The preaching of the Cross 04-21-2003

The main points of the information are that the speaker is praying for someone named Ed who is undergoing surgery. They discuss the concept of preaching the cross and how some people consider it foolishness. They emphasize the importance of preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified. They also mention that some religious groups try to enforce legalism and circumcision, but they don't keep the whole law themselves. The speaker advises against arguing with non-believers and emphasizes the need for the Holy Spirit's guidance in understanding God's word. They conclude by highlighting the power of the cross and the salvation it offers. All right, okay, let's see. Hey man, all right, good morning everybody. Good morning, good morning, good morning. Excuse me. All right, good morning. Ed Cabello, he is having surgery today. Father God, we come before the throne of grace with regards to Ed. Lord, he is having surgery today, and Lord, I pray that you would just bless the hands of the operators, the nurses, the technicians. I pray that your favor would be in the room. I pray that recovery will be swift, and I pray, Father God, that you would just watch over him, bless him, and keep him, that his surgery will be successful. We ask this in the name of Jesus, amen. Praise God. My pleasure, my pleasure. God is good. Good morning. It's Sister Rosemary. God bless you and your wife. Sister Rosemary, we received that blessing. We thank you so much. We're thinking about Joseph. You know what, ma'am? God is going to do something very powerful. You need not worry. Good morning, Jim. Good to see you, friend. Good to see you. Yes. But, Miss Rosemary, you need not worry. God is going to do salvation of God. He is, if you will, we couldn't fathom our understanding and our finite thinking can't understand who God is. But when we look at Jesus, we see God. That's the beautiful thing about it. Yes. Yes, he is. Amen. I received that, Pastor. Praise God. Praise God. We would just so honor our God that you honor what we are talking about. You don't have to agree with it, but we pray that you would be kind and allow us. We talked about this yesterday, and I want to go back over it again. I want to look at some other scriptures. But it says, For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved it is the power of God. Now, 1 Corinthians 18, I want to read it in the New King James Version. It says, For the preaching of the cross is to them that are perishing foolishness. So there are some people that as we share the gospel, as we share the word of God, as we... Are we unfrozen? Hang on. We're not going to start until somebody gives me a word. We should be unfrozen. Your videos... I should? Me too. Okay. I should be free. My Wi-Fi wasn't on. Good morning. I need prayers. Yes. Are we good now? Are we better now? Okay. Let's wait a few seconds to see. It's on. Are we good? Good. Hi, Ms. Lacey. Good to see you. All right. Much better. Aloha from Hawaii. Aloha. All right. So here we go. We're in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18. Let's read it again. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, or are perishing, foolishness. But unto us which are saved it is the power of God. Think about that first part. For the preaching of the cross is to them that are perishing. And you know, I was really intrigued with that. For those who are perishing. And I want to look at that word real quick. Hang on just a second. I want to see something. Perishing. Hang on. Hold with me real quick. Hold with me real quick. That word perish in Greek is apolimi. Apolimi. Look what it says. Watch this. To destroy. Folks that are perishing. Right? We're reading for the preaching of the cross to them that are perishing. All right? They consider the word of God foolishness. They consider the gospel foolishness. But look at what it says. The word perishing in the Greek means to put out of way entirely, abolish, put an end, or to ruin. This is perishing. Render useless. This is the definition of perishing. When the Bible says for the preaching of the cross to them that are perishing, this is what it means. It says to render useless. To kill. To declare that one must be put to death. To devote or give over to eternal misery in hell. To be lost, ruined, or destroyed. To lose. So the Bible is quite clear that for the preaching of the cross to them that are perishing, to those that are dying, to those that are deemed to be destroyed, to those that are going to be killed, to those who are going to spend eternity separated from God, those who are perishing consider the word of God foolishness. They consider the word of God foolishness. Have you ever been around anyone and you started talking about your faith and all of a sudden they got all upset? They got to a point where they didn't want to listen to what you had to say. As a matter of fact, to some degree, they dismissed you. I remember Ms. Debbie when she first became a new believer and we would go visit her