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1 Kings 12 (Part 1) Bible Study (Rehoboam's Folly) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Meet me in First Kings Chapter 12 as we come to a very critical
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part of the story. God's story that is being
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written through a people called Israel that have been elected
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and chosen by God for a particular purpose through a
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specific covenant that would lead to a better and greater
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covenant. The one that you and I are
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enjoying today by the grace of God and the person of Jesus
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Christ. One of the most disheartening
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and disturbing factors of Solomon's descent into apostasy
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is easily his harem, This harem that has been comprised of 700
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wives and 300 concubines. It's just almost unimaginable
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how that is real. And it is real, and most people
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know that about Solomon's story. But what I believe most people
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don't consider concerning Solomon's story in connection to
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that is that with all the woman that he had been with, you only
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have one recorded son mentioned in all of scripture.
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Only one of Solomon's sons are mentioned by name in the Bible.
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I mean you would think that if you had 700 wives and 300
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concubines you would have more than one son.
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And perhaps he did have more than one son, but only one is
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highlighted in the scriptures and that is the one that we are
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going to experience in this chapter Rehoboam.
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But Rehoboam is not the only descendant that's recorded in
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the Bible connected to Solomon. Solomon also had daughters and
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two of them are mentioned in the Bible.
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Does anybody know where the daughters of Solomon are
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mentioned in the scriptures? Any idea?
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If you know it, you can say it. If you think you know it, you
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can still say it. We won't condemn you for trying.
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Any idea where the daughters two of the daughters of Solomon are
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mentioned? Well, it's in our study of first
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kings. It's in First Kings chapter
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four. Look at these two verses with me
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briefly. When the scriptures highlight
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the officials of Solomon, we're told of two of them who had
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married one of the two daughters of Solomon.
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Both are mentioned here. First kings 4 verse 11 Ben a Ben
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Adab and all nefeth door. He had to fath the daughter of
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Solomon as his wife. First Kings 411 There's one of
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them. First Kings 415 Ahemaz and
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Naftali. He had taken Basmath, the
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daughter of Solomon as his wife. So if you collect those verses
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with what we read in chapter 12 here we have a total of 3 of
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Solomon's children that are mentioned in the script
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scriptures. Most people believe that he had
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plenty more and you can see why again with that harem with all
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those women at his disposal. But what I find strange is how
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very few are mentioned in the Bible and some would argue, well
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it's because there's so many of them where you're going to
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mention all of Solomon's children.
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Others would say, well, the ones that are mentioned are the most
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prominent ones, and the other ones are more, you know, they're
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insignificant, they're not worthy of being highlighted in
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the scriptures, and those are good points to make.
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But again, I'm challenged because when you consider
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Solomon's father, what's his name?
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And when you consider Solomon's son Rehoboam, they have their
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descendants mentioned in great detail.
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David, you see different portions of scripture dedicated
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to describing his offspring. And what about Rehoboam?
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Do we have his descendants mentioned?
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We do turn to Second Chronicles. It's not too far from First and
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Second Kings. And look at Chapter 11, verse 21
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concerning Rehoboam. Rehoboam loved Makka, the
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daughter of Absalom, above all his wives and concubines.
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Now look at this. He took 18 wives and 60
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concubines and fathered 28 sons and sixty daughters.
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So I find David's descendants. If you want to see a summary of
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that, it's in First Chronicles chapter 3.
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I read in Second Chronicles Chapter 11 of Rehoboam's
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descendants. No such record is granted
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concerning the man in the middle Rehoboam.
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Or, excuse me, Solomon, we can just leave it at that and say,
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well, it's not important for us to know.
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And we we can again just make an argument based from common sense
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that surely had more children than what we see here.
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Or perhaps we can make another case.
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It's a very difficult thing to imagine and something that's
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very hard to swallow, but it's necessary to at least entertain
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as a possibility concerning the silence of his offspring.
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Did we forget what Solomon did leading up to his final moments
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of life? Let me remind you in First Kings
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11 and turn with me here to that chapter, and look here at verse
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seven and eight. Then Solomon built a high place
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for Himash, the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the
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abomination of the Ammonites on the mountain east of Jerusalem.
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And so he did for all his former wives who made offerings and
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sacrificed to their gods. Any light bulbs go off yet?
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Yeah. Has it not?
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Has it not registered yet? Let me remind you the first
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place. One of these deities, these
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false deities, are mentioned in scripture.
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Molech is in Leviticus and Leviticus 1821, the first time
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Molech is underscored in the Bible.
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This is what we're told in Leviticus 1821.
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You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech
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and so profane the name of your God, I am the Lord.
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One of the main ways that these false gods were worshipped is
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that you would offer your children to them and grotesque,
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unimaginable sacrifice. And I wonder, this is your
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speculation. I'm not making a definite
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argument here, but I wonder if one of the reasons why Solomon's
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children are not mentioned to the extent and with the detail
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that it deserved is because he participated in these gross acts
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of false worship. How many of these children in
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Solomon give up to Molech and these other false gods, I
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wonder? You're saying, well, that's so
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disgusting, such as the reality of this man's apostasy.
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Now perhaps you can feel with the Lord when we're told that he
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was angry with Solomon not just because his heart turned away
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from the Lord, be what this heart turned did to the lives of
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so many others. If this is how they worship
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gods, these gods, then surely Solomon, after being told that
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he worship these gods, participated in this to some
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regard. And whether rebel was Solomon's
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only son or was simply highlighted because he would be
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the successor to the throne, I wonder if Solomon had rehoboam
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in mind when he wrote Many of the proverbs Proverbs is
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provided in the context in the framework of a father speaking
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to who his son, and he says this in different ways in different
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places. But the verse that came to mind
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was Proverbs 2319, when Solomon said, Hear my son and be wise
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and direct your heart in the way.
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Proverbs 2319 Hear my son and be wise and direct your heart in
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the way. And the reason why I bring that
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verse to your attention before we come to this chapter is
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because Rehoboam will prove to be the exact opposite of the
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wishes of Solomon. He will not be wise, he will be
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a fool, and he will prove his folly at the introduction of his
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appearance here in the Bible. And that's exactly what we're
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going to be doing tonight. In this Bible study, you and I
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tonight are being prepared to explore the theme of wisdom.
