Foolishness of God by Rev. Maj. Byron E. Martin for American Rescue Workers DC Corps February 17, 2008
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Judges 6: 36-40
READ 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Basic Thought: There are two types of people that have not yet accepted Jesus Christ into their lives. JIM: Just Insisting on Miracles BOB: Believing Only Brainfood
JIM: Just Insisting on Miracles Paul tells us that the Jews demanded miraculous signs. That is how God spoke to His people in the Old Testament.
God, if you do this –I’ll believe. God, if you fix this problem ...God, if you heal this sickness ...God, if you are real, show me a sign.
In Judges, in the old Testament, chapter 6, we meet Gideon. God sent an angel to tell Gideon to lead his people, the Isrealites, to victory against the Midianites, with God’s hand on the outcome. But Gideon wouldn’t believe until he saw proof from God that He was indeed God.
Charles Colson points out, “It is absurd for Christians to constantly seek new demonstrations of God’s power, to expect a miraculous answer to every need…this only leads to faith in miracles instead of faith in God.”
Miracles: A woman and a man are involved in a car accident. It’s a bad one. Both of their cars are demolished but amazingly neither of them is hurt. After they crawl out of their cars, the woman says, "So, you’re a man... That’s interesting. I’m a woman. Wow, just look at our cars! There’s nothing left, but fortunately we are unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be friends and live together in peace for the rest of our days." The man replied, "I agree with you completely. This must be a sign from God!" The woman continued, "And look at this, here’s another miracle... My car is completely demolished, but this bottle of wine didn’t break. Surely God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune." Then she hands the bottle to the man. The man nods his head in agreement, opens it, drinks half the bottle and then hands it back to the woman. The woman takes the bottle, immediately puts the cap back on, and hands it back to the man. The man said, "Aren’t you having any?" She replies, "Nah. I think I’ll just wait for the police..."
READ Judges 6: 36-40
Gideon (let’s just call him JIM), Jim asked God for a miracle. Make the fleece wet and ground dry. God does just that. Not enough. Make the fleece dry and ground wet. Okay, fine. I’ll go up against the Midianites. He did and they won the battle.
Today, some people want to see miracles before they will believe and follow Jesus. Is that what has held you from following Jesus?
BOB: Believing Only Brainfood The Greeks would seek wisdom, knowledge and science to help them to decide on whether or not to believe in God and His Son. Following Jesus would depend on what the scholars and scientists were able to discover with their vast knowledge. Is this what holds you for following Jesus?
If I only had scientific proof that God really does exist. If I only had proof that “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” –John 3:16
If it could only be proved that Jesus died for my sins and rose again on the third day ...then I would believe. If only I had proof.
A teacher wanted to prove to her Christian students that God did not exist. She asked the students to come over to the window and see if they could see God in the sky. The students said that they couldn’t see him. She said “See, if you can’t see God –He doesn’t exist!”
One student looked at their teacher and said “Teacher, do you have a brain?” the teacher said “Of course.” The student continued “I can’t see it so it obviously doesn’t exist.”
God instead, chose faith, not miracles and not science as a way to the Kingdom of Heaven. In 1 Corinthians 1:25 it says “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”
I do not pretend to understand why God doesn’t just reveal himself to the world so that there is no doubt in anyone’s mind who He is. But then, I don’t know the mind of God. No man does.
So, those who Just Insist on Miracles and those who Believe Only Brainfood, the Jims and Bobs, will never see the kingdom of God and never come to a knowledge of Christ as their personal savior. The reason?
Because God doesn’t want us to come to him because of what our eyes can see and mind can reason but by what our HEART will accept.
For it is with our heart that Jesus is revealed to us and it is with our heart that we must believe. Romans 10:10 says “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
...It is with your HEART that you believe and are justified...
Romans 3:22 says “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
When you say that you can only believe what you can see and feel, it probably isn’t really true because faith is in everything that we do.
Faith is in everything we do. –You get a prescription that you can’t read from a doctor whose name you cannot pronounce and give it to a pharmacist that you do not know and he gives you medicine that you don’t understand ...and you take it as directed.
Any time you eat at a restaurant, get on an airplane, go under anesthesia, step out of bed in the dark, turn the ignition key in your car ...all these things require faith.
It is about following what you believe in your heart and not what you can see or feel. Before stepping out of bed at night ...do you reach down with your hand and touch the floor to be sure it is still there? No, you step out believing that the floor is still below you and will sustain your weight.
Martin Luther said that: God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.
Billy Graham, once said:
“Faith is the avenue of salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a mustard seed, so small you can hardly see it. But if you will put that little faith in the person of Jesus, your life will be changed. He will come with supernatural power into your heart. It can happen to you.”
As we conclude, let’s go to Roman’s chapter 10. Starting at verse 8:... (READ)
So whether you are a Jim or a Bob or a JimBob, we will only find forgiveness of sins and become a child of God by looking into our heart and believing that Christ Jesus is truly the Son of God, whose blood has been poured out for the remission of our sins. If you want this new life that God promises us, you have to make a public statement of your belief as you seek this forgiveness.
Would you come this morning and ask God in front of this congregation to forgive your sins and come into your life?
If you believe –you will receive!
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