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#20250921 - The Gift of Wisdom - Proverbs & Genesis · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word recorded live at Calvary
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Church in Aurora, Co. To learn more about the many
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resources available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune
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into our live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co
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dot Church or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
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Amen. I was going through my mind this
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week and really the last couple weeks on if I was going to share
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an embarrassing moment with you. Because if you're talking about
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wisdom, I feel like there's plenty of times in our lives
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where we lack wisdom. And I know as a kid, as an
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adult, as a young adult, as a man today, I have lacked wisdom
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plenty of times. And so as I was going through
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all the different opportunities, I decided I landed on one
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situation that has scarred my mind since I was a young boy.
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I was about 5-6 years old. I remember watching my mom iron
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one of my dad's shirts. I was amazed by it.
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I heard someone like, oh, yeah, it's weird.
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It's going in that direction. She was ironing this shirt.
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And I was just amazed by it. I did you know, it's the first
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recollection I had of seeing an iron in use.
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And she brought out the special board, the ironing board, you
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know, she plugged it in, steam's coming out of it.
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It's a pretty cool machine. Not really understanding what
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she's doing, but I'm watching and I do remember my mom saying,
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hey, no matter what, whenever you see that steam come out,
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don't ever touch the iron. Even if it doesn't look hot,
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don't ever touch the iron. And for whatever reason, being
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the age I was and and honestly, I can't be too hard on myself.
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I don't know many five year olds that are dripping in wisdom or
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understanding, but I when my mom turned her back or left the
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room, I don't know what it was, but I fully grabbed that iron
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and my hand was stuck to it until she came back, removed him
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forcefully and stuck my hand in a bowl of ice and water.
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And you could hear, I heard the O's and the Ah's.
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It was hot, it was painful and I haven't touched an iron since.
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Just kidding. But in reality, that's just a
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very easy way for us to process. Having knowledge is one thing.
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Knowing it's hot, then gaining understanding by touching it and
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realizing what that means, and then walking in wisdom.
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The practical application of never touching 1 again after
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that moment, that is a very simple way for you to look at
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all the information, all the knowledge, everything that you
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gain over a lifetime and how to practically apply it.
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Because some of us, although we learned some it and we had an
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opportunity to gain understanding, it doesn't always
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click for whatever reason, and we miss out on the opportunity
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to apply wisdom or gain wisdom from situations in our lives.
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Merriam Webster's dictionary definition of wisdom as we can
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just start there and I want to read it to make sure I don't
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ruin it, but it says it is the ability to have good sense.
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If you have wisdom, you have good sense.
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You have the ability to discern inner qualities and
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relationships, or you have insight.
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You have insight. You have good sense.
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You have insight. Or you also have the ability to
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make intelligent decisions or you have prudence.
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You are prudent in your decision making.
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You make intelligent decisions. That's what the world calls
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wisdom. That's what the dictionary calls
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wisdom, and I agree with all that.
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I think wisdom is truly those things.
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You have insights, you are able to make good decisions, and you
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have a good sense about you. You've learned a lot, but not
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just because you consume knowledge, but you've learned
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how to use that knowledge practically in everyday
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situations. Many of us have more wisdom than
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others. Some of us have less wisdom than
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others. A lot of times it comes with
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age, but not always. Comes through life experience,
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but not always. But the Bible says that there's
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a wisdom that comes from the Lord.
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There's biblical wisdom, there's true wisdom or like Psalm 111,
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like we wrote, we read today together in verse 10, wisdom
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comes from the fear of the Lord or the fear of the Lord is the
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beginning of wisdom and what that looks like for us, you and
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I Biblical wisdom, true wisdom starts with understanding the
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first fact, who God is in your life.
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Is he your Lord and Savior? Is he the one that directs your
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life? Is he the one and the source of
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the understanding that you have that you apply to the knowledge
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that you gain is the Lord the 1st in your life.
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Now some of you as you process that I don't, I'm not speaking
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like, hey, you have a priority list of five and God is #1 on
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your priority list. No, God is the priority and
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everything else comes after. He's not one of your priorities.
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He is your priority. Biblical wisdom starts when we
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understand God's place in our lives, which if He's not your
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Lord and Savior, then there's nothing that you will do
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throughout this lifetime that any of what we're about to read
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in Proverbs will apply to. None of the promises, none of
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the blessings, none of the things that the Lord offers to
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you. If you don't get that first part
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correct, the Lord has to be the God of your life.
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He has to be the one that you look to for the understanding
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and the filtering of your thoughts.
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In Ephesians chapter 5, Paul is speaking to the church in
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Ephesus, telling him verse 15 that believers, you need to look
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at your life. You need to walk
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circumspectfully. You need to look at it from all
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angles. You need to know how you're
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living. You need to filter it, not as
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fools, but as wise. You need to learn how to look at
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your life like the Lord would look at your life.
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You need to examine yourself. You need to allow the Lord the
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time and place to be able to navigate and help you discern
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what needs to change, what needs to be refined, what needs to be
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added to, not as a fool, but as someone who is wise, who's
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walking in the wisdom of God. Now that that's a strong thing
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to be told, that's well, how do I do that?
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What do I have you? Where do I get this wisdom?
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Well, I'm glad you asked James. Chapter one verse 5 says we just
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have to ask for it. If we ask the Lord, pray and ask
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the Lord and he will give it to you liberally.
