What Happens When We Worship | Week 11

My name is Kyle. I serve as lead Pastor here.

I'm glad that you're here. Today.

We're going to be in first Corinthians chapter 2 today. 1st

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

Corinthians chapter 2. So, if you have your Bible, I'd

ask that you open up there. Go ahead and turn to that.

We're in the middle of a series called what happens when we

worship. And we're just merely examining

what takes place in Sunday worship week-to-week, what's

going on? And so contemporary terminology,

typically uses worship. As a way to describe only the

singing portion of a service, but that is not traditionally or

biblically the way we should think about worship.

Worship is well, one worship is something you were created to

do. And so you are a worship for of

something and then to worship as it pertains to church is talking

about the service that takes place the entire service.

So from the beginning to the end, what are we doing?

Why do we do it? How is it important?

How does it affect our lives? And today I want to talk to you

about how we hear the word of Christ went to as Alan so

eloquently, put it in our Elder meeting Sunday so you're

preaching on preaching. So yes, that's correct.

Preaching, on preaching today. Why do we preach week in and

week out what's the point of preaching?

How does it affect you? Is this just simply man's

tradition or is this something that God has given In US

ordained that we do again week in week out in the service.

Of course, I'm going to contend that it is from God that it is

for the good of his people. And I hope that you will see

that by the end of the service. If you would, would you stand as

we read First, Corinthians, 2 1 through 5.

When I finish reading, I will say this is the word of the

Lord. Ask that you respond.

Thanks, be to God. First Corinthians, 2 verse 1.

1 Corinthians 2:1

And I when I came to you brothers, did not come

proclaiming to you. The testimony of God with lofty

speech or wisdom for. I decided to know.

Nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling

and my speech and my message were not implausible words of

wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit, and of power.

So that That your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men,

but in the power of God, this is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God. Let me pray for us.

Heavenly Father, we praise you for today.

Thank you, that we have your word here in front of us that we

might read it. That we might hear from it.

That our hearts, and our minds might submit themselves to you,

we might submit ourselves to you and heart and mind and soul

lord, that we would acknowledge. That Christ is the Son of God,

that he was crucified. Dead buried raised again on the

third day, where he's now seated at your right hands.

And he exercises dominion over all things and it is our duty to

worship him. And so today, in preaching as is

always father, I ask that you would help me to exalt Christ

that he would be the one we behold today, that it not be me

or my words. Ads or anything else but that

would be Christ and him crucified that is our strength.

That is our hope that is the foundation of our faith in

Christ's name. I pray these things, amen.

Amen. Somewhere around the 1980s,

there was a movement of churches to abandon biblically faithful

thoughtful sermons. For what they felt like, would

be talks that were better for the culture, right?

That would speak more to the culture and so churches,

transition from being Outpost of Heaven, you might say where the

Saints gather together to be. To be edified to be strengthened

to be corrected and nourished by the word of God, by the presence

of the Believers, by the presence of the spirit of God

himself and then sent into the world.

They changed from that to become really places where we're trying

to appeal to the world so that we can attract more and more

people to the church. And so, you can see where the

issue took place, the issue took place in Forgetting, the

commands of God, for what, the church is supposed to be, and

turning to the wisdom of man, for what man thought would make

the church more fruitful so to speak.

And so it has its become more fruitful if you're, if fruit is

simply attendance. If fruit is merely about how

many people we can get in the doors, things appear to be more

fruitful the preaching practice of most, especially mega

churches, which are churches with Plus is more akin to a TED

talk. I'm not sure if you know what a

TED Talk is, but it's on technology education and forgot

the D. Anyway, so became more like Ted

Talks which are short Sleek presentations on the topic, you

can watch them on YouTube. They're typically 18 minutes or

less. They've got good graphics their

fancy, they're great they're geared to go, quote-unquote

viral right there, geared to be helpful short presentations that

catch our attention. And so many pastors teachers

have followed the with the worldly wisdom and said hey

let's do. New preaching that's more.

Akin to a TED talk. Let's gear this to 15 20 minute,

talk about something that pertains to life.

Three steps to a better marriage or two steps to better money

management or and so, you start appealing to what we'll talk

about later as felt needs. So we all have these felt needs

like, I need to be a better husband.

I need to be a better. Father, I need to better manage

my money. I need to blah blah.

Be able to pray better read my Bible better.

All have these felt needs, but below the felt need, the felt

needs really, just the tip of the iceberg below.

The felt need is this massive spiritual needs?

And so, another way to think about it is say, you have a

tumor that's causing a lot of headaches.

You get a headache after headache, after headache, and

you're treating the headaches with ibuprofen, you never go to

a doctor, you never seek out a CT scan or MRI or anything like

that. You just simply say, I'm going

to treat it with ibuprofen. Well guess what?

The tumor is going to grow and become more of a problem.

Well, the same is true for what's taking place In churches,

though felt needs, are being met through these Ted Talk, Like

sermons and you're getting some wisdom even often from

scripture, but the wisdom is pointing to you to worldly

methods that aren't treating the tumor.

There, just simply treating, the felt need and so you walk out

feeling better. You walk out with a plan of

attack, but then you realize, I can't execute that.

