May I please Almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we come to consider His Word.
Let us turn to the epistle of Paul to the Galatians chapter
6 and we'll read verse 14. The epistle of Paul to the Galatians
chapter 6 and reading verse 14. But God forbid that I should glory save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified
unto me and I unto the world. We should be thankful tonight
that we have such a word as this which is written by the inspiration
of the Spirit by the apostle Paul, and it is a word clearly
that was in his heart, in his mind, and it was his concern,
therefore, that he would not be allowed to do anything else
than to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it
was a wonderful desire, and it is a wonderful desire, and it
will be a great blessing for us if we find it is a desire
in our heart and he starts by saying but God forbid he didn't
want anything to stop him he didn't want anything to hinder
him he didn't want to be turned away he only wanted to do this
one thing which was to glory in the cross of his Lord Jesus
Christ. And it would be a wonderful favour
for all of us tonight if this should be our true concern, that
it might be true of us that we indeed desire indeed to know,
as the Apostle said in another place, nothing among men save
Jesus Christ and him crucified. And so here we have, but God
forbid that I should glory. And what does glory mean? Well,
it really means to boast or to be joyful or to rejoice. It's really all of those things
together that we should indeed joy and rejoice and boast in
the cross. And by that, of course, we don't
mean the physical piece of wood that Jesus was crucified upon,
but what we mean is his death. So that we might tonight truly
come together and only desire to rejoice Therefore, in what
Christ has done, in dying upon the cross at Calvary for us. And you see, the apostle was
concerned. He said, by whom the world is
crucified unto me and I unto the world. And it was really
the same as the blessed Savior, who was dead to the things of
this world. Yes, they may have been a temptation
to him, as we know, but he was dead to the effect of them. What
a good thing for us today. If the things of this poor old
world fail to grasp us, we are, as it were, dead to them. They
don't affect us. They don't drag us down, because
We are so taken up with the glory of Christ. Well, that's a blessed
position, but it's a good position. And it's one to strive after. It's one to pray after. And not
to be content with just a groveling along here below, but to seek
for these heavenly blessings. Because these are things which
will invigorate our soul. These are things which will rejoice
our heart. These are things which we shall
be encouraged by and have the evidence that we are united to
Christ. that great and glorious One,
that One who is high and lifted up, and yet that One who condescends
to men and women, boys and girls of lowest state. So tonight,
may we truly enter in to the greatness of this Word, because
it is a great Word, and it is a blessed Word. And may we understand what the
Apostle is really desiring and really driving at, that we may
not pass it over tonight and gone away and say well I don't
know what the minister talked about tonight but may this truly
abide with us that we may be concerned to not allow anything
else to intrude into our lives so that we can say God forbid
that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It would be a great blessing. You see, the apostle, he knew
where he was. He knew his condition. And he
knew, although he had naturally a good pedigree, it didn't count. He had to leave it aside. And he tells us, when he wrote
to the Philippian church, and he said, Though I might also
have confidence in the flesh, if any man thinketh that he hath
whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. He's just illustrating
why there was a reasonable cause why he should try and justify
himself. And he says, though I might also
have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that
he hath whereof, he might trust in himself, I more in the flesh,
I more. And he tells us, circumcised the eighth day, the stock of
Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew of the Hebrews, as
touching the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting
the church, touching the righteousness, which is in the law blameless. And then he tells us, but what
things were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ. They
were really of no value. In any event, they were passing
away. And so he says, yea, doubtless,
and I count all things but loss. That's a tremendous statement,
isn't it? I count all things but loss.
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. And then he tells us, for whom
I have suffered the loss of all things and do countenance but
done that I may win Christ. Well, we haven't, of course,
lost all things, have we? But nonetheless, it's good if
we can come in with a first desire when he says, doubtless, there
wasn't a question about it. Doubtless, he counted all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus,
my Lord. Now, first of all, he knew who
his Lord was. He wasn't a stranger to the Lord
Jesus. And it would be a great blessing
for you and me tonight if we are no stranger to the Lord Jesus. And that really means that we've
come to Him in our need. We've cried to Him. We've prayed
to Him. And He hasn't turned us away.
