Wisdom Leads Away from the Lord
I don't know.
Thank you to the worship team for leading us, musically and worship today. Is good to gather together to Worship in the house of the Lord today?
Let's, let's go before the Lord now in prayer as we begin.
Heavenly Father, we do submit ourselves to the truth. Have your word. We recognize its. Supremacy over our human words that we have to govern Our Lives.
Because we recognize them as your words and you are Supreme Over Our Lives.
God, for some of this, that's a reality for others of us. That's a hoping for some of us. That's a far off.
No way.
God made each of us today come closer to the place where we can say you are Supreme Over Our Lives over the things. I think, say, do over my motivations. And against my sinful habits. God, we lift up the needs within our congregation to you today. There are many. Many many are struggling with health this week in in the last several weeks. I pray that you will grant them good health and through their hard times. I pray that you will draw them closer to you. God, we lift up our Communications meeting. We pray that that will be an encouragement to all of us as a body, that we will be encouraged to look back and say, look what God has done and to look forward and just say what my god do next.
And I was we go to your word. We pray that you will reveal Your Truth, through your words. And may I not get in the way in Jesus name? Amen?
We're going through the book of 1st Corinthians. If it's your first week back with a first, be back in a little while, or if you're joining us for the first time so welcome. My name is Pastor Benjamin Jordan. I'm the senior pastor here, Grace Community, Bible Church. We are excited to be able to see people and Kirksville in around the world come to Christ grow in Christ in to serve our savior together. It's our mission is what we are on call together to do. And it is a joy to be able to do that with you. 1st Corinthians. Become who you are is the sermon series become who you are. When you are in Christ. It is your identity. It is who you are and yet so much of the time. We don't live like it. First Corinthians is Paul writing to the church in Corinth reminding them to live like it. And it's kind of a Nepal vs. Sort of an argument that Paul's Authority, is questioned as an apostle and therefore, the gospel. He preached was questions and Paul writes them to Correct them.
We're going to be in 1st Corinthians 1:18 through the end of the chapter today. So I heard you to flip over there. If you have your first Corinthians Turtles, pull those out, take some good notes today. Maybe do some underlining, some circling, some drawing of symbols. However, you can best learn and remember so that when you go through a hard time that you need this text in your life. Maybe it's today, maybe tomorrow. Maybe it's in five years. You'll be able to go back and remember what you've studied. My life is kind of I kind of grew up in a hard time and in the United States history.
I grew up at a time with mediocre. Christian, hip-hop.
At best. Mediocre Christian hip hop. I mean we had we had the likes of We don't even talk about it, to be honest. We just, we just don't go there and so is with great excitement, enjoy that. And I don't know about 2006. Give or take. I found the album rebel by Lecrae. Lecrae raise your hand if you know who Lecrae is. Some more like I know who he is. I would never listen to his stuff. That's fine. That's fine. I'm not going to play you much today. Actually not going to do you any? I like my face the way it is. Such as it is and I don't want it to be rearranged by having rocks thrown at it. But do you allow me to read something to you as a little bit of a jumping off point today, from from from Rebel and it's hip hop, right? If you don't know a hip hop is it's like rap mixed with music. We just won't go there. You're in the dark. I'm sorry, but that's okay.
I know what RJ Rebel means sinner.
The hook says, I know toward a rebel means dinner, but everyone is sitting so it's no longer rebellious to send. Jesus was a rebel, who is countercultural. You're just a conformist if you're drunk and naked and driving around in a loud motorcycle smoking, cigarettes and breaking Commandments getting Predator pregnant out of wedlock. Everyone's done that. It's so tiring. If you really want to be a rebel read your Bible because no one is doing that. That's Rebellion. That's the only Rebellion left. I remember hearing those words in in really enjoy them, especially because they have a a great beat behind them. And of course some wonderful lyrics before and after is well, and it was in a time and place where I was really beginning to enjoy the culture in Chicago, which is in many ways, a hip hop culture at least some of the people I was with which we would just won't even go there today. But let me dry you to attention to a false reality is that false reality is that Rebellion is following the rules? Rebellion is when you reject the rules and go in the opposite direction. Rebellion is in fact completely the opposite of what Lecrae put into his song.
Completely the opposite meaning with a completely great motivation. And today we look to the Apostle Paul and he does something a little bit. Similarly in his text to the Corinthians are the sermon Siri of the sermon title. Forgive me is Wisdom leads away from God. Wisdom leads away from God.
