1 00:00:04,646 --> 00:00:06,866 You guys know what the word a sophomore means? 2 00:00:06,866 --> 00:00:10,896 It's my favorite of all of our classes that we assign to our students. 3 00:00:10,896 --> 00:00:12,735 You know what sophomore means, anybody out there? 4 00:00:13,705 --> 00:00:15,856 Means wise fool. 5 00:00:15,856 --> 00:00:16,705 Yeah. 6 00:00:16,705 --> 00:00:17,215 Yeah. 7 00:00:17,245 --> 00:00:20,566 So anybody that's out there that might be a sophomore, congrats, that's who you are. 8 00:00:20,566 --> 00:00:22,545 You are a wise fool. 9 00:00:23,376 --> 00:00:26,125 I was thinking about the word sophomore this week as I was preparing for 10 00:00:26,126 --> 00:00:29,465 this message though, because i- in a lot of ways, that- that's how 11 00:00:29,506 --> 00:00:32,336 the world looks at Christianity. 12 00:00:32,345 --> 00:00:36,255 That- that we proclaim to be wise, but the world will look at us and say, "But- 13 00:00:36,256 --> 00:00:37,966 but you guys are just a bunch of fools. 14 00:00:38,846 --> 00:00:42,105 You're following a 2,000-year-old book. 15 00:00:42,116 --> 00:00:47,245 Y- you're following a, a savior that you're telling me died as a criminal, 16 00:00:47,245 --> 00:00:51,126 humiliated, stripped naked, crucified between two thieves, and, and you've 17 00:00:51,145 --> 00:00:54,326 put your whole hope in this savior. 18 00:00:54,326 --> 00:00:57,056 You- you're a, a wise fool." 19 00:00:59,096 --> 00:01:04,446 When I graduated from high school, I was, even though graduated, I, I, I 20 00:01:04,446 --> 00:01:06,176 was still in many ways a, a sophomore. 21 00:01:06,176 --> 00:01:07,336 I was a wise fool. 22 00:01:08,225 --> 00:01:11,326 I, I thought that, you know what, I needed, I… 23 00:01:11,326 --> 00:01:12,925 And, and I wanted to go into ministry. 24 00:01:12,986 --> 00:01:16,676 I, I w- I wanted to, to go be a pastor and, and yet in my 25 00:01:16,676 --> 00:01:17,676 flesh, I thought, you know what? 26 00:01:18,015 --> 00:01:21,886 I, I wanna go and be trained in the wisdom of the world. 27 00:01:21,895 --> 00:01:25,255 And so I went to this school called Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. 28 00:01:25,265 --> 00:01:28,545 Uh, and I was gonna go major in philosophy there, literally 29 00:01:28,545 --> 00:01:30,245 the, the love of, of wisdom. 30 00:01:31,836 --> 00:01:34,805 But I got there, and God very quickly redirected me and said, "This is not 31 00:01:34,805 --> 00:01:37,316 where I want you," through a series of events that don't really have a 32 00:01:37,316 --> 00:01:38,405 bearing on this morning's sermon. 33 00:01:38,406 --> 00:01:41,255 But He made it very clear that that's not where He wanted me to be. 34 00:01:41,255 --> 00:01:44,335 See, I was pursuing the world's wisdom as I was preparing to go into 35 00:01:44,336 --> 00:01:47,215 ministry, and He was saying, "You don't need the world's wisdom right now. 36 00:01:47,215 --> 00:01:50,155 You need more of the wisdom that I have for you." 37 00:01:50,906 --> 00:01:51,805 And so I, I left. 38 00:01:51,805 --> 00:01:52,685 I came back to Dallas. 39 00:01:52,685 --> 00:01:53,866 I, I, I stayed here. 40 00:01:53,866 --> 00:01:57,175 I, uh, worked at The Gap believe it or not, for six months. 41 00:01:57,775 --> 00:01:59,026 Worst job I've ever had. 42 00:01:59,765 --> 00:02:02,985 And then I left, and I went to, uh, the Master's University, 43 00:02:03,005 --> 00:02:04,055 Master's College at the time. 44 00:02:04,275 --> 00:02:06,225 And, uh, I, I needed that. 45 00:02:06,225 --> 00:02:06,655 I needed that. 46 00:02:06,655 --> 00:02:09,755 I needed the wisdom of the Lord to be able to come and, and be effective as a pastor. 47 00:02:09,755 --> 00:02:15,336 But i-i- even that right there makes it so clear to us that there is a juxtaposition. 48 00:02:15,336 --> 00:02:19,126 There is a, there is an opposition even at times between what the world 49 00:02:19,126 --> 00:02:21,075 says, "This is the wisdom of the world. 50 00:02:21,086 --> 00:02:23,996 This is the wisdom worth pursuing," and what God says, 51 00:02:24,115 --> 00:02:26,035 "No, this is, this is my wisdom." 52 00:02:26,975 --> 00:02:30,245 And so while the world may look at us and say of Christians, "Well, you guys 53 00:02:30,245 --> 00:02:32,916 are nothing but a bunch of wise fools. 54 00:02:32,925 --> 00:02:38,655 You're nothing but a bunch of sophomores," as we think about God's perspective on 55 00:02:38,656 --> 00:02:41,985 this, it's important for us to realize that God's wisdom is true wisdom, 56 00:02:43,105 --> 00:02:44,625 and God's strength is true strength 57 00:02:46,664 --> 00:02:50,004 This morning's title, uh, message is titled The, The Foolishness of God. 58 00:02:51,214 --> 00:02:56,184 Not saying that God is a fool, but I want us to, to look at what the world calls 59 00:02:56,224 --> 00:02:59,504 foolishness, and understand that, that in the end, this is where true wisdom 60 00:02:59,504 --> 00:03:03,024 resides, is in the foolishness of God. 61 00:03:03,734 --> 00:03:06,603 Our passage is gonna be 1 Corinthians 1:21-25. 62 00:03:06,603 --> 00:03:07,934 So let me go ahead and read it for us. 63 00:03:08,513 --> 00:03:09,494 It says this. 64 00:03:09,793 --> 00:03:13,633 It says, "For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through 65 00:03:13,633 --> 00:03:17,634 wisdom, it pleased God through the folly," or foolishness, "of what we 66 00:03:17,634 --> 00:03:20,194 preach to save those who believe. 67 00:03:20,793 --> 00:03:24,253 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ 68 00:03:24,283 --> 00:03:28,154 crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. 69 00:03:28,513 --> 00:03:32,103 But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power 70 00:03:32,113 --> 00:03:34,024 of God and the wisdom of God. 71 00:03:34,373 --> 00:03:37,873 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness 72 00:03:37,883 --> 00:03:39,913 of God is stronger than men." 73 00:03:40,923 --> 00:03:44,173 Our big idea, idea this morning is, is that, that God's, God's 74 00:03:44,173 --> 00:03:47,774 wisdom is true wisdom, that God's strength is true strength. 75 00:03:49,603 --> 00:03:52,434 And so no matter what the world says, it's important for us to anchor 76 00:03:52,434 --> 00:03:55,553 ourselves back to where we know true wisdom is to be found, where 77 00:03:55,553 --> 00:03:58,263 we know true strength is revealed. 78 00:03:59,334 --> 00:04:01,463 But this morning, I want us to look at this passage to find out, 79 00:04:01,463 --> 00:04:04,473 okay, why does the world have such a problem with the wisdom of God? 80 00:04:05,184 --> 00:04:07,023 Why is there this juxtaposition? 81 00:04:07,603 --> 00:04:09,993 Why is the, the wisdom of the world pitted against the wisdom of God? 82 00:04:10,803 --> 00:04:12,683 And I think our text is gonna answer these questions for us. 83 00:04:13,093 --> 00:04:16,074 Look at verse 21 again, 21 and 22. 84 00:04:16,653 --> 00:04:18,923 It says this, "For since in the wisdom of God the world did not 85 00:04:18,934 --> 00:04:22,313 know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we 86 00:04:22,313 --> 00:04:24,893 preach to save those who believe. 87 00:04:24,903 --> 00:04:27,383 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom." 88 00:04:27,383 --> 00:04:29,313 Let's just stop right there for a second. 89 00:04:29,563 --> 00:04:33,524 These verses, these opening two at least, they explain why the wisdom 90 00:04:33,553 --> 00:04:36,063 of man looks at the wisdom of God and counts it as foolishness. 91 00:04:37,103 --> 00:04:40,223 And the reason is, is because this verse shows us that the, the reason 92 00:04:40,413 --> 00:04:43,353 that the wisdom is world, of the world is, is stuck, if I can put it 93 00:04:43,353 --> 00:04:47,163 this way, on the checkerboard while God is playing chess, is that that's 94 00:04:47,163 --> 00:04:48,823 exactly what God wants it to be. 95 00:04:49,843 --> 00:04:52,513 That may sound odd, but l- look again at the text. 96 00:04:52,553 --> 00:04:57,154 "In the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through its wisdom." 97 00:04:58,044 --> 00:05:01,423 So God's wisdom said that the world is not going to be able to 98 00:05:01,423 --> 00:05:03,794 get to me through its own wisdom. 99 00:05:04,553 --> 00:05:06,043 That was part of the wisdom of God. 100 00:05:06,094 --> 00:05:08,873 See, man's failure to know God through human wisdom is working out, in other 101 00:05:08,874 --> 00:05:10,533 words, exactly according to God's plan. 102 00:05:11,353 --> 00:05:14,013 As one commentator put it, he said this, "The world's failure to know 103 00:05:14,014 --> 00:05:15,883 God through wisdom is no accident." 104 00:05:16,923 --> 00:05:20,704 The fact that the, the philosophers and the, the intellectual elite 105 00:05:20,984 --> 00:05:27,013 can't reason their way to God is not a problem with the philosopher or a 106 00:05:27,014 --> 00:05:28,753 problem with the intellectual person. 