We've been blessed in prayer, with access. We've been able
to come and to pour out our heart to our God. That's a wonderful
Blessing when the Lord gives us that freedom in prayer It's
a gift of God the devil won't let you have it But you see God
overcomes the devil and blesses us sometimes with glorious freedom
in prayer So we can come to our Lord Jesus Christ. We can come
to our father Because we believe we have a father in heaven and
we have a Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who intercedes for us
and And as such then we can come and we can realise the blessing
of these things, yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Well,
it's a very straight statement isn't it? And it's a very deep
statement. And it's something that you and
I should desire to benefit from and to know and to rejoice in. this excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, and may we be able to say, like the Apostle
did, my Lord. Yes, my Lord and my God. What a humble position that is,
when we realise, before a holy God, a very holy God, how very
unholy we are. Amazing that God should ever
allow us to pray. Well, it's a great way of salvation. The Lord has given the way of
access through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so to think
then, we have such a word here tonight by the Apostle Paul,
which sets us in this condition. and to rejoice indeed in what
Christ has done. The Apostle, when he wrote to
the Corinthians, he explained how the Jews and the Greeks,
they didn't appreciate this wonderful favour and this wonderful blessing. No, they had their own view of
things. The Jews, of course, expected
the Lord Jesus to come as a natural king. That's what they were looking
for, and nothing less than that would do. And we might have to
revise, perhaps, our own views of these things. Sometimes we
have false views, but it's good and we can come and bow down
before our God, seeking that he would indeed come to us and
reveal Himself to us as He does not unto the world. You see,
the Apostle, he spoke when he wrote to the Corinthians, he
said, he speaks about baptism and he said, lest any should
say that I baptised in mine own name and I baptised also the
house of Stephanus. Besides, I know not whether I
baptised any other, for Christ sent me not to baptise, but to
preach the gospel, again, not with wisdom of words, We don't
want clever words, do we? We want the gospel in all its
simplicity so that we can understand it, so that it's made life to
our souls, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ
should be made of none effect. We don't have to be educated.
We don't have to be a clever person naturally to understand
the great plan of salvation. Yes, not with the wisdom of words. And so he goes on to say, for
the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness,
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. That means, of course, that the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ has a powerful effect upon our
heart. Because if there was no death,
there would be no life for us. And so how important it is. And the Apostle goes on to say,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent. We don't learn these things with
natural ability. How do we learn them? We learn
them by the gracious work of the Holy Spirit. And the good
thing is, the Holy Spirit never makes any mistakes. And the Holy
Spirit teaches us in ways that you and I can understand. He says, I will destroy the wisdom
of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of
the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? And then he goes on to explain,
for after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew
not God. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. What a lesson that is.
How important that we all take hold of that. preaching, the
foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. God-given
belief. For the Jews require a sign,
and the Greeks seek after wisdom. There are plenty of signs given
in the Old Testament, but the Jews misinterpreted them. They had their own vision. It
was false, it was faulty, but they were relying Upon their
own view, they weren't relying upon what the Word of God said.
For instance, the 53rd of Isaiah, speaking so clearly, they didn't
want that. They passed over it. They weren't
interested. For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews
require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. but we preach
Christ crucified. Unto the Jews a stumbling block,
and unto the Greeks foolishness. Today, how many people there
are who stumble at the Word of God? How many there are who count
it as foolishness? But unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom
of God. So if, oh if you and I have been
called by Almighty God, we've heard perhaps that still small
voice speaking to our hearts, then you see, it is because we
are those who have received is calling from Almighty God. He
says, You see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God
hath chosen the furthest things of the world to confound the
wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things which are mighty, and base things of the world,
and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are not, to bring to nought things that are. Well, that's
a wonderful blessing, isn't it? To realize that you and I, if
we are called, can come in with these descriptions. You see,
it comes down low, doesn't it? Isn't it wonderful that God's
word comes down low to us when he tells us this? Those who are
foolish, yes, those who are weak, Those who are based, those who
are despised, and things which are not. Perhaps that's how we
feel. Perhaps that's how we have felt. We seem as though we're nothing
at all. Jesus came to seek and to save
such. The Lord Jesus came to preach
to such, that they might rejoice in this great salvation. And
thank God for such a word as this. But God forbid that I should
glory. You see, when we're nothing,
which is what the apostle was describing there in ourselves,
and what he described himself as, nothing, although he had
a good pedigree, he was nothing, that means they were brought
low, and Lord brings us low. Brings us down in our own estimation. So we're found then at the feet
of Jesus. Yes, no. What a good thing it
is. The Lord looks down. He sees
where we are. And he comes to us. And he encourages us. And you
may say, rise up. You may say, stand up. But you see, the first thing
is to be brought down in our own estimation of ourselves.
