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Well, good morning and
welcome to the weekend gathering of Christ

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Community Chapel. My name is Zach,

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I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm
so glad we get to be part of your weekend.

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We are kickstarting this weekend

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our summer sermon series
that will take us all the way

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through the summer will be going
through the book of Proverbs.

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We're calling it More Wisdom, More Life.

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Let me frame it out to you this way.

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I've grew up in church.

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I've been going to church my entire life.

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I don't I don't know
if you've had this experience,

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I certainly have weekends
where I've come to church

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and the music is good
and the sermon is true.

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I mean, everything is fine.

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But I get in the car and I'm headed home
and I'm thinking, so what?

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In other words, I'm thinking,

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how did what I heard this Sunday morning,

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how is it going to shape or affect
or change how I live on Monday morning?

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So sometimes things can be true,
in a theological sense, without

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necessarily feeling super practical
in like a Monday morning sense.

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If you have ever felt that way,
you're going to love this sermon series.

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This is a so what kind of sermon series,
or the Book of Proverbs contains?

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357 one liners,

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each of them
designed to share the wisdom of God

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with us for our lives in a Monday morning
kind of way.

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Now, listen, our theme as a church
for 2026 is More Life.

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We take that from John chapter ten, verse
ten, where Jesus said, I've come

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so that you might have life and life
more abundantly, life and more life.

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And when he said that,
he didn't just mean in the eternal sense

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or the theological sense,
he meant in the Monday morning

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kind of sense you're going to see this
summer, we're going to have proverbs

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about work, about friendship,
about relationships,

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about anger, about alcohol,
about what we watch and what we read.

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God is going to speak wisdom
into every nook and cranny of our lives.

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We want more life in every area.

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We're hoping and praying for incredible
things in your life and in mine.

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This summer,
this sermon is going to kind of kickstart

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that series by looking at
what really is the thesis statement

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of the book of Proverbs in Proverbs
chapter three, verses five, six and seven.

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So if you have a Bible,

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you can take it out
and open it to Proverbs three.

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Of course,
it'll be on the screen behind me.

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Or if you want to, there's a Bible

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in the back of the pew in front of you,
or in the back of the room in East Hall.

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Same one I use.

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So Proverbs three is on page 499.

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I'm going to read it to you,
and then share an outline with you

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so that we can dig in. Here's
what it says.

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Proverbs three five through seven

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trust in the Lord with all your heart,

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and do not lean on your own understanding.

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In all your ways acknowledge him,

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and he will make straight your paths.

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Be not wise in your own eyes.

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Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

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Three points
I want to use to guide our time together.

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Reflect on these verses very soon.

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I only go like this.

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I want to show you the life
God one's for you.

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The biggest threat to that life

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and the only path to victory.

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All right, let's start with the first one.

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The life God ones for you.

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The writer says in verse six.

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In all your ways acknowledge God,

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and he will make your paths straight.

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God wants for us paths that are straight.

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What does that mean?

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Well, when this was written,
they were a walking culture.

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You walked everywhere that you went.

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And if you've ever done much walking,
you know the fastest

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and easiest route is a straight line.

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That's the best way to get from point
A to point B.

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The more you curve, the longer
it takes, the more turns,

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the greater the likelihood you get lost.

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When the writer says
that God will make our paths straight,

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what he's saying is that God wants there
to be the simplest and shortest path

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between you and the life
he wants you to live.

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He doesn't want you to curve.

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He doesn't want you to turn.

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He doesn't want you to get lost
or meander.

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He wants you to have a straight path
from where you currently are to the life

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God has for you.

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And that life, by the way, is a good one.

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Now, I'll just say this
some people get really uncomfortable

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when we talk about God
wanting good things for us.

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It just doesn't fit
our preconceived notion of God.

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It feels wrong to think
that God wants good things for us.

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Most of us picture God as though
he's a big, angry old guy in the sky

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with a beard, shaking his fist at us
and telling us to do better.

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Try harder.

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But that is not the way God is described
or what he's after in Proverbs three.

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In fact,

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let me read to you from multiple places
that I didn't give this to the guys on the

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in the production team,
so it won't be on the screen.

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That's my fault, not theirs.

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But here's what it says now Proverbs
three verse two for length of days

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and years of life and peace,
they will add to you.

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God wants you to live longer.

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Verse four.

