There are only three books in
the Old Testament that have two parts. 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st
and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles. I've learned a way to find these
books relatively easy. If you open your Bible in Dead
Center, you'll come to the Book of Psalms. And then halfway between
Genesis and the Book of Psalms, you'll come to one of these books.
And you'll know which way to go when you get to those books
because they are in reverse alphabetical order. So having said that, would
you see if you can find 1 Chronicles chapter 16? That may not help
anybody, but it helps me. I have to use all the help I
can get. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln
made a declaration declaring the last Thursday of November
to be a day of national Thanksgiving. We as believers should probably
celebrate this holiday more than any other because I believe it's
the only holiday we observe that is not pagan in origin. The believer should be continually in a state of
thanksgiving. But there are occasions that
warrant special thanks. And King David had one of these
occasions in chapter 16 of 1 Chronicles. He had finally succeeded in returning
the Ark of the Covenant to its rightful place. And he offered
thanks unto God. So let's begin reading in verse
8 of 1 Chronicles 16. Give thanks unto the Lord. Call
upon His name. Make known His deeds among the
people. Sing unto Him. Sing psalms unto
Him. Talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name. Let
the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord
in his strength. Seek his face continually. Remember
his marvelous works that he hath done, his wonders and the judgments
of his mouth. O ye seed of Israel, his servant,
ye children of Jacob, His chosen ones. He is the Lord our God. His judgments are in all the
earth. Be you mindful always of His covenant, the word which
He commanded to a thousand generations, even to the covenant which He
made with Abraham, and of His oath unto Isaac. And have confirmed
the same to Jacob for a law. and to Israel for an everlasting
covenant, saying, unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the
lot of your inheritance. When ye were but few, even a
few, and strangers in it, and when they went from nation to
nation, and from one kingdom to another people, he suffered
no man to do them wrong. Yea, he reproved kings for their
sakes, saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets
no harm. Sing unto the Lord all the earth.
Show forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory
among the heathen, his marvelous works among all nations. For great is the Lord, and greatly
to be praised. He also is to be feared above
all gods. For all the gods of the people
are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Glory and honor
are in his presence. Strength and goodness are in
his place. Give unto the Lord, ye kindred
of the people. Give unto the Lord glory and
strength. Give unto the Lord the glory
due unto his name. Bring an offering and come before
him. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Fear before
him all the earth. The world also shall be stable
that be not moved. Let the heavens be glad and let
the earth rejoice. Let men say among the heathen,
the Lord reigneth. Let the sea roar and the fullness
thereof. Let the fields rejoice and all
that is therein. Then shall the trees of the woods
sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge
the earth. O give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. And say ye,
save us, O God of our salvation, and give us together, and deliver
us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name,
and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
forever and ever. And all the people said. Amen. And praise the Lord. Let's pray. Our most gracious Heavenly Father. Oh, that we would be able to.
Glorify thy name too. worship and honor you in the
person of your son. That we would be able to express
our thankfulness unto thee. We have so much to be thankful
for. You have met our every need. You have cared for us as you
did the nation of Israel. We give you thanks that we are
thy people. You have chosen us. You've shown
mercy unto us. Caused us to bow and submit to
your son. Oh, how thankful we are. Father,
I pray that your son would be lifted up this night, that you'd
enable our pastor to speak highly of him, to exalt his holy name. Cause us to see him afresh. Behold his beauty. Father, I give you thanks for.
