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Open your Bibles or devices to 1 Corinthians chapter 1:18-31. This is one of my favorite passages, and I get really, really, really excited when I read these 13 verses. If you ever want to see a passage that fires me up to the depth of my history, to the depth of my heritage, to the depth of my being, it's right here.
These verses, you know what they mean? They mean a loser like me has a chance to be of value to the kingdom. It says, "Not many wise, not many powerful, not many noble of birth." Look, no one's ever going to confuse a Danielson with royalty. It's not going to happen. But if you really listen, it says that God has designed this whole deal to use regular folk to accomplish his kingdom.
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. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of the age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
— 1 Corinthians 1:18-20
Our Lord and King Recruits from the Salvage Pile
Our Lord and King recruits directly from the salvage pile. That's where we get the name "salvaged by God" comes out of this verse. How can that not be the most exciting thing many of us will ever hear in our lives? I'm looking around. I don't see any royalty here. I don't see anybody who's more than that. Fresh Encounter Church is the epitome of regular folks surrendered to Christ, wanting to live victoriously and joyfully in him because of what he did for us.
See, it says in verse 27, God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. Then in verse 28, God chose what? What did he choose? The insignificant and despised. I'm there. What is viewed as nothing? Still me to bring to nothing what is viewed as something. Then when any of us boast, we boast in the king himself because we know. We know. We know Christ becomes the wisdom of God from God into us. He becomes the wisdom from God into us.
So let's get into it today with the understanding we ain't much when Jesus gets a hold of us. Now this is not the message the world that is masquerading as Christianity in deceptive 2025 wants to share with you. You're great. You're special. You're awesome. God loves you so much. I'm going to explain to you what God's love really is. And it is awesome, but it ain't because you're special. Kind of like the old joke, you're unique, just like everyone else.
So we go forward knowing all of our righteousness, all of our sanctification, all of our redemption arrived to us directly from the king himself. And that puts it into a different perspective. That puts it into a childlike faith. Anybody miss being a little kid when everything was just taken care of for you and you just floated along?
1. We Are Made in God's Image
In the beginning, God made man in his image. And then what happened then? Man has been making God in his own image ever since. Some call it naturalism, some call it humanism, some call it idolatry. Call it whatever you want. The real result of this spiritual inversion is a God who is about our size, looks a bit like us. And many if not most of our spiritual shortcomings come from this fundamental mistake. We mistake and start thinking of God in our human terms. We make God in our own image.
A.W. Tozer said in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, that we're left with a God then who:
- Never surprises us
- Never overwhelms us
- Never astonishes us
- Never transcends us
For a lot of people, it starts with twisting the Bible. If you trace back to where a lot of people are in error, it comes back to their twist of the Bible—ignoring parts of the Bible or outright turning God's word into something it is not or was never meant to be.
The Jefferson Bible Example
One of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, he loved the teaching of Jesus. In fact, the author of the Declaration of Independence called them the most, and I quote, "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man," unquote.
Now, to me, because I've studied a lot of the founding fathers in the Revolutionary War, Thomas Jefferson is one of the most confusing founding fathers when it comes to the actual, historical, factual, all of that regarding how he viewed and then authentically functioned within the faith and the precepts of Christianity. That's a big statement. I hope you heard it. Jefferson was a confusing dude because of the way he rolled.
See, without a doubt, Jefferson loved Jesus and his teaching. Sure, but he was also a person of the enlightenment. And whether intentionally or not, he did not allow a cognitive category for the miracles of scripture. How do we know that he didn't allow his mind for the miraculous? Miracles had to be explained away. We know that because it is very well known that Jefferson took a pair of scissors and cut out the miracles from his King James Bible. It took him two or three nights, but by the time he was done, he had cut out:
- The virgin birth
- The angels
- The resurrection
Jefferson had extracted every miracle and the result was a book titled "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth." That book is commonly known as the Jefferson Bible.
It's hard to imagine, isn't it? Bible idiots like us. I mean, it's hard for us to believe that someone would do this. Take the inspired word of God and do that. That's kind of harsh to us. We want to start to scoff. We want to scold Jefferson saying, "Hey, you can't pick and choose. You can't do that to the Bible."
