Humility Leads To Unity - [1 Corinthians 2:14-16]

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Thank you, Brian. I just kept thinking about Blake Shepard dying in the last week And if it wasn't for the
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Lord and his word it would not be well with our soul Maybe one of the best lyrics of all time not inspired is from that song my sin
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Oh the bliss of this glorious thought my sin not the part But the what whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more praise the
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Lord praise the Lord. Oh my soul Thank you, Brian One of my favorite things to do on no compromise radio ministry is to talk about commonly misinterpreted
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Bible verses I Mean, it's just so easy because there are so many commonly misinterpreted
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Bible verses It's almost not fair to do a show on that because it's low -hanging fruit
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Revelation chapter 3 behold I stand at the door and knock Matthew 18
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Where that where two or three are gathered? John 3 16 for God so loved the world
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So many verses that we know Rightfully, so we know them, but we don't really know the meaning my question this morning is why don't we know the meaning?
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Why don't we understand the meaning of the text After all, we're looking for what
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God meant when he wrote that right authorial intent the meaning of God as He wrote this and you know, the reason why we don't understand commonly misinterpreted
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Bible verses is we don't understand the what? The context that's right
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Context means everything The passage we're gonna look at today All right, let me just pretend like I'm a no -compromise radio ministry for a minute
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I'm nicer than I am I've come across on the radio. I would imagine that almost everybody in this room
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Goes to 1st Corinthians chapter 2 14 and Uses it for evangelistic strategy without ever considering why
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Paul wrote that verse I Say that because I did it for a long time
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And so why don't we turn our Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 2 as I attempt to try to finish chapter 2 today 1st
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Corinthians? Chapter 2 verses 14 to 16. Why are these verses here?
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What is the context? What is God trying to say as you know, the book of 1st
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Corinthians was written to address? Problems chapters 1 through 6 and then answer questions chapters 7 through 16
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We've got some problems. There are moral problems. There are legal problems and So could you answer those questions
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Paul chapters 1 2 3 4 5 and 6 and there's some specific questions
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That the people had and they wanted to ask Paul after all Paul had been there for 18 months teaching
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Acts chapter 18 and so there are specific questions about marriage and divorce speaking in tongues
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But where we are right now chapter 1 2 3 and 4 has to do with what and I've been beating this drum for what 30 weeks?
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now unity church unity chapters 1 2 3 and 4 have to do with church unity
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So we're going to have to make sure if we look at chapter 1 and chapter 2 that we see those things in the greater
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Context. How do you keep a unified church? We just can't somehow drop in parachute in in chapter 2 verse 14 and say this is good presuppositional methodological
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Evangelistic verse it's true. It can be applied and we need to know that when we go evangelize, but why is it even here?
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Paul is dealing with church unity and he says this If every one of you
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Corinthians and every one of you BBC ins if I will
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Follow Christ and his wisdom will be a unified church If we all follow different philosophies and different wisdoms, we'll all split up.
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I mean after all look at us What keeps us together man and woman black and white?
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pro homeschool pro public school Pro birth control no pro birth control
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Smoke don't smoke drink. Don't drink Colombians Peruvians Ukrainians Afrikaners Irish.
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Oh, how are we all together? How do you keep a group like this together? You keep a group like this together by focusing on Christ His work his person and his word through the apostolic messengers and then we line up under that The converse is also true show me a church that is fractured and split apart and I'll show you people that have different ultimate authorities besides Christ in his word
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And so Paul says let's all be together by being under Christ and his word through the apostolic messengers
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And he says we've got to follow the right wisdom in chapter 1 2 and then in chapter 3 and 4
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He says we've got to make sure we understand leadership correctly So What does chapter 2 verse 14 and 16 have to do with church unity?
