Here's the LINK to the video: http://www.thevineyardchurch.us/sermon/god-centered--self-centered/
NOTES:
Open – Introduce myself & my role at Vineyard
Married …with 5 children
(describe them) … whenever we are busy: “Can I have a snack?”
If parents are busy, children
will come to them with a NEED that must be met right away.
As a father, this can be
frustrating… ironic… or at the very least a bit repetitive… But, the older I
get (4 decades so far) the more I realize
this was true of me as a younger man.
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The kingdom of me
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Sports, school, girls
·
Television, books, entertainment
·
All I wanted was to build up the idea of “what
makes me feel best”
·
Most of it was selfish… all of it was silly
·
But as people, we can get pretty self-absorbed – Easiest subject to get wrapped up in J
When I met Jesus (in an ugly-cry
snot-filled grace day), my life became new… my heart was new… my faith was
new…. I became a NEW CREATION
that at my core is completely righteous & holy.
But, there’s a PROBLEM
– most of us, when we become believers might change what we have faith “in” …but
we don’t stop thinking selfishly.
As I reflect on my own faith
journey, I can’t count how many times I’ve thought and prayed (and even worse
sometimes taught) in the following ways:
1. God
if you could just help me with…to come through on…
2. If
this just one temptation could be gone… just get me out of this one situation
3. God
help me work a little harder in this area…
4. And
I think we still “default” here sometimes as long-term believers.
All these thoughts and prayers
have led me back to, well, me…
and further from God’s heart for those situations… today, we want to refocus
our lives off self and back on Father-God…
When we take our focus off self and reorient it toward the
Father, everything comes into focus.
Prayer
We have been in the middle of a
fantastic series on IDENTITY… we’ve been learning that we are (2 Corinthians
5:17, 20 and 21 ESV):
·
“a new creation”
·
“ambassadors for Christ”
·
and “the righteousness of God”
And, we’ve been looking at this
topic through the lens of the movies we see in our culture today… and I love
it… I love the passion of the speakers the past few weeks… I’ve loved hearing
via video and LIVE at each of our campuses (shout out to BLOOM watching today)… I love that we’ve recognized how our
contemporary voices in Hollywood are constantly trying to show mankind’s search
for “who am I?” and “Why am I here?” in
their films… and it’s everywhere!
From super heroes to reluctant heroes…
from family stories to romance and drama… from science fiction to real life
stories… every film seems to be trying to answer these questions. And the great
part? We have the answers… I love that about Father-God… He’s the most amazing
contemporary voice that we have. As
our world tries to figure out what’s going on with “self,” Holy Spirit begins
to breathe into His church the identity message in a new and life giving way.
Two of my favorite passions:
Jesus and Movies.
In college I even worked at a
video store. I thought it’d be great to get to watch all of the movies
early… and let me tell you there is a big difference between “Getting to” watch
all the popular movies that were being release and “having to watch” every
release so you could talk authentically about it… and there is no way to
sugar-coat Kevin Sorbo in “Kull the Conquerer”
JOHN’S STORY –
·
I was a new Christian when I began working at
the video store while at seminary.
·
And I remember that I wanted to hire John (my
roommate).
·
Friend and same passion for story/movies.
·
After he’d been there awhile, going to close
together.
·
Owner of the store pulled me aside… you’ll have
to turn out the lights.
·
John wouldn’t go in the “naughty room.” His
focus at work was still on the Father.
·
Take
our focus off self & reorient it toward the Father, everything comes into
focus.
·
I just thought I was working a job to make
money… John’s focus was different
·
I still had a lot to learn… We both left that job soon after.
Word
In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he is exhorting the believers there to stay the
course of their faith. Realizing that faith (belief onlyJ) in our amazing Father is
what will keep us in the incredible relationship with Jesus, fully empowered by
His wonderful Holy Spirit… nothing that
WE DO and nothing that WE OFFER will do this… it’s really dying to
ourselves and our own self effort that releases the incredible LIFE that He has
for us.
Listen to what Paul says in
chapter 2:
16 yet we know that a person is not justified
(GREEK: counted righteous) by
works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in
Christ Jesus, in order to be justified (counted righteous) by faith in Christ and not by
works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified
(counted righteous).
Do you hear what Paul is saying?
If we try and work out our faith through action instead of through belief in
Jesus, we begin to create a false
self. We begin to elevate our
own efforts over belief. And this is such a dangerous trap! The
Galatians themselves were being corrected by Paul in this letter because they
had started with simple, childlike faith, but were now trying to work-for the
gift of grace that Jesus had so richly blessed them with.
