Stop Kidding Yourself

chapter 3

1st Corinthians chapter 3

a little boy walked out to his backyard. Had his baseball cap on his carrying his Bat and his ball they went out and he he rubbed his hands together and he picked up the ball and he picked up his Bat a threw the ball up in the air and he said I am the greatest batter of all time and he Sloan and he missed. They said strike one. Sorry. Been down and got his ball. He picked it up and brush the dirt off of it and he held in his hand. He got his Bat ready said, I'm the greatest batter. There isn't all the world. He threw it up any any missed 2.

All the time he pause for a moment. He looked at his Bat maybe thinking of one the world is wrong with this thing. He looked at his ball carefully to make sure it's completely intact. Everything was right with it. He spat on his hands rub them together picked up his back. He said I am the greatest batter there ever was and ever will be he threw the ball up in the air for a third time. He reared back and he swung forward and missed. He said strike three. Nathan Wow. I may not be the greatest better at all the world but I'm the greatest pitcher there is

There's sometimes we're like that boy. What he was deceiving himself. He thought he was a great picture when the reality was. He was just a lousy hit.

Sometimes we deceive ourselves and the thing that we're doing the right thing. When the reality is that we're just doing that which we want to do. The church at Corinth was deceiving themselves. They were fooling their they were kidding themselves because they thought that if we follow after Godly men, then they were wise Paul Risner says something this evening yourself. Stop fooling yourselves.

The worldly wisdom is in fact human pride and it is foolishness to god. Let's look this morning at Verse 18. Paul rides no one should deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age he must become foolish so that he can become wise for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God send written he catches the wise in their craftiness and again, the Lord knows that the reasonings of the wise are meaning life. Let's go to the Lord in prayer Lord God. We thank you for this morning. We thank you for your word God. I pray today that you would help our eyes to be opened that we would not deceive ourselves that we would not kid ourselves, but that we would understand the truth. And God you promised us that the truth will set us free. I pray that you would free us from the deception that we allow into our lives this morning and draw some to yourself imprisoned Jews. Holy and precious name. Amen was riding this passes this morning. We have two commands to negative command that he gives to the the Corinthians the First Command that Paul gives to the church is to stop deceiving yourself. Don't notice the command does not don't allow yourselves to be deceived as in someone else is doing the deceiving. We know that there is a deceiver out there. We call him Satan he comes and he tries to Life as a tell us to do something that is against God's Will and we have to be careful not to fall for that. But that's not all Paul's writing about hear what Paul is running about is not allowing you to deceive yourself. The Corinthians, they were deceiving themselves by believing and following the wisdom of this age rather than following the wisdom of God. Stop all challenge the Corinthian to abandon their worldly wisdom and instead to seek after God's wisdom knows he says abandoned your wisdom. It says If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age. Let him become foolish. Pause contrasting here. If you remember back in chapter 1 Paul wrote and said that the the ways of God are foolishness to the world. Now he says that God considers the world ways foolish. It's it's a contrast turning it around in the Corinthians. They were relying on their worldly wisdom and in their preference for certain human leaders, they were actually complimenting their own wisdom. Because our pride tells us that we are wise and that what we choose is the right choice. For instance when I'm driving. I drive at a certain speed if someone is in front of me and they're driving slower than I am. They're driving like an old grandpa. If they're driving faster than I am. They're crazy and they're going to have a wreck and they're going to die and it's going to be there. I am right I am the standard in my own eyes. I set the standard and you can either meet it or not.

The same is true in our political lies, if political opinions if your political opinions are the same as my political opinions, then you're okay. If you're a little Freer, then you're too liberal. If you're a little tighter, you're too conservative. So we have this thought of I'm wise everybody else can either be wise like I am or your foolish.

But where the reality is that people who glorify talents they glorify gifts, they glorify the the political positions of other people they do so because they notice in that person that they possess at least somewhat similar traits to me and I appreciate that. There's always a certain amount of pride in oneself when you're looking at pride and another person.

