WEBVTT 00:00:00.669 --> 00:00:04.690 Wisdom has builded her house. She hath hewn out 00:00:04.690 --> 00:00:07.669 her seven pillars. She hath killed her beast. 00:00:08.070 --> 00:00:11.490 She has mingled her wine. She has also furnished 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:15.310 her table. She has sent forth her maidens. She 00:00:15.310 --> 00:00:18.609 cryeth upon the high places of the city. Whoso 00:00:18.609 --> 00:00:22.050 is simple, let him turn and hither. As for him 00:00:22.050 --> 00:00:25.050 that wanteth understanding, she sayeth to him, 00:00:25.410 --> 00:00:28.070 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine 00:00:28.070 --> 00:00:30.820 which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish and 00:00:30.820 --> 00:00:34.399 live, and go in the way of understanding. He 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:37.240 that reproveth a scornor geteth to himself shame, 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:40.640 and he that rebuketh a wicked man geteth himself 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:44.259 a blot. Reprove not a scornor, lest he hate thee. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:47.719 Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:50.479 instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:53.640 wiser. Teach a just man, and he will increase 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:56.759 in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning 00:00:56.759 --> 00:01:00.670 of wisdom. and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. 00:01:01.329 --> 00:01:04.510 For by me thy days shall be multiplied and the 00:01:04.510 --> 00:01:07.489 years of thy life shall be increased. If thou 00:01:07.489 --> 00:01:10.890 be wise thou shalt be wise for thyself, but if 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:14.450 thou scornest thou alone shall bear it. A foolish 00:01:14.450 --> 00:01:17.930 woman is clamorous. She is simple and knows nothing. 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:21.040 For she sitteth at the door of her house, on 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:24.140 a seat in the high places of the city, to call 00:01:24.140 --> 00:01:27.319 passengers who go right on their ways. Whoso 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:30.120 is simple, let him turn in hither. And as for 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:32.359 him that wanteth understanding, she sayeth to 00:01:32.359 --> 00:01:35.579 him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:38.780 in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that 00:01:38.780 --> 00:01:41.219 the dead are there, and that her guests are in 00:01:41.219 --> 00:01:45.040 the depths of hell. Last time we talked about 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:48.459 the call of the wise woman. This week, we're 00:01:48.459 --> 00:01:51.180 going to talk about the call of the foolish woman. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:54.719 Who is the target audience of the foolish woman? 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:59.379 Those that are simple. Those that want understanding. 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:03.840 We find that the audience is the same as the 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:07.680 wise woman. When we are in need of understanding, 00:02:07.819 --> 00:02:11.340 there are really only two choices. The wise woman's 00:02:11.340 --> 00:02:14.620 house and the foolish woman's house. What are 00:02:14.620 --> 00:02:18.240 the attributes of the foolish woman? Well, she's 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:21.740 clamorous, she's simple, and she knows nothing. 00:02:22.699 --> 00:02:25.819 She's clamorous, so that means she's loud and 00:02:25.819 --> 00:02:29.800 calling attention to herself. She's simple, she's 00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:33.259 not educated, she's not seeking education, and 00:02:33.259 --> 00:02:36.819 there is no depth educationally, spiritually, 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:42.419 or relationally. She knows nothing. American 00:02:42.419 --> 00:02:46.750 culture does not value knowledge. The pervasive 00:02:46.750 --> 00:02:49.669 attitude is, I don't need to know this, I will 00:02:49.669 --> 00:02:52.389 never use this, so I don't need to pay attention. 