I close again tonight to the
Scripture that I used this morning. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Just a very brief review. Very brief. But the Apostle determined
three things. He determined three things. Number
one, in verse two, the subject matter of his preaching would
be the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He said, I determine,
I resolve not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. That's my resolution, my determination. The subject matter of my preaching
has been and is now and will be Christ and Him crucified. And then in verse 4, he determined
that the style of his preaching, the style of his preaching would
be free from theatrics, human wisdom, human eloquence, and
human pressure and persuasion. He said in verse 4, in my speech,
in my preaching, was not with persuasible words of men's wisdom. That's what he's talking about,
persuasible words of men's wisdom. Eloquence, actions, and theatrics. No, but I'm going to preach in
the demonstration of the Spirit and power. My message is going
to be Christ, and it's going to be delivered in the power
of the Holy Spirit. And the third thing, and all
of that in order that, verse 5, in order that your faith,
the faith of those who hear me, the faith of those who receive
the message, should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in
the power of God. I'm going to illustrate that
and ask you to turn first to Matthew 16. Here in Matthew 16,
verse 15, our Lord said to the disciples, Whom say ye that I
am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, ìYouíre the Christ. Youíre the Christ. Youíre the
Son of the living God.î And our Lord answered him and declared
three facts. He says, number one, ìYouíre
blessed.î Four facts. ìYouíre blessed, Simon. Youíre
blessed. Youíre blessed.î Secondly, ìBut flesh and blood didnít reveal
that to you.î flesh and blood didn't reveal that what you know,
what you believe, you weren't taught by some other man. No,
sir. Thirdly, my Father, which is
in heaven, revealed that to you. And fourthly, and I say unto
you that you're a rock, you're Peter, a rock, and upon this
rock I'll build my church, and the gates of hell won't prevail
against it. You're blessed. Have you heard
the gospel? Believed it? Received it? You're blessed.
But let me tell you, flesh and blood didn't reveal it to you.
But my Father, which is in heaven, and you're on the rock, you're
in Christ, the body of the church. That's right. But He did it.
He did it. Let me show you another one.
John chapter 4. John chapter 4, you remember
the Lord met this woman at the well, revealed Himself to her. She went running down into Samaria,
told all the people there. I met a man who knew all about
me. Never met him before. He knew
all about me. He told me everything I'd ever done. Is not this the
Christ? And they went running out there
to hear Him. These men in town went running out to hear Christ.
Here, now look, John 4, 39. And many of the Samaritans of
that city believed on him by the saying of the woman, which
testified, he told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans
would come to him, they besought him, Christ Jesus, that he would
tarry with them. And he abode there two days.
And many more believed because of His own Word. And they said
to the woman, they said, We heard you, but
now we believe not because of your saying, but because we've
heard Him ourselves. And we know, we know, and you
don't know until you've heard Him yourself. You can hear me
all day, all year, all the century. But you've got
to hear Him who speaks the myth. And we heard you, and we believed
you. But now we've heard Him, and
we know that He is indeed the Christ, the Savior, the Word.
All right, back to my text, 1 Corinthians 2. Verse 5, That your face should
not stand in the wisdom of men, But in the power of God, now
verse 6, how be it? We speak wisdom among them that
are perfect. What's he saying here? He says
we preach, and we preach wisdom, true wisdom, among them that
are mature, among them that have grown in grace, among them that
have been taught of God. They're children of wisdom. They
recognize wisdom. And they justify wisdom. I said,
you're easy to preach to. Every preacher that comes here
says, this is the easiest place in the world to preach the gospel.
You know why? Because people know what you're saying and rejoice
in it and are favorable to it. That's right. And so Paul said,
I preach wisdom, but the only person that knows I'm preaching
wisdom is the children of wisdom. They know it. They know it. Job said, the Lord said, Behold
the fear of the Lord. That's wisdom. Behold the fear of the Lord.
That's wisdom. To depart from evil, that's understanding. David wrote in Psalm 111, the
fear of the Lord. That's the beginning of wisdom.
