WEBVTT 00:00:09.099 --> 00:00:14.166 We've been studying the Book of Proverbs, and Proverbs is all about wisdom. 00:00:14.166 --> 00:00:21.632 One of the things you learn when you gain some wisdom is sometimes things are not exactly as they appear. 00:00:21.632 --> 00:00:25.632 It can appear one way, but then there's more to it. 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:32.200 One of the things I like to do personally through exercise is cycling, biking, be out on the road. 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:41.432 Probably the main reason is though, because the really cool outfits you get to wear when you do that kind of thing, you know, they look ridiculous and feel ridiculous. 00:00:41.432 --> 00:00:47.066 I don't know, you thought of it, but the crazy part is some of that clothing is really expensive. 00:00:47.066 --> 00:00:51.832 It's surprising for such a little fabric how much money you can spend. 00:00:51.832 --> 00:01:02.700 So one day I was on social media and the ad popped up for one of the brands of clothing that is considered one of the best, and it was a deal I had never seen before, and it was too good to be true. 00:01:03.665 --> 00:01:12.400 I forgot to jump on there and order this while I can, and I'm trying to order it now clicking buy because I've filled my cart full of super dirt cheap stuff. 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:14.200 And then it hit me. 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:18.632 If something's too good to be true, it is. 00:01:18.632 --> 00:01:23.332 And I'm immediately canceling my credit card because I got taken. 00:01:23.332 --> 00:01:24.433 This was not legit. 00:01:24.433 --> 00:01:25.599 It wasn't the real company. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:28.000 It wasn't the real site. It was a scam. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:30.000 Things are not always as they appear. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:35.799 Hopefully as we gain wisdom, we become more aware of that. 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:37.533 The same is true spiritually. 00:01:37.533 --> 00:01:40.665 And we're going to see in Proverbs chapter five today. 00:01:40.665 --> 00:01:44.400 Chapter five lands in a string of problems. 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:52.566 Chapter one through chapter nine where you see these repetitions of the statement my son, my son, my son, my son. 00:01:52.566 --> 00:02:05.365 It's a series of instructions from a father to his son and to his children in general, sons and daughters, but in particular in that culture to the son, the leader of the home, the one who's going to pass everything on to. Listen carefully. 00:02:05.365 --> 00:02:07.266 I have some wisdom to give to you. 00:02:09.265 --> 00:02:22.300 And in chapter five, he introduces a section that is especially keyed in to being aware that not everything is as it seems, especially when it comes to sexual temptation. 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:30.099 We’ll see in chapter five that the seductress presents herself in a way that makes it seem too good to be true. 00:02:30.099 --> 00:02:33.099 She makes promises that seem too good to be true. 00:02:33.099 --> 00:02:36.099 But not everything is as it seems. 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:38.265 What we're going to see in chapter five. 00:02:38.265 --> 00:02:42.733 He is going to expose the emptiness of her promises. 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:51.500 He's going to reveal the hidden costs, because how it seems is one way, but there is a hidden cost. 00:02:51.500 --> 00:02:54.400 Then he's going to show him a better way. 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:57.765 So we're going to look at Proverbs chapter five. If you want to turn there. 00:02:57.765 --> 00:02:58.900 Proverbs chapter five. 00:02:58.900 --> 00:03:01.000 Proverbs is near the middle of the Bible. 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.000 If you have a church, Bible it’s on page 497. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:05.532 We have Bibles in the lobby for you. 00:03:05.532 --> 00:03:08.500 Would love for you to grab and read from and keep. 00:03:08.500 --> 00:03:10.165 You can follow along as I read them. 00:03:10.165 --> 00:03:15.665 Just read the first two verses to set the stage here for the father's instruction to his Son. 00:03:15.665 --> 00:03:17.165 Proverbs chapter five, verse one. 00:03:18.633 --> 00:03:23.133 My son, be attentive to my wisdom. 00:03:23.133 --> 00:03:41.866 Incline your ear to my understanding that you may keep discretion, So before he gets into the warning section, he starts by just reminding him of the importance of listening to knowledge of God. 00:03:41.866 --> 00:03:49.165 He uses some of the same language we saw in chapter four three, and to be attentive, pay attention. 00:03:49.165 --> 00:03:50.432 Incline your ears. 00:03:50.432 --> 00:03:54.165 Lean in to listen for wisdom, for what I'm about to share with you. 00:03:54.165 --> 00:03:56.665 Be eager for knowledge and wisdom. 00:03:56.665 --> 00:04:02.532 Don't just take it because I have to be hungry for wisdom. 00:04:03.032 --> 00:04:06.866 Then he does not just remind him that wisdom is important. 00:04:06.866 --> 00:04:15.765 He's going to do something here that he hasn't really clearly done yet, which is to tell him part of the purpose of this isn't just about himself. 00:04:15.765 --> 00:04:25.600 He says, be attentive to wisdom, that you may keep discretion and your lips, may guard knowledge. 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:31.600 You don't just seek wisdom only for yourself, but also for the sake of others. 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:36.665 What he's referencing here in this verse, this is a hint at a verse in Malachi. 00:04:36.665 --> 00:04:41.300 So if you want to flip over there real quick, Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament. 00:04:41.300 --> 00:04:51.565 If you get to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and you see that flip back to Malachi chapter two, Malachi has a lot of themes in it that set up the New Testament. 00:04:51.565 --> 00:05:02.033 One of them is this warning section in Malachi chapter two, where he is rebuking the priests who hadn’t done what they were supposed to do. 00:05:02.033 --> 00:05:14.466 So if you look at Malachi chapter two in verse seven, the lips of a priest should guard knowledge-- that’s that same language here in Proverbs five, the lips of the priest should guard knowledge. 