August 22, 2010
Morning Worship
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5
Subject: Wisdom and Power
Title: Church the Way It Should Be
OK. Here it is! For nearly nine years I have been here preaching the word of God to you. My goal has always been to open the word for you in a way that you could understand it and build an even stronger foundation than what you have previously had. My purpose in preaching has always been to be an Ephesians 4 pastor, 12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…
I have constantly encouraged you all to read your bible and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you what He wants to teach you. I have continually urged you to trust every word that comes out of God’s word. I have taught you not to take one verse of scripture and make doctrine out of it but to read it in the context in which it was written.
I haven’t really taught you anything new. But maybe I have reinforced some things that you have forgotten. Or maybe I have been able to put a different twist on some things because my life, my background, my personality is different from those who came before me.
In all these things all I have ever wanted to do is to make this church better.
Now, turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. I want to show you that Paul had the same desire for the church in Corinth. I am not trying to place myself on a pedestal or say that I am cut out of the same cloth as Paul. What I am saying is that my heart for the church is the same as Paul’s heart was – that the church become the best it can be. And the way for that to happen is to focus on the primary message of the whole bible – Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
There is power in the word of God so today as you listen I ask that you allow this word that I have not just to inform you, but to change you from the inside out.
Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5.
Lord, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
I. THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS-. As Paul begins this line of thought in his letter to the church, he does so by contrasting what the world thinks about the cross with what the cross has done in the lives of Christians everywhere. 18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. What Paul says here is that the gospel message produces two responses? 1), it’s foolishness. Why would God come to earth in order to die on a cross? What kind of God is that? And if Jesus was God and He wasn’t able to save Himself, then how could He save anyone else? Isn’t that the same words we heard at the cross as those who watched Jesus die mocked Him? Mark 15:31-32, "He saved others," they said, "but he can’t save himself! 32Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." If this is a God, then who would want to serve Him? 2) The second response is one of recognition and it is the polar opposite of the first. Humanity could never become good enough to save itself so now it throws itself upon the mercy of the great judge and accepts the power that came to earth to save the world. …But to us who are being saved it is the power of God… let’s look at two words in that last part of verse 18. the word saved in the original language means, “to save, deliver or protect…heal, preserve, do well or make whole.” So when the world looks at those things they say that it is impossible. But the cross has another dimension – it is the power of God. The word power refers to a force, specifically a miraculous power that is evident in the miracle itself. Other meanings include, ability, abundance, might, strength… For those who refuse the cross it is foolishness and it leads to death. But to those who accept it there is a miracle, the ability, the abundance, the might, the strength of God to save, to deliver, to protect, to heal, preserve or make whole. 19For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. Now I want you to remember that Paul is writing this letter to the church. He is reminding them that the message of the cross contradicts… the wisdom of the world.
II. THE WISDOM OF THE WORLD Look at verse 20 . 20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? That is the question that goes out to the world even today. You know you should stop smoking. You know you need to be more loving. You know that you need a physical touch in your body. You know that your paycheck is going to fall short this month. If you were smart enough, if you were good enough, if you were powerful enough to save yourself, deliver yourself, do a miracle for yourself, then why haven’t you done it? The wisdom of the world doesn’t provide anything to meet those needs, but God does. Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. What the world cannot do in its own power God has done and it pleases Him to have done it. It’s not because they haven’t known God. Romans 1:18-21 tells us that all mankind has been instilled with a basic understanding of God. The problem is that mankind has chosen to replace God with images and objects rather than confess who He really is. They would rather exalt themselves and their “wisdom” rather than worship God. Now, look at how Paul says the world seeks after God. 22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom… They look for God, who is spirit, only in the natural… 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. The wisdom of the world will always succumb to… the righteousness of God.
III. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD Have you ever looked through the bible at the people that God has called to do His work here on earth? Noah was a farmer who built an ark. Moses was a murderer and then a sheepherder who delivered Israel form Egypt. Jeremiah was just a boy when he was called to be a prophet. Peter, Andrew, James and John were all fishermen who changed the world with this same gospel we have been talking about. Matthew was a tax collector; Luke a doctor; Saul of Tarsus who we know as Paul the apostle was a Pharisee and a persecutor of the church. 26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called… Kenneth Shannon, what were you when God called you? Frances, how about you? Clarence, were you anything special? Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. This church that Jesus has established in the power of the Holy Spirit is made up of ordinary people. Even if there are some who are wealthy, or influential, or talented, according to God’s perfect standard all your good attributes are foolish without Him. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. Paul understood that very clearly. He knew that even though he was a “Pharisee of the Pharisees” and was highly educated in the word of God, he was still nothing. Even after he had become a Christian and a great apostle of God he still knew that his ministry was not about him but about Jesus. 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10, 7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. What do you have to boast about? How many have you saved? How many have you healed? How many have you delivered from the enemy’s strongholds? 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord… this righteous that is from God is revealed in the power of the Holy Spirit.
IV. THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT Everything that Paul has written up to this point deliberately and clearly specifies how the message of the cross contradicts the wisdom of the world; how the wisdom of the world succumbs to the righteousness of God. That is the place the church needs to be at in order to be the church of Jesus Christ that will impact the world. However, even though we know that the message of the cross is the foundation of our faith… even though we understand that the wisdom of the world will have no affect on our eternal state… even though we can comprehend the fullness of the righteousness of God that is at work in you who believe right now… without the power of the Holy Spirit that Paul now speaks of the church lacks. 1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God… Paul says, though I was trained as a speaker and was among the best, and I knew the Law better than most, it wasn’t my eloquence or wisdom that made a difference in your life. ] 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Nothing else matters. It isn’t about the presentation. It’s about the message. The power is in the gospel itself. For those of you who are afraid to witness because you don’t think you can be eloquent enough, you are missing something. It’s the gospel that changes lives. Jesus Christ and Him crucified… However, Paul says that there is one other thing that the church needs to have in order to be everything that Jesus wants it to be. You see, so many of our brothers and sisters in the church world preach the gospel and allow it to do its work. But, for you to be able to effectively and convincingly be the witness God has called you to be there is one more thing. . 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. Paul preached the gospel. Paul didn’t convince people with logic and words – he never appealed to the natural man. When he spoke he spoke in the power of the gospel, but I want you to see that there was something more going on in Paul’s life. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power… Though Paul was trained to speak and could reason with the greatest philosophers it wasn’t his reasoning that was effective. It was his reliance upon the Holy Spirit to work miraculous signs that would confirm the words that he spoke. Everywhere Paul went (as well as others) there were miracles. Earlier I told you about how the original Greek word that is translated saved also carries the meaning of healing and deliverance as well as eternal life. So when the early apostles shared the gospel of salvation they were sharing a multi faceted gospel. And God honored that gospel by working signs and wonders on their behalf to prove that the gospel is true. Not just from Paul’s words alone but in a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. …5so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. And that is the church that God’s wants us to be – a church that focuses not just on eternity but on the power of God to work right here right now.
I was laying in bed on Friday night thinking about this sermon and the Lord laid this question on my heart.
Why do people take personal possession of their problems? They talk about My financial problems, My disease, My sickness, My condition, My struggles… but, not very often do you hear anyone claim My Jesus, My healing, My provision, My victory, My deliverance…
The bible says, Out of the overflow (abundance) of the heart the mouths speaks, and as a man thinks in his heart so is he… For so many years no the church has been programmed to believe that salvation is for eternal life alone. But Paul tells us today that the message of the cross is in the power of the Spirit and it is for now. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
The church that Jesus ahs established on earth is a church that is called to do the same things that He did and to be like Him in all things.
The message of the cross is contrary to the wisdom of the world.
The wisdom of the world will always crumble under the righteousness of God.
The righteousness of God is displayed in the power of the Spirit and…
The power of the Spirit confirms the message of the cross.
God is calling you to a higher place in this world – to a higher understanding of His word, to a higher commitment to His church, to a higher faith in His promises.
Will you allow Him to make you the church that He wants you to be?
