The Mind of God! Part 1 of 2

Hey, this is Jim Graham from the Masculine Journey Podcast, where we explore relationship instead of religion every week. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds.

Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. Do you feel like your faith is dead or alive? Today, Pastor Russ Andrews will walk us through Scripture to answer these questions. Join us on Finding Purpose, a local triangle ministry glorifying God by helping men find their purpose for living. For more information and to connect with Russ Andrews and Finding Purpose, you can visit us online at findingpurpose.net or connect with us on Facebook. Now, let's listen to Russ Andrews as he teaches us how to be a Christian without being religious.

This is part one of a special two-part episode. Take your Bibles and open up to 1 Corinthians, which is right before 2 Corinthians. And we're going to be looking at chapters 1 and 2, okay? And I've entitled this message this morning, The Mind of God.

So I want you to all listen with the mind that God has given you with your mind and your heart to what God has to say to us through His Word. It's amazing when you think about how much time we spend preparing our minds and our bodies for things that will not last. And some of these things are good things. Some people spend years studying medicine so they can become good doctors. And that's a good thing because we need good doctors.

Some people spend hours reading the Wall Street Journal so that they can make better investment decisions. And there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. We need to all be good stewards of whatever God has entrusted to us. Some people spend hours exercising their bodies so that they will be healthy and strong. And again, that's a good thing.

We all need to exercise. Some people spend hours and hours reading books about their favorite hobbies or reading mystery novels or reading books about history. And of course, reading is a good thing. But I want you to understand this truth. None of these things will last. No matter how great a doctor's knowledge of the human body, his patients will eventually die. And no matter how much time you spend trying to figure out the stock market, when you die you can take none of your money with you.

And all the books that have ever been written will one day become nothing but dust except for one book. Understand that everything that you can see with your eyes is literally passing away. In fact, your very life is passing away. I just turned 60 about two weeks ago and so I'm definitely on the downside of the top of the hill as far as my life is concerned. Did you know your life is passing away?

I'm not trying to be morbid. But James 4.14 says, You are a mist or a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes. And one day, perhaps in the very near future, this world that we live in is going to cease to exist.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7 verse 31, For this world in its present form is passing away. And so, why do we invest so much time on things and activities that will not last and many of which have absolutely no eternal value? And here's another question I want to ask. Why do so many people seek answers to the deep, mysterious questions about life from sources that can never provide correct answers? Answers to questions like, Why am I here? What is my purpose in life? What is this life all about? What happens after death?

What will happen to my body? Do I really have a soul? And if I have a soul, what's going to happen to my soul when I die?

Is there really life after death? Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th century British preacher, knew where to find the answers to these deep, mysterious questions about life. It is said that one Sunday, when the time for reading scripture came, he left the Bible on his pulpit closed shut, kind of like this one. And he looked at it as congregation, which numbered in the thousands. And he said, Some have found fault with me, continuing that I'm too old-fashioned.

I'm always quoting the Bible and do not say enough about science. Well, there's a poor widow sitting here this morning who recently lost her only son. And she wants to know if she's ever going to see him again. And so, let's turn to science for the answer. Science, will she see him?

Where is he? Is death the end of everything? And there was a long pause. We're waiting for an answer, he said. This woman is anxious. Another long pause.

Nothing to say? Then we'll turn to the book. He picked up his Bible and he began to read all the wonderful promises concerning heaven and eternal life that are recorded in the book.

And that poor widow left Metropolitan Tabernacle Church that morning with a renewed hope and full of wisdom. Samuel Chadwick, who was another great British preacher, once said, I've guided my life by the Bible for more than 60 years, and I tell you there's no book like it. It is a miracle of literature, a perennial spring of wisdom, a wonder of surprises, a revelation of mystery, an infallible gout of conduct, an unspeakable source of comfort. Pay no attention to people who discredit it, for I tell you that they speak without knowledge.

It is the word of God itself. Study it according to its own direction. Live by its principles. Believe its message.

Follow its precepts. No man is uneducated who knows the Bible, and no one is wise who is ignorant of its teachings. You know, I thought about this as I was preparing this sermon. It's amazing to me, now you think about this and see if you don't agree with this.

