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[0:00] I'm a little bit discombobulated, if you will, being barreling in here in California where it's unsafe to go the speed limit.

[0:12] So, used to Utah where everything's all slow now. I grew up in California, so I had to learn to slow down a little bit. Maybe that's something in the Christian life we have to learn too, is to kind of slow down a little bit.

[0:26] But I'll go over my story and kind of our ministry in the next hour. So, we're just going to get right into this Bible study first, and then we'll get into some of the things about the ministry there in Utah in a little bit.

[0:46] But let's go ahead and start in Proverbs chapter 2. In verse number 1, And find the knowledge of God.

[1:22] For the Lord giveth wisdom. Out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

[1:35] He keepeth the paths of judgment and preserveth the way of His saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity.

[1:46] Yea, every good path. Is that what you want? Every good path, right? Everyone's seeking after all of these good things.

[1:59] And supposing that gain is godliness. And trying to increase in all these things. Well, what about this kind of good life? Right? This good path. And I just wanted to show you guys in here the seven steps.

[2:15] The seven. And it is kind of in an order. But the seven steps of God's order to wisdom. To this good path. And it is something that the Lord showed me.

[2:27] We are going verse by verse through the book of Proverbs on Tuesday. And it has been something that has been very helpful for me. Helpful for our people there.

[2:40] A lot of people know a lot of stuff. Especially in the Bible believing community. A lot of knowledge. But like Paul says. Knowledge puffeth up but charity edifieth. And so you see this a lot in this Bible believing culture.

[2:55] So to speak. That there is a lot of just knowledge. And a lot of things just being fed to the intellect. And nothing wrong with that. We should grow in grace.

[3:07] And in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But it also says that I may know him. And the power of his resurrection. Through the fellowship of his sufferings. And that through that.

[3:18] God can teach you wisdom. In sufferings. And trials and tribulations. And wisdom is defined as the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord.

[3:28] That is wisdom. And to depart from evil. That is understanding. So when you see those terms in the Bible. Where it says this is this. Then you've got the definition of it.

[3:40] The fear of the Lord. That is wisdom. To depart from evil. That is understanding. And so a lot of people say. Well okay. Well because this person is so aged.

[3:51] Then they have all this wisdom. Well what kind of wisdom? I mean I've known plenty of older folks. That have plenty of worldly wisdom. And that's their downfall.

[4:03] Right. But they don't have the fear of the Lord. And they don't have a departing from evil. And so then they're not in every good path. You see.

[4:14] So the fear of the Lord. That is wisdom. Look at chapter 1 and verse number 7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

[4:28] And so we can grow in doctrine. And growing all these things. And you should have that foundation. You should have a biblical foundation in your doctrine. But we also need to have wisdom.

[4:41] And how to apply those doctrines in our life. And what that means. So for instance. The pre-tribulation rapture. Okay. That if practically applied.

[4:53] That will practically change your life. You know. If you're an amillennialist. Or someone that just doesn't believe in the rapture. Or something like that. Or you know. It'll change the way you live.

[5:04] But we're talking about. You know. The word of God getting in you. And that word of God taking root. Like Jesus said.

[5:15] And bearing fruit. And that bearing fruit. Comes from that fearing God. And that's. The first step. There in chapter number 2.

[5:26] Verse number 1. I wanted to show you this. That it says my son. And by the way. My son. And every time you see that. Because there's three applications of scripture. There's the doctrinal.

[5:37] There's the historical. And then there's the spiritual. Right. So the doctrinal. For instance. My son. My God. My God. Why has thou forsaken me? So.

[5:47] To illustrate. My God. My God. Why has thou forsaken me? So doctrinally. And prophetically. That is a reference to Jesus Christ on the cross. But David historically felt that way.

[5:59] You see. Now don't you feel like. God's forsaken you a time or two. Right. I mean. It's not sacrilegious to say that. Okay. Because David said it. Okay.

