1 00:00:04,721 --> 00:00:07,522 When we have child dedications, which we had a couple of weeks ago, one of 2 00:00:07,522 --> 00:00:10,442 the things that I do is I give each of the kids a, a, a book, and the book 3 00:00:10,442 --> 00:00:12,102 is called The Jesus Storybook Bible. 4 00:00:12,752 --> 00:00:14,902 And it's a book that I, I love to give because it's… 5 00:00:14,931 --> 00:00:18,592 While it's not the whole Bible, it is a series of a lot of the, the 6 00:00:18,592 --> 00:00:21,531 key stories of the Bible, stories that you remember from learning 7 00:00:21,532 --> 00:00:23,002 in your childhood days growing up. 8 00:00:23,002 --> 00:00:25,491 And one of the reasons I appreciate this one in particular is it 9 00:00:25,561 --> 00:00:29,171 always points to the fact that the hero of the story is Jesus. 10 00:00:29,931 --> 00:00:34,171 The hero of God's story, the hero of the Bible, the hero of everything that God 11 00:00:34,181 --> 00:00:37,581 does, Old Testament and New, is Jesus. 12 00:00:37,631 --> 00:00:41,231 And so these books, these Jesus Storybook Bibles, do this in a really neat way 13 00:00:41,232 --> 00:00:45,061 where with a, a really great illustration, and the artwork is, is really good. 14 00:00:45,602 --> 00:00:50,262 But it, it's there to remind us that the hero of the story is not us but is Jesus. 15 00:00:51,001 --> 00:00:54,682 And just like the Jesus Storybook Bible, Jesus is the hero of your story, 16 00:00:54,682 --> 00:00:57,591 too, and that's what our passage this morning is gonna be talking about. 17 00:00:58,291 --> 00:01:00,481 Those of us in this room that are, are Christians, we have different 18 00:01:00,482 --> 00:01:04,906 testimonies, different stories, different ways that God came after you. 19 00:01:04,906 --> 00:01:10,262 Y- you were, some of you, living a, a, a life of rebellion in a, in open sin in, 20 00:01:10,272 --> 00:01:11,751 in a way that the world would celebrate. 21 00:01:11,751 --> 00:01:14,811 Others of you were living a life of rebellion and open sin in the church 22 00:01:14,811 --> 00:01:18,271 and, and you looked like a good person, but God came and, and saved you then. 23 00:01:18,601 --> 00:01:19,890 Some of you were saved young. 24 00:01:19,890 --> 00:01:22,031 Some of you were saved i- in middle age. 25 00:01:22,031 --> 00:01:24,781 Some of you were s- were saved in, in the latter years of your life. 26 00:01:25,232 --> 00:01:28,051 But no matter what your background is, no matter what your story is, the 27 00:01:28,051 --> 00:01:33,936 common theme of it all is that it's all about God's glory Our passage 28 00:01:34,015 --> 00:01:38,406 this morning is 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, and, and that's gonna be what we're 29 00:01:38,406 --> 00:01:40,106 going to find in this passage. 30 00:01:40,106 --> 00:01:42,506 In fact, that's gonna be the big idea this week. 31 00:01:42,506 --> 00:01:45,265 It's-- that is that your story is for God's glory. 32 00:01:46,356 --> 00:01:49,365 Just like the Jesus Storybook Bible, your story, the one that God is 33 00:01:49,366 --> 00:01:52,086 writing in your life, is not about you. 34 00:01:52,306 --> 00:01:53,276 It's ultimately about Him. 35 00:01:53,466 --> 00:01:55,625 Your story is for God's glory. 36 00:01:56,195 --> 00:01:59,846 Let me read our passage together, and let me start here in verse 26. 37 00:01:59,906 --> 00:02:02,506 Paul writes this: "For consider your calling, brothers. 38 00:02:02,935 --> 00:02:05,805 Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were 39 00:02:05,806 --> 00:02:07,795 powerful, not many were of noble birth. 40 00:02:08,285 --> 00:02:11,185 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. 41 00:02:11,576 --> 00:02:13,755 God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 42 00:02:14,205 --> 00:02:16,855 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are 43 00:02:16,855 --> 00:02:20,385 not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no human being 44 00:02:20,385 --> 00:02:21,995 might boast in the presence of God. 45 00:02:22,646 --> 00:02:25,495 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us 46 00:02:25,506 --> 00:02:29,735 wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so 47 00:02:29,736 --> 00:02:31,765 that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'" 48 00:02:31,765 --> 00:02:34,255 That's next week's passage, and also the memory verses that I forgot 49 00:02:34,265 --> 00:02:37,805 to cite earlier in the, the, the service, so there, there you go. 50 00:02:38,965 --> 00:02:43,345 Again, the theme of this passage is that your story is for God's glory. 51 00:02:44,075 --> 00:02:45,995 As we get into it, let's look at verse 26 together. 52 00:02:46,346 --> 00:02:46,885 Paul writes this. 53 00:02:46,886 --> 00:02:48,286 He says, "Consider your calling. 54 00:02:49,425 --> 00:02:50,925 Not many of you, brothers…" 55 00:02:51,045 --> 00:02:52,165 He's writing to Christians. 56 00:02:52,185 --> 00:02:55,505 "Brothers and sisters, not many of you were wise according to worldly 57 00:02:55,505 --> 00:02:59,065 standards, not many of you were powerful, not many of you were of noble birth." 58 00:03:00,346 --> 00:03:02,485 This feels like a little bit of a backhanded compliment from Paul as 59 00:03:02,486 --> 00:03:04,495 he opens up this section for us. 60 00:03:04,886 --> 00:03:08,145 But we have to understand what he's doing by going back one verse. 61 00:03:08,285 --> 00:03:10,515 Remember where we landed last week, verse 25. 62 00:03:10,515 --> 00:03:13,646 Paul wrote this: "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the 63 00:03:13,646 --> 00:03:14,895 weakness of God is stronger than men." 64 00:03:15,855 --> 00:03:19,285 And now Paul picks up in verse 26, and he says, "For consider." 65 00:03:19,385 --> 00:03:22,005 So what Paul's doing here is he's saying, "You want evidence of this? 66 00:03:22,015 --> 00:03:26,396 You want proof that God's wisdom, God's foolishness is wiser than the 67 00:03:26,396 --> 00:03:29,495 wisdom of men, God's weakness is stronger than the strength of men? 68 00:03:29,495 --> 00:03:32,765 If you want evidence, you want proof, you want an illustration of this, let's 69 00:03:32,765 --> 00:03:35,695 just start with who you used to be before you came to faith in Christ." 70 00:03:36,625 --> 00:03:37,704 And that's where he begins. 71 00:03:38,355 --> 00:03:39,775 Paul says, "Consider your calling." 72 00:03:41,346 --> 00:03:45,406 Remember who you were before God called you, before God saved 73 00:03:45,415 --> 00:03:46,704 you, before God redeemed you. 74 00:03:48,006 --> 00:03:51,055 See, God's gonna show that His wisdom is greater and His strength is 75 00:03:51,055 --> 00:03:54,036 greater because God's not gonna save people according to our expectations. 76 00:03:54,956 --> 00:03:58,185 God's not gonna do things the way that we expect Him to do things, and the first r- 77 00:03:58,316 --> 00:04:02,475 area that we see that is by remembering where we were when God came for us. 78 00:04:02,506 --> 00:04:03,315 Point number one is this. 79 00:04:03,325 --> 00:04:05,786 Consider the type of people God chose to save. 80 00:04:06,775 --> 00:04:08,856 Consider the type of people God chose to save. 81 00:04:12,140 --> 00:04:14,950 You may recall, I don't know, five, six years ago, you remember 82 00:04:14,950 --> 00:04:17,440 when Kanye West got saved? 83 00:04:19,060 --> 00:04:22,550 It was a, a big deal back at our sending church because he was in Southern 84 00:04:22,550 --> 00:04:27,830 California there, and in fact, uh, his pastor at the time, Adam Tyson, was 85 00:04:27,830 --> 00:04:31,309 the pastor of Placerita Bible Church, which is in Ca- Santa Clarita, near 86 00:04:31,309 --> 00:04:34,019 the Master's College, where Amanda and I went, and, and she and I actually 87 00:04:34,020 --> 00:04:37,119 went to that church back when it used to be Placerita Baptist Church. 88 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,819 But I knew Adam, and Adam was Kanye's pastor. 89 00:04:41,829 --> 00:04:43,039 And so I, I knew Adam. 90 00:04:43,039 --> 00:04:46,299 I was kind of excited about that 'cause Kanye's being discipled by this guy 91 00:04:46,299 --> 00:04:48,670 that was a Master's graduate, and I thought, "Man, this is awesome." 92 00:04:48,670 --> 00:04:52,759 And, and Adam was even working with him on the, the CD that he released that had, 93 00:04:53,189 --> 00:04:55,030 "You're my Chick-fil-A, closed on Sunday." 94 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:55,669 You remember that one? 95 00:04:57,329 --> 00:05:01,749 And Kanye was doing these Sunday services and, and he was packing out stadiums. 96 00:05:01,779 --> 00:05:05,799 And people were showing up, and he was even having Adam come and preach messages 97 00:05:05,819 --> 00:05:10,189 at these Sunday services, and, and people … th- just giant worship conferences 98 00:05:10,189 --> 00:05:11,399 and, and everything else like that. 99 00:05:11,809 --> 00:05:15,150 And, and I got swept up in all of the, the momentum, but if you know anything 100 00:05:15,150 --> 00:05:18,610 about where Kanye is today, you know that that profession of faith was not genuine. 101 00:05:19,889 --> 00:05:21,499 He's far from following Christ today 102 00:05:24,078 --> 00:05:28,568 See, celebrity conversions, they, they get our attention a- and, and they can fire 103 00:05:28,568 --> 00:05:31,907 us up, and they can kinda get us excited because we begin to buy into the lie 104 00:05:31,917 --> 00:05:35,248 that we think, "Well, somehow God's gonna be able to use them in a more powerful 105 00:05:35,248 --> 00:05:36,568 way than He's gonna be able to use me." 106 00:05:37,828 --> 00:05:40,737 And so we think, "Oh, well, finally, God saved somebody influential. 