with God's power
Series: Breaking the Chains
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 4th May 2014
Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:1-2:16
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Gracious Father, we thank you for the cross,
00:00:02 --> 00:00:06 and we pray that that power might impact us day by day.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 May it not be a relic of the past,
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 but present power to take up our cross and follow you,
00:00:11 --> 00:00:12 and we ask it for your sake.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:13 Amen.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:14 Please be seated.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:16 Just quickly, an update.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 I believe you've prayed already for Joshua.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:19 Fantastic.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 He went into surgery on Friday.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:24 Didn't go so well,
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 so he went back into surgery again yesterday,
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 and I just received a text from Josh.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:31 Sorry, from Josh.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:32 He's an advanced kid.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 From Stuart and Emma saying,
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 Josh doing much better this morning.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:37 Surgeon happy.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:38 Praise the Lord.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 Please thank everyone for their prayers.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44 So please continue to uphold them as they walk in these days,
00:00:45 --> 00:00:46 and thank God for the great news.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:53 Perfect Liberty Church used to be the fastest growing church in the world.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 It had its origin in Japan
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 and has since spread to a number of different locations in the world,
00:00:59 --> 00:01:00 including Brisbane.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 Mostly exotic locations,
00:01:04 --> 00:01:05 except for Brisbane, I'd imagine,
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 but mostly spread through a number of different places in the world.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 The headquarters in Japan is considered a paradise.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:14 At one point,
00:01:14 --> 00:01:19 it boasted in having the most complete recreation complex in all of Japan,
00:01:19 --> 00:01:25 and the landscaped delights like artificial lakes and cherry trees and waterfalls
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 were just marvellous to comprehend.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 Perfect Liberty Church had a very simple theology.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 Everyone who is a member is a child of God
00:01:35 --> 00:01:40 who finds the way to eternal peace by freely exercising individuality,
00:01:40 --> 00:01:45 and therefore you are free to express as members of the church
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 to express your individuality
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 and discover eternal peace through prayer,
00:01:51 --> 00:01:52 through golf,
00:01:53 --> 00:01:54 through group sex,
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 and frankly, whatever else you wanted to do.
00:01:57 --> 00:02:02 The crucial thing is total freedom for individual expression.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 You can do whatever you want,
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 so long as it makes you happy,
00:02:08 --> 00:02:09 and it's called church.
00:02:09 --> 00:02:14 That would be on their board in their foyer.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:17 Come in here and do whatever you like.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:19 On one level,
00:02:19 --> 00:02:23 it's not hard to see why it was the fastest growing church in the world at one time.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:24 On another level,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 it's a bit hard to fathom why it would grow so fast.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 The message of this church is to do whatever you want,
00:02:30 --> 00:02:31 whenever you want,
00:02:31 --> 00:02:32 with whomever you want,
00:02:32 --> 00:02:33 so long as it makes you happy.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 So how's that different than anyone else in the world?
00:02:36 --> 00:02:42 One of the tenets of salvation for the Perfect Liberty Church
00:02:42 --> 00:02:43 was you had to give lots and lots of money,
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 which is why it had money for its landscapes and recreation facilities.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 So why would you give up your perfect freedom there
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 to come into this church
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 to give lots of money in order to have perfect freedom?
