Oct. 9, 2024

Slothful or Vigilant

Slothful or Vigilant

A discussion about Proverbs 22:13, Proverbs 26:13-16, and 1 Peter 5:8

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A discussion about Proverbs 22:13, Proverbs 26:13-16, and 1 Peter 5:8

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good morning everyone.

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It is Wednesday, October ninth, twenty twenty four. It is

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currently eleven thirty five am Central Time, and I am

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coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located

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right here in Abilene, Texas.

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No.

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I want you to think about this. I want you

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to look back over your life, right think back to

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when you were young, when you were a little older,

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when you were a teenager, as an adult, maybe if

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you're married, just think back of all the different stages

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of your life, all the way from kindergarten till today.

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Just think back over your life. What is the best

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excuse you ever gave someone? Maybe an excuse you gave

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a teacher, a boss, your spouse. What is the best

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excuse you ever came up with? Hands down, the best

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excuse you've ever come up with? What was it? I

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want you to write down. I want you to write

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it down and frame it, put it on the refrigerator,

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and call all of your kids and go, that's the

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best excuse I've ever come up with. Right there, that's

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the one you should use. Okay, if you ever find

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yourself in the following situations. That's that's the excuse to use.

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Did you ever give an excuse to maybe a police

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officer who pulled you over? What was the best excuse

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you ever came up with? What is the best excuse? Now?

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Looking back, do you kind of laugh at the excuse?

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Do you laugh at the fact that it worked? Now?

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When we think of an excuse, we think as something

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offered as a justification or as a grounds for being excused.

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It can be a note of explanation, say of an absence.

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You know, you go to school, you need that excuse,

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you need to be you've been excused from school because

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well you had a note, you had a reason for

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your your absence, right. But you know, the basic idea

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an excuse is you're offering something as a justification, as

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an explanation, but it's an excuse. And I think the

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one thing we know about our excuses is that in

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many cases, I think I think we can say this

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a lot of times, they're not very accurate or they're

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not very truthful. You know, maybe there's just a little

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bit of truth in it, but then there's a lot

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of not so much truth in it. Right, Hey, hey boss,

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the reason I was late for work is because you

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know there was all this traffic. Well maybe there was traffic,

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but you also woke up an hour late, so the

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traffic just maybe delayed you a little. You're gonna be late,

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whether there was a car on the road or not.

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But you use the traffic as an excuse for you

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being late. And it's somewhat true because it made you later.

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But if you woke up on time, you would see

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So is that are you being Is it true? Is

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it is?

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It?

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Falls?

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Well, let's talk about making excuses. Let's talk about that.

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Let's see how this all plays out. Hopefully this will

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be an interesting conversation. Here's what happened. I was sitting here.

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I always like to let you know how I end

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up on a particular subject. So I was sitting here

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going okay, well, so well, I haven't received any emails

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in regards to all of that discussion about mental assent

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from the original email er who asked me to cover it.

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So I'm like, okay, well, I could try to do

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a little bit more work on there, but I've already

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provided over two hours of content. I haven't heard from

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the original person who asked. So maybe I'm not going

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to add three hours already.

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You know.

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Now, I'll wait a little bit, see if I handled

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that subject, you know about mental assent, if I handled it,

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if they have more questions, We'll just kind of wait

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and see. So all right, well, we still need to

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work on the sixth Secrets of the Christian Life, but

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that subject has become We've spent so many hours on that.

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I don't know if the book is going to offer us.

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I think when we get to secret four, five or six,

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I don't think we're going to get fined any real

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definitive answers. So I don't know if I really want

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to get back into that. So what do I do?

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What do I do? Well, I'm like, I know what

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I do. I open up the sermon audio website. I

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went to sermons, I went to new and I just

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kept refreshing. I kept refreshing, refreshing, refreshing, and then all

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of a sudden, a new sermon. I just kept waiting

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for a new sermon, And the very first sermon that

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popped up was what is your lion in the street?

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What is your lion in the stom? I'm like, lions Okay,

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we're going to talk about lions. Okay, and there's a

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lion in the street. Okay, wait, wait, how are we

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going to Okay, what is he going to talk about?

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And then he went to the Book of Proverbs. I'm like, okay, well,

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we've got an entire series that on proverbs. Okay, this

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works perfectly. Oh and it's only sixteen minutes long. Oh,

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this is perfect. So we have a short sermon sixteen minutes.

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That's wonderful. That makes it easy to get it all

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reviewed in one I can do my own additional work.

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And then I so I started working on some things,

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putting together some notes, and I'm like, okay, let's do this.

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So now you may say, well, what is a sermon about?

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What is your lion in the street have to do

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with my best excuse? Uh? Maybe it has nothing. I

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don't know. Maybe maybe I feel that what he's getting

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ready to talk about about a lion in the street

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is more about making excuses than about being actually fearful

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of a lion in the street. But should we be

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fearful of a lion in the street?

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Oh?

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Just are you ready? We're going to listen to this.

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We're going to see if this all comes together. I

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know I've thrown out a lot of ideas. Now we'll

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see if we can bring it all together. And by

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the time we're done, hopefully you're like, wow, that was

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pretty good. Hopefully. I can't guarantee that, but that's my goal.

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So here we go. What is your lion in the street?

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This is what it sounds like. Here we go.

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So has it with the PowerPoint. So let's go over

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to Proverbs chapter twenty two. Proverbs chapter twenty two, and

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starting in verse thirteen, the Bible says, this thoughtful man saith,

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there is a lion without you, I shall be staying

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in the streets and turn over.

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Okay, now he just read that once and then immediately

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goes to another passage. Now, for me, from a preaching perspective,

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I would probably read that multiple times to really drive

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home the point. So let's look at Proverbs thirteen carefully.

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A right, So look at it. Proverbs twenty two thirteen.

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The slothful man saith, there is a lion without I

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shall be slain in the streets. The slothful man saith,

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there is a lion without I shall be slain in

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the streets. Now what should be the key to that verse.

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Now we could run to the lion, but the lion

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is not the key there. Right, It's not that there's

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a lion in the street. It's the person saying there's

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a lion in the street. And that person is identified

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in a very descriptive way. This man is referred to

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as the sloth the slothful man, the slothful man. Now,

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what does it mean to be slothful? I think some

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translations says the sluggard. Some may say the lazy man, right,

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and the slothful man the sluggard. The lazy man says

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there's a lion in the now immediately, you know, wait

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a minute, is there actually a lion in the street?

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Right?

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This man is like, hey, there's a lion in the street.

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I shall be slain in the streets. This sounds like

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someone who's slothful, sluggered, lazy, who doesn't want to do anything,

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doesn't want to leave, doesn't want to go out and

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do anything. So what's his excuse. There's a lion in

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the street and I'll be killed. Right, So you can

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give this excuse to your kids and next time they'll say,

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I can't go to school there's a lion in the street.

