Sermon for 09/23/07

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Sermon for 09/23/07
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CHRIST ESTEEM: Adam, you have to go!

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN

Main Theme: This is the 3rd in a series that explores a movement in modern psychology that is infiltrating the church: the concept of self-esteem. Last week the scriptures uncovered a very startling fact of life; human beings do not have a problem, WE ARE THE PROBLEM. Today we explore why that is – and it goes back to some hard, cold, historical facts; we are the children of Adam! We are not sinners because we sin, we are sinners because we were born out of the wrong root – the root of Adam. When Adam sinned, we became sinners. And now our hearts are wrong. We are primarily self-centered. Our identity is no longer found in God, but in Adam! So if we are the problem, there is only one thing to do about it – turn away from self! And turn towards Christ! There we find a new identity and life!

1) THE ROOT! Last week we discovered that modern psychology says we must learn to create a positive self-image filled with self-esteem in order to cope with life. But as we studied the scriptures, we uncovered a very contrasting and startling spiritual fact of life; we human beings do not HAVE a problem, WE ARE THE PROBLEM. We are not “sinners” because we “sin”, we “sin” because we are “sinners”. “Self” is the problem! And focusing on it and attempting to elevate self and “fix ourselves” will inevitably leave us tired, incomplete, empty, lacking inner peace and true purpose. This Biblical diagnosis of our human condition is an honest but hard pill to swallow for most; including Christians! But before we can turn to the solution, we need to painfully confront and recognize the root of the problem! And the root of the problem goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.

2) IN ADAM! There is a reason we instinctively “do not feel good about ourselves” – we’re not supposed to. We’re broken goods. Irreversibly sinful by nature. Unrepairable while walking this earth. And that is due to our lineage! Even the fact that we walk this earth only a short while is due to our earliest ancestors – Adam and Eve! In 1^st Corinthians the 15^th Chapter we read, (vs 22) “For as in Adam all die.” The Bible identifies the entire human race “In Adam”. And the Apostle Paul, after reflecting on the penalty of sin (which is death), reminds us, (Romans 5:12) “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin.” Because today’s youth are asking the question “Who am I?”, they need to take a walk into Genesis and face some hard, cold historical facts about their roots! Then they will discover they are not “sinners” because they “sin”, they are sinners because we are all born out of the wrong root – the root of Adam! When Adam sinned – we ALL became sinners! Our personal identity begins “In Adam!”

3) DESTROYED! There is an old German Hymn entitled, “Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt.” …which means “Through Adam’s fall everything is destroyed.” Like it or not, being “In Adam” means that Adam’s self-centered nature determines our identity just like our parents race, nationality, religion, politics, economic standing and social standing affect our identity. Sure, we can choose to reject some of that identity passed down from our parents, but some things we are stuck with. We cannot change our race or genetic makeup, and we are just as stuck with Adam! We are in him and he is in us, and we cannot get him out as long as we remain earthly creatures. Hence everything God originally created “Good” in the Garden of Eden has been destroyed. Our identity is found in “Adam the destroyer!”

4) DENY? Deny your connection to Adam if you want, but do so after showing me one baby who was born God and other-centered, and NOT self-centered. You can’t do it! Deny it if you can, after showing me one adult who has removed all self-centeredness from their hearts through developing “better self-esteem!” Can’t do it! Face it, “Adam is in us!” Our nature is that of a sinner. Our life and experience is also that of being a sinner. That is why we said last week, “We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners!” And because we sin we have fallen short of the Glory of God! We cannot deny our connection to Adam.

5) EVIDENCE! As hard as it is on our man-made “self-esteem”, the evidence is found by looking in the mirror. We’ve not done all God commanded us to do, nor avoided the things God called us not to do. We may try to live moral responsible lives, but our hearts are still wrong! Our attitudes do not reflect the love, joy, and peace God desires us to have. Our intentions and motives are self-centered. Due to pride, we are quick to break our relationships and hold back forgiveness from others. Wrapped up in ourselves, we worry about the future and fear sickness, struggle, and death. We feel sorry for ourselves. We often build ourselves up by tearing others down. We set our own standards and judge those who don’t live up to them. If we don’t get our own way we get angry and resentful. Putting it very simply – our lives are a mess. Our sinful lives are the evidence that “Adam is in us!”