Why? Because my heart's still foul,

I've still got a heart. That's Wayward.

I've still got a heart that loves my sin more than the

Holiness of God, I've still got a heart that the cries, the

things of God and runs to the things of the world.

And so I might do a good job. It's kind of like it's kind of

like starting the year with resolution.

You might do a good job for a little bit working on your

Fitness or eating healthy, but attend eventually that's going

to fall away because there's a deeper need at play here and so

it's no wonder then that solid in-depth preaching is falling by

the way song. Ugh by side in the, if the goal

is now Sleek presentations and viral potential.

Jonathan Cruz in his book says this.

He says, if we knew what was actually happening and truly

biblical Spirit, rot preaching, we would feel much more

different about sermons. We would approach them in an

entirely different manner. So, what is happening, when we

preach what's happening in thoughtful thoughtfully

biblically faithful sermons? Well, I want to present this big

idea to, you know, give you a moment.

Want to ride it by the power of the holy spirit in preaching, by

the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus speaks through his

preacher. Unto the saving of Sinners and

sanctifying of saints by the spoken word, to the glory of

God, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus speaks through his preacher, saving, Sinners and

sanctifying Saints, by the spoken word, to the glory of

God. And so really, it's nothing less

than in biblically faithful. Preaching that Christ is the one

giving the word. Now, I want you to think about

the statement for a moment because if it's true then what

I'm saying is that true preaching is Christ himself

doing this? And if that's true, then that

has great ramifications for how we approach preaching both as

preachers and as those who are hearing the word taught, He is

one, it would mean that he is worthy of our undivided

attention because he is the king of kings.

He is the Lord of lords. He's the one that we're is

worthy of all allegiance, of all of our attention.

But maybe it sounds too good to be true that Christ himself

preaches. However, it is the preached word

that sets apart, the people of God for himself.

So it's in the preaching of the word that God draws Sinners unto

himself. It's in the preaching of the

unto salvation, and it's in the preaching of the word that God

will sanctify. Those redeemed people, those

saints that he will make them more and more into the image of

Christ himself. So let me show you just from

from scripture. The Apostolic Church witness

that is the New Testament Church under the apostles Direction

their witness to this. The Bible shows us that the

definition that this definition of Christ, being the one who

preaches isn't all that crazy. The church believed that when

the apostles preached, the voice of Christ could be heard the

Apostle. Paul explains to the Ephesian

church and Ephesians 2 verse 17. Mean that it was Christ who came

Ephesians 2:17

and preached to you. Now what's so amazing about that

is there was no Christian Church in Ephesus when Christ was doing

his Earthly Ministry nor did Christ, go to Ephesus during his

Earthly Ministry. So what he is saying is that

when I came and Barnabas was with him and when we came and we

preached the gospel to you, it was nothing less than Christ

himself preaching to you, he preached to those who were far

off. And those who were near that,

they might be one people. And so when the apostles

preached the word Christ was speaking through them in Romans

Romans 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10. We see that the voice of

preachers is equated with the voice of Christ.

It says they're about the those who go and proclaim the gospel.

It says, how shall they, those who do not believe, how shall

they believe in him of whom they have not heard, but this is

literally translated in him, whom they have not heard So

literally, they haven't heard Christ himself, but they hear

Christ himself through the proclamation of the Gospel that

comes through these Heralds of the Gospel throughout church

history. The Church has believed that the

preaching of the word of God is the word of God.

You'll see that through out various old church, confessions

Now, I don't want to sound like this is some Eric claim that God

himself is freak. Is speaking through the pasture

each week. I am terrified of people who get

up and act like they are God's anointed man and that all the

people should owe them some sort of Allegiance in that moment

that's not at all. What we're saying here?

I and the other Elders here are just normal guys.

We drive normal Vehicles, we are.

Unmistakably ordinary. There's nothing special about

us. There's nothing Divine about us.

God doesn't transform crew, says this.

And so helpful, God doesn't transform the preacher God uses

the preacher. So I don't stand to you as an

before you as an apostle. I don't stand before you as some

profit, some Old Testament or new testament Prophet, I don't

stand before you holding any other office than the office of

Elder as its, this as its described in the New Testament

and that is what the other Elders do.

But these are ordinary men whom God has Called to do a specific

work there for the preacher, does not ever boast in himself.

It's never about the preacher and that's the problem with the

man who will stand up and say, I'm an apostle, I'm a prophet,

I'm an anointed leader. You're boasting in yourself.

When you do those things are Bose, does in Christ and In

Christ Alone always that's precisely what Paul was saying.

In 1st Corinthians, 2 1 through 5 which I read a moment ago but

I'll read it again so just we hear it and I this is the

Apostle Paul speaking, right? This is The greatest missionary

the world has ever known. It's the guy who wrote

two-thirds of the New Testaments.

This is a guy who was once a persecutor of Christians,

killing them, overseeing their deaths, who on his way to

Damascus to persecute more Christians Christ himself

appears to him, he saved and an otherworldly Manner and he's

given a new ministry. That is as an apostle of Christ.

And yet as this great, Apostle says, he says this and And I

when I came to you brothers did not come proclaiming to you.

The testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.

For I decided to know. Nothing among you except Jesus

Christ and him crucified. That's the the point of the

message, but that's the point of all sermons, right?

I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him

crucified. This is our greatest spiritual

need. And once we come to see Christ

as the one who was crucified to save sinners from their sins, to

give them his very own righteousness, and to help them

walk. Righteousness, by the power of

the spirit, the same power that raised him from the raised him

from the dead. Now, dwells in Believers, and

he's sanctifying them unto eventual.

Glorification, where the reside with Christ in heaven forever,

the same Christ. He's the one we preached.

This is the message we speak. This is the thing that meets all

your great spiritual need and so therefore transforms all of your

felt needs as well. When you look to Christ, you

have no need of three. Oops, to a better whatever.

When you look to Christ, you have everything that you need

for godliness and salvation. Christ is the point of every

sermon, he's the one we exalt. And so Paul says, I decided to

know nothing among you. Now, he's a smart, smart guy,

well-educated, a Pharisee of Pharisees.

And he says, I've given all that up that I might know.

Nothing among you, except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And he says, when I was with you, not only that but he

doesn't stand as one. Who's bald he doesn't stand as

one. Who's, you know, super confident

in his abilities, he's, he's overwhelmed by the task that God

has given him that he would be a Herald or an apostle in his case

of the gospel. And so he says, I was with you

in weakness. I was with you in fear and much

trembling and my my message were not implausible words of wisdom,

but in demonstration of the spirit, and of power, so that

your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power

of God, see stood before the Corinthians and gave them

exactly what they needed Christ and him crucified and nothing

else, nothing more, nothing less, Paul did not rely on

worldly wisdom. He didn't rely on Innovative

speech. He wasn't looking to become the

best Storyteller. He wasn't wanting to tell the

best jokes and his sermon. He was saying here is Christ.

And Christ crucified, this is what you need.

He knew that the gospel as he wrote in Romans 1:16, with the

Romans 1:16

power of God unto salvation. For all who, Who believed he

taught Timothy and First Timothy and second Timothy and First

Timothy says to Timothy give public attention to the reading

of God's word meaning do it regularly read God's word.

Teach from God's word and then in second, Timothy 4:2, just

even more explicitly. Preach the word.

Amen. Preach the word when we

understand that it is God's word, it's God's wisdom and it's

God's power, not men's. That should be coming from the

lips of the preacher. Then we can truly see how

something as simple as preaching can have marvelous results.

There's an old Baptist, catechism written by a man named

Benjamin. Keach.

A pastor who was seeking to train his congregation and

children to know the things of God and in his catechism and

question-and-answer 96. He says this, how is the word

made effectual to Salvation? In other words, how does the

word in preaching work? How does it bring Salvation?

And this is what he says, it's incredible.

Listen to this. He says the spirit of God makes

the reading but especially the preaching of the word.

The word and effectual means of convincing and converting,

Sinners and of building them up in Holiness and comfort through

faith unto salvation. So, what's he saying?

It's the spirit of God through the preaching or the reading of

the word, the reading, and the preaching of the word that saves

Sinners and that sanctifies, Those whom have been saved, We

see the same thing happening in the book of Acts again.

I'm trying to show you the apostolic witness.

I'm trying to show you Church histories position on preaching

why it matters throughout acts Church.

Growth is undeniably attributed to the preached word of God.

Nothing else in Acts 2. Peter has stood up on the day of

Pentecost and many have already gone out speaking in other

languages and other people who cannot speak, those languages

are now speaking a new language and the People who only spoke

those languages were hearing the power of God unto salvation in

their own languages. And people looked at the whole

thing and they said, this is crazy.

These men are drunk And Peter stands up, he says, oh no.

He says he's man can't be drunk. It's only the third hour of the

day. And then he goes on to preach

and incredible message of Salvation about Christ and him

crucified and how this was the very plan of God from before,

the beginning of time to save sinners.

And we read there that when they heard it, it says they were cut

to the heart and they asked Peter, they interrupted his

sermon saying, what then should we do?

And he says, repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus

Christ, every one of you and you will be saved.

And it says there that about 3,000 men not including women

and children. I thought they weren't baptized

saved but 3,000 people plus were saved on that day.

Incredible is through the preaching of the word of God.

But the very next verse and 242 We read this, it says, in they

devoted themselves talking about all those who are saved, they

devoted themselves to the apostles teaching to the

preaching of the word of God, they devoted themselves to it,

which means they persevered in it, they continued in it, they

were committed to hearing the word of God preached.

And then in verse 47 it says the Lord added to their number day

by day. Those who were being saved, why?

Because the word was going forth and acts 4 verse 4, it says, but

Acts 4:4

many of those who had heard Heard the word believed in the

number of the men came to about 5,000.

Wow. Another incredible event where

many were saved at the onset of the early church acts 6:7 and

Acts 6:7

the word of God continue to increase and the number of the

disciples multiplied, greatly in Jerusalem and a great, many of

the priests became obedient to the faith.

So now we've got Jewish priest leaving Jewish beliefs and

coming to Christianity, why? Because the word of God

continued increase the word of God went forth.

