WEBVTT 00:00:00.779 --> 00:00:05.200 Proverbs chapter 9 says, Wisdom has builded her 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:09.199 house. She has hewn out her seven pillars. She 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:12.119 has killed her beasts. She has mingled her wine. 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.779 She has also furnished her table. She has sent 00:00:15.779 --> 00:00:18.440 forth her maidens. She crieth upon the highest 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:21.859 places of the city. Whoso is simple, let him 00:00:21.859 --> 00:00:25.219 turn and hither. As for him that wanteth understanding, 00:00:25.820 --> 00:00:29.000 she sayeth to him, Come, eat of my bread, and 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:31.800 drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:34.700 the foolish and live, and go in the way of understanding. 00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:38.740 He that reproveth a scorner geth to himself shame. 00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:42.159 He that rebuketh a wicked man geth himself a 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:45.659 blot. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee. 00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:49.340 Rebuk a wise man, and he will love thee. Give 00:00:49.340 --> 00:00:52.140 instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet 00:00:52.140 --> 00:00:55.700 wiser. Teach a just man, and he will increase 00:00:55.700 --> 00:00:59.060 in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning 00:00:59.060 --> 00:01:02.719 of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding. 00:01:03.539 --> 00:01:06.519 For by me, thy days shall be multiplied, and 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:09.680 the years of thy life shall be increased. If 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:12.299 thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself, 00:01:12.500 --> 00:01:15.000 but if thou scornest, thou alone shall bear it. 00:01:15.700 --> 00:01:18.599 A foolish woman is clamorous, she is simple, 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:21.810 and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door 00:01:21.810 --> 00:01:24.730 of her house, On a seat in the high places of 00:01:24.730 --> 00:01:27.750 the city, To call passengers who go right on 00:01:27.750 --> 00:01:31.010 their ways. Uso is simple, let him turn in hither, 00:01:31.189 --> 00:01:33.730 And ask for him that wanteth understanding, She 00:01:33.730 --> 00:01:37.109 sayeth to him, Stolen waters are sweet, And bread 00:01:37.109 --> 00:01:40.750 eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not 00:01:40.750 --> 00:01:42.870 that the dead are there, And that her guests 00:01:42.870 --> 00:01:48.799 are in the depths of hell. This chapter talks 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:52.000 about the contrast between the wise and the foolish 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:56.060 women. I'm going to start out today talking about 00:01:56.060 --> 00:02:00.879 the wise women. Who is the target audience of 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:05.000 the wise women? Those that are simple. Simple 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:09.819 means somebody who isn't smart. Those who want 00:02:09.819 --> 00:02:13.340 understanding. Those who don't have understanding. 00:02:14.219 --> 00:02:21.080 People who need wisdom. What attributes does 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:24.500 the wise woman have? Well, the first thing we 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:28.560 read about her is that she is a builder. We also 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:32.340 read that she is industrious, she is prepared, 00:02:33.060 --> 00:02:38.840 she is welcoming, and she does things well. The 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:41.319 first two verses talk about her preparation, 00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:44.620 that she has built her house, she has hewed out 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:48.379 her pillars. The pillars hold up the house and 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:50.960 they are the supporting structures for her building. 00:02:52.039 --> 00:02:55.680 We too are building a house. And the house in 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:58.800 Proverbs chapter 9 is an analogy for our lives. 00:02:59.699 --> 00:03:03.020 Right now you are building your house. You may 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:05.199 not think you're doing anything important right 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:09.020 now, but actually you are building your house 00:03:09.020 --> 00:03:13.340 right now. You are putting the foundations in 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:18.379 now. To follow this analogy, when you move out 00:03:18.379 --> 00:03:20.900 to your first apartment, there are things you 00:03:20.900 --> 00:03:23.900 are going to need. You're going to need a bed. 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:28.060 Well, what all goes into a bed? At a minimum, 00:03:28.340 --> 00:03:32.259 a mattress, but also a frame, sheets, blankets, 00:03:32.539 --> 00:03:35.439 pillows. You're going to need dishes, a chair, 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:39.099 and a table. Where are these things going to 00:03:39.099 --> 00:03:42.620 come from? You're going to have to prepare so 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:46.960 that you can Have them in your apartment. You're 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:50.240 going to have to have a job. A job requires good 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:54.120 character. Working hard, not being lazy, not 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:56.000 disappearing with your phone into the bathroom 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:59.240 for hours. You're going to need to know how to 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:02.180 manage the money you are making so you have money 00:04:02.180 --> 00:04:05.699 for first and last month's rent. And we haven't 00:04:05.699 --> 00:04:07.879 even gotten to the point of where the groceries 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:11.310 are going to come from. What about the skill 00:04:11.310 --> 00:04:13.849 of going to bed and getting up in the morning? 