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And not just any kind of wisdom. We're going to look at life
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saving, disastrous, dodging, heart unifying wisdom.
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And this is what rehoboam was sorely lacking.
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And it would lead to a catastrophe that would change
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the course of this nation's history.
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And these first 15 verses of Chapter 12 will lay that out for
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us, a sharpened understanding of such kind of quality of wisdom.
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And though they're going to be secondary points made
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throughout, the way that the sharpening is going to take
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place in your life and in mind is that looking at is we're
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going to look at what rehoboam did right, and we're going to
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look at what rehoboam did wrong. And by looking at both facets,
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you and I are going to hopefully draw out principles and truths
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that apply to you. Whether you're a king or have a
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throne or not, wisdom is needed for all.
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And so let's read the 1st 5 verses because I have 4 points
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concerning what wisdom teaches. You Want to title this Bible
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study what wisdom teaches 4 points, not limited to these
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points, but four things in this great treasure chest.
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Known wisdom that you and I can experience if we apply it to our
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lives carefully. Verse one of First Kings,
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Chapter 12. Rehoboam went to Shechem.
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For all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king, and as
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soon as Jeroboam, the son of the bat, heard of it, for he was
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still in Egypt, we had fled from King Solomon.
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Then Jeroboam returned from Egypt, and they sent and called
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them, and Jeroboam, and all the assembly of Israel came and said
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to Rehoboam. Your father made our yoke heavy.
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Now, therefore, lighten the hard service of your father and his
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heavy yoke on us and we will serve you, he said to them.
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Go away for three days, then come again to me.
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So the people went away. We got to make a few mentions
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here before we get to this main point.
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The first point about what wisdom teaches us.
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Rehoboam has his coronation service take place where
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Shechem, you would think that it would take place where
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Jerusalem, the city of David, the place where the king would
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rule and reign. This is a detail that we might
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overlook, but it's an important detail because, one, it's been
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mentioned and two, we got to consider the implications of it.
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If you had a map of ancient Israel and some of you have that
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in the back of your Bibles, I'm not sure how much attention the
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maps get in their Bibles, but they're there for a reason.
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And now in the age of technology, you can make a
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simple search and look for where Shechem is located in the
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Promised Land. Strategically, Shechem is placed
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in a central place concerning the northern tribes of Israel.
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So this was a wonderful location for a king to be to hold this
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inauguration because it would cater to the people and it would
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hopefully even appease the people of the north.
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Because perhaps Rehoboam is sensing that there is some
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friction in the air between the 10 northern tribes and the
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dynasty of David because of Solomon's foolishness.
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And so Rehoboam is making a political move here.
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He wants to make his way there instead of holding it in the
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tribe of his father in the area that he already has allegiance
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with. He wants to hopefully win the
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loyalty of this people by parking himself here and
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acknowledging their presence and wanting to again appease them in
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some way. Now Jeroboam, we heard of him
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last week. Jeroboam was one of the
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adversaries, one of the three that God raised up to be a thorn
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and Solomon's side because of his apostasy.
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God wanted to discipline him and he raised up different people to
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bring him to repentance. Jeroboam felt threatened by
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Solomon because Solomon wanted to kill him.
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So he he flees to Egypt. He hides, but he hides with a
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careful eye and a listening ear. News comes to Jeroboam that rail
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bomb the son of Solomon is going to be made king and check him.
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So he returns to home turf and the northern tribes recognize
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something in Jeroboam, perhaps the way Solomon did.
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Remember, Solomon noticed something about Jeroboam and
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hired him to have this governing role in his Kingdom and an
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administrative role. He was an industrious man.
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He was a very strategic man, a very hard working man, and it
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could be that these tribes recognize the same qualities.
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And he said you're going to be one of our spokespersons, and
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Jeroboam had no problem with that.
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So as a representative of these tribes with other leaders,
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perhaps Jeroboam now approaches Rehoboam and he wants to make a
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proposal. He wants to make some kind of
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negotiation before they pledge their allegiance to him and his
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Kingdom. And this is the summation of
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what Rehoboam is requesting. Excuse me?
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Jeroboam is requesting less taxes, less hard labor.
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Your dad punished us. Your dad took so much away from
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us. Your dad was overbearing.
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And what I find fascinating about this is that these people
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are experiencing the very thing that the prophet Samuel warned
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in First Samuel chapter 8 when the people originally requested
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for a king. If you read there in First
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Samuel 8, eight, verse 10, down to verse 18, you get a summary
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from the prophet who told this people exactly what they could
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expect if they choose to have a human king over the divine king.
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And one of those things is just that, taxation.
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The other thing would be hard labor.
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You'd be recruited outside of your control to do things in
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order to promote the prosperity of this human ruler.
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And now the people are tasting the consequence of their very
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sin. And what's so sad to see is not
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them just tasting it, but then tasting it and still not
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repenting of it. This isn't repentance.
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This isn't them looking back and saying, oh, we went wrong, our
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fathers went wrong. Why didn't we listen to the
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prophet, to the man of God who spoke on behalf of God?
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We need to get back to God. They didn't do that.
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They just wanted the consequences to be lighter.
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They want to make a deal with the consequences of their
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actions. But pay attention to this.
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It's more disappointing than that.
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Out of all the concerns that the tribes of Israel had at this
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time, this is your ultimate concern.
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Taxes and hard labor. Yeah.
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It makes life difficult, I'm sure I understand.
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But do you remember the scene that Solomon left before Rare
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Bone would take his place? Are we not told in First Kings
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11 verse seven? Then Solomon built a high place.
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He built a high place for Hemos, the abomination of Moab, and for
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Moloch the abomination of the Ammonites on the mountain east
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of Jerusalem. Solomon didn't just sacrifice to
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these gods secretly. Solomon erected these false
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places of worship near the temple of God.
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So now Jerusalem, the holy city, Israel as a whole is littered
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and polluted with not just false worship, but obvious tangible
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places where these gods could be worshipped.
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You would think that if this people were truly the people of
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God, that one of their protests would be Solomon left us idols
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and Solomon introduced to our people false worship.
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We need to clean this place up for her.
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Boom. If you're going to take his
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place, please do something with your power and your authority to
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cleanse the land from these false demonic deities.
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No such thing. Taxes.
