The “Foolishness” of God
Easter • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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(The World’s Greatest Problems)
(The World’s Greatest Problems)
There are many…
Concerning Issues in Our Day
Concerning Issues in Our Day
Poverty
There are approximately 700 million people in the world who are living in extreme poverty.
That’s around 9% of the world’s population.
Extreme poverty is defined as those living on less that $1.90 per day.
Concerning Issues in Our Day
Food Crises
There are close to 200 million people in the world who are hungry.
They don’t have enough to eat, and are in urgent need of food.
Concerning Issues in Our Day
Mental Health
There are almost 1 billion people around the world struggling with some sort of mental health/disorder.
That is more than 1 out of every 10 people.
The cost of treating anxiety and depression on the global economy is around $1 trillion dollars per year.
Concerning Issues in Our Day
Children
Children around the world are dying too young.
It was estimated in 2019 that 5.2 million children under the age of 5 died from what are considered treatable and preventable diseases.
2.4 million of those deaths were from babies less than 28 days old.
There are so many pressing needs in our world today.
And our countries are not in a place to help because of…
Concerning Issues in Our Day
Debt
In December of last year, global debt hit a record $307 trillion dollars.
Because of these heavy burdens of debt that countries and individuals carrying,
they are unable to solve many of these public health crises.
We listen to a list like this, and we can get easily overwhelmed and discouraged.
Where do you even start solving some of these problems in our day?
We could start by gathering all of our most brilliant people.
Scientists & technology experts…
doctors & lawyers…
politicians & Humanitarian experts…
Educators & business leaders…
Now we have all the best and brightest people…
2. Then we could get all the countries to join hands, and pool their money and resources.
Now we have the money and resources to put the plan into motion.
3. Then we could prioritize the problems in our world, and solve them one by one.
Why wouldn’t we be able to do it?
We have the smartest people, and unlimited resources!
In 100 years we could solve all the world’s greatest problems!
Poverty? … gone!
Hunger?… gone!
Mental health?… gone!
Child deaths?… gone!
Debt?… gone!
AND THEN WE COULD CELEBRATE!
“WE DID IT EVERYONE!”
“WE SOLVED ALL THE WORLD’S PROBLEMS!!!”
(Our Greatest Problem)
(Our Greatest Problem)
Only… we haven’t solved our greatest problem…
We have a problem that is
far greater than a food crises…
far greater than a health crises…
far greater than a debt crises…
Our greatest problem is:
Because of our sin, we are under the wrath of God!
Because of our sin, we are under the wrath of God!
The wisdom of man has the capacity to solve a lot of problems,
and do a lot of good in our world…
but it has no way of getting us what we need most…
PEACE WITH GOD!
(God’s wrath in the OT)
(God’s wrath in the OT)
The Bible tells us of God’s wrath…
2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. 3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
6 Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him. 7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. 8 But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
God is a God of wrath!
Maybe you’re thinking,
“Yea, God was very wrathful, but that was in the OT.
He’s not like that anymore.”
Let’s look at what the NT has to say about God’s wrath…
(God’s wrath in the NT)
(God’s wrath in the NT)
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 He will render to each one according to his works:
In Ephesians, Paul gives a list of sins to avoid,
and then says…
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
and similarly in…
6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
The Bible also tells us of God’s coming wrath…
we read in…
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
Maybe you’re thinking,
“Okay… maybe God’s wrath is still there,
but that’s for really bad people…
I know I’m not perfect, but I’m a pretty good person.
I’m definitely not as bad as some people!”
(Man’s guilt before God)
(Man’s guilt before God)
1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.
Maybe your next question would be…
“How do I practice the same things?
I don’t do the evil things I see on the news!”
The Bible tells us not to lie…
How many times have you shaded the truth…
we lie when we:
leave out certain details…
exaggerate the facts…
give a half-truth…
The Bible tells us not steal…
How many times have you stolen?
taking small things from work (they’ll never notice)…
wasting company time…
illegally watch shows OR listen to music…
The Bible tells us not to commit adultery…
Jesus said if you look with lust you’ve committed adultery in your heart.
How many times a day do you take a lustful look?
The Bible tells us not to murder…
Jesus said if you are angry with someone you are liable to judgment.
How many times a day are you angry with someone?
Your spouse…
Your kids…
Your coworkers/boss…
For all you kids in the room…
you’ve sinned as well!
