I did choose thee. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nibert. In 1 Corinthians 2, verses 4
and 5, Paul speaks of his entrance into Corinth. And he said in
verse 4 of 1 Corinthians 2, and my speech and my preaching was
not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in
the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Now, I've entitled this morning's
message, Wisdom and Foolishness. Now, throughout the scriptures,
men are divided into two groups. There are the righteous and the
wicked. There are the saved and there
are the lost. There are believers and unbelievers. There are the living and the
dead. And I'm talking about alive in
Christ or dead in trespasses and sins. And there are the wise
and the foolish. Right now, you and I before God
are either wise men or we are fools. Now, the only wise people
in the world are people who believe the gospel. Let me repeat that. The only wise people in the world
are people who believe the gospel, who look only to Christ as everything
in their salvation. Everyone else, without exception,
is a fool. If you and I do not believe the
gospel, we're not like the wise man who built his house on the
rock, but we're like the foolish man who built his house on the
sand. We're not like the wise who took
oil in their lamps. What is the only thing that will
cause the flame? The oil. But we're like the foolish
who had the lamps but had no oil in their lamps. Now, according to the scriptures,
the wise of this world are the greatest of fools." Now, that's
a strong statement, and I hope that you'll hear me out throughout
this message. The whys of this world are the
greatest of fools. Paul said in I Corinthians 3,
the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the whys. That's the whys
of this world, the philosophers. The Lord knoweth the thoughts
of the wise, that they are vain, that they are empty and meaningless. In verse 17 of chapter one, this
is where I wanna begin to get down to where we were. For Christ,
Paul said, sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel not
with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made
of none effect. Now, Paul says, I'm not trying
to market the gospel. I'm not using wisdom of words
to try to make up more attractive to you and you more likely to
receive it. I'm not trying to hide the offense. I'm preaching the gospel in its
naked simplicity. For, he said in verse 18, the
preaching of the cross, and that is the preaching of the gospel,
the preaching of the cross, is to them that perish, foolishness. That's all they see it as. Why?
That's foolishness. But unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God. For it is written. Now, you're going to find that
phrase over and over throughout the scriptures. Here is the proof
of something. It is written. The Bible is the inspired Word
of God. Now, when Paul was writing this,
the New Testament had not yet been fully completed. He's appealing
to the Old Testament scriptures for it is written. Nothing else needs to be said.
The Bible is the inspired Word of God. And someone thinks, how
do you expect me to believe that? Well, you believe that God created
the universe from nothing. Somebody says, I don't believe
that. Well, you should, because that's the truth. God created
the universe from nothing. And if God can create the universe
from nothing, he can inspire men to write a book and keep
it preserved from error, where God makes known to us who He
is. You see, you're not dependent
upon me to know who God is. You have God's own word to reveal
to you who you are and who He is. And Paul makes this appeal,
for it is written, this is God speaking from the Old Testament,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. And I will bring to
nothing the understanding of the prudent. Now I couldn't help
but think about when the Lord made this statement, I thank
thee, oh Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hid
these things. the things of salvation, from
the wise and the prudent, those who believe themselves to be
wise and prudent. And you revealed them unto babes,
even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. Paul goes on to say in verse
20, where is the wise? Where is the philosopher? Where
is the scribe? Where is the author of the treatise
of human wisdom? Where is the disputer of this
world, the orator, the rhetorician who uses debate and human logic
in order to wow people? Where are these people? Hath
not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Verse 21, for after
that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom, by its own wisdom,
by its own understanding, by its own efforts, by its own works,
the world by wisdom knew not God. You and I will not know
God unless he is pleased to make himself known to us. The world by its wisdom knew
not God, but listen to this, it please God. It pleased God. This is His pleasure. It pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Now, I think it's interesting
in our day, the worship leader is called the song leader in
most religious institutions. And the sermons are pop psychology
for the most part. But it still has pleased God
by the foolishness of preaching. What I'm doing right now, the
world calls that foolishness. I know you'd say that. That's
what God said you'd say. But it still pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching, the message that the world calls
foolishness. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Who is saved? Them that
believe. They believe the message of the
gospel. Now Paul goes on to say for the
Jews, the religious people, they require a sign. And the Greeks,
Seek after wisdom. Let's talk about this for just
a moment. The Jews, the religious people. Now this is not anti-Semitism. This isn't picking on the Jewish
nation. This is talking about every religious
person. The Jews require a sign. They need proof. They need something
tangible and visible that they can see. You'll remember when
the Lord was tempted, the devil said, if you're the son of God,
prove it. Command that these stones be
made bread. Jump off the temple and prove
to everybody, because the scripture says he'll give his angels charge
over thee, lest at any time thy dash thy foot against the stone.
