1 Corinthians, please. 1 Corinthians 1. In the book of Luke, allow me to read From chapter
10, verse 21, and it's also, just to let you know also, this
is mentioned in Matthew chapter 11, verse 25. Our Lord inspired
Matthew and Luke to record these words. Our Lord Jesus, the very God of God himself, The Creator of everything that
is prayed these words, I thank Thee, O Father. Our Lord said, I thank Thee,
O Father. That means He was pleased by
this. This was satisfying to Him. All
the words that you can attribute to, thank you. Our Lord and Savior
was feeling perfectly at this very moment when He said, I thank
Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid
these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed and hath revealed them unto babes. Even so, father, for it seemed
good in thy sight." Picture that for just a moment. We have this great grandchild,
our first. We actually have two now. But
Kathy gets to go and has the pleasure of being with her great
granddaughter and take care of her all by herself. Pray for
Kathy in that. She hasn't taken care of a baby
by herself in a long time. I have no doubt that she'll do
very well. But she gets to go and take care
of this little child, this little child that knows nothing. All she knows how to do is eat,
sleep, and you know what? Isn't that what babies do? That's all they know. They know
I'm hungry. They know how to let somebody
know I'm hungry. And they know how to do whatever
else there is there. But that's about it. That's it.
They don't know a whole lot of anything. Our Lord is thanking
the Father. Think about that. For hiding. For hiding these
things. These things that He spoke of
just before that in the book of Matthew and in the book of
Luke recorded. The things that Jesus Christ
is Lord of all. He's Lord of everything. He's
Sovereign Ruler over all that is. Thank You, Father, for hiding
these things from the wise and prudent. But not just for hiding
these things from those. For revealing them unto babes. People who don't know a whole
lot. I'm thankful the Lord has given some people a whole lot
of knowledge about stuff. Isn't it wonderful, and I've
said this time before, but isn't it wonderful that men and women
can cut us open, take a heart out, and put a new one in, and
it works? Isn't that amazing that they
can do that? I know there's a whole lot of foolishness that people
think is wisdom in the world. There's a whole lot of stuff
that we can see, it's not common sense, but there's a lot of wisdom
also out there. God has really blessed this world
with a lot of wisdom of the world. But He's hid the truths of who
Jesus is, what He has done, who He did it for, and where
He is now. from wise and prudent people
and reveal them unto babes. Aren't you thankful? I know I
sure am. I'm sure thankful that our Lord
chooses to reveal truth to some. See, that's really what that's
saying. Not only is He revealing it to babes, but He's revealing
it to somebody. He's not hiding it from everybody.
God is showing Himself to His people, to those whose names
have been written in the Book of Life before the world ever
began. People like John, who don't know
a whole lot, are having the revelation, the truth of God revealed to
them. Folks, this is awesome! This
is grace at its biggest point! Because we don't deserve any
of that. We haven't earned that kind of
a blessing in anything that we have done. In fact, if anything,
we've done everything to earn the condemnation. I am so thankful that my Lord
reveals these things to unlearned, simple-minded people. If God
only revealed his truth to those who could figure it out, I'd
be one without hope. I've shared with you before, but I've always been one who
usually learns things the hard way. As the Creator, the very One
by whom all things exist, the Lord of glory has the right to
do as He pleases, does He not? Who are we to question what God
does? What God does is right. Because He is God. Everything
about Him is right. If He chooses to hide it from
the wise and the prudent, that's right. If He chooses to reveal
it only to babes, that's right. And by His grace, it pleases
Him to reveal His truths to babes, to the unlearned, to childlike
men and women who know nothing about Him. Look with me, if you
would, at verses 29 through 31 of 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 29, that
no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him, of our Lord and Savior,
of Christ Jesus, as it says, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption. that according as it is written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Now when John Reeves reads these
verses, he gets all excited. I get a little excited because
I don't have a whole lot of wisdom and if God's going to give me
a little wisdom, I'm excited to hear that. If He's going to
give me some redemption, some righteousness, because I don't
have any of my own, I get a little excited. If He's going to give
me some sanctification, if He's going to make me holy, because
I'm not holy in this man who stands before you, I get a little
excited. If He's going to show me His
redemption for me, I get a little excited. I got four points. I'm going
to actually make this a four point message where part A, part
B, part 1, part 2, whatever. We're going to take this in four
messages. So Lord willing, over the next four Sundays, minus
the one between in the middle where Norm Wells will be here,
I'm going to preach from these very words. Next week we'll look
at righteousness in deep detail, we'll look at sanctification
after that in deep detail, and we'll look at redemption in deep
detail from that. But all four of these points
will be somewhere or another in each message. So pray for
me as the Lord leads us in that way. I wish to consider this
morning wisdom. Mark your text here if you would
and turn over the book of Isaiah chapter 33. Wisdom. How can John stand before you
and talk about wisdom? There's not a whole lot of wisdom.
