Insight for Living

Bill Meyer: Most of us know what it feels like to drift. We don't intend to, but somewhere along the way, pride moves in, dependence on God moves out, and before long, we're running on empty. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll concludes a three-day message with application that you'll want to deploy in your daily walk with God. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, the Apostle Paul described a remedy for the drift we all experience. Three anchors that will keep believers on course for a lifetime. Chuck titled his message "The Cross We Proclaim."

Chuck Swindoll: Let me tell you something, folks. When you get the cross in the right perspective, everything comes together. Everything comes together. When you operate in the flesh, you have not come to grips with the message of the cross.

Verse 18 begins a series of statements this Apostle made regarding the message of the cross which we proclaim, which he proclaimed. "The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing." And then he says, "but to us who are being saved, why it is the very power of God."

Verse 22: "the Jews ask for miracles," the word signs is the idea of miracles. "And the Greeks search for wisdom." We're looking for those rhetorical comments, those eloquent words, the things that impress.

But I love this, verse 23. Paul says, "but we," who by the way was an incredible intellectual, studied under Gamaliel, Pharisee of the Pharisees, he was the up-and-coming chief Pharisee, brilliant Jewish mind. And then came the road to Damascus where he was converted. And as a result, he started running in the right direction. And as a result, verse 23, he preaches Christ crucified. We're back to the cross.

"We preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block, to the Gentiles foolishness. But to those who are the called, Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, Christ the wisdom of God." Why? Because 25 says, "the foolishness of God is wiser than men. The weakness of God stronger than men."

Now I love it when we get to verse 26. He says, "consider your calling, brethren." We want to look at an opposite group. Look around. There were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. Didn't say any, said not many. Meaning what? Well, let's put it this way. This congregation is not made up of the brightest and the best in the world's eyes.

I got the idea that it would be helpful for us to realize that we represent in the world's eyes that which is foolish, that which is weak, that which is base and that which is despised. Those aren't my words, they're all found in 27 and 28. "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. And the weak things of the world to shame the things that are strong, the base things of the world, the despised, things that are not to nullify things that are."

He does all these things, verse 29, "so that no one may boast before God." The cross levels all of us. Not many cultured, not many mighty, by that it means powerful and prestigious and impressive. Not many noble. You run in the wrong direction when you boast. If you want to toot your own horn, blow a trumpet for God. Nobody else cares. Get off your high horse. You're just folks. You're just wrapped up in the cross.

And when you focus on that, it is remarkable what a filter system it'll give you and how to read current events. How to see life as it really is. You'll be so unimpressed because you don't hang around people to be impressed. You hang around folks with the hope of communicating and living out the truth and the truth sets us free from all that other pizzazz.

Now how about Paul, since we've been going on and on about how important this is? How about Paul? Let's ask him, give us your testimony. All right. Verse 1, chapter 2. Here's my testimony. Here's the honest truth coming from the man who was running in the right direction. "When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom proclaiming to you the testimony of God. I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

I take my time here because I want it to really sink in. Nothing except Jesus Christ. I wasn't interested in your salary. I wasn't interested in your pedigree. I wanted to know, however, how you were doing with the cross. Do you really know Jesus? Is He really your Savior? I determined to know nothing but that.

Well, what was Paul like when he was there? He tells us in the next two verses. "I was with you in weakness, in fear, in much trembling." And he says, "I was not all that impressive. My preaching and my message were not in persuasive words of wisdom but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power." Oh yeah. You see, when you are around individuals like this, you know they have a lot more behind the counter than they ever put on display. You know there is depth as well as breadth. Paul says, "I didn't come to grow up a crowd, I came to deliver the truth and my words were not that persuasive."

