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Reading:
1Corinthians 2:1-16
- And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with
excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the
testimony of God.
- For I determined not to know any thing among you, save
Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
- And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much
trembling.
- And my speech and my preaching was not with
enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of
the Spirit and of power:
- That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but
in the power of God.
- Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet
not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this
world, that come to nought:
- But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even
the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the
world unto our glory:
- Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they
known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory.
- But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which
God hath prepared for them that love him.
- But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:
for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of
God.
- For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit
of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no
man, but the Spirit of God.
- Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the
spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that
are freely given to us of God.
- Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s
wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
- But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he
himself is judged of no man.
- For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may
instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
The final words
of our Lord in the incident we are considering are these: "Father,
glorify thy name" (Jn.12:28, RSV). What a decision!
What a moment! "Father, do not think of what it costs me -
only glorify Your name." At that moment, He gave God a
blank cheque, blank save that it was signed in His own blood.
It is a great moment in our life, too, when we hand God a blank
cheque, signed in our own blood, and invite Him to call on us for
all we have and all we are.
One person described this moment as "the great
renunciation". If that is so, then the moment of great
renunciation is followed by a great annunciation.
Listen: "Then a voice came from heaven, I have glorified
it, and I will glorify it again" (Jn.12:28, RSV).
The moment Jesus made the final response, then heaven spoke. Many
of us who complain we are living under a silent heaven would find
it vocal with the voice of God if we would choose the Calvary way.
Of course, the bystanders missed what was really going on and
"said that it had thundered" (Jn.12:29).
To them, it was the impersonal voice of nature. Others came a
little closer to reality, and said: "An angel had spoken
to him." To them, it was a little more than the
impersonal voice of nature, and yet something less than the voice
of God.
Anyone who stands on the edges of life as a bystander is bound to
give a shallow interpretation of what God is doing. It is only
those who have faced the alternatives - to die or not to die - who
are really involved.
PRAYER: My Father, I don't want to be a bystander. I want
to be in the centre of all You are saying and all You are doing.
Here's my cheque - signed with my own blood. Fill it in for
everything You want from me. I do it willingly, gladly, happily.
Amen.
FURTHER STUDY:
Josh.24:1-15;
Ps.119:30; Luke 10:42; Heb.11:25
1. What challenge did Joshua bring?
2. What was said of Moses?
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