00:05:14.466 --> 00:05:23.399 That's the role of the priest, the pastor, the Bible teacher to care for knowledge, to communicate in a way that values and honors knowledge. 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:28.932 I'm not that teaching for myself, but also for the good of the whole church. 00:05:28.932 --> 00:05:31.899 That is a weight of responsibility we should carry careful. 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:44.033 And so he's saying to the son, part of your role you seek wisdom not just for yourself, but you're carrying something, a responsibility for others in your life as well. 00:05:44.033 --> 00:05:50.865 The way you act, the way you speak, the way you live doesn't just affect you, it affects everyone around. 00:05:50.865 --> 00:05:55.833 And of course, in Malachi, that's the call to the priest to guard your knowledge. 00:05:55.833 --> 00:05:58.266 People should seek instruction from his mouth. 00:05:58.266 --> 00:06:00.632 He is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 00:06:00.632 --> 00:06:05.665 But you have turned aside from the way. 00:06:06.899 --> 00:06:09.733 It's a rebuke to those who have neglected their role. 00:06:09.733 --> 00:06:15.665 Let's go back to Proverbs the father saying to the son, don't end up like that. 00:06:15.665 --> 00:06:19.966 Care for knowledge, keep wisdom, seek discretion. 00:06:19.966 --> 00:06:20.365 Use it. 00:06:20.365 --> 00:06:36.333 It is not just about you, it's about others who are around him. Now here is where he enters into warning him about the empty promises of the seductress, and he does it by comparing his lips to her lips. 00:06:36.333 --> 00:06:41.932 Your lips are for guarding knowledge, but notice how she uses her lips - look at verse three. 00:06:41.932 --> 00:06:50.100 The lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil. 00:06:50.100 --> 00:06:55.899 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood. 00:06:55.899 --> 00:06:57.100 Her lips. 00:06:57.100 --> 00:07:01.500 His lips are meant to guard knowledge, give life, and pour out to others. 00:07:01.500 --> 00:07:07.466 Hers are meant to seduce, to mislead, to misdirect. 00:07:07.466 --> 00:07:15.932 And of course this applies to applies to female and males who are seeking to mislead others in this arena. 00:07:15.932 --> 00:07:21.100 The interesting thing of the imagery here is the use of the word honey. 00:07:21.266 --> 00:07:24.632 You know, honey is a nice food to have. 00:07:25.699 --> 00:07:34.266 We probably don't use it as much as they would have in this culture, because you you can't just go out at this time and buy a bag of sugar at Kroger. 00:07:34.266 --> 00:07:39.100 If you want something sweet, it's going to be fruit or dried fruit or honey. 00:07:39.100 --> 00:07:40.533 There's a cost to gathering honey. 00:07:40.533 --> 00:07:42.199 It's not easy. 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:45.065 You know, we have people who do that for us. 00:07:45.065 --> 00:07:50.565 We don't have to risk getting stung by bees, but not an easy thing. 00:07:50.565 --> 00:07:56.199 And honey is so delightful when you have had nothing sweet. 00:07:56.199 --> 00:07:57.699 The taste of honey on the top. 00:07:57.699 --> 00:08:03.399 In fact, one of my favorite snacks is just a spoonful of peanut butter with honey dripped on top. 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:04.899 I could eat that. 00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:06.966 I think probably endlessly. 00:08:06.966 --> 00:08:12.733 The problem with honey, though, is it doesn't really have depth of nutrients. 00:08:12.733 --> 00:08:17.500 It has great taste, but it's not going to sustain you if that's all you eat. 00:08:17.500 --> 00:08:19.899 You won't be around very long. 00:08:19.899 --> 00:08:22.199 It has an emptiness to it, an empty promise. 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:27.466 The taste is great, but ultimately it's not going to satisfy. 00:08:28.365 --> 00:08:32.466 In fact, here that is her temptation to taste the honey. 00:08:32.466 --> 00:08:33.332 It is good. 00:08:33.332 --> 00:08:34.432 It is good for you. 00:08:34.432 --> 00:08:36.265 It will bring satisfaction and joy. 00:08:36.265 --> 00:08:40.732 But no, no, in fact, look at the warning. 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:51.566 Her lips drip honey, speech smoother than the oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword. 00:08:53.799 --> 00:09:00.332 You know, part of the important thing to do in life when you are considering anything is to consider how it might turn out down the road. 00:09:01.765 --> 00:09:10.000 So many things seem great on the surface, so many things seem so pleasant and enjoyable and even fun. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:16.000 And I mean, that's part of the great allure of sin is that it is actually can be quite fun. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:18.799 But that's not the whole story. 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:21.799 You have to consider what the end may be. 00:09:21.799 --> 00:09:24.566 The book of Ecclesiastes is famous for this. 00:09:24.566 --> 00:09:34.466 If you flip over just a few pages to Ecclesiastes chapter seven, Solomon would have experienced the great depth of pleasure in life. 00:09:34.466 --> 00:09:41.799 And Solomon in fact, the screen, the page number will be on the screen, was just Ecclesiastes is the next book past Proverbs. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:43.600 Solomon would have experienced this. 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:45.865 He would have known. 00:09:45.865 --> 00:09:52.232 And in chapter seven, verse eight he says, better is the end of a thing, than its beginning. 00:09:53.399 --> 00:10:00.966 Better’s the end than its beginning, meaning we all have started into things and they seemed great and didn't finish well. 00:10:00.966 --> 00:10:04.732 Some of our marathoners understand that dynamic. 00:10:04.732 --> 00:10:15.332 Many start out vigorously in the race, maybe sprint out ahead of you, and then you run right past them about the halfway mark, and maybe they don't even make it to the end. 00:10:15.332 --> 00:10:18.133 The end of a matter is better than the beginning. 