WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.820 in at verse 5. Proverbs 3 at verse 5, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your 00:00:08.820 --> 00:00:15.839 own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. 00:00:19.260 --> 00:00:25.780 Proverbs is such a marvelous book in the way that it actually weaves the whole topic of wisdom 00:00:25.780 --> 00:00:34.980 into every avenue of life. Every single thread of wisdom that you find in the book of Proverbs and 00:00:34.980 --> 00:00:40.280 it's largely a book about wisdom and a definition in many ways of what wisdom is, where you find 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:46.560 wisdom, how beneficial wisdom is and so on, the various descriptions that you find of it. But it's 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:53.380 obvious that wisdom, the wisdom that God gives is something that's designed for every situation in 00:00:53.380 --> 00:01:00.320 life so that we can be the kind of people that bring glory and honor to God in the way we live 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:08.840 out our lives in this world. And it's interesting as well, significant I think, that you find the 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:15.379 figure of wisdom portrayed by the beautiful elegant woman that's sometimes mentioned throughout 00:01:15.379 --> 00:01:22.939 Proverbs and in chapter 31 especially is the figure of the woman who has such wonderful abilities 00:01:22.939 --> 00:01:30.299 and yet opposite to that you find the dark and the dangerous woman, the immoral woman, the woman 00:01:30.299 --> 00:01:37.340 foolishness, who is loud. And each of them in their own way call people to themselves and each of them 00:01:37.340 --> 00:01:44.920 find people responding to their call. That's why you see in the likes of chapter 9 here that the writer 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:51.039 is actually setting that out in such a way after that a chapter dealing so specifically with wisdom. 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:58.400 Wisdom has built her house. She has made a provision for a banquet. Whosoever is simple, let him turn 00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:04.360 in here. Come, she says, eat of my bread, drink of the wine I've mixed. Leave your simple ways and live and 00:02:04.360 --> 00:02:12.360 walk in the way of insight. And as you go on down, you find at verse 13 then, the woman folly or foolishness 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:19.360 is loud. She is seductive. She knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house and she calls those who pass by. 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:24.620 Whoever is simple, let him turn in here. In other words, you have there really in that one chapter, 00:02:24.760 --> 00:02:31.900 the contrast between wisdom and foolishness. And what you find really is the practical aspects of 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:37.380 wisdom and foolishness built into the whole book of Proverbs. And it's really saying to us, this is what 00:02:37.380 --> 00:02:43.120 you're facing in the world. And this is the kind of situation for which you need wisdom because you have 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:50.599 these voices calling you in different directions. And the Lord gives the wisdom that we need to have 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:57.319 and follow for our lives to be as they should be. Well, here you have a trust in the Lord with all 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:03.960 your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:12.719 your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes. We often take these verses, rightly so, to be verses that are 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:19.920 that are connected with guidance, the guidance that we seek from God, the guidance that we look for in our 00:03:19.920 --> 00:03:26.939 lives as they go on from day to day. But they're not specifically or they're not primarily verses about 00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:34.439 guidance, but they are verses that are filled with wonderful promises in regard to those who turn to 00:03:34.439 --> 00:03:41.520 God for their wisdom and follow the ways of wisdom as he actually brings them into our notice. 00:03:42.359 --> 00:03:48.319 Now, you see this word acknowledge in all your ways. Acknowledge him. You come across words like that, 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:53.800 of course, in the Bible. And you maybe first of all think of how do we use this word acknowledge in 00:03:53.800 --> 00:04:01.200 ordinary language in an everyday sense. The word acknowledge has a different meaning in different 00:04:01.200 --> 00:04:08.000 contexts. For example, you acknowledge a letter. We should acknowledge a letter. If it's a letter, 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:12.360 especially an official letter, we send an acknowledgement that we've received it. 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:19.100 Mostly nowadays, I'm sure it'll be text messages or emails, but the acknowledgement says, yes, I've received 00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:27.160 it. I acknowledge receipt of it. Also use the word acknowledge when somebody comes and says hello to 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:32.200 you. Even if you don't know them well, if they say hello to you, know who you are, you know them. So you 00:04:32.200 --> 00:04:39.540 say this back and you're there for acknowledging them. You're acknowledging receipt of their welcome or 00:04:39.540 --> 00:04:49.700 whatever it is. And acknowledge too has the idea of sometimes used in the sense of actually admitting 00:04:49.700 --> 00:04:57.100 something. You'll find in a court situation, for example, for reports of events in courts, 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:04.379 somebody will come to acknowledge that they did this, acknowledge their guilt. So acknowledge is used 00:05:04.379 --> 00:05:09.800 there in terms of confessing something. And it's interesting that in the Gaelic translation of the Bible, 00:05:10.159 --> 00:05:18.500 that's actually the word that's used, adiha, confess the Lord. And that's a perfectly good translation of it as 00:05:18.500 --> 00:05:26.719 well. But the word acknowledge, as strictly speaking, comes from a Hebrew word, the Hebrew verb to know, which 00:05:26.719 --> 00:05:33.839 itself has a lot of various ways in which it's used in the Bible. But what the word acknowledge, you can see the word 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:41.000 know, is actually in the middle