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That is the question that unlocks the original intent of this passage And what
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Paul is going to do that we'll see today is he's going to try to make you walk down memory lane
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To make you realize what was I like before I was a Christian and now look at what
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God has done Look at what God has done for me Look at how God has given me the spirit to illumine my mind
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If it wasn't for God many of us here who were English, we would still be running around in England worshipping trees
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If it wasn't for God some of us who are from India would be worshipping other kind of idols
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But God has done something to us and therefore out of humility we ought to follow him
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Now why do people quote why do preachers quote people? Well, maybe they run out of information, but I like to quote people to Confirm and affirm in your heart that I'm not the only one that would come up with the crazy interpretation
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DA Carson said this Paul wants to make sure his readers fully grasped their utter dependence on the
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Holy Spirit For nothing else will so quickly humble their endless pretensions to greatness and all the divisiveness
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Self -centeredness and lovelessness that follow hard on the heels of such puffery end quote
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If you get that you'll get first Corinthians chapter 2 verses 14 15 and 16 now
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Let me read the passage and then let's talk about it a little bit in a way that Does not forget the context of church unity
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First Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14 to 16 in the ESV The natural person does not accept the things of the
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Spirit of God But they are folly to him and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned
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The spiritual person judges all things but is himself to be judged by no one For who has understood the mind of the
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Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ Paul is going to try to instruct the
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Corinthians and I'm going to try to instruct you through Paul To stay humble and remember what you have received
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You have not only received the Lord's death in your place With the confirming resurrection, but you've also received insight into that.
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Isn't that amazing that God would do that? God could have his son die in the cross for sinners raised him from the dead and we would not know the details
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We would not know the precision the interesting nuances the depth we would know
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Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me So maybe but we wouldn't know about reconciliation forgiveness substitution
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Redemption propitiation we wouldn't know any of that. The only reason we know that is what?
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God told us God told us and so if God told us what do we have that we have not received?
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Nothing. So why should we ruffle up our feathers kind of like peacocks and say, you know what look at us?
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We all have received the truth from God. We've all been saved by God. Then let's just line up under God I think it was
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Watson who said it's a good thing that peacocks have black feet So that they can remember that they're not so pretty
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Paul is gonna use chapter 2 verses 14 and 16 to say now I just want to remind you one last time what you would have been like So you can all line up under this wisdom from God that was decreed before the ages began
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That is given to you freely. It used to be a mystery. You couldn't figure out and now you know
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And if you've received wisdom from God How could you be bragging? How could you say follow me?
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Let's go this way. The leaders are going that way We'll follow this way and Paul says no chapters 1 and 2
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We have the Spirit of God to teach us. Let's follow him. You say
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I get it already I'm glad you do but there are a few that need to be reminded just in context
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What is going on here? Listen to what Jonathan Edwards said? nothing sets a person so much out of the devil's reach as Nothing sets a person so much out of the devil's reach as humility.
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That's what Paul's after here Humble people don't split churches
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Those that follow God's wisdom through the Apostles don't split churches and the good news for Bethlehem Bible Church At least not that I know of at least not that the elders know of there's no impending split
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This is not a you know better get in line sermon This is let's remember this kind of wisdom so we don't get in that situation
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My take on Edwards quote would be this nothing sets a church so much out of the devil's reach as humility
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So I think here's what we'll do today for an outline. Let's look at chapter 2 verses 14 through 16 in a way that will help you remember the context
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Let me give you six motivations designed for you to stay humble so that the church remains unified and Again, we're gonna see
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Paul dabble with a little bit of what the unbelievers were like so you will say and I think Carson is right
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Yes, that's what we used to be and we used to divide we used to say I am of Paul I am of Apollos.
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I am of Socrates. I am of Plato. I am of this person. I'm of that person There's a reason why you used to do that You had to do it we'll see
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But we're going to have a mind that thinks properly Let me give you six motivations designed for a church like Bethlehem Bible Church to stay humble and to stay unified
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Motivation number one if it were not for the grace of God you would never accept the things of the
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Spirit of God It's found right there in chapter 2 verse 14 The text gives the outline if it was not for the grace of God if it were not for the grace of God you would not
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Accept the things of the Spirit Paul says remember what you used to do and you will be humble
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The natural person verse 14 does not accept the things of the Spirit of God I used to like to do everything with With alliteration, but why spend time on alliteration when
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I can just give you the outline point from the text point Number one from verse 14 the natural man does not accept the things of the
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Spirit of God if it wasn't for God That would be us matter of fact. What is a natural man? The one who doesn't have the spirit the one who's not born again.
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He has no spirit dwelling in him He's unconverted Jude 19 says he's devoid of the spirit he has worldly wisdom and What does this worldly wisdom person do or not do does not accept the things of the
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Spirit of God I Wish the text would be a little bit different here in English because oh,
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I just don't accept that no. Thank you Could you please pass the salt? No, thanks? We kind of get this word where it just you know it's no problem.