107 00:05:29,434 --> 00:05:30,883 It's part of God's plan. 108 00:05:30,953 --> 00:05:35,323 It's part of God's design If the wisdom of the world could produce 109 00:05:35,364 --> 00:05:38,414 the saving knowledge of God, it would give humans something to boast in. 110 00:05:38,494 --> 00:05:39,693 We're gonna see that in just a little bit. 111 00:05:39,693 --> 00:05:43,293 In fact, it's part of our, our memory verse, that no human may 112 00:05:43,304 --> 00:05:45,094 boast in the presence of God. 113 00:05:46,063 --> 00:05:48,843 It would give us something to, to take credit for, to be able 114 00:05:48,844 --> 00:05:49,813 to say, "Well, well, look at me. 115 00:05:49,823 --> 00:05:51,414 I, I, I made my way to God. 116 00:05:51,433 --> 00:05:52,804 I reasoned my way to God. 117 00:05:52,804 --> 00:05:55,433 I, I used my wisdom to get to God." 118 00:05:56,953 --> 00:06:00,224 But in His wisdom, God chose to frustrate those plans, to frustrate the 119 00:06:00,224 --> 00:06:04,024 wisdom of men in order to preserve all of the glory ultimately for Himself. 120 00:06:04,663 --> 00:06:05,653 Our first point this morning is this. 121 00:06:05,654 --> 00:06:08,703 I want you to realize God sets the terms for salvation. 122 00:06:09,673 --> 00:06:12,133 Realize that God sets the terms for salvation. 123 00:06:13,703 --> 00:06:15,704 We're talking about salvation, and you might say, "Well, where's… 124 00:06:15,733 --> 00:06:16,103 Wait a minute. 125 00:06:16,154 --> 00:06:16,813 Did I miss it? 126 00:06:16,823 --> 00:06:17,873 Where's salvation in the text?" 127 00:06:17,873 --> 00:06:19,783 Well, that's what it is to know God. 128 00:06:20,943 --> 00:06:21,933 That's what he says there. 129 00:06:22,373 --> 00:06:25,453 For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God. 130 00:06:25,513 --> 00:06:28,303 It, the world could not come to a saving knowledge of God 131 00:06:28,313 --> 00:06:29,803 based on its own human wisdom. 132 00:06:30,823 --> 00:06:33,683 And, and, and that's something that, that God has designed. 133 00:06:33,963 --> 00:06:38,603 In His wisdom, our wisdom wouldn't work, in other words. 134 00:06:39,864 --> 00:06:41,553 And so He's going to frustrate that. 135 00:06:41,553 --> 00:06:44,143 God doesn't do things in a predictable way. 136 00:06:45,154 --> 00:06:47,164 In the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom. 137 00:06:47,164 --> 00:06:51,384 I- if you want to know something, right, the way that you know 138 00:06:51,384 --> 00:06:53,224 it is you begin to pursue it. 139 00:06:53,224 --> 00:06:54,663 You begin to pursue a knowledge of it. 140 00:06:54,673 --> 00:06:55,703 You begin to study it. 141 00:06:56,003 --> 00:07:00,203 You begin to read books on it or you watch YouTube videos or you research or 142 00:07:00,203 --> 00:07:04,923 you pursue the education or you get the experience or you go to ChatGPT, whatever. 143 00:07:05,163 --> 00:07:10,223 You use your wisdom to try to ascertain knowledge, to gain knowledge about 144 00:07:10,224 --> 00:07:11,843 whatever it is that you're curious about. 145 00:07:12,803 --> 00:07:14,813 You wanna learn about sports. 146 00:07:14,834 --> 00:07:15,863 You study sports. 147 00:07:15,873 --> 00:07:16,963 You wanna learn about medicine. 148 00:07:16,963 --> 00:07:17,774 You study medicine. 149 00:07:18,453 --> 00:07:22,523 But when it comes to God, what, what God is saying here through the pen of Paul 150 00:07:22,724 --> 00:07:28,373 is, is that there's no one who's ever made their way to God through using those means 151 00:07:28,443 --> 00:07:30,023 and those efforts or their own wisdom. 152 00:07:31,364 --> 00:07:31,903 And here's the thing. 153 00:07:31,904 --> 00:07:33,843 It's, it's not that they haven't tried. 154 00:07:34,883 --> 00:07:37,633 Rather, it's that God won't allow it to be that way. 155 00:07:38,623 --> 00:07:42,623 In His wisdom, the world did not know God through their wisdom. 156 00:07:43,593 --> 00:07:47,433 That part of God's plan, part of the terms that He set for knowing Him is to say, 157 00:07:47,653 --> 00:07:49,674 "You're gonna come to Me on My terms. 158 00:07:50,403 --> 00:07:54,353 You're gonna come to Me because I'm gonna make it possible, not because you're 159 00:07:54,353 --> 00:07:57,863 gonna work your way to Me, not because you're gonna reason your way to Me, not 160 00:07:57,864 --> 00:08:02,173 because you're gonna get smart enough about Me to be able to get there to the 161 00:08:02,173 --> 00:08:04,053 point of saying, 'I made my way to God.'" 162 00:08:04,703 --> 00:08:06,843 No one has ever made their way to God 163 00:08:09,464 --> 00:08:13,064 Man's wisdom, one of the main problems with it is that when it comes to 164 00:08:13,064 --> 00:08:16,374 trying to know God, man, man's wisdom is, is seeking the wrong things. 165 00:08:17,114 --> 00:08:19,774 And this is where the first part of verse 22 comes in, where he says, "For Jews 166 00:08:19,774 --> 00:08:22,624 demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom." 167 00:08:23,553 --> 00:08:25,624 Th- they were after the wrong things from God. 168 00:08:25,624 --> 00:08:28,134 When they said, "Well, we wanna know God," they were saying, "This is the 169 00:08:28,144 --> 00:08:29,723 type of God that we want to know." 170 00:08:30,634 --> 00:08:32,854 And so the Jews, they, they wanted signs. 171 00:08:33,823 --> 00:08:36,264 Pastor Rod talked about this a little bit last week, and, and just to 172 00:08:36,264 --> 00:08:39,863 build on it a little bit, they, they were thinking, "We want the king. 173 00:08:40,493 --> 00:08:45,024 We want the Messiah that's gonna be the 2 Sam- Samuel chapter 7 Davidic 174 00:08:45,033 --> 00:08:48,004 king that's gonna rule on the kingdom forever and ever without end." 175 00:08:48,704 --> 00:08:52,023 That's the Messiah that the Jews were expecting, and even that 176 00:08:52,024 --> 00:08:53,403 the disciples were expecting. 177 00:08:54,544 --> 00:08:58,413 You remember Jesus on the road to Emmaus in Luke chapter 24 comes up on these two 178 00:08:58,413 --> 00:09:01,323 disciples and, and they're just crushed. 179 00:09:02,193 --> 00:09:04,853 And He comes upon them, and He keeps them from seeing who He is, 180 00:09:04,853 --> 00:09:06,653 and He says, "Why so glum chums? 181 00:09:06,653 --> 00:09:07,473 What's going on?" 182 00:09:08,303 --> 00:09:10,403 And they look at Jesus, and they say, "Jesus, don't you know 183 00:09:10,403 --> 00:09:11,963 that they just crucified Jesus?" 184 00:09:13,343 --> 00:09:17,293 And then they say this, "We thought He was gonna be the Messiah." 185 00:09:17,593 --> 00:09:21,734 See, even the, the best of his followers had a misunderstanding 186 00:09:21,744 --> 00:09:24,984 of the type of Messiah that God came, that, that Jesus came to be. 187 00:09:26,204 --> 00:09:29,053 They wanted a different type of Messiah, and so they said, "We wanna 188 00:09:29,053 --> 00:09:30,833 know you, God, but on our terms. 189 00:09:30,833 --> 00:09:33,113 And so our terms are we want signs. 190 00:09:33,354 --> 00:09:35,574 Show us that you're ready to establish the kingdom. 191 00:09:35,744 --> 00:09:37,853 Show us that you're gonna get Rome out of here. 192 00:09:37,994 --> 00:09:40,943 Show us that we're gonna be just like we were under King David 193 00:09:40,973 --> 00:09:44,183 and under King Solomon, but even better because without end." 194 00:09:45,153 --> 00:09:49,863 Instead, what they got was they got a, a savior crucified as a 195 00:09:49,863 --> 00:09:51,203 criminal between two criminals. 196 00:09:52,113 --> 00:09:56,893 They got a, a savior who died stripped, embarrassed, humiliated on a cross. 197 00:09:58,343 --> 00:10:01,823 And that's what we're gonna find out was such a scandal to 198 00:10:01,823 --> 00:10:03,494 them, a stumbling block to them. 199 00:10:04,033 --> 00:10:05,673 But they wanted to know God that way. 200 00:10:06,043 --> 00:10:08,093 And then you had the Greeks, and the Greeks said, "Well, well, we wanna 201 00:10:08,093 --> 00:10:10,244 know God too, but again, on our terms. 202 00:10:10,843 --> 00:10:13,123 We want a, a God that's gonna be as smart as we are. 203 00:10:13,163 --> 00:10:15,643 We want a God that's gonna be as eloquent that we are, as we are. 204 00:10:15,643 --> 00:10:18,463 We want a God that's gonna be able to, to go toe-to-toe with the, the 205 00:10:18,463 --> 00:10:22,043 greatest sophists and philosophers that we've ever been able to produce." 206 00:10:22,333 --> 00:10:25,764 And they looked at Christians following a crucified savior, and 207 00:10:25,764 --> 00:10:27,864 they said, "You guys are idiotic." 208 00:10:29,093 --> 00:10:32,593 Again, the word folly there, foolishness, comes from our word for moron. 209 00:10:33,983 --> 00:10:38,810 This is moronic to follow a crucified man That's beneath you. 210 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:40,220 Why would you ever wanna do that? 211 00:10:40,980 --> 00:10:43,250 And so the Greeks, they wanted to know a god, but they wanted to know a god 212 00:10:43,250 --> 00:10:44,780 that fit their understanding of God. 213 00:10:45,750 --> 00:10:46,959 Today, it's the same way, isn't it? 214 00:10:48,180 --> 00:10:50,680 We find a world that just, they wanna know God, but they wanna know God the 215 00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:54,949 way that, that they want God to be, that they- the way that their wisdom defines 216 00:10:54,949 --> 00:10:56,339 that, that God should be this way. 217 00:10:56,669 --> 00:10:58,919 God should be tolerant of all people. 