00:02:55 --> 00:02:56 Makes no sense in my mind.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:03 Perfect Liberty Church would have grown pretty well in Corinth.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 Corinth was a city on the up.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 After being flattened by the Romans in 150 BC,
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 they then decided they made a mistake,
00:03:12 --> 00:03:13 dramatic transformation,
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 and poured lots of money into it
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 and rebuilt it in the early part of the first century.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 Money came from all over the empire
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 to rebuild and improve the infrastructure.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:28 Sorry, Corinth was a major trading centre in Greece,
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 crucial for the Roman Empire,
00:03:30 --> 00:03:31 in fact, for the world.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 It was a very popular tourist destination
00:03:34 --> 00:03:35 and a great place to party.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:40 The morals of Corinth were pretty low bar.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:42 So it was a great place
00:03:42 --> 00:03:43 if you wanted to let your hair down and have a great time.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 The population of Corinth had exploded
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 from all over the Roman Empire
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 in the early days of the first century.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:54 They came to take advantage
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 of the Corinthian cosmopolitan lifestyle.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 Many of those who came were former slaves
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 who had bought their freedom
00:04:02 --> 00:04:06 and were now players in the financial services industry.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 And as far as we could work out from the book of Acts,
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 Paul stayed in Corinth for a couple of years
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 to teach and establish this new church.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:16 By the time he left,
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 there was a church family there of around about 60 people.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:23 The church was multicultural
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 and predominantly middle class,
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 not unlike St. Paul's Chatswood.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:30 There were a few rich people
00:04:30 --> 00:04:31 and there were a few slaves,
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 but most people were somewhere in the middle.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 The other thing that we need to understand
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 about this church before we launch into this letter
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 is that it had some pretty major problems.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:46 This letter, 1 Corinthians,
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 is Paul helping this church to get back on track.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:51 And so just imagine it there.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 You're squeezed together in one of the houses
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 of one of the rich people at Corinth
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 because they're the only ones who can fit 60 people in.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:02 And you're there to hear Paul's letter.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:04 And he says,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:04 Paul,
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus
00:05:07 --> 00:05:08 by the will of God and our brothers,
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 to the church of God in Corinth,
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 to those sanctified in Christ Jesus
00:05:13 --> 00:05:14 and called to be holy,
00:05:14 --> 00:05:15 together with those everywhere
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
00:05:18 --> 00:05:19 their Lord and ours.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 Grace and peace to you from God our Father
00:05:22 --> 00:05:23 and the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 I always thank God for you
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 because of his grace given to you in Christ Jesus.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 For in him you have been enriched in every way,
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 in all your speaking and in all your knowledge
00:05:34 --> 00:05:38 because our testament of our Christ was confirmed in you.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift
00:05:41 --> 00:05:45 as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 He will keep you strong to the end
00:05:47 --> 00:05:48 so that you will be blameless
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 God who has called you into fellowship with his son,
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 Notice that Paul starts his letter
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 by describing his church in Corinth
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 as to those sanctified in Christ Jesus
00:06:04 --> 00:06:05 and called to be holy,
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 together with all those everywhere
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 who call on the name of our Lord.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 And again, I always thank God for you
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 because of his grace given to you in Christ Jesus.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 And again, you have been enriched in every way.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 And again, you do not lack any spiritual gift
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 and he will keep you strong to the end
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 so that you will be blameless
00:06:25 --> 00:06:26 on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 You see, at the beginning of this letter,
00:06:29 --> 00:06:33 Paul looks back to what this church has received
00:06:33 --> 00:06:34 in Jesus Christ.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 And then he tells them to look forward to the goal
00:06:38 --> 00:06:42 as you eagerly await the Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 And he promises them that God
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 who has called you into fellowship with his son,
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 our Lord Jesus Christ, is faithful.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 They have a beginning in Jesus
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 and they have a future to aim for.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 The day when Jesus Christ is revealed.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 And the problem for this church in Corinth
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 is they have forgotten what it means
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 to live in between times.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 They've forgotten what it means
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 to live out their future hope in the present.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:16 Even though they were the Christian church in Corinth,
00:07:17 --> 00:07:21 an inordinate amount of Corinth was in this church.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 And so Paul's writing this letter to get them back on track.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:27 And how does he do that?
00:07:28 --> 00:07:32 He does it by getting to refocus on Jesus.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 Twelve times in the start of this letter,
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 we have Jesus Christ or our Lord Jesus Christ
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 or Christ Jesus our Lord mentioned.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 Paul is simply telling this church
00:07:42 --> 00:07:46 to refocus on the crucified Jesus
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 as the foundation of how they live out their life
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 together in the present.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 That is fundamentally his core message
00:07:54 --> 00:07:55 through this letter.
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 There is a beginning in Jesus
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 and a future that they are heading to.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 And in between, he's calling them right now
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 in the present to live the cross
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 shaped life.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 That is what the Corinthian church needed to get
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 because they weren't living the cross shaped life.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 They were operating like perfect liberty church.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 The first evidence of that is the divisions
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 and the factions in the church.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 Listen to how Paul describes it in verses 10 to 17.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 I appeal to you brothers in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 that all of you agree with one another
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 so that there may be no divisions among you
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 My brothers, some from Chloe's household,
00:08:40 --> 00:08:41 she got dobbed in,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 have been informed me
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 and informed me that there are quarrels among you.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 What I mean is this,
00:08:46 --> 00:08:47 one of you says I follow Paul,
00:08:47 --> 00:08:48 another says I follow Apollos,
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 another I follow Cephas,
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 still another I follow Christ.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 Is Christ divided?