I know how to drive trucks really well. The Lord has blessed me
with wisdom to do that. Other men have been blessed really
well to be able to put a nail into a roof and hammer it down
nice and tight. People have been blessed with
the ability to teach children, wisdom to teach children. Arithmetic,
history, all the things that a child needs to know as they
grow up. How can I stand before people
with my little wisdom of driving a truck and talk to others about
the wisdom of God? Did you catch the key to that
phrase? It wasn't John's wisdom to talk about it all. It's the
wisdom of God. Oh, listen to the words of the
psalmist. Four different places. Three in Proverbs, one in the
Psalms. Listen to these words. Psalms 111, verse 10. The fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all
they that do His commandments, His praise endureth forever. Proverbs 1 verse 7, we read these
words, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but
fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 9 verse 10, we read
it, The fear of the Lord again is the beginning of wisdom, And
the knowledge of holy is understanding. And then in Proverbs 15, 33,
we read it again, the fear of the Lord is the instruction of
wisdom. And before honor is humility.
Are you with me in Isaiah chapter 33? Look at verses 2 through
6. Oh Lord, be gracious unto us.
We have waited for thee. Be thou their arm every morning. Our salvation is in the time
of trouble. At the noise of the tumult, the
people fled, and the lifting up of themselves and nations
were scattered. And your spoils shall be gathered
like the gathering of the caterpillar, as the running to and fro of
locusts shall he run upon them. The Lord is exalted, for He dwelleth
on high. He hath filled Zion, the city
of God, with judgment and righteousness, and wisdom and knowledge shall
be the stability of thy times and strength of salvation. The
fear of the Lord is His treasure. The fear of the Lord is his treasure. Now, you think this, talking
about this Zion, is it a bunch of people who've gone to college,
graduated schools, left and right, got a degree in this, got a degree
in that? The fear of the Lord is his treasure. Even the devils fear the Lord,
don't they? They tremble. To this simple mind who stands
before you, it would seem that the fear of the Lord is pretty
important. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. It's the beginning of everything
right there. It would seem to me that the
fear of the Lord is pretty important. The dictionary term fear means
morally reverence. It means exceedingly. It means fullness. Psalms 5 or 7, we read these
words. But as for me, I will come into
thy house in the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy fear will
I worship toward thy holy temple. So it would seem to me that true
wisdom is to know the Lord Himself, to revere Him for who He is,
to have a reverential fear of who He is, what He's done, and
where He is right now. Look over at John chapter 1,
if you would. Reverential fear. Some of you know a man by the
name of Calvin Samuel Ellis. Not a very big guy. It amazed
me. how this man who was only about
maybe this tall to me, not very tall, not big and bulky, not
big and hulky, had a stature. God sent that man into the world
to love me. when I didn't deserve any bit
of his love. Reverential fear. Trust me, folks. I had no fear of him, even though
he could have easily taken me out any time he wanted to. He
knew how to box, or John didn't. But he never did. Instead of
taking me out when I deserved it, he loved me. And after I grew up. and come
to realize the depth of that man's love for me, I
revered him. He was just a man. He was just
a man as any of us are. A human with faults and sins
just like the rest of us. Yet in my eyes he was on a pedestal. I revered him. I feared him. If you were in the presence of
a president, wow, I got to eat dinner with
the president today. Isn't that how you feel? He's
something. He's something. He's more than
I am, that's for sure. This is the fear that Scripture
is telling us and talking to us about. It's not about fear
with trembling. The whole world fears death.
You see, our Lord is not just love, He is also judgment. What do you mean by that, John?
