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Let us pray: Dear Savior, thank You for giving us Godly truth! Thank You for providing Godly guidance for good in our lives. But most importantly, thank You for giving us clear consciences through the forgiveness for our sins that You won for each of us on the cross. Amen GRACE MERCY AND PEACE ARE YOURS FROM CHRIST, OUR WISE LORD AND SAVIOR! TEXT: Exodus 20: 1-17 Fellow Redeemed Sinners: Do you view God as a fool? I’m serious. Do you believe that He is out of touch with our reality and that His Biblical truths don’t really apply to you? Do you think that you’re wiser, smarter and more up-to-date than God? Does Dr. Phil seem more current to you than God’s Word? Do the various Harvard think-tanks seem more relevant? Every generation believes they are wiser than the stodgy God portrayed in the Bible. And they show it in how they live and what they hold dear. So, let’s take a test today and see where we come out when it comes to: GOD’S FOOLISHNESS VS. MAN’S WISDOM I Our lesson outlines the giving of the 10 commandments upon Mt. Sinai. They are very familiar to all of us. But, let’s begin examining His “foolish wisdom” backwards, as it were. Turn on talk radio and you’ll hear the phrase: “Greed is good.” Really? Since greed is basically being dissatisfied with our job, possessions, and co-workers and also thinking that any such blessings have no real value—where does that leave you? I’ll tell you where.—Discontented. So, I guess greedy folks will never experience true happiness. What a way to live! Likewise, with the booming house valuations, greed has taken over. And where has that gotten the average American? Do they own their house, or does their home own them? Gossip has become the American pastime. You cannot walk by a grocery check-out without some juicy celebrity tidbit hitting you between the eyes. Fat starlet pictures, Hollywood affairs, and celebrity embarrassing moments seem the most common. Do they make you feel better about yourself? Do they lift you above the mundane? Is that how you would like to be remembered? All of us work hard for our private property. Those of you who have a business know that when someone steals from you it takes bread (literally) from your family’s mouth. So, was a God a fool when He said that was wrong? Likewise, is He wrong when He provides blessings via hard work and the sense of accomplishment that comes with it? Do you want your wife, or husband, to have multiple sex partners? Will that make you feel better about your marriage? Do you want your kids to have free access to every kind of pornographic web site available? Do you think that will make them better people? Is physical violence o.k.? Is it alright to take out a gun and shoot the person who cuts you off in traffic? Should we all live like cave-men and work out a lot so that we’ll be able to carry the biggest club? Should parents raise children, or should children raise parents? Is it appropriate to sass your mother and dad? Should you be rewarded for such disrespect? After all, you’re just expressing your feelings, aren’t you? And aren’t we told that we should never repress our emotions? Now come the commandments dealing with our relationship with God. Is working 24/7 a good thing? Could it be that you’re depressed during the week because you’ve forgotten about God on Sunday? Is putting soccer practice, the baby shower, extra sleep, or that neighborhood birthday party first on Sunday morning but another way of saying: “God’s a fool, I don’t need Him this week?” How do you think God feels when people use His name as an afterthought, such as: “God, it’s hot today. Or, Jesus Christ, why did you forget to gas up the car?” If people were to use your name as a throw-away word, how would that make you feel? Do you view God kind of like the weather—some amorphous “thing” that has no reality? Does it matter to you that if God isn’t real than people are answerable to no one and the one with the biggest club wins? Do you thrive in the chaos of a God-free society, or do you long for something both kindler, gentler, and more stable? II As a Christian you know that evil exists in this world. You know that humans create their own problems. That’s not foolish talk, that’s reality. But, you also know that our wise God has found a way of sorting it all out. He has given us His commandments to order our lives and keep us safe. He has shown us a better way, a wiser way to live than everyone doing whatever they think is right in their own sight. And in the process, those commandments show us our own foolishness, not God’s. They reveal the chasm that exists between Him and each of us. For try as we might, we fail to keep them perfectly. Additionally, our wise God did something even more profound. God Almighty, the Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, not Allah, Vishnu, or the Great Spirit of the American Indians has provided an eternal solution to human chaos. He restored equilibrium, harmony and balance in His creation, by sending us a Savior from sin. He sent Jesus Christ to experience the ultimate horror of death in our place. In love for us He sent Jesus to give His life for ours on a cross and through His sacrifice to forgive us. God’s blood for human blood. God’s pain for human pain. No other religion teaches such a “foolish” truth. All the rest seek to look inside humans for answers to life’s problems. All the rest seek to placate your conscience by patting you on the back for your own achievements. Even though those achievements never seem to be enough. No, only Christianity teaches that God has done everything necessary to make us right with Him including giving us the gift of faith necessary to hold onto His eternal blessings. Only Christianity teaches true love and not coercion make the world go round. Is God a fool for loving you? Is He a fool for dying in your place? Is He a fool for providing guidance for good in the form of the commandments? Well, before you answer that question recall St. Paul’s blessed words: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” I know that outside these walls your faith is mocked all week long—directly or indirectly. But, really, who’s the real fool—God or unbelieving man? Amen |
