8/5/13

From Gary... More beautiful than any moth, butterfly or any dog in the world



Yesterday afternoon, before I left for the evening service, I took the dogs for a walk.  As we walked on the top of the embankment in the dog-walk, there were moths on the top of the taller blades.  I was sorry that I didn't bring my camera, because since it was the day before the grass is mowed, there were MANY, MANY tall blades and their corresponding creatures.  The dogs were in heaven and started to go as fast as I would let them on the uneven ground (I didn't want to fall, you see).  It really was something to see- all those moths taking flight as the animals tried to race through the grass.  I thought of it today when I was looking though my collection of pictures and noticed this one which was labeled "moth". Originally, I had given it the title of butterfly, but it was categorized as a moth from its public domain creator.  I still think it is a butterfly, but it really doesn't matter what it is called.  Beauty is still beauty, whether it be moth or butterfly.  Then I remembered the creation account and what had happened there...

Genesis, Chapter 2
18  Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.”  19 Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature became its name.  20 The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 Yahweh God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.  22 Yahweh God made a woman from the rib which had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.  23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.”  24 Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.  

I love both my dogs, but they are NOTHING in comparison to my wife Linda.  She is perfect for me. Sometimes it doesn't seem that way, because she knows what I am going to do before I do it and the same thing applies to what I say, and so - I can't get away with ANYTHING.  She keeps me on my toes, and even now she still continues to surprise me with her insights. I am to glad see does; even though I probably won't tell her so- because that would only encourage her to correct me more than she should.  BUT, to me she is beautiful- and becoming more beautiful by the day. More beautiful than any creature on this Earth, be it butterfly or loving animal.  Why?  Because God made her just for me and HE DOES EXCELLENT WORK!!!

PS.  God really has a sense of humor.  Even though I call both dogs mine, there is a pecking order in my house.  First- food, Next Linda, followed by any other female present and last of all-- ME!!!  So much for them being MY DOGS!!!!  Welcome a new title- CUSTODIAN!!!

From Jim McGuiggan... Ethel and Me and Life

Ethel and Me and Life

I felt the need to put this back up. I miss her terribly!
If Ethel and I make it through September 2006 (sounds like a Merle Haggard song title) we’ll have been married fifty years. I met her when we were eighteen, and seven months later we married while we were still eighteen. All in all it’s been a really great trip. We didn’t make our mark in the world, our names didn’t go up in lights and the Prime Minister never called us for advice to get him out of a jam but with a lot of help we’ve seen it through this far.
The world can be a tough place and as ignorant as we were it couldn’t have been us that held things together; but I suppose there must have been something in us that wanted the help we often got. Every couple has its stories, right? My mother bore thirteen of us in tough times so we knew what it was to be hungry and if Ethel hadn’t known that earlier, she got to know it when she married me. But everyone has their troubles and we’re often too busy trying to sort them out to pay attention to another couple of kids that were struggling to keep their heads above water in more ways than one. Now and then you get the feeling that it’s just you two against the world, don’t you? We did, but here we are, nearly fifty years later, having the time of our lives.
At the top or near it of my list of favourite poet/songwriters is Paul Willliams who (with Ken Ascher) wrote You And Me Against the World. In the middle he has:
Remember when the circus came to town
You were frightened by the clowns
Wasn’t it nice to be around
Someone that you knew
Someone who was big and strong
And looking out for you...(and me against the world)

In the midst of all my many and serious failures, maybe I’ve had an honest shot at being there for Ethel when she was "frightened by the clowns". She’s spent half her life in the hospital (just about) and when I get exercised about treatment that I think isn’t right she begs me to say nothing to the staff because, she’d say, "I have to live with them." More than once that frustrated me and once when she was being prepped for very serious surgery she asked me to say nothing about something I was ready to express hard feelings about. I sulked and said something like, "Well, then, just let them do what they like with you. I won’t say a word." As they were wheeling her into the theatre and I walked beside her, still sullen, she reached out and took my arm, beckoned me down so she could whisper to me and said, "Will you look out for me?" My sulk fell dead at my feet. I poured out my heart to her about what she meant to me and told her I’d look out for her. And so it goes on. We’ve been looking out for each other all these years.
And when one of us is gone
And one is left alone to carry on
Then remembering will have to do
Memories alone will see us through
Think about the days of me and you
You and me against the world.

