Wise, Understanding, & Knowledgeable

Today, if you're not already standing, would you stand with me and open your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy? If you don't have a Bible this morning, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will gladly bring you one. If you don't own a Bible, you can obviously keep that as our gift to you.

We are in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, specifically in Deuteronomy chapter 1. Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Bible, so if you open to the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and then go through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and finally Deuteronomy, you will find it. We will begin reading this morning at verse 9.

There we read, "And I spoke to you at that time, saying, 'I alone am not able to bear you. The Lord your God has multiplied you, and here you are today as the stars of heaven in multitude. May the Lord your God, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are and bless you as He has promised you. How can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints? Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.' You answered me and said at that time, 'The thing that you have told us to do is good.' So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and made them heads over you—leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes."

Father, I do pray that You would speak to us. Speak through me, even through the system that we're using, which is a little bit different than we normally would do things. But we trust that You are able to speak through Your Word anytime, any way, and any place. We pray that You would continue to speak to us. Use Your Word, by the working of Your Spirit, to transform us by the renewing of our minds. Lord, this text that is 3,400 years old, I pray that You would make it alive to us today.

Applicable to us in our time, we would be able to see how this is relevant to the things that we are experiencing as a nation and as a people. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You may be seated.

A few years ago, a group of three academics ventured together in a series of research experiments to prove a theory that they had. Before I go on to explain the theory and the research that these three academics engaged in, it might be helpful to explain that, as most of you probably recognize, every area of industry—whether it is construction, information technology, hospitality, electronics, music, fashion, or academia—has certain outputs that are expected. These outputs must be produced if these industries are going to function. Not only must they function, but the businesses and individuals within those industries must also survive and thrive.

For some of you this morning, your output might be computer code. For others, it might be architectural designs, or perhaps your output consists of good outcomes for your clients or patients. If you don't produce those outputs, you don't get paid, you don't get promoted, or you may go out of business. The same is true in the academic world. In the realm of scholars and academia, the output that you must produce is peer-reviewed and published research in journals associated with your field of study.

If you are a scholar or a PhD at a research university, part of your job is teaching the classes that you teach. However, your teaching is not your main focus. Your greater focus, in that context and situation, is to produce further study and research in your given field of study. You hope that this study and research will advance your field.

What happens is that your research and study are published in journals associated with your given field of study and peer-reviewed. This often earns you, or brings in, a lot more grant money, which makes it possible for you to continue your research. So, that's really the target you are going after: you want your research to be published, peer-reviewed, and featured in some of the most respected and prestigious journals.

Back to these three academics who ventured on this research a few years ago. They had a growing concern as they looked at their own fields of study. A couple of them were working in universities; one of them had been a university professor but had stepped away from that role. They had this theory that some of the fields of academia in which they worked, particularly in the area of the social sciences, had been tainted by ideological corruption. They were very concerned about this.

The three of them came up with a research project that was pretty simple. They set out to produce research papers and study papers, which they would submit to a whole bunch of the most prominent research journals in the social sciences. Their goal was to see if they could get these papers published, even though they were written under pseudonyms, with false names and absurd research. They hoped that by getting them published, they could prove that there was a problem within the social sciences and perhaps expose the corruption that had infiltrated these fields.

They created these papers and submitted them to various social science journals related to gender studies, race studies, and sexuality studies, among other similar topics. For many academics, it can take four years of work in an area of study to produce research and then submit it, often without ever getting it published. However, for these three academics, over the course of a few months—not years—they were able to get seven of their fake papers submitted and accepted for publication in very prominent journals.

Two questions come to mind. First, what were these fake papers about? Let me give you an example of what a few of them were about.

A rewrite of a chapter from Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf was submitted on the topic of intersectional feminism to the Journal of Women and Social Work and was accepted for publication after peer review. Another article focused on the topic of canine rape culture in dog parks, which was also approved for publication in one of the leading feminist gender studies journals called Gender. A third of the seven articles that were accepted for publication was to be featured in the journal Fat Studies, presenting the concept that accumulating cellulite and gaining weight should be considered a form of competitive bodybuilding.

