Preaching
the Gospel to Yourself
I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve ever wanted to be a
preacher. I¡¯m guessing any kind of
public speaking is rather intimidating, as is the handling of God¡¯s word in any
authoritative way. Even to pray
publicly or to give a testimony is intimidating. Preaching is out of the question.
Well, I have good and bad news. The bad news first. You must all become preachers, and you
need to learn how to be good preachers.
The good news is that your main audience is yourself. You need to learn to preach the gospel
to yourself.
I want to wrap up the ¡°personal gospel¡± series. We don¡¯t have a one-size-fits-all
gospel. Rather this gospel maps on
to our personal stories. This
gospel moves us from ¡°trying to get¡± (love, accomplishments, significance) to
¡°because it¡¯s already given¡± living.
It moves us from striving to resting, from fear to freedom.
We want the gospel to move from being a form of free
life insurance to becoming something that changes our lives in deep and
profound ways, something that affects our daily lives.
Today¡¯s message outline comes largely from a talk I
heard Pastor Dick Kaufmann at Harbor Presbyterian Church in
I want to give you Pastor Kaufmann¡¯s ¡°sermon outline¡±
for your preaching, and I¡¯ll illustrate it with a couple examples.
Theses examples today (and others in recent sermons)
are just possible personal gospels.
They may or may not fit your personal story. I hope they at least illustrate what a ¡°personal gospel¡±
looks like. In the end, your
personal gospel is not a one-size-fits-all message. It will probably be pretty unique to
you.
If you want help, let me suggest contacting the
Counseling Team. We have some
wonderful, trained people to help you dig and understand your story and help
you apply the gospel specifically to that personal story.
Gospel fundamentals are
We
must repent and believe
God
is big, we are small.
We can diagram this sermon as a ¡°V¡±: we want to go down the slope of
repentance and up the slope of faith.
This is not to say that one must precede the
other. In fact, in some ways you
need to hold onto both simultaneously:
you need to trust Christ to have the real courage to repent,
you need to repent to see the glory of Christ. They must go hand-in-hand. For our purposes today, we¡¯ll take them
one at a time.
Down the Slope of Repentance
1. Identify and own your sin
Not
make excuses or explanations or rationalizations.
There must be a conviction of sin. The gospel doesn¡¯t speak to the
righteous, it speaks to sinners.
I get angry at kids because they¡¯re eating too slowly, playing too roughly, making me repeat instructions over and over. They are being disobedient and argumentative.
But I need to say, Paul, your anger is not righteous. The problem isn¡¯t the kids. It¡¯s you.
Recognize
the deeper root sin, not just the surface sin
What
is the idol? What are you looking
to other than Jesus for meaning and sweetness in life?
Why am I angry? If I¡¯m honest, I¡¯m not angry because I hate sin and I want them to become godly men and God is not honored. I¡¯m angry because I feel disrespect and a lack of control. They are not doing what I want them to do.
At one level, the idol is control. I want to be in control, and these little kids are messing up the room, messing up the schedule/plans, messing up order.
I care more about order, control than I do about my boys. I am willing to hurt my boys to gain control.
And why do I
want control? Because I have a
picture of how I want my time, energy, and life to be, and they¡¯re messing it
up. More specifically, I want my
life to be organized, efficient, and productive. I want my accomplishments, and these
kids are taking too much time and energy; they¡¯re getting in the way.
2. Expose the bankruptcy and
ugliness of your sin (idols)
What
we think will be our solution, our ¡°savior,¡± we need to realize cannot deliver.
Weak
They
don¡¯t satisfy, they only raise the bar
They
don¡¯t forgive, then only lower the bottom.
Even if I am in control of some things, there will always be more things I¡¯ll want control over. It¡¯s not just ¡°if I can keep my kids under my control, I¡¯ll be happy.¡± I¡¯ll want control of other relationships, my schedule, myself.
If being in control is what it takes to make me happy, then I need to realize I¡¯ll never be happy. There are tons of things that are not in my control and never will be. I am doomed to live a frustrated life. I am not god, and I have to get used to that.
But more deeply, if it is accomplishments that I idolize, that I think will give me signifiance, then
if I don¡¯t get accomplishments, I will feel like a failure
if I do get accomplishments, I may feel good for a while, but I¡¯ll need more. Enslaved.
If I do get accomplishments, I¡¯ll become proud, think I¡¯m better than others.
If I don¡¯t get accomplishments, I¡¯ll become depressed, think I¡¯m worse than others.
I¡¯ll either feel superior or inferior. No matter what, I lose.
Harmful
They
will hurt you emotionally, spiritually, perhaps even physically
They
will hurt others around you.
This desire for control hurts me: anxiety, frustration, anger.
And it hurts my boys: I get angry at them, I sometimes discipline out of anger.
I am willing to hurt my boys to gain control.