Love that song. Love storing up the kind of experiences that can be brought out and smiled at, cherished and made happy and inspired by. Bless me, isn’t it a wonderful life? [We made it past 50.]

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Jim McGuiggan... Don't throw your dreams away

Don't throw your dreams away

Sometime when you've nothing better to do, make a list of things you threw away and later wished you hadn't. Maybe we've all done that. Listen, whatever else you throw away, when your heart is filled with a lovely, honourable dream, hold on to it; it's a gift of God.
The prophet Joel said that when the Spirit came (in Jesus Christ) young men and women would dream dreams and old men and women would see visions. I don't deny a miraculous element in the prophecy (see Acts 2:16-36) but God always did the miraculous in support of the "normal". In the light of Jesus' death, resurrection and glorification millions of young people have become dreamers and a host of very old people who'd "seen it all" lived in the vision of the even better that was coming. In the light of Jesus such people can'tsettle for less. If there had been no Jesus, if there was no living Jesus well, then, we'd have to grin and bear it as the years ground us to dust—end of story. But there was a Jesus and there is a living and returning Jesus; the future is racing at us full of glory so the present is not to be gloomingly endured—it is to be lived in as if it were the future.
In the musical adaptation of Don Quixote de La Mancha, Cervantes has been thrown into prison. When his fellow prisoners learn he is a poet of the theater, they begin to give him a bad time. One critic angrily rebukes his as a dreamer. Poets, he snarls, are mad men who spin nonsense out of nothing and take men’s eyes off reality. This, he said, was a great wrong; it was a flight from the facts, and people should be made to face life as it really is, rather than dream.
Cervantes looks around at the filth and squalor of the prison and thinks of the injustice that landed them all in it. Must people settle for life as it is? Is dreaming for something better really madness? Cervantes tells his chief critic that he has traveled the world, been a slave, fought in war and held his friends as they were dying. Then he says,
"These were men who saw life as it is but they died despairing. No glory, no brave last words, only their eyes filled with confusion, questioning why! I do not think they were asking why they were dying, but why they had ever lived. Life itself seems a lunatic. Who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams, this may be madness. To seek treasure where there is only trash, too much sanity may be madness. And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it could be, as it should be."
There is an unholy discontent that is thankless. And because it lacks a warm gratitude it’s altogether unlike "holy" discontent—that blessed hunger that leaves us dissatisfied with things as they are. Our dreams should always exceed our grasp in what is holy. When we’re healthy there will be that pleasure in the good that already is, in the progress we’ve already known; but there will always be that delicious vision of what is purer, what is better and more holy.
Hebrews 11:16 says if Abraham had wanted to go back to Mesopotamia he could have done it; but he didn’t want to; he had his eyes on another country, one that God was going to give to him. And because that's how he felt, because he wouldn’t settle for less, Hebrews 11:16 tells us that God was not ashamed of him, to be called his God.
And when the days roll by and we seem to be no better, no holier; when the seemingly unchangeable realities of life appear to crush to silence any reasonable hope of a lovelier future, when it seems only to be madness to deny the harsh and brute facts of our lives—then we need to remember his promise that in Jesus Christ he will supply our every need. Then we will recognize the surrender of our dreams for the madness that it really is. And we will pick our reluctantly discarded dreams out of the rubbish bin, dust them off and with a smile confess they are ours.
And God will see and will not be ashamed of us and to be called our God.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Jim McGuiggan... Diamond rings and babies toes