218 00:10:59,089 --> 00:11:00,920 God should just love us the way we are. 219 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:01,709 You know what? 220 00:11:01,709 --> 00:11:03,890 God, God should have soft edges. 221 00:11:04,079 --> 00:11:08,110 God needs to be a, a malleable God to, to fit what I want him to be. 222 00:11:08,339 --> 00:11:10,900 God should be accessible through whatever religious pursuit 223 00:11:10,939 --> 00:11:12,530 anyone wants to pursue him from. 224 00:11:12,879 --> 00:11:14,919 God should be accessible to the Hindus as Hindus. 225 00:11:14,939 --> 00:11:17,069 God should be acceptable- accessible to the Muslims as 226 00:11:17,070 --> 00:11:19,059 Muslims, to the Mormon as Mormons. 227 00:11:19,239 --> 00:11:21,650 God should love all people no matter what. 228 00:11:23,379 --> 00:11:26,459 Or maybe sometimes even within the church, if we can step on some 229 00:11:26,459 --> 00:11:29,050 toes here, sometimes w- we in the church say, "God, we want you to 230 00:11:29,059 --> 00:11:30,609 be the God that we want you to be. 231 00:11:31,469 --> 00:11:33,099 We want you to be the God that keeps me healthy. 232 00:11:33,519 --> 00:11:36,399 I want you to be the God that, that makes me wealthy. 233 00:11:36,899 --> 00:11:40,140 I want you to be the God that, that doesn't meddle too much with my life. 234 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,859 I'm in on Christianity so much, so long as I can still be in with 235 00:11:44,860 --> 00:11:45,889 everything else that I wanna do. 236 00:11:47,519 --> 00:11:49,409 I don't want a God that's gonna get too involved in my life 237 00:11:52,814 --> 00:11:55,664 See, that's the problem with man's wisdom in pursuit of God. 238 00:11:56,804 --> 00:12:02,414 As man's wisdom pursues the God that our wisdom says we want And all I'm saying 239 00:12:02,414 --> 00:12:03,714 is thank God he didn't come that way. 240 00:12:05,374 --> 00:12:07,254 Instead, God sets the terms for salvation. 241 00:12:07,254 --> 00:12:09,904 He's not gonna do things the way that the Jews expected him to do or 242 00:12:09,904 --> 00:12:11,544 the, the Greeks wanted him to do. 243 00:12:11,714 --> 00:12:15,164 Instead, he was gonna make himself known, and he has made himself 244 00:12:15,164 --> 00:12:16,283 known to all people everywhere. 245 00:12:16,283 --> 00:12:19,213 Romans chapter one makes that clear, that God in the things that have 246 00:12:19,213 --> 00:12:22,463 been seen, the things that have been created, his invisible attributes are 247 00:12:22,463 --> 00:12:26,563 seen such that we can at least conclude out there that there's a creator. 248 00:12:26,623 --> 00:12:30,424 The problem is if we try to get from that to an understanding of who he 249 00:12:30,434 --> 00:12:33,823 is, relying on our wisdom, well, God's just gonna frustrate those plans. 250 00:12:35,044 --> 00:12:37,603 Paul talks about this in Romans chapter one verses 21 through 22. 251 00:12:37,603 --> 00:12:42,703 He says this, "For although they knew God, they did not honor him 252 00:12:42,743 --> 00:12:44,863 as God nor give thanks to him. 253 00:12:45,143 --> 00:12:48,543 But," and here it is, "they became futile in their thinking." 254 00:12:49,083 --> 00:12:54,333 They became futile in their wisdom, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 255 00:12:54,513 --> 00:12:58,613 Claiming to become or to be wise, they became fools. 256 00:12:59,903 --> 00:13:02,973 And so again, the, the world's wisdom according to God's wisdom 257 00:13:03,204 --> 00:13:06,513 isn't gonna work, not because of necessarily something inherently 258 00:13:06,654 --> 00:13:08,124 deficient about the world's wisdom. 259 00:13:08,154 --> 00:13:11,293 Yes, it is deficient, but even more so because that's not God's plan. 260 00:13:12,733 --> 00:13:15,864 And you might think, "Well, man, that sounds cruel for God to intentionally 261 00:13:15,864 --> 00:13:19,723 frustrate the pursuit of, of the world, that he wouldn't allow them 262 00:13:19,724 --> 00:13:21,233 to get to him through their wisdom." 263 00:13:21,993 --> 00:13:26,024 And it's only cruel if we don't understand that in his grace and mercy, he has 264 00:13:26,024 --> 00:13:31,173 made himself known, and he has provided a wisdom that will get us to him. 265 00:13:32,303 --> 00:13:33,513 But again, it's on his terms. 266 00:13:34,123 --> 00:13:35,623 Look at back in, in verse 21. 267 00:13:35,633 --> 00:13:37,403 It says, "It pleased God." 268 00:13:37,993 --> 00:13:42,723 Since in the wisdom of God, the world's wisdom wasn't gonna get to him, it 269 00:13:42,724 --> 00:13:48,783 pleased him, it, it, it brought him joy, it glorified him through the folly of 270 00:13:48,783 --> 00:13:53,053 what we preach, the foolishness of what we preach to save those who believe. 271 00:13:53,063 --> 00:13:57,543 A- and so a cruel God would say, "You can't get to me, nanny, 272 00:13:57,544 --> 00:13:58,973 nanny, nanny," and run away. 273 00:14:00,273 --> 00:14:01,513 Uh, that's not what God did. 274 00:14:02,413 --> 00:14:07,363 He said, "You can't come to me on your terms, but come to me on my terms," and 275 00:14:07,364 --> 00:14:10,243 through the folly of what we preach, through the foolishness of what we 276 00:14:10,243 --> 00:14:11,463 preach to save those who believe. 277 00:14:11,463 --> 00:14:14,324 Uh, uh, there's these reels that I've seen, I haven't tried it 278 00:14:14,324 --> 00:14:15,503 yet and, and I kinda want to. 279 00:14:15,773 --> 00:14:18,774 But have you seen the reels where, where there's an ant on a piece of paper, and 280 00:14:18,774 --> 00:14:22,753 if you draw a line with a pen, the ant will get to the line and, and turn around? 281 00:14:23,603 --> 00:14:23,913 No? 282 00:14:23,934 --> 00:14:24,294 Nobody? 283 00:14:24,353 --> 00:14:24,733 Just me? 284 00:14:24,753 --> 00:14:25,223 Okay, cool. 285 00:14:25,463 --> 00:14:27,054 I, I don't know what's wrong with my reels then. 286 00:14:27,103 --> 00:14:29,344 Um, my algorithm apparently thinks I like ants. 287 00:14:29,713 --> 00:14:32,943 But it's, it's crazy 'cause you can draw lines and literally the ant will, 288 00:14:32,973 --> 00:14:34,753 will keep moving away from the line. 289 00:14:34,764 --> 00:14:36,284 It d- it won't cross the line. 290 00:14:36,563 --> 00:14:39,193 There's something there and, and so people can, can… 291 00:14:39,223 --> 00:14:41,974 the, and the really mean ones just draw a circle and the ant just keeps 292 00:14:41,974 --> 00:14:43,143 going back and forth around the circle. 293 00:14:43,874 --> 00:14:48,753 Um, but it's, it's sorta like that in the sense that God has drawn all of the 294 00:14:48,753 --> 00:14:55,036 lines to only leave one path out, and that path out for us is Christ That path 295 00:14:55,036 --> 00:14:56,986 out for every single person is Jesus. 296 00:14:58,126 --> 00:14:59,756 That's the only way to salvation. 297 00:14:59,756 --> 00:15:01,336 A- a- and here's why. 298 00:15:01,536 --> 00:15:07,315 Because at the end of the day, everything is about Him and His glory. 299 00:15:08,586 --> 00:15:10,495 Your salvation isn't about you. 300 00:15:11,635 --> 00:15:14,006 Your life as a Christian, it's not about you. 301 00:15:15,256 --> 00:15:18,785 Y- y- your goal as a Christian, God's goal for you is not necessarily to 302 00:15:18,786 --> 00:15:24,006 make you happy, to make you holy, and to glorify Himself through you. 303 00:15:25,756 --> 00:15:28,076 And so that goes back to your salvation. 304 00:15:28,995 --> 00:15:34,546 God, jealous for His own glory, has created only one way possible to get to 305 00:15:34,546 --> 00:15:39,635 Him, and it's through us surrendering ourselves completely and saying, "G- God, 306 00:15:39,635 --> 00:15:41,215 I've got nothing to bring to the table." 307 00:15:43,382 --> 00:15:44,232 I need Jesus 308 00:15:46,572 --> 00:15:47,832 And that's the folly. 309 00:15:47,982 --> 00:15:50,152 That's what the Jews say, "That doesn't make sense." 310 00:15:50,292 --> 00:15:52,762 And the, the, the Greeks say, "That's idiotic." 311 00:15:53,922 --> 00:15:54,862 But that's the gospel. 312 00:15:54,862 --> 00:15:55,552 That's what saves. 313 00:15:55,562 --> 00:15:58,742 A- and then it also fits 'cause it does another thing for us too, right? 314 00:15:59,072 --> 00:16:02,462 Because remember Paul's writing to this group that's been kind of factionalized. 315 00:16:02,462 --> 00:16:05,531 I'm of Paul, I'm of Cephas, I'm of, I'm of Apollos over here. 316 00:16:06,351 --> 00:16:09,692 Okay, well, if at the end of the day none of us are smarter than each 317 00:16:09,692 --> 00:16:13,042 other when it comes to salvation, then that takes everybody and puts 318 00:16:13,042 --> 00:16:14,132 them on the same plane, doesn't it? 319 00:16:15,272 --> 00:16:17,001 We all need Jesus just as much. 320 00:16:18,601 --> 00:16:22,071 You need Jesus just as much as the serial killer on death row 321 00:16:22,071 --> 00:16:23,371 who has a death row conversion. 