107 00:05:41,078 --> 00:05:41,867 Look at the impact. 108 00:05:41,867 --> 00:05:45,007 Look at the reach that Kanye West could have on thousands 109 00:05:45,008 --> 00:05:47,577 of, of people, and I'm just me." 110 00:05:49,008 --> 00:05:52,747 And so we get swept up, and we start to think, "Well, well, God, y- y- you 111 00:05:52,748 --> 00:05:54,118 should save more people like that. 112 00:05:54,927 --> 00:05:58,678 You should save the politicians, and you should save the, the generals in the army, 113 00:05:58,678 --> 00:06:01,977 and you should save the, the professors in the colleges and the Ivy League schools. 114 00:06:02,247 --> 00:06:04,428 Think of the impact, God, that you could make if you just 115 00:06:04,428 --> 00:06:05,627 save the right types of people 116 00:06:08,302 --> 00:06:12,592 I- i- if God wanted to, he could, and he does sometimes. 117 00:06:14,662 --> 00:06:19,962 But his MO is not that way, and that's why Paul encourages the Corinthian 118 00:06:19,962 --> 00:06:24,372 church and enc- encourages us to begin by saying, "Hey, consider your own calling." 119 00:06:26,232 --> 00:06:29,072 The word calling here is, is God's saving choice of you. 120 00:06:30,792 --> 00:06:33,712 He's gonna say three times in the, the context of our passage 121 00:06:33,741 --> 00:06:35,481 this morning, "God chose. 122 00:06:36,062 --> 00:06:36,781 God chose. 123 00:06:37,261 --> 00:06:38,082 God chose." 124 00:06:39,681 --> 00:06:43,302 So Paul's rem- reminding the Corinthian church, "Hey, remember, 125 00:06:43,822 --> 00:06:48,631 remember who you were when God, in His grace, chose you for Himself. 126 00:06:50,342 --> 00:06:50,832 Remember." 127 00:06:51,271 --> 00:06:54,361 "Namely that," he's gonna go on to say, "that not many of you were wise 128 00:06:54,361 --> 00:06:55,472 according to worldly standards." 129 00:06:55,472 --> 00:07:00,401 We, we've spent a couple weeks talking about this one already, that the world's 130 00:07:00,401 --> 00:07:03,251 wisdom and, and our wisdom, the wisdom of the church, it, they're different 131 00:07:05,838 --> 00:07:09,078 The wisdom of, of the gospel i- is not gonna have a seat at the, the 132 00:07:09,078 --> 00:07:10,958 tables with the Ivy League scholars 133 00:07:13,056 --> 00:07:15,186 Not many of you were wise according to the world's standards. 134 00:07:16,285 --> 00:07:18,306 Also, by the way, not many of you were powerful. 135 00:07:19,635 --> 00:07:22,215 The word powerful there, it carries the idea of having political clout, 136 00:07:23,065 --> 00:07:27,265 of having the, the influence at the civic level to enact reform. 137 00:07:28,555 --> 00:07:29,066 He's saying, "You know what? 138 00:07:29,145 --> 00:07:31,645 Not, not many of you qualified there either." 139 00:07:33,555 --> 00:07:36,085 Oh, and, and also, not many of you were of noble birth. 140 00:07:36,975 --> 00:07:38,725 Of good birth is the Greek there. 141 00:07:39,405 --> 00:07:41,885 Meaning, not many of you had the, the family name, the pedigree, 142 00:07:41,885 --> 00:07:44,705 the lineage, the background, the history that would impress somebody. 143 00:07:45,915 --> 00:07:47,835 In other words, your last name is not really known outside 144 00:07:47,835 --> 00:07:48,725 of your family reunions 145 00:07:51,178 --> 00:07:54,848 But that's, that's who you were, at least most of you. 146 00:07:54,848 --> 00:07:55,848 He says not many were. 147 00:07:55,858 --> 00:07:58,457 A- and what that tells us is that some were 148 00:08:00,462 --> 00:08:05,062 Paul's point here is that it's not that, that God won't save the influential. 149 00:08:05,782 --> 00:08:08,522 It's not that God can't save the powerful. 150 00:08:09,042 --> 00:08:11,622 It's not that God never saves the wise. 151 00:08:12,572 --> 00:08:15,561 It's just that when He saves somebody, it's not about those things. 152 00:08:17,261 --> 00:08:18,392 It's about Him and His glory. 153 00:08:20,171 --> 00:08:22,471 See, there were some in the Corinthian church that did qualify 154 00:08:22,501 --> 00:08:24,671 as powerful or influential or wise. 155 00:08:25,421 --> 00:08:26,602 Crispus was one of them. 156 00:08:26,602 --> 00:08:27,931 He was the ruler of the synagogue. 157 00:08:27,942 --> 00:08:29,891 He would have been a man with great power and influence. 158 00:08:29,891 --> 00:08:32,421 He was a believer and a member of the church in Corinth there. 159 00:08:32,421 --> 00:08:36,422 There was another man named Gaius, who we found out from Romans was actually 160 00:08:36,422 --> 00:08:39,951 hosting the church in Corinth, and so he would have had a home that was large 161 00:08:39,951 --> 00:08:43,411 enough to be able to open up his home and use his resources to host the church. 162 00:08:43,412 --> 00:08:45,371 He, he had means, and God saved him. 163 00:08:46,451 --> 00:08:47,891 There was another man named Erastus. 164 00:08:47,982 --> 00:08:52,102 Erastus was the city treasurer in Corinth, and God saved him. 165 00:08:52,572 --> 00:08:55,481 He was a man with that power, that political clout. 166 00:08:56,212 --> 00:09:01,151 And so it's not that He never does, but Paul's point in reminding the Corinthians 167 00:09:01,151 --> 00:09:04,061 about this is the Corinthians were clamoring for status and prestige and 168 00:09:04,071 --> 00:09:07,801 honor, which Paul is trying to remind them to say, "Your salvation wasn't 169 00:09:07,801 --> 00:09:09,681 about who you were or who you weren't. 170 00:09:09,712 --> 00:09:11,381 It was all about the glory of God." 171 00:09:13,142 --> 00:09:15,231 And so he's saying, "Remember your calling. 172 00:09:15,971 --> 00:09:16,961 Remember where you were." 173 00:09:18,292 --> 00:09:20,241 By world standards, we would do things differently. 174 00:09:20,241 --> 00:09:25,151 Think about being a, a child, a son or daughter of the King 175 00:09:25,151 --> 00:09:26,402 of kings and the Lord of lords. 176 00:09:27,381 --> 00:09:29,362 There's a club in New York City, it's still there today. 177 00:09:29,362 --> 00:09:30,782 It's called the Knickerbocker Club. 178 00:09:31,432 --> 00:09:32,401 The Knickerbocker Club. 179 00:09:32,981 --> 00:09:37,211 The, the Knickerbocker Club was founded out of another club, and this other 180 00:09:37,212 --> 00:09:41,911 club, it had standards that, you know, if, if you had enough money, you could 181 00:09:41,921 --> 00:09:43,412 become a part of this other club. 182 00:09:44,101 --> 00:09:47,031 Well, some of the members of that club grew frustrated with that. 183 00:09:47,081 --> 00:09:50,531 They thought that things were being watered down, that the nouveau riche, 184 00:09:50,531 --> 00:09:53,172 the new rich, the new money could just buy their way into the club, but 185 00:09:53,172 --> 00:09:54,252 they didn't really have the pedigree. 186 00:09:54,252 --> 00:09:55,051 They didn't have the status. 187 00:09:55,051 --> 00:09:58,161 They didn't have the prestige that they were really after anymore. 188 00:09:58,161 --> 00:09:59,591 Things were being watered down. 189 00:10:00,541 --> 00:10:04,991 And so this group formed the Knickerbocker Club, and this club became 190 00:10:05,111 --> 00:10:06,771 less about how much money you had. 191 00:10:06,771 --> 00:10:10,201 In fact, they even set the membership dues for this club pretty low. 192 00:10:11,521 --> 00:10:14,092 But it became all about the type of person that you were. 193 00:10:15,622 --> 00:10:16,941 Did you know the right people? 194 00:10:17,712 --> 00:10:19,002 Were you of the right pedigree? 195 00:10:20,232 --> 00:10:22,361 In fact, some of the names that filled this club are names that you might 196 00:10:22,372 --> 00:10:26,951 recognize, names like Vanderbilt, Roosevelt, Rockefeller, Astor. 197 00:10:28,551 --> 00:10:31,831 In fact, so exclusive was this club that the Rockefellers had to wait three 198 00:10:31,831 --> 00:10:35,222 generations before they got admitted to the Knickerbocker Club because there 199 00:10:35,222 --> 00:10:37,822 was skepticism about whether or not their family name would really hold up 200 00:10:41,294 --> 00:10:46,964 That's what we would expect God's standards to be, to say, "This is 201 00:10:46,964 --> 00:10:49,853 who's gonna be a son and daughter of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords." 202 00:10:51,763 --> 00:10:55,643 We would expect that the world's esteem, the world's level, it 203 00:10:55,643 --> 00:10:57,134 would be about who you are. 204 00:10:57,884 --> 00:11:01,923 Are you worthy of becoming a son or daughter of the King 205 00:11:01,923 --> 00:11:02,924 of Kings and Lord of Lords? 206 00:11:04,903 --> 00:11:06,263 The answer to that question is no 207 00:11:08,398 --> 00:11:12,298 And so that's why it's so good for us and, and such good news for us that in 208 00:11:12,298 --> 00:11:15,458 His grace, it, it, it's not about who you are or who you aren't, it's about 209 00:11:15,468 --> 00:11:19,608 who He is and who He's called to be His. 210 00:11:21,718 --> 00:11:23,847 And so in His wisdom, God saves people like you and me. 211 00:11:24,757 --> 00:11:26,648 Not many of us in this room are the smartest person in 212 00:11:26,648 --> 00:11:27,827 the room when we walk into it. 213 00:11:29,257 --> 00:11:33,598 Not many of us in this room are sitting in the, the corner office with CEO 214 00:11:33,798 --> 00:11:35,117 on the title of the door outside. 215 00:11:36,808 --> 00:11:40,308 Not many of us in this room are the, living in the, the nicest home 216 00:11:40,308 --> 00:11:42,477 on the nicest block in the nicest neighborhood in the community. 217 00:11:44,418 --> 00:11:47,987 Not many of us in this room are known outside of our family and friends 218 00:11:50,190 --> 00:11:54,230 In fact, if, if we were to have a draft for Christianity, not many 219 00:11:54,230 --> 00:11:56,320 of us would be taken in the first and second round of that draft. 