OKAY, MAYBE YOU'RE A YOUNG PERSON AND RIGHT NOW YOU DON'T
HAVE A LOT OF TIME FOR JESUS.
I MEAN, YOU GOT A LITTLE 'CAUSE YOU'RE HERE TONIGHT OR YOU GOT
A LITTLE 'CAUSE YOU'RE WATCHING THIS TV PROGRAM WHEN IT
COMES ON.
YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME FOR JESUS, BUT YOU GIVE JOYCE
15 MINUTES IN THE MORNING.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
JOYCE: BUT YOU DON'T--YOU JUST DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME
FOR THAT RIGHT NOW 'CAUSE YOU ARE BUSY GETTING YOUR DEGREE.
WELL, SO LET'S JUST TALK JUST FOR A SMIDGE
ABOUT EDUCATION.
NOW, EDUCATION IS WONDERFUL AND THANK GOD FOR SMART PEOPLE
IN THE WORLD AND ALL THE STUFF THAT THEY DO.
AND I'M CERTAINLY NOT SAYING NOT TO BE EDUCATED.
I WILL TELL YOU THIS.
THE ANOINTING IS BETTER.
AND I DON'T MEAN THAT INSULTINGLY BUT, I MEAN,
YOU--LIKE, I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF EDUCATION
BEYOND THE 12TH GRADE AND I'M DOING OKAY.
I'VE GOT GOD'S ANOINTING.
HOWEVER, GOD CAN USE PEOPLE WITH BIG BRAINS
IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
THE APOSTLE PAUL WAS PROBABLY THE MOST HIGHLY EDUCATED
OF ALL THE APOSTLES AND HE WROTE
TWO-THIRDS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
SO I'M NOT SAYING NOT TO HAVE EDUCATION.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT IT'S NOT GOOD.
I THINK IT'S PHENOMENAL, BUT IT'S NOT AS IMPORTANT
AS HAVING THE ANOINTING.
NOW, IF YOU CAN BE REALLY SMART AND HAVE THE ANOINTING, WHOO!
I KNOW A FEW PEOPLE LIKE THAT AND THEY CAN DO STUFF
THAT I CAN'T DO.
SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE IT FOR GOD TO USE YOU, BUT IF YOU
DO HAVE IT AND YOU STILL PUT GOD FIRST, THEN HE CAN REALLY USE
WHAT YOU KNOW BUT IN THE RIGHT WAY, AMEN?
SO I--JUST TWO SCRIPTURES JUST SO WHATEVER IT IS YOU KNOW
OR WHAT IT IS YOU THINK YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T THINK THAT IT'S
MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT IT IS.
YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES, PEOPLE THAT ARE HIGHLY EDUCATED
LOOK DOWN ON PEOPLE THAT AREN'T AS SMART AS THEM
AND THAT'S NOT GOOD.
IT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU WHO GOD WILL USE.
"FOR IT IS WRITTEN," 1 CORINTHIANS 1:19, 21:
"IT IS WRITTEN, I WILL BAFFLE AND RENDER USELESS AND DESTROY
THE LEARNING OF THE LEARNED, THE PHILOSOPHY
OF THE PHILOSOPHERS AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER
AND THE DISCERNMENT OF THE DISCERNING;
I WILL FRUSTRATE AND NULLIFY [THEM] AND BRING [THEM]
TO NOTHING.
WHERE IS THE WISE MAN (THE PHILOSOPHER),
THE SCRIBE (THE SCHOLAR)?
WHERE IS THE INVESTIGATOR (THE LOGICIAN, THE DEBATER)
OF THIS PRESENT TIME AND AGE?
HAS NOT GOD SHOWN UP THE NONSENSE AND THE FOLLY
OF THIS WORLD'S WISDOM?"
SO, YOU KNOW HOW MANY SMART PEOPLE THERE ARE SITTING AROUND
HAVING DISCUSSION GROUPS ABOUT HOW TO FIX OUR WORLD?
YOU KNOW HOW MANY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE SPENT
ON PEOPLE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS THE PROBLEM
IN THE WORLD, WHAT IS WRONG IN OUR SCHOOLS,
WHAT'S WRONG IN THE GOVERNMENT.
WELL, I CAN TELL 'EM FOR FREE.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
[AUDIENCE CHEERING]
JOYCE: AS LONG AS GOD IS FIRST, EVERYTHING ELSE
WORKS OUT.
THE FURTHER YOU MOVE HIM DOWN THE LINE,
THE WORSE CONDITIONS GET.
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
JOYCE: I JUST--YOU'LL HAVE TO EXCUSE ME FOR JUST A MINUTE,
LET ME TAKE MY LIBERTY, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW DUMB YOU
CAN BE AND STILL BREATHE.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
JOYCE: I MEAN, SURELY PEOPLE WITH EVEN A LITTLE BIT
OF A BRAIN CAN LOOK AT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN OUR SOCIETY AND SEE
THAT THE MORE PEOPLE TRY TO GET RID OF GOD, THE WORSE CONDITIONS
OUR WORLD GETS IN.
[AUDIENCE CHEERING]
JOYCE: AND SO, I MEAN, HONESTLY, AND I'M NOT TRYING
TO BE INSULTING, BUT IF YOU DON'T SEE THAT,
THEN YOU CAN HAVE 40 DEGREES AND I'M JUST TELLING YOU,
YOU ARE NOT VERY SMART.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
JOYCE: SO THERE'S EDUCATION AND THERE'S WISDOM.
AND GOD WANTS US TO BE EDUCATED, LEARN ALL YOU CAN LEARN,
BUT USE IT FOR GOD'S GLORY.
DON'T GET ALL CAUGHT UP IN SOME WORLDLY NOTION AND IDEA OF HOW
THINGS SHOULD BE BECAUSE GOD SAYS, "I'M GONNA BRING IT ALL
TO NOTHING."
NOW, HERE'S A GOOD ONE.
"IF I--" THIS IS 1 CORINTHIANS 13.
"IF I HAVE ALL KNOWLEDGE; AND HAVE NOT LOVE,
I AM A USELESS NOBODY."
IF YOU HAVE ALL KNOWLEDGE, IF YOU KNOW EVERYTHING.
YOU COULD HAVE EVERY DEGREE THAT EXISTS, AND IF YOU DON'T
KNOW HOW TO LOVE, THEN THE BIBLE SAYS YOU'RE NOBODY,
YOU'RE NOTHING.
SO JUST--LET'S JUST THINK ABOUT THIS FOR A MINUTE.
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF EVERY GRADE SCHOOL,
EVERY HIGH SCHOOL, EVERY COLLEGE, EVERY PERSON WHO WENT
TO THOSE SCHOOLS, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THEY HAD TO TAKE
A COURSE IN WHAT LOVE IS AND HOW TO WALK IN LOVE?
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THEY HAD TO TAKE A COURSE IN MANNERS?
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
JOYCE: I MEAN, YOU CAN BE SMART AND STILL BE RUDE.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
JOYCE: YOU CAN BE VERY SMART AND STILL BE OBNOXIOUS AND NOT
KNOW HOW TO TREAT PEOPLE, NOT KNOW HOW TO LOVE PEOPLE.
AND SO, SEE, IF YOUR HEAD KNOWLEDGE OUTWEIGHS
YOUR SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE, ARE YOU WITH ME?
IF YOUR HEAD KNOWLEDGE IS GREATER THAN YOUR SPIRITUAL
KNOWLEDGE, THEN YOU'RE ALREADY HEADED FOR TROUBLE.