20 Years of Grace

Introduction

It was so fun to watch that video! The Lord is good! He has done wonderful things at Life Point. There are many things to remember— fun memories, friends, good feelings, and of course, buildings, bodies, and budgets. But don’t forget that Life Point is about Jesus, his grace, and that grace transforming people into his image. So, above everything else, this is a day to glorify God for how he has changed people.
And God has done a lot of that. I wish I had the stats of all the people who have been saved through our ministry. Beyond that, there is no way to quantify all the spiritual growth God has done. I’m sure Bryan could talk for hours about people God changed during the first 10 years because I know Pastor Tim and I could do the same for the last 10 years. It would be incredible to pull out membership lists and reflect on this person and that person where grace has changed them. When you start thinking that way, it’s amazing what God has done. Our story is a story of grace.
That’s where I want to focus your attention this morning. How should we remember our past? How should we think about all the pictures and memories? And most importantly, what does it mean for our future? This is not a funeral. By God’s grace, we want the next 20 years to be better than the first 20. Our text gives vital perspective for processing this day (read).

I.  Context

Paul wrote this passage to a church that was infatuated with itself, with it’s own wisdom and glory. That’s something we don’t want to imitate. This is not a day to pat ourselves on the back.
But Corinth was very Greek. People were obsessed with philosophy and wisdom. They gloried in their intellect, and they loved smooth-talking rhetoricians who sounded smart and made them look smart for listening.
Some Christians wanted to conform the gospel and their gospel presentation to Corinthian values. They wanted respect, and they thought small compromises could gain respect and expand their impact. We face the same temptation. We get nervous that parts of our faith will drive people away, and we think we can reach more people if we massage the message a little.
But Paul retorts that God is not interested in finding common ground with rebellion and pride. Quite the opposite, he has designed the gospel and his plan for building the church to expose our rebellion and pride and to defy human expectation so that he receives all the glory.
And it works. The gospel has worked at Life Point. We are a story of grace not human glory. So, let’s make this day about obeying Paul’s conclusion in v. 31, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” This passage offers 2 reasons.

II.  The gospel defies worldly wisdom (vv. 18–25).

Notice the contrast in v. 18 because it drives vv. 19–25 (read). Think about the foolishness of the cross, and by extension, the foolishness of all God has called us to do as a church.
The Foolishness of the Cross: Verses 22–23 acknowledge how crazy it seemed to preach the cross in Corinth. “The Jews ask for signs.” The Jews constantly asked Jesus for the signs of Messiah they expected. They wanted a king who put on a worldly show. And the Greeks “search for wisdom.” They loved to hear new things if they fit their worldview and tickled their ears.
But a crucified Messiah was absurd to both. Gordon Fee says to the Jews, “Messiah meant power, splendor, triumph; crucifixion meant weakness, humiliation, defeat.” A crucified Messiah was absurd, a nonstarter. And the Greeks were obsessed with power, wisdom, and glory. So, to them any god who gets himself killed is no god at all.
So, some in the church were embarrassed by this message. “We’ve really got to keep this crucifixion thing under wraps, or we’re going to look crazy, and no one will get saved.” Preaching the cross seemed like a ticket to disaster.
Consider our story. The Brocks were kids when they dropped into Apple Valley. They didn’t bring along any circus acts, a really cool multi-media experience, or even some cool soundtracks. They set up chairs in a school room, and they sang old songs. Then Bryan preached long sermons built on the same message the Corinthians mocked 2,000 years ago.
God has since blessed us with a beautiful building and few other nice things.  But what we do on a weekly basis is still nuts. People in Apple Valley socialize by going to bars, and if they want to be entertained, they go to a concert or relax in a Lazy Boy at Cinemark with bucket of popcorn. Both are a full-sensory experience.
In comparison, we’re still corny and old-fashioned. We sing like we’re in a children’s program, and you listen to me talk for 45 minutes. And the worst part is that we expect you to fellowship like one of those dreaded family reunions. So, why did people respond 20 years ago, and why is this building full today?
The Power of God: Verse 18 says it is because, “to us who are being saved (the word of the cross) is the power of God.” Verses 20–21 illustrate this by picturing a duel of sorts. On one side are the wise (Greeks), the scribe (Jews), and any sort of smooth-talking worldly debater. And on the other side is a plain-Jane Christian sharing the Romans Road.
He’s talking about sin, wrath, judgment, brutal death on a cross, and repentance. It shouldn’t work, but it does. God has changed many lives here by simply sharing the gospel. I love how v. 21 explains it (read). Sinners want a message that tells them how wonderful they are and fits their agenda. But pumping their ego only drives them further from God. So, the gospel does the opposite. It brings a sinner to the end of himself, so he can see the beauty of God. And it is the sweetest experience of his life. God saves those who believe.
It works because the gospel is not just great news. The power and wisdom of God stand behind it (vv. 24–25). Life Point is not a story of human ability and achievement. Our story is a story of grace. Christian, God changed your life “through the foolishness of the message preached (the gospel).” God has saved many others through his word, and he has developed an unquantifiable amount of holiness and growth. All of it is grace.
So, remember what the gospel has done. Let’s glorify the grace of God. And let’s never stop preaching the gospel or doing everything else Jesus commanded. It doesn’t matter how our community evolves. “The foolishness of God (will always be) wiser than men, and the weakness of God (will always be) stronger than men.” If we ever stray, I pray God yanks us back or shuts us down. So, glorify the Lord today because the gospel defies worldly expectations, and Life Point is a living testimony to that fact. A 2nd reason is…

