How can a young man keep his way pure by living according to your word? I seek you with all my heart. Do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O Lord. Teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes. One rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and Consider your ways, delight in your decrees. I will not neglect your word. Okay, let's see here. Are you leaving, Freda? Oh, okay. All right, here we go. Let's see. We got, I'll read that in a second. We'll be a little bit off here today. There's not going to be any more tales about John Leslie. Um, no, no more John Wesley. Okay. Sorry about that. I have something going with Sergio here. So, okay, let's see. I got some prayer requests here. Um, Miss Magnuson just found out about this 10 minutes ago. Apparently she's been in the hospital and didn't tell anybody. So she's walking, she's fine, but she just has kept that to herself. So we'll have her in prayer. And then I got Kathy. I hope I'm pronouncing this right. Belaine, she died. That's Mary Jo who was here every Sunday. Her niece died at 54 and she asked for prayers for the family. And then Kitty, I can't pronounce his last name. I can't read my own handwriting. She's got a mass on her ovaries and her left breast and she doesn't know the Lord. So that would be the most important part. And then we have Becky and maybe Mark have a virus which is causing them internal problems. And maybe Mark, yeah, not definite there. And the little boy is having a bad reaction from a flu shot, which I didn't get his name. And then Ruth down in Trinidad asked for prayers for them. They have a red alert going on in their country because of gang violence. So she's asking for prayer for them. And then we'll continue to pray for Blake back here and for Robin, Jim and Linda's daughter is in the hospital after some emergency surgery on Monday. And so we got all kinds of things going on this week. And that's that's not all of them. I didn't write them all down because it's just been one of those weeks. But anyway, let's go to the Lord in prayer about that. Heavenly father, you know, these prayer requests and, you know, all of the things that are going on in the people's lives. that are online that maybe have their own needs. And Lord, we would just lift all of these things up to you. Just have you search us out, search out our hopes and desires and those things that are keeping us from a happy and joyful relationship with you. And we would ask that you would relieve those things or meet our needs according to your wisdom. And if for any reason it is not within your will to heal or to provide for whatever our needs are, that you would help us to endure through the trials and the difficulties. And just give us enough strength to praise you. And certainly with that, we will be pleased. Lord, we commit this hour and a half to you and we just ask that you bless it. And I would pray that things would be handled properly and that we would not deviate from the precepts of your word. Lord, we certainly love you. We praise you and we exalt you. We do so in Jesus name. Amen. Let's see here. Let me read you this day in Christian history, which today is, I think the 10th. Anybody? 14, 14. Why did I say the 10th? Anyway, 14th. Yeah. Oh yeah. I'm avoiding Valentine's day. That's right. February 14th. He had asked her to marry him on Valentine's day. Robertson McQuilkin. I know him. Yes. Was president of Columbia Bible college and seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. So, you know, I'm still alive. Okay. He's with the Lord now, but he was my president. Wow. His wife, Muriel, was not only a devoted wife and mother, but also a painter, speaker, hostess for the college, fabulous cook, and a host of her own radio program. Then Muriel was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Initially, the college board arranged for a companion to stay with her so that McQuilkin could go to the office each day. As her condition deteriorated, McQuilkin was faced with a choice between taking early retirement to care for his wife or putting her in an institution for the rest of her life. In McQuilkin's own words, when the time came, the decision was firm and it didn't take any heavy duty calculation. The decision was made in a way 42 years ago when I promised to care for Maria on sickness and in health till death do us part. So as I told the students and faculty, as a man of my word, integrity has something to do with it, but so does fairness. She's cared for me fully and sacrificially all these years. If I cared for her for the next 40 years, I would not be out of her debt. She is a delight to me. I don't have to care for her. I get to. It's a high honor to care for so wonderful a person. It's more than keeping promises and being fair, however. As I watch her brave descent into oblivion, Muriel is the joy of my life. Daily, I discern new manifestations of the kind of person she is. The wife I always loved. I also see fresh manifestations of God's love, the God I long to love more fully. In spite of her deterioration, McWilliams stood by her and continued to love her deeply. Eventually, she rarely did more than mumble non-words. He wondered if he would ever hear her sweet voice again. Then came February 14, 1995. McQuilkin writes, Valentine's Day was always special at our house because that was the day in 1948 that Marielle accepted my marriage proposal. On the eve of Valentine's Day, 1995, I bade Marielle in her bed, kissed her goodnight, and whispered a prayer over her. Jesus, dear Jesus, if you Dear Jesus, you love sweet Muriel more than I, so please keep my beloved through the night. May she hear the angels' choirs. The next morning I was peddling on my exercycle at the foot of her bed, and while Muriel slowly emerged from sleep, I dipped into memories of the happy lover's day long gone. Finally, she propped up, propped awake, and as she often did, smiled at me. Then for the first time in months, she spoke, calling out to me in a voice clear as crystal, chime, love, love, love. I jumped from my cycle and ran to embrace her. Honey, do you really love me or you really love me, don't you? Holding me with her eyes and patting my back, she responded with the only words she could find to express agreement. I'm nice, she said. How do you evaluate Robertson McQuilkin's decision to resign from his position to take care of his wife? If you're married and your mate develops Alzheimer's, how do you think you will react? What do the marriage vows in sickness and in health till death do us part mean to you? And they cite Ephesians 5, 25, husbands, you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed for the church. Well, that was pretty special. They have a movie of their love, and it's called A Promise Kept. A Promise Kept. Wow. I think I've even heard of that. I think, yeah. I'm a little foggy today, though I got a cold in my head, which I got from my own valentine she'd been sick for the past three days and she lovingly gave that to me so share and share like so yeah if we quit early that will be the reason why I'll let you know as we go along but we're in 1 Corinthians 4 verse 3 okay so then men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God And now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court. Indeed, I do not even judge myself. Okay, that's close enough. We'll let it slide. Okay, 4-3. Verse three begins with but, to indicate a contrast in what he just said about being found faithful, just like that guy was found faithful in the previous verse. In Paul's eyes, it is a very small thing that, he says, that he should be judged by anyone except the true judge of all righteous deeds and actions. The idea of being judged here implies the examination one would go through preliminary to a trial being held. Speaking to those in Corinth, to him being found in this state had absolutely no importance at all when coming from, as he says, you, or by a human court. He'd already found them worldly and carnal, and so noted it to them in the preceding chapter. We can go back, let's go there. 1 Corinthians 3, he says, he says, for you are still carnal, in verse 3, for where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, I am of Paul and another of Apollos, are you not carnal? And then he goes on from there and explains it. So there you go. They had divided allegiances between individual teachers and were not focused on Christ. If this was so, and he showed them that it was, then any such inspection of his work by them would ultimately be irrelevant. What should be noted is that the term human quart is the Greek word anthropinis, hemeras. man's day, meaning from the time from sunrise to sunset. It is translated as court because Paul is contrasting the day of man to the day of the Lord. This is sentiment as seen in 1 Corinthians 3 verse 13 where he said each one's work will become clear for the day will declare it because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is and then in this verse he says but with me it is a small thing that i should be judged by you or by how was it termed um anthropini samaras man's day OK, and then he goes on. In fact, I do not even judge myself. OK, so it is translated as court. I said that the brevity of human life and the lowliness of our knowledge in comparison to that of God's finds man insufficient to make accurate and reasonable judges judgments concerning such awesome matters as Paul was blessed to impart by God's spirit. Speaking about being blessed and imparted