Acts 10:44, while Peter was still saying, These things the

Acts 10:44

Holy Spirit fell on all, who heard the word.

Why did the Holy Spirit fall? Because Peter was saying some

things? No, because Peter was

proclaiming Christ and him crucified acts 12:24 but the

Acts 12:24

word of God increased and multiplied again.

It's the word of God going forth that's increasing and

multiplying acts 13:48 through 49.

Acts 13:48–49

And when the Gentiles heard this and now we've got people outside

the Jewish. The Jewish people and we've got

Gentiles now, who were not originally, welcome end.

But now they're hearing the gospel, they begin rejoicing and

glorifying the word of the Lord says, and as many as were

appointed to eternal life believed, so God's word was

effectual for the Salvation of all whom he had elected to save

on that day and the word of the Lord was, spreading, throughout

the whole region. It says, so again, the word of

God is going forth, the evidence is quite clear as Cruz says it.

Church grows because the word goes, the church grows because

the word grows the teaching of the word of God, increased by

the spirit, moving on those. Who hear who hear it.

So that they might receive it but not by Man's power, by God's

power alone. God was merely using his

servants, he wasn't making them something else.

All together Christ is sufficient in the holy spirit of

God working through his Servants as what brings people to see

Christ as the all sufficient one.

So why did the apostles? Why did the people they are

following them to vote or persevere in?

The apostles teaching while they devote themselves to it, why did

they not give up on preaching? Now, I don't know about the

Apostle sermons. We don't have everyone on

written down. We have just a fraction of them,

actually. But I hope at least that it's

true. At least for those Elders who

were leading churches after the apostles that there are some

weeks where the sermon was less interesting, you may be sitting

there to say it today saying man, this is, I didn't

necessarily come today to hear a word about preaching.

I need something else. So there were some days where

the sermons might have been less interesting.

I'm sure that there were some weeks where the people came met

with the church and were distracted by outside

circumstances. Things going on in their lives.

It was a diagnosis of sickness, maybe it's a death of a

relative, maybe it was some work conflict, maybe it was the fact

that Rome was persecuting the church and you never know when

they might bust in and clear the place out.

There's lots of things to be distracted by There are some

weeks where more people were converted than others.

Some weeks where no one's converted with the church's

edified, nonetheless. However, no matter what, they

devoted themselves committed themselves to the preaching of

God's word, why, like what Cruz says he says they understood.

It was the means by which their savior, their King, their head,

communicated himself to them. They devoted themselves to the

apostles preaching, because they knew That when they did, they

were really devoting themselves to Christ.

I think. That's exactly right.

It was the word of God that saved them.

It was the word of God. On the day of Pentecost.

That saved those 3,000 men. What else were they to do?

But devote themselves to Christ. They're like Peter and John.

John 6 · chapter mention

Chapter 6 is Jesus, is proclaiming some really

astounding things about how he is the bread of life and that

all who will eat of his flesh and drink of his blood will live

forever sounds terrifying, unless you think about

communion, which would be instantly, Tooted a little bit

later. He says that all who will do

that will be saved and it says there that the crowds found it

too hard, a word to believe and that many of his disciples, not

the 12 but those who were following him left him on that

day. And so we turn to the 12.

It says, and he asked, are you going to follow them?

And Peter says to Christ, where would we go?

For you have the words of eternal life and we see that you

are the true Son of God. Incredible.

Incredible. And so the, so these people who

heard the preached word throughout the New Testament

said, you know what, we're going to devote ourselves to hearing

that same word that saved us, so that we might also grow in

godliness. Amen.

I hope it's why. You come each week not to see me

not to see the worship team. None of that, but to be edified

in your faith, strengthened in your faith that your faith.

May grow, deep, deep roots and affect all of your life, right?

As we preach Christ. As we We sing Christ as we pray

to Christ as we point to Christ in everything that we do by the

power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus speaks through his

preacher, saving Sinners, sanctifying Saints by the spoken

word, to the glory of God. Now, let's look a little bit

further at the text which I've given you today.

Why does the spirit of God bless the preached word?

I think First Corinthians 25 gives us the answer to this so

that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the

power of God, That's why that, that's it.

In a nutshell, the spirit of God, blesses, the preached word

of God, so that your faith might not rest in men, or in men's

wisdom, but in the power of God himself, right?

Paul is even more explicit in the previous chapter.

As he has, he's building into this argument, he starts in a

different place and and chapter 1 verse 17 and 18 He says this,

he says Says, for Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach

the gospel, it doesn't mean that he won't baptize.

He's just saying, that's not what?

All of this is about. It's about preaching, the word.

And not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the Cross of

Christ. Be emptied of its power for the

word of the Cross is folly. To those who are perishing.

It's foolishness to those who don't believe, but to us, who

are being saved, it is the power of God.

And then in verse 21, just a few verses later, he says, 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.

So he's saying this simple message.

This preaching of the gospel of Christ looks like foolish necess

But it's actually the power of God unto salvation.

For all, who believe it's blessed by the spirit of God.

So, if it looks like foolishness to the world, it makes sense.

Then that churches would be saying we need less preaching,

we need more singing, We need more entertainment.

