Title: Follow the Powerful Preacher
Contents Main text: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Title: Follow a Powerful Preacher
Introduction
As I said last week
The Corinthian church is a church with many problems
One of them is dispute
Why are there disputes in the church?
Centered on God, Centered on the Cross, Centered on the Word
not living a life of faith
Because people-centered faith
Conflict is going to happen.
Follow your favorite pastor, elder, guru, and deacon
Conflicts arise in the life of faith.
The Apostle Paul offers solutions to disputes.
that solution is
1. Be One at the Cross
The cross is what makes us one with God.
By making humans and humans one
Only the cross can prevent the temptation of strife.
Ex) The temptation that comes to those who minister in self-reliant churches
The temptation to pay tribute
Comparing them to each other will cause problems and eventually break out.
How to stop this temptation
Only being one on the cross
The saints unite together on the cross.
2. Walk with God's Chosen
Then who is God's chosen one?
A person with good family, family, or education?
no.
There are very few people like that.
Then who ?
Those who boast only in God,
He is proud of his cross.
A) Apostle Paul, the representative figure
Apostle Paul was a Roman citizen, Gabriel cultural student,
One who is well versed in theology, one who is fluent in philosophy
So, I failed to preach the gospel philosophically in Athens.
After that, the Apostle Paul did not boast of his family, family, or education.
He confessed that he would boast only in the cross.
Family, family, and educational background are rather the things that obscure the glory of God.
obstacle
Ex) Do you know about former Prime Minister Jeong Il-kwon?
He graduated from the Japan Military Academy in 1940.
At the age of early 30s at the time of the Korean War in 1950
Commander-in-Chief of the 3rd Army,
1954 Chief of Staff
In 1956, after serving in key positions in the military, such as Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
In 1957, he retired as a captain,
He was appointed ambassador to Turkey at the same time as the preliminaries and began his diplomatic career.
Ambassador to France in 1959, Ambassador to the United States in 1960,
Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1963, Prime Minister in 1964-70
President of the National Assembly from 1973 to 1978
Former Prime Minister is the luckiest person in Korean history
Then he attended a testimony meeting with Dr. Geun-mo Jeong.
On the spot, he wept and repented and accepted Jesus.
He wept and said, not realizing that his wife, whom he loved so much, had prayed with tears all his life, and was moved and moved with emotion that he only now realized the gospel of the cross.
My life was in vain and in vain.
Now only Jesus, hold on to the cross of Jesus
confess to go
Ex) Ryu Tae-young, a boy in the deep mountains - I can't even go to elementary school-
Study in Denmark
-I took him to the Blue House - God did it - Glory to God
Therefore, we are also discouraged that we are not good in family, family, or academic background.
Do not be discouraged, but only with the power that God gives
Let's live a wonderful life.
3. Follow a Powerful Preacher
So, what kind of preacher is a good preacher?
1. A person who refuses to please people's ears.
Let's look at verse 1.
“Not in the beauty of words and wisdom”
The beauty of words and wisdom is
It's about pleasing people's ears.
Yes) How do politicians make things plausible?
I don't know if
During the election season, “I will do this. I will change that.”
while doing
It dazzles the eyes and ears.
ex) Today, in many pulpits
Sermons are pouring in.
By selecting real-time speech through the Internet and TV
time to hear
So many words are pouring out
Just as there is plenty of water at the time of the flood, but none of the most precious water to drink.
Actually, the word of life, the word of truth, and the way of the cross
It is a sad time when there is no evidence.
Rather than witnessing the way of the cross
make people feel good
Relieve people's stress with comedic-like complaints
laughing and talking.
look at the audience
Squeezing gum, rubbing arms and legs
Why is that?
Because those words have no life.
If the Word has life, you cannot do that.
When the tears disappear from the pulpit
From then on, God's grace will disappear.
who pleases the human ear
A church established as a church leader is an unfortunate church.
