Let s read the Apostle Paul s words to fellow

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1 Cross-Eyed Preaching Message 4 in Cross-Eyed Christianity Sermon Series 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 I heard about a pastor who was shaking hands with people on the way out of church one Sunday morning when a little boy asked him what was the highest number he had ever counted to. The pastor said, I don t know. What s your highest number? The boy replied without missing a beat, 5,372. The pastor chuckled and asked the boy, Why did you stop at that number? And the boy said with all seriousness, The sermon was over. We preachers might be surprised what goes on in people s minds while we preach, huh? Still, I believe that the role of preacher is a high and holy calling. But, that being said, not all preaching is faithful and true. And I m not speaking so much at this point about doctrinal error and such. I ve spoken on that on other occasions. I m talking about preaching that is unfaithful because it is not true to the whole counsel of God revealed in the pages of Scripture. And some unfaithful preaching is unfaithful because it never serves up the meat of the Word. At best it s little more than bouillon preaching. You know what bouillon is, right? Maybe you use bouillon cubes in your cooking? Bouillon provides some flavor but not much nutrition. Some sermons I ve heard (and to be honestly transparent and transparently honest, some sermons I ve preached) have biblical taste without ever presenting biblical truth. Herein may very well be the difference between a sermon and a message. Oswald J. Smith said, The world does not need sermons; it needs a message. You can go to seminary and learn how to preach sermons, but you will have to go to God to get messages. I m preaching today from the 2 nd chapter of the NT book called 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 2, if you want to go ahead and be finding your way there in your copy of God s Word. I m calling this message Cross-Eyed Preaching. It s the fourth message in a 7-part sermon series entitled, Cross-Eyed Christianity. What does it mean to view life and faith, everything and everybody through the lens of the Cross? Specifically today, what does it mean to preach in the shadow of the Cross what does it mean for the Cross to be the interpretive guide in our preaching? Let s read the Apostle Paul s words to fellow believers in Corinth. 1 CORINTHIANS 2:1 5

2 1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. According to Acts 18:1, we learn that Paul traveled to Corinth for the first time from Athens. Verse 11 of that same chapter tells us that he stayed in Corinth for a year-and-a-half teaching the Word of God among [the Corinthians]. And verse 8 says, Many of the Corinthians, when they heard [the Gospel through Paul], believed and were baptized. Maybe you ve never thought about it this way, but Paul was a Cross-eyed preacher he vowed to preach nothing except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Now some hear that and wonder if that means what it says did Paul really preach nothing but Christ and the Cross? Those who suppose Paul was either exaggerating or just really limited in his preaching, I believe, misunderstand the message of the Bible. The Bible isn t 66 different stories or thousands of moral lessons on hundreds of subjects. The Bible is one story with God as its Author & Lead Character and with the Cross as its centerpiece. Everything in the OT is pointing ahead to Jesus Christ, and Him crucified and everything in the NT is pointing back to Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. So, really the only biblical preaching is Cross-Eyed Preaching! And the only biblical preacher is the Cross-eyed preacher! Let s talk for a few moments about the Crosseyed preacher and Cross-Eyed Preaching. Paul gives us an excellent example to go by. Before we look at what Cross-Eyed Preaching is, Paul helps us to understand what it is not. Notice what he wrote in verse 1: When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom and then verses 3-4: I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom. Philosophers of Paul s day depended on their persuasive speaking skills and laser-sharp logic to

3 gain followers. It s easy to imagine Paul as a magnetic, fascinating preacher always holding everyone on the edge of their seats. But that s not how Paul viewed his own preaching. No preacher, of course, should believe himself to be a great preacher else he ll begin to believe his own press clippings and every compliment people pay him on the way out of church on Sundays. When that happens, he ll find it nearly impossible to lift high the name of Jesus for his own pride. Yet I don t get the impression that Paul was practicing some false humility when he described his own preaching. He was essentially saying, I was the exact opposite of the philosophers, and the likelihood of you believing in the message I preached because of my good looks or my convincing arguments were slim to none! So, Cross-Eyed Preaching is not about the preacher or his ability to sway people to his side. Cross-Eyed Preaching is not about the latest fad or secret teaching. Listen, if a preacher ever stands up and claims to be the first to say something, you can rest assured that what he has to say is not worth hearing. If you ever hear a preacher claim to have discovered a mystical key that unlocks mysteries in the Bible, walk away. Cross-Eyed Preaching is not about the preacher, and Cross-eyed preachers don t try to steal the spotlight from Christ. Then what is Cross-Eyed Preaching? Three characteristics of Cross-Eyed Preaching : First, Cross-Eyed Preaching proclaims the testimony of God Verse 1, And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. Biblical preaching is saying what God has said nothing more and nothing less. What has God revealed about Himself? That is our message! That is the Bible. That s why preaching the Bible is not an option; it s our only source of authority! Preacher, you said, Biblical preaching is saying what God has said nothing more and nothing less. Shouldn t that mean, then, that you just get up and read the Bible without any commentary, and certainly without any stories or jokes? That s actually a fabulous question. In discerning the truth of Scripture, I ask a series of questions that eventually find their way into my sermons: What does it say? That s observation.