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I just don't accept that You know what the word really is in the force of the original language Reject I reject that if I say can you please pass the salt or you say would you like some salt and I put my hand out
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Kind of a stiff arm kind of a linebacker kind of thing and I go I reject that That's what the word is implying.
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It's not just so I don't accept it Can you remember when you were an unbeliever and people came to preach the gospel to you the first time the hundredth time?
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You know you're a sinner, and you need to be saved by God's grace and your self -righteousness is going to condemn you
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What did you do? Oh? Thank you, sir. May I have another I? Didn't I thought this although.
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I was sophisticated enough on the outside How dare you talk to me that way I would fall right into this kind of you know.
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I'm religious. I'm spiritual I'm spiritually religious
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This means to rebuff to refuse to reject And the word has got a meaning that means if someone comes to your door
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You either welcome them or you reject them. This is the opposite of a welcome mat at someone's door
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We used to go door -to -door at Grace Church for evangelism class, and I've told you the story many times
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I would remember the first time I went to somebody's door and And Trying to remember the guy's name who
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I went with I know where he's teaching she's in a cornerstone seminary, and I said okay I Knock at the first door you talk we were in seminary, but we were completely paralyzed
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With fear so I'll knock and you talk and so it's like okay.
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Not home. Go to the next door Hi, my name is
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Mike and we're with Grace Church, and we have this concert And I always remember to this day the big
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Hells Angel kind of biker guy like hey come on in man. You want a beer? And I remember the older lady who looked like my grandma, and I thought oh she opened the door.
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This is gonna. Just be sweet She's gonna have say come on in for some cookies. She's going to receive us
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With a welcome mat you've even seen welcome mat to sometimes say what on it We have some visiting pastors here today, so and that lady took the door when
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I said hi With Grace Community Church, and we're here slam the door. That's exactly the word here
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Corinth you should be doing the opposite because that's what you used to do when you were unbelievers and Pagans when
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I showed up in Acts chapter 18, but the Spirit of God has saved you regenerated you It's the
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Spirit of God who's applied Christ's work to your life. You see things differently You understand that the Spirit of God uses apostles like Paul to talk line up under that.
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This is what you used to be Don't do that anymore and by the way the original is a consistent and persistent
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Rejection If believers in James are to receive with meekness the engrafted word
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What do you think unbelievers do with their rebellion and their rejection and their love of their own virtue?
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We don't want the Word of God to rule over us Now of course these things help us in evangelism, but primarily that's not the point here
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Why do people reject the word like that? Listen what Aldous Huxley said
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I had motive for not wanting the world to have meaning Do you get that I had a motive for wanting the world to not wanting the world to have meaning?
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Consequently assumed that it had none and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption
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The fuzzle philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with the problem in pure metaphysics
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He's also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to Or why his friends should not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves
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Listen to this show me an unbeliever, and I'll show you somebody who's constructed this kind of worldview for this reason
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For myself Huxley said the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation
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Sexual and political I want to sin
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I want to live the way I want to win live I want to do what I want to do and I want to sleep at night and not have a conscience that keeps saying
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Stop stop stop stop So I have to say to the Word of God when it comes to inform my conscience.
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I reject you I Don't want that Get it away from me That's nice for you, and they kind of pat you on the forehead.
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I'm glad it's working out for you So Paul's saying remember what you were like, but we're the opposite now
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We accept this truth from God and we line right up underneath it. We accept it as chapter 2 says given by the
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Spirit secondly the second motivation designed for us to stay humble and therefore unified is
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But we're not for the grace of God you would think that the Bible and Jesus are foolish
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You would think these spiritual things Spiritual truths of forgiveness and Jesus are folly the
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ESV says First of all you give the stiff arm and second of all you think it was folly now the flip side for us is we don't
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Think it's fall anymore. We think it's wisdom. We think it's eternal. We think it's fabulous We just think how we can know what
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God thinks in grammar. This is the reason for the first Why don't you accept it?
