1 00:00:48,950 --> 00:00:51,630 Good morning church. Going to invite you to turn in 2 00:00:51,630 --> 00:00:54,550 your Bibles to 1st Kings chapter 3. 3 00:00:54,550 --> 00:00:57,230 We're going to be in verses 5 to 14 today. 4 00:00:58,190 --> 00:01:00,990 If you're using one of the physical Bibles that are found 5 00:01:00,990 --> 00:01:04,870 under some of the chairs here in the auditorium and you don't 6 00:01:04,870 --> 00:01:08,800 know where First Kings is, please don't feel embarrassed, 7 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:10,880 don't feel dumb. I'm just glad that you're 8 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:12,680 looking this up. So here's what you can do. 9 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:17,000 You flip open to the beginning. You go forward about 1/5 or 1/6 10 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:21,560 of the way in. If you go past First and Second 11 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:23,720 Samuel, you will come to 1st Kings. 12 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:26,680 If you come to 2nd Kings, you've gone past First Kings. 13 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,840 That's how that works. We're in a series called Ancient 14 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:36,160 Prayers Present Power, and we're looking at these prayers of 15 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:41,800 people of faith throughout history and how they can help us 16 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,160 grow in our prayer life today. I said the first time in the 17 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:50,000 first sermon that we had in this series that really want to see 18 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:54,640 us move beyond prayers that are just like, Lord, help me 19 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,840 prayers, right? It's so easy in our prayer lives 20 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:03,440 to default into God, please fix God, please help God, please 21 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,120 heal. And that kind of becomes the 22 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,360 extent of our engagement with God. 23 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,880 And like I said in the first week, there's nothing inherently 24 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,280 wrong. In fact, it's really good to 25 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,240 come to God with everything that's going on in our life, all 26 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:19,880 of our requests, no matter how big or small, all of our 27 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:24,120 concerns. God is a good father, and like 28 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:29,080 every good dad, he wants his kids to come to him and to 29 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:32,000 engage with him. And so that's why we read in 30 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,440 Philippians 46. Don't worry about anything, but 31 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:43,360 in everything, in everything, through prayer and petition with 32 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:45,240 Thanksgiving, present your request to God. 33 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:47,520 There's nothing too small for God. 34 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:53,080 Prayer is not less than being honest about our concerns and 35 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:57,160 what's going on in our lives, but it can be so much more. 36 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:02,480 See, God's not looking for our shopping lists. 37 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:05,080 He's inviting us into a conversation. 38 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:10,360 That's what prayer is about. He, He wants our presence, not 39 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:14,480 just our petitions. So we want to look at how do we 40 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:19,280 move from talking at God to talking to God. 41 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,680 In today's passage in prayer is a conversation that takes place 42 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:29,040 between God in a guy by the name of King Solomon. 43 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:33,600 Now, even if you aren't all that familiar with the Bible, maybe 44 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,000 you haven't really been in church for before, maybe you 45 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:38,440 haven't been in church for a long time. 46 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,360 You probably have heard of King Solomon at some point. 47 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:46,000 And let me just give us all catch us up on who Solomon is. 48 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:51,480 Solomon was a king of over Israel who reigned from 49 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:59,240 approximately 970 BC to 931 BC. He succeeded the most famous 50 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,560 king in all of Israel. That is King David. 51 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,320 And in fact, if you look at the Israeli flag today, you will see 52 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,440 a star on that. That is a Davidic star because 53 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,800 King David was the man. He was the king. 54 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,360 He's the king by which all other kings are judged. 55 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:19,839 He's also the guy who had a stone and flung it and killed 56 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,560 the giant, so you may know him from that. 57 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,960 Solomon comes after him, and Solomon is known for his 58 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,160 incredible wisdom, his incredible wealth. 59 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:34,680 Solomon expands the Kingdom, grows the Kingdom of Israel to 60 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,840 its greatest extent. He was the builder of the first 61 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:42,080 temple in Jerusalem. And in the passage that we find 62 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,840 ourselves today, Solomon's just stepping into the role. 63 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:53,360 So David's reign for 40 years, he has passed away and he has 64 00:04:53,360 --> 00:05:00,120 named Solomon his successor. And Solomon is somewhere around 65 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:04,360 20 to 21 years of age. He is a young pup. 66 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:11,520 He's just entering into adulthood, and he is tasked with 67 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,920 this reality of stepping into his father's shoes and leading 68 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:20,440 the Kingdom that his father had kind of knit together in the 69 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:25,200 land of Israel. And we read starting in verse 5 70 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:30,840 that at Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. 71 00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:35,560 So what has happened is Solomon has gone to worship God. 72 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:37,280 This is before the temple is there. 