family. They would mock her. They literally would mock her. She would be at the dinner table or the breakfast table or we would be sitting around the table ready to eat. And all of a sudden, she would say, well, let's pray first. And they literally would make fun of her. Now, it was the giggles and ha-ha, you think you're holier than thou. But I found that very fascinating, very interesting. But even us, when we talk about the gospel, when we share the word of God, when we mention something about church or prayer or our faith, there's always someone there that considers us fools or we are expounding foolishness and what we believe in is false. And that's always happening. But look what it says in that 1 Corinthians 1.18, For the preaching of the cross to them that are perishing is foolishness. Once again, they are perishing. They are dying. They are separated from God. They are going to be in eternal damnation. But they consider what we say as foolishness. And they consider us as fools for expounding on it. This is why you have to be very careful not to get so offended with those who do not want to listen to you. Now, if you've ever followed me on TikTok for a season, you know that I do not argue with people. I don't debate with people. I don't debate with Christians who want to debate doctrine. And I don't debate with non-Christians who just want to debate things. I do not debate with them. Why? Because I understand with the non-believer that they do not have a relationship with the Lord. With a non-believer, they are not filled with the Spirit. And there is no sense in me arguing with them with regards to the Bible. Now, remember what we read yesterday. We went over to 2.14, and I think it said, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him or her, neither can they know them, because they are spiritually discerned. God's Word is spiritually discerned. So, hence, for it to be spiritually discerned, you must be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, we know the Holy Spirit is the third party of the Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We know that even Jesus himself told his disciples, Do not leave here, but stay here until you receive, what? The Spirit. Why? But the Spirit empowers you. The Spirit leads you. The Spirit teaches you. The Spirit reveals things to you. Matter of fact, the Holy Spirit revealed to you the deepness of God. See, folks, we have to be filled with the Spirit. So when you get in a heated debate with a non-believer, don't waste your time. They're going to think it is foolishness. They will not listen to you. They will mock you. They will roll their eyes. And you will be wasting your time. You'll get frustrated. How many of you have been frustrated? You try to share your love for God with somebody, and people want to mock you, or make fun of you, or consider you a fool, or what you're saying is foolishness. Has anybody ever experienced that? Has anybody ever experienced that? Yes. Yes. Yes. There you go. Now, think about that. Think about that. For the preaching of the cross to them that perish, foolishness. They think it's foolishness. And here we go. Now, in that verse, there are some things I want to look at. I want to look at the preaching. Number two, I want to look at two. Number three, I want to look at foolishness. And number four, I want to look at unto. Now, if we read the whole verse, it says, For the preaching of the cross to them that perish, foolishness. But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. I reiterate, I want to look at those words. The preaching. Two. Foolishness. Unto. So let's look at that. 1 Corinthians 1.23, or 1.21. 1 Corinthians 1.23-24. I'm so sorry. So we want to ask ourselves, what was Paul preaching? What was Paul preaching? Let's look at 1 Corinthians 1.23-24. Let's look at what Paul was preaching. Here's what Paul says in verse 23. But we preach Christ crucified. Wait a minute. What was Paul preaching? Now, in that first verse, for the preaching of the cross, Paul says, we were preaching Christ and Him crucified. But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and wisdom of God. Notice what he said. He said, we preached to the Jews, and it was a stumbling block. Do you know that Jesus was a stumbling block to the Jews until today? Did you see on the news where they want to outlaw Christianity in the Holy Lands? But why? Because for them to accept the messianic promise, or the Messiah, would have to change everything that they believe in, their customs, their culture, their traditions, their religion. Why? Because Jesus is a stumbling block. And let's think about the metaphor of the stumbling block. See, that comes from when something is in your path and you trip. Jesus was a stumbling block. They could not stay on their path because if they acknowledged that He was there, He would cause them to trip up. But they dismissed Him. Once again, Paul says, but we preached Christ crucified, and unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. Why? The Greeks