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. Roger, W7ZZL Yeah, I hear you in there in my noise and uh uh, just a clear for N7DIT who's leaving for Kenya Okay, I copy. Keith in Sandpoint, Idaho, Kilo 7, November Echo Bravo. Keith, we got you checked in. Thank you for being there. Appreciate hearing your voice. Also appreciate the relays. So that is Keith, November 7, November Echo Bravo, Sandpoint, Idaho. Thank you there, Alright, any other check-ins for the West Coast Apollo Study, please come down with your call sign. You know, that he doesn't trust in his eloquence, he doesn't trust in his oratorical skill, he just trusts in the message. And then he trusts in the Spirit to work in the heart, illuminate the mind, and help the natural man to understand the things of the Spirit of God. It's a great chapter ahead of us. Looking forward to that. But before we get started, we want to open our time together. Yes, Scott, thank you for that emphasis and that illustration of the need to anchor our preaching in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Jesus and the cross, right at the center of our message. He's not saying that he didn't preach anything other than that simple phrase. What he's saying is that that phrase was the foundation, it was the core, it was the anchor, out of which all his other preaching flowed, and to which all his preaching returned. Because the core and the essence of the message of the Bible is the message of salvation through the substitutionary atonement of the God-man, Jesus Christ, It reminds me of that passage later on in this book where he says in chapter 3, he says, For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ in chapter 3 and in verse 11. So what Paul does is he keeps coming back to the preaching of the cross, the preaching of the cross, the preaching of the cross, And why do we need a cross? We need a cross because we need a substitutionary atonement for our sins so that God can be just and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus, as it says in Romans 3. All right, Scott, great comment. Thank you for that. Other comments, please come now. Oscar Kilo. Okay, I think I heard an Oscar Kilo. That would be Jeff, AK6OK. Jeff, please go ahead. Yeah, I should have used my own call. Max, I always read the message, and it says something here that's really fascinating. In 1 through 5, You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to let you in on God's sheer genius, I didn't try to impress you with polished speeches or latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple. First Jesus and who he is, and then Jesus and what he did, Jesus crucified. And this is the part that I was looking at that's interesting. I was unsure of how to go about this and felt totally inadequate. I was scared to death. Yeah, that's right. Paul had this spirit of humility, and yeah, that's a good commentary on what the passage is saying. And I appreciate you sharing that with us, Jeff. Thank you for that. Paul felt totally inadequate. I mean, we all know the passage in John 15:15, where it says, "Without Him we can do nothing." And you know, that's the felt sense of inadequacy that every Christian has. You know, who am I to be preaching the Gospel? I'm still struggling with my own sins. I don't say things just right. I'm not the smartest person in the room. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Sometimes I stumble around and I don't say things just right. And so your trust is in Jesus Christ and what he did and the message he proclaimed and the work of the Spirit. And you're just a vessel to carry that along. And as long as you get those basic truths out there, then it doesn't matter who you are. What matters is what the Spirit is and what he does with that message that you have proclaimed. So, Jeff, thanks for pointing those things out, and that we are inadequate, but he is adequate, and that's where our trust is. And then when something happens, he gets all of the glory. All right, any other comments, please come down. As that extends. Kevin, KB7, as that extends. We got you checked in. Come in with your comment. Thank you Max, and good morning all. Sorry, just still waking up. What are those nights and mornings? But anyway, great comments that I've heard so far on this. And even harking back to David's point too, the simplicity and the importance of just the proclamation of the message. You know, when I was preaching, I made sure every message incorporated the message of the cross and the gospel. Because it's not hard to do because God's Word provides that for us. It all points to Jesus. But it's important that that message be shared. in every sermon, I think. And with that, too, the point of not using lofty words or any type of manipulations, I think is also such an important point, too. You know, we've got to trust the Holy Spirit to do its work. And so if we just proclaim The truth is the word of God. The truth is the gospel. And as you point out, Max, the recognition that we are sinners, that we all come to God through the same Lord, through Christ, and by way of the cross. There's a lot we can learn and grow from as saved individuals. And, I mean, God's word just continues to give us so much. But it all is... founded here and it's an important message that everything else is built from and But we have to let the Holy Spirit to its work in our hearts and the hearts of