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I can't go here. There's a lion in the street,

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So yeah, you go ahead. I don't know would this

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one work very well? You don't think this would be

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a very good excuse. I think this is somewhat a

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little bit humorous, right, I mean, come on, that's the

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best you can come up with. Someone could just walk

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to the window and go, I don't see a lion. Okay,

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get go, get go, do what you need to do.

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But there's a lion. Now, there's a lion in your head.

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There's no lion in the street. So look that again carefully.

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The slothful man, obviously that's the key. There's a lion.

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Without I shall be slain in the streets. So we

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want to talk about the slothful man. So do we

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want to talk about the lion? Or do we want

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to talk about the slothful man? Do we want to

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talk about being a sluggard? Do we want to talk

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about being lazy? Now? Christians love to talk about a

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lot of sins. Do we ever talk about being slothful,

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being a sluggard, being lazy? All right, well, let's see

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where he goes to next. Where does he go to next.

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Or two, chapter twenty six of Proverbs, and we'll read

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verses thirteen through sixteen of Proverbs twenty six. The Bible says,

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the soughtful man says, there is a lion in the way.

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A lion is in the streets. As the door turneth

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upon his hind just showed up the soft ball upon

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his bed. The soft will hide at his hand in

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his bosom. He grieve with him to bring it again

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to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit.

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Then seven men can that can render a reason. Let's

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pray there, and the Father he come for you, and uh,

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they think for this day, for this time we get

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to you gather around the word or the UH pray

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that you break up the foul ground in our hearse

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and so that the seed of your word may be planted.

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Therein then we may grow by it and be changed

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by us.

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And and UH further glorify you and all that we

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do sayd thing.

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We ask you these things in Jesus thing Himen.

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Now I'm not going to get into the whole thing

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about him praying for God to break up the ground

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so the seed of the Word can be planted. Because

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if God is the one who breaks up the ground

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so that the seed can be planted, then why wouldn't

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he just break up all of the ground and then

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everyone the seed could be planted in everyone. Okay, all right,

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we won't get into that discussion. But let's go back

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to the past that you read Proverbs twenty six thirteen, Right,

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the slothful man. Now we have the slowtful man again.

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So now we see clearly the correlation and the connection

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between Proverbs twenty two thirteen and twenty six thirteen. The

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key character here is the slothful man, the sluggard, the

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lazy man. And what is he saying? Again? In Proverbs

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twenty six thirteen, there is a lion in the way,

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A lion is in the streets. So he's still he's

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standing by his excuse. Right, Hey, guys, I can't go

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do whatever I need to do because there's a lion.

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Do you really want me to be ripped apart? Well,

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then it goes on to say, as the door turneth

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upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed that. Okay,

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what do you think that means? What do you think

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that means? Right, we'll maybe get into it a little

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bit more. Here, the slothful hideth his hand in his bosom.

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It grieveth him to bring it out and bring it

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again to his mouth. Now another another translation has it

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this way. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish,

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it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.

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Now that's a that one makes a little bit more sense. Hey,

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this man is so lazy that once he puts his

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hand on the plate, he's too lazy to bring his

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hand from the plate back to his mouth. That's some laziness, right,

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that's some laziness.

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All right.

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The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven

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men who can answer sensibly, the man is lazy. The

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man is a sluggard, but he thinks he's wise in

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his own mind. All right, Okay, so we know the sluggard, slothful,

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the slothful man, I apologize. I whant to start coughing. There.

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The slothful man is the key character here, this idea

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of being slothed. But clearly in both passages the lion

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shows up, And in the title of this sermon is

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what is your lion in the street? So we're gonna

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where that's obviously going to play a part in this,

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I think. I mean, remember, I don't review all of

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these for I don't review everything. I don't listen to

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everything before we review it. So let's let's just see

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where he goes. I already want to jump in, I

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already want to start taking this apart, but I'll try

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to stop myself and see where this goes.

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God has called each of us to serve us. The

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day we got saved is the day we enlisted in

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the Lord's army. Our supreme commander in chief fitted us

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with various spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities to carry out

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his work.

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While the Lord.

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Doesn't need us, he graciously chooses to use us. He

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could have used angels or any other creation of his,

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but he chose us.

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Why.

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I believe we find the answer in First Corinthians, Chapter one,

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starting in verse twenty six. But before I read that

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up in verse eighteen of verse three things one Chapter one,

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the Bible says, for the preaching of the cross is

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to them that perish foolishests, but unto us, which are saved,

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it is the power of God. And then down in

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verse twenty six, the Bible says, for ye see your

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calling brethmen, how that not many wise men after the flesh,

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not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God

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hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound

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the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of

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the world to confound the things which are mighty and

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base things of the world. And things which are despised

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hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not Bring

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to things that are that no flesh to glory in

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His presence, but of Him are ye in Christ sees us,

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who of God is made to us wisdom and righteousness

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and sanctification and redemption. That according as it is written,

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He that glorious, that Him glory and the Lord. I'm

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entitled this message. What is your limb in the street?

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Okay, that was a weird transition. So he read the

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passages and proverbs and ignores the passages and proverbs. His

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basic thesis is, Hey, when you guys saved, you've been

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enlisted to serve, you are to be a servant. Why

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would God choose us? Then he goes to First Corinthians.

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I don't know if that it really answers why that

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seems to kind of explain the who, It doesn't really

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explain the why the who. He chooses weak, he chooses foolish,

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which is somewhat confounding because Christians like to think that

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we're not weak, and no, we're not foolish. We like

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to perceive ourselves as we're the wise ones, we are

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the strong ones, we're the mighty ones, we are the

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godly ones, we're the good people. It's all those people

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out there that are trash. Where are the good ones?

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But God actually chooses the weak, He chooses the trash,

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he chooses the dumpster fire, he chooses the But we don't.

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We like to then convince ourselves, well, he may have

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chosen us while we were weak, while we were trash,

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while we were the dumpter fire. But then he makes

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us better than everyone else, and again I have major

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issues with that. But he doesn't really articulate that. Now,

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now he says he's entitled this what is your lion

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in the street? Okay, so let's see if he's going

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to go back to Proverbs and deal with this. Let's

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see where this goes.

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What is your lion in the street?

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In both of our texts, we find the words thoughtful

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and sluggard has come from the same Hebrew word. In

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his eighteen twenty eight Dictionary, no Webster said that thoughtful

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means inactive, sluggish, lazy, indolent, idle. Sluggard is one who

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is habitially, idle and lazy, soughtful, dull, slow, having little motion,

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as a sluggish river or stream. The lion is just

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the sluggers excuse, and sometimes we are good at coming

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up with lions or excuses.