But it's human fried that exalts human leaders. impulses this is not wise. You to repent of chasing after your pride and your wisdom. Let go of your wisdom abandon your wisdom. And follow after God's wisdom. Paul quotes from Joe to demonstrate what happens when we trust in our own wisdom, is that as he catches the wise in their craftiness? I grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons. Looney Tunes Beaver watch Looney Tunes, you're familiar with Wylie Coyote and the Roadrunner. What? What's what's the coyote always trying to do? Try to catch the Roadrunner so I can eat him. But why does how does he go about doing this?

boy creates traps to try to capture the roadrunner and so he always orders from this company called Acme to set up these these elaborate traps always kind of wonder if you have the money to order stuff from Acme. Why don't you just order some food?

But the funny thing is if you look at what the word Acme is, you know, Acme is a word that comes from Greek. Acme is a word that means the Pinnacle of human achievement is the Acme the Zenith the best that I can be but what happens in every single episode. The traps fell over and over again and usually it backfires on the coyote and he's the one who ends up getting trapped or getting hurt by the Tramp.

The pride is deceptive and human wisdom is pride in our own lives in their own wisdom. It is the disease the place Humanity has been said pride is the only disease that makes everyone else sick except for the one who has it. CS Lewis wrote his book Mere Christianity sing. This pride is essentially competitive is competitive by its very nature while the other vices are competitive only certain Street by accident pride gets no pleasure out of having something only. I'm having more of it than the next man. And the Corinthians had this Pride. in their human leaders They have these Cults of Personality that we've been talking about and that demonstrated their own enslavement to their own human Pride till I saw something in in Palm. I like this about Paul cuz I could see Paul in themselves as I fall after Paul this group. This group says, I don't really identify with Paul. I identify with Apollo. So I'm going to follow after him and it proved says a lot of identify with either one of those I'm third-party. So I'm going to be in the in the Peter Party play fall after Peter. I'm so they begin to compete against one another because pride is competitive.

But here's the problem. No, man, no human leader can do anything to save you no human achievement as accomplished anything's were the lasting salvation. It is only through the work of God. The Salvation is provided for you not by us. But for us by Christ and bayous of what men would consider foolishness by use of a cross in a dead savior. God has set men free from sin is provided for our righteousness and he set us on the path for his holiness. Anyone who claims to follow after one of God's servants demonstrates by their own enslavement to their human Pride the secular fads and following after themselves. Paul says it's better to be a fool in the eyes of the world than to let it hold you back from the true wisdom that comes from God. So therefore abandon worldly wisdom and instead Embrace God's wisdom Embrace God's wisdom. The Bill Gothard said wisdom is seeing life from God's point of view. When we accept the Salvation that was freely offered to us through Jesus Christ, and we agreed that he is God that he is the lord of the universe and we agree that we're going to look at why we're look at the world through his eyes and not our own Paul had already written to the Corinthians that Jesus is God's wisdom back in chapter 1 verse 24. I said that he became God's wisdom for us and 130 and when we accept Christ You agree that you're going to change your mindset. You're going to lay aside the world values going to lay it aside the things that the world cares about you going to focus on what God cares about you going to listen to what Jesus says you're going to buy buy that you exchange the world values for God's values exchanged the world's wisdom for God's wisdom and here again Paul quotes from the Old Testament drive this point home, and we looked at this to start off the service this morning, so I'm chapter 94. Vault God as being the just judge and his judgment upon the Earth. I'm in the midst of that junk that judgment the song that says that God knows man's thoughts and he knows that those stops. Are meaningless there vein the futile?

Those thoughts human thoughts are worthless. It does nothing for us. But God's wisdom is provided for your Redemption. Cross of Jesus Christ, which is foolishness to the world. It is the wisdom of God. The God sent his only begotten son. Who was eternally with the father before all creation? Who is united with God because he's part of the godhead?