And a good understanding have all they. that do His will. Look back at 1 Corinthians 2,
6. How be it? We speak wisdom. Because the messenger is not
famous, and because the followers of Christ Jesus are not famous,
and because God has chosen the foolish things, don't think the
message is not famous. The message is wisdom. We preach
wisdom. And a fellow that's got wisdom
recognizes it. How be it? Listen. It's not the
wisdom of this world. It's not the wisdom of the princes
of this world. Who are the princes? The leaders.
The captains. The rulers. In any area. Religious leaders, political
leaders, or educational leaders. We preach wisdom, but it's not
the wisdom of the world. is not the wisdom of the leaders
of this world. It comes to naught. Why would
Paul say that? The wisdom of this world comes
to naught. Well, true wisdom is not the wisdom of the world.
How can the world's wisdom be true wisdom when it keeps changing? That's like They tell me now
the last generation was all wet. The things they believed and
held to, they don't hold to that anymore. This new generation's
got a new ballgame. It's all new. Well, the next
one's going to say the same thing. So every generation keeps changing.
Well, how can it be true wisdom if it keeps changing, Ronnie?
True wisdom is self. That's right. That's right. Secondly, how can it be true
wisdom when they promise what they can't produce? I've always
got a kick out of politics. Every four years we get a new
promise. One said we're going to have peace in our time. Boy. One said one time prosperity
is around the corner. Which corner? We've been looking
for it all the time, you know. One said a chicken in every pot
in the car in every garage. But that hasn't been fulfilled.
A great society, that's like great nuts, it's neither great
nor nuts, you know. But it keeps changing and they
never produce what they promised. It gets worse. How can it be
true wisdom when what we acquire we can't keep? That's right, it fades away.
Can't keep our health, can't keep our memory, can't keep our
possessions, can't keep our house from rotting and falling down.
Whatever we acquire, we can't keep. The hymn writer says, swift
to its close, ebbs out life's little day. Earth's joys grow
dim, their glories pass away. Change and decay in everything
I see, O thou that changest not. with me. I need wisdom that doesn't
change. Absolutes, don't you? That's
true wisdom. And how can it be wisdom, true
wisdom, when all that a man knows and all that a man has and all
that a man hopes for can be canceled by a case of Alzheimer's or a
bump on the head? Wipe out. Spend your whole life,
spend your whole life studying, saving, keeping, learning, inventing,
doing all these things, and then you don't even know your name.
That's not true wisdom. No wisdom in that. Paul over
there, look over there at chapter 1, verse 20. He said, where is
the wise? Where is the wise? Where is the
described, the scholar? Where is the debater, the disputer
of this world? Has not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? Where is the wise? Well, they're
not to be found among those that God chose to lead Israel. They're
not found among those that the Lord chose to be His disciples.
They're not found among those the Lord chose to write the scriptures.
They're not among the ministers or reformers or missionaries
of the past. For God has chosen those that
are not to bring to naught the things that are. Where's the
wise? Where's the scribe, scholar? Where's the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made the world's wisdom foolishness? Without a knowledge of Christ,
now let me tell you something, without a knowledge of God Almighty
in Christ, all roads lead to ruin. That's what the scripture
says. There is a way that seems right
to men, and the end is death. The end, the goal, the final
resting place of all man's so-called schemes and plans and organizations
and wisdom, nations, But verse 7, we speak the wisdom
of God. We speak the wisdom of God in
a mystery. Now listen, hang on. Even the
hidden wisdom, it once was hidden. We speak the wisdom of God in
a mystery. There are a lot of mysteries
in this wisdom of God. And it all was once hidden. that
wisdom of God, which God ordained before the world unto the glory
of his elect. The mysteries of the Godhead,
the mysteries of the covenant of grace, the mysteries of the
redemption of the elect, the mysteries of the incarnation
and the glorious kingdom of God's dear Son was hidden back there
in the mind of God, back there in the heart of God. back there
in the purpose and will of God before the world began. It was
hidden in the book of God. John said, I saw one sitting
on a throne, and in his hand was a book written on the outside
and the inside. And it was found no man in heaven
or earth or under those who could open the book. And I wept. And
one of the elders said, weep not. The Lion of the tribe of
Judah, he'll open the book. He'll reveal what's in it. That's
the key, the wisdom of God, hidden, the mystery of the gospel, hidden
in the mind and heart and purpose of God, in the book of God, in
Christ Jesus. But along comes the Redeemer,
opens the book. And then our Lord said to His
disciples, Matthew, turn over here, Matthew 13 now, listen.