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It sounds like he's reading. It sounds like he's reading

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instead of just speaking. Right, So that's just stylistic, you know. Look,

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you can read it. You can do whatever you want, right,

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Everyone has their their way. I'm just like, to me,

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I wouldn't need to read that, right, Do I need

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to read that? Like? Hey, look, here's what it means

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to be slowful. It means to be lazy. It means

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to be inactive, it means to do nothing. And this sluggard,

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the slowful, his excuse is there's a lion in the street. Like,

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I wouldn't need to read that part, right. There may

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be some parts I would need to read, but you

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think that part he could just he could do it.

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But that's Okay, everyone has their own way, all right.

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But so you clearly see he has identified that the

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lion is the slothful man, the sluggard's excuse, the lion

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is an excuse. Keep that in mind. Let's see how

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he handles this.

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For why we can't serve the Lord or be used

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by him, I'm going to address some of these lions.

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The first is a lion of fear. There are two

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objects of fear that can be manifested. There is a

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fear of the unknown and the fear of adversity. God

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push in our heart.

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Okay, whoa Okay, that just took a er. I just

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flipped the car fifteen times. Okay. So he's like, all right,

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so the sluggard's excuse is there's a lion in the street.

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So what is your lion? Well, he's going to identify

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what the lion can, right. The lion just represents excuses,

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So what excuses can we have? And he's saying that

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one of the excuse is fear. Now, wait a minute,

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wait a minute, Wait a minute, wait a minute. We

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got to think this through. Saying that there's an imaginary

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lion in the street is not the same thing. Some

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saying I don't want to do this or do this

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because of fear. Fear is unless you're just the only

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way to make this work is your fear doesn't actually exist.

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You're just using i'm afraid. Well, you're not really afraid.

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You're not really afraid. You're just saying you're afraid because

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you don't want to do it. If you're going to

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say fear is an excuse, then it would if you're

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using proverbs as the passage, then the fear would have

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to be imaginary. You're not really afraid, but it's not

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an excuse to say you're afraid. If you're really afraid,

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if the like, it's not an excuse. If there's a

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real lion in the street. If there's a real lion

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in the street, then that's not an excuse. If there

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is real fear inside of you, that's that's a real emotion.

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You can't just say I'm just not going to be afraid,

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go away. Fear does fear. Just stop stop being afraid,

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Stop being afraid. I guess some parents may do that

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when they're kids afraid, you know there's nothing to be afraid,

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Just stop it. I guess you can do that rarely.

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I don't think that actually works. I don't think does

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that really work? Hey, hey, I know you're scared, but

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there's nothing to be scared of. Get over it and

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go to bed. Does that work? Don't you have to

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possibly help them see that there's nothing to be afraid of.

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But what if your fear is based on something real?

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What if the fear is based on something substantive, it's

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actually there's a reason to be afraid. Well, then it's

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fear an excuse. See for this to work. Now, I

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don't know which way he's going to go, but the

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fear here, if he's going to correlate it with prob

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these two passages and proverbs. Proverbs gives us an example

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of a lazy man who doesn't want to do anything,

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and his excuse is a fictional lion in the street.

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There is no lion. There's nothing in the street. There's

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nothing there. He's just making it up. Now, this preacher

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is now saying, oh wait, our excuse is fear. Now,

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let's see what he's going to do with this. I'm

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a little nervous where this is going, because fear is

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a legitimate emotion. You can't just now if you're lying

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about it, like you're not really scared of anything. I'm

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just so scared. Okay, good, everybody will left, all right, great,

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Now I can go do what I want to do.

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I didn't want to go with them anyway, but I

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just use the fact that I'm afraid. See now, that

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would be that would be like the proverb situation, and

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let's see how he's going to handle it.

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Hard to do a thing the task and feel daunting

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when we are left with questions. And God told Moses

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to speak to Pharaoh and deliver the children of Israel.

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Moses had many questions. Sometimes we get pious when we

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read his account, but we but we often come to

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God with the same questions. Sometimes we wonder that God

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meant to pick someone else. Sometimes we feel unqualified for

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the job. Sometimes because of our scars, work comings, we

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doubt that God would use us. Moses had a speech

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impediments horse, perhaps the stammer or stutter. But I love

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our Lord's response in Exodus for Versus eleven and twelve says,

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who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh the dumb?

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Or death with a seeing or the blind? Have not

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I the Lord now therefore go, and I will be

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with thy mouth, and chief be with thou.

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Shall it say?

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Okay, but all the situations you're acknowledging, these are real issues. Hey, hey,

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I'm gonna have you deliver the people of Israel from Egypt.

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You know, mighty Egypt. Okay. I have some questions and concerns.

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And just so that you know, though some people he

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said that Moses had a speech impediment. Now this will

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be your assignment today. Look in Exodus where Moses says,

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you know, he has trouble speaking. But then look in

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Acts and I think Moses is described to someone not

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with a speech impediment, but is mighty in speech? So

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was Moses making it up?

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Right?

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Something for you to consider. We could do some cross

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referencing on that, but I hear preachers do that all

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the time. Moses had a speech impediment, but Ax seems

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to indicate that maybe he's not. So you look that up.

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What We could do some more work on that right now,

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but I don't want us to get too far off track.

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Where my concern is. He went to Proverbs and he says, hey,

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the softful man makes excuses about a lion in the street,

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now the lion in the street can represent fear well,

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And then he cites all of these situations where these

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people's fear would be legitimate. It's not the same thing.

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It's not the same thing. If you have legitimate fear,

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I don't perceive that as an excuse. I perceive that

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as now, okay, you've got this fear, how should we

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respond to the fear? Is legitimate fear an excuse?

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The Creator, who's spoke all scenes into existence, can give

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us the wherewithal to carry out the task.

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He gives us. What Moses had.

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To learn and what we have to learn and relearn,

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is that we are to walk by faith, not by sites.

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Second Corincians five seven.

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We don't need every answer, every question answered as we

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walk along.

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I don't understand this text and proverbs is not that

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we need to walk by faith and not by sight

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and Proverbs. No, you need to walk by sight. Go

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look out the window. There isn't any lion there. You

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don't need faith, you just need to see. This has

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nothing to do with the Proverbs passage. The Proverbs passage,

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I don't need faith, I just need to get out

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of the bed, go look and go. Oh, well, there

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isn't any lion. Huh, Maybe I'm just making an excuse.

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Now if you go look out your window and there's

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a big lion walking back and forth in your front yard,

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now you may need a little bit of faith. Now

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you may need to be like, what do I do

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there's a lion outside, Ladies and gentlemen, I've got a

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real concern. Now if you don't go outside because there's

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a real lion outside, is that because you're making any excuse?