220 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:00,010 But that's exactly how God designed it to be. 221 00:12:01,699 --> 00:12:04,190 Because it's not about who you are or who you aren't, it's about who 222 00:12:04,199 --> 00:12:10,830 He is and what He's doing in saving us to be His people, His possession 223 00:12:10,850 --> 00:12:12,909 for His purpose and His glory. 224 00:12:12,999 --> 00:12:14,199 Your story for His glory 225 00:12:16,366 --> 00:12:18,406 It's not that he doesn't use people in power. 226 00:12:18,786 --> 00:12:21,396 It's not that he doesn't use influential people sometimes or 227 00:12:21,396 --> 00:12:22,925 wise people or wealthy people. 228 00:12:23,356 --> 00:12:24,045 Of course he does. 229 00:12:24,066 --> 00:12:25,276 He just doesn't need to 230 00:12:27,342 --> 00:12:29,141 And he doesn't do it because of who they are. 231 00:12:29,492 --> 00:12:30,572 He does it because of who he is. 232 00:12:31,692 --> 00:12:33,521 This would have also been a message necessary for the 233 00:12:33,521 --> 00:12:35,332 Corinthian church, because remember, they were factionalizing. 234 00:12:36,412 --> 00:12:38,032 I, I'm, I'm over here with Apollos. 235 00:12:38,032 --> 00:12:39,040 I'm ov-- I, I'm with Paul. 236 00:12:39,042 --> 00:12:39,812 I'm with Cephas. 237 00:12:40,101 --> 00:12:42,802 And this is a reminder that it's, it's not about you. 238 00:12:43,540 --> 00:12:44,822 It's, it's not about us. 239 00:12:46,012 --> 00:12:47,982 It's about the God saving us in spite of who we are. 240 00:12:49,311 --> 00:12:52,281 Remember James writes this in James chapter two, beginning in verse one. 241 00:12:52,281 --> 00:12:55,481 He says, "My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in the 242 00:12:55,481 --> 00:12:57,082 Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 243 00:12:57,711 --> 00:13:01,061 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly 244 00:13:01,061 --> 00:13:04,901 and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to 245 00:13:04,901 --> 00:13:07,882 the one who wears the fine clothing and say, 'You sit here in the good place,' 246 00:13:08,391 --> 00:13:11,501 while you say to the poor man, 'You stand over there,' or, 'Sit down at my feet.' 247 00:13:12,171 --> 00:13:14,781 Have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become 248 00:13:14,781 --> 00:13:16,271 judges with evil thoughts? 249 00:13:16,932 --> 00:13:18,211 Listen, my beloved brothers. 250 00:13:18,621 --> 00:13:21,991 Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith, 251 00:13:22,351 --> 00:13:25,572 heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?" 252 00:13:26,371 --> 00:13:31,542 Again, has God not chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith? 253 00:13:33,271 --> 00:13:38,741 The point here that Paul's making when he says, "Consider your calling," is that God 254 00:13:38,742 --> 00:13:40,071 doesn't operate the way that we operate. 255 00:13:41,121 --> 00:13:43,261 Your standing with the Lord is not merit-based. 256 00:13:44,202 --> 00:13:45,271 That would be the wisdom of the world. 257 00:13:45,281 --> 00:13:47,040 The wisdom of the world would say, "Well, the, the person 258 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:48,351 that's earned it should have it. 259 00:13:49,221 --> 00:13:51,341 The person that's worthy of it should get in." 260 00:13:52,831 --> 00:13:53,941 God's saying, "That's nobody." 261 00:13:55,864 --> 00:13:58,514 Except for my grace, everybody's on the outside. 262 00:13:59,474 --> 00:14:02,804 But because of His grace, we can remember His calling, remember the type of people 263 00:14:02,804 --> 00:14:06,623 that God chose to save, including you and me, and the reason He did it that way 264 00:14:06,764 --> 00:14:09,214 is so that He would get all the glory. 265 00:14:10,774 --> 00:14:12,163 Because we don't have reason to boast. 266 00:14:12,803 --> 00:14:16,164 We can't say, "Well, God saved me because this is my pedigree." 267 00:14:16,883 --> 00:14:19,734 We can't say, "God saved me because this is who I am. 268 00:14:19,754 --> 00:14:22,674 This is my background, this is my, my wealth, this is my income, this 269 00:14:22,674 --> 00:14:24,114 is my wisdom, this is my knowledge." 270 00:14:24,504 --> 00:14:29,804 Even if you have those things, you still can't say that's why God saved you. 271 00:14:29,804 --> 00:14:32,813 Because He doesn't save you because of who you are or who you aren't, He 272 00:14:32,823 --> 00:14:36,593 saved you because of who He is, and that's the type of people that God 273 00:14:36,593 --> 00:14:39,073 saves, so that He gets the glory. 274 00:14:40,073 --> 00:14:41,793 Again, the world's wisdom would say differently. 275 00:14:42,304 --> 00:14:44,904 The world would say, "Well, s- you need to save more people that are powerful, 276 00:14:44,904 --> 00:14:47,824 that are influential, that are wise," and that's where we're gonna go next 277 00:14:47,824 --> 00:14:50,253 and see that what God does is He's gonna take the wisdom of the world, 278 00:14:50,714 --> 00:14:51,943 and He's gonna turn it on its head. 279 00:14:53,023 --> 00:14:53,413 Again, why? 280 00:14:53,413 --> 00:14:56,843 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness 281 00:14:56,843 --> 00:14:57,763 of God is stronger than men. 282 00:14:58,694 --> 00:14:59,993 Pick up with me in verse 27. 283 00:15:00,284 --> 00:15:04,164 Paul writes this, "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. 284 00:15:04,493 --> 00:15:07,674 God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 285 00:15:07,843 --> 00:15:12,184 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not, to 286 00:15:12,184 --> 00:15:14,873 bring to nothing the things that are." 287 00:15:16,563 --> 00:15:20,024 What this, these verses are, are telling us here is that when the world 288 00:15:20,024 --> 00:15:21,573 expects God to go left, God goes right. 289 00:15:22,903 --> 00:15:24,903 When the world expects God to go down, God goes up. 290 00:15:25,883 --> 00:15:28,094 When the world expects God to zig, God zags. 291 00:15:29,034 --> 00:15:32,323 And it's not just to frustrate the world, but rather it's to show that 292 00:15:32,324 --> 00:15:34,953 God's wisdom is different than the world. 293 00:15:34,953 --> 00:15:38,424 Our second point this morning is this, see that God overturns the world's wisdom. 294 00:15:39,383 --> 00:15:41,803 See how God overturns the world's wisdom 295 00:15:44,088 --> 00:15:47,018 He renders the world's wisdom powerless in his economy 296 00:15:49,784 --> 00:15:52,374 We went to a, a presentation from a missions organization 297 00:15:52,464 --> 00:15:53,974 l- recently called Finisterre. 298 00:15:54,004 --> 00:15:56,154 They're doing great work in, in Papua New Guinea, some pretty 299 00:15:56,154 --> 00:15:57,394 amazing stuff taking place there. 300 00:15:57,884 --> 00:15:59,063 But it was really clever. 301 00:15:59,074 --> 00:16:02,454 They gave us something to remember them, and it's, uh, it was a form of 302 00:16:02,454 --> 00:16:03,743 currency there in Papua New Guinea. 303 00:16:03,743 --> 00:16:07,754 It's a five kina bill, for lack of a better term. 304 00:16:08,073 --> 00:16:09,423 And so they gave that to us, and so I have it. 305 00:16:09,473 --> 00:16:12,563 It's stuck in my whiteboard in my office so that every time I see it, I remember 306 00:16:12,563 --> 00:16:15,434 to pray for what's going on there in, in Papua New Guinea with Finisterre. 307 00:16:15,764 --> 00:16:19,833 But it's five kina, and, and it's currency there, but it's not currency here. 308 00:16:20,873 --> 00:16:24,023 And so if, if I took that five kina across the street from my office to 309 00:16:24,213 --> 00:16:29,174 HTO to buy the, the large half sweet, half unsweet Georgia I- peach iced 310 00:16:29,174 --> 00:16:32,373 tea that I like to buy, a- and, and they said, "Okay, that's gonna be this 311 00:16:32,373 --> 00:16:37,693 much money," and I put five kina down, they're gonna look at me like I'm crazy. 312 00:16:39,073 --> 00:16:39,623 "What is that?" 313 00:16:40,044 --> 00:16:40,823 "Well, this is money." 314 00:16:41,673 --> 00:16:42,403 "Not here it's not." 315 00:16:42,913 --> 00:16:44,423 "Okay, but in Papua New Guinea it is." 316 00:16:45,153 --> 00:16:48,543 "Okay, but we're not in Papua New Guinea, and so even in Papua G- New 317 00:16:48,563 --> 00:16:50,864 Guinea, that's still not enough to buy your iced tea, so you're gonna 318 00:16:50,864 --> 00:16:52,263 have to pay with American money here." 319 00:16:53,004 --> 00:16:56,414 Because here we have a set of the way things operate. 320 00:16:56,873 --> 00:16:59,883 We have a, an agreed-upon understanding that, that this currency holds 321 00:16:59,884 --> 00:17:01,464 value, that currency doesn't. 322 00:17:01,733 --> 00:17:05,084 The currency of the world's wisdom when it comes to God, it doesn't hold value, 323 00:17:05,792 --> 00:17:09,664 at least not for salvation, and that's where Paul goes here as he's beginning 324 00:17:09,664 --> 00:17:12,133 to explain to us what God did instead. 325 00:17:12,782 --> 00:17:14,113 He didn't choose these people. 326 00:17:14,113 --> 00:17:15,363 That's what he just finished telling us. 327 00:17:15,893 --> 00:17:17,032 He's not choosing the wise. 328 00:17:17,042 --> 00:17:18,873 He's not choosing the, the powerful. 329 00:17:18,873 --> 00:17:22,683 He's not choosing the ones with the noble birth and the societal swag and influence. 330 00:17:23,012 --> 00:17:25,792 Instead, he's gonna do something else, and that's what Paul says. 331 00:17:25,803 --> 00:17:26,963 He says, "But God chose." 