WEBVTT 00:00:41.130 --> 00:00:47.530 Hey, if you're new here for the last few years, we've been planting a church in San Francisco. 00:00:47.770 --> 00:00:54.570 Tim and Kelsey Harms are leading the team up there at Sanctuary Church, and there's really cool stuff going on. 00:00:54.810 --> 00:01:08.329 And they're hosting a come and see weekend where they're hoping that people really from all over the globe will come in, see the work that's happening in San Francisco, and potentially stay and serve the work. 00:01:08.490 --> 00:01:14.890 At the very least, just carry the work in San Francisco and your heart, continue to lift them up in prayer. 00:01:15.129 --> 00:01:23.849 If you're here and you want a little adventure in life, you're sick of the pace of the Central Valley, you're looking to make an impact. 00:01:28.170 --> 00:01:33.129 That starts by just going and seeing and meeting the team up there, seeing what they're up to. 00:01:33.370 --> 00:01:37.609 If you're here and you know you can't move, you wish you could move, but you can't move. 00:01:37.689 --> 00:01:42.890 Uh, but you want to continue to pray and hold this church plant in your heart because you care about that city. 00:01:43.129 --> 00:01:45.689 Also want to invite you up to San Francisco. 00:01:45.769 --> 00:01:51.129 So Tim's email is on the screen and the weekend is coming up. 00:01:51.290 --> 00:01:56.250 But yeah, uh, take a trip to San Francisco and see what the Lord may say. 00:01:56.409 --> 00:02:09.370 If you're living with some sort of divine discontent, like this rumbling that God maybe has something for you, go go inquire and see if he might be leading you to San Francisco to serve there. 00:02:09.930 --> 00:02:14.250 We're a part of a family of churches called Confluence. 00:02:14.409 --> 00:02:16.569 And last week Tiffany and I traveled to St. 00:02:16.730 --> 00:02:21.129 Louis um as leaders to be led. 00:02:21.610 --> 00:02:33.449 So Tiffany and I had to sit around sit in a room, and a number of questions were asked about the health of our church, and not just the health of our church, but the health of our marriage and our family. 00:02:33.769 --> 00:02:37.050 And so we had a sweet time uh with other leaders. 00:02:37.210 --> 00:02:46.490 Uh a senior leader within our movement was was in the mix, and so he was asking some tough questions, but we had a really beautiful time together. 00:02:46.730 --> 00:02:50.170 We left on Thursday morning at 3.30 a.m. 00:02:51.050 --> 00:02:53.530 was a bad, it was a bad deal. 00:02:54.729 --> 00:03:00.250 So we get picked up at 3.30 by someone who works at the church there in St. 00:03:00.409 --> 00:03:10.250 Louis, a gal named Sam, and she works at Jubilee, and we get in the car and she's trying hard to make small talk with us at 3.30 a.m. 00:03:10.490 --> 00:03:12.250 and it is not working. 00:03:13.129 --> 00:03:18.650 So one of the things she says to me to try to soften me up is that I listen to your preaching a lot. 00:03:18.890 --> 00:03:26.490 I listened to the podcast, and I've been going through the book of Exodus with you guys, and I listen a lot to your sermons. 00:03:26.650 --> 00:03:29.449 And my first response was thanks. 00:03:29.930 --> 00:03:31.530 That's really encouraging. 00:03:31.770 --> 00:03:35.930 But the second thing I said was wild because it just fell out of my mouth. 00:03:36.009 --> 00:03:43.050 Uh because, and I don't know if I was just already angry because it was that early, felt sick to my stomach, kind of thing. 00:03:43.370 --> 00:03:48.650 But I just immediately turned to her and I said, If I ask you a question, will you be honest with me? 00:03:48.890 --> 00:03:51.689 And she was like, uh yeah. 00:03:52.810 --> 00:03:55.849 And I was like, Do you do you speed me up? 00:04:00.170 --> 00:04:03.370 Do you listen to me at 1.5 speed? 00:04:05.770 --> 00:04:15.129 And I could tell that she she knew it mattered to me, and she didn't want to give the wrong answer, so she's like, I I don't know, you know, like maybe. 00:04:15.849 --> 00:04:18.170 And I was like, because it matters to me. 00:04:18.490 --> 00:04:20.009 It matters to me. 00:04:20.409 --> 00:04:23.129 Because it's super rude to speed people up. 00:04:23.370 --> 00:04:32.009 So it hurts my feelings. 00:04:34.170 --> 00:04:38.090 And uh she wouldn't, she wasn't honest with me. 00:04:40.970 --> 00:04:50.569 But the reason I know that it's rude is you would never you'd never speed someone up if you were in the presence of that person. 00:04:51.769 --> 00:04:52.409 Right? 