We need more jokes, more storytelling.

We need less of the preach word of God, because that's well,

it's boring. On the surface, it might look

like such, but at the heart of it, it's the power of God unto

salvation for you and your family members.

And for all who hear, amen. It's your only hope for

salvation. And so in these verses that

we're looking at in First Corinthians, I think we see

three things that are happening and truly biblical, preaching

three truths about biblical preaching.

The first is a sending Christ, this is one truth about biblical

preaching is that it has a sending Christ at its foundation

Paul preaches because Christ sent him to do.

So that's what he says. I mean he just explicit they're

in First Corinthians 1:17 says for Christ did not send me to

1 Corinthians 1:17

baptize but to preach the gospel and later he says when I came to

you. I came not in words of wisdom,

but preaching Christ and him crucified.

And New Testament turns the word Apostle means one sent by Christ

to bring his message or speak on his behalf.

They had a calling from Christ himself to them to go and

proclaim the gospel. Now it's true that there are no

modern day Apostles, the office of apostle cease to exist when

the Apostles of Christ passed away.

The New Testament has been fully written.

We have no need for Apostles. One way, you might think of

apostle today. And sometimes the way it's used

in the New Testament is to describe what we call today

missionaries. And the reason we use the term

missionary is because it's to keep from confusing people with

this office of apostle, that was saved For Those whom Christ

sense, namely his 12 disciples and then Mathias later on but

also Paul himself. however, preachers today And so anyone

who claims to be an apostle is a false teacher just make that

abundantly clear preachers today though.

Or in a way sent by Christ, they're not Apostles but one of

the primary descriptions of those who preach the gospel is

that they are a Herald of the good news of God Harold.

Simply was the voice of a king. He was sent out by the king to

Proclaim what the king said. Though the words that he spoke

came from his own mouth, they were not his words.

They represented another more powerful, one, whose words had

Authority. And so, he's speaking words,

yes. But they're not from him,

they're from the King himself and so that's what the preacher

is. The preacher.

Merely represents another, and I'll stand here as a

representative myself. I don't stand here to build my

own kingdom. I don't stand here to build my

own platform. I'm not looking to make a name

for myself, not now. Not ever.

Amen. If you ever see me start to do

that, you have my permission to come slap, the dog snot out of

me. That's that'll be my quickest

ticket to hell if I start doing that.

Save me from that, please. It's foolishness, it's

unrighteousness and it it reeks, you know.

And there's many who do it. But I'm simply here to proclaim

the message of Christ. I'm simply here to relay what I

read in the word. What Christ has already said.

What? God has already written down for

us that we might know it. And the Old Testament at the end

of the book of Nehemiah, Maya or Ezra things, at the end of the

book of Nehemiah Ezra stands up and it says that he reads to

them, the law of God, he reads to them, the word of God.

So the people have been brought back from captivity there.

Now dwelling inside a safe city of Jerusalem where the walls

have been rebuilt and now they're going to read the law of

God in their City. Again, this was a big moment in

their history and says that Ezra stood up.

Up with a Scrolls and he proclaimed the word of God and

that he expounded it to them so that they might understand it.

That's what preachers do. That's it.

That's all we're doing. It's really not rocket science.

You know it's just simply doing what God's called us to do and

in doing so and Ezra are in Nehemiah with Asura's message.

The people repent of their sins, both as a nation against God as

they had abandoned God and in the things of God they were In

it of their personal sins, as well, their hearts were drawn to

the Lord. And so, you know, that it's a

true work of God when the people's hearts are drawn to God

and not the preacher. Amen.

They're drawn to it to Christ now and not the preacher.

The preacher merely represents another he's heralding.

A message from the great high priest.

He's got a message from the king of Heaven and Earth.

Jesus Christ. And when the preacher preaches,

God's word, it's the Lord's message that we're hearing not.

Not the man's, the message belongs to Christ First

Corinthians 21. Again, Paul says, and I, when I

came to, you Brothers came proclaiming to you, the

testimony of God. This is I know nothing among

you, but Christ and him crucified.

Cruz says that true preaching doesn't present the preacher.

It presents the sending Christ. Amen.

The second truth, we see about this message is that it's a

simple message. I hope you're seeing how simple

yet profound it is and so far what I've said.

But in 1st Corinthians 2 1 through 2 again he makes it very

very plain for us and I when I came to you brothers did not

come proclaiming to you. The testimony of God with lofty

speech or wisdom for. I decided to know.

Nothing. Among you except Christ and him

crucified. And then in 24 35, he says, in

my speech and my message were not implausible words of wisdom,

but in demonstration of the spirit, and of power, Power so

that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the

power of God, that's incredible. But this is what Paul was up

against this is what he knew the culture.

Well, he understood What mattered most and he's looking

at the, the idols of his day, right?

He's looking at the things that people were seeking after in his

day and his culture much like our own and that Hellenistic

Greek culture. There was a large and growing

interest in gifted storytelling and gifted speakers who could

capture One's attention. We see the same thing today.

So Paul preached as one, who knows the danger that people

often like the preacher more than his message and he says, I

didn't come to you with plausible words of wisdom, I

came knowing nothing but Christ and him crucified and if

preacher preaching was simply about the skill and the charm of

the preacher than the cross, would be emptied of its power.

