Latest / Faith Church Podcast / What Drives You? Becoming A Proverbs 31 Woman | Pastor Kami Palmer | Faith Church

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What Drives You? Becoming A Proverbs 31 Woman | Pastor Kami Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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Well, mothers, and some of you, I get that Mother's
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Day sometimes comes with some baggage. I'm always
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talking about my parents. I understand that many
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have a lot of woundedness coming from childhood.
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And Mother's Day can be complicated. And I've
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always been very thankful for the parents that
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I've been given because I had such a wonderful
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childhood. And I wish that every child, sometimes
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I'm in the stores and I hear parents just yelling
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at their kids. And I just want to take the kids
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under my wing and comfort them. And so I understand
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today that Mother's Day can be difficult, not
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just for you as a son or a daughter, but moms.
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Some of you here, you've walked through difficult
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times with your kids. Some of you have always
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wanted kids and never had the opportunity. When
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we celebrate Mother's Day, I always say that
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today, moms, all of you women, Whether you've
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had a biological child or not, you are welcome
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under the tent. I am a big believer in spiritual
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mothering. I'm a big believer that you don't
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have to give birth in a biological manner to
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be a mother. that I know many of you have poured
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out into other sons and daughters. And so please
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make sure all of you make your way to the tent.
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We want to celebrate you this morning. My hope
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and my prayer today is that, ladies, you would
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feel inspired, you would feel full of hope and
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courage as you leave here today. And so with
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that in mind... I'll be honest, Nick, who worked
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so hard, and how many of you appreciated Nick's
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countdown? I had to be sure to come in and watch
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his countdown. Honestly, I was a bit hesitant
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in the previous weeks to declare my sermon title
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becoming a Proverbs 31 woman, because if all
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of the people in here were just women, many of
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the women would have a little bit of an issue
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and baggage with Proverbs 31. For many women,
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it is been a source of feeling like they've never
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measured up, of failure, of trying to attain
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something that feels unattainable. And so I was
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hesitant to even put that up there. But this
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is the Word of God. And I want us today, as we
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look at this passage, I want us to look at it.
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It's not just, oh, another Mother's Day Proverbs
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31 message. No, we're going to look at a correct
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interpretation of Proverbs 31. How many of you
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would like a correct interpretation of Proverbs
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31 and what that means for us, right? And so
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today in this whole passage, our highlights,
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our verse that we really want to look at is going
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to be at the end in verse 30 that says, a woman
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who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. She
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shall be praised. What has happened with Proverbs
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31 is that we've gotten sidetracked by everything
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that this woman has done, and we miss really
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the whole point. And so today I want us to get
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this whole point. So we're going to take a little
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bit of a journey through Proverbs 31. We're going
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to discover a few attractions on the way. And
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so we're going to start in first gear. Now how
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many of you have driven a stick shift before?
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Mom was having to re -familiarize herself with
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it on the drive over because that is the Mustang.
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My first car was a stick shift, and I'm forever
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thankful that that was my first car so that I
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could learn how to drive in that way. So today
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we're going to just shift our way through this
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sermon. And so here in first gear, I want us
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to look at a couple of interesting facts about
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Proverbs 31. And in Proverbs 31, This is a passage
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that is not just a list of who this woman was.
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This is actually a poem. Proverbs 31 is a poem.
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And each line begins with a letter of the Hebrew
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alphabet. And so what is happening throughout
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this passage is that every time we have another
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letter and another letter, it's a poem. And it's
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a poem, and how many of you ever said a phrase
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like, when we're talking about I'm going to totally
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cover a topic from A to Z, we say that, right?
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Meaning that we're going to cover a topic in
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its entirety. Our takeaway from this poem is
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in the same sense. Every Hebrew letter is the
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beginning line. And so from A to Z, they are
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covering what this woman consists of. And so,
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first of all, it isn't just this list of everything
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this woman is capable of. It is a poem that is
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more than that. the telling of the fruit of what
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we're going to discover is the real driving factor
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of what drives this woman. And so we're going
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to take a broad look at this woman, and I'm going
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to be reading today out of New King James. And
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I want us just to begin by reading through the
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passage, and then we're going to dive into it.