00:04:52.810 --> 00:04:58.730 So it's only in my absence do you know that it's okay to hurry me along. 00:04:59.209 --> 00:05:05.449 Have you ever tried to tell your coworker or your spouse to go ahead and pick up the pace? 00:05:05.769 --> 00:05:08.170 You ever told them, like, I know we all think it. 00:05:08.250 --> 00:05:11.850 I'd all I'd like to put a lot of people on 1.5 speed. 00:05:11.930 --> 00:05:15.930 I think it a lot, but I would never say it because it's super rude. 00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:18.089 I want to stay employed. 00:05:18.250 --> 00:05:19.449 I want to stay married. 00:05:19.610 --> 00:05:24.810 So I don't ever say to my wife, hey, could you do could you maybe pick it up to 1.5 for me? 00:05:25.050 --> 00:05:27.129 I've heard this part before. 00:05:27.769 --> 00:05:28.490 Try it. 00:05:28.649 --> 00:05:31.209 Just try it in marriage and see how that goes. 00:05:31.449 --> 00:05:36.250 And you can meet with Danny Can Tell Me and his new offices in Amigo Row. 00:05:36.970 --> 00:05:38.569 You know it's rude. 00:05:39.129 --> 00:05:41.129 So you only do it when I'm not around. 00:05:41.290 --> 00:05:43.930 How many of you listen to everything on 1.5? 00:05:44.410 --> 00:05:46.170 Every message from work? 00:05:46.410 --> 00:05:48.810 How many of you listen to me on 1.5? 00:05:49.370 --> 00:05:51.769 Thank you, Karis, for being honest. 00:05:53.530 --> 00:05:54.649 It's rude. 00:06:00.490 --> 00:06:09.930 And I think what's what's worse is that your impatience is disguised as your like intelligence. 00:06:10.170 --> 00:06:18.410 Like basically, I'm just too intelligent to put up with the pace at which you're spouting information. 00:06:18.569 --> 00:06:21.290 So just just pick it up a step. 00:06:22.970 --> 00:06:27.370 We are information gluttons. 00:06:28.649 --> 00:06:33.769 We can't get enough information and we can't get it fast enough. 00:06:36.410 --> 00:06:50.250 We struggle to incorporate what we know into our lives, because how many know there's a big difference between knowing something and then acting according to what we know? 00:06:50.410 --> 00:06:51.689 There's a huge gap. 00:06:51.930 --> 00:07:02.649 Most of us are here in community because we recognize a large gap in our lives between what we profess or what we know and what we do and how we behave. 00:07:02.810 --> 00:07:09.050 So we keep taking in more information, uh, thinking it's gonna fix it. 00:07:10.089 --> 00:07:18.730 But I actually think the answer might be something different than another podcast or taking in that podcast even quicker. 00:07:18.970 --> 00:07:25.370 So the city of Corinth, they could have also been described as information gluttons. 00:07:26.250 --> 00:07:41.129 It's technically a Roman city at the time of the Apostle Paul, which we're about to read about, but the background of the culture is still very Greek, and the Greeks are obsessed with information. 00:07:42.009 --> 00:07:44.569 They call it wisdom. 00:07:45.449 --> 00:07:48.009 And here's the common mantras of the day. 00:07:48.170 --> 00:07:51.610 These are things that were commonly just said in the city of Corinth. 00:07:51.769 --> 00:07:53.689 The wise man is king. 00:07:53.930 --> 00:07:55.689 That was a saying they had. 00:07:55.930 --> 00:08:01.129 Another one, which is similar, is to the wise man all things belong. 00:08:02.170 --> 00:08:04.810 So they loved information. 00:08:05.290 --> 00:08:10.970 We see their kind of mindset, we see their approach to life in the book of Acts. 00:08:11.129 --> 00:08:18.889 And this passage in Acts is describing a group of people in Athens, but Athens was just a short distance from Corinth. 00:08:19.050 --> 00:08:23.370 But listen to how it describes the people of Athens. 00:08:23.769 --> 00:08:32.490 They spent their time doing nothing, but talking about and listening to the latest ideas. 00:08:34.490 --> 00:08:35.129 Dang. 00:08:36.649 --> 00:08:38.009 That's so relevant. 00:08:38.170 --> 00:08:41.930 That sounds so much like our culture, right? 00:08:47.610 --> 00:08:51.850 Glenn Power translated the passage like this. 00:08:52.250 --> 00:08:59.289 Some of them spent their time doing nothing but listening to various podcasts at 1.5 speed. 00:09:02.329 --> 00:09:10.410 So today Paul's gonna take a concept that would have been really familiar to them: wisdom. 00:09:10.730 --> 00:09:14.250 And he's gonna turn it on, turn it on its head. 00:09:14.809 --> 00:09:20.569 He's gonna declare that God's wisdom is very different than theirs. 00:09:21.369 --> 00:09:27.529 And he's gonna contrast the wisdom of the age with the wisdom of the cross. 