332 00:17:28,424 --> 00:17:29,384 He's gonna say that three times. 333 00:17:29,913 --> 00:17:32,594 There's three t- different types of people that God chose. 334 00:17:33,543 --> 00:17:36,663 This word chose, in the original language there, it, it conveys the 335 00:17:36,663 --> 00:17:42,313 idea of choosing for himself, that God is taking to himself these people. 336 00:17:43,323 --> 00:17:46,663 This is not the idea that God chose from before the foundation of the earth. 337 00:17:46,763 --> 00:17:50,583 Yes, he did that, but the stress and the influence here and the, and the, the 338 00:17:50,693 --> 00:17:57,094 importance here is g- that these are the types of people presently who God chose. 339 00:17:58,964 --> 00:18:01,503 And he didn't choose the ones that the world would say, "Well, this makes the 340 00:18:01,503 --> 00:18:02,533 most sense to choose these people." 341 00:18:04,033 --> 00:18:06,333 He chose really the opposite. 342 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,310 He starts out by saying that, that God chose the, the foolish in the world. 343 00:18:12,790 --> 00:18:16,110 This is a theme that keeps coming back to, the foolishness of God. 344 00:18:17,460 --> 00:18:21,150 We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, folly 345 00:18:21,180 --> 00:18:23,850 to the Gentiles, and it is. 346 00:18:25,399 --> 00:18:28,309 The world looks at, at Christianity, and, uh, maybe you've even 347 00:18:28,309 --> 00:18:30,830 thought this yourself, that man, Christian- Christianity just… 348 00:18:30,979 --> 00:18:33,650 it's just a crutch for the intellectually weak. 349 00:18:35,309 --> 00:18:38,659 It doesn't make any sense that you guys would get together and read a 350 00:18:38,660 --> 00:18:44,580 book that's 2,000 years old on the newest parts a- and worship some guy 351 00:18:44,580 --> 00:18:47,390 that you say died on the cross for your sins and then rose from the dead. 352 00:18:47,729 --> 00:18:49,649 I've never known anybody else to rise from the dead. 353 00:18:51,180 --> 00:18:51,949 What are you guys doing? 354 00:18:51,950 --> 00:18:55,679 And you give up your Sunday mornings for that, and, and, and you don't 355 00:18:55,829 --> 00:18:56,939 have fun the way that the… 356 00:18:56,979 --> 00:19:00,259 we have fun because you, you think what, what we're doing is wrong 357 00:19:02,670 --> 00:19:06,920 That's the foolishness that the world looks at and says, "I, I don't get that. 358 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:07,740 I don't understand that." 359 00:19:11,246 --> 00:19:13,296 Paul says God chose that. 360 00:19:14,846 --> 00:19:20,856 God chose the foolish because he's flipping the expectations upside down. 361 00:19:20,866 --> 00:19:23,286 My son ran into this recently at his workplace. 362 00:19:24,456 --> 00:19:26,746 Somebody got hired who was pretty much the exact opposite of my 363 00:19:26,746 --> 00:19:27,866 son as you possibly could be 364 00:19:30,170 --> 00:19:33,550 And they got into a conversation about God, and this person said, "Well, yeah, 365 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,520 I, I, I follow Jesus as my savior, but I can't call myself a Christian 366 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:39,590 because I don't-- I hate the Bible 367 00:19:41,806 --> 00:19:45,746 is just full of errors and God is, the God of the Bible is evil and wicked 368 00:19:48,366 --> 00:19:51,416 And you've got my son there, and my son's saying, "No, I, I don't… 369 00:19:51,616 --> 00:19:52,546 That doesn't compute. 370 00:19:52,566 --> 00:19:54,106 That doesn't add up for me." 371 00:19:55,966 --> 00:19:58,346 I follow Jesus because I believe the Bible to be true. 372 00:19:59,386 --> 00:20:00,666 That's how I know who He is. 373 00:20:01,625 --> 00:20:02,506 That's how I know what He's done 374 00:20:05,806 --> 00:20:09,796 But that's the foolishness of Christianity in the eyes of the world. 375 00:20:11,696 --> 00:20:17,756 To that coworker, my son is just a lemming, just following after whatever 376 00:20:17,756 --> 00:20:19,285 he's been brainwashed to believe 377 00:20:21,678 --> 00:20:24,198 And but for the grace of God would all of us draw that conclusion. 378 00:20:26,068 --> 00:20:30,438 It's only because God chose the foolish, that is us, and opened 379 00:20:30,438 --> 00:20:31,858 our eyes to be able to understand. 380 00:20:32,838 --> 00:20:33,727 It's not because we're better. 381 00:20:34,527 --> 00:20:35,738 It's not because we're more insightful. 382 00:20:36,668 --> 00:20:39,338 It's not because we're, we're smart or wise or anything else. 383 00:20:41,067 --> 00:20:44,018 But it, it's because God in His wisdom is taking the world's 384 00:20:44,018 --> 00:20:45,808 wisdom and turning it upside down 385 00:20:48,056 --> 00:20:50,506 He didn't only choose the foolish in the world, he also chose the weak. 386 00:20:52,046 --> 00:20:54,806 God chose the weak in the world, those without the political 387 00:20:54,806 --> 00:20:55,776 influence and the sway. 388 00:20:57,536 --> 00:20:59,916 And again, it's not that he doesn't ever save the politician 389 00:21:00,446 --> 00:21:01,286 or the city councilman. 390 00:21:01,796 --> 00:21:02,366 He does. 391 00:21:03,696 --> 00:21:06,665 But it's that God's primary mission and goal is not to 392 00:21:06,665 --> 00:21:08,006 make the world a better place 393 00:21:10,392 --> 00:21:14,332 His goal is to save for himself a people who are going out with a mission and, 394 00:21:14,332 --> 00:21:17,272 uh, like we have as, as our church, a mission to reach people, teach 395 00:21:17,272 --> 00:21:19,072 people, and train people for Christ. 396 00:21:20,212 --> 00:21:22,762 That's what he's after, and he's gonna save people that are gonna 397 00:21:22,762 --> 00:21:23,842 be effective in doing that. 398 00:21:24,832 --> 00:21:27,911 And so is it wrong to pursue civic reform or to get involved 399 00:21:27,911 --> 00:21:28,952 in politics as a Christian? 400 00:21:29,271 --> 00:21:30,071 Absolutely not. 401 00:21:31,091 --> 00:21:34,561 There's the common grace of God where God uses believers in the political 402 00:21:34,562 --> 00:21:36,491 realm to do good things here. 403 00:21:37,591 --> 00:21:40,741 But that's not his main purpose and his main goal and his main mission, 404 00:21:41,521 --> 00:21:44,301 which is why he's perfectly content choosing the weak in the world, those 405 00:21:44,301 --> 00:21:45,321 without the power and the influence. 406 00:21:47,351 --> 00:21:50,642 Because they're the ones that are perfectly primed to be used in 407 00:21:50,642 --> 00:21:54,261 accomplishing his main mission, to reach people for Christ, to p- 408 00:21:54,402 --> 00:21:57,501 teach people to be like Christ, and to train people to serve Christ 409 00:21:59,790 --> 00:22:03,750 So he chose the foolish in the world, he chose the, the weak in the world, 410 00:22:03,750 --> 00:22:06,870 and then he also chose those that are the low and despised in the world. 411 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:09,190 Literally, it's those of low birth. 412 00:22:10,889 --> 00:22:13,940 Even the things that the world would say are not, meaning the things that the world 413 00:22:13,940 --> 00:22:17,270 would say are, are nothing, of no account 414 00:22:19,438 --> 00:22:22,078 These are the people that nobody notices when they walk in the room. 415 00:22:23,198 --> 00:22:26,618 Back in Paul's day, these would've been the, the freed slaves, the current 416 00:22:26,618 --> 00:22:30,448 slaves, the people without the last name, the people without the pedigree. 417 00:22:32,178 --> 00:22:36,467 These are the people that would've been looked at societally as, as outside 418 00:22:36,467 --> 00:22:38,138 of, of the, the bounds of honor. 419 00:22:39,577 --> 00:22:40,427 They would've been despised. 420 00:22:40,438 --> 00:22:44,178 They would've been thought of as, as of no account, of no value. 421 00:22:45,907 --> 00:22:51,067 In today's society and culture, we may not be so crass as to identify somebody 422 00:22:51,067 --> 00:22:55,867 as, as low and despised or of, of no account, but it's there still subtly 423 00:22:55,877 --> 00:22:57,307 in our culture standards, isn't it? 424 00:22:59,217 --> 00:23:02,178 Maybe somebody that, that comes out of a, a broken family 425 00:23:04,430 --> 00:23:07,400 Somebody with, who's a single parent, a single mom or a single dad 426 00:23:09,614 --> 00:23:11,544 Somebody who's out there just living paycheck to paycheck 427 00:23:14,862 --> 00:23:18,882 Somebody who's never owned a house and can't even begin to dream of 428 00:23:19,172 --> 00:23:20,142 being able to own a house someday 429 00:23:23,854 --> 00:23:26,944 Somebody who their retirement plan is just dying 430 00:23:29,790 --> 00:23:31,080 Because they don't have anything to invest 431 00:23:33,646 --> 00:23:35,526 Those are the type of people that our world would look at and say 432 00:23:37,934 --> 00:23:39,144 They don't, they don't have it together. 433 00:23:40,094 --> 00:23:40,803 They're not doing it right 434 00:23:44,206 --> 00:23:47,946 God says, "Those are the people that I'm gonna choose, 'cause I'm 435 00:23:47,946 --> 00:23:50,545 gonna take what the world expects and I'm gonna flip it on its head 436 00:23:53,614 --> 00:23:55,484 And he did all that because Paul says this. 437 00:23:56,334 --> 00:24:00,004 He did all that to do this, to shame the wise, to shame the strong, and to 438 00:24:00,004 --> 00:24:01,274 bring to nothing the things that are. 439 00:24:03,043 --> 00:24:06,014 In other words, God did that in order to get the glory 440 00:24:08,536 --> 00:24:10,536 One of the main struggles of the Corinthian church was that they 441 00:24:10,536 --> 00:24:13,646 wanted the honor, they wanted the acclaim, they wanted the prestige. 