1
00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:05,240
Meet me in First Kings Chapter 
12 as we come to a very critical

2
00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:11,040
part of the story. 
God's story that is being 

3
00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:16,880
written through a people called 
Israel that have been elected 

4
00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,520
and chosen by God for a 
particular purpose through a 

5
00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,840
specific covenant that would 
lead to a better and greater 

6
00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:24,520
covenant. 
The one that you and I are 

7
00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,640
enjoying today by the grace of 
God and the person of Jesus 

8
00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:33,040
Christ. 
One of the most disheartening 

9
00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:36,520
and disturbing factors of 
Solomon's descent into apostasy 

10
00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:45,360
is easily his harem, This harem 
that has been comprised of 700 

11
00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:51,040
wives and 300 concubines. 
It's just almost unimaginable 

12
00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:55,000
how that is real. 
And it is real, and most people 

13
00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,680
know that about Solomon's story.
But what I believe most people 

14
00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:00,920
don't consider concerning 
Solomon's story in connection to

15
00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:06,760
that is that with all the woman 
that he had been with, you only 

16
00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:12,800
have one recorded son mentioned 
in all of scripture. 

17
00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:19,480
Only one of Solomon's sons are 
mentioned by name in the Bible. 

18
00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,360
I mean you would think that if 
you had 700 wives and 300 

19
00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:23,840
concubines you would have more 
than one son. 

20
00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,640
And perhaps he did have more 
than one son, but only one is 

21
00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:30,840
highlighted in the scriptures 
and that is the one that we are 

22
00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,720
going to experience in this 
chapter Rehoboam. 

23
00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:39,680
But Rehoboam is not the only 
descendant that's recorded in 

24
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:46,000
the Bible connected to Solomon. 
Solomon also had daughters and 

25
00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,080
two of them are mentioned in the
Bible. 

26
00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,080
Does anybody know where the 
daughters of Solomon are 

27
00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:53,040
mentioned in the scriptures? 
Any idea? 

28
00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:57,320
If you know it, you can say it. 
If you think you know it, you 

29
00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,640
can still say it. 
We won't condemn you for trying.

30
00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,440
Any idea where the daughters two
of the daughters of Solomon are 

31
00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:05,880
mentioned? 
Well, it's in our study of first

32
00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,080
kings. 
It's in First Kings chapter 

33
00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:09,639
four. 
Look at these two verses with me

34
00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,880
briefly. 
When the scriptures highlight 

35
00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:16,800
the officials of Solomon, we're 
told of two of them who had 

36
00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:21,720
married one of the two daughters
of Solomon. 

37
00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:26,360
Both are mentioned here. 
First kings 4 verse 11 Ben a Ben

38
00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:31,320
Adab and all nefeth door. 
He had to fath the daughter of 

39
00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,720
Solomon as his wife. 
First Kings 411 There's one of 

40
00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:38,320
them. 
First Kings 415 Ahemaz and 

41
00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,280
Naftali. 
He had taken Basmath, the 

42
00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:47,200
daughter of Solomon as his wife.
So if you collect those verses 

43
00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:52,120
with what we read in chapter 12 
here we have a total of 3 of 

44
00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,600
Solomon's children that are 
mentioned in the script 

45
00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:56,680
scriptures. 
Most people believe that he had 

46
00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,840
plenty more and you can see why 
again with that harem with all 

47
00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:06,240
those women at his disposal. 
But what I find strange is how 

48
00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:11,160
very few are mentioned in the 
Bible and some would argue, well

49
00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:12,880
it's because there's so many of 
them where you're going to 

50
00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:14,160
mention all of Solomon's 
children. 

51
00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,920
Others would say, well, the ones
that are mentioned are the most 

52
00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:19,960
prominent ones, and the other 
ones are more, you know, they're

53
00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,400
insignificant, they're not 
worthy of being highlighted in 

54
00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:24,840
the scriptures, and those are 
good points to make. 

55
00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:28,560
But again, I'm challenged 
because when you consider 

56
00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:30,320
Solomon's father, what's his 
name? 

57
00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:37,280
And when you consider Solomon's 
son Rehoboam, they have their 

58
00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:39,080
descendants mentioned in great 
detail. 

59
00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:42,480
David, you see different 
portions of scripture dedicated 

60
00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,120
to describing his offspring. 
And what about Rehoboam? 

61
00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:47,920
Do we have his descendants 
mentioned? 

62
00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,920
We do turn to Second Chronicles.
It's not too far from First and 

63
00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,560
Second Kings. 
And look at Chapter 11, verse 21

64
00:03:55,880 --> 00:04:04,400
concerning Rehoboam. 
Rehoboam loved Makka, the 

65
00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:09,960
daughter of Absalom, above all 
his wives and concubines. 

66
00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:14,320
Now look at this. 
He took 18 wives and 60 

67
00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:21,399
concubines and fathered 28 sons 
and sixty daughters. 

68
00:04:22,840 --> 00:04:26,840
So I find David's descendants. 
If you want to see a summary of 

69
00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:28,720
that, it's in First Chronicles 
chapter 3. 

70
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,120
I read in Second Chronicles 
Chapter 11 of Rehoboam's 

71
00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:34,920
descendants. 
No such record is granted 

72
00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,800
concerning the man in the middle
Rehoboam. 

73
00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:42,480
Or, excuse me, Solomon, we can 
just leave it at that and say, 

74
00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:44,560
well, it's not important for us 
to know. 

75
00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,040
And we we can again just make an
argument based from common sense

76
00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,960
that surely had more children 
than what we see here. 

77
00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,440
Or perhaps we can make another 
case. 

78
00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,440
It's a very difficult thing to 
imagine and something that's 

79
00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:02,480
very hard to swallow, but it's 
necessary to at least entertain 

80
00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:06,840
as a possibility concerning the 
silence of his offspring. 

81
00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:14,400
Did we forget what Solomon did 
leading up to his final moments 

82
00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:16,800
of life? 
Let me remind you in First Kings

83
00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:21,560
11 and turn with me here to that
chapter, and look here at verse 

84
00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:27,800
seven and eight. 
Then Solomon built a high place 

85
00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,160
for Himash, the abomination of 
Moab, and for Molech the 

86
00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:34,800
abomination of the Ammonites on 
the mountain east of Jerusalem. 

87
00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:41,040
And so he did for all his former
wives who made offerings and 

88
00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:47,120
sacrificed to their gods. 
Any light bulbs go off yet? 

89
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:49,640
Yeah. 
Has it not? 

90
00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,560
Has it not registered yet? 
Let me remind you the first 

91
00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:55,200
place. 
One of these deities, these 

92
00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,760
false deities, are mentioned in 
scripture. 

93
00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:03,120
Molech is in Leviticus and 
Leviticus 1821, the first time 

94
00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:05,640
Molech is underscored in the 
Bible. 

95
00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,080
This is what we're told in 
Leviticus 1821. 

96
00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,440
You shall not give any of your 
children to offer them to Molech

97
00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:18,520
and so profane the name of your 
God, I am the Lord. 

98
00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,280
One of the main ways that these 
false gods were worshipped is 

99
00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:30,440
that you would offer your 
children to them and grotesque, 

100
00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:35,520
unimaginable sacrifice. 
And I wonder, this is your 

101
00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,080
speculation. 
I'm not making a definite 

102
00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,080
argument here, but I wonder if 
one of the reasons why Solomon's

103
00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,240
children are not mentioned to 
the extent and with the detail 

104
00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,600
that it deserved is because he 
participated in these gross acts

105
00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:52,120
of false worship. 
How many of these children in 

106
00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,360
Solomon give up to Molech and 
these other false gods, I 

107
00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:57,920
wonder? 
You're saying, well, that's so 

108
00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:03,520
disgusting, such as the reality 
of this man's apostasy. 

109
00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:06,880
Now perhaps you can feel with 
the Lord when we're told that he

110
00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:12,480
was angry with Solomon not just 
because his heart turned away 

111
00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:16,320
from the Lord, be what this 
heart turned did to the lives of

112
00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:19,280
so many others. 
If this is how they worship 

113
00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:22,560
gods, these gods, then surely 
Solomon, after being told that 

114
00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,920
he worship these gods, 
participated in this to some 

115
00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:31,480
regard. 
And whether rebel was Solomon's 

116
00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:35,080
only son or was simply 
highlighted because he would be 

117
00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:40,760
the successor to the throne, I 
wonder if Solomon had rehoboam 

118
00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:46,440
in mind when he wrote Many of 
the proverbs Proverbs is 

119
00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,000
provided in the context in the 
framework of a father speaking 

120
00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:54,000
to who his son, and he says this
in different ways in different 

121
00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,120
places. 
But the verse that came to mind 

122
00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:02,040
was Proverbs 2319, when Solomon 
said, Hear my son and be wise 

123
00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:04,600
and direct your heart in the 
way. 

124
00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:10,560
Proverbs 2319 Hear my son and be
wise and direct your heart in 

125
00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:12,920
the way. 
And the reason why I bring that 

126
00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,120
verse to your attention before 
we come to this chapter is 

127
00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:18,840
because Rehoboam will prove to 
be the exact opposite of the 

128
00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:22,680
wishes of Solomon. 
He will not be wise, he will be 

129
00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:28,680
a fool, and he will prove his 
folly at the introduction of his

130
00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:32,480
appearance here in the Bible. 
And that's exactly what we're 

131
00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:36,000
going to be doing tonight. 
In this Bible study, you and I 

132
00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:40,600
tonight are being prepared to 
explore the theme of wisdom. 

133
00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:44,280
And not just any kind of wisdom.
We're going to look at life 

134
00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:49,760
saving, disastrous, dodging, 
heart unifying wisdom. 

135
00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,720
And this is what rehoboam was 
sorely lacking. 

136
00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,760
And it would lead to a 
catastrophe that would change 

137
00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:01,000
the course of this nation's 
history. 

138
00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,880
And these first 15 verses of 
Chapter 12 will lay that out for

139
00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:10,200
us, a sharpened understanding of
such kind of quality of wisdom. 