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So starting in verse 10, who can find a virtuous
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wife? I want to take note there that a lot of
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passages will say noble. Who can find a noble
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wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The
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heart of her husband safely trusts her, so he
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will have no lack of gain. She does him good
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and not evil all the days of her life. She seeks
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wool and flax and willingly works with her hands.
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She is like the merchant ships. She brings her
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food from afar. She also rises while it is yet
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night and provides food for her household and
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a portion for her maidservants. She considers
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a field and buys it. From her profits, she plants
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a vineyard. She girds herself with strength and
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strengthens her arms. She perceives that her
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merchandise is good. and her lamp does not go
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out by night. She stretches out her hands to
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the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle.
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She extends her hand to the poor. Yes, she reaches
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out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid
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of snow for her household, for all her household
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is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for
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herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
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Her husband is known in the gates when he sits
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among the elders of the land. She makes linen
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garments and sells them and supplies sashes for
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the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing.
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She shall rejoice in time to come. She opens
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her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the
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law of kindness. She watches over the ways of
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her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
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Her children rise up and call her blessed, her
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husband also, and he praises her. Many daughters
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have done well, but you excel them all. Charm
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is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman
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who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give
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her the fruit of her hands and let her own works
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Praise her in the gates. Do you know that Hebrew
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men memorize this? And at Shabbat, they will
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quote it to the wife, to the mother. So men,
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get busy. Maybe you could write an updated version
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to say to your wife. Darren, are you going to
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do that? For the next men's breakfast, you can
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all work on memorizing it together. Listen, we're
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going to be looking, taking a bit of a broad
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look at this woman. I'm not wanting to get into
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the weeds of everything that she does. The truth
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is, is that this is a woman of ancient times,
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and her context is that Of her household. And
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the household was not just your typical household.
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But that was the means of provision. Agriculture.
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Merchandise. This was a woman that was a business
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woman. She looked after her household. But she
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was a business woman. She strengthened her arms.
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She was a wise woman. And for centuries. This
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passage has been used to confine women to look
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a certain way and to be a certain way. This is
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the context for this woman. What is your context
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today? Many of our moms, I think we have very
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few, we have just a couple of maybe stay -at
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-home moms. For the most part, our households
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today, though, are dual working. There's not
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a stay -at -home parent for the most part. And
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so our context today for what a woman is doing
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is very different from the context of this ancient
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Hebrew woman. And so this passage isn't necessarily
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about what she's giving herself to. So if you're
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saying, well, I can't do all of that, that's
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okay. You don't have to do all of that. You don't
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have to go out and buy a spindle and start weaving
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clothes for your family, unless you want to,
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and then have at it. But for so long, women have
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felt like it's confined them in their home, it's
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confined their voice. And the truth is, is that
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our homes don't look like this anymore. They're
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not centers for agriculture and trade. It looks
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different today. And so today what I want to
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do is to, first of all, as we shift into second
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gear, I want us to redeem the Proverbs 31 woman.
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I want to redeem her name because if truth be
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told, many of us hear Proverbs 31 woman and go,
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I'm just being honest of what I hear women when
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they come to me. This is the first verse in verse
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10. Who can find a virtuous wife? Who can find
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a noble wife? Do you know what this word noble
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really means? What this word virtuous really
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means? It's not this meek picture that we get
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in our head. The truth is that whether your version
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is reading virtuous, excellent, or noble, they
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all mean the same thing. They mean capable. They
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mean brave. They mean power. It means victory.
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It means a valiant soldier. It is specifically
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referring to military strength. That is what
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noble means. That, I would say, is not a meek
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woman. This is a woman of strength, of power.
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In fact, in a couple of other places in this
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passage, we see the same military connotations.
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In verse 11, where it says that the husband lacks
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nothing of value, that value that is referring
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to is that of spoils. The spoils of warfare are
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what the man has because of the woman and her
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valiant strength and power. In verse 15, when
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it says that she's providing food, it is talking
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about food of prey. That word prey is in there.