442 00:24:14,806 --> 00:24:17,316 If I look at 1 Corinthians chapter 3, we'll get there in, in a little 443 00:24:17,316 --> 00:24:20,495 while, but Paul writes here, he says, "Brothers, I could not address you 444 00:24:20,495 --> 00:24:24,076 as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 445 00:24:24,375 --> 00:24:27,236 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. 446 00:24:27,276 --> 00:24:31,056 And even now you are not yet ready, for you're still of the flesh. 447 00:24:31,475 --> 00:24:34,416 For while there's jealousy and strife among you, are you not of 448 00:24:34,416 --> 00:24:38,306 the flesh and behaving only in a, a human way, in a, a worldly way? 449 00:24:39,075 --> 00:24:42,186 For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' 450 00:24:42,245 --> 00:24:43,806 are you not merely being human?" 451 00:24:44,976 --> 00:24:47,055 And so Paul's writing and confronting the Corinthians, saying, 452 00:24:47,506 --> 00:24:49,296 "You're after the wrong things. 453 00:24:50,055 --> 00:24:53,216 You want the honor and the acclaim and the praise and the prestige of 454 00:24:53,216 --> 00:24:56,405 men, but that's not what matters. 455 00:24:57,675 --> 00:24:59,965 What matters is what God thinks, not what the world thinks." 456 00:25:01,465 --> 00:25:04,805 And so Paul again is, is saying, "God has done things in a way to shame 457 00:25:04,805 --> 00:25:08,145 all of that, to flip it on its head 458 00:25:11,736 --> 00:25:12,796 What does Jesus say? 459 00:25:14,536 --> 00:25:15,626 What does a man gain? 460 00:25:15,896 --> 00:25:21,966 What does it profit his soul if he gains the world but loses his soul? 461 00:25:24,046 --> 00:25:27,876 In other words, if, if we gain the world's acclaim, if you get everything 462 00:25:27,876 --> 00:25:32,416 that the world says is what you should have, but you don't have Jesus 463 00:25:35,086 --> 00:25:35,596 You've got nothing. 464 00:25:37,296 --> 00:25:42,146 Because, and we're in Ecclesiastes in our daily Bible reading, and this is something 465 00:25:42,146 --> 00:25:45,446 that Solomon had to wrestle with, and that is the reality that death is batting 466 00:25:45,446 --> 00:25:49,435 1,000 for every single person, no matter how many zeros are in your bank account 467 00:25:52,216 --> 00:25:57,255 And so God is doing something to reveal the bankruptcy of living for everything 468 00:25:57,255 --> 00:25:58,896 the world says is the right thing. 469 00:26:00,116 --> 00:26:03,166 And instead, he is flipping the, the script. 470 00:26:04,745 --> 00:26:08,185 He's changing the paradigm, and he's saving those that the world would 471 00:26:08,186 --> 00:26:13,366 never save because he's trying to show that his wisdom is wiser than the 472 00:26:13,366 --> 00:26:17,697 wisdom of the world and his strength stronger than the strength of the world. 473 00:26:17,697 --> 00:26:18,625 There's a quote from somebody who said this. 474 00:26:18,626 --> 00:26:22,795 He said, "The, the Greco-Roman culture believed that one's value was determined 475 00:26:22,805 --> 00:26:24,985 by education, wealth, and breeding." 476 00:26:24,996 --> 00:26:27,185 Those are the three areas that Paul is going after here, 477 00:26:27,755 --> 00:26:29,216 education, wealth, and breeding. 478 00:26:29,325 --> 00:26:32,576 And then he says this: "The cross, on the other hand, turns the world upside down." 479 00:26:34,496 --> 00:26:36,636 Because again, it's not about who you are or who you aren't. 480 00:26:36,656 --> 00:26:37,355 It's about him. 481 00:26:38,616 --> 00:26:42,096 And so in his wisdom, he's flipping the world's wisdom on its head 482 00:26:44,622 --> 00:26:47,212 And so I wonder maybe are, are you sitting there thinking to yourself, 483 00:26:47,212 --> 00:26:50,102 or maybe you have thought to yourself, you know, God, I, I feel like you 484 00:26:50,102 --> 00:26:52,652 could do so much more if you would just save this type of person. 485 00:26:54,522 --> 00:26:56,782 Just like back when, when Kanye was professing faith. 486 00:26:56,971 --> 00:26:59,352 Wow, God, you're gonna be able to reach so many people with him. 487 00:27:01,181 --> 00:27:04,622 Or maybe you're thinking to yourself, God, if, if you would only save the right 488 00:27:04,622 --> 00:27:09,562 person and put the, the right Christian in o- in office in the presidency or, 489 00:27:09,602 --> 00:27:13,302 or to hold the governorship, and then, Lord, it would be so much better for 490 00:27:13,302 --> 00:27:16,271 the church, and your mission here for the church could go, go so much easier. 491 00:27:16,282 --> 00:27:19,732 If we just ban Sharia law and ban the building of mosques and, 492 00:27:19,852 --> 00:27:22,141 and ban the building of Hindu temples, that, that would make 493 00:27:22,142 --> 00:27:23,211 it so much better for the church. 494 00:27:23,212 --> 00:27:24,371 We could accomplish so much more. 495 00:27:24,462 --> 00:27:27,902 Will you just save the right person and put them there to make that happen for us? 496 00:27:31,342 --> 00:27:34,312 And God's saying that- that's not, that's not what I need. 497 00:27:34,322 --> 00:27:38,552 I don't need a Christian governor to shut down the mosques or a 498 00:27:38,552 --> 00:27:40,621 Christian president to ban Sharia law. 499 00:27:42,092 --> 00:27:43,791 I need a church that's gonna be faithful to me. 500 00:27:44,912 --> 00:27:48,592 I need a church that's gonna reach people, teach people, train people 501 00:27:51,116 --> 00:27:51,986 I need the foolish. 502 00:27:53,566 --> 00:27:53,686 You know what? 503 00:27:53,686 --> 00:27:56,956 I, I, I need the, those that are, are not powerful in the world's 504 00:27:56,956 --> 00:27:58,446 eyes, those that are, are, are weak. 505 00:27:59,145 --> 00:28:00,416 I need the low and the despised. 506 00:28:00,816 --> 00:28:04,426 Those are the ones that I'm choosing for my team to carry out my mission. 507 00:28:06,385 --> 00:28:09,095 And ultimately, again, it's, it's so that the Lord gets the glory. 508 00:28:09,285 --> 00:28:14,125 It, it's not that He doesn't save those that are strong, those that are 509 00:28:14,125 --> 00:28:15,115 influential, and those that are… 510 00:28:15,395 --> 00:28:16,316 It's just that's not… 511 00:28:16,535 --> 00:28:19,505 He doesn't want anybody to look at Go- look at Him and say, "Well, clearly you 512 00:28:19,516 --> 00:28:20,896 needed them to do what you need to do." 513 00:28:22,645 --> 00:28:26,945 Rather, God's saying, "I don't need anybody of any clout, any prestige." 514 00:28:26,946 --> 00:28:31,255 It's not about who we are or who we aren't, it's about Him, and 515 00:28:31,266 --> 00:28:33,406 God's taking the world's wisdom and, and flipping it on its head. 516 00:28:33,775 --> 00:28:37,535 Uh, Moses conveyed this, eh, to, to Israel back in Deuteronomy 517 00:28:37,536 --> 00:28:38,816 chapter 7, something similar. 518 00:28:39,025 --> 00:28:41,956 Moses said this: "It was not because you were more nu- in number than 519 00:28:41,965 --> 00:28:45,515 any other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you, for 520 00:28:45,516 --> 00:28:47,185 you were the fewest of all peoples. 521 00:28:47,696 --> 00:28:50,785 But it's because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that He swore to 522 00:28:50,785 --> 00:28:53,975 your fathers that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed 523 00:28:53,985 --> 00:28:57,386 you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt." 524 00:28:58,495 --> 00:29:02,136 And so Moses was telling the people of Israel, "It's not about you. 525 00:29:02,325 --> 00:29:04,686 You are trophies of the grace of God." 526 00:29:05,336 --> 00:29:08,866 And Paul is telling us as the church, "Church, it's not about us. 527 00:29:08,965 --> 00:29:10,866 We are trophies of the grace of God." 528 00:29:11,035 --> 00:29:14,745 Whether you're wise and powerful and influential or whether you're weak 529 00:29:14,755 --> 00:29:18,396 and foolish and have nothing, of no account, it, it doesn't matter. 530 00:29:18,975 --> 00:29:22,196 What matters is what saves you is God's grace. 531 00:29:22,946 --> 00:29:26,905 What saves you is His power at work in your life 532 00:29:29,102 --> 00:29:32,072 And he's gonna save you and begin to use you for His name and His glory. 533 00:29:32,892 --> 00:29:35,992 And what that does to us at the end is where Paul goes finally in our 534 00:29:35,992 --> 00:29:39,592 passage, is it robs us of any grounds on which we might boast in ourselves. 535 00:29:40,722 --> 00:29:42,151 Look at verse 29. 536 00:29:42,161 --> 00:29:45,172 Paul says, "So that no human being might boast in the presence of God." 537 00:29:46,821 --> 00:29:50,711 That, that, that God is doing th- things this way ultimately for 538 00:29:50,721 --> 00:29:54,072 this reason, that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 539 00:29:54,651 --> 00:29:58,292 And so when we look at the fact that God has chosen who He's chosen, and it 540 00:29:58,292 --> 00:30:01,688 doesn't line up with our expectations or the world's expectations, w- we might be 541 00:30:01,688 --> 00:30:05,271 faced with the, the question, why though? 542 00:30:06,692 --> 00:30:12,741 And here's the answer: so that He gets all the glory, because He's due all the glory 543 00:30:15,608 --> 00:30:19,098 Listen, y'all, at, at some point in time, again, death 544 00:30:19,098 --> 00:30:20,748 is batting 1000 for all of us. 545 00:30:21,638 --> 00:30:25,987 At some point in time, when you breathe your last and you stand before God, if 546 00:30:26,178 --> 00:30:30,217 the evangelism explosion scenario takes place and God asks you the question, 547 00:30:30,407 --> 00:30:32,237 "Why should I let you into heaven?" 