322 00:16:25,321 --> 00:16:28,361 You needed Jesus to die for your sins just as much as they did 323 00:16:30,872 --> 00:16:32,002 You need Jesus. 324 00:16:32,052 --> 00:16:35,482 If, if you have a doctorate behind your name, you need Jesus just as much as 325 00:16:35,482 --> 00:16:36,762 the high school dropout needs Jesus 326 00:16:39,182 --> 00:16:41,232 You don't need Jesus a little bit less because you've got 327 00:16:41,232 --> 00:16:42,282 a little bit more education. 328 00:16:44,232 --> 00:16:46,132 The gospel levels the playing field. 329 00:16:47,182 --> 00:16:50,532 And for all of us, because it says God's gonna set the terms, this 330 00:16:50,532 --> 00:16:54,011 is what we're gonna do through the folly of what we preach, it pleased 331 00:16:54,052 --> 00:16:56,272 God to save those who believe. 332 00:16:56,901 --> 00:16:58,012 Those who believe. 333 00:16:58,772 --> 00:17:00,832 To the Jews, this was too incredulous to believe. 334 00:17:00,832 --> 00:17:01,742 It was a stumbling block. 335 00:17:01,742 --> 00:17:02,391 It was a scandal. 336 00:17:02,391 --> 00:17:05,731 To the Greeks, this was too debased, this was too humiliating to embrace, and 337 00:17:05,731 --> 00:17:07,951 that's why the wisdom of man falls short. 338 00:17:08,121 --> 00:17:12,521 But in the end, God is there to maximize His glory, and so He sets the terms. 339 00:17:12,521 --> 00:17:16,310 And so I want you to think this morning about your own testimony, how 340 00:17:16,330 --> 00:17:18,391 God saved you, how you came to faith. 341 00:17:18,391 --> 00:17:21,040 And you can probably see that it wasn't according to man's wisdom. 342 00:17:21,481 --> 00:17:24,932 Even if it was after you sat in an apologetics class, apologetics 343 00:17:24,941 --> 00:17:26,582 didn't get you into, to heaven. 344 00:17:28,202 --> 00:17:30,422 Y- reading a book didn't get you into heaven. 345 00:17:31,952 --> 00:17:34,702 It was an act of God through the folly of the gospel proclaimed to you. 346 00:17:35,011 --> 00:17:36,702 That's what opened your eyes and got you into heaven. 347 00:17:37,571 --> 00:17:40,142 See, y'all, God isn't playing hide and seek. 348 00:17:41,682 --> 00:17:45,171 But the world, when they're pursuing God according to their own wisdom, they're 349 00:17:45,171 --> 00:17:46,651 acting like He is playing hide and seek. 350 00:17:48,201 --> 00:17:48,881 God's out there. 351 00:17:49,171 --> 00:17:49,741 He's here. 352 00:17:49,961 --> 00:17:51,351 He's saying, "I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm right here. 353 00:17:52,121 --> 00:17:54,461 If you wanna come to me, here's the folly. 354 00:17:54,582 --> 00:17:55,321 Here's the gospel. 355 00:17:56,231 --> 00:17:56,601 Come to me." 356 00:17:58,112 --> 00:17:59,842 God sets the terms for salvation. 357 00:18:01,801 --> 00:18:04,741 Again, we are the, the wise fools according to the world, 358 00:18:06,701 --> 00:18:10,691 and that's okay with me, because God's wisdom is true wisdom. 359 00:18:10,881 --> 00:18:12,592 God's strength is true strength. 360 00:18:12,592 --> 00:18:16,421 L- look at verse 22 as we continue in the argument here. 361 00:18:16,891 --> 00:18:20,102 He says, "For Jews demand signs and, and Greeks seek wisdom," verse 23, 362 00:18:20,102 --> 00:18:24,581 "but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly 363 00:18:24,612 --> 00:18:28,621 to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ 364 00:18:28,641 --> 00:18:31,141 the power of God and the wisdom of God." 365 00:18:32,731 --> 00:18:37,121 These verses, they remind us of the, the true definition of power. 366 00:18:38,901 --> 00:18:42,012 When Jesus was on His way to, to Jerusalem to be crucified, 367 00:18:42,012 --> 00:18:44,511 the disciples were convinced He was on His way to be coronated. 368 00:18:45,851 --> 00:18:46,971 They thought, "This is it. 369 00:18:47,482 --> 00:18:48,121 Let's go. 370 00:18:49,092 --> 00:18:49,841 Let's go." 371 00:18:50,351 --> 00:18:52,242 He's riding the donkey, triumphal entry. 372 00:18:52,242 --> 00:18:54,121 "Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." 373 00:18:54,131 --> 00:18:57,031 They're going to Zechariah 14, and they're thinking about Jesus, and, 374 00:18:57,031 --> 00:18:59,772 and they're going to, to the, the, the triumphal entry passages in the 375 00:18:59,772 --> 00:19:01,112 Old Testament thinking, "This is it. 376 00:19:01,281 --> 00:19:01,771 This is it. 377 00:19:01,792 --> 00:19:02,471 He's, h- He's… 378 00:19:02,542 --> 00:19:03,392 It's happening. 379 00:19:03,781 --> 00:19:05,092 He's gonna be the king." 380 00:19:05,441 --> 00:19:07,831 And they're planning where they're sitting at the royal 381 00:19:07,842 --> 00:19:09,371 banquet, at the inauguration ball. 382 00:19:09,381 --> 00:19:10,651 They're going, "What am I gonna wear? 383 00:19:11,081 --> 00:19:12,251 Gotta get my toga cleaned." 384 00:19:15,338 --> 00:19:20,038 And then when they saw their Lord nailed to the cross, less than a week later, 385 00:19:20,438 --> 00:19:25,358 they fled in dejected despair, fearing they had been wrong, that they had made 386 00:19:25,358 --> 00:19:28,338 a grave mistake that was even potentially gonna cost their own lives as well. 387 00:19:29,598 --> 00:19:31,597 See, they misunderstood the power of God. 388 00:19:31,647 --> 00:19:33,307 They misunderstood the wisdom of God. 389 00:19:34,057 --> 00:19:36,717 The problem was they had a different definition of wisdom and power. 390 00:19:38,098 --> 00:19:42,668 And if Jesus had come to be the Messiah that they were looking for, if Jesus 391 00:19:42,668 --> 00:19:46,047 had come to be that Messiah, the, the Messiah they, they thought they 392 00:19:46,047 --> 00:19:47,538 were getting, well then guess what? 393 00:19:47,598 --> 00:19:49,808 We wouldn't be here this morning and heaven would be empty. 394 00:19:51,697 --> 00:19:53,608 Because that's not the Messiah that we needed. 395 00:19:54,697 --> 00:19:57,188 That's not the Messiah who could save us from our sins. 396 00:19:57,627 --> 00:20:00,027 They didn't need a king on a throne at that point, they 397 00:20:00,028 --> 00:20:01,478 needed a savior on a cross. 398 00:20:02,508 --> 00:20:05,848 They didn't need Rome to get out of their lives, they needed sin to be dealt with. 399 00:20:07,587 --> 00:20:10,457 And so that's the folly, that's the foolishness, that's the stumbling 400 00:20:10,458 --> 00:20:14,057 block to the Jews and the folly to the Gentiles, but to us who are, as 401 00:20:14,057 --> 00:20:17,037 he's gonna say here, called, who are saved to those who believe, that's 402 00:20:17,048 --> 00:20:18,437 the greatest news we could ever hear. 403 00:20:20,127 --> 00:20:24,187 Our second point this morning is this, be grateful God wrote the gospel, not us. 404 00:20:25,947 --> 00:20:28,078 Be grateful that God wrote the gospel, not us. 405 00:20:29,587 --> 00:20:31,317 'Cause the wisdom of God, that's true wisdom. 406 00:20:31,928 --> 00:20:33,397 The power of God, that's true power 407 00:20:35,886 --> 00:20:38,536 The gospel is so unique that, that I'm convinced that no one, 408 00:20:38,906 --> 00:20:41,286 humanly speaking, on their own would have ever written it this way 409 00:20:43,886 --> 00:20:45,936 If the disciples had their way, we, we wouldn't be sitting here. 410 00:20:45,936 --> 00:20:50,126 Heaven would be empty except for God and his angels 'cause 411 00:20:50,126 --> 00:20:51,206 nobody's sins would be forgiven 412 00:20:53,614 --> 00:20:57,264 The wisdom of man would have never put the Messiah on a cross because the wisdom of 413 00:20:57,274 --> 00:21:00,694 man could never have conceived a salvation coming through a crucified Savior. 414 00:21:02,104 --> 00:21:03,954 It doesn't compute with earthly wisdom 415 00:21:06,446 --> 00:21:10,646 Other death and resurrection tales exist, myths exist, yes. 416 00:21:11,436 --> 00:21:14,025 You may have heard someone suggest that, that Christianity just borrowed 417 00:21:14,055 --> 00:21:17,946 from these stories, the stories of, of Horus and Osiris, for example. 418 00:21:19,555 --> 00:21:23,346 But I want you to, to, to not just listen to that objection from the unbeliever and 419 00:21:23,346 --> 00:21:24,585 be like, "Oh, no, what are we gonna do? 420 00:21:24,616 --> 00:21:26,375 This undermines 2,000 years of Christianity. 421 00:21:26,376 --> 00:21:27,425 We might as well just give up." 422 00:21:28,616 --> 00:21:31,825 I want you to actually dig a little bit on that, because once you begin to 423 00:21:31,825 --> 00:21:34,125 dig and once you begin to study those stories, what you'll find is they're 424 00:21:34,126 --> 00:21:35,656 really nothing like Christianity at all. 425 00:21:37,285 --> 00:21:42,086 There is no parallel to the story of a hero dying for the sins of his 426 00:21:42,086 --> 00:21:46,175 constituents, taking their place on the cross, paying the penalty that they 427 00:21:46,185 --> 00:21:50,075 couldn't pay, and then rising again from the dead to intercede for them as their 428 00:21:50,075 --> 00:21:52,685 great high priest and to bring them all the way into the presence of God. 429 00:21:53,935 --> 00:21:54,935 That doesn't exist. 