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One Corinthians chapter one.
Verse 18.
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved. It is the power of God.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
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? 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.
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For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified.
Unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. 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 base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen, yeah? And things which are not to bring to not things that are that no flesh and glory in his presence.
But of whom are ye in Christ Jesus? Who of God is made unto us Wisdom?
And righteousness and sanctification and redemption that according as it is written.
He that glorious let him glory in the Lord. And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with Excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom.
But in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
In these verses, there are several references to preaching or the Word.
Or the preaching of the cross.
But I think it's important that we understand that this is not saying that preaching itself is considered foolish.
People preach about everything.
There are people preaching to go to London and Hyde Park, and you can listen to people preach about everything under the sun. You go to places in New York City and you can hear people preaching on anything. I'm sure it's so in every part of the world. The point is here, not the art of preaching, but the the message itself, the word of the cross.
It's the concept that a crucified man.
Is the way of God's blessing and salvation. That's foolishness to the natural man. He doesn't understand it and he's perishing. And that's why it's foolish. Consumed. I mentioned that because there's a tendency sometimes to think it's that it's preaching itself. It's foolish. The world doesn't consider preaching foolish. They pay people a lot of money to get up and preach.
But it's the subject of the matter. What is it that they're preaching? And so it's the word or preaching of the cross that's to them that perish foolishness.
And that, I think, puts it into perspective that we might not put it in if we did not realize that it's not preaching itself to foolish. It's the message that we have. What are we preaching? We're preaching it. A crucified man is God's way of salvation.
The crucified man is how God has brought blessing to this world. It's foolishness to the natural man.
The humanizer says by weakness and defeat he won the meat and crown. Trot every poor beneath his feet by being trodden down. He Satan's power lead law with sin. He's sin overthrew about to the cross to the great destroyed it so and death by dying slow. We don't have that last verse in our hymn but you and I know it from the past. But it's beautiful to see.
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That just does not make sense That one wins a victory in defeat.
In the 23rd verse.
He says we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews as stumbling block. They were looking for a Messiah that would come and set up the Kingdom and reign in righteousness and establish them as the head. They were the tail. The Time the Lord was here in subjection to the gentile powers, and then this one who claimed to be the Christ.
The Son of God was crucified on a cross of shame and ignominy, and reproach and dishonor.
That was a stumbling block to the Jews that was hard for them to.
Put together with all the many scriptures in the Old Testament that spoke of the coming Kingdom, the glory of it, a man shall reign in righteousness, and Princess shall rule in judgment, and so on. But there were scriptures in their Old Testament that told of the sufferings of the Messiah. They seemed to overlook that. And Isaiah 53, Psalm 22.
So on.
The sufferings in Psalm 69 and so on. So it was a stumbling block to the Jew you remember in Acts One. After he rose from the dead, they asked him now that he'd come back, Now wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel? Their hopes were dashed to pieces, when the one they expected would reign was put to death in such an ignominious way. And.
Now they thought, now would be the time to set up the Kingdom. And it's not for you to know the times of the seasons which the Father has put in his own power, but ye shall receive power after that. The Holy Ghost has come upon you. So a new order of things were about to be introduced altogether by the coming of the Holy Spirit. Christ in glory rejected man down here. But to the Gentiles, the Greeks it was foolishness, wasn't it?
A man, just as **** has just said.
A man crucified in shame and weakness, being the savior of the world, being the king of kings and Lord of Lords foolishness. But the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Foolishness to these high minded Greeks and Gentiles is that it was, as we had brought before us yesterday, the end of natural man. The preaching of the cross is the end of man's history as a natural man before gone to those of us that believe the power of God, the Apostle says in Galatians 6 and 14. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross.
By which the world is crucified unto me, and I under the world. The cross stands as a Sentinel between the believer and the world, and it separates the world from those who believe. So it is the end of the first man that is foolishness to those who perish. Now the Pharisees and the lawyers experience the same type of thing.
As for the preaching of John, it says in Luke 7 that they rejected that for themselves, the counsel of God.
Well, a natural man in his vaunted lore and education and wisdom.
It's foolishness to think that I've been set aside, but the preaching of the cross sets aside the first man completely and sets the 2nd man before us.
His students in college remember these verses.
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?