548 00:30:32,627 --> 00:30:35,697 If you are gonna pull out anything that has to do with your personal 549 00:30:35,697 --> 00:30:38,328 resume, you're in trouble. 550 00:30:40,108 --> 00:30:45,147 Instead, it's gonna be about pointing to the resume of Jesus and saying, "Because 551 00:30:45,147 --> 00:30:50,788 what if He did for me on the cross, that He died on the cross for my sins and rose 552 00:30:50,788 --> 00:30:53,828 again for my life, and He's my only hope. 553 00:30:54,697 --> 00:30:55,488 My boast is in Him 554 00:30:57,912 --> 00:31:01,602 See, that, that's the, the beginning to the Westminster Shorter Catechism. 555 00:31:01,612 --> 00:31:03,842 The opening question is, what is the chief end of man? 556 00:31:04,822 --> 00:31:06,232 In other words, what is our purpose? 557 00:31:06,492 --> 00:31:07,692 What have we been created for? 558 00:31:08,162 --> 00:31:12,411 And the answer to that question is that we might glorify God and enjoy Him forever. 559 00:31:14,361 --> 00:31:17,352 You can't boast in yourself and glorify God. 560 00:31:18,841 --> 00:31:20,201 Those two things are incompatible. 561 00:31:21,562 --> 00:31:25,492 And so our whole life is meant to be lived for the glory of God so that no human ma- 562 00:31:25,671 --> 00:31:26,982 being might boast in the glory of God. 563 00:31:26,982 --> 00:31:31,581 And what Paul is showing us is that God has saved us and has saved people in a 564 00:31:31,582 --> 00:31:36,071 way to ensure that that takes place, that our story becomes all about His glory 565 00:31:38,574 --> 00:31:44,484 You can focus on the, the key to all of this being the, the word grace. 566 00:31:45,464 --> 00:31:46,364 Unmerited favor. 567 00:31:48,064 --> 00:31:50,394 We talked about it in our scripture reading earlier from Ephesians 568 00:31:50,394 --> 00:31:52,484 chapter two, but, but it's, it's really the foundation of 569 00:31:52,484 --> 00:31:53,774 what he's driving at right now. 570 00:31:53,944 --> 00:31:57,984 The reason that none of us can boast is because our salvation rides on 571 00:31:58,004 --> 00:32:00,284 and rests on and depends on grace. 572 00:32:00,314 --> 00:32:03,313 And what grace is, is grace is unmerited favor. 573 00:32:03,504 --> 00:32:05,814 Grace is getting what you don't deserve 574 00:32:08,696 --> 00:32:13,426 And so grace is what keeps us from living a life that would say, "Yeah, 575 00:32:13,426 --> 00:32:16,906 I've got something to boast in," at least as it pertains to us. 576 00:32:18,305 --> 00:32:20,045 And so that grace is where I want us to think about this, 577 00:32:20,096 --> 00:32:21,055 this final point this morning. 578 00:32:21,066 --> 00:32:24,495 That grace is what's gonna keep us making sure that our boast goes nowhere 579 00:32:24,525 --> 00:32:25,965 other than to the cross of Jesus Christ. 580 00:32:26,495 --> 00:32:29,185 So our final point this morning is this: Never get over that saving grace. 581 00:32:29,785 --> 00:32:32,115 Never get over God's saving grace 582 00:32:34,806 --> 00:32:36,756 I've played golf since I was seven years old. 583 00:32:36,896 --> 00:32:42,156 Not well necessarily, but yeah, 35 years of hacking a, a little 584 00:32:42,156 --> 00:32:43,155 golf ball around a golf course. 585 00:32:44,405 --> 00:32:48,436 I, I, I got into it initially because my, my dad, he played golf and, and so 586 00:32:48,626 --> 00:32:51,506 he brought me out on the golf course just like I've started to do with my boys, and 587 00:32:52,045 --> 00:32:54,825 drop a ball 100 yards out and say, "Okay, let's start from here and just hit it 588 00:32:54,825 --> 00:32:55,866 towards the green and see what happens." 589 00:32:56,416 --> 00:32:59,436 And then as I, I began to improve, I, I went to, to golf 590 00:32:59,436 --> 00:33:00,616 camps because I was that kid. 591 00:33:00,616 --> 00:33:01,115 I was a nerd. 592 00:33:01,405 --> 00:33:08,165 Um, and, uh, I, I played g- golf on a, the junior, North Texas Junior PGA 593 00:33:08,165 --> 00:33:09,545 Tour, which don't be impressed by that. 594 00:33:09,545 --> 00:33:13,115 I, I lost horribly every single time I went out and played, but I did, 595 00:33:13,126 --> 00:33:16,786 and I had instructors, and I had coaches, and I had all of these people 596 00:33:16,795 --> 00:33:17,746 teaching me how to play the game. 597 00:33:19,295 --> 00:33:22,935 That was how I got into the game, and that was how I started to 598 00:33:23,065 --> 00:33:24,235 improve a little bit in the game. 599 00:33:25,225 --> 00:33:29,475 But then now when I go out and play, I don't bring any of those coaches 600 00:33:29,475 --> 00:33:30,685 or instructors with me anymore. 601 00:33:31,905 --> 00:33:35,856 I go out and just play, and I play on my own, and sometimes I remember what 602 00:33:35,856 --> 00:33:39,875 they taught me, but I'm not remembering even who it was that taught me that. 603 00:33:41,325 --> 00:33:44,255 And so now I go out and really I'm depending on myself for my 604 00:33:44,255 --> 00:33:46,845 golf game now, which probably why it's not very good anymore. 605 00:33:48,405 --> 00:33:49,366 But I'll, I'll go out and do that. 606 00:33:49,495 --> 00:33:50,345 And, and here's the thing. 607 00:33:50,705 --> 00:33:54,825 On the rare occasion when I hit the good shot, I don't stop and, and think 608 00:33:54,825 --> 00:33:58,655 about my instructors and go, "Man, I'm so thankful for, for what they did to 609 00:33:58,655 --> 00:34:00,016 enable me to be able to hit that shot." 610 00:34:01,346 --> 00:34:03,866 I just hit the shot and I think to myself, "Wow, that was a pretty good shot." 611 00:34:07,168 --> 00:34:09,938 That's not the way that Christianity works. 612 00:34:11,128 --> 00:34:15,877 In other words, God's grace didn't just get you into the game and kinda get 613 00:34:15,878 --> 00:34:17,757 you started on it, but now it's you. 614 00:34:19,708 --> 00:34:22,878 But sometimes as, as Christians, that's kinda how we, we live, isn't it? 615 00:34:24,237 --> 00:34:27,036 Like, man, God saved me, and he got me into this thing called 616 00:34:27,038 --> 00:34:28,138 Christianity, but I'll, I'll 617 00:34:28,417 --> 00:34:30,578 God, I'll let my wisdom take over from here 618 00:34:33,838 --> 00:34:35,568 That's not the way that Christianity works. 619 00:34:36,467 --> 00:34:40,398 All that we are, all that we are as Christians, we 620 00:34:40,438 --> 00:34:42,568 owe entirely to God's grace. 621 00:34:43,777 --> 00:34:50,786 See, God's grace saves us, but then it also sustains us, and it sanctifies 622 00:34:50,786 --> 00:34:56,572 us until ultimately it delivers us into his presence In fact, that's 623 00:34:56,572 --> 00:34:59,672 our memory verses this week and what we're gonna talk about next weekend. 624 00:34:59,672 --> 00:35:04,552 If you look at verse 30, "Because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became 625 00:35:04,552 --> 00:35:08,802 to us wisdom from God, righteousness," okay, there's our s- our salvation. 626 00:35:08,812 --> 00:35:10,221 Jesus is our righteousness. 627 00:35:10,322 --> 00:35:11,412 That's our salvation. 628 00:35:11,762 --> 00:35:13,891 Also, He's our sanctification. 629 00:35:13,892 --> 00:35:15,062 Notice that's the next word there. 630 00:35:15,062 --> 00:35:16,362 That, that's what we're doing right now. 631 00:35:16,362 --> 00:35:20,421 We are being made more like Christ, so we need Jesus for our sanctification. 632 00:35:20,632 --> 00:35:22,481 And then finally, He is our redemption. 633 00:35:22,721 --> 00:35:24,731 That's when we're gonna go and be in the presence of God. 634 00:35:25,552 --> 00:35:27,501 And so we need the grace the whole way through. 635 00:35:28,701 --> 00:35:32,421 And so when we remember that, then we have to come back to this, what Paul's 636 00:35:32,421 --> 00:35:36,471 saying here, and that is that none of us have any grounds to boast in when 637 00:35:36,471 --> 00:35:37,701 it comes to our standing before God. 638 00:35:39,182 --> 00:35:40,892 That it's His grace and His grace alone. 639 00:35:42,322 --> 00:35:43,772 So I wanna us to think about that. 640 00:35:43,772 --> 00:35:44,731 I, I wanna help you. 641 00:35:44,901 --> 00:35:47,531 Okay, so how can I make sure that I never get over the grace of God? 642 00:35:47,531 --> 00:35:49,252 What should that practically look like in my life? 643 00:35:49,252 --> 00:35:51,321 I wanna suggest three things to you this morning. 644 00:35:51,322 --> 00:35:53,602 Number one, always remember His grace. 645 00:35:54,002 --> 00:35:55,571 Daily remember His grace. 646 00:35:56,802 --> 00:35:58,931 Preach the gospel to yourself every single day. 647 00:36:00,291 --> 00:36:04,102 And be driven by remembering that you needed grace to be saved, to 648 00:36:04,102 --> 00:36:06,781 remember that you need grace today, but for the grace of God, right? 649 00:36:06,781 --> 00:36:08,561 We say that, and, and do we mean it? 650 00:36:09,421 --> 00:36:12,411 That God's grace is what's keeping us on this straight and narrow path. 651 00:36:12,421 --> 00:36:16,981 God's grace is what's enabling us to will and to, to work for His good pleasure. 652 00:36:18,651 --> 00:36:20,202 We need to remember His grace every single day. 653 00:36:20,522 --> 00:36:21,851 Paul does a good job of this. 654 00:36:22,761 --> 00:36:24,721 First Timothy chapter one, verses 12 through 17. 655 00:36:24,721 --> 00:36:27,071 I want you to listen to, to Paul's emphasis here. 656 00:36:27,861 --> 00:36:30,872 Paul says, "I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our 657 00:36:30,872 --> 00:36:34,941 Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service. 658 00:36:35,101 --> 00:36:38,731 Though formerly I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent opponent. 