#113. BONUS CONTENT: Should Women Teach The Bible on Podcasts? + GIVEAWAY + Lady Wisdom Speaks | Proverbs 8-12

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This is The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox, and today

we're focusing on Lady Wisdom as

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we discuss Proverbs 8 through 12.

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Before we get to that, I have to

admit I was thrown off course a bit

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today by some controversy in the news.

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A hotly debated topic right now is

whether women should be permitted to

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teach the Bible, specifically if it's

okay for a woman to be on a church

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podcast talking about the Bible.

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You can imagine why that struck a

chord with me, And I thought I'd take

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a moment to bring some clarity to

this, considering that our ministry

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is mostly built on women encouraging

other women with the Word of God

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First off, I have maintained

the entire time that I don't

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consider myself an expert.

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I am a mom that desperately needs Jesus.

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And this has produced A deep devotion

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and delight in His Word.

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One of the reasons I rely so heavily

on research in my commentaries

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is because I want to be informed

by those who have studied their

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lives digging into the Word of God.

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And I don't want to ever be

given over to emotions or see

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the Word of God through a filter

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of my own circumstances

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His word is about Him, not me

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But he has met me through it in so

many different seasons of motherhood

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and I can't help but

see his tenderness there

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But the bottom line is that the

Bible clearly tells the older

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women to teach the younger women

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Paul does write in First Timothy

two that he does not permit

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a woman to teach in church.

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And eventually we'll get to that passage

of scripture and talk about it more

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But I wanted to read you a quote

from my MacArthur commentary.

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Obviously, he was a very conservative

theologian devoted to complementarianism

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Which means men and women were

created differently And uniquely,

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but with the purpose of complementing

one another for the glory of God.

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MacArthur Writes about this text in

First Timothy two: When Paul writes, "I

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do not permit a woman to teach", Paul

is forbidding women from filling the

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office and role of the pastor or teacher.

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He is not prohibiting them from

teaching in other appropriate

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conditions and circumstances.

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The cross-references

listed are in Acts eighteen

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26, which is when Priscilla and

Aquila guided Apollos into a better

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understanding of the gospel, and from

Titus which we'll get to in a second.

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another conservative resource, my Moody

commentary, John Koester wrote regarding

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those 1 Timothy verses, " Both the

syntax and the broader context suggest

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that Paul was prohibiting women not

from all teaching, but rather from the

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authoritative teaching of the scriptures

that is associated particularly

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with the office of overseer or elder

and then he remarks that Paul's two

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reasons show this isn't a cultural

issue, but is a longstanding mandate.

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So to break that down, both of these

men said that there is a context

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in which it would be appropriate

for a woman to teach the word.

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Okay, what is it?

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That's when we turn to Titus 2.

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And like a good Bible student,

I'm gonna read it in context.

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But as for you, teach what

accords with sound doctrine.

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Older men are to be sober-minded,

dignified, self-controlled, sound in

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faith, in love and in steadfastness.

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Older women likewise are to

be reverent in behavior, not

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slanderers or slaves to much wine.

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They are to teach what is good, and

so train the young women to love

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their husbands and children, to be

self-controlled, pure, working at home,

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kind and submissive to their own husbands,

that the word of God may not be reviled.

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Older women were specifically commanded

to teach the younger women to give them

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wisdom about how to bless their families

so that the word of God would be honored

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Now we can be clear about where we stand.

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In a podcast for women speaking to

women, encouraging them to be faithful

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in their families so that the word

of God would be honored and obeyed

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This podcast is in no

way against scripture.

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It's actually embracing God's

design for the body of Christ.

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Now, even if you're newer to the

faith and older than I am, are

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you allowed to listen to this?

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Absolutely.

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Let's not get legalistic about this

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What the controversy is right now

is regarding what women should

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be doing in the church and what

authority they are given over men.

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But I wanted to ensure you that

you seeking biblical wisdom through

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podcasts, and Bible studies that

are written by women that is godly.

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Of course, be like a Berean and

check everything with scripture

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Speaker 13: If the church incorrectly

tells women to not listen to other women

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Speaker 14: then you know who the only

ones that are going to be speaking

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about home life and motherhood are?

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It's going to be the world And I

don't think God wants us removing

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our voices from a sphere of life

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that he has created to glorify him

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I'm gonna link to a podcast from

our founder, Betsy Corning's

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pastor, Johnny Ardavanis

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I was visiting Betsy a couple months

ago when Johnny preached on this topic.

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At the very end, he said, " There

are so many things that women

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can do They can podcast.

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And my three sons looked at me and we

all breathed a deep sigh of relief.