Our Own "Jefferson Bibles"
But here's the truth. Most of us can't imagine taking a pair of scissors to the Bible and physically cutting out verses. But many times, just being straight up, don't we do that in our own exact way? Don't we do what Jefferson did? Don't we ignore verses we can't comprehend? We avoid passages and even stories we don't like. And many times we rationalize some verses as being too radical.
So, let's have a confession time today. Sometimes when I come to a verse I don't fully understand or maybe cuts a little too close to the bone, I like to speed right past it. Or when I find something that has really changed my life, I want to slow down, really absorb it into my soul. That's kind of how we interact with the scriptures. Not all the time, but there are times when we fall into that trap, which means we have to come back daily in keeping with repentance and let God continue to show us his word.
The end is the same. We may not take scissors and cut out sections, but at the same time, we pick and choose the truth we choose to accept. Which is why so many churches get so soft that everybody's welcome here. You can have your belief, you can have your belief, and we're not going to say anything about it cuz we love you.
You are welcome at Fresh Encounter Church. I don't care who you are, but we give you our settled truth and we stand on it and it's loving and it's eternity changing and we're not going to soften it because you have a bee in your bonnet or because you don't think that scripture was inspired by God. You want to make up some little game. You want to quote some professor who never even read the Bible. "The Bible is just written by man, so I can't trust it." Look, the facts are the facts. The Bible is the inspired word of God. And if it's not, it claims to be over a thousand times. But if it's not, then it's the most deceptive book in all of history. We should throw it away and run for our lives.
See, we pick and choose the truths we accept. We can become trapped by our own logic and our own feelings. Our lives then are limited to what things we can comprehend with our little gray cells. That puts you on the throne, does it not?
An author of the book The Wild Goose Chase said this, "We end up in a cage of our own assumptions." And the more assumptions we make, the smaller the cage becomes.
So always remember, we are made in God's image and not the other way around.
2. We Are Called to Wake Up
Verses 22-24 of our text today:
For Jews demanded a sign, 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.
— 1 Corinthians 1:22-24
When the called look at the cross and Christ crucified, they don't see a stumbling block. They don't see foolishness. Far be it. They see power. They see the power of the resurrection. They see the power that their worthless, foolish, stupid salvage pile life can be redeemed.
The Three Groups
You know, there's three groups at first glance when you look at that passage:
- The Jews
- The Greeks/Gentiles (means the same thing)
- The called
That's at first glance. But that's not entirely accurate, is it? Look more closely:
- You have the Jews who are not called
- You have the Greeks/Gentiles who are not called
- And then you have both Jews and Gentiles who are called
These are the three groups we are considering our calling to wake up found in verse 26.
Again, there are Jews who are not called. Gentiles who are not called and both Jews and Gentiles, some who are called and then respond to the sacrificial death on the cross.
So you got the Jews. Yeah, stumbling block. A messiah that dies as a criminal? Never even thought of such a thing. The Greeks and the Gentiles? A dying god, that's pure foolishness. That's totally stupid. The called? That's power. That's my God.
What Kind of Call Is This?
What kind of call is that? I've heard it described as a call that creates sight. The call gives light and the call raises from the dead. The kind of call you can read about in John 11 when Jesus called to Lazarus who had been dead in the grave four days. "Lazarus, come forth." Lazarus didn't decide to. The call raised him from the dead. Wake up.
This is an immense truth. Let me give you an analogy that I read on a Christian website years ago. And even this can be misleading and taken out of context, but it might help you. It helped me. So, if you get your head around this, especially if you've never been taught about the call of God, the mighty, effectual, irresistible, powerful, saving, awakening, life-giving call of God that saved you, if no one's ever explained it to you, try this on.
Suppose someone is asleep and you want to wake them up. What do you do? They're sound asleep. You bend over them and you say, "Wake up." And they bolt upright. Correct? Now, what are the dynamics of that moment? They're sound asleep and then they're awake. Did they hear the call and say, "Well, I'll think about that before I wake up. I'm going to decide if I want to wake up."