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He'll give you all the wisdom you need to not only be obedient
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to Ephesians chapter 5, but to walk in a way where your life is
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blessed by the promises that we're about to read in Proverbs
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chapter 2 and chapter 3. He's willing to give it to you
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liberally, and He's willing to give it to you generously.
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He wants you to have the wisdom that's available to you by
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having a relationship with the Lord.
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He desires you to have this knowledge that's sharpened by an
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understanding that only comes from Him.
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All we have to do is ask for it. There's one thing that you walk
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away with today. From this message, I would ask
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that you would include or develop a habit if you don't
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already, but a daily prayer, even if it sounds repetitive.
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Lord, will you give me wisdom for today's decisions, today's
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challenges, and today's opportunities to make decisions
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to walk in a place where I'm walking in the wisdom of the
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Lord. Why?
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Because there are so many good things that come from walking in
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the wisdom of the Lord. Turn with me to chapter 2 in
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Proverbs, Chapter 2 in Proverbs, we're going to start in verse 6,
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chapter 2. Verse 6 says this.
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For the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth, come knowledge and
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understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for
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the upright. He's a shield to those who walk
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uprightly. He guards the path of justice
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and preserves the way of the Saints.
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Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
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equity in every good path. When wisdom enters your heart
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and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will
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preserve you. Understanding will keep you to
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deliver you from the way of evil.
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For the man who speaks perverse things from those who leave the
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path of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who
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rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perversity of the
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wicked, whose ways are crooked and who are devious in their
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paths. Right away Solomon tells us
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through the Proverbs all the benefits that come with wisdom.
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One wisdom we know is God-given. It has to be from the Lord,
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otherwise it's not. It's not wisdom.
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For the Lord gives wisdom. He gives it to us because
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there's a few things that we gain from it.
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From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
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He stores up all of this wisdom for us, but He uses it as a
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shield for us. He uses it to guard the path of
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justice. He uses it to preserve our way.
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He uses it to help us understand right from wrong, righteousness
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and true justice and every good path in case that wasn't
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covered. There is so much available to us
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through the wisdom of God. It has to be from Him.
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And as we walk with these promises and these blessings, it
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makes day-to-day life a lot easier to comprehend.
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It makes the decisions that you're faced with, the
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situations that you have to take an action in, the relationships
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that you are developing, the workplace environment, the
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information overload. I don't know about you, but
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there is so much information available to us.
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So much, whether it's social media, whether it's just in your
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daily life, the news, there's something happening every
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minute, every second of the day around the world and it's
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available for you to know. I don't think we are ever
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designed to know all this information or to absorb all of
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this information, but here we are.
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It's the culture that we live in.
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And with that information, with all of that constant knowledge,
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we need help defining it. We need help filtering it, and
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we need help how to apply it to our lives.
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We need that understanding. It's essential.
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Otherwise we get caught up in the fear, the anxiety, the
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worry, the concern, maybe just the desire to quit or not do
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anything. Being apathetic, you know, it's
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just like it's just some other thing.
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And that's not God's heart for us.
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God's heart for us is that as we walk in His wisdom, as we
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receive these things that are facing us daily, that we're able
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to be not only a light to those who are watching us, but also an
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encouragement to the Lord. You know, as Christians, we're
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called to lead people to Christ through our reactions, through
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our words, through our understanding and how we handle
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our emotions, how we handle our decision making.
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All of those things are meant as a believer to point people to
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the Lord. We're called to have that peace
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that surpasses all understanding.
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The Lord makes that available to us.
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We are called to know right from wrong, understand righteousness
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and what is justice. We're called to know these
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things because the Lord makes it available to us to know.
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He gives us everything we need to be able to have this in our
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lives, to walk paths of peace, to bring others with us to the
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path of pleasantness, to be able to say no to the one that tells
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us something. And they're not even walking
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with the Lord. They're not even walking
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upright. To be able to identify what that
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is, who that is, and how to close our ears or close our
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minds to those things. That is all available to us
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through the wisdom of God. Pick up with me in chapter 3,
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verse 13. We're going to learn how
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valuable wisdom is. It says happy is he, or happy is
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the man who finds wisdom in verse 13, the man who gains
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understanding. For her proceeds are better than
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the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold.
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She's more precious than rubies, and all the things you may
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desire cannot compare with her. Length of days is in her right
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hand, in her left hand riches in honor.
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Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths
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are peace. She's a tree of life to those
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who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her.
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The Lord by wisdom founded the earth.
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By understanding He established the heavens.
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That's what's available to us. These paths of peace, this way
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of pleasantness, this understanding that the Lord
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Himself used to create not only you and I, but the world that we
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live in, that understanding is what the Lord desires to impart
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to you. It's more valuable than riches.
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It's more valuable than gold, than silver, than rubies.
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And in case that's not something you're into, you're I don't need
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wealth. I don't care about money.
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I don't care about that materialistic stuff.
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It is more valuable than anything you can compare it to
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is what the Bible says. That's how valuable wisdom is
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from the Lord. And often times we find
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ourselves in situations where wisdom is lacking in our lives.
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As we jump into the Word today, the first story that we're going
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to look at is the story of Esau, a man who lacked wisdom and not
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only affected his life, but affected generations after him.