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It was a funny moment but my favorite

line from the whole sermon was,

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This is less about women sitting down

and much more about men standing up

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I will say that I would have

appreciated more clarity on how

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women can serve in the church

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But I think it was a very

thoughtfully delivered message

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that elevated the timeless

truth of scripture so that'll

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be linked in the show notes.

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All right, now we can focus

on lady wisdom in Proverbs.

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And all of us gave a little clap

because we love that wisdom is

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personified as a woman, right?

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But there's a portion of her speech

that is the most controversial

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part in all of Proverbs.

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So I guess ladies and controversy are

our theme for the day, but it's really

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nice to have a contrast to the woman

we discussed in the last episode.

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Wisdom had a brief speech

in chapter one that

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served as a warning but chapter

eight focuses more on the

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blessings of listening to wisdom.

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People often talk about being a Proverbs

31 woman, but I have written in my Bible

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that I hope I would also be a Proverbs

eight woman and be known for wisdom

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So as I read from chapter

eight, let's rejoice together

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at the availability of wisdom

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Does not wisdom call?

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Does not understanding raise her voice?

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On the heights beside the way, at

the crossroads she takes her stand.

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Besides the gates in front of the town,

at the entrance of the portals she

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cries aloud, " To you, O men, I call,

and my cry is to the children of man.

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O simple ones, learn prudence.

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O fools, learn sense.

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Hear, for I will speak noble things, and

from my lips will come what is right.

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For my mouth will utter truth.

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Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

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All the words of my mouth are righteous.

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There is nothing twisted

or crooked in them.

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They are all straight to him

who understands, and right

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to those who find knowledge.

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Take my instruction instead of silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold.

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For wisdom is better than

jewels, and all that you may

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desire cannot compare with her."

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I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and

I find knowledge and discretion.

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The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.

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pride and arrogance and the way

of and perverted speech I hate.

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I have counsel and sound wisdom.

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I have insight.

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I have strength.

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By me kings reign, and

rulers decree what is just

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By me princes rule and

nobles, all who govern justly.

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I love those who love me, and those

who seek me diligently find me.

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Riches and honor are with me,

enduring wealth and righteousness.

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My fruit is better than gold, even fine

gold, and my yield than choice silver.

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I walk in the way of righteousness,

in the paths of justice, granting

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an inheritance to those who love

me and filling their treasures.

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The first of his acts of old.

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Ages ago I was set up, at the

first, before the beginning of the

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earth, when there were no depths,

I was brought forth, when there were

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no springs abounding with water.

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Before the mountains had been shaped,

before the hills, I was brought he

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had made the earth with its fields,

or the first of the dust of the world.

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When he established the heavens, I was

there; when he drew a circle on the

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face of the deep, when he made firm the

skies above, when he established the

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fountains of the deep, when he assigned

to the sea its limit, so that the waters

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might not transgress his command, when

he marked out the foundations of the

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earth, then I was beside him, like a

master workman; and I was daily his

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delight, rejoicing before him always,

rejoicing in his inhabited world and

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delighting in the children of man.

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And now, O sons, listen to me:

Blessed are those who keep my ways.

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Hear instruction and be

wise, and do not neglect it.

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Blessed is the one who listens to me,

watching daily at my gates, waiting

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beside my doors; for whoever finds me

finds life and obtains favor from the

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Lord, but he who fails to find me injures

himself; All who hate me love death

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Why is this chapter so controversial?

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It's verses 22 through 26

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that inspire debate.

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Some have wondered, is this Jesus?

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Because it's talking about wisdom

being present at creation and

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being older than creation itself.

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But it does say that

wisdom was brought forth.

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And David Finkbiner concludes that

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exegesis of this passage

to say that this is Jesus

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Even though the New Testament does

completely correlate Jesus with

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wisdom, it's because He's God, and

wisdom comes from God's character

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But that's not the intent of this passage.

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And actually, the Arian heresy used

these verses to say that Jesus was

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not eternal and that God created him.

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We don't believe that.

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We believe that the Trinity

has existed for all time, that

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God is eternal, three in one.

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So in case you were wondering if this

personification represented someone

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of the Trinity My reading says no

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But what encouraged me most was that

wisdom is so available that it calls out

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God isn't trying to trick us,

it's not a game to attempt to

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discern His will for our lives.

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The more we seek Him, the more

we have clarity in our decisions.

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Then His Holy Spirit moves, and then

we have peace about our next steps.

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Sometimes

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We need to seek him more diligently,

but we can praise him from the

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beginning of the process because if

he doesn't give clarity right away

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then it's probably because He's

inviting us into a deeper reliance

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upon Him to search for the answers

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Chapter nine has two invitations:

Lady Wisdom and Woman Folly.