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Hard labor. Obviously they were not
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disturbed by the idolatry that was right before them.
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And why are you mentioning this? Well, remember, early on in
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Solomon's reign we discussed and we observed the cracks in the
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foundation of his faith that ultimately ended up leading him
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to the disaster that he was in. I argue that here's some cracks
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in the faith of the people as a whole who are not disturbed by
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what was taking place right around them, who are concerned
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about themselves primarily. And you know your Bible well
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enough to see where this is going to end up, where this is
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going to lead the people for generations to come.
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It's only going to get worse and worse and worse.
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You know, I read that I thought to myself, Lord, let my heart
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never be undisturbed by sin. Let me be sensitive to evil.
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Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness, not merely because
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he was rejoicing in righteousness, but because he
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hated wickedness. You want to be like Jesus.
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You're going to hate like Jesus. Lord help me love like you love.
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Good. Pray that always, but include
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this in your prayers. Help me hate as you hate and
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these people did not care. Flag.
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Huge flag. We see here that there is no
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call for repentance, repentance, no call for reform, no call for
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seeking the face of God wrapped up in the natural.
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And they couldn't even interpret the fact that the consequences
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of this leadership that was overbearing was a result of
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their disobedience many books ago.
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But here is where we see Rehoboam in a favorable light.
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When he receives his proposal, he asks for time to think about
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it. He retracts before he gives an
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answer. Here is one of the marks of
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wisdom, Mark #1. Wisdom will teach you to listen
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closely and think carefully before answering.
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Wisdom will teach you to listen closely, to think carefully
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before responding. In Proverbs 1528, we're told
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that the heart of the righteous ponders before he answers.
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One translation says it this way.
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The heart of the righteous studieth before he gives an
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answer. So righteousness.
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Wisdom looks like pausing, pulling away before giving
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counsel, conclusions, explanations.
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Often people limit how wisdom manifests by identifying
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somebody who can, at the top of their mind, just right off a
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whim, give some kind of answer without much preparation,
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without much thought. We tend to crown people with
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wisdom when they are able to demonstrate such abilities.
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But broaden your understanding of wisdom, because the Bible has
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a broader view of what wisdom looks like.
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Wisdom also looks like silence. Wisdom also looks like Give me
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some time. Wisdom also looks like.
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Let me seek counsel from others on this.
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Wisdom also looks like. I want to be careful how I how I
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respond to this moment and to your need.
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So give me a little bit of of time to reflect before I give
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you what you're asking for. That person is just as wise as
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somebody else who can solve mysteries and can confound
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others with their brilliance. Who don't have to reach over to
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a shelf and pull up something because of their lack of memory,
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can say something right there and then.
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Wisdom can manifest in such a way.
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But as we see here, wisdom also looks like pondering Before
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you're answering. That is a grace that is
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especially needed when somebody or some people approach you and
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based on what you say, may contribute to a life altering
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decision or to establishing a set of convictions and beliefs.
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So you don't have to ponder absolutely everything that is
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brought to your attention, right?
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Some people ponder way too long about where they want to go eat
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after church. It doesn't.
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You don't need to. I need to ponder about this and
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seek wisdom. No, you don't.
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You need to just go somewhere and eat.
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OK, but there are decisions in life.
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There are crossroads. There are moments where you will
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be approached, especially for those who are leaders or
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aspiring leaders, where you need to know this grace that wisdom
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offers to listen closely, think carefully before responding.
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I was reading numbers. I'm in the book of numbers in my
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personal reading, and I saw this demonstrated in the life of
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Moses. Moses.
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Remember Moses back in Exodus? He would have a line of people
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come to solve a variety of cases.
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His father ended up saying, look, you're going to kill
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yourself. You got to set up a different
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system here where you have the major cases come to you and then
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all these other people can deal with the minor case.
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Moses is someone who who had a mind, who had the ability to
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solve things, and yet he was also a man who possessed wisdom
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in this way. So you had people who were
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around and touch dead things, and the Passover was around the
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corner, Numbers, Chapter 9. And so they approached Moses and
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they say, hey, look, are are we supposed to participate in this
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feast or not? Because we did this and we know
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that we're supposed to be isolated for a time, cleanse
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ourselves before we engage. And this is what Moses says in
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in Numbers Chapter 9, verse eight.
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It's just one verse that popped out and was able to minister me
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for that day. And Moses said to them, wait,
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that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.
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Oh, Moses doesn't know. No, Moses is wise.
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Moses is wise. Give me a second.
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Here, let me think about this. Let me seek God on this, and
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then I'll give you a clear answer.
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So what wisdom does is it releases the pressures of the
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flesh to try to, for whatever reason, convey or explain or
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give something right away. That's a pressure of the flesh,
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and that's an increasing pressure of this culture and the
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attitude of this generation, Is it not?
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People of our day are addicted to reactions.
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What are the most clickbaity things on YouTube?
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One of them, at least my response to the Christian
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response to, oh, I want to hear what this guy say.
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Everybody wants to know what everybody's responding to
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concerning an event or a cultural phenomenon, right?
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Response. Response.
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We want to hear what people have to say.
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And the greater the platform, the more we are longing to hear
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from somebody. And these people who do have
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platforms and do have voices, I believe, face that temptation
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all the time. One, because they're being asked
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and demanded to give an answer. And two, there is this weird
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temptation of not just giving a response, but being one of the
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first to give it, and often times at the cost of factual and
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significant content. Some people don't even care
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about getting their facts right. They just want to shoot off
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their mouth and be able to have the most views and the most
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clicks and the most recognition. Can you know what the Bible
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prizes? Pondering, waiting, stepping
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back, letting things surface, investigating all sides.
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That's what wisdom teaches somebody, and that's something
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you and I can use in this day and age where finger fingers
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are. They feel the pressure of
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posting, commenting, putting this up.
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It's not always wise to do that. And I've seen many people in the
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past four or five years make regrettable statements and
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realize that only after the fact, when the smoke is cleared
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and they thought maybe I shouldn't posted that, maybe I
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shouldn't have said that, maybe I shouldn't have advised that.
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Maybe I shouldn't give, I shouldn't have given to that
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cause. Be slow, rare.
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Bowman is honorable here. Give me 3 days.
