It is a privilege to be with
you this evening, and I appreciate y'all coming out to meet. I know this is not a normal time
to gather, but I appreciate you accommodating our schedule. We are going to be in the states
for another three weeks visiting several churches and are already
wanting to be back. We're, as Dan said, Brother Dan
said, we've been there 21 years. The Lord has blessed us there. My mom and dad have been there
52 years. 52 years. I was asked how their
health is, and they're doing well. They're healthy. My dad
is preaching for me tonight. So I bring you greetings from
the churches in Yucatan, especially the church in Merida and the
church in Havain and the church in Cancun, where I regularly
am pastoring. So I'll tell you in Spanish, but it doesn't
make any difference. But we are thankful for your
fellowship in the gospel that the Lord has brought us. together,
knit our hearts together all this time in the gospel. And
just thankful for this church. Your pastor, he and Dan and some
other people have been down there. Dwayne back there. People have been down and we,
there's Joyce, we've been down. We've seen a lot of people have
been down and we enjoy the company that's come down and visit with
us and This year, Lord willing, there'll
be some more coming down, and Wayne will be there this time.
So I'm looking forward to that. This evening, I want us to open
your Bibles, if you will, open your Bibles with me to the letter
of 1 Corinthians. I had Brother Dan read this portion
of the scripture. And I pray the Lord will enable
us to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the only one that's worthy
of all praise and honor. His is the work. His is the work. Believers, if you trust the Lord
Jesus Christ and you've been called by the Holy Spirit, believers
have a new nature. a new nature, made partakers
of the divine nature. And that's the new man. The new man is the man that believes.
But we also have this old nature, this old Adamic nature, and we
wrestle, wrestle with this old Adamic nature. And this old Adamic
nature raises its head up in pride This old, endemic nature
raises us up in envies and strife and divisions. And it's all over
things that are brought about in the flesh. The Apostle Paul
is writing the Church of Corinth. And in the Church of Corinth,
there were many that were preachers and speaking gospel preachers. And some were saying, I am of
Paul. And some were saying, I'm of
Apollos. And some were saying, I'm of Cephas or Peter, and some
were saying, well, I'm of Christ. And the Apostle Paul said, Christ
is not divided. Christ is not divided. And when
I came to you, I didn't preach to you in my name. I didn't preach. We don't preach ourselves, the
Apostle Paul said. We preach Christ Jesus, the Lord
and ourselves, your servants, for Christ's sake. We are your
servants. So we don't preach ourselves.
But men were saying, I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos, I'm of Peter.
And the apostle Paul said, I didn't preach in my name. And I didn't
baptize anybody in my name. I'm paraphrasing the first part
of 1 Corinthians 1. I didn't baptize any in my name.
God's preachers are not looking to draw men after themselves. Are not looking to call men to
follow them. Like, you remember when the apostle,
excuse me, John the Baptist was preaching and several that had
come out to hear him, they came to John the Baptist and they
said, you know, the one that you testified on the other side
of Jordan? He said, everybody's going out
to him now. They were looking to make John the Baptist jealous. And he said, that's my purpose. And this my joy is fulfilled.
He must increase and I must decrease. He's the bride. He's the bridegroom. I'm just a friend of the bride.
I'm a friend of the bridegroom. So the Apostle Paul said, I didn't
preach in my name and I didn't baptize. I didn't baptize anybody. Well, I baptized a few. And he
names and he almost forgot one. He says, I think I baptized him
too. But the point what he's trying
to say is, I didn't, I'm not drawing people after me. And
For Christ didn't send me to preach to baptize, but to preach
the gospel. For the word of the cross, the
message of the cross is foolishness to them that perish, but to us
that believe is the power of God. The message of the cross
is the word of the cross. The message of the cross is what
is God saying? What is God saying by hanging
his son on the cross to die? That is the message of the cross.
He said, I didn't I didn't. I didn't come. Baptizing, but I came to preach
the gospel, the word of the cross is of them that perish foolishness. That is, what is God saying?
