Well, sir, I have a letter and the writer lives
in Fruesburg, New York. And she said, Miss Schoolman,
we've learned a long time ago that whenever we
have a question and we're praying for the correct
answer, sooner or later we get it from you. You
know, it's kind of nice. And she goes on to say,
here we are living. amongst five churches in
this little town of Fruesburg, and we have to
take 11 hours out of every Sunday and travel
nearly 300 miles to get the word of truth. But,
oh, we're so glad that we have found it in your
ministry. You know that's priceless. And those
people live in Fruesburg, New York. Every Sunday,
they travel nearly 300 miles. And as the writer
says, we take 11 hours out of every Sunday just
to attend the service in the Stanbaldatory in
Youngstown, Ohio. My, when I stop to think of
my responsibility as a minister of the gospel.
I dare not give anything less than my best to
him and to these precious folk. By the grace
of God, I vow to give you the best that I have.
And I promise you, you'll never be disappointed
in the Lord. I want these little heart -to -heart
talks that you and I have together to become
a very... part of your day, your life, your living.
This thing of being a Christian is the most practical
thing in the whole world. I know you think of
me as being a minister of the gospel. It is not
a profession with me. It is a life. I pray it
shall be so with you. You not only profess Christianity,
but I pray to God that it is a life with you.
Father, take the word again and make it real
to our hearts for Jesus' sake. Well, and now...
another one of those good heart -to -heart talks.
Somebody says, oh my goodness, wait, wait, wait
till I get out my Bible. That's right. I'll wait
for you because there is no substitute for the
Word of God. Believe me. Now, if I say something
that is contrary to the Word of God, always remember,
The Bible is right. I am wrong. If in the place
where you worship, that minister says something
that's contrary to the Word of God, always remember
the Bible is right. That's why I ask you when
I give you a portion of the Word of God, we have
these heart -to -heart talks. Always sit there
with your Bible open. And everything that I give
you, I try to back up with the Word of God. We
are now in the fourth chapter of 1 Corinthians.
Oh, and I just love this portion of the Word
of God. You know, they were having a knock -down
drag -out in that Corinthian church. Now, don't
smile about it. They were human in exactly the
same way that we are human. And wherever you
will find human nature, you will always, invariably,
sooner or later, find dissension and jealousy.
Well, it's just because we're human, I guess.
And those early Christians were no different
than we are today, than the folk are in your
church. And they were having divisions. They
were having their difficulties. And there were
those who had complained to Paul. And that was
the reason for this first letter that Paul wrote
to the Corinthians in that early church. Oh,
this is great. And he says in so many words,
fly goes... running around in your conceit as
though he had a right to boast. You don't have
a thing in the world to boast about. They were
loaded with spiritual pride. He puts them right
in their place. He says not one of you have cause
for spiritual pride. Not one of you have cause
for your conceit. For the very things that you're
putting to an improper use, causing differences.
These are the things that are gifts. And you've
received them from God. They're not yours to
boast about, to be conceited over. You have nothing,
you are nothing, outside of that which God has
given you and blessed you with. He had just said
in the third chapter when some of them have said
in their little clicks, you know, and you'll
find a click in every church. Always. Now, I
don't care where you go to church. You may be
a Baptist. You may be an Episcopalian. You may
be a Presbyterian. As sure as there's a place
where men and women gather together to worship,
there'll be a clique. They had a clique there
in that early Corinthian church. One of them
said, I am of Apollos. And they were in that
little clique. Another said, I am of Cephas.
There was a little clique over there. Then there
were those who said, I am of Paul. I'll only
go to church when Paul preaches. He's intellectual.
He has what I like. And so I'll just wait till
Paul comes back. You know what he said? Who then
is Paul? Just who is Apollos? Just who are we?
I have planted. Apollos has watered. Oh, this
job of planting is a big job. It's an important
job. And this thing of watering after the seed
has been planted is most important. But why should
either one of us strut around in our conceit
when after all it is... God who giveth the increase.
I have nothing to boast of. Apollos has nothing
to boast of. Cephas certainly has nothing to
boast of. The thing wouldn't grow anyway. There
wouldn't be any fruit. There wouldn't be any
results unless God himself gave the increase.
Oh, that's great. We better remember that. We've
gotten so far away from it. Let's come back again
to real, honest -to -goodness scriptural teaching.
Then Paul does something. He drops into satire.