III.  The gospel pursues foolish people (vv. 26–31).

Verses 18–25 confronted the Corinthians infatuation with worldly wisdom. Now, vv. 26–31 confront their infatuation with themselves (read). Again, the Corinthians craved the admiration of Corinth’s elites. So, Christians wanted to tailor their ministry to appeal to Corinth’s finest.
But Paul replies by reminding them of their own testimony because it defies their strategy. In particular, God’s call in v. 26 is an effective, sovereign call. So, who did God pursue, who did God choose at Corinth? The answer (v. 26) is “not many wise…” The Christians thought these were the people to target, but God’s own choice demonstrated they were wrong.
Notice that Paul says, “not many,” so some elites had been saved. But the church’s testimony demonstrated that God valued something else (vv. 27–28). All those descriptions are talking about the believers at Corinth. From the world’s perspective, they were “foolish,” “weak,” “base,” and “despised.”
That’s not how they liked to perceive themselves, but it was true. Many were slaves, uneducated, and poor. So, if they took an honest look in the mirror, they wouldn’t come away thinking, “Yeah, of course God would choose me. He needed me, and he needed my gifts.”
No, God chose the humble, v. 29 says, “So that no man may boast before God.” God is not looking to glorify men because that doesn’t do anyone any good. No, he chooses the weak to magnify his grace because the greatest good any man can know is to see the glory of God.
Something I love about Life Point is that we have always been a church of regular, humble people who are saved by the grace of God. Sure, God has brought a few highly gifted people through our church.
But we’ve never been a wealthy church. We’ve never been full of doctors and lawyers and CEOs. And a massive portion of our church is either first-generation Christians, or they come from broken church backgrounds. That means a lot of you have skeletons in your closet, lots of baggage, and need lots of maturing. Life Point has always been a church of ordinary people.
That’s great because we serve an extraordinary God, and our weakness focuses all the glory on God and his grace. For the most part, no one is going to look across this room and think, “Wow, look at those amazing people. They grew up in ideal families, going to ideal churches. They’ve had their act together since they were 3. What an amazing group.
No, when you hear most of the testimonies in this room, you can only say with v. 30, “Christ Jesus must be their wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” Life Point is a story of grace, not human glory. So, how should we respond to God’s grace in this text and in our church? 1st…

IV.  Application

Boast in the Lord. All of us like to boast in ourselves. “I’m awesome.” “Look at what I did.” “Look at what we built.” It’s not good, so it is good when God humbles you. Don’t resist it; embrace it because you need to see God’s grace more clearly. And it is good that God has put Life Point through some major challenges because we must remember that we are not a story of human achievement but a story of grace.
So, we should spend this day looking back with fondness to all the good things. God has used some gifted people. We have a beautiful building and no debt. We have some awesome memories. We’re not a stats church, but if we were, we could put up some impressive numbers.
But today is not about how awesome Life Point is or how awesome anyone among us. No, God forbids us from boasting before God. Rather, God commands us, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
So, boast in God today. Don’t just remember great people and great times; see all of it as a gift of God’s grace. We can give thanks for buildings, budgets, and bodies, but let’s especially boast in how the gospel is changing lives because God’s most important business is creating worshippers who reflect his glory and grace. Boast in God today. The 2nd major application is…
Preach the gospel expectantly. Life Point has changed a lot in the past 20 years but so has our culture and our politics. It’s very easy to look at all the cultural and political changes of the past 20 years and worry about the future. Maybe we just need to hunker down and wait for Jesus.
Or we have had times, and I’m sure they will come again where fruit bearing slows. We’ll be tempted to panic and compromise. But whatever may come, remember that for the last 20 years at Life Point and for the past 2,000 years of church history, God has been steadily building his church through the foolishness of preaching the gospel.
So, let’s never stray from keeping the main thing the main thing. “We preach Christ crucified.” If some stumble, or others mock it as foolish, who cares. “We preach Christ crucified” because it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.
Children and teen workers, remember that the gospel is your superpower. Preach Christ. When you are at work tomorrow, don’t spend your day apologizing for your faith and trying to win people to yourself. Preach Christ. When a brother in Christ is struggling, preach Christ. Parents, keep the gospel at the center of your home. The gospel is your children’s only hope.
The gospel has always been at the center of Life Point. Our mission is to glorify God by pointing the way to new life in Christ and abundant life through Christ. Let’s keep it that way because the gospel is as powerful today as ever. God is not done working at Life Point. If the Lord tarries, he is just getting started. So, as you remember what God has done, anticipate what he has in store. Boast in the Lord and preach the gospel.