Meaning that not only does God love a people, He hates a people
and they will be judged. The only reason those that He
loves will not be judged is because they were already judged in His
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of God's love for His
people, because of God's love for us, His chosen people, He
sent His only begotten Son to be our propitiation, our payment. And He took our judgment The
very judgment that we deserve, as all the world deserves, upon
Himself. His name is Jesus. He shall be
called Jesus, for He shall save His people. John chapter 1, if you would,
please. 1 through 3, and then verse 14. This is to revere our Lord. To revere God Almighty is to
know who He is. Jesus Christ is our Creator. Imagine, if you can, try to wrap
your mind around this. He put Himself in His mother
Mary's womb. just as He has put each and every
one of us in our mother's womb. He creates everything. All things
were created by Him, for Him, and through Him. And in John 1, verse 1, we read
this, in the beginning was the Word, in the beginning of all
time, the same beginning that is talking about back in Genesis,
in the beginning, before anything else was, was the Word. And the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the
beginning with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. Then verse
14, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. And we beheld
His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth. Do you know Him? To revere God
is to know who He is. To have a fear of who God is
is to know the truth about who He is. He's not some little penny-wasted
God waiting for you to do something. He's God, and He does what He
wants, and He does what is right. Do you know Him? Do you know what He's done? Look
at verse 10. He was in the world. He became
flesh. And the world was made by Him and the world knew Him
not. He came unto His own and His
own received Him not. I know He's talking about Nazareth,
the people of Nazareth. But it's all of God's creation. It's me. It's you. He come unto His own, and His
own knew Him not. His people knew Him not. And as a child of God, one who
has had the revelation of who God is and what He's done, I
see that I knew Him not before. Do you see the truth? Verse 12, But as many as received
Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God. To them
gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on His name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man. but of God. Do you know what He's done? Do you know what He has done? The wisdom of this world is useless
and worthless if you don't have a reverential knowledge, if you
don't have a fear of who the Lord is. How are you going to
fear though? How are you going to know? How
are you going to fear this One of whom you've never heard of? What is it? What is it to have
this knowledge? What is it to have the whole
knowledge of this world and to lose your soul? Do you ever sit back and say, man,
I wish I could have been a doctor and help them figure out how
to get through this. I could be helping people doing
that. What good is it? What good is it to have all the
knowledge? You know, Solomon, the wisest
man to ever walk this earth. Let me see. Let me look real
quick here. Let me just check something and see if I can pull
it up. Maybe God will give me the wisdom to flip to the right
page. Nope, too far. Wrong direction. Bear with me. Maybe not. Solomon went out into the world
and tried everything. Scripture says, in the word everything
that it talks about there, all stuff. He went out, did everything. Everything that you can do in
the world. And when he was done with it all, he said, it's all
vanity. To be knowledgeable of everything
in the world and to not have the Lord is nothing but vanity. It's useless. It's worthless
if you don't have the reverential fear, the knowledge of who the
Lord is. Everyone fears death. Everyone
fears judgment, but do you tremble before the Most High? Listen
to the words of the psalmist once again, chapter 14, verse
1. The fool hath said in his heart,
there is no God. They are corrupt. They have done
abominable works. There is none that doeth good.
And then in Psalms 36 verse 1 we read it this way, The transgression
of the wicked saith within the heart that there is no fear of
God before his eyes. Why is sin so rampant in the
world around us? Because there is no fear of God
in the world around us. Psalms 53.1, we read these words,
"...the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. Corrupt
are they, and have done abominable iniquity. There is none that
doeth good." Now go back to our text in 1 Corinthians if you
would please. What is it to be one who truly
knows the Lord? One who truly fears the Lord? It is to know, it is to experience
the grace of God. Like I said earlier, the devils
know who God is. They fear and tremble at the
Lord. But demons and devils have no
experience of what grace is. And neither did you and I. Until
the day of our Lord's love, did we? This knowledge of who the Lord is, what true
fear of the Lord is, is to be experienced. To experience the
grace of God. It is to have His grace revealed
to a cold, dead heart. Dead in trespasses and sin. It
is to be given life. given a new heart, broken and
contrite, that comes willingly to Him, seeing Him for who He
truly is. We see Him as our wisdom. I know what's in this flesh. Do you know what's in that flesh
of yours? God help us not to know the complete
truth about it as we walk this earth, because I think that would
just about cause all of us to take our own lives. But when I see the wisdom of
God in sending his son as the only way I can be saved and spend
an eternity with the one who loves me, I see true wisdom. When I see the very fact that
the Lord allowed sin to come into the world so that I would
cry out for mercy, so that I would cry out for grace,
I see His wisdom. Do I see all of it? No. No. We're
not going to see all of the wisdom of God until we stand in heaven
and sit at the feet of Jesus in person. But through His Word,
we see our Lord and His wisdom in creating all things so that
He can bring a people to Himself who will cry out for eternity,
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Praise the One
who has loved me and gave Himself for me. Do you see the wisdom
in Christ Jesus, our Savior? We experience grace looking to
the wisdom of our Savior for all things. Lord, how can I get
through this? Father, the sin is overwhelming me. Lord, how can
I get through this? My grace is sufficient, John. Okay. There's my wisdom in Him. In
His grace. In His mercy. It's grace experienced. It's knowing Him for who He truly
is. It's knowing He is our righteousness. I mentioned this in Bible study.