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Or after that in the wisdom of God. The world by its own wisdom knew not God. God had seen to it that man cannot find God out by his own wisdom, by his own intellect. The only way that God can be known is his revelation of himself in the person of his Son. And by the Spirit of God man's intellect will never.
Find God out.
And so it was the wisdom of God that the world by its own wisdom.
Cannot find him out, knew him not knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of not preaching, but the preaching what was being preached? Christ crucified to man. That's foolishness to save them that believe. There's no way that there's no way think of it. You know those that want to degrade and speak against this blessed book, They say it was just the invention of men.
There's no way that man would ever invent such a way of salvation. Never would it enter his mind, its foolishness, to man, the way that God has chosen to bring salvation about his beloved Son crucified on a cross of shame, dishonor, despise, spit upon.
All the evil they did to him, that's the the weakness of God. He was apparently weak, unable to come down.
If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross and we will believe thee. They wouldn't have. He had committed miracle after miracle that didn't convince them. They were determined to get rid of that man. What shall we do? They had a conference together and they said, if we let this man alone, the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.
He didn't leave him alone. They put him to the cross. They put him to death. They thought they got rid of him and the thing they were trying to avoid happened. The Romans did come and take took away.
Their place and nation, the very thing they tried to avoid by crucifying Him, was the very thing that happened to them. And then God opens the floodgates of love and blessing to this poor world that offers salvation full and free, based upon what Christ did on the cross. The natural man doesn't understand that the cross was the end of the first man. We understand that.
Some Christians have a hard time grasping that.
Still trying to improve the old man, The old man was crucified with him. It's the end of the history of man after the flesh. We know that. But the means that what God used to bring about this was to man. Utterly foolish, utterly foolish. And yet that's God's wisdom and it's God's power and God's ways are not our ways no man could ever have devised.
Such a means of saving the human race as God has devised. And it's not just a way. He didn't have the five choices that he could have made. It's the only way that salvation can come about. The way it came about is the only way. There's no other way. His son had to die and be put to shame, as he was by his own creatures, in order to bring about God's love to be expressed and flow out to the lost guilty sinners such as we were.
I suppose it's important, and perhaps we could say this to the young people this chapter in no way.
Shall we say makes little of man's mind or his capabilities, Does it? No. God made man's mind, and there's nothing wrong with the mind being used to the fullest extent. But the difficulty is that it tends to intrude into the moral and spiritual realm where we are shut up to divine revelation, aren't we? And so there's nothing wrong with the mind being used.
But the higher we get in the use of the mind, the more the tendency is, the more the danger is that it be used in the wrong way. For the unbeliever, of course, the tendency is to try and think that he can figure things out, that he can't learn by any other means but by divine revelation. And of course God will not have man glorying in his presence, especially fallen man, and using his mind.
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To try and delve into things that only God can reveal to Him. And so God in his wisdom, as it says here, as we might say, deliberately shown man the utter folly of allowing him to try and find God by human means. And so where is the disputer of this world? Where is the scribe? Where are the men to whom the world would look up?
Most of the time they're morally a long way from God, and what they say is utter foolishness. But then for the believer, the danger is still there, isn't it? Our mind, if it's under the control of the spirit of God, can be used to much blessing, and that's what we want. But the mind, not under the control of the spirit of God, can go just about anywhere and the same thing can happen. Flesh can glory in his presence and God says no, I won't allow that.
I won't allow that to happen. And so once again, the mind used by a believer in the things of God makes him end up in error. It may seem to have a semblance of truth with it, but it ends up in error, doesn't it? And again, the same principle applies, that no flesh should glory in his presence. But we say that because there is a danger in some circles among believers to in seeking to apply this chapter which needs to be firmly applied.
There is a danger of denigrating the mind that God has given man and saying we shouldn't use our minds. No, the Lord doesn't say that at all. He made the mind and he intends that it be used, but he intends that it be used in the right way. He intends that it be used for his glory. He intends that it be used by the believer under the control of the Spirit of God.
There is such a thing as true science.
Scripture speaks of science falsely. so-called there is true science. Science discovers the secrets of nature. Industry puts it to the use of man.
So there is such a thing as true science, and if you study the sciences.
Not science, falsely so-called. You might well enjoy it and but be careful when it comes to understanding the truth and word of God, you need the Spirit of God and you need to be taught by Him. It's very important to understand that we as believers believe, therefore we understand.
The worldly person wants to understand before he believes, Even when it comes to the truth of creation, they bring in all kinds of arguments trying to even help us to understand creation.