140
00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:12,200
And though they're going to be 
secondary points made 

141
00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:14,840
throughout, the way that the 
sharpening is going to take 

142
00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:17,720
place in your life and in mind 
is that looking at is we're 

143
00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:20,280
going to look at what rehoboam 
did right, and we're going to 

144
00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:25,080
look at what rehoboam did wrong.
And by looking at both facets, 

145
00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:29,520
you and I are going to hopefully
draw out principles and truths 

146
00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:31,720
that apply to you. 
Whether you're a king or have a 

147
00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:35,120
throne or not, wisdom is needed 
for all. 

148
00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:38,920
And so let's read the 1st 5 
verses because I have 4 points 

149
00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,840
concerning what wisdom teaches. 
You Want to title this Bible 

150
00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:46,320
study what wisdom teaches 4 
points, not limited to these 

151
00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,360
points, but four things in this 
great treasure chest. 

152
00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,520
Known wisdom that you and I can 
experience if we apply it to our

153
00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,280
lives carefully. 
Verse one of First Kings, 

154
00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,600
Chapter 12. 
Rehoboam went to Shechem. 

155
00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,280
For all Israel had come to 
Shechem to make him king, and as

156
00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,240
soon as Jeroboam, the son of the
bat, heard of it, for he was 

157
00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:08,840
still in Egypt, we had fled from
King Solomon. 

158
00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,360
Then Jeroboam returned from 
Egypt, and they sent and called 

159
00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,920
them, and Jeroboam, and all the 
assembly of Israel came and said

160
00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:18,920
to Rehoboam. 
Your father made our yoke heavy.

161
00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:22,440
Now, therefore, lighten the hard
service of your father and his 

162
00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:26,720
heavy yoke on us and we will 
serve you, he said to them. 

163
00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,640
Go away for three days, then 
come again to me. 

164
00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:34,320
So the people went away. 
We got to make a few mentions 

165
00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:35,760
here before we get to this main 
point. 

166
00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:37,760
The first point about what 
wisdom teaches us. 

167
00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,920
Rehoboam has his coronation 
service take place where 

168
00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:45,600
Shechem, you would think that it
would take place where 

169
00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:48,840
Jerusalem, the city of David, 
the place where the king would 

170
00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:51,200
rule and reign. 
This is a detail that we might 

171
00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:53,640
overlook, but it's an important 
detail because, one, it's been 

172
00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,000
mentioned and two, we got to 
consider the implications of it.

173
00:10:56,680 --> 00:10:59,120
If you had a map of ancient 
Israel and some of you have that

174
00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:01,320
in the back of your Bibles, I'm 
not sure how much attention the 

175
00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:03,400
maps get in their Bibles, but 
they're there for a reason. 

176
00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:05,720
And now in the age of 
technology, you can make a 

177
00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:09,680
simple search and look for where
Shechem is located in the 

178
00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:13,560
Promised Land. 
Strategically, Shechem is placed

179
00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:18,760
in a central place concerning 
the northern tribes of Israel. 

180
00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:25,680
So this was a wonderful location
for a king to be to hold this 

181
00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:30,320
inauguration because it would 
cater to the people and it would

182
00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:32,640
hopefully even appease the 
people of the north. 

183
00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:36,720
Because perhaps Rehoboam is 
sensing that there is some 

184
00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:41,280
friction in the air between the 
10 northern tribes and the 

185
00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:44,720
dynasty of David because of 
Solomon's foolishness. 

186
00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:47,840
And so Rehoboam is making a 
political move here. 

187
00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,160
He wants to make his way there 
instead of holding it in the 

188
00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:54,240
tribe of his father in the area 
that he already has allegiance 

189
00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:56,200
with. 
He wants to hopefully win the 

190
00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:59,400
loyalty of this people by 
parking himself here and 

191
00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,880
acknowledging their presence and
wanting to again appease them in

192
00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:05,760
some way. 
Now Jeroboam, we heard of him 

193
00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:07,720
last week. 
Jeroboam was one of the 

194
00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,600
adversaries, one of the three 
that God raised up to be a thorn

195
00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,320
and Solomon's side because of 
his apostasy. 

196
00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,160
God wanted to discipline him and
he raised up different people to

197
00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:21,640
bring him to repentance. 
Jeroboam felt threatened by 

198
00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:23,120
Solomon because Solomon wanted 
to kill him. 

199
00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:26,640
So he he flees to Egypt. 
He hides, but he hides with a 

200
00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:31,720
careful eye and a listening ear.
News comes to Jeroboam that rail

201
00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:34,320
bomb the son of Solomon is going
to be made king and check him. 

202
00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:40,640
So he returns to home turf and 
the northern tribes recognize 

203
00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,280
something in Jeroboam, perhaps 
the way Solomon did. 

204
00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:45,960
Remember, Solomon noticed 
something about Jeroboam and 

205
00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:49,920
hired him to have this governing
role in his Kingdom and an 

206
00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:52,440
administrative role. 
He was an industrious man. 

207
00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,840
He was a very strategic man, a 
very hard working man, and it 

208
00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:57,920
could be that these tribes 
recognize the same qualities. 

209
00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,640
And he said you're going to be 
one of our spokespersons, and 

210
00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:02,000
Jeroboam had no problem with 
that. 

211
00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:05,640
So as a representative of these 
tribes with other leaders, 

212
00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:10,080
perhaps Jeroboam now approaches 
Rehoboam and he wants to make a 

213
00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,800
proposal. 
He wants to make some kind of 

214
00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,960
negotiation before they pledge 
their allegiance to him and his 

215
00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:18,640
Kingdom. 
And this is the summation of 

216
00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:21,800
what Rehoboam is requesting. 
Excuse me? 

217
00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:26,440
Jeroboam is requesting less 
taxes, less hard labor. 

218
00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:31,840
Your dad punished us. 
Your dad took so much away from 

219
00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:34,720
us. 
Your dad was overbearing. 

220
00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:39,480
And what I find fascinating 
about this is that these people 

221
00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:44,200
are experiencing the very thing 
that the prophet Samuel warned 

222
00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:48,480
in First Samuel chapter 8 when 
the people originally requested 

223
00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:51,240
for a king. 
If you read there in First 

224
00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:56,360
Samuel 8, eight, verse 10, down 
to verse 18, you get a summary 

225
00:13:56,360 --> 00:14:00,000
from the prophet who told this 
people exactly what they could 

226
00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,960
expect if they choose to have a 
human king over the divine king.

227
00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,480
And one of those things is just 
that, taxation. 

228
00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:09,480
The other thing would be hard 
labor. 

229
00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,480
You'd be recruited outside of 
your control to do things in 

230
00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:16,040
order to promote the prosperity 
of this human ruler. 

231
00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:19,640
And now the people are tasting 
the consequence of their very 

232
00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:22,760
sin. 
And what's so sad to see is not 

233
00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:26,560
them just tasting it, but then 
tasting it and still not 

234
00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,840
repenting of it. 
This isn't repentance. 

235
00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:33,040
This isn't them looking back and
saying, oh, we went wrong, our 

236
00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,560
fathers went wrong. 
Why didn't we listen to the 

237
00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:38,000
prophet, to the man of God who 
spoke on behalf of God? 

238
00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:40,200
We need to get back to God. 
They didn't do that. 

239
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:43,840
They just wanted the 
consequences to be lighter. 

240
00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:46,960
They want to make a deal with 
the consequences of their 

241
00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,000
actions. 
But pay attention to this. 

242
00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:52,120
It's more disappointing than 
that. 

243
00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:58,160
Out of all the concerns that the
tribes of Israel had at this 

244
00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:01,640
time, this is your ultimate 
concern. 

245
00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:04,960
Taxes and hard labor. 
Yeah. 

246
00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:06,760
It makes life difficult, I'm 
sure I understand. 

247
00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:12,880
But do you remember the scene 
that Solomon left before Rare 

248
00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:17,040
Bone would take his place? 
Are we not told in First Kings 

249
00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,000
11 verse seven? 
Then Solomon built a high place.

250
00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:23,320
He built a high place for Hemos,
the abomination of Moab, and for

251
00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:26,480
Moloch the abomination of the 
Ammonites on the mountain east 

252
00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,080
of Jerusalem. 
Solomon didn't just sacrifice to

253
00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:32,400
these gods secretly. 
Solomon erected these false 

254
00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:36,600
places of worship near the 
temple of God. 

255
00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,920
So now Jerusalem, the holy city,
Israel as a whole is littered 

256
00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:47,600
and polluted with not just false
worship, but obvious tangible 

257
00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,040
places where these gods could be
worshipped. 

258
00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:54,480
You would think that if this 
people were truly the people of 

259
00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:59,600
God, that one of their protests 
would be Solomon left us idols 

260
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,840
and Solomon introduced to our 
people false worship. 

261
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,240
We need to clean this place up 
for her. 

262
00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:08,480
Boom. 
If you're going to take his 

263
00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,720
place, please do something with 
your power and your authority to

264
00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:15,520
cleanse the land from these 
false demonic deities. 

265
00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,640
No such thing. 
Taxes. 

266
00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:22,760
Hard labor. 
Obviously they were not 

267
00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,800
disturbed by the idolatry that 
was right before them. 

268
00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:28,320
And why are you mentioning this?
Well, remember, early on in 

269
00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,760
Solomon's reign we discussed and
we observed the cracks in the 

270
00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:35,160
foundation of his faith that 
ultimately ended up leading him 

271
00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:40,520
to the disaster that he was in. 
I argue that here's some cracks 

272
00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:47,480
in the faith of the people as a 
whole who are not disturbed by 

273
00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:49,960
what was taking place right 
around them, who are concerned 

274
00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:53,440
about themselves primarily. 
And you know your Bible well 

275
00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,200
enough to see where this is 
going to end up, where this is 

276
00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:57,960
going to lead the people for 
generations to come. 

277
00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:00,960
It's only going to get worse and
worse and worse. 

278
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,000
You know, I read that I thought 
to myself, Lord, let my heart 

279
00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:11,079
never be undisturbed by sin. 
Let me be sensitive to evil. 

280
00:17:12,599 --> 00:17:16,440
Jesus was anointed with the oil 
of gladness, not merely because 

281
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,760
he was rejoicing in 
righteousness, but because he 

282
00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:22,640
hated wickedness. 
You want to be like Jesus. 

283
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,480
You're going to hate like Jesus.
Lord help me love like you love.

284
00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:28,359
Good. 
Pray that always, but include 

285
00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:33,560
this in your prayers. 
Help me hate as you hate and 

286
00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:37,080
these people did not care. 
Flag. 