It's amazing to me how the more educated a society becomes, the more foolish its philosophies, principles, and beliefs become. Just consider zoologists, geologists, and archaeologists. They have been studying the earth and animal life for centuries.

And what have they concluded? That over the course of billions of years, time and chance have worked together to produce from some primordial glob the human body with all of its complexity. But what does the Bible say? That God created the heavens and the earth and everything that exists in seven days.

And from the dust of the earth, God formed a man and then he breathed life into his nostrils. But that is foolishness to man. Consider psychologists. They've been studying the human psyche for centuries as well.

What have they concluded? That human nature is basically good. That people have the answers to their problems within themselves. And that an individual's problems are the result of what someone else has done to them. But what does the Bible say?

The Bible says that we're all sinners. And God who is the creed of the soul is the only one who has the remedy. And scripture itself is the only manual for truly understanding our condition.

But that is foolishness to man. Consider theologians. They've been studying the Bible since it was written.

And what have they concluded? That the Bible is full of errors and contradictions. And because man's philosophy does not allow for the miraculous, man attempts to identify myths in the Bible and remove them. And so in reality, theologians have determined what is and is not God's word. What does the Bible say? That all scriptures God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

And Jesus himself declared that heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. But again, this is foolishness to man. John MacArthur in his commentary on 1 Corinthians writes this about man's wisdom.

Listen carefully to what he writes. With that exception, man's wisdom elevates himself and lowers God. Man's wisdom always, no matter how sincere and objective and scholarly, caters to man's self-will, pride and independence. The reason men love complex and elaborate philosophies and religions is because these appeal to human ego.

That they offer the challenge of understanding and doing something complex and difficult. For the same reason some men scoff at the gospel. The gospel calls on them to do nothing. It allows them to do nothing, but except in simple faith what God has already done. In his own wisdom, man inevitably exchanges the truth of God for a lie and worships the creature rather than the creator. Man's wisdom is founded in his own will and is always directed toward the fulfilling of his own will. Consequently, man's wisdom always stands against God's wisdom and God's will. And this is one of the reasons I have always loved 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Because it paints such a correct picture about the contrast between man's wisdom and God's wisdom.

Paul writes, beginning with verse 18, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar?

Where is the philosopher of this age? Do you know where they are? Do you know where our scholars and our wise men and our philosophers are?

Do you know where they are? They are in the departments, in the religion departments at our universities and in most divinity schools teaching their students that the Bible is full of myths and contradictions and that anyone who believes the Bible is a fool. But has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Years ago a street evangelist came to Chapel Hill and stood on Franklin Street and proclaimed the gospel. Can you believe that?

Would you be willing to do that? Think of the irony. Professors were probably walking down that sidewalk ridiculing him under their breath. But one day in the on looking crowd stood a young lost Jewish student by the name of Lon Solomon who was trying to find answers to those deep mysterious questions that I just mentioned to you. He attended classes at UNC that were taught by some of those professors who were now mocking the street evangelist. But there was something about that evangelist that captivated Lon and so one day Lon met with him and he began to talk with him about Jesus Christ. God worked powerfully through months of interaction between the street evangelist and Lon Solomon. It resulted in Lon deciding to receive Jesus Christ into his heart as his Lord and Messiah.

That was back in 1971. Today 43 years later do you know where Lon Solomon is? I know a lot of you do. He's the pastor of the McLean Bible Church in McLean, Virginia which I think has a membership of about 10,000 people. And you can hear him preaching on the radio to thousands upon thousands every day. That's the wisdom of God.

Paul writes, Think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many were influential.

Not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him. You see, one day Jesus is going to return to this earth and he's going to separate the wise from the foolish.

Now listen, I heard Joe Knott say this about 20 years ago and I've never forgotten it. If you want to look wise today but foolish 50 years from now, then just ridicule the Bible. On the other hand, if you want to look foolish today but wise 50 years from now, then you hold up the truths of the Bible to a scoffing world and live by them. You see, it's because of Jesus, it's because of him that you're in Christ Jesus who has become for us wisdom from God. That is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

Therefore, as it is written, let him who boasts boast in the Lord. Now let me ask you a question this morning. My son's always kidding me because they say, Dad, you ask too many questions.