Do I have to understand scientific facts in order to believe what this book says about creation?
Now I believe what it says and I might be very ignorant when it comes to the sciences, but I don't need to know scientific facts in order to understand what the Bible says about creation. I'm just mentioning that we don't want to belittle through science and just think of I'm a diabetic, what they have discovered.
How they can help a diabetic Tremendous, isn't it?
Can we not be thankful for that?
The surgical skills, the medicines to treat various ills, those are wonderful things. But when it comes to the word of God, we don't need to be trained in sciences in order to enjoy and understand the word of God. God said to man after he created him that he was to fill the earth and subdue it.
And that's what you've been talking about. I was thinking in the 1St Corinthians 2, verse 14. But the natural man?
Receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Remember that young person when your college professor, who is so filled with himself and all his knowledge.
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If he doesn't know Christ, he's not saved. He hasn't been born again and received the Holy Spirit. He cannot know the things of God, neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual, he who has a new life and is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, judges or discerneth all things. Yet he himself is judged or discerned of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord?
That he may instruct him.
But we, we Christians, have the mind of Christ, and that's what we've been talking about.
Having the mind of Christ, we know what the world cannot know, does not know, and cannot know.
In connection with what you said, Brother Heinz, about science and creation, is it helpful verse and principle brought out? The Lord said, take heed how you hear, for to him that hath shall more be given to him that hath not shall be taken away, even that which he seemeth to have. And it's how we receive the word that's important. If I ask you, do you have a driver's license? And you say to me, yes, I believe you. But if I say I see it, and you show it to me, and I say, oh, yeah, you do have one. I didn't believe you. I believe the piece of paper.
And it's important that we receive the word of God as the word of God. And if a person, as you say, believes things because they've been proved to him, he hasn't believed the one who's told him those things, he's believed the proof. And God does give abundant proof. There is abundant proof to the truth of Scripture, and we see these things and we marvel at it. But our faith cannot rest on those things because it's not faith. We haven't received the word in a right way.
And so just the verse before the one that Chuck read in the second chapter, Brother Chuck read in the second chapter is it says.
Comparing spiritual with spiritual, we're jumping way ahead, but we communicate spiritual truths by spiritual means. And that's really what the thought is there is that it comes by believing what God has said, and it's the only right approach of a man to God. And if he comes because God's proved something to him, he's not coming the right way.
And it is not that we understand through faith the way a philosopher or scientist wants to understand. There are many things that are recorded in this book that we really cannot apprehend. You know when you think of the Trinity, when you think of the truth that there is.
God manifested in the flesh that there are two natures.
A human and a divine in one person. Can you really understand that the way a philosopher wants to understand that? But I can enjoy by faith what the scripture says or do I have to admit I cannot really fully enter into it? So faith enjoys things and believes it, although we cannot really.
Fully enter into it. That's important to get a hold of we can enjoy.
What God says just because he says it, although I cannot the way a scientist or a philosopher wants to understand it, I cannot enter into it in that way.
There's a sign on the back of the this room that I'm reading right now that says the most important tool for success is the belief that you can succeed.
Would it be right to say that even though there is such a thing as true science that there needs to be among the people of God and exercise as to whether the Lord would have the goal and and into a course of true science or what everything whatever we pursue in life. And so we don't want to give the idea that because that at a certain Ave. of education.
Umm is pure science or whatever that that is OK to go ahead and pursue that line of profession? Would that be right?
It's the way the Lord leads one.
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Luke was a doctor, the beloved physician. Zenus was a lawyer. And we're thankful for those that are. We're glad that there's a doctor when you have diabetes, as you said, and if one is LED in that way with the caution that's been given, I was thinking, as has been mentioned in college, that Paul went to Mars Hill.
And he said, I perceived that thou art altogether too superstitious. And then he spoke of two things that could not be known by man's natural reason. He spoke of resurrection and of judgment.
And So what we have in the Word of God are things that are revealed. They're reasonable, and God has given abundant signs to them. But.
It's not by signs and it's not by reason that we receive these things. We receive them by faith.
And that's exactly what we get in the Epistle to Hebrews Chapter 11. By faith, we perceive that the world was formed by the word of God. We do not know the worlds were formed by the result of the so-called scientific process, setting up a hypothesis and doing experimentation and arriving at a conclusion.
