God like the recommended reading on my syllabus. 548 00:25:58,918 --> 00:26:00,018 It'd be nice if I did it. 549 00:26:00,078 --> 00:26:03,338 Maybe if I was, like, really smart or really cared about this 550 00:26:03,338 --> 00:26:08,997 class, I'd do it, but not really my thing, not gonna do it, right? 551 00:26:09,177 --> 00:26:10,348 God is the required reading. 552 00:26:10,517 --> 00:26:12,628 Like, you will fail the class without God. 553 00:26:13,858 --> 00:26:17,747 You will not f- you will not pass life without God. 554 00:26:17,767 --> 00:26:18,977 You will fail miserably. 555 00:26:20,308 --> 00:26:21,737 You will be unsatisfied. 556 00:26:22,117 --> 00:26:24,138 You will make a lot of decisions you'll regret. 557 00:26:25,117 --> 00:26:31,608 You will hurt a lot of people, and you will eventually regret everything 558 00:26:31,608 --> 00:26:37,037 because you will stand before God and feel like an utter fool because 559 00:26:37,047 --> 00:26:41,858 He's God, and He's real, and you're, you've ignored Him your whole life 560 00:26:45,370 --> 00:26:50,550 You won't just fail life, you will you literally die forever, right? 561 00:26:54,937 --> 00:26:58,027 Declaring independence from God is really suicide. 562 00:26:59,608 --> 00:26:59,727 Right? 563 00:26:59,727 --> 00:27:03,388 It's, it's you saying, "I'm fine on my own. 564 00:27:04,687 --> 00:27:05,797 I'll walk away from God. 565 00:27:05,807 --> 00:27:06,368 Don't need him. 566 00:27:06,957 --> 00:27:07,617 Not important." 567 00:27:08,257 --> 00:27:11,227 And it's you saying, "Yeah, I'm gonna die." 568 00:27:11,747 --> 00:27:12,507 That's really what it is. 569 00:27:12,547 --> 00:27:13,837 It's a really bad decision. 570 00:27:15,817 --> 00:27:17,318 And there's different ways we do this, right? 571 00:27:17,368 --> 00:27:20,137 It's not always the super hardcore atheist. 572 00:27:20,147 --> 00:27:21,678 That's not necessarily who I'm talking about. 573 00:27:21,687 --> 00:27:22,227 It could be. 574 00:27:23,108 --> 00:27:24,087 Person who says, "I hate God. 575 00:27:24,088 --> 00:27:24,807 He doesn't exist." 576 00:27:25,557 --> 00:27:26,907 Which how can you hate something that doesn't exist? 577 00:27:26,907 --> 00:27:27,317 Whatever, right? 578 00:27:27,318 --> 00:27:29,207 That's from the movie, but that's fine. 579 00:27:29,527 --> 00:27:34,617 Um, but even, right, you think about the self-righteous person, right? 580 00:27:34,618 --> 00:27:37,947 Maybe you've gone to church, you're like, "Well, I, I, I'm a good person. 581 00:27:38,527 --> 00:27:39,618 I do all the church things. 582 00:27:39,657 --> 00:27:40,668 I have Christian parents. 583 00:27:40,777 --> 00:27:41,638 I know the Bible verses. 584 00:27:41,638 --> 00:27:42,387 I memorize them." 585 00:27:43,798 --> 00:27:45,928 That's you declaring independence from God. 586 00:27:45,947 --> 00:27:47,898 You're saying, "I don't need God, I have my religion. 587 00:27:48,997 --> 00:27:51,277 I don't need God, I have my Christian friends. 588 00:27:51,277 --> 00:27:52,857 I don't need God, I have my Christian parents. 589 00:27:52,857 --> 00:27:54,027 I have my Bible knowledge. 590 00:27:54,027 --> 00:27:54,717 I don't need God." 591 00:27:56,237 --> 00:27:59,077 Self-righteousness is declaring independence from God 592 00:28:01,494 --> 00:28:06,624 Or maybe it's self-sufficiency, which is I don't need God, I 593 00:28:06,624 --> 00:28:07,954 can do stuff on my own, right? 