00:09:27.609 --> 00:09:32.009 And he's gonna challenge all that they know about information. 00:09:32.329 --> 00:09:37.769 Remember, the church is up against a few other things that were described last week. 00:09:38.089 --> 00:09:47.049 This church has assimilation issues, uh, meaning that the church had a problem because it looked a lot like Corinth. 00:09:47.289 --> 00:09:53.690 So the problem was not that there was a church in Corinth, but the problem was that Corinth was in the church. 00:09:53.849 --> 00:10:03.049 They were no longer salty, they could no longer communicate a counterculture to the culture they were in. 00:10:03.690 --> 00:10:08.009 So they looked too much like the city they were in. 00:10:08.089 --> 00:10:13.769 And so Paul's gonna write to them and say, This is how you can stand out again. 00:10:14.329 --> 00:10:19.930 And this is what it means to go the way of the cross and not the way of the crowd. 00:10:20.250 --> 00:10:23.369 Also, consider that this church is really divided. 00:10:23.609 --> 00:10:26.250 Pride is at work and there are cliques. 00:10:26.410 --> 00:10:33.210 The body of Christ is divided, and Paul's gonna communicate with them like, hey, this shouldn't be the case. 00:10:33.369 --> 00:10:40.250 You should be united and you should humble yourselves in order to work together. 00:10:40.890 --> 00:10:45.529 The problem was not that the church at Corinth had problems, every church has problems. 00:10:45.769 --> 00:10:50.410 The problem was not that they had issues, even good things have issues. 00:10:50.569 --> 00:10:53.130 The problem was that they couldn't agree on the problem. 00:10:53.369 --> 00:10:58.650 And their issue is that they didn't understand what the issues were or how to address them. 00:10:58.809 --> 00:11:01.289 So Paul's gonna help them with that. 00:11:02.250 --> 00:11:14.650 So in today's text, the big idea is this the wisdom of man is foolishness to God, and the wisdom of God is foolishness to man. 00:11:15.289 --> 00:11:19.450 These two things are squaring off in a battle for the ages. 00:11:19.529 --> 00:11:21.769 This is kind of like a fight card today. 00:11:21.930 --> 00:11:24.970 There's three different fights taking place. 00:11:25.529 --> 00:11:30.650 The wisdom of this age is pitted against the wisdom of God in the text we'll read today. 00:11:30.890 --> 00:11:35.130 The rulers of this age are pitted against the Lord of glory. 00:11:35.289 --> 00:11:36.569 Who are you betting on? 00:11:36.809 --> 00:11:41.369 And the last one is that the temporal is pitted against the eternal. 00:11:41.609 --> 00:11:46.490 So the last comparison, the last contrast made is about the duration, right? 00:11:46.650 --> 00:11:50.890 And the wisdom and the rulers of this age are coming to nothing. 00:11:51.369 --> 00:11:57.609 And the wisdom of God and the Lord of glory will stand forever. 00:11:58.250 --> 00:12:06.089 So here's how 1 Corinthians 1, verses 18 through chapter 2, verse 16 starts. 00:12:06.329 --> 00:12:11.210 For the message of the cross is foolishness. 00:12:13.049 --> 00:12:18.650 To those who speed up podcasts, those people are perishing. 00:12:19.210 --> 00:12:22.970 But to those of us who are being saved, it's the power of God. 00:12:23.049 --> 00:12:28.329 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. 00:12:28.809 --> 00:12:32.650 The intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. 00:12:33.690 --> 00:12:37.369 And here's a little there's a little pre-fight trash talk. 00:12:37.609 --> 00:12:39.130 So where's the wise person? 00:12:39.289 --> 00:12:40.410 Where are you at? 00:12:40.730 --> 00:12:42.490 Where's the teacher of the law? 00:12:42.650 --> 00:12:43.769 Where's that guy? 00:12:44.009 --> 00:12:46.809 Where's the philosopher of the age? 00:12:47.210 --> 00:12:51.690 Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 00:12:52.970 --> 00:12:58.170 So the wisdom of God will frustrate conventional wisdom. 00:12:58.650 --> 00:12:59.289 And how? 00:12:59.849 --> 00:13:07.049 How will God make foolish the ways of this world by the ways of his cross? 00:13:07.289 --> 00:13:15.289 Well, the wisdom of God is gonna be displayed in the cross of Christ, and it's gonna be confusing to us. 00:13:15.529 --> 00:13:21.849 The wisdom of God is gonna be displayed in the Corinthian caste, that's also gonna confound us. 00:13:22.009 --> 00:13:25.849 And the wisdom of God will be displayed in Paul himself. 00:13:26.009 --> 00:13:36.970 So Paul will go on to defend the wisdom of God by talking about the cross, the Corinthian caste, and his own calling to lead in the church. 