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Here's the reason for they are folly to him foolishness
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I Like how Charles Hodges Interprets this they are absurd insipid and distasteful
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Go back to chapter 1 we saw the same word didn't we verse 18 for the Word of the
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Cross is what? folly It's moronic to those who are perishing verse 21 for since in chapter 1
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For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe
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Calvin rubbed people the wrong way and he meant to with this quote Faced with God's revelation
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The unbeliever is like a donkey at a concert, but I don't think he went far enough there
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Unless he means the donkey was using its hind legs to kick To say this is just causing some kind of noise
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I like donkey serenity and you're making noise and I'm going to stop the noise This is what we used to be like and Paul says remember you're not the natural man
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He's just said in chapter 2 verses 6 through 13 Do you see God's holy wisdom through the
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Apostles inspired by the Spirit of God line up under that? We're not like this natural man anymore this unbeliever
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Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with Paul and said what does this babbler wish to say?
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This is stupid Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead some mocked
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But since it's a matter of questions about words and names and your own loss see to it yourself I refuse to be a judge of these things three different quotes from Acts thirdly
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Paul says remember this is what you were now. Here's what you are and it's all by God's grace.
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So be a humble Church the sixth the third motivation If it were not for the grace of God Do you think you could come up with the next outline point by the way?
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What's the outline point? You could not or would not understand the things of the
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Spirit verse 14 and He is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
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I Reject them. They're foolish and here I Don't understand them.
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Oh unbelievers can understand grammar can't they They can put together lexicons and dictionaries and they can understand syntax
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But they don't have the Spirit of God in them to illumine To have some kind of decoder
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I remember the Enigma code remember the Enigma machine back in World War two They don't have some kind of decoder ring as it were
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Because these things these truths forgiveness redemption Christ substitution atonement resurrection bodily resurrection.
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These things are spiritually discerned spiritually discerned by the way
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Judicial investigation that's where we get that word. It's an investigation You see I'm gonna look at all these things in a court of law.
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This is object number one This is evidence number two and you look at them with the mind of a lawyer to say this is right
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And this is wrong the unbelievers say what I don't know works for you. It's okay with you
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Used of a pretrial examination in Acts 25 after we have examined him.
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I may have something to write said King Agrippa For the unbeliever the scriptures are not difficult
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They're not hard They're not it's impossible for them to understand them
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Martin Luther said the Bible cannot be understood simply by study our talent You must count only on the influence of the
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Holy Spirit And if the Holy Spirit has given you that insight, why would you run around and be?
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factional Unless the Spirit of God has factions One man said the best an unbeliever can do is gnaw the bark of Scripture without getting to the wood
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Man is like a pillar of salt like lots wife. He's like a log or a stone He is like a lifeless statue which uses neither eyes nor mouth nor senses nor heart unless he is enlightened
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Converted and regenerated by the Spirit turn with me if you would do
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Ephesians chapter 4 I want to talk about the mind just for a second because I think we forget Ephesians chapter 4
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Truths are spiritually discerned My question is gonna be this. Why did
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God give you your mind? What is the ultimate purpose for your mind?
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You've seen the commercials haven't you a mind is a what? Terrible thing to waste and that's exactly what every unbeliever does because the mind is given by God for one primary purpose
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What is that purpose? Look at Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17
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Ephesians 4 17 Paul again the author here beginning to tell the church how to respond to Christ Work the
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Father's election and the Spirit's sealing ministry and he says With almost the same kind of idea of 1st
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Corinthians 2 14 and following now this I say and testify in the Lord That you must no longer walk as the
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Gentiles do How do one believers walk in the futility of their minds?
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They have failed to attain the real and primary purpose of the mind and that is to what?
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mark this well to receive God's revelation about Christ Jesus and Respond with honor praise and thanks.
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That's why you have a mind That is the primary reason you have a mind and what does an unbeliever do?
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The text futility means useless It means worthless The Original purpose of the mind one man said was to be able to comprehend
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God's revelation It's exactly right But now they have a mind that is an intellectual functioning thing, but they have aimlessness purposelessness
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Uselessness, it's not that people are stupid
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It's not that they don't have higher IQs than we do But the mind that is made to receive the revelation from God and respond with worship and praise and honor
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That says I will worship and praise and honor myself. God gives them over to a what kind of mind a
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Depraved kind of mind for as a man thinks within himself.
