Brown's Daily Word 2-7-11

Good morning,
Thank God for the start of a new week; it is Monday. The Lord blessed us with a super weekend. The Saturday Evening worship service was big blessing. It began to come down in an icy sleet as we began to gather for worship, yet many came for worship and fellowship. Emily Sabin, a student at the Binghamton University led the worship. Emma Brownson brought the special music. They were anointed. Pastor Bill preached from the life of the young shepherd boy David. He illustrated our Lord specializes in impossibilities. He shared from his own life how the Lord has given him grace though he had multiple health problems, including brain cancer and surgery. Still he keeps on serving the Lord. The doctors said no to him, but the Lord said yes. We celebrated the Lord's Supper at Union Center and at Wesley, and I preached from 1 Corinthians 1, “The message of the cross is foolishness to the unbeliever, but it demonstrates the power and wisdom of God to the believer”
T. S. Eliot once said “All our knowledge only brings us closer to our ignorance,
and all our ignorance closer to death. But closer to death, no closer to God." [And then he asked the haunting question: Where is the life we have lost in living?]
“Foolishness” = moria, from which we get the word moron. To the unbeliever, the cross is moronic (absolute nonsense) because it conflicts with his own wisdom. That God would become a man, be crucified on a cross, be raised to life in order to provide for man’s forgiveness of sin and entrance into heaven is such a simple idea that it appears foolish & far too humbling for natural man to accept.
This verse teaches us that human wisdom is not only unreliable, but it is impermanent.
Another way to look at it is to ask three questions. “Where are all the smart people that have the answers? How much closer to peace is man than he was a century ago – or a millennium ago? How much closer are we to eliminating poverty, hunger, ignorance, crime, and immorality than they were in Paul’s day?"
We have far more formal educattion than our forefathers, but we are not more moral. We have more greater and more diverse means for helping each other, but we are more selfish. We have far better means of communication, but we do not understand each other any better. We have more psychology & education, yet more crime and more war. No, we have not changed, except to find more ways to express and excuse our own sinful nature. Looking back throughout history we find that human wisdom has never been able to solve the basic problems of man.
God’s wisdom, however, is not only superior to human wisdom, but it is also very powerful (vv. 21-25)
Man’s increased knowledge tends to increase problems, not solve them. Hatred increases, misunderstandings increase, mental breakdowns increase, wars increase, drunkenness, crime, and family problems all increase, not only in numbers, but also in severity. The more you try to depend on yourself and your own knowledge, the more your problems increase. John MacArthur addressed this issue with the following, “Human wisdom never solves anything. It’s nice to sit around and talk about it, but it can’t do anything. People don’t get changed lives from it, it doesn’t transform people, it doesn’t forgive sin, it doesn’t make new creatures, it doesn’t usher people into the presence of God, it doesn’t do anything like that. It gives people satisfaction by playing little intellectual games, and builds their ego by telling people what they know.”
When we are willing to recognize our own inner bankruptcy and turn to Christ by faith, He will exchange our poverty for His riches, our sin for His righteousness, our despair for hope, death for life. That, friend, is GOOD NEWS!
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sKcw9_PQYA
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott


Saturday February 12, 2011 5 PM Gathering: Italian Feast.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by Emily Sabin and Emma Brownson
Speakers: Rev. Brown Naik, and Jeff Vansycle