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If you would pick up with me in Genesis chapter 2525, verse 29,
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Genesis chapter 25, verse 29, Esau was a guy who could have
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had it all quite literally. Some context for you guys, those
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of you who study the Bible who are kind of familiar with it,
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maybe grew up in church, you would realize that throughout
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the Old Testament, Israel often claims to be following the God
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of Abraham, Isaac, and Esau. Not actually Esau, it's Abraham,
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Isaac, and Jacob, but it could have been Esau.
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In fact, culturally, it would have been Esau if it wasn't for
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this passage that we're about to jump into because culturally
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back then it was a first born would receive the blessing and
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the familial leadership, the spiritual leadership of the
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family. Abraham, who was Jacob and
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Esau's great, great, great ancestor, really just the first
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one in the line was promised by God, Hey, I'm going to bless you
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and your descendants. Your descendants are going to be
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a great nation, and not just a great nation in size or mass or
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material things, but they're going to be a great nation
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because they're going to be my people.
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And Abraham then would have Isaac.
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Isaac would receive that promise and that blessing would be
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handed down to Isaac. Isaac would then have twin boys,
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twin boys, Esau and Jacob and Esau would come out first.
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So pick up with me chapter 25, starting verse 20.
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We'll actually go up a little bit verse 24.
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So when her day Speaking of Rebecca were fulfilled for her
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to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.
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And the first came out red. And he was like a hairy garment
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all over. Like what a way to describe a
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baby, a hairy garment all over, a red, hairy garment all over.
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I love the Bible. So they called his name Esau.
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Afterward his brother came out and his hand took hold of Esau's
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heel. So his name was called Jacob.
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Isaac was 60 years old when she bore them.
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So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter,
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a man of the field. But Jacob was a mild man
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dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he
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ate of his game. You know, Isaac playing
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favorites. All right, If you ever needed an
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excuse of why it's OK to have a favorite, the Bible right there,
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parents. Just kidding.
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It's not OK to have favorites. Don't do that.
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But we know it's true, OK? I know who the favorite of my
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house is. It's me.
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Just kidding. But Rebecca loved Jacob.
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And so you can see there's kind of a split.
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The father loves Esau, Rebecca loves her son Jacob.
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And here's where it gets interesting.
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In verse 29. Now Jacob cooked a Stew and Esau
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came in from the field and he was weary.
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And Esau said to Jacob, please feed me with that same red Stew,
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for I am weary. Therefore his name is called
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Edom. But Jacob said, sell me your
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birthright as of this day. And Esau said, look, I'm about
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to die. So what is this birthright to
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me? The Jacob said, Swear to me as
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of this day. So he swore to him and sold his
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birthright to Jacob. Jacob gave Esau bread and a Stew
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of lentils. Then he ate and drank, arose and
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went his way. Thus Esau despised his
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birthright. Crazy turn of events here.
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This is unheard of. Esau could have been the one in
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the name of the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and
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Esau. But because of this instance, we
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see that Esau walks in and he gives it up.
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He gives up the spiritual leadership, the spiritual
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blessing, the familial leadership, everything that came
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with being first born, the birthright.
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He gave it up for a bowl of Stew.
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Now we look at that passage and we're like, man, that's crazy.
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I would never do something at all like that.
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I know I do. There's a lot of passages here
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where the Lord just makes it very obvious to us what right
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from wrong is. Like, how many of us would we
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give up this generational blessing of promise for
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something so really worthless? But in the moment, that Stew is
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worth more than the generational promise that Esau was given or
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was in line to receive. Now when I look at passages like
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this, like I have to check my heart.
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I have to ask myself, Lord, like, what is it that I can do
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to relate to this? So I don't look down on this
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example that you're using to teach me.
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Because yeah, it looks simple when we look at it from a a big
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perspective. But I mean, just imagine how
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many times in our lives where we allow our flesh to rise up and
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convince us that what we want now is better than what God has
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for us later. One really easy example that I
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think many of us can relate to is how many of us have had an
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outburst of wrath or have gotten upset that have blown the lid
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off in the moment. Because somehow, someway, in the
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heat of the moment, of the emotion of whatever it was, we
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decided that yelling and getting upset and losing self-control
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was the answer to what we were feeling inside.
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Instead of relying on the promise of the Lord.
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Instead of relying on the wisdom of God to guide us and lead us
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through that situation, that conversation, that reality that
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we were facing. I know I'm guilty of it.
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Where I'm convinced that my emotions in the moment are real
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and telling me the truth and leading me to a decision that is
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best for me in the moment. It's the battle of instant
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gratification or waiting for eventual blessing or relying on
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the Lord just for wisdom on how to navigate it.
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I know I can be like Esau, where everything is available to me,
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the promises of Scripture available to me.
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But in the heat of the moment, I'm mentally exhausted, I'm
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physically exhausted, I'm emotionally exhausted, and I am
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convinced that what's in front of me is better for me than what
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the Lord has promised for me. And when I am caught up in that,
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when we are caught up in that, it's a simple example of how we
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allow our flesh to rob us of the wisdom of God and how to
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navigate through whatever it might be for you and I in that
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moment. How to navigate through it well,
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How to navigate ourselves to a path of peace, to a path of
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pleasantness, to a path of understanding.
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Because often times, that's what happens.
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It's not really big things. It's not like the Lord presents
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you, OK, you either choose this or you choose this and you're
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like, well, I mean, I'm going to obviously choose you, Lord.
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Of course. I mean, most of us hopefully
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would choose that if it was that easy to see.
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But a lot of times life doesn't present it that way.