What is God saying when he hung his head on the cross? What is
the cross? It speaks of who God is. Who man is, who the Lord
Jesus Christ is and how we are to approach God. It speaks of
the necessity of the atonement, the necessity of the blood, because
without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. The Apostle Paul is dealing with
this matter of division, people saying, I like to hear this man
or I like to hear that man. And the Apostle Paul says, the
preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness,
but to Us which are being saved is the power of God, for it is
written, 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 dispute of this world? Had not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For after that the wisdom of
God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God through
the foolish of the preaching to save them that believe. God
sent me to preach the gospel because God is pleased to save
his people. through the preaching of the
gospel. This is the means by which God is going to call out
his people from this world. They're his people. They're lost. They're dead in trespasses and
sins. They don't know God. They're without God, without
hope in the world. They're going about doing their own thing. All have gone astray. Seeking
false gods. But the Lord knows where they're
at. They're his sheep. And he's going to send his messengers
to preach the gospel. Because, as you read in Romans
chapter 10, how shall they believe in whom they've not heard? And
how shall they hear without a preacher? And how are they going to preach
except they be sent? So the Lord is determined to
save his people by what men call foolishness. What men of this
world call foolishness. to save them that believe. For
the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But
we preach Christ crucified under the Jews of Stony Brook and under
the Greeks foolishness. But unto them which are called
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom
of God. The Lord Jesus Christ, we see
how God can be just and justify the ungodliness, the power of
God. By hearing the gospel, A miraculous work was done in the heart of
God's people. They're passive in this. They
don't decide to believe. God's people don't decide to
believe. God gives life, and the evidence of that life is
they believe. The evidence of that life that
God produced in the heart of his people is they believe. We
preach Christ crucified to the Jews, the stumbling block, and
to the Greeks, foolishness. but of them which are called,
called from eternity, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power
of God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God
is wiser than man and the weakness of God is stronger than man.
For, you know, you're calling breath and how that not many
wise men after flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.
But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound
the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world
to confound the things which are mighty. and the base things
of the world and the things which are despised have God chosen,
yea, the things which are not, to bring to naught the things
that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. Now, here's
where the message is. No flesh should glory in his
presence. These men were saying, I'm of
Paul, I'm of Apollos, I'm of Cephas, and I'm... That's glorying
in the flesh. Glorying in man. And God is determined. He's the he's the author, he's
the finisher, and he's going to get all the glory and the
salvation of his people. When God saves a sinner, the
person who's hearing doesn't doesn't get any of the glory,
the person who's speaking doesn't get any of the glory. One who
gets the glory is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want to Consider,
I want you to consider this illustration I'm fixing to, I'm about to give
you. This I was, this pulpit. This
pulpit's a beautiful pulpit. I believe you put this together,
didn't you? Ah, this beautiful pulpit. Just
imagine, just imagine you have this pulpit and over here on
the side you have a hammer and you have some salt, you have
a saw, you have a planer, you have some sandpaper. And there
you have the instruments that, I don't know what else you use,
but you have the instruments that was used to build, to put
this pulpit together. Just imagine, this is going to
sound silly, but just imagine if this pulpit could talk. And
you had this part of the pulpit say, I'm of the hammock. And
you had this other part of the pulpit say, well, I'm of the
Sander. And this other part of the pulpit say, well, I'm of
the Saul. You think, well, that's that's
pretty silly. It's just as silly. It's just as silly for man to
say, I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos, I'm of Cephas. Men are just instruments. We're just instruments in God's
hand by which he accomplishes his purpose. to call out his
people, to save his people. It says that no flesh should
glory in his presence. No flesh should glory in his
presence. But of him. Now notice this word, but. Some say I'm a you're saying
I'm a Paul, you're saying I'm of Apollos, you're saying I'm
of Cephas. But of God are you in Christ
Jesus? In other words, You didn't believe the gospel because you
heard the gospel preached by the Apostle Paul. You didn't
believe the gospel because you heard the God, you didn't grow
in grace because you heard the gospel preached by the Apostle
Paul. If you grow in grace and if you
know the gospel and if you grow in grace, it's because it's God
that puts you in Christ. God puts you in Christ in election
before the foundation of the world. But of God, are you in
Christ Jesus? This this board can't say, well,
I really am thankful that hammer put me right here. No, that hammer
didn't put it right here. You put it there. So it's not
of the man who puts us. We don't put ourselves in Christ. The church doesn't put men in
Christ. It's of God, are you in Christ
Jesus? That's the place of salvation.