My desire for accomplishments will also produce anxiety, stress, fear, frustration.
And I will hurt those around me, or at least I will not be caring for them because I¡¯m caring for my accomplishments.
Grievous
to God
By
going after idols/false lovers, you are saying to God, ¡°Jesus is not
enough. I also need _______ in
order to be happy.¡±
I am saying,
¡°Jesus is not enough. I also need order and control in order to be happy.¡±
I am saying,
¡°Jesus is not enough. I also need accomplishments in order to be happy.¡±
What am I saying
to Jesus?!
Imagine
having a perfect spouse, attractive, charming, spiritual, but saying you still
need a toy at the dollar store in order to be happy. It is offensive and belittling.
3. Conclusion: ¡°I am a much bigger
sinner than I thought.¡±
We want to get to a point where we hate our sin. We¡¯re no longer willing to play games.
I am a worthy recipient of God¡¯s judgment. Trying harder won¡¯t cut it. I am helpless and hopeless in
myself.
It¡¯s not just an anger problem, it¡¯s a heart
problem. I love the wrong things
too much and the right things too little.
I am hurting myself and others.
I am offending God by saying He¡¯s not enough for me.
Down, down, down we go. But we don¡¯t stay there! There is Jesus . . .
Up the Slope of Faith
Beware
of the danger of preaching moralism instead of
the gospel.
We don¡¯t want to tell ourselves, just try harder to
not get angry, or be controlling, or care so much about accomplishments. Do more.
We don¡¯t want to pray, Lord, I need to stop being
angry or controlling or caring so much about accomplishments—so help me! A little better, but that¡¯s not the
gospel.
1. Jesus lived for me, and Jesus
died for me.
Double imputation. Jesus
took my penalty for sin once and for all.
I will not be re-punished for what Christ already took on himself.
Jesus
lived obediently where I have failed.
He never bowed to my idols.
He is my perfect substitute.
Mike Shea quoted
a Puritan: For every 1 look at our sin, take 10 looks at Jesus.
Jesus never
idolized control. He allowed
interruptions (healings; children coming to him); he had people who didn¡¯t
listen to Him, were against Him (Pharisees, leaders), but he never got angry
because he demanded control or that they ruined his plan.
Jesus died
for my control idolatry. He took my
punishment for this.
Jesus never
bowed the idol of accomplishments.
He was a peasant in a tiny corner of the
Jesus died for my vanity, not his own. And Jesus gave me His righteousness.
2. God sees me in Jesus.
Thank God for how He provides for me in Christ all
that my idols/false lovers promised but could not deliver.
I need to see myself the way God sees me.
I was listening to a Tim Keller sermon and he made this point. When God created the earth, after each day he said, It is good. At the end of the six days of creation, God saw all he had made and it was very good. And on the seventh day, he rested.
In Christ, God makes us new creations, over which He says, it is good, it is very good.
Christ has completed the work. I don¡¯t need more accomplishments. It is very good.
That¡¯s where rest comes from—from seeing the work as completed and good.
Have you worked really hard on something—a paper, some project, meal, music, artwork, sermon—and you finally got it to as perfect as possibly could make it. You look at it, and it¡¯s just wonderful. And so you stop, take a step back and admire it. Over the years, there have been a few sermons that I¡¯m particularly proud of. I often revise my sermons several times, but for some, I don¡¯t know how to improve it any further. It¡¯s done, and I delight in it.
That¡¯s how God sees you in Christ! ¡°It is good, very good.¡± And He rested, and so should I.
¡°This is my son in whom I am well pleased.¡±
The race is over, Christ has won. Stop running. Rest.
I find it really helpful to have a picture or a
phrase that points to what Christ has done for us in a way that is deeply
meaningful to us personally.
Mike Shea at the retreat pointed out how Ro
We are to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive
to God in Christ Jesus.
God sees you as righteous, blameless, pure, complete. He
sees sin in you as dead and conquered, He sees resurrection life in you. Do
you see yourself that way?
I don¡¯t need accomplishments or successes. I don¡¯t need control. Jesus has already given me status,
glory, perfection.
Should I get angry if the boys are disobedient? Yes, but for their sakes, for God¡¯s sake, not for me. Not because I need control, or I want to get stuff done. I get angry because they are not honoring God, because their disobedience is bad for their character. For them, not for me.
3. Jesus lives in me.
I do
not live the Christian life on my own; the Spirit of Christ now dwells in
me. Ask Him to live His righteous
life through me, specifically in the areas where I have confessed sin.
Jesus is the King of kings, Creator and Sustainer of all, the Name above all names. He has finished the race, won the prize. He sits King of kings, Prince of peace—and His Spirit is in me.
¡°It is finished¡±—the work is done.
He is Lord of the Sabbath.
I have it, I need to walk in it, keep in step with it.