Calling brother Maurice home. Thank you for your graciousness
towards him. And towards his family. I pray
for Sue and his children, their children. That you would comfort
them in this time of loss. Father, I pray for. Kathy Bell's
daughter. Father, we know that there are
no accidents with thee. All things are on purpose. We
pray that it be your purpose to cause her and those around
her to realize the frailty of life, and the shortness of it,
and the urgency of seeking a Savior. Pray for Larry and Kathy, that
you would uphold them, Enable them to be a good witness. Strengthen
them. Have mercy upon that family. Again, meet with us lest we meet
in vain. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Open your Bibles this evening,
if you got them and would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse
18. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 18. The Lord Jesus starts out, or
the scriptures start out here by saying, in verse 18, 1 Corinthians 3, let
no man deceive himself. That's the first thing he says,
let no man deceive himself. In fact, he says that in one
place that if a man thinks himself to be something when he's nothing,
he deceiveth himself. So don't let a man deceive himself. And here's what he says about
it. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, how
to handle and get along in this world, let him become a fool. that he may be wise. Boy, ain't
that something God says, let him become a fool? That if you
seem to be wise in this world, you just turn around and become
a fool. That he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world
is foolishness with God. For it is written, he taketh
the wise in their own craftiness, And again, the Lord knoweth the
thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man
glory in men, for all things are yours. Whatever goes on in
this world is for you. And that's what he talks about.
If you're going to be wise in this world, become a fool that
you may be wise, because this is what God thinks about the
wisdom of this world. It's just absolute foolishness,
he says. The man thinks he's wise and he's crafty and knows
how to get along. God said he'll take him in his
own craftiness. He'll let that man have enough
rope to destroy himself. And so he says, don't let no
man glory in men. I don't care how wise they are,
how smart they are, and how well they get on in the world, for
all things are yours. And when he says all things are
yours, he says whether it's Paul. Paul was a minister for you,
an apostle for you, to preach the gospel to you. Or Paulus,
for you, his message is for you. God gave him a ministry for you.
Or Cephas, or the world, everything in this world, God gave it for
you. The reason that there are so many things that are in this
world is because God created them and gave men the ability
to do them strictly just first and foremost for his elect. Got airplanes so he can get his
preachers to where they need to go quick. Used to have to
go on stagecoaches and horses and trains. Now we get on a plane,
be there just like that. Created all this wonderful medicine
for his elect and then the world gets to enjoy him and get blessed
by him. That's what he said. All things
are yours of the world. Life is for you. God gave you
life and he's blessed your life and gives you a wonderful life.
And death. Because death is for you. Death. Oh my. Oh death where is thy
sting? Oh grave where is thy victory?
Are things present or things to come? All are yours. Everything
is for you. For your sake. It all belongs
to you. I did all this for you. And you are Christ. And the reason
all these things are such they're yours is because you're Christ.
And if you have Christ, why does anything in this world amount
to? And everything that happens in this world is for you. You
are Christ, and Christ is God's. But I want you to look at this
here. It said, No man deceive himself. In verse 18, If any
man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become
a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world
is foolishness with God. Verse 20, The Lord knoweth the
thoughts of the wise that they are vain. I want to talk about
fools, biblical fools. The Bible has a lot to say about
being a fool. You read through the book of
Proverbs and you'll see how many times it speaks about fools,
fools. And God counted the wisdom of
this world to be absolutely foolish. And the wisdom of this world
means that people Think they got this world figured out, the
religious world, the political world, the social world, the
psychological world, the economic world. They think they got everything
figured out. They got an answer for everything.
Got an answer for everything. Here this political season when
everybody's running for an office, everybody's got an answer for
everything. Everybody's got it. I don't care what question you
ask them, they got an answer for it. They don't never say,
I don't know. They don't never say, well, let
me check and see. They all, every one of them thinks
they got an answer for, that's the wisdom of this world's got
an answer for everything. And God says this world in all
of its wisdom is absolute, utter foolishness to me. Foolishness
to me. The scriptures tells us man devises
his own way. And as he devises his own way,
he leaves God out of the equation. He leaves God out of his life.
He leaves God out of his plans. He leaves God out of all that
he thinks about and plans on doing. He leaves God out of the
equation. And then what he does is he remakes
God to fit the, suit the situation that he's in, no matter what
it is. And God says, that's foolishness.
So he gets himself in a situation and he makes God to be the God
that'll suit that situation. When the situation's over, he
don't need him anymore. God says that's foolishness.
