Crazy In Love With Jesus

1 CORINTHIANS 3:18-20 “CRAZY IN LOVE WITH JESUS”

A) I heard someone use the word “oxymoron.” * Do you know what an oxymoron is?

* (My Husband) * Oxymorons are 2 words that don’t make any sense when put together! (Hus - band)

* Jumbo Shrimp ... Act Naturally ... Almost done ... Almost Perfect ... Alone Together

* Anti-Missile Missile ... Artificial Grass ... Curved Line ... Deafening Silence

* Diet Ice Cream ... Found Missing

B) We’re going to look at 3 Scripture verses tonight that seem to be oxymorons!

* To normal people, they don’t make any sense!

* Are you normal tonight? * How many of you think you’re normal? (SHOW OF HANDS)

* I don’t think most of you are normal! * I don’t think God wants you to be normal.

* Do you know why? * Bumper Sticker ... NORMAL PEOPLE WORRY ME!

* Do you know why normal people worry me? * Let me explain .......

C) We live in a culture where the church is not really growing!

* 1990-2000, only 24% of churches grew!

* Almost all of that was transplant ... Christians leaving one church to go to another.

* I believe God moves Christians from prospering churches to struggling churches.

* However ... Only 1% of churches are actually reaching the lost and winning them.

* This Sunday, 66% of people in Spartanburg county will not go to church anywhere!

* That’s 2 of out 3!

D) We live in a culture that’s not just post-Christian, it’s anti-Christian!

* Recently, a survey was taken on college campuses that asked unsaved folks how they see

Christians! * The top 3 answers were: Hypocritical ... Boring ... and Judgmental.

* To 66% of our nation, it’s not cool to be a Christian!

* In America, the folks without Jesus outnumber the folks with Jesus 2 to 1!

* Yet, what do we call the people without Jesus?

* Unsaved, Lost, Unchurched, Pagans, Heathen.

E) By the way we talk about them ... By the names we call them ...

* It’s like they’re strange, odd, weird, different!

* Guess what? * We’re the weird ones, not them!

* Do you know what the definition of “Normal” is?

* Normal ... Conforming to the norm, standard, regular, average.

F) Do you know what that means?

* The lost people outnumber us 2 to 1 ... They’re the Normal Ones ... We’re the weird ones!

* That’s why normal people worry me ... Because if you’re normal, you’ve never met Jesus!

* So Jesus doesn’t want us to be normal, but I’m not sure weird is exactly the right term!

* I think Jesus wants us to be N.U.T.S. * Do you know what nuts means?

* Nuts ... “Never Underestimate the Spirit.” * God wants us to be Nuts!

G) Jesus is driving me nuts ... I’m nuts because of Jesus!

* You need to be just as nuts as I am!

* That means that the church is the “Nuthouse.”

* That means that the pastor is the Chief nut!

* My job as a pastor is to drive you nuts!

* I’m supposed to drive you crazy in love with Jesus!

H) Teens, you need to drive your parents crazy ... in love with Jesus!

* Parents, you need to drive your children crazy ... in love with Jesus!

* You need to drive your friends crazy ... in love with Jesus!

* We need to make everybody NUTS!

I) OK, I know you’re wondering where I came up with all this stuff!

* It’s in the Bible ... I promise! * Let’s look at 3 Scriptures that seem to be oxymorons, and if

you’re really NUTS you’ll understand!

(1) WE BECOME WISE BY BEING A FOOL - OUR TEXT - 1 COR 3:18-20!

* Greek - Fool - Moros ... where we get the word moron!

* Paul is saying that if we think that we’re wise, then we need to become a moron for Jesus!

A) He’s saying that we need to be so crazy about Jesus that nothing else matters!

* To a Christian (NUT) the stuff that happens in the world seems crazy!

* Aids ... Starvation while sports players make 8 million dollars a year.

* Swartznegger making 20 million dollars for a movie!

* To the world, the Christian seems crazy! * Such as .......

B) Following Jesus no matter what, praying, getting up on Sunday AM to go to church .......

* Did you know that the Amer. Assoc. of Psychiatrists recently said that one of the signs of

mental illness was a persistent, unshakable belief in God, or hearing God’s voice!

* I guess that means: Adam was Nuts ... Moses was Nuts ... Noah was Nuts ...