430 00:21:56,056 --> 00:21:57,925 There's no parallel to the gospel. 431 00:21:57,926 --> 00:22:01,905 There may be pre-Christian resurrection myths out there, but there's nothing like 432 00:22:01,905 --> 00:22:03,515 what you find contained in the gospel. 433 00:22:04,176 --> 00:22:07,705 The wisdom of God that is true wisdom, the power of God that is true power. 434 00:22:07,845 --> 00:22:08,775 Why is there nothing else? 435 00:22:08,775 --> 00:22:11,785 Because the wisdom of man could never get there 436 00:22:14,702 --> 00:22:16,632 But thank God that in His wisdom He did. 437 00:22:17,822 --> 00:22:21,202 But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block. 438 00:22:21,202 --> 00:22:25,182 That word there, stumbling block, is from the, the Greek word sk- skandalon, which 439 00:22:25,182 --> 00:22:26,602 is where we get our English scandal. 440 00:22:27,612 --> 00:22:30,592 That to the Jews, a crucified savior, uh, somebody that the 441 00:22:30,592 --> 00:22:36,322 Gentiles were gonna crucify stripped ba- … That's scandalous to them. 442 00:22:36,421 --> 00:22:37,791 They can't get past that. 443 00:22:38,372 --> 00:22:39,581 They can't get over that. 444 00:22:40,661 --> 00:22:42,262 Kings aren't crucified. 445 00:22:42,401 --> 00:22:44,081 Saviors don't die. 446 00:22:45,671 --> 00:22:50,342 And even though the suffering of the s- the s- Messiah was, was there in the Old 447 00:22:50,342 --> 00:22:53,252 Testament, they didn't have that in mind. 448 00:22:54,012 --> 00:22:56,771 Th- they had the divinic king in mind. 449 00:22:56,771 --> 00:22:58,651 They had the glorious reign of Christ in mind. 450 00:22:59,841 --> 00:23:00,842 That's what they were looking for. 451 00:23:01,601 --> 00:23:05,041 And so it, it was a scandal to them to think that their salvation would come 452 00:23:05,042 --> 00:23:06,841 from somebody the Gentiles were killing. 453 00:23:08,071 --> 00:23:09,921 And the Gentiles, they were like, "This is your guy? 454 00:23:11,171 --> 00:23:12,371 This is your guy? 455 00:23:14,121 --> 00:23:18,311 This guy, the one that was crucified as a, a, a criminal between two thieves? 456 00:23:19,091 --> 00:23:19,921 That's your hope?" 457 00:23:23,386 --> 00:23:25,316 Power doesn't come through poverty, not in the world's standards. 458 00:23:26,726 --> 00:23:28,466 Success never follows servitude 459 00:23:30,912 --> 00:23:33,692 In Greco-Roman culture, it was about establishing oneself as, as the 460 00:23:33,692 --> 00:23:35,492 greatest, the wisest, the most powerful. 461 00:23:36,082 --> 00:23:38,192 Dying on the cross just didn't fit that paradigm. 462 00:23:40,092 --> 00:23:42,542 And so that's why it's a, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the 463 00:23:42,542 --> 00:23:46,581 Gentiles, but, but for us, it's, it's the, the message that is the greatest 464 00:23:46,581 --> 00:23:49,781 message that we could ever know, and it's, it's a message that's different than 465 00:23:49,821 --> 00:23:51,342 any other message that exists out there. 466 00:23:51,561 --> 00:23:54,121 Consider the other world religions that exist out there for a moment. 467 00:23:55,262 --> 00:23:58,421 One of the things they almost all have in common is this, to get 468 00:23:58,452 --> 00:24:03,302 to God or to get to Nirvana or to get to wherever, it's on you. 469 00:24:04,952 --> 00:24:05,521 It's on you. 470 00:24:06,362 --> 00:24:08,752 Because that's where the wisdom of man naturally goes. 471 00:24:09,862 --> 00:24:10,731 It's, it's on me. 472 00:24:10,731 --> 00:24:11,682 I, I have to do it. 473 00:24:11,691 --> 00:24:13,292 I have to pull myself up by my bootstraps. 474 00:24:13,301 --> 00:24:15,341 I actually have bootstraps now 'cause I, 'cause I have boots. 475 00:24:16,842 --> 00:24:17,991 But I, I have to do it. 476 00:24:18,411 --> 00:24:19,702 I have to get there, right? 477 00:24:19,702 --> 00:24:22,051 Think about Islam, the five pillars of Islam. 478 00:24:22,071 --> 00:24:25,591 You know, you need to do those things, you need to, to, to be a, a good Muslim. 479 00:24:25,722 --> 00:24:26,661 And guess what, y'all? 480 00:24:26,781 --> 00:24:30,451 Even once you're a good, good Muslim, it's still up to a capricious God 481 00:24:30,452 --> 00:24:33,481 that you can't predict in the end. 482 00:24:33,481 --> 00:24:34,312 But it's about working. 483 00:24:35,811 --> 00:24:40,162 Think about Hinduism, the, the whole concept of karma, right? 484 00:24:40,481 --> 00:24:44,051 Karma essentially says what you do determines what happens to you. 485 00:24:45,332 --> 00:24:46,782 So it's, it's on, it's on you. 486 00:24:48,332 --> 00:24:52,331 Even the, the cults, the offshoots of Christianity that have perverted 487 00:24:52,332 --> 00:24:55,211 the gospel and are leading people to hell by the thousands, uh, 488 00:24:55,281 --> 00:24:58,661 they also have bought into a lie that it's a works-based salvation. 489 00:25:00,491 --> 00:25:03,422 In the Book of Mormon it says, "It is by grace you have been 490 00:25:03,422 --> 00:25:05,282 saved, after all you can do." 491 00:25:07,222 --> 00:25:09,621 So you work as hard as you can, and then when you fall short, 492 00:25:09,621 --> 00:25:10,771 then, then God's grace kicks in. 493 00:25:10,781 --> 00:25:11,581 That's not the gospel. 494 00:25:11,582 --> 00:25:12,561 That's a works-based salvation. 495 00:25:14,301 --> 00:25:15,121 Even atheism. 496 00:25:15,131 --> 00:25:16,881 You say, "Well, atheism isn't trying to get to God." 497 00:25:16,891 --> 00:25:17,331 I was… 498 00:25:18,112 --> 00:25:19,152 I would argue that it is. 499 00:25:20,641 --> 00:25:23,021 The atheist is God himself. 500 00:25:24,612 --> 00:25:26,451 And so how does the atheist work to get to God? 501 00:25:26,451 --> 00:25:28,551 Well, the atheist worldview is, "Let me eat, drink and be 502 00:25:28,551 --> 00:25:29,531 merry, for tomorrow I die." 503 00:25:29,722 --> 00:25:32,131 I need to work to make my life as best as possible because 504 00:25:32,131 --> 00:25:33,191 I have no hope afterwards. 505 00:25:33,501 --> 00:25:35,101 So it's about me working to get to God. 506 00:25:35,101 --> 00:25:35,952 It's just I'm God 507 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:42,850 Christianity is the unique offer that says you can't, but God can 508 00:25:45,304 --> 00:25:45,604 Why? 509 00:25:45,674 --> 00:25:47,444 Because of Christ crucified. 510 00:25:48,064 --> 00:25:49,604 We preach Christ crucified. 511 00:25:49,604 --> 00:25:53,184 The only way that a person can be made right with a holy God is contained 512 00:25:53,184 --> 00:25:55,763 in those two words, Christ crucified. 513 00:25:55,944 --> 00:26:00,754 It's what's known as penal substitutionary atonement, and it's 514 00:26:00,754 --> 00:26:04,183 a doctrine that's been under attack even within the church, but it is a 515 00:26:04,233 --> 00:26:06,164 non-negotiable imperative doctrine. 516 00:26:06,173 --> 00:26:12,074 You reject penal substitutionary atonement, you reject the gospel Penal 517 00:26:12,074 --> 00:26:16,594 substitutionary atonement says this, that Jesus Christ took my place, substitute. 518 00:26:17,434 --> 00:26:22,543 He took my place, and he died on the cross for my sins, bearing the wrath of God. 519 00:26:22,554 --> 00:26:24,184 That's the penal, that's the penalty. 520 00:26:24,924 --> 00:26:29,984 He died for me in my place, and he bore God's wrath for my sins. 521 00:26:29,993 --> 00:26:34,114 He bore my penalty on the cross, and he made me, as a 522 00:26:34,114 --> 00:26:35,963 result, he atoned for my sins. 523 00:26:35,963 --> 00:26:38,274 He made me one now with God again. 524 00:26:38,274 --> 00:26:39,443 He reconciled me. 525 00:26:39,444 --> 00:26:41,123 He brought me to the Father. 526 00:26:41,653 --> 00:26:43,144 That's the atonement side of things. 527 00:26:44,273 --> 00:26:48,803 The only way atonement is possible is through a penal substitute. 528 00:26:49,753 --> 00:26:53,563 Jesus didn't just die on the cross to declare victory over sin and death. 529 00:26:55,063 --> 00:26:59,013 He died on the cross to be your substitute, to pay the penalty 530 00:26:59,014 --> 00:27:03,794 that your sins deserve so that you can be brought to the Father, and 531 00:27:03,794 --> 00:27:04,913 that's the only way it's possible. 532 00:27:06,424 --> 00:27:10,623 We preach Christ crucified, and this is the message that divides. 533 00:27:10,624 --> 00:27:16,303 This is the message that's either salvation or it's a stumbling block. 534 00:27:17,254 --> 00:27:21,123 That word stumbling block, it actually has roots in the Old Testament in Isaiah 8:14. 535 00:27:21,513 --> 00:27:25,654 It's up here on the screen, "And he will become a sanctuary," salvation 536 00:27:25,654 --> 00:27:30,963 that is, deliverance, "and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to 537 00:27:30,964 --> 00:27:34,124 both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." 