When God issues a call to your dead heart and says, "Wake up," you wake up. You did not make yourself a Christian, which is why you should feel so awesomely loved.
The Great Love of God
You know how I love to add additional text for context. So, let's quickly look at Ephesians 2:4-6:
But God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
— Ephesians 2:4-6
The great love. The great love. The only place the phrase "great love" like this is used in all of the New Testament is right here. If you have any spiritual love at all, you have been greatly loved. It's called regeneration. It's also identified as calling.
Now, how did this happen? Well, it could have been:
- Coming forward at a crusade
- Your dad's testimony
- Grandma sharing a Bible study with you
- Simply reading the Bible yourself
- Hearing a worship song
- Maybe a preacher on the radio
However He wanted to do it in your life, as far as the human existence goes, it still was a wake up moment. He spoke the word "wake up" or "come alive." And you suddenly:
- Stopped seeing the cross as stupid
- Stopped seeing the cross as boring
- Stopped seeing the cross as a stumbling block
You knew. You know. You knew it was what you needed and you embraced it. And you know it's true.
And now you are united in Christ. And now we are in 2025 and the times are such that we will without a doubt be in a place where our calling is sure. It is time to grow deeper. What is the reality of that? What is the reality of that for us?
3. God Has Put Us in the Place We're In—Embrace It
A.W. Tozer died in 1963 from a heart attack at the age of 63. But when he became pastor of Southside Alliance Church in Chicago during the late 20s, Tozer soon discovered his own set of problems that would challenge his time in Chicago.
Stay with me now. By the early 1940s, many were moving out of the city because of changing economy and the movement of jobs. The neighborhood surrounding the church deteriorated as both people and jobs left the area. Crime increased substantially to the point where it was unsafe to conduct Sunday evening services. And the city's infrastructure and public transportation cutbacks kept many of the people from being able to attend Southside. This is a big deal for Tozer because Tozer never owned a car.
Now, most of those things could not have been anticipated when Tozer assumed the pastorate in Chicago in 1928. But just 20 years later, everything had changed. The city he had moved to was different. And the church he was attempting to lead had become significantly different. Awesome changes he did not see coming. Incredible challenges.
The COVID-19 Parallel
So now fast forward to March 15, 2020. That was the day that everything changed for most churches in America. It did for Fresh Encounter Church as well. 2020 and 2021, the COVID time changed everything for many. And Harlem, Iowa, was no different.
I remember vividly that Tuesday, March 10th. I was meeting with the Fig Tree Media Group Boys. We were having a lunch. We'd done the red carpet screening for Colors of Character the night before. And I remember vividly talking about this new virus kind of like whatever, you know, it'll be like SARS. It'll be like H1N1. And you know, again, whatever. We were just enjoying conversation over the barbecue talking film industry stuff like we always did.
I was telling them how the night before was kind of like a stamp in the ground for me and that maybe I kind of feel called to go pastor a church and I really think I'd really like to be in rural America. We're just talking and so who knows? Right at that time I had a contract with a broadcast network that was coming up and they had extended it for 3 months. Do you know what that means? That means they like you but they're not going to keep you. So I still had three or four months to decide what I was going to do. Do we make another movie? What are we going to do? Should I go pastor somewhere? What? You know what are we going to do?
So by Friday, March 13th, 2020, most churches across the country canceled their weekend gatherings. Most thought it would be for just a week or two. We were wrong.
Now, before that Tuesday lunch date, I was following the virus news here and there, but it was not a big enough topic to even dominate our lunch conversation that day. What took 20 years to experience in Chicago had hit churches nationwide in about 20 hours.
For Fresh Encounter this time in history would also take the earthly life of the founding pastor and so many others that I know. And like so many churches across the country, it created a division that has never completely healed. Just the masked versus the unmasked, just the vaxed versus the unvaxed. That would carry division forward into schools, communities, families, and friends.
And for the last five years, we've all been trying to put COVID behind us and move forward.
Tozer's Wisdom for Today
So, back to my example this morning, A.W. Tozer. How would Tozer respond to COVID-19 and the challenges that followed? What advice would he give us if he were alive today?