73 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:40,080 So he's gone to Gibeon to worship God. 74 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:44,080 He's brought all of these sacrifices, and God comes and 75 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:45,960 appears to him at the beginning of his reign. 76 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:51,400 And God says this, Ask, what should I give you? 77 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:53,960 Now let's pause here for a second. 78 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:02,120 Imagine God came to you with that opportunity. 79 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:08,480 Ask what should I give you? God appears to you and says, 80 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:15,000 hey, hey, what do you want? What does your heart desire? 81 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:17,200 Why don't you think about this for a second? 82 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:23,000 If you could ask God to give you anything today, what would it 83 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,480 be? What is the thing that your 84 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:34,880 heart is calling out for? What's the driving desire? 85 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:36,440 What's the thing where you like God? 86 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:41,800 If you would just do this for me, man, that's all I really 87 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:47,840 need. You know, that's the opportunity 88 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:50,960 that God always affords us in prayer. 89 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,160 Think about that. Like we actually have a heavenly 90 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:59,120 Father right now who just as he came to Solomon and said, ask 91 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,360 what do you want? He invites every single one of 92 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:07,760 his children to come and say, what do you want? 93 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,680 Now? God's not Santa Claus. 94 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:12,760 He's not a genie. He's more like, remember when 95 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:14,880 your parents had to write a list for Christmas? 96 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:18,440 Just because you put it on the list doesn't mean you're getting 97 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,280 it right. And if you grave it to grandma, 98 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:23,200 you're probably definitely not getting or you're getting a 99 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,320 knock off brand of it. She's not going to get it right. 100 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:31,600 It's OK. But it is an invitation because 101 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:33,760 there is a God who cares about us. 102 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:37,960 There's a God who wants us to come to him, lay our hearts bare 103 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:44,400 before him, and he's inviting Solomon and he invites us into a 104 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,840 conversation. And this conversation, it's 105 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,480 going to reveal both the heart of Solomon and the heart of God. 106 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:57,040 And and I think as we walk through what Solomon praise, how 107 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:01,040 he converses, because this is what prayer is, It's a dialogue 108 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,520 with God. What Solomon dialogues with God 109 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,480 about can really help us grow in our own prayer life. 110 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,680 So let's begin to look at what does Solomon say to God coming 111 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:18,320 to him with this offer. Verse 6 Solomon replied, you've 112 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:22,760 shown great and faithful love to your servant, my father David, 113 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:28,840 because he walked before you in faithfulness, righteousness and 114 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:33,159 integrity. You've continued this great and 115 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:37,280 faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne 116 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:42,600 as it is today. I think it's really instructive 117 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,840 that God initiates this conversation with Solomon and he 118 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:50,760 says ask. But before Solomon ever gets to 119 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:54,120 ask, he starts with acknowledging, right? 120 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,200 I said in week 1, we're going to look at some things that are 121 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:00,920 often times going to repeat themselves in various ways in 122 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:02,800 prayer. And we kind of saw this in 123 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:06,960 Moses's life too. He, he starts by recognizing the 124 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:12,200 God whom he's speaking to you. And I want to start by saying 125 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:15,720 when we think about prayer, maybe we should think this way, 126 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,520 that when we pray, we begin with remembrance rather than 127 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:22,400 requests. So Paul Solomon remembers 2 128 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,880 things here. First, he remembers who he's 129 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,520 talking to. He says he has a great and the 130 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:34,920 faithful, the loving God, the Hebrew word here is has said 131 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:38,680 there's there's God. This is who you are in your 132 00:09:38,680 --> 00:09:41,960 essence. You are a God who loves your God 133 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:44,960 who keeps his word. He keeps his covenant. 134 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:49,760 You never fail, you never change, you never let us down. 135 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:53,960 And the same God that Solomon goes through is the same God 136 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:57,240 that we come to today, because God is the same yesterday, today 137 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:01,800 and forever. And, and, and when we remember 138 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:05,400 who we talked to, it changes how we ought to talk to them. 139 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,880 So one of the things I don't know if you're maybe a parent of 140 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:13,360 a young kid, maybe you've experienced this. 141 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:18,000 It's really easy to fall into mom and dad mode and then all 142 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,720 the sudden realize that you're talking to your spouse like you 143 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,000 talk to your kids, right? That's not a good thing. 