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So he is Show me someone that's an unbeliever with a futile mind and I'll show you a lawless immoral person
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That's what Paul's after here Show me someone who says
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I'm not going to use my mind to exalt the triune God I'm going to exalt myself and everything else and I'll show you someone that has unbelief leading to lawlessness
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Then leads to immorality and that's exactly what Paul says here in Ephesians chapter 4. They've got a defective mind
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Sin leads to more sin the punishment Augustine said of sin is more sin. So look at what verse 18 says
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By the way as we read this, I hope you say to yourself, I'm glad this isn't me anymore I'm glad it's not me driving down Santa Monica Boulevard And I was going to church coming home from church one day and a guy who
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I wish I knew his name to this day I'd have forgotten his name He looked at me and and everybody was going around telling their conversion stories.
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And are you a Christian? Are you not and I said I'm a Christian and he looked at me he goes you are
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I wanted to just punch him because He made me look bad in front of other people
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But he knew my lifestyle and it starts with the mind and when the mind goes then it turns to lawlessness and immorality
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And look what happens verse 18 being darkened in their understanding Doesn't that sound like first Corinthians?
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They can't discern because they don't have the spirit The first effect is they're darkened.
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The second effect is they're excluded from the life of God alienated There's a source for that because of the ignorance that is in them because of the hardness of their their hearts are calloused
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Our hearts were calloused Verse 19 and they having become callous have given themselves over to sensuality
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See it starts with the mind the mind goes and doesn't worship God with heart soul mind and strength and then it turns into immorality
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For the practice of every kind of impurity and then don't aren't these words haunting to you with greediness
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With greediness It's never enough These people have become callous.
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They've lost all sensitivity And they rationalize sin all as long as no one gets hurt and they give themselves over This is not
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God with a gun to the head sin more sin more sin more. These are them themselves They have a mission.
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They're sold out. They have a hundred and ten percent involvement into this with greediness
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After all idols demand sacrifices and if the idol is a false God then that false
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God has to be worshipped back to 1st Corinthians chapter 2 so Bethlehem Bible Church Since God has saved us
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Because God has made you alive in Christ Jesus. This isn't us This isn't biblical wisdom.
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This is worldly wisdom that says we're gonna follow people We're gonna split we're gonna run our own way
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We're gonna do things like we used to do and the fourth motivation
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It's not in verse 15. If it were not for the grace of God, you would never appraise things properly
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You wouldn't appraise things properly verse 15.
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Isn't this fascinating? The spiritual person judges all things But is himself to be judged by no one
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Now before you go, oh, that's great. Nobody can judge me I've got a verse judge not lest you be judged.
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Well, I got a return verse. I'm judged to be judged by no one Let's take a look at this the spiritual person the natural person
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No spirit the spiritual person and dwelt by the Spirit of God a Christian Judges all things by the way, this is not a great translation because the word isn't really judge
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It's to investigate It's not Krino it's Anna Krino it's to investigate it's to examine it's to discern the spiritual person examines all things
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But is himself to be examined by no one Now, let's think about this if unbelievers can't understand the things of the
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Spirit. They don't accept them. They think it's folly They can't spiritually appraise could they look at your life and say you're holy
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You're godly you're walking in tune with the spirit You're a Christian Could they look at your life without a decoder ring without a way to analyze without some kind of standard without illumination?
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Could they look at you and judge your life with an investigative judgment that says you are a
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Christian and you're on a Christian You're a growing Christian. You're an immature Christian You're some kind of Christian struggling with this sin your issue theologically is this your problem?
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Philosophically with religion is this can they do that? Well The check says they can't
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Because they don't have it in them Oh, they could say, you know, you call yourself a Christian and you're living with your girlfriend
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You ought not to do that. They could say that but with this deep investigation This examination they can't do it because how do you draw a conclusion about discernment without the
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Spirit of God? Just put my elbow on this thing and close my eyes for a second almost fell over One of that been emphatic point that would have been a sign for you to pay attention to this sermon
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Pastor just slew himself in the spirit while he was preaching Nancy by the way,
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I love you. If I'm tired, you must be exhausted I'm glad you're here to worship your Savior today in spite of all that.