00:10:18.133 --> 00:10:27.432 Consider where things are headed when you enter into them, and when you hear the tempting of the seductress, consider where this will end up. 00:10:27.432 --> 00:10:28.899 Get the whole picture. 00:10:28.899 --> 00:10:34.166 Don't just buy into her empty promises because the end is not sweet, honey. 00:10:34.166 --> 00:10:35.899 It's bitterness. 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:37.865 It's wormwood. 00:10:37.865 --> 00:10:40.299 You don't even have to know what kind of plant that is to know. 00:10:40.299 --> 00:10:42.633 I don't want any part of that just based on the name. 00:10:44.332 --> 00:10:45.399 Here's what it is. 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:52.399 Here's how you can relate it in our culture, it's not honey, it's antifreeze. 00:10:52.633 --> 00:10:54.133 Antifreeze. 00:10:54.133 --> 00:10:58.000 I've not tasted it, but I've heard it's sweet to the taste. 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:01.299 That's why animals sometimes will be tempted. 00:11:01.299 --> 00:11:08.466 If you have an old car like I may have had at times that leaks some radiator fluid here and there, they will lick it up. 00:11:08.466 --> 00:11:10.133 But it is poison. 00:11:10.133 --> 00:11:13.000 It is sweet to the taste but it's poison. 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:15.899 It tastes great at the start and it's poison. 00:11:15.899 --> 00:11:19.633 And where it ends up is verse five and six. 00:11:19.633 --> 00:11:27.932 Her empty promises ultimately lead, in Proverbs five, her feet go down to death. 00:11:28.932 --> 00:11:31.932 Her steps follow the path to Sheol. 00:11:32.200 --> 00:11:35.200 She does not ponder the path of life. 00:11:35.533 --> 00:11:42.299 Her ways wander and she doesn't even know it. 00:11:43.332 --> 00:11:48.100 The path she's on, it does have an end and it's death. 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:56.633 Don't be naive if you are entering down that road, recognize, acknowledge where that’s headed. 00:11:56.633 --> 00:11:58.100 It's death. 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:00.332 The appearances are great. 00:12:00.332 --> 00:12:04.365 Things are not always as they appear. 00:12:04.365 --> 00:12:06.432 The path is death. 00:12:06.432 --> 00:12:08.332 Don't go down that path. 00:12:08.332 --> 00:12:09.232 Here is the warning. 00:12:09.232 --> 00:12:13.533 The father here with his son is exposing her empty promises. 00:12:13.533 --> 00:12:16.533 She's making great claims. 00:12:17.166 --> 00:12:18.765 But it's not the path you want to go down. 00:12:18.765 --> 00:12:20.000 It's not going to end well. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:22.666 Consider the end of a thing, not just in the beginning. 00:12:22.666 --> 00:12:25.000 Don't be deceived by appearances. 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:29.332 Now, he's not just exposing her empty promises. 00:12:29.332 --> 00:12:32.799 Here are the claims she makes that are great. 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:35.133 But he's also going to end this next group of verses. 00:12:35.133 --> 00:12:36.432 Point out something else. 00:12:36.432 --> 00:12:42.365 Not only are the claims not what they appear to be, but there are hidden costs that she's not telling you about. 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:46.399 You-- that's how they get you, right? With the hidden fees. 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:48.899 Anytime you sign up for something, it's just a dollar. 00:12:48.899 --> 00:12:51.633 Sign up and that'll be $100 next month. 00:12:51.633 --> 00:12:52.500 But it's just a dollar. 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:53.799 That's all. 00:12:53.799 --> 00:12:57.299 Those hidden fees, those hidden costs, they don't tell you about it on the front end. 00:12:57.299 --> 00:13:01.232 They want to trick you into it, and then they'll tell you about those later. 00:13:01.232 --> 00:13:09.500 There are hidden costs to going down this path, and he's going to warn the son of them her. Look at verse seven. 00:13:09.533 --> 00:13:12.765 Now son listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth. 00:13:12.765 --> 00:13:17.666 Keep your way far from her, and do not go near to the door of her house. 00:13:17.666 --> 00:13:24.265 The warning here, first of all, is create great distance between yourself and this temptation. 00:13:24.265 --> 00:13:26.633 Don't even get close. 00:13:26.633 --> 00:13:27.966 Stay far away. 00:13:27.966 --> 00:13:32.466 Don't come up to the edge and say, I don't know how that happened, how I got tempted. 00:13:32.466 --> 00:13:34.365 Well, you walked right up to her door. 00:13:34.365 --> 00:13:36.000 What do you expect? 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:36.899 Stay away from the door. 00:13:36.899 --> 00:13:39.700 Stay off the street. Stay off the town. 00:13:39.700 --> 00:13:43.832 Keep great distance between you and the temptation. 00:13:44.533 --> 00:13:52.666 And look here how he continues to encourage him. Because what he points out here in this next group of verses, verse 9 to 14 are these hidden costs. 00:13:52.666 --> 00:13:58.799 If you go down this path, there are costs that you're not considering now, but you need to be aware. 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:01.700 And he gives us a list here of 4 or 5 different costs to consider. 00:14:01.700 --> 00:14:03.133 Look at verse nine. 00:14:03.133 --> 00:14:03.832 Here's what will happen. 00:14:03.832 --> 00:14:08.932 You go into her house, you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless. 00:14:10.232 --> 00:14:11.466 Don’t be naive. 00:14:11.466 --> 00:14:13.000 You're giving up your honor. 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:14.533 You think it won't matter. 00:14:14.533 --> 00:14:15.899 You think you're having a great time. 00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:26.966 But there are those who are observing it, seeing it, and there is a cost to your honor, to your respect, to your integrity that you aren’t considering right now. 00:14:26.966 --> 00:14:28.799 So there's the loss of honor. 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:29.832 Look at verse ten. 00:14:29.832 --> 00:14:33.732 Let strangers take the fill of your strength. 00:14:33.899 --> 00:14:36.100 There is a loss of youthful vigor. 00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:38.133 And here's what I mean by that. 00:14:38.133 --> 00:14:43.000 There's only so many years of young, youthful energy you have. 