Think of all the times you:
fight with your brother and sister…
disobey your parents…
say mean things or lie…
We’re already all guilty!
And we haven’t even talked about sins like:
Idolatry…
Coveting…
Pride…
Greed…
Gluttony…
Gossip...
and many others!
Paul sums it up this way in
Romans 3:10—18…
Romans 3:10–13 (ESV)
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Maybe you’re willing to admit at this point,
“Okay, I sin, but nobody’s perfect!… BESIDES…
if I do enough good, I can outweigh the bad and be saved from God’s wrath, right?!?”
(Can I be good enough?)
(Can I be good enough?)
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
God’s law was never given to save…
it was given to show us how sinful we truly are!!
(ILLUSTRATION: Book of sins)
(ILLUSTRATION: Book of sins)
Let’s think for a moment…
about how many sins we have committed in our lives…
We just looked at a short list of sins that we all commit.
There are many more sins we could name,
and since Jesus showed us that it’s a matter of our sinful hearts,
we can only imagine how many sins we commit on a daily basis.
That being said, I think I could get you all to admit that:
you sin AT LEAST 10 times/day.
I think I’m being generous… because I think it’s far more than that!
In Psalm 19 David asks for forgiveness for sins he can’t see…
we don’t even know all the ways we sin!
But let’s imagine you sin only 10 times a day.
10 sins a day would be:
70 sins/week…
300 sins/month…
3,650 sins/year.
Let’s imagine you have a…
Book of SIN
Book of SIN
Every time you sin,
God writes it down in this book.
This book has 42 lines per page,
and a little over 1,000 pages.
which means it has about 42,000 lines.
If God wrote one sin per line in this book…
Do you know how long it would take to fill up this book… with YOUR sin?
You would fill this book up before you reach your 12th birthday!!!
And that’s if you ONLY sinned 10 times a day!
Many of us are older than 12…
So if we’re still being generous, and say we only sin 10 times/day…
we can add 36,500 sins for every ten years we’ve been alive.
That’s a lot of sin!
We need a bigger book… maybe a truckload of books!
Can you do enough good to outweigh all that sin?
I know I can’t!
Imagine you’re standing before God on Judgement Day…
with your truck load of books, FULL OF YOUR SIN…
Are you innocent… or guilty?!?
Heaven, or hell?
Maybe you’re thinking…
(Is God’s wrath just/fair?)
(Is God’s wrath just/fair?)
Since God is a loving God, shouldn’t he forgive me?
Wouldn’t it be wrong for him to send me to hell?
5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world?
Since God alone is holy and righteous,
He is just to condemn us to hell for our sin.
He must punish sin if He is a good Judge!
How could God truly be good, and loving if he just over-looked our sin?
If there was a judge who just forgave murderers and thieves and let them go,
we would be outraged!
God, in His holiness, and righteousness,
cannot let sin go unpunished!
But we must understand that His judgement is always fair…
6 He will render to each one according to his works:
God’s judgement is fair… and…
His judgement is something that people choose for themselves…
John 3:18–20 (ESV)
18 whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
J.I. Packer states it this way:
“Nobody stands under the wrath of God except those who have chosen to do so. The essence of God’s action in wrath is to give men what they choose, in all its implications: nothing more, and equally nothing less.”
(Our Greatest Problem Restated)
(Our Greatest Problem Restated)
So… here we are… with our greatest problem…
Because of our sin, we are under the wrath of God!
Because of our sin, we are under the wrath of God!
We feel the weight of our sin…
sin that is piled so high that we can’t see our way out.
And God is a holy, and righteous Judge,
who must punish sin.
What is going to save you from God’s wrath?
Paul makes it clear in his letter to the Corinthians,
the solution is not going to come from the world!
1 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV)
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?
Where is the
scientist,
researcher,
innovator,
politician,
business leader of our day?
Where is the group of wealthy, wise, and prominent leaders who can get us out of this mess?
Surely they have the answer to get us out of this mess!!!
Paul goes on…
1 Corinthians 1:20–21 (ESV)
20 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
For all our worldly wisdom, we have no answer to get to God!
Even if worldly wisdom could get us peace here on earth,
it cannot get us peace with God!
Because of our sin, we are under God’s wrath!
(What hope do we have?)
(What hope do we have?)
So what hope do we have?
1 Corinthians 1:21 (ESV)
21 it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
The solution is not going to come from the world…
It’s going to come from a preacher!!!