144 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:31,800 Just tip 1 husbands, wives, don't talk to your spouses like 145 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,920 you talk to your kids. It's not a good thing. 146 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:40,400 You should always be thinking about who is the person that I'm 147 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:41,640 talking to? What is their role? 148 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,720 What is their position? One of the things that drives me 149 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:47,720 absolutely bonkers. I don't like it when somebody 150 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:52,280 talks like a jerk to anybody, but when somebody is a jerk to 151 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:56,280 like a server or a service person, I'm like, are you 152 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,480 kidding me? That person had nothing to do 153 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:01,400 with the issue that you're dealing with. 154 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,160 They're just there and now they're having to take all of 155 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,880 your junk. Remember who you're talking to. 156 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:09,560 They they didn't screw up your order in the back. 157 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:11,280 That's the chef. I don't think you should go talk 158 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,280 to them like a jerk either. But what were they supposed to 159 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:19,840 do? Often times we forget who we're 160 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:23,400 talking to. We, we can often be the worst 161 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:27,680 when we're talking to the people who we claim to love the most, 162 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,240 right? Because we feel safest there. 163 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:33,880 These are people who won't return. 164 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:36,280 So we just kind of blurred it all out on them. 165 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:40,920 But if we stopped and remember, hey, this is somebody who I love 166 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:44,120 dearly. Why am I talking to them this 167 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:49,760 way? It's in any situation, it's easy 168 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:54,240 to forget who you're talking to, and that also includes prayer. 169 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,560 Sometimes we just need to stop and pause and reconsider about 170 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:03,480 who we're having a conversation with and just speaking that out, 171 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,640 right? God, you are holy, you're great, 172 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:10,840 you're powerful, you're loving, you're merciful, you're so 173 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,720 forgiving. It changes the tone and the 174 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:19,000 posture and even the request with which we come right when 175 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:23,360 when we pray. God, you're so loving. 176 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:28,520 You've been so kind to me even when I haven't deserved it. 177 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:30,880 You've forgiven me. You've been merciful to me, and 178 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:35,840 you're so great, got all this beauty of creation that I get to 179 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:37,880 observe. That's all your handiwork. 180 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:40,160 And you've done it. Done it for me to engage. 181 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,840 And all of the sudden, instead of just approaching him with an 182 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:47,720 ask, my heart is turned towards awe and affection. 183 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,760 Solomon starts by remembering who he's talking to. 184 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,840 And then he remembers what God has done. 185 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:01,680 What has this loving, faithful covenant fulfilling God done? 186 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:05,280 He has shown it. He's demonstrated it. 187 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:10,200 He's proven his greatness. He, he Solomon says. 188 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:12,200 You displayed it in the life of my dad. 189 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,960 I I got AI got a front row seat to your faithfulness to him in 190 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,960 in fact, the very fact that I get to stand here today in the 191 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:26,400 place as a king is your faithfulness to my Father, your 192 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:29,000 love towards him and your grace towards me. 193 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:35,480 Our prayers deepen when they come out of remembrance and 194 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:37,640 reflection rather than just reaction. 195 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:43,680 Remembering who you're praying to will change the way that you 196 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:47,560 pray. Remembering what God has done in 197 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:51,440 the past will change the way that you pray in the present. 198 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:54,880 So here's a prayer prompt. I want to take some time in each 199 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:58,000 of these sections. I want to give you 30 seconds. 200 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:02,200 And if you're a follower of Jesus, I'm going to put those 201 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:07,640 prayer prompts up on the screen. I want you to pray these two, 202 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:11,320 the first top ones here. Start with God you are and fill 203 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:16,240 in the blank and then go to thank you for showing that by 204 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,280 here's who you are. Here's what you've done. 205 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,520 But some of you today, if you're not a follower of Jesus, the 206 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:24,720 best thing that you could pray today is that last one. 207 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:30,880 God, please show me who you are. Show me what you're I want to 208 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:32,440 see you. If you're out there and you're 209 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:35,800 real, would you display your glory to me? 210 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:39,480 So let's just take 30 seconds and I'm going to give you space 211 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:42,280 to just kind of bow your head, close your eyes, and pray those 212 00:14:42,280 --> 00:15:11,240 prayer prompts. Amen. 213 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,560 Solomon continues on in his dialogue with God. 214 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:25,560 Lord my God, you have now made your servant king in my father 215 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:32,080 David's place, yet I'm just a youth with no experience in 216 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:35,880 leadership. Your servant is among your 217 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:40,080 people whom you have chosen, a people too many to be numbered 218 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:45,320 or counted. When you pray, pray with 219 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:46,920 remembrance. Pray with humility. 