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I Okay, many answers will come. My Lord knows a

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way through the wilderness. All I have to do is follow.

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When I moved from Alaska to Virginia, I knew it

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was God's will.

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But there were unknowns.

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But I had to give all of them over to

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the Lord and trust in his leading. God never leaves

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his children destroy. When a unknown becomes known, it can

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show itself to be some form of adversity. Proverbs twenty

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four to ten says if il fant in the day

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of adversity, as Frank is small, adversity is defined as

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00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:58.480
tightness and trouble. Sometimes we might say that we are

462
00:25:59.319 --> 00:26:02.160
between a off in a hard place. That's the tightness

463
00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:05.039
we know that trouble will come, and has said that

464
00:26:05.079 --> 00:26:07.480
we are in a storm, coming out of the storm,

465
00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:09.519
or getting ready to go into one.

466
00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:11.119
That's not the problem.

467
00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:16.920
The question is how will we react to adversity.

468
00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:27.720
I'm not understanding adversity is real. The person in proverbs,

469
00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:34.200
the passages that the text, there is no adversity, there's nothing,

470
00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:37.759
there's no lion in the street. The dude is making

471
00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:42.400
it up, like I, all right, so maybe this is

472
00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:44.519
not going to go anywhere, that's what. But that's okay,

473
00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:49.400
that's okay, fear not, fear not, because I've got like

474
00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:52.720
five pages of notes, so fear not. All right, We'll

475
00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:55.759
just let this go a little further. Obviously he's I

476
00:26:55.799 --> 00:26:57.759
don't know where he's going with this. This is not

477
00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:03.119
and that's okay. Maybe maybe he's new at preaching. That's okay.

478
00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:04.839
So I'm not trying to be critical in any way,

479
00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:08.720
shape or form. I'm just like that text doesn't go

480
00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:18.039
with that that I I. Yeah. I For it to work,

481
00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:21.400
you would have to be showing people making excuses of

482
00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:25.640
things that do not exist.

483
00:27:27.799 --> 00:27:32.720
The words adversity and avergary are closely related. First, Peter

484
00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:36.079
five eight says be sober be vigilant because your Advergary

485
00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:40.079
is a lion, just gidding the averagery. The devil as

486
00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:42.960
a roaring lion walked us about, seeking whom he made devour.

487
00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:46.119
Sometimes we hear saying as roar and recoil.

488
00:27:48.359 --> 00:27:49.960
Now wait wait, wait, wait wait. So now he just

489
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:51.880
brought in first Peter five eight. Now that's good. I'm

490
00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:54.160
going to bring in first Peter five eight in my notes, right,

491
00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:56.960
and so, because I was looking at all this stuff

492
00:27:56.960 --> 00:27:59.440
in Proverbs and So, then I was thinking, hmm, they

493
00:27:59.480 --> 00:28:03.440
mentioned mentions lion. Well, first Peter mentions a lion, but

494
00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:06.920
first Peter's talking about Satan as a lion. Hmm, okay,

495
00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:11.000
can these work together? How can I put these together

496
00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:13.880
in a way that would make sense and not do

497
00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:17.200
damage to the text. Right, So I was coming up

498
00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:19.920
with some ideas. I went to Ai. I asked Ai,

499
00:28:20.039 --> 00:28:22.240
and Ai was like, well, you could put it together

500
00:28:22.359 --> 00:28:25.039
this way. So we'll talk about that in a minute.

501
00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:29.440
But again, and the way he's mentioning it, it's completely destroying.

502
00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:36.039
And Proverbs, there is no lion. Now you're talking about

503
00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:40.759
Satan as a lion. Well, if Satan is real and

504
00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:44.440
he walks about as a lion. Then that's a real presence,

505
00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:47.720
that's not I don't what has that got to do

506
00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:51.319
with the guy in Proverbs. I okay, let's just see

507
00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:51.880
where this goes.

508
00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:54.480
We need to realize this.

509
00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:58.920
The Bible says that Satan is as or liked of

510
00:28:58.920 --> 00:29:03.519
warring lyon relation five, verse five, we find that Jesus

511
00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:06.720
is the lion of Judah. Both in scripture and in

512
00:29:06.759 --> 00:29:09.359
the world today. We can see how Satan has counterfeited

513
00:29:09.559 --> 00:29:14.279
everything that God has created and instituted. Satan has profaned

514
00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:17.920
the family, he has corrupted human government.

515
00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:19.519
We know that well, don't we.

516
00:29:21.240 --> 00:29:25.359
And Satan has taught people how to play church. Here

517
00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:27.799
in one Peter, we see him trying to mimic the

518
00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:31.240
war of the Lion of Judah.

519
00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:41.599
Okay, it is okay. It is a very good observation

520
00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:45.440
that the text says Satan as a rowing line, that

521
00:29:45.559 --> 00:29:49.319
he is acting like one. He's appears as one, but

522
00:29:49.400 --> 00:29:53.039
he's not one. Christ is okay, all right, I see

523
00:29:53.079 --> 00:29:55.279
where you're trying to draw a correlation that Satan does

524
00:29:55.319 --> 00:29:59.440
everything like counterfeit of Christ. Okay, you could see, well,

525
00:30:00.119 --> 00:30:02.279
how does that can we can we go that direction?

526
00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:05.960
It definitely is something to work on. So this is

527
00:30:05.960 --> 00:30:08.000
one of those observations that if I was listening, I'd

528
00:30:08.039 --> 00:30:11.880
be writing this down. Say, okay, wait, Satan pretends to

529
00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:15.039
be a lion. Do we really say Christ he is

530
00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:18.359
the lion? Or is he as a lion as well?

531
00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:21.640
Is it? Does this really work? As one is the

532
00:30:21.640 --> 00:30:24.720
true lion and one is the counterfeit lion? Does this work?

533
00:30:24.839 --> 00:30:26.799
We would have to do some work on that. So

534
00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:30.599
I would write that down saying good observation, interesting point,

535
00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:33.240
And again I would I there's a part of me

536
00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:35.440
that wants to pursue it. The only issue is that

537
00:30:35.559 --> 00:30:40.400
has nothing to do with the Proverbs. I need the

538
00:30:40.440 --> 00:30:42.440
Proverbs passage. Okay, all right, let's see if he says

539
00:30:42.440 --> 00:30:44.440
anything else, we're gonna I think we're gonna leave this

540
00:30:44.680 --> 00:30:45.599
relatively quick.

541
00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:51.400
There is nothing original with Satan but lies and deceit.

542
00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:55.200
But he has no match for the lion of Judah.

543
00:30:55.759 --> 00:30:58.880
We can and should have confidence in the Lord's protection.

