Now,
before you make that decision, keep in mind that a twin bed is this big, and a
king size bed is THHIIIISSSSS big, and your spouse is attempting to get their
beauty sleep.
Given
the choice, I’d take the king bed over the twin bed, because it’s way more
comfortable.
Pastor
Mike and I have different wardrobe opinions.
There are days when Pastor Mike will come into the office, generally the
coldest days of the year, and he will be wearing a tee-shirt.
I
on the other hand, will be wearing my long sleeved shirt, and quite possibly a
sweater, because I will be freezing.
Both of us have
different clothing opinions, but both of us are comfortable. (And warm!)
If
you had to choose between a comfortable, well broken in pair of shoes, of a
pair of pain inducing wooden clogs, you would probably choose the comfortable
shoes, because, well they’re comfortable!
The
common denominator of these illustrations is comfort. We want to be
comfortable.
There
is a lot of money to be made on products that enhance our comfort. There is
memory foam for your bed, lazy-boy chairs for your living room, and we’ve even
found a way to turn steel into wool for the kitchen.
On
top of all of this, there are even shows that exploit our comfort.
ILLUSTRATION- Have you ever heard of the
show called “Dirty Jobs”?
It’s a show
that goes around and documents some of the world’s filthiest, most
uncomfortable jobs, and we sit in our comfortable living rooms, watching on our
big-screen TV’s thanking God that we don’t do a dirty job for a living!
But
there is a danger in loving comfort too much. As we continue to put more and
more of an emphasis on being comfortable, our faith has followed suit.
It’s
almost as if we’ve become Christians of comfort. We come to our beautiful building
that’s nice and warm, sit in our beautiful padded seats, listening to our
beautiful preacher…
Some
of our Bibles are soft, leather bound books that are easy on the hands; and
before you know it, it’s not just the seats that are padded.
Soon
the message becomes padded. The teachings become lifeless and eventually the
message of Jesus becomes mush.
In
Luke 9:23, Jesus says: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take
up his cross daily and follow me.” (NIV)
So
what do comfort-craving fans do with something like the cross? What can you do
with the phrase: “…take up his cross…”?(Luke
9:23, NIV)
Eventually fans of Jesus find a
way to make even the cross comfortable.
Fans create a
comfortable idea of the cross and what it means for us to take up our crosses,
so the phrase “we
all have our crosses to bear” gets thrown around loosely, referring
to even the most menial or everyday tasks and inconveniences.
But
what are we supposed to do? After the cross is a tough sell. It’s bad enough
that Jesus had to die on the cross, but why did He have to insist that we all
end up with our own crosses?
Doesn’t
this kill our ability to recruit new people? After all, aren’t you supposed to
put your best foot forward?
Don’t we want more people to come to Jesus?
Shouldn’t we do our best to make Christianity sound as appealing as possible?
In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul talks about how the world sees the cross.
In verse 18 he writes: “For the message of
the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being
saved it is the power of God.” (NIV)
For
those living in the First Century, the cross was the ultimate symbol of
weakness.
For many, then and now, the Gospel—that
God came to earth in the form of a human being, and was crucified—is complete
foolishness.
Why
would God use a symbol of torture, death and weakness to save the world?
The
idea of the cross seems more appealing to us because it’s no longer used to
execute people, but if a first century Jew came in a saw a cross hanging on our
walls, they would think we were sick, for the Jews, the cross meant weakness.
Perhaps
this is the point. Maybe this is what makes the cross so beautiful.
God takes what the world says is
foolish, demeaning and shameful and turns it into the power of salvation.
That’s
what 1 Corinthians 1:18 says: “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed
for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.”
(NLT2)
Jumping
down to verse 22: “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23
but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to
Gentiles,” (1 Cor. 18:22-23, NIV)
“But to those called
by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the
wisdom of God.” (1 Cor. 1:24, NLT2)
“For the
foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is
stronger than man's strength.” (1 Cor. 1:25, NIV)
Who
else but God could take a cross that represented defeat- and turn it into a
symbol of victory?
Who
else but God could take a cross that represented guilt—and turn it into the
symbol of grace?
Who
else but God could take a cross that represented condemnation—and turn it into
a symbol of freedom?
Who
else but God could take a cross that represented pain and suffering—and turn it
into a symbol of healing and hope?
Who
else but God could take a cross that represented death—and turn it into a
symbol of life?
No
one but God!
What seems like the ultimate
moment of God’s weakness was in reality the ultimate moment of God’s strength.
Here’s why that
matters; here’s what I want you to take away from this sermon: What God did for the cross, He can do for you!
(Repeat, write it down)
When you are the weakest, you
will be exactly where you need to be for God to be the strongest.