Now let me tell you the definition of a fool. A fool is a man whose
stupidity is proven by his actions. And that's some of those things
you get off your bulletin boards. They prove their stupidity by
their actions because they're fools that put stuff like that
up. And our Lord says a tree is known by its fruits. And let's
look at some fools in the scriptures. Look at some fools. And God said
the wisdom of this world is foolishness. Look at the first one and look
in Psalm 14. Look in Psalm 14. Let's look
at the very first fool over here in Psalm 14. Here's the first fool we want
to look at. You know, there's a lot of fools
in this world, a lot of people that are fools. And they give
it away by how they act. But he said here in Psalm 14
and 1, the fool hath said in his heart, right in his heart,
that that's him. Heart and mind mean the same
thing in the scriptures. That means the person themselves. The fool has said in his heart,
there is no God. Now that's a fool that says there
is no God. It's an absolute fool. He says
in his heart, there is no God. And what he's saying is, there's
no God for me. I'll not have this man reign
over me. I don't need a God. I don't want a God. I'm not going
to bow to a God. I'm not going to acknowledge
a God. I don't need God. I don't need the idea of God,
the thought of God, the preaching of God. I don't need God. That's
what he wishes that there was no God. And he says, I know God. I remember several years ago,
and now, nowadays, and of course it's this way, and it's getting
this way more and more, that they don't want God mentioned,
they don't want Christ mentioned, they don't, and the other day
some young girl was in school and she was, they asked them
to prove some things, and she was proving her, trying to prove
her faith from the Bible. And her teacher told her that
God was a myth. that God was a myth. But I remember
a few years ago that two 10-year-old boys that's in the Boy Scouts
and they always have prayer and they'd mention God and they'd
read Bibles and things like that. These two 10-year-old boys said
they didn't believe in God and so they wanted the Boy Scouts
to quit acknowledging God in any way. Now, can you imagine
two ten-year-old boys ain't got sense enough to get in out of
the rain, and you know why they said there is no God, didn't
want a God? Because that's what their mother and daddy was saying
to them. A ten-year-old don't know nothing. And if their mom and daddy taught
it to them, they don't know nothing either. And I tell you what,
that's what he says, that fool said there is no God. And I tell
you, a man that says there is no God, he's a fool of the highest
degree. He's a mental fool. Absolute
mental fool. He's a spiritual fool. And he's
a practical fool. Everything about his life is
a fool. And he attributes everything
to nature. to luck, to fate, to the laws
of the universe. And here's what happens if you
do say you believe God, they think that you are such so low
class and so ignorant that you'd believe God and they think they're
the smartest people in the world. But a fool said there is no God
and he means there is no God for me. No God for me. And how many people are like
that in this world when you try to witness to them, there is
no God for me. It's all right for you, but not
for me. Don't want no God for me. And I'll tell you that's
a, that's a mental fool. It does that spiritual fool.
And I'll tell you something else. You see, I'll see something the
other day, and this is what people are saying. See, I'm not religious,
but I'm spiritual. You can't be, a natural man cannot
be a spiritual man. And that's this idea, you know,
that I'm my own God. And that's why I don't need God,
because I don't need religion, I don't need God, I don't need
a Bible. All I got to do is be spiritual. That's ridiculous, ain't it,
Brad? Well, let me show you another fool over here in 1 Corinthians
15. Let's look at another one. 1 Corinthians 15. Well, I tell you what, I want
a God for me. I'm like he read, Oh Lord, give thanks unto the
Lord for his wondrous works. Look in first Corinthians 1535. Now here's a fool talking about the resurrection.
The apostles talking about the resurrection. And he says in
verse 35, but some man will say, how are the dead raised up? If
men are gonna be raised up, if they're gonna be resurrected,
and if there is such a thing as a resurrection, with what
body do they come with? What body do they come out of
there with? Look what Paul said to him. Thou fool, that which
thou sowest is not quickened, or get life except out of it,
and life comes out of it, except it die. And he called him a fool
here. This fellow is using his carnal
reasoning over this business of the resurrection. And he says,
if you're going to die and you're dead and you can't resurrect
yourself, what kind of body are you going to have when you're
resurrected from the dead, if the dead are really raised? And
Paul says, you fool, don't you know that what you put in the
ground It ain't gonna have life unless it dies, and you're not
gonna have life unless you die, and he goes on to show us here.