And Christ Jesus is made unto us wisdom. Christ Jesus is made
unto us wisdom, not the way men say it. Not the way men say it. You know, in fact, the apostles
were unlearned men. The apostles, they didn't have
the policy, it was an order. And the Apostle Paul had been
taught at the feet of Gamaliel. But even with all that learning,
the Apostle Paul said, I determined to know nothing among you, save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I didn't come to you with excellency
of speech. I didn't come to you with inflated
words. I want to know this. Do you know
Christ? I want to know this. Do you know
who the Lord Jesus Christ is? That's what I came preaching
to you. He said, but of him are you in Christ Jesus of God has
made it to us wisdom. Now, what does this mean that
he's made unto us wisdom? He's made unto us wisdom that
we may know the true and living God. Men by nature do not know
God. When Adam fell, he lost the way,
the truth and the life of God. He does not know God, does not
know the way to God. He does not have the life of
God, the way, the truth, and the life. We lost all knowledge
of God. Man, that doesn't mean man doesn't
know there's a God. Man knows there's a God. And
the most honest thing a person could say is, I know there's
a God, but I don't know who he is. That's the most honest thing
a person could say. I know there's a God, but I don't
know who he is. I do believe that if a man could
honestly say that, he has light. And if he walks in that light,
God will give him more light. I honestly believe that. That's
man is being honest. But here's what man says, I know
there's a God and I think he's already gone off. He's already
gone off. The moment he thinks, his mind
is darkened. His mind is dark and he does
not know God and he fabricates a God likened to himself. I think. Well. Of God, are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God, Christ Jesus is made into us wisdom. When
a person hears the gospel. And believes the gospel. The
Holy Spirit is already worked in that person. Our Holy Spirit
is already given that person life. You know, the Apostle John
says you have an unction from above. You have an unction, the
Holy Spirit. And that is that testifies to it, to us, to our
spirit. That's the truth. That's the
truth. And so when you hear the gospel,
it's like a tuning fork. And I really don't know what
I'm talking about with a tuning fork, but I've seen them. And the tuning
fork responds to a certain frequency. Is that not right? It responds
to a certain frequency. And if you get that tuning fork
right there by that frequency, it'll respond. It'll vibrate. Well, the same thing is true.
The Holy Spirit in us responds to the truth of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, has come
into this world to take the things of Christ and make them known
unto us. That's the wisdom of God. Christ
has made unto us wisdom that we may know the true and living
God. There's a lot of false gods in
this world. There's a lot of false Jesuses
in this world. And why is it that God's people
are not going to be a stranger's voice. They will not hear, the
Lord said. Why is it they do not go after works religion? And, you know, it's very subtle.
The error is very subtle. Why is it that God's people cannot
be led away? Because they have an unction
from it. You have the wisdom of God. Christ Jesus is made
in you. Christ in you is the wisdom to
know the true and living God. to know the way to God, to know
that we must come by him, by his sacrifice, by his blood. And apart from coming to God
by him, there is no other way. He has made into us wisdom to
know God, to know the Lord Jesus Christ, to know the way to God
and to know ourselves. You know, I often say this, it's
bad to be deceived by other people, but it's really bad to be deceived
by yourself. But that's what man's heart is
by nature. Desperately wicked. Deceitful. And man's heart will deceive
his own, deceive him. And you see, this is what the
mystery of iniquity that is spoken of in 2 Thessalonians. The mystery
of iniquity where all the world has gone after false gods and
false religion and they swallow it. They swallow it. Why? because
they do not have an unction from on high. They don't have the
unction from the Spirit. Let me see if I could. I'm not using
my notes, so I'm really. I'm really not even using them
now. So anyway, I think it's 2 Thessalonians.
2 Thessalonians chapter 2. The mystery of iniquity. Does already work. Only he who
now let it will. Let it will let until you've
taken out of the way. And when that wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall
destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming
is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and
lying and wonders and lying wonders. And with all deceivableness and
of unrighteousness, and then that perish because they receive
not the love of the truth that they might be saved. That love
of the truth is The Holy Spirit, it's that unction from above.