00:13:37.210 --> 00:13:40.890 Here's the first thing he says in verse 21 through 25. 00:13:41.369 --> 00:13:52.009 He said, the wisdom of God that you would call foolishness is first and foremost understood in the cross of Christ. 00:13:52.250 --> 00:13:58.730 As in the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 00:13:59.210 --> 00:14:07.690 Verse 21 for since in the wisdom of God the world, through its wisdom, did not know him, they missed it. 00:14:08.009 --> 00:14:13.609 God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 00:14:13.930 --> 00:14:15.609 Jews demand a sign. 00:14:16.089 --> 00:14:18.089 Greeks look for wisdom. 00:14:19.049 --> 00:14:33.130 But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. 00:14:33.529 --> 00:14:37.289 Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. 00:14:37.690 --> 00:14:47.289 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 00:14:48.329 --> 00:14:52.890 At the very center of our faith is a symbol. 00:14:53.849 --> 00:15:00.089 The symbol of Christianity is that cross. 00:15:03.609 --> 00:15:08.009 We can't get away from that wonderful cross. 00:15:08.890 --> 00:15:17.849 The symbol of every other world religion and system of thought is a ladder. 00:15:20.410 --> 00:15:21.369 The ladder. 00:15:22.329 --> 00:15:25.609 You know, the stairway to heaven. 00:15:27.210 --> 00:15:37.609 It's come to symbolize human effort, achievement, ascending to higher levels of consciousness. 00:15:38.809 --> 00:15:54.890 That if we perform, we can prove ourselves before God, we can live good lives, we can be good people, and we can punch our ticket and get through those pearly gates. 00:15:56.410 --> 00:16:01.769 The latter has come to symbolize the way the world works. 00:16:03.529 --> 00:16:06.250 This is how your team works. 00:16:06.490 --> 00:16:08.490 This is how it works at work. 00:16:09.130 --> 00:16:12.250 This is how it works in our relationships. 00:16:12.490 --> 00:16:15.289 If you perform, you'll have a place. 00:16:15.609 --> 00:16:19.369 And if you fail to perform, you don't have a place. 00:16:22.329 --> 00:16:25.369 We ascend through our effort. 00:16:25.849 --> 00:16:31.450 We take steps towards good, towards God, and we get a place. 00:16:32.329 --> 00:16:37.450 The cross says something very different than come up here. 00:16:38.569 --> 00:16:42.170 The cross said God has descended. 00:16:43.690 --> 00:16:52.009 God has descended and secured a place for you and I, not based on our performance, but his. 00:16:52.970 --> 00:16:56.329 And let me tell you something, we don't get it. 00:16:57.849 --> 00:17:01.609 The ladder makes way more sense to us. 00:17:02.170 --> 00:17:09.049 The cross of Christ confuses us because everything in our lives works on the ladder. 00:17:09.210 --> 00:17:12.009 Try telling your coach about the cross. 00:17:13.769 --> 00:17:23.049 You're like, well, hey, I have a place on this team, even though I'm not performing, because Christ has secured that for me. 00:17:23.289 --> 00:17:31.450 And your coach is gonna say to you, and you've secured a place on the bench because you're not performing. 00:17:31.930 --> 00:17:36.490 Try saying to your boss, no, my identity is not in this work. 00:17:37.369 --> 00:17:44.889 I have a place here, and you're gonna pay me, not based on my performance, but based on your performance. 00:17:47.369 --> 00:17:49.529 This is what makes sense to us. 00:17:50.250 --> 00:17:57.210 Even often in our church settings, the grace of God is confusing to us. 00:17:57.609 --> 00:17:59.849 We don't get the cross. 00:18:01.369 --> 00:18:08.329 The cross confronts us, confounds us, frustrates the wisdom of this age. 00:18:09.609 --> 00:18:15.049 The cross says this, and please hear this again for the first time. 00:18:15.369 --> 00:18:24.490 Because that cross has revolutionized the way we think about God, and I fear that we've heard it so much that it doesn't land with the weight it should. 00:18:24.809 --> 00:18:27.529 The cross says you should win by losing. 00:18:31.369 --> 00:18:38.490 The cross says God's going to defeat death by dying. 00:18:39.450 --> 00:18:44.970 The cross says God's gonna redeem suffering by suffering. 00:18:46.089 --> 00:18:52.889 The cross God's gonna conquer by Himself being conquered. 00:18:53.210 --> 00:18:55.289 It makes no sense to us. 00:18:55.849 --> 00:19:00.009 The cross elevates humility above pride. 00:19:00.569 --> 00:19:07.369 The cross elevates selfless sacrifice above violence. 