Stop Believing In Yourself, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ have kinda like that, I think we should have the whole point of it is that is that we have to believe there's some strong put our faith in this self-esteem culture which we live, every marker all the things I said. Suicide rates in other such the wrong message to the joining of today on this additional fellowship in the were Pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of pro-survival church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word meets Aurora by that when the original Rocky movie came out.

How many more Rocky movies that there would be the one I will is really about. This week is Rocky Balboa at 2006, what I want to read is that Rocky is giving this inspirational speech to a son, and he says this, let me tell you something you already know the world again.

All sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place me says I don't care how tough you are, it'll be you to your knees and keep you there permanently. If you let it you mean nobody is going to hit as hard as life hits Benin about how hard.

It's about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward. How much can you take and keep moving forward.

That's how winning is done now if you know what you're worth, then go a lot and get what you're worth is is you going to beat you gotta be willing to take the hits and not he says point fingers at others saying that you didn't get what you want to because a him or her somebody else cowards do that netting you you're better than that. I'm always going to love you no matter what no matter what happens you're my son you're my blood. But until you start believing in yourself.

You ain't going to have a life is pretty inspiring right by me while gotta sign going is only Rocky Balboa could do it and he's telling him what a speech one, a motivator, and in a way I'd say I love that speech, except it's a lie. It's not your last line 9 until you start believing in yourself.

You're going to have a life that's a lie, but that's the peptalk of our age everywhere any form of media. That's what they tell you you need to believe in yourself. That's the most important thing you need to believe in yourself.

You see, in our day and age it's here's the problem. If you don't believe in yourself, you're going to suffer the worst infirmity that can happen that any human being. You have low self-esteem is nothing worse than that. That's the mantra of our age is nothing worse than that, you got poor grades in grammar school, low self-esteem. That's why you got poor grades can high school dropout rate, low self-esteem, teen pregnancies, that's low self-esteem, alcohol and drug abuse that that's low self-esteem, divorce, low self-esteem, child abuse, low self-esteem, the overcrowding overflowing prisons filled with people of low self-esteem suicides thought about low self-esteem. You see, you have to understand, just like Rocky was trying to tell her son if you believe you are a winner and you're a winner. That's the mantra of the age that in every possible way.

Sitcoms movies the meeting over and over again. You're told this is you grow up with a really first generation that ever heard, but we hear all the time. I believe the self-esteem movement has the right motivation.

We want people to feel better about themselves but it has the wrong message.

I'm saying that we should all feel good about ourselves. That's not what I'm talking about, but I want you to know we should feel good about ourselves, but that doesn't come to us that doesn't happen through us in order to have the kind of life that I think that we should have the whole point of it is that is that we have to believe there's something much, much bigger and stronger than us to put our faith in, and this self-esteem culture in which we live is become a culture of futility's you can look at every marker out there all the things I said. Suicide rates another. It's all escalating because that's the wrong message to believe in us.

We need to believe in something greater and stronger than us want to start in Genesis chapter 3 Genesis chapter 3 there be no excuse for not finding first thing I want to say this morning is this to believe in ourselves is the basis of the fall to believe in ourselves is the basis of the fall of man verse one now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made any said to the woman. Indeed, has God said, you shall not eat from any tree of the garden that he knew what God said. But is this. Once a test or the gutsy cannonade of any of the trees of the garden and the woman said to the serpent from the food of the trees of the garden. We made from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden God said, you shall not eat from it or touch it or you'll die okay now. She took a little further. God never said didn't touch it but I'm sure Adam made it clear the don't go near the tree, but I want you to understand something before that happened.

Adam and Eve had an Edenic life is as wonderful a life as you could have the life we were all created for God put them in Eden. They have no needs or wants. God came and walked with them in the garden. He was the creator.

They were the creature you couldn't get better than this. Satan comes now, on the basis of this one commandment to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and he brings the temptation to Eve and he says there are now in verse four he said, the serpent said to the woman, you surely shall not die for God knows that in the day that you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God you'll know the difference of good and evil there, there is the temptation the hawk you will be like God would send me you'll be able to decide for yourself what you want if you will be God telling you be like God you'll know the difference of good and evil. You have to believe in God you can believe in you. You see, that's it. You can believe in you then could you be just like him enough. Remember Lucifer's own fall came exactly the same way in Ezekiel 28 Lucifer was the anointed cherub that covered.

