Sermon for 10/14/07

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Sermon for 10/14/07
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CHRIST ESTEEM: A New Life Based on Faith Facts, Not Wishful Thinking!

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

Main Theme: This is the 6th in a series that explores a movement in modern psychology that is infiltrating the church: the concept of self-esteem. Last week we explored how our Christian LIFE can only be lived through Christ who dwells within us by the Holy Spirit. But today we explore how we stay joined to Jesus. It’s simple – we set our mind on what the Spirit desires – then we are living in Christ! Since the actions of the sinful nature begin as thoughts, (and we can’t control our thoughts), only the Spirit can make new the attitudes of the mind. This is not self-esteem “positive thinking” based on wishful goals – it thinking centered on faith based facts about ourselves and who we are in Jesus! It is thought renewal based on honest confession of sin and on the power of Christ living in us! The Word of God (which is reality!) is therefore the tool and weapon of Christians. It allows us to sing to and praise God in the midst of adversity! If the life of Christ dwells within us by the Holy Spirit, it is foolish not to depend on it!

1) JOINED TO JESUS! So far in this series we have answered the big question “Who am I?” as we discovered a “new identity” graciously given by God as He joined us to Jesus on the cross. And we discovered a “new life” – an alternative life – ALSO made available to us as the Spirit joins us to Jesus! Despite what modern psychology says, we do NOT find our “new identity” or “new life” by focusing on and building up “self”. A new identity and life come to us when the Holy Spirit helps us DENY ourselves - (“turn away” from self, and more fully towards Christ!) Well then, if we are to look to Jesus and focus our lives on Him, we inevitably have to ask “How?” How are we to deny self, abide in Christ, and He in us? The task sounds overwhelming or like a lot of hard work. But is it? Do we have to become dedicated theologians, or have seminary degrees to stay joined to Jesus? Hardly. In fact, none of those things were available to the first-century early-church and look how the church grew! No, the Apostle Paul did not teach the early church anything that was complicated or far removed from everyday life. But he was able to show them how to stay joined to Jesus on a day-to-day basis.

2) DEATH OR LIFE/PEACE? Take the church in Rome for instance. The Apostle Paul provides some very practical and applicable instructions for living a “new life” in Christ. (Romans 8:5-6) “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind controlled by the sinful nature is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” Hmmm, focus on “self” and the sinful nature… and you get death! But let your mind be controlled by the Holy Spirit… and you get life and peace? Gee – which one do we want? Death… or life and peace?

3) CAN WE? Personally I’m for life and peace! But… I may still wonder: “Can we? Can we keep our minds set on what the Holy Spirit desires so we can live in Christ?” After all, this theme of setting our conscious thinking “upon the things of the Spirit” is a very important ingredient in the theology of Paul! To the Philippians, he wrote (4:8) “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Last week we heard him say to the Colossians, (3:1-2) “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” In his second letter to the Corinthians he tells them, (10:4-5) “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Can we take captive every thought and set our minds on things above and not on earthly things? Can we faithfully think upon what is true, noble, and pure? “Yes” says Paul.

4) THE MIND! Paul constantly proclaims this idea of setting your minds upon the things of the Spirit. So to the Ephesians he says (4:22-24) “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” To the Romans he declares (12:2) “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Think about it; what Paul is saying is that a “new life” begins in the mind. Little wonder that the word “repentance” means to “turn around” or “change your mind”. All of the Apostle’s directions are intended to redirect our minds away from the old sinful nature and to the new life made available to us in Jesus Christ.

5) THOUGHTS! “Thoughts!” Have you thought about the power of thoughts lately? Remember that list of the “works of the flesh” we read last week in Galatians – every action of the sinful nature began as thoughts. Every acts of “adultery” begins with what? …lustful thoughts. Stealing begins with coveting! Murder begins with hatred. The Lord Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount and shocked the religious Pharisees when he equated the sins of the mind as just as disturbing to God as the sinful actions themselves. The reason porn is a billion dollar industry today, is because people convince themselves that looking on your computer in the privacy of your own home is OK because it isn’t “harming anyone.” As long as we don’t ACT on our thoughts, we rationalize that we haven’t really sinned! So we hate our neighbor, but we figure that as long as we don’t sock him in the jaw or burn a cross on his lawn – we’re not really sinning! Jesus clearly disagrees and declares that all sinful action begins as sinful “thoughts”.

6) YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK! It appears from what the bible tells us, that our minds are at the very center of our being. Whether we live “in Adam”, or live “in Christ” is related to the direction and substance of our thought-life! You are what you think! You will never “walk in the Spirit” if you do not understand this great truth! If you learn it – it will change your life! What or who you entertain in your mind, will feed either the sinful nature or the new life in Christ. In offering his solution to sadness and depression, Martin Luther advised “Thinking must be turned in another direction, and Christ must be thought of so that you may say, ‘Christ lives!’” So spiritually speaking – you are what you think!

7) CONTROL? Now this revelation that “the power of our thoughts influence our life” makes sense theoretically, but I can’t seem to be able to control the thoughts that come to me. What about you? At my last church I was actually serving communion, and as I worked my way down the line, there was Dolly Parton hanging over the alter railing. At least I think it was Dolly Parton; (I never saw her face as her head was bowed down.) But there, in the midst of my “Holy duties”, serving one of God’s greatest sacraments to the children of God, a impure uncontrolled thought just popped into my mind! And I winced… and paused to await the lightning bolt that I was sure would pierce the ceiling of that church and strike me dead! Mercifully it didn’t come. Still, it was a humbling moment to have an unrighteous thought at the communion rail! And daily, uncontrolled worry, fear, lust, anger, self-pity, resentment, bitterness, envy and a host of other unrighteous thoughts just show up uninvited! Am I the only one who has trouble controlling the thoughts that come at me? Of course not! But… as a wise man once said about evil thoughts, “You cannot prevent the birds from flying in the air over your head, but you can certainly prevent them from building a nest in your hair!” Because we know that “the power of our thoughts influence our life”, it’s important when uninvited evil thoughts knock on the door of our minds, not to invite them in to live!

8) ALTER ATTITUDES! Now this revelation that “the power of our thoughts influence our life” has not been lost on modern psychology. William James, a famous psychologist, once concluded that the greatest discovery of his generation was the fact that “human beings can alter their lives by altering the attitudes of the mind.” In other words, the quality of our lives is closely related to the quality of our thinking. This idea evolved into the basis of much of today’s secular counseling and self-help techniques. Norman Vincent Peale’s popular philosophy of “positive thinking” comes from the idea that the mind can control its own thinking and hence influence behavior. And this has found its way into the church in the form of Robert Schuller’s theology of “possibility thinking”. It is central to the “positive mental attitude” approach to success. The idea is you, “the thinker”, can control your own mind and can refocus your mind upon health, wealth, or prosperity – making it happen. You can focus on a positive self-image and reprogram the negative subconscious. Much of modern psychology is build upon the idea that “human beings can alter their lives by altering the attitudes of the mind.”

9) DANGEROUS DIFFERENCE! Now on the surface it would appear that “modern positive thinking techniques” fit in nicely with Paul’s call for us to “take captive every thought to make obedient to Christ”; to set our minds on things above and not on earthly things; to think upon what is true, noble, pure, lovely and admirable! But there is a dangerous difference between the two. Positive thinking and possibility thinking can lead unsuspecting Christians away from “looking to Jesus” for their identity and life and push them back into focusing their minds upon themselves! Positive thinking calls us to think highly of ourselves and to hold wonderful thoughts about who we are. Whereas scriptures calls us to face the reality of our brokenness, accuse ourselves honestly, confess and turn to Christ to create within us what we cannot: a new life of “walking in the Spirit!” So positive thinkers are repelled by the consciousness of sin and guilt – seeing them as negative thoughts that bring negative energy and should in no way be confessed! Both positive and possibility thinking are based upon faith in one’s self, and often turn God into a divine servant who exists merely to help us achieve our goals. No, upon closer scrutiny, “self-esteem” positive thinking is completely the opposite of Paul’s call to set our minds on things above! It is a dangerous difference!