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We love you. We can't be judged by unbelievers
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When it comes to spiritual things because they're incapable of judging But we're capable of judging
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We have the standard we have the Word of God we have divine wisdom We can make correct assessments because we have the objective standard called the
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Word of God number five
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If it were not for the grace of God you would think you could instruct God verse 16 a
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First you wouldn't accept Then you'd think it's foolish Then you couldn't understand then you couldn't appraise things
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But for us, it's all the flipside is true for Christians. We do accept we welcome the truth
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We think it's wise not foolish. We can't understand spiritual things. We can't appraise things
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And if we've received all these things and just get in line Why be prideful when every one of these has been received and then
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Paul says if it wasn't for the grace of God you think you? Could instruct God Verse 16 for who has understood the mind of the
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Lord so as to instruct him from Isaiah chapter 40 the ignorance of an unbeliever now turns to Arrogance it's not just ignorance, but it's arrogance and People say things like this and you can tell they're wanting to instruct the
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Word of God This is akin to Peter saying Jesus sit down shut up and let me tell you about your future
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And what did Jesus say to Peter? Get thee behind me Satan This is the unbelieving mind
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That says I'm gonna tell you who you are God And I'm gonna fashion a God in my own image out of my little isle making factory called the heart and I'll tell you when
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People say this well, and they're talking to you about you know the God of the Bible. Well, my
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God is like this Well, my God he wouldn't elect people before foundations of the world.
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Well, my God wouldn't damn people well, my God wouldn't just have Jesus as the only Savior and I think
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Your God is non -existent and it's a figment of your own imagination because there's only one God and You're trying to instruct
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God. God. I just you know, you're just too righteous for me. You're just too holy for me
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You're just too just for me. What does the world do? I'll tell you who you should be God I'm sick of all the holiness.
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I want love and Not by the way, not agape love. I want the love that is sentimental sappy superfluous when we were unbelievers
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We thought we could teach God a lesson or two Corinth. You used to tell
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God who he was Used to pick the gods that you wanted I'll never forget the one time
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I first time I went to India I met a young man and I was needed directions.
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I was lost someplace I was by myself and and I told he said what are you doing here? And I said I'm here to teach the
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Bible to other pastors and he said oh He said that's good because you know, it's spiritual and everything and I said, are you a
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Christian? He said no No, I said well, what gods do you worship? Now he's about 25 years old and if you're a 25 year old young man, what gods do you worship?
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I'll tell you what the three gods were. I don't know the names of many more These were the gods the sex God the money
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God and the strength God and I said
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See that Sun up there The one God in the universe made that Sun and put it up there
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And then he said the street that you're looking for is right we've come from a position of we used to tell
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God what he could be like and then now we really are instructed by God and Paul saying here again big picture show me a fractured church and I'll show you rival people and rival parties following truth
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In their mind Proudly, so be humble and say everything I have I've received from God I'm no longer what
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I used to be by the grace of God I am this way and I should act in concert with who I am my position in Christ.
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Jesus should flow out into its practice Can we use these verses for evangelistic knowledge ahead of time?
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What will the unbeliever respond with what is he capable to respond with? Of course we can but I don't want to run there too fast
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Who has understood the mind of the Lord? So to its instruct him. You can't figure
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God out unless he tells you And he's told us through the Spirit of God in chapter 2 this was us
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This is you and I can just sense I don't use this in a mystical way
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But I could just feel Satan driving this kind of theology that says we're gonna just tell
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God What he's like did God really say the God of the Bible really say that You can just feel the
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God of the world the powerful evil one driving this kind of thing
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Sometime we don't have time to read them right now, but I like Job 38. Who's the one who really should be asking the questions?
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People are God Job thought he would instruct God. Can you imagine?
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Okay class? I love teaching Sunday school classes and other classes. All right, everybody come in and here's the goal of the class today
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I know something you don't know and I'm going to teach you I might not say it that way But that's what we do in Sunday school, right?
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I'm the teacher. I know something you don't know I teach you and so can you imagine having?
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God listen to Job listen to Job listen to Job listen to Job and then God said now it's time for class
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Job And I have a few questions for you And if you get a few right, maybe I'll answer you some other questions, but I'm asking you the questions
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This is the way it should be Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
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Dress for action like a man. I will question you and you make it known to me Were you there when
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I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding who determines its measurements surely, you know
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Who stretched the line upon it or what words basis sunk on what words basis sunk?