But you've heard the Lecrae stuff now, you know, that that's not exactly what that means. Right. Let's stand for the reading of God's word were in 1st Corinthians, 1:18 and following today. Read along with me. I'll read aloud. You read silently. Let's read together to be on the screen. You can have your Bibles. You can have your Bibles on your phone. You could have memorized that you can be the NIV the ESV the KJV, the nkjv it goes on and on and on if it doesn't match up, that's okay. Let's read. For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing. This is 1st Corinthians, 1:18. But the odds were being saved. It is the power of God. For it is written. I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the Discerning. I will thwart.
Where is the one? Who is wise? Where is the Scribe? Where is the debater of this age? It's not God made foolish, the wisdom of the world. For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know. God through wisdom, it pleased, God through the Folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified a stumbling block to Jews and Folly to gentiles. What do those who are called both Jews and Greeks Christ. The power of God, and the wisdom of God, for the foolishness of God, is wiser than men. And the weakness of God is stronger than men. We're considering you're calling Brothers. Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many more powerful. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose, what is foolish in the world to shame? The wise God chose? What is weak in the world to shame the strong God chose? What is low? And despised in the world even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him that you are in Christ, Jesus who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification. And Redemption, do that, as it is written, let the one who boast boast in the Lord. This is God's word. I'd like you to go ahead and take your seat.
It's an interesting passage, isn't it? Set a passage that's familiar to most of you. It's one of those passages. That's it's, it's not the most rare in the Bible, but it's it's not quite like Romans 8. The first one we tend to go to.
Let me just throw out a suggestion for you as we go along through the text. I suggest you Circle opposite ideas, contrasting ideas. If if you have a consistent way that you take notes like inductive or anything like that, then then don't break that for this. But just an idea, there's a lot of contrasting ideas here and it's going to help us out to be able to follow the flow of those ideas. If we want to get the contacts, we have to look back to 1st. Corinthians 1:17 to understand where Paul is going. What is the thrust? What is the posturing? So to speak of 1st Corinthians, 1:18 and following
For Christ did not send me 18117 to baptize but to preach the gospel not with words of eloquent wisdom left the Cross of Christ. Be emptied of its power member that word eloquent wisdom, one word in the Greek, Sophia that word Sophia was something that the Corinthians were all about. It was a very Greco-Roman, a very Greek thing to seek wisdom. We might we might term it philosophy Aristotle. People that thought deeply about things and came to conclusions about who we are, where the world is where the world has come from, where the world is going. What about the Unseen realm? All of those sorts of things and they think about them, deeply, and mysteriously, and they call it Sophia a sort of spiritual eloquent wisdom. Impulse is number 17 for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. How how was he to preach the gospel? Not with words of eloquent wisdom less the Cross of Christ be emptied of its power. What is that even mean? Why would the Cross of Christ be emptied of its power simply by having someone speak eloquently about it?
For the word. First, visit Verse 18 for the word of the Cross. That's not weird, logos logos. That's The the wisdom of the cross, the log off of the Cross contrasting, Sofia the words and verse 17. Of wisdom for the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing.
You've had these conversations, right? Maybe you were one that has a conversation. Maybe you are in the midst of that conversation. And you say so you are telling me that a deity. A real deity first. First of all, we have to get over the fact that there's a deity all-powerful. God sent. Another person of God God the son Jesus Christ to die via Capital Punishment on the cross.
In your face, kind of says it all.
What is the opposite of wisdom here? We have Sophia wisdom in verse 17 and then we have Folly and first 18th. And what is describing Folly. The cross the cross is folly. The wisdom will lead you away from you from the cross. Wisdom will lead you away from a deity sacrificing himself. This is completely non-intuitive.
but,
2 best words in the English language, right, but God But to those of us who are being saved, it is the power of God. So here we have follow units. Mean contrast with power and this is the first but that but the least good contradictory kind of statements, contrasting statements. That Paul uses in this section. We have Folly. We have power and verse 18. To those who are perishing. The cross is folly to those who are being saved. It's the power of God and noticed the inclusive language here. But to whom Verse 18, but two Us. Who is that referring to? That's referring to the author's, Paul? It's Austin. He's as well as the Corinthian Church. In case, there was any sort of misunderstanding of their relationship. Paul is wanting to find them as those who are also being saved, along with himself. Hallelujah. And when we are in Christ, we get to put ourselves in that us as well. So if you are in price today, then you are being saved by the power of God, through the cross. Not through the cross. Literally like, okay. There's a stick in another stick but through what Jesus Christ did on the cross.