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Our flesh doesn't present it that way.
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The way it's presented is usually when you're tired,
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usually when you're weak, usually when you've had a long
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day, usually when you're at your wit's end with a person and
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you're just done. And then it's quickly like, OK,
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So what do you want? You want this one or this one?
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Well, this would definitely help right now.
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This would definitely feed my weariness.
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So definitely take care of that need.
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This would definitely make me feel better in the moment.
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And I was like, well, then take it.
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You know, your flesh is just take it.
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And that's how quickly we get to these points where like, man,
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you do it and it didn't work. It didn't solve your problem.
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Yeah, you got it out. But man, it made your problem 10
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times worse. That's what sin does.
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It compounds. It's like interest on a credit
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card bill just keeps growing and growing and growing and growing.
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The Lord's like, no, wait, stop, don't hold back.
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Allow my Spirit to lead you to give you what you need.
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The understanding you need in this conversation, the
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understanding you need to make this decision so that this
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decision doesn't lead to another bad decision that leads to
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another bad decision that leads you to a hole where you can't
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get out of, to where you're now facing the consequences of those
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decisions from years ago. Let me stop you right now.
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That's what was available to Esau, but in his moment of
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weakness, he gave it all up. It says at the very end of verse
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34 that Esau despised his birthright.
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Esau despised his birthright. It wasn't that he walked in
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despising it in the situation, but the actions revealed in his
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heart that he did not care about what the Lord had promised him.
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He did not care in that moment about what the Lord was willing
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to give him and ready to give him.
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He despised it through his actions.
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And it's just heavy. It's like, how do we, how do we
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know this? Like how do we navigate our
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emotions? How do we navigate these things?
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Turn with me to Jeremiah chapter 17, Jeremiah chapter 17, and I
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mentioned earlier, emotions are real.
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We all have them. Situations that are overwhelming
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are real. We'll all face them.
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People that we don't necessarily get along with, we'll come into
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our lives and stir things up. We may even be that person to
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somebody else. But there is a way to know and
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to be able to sort through and to filter like it tells us in
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Ephesians chapter 5, to look at our lives circumspectfully and
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be able to identify these things.
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Because as much as our emotions feel real in the moment, they're
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not always telling us the truth. It's just a fact that we need to
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know. We have to absorb that.
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We have to understand that, especially in the heat of the
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moment, like, well, how do you do that?
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Well, how do I know? How do, how can I do this?
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Well, Jeremiah 17 says this, starting verse 5.
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Thus says the Lord. Cursed is the man who trusts in
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man, and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs
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from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in
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the desert, shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit
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the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which
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is not inhabited. Verse 7 Blessed, though, is the
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man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord.
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For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which
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spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when he
23:54
comes, but its leaves will be green, and will not be anxious
23:59
in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.
24:04
And here's that key verse. The heart is deceitful above all
24:07
things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?
24:11
Verse 10 I the Lord, search the heart and test the mind.
24:16
We need the wisdom of the Lord. We need it when it even applies
24:20
to ourselves. And you would think that we know
24:22
ourselves better than anyone else quite in a real right You
24:26
do you know yourself better than anyone else except for the Lord.
24:31
He knows you just a little bit more than you know yourself.
24:35
And sometimes when you're caught up in the heat of the moment or
24:38
the emotion or maybe emotions really not something that you
24:41
struggle with, maybe it's you've always had the right answer.
24:44
Like you just have that natural tendency to make the right
24:47
decision. And so, so quickly.
24:50
You've made so many good decisions that you feel like
24:53
maybe I don't need to rely on the Lord as much in the next
24:55
decision. That's also a temptation.
24:58
It's also a temptation of pride. That's something Engineer
25:00
released to the Lord. Why?
25:02
Because our hearts are deceitfully wicked.
25:05
That's the truth. And only the Lord can help us
25:08
sort that out. We weren't born into perfection.
25:12
We were born into sin. And by the grace of God, He has
25:15
saved us from being slaves to sin for those of us who call on
25:19
name as our call on the Lord, as our Lord and Savior.
25:24
But we have to be in a place where we're ready to recognize
25:27
and understand that our hearts regularly deceive us.
25:31
Just like Esau was deceived by his hunger, by his weariness, by
25:37
his weakness. The Spirit is willing, but the
25:41
flesh is weak. It's very real for us as we walk
25:45
through life and face decision after decision, situation after
25:50
situation, and the Lord offers us situational discernment.
25:54
He offers us the ability to navigate life with the wisdom of
25:58
God so that we can enjoy life with the promises of His wisdom
26:02
that we read in chapter 2 and chapter 3 of Proverbs.
26:05
Those things are always ready and available to us.
26:08
And not only that, He doesn't just leave us on our own to
26:11
figure out and filter our own life.
26:12
He gives us the insight that we need to identify those areas of
26:15
deceit in our heart, those areas where our emotions are
26:18
manipulating us, where our pride is convincing us that we don't
26:21
need the Lord in this decision. It's a simple one, I can handle
26:25
it. Watch out, you need the Lord.
26:29
You need the wisdom of God. You need the knowledge of His
26:32
Word. You need His understanding in
26:34
your day-to-day decision making. You're like, well, in
26:38
everything, in everything you can surrender.
26:41
You need it because why wouldn't you want it?