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So you will find favor and good success
in the sight of God and man.

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God wants you to be successful.

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Verse eight it will be healing to
your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

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God wants you to be rejuvenated.

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Verse ten
then your barns will be filled with plenty

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and your vats will be bursting with wine.

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God wants you to be prosperous.

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God wants you to live longer, be
successful, be rejuvenated, be prosperous.

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And again, I know something like you.

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I don't think you're supposed to say
that I agree, that's why I didn't.

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I just read it from the Bible.

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You see what I mean?

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There it is in black and white.

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This is who God wants us to be,
is what God wants us to have.

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These are the lives God wants us to live.

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Listen, some of us are going to have
to realize that in order to encounter

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the real God,
we have to lay down the baggage

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of our religious upbringing
and the religious people we know.

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And the God they made us think was real.

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You have to do God
the courtesy of letting him

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speak for himself.

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And when you do, this is what you'll find.

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Now I know you might say, well, hold

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on, Zak, are you saying that
God wants us to be rich

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because it says your barns will be full?

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And look, maybe.

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Maybe, but not necessarily.

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Let me put it to you this way.

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That's of course, metaphorical language.

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I don't have any barns in my backyard.

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Actually, my HOA doesn't allow it.

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No barns, no sheds.

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So. So for me,
this has to be metaphorical, right?

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I don't have a barn to fill
with stuff, but.

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But I don't think it's riches
that he's talking about.

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And I don't mean that God doesn't
have that for any of us.

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I just mean
that's not what he's talking about.

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What he's not talking about is not riches.

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But listen, richness.

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But here's what I mean.

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Some of you grew up in wealthy families.

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You know what it is to grow up in a family
where the bank account is full,

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but to sit at the dinner table
and no one talks to each other,

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you barns aren't full then, right?

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See, as a family, your barns are full.

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Probably when you love each other,

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when you enjoy each other,
when you forgive each other.

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A career who that is successful
can lead to money,

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where it can lead to meaning
and purpose and impact.

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We're all different.
We live different lives.

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We're. We're after different things.

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God isn't promising us riches.

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He's promising us richness.

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He wants richness for us
in every area of our lives.

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But here's the other thing.

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And this is maybe even cooler.

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He doesn't just want riches
for richness for us.

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He wants the richness
to come from relationship with him.

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The writer says, verse five,
trust in the Lord with all your heart.

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Verse six, in all your ways
acknowledge him.

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What? What's being pictured

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here is a relationship with God
that is real and vibrant.

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Minute by minute, hour
by hour, day by day.

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This is a God who's saying, walk with me,

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talk with me
and I will share my wisdom with you.

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And it will lead to the richness
of longer, fuller

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life, of greater success,
of prosperity, of rejuvenation.

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Walk with me.

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Talk with me.

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I want richness for you.

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Is this who you thought God was?

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Well, there's it is who he is.

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But of course, that begs
the question, doesn't it?

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If God wants richness for you and for me

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in every area of our lives,
if God wants richness for everyone

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and in every area of their life, here's
the question

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why don't more of us have it?

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It's a fair question, right?

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If God who creates universes,

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if God who is not limited in power,

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if he wants richness for us,
then then why don't you have it?

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And why don't I have it?

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That's a fair question.
An honest question.

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And it's also my second point,
not just the life guard

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once for us,
but the biggest threat to that life.

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I wonder what you think the biggest threat
to you,

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enjoying
the richness that God has for you is

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what the writer says is the biggest threat
to me,

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enjoying the richness
that God wants for me is me.

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Look at what he says in verse five.

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean

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not on your own understanding.

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Verse seven be not wise in your own eyes.

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What the writer is saying
is that God does want richness for us,

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but he wants richness
through relationship.

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But the reason you and I don't have
that is because if we're honest,

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we're not usually looking for relationship
with God.

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We want to listen to ourselves.

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We want to do things our own way.

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So we turn our back on God and we walk

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and we talk with ourselves.

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Is it not true
that the one common denominator

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in the greatest mistakes
of your life, and of mine,

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is us?

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Is it not true that the one constant
in the difficult

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chapters of life is us?

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Not now?

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Listen, I don't mean that you haven't
been victimized

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by the words and actions of other people
you have, and so have I.

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Our stories are shaped

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not just by the things we do,
but by the things that are done to us.