And this man doesn't, he doubts, he doesn't believe in the resurrection,
he denies the miracles. He doesn't know the scriptures
or the power of God. And look what the apostle says
in verse 37. And that which thou showest,
thou knowest not that body that shall be. Whatever you put in
the ground, that's not what's coming up. He says, That which
you sow is not the body that shall be. You put bare grain
in the ground, whether it's wheat or corn or some other grain,
it comes up green. It comes up looking altogether
different than what you put in the ground. And that's what the
apostles saying, we're going to come out of the grave a lot
different than we went into the grave. We're going to go into
it corruptible, we're going to come out of it incorruptible.
We're going to go into it mortal, we're going to come out of it
immortal. We're going to go into it as men with no life in this
body, but because we're living souls, we're going to go be with
the Lord Jesus Christ who is the author of life. And look
what it says in verse 38. But God giveth it a body as it
hath pleased him, and to ever cede his own is the same body. And he said also this, and he
said, and listen, this guy yields to reason. He questions instead
of believe. And because it seems impossible
to him that there'd be a resurrection, he thinks it's impossible, period.
But look what the apostle said in verse 39. He said all flesh
is not the same flesh. Now there's not. All flesh on
this earth is not the same flesh. There's one kind of flesh of
men. Man's got a body. Another flesh of beasts. Horses,
cows, pigs. Another of fishes. Fish got a
whole different type of flesh. And birds got another kind of
flesh. And that's what he goes on to
say and then there's different kinds of bodies. There's celestial
bodies and terrestrial bodies. And he says, so listen, you're
worried about what kind of body's gonna come out of there, and
look at all the different bodies there is in this world. He said,
God'll give it a body, it seemeth good to him. That's what he said'll
happen. And that's why, beloved, that's
what this fella here, that's why he says, well, listen, if
there's gonna be a resurrection, what kind of body's it gonna
be? What kind of body's it gonna be? And so he's a rational fool. He's a reasonable fool. He doesn't
believe in anything and he thinks because it can't happen that
it's impossible for anything to happen. And Paul answers,
you fool. And man's unbelief and the weakness of man's reason
cannot make the Word of God of none effect. But regardless what
a man thinks, Regardless of what a man believes, it's not going
to change what God's going to do in this world. And there's
some things that's absolutely impossible with men. Look with
me over in Matthew 19. Look what it says in Matthew
19. This fella, he didn't, he was
worried about the resurrection and, oh, what kind of body. He
was, he was talking about how the resurrection, you know, he knows that when
a man dies, He's going into the grave. He's dead. And he says,
now how in the world is he going to come out of that grave and
what is he going to be like when he comes out of it? If there
is such a thing as a resurrection, what kind of bodies is he going
to have? What kind of bodies is he going to have? Well, look
what it said here in Matthew 19.23. Well, I need to get there.
I was in the wrong. 19.23. Then
said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, that a
rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again
I say unto you, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye
of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of
God. Now that's actually, our Lord mean, that's literal meaning.
It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And
that's a literal interpretation, in my opinion. And when His disciples
heard it, they were exceedingly amazed. They said, well, how
then? Who then can be saved? Who then
can possibly be saved? If this is the way you're going
to deal with men, and this is the way you're going to look
at men, this is the way you're going to tell men what that if
a rich man's going to be saved, it's so hard for him because
it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
a rich man to walk off and leave everything he's got to come to
Christ. And look what he says. But Jesus beheld them and said
unto them, with men this is impossible. With men to be saved is an impossibility. You know, you might go through
an eye of a needle with what he's saying. But listen, I know
this. He says, with men, it's impossible. Salvation's impossible. Resurrection's impossible. To
be raised from the dead and be quickened to life is impossible.
