7/16/06 - Inaugural Sermon - 1 Cor. 2:1-5: "I Know Nothing but Christ"

I KNOW NOTHING BUT CHRIST
- The message is simple
- The message is powerful

I love first sermons. I like listening to them and I like preaching them. Because when a pastor preaches for the first time in a new place everyone is listening. Look at this, everyone is listening right now! No one is messing with their purse, no one is checking their watch, no one is looking out the window… everyone’s eyes are up here – because you want to see what I’ve got. And that’s natural, I do the same thing. When I hear a pastor preach for the first time I want to see if he knows how to speak, if he knows how to command the language, if he knows how to turn a phrase, if he knows how to captivate the audience. But I got to tell you: I know nothing but Christ.
Does that disappoint you? Do you find it boring that I know nothing but Christ? Because you’ve heard about Christ before – isn’t time for something more? Weren’t you hoping for a dynamic speaker? A pastor who was so energetic in the pulpit that he would simple draw visitors in by the way he preached? A pastor whom you could brag to your friends about? A pastor who could bring you to tears by the beauty of his words? I think we all hope for those kinds of things when we hear a pastor preach for the first time. We want to be “wowed.” But I’m not here to “wow” you. I haven’t come to you with a bag of eloquent words or an incredible amount of wisdom. And I wouldn’t call myself a “dynamic” speaker either. Because I know nothing but Christ. It’s a simple message I preach. And it’s all I’ll ever preach because I know nothing else.
And it’s to our shame when we want something more. That’s why the Davinci Code is so popular right now. Because people think there are hidden secrets waiting to be revealed! Mind opening revelations that will change the way they think about religion and faith and God himself! And we get caught up in that, don’t we? We sometimes get bored of talking about the same old Jesus, about the stuff we already know, about the things we’ve heard year in and year out. We sometimes want something new, we want something exciting, we want something different! But, my brothers and sisters, how dare we want something other than Christ.
Christ is our fortress, but we search for a castle. Christ is our rock, but we long for a mountain. Christ is our shield, but we look for an army. Why is it that we aren’t satisfied with simply hearing about Christ? Why do we constantly want something else? Why do we always think something different than Christ will be something more interesting? We are ungrateful sinners, aren’t we? The Lord gives us his clear message, his simple message to us in his word, and we get bored with it. In reality, we should thank the Lord that this message is so simple.
Christ, true God, saw that we could do nothing for our own salvation. And so he came to this earth and became true man. He lived a perfect life because we could not. He suffered hell itself so we won’t have to. He sacrificed himself on the cross in our place. And because of Christ’s work we have been given eternal life free of charge. That’s the message. That’s the simple message of Christ crucified. Simple enough for you to remember. Simple enough for me to preach. Simple enough to hear over and over again because we, as sinners, need to hear that reassuring promise of salvation over and over again. Thank the Lord for this simple message of salvation: Christ crucified for you.
Of course, this message is not only simple, but it is powerful. In fact, Paul says that it “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes!” It is the power of God! The God who created the majesty of the mountains, the infinite reaches of space, and also something as simple as your taste buds, so that you could enjoy the many flavors of his creation. God is powerful enough to create the greatest and the least, and he grants this same power to this simple message: Christ crucified for you. Christ crucified so that your sins are no more. Christ crucified so that you will not have to suffer the pains of hell. Christ crucified so that your home in Paradise is forever secured. This is the powerful message. This is the simple message. The only message I will preach. The only message I’ll ever know.
When I initially read these words of Paul while I was getting ready to start my sermon work, I was struck by how fitting they were to my life. Paul says, “I came to you in weakness and fear, and much trembling.” That’s me! I’m coming to you in weakness and fear, and much trembling. Weakness – because I don’t know anything yet! I don’t have a system to fall back on, I don’t know the Bible classes that will work the best, I don’t know all of the ins and outs of counseling different people in different situations. I come to you in weakness from the simple lack of experience! And I come to you in fear because of my weakness. But most of all, I come to you with much trembling. Not because I’m afraid, but because I am overwhelmed with the honor and responsibility that the Lord has given me. I had been a student for 21 years, and within a days time the Lord said, “Here are 80+ of my children, take care of them.” I came from a classroom in Milwaukee to this pulpit in Montrose in a month and a half. And now I am responsible to feed God’s children with the Word, to guard God’s children from his enemies, to guide God’s children to his heavenly home. I tremble at that responsibility. I tremble.
But I’m also confident. I am confident because I know nothing but Christ. That message in and of itself gives me confidence, because just like Paul, “My message and my preaching are not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.” When I am in this pulpit, I am speaking to you the very words of God. These are not my thought or my opinions or my spin on things. When these words reach your ears the Holy Spirit himself is working in your heart because Scripture says that these words are the “sword of the Spirit.” He penetrates your soul, strengthening your faith, building you up as a light to the world. I can’t do that. I can’t motivate you to be a better Christian. I can’t strengthen you faith. But God can. The Holy Spirit can. And he does. And he does that only through this simple and powerful message: Christ crucified for you.
That should give you confidence to spread the message. Because if it’s the power of God, if it’s the sword of the Spirit, what do you have to worry about? God does all the work! All you are called upon to do is to take that sword out of the sheath so the Holy Spirit can get to work! All you have to do is repeat that simple message: Christ crucified for you. Christ crucified for you. Christ crucified for you. You know it. You’ve heard it hundreds of times before. Please, share that simple message with your friends, your co-workers, your family members, so that they may hear it and believe.
I love first sermons, but I dislike them too. It’s nice that everyone is listening, but a lot of times it’s for the wrong reason. People notice hand gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, but sometimes they forget to look at Christ. My job here, my hope and prayer is that you will always see Christ in this pulpit. Despite my flaws, despite my mistakes – I pray that Christ crucified for you is vividly on display each and every week. That’s my message. That’s God’s message. I know nothing else.
Amen.