All right, let's turn back in
our Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 2. The passage Brother Stan read
for us a moment ago. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. It's Paul's letter, first letter
to the Corinthian church. What was Paul doing in Corinth?
Corinth, a big, huge city. What was Paul doing in the city
of Corinth? He said here in chapter 1 of
verse 1, he said, And I, brethren, I came to you. He came to Corinth. Why? Well, if you'll turn in
your Bible to the book of Acts, chapter 18, I'll give you three
reasons why Paul was in Corinth. why Paul was in Corinth, why
your pastor is in Tortola today, why I'm here. Preach of the gospel. In Acts 18 verse 9, Then spake the Lord to Paul in
the night by vision, and he said, Be not afraid, but speak, and
hold not your peace. For I am with And no man will
set on thee to hurt thee, for I have much people in this city."
That's why Paul was in common. God has a people there. He said,
I have much people in this city. And he did. And Paul stayed there
eighteen months and preached the gospel. And God raised up
A huge following of believers wrote two letters to the church
at Carlin, 1st and 2nd Corinthians. I have much people in this city.
That's why God sends his servants where he sends them, because
he has some people there. All right, the second reason
why Paul was there was to preach the gospel. He didn't go to reform
the city, clean up the city. put the politicians out of business,
he went to preach the gospel. In fact, over there in chapter
1 of 1 Corinthians, right across the page where you're looking,
in verse 17, Paul said, 1 Corinthians 1, 17, for Christ sent me not
to baptize, to organize, proselytize, He sent me on one mission, to
preach the gospel, to preach the gospel. All right,
look back at my text, I Corinthians 2 verse 1, and I brethren, I
came to you. And here's the third reason.
God sent him there because God had much people there, and God
sent him there to preach the gospel, but God sent him there
not to preach the gospel with wisdom of words. and oratory
and excellence of speech, but in simplicity and truth and clearly. Listen to Paul here in this verse.
And I brethren, when I came to you, I didn't come to you with
excellence of speech or wisdom, declaring unto you the gospel,
the testimony of God. God has not sent his preachers
to impress people. Paul said if if I please me and
I'm not the servant of Christ. God didn't send us to impress
people or God didn't send us to be clever. He sent us to preach the gospel
of the kingdom of God in simplicity and truth. He sent us to preach
concerning the things of Christ. You know when the Apostle Paul
finished his ministry. When he wrote that last epistle
to Timothy, 2 Timothy, he said, I'm ready now to be offered. The time of my departure is at
hand. I fought a good fight, kept the
faith. Henceforth there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness
which the Lord hath given me, and not to me only, but to all
those who love him. But Paul spent the last two years
of his life in a prison. It was an unusual prison. Turn
to Acts chapter 28. It's the most unusual, unusual
prison. It was a hard house. The apostle
Paul, he says in chapter 28 of the book of Acts, Verse 30. You have it, Acts 28, verse 30.
And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received
all that came to him. Keep that right there just a
minute. He was under guard. He had a guard at all times.
They kept him in this house. That's where he stayed for two
years. where he ate and slept and stayed for two years. Finished
his ministry right there. But he wasn't an idol. He taught
everybody that came to him. They permitted him to have ministers. And every minister that came, he preached the gospel of Christ.
Look at that next verse. And he received all that came
unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things
which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. And nobody stopped him. Nobody
forbade him to preach that gospel. That's the way Paul closed down
his ministry, teaching the things of God. So what was Paul doing
in Corinth? God put him there. And he put him there to preach
the gospel. And he put him there to preach the gospel concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. To teach and preach those things
which concern his master. Look at verse 2. Pope Paul said
in I Corinthians 2 verse 2, I determine not to know anything among you
Say, accept Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now, Paul didn't
condemn knowledge. Paul didn't condemn education. That's not what he's doing at
all. In fact, Moses, the greatest man, I guess, in the Old Testament,
and Paul, the apostle, probably the greatest preacher in the
New Testament, both of those men were learned men. They spent their early lives,
Moses in Egypt and Paul in Judaism, studying the scriptures, studying
the things of God, and studying law, history, science, all these
things. Paul was a well-taught man before
God called him in the ministry. And Paul here, when he says,
not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified."
Paul's not putting down education. Get all you can, education and
learning and knowledge, because knowledge of the arts and sciences
is profitable for you young people to earn your living, raise your
families, to be teachers and workers Knowledge of the world,
the world of God's name, nature, knowledge of those things is
essential. A man who plows a farm and raises
horses, he's got to know these things, he's got to study these
things, he's got to be a wise man in these things, so he can
help others and do what God says multiply and replenish the earth. And then knowledge of history
and laws and government and all of these things is essential. But here's what Paul's saying. Let's read my text again. I determine
not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul is saying the knowledge
of Christ and Him crucified, who He is, what He did. Why he did it and where he is
now, that's to be desired above all else. It's to be esteemed
above all knowledge. And our God laid this down for
you and me. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness and all these other things. You've
got to make a living Henry, y'all got to work. You got to raise
your families. You got to educate your children.