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Let me think about that. But here's the second thing that
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wisdom teaches. Wisdom teaches us not just to
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listen closely, think carefully, but it teaches us to seek
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specific counsel. Look here with me in verse six.
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Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old man who had stood
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before Solomon, his father, while he was yet alive, saying,
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how do you advise me to answer this, people.
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So in the pursuit of wisdom, the path that wisdom places you on,
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which caused you to listen closely, think carefully before
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responding. You're also in that process
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going to seek for counsel and notice.
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I said specific counsel because we're told that Roboam sought
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old men, not just old men, but men who stood before Solomon.
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What does that mean? Here's a translation.
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Men who had experience in the area that Roboam was uncertain
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about. These men had a resume.
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These men had history. They had experience.
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And Roboam, again here is seen in a favorable light.
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He was drawn to. He approached the right people.
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I know this sounds like common sense, but you'd be made to know
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how many people failed to grasp these life altering truths, life
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saving truths. And at one point they might have
25:40
had it and then they let go of it for whatever reason.
25:42
So that's why we reminded of these things.
25:44
OK? If you're going to seek counsel,
25:46
I advise seeking counsel from people who are experiencing the
25:49
place that you're seeking counsel for.
25:52
If I'm going to seek counsel concerning ministry, who do you
25:56
think I'm going to go to for counsel?
25:58
Most likely people who have experience in history And what
26:02
ministry, right? And that is true for every arena
26:06
of life you should be able to identify.
26:08
You should be able to look for those who can say and not just
26:12
say from experience, but have the presentable and obvious
26:17
character in that moment. To be able to give you
26:21
principles from the experience that they had.
26:24
Because as we learn, years and experience and whatever you've
26:28
got going on in your life doesn't necessarily equate to
26:31
discretion and prudence. But if a person has character, a
26:35
person is trustworthy, a person has fruit with that experience,
26:38
that's gold. That is gold.
26:40
And your heart should, with that simple common sense truth, go to
26:44
people, say, I see counsel. OK, look, wisdom isn't about
26:47
just seeking counsels without speaking the right counselors.
26:52
How did you make that decision? Well, I asked people Who did you
26:55
ask? It's not just about seeking
27:00
counsel, but about the right counselors that you're seeking.
27:04
Proverbs 11 tells us in verse 14, Proverbs 24, verse six that
27:09
in abundance of counselors there is safety.
27:12
Another transition would say in abundance of counselors there is
27:15
victory. So wisdom teaches you and I to
27:18
seek specific counsel. And like the previous
27:21
misconception mentioned, some people believe that wisdom is
27:25
proven by one who is a self seeking arbiter.
27:30
I don't need to ask anybody's advice, I know it.
27:33
I have my own experience. I have my own ways of looking at
27:35
this. I I can figure this out, I can
27:37
crack the code. And though that might be true in
27:40
some instances, in the experiences you have should be
27:42
able to arm you to know what to do in particular moments.
27:45
I say a man or a woman is crowned with wisdom when they
27:49
have the humility to say I'm going to pick up the phone and
27:51
make a few phone calls. That's not you lacking wisdom.
27:55
That's you possessing wisdom. And so again, broaden your
28:01
understanding of what wisdom looks like.
28:03
It's not you figuring it all out because you have the
28:05
supernatural ability to solve things.
28:07
That's that's one way wisdom can manifest.
28:10
But God will often cause you to feel the need to get something
28:14
from someone else. That's the beauty of the body of
28:16
Christ. You're 1 member part of this
28:20
complex thing. You're benefiting from others.
28:23
God established his church that way.
28:25
So if you feel the nudge and the urge to seek counsel from
28:28
specific people, that's not you Lacking wisdom, that's you
28:32
having it. And this is what this man does.
28:35
And it's worth looking at the advice that they give you.
28:38
Ready. Here's what they said to them.
28:40
Verse 7. And they said to him, if you
28:44
will be a servant to this people today and serve them and speak
28:48
good words to them when you answer them, then they will be
28:52
your servants forever. So they're they're telling him,
28:57
look, if you do something for them, they will do something for
29:02
you in return. And what did he ask?
29:03
What did they ask? Rahabaum, to be a servant.
29:09
Rahabaum, you be a servant to this people.
29:11
Here's a transition. If you come humbly, if you
29:15
express that you are for them and you are with them, that
29:18
you're there to support them, that you're there to come
29:21
alongside them and to guide them and to empower them, man, you
29:26
will win their hearts and they'll get behind you and
29:30
they'll walk with you and they'll pledge their loyalty to
29:33
you. So Rearbaum approached them with
29:36
that kind of loneliness, and you will be rewarded.
29:39
Bad advice or good advice. Good advice, right.
29:43
And can I tell you why it's good advice.
29:44
Not because it makes sense. Not because there's a fragrance
29:47
there of humility that most, if not all people are drawn to, but
29:52
because it's rooted in the Bible.
29:55
Do you remember what the kings were supposed to do?
29:56
We've gone back to this text over and over again, but there's
29:59
so many details that we miss. In Deuteronomy 1716 to 20, we're
30:03
told what the kings were to avoid and what they were to do.
30:06
One of the things that they were to do was what absorb the word
30:08
of God, write a copy of it, get it approved by the Levites, and
30:11
read it and cling it to your breast every single day.
30:15
And here is the result, one of the results of these kings doing
30:19
just that. Deuteronomy 17, verse 20.
30:22
Look at the fruit of a man who finds himself anchored in the
30:27
scriptures, and especially as a king, as a leader.
30:29
This is what God had in mind, that his heart may not be lifted
30:33
up above his brothers. So you can argue that the
30:39
counsel of these older men is rooted in that as a king, you're
30:46
not meant to Lord it over others.
30:49
You're not meant to lift up your heart above them.
30:52
No. Come to them as a servant.
30:54
Approach them in that kind of loneliness.
30:57
This is what God's will is for you.
30:58
This is what the Lord longs for you, and this is what we're
31:01
translating to you in this particular case.
31:03
So I argue that these men are hopefully basing it off this
31:07
truth, and I couldn't help but think about how that's a
31:12
universal truth for all spiritual leaders of all ages.