by God's Spirit I've got to say this is that I don't know if I can signify the person that he emailed me a couple days ago I don't have permission to say the person's name so he said listen I really want to get into God's Word and he's been struggling with some of his own issues and he said what do you recommend and I said the book of Galatians and Today, this individual said, I have read Galatians again and again and again. And he practically quoted the book back to me. So just so you know that if you want to get into God's word, you want to be infused with the spirit of God. If you want to understand the things of God, you got to go to God's word. And that's what I'm saying about what Paul says here. I'll read that again. The brevity of human life and the lowliness of our knowledge in comparison to that of God finds man insufficient to make accurate and reasonable judgments concerning such awesome matters as Paul was blessed to impart by God's Spirit. That's the only way you're going to get this knowledge because you're not going to get it through any other way than getting into God's Word. End of story. I've said this before and today I typed a commentary on Hebrews 11 verse one, which is now faith is, and then it explains what it is. And I am absolutely certain, I've said this before, and people always email me and they argue with me over it. That's okay. If you believe that you've seen Jesus, if you believe that you've talked to Jesus, that's fine. I don't believe that. Faith means that we live by faith. If you have sight of Christ, if you have talked to Christ, if you've gone to heaven and we've had in Christian history literally tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people that made claims, angelic claims, and if that is true then you are living by sight and not by faith and that is contrary to the word of God. Now I'm not saying that the Lord does not put things in our heart. He puts things in our heart and we respond to that or we can Quench that, you know, I've had times where I was prompted to do something and that's fine. And you know, the times when I didn't, then I regret not having, I'm certain that this is the same thing I need to do. What's the guy in Atlanta? Not the son, but the father. Charles. Charles. Charles Stanley one time said that he was prompted in his spirit to talk to a person about Christ that was in a, and he was busy with some other people. And he said, I'll get that later. And the guy died and he's still carrying that bag around with him. So there are things the Lord puts on our heart, but if you think that the Lord has spoken to you directly, or if you've talked to the Lord or seen the Lord, I just disagree with you, okay? I just don't. We go to God's Word to get our faith, and we live by that faith, our knowledge of it. Anyway, we'll go on. And so this wasn't the case with those in Corinth, but with any human court. If a human court were to make an investigation into Paul's imparting of the mysteries of God, which he spoke of in verse 4.1, they could never correctly investigate the matter anyway. Such information and revelation would be beyond a human court's ability to properly discern. And to prove this, he continues on with the words concerning himself. He was so sure that such an investigation would come up short that he exclaimed, in fact, I do not even judge myself. In his words, instead of the word crino, judge, he uses the term ancrino, to examine. In other words, he is unable to examine these things himself, even though they were relayed to him. The mysteries of God were revealed to him by the spirit of God. As he is a creature created by God, how could he examine something which was of a higher source than himself? It would be impossible. Everybody see the logic there? As the pulpit commentary notes, this verse discourages all morbid self-introspection. It also shows that St. Paul is not arrogantly proclaiming himself superior to the opinion of the Corinthians, but is pointing out the necessary inadequacy of all human judgments. He, like they, was wholly unqualified to judge such high spiritual matters through earthly investigations." Life application. Because the Bible is surely the Word of God, and I talk about that in Hebrews 11, 1 commentary, how we know it's the Word of God, etc. And that'll come out in 10 days if you want to read that. But because the Bible is surely the Word of God, having validated itself throughout history, both internally and externally, we must accept what has been received without judgment upon it. We are insufficient to judge what God has spoken. I'll give you an example of that right there. I am driving here today from the house and I made a couple stops and I finally got up to a Thai restaurant and dropped something off for my brother's wife so that she can give it to him tonight. And then I came around the corner and while I was coming around the passage in Numbers where it says that the people went in and they fought Midian, they destroyed Midian, and they brought all of the women and the children back with them, okay, as booty along with all of the sheep and everything. And Moses came out and he says, why have you let these women live? Why have you done this? Because they're the ones that caused us to sin in the matter of Peor, right? And he says, kill every woman that's been with a man and kill every boy, all of them, even the babies. Kill him, okay? We cannot question God's judgment in that. He is God and we are man. People take verses like that in the Bible and they tear apart the Bible and they tear apart the God of the Bible. Before you go, Freda, I forgot to mention this before we started. She brought in some of the best yogurt I've ever had in my life. And there's enough for like everybody take one spoonful of each type. So before you go, please go in back, try each one of them. You will be blessed. I want to make sure that I acknowledge that, that Fredda brought that in for us today, and it is outstanding. It's coconut. It's wonderful. If you like yogurt in any way, shape or form, go back there and try it. Outstanding. Anyway, so that is something that, you know, you hear things like that, go into Canaan and kill everybody. Hey, he explains why he did that all the way back at the time of Abraham. He says, the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. He gave them 400 years, actually 430 years to repent, to turn from their ways and to seek out God. And they didn't do it. They just devolved more and more and they became so utterly corrupt that he destroyed, told them to destroy everybody. Everything must be destroyed, okay? And when the Midians came against Israel, they had a chance. They blew it. The people in Israel sinned against God, and so he said, go in and destroy everything. And they brought all these people back. Now think of this. There is a girl and her mother, okay? Take mom out and kill her. That's God's choice. He created them. That is his choice. And if Israel is the instrument of their execution, that is their job to do that. You know, I would like to think that they would have taken the women out somewhere else and done it not in front of the children, but whatever, whatever they did, that is the Lord's choice in that. And those are very hard verses to look at and to say, where is justice in this? Justice is in God. We must submit to his authority, always. Whether we like what we read in the Bible, and we should, or not, it doesn't matter. And for people to say, well, that's an unfair God, that's an unjust God, wait until the rapture of the church. If you want to see God's judgment poured out on a planet, you wait, because those that believe in Christ will be taken out of here, and the rest of this world is going to be destroyed. And that is God's judgment, because they have rejected him. They have had plenty of chances over the past 2,000 years to be holy nations, teaching their children to do right. Instead, look at what's happening in England now. They've turned away from the Christian God almost entirely. They've brought in people that are completely pagan. Christians are persecuted in their own nation. There are people that don't teach their children about the Lord. Instead, they say that you're not a male or a female. You're whatever you want to be someday. They give them gender neutral clothes, all these guys. That's the kind of thing that brings judgment on a nation. and they're right for it. And America is no, just right behind them. We're right on their heels. Canada's right on their heels. And these things are coming to this world. So that's what I'm referring to in this particular verse. We have no right to question God's judgment. When we read the Bible and we see something that we find offensive, tough, tough, all I can say is thank God for Jesus Christ, who has given us the choice to come to him. I'm not a Calvinist where, oh, God pushes some people aside and accepts some. It's very clear in the Bible that we have a choice. Matter of fact, somebody this morning sent me a video and he said, very thankful. He said, this is the time frame I want you to listen to, because if it's an hour and a half long video, I ain't watching it. But he said, I want you to listen to these couple of minutes. And I did. And the guy gave an example. How do you how do you explain to somebody your free choice? And it was a very, very good example of that, is that you have a father and he knows his two sons. He knows their proclivities. He knows everything about them. And he did his will for his