Leaving My Expectations at the Cross
What I Leave at the Cross • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Whoa! This is not what I signed up for!
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The symbol of our faith is an instrument of death.
For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”
God chose the cross to confound our expectations.
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?
God has already shown all our expectations to be failures.
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
God picked an absurdity to save us in order to kill our expectations.
For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Jews expected a conquering king.
Greeks expected a persuasive philosopher.
We expect a prosperous, American Jesus.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Christianity is not what you expect. It’s better.
Part of the self-denial the cross demands is killing your own expectations.