Then he makes a point.
In the preachers, they always like to go to the scripture and say that's a at the Lord that he's not he can hear they're arguing. They're going to they're going to they're going to push back against him. And so he's going to throw out a quote from the Old Testament. If you want to jot that down, it's Isaiah 2914. It's the second half of that verse. Isaiah 2914, for his written. Paul writes. I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, in the discernment of the Discerning. I will wart. You think you're wise, I'm going to destroy it. You think your Discerning I'm going to support it. God said, in Isaiah,
What is this power of the cross? What is it referring to? What would be good for us to flip over to the Book of Romans? Let's, let's go back to stuff. One book to Romans. Let's go to Romans chapter 3. Same author, the Apostle Paul. Same topic. How were saved?
Let's go to 321 in following the righteousness of God, through faith.
And Paul begins his. His argument here. Really the first strong argument in the book. The First largely theological one by saying, this doesn't make any sense.
Verse 21 of Romans 3, stood apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all who believe How do we get the righteousness of God? Through faith.
By believing.
We're on the same page about that, right? Righteousness righteousness. The Perfection of God, right? Nests of who God is. And how do we attain? The rightness of who God is? What does wisdom say, how do you get to be good? You guys are smart. Don't be too smart. You guys are smart. We all know this the way that you would be good is by, you know, not doing bad by hanging out with people who do good by doing these that are good. Not just not bad, but are actually good by probably having a set or system or or practice that we can do with. Not only are our minds but our bodies that align us with reality. And then we live in that reality. We do good. That's how you be good. Right? That's how you get righteousness. And Paul says, that's not it at all.
The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe for there is no distinction. This is that famous verse. You want to know how you come to God and you get his righteousness?
One. It's all on the same level. Well, he's a preacher. So he's got to work a little little less hard, but, you know, I'm a factory worker. So I got to work a little harder. Absolutely not.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace, has a sand with me gift as a gift through the Redemption. That is in Christ. Jesus redeemed, bought back from the kingdom of darkness. We get brought back by Jesus. We get Redeemed by him. How by faith. Amazing by believing.
That's what Paul is referring to, in 1st Corinthians, 1:18. When he says the word of the cross, that is the gospel message that Paul preaches, the word of the Cross, everything that we just read in Romans. That is folly to those who are perishing. You come across somebody who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ. That's crazy. Especially somebody who's really working hard to be a moral good person. It's hard work. It's easier to do wrong. See, Romans 3:23, right for all of Sindh.
But to us Grace Community Bible Church, for those of us who are in Christ, the folly or the word of the Cross is the power of God. For it is written. Isaiah 2914. I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, in the discernment of the Discerning. I will thwart for Isaiah. That was future tense. It was something that was going to happen in the future. I am going to, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise in for Paul. He's saying, hey guys, for filling the prophecy. We are in this eschatological truth right now. The Folly has become the truth. Is looking to go in the preachers gone. Crazy. He thinks we're in some kind of an eschatological end date. Poop. Based upon this argument and Paul continues verse 20. Where is the one who is wise?
Where is the Scribe?
They're a couple of different ways to, to take this section, where these rhetorical questions. Where is the one? Who is wise, words describe? Where's the debate or of this age?
I think the best way to take it. To understand it. It's just how we're reading it right now.
Hey, guys, if you're brilliant, does it lead you to God apart from the scriptures?
Where are the Philosopher's? Where is the wise? Where is the Scribe? Where is the one who has studied much? Where the phds? Where is the debater of this, of this age? Where the politician?
The Philosopher's, the teachers, the phds, The Debaters or the politicians. Where are them? Where are they? Will they be able to lead us to the same place through their wisdom?
Through their debate, through their understanding, apart from what Paul is preaching apart from the gospel.
Of course, the answer that rings out rhetorically is no. Where where are they? Can they lead us to God? Hasn't. Not God. Made foolish. The wisdom of the world. There's there's two of those contrasting words again. Foolish and wisdom. In verse 20, I circled them has. Not God made foolish, the wisdom of the world. 4 cents, verse 21 in the wisdom of God, the world did not know. God through wisdom, it pleased, God through the Folly of what we preach to save. Those who believe. Hello. Pump twister. Again, we can just come back to this idea. Does worldly wisdom lead to God.