00:19:08.409 --> 00:19:12.730 The cross was supposed to be Rome's victory. 00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:17.690 And instead it was Christ's victory. 00:19:18.169 --> 00:19:21.129 Like they thought we dealt with this dude. 00:19:21.769 --> 00:19:24.809 Little did they know that this dude was dealing with them. 00:19:25.129 --> 00:19:27.369 They did not see this coming. 00:19:27.609 --> 00:19:28.889 No one did. 00:19:30.730 --> 00:19:31.529 Listen to this. 00:19:31.609 --> 00:19:32.250 Hear it again. 00:19:32.409 --> 00:19:39.529 A crucified criminal, a crucified criminal has become the most admired, worshipped person in history. 00:19:42.490 --> 00:19:48.490 Surely 2,000 years has taught us that God uses weak things to shame the strong. 00:19:48.809 --> 00:19:51.210 He has in the end won out. 00:19:52.809 --> 00:19:58.490 I often think about this when I think about I'll watch some MMA. 00:19:59.210 --> 00:20:01.690 I'm on a real fight card today. 00:20:01.929 --> 00:20:12.809 But I watch MMA, and I remember the early days when it was different disciplines squaring off against one another, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu was fresh on the scene. 00:20:12.970 --> 00:20:21.289 And you would see a guy who was clearly undersized in a gi that you felt like would get in his way immediately go to his back. 00:20:21.369 --> 00:20:23.049 And you're thinking, that's a bad mood. 00:20:23.129 --> 00:20:24.889 You're gonna get pulverized. 00:20:25.129 --> 00:20:34.649 And then this guy systematically would absorb blows, the person, his opponent would wear himself out, and then sure enough, he'd turn him over and choke him out. 00:20:37.849 --> 00:20:41.849 The cross has taught us that we win by going low. 00:20:42.490 --> 00:20:50.970 Our Savior went to his back and then overthrew powers and principalities. 00:20:51.289 --> 00:20:53.929 And this is what we've learned. 00:20:54.970 --> 00:20:56.889 It's really obvious. 00:20:57.369 --> 00:21:05.529 It's really obvious as we look back over the staying power of Christianity, that weak things have shamed the strong. 00:21:07.049 --> 00:21:08.809 I was reading a guy named T. 00:21:08.889 --> 00:21:08.970 R. 00:21:09.129 --> 00:21:21.769 Glover, and he put it this way: evidence that the weak things have shamed the strong can be found in the reality that we name our dogs Nero and we name our sons Paul. 00:21:24.329 --> 00:21:29.129 Christianity took over the most powerful empire in the world. 00:21:29.289 --> 00:21:38.490 And I believe that we run a risk, as people who've heard this story over and over again, that we can forget how revolutionary this message is. 00:21:39.849 --> 00:21:42.569 How much it confronts human wisdom. 00:21:42.809 --> 00:21:47.929 We all know the answers, but knowing these things and doing these things are two different things. 00:21:48.089 --> 00:21:51.609 If you want to be first, you should be last. 00:21:51.769 --> 00:21:55.049 And if you want to be great, Jesus says, great, cool. 00:21:55.289 --> 00:21:56.809 Become a slave. 00:21:58.889 --> 00:22:04.009 And if you want to be rich, give it all away. 00:22:05.289 --> 00:22:08.089 And if you want to live, die. 00:22:09.369 --> 00:22:13.289 And if you want to be strong, embrace weakness. 00:22:13.690 --> 00:22:19.210 And if you want to be really weak in this life, keep pretending like you're strong. 00:22:21.129 --> 00:22:25.450 If you want this life to matter, think about the next life. 00:22:27.129 --> 00:22:32.009 If you want to save your life, if you want to lose it. 00:22:35.849 --> 00:22:38.569 It goes against everything we know. 00:22:39.769 --> 00:22:42.089 And everything we instinctively do. 00:22:42.329 --> 00:22:45.049 No one saw this coming. 00:22:46.009 --> 00:22:53.690 The text we're about to read says, not even the devil saw this coming, or else he would have gone, I gotta get another plan. 00:22:59.609 --> 00:23:02.809 The cross defies conventional wisdom. 00:23:03.369 --> 00:23:06.250 Conventional wisdom says, climb the ladder. 00:23:08.089 --> 00:23:14.889 The cross reminds us that God is victorious through death on a Roman torture device. 00:23:15.210 --> 00:23:19.690 And again, I just fear we've become too familiar with this. 00:23:20.250 --> 00:23:27.289 Evidence of that would be that you could create a wall of crosses in your house by shopping at Hobby Lobby. 00:23:29.049 --> 00:23:33.369 And we buy these crosses and they're they're they've got like lace around. 