We read in verse 26, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh....are called". The word is (sophos {sof-os'}). We get our English words sophistry and sophisticated from this word. God is speaking of those that are intellectual geniuses; those with high IQ's. This refers to those who are wise after the flesh, those who are well educated and learned and proficient. A person does not necessarily need a Master's from Yale or a Ph.D. from Harvard to be used of God. You don't even have to have a 6th grade education. Wisdom after the flesh is not one of God's requirements.

Now God is not saying that the wise can't be used of God. What God is saying is that it is not one of His qualifications.

Furthermore, God is not condoning ignorance. I have heard of one fellow who said in his prayer, "Lord, I thank Thee that I am ignorant." Somebody was overheard to say, "He sure has a lot to be thankful for." Ignorance is not a commendation, but at the same time, wisdom after the flesh is not a qualification.

A city boy, Kenny, moved to the country and bought a donkey from an old farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. The next day the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died." Kenny replied, "Well then, just give me my money back." The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already." Kenny said, "OK then, just unload the donkey." The farmer asked, "What ya gonna do with him?" Kenny, "I'm going to raffle him off." Farmer, "You can't raffle off a dead donkey!" Kenny, "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he is dead." A month later the farmer met up with Kenny and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?" Kenny," I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made a profit of $898.00." Farmer, "Didn't anyone complain?" Kenny, "Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back." Kenny grew up and eventually became chairman of Enron.

It is not scholarship, but relationship that counts.

2. Being Used Of God Is Not According To One's Prestige.

In verse 26, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that...not many mighty...are called." The word "mighty" (dunatos -doo-nat-os') refers to those people who have power, possessions, and prestige... i.e. an influential person. You do not need to be a millionaire or a movie star to be used of God.

Again, God is not saying that He cannot use those of prestige, but, rather, that it is not a qualification for being used. I thank God for those of prestige who use their opportunities for the Lord. But we need not be
intimidated or feel inferior by them. They are not being used of God because of their status but their submission.

Not According To One's Proficiency
Not According To One's Prestige

3. Being Used Of God Is Not According To One's Pedigree.

In verse 26, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how
that...not many noble, are called." The word "noble" (eugenes {yoog-en'-ace}) means "well-born." It refers to those of nobility and pedigree by birth. Society would think of the Kennedy's, Vanderbilt's, and Rockefeller's.

If you were to be the king or queen of England, then the one qualification would be your pedigree. If you want to be used of God, your posterity, lineage, and pedigree is not a qualification. It matters not if your ancestors came over on the Mayflower or were among those who came out of the woods to meet them; God does not require
that one be a blue blood.

Now once again, I want to say that God is not saying that the wise, mighty, and noble cannot be used. Three times in verse 26, it says "not many." It does not say "not any."

Illustration: Lady Huntington was one of the richest ladies in England, a well-to-do socialite. She was saved under the ministry of Rowland Hill. When she would give her testimony, she would say, "I was saved by one letter: the letter M." People would wonder what she meant. Then she would say, "I'm so glad that the Bible says, "Not many noble; rather than not any noble."

God is not saying that such people cannot be used, but that it is not a qualification for being used.

These are the prerequisites that God does not demand... proficiency, prestige and pedigree.

II. THE PEOPLE THAT GOD DOES NOT REJECT!

Notice I Cor. 1:27-28, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are."

In verse 26, God mentioned 3 conditions that are not required (proficiency, prestige and pedigree).

Beginning in verse 27, God mentions five classes that are not rejected:

1. God Uses The Foolish Ones.

In verse 27, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise...". We get our word "moron" from the word "foolish." (moros
{mo-ros'}). You could say that God uses the morons of this world to put to shame the wise of this world. Now God is not saying that He blesses ignorance or stupidity. He is saying that he often takes those whom the world considers foolish and unqualified and uses them in His work. God uses those that the world often will not use. I think of Amos the Old Testament prophet. He was a country farmer without an education, but God made him one of the great prophets of the Bible.

Illustration: I think of D. L. Moody. Moody had few educational advantages. He murdered the English language when he preached. Someone who had heard him said, "He was the only man I had ever heard that could say the word Mesopotamia in two syllables. Yet, God took him and used him to shake two continents for the glory of God and the effect of his ministry is still felt today. Thank God, He uses the foolish ones

2. God Uses The Feeble Ones.

In verse 27, "...and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." The word "weak" (a/sthenos) from sthenoo{sthen-o'-o}) bodily vigor. It refers to those that are "physically weak, handicapped." It describes those with some physical infirmity or a frail body. Now the world may not have a place for those that are handicapped and
the physically weak, but God has a place for you in His plan and he will use you. Consider David Ring.