220 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,440 Solomon, I just love how real he is in this situation. 221 00:15:52,880 --> 00:16:00,160 God, I am a youth. I have no idea what I'm doing, 222 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:04,080 no experience in leadership, and I got this massive group of 223 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:08,080 people and they're your people and I'm supposed to lead them. 224 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:13,120 Today we would probably say that Solomon struggles with imposter 225 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,720 syndrome. He's just a 20 year old guy, 226 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,440 right? And his dad has been king for 40 227 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,480 years. And like I told you, he's not. 228 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,720 He was not just the king, he was the king. 229 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,320 So every time when you go through 1st and 2nd kings, what 230 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,720 you're going to read about any king is how did they measure up 231 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:38,480 to David? Like, how's that for shoes to 232 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,760 fill? He's, he's the man by which all 233 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:48,200 other kings will be judged. And I know we read about and 234 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,240 Solomon mentions he's very respectful towards his dad and, 235 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:55,200 and, and God did recognize David as a man after his own heart, 236 00:16:55,480 --> 00:17:00,200 but he was also a mess and he left behind a mess of a family, 237 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:02,840 some of which Solomon has to do a little cleaning up on. 238 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,680 So he's got his own personal issues that he's dealing with. 239 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:13,560 And then he's got millions of people who are looking to him 240 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:17,720 for guidance and for leadership. And Israel's not just any 241 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:22,200 people, the people that he has been put in charge of, our God's 242 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:26,760 chosen people, they are meant to be salt and light to the world 243 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:29,160 around. They're meant to be the ones 244 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:34,600 that declare the truth that God is God and God alone is God. 245 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:41,000 So if you have ever been in a role or a spot or a time where 246 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:45,160 you just felt in over your head where you felt like I'm an 247 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:50,000 impostor, I can't do this. Where you didn't know how you 248 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,440 were going to be able to function or accomplish what was 249 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:56,040 being asked or expected of you. You and Solomon, you got a lot 250 00:17:56,040 --> 00:18:00,120 in common. Anybody feeling that today? 251 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:06,600 Anybody feeling like they're in a spot where they're in over 252 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:14,520 their head in an area of life, maybe you feel like you're in 253 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:21,000 this place where nobody trained me to do this again. 254 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:26,600 I go back to thinking about being a first time dad at at the 255 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:32,120 hospital and realizing that I had to take three tests to get a 256 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:36,360 driver's license. But at the end of 24 hours in 257 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:40,120 the hospital, they were just sticking this baby in my arms 258 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:43,400 and sending me out the door expecting like I knew what I was 259 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:47,680 doing, right? There's so many areas that we're 260 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,360 honest. We're just like, well, I just 261 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:54,800 got to fake it until I make it. I'm going to tell you what 262 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,840 Solomon realized is you can fake it, but you're only going to 263 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:06,360 make it if God's involved. The ESV, it says, it says it 264 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:09,120 this way. I love the Esvs wording of what 265 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:12,200 Solomon says. I'm but a little child. 266 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,080 I don't know how to come in or go out. 267 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:19,120 Yeah, God, I don't know anything. 268 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:26,840 I am so in over my head. And this is a reminder to us. 269 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:32,480 Prayer is not about impressing God with our strength. 270 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:39,760 It's about admitting our need. God, Solomon says. 271 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:47,440 Hey God, I'm weak, but I just remembered you're strong. 272 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:51,920 It's like he's comparing the two resumes, right? 273 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:55,640 First we get God's resume in the remembrance, and then we get 274 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:59,400 Solomon's resume and it's pretty bare bones. 275 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:06,960 And in a world that celebrates confidence and self-sufficiency, 276 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:11,640 prayer calls us to a radical act of. 277 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:17,320 Confession that we are dependent and not enough on our own. 278 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,120 So where are you in over your head right now? 279 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:26,040 What role are you trying to fill that you just don't feel 280 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:30,560 equipped for? What situation are you in right 281 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:32,560 now? Are you just, I mean, you're 282 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:36,080 trying to tread water and and keep your head above from the 283 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:39,400 water from drowning, but you you just don't know how much longer 284 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:41,440 you can keep it up and how you can do it. 285 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:45,320 This prayer prompt is for you this morning. 