1 Corinthians (4)

The Wisdom of God

The church at Corinth was a deeply divided church as they were deeply divided society

Along political economical and religious ideas

Everyone had a hero they identified with one of the deities they worshiped in the city.

And now that they had gotten saved they brought that mindset into the church and exchanged their worldly heros for christian heros

Paul apollos cephas Christ.

And when you have a worldy hero you are putting up their intellect their wisdom and the better they are the better you are you have attached your worth to their worth.

You know what that does it devalues the wisdom of God and all of its simplicity and beuty

And replaces it with the wisdom of man

Now our hope rests on paul or apollos or cephas

So as goes paul so goes the church

If he messes up it is over it is not good

He was our only hope

It causes division , sin , lack of accountability

And a hopelessness if the abilities of our hero are inadequate . Well if he cant get through to them no one can. IF he failed what hope is there for me

Paul is given reasons why the gospel message does not work that way

It stands in the wisdom of God

Lasting unity cannot be created outside of God.

No one that tries to force Loyalty by way of threat or by a name can keep it for long.

If you rebel against God and set yourself above God to make people loyal to you instead of truth it will not last. You may keep it for a while by terror. But even that will not last.

If a person decided to rebel against God to be loyal to you how long do you think that will last?

Unity founded on rebellion will not last.

People that are not unified around truth will always sooner or later turning on eachother and consuming one another.

The only way to produce loyalty is when you are both loyal to God and that is what governs you.

The only way we will achieve unity in this church is not when the members are loyal to the pastor but they are loyal to the truth and will govern themselves accordingly

Not Paul not apolos

A Proper Message

For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

Not with the wisdom of words

You see salvation is not an intellectual problem it is a heart problem

And when you try to rationalize the gospel you do what ?

Toi try to make it make sense to the carnal mind

Make it of none effect

Rom_8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

That is the problem with apologetics.

It is a heart problem rebellion against God and no amount of reasoning can cure rebellion only repentance cures rebellion.

The cross is made of none effect

It is supposed to be brutal and it is supposed to show the sinner the depth of their depravity

They killed the innocent son of God

We were at enmity with God.

With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.

That is why I start with the law it is a schoolmaster to bring us to christ

And it bypasses the intellect and cuts to the heart

How many lies have you told?

If they get to the end of that and the cross does not mean something to them than no amount of words can help a person who doesn't appreciate an innocent man loving them enough to die a barbaric death so they might not go free .

IT is designed to be simple so man cant glory

Jesus designed christianity in such a way that your way with words does not determine how high you can go in the body of christ

The uncomely parts are just as necessary

If it is just the wisdom of words it is of none effect.

And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

Rooted in testimony not ideology

And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

Rooted in the power of God not in manipulation

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

It is different set apart.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

The gospel a proper message divides all humanity into to groups

Those that perish going to hell

And those that are saved.

Not four groups but two

Not by economics

Not by race

Not by nationality

Not by sex

Not by skin color

Not by teeth color

Not by nose size

And a proper massage helps p-eople find out what group they are in.

What group are you in ?

If you are lost it is foolishness

Why would I need to get saved

If you are perishing it brings loss

Loss of power prestige a high cost foolish to give up what you have

It is a threat to you intalect you person

If you are saved it is power puts you at an advantage.

I cannot see one disadvantage to the gospel

I cannot think of one.

It is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

The bibles based on the critical text

Which are being saved. Which leads to a lot of people to not believe in instantaneous salvation but it being a process.

But they get the process wrong

Penalty power presence

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Like this when I got married I took a vow but did not know what all it ment

Cold feet and hands they want to put on you when you are warm and sleeping with no anesthesia.

When I got saved I did not know what it meant but I learned as I was being changed.

For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

He destroyed it to were the intellectual snobs really think we happened accidently

They do not think this pulpit could happen by accident but that we can

Tornado go through a junkyard come out with a 747

Because it is founded in the natural and not the supernatural.

Worship the creature more than the creator

Because they glorfied him not nor thankful

Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.

But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?

Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.

Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.

Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;

Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?

But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

He did not redoe mars hill he just said they are all foolish

He did not try to appeal to their intellect .

If we are so smart why do we still have all these problems ?

16 trillion in war on poverty by 2014 national debt 17 trillion since johnson administration started welfare and poverty rate is the same.