of the word there. Acknowledge really means to get to know or to come to 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:46.779 a familiarization with something. You acknowledge something, you get to know it, you become familiar 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:53.699 with it. It's far more than just a casual acquaintance. It's far more than something that you just do by way 00:05:53.699 --> 00:06:00.039 of formal acknowledgement or confession. In other words, what it's really saying in verse 6 to us here is, 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:09.840 in all your ways, take the knowledge of God with you or get to know God. In all your ways, recognize him. 00:06:10.080 --> 00:06:15.700 That's another way of putting it. In all your ways, recognize the Lord. Give place to the Lord. Give him 00:06:15.700 --> 00:06:21.780 his rightful place. Acknowledge him. All of those shades of meanings, you could say, come into the use of the 00:06:21.779 --> 00:06:30.019 word acknowledge in that context. And the promises given to it are significant as well. He will make 00:06:30.019 --> 00:06:36.039 straight your paths. Now, we take the two verses together, indeed the first part of verse 7 as well, 00:06:36.379 --> 00:06:43.000 because we'll notice that there's a balance going on in these verses between one side of thing and 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:49.799 another in terms of a contrast. Or sometimes it's just in relation of what's following on if you do a 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:58.040 certain thing. First of all, there's recognizing God in the paths of life. Recognizing other need 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:04.759 to recognize God, to get to know God, to acknowledge God in the paths of life. In all your ways, 00:07:05.319 --> 00:07:13.160 acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. In other words, as we acknowledge him, 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:19.639 the promise is that we will be directed by him in the paths of life, but in a way that makes these 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:26.019 paths straight. We'll see what that means in a moment. So recognizing God in the paths of life. 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:33.560 Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. And it's put in the form 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:40.339 of an imperative in the shape of a command. Do this. Trust in the Lord. Do not lean on your own 00:07:40.339 --> 00:07:46.419 understanding. Acknowledge him. And the fact that it's put as an imperative adds really a sense of 00:07:46.420 --> 00:07:50.840 urgency to it, doesn't it? When you come across something in the Bible that's put in the form of an 00:07:50.840 --> 00:07:54.860 imperative, you immediately say, well, there's an importance attached to this, and I ought to actually 00:07:54.860 --> 00:08:01.580 get down to reckon with it, to deal with what it's saying to me immediately. But you see, it's also 00:08:01.580 --> 00:08:09.980 not just an imperative. It's also repeated. In all your ways, go on acknowledging him. Trust in the Lord. 00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:13.980 Do not lean on your own understanding. It's not something you do once in a while. 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:18.900 It's not something you do once, and then it follows on from that, even if you don't repeat it. 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:24.340 When it says, do trust in the Lord with all your heart, it means go on trusting in the Lord. 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:30.920 When it means, in all your ways, acknowledge him, it means do this all the time. Go on doing this. 00:08:30.960 --> 00:08:39.060 It's part of the fabric of life. It applies to every circumstance. So what's involved in 00:08:39.059 --> 00:08:46.639 acknowledging the Lord in all our ways? What's involved? How does it relate to trusting in him 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:52.899 with all our heart? Well, they're closely linked, these two verses. In fact, there's a balance in 00:08:52.899 --> 00:08:58.599 them. You can see there that the opposite of trusting in the Lord with all our heart is 00:08:58.599 --> 00:09:05.239 leaning on our own understanding. So the two things are put side by side so that you'll see them in a 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:10.100 balance, and you'll see that on the one hand, it's the right thing to do. On the other hand, 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:15.139 it's the opposite. It's the wrong thing to do. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. 00:09:16.100 --> 00:09:21.080 Do not lean on your own understanding. Not only that, but there's a balance in the following 00:09:21.080 --> 00:09:28.100 as well. In all your ways, acknowledge him is really an explanation of trusting in the Lord 00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:34.800 and not relying on your own understanding. The whole thing is wonderfully put together so that 00:09:34.800 --> 00:09:41.180 you find these different relationships between the different parts of the verse. So trust in the 00:09:41.180 --> 00:09:48.440 Lord with all your heart, in all your ways. You notice a repeating of the word all as well. Trust in the 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:55.100 Lord with all your heart and in all your ways. Acknowledge him. There's a comprehensiveness 00:09:55.100 --> 00:10:03.519 about the whole thing as well. So when you come to put all that together, what you really find is 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:11.100 the wisdom that God gives us that we seek from God is a wisdom that delivers you from self-trust, 00:10:11.500 --> 00:10:16.960 from leaning upon your own understanding. And it's an altogether easy thing to do, to lean 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:23.180 on our own understanding. To actually come and say, well, this is really something I think 00:10:23.179 --> 00:10:28.219 I should do in this way, or this is a decision I think I'm perfectly capable of taking, 00:10:29.219 --> 00:10:38.899 and just leaning upon our own understanding and our own wisdom. Ever since we fell in Eden, 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:46.239 when we fell from the state in which God created us, we have that proneness to self-understanding, 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:53.299 that proneness to our own human wisdom. And this is the counter to it. It's really a very practical 00:10:53.299 --> 00:10:59.000 verse. The counter to it, since leaning on our own understanding, is not