August 3, 2026, Monday Evening
"The Weak and Humble vs. the Worldly Wise and Proud"
Why God prefers to do great and mighty miracles through the former
OPENING: 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 (NLV)
"But God has chosen what the world calls foolish to shame the wise. He has chosen what the world calls weak to shame what is strong. God has chosen what is weak and foolish of the world, what is hated and not known, to destroy the things the world trusts in."
INTRODUCTION: Isaiah 55:8-9, 1 Samuel 16:7: God does not act like man in a few key ways: 1) He doesn't think like man does; 2) His ways are not man's ways; and 3) He does not see as man sees because man looks at outward appearance while God looks on the heart. This begins the understanding of why He chooses the simple and humble over different attributes that man would choose.
- 1 Corinthians 1:18-20,25: Here is an example of how God thinks the opposite of man: "Preaching about the cross sounds foolish to those who are dying in sin. But it is the power of God to those of us who are being saved from the punishment of sin. The Holy Writings say, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise people. I will put aside the learning of those who think they know a lot.' Where is the man who is wise? Where is the man who thinks he knows a lot? Where is the man who thinks he has all the answers? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. God’s plan looked foolish to men, but it is wiser than the best plans of men. God’s plan which may look weak is stronger than the strongest plans of men."
- From this, we see the Bible makes distinction between "perfect wisdom" and "wisdom of this world"
- James 1:5, Proverbs 2:7: Regarding "perfect wisdom," "If you do not have wisdom, ask God for it. He is always ready to give it to you and will never say you are wrong for asking...He stores up perfect wisdom for those who are right with Him."
- Proverbs 6:16-17, John 8:44: Of the seven things God hates, a proud look is first and lying second (for which Satan, the devil, is the father of lies)
- Numbers 23:19: God cannot lie: "God is not a man, that He should lie or be sorry for what He says, and not do what He says He will do"
- Why does God hate a proud look? Because pride refuses to come under authority of God and refuses to give God the glory
- 1 Peter 5:5-6: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble...Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [and not seek your own honor], that He may exalt you in due time"
- Isaiah 14:12-15: Lucifer, God's greatest angel, wanted to be "like the Most High" and started a war in Heaven (and was cast to earth as the "most low," now named Satan)
- Exodus 5:1-2: When Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharoah, "Let my people go...," Pharoah replied, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go."
- Acts 12:21-23: "So on a set day Herod [king of Judea and Samaria], arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, 'The voice of a god and not of a man!' Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God."
- Daniel 5: God made Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, giving him greatness honor, and power; "But when his heart and spirit became proud and he acted in pride, he was taken from his throne and his greatness was taken from him."
- Daniel 5: King Belshazzar of Babylon--son of Nebuchadnezzar--held a feast for a host of his lords, and "They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone"
- Daniel was summoned and told him, "Yet you, his son Belshazzar, have not put away the pride from your heart ... You have honored yourself more than the Lord of heaven."
- God then took his kingdom away and he was shortly killed, after
- Examples of weak and humble men whom God used to do mighty things
- Moses, who brought Israel out of the land of Egyptian bondage
- Exodus 3:4-6: Humility--Moses took off my sandals and hid his face when meeting God, who was in the burning bush
- Weakness--Moses immediately questioned his fitness for the task
- Exodus 3:11:"Who am I to go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt?" for which God reassured him He would be with him
- Exodus 4:10: "Lord, I am not a man of words. I have never been. Even now since You spoke to Your servant, I still am not. For I am slow in talking and it is difficult for me to speak."
- Exodus 4:13: "But Moses said, 'O Lord, I ask of You, send some other person.'”
- Exodus 33:11, Numbers 12:3,7 After Moses accomplished the task, God called him friend, "most humble man on earth," and "faithful in all My house"
- David, made king of Israel
- 1 Samuel 16:1-12: God sent Samuel to anoint David--son of Jesse--as the future king of Israel (after Saul)
- 1 Samuel 16:6-7: In looking at Jesse's first son, Eliab, Samuel was convinced he was God's choice due to his appearance and physical stature; however, as mentioned in the above Introductory verse, God told Samuel he is not the one because God looks at the heart, not outward appearances
- In the end, David, youngest and last of Jesse's eight sons, was chosen by God
- 1 Samuel 17:10,38-51: In the iconic "David vs. Goliath" fight that David won, the men of both armies looked upon David's outward weakness vs. Goliath's strength (and proudly defying Israel) ... but not in the difference in humility, where David declared before he killed Goliath that his death will let the earth know "that there is a God in Israel."
- And even after David's most notorious sin of having Bathsheba's husband (Uriah the Hittite--a loyal and mighty soldier in David's army) killed so David could sleep with her and bare him sons, God did not discard David due to his genuine repentance and humility that he penned as Psalm 51
- 1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22, Matthew 1:1-6: At the end of his life--even with his sins--God declared David "a man after His own heart" and that from David's Bethlehem lineage, Jesus Christ, God the Son, would be born
- Jonah and the whale
- Jonah 1:1-3,17: Weakness--when God commanded Jonah to go to Ninevah and preach against its wickedness, Jonah instead ran away from God's call and paid fare for a ship-ride to Tarshish; a resulting storm forced Jonah overboard and he was swallowed up by a whale for three days and nights
- Jonah 2: Humility--in the whale, Jonah prayed a prayer of sacrifice, thanksgiving, remembering God, and forsaking idols, and that's when God let him out
- Jonah 3:10, 4:11: In the end, Jonah's obedience led to the city of approximately 120,000 to turn from their wicked ways, leading God to not have the city overthrown in 40 days time
- Gideon was called to save the Israelites from the oppression of the Midianites
- Judges 6:15: Gideon replied, "O my LORD, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house."
- Judges 6:16,23: As with Moses, God replied that He would be with Gideon and he shouldn't fear, for which Gideon accomplished his mission
- Ezekiel's charge by God as a prophet to warn the rebellious people of Israel about their wicked ways
- Ezekiel 1:28: He humbles himself in God's presence by falling on his face
- Ezekiel 2:6-7: "And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words...You shall speak My words to them..."
- Finally, Jesus sums up everything above with His parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14)
- Jesus' target audience was those who trusted in themselves, believed they were righteous, and despised others
- Notice the contrast: the Pharisee stood so others could watch and hear him claim he is not a sinner like others and how he follows the worldly-wise law (fasting and tithing) while the tax collector stood "afar off" to be unseen and alone, praying for forgiveness of his sins, with nothing to be proud of
- Jesus ends with, "I tell you, this man [the tax collector] went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
CLOSER
- God always chooses the weak and humble and it can happen anytime in their life: young shepherd boy (David), after doubting and trying to run from their calling (Moses and Jonah), and after repentance and forsaking of their sin (David)
- God's pattern with everyone He chose, above, was to tell them not to be afraid, He would be with them, and He would give them His words to speak
- 2 Timothy 1:7: God has given man a spirit of courage--not fear
- God treats the worldly wise and proud the same: He may choose to never use them or he may appoint them as kings of nations in their humble and obedient years and then take that appointment away when they become proud and worship the things of this world (Herod, Nebuchadnezzar and his son Belshazzar)
- Certain worldly wisdom is indispensible to succeeding in life, such as getting an education in order to start a career that can support having a family; but God's Perfect Wisdom must also be learned and lived as the priority over worldly wisdom
- If you've ever felt this way at the start of your calling to preach the Gospel to this lost and dying world, know that great men and women before you have, too!