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But are we humble enough,
vulnerable enough to say,

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there's always a piece of the pie
that belongs to us?

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Let me give it to you in an analogy.

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We have to Thursday night services.

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You should have come.

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You would be on a hike right now
or something if you had come.

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Thursday night. Same service.

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You come. It's a free dinner.
Check it out.

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Plus, we need your seat in this room,
so seriously, come check it out on a

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Thursday night.

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But, I was preaching
obviously this weekend, Thursday night.

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And I had a meeting before the
the 630 service, and I was late.

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I was, like, 5 to 7 minutes late.

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Have you ever noticed that when you're
late, you catch every traffic light?

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Have you noticed this light
like you catch every light?

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There's always a train, right?

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There's always a car
broken down in the road,

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like when I can least afford it.

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And all those things happen to me.
I'm driving here.

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Traffic in Hudson is is the worst.

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At five, 530, there's a train.

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There's a car broken down.
I catch every light.

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So I'm walking from my car into my office
and I'm practicing my speech like,

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oh man, so sorry.

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Caught every light train, you know?

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And it hits me about halfway
through the parking lot that that's true.

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But I also left late.

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Here's the thing.

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If I hadn't left late,
I would have hit traffic lights.

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I just wouldn't have noticed
because I would have factored that in.

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You know what I mean?

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Like like I only noticed the lights
because I left late.

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It was easy to practice
a speech blaming the traffic lights.

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00:12:36,472 --> 00:12:39,325
But but if I hadn't left late,
they wouldn't have been a problem.

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00:12:39,325 --> 00:12:40,075
Here's what I'm saying.

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I'm not telling you

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00:12:41,010 --> 00:12:44,246
that your story or mine
doesn't have a few traffic lights in it.

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00:12:45,264 --> 00:12:48,717
A few trains, a few broken down
cars on the side of the road, things

250
00:12:48,901 --> 00:12:50,219
that weren't our fault.

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00:12:50,219 --> 00:12:53,005
But is it not also true
that we leave late?

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00:12:53,005 --> 00:12:54,740
A lot?

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00:12:54,740 --> 00:12:57,710
So the writer of Proverbs is saying
is the reason you and I don't enjoy

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00:12:57,710 --> 00:13:02,031
the richness of life that God has for us
is that we're doing life our own way.

255
00:13:02,031 --> 00:13:06,318
And when you do life your own way, you get
the richness that you can give yourself.

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00:13:07,736 --> 00:13:09,205
That's it.

257
00:13:09,205 --> 00:13:10,506
Let me give you another analogy.

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00:13:10,506 --> 00:13:14,510
I. I've told some of you in adulthood
I have tried to pick up golf.

259
00:13:14,894 --> 00:13:15,961
I didn't grow up playing golf.

260
00:13:15,961 --> 00:13:17,246
I wouldn't call myself a golfer.

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00:13:17,246 --> 00:13:19,231
In fact, the other day
I was at a golf course with a friend

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00:13:19,231 --> 00:13:20,733
who were driving
from one hole to the next.

263
00:13:20,733 --> 00:13:23,719
There's a sign
that says, golfers only pass this point.

264
00:13:23,752 --> 00:13:26,755
And I said to him,
do you think I should get out of the cart?

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00:13:27,273 --> 00:13:28,440
Right.

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00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:29,658
Because I didn't grow up playing golf.

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00:13:29,658 --> 00:13:32,311
I don't know much about it.
So I've taken some lessons.

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00:13:32,311 --> 00:13:35,297
And, you know,
when you go to see, a golf pro,

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00:13:35,731 --> 00:13:39,001
he knows everything about the swing,
and he knows how to put it.

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00:13:39,001 --> 00:13:41,136
And just, like,
just the right simple words.

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So I go see a golf coach and he's like,
listen, man, just make a big turn

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00:13:44,306 --> 00:13:46,892
and swing out to the right, you know,
big turn, swing out to the right.

273
00:13:46,892 --> 00:13:48,594
And I just start crushing the ball.

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00:13:48,594 --> 00:13:51,897
I mean, like people are not lining up
to watch me, but in my mind they are,

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00:13:51,931 --> 00:13:53,482
you know, it's like, who's that guy, man?

276
00:13:53,482 --> 00:13:55,918
You know, he he I don't know who he is,
but he's quitting his job soon.