If preaching were simply about how cunning can I be, how

persuasive can I be? Then the cross is emptied of its

power. I don't mean that the cross ever

loses its power. It doesn't, I mean that the

preacher is obscuring the cross, and it's not the preachers job

to obscure the cross. It's the preachers job to point

to the cross. We cannot obscure the cross.

Cruz says this in his book, he says when preaching becomes

about entertaining jokes quaint illustrations, feel-good stories

or self-help tips, Christ is no longer seen and he is no longer

seen because he certainly is not sending that kind of preacher.

Amen. It is a simple message.

That ensures. We see and know the sending

Christ. And what is this?

Simple message again. Verse 24, I decided to know,

nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The message is the good news of the Gospel that God created a

world in which he made, man, and man Rebels against God and is

forever. Left to his sin.

If God does not intervene and so God intervenes in the sending of

his own son, Jesus Christ, who would live a perfect life.

Who would walk perfectly under the law?

Who would become a perfect Lamb of God.

As he's described, he would become a perfect sacrifice and

in his death, he atones for the sins of all who will call on the

name of Jesus Christ. That they might be saved and all

who will call on the name of Jesus Christ.

Unto salvation are guaranteed that Those whom he saved.

He also sanctifies and Those whom he sanctifies, he also

glorifies and so you can bet your bottom dollar from the

beginning to the end that You're looking to Christ Jesus for your

salvation, for your sanctification.

And for your glorification is going to pay off because it's

Christ who saves its Christ who sanctifies.

And it's Christ, who glorifies it will not be your own work.

It will be not be your own wisdom.

It will not be your bloodline. It will be nothing of the sort

that you can produce on your own.

You trust in Jesus, and you will be saved, there's nothing

nothing you can do. Do to add to the simple message

of the gospel of Christ, that saves.

And in this message, we see the third truth, a saving power

ascending Christ. A simple message and a saving

power. The simple message reveals the

life-giving power of Christ. Jesus preaching has a saving and

sanctifying power to it, but not because of the preacher because

of the Christ. Again, First Corinthians 2:2, I

1 Corinthians 2:2

decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him

crucified verses, four through five, and my speech.

And my message was not implausible words of wisdom, but

in demonstration of the spirit, And of power.

It was the spirit. He's saying it's a demonstration

of the spirit because the spirit showed up the spirit saved

people. The spirit awakened dead, souls

to life eternal, The spirit showed up in power because it

takes an otherworldly power to awaken the dead Soul unto saving

eternal life. He says, so that your faith may

not rest on the wisdom of men, but in the power of God, if the

man was saving, if the man was doing the saving, if the man was

doing the work of cunning, that kind of manipulates a person to

belief and then that transforms their life, well then who gets

the glory, the man does the man gets all the glory of the man

gets to stand up. And say, well, by my Ministry,

I've seen a thousand people saved by my Ministry.

We've baptized 1200 people by my Ministry, we've done blah, blah

blah, we've canceled, so many blah, All right, the man gets to

stand up, beat his own chest, Pat himself on the back and

receive the praise of man. We should never boast in the

work of God, unless we're boasting in The God.

Who does the work? Amen, it's not our work.

We're just simply being obedient to Christ, who calls to Christ,

who gives the work the work is from God through and through

the, the fruitfulness of the work is from God through and

through. And so, while the unbelievers

preaching seems foolish to those who recognize it as God's

wisdom. It is.

The means of salvation You see, God loves preaching.

He loves it. Because he loves saving Sinners.

He loves strengthening his people and this is how he does.

It, it's through the proclamation of the word of God.

God has always had His prophets in the Old Testament.

New Testament. He's had his Apostles, as we see

in the New Testament has had his teachers.

His preachers. He's had his Kings.

All of them were doing the work of God.

All of them were pointing to the final Prophet priest and king of

Christ Jesus himself. He's the one who does the work.

You can do many other things to win a large crowd.

It's really not that difficult. You can play games, you can do

giveaways. You can watch movies, you can

entertain to the uttermost, but those things do not save souls

in and of themselves are not saying they're bad.

And I say we shouldn't have fun. Not saying any of those things,

I'm saying Sunday worship the Lord's Day worship.

Is reserved for Christ and him crucified.

It's reserved for that, besides what you win people to, as the

old adage goes. What you win them with sorry

when them too, and so you must keep producing.

You know, as a monkey on the stage, you must keep dancing.

In order to keep the people coming, there's no end to the

rat race of entertainment that we see in churches, and

therefore, we too should love preaching, we should love that.

Simple message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For it is the power of God unto salvation, for all who believe.

So we should love it. When our pastors, enter the

pulpit to deliver God's word because it's a moment of

Salvation. It's a moment of sanctification

for God's chosen people. In verse 21 again, he says 44.

Sorry in First Corinthians 1:21. He says this for since, in the

1 Corinthians 1:21

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.

We should be pleased with preaching because it pleases

God. The wonderful mystery of

preaching is that God makes salvation and sanctification

possible and known through the proclamation of his word.