10) WISHFUL THINKING! Ever run into some self-help program that suggests you mediate while repeating over and over again some positive message? One New Age teacher suggests reprogramming your mental attitude by chanting repeatedly “I am a radiant being filled with light and love. I am naturally enlightened. My life is blossoming in total perfection. I am the master of my life. I am whole and complete in myself.” Regardless of what positive-image is being repeated over and over, the fact is, its based upon wishful thinking! It is NOT based upon fact! But real Christianity insists that faith must be anchored in objective facts! Initially we may not want to face the truth that “we are broken people living in a broken world”, but until we confess the reality of our sinful nature, we cannot fully turn to Christ and receive His love, peace, joy and contentment. Both positive thinking and possibility thinking are based on wishful thinking! But true faith is based on the hard cold facts of our self-centered nature - miraculously packaged with the grace-filled news of a compassionate-forgiving God who still loves His broken children, and finds away to save His lost sheep through the cross of Christ! Do you want to fill your mind with wishful thinking, or grace filled facts?

11) TURN TO CHRIST! So what do you do when an evil thought pops into your head? Refuse to let that bird “build a nest in your hair” by immediately turning to Christ! The ultimate concern of the Christian is with the person of Jesus Christ! He was and remains a “life-giving Spirit!” Friends, it is not trivial to claim that “the conscious direction of our minds to the person of Jesus Christ will make a profound difference in the quality of our lives!” If your child or grandchild is suddenly gripped with a nagging fear, don’t tell them to repeatedly chant “I am safe. I am brave. I am not afraid.” Don’t teach them to focus on self or wishful thinking! Set their minds on facts; yes, we are weak, but Jesus is strong! Teach them to kick out fear by setting their minds on Jesus Christ. When scared or worried, teach them to sing “Jesus loves me this I know!” Teach them to pray, to read God’s Word. Teach them that fears, anxieties, worries and self-pity are simply trying to “gain control” of our minds but Jesus can fill our minds with good things! And ask the Holy Spirit to help you model this daily! When we bring our thoughts to Jesus – when we turn to Christ - no bird is allowed to nest in our hair!

12) CONFESSION! I think sometimes we Lutherans, especially those raised around Lutheran liturgy, are aware of how wonderful “confession” is in terms of facing and freeing us from the reality of our brokenness. The word “confess” literally means “to speak with.” A Lutheran confession means we speak with God and declare that what God declares is true based on factual reality! When we confess, we are agreeing with God over His estimate of our condition. How ironic though that most of us Lutherans can admit our weaknesses and sins, but often neglect to confess the righteous identity that God has granted us in Jesus Christ! And at the same time, some of our charismatic brothers and sisters confess who they are “in Christ”, but react against a negative confession and refuse to recognize they are still dragging the “old Adam” around with them. A true Christian confession is not one or the other – but both! What we confess is NOT determined by whether the confession is negative or positive. It is determined by whether it is true or false!

13) WHAT GOD SAYS! Last week we mentioned that we each live a double life! We’re at the same time both saint and sinner. We are of the spirit and the flesh! So, having determined that true confession is based on fact, let us see that there are two major facts that are involved in our double life. 1) What God says about us is true; “Because you were born in Adam, you are sinners. Your human nature has been corrupted and perverted by sin. You are going to die.” And so when we examine our own hearts in the light of God’s Word, we accept what God says is true and we confess “God, I agree, I am a poor miserable, wretched sinner!”

14) IN CHRIST! But this is not the extent of our confession! God also declares in the Gospel – 2) “Because I have included you in my Son, Jesus Christ, you are a forgiven, redeemed, righteous, heavenly saint!” Therefore we are also to confess “God, I agree! I am forgiven and righteous in Christ! I am seated in the heavenly places. I am more than a conqueror! I can do all things through Jesus Christ! I believe your Word and your promise!” Our confession should be a movement that starts with honest self-examination and then continues upward towards Christ! Our confession should be based on both truths; not on wishful thinking, but on both Godly facts! We are sinners made righteous in Christ!

15) WORD OF GOD! Focus! Where we focus (after evil thoughts enter our minds), determines if we will “walk in the Spirit!” If we let the Holy Spirit focus us on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy – then no bird of sin will nest in our hair! And there is no greater gift to empower us do that than the Word of God! The Word opens our eyes to God’s mighty acts on our behalf, empowers us to turn our back on ourselves, and turn instead to Him and the new life He offers! The Word of God is 1) A TOOL – the means whereby the Holy Spirit enters in and works in our heart, and 2) A WEAPON – that helps us defeat the temptations that would separate us from God’s love and new life! The Word allows us to praise God in the midst of adversity! If the life of Christ dwells within us by the Holy Spirit, doesn’t it seem foolish not to depend on the Word of God?