659 00:36:39,031 --> 00:36:43,371 But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief." 660 00:36:43,691 --> 00:36:48,631 And notice here, "And the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith 661 00:36:48,681 --> 00:36:50,711 and love that are in Christ Jesus. 662 00:36:51,302 --> 00:36:53,691 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 663 00:36:53,961 --> 00:36:57,821 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 664 00:36:58,361 --> 00:37:02,841 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus 665 00:37:02,842 --> 00:37:05,951 Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who 666 00:37:05,952 --> 00:37:07,551 were to believe in him for eternal life. 667 00:37:08,131 --> 00:37:11,921 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be 668 00:37:11,931 --> 00:37:14,441 honor and glory forever and ever. 669 00:37:14,871 --> 00:37:15,461 Amen." 670 00:37:16,202 --> 00:37:20,141 See, Paul starts to write to Timothy about his story, and it's long, not long before 671 00:37:20,151 --> 00:37:22,621 Paul gets from his story to God's glory. 672 00:37:22,782 --> 00:37:26,181 And the reason is, is because he's infatuated with and obsessed with 673 00:37:26,181 --> 00:37:29,751 and consumed with, appropriately so, the saving grace of God. 674 00:37:30,871 --> 00:37:32,351 His grace overflowed for me. 675 00:37:33,361 --> 00:37:36,101 And so as Paul remembered the grace of God, it drove him to worship God. 676 00:37:36,121 --> 00:37:38,891 We need to daily remember the grace of God and our dependence upon it, and it 677 00:37:38,892 --> 00:37:41,281 will drive us to worship Him as well. 678 00:37:41,282 --> 00:37:45,881 We are a walking billboard for God's wisdom, power, and glory. 679 00:37:45,911 --> 00:37:46,511 At least we should be. 680 00:37:48,078 --> 00:37:49,688 If our story is truly for His glory. 681 00:37:50,508 --> 00:37:52,358 So first remember grace, second boast in Christ. 682 00:37:53,208 --> 00:37:54,368 Not all boasting is bad. 683 00:37:54,678 --> 00:37:56,408 Pastor Rod mentioned that earlier during our worship set. 684 00:37:57,018 --> 00:37:58,038 Not all boasting is bad. 685 00:37:58,038 --> 00:38:02,348 There is a good boasting, but that good boasting has to be about what 686 00:38:02,348 --> 00:38:04,158 God's grace has done in our lives. 687 00:38:04,758 --> 00:38:08,675 The Apostle Paul puts it this way, 2 Corinthians 11:30. 688 00:38:08,675 --> 00:38:12,728 2 Corinthians 11:30, Paul writes, "If I must boast, I will boast of 689 00:38:12,738 --> 00:38:14,157 the things that show my weakness." 690 00:38:15,658 --> 00:38:16,038 Why? 691 00:38:17,058 --> 00:38:19,057 Because the things that show his weakness maximize the 692 00:38:19,058 --> 00:38:20,648 glory and the strength of God. 693 00:38:22,407 --> 00:38:26,517 Elsewhere, Galatians 6:14, Paul writes this, "But far be it from me to boast 694 00:38:26,528 --> 00:38:32,037 except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been 695 00:38:32,037 --> 00:38:33,338 crucified to me and I to the world." 696 00:38:33,747 --> 00:38:36,807 So Paul says, I, I'm gonna boast, but I'm gonna boast in the right things. 697 00:38:36,817 --> 00:38:38,537 I'm gonna boast in the things that God has done in my life. 698 00:38:38,537 --> 00:38:42,348 I'm gonna boast in the fact that God, by His grace, has made me a trophy 699 00:38:42,367 --> 00:38:46,347 of His grace, has transformed my life, has overcome my weaknesses. 700 00:38:46,567 --> 00:38:50,258 Uh, God came to save sinners of whom Paul says, "I'm the foremost." 701 00:38:51,657 --> 00:38:57,827 But God, through His grace, overcame them and saved me, and 702 00:38:57,828 --> 00:39:01,067 so I'm gonna boast in Christ. 703 00:39:02,707 --> 00:39:06,207 And then the third thing, not only do we need to preach grace to ourselves, 704 00:39:06,207 --> 00:39:09,737 we need to preach grace to others, and we do that by telling our story. 705 00:39:11,408 --> 00:39:13,567 Telling the story of what God has done in your life. 706 00:39:16,654 --> 00:39:16,864 You know what? 707 00:39:16,894 --> 00:39:20,504 I, I think sometimes, and, and maybe this might even be you this morning 708 00:39:20,504 --> 00:39:22,994 if, if you're here, maybe you're not a, a Christian, you might think this 709 00:39:22,994 --> 00:39:28,434 of the church, that the church can put out the, the feel that we're, we're 710 00:39:28,444 --> 00:39:31,483 better than or holier than, than thou. 711 00:39:33,304 --> 00:39:36,764 Or like we're, we're disinterested with the lost world around us 712 00:39:36,764 --> 00:39:39,554 'cause we just wanna hang out together and not be bothered 713 00:39:43,214 --> 00:39:46,494 And while not all of that may be valid, it-- some of it may be valid 714 00:39:46,494 --> 00:39:49,854 because I, I, I don't think we've done a great job at this last point 715 00:39:52,694 --> 00:39:57,504 I don't think we've been as, as faithful to tell our story and to 716 00:39:57,514 --> 00:39:59,174 maximize the grace of God in that story 717 00:40:01,518 --> 00:40:07,588 Because if we were and if we are, then nobody would look at us and think, "Well, 718 00:40:07,588 --> 00:40:08,668 they think they're better than me." 719 00:40:10,702 --> 00:40:12,482 Because they would hear from us anything but that. 720 00:40:13,892 --> 00:40:21,202 They would hear from us, "Man, you don't know the, the least of how evil I was or 721 00:40:21,482 --> 00:40:24,052 how much I still need the grace of God." 722 00:40:27,822 --> 00:40:33,442 You don't know the smallest sliver of how absolutely unworthy of God's saving 723 00:40:33,442 --> 00:40:34,922 grace that I was before he came for me 724 00:40:38,190 --> 00:40:41,200 So I wanna encourage you to, to tell your story, and I wanna encourage you to, to 725 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:44,940 tell your story by developing something that's called the 15-second testimony. 726 00:40:46,610 --> 00:40:47,540 That's just what it's called. 727 00:40:47,550 --> 00:40:49,110 It may not take you 15 seconds. 728 00:40:49,140 --> 00:40:54,379 In fact, I was shadowboxing with, with somebody earlier th- this week about 729 00:40:54,380 --> 00:40:59,980 this sermon, and the feedback was, "Your 15-second testimony is not 15 seconds." 730 00:41:00,709 --> 00:41:01,139 I was like, "Well, thank you. 731 00:41:01,139 --> 00:41:02,099 I appreciate that." 732 00:41:02,989 --> 00:41:03,680 It's just a name. 733 00:41:03,940 --> 00:41:05,559 But the 15-second testimony goes like this. 734 00:41:05,780 --> 00:41:07,880 There was a time in my life when… 735 00:41:09,209 --> 00:41:12,599 There was a time in my life when, but God… 736 00:41:13,949 --> 00:41:18,849 And now I'm filled with, or now I'm this way, or now I'm doing this 737 00:41:20,910 --> 00:41:23,279 And so let me give you maybe a tangible example for this. 738 00:41:23,279 --> 00:41:25,620 Maybe you invite your neighbor to come to church or your coworker to come to 739 00:41:25,620 --> 00:41:27,359 church and they, they politely pass. 740 00:41:27,890 --> 00:41:31,600 Maybe the follow-up rather than, "Uh, oh, okay," might be something 741 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:34,940 like, "Hey, can I, can I just share with you why I go to church?" 742 00:41:37,582 --> 00:41:38,732 There was a time in my life, 743 00:41:40,741 --> 00:41:42,652 this would be my 15-second testimony, by the way. 744 00:41:43,152 --> 00:41:46,011 There was a time in my life w- w- when I was self-righteous 745 00:41:46,042 --> 00:41:49,682 and arrogant and thought that I was better than other people. 746 00:41:49,682 --> 00:41:53,551 I, I, I thought that I could manufacture the type of 747 00:41:53,551 --> 00:41:54,882 relationship with God that I wanted. 748 00:41:55,861 --> 00:41:58,821 I thought that I could, could know God on my terms and, and not His, 749 00:41:58,821 --> 00:42:01,732 and, and I, I was totally lost. 750 00:42:03,131 --> 00:42:05,301 Boastful, prideful, everything that you probably hate about 751 00:42:05,301 --> 00:42:06,092 Christians, that was me 752 00:42:08,718 --> 00:42:13,298 But God broke me, humbled me. 753 00:42:14,837 --> 00:42:17,238 God showed me that I, I'm, I'm not good enough. 754 00:42:18,558 --> 00:42:20,357 I'm not better than anyone 755 00:42:23,054 --> 00:42:27,894 That my church attendance, my being born into this family, my place on a 756 00:42:27,894 --> 00:42:30,634 student ministry leadership team, that, that doesn't mean anything in His eyes 757 00:42:33,784 --> 00:42:36,924 God showed me how much I, I needed to just surrender to Him and, and made 758 00:42:36,924 --> 00:42:40,614 me realize that I need His grace as much as anyone else needs His grace 759 00:42:43,406 --> 00:42:47,746 And because God did that, now I'm filled with a humble joy that is just 760 00:42:47,826 --> 00:42:50,986 constantly in awe of the fact that God still loves me, even though I still 761 00:42:51,636 --> 00:42:55,096 struggle sometimes with those same things that I once was characterized by. 762 00:42:56,316 --> 00:42:59,385 I'm in awe of the fact that, that God accepts anything from me 763 00:43:02,222 --> 00:43:05,972 And so I go to church because God saved me from who I was 764 00:43:09,624 --> 00:43:12,194 And I'd love for you to come join us because we're not gathering together 765 00:43:12,194 --> 00:43:13,804 because we're better than anyone. 766 00:43:14,964 --> 00:43:18,284 We're gathering together because God's grace has saved every single one of us 767 00:43:20,376 --> 00:43:21,746 And God's grace is there for you too. 768 00:43:23,576 --> 00:43:26,336 I'd really love for you to reconsider whether or not maybe you'll come with 769 00:43:26,336 --> 00:43:27,766 us and join us at church on Sunday 770 00:43:30,670 --> 00:43:31,540 Something like that. 771 00:43:32,030 --> 00:43:36,410 Something for us to be able to, to get out there and start being on mission. 