children, knowing the outcome. But he still waited for them to make the choice in this matter. So the father said, the son that receives Jesus, when I'm dead, When I'm eulogized, there is going to be somebody that is going to make a case for Christ. And if one of my sons receives that, him, then they will get this inheritance. If they both do, then it'll be divided up evenly, right? But he knew in advance already which son would and which son wouldn't. He's already out of the picture. He's given them the choice and he has had no influence on them at all. He has simply made the offer through somebody after his death. And one of them choose, and he knew the one that would, and one of them didn't. And he had already allocated that money to the son, knowing the outcome. And that's the same thing with us. God knows we don't. It doesn't change our choice in any way, shape or form. God doesn't affect their choice, but he knows our choice. If you go through where it says that I will harden Pharaoh's heart, in the book of Exodus and people say well see God it's not it's never a an active zapping of Pharaoh's heart he doesn't do that what he does is he gives Pharaoh a very simple miracle from Moses that Pharaoh can replicate and what does that do he says well that God doesn't do anything and his heart gets hardened now is that the Lord's fault or is that Pharaoh's fault. It's Pharaoh's. Because he is assuming that this is all this God is capable of. And so it gets a little harder. And then he gives them another miracle. Guess what? Pharaoh's people can replicate that miracle as well. And so he says, what kind of a God is this? His heart is being hardened. Even though the Lord determined how he was going to do it, he doesn't actively do it. He passively hardens Pharaoh's heart. Pharaoh actively hardens his own heart through the actions which he has made available through Moses. Third time, third miracle, he's able to replicate it. And then finally it comes to the point where he can't replicate it, but it's not so annoying that he can't say, I can overlook this. And so he overlooks it and he progressively hardens Pharaoh's heart. He says, I will harden Pharaoh's heart, but at the same time, if you read it carefully and you go through the words, which we went through that word study, There are times where it says, Pharaoh hardened his heart. And that's a different word. It's an active word, whereas these are passive. It is very clear what is going on in those. If you don't believe me, go watch the sermons. We go through those words every single time, how it's happening. We have a choice in this world. We are not to question God's goodness when we make our choice. We are to say, God has made this offer. He's shown us what our choices are based on past performance. Kill the women and children. Okay, the boys but not the young women. And I was thinking about that afterward. I got right around the corner because I always go through that parking lot so I can park on this road. So I'm coming around and I was thinking about the girls that were saved. The boys were all killed. The women that had slept with a man were killed. But the girls that weren't, that had never slept with a man, were not killed. What is that called? Mercy. And actually, it's also grace at the same time, because now they are brought into the covenant people. They have now been brought under the covenant promises of Israel. So it is mercy not being killed in its grace that they are now assimilated into the people of Israel. So he wasn't unfair to anybody. He could have said kill all of them. And that was his right. But he was actually merciful on those people. And who knows which ones were ancestors of David or of Jesus. We have no idea, but that is actually grace and mercy displayed in the saving of those girls as hard as we take that in our society. It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is what God has done, what he has says, and what he is going to do. That's all that matters. We can be angry at God all day long and it doesn't affect God that much. Okay, so we'll finish that life application. We may find it difficult, not suited to our taste in certain areas or contrary to what we desire, but we must never attempt to find fault in it. God is God and God has spoken. Let us accept his word as it is written. That's what God expects of us. And that is, let me take you there, I'm going to read it to you just so you know what I typed up the commentary on today. Wonderful verse, I don't think I did it very much justice, but now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The substance, the word substance is to stand under, it's to hold up. So you have the faith is the substance, the holding up of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And my example is the one, I listened to Billy Graham years ago, and he gave this kind of example about going up on a stage and assuming the stage isn't going to collapse under you. And my example was a chair. When I go over to that chair, I've made a mental evaluation of that chair before I ever sat in it. I look at it, I say it's sturdy and it looks just like all the others. And, Burke, well, you're not very big, but you're bigger than me, okay? I'm 140 pounds, he's probably 142. So he sits on the chair here and I say, well, that's the same chair. So before I sit down, I've made all of the determinations that are necessary, right? That is what the second part of that is, where it says the evidence of things not seen, okay? I haven't sat in that chair. I have no idea if it's there, if it's going to hold me or not, but I'm assuming it is based on a rational analysis of that. And that's what I do when I pick up the word of God. If I have seen Jesus, if I've had a talk with Jesus, then I have sight and not faith, but we are commended for faith. That's what we're commended for. God can't commend us for faith if he has given us sight. That's why I don't believe in all these visions of Muslims coming to Christ. And I've heard it a million times. I've never met one person that has personally talked to one of them. It's always somebody told somebody, it's 14 things down the way. So I just don't believe it. God does not work that way. In the book of Romans, he says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. It doesn't come by visions and dreams in this dispensation. Anyway, that's just me. Do whatever you want with that, but we'll go on from there. 4-4. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent, is the Lord who judges me. Okay, a little different in this one. For I know of nothing against myself, which is basically a clear conscience, yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord. The sense of this verse is hard to understand in some translations. However, the NIV does a good job of it, which he just read. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Okay, Paul is speaking of his work as an apostle and in his ministerial duties in handling the mysteries of God, and we can go back to verse one for the context there, let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. He felt convinced that he had done and was doing his best in presenting it properly. However, he acknowledged that just because he felt he had a clear conscience in no way implied that he was without guilt in the matter. This verse is an important one in presenting to us and the world at large the fact that guilt has nothing to do with how we perceive our standing before God. We may be and are, because of the fall of man, guilty of an offense against God whether we realize it or not. We've seen that a couple times in the book of Numbers. This is no different than turning onto a road with a 35 mile an hour per limit sign and going 45 even though we saw no sign at the point where we turned onto it. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. That's right. And feelings of innocence are irrelevant. If I pull onto the street, go out to mall drive and head north, there's no speed limit. And if I go 40 miles an hour, which I couldn't because there was a stop line, but we'll pretend that stop sign isn't there. And I just go down mall drive and I go up 45 miles an hour and somebody pulls me over and he gives me a ticket. The sign was before pulling out on a small drive. It's further that way. It doesn't matter. I need to know when I get onto a road what the posted speed limits are. That's my job as a citizen and not to violate that. If I can't know, then I should go the benefit of the doubt and go slower than I might presume. And then people behind me will get angry and beep at me. That's fine. As long as I'm not violating the law, then I'm doing what's right. But if I go 45, even if I didn't see the sign and it's a 30 mile an hour, I am guilty before the law. Everybody understand that? Okay. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Feelings of innocence are irrelevant. This is similar to what Job said during his discussions. But in the end, he found that he, what he thought was correct, was faulty. That scene will take you to Job 27 here really quickly. Keep going, Charlie. Hang on here. Verse 6. I hold fast and I will not let go. My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live. Okay. Paul understood that God is sovereign and that if he had done something wrong in his gospel ministry, even unknowingly, he bore the responsibility for his actions. I wish everybody in this country, everybody in this world would understand that. Okay. People don't seem to understand that in the least anymore. They get out there and they do things and they find out that they actually are responsible for their actions. But because the society is devolved so much, even the court systems no longer hold people guilty of the very law that they're supposed to be upholding. We see that every day with illegal immigrants coming into our nation, and we can't call them illegal immigrants without offending somebody, when in fact that's what they are. They're immigrants who are illegally here. It's just, but the courts don't enforce those standards. Entire states don't enforce those standards. And so we're left in a lawless society. Okay. In the end, he states his affirmation that he who judges me is the Lord. We are his subjects and to him, we are accountable. Therefore, doctrine really does matter. Everybody understand where I'm going with this? We got people in churches all over the place that don't know doctrine. And they think that they're not guilty before the Lord because they don't know doctrine. It doesn't make any difference whether you know that doctrine or not, you are accountable for that doctrine. If you don't know it and you violate it, you are guilty. Okay, that's just the way it is. Now, it does say, we bring it up from time to time, James 3, one, brethren, not many of you should purpose to be teachers, knowing that you will receive the stricter judgment. Okay, that's true, because you're presuming to teach doctrine. And if you're not teaching it properly, then you're wrong already. And now you're infecting somebody else with your poor doctrine. Okay, but you are accountable to know what the Lord expects. And that's why I say to people, Read the Bible. Read the Bible. And read the Bible. The more you read the Bible, the more that you will understand the doctrine. You might not understand all of the nuances. You may never find a chiasm in your life, etc. You might not understand what theology proper means as opposed to other types of theology. Those things don't matter. in the highest sense. What matters is that you understand the word and that you then apply the word to your life. The more you understand the word, then the more you can learn more about theology and more about theology. And eventually, you know, you can go out and teach also, whatever. But in the meantime, if you don't know what is right and you don't do it, You are guilty, okay? So people who dismiss this precept and arrogantly state that doctrine doesn't matter will face much loss at the judgment seat of Christ. And in fact, when somebody says doctrine doesn't matter, what are they doing? Well, they're doing that, but they're also establishing their own doctrine. Yeah, well, that's right. They're replacing God with themselves because they are saying that what God has said doesn't matter. So that's true. They're establishing their own deity. But at the same time, they're also establishing their own doctrine. If doctrine doesn't matter and I believe this, well, that's your doctrine. So doctrine does matter. It actually does matter. The Bible is a book of doctrine, and it has been given to us for our learning, for our guidance, and for our instruction. When we fail to handle it properly, we are offending the God who gave it. Take care, Fred. Have a wonderful night. Thank you so much. Okay, life application. Let me read that last sentence again. When we fail to handle this word properly, we are offending God who gave it. He gave us this word so that we could learn it, so that we could live by it, so we could apply it to our lives, and very importantly, pass it on to the next generation. Not say it's okay that you don't go to church, not say that it's okay that you can want to be a girl and not be a boy, and pretty soon everything just falls apart in a society. He has given us this word to teach others about, to talk about it. Now, I know this is from Deuteronomy, but the Lord says, talk about it when you come in and when you go out, when you walk down the road and, you know, have it on the doorposts and on the lintels of your houses. And he's telling them that so that they will be always in the word. Once again, that's a part of the law of Moses, but the precept stands for us. We should be in this word all the time, okay? Life application. Better to spend your time with your nose in the Bible in expectation of approval before Christ than to ignorantly walk through your Christian life hoping for a light sentence at the judgment of rewards and losses on that great day. know your Bible, live by your Bible. Four or five. We have a Lutheran church at our community. Yes, right there. It's got a woman pastor and she's out getting the mail every day. And I wave, just like, you know, shake my head. It's like, what are you doing? I'm going to tell you what happened to that exact subject. Somebody emailed my old website, the Wonderful One website. Two days ago, and she said to me, I have somebody that wants me to teach a Bible class. And I think it was an old folks home. I can't remember what, anyway, I read that. website's emails at four o'clock in the morning, so I'm still asleep when I'm reading it. But anyway, it was something like that. She says it's a small class and they need a teacher. They don't have a teacher. And she said there are men in there and there's nobody else that can teach the class. And she said, I emailed the Berean Society, whoever that is, and she said, they told me that because there is no male teacher available, it's okay for you to teach." And I went back to her and I said, if that was the case, I may have said this to myself, I may have said it in the email, but my first thought was, you wouldn't be emailing me if you believed that. You would have just taken it. But she emailed and she said, what do you think about it? And I said, it doesn't matter. I said in my head again, I didn't say this to her, it doesn't matter what I think about anything. The only thing that matters is what God's Word said. I said, they are giving you a reason to go around God's Word and not be obedient to God's Word. I said, you do whatever you want, but this is what God's Word said and there are no exceptions. Zero. He doesn't give any exception in this precept. And she emailed back this morning, she said, thank you so much. She's not gonna do it. She's made the choice to stand on God's word. He will provide, if he wants them to have a teacher, somebody will show up, okay? That's all there is to it. If he wants this church to stay open for another week, it will stay open for another week. And if he doesn't want it to stay open, it is not going to be open. This is his church. That's all there is to that. I'll say this, seeing as how I brought up that subject. People help out this church. We've never asked for anything, ever, except for other churches. We've never asked for anything in this church. As a matter of fact, I didn't even ask for Burke to come and do the vacuuming. He just volunteered to do that, okay? Never asked for anything, and yet the church is still open. And I was thinking today, it's very hard for me to accept money from somebody I know that they're poor. That's very hard for me. And my mom had to talk to me about this. When I first opened, I said, I don't know how to do that. And she said, you have to, because you're depriving them of their giving to you. And I will say that there are people, and the Bible gives this precept as well. There are people that are very wealthy. They give very little. And there are people that are very poor. They give as much as they can out of their poverty. And if they give $5, it's worth much more than $5,000 from side to the it's a millionaire. Okay. I appreciate every person that has helped out this ministry. Nobody will ever understand how grateful I am for people that do that and how difficult it is for me when I know that they can't do it and they still do it. There's no higher appreciation that I have when I sit down and I open a letter. And every time I open a letter, I don't care how big it is. It can be 30 cents or it can be $300. And I always say, thank you, Jesus, because this person cares enough about this ministry to do that. That means a lot to me. And I just want you all to know that I was thinking that today, because it is still even after how long have we been open now? Five, six years in this church. I still find it hard to accept something from somebody that I know is struggling. But that's their choice. And this was my final thought, and I meant to say this, and I almost got back into the study, is that if you were one of those people and you can't afford to do it, you should never feel like, I feel obligated to do this, or I want Charlie to succeed. The Lord will provide. So I don't want anybody ever to feel like they need to fund this church if they can't do it. My heart is with you, and I appreciate it very much, but don't ever put yourself out. The Lord will provide. He's given me the part-time. Oh, one more thing on that subject. I always say I have four part-time jobs. I say this constantly, because I love to do them, and it's something fun to talk about. Oh, today somebody had... I have proof today that I do those jobs, because this gentleman right here walked up this morning. He's visiting Sarasota, and he's staying in a place right down the road. And he walked up, and there I am picking up cigarette butts. And I said, don't touch me. I said, I'm pretty gross right now. So anyway, is it true? Am I out there? That is true. OK, there you go. I now have proof to substantiate that. Actually, though. A witness. Yeah, yeah, so there you go he walked up, and he looked at me, and I'm just had the Linus the Linus Lines coming off of me oh No, no they just came here from Indiana last Sunday, and so yeah, yeah, no they they knew me oh No no no that would take at least a week I've said that before people after a week or so and they know that I'm working there and then they will come up and talk to me. But yeah, that would have been an unusual one there. Okay, anyway, we'll go on. I just want to thank people that have helped this ministry. And I know that the Lord, if he wants it to continue, it will. And the same thing is true with that Bible study. If he wants that Bible study to be open, he will provide somebody. But she needs to be obedient and she said, I'm thankful that you gave that answer because she knew she wouldn't have emailed a second person if in fact she thought that the first answer was sufficient. She knew it wasn't. That website is giving the Bereans a bad name. Oh, there you go. And I don't know who the Berean Society is. I have no idea. So all I know is they made a very bad call in their advice to her. So four or five. Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time. Wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motive of men's hearts. At that time, each will receive his praise from God. Okay, it's close enough, a little bit different, but it's close enough, we'll let that one go. Okay, Paul has been speaking of matters of doctrine, and he is continuing on in this regard. It is similar to what Jesus said in one of the most misapplied of all verses in Scripture. Does anybody know where I'm going? Well, this one you hear it all the time, especially by non-Christians that want to shut you up. Judge not, yes, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Jesus was not implying that we weren't to make judgments against others on matters of morals. He was not doing that. ethics or adherence to the Word of God. In fact, within just a few short sentences of his words, he noted to us that we are to be firm and steadfast in making right moral judgments. Does anybody know what he says? Do not cast your pearls to the swine. Okay, so he's asking you to make right moral judgments within just a couple of verses of saying don't judge. And plus, he's not speaking to us anyway, he's speaking to Israel under the law about a certain matter, but we'll go on. Let's see here. Paul cites a similar thought in Romans 2 verse 1, which says, what's that? Outside the church is that one? Well, that's not the one I'm but you're right. He does say that too He says therefore you are inexcusable. Oh, man, whoever you are who judge for one in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself for you who judge practice the same things I'm kind of close to what Jesus said, but she's right as well. I don't judge The people out of the church you judge the people in the church It's in one Corinthians Yeah, OK, well, there you go. All right. Let's see here. So our judgments and our decisions are to be based on what God decides rather than our own perverse machinations. Understanding this, Paul begins with, therefore, this is given in anticipation of us returning to see why he will now state what he states. He just finished indicating his belief in his innocence concerning proper doctrine. But just because he felt innocent, it didn't mean he actually was. Instead, the Lord would determine that. Because of his uncertainty in this matter, even though he felt convinced, he now adds to that thought by saying, judge nothing before the time. Again, this isn't asking us to not make right judgments, but to exercise care in our determination of why someone is taking a particular course of action. If a good example of this is when Jesus sat and spoke with prostitutes and sinners. If one were to judge by mere appearances, they would think that he was like them because of his association with them, which is exactly what the Pharisees did. However, the appearances would be, and they in fact were, faulty. In like manner, Paul made his presentations, Apollos made his, and Peter made his. Divisions arose among those in Corinth based on who they approved of, but in fact all three were working towards the same end. Making such limited judgments can only cause harm, not edification. In the end, each will receive his reward when the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. These two thoughts parallel each other. The hidden things of darkness are those things we conceal. What we may put forth as our motivation for a deed may actually not be at all what truly motivates us. That happens all the time. The counsels of the heart refers to this same concept. Our heart directs us. It guides our emotions and our desires, and it is what we cannot search out in another. Only the Lord can. As the Bible shows numerous times, and in both Testaments, I am he who searches the hearts and minds. And I would go so far as to say, without reading my further comments for a second, that we can't even judge our own hearts. Because what does it say in Jeremiah? The heart is Desperately wicked. That's right. Above all things. And so it is the Lord who will do the searching and it is the Lord who will judge us for rewards and losses. At that time, each one's praise will come from God. This word, praise, is from the Greek epinos. and denotes the idea of a reward which is due. When the Lord does his great search of our hearts, motivation, and doctrine, he will pronounce the sentence fairly and with justice based on that. That's something I also said to somebody today. I can't remember who was I talking to about this. Anyway, the end never justified. It was the same person that asked about the class. I said the end never justifies the means, ever. I've said this before about, you know, the what's her name, Paula White up in Tampa. She's got these big groups of people and I'm sure people are saved through some of them. You know, she's she's a word of faith, supposed preacher. And, you know, it's all money oriented. But she talks about Jesus, too. And as Paul says, I don't care if somebody preaches by self or whatever, as long as Christ is preached. There are people that are probably saved through that ministry, just as in Joyce Meyers and other people's ministries, but the end does not justify the means. When she stands up before the Lord and He says to her, well done, I'm giving you all the rewards for all those people that came. That would show an unjust God because his own word said, don't do this thing. Okay, you're not to do that. And she does it, the Lord cannot reward her or it is not the God of the Bible. We need to understand these things and we need to apply them to our lives. The end never justifies the means. life application. Truly, we cannot know the motivations behind the actions of another. At times, we might feel certain, but in the end, we may actually be proven wrong. Therefore, let us withhold such judgments, allowing the Lord to do His work without our prior interference. 4-6. Yes. Paula White is the one who supposedly led President Trump. Supposedly, and she may have. He may actually know Jesus through Paula White. I have no idea. And if so, she's not going to get any reward for her doings anyway. Now, leading somebody to Christ probably is not considered teaching. I do not allow a person to teach or have authority over a man. Anybody can tell somebody about the gospel. That's not actually teaching. It's just revealing what God has said is the way to be saved, okay? Well, that's right. It's Christ who saves. That's exactly right. You can lead somebody, you can lead a horse to water, but, you know, that person's got to drink it and they've got to make sure that they've got the right fountain of water as well. But that's absolutely correct. But yeah, whether she did or not, I have no idea. And if he saved or not, I would assume he is based on his actions. But he's probably not a really grounded Christian at this point. My guess is that Mike Pence gives him advice, though. That would be my guess. We don't have any thing to substantiate that, that I have seen, but that would be my guess. What's, oh, what's that? The verse there in Jeremiah, the ninth verse, my NASB says, is desperately sick. Yes. And I looked up in the interlinear, which is the Greek, and it says sick. Huh. So instead of desperately wicked, desperately sick. Yeah. That's it. It's a heart condition, which is, yeah, that's lacking. Okay. Let's go on four, six. Four, six. Now brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, do not go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. Okay, I'm going to read that from here. It's a little different. Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written. I wish people would learn that one set of words right there. Don't think beyond what is written. Okay, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. Now these things is referring to everything from a certain point in his writings thus far. In other words, the context of everything that has been analyzed from that point has dealt with the same issue. This is important to understand because many of the verses between that starting point and where Paul is now have been used incorrectly over the ages as standalone verses to establish doctrine contrary to what is intended by Paul. These have been addressed individually as they have come up. And Paul's words here now confirm the context of this continuously running thought. He goes on with brethren. Again, he notes that his words are addressed to believers, not to unbelievers. What he has been communicating then is doctrine for already saved people. And then he says, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes. That shows us that the starting point for the context of Paul's discourse is the introduction of whatever issue involved both Paul and Apollos. This takes us all the way back to chapter one, verse 12, where Apollos is first mentioned. And that verse included everything back to verse 110, which was speaking of divisions. So everything he has been saying since 110 all the way until now has been the same subject. Considering this, we see that the proper context of Paul's entire discourse thus far has been that of internal divisions within the church. One can truly see the need for applying proper context when evaluating scripture by looking at Paul's words here, which are noted as, for your sakes. They are words and examples given to the church for edification. They have been a continuous thought which has been figuratively applied to Apollos and to himself. And the reason for this, how important is this next statement? that you may learn to not think beyond what is written. How different Christianity would be today if people took the time to read their Bibles and then apply proper context as they study. Some churches are very legalistic. I was having dinner with my friends last night and we talked about legalistic churches and we talked about those that are starting to get liberal in their attitudes. Some churches are very legalistic, Some are far too liberal. Some churches forbid that which is acceptable and some allow that which isn't. There are churches which deny the importance of doctrine at all and others which make up doctrine as they go along, not considering context. All of this stems from thinking beyond what it is written. You can't do that. What is written is where we get our doctrine. It has to be taken in context. It has to be taken in the times in which you live, who is being spoken to, etc., etc. Paul is showing us that doctrine is of the highest value in our walk after salvation. It is the highest value of anything that we will do. in Christ after being saved is to understand proper doctrine and to grow in proper doctrine. Nothing else is more important. And he is indicating that proper doctrine is what is important, not any doctrine. And he gives the reason for it explicitly, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. Well, you see that all over social media all day, every day. People are puffed up and they're saying things and They're not even quoting scripture properly. They're just making stuff up as they go. If one follows proper doctrine by understanding the context of what is being said, then they will not be puffed up, meaning prideful. Instead, they will be standing on the authority of God's Word, not their own individual division. And divisions are what have been the subject of everything that Paul has said up to this point. Everything. The metaphor puffed up comes from yeast, which is introduced into bread. When it is, the bread rises. Like a loaf of bread where there is pride, we become boastful and we get puffed up. The Corinthians were boasting in Paul or Apollos and not in Jesus. They were dividing over it and this had led to sin, which yeast pictures. This is the reason for Paul's words, and they indicate a man who is willing to go to great length to establish his case and defend his argument. Life application. When evaluating scripture, context is king. Thank you. Always look for the proper context to a verse, lest you be found misrepresenting what has been presented. Where did this saying come from? What's that? Where did it come from? He's quoting it. I don't know. Do I have that? I don't know. I couldn't tell you right off the top of my head. Yeah, it may be a, what do you call it, a thing in the times, an idiom of the times, or it may be in scripture, but I can't think of a verse right now. And I'm just stuffy enough in my head where you're going to break it if I do. Who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why did you boast as though you did not? Okay, very close. We'll let it go. 4 explains the thought in the previous verse, which said that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. Why should one be puffed up against another? If we think it through, it shouldn't happen. To help us consider logically, Paul asks a series of questions to mull over. First, he asks, what makes you different from another? Paul and Apollos certainly differed from one another, as do all teachers. But who is it that made them different? Well, we know it's the Lord, okay? If Paul differs from Apollos and they're both proclaiming the same message, then obviously the Lord should get the credit for the difference because he gave them that ability or that grace. As this is so, then why should those in Corinth boast about the superiority over one of them in distinction to the other. Should they have an allegiance to Paul? Should they have an allegiance to Apollos? No. Rather, they should be boasting in the Lord who made each according to his own wisdom and his own purpose. If a potter made two pots, one beautiful, one simple, each still has a particular purpose. The beautiful one can be put on a shelf to admire, but it may not be as good for transporting olive oil. However, we need olive oil for cooking. So, which is more important? And because the same potter made them both, do we praise the individual pot or do we praise the potter who made them for various uses? Paul asks them to think. Today Publix had olives. two for one, and whenever they have olives for sale, two for one, I buy a bunch because I love olives. But I can tell you that that cheap glass that's going to get tossed in the recycle bin when we're done bears a lot of significance to me, not because of the pot itself, but because of what it's containing. So that little thing has a lot of value to me, even though I'm going to toss it into the recycle when I'm done with it. Okay, he next asks, And what do you have that you did not receive? What predominant gift does Paul have? He was the one to plant. What predominant gift does Paulus have? He's the one that watered. Who gave them these gifts? The Lord did. Likewise, he would have them look to themselves as well. What do each of you have? And if you have it, you received it from elsewhere. Was it from Paul? Was it from Apollos? No, it was from God. So then why are you puffed up? Why are there such divisions? If a group goes into a royal palace and the one on the throne is gifts prepared for each of them, who will they thank? The attendant who brings them the gift? Are they going to thank the one on the throne who offered it? The answer is obvious. Paul asks them to think. Finally, he asks a follow-up question to get them to consider their actions. Now, if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you have not received it? His words make it clear that what they have, they received. There can be no arguing against it. And so his question is like a sharp knife intended to cut away their pride. In essence, of course, you have received all that you have. So why do you boast as if you have earned it? In the end, this is true for all things. If you have a big house and lots of money, it is because God gave you the time, the place, the intelligence, the strength, and all of these other things in order to earn it. So, do you say how great you are or do you thank God for his grace upon your life? If you understand properly, it is God who must be given the credit. Paul asks them to thank Life application, no matter what you have, it ultimately came from God. Illogical divisions which fail to recognize this is sinful. If we in the U.S. boast about our strength but fail to give God the credit for it, we sin. If those in Japan boast about their technological prowess but fail to give God the credit for it, they sin. In all things, to God be the glory. I was listening to R.C. Sproul one time, and he was talking about a battle, and I tried to find this. I looked for it several times, but there was a battle. The English are battling the French, and it was assured that they were going to be defeated. It was no doubt that they were going to be defeated. It was against them, and yet they prevailed in the battle. And the people started boasting after the battle how great they were. and the general that was in charge of it. I wish I could remember the guy's name and the circumstances, but anyway, maybe it was the king himself, whoever it was, he came in and he said, if I hear any of my officers boasting about winning this battle, they will be executed. He said to God be the glory for this battle because it was impossible and yet they won it. And that's the way we should look at all things, all things. Verse 4-8. Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. you'll become kings and that without us. How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you. Okay. This is one of those verses, you know, there's this thing that I talk about it from time to time now, because it's just kind of growing is that the revelation two and three is not written to the church. It's written to the Jews. It's not the seven churches aren't the Gentile church, et cetera. And that It's called hyper-dispensationalism, where they take the Jews and they say they're a separate entity than the Christian church, the Gentile church. And that's dividing it. There's nothing in scripture that supports this, okay? There's absolutely nothing. But there's one covenant. Christ made it with Israel. We are brought into that covenant, okay? We are grafted into it. We are in the commonwealth of Israel. We don't replace Israel, but we're brought into it. There's one covenant. And we talked about that. I think it was last week that when Paul says, we are the stewards of the mysteries of God, he was speaking, not just of himself. He was speaking of Peter and Apollos to and Peter is the apostle to the Jews. Okay. Well, this is another verse, which throws that 1 out of the wind because they say that. They never speak of a kingdom in the church. Well, this one right here does. It says that you act as if you're kings and I wish we were kings together. And Paul uses the term kingdom. I can't tell you how many times he uses it again and again and again. If there is a kingdom, there has to be a king. He's over us, okay? And then another thing is that they say that we're never given the priestly title, a generation of kings and priests, okay? That only belongs to the Jews. And that's not true either, because Paul uses the priestly term when he equates it to anybody? preaching of the gospel. He is a priest in his duties preaching the gospel. And so he says that we are a nation, a kingdom of priests, okay? We can't go into hyper-dispensationalism without going into error. Dispensationalism says that God is working out his redemptive plans in history in a certain way, okay? But that way here is Jew and Gentile, they are one in Christ. There is no difference between the two. There will be a literal kingdom, don't get me wrong, an earthly kingdom that Christ will sit among Israel, judging the nations. That is literally coming. But we don't want to make the mistake that we are not a part of what God is doing with Israel, and Israel is not a part of is not included in what we are doing here. Paul never makes that distinction. So here we go. I just wanted to get that out of the way because that came to my mind. I've just been reading this more and more lately and that is not a correct... It's like you don't hear about it at all and all of a sudden it sounds like it becomes like a fad and then it fades away and you're right. Things just pop up and it happens all the time. I mean, I can't even think of another subject right now that is on my mind that is that way, but it'll come up and it'll be three or four months of this and then it just disappears. But while it's being addressed, you have to address. return with that because if not then people start getting sucked away into these crazy ideologies and the bible is not crazy in any way shape or form it is very clear in what it's doing it's very clear and so we just need to be careful to handle it properly and if something doesn't sound right initially It probably isn't. Now, that doesn't mean that there aren't things that suddenly creep up that, oh, I've never heard that, but that makes absolute sense. OK, that is possible. But most things that make sense are because it makes sense, not because it doesn't make sense. But just be careful with what you believe. Dispensationalism is correct. Hyper dispensationalism takes things way to an extreme that the Bible never does. OK, go on ahead. For eight. Oh, okay, then I need to read my comments. I'll go read it again then, because it's been a while that I was on here. Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. You have become king. Without us. How I wish that you really had become king so that we might be kings with you. Okay. Paul makes a sudden transition from his words concerning the boasting of the Corinthians. In this verse his pen shouts out the irony of a man who sees their true state. And he does so in a way which shows his breaking heart over their childish behavior. Something he will note directly in 1 Corinthians 14 verse 20. In this then he makes three statements which ascend in their tone and force. In each of these thoughts, the emphasis is on the completed action indicated by the adverb or verb. As they are analyzed, stressing those words shows his intent. You are already full. You are already rich. You have reigned as kings. Likewise, he has changed his wording from the previous verses which were singular to plural here. He's redirecting from the personal singular to the impersonal group to correspond with the emotions of his words. And so he begins with, you are already full. The idea here is one who is fully sated. The only other time this phrase is used is in Acts 27. There, let's see here, Acts 27 says, Oh, gosh. So, when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw the wheat out into the sea. Okay, so they're full. Those in Corinth acted as if they had all they needed of the word and instruction in order to continue on in faith and practice. It will never be the case. I don't care how many times you study this word. I don't care how many times you listen to different people teach and preach on a particular passage, you will always get more information. if they are competent in their teaching and preaching. You will never be full in this matter, okay? So, Paul is just beginning. Let me read that again. Those who in Corinth acted as if they had all they needed of the word and instruction in order to continue on in faith and practice, but Paul is just beginning. He will write another 12 chapters to them in this letter and a second letter comprising 13 chapters. Adding in his other letters and those of the other apostles, it is quite apparent that they were far less than full. They were lacking in the extreme. As he noted to them earlier, they were still babes, and yet and not yet able to move to solid food. That's 1 Corinthians 3 verses 1 and 2. Let me read it to you just so that we have the reference. 3. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual people, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able. Continuing with his thoughts, he next says, you're already rich. Not only did they assume they were full and had enough to sustain them, they were so comfortable that they were rich. where was i just lost my oh yeah they were rich the idea of richness is that of having taken the food that they had consumed and processed it into grand knowledge and understanding so much so that they could rest easy in what they possessed this is similar to jesus words to the people in laodicea in revelation chapter three here's what he says to them revelation three And verse 17, because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy and of need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. However, Paul's continued instruction to them will show that they are in fact poor beggars needing a handout of spiritual doctrine. And finally, he takes them to the highest level of irony by telling them that you have reigned as kings without us. The idea of a king is one who is elevated to the highest position of all. They sit at the throne and direct others rather than taking orders. In this, he is literally mocking them over their boastings because what they have What they have came from Cephas, from Paul, and from Apollos, to whom they had broken into warring divisions. So how could they be kings if they were claiming allegiance to mere messengers? Their thinking is utterly nonsensical, and they have only made themselves look fools in the royal court rather than the king on the throne. With these thoughts now stated he lessens his charge against them to show them grace by saying, and indeed I wish that you did reign that we might also reign with you. They have assumed that they were kings with crowns and he has charged them otherwise but his hope is that they will in fact be there to reign with him. He spoke in a manner similar to this to those in Thessalonica. He wrote this in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. He said, for what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For you are our glory and joy. Paul wasn't looking for divisions. but for a united heart and an attitude directed solely towards Jesus Christ. He is where the prize is. He is where the throne is. He is where the crown of rejoicing is. Their attitude about Paul is that they had entered the kingdom apart from him when in fact he was the one who had planted what they now possessed. life application, running ahead in spiritual development without understanding the basics inevitably leads to unsound theology, prideful demonstrations which harm the fellowship, and leaders being exalted in an unhealthy way. One cannot be sound in their theology without much study and a complete focus on Jesus Christ. It is impossible. Okay, we got time for another one. Go ahead, 49. It seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession like men condemned to die in an arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to the angels, to angels as well as Okay, 4, 4 begins this verse and explains this statement made in the previous verse. I could wish that you did reign, that we also might reign with you. Paul was rebuking those in Corinth for their attitude of feeling full, rich, and reigning as kings when no such thing was the case. In those comments, he added that he wished it was in fact true because if it were, then the apostles would also be right there with them. However, it was painfully apparent that this was not the case. Rather, Paul felt that they, meaning the apostles, had been on display by God in several notable ways. One, last. This is a reference to the custom of the times where