Killing "The god of Me”
Please stand with me as we go over our current memory Scripture:
Matthew 5:6-8
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
And our memory Scripture “refresher” verse is:
Jude 1:24-25
“To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy; to the only God our Savior, be glory, majesty, power and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever more. Amen!”
Today we will be reading from Philippians 2:1-11
The last time we were together we took a look at one of the great hymns of the Bible found in Philippians chapter two. When we did that we attempted to comprehend the vast magnitude of Jesus’ humility.
And we saw how Jesus being God Himself voluntarily set aside all of the privileges that come with being God as an act of humility and obedience to the Father.
Let’s continue to look at the greatest of all sacrifices that was ever made in Philippians 2:1-11
(prayer for help)
Philippians 2:5b-7a says
“Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant …”
Human language is so inadequate when it comes to trying to describe the vastness of this act of love by God for humanity.
The amazing thing is that the more you look into God’s holy Word, the more you will come to know God Himself. And the more you come to know God Himself the more you will be met head-on by the incomprehensible magnitude of this act of humility and obedience.
On the other hand, if you know little of God’s Word and if you have no real relationship with the Lord God through Jesus Christ His Son, then this verse will more than likely bring a response of “oh, yeah … that’s nice” and your life will be unchanged.
Christ Jesus did not just exist in the form of God as we would think of it. It is not as if He was just “similar to” or “kind of like God”, but He was and is truly God Himself in every aspect of the word. He IS the one and only true God.
Now, we all have a god. I am not talking about the One and Only God, although it SHOULD be the One and Only God of the Bible. But, with the vast majority of people living today their god is spelled with a little “g”.
When the Lord God created us it was with a need for Him and that need was fulfilled in an unbroken fellowship with God the Creator. But, what happened when sin entered into the world? God the Creator was replaced with “the god of me”.
This is the fallen state of humanity! We are born in sin and the sinful nature makes us self-centered and we, in essence, become our own god. We can deny that with all of our hearts but it is nevertheless true.
So, until we meet God the Creator who gave His One and Only Son for our salvation we will inevitably serve “the god of me”.
Try to imagine this … How many Jews were there when Nebuchad-nezzar set up the 90 foot tall, 9 foot wide idol on the plain of Dura and ordered everyone to bow and worship the idol when the music started? (Explain - Daniel 3:1-30)
There had to be more than three but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were the only ones standing. We don’t know how many other Jews there were but we do know that when it comes to self-preservation “the god of me” can be very powerful.
And, it is in those times of testing when we find out who our god really is; is it “the god of me” or the God who died for me?
But, for professing Christians, the time of testing can be a tiny temptation compared to being put to death just because you refuse to deny Christ as Lord. Let me give you an example …
After ruling for less than one year, Edward VIII became the first English monarch to voluntarily abdicate the throne. He chose to abdicate after the British government, public, and the Church of England condemned his decision to marry the American divorcée Wallis Warfield Simpson (with whom he had been committing adultery even while she was still in her second marriage.) On the evening of December 11, 1936 he gave a radio address in which he explained, “I have found it impossible to carry on the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge the duties of king, as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I love.” (History.com)
Let’s just kind of set that aside for now and we will come back to it later.
What about another example?
In a recent article in a magazine called Christianity Today there is an article on cohabitation by a couple who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ.
Here is the opening sentence from the article …
“In early 2019, the internet was aglow with news about Chris Pratt and his fiancée, Katherine Schwarzenegger, moving in together.”
Now, I later found out that Chris Pratt is an actor and Katherine Schwarzenegger is a daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger the actor. So, it was no surprise to me that they would be cohabiting and sexually active before marriage, but, just listen to the rest of the first paragraph ….
“Media outlets cited the couple’s evangelical Christian faith as the reason they did not cohabit until they were engaged. Few suggested there was any contradiction between Pratt’s cohabitation and his status as a “devout Christian,” and a “folksy, popular evangelical” who urged “living boldly in faith.”
So, the “faith” of a self-avowed “devout Christian” who is a “folksy, popular evangelical” who urges others to “live boldly in faith” somehow came to the decision that it was honorable in God’s sight to live with a woman in a relationship that is clearly forbidden in the Bible.
Now, you are probably thinking, “What on earth does this have to do with anything that could, or should, be included in a sermon on a Sunday morning in a church that proclaims the Word of Truth?
Let’s look again at Philippians 2:5b-7a says
“Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant …”
Jesus’ example of “emptying” Himself in obedience to the Father is no more than is expected of us. (repeat)
OK. I know that this sermon seems like a jumbled mess but please hang in there with me because I believe this “emptying” of oneself is so important that it cannot be minimized!
In order to be in relationship with Jesus, in order to be saved and live a righteous life we need to “empty ourselves” by killing “the god of me.”
Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Colossians 3:5
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”
This is the killing of “the god of me” and putting Jesus on the throne of your life! This is a testimony to the world!
Claiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ while still living in open sin is also a testimony to the world; a bad one.
1 Peter 2:12 tells us that we should …
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.”
That is what is SUPPOSED to happen when we profess to be believers in Jesus Christ. But is God glorified when we claim to be Christians and then publicly sin in rebellion to God’s Holy Word?
Let’s go back to Edward VIII the king of England. What is one of titles held by the monarch of England? “Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England”.
“DEFENDER OF THE FAITH AND SUPREME GOVENOR OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND”
Now, we don’t know that because we are Americans, right? But, you can bet that the people of the British Empire knew that back in 1936.
So, what do you think when the “Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church” openly commits adultery with a married woman? Do you think his actions called people to righteousness? Do you think his defiance of God’s Holy Word called the people of England to repentance?
It might have if he had confessed his sin in humiliation and repentance and openly sought the forgiveness of God. But, instead of giving up his title of “Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England” out of sorrow and remorse he gave it up for the love of his adulteress.
Now, was he serving the God of Heaven or the “god of me”?
And, what about the openly “devout Christian,” “folksy, popular evangelical” who urged “living boldly in faith.”
What did the world see when he and his fiancée decided to openly live in sexual sin in spite of the teachings found in the Word of God?
Was it a good witness or a bad witness for Christ?
How many immature Christians who were not committing this specific sin saw his actions and followed?
Now, are they serving the God of Heaven or the “god of me”?
What about me? What about you?
Am I serving the God of Heaven of the “god of me”?
What is the first of the Ten Commandments?
Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.”
For anyone who is serving the “the god of me” there is only one remedy. “Empty yourself” of “the god of me” and be filled with the God of Heaven. This is a purging process.
It probably won’t be quick and easy. It may take weeks or months of spiritual toil and searching with the help of the Holy Spirit but if you pursue God with all of your heart you will find Him and it will be worth it.
You will never have true peace in your heart as long as “the god of me” reigns there.
You are never too far gone that Jesus won’t redeem you.
The devil may be in your face right now reminding you of all you have done and telling you that Jesus has no use for you. The devil is a liar.
The words of this song are true for me and they are true for you. Think about these words and “empty yourself” of all of you and be filled with Jesus.
Dallas Holm - At My Worst (You Found Me) Lyrics
At my worst, You found me - At my worst, You died
At my worst, You loved me - And at my worst, You tried to tell me
That the best thing I could do Would be to give my life to You
At my worst You loved me And now I love You, too
How could You love me, Jesus? How did you know my name?
Why did you save me, Jesus?
Oh, I'll never know How you love me so
And I'll never see What You saw in me
At my worst, You found me - At my worst, You died
At my worst, You loved me - And at my worst, You tried to tell me
That the best thing I could do Would be to give my life to You
At my worst You loved me - And now I love You, too