Diamond rings and babies toes

I think I know a few people who have grown up without growing old. They're a lovely sight in a world that is becoming decrepit. James Gustaffson has marvellously taught us that we lose our child-likeness and the enchanted world as we progress to technological maturity and rationality but that we comfort ourselves with the notion that we can induce enchantment and control our rationality with a stiff shot of booze.
It can't be wrong to look for rationality and technological maturity but it can make such a wreck of the world if all magic and mystery is obliterated. Try telling a newly engaged woman that the diamond on her finger is a piece of pure carbon crystallized in octahedrons under pressure ranging from 45 to 60 kilobars and having a cubic atom formation.  To see no meaning of a rainbow because you care only about its physical properties is to miss more than you know. To take the mystery out of everything is not only (ultimately) impossible—it's attempted robbery. To so speak and act and set an agenda meaning to utterly destroy mystery and wonder is an ill wind that withers everything in a rational big freeze. People become consumers, children become targets in the marketing game and your neighbour is someone you can sell something to. Our "highest thoughts" as one "wise" man noted are nothing but chemical reactions. We sense that this is going on and can't completely live with it so we create lands of enchantment like Disneyland or read the astrological pages or hug trees.
G.K Chesterton had much to say about all that "progress" towards maturity. He always insisted that what was wrong with the world was that we have grown old and God has stayed young.
You've seen a baby discovering it toes, haven't you—isn't that a sight to behold? Is it difficult for you to imagine that one day you might walk into a room and there sits God and a little baby both round-eyed and lost in wonder? It is? Hmmm.


©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... Are You Still Carnal? (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)



                 "THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS"

                     Are You Still Carnal? (3:1-4)

INTRODUCTION

1. As Paul sought to teach the Christians at Corinth, it was not easy...
   a. While with them , he could not speak to them as spiritual people
      - 1Co 3:1-2
   b. When he wrote to them, they were still carnal - 1Co 3:3-4
   -- Despite the passing of time, they were still "babes in Christ"

2. The example of the Corinthians should challenge our thinking...
   a. You may have been a Christian for some time now
   b. But that does not necessarily mean you have become mature
   -- Despite the passing of time, "Are You Still Carnal?"

[Hopefully not.  But to be sure, let's make clear what it means to be
carnal...]

I. CARNALITY DEFINED

   A. THE WORD "CARNAL"...
      1. Comes from the Greek word sarkikos (fleshly, carnal)
      2. "having the nature of flesh, i.e. under the control of the
         animal appetites" - Thayer

   B. DISTINGUISHED FROM "NATURAL" AND "SPIRITUAL"...
      1. The natural man (psuchikos) "refers to one who is unrenewed,
         and who is wholly under the influence of his sensual or animal
         nature, and is no where applied to Christians" - Barnes, cf.
         1Co 2:14
      2. The carnal man (sarkikos) "is applied here to Christians - but
         to those who have much of the remains of corruption, and who
         are imperfectly acquainted with the nature of religion; babes
         in Christ" - ibid., cf. 1Co 3:1-4
      3. The spiritual man (pneumatikos) - is one led by the Spirit (via
         the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God), capable of
         understanding spiritual truths and producing the fruit of the
         Spirit in one's life; i.e., a mature Christian - cf. 1Co 2:15;
         Ga 5:22-23; 6:1

[As Christians we are no longer "natural", but we may still be "carnal"
and not yet "spiritual".  To answer the question "Are You Still
Carnal?", it helps to see...]

II. CARNALITY DEPICTED

   A. IN THE LIVES OF THE CORINTHIANS...
      1. Their inability to receive solid food - 1Co 3:1-2
         a. Paul had to feed them with the milk of the Word
         b. They were like the Hebrew Christians in this regard - cf. He 5:11-14
      2. Their envy, strife, and divisions - 1Co 3:3-4
         a. Their religious division addressed earlier - cf. 1Co 1:10-
            13
         b. What does this say of the spiritual condition when religious
            division exists today?

   B. IN THE WORKS OF THE FLESH...
      1. Sins of immorality:  adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
         lewdness - cf. Ga 5:19
      2. Sins of false religion:  idolatry, sorcery - cf. Ga 5:20a
      3. Sins contrary to love:  hatred, contentions, jealousies,
         outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
         envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries - cf. Ga 5:20b-21

[We may not be guilty of immorality, but if we are unable to receive the
solid food of God's Word, or if we are given to envy and strife, then we
are still carnal!  If such be case, what can one do...?]

