The Preacher Part 1

Good Morning! Welcome to church this morning!

Let’s begin with a word of prayer

This morning we are looking at our third message in our six week series in 1 Corinthians 1-4, and we’re focusing on this question “What is church?” So far we’ve worked through how we as God’s people are untied and empowered in Christ, and that Christ is the power of the gospel. We looked at two of the three aspects of church we are spending our time on: The people, and our message. Now this week we are going to be looking at the other aspect we wanted to touch on: The preacher. What s the pastor’s role in “church?” However, even as we are answering this question I want us to understand that our passage today is speaking to all of us, not just me. Although we are going to touch on the pastor’s role in church, we are going to also spend a lot of time on how this is applicable to the lives of every believer, not just the pastor.

Our passage today is from 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. I’ll be reading from the ESV, you are welcome to follow along in your Bible with me, or on the screen beside me.

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 ESV

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 in plausible 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.

This is probably the shortest passage we are going to cover in one sermon during this series, and it affords us a chance to depth study this text.

Here’s what I would like us to grasp today:

The key to our witness is the HS’s transforming work.

Now you might be thinking, Pastor Josh, I thought the message was supposed to be on the pastor! It is! But really this message has to do with our witnessing to others, and how it is the Holy Spirit that actually does the transforming work. So, we’re going to look today at three crucial aspects of what it means for the Holy Spirit to be the key to our witness. The first is:

We Plainly Declare Truth vv. 1-2

We start at verses 1-2 two of this passage, and Paul presents us with a two key parts to his ministry philosophy:

First he says that he comes to them without lofty speech, or as some translations put it, without superior speech. What this means is that didn’t uses excessive sophistication or try to convince the Corinthians of the gospel. This helps us gain a clearer picture of how Paul showed up. The Greek philosophers of the day often tried to dazzle people into buying into their arguments by virtue of their great speeches and superiority of speech. Paul came quite plainly. When he brought the gospel - the testimony about Christ - to the Corinthians, Paul made it plain, and simple. We saw last week for the gospel message is “unwisdom,” as one commentator puts it. Meaning that it is contrary to worldly wisdom. But Paul didn’t try to convince them, he let the Holy Spirit do that, and plainly presented the gospel.

So Paul says “ok, I’m just the messenger. I’m going to say what I need to say and let God do the rest.”

That’s why Paul uses this word decided, or “krino” in the Greek. It’s an emphatic legal term. Paul made the decision to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” We need to examine this for a moment, because it is integral to the story.

What this means is that Paul focused on just Jesus, and his sacrifice. Paul concentrated on presenting Christ. And he didn’t just present Jesus as a great teacher, or Jesus as a great healer. Paul didn’t just let them know Jesus was a really nice guy.Paul didn’t just stop with proclaiming how Christ was God in the flesh! Paul founded his message on the whole truth of Christ: Jesus’ death, and resurrection.

So how does this fit in not just with the role of the pastor, but as a disciple of Jesus? As your pastor, it is my job to preach the truth. My preaching, my interaction with you should be based on the truth of the gospel. No matter what the sermon topic is, it should find its way back to Jesus. I’m not supposed to come up here and dazzle anyone with my great preaching ability. But I am supposed preach the truth, founded upon the reality of Christ’s death and resurrection, that has changed everything for us. This is what it means to be a pastor, I am a servant leader, walking instep with the truth of the Bible. I join with you in declaring the truth of the gospel.

Likewise, you are not required to convince people of the gospel message. You job, as a Christian, is to simply tell others. You cannot save people, and neither can I. We can tell people about Jesus, but for them to personally accept Him as Lord and Saviour, we have to rely on the Holy Spirit’s transforming work. So our job is to plainly declare the truth of the gospel, and then get out of the way and let the Holy Spirit work in people’s hearts.

To be people who are empowered to plainly present God’s truth about Jesus Christ is our first point. Our second key reason for how the Holy Spirit empowers our witness is through our humility. We:

Let God Lead v 3

We are just going to focus on verse 3 for a minute. Read it with me:

1 Corinthians 2:3 ESV

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

For a moment, let’s paint a picture of the Apostle Paul together:

Most of us picture Paul as maybe tall, well mannered, flowing robes, nice head of hair, lots of knowledge, carrying himself like a pharisee. In fact before his conversion this is exactly what Paul was.