No. We know the world is reformed by the word of God because God tells us this by revelation.
And there is so much in our lives that we are totally dependent on God for revelation.
Everything in this book that historical is true, but we do not depend on the history of it to authenticate what is said in the word. There are some scientific facts. How could a fisherman know about the dissolving of the elements and the melting with a fervent heat in these kind of things? Well, it's by faith. We understand the truth of God, not by the scientific process, not by the education process.
Simply believing what God has said.
Could I add, Dave, to what you were suggesting, because I think that's a very important point and that is that we can, as young people, have the mind of the Lord about direction that we take in our lives.
Permit me to say from the vantage point of one who's a generation ahead of most of the young people here, it pains me many times to see dear young people today so bewildered by the multiplicity of choices in the world and the opportunities that they hardly know which which way to go. And I think that's what you're referring to, Dave.
And it is difficult. It wasn't as hard in the generation that some of us grew up in.
But the same spirit of God.
That helped us to make decisions, can help you to make a decision, and God isn't. We say it with all reverence, bewildered by the tremendous number of choices. And so it's not good enough simply to say, well, I have no idea what I should be doing, but everybody else is going to college, everybody else is doing this or that. So I guess I'd better go too, and we'll see what happens.
I don't believe that we always know the end of the journey. We don't always know exactly where everything's going to end up. But at the same time, I believe we can have a sense in our souls of definite and clear guidance from the Lord as to which direction we take. And whether that's a matter of going into an academic course or whether it's a matter of going into business, whether it's a matter of learning, a trade, or whatever it might be, I believe we can have a sense of the Lord's guidance in that.
And so I don't believe that we have to flounder around and end up getting into a situation where perhaps we do get into difficulties. Because there have been those that have had that happen, those that have gone into courses and gone into various lines of the exercise of their mind that has caused a real difficulty for them. And it's sad, very, very sad. And the scripture warns us about that. It warns us about being spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit. It warns us in this chapter about where man's mind can lead us.
And so it's good to be much before the Lord, isn't it? That scripture says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom? And Psalm 25, verse 14 Remember this young people. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.
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He'll show you your path if you walk with him, but that's not a there's no shortcuts to that. You can't take a course in school to gain that. The secret of the Lord is to walk with him, who is the truth, and he will never mislead you. Never.
Mr. Darby's translation in Proverbs 3 is to lean not to your own intelligence.
But commit your way to the Lord, and he will direct the path we've often said to our dear young brother and sisters. Do they that honor God? Will He honor? And so the secret is a matter of communion with God the Lord Jesus Christ, And take my yoke upon you and learn of me. And so here we are, walking with the Lord Jesus Christ in his company, and we're safe in whatever direction our life might take.
But the power of our energy should be exerted and going on in communion with Christ, and then we don't have to have too much energy expended In what direction we should our life should go.
Let me read, Let me read another scripture for the help of everyone with this question before us. How can I know His will?
In Philippians 4.
He concludes this wonderful epistle, which is the normal Christianity, normal Christian life. Finally, verse 848. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true. Not fiction, but true.
Whatsoever things are honest or venerable about to be highly esteemed, what sort of things are just?
Whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely. Don't dwell on the evil, don't dwell on the failures that you see around do and in your brethren, or even in yourself to judge them, And then go on the occupied with what is lovely, as much as lovely with the Saints. What sort of things are of good? Report there be any virtue, there be any praise. Think.
On these things.
Our thought life will.
Help us if we follow this, we follow just these simple scriptures that tell us how to walk and to find our way through the maze of confusion that presents itself to young people and to all of us actually as we go through this scene, but greater is He that is in you. There's another scripture, first John 44, then He that is in the world. We have one in dwelling us who is our teacher, our guide, our comforter.
The one that takes our hand walks with us through this scene. The Holy Spirit and the Blessed Lord on high is interceding for us. Spirit here below interceding to whom? To the Father and the Father himself loveth you, the Lord Jesus said. And that's so good to know that all the persons of the Godhead are engaged in your life and in my life, if God be for us.
Who can be against us? He's given all he could give. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things so it's all for us. And God is for us, and we can go ahead with the consciousness that he loves me, my Father loves me, and the Son is praying for me, and the Spirit is praying for me to go on and to walk according to his mind where this is where we find it right here.
Make this your daily study and your meditation, and you'll have the secret of the Lord.