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 Was Paul crucified for you?
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 Were you baptised in the name of Paul?
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 I'm thankful that I did not baptise any of you
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 except Crispus and Gaius
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 so no one can say that you're baptised into my name.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 Yes, I also baptised the household of Stephanas.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:11 Beyond that, I don't remember if I baptised anyone else.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 For Christ did not send me to baptise,
00:09:14 --> 00:09:15 but to preach the gospel,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 not with words of human wisdom,
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:25 Corinth was no different than Jatswood,
00:09:25 --> 00:09:26 no different than Sydney,
00:09:26 --> 00:09:26 no different than Australia.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 Like us, they had a celebrity culture.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 The big celebrities in Corinth weren't the singers,
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 or nowadays the chefs.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:41 They weren't the movie stars,
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 they weren't the socialists,
00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 they weren't the sports people,
00:09:44 --> 00:09:45 they were the public speakers and the orators.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 People flocked from everywhere
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 to hear these speakers deliver their lectures
00:09:52 --> 00:09:53 on the latest ideas.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 When Paul talks here about human wisdom,
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 he's talking about human worldview.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 These guys came in and just spoke about stuff.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:08 They would speak about everything and anything,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 politics, architecture, sex, leisure, art.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:13 The better that they presented,
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 the more adherence they got,
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 and the bigger the payday it was for them.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 People would come and hear their favourite speakers,
00:10:20 --> 00:10:23 and then they would argue their viewpoints with one another.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 The disciples of each one of these speakers
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 would argue their viewpoints with each other.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 One of Paul's contemporaries,
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 a Greek orator and historian of the Roman Empire,
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 a guy named Dio Chrysostom,
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 wrote this about Corinth.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:40 He himself was a historian and an orator.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:40 He said,
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 When I arrived,
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 I was escorted with much enthusiasm and respect,
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 the recipients of my visits
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 being grateful for my presence
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 and begging me to address them and advise them
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 and flocking around my door from early dawn.
00:10:55 --> 00:11:01 One could hear rival crowds around the temple
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 shouting and reviling one another.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 Disciples of one fighting with the disciples of another
00:11:06 --> 00:11:10 as the writers read their stupid works.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 It's a little ironic that he should call other people's works stupid
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 when one of his most famous works
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 was a speech called,
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 In Praise of Hair.
00:11:19 --> 00:11:23 It was against baldness.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 So what Dio Chrysostom describes there
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 wasn't football hooliganism,
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 it was philosophy hooliganism.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 The celebrity culture,
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 the worldviews of Corinth
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 fed all into the life of the church.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 We see it there in verses 10 to 17.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:45 If the Corinthians were a little bit underwhelmed by Paul
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 and his speaking,
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 they loved Apollos.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 Oh, we love Apollos.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 He could really preach that guy.
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 And this led them to start saying things like,
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 well, we're Apollos people.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 Another group over there said,
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 well, we,
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 Paul's our guru,
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 we're Paul people.
00:12:07 --> 00:12:07 Another group says,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 no, no,
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 we're Peter people,
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 most likely the Jews,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 we're Peter people.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 Some who presumably thought
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 they were all above all church leadership.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:18 No, no, no.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 We're Jesus people.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 That's the trump card on you all.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 Even the Jesus people faction here
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 are meant to be read negatively
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 because they weren't Jesus people
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 out of submission to Christ.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 They were Jesus people
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 to beat the other factions.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:39 The church hadn't actually split,
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 but they were heading that way
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 because they had adopted the wisdom
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 and the worldview of Corinth
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 and focused on personalities
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 and outward gifts and appearances
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 and skill and polish
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 rather than this cross.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 And here I think is one of the main issues for them.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 They began to think of their teachers,
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 their pastors,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02 in terms of itinerant philosophers
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 and celebrities.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 and their new faith
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 in Jesus
00:13:07 --> 00:13:09 as the product,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 as a new wisdom
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 for Corinth.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 The gospel message
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 became something
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 that they just attached
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 to the end of their life.