The Lord said to His disciples in Matthew 13, Matthew 13, they ask him in verse
10, listen here, listen to this. Matthew 13, 10, the disciples
came and said unto him, Lord, why do you speak to them in parables? Verse 11, he answered and said,
because it's given to you to know the what? The mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven. To them it's not given. For whosoever
hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But whosoever hath not, from
him shall be taken away what he does have." Human wisdom. Therefore I speak to them in
parables, because they seeing see not, and hearing they don't
hear, neither do they understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy
of Isaiah, which said, By hearing you shall hear and not understand.
seeing you shall see and not perceive. These people's heart
is wax gross, their ears are dull of hearing, their eyes they've
closed, lest at any time they would see with their eyes and
hear with their ears and should understand with their hearts
and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed
are your eyes, they see, and your ears, they hear." The mysteries,
it's given to you to know these mysteries. The Son has revealed
them. all of the mysteries concerning
the covenant, the incarnation, how God can be just and justify,
how God can forgive a sinner, how God can take a son of man
and make him a son of God. That's revealed in Christ to
babies, to children who have ears and eyes. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
4, right over one page from my text. Paul said he was a steward
of the mysteries of God. I deal in the mysteries of God.
That's what he said. That's my business, the mysteries
of God. That's yours too. He said here in 1 Corinthians
4, verse 1, Let a man so account of me as of the ministries of
Christ, and a steward of the mysteries of God. But now they're revealed. Oh,
we preach wisdom. Verse 7 of my text, the wisdom
of God in the mystery, even that hidden wisdom which angels desire
to look into, which God ordained before the world. Verse 8, which
none of the leaders of this world knew. These fellows didn't know
who he was. He was in the world. He made
the world. The world was made by him and
the world knew him not. He came to his own religious
leaders. The fellas that sat around read
the Old Testament scriptures every day, and they didn't recognize
him. Now none of them knew him. Who
is this? Why, he's the carpenter. Who
is this? Son of Mary, Joseph. Who is this? A friend of sinners. Who is this? A glutton, a wine-dibbler. We'll not have this man reign
over us. So they crucified the Lord of Glory. I'm speaking the wisdom of God
in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, before the world began, but now
revealed in Christ. And when he came, none of the
princes of this world, none of them, in the capital of religion
or the capital of Rome, none of them knew him. Had they known
it, they'd have bowed and worshipped him. Had they known it, they'd
have crowned him king. Had they known it, they'd have
followed him like Peter did. But they didn't know it. And
I'll tell you why. Even though they read these scriptures
every Lord's Day about him coming, and when they fulfilled everything
that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and
put him in a grave, wiped their hands and said, we're through
with that fellow. Pilate washed his hands in water and said,
I don't want nothing to do with this man. Take him away. But it's written,
verse 9, over there in Isaiah 64, here's the problem. I have
not seen, ye have not heard, not the natural eye, naturally,
neither have entered into the heart of man the things which
God hath prepared for them that love him. Now these things that
God's prepared for them that love him, We're not talking about
the new heaven, new earth. We're not talking about future
places and times and future rest and joy. We're talking about
the right now. We're talking about God's mercies
and blessings and grace and forgiveness and sanctification and redemption
of a man's soul. Christ said, I go to prepare
a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for
you, I'll come and receive you unto myself, that where I am
there you may be also. I'm going to prepare you for
the place. That's right. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings. in Christ Jesus. That's where
we have these spiritual blessings. But these fellows didn't know
him. They didn't know that he'd come to give us a righteousness,
that he'd come to sanctify us and present us holy through his
blood. They didn't know he came to put
away our sins. They didn't know that. But we
do. Look at verse 10. Many scriptures which tell about