31:16
You know what verse came to mind when I was meditating on this
31:18
today? The last verse of Second
31:20
Corinthians, chapter one, Second Corinthians chapter one, verse
31:24
24. You don't have to turn there,
31:25
but if you want, you can listen to this glorious gem of truth
31:29
that Paul explains as a leader. He says in 2nd Corinthians 124.
31:35
Not that we Lord it over your faith.
31:38
Look as an apostle, as a leader of a church, as a church
31:40
planner. I'm not here to Lord myself over
31:43
your faith. I'm not here to abuse my
31:46
authority. But what is he here to do?
31:48
But we work with you, not over you.
31:52
You don't work for us. No, we work with you.
31:56
And notice what they're working together for.
31:59
For your joy. For your joy.
32:02
A few months ago we we installed another elder here, and this
32:07
verse was brought up because we wanted to let the people of God
32:11
know that one of the reasons you can rejoice when God raises up
32:15
Godly leaders in your life is that it will contribute to your
32:18
joy. They're there to work with you
32:21
for real joy, not just theoretical joy, real tangible
32:25
joy for you. Stand firm in your faith.
32:31
So leaders, aspiring leaders of any capacity, understand this.
32:34
You don't Lord it over others. You work with people, and people
32:37
should sense that. They should sense that you're
32:39
there with them, your partner with them.
32:41
And though you may have authority to a certain regard,
32:44
it's not to abuse, It's not to, It's not to manipulate, it's not
32:47
to take advantage of. It's to contribute to their joy.
32:51
This is what rare Baum received as counsel.
32:53
Wisdom teaches you to seek specific counsel.
32:57
I say specific because of the Third Point.
33:00
Wisdom will teach you to identify and reject the wrong
33:05
voices. The wrong voices.
33:10
Look at verse. 8 But he abandoned the counsel that the
33:17
old man gave him, and took counsel with the young men who
33:21
had grown up with him and stood before him.
33:25
Make a contrast between the men that he sought originally and
33:27
the men that he sought here originally.
33:29
He sought old men who stood before who?
33:32
Solomon? And now he seeks the counsel of
33:36
young men who grew up with him and who they stand before him.
33:43
So these are close friends, these are companions, these are
33:46
contemporaries. And this is where now Rehoboam
33:49
takes a wrong turn. So the first two points we
33:52
thought Rehoboam, you're headed in the right direction.
33:56
And though we can even question those, the motive of those first
33:58
two points, as we're about to, in principle they are still
34:01
true. But this is where it becomes
34:03
blatantly flagrant. This man now goes to these men
34:09
and he seeks the advice of the wrong crowd.
34:13
And here's what I want to say. As a side note, sometimes wisdom
34:17
will tell you to seek the counsel or the advice of an
34:21
outsider. What I mean by that, Sometimes
34:24
situations will require you to not seek the advice of those in
34:28
your immediate context and who are familiar with you and who in
34:33
the familiarity with you might be biased toward you and will
34:38
lean to defend you regardless, or might have blind spots
34:42
because they're caught up and entangled in the affairs.
34:45
So wisdom will whisper to you at times.
34:47
Talk to somebody who is not connected to this situation
34:51
because often times they can provide a clear assessment
34:54
because they are not again bound to the limitations that the
34:58
complexity of circumstances might bring one to sometimes,
35:01
not always. And this meant, unfortunately,
35:04
he he draws himself, he invites those that are very familiar
35:08
with him, that are biased toward him.
35:11
And rail bones problem is much deeper than that.
35:14
Compare his wording here in verse 9 to verse 6.
35:18
Let's read carefully, shall we? And he said to them, he's
35:22
speaking to his friends now. And he said to them, what do you
35:26
advise that we answer this? People who have said to me,
35:30
lighten the yoke that your father put on us, Absorb that,
35:35
digest that. Now look at verse six.
35:38
Then King Realbaum to counsel with the old man who had stood
35:41
before Solomon, his father, while he was yet alive, saying,
35:43
how do you advise me to answer this people Anything stand out
35:48
to you this comparison Very good.
35:57
Did you catch that? Do you see the inclusive
36:00
language when he talks to his friends in comparison to him
36:03
talking to the old men? Look again in verse nine.
36:06
What do you advise that we answer this people.
36:10
And when he spoke to the old man look what he's asked and how he
36:14
asked. How do you advise who we me.
36:21
Solomon's. Excuse me?
36:22
Robohm's words here and how he identifies with the younger
36:26
people shows that his mind is already set on what he wants to
36:31
do. What do I mean by that?
36:35
He was simply looking for the counsel that would agree with
36:38
what he had already determined within himself.
36:42
Do people seek advice that way? Yes.
36:46
Do people hop from one person to the next until they land on
36:49
somebody who agrees with what they have determined already?
36:52
Is that wisdom? No, it's foolish.
36:56
That's foolish. And So what about him taking
36:59
that time off? What about him going to the old
37:01
men? Perhaps this man was just going
37:05
through the routine and the motions.
37:07
Perhaps he was just placating and just giving the the idea
37:11
that he was somebody who was, you know, he playing politics
37:14
here. But when it comes to the young
37:17
men, he says we proving to us that he already set his mind and
37:24
he's just looking for somebody to agree with him, to give him
37:26
the license to go ahead in the direction that he had
37:28
determined. That is a deadly way to set up a
37:31
support system, and I mean deadly.
37:37
To find people who will never disagree with you, never
37:39
challenge you, never rebuke you, never redirect you.
37:44
To find the Yes Men, Yes Woman to defend you whether you're in
37:47
the right or in the wrong, is devastating to your development,
37:51
your witness, and your fruitfulness for the Kingdom of
37:53
God. Such people listen to me.
37:57
Listen to This might sound harsh, but it's true.
37:59
Such people don't love you. They don't love you.
38:05
They love something about you and something, perhaps, that you
38:09
offer them. And they're afraid that them
38:11
taking a stand against you will cost them such, so they will
38:14
never speak up against you. I need, I love, I am drawn to
38:23
those that I can tell, fear God, know God, absorb His word, live
38:27
by the Word, and will speak into my life whether I like to hear
38:30
what they have to say or not. That's wisdom.
38:34
That's a safe way to live. That's a true support system.
38:41
And unfortunately, this is not what this man had.
38:45
And I wondered why that was the case.
38:46
Well, we're not told why they gave this particular advice.