And yeah, he chose to separate himself from the father and to come to his creation to enter into his creation and to dwell among us to live among us.

his people Yet his people did not recognize him as God instead sought to murder him. And Christ willingly submitted himself to those people who wanted to murder him and the reason he did so is because it was God's wisdom that he should die. His death provided the only payment. For our sin. It was acceptable in the Lord's sight. It was all it was worthy to cover the sins of all mankind because if I die and I'm without Christ I can only cover my own since. If you die, you can only cover your own sin death is the penalty for sin and we can only cover our own. because we are sinful but Christ came and he did not have sinned and when he died it was on behalf of you and I it was a sacrificial death. It was one where he took the wrath of God. There was to be poured out upon us. He took it upon himself. So that you and I could be saved. The we can be United with a father and glory for all of eternity when we reach the end of this life. And he proved when he rose up from the grave on the third day. He proved that the payment that he had provided was more than satisfactory. In order to become truly wise we must renounce human wisdom and we must accept the simple message of the Cross. We must Embrace God's wisdom by embracing the Cross of Christ. Look with neighbors 21. So no one should boast in human leaders. This is our second command negative command. No one should boast in human leaders for everything is yours whether Paul or upholster cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come? Everything is yours and you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God. Boasting. Stop boosting in your human leaders by following your human wisdom the Saints and Court. They they chose to divide the church by Falling after the human wisdom in Paul demonstrates the foolishness of their boasting. By pointing out two truths and I want to give you today the first truth. He says everything belongs to you the church. Everything belongs to the church. All things are yours know this language. This is an expression that actually comes from Greek wisdom. It comes from Greek stoic philosophy of the stoics believed the all things belong to the wise. They believe that wisdom makes one a master over all areas of life all encounters New Life and Paul counter this by saying listen, it is not human wisdom. That makes one master over life. But it is Christ. The church those who have accepted the leadership in the lordship of Jesus. They are the ones we are the ones who are Masters over all things. Remember we are subject to the rulers of this age at this time. We are destined to have a final dominion over all things at the return of Christ. The hope that we have in Christ allows us to triumph over everything the world system. Look at this list the world the world system have us down. We have a hope that can encourage us. It's not in this world. But our hope is in Christ and Eternity knows he says or life, you know, sometimes life is hard. Sometimes life is so difficult that there's so many people who don't want to go on with it suicide. Is that all time high? especially during covid-19

cuz life is hard and people don't want to continue on but we can live with a joy because we have an eternal expectation that Jesus Christ is coming soon and then he will redeem us to himself.

interface with our own mortality

last week dear friend passed away in the middle of the church service.

It happens.

We're confronted with her own mortality were confronted with death and yet we can have a piece that surpasses all human understanding because our hope is not in this world, but our hope is in eternity to come. so we can approach death in a way that

In our human Minds we cannot for we understand we know that we are friends with the firstborn from the dead will understand. We are united with the one who holds the keys over death and the keys over Hades. We know there will never be harmed by the second death because we have Victory in Jesus. And so this death is but temporary

Because we know the Jesus holds Us in his hands and and we know that the no one can snatch us from his hands. We can Proclaim like Paul in Romans. If we live we live for the Lord and if we die, we die for the Lord therefore whether we live or die we belong to the Lord.

Jesus holds Arts days and he holds our tomorrows. He knows our present. He knows our future we don't have to worry about anything because Christ gives us victory over everything. And when the church and when we as individuals realize the immense privileges that God has granted to us through his son. We can live without pride pride is banished pride is put away because that pride is miserable and it's selfish and his prideful and is not welcome in the kingdom of God Church. You are cheating Yourself by limiting yourself to Falling only one of God's men. God chose His man is a Godly Man. But listen, God sent all of those to you. He said all of those for you or good they are all for you. The Corinthians had gotten us backwards. They were thinking know we're for them. We're in a follow after Paul real.

They got it backwards. The church didn't exist for those leaders those leaders existed for the good of the church. And that's why as we looked at last week. He says no we're servants in God's field. We're Builders of God's Temple. They are there to build up the church. They're there for the church. They belong to the church.

They labor under the leadership and direction in the master for the good of the church to build them up to lead them to follow and Christ and exalt the name of Christ. For the church was reversing the roles.

