10/02/16 God Has Chosen!
Saints
GO Marching On Series – 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Intro: The culture which we are a
part of tends to put rankings on mankind; it is the nature of the beast. In the
public school system you were exposed at quite a young age with what peer
pressure was. You had the popular students, the smart, the not so smart, the
athletic, and the not so athletic, the geek and not a geek, the good looking
and not so good looking. You would think or hope after school those cultural
peer pressures would change. The reality of these cultural pressures just
magnify for so many, because now it is important to have the nice expensive
car, big house and boat, a job with a 6 figure income. If you weren’t ranked in
the upper class you would be ranked middle class or lower and society would say
you’re no body.
Thank God this pressure doesn’t rear its ugly face in the
church, RIGHT? We all get a long and everyone is equal? Well it looks good in
my notes! A key factor in this first chapter of 1 Corinthians deals with
putting to rest division. There is not one more important that anyone else. “Be
of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but
associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” Romans 12:16
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NKJV)
“For you see your calling, brethren, that
not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are
called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame
the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the
things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things
which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to
nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- 31 that, as it is written,
"He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."
The Corinthians needed
to remember who they were. Not too many had come from among the wise, the
powerful, or the noble. They had no excuse for acting snobbish, or for
criticizing and ignoring others. They were only what God had made them. Their
knowledge, rank, and power did not attract God, and such things would not now
secure any special favors from God. Every church and believer needs to take the
message of this passage to heart, for one of the most tragic characteristics of
modern society is its pride and self-sufficiency.
The world's crying need is
for man to see that the only answer to division is reconciliation with God and
with each other, and the only way to be reconciled is to live life’s that are
simple and humble. In my text today I want to share four things God not man
chose for you.
1. God Chose Normal: Vs. 26
“For you see your calling, brethren,
that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are
called.”
God does not call many outstanding people:
God does not call many
"wise men [who live] after the flesh": the educator, the teacher, the
philosopher, the politician—all who seek the wisdom of this world instead of
the wisdom of God. "The wise after the flesh" are those who pursue
and live for the fleshly wisdom of this world. Few of these are ever saved.
Some are, but not many. Men do not discover God by the wisdom of this world.
“Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things,
but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” Romans
12:16
God does not call "many mighty" men of this world: the great,
the powerful, the rulers, the wealthy, the business leaders, the politicians,
and the influential. Of those who are wrapped up in the positions, wealth, and
authority of this world, few are ever saved. Some are, but not many. Men do not
have influence with God because of who they are. Their earthly position and
power have no bearing upon God's acceptance of them.
God does not call
"many noble" men: the high bred, the upper class, the well-born, the
nobility of society, those of respected heritage, those with noble roots. All
men stand on an equal footing before God, no matter their status: “If anyone
thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Galatians 6:3
(NIV)
2. God Chose Simple: Vs. 27-28
“But God has chosen the foolish things of the
world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world
to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the
world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which
are not, to bring to nothing the things that are.”
The word "chosen"
brings the understanding that men do not save themselves, but God saves them.
Three times in our text the words "calling" and "chosen"
are mentioned. God is the One who takes the initiative in saving men. It is
God; who does not call many outstanding people, who does call the simple and
humble people.
God's choice is not without reason. He knows why He chooses the
simple and humble over the outstanding. God has His reasons, and He explains
His reasons in this passage. God chooses the foolish things [people] of this
world to confound the wise. The wise feel self-sufficient in their education,
knowledge, and wisdom. They feel little if any need for God, and often question
if there is a living and true God who is sovereign. Common sense and logic tell
us that such an attitude of arrogance could never be acceptable to God.
God
chooses the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
By weak is meant those without position, influence, or wealth. The weak are the
less important, the insignificant, and the more dispensable. He will only
accept the person who comes to Him in weakness and cries for His help. God
chooses the base things and the things which are despised. The base and the
despised would include the lower classes of society: the lowly, the vile, the
criminal, the immoral, the depraved, the dirty, and the distasteful. It is such
people that God chooses instead of the upper classes of society. Why? Because
of pride, arrogance, self-righteousness. More of the upper class are unwilling
to give all they are and have to Christ and His cause. They want some religion
and some charitable causes, but they are unwilling to surrender their lives to
a Lord who demands their total allegiance.