00:23:33.609 --> 00:23:43.769 I've obviously never bought one, so this is gonna get bad, but they're beautiful and there's different shapes and sizes, and we put them on our wall. 00:23:44.009 --> 00:23:46.730 That is a Roman torture device. 00:23:47.609 --> 00:23:55.849 The equivalent would be having guillotine earrings or a necklace with an electric chair on it. 00:23:56.169 --> 00:23:56.970 Yes, I should have to. 00:23:57.210 --> 00:24:04.649 And what would you think if you walked into someone's house and they had a wall of different electric chairs that they bought at Hobby Lobby? 00:24:04.809 --> 00:24:08.250 You'd be thinking this is the last time we come to this Sicko's house. 00:24:12.169 --> 00:24:13.769 This was despised. 00:24:14.409 --> 00:24:16.490 This was an embarrassment. 00:24:16.889 --> 00:24:21.769 And yet, on that embarrassing cross, Christ covered our shame. 00:24:22.809 --> 00:24:24.169 What a deal. 00:24:24.409 --> 00:24:25.769 What a deal. 00:24:31.049 --> 00:24:35.769 The cross is the wisdom of God confronting what we think is wise. 00:24:36.250 --> 00:24:38.889 God's ways are not our ways. 00:24:39.049 --> 00:24:41.849 Our thoughts are not his thoughts. 00:24:42.169 --> 00:24:45.289 We win by crushing our opponents. 00:24:46.490 --> 00:24:50.409 Christ wins by being crushed on the cross. 00:24:51.049 --> 00:24:52.409 Unbelievable. 00:24:53.129 --> 00:24:56.250 No one comes up with the cross but God. 00:24:56.730 --> 00:24:58.490 Certainly not the Greeks. 00:25:01.129 --> 00:25:12.970 The second thing Paul would say that's going to confront our conventional ideas about wisdom is the Corinthian caste, meaning the community that had gathered in this church. 00:25:13.210 --> 00:25:17.929 God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 00:25:19.929 --> 00:25:25.690 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. 00:25:26.169 --> 00:25:30.009 Not many of you were wise by human standards. 00:25:30.250 --> 00:25:32.649 Not many of you were influencers. 00:25:32.889 --> 00:25:35.609 Not many of you were of noble birth. 00:25:36.009 --> 00:25:40.649 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. 00:25:40.809 --> 00:25:43.929 God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 00:25:44.169 --> 00:25:53.769 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are. 00:25:54.409 --> 00:25:56.889 So that no one may boast before him. 00:25:57.450 --> 00:26:03.690 It's because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us the wisdom from God. 00:26:03.849 --> 00:26:06.649 That is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. 00:26:06.889 --> 00:26:14.329 Therefore, as it is written, let the one who boasts go ahead and boast in the Lord. 00:26:16.970 --> 00:26:21.450 Many people believe that the greatest coach in NBA history is Phil Jackson. 00:26:21.609 --> 00:26:24.569 Phil Jackson has won 11 championships. 00:26:24.809 --> 00:26:26.730 Six of those happened with the Bulls. 00:26:26.889 --> 00:26:29.210 Five of those happened with the Lakers. 00:26:29.609 --> 00:26:31.129 And I don't agree. 00:26:31.369 --> 00:26:32.889 I don't buy it. 00:26:34.250 --> 00:26:35.769 Here's what I think. 00:26:36.569 --> 00:26:44.809 I think Phil Jackson has the greatest roster in NBA history. 00:26:46.089 --> 00:26:52.569 I think it's possible that his players were so great that he could have been a mediocre coach. 00:26:54.169 --> 00:27:00.409 I wonder sometimes if Phil Jackson just was really good at managing these egos. 00:27:01.129 --> 00:27:11.529 Because when I look at the roster that the Bulls had during that era, and when I look at the roster that the Lakers had, I tend to think to myself, I could have coached those teams. 00:27:12.169 --> 00:27:20.089 We could have won championships because you had once in a generation talent on your teams. 00:27:21.289 --> 00:27:23.769 My line of thinking goes something like this. 00:27:23.929 --> 00:27:29.609 If you're the greatest coach ever, you should be able to take mediocre talent and win. 00:27:30.569 --> 00:27:34.490 Not you have the greatest players in the history of the game. 00:27:34.649 --> 00:27:42.409 I think part of me thinks you might have mediocre talent as a coach and still be able to win. 00:27:45.049 --> 00:27:47.369 Enter the Corinthian cast. 00:27:48.649 --> 00:27:50.809 Not many of you were Michael Jordan. 00:27:51.450 --> 00:27:53.849 Not many of you were Kobe Bryant. 00:27:54.250 --> 00:27:56.250 Not many of you had a resume. 00:27:56.490 --> 00:27:58.649 He doesn't say not any of you are wealthy. 00:27:58.730 --> 00:28:00.889 He just says not many of you are wealthy. 