26:45
If it truly does lead us to pass a peace and pass a pleasantness,
26:48
if it does help us understand those who are not for the Lord,
26:52
who are not walking uprightly, if it helps us identify these
26:55
things, why wouldn't you want it in every decision?
26:58
Well, one of them is because we're weak and we're human and
27:03
we go through things in times where sometimes we are
27:06
overwhelmed and we forget. We forget what the Lord has
27:11
promised us. We forget what's available to
27:13
us, just like Esau. If it could happen to Esau, it
27:16
can happen to you and I. So my encouragement for us today
27:20
is to not be like Esau. So instead, let's be like
27:23
Genesis chapter 41. If you would turn there with me,
27:26
wouldn't it be like a man by the name of Joseph?
27:31
Joseph was the son of Jacob, and Joseph is a great example in
27:37
many ways. He was someone who, despite his
27:43
efforts, had no control of the things that were happening
27:47
around him. Just to give you some context
27:49
before we jump into chapter 41, Joseph was sold by his brothers
27:52
into slavery after they decided not to kill him because they
27:55
were jealous of him. Joseph would then be sold to a
27:58
man by the name of Potiphar. Potiphar would see God's hand on
28:03
Joseph and actually give him great freedom in his house to
28:06
rule his house as a slave. He was gifted administratively
28:09
because the Lord was blessing Joseph despite the hard
28:12
situations that he had to face, like being sold in slavery.
28:16
But during that season of Joseph's life, he was accused
28:21
wrongfully of assaulting the wife of Potiphar and he was sent
28:26
to prison. The Lord's hand was on Joseph in
28:29
prison, so much so that he became the administrator of the
28:32
prison as a prisoner. Not only that, in prison he was
28:36
given an opportunity to minister to Pharaoh's. 2 of Pharaoh's
28:40
servants, 1 was a Baker and one was a cup bearer or the one who
28:43
would taste the drinks before Pharaoh would taste them.
28:46
He was kind of his poison control back then.
28:49
And they both had two very interesting dreams.
28:53
And Joseph got wind of it and the Lord gave him the ability to
28:57
decrypt the dreams and interpret the dreams for the Baker and the
29:01
cupbearer. The Baker found out that he was
29:03
going to be passing away. That was the interpretation of
29:06
his dream. And he did later pass away.
29:09
It was true. The cupbearer would then find
29:11
out that he would have another opportunity to serve Pharaoh and
29:14
so he would be back in the courts of Pharaoh.
29:16
And Joseph told him, hey, when you go back and serve Pharaoh,
29:19
don't forget me. And the cupbearer forgot him.
29:22
The Bible says for two years Joseph was in the dungeon.
29:27
Now, for Joseph, he didn't do anything to deserve the
29:31
hardships that he was facing. They just happened.
29:34
And in reality, for us, there's a lot of things that we don't
29:36
control. There's a lot of things that are
29:38
out of our control. However, even though it feels
29:42
like life might be falling apart or not going the way you
29:45
anticipated or expected, even though you've made the right
29:48
choices, you've walked in wisdom, the Lord's promise of
29:52
his wisdom still applies even when the situations are out of
29:55
your control. The Lord's wisdom was still with
29:58
Joseph in each area that he was restricted to.
30:03
You could say he was blessed as a prisoner.
30:05
You could say he's blessed as a slave, but then you look at his
30:08
life, you're like, well, how is that being blessed?
30:09
How did you go from being a part of a great family to being hated
30:13
by your family, sold as a slave, made a great impact as a slave,
30:19
and then falsely accused and sent to prison, make it a great
30:22
impact in prison and then forgotten about?
30:24
Well, sometimes that's what life brings and sometimes it's not
30:29
our sin, but it's the sin of those around us that cause the
30:33
hardships and these difficulties in our life.
30:36
God's wisdom doesn't change because of what we're
30:39
experiencing. It actually still applies in our
30:43
experiences as well. Joseph had peace.
30:47
He did have pleasantness because he was right with the Lord.
30:50
He did get to exercise wisdom. He did still get to attain great
30:53
things despite what was closing in around him, and he was
30:56
prepared for this moment in chapter 41.
30:59
Pick up with me in verse 14. Genesis chapter 41, verse 14
31:08
says this. Then Pharaoh sent and called
31:10
Joseph and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon and
31:14
he shaved, changed his clothing and came to Pharaoh.
31:18
Pharaoh said to Joseph, I've had a dream and there is no one who
31:21
can interpret it, but I've heard it said that you can understand
31:25
a dream to interpret it. So Joseph answered Pharaoh
31:30
saying, it is not in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer
31:34
of peace. And in verse 17 then Pharaoh
31:36
said to Joseph, Behold in my dream I stood on the Bank of the
31:39
river. Suddenly 7 cows came up out of
31:42
the river, fine looking and fat, and they fed in the Meadow.
31:45
Then behold, 7 other cows came up after them, poor and very
31:48
ugly and gaunt. Such ugliness as I've never seen
31:52
in all the land of Egypt. These are some really disgusting
31:55
looking cows. Verse 20.
31:57
And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the 1st 7 fat cows.
32:01
And when they'd eaten them up, no one would have known they had
32:04
eaten them, for they were just as ugly as it at the beginning.
32:07
So I awoke, Pharaoh was awoken because he had an encounter with
32:12
some very ugly cows. In verse 22 I saw in my dream
32:15
and suddenly 7 heads came up on one stalk, full and good.
32:20
Then behold, 7 heads withered thin and blighted by the east.