III. CARNALITY DEFEATED

   A. AS COUNSELED BY JAMES...
      1. Lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness - Jm 1:21a
      2. Receive with meekness the implanted word - Jm 1:21b
      3. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only - Jm 1:22

   B. AS COUNSELED BY PETER...
      1. Lay aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil
         speaking - 1Pe 2:1
      2. Desire the pure milk of the Word, as newborn babes - 1Pe 2:2

   C. AS COUNSELED BY PAUL...
      1. Seek those things which are above - Col 3:1-2
      2. Put off the old man by crucifying your members on the earth
         - Col 3:5-9
      3. Put on the new man by adorning yourself with Christ-like graces
         - Col 3:10-14
      4. Let peace and gratitude reign in your heart - Col 3:15
      5. Let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you through song - Co
         3:16
      6. Do all in the name of the Lord - Col 3:17
      7. Walk in the Spirit, and be led by the Spirit - Ga 5:16-26

CONCLUSION

1. Those who walk in the Spirit...
   a. Will not be conceited, provoking others, envious of others - cf.
      Ga 5:25-26
   b. They will not be carnal! - cf. 1Co 3:3

2. Those who produce the fruit of the Spirit...
   a. Will display a spirit of gentleness in their interaction with
      others
   b. They will be truly spiritual! - cf. Ga 6:1

If the apostle Paul were to write to us today, would he say we are still
carnal?  May the example of the Corinthians motivate us to become more
spiritual and mature in our service to the Lord...!


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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From Mark Copeland... The Hidden Wisdom Of God (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)


                 "THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS"

                   The Hidden Wisdom Of God (2:6-16)

INTRODUCTION

1. In 1Co 1:18-31, Paul wrote of the folly of trusting in human
   wisdom...
   a. For God chose to make foolish the wisdom of the wise
   b. And He chose to save man through a message that appears foolish to
      many

2. In 1Co 2:1-5, Paul thus explains the nature of his preaching when he
   came to Corinth...
   a. Appealing not through excellence of speech or of wisdom
   b. Proclaiming only Jesus Christ and Him crucified
   c. That their faith not be in human wisdom, but in the power of God

3. Yet that does not mean he did not have wisdom to offer; indeed, he
   offered them...
   a. A mature wisdom - 1Co 2:6
   b. A hidden wisdom - 1Co 2:7

[The nature of this wisdom, and how it can be known, is revealed in our
text (1Co 2:6-16).  Note first of all, that "The Hidden Wisdom Of God"
was...]

I. UNKNOWN TO MEN IN THE PAST

   A. IT WAS NOT THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD...
      1. A wisdom not known by the rulers of this age (world, KJV)
         - 1Co 2:6
      2. As evidenced by their crucifixion of the Christ - 1Co 2:8
      -- Further illustrating why we can not place all our trust in
         human wisdom

   B. IT WAS A MYSTERY, HIDDEN FROM MAN...
      1. As God ordained before the ages (i.e., before the world began)
         - 1Co 2:7
      2. Which He did "for our glory" (intending to glorify those who
         accept Him) - cf. 2Th 1:10
      3. Pertaining to things man cannot perceive on his own - 1Co 2:9
         a. Either through sight or sound
         b. Or through one's own inspiration
      -- Man left to his own devices cannot know all that God wants us
         to know!

[Thus Paul contends that there is a mature wisdom from God that has been
hidden from mankind.  Yet in four distinct steps "The Hidden Wisdom Of
God" has now been...]

II. REVEALED THROUGH SPIRIT-LED MEN

   A. GOD PREPARED...
      1. Things not seen, heard, nor entered into the heart of man
         - 1Co 2:9
      2. Things prepared for those who love Him - ibid.
      -- The first step:  God prepared things we could not discern on
         our own

   B. GOD REVEALED...
      1. Through His Spirit, to the apostles and prophets - 1Co 2:10
         a. As Jesus promised His apostles - Jn 16:12-14
         b. As Paul professed in his epistle - Ep 3:1-5
      2. Through His Spirit, who searches the deep things of God - 1Co 2:10
         a. Who alone knows the things of God - 1Co 2:11
         b. Just as no man knows what is in the heart of another - ibid.
      -- The second step:  God revealed through His Spirit what He wants
         us to know

   C. THE APOSTLES RECEIVED...
      1. The Spirit of God - 1Co 2:12
         a. Not the spirit of the world
         b. But the Spirit who is from God
      2. Knowledge of things freely given by God - ibid.
         a. Which had been kept hidden from man for ages
         b. Which was now made known to the apostles and prophets of
            Christ
      -- The third step:  the apostles received God's wisdom through the
         Holy Spirit

