Something more than 'merely' 1 Cor. 3:1-7

1 Cor. 3:1-7 This sermon was all about the Gospel as it applies to a changed life of the believer. Surely we should be acting like redeemed men and not merely as men.What does maturity in Christ even look like? Do I notice it in me? Do others?Am I still exhausted by my struggles with the flesh? Temptations? Shouldn't I be changing for the better? Am I still fighting the flesh in the same, old, tired ways that clearly aren't working? Maybe I need more or better therapy?
Its not what I know but what I've absorbed into my life. It's an acute awareness of the cross. What has become 'my life', my subconscious, involuntary response to all of life's trials, tribulations and tests. In other words, has my gut reactions changed any since Christ saved me? Immature responses to life reveal an immature person. Makes sense to me and at the same time is very convicting considering the way I respond to most trials and problems. After 24 years of being saved one would think that life's Biblical filter would be working much better!
Our MAIN PROBLEM is a lack of love for Him and His work on the Cross.

Spiritual diagnostic test: (Are we ready to take this seriously?)
1. Is the Cross/Gospel the central feature of my life? (3:1) Is it operational or just occasional? WOW! Is the Gospel between me and my world? Why? Well, because what Paul heard through the cup placed on the wall of the church sounded like a preschool class. They were all throwing baby temper tantrums.

2. How is my progress in growth? (3:2) Have I progressed in disposition? Am I changing at all? We are supposed to be growing. What are the indicators? Well for simple starters am I a nicer person? More compassionate? Do I see and respond quicker to other people's needs faster than say this time last year? What am I pursuing in life?

3. Is my life a testimony of grace? (3:3) Am I growing in grace? Does anyone see the evidence? Where's the proof?

How will I know?

• When my prayers are no longer for others to change. 
• When repentance is about deep heart issues and not just the externals. 
• When my responses are not pride, self defense but a willingness to die on any stage and any time.

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 View from the Tomb (Luke 24:36-53)

When the angel rolled the stone away it wasn't to let Jesus out but to let us in. The view from the empty tomb would change the world forever. Resurrection Sunday always brings out the "once a year Christians" who take a quick glance toward the tomb in a dared sort of way. This yearly ritual reminds me of  Clark Griswold gathering the family around the precipice of the Grand Canyon only to give a quick nod and then herd the family back in to the car to get on with real life. Surely the consideration of the empty tomb is supposed to be an everyday experience that changes us and motivates us, not a holiday called Easter. After the Resurrection the church exploded onto the scene as shown in the book of Acts. I thought Byron made a crucial statement:
"The resurrection created the church not the other way around."
Luke 24:36-53 was the key text for this sermon (CBC Sermons). Remember the six practical provisions the resurrection provides for us.

1. Victory in life, in witness and over sin. (Rom. 6:1-6) 
2. Hope for the future especially after we die. (Acts 17:30-32)
3. Freedom from materialism. (2 Cor. 5:15)
4. Joy in obedience (Phil. 3:10-14)
5. Confidence in the Gospel. The empty tomb proves that its true. (2 Cor. 5:14-17)
6. Forgiveness of all our failures and embarrassments. Always an encouragement and helping hand back into the battle and ministry.  (Matt. 28:10)

Well, here we are, Easter is over now what? Its the same as on the very first resurrection morning. Quickly now go tell his disciples that Jesus Christ is no longer dead. Who will you tell today?

Considering Ourselves (1 Corinthians 1:26)

Remember your calling. Think back to the moment you were saved! Remember how sinful, how foolish, how lame you were before Christ found you and saved you. Why did God save you? Because you were good? Because he thought of you and your merit above all? That doesn't even make sense. Good people don't need to be saved. By very definition salvation assumes that someone is in need of being rescued. Jesus Himself said He came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10 People that don't think they are lost need not apply. I have talked to many that say "well that's nice for you but I don't need that Jesus stuff." Sermon audio

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

We were total wrecks when Christ saved us whether we saw it at the time or not. Being saved out of a literal ditch of our own depravity is one thing but being saved out of 'good' suburbia is perceived as another. Both, according to scripture, are train wrecked lives without hope, without Christ. The trophies of God's Grace are the nothings of this world. Its a beautiful thing thinking about God ensuring His glory is displayed by going after those who have no glory of their own to bring to the table.
So, in the Gospel I preach is there room for the train wrecks? Is there any room for those train wrecks here at the church?