32:22
Wind sprang up after them and the thin heads devoured the
32:26
seven good heads. So I told this to the magicians,
32:29
but there was no one who could explain it to me.
32:32
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dreams of Pharaoh are one.
32:36
God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.
32:39
The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads
32:42
are seven years. The dreams are one, and the
32:46
seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven
32:49
years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are 7
32:53
years of famine. This is the thing which I've
32:56
spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is
33:00
about to do. Verse 29 Indeed, seven years of
33:04
great plenty will come throughout all the land of
33:06
Egypt, But after them seven years of famine will arise, and
33:09
all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the
33:12
famine will be will deplete the land.
33:14
So the plenty will not be known in the land because the famine
33:17
following for it will be so severe.
33:21
Verse 32 And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice,
33:24
because The thing is established by God, and God will shortly
33:28
bring it to pass. So we're introduced to this
33:31
moment where Joseph is pulled out of prison on a moment's
33:36
notice. He's shaved, he's changed, he's
33:37
presented before the greatest authority in the nation,
33:41
Pharaoh. And Pharaoh brought him there
33:44
because he had some disturbing dreams.
33:46
And I don't know about you, but I know looking at it from,
33:49
again, a bird's eye view or a different perspective, we have
33:52
the answers. We understand the dream.
33:54
So it doesn't sound as crazy as it is, but Pharaoh is bringing
33:58
this man straight out of a prison and presenting a dream.
34:03
And I just put yourself in Joseph's position.
34:06
If someone came up to you and started sharing a wild dream
34:10
that they had specifically about really ugly cows, it's silly.
34:15
But let's say that happened. I know, or at least I assume I
34:19
know. For me, my reaction would be,
34:21
what did you eat last night? You know, what were you watching
34:25
before you fell asleep? What were you in taking that
34:29
caused you to have this wild dream?
34:32
You know what's wrong with you? I don't know what to do with
34:35
that. And I'm sorry if you had a dream
34:37
that you want me to interpret today, I will still hear you
34:39
out. But I'm just letting you know if
34:40
I don't have the wisdom of God, it's going to sound crazy.
34:43
But that's not Joseph's response.
34:45
Like Joseph didn't take that and say, you know what?
34:48
I can't help you, send me back to the dungeon.
34:51
Joseph had had some experience of practicing the wisdom of the
34:54
Lord, interpreting the dreams that were brought before him by
34:57
the Baker and the cup bearer. And so when he's presented
35:01
before Pharaoh with the same type of situation, you don't see
35:04
him pause. You don't see him feel the
35:06
pressure. You don't see him break.
35:09
You see him tell Pharaoh very pointedly, God will be the one
35:12
who gives you the interpretation.
35:15
He didn't carry any of the pressure of having to come up
35:18
with an answer. He gave all that pressure to the
35:22
Lord, said God is going to be the one that gives you the
35:26
answer to what your dreams are. After being told that no one
35:34
here could tell me. And so often the Lord wants to
35:37
use us in the lives of those around us who after they have
35:41
looked anywhere they could, they haven't found the answer.
35:44
Their magicians weren't able to tell them.
35:46
They represent the wisdom that was known to Pharaoh that day.
35:50
The the greatest and the best wisdom available to Pharaoh
35:53
couldn't answer his dream interpretation.
35:55
And they're going to be people in our lives that they will go
35:59
to the best that's available to them.
36:01
And they still have the same problem.
36:04
And the Lord doesn't need us to come up with some answer to
36:08
solve their problem. He needs us to point them to the
36:11
one who can. The wisdom of God has the answer
36:14
and the solution for the things that we might even feel are
36:18
beyond us. But there's no way I could
36:21
answer this. There's no way Joseph could have
36:24
interpreted this unless the wisdom of God was leading him.
36:29
The Lord had prepared him for this very moment.
36:31
He didn't have time to sit down and think about how he's going
36:35
to interpret Pharaoh's dream. He didn't know the dreams
36:37
beforehand. He didn't even know why he was
36:39
bringing Called out of the dungeon again.
36:41
He was forgotten about for two years.
36:44
It's not like, Oh yeah, they think of me as the dream
36:46
interpreter. Like that wasn't on the
36:47
forefront of his mind. But he had an opportunity.
36:51
The Lord presented him and he was able to rely on the Lord for
36:54
the answer, and not just a answer, but a very clear,
36:58
distinct, detailed, step by step answer that would answer the
37:02
next 14 years of Egypt's life. The next 14 years of this.
37:10
Pharaoh's rule was defined by the Lord through Joseph.
37:14
He was giving him exactly what needed to happen, what was going
37:17
to happen, and how it needed to be handled.
37:20
And it was all the Lord working through Him.
37:24
The wisdom of God is alive and powerful, and God desires to use
37:28
it through your life. We're believers for a reason.
37:32
We're called Christians for a reason.
37:35
When life is overwhelming and confusing, causing people to be
37:41
distraught to the brink of being destroyed, in their hearts, the
37:46
Lord has put you in their life to point them to Him.
37:50
The one who has the answer for their emotion, The one who has
37:54
the answer for their situation, The one who has the answer for
37:57
how they need to navigate the relationship that they're faced
38:00
with. The work problem, the life
38:03
problem. He has it for them, but He also
38:08
has it for us. It's available to us every day.