demanded what? Knowledge. They could not wrap their mind around a Messiah that would go to the depths of hell and resurrect out of the grave. They couldn't understand why God would come in the flesh. But it still exists today. We've got folks today that dismiss who Jesus is. They will label Him as only a prophet. They will label Him as a good man, but they will not acknowledge Him as God or the Son of God. Why? Because that does not make sense in their finite mind. But how can you and I, with a finite mind, wrap our mind around an infinite God? How is it that we try to take the infinity and put it in finite? That doesn't make sense. I mean, we can intellectually understand, but we can never grasp what God has done for us through Jesus. Watch what Paul says again. But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Think about it. That initial statement, for the preaching of the cross, when we preach, or that word preaching means the word, for the word of the cross, meaning the gospel, logos, the good news, when we preach, we preach Jesus. When we preach, we preach the death, burial, and resurrection. When we preach, we understand that He sits at the right-hand side of the Father. And to us that are saved, it is the power of God unto salvation. This is why the cross and Jesus is so important. Do you know some religions? How many of you know there's a religion out there that will not teach the cross? Anybody can name a religion that will not? And I mean, they call themselves Christians, but they refuse to teach the cross. Anybody know a religion out there? Anyone? Anyone can tell me that? There you go. There's Miss Catherine. She said it. Do you know they refuse to talk about the cross? They refuse. Amen. JWs, they refuse to talk about the cross. That is nothing but Satan. That is nothing but Satan. But what did Paul say in 1 Corinthians 1.23? But we preach Christ crucified. If He was crucified, there had to be a cross. For there is power with regards to the teaching of the cross. But see, they won't talk about the cross. That is nothing but Satan trying to pervert their minds. That is doctrine of devils. Alright, let's look what else Paul preached about when it came to preaching. Alright? 1 Corinthians 2.2. Watch. I love when Paul says this. He says something very powerful. He says in 1 Corinthians 2.2, he says, For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul is powerful. He says, I didn't know. I came around you. I didn't act like I knew anything. I didn't expound on my resume. I didn't talk about my education. I didn't talk about how many cars I own. I didn't talk about my stock portfolio. He goes, what I did talk about, and he says right here, I didn't know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That's what they were preaching about, folks. This is what people consider foolishness. He came preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and people considered that because they were perishing foolishness. It's happening right here on TikTok. People, you come on here talking about Jesus. Oh, get out of here. I don't believe that stuff. You come here talking about the cross. You talk about the resurrection. You talk about eternal life. You talk about all the things of the Bible, and people think it's foolishness. Oh, I don't want to hear that. I don't want to hear that. We had a young lady here earlier in the week. She even said, she admitted, she said, When you guys start talking about biblical principles, I don't even want to hear it. She considered it foolishness. I asked her, please stay on. Don't leave, because she was hurt by a religious organization. So, with that being said, the scars are causing her to dismiss the favor of God and the blessing of God through His word. However, what did Paul say? For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That was Paul's cornerstone message. That was Paul's go-to message, that Jesus Christ was crucified. And that Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead. This is what they were preaching. They weren't preaching prosperity. If you give God $100, He'll give you a Mercedes. They didn't preach that. They didn't preach motivational speeches. Now, don't get me wrong. The word of God is motivational. But they did not preach motivational speeches. Matter of fact, to be honest with you, let me take a sip of coffee real quick. If you leave church, let me reword this. Every time that you go to church, if you leave with a motivational sermon, expect that to last for about a day. If all your preacher does is give you motivation, there's a problem. Matter of fact, a true sermon, the true word of God, will always step on your toes. Does anybody know what I mean by that? A true sermon, the true word of God, will always step on your toes. Why do I say that? Because there's always room for improvement with regards to our Christian walk. When you go and listen to a sermon and the word of God is teaching, it will convict you. It will cause you to rethink. And if it doesn't, you might want to check, number