We have two Revelations, right? Anybody in the room, surprised by that two Revelations, what are they? Let me shout it out.
There's General Revelation. What is that creation? The general Revelation is the truth of God that we have in the world around us. And there are things in general Revelation, that are true that we can use that we can. Understand or begin to understand or at least a seek to understand?
Science. Math. History. All of the things that we can begin to seek to understand those, the only three things, doesn't matter, everything else. I'm just kidding.
These are the general Revelation that we have, but apart from or, or with only General revelation. We can never get to Jesus Christ. It can't happen. The wisdom of this world.
God has made it foolish. In the wisdom of God, the world did not know. God through wisdom. God gave everyone General Revelation. You Don't See Jesus enter the scene. And have everybody go old Jesus, of course, second person of the Trinity. We've been waiting for you. We knew you were coming. We were able to read the Stars, we were able to think and to read and understand that the only way that God could possibly redeem mankind, is to come himself, become one of us die, a brutal death, Jesus. Sorry for what's going to happen in about 33 years, but you don't understand. It's for the best. That's Folly. That does not make any sense. You want to align yourself with a guy that thinks so little of himself that he would die in such a Despicable way. Peter asked, that just makes sense because we live in a judeo-christian or post judeo Christian Society, where the greatest love is seen as sacrifice. It happens in all the good movies, right? There's a sacrifice. By Hero.
The heroes conqueror through victory, you're overcoming not through losing Jesus literally lost.
And then he won. That makes sense.
The world did not know God through wisdom.
It pleased God through the Folly of what we preach. What is it? That Paul preaches against the Romans 3? That's the argument that Paul used those, and others like them. It starts with us with you. And I as sinners. But it culminates with our part of the story, the human part with us with God because Jesus has drawn us to himself and included Us in himself as the Holy Spirit calls us.
Through his loss. That is Victory through his loss on the cross.
And that's folly. The world did not know God through wisdom, it. Believe it. Pleased God through the Folly of what we preach. Paul says, just save those who believe you don't have to believe what I'm preaching. Says Paul, it's crazy. It's Folly. It's unwise. It doesn't make any sense and yet. That's what God is saying. It's going to save you. If you believe that, you believe the Folly of Jesus Christ crucified risen, and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe you believe that it will save you.
Verse 22, Paul. Divides up the world. As he would see it from a Jewish perspective. There are two kinds of people in the world juice. And gentiles.
Romans, there were two kinds of people in the world world of Romans and barbarians. Everyone who wasn't a Roman, right? Sometimes we can we eat, we are familiar with. That's right. If you are in this room because I will there's two kinds of people in the world are Christians and their arms are non-christians. If you are in in Academia, you can say, well there's two kinds of people in the world. There's an educated and uneducated. Maybe you define it in a certain way. If you're into politics, maybe you define it with blue or red. If you are in a literature, you, you define it as though the red in the unread, people who know what's going on and you don't for Paul. He is saying there are two kinds of people in the world. We're going to apply it to both of them. To everybody. But we preach Christ crucified, which is a stumbling block to Jews and Folly to gentiles.
Why are those significant stumbling block folly? Which of those were called both Jews and Greeks Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God, for the foolishness of God, is wiser than men. And the weakness of God is stronger than men. First 22 says Jews demand signs. Can you think of an instance in that in the Bible, where that happens?
Remember, Matthew flip over to Matthew 12.
First book in the New Testament, First Gospel.
Matthew 12:38.
Let's look at the contacts. Just just for the funds. He's right. We have. John the Baptist over in 11. We have a miracle with a man who has a withered hand and he's entering this. Jesus enters the synagogue. And there's a man there with the withered hand and they're trying to trap Jesus. And so they say. Should you do work on the Sabbath?
Sweet. As this miracle bed. What did you say? But some of the scribes verse 38 in chapter 12 of The Book of Matthew, then some of the scribes and Pharisees. Answered him saying, he's sure to see a sign from you.
He just did a miracle guys. See this is this is a time from false Messiahs. A professor of mine wrote a book before it was an encyclopedia out of all of the, all of the messiah's throughout history, Jewish Messiahs. It's an encyclopedia of this thick. Didn't mean to buy it. I mean, I wanted to buy it.
It's a, we read through it over and over and over again. Summer summer, two sentences, you know, there's such as you got in such a year and he did a thing together through followers and others. They had some signs and wonders. What the what are the Jews saying did you?
We need some power. In, what are the Greek saying the preacher saying? We don't care about power.