[6:10] So my God. My God. Why has thou forsaken me? He feels that way. So don't you feel that way? So now you're reading the book of Proverbs. And you come across my son. So. Spiritually.

[6:21] That's God the Father talking to you. My son. He says in another place. My son. Give me thine heart. So he's calling after you. He says.

[6:31] Come on. Come unto me. All you are weary and heavy laden. I will give you rest unto your souls. And he's saying. My son. He said. If thou. Will receive my words. And hide my commandments with thee.

[6:43] So the first step. In the seven. The seven steps here. God's order to wisdom. Is to be in a soft heart. To receive it. Be in that soft heart.

[6:54] To receive it. If you're in this sense. Where it's like. I got it all down. I got this. You know. I just. I understand. I've been this before. Here's my.

[7:04] Here's my experience. I'm just going to throw that on the table. And whatever. And. And no one can tell me otherwise. No. If you lose sight. Of my son. You know. If thou wilt receive my words.

[7:15] And hide my commandments with thee. If you lose that. Then you won't have. True wisdom. You won't have. That true wisdom. Look at James. Real quick.

[7:27] James. James chapter 3.

[7:40] In verse number 13. Who is a wise man. And endued with knowledge among you. Let him show.

[7:52] Out of a good conversation. And the Bible. Conversation is. Is a reference to your manner of life. And so. Show out of a good conversation. His works.

[8:02] With meekness of wisdom. Not. This brash. Look at me. I've done all of these works. Look at who I am. And look at all of what I have to offer. No.

[8:13] Meekness of wisdom. But. And then he says this. But if you have bitter. Envying and strife in your hearts. Glory not. And lie not against the truth. This.

[8:25] Wisdom. Descendeth not from above. But is earthly. Sensual. Devilish. For where envying and strife is. There is confusion. And every evil work.

[8:36] But the wisdom that is from above. Is first pure. Then peaceable. Gentle. Easy to be entreated. Full of mercy. And good fruits. Without partiality. And without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness.

[8:47] Is sown in peace. Of them that make. Peace. And so. You know. You hear this a lot. It's like. Worldly wisdom. But. You know. You hear that phrase. But what that.

[8:58] Biblically is connected to. Is bitter. Envying and strife. In your heart. Okay. So. How much of that. Is in our churches. Right.

[9:09] Just. You know. I. I'm going to stand on this doctrinal position. Not necessarily. Because I believe it. It's the truth. But because I'm bitter. Right.

[9:19] Amen. I. I don't. It's. I know it's the morning. But I just. I drove here. I'm tired too. So. You know. Bitter.

[9:30] Envying. And strife. In your hearts. Glory not. That wisdom. You see. That. Worldly wisdom. Will. Will. Put you in a position. I'm rejecting. Of. God's words.

[9:40] God's truth. And it's all about me. And you can be coming here. Carrying a King James Bible. And all this right doctrine. And stuff. And have that bitter. Envying. And strife.

[9:51] In your heart. Glory not. And lie not against the truth. That wisdom. Descendeth not from above. Versed earthly. Sensual. Devilish. Wow.

[10:02] And a King James Bible. Believe in church. How is that even possible? It is. Just accept it. Chapter 2. In Proverbs. Back there.

[10:13] Be in a soft heart. Ready to receive. If you're in a position. Of humility. Right. He that cometh to God. Must believe that he is. And that he is a rewarder. Of them that diligently seek him.

[10:24] And that sense of humility. Then you'll get some wisdom. Number two. What I see in verse number two. So that thou. Verse number one. And hide my commandments with thee. You know.

[10:34] You have to keep. And record these things. You know. You keep and record other things in life. Right. A bookkeeper. He records transactions. And all these things. And maybe those in business.

[10:46] You record your transactions with other people. And have certain percentages. And you keep records of that. But then what about when God's trying to tell you something? That would be something good to write down.

[10:58] Right. That would be something to keep in order. And he says. Let everything be done decently and in order. Well what about the things that you're receiving from God? Or do you just come to church.