And for just a second, I want you to see a masterpiece
of matchless satire. And it's exactly what it
is. He was laughing at them, perhaps in what
one might call a holy laughter, but yet with
utter contempt for what they'd been doing. You're
filled. You're rich. You're arrogant. Ha, ha.
What is he saying? In just one little sentence,
he says the whole thing. I would that he did
reign. That we also might reign with you. You're
rich. In other words, you think you're rich.
You're full. Full of what? Conceit. Spiritual
arrogance. Spiritual pride. You're so satisfied
in your own conceit. You think that you have
all that any Christian has ever received. And
really, there's nothing worse in the whole world
than spiritual pride. Spiritual conceit. He said,
I wish you understood what it really means. to
reign. Said Paul, then you and I could reign
together in the true sense of the word. We have
here a piece of matchless satire. Read it. It's
there. It's the eighth verse of the fourth chapter
of 1 Corinthians. Then he gives him this marvelous
statement of his estimate. of the position of
a born again christian oh this is glorious that
ninth verse for i think that god hath set forth
us the apostles lost as it were appointed to
death For we are made a spectacle unto the world
and to angels and to men. He was looking back
now. He was looking all the way back to the time
of the prophets. God had had his priest. God
had his kings, his prophets. Oh, they were holy
men of God. Go back to Abraham, if you will.
Go back to Isaac, if you will. Mighty men of
God. Go back to those Old Testament priests.
chosen of God, anointed of God. Go back to those
Old Testament prophets. Again I can hear the
voice of Jeremiah saying, Oh, it's not by might,
it's not by power, but by my spirit, saith the
Lord. Again some... how I can hear the voice
of Isaiah. As he cried forth, wounded for our
transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and
by his stripes we are healed. And yet, do you
realize, because the fact that they were born
and lived On the other side of Calvary, not one
of them could stand and face the whole world
and say, look upon me and see in me the transforming
power of the son of the living God. See in me
redemption's work, not one. Not one. Not one
of those holy priests during the Old Testament
dispensation could say to those who sought advice,
who sought forgiveness, who sought instruction,
look. upon me as an example of the power of the
shed blood of the great Messiah, God's matchless
Son, Jesus Christ. No. They could only point
to types and shadows of the one who is to come.
Not one of the Old Testament prophets could stand
before the whole world and say, behold, I am
an example of a man who's passed from death unto
life. The transforming power of the Son of God.
I am an example. of what redemption has done
in a man's life. Not one. Because they lived
on the other side of the cross. That's the reason
Paul makes a statement. That's one of the most
thrilling things. Beloved, the first time I was
given this spiritual revelation, I cried like
a baby. Why? For the first time I realized the
tremendous responsibility that was mine. I realized
that I was in a position to do what no Old Testament
saint was ever privileged to do. I realized that
I had a position that Jesus could not do for
himself. Paul saw it. Let me read it again. For
I think that God hath set forth us, the apostles,
last. Why? For we are made a spectacle unto the
world, and to angels, and to men. Is the question.
I am a public spectacle. As a born again man,
you are a public spectacle. As a born again woman,
you are a spectacle. Do you realize that the
very angels of heaven Even knowing the plan of
redemption, having seen God's perfect blueprint
for redemption, had never seen redemption's plan
consummated and in complete operation until after
Jesus dismissed his own spirit from his body.
Until Jesus died on the cross. Until he rose
again from the grave. That was the first time
that an angel had ever seen redemption's plan.
The power that there was in the shed blood of
Jesus Christ. In action. In power. in the life
of a human being. Oh, that's glorious. Today,
you and I can do what Jesus Christ could not
do for himself. Sin had never touched his body.
Sin had never touched the life of the Son of
the Living God. And he could only go just so
far and no further. He could not, through his
own body, his own life, challenge the world and
say, look upon me and see redemption's plan,
see the power of my own shed blood. No. Why?
Because he was the only one who could challenge
the world and say, which of you convinces me
of sin? Because sin had never touched that life.
He was perfect, absolute perfection. It takes
a sinner, saved by the grace of God, to be a
spectacle of the transforming power of Jesus
Christ. Paul continues, we are fools for Christ's
sake, as a spectacle, as one who's been redeemed,
whose life has been transformed. We are fools
for Christ's sake. But ye are wise in Christ.
We are weak, but ye are strong. We're honorable,
but we're despised. Even unto this present hour,
we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are
buffeted and have no certain running place. and
labor, working with our own hands, being reviled,
we bless. Being persecuted, we suffer it. Why?
Because we are new creatures in Christ Jesus.