A. I read about a minister who gave an unusual sermon one Sunday.
1. He used a peanut to make several important points about the wisdom of God in nature.
2. One of the church members greeted him on the way out and said, “Very interesting sermon, Preacher, I never expected to learn so much from a nut.”
3. Today I’m hoping that we all can learn something from a nut, like me.
B. Let’s start by talking about the Pony Express.
1. We’ve all heard about the Pony Express, but did you know that it only operated for a short time?
2. The Pony Express was a mail service that delivered messages, newspapers, and mail using relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California that operated from April 3, 1860 until October 26, 1861 (1 year and a half).
3. The Pony Express riders had one assignment: to deliver the message safely and quickly.
4. So they seized every advantage: the shortest route, the fastest horse, the lightest saddle.
5. Yet in spite of their concern about weight, every rider was issued a copy of the Bible and required to carry it.
6. Only the sturdy were hired – they had to know how to handle horses, and outrun bandits, and outlast blizzards.
7. They were paid $125 a month (a very good salary in 1860) and they had 8 hours to cover 80 miles, 6 days a week.
8. It was hard work with high pay, but getting the message out was worth it.
C. You know, the apostle Paul would have loved the Pony Express, for just like those riders, he had been entrusted with a message and he was committed to getting it out.
1. Paul had a duty to all people to get the message out.
2. In Romans 1, Paul wrote: 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. (Rom. 1:14-16)
3. I hope that all of us feel that same obligation to share the good news of Jesus with others – with family and friends, people of all nations, backgrounds and circumstances.
a. God loves everyone and wants everyone to be saved – no matter how good or bad they are.
4. I pray that we are not ashamed of the Gospel, but that we believe that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, and such that we are compelled to share it.
D. Paul’s mission was to deliver the message about God, and he really didn’t want it to be about him.
1. What people thought about him and how people remembered him was secondary.
2. But what people thought about Christ and how people remembered Christ was primary.
3. Unfortunately, many of us, if not all of us, can be tempted to make the message about us rather than about Christ.
E. Max Lucado tells a story about a young man who worked at an art museum who allowed that to happen to him.
1. His job at the art museum was simple and clear: his job was to lead people to the paintings, answer their questions, and step out of the way.
2. Initially, he carried out his role beautifully and professionally.
a. He walked the clients to the framed art treasures, identified the artists, and stepped out of view.
b. “This is a Monet,” he would say and move back as people oohed and aahed and asked a question or two.
c. When they were ready, he would lead them to the next masterpiece and repeat the sequence.
d. “This is the work of Rembrandt,” he would say and then step back as they leaned in.
3. It was a simple and good job, and he took great pride in his work.
4. But then something began to change, and he began to forget what his true job was.
a. He began thinking the people had come to see him.
b. Rather than step away from the work of art, he lingered near it.
c. As they oohed and aahed, he smiled and said, “Glad you like it.”
d. He even responded with an occasional “Thank You,” taking credit for work he didn’t do.
5. But soon just lingering near a painting was no longer sufficient for the guide.
a. Little by little he inched toward it.
b. Initially he just extended his arm over the frame, but then his torso would cover part of it.
c. Finally, he got to where his whole body blocked the entire piece of art.
d. People could see him, but not the artwork.
e. The very work he was sent to reveal, he began to conceal.
6. That’s when his boss intervened, “This job isn’t about you, don’t obscure the masterpieces.”
F. How many times does God need to remind us of that very thing?
1. God says to us, “Remember, it’s not about you, rather it’s all about Me.”
2. Now those of us who regularly teach and preach, or have leadership roles in the church or in ministries, are especially prone to falling into the trap of making it about us, rather than about God.
3. It’s so easy to be attracted by the limelight, or to become “applause-aholics.”
4. It’s easy to become envious of those who are experiencing more success or getting more attention.
5. I believe one of Satan’s most effective tactics is when he trains his battalions of demons to whisper this question in our ears: “What are people thinking of you?”
6. The famous British preacher Charles Spurgeon was keenly aware of the dangers of pride.
a. After his sermon one Sunday, Spurgeon was met by a woman who exclaimed, “Oh, Mr. Spurgeon, that sermon was wonderful.”
b. Spurgeon replied, “Yes, madam, so the devil whispered in my ear as I came down the steps of the pulpit.”
7. We must cling to the notion that it’s not about us, rather it’s all about God.
a. Our message must be about Him and not about us.
b. What others think of us matters not, but what they think of God is what matters most.
G. If and when we make it about us, then we are heading for spiritual ruin and destruction.
1. As we have previously mentioned in this sermon series, John the Baptizer had his head on straight about this matter.
a. John the Baptizer said: “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less” (John 3:30 NLT).
2. The apostle Paul was keenly aware of the dangers and destruction that come when we make our message and ministry about us, rather than about God.
H. Let’s look at a few passages that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth.
1. You will recall that the church at Corinth had its challenges with spiritual immaturity.
2. The Christians in Corinth were prone to approach things from a worldly point of view rather than a spiritual point of view.