just foolishness, 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:08.000 but it's rebellion against God. In many ways, you can see the seed of that, at least, if not more, 00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:14.320 in the way that they succumbed, Adam and Eve. Eve first, then Adam succumbed to the devil's 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:20.520 temptation. Here was the devil coming with this alternative to what God had laid out for them, 00:11:21.040 --> 00:11:26.740 and both she and Adam afterwards leaned on their own understanding, leaned on their own understanding, 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:34.700 and sought to use their own understanding instead of trusting in God. Trusting in the Lord with all 00:11:34.700 --> 00:11:40.580 your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. And ever since then, this is what we actually find 00:11:40.580 --> 00:11:46.139 ourselves prone to do. And in fact, that's what you find when you're seeking to set out as a witness 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:51.340 to the gospel, when you're witnessing to Jesus, when you're taking your Christianity and confession 00:11:51.340 --> 00:11:55.920 into the world. What you're facing all the time is people using their own understanding. 00:11:57.420 --> 00:12:02.360 And in fact, you can't actually have anything but the wrong understanding, 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:08.600 until in Christ and in succumbing and giving yourself to Christ, you actually move away from 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:13.620 relying on your own understanding. And you come to follow the understanding of the Bible, 00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:18.759 the understanding of God himself, the understanding of the mind that has actually put the scripture 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:27.399 together for us, the mind that is itself absolute wisdom. And that absolute wisdom is what's put this 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:34.759 Bible in front of us and given us this word as a word of wisdom to us, the whole of it in its entirety. 00:12:36.860 --> 00:12:42.579 And when you come to face those things in the world that tonight you know very well 00:12:42.579 --> 00:12:49.500 are so vehemently against the gospel, whether it's in human relationships, whether it's in human identity, 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:55.100 whether it's in sexuality or identity in all of these aspects of human life, 00:12:55.100 --> 00:13:02.580 what you find in everything that's against the gospel, against the Lord's own description of God's word 00:13:02.580 --> 00:13:08.920 as to what actually gives people, human beings, their identity, what gives them maleness or femaleness, 00:13:09.740 --> 00:13:19.460 whether it's man or woman, there's the two. But when you find opposition to the Bible's teaching on that, 00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:25.080 what you're getting all the time is human wisdom. It's people leaning on their own understanding, 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:29.780 and thinking, this is the only rule I need, this is the only understanding I need, and I'm perfectly 00:13:29.780 --> 00:13:35.400 capable of following this out, and I have every right to do it. See, that's the rebellious aspect 00:13:35.400 --> 00:13:41.620 of it as well. It just dismisses the Bible as in any way relevant to human life or to public life. 00:13:43.660 --> 00:13:50.580 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 00:13:50.580 --> 00:14:00.460 In all your ways, acknowledge him, know him, give him the recognition, and he will make straight your paths. 00:14:00.920 --> 00:14:06.759 Now, you see, it is, as we said, in all your ways, acknowledge him. 00:14:07.900 --> 00:14:15.700 We cannot be selective about it. It's not just coming to the Lord whenever we find the going really difficult. 00:14:15.700 --> 00:14:20.040 It's not just coming to him when we have perplexed about a decision we have to take, 00:14:20.180 --> 00:14:26.200 or we think of it as a major decision compared to some other decisions of a lesser caliber, we might think. 00:14:26.900 --> 00:14:28.300 We can't be selective. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:33.780 Every single step of life, everything along the path of life, 00:14:34.020 --> 00:14:37.520 the paths that he's talking about here that he will make straight, 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:41.279 for all of that, for every step, we need the wisdom of God. 00:14:41.579 --> 00:14:47.179 We need to be an acknowledgement of God, living in a knowing relationship with him, 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:52.399 so that he will actually come and direct our path in the right way. 00:14:52.439 --> 00:14:55.799 In other words, the wisdom that Proverbs, that's why the book of Proverbs 00:14:55.799 --> 00:14:59.139 talks about wisdom, presents wisdom to us, 00:14:59.419 --> 00:15:03.199 as something that is really imperative for the church, 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:05.759 for our place in the church, for our role in the church, 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:09.820 for wherever we are at work, whether we're employed or not, 00:15:10.180 --> 00:15:12.980 for family life, for leisure, for holidays, 00:15:13.540 --> 00:15:16.280 for every single aspect of life, every area of life. 00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:20.420 Proverbs is saying, this is God's provision for you. 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:21.280 This is the wisdom. 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:24.920 This is the acknowledgement of God that you take with you, 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:30.720 so that you apply the wisdom that he himself has set out for us. 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:37.320 Our relationship with the Lord involves every aspect of life. 00:15:38.060 --> 00:15:40.139 We carry it into every situation. 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:44.879 We don't leave it behind when we leave church, church meetings. 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:47.300 You know all of this already, of course, 00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:52.120 but the Bible so often repeats things or reiterate things for us 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:55.580 or re-emphasizes things for us, things we know very well. 00:15:55.580 --> 00:16:02.540 And in fact, that's what the preaching of the gospel has to acknowledge. 