Just teach them. I say, okay. Well, I want to get you thinking so let me ask you this question. Do you really desire true wisdom? Do you want to be wise? If you do, then let me show you this morning how you can live your life knowing that you are in the perfect will of God. Let me show you this morning how you can actually, now think about this, take on the mind of God and begin to think like him.

Would you like me to do that? Well, I'm going to show you how from 1 Corinthians 2. In honor of the reading of God's word, I'd like to ask you all to stand up as I read. I want you to read along with me, not out loud but just to yourself. 1 Corinthians 2.

I love chapter 2 just as much as I do chapter 1. You're going to see some nuggets of wisdom in here that can literally change the way you live the rest of your life. I want to show you this morning as God has shown me how you can literally take on the mind of Christ and begin to look at everything through God's eyes and from his perspective.

Therefore, you can make wise decisions as you come to forks in the road and you have to decide which fork to take. Are you with me? Paul writes, When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior 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.

I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling. 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 men's wisdom but on God's power. You, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature but not the wisdom of this age or the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing. Now we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

None of the rulers of this age understood, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed it, that is his wisdom, to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the Spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment. For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

You may be seated. Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you will take your words, and I pray that it will become my words, and I pray, Lord, that you will take this message that you've given me over the last week in my office, and I know that it's come from you. I pray, Lord, that every word that I put in my manuscript will be a word that originated in your mind and heart, and I saw, Lord, how you worked all throughout the week changing even phrases in particular words so that it would resonate with your truth. So I pray, Lord, that you would anoint your word, that it would go forth and accomplish the purpose for which you intend, and I know, Lord, that it will not return void. Prepare our minds and our hearts to hear from you this morning. It's in your name that I pray.

Amen. Okay, from 1 Corinthians 2, I want to share with you the three truths that the Lord shared with me concerning the wisdom of God, and here is truth number one in your outline. God's wisdom is revealed only to His children. If Paul begins this chapter by writing that He did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom, so what did Paul mean by this? Well, Paul was not a trained orator, and he was not trying to impress his audience with, you know, fancy words or impressive phrases. He just wanted them to hear the truth of God's Word and let God's Word speak for itself. You see, he trusted God's Word to be enough, and it is enough. Isaiah 55, 11 states, You look around at the world.

The world places great value on intelligence, good looks, wealth, prestige, and power. And yet these are actually the very things which God has determined to place at the bottom. You see, God turns everything upside down. Consider John the Baptist. He had no formal education, no real profession. He had no money or political power. He had no social position or really any prestige, and apparently he wasn't very impressive looking.

And yet Jesus said that among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Similarly, Paul the Apostle did not come with any fancy degrees, nor was he wealthy. He was a tent maker, remember? And apparently his appearance was not that impressive. I think he was short and ball-headed. And I think he had poor eyesight.

Not to say that I'm a lot like Paul, because he's up there going, Russ, you ain't like me, buddy. Don't even go there. Anyway. But you see, appearance doesn't matter in God's economy. When Samuel went to select the next king of Israel to replace Saul, God said to Samuel, do not consider his appearance or his height, for I've rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the hour of appearance, but the Lord looks at what?

The heart. Now I want you to consider yourself. Do you feel that God can't use you for some reason? Maybe you don't see yourself as being very attractive. Maybe you aren't particularly well educated. Maybe you were born with some difficult physical problems that you think make you unqualified to be used by God.

Maybe you're even saying to yourself, I'm too short, I'm too fat, I'm too poor, I'm too uneducated, I'm too... You fill in the blank. If you're thinking that this morning, I want you to listen carefully to what God says to you. Paul writes that God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world, and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before Him. Who did God choose? He chose the foolish, the weak, the lowly, the despised, and the things that are not. And so if you are not attractive, if you are not well educated, if you are not wealthy, if you're not anything that the world says that you need to be in order to be successful, then guess what? You are a perfect candidate for God to choose to use. You see, because you are not, now think about this, because you are not, God is particularly attracted to you.