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00:13:55,918 --> 00:13:56,702
He's going to go pro,

278
00:13:56,702 --> 00:13:59,238
you know, I'm just crushing it
and crushing it and doing great.

279
00:13:59,238 --> 00:14:01,457
And I feel great about myself.
But here's the problem.

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00:14:01,457 --> 00:14:04,460
When I go to the golf course,
he doesn't come with me.

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00:14:04,610 --> 00:14:07,012
So on the first tee box, I'm
staring at the ball

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00:14:07,012 --> 00:14:10,082
and I'm thinking, okay, no big deal,
make a big turn right out to the right.

283
00:14:10,282 --> 00:14:12,952
And that's great, except for
a little voice in my head goes, oh yeah.

284
00:14:12,952 --> 00:14:15,287
Also, you got to tuck your elbow,
you know?

285
00:14:15,287 --> 00:14:16,889
And on TV they sway a little bit.

286
00:14:16,889 --> 00:14:18,691
So you should probably get
some of that going.

287
00:14:18,691 --> 00:14:21,560
And before I know it,
before I hit the ball of 27 swing thoughts

288
00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:24,563
in my head, most of which don't even agree
with each other.

289
00:14:24,747 --> 00:14:25,097
Right?

290
00:14:25,097 --> 00:14:29,518
I'm a mess and I hit the ball and it looks
nothing like it did at the lesson.

291
00:14:29,518 --> 00:14:31,070
Because you see, when I'm at the lesson,

292
00:14:31,070 --> 00:14:34,523
I've got the still simple voice
of a golf coach in my ear.

293
00:14:34,523 --> 00:14:38,627
When I'm at the golf course,
I've got the chaos of my own mind.

294
00:14:38,627 --> 00:14:39,812
Here's what the writer saying.

295
00:14:41,146 --> 00:14:43,249
As if you and I were honest.

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00:14:43,249 --> 00:14:46,802
The reason why our lives are lacking
the richness that God has for us

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00:14:47,369 --> 00:14:50,973
is because of the swing thoughts
we bring in our own minds.

298
00:14:51,924 --> 00:14:54,243
This is how relationships should work.

299
00:14:54,243 --> 00:14:56,312
This is how I should handle money.

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00:14:56,312 --> 00:14:59,298
This is how I should go after my career.

301
00:15:00,149 --> 00:15:02,368
It's our own voice.

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00:15:02,368 --> 00:15:04,103
It's our own wisdom.

303
00:15:04,103 --> 00:15:05,271
It's our own chaos.

304
00:15:05,271 --> 00:15:10,292
And all we have
is the richness we can win for ourselves.

305
00:15:10,292 --> 00:15:12,528
You see, here's
what the writer is telling us.

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00:15:12,528 --> 00:15:16,532
God has wisdom for us
in every area of our lives.

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00:15:16,532 --> 00:15:19,551
He wants to bring richness
in every area of our lives.

308
00:15:19,551 --> 00:15:20,452
But are you ready for this?

309
00:15:20,452 --> 00:15:22,922
We will never get it

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00:15:22,922 --> 00:15:26,542
until we fire
ourselves as our swing coach.

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00:15:28,978 --> 00:15:29,461
You and I

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00:15:29,461 --> 00:15:32,448
will never get the richness
that God has for us

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00:15:33,382 --> 00:15:36,051
until we turn off the volume

314
00:15:36,051 --> 00:15:39,054
of our own leadership.

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00:15:39,888 --> 00:15:42,391
Are you ready for that?

316
00:15:42,391 --> 00:15:44,843
So the writer says, the first step is to

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00:15:44,843 --> 00:15:50,099
is to become dissatisfied
with the chaos of your own mind.

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00:15:50,099 --> 00:15:53,102
But, you know, it's
easier said than done, isn't it?

319
00:15:53,118 --> 00:15:55,621
You find yourself thinking,
what would it take?

320
00:15:55,621 --> 00:15:58,641
I mean, what would it take
for me to really, truly say,

321
00:15:58,757 --> 00:16:02,127
I don't know what I'm doing
and to trust God?

322
00:16:02,127 --> 00:16:04,730
How could I ever actually do that?

323
00:16:04,730 --> 00:16:06,448
And that's my third point.