So there's no reason to divide yourselves. No reason to limit yourself to one of these men. They've all been provided for you. So don't boast in them. The boast in the one who sent them both in the one to whom they belong who is also the one to whom you belong Christ Jesus. To the church belongs to God. Church belongs to God, there's no reason to boast in men because all things belong to the church because the church belongs to Christ and there's only one head of the church and is not Paul's Church. It's not a policies Church. Peter's Church is not your church is not my church. Is God's Church? Christ Church, Jesus is the only head of the church. He's the Lord of all things through him all things were created and apart from him. Not one thing that was created is created. Creation is an act of the godhead the father determine that it would happen and cry but John says that it is the word he is the word of God. And so when he spoke the spirit put it in the action and created all things.

Everything exists under Christ lordship already. Now, here's the question. Do you recognize it or not? Because whether you recognize it or not, Jesus is Lord Over All He is bored of everything. And the church is composed of those who understand that this is reality. So if you have confess that Jesus is Lord and you believe that he has died and was resurrected on the third day. And you're baptized into the Church of Christ. It is because of this confession and because of this baptism that we have victory over all things listen to what poll rating of Seasons chapter 1. He made known to us. The mystery of his will according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ as a plan for the right time to bring everything together in Christ. Both things in heaven and things on earth in him and him we have also received an inheritance because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything and agreement with the purposes of his will so that we would already put our hope in Christ. Jesus might bring praise to his glory and him you also were sealed with the promise Holy Spirit the baptism of the spirit when you heard the word of Truth The Gospel of your salvation and when you believed the holy spirit is the down payment of our inheritance until the Redemption of The Possession to the praise of his glory. So the church doesn't belong to man, but it belongs to Christ and he is the Eternal son. He lives in perfect. Holy submission to the father. Jesus is Lord of all, but at the end of the day's Jesus will turn all things over to the father. Listen to 1st Corinthians 15 beginning verse 24 Then comes the end. When he hands over the kingdom of God to the father. When he abolishes all Rule and all authority and power for he must Reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet The Last Enemy to be abolished is death for God has put everything under his feet. Now when it says everything is put under him and his obvious that he put everything under him is the exception. So when everything is subject to Christ Amazon himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him so that God may be all in all. Do we understand? That is Christ Church. We also mentally belong to God the Father. We don't belong to this world. We don't belong to Men We Don't Belong to Apollo's or Peter or Paul. We belong to God, that's why we're here.

Corinthians were deceiving themselves. Enterprise they were trusting in their own wisdom and they were cheating themselves from the blessings of God because they were constrained themselves to follow after one man or another man would if they just follow Christ then they receive all the blessings. They would be given to them by the master. Paul commanded them sing stop deceiving yourself with your human wisdom. Stop boasting in your human leaders and understand whose you are understand you belong to a church understand whose you are. But you belong to Christ and therefore be loyal to him. Don't be loyal to the things of this Earth. Don't be World loyal to the things of this world. Don't be loyal to a political party be loyal to the kingdom of God. Renounce the wisdom of this world and leave it behind for it all fades with time. Instead exalt the gospel. Preach the kingdom of God spread the word of the Kingdom that this world is coming to an end. And when it does that which will be left is only those who have trusted in Jesus. Preach the gospel exalted. Treat your brothers and sisters in Christ with respect and with dignity understanding the to have both submitted to the lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so your brothers and sisters United under him.

Just as Christ humbled himself for us. There is no one greater in the kingdom of God. We're all equal at the foot of the cross.

If you are wrong to fill a Believer, she just told us that we need to stick them out. to repent

and to ask them for our for forgiveness and to seek out reconciliation with them.

Let us not live in deception, but let us live and godly wisdom. And the greatest deception that exists is the lie that you don't need Jesus. That's the message the world today. I don't need Jesus. I can do it on my own. What good does Jesus do me?

But you need Jesus. Everyone needs Jesus because he is the only one who could pay the penalty for our sin. He is the only name in which salvation is possible. So if you here today, and you can believe the lie that you don't need Jesus don't be deceived. If you're here today, and you've not confess Jesus as Lord, you have not believed in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Don't you do so today and be deceived no longer. And be free in Christ. Stop hitting yourself. Whether year a Believer already or whether you're not yet a Believer, you need to live for Jesus. You need to live in Godly was that with me if you would.