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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to the chapter today Audio Bible. I'm John Stangey,

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Speaker 1: and today we're in Proverbs chapter eighteen, and we'll be

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Speaker 1: reading from the New English translation. One who has isolated

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Speaker 1: himself seeks his own desires. He rejects all sound judgment.

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Speaker 1: A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in

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Speaker 1: disclosing what is on his mind. When a wicked person arrives,

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Speaker 1: contempt shows up with him, and with shame comes a reproach.

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Speaker 1: The words of a person's mouth are like deep waters,

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Speaker 1: and the fountain of wisdom is like a flowing brook.

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Speaker 1: It is terrible to show partiality to the wicked by

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Speaker 1: deprived a righteous man of justice. The lips of a

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Speaker 1: fool enter into strife, and his mouth invites a flogging.

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Speaker 1: The mouth of a fool is his ruin, and his

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Speaker 1: lips are a snare for his life. The words of

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Speaker 1: a gossip are like choice morsels. They go down into

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Speaker 1: the person's innermost being. The one who is slack in

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Speaker 1: his work is a brother to one who destroys the

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Speaker 1: name of the lord is like a strong tower. The

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Speaker 1: righteous person runs to it and is set safely on high.

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Speaker 1: The wealth of a rich person is like a strong city,

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Speaker 1: and it is like a high wall in his imagination

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Speaker 1: before destruction. The heart of a person is proud, but

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Speaker 1: humility comes before honor. The one who gives an answer

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Speaker 1: before he listens, that is his folly and his shame.

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Speaker 1: A person's spirit sustains him through sickness, But who can

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Speaker 1: bear a crushed spirit? The discerning person acquires knowledge, and

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Speaker 1: the wise person seeks knowledge. A person's gift makes room

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Speaker 1: for him and leads him before important people. The first

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Speaker 1: to state his case seems right until his opponent begins

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Speaker 1: to cross examine him. The toss of a coin ends

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Speaker 1: disputes and settles the issue between strong opponents. A relative

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Speaker 1: offended is harder to reach than a strong city, and

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Speaker 1: disputes are like the barred gates of a fortified citadel.

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Speaker 1: From the fruit of a person's mouth, his stomach is

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Speaker 1: satisfied with the product of his lips, is he satisfied.

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Speaker 1: Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

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Speaker 1: and those who love its use will eat its fruit.

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Speaker 1: One who finds a wife finds what is enjoyable and

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Speaker 1: receives a pleasurable gift from the Lord. A poor person

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Speaker 1: makes supplications, but a rich man answers harshly. A person

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Speaker 1: who has friends may be harmed by them, but there

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Speaker 1: is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Let's pray, Lord,

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Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you

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Speaker 1: for the privilege to be able to look at this

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Speaker 1: portion of your scripture today. And Lord, we're grateful for

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Speaker 1: the wisdom that we receive from looking at the Book

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Speaker 1: of Proverbs. And Lord, one of the things that you

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Speaker 1: communicate in this passage is the necessity of a person

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Speaker 1: being teachable. Lord, we know that when we're not teachable,

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Speaker 1: we invite folly into our lives, and we experience unnecessary

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Speaker 1: pain because we refuse to listen. Lord, we pray that

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Speaker 1: you would make us people who are adept at listening

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Speaker 1: to your counsel. We know, Lord, that through faith in

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Speaker 1: your son Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit as

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Speaker 1: our counselor. And likewise, Lord, when we read your word,

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Speaker 1: you give us the ability to understand it. So Lord,

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Speaker 1: we pray that we would be men and women who

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Speaker 1: listen to your counsel, who follow you and who allow

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Speaker 1: you to direct our lives so that we aren't relying

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Speaker 1: on our own counsel and then inviting folly into our

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Speaker 1: experience on this earth. Lord, thank you for your presence

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Speaker 1: with us today, Thank you for your love, and thank

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Speaker 1: you for your guidance in all matters and in all areas.

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Speaker 1: We commit this day to your care, and we pray

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Speaker 1: this all in Jesus' name, Amen,