Sermon Central
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Live Unashamed
Contributed by Michael Monica on Jun 10, 2015 (message contributor)
Summary: Live Like Jesus
[live unashamed]
As a follower of Jesus, I want to always have an overwhelming desire to share Christ with others and to live different. I have a desire for others to see Jesus in me and live a life that reveals the power of the gospel. The issue I encountered in my Christian walk was that I became aware of my image and I became self-conscious about my image. I struggled with a great deal of insecurity for a long time. First, I was slightly overweight and then the way I dressed became an issue.
Insecurity is rooted in acceptance. Sometimes it can be difficult to pinpoint the reasons why we live a certain way but when we understand the root cause, we can begin to address those issues. The insecurity didn’t just disappear either; it became a way of life that I had to struggle and wrestle with, even after being in church leadership.
At first, it wasn’t hard to allow the insecurity to go unchecked because I did a lot more “behind the scenes” stuff at work. Doing behind the scenes things gave me the opportunity to serve without addressing some issues in my heart. Yet, God called me to do something different. I was serving where I could because there was a need and I was given a talent for it.
Yet, when it came time for me to step up and step into my calling and stand before people, I would often become a total wreck. I would shut down and become extremely quiet, even more quiet than usual which meant I was quieter than a mouse.
God brought forth the issue of insecurity through the words of other people in my life. When I became more aware of insecurity and sometimes a desperate need for attention, I began to unravel the truth that I felt unaccepted.
“Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.”
As the people of God, our mission to others must be birthed from a proper theology and understand this-we are accepted. When I think of myself, I don’t think I have much to offer. Much of my life and much of my work has been in small quantities and a percentage of my work has gone unnoticed.
That isn’t a complaint either; just the reality as I see things the way they are. I find myself doubting myself and struggling with insecurity because I don’t see myself as someone who has much to offer. I don’t have those great leadership characteristics that I often read about. I don’t have the most disciplined lifestyle or even the most consistent devotional time. I fall short in so many areas of my life.
This is where God wants me though. His desire is not that I focus on my inabilities and my insecurity but that my focus is centered on this, “In Christ, I am accepted.” I am accepted because this marvelous, amazing love that God has for me. A love that I don’t fully understand and never will on this side of heaven. I am accepted to the point where God is willing to give his Son for me. I am accepted and I am loved and I am cared for.
Listen to this Christians, you and I will never be who God calls us to be until we understand how much he loves us. His love is without limit, his grace is unending, his mercy goes on forever. God speaks our names, he writes our names down. He calls us sons and daughters. We are loved by the King of the Universe!
It is the love of God that must be the driving force of all we do and say. It is the love of God that ignites all that we do. As I share my story of being ashamed of sharing the gospel, I bring up Romans 1:16 which has long been a favorite Scripture of mine.
“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes-the Jew first and also the Gentile.”
How powerful are those words, penned by the Apostle Paul, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? While I admit that I love(d) this verse in theory, the practice made me uncomfortable and discouraged because there are times when I do fall short and become ashamed of the Gospel. It is of course of great importance to understand the context of what Paul is saying here.
The book of Romans shares many similarities with the Book of Galatians. In these letters, Paul is sharing the freedom we have in Christ and the truth that we are no longer under the bondage which came as a result of the Law.