287
00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,920
Huge flag. 
We see here that there is no 

288
00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:44,280
call for repentance, repentance,
no call for reform, no call for 

289
00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,120
seeking the face of God wrapped 
up in the natural. 

290
00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:50,680
And they couldn't even interpret
the fact that the consequences 

291
00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,240
of this leadership that was 
overbearing was a result of 

292
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,480
their disobedience many books 
ago. 

293
00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:59,320
But here is where we see 
Rehoboam in a favorable light. 

294
00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:03,080
When he receives his proposal, 
he asks for time to think about 

295
00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:05,240
it. 
He retracts before he gives an 

296
00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:07,920
answer. 
Here is one of the marks of 

297
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:12,640
wisdom, Mark #1. 
Wisdom will teach you to listen 

298
00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:18,000
closely and think carefully 
before answering. 

299
00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:23,400
Wisdom will teach you to listen 
closely, to think carefully 

300
00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:28,080
before responding. 
In Proverbs 1528, we're told 

301
00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:34,560
that the heart of the righteous 
ponders before he answers. 

302
00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:35,960
One translation says it this 
way. 

303
00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:40,360
The heart of the righteous 
studieth before he gives an 

304
00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:43,960
answer. 
So righteousness. 

305
00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:50,560
Wisdom looks like pausing, 
pulling away before giving 

306
00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:55,840
counsel, conclusions, 
explanations. 

307
00:18:56,360 --> 00:19:00,880
Often people limit how wisdom 
manifests by identifying 

308
00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:05,400
somebody who can, at the top of 
their mind, just right off a 

309
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:09,040
whim, give some kind of answer 
without much preparation, 

310
00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:12,040
without much thought. 
We tend to crown people with 

311
00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:15,200
wisdom when they are able to 
demonstrate such abilities. 

312
00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:17,960
But broaden your understanding 
of wisdom, because the Bible has

313
00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:19,760
a broader view of what wisdom 
looks like. 

314
00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:26,920
Wisdom also looks like silence. 
Wisdom also looks like Give me 

315
00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,840
some time. 
Wisdom also looks like. 

316
00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:33,640
Let me seek counsel from others 
on this. 

317
00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:38,040
Wisdom also looks like. 
I want to be careful how I how I

318
00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:40,080
respond to this moment and to 
your need. 

319
00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,800
So give me a little bit of of 
time to reflect before I give 

320
00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:48,240
you what you're asking for. 
That person is just as wise as 

321
00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:52,720
somebody else who can solve 
mysteries and can confound 

322
00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:55,840
others with their brilliance. 
Who don't have to reach over to 

323
00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,880
a shelf and pull up something 
because of their lack of memory,

324
00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:00,960
can say something right there 
and then. 

325
00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:03,280
Wisdom can manifest in such a 
way. 

326
00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:07,480
But as we see here, wisdom also 
looks like pondering Before 

327
00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:09,560
you're answering. 
That is a grace that is 

328
00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,880
especially needed when somebody 
or some people approach you and 

329
00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,960
based on what you say, may 
contribute to a life altering 

330
00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:21,200
decision or to establishing a 
set of convictions and beliefs. 

331
00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:26,240
So you don't have to ponder 
absolutely everything that is 

332
00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:27,400
brought to your attention, 
right? 

333
00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:31,040
Some people ponder way too long 
about where they want to go eat 

334
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:32,240
after church. 
It doesn't. 

335
00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:34,160
You don't need to. 
I need to ponder about this and 

336
00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:35,440
seek wisdom. 
No, you don't. 

337
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:36,880
You need to just go somewhere 
and eat. 

338
00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:40,400
OK, but there are decisions in 
life. 

339
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:42,560
There are crossroads. 
There are moments where you will

340
00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:44,520
be approached, especially for 
those who are leaders or 

341
00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,840
aspiring leaders, where you need
to know this grace that wisdom 

342
00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:53,600
offers to listen closely, think 
carefully before responding. 

343
00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:55,640
I was reading numbers. 
I'm in the book of numbers in my

344
00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:57,840
personal reading, and I saw this
demonstrated in the life of 

345
00:20:57,840 --> 00:20:59,280
Moses. 
Moses. 

346
00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:02,320
Remember Moses back in Exodus? 
He would have a line of people 

347
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:04,520
come to solve a variety of 
cases. 

348
00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:06,240
His father ended up saying, 
look, you're going to kill 

349
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:07,720
yourself. 
You got to set up a different 

350
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,960
system here where you have the 
major cases come to you and then

351
00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:12,560
all these other people can deal 
with the minor case. 

352
00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:17,920
Moses is someone who who had a 
mind, who had the ability to 

353
00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:21,080
solve things, and yet he was 
also a man who possessed wisdom 

354
00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:22,840
in this way. 
So you had people who were 

355
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:26,000
around and touch dead things, 
and the Passover was around the 

356
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,320
corner, Numbers, Chapter 9. 
And so they approached Moses and

357
00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:31,560
they say, hey, look, are are we 
supposed to participate in this 

358
00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:33,320
feast or not? 
Because we did this and we know 

359
00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:35,600
that we're supposed to be 
isolated for a time, cleanse 

360
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,960
ourselves before we engage. 
And this is what Moses says in 

361
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:40,320
in Numbers Chapter 9, verse 
eight. 

362
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,960
It's just one verse that popped 
out and was able to minister me 

363
00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:48,160
for that day. 
And Moses said to them, wait, 

364
00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:51,840
that I may hear what the Lord 
will command concerning you. 

365
00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,200
Oh, Moses doesn't know. 
No, Moses is wise. 

366
00:21:58,040 --> 00:21:59,720
Moses is wise. 
Give me a second. 

367
00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,440
Here, let me think about this. 
Let me seek God on this, and 

368
00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:03,800
then I'll give you a clear 
answer. 

369
00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,440
So what wisdom does is it 
releases the pressures of the 

370
00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:14,760
flesh to try to, for whatever 
reason, convey or explain or 

371
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:20,040
give something right away. 
That's a pressure of the flesh, 

372
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:23,080
and that's an increasing 
pressure of this culture and the

373
00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:25,320
attitude of this generation, Is 
it not? 

374
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:30,400
People of our day are addicted 
to reactions. 

375
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:34,800
What are the most clickbaity 
things on YouTube? 

376
00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:40,000
One of them, at least my 
response to the Christian 

377
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,720
response to, oh, I want to hear 
what this guy say. 

378
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,760
Everybody wants to know what 
everybody's responding to 

379
00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:47,240
concerning an event or a 
cultural phenomenon, right? 

380
00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:48,960
Response. 
Response. 

381
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:50,280
We want to hear what people have
to say. 

382
00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:53,360
And the greater the platform, 
the more we are longing to hear 

383
00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:57,040
from somebody. 
And these people who do have 

384
00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,640
platforms and do have voices, I 
believe, face that temptation 

385
00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:02,880
all the time. 
One, because they're being asked

386
00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:05,920
and demanded to give an answer. 
And two, there is this weird 

387
00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:08,880
temptation of not just giving a 
response, but being one of the 

388
00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:15,680
first to give it, and often 
times at the cost of factual and

389
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:21,360
significant content. 
Some people don't even care 

390
00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:23,120
about getting their facts right.
They just want to shoot off 

391
00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:25,720
their mouth and be able to have 
the most views and the most 

392
00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:30,040
clicks and the most recognition.
Can you know what the Bible 

393
00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:35,080
prizes? 
Pondering, waiting, stepping 

394
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:39,200
back, letting things surface, 
investigating all sides. 

395
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:42,480
That's what wisdom teaches 
somebody, and that's something 

396
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:46,920
you and I can use in this day 
and age where finger fingers 

397
00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:48,440
are. 
They feel the pressure of 

398
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:50,600
posting, commenting, putting 
this up. 

399
00:23:51,360 --> 00:23:55,680
It's not always wise to do that.
And I've seen many people in the

400
00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:59,560
past four or five years make 
regrettable statements and 

401
00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:02,240
realize that only after the 
fact, when the smoke is cleared 

402
00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:05,840
and they thought maybe I 
shouldn't posted that, maybe I 

403
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:07,600
shouldn't have said that, maybe 
I shouldn't have advised that. 

404
00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:09,400
Maybe I shouldn't give, I 
shouldn't have given to that 

405
00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:12,760
cause. 
Be slow, rare. 

406
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,320
Bowman is honorable here. 
Give me 3 days. 

407
00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:18,360
Let me think about that. 
But here's the second thing that

408
00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:22,000
wisdom teaches. 
Wisdom teaches us not just to 

409
00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:26,040
listen closely, think carefully,
but it teaches us to seek 

410
00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:30,520
specific counsel. 
Look here with me in verse six. 

411
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:37,320
Then King Rehoboam took counsel 
with the old man who had stood 

412
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:41,960
before Solomon, his father, 
while he was yet alive, saying, 

413
00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:45,800
how do you advise me to answer 
this, people. 

414
00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:51,400
So in the pursuit of wisdom, the
path that wisdom places you on, 

415
00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,520
which caused you to listen 
closely, think carefully before 

416
00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:56,280
responding. 
You're also in that process 

417
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,480
going to seek for counsel and 
notice. 

418
00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:03,200
I said specific counsel because 
we're told that Roboam sought 

419
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:08,360
old men, not just old men, but 
men who stood before Solomon. 

420
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:11,080
What does that mean? 
Here's a translation. 

421
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:16,840
Men who had experience in the 
area that Roboam was uncertain 

422
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:20,800
about. 
These men had a resume. 

423
00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,120
These men had history. 
They had experience. 

424
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:25,720
And Roboam, again here is seen 
in a favorable light. 

425
00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,760
He was drawn to. 
He approached the right people. 

426
00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:32,680
I know this sounds like common 
sense, but you'd be made to know

427
00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:37,200
how many people failed to grasp 
these life altering truths, life

428
00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:40,360
saving truths. 
And at one point they might have

429
00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:42,160
had it and then they let go of 
it for whatever reason. 

430
00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:44,040
So that's why we reminded of 
these things. 

431
00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:46,400
OK? 
If you're going to seek counsel,

432
00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,320
I advise seeking counsel from 
people who are experiencing the 

433
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:51,600
place that you're seeking 
counsel for. 