Also in connection with that, just two final verses that we're all familiar with and Josh will watch after one verse 8 and 9. Josh watched after one verse 8:00 and 9:00.
Like the same as, as we said already.
This is a very good outline to success, especially for those people who are considering.
What to do, whether college or whatever.
This book is a lot of my mouth with Thou shalt meditate there in daylight. Now may it's observed to do according to all is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy ways prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
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I'm not I commanded thee. Be strong and with good courage. Do not pray, neither do thou dismay. The Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
In case that didn't get on the tape, I'm going to reread it.
Joshua 18 and 9:00.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night.
That thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous.
And then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee, Be strong, and have a good courage? Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, For the Lord thy God is with thee. Whithersoever thou goest also in Proverbs it says In all thy ways acknowledge him. What does that mean? I believe it means that we recognize his claims upon us.
We are not our own. He has bought us with a price. He is the Lord. He is in charge. He is to direct. We don't always are 100% sure whether we have the Lord's mind. When we immigrated to the state, my father-in-law initiated this and I asked him, I said, Are you sure that you have the Lord's mind?
No, he said. I cannot say, but I pray every day.
That if it isn't his will that he would stop me.
Even as a young man, I was never impressed with people that are always so sure that they have the mind of the Lord.
Even the Apostle Paul remember several times he wanted to go someplace. The Lord stopped him. But if we really want to please him and be directed by him, we can say Lord, I don't want to make a mistake, Please stop me and he will. We're not our own. We belong to the Lord Jesus. We ought to live for him, not for self.
The apostle Paul preached at his conversion. He said, Lord, what will thou have me to do? And here's a man who had been schooled in all of the wisdom of this world, And we could also liken Moses the same time. And God took both of those men into paths that were different from the education in which they were schooled in. So I'm not saying that a person after they've taken all the education that they pursue a different path, but.
It just shows that that God's ways are different than man's ways, doesn't it?
50 years ago I was wrestling with some of these things and someone put in my hand a little track by William Kelly called Bread Trades. Many of the young people can get a hold of a copy of it. I'm sure you'd find a blessing from it.
I had a good friend in high school by the name of Al Rain.
And Al was struggling as I was with what the Lord wanted us to do, and I gave him that to read.
And he.
Felt and one can't talk, but he came to the conclusion that he wanted to be an ophthalmologist and he became an ophthalmologist. And I lost track of him for almost all these years.
About six months ago.
Bob DeWitt.
Got a reply to something on his web page that said do you know possibly how I can get in touch with **** Corgis?
Do you know anything about it? Bob forwarded it to me, and we began a very happy renewal of our friendship and correspondence.
And now just recently said to me, I've thought over that tract of Mr. Kelly's and I wish I had thought more about it when I was younger. Now brother Bill, this is not common in any way condemning his becoming an ophthalmologist. But he himself has had second thoughts about it and wondered if he wouldn't have been happier in a bread drain where he could Now let Mr. Kelly meant by that was just something to her, my friend.
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And.
He. He.
At this very late stage in his life, having retired from the medical profession, he's now.
Digging into the word and enjoying it. And he said something I couldn't have done years ago. I just didn't have the time for it. I have mentioned that track because if you haven't read it.
And it's still available. I suggest you get ahold of a copy of it and read it. Not that you become a plumber or Carpenter or whatever, although I I sometimes feel that the happiest Christians I know are those that are in that kind of thing. They go on and people who clean rugs for a living or whatever it is. I enjoy that being in the company of such.
I've been on both sides of it.
I remember at one point in my college career, college education, my father called me inside. He told me he was scared of what was happening to my mind.
By all the garbage that you're being taught in the college.
If you knew my dad, you knew he had a pretty sharp mind and he wasn't deprecating.
Intelligence. Intelligence. But he knew that I was headed in a bad direction, and finally I became convinced of it myself.
And I got down on my knees and I prayed something. That was probably the most dangerous prayer I've ever made in my life. But I've never regretted it.
I said, Lord.
If the acquisition of knowledge and and.
That sort of thing.
Will take me away from you.
Please take my mind away. I'd rather go into heaven a simple.
Souls than the one in becoming more and more convinced with the of. The.
Garbage of the world.
I'm glad. I trust the Lord didn't totally take that.
I trust I still have my mind, but it was a real sober prayer and I said it before him because these scriptures that we're reading together.