38:49
Let's read it, they say here. And the young men in verse 10
38:53
who had grown up with him, notice the repetition there, who
38:55
had grown up with him, said to him Thus shall you speak to this
38:58
people who said to you, your father made our yoke heavy, but
39:00
you lighten it for us. Thus you shall say, shall you
39:03
say to them, my little fingers thicker than my father's thighs.
39:07
And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add
39:10
to your yoke. My father discipline you with
39:12
whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.
39:15
Who are these guys? What kind of advice is that?
39:21
The advice of young, proud, insecure people who don't
39:25
understand how leadership really works.
39:29
And you know, again, you wonder, why did they have this kind of
39:32
approach? Why did they come about with
39:33
this kind of advice? And perhaps again, this is a
39:37
speculation. They benefited much from the
39:39
prosperity and the power of their friend Rehab.
39:43
These are not random young people.
39:44
These are people who grew up with them, who stood before him.
39:48
And again, it could be that in hearing and knowing about the
39:51
advice of the old man, or to comply to the request of these
39:54
tribes, rehoboam would be weakened.
39:57
He would have to give up so much if he let go of the taxation
40:00
that the father had decided or the hard labor that would
40:03
generate the prosperity that they enjoyed.
40:06
So these friends, perhaps connected to the benefits of the
40:09
king, don't want to lose something themselves.
40:12
And so in wanting to secure their own enjoyment and their
40:15
own benefits, they said don't do it this way.
40:18
Vamp it up. Go the authoritarian approach.
40:23
Get aggressive. Let him know that what they've
40:25
seen will not even compare to what you will give to them.
40:31
It's so unfortunate. Whether you like it or not,
40:36
there will be many voices that will speak into your life, even
40:40
voices that were not invited to speak into your life.
40:43
They will make way to your mind, to your heart, to your ears
40:47
directly. Indirectly, and wisdom will
40:50
teach you how to identify and reject the wrong counsel that
40:55
comes your way. Here's how real Bomb could have
41:01
avoided it. Because this is arrogant, this
41:04
is selfish, and they took advantage of this moment with
41:07
their friend to the opposite of what the Crown asked.
41:12
And so this is where you and I have to be careful #1 Under this
41:15
Third Point, determine in your heart that you will receive
41:20
God's counsel no matter what it costs you, no matter what it
41:25
will cost you. I've met people who want advice,
41:28
and when they hear the advice that comes from the word of God,
41:31
they reject it because they realize how costly it is.
41:34
It costs your pride. It costs your time, it costs
41:38
your efforts, your discipline. And when it doesn't, again like
41:42
Ryrbohm, agree with your standard, you shun it.
41:48
You gotta determine in your heart, Lord, whatever you ask of
41:52
me in this moment, in the circumstance, with this
41:54
decision, I will do it. Lord, look at my heart.
41:56
Please, Lord, look at my heart and see that my heart more than
41:58
anything else, more than my comfort, more than anybody else.
42:01
Liking me more than how people will praise or condemn this
42:05
decision. I want you to be pleased.
42:07
That's got to be the foundation. That's got to be laid out flat
42:11
and clear, undeniably in your conscience.
42:15
Rebel didn't have that. His heart was so polluted.
42:16
It was so ugly. He was playing tricks and he was
42:19
trying to even convince himself, I'm going to go to the old men,
42:21
hear what they have to say. But he already determined his
42:23
mind and when he found the crowd that would speak into his pride,
42:27
he went with it. The second thing that you must
42:30
do is this. You have to so familiarize
42:32
yourself with the word of God, that through the discernment
42:36
that you develop in your engagement and your study of the
42:38
word of God, you can spot out what is false.
42:41
You can spot out what is wrong. You can come to the point and
42:44
your knowledge of the word of God.
42:46
Listen carefully, or even when a preacher preaches and 99% of it
42:51
is right, that 1% you'll be able to detect something's off here.
42:55
Something's not right. Everything sounds so good.
42:57
There's verses quoted, they're all these footnotes.
42:59
But there's something not right here.
43:02
And that's how Spurgeon defined discernment.
43:06
Discernment, according to Spurgeon, I agree with him, is
43:08
not determining between what is right and what is wrong, but
43:10
what is right and what is almost right.
43:14
It's not difficult to see what is right and what is wrong.
43:17
I mean, in this day of age, even in Christendom, it's becoming
43:20
increasingly more difficult. True discernment is saying this
43:23
is right. That's almost right.
43:28
How do you develop that? The Bible.
43:32
It's the supernatural empowerment for discernment.
43:37
You don't have a rich relationship with the Bible.
43:39
You're going to have poor discernment in life.
43:41
I'm telling you, it's not just knowledge.
43:43
There's a spiritual impartation that takes place where there's a
43:47
sensitivity to your ability to discern, to absorb what is pure
43:53
and holy, and to reject and remove yourself from that which
43:57
might pollute you and infect you.
44:00
Here's one of the strongest examples of that.
44:03
This came to mind, and you're gonna have to turn to the seat
44:04
with me, another leader who is the exact opposite of this man
44:08
rehab bomb. Nehemiah.
44:09
Go to Chapter 6 with me very quickly.
44:11
I want you to see this. This is a wonderful scene to
44:15
expound upon this truth of what wisdom teaches us.
44:20
Look at Nehemiah and go to chapter 6.
44:25
Nehemiah was called by God to build the walls of Jerusalem.
44:28
Was it an easy task or a difficult task?
44:31
Turbulence or no turbulence? Turbulence, threats or no
44:34
threats along the way? A lot of threats.
44:36
Here's one of them, and I want you to see how clever Satan can
44:39
be. I want you to see the kind of
44:42
tactics and the depth of his arsenal.
44:47
Here it is in Nehemiah chapter 6, verse 10.
44:50
Now when I went into the House of Shamaya, the son of Delilah,
44:57
son of Mihitabel, who was confined to his home, he said
45:02
let us meet together in the House of God within the temple.
45:06
Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to
45:10
kill you. They are coming to kill you by
45:13
night. So here's this man who is named,
45:16
who invites Nehemiah into his home.
45:19
And he's confined in his home, perhaps demonstrating his own
45:22
fears of the enemies of the people of God, who who brought
45:26
many threats throughout this construction project.
45:29
And this man now invites Nehemiah into his home.