He was a most magnificent creature, God ever created.

He found a mirror somewhere in heaven. What Bennett said there's no one like me. I'm really great and when he did it in Isaiah 14 it says that five times.

He said you know what I'm going to make my own choices a minute, choose to believe in me, not him, so five timepieces I will sit on the holy mountain. I will make the world I minute live seat sounds just like me at all. The captain of my own ship out the side when I want to believe it says when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes. Don't miss this in the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit Nate and she gave also to her husband, and he ate well the three elements hear the fall in love good.

It was the light of the eyes, but the most important one. It'll make me wise I could make him I don't have to believe in him. I can believe in me you shall believe in me. I'll decide my fate I'll make my own decisions, that's what I'll do, I'll be able to do this it'll make me wise and that's the real temptation that you run into and way of face that ever since. The managers never stop the history of man is man believing in man. I believe in me that's the most important thing in no more than anywhere in the world would live. Now our world is just filled with this idea. The culture in America is just filled with this idea. You need to believe in you mean we had a song for the Whitney Houston song the greatest love of all is me the greatest love. I could ever have is for me.

That's our culture.

It says it over and over and over again. You need to believe in you.

But it's always been a problem with me now to Judges 2125. The last verse in the book of Judges, Abraham is been called up. He's been given Abraham a covenant yes Isaac. Isaac has Jacob.

Jacob has 12 sons they become the 12 tribes of Israel.

God then decides that he's going to put the 12 tribes of Israel into the promised land can be great. He says I'll put you in. I'll do all the work will be a land flowing with milk and honey it's going to be wonderful for you. They get in the land flowing with milk and honey. God does it all for them, and then problems begin. One problem after another and the problems in order to try to solve the problems God sends judges to he sends one judge after another guys like Samson and Gideon he sends judges to them and says look I got a straight knew what this there's something so wrong here in verse 25 of Judges tells us what's wrong in those days there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes as America. That's us.

Everyone does what right in our own eyes we live in a major plurality of all view points of view in America are equal. What's good for you is good for you but I might not be good for me. What's true for you might be true for you but is not true for me.

I decide you see and that's America will do what's right in our own eyes, and of course as a country. Now were beginning to reap what we sow.

As a nation, but the ideas I do what's right in my own eyes. That's the way this thing works for me and it's an interesting thought. When you think about it that the it says in those days there was no king in Israel. I remember after this Pat time passed. Guess when Israel ask God for when the king got no no no no. Did you have to understand something. I'm looking like that's a stupid king. I want you to be king I came to see you I will a pagan second Kings and crowns are good courts. We want to see K someone is a king. We want to follow ROK reluctantly got soaking choose one and they do that you saw now I've got me before. And if you're younger, I'm sorry, but if you're overloaded. Understand this, the more I study the Scripture still with this, but if you remember the old sitcom the Beverly hillbillies.

I believe Saul is just throw bodhi okay being strapped handsome man, but if you watch the series is not a whole lot else there and that was all but see what happened was they decided they wanted to follow okay now please understand, David was a great King Solomon was a great King but then they split Judah and Benjamin stayed in Judah and the other 10 were called Israel every king that Israel ever had was evil. Every single one in Judah. Some of them are righteous but some of them were evil. If you look at the history of men leading men. Men decided all the kings of the earth. How well that turned out with you, kings or dictators. Whatever you call anytime. Man leads man it doesn't work out very well at all man has no real capacity to do this but everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes now believing is the basis of the fall in yourselves is the basis of the fall and also Israel around a lot of trouble with this.

The holy through their history, but I want to move the third point. Proverbs chapter 14 I want to talk about why are we driven to this one so tempting about this you know of all the different things in your Christianity. This one basic point might be the most difficult for and for me this is a difficult issue to believe in God, rather than to believe in me. I mean it's just part of who I am. Solomon's readiness and in chapter 14 and verse 12 of Proverbs. He says this he said there is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

There is a way that seems right to a man he said yes and ends in death is because our fallen nature, believing in myself. Seems right. It just seems right is the way to go. He said yes I know is there's a way that seems right to a man but I'm telling you, and ends in death, it doesn't work that way.