You got to do what God called you to do, but seek ye first
and foremost the kingdom of God and his righteousness. In Christ
are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. That's where, that's the reason
he said, I'm determined with all of his He studied at the feet of the
greatest teacher in Israel, Gamaliel. He sat at the feet of Gamaliel
and studied. But all of these things, he said,
I can't but know that I may win Christ to be found in him. I
tell you, if a person does not know Christ and Him crucified,
and Him crucified, Christ and Him crucified. The pastor's message
this morning was so beautiful in that who is Jesus Christ?
Is He just a man? He is a man, the man, but He's
God. And a person who does not know
Christ and Him crucified, Him, Christ the Lamb, Christ the Messiah,
Christ the Redeemer, he does not know Him, all other knowledge
that a man may receive and see is worthless. And all knowledge apart from
Christ will bring you grief and disappointment, sadness and heartache. And I give you four reasons why
it's so essential, so necessary, Christ and Him crucified. Number
one, Christ and Him crucified is the very heart of Scripture.
That's what the Scriptures are all about. It's Christ and Him
crucified. Christ, our Redeemer. Christ,
our righteousness. Christ, our sacrifice. That's
what it's all about, the Scriptures. He opened their understanding
that they might understand the Scriptures. And He... Let me
show you that in Luke, chapter 4. Chapter 4 of Luke, so that
I can quote it more perfectly. Luke, chapter 4. and verse twenty-five,
Luke four, twenty-five. Then he said unto them, O fools
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken,
all that the scriptures have contained, ought not Christ to
have suffered these things? And to enter his glory, and beginning
at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all
scripture the things concerning himself. Christ in Him crucified. The reason that's the supreme
knowledge is because all Scripture points to Christ in Him crucified.
Then secondly, Christ in Him crucified is the only way to
know God. Scripture says no man knows the
Son but the Father, and he to whom the Father will reveal Him. No man knoweth the Son, but the
Father neither knoweth any man the Father but the Son, and he
to whom the Lord will reveal him. Thirdly, Christ in him crucified,
the knowledge of which is absolutely necessary to gaining eternal
life. Father, glorify thy Son, that
thy Son may glorify thee, as thou hast given me authority
over all that I should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given me. And this is life eternal. This
is it, that they might know thee, the only true God, whom Jesus
Christ did not send." Christ in him crucified is essential
to understanding the scriptures. Christ in him crucified is essential
to knowing God. Christ in him crucified is the
only way that a person can enter life everlasting. This is the
record. God has given us eternal life. This life is His Son. Fourthly,
Christ and Him crucified is fundamental to every duty of man. Every duty. Christ and Him crucified. Let me show you that. Would you
have hope? Would you have hope, just hope
of peace and life and eternal life and heaven? Well, Christ in you, that's the
hope of glory. Would you have hope? Christ in
you, that is the hope. Would you pray? How can you accept
through Christ and Him crucified? He said, Whatsoever you ask the
Father in my name, He'll give it to you. Would you love? This is my commandment, that
you love one another. Greater love hath no man than
this, that he lay down his life for his friend. Would you love?
Only in Christ's crucifixion. Would you forgive? Paul said
in Ephesians, you forgive one another as God, for Christ's
sake, forgave you. All right, verse 3. Paul says, I came to you, I determined
not to know anything among you, say, Jesus Christ him crucified,
and I was with you in weakness, in fear, in much trembling. You know, Paul was a humble man.
Your pastor is a godly man, he's a talented man, he's a humble
man. And you can't have talent and
gifts without humility. Paul was a humble man. He said,
I am what I am by the grace of God. He said, I did more than
all of them put together, yet not I, but Christ did me. Paul said one time, I'm not worthy
to be called an apostle. I persecuted the church. On another
occasion, he said, listen to this, he said, I am less than
the least of all the saints. That's humility. That's reality. That's the way we ought to be.
Who maketh thee to differ? What do you have God didn't give
you? If God gave it to you, why would you boast? Why would you
exalt yourself over someone else if God gave you everything you
have? The Apostle Paul, on another occasion, said, Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. And then he said this, I have
not arrived. I have not, I count not myself
to have apprehended, to have arrived. But this one thing I
know, forgetting those things which are behind, I press forward
toward the bark of the prize of the calling of God in Christ
Jesus. So he said, I came to you, and
he gives us three words. I came to you in weakness. I
came to you in weakness. Let us never, ever entertain
the impression that we're strong. God has showed us how weak we
are. Don't ever be lifted up and say,
I despise. I've had cancer. Darcy's now
had cancer. Some of you have. And I despise
this statement. I beat cancer. God help you. God help you. You didn't beat anything. I was
weak you and weakness. That's what he said. And weakness.