those that hear that message Yeah, Kevin well said good copy on the radio appreciate those comments and you are spot-on and It's so important that we get the message right. The messenger is always going to be inadequate, but the message is always adequate. It's always sufficient. And that's the thing we focus on is preaching Jesus and what he did, what he taught, what he said. All of those things are where our focus lies. And so, you know, I've heard people say, well, you know, I've led 5,000 people to the Lord. No, I've never led anybody to the Lord. God has saved people through my foolish preaching, but all glory be to him and to his work. And without him, nothing would ever happen. All right, great comments. Other comments, please come now. PDI, follow up. PDI, follow up. David, then. PDI, follow up. Okay, David, KK7, PDI, go ahead, follow up. The key to this whole chapter in chapter 2 here is where he says -- and I appreciate Kevin's comment, "I don't know if I can hear you, but I don't know if I can hear you," but I don't know if I can hear you. "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." And the reason he says this, obviously, is when you look at Jesus, when He was in the garden, what did He say? "Father, let this cup pass from me." Jesus did not want to die that death. He asked the Father, "Please let this cup pass from me, but not my will, Thy will be done. And so Jesus was obedient to the point of death. He died that death understanding that while we were still yet in our sins, God, through Jesus Christ, died for us, the Creator for the creation. And so that's why we preach Christ and Him crucified, and we do that. And if you preach all of that, that's what the focus is. It's on Jesus, not on you. and then if we're obedient to the point of death, he takes us home. That's the wisdom, spiritual wisdom, that we're sent to transfer to those who are not in Christ. That it's all about Jesus, that he can take you out of your situation and let you have the same rewards. you know, our focus has to be there. You know, verse 5, it says that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. And so we've seen from chapter 1 that the wisdom of men is foolishness with God, just like the wisdom of God is foolishness with men. And if you try to use human wisdom... It's in the Word that is internalized that God has had written for us. When you internalize it, that's when it becomes the power of God. That Bible I've seen in the people where they'll take that Bible and that's just got all the powers. And they focus on the physical Bible, not the spiritual. And that's what's being taught here in chapter 2, the spiritual part. God's plan of salvation was instituted before the world was ever created, but it's revealed in the process of time through divine revelation provided by the Spirit through the prophets of God, and inscripturated for us. But But it just shows how out of touch fallen humanity is with the truth of God. And that's the reason why we have to have the Word of God that we put our trust in, because as soon as we start trusting in our own reason, we go astray. There's a passage in Jeremiah that says, Oh, Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself and is not in man to direct his steps. We need someone else to guide us as to what we believe and how we live and... of what their response to him should have been. So it's really important for us to think about the contrast between the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God and how that there's no middle ground at all. Psalm 1 says, Blessed is the man who walks not... in the counsel of the ungodly or stands in the way of sinners or sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law that they meditate day and night. So you've got the world in Psalm 1-1 and you've got the scriptures in Psalm 1-2 and there is no... Yeah, I appreciate that, Max. Sorry, I wasn't ready before. No, you're exactly right. And to the comment before of the Bible, tying into a point I'd like to make too here, is the, you know, I can remember as a young, young, young child, I... It helps us recognize that we are sinners. And it's the only Christ in the cross. You know, in the wisdoms of this world, just one point I'd like to make. You know, we've gone through so many transitions in humanity. And not long ago, I think, and earlier in my life, largely humanistic. you know that well your truth is your truth and my truth is my truth and and you know you can believe in what's you know true for you and I can believe what's true for me and we're all happy well now it's gone even beyond that well post-humanism where you don't even believe in truth you can just imagine there's no real truth anyway you just kind of imagine what you'd like that truth to be well the wisdoms in the world of course are are uh a disdainable heresy. The truth is what is revealed right here in this text. And the truth is not subjective. It is objective. The truth is very real. And as God's mystery unfolds of His truth, of His Word, and the hope that we have in Christ and Christ alone is something that, like I said before, we just need to proclaim. KB7, setting seven. Yeah, Kevin, really well said. I really appreciate you pointing out the fact that people want to decide who they want God to be, and then they just declare Him to be the case. So they want God to save everyone. They want God to love everyone. They want