You receive that. You don't have it. You don't
have love in your heart for God. You don't have love for the Lord
Jesus Christ in your heart. God puts it there. God shed abroad
his love in our hearts. And and it says there, and for
this cause, God shall send them a strong delusion that they should
believe a lie, that they might be damned who receive not the
truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness. So Christ has made into us wisdom. So don't don't glory in man. It's of God that you have this
wisdom. Not because you heard it from
this man in the way he said it. It's God that taught you. You
know, if a man has pretty good arguments, he could convince
you of one way. And then here comes another man who has another
is pretty good talker and he could convince you of another
way. But if God taught you, if God taught you the truth, then
you will not be led astray. You will not be going away. Of
God are you in Christ Jesus? It says here, but of him are
you in Christ Jesus, who of God has made into us wisdom. Wisdom
also to know that Christ is my righteousness. Christ has made
unto me righteousness. Christ has made unto me righteousness.
Christ has made unto his people righteousness. Man by nature,
as you saw, as we read in Romans chapter 10, go about to establish
their own righteousness and have not submitted to the righteousness
which is by Jesus Christ. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believes. Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness. But a man, it's in his natural
If you could say this like this wiring to try to establish his
righteousness before God, do something to be said. Of God,
are you in Christ Jesus who has made us wisdom to know that Christ
is all our righteousness? I will speak of no other righteousness,
but of his alone, his righteousness. When he came into the world,
the Lord Jesus Christ established like He established the law. He honored the law. What does
that mean? You and I have never, ever, ever, ever, this is gonna
never, ever, ever, ever obeyed God's law. Never. Never, ever. We cannot. We cannot. But the wisdom of God, Jesus
Christ has made it as wisdom to know that he is our righteousness
before God and in him, He is Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord, our
righteousness. And in him, I am righteous. That
life that he lived here on the earth as a man, establishing
righteousness. The father said this, this is
my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. That's my righteousness. The life of the Lord Jesus Christ,
as you read it in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, where he established
God, perfect righteousness, perfect obedience. That righteousness
is the righteousness of everyone that believes on him. The righteousness
of God. And that's wisdom. God has made
it to us. But God, are you in Christ Jesus? God has made it to us wisdom.
Wisdom to know that he is our righteousness. Wisdom to know
that he is our sanctification. I am in Christ Jesus right now
a saint. You trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? You are in Christ Jesus right
now a saint. You cannot be any more saint.
You know, there's a group of people that talk about progressive
sanctification. God's people grow in the grace
and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we do not want to
dishonor the Lord in our lives. We want to honor Him. But these
people that talk about progressive sanctification, you cannot talk
about progressive sanctification without going to the law. Anybody
that talks about progressive sanctification has to go to the
law. That's how they measure themselves. I stopped doing this. I'm doing a little better with
this. No, we're not saved. We're not sanctified by anything
that we do. With one offering, He has perfected
forever. Them that believe, that's what
you read back at the study. By one offering, the Lord Jesus
Christ perfected forever them that believe. In Christ Jesus,
I have holiness. He has made unto me sanctification
and redemption and redemption. Of God are you, Christ Jesus,
who have made unto us wisdom to know that all that God requires
of me, the Lord Jesus Christ has. He has redeemed me body,
soul and spirit. One day. Now, so far as we're
in this world, we have a battle with sin. But one day, one day
when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back, we're going to leave this
flesh. He has redeemed us body, soul
and spirit, and he's going to come back for every one of those
who trust in him. We're going to be have a body
just like his. body without sin and be in his
presence and rejoice in him forevermore. You see what he's saying? He's
saying it's foolish to rejoice or to boast in men. Because if you know anything,
God taught you. If you are anything, God put
you. God made you what you are. It's
foolish to rejoice in men. And God has determined that no
man is going to glory in his presence. It says that as it
is written, according as it is written, let him that glory,
glory, rejoice, boast in the Lord, boast in him. I am what
I am, the Apostle Paul said, by the grace of God. I am. You are what you are by the grace
of God. No, we say, I don't love like
I should love. I don't love like I would love. But bless God, one day I will. I do love. And one day I'm going
to love him like he loved me. One day I'm going to know him
like he knew me, like he knows me. So let no man glory. Let no man glory in flesh. Let no man glory in man. The
work is of God. You know, that example I gave
of this wood, it sounds pretty childish, doesn't it? It sounds
pretty childish that the wood of this would be boasting and
saying, I'm of the hammer. That's crazy. He doesn't get
the hammer, doesn't get the glory. The saw doesn't get the glory.
The planer doesn't get the glory. Who gets the glory? The one who
built it, right? The same is true of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He receives all the honor and
glory. May the Lord bless this work. Thank this church.