Using the 1rst chapter of 1 Corinthians, verses 18-31, as the Scripture, this was given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on January 30, 2005, and again, after a small rewrite, at the Hartford (IL) East Maple Street Chapel on February 7, 2010

       It was either ‘80 or ‘81 that I convinced my friend Henry to join me in starting a lawn mowing/landscaping business in Edwardsville, and to that end we acquired a very used John Deere riding mower, to supplement his old Craftsman, a new but very inexpensive string-trimmer, an older and very small International industrial tractor, various other tools and equipment, and a trailer to haul it all on. And I must say that with my contacts, advertising expertise, and sales ability, it didn’t take long for us to sign a number of mowing contracts with different organizations around the area. But I was also very interested in building-up the landscaping side of things, and was always on the look-out for new homes or remodeling projects being done that I might stop at and talk about us doing what we could to help.

       A mutual friend of ours had a sister who had just purchased a home in a new subdivision several towns away and wanted the dirt in the yard finished much smoother than what the contractors had left it, and to get a proper stand of grass growing. After we got the equipment there, I noted that the backyard ran downhill all the way to the house, and she admitted that they were having a problem with getting water in the basement every time it rained, and that, so-far, no-one had given them any viable options of what to do about it.. After looking the situation over for a bit, I set the blade on the back of our little tractor to as angled and as tilted position as it would go, then starting about twenty feet away from the house, proceeded, in a number of passes, to dig a two-foot deep trench all the way across the back yard and around one side. With each pass, I could see their jaws drop ever more in amazement as they wondered what in the world I was doing to their yard! Finally, one of them asked me if I knew what I was doing… I just smiled and said, “Trust me!” I told them to all go back inside for about two hours and then come see what they thought!

       When they returned, they saw the entire back-part of the yard smoothly tapered down to the bottom of what had been that trench, while the ground from there to the house sloped up all the way to the wall! What was now the low-spot of the yard gently tapered around the side of the house and smoothed back to level at the front yard. Now, all the rain water from the back and off of the roof ran towards it and was diverted around to the front, where it spread-out over that grass and made its way on to the street. They were shocked and very, very pleased with how it had turned out, and admitted that no-one had even considered doing that. And I am very happy to add that they called three-or-four months afterwards to praise the work I had done and to tell me that they had never had another drop of water in that basement!

       Now, you might ask, “what has all of this got to do with today’s lesson?” Trust me!

       The Life Application Commentary says that, “Paul had not come to Corinth to make disciples for himself; he had come to “preach the gospel”. But this preaching was not according to the world’s wisdom or desires — it was not filled with philosophical arguments or supernatural acts. Paul’s preaching was the message of the cross — Jesus Christ crucified on behalf of sinners. Such a message always has two results, for ultimately all of humanity will end up in one of these two classes. (1) To those who are on the road to destruction, the gospel message sounds foolish . . . the message of the cross surely seems stupid to those who desire worldly wisdom. “Who wants a crucified king?” they might ask. (2) But for those who are being saved . . . [the gospel message is] the very power of God. Paul wrote to the Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek”. The gospel message is more than a true story and a good way to live; it is “the very power of God.” Only with such power can the gospel message redeem sinful people and transform them into God’s people.”

       He then summarized a verse from Isaiah to emphasize a point that Jesus often made: God’s way of thinking is not like the world’s way… that is… normal human wisdom. “The wisdom of the wise” and “the intelligence of the intelligent” refer to world-centered wisdom and intelligence. These are not wrong, but they are worthless as a means of salvation. The context of the passage in Isaiah is that God hates those who “draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips… their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote”. Thus, God says he will destroy their wisdom and intelligence because it can never help them find him. People can spend a lifetime accumulating human wisdom and yet never learn how to have a personal relationship with God. They must come to the crucified and risen Christ to receive eternal life and the joy of a personal relationship with the Savior. It doesn’t matter if they use their “wisdom” and “intelligence” to search for God… or to attempt to dismiss him… they will only find themselves doomed to frustration and, ultimately, to eternal separation from God.”

So the question then poses itself… of what use is human wisdom? Many intelligent people had looked at the water problem at that house I started telling you about… the contractor, the architects, and many others… all with book learning and/or years of experience… and all had told them that it was a situation that they would either have to pay big bucks to fix, or just learn to live with… and so I’m sure it must have seemed utterly foolish to them for me to start digging what looked like a gigantic hole in their back yard! But when all was said and done, my ‘foolishness’ was of far greater value to them than all of the ‘wisdom’ offered by others… and that is the gist of today’s passage… that even the ‘foolishness’ of God is far more valuable than any man’s wisdom!

       A story from ‘Practical Bible Illustrations’ tells of an educated Chinese man who was employed by some missionaries to translate the New Testament into Chinese. At first the work of translating had no apparent effect upon the scholar. But, after a time, he became quite agitated and said, “What a wonderful book this is!” “Why so?” said the missionary. “Because,” said the Chinese, “it tells me the exact facts about myself. It knows all that is in me. The one who made this book must be the one who made me.”

The Bible tells one the fundamental facts about oneself indeed. How superficial, by way of contrast, are human textbooks on psychology, or the human mind! And such is the power of God!

You see, in verse 25, Paul says that, “… the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom…” And then, he adds… “the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” The most foolish thing that God might do is still far wiser than anything man might accomplish! The weakest thing that God might be capable of is still far and away more powerful than anything we can even imagine!

The Life Application Commentary says that, “This verse provides the key to Paul’s words in these chapters. The message of Christ’s death for sins sounds foolish to those who don’t believe. They believe that they, by their own wisdom, can find the “ultimate reality” or make for themselves the best life; however, they will be woefully disappointed. Their wisest plans cannot even compare to God’s most insignificant act. Paul’s words do not imply that God could ever be foolish or weak; instead, he was making the point that human wisdom and human strength cannot begin to compare to God. What the world sees as foolishness (Christ’s death for our sins as a display of God’s power) is God’s truth. The cross was reserved for criminals in Paul’s day. How could such an act have any power? Yet this “foolishness” is wiser than any human plan that could have been laid, for through Christ’s death alone comes salvation. Even an act that had appeared to be weakness (a human body dying on a cross) was far stronger than any human strength, for Christ would come back to life. Death seems to be the end of the road, the ultimate weakness. But Jesus did not stay dead. His resurrection demonstrated his power over death. And through what had appeared to be weakness, Christ accomplished what no amount of human strength could ever accomplish. By his death, people are saved from eternal death and given everlasting life — if they trust him as Savior and Lord. The “foolish” people who simply accept Christ’s offer are actually the wisest of all, because they alone will live eternally with God.”

Still quoting from the Life Application Commentary…“The Good News of Jesus Christ still sounds foolish to many and offensive to others. It is foolishness to any who have chosen another way to face their unavoidable appointment with death and what comes after. It is offensive to those who attempt to maintain a facade of self-righteousness or self-confidence in the face of life’s questions. Those who cannot consider their own sinfulness will find that the gospel offers a solution they insist they do not need. Our society worships power, influence, and wealth. Jesus came as a humble, poor servant, and he offers his kingdom to those who have faith, not to those who work hard or improve themselves. This may look ridiculous to the world, but Christ is our power, the only way we can be saved…”

What more can I add to that? Let all of God’s people wisely say…