Illustration: I think of Fanny Crosby. The grave of Fanny Crosby, is in Bridgeport, Connecticut. On her grave is a simple marker that reads, "Aunt Fanny-She Hath Done What She Could." Fanny Crosby was blind from six weeks of age because of a mistreatment by a man claiming to be a doctor. Yet God used her to write more than 9000 hymns such as : "Blessed Assurance; All The Way My Savior Leads Me: I Am Thine O Lord: Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross; Praise Him, Praise Him; Rescue The Perishing; To God Be The Glory," and "Tell Me The Story Of Jesus," to name a few. Although blind, she was the guest of six presidents and a personal friend to Grover Cleveland. Someone has said, "It doesn't take much of a man to be used of God.
It just takes all of him there is."

Illustration: I think of Jonathan Edwards. He was the primary instrument that God used to kindle the fires of the Great Awakening. In Enfield, Connecticut, he preached a message entitled, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, which may be the most famous sermon in American history. Yet, Jonathan Edwards was marked by physical weakness. He was a very frail man. He was asthmatic. It was not unusual for him to wheeze, cough, and hack while preaching. He read his sermons from a prepared manuscript. He read them at a very low volume because his voice was so weak. People often had to strain to hear him. He had horrible eyesight. His eyesight was so poor, that not only did he have to wear thick glasses, but to read his sermons aloud, he had to hold his message about an inch from his nose. Yet, in spite of his disabilities, when he preached, the power of God fell in such a manner, that people often writhed in conviction. He, as much as any other, was the instrument that God used to bring revival to America in the mid 1700's. You may be weak, but God does not reject the weak. He can and will use you.
The Foolish Ones
The Feeble Ones

3. God Uses The Familiar Ones.

We read in verse 28, "... and base things of the world." The word "base" is the opposite of "noble" in verse 26. Agenes {ag-en-ace'} ignoble, coward, mean, base, of no family, that is: low born. It speaks of the familiar, the
common person, those born without a silver spoon in their mouth, those without pedigree.

Illustration: You may be like the student who said, "I wasn't born in a log cabin like some of the great men of our country, but I want you to know that just as soon as our family could afford one, we bought it and moved in."

Illustration: I think of Gideon. The Lord appeared to him one day and called him a mighty man of valor and told him that he would save Israel from the hands of the Midianites.

Gideon responded: "And he said unto him, oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is
poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." (Judges 6:15).

The Foolish Ones
The Feeble Ones
The Familiar Ones

4. God Uses The Forsaken Ones.

In verse 28, ".... and things which are despised, hath God chosen...". The word "despised" (exoutheneo {ex-oo-then-eh'-o}) speaks of that which is contemptible, least esteemed, and set at nought." It speaks of those that are treated with contempt and scorn. It describes those who are looked down on by others and written off as of no account. Maybe you have grown up feeling that you were worthless. I have good news for you. God can use you.

5. God Uses The Forgotten Ones.

Finally we see in verse 28, "... yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are." The ones that "are not" refers to those who are completely
overlooked. They are not only not listed in Who's Who, but they are no even listed in Who's Not. Now you may be someone who is never recognized, never
mentioned, and never heard of, but God can use you. He can take a nobody and make them a somebody. He can take a zero and make a hero. You can be used of God!
We have talked about:
The Prerequisites God Does Not Demand; and

The People God Does Not Reject.

Now, let&Mac226;s talk about:

III. THE PRIDE GOD DOES NOT RESPECT.

Notice verse 29, "that no flesh should glory in his presence."

Now God gives us a reason why he uses the kind of people that He does. When God does His work
through these kind of people, everyone realizes it was HE who did the work. He alone gets the glory, honor, and praise.

One of the greatest lessons we can ever learn in life is, that it is not the vessel, but God in the vessel. It is not my abilities, but God's ability. When you look at the vessels God chooses for His use, then it doesn't take one long to realize that it is not the vessel, but God. He gets all the glory.

1. There Should Be No Reason For Our Pride.

Illustration: Many are like the woodpecker who was pecking away on a tree when it was struck by lightning. The tree was split from top to bottom. The woodpecker flew off and in a little while, came back leading nine other woodpeckers. He said, "There it is fellows, right over there!"

When we realize who we are and what we are, then there is no reason for our pride. God does not use us because of our intellect, influence, or inheritance. No, we were but foolish ones, feeble ones, familiar ones,
forsaken ones, and forgotten ones. We had nothing to our credit. He is the only One who can get any credit.

2. There Should Be No Restraint To Our Praise.

Notice verse 31, "... that, according as it is written, he that glorifieth, let him glory in the lord. Probably one of the greatest composers of all time was Johann Sebastian Bach. He would often put the letters S-D-G on his
compositions. No one knew what that meant until late in his life. It was discovered that the letters stood for the Latin words soli deo Gloria, which means, "to God alone be the glory." When I think that God in His grace would use me, all I can say is, To God Alone Be The Glory!