one, if you have a pulse. Number two, if you are a believer. But Paul says, watch this and I repeat, For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That is and was the message. But back to 1 Corinthians chapter 118. We're going to go to more over here, but let me read it again. The preaching of the cross to them that are perishing. Foolishness. But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. Think about it. All right. We ask our question again. Who are they preaching to and what are they preaching? They are preaching to the lost. Watch this. In Galatians 6, 12, 14. Now I want to read this out of the NLT because I really want you to hear what it's saying. So give me a minute. I should have had my Bible open there and I should have been ready. But be patient with me while I get there. Please. Please, please, please, please, please. So we're going to go to the book of Galatians chapter 6, 12, 12-14. Galatians chapter 6, 12-14. Do I have any moderators on this morning? I haven't looked. If I have, I'm so sorry that I hadn't acknowledged any of you. Please forgive me. Please forgive me. All right. We're almost there. I'm moving a little slow. All right. So we want to go to Galatians 6, 12-13. Galatians 6, 12-14. Please. Here we go. Once again, we are looking at the primary verse of 1 Corinthians 1-18, which says, For the preaching of the cross to them that perish foolishness. Now, we're looking at that word preaching. We are wondering what they're preaching. We've already identified in the first verse that they are preaching Christ and Him crucified. We looked at that in 1 Corinthians 1-23. But then we went to 1 Corinthians 2-2, and Paul says, I determined not to know anything among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. But now we're looking at that third verse. So we know they are preaching Jesus Christ. We know they are preaching Him crucified. So we want to look at this third verse, and that's Galatians 6, 12. Galatians 6, 12 says this. Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. Now, what are we talking to do? We're talking about the religious elite, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes. They're operating under the law. They're talking about circumcision, to circumcise according to the law. And so what Paul is saying here, he's speaking to a person who is a nonbeliever. Or I should say he's speaking to a person who has just become a Christian or thinking about Christendom. And so he says to them, he says, Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. All right? He says they don't want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. Notice what he says. He goes, they want you to execute legalism. They want you to operate under the law. They want you to somehow see if you can fulfill the law. But watch what it says. And even those that advocate circumcision don't keep the whole law themselves. Look what he says. He says even the folks that are promoting the law or circumcision or trying to execute the law, he says they can't even keep the law. Think about it. They can't keep the law. But it said in the last verse before, the only reason, and I'll read it again. He says, therefore, whenever we are, oh, I'm sorry. He says, those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. See, all they're trying to do is trying to recruit as disciples. And they want to look good to others because they want to execute the law. Why? It says right here in the next verse. They don't want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. See, they were in fear. And they didn't want to teach that because they were afraid they'd be persecuted by their peers. This is why why Nicodemus came to Jesus by night because why? He didn't want to be seen by his, what, colleagues, his peers. Let's keep going. And they don't want to be persecuted for teaching the cross of Christ that can save. See, they didn't want to teach the cross. Why? Because they knew in their hearts it could save. They wanted to be praised. They wanted to be looked at as the religious elite. They wanted to be honored by men and women around them. But you know what? There's a problem with that in the church today. Some of us are walking around with our self-righteousness. Some of us are walking around as if we've got it all together when we are struggling in our sin. We'll talk about that on another day. But let's get back to this. He says, Paul says in verse 13, and we're in Galatians 6.13, And even those who advocate circumcision don't keep the whole law themselves. Do you know if you break the least of one of the laws, you've broken all of them? Do you know if you don't keep one of the laws, thou shalt not lie. How many of you have ever lied? Thou shalt not steal. How many of you have ever stolen anything? How many of you said, do not use the Lord's name in vain? We just named three of the ten. And all of you have admitted, including me, that we have failed to keep the law. But here we have people Paul is preaching to. He's saying, wait a minute. These