God to not be mad at anyone. They want God to bless everyone. Amen. In Psalm 50, let me just turn there for a second to get the exact reference. In Psalm 50, verse 21, it says, Now here it is. our own judgment about how it ought to be, and we've got to trust God's judgment about what He reveals about how it really is. All right, other comments, please come down. KM 5F. KM 5F, go ahead there, Will. Yeah, to kind of summarize the idea that people want God to do everything and do this and do that. The bottom line is that they don't want God, period. KM 5F. Well, you are exactly right. They really don't want the God of the Bible, and that's why they make up the God that suits them and pleases them. The trouble is, is on the Day of Judgment, they're going to meet the God of the Bible. They're not going to meet the God of their imagination. And then it'll be too late. And that's why we've got to humble down. So we've got to say, "Okay, I want to know the God of the Bible, and I want to just receive what He says about Himself, what He says about me, and operate in that sphere of truth." and not make it up as I go along. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, as we're going to see. It's not subject to the law of God, neither can it be. And so that's why they make it up as they go along, because they really don't want the God of the Bible, as you said. Excellent comment, Will. Thank you for that. All right, we're about out of time. We have time for one more comment. Please come ahead. P.D.I. P.D.I. P.D.I. David, go ahead. Yeah, one of the things that I try to do, Max, is when I'm studying with someone, what I find out many times is they use the term "I think." Well, I think it's real important to understand that it's not about what you think. It's about what God says. So when I'm in a study with someone, then they say, "Well, I think." It's usually a lot of times based upon biases that they've heard or somebody's told them something, And what I might say, that's not important. It's what God says. Tito Tito 7, Papa Delta India, back to you, man. Amen. Yeah, I think that is such an important technique of teaching, is to have them open their Bibles, read the words for themselves, and then ask them, what does it say? And so that's where we start. What does the Bible say? And that's where we end. The Bible says this. Now, to be sure, you know, there is going to have to be some interpretation, and there's going to have to be collation with other passages of Scripture. But you're exactly right, David. It's got to come from the Scripture. And it's got to be rightly understood as to what it says in that passage and then how that passage relates to all the other passages that deal with that subject matter and in that forms. our understanding of God's mind on any issue. So, yeah, we don't go, I think. We go, God's Word says. All right, we are out of time. We're going to stop on David's great comment there, and we're going to go to prayer. Scott, in 7NPA, I did not ask you to lead in prayer at the start of the session here. Will you be able to do that, or shall I go ahead and cover that? Over. Yeah, well, well said. And, you know, that religion is one that really focuses on feelings. You know, I had a burning feeling in my heart. Well, that's not the source and the foundation of truth. The source and foundation of the truth is not your feelings. One banner that was so profoundly said this morning in today's study, worship the God of the Holy Scriptures, not the God of your imagination. Father, I pray that today, that each one of us that was around this table this morning, Well, worship the God of the Holy Scriptures. Worship the God of the Bible, not the God of our imagination. And just continue to chart the course right up the center of the road, not hitting guardrail to guardrail. And Father, what David said there right at the end, Father, I just pray that his words And for that, we have everlasting hope. Father, we want to put our arms around Doc this morning as he's preparing to go to the mission field. Father, I lift up Doc to you. Father, I pray for protection. I pray for strength. W6 at ZTY one of the founders the founding fathers of this net came back in 1957 so we rally around Doc this morning and we pray that this trip to the mission field will be fruitful will bear fruit more importantly in the spiritual realm but Father we just also pray that he can assist those that need medical needs Father we we are lifting up Dave this morning. And Father, it's a relief that Dave finds humor in the middle of his tragic storm. So Father, we just continue to lift Dave up to you. And we pray that this amputated lake heal. And this will be the turning of the half-mile pole, and that he can grow stronger and stronger. And Father, we pray for his mother who needs salvation, that she can walk, she can see, she can witness the one-two punch coming from Mike and Dave as they share the gospel. will have the strength to work through his treatment. And we hear about Lucas this morning also. They ruled out the loss of a hearing is through a stroke. So I just pray that Lucas can regain that hearing. and that the wisdom of the doctors attending Lucas will have the understanding coming from you, Father, of what they need to do to move Lucas forward. Father, we lift up Mac's dear friend, Rick. And you know, each and every one of us around this table, we have dear friends.