God chooses the nothings to nullify
the something’s of this world. There are people in this world who are
overlooked and bypassed and considered totally insignificant and useless. God
chooses His people from among them as well, and He does it to nullify,
dethrone, and bring to nothing all those who think they are something in this
world. God expects man to reason with Him, but He expects an honest and seeking
heart and the hopelessness of one's life to His Lordship once the truth is
revealed.
3. God Chose With a Purpose: Vs. 29
“That no flesh should glory in His
presence.”
God has one purpose for saving only the simple and humble people—to
eliminate man's boasting. Man does not deserve God's attention, much less His
salvation. But God loves man, so He gives us both His attention and salvation.
God does not put up with the foolishness of man's depraved wisdom and
ridiculous claims to self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. Man does not
control his destiny. All he has to do is look at the behavior of men, and then
look at the grave and be honest and thoughtful about the facts, and he has to
confess his need for God. This is the reason God has chosen to do the very
opposite from what man thinks. He chooses as His followers and servants the
people who are the very opposite from whom man chooses. “Therefore whoever
humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:4
4. God Chose Christ: Vs. 30-31
“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus,
who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and
redemption-- 31 that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in
the LORD."
God's real wisdom is Christ:
Christ is the wisdom of God given
to the world so that men might know the way, the truth, and the life of God.
God sent Christ to earth as the Word (logos) of God. "Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but
by me" John 14:6 KJV
What all this means is that a man must come to Jesus
Christ if he wishes to know God, for Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God revealed
to the world.
Christ is the righteousness of God. When a man believes in Jesus
Christ—really believes—God takes that man's faith and counts it (his faith) as
righteousness. Very simply stated: Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God. He
is the only way a man can become righteous and acceptable to God. “For He made
Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of
God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
Christ is the sanctification of God.
Sanctification means to be set apart unto God. When a man believes in Jesus
Christ, God takes that man's faith and counts it for the man's sanctification.
God counts the man as one of His, as set apart unto Him. Sanctification means
holiness: to live a holy and righteous, pure and clean life. When a man
believes in Christ, God does a most marvelous thing. God puts the Spirit of
Christ—the very life and energy and power of Christ—into the heart and life of
the new believer. “He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your
conduct, 16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." 1 Peter
1:15-16
Christ is the redemption of God. Redemption shows the wisdom of God to
the world. As the Ideal and Perfect Man, He was able to bear the punishment for
every man's sins. Through His death Jesus Christ redeems (delivers) us from
sin, death, and punishment. He is the redemption, the deliverance of God for
this world. “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom
with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” Ephesians 1:7 (NLT)
Conclusion: Carnality, Deliverance from
The story is told of Handley Page, a
pioneer in aviation, who once landed in an isolated area during his travels.
Unknown to him, a rat got aboard the plane there. On the next leg of the
flight, Page heard the sickening sound of gnawing. Suspecting it was a rodent,
his heart began to pound as he visualized the serious damage that could be done
to the fragile mechanisms that controlled his plane and the difficulty of
repairs because of the lack of skilled labor and materials in the area.
What
could he do? He remembered hearing that a rat cannot survive at high altitudes,
so he pulled back on the stick. The airplane climbed higher and higher until
Page found it difficult to breathe. He listened intently and finally sighed
with relief. The gnawing had stopped. When he arrived at his destination, he
found the rat lying dead behind the cockpit!
Oftentimes we, God’s children, are
plagued by sin that gnaws at our life simply because we are living at too low a
spiritual level. To see sin defeated in our lives requires that we move up—away
from the world—to a higher level where the things of this world cannot survive.
The purpose of God in sending Christ to earth was to stir men to praise God
instead of boasting in their own wisdom and self-sufficiency. God has chosen
the normal, the simple, He chose with a purpose and He chose Christ. The saint
has a reason to march on so: “My beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in
vain in the Lord.”
Let’s move to higher level!
In : Sermon
Tags: "saits go marching on series" "book of 1 corinthians"
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