Now, if this sounds absurd to you, that was entirely the point. The whole purpose of submitting these fallacious and absurd ideas was to see if they would get published for peer review, and they did. I'm not making this up; you can actually find out about this if you go online and read about it.

The second question that comes to mind is: why does any of this matter? What’s the point of this? I'm sure that coming to church on a Sunday morning, you wouldn't imagine that this would be something we would be discussing. However, it matters because respected journals like these in the social sciences and the research submitted to them ultimately direct public policy. This is often what is used to create the bills that make their way through Congress and end up on the President's desk.

Not only are these articles used for public policy, but they also influence public funding and educational curricula. This is not just applicable at universities; it extends to primary schools, elementary schools, secondary schools, and high schools. Much of this research starts as submissions for peer review and publication, and then it ends up directing various aspects of our society.

Moreover, many of you, in the work that you do, especially if you work for a corporation, may find that the policies in the human relations department are influenced by this sort of research as well. So, when you hear that second and third graders are being taught issues of gender theory and sexuality, it is precisely because of peer-reviewed research and respected social science journals.

Science journals like these represent the kind of research that directs and affects our society. This scientific study, which is prevalent in our culture, is currently leading a growing number of people, especially younger individuals, to believe that the most dangerous people in our culture today are white Christian heterosexual men. This perspective is emerging from a lot of ideologically corrupt material, and if you look into it, you will see its implications.

Now, the bigger question this morning is: what on earth does this have to do with Deuteronomy chapter one? I completely understand if you're wondering how these two topics connect. I hope that, in the time we have remaining today, I will be able to show you how these things come together.

The passage we just read from Deuteronomy chapter one has some very important things to say and teach us about the governing of society. This thirty-four-hundred-year-old document predates the study of sociology by more than two thousand years, yet it provides us with valuable information about how a society functions and how it is meant to work.

When we come to the Scriptures here at Cross-Connection Church, we hope to connect with God and with Christ Jesus through the Bible. Additionally, we seek to discover what God's Word teaches us about Him and how we ought to live. This is the study of ethics. When we discuss how we ought to live, we hope that this book will guide us in living as His people in the world.

The text before us today has important lessons related to these themes. A passage like this one is relevant and applicable now, which is crucial to acknowledge. There are people today asking how writings from so long ago can still be relevant and applicable. However, this text is indeed relevant because it presents us with a worldview. It helps us understand the world in which we live and how we should view society. This perspective is currently in collision with the prevailing views of our culture.

Sociological theory suggests that if you study it through research papers and journals, or take a class on sociology today in the modern university, you will find that sociological theory in this postmodern, post-Christian Western 21st-century society views our inherited social structure—how we live, the norms, and the culture that govern us—as oppressive and regressive. It sees this structure as in need of deconstruction and radical reformation.

If you listen critically to the rhetoric in politics or watch cable news, you will hear these ideas expressed. People perceive the world as something that requires radical reform. If you don't believe me, all you have to do is pick up some of these social science journals or tune into political discussions. The modern worldview sees hierarchical structures—where people at the top lead those below them—as socially constructed. This structure has been created over time to favor those in positions of power.

We are told that the individuals in power occupy their positions due to immorality and personal wickedness. They are portrayed as constantly working to maintain their power at the expense of everyone else. This is the narrative we are given. If this formulation is accurate, it sounds acceptable. In this context, you might feel like Katniss Everdeen fighting against President Snow in the Capitol. We find ourselves in a struggle against those in power, who are depicted as holding us down for their own entertainment and to preserve their positions.

This is the world we live in, and we see these themes reflected in our entertainment.

We see it in our news stories and in our politics. Whether you're on the right or on the left, this issue is prevalent. You may hear things like, "There are three men in our country—Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos—who hold more wealth than the bottom 50% of people in our country." Many people respond by saying that's not fair. Perhaps you, sitting here this morning, feel that there is an inequity as well. It seems like there is an unequal distribution, and most people stack up at the bottom of this hierarchy.