324
00:16:06,448 --> 00:16:09,301
Here's the only path to victory.

325
00:16:09,301 --> 00:16:12,888
You know, most of the world's religions,
at least the monotheistic ones,

326
00:16:13,222 --> 00:16:16,075
they all tell us we should trust God.

327
00:16:16,075 --> 00:16:17,726
And when you say, but, but why?

328
00:16:17,726 --> 00:16:18,927
Why should I trust God?

329
00:16:18,927 --> 00:16:21,930
They will say, back to you,
because He's God.

330
00:16:22,548 --> 00:16:25,217
He deserves it and you owe it to him.

331
00:16:25,217 --> 00:16:26,869
And I guess that's true.

332
00:16:26,869 --> 00:16:30,122
I mean, if there is a God,
he he's probably worthy of our trust.

333
00:16:30,122 --> 00:16:33,475
The problem is, is that
that's not how trust works.

334
00:16:33,859 --> 00:16:36,512
You can't command trust.

335
00:16:36,512 --> 00:16:37,980
You have to win it.

336
00:16:37,980 --> 00:16:38,847
Do you know what I mean?

337
00:16:38,847 --> 00:16:41,483
You can't say to me,
trust me. And I say, okay,

338
00:16:42,601 --> 00:16:43,252
this is not.

339
00:16:43,252 --> 00:16:44,420
That's just not how it works.

340
00:16:44,420 --> 00:16:45,888
You've got to prove it to me.

341
00:16:45,888 --> 00:16:47,423
You've got to win my trust.

342
00:16:47,423 --> 00:16:50,576
Did you know that Christianity
is the only religion

343
00:16:50,576 --> 00:16:53,579
where God understands that?

344
00:16:54,146 --> 00:16:57,416
Where he doesn't just command trust,
he wins it.

345
00:16:57,599 --> 00:16:59,184
Do you know how he wins it?

346
00:16:59,184 --> 00:17:02,755
He wins it through the person
and work of Jesus Christ.

347
00:17:04,490 --> 00:17:09,228
Jesus is God winning our trust?

348
00:17:09,228 --> 00:17:11,030
How does he do it? Well, in two ways.

349
00:17:11,030 --> 00:17:13,849
The first way is that Jesus lives

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00:17:13,849 --> 00:17:16,852
a life of absolute trust in the father.

351
00:17:17,519 --> 00:17:20,089
He has no chaos in his mind.

352
00:17:20,089 --> 00:17:22,341
He does what the father wants him to do.

353
00:17:22,341 --> 00:17:28,380
He trusts God in every area of his life,
even the night Jesus is arrested,

354
00:17:28,697 --> 00:17:33,235
the night he's going to be led eventually
to the cross to be brutally murdered.

355
00:17:33,235 --> 00:17:36,205
This is what he prays in
Matthew chapter 26.

356
00:17:36,205 --> 00:17:40,492
He says this, and going a little farther,
he fell on his face and prayed,

357
00:17:40,492 --> 00:17:45,714
saying, My Father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me.

358
00:17:45,714 --> 00:17:50,002
Listen nevertheless, not as I will,
but as you will.

359
00:17:50,402 --> 00:17:54,206
In other words, I trust you know Jesus
dying words on the cross where father,

360
00:17:54,206 --> 00:17:58,827
into your hands I commit my spirit,
I trust you, and he dies.

361
00:17:58,827 --> 00:17:59,995
And in that moment

362
00:17:59,995 --> 00:18:04,533
he validates all of our fears,
which is if we didn't listen to ourselves,

363
00:18:04,533 --> 00:18:08,904
and if we listened to God,
we would end up naked, humiliated, beaten,

364
00:18:09,054 --> 00:18:14,042
dead, killed because we are so convinced
that God would ruin us.

365
00:18:14,042 --> 00:18:17,579
And it makes sense to think
that for about 72 hours.

366
00:18:18,864 --> 00:18:19,581
And when Jesus

367
00:18:19,581 --> 00:18:23,118
raises from the dead,
he says to us, see, see,

368
00:18:23,452 --> 00:18:26,905
you can trust God even when it seems like
he's going to kill you,

369
00:18:26,905 --> 00:18:30,843
even when his wisdom seems
to be taking you in the opposite direction

370
00:18:30,926 --> 00:18:32,761
of everything you want.