434
00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:56,000
If I'm going to seek counsel 
concerning ministry, who do you 

435
00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:57,440
think I'm going to go to for 
counsel? 

436
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,400
Most likely people who have 
experience in history And what 

437
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:06,200
ministry, right? 
And that is true for every arena

438
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,680
of life you should be able to 
identify. 

439
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:12,440
You should be able to look for 
those who can say and not just 

440
00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:16,600
say from experience, but have 
the presentable and obvious 

441
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:21,640
character in that moment. 
To be able to give you 

442
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:23,440
principles from the experience 
that they had. 

443
00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:28,920
Because as we learn, years and 
experience and whatever you've 

444
00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:31,680
got going on in your life 
doesn't necessarily equate to 

445
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:35,760
discretion and prudence. 
But if a person has character, a

446
00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,640
person is trustworthy, a person 
has fruit with that experience, 

447
00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:40,840
that's gold. 
That is gold. 

448
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:44,360
And your heart should, with that
simple common sense truth, go to

449
00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:47,360
people, say, I see counsel. 
OK, look, wisdom isn't about 

450
00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:50,160
just seeking counsels without 
speaking the right counselors. 

451
00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,080
How did you make that decision? 
Well, I asked people Who did you

452
00:26:55,080 --> 00:27:00,400
ask? 
It's not just about seeking 

453
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:04,120
counsel, but about the right 
counselors that you're seeking. 

454
00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:09,480
Proverbs 11 tells us in verse 
14, Proverbs 24, verse six that 

455
00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,320
in abundance of counselors there
is safety. 

456
00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,080
Another transition would say in 
abundance of counselors there is

457
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:18,200
victory. 
So wisdom teaches you and I to 

458
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,400
seek specific counsel. 
And like the previous 

459
00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:25,120
misconception mentioned, some 
people believe that wisdom is 

460
00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:28,680
proven by one who is a self 
seeking arbiter. 

461
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,280
I don't need to ask anybody's 
advice, I know it. 

462
00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:35,520
I have my own experience. 
I have my own ways of looking at

463
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:37,560
this. 
I I can figure this out, I can 

464
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:40,720
crack the code. 
And though that might be true in

465
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:42,880
some instances, in the 
experiences you have should be 

466
00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:45,400
able to arm you to know what to 
do in particular moments. 

467
00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:49,200
I say a man or a woman is 
crowned with wisdom when they 

468
00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:51,680
have the humility to say I'm 
going to pick up the phone and 

469
00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,920
make a few phone calls. 
That's not you lacking wisdom. 

470
00:27:55,920 --> 00:28:01,120
That's you possessing wisdom. 
And so again, broaden your 

471
00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:02,760
understanding of what wisdom 
looks like. 

472
00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:05,560
It's not you figuring it all out
because you have the 

473
00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:07,440
supernatural ability to solve 
things. 

474
00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:09,800
That's that's one way wisdom can
manifest. 

475
00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:14,720
But God will often cause you to 
feel the need to get something 

476
00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:16,880
from someone else. 
That's the beauty of the body of

477
00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,800
Christ. 
You're 1 member part of this 

478
00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,640
complex thing. 
You're benefiting from others. 

479
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:25,160
God established his church that 
way. 

480
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:28,400
So if you feel the nudge and the
urge to seek counsel from 

481
00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:32,080
specific people, that's not you 
Lacking wisdom, that's you 

482
00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:35,120
having it. 
And this is what this man does. 

483
00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:38,080
And it's worth looking at the 
advice that they give you. 

484
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:40,120
Ready. 
Here's what they said to them. 

485
00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:44,440
Verse 7. 
And they said to him, if you 

486
00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:48,840
will be a servant to this people
today and serve them and speak 

487
00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:52,320
good words to them when you 
answer them, then they will be 

488
00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:57,240
your servants forever. 
So they're they're telling him, 

489
00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:02,040
look, if you do something for 
them, they will do something for

490
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:03,720
you in return. 
And what did he ask? 

491
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,880
What did they ask? 
Rahabaum, to be a servant. 

492
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,040
Rahabaum, you be a servant to 
this people. 

493
00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:15,000
Here's a transition. 
If you come humbly, if you 

494
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,200
express that you are for them 
and you are with them, that 

495
00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:21,480
you're there to support them, 
that you're there to come 

496
00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:26,520
alongside them and to guide them
and to empower them, man, you 

497
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:30,200
will win their hearts and 
they'll get behind you and 

498
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:33,080
they'll walk with you and 
they'll pledge their loyalty to 

499
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,000
you. 
So Rearbaum approached them with

500
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,880
that kind of loneliness, and you
will be rewarded. 

501
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,760
Bad advice or good advice. 
Good advice, right. 

502
00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:44,520
And can I tell you why it's good
advice. 

503
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:47,560
Not because it makes sense. 
Not because there's a fragrance 

504
00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:51,360
there of humility that most, if 
not all people are drawn to, but

505
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:53,440
because it's rooted in the 
Bible. 

506
00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:56,920
Do you remember what the kings 
were supposed to do? 

507
00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,080
We've gone back to this text 
over and over again, but there's

508
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:03,760
so many details that we miss. 
In Deuteronomy 1716 to 20, we're

509
00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:06,400
told what the kings were to 
avoid and what they were to do. 

510
00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:08,960
One of the things that they were
to do was what absorb the word 

511
00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,760
of God, write a copy of it, get 
it approved by the Levites, and 

512
00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,400
read it and cling it to your 
breast every single day. 

513
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:19,680
And here is the result, one of 
the results of these kings doing

514
00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:22,680
just that. 
Deuteronomy 17, verse 20. 

515
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:27,400
Look at the fruit of a man who 
finds himself anchored in the 

516
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:29,880
scriptures, and especially as a 
king, as a leader. 

517
00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:33,880
This is what God had in mind, 
that his heart may not be lifted

518
00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:39,400
up above his brothers. 
So you can argue that the 

519
00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:46,640
counsel of these older men is 
rooted in that as a king, you're

520
00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:49,040
not meant to Lord it over 
others. 

521
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:51,800
You're not meant to lift up your
heart above them. 

522
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:54,200
No. 
Come to them as a servant. 

523
00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,000
Approach them in that kind of 
loneliness. 

524
00:30:57,360 --> 00:30:58,880
This is what God's will is for 
you. 

525
00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:01,240
This is what the Lord longs for 
you, and this is what we're 

526
00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:03,320
translating to you in this 
particular case. 

527
00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:07,360
So I argue that these men are 
hopefully basing it off this 

528
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:12,560
truth, and I couldn't help but 
think about how that's a 

529
00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:16,440
universal truth for all 
spiritual leaders of all ages. 

530
00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:18,400
You know what verse came to mind
when I was meditating on this 

531
00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:20,680
today? 
The last verse of Second 

532
00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:24,440
Corinthians, chapter one, Second
Corinthians chapter one, verse 

533
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:25,640
24. 
You don't have to turn there, 

534
00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:29,400
but if you want, you can listen 
to this glorious gem of truth 

535
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:35,000
that Paul explains as a leader. 
He says in 2nd Corinthians 124. 

536
00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:37,840
Not that we Lord it over your 
faith. 

537
00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:40,640
Look as an apostle, as a leader 
of a church, as a church 

538
00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:43,560
planner. 
I'm not here to Lord myself over

539
00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:46,040
your faith. 
I'm not here to abuse my 

540
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,120
authority. 
But what is he here to do? 

541
00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:52,560
But we work with you, not over 
you. 

542
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:56,080
You don't work for us. 
No, we work with you. 

543
00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:59,120
And notice what they're working 
together for. 

544
00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:02,400
For your joy. 
For your joy. 

545
00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:07,880
A few months ago we we installed
another elder here, and this 

546
00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:11,760
verse was brought up because we 
wanted to let the people of God 

547
00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:14,680
know that one of the reasons you
can rejoice when God raises up 

548
00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:18,040
Godly leaders in your life is 
that it will contribute to your 

549
00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:21,360
joy. 
They're there to work with you 

550
00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:25,760
for real joy, not just 
theoretical joy, real tangible 

551
00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:29,880
joy for you. 
Stand firm in your faith. 

552
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:34,280
So leaders, aspiring leaders of 
any capacity, understand this. 

553
00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:37,320
You don't Lord it over others. 
You work with people, and people

554
00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:39,600
should sense that. 
They should sense that you're 

555
00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:41,280
there with them, your partner 
with them. 

556
00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:44,000
And though you may have 
authority to a certain regard, 

557
00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,080
it's not to abuse, It's not to, 
It's not to manipulate, it's not

558
00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:49,800
to take advantage of. 
It's to contribute to their joy.

559
00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:53,960
This is what rare Baum received 
as counsel. 

560
00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,320
Wisdom teaches you to seek 
specific counsel. 

561
00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:59,320
I say specific because of the 
Third Point. 

562
00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:05,280
Wisdom will teach you to 
identify and reject the wrong 

563
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:09,080
voices. 
The wrong voices. 

564
00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:17,360
Look at verse. 8 But he 
abandoned the counsel that the 

565
00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:21,920
old man gave him, and took 
counsel with the young men who 

566
00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:25,440
had grown up with him and stood 
before him. 

567
00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:27,920
Make a contrast between the men 
that he sought originally and 

568
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:29,720
the men that he sought here 
originally. 

569
00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:31,880
He sought old men who stood 
before who? 

570
00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:36,200
Solomon? 
And now he seeks the counsel of 

571
00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:41,440
young men who grew up with him 
and who they stand before him. 

572
00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:46,400
So these are close friends, 
these are companions, these are 

573
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,800
contemporaries. 
And this is where now Rehoboam 

574
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,960
takes a wrong turn. 
So the first two points we 

575
00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:55,160
thought Rehoboam, you're headed 
in the right direction. 

576
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,520
And though we can even question 
those, the motive of those first

577
00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:01,200
two points, as we're about to, 
in principle they are still 

578
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:03,160
true. 
But this is where it becomes 

579
00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:08,639
blatantly flagrant. 
This man now goes to these men 

580
00:34:09,679 --> 00:34:12,639
and he seeks the advice of the 
wrong crowd. 