our lost condition, and our deadness, and our blindness, and our unworthiness,
and our inability are followed with these two words, but God. Let me show you that over in,
especially in Ephesians 2, but God. Which none of the princes
of this world knew, had they known it, they wouldn't have
crucified the Lord of glory. But the natural eye doesn't see,
and the natural ear doesn't hear, and the natural heart doesn't
have any comprehension of what God is going to do for sinners
in Christ. But God! Ephesians chapter 2, verse 3, "...among whom also
we all had our conversation too." Those rebels and Christ crucifiers
in times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind. We were by nature children of
wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great, eternal, everlasting, infinite love, wherewith he loved
us in Christ, even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us
together with Christ. By grace are you saved, and he
hath raised us up together already, and made us sit with Christ in
heavenly places. that in the ages to come he might
show the seething riches of his grace in his kindness toward
us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved, through
faith, that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. But God. That's the difference between
a rebel and a son. But God. That's the difference
between a believer and an unbeliever. But God. That's the difference
in a person who has true wisdom and no sense. But God. That's
right. Look back at my text. But God. Who? God himself. Verse 10, 1
Corinthians 2. But God. But God. Who? God himself. What? Hath
revealed them unto us. Reveal what? The mysteries of
grace, the mysteries of godliness. He hath revealed it unto us.
How? By his Spirit. By his Spirit,
for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep, mysterious
things of God, which nobody knows or can understand unless God
is his teacher. All right, here is a common illustration of this
fact. that only the Holy Spirit knows
the mind of God, the will of God, and the mysteries of God. He's the only one who can teach
us. God must teach us. For what man knoweth the things
of a man, save the spirit of the man? He's saying here that
here's a friend of mine, Rob Golden. He's got thoughts in
his heart and thoughts in his mind, but I can't read his mind
or his thoughts, and I can't know what he's seeking. unless
he's pleased to tell me. And when he sits down and says,
Brother Hinn, I want to tell you something, what I've been
thinking, then I know what he's thinking. And even so, listen,
even so, the things of God, no man knows. Who has known the
mind of the Lord? Who's been his counselor? I don't
know. Can you, by searching, find God?
Well, it's higher than the heavens, what can you know? Deeper than
hell, what can you do? Barter than the sea, what can
you do? There's only one way to know the mind of God, the
will of God, the purpose of God, the mysteries of God, that's
the Spirit of God to teach us through the Word. Take the Word
and teach us. No man knows the things of God
but the Spirit of God. Now, verse 12, now we, believers,
we have received, we have received not the Spirit of the world,
but the Spirit which is of God. God has sent his Holy Spirit
that we might know the things that are freely given us of God. They're ours. They're already
given to us. They're given to us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. But no way for us to know
it until he stops us on our downward road and says, Hang on here a
minute. I've got something to tell you. And he reveals to us
all these things that God has determined and purchased and
given freely. The Holy Spirit is not selling
anything, he's giving it freely, freely, freely of God. Which
things, verse 13, listen, which things also we speak, not in
words of man's wisdom, which man's wisdom teaches. That's
not the way we preach or teach, not in man's words of wisdom.
Not in man's methods and ways. Everybody wants to tell the church
and the preachers how they ought to conduct their business. Well,
we're not in a business. We're here to worship God. We're
here to tell men about God, about the mysteries of God, so we don't
talk their language. They don't talk ours, we don't
talk theirs. Not in man's words of wisdom. Not in man's methods
and means. But we speak the words of God. which things we speak, not in
words which man's wisdom teaches, but in words which the Holy Ghost
teaches." The written Word of God. Comparing spiritual things
with spiritual. That's the way to preach. Use
the Word. Like a while ago, I was giving
you illustration, went back to the Word and got illustration.
That's what our Lord did. He went back to the Old Testament.
