May The Weak Be Strong

May the Weak be Strong

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

What do you do when the Creator of all things seen and unseen who was slain to purchase your soul (Colossians 1:16; Revelation 13:8; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20), asks you a born-again believer to serve in His kingdom? While many believers have embraced getting closer to God as their life goal few are willing to be like the prophet Isaiah and cry out “here am I, send me” (6:5)? Looking through worldly binoculars that magnify money, fame, and power as being absolute indicators of success we tend to magnify and be blinded by our “worldly weaknesses!” Foolishly we say to ourselves surely Christ would never choose for His hands and feet one so low and wretched as I and yet to our utter amazement and dare I say with much terror He calls us, and we must choose how we will answer His call. We could continue to remain sleepy, pew sitting giants who are comfortable enough to give Him platitudes of service one hour a week by reading Scripture, singing songs, and listening to sermons while at the same time ignoring their words that cry out for us to demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit in our lives; or we could choose to rise and trust He who asks also enables one to serve rightly and successfully in His kingdom! The following sermon is going to review 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 to help us remember that God chooses the foolish, weak, lowly, and despised of this world to serve Him and in doing so shames the wise and strong so that boasting of righteousness, holiness and redemption would only be done in the Lord!

Being Overwhelmed when Asked to Serve (26)

While church politics can be quite frightening nothing strikes terror into one’s soul like being asked to serve in God’s kingdom! You know that uncomfortable moment when you pick up worldly binoculars and what is being asked of you becomes so much “bigger, insurmountable and un-overcome-able,” than this mere piece of dust and babe in Christ could ever attempt! In that moment of dare I say terror, is not our minds instantly flooded with excuses that prohibit our service. When I say this, I think of Moses’ call in Exodus 3-4. While he was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a burning bush (1-2). While Moses was afraid to look at God that day due to His holiness (6), he was also filled with terror of God’s request that he go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt (9). To try and convince God to choose someone else Moses gave Him five excuses: I am not good enough (11), I do not have all the answers (13), people will not believe I was chosen (4:1), I am a terrible public speaker (4:10) and I am outright not qualified (4:13). These excuses probably sound awfully familiar for many Christians still use them today in response to God’s call! If only we would turn the binoculars around and see that our call from God is quite small in His eyes. Like Moses we need to be constantly reminded that God is not only with us (3:12) but is also responsible for the results of our service (3:20)! Rest assured we are not called to be Christ’s hands and feet without access to His power. Like Moses, God will give us words to speak (4:10-12) that will penetrate the stoniest of hearts and when we have faith as tiny as a mustard seed we need only ask, and He will move mighty mountains for His name’s sake (Matthew 17:20)!

To help combat the church of Corinth’s fear of serving Apostle Paul suggested to remember the circumstances of one’s calling. I invite you to reflect upon the day when God came knocking on the door of your heart and through belief in His atoning sacrifice you were born of the water and the Spirit (John 3:5). Were you wise by human standards, influential and of noble birth when you said yes to Jesus to be the Lord of your life? When God chose to bring the Good News to us, we had done nothing to earn our salvation (Ephesians 2:8)! Our righteousness, holiness and redemption was a gift from God (31). Were we not gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful without understanding, fidelity, love, or mercy when we were called (Romans 1:30)? Surely, we remember our depravity for if we do not then how could we ever know the depths of God’s love and grace? Paul stated that while some of the church of Corinth such as Crispus, Stephanas, Chloe (Acts 1:16,16:15, 1:11), Gaius (Romans 16:23) and Aquila and Priscilla (16:19; cf. Rom. 16:3; Acts 18:2, 26) had status and wealth, most of the church who were called were of low status based on worldly standards! “God then we must conclude is no respecter of persons! God freely chooses whomever God pleases at will, and not in a manner beholden to human standards. God’s grace does not necessarily correlate to social order or human patterns of evaluation.” For example, when an argument broke out in the church of Corinth over whom was the greatest to follow, Paul or Apollos, Paul told them that successful service in God’s kingdom is not dependent on how others rank one’s level of spirituality but rather is based on whether or not one is faithfully performing the task that God has assigned (3:1-15). In other words, there are no justifiable reasons one can give to say no to God’s call of service! So, now that we have expelled with any excuses lets now focus on why God predominantly chooses the weak and despised to do great things in His kingdom.