581
00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:16,920
And here's what I want to say. 
As a side note, sometimes wisdom

582
00:34:17,159 --> 00:34:21,040
will tell you to seek the 
counsel or the advice of an 

583
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:24,239
outsider. 
What I mean by that, Sometimes 

584
00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:28,679
situations will require you to 
not seek the advice of those in 

585
00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:33,239
your immediate context and who 
are familiar with you and who in

586
00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:38,679
the familiarity with you might 
be biased toward you and will 

587
00:34:38,679 --> 00:34:42,320
lean to defend you regardless, 
or might have blind spots 

588
00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:44,600
because they're caught up and 
entangled in the affairs. 

589
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,360
So wisdom will whisper to you at
times. 

590
00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,960
Talk to somebody who is not 
connected to this situation 

591
00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:54,120
because often times they can 
provide a clear assessment 

592
00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:58,160
because they are not again bound
to the limitations that the 

593
00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:01,760
complexity of circumstances 
might bring one to sometimes, 

594
00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:04,760
not always. 
And this meant, unfortunately, 

595
00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:08,880
he he draws himself, he invites 
those that are very familiar 

596
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:10,680
with him, that are biased toward
him. 

597
00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:14,480
And rail bones problem is much 
deeper than that. 

598
00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:18,640
Compare his wording here in 
verse 9 to verse 6. 

599
00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:22,760
Let's read carefully, shall we? 
And he said to them, he's 

600
00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:26,200
speaking to his friends now. 
And he said to them, what do you

601
00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:30,040
advise that we answer this? 
People who have said to me, 

602
00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:34,560
lighten the yoke that your 
father put on us, Absorb that, 

603
00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:37,560
digest that. 
Now look at verse six. 

604
00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:41,400
Then King Realbaum to counsel 
with the old man who had stood 

605
00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:43,920
before Solomon, his father, 
while he was yet alive, saying, 

606
00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:48,400
how do you advise me to answer 
this people Anything stand out 

607
00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:57,480
to you this comparison Very 
good. 

608
00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:00,720
Did you catch that? 
Do you see the inclusive 

609
00:36:00,720 --> 00:36:03,200
language when he talks to his 
friends in comparison to him 

610
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:05,760
talking to the old men? 
Look again in verse nine. 

611
00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:10,800
What do you advise that we 
answer this people. 

612
00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:14,200
And when he spoke to the old man
look what he's asked and how he 

613
00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:18,240
asked. 
How do you advise who we me. 

614
00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:22,600
Solomon's. 
Excuse me? 

615
00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:26,480
Robohm's words here and how he 
identifies with the younger 

616
00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:31,560
people shows that his mind is 
already set on what he wants to 

617
00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,760
do. 
What do I mean by that? 

618
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:38,320
He was simply looking for the 
counsel that would agree with 

619
00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:40,040
what he had already determined 
within himself. 

620
00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:45,960
Do people seek advice that way? 
Yes. 

621
00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:49,120
Do people hop from one person to
the next until they land on 

622
00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:52,040
somebody who agrees with what 
they have determined already? 

623
00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:55,040
Is that wisdom? 
No, it's foolish. 

624
00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:59,680
That's foolish. 
And So what about him taking 

625
00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:01,720
that time off? 
What about him going to the old 

626
00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:05,160
men? 
Perhaps this man was just going 

627
00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:06,600
through the routine and the 
motions. 

628
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:11,400
Perhaps he was just placating 
and just giving the the idea 

629
00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:14,200
that he was somebody who was, 
you know, he playing politics 

630
00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:17,400
here. 
But when it comes to the young 

631
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:24,480
men, he says we proving to us 
that he already set his mind and

632
00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:26,280
he's just looking for somebody 
to agree with him, to give him 

633
00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:28,880
the license to go ahead in the 
direction that he had 

634
00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:31,520
determined. 
That is a deadly way to set up a

635
00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:34,800
support system, and I mean 
deadly. 

636
00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:39,480
To find people who will never 
disagree with you, never 

637
00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:42,480
challenge you, never rebuke you,
never redirect you. 

638
00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:47,960
To find the Yes Men, Yes Woman 
to defend you whether you're in 

639
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:51,080
the right or in the wrong, is 
devastating to your development,

640
00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:53,400
your witness, and your 
fruitfulness for the Kingdom of 

641
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:57,360
God. 
Such people listen to me. 

642
00:37:57,800 --> 00:37:59,520
Listen to This might sound 
harsh, but it's true. 

643
00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:04,040
Such people don't love you. 
They don't love you. 

644
00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:09,320
They love something about you 
and something, perhaps, that you

645
00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:11,720
offer them. 
And they're afraid that them 

646
00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:14,600
taking a stand against you will 
cost them such, so they will 

647
00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:23,200
never speak up against you. 
I need, I love, I am drawn to 

648
00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:27,560
those that I can tell, fear God,
know God, absorb His word, live 

649
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,440
by the Word, and will speak into
my life whether I like to hear 

650
00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:32,280
what they have to say or not. 
That's wisdom. 

651
00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,680
That's a safe way to live. 
That's a true support system. 

652
00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:44,160
And unfortunately, this is not 
what this man had. 

653
00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:46,440
And I wondered why that was the 
case. 

654
00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:49,120
Well, we're not told why they 
gave this particular advice. 

655
00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:53,000
Let's read it, they say here. 
And the young men in verse 10 

656
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:55,200
who had grown up with him, 
notice the repetition there, who

657
00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:58,120
had grown up with him, said to 
him Thus shall you speak to this

658
00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:00,680
people who said to you, your 
father made our yoke heavy, but 

659
00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:03,120
you lighten it for us. 
Thus you shall say, shall you 

660
00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:06,320
say to them, my little fingers 
thicker than my father's thighs.

661
00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:10,320
And now, whereas my father laid 
on you a heavy yoke, I will add 

662
00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:12,040
to your yoke. 
My father discipline you with 

663
00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:14,480
whips, but I will discipline you
with scorpions. 

664
00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:20,000
Who are these guys? 
What kind of advice is that? 

665
00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:25,520
The advice of young, proud, 
insecure people who don't 

666
00:39:25,520 --> 00:39:28,400
understand how leadership really
works. 

667
00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:32,160
And you know, again, you wonder,
why did they have this kind of 

668
00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:33,840
approach? 
Why did they come about with 

669
00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:37,120
this kind of advice? 
And perhaps again, this is a 

670
00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:39,960
speculation. 
They benefited much from the 

671
00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:42,320
prosperity and the power of 
their friend Rehab. 

672
00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:44,720
These are not random young 
people. 

673
00:39:44,720 --> 00:39:47,480
These are people who grew up 
with them, who stood before him.

674
00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:51,680
And again, it could be that in 
hearing and knowing about the 

675
00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:54,520
advice of the old man, or to 
comply to the request of these 

676
00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:56,920
tribes, rehoboam would be 
weakened. 

677
00:39:57,480 --> 00:40:00,200
He would have to give up so much
if he let go of the taxation 

678
00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:03,120
that the father had decided or 
the hard labor that would 

679
00:40:03,320 --> 00:40:06,440
generate the prosperity that 
they enjoyed. 

680
00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:09,960
So these friends, perhaps 
connected to the benefits of the

681
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:11,960
king, don't want to lose 
something themselves. 

682
00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:15,600
And so in wanting to secure 
their own enjoyment and their 

683
00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:17,560
own benefits, they said don't do
it this way. 

684
00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:22,480
Vamp it up. 
Go the authoritarian approach. 

685
00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:25,160
Get aggressive. 
Let him know that what they've 

686
00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:28,240
seen will not even compare to 
what you will give to them. 

687
00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:35,920
It's so unfortunate. 
Whether you like it or not, 

688
00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:40,520
there will be many voices that 
will speak into your life, even 

689
00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:42,880
voices that were not invited to 
speak into your life. 

690
00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:46,600
They will make way to your mind,
to your heart, to your ears 

691
00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:50,280
directly. 
Indirectly, and wisdom will 

692
00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:55,760
teach you how to identify and 
reject the wrong counsel that 

693
00:40:55,760 --> 00:41:01,600
comes your way. 
Here's how real Bomb could have 

694
00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:04,400
avoided it. 
Because this is arrogant, this 

695
00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:07,800
is selfish, and they took 
advantage of this moment with 

696
00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:10,720
their friend to the opposite of 
what the Crown asked. 

697
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:15,400
And so this is where you and I 
have to be careful #1 Under this

698
00:41:15,400 --> 00:41:20,840
Third Point, determine in your 
heart that you will receive 

699
00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:25,560
God's counsel no matter what it 
costs you, no matter what it 

700
00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:28,360
will cost you. 
I've met people who want advice,

701
00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:31,040
and when they hear the advice 
that comes from the word of God,

702
00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:34,560
they reject it because they 
realize how costly it is. 

703
00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:38,600
It costs your pride. 
It costs your time, it costs 

704
00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:42,840
your efforts, your discipline. 
And when it doesn't, again like 

705
00:41:42,840 --> 00:41:45,960
Ryrbohm, agree with your 
standard, you shun it. 

706
00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:52,160
You gotta determine in your 
heart, Lord, whatever you ask of

707
00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:54,040
me in this moment, in the 
circumstance, with this 

708
00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:56,040
decision, I will do it. 
Lord, look at my heart. 

709
00:41:56,040 --> 00:41:58,800
Please, Lord, look at my heart 
and see that my heart more than 

710
00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:01,920
anything else, more than my 
comfort, more than anybody else.

711
00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:05,120
Liking me more than how people 
will praise or condemn this 

712
00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:07,600
decision. 
I want you to be pleased. 

713
00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:11,040
That's got to be the foundation.
That's got to be laid out flat 

714
00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:13,160
and clear, undeniably in your 
conscience. 

715
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:16,760
Rebel didn't have that. 
His heart was so polluted. 

716
00:42:16,760 --> 00:42:19,920
It was so ugly. 
He was playing tricks and he was

717
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:21,880
trying to even convince himself,
I'm going to go to the old men, 

718
00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:23,880
hear what they have to say. 
But he already determined his 

719
00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:26,400
mind and when he found the crowd
that would speak into his pride,

720
00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:30,280
he went with it. 
The second thing that you must 

721
00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:32,880
do is this. 
You have to so familiarize 

722
00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:36,080
yourself with the word of God, 
that through the discernment 

723
00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:38,400
that you develop in your 
engagement and your study of the

724
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:41,240
word of God, you can spot out 
what is false. 