Not to have a high opinion of ourselves. No, the Holy Spirit
will not allow you and me to have a high opinion of ourselves
if we're amongst the true church of God. We will be low in our
own estimation. We'll be sinners in our own estimation. And beyond that, we'll be great
sinners in our own estimation. We won't have anything to boast
about ourselves. What will we do? We'll then boast
of this great salvation. We'll boast of this glorious
Saviour. this blessed Redeemer, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who was so kind and so gracious and so merciful
and so loving that he came willingly to do the will of his Father
to save a rebellious people. And you know by nature we're
all rebellious. We don't want to obey God. We want to carry
on in the world. We want to enjoy the poor old
things of time until the time when God speaks. And then we
see a little of the emptiness in the things of time. We see
a little of the passing nature in the things of time. And we
see the blessing of the things of God. We say the blessing of
those things which are eternal and those things which will not
fade away. Those things which are forever. The apostle tells us towards the
end of the second chapter, he says four. He says, I am crucified
with Christ. That means dead with Christ. dead to the things of the world
with Christ. Oh, my friends, this is true
unity, isn't it? This is true union, and we fall far short,
I'm sure, very often, perhaps nearly always. What a blessing
it is when we come like this, that we are crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. I live Yet not I. Oh, the apostle again
wants to pass over himself. Yet not I. But Christ liveth
in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. That was a good testimony, wasn't
it? That was a good word. And what a mercy if you and I
can come in and join with the Apostle. And perhaps if we can't
come in, can we desire to come in with the Apostle? Do we pray
that we might come in with the Apostle? Because here was a man
who was blessed with nearness to Christ. Here was a man who
was healthy in the things of the Spirit. Here was a man that
was able to declare from his heart, for me to live is Christ,
and to die is gain. Here was a man that had his heart
and his affections upon things above. Oh then, to be blessed
with that condition, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
of whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. We should be thankful that we
have such an example. We know the dear apostle Paul
had to suffer greatly, didn't he? But he tells us, if we suffer
with him, not without him, if we suffer with him, We shall
reign with him. There is, you see then, that
union. And there is that communion.
And we should conclude, therefore, if there's no suffering, there's
no reigning. And what produces suffering?
Crucifixion of the flesh. That's what produces suffering.
Crucifying our flesh, putting it to death, mortifying it, turning
away from the things which attract our nature, and turning wholeheartedly
to the things of God. And that's why we come to that
great truth, by grace you are saved. Through faith, not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God. You and I can't claim anything. It's by His free, unmerited favour. And that's why When we get to
glory, we'll have much to praise God for. We have much to praise
God for on the earth today. And my friends, let us not be
silent. Let us acknowledge what God has
done when he's drawn us away from the poor things of this
world. It may only be a little, but
bless God it was a little. There is a beginning, and things
perhaps which you were able to do quite freely, you're not able
to do now. You see, it's not quite in accordance
with God's will. You see, it's not bringing you
nearer to Christ, it's drawing you away from Christ. So that
really is the test for things that we involve ourselves in.
Do they draw us nearer to Christ? Do they take us away from Christ? And you may find it's hard to
walk that way. That's why it's referred to as
a crucifixion of the flesh. That means it's painful. to our
own oral flesh. But even if that lasted a lifetime,
it would be nothing compared with eternity. And so may we
be thankful tonight that we have such a word as this recorded
in the Word of God for our encouragement to be thankful for and to bless
God for and just I'll just give you one further reference, and
that's in the twelfth chapter of the Romans, where the apostle
says in the first verse, I beseech you, brethren... You see, that
comes with a great emphasis, doesn't it? It's not just a casual
saying. He says, I beseech you, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice Again, that means giving ourselves, giving ourselves,
not a little bit, giving ourselves a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God, and the Apostle says, which is your reasonable service. It's not unreasonable, and if
you and I just sit down and ponder for a moment, to think that our
salvation costs the Lord Jesus Christ, Almighty God, His life,
suffering that terrible death on Calvary's cross and it was
the consequence of our sin so then today to be able to come
like this which is our reasonable service it's not unreasonable
and be not conformed to this world oh by nature we are What
a blessing then to hear such a word as this, and be not conformed
to this word, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God. Well, the apostle is very faithful
in the words that he sets before us. in the various letters he
wrote to the churches, may we recognise the importance of them,
and may we come tonight and rejoice, that I should glory, rejoice,
be joyful in this great truth, save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, You see, it's
a humble joy, isn't it? It's not a light joy, it's a
humble joy to think that this blessed Saviour died for us. Oh, what rejoicing that should
bring into your heart to think Almighty God died upon Calvary's
cross to redeem our souls by whom The world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world. Amen.