Well, here’s the reality: Paul was most likely short, bald, crooked legs, battered, probably didn’t speak super well, had an odd nose, and a unibrow. Truly, a fine specimen of human beauty!

He says he came to the Corinthians in weakness, and fear and trembling. What does that mean? Paul harkens back to verse 17 of chapter one by using the word weak. He is describing the ideal vehicle for the powerful gospel: the “weak’ person. Paul shows up in weakness, he’s not excited about the situation in Corinth - it was an intimidating place! These people are self-made, and used to being dazzled and convinced of someone message by great speakers. And Paul shows up as a weird dude with a weird message. No wonder he’s intimidated! He is also anxious to do his duty by preaching the gospel. Paul is not presenting a strong presence, but rather as a weak one. If we look at 2 Corinthians, 10:10, we read this:

2 Corinthians 10:10 ESV

For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.”

Paul did not impress the Corinthians with His speech or presence. He was just not that impressive of a guy. The picture this passage paints is pathetic!

The point is, Paul shows up in weakness, both in appearance and presence. Yet this was good, because it meant he got out of the way so the Holy Spirit could get in and start moving. The power of Paul’s testimony was not rested upon Paul’s greatness, but rather on the Spirit’s conviction. Paul was not looking for fame or honour, but instead, as we saw last week he was boasting in what God has done through Christ.

The word that comes to mind for me as I think about Paul’s presentation is humble. Paul’s state was a humble one. He wasn’t powerful or a famous orator. He certainly wasn’t the best, or the most gifted. He’s just an ordinary little guys that was willing to be use. And suddenly, because of the Holy Spirit, BIG impact!

I believe this is an essential part of not just being a pastor, but a Christian. There is power in walking in humility. When we choose to walk in humility, we are positioning ourselves for God’s use. We are being asked the same question the prophet Isaiah was asked at the beginning of his ministry.

Isaiah 6:8 ESV

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Would you all repeat that with me. “Here I am, send me!” This is the cry of our hearts. No matter who we are, the cry of our hearts should be, here I am, send me. Recognize what Paul did: the power of our testimony comes from the Holy Spirit. But it is imperative that we get out of the way and let God lead. Why does God use weak people, because through them His strength is made known! Paul shows how, when he went to Corinth, he didn’t have great rapport or charisma. Rather, Paul let the gospel do the talking. Likewise, we don’t need charisma or rapport. We just need to testify, and what God do his thing in people’s lives.

This second key is all about our humility. Getting out of the way, choosing to let God use us despite weakness, and allowing the power of the gospel message to chine through us, to those in our world. Now, as we move into the third key reason for why our testimony is empowered by the Holy Spirit is that we are

Point to Jesus Alone vv 4-5

Paul makes some key statements in verses 4-5.

I'm just going to read vv 4-5 again:

1 Corinthians 2:4–5 ESV

and my speech and my message were not in plausible 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.

I think we need to define Paul’s use of the word plausible. This could be better understood as persuasive speech, or persuasiveness. This helps us clarify. Paul’s preaching was not with persuasive words, but rather with a demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power. What was this demonstration? The convicting work of the Spirit of God in people’s lives. Paul adds the entire reasoning for this whole speech: So that their faith would not rest in the power of men, but in God.

In other words, their faith was not supposed to rest on him, but rather on Christ.

I think this is perhaps one of the most needed conversations for Christians. If you did a Google search right now on famous preacher who have had scandals, you would find literally hundreds of websites and video dedicated to these people and their sins. We are watching it in the world right now, with the Catholic church taking a lot of fire for residential schools and other things. Preachers in the US are constantly causing issues because of their extravagant lifestyle, extramarital affairs, and so on. When this stuff happens, it is heartbreaking. Unfortunately, the backlash off of some of these things is that people reject their faith, or God. Why is that? Does it have something to do with them being more attached to the preacher than the message? Or perhaps that they are believing a message that is in fact, untrue?

A person’s faith should not rest on their pastor, or their parents. My Mom had this favourite saying when I was a kid. “You can’t ride on my coat tails to heaven.” Meaning that I needed to make my faith my own. What Paul is expressing here is that he intentionally only preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Moreover, he didn’t make a show, or try to be super persuasive. because to do so would have emptied the message of the cross of its true power. Why? Because instead of the Corinthian’s faith being in Christ alone, it would be in Paul, and his eloquent words.