Were what formed the basis of my saying to the Lord.
Let me be simple again in the things of God.
Now, don't take that wrong.
Intelligence and and.
Intelligence and diligence and the things of science are is a valuable thing. I'm not I I joined with heights and what he said before about it. But be careful.
Be careful and if you can get a hold of that little tractor, Mr. Kelly, if it isn't available, it's not a long one. I have thought of putting it up again in a in a in a word processing format and give us the title of that. Again Fred Craig, Fred Craig, that was the title of BTP gave to it years ago and I don't know if it's still available. Has anybody recently seen it?
Never. Still never saw it? Beg your pardon? Never heard of it.
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This latter part of the chapter is very important. It's how spiritual truth is communicated. And to use a overused word, it's very relevant to the day in which we're living because it's how is it that God reaches out to people. When I was younger, somebody said, well, if you're going to rich, meet rich people to the Lord, that you've got to rent the Ritz Carlton in Paris and invite them to a reception and give them the gospel there. That's not how God does it. You want to get people to the Lord, you got to entertain them. So you have puppet shows.
That's not how spiritual truths are communicated. It's the foolishness of preaching. Don't apologize for the truth, Give it out. We're living in a vast, so-called Christian land and people are largely ignorant of the simple facts of the gospel, even real believers, simple facts of scripture. And So what you do is you give it out. It's by the foolishness of announcing this truth that people know that there's going to be a judgment. People's consciences have been awakened.
They've been given a shake. You know, when the Gulf War was on, some students spruced themselves all up and they came to the house. They said, can I talk to you? And they came and they sat down and they said, is this the end of the world?
Circumstances that awaken their conscience. It was an opportunity and we, many of us had to have opportunities. And the time is just to open the word of God and announce to them a fax and leave it with the Lord. And that's what he'll use about A great deal of energy is burnt up by people trying to communicate spiritual truths in spiritual ways.
And so.
A brother used to say, you know we shouldn't just use a why rob the Lord if you're if you want going to use a piano and organ give him a whole orchestra, you know. But the fact is that christened and my brother said he shouldn't say that because christened them gives Hollywood a run for its money and the way they do things now. And that's not how spiritual truth is communicated. It's somebody bowing their head at the table at school, reading their scriptures on the bus and going on in this acquired Christian way that God.
Announcing the facts of the gospel that this wonderful truth is communicated.
I like to comment on verse 26.
For ye see you're calling veteran. How that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.
Again, there is nothing wrong.
In wisdom, true wisdom.
You know, it's a wonderful thing if you know a brother that is a wise brother, but here it says wise according to the flesh. That's not the kind of a wisdom. And those people like that. There are not many like that that the Lord calls, and not many mighty.
And not many noble. I understand that one of the women of nobility said she was glad it didn't say. Not any noble, but not many. Why? Because God delights to pick out that which is likely esteemed among men, that magnifies his grace.
And justice, keep that in mind. Not many like that and.
But that which is steam little, that's what it says. He has chosen to foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty well.
Maybe most of us fit in that category. You know, we're not very wise, we're not mighty and we're certainly not of nobility, but.
The Lord in His grace has picked us out and has made us to be what we are in Christ.
The Lord Jesus on one occasion said to the Father.
I thank thee that thou hast hid this from the wise, and revealed them unto babes, for Even so it seemed good. And thy sight, and that's what we're talking about, the wisdom and the wisdom of God. He has taken that which is a no ignoble in man's views, and used it to bring blessing to man, when the Lord Jesus Christ was given the scriptures to read.
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Where he was growing up, he read that the poor have the gospel preached unto them, and so it's a good principle for us to keep in mind what we have right here that not many.
Wise and not many noble and so forth are called, but the gospel goes out and except one becomes as a little child.
Can't enter the Kingdom. And so God has taken these things and hidden them from the wise of this world. Can a man, in searching find out God? No. He has to come in as a little child, dependent and believing, and that is a source of blessing because it seemed good in the sight of the Father's eyes. That's wonderful for the children here in this room to realize that maybe they don't understand everything in the meeting, but God's chosen to reveal things to you that the wise men of this world do not know.
If I took one of the youngest children in this room and asked them what's going to happen, they would probably give you a pretty good little outline of what the future holds for this world. What are the leaders of this world saying we're going to rid the world of evil?
