I Am Not: "Athiest Say I am Arrogant"

Text: John 1:19-3

It has been my experience that many non-Christians believe that I am arrogant for believing that faith in Jesus is the only way to be in relationship with God. I have heard it said this way, “Who do you think you are to be telling anyone that they are wrong and you are right?”

Have you ever been asked the question, “Who do you think you are?” Specifically in reference to your actions that you believe are in obedience to God? All of us probably answer yes to this question in one way or another. This is because, as we are obedient to God and His word, people will accuse you of being arrogant, close minded, lost in the past.

We find a similar story in the first chapter of John and it deals with the questions that John the Baptist was asked as he was baptizing in the wilderness.

Read John 1: 19-34

Main Point: We are not who we point to.

1. Know what you are not.

We will confess that we are not God (All powerful/knowing) and that we are not Jesus (The Savior), but we are prone to behave otherwise which reveals what we really think about ourselves.

-       I am not God, but I try and control everything in my life and even attempt to control God wiht 

     religious activities.

-       I am not Jesus, but I will try and save and fix everyone around me, filling myself with undue      

     pressure.

-       I am not worthy to untie Jesus’ shoe, but I will live my life as though I am the center of the     

     universe. 

2. Focus on what you are and what you are supposed to be doing.

John the Baptist’s role was:

- Being a voice crying out in the wilderness

- Making straight the way of the Lord.

- Fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah.

- His baptism was of water, that Jesus might be revealed to Israel." 

3. Knowing what you’re not, can help you understand what Jesus is.

- "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” 

- “After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.”

-  “I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

Personal Challenge: Prepare yourself to answer the question, "who do you think you are?"

Claiming to be a Christian will cause others to ask you questions similar to those asked of John.

-       The first step in answering them is to realize and function according to the fact that you are not      

     God, nor are you Jesus

-       You must speak of what you know and be honest about what you don’t know or can’t do.

Corporate Challenge: As Christians we need to be as clear as possible about who we are and what we have to offer our culture.

Changed - Part 4: Relationally Shaped (How relationships bring positive life change.)

When someone that you do not know insults you, you can get over it pretty quick. You may be tempted to lash out in retaliation but by and large you can get over it pretty quick. The reason is, you don't have a relationship with them so their insult really does not matter or have much of a long term effect on your life. 

If someone with whom you have a relationship insults you, the depth of the relationship will determine the depth of the hurt. This same train of though can be followed when dealing with the positive. This is true because in so many ways we are shaped by our relationships. Over and over again Jesus models this in how He related to the twelve and called us to relate to each other.In fact the Trinity is the only perfect model we have of a perfectly healthy relationship. My point in this message is, healthy relationships bring healthy change. Consider the following points 

1. Relating to The Holy Spirit - 2 Corinthians 3:17, 

            A. Relating to Him as a person not a personal force.

            B. Relating to Him as from within, not far off.

            C. Relating to Him in accordance with Scripture not emotional wish fulfillment.

2. Relating to one another in love. 1 John 4:20

    

    Positive relationships bring change when the following are present:

            

            A. warmth

            B. empathy

            C. acceptance

            D. expectation

3. Relating on a foundations of trust. John 2:24 / Prov. 27:4

            A. Not naïve’ trust.

            B. Not blind

            C. But Authentic

4. Relating through honesty. Proverbs 27:6, 9, 17

In order to fully experience positive life change through relationships you must give grace without enablement. Donald Miller makes this point very clear in his book, "Scary Close, when he writes, “It makes me wonder how many people have damaged their own lives by mistaking enablement for grace.” (Donald Miller Scary Close p. 71). There is a fine often crossed lined separating enablement and grace and most of the errors occur on the side of grace. Many never change because those closest to them simply enable them to remain in the same negative state. This is not what Jesus had in mind as He modeled grace for us. Nor is it what He models for us when His Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. 

One final word for thought on this subject is the option of loosing control and gaining intimacy. Once again we can turn our attention to Donald Miller when speaking of intimacy, he states, “It’s the one thing we all want, but must give up control to get.” (Scary Close pg. 98).   This is why transformation requires enormous courage. We need the courage to not know how it will turn out and a willingness to look bad, be wrong, and surrender control. 

May the Lord build your relationship with Him and others so that you and others experience positive life change through relationships. 

Changed - Part Three: Staring at God

My Mom taught me that it is not polite to stare at people. However some people make it very difficult to follow my Mom’s instruction. With the artistic expression that is prevalent in our culture I have often found myself staring at people and feeling awkward when caught. I have thought some about this and I am no longer going to feel that sense of awkwardness because if people don't want to be starred at then why would they decorate themselves in such a way as to cause me to stare? 

For reasons other than decoration and outward appearance I am sure that many starred at Jesus. I fact I we all would be better of if we would do more starring at our Lord. In order to overcome the barriers that keep me from positive life change, I need to stare at Jesus and I would invite you to do the same. The passage on which we have based this series helps me better understand exactly what this means. http://www.biblestudytools.com/esv/2-corinthians/passage/?q=2-corinthians+3:17-18 

We know that we as Christians are to keep our eyes on Christ, but it seems to me that so many other things keep jumping into my line of sight. It’s like we are trying to down a busy freeway and we keep getting cut off by semi-trucks. My goal in this message is to help us stare at God.

