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411 | Conversations - Proverbs 24 · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  Music.
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  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries,
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  where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus like the woman at the
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  well in John chapter four.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
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  to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Livin' her life for Christ She's a happy girl.
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  Music.
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  She's a happy girl,
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  In this episode of the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast,
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  join Kim Miller and Erica Close in a conversation as we walk with Jesus.
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  In today's conversation, we continue a series on the book of Proverbs.
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  In today's podcast, we are discussing the lessons learned in Proverbs chapter 24.
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  Well, hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us. My name is Erica Close,
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  and I am here with Kim Miller.
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  Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Women at the Well Ministries.
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  We are excited that you have chosen to spend this time with us,
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  and we're excited to dive into Proverbs chapter 24.
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  You know, as we look at Proverbs chapter 24, there's a bit of a shift as we go from 23 to 24.
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  And 24 has so many verses about wisdom, which all of Proverbs talks about wisdom.
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  But Proverbs 24 talks about being wise in the world and being wise in our community.
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  It's very much an application of wisdom to a normal daily life.
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  And so I really think that as we go through this, you all will enjoy it.
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  I know that we're excited to dig in.
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  So Kim, would you like to start reading the beginning of Proverbs chapter 24?
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  Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
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  For their hearts studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
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  Through wisdom is an house builded, and by understanding it is established.
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  And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
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  A wise man is strong, yea, a man of knowledge increases strength. Amen.
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  For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war, and in multitude of counselors there is safety.
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  Wisdom is too high for a fool. He openeth not his mouth in the gate.
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  He that devises to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
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  The thought of foolishness is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to men.
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  If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
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  If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain.
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  If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it?
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  And he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it?
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  And shall not he render to every man according to his works?
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  My son, eat thou honey, because it is good, and the honeycomb,
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  which is sweet to thy taste.
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  So shall the knowledge of the wisdom be unto thy soul.
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  When thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
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  Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous.
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  Spoil not his resting place.
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  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again, that the wicked shall fall into mischief.
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  Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth.
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  Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
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  Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked,
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  for there shall be no reward to the evil man, the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
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  My son, fear thou the Lord and the King, and meddle not with them that are given
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  to change, for their calamity shall rise suddenly, and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
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  These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
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  He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous, him shall the people curse.
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  Nations shall abhor him. But to them that rebuke him shall be delight,
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  and a good blessing shall come upon them.
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  Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth the right answer.
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  Prepare thy work without and make it fit for thyself in the field,
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  and afterwards build thine house.
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  Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause, and deceive not thy lips.
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  Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me, I will render to the man according to his work.
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  I went to the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard the man void of understanding,
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  and lo, it was all grown over with thorns and nettles and covered the face thereof,
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  and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
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  Then I saw, and considered it well, I looked upon it and received instruction.
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  Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep,
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  so shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth, and they want as an armed man.
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  I think there are so many different themes and sections as we go throughout
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  Proverbs 24, but it's all about what wisdom does, the results of wisdom.
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  You know, as we begin to study wisdom through this proverb, it's important to
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  know that God gives us wisdom liberally, he says.
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  So if we ask for wisdom, he is more than willing to give us wisdom.
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  I think that wisdom is a lot more accessible because of that than we think it is.
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  We think that wisdom only comes with being old, right?
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  So therefore, it takes a lot of time to get wisdom. But the reality is wisdom,
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  true wisdom, comes to us from the Lord.
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  And, you know, worldly wisdom, being wise in the things of the world,
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  probably does take time and comes mostly to those that are aged.
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  But someone who fears the Lord, and Proverbs is all about wisdom,
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  and who lets the Lord lead is filled with wisdom, regardless of how old they are. Absolutely.
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  So as we start to look at Proverbs 24, I think one of the first lessons that
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  we see is found in Proverbs 24, verses 3 through 6,
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  where we read about how wisdom is like a house that is built,
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  and by understanding it's established,
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  and knowledge fills the chambers, and a wise man is strong, a man of knowledge
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  will increase strength, and then with wise Council?
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  We might make war, but in a multitude of wise counselors, there is safety.
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  And he also says that that house that you build will be filled with riches and all precious things.
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  Absolutely. So wisdom establishes, right?
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  It establishes things that are important, like a home, like knowledge,
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  like understanding, like wise counsel. things are established.
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  They begin and they begin well. And they're a firm foundation.
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  There's something you can count on.
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  Wisdom is something. It's not wishy-washy. If it was wise yesterday, it'll be wise today.
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  Wisdom is something that we can count on. Amen. Right?
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  So wisdom establishes. If we
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  move on to Proverbs 24, I think that wisdom also is a reward for the soul.
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  You mentioned that the chambers of a home that is established by wisdom will
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  be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
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  Verses 13 and 14 compare wisdom, the knowledge of wisdom, to honey, right?