   D. THE APOSTLES SPOKE...
      1. Not in words which man's wisdom teaches - 1Co 2:13
      2. But in words which the Holy Spirit teaches - ibid.
         a. "comparing spiritual things with spiritual" (NKJV)
         b. "combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words" (NASB)
         c. "combining spiritual things with spiritual words" (ASV)
         d. "interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual"
            (ESV)
      3. And wrote them that others might also know - cf. Ep 3:3-4
      -- The fourth step:  the apostles' writings make known God's
         revealed wisdom

[So "The Hidden Wisdom Of God" has been revealed through God's servants
(cf. Ro 16:25-26).  Yet it is a wisdom most appreciated by those who are
"mature" (cf. 1Co 2:6).  I.e., it is...]

III. COMPREHENDED BY SPIRITUAL PERSONS

   A. NOT BY THE NATURAL MAN...
      1. The "natural" man is one:
         a. "governed and influenced by the natural instincts; the
            animal passions and desires, in opposition to those who are
            influenced by the Spirit of God" - Barnes
         b. Who depends only on his own senses and own reasoning
      2. The "natural" man in such a state:
         a. Does not receive the things of the Spirit, for they seem
            foolish to him - 1Co 2:14a
         b. Cannot know them, because such must be spiritually discerned
            - 1Co 2:14b
      -- This helps explain why many people think the Bible is foolish

   B. BUT BY THE SPIRITUAL MAN...
      1. The "spiritual" man is one:
         a. "who is enlightened by the Holy Spirit in contradistinction
            from him who is under the influence of the senses only"
            - Barnes
         b. Who is open to the teaching of the Spirit revealed through
            the apostles - cf. Ep 3:3-4
      2. The "spiritual" man in such a state:
         a. Is able to make judgment (discernment), for he has had his
            senses exercised concerning what is good and evil - 1Co 2:
            15a; cf. He 5:12-15
         b. Is rightly judged by no one (other than the Lord Himself)
            - 1Co 2:15b; cf. 1Co 4:3-4
      -- Through the inspired Word, the Spirit leads one to true
         spiritual enlightenment

CONCLUSION

1. We have seen that "The Hidden Wisdom Of God"...
   a. Was unknown to men of this world
   b. Was revealed through men led by the Spirit of God
   c. Is comprehended by those willing to heed what the Spirit has
      revealed through such men

2. To a limited extent, "The Hidden Wisdom Of God" has been made known
   to all...
   a. Through the gospel and preaching of Jesus Christ - Ro 16:25-26
   b. Which Jesus wanted everyone to hear - cf. Mk 16:15-16

3. We should not assume because we are Christians that we fully
   comprehend such wisdom...
   a. There was more for which the Corinthians were not quite ready
      - cf. 1Co 3:1-3
   b. There was more for which the Hebrews were not quite ready - cf. He 5:11-14

4. To truly benefit from all "The Hidden Wisdom Of God" has to offer...
   a. We must stop being carnal, "natural" men, influenced more by our
      humanly senses
   b. We must grow in grace and knowledge by feeding on the Word - cf.
      1Pe 2:1-2; Jm 1:21

Only then, by the grace of God, will we be capable of...

   "...attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding,
   to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of
   Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
   knowledge." - Col 2:2-3

Do you desire the "treasures of wisdom and knowledge" found only in
Christ?  Then heed not the voices and wisdom of the world, but the
voices and wisdom of the apostles of our Lord and Savior...!




Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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From Mark Copeland... The Folly Of Trusting In Human Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)


                 "THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS"

            The Folly Of Trusting In Human Wisdom (1:18-31)

INTRODUCTION

1. Today we are faced with many issues over which people disagree...
   a. Moral issues related to what is good or evil
   b. Doctrinal issues related to what is right or wrong

2. It is not uncommon to hear people appeal to certain "authorities"...
   a. Those considered experts in the areas of science, philosophy, and
      religion
   b. Who share the results of their experiments, research, or careful
      thinking

3. Many place their faith in such "authorities"...
   a. Especially in areas of morality and spiritual truth
   b. Is that a wise thing to do?