6) ADAM IN US! And the Bible doesn’t soft-sell this truth. Ephesians tells us, (2:3b) “…we were by nature deserving of wrath.” The Adam in us explains why the sinner in us does “…not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness” (1st Cor. 2:14). The Adam in us is why King David confesses in Psalm 51 “…my sin is always before me” (vs 3) and telling God that he is “right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” The Adam in us is why God says in Genesis (8:21) “…every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.” Last week, we read how Paul sighed in his letter to the Romans as he admitted that while he had the desire to do and be good, he was unable to accomplish these lofty goals. He explained “why” two verses later (Romans 7:21) “Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” Paul, you, me, and everything human being sins because of the Adam in us!

7) BLAMING! Funny thing, even though something inside us knows that what the Bible says is true about our sinful nature – our first instinctive impulse to justify our condition. We’re so addicted to “self preservation”, we will defend ourselves, justifying our imperfections – usually by blaming someone else! Why is that a part of our human behavior? Take another look at our roots! When Adam and Eve ignored God’s warning and ate of the fruit of tree in the middle of the garden, they knew they had sinned but they justified themselves by blaming others! When God asks them what happened – Adam quickly points a finger at Eve and cried out “She made me do it!” And Eve, now under the spotlight, points at the serpent and declared “The snake you made and put in the garden made me do it!” Blaming is now a part of our human condition. We blame our parents, we blame our situation, and we blame others in our attempt to preserve self. And so we routinely justify our sinful condition today, because Adam justified his sinful condition then!

8) SELF-ABSORBED! You can also ask “Why are we so self-absorbed?” …and “Why are we so worried about what others think of us?”, and trace the answers back to our roots. For the most part, animals do not seem to be fully self-conscious – so why are we? The cat my family serves at home does not care about what others think of her! And the dogs I’ve owned were all about unconditional love! How did we humans become so self-conscious? Now although the Bible doesn’t come right out and say it, it implies that before the fall, we were not fully self-aware. Genesis tells us (2:25) “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” Living as God intended, they never concerned themselves with what the rest of creation might think – because Adam was not fully self-aware. Later, when Jesus calls us to “deny self”, and focus only on God and others, the conclusion is obvious; we were originally designed to direct our consciousness all towards God and His will! When the harmony of the whole creation was destroyed by the first selfish thoughts of humanity, God basically asked “Adam, why are you looking at yourself and judging yourself?” Today, we likewise, look at ourselves and judge ourselves – self-absorbed with our own lives, making comparisons, worried about what others might think! If we want to know our true earthly, identity – study self-absorbed Adam! He lives within us!

9) PERSONAL IDENTITY! So in answer to the question “Who am I?” the Bible directs us back to the 0riginal man! Our personal identity is found in Adam. We’ll never discover who we are by listening to the opinions of others. Whether those opinions are good or bad, positive or negative, makes absolutely no difference. When we find Adam, we have found ourselves! We may not like our discovery, but it is the real us! Our self-centered, sinful condition is based on hard, cold, and historical facts! But facing this (being born “in Adam” revelation) is NOT intended to produce in us a “poor little me” attitude! Once we’ve found our personal identity in Adam, the next obvious question is “What are we going to do about it?”

10) MORE OR LESS? Modern psychology suggests we change our identity by developing more self-esteem. More “self”? …that’s all we need! I mean think about it: Educate me – and what do you get? A smarter sinner. If you discipline me, you get a disciplined sinner. If you refine me, I become a refined sinner. If you give me more religion, you get a religious… what? That’s right – sinner! Whatever you or I do with me, you cannot change what I am, …and what “I am” is the problem! Contrary to self-esteem movement suggestions, how I think about myself will not adjust what I am! Embracing a positive self-image will not make me less wrapped up in myself! I simply become a self-centered sinner who is trying to like myself! Even if I chose to feel bad about myself – I’m still focusing on myself, and “myself” is the problem! Focusing on the problem gets us nowhere! It merely magnifies, activates, and compounds the problem. More “self-esteem”? hardly! We need less self-focus, not more! Jesus tells us to deny ourselves! And such denial is not giving up chocolate for Lent, it’s the actually the denial of “self”!