Well, there's a book out there called A Cloud by Day, a Fire by Night written by a gentleman by the name of James L. Snyder. Now, Snyder based this book on a 1959 sermon series preached by Tozer. Tozer preached the sermon series. Snyder wrote this book in modern times. And I want to share with you a couple little excerpts because it gives us some insight and can do us some great good today.
Listen to the quote from Snyder's book based on Tozer's sermon series:
"We need to relax a bit. Turn away from the noise of the world and listen to the voice of God because he has everything put together. He has prepared for us a place of service and ministry and will open the necessary doors despite the obstacles and the confusion we may experience during the journey."
Do we have confusion? Check. Do we have obstacles? Check.
He continues:
"I need to quiet my heart in order to hear God's direction. This must become a daily discipline for all of us. It is too easy and convenient to trust human inclinations. We gravitate towards earthly methods. We want human understanding. As a culture, we have become addicted to devices and technology. However, those who refuse to trust in these human inclinations and devices are the ones who have their ears open to hear the voice of the Lord."
Notice he doesn't say refuse to use these devices. We all are using these devices. His advice is for those who refuse to trust in those devices. I have a major device problem as do many of you. Picture yourself throwing your phone on the counter, getting in your car, driving to the Omaha airport, flying to Phoenix for the weekend, flying home, driving back to your house without your phone. Many times I'm standing there. "Can I get a paper ticket, please? I'd like a paper ticket. My phone might die." I think we're at the point now where they're like, "I'm sorry, sir. We don't do paper tickets anymore." I'm sure that's coming. But we trust in those devices. We got to put our trust back in Jesus Christ.
So, let's celebrate where we are. That God has us here. And then we live out that verse. Contentment with godliness is great gain because the cross is power of God to us. It's not foolishness. It's not a stumbling block.
4. God Will Open the Doors
Let this be like a short reminder at the end of the message today.
Look, the last five years for any of us has been living through, at the minimum, an exhausting time at the very least. It's changed so many different lives and now we are kind of enough past it. It's enough in the rearview mirror and we're starting to try to move forward, but we still look around us and we see a world of absolute madness.
We are leading a church right now in a time of so many unknowns. And when you do lead in a time of unknowns, it can be exhausting and challenging. Which is why we need to encourage each other. Which is why when I hear people talking about other people, it's usually in a positive light. Do you know how big of a wind in my sail that is? Just as a human.
But while it can be exhausting, ministry during this time can also be exhilarating. We are living in a time of pivotal ministry change. Seriously, what we are living through right now is of possible recovery that could change the church dramatically. Not just for the short term, but forever. And it's time that pastors stand up and start talking the truth instead of sugarcoating everything.
A Clean Slate with the Lord
You got a clean slate with the Lord:
- Fill it with joy
- Fill it with love
- Fill it with participation
What an exciting time for you and I to lead and to participate in our church. So, let's lead and let's participate.
But start here. Start here. Ask God about the direction he would want you in your life and in this church. That's the starting point. You got to ask God what he would have you be and do. I'll be honest with you, some of you it might mean that he wants to take you somewhere else. This is not about building our church. This is about building the kingdom. And some of you, I believe, cuz I've talked with you, I've prayed for you, I've seen you come and go, God's calling you to a deeper place here at Fresh Encounter for his kingdom. But it's always been and always will be. You start by asking God.
In that regard, we go hard for a season and then we reassess, re-evaluate, and then move forward with intentionality. This is the end of the school year. This is the end of AWANA. We're starting the summer season. What a great time to re-evaluate. And then we go hard again after we've done re-evaluating.
Watching for Open Doors
God will open the doors, but we need to be watching for doors to open and be ready to move when they open. The point I've been trying to make for this season here in Iowa is that if you see the Lord moving, you see it, then:
- Move to be a part of it
- Assist
- Get involved
- Support
- Ask
- Listen
- Be strong enough in your faith to move forward
That's what those of us who are called and understand the power of the cross need to be about and need to do.
Then together, let's live out our lives surrendered to Jesus and with joy in the Lord and with joy alongside one another.