538 00:27:34,714 --> 00:27:37,864 So there in I- Isaiah is prophesying and saying that, that God is either 539 00:27:37,864 --> 00:27:44,414 gonna become a, a sanctuary, a salvation to people who embrace him, or a stone 540 00:27:44,414 --> 00:27:45,813 of offense and a rock of stumbling. 541 00:27:46,903 --> 00:27:50,493 And so even here as Paul writes that he's gonna become a stumbling block to the 542 00:27:50,493 --> 00:27:54,013 Jews, he's going back, I believe in his mind, even back here to Isaiah chapter 8. 543 00:27:54,193 --> 00:27:56,263 So then let me just ask a question, how? 544 00:27:56,373 --> 00:27:56,693 How? 545 00:27:56,714 --> 00:27:59,403 How does the world's wisdom go from, or how does one go from the 546 00:27:59,403 --> 00:28:00,674 world's wisdom to God's wisdom? 547 00:28:01,653 --> 00:28:06,383 How does one go from seeing the, the cross as foolishness to seeing the cross 548 00:28:06,383 --> 00:28:08,673 as the saving wisdom of God that it is? 549 00:28:09,823 --> 00:28:11,623 And the answer is right here in our text, "To those who are 550 00:28:11,623 --> 00:28:14,233 called, both Jews and Greeks." 551 00:28:15,793 --> 00:28:17,283 To those who are called, both Jews and Greeks. 552 00:28:17,534 --> 00:28:19,364 Earlier, he said, "To those who believe." 553 00:28:19,373 --> 00:28:21,733 Now we have those who believe that are defined for us. 554 00:28:21,893 --> 00:28:23,153 Who are those who believe? 555 00:28:23,523 --> 00:28:25,373 They are those who are called. 556 00:28:27,093 --> 00:28:32,564 The calling of God is that act of God whereby he opens our eyes to understand 557 00:28:32,564 --> 00:28:36,534 that the gospel is not foolishness, but it is the salvation of God. 558 00:28:37,973 --> 00:28:41,703 Paul's gonna write in 2 Corinthians 4 that the god of this world has blinded the 559 00:28:41,703 --> 00:28:45,053 eyes of the lost to keep them from seeing the light of the glory of Jesus Christ. 560 00:28:46,074 --> 00:28:48,413 Then he's gonna say later, "But thanks be to God who has shone 561 00:28:48,443 --> 00:28:51,773 into our hearts to give us the knowledge of the glory of Christ." 562 00:28:52,473 --> 00:28:55,763 And so it's an act of God whereby he removes the veil so that we can see 563 00:28:55,764 --> 00:29:00,994 and understand that the, the wisdom of God is truly wisdom So that's what 564 00:29:00,994 --> 00:29:04,914 takes it from foolishness to wisdom for us, is because God opens our 565 00:29:04,914 --> 00:29:07,724 eyes to be able to see that wisdom. 566 00:29:08,883 --> 00:29:11,434 And again, that makes perfect sense with his argument so far. 567 00:29:11,573 --> 00:29:12,523 What did I say earlier? 568 00:29:12,583 --> 00:29:15,193 That our salvation is ultimately not about us, it's about who? 569 00:29:15,863 --> 00:29:16,674 It's about God. 570 00:29:17,053 --> 00:29:21,234 That our lives are for the glory of God, and that means that your being saved 571 00:29:21,234 --> 00:29:22,933 is all about the glory of God, too. 572 00:29:24,474 --> 00:29:24,843 I, I… 573 00:29:24,873 --> 00:29:27,224 Remember we, we were all the ants with the pen? 574 00:29:27,823 --> 00:29:29,803 Remember that horrible illustration from earlier? 575 00:29:31,713 --> 00:29:35,663 Again, it fits if, if for me to even be able to come to God, he's 576 00:29:35,663 --> 00:29:38,173 gotta remove the blinder from the first place, then I, I have n- I 577 00:29:38,173 --> 00:29:39,474 literally have nothing to boast in. 578 00:29:39,484 --> 00:29:39,954 Nothing 579 00:29:44,494 --> 00:29:48,484 'Cause I, I, it's … He had to, to do it first. 580 00:29:49,073 --> 00:29:52,353 He had to give me the eyes to see, the ears to hear, to be 581 00:29:52,353 --> 00:29:54,093 able to come to faith in Christ. 582 00:29:55,633 --> 00:29:58,394 And so be grateful that God wrote the gospel, not us. 583 00:30:00,024 --> 00:30:00,813 It is good news. 584 00:30:01,684 --> 00:30:03,874 He didn't come to be the, the Savior of the world thought he should be. 585 00:30:04,533 --> 00:30:06,313 If he did, we're not here and heaven's empty. 586 00:30:07,424 --> 00:30:11,514 Instead, he came to be the Savior that he knew we needed him to 587 00:30:11,514 --> 00:30:14,213 be, 'cause he wrote it, not us. 588 00:30:15,154 --> 00:30:20,164 And so we proclaim Christ crucified, which is the message as we continue on, 589 00:30:20,174 --> 00:30:24,683 that is the foolishness of God which is wiser than men, verse 25, and the weakness 590 00:30:24,683 --> 00:30:26,413 of God, which is stronger than men. 591 00:30:28,264 --> 00:30:31,193 The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger 592 00:30:31,194 --> 00:30:34,774 than men because the wisdom of God is true wisdom, and the strength of God, 593 00:30:34,793 --> 00:30:37,513 the power of God, is true strength. 594 00:30:38,953 --> 00:30:41,463 In the final verse of our, our passage, Paul reminds the Corinthians 595 00:30:41,474 --> 00:30:42,783 of whose opinion really matters. 596 00:30:44,523 --> 00:30:49,973 He's saying, "W- why should we worry about what men think about the gospel?" 597 00:30:51,623 --> 00:30:54,003 Why should we b- be tempted to, to compromise? 598 00:30:54,004 --> 00:30:55,574 Why should we be tempted to meddle with the gospel? 599 00:30:55,574 --> 00:30:57,124 Why should we be tempted to repackage it? 600 00:30:58,214 --> 00:30:59,683 Whose opinion really matters at the end? 601 00:30:59,683 --> 00:31:01,363 Is it God's opinion or man's opinion? 602 00:31:03,053 --> 00:31:06,363 The, the great theologian and guitarist John Mayer 603 00:31:08,568 --> 00:31:11,308 He wrote a song called Waiting on the World to Change 604 00:31:13,582 --> 00:31:16,942 And I think some of us in the church, that's been the 605 00:31:16,942 --> 00:31:18,112 theme song for our evangelism 606 00:31:21,174 --> 00:31:24,564 We're sitting back ready to go share the gospel with people as soon as the 607 00:31:24,564 --> 00:31:28,324 world will change and be more tolerant of us sharing the gospel with people 608 00:31:30,712 --> 00:31:31,372 Guess what, y'all? 609 00:31:33,710 --> 00:31:34,510 It ain't gonna happen 610 00:31:37,174 --> 00:31:38,354 World's not gonna change. 611 00:31:39,704 --> 00:31:42,104 And if you're waiting for the world to all of a sudden look at the 612 00:31:42,104 --> 00:31:43,784 gospel and say, "This is great. 613 00:31:44,694 --> 00:31:46,474 Hey, will somebody come tell me about this?" 614 00:31:47,874 --> 00:31:50,794 If you're waiting on the world to start knocking on your door saying, 615 00:31:50,893 --> 00:31:53,954 "Hi, I'm an unbeliever, would you please tell me about Jesus Christ?" 616 00:31:55,064 --> 00:31:59,294 If you're waiting on your coworker to come to you and say, "Hey, can we go to lunch? 617 00:31:59,294 --> 00:32:06,083 Because I'd love to hear about Jesus," it's not gonna happen, because 618 00:32:06,083 --> 00:32:07,243 that's not how God designed it. 619 00:32:08,833 --> 00:32:11,664 Instead, He designed it that we should be the people that go, that we should 620 00:32:11,664 --> 00:32:12,834 be the people that take the gospel. 621 00:32:12,943 --> 00:32:15,083 And are you going to encounter opposition? 622 00:32:15,413 --> 00:32:15,743 Yeah. 623 00:32:16,864 --> 00:32:17,174 Why? 624 00:32:17,783 --> 00:32:20,813 Because again, you're going to a world that's gonna look at you and 625 00:32:20,814 --> 00:32:22,733 say, "Look at y- you, you're a fool." 626 00:32:24,523 --> 00:32:25,753 You're gonna encounter opposition 627 00:32:27,950 --> 00:32:28,630 But not every time. 628 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:32,380 There are gonna be people that you're gonna share the gospel with. 629 00:32:32,390 --> 00:32:34,980 There are gonna be people that, that you're gonna lay out the, the, the truth 630 00:32:34,990 --> 00:32:38,490 of faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and they're gonna hear that, and 631 00:32:38,490 --> 00:32:41,660 God's gonna open their eyes, and they're gonna go from thinking that's, that was, 632 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:45,330 was foolishness at one point to say, "Man, this is the greatest news I've ever heard 633 00:32:47,566 --> 00:32:49,826 And so our third and final point this morning is this: don't let the world 634 00:32:49,886 --> 00:32:51,496 skew your confidence in the gospel. 635 00:32:53,196 --> 00:32:55,266 Don't let the world skew your confidence in the gospel. 636 00:32:56,606 --> 00:32:58,616 Just because the world is gonna stand up and say, "That, that's, 637 00:32:58,665 --> 00:33:02,036 that's foolish," don't let that cause you to say, "Well, maybe I 638 00:33:02,036 --> 00:33:03,686 need to take a, a different approach. 639 00:33:04,955 --> 00:33:07,906 May- maybe this isn't strong enough to overcome this person's 640 00:33:07,906 --> 00:33:09,246 doubt, this person's unbelief." 641 00:33:11,156 --> 00:33:15,496 I, I watch this channel on YouTube called Matt's Off-Road Recovery because I drive 642 00:33:15,496 --> 00:33:18,376 an electric car, and it's how I feel like I get more testosterone in my life. 643 00:33:19,035 --> 00:33:21,886 This guy's got some- something called the world's largest off-road wrecker. 