286 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:48,480 We're going to take a moment. Remember the God who you've come 287 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,920 to already and now come to him with your request for help. 288 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:57,800 God, I need your help with. Let's pray. 289 00:21:19,580 --> 00:21:24,020 God, thank you for hearing our calls for help today, for 290 00:21:24,020 --> 00:21:29,100 recognizing our insufficiency. Amen. 291 00:21:30,780 --> 00:21:33,620 So take time to remember before requesting. 292 00:21:33,620 --> 00:21:38,900 Come with a posture of humility. And then when you pray, ask God 293 00:21:38,900 --> 00:21:41,300 to help you know and do what's right. 294 00:21:42,940 --> 00:21:50,400 Verse 9 So in light of who you are, in light of who I am, give 295 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,880 your servant A receptive heart to judge your people, to discern 296 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:58,920 between good and evil for who is able to judge this great people 297 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:01,480 of yours? See, we've actually now we've 298 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,200 come back to the point where it started. 299 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:06,920 God started, he said, what do you want to ask? 300 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:12,200 And now he's got to the ask. This is the ask God. 301 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:17,360 I know who you are. I know your character. 302 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:20,720 I know your kindness. I know your greatness. 303 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:26,680 I know that you know what is good. 304 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:29,600 You're the arbiter of what is good. 305 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:36,800 Your ways, they're the best ways because you're the best God. 306 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:43,680 And I know how little I know, and I know how many people are 307 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:45,760 depending on me to get this right. 308 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:49,400 I know the choices that I make, good and bad, they're not just 309 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,960 going to impact me. They're going to impact all of 310 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:54,600 these people that I've been called to lead. 311 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:59,560 So here's what I want to know. God, what's right, God, what's 312 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:07,160 righteous, what's just God, Show me what is good. 313 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,960 Because what is good, what you say is good is what is best. 314 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:18,680 And we live in this world. We live in this world where the 315 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:24,360 standard of what is right, what is good is what makes me feel 316 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:27,680 good. What is, what does my heart tell 317 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:32,160 me? And so every individual in our 318 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:36,160 culture becomes the arbiter, the standard of what is right and 319 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:40,640 wrong, what's good and bad. So what's good for you may not 320 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,480 be good for me, or what you think is right, I may think is 321 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:44,720 wrong. And that's OK. 322 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,280 What what's right really boils down to this question, isn't it? 323 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:57,080 What makes me happy? And we're, we're, we're fairly 324 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:00,080 well along in this experiment at this point. 325 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,800 And I think we've got enough results on hand to tell us it 326 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:10,560 ain't working. Listen, here's what I see, and 327 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,080 it's not just what I see anecdotally, and it's not just 328 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,320 what you see anecdotally. It's what every single 329 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:19,960 statistical question that goes out there and every poll says. 330 00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:29,000 Anxiety up, hopelessness up, loneliness up, social cohesion 331 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:35,480 down, joy down, peace down, satisfaction down. 332 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,360 This whole, hey, we'll figure out what's right and wrong for 333 00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:42,640 ourselves. We'll figure out what's good and 334 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:46,760 evil. It ain't working, but we could 335 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:50,360 have known that ahead of time. Here's here's what here's what 336 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:53,440 God tells us in his word through through the prophet Jeremiah and 337 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:58,480 Jeremiah 17 nine. You want to follow your heart as 338 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,040 the ultimate arbiter of what you're going to do. 339 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:06,400 The heart is more deceitful than anything else and incurable. 340 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:11,640 Who can understand it? The problem with following your 341 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:15,400 heart to make decisions is your heart is a liar. 342 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:19,040 It is a terrible judge of these things. 343 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:25,640 Solomon himself in the book of Proverbs, which he is the author 344 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:28,240 of, writes this in Proverbs 1412. 345 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:34,040 There is a way that seems right to a person, but it's end is the 346 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:38,840 way to death. You want to be the arbiter of 347 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,600 what is right. You want to trust your gut. 348 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:49,880 That's where it goes. And I know it feels good, it 349 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:54,640 felt good, but is it actually doing you any good? 350 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:57,560 It's interesting. Some of you will know that 351 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:01,560 verse, the verse that follows directly after its Proverbs 352 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:06,160 1413, is directly connected to it, says this. 353 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:13,880 Even in a laughter, a heart may be sad, and joy may end in 354 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:18,840 grief. Don't judge the goodness of an 355 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:22,200 action by what your response to it is in a moment. 