Paul shares these words with the Christians at the local church in Corinth , “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18)

Here Paul in great simplicity is laying the foundational words needed to highlight their awareness of their lack and great need for repentance and restoration. You know, words really do matter. Unless we see our need for God, He can never be God to us. He can never give us the riches we need to be made whole and complete. Our receiving from God comes not by our claiming and our taking, but from our heart-felt lowly confession of our need for Him. How foolish many denominations and churches are in their false teaching of being able to claim or take things from God. How can we take heaven by violence and force? In Matthew 11:12, Jesus, who was meek and lowly, was teaching us violent people take things by force and that the kingdom of heaven suffers because of these violent people and their ways, not we are to be violent and take the things of heaven by force. We cannot claim or take nothing from God. This false doctrinal thinking only reveals a heart and life that has never been seriously dealt with by God, one who has never endured the judgments and dealings of God in their life. It reflects a selfish and self-centered person who wants through religion and presumption to get all they can from God, but not so in God. It is our understanding and honest confession of our need for God that moves Him to supply our every need. Please notice it is not our need that moves God on our behalf, but our confession of our need for Him. I wonder why we are always trying to get all we can from God? Is not what He has for us today enough? Do we have to constantly keep telling God what He has to give us? Doesn’t God already know what we need? We seem to want God’s riches just to have them, but God does not operate that way. God gives us His riches when we need them. There seems to be a contest within the Body of Christ to see who can get the most riches, biggest ministry, and greatest power from God. Well, in God the one with the most riches and power does not win. In God the one who strives lawfully wins (2 Timothy 2:5), the one who does it according to God’s will and the way God has established it to be done. Friend, we get God’s riches through our obedience to Him and enduring His dealing and judgments in our lives. You know we even twist scriptures to support this desire of ours for more of God’s riches. In Philippians we read, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) There is no “s” on the word “need.” The word is “need” not needs. We need to be content with the riches God has for us today. And of course our greatest “need” is more of Him in our lives. If we get this “need” satisfied all other needs will pale in importance. God has given us so much and yet what have we done with all that God has already given us? What will we do if He gives us more? Sadly, the truth in Paul’s words ring loud and true in many churches today, “lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.” Because of our selfishness and arrogant ways we have made the cross of Christ to be of no effect in the lives of many lost in the world today. We have refused to allow God to work in our lives. We have rejected God’s dealings and judgments, thus not becoming the work of God (Ephesians 2:10 ) disqualifying ourselves for service by Him.

Brethren, there is only one message in the Bible and that is the love of God towards man through the cross of Christ Jesus. Paul shares this very truth in verse 18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) The power of God is found in the message of the cross and contained in this message is the life of God unto salvation. The only message of the Bible is the message of the cross, there is no other message. The message of death to our self-life on our cross of discipline and obedience, the cross Paul tells us we must die daily on (1 Corinthians 9:27 ). Our cross that Jesus commands us to “take up” if we desire to come after or follow Him (Mark 8:34 ). Where are we going to follow Jesus? Doing good works? Heaven? Oh no my friend, we are following Jesus to the same place His Father led Him, to our Calvary to die so that we too like Jesus may live in the resurrection life of God in great power. We are following Jesus in death. God’s power is found in the cross of Christ Jesus. In Mark 8:35 we read the real proof of taking up the cross of Christ in our lives, “For whoever desires to save his life will loses it, but whoever losses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:35 ) Not too many Christians want to lose their life, they want to live and get all they can from God. Sadly this too is why the cross has been made of no effect today. They want to live adding to themselves much gain, but God does not operate like this. God measures our gain by what we lose. God measures our gain in Him by how much of our life we can lose. At the same measure, no more no less, we lose our life we shall gain in God. How can God use us if He cannot get us to willfully give up, our life, the most precious thing to us?

I will be honest I am really tired of hearing evangelists, preachers, and teachers telling me about all of the wonderful riches God has for me and what my destiny in God is. All I have to do is go to their Camp Meeting, Mega-fest, or New Vine Conference and take or claim them by faith and they will be mine. Well, this is false teaching. It is our salvation that is imparted to us through faith, but the other riches we get from God are given (not claimed or taken) to us through a qualification process of being approved by God. We will never get anything from God unless we first meet the conditions He has established. And the process for getting from God always begins with losing our life first. Time and time again as we come to a place of need, we must lose our life so that we may be able to take up His life. It is in this taking up of His life our need is met. We must die to our selfish desires and ways so that we may be able to take up His resurrection life. Jesus said, “I have come that they many have life . . .” (John 10:10 ) He came so that we might be able to take up His life so that we might be able to lay our life down. Jesus did not come so that we will be able to get all of the spiritual things we want from His Father. Nor did Jesus come so that we will be able to live a life of ease driving big cars, living in bigger houses, and getting all of the “stuff” of this age. He came so that we might be able to come into the resurrection life of God. I am really tired of hearing message after message that has nothing to do with the truths in the Bible. Tired of hearing evangelists, preachers, and teachers, “ who comes preaching another Jesus whom we have not preached or if you have receive a different spirit which you have not received or a different gospel . . .“ (2 Corinthians 11:4) The word “gospel” here means message. The message is the gospel, the death burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus. The spiritual principle still is death before glorification it has not changed. I am really tried of evangelists, preachers, and teachers coming with a different message. It is the message of the cross and no other that has the power of God. But sadly today just like the Church at Corinth the messages of the cross is considered foolishness and we seldom hear it. Sadly it is not popular. Why not? It does not fill offering plates and seats in church. It does not make us feel good it brings us to our knees. It is not the mainstream message we hear most, if not all, evangelists, preachers, and teachers broadcast around the world on TV today. But when all is said and done that does not change the fact, that ONLY the message of the cross is, “the power of God.”