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:45.765 They seem endless when you're young. 00:14:45.765 --> 00:14:50.799 Some of us know they're not as endless as we thought they might be. 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:56.666 And if you give that strength to the forbidden seductress whose path is empty. 00:14:56.666 --> 00:15:07.299 And though it seems great in the moment, if you give those years of strength to her, you won't have to give them to the things that last, to the things that really matter long term. 00:15:07.299 --> 00:15:11.966 Invest those years now in the things that will matter a long term. 00:15:11.966 --> 00:15:13.133 Those will be taken. 00:15:13.133 --> 00:15:17.066 Those will be stolen, your strength will be stolen. 00:15:18.066 --> 00:15:20.200 Another warning, another hidden cost. 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:24.133 Your labors go to the house of the foreigner. 00:15:24.666 --> 00:15:30.000 The things you've worked so hard for, the money you have earned. 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:33.000 It's going out the door to others. 00:15:33.432 --> 00:15:35.033 And this one's a little obscure. 00:15:35.033 --> 00:15:38.100 Because maybe you're not just giving your money to her. 00:15:38.100 --> 00:15:41.232 Maybe you're not just spending money freely. 00:15:41.232 --> 00:15:46.832 But that's often what goes hand in hand with pursuing the life of sin. 00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:53.299 Add another layer, there is a greater cost to society with promiscuity. 00:15:53.299 --> 00:15:58.000 It's weird that our world doesn't really want to acknowledge that, consider that. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:16.600 But the cost to society from those who have lived loosely in their morals, for those from those who have ended up families decimated, split apart, children out of wedlock, children without fathers in homes, the cost to society is incalculable. 00:16:17.365 --> 00:16:20.365 It's enormous. 00:16:20.832 --> 00:16:23.299 You just look at the statistics. 00:16:23.299 --> 00:16:25.332 It's crazy. 00:16:25.332 --> 00:16:28.466 Crime rates go up in homes without a father. 00:16:28.466 --> 00:16:33.232 Education rates go down, income rates go down, longevity goes down. 00:16:33.232 --> 00:16:38.799 There is a huge cost, not just to myself, but to all of society. 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:41.666 And that's not to shame anyone who is in that situation. 00:16:41.666 --> 00:16:42.799 God works through that. 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:45.432 God redeems that. 00:16:45.432 --> 00:16:48.466 But that's still not his best plan for humanity. 00:16:48.466 --> 00:16:50.066 Don't be naive to that. 00:16:50.066 --> 00:16:55.000 Don't ignore the hidden cost of the temporary pleasure. 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:55.666 Verse 14. 00:16:55.666 --> 00:16:57.533 He gives another one. 00:16:57.533 --> 00:17:03.966 Out of the brink of utter ruin, and the assembled congregation meeting, he has gathered before a group of people. 00:17:03.966 --> 00:17:08.500 The setting here is almost judicial and overwhelming shame. 00:17:09.633 --> 00:17:23.500 There are often times our poor choices will lead to a public element and a level of shaming among those we want respect and honor from. 00:17:23.500 --> 00:17:29.566 I think the hardest one to read on this list though is verses 11 through 13. 00:17:30.532 --> 00:17:50.200 He says, at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. 00:17:50.500 --> 00:17:52.500 What do you hear with him? 00:17:52.500 --> 00:17:55.500 Reflecting here is the voice of regret. 00:17:57.099 --> 00:18:01.266 He gives to the end of his life, and he sees, I should have listened. 00:18:01.266 --> 00:18:05.700 I ignored the wisdom of those who have gone before me and look at where I am now. 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:09.400 It is too late, and maybe it's not entirely too late. 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:12.532 Maybe this is a young son still who can change his path. 00:18:14.700 --> 00:18:16.432 But that's not where you want to end up. 00:18:16.432 --> 00:18:18.299 And we all have regrets. 00:18:18.299 --> 00:18:23.000 If you don't want to keep going down the path, that's going to lead to the huge regrets. 00:18:24.700 --> 00:18:27.500 I remember hearing John Piper talk about a moment that he experienced. 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:33.099 He was well-known pastor and pastor of the Church of Minnesota, now leads a whole ministry called Desiring God. 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:37.833 An excellent, amazing Bible teacher, very passionate man, and his father was an evangelist. 00:18:37.833 --> 00:18:39.599 And he would travel sometimes with his father. 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:41.932 And they were doing a revival at church. 00:18:41.932 --> 00:18:43.700 And God was moving. 00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:45.099 He was stirring in people's lives. 00:18:45.099 --> 00:19:08.965 And John Piper, as a young man remembers, there was a man down on the front row of the church, and he was kneeled in his chair, and he was beating his chest and all he could hear the man say over and over again, an older man, all he could hear and say through tears, through grief, was I've wasted it. 00:19:08.965 --> 00:19:11.000 I've wasted my life. 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:13.732 Wasted. 00:19:13.732 --> 00:19:16.133 John Piper said when I heard that man. 00:19:16.133 --> 00:19:22.965 When I saw the emotion, when I saw the regret, I said, I never want to end up there. God, would you protect me? 00:19:22.965 --> 00:19:25.833 I never want to be in that situation. 00:19:25.833 --> 00:19:30.432 I don't want to be at the place where at the end of my life I feel this deep regret because I've wasted it. 00:19:30.432 --> 00:19:33.432 God, I don't want to waste my life. 00:19:34.066 --> 00:19:38.432 I don't want to waste mine, and you're here because you don't want to waste yours either. 00:19:38.432 --> 00:19:41.200 And we can't change what's happened in the past. 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:44.700 I'm not here to shame you or heap guilt on you for what's happened in the past. 00:19:44.700 --> 00:19:52.766 But let's move forward in excitement and joy and delight in watching him work in powerful ways in our lives and the lives of our community. 