356 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:30,160 There is a way that seems right to a person, but it's end is the 357 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,640 way to death. See, Solomon understood that 358 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,600 wisdom at its core, it's not a pragmatic deal about just 359 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:40,240 knowing how to get what I want. I think that's how we think 360 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:44,000 about wisdom generally. How can I do things in a way 361 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,680 that will get me the most of what I want? 362 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:51,840 No, Wisdom is about figuring out what God wants and doing it. 363 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:56,920 That's wisdom. And again, you see why 364 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:03,000 Remembering first recounting God's resume and and and 365 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:05,720 remembering and recounting your resume in humility. 366 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:09,040 You see how this gets you to a point of the right thing to ask 367 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:11,360 for Here would be God. I don't know anything. 368 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:13,200 You know everything. Show me what to do. 369 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:20,040 You need to remind yourself of who God is. 370 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:25,560 You need to be honest about who you are so that you would trust 371 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,320 His words more than you trust your heart. 372 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:34,560 The first step towards living the type of life that you're 373 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:38,520 designed for is to understand you'll never live that type of 374 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:43,280 life, living it your way. The expression here, a 375 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:50,640 discerning heart or hearing heart in Hebrew, hearing is 376 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:56,480 literally meaning obeying. So it's not like me when I'm 377 00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:01,240 watching the television and my wife tells me something I I 378 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:08,280 heard it sort of right. Hearing is about taking it in 379 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:13,200 and, and, and, and doing it, living out of that information 380 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:18,280 and reality you have. So, So what Solomon is praying 381 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:21,760 for here is God. If I could have just one thing, 382 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,480 you asked me about one desire. If I could have one thing, 383 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:28,720 here's what I want. I want to know what you want. 384 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:32,600 I want to know what you say is the best, what you say is good. 385 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:34,440 And then I want to know how to do it. 386 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:37,320 That's what he's calling out for. 387 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:42,920 Do you want a marriage that's flourishing? 388 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:49,280 Pray that God would show you how to be a godly husband. 389 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:51,760 If you're a husband, you don't need to pray this for your 390 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,400 spoke. Pray this for you or a godly 391 00:28:54,400 --> 00:29:00,600 wife if you're a wife that you would care more about that 392 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:04,000 desire that more live into that more than what societal 393 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:08,640 expectations say it should look like or what your favorite 394 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,480 social media influencer says it should look like. 395 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:16,080 Do you want to be the best parent you can be? 396 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:20,560 Then be more concerned about listening to God than listening 397 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:24,400 to another podcast or reading another book. 398 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:29,000 Do you want to live a life of meaning and purpose? 399 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:34,880 Stop listening to culture and stop and start listening to the 400 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:38,760 God who's giving you life. Do you want to live a life of of 401 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:43,120 contentment, of joy, of peace? Don't listen to the people who 402 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,640 are trying to sell you things to give you that. 403 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:52,280 Listen to the God who promises in His Word through His Spirit. 404 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:54,800 This is exactly what He wants to give to you. 405 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,000 When you pray for this type of wisdom, when you pray for true 406 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:05,200 wisdom, the wisdom to to know what is good and to do what is 407 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:10,000 good, to do what is right. That's what leads to flourishing 408 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:15,240 in life, not following your heart, not listening to your 409 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:18,920 gut. And so here's the prayer prompt 410 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:24,320 for us this morning. God help me to hear you and obey 411 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:29,160 you in see, we've all got spots in our life right now where 412 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:31,680 we're listening to other things. We're not listening to God 413 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:36,640 listen to our heart. We're listening to culture. 414 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:38,720 We're listening to our favorite podcast host. 415 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:41,360 We listen to the book. Maybe we're even listening to 416 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:44,200 the advice of our mom and dad or the traditions handed down to 417 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:45,520 us. But if those things were 418 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:48,160 encountered to what God has to say, when you stop listening to 419 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:49,560 those and start listening to him. 420 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:55,360 So let's just pray together this prayer and ask God to come in 421 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:57,600 and help us hear Him and obey him in. 422 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:24,960 Father, we want to be the type of people as your people that 423 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:27,040 this is our cry in every area of our life. 424 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:32,000 And if we've got a blind spot and we openly ask you by your 425 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,760 Holy Spirit to reveal to us where we are walking in 426 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:39,480 disobedience and in a lack of submission, help us hear from 427 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:43,280 you and listen to you so that we can obey you in Jesus name, 428 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:48,520 Amen. Here's God's response. 