644 00:33:21,906 --> 00:33:22,845 It's so cool. 645 00:33:23,185 --> 00:33:26,475 Um, and so, uh, anyways, th- they go bail people out. 646 00:33:26,485 --> 00:33:29,246 They pull people out of, of almost impossible situations to 647 00:33:29,255 --> 00:33:30,296 get their, their cars out of. 648 00:33:30,845 --> 00:33:33,005 And so there was one that I watched this past week where they went up to 649 00:33:33,005 --> 00:33:37,035 Colorado, to Durango, Colorado, and this truck had gone off the side of 650 00:33:37,075 --> 00:33:40,955 a mountain, and it was like 1,000 feet down the side of this mountain. 651 00:33:41,035 --> 00:33:44,865 And so he brings his, his wrecker up there with, with two other vehicles 652 00:33:44,865 --> 00:33:47,605 and, and he anchors his wrecker to these other vehicles, and he sends these 653 00:33:47,605 --> 00:33:51,995 winch lines down and, and th- they haul this, this truck back up the side of 654 00:33:51,996 --> 00:33:54,935 the mountain, and they eventually get it up and out, and, and they tow it out. 655 00:33:54,945 --> 00:33:55,436 And it's just… 656 00:33:55,655 --> 00:33:56,455 It's really cool. 657 00:33:56,455 --> 00:33:58,715 It's one of those things that's like, maybe I wanna borrow, buy a 658 00:33:58,716 --> 00:34:00,136 world's largest off-road wrecker. 659 00:34:00,765 --> 00:34:02,145 Probably not super practical, but- 660 00:34:05,014 --> 00:34:08,933 He's the guy that shows up because he's got the equipment to get him out. 661 00:34:10,433 --> 00:34:15,494 Th- they, they couldn't call AAA . AAA would, would not even get to the trail. 662 00:34:16,033 --> 00:34:18,504 They'd be like, "Sorry, uh, you're gonna have to upgrade your membership." 663 00:34:19,224 --> 00:34:25,543 Um, th- they can't even call other off-road recovery people because 664 00:34:25,543 --> 00:34:26,773 they're not equipped for the job. 665 00:34:27,574 --> 00:34:31,063 And so they call this guy, and he goes, and he does these jobs that 666 00:34:31,063 --> 00:34:34,684 no one else can do because he's got the thing that's able to do it 667 00:34:37,527 --> 00:34:40,168 Y'all, the foolishness of God is wiser than men. 668 00:34:40,178 --> 00:34:42,538 The weakness of God is stronger than men. 669 00:34:43,568 --> 00:34:45,808 The gospel is what the world needs. 670 00:34:46,018 --> 00:34:49,588 The world is wrecked off the side of the mountain, and 671 00:34:49,588 --> 00:34:51,297 nothing can get them out of that. 672 00:34:51,428 --> 00:34:56,358 And, and what's so tragic is for us as the church to have the thing they 673 00:34:56,358 --> 00:35:00,568 need to get out of the situation that they're in, and to just sit back and 674 00:35:00,568 --> 00:35:03,098 to watch them try everything else. 675 00:35:04,858 --> 00:35:07,647 They call the tow truck of, of wealth and materialism only to 676 00:35:07,647 --> 00:35:08,998 realize that it's not gonna happen. 677 00:35:09,977 --> 00:35:13,698 They call the tow truck of, of hoping in, in a perfect family only to realize 678 00:35:13,698 --> 00:35:16,567 that their marriage is falling apart and their kids are rejecting them and 679 00:35:16,567 --> 00:35:17,447 don't want anything to do with them. 680 00:35:18,917 --> 00:35:22,397 They call the tow truck of, of having a, a clean bill of health, 681 00:35:22,397 --> 00:35:24,298 and they go to the doctor and the doctor says, "You've got a tumor, 682 00:35:24,298 --> 00:35:25,737 and we think it might be cancerous." 683 00:35:27,597 --> 00:35:31,557 And as the church, we're sitting back with the equipment, with the power to 684 00:35:31,557 --> 00:35:35,098 see that they could be delivered from their despair, and we're sitting back 685 00:35:35,098 --> 00:35:38,667 here shaking our heads and looking at them going, "Oh, if they only knew 686 00:35:43,316 --> 00:35:44,076 That's why we're here 687 00:35:48,216 --> 00:35:49,956 We're here so that they will know. 688 00:35:51,436 --> 00:35:54,846 We're here because we read Paul say, "For the foolishness of God 689 00:35:54,846 --> 00:35:57,316 is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." 690 00:35:57,316 --> 00:36:01,646 A- and we sit here in the church and we say, "Amen," but do we believe it? 691 00:36:04,022 --> 00:36:05,042 Do we believe it? 692 00:36:06,442 --> 00:36:09,092 Or have we been sidelined because we're afraid that the world's gonna 693 00:36:09,092 --> 00:36:10,392 make fun of us for loving Jesus? 694 00:36:11,162 --> 00:36:13,451 Or we're afraid that the, the cultural Christian's gonna say, 695 00:36:13,451 --> 00:36:14,702 "Dude, you're asking me way too much. 696 00:36:14,702 --> 00:36:16,221 You legalist, why don't you get out of here?" 697 00:36:17,291 --> 00:36:19,392 Or we're afraid that our boss may threaten our job. 698 00:36:20,552 --> 00:36:22,501 A- a- and not that that doesn't hurt 699 00:36:25,102 --> 00:36:27,682 But like Pastor Rod was, was talking about last week, if, if, if we're 700 00:36:27,682 --> 00:36:31,852 thinking about that person, are, are we willing for, to have that, 701 00:36:31,862 --> 00:36:35,821 that five minutes of, of discomfort ourselves to potentially see them 702 00:36:36,011 --> 00:36:38,381 avoid an eternity of suffering in hell? 703 00:36:42,808 --> 00:36:44,227 We preach Christ crucified. 704 00:36:45,877 --> 00:36:48,417 All of us at some point in time thought the gospel was foolish. 705 00:36:48,638 --> 00:36:52,857 All of us needed our eyes opened to see that the foolishness of God is wiser than 706 00:36:52,888 --> 00:36:56,558 us, and His strength is more powerful than what we would deem powerful. 707 00:36:57,847 --> 00:37:01,517 And so we preach Christ crucified, and we lean in on that. 708 00:37:01,667 --> 00:37:04,117 And listen, that's what Peter preached, and where did it put Peter? 709 00:37:04,118 --> 00:37:06,537 Well, at one point it put Peter, you remember in the book of Acts, 710 00:37:06,537 --> 00:37:08,227 it put Peter on, on death row. 711 00:37:08,357 --> 00:37:11,048 He was ready to be executed until the angel came and freed him because he 712 00:37:11,048 --> 00:37:12,067 still had more work for him to do. 713 00:37:12,067 --> 00:37:13,528 But guess what happened to Peter down the road? 714 00:37:13,528 --> 00:37:15,177 What, what did Peter face? 715 00:37:16,778 --> 00:37:19,357 Peter died for preaching the gospel. 716 00:37:20,167 --> 00:37:23,867 Paul, our author in 1 Corinthians, Paul preached Christ, and 717 00:37:23,868 --> 00:37:24,787 where did it get Paul? 718 00:37:26,028 --> 00:37:28,937 It got Paul on the execution block with his head laid across 719 00:37:28,937 --> 00:37:30,427 the, the stump waiting for the ax 720 00:37:33,442 --> 00:37:34,892 We could keep going on, on these guys. 721 00:37:34,892 --> 00:37:36,972 James, Thomas, Jude all died for their faith 722 00:37:40,814 --> 00:37:42,303 So did the gospel fail those men? 723 00:37:43,344 --> 00:37:44,504 Was the world wiser? 724 00:37:45,303 --> 00:37:46,424 Was the world stronger? 725 00:37:48,686 --> 00:37:51,516 Those witnessing their executions may have thought so, but we know better. 726 00:37:53,086 --> 00:37:56,446 The very acts of the world meant to thwart the gospel so often just fuel it 727 00:37:58,702 --> 00:38:01,012 The greatest evidence of that being the cross itself. 728 00:38:02,442 --> 00:38:06,532 What seemed to everybody around like the defeat that put an end to Jesus and 729 00:38:06,532 --> 00:38:10,242 all of his followers ended up instead being God's greatest act of victory. 730 00:38:11,562 --> 00:38:14,581 Colossians 2:15, "He disarmed the rulers and the authorities and put them to open 731 00:38:14,582 --> 00:38:17,622 shame by triumphing over them in him." 732 00:38:19,662 --> 00:38:24,732 So I just wanna encourage you this morning not to grow defeated by the opposition 733 00:38:24,732 --> 00:38:28,991 of a world that looks at you and thinks that you're a moron for following Jesus 734 00:38:32,014 --> 00:38:32,604 Expect it. 735 00:38:34,564 --> 00:38:34,934 Know it 736 00:38:37,326 --> 00:38:45,086 But then remember, the wisdom of God is wiser than men, and his strength stronger 737 00:38:47,642 --> 00:38:49,382 He's given you the message that saves. 738 00:38:50,362 --> 00:38:55,702 He's entrusted that to you, to go and rescue as many 739 00:38:55,702 --> 00:38:58,022 people as he will through you. 740 00:38:59,802 --> 00:39:03,022 Eventually, everybody is going to recognize that God's wisdom wins. 741 00:39:04,162 --> 00:39:05,771 We read about this in Philippians chapter two. 742 00:39:06,891 --> 00:39:09,041 Philippians chapter two, verses four through eight, we read this, "Let each of 743 00:39:09,041 --> 00:39:11,282 you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 744 00:39:11,461 --> 00:39:16,701 Have this mind amongst yourselves, w- which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, 745 00:39:16,701 --> 00:39:19,422 though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing 746 00:39:19,422 --> 00:39:23,442 to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. 747 00:39:23,612 --> 00:39:27,232 Being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form, he humbled 748 00:39:27,232 --> 00:39:30,232 himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." 