We want wisdom. I want you to explain it to me real nice. I wanted to tickle my ears and to call some butterflies to well up inside of me. I want to go.
I need to be able to send some gifts of, you know, SpongeBob head popping off and it's going to boom and then coming back on and I doing it over and over. I want to be wowed.
It's a stumbling block, the opposite of power to the Jews and it's Folly the opposite of wisdom for the Gentiles. It's not what the Jews want is that with the Gentiles want. In other words, it's not with anyone in the entire world was because their paws perspective. There are Jews in their Gentiles. In the entire planet is not what the Jews want Power. It's not with the Gentiles. What wisdom? This is not what anybody wants or expects. This is folly.
Except. To the third category. To those who are called, doesn't matter what your who you are before.
The ground is level at the foot of the cross Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, you want some power. Polish thing is power of God is You want? There's some wisdom for you, but it's wisdom of God. Don't think that it's the same. It's not equivalent to the wisdom of the world.
I got a quote up on the screen or that can pop up on the screen in a second. That I think helps us. This is from Gordon fee and in interpreting.
Part of this passage.
It says the cross is not something to which one may add human wisdom and thereby make it Superior.
We read that again in and then I'll read the second statement. The cross is not something to which one you are me. Add human wisdom and thereby make its Superior, rather the Cross stand and absolute uncompromising contradiction to human wisdom. Sometimes you might want to be a super Christian, want to be a superhuman. That's what the the Corinthians wanted they wanted. The wisdom of God.
That Paul revealed and they wanted to add some Sophia to it. They wanted to add a little bit of Greek wisdom to it. The dude. Probably they wanted to add some, some power to it. We want to see some Miracles. We want to see, God. Do some stuff. That's We want him to do. They wanted it on their terms. I want the wisdom of God in a way that seems wise to me. I want the power of God in a way that benefits me.
But that's not how God works. God is Not subservient to your definition of wisdom. And God is Not subservient to how you want him to use his power.
For the foolishness of God, verse 25 is wiser than men. In the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Even it God's.
Weakness, you're stronger than you.
Sometimes. Do you live like it? You believe that God's power is real.
I think a lot of us, we have stories. A twenty-first-century.
Apologetic. That is unarguable. Is my experience. I have experienced this so you can argue against it, right? How many times have you heard that?
My experience a boy. Here we go.
In my experience, God is not all that powerful. Because when I was a kid. I've heard this from so many different people in different versions. When I was a kid. My mom had cancer. My dad was sick. I had a dog that was hit by a car. And I thought from what I've been taught at church. They don't say that that I thought they say what I was taught is that if you'd be really good and you pray really, really hard. Then God is going to do what he's supposed to do. I eat what you want him to do. And what God power is, is not subservient to your wants and desires and therefore, it is not based on you to measure him. Oh, well God, I would really like this coronavirus to go away. How many of us and prayed that over the last 18 months. We're tired. We're done with it. We're done with Alpha and beta and Omega, and Phoenix and, you know, we don't know. I don't know.
I'm crying cuz I need a word.
God can control. God, does control the Coronavirus. God controls, all things open. If God was if God was really in control than he would he would do what I ask him to do. Cuz when I was three I prayed and he didn't do it. So. That is reasonable and understandable, but it is just not accurate.
God does things his way. That's why it's God's wisdom. Not ours. And God is all-powerful. He does what he wants. Not what we want. If you would do what we want. We would be all-powerful. We like you control the The genius, the powerful Cosmic theme.
And then verse 26 is for consider your calling Brothers. What is that calling you to do? Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards.
Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. We have the Divine irony going on, where?
The Corinthians want to add their own version of Sophia their own version of wisdom to. God's wisdom. they want to say, Kind of seems like this whole powerful. God, did he die in the cross? Kind of seems like a losing story. We don't really want to be allied with it. So we're going to add our own stuff. We like when we reach the next level of being Jesus followers, so,
We're going to be wise. We're going to be powerful. We're going to be of noble birth. Where our children are going to be seeing it. Some people, right? Like they're going to be
but then the irony is I didn't even start off that way.
not many of you were, In the first place to worldly standards. Not many of you were powerful when you started. Not many worlds. Noble birth. You are nobody's with no power and no wisdom. According to the standards, you know, want to measure Yourself by but God chose, what is foolish in the world to shame the wise and he called you fool to follow him.