Think of what man did even approaching God man invented from the Tower of Babel one religion seem right to you lot of you come out of religious backgrounds seems right and that religion you just join a religion.

You get to go when they tell you to go. You do what they tell you to do you stand upset Don, by whatever it is you go through the motions you go to the religion and it seems like the gods can be so impressed with your religion is just a come on it and ends in death doesn't work seems right. Think of how incurably religious man is induced Buddhist Montebello Vegas what it seems right does ends in death.

He said that's his problem. Now when you think about a little bit more. The issue seems to be why is this why does it seem right to us, but ends up in death turn to Jeremiah chapter 17 in verse nine Jeremiah 17.

In verse nine Jeremiah says in 1790 starts out with our heart understand when the Hebrews as part he means our soul are were on mind, emotions, and will the inner part of us.

The decision-making part all that.

That's what he means hard doesn't mean the organ.

He says the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. Who can understand it. That's my heart, that your heart but God say, but it it's more deceitful than anything else that wonder what is it won't it. It's a little naïve but somewhat deceitful guises know it's the most deceitful thing you will ever face your heart. Why would it be like that he's a because it's desperately sick. That's the next phrase that he uses your heart and here's the question who does your heart to see you. You see your heart deceives you is as natural as anything could be there's a way that seems right to a man and ends in death. You see, and the reason is, your heart deceives you.

And that's just the way it works no matter how logical it seems illogical. I mean, it seems to us you run into it all the time and we just you.

All teenagers and many of you have have teenagers and ever and just notice how teenagers can do almost unbelievably stupid things.

I mean is just a bit of a capacity for things like that that just and and a parent always says the same thing why what what why did why did you do that. Why did you go there. Why seem right to me this seems I seem like a good idea. I can believe you went there just seemed how many other kids were saying to seem like them to match being a teenager.

We all do it, even as adults, there's a way that seems right but my heart is desperately wicked. See the sidebar. That is, even as adults, we often say what you know I got this really important decision to make this going to go with my gut. Please don't. I'm just going to go with my gut mean we have said things that are unbelievably stupid. I've heard people that have said I'm committing adultery on my spouse and I know it's of the Lord because the Lord want to be happy and this makes me happy. I'm just doing a God thing here really yeah how did they get some and get that deceived her heart. That's just what your heart works yeah this is fine for me. I I I think I'm going to do this.

I'm just going to go with my gut and this thing be careful about that.

You can't trust your gut is deceitful, and there is no way you see in my own heart and my flesh is going to respond and what you end up finding is what how God says I should respond to life and how my flesh instinctively wants to are diametrically opposed to each other there very very different things. I mean, just think the whole self-esteem idea in America is you need to look out for number one in your number one then Paul writes of God tells us in Philippians. You and I need to consider everybody else is more important than we are.

Everybody will be honest you do that really there might be some people out there as important as you but there are a lot of people out there that aren't even close to important as you are. Christians would never say things like, do you know who I am. Yes, a safe sinner when I was you have nothing else but see, that's our instincts. This seems counter instinctive to me. I gotta consider everybody else is more important than me.

I know some of you people are more important to me to see so how can I consider that you see somebody says terrible things to me. Everybody's taught me since a little stand up for yourself and say terrible things back God's essay no unkind word somebody does your dirt and here's your God. I get them back.

I for an eye, tooth for tooth right guides and hate vengeance is mine says of the night.

You see how this works is hard for us, our instincts keep telling us, and the reason is believing in ourselves is easy will this just completely destroys pastor broke apart the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcasting or maybe you just like the method one more time. Remember that you can Google a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online event website you will find on with today's broadcast so many of our previous audio programs as well at Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help his radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting monthly with just a one-time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is of the sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service of fellowship monitored visit our website SBC Nola.org that SBC and LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds pastor Bill sermon you can browse through our sermon archives defined sensors are looking for. You can search by title. Once you find the message you're looking for an online, or if you prefer, you can download the sermon on listening and remembering all this absolutely free of charge. Once again our website SBC Nola.org forecaster Bill Gebhardt injuries and heart. Thank you for listening to fellowship in order