00:13:23 --> 00:13:23 The Christian faith
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 has become
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 more than,
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 nothing more than just
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 simply a bunch of ideas
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 that they have
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 given intellectual assent to
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 and claim to believe.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 And Paul's message here
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 in this chapter,
00:13:42 --> 00:13:42 in fact,
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 I think the rest of the book,
00:13:44 --> 00:13:44 is that
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 the crucified Jesus
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 isn't another piece of wisdom
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 that you collect
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 and you stick it on your CV.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:56 The message of the crucified Christ
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 stands in total contrast
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 to human wisdom
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 and power.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 The cross of Christ
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 is in fact
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 the great reversal
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 of all those things
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 that you long for.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 This is how Paul puts it
00:14:13 --> 00:14:13 in verse 18,
00:14:14 --> 00:14:14 for the message of the cross
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 is foolishness
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 to those who are perishing,
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 but to us who are being saved
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 it is the power of God
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 for it is written
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 I will destroy
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 the wisdom of the wise
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 and the intelligent
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 of the intelligent
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 I will frustrate.
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 Where is the wise man?
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 Where is the scholar?
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 Where is the philosopher
00:14:30 --> 00:14:30 of this age?
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 Has not God
00:14:32 --> 00:14:32 made foolish
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 the wisdom of the world?
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 For since
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 in the wisdom of God
00:14:36 --> 00:14:36 the world
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 through its wisdom
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 did not know him,
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 God was pleased
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 through the foolishness
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 of what was preached
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 to save those who believe.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 Jews demand
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 miraculous signs
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 and Greeks
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 look for wisdom.
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 but we preach
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 Christ crucified
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 a stumbling block
00:14:54 --> 00:14:54 to Jews
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 and foolishness
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 to Gentiles
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 but to those
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 whom God has called
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 both Jews and Greeks
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 Christ the power of God
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 and the wisdom of God.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 For the foolishness
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 of God
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 is wiser
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 than man's wisdom
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 and the weakness
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 of God
00:15:11 --> 00:15:11 is stronger
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 than man's strength.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 You see,
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 power was a big issue
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 in the culture
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 of Corinth.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 It didn't matter
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 whether you were Roman
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 or whether you were Greek
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 or whether you were Jew,
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 sort of the three main cultures
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 that made up Corinth.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 Power was essential
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 in one way or another.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 That is why
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 they had forgotten
00:15:34 --> 00:15:34 the cross
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 because Jesus
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 on the cross
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 looks defeated.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:42 He looks weak.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 It's an embarrassment
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 in that culture.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 It's a stumbling block
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 in that culture
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 to preach
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 a crucified Messiah.
00:15:50 --> 00:15:54 And if I asked you today,
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 just today,
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 to share with me now,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 if we had a roving mic,
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 stand up
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 and share with me
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 some of the great displays
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 of the power of God
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 in the Bible.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 There is a number of things
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 that you could turn to
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 but who here would stand up
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 and say the cross of Christ?
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 That's the power of God.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 That's the display
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 of God's power.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:22 God's power.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 What sort of philosopher
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 in human wisdom
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 would ever come up
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 with God himself
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 dying on a cross
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 in total weakness
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 being the great demonstration
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 of that God's power?
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 Jesus,
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 through his weakness
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 in dying on the cross,
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 has dealt with sin
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 and has become life
00:16:46 --> 00:16:46 and power
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 for all of eternity.
00:16:48 --> 00:16:51 He descended to the lowest
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 of lows
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 in weakness
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 and he is now given
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 the name that is above
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 every name.
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 That at the name of Jesus,
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 every knee would bow
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 and every tongue confess
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 that he is Lord
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 over everything.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 God's power
00:17:04 --> 00:17:08 and he is now given
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 what Paul is saying here
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 is you can't get
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 the cross of Christ
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 and attach it
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 to your human wisdom.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 It blows human wisdom
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 out of the water.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 God has more wisdom
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 on a bad day
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 than all the minds
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 of the world
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 together on a good day.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 He has more power
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 in his little toe
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 than the might
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 of a world superfowl.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 And the only answer
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 for this church
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 at Corinth
00:17:38 --> 00:17:41 is to
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 abandon
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 their human wisdom
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 and look
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48 to the crucified Jesus.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 There's only one thing
00:17:51 --> 00:17:51 that can bring
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 this church family
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 back together
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 and to stop
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 it splittering.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 There is only one
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 antidote
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 to their boasting
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 about their cleverness
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 and about their cultures.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 It's the message
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 of Jesus.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 Death on the cross.