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Lady Wisdom has diligently

prepared for this feast

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She's even slaughtered

the meat for the table.

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But Woman Folly has barely

even lifted a finger.

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She's still sitting down, calling out

to whoever passes by, offering them

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some stolen water and some secret bread.

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Doesn't sound like a

party I'd like to attend.

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Our theme idea of Proverbs is repeated

in nine verse 10, " The fear of the

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Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the

knowledge of the Holy One is insight."

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In finishing chapter nine, we conclude

the first section of Proverbs that

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has those longer discourses, and now

we'll get into the two-line phrases

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that Proverbs is most known for.

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In the interest of time, I'm just going

to point out a couple that I think

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can be helpful for our parenting In 10:1,

" A wise son makes a glad father, but a

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foolish son is a sorrow to his mother."

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No joke, the other day, one of my

boys and I were riding back from

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an appointment, and out of the

blue, my phone read that verse and

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only that verse and then stopped.

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Yes, I had been listening to some

chapters of Proverbs on my Bible app,

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but it has never started and stopped

without me pressing a button before.

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And it may or may not have occurred a

little bit after someone was being a

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little argumentative with his mother

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tells us, "Whoever walks in

integrity, walks securely.

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But he who makes his ways

crooked will be found out."

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And you can tell your

kids, the Lord is so good.

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When we try to hide sin, he brings

it to light so we can be restored

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That's the nice way to say it.

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Another way would be, " Watch

it, 'cause you'll get busted."

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One I remind myself and my family often

is Proverbs: 10:19

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many, transgression is not lacking, but

whoever restrains his lips is prudent."

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Usually the more we talk, the more we sin.

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That's a very convicting verse,

especially for a podcaster

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10:28 tells us, "The hope of the

righteous brings joy, but the

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expectation of the wicked will perish."

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And I'm cautioned that hope brings

joy if I'm hoping in the right things

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Where there is no guidance, a people

falls, but in an abundance of counselors

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there is safety It is to our benefit

to seek the counsel of multiple

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people we respect that the Lord

has placed in our lives, especially

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when we're making big decisions

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Encouraging us in purity is 11:20.

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Those of crooked heart are an abomination

to the Lord, but those of blameless ways

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are His delight it's a really sweet truth

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A wonderful one to teach our young

ladies: 11:22

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in a pig's snout, is a beautiful

woman without discretion."

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In the age of social media, that's

not a hard one to demonstrate

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11:24 encourages us to walk in generosity.

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One gives freely, yet grows all the

richer; another withholds what he

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should give and only suffers want.

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God's economy works entirely

different than the world's economy

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And if we're talking about parenting,

we have to talk about 12:1.

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" Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but he who hates reproof is stupid."

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Yep, the Bible says stupid sometimes.

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But it's a convicting verse for

moms, dads, and kids, isn't it?

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Whenever someone gives us

criticism, we should be thankful

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for an opportunity to grow

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12:4 challenges us, "An excellent

wife is the crown of her husband,

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but she who brings shame is

like rottenness in his bones."

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when I'm encouraging my kids to take

care of our bunnies or to be gentle with

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God's creation, I often quote part of

Proverbs: 12:10

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has regard for the life of his beast,

but the mercy of the wicked is cruel."

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Another version says, "A righteous

man is kind to God's creatures."

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And if we watch, we will definitely

see Proverbs: 12:13

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" An evil man is ensnared by the

transgression of his lips, but the

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righteous escapes from trouble."

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There's another opportunity

to please the Lord in: 12:22

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" Lying lips are an abomination

to the Lord, but those who act

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faithfully are His delight."

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In 12:25, " Anxiety in a man's

heart weighs him down, but

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a good word makes him glad."

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That's a reminder that when our kids

are anxious, the right parenting move

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isn't to tell them to snap out of it.

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It's an opportunity to build

them up and encourage their faith

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Let's praise God for the

wisdom available to us.

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Lord, you are such a good

father, offering us good gifts.

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And so often what we're asking of

you as mothers is for wisdom, for

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medical decisions and academic

choices, how to develop our kids'

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talents, how to discipline the

sin that we see in their lives,

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and how to help them thrive relationally

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You have set us in a place of reliance

upon you, and I pray you would help

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us to rest in that position, not being

anxious and not giving ourselves over to

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busyness But may we be at peace knowing

we are welcome before you, laying our

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children at your altar and trusting that

you will guide us in goodness Lord,

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we pray you would be delighted in us

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Speaker 13: it's in the delightful

name of Jesus that we pray.

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Amen