00:16:02.920 --> 00:16:06.060 It mustn't come and say, well, I preached on that maybe, 00:16:06.139 --> 00:16:09.400 or on that theme, preached on that maybe last month or the week before. 00:16:09.560 --> 00:16:11.580 If it's a theme that's prominent in the Bible, 00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:13.280 we need to keep coming back to it. 00:16:13.540 --> 00:16:16.680 We need to come back to remind ourselves of its importance. 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:21.320 And wisdom, this practical application of wisdom, is so important. 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:29.240 In other words, recognizing God means actually recognizing and accepting his arrangement of life, 00:16:29.920 --> 00:16:34.140 his arrangement of the events of life, of each individual life. 00:16:34.900 --> 00:16:40.500 Remember Martha and Mary at the time that Lazarus, their brother, died. 00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:42.860 Jesus stayed for four days. 00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:48.260 He remained four days where he was, and eventually he made his way to them. 00:16:48.259 --> 00:16:52.159 And when he spoke to Martha, you remember her words very well. 00:16:53.179 --> 00:16:58.319 If, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:01.279 I just think what that's saying. 00:17:02.539 --> 00:17:05.000 She wasn't finding fault with him. 00:17:05.099 --> 00:17:07.740 I don't think there might have been a little element of that, 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:10.140 thinking that he could have made his way there earlier, 00:17:10.259 --> 00:17:12.299 but I don't think that's the main emphasis of it. 00:17:12.700 --> 00:17:14.940 What he's really saying, what she was really saying was, 00:17:14.940 --> 00:17:18.940 it would think things would have worked out differently if only you had been here. 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:27.240 Now, that's something that we ourselves apply so often in areas of life where we've got difficulty, 00:17:28.360 --> 00:17:30.340 trauma, tragedy, whatever. 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:33.380 We would like it to have been otherwise. 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:37.380 If it had been left to our own arrangement, it would have been otherwise. 00:17:37.380 --> 00:17:43.680 If God had left us to actually decide how things took place and what things took place 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:45.600 and how they were arranged in our lives, 00:17:45.740 --> 00:17:48.860 if the tapestry of our life had been left to our own wisdom, 00:17:48.860 --> 00:17:54.560 and if it hadn't quite been so difficult and so trying and so traumatic, 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:57.480 well, wouldn't that have been better? 00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:04.960 No, God is saying, I'm the one whose wisdom has put it all together for you. 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:12.860 And even though you know it as something that's trying and testing and difficult and challenging and hurtful, 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:17.539 yet it belongs in the whole tapestry, as Donnie mentioned, 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:22.000 the tapestry that God is weaving in the weaving of our lives. 00:18:22.579 --> 00:18:27.140 And the tapestry, the underside of which appears somewhat confused to us, 00:18:27.779 --> 00:18:33.319 the underside as we look at it, as we are only able to look at it really from that point of view in this life, 00:18:33.319 --> 00:18:36.679 we would say, well, if only things were arranged differently, 00:18:36.779 --> 00:18:39.179 if only the pattern of my life was different. 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:42.980 Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:51.039 But then the Lord reminds us, well, we need to acknowledge him in all our ways. 00:18:51.439 --> 00:18:53.159 We need to give him the recognition. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.399 We need to give him his place. 00:18:55.700 --> 00:18:57.240 We need to give him what's due to him. 00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:03.440 We need to remember that we're not the wise ones running our own lives, 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:06.880 though sometimes we may feel that it might have been better. 00:19:07.660 --> 00:19:09.000 Of course it wouldn't have been better. 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:11.579 Trust in the Lord with all your heart. 00:19:12.059 --> 00:19:13.819 Do not lean on your own understanding. 00:19:13.960 --> 00:19:16.019 In all your ways acknowledge him. 00:19:16.779 --> 00:19:19.000 And he will direct your paths. 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:22.400 One of the wonderful things about Jesus, 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:24.380 the Son of God in our nature, 00:19:24.380 --> 00:19:26.580 as you read about him in the Gospels, 00:19:26.940 --> 00:19:29.460 one of the wonderful things that are brought to us, 00:19:29.760 --> 00:19:31.060 to our notice about him, 00:19:31.520 --> 00:19:33.840 is how as a human being, 00:19:34.560 --> 00:19:38.520 he actually gave himself to the will of the Father. 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:41.160 And not only that, but he gave himself, 00:19:41.740 --> 00:19:42.820 when he was a boy, 00:19:43.340 --> 00:19:46.780 even to the rule and the authority of his parents. 00:19:48.340 --> 00:19:49.640 Remember, when he was lost, 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:51.220 as far as his parents were concerned, 00:19:51.220 --> 00:19:56.440 Joseph and Mary, his mother and husband Joseph, 00:19:57.360 --> 00:20:00.400 there he was in the temple disputing with the doctors of the law. 00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:04.980 And as they went to find him, 00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:07.440 they scolded him somewhat. 00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:08.940 Why was he? 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:09.960 Why had he not gone? 00:20:10.019 --> 00:20:10.799 Why did he delay it? 00:20:10.819 --> 00:20:11.880 Why did he not come with them? 00:20:12.600 --> 00:20:13.279 Do you not know? 00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:16.740 He said that I must be about my father's business. 00:20:17.140 --> 00:20:18.720 How does that chapter end though? 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:22.600 Here he is telling them authoritatively what he's about, 00:20:23.100 --> 00:20:24.720 that he's actually in charge of the situation, 00:20:25.600 --> 00:20:27.839 that he's able in disputing with these doctors 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:30.100 to show just something of his identity. 