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 What they need
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 to discover
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 is that the message
00:18:11 --> 00:18:11 of the cross
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 isn't simply
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 another idea
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 to intellectually
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 debate over
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 and to put in
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 their CV.
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 The gospel
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 isn't another
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 form of wisdom.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:21 The gospel
00:18:21 --> 00:18:23 means belonging
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 to Jesus.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 It's not just
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 the intellectual
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 idea.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 It means
00:18:29 --> 00:18:31 you belong.
00:18:31 --> 00:18:31 That's what
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 the gospel is.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 Chapter 3
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 says,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 And you are
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 of Christ
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 and Christ
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 is of God.
00:18:39 --> 00:18:39 Chapter 6
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 says,
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 You were bought
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 at a price,
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 therefore honour
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 God with your body.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 You no longer
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 live for yourself.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:50 You belong to Jesus.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 The only answer
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 to all the
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 Corinthian problems
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 and our problems,
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 the problems of
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 individualism
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 and personal preference
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 is to live
00:19:00 --> 00:19:02 a cross-centred
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 life together.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 And what does that
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 mean?
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 It actually means
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 to make Jesus
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 and his death
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 the main thing
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 in our lives,
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 both individually
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 and corporately.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 make Jesus
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 and his death
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 the most important
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 thing in your life,
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 the thing that
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 you're passionate about,
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 the thing that
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 shapes your behaviour
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 and your thinking
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 and your decision-making
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 and your choices.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 This really is
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 the central message
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 of this letter.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 We are to be
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 people of one
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 thing,
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33 people of the cross,
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 living cross-centred,
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 cross-shaped,
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 cross-defined
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 lives.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 The overarching
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 challenge of this
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 letter is to live
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 all day,
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 every day,
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 together in a way
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 that is controlled
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 by God's wisdom
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 and he has shown
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 it on the cross.
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 And that means
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 taking up our cross
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 and dying to self.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 I was at a birthday
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 party yesterday
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 and one of the
00:20:05 --> 00:20:05 questions during
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 a party game
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 was something
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 like,
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 use one word
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 to describe
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 the birthday girl.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 I was thinking
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 about various
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 people
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 yesterday
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 as I was writing
00:20:22 --> 00:20:22 some of this
00:20:22 --> 00:20:25 and I was thinking,
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 can I come up
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 with one word
00:20:27 --> 00:20:27 to describe
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 what they are
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 passionate about?
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 You know,
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 you look at the person,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:32 you just,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:32 you know,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 hold random,
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 look at the person
00:20:34 --> 00:20:34 and go,
00:20:34 --> 00:20:34 yeah,
00:20:35 --> 00:20:35 golf.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 You know,
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 surfing,
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 retirement,
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 children,
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 job,
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 career,
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 flowers,
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 caravan,
00:20:49 --> 00:20:49 gardening,
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 ballroom dancing,
00:20:52 --> 00:20:57 single malt scotch,
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 fishing,
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 travel,
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 holding cars,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06 Sydney swans.
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 I mean,
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 it just quickly
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 came to my mind,
00:21:11 --> 00:21:11 just think a whole
00:21:11 --> 00:21:11 random,
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 one thing to
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 identify them.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 Now,
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 don't get me wrong,
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 there's nothing evil
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 about any of those
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 things,
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 with the possible
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 exception of
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 Sydney swans.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 What I'm saying
00:21:25 --> 00:21:25 is,
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 they cannot be
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 the main thing
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 in our lives.
00:21:29 --> 00:21:34 it is just
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 foolishness.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 The wise thing
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 to do,
00:21:39 --> 00:21:39 the only wise
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 thing to do
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 is to make
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 Jesus and
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 his cross
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 the controlling
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 centre of
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 our lives.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 And I suspect
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 that if I did
00:21:47 --> 00:21:47 a similar sort
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 of thing today
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 in a survey
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 and just whipped
00:21:50 --> 00:21:50 around all
00:21:50 --> 00:21:50 of St.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 Paul's and said,
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 what's the main
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 thing about St.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 Paul's?