00:28:01.129 --> 00:28:06.889 You came with no, we should have the Corinthian cast comes in looking like the bad news bears. 00:28:08.169 --> 00:28:14.169 And it's a great coach who can take that level of dysfunction and win. 00:28:14.490 --> 00:28:19.210 And when he does, they don't say, wow, these players are amazing. 00:28:19.369 --> 00:28:24.889 They say, I can't believe what that coach did with mediocre talent. 00:28:26.089 --> 00:28:27.210 That's us. 00:28:28.569 --> 00:28:30.089 Not many of us. 00:28:30.329 --> 00:28:32.009 Not many of us had a resume. 00:28:32.169 --> 00:28:34.730 Not many of us were a first pick. 00:28:36.250 --> 00:28:41.289 But God chose us, chose the weak things to shame the strong. 00:28:41.609 --> 00:28:46.809 He's going to win, and when he wins with us, all glory is going to him. 00:28:47.210 --> 00:28:51.129 It's not going to be shared with Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. 00:28:51.609 --> 00:28:58.169 They're going to say, look at how great, look at how glorious God is. 00:29:00.009 --> 00:29:01.529 Conventional wisdom. 00:29:01.769 --> 00:29:06.809 What we understand is, hey, pick the best players, start the best players. 00:29:07.210 --> 00:29:11.369 Grab those who are exceptional if you want to win. 00:29:11.529 --> 00:29:13.369 Get those who can perform. 00:29:14.490 --> 00:29:16.649 And God takes the weak. 00:29:17.049 --> 00:29:21.690 And with a very weak team, he shames the strong. 00:29:22.329 --> 00:29:24.889 It's his power on display. 00:29:25.929 --> 00:29:32.889 I grew up kind of in the Christian subculture, and I remember as a junior higher seeing the power team. 00:29:33.210 --> 00:29:34.649 Has anyone ever seen this? 00:29:34.889 --> 00:29:42.809 They would like come to your school assembly and they would claim that by the power of the Spirit, they were going to tear a phone book in half. 00:29:44.409 --> 00:29:53.129 And I would think, well, if God's going to get the credit, why don't you have a 12-year-old high school girl tear a phone book in half? 00:29:55.929 --> 00:30:03.210 How is it that you can have those biceps and then God would get all the glory from tearing that in half? 00:30:08.250 --> 00:30:12.169 Why is it that the strongest guy pulls the sword from the stone? 00:30:12.329 --> 00:30:16.250 No, it's the weakling who pulls the sword from the stone. 00:30:16.490 --> 00:30:22.970 And in that, we know, oh, this is God's glory at work, not his steroids. 00:30:24.970 --> 00:30:26.409 And that's the idea. 00:30:28.730 --> 00:30:30.009 He chose us. 00:30:30.409 --> 00:30:33.450 And in the end, he's going to get all the credit. 00:30:34.730 --> 00:30:38.490 Because not many of us were drafted in the first round. 00:30:41.849 --> 00:30:51.849 The last thing Paul would say that's going to just stump us, confuse us, but it is a display of God's wisdom is in Paul's life. 00:30:52.089 --> 00:30:54.889 So not many of the Corinthians had a resume. 00:30:55.289 --> 00:30:59.210 Not many of the Corinthians were impressive, but Paul was. 00:31:00.169 --> 00:31:01.769 He did have status. 00:31:02.089 --> 00:31:03.609 He did have brilliance. 00:31:03.849 --> 00:31:05.450 He did have gifting. 00:31:05.690 --> 00:31:14.089 In fact, he would say this if someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I've got more than you do. 00:31:14.490 --> 00:31:21.529 I was circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law of Pharisee. 00:31:21.690 --> 00:31:24.649 As for zeal, I was persecuting the church. 00:31:24.809 --> 00:31:29.769 As for righteousness, based on the law, faultless. 00:31:32.009 --> 00:31:34.250 Sounds like a first-round pick. 00:31:35.769 --> 00:31:37.450 This is what he says. 00:31:38.409 --> 00:31:41.690 And it's the same way with me, brothers and sisters. 00:31:42.329 --> 00:31:53.849 When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom, as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God, for I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 00:31:54.089 --> 00:31:57.289 I came to you in weakness, with great fear and trembling. 00:31:57.450 --> 00:32:14.889 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on my biceps, but on God's power. 00:32:32.329 --> 00:32:38.409 And it's only a God who can take someone who's an enemy and make them an employee. 00:32:39.690 --> 00:32:41.289 You now work for me. 00:32:45.129 --> 00:32:50.250 Only God can build his church through a man who wanted to destroy the church. 00:32:52.970 --> 00:32:53.929 Think about this. 00:32:54.009 --> 00:32:57.450 Just again, let this land on you afresh. 