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  And it says that the honey is good and the honeycomb is sweet to thy taste.
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  Wisdom rewards our soul. So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul.
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  When thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
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  Do you notice how in verse 14 he says the knowledge of wisdom?
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  Knowledge and wisdom are two very different things. Yes.
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  Knowing something does not mean you know how to apply it or that you're using
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  it for its proper or right use.
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  And wisdom is having knowledge and knowing when and how to apply it,
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  how to use it for the better good, how to use it for the right thing.
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  Godly wisdom is understanding how to navigate this world by fully trusting in
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  the Lord and listening to him as he lays out this map of life for you and just
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  gives you wise counsel for yourself, for others.
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  It's the ability to take what you know or what you're given in knowledge by
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  the Lord and use it effectively and efficiently.
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  And I think that that's where the reward for the soul comes in.
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  The wisdom that we have comes from the Lord and we are using something that the Lord has given us.
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  So as we apply wisdom to situations, we're using something from the Lord,
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  which therefore means that whatever it is we're doing is the Lord's will.
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  And thus our soul is rewarded. Like we find a sweet honeycomb filled with honey,
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  there is a reward to our soul when we act with wisdom.
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  And you know, that's so amazing that you use the term act with wisdom because
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  James 1 is pretty much devoted to telling us that we need to be doers of the
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  word and not hearers only.
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  We need to act upon the knowledge God has given us and we need to use it as
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  he instructs us to use it. Absolutely.
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  You know, there's another verse in here in verse 16, and I think what it tells
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  us is that wisdom gets back up.
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  For a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
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  I think that wisdom understands that setbacks will come. We don't always...
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  Get it right. But more importantly, sometimes we go through things.
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  There are storms. It rains on the just and the unjust.
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  But a wise person realizes to put their hope in Jesus Christ when the anchor is going to hold.
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  That's where you put it. The anchor holds.
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  And Jesus is the umbrella in the storm.
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  And you know that you may face some things, but you're never facing them alone.
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  And so even though you may slide a little bit or you may fall down or you may
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  scuff your knees, you get back up because wisdom is progress forward.
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  Wisdom shows you how to move through and forward.
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  That's really, I really like that idea. Wisdom is progress, right?
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  It's progress. Progress helps us move forward.
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  Thus, if we fall down, we get back up. Because I'm telling you,
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  stupidity will not move you forward. That's true.
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  In no way, shape, or form can you move forward if you're not using wisdom.
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  Exactly. You'll just dig a deeper pit. I think that verses 21 and 22 teach us
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  that wisdom avoids instability.
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  So 21 talks about fearing the Lord and the King and not meddling with them that
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  are given to change, meaning them that go back and forth.
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  For their calamity shall rise suddenly and who knoweth the ruin of them both, right?
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  This idea of unstable people, of being in unstable places, of being with people
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  that are one way and then another and then one way and then another.
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  It's not a wise place for us to be because it's not a solid foundation.
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  And he said to build our foundation upon a rock And he said, I changeth not.
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  You can trust him because he's the same. You know, before you move a little
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  bit further, I want to bring out something in 17 that says, he says,
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  Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth.
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  And I love how he puts it in there because he talks about when the wise man
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  falls, you know, he'll get back up seven times.
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  But he wants the wise man to remain compassionate. He wants the wise man to
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  remain loving and with a soft heart.
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  And the reason that is, in my opinion, is that as you become wiser,
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  you might have a tendency to be more self-reliant because you've seen your answers work.
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  You seem to know the right things to do.
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  And you could forget that wisdom comes from the Lord.
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  You could forget that you are to get your instruction and your direction straight from the Lord.
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  But a soft heart, a soft-hearted person will not forget that.
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  But even more importantly, when we don't rejoice at the calamity of our enemy
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  or when they stumble and have a problem,
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  it is a direct understanding that we're not doing all of this and getting all
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  this wisdom and making these wise choices on our own.
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  So don't be laughing at someone else because without me, this is the Lord.
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  Without me, you wouldn't be doing any better.
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  And so it's a constant reminder to put things in perspective.
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  Wisdom should be sought after and hung about our neck. We've read it.
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  And it's more precious than rubies.
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  But it comes from the Lord. Godly wisdom comes from the Lord,
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  and he gives it to all of us who ask. He gives it to us liberally.
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  But we need to realize that it is still his wisdom that we are operating in
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  when we are smart enough to submit under the mighty hand of God. Absolutely.
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  Verse 27 talks about how wisdom prepares.
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  Wisdom looks ahead and wisdom looks forward. Because wisdom is progress. Absolutely.
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  Wisdom, excuse me, 27 says, prepare thy work without and make it fit for thyself
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  in the field and afterwards build thine house.