If you are among the ranks of the young and up-and-coming preachers in the making, hear that message well. If you're taking courses from those who are trying to get you to look pretty slick, you got the wrong course and the wrong teacher. Your job is to hide behind that cross and declare it forcefully and courageously and consistently so that no one will boast before God. By doing this, he tells you why you do this, verse 30, "You are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption so that just as it is written, let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

J.B. Lightfoot writes, "He spoke in a plain simple language as became a witness." His reason, verse 5, "so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God." He never forgot the truth of God's grace in his life. Let's stay here for just a moment and let me add a word or so about the role of humility mixed with confidence. Please don't read into this that Paul is lacking in confidence in God's truth or that his humility was any sign of lack of courage or inability to deliver. Authority is not incompatible with humility. Let me say that again. Authority is not incompatible with humility. They can go together if you're running in the right direction.

G.K. Chesterton once penned, you'll have to think now to follow this. He once penned some wise words about what he called the dislocation of humility. "What we suffer from today," he wrote, "is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition and settled upon the organ of conviction where it was never meant to be. A person was meant to be doubtful about himself but undoubting about the truth. This has been exactly reversed. We're on the road to producing a race of people too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table. Humble and self-forgetting we must be always, but diffident and apologetic about the gospel? Never. Never."

My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom. What you found in me was a man who didn't call attention to himself. You didn't leave impressed with Paul when you heard him teach in Corinth. What you saw was a living proof of the Spirit's power. In fact, some of it must have been a conundrum. All of this great truth coming from this rather unimpressive individual. Why would it be like that? Why? Why did He do that? Verse 5, "so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God." We're back to the cross.

The purpose of it all was that when people got a hold of truths delivered by the Apostle Paul, they connected with the Spirit of power and they ran in the right direction. For much of my life, I have loved the statement made by John Allen, one of the saints of the Salvation Army ministry who at the time of death made this simple statement, "I deserve to be damned, I deserve to be in hell, but God interfered. God interfered." That man ran in the right direction. Right way, John Allen. Right way, Paul.

Now then, I have three things I close with that I'd like you to write down somewhere. If you have the outline, you could use that, maybe an open page in your Bible. These are three statements I'd like you to take to your grave. I'd like you to repeat them, I'd like you to teach them to your kids, I'd like you to remind your grandkids of them, I'd like you to model them. More important than what I would like, I would encourage you to realize what God wants. If you want to keep running in the right direction, these three simple things we should never forget will help.

Number one, remember the pit. Remember the pit. The prophet puts it this way, "remember the pit from which you were dug." Remember it. Oh, it may have been a big city, it may have been a slick city, it may have been Las Vegas or Los Angeles, maybe Chicago or Boston or Dallas or Oklahoma City or Miami or Atlanta. It may have been a big city, but you're from a pit. Your nature, your drive, your old self, it's a pit. Remember the pit.

We are not influential or famous, we have not set a lot of records, we have not found some miracle cure, nobody in this church has. We have certainly not come from powerhouse backgrounds. Are you kidding? We're all amazed that anybody listens when we talk. I'm surprised anybody reads anything I write. I'm amazed folks stay through a whole sermon. Not saying they stay awake, but they stay through a whole sermon.

You know why? Because I never forget the pit. When you fail to remember the pit, you'll run in the wrong direction. You and your putter down because you'll start thinking you're something on a stick. You'll forget you're catfish. And you'll forget that if the enemy had his way, he'd drag you down just to where he's going. And if that doesn't do it for you, just look at the pit of your life.

How'd you like for a whole display of your past ten years to be put on a screen? Oh, don't even go any further. That's enough for you to get the message. You know why? Because there's a lot of pit there. There's a lot of mess, a lot of sin, a lot of failure, a lot of depravity. A lot of explosions of temper perhaps, a lot of wrong decisions. There's a lot of sin in all our lives, a lot of mess. Remember the pit. But by the grace of God and the cross, you're rescued. Remember the pit.

Second, refuse the praise. Refuse the praise. Few things are a greater turnoff in life than conceit. An arrogant Christian is bad news for the body of Christ and the world at large. There's no place for that. I don't care how popular you've gotten.