38:13
It's available to us as we pray. Lord, will you give me wisdom
38:17
for today? Instantly you were given access
38:21
to the promises of Proverbs chapter 2.
38:23
Proverbs chapter 3. Instantly you're given more than
38:26
you will need for the day, so that one day it will not only
38:29
apply to you, but you can also help others apply it to their
38:32
life. You can be like Joseph in the
38:34
presence of Pharaoh. Pick up with me In verse 33,
38:43
Joseph has applied and and told Pharaoh the description of his
38:48
dream. What's going to happen?
38:49
The famine's coming. You're going to have 7 great
38:52
years of plentiful time and then you're going to have famine so
38:55
bad that you're going to forget how good those seven years are.
38:58
It says in verse 33 he says now therefore let Pharaoh select a
39:02
discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.
39:06
Let Pharaoh do this and let him appoint officers over the land
39:09
to collect 1/5 or 20% of the produce of the land of Egypt in
39:13
the seven plentiful years, and let them gather all the food of
39:16
those good years that are coming, and store up grain under
39:19
the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the
39:22
cities. Then that food shall be as a
39:25
reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which
39:27
shall be in the land of Egypt, But the land may not perish
39:31
during the famine. Again, the step by step decision
39:34
making that Joseph is presenting and he's not kind of giving this
39:38
to Pharaoh thinking, oh, he's going to pick me.
39:40
Again, Remember, he's a kid from the prison.
39:43
Not a kid. He's a young man turning the age
39:45
of 30 or he's around 2829, thirty years old at this time.
39:50
But he's not saying all this. Hey, Pharaoh, you need to pick a
39:53
wise man. Like here I am.
39:55
Like Joseph knows who he is. He knows that he's just a
39:58
prisoner. He knows he was just called out
40:00
of the dungeon. There's no pride in Joseph's
40:02
life as he's presenting this solution to Pharaoh.
40:06
He's just being honest with him. You need someone that's smart,
40:08
you need someone that's wise, that has understanding, that can
40:12
appoint guys, officers in these cities to do this, to collect
40:16
20% of the produce for the next 7 years so that you'll have that
40:21
available to you during the years of famine.
40:24
That's what you need to do, just giving the truth to Pharaoh.
40:28
And so Pharaoh comes up, verse 37 says, so the advice was good
40:33
in the eyes of Pharaoh, in the eyes of all his servants, not
40:36
just Pharaoh, it's a whole assembly.
40:38
And Pharaoh said to his servants, can we find such a one
40:41
as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God?
40:45
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, inasmuch as God has shown you
40:49
all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.
40:52
You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled
40:55
according to your word. Only in regard to the throne
40:58
will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, see,
41:01
I've set you over all the land of Egypt.
41:08
Pharaoh logically comes to this conclusion that Joseph is the
41:11
guy. He's the guy that needs to be in
41:13
this role to help Egypt through the next 14 years of the high
41:19
and then the low of the famine. But what I want you to see here
41:23
is that Joseph in his humility, not only did he say that God is
41:28
the one that's going to give you the answer, but he actually says
41:30
in in 3 verses, starting first with that verse in verse 616.
41:36
But he also says in verse 25 and 28.
41:38
And look what it does to Pharaoh's response because when
41:42
Joseph first says it's Pharaoh doesn't care.
41:44
It's like God's going to give you the answer.
41:46
OK, whatever. Here's my dream.
41:47
Doesn't acknowledge it, doesn't give any second thought to it.
41:50
But after the wisdom of God is revealed, after this is said to
41:54
him again, imagine what's happening here.
41:56
Pharaoh here's a guy from the prison and decides, you know
42:00
what you're saying makes sense. I think you're right.
42:03
Not only that, everyone in the audience, all of his servants,
42:06
not just Pharaoh, also agreed. What this prisoner guy is saying
42:11
makes sense. I think he's right.
42:13
No one else could figure it out. But what he's saying, it makes
42:15
sense, a light turned on. And what Pharaoh does is he
42:20
doesn't give the glory to Joseph, even though he calls him
42:23
wise. What he does is he says, where
42:26
can we find such a man or such a one as this, a man in whom there
42:29
is the Spirit of God. Joseph first gave prominence to
42:36
the Lord when he told Pharaoh. This is an answer coming from
42:39
God. God is going to give you what an
42:41
answer of peace. It's going to be peace to your
42:45
mind. He's going to help you process
42:47
the fear and the anxiety that these dreams are giving you.
42:51
He's going to give you the answer of peace that you need.
42:54
Pharaoh not only hears it and receives it, but I do think he
42:57
was overwhelmed with peace. I think the understanding of God
43:01
when applied correctly to our lives and lives of other, there
43:04
is an overwhelming feeling of peace that Philippians talks
43:09
about, a peace that surpasses understanding.
43:13
A piece that no matter what I just heard or what I'm
43:15
experiencing, what I'm facing, I have a piece that is resolute in
43:20
my heart because God has given me understanding on what to do
43:23
next. That's what Pharaoh was just
43:26
exposed to. That's what Pharaoh just got to
43:29
experience. And he says we need someone who
43:32
has the Spirit of God like Joseph, who has that.
43:36
Well, at that moment in time only Joseph did.
43:40
None of the magicians, none of Pharaoh's servants, not even
43:44
Pharaoh himself. The wisdom was coming from
43:47
Joseph. God had blessed him with the
43:50
discernment needed to pass on the peace of God to Pharaoh.
