Monday’s Blog: Paul Series “1 Corinthians 2”
We continue our study of Paul’s letters this week with 1 Corinthians 2. Paul ended the last letter (1 Corinthians 1) exhorting the Corinthians not to put their faith in the wisdom of man, as the wisdom of the world is foolish. He expressed “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.â€
In chapter 2, he starts off reaffirming them not to put their faith in the wisdom of man, but on the power of God.
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
v. 1-5 (NASB)
I went to a friend’s church recently to hear her pastor preach. I had been carrying a lot of burdens and been praying for wisdom. I was hungry for a word from God and was hoping God would answer through this pastor’s message. At the beginning of the service, during the praise and worship, one of the worship leaders started praying. I don’t remember the words he prayed. But I felt the Holy Spirit move through him so powerfully that it instantly lifted all the weight I’d been carrying and answered my prayer.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.â€
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
When I minister I often pray that God gives me the right words to reach others. But all I need is to allow the Holy Spirit to move through me, not my words, as this worship leader did. When I didn’t know Christ, the most powerful witness came through a woman who spoke not a word to me about God. I was a waitress at the time. Many customers gave me Bible tracts and preached the word to me, but none of them moved me to seek God. This woman was different from the others. She did not preach to me. But she did move me to seek God. I remember she was pleasant to wait on after a long stressful lunch rush. I waited on a lot of nice people, but this woman stood out above anyone else. She had a gentle spirit. I felt something touch me through her presence. She left a tip that was greater than her bill, but it was not the tip that moved me. It was the power of the Holy Spirit in her that touched me.
Paul explains in the rest of the chapter the importance of relying on the power of God’s Spirit and His wisdom versus our own:
Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
but just as it is written,
“THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.â€For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.
v. 6-15 (NASB)
I couldn’t receive God’s Word when it was preached to me because it was spiritual and I was not. It wasn’t until God moved through His Holy Spirit in that woman to draw my heart to Jesus that He was able to reveal Himself to me and give me understanding of His Words.
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Matthew 11:25-27 (NIV)
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for drawing our hearts to Jesus and giving us the mind of Christ to understand Your will and Your Words. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit and remove everything that hinders Your power from being seen through us to reach others and to draw their hearts to Jesus. We praise You that You have so much more prepared for us than we can even imagine. Your wisdom is so much greater than our understanding. We Praise You in Jesus’ name, Amen!
Â
*We will continue Paul’s letters next week with 1 Corinthians 3. Have a blessed week allowing the Spirit of God to move through you!
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Paul Series Corinthians and tagged 1 Corinthians 2, God, God's Word, Holy Spirit, Jesus, knowledge, mind of Christ, reaching others, Salvation, understanding, wisdom by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Sin Series “Unbeliefâ€
This is the fifth message in my series on sin. As I talked about pride last week, I mentioned how our carnal mind is defiled with unbelief.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:7-8, KJV
Our carnal mind will always lead us in opposition to God’s will. Satan knows that. That’s why our mind is the battlefield where he attacks us the most. The Apostle Paul explained:
“By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am ‘timid’ when face to face with you, but ‘bold’ toward you when away! I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.â€
2 Corinthians 10:1-5
When we let our carnal mind have free reign over us, by not taking our carnal thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ (not accepting what doesn’t agree with the Word of God), we give Satan an inroad to set up strongholds of unbelief.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Romans 8:5-6, NKJV
I wrote a message once on a promise God gave us in His Word. I shared all the Scriptures that confirmed this promise was given to us in Christ. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ†(2 Corinthians 1:20). I also shared how God manifested this promise in my life and many others. A person who hadn’t seen that promise manifest in their life yet, came against me claiming it wasn’t true. Their argument was backed by human understanding (our carnal mind), not by spiritual understanding (mind of Christ). We have to stand firm believing God’s Word, not what others say or are experiencing.
For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.
Romans 3:3-4, NKJV
Abraham took his carnal thoughts captive and stood in faith, believing God was faithful to His Word. Even though it was a fact that he and Sarah were too old to conceive, he knew what God promised him. He knew if God promised him a son, God would deliver him a son.
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.†Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Romans 4:18-21
The Bible tells us to take up the shield of faith, with which we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of deception Satan throws at us (Ephesians 6:16). The church has not been holding up their shield of faith. As a result, we’ve allowed Satan in to sow deception and create false doctrine. And the Bible warns us it’s only going to get worse.