00:02:53.050 --> 00:02:56.469 For many, the attitude is, it's too hard to learn, 00:02:56.810 --> 00:03:00.750 I will just Google it. Let me just say, you don't 00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:02.949 know what God is going to call you to do in the 00:03:02.949 --> 00:03:05.430 future. You don't know what skills you're going 00:03:05.430 --> 00:03:08.610 to need in the future. If you blow off knowledge, 00:03:08.789 --> 00:03:11.830 biblical or otherwise, you may not have the tools 00:03:11.830 --> 00:03:14.409 you need when you get where God is leading you. 00:03:14.590 --> 00:03:19.030 Prepare now. The foolish woman says that she 00:03:19.030 --> 00:03:22.710 has everything that the wise woman has, but really, 00:03:23.150 --> 00:03:27.110 she does not. And if we are going to be wise, 00:03:27.430 --> 00:03:31.189 we have to be able to discern what wisdom is 00:03:31.189 --> 00:03:35.810 and what foolishness is. The sales pitch is the 00:03:35.810 --> 00:03:39.349 same. Can you tell me one thing that you prefer 00:03:39.349 --> 00:03:43.849 the name brand over the generic? For me, it's 00:03:43.849 --> 00:03:47.090 paint. Menards used to have a free paint with 00:03:47.090 --> 00:03:51.250 a rebate. I tried it once. It was runny, it was 00:03:51.250 --> 00:03:54.889 streaky, and now I always pay for the name brand 00:03:54.889 --> 00:03:58.750 paint. The paint was advertised to be the same 00:03:58.750 --> 00:04:02.250 as the name brand paint, but it was not the same. 00:04:02.770 --> 00:04:04.729 I couldn't tell the difference until the paint 00:04:04.729 --> 00:04:08.210 was on the wall. I remember wearing my, another 00:04:08.210 --> 00:04:10.909 one is I remember wearing my first pair of Clarks. 00:04:11.050 --> 00:04:14.030 They were so comfortable, a really great shoe. 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:17.420 They were leather and held up well. After a few 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:19.779 years, I was looking to buy them again, but as 00:04:19.779 --> 00:04:22.680 I tried them on, they weren't anything like they 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:25.740 used to be. They felt cheap and unable to hold 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:28.560 up to the wear and tear. It used to be a good 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:31.279 product, but the company was sold and the new 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:33.819 owners were trying to increase their profit margin. 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:37.360 The logo was the same, the price was the same, 00:04:37.579 --> 00:04:43.420 but the product was not the same. A lot of us 00:04:43.420 --> 00:04:46.620 get our information from social media. We follow 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:49.180 people to learn how to do things or because we 00:04:49.180 --> 00:04:52.180 enjoy how they do things or we find them entertaining. 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:56.040 There are a lot of hacks or how -to videos. Whether 00:04:56.040 --> 00:04:58.800 we notice it or not, the people we follow have 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:01.980 a worldview. And though it may not be obvious, 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:04.519 our thinking is shaped by the people we listen 00:05:04.519 --> 00:05:08.579 to. What we consume with our eyes either aligns 00:05:08.579 --> 00:05:11.769 with the wise woman or the foolish woman, and 00:05:11.769 --> 00:05:15.430 we need to be able to discern what wisdom is 00:05:15.430 --> 00:05:20.250 and what foolishness is. One way we know whether 00:05:20.250 --> 00:05:23.910 who we are following is wise or foolish is if 00:05:23.910 --> 00:05:26.730 they're appealing to their audience in a sensual 00:05:26.730 --> 00:05:31.769 way. I mean, appealing to the five senses, specifically 00:05:31.769 --> 00:05:36.420 sexual appeal. We know from Proverbs 7 that the 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:39.399 foolish woman is called a strange woman. That 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:42.699 means a woman who is an adulteress, a woman who 00:05:42.699 --> 00:05:47.319 appeals to the sensual or sexual desires. The 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:50.459 idea of the foolish woman calling to those who 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:54.600 pass by is extremely relevant in our society. 00:05:55.560 --> 00:06:00.920 Women sell everything. Men like it because they 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:04.839 see the woman and they think if I buy the product 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:09.019 I get the woman. The woman thinks if I buy the 00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:14.220 product I am the woman. Social media is driven 00:06:14.220 --> 00:06:18.019 by the sensual appeal, specifically the sexual 00:06:18.019 --> 00:06:21.920 appeal of people selling, people driving up the 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:24.879 amount of followers and increasing the amount 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:28.839 of likes. The method by which people become influencers 00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:33.180 is by being clamorous, calling attention to themselves. 