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That is that hunter. I know we got some women
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in here that hunt. How many of you have taken
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down some animals in here? Ladies? Yeah, Kristen
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back there. I see your hand. Fish? Hey. I've
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caught myself a fish. I don't know if it's in
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the same manner of shooting a gun. It is? That's
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only because you haven't hunted. You're saying,
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yes, it is. Somebody take him out to hunt. He's
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got to learn how to hunt so he can go on a loan
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and win us $100 ,000. $500 ,000? Somebody take
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that man out. Teach him how to hunt. Because
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I've told him, don't come back until you have
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the money. Verse 17 talks about girding herself
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with strength. Do you know what girding is? Girding
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is when a soldier, because you know they used
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to wear longer clothing, and they would take
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it and tie up their outfit and gird it so they
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would have freedom of movement to fight. And
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here we see this woman girding herself as a soldier
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girds himself for movement in battle. All throughout
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this passage, what we see is a woman of strength,
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of power, that is fighting for her household,
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that is fighting for her family. And can I say,
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ladies, that we have an enemy, that he is after
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your family. He is after to steal, kill, and
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destroy your family. He's after your marriage.
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He wants to steal, kill, and destroy your marriage.
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And he will not play fair. It requires a woman
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of strength. It requires a noble woman of military
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might and power to say, no, not here. No, not
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here. Not here. I draw a line in the sand, so
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to speak. A woman of military strength, power,
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victory, and bravery. I've sat across so many
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women that would never even consider themselves
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in that manner. And left in ourselves, maybe
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not. But what did we learn last week? What is
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in the sanctuary of his presence? Strength and
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bravery, right? Strength and bravery. And so
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what we're looking at today is a heroic poem.
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What do we see all throughout? In fact, Darren
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just read it out of... Moses. Miriam was singing.
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It was a song of heroism of what God had done.
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And so many times in battles of Israel, when
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there was victory, what did they do? They began
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to write poems and write songs of the great victory.
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And so this is a poem. It is a heroic poem of
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victory and might of women. It is a heroic poem
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of how God regards the work of women. This is
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the inspired word of God. This is how he views
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women. Strength and power and bravery and might.
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Some of us need to view ourselves the way God
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has intended. And so more than portraying here
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a to -do list for women, and you know me, I love
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a good to -do list. Darren loves it when I give
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him to -do lists. Usually he says, I love you.
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I know when he says that, I'm like, mm -hmm.
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More than portraying a to -do list of women.
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This passage is revealing wisdom in action. Wisdom
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in action. If we are just trying to copy this
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woman's to -do list, most of us would never measure
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up. You may be a great Martha Stewart, but to
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be honest, Martha Stewart's got a great team
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of people. But she pays a lot of money. Most
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of us cannot measure up. to the to -do list of
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the Proverbs 31 woman. What we need to get today
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is the spirit and the motivation that drives
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this woman. What drives you? There's a couple
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of women in the Old Testament I was thinking
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of that are like -mannered to the Proverbs 31
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woman in this way. One is Ruth. In fact, the
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word for noble woman in Proverbs 31 is used one
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other time with a woman, and it was Ruth. And
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you remember the story of Ruth, right? That she
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married Naomi's sons. They died. And Naomi's
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moving back home. And Ruth says, your people
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are my people. I'm going to go where you go.
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And she ends up gleaning in the field because
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of their poverty, gleaning in the field to provide
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for them. And because of how she treats her mother
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-in -law, Boaz, the owner, he says to her, when
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we find out that they are related, so he's the
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kinsman redeemer, he can marry Ruth. And so when
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Ruth approaches, his response to her is this.
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My daughter, don't be afraid. I will do what
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you ask. I will be your kinsman redeemer. All
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the people of my town know that you are a woman
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of noble character. Ruth carried the same spirit
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of the Proverbs 31 woman. Listen, it was hard
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work gleaning. This is a woman of strength, of
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bravery. It could be dangerous work. In fact,
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Boaz had extended his covering, his protection
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over Ruth in the fields and said, make sure no
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harm comes to her. It could be a dangerous work.