725
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:44,800
You can spot out what is wrong. 
You can come to the point and 

726
00:42:44,800 --> 00:42:46,000
your knowledge of the word of 
God. 

727
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:51,480
Listen carefully, or even when a
preacher preaches and 99% of it 

728
00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:55,640
is right, that 1% you'll be able
to detect something's off here. 

729
00:42:55,640 --> 00:42:57,640
Something's not right. 
Everything sounds so good. 

730
00:42:57,760 --> 00:42:59,640
There's verses quoted, they're 
all these footnotes. 

731
00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:02,240
But there's something not right 
here. 

732
00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:05,320
And that's how Spurgeon defined 
discernment. 

733
00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:08,120
Discernment, according to 
Spurgeon, I agree with him, is 

734
00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:10,560
not determining between what is 
right and what is wrong, but 

735
00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:12,800
what is right and what is almost
right. 

736
00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:17,640
It's not difficult to see what 
is right and what is wrong. 

737
00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:20,280
I mean, in this day of age, even
in Christendom, it's becoming 

738
00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:23,840
increasingly more difficult. 
True discernment is saying this 

739
00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:26,880
is right. 
That's almost right. 

740
00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:30,600
How do you develop that? 
The Bible. 

741
00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:36,600
It's the supernatural 
empowerment for discernment. 

742
00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:39,360
You don't have a rich 
relationship with the Bible. 

743
00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:41,160
You're going to have poor 
discernment in life. 

744
00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:43,720
I'm telling you, it's not just 
knowledge. 

745
00:43:43,720 --> 00:43:47,520
There's a spiritual impartation 
that takes place where there's a

746
00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:53,840
sensitivity to your ability to 
discern, to absorb what is pure 

747
00:43:53,840 --> 00:43:57,760
and holy, and to reject and 
remove yourself from that which 

748
00:43:57,760 --> 00:43:59,400
might pollute you and infect 
you. 

749
00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:02,720
Here's one of the strongest 
examples of that. 

750
00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:04,880
This came to mind, and you're 
gonna have to turn to the seat 

751
00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:08,440
with me, another leader who is 
the exact opposite of this man 

752
00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:09,760
rehab bomb. 
Nehemiah. 

753
00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:11,560
Go to Chapter 6 with me very 
quickly. 

754
00:44:11,560 --> 00:44:15,760
I want you to see this. 
This is a wonderful scene to 

755
00:44:15,760 --> 00:44:18,440
expound upon this truth of what 
wisdom teaches us. 

756
00:44:20,120 --> 00:44:23,000
Look at Nehemiah and go to 
chapter 6. 

757
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:28,720
Nehemiah was called by God to 
build the walls of Jerusalem. 

758
00:44:28,720 --> 00:44:30,480
Was it an easy task or a 
difficult task? 

759
00:44:31,080 --> 00:44:34,160
Turbulence or no turbulence? 
Turbulence, threats or no 

760
00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:36,160
threats along the way? 
A lot of threats. 

761
00:44:36,160 --> 00:44:39,520
Here's one of them, and I want 
you to see how clever Satan can 

762
00:44:39,520 --> 00:44:42,680
be. 
I want you to see the kind of 

763
00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:45,480
tactics and the depth of his 
arsenal. 

764
00:44:47,480 --> 00:44:49,600
Here it is in Nehemiah chapter 
6, verse 10. 

765
00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:56,120
Now when I went into the House 
of Shamaya, the son of Delilah, 

766
00:44:57,160 --> 00:45:02,120
son of Mihitabel, who was 
confined to his home, he said 

767
00:45:02,240 --> 00:45:06,640
let us meet together in the 
House of God within the temple. 

768
00:45:06,880 --> 00:45:10,600
Let us close the doors of the 
temple, for they are coming to 

769
00:45:10,600 --> 00:45:13,560
kill you. 
They are coming to kill you by 

770
00:45:13,560 --> 00:45:16,800
night. 
So here's this man who is named,

771
00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:19,040
who invites Nehemiah into his 
home. 

772
00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:22,360
And he's confined in his home, 
perhaps demonstrating his own 

773
00:45:22,360 --> 00:45:26,480
fears of the enemies of the 
people of God, who who brought 

774
00:45:26,480 --> 00:45:28,760
many threats throughout this 
construction project. 

775
00:45:29,520 --> 00:45:31,680
And this man now invites 
Nehemiah into his home. 

776
00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:35,160
And he says, look, I I got a 
word here. 

777
00:45:35,240 --> 00:45:38,240
I got a word from God. 
I got instruction here. 

778
00:45:38,440 --> 00:45:42,160
They're coming to kill you, and 
you need to hide. 

779
00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:45,280
And I'm telling you, the best 
place to hide is in the House of

780
00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:47,120
God. 
The House of God, then, is not 

781
00:45:47,120 --> 00:45:48,920
the House of God that we 
experience, you and I, every 

782
00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:50,960
week. 
It was the temple, and he was 

783
00:45:50,960 --> 00:45:53,560
told that, and we're being 
reminded that it's a temple. 

784
00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:57,120
Hide in the temple, close the 
doors, and they won't find you. 

785
00:45:57,120 --> 00:45:59,480
They'll never look in there, and
you'll be safe. 

786
00:46:00,240 --> 00:46:03,520
So this man is coming, 
presumably as a man speaking on 

787
00:46:03,520 --> 00:46:10,560
behalf of God, as a friend, 
speaking in supposed care and 

788
00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:13,040
compassion. 
I love Nehemiah. 

789
00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:15,040
Look how he responds to verse 
11. 

790
00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:22,160
But I said, should such a man as
I run away and what man such as 

791
00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:28,840
I could go into the temple and 
live, I will not go in. 

792
00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:33,840
You know you read Nehemiah 6 in 
your devotion and you pick up 

793
00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:37,160
the Bible app and you see these 
verses in verse or verses of the

794
00:46:37,160 --> 00:46:38,000
day. 
I don't know how they do it 

795
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:40,880
anymore. 
You say OK, Nehemiah is he's 

796
00:46:40,880 --> 00:46:42,440
he's courageous. 
He's not going to hide. 

797
00:46:42,440 --> 00:46:44,120
No. 
Nehemiah knows his Bible. 

798
00:46:45,440 --> 00:46:48,240
It's not just him being 
courageous as him identifying 

799
00:46:48,240 --> 00:46:52,840
and discerning that though this 
man speaks and supposed 

800
00:46:53,320 --> 00:46:56,360
knowledge and care on behalf of 
God, he's off. 

801
00:46:56,520 --> 00:46:58,320
He's off. 
Why is he off? 

802
00:46:58,520 --> 00:46:59,920
Can anybody tell me while he's 
off? 

803
00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:03,120
How? 
How is Nehemiah able to discern 

804
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:07,480
this? 
Nehemiah wasn't a priest. 

805
00:47:08,080 --> 00:47:10,680
Implying what? 
Nehemiah had no right to go into

806
00:47:10,680 --> 00:47:14,160
the House of God. 
Only the Levites. 

807
00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:19,160
Only the priest could abide in 
the Tabernacle in the temple. 

808
00:47:19,960 --> 00:47:21,640
And Nehemiah understood his 
identity. 

809
00:47:21,840 --> 00:47:24,280
He understood God's requirements
and the boundaries. 

810
00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:28,280
And so when this man speaking 
with authority, this man 

811
00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:32,280
speaking as a spokesperson, this
man speaking as a supposed 

812
00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:38,920
friend, he was off and Nehemiah 
could sense it because he had a 

813
00:47:38,920 --> 00:47:42,240
knowledge of the scriptures. 
And that's how verse 12 comes 

814
00:47:42,240 --> 00:47:43,520
about. 
Look at this verse 12. 

815
00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:50,160
And I understood and saw that 
God had not sent him, but he had

816
00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:55,000
pronounced the prophecy against 
me because Tobiah and Sanballat 

817
00:47:55,000 --> 00:48:00,120
had hired him. 
How did he identify that this 

818
00:48:00,120 --> 00:48:02,560
was a false prophet? 
How did he identify that this 

819
00:48:02,560 --> 00:48:04,320
was a word? 
Not from God? 

820
00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:07,480
Because it didn't line up with 
the word of God, full stop. 

821
00:48:09,760 --> 00:48:11,200
It didn't line up with the word 
of God. 

822
00:48:13,600 --> 00:48:16,080
And he was able to have not just
discernment into this moment, 

823
00:48:16,840 --> 00:48:19,200
but even discernment into what 
was going on behind the scenes. 

824
00:48:19,200 --> 00:48:22,040
This was a hired man. 
To do what? 

825
00:48:22,040 --> 00:48:23,920
Look at verse 13 for this 
purpose. 

826
00:48:23,920 --> 00:48:27,760
He was hired that I should be 
afraid and act in this way and 

827
00:48:27,760 --> 00:48:30,080
sin. 
And so they could give me a bad 

828
00:48:30,080 --> 00:48:34,160
name in order to taught me. 
That's wisdom, man. 

829
00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:38,440
That's discernment, and it is 
directly correlated to your 

830
00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:42,480
grasp of the word of God, your 
grasp of the word of God. 

831
00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:45,520
And that's how deception is 
going to rank. 

832
00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:50,440
And that's why you and I are 
going to see more people bearing

833
00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:52,480
the name of Christ as we 
approach the culmination of the 

834
00:48:52,480 --> 00:48:56,920
age, turning their back on the 
truth, getting swallowed up by 

835
00:48:56,920 --> 00:48:59,640
false teaching and false 
teachers for this one main 

836
00:48:59,640 --> 00:49:03,040
reason they don't know the Bible
as they should. 

837
00:49:04,840 --> 00:49:07,720
This is a terrible time to be 
lazy with the Bible. 

838
00:49:07,720 --> 00:49:11,160
Let me say this in love. 
To my brothers and sisters, this

839
00:49:11,160 --> 00:49:14,840
is a terrible time because Jesus
prophesied that the first son of

840
00:49:14,840 --> 00:49:17,920
the last days is that there will
be rampant deception. 

841
00:49:19,080 --> 00:49:20,920
And the scary thing about 
deception, You heard me say this

842
00:49:20,920 --> 00:49:22,000
once. 
Let me say it to you again. 