Those individuals, particularly white men, who are further up the hierarchy are often viewed as having done something malevolent or immoral to reach their positions. The belief is that you cannot possibly attain such wealth without having taken it from others. This leads to the conclusion that either these individuals have acted wickedly, or we live in a wicked, oppressive economic system that allows for such injustice. There is a perception of an invisible hand guiding this system, ensuring that the haves remain at the top while keeping the rest of us down.

Does any of this sound familiar? This perspective is held by many people in our own country and throughout the West. When I refer to the West, I mean Western Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States of America. This view is prevalent, and many argue that since we in the West live in a society and culture built on a European Judeo-Christian construct, the people at the top are predominantly white Christian males of European descent. This is often referred to in social sciences as the patriarchy.

This seemingly invisible, malevolent group is perceived as holding everyone else down. How could we possibly forget that we hold these truths to be self-evident: that we are all equal? Because of this belief in equality, there should be some equity.

Maybe this morning, the things I am saying sound unfamiliar or foreign to you. Perhaps you haven't heard these ideas articulated in this way before. However, I guarantee you, even if you haven't encountered this perspective directly, you have received it through the media.

Through entertainment, through the news, through politics, you've received it through advertising. If you don't think you have heard it, consider this: if you have kids like I do who are in elementary school, middle school, or high school, or if you have kids who have gone away to university, they have absolutely heard some of these things that are circulating in our culture. They are getting it too.

Now, where did such a worldview come from? When you ask those kinds of questions, you might think of names like Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, or perhaps it came from some of these old economists or philosophers. People like John Stuart Mill, John Dewey, and Friedrich Hayek may come to mind. It could also be John Rawls, Thomas Nagel, Jacques Derrida, or Michel Foucault. Maybe those are the names that are pushing this perspective, along with Noam Chomsky in a more modern context.

Where did this actually come from? Fascinatingly, if you turn to the very first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, we find insight. We have gone here quite frequently in the last few months. In Genesis chapter 3, we read this:

"Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said, "You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"' The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die."'

Well, then the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."

This is one of the oldest stories in the Bible. In this passage, the serpent character says to the woman, Eve, that God knows when she eats from this tree, which He is holding her back from, her eyes will be opened. He suggests that God is withholding something good from her, something she could gain from this tree. She saw that the tree was desirable to make one wise.

The idea presented is that it is a seed planted in the mind of Eve by the serpent: the ideology that an unjust, invisible hand is at the top of the hierarchy, holding us down. This is not new.

Point number one on your outline is that the genesis of an idea is often as important as the idea itself. It took us a little while to get there, but the genesis of an idea is often as important as the idea itself. In the same way that Jesus said in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 11, and in Mark, wisdom is justified by her children, I think it is also true that the origin of an idea—the presupposition, the worldview, the bias—where that idea comes from will give you a lot of clarity about the idea itself. Both of these aspects, wisdom being justified by her children and the genesis of the idea, are important for clarifying what these concepts are all about, as well as the wisdom of the idea itself.

Now, all of this serves as an incredibly long introduction to Deuteronomy chapter 1. In this text, specifically verses 9 through 15, we are examining the importance of a hierarchy of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Remember, in the text, Moses said to the people to choose men who had wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. There is a hierarchy of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom for ordering a society and governing that society—how it is going to function.

If you remember, if you were here last week, we looked at this very same text. Excuse me for a moment. We went from this text back to the book of Exodus, specifically Exodus chapter 18, because in Exodus chapter 18 is the historic context that Moses is revisiting here in Deuteronomy 1. He is taking the children of Israel back in time to the very beginning of their journey on their way to the Promised Land, which has now taken 40 years. He wants them to revisit this situation.

That happened in Exodus chapter 18, where they set up a hierarchy for governing society. Why is Moses taking them back to history? He is revisiting Israel's history in order to prepare this generation that is about to go into the Promised Land. They are going to enter the Promised Land without Moses, who has been the one helping to lead them. Even though he has led them through this hierarchical structure of leaders, he will not go with them into the Promised Land. As they prepare to take hold of God's blessing, they need to be able to govern themselves and walk in God's will and in God's Word.