45:31
And he says, look, I I got a word here.
45:35
I got a word from God. I got instruction here.
45:38
They're coming to kill you, and you need to hide.
45:42
And I'm telling you, the best place to hide is in the House of
45:45
God. The House of God, then, is not
45:47
the House of God that we experience, you and I, every
45:48
week. It was the temple, and he was
45:50
told that, and we're being reminded that it's a temple.
45:54
Hide in the temple, close the doors, and they won't find you.
45:57
They'll never look in there, and you'll be safe.
46:00
So this man is coming, presumably as a man speaking on
46:03
behalf of God, as a friend, speaking in supposed care and
46:10
compassion. I love Nehemiah.
46:13
Look how he responds to verse 11.
46:15
But I said, should such a man as I run away and what man such as
46:22
I could go into the temple and live, I will not go in.
46:31
You know you read Nehemiah 6 in your devotion and you pick up
46:33
the Bible app and you see these verses in verse or verses of the
46:37
day. I don't know how they do it
46:38
anymore. You say OK, Nehemiah is he's
46:40
he's courageous. He's not going to hide.
46:42
No. Nehemiah knows his Bible.
46:45
It's not just him being courageous as him identifying
46:48
and discerning that though this man speaks and supposed
46:53
knowledge and care on behalf of God, he's off.
46:56
He's off. Why is he off?
46:58
Can anybody tell me while he's off?
47:01
How? How is Nehemiah able to discern
47:03
this? Nehemiah wasn't a priest.
47:08
Implying what? Nehemiah had no right to go into
47:10
the House of God. Only the Levites.
47:14
Only the priest could abide in the Tabernacle in the temple.
47:19
And Nehemiah understood his identity.
47:21
He understood God's requirements and the boundaries.
47:24
And so when this man speaking with authority, this man
47:28
speaking as a spokesperson, this man speaking as a supposed
47:32
friend, he was off and Nehemiah could sense it because he had a
47:38
knowledge of the scriptures. And that's how verse 12 comes
47:42
about. Look at this verse 12.
47:43
And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had
47:50
pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat
47:55
had hired him. How did he identify that this
48:00
was a false prophet? How did he identify that this
48:02
was a word? Not from God?
48:04
Because it didn't line up with the word of God, full stop.
48:09
It didn't line up with the word of God.
48:13
And he was able to have not just discernment into this moment,
48:16
but even discernment into what was going on behind the scenes.
48:19
This was a hired man. To do what?
48:22
Look at verse 13 for this purpose.
48:23
He was hired that I should be afraid and act in this way and
48:27
sin. And so they could give me a bad
48:30
name in order to taught me. That's wisdom, man.
48:34
That's discernment, and it is directly correlated to your
48:38
grasp of the word of God, your grasp of the word of God.
48:43
And that's how deception is going to rank.
48:45
And that's why you and I are going to see more people bearing
48:50
the name of Christ as we approach the culmination of the
48:52
age, turning their back on the truth, getting swallowed up by
48:56
false teaching and false teachers for this one main
48:59
reason they don't know the Bible as they should.
49:04
This is a terrible time to be lazy with the Bible.
49:07
Let me say this in love. To my brothers and sisters, this
49:11
is a terrible time because Jesus prophesied that the first son of
49:14
the last days is that there will be rampant deception.
49:19
And the scary thing about deception, You heard me say this
49:20
once. Let me say it to you again.
49:22
The scary part about deception is that you don't know you're
49:23
being deceived. Do you think people who are
49:26
being deceived know that they're being deceived?
49:28
No, They believe they're in the truth.
49:31
So know the word. Eat the word.
49:34
Drink the word. Talk about the word.
49:36
Familiarize yourself with the word.
49:38
Because mark my words, we've seen wave after wave in the past
49:42
few years. I believe it's going to only
49:43
intensify. More and more spiritual tsunamis
49:47
are on the way that will cost people within.
49:49
Christen them to question what you and I would think is common
49:52
sense biblically. But because they have forfeited
49:55
the supremacy and the authority of the word of God, they're
49:58
susceptible to dangerous teachings.
50:01
Cling to the Bible. You want discernment.
50:04
You want to be able to see pastor.
50:05
You want X-ray vision? Get in the word cover to cover.
50:10
Master it. Hear it.
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Hear faithful preachers talk about it.
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These days, require it. Wisdom will teach you to listen
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closely. Think carefully before
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responding. Two, wisdom will teach you to
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seek specific counsel. 3. Wisdom will teach you to
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identify and reject wrong voices. 4 Wisdom will teach you
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to be in alignment with God. Let's read here verse 13 down of
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First Kings chapter 12. Let's begin in verse 12 and
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conclude this section. So Jeroboam and all the people
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came to Rehoboam the third day as the king said come to me
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again the 3rd day. And the king answered the people
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harshly. And forsaking the counsel that
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the old men had given him, he spoke to them according to the
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counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke
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heavy, but I will add to your yoke.
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My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you
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with scorpions. Verse 15 is so important to pay
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attention to. So the king did not listen to
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the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about the Lord
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that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahija
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the Shiloh knight to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.
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What's so disappointing about these first 15 verses in First
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Kings chapter 12 is that verse 15 is the first time the Lord is
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mentioned. He should have been mentioned
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much earlier in this story saying what do you mean Rehoboam
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was right And asking for three days to ponder, to reflect, to
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seek counsel. Is there any evidence in here
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that in and during those three days he sought God?
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No, no prayer, no fasting. Any evidence that he opened his
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personal copy of the law to seek God's voice and counsel as a
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king. And what to do in this time?
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No, nothing of the sort. God is not mentioned.
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God is absent until the Holy Spirit, as a commentator, brings
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insight into how sovereignty is at work.
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Even in this he doesn't seek the Lord.
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He doesn't inquire the Lord the Lord's on his mind, the Lord's
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not on his lips. You think that you're going to
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be able to navigate through life that way.
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You think you're going to succeed as a king.
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By excluding God from the equation, Wisdom will teach you
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to be in alignment with God. In every season of life we see
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that this man, the absence of actively seeking God, produced
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the absence of God working in favor for him.
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What would have been like if he humbled himself before the Lord?
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So you want the best outcome for your future.
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Amen. So do I.
