privileged

I had the privilege of hearing CJ Mahaney speak this morning at church. When I was home, I had read some of his books and have read another while here. I never expect to meet the people behind these inspiring books. It was refreshing to say the least - to find that the man who had such heart felt words through pages of a book truly believed what he wrote as it was apparent throughout his sermon.

He spoke on 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 as a sermon he entitled "A Warning Label," (I believe these can be downloaded and listened to at http://kingsway.cc though you should not quote me on that!) He said that 1 Corinthians is a divinely inspired warning label to a church in Corinth. Divine wisdom is defined by the cross and must be revealed by the spirit, it was written for our benefit.

The main points:
1) Divine wisdom has a divine origin.
[1 Cor 1:17 - "not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power"], Paul is not against all wisdom, but he redefines wisdom for them - it is not from man, but from God. What matters is how you can be saved from God's righteous wrath, not about how intelligent you appear in modern times. Paul broke it down with a categorical criticism of those the Corinthians admired in order to protect the Corinthians from human wisdom - even though those with human wisdom seemed prevalent in the times, they were doomed to pass away. Paul even gives us the "secret" source of his wisdom - it is not human, this wisdom does not pass for wisdom in this fallen world - it is defined by the cross and reveals God has holy and man as sinful. God is gracious and decreed the sacrifice of His Son on the cross to save us before He began creation.

2) Divine wisdom is revealed by the spirit.
[1 Cor 2:10] Apart from the spirit we do not get it an cannot get it. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal us God's wisdom - why? - because God is infinite and we are finite, God is holy and we are sinful.

**If you are a Christian, you DID NOT discover God!! He revealed Himself to you!**

If you think you are open minded - you are a deceived fool. [This is interesting because in one of my LNRs I was re-thinking about how un-open minded I really am. I always thought I was... until about a month ago and these words from CJ were good confirmation that my new assumptions are correct.] Open mindedness is self glorification, self worship and basically saying you can do better than what God can reveal to you.

3) Divine wisdom imparts a divine perspective
[v16 - has the mind of Christ]. Evaluate all of life in light of the cross.

Application of this word:
1) Discernment
in culture and in the church, this will form protection. NO topic should be considered alone without the gospel. By the grace of God you are perceptive about the most important topic - the truth, the gospel. The most mature person is NOT the most spiritual - there is no secret insight. What it means to be spiritual is tied to the cross. We never move on from the cross of Christ, we only come to a more profound understanding of it.

2) Humility
before God. Why? -so that no human being may boast in the presence of God. Why are you a Christian and others are not? - in the mystery of God's mercy - He revealed himself to us. All of God is only explainable by God, we cannot be self righteous, we should be humble and walk around with tears in our eyes at what God has done for us.

3) Grateful
Our hearts should be humbled by these things, our hearts grateful for these things.

I was thinking about how I've always tried to appease the majority of people and not offend anyone. I state what I believe and feel it's okay for others to disagree. However, my reasons for it being okay were wrong - it is okay because the holy spirit has yet to open their hearts and minds to it, what they believe is worldly, while I have the mind of Christ and can understand what God has done for me. It is not okay to keep it a secret from others or not say anything in order to attempt to not offend others. Not speaking God's word and what He has put on my heart is (I forgot who said this) is saying that I know better than God. God wants us to share His word and be fishers of men and if I refuse to do so - that is not trusting Him and letting my fear of man be greater than my fear of God. God is much more powerful than man could ever imagine being and is to be feared.

I have a lot more thoughts to sort through on my own. I figured I would throw out some of the insight for you all that was covered in church this morning. I'm glad I got a journal while in Virginia since I left my others in California. I like being able to write and doodle and take notes. I'm thankful I was able to be present for the sermon this morning and praying that God will daily remind me that I need to view everything in relation to Him, be humble because I have done nothing, and grateful for what He has shown me and done for me. Have a blessed Sunday.