folks that are trying to get you to be circumcised, according to the traditions of the Hebrews, the children of Israel, they don't even keep the law. They can't. But all they want to do, number one, is they don't want to be persecuted by teaching the cross. Number two, they want to be praised by men. Number three, they want to stay in the traditions of men. Let's keep reading. They don't even keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples. That's all Paul is saying. They're not concerned for you. They want to boast that you're a disciple, a disciplined student of their teaching. That's all they want. And all the while they're promoting the law. Paul was preaching this. This is why he says, he goes, I didn't come knowing anything but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. They consider the message that the disciples brought as foolishness. When Paul or Peter or John or James and the list goes on, any time they proclaim the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, the Greeks, the non-believers, the agnostics, they considered it to be foolishness. Why? Because they were perishing. They were not filled with the Spirit. And they were operating in the natural. Wow. Now let's look at that next word. So we looked at preaching. We looked at preaching. But who were they preaching to? Once again, let's read that 1 Corinthians 1.18. For the preaching of the cross is to them. The preaching of the cross is to them that perish. Watch this. Acts 13.41. Acts 13.41. Folks, there should be a million people listening to this this morning. There should be a million people listening to this this morning. This is the Word of God. This is how we grow. Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. And that's the biggest problem with us as Christians today. We spend more time on TikTok than we do on the Word. We spend more time being foodies, going to eat good food. And there's nothing wrong with eating. But what if we took that time and got in the Word? We spend more time on our phones playing video games or conversating versus being in the Word of God. Folks, this is why we find ourselves struggling in our faith. This is why we feel we are so distant from God because we're not in our Word. And I don't say this to discipline you. I say this so that you will grow in your faith. Folks, there are things coming down the pipeline. If you don't have that foundation that is grounded in Jesus Christ, you will be swept off your feet. Things are coming down the pipeline, folks. I said it yesterday. There's so much. There's so much coming down the pipeline. We see it here in Arizona every time I turn around. There's shootings. There's people, family suicides. There's financial issues. They're homeless. There's government corruption. The list goes on. And we're not even talking about world events. But if you are not grounded in the Word of God to know that your Jesus has all authority. See, this is the Word, but we've got to be in it. Or you will be swept by the chaos that comes through the pipeline into your house through media, TV, or whatever that might be. But let's get in our Word. Let's read on. Acts 13.41 says, Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish. For I work a work in your days, a work which you shall by no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. Did not Jesus declare the Word of God? But those who saw Jesus denied who He was. They even said, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Jesus walked among them. He preached. He teached. He did miracles. And they refused to accept Him. Matter of fact, they got to the point that they sent Him to the cross. He gave His life. They didn't take it. But look what He says right there in Acts 13.41. Behold, you despisers. They despised what Jesus had to say. They despised what Paul, and Peter, and James, and John, and Luke, and the list goes on. They despised it. They considered it foolishness. He called them what? And wonder. He goes on to say, He goes, and perish. For I work a work in your days, a work which you shall by no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. There are people that will not accept the Word of God. And my heart breaks because of that. Because they're perishing. Their destination. Folks, I... Do not fool yourselves. Without Jesus, you are perishing. Do not fool yourself. Without Jesus, you will find yourself separated from the Lord for eternity. Because He gave you the choice not to choose Him. You will die in your sins. And you will be separated from God. And you will be in a place of torment and torture. And one of you might say, why would a loving God do that to a creation that He loves? Why would a loving God send His only begotten Son to die for the creation that is wicked? Quit living the sinful lifestyle that you've grown accustomed to. And repent and turn to Jesus while you still have breath in your body and while you still can. Quit listening to the wisdom of this world that tells you that the lifestyle you're living is okay. Love is