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But Ruth carried a noble character. She rose
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up with that brave and courageous spirit to take
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care of her mother -in -law. I think of Deborah,
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a prophetess that rose to become a judge of Israel,
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the only woman judge that we read about in Israel.
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She would sit under a palm tree, and all of Israel
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would come to her for judgment. And when it came
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time, because for 20 years they had been oppressed
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by a wicked king, and when it came time to go
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to battle, she told the head of the army, hey,
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God says it's time to go and fight. And he's
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like, yeah, I'm not. I'm not going, Deborah,
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unless you go with me. And so Deborah had to
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go with him as he led them in victory. And then
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interestingly, in that account, it was another
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woman jail that... dealt the final death blow
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to the wicked king. Deborah carried the same
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spirit of the Proverbs 31 woman. She was a woman
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of courage, of valor, power, bravery, to fight
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the battle of Israel, the enemy of Israel. And
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no less can we do for our families, for our households.
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As we move into third gear here today, I want
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us, because here's why interpretation is so important
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of the Bible. You can't just take a verse and
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be like, oh, that's cool, and I want it to look
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like this and believe this. So I think that's
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what I'll believe about that verse. No, we got
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to look at it in light of other things, right?
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And one of that, those things is the... book
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that you find it in. And so when we look at the
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book of Proverbs overall, we see a couple of
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interesting things. And one is that you cannot
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read Proverbs 31 and not see the parallelism,
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the correlation to Lady Wisdom of Proverbs chapter
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8. And so for a few moments here in third gear,
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I want us to look at the Proverbs 31 woman and
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how she correlates with the Proverbs 8 woman.
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Because I think it's going to help us in understanding
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what drives and motivates us and what we're doing.
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I'm going to read just a few verses of Proverbs
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8, and then we're just going to do a comparison.
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But it's talking about Lady Wisdom and who Lady
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Wisdom is. She was not a god or goddess at all,
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but she was there at the beginning of creation.
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It says, the Lord brought me forth as the first
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of his works before his deeds of old. I was formed
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long ago at the very beginning when the world
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came to be. I was constantly at his side. I was
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filled with delight day after day, rejoicing
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always in his presence, in his whole world, and
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delighting in mankind. Now then, my children,
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listen to me. Blessed are those who keep my ways
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the ways of wisdom. Listen to my instruction
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and be wise. Do not disregard it. Blessed are
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those who listen to me, watching daily at my
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doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find
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me find life and receive favor from the Lord.
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But those who fail to find me harm themselves.
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All who hate me love death. This is Lady Wisdom
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of Proverbs 8. That's a portion of her description.
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So she was there at the very beginning of the
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creation. Now, I'm going to quickly, we're not
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going to read the chapter for the sake of time,
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but here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to
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give you a list of traits that we see both in
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Lady Wisdom and in our noble woman of Proverbs
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31. She fears the Lord. In Proverbs 8, fears
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the Lord, hating evil, pride, and arrogance.
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31 is described as a woman who fears the Lord.
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The trait of instruction and wisdom. Lady Wisdom
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speaks what is noble, true, and right, and the
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valiant woman of Proverbs 31 opens her mouth
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with wisdom. To be treasured over jewels. Lady
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Wisdom is incomparably superior to jewels, and
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our noble woman is more precious than jewels,
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given her rarity. The trait receives honor and
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praise. Lady Wisdom possesses honor and our noble
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woman is praised for her surpassing works. Possesses
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strength. Lady Wisdom has strength and insight.
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The noble woman clothes herself with strength.
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Is industrious and active. Lady Wisdom is described
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as a master workman. Our noble woman diligently
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provides for others. Influences for the sake
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of others. Proverbs 8, by her kings reign justly.
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Noble woman cares for others and meets the needs
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of the poor. And finally, enriches those who
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find her. Lady Wisdom is accompanied by riches
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and brings a blessing and favor. Our noble woman
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does good all her days, ensures no lack of gain
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and brings honor. Do you see how similar Lady
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Wisdom and the Proverbs 31 woman are? There's
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a correlation between the two. And it is important
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that we get this. Because the truth is that Lady
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Wisdom represents the entirety of creation. She
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is a principle that undergirds entire creation.
