Sun, May 10

Happy Mother's Day to all those moms, moms-to-be, moms who aren't moms yet, and all those "spiritual moms" how nurtured us in the faith!

Here are some Qs&As and the Sunday sermon.

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Sat, May 9: Who is it that Paul cautions the Corinthians NOT to associate with? (I Cor 5)
1 Corinthians 5:9-11 9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.


And here's the question of the day:
Sun, May 10: Nathan tells David that the punishment for his sin will not be his death. What is the punishment? (2 Sam 12)

And the sermon of the day:
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Let us pray: Gracious God, shine the light of your Spirit upon us as we hear these words of Scripture read and proclaimed. Reveal your saving presence in these words, and lead us further down the path of faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16
6 We . . . speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 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"-- 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

11 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. 12 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.

13 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. 14 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.

15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of the Lord endures forever, Amen.


INTRODUCTION
I want to start out this morning with a little experiment. I’m going to say a word. And when I say that word, I want you to think of someone that word describes. Get it? OK. The first word is “SMART.” Think of the smartest person you know or the smartest person you can think of. Someone with the biggest brain and who always seems to know the right answer. Who is the smartest person you know?

OK, now I’m going to say another word and I want you to do the same thing: think of someone that word describes. OK? This time, the word is “WISDOM.” Wisdom. Who is the wisest person you know? Who is the person you go to when you need some wise counsel? Who is the wisest person you know.

Now, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the smartest person and the wisest person you thought about were probably NOT the same person. The smartest person you thought of probably had a good job, a nice house and a nice car. He or she is someone whose appearance is always clean and neat and precise. We would refer him or her as “successful.”

But the wise person you thought of is probably an altogether different sort of person. The wise person doesn’t put too much stock in dressing to impress other people. The wise person probably has more salt than paper in his or her hair and has his or her fair share of wrinkles. And the wise person would probably qualify for the “senior citizen” discount. Instead of telltale marks of “success” like the smart person, the wise person is marked by peace and contentment.

#1
Now, Paul—the author of the passage from 1 Corinthians I just read—would say that being SMART is to have “the wisdom of this world” and to be WISE is to have “the wisdom of God” (v 6).

These are the two categories Paul used to sort the people who attended the church in Corinth. Some of those people were “smart” people, on the fringe of things, immature in their faith, and not able to understand the ways of God. In fact, the wisdom of God is foolishness to a smart person. It is utter nonsense, because a smart person can’t understand it.

Paul would say that the smart people—who have the wisdom of this world—do not truly know “God’s secret wisdom—which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived” (v 9). You see, there are things about God which we cannot know unless He reveals them. These are what Paul calls the “deep things of God” (v 10).

And God will not reveal “the deep things of God” to someone until he or she is wise enough to understand them. Smart people don’t know God’s secret wisdom because they have “the spirit of this world” (v 12), and they speak with human wisdom. Smart people don’t know God--yet.
I think we all start out as smart people—spiritually immature and on the outside looking in. But somewhere along the way, something happens. Something happens to open our eyes to God. And suddenly we find ourselves transformed into wise people.

And wise people know the deep things of God because they have “the Spirit who is from God” (v 12). Wise people speak with words taught by the spirit—“spiritual truths” spoken with “spiritual words” (v 13). Wise people become wise people because, as Paul says, they “have the mind of Christ,” which is a pretty incredible thought.

#2
Actually, that’s not what Paul says. Paul says, “We have the mind of Christ.” And THAT is an even MORE incredible thought! Such a simple little phrase, right? “We have the mind of Christ.” But I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a more intimidating and daunting sentence.

For a minute there, I thought maybe we were off the hook because sometimes, when Paul says "we," he really means him and him alone. But other times, he says "we" and he really does mean the royal "we" that includes all those who are reading his letters. I’m afraid, he really does mean the royal we in this case. And, if he really does mean “we” when he says "we" here in 1 Corinthians, then to this I say, "Lord have mercy."

I’m probably not alone in wanting to say to Paul, “Me? The mind of Christ? Do you know the mean and hurtful things I have thought about already this morning?! How could possibly want to include me in your ‘we’? How could I have the mind of Christ?”

The believers in Corinth to whom Paul was writing this letter certainly were not angelic in their behavior, just like we do not always act like “wise people” who live by the Spirit. And yet Paul invites them to be a part of the "we" who have the mind of Christ. Paul is trying to encourage those who are timidly living out their faith to become bold with confidence, knowing they have the mind of Christ.

This whole chapter is Paul's invitation to his readers to go from being smart people to wise people. It is an invitation to those who are uncertain believers to begin to consider themselves as mature Christians who have the mind of Christ and who really can know the deep things of God.

CONCLUSION
We are each on a journey of faith, and it takes a lifetime to get to our destination. Some of us are just starting on our journey and are still a little too smart for our own good; some of us are on our way to becoming wise; and some have become wise along the way.

All through this journey, God is calling us to come closer to Him. God offers us the Spirit to guide us along the way. And God will reveal to us “the deep things of God.”
To have the mind of Christ is to be wise, to know what matters, to be guided by the Spirit, and to be enabled to live according to God’s purposes.

Consider for yourselves where you are on your journey and whether or not you are willing to live your faith out boldly with the mind of Christ.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.