Did you know that? I can't help but mention my good friend from my seminary days, David Selham, who was born with Down syndrome. Do you know what the world says you should do with a pregnant woman who's got a baby that's Down syndrome?

Abort him. David was a godly young man at age 30 who still dreamed of being a preacher, and all he wanted for his birthday and Christmases were books about the Bible and commentaries. He said when he grew up, he could be a preacher. He's going to preach one day in heaven. I told Dr. Selham, I know you all have heard me share this before, I told Dr. Selham, his father, who was one of my best friends at seminary, I said, you know, when we get to heaven, isn't it going to be great? David's going to be like us.

You already told me. I said, Russ, when we get to heaven, we're going to be like David. I always think about Joyce McFarland, this black lady who's a friend of mine who grew up in eastern North Carolina, and when she was born, she was born premature, and the doctor told her grandmother, because her mother died shortly thereafter, I think during childbirth, that this thing wasn't worth saving.

She'd just take it home and let it die. So her grandmother, who became a mother, took her home and put in a little shoebox and wrapped her with little, you know, cloths and took a warm bottle and nurtured her to health and took her when she was just maybe a month old, a plump baby back to that doctor and said this is that thing that you said wasn't worth saving. And Joyce is a, she doesn't come from much, I don't think she ever went to college, but you see, God chose her to inherit his kingdom. Romans chapter 2 verse 5 says, listen my dear brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? See, most of the people that I know who are physically attractive and healthy and who are well educated and who are very wealthy, they're not really being used by God.

In fact, most of them are not even interested in the things of God. And so God says that he has chosen the things that are not to nullify the things that are. Do you know what's going to happen to the things that are? The things of this world that are powerful, prestigious and popular, they're going to come to nothing. They're going to come to the end of life and be found wanting.

I want you all to look with me again at verses 6 through 10. See, in these five verses, we learned that the wisdom of this world and the leaders of this world are coming to nothing. In essence, they are wasting their time bloviating about nothing. They're just running their mouths spewing out nothingness. And many of them are in the pulpit.

Hate to have to say that, but that's the truth. If you go listen to liberal theologians in the pulpit and you analyze what they're saying, they really don't say much. There's no meat that you can sink your teeth into and there's very little scripture, if any. There are no hard truths that you can cling to.

They say nothing. And then all those people out there, you know, and we've all been caught up there probably pursuing the things of this world, trying to accumulate wealth. Jesus said in Matthew 16 verse 26, what good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? John MacArthur writes, all human wisdom is passing away.

It is empty, futile and comes to naught. And Augustine wrote in his confessions about his professors, quote, this again is about his professors. He said, they saw many true things about the creation, but they do not seek with true devotion for the truth, capital T, the architect of creation.

And hence, they do not find him. The wisdom of this world will never lead you to God and in the end it will amount to nothing. We also learn something very interesting in these five verses that God's wisdom is a secret wisdom. Did you know that? And it's actually hidden from the natural man. That is the man without the spirit, the non-believer. God conceals his secret wisdom from the non-believer.

Did you know that? As I said earlier, the first truth we learn about the wisdom of God is that it is revealed only to his true children. Look at verse 7. It says, no, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been what?

What? Are you all listening? Hidden. God's wisdom is held in secret and he only reveals it to whom he wills, specifically to his chosen children. God intentionally withholds it from the natural man, the man without the spirit. That's why Paul writes, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. Now I used to read that thing where he's talking about the glories of heaven. I think you could say it in that sense, but that's not what he's talking about here in this passage because this passage is about wisdom. And what he's saying is that you cannot, the natural man cannot rely on his physical eyes, his physical ears, and his mind to understand spiritual matters.

It's impossible. This concludes part one. Part two will air next week. For us, we'd also like to extend a special invitation for you to join him and over 300 other local Triangle men to study God's Word together every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in downtown Raleigh. Find out more at findingpurpose.net.