1 Corinthians 1:18-25     NT p. 156

18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.

22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom,

23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

LET US PRAY:

INTRODUCTION:

About a year ago, there was a comet due to pass by earth and the debris from its tail was expected to cause a harmless but spectacular meteor shower. Jonny, age 8, heard about it on the evening news and he became concerned. That was about the same time that all the meteor disaster movies were coming out and he'd seen all the advertisements for several those movies. So, he was pretty sure that this meteor shower wasn't a good thing.

His Mom explained there wasn't any danger, and reluctantly he headed off to bed.

When Mom went in to tuck him in for the night, she found he had made his own preparations, just in case Mom was wrong about all those meteors. Those meteors didn't stand a chance! You see, eight year old Jonny was sound asleep wearing his bicycle helmet. He had his wooden toy rifle in one hand and a loaded squirt gun in the other. (1)

This morning we look at the cross again. It is the central image of our faith. We have basically three and each is connected tot he other. The cradle, the cross and the empty tomb. The cradle reminds us of the Incarnation. The cross reminds us of Jesus sacrifice and our Salvation. And the empty tomb reminds us of the hope of Eternal Life. The cross is the central pivot point of our faith.

Paul acknowledges here, that for some, the cross is not only hard to understand but it is totally and utterly foreign to their expectations and to their way of thinking about God.

For some folks, this talk about the cross is just as foolish as 8 year old Jonny trying to hold off a meteor shower with a toy rifle and a squirt gun. They can't see the power of the cross. They can't see beyond the stigma of the purpose for which it was created. They have trouble understanding how God's love for humankind has transformed the cross into a thing of beauty and the hinge upon which the door to salvation opens and closes.

I. WORLDLY WISDOM:

A. The trouble with trying to fully comprehend the work and mystery of the cross is that we always look at it with limited vision. We always look at it through mortal eyes, eyes of the created and not the eyes of the Creator. We always look at it through our own Worldly Wisdom and not God's wisdom.

We're not likely to admit it, but the age of reason and the scientific method have boosted wisdom and knowledge to a higher level than it ever was, even in Paul's day and the hay day of Greek philosophy that almost worshipped wisdom. Maybe the internet is God's way of dealing with that by making knowledge so easily accessible to all, instead of just a limited few. It puts us all on a level playing field again and puts knowledge and wisdom back where they belong, as a tool and not an idol.

B. And if we're honest, there are times when it's obvious that we're not the smartest creatures in the universe. Let me give you an example of a few decisions that weren't the wisest.

In 1899 Charles H. Duell, Director of the U. S. Patent Office said, "Everything that can be invented has been invented."

In 1905 Grover Cleveland said, "Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote."

In 1927, Tris Speaker said, "Ruth [meaning Babe Ruth] made a big mistake when he gave up pitching." (2)

In 1870 the Methodists in Indiana were at Annual Conference. At one point, the president of the college where they were meeting said, "I think we live in a very exciting age."

The presiding bishop said "What do you see?"

The college president responded, "I believe we are coming into a time of great inventions. I believe, for example, that men will fly through the air like birds."

The Bishop said, "That's heresy! The Bible says that flight is reserved for the angels. We will have no such talk here." After the Conference, Bishop Wright, went home to his two small sons, Orville and Wilbur . (3)

No matter how much we learn, no matter how wise we seem, in the face of the wisdom of God, it's all foolishness. That's why Paul says, God's foolishness is actually wisdom.

II. GOD'S FOOLISHNESS:

A. Let's look at God's Foolishness. Actually the only way that you can really see God's foolishness is to be a part of it. And the only way to become a part of it is through faith. And through faith you can become a Fool For Christ as Paul says. Let me give you a couple of examples.

One day Mother Teresa went into a grocery store in India and put $800 worth of groceries into some shopping carts. It was food that was needed for the starving people she was caring for. But when she got to the cashier she said that she wasn't going to move out of line until the people behind her came up with the money to pay for the food. (4)

How much more foolish can you get? But wasn't that an audacious example of faith? Would you risk being that foolish looking for God?