Years ago I was asked to be a part of a television program that was done in a panel and they invited several of us. One of us a pastor, that's me, and another came as a teacher, and another came who was an administrator at a school, happened to be a president of a little school, and the other one was in the media, a Christian in media. We were all a part of the panel of this program and the man who was putting it all together said to two of us, "By the way, would you mind going to the airport and picking up a man who's going to join our panel? He is Dr. So-and-so." And I said, "Okay, good. I don't know him, but I'll be glad to go." And I said, "Can you tell me what he looks like?" He said, "Oh, you'll know him."

So we knew him. He got off, had a hat on, had a tight tie, starch shirt, real stern face like "Where's the car?" And I walked up, I said, "Do you happen to be So-and-so?" "Dr. So-and-so." "Oh, yes, Dr. So-and-so." I said, "I thought maybe you were, you kind of look like the president of a school." He said, "Here are my bags." Oh, okay.

So Frank picked up that bag and I picked up this bag and we're walking along with Dr. So-and-so. He said, "Tell me, what was your name?" And I told him. He said, "Tell me, what does the president look like?" I wanted to say a jerk. You look like a jerk. You sound like a jerk. He was a jerk. What on earth happened to that man? He forgot the pit. He's spent too much time in front of a mirror.

Can you believe it? In the middle of the night, somebody from our group ordered beer and pretzels and had them sent to his room. Who would do something like that? Who would ever do something like that? To Dr. Jerk, Dr. Whatever. When you fail to refuse the praise, you're running in a wrong direction. Wrong way, Christian. Wrong way, Christian. You look like a jerk. You're a bad advertisement for Christ. Nobody's impressed. You're a turnoff.

I tell the guys at the seminary, keep your television cameras out of your church. You're not there for the world, you minister to your flock. Cameras are getting in your way. Furthermore, you're not that good. People in front of cameras are good in front of cameras and those of us who are hiding behind the cross look dumb in the eyes of the camera. We're here to deliver the goods and then get out of the way.

You could hear a pin drop when I said that. It was like... You know why? Because we're so enamored of the entertainment world that preaching has become entertaining. And feeding you from the Scriptures is that's what dinosaurs do. Please, remember the pit, refuse the praise.

Here's the third one. Rely on the power. Rely on the power. Rely on the power. I can't tell you how low I was when I woke up this morning about a number of things. I would love to have been a thousand miles away. Head was bursting, I don't know why, wasn't a hangover. I'd been with Cynthia the night before, so you can be sure of that, it wasn't a hangover. It I don't know, pressure, whatever, disappointment, discouragement. And you probably think, well, he never goes through that. I go through that a lot.

Mondays are terrible days for me. I always think through what I said on Sunday and I always think, why in the world did anybody stay, listen to that? Then I turn to the power. Oh God, somebody's got to be there for that first and second service in a little while and I'm your man. So if you want to say things through me, I'd be very grateful, but if you don't, I haven't got anything to say. And He's done it again.

Remember the words of Jesus, John 15:5, "Apart from me you can do nothing. Apart from me you can do nothing." Say that with me. "Apart from me you can do nothing." Change it to "I". Here we go. "Apart from Him, I can do nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing. I will continually run in the wrong direction. I will continually score for the wrong side. I'll continually operate in the flesh because that's the kind of nature I have until I shift into His power and I say, Lord, it's your message, it's not mine. It's your book, I didn't write it. It's your truth, I couldn't come up with anything nearly that good. It's your gift and I'm in your hands. It's about You, Lord. Please do it. And I'm available. Thank you for changing me."

I love this little story. John Hutton used to tell a story with gusto. John Hutton, a man who had been a reprobate and an alcoholic was captured for Christ, captured by Christ. His workmates used to try to shake him and say, "Surely a sensible man like you cannot believe in all those miracles the Bible talks about. You cannot, for instance, believe that this Jesus of yours turned water into wine. Come on." "Whether He turned water into wine or not," said the man, "I don't know. But I know in my own house, I saw Him turn liquor into furniture."