843
00:49:22,120 --> 00:49:23,880
The scary part about deception 
is that you don't know you're 

844
00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:26,840
being deceived. 
Do you think people who are 

845
00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:28,080
being deceived know that they're
being deceived? 

846
00:49:28,080 --> 00:49:29,240
No, They believe they're in the 
truth. 

847
00:49:31,640 --> 00:49:34,040
So know the word. 
Eat the word. 

848
00:49:34,480 --> 00:49:36,440
Drink the word. 
Talk about the word. 

849
00:49:36,440 --> 00:49:38,400
Familiarize yourself with the 
word. 

850
00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:42,480
Because mark my words, we've 
seen wave after wave in the past

851
00:49:42,480 --> 00:49:43,720
few years. 
I believe it's going to only 

852
00:49:43,720 --> 00:49:47,320
intensify. 
More and more spiritual tsunamis

853
00:49:47,320 --> 00:49:49,560
are on the way that will cost 
people within. 

854
00:49:49,560 --> 00:49:52,800
Christen them to question what 
you and I would think is common 

855
00:49:52,800 --> 00:49:55,320
sense biblically. 
But because they have forfeited 

856
00:49:55,600 --> 00:49:58,120
the supremacy and the authority 
of the word of God, they're 

857
00:49:58,120 --> 00:50:00,120
susceptible to dangerous 
teachings. 

858
00:50:01,640 --> 00:50:04,040
Cling to the Bible. 
You want discernment. 

859
00:50:04,400 --> 00:50:05,440
You want to be able to see 
pastor. 

860
00:50:05,440 --> 00:50:09,640
You want X-ray vision? 
Get in the word cover to cover. 

861
00:50:10,800 --> 00:50:13,960
Master it. 
Hear it. 

862
00:50:14,480 --> 00:50:16,560
Hear faithful preachers talk 
about it. 

863
00:50:17,960 --> 00:50:22,760
These days, require it. 
Wisdom will teach you to listen 

864
00:50:22,760 --> 00:50:24,560
closely. 
Think carefully before 

865
00:50:24,560 --> 00:50:27,880
responding. 
Two, wisdom will teach you to 

866
00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:32,480
seek specific counsel. 3. 
Wisdom will teach you to 

867
00:50:32,480 --> 00:50:37,720
identify and reject wrong 
voices. 4 Wisdom will teach you 

868
00:50:37,720 --> 00:50:43,360
to be in alignment with God. 
Let's read here verse 13 down of

869
00:50:43,360 --> 00:50:49,960
First Kings chapter 12. 
Let's begin in verse 12 and 

870
00:50:49,960 --> 00:50:52,920
conclude this section. 
So Jeroboam and all the people 

871
00:50:52,920 --> 00:50:56,720
came to Rehoboam the third day 
as the king said come to me 

872
00:50:56,720 --> 00:50:59,800
again the 3rd day. 
And the king answered the people

873
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:01,960
harshly. 
And forsaking the counsel that 

874
00:51:01,960 --> 00:51:04,920
the old men had given him, he 
spoke to them according to the 

875
00:51:04,920 --> 00:51:07,960
counsel of the young men, 
saying, My father made your yoke

876
00:51:07,960 --> 00:51:09,680
heavy, but I will add to your 
yoke. 

877
00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:12,600
My father disciplined you with 
whips, but I will discipline you

878
00:51:12,600 --> 00:51:15,440
with scorpions. 
Verse 15 is so important to pay 

879
00:51:15,440 --> 00:51:18,400
attention to. 
So the king did not listen to 

880
00:51:18,400 --> 00:51:22,760
the people, for it was a turn of
affairs brought about the Lord 

881
00:51:23,040 --> 00:51:27,000
that he might fulfill his word, 
which the Lord spoke by Ahija 

882
00:51:27,240 --> 00:51:30,000
the Shiloh knight to Jeroboam, 
the son of Nebat. 

883
00:51:32,920 --> 00:51:36,480
What's so disappointing about 
these first 15 verses in First 

884
00:51:36,480 --> 00:51:39,840
Kings chapter 12 is that verse 
15 is the first time the Lord is

885
00:51:39,840 --> 00:51:42,920
mentioned. 
He should have been mentioned 

886
00:51:42,920 --> 00:51:48,200
much earlier in this story 
saying what do you mean Rehoboam

887
00:51:48,200 --> 00:51:53,440
was right And asking for three 
days to ponder, to reflect, to 

888
00:51:53,440 --> 00:51:57,120
seek counsel. 
Is there any evidence in here 

889
00:51:57,120 --> 00:51:59,840
that in and during those three 
days he sought God? 

890
00:52:01,120 --> 00:52:09,240
No, no prayer, no fasting. 
Any evidence that he opened his 

891
00:52:09,240 --> 00:52:14,160
personal copy of the law to seek
God's voice and counsel as a 

892
00:52:14,160 --> 00:52:15,880
king. 
And what to do in this time? 

893
00:52:16,400 --> 00:52:20,320
No, nothing of the sort. 
God is not mentioned. 

894
00:52:20,320 --> 00:52:25,920
God is absent until the Holy 
Spirit, as a commentator, brings

895
00:52:25,920 --> 00:52:28,800
insight into how sovereignty is 
at work. 

896
00:52:29,000 --> 00:52:33,920
Even in this he doesn't seek the
Lord. 

897
00:52:34,080 --> 00:52:36,560
He doesn't inquire the Lord the 
Lord's on his mind, the Lord's 

898
00:52:36,560 --> 00:52:39,360
not on his lips. 
You think that you're going to 

899
00:52:39,360 --> 00:52:42,160
be able to navigate through life
that way. 

900
00:52:43,360 --> 00:52:45,320
You think you're going to 
succeed as a king. 

901
00:52:46,640 --> 00:52:51,000
By excluding God from the 
equation, Wisdom will teach you 

902
00:52:51,680 --> 00:53:00,560
to be in alignment with God. 
In every season of life we see 

903
00:53:00,560 --> 00:53:04,200
that this man, the absence of 
actively seeking God, produced 

904
00:53:04,200 --> 00:53:06,320
the absence of God working in 
favor for him. 

905
00:53:07,400 --> 00:53:10,120
What would have been like if he 
humbled himself before the Lord?

906
00:53:12,280 --> 00:53:14,040
So you want the best outcome for
your future. 

907
00:53:14,120 --> 00:53:15,040
Amen. 
So do I. 

908
00:53:15,160 --> 00:53:22,120
Stay close to him, Cling to him,
remain desperate, remain 

909
00:53:22,120 --> 00:53:26,360
desperate for him. 
And you should never fear what 

910
00:53:26,360 --> 00:53:31,480
will come if you do that about 
where your heart will lead you, 

911
00:53:31,720 --> 00:53:36,360
or how outcomes will direct you 
when your heart is sudden, 

912
00:53:36,360 --> 00:53:37,920
pleasing the Lord above all 
else. 

913
00:53:39,480 --> 00:53:42,880
I am more desperate at 32 years 
old than I was when I started 

914
00:53:42,880 --> 00:53:46,520
this journey at 20 and I pray 
that never changes. 

915
00:53:47,200 --> 00:53:50,560
And I hope you feel the same way
that as you grow in life, as you

916
00:53:50,560 --> 00:53:53,160
grow in advance in years and 
more responsibilities come your 

917
00:53:53,160 --> 00:53:55,640
way and more opportunities are 
presented to you, that that 

918
00:53:55,640 --> 00:54:00,120
would only amplify your sense of
being a desperate child that 

919
00:54:00,120 --> 00:54:02,720
comes to his father every moment
of the day. 

920
00:54:02,880 --> 00:54:09,840
Lead me, guide me, direct me, 
and doesn't have to look like 

921
00:54:09,840 --> 00:54:12,920
you shutting your door and 
pounding the your fists against 

922
00:54:12,920 --> 00:54:15,280
the wall. 
Some situations might require 

923
00:54:15,280 --> 00:54:18,800
that kind of seclusion. 
But even as you're driving and 

924
00:54:18,800 --> 00:54:20,880
you're about to meet somebody 
for a potential contract with 

925
00:54:20,880 --> 00:54:22,600
that business. 
Lord, give me wisdom here. 

926
00:54:22,600 --> 00:54:24,280
Help me see things that I can't 
see. 

927
00:54:24,880 --> 00:54:26,520
Don't let me fall for the give 
me a night deception. 

928
00:54:26,520 --> 00:54:28,640
If there's something here that I
don't know about, expose it. 

929
00:54:28,800 --> 00:54:33,360
Talk like that to God. 
He will honor that. 

930
00:54:34,240 --> 00:54:38,320
He will bless that. 
He will shepherd you in a way 

931
00:54:38,320 --> 00:54:40,640
that you cannot even imagine. 
And when you listen to this, 

932
00:54:40,640 --> 00:54:43,600
this is the beauty of it, 
because you have people all the 

933
00:54:43,600 --> 00:54:45,000
time that wonder, how did this 
happen? 

934
00:54:45,120 --> 00:54:47,480
How did this come about? 
Where do things go wrong? 

935
00:54:47,760 --> 00:54:50,400
And my go to question is this, 
Did you give it to the Lord to 

936
00:54:50,400 --> 00:54:54,360
begin with? 
Did you saturate it in prayer? 

937
00:54:54,360 --> 00:54:56,320
Did you ask the Lord to go 
before you? 

938
00:54:56,320 --> 00:55:00,600
If you did, then you can trust 
in any outcome, whether it's 

939
00:55:00,600 --> 00:55:03,560
immediately favorable or not, 
because you did your part. 

940
00:55:04,280 --> 00:55:09,400
Anxiety should be foreign to the
soul that is dependent upon God.

941
00:55:10,480 --> 00:55:11,840
Why? 
Because I did my part. 

942
00:55:11,960 --> 00:55:16,840
I put it in the hands of God. 
Oh, look at that didn't didn't 

943
00:55:16,840 --> 00:55:19,000
result in how I thought, but I 
did my part. 

944
00:55:20,160 --> 00:55:22,200
Lord, no, teach me what to do 
with this. 

945
00:55:22,640 --> 00:55:26,600
That's the way of the Christian.
That's the way of the wise. 