Therefore, our church
You should only testify to the Word.
2. A preacher who preaches only Jesus Christ
Let's look at verse 2.
“Except Jesus Christ and Him crucified
for I was determined not to know anything.”
There are many people who say that the Korean church is in crisis right now.
Why Crisis?
Because they are not preaching Jesus Christ.
But why not preach Jesus Christ?
Because the pastors are watching
Because office holders hate it when you preach like that.
When you say “Blessed”, you like it and “Repent”
then i hate it
I don't want to listen to the sermon.
So the pastors are watching and preaching.
If the pastors are watching and preaching like this,
From that moment on, Jesus leaves.
Therefore, our church is not a church that pleases the ears.
It should be a church that only testifies to Jesus Christ.
because
Even now, the evangelical church that only preaches Jesus Christ is
like the US and Europe
Because even where it is declining, it grows vigorously.
A church that only preaches Jesus Christ is healthy.
Just as you have to be healthy to be able to defeat pathogens
Only a healthy church can overcome the world
Overcome temptation by Satan the devil.
Not material, not authority, not education.
Holy Spirit) Jesus in John 4
He said to the Samaritan woman:
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I will give him will never thirst again.
the world seeks
I am thirsty even if I fill my family, family, and academic level.
There is no satisfaction.
Ex) I want to ride a horse when I put up my topcoat
They say they want to ring a bell when they ride a horse.
You cannot be satisfied with the world.
However, those who have accepted Jesus Christ
Never thirst again.
Because those who have received Jesus Christ
In fact, he is poor, but he is rich
It seems that there is nothing, but it is because he has everything.
incomparable to the world
Because I have citizenship in the eternal heaven
things of this world
You cannot take away his heart and his eyes.
3. A preacher who is aware of his own shortcomings
Let's look at verse 3.
“When I dwell among you,
I was weak, afraid, and trembling.”
In fact, physically, Paul was short and ugly.
He was a shy and timid person.
So if Paul had something to brag about,
He said he was proud of his weakness.
Why is weakness a pride?
Being weak makes you proud
not arrogant because of it
Rather, it is because only Jesus Christ and the cross are exalted.
Yes) Reformer.
It is nicknamed as a walking hospital.
He was a weak person.
I only eat one meal a day due to malignant gastroenteritis.
Neuralgia that causes pain throughout the body
bronchial asthma, which requires constant coughing,
and various complications
I spent more time lying down throughout my life.
But God used him because he was sick.
Almost commented on Christian compulsion and the Bible
I almost expounded on the bible.
He wrote numerous theological treatises and letters
He led reforms of political and religious leaders.
It was the grace of the Lord.
have a weak
God's work of putting the strong to shame
Not only in Paul's time, but also in the Reformation era
And so it is today.
Application) Dear saints, are you all weak too?
Then brag about your weakness
God makes you strong.
4. Preachers relying solely on the power of the Holy Spirit
Let's look at verse 4.
“By the manifestation and power of the Holy Spirit”
God's servants
It cannot be converted and changed spiritually.
only the Holy Spirit
You can convince and change people.
Therefore, the servant of God
We must rely only on the Holy Spirit.
The central chair on the platform is the seat of the Holy Spirit
conclusion
Words and wisdom that please the human ear
It makes the saints sick.
A healthy life is only through the death of Jesus Christ.
Saved from judgment and wrath to come,
freed from sin and death,
When we are convinced that we are cleansed from all our sins
From then on, I live a healthy life.
when you're having a hard time
It is possible to rise again with Jesus hand in hand.
Therefore, the servant of God
We must only testify of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, in the eyes of the world, it seems foolish,
We hold only the cross, which is our strength,
You should be proud of it.
And if you don't have talent, you don't have enough skills
Don't be discouraged, afraid, or troubled
The power of the Holy Spirit, the power of God
able to overcome us and overcome us
I believe you will win again.