43:55
In verse 39 it says Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, In as much as
43:59
God has shown you all of this, there is no one as discerning
44:03
and wise as you. The Lord revealed to Pharaoh
44:09
that these answers that were coming from Joseph were from God
44:12
himself. And as believers and as
44:15
Christians, that is what we are called to do in our daily lives.
44:21
When the wisdom of God exits out of our mouth, when it impacts
44:25
those around us, the goal and the glory should be going back
44:30
to the Lord. When people have an interaction
44:34
with you, they should leave feeling like they just had a
44:37
touch from the Lord. That's the desire that the God
44:42
has for us. That happens from being able to
44:44
enjoy time in His Word. How do you get the wisdom of
44:48
God? You pray for it.
44:49
You seek His Word. You desire to gain His knowledge
44:53
so that He can turn into understanding you.
44:55
Apply it to your life so that as you are filled up, you can then
44:58
pour out to others. But that's the constant battle,
45:01
right? We know the Bible tells us
45:03
there's a battle between flesh and blood, but there's also a
45:06
spiritual battle that's happening in our lives.
45:09
The devil would love to keep us off tilt.
45:13
He would love to keep us in a place where we are always going,
45:16
being swayed by everything that we're hearing, everything that
45:19
we're experiencing, and we have no idea.
45:21
And we're the commotion so loud that we're out of the fight.
45:24
We're out of the battle because we're having a hard enough time
45:27
trying to figure out our own stuff because we're not applying
45:30
the wisdom of God in our life, which is why we start with Esau.
45:34
Like I, I encourage you and I encourage myself.
45:36
I pray this every morning. Lord, will you please give me
45:38
wisdom for today? I need it.
45:41
I can't live my life and be of anything of worth to you if I
45:44
don't have first wisdom, Your wisdom applied to my life.
45:49
How much more can I be used in someone else's life, not
45:51
including the responsibilities that I have or the things that
45:54
you've entrusted me with? I need God's wisdom.
45:56
We need God's wisdom so that as we develop this routine, as we
46:01
develop this habit of relying on the Lord, the Lord can then use
46:04
us in the lives of others. Like Joseph was used in the life
46:09
of Pharaoh and really all the Egyptians for the next 14 years.
46:13
It's pretty incredible what the wisdom of God can do and all of
46:16
that and the promises that are found in Proverbs 2 and three
46:20
are available to us daily in church.
46:23
I would encourage you to allow the Lord to minister to your
46:27
heart on a daily basis. Don't restrict Him from speaking
46:32
to you through His Word. Don't restrict him by not
46:35
showing up to a service or turning on a message of the
46:37
teaching of the Bible. Don't restrict him from not
46:40
going to the prayer group that the Lord kind of tugged.
46:42
You heard the announcement, you know, I should really go.
46:44
And then you choose not to. For whatever reason, the Lord
46:46
wants to speak to you. He puts these opportunities and
46:50
these things before us so that He can bestow upon us His
46:54
knowledge and His understanding, so He can give us His wisdom, so
46:57
we can apply it to what's coming up the next day that we didn't
47:00
even know about. That moment where you're going
47:02
to be called out of the dungeon, forced to shave and change and
47:06
present yourself before the leading authority of the nation.
47:09
Joseph didn't know that was happening that day.
47:12
And often times we don't either. But as we're walking the wisdom
47:17
of the Lord, as we're prepared, as we're handling things
47:20
according to how God desires us to handle it, we will be more
47:23
than prepared. To be able to have a good
47:26
answer, a godly answer, a godly response.
47:31
To be able to know when our flesh is arising in us.
47:33
To have the ability to use the fruit of the Spirit and enact
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self-control when the thoughts are racing our minds.
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To be able to have the ability to bring every thought into
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captivity as is good in the eyes of God.
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So we could also have an answer of wisdom and be a blessing to
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those around us. The Lord loves you.
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He desires to equip you not just for your life and the daily
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decisions that you have, but for everyone else around you.
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And he's ready to give not only liberally, but also generously.
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Amen. Lord, we just thank you.
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We thank you for your word. God, I thank you that you give
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us examples like Esau. Give us examples like Joseph.
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I thank you, Lord, that you remind us continually of your
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love for us, Your desire to equip us, Your desire to help us
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to filter our lives, Lord, to filter all the information, all
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the situations. Lord, you desire to give us the
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wisdom, the understanding that we need to enjoy the blessings
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and the blessing of life that you've given us, but not just
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for us, Lord, but for everyone else.
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I just pray, God, that you would give us the ability to represent
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you well as your church. Lord, You give us the ability to
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enjoy our life because we're walking in your wisdom.
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I pray, Lord, for those that are here that are struggling because
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like you saw, they made a decision that would radically
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change their life and they're still dealing even with the
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consequences of those decisions or decision.
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I just pray, Lord, that you would give them a sense of
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peace, that your mercies are new every morning, or that You're
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ready to use us every day to give us what's needed in the
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moment. I pray Lord, as we prepare our
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heart for communion. But did you remind us of your
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love for us? Lord?
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Did you remind us of that great sacrifice on the cross?
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Keep our eyes fixed on you. Bless this time and song Lord,
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we give it up to you in Jesus name, Amen.
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We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study,
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delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
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For prayer, call us at 87730 Grace that's 877-304-7223.
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To listen to this message in its integrity or to join us for our
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live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
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or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.