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:31.700 How does the chapter end? 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:35.700 He went home and was subject to them. 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:40.980 He went home and he was subject to them. 00:20:40.980 --> 00:20:45.160 He lived the life of a growing boy, 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:48.299 subject to the authority of his parents, 00:20:48.460 --> 00:20:51.680 although he had the authority that was his as God. 00:20:52.059 --> 00:20:53.140 And that's our example. 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:58.000 That's the life that is directed by wisdom, 00:20:58.680 --> 00:21:00.519 by the practical effects of living 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:03.599 in a way that does not lean on our own understanding, 00:21:03.940 --> 00:21:07.180 but actually trusts in the Lord with all our heart. 00:21:07.180 --> 00:21:10.620 So recognizing God in the paths of life, 00:21:10.740 --> 00:21:11.920 it's a huge challenge. 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:14.360 It's a very difficult thing at times to do. 00:21:15.060 --> 00:21:17.640 It's a very difficult thing to acknowledge him 00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:19.880 in all our ways, to give him his place 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:22.580 and to do so unreservedly. 00:21:23.320 --> 00:21:25.200 This is what it's calling on us to do. 00:21:25.860 --> 00:21:29.299 And the promise to that is we will be directed by him. 00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:33.440 He will make straight your paths. 00:21:34.579 --> 00:21:38.359 The words to make straight there literally mean 00:21:38.359 --> 00:21:44.159 to clear a way or to clear a route for somebody. 00:21:44.579 --> 00:21:48.740 It was a phrase used very often of important dignitaries 00:21:48.740 --> 00:21:51.279 or kings in Old Testament times. 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:53.240 When they would be traveling somewhere, 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:55.899 they would very often make sure that the way was clear, 00:21:55.900 --> 00:22:00.180 that there were no obstacles there that would endanger them 00:22:00.180 --> 00:22:03.240 or in any way be hampering their progress. 00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:04.860 Make the way straight. 00:22:05.259 --> 00:22:07.840 Doesn't mean necessarily in a straight line at all, 00:22:07.980 --> 00:22:09.840 but it does mean make it straight 00:22:09.840 --> 00:22:13.560 in the sense of enabling progress to be made in it. 00:22:14.660 --> 00:22:17.240 And really that's what it means spiritually as well. 00:22:17.340 --> 00:22:20.600 You remember Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 3 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:24.139 is a verse taken up by John the Baptist 00:22:24.139 --> 00:22:31.319 in his preliminaries before Jesus himself began his ministry. 00:22:31.819 --> 00:22:33.139 What did John say about himself? 00:22:33.259 --> 00:22:35.240 Well, he actually said about himself 00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:38.459 using these words from Isaiah chapter 40. 00:22:38.879 --> 00:22:41.279 I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. 00:22:42.019 --> 00:22:44.619 Make straight the paths of the Lord. 00:22:45.819 --> 00:22:48.939 Prepare the way so that he will make progress in it. 00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:51.500 That's how it is spiritually as well. 00:22:52.259 --> 00:22:54.840 The very emphasis here is on God. 00:22:55.380 --> 00:22:57.279 He will make straight your paths. 00:22:57.640 --> 00:22:59.559 In all your ways, give him his place. 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:02.640 Acknowledge him, know him, depend upon him, 00:23:02.980 --> 00:23:04.519 lean upon him, on his wisdom, 00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:07.299 and he will make straight your paths. 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:10.259 He will actually make sure that you progress, 00:23:11.059 --> 00:23:14.960 that your life goes on positively and purposefully. 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:20.259 That doesn't mean that the way is going to be smooth. 00:23:21.620 --> 00:23:24.759 The straight way in which we make progress 00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:27.860 is not the way always filled with comfort, 00:23:28.360 --> 00:23:32.200 not the way that's filled with things 00:23:32.200 --> 00:23:34.299 which really cause us little trouble. 00:23:34.299 --> 00:23:38.859 What it does mean is that he will ensure 00:23:38.859 --> 00:23:41.119 that as we trust in him 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:42.960 and lean not on our own understanding, 00:23:43.740 --> 00:23:45.819 he will ensure that we do make progress 00:23:45.819 --> 00:23:48.680 even through and due to the difficulties. 00:23:48.859 --> 00:23:50.299 He will bless these to us. 00:23:50.879 --> 00:23:52.379 He will actually make sure that these, 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:54.379 as we acknowledge him in them 00:23:54.379 --> 00:23:55.500 and give him his recognition 00:23:55.500 --> 00:23:57.879 and give him his rightful place, 00:23:58.879 --> 00:23:59.879 well, his promise is then, 00:24:00.139 --> 00:24:02.299 I will bless you even through these difficulties. 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:06.440 I will make them productive in your life. 00:24:07.579 --> 00:24:11.000 All of that is packed into what he really says here. 00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:13.779 It means that he will ensure we don't fall 00:24:13.779 --> 00:24:14.779 and come to ruin. 00:24:15.379 --> 00:24:17.819 He will make straight your paths. 00:24:19.399 --> 00:24:22.119 And he there in the text is emphatic. 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:25.460 In the Hebrew text of the Bible here, 00:24:25.919 --> 00:24:27.599 in all your ways acknowledge him 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:31.039 and he will make straight your paths. 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:34.960 And that's such a forceful emphasis on that word, 00:24:35.099 --> 00:24:38.159 he, he will make straight your paths. 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:39.420 Later in the chapter, 00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:41.259 you'll see it as we read through it. 00:24:42.019 --> 00:24:44.619 You'll have noted how in verse 11, 00:24:45.379 --> 00:24:48.899 my son, do not despise the Lord's discipline 00:24:48.899 --> 00:24:51.559 or be weary of his reproof. 