429 00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:53,880 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this. 430 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:59,120 So God said to him, because you have requested this and did not 431 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:03,240 ask for long life or riches for yourself or the death of your 432 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:06,600 enemies, but you asked for discernment for yourself to 433 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:10,080 administer justice. I will therefore do what you 434 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,240 have asked. I'll give you a wise and 435 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,520 understanding heart so that there has never been anyone like 436 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:19,520 you before and never will be again. 437 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:25,720 In addition, I'll give to you what you did not ask for, both 438 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:29,200 riches and honor, so that no king will be your equal during 439 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:34,040 your entire life. If you walk in my ways, if you 440 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:38,680 keep my statutes and commands just as your father David did, I 441 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:43,760 will give you a long life. Solomon's prayer, at its core 442 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:48,960 was a prayer of submission. God, I, I want to please you. 443 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:51,600 And you know what? That prayer pleased God. 444 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:57,120 So it pleased and delighted the Lord that Solomon brought this 445 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:00,080 prayer. But if you know the story of 446 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:04,920 Solomon, you know that how Solomon started isn't exactly 447 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:10,320 how it went all the way along. And overtime, despite the wisdom 448 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:14,520 that God had given to Solomon, he stopped hearing in doing. 449 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:19,760 And because of that, he'd miss out on the quality and the 450 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:22,600 quantity of life. Solomon dies much younger than 451 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:24,800 his father David. He dies at the age of 60. 452 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,280 He misses out on so much of the life that God wanted to give to 453 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:34,640 him. And we all fail in this area of 454 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:38,560 wisdom. We all fail to live according to 455 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:41,040 God's wisdom in God's way of doing things. 456 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:46,160 That's what sin is, a failure to live according to God's way and 457 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:48,040 a desire to live according to our own way. 458 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:55,040 We fail to please the Lord, and so we end up in places of death. 459 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,880 We end up in places where life is sapped from us. 460 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:05,680 But the good news is this. Our Father sent us a greater 461 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:09,560 king than King Solomon. He sent us a better Solomon. 462 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:15,560 He sent us Jesus, who was the true son of David, who didn't 463 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:18,560 just ask for wisdom. He is wisdom. 464 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:23,199 He didn't just pray for help, He came to be our help. 465 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:26,520 He didn't just ask for God's will. 466 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:31,800 He accomplished God's will on the cross, and now because of 467 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:38,800 Jesus, we don't approach God as beggars, but we get to enter 468 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:42,719 into his throne room boldly as his kids. 469 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:49,960 And so James promises to us in the New Testament that because 470 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:56,360 of Jesus, the wisdom that God gave to Solomon is available to 471 00:34:56,400 --> 00:35:00,040 every single one of us today if and when we call out for it. 472 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:07,240 In James 1/5, it says, if any of you lacks wisdom, anybody here 473 00:35:07,240 --> 00:35:09,640 lack wisdom in an area, I'll put my hand up. 474 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:14,080 We lack wisdom, right? If any of you lacks wisdom, he 475 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:20,920 should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly or 476 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:23,480 in the version I learned it in without finding fault, which 477 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:26,560 always love. God never looks at you and me 478 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:30,840 because we say God I don't know what to do and says you idiot 479 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:33,200 why don't you figured this out yet? 480 00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:36,480 I'm done. I gave you enough wisdom, move 481 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:39,240 along. No, He gives it generously 482 00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:43,040 without finding fault. It will be given to him. 483 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,760 It will be given to her. We'll get wisdom when we come to 484 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:49,440 God and ask for wisdom, God. Because just like with Solomon, 485 00:35:49,640 --> 00:35:52,560 God delights in answering this prayer. 486 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:55,520 This is a prayer that delights the heart of God. 487 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:59,120 So when we ask for it, I promise you it's always granted. 488 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:03,920 If you say, God, I want to know your way and live according to 489 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:05,760 your way. God's not like, let me think 490 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:10,160 about it. It's a prayer that he answers 491 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:14,760 and he delights in answering. And wisdom starts with realizing 492 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:19,320 that apart from the saving work of Jesus, we are done and dead. 493 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:24,200 That's where wisdom starts. So if you have not yet called 494 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:30,640 out to Jesus to be your Lord and your Savior, to to have a life 495 00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:34,160 through Christ, then you can do that today. 