4 What does it mean? That s interpretation. How do I respond? That s application. And in the preaching event, an illustration is like a window that allows light to shine into the room. So, going through this process should never lead to adding to or taking away from the Scripture but to a better understanding and application of the Bible! Paul wrote to his protégé Timothy shortly before his own death to preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2), this after telling him in the previous chapter that All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). Cross-Eyed Preaching proclaims the testimony of God. Second, Cross-Eyed Preaching centers on the Cross. Verse 2, For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Obviously by referencing Jesus crucifixion, Paul means the whole Gospel event the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus. He said something similar just a few verses back, in chapter 1: We preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness (23). It s not our job to see to it that the Gospel is palatable; it is our job to see to it that it is proclaimed! And we must accept that just as the message of the Cross was a stumbling-block to 1 st - century Jews and foolishness to 1 st -century Gentiles, unbelievers today often scoff at the biblical message of Jesus. Yet, it is power of God for salvation to everyone who believes! Larry McMurtry, known for his book Lonesome Dove, wrote another book about roads the many roads he had driven on and the hundreds of miles he had explored across America. He ends his recollection at the place where he grew up in east Texas, and he recalls that his father had seldom gone much farther than the dusty roads near his dirt farm. Comparing his own travels to his father's localized life, McMurtry admits, I have looked at many places quickly. My father looked at one place deeply. May I suggest to you that there is great value in looking at the Cross deeply from cover to cover, seeing God s plan and purpose of redemption, and seeing it deeply? There is much that we could scan quickly in the Bible, but the Cross deserves our deep and intentional concentration. And to gloss over the Cross in our preaching is to miss the Message of the Bible and to actually neglect the Gospel! Cross-Eyed Preaching centers on the Cross.

5 Finally (last but not least, as they say), Cross- Eyed Preaching demonstrates Holy Spirit power. Verses 4-5, My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. E.M. Bounds said years ago, Never rely on the cleverness of the exposition, but on the Holy Spirit. We preachers can become so infatuated with our alliteration and homiletical structure that we forget where the real power in preaching comes from! Don t misunderstand what I m saying. I m not talking about emotionalism or fanaticism. I m not talking about preaching about the Holy Spirit as a mere intellectual, theological exercise. I m talking about surrendering to God s authority in our preaching and allowing God s Spirit to speak and move through His Word. The Gospel sounds crazy without the Holy Spirit shedding light on it. But with Holy Spirit illumination, the Gospel truly is Good News! Nearly 20 years ago as I was pastoring Steep Hollow Baptist Church in Poplarville, MS, I preached a sermon one Sunday night that, I have to now admit, was a glowing example of what Bounds called rely[ing] on the cleverness of exposition instead of the Holy Spirit [tell story of sermon and Beth s assessment] Cross-Eyed Preaching demonstrates Holy Spirit power. Conclusion: Let me close this message by saying that you should expect Cross-Eyed Preaching anytime the Word is preached, but especially here at Hilldale And let me also say that preaching is a two-way street. If God wants His Word preached, he equally wants His Word heard and obeyed. One of our problems today is that we want good preaching but more as a form of religious entertainment. In fact, I talk sometimes about the entertainment of preaching. Most church folk listen to sermons no differently than they watch a program or a ballgame on television, enjoyable while it lasts but over when it s over. That s not what God wants from the preaching event! Repent of the entertainment of preaching? Repent of despising the preaching of the Word? Surrender to the message of the Word?