love. Love is love. Love is not love. Love can be friendship. Love can be seductive. Love can be unconditional. There are variations of love. But you better choose the agape love, and the agape love comes from God. God is love. And those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth. Quit living the life that opposes the Word of God and turn to Jesus while you still can. Because I'm telling you, when you take your last breath, you will be in the presence of torment. While the world teaches you, you were born that way. While the world teaches you, it's okay to be that way. While the world teaches you, oh, we're going to make laws that condone the life you live. This is not from man, but from God. Repent while you still can. And turn to Jesus while you still have breath in your body. And quit fooling yourselves. I go back to the book of Genesis. Adam and Eve were naked. They were innocent. They didn't know they were naked. And what happened? God came to them and said, who told you you were naked? Who told you? That's the question. Who told you that you were to live that lifestyle? Who told you you were born that way? Who told you that's what you are? Let's get back to our Word this morning. So Paul was preaching to the despisers. Paul was preaching to those that were perishing. Paul was preaching to the wicked. Paul was preaching to those that would not accept Jesus Christ. The basis of our verses start with 1 Corinthians 1.18. For the preaching of the cross to them that are perishing foolishness. But unto us which are saved it is the power of God. So Paul was preaching to the wicked. Those that were despaired. Those without. Those that were non-believers. Look at 2 Corinthians 2.15-16. 2 Corinthians 2.15-16. For we are unto God a sweet Savior of Christ. I'm going to read this in the NLT. 2 Corinthians 2.15. 2 Corinthians 2.15. I'm going to read this in the NLT. 2 Corinthians 2.15. 2 Corinthians 2.15. And what does it say? It says this. It says, our lives are a Christlike fragrance rising up to God. Did you hear that? Did you hear that? Our lives are a Christlike fragrance rising up to God. Folks, at the end of this verse, he's going to say something that hit me last night that is powerful. You're going to relate to this verse. Keep listening. I'm in the NLT. I'm in 2 Corinthians 5.15. Our lives are a Christlike fragrance rising up to God. We're talking about believers. We're talking about Christian folks that are in covenant with Jesus Christ. We are living a life. And that life sends a fragrance to God through Jesus Christ because we believe the Word of God. We are living the Word of God. Guess what? At Ace the other day, someone asked me, a lady asked me. And I assume she comes there all the time. And I was putting some stuff in her car. And she asked me. She looked at me and she says, why are you so happy? Why are you so full of joy? Why are you always so motivated? You always have a smile on your face. She sensed the fragrance of God. Not me, but of Jesus Christ. Folks, people should sense the fragrance of your life because you love the Lord. People should sense the fragrance in your actions because you love the Lord. People should sense the fragrance in your speech, how you respond, because you love and serve the Lord. Folks who call themselves Christians who are harsh, I don't know. Folks that call themselves Christians and they're very short or they have a bad attitude. And I'm not talking, you know, we can have a bad day. Praise God, we can have a bad day. But when every day is bad and you call yourself a Christian, there might be a problem with that. And you might want to check the fruits. But look what it says. He says, our lives are like a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved. See, that fragrance, when we see another believer praising God, this is why we say amen. When we see another believer on TikTok worshiping, giving honor to God, we say amen. When we are walking and we see somebody that might have a Christian shirt on, we love that. When we see an athlete, when we see a celebrity, when we see somebody with a large platform on a national stage and they give honor to God, we just get excited because that fragrance reeks Jesus. We get excited. At least I do. When Tim Tebow gets on TV and he gives honor to God, I say, hey, man, come on now. When some celebrity gets on TV and they say, man, I just want to give glory. And what I mean, sincerely do it. I'm not talking about, you know, just going through the motions. But when they sincerely give honor to God, I sense that fragrance. I smell that aroma of Jesus. And I can't help but say, thank you, Jesus. I praise God for it. Let me read it again. This is what the word says. It says, our lives are a Christlike fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. See, there's a difference. The fragrance that we give off as believers, it's received one way by another believer. But it's received by another way by a nonbeliever. Folks, did you get this? Did you get this? This is back to the question I asked you earlier. When I said, have you ever shared the gospel with somebody and they dismissed you? Have you ever shared the gospel with a family member or people around you and they consider you a fool and what you're talking about foolishness? Why? They sense your fragrance different. And I'll tell you why. Let's keep reading. Why? To those who are perishing, we are dreadful. We are a dreadful smell of death and doom. Folks, y'all didn't get that. I'm going to read the whole verse and let's expound on that a little bit more. Watch this. Our lives are a Christlike fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. Verse 16. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume and who is adequate for such a task as this. Think about it. When you go around someone that does not believe and they sense that beautiful aroma of God, just your very presence causes them to be convicted. Your very presence as the anointing of God is on your life causes them to understand their fate, to understand their destination, to comprehend their destiny. They understand that you come with the message of the gospel of Christ, that you are born-again believer and covenant with Jesus Christ, and they feel doomed because of your presence. Now, they have free will. You have nothing to do with their destruction. They are perishing because remember our original verse, it says for those who are perishing, for the preaching of the cross for those who are perishing, they consider it foolishness. It's not your fault, it's them. But your very presence causes them to sense their doom. Folks, last night that hit me because I get it. Watch this. It happens all the time. It happens all the time. Watch this. When I'm around non-believers and they're not my friends, they slightly get annoyed. If I don't know them and they don't know me, they slightly get offended. They slightly get a little edgy. You've been there. When you're around a non-believer, come on. I know some of you have experienced in your family. Can you repeat what scripture? Yes. 2 Corinthians, please forgive me. 2 Corinthians chapter 2, 15 and 16. Best to read at the NLT. Best to read at the NLT. I got the King James here. The King James Version says, and with that being said, hang on, hang on. Hang on. Let me get back to what I'm saying. I don't want to lose my thought here because I got this. I got this. I know you've been around people. They know you're a believer. They know you're a follower of Christ. They know you love the Lord. Thank you. They know that you serve God. They know that you're in the word. You know why? When you go eat dinner, you're the first one. I'm like, can we pray? They ask you what you did on Sunday. You know what I did on Sunday. I was at church and, man, we had a good time. We had a good time. And not only do they know that you do that, they see you living that life. They see a change. They see that you used to be, but now you do it different. They see it. They sense it. They know it. You're putting off an aroma. But watch what it says. Watch what it says. Watch this. It says right here. It says, but thank God he has made us, our lives are a Christlike fragrance. Verse 15. Verse 15. 2 Corinthians 2. 15. Our lives are a Christlike fragrance rising up to God. Now we have Jesus, our offering. It's symbolic of an offering, a burnt offering, right? Because we are filled with the spirit. Because we are serving God. This fragrance is rising up to the nostrils of God. And because of Jesus, it is a sweet-smelling aroma. That's for the Christian. It's a sweet-smelling aroma. You all symbolically know this. You know when you're around a believer, a follower of Christ, I mean a legit believer, there's something about them. You young people say there's a vibe. There's a vibe about them. But that vibe is the Holy Spirit. And you sense that. And you know you're with the right person in the right place at the right time. And you sense that. That's the same way that aroma rises up to God. But look what it says. Look what it says. Our lives are a Christlike fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved. And it's perceived differently by those who are not saved. Wow. Watch this. 16. For those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. Oh, my, my. To those that are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. Why? Our very presence convicts them. Our very presence acknowledges their doom. Our very presence acknowledges their destiny. Why? That anointing of the Spirit convicts them. This is why people act crazy with you. This is why they get so uptight with you. And I'm not talking about the belligerent person standing out in the corner yelling at people, saying, You're going to hell. I'm talking about a legitimate individual who's living for the Lord. I'm talking about an individual that is serving God with his mind, with her and his mind, body, and soul, living progressive sanctification in the Word, at church, studying the Word, watching what they're saying, being very conscientious about