My job as a pastor is to be a humble messenger. The last thing I would ever want to see is people who believe in Jesus because “pastor Josh” does. Please don’t! If you believe in Jesus just because I do, or you like what you heard, you don’t have a real faith. Real faith is rooted in Jesus, and a gift of the Holy Spirit. Your faith should be in Jesus alone, and in no mere human.

Likewise, for all of us, we are supposed to point only to Jesus alone. Don’t try to overdo your testimony, because when you do you actually move the spotlight off of Jesus and onto yourself. Simply speak the truth, and let God lead! We testify of Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished alone. We point people to Christ alone. It is imperative that our faith be “in Christ alone!”

Conclusion

These are the three key reasons for why our testimony testimony is empowered: Because we speak the truth plainly. We do not need to spice up the gospel. It can stand on it’s own two feet! Second, because we walk in humility. God uses our weakness, and the offering of our live to Him for his glory. His strength is shown through our weakness. But this means we need to get out of the way and allow God convict people as he sees fit. We are just humble messengers! Finally, we testify to Jesus alone. Never should our faith or the faith of others rest on ourselves or anyone except Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit empowers our testimony as we live - whole heartedly - for Christ, and simply point the way to Him.

At this moment though, what does this mean for our church? What does this have to do with the “preacher?”

As your pastor, I am a humble messenger, and servant of Christ. It is my job to preach the truth, and to do so in a way that prompts us to look to Christ. I am equally responsible for this pulpit, to make sure that anyone who preaches in it preaches the truth. I have a responsibility to you to lead the charge in being humble messengers of the gospel to our community, and modelling a Christ-like life in our church. And to do ministry with you, not at you or for you.

However, I am not the only one to whom this is applicable. All of us, you and I, have the responsibility to share the truth with those outside these walls. Moreover, we also need to allow God to work through us. Just as your faith should never rest on me, so someone else’s faith should not rest on you. We are together merely mirrors, pointing to Christ.

And God is faithful. When we faithfully share the truth of Christ simply, plainly, and allow God’s Spirit to work, we can be sure that God will change lives. We don’t always see the outcome of our labours, but God will use it for his glory!

This week, I came across a history book that is dedicated to Pentecostal churches in Sasketchewan. I found out that this church got started because people started going, and telling others about Jesus. At one point, there was a Hungarian Pentecostal church a few kms from here, and street meetings in our town. When those two meetings merged in the mid 1950s, our church congregation was born. In the late 70s the congregation built this building, and throughout the years, God has faithfully called believers in Jesus to this place. I’d like to read you something:

Many of you have been here for many years. You know the history of this church body. Do you realize this all started because God, in His wisdom, empowered believers testimony? Moreover, the people then probably couldn’t have envisioned where God has brought our church today, and the hundreds or thousands of lives that have been touched by it. And you know what, we can’t see right now what god’s going to do with our efforts down the road. But God knows, and I believe that we need to step out in faith - like Paul did - and let God use our witness, or weakness, for His glory.

If you are not a believer here, I pray you have heard truth today. The message about Jesus is plain. He is God the Son, who chose to come as a human baby. He lived a normal life, and was crucified for your sins and mine. He rose three days later, and defeated sin, and death, so you can be free. Jesus is the answer to your broken relationship with God. Jesus is the answer to your eternity. Believe in Jesus Christ alone, and you will be saved! I know myself or many others here would be happy to help you in this process. Come to Jesus, and understand what it means to be God’s child, be loved, and be empowered by God’s Spirit for testimony.

Our role, whoever you are today, is to proclaim the gospel right along with me! We don’t need a degree, we don’t need big words. We do need the Holy Spirit. He will empower us to speak truth, and He will use our efforts. My prayer for us is that as we move forward together as a body of believers, and will be ready to let God’s Spirit work in your life and in our church. Be ready to give a testimony to what God has done through Jesus, because that is how people meet Jesus. Through you, and because of your faithful witness. Continue to build on the legacy we have here, and trust God to bring people to Him through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in His timing. God is faithful, and He will go with you!