946
00:55:27,560 --> 00:55:30,320
Wisdom will teach you to remain 
in alignment with God. 

947
00:55:30,320 --> 00:55:33,520
Along the way you start doing 
things without God. 

948
00:55:33,800 --> 00:55:37,240
You should be scared. 
You start thinking you're 

949
00:55:37,240 --> 00:55:40,240
getting smart here. 
Now you're getting clever should

950
00:55:40,240 --> 00:55:45,520
be afraid, because here's a man 
here who is absent and actively 

951
00:55:45,520 --> 00:55:48,720
seeking the Lord, and as a 
result, he was absent in 

952
00:55:48,720 --> 00:55:50,880
experiencing the favor of the 
Lord. 

953
00:55:51,720 --> 00:55:54,960
And all we're told here is that 
the king did not listen to the 

954
00:55:54,960 --> 00:55:58,200
people, and it was a turn of 
affairs brought about by the 

955
00:55:58,200 --> 00:55:59,800
Lord that he might fulfill His 
word. 

956
00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:01,640
Here's what we're meant to see 
here. 

957
00:56:04,240 --> 00:56:07,400
Obama is about to make a 
decision that's going to that's 

958
00:56:07,400 --> 00:56:11,720
going to do some serious damage 
for hundreds of years to come. 

959
00:56:14,120 --> 00:56:16,520
And in anticipation of this 
fallout, we're going to see the 

960
00:56:16,520 --> 00:56:18,480
Kingdom Divided for the rest of 
this chapter. 

961
00:56:19,280 --> 00:56:22,040
The Holy Spirit now wants us to 
see behind the scenes. 

962
00:56:22,040 --> 00:56:24,080
He removes the curtain. 
He goes, hey, hey, before we 

963
00:56:24,080 --> 00:56:28,600
read and before we move on, I 
want you to be comforted to know

964
00:56:29,040 --> 00:56:31,720
that though leaders throughout 
history, though leaders in your 

965
00:56:31,720 --> 00:56:35,440
life have caused much havoc and 
chaos because of their own 

966
00:56:35,440 --> 00:56:38,800
foolishness, it never escapes 
God's sovereignty. 

967
00:56:39,800 --> 00:56:42,480
That's what we're supposed to 
see here, where Obama is going 

968
00:56:42,480 --> 00:56:47,160
to blow it and the Holy Spirit 
wants you to see, but God knows 

969
00:56:47,160 --> 00:56:51,440
it, God's in control of it. 
And in fact, even through the 

970
00:56:51,440 --> 00:56:55,320
failure of this man, the failure
of this people, it will never 

971
00:56:55,320 --> 00:56:58,560
throw out the purposes of God. 
What a word that we need here in

972
00:56:58,560 --> 00:57:03,320
this election year and for these
past many years where we've seen

973
00:57:03,320 --> 00:57:07,320
just incompetence and 
foolishness, news headlines and 

974
00:57:07,320 --> 00:57:10,480
podcasts and interviews that 
have caused us to think, How can

975
00:57:10,480 --> 00:57:18,040
somebody be so inadequate and 
making simple decisions, making 

976
00:57:18,080 --> 00:57:20,120
the average person feel like I 
can be a better president than 

977
00:57:20,120 --> 00:57:24,000
this? 
How governors and politicians, 

978
00:57:24,320 --> 00:57:27,520
how have we stooped so low? 
How we, how we left with these 

979
00:57:27,520 --> 00:57:30,480
kind of options? 
And I take that verse and I 

980
00:57:30,480 --> 00:57:34,800
apply it to this particular 
season in the West, and I see 

981
00:57:34,800 --> 00:57:36,880
behind the veil behind all of 
it. 

982
00:57:37,080 --> 00:57:39,320
I don't get overwhelmed by it. 
I don't get caught up by it. 

983
00:57:39,680 --> 00:57:43,640
God's purposes are not thwarted.
In fact, everything is going 

984
00:57:43,640 --> 00:57:47,040
according to plan. 
In fact, he's going to come out 

985
00:57:47,040 --> 00:57:50,000
victorious in this. 
And you and I are attached to 

986
00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:52,120
that God. 
You and I are linked to that 

987
00:57:52,120 --> 00:57:55,160
God. 
The safest place to be is close 

988
00:57:55,160 --> 00:57:57,520
to God. 
You have nothing to fear because

989
00:57:57,520 --> 00:58:01,640
of that. 
The Lord wants you to be adorned

990
00:58:01,640 --> 00:58:04,480
with wisdom. 
You don't have to wait till you 

991
00:58:04,480 --> 00:58:07,880
get Grays like me just a little 
bit. 

992
00:58:07,880 --> 00:58:14,120
Here you don't need Gray hairs. 
You don't need numbers to your 

993
00:58:14,120 --> 00:58:18,960
years for that wisdom to come. 
You can like James, one says, 

994
00:58:18,960 --> 00:58:21,920
ask freely to the Lord and he 
will bountifully give you 

995
00:58:21,920 --> 00:58:24,200
wisdom. 
And when you have that wisdom, 

996
00:58:24,360 --> 00:58:26,600
it's going to teach you how to 
listen, how to answer. 

997
00:58:26,600 --> 00:58:29,320
It's going to teach you who to 
go to, who not to go to. 

998
00:58:29,480 --> 00:58:33,280
It's going to teach you you 
can't do this without God. 

999
00:58:33,680 --> 00:58:35,080
Lord, we thank you for this 
Bible study. 

1000
00:58:36,040 --> 00:58:39,840
We feel enriched because your 
word is true and because you 

1001
00:58:39,840 --> 00:58:42,360
have given us understanding 
through the example of this man,

1002
00:58:42,360 --> 00:58:43,800
Brahul Balm. 
We thank you that you've 

1003
00:58:43,800 --> 00:58:47,560
included him in holy writ and 
you did not delete or remove his

1004
00:58:47,560 --> 00:58:53,880
story from the scriptures. 
Lord, at this time it's obvious 

1005
00:58:53,880 --> 00:58:57,520
what we need to pray for. 
We as a church, individually, as

1006
00:58:57,520 --> 00:59:00,600
a congregation, maybe people 
representing different 

1007
00:59:00,600 --> 00:59:04,160
assemblies in this place ask you
for wisdom. 

1008
00:59:08,240 --> 00:59:13,440
We can't do this without you. 
Many of us here have to make 

1009
00:59:13,440 --> 00:59:15,120
more serious decisions than 
others. 

1010
00:59:15,120 --> 00:59:17,440
All of us in here will 
eventually have to make life 

1011
00:59:17,440 --> 00:59:21,240
altering decisions and we pray, 
Lord that you would build in us 

1012
00:59:21,240 --> 00:59:27,920
a discretion and an ability to 
be navigators through this life 

1013
00:59:28,840 --> 00:59:32,040
in the most successful God 
glorifying way possible. 

1014
00:59:33,080 --> 00:59:36,520
So that even now as we sit in 
our respective places, we pray 

1015
00:59:36,520 --> 00:59:42,000
that you would shower us with 
heavenly wisdom, Ones that would

1016
00:59:42,000 --> 00:59:44,080
make us look more like the Son 
of God. 

1017
00:59:44,760 --> 00:59:48,560
One that would secure 
righteousness and fruitfulness, 

1018
00:59:50,680 --> 00:59:53,920
one that would help us avoid 
unnecessary suffering. 

1019
00:59:56,080 --> 00:59:58,560
And so, Lord, we ask, and we 
believe that you will give it to

1020
00:59:58,560 --> 01:00:00,840
us. 
We have no reason to fear. 

1021
01:00:02,640 --> 01:00:06,200
And Lord, at this time whatever 
decision is gnawing at us, if if

1022
01:00:06,200 --> 01:00:08,880
some here are standing at a 
crossroads, not knowing what to 

1023
01:00:08,880 --> 01:00:12,280
do with the voice of wisdom, be 
louder than ever. 

1024
01:00:15,880 --> 01:00:22,560
May even leaving this place 
provide a clarity and a strength

1025
01:00:24,040 --> 01:00:25,400
that can only come from the 
Spirit. 

1026
01:00:28,040 --> 01:00:30,160
Teach us to listen at the 
ponder. 

1027
01:00:30,880 --> 01:00:34,160
Teach us and show us who it is 
that we need to receive from. 

1028
01:00:34,840 --> 01:00:38,200
Show us if the people around us 
are speaking into our lives to 

1029
01:00:38,200 --> 01:00:45,200
our own demise and Lord, every 
hour, help us stay close to you.

1030
01:00:46,320 --> 01:00:51,160
Help us include you and all of 
our plans to seek you for 

1031
01:00:51,160 --> 01:00:57,760
wisdom, to ask for clarity, to 
expose deception, and to be at 

1032
01:00:57,760 --> 01:01:01,640
rest to know that when we have 
brought it to you, we've done 

1033
01:01:01,640 --> 01:01:04,400
all that we could. 
And that no matter what 

1034
01:01:04,400 --> 01:01:07,760
decision, even if it's two good 
decisions and we don't know 

1035
01:01:07,760 --> 01:01:10,560
which one is your will, they're 
both awesome. 

1036
01:01:11,280 --> 01:01:13,720
We can trust that the one that 
we go for, after doing all that 

1037
01:01:13,720 --> 01:01:17,640
we could do, you will redirect 
us if it wasn't the right path. 

1038
01:01:18,040 --> 01:01:21,200
This is how good you are, Lord. 
This is how merciful you are. 

1039
01:01:21,200 --> 01:01:25,840
Renew our vision of the goodness
of the shepherd of our souls. 

1040
01:01:26,440 --> 01:01:30,080
And now we give you praise and 
glory and honor. 

1041
01:01:30,200 --> 01:01:32,360
For you have given us what we 
desperately need. 

1042
01:01:32,440 --> 01:01:35,320
Wisdom. 
To the glory of the name of the 

1043
01:01:35,320 --> 01:01:37,960
Son of God, Jesus Christ. 
Amen. 

1044
01:01:38,280 --> 01:01:39,520
Amen. 
Church. 

1045
01:01:39,600 --> 01:01:42,520
It was a joy and an honor. 
Now let's stand and worship this

1046
01:01:42,520 --> 01:01:44,040
king. 
He is for you. 

1047
01:01:44,200 --> 01:01:47,240
He is with you and he will guide
you.