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She's a pillar that upholds it all. She was there
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at creation as a companion to the creator. I
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mean, just think about that for a while. To be
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at the very beginning of creation, this wisdom
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of the ancient of days. And then we have the
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Proverbs 31 woman. And she doesn't represent
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all of creation. But she represents her work.
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She represents her limited local context. She
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represents her local community. And her portrayal
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is very descriptive of a woman's ordinary life.
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Like Lady Wisdom, she seems perfect, doesn't
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she? The perfect woman, the high standard. And
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so it's no wonder that so many women feel exhausted
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when they're told they have to be like her. Here's
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what it sums up. As the worthy woman of Proverbs
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31 nobly is living out her ordinary life, taking
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kids to soccer, cooking meal after meal after
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meal after meal after meal after meal after meal
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after meal. Laundry after laundry after laundry
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after laundry after laundry. You can fill in
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the blank of your ordinary day. The beautiful
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thing of this is that she mirrors the deep and
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ancient wisdom that was there from the beginning
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of time. You're not just an ordinary woman doing
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the ordinary, ordinary, ordinary, ordinary. You're
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a woman that is mirroring the ancient wisdom.
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The very foundation, your roots, your life is
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rooted in the creation narrative. The wisdom
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that you are invited into is rooted at creation.
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And your ordinary life is just really not that
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ordinary. It's rooted in the wisdom. Of creation.
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That should elevate your ordinary. That should
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change how you do the ordinary. And I would like
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to say I always feel victorious. And I feel the
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power of the ancient one in my laundry. My family
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would tell you that I probably don't. But to
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know as I'm growing in the fullness of God. That
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I am mirroring this ancient wisdom, lady wisdom.
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That's what Proverbs 31 is about. It's not about
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her to -do list. It's the fact that she mirrors
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lady wisdom. Unfortunately, Proverbs 31 has functioned
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as a law, as a list of demands and to -dos. And
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completely, it's wanted to put women into a particular
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mold. That if you are a godly woman, this is
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what it has to look like. And then we wonder
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why women are resistant. I don't want to be put
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in a mold. Instead, it's an invitation. An invitation
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to women to step out. To seek wisdom about your
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particular gifts, about your particular calling,
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about the particular plans and purposes that
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God's put in your life. It's an invitation to
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step out and seek wisdom in these gifts and callings
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and purposes and labor for the Lord. This should
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give us hope. I love Abigail as one of my favorite
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women of the Bible. I love Abigail. She was married
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to such a foolish, foolish man. Such a foolish
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man. And Abigail was a woman, it says, of good
31:11
understanding. And that's the same word they're
31:14
used for noble and wisdom. And when her husband
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failed to cover and protect the family, that
31:25
nobleness of Abigail rose up and went out to
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this anointed King David, this mighty soldier
31:33
who was about to wipe out her house. And she's
31:36
like, no, wait, no, wait. Here, here are the
31:38
provisions you need. Don't do it, David. Don't
31:42
shed blood, David. You're the king. Don't shed
31:45
blood. She was not a timid woman hiding out behind
31:50
her foolish husband. She stepped up with power
31:55
and bravery and might in a noble manner, and
31:59
she saved her household. And when her husband
32:03
died in his foolishness, she became the wife
32:07
of King David. I love Abigail because it's in
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Abigail's ordinary life that she does extraordinary
32:17
things. And so as we are moving into fourth gear,
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we're getting closer. I want to ask the question
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to you, what drives you? What drives you? Our
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text, a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be
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praised. To fear the Lord is to honor the Lord,
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is to revere the Lord. It is to worship the Lord.
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And so if what is driving you is to look like
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the Proverbs 31 woman, listen, that's not what
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she got praised for, her list of dues. What she
33:07
got praised for was fearing the Lord, was her
33:13
worship of the Lord. You will never measure up.
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to her task list. You will never measure up.
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But that's okay because what we're called to
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do is to fear the Lord. What we're called to
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be as women is to worship the Lord. To worship
33:37
the Lord with your kids and talk with your kids
33:40
on the way to soccer. To worship the Lord and
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talk with your kids as you're cooking dinner.