1. Starring at God is more than a glance. The word "beholding in our text ssuggests contemplation and     meditation, not a cursory patronizing glance. 

2. Starring at God is a focus on His glory. Consider the following passages:”

            A. Stop staring at each other. Genesis 42:1

B. Stop complaining about what God has given you. Numbers 11:6 

            C. Have a worshipful focus. Psalm 8 

D. Look down and up. Psalm 27:13 and Psalm 123:1 

3. Staring at God transforming because…

            A. We are beholding with “unveiled face”

                        Because of Jesus’ has removed the barrier of sin, we know can reflect the glory

                          of God. There is no longer anything in between us a God.

            B. Staring at Jesus makes us like Him.

                   “His glory shines upon us, and into us, and fills us, until it shines out from us again. By 

                    gazing on His glory the believer is changed through the Spirit into the same image.”

Andrew Murry

http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/murray/like_christ/lc20.htm

           

C. “It is a law of nature that the eye exercises a mighty influence on mind and

                  character.”

Andrew Murry

http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/murray/like_christ/lc20.htm

With these points in mind the challenge becomes surrendering to what we see when we stare at God. When you stare at God He will shape you into the image of Jesus.  In Romans 8:29 Paul says, "For those He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. We must understand when we will be fully formed. This is explained by John in his first epistle when he writes, "We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is! (1 John 3:2) "

"Fluffy Clouds and Chubby Babies" - Judah Smith

http://thecity.org/message/fluffy_clouds_and_chubby_babies

Changed - Part 2: Freak Out or Be Free

While driving along the 215 Freeway last week, a motorcycle flew past me and as it did the driver turn around shaking his fist at the car in the next lane. Apparently the drive was not pleased. From my vantage point, I saw the motorcycle heading toward a semi-truck and thought to myself, as angry as the driver may be he would be wise to pay attention to where he is headed. Fortunately he turn around in time to avoid a collision that would have for certain ruined his day and the day of his family. 

How many accidents have happened in your life because you focused more on what just happened and not on what is happening next? How many times have we all been tempted to move away from difficulty with no regard to what kind of trouble we may be getting into. I use this to make the point that freaking out will not bring freedom.

People are in panic mode because they have made mistakes and feel like they have lost control of their lives and cannot change. Very few things bring on the temptation to freak out like the thought of loosing control of our lives and having no power to make positive live change. What follows are my thoughts concerning the truth that freaking out does not bring positive life change.

1. We often panic when our actions yield unexpected results.

    

In Matthew 27:3-10 we see how Judas Iscariot is a sad example of freaking. Judas recognized that his action had an unexpected results. Many believe that Judas assumed that Jesus would work himself out of trouble as He did so many times before. Apparently Judas had not been listening to Jesus as He explained that He would in fact suffer. If this is correct, Judas was attempting to financially profit at the expense of Jesus but freaked out when Jesus was lead away to His death.

We can also see in Judas that his repentance was not Godly sorrow that leads to restoration, but a remorse that lead him to self-destruction. This is similar to the idea that a person is only sorry after they get caught doing wrong. When a person confesses sin prior to anyone finding out, it is usually a Goldy sorrow and restoration is more likely.  This is made very clear in 2 Corinthians 7:10 where Paul writes, “For godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death."

2. We are tempted to panic and be filled with anxiety when our future in unsure. 2 Peter 1:3-15

Peter is writing to a group of people who are tempted to abandon the promises of God concerning the return of Jesus and their eternal hope. Nothing defines freaking out more than the abandonment of our faith in God. The people to whom Peter was writing were panicking because of the persecution they faced as followers of Jesus. 

Because many of us are tempted to do the same, we would be wise to listen to Peter as he describes a lifestyle opposite of panic that is based upon the power and promises of God. Those to whom Pater wrote, knew that God had promised these things but they doubted the power of those promises therefore they doubted the very power of God. 

  

3. Anxiety is often a result of disobeying God which removes us from the peace that come from  

    God alone.  Deuteronomy 28:65-68

These words of Moses as recorded in this text were spoken to those who were about the follow God into to land that He had promised. God wanted them to be fully aware of what would happen if they chose to disobey Him as they lived the land that He provided. This warning expels the notion that the consequences of our disobedience can be blamed on a lack of power on God's part. When we suffer the consequences of disobedience it is our fault not God's. We must repent and turn to Him without freaking out and abandoning Him and His love for us. 

        

My challenge for us becomes to move toward the positive. As the Psalmist did, ask God to search your heart and reveal the source of anxiety. Psalm 139:23 "23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." As God reveals this to you, commit yourself to dealing with by trusting in God's grace and mercy. His gracious presence will help calm the anxiousness in your heart.  

We may also prayerfully find something to be thankful for as Paul the apostle challenged the Philippian Church in Philippians 4:6 when he wrote "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." This would be the opposite of freaking out and is a huge step towards positive life change.