00:04:14.469 --> 00:04:17.470 When you are on your own, you need to have this 00:04:17.470 --> 00:04:22.069 skill. Sometimes that makes us laugh, but people 00:04:22.069 --> 00:04:24.930 are fired all the time because they don't have 00:04:24.930 --> 00:04:28.509 that skill. If you're fired, you can't make the 00:04:28.509 --> 00:04:32.250 rent payment. How will the apartment be maintained? 00:04:33.050 --> 00:04:35.970 We all want to live in this sparkly, beautiful 00:04:35.970 --> 00:04:39.420 apartment. We might move into that apartment, 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:43.600 but how will we maintain it? We have moved out 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:46.300 so our mom won't be there to do it, and we probably 00:04:46.300 --> 00:04:49.300 can't afford a maid, so we need some skills. 00:04:49.899 --> 00:04:52.779 We need to know how to make our bed. We need 00:04:52.779 --> 00:04:55.500 to know how to hang up clothes, wash them, make 00:04:55.500 --> 00:04:59.759 dinner, do dishes. Now you might say, I know 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:02.980 how to do all that. I just don't like to do it 00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:07.509 all. Well, that is another skill. The skill of 00:05:07.509 --> 00:05:11.050 being industrious. As we read through Proverbs, 00:05:11.209 --> 00:05:14.370 the lazy person is referred to as a fool. But 00:05:14.370 --> 00:05:17.810 we all love to be lazy. We all love to have things 00:05:17.810 --> 00:05:21.589 done for us. But God teaches us to be productive 00:05:21.589 --> 00:05:24.750 and industrious. The skill of getting up in the 00:05:24.750 --> 00:05:27.850 morning and stewarding our time well is just 00:05:27.850 --> 00:05:32.250 that, a skill. Not just being busy, but having 00:05:32.250 --> 00:05:35.560 purpose. Serving our family and those around 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:39.500 us. We need to review our days and evaluate if 00:05:39.500 --> 00:05:42.500 we spend it selfishly or if we spend it for the 00:05:42.500 --> 00:05:48.019 kingdom. So what's required to be wise? What's 00:05:48.019 --> 00:05:51.399 required to come into the wise woman's house? 00:05:52.139 --> 00:05:56.720 Well first, self -control. Not doing the things 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:01.399 that you want to do. And secondly, self -discipline. 00:06:01.740 --> 00:06:06.459 Doing the things you don't want to do Preparing 00:06:06.459 --> 00:06:09.259 being industrious building things in our lives 00:06:09.259 --> 00:06:13.360 requires self -control and self -discipline if 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:15.399 We're listening to the call of the wise woman. 00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:17.920 We will be feeding ourselves things that build 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:20.980 us up spiritually We will be feeding yourself 00:06:20.980 --> 00:06:23.579 things that help us to be more industrious and 00:06:23.579 --> 00:06:26.639 less focused on enjoyment and entertainment We 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:29.439 will be future -focused and preparing for that 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:34.079 future. We will be consuming things that make 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:37.779 us welcoming and hospitable. The wise woman is 00:06:37.779 --> 00:06:40.300 teaching us to be industrious, not to waste our 00:06:40.300 --> 00:06:43.160 time. We have all heard that our screen time 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:47.079 should be limited, but why? Why does wisdom teach 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:50.199 us to get control of this? Because we're stewards 00:06:50.199 --> 00:06:54.800 of God's resources. One of our resources is time. 00:06:55.079 --> 00:06:57.819 Our days are meant to glorify God and do His 00:06:57.819 --> 00:07:01.360 will. Not only is it not good to be wasting your 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:04.240 employer's time on a screen, it is not good to 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:08.180 be wasting God's time on a screen. It's really 00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:14.660 vain, which means empty. Isaiah 55 2 says, why 00:07:14.660 --> 00:07:17.180 do you spend money on that which is not bread? 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:20.600 Why do you work for things that don't satisfy? 00:07:21.449 --> 00:07:24.910 Part of listening to the wise woman is deciding 00:07:24.910 --> 00:07:29.589 what is fulfilling What is eternal and what is 00:07:29.589 --> 00:07:33.949 empty? Temporary wisdom requires purposeful purposeful 00:07:33.949 --> 00:07:38.870 decisions Without purposeful decisions and thoughtfulness 00:07:38.870 --> 00:07:43.709 years will be lost Proverbs 24 33 says a little 00:07:43.709 --> 00:07:46.589 sleep a little slumber a little folding of the 00:07:46.589 --> 00:07:49.610 hands to rest Then your poverty will come like 00:07:49.610 --> 00:07:53.959 a drifter your need like an armed man result 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:58.699 when we listen to wisdom our days will be multiplied 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:02.579 and our years will be increased you're not going 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:06.860 to magically turn an age like 20 or 30 and be 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:10.980 responsible or wise or a good steward you get 00:08:10.980 --> 00:08:13.740 there by preparing you will still struggle in 00:08:13.740 --> 00:08:18.279 your 30s and 40s and 50s if you never prepared 00:08:18.279 --> 00:08:21.160 your character for the future You will live day 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:25.379 by day and moment to moment. Wisdom will help 00:08:25.379 --> 00:08:28.560 you prepare for your future, evaluate your strengths 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:32.220 and weakness, and then work to improve yourself. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.820 This is how we build our house.