496 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:41,200 All you need to do is say, God, I know you're good, I know you 497 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:47,000 do good. I know that I'm not good, that I 498 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:50,560 have failed up to live up to your standard of goodness. 499 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:58,800 But I know that Jesus, he's good and his goodness is more than 500 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:05,000 enough for me that he died on the cross for me to make me who 501 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:08,480 was not good, good enough through him. 502 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:14,840 And so Jesus, I just thank you. Thank you for dying on the 503 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:19,280 cross, for my failures, for my sins, for my mistakes. 504 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:23,000 Thank you that the blood that you poured on the cross was more 505 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,440 than capable of forgiving all of my sins. 506 00:37:26,600 --> 00:37:29,840 And thank you that you rose to new life so that I want to one 507 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:32,600 day could raise, be risen to new life with God. 508 00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:37,440 And if you just pray that you call out to him and you say, now 509 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,840 I want to walk in your goodness all the days of my life, guess 510 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:43,440 what? He gives it to you. 511 00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:48,800 And if that's what you've prayed it, if that's where your heart 512 00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:54,600 is, if you're a follower of Jesus, you have all that Solomon 513 00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:57,400 was given and more. Think about this. 514 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:02,760 Because of Jesus all the riches of heaven belong to you. 515 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:09,680 Because of Jesus, no shame and no condemnation belong to you 516 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:12,080 anymore. Instead you are given the honors 517 00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:14,680 and blessings that are due the name of Jesus. 518 00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:19,880 Because of Jesus you don't just get a longer life, you get 519 00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:24,360 eternal life. Because of Jesus you can pray 520 00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:27,400 for wisdom. You can pray for what the, the 521 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:31,520 knowledge is of good and, and, and the ability to live out that 522 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:33,440 good. And you don't just get it. 523 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:36,720 You get God coming up and taking residence in you and helping you 524 00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:39,760 live that out in ways that you are incapable of doing on your 525 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:44,480 own through the Holy Spirit. So if you could ask God for 526 00:38:44,480 --> 00:38:48,240 anything today, what would it be? 527 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:59,560 I think if we're honest, most of the prayers that we pray, I'm 528 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,840 really just symptomatic with the deepest longing of our heart is 529 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:07,360 we prayer. We pray for God to fix things 530 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:09,680 and to heal things and to help things. 531 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:14,280 But those are all symptoms of, of a deeper struggle and a 532 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:16,480 deeper desire. That our deepest desire is to 533 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:20,640 live a life of flourishing, of abundance. 534 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:23,640 To live the life that we were designed to live for our sake 535 00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:26,560 and for the sake of the people that we interact with, for our 536 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:29,840 family members for, for the peoples in our in our 537 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:33,960 workplaces, in our schools, That we would live type of life of 538 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:37,320 meaning and contentment and satisfaction and joy and peace 539 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:46,520 that God designed us for. And Solomon, Solomon understood 540 00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:51,520 the thing that we all need to understand, that in order to get 541 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:55,440 that, we first have to come to a point of realizing that we can't 542 00:39:55,440 --> 00:40:01,040 have it without God. That that way of living, that 543 00:40:01,040 --> 00:40:04,640 way of being only comes when we start to walk in God's ways, 544 00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:08,280 when we come to a point of surrender and submission. 545 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:11,880 As long as we're trying to live this our way, not going to find 546 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:16,160 what our heart longs for, that's what wisdom looks like. 547 00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:20,120 Wisdom is about coming to God and saying, I want to hear from 548 00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:23,520 you. I want to know how I ought to 549 00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:26,600 live life in all the areas of my life, and then I want to live 550 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:30,800 according to that. And when we do that, all the 551 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:36,560 other stuff follows after it. Let me just pray together. 552 00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:42,080 Let's pray. Father, you've been faithful. 553 00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:48,600 Jesus, you've made a way. Holy Spirit, we need your 554 00:40:48,600 --> 00:40:54,480 wisdom. Help us to walk in your ways. 555 00:40:54,480 --> 00:41:01,120 Help us to walk in your wisdom. Not just for us, it's for our 556 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:06,080 sakes, Father, but for the sakes of our families, our friends, 557 00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:13,480 our church, our workplaces, our schools, our cities, our 558 00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:17,600 countries. But most of all, for your glory, 559 00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:22,040 we pray. God show us what is right and 560 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:25,400 what is good. Give us wisdom to judge justly 561 00:41:26,240 --> 00:41:30,400 and to live accordingly for the sake of Jesus. 562 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:30,840 Amen.