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To worship the Lord and talk with your family
33:49
about his goodness while you're watching movies.
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And they roll their eyes at you because you can
33:55
once again make spiritual application of the
33:58
storyline. Just be quiet and watch the movie.
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This woman was not praised because of all she
34:09
had accomplished. She was praised because she
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feared the Lord, because she worshiped the Lord.
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In all of her doing, what drove her was worshiping
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the Lord. What drives you? What drives you? All
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throughout Proverbs, we see this theme. And at
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the very beginning in chapter 1, it says, the
34:32
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
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It says in chapter 9, the fear of the Lord is
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the beginning of wisdom. If what is driving you
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is worship, is honoring the Lord in all that
34:52
you do, here's what you do. You open up your
34:55
life to the door of wisdom. When you open the
34:59
door to wisdom, then you will experience the
35:03
fruit of wisdom. The truth is, is that her list
35:08
of to -dos is the fruit of her fear of the Lord.
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And we get so focused on copying her fruit. Listen,
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you're an apple tree, and you're trying to copy
35:18
an orange tree. You've got to be fearing the
35:21
Lord, and then you just want to flourish as an
35:24
apple tree. You've got apples coming all out
35:27
of the place. You've got apples to give away.
35:30
generosity. You got apples to plant here and
35:33
here and here. And wherever you plant your apples,
35:36
they're going to grow up and they're going to
35:37
bear fruit and they're going to succeed. Why?
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Because you quit trying to be like the orange
35:43
tree. You invited the wisdom that comes from
35:47
the fear of the Lord. And it doesn't matter what
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you do and how you look like the person on Facebook
35:53
you keep stalking. Listen. You're created in
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the image of God to be you. And as you are you
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and you worship God being you, you will see the
36:11
fruit of Proverbs 31. And so we know what the
36:18
fruit of wisdom looked like for Proverbs 31 woman.
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My question today for us is what would wisdom
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look like? in your life today, if you were to
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revere God in everything, if you were to worship
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God in everything, what would wisdom look like
36:40
in your life? If you were to worship God in all
36:45
that you do, what would wisdom look like in your
36:50
life? What would this Hebrew poem be describing
36:56
your life? This morning, the team is going to
37:01
come. And as they're coming, I want to just finish
37:06
this off in fifth gear for you to cruise on out
37:08
of here. At the beginning of the book of Proverbs,
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woman wisdom sounds out the invitation to the
37:20
simple man to enter her house. Come and enter
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my house, she calls out. There's an invitation,
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and I love that invitation because it's not wisdom
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calling for all the super smart people to come
37:35
into her house. It's for the simple. It's for
37:39
the people that don't have much wisdom and knowledge
37:41
saying, come in. Lady Wisdom is calling you in
37:46
and wants to bestow wisdom to you. By the end
37:52
of Proverbs. What we have is what the picture
37:56
looks like when that simple man chooses to enter
38:00
into wisdom. Metaphorically, what we have is
38:06
taking wisdom on as the wife. God calls us to
38:12
choose wisdom to marry her. To become one with
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wisdom. And that begins... With living life driven
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by worship. With living life driven by serving
38:30
our God. And if there's one thing that I want
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my kids to see in my life, whether they agree
38:39
with me or not, if they can say she's worshipped,
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she's been consistent in everything, in worshipping
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God, in fearing God, that's all I need. I know
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I've failed in many areas as a mom, as a wife.
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But if they can at least say, well, she tried
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her best worshiping and fearing the Lord, then
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we've accomplished our goal. So what drives us?
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Today, ladies, I want us to shake off any feelings
39:16
of failure. Because I know what it is as a mom.
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How many of you older ones wish, man, if I knew
39:22
now what I did when I was eight, I wish I could
39:24
go back and reparent again. Wouldn't that be
39:28
great? Knowing what we know now, but we can't.