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 There is a number
00:21:54 --> 00:21:54 of things that we
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 could identify with
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 and say,
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 this ought to be
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 our main thing.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 And what this
00:21:59 --> 00:21:59 passage says,
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 no, no, no.
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 If it's not
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 Jesus crucified,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 it's not the
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 main thing.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 And so Paul
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 does something
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 really unusual
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 as he finishes
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 this chapter.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:12 See what he
00:22:12 --> 00:22:12 says there in
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 verses 26 and
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 27?
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 Brothers,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 think of what
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 you were when
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 you were called.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 None of you
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 were wise by
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 human standards.
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 Not many of
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 you were
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 influential.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 Not many of
00:22:21 --> 00:22:23 you were of
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 noble birth.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 But God
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 chose the foolish
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 things of the
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 world to shame
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 the wise,
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 God chose
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 the weak
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 things of
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 the world
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 to shame
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 the strong.
00:22:30 --> 00:22:30 He basically
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 says there,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 hey guys,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 just for a
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 moment,
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 look up.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 Look up.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 He said,
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 heads up,
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 just look
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 around the
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 room.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 Look at the
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 people sitting
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 in front of
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 you and
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 beside you.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 Look at
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 each other.
00:22:45 --> 00:22:45 Aren't you
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 a strange
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 lot?
00:22:51 --> 00:22:51 What a
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 weird collection
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 of people.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 people.
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 He basically
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 says only
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 the cross
00:22:59 --> 00:22:59 of Christ
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 can explain
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 that.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 Conventional
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 human wisdom
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 can't explain
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 it.
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 You're not
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 here because
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 you were wise
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 and powerful
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 and you
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 wanted to
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 join a group
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 of wise
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 and powerful
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 people.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:23 If God
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 worked
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 according to
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 conventional
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 wisdom,
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 if God
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 had handpicked
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 his church
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 on the
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 basis of
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 human
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 qualification,
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 let's face
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30 it,
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 I for one
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 wouldn't
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 get a gig.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 It dawned
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 on me this
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 week in
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 preparation,
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 I didn't
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 include it,
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 it dawned on
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 me this
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 week,
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 I'm not
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 number one
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 in the
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 world at
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 anything.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 At
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 anything.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 In fact,
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 I'm pretty
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 sure I'm
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 not number
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 one in
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 chats
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 would at
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 anything.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 I'm
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 pretty
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 average.
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 That's
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 partly
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 depressing,
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 but it's
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 the wisdom
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 of God.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 The cross
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 is the very
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 expression of
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 how God
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 works.
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 He works
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 to bring
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 people like
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 us,
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 relatively
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 unimpressive
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 people from
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 all different
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 backgrounds
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 together,
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 and he
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 empowers
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 us to
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 do what
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 we cannot
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 do on
00:24:20 --> 00:24:20 our own,
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 and that
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 is to
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 die to
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 ourself
00:24:24 --> 00:24:28 and pursue
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 unity in
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 Jesus.
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 That is
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 the wisdom
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 that the
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 United Nations
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 hasn't got
00:24:37 --> 00:24:39 and the
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 power that
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 they don't
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 have.
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 If we
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 make Jesus
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 our main
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 thing,
00:24:45 --> 00:24:45 then God
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 gives us
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 the power
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 to do
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 something
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 incredible,
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 the power
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 to stop
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 boasting
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 about
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 ourselves
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 and our
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 personal
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 preferences
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 and our
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 cultures.
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 See what
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 it says
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 in verse
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 28,
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 he chose
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 the lowly
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 things of
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 the world
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 and the
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 despising
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 the things
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 that are
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 not to
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 nullify
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 the things
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 that are
00:25:02 --> 00:25:02 so that
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 no one
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 may boast
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 before him.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 You see,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 when we
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 look to
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 Jesus,
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 when we
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 look at
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 Jesus on
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 the cross,
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 we won't
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 look to
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 ourselves.