00:32:58.250 --> 00:33:08.250 A man who used to tear the church apart with his orders is now building up the church with his words, not just in the first century, but here and now. 00:33:08.569 --> 00:33:10.649 We're still reading his words. 00:33:10.889 --> 00:33:14.329 And his orders are still building up the church. 00:33:14.649 --> 00:33:20.730 He was killing people who believed what he would one day be killed for believing. 00:33:21.289 --> 00:33:22.649 How profound is that? 00:33:22.730 --> 00:33:24.089 What a reversal. 00:33:24.889 --> 00:33:27.129 How confusing is that to us? 00:33:27.450 --> 00:33:32.569 He was killing people who believed what he would one day be killed for believing. 00:33:34.649 --> 00:33:37.609 The Apostle Paul used to be Saul of Tarsus. 00:33:38.649 --> 00:33:52.889 And he planted this church, but before he planted this church, he would go house to house dragging Christians from their homes, sometimes killing them, putting people to death for their Christian faith, and then one day he would die for his Christian faith. 00:33:55.289 --> 00:33:59.450 Who picks an enemy and says, You're going to be my number one? 00:33:59.849 --> 00:34:01.289 You'll be my employee. 00:34:01.450 --> 00:34:02.970 You'll run this company. 00:34:04.889 --> 00:34:09.050 Again, just hear this again for the first time. 00:34:09.210 --> 00:34:16.010 What would it take for you to convert to another major religion? 00:34:18.010 --> 00:34:24.409 To not just become Muslim, but to go around building mosques and write the Quran. 00:34:25.130 --> 00:34:26.809 What would it take? 00:34:27.210 --> 00:34:38.650 What would it take for you, a farmer, a Trumper, a Californian, to vote for Gavin Newsom in the next election? 00:34:39.610 --> 00:34:47.610 And to not just vote for him, but to go door to door and then die for his woke progressive cause. 00:34:47.849 --> 00:34:48.250 Yes. 00:34:48.489 --> 00:34:49.610 What would it take? 00:34:49.849 --> 00:34:55.289 What would it take for you, a diehard Dodger fan, to become a giant fan? 00:34:55.369 --> 00:34:56.730 Or a giant fan to become a gift. 00:34:56.809 --> 00:34:57.449 It's not happening. 00:34:57.529 --> 00:34:58.170 I can see. 00:35:00.809 --> 00:35:04.090 This guy's going door to door killing Christians. 00:35:05.369 --> 00:35:08.809 And now he's like, I'm going to write scripture. 00:35:08.969 --> 00:35:09.449 Isn't it? 00:35:09.610 --> 00:35:11.849 I'm going to give my life to plant churches. 00:35:12.090 --> 00:35:13.690 It's unbelievable. 00:35:14.250 --> 00:35:18.090 The biblical answer to the question, what would it take, is a whole stinking lot. 00:35:18.329 --> 00:35:22.090 You would have to see the risen Lord to make this kind of a change. 00:35:22.250 --> 00:35:24.730 And that's exactly what happened for Paul. 00:35:24.889 --> 00:35:28.730 And Paul's saying, hey, I'm not faulting the Corinthian church. 00:35:28.969 --> 00:35:31.130 I was once the enemy of God. 00:35:32.650 --> 00:35:34.809 I was going in the wrong direction. 00:35:35.210 --> 00:35:37.049 And I saw the light. 00:35:37.529 --> 00:35:40.730 And now I'm going to give my life to build the church. 00:35:41.049 --> 00:35:45.049 And to God be the glory, because this wasn't my idea. 00:35:46.969 --> 00:35:50.090 I didn't come up with this, says Paul. 00:35:53.130 --> 00:35:54.969 Conventional wisdom. 00:35:56.250 --> 00:36:03.049 Conventional wisdom says, hey, if you're going to pick someone to build the church, don't get the guy who's bent on destroying it. 00:36:05.130 --> 00:36:07.449 I'd be like, not him. 00:36:09.049 --> 00:36:13.529 Surely there's someone more eligible than the guy who's killing people. 00:36:14.329 --> 00:36:14.650 No. 00:36:15.289 --> 00:36:16.650 We'll take him. 00:36:17.210 --> 00:36:18.650 And we'll use him. 00:36:20.009 --> 00:36:22.329 And it'll confound the wise. 00:36:23.449 --> 00:36:27.610 It'll leave everyone scratching their head, going, You gotta be kidding me. 00:36:28.009 --> 00:36:32.889 You use Paul, you use the Corinthian church, and you use a Roman torture device. 00:36:33.289 --> 00:36:36.009 This confounds the wisdom of the age. 00:36:37.529 --> 00:36:41.849 So if you haven't picked up on this yet, we don't think like this. 00:36:42.409 --> 00:36:45.769 This is not the way we would conduct business. 00:36:48.650 --> 00:36:58.809 And so you, as you read this, you're probably or should be asking yourselves like, how does one learn to think in such unconventional ways? 00:36:59.130 --> 00:37:01.849 What is the source of this wisdom? 00:37:02.809 --> 00:37:06.250