The Mystery Now Revealed (1 Cor. 2:6-13)

Man's problem is primarily theology. The cross will always seem barbaric until we see ourselves as barbarians. We now, thanks to the fall and our faulty theology, fear God, not relate to Him. Crime and hatred are just as bad today as it has ever been in any time period! The answer is the cross but sadly we have lost the ability to even ask the right question to get the right answer. Man is blinded. We took the glasses off and stomped them in the garden. We do not have the ability to self-diagnose. We are just beating rocks together and drawing cruddy looking cave art stick figures when it comes to theology.

This answer, the message of the cross, has yet to be plumbed. A helpless baby is the solution. Really? "You have got to be kidding me!", the world shouts. This is total foolishness. However, as Christians, we now spend our lives on this foolish mystery. What used to be boring church stuff is now wonderful and glorious, so amazing that we can't get enough of it. May we have an astonishing God awakening of this truth in a fresh way today. How about this truth from verse 2:7, before time began God decided to not only reveal this truth to us but to have it accomplish something really special in our lives. We are made humble vessels to hold God's glory! We partake of His glory, we get to ride next to Him in the convertible during the Superbowl victor's parade waving to crowd. Wow, I don't know about you but I want to know this a little better. God, open the eyes of this silly, self-made king!

Listen to the message here.

Its all rather mind-boggling. 1 Cor. 2:6-16

In 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 Paul talks about a wisdom from God that is perceived by the world as foolishness. When do the wise see wisdom as foolishness? A better question might be, when do the wise of this world ever see wisdom? According to this passage, the so-called worldly wise person not only doesn't see the true wisdom of the cross of Christ but they are not even capable of seeing it in the first place.
The beginning of wisdom in the modern world is to go to college and beyond to gather the tools of learning that will last a lifetime. For instance, I did not really understand the ways of the English language until I studied Greek in seminary. (Some would question my understanding of English to this day but that's another post!) Byron spent this sermon exhorting college bound students with a word to the wise about wisdom.

Wisdom is often jettisoned in college as the dorm frig is carried up the final flight of stairs. The trend is to pitch Christ in the college dumpster is ominous. Churched students will many times abandon Christ for secular pursuits and knowledge. The secular college campus is uniquely designed to make mom and dad's faith look stupid and the college professors seem to glory in their faith destroying super hero powers.

The only sustaining factor for steadfast faith through the college years is a REAL relationship with Christ. You must believe that the cross was actually and particularly applied to you. The cross is the breeding ground for thankfulness allowing worldly temptations to fall away like doggie do from the shoe. Byron suggested from his own life experience that you need to go in to college not believing a single word they say about life is true. Test it all. Since the world thinks Christianity is irrational and illogical they will try to pull you back from the ledge of such foolishness. Why is the cross such foolishness in the world's eye? Supernatural, the entire Jesus saga is supernatural from start to end. God does it all and He does it above and beyond the natural, scientifically testable worldly processes thus driving the wise of this world off their nut. The pressure is to abandon the gospel as foolishness but verse 6 reminds us that the cross is actually the real winner of the wisdom contest. The bottom line is that the gospel will not make any sense at all to a lost person. The exclusive message of Christ is insulting and offensive. So reader, do you have cloud parting, life binding, knee bending devotion to Christ? If not, are you too wise? (Click here to listen to the actual sermon.)

Him Crucified (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Tweets from the seat: I'm taking a different approach to this week's sermon wrap up. There were so many quotes in this message that were worthy of tweets that I thought it would be fun to format with them. (What are tweets and twitter? Click here:http://twitter.com/)

Click here to read the sermon's key passage: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Listen to the sermon by clicking here: Him Crucified

Message and methodology can't be separated. "And when I came" methods match the message. simply the cross of Christ. 1 Cor 2:1

Every true conviction is fleshed out in your methods. How you are going about in ministry reveals your convictions

What are the primary aims of ministry? The gospel is driving it. The pressure for pragmatism is intense. 1 Cor. 2:1-5

Ministry aim 1: I hope to be an embarrassment to you, a fool for Christ. That my devotion to Christ would make you uncomfortable. 1 Cor. 2:1

Ministry should be raw, direct and the same like a guy mowing his grass in black socks and a wife beater t-shirt. No frills

Ministry aim 2: I want to be redundant. 1 Cor. 2:2 nothing but Christ. Paul was not the poster child of the church growth gurus.

Preaching is ignoring criticism especially when its, "your message was irrelevant to me!" Christ is the power not my program.

"May every sermon I preach sound like spikes being driven into human flesh"

Ministry aim 3: I want to be forgettable. 1 Cor 2:3 You wouldn't  follow Paul on a podcast. Same simple message over and over.

Paul's messages were like simple flannel graph kids Sunday school lessons. Basics on Christ and the cross. 2 Cor. 10:10

Paul's fear was not his audience but his message. He didn't want anyone to be impressed by him and thus minimize the cross.

Not what a great sermon but what a great savior

Your faith should not rest on the method or the messenger but the message of Christ and the cross. 1 Cor. 2:1-5

Follow Byron Yawn on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Byronyawn

What God Does (1 Cor. 1:26-31)

Who do you think Jesus went to first and who do you think responded to His message with the most gusto: the wise, the strong and of high station with the perfect pedigree, or the weak, foolish, good for nothing gutter rats? You guessed it, those very people here in Nashville that we are the most afraid of, those that live on that street, those whose lifestyle of abuse, drugs, crime and ignorance have dropped them on the stoop of the red light district. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 addressed this in wonderful terms and Byron nailed it with a royal illustration and three points about God in his sermon.