371
00:18:32,761 --> 00:18:36,048
He always has more for you.

372
00:18:36,048 --> 00:18:40,352
But the second way is that Jesus tells us
he didn't just come to be an example of

373
00:18:40,352 --> 00:18:44,873
what it looks like to trust God, his life,
and his death and his resurrection.

374
00:18:44,873 --> 00:18:49,194
Were God working
to forgive us of our sins,

375
00:18:49,945 --> 00:18:52,314
to reconcile us in a relationship
with Jesus, lived

376
00:18:52,314 --> 00:18:55,501
a righteous life
which could be credited to us.

377
00:18:55,501 --> 00:18:59,755
He died sacrificially under the anger
and wrath and judgment of God

378
00:18:59,755 --> 00:19:03,392
poured out to him on him,
exhausted on him, so that if he died,

379
00:19:03,509 --> 00:19:05,511
he would say, it is finished.

380
00:19:05,511 --> 00:19:06,662
And he rose from the dead

381
00:19:06,662 --> 00:19:10,983
and ascended into heaven and said to us,
if you will trust me,

382
00:19:11,150 --> 00:19:15,320
my life and my death and my resurrection,
to speak on your behalf,

383
00:19:15,504 --> 00:19:19,591
you'll be forgiven and included
in the kingdom that God is building.

384
00:19:19,608 --> 00:19:22,678
Chris, the Apostle Paul says,
If God can be trusted

385
00:19:22,678 --> 00:19:25,681
with our souls,
what can he not be trusted with?

386
00:19:26,215 --> 00:19:30,986
Romans eight verse 32 Paul says this
he who did not spare his own son,

387
00:19:31,136 --> 00:19:34,223
but gave him up for us all, how will he

388
00:19:34,223 --> 00:19:37,609
not also with him
graciously give us all things?

389
00:19:37,609 --> 00:19:41,813
In other words, if we can trust him
to do that, what can't we trust him to do?

390
00:19:43,465 --> 00:19:44,066
Friends, God

391
00:19:44,066 --> 00:19:47,119
is going to change someone's life
this summer.

392
00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:49,521
Some families life this summer.

393
00:19:49,521 --> 00:19:51,323
Barns are going to be filled.

394
00:19:51,323 --> 00:19:56,011
Bones are going to be rejuvenated,
lives are going to be lengthened.

395
00:19:56,011 --> 00:19:58,547
God is going to do incredible things.

396
00:19:58,547 --> 00:20:01,550
Why not in your family?

397
00:20:01,850 --> 00:20:05,637
If you and I will simply fire ourselves

398
00:20:07,256 --> 00:20:09,324
and because of Jesus,

399
00:20:09,324 --> 00:20:12,294
begin to walk and talk with a God

400
00:20:12,294 --> 00:20:15,297
who wants to share his wisdom with us,

401
00:20:15,714 --> 00:20:18,717
why not? You?

402
00:20:19,468 --> 00:20:22,037
Why not your family?

403
00:20:22,037 --> 00:20:26,041
God wants more life for you

404
00:20:27,409 --> 00:20:28,911
this summer.

405
00:20:28,911 --> 00:20:29,611
Let me pray for you.

406
00:20:29,611 --> 00:20:32,698
Father God, thank you so much
for the book of Proverbs.

407
00:20:33,415 --> 00:20:36,535
You know you don't owe it to us
to share your wisdom with us.

408
00:20:37,052 --> 00:20:40,105
What an act of grace that you created
life.

409
00:20:40,255 --> 00:20:42,741
Share with us how it works best.

410
00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:47,613
But God, it is
not easy to quiet the chaos of our minds.

411
00:20:47,613 --> 00:20:51,867
It is not easy to lay down control
even to you.

412
00:20:52,467 --> 00:20:57,472
So we ask the through the power and person
and presence of Your Holy Spirit,

413
00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,443
you would help us
to see the beauty of Jesus Christ.

414
00:21:01,793 --> 00:21:06,265
You would win our trust for the
first time, or for the thousandth time,

415
00:21:06,798 --> 00:21:11,687
in order that we might turn from ourselves
and begin to walk and talk with you.

416
00:21:11,687 --> 00:21:17,809
Change our lives this summer for
your glory and for our joy in Jesus name.

417
00:21:17,809 --> 00:21:19,578
We pray. Amen.