Let's never give the impression that we're strong. God had chosen
the weak things. Who is weak, Paul said, but that
I'm not weak. And then he said on another occasion,
but when I'm weak in myself, then am I strong in Christ. If I can rest in Him and trust
in Him and look to Him and not look to myself in any state or
form, that's when I'm strong. I live by his strength, so I
was with you in weakness." And then he said, I was with you
in fear. You see that? I was with you
in weakness and in fear. Paul didn't fear anybody. No
man. He said, I don't know anybody
after the flesh. Oh, I knew Christ at one time
after the flesh when he walked this earth, but I don't know
him that way. He's in glory. I don't know any man after the
flesh. I don't fear man. We don't cater to men. We don't
fear failure. Oh, I don't want to fail. Why
not? If God ordained it, if God has purposed it, if God has willed
it. Paul said, John the Baptist said,
let me be, let him be exalted and let me be amazed. That's right. I'm not worthy
to tie his shoes. If I fail, that's all right.
That's all right. He can work it out for his good.
I said that at Brother Marvin Stonica's wife's funeral. You children remember this. I
said, this is a hard time. It's a difficult time. It's a
tough time. But I'll tell you this, God will
use this for the furtherance of the gospel. That's a pretty low place when
mom died. That's a difficult experience. But we didn't fail. God didn't fail. God will use
it for the furtherance of the gospel. Paul said that one time. These things, when he was in
prison, he said, these things have been done to me. And God
will use it to further the gospel. My failure is not his failure. It's his victory. And I tell
you this, we don't fear death. No, sir, not anymore. Not at
this stage. We don't fear death. Our Lord
Jesus Christ has conquered it. But I tell you what I do fear.
I fear God. I fear God. What does that mean, fear God,
preacher? all before his face in love and
gratitude and praise and faith. I fear God. So that's the reason
he said, I came to you in weakness and in fear. And watch this,
in much trembling, trembling. You see that? Much trembling.
I'm going to call it, I'm going to change that word trembling.
I came to you in weakness and in fear and in holy anxiety. Holy anxiety. I experienced that
this morning. Last night looking over my notes
and this morning when Gabe was studying his notes, Nietzsche's
class, I studied mine because I have a holy anxiety to honor
God, to be a blessing to His people, and to exalt Christ.
And if you ever lose that, don't teach another lesson. Don't teach
another anything. Don't preach another sermon.
If you lose that holy anxiety, Moses! Take off your shoes, you're on holy ground. Take off your shoes. Holy anxiety. Over here in Philippians chapter
2, Paul said something here in Philippians chapter 2, verse
12. As you have always obeyed, not
in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work
out your own salvation with what? Fear and trembling. Fear and trembling. What was it Peter said concerning, uh, sanctify the
Lord God in your hearts and, uh, Be ready always to give an
answer for the hope that's in you, and give that answer with
fear and trembling. A cocky, arrogant, self-righteous
preacher is an abomination to God. That's just so. Paul was a humble man. I came
in fear and trembling. Listen to the text now. Let's
go through it again. I was with you, verse 3, in weakness,
in fear, and in trembling. One of the old writers said this.
This is a good, good poem. Listen. The deepest reverence
of my mind. Pay, O my soul, to God. Lift up with faith a trembling
heart. before His glorious abode, which
hatred of pronounce His name, whom words nor thoughts could never reach, but a calm
side high doth please Him more than the noblest forms of He said, I'm now unto them that
is of a broken and contrite heart. And God saveth such as be of
a broken, contrite spirit. That's what, not in words alone,
not even in thoughts of a, but a heart. contrite heart. Let me show you verse 4. And
my speech, Paul said, my speech, my preaching was not with enticing
words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and
power. What he's saying is this. My
speech and my preaching was not with persuasible, enticing words
of man's wisdom. I didn't try to entice you, he
said, to believe Christ and Him crucified. I didn't try to entice
you with my wisdom and my arguments and my logic, because if my voice
is the only voice a man hears, and if my words of logic, persuasion,
or whatever, are the only words he hears, it's all in vain. We must hear him speak from heaven
in power of the Holy Ghost in the wisdom of God. Paul said
this over, I'm going to paraphrase a little bit, in 1 Corinthians. He said, where is the wise man?
Where is the philosopher? Where is the scribe? Where is
the scholar? Where is the logician of this
present age? Has not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? Has not God made foolish and
nonsense the wisdom of this world? For when God Almighty sent his
Son crucified in human flesh, He gave to us the greatest wisdom,
the greatest power, because Christ is the power and wisdom of God. But when the world with all of
its wisdom and knowledge failed to perceive and failed to recognize
and failed to know God by means of their wisdom and their philosophy,
God was pleased through the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified,
to save all that believe. Why? Verse 5, that your faith,
that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in
the power of God. This is what Paul said. This
is what God's true preachers are saying. Your faith must not
stand in me. It must not stand in my words.