749 00:39:30,232 --> 00:39:31,411 So the world says, "See? 750 00:39:31,502 --> 00:39:32,162 See? 751 00:39:32,461 --> 00:39:33,181 See? 752 00:39:33,331 --> 00:39:34,371 How stupid is that? 753 00:39:35,881 --> 00:39:38,561 He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. 754 00:39:38,561 --> 00:39:39,421 Who would do that?" 755 00:39:40,141 --> 00:39:40,951 Well, God's not done. 756 00:39:41,662 --> 00:39:45,441 Verse nine of Philippians chapter two, "Therefore, God has highly 757 00:39:45,441 --> 00:39:48,101 exalted him," which implies that he's not still dead, right? 758 00:39:48,801 --> 00:39:51,782 'Cause three days later, he walked out of the grave, never to enter, enter it again. 759 00:39:51,951 --> 00:39:56,711 "And therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed upon him the name that 760 00:39:56,711 --> 00:40:02,471 is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven 761 00:40:02,502 --> 00:40:06,891 and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ 762 00:40:06,921 --> 00:40:10,011 is Lord to the glory of the Father." 763 00:40:11,261 --> 00:40:15,221 That day is coming when all will bow the knee before the wisdom of God. 764 00:40:15,511 --> 00:40:17,501 All will bow the knee before the strength of God. 765 00:40:17,531 --> 00:40:21,912 Until then, we live in the already not yet, and you've got the message. 766 00:40:22,171 --> 00:40:27,921 You've got the message that God can use to see more people bow the knee now under, 767 00:40:27,921 --> 00:40:32,362 uh, the, the, the humility of saying, "Lord, I, I need you as my savior," rather 768 00:40:32,362 --> 00:40:36,931 than having to bow the knee then under the forced subjection of him as their Lord 769 00:40:36,951 --> 00:40:40,821 and their King and their ultimate judge 770 00:40:44,366 --> 00:40:45,136 And so go with it. 771 00:40:45,716 --> 00:40:47,926 Don't let the world skew your confidence in the gospel 772 00:40:50,670 --> 00:40:53,000 The foolishness of, of God is wiser than men. 773 00:40:53,990 --> 00:40:55,590 The weakness of God is stronger than men 774 00:40:58,968 --> 00:41:04,038 We preach Christ crucified, and now we turn to remember Christ 775 00:41:04,038 --> 00:41:05,048 crucified through communion 776 00:41:08,686 --> 00:41:12,116 These elements that we're going to take together are meant to cause us 777 00:41:12,136 --> 00:41:17,386 to think about the cross, to think about the, the message of, of falling 778 00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:23,540 Again, right there, right at th- these elements as, as you hold them, they 779 00:41:23,540 --> 00:41:27,810 represent a, a body broken and bloodshed 780 00:41:30,094 --> 00:41:33,874 Typically, a body broken and blood shed is not good news 781 00:41:36,884 --> 00:41:42,053 People don't look for somebody to be their savior who is walking 782 00:41:42,053 --> 00:41:44,834 around with a, a broken body and having their blood being shed 783 00:41:47,886 --> 00:41:50,466 But that's because people look for a savior according to the wisdom of 784 00:41:50,466 --> 00:41:51,516 the world, not the wisdom of God. 785 00:41:52,916 --> 00:41:56,436 So these, these elements, they, they represent our hope. 786 00:41:56,676 --> 00:41:59,835 They represent the wisdom of God, which is wiser than men, the strength 787 00:41:59,836 --> 00:42:01,146 of God, which is stronger than men. 788 00:42:02,116 --> 00:42:04,896 They represent the gospel, Christ crucified, a message that we would 789 00:42:04,896 --> 00:42:06,646 have never come up with on our own. 790 00:42:06,656 --> 00:42:11,355 They represent the, the message that says, "You couldn't, but God could." 791 00:42:14,158 --> 00:42:18,317 And so these are things that are for us as a church, that are for us 792 00:42:18,317 --> 00:42:20,518 to remember the sacrifice of Jesus. 793 00:42:22,297 --> 00:42:24,958 If you're not a Christian this morning and you would say, "Hey, you know what, for 794 00:42:24,967 --> 00:42:29,498 me this is still foolishness," I'm gonna ask you to let these elements pass by. 795 00:42:30,547 --> 00:42:31,757 This is, is for the church. 796 00:42:31,758 --> 00:42:33,137 This is for Christians this morning. 797 00:42:35,107 --> 00:42:39,988 The rest of us, I, I just want us to, to spend time contemplating the 798 00:42:39,988 --> 00:42:42,738 wisdom of God in the broken body of Christ and the blood of Christ. 799 00:42:43,837 --> 00:42:48,517 Christ crucified, and how much we needed that, and that we should be thankful that 800 00:42:48,518 --> 00:42:52,158 He didn't come to save us according to our wisdom, but according to His wisdom 801 00:42:54,890 --> 00:42:57,110 I just wanna give one housekeeping item here. 802 00:42:57,130 --> 00:43:01,220 These trays are a little bit pre- precarious 'cause we be- went back to 803 00:43:01,220 --> 00:43:05,429 the broken matzah, not the, uh, Listerine strips that dissolve in your mouth 804 00:43:05,429 --> 00:43:06,470 when you put the bread in your mouth. 805 00:43:07,270 --> 00:43:11,500 So, um, just be careful as you're grabbing the cups out as the, the trays pass. 806 00:43:11,500 --> 00:43:13,950 But the, the trays are gonna pass, the music's gonna play. 807 00:43:13,959 --> 00:43:16,319 I'll come back up, and we'll take this together here in just a moment. 808 00:43:16,609 --> 00:43:22,090 First Corinthians 11 verse 23, the Apostle Paul said this: "For I received 809 00:43:22,090 --> 00:43:26,039 from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the 810 00:43:26,039 --> 00:43:27,829 night when he was betrayed took bread. 811 00:43:27,929 --> 00:43:30,399 And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This 812 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:31,889 is my body, which is for you. 813 00:43:32,479 --> 00:43:33,660 Do this in remembrance of me.'" 814 00:43:43,406 --> 00:43:47,326 In the same way also, he took the cup after supper saying, "This cup 815 00:43:47,406 --> 00:43:48,836 is the new covenant in my blood. 816 00:43:49,456 --> 00:43:51,836 Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." 817 00:43:59,662 --> 00:44:03,172 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim 818 00:44:04,292 --> 00:44:08,622 the folly, the foolishness, the wisdom, the power, the strength of 819 00:44:08,631 --> 00:44:10,821 the Lord's death until he comes. 820 00:44:11,442 --> 00:44:11,861 Let's pray 821 00:44:15,182 --> 00:44:19,002 Father, there's so much to be thankful for, especially on a, a 822 00:44:19,002 --> 00:44:22,462 Sunday where we observe and where we re- remember the death of Christ 823 00:44:22,462 --> 00:44:23,832 on our behalf through communion. 824 00:44:25,162 --> 00:44:29,441 Lord, where we have spent time remembering and, and rejoicing over the reality that 825 00:44:29,452 --> 00:44:33,471 we are secure in Christ, not because of a, a message that we concocted or 826 00:44:33,471 --> 00:44:35,951 a wisdom of our own that says that we have to somehow work our way to you, 827 00:44:35,952 --> 00:44:39,712 but because of the wisdom, the folly of the cross according to the world. 828 00:44:39,712 --> 00:44:42,341 But the wisdom according to those of us who've been called, who have come 829 00:44:42,341 --> 00:44:47,951 to know it as the good news that it is, that you came for us, that you saved 830 00:44:47,961 --> 00:44:52,681 us, that you redeemed us through a, not just crucified savior, but through a 831 00:44:52,682 --> 00:44:56,571 resurrected savior who is now sitting at your right hand interceding for us. 832 00:44:57,071 --> 00:44:58,801 What a glorious truth and reality that is. 833 00:44:59,132 --> 00:45:02,101 Lord, I pray that we would be those that remember that we have the message, we 834 00:45:02,101 --> 00:45:06,621 have the power, we have the ability, we have the, the key to seeing people 835 00:45:06,621 --> 00:45:08,261 come to, to saving faith in Jesus. 836 00:45:08,611 --> 00:45:11,301 We know that you have to work, you have to open their eyes, but Lord, 837 00:45:11,301 --> 00:45:12,792 you can use us as the mouthpiece. 838 00:45:12,801 --> 00:45:14,191 So use us this week, God. 839 00:45:14,941 --> 00:45:17,451 Bring us across those that need to hear the message this week. 840 00:45:17,471 --> 00:45:20,041 May we not be a church waiting on the world to change, but may we be 841 00:45:20,042 --> 00:45:23,281 a church that's active, that's out there, that's pursuing the lost, 842 00:45:23,942 --> 00:45:25,302 that's taking the gospel to them. 843 00:45:25,302 --> 00:45:31,051 And sure, some may reject us as fools, but some, God, according to your 844 00:45:31,051 --> 00:45:34,641 perfect plan, may have their eyes open to see that this is the greatest 845 00:45:34,641 --> 00:45:37,361 news, the, the greatest wisdom, the most powerful message that they could 846 00:45:37,361 --> 00:45:39,041 ever know, and to come to faith. 847 00:45:39,801 --> 00:45:42,851 May you be kind e- to use us towards that end. 848 00:45:42,851 --> 00:45:45,822 We pray for a great week serving you, loving you, and following Jesus. 849 00:45:45,851 --> 00:45:46,921 In his name, amen.