To be saved is impossible with men. But he says, you know what? But with God, with God, all things
are possible. Life from the dead is possible. New body is possible. Resurrection. All these things are real. And
let me go to another one over here. Let me show you another
fool over in Proverbs 14. Let's look at another one over
here. Proverbs 14. This is really something
right here. Here's, look what it says here. So you know you. There's so many people don't,
I told you about that fellow that I met. There's a Jew said
he absolutely believes nothing. Don't believe in God, don't believe
in heaven, don't believe in hell. Just believe we're a bunch of
dogs and when we're gone, we're gone. But look what he said here in
Proverbs 14, 9. Fools make a mock at sin. Fools make a mock at sin? You reckon anybody would make
a mock at sin? They commit their sin and then
mock about it? Rejoice about it. Glory in it. That's what he said. They rejoice
in their sin. They make a mark of sin. They
see sin in somebody and they make a mark about it. They don't
care anything about it. There's no shame about them.
They glory in their sin. They rejoice in their sin. they
rejoice not only in their sin and make a mock at it but they
rejoice in other people's sins they come to the place where
there is nothing that they think say or do becomes sin and they
come to the place where said if it makes you feel good do
it that's all it looks at and all you got to do is look at
today's people in today's young folks, in today's people, and
that's the way they feel today. There's absolutely nothing wrong
with any sin. Being a homosexual, being married
or not married, living together, being adulterous, it don't make
any difference to people. They make a market sin. They
don't care about it. You tell them about it and they
just laugh about it. Say, it ain't none of your business.
Ain't nobody's business. And they marry, and not even
given in marriage, live together with one for a while, and then
live together with another for a while, and they make them walk
at it, and don't care anything about it, and it doesn't bother
them whatsoever. Their conscience don't bother
them. They're not ashamed of anything. And you know what he
said? I believe it's in Jeremiah. He says, the women, they don't
have any shame that they have a brazen forehead. that their
forehead is brass. You can't shame them. You can't
embarrass them. And they sin with arrogance. Talk show mentality. Look down
in Proverbs 14.34. Look at this. They stay, they,
this is, this age is, I mean people will go out and tell things
on their selves and rejoice in it and glory in it and brag about
it, commit these awful sins and brag about it, glory in it. Look
what he said in verse 34 here, Proverbs 14, Righteous is exalted
in the nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. And you know these
people that make a mock at sin at the judgment will gnash their
teeth and refuse to repent. They're not going to change.
People that love sin and rejoice in sin and delight in sin, have
no shame about it, make a mock out of it. It says in Revelations
chapter 9, he says you know there that they would not repent of
their wickedness and would not repent. They gnashed their teeth
and said they will not turn from their sin. They refused to do
it. Refuse to do it So there's that's
those that make a mark us in let me show you another in Matthew
7 Let me show you another I won't take long on these Biblical fools One thing I don't want to be
I don't want to be a fool Except one kind of fool We'll get to
him in a minute Here's a fool that does not think. Look what
he says in verse 26 of Matthew 7. And everyone that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a
foolish man, which built his house upon a sand. Now here's a man, now look what
it says back up here. This fella was taught and heard
everything that the other man said. In verse 24, our Lord Jesus
said it this way. Therefore, whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine and doeth them, I liken him unto a wise
man which built his house upon a rock. And everyone that heareth
not these sayings of mine and doeth them shall be likened unto
a foolish man which built his house upon a rock. They both
told the same plans. They both was told to build a
house. Told the same thing. And everyone that hears it doesn't
do, doesn't repent, doesn't believe. And look what it says here. That
wise man built his house on a rock and the rain descended, the floods
came, the winds blew and beat upon the house and it didn't
fall. Why? Because it's founded on a rock. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All the other ground is sinking
sand. And look what happens now. That fellow had built his house
on the sand. You know, here's a fellow, he's built his house
on the sand. And he knows the sand's always shifting. Sand
shifts, has no stability to it. No stability to it whatsoever.