B. Let me tell you another story of audacious foolish faith. It just happens to revolve around groceries, too. A missionary in Brazil wrote about a widow there with four children. All she had was five cruzados, or 20 cents, in her purse. She had to decide either to buy milk, which meant her children would go without food, or to buy bread, in which case they would go without milk. So she prayed for two hours, telling God her needs and asking for guidance.

In her prayers she felt God telling her to buy all the groceries she needed for three months at a huge supermarket called Eldorado. She was to go through checkout stand number seven (there are 124 checkout stands!). So, she went and filled up three grocery carts to overflowing and proceeded to checkout stand number seven.

But the employee at the cash register was leaving for lunch and the other checkers motioned for her to go through their stands. But the woman replied, "But my Father told me to go through number seven!"

The checker left for lunch and this widow, who heard God's voice in her prayers, trusted, stayed and waited at checkout stand number seven for an hour, with 20 cents to her name.

When the checker returned she completely astonished and a little bumfuzzled to see the same lady waiting all that time but she began ringing up the groceries. As all the groceries was added up, an announcement came over the loud speaker: "Good afternoon, shoppers! Today is the seventh anniversary of our opening, and the person in checkout stand number seven gets all her groceries free today." (5)

That is foolish audacious faith that flies in the face of our worldly wisdom. And if God can do that with a simple thing like groceries, just think what God can do with the cross.

III. GOD'S POWER:

A. The Fall of 1967 wasn't the best Fall my family had ever seen. It was the Fall that Mom said over and over again that she was glad she was a female and not a male. Not just once but over and over and over again. And it was the only time I can ever remember my mother being embarrassed to be seen with all of us.

Let me explain. My Dad was in the construction business. At the time he owned some earth moving equipment. He came home one day in a cast. He had taken a nasty fall off one of his rigs and broken his left wrist. Exactly one week later, to the day, I was out goofing off with some of my buddies and broke my right wrist and wound up in a cast. Exactly one week after that, my younger brother Glen broke a bone in his left hand. And if that wasn't enough, one week to the day later, my little brother Scott, fell off the slide at school and broke his right arm.

Now wonder Mom was glad she wasn't a guy. And I can only imagine how embarrassed she was the night we all went to Kroger's with her. What would you think if you saw someone with four guys all in casts. You probably would have thought we had the meanest mother in town.

That's only the beginning of the story. That's the set up. No, none of us broke any other part of our body. But, one night while I was out running around with the guys, driving my Dad's pickup, the clutch went out. That meant we were perpetually in neutral. We couldn't go anywhere. There was nothing wrong with the engine and nothing wrong with the transmission but we couldn't go.

Now, this is where the fun began. You see my Dad was always one of those kind who fixed things himself. If he could do it, then why pay to have someone else do it, right.

Well, Dad decided that we could change the clutch in the truck. We'd changed out the clutch in other vehicles we'd owned, so why not. Now, imagine three guys, all with only one good hand, trying to do the work of two, in a space for one. We got the clutch out OK. We even got it back in OK. But the tricky part was connecting it to the transmission. That booger was heavy. Well, we got it in position and all lined up and Dad gave a shove to push it in. But he forgot to tell me that he was going to shove and mashed my fingers between the transmission and the clutch housing.

I don't know what I said, but apparently he didn't like it because he hollered at me backhanded me, with his cast. When he did, I let go and so did he. And the clutch fell on my brother's leg. So, there we all were screaming and groaning in pain. We were making so much noise that Mom and neighbors all came running out. Mom said that with the string of luck we'd been having, she thought the truck had fallen on us.

We crawled out from under the truck, all of us in pain. Dad had to have his cast replaced. I had a knot on my head and Glen's leg was bruised. Our neighbor put the truck back together for us.