544
00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:02.519
First on four, Verse four reminds.

545
00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:09.519
Us Okay, we're just gonna stop, because that's not We're

546
00:31:09.559 --> 00:31:12.880
getting further and further and further and further away from everything.

547
00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:15.240
So let's just look at these two passages again. I'm

548
00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:18.039
gonna read these now from two different translations. I'm gonna

549
00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:23.119
read Proverbs twenty two thirteen. The sluggard says, there is

550
00:31:23.160 --> 00:31:27.200
a lion outside. I shall be killed in the streets.

551
00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:33.079
Proverbs twenty six thirteen through sixteen, the sluggard says, there

552
00:31:33.160 --> 00:31:35.480
is a lion in the road. There is a lion

553
00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:38.839
in the streets. As a door turns on its hinges,

554
00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:42.319
so does a sluggard on his bed. The sluggard buries

555
00:31:42.359 --> 00:31:44.640
his hand in the dish. It wears him out to

556
00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:47.680
bring it back to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser

557
00:31:47.680 --> 00:31:51.960
in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly. Now,

558
00:31:52.079 --> 00:31:55.079
if I was trying to help this person structure a sermon,

559
00:31:55.319 --> 00:31:59.279
I would say, well, then your focus is on the sluggard, right,

560
00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:02.920
So then what you need to do is find all

561
00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:06.279
of the characteristics and all of the attributes of a

562
00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:09.799
sluggard and then say, here's what a sluggard looks like.

563
00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:13.119
Is that us? But the way he wanted to do

564
00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:16.720
it is, Hey, the sluggard makes an excuse about a lion,

565
00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:20.000
what is your excuses? Then he goes to excuses. The

566
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.119
only problem is he's basing it off a text where

567
00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:28.039
the man's excuse is a lie. It's fraudulent. Now he's

568
00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:31.000
taking you're making an excuse when there's a real problem.

569
00:32:31.279 --> 00:32:34.920
I don't see when you're concerned or struggling with a

570
00:32:34.920 --> 00:32:40.480
real problem, is that being an excuse? Right? You may

571
00:32:40.519 --> 00:32:42.880
think differently, all right, So let's do a little bit

572
00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:45.640
of work. I will be doing some reading as well

573
00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:49.880
here from different sources. Are you ready? Those passages that

574
00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:53.480
we just read, they describe wait wait, wait, wait for it,

575
00:32:53.519 --> 00:33:00.599
wait for it. Are you ready? The characteristics of a sluggard? Right,

576
00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:04.039
That's that's that's really the focus here. Are you and

577
00:33:04.119 --> 00:33:07.599
I slothful? Are we a sluggard? Are we lazy? Now

578
00:33:07.640 --> 00:33:10.240
a sluggard? We could we could describe it as a

579
00:33:10.359 --> 00:33:14.640
lazy or idle person. And it's describing the characteristics through

580
00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:20.599
vivid imagery and hyperbole. I love hyperbole. The sluggard makes

581
00:33:20.759 --> 00:33:28.119
excuses to avoid work, even fabricating extreme dangers lions in

582
00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:31.880
the street, and he does this to justify the inaction.

583
00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:38.039
This reflects an unwillingness to engage in productive activity by

584
00:33:38.200 --> 00:33:44.839
inventing unlikely or absurd threats. The exaggerated fear of a

585
00:33:44.880 --> 00:33:51.039
lion shows how irrational and extreme laziness, how irrational and

586
00:33:51.160 --> 00:33:55.839
extreme laziness can become. This is this is how irrational.

587
00:33:55.960 --> 00:34:00.440
You're so lazy that now everything becomes an excuse, Everything

588
00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:02.640
can become an excuse. Well, I can't do it. This,

589
00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:04.680
I can't do it, this, I can't do this. This

590
00:34:04.759 --> 00:34:08.159
is more about our excuse making. This is more about

591
00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:13.159
us being lazy and Proverbs twenty six thirteen through sixteen.

592
00:34:13.800 --> 00:34:19.039
The writer further expands on the slugger's habits. The imagery

593
00:34:19.440 --> 00:34:23.400
of the door on its hinges emphasizes the sluggers endless

594
00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:27.599
turning and bed. So as a door constantly opens and

595
00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:31.679
shuts right, the slugger constantly just lays in bed, tossing

596
00:34:31.719 --> 00:34:33.840
and turning back and forth, back and forth, just will

597
00:34:33.880 --> 00:34:36.440
never get out of bed. As you know what a

598
00:34:36.440 --> 00:34:38.119
a hinge on a door is going to do. It's

599
00:34:38.159 --> 00:34:39.960
going to open and shut, it's going to turn. You

600
00:34:39.960 --> 00:34:41.559
know what a slugger's going to do. They're going to

601
00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:46.639
be laying in bed. That's the idea, all right. It

602
00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:49.320
symbolizes the refusal to get up and work. The description

603
00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:51.360
of being too lazy to bring food to their mouth

604
00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:55.079
after reaching for it suggests an absurd level of laziness.

605
00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:58.960
I mean, this is absurd. Oh I'm hungry. Okay, I've

606
00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:02.000
got my hand here. Oh I'm so hungry. I just

607
00:35:02.039 --> 00:35:05.920
dropped it on my plate. Can someone come feed me?

608
00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:09.079
I can't, I can't, I can't put I can't get

609
00:35:09.079 --> 00:35:13.400
my hand back to my mouth. It's absurd. It's using humor,

610
00:35:13.480 --> 00:35:20.719
almost sarcasm. It's being very ridiculous to get the point across. Lastly,

611
00:35:20.800 --> 00:35:24.440
the sluggard is depicted as being self deceived, believing that

612
00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:28.199
they are wiser than others, even though their laziness contradicts wisdom.

613
00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:31.840
They're so lazy, but yet they think that they're wiser

614
00:35:31.880 --> 00:35:34.199
than everyone else. So that means sometimes the sluggard of

615
00:35:34.280 --> 00:35:37.079
a thoughtful won't listen, but they'll tell everyone else what

616
00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:40.519
they think. Right now, I can bring this to a

617
00:35:40.519 --> 00:35:43.559
personal level. One of the things I've become, and you've

618
00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:45.519
if you've ever listened to a lot of my preaching,

619
00:35:45.559 --> 00:35:47.920
you've heard me say it from the pulpit, because there

620
00:35:47.960 --> 00:35:50.519
were times as a pastor I got so irritated with

621
00:35:50.559 --> 00:35:53.559
people always arguing with me, but they wouldn't do the work.

622
00:35:53.880 --> 00:35:55.519
Like I'd be like, okay, we're gonna work on this.