They'll catch you if you jump off. Prove it. And the religious
person needs proof. I need proof that you're telling
the truth. Let me see how big your church
is. Let me see how many miracles you can perform. I mean, this
is even in every natural man. We look to signs as to whether
or not I'm saved. Well, how good am I? How much
victory do I have over sin? How much growth do I have in
my life? I need these signs to prove to
me whether or not God has done anything for me. The Jews require
a sign. The Greeks The non-religious,
and that's a big population, they want wisdom. I need wisdom
to make this world a better place. I need to have education improved.
I need to have the economy improved. We need more expertise in healthcare
and technology. We need wisdom to make this world
a better place. Paul says, but we preach Christ
crucified. Now, if that is not my message
every time I preach, I'm not preaching the gospel. I hope
when you tune in next week, you'll hear me bringing the same message. Maybe from a different text,
but it's the same message. Christ crucified. Christ, the Son of God. Christ,
God's prophet. God's priest. God's king. Christ, the eternal creator. Who he is, that's the issue,
who he is. Christ, crucified. God's prophet,
nailed to a cross. God's priest, nailed to a cross. God's king, nailed to a cross,
suffering and bleeding and dying. Why? II Corinthians 5.21 says, For
he hath made him to be sin. Why was Christ nailed to a cross? Because God made him to be sin. The sins of all of the elect
were removed from them and placed in the body of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the
tree. And he became guilty of the commission
of those sins. No, he never sinned in himself,
but when my sin became his sin, he owned it as his own and God
killed him. The justice and the law of God
killed him. You say, wicked men killed him.
Yes, but they were only used by the justice of God to punish
iniquity. But just as truly as my sin became
his sin, his righteousness becomes my righteousness. For he hath made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Now we preach Christ crucified,
and to the Jews this is a stumbling block. to hear that my salvation
has nothing to do with my works, that my salvation has wholly
to do with His works and my works don't even enter in. Why? That's
scandalous. If you preach something like
that, people won't have any motivation for obedience. They won't walk
in good works if you preach something like that. Why, that will lead
to sin and scandal, this message that Christ crucified is everything
in salvation and human works don't even count. That is a...
Scandalous, that's a stumbling block. And the Greeks say, well,
that's foolishness. How's that going to improve the
economy? How's that going to improve education? How is that
going to improve our society? Why, that's foolishness. But
Paul says, unto them which are called. called by God. You see Romans 8 29 says, moreover,
whom he did predestinate, then he also called to those who were
the called of God. Now you won't see it this way
if God hadn't called you, but if God has called you, here's
what you're going to see. Christ, the power of God, and
Christ, the wisdom of God. Now, if God called you, here's
what you're going to see. Christ is the very wisdom of
God in making a way for God to be just and justify somebody
as sinful as mere you. Not only is he the wisdom of
God, he's the power of God to execute this. God can do this. God can make my sin to not be
through his son. He can make me the very righteousness
of God in his son. Paul says, because the foolishness
of God is wiser than men, what men count foolish, It's wiser
than anything a man could come up with. And the weakness of
God is stronger than man. Somebody says, what's the weakness
of God? Well, the scripture says he was crucified through weakness.
But oh, the infinite strength of him in his weakness when he
put away the sins of everybody he represented. Paul goes on
to say, for you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise
men after the flesh Not many mighty, not many noble are called. Most of those people, God passes
by. I don't see movie stars and politicians
and famous people and intelligent people clamoring to hear the
gospel. Not many, not many. But God, verse 27, but God hath
chosen. This is who God chooses. God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things that are mighty, and the base things of the world,
and the things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and the
things which are not. The things which are nothing. Do you have nothing to recommend
you to God? If that would describe you, you're
someone God has chosen. And here's why He's made this
choice, that no flesh, verse 29, that no flesh should glory
in His presence. He's not gonna have that. No
flesh is to glory in His presence, but of Him. Are you in Christ Jesus? He says to the church at Corinth,
and he says to every believer of him, of God, are you in Christ
Jesus? And somebody says, what's that
mean? Well, when John the Baptist came to be baptized of Christ,
John the Baptist said, I need to be baptized of thee, and you
come to me. And the Lord said, suffer it
to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Now, if I'm in Christ, that means
when he fulfilled all righteousness, I fulfilled all righteousness. When he died, I died. When he was raised from the dead,
I was raised from the dead. When he ascended back to heaven,
I did too in him. As he's seated in the heavenlies
right now, we're seated together in the heavenlies with him. Now, if you're in Christ, that
means everything God requires of you, he looks to Jesus Christ
for. That's what it means to be in
Christ. Somebody says, well, how do you get in Christ? God's got
to put you in Him. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus. Now listen to this. If you're
in Christ Jesus, God has made Him to you. Wisdom, righteousness. sanctification and redemption. He's your wisdom so that God
can have fellowship with you. The infinite incomprehensible
God can have fellowship with you. The Holy God, the righteous
God can embrace you because He's made to you righteousness. Holiness,
sanctification is holiness. You and your pollution, he makes
me holy. He's a full and complete sin
payment. He's made unto me redemption.