And most Christians have
struggled with this… I know I did…
I met Jesus in an amazing grace-filled
encounter in a cornfield east of Lincoln IL. I received love… real tangible
love from my heavenly Father during a time in my life where I had no
right to demand or receive it from Him… and within a couple years of
becoming a Christian, I know that I was trying to make sure that I…
·
Prayed enough
·
Went to church enough
·
Learned enough
·
Worshipped enough
Not that any of these things are
wrong… but none of them will earn us
Father’s favor… HE HAS
ALREADY TOLD US WE ARE WORTHY OF HIS FAVOR THROUGH THE CROSS… prayer and
worship should all be a natural outflow
of a loving relationship… not an obligation
to earn love.
Imagine if my wife Corrie would
only wear the wedding ring I gave her if I made sure to do the dishes and the
laundry on time… yikes! No, I’ve laid down my life for her as friend and
husband… I do things for her out of the strength of a 21-year relationship of
intimacy.
Listen to how Paul continues in Galatians 2:
19b …I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I
have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who
lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of
God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no
purpose.
Hebrews 6- says when we try to
earn God’s favor thru law it’s like Crucifying Jesus all over again!
The problem with a focus on works
over grace is that it puts the emphasis
of faith on self…
Focus on self creates a “false
identity.” Focus on Father
releases our true self… and Father
thinks each & every one of His children are amazing:
·
we are all God’s favorite kid
·
we are all NEW
·
we are all righteous
·
we are all holy
·
we are all royalty
·
we are all empowered to do great things
·
That is our True Self
Let me illustrate this with a
clip from the 3rd Hobbit
Movie… one of my favorite books as a child made into film a couple of years ago
– there are many characters in these movies searching for their identity – but
in today’s clip, I want to show you how FOCUS
makes all the difference. This is our scene: the bowman Bard and his
son are trying to kill the dragon Smaug with a small bow… it hasn’t worked and
now the bow is broken in half… the dragon comes to taunt and intimidate the man
and his son… the dad is unfazed but the boy is worried… let’s watch!
SHOW
CLIP!
·
Don’t you love the line “just look at me” ? The dragon is calling you
names… the dragon is trying to distract you… the dragon is shouting you deserve
death… but do this instead!
·
Pull
out the language of the dragon – especially his lies
Satan would like to keep you distracted… seriously! Even if you’re a believer, he’d like you to
be more focused on the “Kingdom of Me” than the Kingdom of Jesus. It’s his greatest tool. It’s not the big
hairy audacious “sins” that will destroy your faith… it’s usually the slight turn that takes you
off course.
·
Getting wrapped up in your job, your finances,
or your goals without involving Father-God in your plans.
·
Making sure to do all your “Christian
Check-List” without having a real conversation with the Father who loves
you.
·
Beating yourself up for your mistakes and trying
to create a bubble of non-sin instead of falling into the loving arms of
grace that your Father offers in all situations.
·
Being content with being a good person who pays
their taxes verses living a life empowered by God’s Spirit to change the
world.
There is only one-way to renew
your mind to the truth of who you really are… there is only one-way to bring
you back from your distractions…
Take your eyes off everything, but
the TRUTH. Repeat this.
Close
Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) tells us to “FIX OUR EYES on Jesus.”
In Luke 19, what changed Zaccheus
is that he stopped at nothing to be SEE JESUS and be seen by JESUS… it changed
his life so much that Jesus says that COMPLETE WHOLENESS came to Zaccheus’ life
when they met that day.
·
You want to know your true self… look at Jesus!
·
You want to know how Father sees you… look at
Jesus!
·
You want to understand how to combat your
weaknesses… look at Jesus!
·
You want to renew your mind to your
righteousness and holiness… look at Jesus!
·
“But that’s too easy, what should I do?!” …look at Jesus!
Jesus is the full
picture of your True Self.
·
If
you look in the mirror and don’t see Him, you’re seeing a false version of You!
·
He is our source…. He is our true self… He is
our solution… He is our identity!
·
I no longer live, but He lives in me… everything
else is a lie or a distraction.
I wish I could tell you that I do this perfectly every
day… but sometimes I still get distracted…
·
The
mirror
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Not
let other’s anxieties or needs affect my reality
·
Ask
myself – K of me OR K of Jesus?
CLOSING PRAYER