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

They think they are wise and their wisdom is what gets them it is the very thing that hangs them

There is no wisdom apart from God

Not good verses evil

You have to rob from God to argue with him

You have to take his brain to argue with him eveil cannot be evil of itself it can only achieve that by rebelling against the good

Evil is good gone bad it is rebellion

You have to believe

It is not math it is believe

It is a change of mind I believe I was wrong

I knew and than I believed it was a very distinct time in my life.

It is foolishness to them

And it is designed that way.

It pleased him that it goes against the grain

Why should I put my faith in a jew that died 2000 years ago

A Proper Response

For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

Their nation began with signs moses

And always wanted more signs and when they got the sign all it did was wet their appetite for more signs

And so they never developed the ability to walk by faith.

The jews give us the ultimate illustration of the sings and wonders crowd

All they are doing is weakening their faith and producing an appetite for more sings and when they get the signs they are still unsure

(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Faith is what gives us the desire and will to keep going weather we see the sign or not

Mar_16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

You get your sign after

You now have to believe

Proper response is faith

Jews looked instead for signs of Messiah’s power

thus, the message “Christ crucified” was a stumbling block; an offense to their expectations.

To the Gentile mind-set, which held no “messianic expectations” but only general conceptions of what deity should be like, the message of “Christ crucified” was foolishness.

You see it today it is not about a sign

It is about a philosophy

IF God is real then why are there homeless people? Why suffering why death

Why did he put people to death?

It is foolishness to them for a different reason.

In the west the arguments are largely that way.

But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

We see the wisdom in it we could never have done it it was the only way

The power it is the most sure you can get guaranteed by Christ

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

As perceived by the World

Foolishness of God the things you disagree with are actually things in genius that you still are not mature enough to grasp

The weakness of God going to the cross is stronger than anything a man could do.

A Proper Mindset

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

Look around the room

Where are the wise men of this world ?

Where are the modern intellectuals

Christopher Michael Langansmartest man in america IQ 210

I believe in the theory of evolution, but I believe as well in the allegorical truth of creation theory. In other words, I believe that evolution, including the principle of natural selection, is one of the tools used by God to create mankind. Mankind is then a participant in the creation of the universe itself, so that we have a closed loop.

Although he believes in God and the afterlife,[4] Langan does not belong to any religious denomination, explaining that he "can't afford to let [his] logical approach to theology be prejudiced by religious dogma".[15]

Where are the mighty men the politicians the statesman where are they all the majority of them are not in the church

The nobility the royals

They are not here

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

And that is intentional

When you stand before God

Your wealth your status will not matter at all

What will matter is your faith and obedience and love for Jesus Christ

It will confound and puzzle the wise man how the Lord will be more pleased in a dull man who had faith in him

He chose the weak things

Paul in weakness he preached

He chose fishermen

He chose gideon

He chose david

And he chose you to confound and confuse the mighty

Why are they so happy? Why do they seem satisfied with so little ?

He chose joseph and mary

John the baptist

And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

You know I got to thinking about many a great preacher and their background

Their obscurity

Shemesh fatherless

Preacher finished last in high school at 20 dropped out of college 57 days before graduating now was a top professor in a big school

I only went to the 6th grade

I got to thinking about my kids

And how we push them to learn and grow and read and get to the best of their ability

And we might be working against them

Education is important but it better be balanced with the wisdom of God and that must take precedence

Do not just make them wise in this world it is of no value if they are not wise on the Lord.

Put very strong effort ot instill Godly wisdom in them

Not just mathematics and science

But bible and prayer and proverbs.

It does not matter how wise they are if they do not have character

That no flesh should glory in his presence.

It is not going to be me or you that is on the headlines that saves the day

But it is going to be Christ

And if we try to build our name

Or the name of the pastor we will fail and God will see to that

Spurgon preached great preacher home cried came back what a great Savior.

If it stands in the wisdom of man it will fall in the wisdom of man

Jesus must be the hero

The bible must be supreme

And it must be through loyalty to his word and truth

Not to glory in flesh. But to glory in God

He lets them fall

He facilitates their fall

Preachers in the bible got arrested for different reasons than preacher get arrested for today.

We must have a mindset of humility.

A Proper Adoration

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

We do not care one bit the attacks they hurl at us

We are not phased

Jeswus is to us wisdom

No one so wise as God

Righteous our hope is found in him

Not in our goodness we do not have to defend ourselves we have no defense it is found in christ

n Christ alone my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid Ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe.

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live.

Sanctification he is our only shot at improvement

Redemption he is our only hope of redemption and making a good name that we destroyed

That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

What are you proud of tonight?

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.