623
00:35:55.559 --> 00:35:57.360
We're going to look up every one of these passages.

624
00:35:57.480 --> 00:35:59.480
They would not go look up the work, but they

625
00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:02.239
would want to disagree. They wouldn't do the study, but

626
00:36:02.280 --> 00:36:04.519
they wanted to fight. They didn't want to do the study,

627
00:36:04.599 --> 00:36:07.159
but they wanted to disagree. They didn't want to do

628
00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:09.400
the study, but they wanted to tell you what they thought.

629
00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:12.159
But without doing the actual study. If you're not going

630
00:36:12.239 --> 00:36:14.159
to go to the actual study and you're not going

631
00:36:14.239 --> 00:36:16.719
to do the actual work, then here's a good idea.

632
00:36:16.800 --> 00:36:19.000
You're probably not as wise as you think you are,

633
00:36:19.079 --> 00:36:22.320
all right, So, because you're being lazy and you're being slowful,

634
00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:29.559
because you're not engaging in the actual study, the sluggard's

635
00:36:29.719 --> 00:36:36.960
excuses and behavior points to deeper spiritual issues. Laziness is

636
00:36:37.000 --> 00:36:41.400
not mere physical, but can also be moral and intellectual.

637
00:36:42.039 --> 00:36:45.280
The sluggard fails to take responsibility for their life, often

638
00:36:45.320 --> 00:36:52.840
blaming external factors a lie in imaginary dangers. Their inability

639
00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:56.159
to act leads to self deception, where they consider themselves

640
00:36:56.159 --> 00:36:59.199
wiser than those who are diligent. So it's the idea

641
00:36:59.239 --> 00:37:02.519
that you're so lazy that you start making excuses, and

642
00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:05.719
those excuses are not even real, And so you become

643
00:37:05.800 --> 00:37:08.920
so self deluded that you start thinking you're wiser than

644
00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:18.559
everyone else. So it's a downward trajectory. The passage these

645
00:37:18.599 --> 00:37:22.840
passages plural highlights that laziness is not only about avoiding work,

646
00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:27.000
but about avoiding reality. The slugger's refusal to work or

647
00:37:27.039 --> 00:37:30.280
take responsibility manifest in irrational fears and a sense of

648
00:37:30.320 --> 00:37:34.480
superiority despite their clear shortcomings. And that's interesting. Does being

649
00:37:34.519 --> 00:37:38.079
slough and being lazy, does it lead you to literally

650
00:37:38.159 --> 00:37:45.239
avoid reality? That's an interesting concept I've never considered if

651
00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:48.519
we take these passages from proverbs and we bring them

652
00:37:48.559 --> 00:37:51.199
to a more modern term for some kind of an application.

653
00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:58.119
These passages are warning or cautioning us against procrastination, excuse making,

654
00:37:58.800 --> 00:38:03.360
and self deception. So those are three things to consider.

655
00:38:03.840 --> 00:38:07.519
Do you procrastinate? Are you a procrastinator you just won't

656
00:38:07.519 --> 00:38:10.559
get it done? Do you do a lot of excuse making?

657
00:38:10.639 --> 00:38:13.480
Are you the king or queen of excuse making? Come on?

658
00:38:13.800 --> 00:38:16.039
How good? Ask your family? If you make a lot

659
00:38:16.079 --> 00:38:23.400
of excuses? And well, are you self deceived? It's easy

660
00:38:23.400 --> 00:38:27.960
to find reasons to avoid difficult tasks, often by exaggerating

661
00:38:28.039 --> 00:38:30.679
challenges or convincing ourselves that the effort is not worth it.

662
00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:33.840
The sluggard's behavior can be a warning against letting laziness

663
00:38:33.840 --> 00:38:36.239
become a habit that distorts how we see ourselves in

664
00:38:36.280 --> 00:38:41.159
the world around us. These verses and encourage diligence, responsibility,

665
00:38:41.199 --> 00:38:44.400
and humility as set of blaming circumstances or avoiding work.

666
00:38:44.519 --> 00:38:46.559
We are called to face challenges and put in effort

667
00:38:46.639 --> 00:38:49.960
even when we feel it is difficult. Additionally, it's a

668
00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:52.719
reminder to remain teachable and not fall into the trap

669
00:38:52.719 --> 00:38:54.679
of thinking we have all the answers when we are

670
00:38:54.719 --> 00:38:58.079
avoiding the very actions that could lead to growth. A

671
00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:00.199
lot of people don't A lot of Christians don't want

672
00:39:00.239 --> 00:39:03.320
to do the work. They don't they don't want to

673
00:39:03.360 --> 00:39:06.920
spend time learning Bible study methods doing Bible study methods.

674
00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:09.599
They don't want to learn hermeneutical principles. They don't want

675
00:39:09.639 --> 00:39:12.679
to really engage in theology that they want to go

676
00:39:12.760 --> 00:39:15.119
around telling everyone you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong,

677
00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:17.119
you're wrong, you're wrong. You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong,

678
00:39:17.159 --> 00:39:18.920
you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong. I mean, I'm not

679
00:39:18.960 --> 00:39:20.519
going to go do any of the actual work. But

680
00:39:20.599 --> 00:39:23.440
I'm just going to tell everyone that they're wrong because

681
00:39:23.480 --> 00:39:29.800
I read my Bible a couple of times. Proverbs twenty

682
00:39:29.800 --> 00:39:33.880
two thirteen and twenty six thirteen through sixteen uses humor

683
00:39:33.960 --> 00:39:41.119
and exaggerated imagery to highlight the absurdity of laziness. It

684
00:39:41.199 --> 00:39:47.199
is using humor and exaggerated imagery to demonstrate the absurdity

685
00:39:47.320 --> 00:39:51.800
of laziness. The sluggard invents dangers to avoid work, is

686
00:39:51.800 --> 00:39:55.840
stuck in perpetual inactivity, and believes themselves wiser than others

687
00:39:56.480 --> 00:40:01.079
despite their clear shortcomings. These versus teach us the danger

688
00:40:01.119 --> 00:40:06.119
of laziness, self deception, and making excuses, urging instead diligence, responsibility,

689
00:40:06.880 --> 00:40:11.920
and humility. So I'm like, okay, that's that's pretty good stuff.

690
00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:15.440
See now we've taken the passage apart, right, we've actually

691
00:40:15.480 --> 00:40:20.840
done something with those verses, right, Okay? So I as

692
00:40:20.880 --> 00:40:22.480
I as I kind of took that apart and was

693
00:40:22.519 --> 00:40:24.920
thinking about it. I'm like, okay, I can I can

694
00:40:24.960 --> 00:40:27.519
do that. I've got a challenge. Okay. Are we are

695
00:40:27.519 --> 00:40:29.920
we slothful? Do we make excuses? Okay?