The message of Christ and the cross is all about God, His sovereign grace and His glory. Our response is to totally boast but not in our 'great, smart decision' but in God's gracious motivation, aim and ability.  When Christ came to the earth to seek and save the lost He started at the back of the line where the religious culture dares not tread. Sovereign grace is the great equalizer of the salvation playing field where wisdom, strength and high social position are boastable hindrances to God's glory. From this passage you see that God does it so that He alone gets all the glory. God's motivation for saving was from within Himself and not from what He saw or even hoped for in man. God's aim in salvation was for Himself, so that boasting would be reserved for Him with none going to man. God's ability to save is expressed by the "so short and undeniable" phrase, "by Him," in verse 30. How does God save? By Christ alone, which is the whole, simple point of the Gospel. So by verse 31 the boasting in the Lord alone becomes very obvious.

I believe the point that struck me the most in this particular message was the most remarkable contrast between what man loves and looks for: wisdom, strength and noble birth verses where Christ came and dwelt, with the fools, the weak and the social mutants. Byron said that God's sovereign grace is the great leveler of the playing field and that we must see everyone as an equal target for the Gospel. I think maybe I've been aiming at the clean cut wise and stepping over the dirty sinners. Christ Himself said it best: only the sick need a doctor and with that only the lost need a savior.

The Centrality Of The Cross (Part 4) 1 Corinthians 1:20-25

The words from this sermon series continue to penetrate like a fine clock oil. Live it afresh brothers and sisters and if you have not listened to the message click here: Centrality of Cross (pt. 4) This was a lifesaver for me as I was able to access this site on my iPhone and listen while in San Diego this week. Technology carries the Gospel all over the globe. Praise the Lord.

Lets jump right in:

1 Corinthians 1:20-25 1 Cor. (ESV website)
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

We are the scribes, the debaters and the wise fools of this passage. Our hearts churn out idol after idol (Calvin called the human heart an endless idol factory). These self made gods we create are very ruthless despotic tyrants that demand constant sacrifice: our merit. As we feed our own self made merit god that is never appeased or satisfied we bump into others on the same treadmill of despair. Whenever I fail to tell another about the wonderful free gift of Christ, I, in essence, tell that person, "go on, continue to work your fingers of merit to the bone trying to appease a made up god of your own selfishness that will die with you, unappeased." When I think about it like this it doesn't sound like a very nice thing to do to a person.
The gracious God of the scriptures is nothing like this. We can stop working now, stop trying to appease, stop trying to be pretend we are better than we really are. As we look up at the cross our hammer and chisel of merit should drop to the ground as our open, humble hands of repentance are lifted by Christ Himself to receive grace.

What does your self made god look like? What 'food' and sacrifices do you need to provide it daily? Out of curiosity I 'googled' to see what was the meanest, nastiest god man has ever fashioned? The answer maybe: Ares, the Greek god of war, who started wars and global conflict just for kicks. The gods we fashion demand our labor just for 'fun' too! The 'so-called' wise Greeks worshiped this monster. Doesn't seem too 'wise' to me! Yet, as I feed daily my merit monster, I guess that's not too wise either. Let's venture forth to know nothing and to preach nothing but Christ and Him crucified, foolishness gone wild!

The Centrality Of The Cross (Part 3) I Cor. 1:19-20

The Centrality Of The Cross (Part 3)
Byron Yawn
Mar 7, 2010 • Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 1:19-20
If you missed the message grab the mp3: http://audio.cbcnashville.org/index.php/site/listen/277

I Corinthians 1:19 For it is written,“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

The walls are coming down in my life like the walls of Jericho (referenced in the sermon). What an utterly foolish and laughable way to fell a city, by walking in circles seven times and blowing trumpets! The foolishness of the wise collapses like the power of God shattering those massive rocks. The preaching of the gospel is like that.

(a nice link proving those walls really did collapse outwardly: http://shar.es/mHtNB )

Paul, in Romans 1: 16, states that he is "not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." If I don't share the gospel with regularity I won't feel this temptation to be ashamed or burdened by that foolish message. In other words, if I don't ever step into the battle I won't understand all this talk about wounds, pain and the temptation to flee the battle spray.  This hit me so hard today. Where is my life going? How many people, day in and day out, do I not share with because I am afraid and ashamed. I weep at my shame. I'm ashamed of my shame even! When was the last time I shared the gospel with anyone and not just a typical 'spiritual conversation'? Asking someone where they attend church and then saying, 'oh that's so nice.' is NOT sharing the cross! Everyone wants cute spiritual conversations like this but no one wants to hear the implications of the cross upon their sinful world! Even in sharing it do I really share it? If a person doesn't leave a conversation stating in shock, "he called me bad and mentioned hell and wrath," then I probably didn't share the gospel with them.

I loved it when Byron said he "plays a one string banjo, the gospel, 'boing!'".The cross says about man what no one wants to hear and about God what no one can conceive. It reveals the problem everyone knows they have with an answer no one knew was possible. What a statement. Do I have this 'blood earnestness' to bring Christ with me into every conversation, every relationship. I will preach the gospel only to the ones I truly love. Just put the simple message of the cross in people's paths.