And here he's building a house and he's building on the sand.
And it's chafing around, moving around that, and he keeps right
on building, keeps right on building, keeps right on building. He builds
his hopes for the future in this building. He's building a building.
He's building him a building to live in. He's building him
a building that he's going to get in out of the rain in. He's
building him a building that he's going to have confidence
in. He's building him a building that he says, this is going to
be my home. And he's building this on sand,
his whole hope for the future is on this sand and he's building
this house. It's built on the foundation
he lays, it's built on his merit, it's built on his morality, it's
built on his self-righteousness, built on his own goodness. And
then he starts putting up the walls and his walls come up because
he's a good man, he's a decent man, he's a hard-working man. And he's had done some suffering,
his son, and then he'll get it. And in his own words, you look
back and say, look at this wonderful house I've built. And every block is laid into
his self-righteousness. Every wall is put up by his own
free will. And he feels comfortable in it
because everybody around him's got a house just like his does.
Just like his is. And look what happens to it now.
This is what happens to it. The floods came that other and
as it found on the rock it stood it. He stood the test. But that
man which built his house upon the sand and when the rain descended,
same exact thing that happens to the house built on the rock.
And the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house
and look what happened and it fell. And not only did it fall,
But great, great was the fall of it. Great was the fall of
it. You know what the apostle said
about building? He said there's only one foundation.
And that foundation, there's no other foundation laid than
that which is laid which is Jesus Christ. There's only one foundation
to build on. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ
himself. Let me show you another one over
here in Luke chapter 12. Let me show you in Luke chapter
12. Let me show you another one. Verse 20. Here's a hard-working fool here. But God said unto him, Fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall
these things be which thou hast provided?" Now here's a man, he's not a skeptic, he doesn't
make a market sin, but he's a fellow that's a hard worker and a good
manager. Look back up in verse 16, he's
thoughtful, he's active, and he thought within himself. He's
a very thoughtful fellow. He used his brain. He was a thinking
man and he thought within himself. He was a careful businessman.
And he said, what am I going to do? Began to reason with himself,
think with himself and make plans. He's a very active person. And
what shall I do? I have no room to bestow my fruits.
And there's been a lot of people in that situation. They start
accumulating things and they have to have more room, more
room, more room, more room. And that's what this fella did,
he just got, and you know, his whole purpose in living was earthly
good was his only interest. The only thing that he could
accumulate was all he was interested in. And he said, I'll pull down
my barns, build a grater, and I'll be able to throw all my
fruit. His interest was more money,
more money, more money, so he could enjoy life. And he was
a materialist. He was a man who was only interested
in what he could get, and what he could put up, and what he
could keep, and what he could lay up for the future. That's
what he was. And oh, and he said, you know,
he said, he's such an industrious fellow. He says, well, I think
I got enough to do me now. I'm going to ease. And he was
like the heathens. All I'm interested in is what
I'm going to eat, what I'm going to drink, what I'm going to wear,
and how am I going to take my ease. And about that time, God
said, fool, fool, fool. Tonight, you're gonna face God. Tonight, you're gonna face God.