their walk with the Lord. This is what people are seeing. And because you are serving God, those who don't are acknowledging the conviction. They don't even want to be around you. Folks, it's incredible. God's Word does not miss. It does not miss. I want to see something, because I was reading notes down here last night. Hang on, hang on, hang on. I'm going to have to get off, guys. I've got to get ready. I'm going to have to get off. But if I can find this note real quick, I'm going to read this to you. Watch this. Watch this. Oh, I can't find the note that I wanted to. But let me just read it again. Once again, in regards to the thing, he says, To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? We're going to stop right there. We're going to pick this back up on Monday. But, folks, this original verse, this original verse, 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18, For the preaching of the cross to them that are perishing is foolishness. But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. We understand Paul and the rest of the disciples, and we are preaching to the unsaved. We are preaching the cross. Paul said, once again, I came to you knowing nothing except Jesus and him crucified. That's the preaching. And who is it to? Well, we looked at that. We're preaching to the nonbelievers. We're preaching to the world that needs Jesus, that needs to understand what Jesus did on the cross. And then the next one we're going to look at is foolishness. But I want to leave you with that last verse because I think it is so important. 2 Corinthians, chapter 2, starting with verse 15. It's just the one I just read, but I want you to know this. I want you to put this in your heart. When you live for the Lord, there's some folks around you that's going to consider what you're saying, what you're doing, what you're articulating, what you're communicating as foolishness. But watch this. Our lives are a Christlike fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. We looked at that word perishing. To those who are perishing, we are dreadful smell of death and doom. Our very presence has awoken their consciousness. And they know that they will not receive God or they refuse to receive God in their free will. They deny who God is. Matter of fact, they consider you fool, a fool, and they consider your words foolishness. Why? You have brought to them the love of God, and they smell nothing but stink. That's how they perceive it. Watch this. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. I want you to think about that verse right there. In the NLT, the King James reads a little bit different, says the same thing, but the words are contemporary in the NLT, and it's more, if you will, palatable. Folks, praise God. Praise be to God. I'm sorry I didn't catch those prayers, but I'm sure individuals saw that. With regards to prayer requests, folks, we're going into the weekend. Make sure you live for the Lord. Make sure you, you know what I've got to say, make sure you choose love. This is important. Folks, we live in a world where people are so hostile, people are so hurt. They're so crabby. The list goes on of the adjectives I could describe the state of mind of most people. But we as Christians, that fragrance of Jesus, it must be sensed by those around us. Let's live for God. Let's operate in love. And let's not be so self-righteous, but let's also remember where we came from, who we were, what we used to do. But God changed us, and let's always give glory and honor to God. Let's bow our heads. Father God, we just thank you. We praise you. We love you. We lift you up, Lord. And Lord, I pray for each individual under the sound of my voice, whatever their circumstances, whatever their situation is, whatever it is, Lord, I just pray for them. And Lord, I pray for the lost. And I pray for those that refuse to accept your word. I pray for those that are in denial. I pray for those that are in those false religions or those false doctrines or involved in a lifestyle of abomination. I pray for them, Lord. Father, I pray that the hearts of men would turn to you and serve you as God. And Father, I pray that you would watch over us and keep us. That you would give us an opportunity to be used today for the kingdom of God. That you would just bless us and show favor upon us, Lord. And we will forever praise your name. Lord, we thank you. We praise you. And we ask all of this in the name of Jesus. All right, everybody. I must, I must, must, must, must get ready. I'm running late already. I won't be late, but I'm running late in my own personal schedule. All right, everybody. God bless you. Have a beautiful day. We're going to pick this back up Monday. Our key verse, of course, will be 1 Corinthians 1.18. That will be the foundational verse. And we will spin off from there. Who was preaching? Who were they preaching to? Why was it foolishness? And what do we do in the very end? So we'll cover all those things on Monday. God bless you. Have a great day. We will talk to you later.