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:36.139 They must do things that get the attention of 00:06:36.139 --> 00:06:39.500 the viewers. While social media is not all bad, 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:42.519 we need to be thoughtful about who we're following 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:45.800 by critically thinking about what it is that 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:49.459 is appealing to us about their account. Are we 00:06:49.459 --> 00:06:52.199 listening to the call of the foolish or the call 00:06:52.199 --> 00:06:57.319 of the wise? Our bodies are the temple or the tabernacle 00:06:57.319 --> 00:07:00.699 of God. First Corinthians three and six. The 00:07:00.699 --> 00:07:03.779 temple was a movable structure where God interacted 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:07.620 with men. There was no sign on it that said, temple 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:12.360 meet with God here! It was plain and drab. All 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:15.379 the beauty was on the inside. The embroidery, 00:07:15.779 --> 00:07:19.480 the gold, the beautiful color was all on the 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:39.899 inside. 1 Peter 3 .3 says, For in this way the 00:07:39.899 --> 00:07:43.819 holy women of former times who hoped in God also 00:07:43.819 --> 00:07:46.980 used to adorn themselves Being subject to their 00:07:46.980 --> 00:07:51.199 own husbands Just as Sarah obeyed Abraham Calling 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:54.160 him Lord and you have proved to be her children 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:56.720 if you do what is right without being frightened 00:07:56.720 --> 00:08:01.480 by any fear It is the call of the wise that says 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:05.100 focus on the inside It is the call of the foolish 00:08:05.100 --> 00:08:08.000 that calls us to focus on what others can see 00:08:08.170 --> 00:08:11.870 We often focus on the apeal of our clothes, our 00:08:11.870 --> 00:08:16.769 homes, our food, our vacations, our dogs. We 00:08:16.769 --> 00:08:19.910 can spend an awful lot of time on our outside, 00:08:20.389 --> 00:08:23.449 but it is the inside of us that matters. It's 00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:25.810 our relationship with our husbands and our response 00:08:25.810 --> 00:08:28.050 to his leadership that will actually matter. 00:08:28.649 --> 00:08:32.230 The world tells us it is the beautiful woman 00:08:32.230 --> 00:08:35.629 on the outside that will have the amazing husband 00:08:35.629 --> 00:08:39.210 and relationship. But it is the woman who can 00:08:39.210 --> 00:08:42.549 respond well to leadership and has good character 00:08:42.549 --> 00:08:46.409 that is really attractive to God and man. Here 00:08:46.409 --> 00:08:49.490 we come back to the fact that it is the preparation 00:08:49.490 --> 00:08:52.809 of our character that drives our success, prosperity, 00:08:53.090 --> 00:08:56.629 and well -being. The earlier we start intentionally 00:08:56.629 --> 00:08:59.690 preparing our character, the sooner we will find 00:08:59.690 --> 00:09:03.250 the blessing and prosperity of the Lord. I can 00:09:03.250 --> 00:09:05.970 tell you that I see the Lord blessing people 00:09:05.970 --> 00:09:10.250 at the age of 16 and 17 because of wise choices 00:09:10.250 --> 00:09:13.179 they made when they were nine. I see people in 00:09:13.179 --> 00:09:15.879 their 20s being blessed because of choices they 00:09:15.879 --> 00:09:18.580 made when they were in their teens. And I have 00:09:18.580 --> 00:09:22.539 seen women making changes in their 30s and 40s 00:09:22.539 --> 00:09:25.200 and watched as their lives started overflowing 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:28.919 with blessings. We can follow the call of the 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:32.139 wise woman at any time. Though the call of the 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:35.019 foolish woman sounds similar, we can discern 00:09:35.019 --> 00:09:38.539 the difference and make better choices that will 00:09:38.539 --> 00:09:40.779 pay off in the years to come.