[11:08] And you sit there. And you go. You know. Feed me. Like that. And then don't record it down. And say. And I need to process this.

[11:19] I need to get this. I need to hide it in my heart. Thy word have I hid in my heart. That I might not sin against thee. Right. I need to receive it. I need to take it in. I need to process it.

[11:30] And I need to write it down. That's an order to receiving some wisdom. Okay. So. Verse number two. So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom.

[11:42] And apply thine heart to understanding. There you have the connection between the ear and the heart. So faith cometh by hearing. And hearing by the word of God. And that word of God is supposed to be in your heart.

[11:53] And to transform your life. And that comes from the hearing of the word. But you know. Jesus said you have ears. But you hear not. Right. So you can have ears.

[12:03] And you can be sitting and listening. But you're not really, really listening. You're not really listening to what God has for you. And God is interested in your life. I don't know if you knew that. Okay.

[12:14] He's interested in what you do. Not in this ritualism stuff. But in a relationship sense. Because he's your father that says my son. Give me thine heart. Right. He wants you.

[12:25] He wants that relationship with you. And then he wants you to keep it. To record it down. Because it's important to you. Right. But he also wants you to incline that ear. Incline means to bend or submit.

[12:38] Incline. Is to bend to. And then apply thine heart. Is to fix the mind to. So you got the two. Next. Number three and number four. Right there in the same verse.

[12:49] Incline thine ear. And apply thine heart. To understanding. So that inclining. Is that bending to. That submitting to wisdom. Maybe you've heard it. Maybe you've kept it down.

[13:00] Maybe you've written it down. Maybe you're trying to. You know. You have this organization. As far as how God is speaking to you. And you're getting wisdom. From him. And all of this.

[13:10] But the things that he's saying. It doesn't really kind of jive with you. You see. It doesn't really. You know. You don't really like it. Maybe it's contrary to your will.

[13:21] Then that would mean. That you would have to have a Gethsemane moment. And say. Lord. Not my will. But thine. Be done. Right. And so. The thing is. Is that.

[13:32] Especially in modern day Christianity. There is not. In. In Bible believing churches. No less too. That there is a lack of. Inclining. The ear. To specifically.

[13:42] What God is telling you to do. Okay. That he cares about. What you want. He cares about. Your life. And he's doing it. And maybe there's chastening. And maybe there's these things. But he's doing it for.

[13:53] What? For your prophet. He says. And. Not because he's some ogre. And trying to. Trying to. You know. Force you to do something. Like some Calvinistic God.

[14:04] Or something like that. But that he. Cares about. Your life. And you got to. Incline your ear. And apply. And applying. Is to fix the mind to. To use.

[14:15] And look at Psalms. 112. Psalms 112. So.

[14:27] Applies to fix the mind to. That's Webster's 1828. Okay. So. The Bible believing. Is other final authority there. So. But. To. To. To.

[14:38] Fix the mind to. Okay. Look at this. Psalms 112. And verse. Number seven. Context. And verse number five. A good man.

[14:48] Showeth favor. And lendeth. And he will. Guide his affairs. With discretion. Surely. He will. He shall not be moved forever. The righteous shall be. In everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid.

[15:00] Of evil tidings. His heart is fixed. Trusting. In the Lord. His heart is established. He shall not be afraid. Until he see his desire. Upon his enemy. So this. Fixing the mind to.

[15:12] Is connected. To faith. And without faith. It's impossible. To please him. For he that cometh to God. Must believe that he is. And he's a rewarder. Then that diligently seek him.

[15:22] And so. You can't live this life. Of Christianity. You can't live this life. Being a. A child of God. Without there being faith. In every relationship.

[15:32] In every. Thing that you're doing in life. It must be tested. Right. Oh I have faith in God. Okay. Then let's test it. That's what God is going to do.

[15:44] Okay. He's going to test you. Why? He's going to. Because. The relate. Like. Between you and your wife. Did you. Love her at the pinnacle. The.