Now the point of all of this. First, in the midst of our brokenness, we couldn't do what we needed to do, despite what we thought. We knew how to do it. But because of our brokenness, we couldn't.

And life is like that. We may know what to do. We all know the Ten Commandments. We know them and learned them as kids. We know the two Great Commandments, Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself. We learned that in Vacation Bible School. We know what to do. We know how to live. But the knowing part isn't the problem is it? It's the doing, that's so hard, isn't it? We know what to do! But left to own devices, we can't do it. We're like that truck with a bad clutch. We just sit there perpetually stuck in neutral.

B. And that's where The Power Of The Cross comes in. You see, the cross can be seen as sort of like a clutch. It's what connects the engine and transmission of our faith. It's what give us the power to do what we know we should do. It connects the head and the heart. It connects knowledge and faith. It connects mind and spirit. And makes them all work together for the glory of God.

Like the old revival hymn says, There Is Power In The Cross. There is power to change lives. There is power to save. And there is power to bring home the lost.

For the world the cross was and is weakness. For the world it was and is hideous. For the world it was and is foolishness. But for those who believe; for those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives, it has become and IS the power of God to change lives and to transform a world lost in sin.

Through the power of the cross, those who are lost are brought home by a God who came in search of them through Jesus. You see I think this word LOST is an acronym for "Living Outside Salvation's Touch." And that's really what we mean when we talk about the lost. We are talking about those for whom God is still searching. Through the cross, God empowers us to find them. And through the cross God brings them home.

CONCLUSION:

Back in 1996, out in California a small boy accidentally fell into an abandoned mine shaft. His playmate ran for help. Rescue workers moved in by the dozens. Heavy machinery was brought in and tons of dirt was moved. Finally, after two days and nights of digging, the rescue operation was completed. The little boy was rescued and appeared to be in excellent condition.

When asked about his condition, his mother said, "Well, he was very hungry and very dirty."

After a night in the local hospital, he was sent home. A couple of days later the boy persuaded his father to take him back to the place where the accident occurred. The little boy was shocked! He saw a mountain of earth that had been removed by all the machinery. He looked up at his father and said, "Daddy, do you mean they did all of that for me?" His father hugged him tightly and with tears said, "Yes, son, all this was done to save you."

Now it may seem foolish to some. But through the power of the cross, God moved a mountain of dirt in our lives, known as "sin," to rescue and save us. And having saved us through the cross, the cross empowers our lives and gets them out of neutral. God gives us the faith, the courage and the strength to be fools for Christ, That is what Christ and the cross mean to us.

Jesus did all that for me. And Jesus did all that for you. You don't need a helmet, a toy wooden rifle and a squirt gun to protect you. All you need is Jesus and the power of the cross.

Do you remember the Cocoa Puffs Cuckoo Bird who would go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs? Well be that cuckoo in your faith. Be foolish in your faith. Be foolish for Jesus. Trust in the power of the cross.

1. Grace Witwer Housholder, The Funny Kids Project, Kendallville, IN USA, http://www.funnykids.com

2. Autoillustrator, Parables, Etc., December 1985

3. Autoillustrator, Parables, Etc., December 1982

4. Emphasis Magazine, March/April 2000, electronic edition, CSS Publishing

5. Autoillustrator, Parables, Etc., December 1987

6. From the monthly contact letter written by Bud Schaeffer, missionary with Sports Ambassadors (OC Ministries),

7. Autoillustrator, Pastor's Story File September 1996, By Dr. Leonard E. Stadler.

Dynamic Preaching, Jan/Feb/Mar 2000 Vol XV, No. 1. (Seven Worlds Publishing, Knoxville, TN)

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Homiletics, Mar/Apr 2000, Volume 12, Number 2. (Communications Resources, Inc., Canton, OH)

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LectionAid (Software Version), LectionAid, Inc., Wichita, KS.

Sermon Mall - March 2000, www.SermonMall.com

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