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 We won't
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 waste our
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 breath trying
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 to convince
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 ourselves or
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 anyone else
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 that we
00:25:16 --> 00:25:18 are fantastic.
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 Oh, but
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 friends, how
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 prone we are
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 to do that.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 How skilled
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 we are at
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 it.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 I think it
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 would be both
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 entertaining and
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 quite revealing
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 if each of us
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 had a flashing
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 beacon on
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 our heads
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 and that
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 beacon was
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 wired to
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 our hearts
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 and it
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 went off
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 every time
00:25:41 --> 00:25:44 we started
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 to talk
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 about ourselves
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 and to
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 think ourselves
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 up.
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 Every time
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 we thought
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 high thoughts
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 of ourselves,
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 every time
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 we took
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 credit for
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 other people's
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 ideas,
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 every subtle
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 little reference
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 to how
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 spiritual we
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 are or how
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 good parents
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 we are or
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 how well
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 things are
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 going at
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 work and
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 how smart
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 at all,
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 or even
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 if it's
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 just simply,
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 my, my,
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 I would
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 not do
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 that.
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 And the
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 beacon would
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 go
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 zzzz.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 It would
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 be particularly
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 entertaining so
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 long as I
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 could take
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 mine off and
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 watch everyone
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 else's go
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 off.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 And more
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 importantly the
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 red beacon
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 would go
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 off.
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 More
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 importantly it
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 would be so
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 revealing because
00:26:29 --> 00:26:31 it would be
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 a reminder to
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 us every time
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 we took our
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 eyes off the
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 cross.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 That's what's
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 happening when
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 the beacon
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 goes off.
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 We're taking
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 our eyes off
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 the cross and
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 we're putting
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 it fair and
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 square on
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 ourselves.
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 You see,
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 when we focus
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 on the cross,
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 we simply
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 can't talk
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 ourselves up.
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 We can't
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 boast about
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 ourselves,
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 but we will
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 start raving
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 about Jesus.
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 We also
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 won't make
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 our personal
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 preferences and
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 our culture
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 the main
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 thing.
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 The very
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 things which
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 every day
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 threaten to
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 divide us.
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 You see,
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 it wasn't
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 Paul,
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 it wasn't
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 Apollos,
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 it wasn't
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 Cephas,
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 it wasn't
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 Steve
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 Jeffrey,
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 it wasn't
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 Chris Jones,
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 it wasn't
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 Brian Tung,
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 it wasn't
00:27:19 --> 00:27:21 Fay Lowe or
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 anyone else
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 who died
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 for you.
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 It wasn't
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 anyone else
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 who brought
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 you in to
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 the family
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 of God.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 It was
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 Jesus.
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 He is the
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 one who
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 brings us
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 into his
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 family and
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 he is the
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 one we are
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 to follow.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 He is the
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 one we
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 serve,
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 he is the
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 one we
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 boast about.
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 Right at the
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 end of the
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 chapter,
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 verse 30,
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 Paul says
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 this,
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 just a
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 reminder of
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 the significance
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 of Jesus.
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 He says,
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 because of
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 him that you
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 are in
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 Christ Jesus
00:27:51 --> 00:27:51 who has
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 become for
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 us wisdom
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 from God,
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 that is,
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 our righteousness,
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 our holiness
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 and redemption.
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 Paul uses
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 three very
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 different words
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 here to
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 describe what
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 Christ has
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 done for us
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 and the
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 motivation for
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 us to keep
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 looking to
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 him and to
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 live the
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 cross-shaped
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 life.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 The first
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 word here is
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 from the
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 law courts,
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 it's righteousness,
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 it's a legal
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 term.
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 Jesus has
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 made it
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 possible for
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 us to be
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 given a
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 perfect record,
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 not just a
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 clean record,
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 a flawless
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 record.
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 One where
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 we've done
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 absolutely
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 everything right.
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 The second
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 word is from
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 the temple,
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 it's holiness,
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 it's Jesus
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 who has
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 cleaned us
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 up and
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 made it
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 possible for
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 us to
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 come into
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 the very
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 presence of
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 God.
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 And the
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 third word
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 is from
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 the slave
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 market,
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 it's
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 redemption.