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:54.379 For the Lord reproves him whom he loves 00:24:54.379 --> 00:24:57.700 as a father of the son in whom he delights. 00:24:57.700 --> 00:24:58.720 These words, as you know, 00:24:58.759 --> 00:25:01.240 are taken up in Hebrews chapter 12, 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:04.380 which refers to chastening or chastisement, 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:06.319 where the Lord in his providence 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:09.180 brings things about in our experience 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:11.120 that do really hurt us, 00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:12.680 that cause us pain, 00:25:13.539 --> 00:25:16.840 that sometimes may even bewilder us 00:25:16.840 --> 00:25:19.039 with unexpected or sudden events. 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:22.779 But Hebrews 12, 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:24.680 picking up this passage, 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:28.139 these verses in verse 11 and 12 there, 00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:29.799 actually assure us that 00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:31.519 no chastening for the present 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:33.819 seems to be joyous, 00:25:34.019 --> 00:25:35.019 but grievous. 00:25:35.500 --> 00:25:36.740 It does not feel 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:38.579 as if this is going to be profitable. 00:25:39.079 --> 00:25:39.960 It does not really 00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:42.119 appear obvious at all 00:25:42.119 --> 00:25:43.980 how it fits into the Lord's way 00:25:43.980 --> 00:25:45.279 of directing us 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:46.859 and making out paths straight. 00:25:48.740 --> 00:25:50.059 But Hebrews goes on to say, 00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:52.420 no chastening seems 00:25:52.420 --> 00:25:53.899 for the present 00:25:53.899 --> 00:25:56.819 to be joyous, 00:25:56.899 --> 00:25:57.519 but grievous. 00:25:58.019 --> 00:25:58.359 Nevertheless, 00:25:59.339 --> 00:26:00.299 afterwards, 00:26:01.259 --> 00:26:03.000 it yields the peaceable 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:05.000 fruit of righteousness. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:06.879 And what then? 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:08.920 To all those 00:26:08.920 --> 00:26:11.220 who are exercised thereby. 00:26:12.380 --> 00:26:13.180 To all those 00:26:13.180 --> 00:26:14.980 who are exercised 00:26:14.980 --> 00:26:16.340 during the times 00:26:16.340 --> 00:26:18.000 that they find difficult 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:18.820 in this life. 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:20.060 They are exercised. 00:26:20.360 --> 00:26:21.800 And because they're exercised, 00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:22.840 they're exercised 00:26:22.840 --> 00:26:24.039 in the sense of trusting 00:26:24.039 --> 00:26:24.700 in the Lord, 00:26:25.120 --> 00:26:25.900 acknowledging him 00:26:25.900 --> 00:26:26.640 in all their ways, 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:28.440 not leaning on their own understanding. 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:29.860 And that exercise 00:26:29.860 --> 00:26:32.580 really means that God follows 00:26:32.580 --> 00:26:34.279 at some point 00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:35.080 with the blessing 00:26:35.080 --> 00:26:37.920 that makes straight our paths. 00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:40.660 Martin Lloyd-Jones, 00:26:41.420 --> 00:26:42.779 the late Martin Lloyd-Jones, 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:43.620 Dr Lloyd-Jones 00:26:43.620 --> 00:26:45.300 wrote a small book, 00:26:45.380 --> 00:26:46.560 a very valuable book. 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:48.920 And it's a book 00:26:48.920 --> 00:26:50.080 which deals 00:26:50.080 --> 00:26:51.360 with the likes of Hebrews, 00:26:52.019 --> 00:26:54.400 chapter 12, 00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:55.700 that passage of it 00:26:55.700 --> 00:26:56.320 dealing with 00:26:56.320 --> 00:26:58.620 the reproof of the Lord. 00:26:59.400 --> 00:27:00.960 And in that, 00:27:01.100 --> 00:27:01.740 if I remember rightly, 00:27:01.840 --> 00:27:02.500 that particular 00:27:02.500 --> 00:27:04.500 passage in Hebrews, 00:27:04.500 --> 00:27:06.640 he entitles the chapter 00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:08.960 in the Lord's gymnasium, 00:27:09.620 --> 00:27:11.500 in God's gymnasium. 00:27:11.600 --> 00:27:12.259 The book itself 00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:13.020 is called 00:27:13.020 --> 00:27:17.780 Spiritual Depression. 00:27:18.840 --> 00:27:19.300 And he deals 00:27:19.300 --> 00:27:20.200 with certain aspects 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:21.880 of spiritual depression. 00:27:22.080 --> 00:27:22.580 And one of them, 00:27:23.020 --> 00:27:24.100 in one of these chapters, 00:27:24.200 --> 00:27:24.520 as I say, 00:27:24.600 --> 00:27:25.580 he takes this passage 00:27:25.580 --> 00:27:26.520 from Hebrews, 00:27:26.780 --> 00:27:27.220 acknowledging 00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:29.000 that it's chapter 3 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:30.120 as well of Proverbs, 00:27:30.300 --> 00:27:31.180 and he calls it 00:27:31.180 --> 00:27:33.120 in God's gymnasium. 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:34.019 And he lays 00:27:34.019 --> 00:27:34.959 particular emphasis 00:27:34.959 --> 00:27:35.699 on the fact that 00:27:35.699 --> 00:27:37.779 as you're in a gymnasium, 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:38.599 in a gym, 00:27:38.699 --> 00:27:39.839 to actually exercise 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:41.899 and to actually benefit 00:27:41.899 --> 00:27:42.819 from the exercise, 00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:44.479 so he is saying 00:27:44.479 --> 00:27:45.939 this is how we benefit 00:27:45.939 --> 00:27:47.179 from the Lord 00:27:47.179 --> 00:27:47.879 and acknowledging 00:27:47.879 --> 00:27:48.519 his ways 00:27:48.519 --> 00:27:49.199 and giving him 00:27:49.199 --> 00:27:49.659 his place 00:27:49.659 --> 00:27:50.219 and giving him 00:27:50.219 --> 00:27:50.559 his due. 00:27:50.919 --> 00:27:51.819 He will make 00:27:51.819 --> 00:27:52.839 straight our paths. 