those who were to fight in the amphitheaters of the Roman Empire were brought in last. After all of the other spectacles were finished, in order to fight to the death, they were condemned about to die, which is exactly what he then refers to. Let me make a note here. So he's saying that they're like the people that are about to be executed in the amphitheater. So, two, as men condemned to death, those who first went into the amphitheaters may be orators or actors and maybe animal shows as well. Only after their displays were finished would those who fought to the death be brought in. Those condemned to die had but one chance, which would be to fight so well that they would be pardoned. In this, they were made, three, a spectacle to the whole world. The Roman Empire was the known world at that time. Amphitheaters were found throughout its borders and the condemned would be paraded through the streets to any and all of them as a sign of power of the empire and as a glory as a gory sport for those who watched. Like these people, Paul found that the apostles were in a similar situation. In fact, all but John were actually killed for their faith, and even John suffered greatly. Now, we'll qualify that. That is extra-biblical history. That's not recorded in the Bible, just so you know. But extra-biblical history says that all of the apostles were martyred with the exception of John, who was boiled, and yet he didn't die. He got exiled to Patmos, etc. But That's not in the Bible. I just want to make sure you understand that. Okay, John did suffer greatly. For the gospel of Jesus Christ, they lived their difficult lives as a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men, Paul says. In the sight of both those on earth and those in the heavenly realms, they went about their business of witnessing to the splendor of the gospel, unafraid of even death for the sake of Jesus Christ. Life application, Far too many see Christianity as a means to wealth, prosperity, ease, and a fist-bumping relationship with the Creator. In this, they see their faults as easily dismissed and feel they possess a guarantee of protection and safety. But this is because of the prosperous circumstances which surround them. In most of the world, and for most of Christian history, Christians have been the brunt of hatred, torture, and death. Our pleasant surroundings are bound to end. How firm will our faith be in that time? Be prepared to serve the Lord through any and every trial. I wish that people would just understand what the rest of the world goes through and to actually experience it. And then they wouldn't be so haughty in their faith. They wouldn't be so arrogant and expect everything to be rosy and peaches and cream for them because that's not what most of Christians have ever had. Ask the Armenian Christians who were killed a million of them. And go look online, if you don't think I'm serious, go online and look at the pictures. Type in Armenian persecution and how did they kill many of them? Rows and rows and rows of people hanging on crosses just like Jesus. They nailed them up and they said, you want to die like him? And they did. Yeah. And they did exactly the way Christ would have been crucified. They took off all of their clothes. They hung them in shame. Christ didn't die with a little, you know, loincloth on. He was exposed to the entire world. And that's the way they crucified these people. And they were willing to die for the sake of Christ. All right, we'll do one more. We've got a couple of minutes. Oh, well, that's all right, though. We can close right now if you want. OK, 410. We'll do it. I'm not feeling well enough to do it, but we might as well. We still have 10 minutes. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, we are dishonored. Okay, a little different. This one says distinguished, but instead of honored, but basically the same thing. Okay, 410. Paul again introduces irony into his thoughts as he did in verse 8. He's showing the folly of their boasting and divisions within the church. He and the other apostles have done nothing but proclaim Christ, and they have done it with complete and undivided loyalty. But among those in this world, and even among those in the faith, they have been taken as fools, men of weakness, and those who are dishonored. His words are confirmed throughout Acts and the other epistles. He begins with, we are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. In his statement, he speaks in an ironical tone in order to highlight his words. His message is one which proclaims only Christ. Theirs is in divisions within the body. Later in his second letter to the Corinthians, he will repeat this same sentiment in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, He says to Corinthians 5 11 12 verse 11 he says I have become a fool in boasting you have compelled me for I ought to have been commended by you for a nothing that was I behind the most eminent apostles though I am nothing. Two examples from Acts shows that this wasn't limited to those at Corinth but was a thought which permeated society at large as well. In Acts chapter 17 he says verse 18 Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him and some said, what does this babbler want to say? Others said he seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. And then in Acts chapter 26, he says, In verse 24, now as he thus made his defense, Festa said with a loud voice, Paul, you are beside yourself. Much learning is driving you mad. In opposition to how he is perceived, he ironically states that you are wise in Christ. In verse eight, he told them that they were already full, a way of saying they were full of knowledge when in fact they were mere babes in what they knew. He then shows another irony about being mature in Christ when he says, we are weak but you are strong. Again, 2 Corinthians will explain very carefully how one is truly weak in the ways of the world can actually be full of strength in Christ. Here's what he says in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 10. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, There you go, then I am strong. This statement came after his explanation that only when relying solely on the Lord can one be truly strong. The paradox is explained in Jesus' words to him, which said, my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness. That's 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9. Because he had to rely on the grace of Christ, he possessed the greatest of all strengths. The Corinthians had failed to understand this and were busy in the art of division of Christ rather than total dependence on him. And finally, Paul again introduces a note of irony by stating, you are distinguished, but we are dishonored. The natural result of division is to feel distinguished. When someone argues with another about their favorite pastor being better than the other person's pastor, there's a smug feeling of self-confidence. I follow pastor pillow feathers and he is all I need. I cannot see why you even listen to preacher pointy pants. The attempt is to be distinguished among a crowd, just as Paul noted about the divisions in chapter one, and yet it harmed rather than helped. It destroyed rather than developed. But instead of divisions and misdirections, Paul kept his eyes on the prize and held fast to one hope. and that is to be found in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. His previous words to the Corinthians show this singleness of mind and attitude. Here's what he said in chapter 2, verse 2. For I determined not to know anything among you except Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and fear and in much trembling, and my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. life application, and we are done. What the world sees as foolish, weak, and dishonorable is the only true source of sanity, strength, and honor. Jesus Christ is the source of wisdom. Reliance on him is the position of highest power and might, and there is no more exalted place for any person in heaven or on earth to be found than in him, covered with his garments of righteousness. Eyes on Jesus, hearts on Jesus, minds on Jesus. Rest in Christ alone. Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the wonderful lessons we learned from Paul's words, and we would ask that you would give us the strength to endure whatever trials lay ahead in our lives, because If we're here long enough, we're certainly going to be facing them in this wicked nation with the people that are daily becoming more wicked. And I would pray that many of them would have their hearts converted and that they would depart from their wickedness and their evil ways. But your word doesn't seem to indicate that that's going to happen. It seems to indicate that even in this nation and all around the world, things are just going to continue to devolve and to the point where there is no remedy but your judgment. And so, Lord, If we're here at that time before the coming of the rapture, we would pray for strength and wisdom during that time. And the only way we're going to get the wisdom is to be in your word. And the only way we're going to get that strength is because of the power of Christ in our lives. And so give us that in great abundance and help us to be wise in your word. We love you, we praise you, and we exalt you. And we do so in Jesus name, amen. the folks online let's see here we're going to go to break all right In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.