________________________
Let¡¯s take another
example: After the sermon on the
Overachiever, I¡¯ve wanted to do something on the other side: the underachiever,
the lazy.
Down the Slope of Repentance
1. Identify and own your sin
Not
make excuses or explanations or rationalizations.
There must be a conviction of sin. The gospel doesn¡¯t speak to the
righteous, it speaks to sinners.
It¡¯s not just a laid-back personality. This is sloth, laziness.
I¡¯m not responsible with my work. I want other people to do my work for me.
I like to watch TV and DVD¡¯s, play computer games, surf the web, sleep.
Laundry is piled high, dishes are piled high, bills are piled high, but I¡¯d rather organize my music on iTunes, watch TV, play computer games, or visit friends¡¯ Xanga pages.
Recognize
the deeper root sin, not just the surface sin
What
is the idol? What are you looking
to other than Jesus for meaning and sweetness in life?
Why so lazy? In the moment, it feels like you just want to be comfortable, immediate gratification. It may not seem that deep.
But if you dig, there are lots of reasons why someone might be lazy.
Let¡¯s take one road: you¡¯re afraid to try too hard, because if you do and still fail, then you have to admit that you¡¯re inadequate. But if you never really try, then can always tell yourself, ¡°But if I really wanted to, things could be different.¡± So underneath, it¡¯s the fear of failure. People who really do have confidence tend not to be lazy people. Avoidance.
Some people have an "all or nothing" approach, and are so easily overwhelmed by all to be done that they do none of it. They want something to be perfect and impressive, or they just don¡¯t want to do it. And so they don¡¯t do anything, or they only do things they know they can do really well.
Some people are afraid to fail, but instead of showing fear, they act like they don¡¯t care. But that¡¯s just a defense: better to look like you don¡¯t care than to try and fail. Better to be lazy and indifferent than to care and fail.
Fear of failure. And we could dig deeper with that too: fear of being disrespected, fear of being unliked (what people think), fear of being unloved/rejected (parents), fear of failing yourself.
2. Expose the bankruptcy and
ugliness of your sin (idols)
What
we think will be our solution, our ¡°savior,¡± we need to realize cannot deliver.
Weak
They
don¡¯t satisfy, they only raise the bar
They
don¡¯t forgive, then only lower the bottom.
If you have to do work, you complain. You¡¯re not happy because you can¡¯t avoid work.
And you¡¯re afraid of work, afraid of failing, so you don¡¯t really try, which leads to mediocre results.
If you keep avoiding all work, responsibilities, and you think that will give you happiness, you still live in the unrest of fearing failure, of having to face your own inadequancies. Running away never really solves anything. Laziness doesn¡¯t answer your fears.
You never really win.
Harmful
They
will hurt you emotionally, spiritually, perhaps even physically
They
will hurt others around you.
Your work isn¡¯t being done. You¡¯re not getting good grades or a good job.
Maybe this laziness and avoidance causes you to want others to do your work for you. And so you have strained relationship, spouse, roommates, co-workers, etc.
You live in unrest, fear; your life is one big ¡°running away.¡±
Grievous
to God
I am saying, ¡°Jesus is not enough. I also need the absence of expectations/responsibilities in order to be happy. I also must not have any failures in my life.¡±
3. Conclusion: ¡°I am a much bigger
sinner than I thought.¡±
We want to get to a point where we hate our sin. We¡¯re no longer willing to play games.
I am a worthy recipient of God¡¯s judgment. Trying harder won¡¯t cut it. I am helpless and hopeless in
myself.
I¡¯m
living in fear. I¡¯m spending my
whole life running away, trying to protect myself. It¡¯s not just a laziness problem, it¡¯s a deeper heart problem.
Down, down, down we go. But we don¡¯t stay there! There is Jesus . . .
Up the Slope of Faith
Beware
of the danger of preaching moralism instead of
the gospel.
It¡¯s easy to leave this as, don¡¯t be lazy. Repent for being lazy. Don¡¯t be selfish and serve others. But that¡¯s not the gospel. That¡¯s just good moralism, self-effort.
1. Jesus lived for me, and Jesus
died for me.
Double imputation. Jesus
took my penalty for sin once and for all.
I will not be re-punished for what Christ already took on himself.
Jesus
lived obediently where I have failed.
He never bowed to my idols.
He is my perfect substitute.
Jesus was never lazy nor lived in the fear of failure. At times when he wanted to be alone with his disciples and rest, he didn¡¯t turn away the crowd but preached, healed, and fed them. He would work to exhaustion to the point where he¡¯d sleep in boat in the middle of a storm and would have to be awakened. He didn¡¯t seek a comfortable life, He embraced a life of suffering.
Jesus didn¡¯t avoid responsibilities, he embraced responsibilities. He cared for multitudes, raised disciples, lived a perfectly righteous life and eventually he died for the sins of the world. He never avoided responsibility; He took on the salvation of humankind.