It must stand not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God,
in the wisdom of God, who is Christ Jesus our Lord. We are
but men, and we'll fail. We are but men, and we'll soon
be gone. Believe God. Believe Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved, and thou hast. Believe him. Not us,
not even an apostle or a prophet, but believe him. Believe him.
Believe him who destroyed Satan and the powers that be. Believe
him who spoiled principalities and powers. Believe him who made
an end to sin. Believe Him who redeemed you
and brought in a perfect righteousness. Believe Him who removed the curse
of the law. Believe Him who died on the tree. Believe Him who's risen from
the dead and sat down at the right hand of God and ever lives
to make intercession for you. Believe Him. Rest in Him. I must decrease. Got to. Got to go. Got to die. and the
place whereof shall know it no more, but he will increase."
That's what it's all about. That's why your pastor preaches
and teaches here, and so I've been trying to preach for years,
that we might decrease and he might increase. Tell us about
him. Believe on him. Rest in him.
You know what John the Baptist He had disciples that followed
him. He talked to them about the Christ
who would come. That's what he gave. His whole
ministry was, prepare the way for the Lord. Prepare ye the
way of the Lord. That's what his ministry was.
But one day, the Lord Jesus came by. Christ began his ministry
and came by. And John was standing with two
of his disciples. And he looked and pointed to
Christ. And he said, Behold the Lamb of God. He didn't say, where
are you fellas going? I've been this to you all these
years. I've stood and talked to you. Where are you going?
I'm going where I'm supposed to go, Christ. I don't need you. You fulfilled your purpose. Brother Dan Parks, I've known
Dan a long, long time. He was a missionary to St. Lucia,
another island down in the British West Indies. He had a school
there, a preacher school. Then he moved to Tortola. And
that's how preachers feel. Very nice posturing in the Redeemer
Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. But he gave this illustration
that really appealed to me. He said there was an old Irish
preacher. Irish preachers are strong grace
believers back then. This old Irish preacher was preaching
the gospel. And there was a heckler in the
crowd. A heckler was in the crowd and he was making fun of the
preacher. The preacher was preaching away.
You know who the Irish people, they have a symbol. The symbol
of Ireland is the shamrock. It's the shamrock. That's a cluster
of clover that they call the shamrock. And all Irish people
know about the shamrock, talk about the shamrock. Well, while
this old Irish preacher was preaching, a heckler back there kept interrupting
him and said, tell us about the shamrock. But he ignored him
and preached on. Guy said, tell us about the shamrock. He ignored him. Tell us about
the shamrock. The old man stopped. And he said,
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
flame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid rock
I stand, all other ground is shamrock. That's it. Just a bunch of clover. My hope
is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest praise. Holy lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is stinking
sand. On Christ the solid rock, all
other ground is shamrock. And I hope the Lord will use
that message to exalt his Son, Christ, and him crucified, and
be a blessing to you and to this congregation whom we love very
deeply and dearly. Thank God for your faithfulness
to the gospel. Thank God for your beloved pastor,
his family, and all of you. You're just special folks. But
y'all, you belong to a special Lord who's given you his special
grace, and he's prepared for you a special place within the veil. Our Father,
thank you for the Word. Oh, we love your Word. You know
that. We know that. We say with Peter,
Lord, you know everything. You know we love you. Not like
we ought to or want to or expect to, but we love you. Love one
another. Love your gospel. Believe the
gospel. Rest in the gospel. Love to preach
the gospel. Bless the pastor while he's away
and bring him safely home, but use him for your glory. And all
your servants everywhere who preach today the truth of Christ,
thank you for this congregation. Your beloved people, we thank
you. Each family prayed our blessings upon each one in a very special
way. Lord, bless the families of this
church and the children and those that will come along soon. We
pray for them. Give them a happy and safe and
blessed deliverance. And Lord, we praise your name
and ask you to bless us this day as we fellowship with one
another and as we look to thee. In Christ's name I pray, amen. Turn to hymn number 272 and let's
stand. There will be no Wednesday night
service this week. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. Unpracticed, solid, broadcast,
and all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking
sand. When darkness veiled his lovely
face, I rest on his unchanging grace. In every high and stormy
gale, my anchor holds within the veil. On Christ the solid
rock I stand All other ground is sinking sand All other ground
is sinking sand Last verse When he shall come with trumpets sound
O may I then in him be found Rest in his righteousness alone
All the left to stand before the throne On Christ the solid
rock I stand, No other ground is thinking sand, No other ground
is thinking sand.