16) CHRIST/JOY/SPIRIT! Martin Luther said, “I still constantly find that when I am without the Word, Christ is gone, yes, and so are joy and the Spirit. But as soon as I look at a psalm or read a passage of scripture, it so shines in my heart that I gain a different spirit and mind. Moreover, I know that everybody may daily experience this in his own life!” Whether you read your bible or daily devotions, listen to the scriptures on tape in your car, memorize verses, sing hymns, or attend a small group bible study – God’s Word becomes both a Tool for the Holy Spirit, and Weapon against the pull of temptation and sin. To engage daily in the Word, is to more closely walk with God! And Christ, His joy and Spirit return!

17) GOD IS ABLE! Friends, there is no comparison between the self-esteem movement’s “positive thinking” and the biblical direction for “walking in the Spirit!” One is based on wishful thinking, the other on factual reality! One is based on shallow human reasoning, the other on deep divine wisdom! We do not “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” by declaring how good, wonderful, and talented we are. Instead, we confess! We turn back to Christ and honestly admit that we do not HAVE a problem – we ARE the problem! We ARE broken sinners! And then we joyfully confess that God has redeemed us in Christ Jesus, granting us His righteousness through the cross! Because of what Jesus did, we have been lifted up and seated in the heavenly places! This is NOT “wishful thinking”, this is a new life based on fact – on what God is able to do! It comes NOT through the gift of self-esteem, but rather Christ-esteem, that we can fearlessly “walk in the Spirit”, our hearts filled with inner peace, joy, and contentment! Because of Christ-esteem we can declare the truth; that our God is able to do far more in providing us with a “new life” than we ever dreamed, thought, or asked! Praise God! AMEN!

Sermon/Confessional Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, after hearing your word, we must confess that we have based too much of our identity and life in the hands of wishful thinking and positive thinking! We have been self focused and not turned to you when fear, worry or other evil thoughts enter our minds. We have entertained these sinful thoughts; fooling ourselves that they are not harmful as long as we do not act upon them. Forgive us Lord, and come live within us, that we may walk your Spirit!

Lord, we confess the power to walk in the Spirit lies so close – right there in the gift of your Holy Word! But we do not always fill our lives with it every day. Sadly, we allow You, your joy, and your Spirit to fade away. Forgive us, and pull upon our hearts and empower us to engage daily in the Word, that we may walk more closely with You! Transform our minds now that tomorrow we might do the same – turn to you so that no “bird of sinful thoughts” can build a nest in our hair!

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 the power that Confession has in freeing us from sin, and turning us to You! Having openly admitting our brokenness, help to now also confess the joyful truth that you have now made us righteous in Christ! May both facts lead us to live the “new life” you so eagerly offer us! It is in Jesus Name We Pray. AMEN

Assurance of Forgiveness:

Friends, listen to the good news: The Lord, who brings you a glorious new life based on facts (not wishful thinking), …that Lord has mercifully heard your confession and eagerly forgives you all your sins. Go now, and continue to confess to God daily that you agree with Him about our human condition, AND that you have been made righteous in Christ! Turn daily to His Holy Word, and ask the Holy Spirit to let no bird of sin nest in your hair! AMEN

Opening prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we walk into this Holy Place having done battle all week with sinful desires and evil temptations. As much as we would like to say we were always victorious, you know the truth. Thank you for gently drawing us here again to remind us that you still graciously and mercifully love us! Thank you for patiently calling us to keep growing in our faith! Because your arms are so widely opened to us, we rush into them this morning confident we will find your love, peace, joy and contentment. Because we have been bombarded with temptations this week, we beg you to come dwell within us so that we strengthened for next week! Because we come burdened with sin, we come to confess and await your awesome gift of forgiveness. Because our faith is weak, we pray you will come live within us, bringing us your Word and Spirit! Battered by fear and worry, help us as we seek protection and release from the powers that would separate us from you! Because we are sometimes sad and grieving, help us to sense your compassion and desire to return us to a joyful faith! Heal our hearts, minds, bodies and souls Lord! We give them to you… as well as our humble thanks and praise! In Jesus name we pray, AMEN!

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