00:27:53.159 --> 00:27:54.479 We will be fitter 00:27:54.479 --> 00:27:56.439 coming out of the gymnasium 00:27:56.439 --> 00:27:57.719 than we're going into it. 00:27:58.479 --> 00:27:59.079 And this could do 00:27:59.079 --> 00:27:59.699 with a bit of 00:27:59.699 --> 00:28:01.219 gymnasium work 00:28:01.220 --> 00:28:02.579 physically as well, 00:28:03.019 --> 00:28:03.500 I'm sure. 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:04.500 But this is, 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:05.660 in a spiritual sense, 00:28:05.720 --> 00:28:06.480 so important 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:09.000 that in the gymnasium, 00:28:09.079 --> 00:28:10.180 in God's providence, 00:28:10.680 --> 00:28:11.900 in the events of life 00:28:11.900 --> 00:28:13.319 as God arranges them, 00:28:13.799 --> 00:28:15.220 it's a place of exercise. 00:28:16.059 --> 00:28:17.460 And it's a place of exercise 00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:18.480 where we don't lean 00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:19.279 on our own heart, 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:20.759 on our own understanding, 00:28:21.180 --> 00:28:22.339 where we trust in the Lord, 00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:23.420 where we acknowledge him 00:28:23.420 --> 00:28:24.380 in all our ways, 00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:25.360 in all of these ways, 00:28:25.839 --> 00:28:26.480 and the promises 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:27.220 he will make 00:28:27.220 --> 00:28:29.319 straight our paths. 00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:31.220 The purpose of God 00:28:31.220 --> 00:28:32.259 is to make straight 00:28:32.259 --> 00:28:33.559 paths for us. 00:28:33.619 --> 00:28:34.059 And you could say 00:28:34.059 --> 00:28:34.720 that that really, 00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:36.579 in many ways, 00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:37.740 is an aspect 00:28:37.740 --> 00:28:38.399 of what Jesus 00:28:38.399 --> 00:28:39.839 called the narrow way. 00:28:41.220 --> 00:28:42.179 To enter through 00:28:42.179 --> 00:28:43.099 the narrow gate 00:28:43.099 --> 00:28:44.179 into the narrow way. 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:45.639 And the narrow way, 00:28:45.779 --> 00:28:46.980 in many respects, 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:49.179 means some restrictions. 00:28:49.859 --> 00:28:51.779 It means some challenges 00:28:51.779 --> 00:28:54.099 that causes painful thoughts 00:28:54.099 --> 00:28:54.819 and decisions 00:28:54.819 --> 00:28:57.159 compared to the broad way 00:28:57.160 --> 00:28:58.160 where anything goes. 00:28:59.640 --> 00:29:01.140 That most people walk in, 00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:02.040 as Jesus said, 00:29:03.040 --> 00:29:04.640 not easy to walk in, 00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:05.100 the narrow way, 00:29:05.140 --> 00:29:06.120 as you very well know. 00:29:07.660 --> 00:29:10.440 It's a place of exercise, 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:12.500 a place of challenging, 00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:13.600 a place where faith 00:29:13.600 --> 00:29:14.820 is tested. 00:29:16.420 --> 00:29:17.940 But the purpose of God 00:29:17.940 --> 00:29:19.820 is to make straight 00:29:19.820 --> 00:29:20.700 our paths, 00:29:21.019 --> 00:29:23.040 to enable us to progress, 00:29:23.400 --> 00:29:24.740 to enable us to grow 00:29:24.740 --> 00:29:25.519 spiritually, 00:29:25.819 --> 00:29:26.519 to enable us 00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:27.299 to be of benefit 00:29:27.299 --> 00:29:28.000 to others, 00:29:28.200 --> 00:29:28.960 to enable us 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:29.839 to comfort us, 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:32.039 as 2 Corinthians 3 puts it, 00:29:32.059 --> 00:29:33.039 to comfort those 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:34.980 who are themselves afflicted. 00:29:34.980 --> 00:29:35.980 Because we have been 00:29:35.980 --> 00:29:37.359 comforted by God 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:38.559 in our afflictions. 00:29:38.620 --> 00:29:39.099 What do we do 00:29:39.099 --> 00:29:39.799 with that comfort? 00:29:40.059 --> 00:29:40.740 We don't keep it 00:29:40.740 --> 00:29:41.319 to ourselves. 00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:42.539 We don't just 00:29:42.539 --> 00:29:44.200 speak into our own hearts. 00:29:44.299 --> 00:29:45.519 We actually use it, 00:29:45.900 --> 00:29:46.160 hopefully, 00:29:46.279 --> 00:29:46.839 in such a way 00:29:46.839 --> 00:29:47.940 that will benefit others. 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:49.359 We come alongside of them 00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:51.079 in order that they, 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:51.299 too, 00:29:51.359 --> 00:29:52.400 may receive the comfort 00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:53.720 which we ourselves 00:29:53.720 --> 00:29:54.380 have received 00:29:54.380 --> 00:29:55.880 from the Lord. 00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:57.960 So here is 00:29:57.960 --> 00:29:59.440 recognizing God 00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:01.779 in the paths of life 00:30:01.779 --> 00:30:03.620 and also coming 00:30:03.620 --> 00:30:05.079 to be directed by God 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:06.759 in the paths of life 00:30:06.759 --> 00:30:07.500 as all of that 00:30:07.500 --> 00:30:08.759 fits together. 00:30:09.660 --> 00:30:10.600 Trust in the Lord 00:30:10.600 --> 00:30:12.360 with all your heart. 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:13.880 Do not lean 00:30:13.880 --> 00:30:15.000 on your own understanding. 00:30:15.700 --> 00:30:16.920 In all your ways, 00:30:17.059 --> 00:30:17.740 acknowledge him 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:20.100 and he will make straight 00:30:20.100 --> 00:30:21.720 your paths. 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:23.100 May he bless these 00:30:23.099 --> 00:30:24.179 words to us tonight. 