Paul thanks the Lord that he was in sin at one time. He thanks
the Lord for his sin. Why? Because of his sin. Because
he is sin, he now sees the wonderfulness of God's grace for him. How many
people are walking through this world today thinking, I'm not
a sinner. I haven't done anything wrong. I've never lied. I've never hurt
anybody. I couldn't answer those questions
as well as some might, but there was a day when I walked through
this world thinking that very thing. I don't need God. Don't
worry, Mom. I have my own relationship with
Jesus. Isn't that what I told you? Forty
years? Isn't that what I told you when,
John, you'd just come to church with me? Don't worry, Mom. I
got my own thing going on. I'm good. Oh, reverential fear is knowing that all my God requires of me, He provides. John, you can't do it. I've already
done it for you. I've done it in my son. I sent
My Son to the world to become flesh so that He would establish
a perfect righteousness for you. And He says that to every one
of His people. To have a reverential fear and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior is to know that He is our sanctification. He is our holiness. He is our
perfection. He is the one who sets us apart. I know that if he left me to
my own will, my so-called free will, I'd still be out there
getting drunk on Sundays, watching football. I'd still be running
around doing whatever it was I was doing before. And the only reason I'm here
in this building today is because he loved me. love me enough to reach down
into that deep pit that we all walked in and pull you out. So that we would see His mercy
and grace for us. So we would see the love that
He has for us. Reverential fear is to know He is our redemption. Without the Lord Jesus Christ
taking my sins as His own, without the Lord Jesus Christ who knew
no sin being made sin for me, I would have to stand before
God and say, I have nothing. Which is what I'm going to stand
before God and say anyway. But I do have Christ. He says I am His. He says He
has paid my price. He says He has redeemed me unto
you. There's nothing here before me,
but in Him I have everything I need. Reverential fear is knowing that He is our wisdom. It is knowing that He is our
righteousness. It is knowing that He is our sanctification. It is knowing that He is our
redemption. Listen to the words of Matthew
chapter 16 verse 13 through 17. And when Jesus came to the coast
of Caesarea, Philippi, He asked His disciples saying, Whom do
men say that I the Son of Man am? And they said, Some say that
thou art John the Baptist. Oh, he's a good guy. Who is Jesus? He's that good guy out there
who loves everybody. He's just wandering around hoping
to get somebody to follow him. Some say that he's Elijah's. He's that guy who's been walking
around talking about the creator of everything. Talking about this, and talking
about this and that, all the good stuff. Others say Jeremias, or one of
the prophets. Then the Lord saith unto them,
but whom say ye? Whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered
and said, thou art the Christ. Simon Peter had the reverential
revelation of who Jesus Christ is. He had the supernatural power
that came to Him and revealed who the Son of God truly is.
He's not just some Elias. He's not some just Jeremiah. He's not some reverend this.
He is God. The Son of the living God. All
power in heaven and earth has been given to Him. And we know Him personally. We've experienced His grace in
having our sins revealed to us and shined His grace in the light
of our hearts, the new hearts. Whom say ye that I am? And Simon
Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God. And here's what Jesus answered
to him. Blessed are you. I know. I know, blessed are you. That
means me. That means you too, right Pauly?
Doesn't that make you just... Wow! God's telling us, blessed
are you. Because some Elias guy didn't
reveal this to your heart. Some Jeremiah's guy didn't reveal
this to your heart. But God the Father comes and
opens our hearts. Cuts away that old stony heart
that says, I will not have you rule over me. And he gives us
a heart that loves him because he first loved us. Wisdom? I got none. But I can
tell you about the one who's got all wisdom. And that's the
one who knows what's best, the one who does everything right. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated? Yeah. Aren't you thankful that
he loved somebody? Because he could have hated everybody. Blessed are you, Simon Barjano,
for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven. And then he said these words,
just to make sure that you understand perfectly. It's not of you. It's not something you've done.
It's not something you're going to do. It's all of Him. All glory in heaven goes to the
Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I say also unto thee, thou
art Peter, and upon this rock, not Peter, but upon this rock,
the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, I
will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail. Are you back in our text with
me? Let's read those verses once
again, shall we? Knowing what we know, knowing
what I've brought before you of what wisdom you and I might
have. Not a wisdom of anything of this
flesh, not a wisdom that we have of this world, but a wisdom that
God has given us of who He is. Do you see the importance of
that? Not just who He is, but what He is. Why He is. And where He is right now, sitting
on His throne in heaven, ruling everything out according to His
good pleasure and for our good. Look at these words once again,
that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him, but
of God the Father, but of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of
God is made unto." Now, we are in Christ Jesus, who of God is
made unto us. Notice he didn't say there, made
us. Made unto us. That means it's
outside of us, isn't it? Isn't that kind of what that's
referring to? It means it's something that's outside of us. It's not
something in us. Here it is, made unto us in Jesus Christ. Made unto us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption. Why? It's all in Him. What do
you mean? What does it mean to be all in
Him? That according as it is written, verse 31, He that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord. I have nothing to bring to you
in wisdom. There's no wisdom for John Reeves
to give to you. But I can give to you the person,
I can tell you about the person who has all wisdom. May God be pleased in His wisdom. to reveal his wisdom.