God chose, what is weak in the world to shame? The strong, got a raise you up a week, one, and made you strong. Not according to your standards. But according to his standards. God chose, what is low and despised in the world. I know that you are not of noble birth. But God made you a child of the king with all the rights and privileges privileges that come with it. And so now you're wanting to scrap all that having these elevated positions in Christ. And then you want to add the wisdom of the world back on top of it. Paul is saying, you want to know what doesn't make any sense. That doesn't make any sense.
God chose, what is low? And despised in the world even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are. I nobody in the somebody something. Something that's not too something that is. So that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
No, humans are at their very core.
Worshippers.
We're worshipping beings. And it is not very hard for us to decide to worship ourselves. It is not very hard for us to put our own strength, our own wisdom or somebody who we respect wisdom and strength above God's in our own mind.
Can you start walking around? You got a strep?
Boast in the present of God.
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus. Who became to us. Wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification and Redemption. That is, you get Jesus righteousness. When you were in Christ, Jesus, you become Sanctified more and more, like, Jesus Christ. Every day. Moving towards glorification, one day in eternity and Redemption. You are purchased back from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. So you may live in obedience to Christ for Christ and in Christ.
So that is, as it is written. Let the one who boast boast in the Lord. In yacht way.
You want to boast in something, don't boast in yourself.
Boast in the Lord.
Don't add things to your religion.
Religion is the practice us practicing together, doing good things with our body, what we believe in our hearts and our mind. It's good practices. But sometimes we add to our religion. We add to our faith in Jesus Christ is Sophia. Let me ask you. What are you adding today?
free put on your Your big boy steel toe boots. What big girl steel toe, boots cuz we're in. Do some stepping on some toes? Cuz I think it's in the text.
What are you adding to the Cross? What are you campaigning along with the cross? What are you believing in? Finding identity with?
Maybe it's the church Grace Bible Church. Out of fear that too much. Maybe it's your job.
I got such a degree. I didn't even have to get such and such and such and such money. I don't even need to make such and such money, I can get by anyway.
Future politics. Oh, man. She's a red suit. Bluetooth for their self and blank, right? Future family. My family is awesome. And my kids their perfect. They'll get straight A's. They'll do for only four, but no fewer no more than four after school. Curricula. They're pretty fantastic.
Go on and on and on, and on your possessions.
Your hopes your dreams. Your skin. All of those things are saying something that we would explicitly call sin. Declaring independence from God. Got a new one. Hopefully that I can revisit in the past. I've used that phrase that sin is when we declare independence from God.
And I'm going to become more clever with in the future, but sin is also. When we put ourselves in the position of God.
When we decide that we can judge God. That's what you're doing. I think.
Got that wise. So if that's strong Jews, the Greeks. according to
don't put yourself in the place of God.
It's really hard to help people come to Christ when you're boasting in yourself.
When you're boasting in the stuff, you're adding to. The cross. IE your job, your politics, your family. All those things, we talked about it more. So when you're only talking about those things are, those are primary to you.
Hard to get to Jesus. Got to get to the gospel in conversations. Does mean, ask me the first conversation. It doesn't even have to be the 10th conversation. But when we enter into loving relationships with people, we need to get to the gospel at some point that we love them the most. I don't have the trust, we wait for a hard time in their life and then boom. It doesn't feel like boom. It just has a natural thing where we come in and we share the hope that we have within us.
but if the hope that is within us is well, because my family A pretty great cuz my education you know. Quadruple. Ivy league, man.
I went to 1 twice. I don't know making stuff up now.
When you boast in Christ and you recognize that I'm nothing and he is everything and it doesn't make any sense. Then we have language on our lives that is proclamation to who got is it is encouragement to what God has done in our life. It is pointing to Jesus pointing back to the cross.
What's following you say? I know it's wonderful, isn't it? It doesn't make any sense. Don't hear me say that you have to check your brain and it's a door cuz that's not what I'm saying, but it doesn't make any sense and it's wonderful. The way of the savior is the best way to walk and when you walk like you actually believe it. Then it becomes transferable. It becomes contagious. Scary word. It becomes catching.
And that's what people who are Christians. Do. They help others. Come to that same God as well. Let's pray, Heavenly Father. We thank you for your word and your will in our lives. We thank you for your spirits and dwelling power. We pray for righteousness. To rain in our midst. We pray for wisdom. The wisdom of God to lead us as a church. And we look forward, even as we look back to your faithfulness and we praise you for it in Jesus name. Amen.