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 it's
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 Jesus who
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 has broken
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 the chains,
00:28:39 --> 00:28:41 broken the
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 chains of
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 slavery,
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 slavery to
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 sin and
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 selfishness and
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 individualism and
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 the judgment of
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 God.
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 Jesus has
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 broken the
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 chains of
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 bondage and
00:28:53 --> 00:28:53 brought us
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 home to a
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 master who
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 makes us part
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 of his
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 family.
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 This is what
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 Jesus has done
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 for us,
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 this is what
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 the cross
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 achieves for
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 us,
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 and what
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 should we
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 do?
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 we're
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 enslaved to
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 boasting about
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 Jesus.
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 Verse 30,
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 therefore as
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 it is written,
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 it's written in
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 Jeremiah,
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 let him who
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 boasts,
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 boast in the
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 Lord.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 And so
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 friends,
00:29:17 --> 00:29:19 we're not the
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 perfect liberty
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 church,
00:29:21 --> 00:29:24 doing whatever
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 we want to
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 do that makes
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 us happy,
00:29:26 --> 00:29:28 but we have
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 perfect liberty
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 in Jesus,
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 a perfect
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 liberty that
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 serves Christ
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 and serves
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 each other.
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 We have
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 been set
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 free and
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 empowered to
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 do what we
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 cannot do,
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 that is to
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 serve Christ
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 and to serve
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 each other.
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 And 1
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 Corinthians calls
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 this church to
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 do what Jesus
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 called his
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 disciples to do
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 when he says
00:29:51 --> 00:29:51 to them in Luke
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 chapter 9,
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 verse 23,
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 if anyone would
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 come after me,
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 let him deny
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 himself, take
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 up his cross
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 daily and follow
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 me.
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 That's what
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 Paul's calling
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 the church of
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 Corinth to do.
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 You see,
00:30:05 --> 00:30:07 Christ died to
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 save us from
00:30:08 --> 00:30:10 hell, not to
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 save us from
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 the cross.
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 He died so
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 that we could
00:30:17 --> 00:30:19 be glorified,
00:30:19 --> 00:30:21 but not to
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 keep us from
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 being crucified.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 crucified.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 The cross of
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 Christ is not
00:30:26 --> 00:30:28 merely a
00:30:28 --> 00:30:30 past place
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 of substitution.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 It is also
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 a present place
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 of daily
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 execution for
00:30:37 --> 00:30:37 the Christian
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39 to die
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 to self.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 And so,
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 930
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 congregation,
00:30:46 --> 00:30:49 it is only
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 by looking to
00:30:50 --> 00:30:50 the crucified
00:30:50 --> 00:30:53 Jesus and
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 taking up your
00:30:54 --> 00:30:56 cross will
00:30:56 --> 00:30:56 you in a
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 couple of
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 weeks walk
00:30:58 --> 00:31:00 willingly down
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 to Chatswood
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 Club in order
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 to do church
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 without grumbling.
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 It's only the
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 cross of Christ
00:31:07 --> 00:31:07 that will allow you
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 to do that,
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 to do it for the
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 sake of others.
00:31:10 --> 00:31:13 When Christ
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 died on the
00:31:14 --> 00:31:14 cross for
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 sinners,
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 he not only
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 stood in my
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 place doing
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 what I could
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 never do,
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 that is,
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 forgiving my
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 own sin,
00:31:20 --> 00:31:20 but he also
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 showed me
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 what I must
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 do if I
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 would save
00:31:24 --> 00:31:24 my life,
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 namely to
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 take up my
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 own cross
00:31:26 --> 00:31:28 and to join
00:31:28 --> 00:31:28 him on the
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 Calvary Road
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 and die
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 to self.
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 And so I
00:31:34 --> 00:31:34 beg of you
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 today,
00:31:35 --> 00:31:37 don't treat
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 the cross
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 as a historic
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 relic.
00:31:40 --> 00:31:43 it is the
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 very power
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 of God
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 to change
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 everything in
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 your life
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 and especially
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 the power to
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 change our
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 inclination to
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 make much of
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 ourselves.
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 If you would
00:31:55 --> 00:31:55 be his
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 disciple,
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 if you would
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 save your
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 life and not
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 lose it,
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 take up your
00:32:01 --> 00:32:03 cross and
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 treasure Jesus
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 together.
00:32:05 --> 00:32:05 Amen.