00:19:52.766 --> 00:19:56.465 Let's don't settle for these empty pursuits that have hidden costs. 00:19:56.465 --> 00:19:58.299 They're going to take us down a path of death. 00:20:02.900 --> 00:20:12.633 And what I love about what the dad does here shows great wisdom, because we can tell people what to do or not do all day long. 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:15.700 The church has often been known for that. 00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:18.365 Thanks for my list of things to avoid. 00:20:18.365 --> 00:20:20.200 Thanks for all the things I'm doing wrong. 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:21.799 I appreciate you pointing that out. 00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:28.965 That gets wearisome, and tiresome, especially from a father to a son. 00:20:28.965 --> 00:20:33.500 What he does next I'm exposed to the reality of the seductress. 00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:35.066 I've shown you there is a cost. 00:20:35.066 --> 00:20:35.965 Don't be naive. 00:20:35.965 --> 00:20:38.700 There is a cost to your decision. 00:20:38.700 --> 00:20:41.299 But then lastly, he points him to a better way. 00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:44.200 It's not just don't do that. 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:48.099 Let me point you to a better way. 00:20:48.099 --> 00:20:51.066 Look at this next group of verses. 00:20:51.066 --> 00:20:52.232 Look at verse 15. 00:20:54.700 --> 00:21:00.333 Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own wells. 00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:03.299 Should your springs be scattered abroad? 00:21:03.299 --> 00:21:05.732 Streams of water in the streets. 00:21:05.732 --> 00:21:10.266 Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you. 00:21:10.266 --> 00:21:17.766 Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely dear, graceful doe. 00:21:17.766 --> 00:21:20.700 Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight. 00:21:20.700 --> 00:21:23.665 Be intoxicated always in her love. 00:21:23.665 --> 00:21:32.032 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman, and embrace the bosom of an adulterous. 00:21:33.566 --> 00:21:35.900 Okay, this section here. 00:21:35.900 --> 00:21:41.566 Let me just say, if you're going to study it in Hebrew, have a fan blowing on you nearby the entire time. 00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:45.032 It is, we could use the word racy even. 00:21:45.032 --> 00:21:52.700 I think it, elements within here, which means God is not ashamed of sexual intimacy. 00:21:53.032 --> 00:21:57.299 He wants us to delight in it in the right context. 00:21:57.299 --> 00:21:58.766 He he knows it is good. 00:21:58.766 --> 00:22:01.465 He created it for us. 00:22:01.465 --> 00:22:04.633 And what the father is pointing the son here to is this phrase. 00:22:04.633 --> 00:22:05.865 You've heard it before. 00:22:05.865 --> 00:22:08.865 Sometimes the best defense is what? 00:22:09.299 --> 00:22:11.932 A good offense. 00:22:11.932 --> 00:22:15.700 What that means, and I would put it in sports terms, but I'm terrible at sports. 00:22:15.700 --> 00:22:18.700 Let me talk about chess. 00:22:18.766 --> 00:22:27.599 When I taught my kids about playing chess, sometimes when someone puts you in a tight spot, they come after your important piece. 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:31.232 Let's say the bishop, they've got you cornered, and you want to retreat. 00:22:31.232 --> 00:22:37.633 Sometimes the best thing to do is to go on the offense attack one of their pieces, make them go on the defense. 00:22:37.633 --> 00:22:42.400 Sometimes the best defense is not just to pull back hover in the corner. Go on the offense. 00:22:44.066 --> 00:22:48.766 What he's saying here is don't just only avoid the seductress. 00:22:48.766 --> 00:22:50.732 Pursue your love. 00:22:50.732 --> 00:22:53.566 Pursue the wife of your youth. 00:22:53.566 --> 00:22:58.066 The wording there means the one you chose when you were young. 00:22:58.266 --> 00:22:59.465 And look, this is important. 00:22:59.465 --> 00:23:04.633 Let me let me emphasize this for the young men and women in the room. 00:23:05.965 --> 00:23:08.799 Remember your covenant. 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:15.732 Remember that when you were on the altar together, you said, I choose you before God and others. 00:23:16.865 --> 00:23:24.766 I'm choosing you because there will come a day or someone comes along who comes, who seems more attractive to you. 00:23:24.766 --> 00:23:27.532 It will happen. 00:23:27.532 --> 00:23:29.333 Remember your covenant. 00:23:29.333 --> 00:23:35.633 I've already chosen my soulmate, already chosen them. Pursue them. 00:23:36.165 --> 00:23:39.165 Go after them. 00:23:39.500 --> 00:23:43.732 Don't be lured into the temptation of the thing that in the moment seems better. 00:23:44.865 --> 00:23:54.700 Remember your covenant and again, not shaming, not heaping guilt on anyone who's gone down that path and gone the wrong direction. I know it happens. 00:23:54.700 --> 00:23:55.833 I'm not naive to that. 00:23:55.833 --> 00:24:01.232 And yet we would all say, man, follow God's plan, it’s the best way to go. 00:24:01.232 --> 00:24:02.766 Not always in our control either. 00:24:02.766 --> 00:24:05.766 I get that. 00:24:06.333 --> 00:24:13.665 But if you're young, if you're hearing this, keep to that covenant commitment before God, keep pursuing one another. 00:24:13.665 --> 00:24:20.032 Keep loving one another way because, well, because that's where you're going to find the greatest tool. 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:22.532 In fact, the word we use here, I love this word. 00:24:22.532 --> 00:24:27.599 Look at verse 19, be intoxicated always in her love. 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:29.032 Yes, this is a Baptist church. 00:24:29.032 --> 00:24:31.232 Yes, I read the word intoxicated. 00:24:31.232 --> 00:24:32.066 It seems weird. 00:24:33.099 --> 00:24:35.165 Let me explain a little bit. 00:24:35.165 --> 00:24:44.032 In fact, Tim Keller talks also about this word can also means something along the lines of lose yourself, lose yourself in her love. 00:24:44.032 --> 00:24:46.566 Be completely filled up in her love. 00:24:46.566 --> 00:24:55.365 Be so filled with her love that no other seemingly wonderful thing comes by and you see it for what it is. 00:24:55.365 --> 00:24:57.700 You see the emptiness of it. 00:24:57.700 --> 00:25:00.333 Look at this quote from Tim Keller and put it on the screen. 