Sermon Central
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Foolish Wisdom-6(2025)
Contributed by Byron Sherman on Sep 28, 2025 (message contributor)
Summary: 6 of ? The apostle Paul related that the wisdom of the Cross-work of Christ, was seen as foolishness by those who were perishing. The wisdom of the Cross can be misinterpreted. But How can wisdom be properly interpreted? Foolish Wisdom is interpreted thru...
FOOLISH WISDOM-VI—1Corinthians 1:26-28(1:18--2:5)
Attention:
Something deceptively seen by the heart’s predisposition.
There was a huge influx of people to central & south Florida following WW-II. BUT the people who bought land & built businesses & houses there, quickly discovered that regular & prolonged flooding occurred along the Kissimmee River, & so, throughout the Everglades. That flooding put a damper on ‘economic progress’ in those areas under development. And ‘progress’ was only viewed as contained within the confines of what people thought ‘economic growth’ should look like. In that day & time, ‘economic progress’ was based on standard housing & farming practices. Nobody looked outside the box. And as it so often does, MONEY became the god of central & southern Florida developers.
The ‘not-so-brilliant’ solution according to the land sellers & political powers of that day, was to literally, ‘drain the swamp!’ They saw everything thru the lens of their making or losing multi-millions of speculation dollars!
So in the 1950s, Congress tasked the USArmy Corps Of Engineers with straightening & dredging the ‘seemingly’ aimless winding of the Kissimmee River, as part of a vast program of ‘water management’ in south Florida. They eventually dammed certain areas of Lake Okeechobee as well, to their detriment. Miles & miles of canals were dug. The projects were only beneficial, in that it did reduce flooding for a time, but it also messed-up everything about how the natural river-floodplain worked. Salt-water began to intrude into freshwater wells.
They saw the Everglades as something to ‘control’, rather than something that they should allow & nurture.
Long-story-short, in the mid-1970s, efforts began, to UNDO the debacle that the previous 30 years of ignorance, short-sightedness, & greedy ‘development’ had wrought in the Everglades. And those efforts surrounding the return of the Everglades, continue to this day! In the year 2000(25 years ago), “the largest hydrologic restoration project ever undertaken in the United States, began, with a cost of more than $10.5 billion, & a 35+ year time-line.
As with the Everglades catastrophe, so there are ‘deceptive predispositions’ of the heart, that can destroy a person’s life & the lives of others. FOOLISH WISDOM-VI—1Corinthians 1:26-28(1:18--2:5)
Need:
God tells us to:
1Tim. 2:1-4—“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, & giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings & all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet & peaceable life in all godliness & reverence. For this is good & acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved & to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Mat. 6:21-23—Jesus warns us,—“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
Depending upon the ‘heart’s attitude’ that a person uses in their observations, what is actually ‘foolish’ may be viewed as ‘wise’(1:18)!...& conversely, what is actually God’s ‘wisdom’ may be viewed as ‘foolish.’
The recognition & identification of truly ‘Foolish Wisdom’, depends entirely upon the condition of your heart toward God!
The apostle Paul related that the actual God-ordained wisdom in the Cross-work of Christ, was seen as foolishness by those who were perishing.
The wisdom of the Cross can be misconstrued.
BUT:
How can wisdom be properly interpreted?
9 means of understanding/interpreting foolish wisdom.
‘Foolish Wisdom’ is interpreted thru...
So far, in our examination of 1Corinthians 1:18-25, we have found that ‘Foolish Wisdom’ is interpreted/understood thru...
1. The MESSAGE Of The CROSS(:18)
2. PROMISED FUTILITY Present In The World(:19)
3. The VACUUM Present In The World(:20-21)Absence/Dearth of wisdom
4. GOD’s ANSWER To Adulterous SIGNS & WISDOM(:22-25)
Today I invite you to consider with me, that...
5—Foolish Wisdom is ALSO interpreted thru...
The TOPPLING EFFECT Of GOD’s WEAKNESS(:26-28)
Explanation:(:26-28)
1:26—“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.”
“For” answers verse :25 regarding the real power in God’s supposed ‘weakness.’
The church at Corinth, & the Church at large, is composed of the individuals who are “called” by God to Himself thru Christ Jesus.
•One result of God’s “calling”, is a common or shared family or brotherhood. All God’s people in Christ are “brethren.”
•God “calls” to us, to personal faith in His Good News, that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior, & our Lord!
•And we, in turn, who respond to that “call”, are considered “brethren.” Those who answer God’s “call” thru faith in Christ Jesus, are deemed “brethren.”
•And those who refuse to answer God’s “call” thru faith in Jesus, are NOT in league with those who have faithfully answered God’s “call”, even if those who do NOT ‘answer’ thru faith, might ACT religious & may be SYMPATHETIC to Christian ideals(politicians/law makers/enforcement entities).