772 00:43:36,410 --> 00:43:39,100 Like I talked about earlier, we're doing this outreach week here as 773 00:43:39,100 --> 00:43:42,249 a church coming up in October, but you don't have to wait for that. 774 00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:47,030 But, but definitely at least during that time to say, "Okay, m- my church is asking 775 00:43:47,030 --> 00:43:51,549 me, my, my pastor's asking me to be, uh, just extra focused on, on reaching people 776 00:43:51,549 --> 00:43:54,929 for Christ for this week," but I'm just gonna say, "Let's make it outreach fall. 777 00:43:54,939 --> 00:43:58,540 Let's make it outreach, you know, life, not just outreach week." 778 00:43:59,260 --> 00:44:01,699 And start to think about, how can I have conversations that 779 00:44:01,699 --> 00:44:04,550 matter for eternity with the, the people that are all around me? 780 00:44:06,990 --> 00:44:11,759 This, this past week j-just, I think it was yesterday, September 11th. 781 00:44:13,529 --> 00:44:16,959 You think of the, the 3,000 souls that died on that day, not a single 782 00:44:16,959 --> 00:44:18,349 one of them planned to die that day 783 00:44:20,792 --> 00:44:25,352 And I wonder how many of them were people that Christians that knew them 784 00:44:25,532 --> 00:44:28,292 thought to themselves over and over and over again, "Man, I, I need to 785 00:44:28,292 --> 00:44:30,522 tell them about Jesus, but next time." 786 00:44:33,580 --> 00:44:36,130 Maybe even some of them, they were over, they had a barbecue, 787 00:44:36,130 --> 00:44:39,730 whatever, on September 10th with, with those people that ended up in 788 00:44:39,730 --> 00:44:42,270 those trade towers, and they thought to themselves, "You know what? 789 00:44:42,609 --> 00:44:44,830 Maybe I should share the Go- maybe I should invite this pers- maybe 790 00:44:44,830 --> 00:44:46,099 I should talk to them about Jesus. 791 00:44:46,309 --> 00:44:49,040 You know, there'll be a next-- I'll, I'll, I'll do it next time we have them over." 792 00:44:51,810 --> 00:44:53,800 Only to realize there wasn't gonna be a next time 793 00:44:58,584 --> 00:45:04,714 Church, I, I, I want, would love, and I'm preaching to myself in this as 794 00:45:04,714 --> 00:45:10,293 well, for us to stop gambling people's eternity on our own sense of whether 795 00:45:10,293 --> 00:45:13,513 or not we're gonna feel awkward by having that conversation with them 796 00:45:21,784 --> 00:45:24,154 We have to be doing this 797 00:45:27,852 --> 00:45:29,882 God chose us for this purpose 798 00:45:33,102 --> 00:45:34,202 To, to boast in him 799 00:45:36,302 --> 00:45:38,962 To say, "Let me tell you about what God did. 800 00:45:40,922 --> 00:45:41,462 Let me tell you why I go to church 801 00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:46,360 Let me tell you why I, I'm gone on Sunday mornings 802 00:45:49,358 --> 00:45:50,038 Tell you why, sir 803 00:45:54,318 --> 00:45:58,378 You know the church at Ephesus in Ephesians chapter two, not Ephesians 804 00:45:58,378 --> 00:45:59,948 chapter two, Revelation chapter two. 805 00:46:01,578 --> 00:46:03,848 It was the first church out of the gate that Jesus writes a letter to 806 00:46:06,038 --> 00:46:08,728 Jesus writes a letter to them saying, "Hey, you're doing a lot. 807 00:46:08,728 --> 00:46:11,748 That's pretty good, but I've got one thing against you. 808 00:46:13,448 --> 00:46:14,338 You've lost your first love 809 00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:18,270 Ephesus was doctrinally sound. 810 00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:20,600 They had expository preaching. 811 00:46:22,490 --> 00:46:23,720 They sang the right songs. 812 00:46:25,620 --> 00:46:27,049 They preached from the right version of the Bible 813 00:46:29,422 --> 00:46:30,602 They had the right doctrinal statement 814 00:46:33,582 --> 00:46:36,002 But their love for Christ and their love for the lost had grown cold 815 00:46:38,446 --> 00:46:41,156 So much so that Jesus looked at that church and he said this to them. 816 00:46:41,156 --> 00:46:42,016 He said, "You know what? 817 00:46:43,476 --> 00:46:46,926 If y'all don't get this, I'm gonna shut you down 818 00:46:52,377 --> 00:46:53,258 That's my fear for us 819 00:46:57,262 --> 00:46:58,282 If we don't get this 820 00:47:01,912 --> 00:47:04,352 what the foolishness of God is there to do in our lives 821 00:47:07,768 --> 00:47:09,087 He doesn't need us here 822 00:47:11,598 --> 00:47:14,198 If we won't do it, he'll shut us down and bring somebody else in that will 823 00:47:17,012 --> 00:47:17,552 I don't want that. 824 00:47:19,542 --> 00:47:20,812 I love seeing you guys on Sunday morning 825 00:47:28,110 --> 00:47:30,400 There's a lot of different things people say, "Who's your plus one? 826 00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:30,910 Who are you gonna…" 827 00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:31,770 You know, all those things 828 00:47:38,454 --> 00:47:41,754 I just want us to start being more passionate about the mission. 829 00:47:42,984 --> 00:47:44,804 I wanna start being more passionate about the mission. 830 00:47:45,974 --> 00:47:47,274 I wanna start having conversations, 831 00:47:49,294 --> 00:47:53,724 thinking about people in my life right now that I've said, "Next time." 832 00:47:58,158 --> 00:47:59,848 They need the gospel. 833 00:48:00,078 --> 00:48:03,598 They need to hear the 15-second testimony. 834 00:48:03,627 --> 00:48:06,477 They need to hear about what Jesus has done. 835 00:48:06,498 --> 00:48:07,998 They need that 836 00:48:11,182 --> 00:48:14,142 Because at one point I did, and God's grace came after me. 837 00:48:15,212 --> 00:48:17,012 At one point you did, and God's grace came after you 838 00:48:19,286 --> 00:48:22,546 One of the best evidences that we are still in awe of the grace of God is 839 00:48:22,546 --> 00:48:23,966 we wanna tell other people about it 840 00:48:27,212 --> 00:48:30,971 We've lost that passion and God's grace has become second nature 841 00:48:33,678 --> 00:48:35,998 And we need to recapture it. 842 00:48:35,998 --> 00:48:37,438 We need to preach the gospel to ourselves. 843 00:48:37,448 --> 00:48:39,158 We need to boast in Christ. 844 00:48:39,768 --> 00:48:40,238 We need to tell the story 845 00:48:43,724 --> 00:48:45,534 I didn't have the Jesus Storybook Bible growing up. 846 00:48:45,534 --> 00:48:46,274 I, I wish I did. 847 00:48:46,274 --> 00:48:49,034 It hadn't been published yet, but I wish I had learned that lesson that my story 848 00:48:49,034 --> 00:48:50,724 is for God's glory much earlier than I did 849 00:48:53,454 --> 00:48:55,844 But I'm glad at some point, by his grace, he opened my eyes to understand 850 00:48:58,862 --> 00:49:01,722 See, God in his wisdom has come after us in our sin 851 00:49:03,790 --> 00:49:06,930 And in a wisdom that's wiser than ours and a strength that's stronger than ours, God 852 00:49:06,930 --> 00:49:10,160 has chosen to come after us and to save us with the only solution where we would 853 00:49:10,170 --> 00:49:11,400 be saved and He would get all the glory 854 00:49:14,478 --> 00:49:15,898 And so this week, look for those opportunities. 855 00:49:16,378 --> 00:49:19,138 Look for those opportunities to invite other people to church, to, to share the 856 00:49:19,138 --> 00:49:23,878 gospel with people, to be on mission, uh, to exhaust yourself for that and, and to 857 00:49:23,888 --> 00:49:25,788 be faithful to what God has called us to. 858 00:49:26,458 --> 00:49:30,118 And pray that God will take that wisdom that might look foolish to your 859 00:49:30,118 --> 00:49:32,557 neighbors right now, your loved ones right now, pray that God will take 860 00:49:32,558 --> 00:49:37,108 that wisdom and make that the greatest message that they've ever heard. 861 00:49:37,108 --> 00:49:37,608 Let's pray together. 862 00:49:44,430 --> 00:49:49,379 Father God, we are so thankful for grace that saves and that doesn't save and, 863 00:49:49,379 --> 00:49:53,810 and abandon us, but saves us and equips us, that saves us and, and uses us, 864 00:49:53,810 --> 00:49:55,520 that saves us and puts us on mission. 865 00:49:55,919 --> 00:49:59,259 Lord, we're thankful for the, the reality that you do the heavy lifting of 866 00:49:59,269 --> 00:50:02,799 opening the eyes that need to see, the ears that need to hear the good news of 867 00:50:02,799 --> 00:50:06,209 the Gospel of Jesus, that you've just simply called us to go and to share it, 868 00:50:06,469 --> 00:50:08,040 and to announce it, and to proclaim it. 869 00:50:08,739 --> 00:50:10,770 So God, I pray that we would do that more as a church. 870 00:50:10,779 --> 00:50:14,049 I pray that you'd make us a church that is clearly on mission for you. 871 00:50:14,399 --> 00:50:18,299 I pray that people wouldn't be able to show up in our, our neighborhoods, in our 872 00:50:18,299 --> 00:50:21,459 communities, on our sports teams, without us having the conversations, inviting 873 00:50:21,459 --> 00:50:25,120 them to come and be a part of what we're doing here, what you're doing here. 874 00:50:25,120 --> 00:50:27,440 Lord, that we would be known as a church that hasn't forgotten its 875 00:50:27,450 --> 00:50:29,839 first love, but that is kindling the flame of our first love. 876 00:50:31,919 --> 00:50:35,330 And God, we pray that you would use that church for your glory 877 00:50:36,479 --> 00:50:37,479 until you come back for us. 878 00:50:38,250 --> 00:50:39,449 We pray this in Jesus' name. 879 00:50:39,609 --> 00:50:40,000 Amen.