00:25:00.333 --> 00:25:16.232 This is helpful way to consider this true intimacy depends not on fleeting chemistry, but on long term, committed faithfulness to helping the other person be all they should be before you. 00:25:16.633 --> 00:25:18.465 Which would you rather have? 00:25:18.465 --> 00:25:24.200 The momentary, fleeting seeming joy, seeming delight? 00:25:24.566 --> 00:25:38.665 Or the long term, deep, faithful commitment where the other person is living their life and a big part of their life is doing all they can to love and serve you, doing all they can to help you experience life to its fullest. 00:25:38.665 --> 00:25:44.133 They're making you a better person, not tearing your down, not just using you for their temporary pleasures. 00:25:44.133 --> 00:25:48.432 You see the gigantic difference between the two and this intoxication. 00:25:48.432 --> 00:25:54.766 One of the beauties of poetry, by the way, is when they use a word one way and then use it another to show you the contrast. 00:25:54.766 --> 00:25:57.532 Because in the next verse the exact same word. 00:25:57.532 --> 00:25:59.500 Be always intoxicated with her love. 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:00.400 Verse 19. 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:06.732 Why should you be intoxicated with a forbidden woman? 00:26:06.732 --> 00:26:12.032 Don't lose yourself in something that will lead to your end. 00:26:13.299 --> 00:26:17.000 Lose yourself in the joy the wife of your youth. 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:23.965 Follow God's plan and happily do your greatest joy. 00:26:23.965 --> 00:26:29.165 I want to give a couple of, I think, practical applications related to this passage. 00:26:29.165 --> 00:26:39.266 I think there's some things that we need to implement in our lives to help protect us, because whether you're the young man or the old, the young woman or the old, we all face temptation. 00:26:39.266 --> 00:26:42.266 It doesn't go away. 00:26:42.965 --> 00:26:44.365 Let me give you a few practical points. 00:26:44.365 --> 00:26:48.665 Number one, speak the truth against empty temptation. 00:26:49.566 --> 00:26:52.566 Speak the truth to empty temptation. 00:26:52.665 --> 00:26:53.500 Here's a great example. 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:55.900 Just flip over to the book of Genesis. 00:26:55.900 --> 00:27:03.700 One of the powerful, powerful examples of this is with Joseph in Genesis 39, Genesis is the first book in the Bible. 00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:06.732 Look to the end of that near the end, Genesis 39. 00:27:08.333 --> 00:27:11.665 And if you remember, Joseph had a hard life. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:19.500 There were ups and downs, but he had moments where things were amazing. 00:27:19.500 --> 00:27:22.865 And in chapter 39, he’s running Potiphar’s house. 00:27:22.865 --> 00:27:24.500 Potiphar’s given him charge of the whole house. 00:27:24.500 --> 00:27:33.099 He can do whatever he wants, and Potiphar’s wife now finds Joseph very attractive, and she's pursuing him. 00:27:35.833 --> 00:27:36.432 Verse seven. 00:27:36.432 --> 00:27:42.099 And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes at Joseph and said, lie with me. 00:27:42.099 --> 00:27:44.500 But he refused and here's the important part. 00:27:44.500 --> 00:27:47.365 He spoke it out loud. 00:27:47.365 --> 00:27:54.099 Sometimes just stating the temptation out loud will create a layer of protection. 00:27:54.099 --> 00:27:57.099 Don’t continue to foster what she said. 00:27:57.099 --> 00:27:58.566 That's interesting. Interesting proposal. 00:27:58.566 --> 00:27:59.766 Let me contemplate that. 00:27:59.766 --> 00:28:04.133 No, he speaks against the empty temptation out loud. 00:28:04.932 --> 00:28:11.700 He refused and said to his master's wife, behold, because of my master has no concern about anything in the house. 00:28:11.700 --> 00:28:13.965 He has put everything that he has in my charge. 00:28:15.099 --> 00:28:22.633 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. 00:28:22.633 --> 00:28:30.833 How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God, not just against him. 00:28:30.965 --> 00:28:34.133 Not just, just against her or even himself, against God. 00:28:34.133 --> 00:28:40.299 He spoke the emptiness of the temptation out loud, revealed he spoke to it. 00:28:40.732 --> 00:28:43.465 And there's great power in that. 00:28:43.465 --> 00:28:44.599 Don't just give in to it. 00:28:44.599 --> 00:28:47.200 Don't just continue to chew on it. 00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:49.799 State out loud. 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:52.865 All right, number two, second wave of that great promise. 00:28:52.865 --> 00:28:56.465 The second way to stand up against temptation. 00:28:56.799 --> 00:29:02.099 Sometimes you're going to have to make hard decisions about your associations. 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:05.965 You're going to have to make hard decisions about your associations. 00:29:08.566 --> 00:29:13.900 Heard a stat this week, 75% of affairs begin... 00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:17.000 where do you think? 00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:19.032 I heard a lot of mumbling. 00:29:19.032 --> 00:29:21.965 People don't want to talk about it apparently. 00:29:21.965 --> 00:29:24.665 At work. 00:29:24.665 --> 00:29:27.200 Why do you think that is? 00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:29.665 Where do you spend the bulk of your time with people? 00:29:29.665 --> 00:29:33.965 You spend more time with people who you work than you do with anyone else often. 00:29:33.965 --> 00:29:36.165 That's where relationship is our formed. 00:29:36.165 --> 00:29:40.732 That's that's where somebody says something that, you know, well, I haven't had that kind of encouragement. 00:29:40.732 --> 00:29:41.633 That was nice. 00:29:41.633 --> 00:29:43.400 That tasted good. 00:29:43.400 --> 00:29:44.500 Let me go back over to them. 00:29:44.500 --> 00:29:46.732 Maybe they'll give me more of that. 00:29:46.732 --> 00:30:00.965 You know, if you find yourself continually going out of your way to pass that person's office door, I don't really have a reason to be there, but let me just somehow I'm walking down there again, or that place on the factory floor or that business place. 