Now, all them goods and them big barns, and all them goods
that you've got, and all that stuff you've laid up, and all
that stuff you've laid by, He says, listen, who's it gonna
be now? Who's this going to be now? Who's
this going to be? Oh, and he didn't want to be
told this was wrong. And our Lord told him there down
in verse 22. He says, don't be like that. He said, don't be like this man
I just told you about. Take no thought for what you're
going to, for your life, what you're going to eat, neither
for the body, what you're going to be in. The life is more than
what you eat and put in it. And the body is more than what
you put on it. And he said, if you won't think it, I can't take
care of you. And I can't make, see that you're
taken care of. Look at the ravens. They don't
sow. They don't reap. They don't have
a storehouse. They don't have a barn. God feeds them. And how
much better are you than the fowls? Consider the lilies. Oh, listen, they don't, they
grow. How they grow. They don't toil. They don't spin. Yet I say unto
you, the Solomon, all his glory was like this. And He said in
verse 29, And don't seek what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink, neither be of a doubtful mind. For all these things the
nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that ye
have need of these things. He says, Instead of being like
that fellow, that fool, He said, Be like this, but rather seek
ye the kingdom of God. Seek ye the kingdom of God. and everything you need will
be added to you. And that's why he said, and don't
you be afraid, little flock, for it's your father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom. He did well for himself. Men
would praise him. And I'll tell you one thing,
if they got him in the church, they'd put him in charge of the
finance committee. I guarantee it. He'd be the chairman
of the businessmen's association in town. And they'd recognize
him and they'd brag about him, tell about how well he's done. But where he really counts, he
was regarded a fool. And it's God who weighs the actions
of men. And oh, our life is but a vapor.
And God, when He weighs a man, says when He calls him a fool,
you're a fool. Let me show you another one. Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter
one. Oh, there's some foolish people
in this world. God's got no thoughts. And oh, there's so many fools.
But look what he said here in verse 21, Romans 121. Because that, when they knew
God, they glorified Him not as God.
They weren't thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and
their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise,
they became fools. These men, these people here,
they knew there was a God. you But they didn't glorify Him not
as God. They didn't bring the glory to
Him, honor to Him, praise to Him, worship to Him, bow to Him,
acknowledge Him in everything and everywhere that would ever
happen. And they weren't thankful. Gary started out tonight talking
about how we need to be thankful. These people weren't thankful.
They weren't thankful for what they knew about God. They weren't
thankful for what God had done for them. Their imaginations
began to run wild with them. And they began to think, I don't
need Christ, I don't need the gospel, I don't need grace, I
don't need sovereignty of God, I don't need election, I don't
need those things. And their foolish heart was darkened.
And oh, they run around and said, boy, we got way past you folks. We've got this business figured
out and you folks are still babying around with Christ and the gospel
and professing themselves to be so smart. It said here they
became a fool. And it's foolish to believe in
God but not to honor Him as God. It's foolish to say that you
know there's a God and not bow to Him. It's foolish to say that
God exists and then not seek after Him. It's foolish to say
that you know there's a God and He's got all power in heaven
and earth and you won't bow to Him. It's foolish to say that
you know God holds your breath in His hands and He knows when
you're going to get your last one and not call on Him and acknowledge
Him to be God instead of going off in your own thoughts and
your own ways. And that's what they do here. Oh, the thoughts of his heart
is not the thoughts of God. And I could have you look at
this, but over in Isaiah 57, 55 and nine, it says this, my
thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways.
My thoughts are high above the heavens than any thought you
ever thought. My ways is as high as the heavens
themselves and your ways don't amount to nothing. He said, there's
a much difference in us. And to say that you know there's
a God, and you say that you believe there's a God, and yet don't worship that God.
And if He's anything less than God, if He's not absolute, all-powerful,
all-controlling, and His will and purpose not being done in
this life, then He's not God. If there's anything that controls
Him, anything that keeps Him from doing anything He wills
to do in this world, it's not God. If He can be reasoned with,
if He can be manipulated, if He can be changed, if He can
move at your beck and call, you can stop Him from doing it, then
He's not God. But I tell you what, if you know
Him as God, as high and holy and lifted up with all power,
with all glory, with all majesty, who absolutely does His will
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
and nobody can stay His hand or say unto Him what you're doing,
If you believe that God and know something about that God and
don't bow to Him, you certainly are a fool then. Ain't that what
the Scripture says? And then the last one. I want
you to see this one. This is the last one I'm going
to do. Look over here in 1 Corinthians 4. Verse 10. Oh, here's a... Look what it says now. Paul said
in 1 Corinthians 4.10, we are fools for Christ's sake. You're fools for Christ's sake.