In my house, I saw a man that almost ruined his marriage get his life turned around. And for ten years, she had every reason in the world to walk out on me and she didn't. I saw a father who could have ruined the lives of his children. I saw a preoccupied dad who traveled too much, was too busy. And it dawned on me one day, if I don't get a hold of this, I'm going to be another statistic. Oh God, I'm yours. You got all the power, I have none of it. Tackle me.

I want you to bow your heads and I want you to close your eyes. I know what time it is, so things are under control. I want you to sit there. The only reason you're running in a wrong direction is either you don't know Jesus, and that's a very real probability for you running in the wrong direction. Don't think that's a message given to somebody else, it's you I'm talking to. Either you don't know Jesus or you don't care that you're operating in the flesh.

You're a Christian and you're a jerk and you're making a mess of the message in the minds of people who have been watching, wondering how on earth you could call yourself a Christian. Some of them live in your own home. So I suggest you get with it. Trust in the Savior right now. Turn your life over to Him. Get to the foot of the cross as fast as your little feet will carry you and say, Lord Jesus Christ, I am coming to you from the pit.

If you don't rescue me, I'm sunk. I'm hellbound. I'm lost. Take me, I'm yours. Take me. I take your Son. Please, give me your righteousness. I take it now. Or if you're a carnal Christian, it's a great time for you this afternoon to look through the journal of your life and find the spot when you missed the mark and started going in a wrong direction and turn around.

Otherwise there'll be an incident along the way that's going to tackle you and you'll realize what a mess you've made, not only of your life but of others. If we confess our sins, believers, if we confess our sins, that is agree with God about them, He is righteous and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If you need help and I imagine most of you would to turn the journey around, there are people who are so carefully trained, have such compassion, such wisdom, better counselors than I ever will be, who are available following every one of our worship services. Or you may simply say, I'm going to take care of this myself, then you need to write us and say, let me tell you the decision I've made. Sign your name, give us a number, we'll contact you. We'll help you. We will never shame you. We will help you. We'll be grateful for you.

Father, thank you for the cross. Thank you for the cross. Help us to remember the pit from which we've been dug. Enable us to refuse the praise just deliberately and consistently. Restore us, Lord, as we rely on your power. In Jesus' dear name, I pray. And everybody said, Amen.

Bill Meyer: Remember the pit, refuse the praise, rely on the power. Three simple anchors, but they have the potential to redirect your entire life. Chuck Swindoll has walked us through one of Paul's most searching passages, and the invitation is clear: stop running in the wrong direction and get back to the cross.

If these three days of teaching have stirred something in you, we want to help you go deeper. Reach out to us here at Insight for Living and let us send you the brand-new booklet Chuck wrote for this message. It's called "The Cross We Proclaim." As Chuck told his story today, perhaps you identified with John Allen. John's life was littered with failures. He was a man headed in the wrong direction at full speed until God interfered. That's the phrase Chuck quoted today, and it may be the most honest description of grace that any of us will ever hear.

If today's program reminded you why the cross changes everything, Chuck's brand-new booklet, "The Cross We Proclaim," was written for you. And you may have noticed, today is one of those rare occasions when the message here on Insight for Living and our featured resource are one and the same. The booklet comes with our thanks when you send a contribution of any amount.

You can call us at 800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org/donate. You can also write to us at Insight for Living, Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas, 75034. Thanks so much for your financial support. When you send a gift to Insight for Living, you're not just covering our expenses, you're actually gaining a ministry of your own. Your generosity is what casts the seed of God's word into faraway places where listeners are just learning about the cross we proclaim. Once again, our phone number is 800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org/donate.

I'm Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuck Swindoll talks about getting reacquainted with the spirit of power, Thursday on Insight for Living.

The preceding message, "The Cross We Proclaim," was copyrighted in 2008, 2009, 2016, 2019, and 2026, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2026 by Charles R. Swindoll Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.