00:30:24.279 --> 00:30:24.740 Let's pray. 00:30:26.859 --> 00:30:27.740 Lord, our God, 00:30:27.799 --> 00:30:28.419 we acknowledge 00:30:28.419 --> 00:30:30.159 at all times 00:30:30.159 --> 00:30:31.259 our need of your help. 00:30:32.159 --> 00:30:33.019 We thank you 00:30:33.019 --> 00:30:33.480 for the way 00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:34.319 in which your wisdom 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:35.980 has arranged 00:30:35.980 --> 00:30:37.139 all things in the world 00:30:37.139 --> 00:30:38.119 that we belong to. 00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:39.819 And though, Lord, 00:30:39.899 --> 00:30:40.339 sometimes 00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:41.079 and very often 00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:42.839 we find it 00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:43.659 so frustrating, 00:30:44.379 --> 00:30:44.959 so difficult 00:30:44.959 --> 00:30:45.439 at times 00:30:45.439 --> 00:30:46.559 to make sense 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:46.959 of things 00:30:46.959 --> 00:30:47.459 that happen 00:30:47.459 --> 00:30:48.099 around us, 00:30:48.740 --> 00:30:49.819 we also, Lord, 00:30:49.879 --> 00:30:50.279 know that 00:30:50.279 --> 00:30:50.879 in our own 00:30:50.879 --> 00:30:52.480 personal experiences. 00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:54.799 We have experiences 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:55.619 of pain, 00:30:56.240 --> 00:30:56.859 of trouble, 00:30:57.019 --> 00:30:58.019 of difficulty, 00:30:58.180 --> 00:30:58.779 of losses 00:30:58.779 --> 00:31:00.599 that we find 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:01.460 at times 00:31:01.460 --> 00:31:02.539 difficult to accept. 00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:04.139 Forgive us, 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:04.339 Lord, 00:31:04.379 --> 00:31:04.759 we pray, 00:31:04.839 --> 00:31:05.399 when we lean 00:31:05.399 --> 00:31:07.019 on our own understanding. 00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:08.579 Forgive us 00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:09.240 when we fail 00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:10.139 to trust in you 00:31:10.139 --> 00:31:11.099 with all our heart. 00:31:12.139 --> 00:31:12.720 Forgive us 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:13.500 when we 00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:14.660 go aside 00:31:14.660 --> 00:31:15.839 into what we 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:16.259 ourselves 00:31:16.259 --> 00:31:16.859 might think 00:31:16.859 --> 00:31:17.859 would be the best way. 00:31:17.859 --> 00:31:19.619 and grant to us, 00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:19.839 Lord, 00:31:19.939 --> 00:31:20.519 daily that we 00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:21.019 will come 00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:22.719 to lean upon you 00:31:22.719 --> 00:31:23.839 and to trust in you 00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:24.979 and to commit 00:31:24.979 --> 00:31:25.659 all our way 00:31:25.659 --> 00:31:26.159 to you. 00:31:26.819 --> 00:31:27.579 We pray that you'd 00:31:27.579 --> 00:31:28.519 continue to make 00:31:28.519 --> 00:31:29.459 our paths straight. 00:31:30.219 --> 00:31:31.319 Help us to progress 00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:32.219 from all that happens 00:31:32.219 --> 00:31:32.779 in life. 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:34.419 Help us to progress 00:31:34.419 --> 00:31:35.599 spiritually and morally. 00:31:36.539 --> 00:31:37.099 Help us, Lord, 00:31:37.139 --> 00:31:37.519 we pray, 00:31:37.679 --> 00:31:39.279 to be more 00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:40.839 as we should be 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:42.039 in our closeness 00:31:42.039 --> 00:31:43.000 of walk with you. 00:31:43.879 --> 00:31:44.719 Help us to be 00:31:44.719 --> 00:31:45.719 of help to each other. 00:31:46.619 --> 00:31:47.259 Help us, Lord, 00:31:47.259 --> 00:31:49.259 to be of support 00:31:49.259 --> 00:31:50.579 to those we live 00:31:50.579 --> 00:31:51.500 with in this life, 00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:52.759 whether it be 00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:53.400 in our own 00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:54.839 domestic situation, 00:31:55.220 --> 00:31:56.140 in our place of work, 00:31:56.799 --> 00:31:57.700 or in the church. 00:31:57.819 --> 00:31:58.379 We thank you, 00:31:58.440 --> 00:31:58.559 Lord, 00:31:58.660 --> 00:32:00.000 for all that you 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:00.879 provide for us 00:32:00.879 --> 00:32:01.660 to enable us 00:32:01.660 --> 00:32:03.000 to know your wisdom 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:03.980 and to know 00:32:03.980 --> 00:32:04.660 understanding. 00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:06.000 Hear us then, 00:32:06.059 --> 00:32:06.460 we pray. 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:07.740 Hear the prayers 00:32:07.740 --> 00:32:08.500 of your people 00:32:08.500 --> 00:32:09.900 everywhere tonight 00:32:09.900 --> 00:32:10.500 where your people 00:32:10.500 --> 00:32:10.920 gather, 00:32:11.559 --> 00:32:12.039 where people have 00:32:12.039 --> 00:32:13.119 called upon your name, 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:14.519 as well as here, 00:32:14.599 --> 00:32:14.920 O Lord, 00:32:14.980 --> 00:32:15.980 we pray that you 00:32:15.980 --> 00:32:16.740 would hear the prayers 00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:17.779 of all those 00:32:17.779 --> 00:32:18.880 who were not heard 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:19.579 in their prayers 00:32:19.579 --> 00:32:20.620 audibly, 00:32:20.779 --> 00:32:21.480 yet prayed, 00:32:22.039 --> 00:32:22.640 and go on 00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:23.380 praying to you. 00:32:23.940 --> 00:32:24.759 We pray that all 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:25.259 our prayers, 00:32:25.420 --> 00:32:25.599 Lord, 00:32:26.120 --> 00:32:27.000 will be recognized 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:27.839 by you, 00:32:28.279 --> 00:32:28.779 and that you will 00:32:28.779 --> 00:32:30.319 come and answer us 00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:31.059 and show us 00:32:31.059 --> 00:32:34.120 so much good 00:32:34.120 --> 00:32:34.779 as you have done 00:32:34.779 --> 00:32:35.299 already, 00:32:35.960 --> 00:32:36.859 so that we may 00:32:36.859 --> 00:32:38.079 in straight paths 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:38.980 progress onwards 00:32:38.980 --> 00:32:40.220 in our lives. 00:32:40.339 --> 00:32:40.640 Hear us, 00:32:40.700 --> 00:32:41.059 we pray, 00:32:41.500 --> 00:32:42.460 in Jesus' name. 00:32:42.740 --> 00:32:43.039 Amen. 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:46.940 We're going 00:32:46.940 --> 00:32:51.099 to come 00:32:51.099 --> 00:32:51.700 in. 00:32:56.039 --> 00:33:03.420 We're going to come 00:33:03.420 --> 00:33:04.180 in.