696
00:40:29.920 --> 00:40:30.320
Do all?

697
00:40:30.400 --> 00:40:34.199
Right? We do we procrastinate? Do are we self deceived? Okay,

698
00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:36.960
this is all good stuff, good stuff. But then I

699
00:40:36.960 --> 00:40:41.480
couldn't help myself. I couldn't help myself. I was like, well,

700
00:40:41.480 --> 00:40:44.639
wait a minute. We got Proverbs twenty two thirteen. We

701
00:40:44.719 --> 00:40:46.840
got Proverbs twenty six thirteen. Both of them mitched a

702
00:40:46.920 --> 00:40:51.840
lion in the streets. And I'm like, well, I know

703
00:40:52.239 --> 00:40:56.159
it's not a direct cross reference. Okay. In fact, I

704
00:40:56.199 --> 00:40:58.960
would if you were in a hermoneutics class with me

705
00:41:00.320 --> 00:41:03.719
and you provided this as a cross reference, I would

706
00:41:03.719 --> 00:41:06.199
probably challenge you and maybe even mark you down unless

707
00:41:06.199 --> 00:41:09.239
you could offer a good justification. But we know this

708
00:41:09.360 --> 00:41:12.199
verse first Peter five eight. Even then, the sermon he had,

709
00:41:12.239 --> 00:41:16.199
he couldn't stop himself from reading it. Be sober, be vigilant,

710
00:41:16.239 --> 00:41:20.719
because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,

711
00:41:20.760 --> 00:41:23.800
seeking whom he may devour. Now, it's not a direct

712
00:41:23.840 --> 00:41:27.400
correlation because in Proverbs there is no lion. There is

713
00:41:27.440 --> 00:41:31.480
no lion. But we believe that there is actually a lion,

714
00:41:31.800 --> 00:41:36.119
and well it's Satan. So I was like, well, does

715
00:41:36.159 --> 00:41:38.639
this work? Does this work? So I had to go

716
00:41:38.639 --> 00:41:40.920
to Ai, right, and so I said, I know this

717
00:41:40.960 --> 00:41:44.239
is not a true cross reference to those two proverbs references,

718
00:41:44.239 --> 00:41:47.679
but I couldn't help. But thinking of first Peter five eight,

719
00:41:47.880 --> 00:41:49.400
is there a way to connect it in a way

720
00:41:49.440 --> 00:41:54.639
that is it taking it out of context? Now? Ai responded,

721
00:41:54.719 --> 00:41:58.199
you're right. First Peter five eight, which warrants believers to

722
00:41:58.199 --> 00:42:00.599
be sober minded, be watchful your adversary. The devil prows

723
00:42:00.639 --> 00:42:04.079
around like a rowing line seeking someone to devour, is

724
00:42:04.119 --> 00:42:08.519
not a direct cross reference to Proverbs, because those passages

725
00:42:08.559 --> 00:42:11.039
deal with laziness. However, there is a thoughtful way to

726
00:42:11.079 --> 00:42:15.039
connect them without taking the passages out of context by

727
00:42:15.159 --> 00:42:22.079
focusing on them, focusing on the themes of vigilance and

728
00:42:22.159 --> 00:42:25.679
spiritual responsibility. And I'm like, okay, now this could be.

729
00:42:25.880 --> 00:42:29.719
This could work. Right, we have vigilance and spiritual responsibility.

730
00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.039
The other one we have excuse making. Right, we have laziness,

731
00:42:34.400 --> 00:42:39.440
excuse making and denying reality. First Peter is like, no, no, no,

732
00:42:39.440 --> 00:42:44.320
no no. Now we need vigilance, we need spiritual responsibility,

733
00:42:44.400 --> 00:42:52.000
We need to acknowledge reality. So Ai said, Okay, vigilance

734
00:42:52.599 --> 00:42:59.199
versus excuses and Proverbs twenty two thirteen and Proverbs twenty

735
00:42:59.239 --> 00:43:03.320
six thirteen through sixteen. The sluggard makes irrational excuses to

736
00:43:03.400 --> 00:43:06.360
avoid taking action. Imagine alion in the streets is a

737
00:43:06.400 --> 00:43:09.679
reason to stay inactive. He's imagining it, right, It's not real.

738
00:43:10.440 --> 00:43:13.719
This is an example of someone allowing fear or stay

739
00:43:13.760 --> 00:43:15.639
and I don't like. Okay, now I'm gonna take this back.

740
00:43:15.719 --> 00:43:19.199
This is where I disagree with Ai. Again. It's not

741
00:43:19.519 --> 00:43:24.239
real fear. It's just an excuse. Real fear is not

742
00:43:24.480 --> 00:43:29.920
an excuse. Real fear is real, and it's based off something.

743
00:43:30.119 --> 00:43:32.440
Now we have to determine how real the fear is.

744
00:43:32.599 --> 00:43:35.719
Are you exaggerating the fear? But I don't like to

745
00:43:35.800 --> 00:43:39.800
just say fear is an excuse, So I would say here,

746
00:43:40.880 --> 00:43:46.159
this is an example of someone allowing fabricated fear, fabricated danger.

747
00:43:46.280 --> 00:43:49.320
That's how I'm gonna word this to justify laziness. The

748
00:43:49.400 --> 00:43:53.719
sluggard is not watchful or diligent, but instead indulges in fear.

749
00:43:53.960 --> 00:43:59.719
See and I'm gonna change this, indulges in imagination to

750
00:43:59.760 --> 00:44:03.320
a responsibility. Look, if there's a real lion, then you

751
00:44:03.360 --> 00:44:06.840
have real fear. The sluggard in Proverbs is not really

752
00:44:06.880 --> 00:44:09.639
fearful that there could be a lion outside. I think

753
00:44:09.679 --> 00:44:12.000
the idea is that he doesn't he knows there's no lion.