00:30:00.965 --> 00:30:02.599 We had that great interaction. 00:30:02.599 --> 00:30:05.599 First person at the cashier. 00:30:06.266 --> 00:30:12.000 If you find yourself doing that and you know what's going on deep in your heart. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:14.232 Man, tell someone, bring someone in. 00:30:14.232 --> 00:30:16.032 Hey, look, I see this about now. 00:30:16.032 --> 00:30:18.299 Here, I want you to keep an eye on me. 00:30:18.299 --> 00:30:19.333 You're there too. 00:30:19.333 --> 00:30:20.766 You work an office down. 00:30:20.766 --> 00:30:23.633 You’ll know when I'm coming by, but I'm not supposed to be over there. 00:30:23.633 --> 00:30:26.500 You call me out on it. 00:30:26.500 --> 00:30:27.532 Bring it out in the open. 00:30:27.532 --> 00:30:29.333 Sin loves to grow in the dark. 00:30:29.333 --> 00:30:31.766 Bring it out in the open. 00:30:31.766 --> 00:30:33.400 What did he say to him earlier? 00:30:33.400 --> 00:30:36.299 Don't even go near her door. 00:30:36.299 --> 00:30:37.900 Stay off the street. 00:30:37.900 --> 00:30:43.532 You're going to have to make some hard decisions about your association, especially if it's progressed far beyond that. 00:30:43.532 --> 00:30:45.732 I remember I served in ministry with a guy. 00:30:45.732 --> 00:30:58.566 We both spoke in marriage conferences about how to strengthen your marriage, and he found himself in a place where he had become way too familiar with a lady at work, and he knew things haven't progressed beyond that, but they're headed that way, and I don't know what to do. 00:30:59.532 --> 00:31:00.700 We work together. 00:31:00.700 --> 00:31:03.133 She's not a cube down the hall. 00:31:03.133 --> 00:31:04.965 We're right beside each other. 00:31:04.965 --> 00:31:07.965 Can’t avoid her. 00:31:08.066 --> 00:31:12.066 So he comes to his wife and says, this is where things are, and I don't know what to do. 00:31:12.066 --> 00:31:17.232 And I don't want to keep going down this path, but that's where it's headed. 00:31:17.432 --> 00:31:18.299 And they prayed about it. 00:31:18.299 --> 00:31:19.099 They talked about it. 00:31:19.099 --> 00:31:21.766 She talked with their pastor they met with in front of him. 00:31:21.766 --> 00:31:33.665 And he ultimately ended up even though he had a really successful career in this company, he ended up deciding to change companies, change jobs because of how much he cared about his family. 00:31:34.099 --> 00:31:36.165 And that was a hard call. 00:31:36.165 --> 00:31:39.400 And it was the fact that he was sharing this with me. 00:31:39.400 --> 00:31:40.900 We asked him, can we video this? 00:31:40.900 --> 00:31:48.432 We'd love to share this with other people in ministry. And he said, and here he was, this was ten, 15 years later. 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:49.865 My kids don't even know yet. 00:31:49.865 --> 00:31:51.566 Let me tell them first. 00:31:51.566 --> 00:31:55.965 They didn't even know why he made that big career change in the middle of life. 00:31:55.965 --> 00:32:00.400 The point is, you're going to have to make sometimes some hard decisions about your associations. 00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:03.900 Be willing to do that for the greater good. It's worth it. 00:32:03.900 --> 00:32:05.932 It really is, as hard as that is. 00:32:05.932 --> 00:32:08.500 It's worth it. 00:32:08.500 --> 00:32:13.432 Number three, pursue the one you have. 00:32:13.900 --> 00:32:19.900 Go on the offense or the offense, not the defense. 00:32:19.900 --> 00:32:21.532 I mean, just avoid doing the wrong thing. 00:32:21.532 --> 00:32:26.232 Let me pursue the one I have, whether that's your wife or your husband. 00:32:26.232 --> 00:32:28.700 If you're not married, it's your friendships. 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:38.200 And pursue those rich friendships around you, the people you can lean on, the people in your church, in your life group, in your community, your family. 00:32:38.200 --> 00:32:41.365 Don't just hole up at home trying to figure it all out yourself. 00:32:41.365 --> 00:32:41.965 Pursue them. 00:32:44.965 --> 00:32:50.266 And then number four, find freedom through discipline. 00:32:51.365 --> 00:32:55.599 Find freedom through discipline. I love this quote. 00:32:55.599 --> 00:33:05.500 It's a long quote from a commentator named Euler, but he was referencing this passage because the word discipline shows up in this chapter five and watch let's put this quote on the screen. 00:33:05.500 --> 00:33:06.799 Look at how he describes this. 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:15.932 When we practice self-discipline, sex, food, sleep, exercise, work, play, speech, I added finances. 00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:22.665 It promotes self-knowledge, self-mastery, and, paradoxically, freedom. 00:33:25.266 --> 00:33:28.299 Theresa loves hearing the word freedom. 00:33:28.299 --> 00:33:33.766 Look, living however you want doesn't lead, that's not true freedom. 00:33:33.766 --> 00:33:36.633 That's actually slavery to your impulses. 00:33:36.633 --> 00:33:41.066 The addict lives however they want and they're enslaved. 00:33:41.066 --> 00:33:47.599 The person who is has financial freedom has made tremendously hard decisions about their finances. 00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:49.066 They don’t just spend however they want. 00:33:49.066 --> 00:33:50.500 That's not true freedom. 00:33:50.500 --> 00:34:00.932 True freedom comes through discipline, through making hard choices, saying no to something that seems great on the surface but you know has a hidden cost. 00:34:02.066 --> 00:34:04.465 And look, the same is true spiritually. 00:34:04.465 --> 00:34:08.400 There's no shortcuts to growing spiritually. 00:34:08.400 --> 00:34:11.333 It takes it takes effort. 00:34:11.333 --> 00:34:15.000 I mean, God may do miraculous things in your lives to move you way forward. 00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:16.900 And it is that that definitely happens. 00:34:16.900 --> 00:34:24.465 But for most of us, spiritual growth is a long, plodding effort over time. 00:34:24.465 --> 00:34:26.432 For my quiet time. 00:34:26.432 --> 00:34:31.432 Listen, I try to be very disciplined about my morning Bible study time. 00:34:31.432 --> 00:34:35.932 That is the freshest time when my mind and heart are the most open to hearing from the Lord. 00:34:35.932 --> 00:34:41.666 For some of you it may be the evening, depending on how you are wired, but the quiet time doesn't start in the morning. 