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Who laid its cornerstone? Satan driving the unbeliever using false preachers false prophets to deceive the unbelievers blinding them snatching the truth from them and number six the sixth motivation designed so you can stay humble
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Realizing we received everything realizing who we would have been without the Spirit of God So that we can stay unified as found at the end of verse 16 and you'll see the contrast here between natural man and spiritual man if it were not for the grace of God number six, you could never understand
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God's thoughts and Now said positively in the verse verse 16, but we have the mind of Christ We're not this way
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We're not stiff -arming God. We know exactly what God is thinking
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We don't know everything he's ever thought because he's an infinite God But we know everything that he's told us everything that he wants us to know the scriptures are sufficient
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We have the mind of Christ you can think what God thinks When we talk about this last week,
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I've been married for 21 years now and there's lots of times I have no idea what my wife is thinking More times than not she's looking at me and she said
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I have no idea what you're thinking. How do I know my wife's thoughts?
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The main way I know the only way I really know is when she what tells me
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God has told us he has given us his revelation and we know and we know what it says about Unity and lining up under people.
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We have the mind of Christ and I say this with all due respect But I think it makes the point Jesus isn't schizophrenic
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Jesus isn't schizophrenic So, why would we the redeemed people of God who
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Oh God Love and duty and honor and worship and our minds are meant to receive revelation.
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Why would we act? Schizophrenically in the local church everybody following everybody else
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I've said many times before if the elders operated like the
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Church of Corinth. What would we have? Answer chaos
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Can you imagine we say well, you know the way I like to make decisions is Kind of need a little burning in my bosom.
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I need to have a piece about it I do kind of feel good about it and confident and can you imagine
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Dave Jeffrey saying that? Let's make a decision, you know, should we sell the church or not? Should we church discipline someone or not?
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Well, you know, there's kind of an open door to do it We should take that open door, how do we make decisions as a church how we all lined up I Don't have hardly anything in common with Pradeep Dave Steve Lewis when he was here or any of the deacons or Any of you
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I don't I'm not saying that I don't want to I mean some of you are coming along to riding bicycles and all that stuff and doing what
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I want you to do This church is more diverse than Wes Boylston is
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What explains that? Why is that? Why do we have a congregational meeting here on Sunday nights?
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Some of you still won't come because you think it's town hall and we get up and nobody stands up and yells hollers
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Gossip slanders our talks behind people's backs. Why is that?
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Because we aren't unbelievers We don't act like natural men, oh we sin
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But we don't act that way anymore because we've been bought with a price and the Spirit of God illumines our mind and we have one
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Single standard the mind of Christ true And so Paul says line up under the mind of Christ Kate Wilkinson said may the mind of Christ my
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Savior live in me from day to day by his love and power controlling all I do and say
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We used to follow our father as unbelievers Father Satan and now we follow our father
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Who is always in concert with the Son who is always in concert with the Spirit if you don't believe in the
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Trinity I ask you to read 1st Corinthians chapter 2 where you'll see the Father You'll see the
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Son the Lord of Glory and you'll see the Spirit of God over and over and over one
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God in three persons Co -equal All showing himself to us so that we line up under him
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Show me a church that's unified and I'll show you a church by the grace of God that lines up underneath the Word of God This is the authority
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Show me a church that starts to split and I'll show you people that say this is the authority But really following people is the ultimate authority now.
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Let me just say this before we close This verse in verse 14 is
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Helpful in evangelism, isn't it? I'm not saying you can't think about this with evangelism
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When you go preach the gospel to someone if the Spirit of God is not working in their heart What can you expect right off the get -go?
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Wonderful You're going to expect what they won't accept it. They'll actually reject it
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They're gonna think first of all, it's foolish and then I'm foolish And then they're gonna say, you know,
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I just don't get it. What about that verse? Well, what about that verse? I used to go to Gold's Gym in North Hollywood and I started evangelize this guy
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He said I'd believe if I could just figure out these verses how they go together and I did all my homework I give him this big sheet and he goes well, that's pretty good
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But what about these verses and then what about these verses and it's over and over and over So what's the only thing that's going to help you in your evangelism?
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science rationalism empiricism No, you give them the Word of God There's a crusade given to those.
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I'm excuse me a survey given to those who are training for Billy Graham crusades in Detroit This was a question asked.
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What is your greatest hindrance seem to witnessing? 9 % said they were too busy to remember to do it 28 % said they felt the lack of real information to share 12 % said they
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Their own lives were not speaking as they should But the largest group 51 % of the people what's your greatest hindrance to witnessing?