As they go into the Promised Land, they must govern themselves according to the principles and precepts of the law. The Covenant establishes their relationship with God, and the stipulations of that relationship are outlined in the law. So, how will they govern themselves? How will this society function when it enters the land? Is it every man for himself? Is it a flat organizational structure where everyone just does their own thing? We will see how that goes later on when we get to books like Judges, far in the future.

But how are they going to govern themselves? Look at the text in Deuteronomy 1:13, where we read, "Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes." Moses said this 40 years ago, and he would make them heads over the people. When you study very carefully the first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which we refer to as the Torah or sometimes call the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses or the five books of law—you find that God's expectation for the society of His people living under His covenant was that they were to be a democratic republican theocracy.

Now, everything in that democratic republican theocracy sounds okay to you, except for the word "theocracy." That tends to scare people a little bit, even Christians living in our modern context. When we hear the word "theocracy," an image is produced in our minds, and I want to suggest to you that the image...

What is probably produced in your mind is not really the image that God is promoting for His people, as they are a Democratic Republican theocracy. Israel was a theocracy in so far as the law by which they governed themselves was divinely given; it was given to them by God. That's how they were a theocracy: it was a law given to them by God. We will look at that a lot more when we get into Deuteronomy chapter 5 and examine very specifically the law that God gives to them.

So, Israel was a theocracy in that the law they had was a law that God had given to them. However, Israel was also a Democratic Republic in that the people were to choose democratically. In this passage, it says, "Choose for yourselves wise, knowledgeable, understanding people." They were democratic; they were to choose for themselves these people who would represent and judge them. This is Republican in nature, creating a Democratic Republican form of government that would represent and take care of them as they entered the land.

When we see words like "Democratic" and "Republican," we can somewhat relate to that, living here in the United States of America in the 21st century. The government we are accustomed to is somewhat similar; it's not identical, but it is somewhat similar. The 16th-century reformer John Calvin believed that a society ought to have, and I quote, "a well-ordered government by the common consent of all." In his commentary on the book of Micah, Calvin states that this was what God intended based on Deuteronomy chapter 1, verses 9 through 18, and Exodus chapter 18. He argues that these passages show us that it was God's order for the children of Israel. Calvin asserted that even for our own societies, we should be governed by a well-ordered government with the common consent of all. Effectively, that was the endorsement of Moses as well in this passage.

These considerations bring us to the conditions and qualifications for the leaders. From this, we will draw out some application. Observe, first of all, that the people of God were told by Moses...

They were to choose from among their tribes wise, understanding, and knowledgeable individuals to serve as chiefs. That word "heads" could also be translated as captains or chiefs. The core of my message last week focused on the issue of wisdom, and we are going to talk more about that both today and in the coming weeks as well. Wisdom was very important as it related to how they chose these leaders and what kind of leaders they were going to choose.

Israel was given the responsibility of walking in accordance with God's covenant. They had to keep God's law because they were in a relationship with God, and there are stipulations for that relationship. Just like every single one of you who is married, you are joined together in a covenant with your spouse, and there are stipulations for that covenant. You made vows, "until death do you part," "in sickness and in health," to be faithful to one another. You made vows under stipulations to stay in that relationship together. The same applies to the children of Israel. There are stipulations that govern their relationship with God.

To ensure that they would follow these stipulations, they were responsible for selecting leaders—leaders and judges who would direct their obedience or their lack of obedience. If they disobeyed, these leaders would call them to task and lead them back to walking with the Lord in repentance. If you will have good leaders who are wise, knowledgeable, and understanding, you better choose those leaders wisely.

Why? Well, Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, observed in Proverbs 14:34 that "righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." Sin would be missing the mark of God's perfect standard or disobeying God's stipulations, His law, and that is going to lead to the destruction of society. So, Moses says, "Choose wisely." Choose wise leaders who will have knowledge and understanding.

We have these words: wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. At face value, they sound like just synonyms. Are they just the same statement of the same idea? No, they are not. Knowledge is the acquisition of facts.

Data is something you and I acquire constantly. Every time we look at the world around us, we take in information and are bombarded by it through the news, television, advertising, movies, and interactions with people. We are perpetually surrounded by information. Virtually all of us know some knowledgeable people—people who are well-versed in facts and figures. Google knows a lot of facts and figures, and Siri does too. We have many ways to access information, and one can be knowledgeable simply by knowing a lot of facts and figures.