754
00:44:12.039 --> 00:44:17.679
He's just making it up. It's using exaggerated foolishness to

755
00:44:19.119 --> 00:44:22.679
almost mock the idea of being slothful. The sloughful person

756
00:44:23.000 --> 00:44:25.519
is slothful, and there's no reason to be slowful. Look,

757
00:44:25.519 --> 00:44:27.440
if there is an actual concern that there could be

758
00:44:27.480 --> 00:44:34.480
a lion outside, then that's a legitimate concern. But when

759
00:44:34.519 --> 00:44:36.760
we go to First Peter five eight at five eight,

760
00:44:36.840 --> 00:44:40.639
not five eighteen five to eight, it calls for a

761
00:44:40.639 --> 00:44:43.199
different kind of awareness. This is there's a difference in

762
00:44:43.239 --> 00:44:46.440
First Peter five eight a spiritual vision. It's calling for

763
00:44:46.480 --> 00:44:50.440
a spiritual vigilance against a real threat. Now I agree

764
00:44:50.440 --> 00:44:53.400
with that instead of fearing an imaginary line. Again, you

765
00:44:53.400 --> 00:44:56.679
don't fear an imaginary line. You're making it up, all right,

766
00:44:56.760 --> 00:45:00.320
So I'm gonna disagree a little bit here. Right of

767
00:45:00.559 --> 00:45:03.239
believers are called to be on guard against a true danger,

768
00:45:03.519 --> 00:45:06.440
the devil who's metaphorically described as a lion seeking to

769
00:45:06.480 --> 00:45:10.840
harm those who who are complacent in their faith. The connection,

770
00:45:11.360 --> 00:45:15.519
the connection lies and how each passage deals with two

771
00:45:15.559 --> 00:45:19.840
different kinds of lions. The sluggard imagines a danger as

772
00:45:19.880 --> 00:45:24.639
an excuse for an activity and avoids responsibility. One Peter

773
00:45:24.760 --> 00:45:28.760
five eight urges believers to recognize a real spiritual danger

774
00:45:28.800 --> 00:45:32.159
and take action, being alert and engaged in the fight

775
00:45:32.360 --> 00:45:37.840
against temptation and spiritual attacks. The laziness described in Proverbs

776
00:45:37.880 --> 00:45:41.400
can serve as a cautionary illustration for spiritual laziness and

777
00:45:41.440 --> 00:45:44.039
the context of First Peter five eight. Just as the

778
00:45:44.079 --> 00:45:47.280
sluggard uses a fictional line as an excuse to avoid work,

779
00:45:47.480 --> 00:45:51.320
we might use distractions or fear to avoid the vigilant,

780
00:45:51.360 --> 00:45:54.719
diligent life that First Peter calls us to. The spiritual

781
00:45:54.840 --> 00:45:58.239
lazy or complacency can make us vulnerable to real dangers

782
00:45:58.519 --> 00:46:01.840
like the devil's schemes. So the idea is we can

783
00:46:01.880 --> 00:46:05.760
be so lazy because we're making up things that we

784
00:46:05.880 --> 00:46:08.320
actually miss out on the things we should really be

785
00:46:08.480 --> 00:46:11.800
concerned about, and that the idea is that we cannot

786
00:46:11.800 --> 00:46:16.039
allow our laziness to so destroy our vigilance so that

787
00:46:16.079 --> 00:46:19.480
we're actually missing out on the real lion. Hey, you're

788
00:46:19.639 --> 00:46:21.880
using you've made up the idea that there's a lion

789
00:46:21.920 --> 00:46:24.679
out there, But there's really a lion out there. There

790
00:46:24.719 --> 00:46:30.119
really is. Now, how do we go from laziness slothfulness

791
00:46:30.440 --> 00:46:33.840
to vigilance? And then if we are truly vigilant that

792
00:46:33.880 --> 00:46:36.719
there's a lion out there. How should that impact your life?

793
00:46:36.760 --> 00:46:46.519
In my life, when the sluggard refuses to get out

794
00:46:46.519 --> 00:46:49.199
of bed, a spiritual lazy person may refuse to engage

795
00:46:49.199 --> 00:46:53.320
in prayer, study, etc. Leaving themselves unguarded against the very

796
00:46:53.360 --> 00:46:57.599
real adversary. Although these verses come from different contexts, both

797
00:46:57.920 --> 00:47:01.480
Proverbs and First Payd emphasizes the importance of responsibility and action.

798
00:47:01.880 --> 00:47:05.519
While the sluggard and Proverbs fells to fells due to

799
00:47:05.559 --> 00:47:08.719
imaginary threats. First Peter challenges believers to take real threats

800
00:47:08.719 --> 00:47:12.320
seriously and be proactive in their spiritual vigilance. By avoiding

801
00:47:12.400 --> 00:47:17.079
laziness both physical and spiritual, we protect By avoiding laziness

802
00:47:17.119 --> 00:47:20.360
both physical and spiritual, we protect ourselves from unnecessary harm

803
00:47:20.559 --> 00:47:24.400
and stay ready to face real challenges. So how do

804
00:47:24.480 --> 00:47:26.760
we summarize this and put this all together? All right?

805
00:47:26.800 --> 00:47:30.880
Here's the thing, the lazy person. So I want you

806
00:47:30.920 --> 00:47:33.679
to consider in what ways are you slothful and what

807
00:47:33.719 --> 00:47:39.920
ways are you lazy? Do you procrastinate? Do you make excuses?

808
00:47:41.239 --> 00:47:45.639
And do you somehow deny and avoid reality? You won't

809
00:47:45.679 --> 00:47:50.239
see things as they really are. You procrastinate, you put off,

810
00:47:50.960 --> 00:47:54.800
you start making excuses and somehow you become detached from

811
00:47:54.880 --> 00:47:58.559
actual reality. Is that you as a slothful person? Hey?

812
00:47:58.599 --> 00:48:02.719
And what ways is there sloth fullness inside of you? Right?

813
00:48:02.960 --> 00:48:05.480
What excuses have you made in the last I don't

814
00:48:05.519 --> 00:48:08.440
know week? What were those excuses? Why did you make them?

815
00:48:08.840 --> 00:48:09.079
Right?

816
00:48:09.239 --> 00:48:11.639
Really look at yourself and see where is there any

817
00:48:11.760 --> 00:48:16.480
level of slothfulness in you? I got that now. At

818
00:48:16.480 --> 00:48:23.280
the same time, are you vigilant about real dangers? Now?

819
00:48:23.320 --> 00:48:25.159
If we really believe Satan is out there? I don't

820
00:48:25.159 --> 00:48:28.039
think Christians actually believe it. But if we really believe

821
00:48:28.079 --> 00:48:30.199
Satan was out there as a roy line roaming about,

822
00:48:30.199 --> 00:48:34.280
seeking whom he may devour? What what should we actually do?

823
00:48:35.719 --> 00:48:40.800
What can actually be done? So? Are you slothful? Are

824
00:48:40.840 --> 00:48:49.880
you vigilant? I want to say more, but I'll stop there.

825
00:48:51.079 --> 00:48:54.079
So to get today, put together all of these passages,

826
00:48:54.960 --> 00:48:58.480
put down Proverbs twenty two thirteen, Proverbs twenty six thirteen

827
00:48:58.480 --> 00:49:02.159
through sixteen, and one Peter five eight, and you just

828
00:49:02.239 --> 00:49:09.880
think about them. Thanks for listening, everyone, Have a great day.

829
00:49:11.840 --> 00:49:12.360
God bless