That according as it's written, verse 31, he that glorieth, and
you're gonna boast in something. Every man's gonna do it. You're
gonna boast in something. But he says, he that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord. And then Paul says in chapter
two, verse one, and I, brethren, when I came to you, he's talking
about when he first went into Corinth. When I came into you,
I came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring
unto you the testimony of God. For I determined. not to know
anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I am not interested in politics.
I'm not interested in current events. I'm not interested in
trying to change the culture. I'm not interested in trying
to make this world a better place. Here's my one purpose. I determine
not to know anything among you, to consider anything as even
worth talking about. save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now, if the message of Jesus
Christ and Him crucified is not in every message I've preached,
a message without Jesus Christ and Him crucified is an error
in its conception and a crime in its delivery. Now you judge
every message you hear by this, where's the lamb? That's what
Isaac asked his father when they walked up the mountain. He said,
here's the wood, here's the fire, where's the lamb for a burnt
offering? And with regard to every message
you and I hear, we better ask this question, where's the lamb? Paul said, I determined not to
know anything among you, said Jesus Christ and him crucified.
And he said, and I was with you in weakness, and fear, and much
trembling, conscious of my own weakness, fearing and trembling,
lest I misrepresent God. And I hope I come to the pulpit
every time I preach with that kind of attitude, not some kind
of cocky self-confidence and arrogance, but weakness, conscious
of my own weakness, fear and trembling, lest I misrepresent
God. And he says in verse four, in
my speech, in my preaching, was not with enticing words of man's
wisdom, psychological tricks to try to
get you to respond, but in demonstration of the Spirit. and of power. I believe my gospel is such that
all I'm to do is to preach it and leave you alone and wait
for God the Holy Spirit with irresistible power to do his
work in you. That, here's why Paul says we
do that, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men. Be buttressed held up in the
wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Wisdom and foolishness. The world calls the gospel foolishness. Foolishness. The natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they're foolishness
unto him. Neither indeed can he know them
because they're spiritually discerned. Now, why does the natural man
consider the gospel foolishness? Well, the gospel declares that
we need to be saved. I don't need to be saved. I need
better teaching. I need better economy. I need
better education. We have all kinds of needs. I
need a better job. I need more money. I need to
have a happier life. The gospel says that God is holy
and righteous, and he must punish all sin. God is perfect and requires
absolute perfection, and the only way you and I can be saved
is if God saves us. He must do it all. Why that's foolishness. That's
foolishness. You'll find out. The need to
be saved in the first place. I am bad. He is good. I am sinful. He is righteous. How can a righteous God accept
an evil man? You know, when preachers talk
about, won't you accept Jesus as your personal savior? That's
foolishness. The issue is not, will you accept
him? The issue is, will he accept
you? Men count the need to be saved
foolishness. Here's second reason why men
count the gospel foolishness. There's only one source of information,
the Bible. We're completely dependent upon
this book to know who God is with His Spirit opening the meaning
to us. Somebody says, you expect me
to believe a book thousands of years old and that's the only
source of information? Yes. All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God. Now, we need to be saved. There's only one source of information,
and we cannot save ourselves. The Bible is not a self-help
book. There's no help in us if God
gives us what the old-time writers called an alien righteousness.
Somebody says, an alien righteousness. What do you mean by that? When
I think of aliens, I think of flying saucers and people from
other galaxies and planets and space. Alien righteousness means
it didn't come from here. An alien righteousness means
that it's the righteousness that you had no hand in performing.
It's the righteousness of Jesus Christ who came down from heaven
and worked out a perfect righteousness as the only ground to salvation. Now, if I come into his presence,
I can't come with a sense of entitlement thinking God owes
me this, God owes me that. No, my only hope is that he will
give me his righteousness. And let me say this, this salvation
is utterly free. I can't say that strong enough. It's free. This salvation excludes
all other ways. There's not salvation in other
religions. There's not salvation in other
ways to God. Christ said, I am the way. No man comes to the Father, but
by me. And this glorious salvation is
for anyone who comes. The Lord said, All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise, for no reason cast out. Wisdom and foolish. The
wise look to Christ only. The foolish look to their works. May God make us all wise men
and women. This is Todd Nybert, praying
that God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's
our prayer. Amen. To receive a copy of the sermon
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