And the world counts us as fools. They really do. The world counts
us as fools who have seen Christ alone to be the wisdom of God.
They count us as fools who we say Christ alone is our salvation,
Christ alone is our righteousness, Christ alone is our acceptance
before God. And when you say that Christ
alone is everything you want and everything you need, the
world says, oh boy, them poor people, them poor, poor people.
But I tell you what, I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of Christless
men and be wise in God's sight. I'd rather be a fool in the eyes
of this world than to be accepted of sin-blinded
men in this world. And you know, we're a fool to religion and
everyone else. If you don't believe in free
will, you sure enough a fool. If you don't believe in your
ability, if you don't believe in your giving, if you don't
believe in your prayer life, if you don't believe in bragging
about the things that you've accomplished and how often you've
attended church, if you don't believe in that, you sure enough
a fool. Religion can't use a fool. And that'll be all right, won't
it? That'll be all right. You all believe in election?
Yes, I do. Oh, my goodness, you absolute fool, believe that. Why do you go so far to church?
There's churches, you know, right around and close to you. Why
do you drive 50 miles to go to church? Why you do that? There's churches
around here just close and said they're all the same. So why
do you go way over yonder to go to church? How can you believe God crawls
all things and He's the first cause of all things? How can
you believe that? How can you not believe that
Jesus loves everybody and died for everybody? How come you can't
believe that? How can you believe that God
makes a difference in men? Well, look what Paul said, and
that's what they say to us. That's the way they believe.
Look what Paul says here. We're fools for Christ's sake.
But you all are wise. You're wise. You're wise. Oh, we're fools. We count Christ
to be everything. We crown Him to be the wisdom
of God, the righteousness of God, the sanctification of everything
that we need. We count Him to be that. But
all you fellas that you know, that believe in all your own
power and all your own works and all the things you're doing,
you're wise in Christ. We're weak. We ain't got no strength.
We admit we don't have no ability. We admit that we can't do anything
for ourselves in a spiritual sense whatsoever. But you all
are strong. You can do all these things that
you brag about. You can brag about your power
of life. You can brag about what all you do for the Lord. You're
strong. You're honorable people. Folks
really think the world of you all. But boy, those folks that
believe in the free grace of God and God's sovereignty and
Christ alone to be their salvation, they're despised. They're troublemakers. They won't go along, get along
with anybody. They think everybody's unconverted
but them. If they don't believe the gospel,
they are. That's what I believe anyway. Oh, a few fools. I won't be a fool. I won't be
one of them fools for Christ's sake. If I won't be a fool, I
won't be a fool for Christ. Don't you? I do. Our blessed, blessed Savior,
thank us. Thank you for the day. We thank
you for your abundant goodness. Oh, how good you are to Israel.
How gracious, how kind, how patient. And oh Lord, we look unto you.
From the ends of the earth, you've got people looking unto you.
You've got people calling on you, looking to you, believing
you, bowing to you, worshiping you, learning of you. And Lord, we are here in this
place, coming before you with nothing to bring except His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing to blame but His blood,
His merit, His righteousness. And Lord, we know we'll be accepted
on that basis because of Him and Him alone. Lord, we thank
You for Him. God bless the saints. Continue
to bless and strengthen Kathleen. Raise up Joyce and cause her
to get on the mend and get stronger and help her with her infirmities. And Lord, we pray for Kathy's
daughter. Kathy, we pray for her that you
give her strength and grace and ability to deal with this. And we pray for her daughter.
Oh, God, have mercy on her. Oh, Lord, please have mercy for
Christ's sake. Amen. Let me just, because on
the way to this, having a baby shower up here today, and on
our way up here, Kathy Bell's oldest daughter had a wreck out
on Jack Kemp Road by herself, slid off the road, slip wet rain, and she crushed
her face, broke up the bones in her face, and broke a knee. The knee was broken. They sent
her over to UT. Sent her to UT. Her name's Brandy. She, if you will, you remember.
Good night. God bless you. Lord will it.
I'll see you Wednesday.