Jesus lived the perfect life and gives it to us, and he died for our laziness and selfish fears.
God
sees me in Jesus.
Thank God for how He provides for me in Christ all
that my idols/false lovers promised but could not deliver.
I need to see myself the way God sees me.
God does not see a failure. God sees His workmanship. We¡¯ve looked at this passage before.
For we are God¡¯s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do
good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
We were created by God to do good works. He has made us useful, and He has made us well.
You are not a 1998 Hyundai Accent [pictures]
You are a 5.0 L, 500 hp, 0 to 60 in 4.6 sec, $120,000 BMW M6 Convertible
This passage is not telling you to do good works, this passage is telling you what God has done for you. He has made you to do good works, the very works He has prepared for you. This is part of the gospel/grace to you.
Your salvation does not stop with
forgiveness of sins, your salvation includes the righteous person you become
and the righteous things you will do.
Your good works are not what you do for Him,
your good works are His gift to you.
God has made you useful, and He has made you well.
You are not inadequate for your job, You are tailor-made for the your job. Perfect.
He has made you, and He has prepared work for you to do. He¡¯s been working on both ends so that you are perfect for your task.
The Gospel frees you from your fears.
Instead of running away from work because you fear failure, you are guaranteed good works prepared for you, so do them!
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ¡°Lord, even the
demons submit to us in your name.¡±
He replied, ¡°I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on
snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will
harm you. However, do not rejoice
that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in
heaven.¡± (Lk
10:17-18)
Jesus had sent out 72 disciples to preach and heal. And when they returned, they told Jesus about the miracles they performed.
Jesus affirms how they had done real spiritual ministry; Satan had taken a hit.
But Jesus is saying don¡¯t be so happy that you can cast out demons and perform miracles. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
Don¡¯t be so happy because of your ministry abilities and successes, but happy that you¡¯re a child of God.
Find your significance not in your ministry but in your sonship.
What¡¯s more important than the ministry you do is the child of God that you are.
Your name is written in heaven, you are a child of God. Your significance doesn¡¯t depend on your ministry abilities or significance. You are free!
This truth applies to both the overachiever as well: it¡¯s not about your ministry accomplishments. This is a real challenge and comfort to pastors.
My identity and joy is not to come from the quality of my sermons, the appreciation of my members, the size of my congregation, etc. My joy is to come from the fact that I am a child of God.
When I was a
youth pastor, I once took a group of my students to
If Jesus were to come appear right now and put his arm around you and say, I want everyone of you to know that Peter is my brother, Esther is my sister, in that moment, would it matter to you what you got on your last exam, or what company you¡¯re working for, or if you¡¯re going on missions this summer, or if you could preach to hundreds? Would it matter?!
Do not rejoice that you can do ministry, rejoice that you¡¯re my family!
Do we really believe that our sonship, what Christ has given us, is greater than our ministry?
If you really do, then you don¡¯t need to find your identity in your accomplishments, ministry or otherwise.
And if you really do, then people with great accomplishments don¡¯t impress you, you don¡¯t look up to them too much and you don¡¯t look down on people without without accomplishments. As we heard last Sunday, we¡¯re just amazed at the miracle that we are the children of God!
You are free to serve without fear of failure or threat to your significance.
Jesus
lives in me.
I do
not live the Christian life on my own; the Spirit of Christ now dwells in
me. Ask Him to live His righteous
life through me, specifically in the areas where I have confessed sin.
He gives me a spirit of love, grace. I carry my brothers¡¯ burdens.
He came not to be served but to serve. He washed his disciples¡¯ feet. He gave himself away. And he has given us His Spirit.
Paul is encouraging a young Timothy to use his spiritual gifts and not be afraid.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit
of power, of love and of self-discipline.
(2 Timothy 1:7)
You have this Spirit in you.
To tie it together, preaching
the gospel to ourselves means
To confess that I am a much bigger sinner than I
thought.
To
thank God that Jesus is a much bigger Savior than I thought.
We
are far more sinful than we ever imagined
We
are far more loved than we ever dared hope.
It
takes us down and lifts us up. It simultaneously
produces humility and dignity.
It
produces people who live in freedom and worship (gratitude).
If you¡¯re not a Christian, and a lot of this is new to
you, we¡¯re so glad you came. The
gospel is both humbling and freeing.
There is a Savior who offers to take your sins and give you glory.
For Christians, we all need
to become preachers: we need to preach the gospel to ourselves.
Repentance and Faith are not something we did when we
first found Jesus. Repentance and
Faith are a way of life for the Christian.
We want to move from the gospel being a form of free
life insurance to becoming something that really does change our lives in deep
and profound ways – a gospel that permeates our lives and impacts us day in and
day out.
We
need to experience Gospel Freedom and
worship Jesus as our glorious Savior.