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Stay close to him, Cling to him, remain desperate, remain
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desperate for him. And you should never fear what
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will come if you do that about where your heart will lead you,
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or how outcomes will direct you when your heart is sudden,
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pleasing the Lord above all else.
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I am more desperate at 32 years old than I was when I started
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this journey at 20 and I pray that never changes.
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And I hope you feel the same way that as you grow in life, as you
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grow in advance in years and more responsibilities come your
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way and more opportunities are presented to you, that that
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would only amplify your sense of being a desperate child that
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comes to his father every moment of the day.
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Lead me, guide me, direct me, and doesn't have to look like
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you shutting your door and pounding the your fists against
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the wall. Some situations might require
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that kind of seclusion. But even as you're driving and
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you're about to meet somebody for a potential contract with
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that business. Lord, give me wisdom here.
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Help me see things that I can't see.
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Don't let me fall for the give me a night deception.
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If there's something here that I don't know about, expose it.
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Talk like that to God. He will honor that.
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He will bless that. He will shepherd you in a way
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that you cannot even imagine. And when you listen to this,
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this is the beauty of it, because you have people all the
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time that wonder, how did this happen?
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How did this come about? Where do things go wrong?
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And my go to question is this, Did you give it to the Lord to
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begin with? Did you saturate it in prayer?
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Did you ask the Lord to go before you?
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If you did, then you can trust in any outcome, whether it's
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immediately favorable or not, because you did your part.
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Anxiety should be foreign to the soul that is dependent upon God.
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Why? Because I did my part.
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I put it in the hands of God. Oh, look at that didn't didn't
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result in how I thought, but I did my part.
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Lord, no, teach me what to do with this.
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That's the way of the Christian. That's the way of the wise.
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Wisdom will teach you to remain in alignment with God.
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Along the way you start doing things without God.
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You should be scared. You start thinking you're
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getting smart here. Now you're getting clever should
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be afraid, because here's a man here who is absent and actively
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seeking the Lord, and as a result, he was absent in
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experiencing the favor of the Lord.
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And all we're told here is that the king did not listen to the
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people, and it was a turn of affairs brought about by the
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Lord that he might fulfill His word.
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Here's what we're meant to see here.
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Obama is about to make a decision that's going to that's
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going to do some serious damage for hundreds of years to come.
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And in anticipation of this fallout, we're going to see the
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Kingdom Divided for the rest of this chapter.
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The Holy Spirit now wants us to see behind the scenes.
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He removes the curtain. He goes, hey, hey, before we
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read and before we move on, I want you to be comforted to know
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that though leaders throughout history, though leaders in your
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life have caused much havoc and chaos because of their own
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foolishness, it never escapes God's sovereignty.
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That's what we're supposed to see here, where Obama is going
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to blow it and the Holy Spirit wants you to see, but God knows
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it, God's in control of it. And in fact, even through the
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failure of this man, the failure of this people, it will never
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throw out the purposes of God. What a word that we need here in
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this election year and for these past many years where we've seen
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just incompetence and foolishness, news headlines and
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podcasts and interviews that have caused us to think, How can
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somebody be so inadequate and making simple decisions, making
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the average person feel like I can be a better president than
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this? How governors and politicians,
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how have we stooped so low? How we, how we left with these
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kind of options? And I take that verse and I
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apply it to this particular season in the West, and I see
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behind the veil behind all of it.
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I don't get overwhelmed by it. I don't get caught up by it.
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God's purposes are not thwarted. In fact, everything is going
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according to plan. In fact, he's going to come out
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victorious in this. And you and I are attached to
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that God. You and I are linked to that
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God. The safest place to be is close
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to God. You have nothing to fear because
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of that. The Lord wants you to be adorned
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with wisdom. You don't have to wait till you
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get Grays like me just a little bit.
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Here you don't need Gray hairs. You don't need numbers to your
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years for that wisdom to come. You can like James, one says,
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ask freely to the Lord and he will bountifully give you
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wisdom. And when you have that wisdom,
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it's going to teach you how to listen, how to answer.
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It's going to teach you who to go to, who not to go to.
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It's going to teach you you can't do this without God.
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Lord, we thank you for this Bible study.
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We feel enriched because your word is true and because you
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have given us understanding through the example of this man,
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Brahul Balm. We thank you that you've
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included him in holy writ and you did not delete or remove his
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story from the scriptures. Lord, at this time it's obvious
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what we need to pray for. We as a church, individually, as
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a congregation, maybe people representing different
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assemblies in this place ask you for wisdom.
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We can't do this without you. Many of us here have to make
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more serious decisions than others.
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All of us in here will eventually have to make life
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altering decisions and we pray, Lord that you would build in us
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a discretion and an ability to be navigators through this life
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in the most successful God glorifying way possible.
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So that even now as we sit in our respective places, we pray
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that you would shower us with heavenly wisdom, Ones that would
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make us look more like the Son of God.
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One that would secure righteousness and fruitfulness,
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one that would help us avoid unnecessary suffering.
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And so, Lord, we ask, and we believe that you will give it to
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us. We have no reason to fear.
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And Lord, at this time whatever decision is gnawing at us, if if
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some here are standing at a crossroads, not knowing what to
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do with the voice of wisdom, be louder than ever.
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May even leaving this place provide a clarity and a strength
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that can only come from the Spirit.
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Teach us to listen at the ponder.
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Teach us and show us who it is that we need to receive from.
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Show us if the people around us are speaking into our lives to
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our own demise and Lord, every hour, help us stay close to you.
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Help us include you and all of our plans to seek you for
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wisdom, to ask for clarity, to expose deception, and to be at
1:00:57
rest to know that when we have brought it to you, we've done
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all that we could. And that no matter what
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decision, even if it's two good decisions and we don't know
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which one is your will, they're both awesome.
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We can trust that the one that we go for, after doing all that
1:01:13
we could do, you will redirect us if it wasn't the right path.
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This is how good you are, Lord. This is how merciful you are.
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Renew our vision of the goodness of the shepherd of our souls.
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And now we give you praise and glory and honor.
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For you have given us what we desperately need.
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Wisdom. To the glory of the name of the
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Son of God, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Amen. Church.
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It was a joy and an honor. Now let's stand and worship this
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king. He is for you.
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He is with you and he will guide you.