Here and there and yonder, comparing spiritual things with spiritual
things. Now let me tell you something,
changing the Word of God into modern language and modern phrases
is not going to change the heart of a rebel. I can get up here
and call God thee or thou, call it you or yours, and it's not
going to make any difference. You see what I'm trying to say? They want to keep changing the
Bible so they can help a man understand it. He can't understand
it, except the Holy Spirit teaches him. Let's stay with the best
translation of the Word of God, and that's this one right here,
King James Translation. Not with man, he said, we don't
speak in the words which man's wisdom teaches. This is what
I think he ought to do. God's already told me what to
do. preach the Word. And changing our music and our
hymns into sounds and tempos of the modern world is not going
to help these hard-hearted rebels now. If they won't listen to
you sing, How Great Thou Art, or hear us, A Mighty Foot, This
Is Our God, then there's no use in you getting up here and going
all this and changing your words and acting like a fool. It won't
happen. Our Lord gave this parable. He said there was a man in hell.
He lifted up his eyes and he saw the father Abraham. Send
Lazarus down here to dip his finger in water and cool my tongue.
I'm tormented in this flame. Abraham said, there's a great
gulf between us and you. We can't pass from here to you
or you can't pass to us. Well, he said, would you send
Lazarus back to the earth? I've got five brothers, and I
want him to go warn them not to come to this place. And Abraham
said, they've got the scriptures. They've got Moses and Elijah
and Jeremiah and David. They've got all the scriptures.
No, no, no, he said, I've got a better plan. Send Lazarus back
from the dead. And here come walking in, they
know he's been dead. They'll hear him. He said, son,
if they hear not the scriptures, they will not be persuaded though
one rose from the dead. That's how hard the heart is.
It's like another millstone. It's like a flint. And you don't,
you needn't change this book. You won't help him, you'll hurt
him. Don't change your music. We're singing the same songs
they sang in the churches 500 years ago, 1,000 years ago, 2,000
years ago. Same message. And changing the
worship of God. Now here's what people say, they
got the contemporary worship. I'm a Guinnett. And I'll tell
you why. Changing the worship of God into
contemporary social activities and means will not break the
hearts of our young people. Their hearts have got to be broken
by the Spirit of God, by the Word of God, by the truth of
God. And you can put on a robe of
religion, but you're not going to impress a rebel. And you can
put on a robe of education and let them know that you've got
several degrees, but it won't reach the intellectual. And you
can put on blue jeans and tennis shoes and go in the pool pit,
but it won't reach a young person with a heart hardened against
God. That's right. So don't change
a thing. Paul said, I'm not changing a
thing. I'm determined. to know nothing among you save
Jesus Christ him crucified. And my methods and my style of
preaching is not going to change one whit from the Apostle Paul
to the Apostle Peter. That your faith should not stand
in my coercion and compromise and all these other things and
activities and fleshly socializing. Your faith will stand in the
power of God, who is Christ Jesus. That's right. Because the natural
man, look at verse 14, he's not going to receive the things of
the Spirit of God. He's not going to do it for two
reasons. One of them is foolishness to
him. It's a pack of foolishness. Barney used to say it's a pack
of foolishness to him. That's all it is to him, foolishness. Sheer nonsense. And the second
reason is because they're spiritually discerned. You've got to have
a spiritual mind to understand spiritual truth. You've got to
have a spiritual heart to receive a spiritual gospel. That's right. But he says in verse 15, But
he that is spiritual, he that is born of the Spirit, he that
is taught of God, he judgeth all things. People sitting here
tonight, Born of God, taught of God, they understand every
jot and tittle that I've spoken. That's right, you do. You understand these things.
You understand what I'm saying, because you understand these
things. And yet, folks don't understand you. You understand this, but they
don't understand you, because you're not like them. For who
hath known the mind of the Lord? that he may instruct him, not
nobody, but we have the mind of Christ and we can be instructed. We have the mind and spirit of
Christ, so we can be taught of God. Oh my Christ Jesus, the
power, the wisdom of God.