00:34:41.666 --> 00:34:44.432 It requires discipline the night before. 00:34:44.432 --> 00:34:48.099 I'm preparing the environment, I'm setting out the books I want to study. 00:34:48.099 --> 00:34:53.166 I'm making sure the coffee is ready because you cannot have quiet time without coffee. I'm convinced personally. 00:34:53.166 --> 00:34:54.000 It's ready. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:55.000 It's going to go off. 00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:56.865 I want to smell it brewing. 00:34:56.865 --> 00:34:58.032 It's going to wake me up. 00:34:58.032 --> 00:35:00.432 I'm going to sleep eager and excited to get up. 00:35:00.432 --> 00:35:02.333 I'm making sure we go to bed early. 00:35:02.333 --> 00:35:05.800 I'm making sure I've said no to the things that are going to keep me up late. 00:35:05.800 --> 00:35:08.699 Discipline is required the night before. 00:35:08.699 --> 00:35:11.500 If I've not got enough sleep, I’m going to fall asleep reading the Bible. 00:35:11.500 --> 00:35:14.266 I just will, no matter how great it is. 00:35:14.266 --> 00:35:22.065 It takes discipline the night before to experience the fullness of what it means to connect with the Lord early in the morning. 00:35:22.065 --> 00:35:27.865 Make those hard decisions in your life to experience the most of what he has to offer. 00:35:29.632 --> 00:35:33.500 And then I would say, also let me just add focus on gratitude. 00:35:35.565 --> 00:35:38.199 It's so easy for those who are married. 00:35:38.199 --> 00:35:42.065 It's so easy to focus on things that aren't going right. 00:35:42.065 --> 00:35:44.500 Isn’t that our natural tendency? 00:35:44.500 --> 00:35:46.132 Well, this could be better. 00:35:46.132 --> 00:35:47.965 That meal could have been nicer. 00:35:47.965 --> 00:35:50.632 You could have done a better job on that project. 00:35:50.632 --> 00:35:52.233 The car’s falling apart. What? 00:35:52.233 --> 00:35:55.233 We tend to focus on all of those things. 00:35:56.432 --> 00:35:59.099 Turn your heart to gratitude. 00:35:59.099 --> 00:36:02.099 Just for a moment today. 00:36:02.500 --> 00:36:05.500 Even if things are hard. 00:36:07.132 --> 00:36:12.465 Give great love and gratitude for the person God has given you in pursuing. 00:36:14.032 --> 00:36:16.632 Why do we do this? 00:36:16.632 --> 00:36:20.132 We do this because we don't [???] Look at how the passage ends. 00:36:20.132 --> 00:36:26.400 Looks at verse 21 A man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord. 00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:31.733 He ponders all his past The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. 00:36:32.900 --> 00:36:35.900 He dies for a lack of discipline. 00:36:36.099 --> 00:36:41.632 Because of his great folly he is led astray-- that word astray is the same word as intoxicated. 00:36:41.632 --> 00:36:51.032 You see that word play. Be intoxicated in love, not in the love of another, but for the one that is yours. 00:36:51.032 --> 00:36:52.233 And don't be naive. 00:36:52.233 --> 00:36:57.266 Verse 21 A man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, the way we live. 00:36:57.266 --> 00:36:59.500 It may seem to be in secret. 00:36:59.500 --> 00:37:06.365 We may think others don't know, but ultimately the one who matters the most. He knows. 00:37:06.365 --> 00:37:07.965 He knows. 00:37:07.965 --> 00:37:10.965 We can't hide it from him. 00:37:12.365 --> 00:37:15.932 He is the one, by the way, Jesus is the one who set the model for us. 00:37:15.932 --> 00:37:22.632 He's the one who set the model for us to say no to the temporal pleasure for the greater good. 00:37:22.632 --> 00:37:23.532 Hebrews chapter 12. 00:37:23.532 --> 00:37:26.465 For the joy set before him, he endured the cross. 00:37:28.766 --> 00:37:36.666 Here we have the God of the universe, who puts on human flesh and goes through horrific suffering on our behalf. 00:37:36.699 --> 00:37:47.300 And if he can do that, I can say no to that temporary empty pleasure that seems overwhelming, seems so important in the moment. 00:37:47.699 --> 00:37:50.400 I look to him, look to his example. 00:37:50.400 --> 00:37:52.599 He's the one that’s gone before you. 00:37:52.599 --> 00:37:57.333 And of course, leading up to this week, this moment of extra emphasis. 00:37:57.333 --> 00:38:09.500 Take some time this week you just read through the Easter story, read through Philippians where it talks about he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:38:09.666 --> 00:38:12.599 He made himself Some made a little lower than man. 00:38:12.599 --> 00:38:16.233 He brought himself down to our level out of love for us. 00:38:16.233 --> 00:38:18.266 That's what he did for you. 00:38:19.432 --> 00:38:23.733 Walk in the joy of that and live it out in your life as well. 00:38:23.733 --> 00:38:26.699 Now I'm going to pray, but first, just let me encourage you. 00:38:26.699 --> 00:38:30.032 I've got a couple of important announcements to make. 00:38:30.032 --> 00:38:32.065 You're going to want to hear them. 00:38:32.065 --> 00:38:33.432 And they're not about cinnamon rolls. 00:38:33.432 --> 00:38:35.300 They're about things more important than that. 00:38:35.300 --> 00:38:37.733 I’ve already talked about the cinnamon rolls. 00:38:37.733 --> 00:38:41.565 I'm going to pray, then I want to mention a couple of quick things. 00:38:41.565 --> 00:38:48.599 God, thank you for your example of enduring the cross for the joy set before you. 00:38:49.166 --> 00:38:57.032 Every day you were tempted with empty pleasures, things that seem great on the surface, but they're too good to be true. 00:38:57.432 --> 00:38:59.800 Jesus, would you help expose the hidden cost? 00:38:59.800 --> 00:39:01.865 May we see that in our hearts. 00:39:01.865 --> 00:39:06.965 May we pursue the greater joy in you, the greater joy in the one you’ve given us. 00:39:06.965 --> 00:39:09.666 The greater joy in knowing you to the fullest. 00:39:09.666 --> 00:39:13.365 God help us to walk in that joy and delight this week. 00:39:13.365 --> 00:39:20.400 And would you give us openings to talk about you with our loved ones, with our family members, with our coworkers? 00:39:20.400 --> 00:39:21.465 Would you open that door? 00:39:23.833 --> 00:39:25.699 Thank you for dying on behalf of us. 00:39:25.699 --> 00:39:26.065 We love you. Amen.