3. This was especially true about the way they tended to focus on their human spiritual leaders rather than on Christ Jesus.
4. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul wrote: 10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction. 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry among you. 12 What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 I did, in fact, baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect. (1 Cor. 1:10-17)
a. We see here that Paul was urging them to be unified in Christ, and not to align themselves behind human leaders.
b. It’s all about Christ – He’s the Savior – He was crucified for us and raised – we must believe in Him and be baptized into Christ.
c. It matters not who teaches us about Christ or who baptizes us into Christ – what matters is the truth and reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ – Our message is about Him!
5. Paul continued to emphasize this in chapter 2 of the same letter: 1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. 2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power. (1 Cor. 2:1-5)
a. Did you notice how Paul was trying to make it clear that his message was not about him, but was about Christ?
b. Paul came in weakness and fear, and came without brilliant speech or wisdom.
c. Paul’s entire focus was on pointing to Jesus Christ the crucified one.
d. Paul didn’t want their faith to be about him, but about God and God’s power.
6. If that wasn’t enough, Paul continued to pound home these truths in chapter 3: 1 For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, 3 because you are still worldly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? 4 For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not acting like mere humans?
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Cor. 3:1-9)
a. Paul declares that we are acting immaturely and worldly when we make it about certain human spiritual leaders rather than about Jesus Himself.
b. Yes, each of us are gifted by God in different ways, and we have special roles to play in God’s kingdom work, but in the end it is really all about God.
c. You and I are simply one link in a chain, and an unimportant link at that.
d. The truly important one is God who makes it all grow.
e. We must remember that it is God’s field and God’s building and we are God’s co-workers.
f. It’s all about God and not about us.
7. In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians he reemphasized this point when he wrote: For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake. (2 Cor. 4:5)
a. We are just servants and our message is all about Him.
8. Paul so clearly understood that the message was all about God and not about him, that he didn’t care who preached the Gospel as long as the Gospel was preached.
9. Look how Paul shared this understanding with the Philippians: 15 To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. 16 These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. 18 What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice… (Phil. 1:15-18)
a. Paul was in prison, yet he didn’t see that as a hindrance to the progress of the Gospel.
b. Paul was aware that some were preaching Christ out of selfish ambition or to cause Paul trouble, but all that mattered to Paul was that Christ is proclaimed.
c. Paul believed in the power of the Gospel for the salvation of all who believe.
d. The message is what is most important, not the messenger.
I. And how true that is when we think about some of the messengers that God used in getting His message proclaimed.
1. Do you remember how God used a donkey to speak to Balaam (Num. 22:28)?
2. Do you remember how God used a staff-turned-snake to speak to Pharoah (Ex. 7:10)?
3. Do you remember how God used a big fish to make a point about reluctant preachers (Jonah chapter 1)?
4. In reality, God doesn’t need you and me to do His work.
5. “We are expedient messengers, ambassadors by His kindness, not by our cleverness” (Lucado).
J. It’s not about us, and it angers God when we think it is.
1. In Matthew 6, Jesus has a stern warning for all of us gallery guides who eclipse His work and make it about us.
a. “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.” (6:1-2)
b. “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.” (6:5)
c. “Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.” (6:16-17)
d. What are the key words of criticism in those passages? “to be seen by them…to be applauded by people…obvious to people…they have received their reward in full.”
e. Peterson’s paraphrase of this section is right on: “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure – ‘playactors’ I call them – treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get their applause, true, but that’s all they get. (Matthew 6:1-2 MSG)
2. Pony Express riders didn’t take credit for kind letters.
a. Gallery guides don’t deserve applause for great art.
b. And we, who are entrusted with the gospel, dare not seek applause, but we should do our best to deflect applause, for our message is about God and not about us.
K. Allow me to end with this illustration:
1. A European village priest in medieval times once gathered his church for a special service.
2. “Come tonight,” he told them, “for a special service about Jesus.”
3. And so the people came that night, and to their surprise the sanctuary was dark.
4. They groped in the dark and found their way to the pews and took their seats.
5. The priest was nowhere to be seen, but soon he was heard walking down the isle toward the front.
6. When he reached the crucifix that hung on the wall, he lit a candle.
7. The priest said not a word, but he put the candle near the pierced feet of Jesus.
8. Then he moved the candle to the pierced side of Jesus, and then to one of Jesus’ pierced hands, and then to the other.
9. He lifted the candle and illuminated the blood-masked face of Jesus and the crown of thorns.
10. With a puff, he blew out the candle and dismissed the church.
L. May we do nothing more and nothing less than illuminate Jesus?
1. Our message is all about Him.
2. Let’s lift Him up for all to see, and let’s be sure we don’t get in the way of people’s view of Him.
3. And when we lift Him up, and when we point people to Christ, God will do the rest.
Resources:
• It’s Not About Me, Max Lucado, Thomas Nelson, 2004.