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  It's about thinking ahead.
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  I think that wisdom, godly wisdom, allows us in some way to have a clue about
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  what to do next, and in many cases a clue about what's coming, right?
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  Those of us that are truly seeking the Lord and following the Lord are probably.
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  Not as surprised at some things as those that are without, as those that are
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  without the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts.
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  We may not get hours of preparation for things, But we often have peace in our
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  heart when something happens and are therefore prepared for it.
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  But someone who is wise is going to prepare.
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  It's someone that is going to prepare in our work, prepare in our preparations
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  for our home, prepare our actual home.
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  We are preparing for the future. Well, if you think about that,
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  that's a parallel symbolism of we prepare for the future when we place our faith
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  and our trust in Jesus Christ as Savior.
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  We have no hope in the next world without Jesus.
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  Jesus is our hope. And we are preparing for an eternity in heaven when we prepare
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  our hearts to receive the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
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  That is the ultimate in preparation.
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  And making sure that there we are ready. I love verse 28.
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  Verse 28 says, Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause,
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  and deceive not with thy lips.
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  How many ways in Scripture can it be written, don't lie?
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  It's one of the big ten. It's the Ten Commandments, thou shalt not lie.
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  But all through Scripture, it's telling us, don't be deceitful.
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  And it tells us that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. it who can know it.
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  And so we must turn our heart to the Lord and let the Lord have control of our
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  heart in order for us to live a life that is not deceitful.
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  But he says, don't be a witness against thy neighbor without cause.
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  I believe that can be simply said, don't pick a fight. I like that.
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  Don't start a fight and don't pick a fight. Wisdom does not fight for the fun of it. No.
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  And there needs to be place for grace in our lives.
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  And we live a great, merciful, blessed life because of the grace of Jesus Christ.
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  And he says that we're to love others as he loves us. We need to show some grace.
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  So, you know, don't sweat the small stuff. And the reality of it is it is a true statement.
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  Most things are small stuff. so don't be picking a fight with your neighbor
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  you know make sure there is a legitimate reason,
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  to have a dispute with your neighbor with
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  just cause make sure there's no other way that you could get through it when
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  we move into verse 30 and go through verse 34 i think we see after all of this
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  wisdom establishes wisdom rewards our souls wisdom gets back gets back up.
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  It avoids instability. It prepares. It does not lie.
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  Wisdom works so many times. It works more than just that it works, like it fits.
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  It actually does labor. It does labor.
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  You know, there are so many times in the previous 23 chapters of Proverbs where
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  we talk about slothfulness.
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  That is a King James' word and slothfulness, this idea of laziness,
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  is just clearly something that so much of Proverbs warns against.
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  And then in the very end of chapter 24, there are five verses that basically
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  describe going to the field of someone who is slothful and the vineyard of someone
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  who was lacking understanding,
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  and it was all grown over.
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  And there were nettles that covered it, and the stone wall was broken down.
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  And it's just falling apart. Like, it's not good.
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  And then these last two verses talk about just laziness.
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  Verse 33, yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.
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  Sleep is there's nothing wrong with
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  sleep but in this case it's
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  sleep when it's time to work right it's
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  sleep when it's time to be doing something else and
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  it talks about how poverty comes so this
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  passage doesn't right here doesn't really talk about working but it talks about
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  what happens when we don't work and that you live and want right because you
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  can't afford things and the lord is very clear that we are to work.
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  In fact, we're going to see it a little bit later in Proverbs 28,
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  but he talks about that you till your land and you have plenty.
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  But if you just don't and you follow after vanity, then you're going to have want.
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  And you're going to have things that are broken down.
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  Your wall is going to be covered in vines or in nettles.
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  Your stone wall is going to be broken down. Those things that are meant to be
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  strong and built up and good will not be. You have to take care of the blessings God gives you.
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  And things don't take care of themselves. And if he trusts you with something,
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  even if it's an amazing blessing that gives you great joy, that allows you recreation
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  and fun, you have to maintain it. Absolutely.
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  If you do not maintain the blessings God gives you, I submit to you that you'll get less blessings.
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  And the blessings he did give you will not give you the joy they were intended to give you.
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  Absolutely. I love the idea that there is a joy that is intended for us. Amen.
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  He said that it came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
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  That's a joyful life. That is a joyful life. And that is an abundant life. Amen.
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  And abundance comes from following the Lord and wisdom follows the Lord.
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  Wisdom is such a rewarder in itself. It's such an abundance.
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  Well, thank you so much for joining us in this podcast of Women at the Well
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  Ministries as we're walking through Proverbs.
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  And today we spoke of Proverbs 24.
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  Wisdom. Get it. Scripture says it. Thank you so much. And remember,
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  you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  Music.
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