Not because the preacher is special,
but because of the message he is preaching.
What is the message?
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
The message that saves guilty sinners,
is the message of Christ crucified!
The world makes fun of this idea…
they think we are crazy, and they feel sorry for us.
18 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.
They think the cross is folly,
but…
1 Corinthians 1:25 (ESV)
25 the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
The world, for all it’s wisdom,
has no solution to our greatest problem!
But God, using what the world considers foolish,
has made a way to have peace with Him,
through the message of the cross.
But…
(How does the cross solve our greatest problem?)
(How does the cross solve our greatest problem?)
So God has chosen preaching as the means to save people…
and the message that saves is Christ crucified…
but how does Jesus dying on a cross save us from the wrath of God?
Isaiah, was a prophet who was sent to Israel about 700 years before Jesus was born.
Through God, he predicted what Jesus, the Messiah, would come to do…
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
As Jesus, fully God, hung on the cross,
His own people mocked Him,
thinking God was punishing Him.
But He was bearing our grief…
He was carrying our sorrow…
How did He do that?
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
HE… was pierced… for OUR rebellion…
HE… was crushed… for OUR sins…
HE… was punished… so that WE could have peace with God…
HIS wounds… have healed US…
We needed saving because…
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…
But God laid all of OUR sin… on JESUS!
As Jesus hung on the cross…
God took all of our books, FILLED with sin…
page, after page, after page, of sin…
He opened to the front page,
where our name was written…
He scratched out our name,
and wrote Jesus’s name!
Jesus was suffering as if He had committed all those sins that you and I committed!
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Christ took on all of our sin…
so that we could take on His righteousness…
There is only one way to get into heaven,
and that is through perfect righteousness.
How do we achieve this perfect righteousness?
rom 3:21-24
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
It is through faith… believing in Jesus Christ… that we are made righteous.
How is this possible?
Romans 3:25 (ESV)
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
What does this mean?
J.I. Packer, speaking about this passage says…
by his sacrificial death for our sins Christ pacified the wrath of God.
Praise God!!!
When we put our faith in Jesus’s death on the cross,
He has satisfied God’s justice and wrath on our sin.
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
Through our faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross,
we have received His righteousness,
and we have peace with God!
CLOSING
CLOSING
Christian
Christian
If you are a believer…
you have placed your faith in Jesus’ sacrifice…
believe the words in…
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
We doubt our salvation because we know that we still sin…
but our confidence is not in our ability to obey…
our confidence is in Christ’s sacrifice.
May it be our joy to worship and serve Him,
since He has saved us from the wrath of God!
Non-Christian
Non-Christian
If you have not placed your faith in Jesus’s sacrifice for you…
what is stopping you from doing that today?
Apart from Jesus, you are under God’s wrath.
The world doesn’t have an answer that can save you…
You can’t save yourself…
But God has made a way for you to be:
cleansed of all your sin… and
clothed in righteousness…
through faith in Jesus.
Romans 10:9 (ESV)
9 if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
If you want to talk to someone about what it means to put your faith in Jesus…
talk to one of us pastors,
or one of the deacons who are about to serve us communion.
Please don’t leave here this morning under the judgment and wrath of God.
You are not guaranteed tomorrow…
you may not even make it through today.
We would be happy to talk with you and pray with you!
Crucifixion Story
Crucifixion Story
Often when we read the story of Jesus’ crucifixion,
we think of the injustice.
And it was unjust!
I want to read it for us this morning,
before we remember Jesus’s death through Communion.
As I read it this morning,
Let’s not think of the injustice,
but the extent God was willing to go to save us!
After being condemned, and delivered to be crucified…
in the gospel according to Mark we read…
Mark 15:16–39 (ESV)
16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.
29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.
32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. 33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”
36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Pray
Pray
Introduce Communion
Introduce Communion
I would like to call up the deacons and the music team at this time.
This morning, we have the joy of sharing in the Lord’s Supper,
where we remember the body and blood of Jesus sacrificed for us.
The deacons are going to pass trays of bread, and juice down the aisles.
If you have been baptized on the confession of your faith in Jesus,
and are in good standing with the Lord,
we invite you to participate with us by taking the bread and cup.
If you are not a baptized believer,
we ask that you allow the trays to pass by you.
After everyone has received the bread and juice,
Phil Hamm will lead us in a Scripture and prayer,
and we will eat the bread and drink the juice together.