Now, who is right? I think God communicates, is pleased to communicate to what is not regarded in this world. As you've been pointing out things that the wise men of this world, the powerful man, as they jet about the world, trying to set the world in order, they don't understand. But I think even a young child can understand that the Lord's going to overturn till he whose right it is has come and it's going to be given to him. And so that's why it's wonderful for you to be here and This is why you belong here, is to hear these things line upon line, precept upon precept. You're going to pick up a little bit. But God has given you to understand things that the wise men of this world do not and cannot understand by human wisdom.
Maybe turn together to Acts chapter 26.
Thought of your mind? That's Chapter 26.
Speaking about the Apostles verse 25.
24.
And he said thus, faith for himself and fish to sit with a loud voice, ball loud heart, be signed by himself. Much awareness does make the man for the margins of cases, but instead.
I am not that most noble Festivus, but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.
That's the key truth and.
Also call on the well learned man, but he used it for the glory and honor of our Lord Jesus Christ, heading forth the words and truth and soberness.
Something wrong with the higher education Sometimes the Lord has allowed to give it to us, those who have a member to speak the words and truth.
And the second verse of Corinthians Chapter 11.
3rd degree.
Dear left by any means as the serpent desiled, he through his subtlety, but your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is incorrect.
I like to take note of a word that appears here in this first chapter first Corinthians several times and the thought down through these verses. And that's the word calling unto them which are called where you see your calling. Not many noble are called.
And we know that the gospel goes out and we preach the gospel.
Whosoever will may come, God has established a basis whereby he proclaims liberty to the captive. There's no reason for anyone to say I haven't been predestinated. I haven't been called, I haven't been chosen. I can't come. God declares, Whosoever will may come, but what is it? And this will produce, This produces worship in our heart. What is it that gets us to listen to that?
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It's that call that God gives to us, and it's a sovereign act of God. And we read the word God has chosen the foolish things God has chosen.
The things that are despised.
There's nothing in our wisdom and in our ability and our comprehension.
That led us to be saved. We were dead in trespasses and sins. A dead man can't respond to anything, can it? Sometimes we hear the gospel preached. You need to believe on Jesus to be born again. The Bible tells us you need life from God to be able to believe on Jesus. That we could not have been our own wisdom ever have come to make this decision, no matter how well it was presented, no matter how lovingly it was given to us.
I remember you used to listen to Albert Hale preached the gospel. And I think how could anybody in the world not get saved listening to that gospel message?
But that isn't what makes someone get saved, is it? It's that call of the God of Heaven, and it's an irresistible call when he speaks and calls our name and says come, follow me, it's absolute grace. It's absolutely a sovereign act of God. And we get that enrollments in the 8th chapter of the Book of Romans.
Verse 29 of Romans, chapter eight Well, let's read 28 verse. And we know that all things work together for good for them that love God to them that are called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow. He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate them he also called.
And whom he called them he also justified. And whom he justified them he glorified. What shall we say to these things? What can it do when we think about this, except to produce in our heart profound, deep thanks, gratitude, and worship? Now I like to keep point out that some misunderstand whom he poor knew, as if he would know who would accept the gospel.
A brother years ago put it this way, he said, upon whom he set his affections. Then he predestinated. I think that's a beautiful way of explaining that verse. And so before anything was made that was made, God knew that there would be a key.
And he said I want that key to be my son, my child.
And then when Keith was born, he saw to it that Keith would hear the gospel.
That that call would reach you and.
You were saved. It was all a sovereign work of God. It's for me, for anyone in this room, the same way. But calling sometimes also refers to what we are called to, You know, we have a heavenly calling, you know, not an earthly one, but how wonderful that that call reached us. And the Spirit of God brought in our hearts and consciences so that our eyes were open to our need.
And to accept the law, and we cannot boast, I have believed.
Overdose that have not believed even faith is a gift of God, you know, faith was given to us and so that we could by faith accept what the grace offered.
Before we close the meeting, our time is nearly gone. Could we hear something on verse 30 of chapter one? It seems to tie in with what we have just been hearing, that it's the sovereign grace of God that calls us and.
Maybe, Brother Chuck, if that wouldn't be asking too much, could you give us something on that? I was just going to say go ahead, Bill.
Go ahead.
Well, I could make a remark or two, but maybe others would enlarge on it. But it seems here that the wording says, Who of God, Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us Wisdom? And then in the latter or in the next chapter it says in verse seven we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden Wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory.
