From Self To Christ

Sermon - From self to Christ

- On Friday Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New year began. It runs from Friday at sunset

to Sunday at sunset.

This is the celebration of the Jewish New year, & it is the beginning of the Ten day’s

leading up to Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.

- This is ten days in which you look back on your life with repentance.

- Life is full of disasters, struggles, & heartaches.

- Look at the New Year. The Jewish people first looked back at where they were, & had

been. Now a new day has begun, a day of atonement. The past is gone. It is but a

memory. This new day has taken center stage, & the slate is clean.

- Today’s message, we look back at what has become, & now we press on for what is

now, it’s a new day.

- Something I never gave any thought to, but it is something that is of great

importance.

- When someone would ask me what denomination I attended, I would proudly state

I’m a southern baptist. I have always looked at the outreach of this denomination for

our outreach, sending missionaries, & planting churches. We are sharing the good

news.

- Then I noticed the response of one person, “oh, I’d never be a southern baptist”

Q- I wondered, Why, wouldn’t you want to be part of this great outreach?

- Well, it’s in the name, Southern.

- Immediately all eyes are taken off the Christ we represent, & placed upon a

past that doesn’t represent us, or Christ.

- In 2012 the SBC grappled with this name, & agreed that any church that wanted to

go by “great commission baptist” could & even are encouraged to do so.

- This same issue came up a few days ago.

- It looks to be slated in June of 2021, the SBC May vote on a name change to great

commission Baptist’s.

Q- What’s the purpose of doing that?

- This leads me up to our opening scripture.

Ephesians 4:22-24

22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Q- Does the name change who we are?

- No it doesn’t.

- The name simply represents what has already taken place within this church.

* I am a child of God. I will take this Good News to every person that is willing to

receive it. It doesn’t matter who, or what you are. What matters is, you are God’s

creation, & He sent His only begotten Son to die, & be resurrected for you.

- Think of this impact & let’s pray.

Prayer

Q- Will the change of our name change anything?

- I would love to think that it would.

- Then I go to our common way of thinking, & the response goes to the same way

the people of Galilee responded to Jesus.

Matthew 13:55-56

55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

- The change is evident, but people’s perceptions are limited. They can’t see passed

your old name.

Q- So, Why should we even consider changing our name?

- Once again, consider the impact.

Luke 15:7

7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

- If the name change convinced just one person to follow Christ, it’s worth it.

- I’ve told you before, but over the years I have received quite a few nicknames. Two

of which came out of the blue. They were bird egg, & Gatorade. They were names

I never understood why I was called them. Here’s the thing though, the people

who called me by those names didn’t know my real name. To them, that was me,

& I never corrected or acted like it was wrong.

- The People that called me by those names have already gone on to Glory, & I look

forward to the day I will see them, & hear them call me bird egg, & Gatorade.

Q- When thinking about someone, what are people going to remember, the name, or

the person?

- People remember the person.

Q- How many times do you look at someone & think, I know them, but I can’t remember their name?

- What If People, instead of trying to remember our name, simply remember the