Amen. I have a list here of some final

exhortation, zai, want to give to you on this.

Because salvation is not in your hands but in God's hands.

He's the one who saves we water, we plant God gives the increase.

Because salvation is in is not in our hands.

But in God's hands, The Church Must truly Proclaim Christ.

Preach Christ promote Christ. We cannot use gimmicks, we will

not use gimmicks. We will proclaim the gospel of

Christ in this place each week. Amen.

Next, the biblically faithful. Sermon is a supernatural moment

where God raises dead people from the grave of sin and calls

them to be his people for those who are already his people.

It is a supernatural moment where Christ is lifted high for

them, to behold and become more like that, which they see, we

must never forget the power of the preached word of God.

Cruise again is helpful here. He says this.

He says do we recognize the Wonder or the miracle that takes

place when God's word is preached?

The miracle is that God Saves and sanctifies as people through

his word being preached. Next, the scripture meets our

greatest needs. I talked about this earlier.

Want to expound on it just a little bit.

The scripture makes us wise for salvation.

And the scripture equips us for every good work.

If I truly want to be helpful to you and your walk with the Lord,

I will proclaim the scriptures to you every week.

And that's it. Second Timothy 3:14 through 17

2 Timothy 3:14–17

Paul's writing there to encourage Timothy Timothy to

maintain this. Work of believing the scriptures

promoting the scriptures proclaiming the scriptures.

He says this he says but as for you Timothy continuing what you

learned and have firmly believed knowing from whom you learned it

and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred

writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through.

Through faith in Christ Jesus, a love has from childhood, you

have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able

to make you wise for salvation through Christ Jesus.

All scripture. He goes on to say is breathed

out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof for

correction, and for training in righteousness.

That the man of God, may be complete equipped for every good

work. So since this is true, we must

commit ourselves to the expository exultation of God's

word every day that is we must gladly joyfully, Proclaim, what

God's word actually says, that's what it means to expose it.

The word of God has to say What God Says and nothing else

nothing else when we do, we meet the spiritual needs of people.

Not simply the felt needs again. Much of modern preaching is felt

needs based while what we need is spiritual needs based

preaching from The holy scriptures.

This is what truly transforms someone then.

It is Christ who speaks to us by the power of the spirit through

his messenger. Again.

We use grief as an example of this in grief.

You are tempted to try all sorts of things, all sorts of things

medications, I had and there are good-hearted people, but

Patricia, I've had people reach out to us and say, hey, if you

need, you know, some Xanax, you need some medication, you need

some, something we can get it for you.

You know, Health, Physicians doctors, those kinds of people.

And from day one, we just said we're going to rely on God.

You know, there's other ways you can medicate, you can use

alcohol, I don't think alcohol is in itself evil, but it can be

absolutely used for evil things. Medicating yourself, spiritually

emotionally, physically with alcohol, is an evil thing and so

you must not do that, you can go to therapy and you can seek out

therapy and you can hear some good things about how you can

come to know yourself, better, and know the thoughts of your

heart, and your mind. better and understand how the brain

functions better, and you can receive even some medication

once again to help you If I didn't have the conviction of

God's sovereignty, over all things, that that it was him,

who gave birth to my daughter and that it was him who took my

daughter's life. If I didn't think that he was

God in the giving and the taking away and worthy of being praised

in both, then I would have run to some of those things.

Be easy to do. Why not?

I have this felt need of comfort.

I have this felt need of pain that I need to Levy, ate it?

I have this felt need of whatever.

That I know these things can offer temporary relief from

That's not the need that I needed met the need.

I had that needed. Met was Comfort that only

knowledge of God can give. That the Christ is King that he

was not sorted and when he's passing, he did not look away

and lose control in a moment, right?

I know. I've said some of these things

to you. I'm just trying to show you why

you need to understand the words of God over and above any other

thing out there that promises temporary relief.

And then in doing. So, your joy may be full.

You might receive real comfort. And Philippians 4 were told that

there's a peace that surpasses understanding for those who will

pray to God with Thanksgiving about their stresses, about

their anxieties test God in it. But testing minute, for more

than an hour Testament, it for more than 15 minutes, testing

minute over weeks and months and see if you can come to know that

Christ. And him crucified is truly, the

only message Your heart needs. Amen.

It's the greatest help. And so we must preach to the

spiritual need more than the felt need. finally, hearing is

believing Romans 10:17. So faith comes from hearing and

Romans 10:17

hearing through the word of Christ.

Again, there's this temptation out there to look to to say

things like man, if we just had Christ in front of us, if we

just had Christ saying the things to us.

If we could just see him. Take Five Loaves and two other.

Yeah, five rows to fish. I just want to say it backwards.

And make food for 5,000. If I could just lay eyes on

those things, then, I would believe.

Well the resounding answer of scripture is that no you

wouldn't, it's not the miracle that causes belief.

The Miracles are pointing to the Christ of the miracle.

And so hearing is believing not seeing hearing is believing

faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of God.

We don't get to see Jesus, not yet, I've never laid eyes on

Christ. I've not seen him yet, but I

have tasted and seen that God is good.

Amen, I've tasted and seen that. He is true, that he is real.