However, this raises the issue of what we are taking in. Knowledge is one thing, but understanding goes a step further. Understanding deals with comprehension; it involves interpreting what the data and information mean. We move from facts and figures to questions of why things are the way they are. This is an issue of interpretation.

Now, let's discuss wisdom. Wisdom, as point number two on your outline, is knowing what to do with what you know. It involves applying the data. Knowledge consists of facts and figures, understanding addresses why we interpret what it all means, and wisdom is about how to apply that knowledge.

To illustrate this, consider a simple example: knowledge is being able to observe, recognize, and identify an object as a tomato. Understanding is deducing that this tomato is a fruit. Wisdom, however, is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad, as it doesn't belong there.

Before some of you start sending me emails with recipes for fruit salad that includes tomatoes, I realize there are some unusual people who do that. Those are probably the same individuals who put salt on their watermelon or cheddar cheese with their apple pie, which makes them a little suspect to us.

But for the most part, tomatoes don't go in the fruit salad. That's wisdom—knowing those sorts of things. The people of God, both 3,400 years ago and today, have a responsibility as the redeemed people of God to walk out the covenant of God according to His law and His stipulations. Doing so will result in abundance and fullness of blessing in His land for the children of Israel, both 2,000 years ago and more.

This is how we enter into this. Therefore, point number three on your outline: to survive and thrive as God's people, we need wise understanding and knowledgeable leaders. Moses writes in Deuteronomy chapter 1, verse 14, "And you answered me and said, 'The thing which you have told us to do is good.' So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and I made them heads over you—leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, officers for your tribes."

Now, I doubt that there is any of you here today who wouldn't respond to Moses when he said these things. The thing that you've told us to do is good. I think we all recognize the goodness of what Moses called them to do. Is there anyone who would honestly disagree with the premise that wise, understanding, and knowledgeable leaders are beneficial for societies? I don't think any of us would disagree with it.

The obvious question, though, is how do we identify such leaders? That's an important question. How do we identify who the wise, knowledgeable, and understanding people are so that we can appoint them as heads over society? I think part of the answer to that is found in verse 15 when we read, "So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men."

At the time that Moses called them to do this, Israel was already subdivided into tribes according to the twelve sons of Jacob. You remember Abraham from the book of Genesis; he was the father of the Jewish people. Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob had twelve sons.

Sons Levi, Reuben, Gad, and the others became the heads of the twelve tribes. When Israel left Egypt under the leadership of Moses, they were already subdivided into these twelve tribes. At that smaller, subdivided tribal level, there were identifiable individuals who were captains and heads over the people. They were standouts.

Why were they standouts? What made these individuals stand out? It wasn't just because they were old or because they had lots of kids or grandchildren. How did these people stand out? They were known to be leaders at that smaller community level by the way they lived their lives. Their lives were observable by those who lived around them, in the tents next to them, if you will. They lived in a way that was wise, exercising knowledge and understanding.

Believe it or not, wise leaders are not all that difficult to identify. Point number four on your outline: wise leaders stand out by applying knowledge to the everyday issues of life. They apply knowledge to the everyday issues of life. What kind of everyday issues of life? How well do they do their job? How well do they provide for their families? How well do they lead their children? How well do they interact with other people when they're doing business or just talking in the community?

Can they be counted on? Can they be trusted to take care of their own stuff and to take care of their kids? You can observe how they live their lives. Do they have self-control? Do they have integrity? At that subdivided community level, you are able to see how people are living their lives.

Moses seems to assume here in this passage that if individuals do well within the smaller community level, then they will do well when given greater responsibility at higher levels of leadership within the community. If you read the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, he says basically the same thing when he's talking about the...

Qualifications for leaders within the church, which he calls elders, are outlined in First Timothy, chapter 3. We are to apply these same exact principles. We see how this person governs their home, how they deal with their kids, and how they manage their finances. Are they trustworthy? These are the kinds of qualities we can observe through our interactions with them.