594 00:28:08,314 --> 00:28:11,423 When you don't pray, that's you declaring independence from God. 595 00:28:12,524 --> 00:28:14,234 That's you saying, "God, I don't need to ask you for help. 596 00:28:14,243 --> 00:28:15,074 I don't need your wisdom." 597 00:28:15,474 --> 00:28:17,634 When you don't read the Bible, that's you declaring independence from God. 598 00:28:17,643 --> 00:28:19,403 You're saying, "God, I don't need the food that you're giving me. 599 00:28:19,844 --> 00:28:20,573 I'm fine on my own. 600 00:28:20,584 --> 00:28:21,344 I don't need your wisdom. 601 00:28:21,344 --> 00:28:23,533 I don't need your skill at living life. 602 00:28:23,623 --> 00:28:24,493 I can figure this out." 603 00:28:26,956 --> 00:28:27,816 foolish decision 604 00:28:30,618 --> 00:28:32,648 So there's subtle ways that we do this too. 605 00:28:33,518 --> 00:28:34,868 Even Christians do this sometimes 606 00:28:37,370 --> 00:28:40,590 And so maybe you're wondering why are people foolish, right? 607 00:28:40,590 --> 00:28:47,780 Why if it's so obvious not to, not to despise wisdom, why is anyone foolish? 608 00:28:50,168 --> 00:28:54,947 Well, the, the problem is it's very painful to fear the Lord 609 00:28:57,401 --> 00:29:02,171 Because it requires us to put ourselves to death. 610 00:29:03,532 --> 00:29:06,261 Because myself thinks I'm great. 611 00:29:06,751 --> 00:29:08,131 Myself thinks I can do this. 612 00:29:08,251 --> 00:29:08,881 I got this. 613 00:29:09,331 --> 00:29:09,911 I'm smart. 614 00:29:10,651 --> 00:29:11,621 I can figure things out. 615 00:29:12,441 --> 00:29:14,491 That's what myself thinks naturally. 616 00:29:14,621 --> 00:29:15,921 That's just how I, how I work. 617 00:29:17,111 --> 00:29:20,751 And so it's really painful to fear the Lord because you have to often 618 00:29:20,751 --> 00:29:24,811 daily say, "I'm … I, I need God. 619 00:29:24,812 --> 00:29:25,591 I can't do this." 620 00:29:25,931 --> 00:29:28,901 And that's hard for us to admit, and that's really the biggest barrier that 621 00:29:28,901 --> 00:29:31,902 keeps people out of heaven, right? 622 00:29:31,911 --> 00:29:36,681 The biggest barrier that keeps people away from, away from God is usually 623 00:29:36,681 --> 00:29:38,682 not that, "Oh, I'm too sinful. 624 00:29:38,682 --> 00:29:39,651 I can't come to God." 625 00:29:40,271 --> 00:29:42,372 It's usually, "I don't need God. 626 00:29:43,012 --> 00:29:43,861 I'm fine on my own 627 00:29:46,143 --> 00:29:46,244 Right? 628 00:29:46,244 --> 00:29:50,043 Most people don't say, "Oh, I, I, I'm too bad to come to God." 629 00:29:50,653 --> 00:29:52,803 Most people say, "I don't need to come to God." 630 00:29:53,853 --> 00:29:57,833 And I think for a lot of you, that's probably what's keeping you 631 00:29:57,833 --> 00:30:00,833 from coming to God, is you don't really feel like you need him. 632 00:30:01,204 --> 00:30:03,423 He's not that important to you, not that, not that cool. 633 00:30:04,433 --> 00:30:05,133 He's just kind of there. 634 00:30:07,023 --> 00:30:08,803 It's like, well, yeah, he's, he's nice. 635 00:30:08,923 --> 00:30:13,274 I like God, but God's not God, right? 