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It's characteristic of the gospel that the Apostle Paul preached that he begins with the honor and glory of Christ and God's purposes in his beloved Son, and then the wondrous way that God is going to bring you and me into blessing with him.
And so he's the center of all of God's wisdom, isn't he? And then of course, righteousness. Well, how could there be righteousness except by the cross? God could not bring righteousness together with His Holiness except by the cross sanctification. We're set apart, set apart positionally, and then as we live on in the Christian life, practically and progressively, we are set more and more apart from the whole course of this world.
Through which we walk and then eventually redemption, I would suggest, is looked at here as the completion of it all. That is, when we receive the full results of the finished work of Christ. We are of course redeemed as to fact now, but as to reality, it'll be realized in that coming day in a full way, won't it, when we have those glorified bodies and see the full results of all of that work on the cross.
As to the Lord Jesus Christ being made to us righteousness, it says in the.
And is it Chapter 9 who himself knew no sin?
Has been made sense for us that we might be made of righteousness of God. In him there is a righteousness of God announced in the gospel and we are Christ is our righteousness. He is also our.
Sanctification or holiness. God has made us holy and without blame before Him in love, so that we have become.
In character and nature suitable to the presence of God himself. So all of this is in Christ. He's dressed us with every spiritual blessing.
Heavenlies in Christ, and so He himself is the object for which it was all done, and we have everything that we possess in him.
Just a little word of caution in regard to the righteousness and part of this. There's a there's a thought that is taught all around us that the Lord Jesus personal righteousness is put to our account. I don't think that's taught in Scripture. I think when it talks about the righteousness of God, it's talking about God's perfect.
Consistency.
With what he is and what he does for the believer. Now that's all made good to us in Christ, and only in Christ. But increasingly I hear around me believers talking about the concept that.
The Lord's personal righteousness in his life down here is what is put to our account, and I don't think that's taught in the Word. I think what is taught in the Word.
Is that that qualified him to go to the cross and satisfy the righteousness of God, which is then made available to us in Christ. God is just and to justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.
In English we have two words. We can also say God is righteous and declares righteous. The one who believes in Jesus. I was also glad for for Brother Ewell.
Referring to having been made holy. Sanctification is more than just setting us apart. Yes, that's true, but He has made us holy. We stand before him wholly unblameable, irreproachable Colossians, one and by one offering. He has perfected forever the sanctified or those that are made holy. The NIV said that are to be sanctified as if it is a future thing. No, it's a present.
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State in which God sees us. We are made holy positional holiness. There are scriptures that speak of practical holiness and like in Hebrews, that we might become partakers of His Holiness. That's why He chastises us. And also in 2nd Corinthians 7.
1St Thessalonians 3 You have practical holiness.
But it's a wonderful thing by faith to understand that God looks at us as holy through the work of the Lord Jesus, not because of anything that we have done, but being.
In that position before him we ought to be exercised at practically it be demonstrated in our lives.
That we demonstrate what the grace of God has made us to be. If if.
If Christ, keeping the law for us was put to our account, then we would stand in a righteousness that He.
Worked out during his life. And there's a verse in scripture that says that is not the righteousness in which we stand and it's Galatians 2.
21 Last verse of chapter two he says I do not frustrate the grace of God. For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. The righteousness in which we stand is Christ risen, who is our life and our righteousness. We can point to the man in the glory and say he is my righteousness before God, having put away all my sins on the cross.
Now he's risen into a state of acceptance and favor, and that's where we stand in him. And he is our righteousness, but it's not his keeping the law for us. If that had been the case, why would he have to have died?
He was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. Romans Four 330 Sorry #67 in the appendix. Perfect righteousness of God and its witness in the Savior's blood.
67.
The perfect.
Day.
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And our Father, we thank thee for that one that thou hast exalted, given a name which is above every name, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank thee, our God, that we have by grace been able to acknowledge in some measure in our lives that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Well, we acknowledge that there's no wisdom without thy well beloved Son. And so we have wisdom in this path and wisdom.
Knowledge as to the purposes and counsels of their God. In this scene we thank the our God and our Father that Thou has delighted.
To reveal these things to us that we might have fellowship with thee in this scene in intelligence as we await the coming of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. And so we thank thee for this precious time together. We just ask that it might bear fruit for thy glory and honor in our lives and that there might be blessing for us to In the precious and worthy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Amen.