What God did for the cross, He can do for you!
The upside down truth of the
cross is that when you are weak, you are strong.
What God did for the cross, He can do for you!
Look at verse 27:
“But God chose the
foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the
world to shame the strong.” (NIV)
It’s not that God used the cross
in spite of its weakness; He chose the cross because of its weakness.
Paul
says that God chooses weak things; and Scripture proves this time and again.
Abraham
was old, Jacob was insecure, Moses stuttered, Rahab was a prostitute, David had
an affair, Elijah was suicidal, Jonah was disobedient, Peter was hot-tempered,
Martha worried a lot, Zacchaeus was unpopular and Thomas had his doubts.
The
Bible is a long list of imperfect misfits who discovered that weakness is
actually strength.
Though
it seems backwards to us, God
teaches us that when we think we are strong, we are really weak; but when we
acknowledge our weakness and humble ourselves before the Lord, we put ourselves
in a position to receive His strength.
Paul
talks about this very thing again in 2 Corinthians chapter 12: “…to keep me from
becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to
torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
8 Three different times I begged the
Lord to take it away.
9 Each time he
said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am
glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through
me.
10 That’s why I
take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions,
and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
(2 Cor. 12:7b-10, NLT2)
Paul says I delight in my weaknesses,
because when I am weak, it’s then that I’m actually strong.
ILLUSTRATION- I don’t know anyone who
actually delights in weakness. In fact, most of us go to great lengths to
disguise our weaknesses.
When
we go for a job interview, the question that strikes fear in the heart of each
candidate is “what are your weaknesses”? How in the world are you supposed to answer that?
If
you tell the boss what your greatest weakness actually is, you might not get
the job, so you disguise your weakness as a strength, and say: “I’m a workaholic” or
you say- “I can be somewhat of a
perfectionist”
In
our world, weakness isn’t strength, weakness is weakness, and strength is
strength.
There
are some 2000 self-help books published every year that all give the same
message: You
can do it! You have what it takes! Just look within and find your inner
strength.
But
Paul says that strength comes when we realize our weakness.
ILLUSTRATION- I lean this truth almost
every time I enter my man cave. For those of you who don’t know, I have a
workshop in my basement that is full of wood and tools.
At
this particular time, one of the projects that I am working on is Pastor Mike
and Kate’s Christmas present…
I’m
alright when it comes to cutting, sanding, drilling, gluing, varnishing, but
what trips me up is the measuring.
Because
I’m terrible in math, I cannot understand measurements that are given in
project plans.
So
what I’ll do is read the plans, take out my tape measure, look at the board,
measure the board, look at my iPhone to see if I have the appropriate app that
will translate the measurement to me, I’ll look at the plans once again, I will
grunt, and hum and haw, I’ll pick up the piece of wood and say, why can’t you
look like that?
While
all of this is taking place, my wife…. Is sitting in her office, trying to
enjoy some craft time, when all of a sudden, I’ll say “uh, Beth…” to which
she’ll reply, “Yeah….”
“I could use your help in here…”
She
will come in, ask me what I’m trying to do and then do the math for me, and
then…. I’m back in the game; the cutting begins, and the dust flies…..
I
don’t like admitting my weakness, but when I do admit my weakness and turn to
someone who knows more than I do, I can accomplish much more.
The cross makes it clear that
when I am weak, He is strong.
This
is a test for all of us, fans and followers: Will you trust God enough to let your weakness be His
strength?
When
we let go of our need for comfort, our need to be in control, or whatever it is
that is keeping us from the cross, its then that God does in our hearts what He
did for the cross; He takes followers who are hanging on by a thread and
bolsters their spirits.
He
takes followers who are at their weakest moment and uses it for enormous Kingdom
good.
He
takes followers who are all but defeated and turns their testimonies into
life-giving messages of truth and hope all for His glory.
Do
you need God to take your weaknesses: your temper, your abuse, your past and
turn it into His greatest strength?
Do
you need freedom? Do you need forgiveness? Do you need strength? All are found at
the foot of the cross.
What God did for the cross, He can do for you!
Band
As
we enter into a time of reflection and response, if you need the strength of
the cross applied to your weaknesses, I would invite you to stand and make your
way to the front of the church.
Doing
so will signify you want to receive all the provisions of the cross: the
healing, the forgiveness, the life, the truth, the freedom.
The Bible says: “For the message of
the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being
saved it is the power of God.” (1
Cor. 1:18, NIV)
If
you need a touch from God, you won’t find it in the world; you’ll only find it
by clinging to the wonderful cross.
If
you’ve got a need, bring it to Jesus as we sing…
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