11) NEGATIVE/POSITIVE INFLUENCES! A recent advocate of the positive self-esteem teaching wrote “What you think of yourself influences every part of your life!” But if we are reading scripture correctly, we hear Jesus saying “THAT you think of yourself influences every part of your life!” And we could also say “WHEN you are thinking of yourself, every part of your life is being negatively influenced.” The real question is “WHY are you thinking about yourself?” The call of the Gospel is AWAY from self, and TOWARDS Jesus! Listen to what Paul writes in 2^nd Corinthians (5:15) “And he (Jesus) died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.” We aren’t to live for ourselves – but for Christ! Think on “self” – the influences are negative! Think on Christ – positive influences occur in every part of your life! Self is the problem – Jesus is the solution!

12) THE LAST ADAM! The Word of God reveals that our identities, our lives, and our daily actions should be based on what God has done for us in Jesus Christ! The events that occurred in Jerusalem 2000 years ago were decisive events that culminated on the cross, leading to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Because of what JESUS, and Jesus alone, did for us, we can be set free from ourselves and granted new life! God’s purpose in sending Jesus into the world was to reverse the results of the fall of Adam whereby all humanity was corrupted through sin! For this reason, Jesus is called the “second” or “last Adam”. Paul wrote (1^st Cor 15:45-47) “So it is written: ‘The first Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.” And in Romans 5:18 he explains “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” The “last” Adam (Jesus) sacrificially and lovingly reversed the results of the 1^st Adam.

13) JESUS/US! When Jesus hung suffering on that cross, He took all our sins upon Himself. His death, became our death, and His resurrection became our resurrection! We were born again in Christ! For those who are initially discouraged to discover their roots in Adam, we now can rejoice to see that in Christ we have been given a new identity and a new life! The Apostle Paul says it very clearly: (1^st Cor. 1:30) “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” See, whatever happened to Jesus, happened to us!

14) WE ARE DEAD! Strange as it sounds – the good news is “We are dead!” The old Adam within us died with Jesus upon the cross. Christ’s death was the death of all humanity and is the God-imposed act of judgment upon all the children of Adam! And so, with Jesus, we are dead! God looked at the fallen humanity and said “You who are the problem must be executed!” And so the cross grants us relief from ourselves, or as Paul says, “For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.” (2^nd Cor 5:14) And in Galatians 6:14 Paul declares “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” As a result we are called to think of ourselves “…dead to sin” (Romans 6:11), “…dead to the law” (Romans 7:4) and “dead to the world (Galatians 6:14). Because of Jesus, God sees “the problem” – us – as being dead! We are dead! What God sees in its place are new creatures joined to Christ!

15) FREE! Now, I know that this a lot of heavy theology laid on you today – but it’s important for you and I to hear what God is saying. A person who dies and rises again in Christ is free – free from being measured and judged by good works, free from the penalty of any evil works. That person is free from fear and worry, free from sin, Satan, and Death! This is not what you will discover if you are seeking your “identity” while focused on self! But if you are focused on God – if you see what He sees – you will be amazed at the wonderful new creation that stands connected to Christ! See, whether you discover a fallen sinner incapable of fixing themselves, or a saint – purified in the blood of the Lamb, depends on WHERE you are focused. What do you see? Are you focused of self, or Christ? Are you free?

16) HOLY SPIRIT! Now some of you want to get excited about this, but your daily experiences keep getting in the way! You keep running into hardships, disappointments, problems, temptations, and struggles… and if we truly are “dead to sin”, daily life keeps showing us a different reality. Not really – you see, our baptism was not a one-time event. It is an ongoing experience whereby the “old Adam” keeps raising up its head every day, and must be drown daily. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to work this “death of self” through all those hardships and struggles we face daily. It is in our experiences with a broken world that we are motivated and encouraged by the Holy Spirit to become disappointed and fed up with “self” and our own attempts to fix ourselves, so that we might turn from and abandon “self”, and live that new life in Jesus Christ. Most of us Christians do not realize how important weakness, failure, discouragement, disappointment, suffering, testing, and trials are in the development of our Christian lives. Through these dealings of God, our sinful pride is being dealt with. Daily the Holy Spirit is calling us away from ourselves, so that through burying, rejecting, and denying self we may turn in faith towards Jesus and experience His life, peace, joy, and power!