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But time and time again, I see women carrying
39:37
shame and regret. Listen, it's time to let that
39:42
stuff go. That's part of what the enemy uses
39:44
to steal, kill, and destroy. And then today,
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let's say, you know what? I'm going to rise up
39:49
as a noble woman. I'm going to rise up in bravery.
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I'm going to rise up in power and strength and
39:57
might as a noble woman. Because the truth is,
40:01
is I don't care how old your kids are. I don't
40:04
care if they're other people's kids. When Darren
40:07
said, how many of you are believing for a miracle?
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I believe every one of us should have a hand
40:12
raised. I believe there are people that we're
40:16
believing and fighting for. I believe there are
40:19
situations that we are believing and fighting
40:22
for. And it requires us to rise up in nobleness.
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It requires us to rise up, not in our own strength
40:29
and might, but in the power and the might and
40:32
the strength of the Lord, worshiping through
40:35
it, serving him through it. not backing down,
40:38
not when it gets tough, when it gets hard, when
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you're exhausted, to not back down, but to rise
40:45
up. to rise up in nobleness and say i'm going
40:49
to worship even more i'm going to fear god even
40:52
more i'm going to revere god even more because
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what i'm fighting for is worth fighting for my
40:58
households i'm fighting for my children my great
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grandchildren my great great grandchildren i'm
41:04
fighting for it is not a one and done thing we're
41:07
believing for legacies we are fighting for legacies
41:18
Of this world. Why? Because we are women of God.
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Because we are noble women of God who's called
41:24
us to something beyond ourselves. And he has
41:27
put inside of you the ability to tap in to the
41:31
ancient days, the ancient wisdom, and to rise
41:34
up in a way you've never thought you could. You
41:37
never thought you could. Listen, it's time to
41:40
do that. It's time to do that. There's no waiting
41:43
for something magical to happen. There's not
41:46
waiting for... to get a little easier and then
41:49
I will. It's when you are in the deepest pit.
41:52
It's when it feels like the bombs of the enemy
41:55
are just bombing you all around on every side.
41:58
That is when it is required for you to rise up
42:02
in nobleness. That's the time when it's time
42:05
for you to say, I will rise in the spirit of
42:08
the Proverbs 31 woman. And I'm going to, whatever
42:11
I do, I'm going to do it worshiping. I'm going
42:13
to do it serving. And I'm believing for the fruit
42:16
to be released. And so here's this morning what
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I want us to do. In a moment, we're going to
42:22
go outside. Your kids can play. We've got gifts.
42:26
We've got Lotus drinks for you out under the
42:28
tent. But for the next five minutes here, I want
42:33
us to just whatever you feel like you are cannot
42:37
be your truth. I feel weak and I feel like I
42:41
have failed. cannot be your truth. It may be
42:46
your truth, but it can't be the truth you live
42:48
in. You've got to start saying, I'm living in
42:51
the truth of what God has said about me. And
42:53
God has given to me this lady wisdom. And I'm
42:58
going to stop making excuses. Well, God, it's
43:02
so hard. It is hard. But you have immeasurably
43:08
more. than what you could ask or believe available
43:11
to you. You have the courage and the bravery
43:16
available to you. And so this morning, I want
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us to take our first step at being a woman of
43:26
valor. I want us to take our first step at being
43:30
a noble woman. Maybe you haven't felt that way.
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Well, today is the day. And we're going to just
43:36
for a moment sing this song over our families.
43:39
We're going to sing it over our friends. We're
43:42
going to sing it over our city. And we're going
43:45
to rise up, not in our own style, our own abilities,
43:50
strength, and might, but we're going to rise
43:52
up by faith as God -fearing women, as worshiping
43:56
women. And we're going to say, as a noble woman,
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as a brave woman, I'm going to release this into
44:03
the atmosphere of my household, of my city, of
44:07
my church. Amen? So will you stand with me this
44:10
morning and for the next five minutes or so,
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let's just begin to do that. If you've got the
44:16
stuff, if you've been carrying the baggage, I
44:19
want you to let it go. Let it go. You can't keep
44:22
carrying that baggage and become the woman of
44:25
nobleness. You've got to let it go and look to
44:28
the one who empowers you, makes you strong.