[15:54] You know. The pinnacle of love. Was when you guys were getting married. Or was it when. The love. Was being tested. Right. That's when you really.

[16:05] Love. Right. That's when you really. Know. Love. Is when. Everything is pointing. To the opposite thing. Right. That's when you truly love.

[16:16] So when everything. Is pointing. To the opposite of faith. That's when you truly. Have faith. You see. So. He wants you to fix on that. To apply. Is to. Then you're receiving God's words.

[16:28] You're writing them down. You're keeping them. You're inclining. You're bending. You're submitting. Not my will. But thine be done. And then you're fixing your mind. By faith. Is that. I've gotten these things from God.

[16:38] And now I'm going to put it into action. Because by faith. Noah prepared. An ark. To the saving of his house. By faith. Abraham sojourned into land. By faith. So and did this.

[16:49] Faith moves. Okay. Faith should move you. So faith. So the applying. Is to fix the mind to. For. For use. Because God has a use.

[16:59] For what he's telling you to do. He's not just telling you. Because it just. You know. He just has nothing to do. You know. He's telling you. Because he. He has a specific plan. And he's got all of this.

[17:10] Charted out. And he's got your life. Coming in. And then here's someone else's life. And if you do this. Then this was going to be affected to this. And this is going to branch out to all of these things. And you're a part of that. Isn't that amazing?

[17:22] And God can use you. If you submit. Right. Not my will. But thine be done. And so then you'll have true wisdom. And so. Look at verse number three.

[17:34] Yea. If thou criest after knowledge. And liftest up thy voice. For understanding. Look at. Look at. Verse one. My son. If. Verse three.

[17:45] Yea. If. Verse four. If. See. It's all you. You can. You can decide. If you do this or not. Okay. You can decide. If you're going to have true wisdom or not.

[17:56] But. Verse. So. Crying after. Wisdom. Is the. Is the next thing. So we got receiving it. We got keeping it. We got inclining. We got applying. And then we got crying. Crying after it.

[18:08] Reaching out for it. You know. Sometimes God. What he does. Is that. He. Puts you in a position. To where. All you're dependent on. Is the word that God gave you.

[18:21] Right. That's why Job said. I. I esteem the words of his mouth. More than my necessary food. Why. Because. God had placed him into a position. To where. To truly have wisdom.

[18:32] In that connection with God. He needed. To. To. Cry. After. What. God. Was showing him. The words of God. Were. What was sustaining him.

[18:43] What was going to get him through. To the next thing. Does that make sense. So. Crying after it. Shows. What I see there. Is that. That shows this level of humility.

[18:54] And dependency on God. That's what I. That's what I see out of that. That. Crying after wisdom. It's going to. Involve. You just. Okay. I've received these things.

[19:05] Now. I'm. Take. Now I'm getting it in the neck. Because I'm trying to apply it. And to not get lifted up in pride. Then. Because that's the tendency. Right. We start. We get something from God.

[19:16] And then we start moving with it. And then it doesn't go the way that we think. And so then. We get all upset. And pout. Right. And we just. I don't think that God should be that way. And stuff. Right.

[19:27] But. Yeah. Yeah. He's. He's God. And you're not. In case you didn't. Know that. Okay. So. He's holy. But. But. He loves you.

[19:38] Okay. He cares about you. And. He wants you to have wisdom. And. And. You know. Crying after it. Having that humility. And that dependency on God.

[19:49] You can't. Lose that. It's not that God. And. Yes. He wants you to grow. To where you can do some things on your own. Okay. But you don't want to.

[20:00] Just merge. Or. Get spoiled by this philosophy of pragmatism. All of a sudden. Where just if it works. And it works for me. Then. That's God's will.

[20:11] And so I'm doing it. And God couldn't possibly do something. That's against me. Right. That's not having the dependency upon God. And so when you receive the wisdom. You need to maintain this sense of humility.

[20:23] And submission to God. And that God has said it. That settles it. And my mind is made up. And I've decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back. Right.