636 00:30:13,274 --> 00:30:14,743 He's just kind of, yeah, it's God. 637 00:30:15,513 --> 00:30:15,813 He's cool 638 00:30:19,234 --> 00:30:22,674 And so really, when the rest of the summer we're gonna talk about wisdom, 639 00:30:22,674 --> 00:30:24,114 we're gonna talk about foolishness. 640 00:30:24,114 --> 00:30:27,914 We're gonna talk about that in specific aspects of life, like friends or 641 00:30:28,104 --> 00:30:30,793 work or money or things like that. 642 00:30:31,824 --> 00:30:35,803 And really what this, it, it all comes down to is do you think God is God, 643 00:30:36,264 --> 00:30:38,813 or do you think that you're better? 644 00:30:40,858 --> 00:30:44,727 Because that's where wisdom and foolishness, it's, it's really 645 00:30:44,727 --> 00:30:47,848 not about how much you know about the Bible or how smart you are. 646 00:30:48,608 --> 00:30:49,608 It- it's really about your heart. 647 00:30:51,327 --> 00:30:57,037 Do I trust God and humble myself before him and say, "God, your way is better. 648 00:30:57,897 --> 00:30:58,507 I trust you"? 649 00:30:58,967 --> 00:31:00,627 Or do you say, "I'm okay. 650 00:31:00,628 --> 00:31:00,957 I'm good. 651 00:31:01,428 --> 00:31:02,058 I don't need God"? 652 00:31:03,508 --> 00:31:08,437 And so that's the path that's before each of you, and I, I pray 653 00:31:08,848 --> 00:31:13,997 and I'm really begging you to choose the path of life and to not- 654 00:31:17,247 --> 00:31:23,117 trick yourself into a path of death so let's pray and we'll go to small groups 655 00:31:26,891 --> 00:31:31,722 God, we're grateful that you teach us your wisdom. 656 00:31:31,921 --> 00:31:37,062 Um, it, it might seem hard for us to hear that we're foolish and that we 657 00:31:37,062 --> 00:31:40,921 need you and that we're sinful, but really you don't have to tell us that. 658 00:31:41,021 --> 00:31:43,731 You could let us die on our own. 659 00:31:44,211 --> 00:31:47,721 But you offer us a warning because you care about us. 660 00:31:47,981 --> 00:31:52,732 You don't offer us a warning because you just want us to feel bad about ourselves. 661 00:31:52,992 --> 00:31:57,811 You want us to feel bad about ourselves because we need to be shaken awake to 662 00:31:57,811 --> 00:31:59,182 realize that we're not good enough. 663 00:31:59,182 --> 00:31:59,881 We need you. 664 00:32:00,731 --> 00:32:05,152 So God, I pray that you help all of us to be more dependent on you, 665 00:32:05,871 --> 00:32:09,481 to see sin for what it really is, that it's ugly, it's gross, it, 666 00:32:09,752 --> 00:32:11,651 it kills us, it ruins everything. 667 00:32:12,891 --> 00:32:13,671 Help us to 668 00:32:16,033 --> 00:32:21,014 Um, not operate as if you don't exist, to not operate as though we don't need you. 669 00:32:21,494 --> 00:32:28,963 Um, but instead to depend on you and show you that we do, um, by how we live and, 670 00:32:28,963 --> 00:32:32,303 and what we give our attention to and how we spend our time and the things we 671 00:32:32,303 --> 00:32:33,553 think about, the things we talk about. 672 00:32:33,553 --> 00:32:36,184 So right now in small groups, help us to be honest, help us to be, 673 00:32:36,533 --> 00:32:39,833 um, humble, and help us to be good participants to what we're doing here. 674 00:32:39,894 --> 00:32:40,813 We pray this in Jesus' name. 675 00:32:41,353 --> 00:32:41,723 Amen.