The Nothings from Ignorance (Part 1) by Dr. Rod Mattoon

About this sermon

Have you ever been in a situation where you were ignorant about what to do, what to say, or did not understand what was happening or what someone was saying? Been there, done that, especially in my high school Trigonometry and Physics classes. Those were tough courses. I have also been in church services overseas where the pastor spoke in another language and I did not have a clue what he was saying. There was no interpreter for me. I don’t like my ignorance. * Ignorance is humiliating because of the lack of knowledge. * Ignorance makes you feel helpless or insecure because you lack understanding about a matter. * Ignorance is horrifying, especially when you or loved ones are lost somewhere, or you are faced with an emergency on how to help someone who is injured or dying. * Ignorance can be high-priced or expensive when you lose or spend money that did not need to be spent if you only you had the right knowledge, wisdom, or training. * Ignorance is hurtful when you say or do things to others that hurt them. Jesus proclaimed on the cross the ignorance of those who crucified Him. He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” As I continue to age, I continue to discover more and more my ignorance on so many matters. The older I get, the more I realize I don’t know hardly anything when I discover the vastness of the universe, God’s creation, and mystery of knowing and understanding God. I can relate to what the Lord said in the book of Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). I don’t want to be ignorant. I want to learn. In fact, if someone is speaking about something I don’t understand, I will not pretend to know what they are talking about. I will go ahead and ask them questions and explain to me what they are saying. I will let people teach me. That is how I learn and how you will learn, too. It is my ignorance that drives me to spend long hours in my office as I study the Scriptures. I want to understand God’s Word, but I also want God to use my preaching to make the Scriptures understandable to those who listen to or read what I am preaching so they can apply the Scriptures in their own lives and grow in the Lord. I want the lost sinner to understand the Gospel so he or she will be saved. That was Paul’s desire, too. He said, “ Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles” (Romans 1:13). When we look through the Bible, we find several insights about the ignorance of people and the issue of ignorance. This message is about the nothings of ignorance. We will examine verses that provide insights about the “nothings” that are a result of ignorance or associated with ignorance. These insights will help the Christian to know God and what God wants him or her to do in life. This first 26-minute message was preached on Sunday night, October 31, 2021 at Lincoln Land Baptist Church.