[20:33] And on Christ the solid rock I stand. And that's. That's what you're leaning on. Your dependency is on God. God. And sometimes when the dependency is on other things.

[20:43] He decides to in his mercy. Take those things away. Because he knows. That what you need is him. Okay. He's not some sort of ogre.

[20:55] That's just. I just trying to just punish you. All of these different ways. Or something like that. He actually wants you to be dependent on him. Well. He wants you to realize that you're dependent on him.

[21:07] Rather. Okay. He. He. He wants to show you that. Look. That without me. You can do nothing. Right. Isn't that what Jesus said. Does that.

[21:18] Who believes that. Okay. I can't even get out of bed. If it's not by Jesus. Okay. If Jesus didn't will it. Essentially. Then it wouldn't be so. Essentially.

[21:29] Okay. And I know we're not Calvinist. But he's still sovereign. Okay. He's still in control. Right. It's like a cuss word. Some. And some Baptist circles now. Okay. But the thing is.

[21:39] Is that he is. He is in control. He. He cares. He's wanting to. He's wanting what's best. And if I maintain. If I start to believe a lie. That he is just out to get me.

[21:51] And out to. To persecute me. And stuff like that. Then I've truly. Failed. And I'm not with my God anymore. Practically. Okay.

[22:01] And so we have to have. That humility. And that dependency. Being upon God. Now look at this. In verse number four. Is the next thing. Is for.

[22:13] Seeking it. As for. Hid. Treasures. So it says. If thou. Seekest her. As silver. And searchest for her.

[22:24] As for hid. Treasures. Now. If we were to go. To your house. And then you're. And someone told you. That in your backyard. Someone hid.

[22:35] A million dollars there. And knowing you guys. You Americans. You would be all over that. But if God said. If you have to see. You just have to seek me.

[22:46] In this way. And then you'll have wisdom. Would you do that? Especially because you could get away. With not doing it. But with the money.

[22:57] Because it's got such a cling to you. Right. Then. Oh. You'll immediately go to that. You know. It says in the Bible. It says. Take heed.

[23:08] And beware of covetousness. For a man's life. Consisteth not. In the abundance. Of the things. Which he possesseth. You know. In America.

[23:18] We have all of these. All these. Pleasures. All these. You know. All these amenities. And. And. Those things sometimes. Get in the way of us. Just seeing the face.

[23:29] Of our Savior. Yeah. Who was. Nailed to a cross. Who. Didn't have a place. To lay his head.

[23:41] Right. Foxes have holes. Birds of the air. Has. Nests. With the son of man. Hath not. Where to lay his head. And. He. He did that. For you. And. The Bible says.

[23:51] That the. The love of Christ. Constrained. It is. Because we. Thus. Judge. That if one died. For all. Hence. Hence. Are we all dead. And that they. Which live. Should not. Henceforth. Live unto themselves. But him. That loved us.

[24:01] Right. Gave himself. I know. Probably. Butch that verse. But. The thing is. Is that. Does God. Mean. He had treasures.

[24:13] To you. Is that what he means. To you. And I didn't. I didn't say. That. You know. By following. Christ. You're going to be.

[24:24] You know. High on the hog. And just all. You know. You know. And the jet. And all of the stuff. That these prosperity gospel preachers. Would have you to believe. No.

[24:35] I'm saying that. When. Something that is of your value. You value it. A lot. But then. God places his value. On his wisdom.

[24:46] Over here. Are you willing. To say. Okay. God. I need to delight myself. In the Lord. And he shall give me. The desires of my heart. And please help change.

[24:56] And transform my desires. So they're more like you. And if. And that's. That's. You know. Really maturing. In the Christian life. Instead of it being.

[25:08] This thing. Of just. Okay. Well I just. You know. I read ten chapters a day. And I'm good. Or something like that. That's not what. Christian life is about. Just reading ten chapters a day.

[25:19] How shallow. It's an actual. Like. Why are you reading the ten chapters a day? How about that? That one. Why are you memorizing the verse? Why are you praying?

