Mission Festival

SERMON - The Weakness of the Messenger – The Strength of the Message

Text: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Fellow Redeemed In Christ,

Picture for yourself, a situation that you might want to avoid, one that might cause you to become weak in the knees, gives you a sick feeling in your stomach, makes your palms sweat, and makes you tongue tied, unable to put the words together. For many people, the thought of speaking in public produces this kind of reaction. Having to stand up in front of a group of people and deliver a speech of some kind strikes fear into the hearts of many. It could be that just standing in front of the class and giving a book report scares you.

Consider this situation. You witness someone breaking the law. It doesn’t have to be murder or arson that you witness. It could be a neighbor stealing something from the people across the street, or the guy a few doors down who you have noticed has been mis-treating his dog. You know you should either go and discuss the situation with that person himself, or report it to the proper authorities, but you are fearful of confronting that person. You might be a bit uneasy because of what he or she might do once they hear what you have to say, or find out it was you who reported them to the authorities. I don’t think there are too many people who enjoy confrontation, even though it might be easier for some people than others.

Have you ever experienced any of these symptoms when it comes to telling others about your faith? Do you hesitate to speak about Jesus Christ because you aren’t sure how your message will be received? Are you nervous or unsure because you don’t know what to say, since you just don’t have the skills to put together a good argument or speech? Maybe you just don’t say anything at all, and let the opportunity to share Christ with others pass you by.

If you have ever experienced any feelings or situations such as these, you are not alone. Our text for this morning describes for us how the Apostle Paul felt when he took the message of Jesus Christ to the people in the Greek city of Corinth.

Verse 3 tells us about the Weakness of the Messenger: “I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling”

Corinth, much like Athens, was a large city in Greece, which enjoyed culture and the arts. It was a center of learning, higher education, and government. Along with these advantages of a large city, came the big city problems like crime, too much wealth, and lower moral standards.

The people enjoyed philosophy and wisdom, so you can imagine what Paul is facing when he brings the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The minds filled with logic and wisdom might not have time for the foolish message of a poor man from Nazareth who was killed on a cross because He said that He was the Son of God. Bringing this message to the Corinthians might be like trying to preach Christ to the faculty of a world famous university like Harvard.

But how can he be nervous, and preach to them in weakness and in fear? This is the Apostle Paul, hand picked by the Lord Jesus Himself to preach the gospel to the Gentile nations. Paul was an educated man, having been taught and instructed by Gamaliel. Not to mention, he was a gifted speaker, being able to put thoughts together clearly, making very good arguments.

How could he be this way? Simple, he was a sinful human being, just like us. He had flesh and blood, and felt the same kind of emotions that we feel today. As he said he was with them "in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling." Sadly, we share in those faults too, because of our sin. In Psalm 37, the writer describes our sinful condition in this way, "There is no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger, Nor any health in my bones Because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds are foul and festering Because of my foolishness. I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long." For my loins are full of inflammation, And there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.” How can we carry out our task of telling the world about Jesus Christ if we are so burdened with weakness and failure? How could anyone convince others that Jesus died for them if he is so weak and fearful?

The answer lies in the Strength of the Message. Paul tells us how and what he preached to the Corinthians. He says in our text, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.... And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom”

He had the ability to use excellence of speech and the best in wisdom and philosophy, but he didn’t do it that way. He made one thing clear to them, and presented it in a simple, humble way. He determined that he would teach them about Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

His message was simple, easy to understand, and to the point. He spoke of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who was born a human being. He taught them about His perfect life, His truly horrible death, and His victorious resurrection. Because of this God Man Jesus, and what He has done, the sins of all people, for all of time, have been paid for.

Those same, simple truths have been preserved and passed down to us. We too, know that our sins are forgiven in Christ. Our Bibles tell us, "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,”

Paul chose not to use powerful arguments or logic with these people, because he knew that the power to convert them was in the Word that He preached. He wanted them to follow Christ because of the Gospel, not because he was a good speaker. He wanted to be sure that their devotion to Christ came about as a result of the power of God the Holy Spirit, Who works in the Word preached. He explains in verses 4 and 5, “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

This should come as a great comfort and motivation for us too. Do you feel like you can’t make a good argument that will convince someone of what the Bible says? Don’t worry, it isn’t your ability that convinces them. The Holy Spirit is the one who changes hearts and convinces people to follow Christ. His power to change hearts and minds is demonstrated when the Gospel is preached.

Perhaps you feel that Dr. David Menton could do a much better job than you can of convincing someone that God created the world, and that the theory of evolution is false. It is true that he may have more education and experience in the creation/evolution debate than we do, but he would be the first to remind you that it is not his ability which convinces people of the creation, but the power of the Holy Spirit in the Word. Hebrews 11 teaches us, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." We don’t create the faith which brings this understanding, God does.

We may have fear and trembling when speaking the Gospel to someone else, because we aren’t sure how it will be received. Jesus comforts us, “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” If we are met with hatred and rejection, we are to take comfort that it is not we who are being rejected, but the One who sent the Message with us. Our Lord has sent us out with a powerful Message, which gives the messenger strength to carry on. We rest assured that as long as we speak to others what God says in His word, it will do what He wants it to do. God says, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

We have been given a task, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel." This is a difficult task since we are all sinful human beings, with many weaknesses. Thanks be to God that the power to save souls does not lie in our own strength. The Strength is in the Message that we speak.

The power to turn to Christ does not lie in our own talents, but in the word. As we tell others about Christ, they are convinced by the Word, so that their faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

There is a hymn verse which always comes to mind in connection with telling others about Christ, and the fact that you may feel incapable or inadequate for doing so. It says, "If you cannot speak like angels, if you cannot preach like Paul, You can tell the love of Jesus, You can say He died for all. If you cannot rouse the wicked with the judgments dread alarms, You can lead the little children to the Savior’s waiting arms." Amen.

—Pastor Mark Gurath
Berea Lutheran Church
Sioux Falls, SD