17) STOP KICKING! There is a story of two men, one an excellent swimmer, sitting on a dock talking when they noticed a large man starting to drown. As he thrashed about screaming for help, the first friend said to the other, “Aren’t you going to help him?” “Not yet”, his friend said calmly. As the drowning man went down for the second time, the first man begged, “Save him! Save Him!” “Not yet,” his friend calmly responded. Finally, the man stopped thrashing, and the friend dove in and rescued the big man. He pulled him ashore and revived him. Then he explained, “Had I gone to him too early, he could have panicked and pulled me under too. I had to wait until he stopped kicking. Then I could save him.” Friends, are you and I tired enough and hurting enough to stop kicking, to give up on self and surrender ourselves to Christ? Are we willing to see our little problems and unresolved conflicts and discouragements, bad habits, negative attitudes, faults, and failures as being the means by which God is at work in us to bring us to the end of ourselves? Are we willing to be nailed daily to the cross of Christ and drown continuously in the waters of our baptisms? Or is “self” still kicking? If so, ask yourself the Dr. Phil question: How’s that working for you?

18) JESUS COMES! Friends, Jesus comes to you now to deliver you to the work of the cross that you might leave “self” behind. He comes to open your eyes to the dangers of seeking to enlarge and build up “self”. There is only room for one king to sit on the throne of your heart. Either “self” reigns supreme, or God does. One influences your life negatively, and one brings you a new identity and a new life! Jesus comes to help you reject yourself – that you may come to Him for blessings beyond measure! You heard CS Lewis quoted last week as saying “Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run, only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay.” But he then wrote on to say, “But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in!” Praise God! AMEN!

Sermon/Confessional Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we confess that too often we think that our self-centered and sinful nature is something we can change through our own efforts. We do not want to admit that WE are the problem. Too often we chose to blame others for the way we are. Or we try to justify our self-absorption. Forgive us and help us to see that we are the problem, and that focusing on ourselves changes nothing. Help us instead to turn away from self, and to you!

Lord, we confess that while we hear the Spirit’s calling to live not for ourselves, but for you – we fall far short of that goal. And every day, as the old Adam rises again, we have not been quick to drown him again in the waters of our baptism. Lord, forgive us and empower us, motivate us, inspire us, to “stop kicking” and let self die – that we might obtain a new life and a new identity found only in you!

And now Lord, although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be forgiven, washed clean, healed, and recommitted to you! (made anew.)

(Silence)

Lord, we are awed to discover, that while our earthly identity is sadly rooted in the first Adam, our new spiritual and heavenly identity is found now in you - because of what you have done for us on the cross! In our daily experiences with our broken world, motivate and encourage us through your Holy Spirit to abandon and deny “self”, so that we might live a new life in you, and for you. In Jesus Name We Pray. AMEN

Assurance of Forgiveness:

Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, who graciously reversed the negative results of the 1^st Adam, …that Lord has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. Go now, and remember: Focus on yourself, the problem, and nothing will change! Focus on Christ, and He will empower you to deny yourself, and set you free to live for God and others – as it was intended from the beginning! AMEN

Opening prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we walked out of this church last week with such good intentions: to live for you and others! We walk back in having fallen far short of our goals. But we know you’re welcoming embrace is no less because of it! …your love for us has not faltered or lessened one tiny bit. We see in your face the loving compassion of a Father whose love for His children is unconditional! And so we stand before you humbled and broken, but with hearts filled with joy and hope! We present our failures, weakness, and self-centered ways to you, knowing that you eagerly desire to wash away our sins, and continue the molding of our hearts, minds, and souls. We present our relational struggles, praying confidently that you have the answers that can heal and strengthen them, and asking that you help us to deny our selves and turn from our prideful ways. Our physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds we lay at your feet, for you alone have the power to nurse us back to health. Help us now to shake out and quiet all the other worldly voices that have filled our heads this week, so that we may focus now only on your Holy Words, your life-giving Words, your creative, loving, and all-powerful Words …that bring us a new life and a new identity in Christ! AMEN!

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