When a leader stands out as wise, applying knowledge and understanding in the subdivided community levels among families and friends, they move higher up the hierarchy. They take on greater levels of responsibility and authority. This is the way that God intended these things to work in culture and in the world. As they ascend, they learn to apply knowledge and understanding in even wiser ways.

This is very important. There are those who argue that Jesus promoted a flat organizational structure. However, those who claim that Jesus, in the Gospels, advocated for such a structure are ignorant of the whole counsel of God, both Old Testament and New Testament. I would say that they are misreading Jesus and not fully comprehending what He has to say.

I have a lot to say about the topic of hierarchy in society and within nature, but I will have to wait for some future studies to address that. Be that as it may, let me close with this and wrap it up. Point number five on your outline: those who rightly understand and apply knowledge become wise and respected leaders. They ascend, or climb, what you might call a competence hierarchy. They demonstrate their ability to lead, and because they know how to lead, they receive greater responsibility and authority. This is what we would expect to happen in a well-constructed society that functions as it should.

At this point, you may raise an objection: what if a hierarchy breaks down? What if it no longer functions like that? What if it reaches a point where it seems like people are rising to higher levels just because of who they are related to?

Nepotism can lead to individuals rising to higher levels simply because they have money, are stronger than others, or perhaps are better looking. There are other measures at play, and it is not always wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that cause them to ascend to the top. When the hierarchy becomes corrupt and begins to break down, history provides many examples of this phenomenon.

What happens when that occurs? Society will fall; it will grow corrupt. As it becomes more corrupt, it will struggle to uphold what is necessary, ultimately leading to its collapse. When a society collapses, we might refer to this as a reboot. Sometimes this reboot happens from within, while other times it occurs from external forces.

As we read through Israel's history in the New Testament, we will see instances where the nation fell apart from within due to a lack of wise, understanding, and knowledgeable leaders. At other times, they faced punishment from outside forces, such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Greeks, who brought destruction because the people had walked away from God and their leaders were not guiding them correctly. This led to a reboot, a revolution, or a Reformation.

This is why it is essential to order our societies correctly, starting at the granular community level—within the church, in connect groups, within families, and in the lower levels of governance in cities, counties, states, and even at the national and world levels. We need to structure our societies in the right way.

This is why we must look for opportunities to apply wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in smaller areas, and then step out in faith to take on higher levels of responsibility as God enables us to do so. Our tribe, Cross Connection Church, needs knowledgeable, understanding, and wise individuals. You may not feel like a knowledgeable, understanding, or wise individual, but as you grow in your understanding of the Scriptures, you will develop these qualities.

Apply the principles of Scripture in your home, with your spouse, with your kids, and in your workplace. People will begin to see it. The people around you here at this church are going to invite you, just as these leaders were invited to be in positions of responsibility and given more authority. As you step into those roles, you will grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding so that you can be a leader in a larger context.

Now, if this morning you look out at our community, our city, our county, our state, and our nation, and you say things are being led perfectly well, everything's good, great. However, if you look at our nation and community and see areas where things seem to be breaking down and falling apart, then what are you doing to take responsibility for those things? I want to suggest to you that God is allowing you to see areas where there's a breakdown, even if it's just in the church, something that is not being taken care of. He might be calling you to step out by faith, to exercise knowledge and understanding in a wise way, to be used to help things move forward in a positive direction.

I encourage you not to resist that call because God is asking you to step in and be involved. If you see a breakdown, God wants you to be involved. How are you exercising responsibility in a wise and understanding way to see society thrive and survive? It's a challenging question to think about this week.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father God, I thank you for the challenge of your Word. I pray that even though this is coming through a screen and is a little different than we normally do things, you would cause your Word, which is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, to affect us at a deep level. Continue to transform us, and quicken our ears and our hearts to hear the Word of your Spirit calling us to take responsibility for the areas in our lives, whether it's in our home, in our workplace, in the community, or in the church. Help us to step out and apply wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

Society needs to move in a direction that is for Your glory and for the thriving of the culture we live in. God, I think we need that. I believe my brothers and sisters here this morning probably agree with that.

So, would You do a work? We pray and ask this in Jesus' name. And all those who agreed said, "Amen."