[25:32] You know. How about that? Why are you giving? It says. Not grudging in order of necessity. Don't do it then. God doesn't need your money.

[25:45] You're like. Well you're coming here as a. You know. If you want any support. Why would you say such a thing? Because it's not about me. It's about him. And the thing is. It's about you bearing fruit.

[25:56] And so the fruit is in your court. And you can't bear fruit. Except you abide in the vine. And if you abide in him. And his words abide in you. And so if you receive the words. And then you. You keep them.

[26:07] And you incline. And you apply. And you cry after it. And you seek as for hid treasures. Then it calls to personally. What God. Has concealed in your life.

[26:17] You know. Sometimes what. He does. Is that. In your life. That he. He will. Purposely. Conceal something. He'll purposely hide it.

[26:31] Just to test your heart. To whether you're going to. Get off your spiritual. You know. Hinder parts. And. Get to work on trying to finding. What God wants.

[26:42] You see. If you don't believe me. Look at. Chapter 25. Chapter 25. Let the word of God speak. Proverbs 25.

[26:56] And verse. Number two. It is the glory. Of God. To conceal a thing.

[27:09] But the honor. Of kings. Is to search out. A matter. Aren't you a king. And a priest. Under our God. Forever and ever.

[27:20] And we shall reign. Okay. Well it's your honor. To search it out. But. To be honest.

[27:32] Most of you won't. And I'm not saying that to discourage you. I'm just stating a fact. Most Christians don't. Now. You just have to decide.

[27:42] Are you going to be most Christians? Because you know. There is a pattern that. There was the 12 disciples. And then there was Peter, James and John. And then there was John.

[27:55] You see. So you just got to make it up in your mind. Who you're going to be. Now you can. You can be in the 12. And get. Go along to get along. You know. Or you can be in.

[28:08] Peter, James and John. And be closer to Jesus. And him closer. But. Then you can go even further. And then. You know. You're laying on his bosom.

[28:19] And. And. They're talking about betrayal. And you just say. Is it I? You don't say. Is it I? Is it I? Did I do it? Or what? No. Who is it Lord? I know I didn't betray you.

[28:32] Why? Because. I've been trying to get close to you. More and more. And more. And more. And more. And I'm seeking you. As for his treasure. And you know. This world. And all of it's. You know. The rat race.

[28:43] And all that stuff. Am I seeking after that? Or am I seeking after God? And what God wants? And what God cares about? And what God has for my life?

[28:56] And. And. Look. See. It's still in your Bible. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. And his righteousness. And all these things. Shall be added unto you. Americans. Priorities are out of whack.

[29:08] You know. It's like. Work. Work. Work. Work. Work. Friends. Hobby. Maybe. Church. And then. Wife. And then.

[29:19] Like. That's kind of how it's like. And then. Kids. And like. Like. The dog is over. The kids. That's how. America. That's how it is in America now. Right. Kind of like Romans 1.

[29:29] They worshiped and served the creature more than creator. I've seen people get so bent out of shape about how their horse is. Or something like that. They don't even see that their kids are suffering. You see.

[29:41] But. Seek ye first God. What God wants. What God. What God's designed you to be. That God. You know. God has.

[29:51] God has perfectly tempered. Everything in your life to come to this moment today. And I'm not trying to sound so fatalistic. But the thing is.

[30:02] Is that it's just true. Is that God has brought you to right now. Okay. And he's brought you to right now. And he's done things in your life to bring you to right now. And so. Right now. You've got things that God has given you.

[30:15] And God has put in you. And God has used in you. And so now. That needs to be surrendered to him. And. I mean. It's like. Well. You know.

[30:25] I ain't no preacher or anything. It's like. Well. What if God's calling you to be. You know. Helping in the nursery. You know. Taking care of all the rascals.

[30:38] What if God's calling you to. To. You know. Clean the pews. You know. Or instead of just blowing out of here. Or something like that. It's like.