[In our text for this lesson (1Co 1:18-31), the apostle Paul warns
against "The Folly Of Trusting In Human Wisdom".  In this passage of
Scripture we learn that...]

I. GOD HAS MADE FOOLISH THE WISDOM OF THE WISE

   A. CONSIDER THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS...
      1. I.e., the idea of a crucified Savior, dying for the sins of the
         world
      2. To those who are perishing, it is foolishness - 1Co 1:18a
      3. To those being saved, it is the power of God! - 1Co 1:18b

   B. THE FOOLISHNESS OF THE MESSAGE IS BY DESIGN...
      1. God proclaimed that He would destroy the wisdom of the wise
         - 1Co 1:19
      2. God has made foolish the wisdom of this world - 1Co 1:20
      3. Why?  Because the world in its own wisdom rejects God - 1Co 1:21
         a. We see that in the idolatry of Paul's day - cf. Ro 1:18-23
         b. We see it today in the theories of evolution, humanism,
            immorality
      4. So God chose to save man through faith in a message that seems
         foolish - 1Co 1:21
         a. While the Jews were seeking signs, and the Greeks sought
            after wisdom - 1Co 1:22
         b. But for those who accept the call of the message of Christ
            crucified, there is both power and wisdom! - 1Co 1:23-24
         c. For God's foolishness is wiser than man, His weakness
            stronger than man - 1Co 1:25

   C. THUS NOT MANY WISE, MIGHTY, NOBLE ARE CALLED...
      1. At Corinth, there were not many wise (according to the flesh),
         mighty, noble who had responded to the call of the gospel
         - 1Co 1:26
      2. The same is true today:  those receptive to the gospel are
         usually not the wise, mighty, noble
      3. Again, this is part of God's design to shame the arrogant
         wisdom and might of those who reject God - 1Co 1:27-28
      4. Otherwise, the wise and mighty would boast of themselves in the
         presence of God - 1Co 1:29

[This should make us cautious about anything based solely on the wisdom
or strength of man.  Man in his wisdom and strength cannot begin to
compare to the foolishness and weakness of God!  Thus...]

II. WE SHOULD BOAST IN THE LORD, NOT MAN

   A. FOR IN A CRUCIFIED, RISEN SAVIOR...
      1. There is to be found wisdom from God - 1Co 1:30; cf. Col 2:3
      2. There is both righteousness and sanctification - 1Co 1:30; cf.
         Php 3:9; 1Co 6:11
      3. There is redemption from sin - 1Co 1:30; cf. Ep 1:7

   B. THUS WE SHOULD GLORY IN THE LORD...
      1. Just as it written in the Scriptures - 1Co 1:31
      2. Not in our own wisdom, might, or riches - Jer 9:23
      3. But in understanding and knowing God, who delights in
         lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth - Jer 9:24

   C. PAUL PROVIDES HIMSELF AS AN EXAMPLE...
      1. He had plenty of reasons to boast in himself - cf. Ga 1:13-14;
         Php 3:4-6
      2. Yet he counted such things as dung, in comparison to the
         excellence of knowing Christ and His salvation - cf. Php 3:7-11
      3. Thus his boast was in the cross of Christ- cf. Ga 6:14

   D. IN WHAT DO YOU BOAST...?
      1. You may think yourself wise, strong, or self-sufficient because
         of your wealth
      2. You may think others worthy to guide you in matters of truth
         and morality
      3. But unless it is ultimately the Lord who guides us, it is
         folly!

CONCLUSION

1. Every time we hear or read...
   a. Some expert or authority gives their learned opinion
   b. Some poll in which the majority expresses their beliefs
   -- We do well to remember:  "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of
      this world?"

2. The only true and ultimate source of wisdom is from the Lord
   Himself...
   a. In Him "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" - Co
      2:3
   b. In Him "you are complete" - Col 2:10
   -- So as Paul warns:  "Beware lest anyone cheat you through
      philosophy or vain deceit..." - Col 2:8

Are you willing to place your trust, your life, your eternal security,
in the hands of mere men?  How much better to trust the words and wisdom
of the Creator and Redeemer...!


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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