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51 % said their biggest fear is How people would react what are they gonna do
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So I might as well clear it up right now Unless the Spirit of God is working. They won't accept it. They'll think it's stupid.
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They'll think you're stupid and they can't understand it Let's pray But God has told us to give the good news
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The Great Commission to preach Luke 24 repentance for the forgiveness of sins to all nations
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Starting in Jerusalem because God saves through the preaching of his word I'd go so far to say in my evangelistic teaching
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That you need to remember in light of this verse that there is something more important than saving souls
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When you evangelize and you say at the top of my priority, why am I going out today? Well, I don't want to look good.
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I know that I want people to get saved and that's the top priority you have you've failed
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That's a little no -compromise. We started with no -compromise radio and now we're back to no -compromise right? I mean, what is the ultimate goal in evangelism in spite of how people respond to me?
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I'm going to preach here. It is for the glory of Christ Jesus And I'm gonna talk about him and I'm gonna talk about his work
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I'm gonna talk about his person I'm gonna talk about how he's a great miracle worker how he is virgin -born fully
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God fully Man, I'm gonna talk about his death his burial his resurrection
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And if Jesus Christ is happy with my message, then I will come to just live with rejection rebuffing
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Stiff arming and a lack of understanding but when God wants to open their eyes and quicken them they will be quickened
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If you say to yourself, I got to ask the question like yesterday at the funeral service So many of those
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Special Olympic families came and I was so pleased just saw I said to somebody
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I think it was Ray I said There's not gonna be that many people come to my funeral
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Ray said I met this guy He was a big -shot corporate America guy And he influenced thousands of people and 40 show up to the funeral and here a little
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Blake 18 year old kid influencing so many people
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And if my question to those friends of Blake is this I Need to get you saved
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Then I might water down the gospel Because man's propensity is to reject not to accept to think it's foolish
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So let me craft it in a way that can penetrate better But if I ask this question, how is
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God glorified the most? How is God glorified the most by telling those people that love
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Blake? There's one Savior of sinners. This is the gospel You have no other hope outside Jesus Christ and him alone the crucified
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Savior who rose from the dead and calls you to repent and believe and Let's ask God to save people through the message preached that they think it's foolish that they can't understand
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But when the Spirit of God attends, he takes Corinthians and turns them into Saints Every single one of those
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Corinthians that was a Christian. He said they were the same way Every one of those Corinthians didn't understand they were natural.
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They didn't accept They thought it was stupid and they got the stiff arm They were stiff arming God and they said I'm gonna teach you God and then
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God makes them alive So if I save people I've got a fashion my message, but if I know
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God saves I need to be faithful to deliver the message I never want to have some kind of evangelism outreach program
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We come back here and we say now let's talk about it. How many people did you lead to the Lord? Well, that's gonna be bad because what you're gonna end up doing is saying this is how
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I chopped down the message to make it More palatable so people didn't think that the foolish message was so foolish
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When people say I believe you know what I say Hallelujah and then I go let's just see time will tell
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Good job way to go way to believe keep on believing Apologetics my friends
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The main place for apologetics is to strengthen Christians Pastor do you believe in apologetics?
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Yes, I do for Christians archaeology prophecy history That's good for you.
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But show me a person who's a natural man who says I won't accept the Spirit of God I won't accept spiritual things.
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I think it's all foolishness I don't want to talk about forgiveness and all that and say well, I've got a couple archaeological digs.
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I'd like to show you Friends the Word of God is the power the gospel is the power of salvation to all who believe
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Corinthians and BBC ins as well unbelievers always and only get saved through the preaching of the gospel that can turn natural people into spiritual people and People have been turned into spiritual people from natural people ought to say
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We have received everything. Let us now line up under the Word of God and Not be prideful and cause divisions.
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Let's pray Father in heaven You are one the
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Lord our God is one Father there's been one baptism one
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God We have one salvation There's one
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Universal Church, and I pray that Bethlehem Bible Church would continue by your strength To be a church that's unified
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Father would you help root out pride in our hearts that would make us have hobby horses that make us look down upon leadership
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That make us want to rise up and have people follow us Would you help us father to have everyone in this church point to Jesus Christ the