[30:50] Well. God would care about something as simple as that. And you would have a calling on my life. About something. Such as small as that. No. It's. You're. You're a part of the body of Christ. That's why it's so important. Is that.

[31:00] The. The things that are less comely. They're more comely. Actually. Right. If you read your Bible. That's what it says. Well. I ain't no preacher. So. Yeah.

[31:10] You just use that. To kind of. You know. To distance yourself. From your responsibilities. Right. Right. But. We don't have to do that.

[31:23] We can search for him. As for. Head treasurer. So. You know. It's interesting. You drive. You drive along. And you see all of these. These Porsches. And the. Lamborghinis.

[31:34] And. You know. They must have a rough ride still. I mean. Those potholes. And they're just. They're probably still going like that. You know. And. Yeah. You see all these things. And. And Utah.

[31:44] It's. You know. Very wealthy there. I mean. The Mormons. They got it going on. With the money. Thing. And you got Teslas. And cyber trucks. Everywhere. And stuff like that.

[31:55] And. And all these. And everything's pristine. And clean. And all of this. And. You know. That religion. It's geared around. Earth. It's geared around.

[32:05] Building on Earth. Look at Colossians 3. Colossians chapter 3 and verse number 1.

[32:40] If, there's that word again, ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. So are you risen with Christ?

[32:50] Who's risen with Christ in here? Okay, only a few of you. If you don't know Jesus as your Savior, now would be a good day. Right? So if that's your condition, you're risen with Christ, then you have a commandment.

[33:07] Seek those things which are above. It's like, but you know, he said and she said and they said and what will they think of me? Yeah, that's all earth.

[33:19] What about the affections being on what God wants? Right? So if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

[33:30] Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ and God.

[33:41] When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. Amen. Amen. Amen. If you knew that Christ was coming back this month, I wonder if you would seek after that wisdom that he wants for you.

[33:58] If you would seek it with a little bit more fervency. Right? I know. Or would you be like Martin Luther?

[34:11] Remember, where they came up to him and they asked him the same question. He said, well, I'll go plow my taters. Why? Because he was already doing it. You know, it is a great life to live the life that God wants you to live.

[34:28] There's just nothing like it. It's like, well, you got all these trials and look at Paul. He was shipwrecked and the day and the night and the deep and all of this stuff. And perils and robber perils and all this stuff. He's like, I don't want to live that life.

[34:40] Yeah, you don't know what you're missing. You don't know what it's like. You don't know what it's like to walk into a grocery store and have no money and stuff like that.

[34:51] And try to get anything that you can. And God told you when you were on your way down that he was going to provide for you. And don't worry about it. And then the store manager comes out and buys all your groceries.

[35:04] Without asking. You don't know what that's like. And that life of faith. You know, then you see, okay, I really do have a dependency on God.

[35:16] Without Him, I couldn't do anything. And He owns my life and it's for my profit and I love Him. And He gave Himself for me.

[35:28] Look at the last place in Colossians 1. And then I'll end here for this first section here. Colossians 1. Verse number 9.

[35:46] He says, For this cause, Talking about the fruit that they're bearing in verse number 6 because of when they heard the faith in verse 4, verse 9. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will.

[36:03] And all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Semicolon, that's a continuation of the thought. That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.

[36:28] Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints and light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.

[36:44] You know what that encapsulates? Brethren, I beseech you by the mercies of God that you present your body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

[36:56] And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and that acceptable and perfect will of God.

[37:11] It's your job as a Christian, it's your duty as a creation of God to find the will of God and do it. So that's the seven things.

[37:23] Right on time, I get my phone. I'm not going to answer it right now. But let's go ahead and pray. Father, thank you so much for your mercy and your kindness, that even when we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly.

[37:38] And so I just pray that you would help us with this wisdom. Lord, every time you're trying to get a hold of us, Lord, that we would remember these things, and that we would just pray and seek after you, Lord, as for his treasures, and apply our hearts and write it down and be diligent and take it seriously and love you fervently.

[37:57]  We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.