That he has transformed my life and the lives of many whom I

love. And when the spirit Applause

that word to us, as we hear it in faith, that's all you need to

be saved. There's a moment after the

resurrection. When Thomas, we call him

doubting Thomas because of this and a couple of other instances,

but Thomas was a skeptic Christ had risen Thomas.

Wasn't there? The first time Christ presented

himself to the, to the disciples.

And when he found out he was upset.

He's like, I just don't believe that you guys are telling me the

truth, He wanted to see Christ but more than that, he said he

wanted to put his hands in the wounds for proof.

Do you remember Jesus response? Jesus shows up.

He lets him touch the wounds and Thomas proclaims his belief.

And this is what Jesus says he says, have you believed because

you have seen me Blessed. Are those who have not seen and

yet have believed Amen. Why would cry say something like

that? Because he was about to send his

Apostles into all the world to preach and proclaim the gospel

and they needed to know that seeing is not believing.

Hearing is believing and when you proclaim the word of Christ

Christ, by the spirit draws people unto the father.

Amen. So we can be content with

hearing Christ. We don't have to see Christ, we

don't have to manufacture Miracles.

We don't have to make things up, Christ and him crucified that

message is enough. And so we come to church because

we expect to hear the words of God, through preachers, preach

is those Who know that the holy spirit is what's needed to move

on the lives of God's people either unto salvation or

sanctification, a preacher on his own is powerless, he can

stand in his cunning, he can stand in his charm, he can stand

and plausible words of wisdom as Paul says, but he will not bring

people unto salvation. He's powerless for any spiritual

work, but the message of Christ coming through him as a Herald

of that message is a truly spiritual power and so we preach

Jesus Christ. And we do so because he preached

himself and John 14:6 comforting, the disciples were

John 14:6

terrified that he's about to go away says I am the way the truth

and the life. No one comes to the father

except through me. Now Christ, still preaches,

though. He does it through his servants

and he continues to preach only himself because he is the way

the truth and the life. It's through preaching that

Christ, sends his Heralds to announce the good news of the

Gospel. To his people Christ, was

crucified to save Sinners. That's the message.

And through that, preaching by faith, you will be changed

either unto salvation, as a new believer or unto sanctification.

As an already st. Member of the household of God,

an air of the glories of Heaven adopted into the family of God,

because of Christ, your brother, his sacrifice on your behalf,

you know? By the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus speaks through his preacher, saving, Sinners, and

sanctifying Saints by the spoken words of the glory of God.

Amen. As we prepare to sing.

I want to ask you. In.

What ways have you forfeited? The word of Christ.

In your own life. And what ways have you stopped

standing or never, begun, standing on the word of Christ.

And what ways have you decided that man's Wisdom is greater

than the wisdom found here? You need to repent today.

Of all of those ways, whatever, they may be submit yourself to

the lordship of Christ in your life.

If you're an unbeliever in here, you've never sought Christ in

your life. You've never submitted yourself

to him. You've never repented of your

sins and profess faith in Jesus. Then I urge you today urge Stop

running from God. Submit yourself to the Lord

today. If you confess your sins with

your mouth, you'll confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

And that God raised him from the dead on the third day.

If you believe those things in your heart as you confess them,

Romans 10 says that you will be saved.

Can be confident of that. So, I urge you to confess with

your mouth, that Christ is Lord, believe in your heart, that God

raised him from the dead and receive his salvation today.

We pray for us, Heavenly Father, we love you, we thank you, Lord

for your word today. A preacher must stand on the

word of God Christ and him crucified as our message.

Always It's the hope of salvation.

It's the hope of sanctification growth in godliness for all who

believe. And so Lord I pray now with my

brothers and sisters reveal to us, where we have decided that

man's Wisdom is greater than the wisdom of God revealed to us

where our hearts have sought after the things of this world

maybe it was for Comfort. Maybe it was for help, maybe it

was to relieve anxiety or stress.

Maybe in our marriages, we keep running to the advice of

friends, right? Other than the word of God.

Maybe in relationships, we keep thinking that our way is best.

And we have never thought to consider what your word says. or

there's a 1001 different scenarios.

Someone here may be facing today.

But I pray that you would reveal yourself to them by the power of

your spirit that you would lead them to repentance, help them to

believe and to trust you father, your word which we've received

through Christ and through your spirit.

Help us to have unadulterated Legions to Jesus and only him.

Lord. Would you save those who don't

know you, you save those who have not yet been saved.

You were still standing in their own sins thinking that it's a

righteousness. Good enough to earn the favor of

God and you help them to see that they are utterly depleted

of any such goodness, any such righteousness and by our sin

alone, we have rebelled against a holy God and there is Judgment

coming for us. Yet the promise, the good news

of the Gospel is that for all who will believe in?

Jesus, we're all who all who will trust him as their savior

will be saved today. This day salvation can be ours,

because of Jesus. Would you move on them by the

power of your spirit? We love you.

We are so dependent upon you for everything.

So dependents. Lord always see our felt needs

so often. Would you meet our spiritual

needs? Please Meet the things that

really count. We ask these things in the Name

of Christ. Our Lord, amen.