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
2 Timothy 4:3
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves … lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
2 Timothy 3:1-8
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for showing us the truth in Your Word. Help us to take up our shield of faith and stand firm believing everything in Your Word. Help us to take captive every carnal thought and make it obedient to Christ. We want to take hold of all that You have promised us in Your Word. Help us believe even when we don’t see Your promises manifest right away. Jesus said if we abide in His Word, we are truly His disciples, and we will know the truth and the truth shall make us free (John 8:31-32). We must believe first before we see Your promises come to pass in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray, believing Your Word is truth! Amen!
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
1 Peter 5:8-9
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
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*Come back next Monday as the “Sin Series†continues.
*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.
*If you haven’t yet received Christ into your heart, click on the “SALVATION†tab at the top of the website.
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Sin Series and tagged 2 Timothy 4:3, Carnal mind, Colossians 2:8, mind of Christ, Renewing our minds, unbelief by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Sin Series “Pride”
This is the fourth message in my series on the bondage of sin that is weighing down the body of Christ today. Last week, I talked about tolerating sin by allowing the world to be our teachers instead of Jesus.
James 4:4-10 warns:
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.â€
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
The world is full of pride. It cannot submit to God’s authority. When we fall into pride we also can’t submit to His authority. The verse above exhorts: “purify your hearts, you double-minded.†To be double-minded means we believe in God but then we doubt His wisdom and authority.
James 1:5-8 explains:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.Â
The reason we fall into doubt is because we submit too often to our carnal mind. Our carnal mind is defiled with unbelief. When we submit to it, it leads us in opposition to God’s will.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Romans 8:7, KJV
Our Spiritual mind is purified in Christ. When we submit to it, it leads us into God’s will.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16, KJV
How many times do we seek God for His will on a matter, but then our minds start rolling through our own ideas of how to handle it? If we don’t cast down those carnal thoughts, and submit our minds to trust God’s authority, we will walk in opposition to His will.
I had a situation come up recently. I went to God with the matter, and I felt Him speak to me in my Spirit that I was to leave it in His hands and do nothing. Whenever God tells me to do nothing about something, I know right away it’s going to be a challenge for me. After submitting the situation to God, while waiting on Him to move, my mind continued to think about what I could do to help. Instead of casting down those thoughts, and praising God for coming to my defense and handling it, I submitted to my carnal mind and took the matter into my own hands. By the evening, the situation had spiraled into a huge mess. God humbled me and showed me how much grief could’ve been avoided had I listened to Him in the first place.
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power.
Proverbs 8:13-14
God has all the understanding and power. We don’t. So why would we not want to seek and accept His wisdom and His authority over our own? When the church operates in its own wisdom, it operates in opposition to God. God opposes the proud. Pride is what led to Satan’s destruction. Satan knows if he can tempt us to submit to our carnal mind, he can lead us to follow him to his destruction. I read a message recently that said “Satan promotes pride; it makes you like him (misery loves company).â€
God gives grace (power, strength and wisdom) to the humble. If we want to see change in the church we must humble ourselves before God. We as a body must be in unity of the spirit by each of us doing our part and operating in the mind of Christ. In everything we should seek and accept God’s wisdom over our own.
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Romans 12:16, KJV
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:5-6
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
1 Corinthians 1:10
Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
2 Corinthians 13:11
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Philippians 1:27, NASB
Fulfill you my joy, that you be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Philippians 2:2, KJV
I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
Philippians 4:2, KJV
Finally, be all of one mind, having compassion one with another, love as brethren, be tender hearted, be courteous:
1 Peter 3:8, KJV
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for giving us the mind of Christ that we may know You and understanding Your will. As these verses above clearly show us, it is Your will that we operate in the mind of the Spirit. Help us keep our thoughts on You and cast down everything that is in opposition to Your will. We humble ourselves before You, and lay down our wisdom in exchange for Your wisdom, Your power, and Your authority. In Jesus name, we submit to You. Amen!
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*Come back next Monday as the “Sin Series†continues.
*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.
*If you’ve never accepted Christ as your Savior, please click on the “SALVATION†tab at the top of the website. Don’t wait another day!
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Sin Series and tagged body of Christ, fear of the Lord, God, Holy Spirit, Humility, Jesus Christ, mind of Christ, one mind, Pride, reverence, Romans 12:16, Sin, the church, unity by Amanda Beth with
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