Stop Believing In Yourself, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. I've heard people say I many adult on my spouse and I know it's on the Lord because the Lord wants me happy. And this makes me happy. I'm just doing a God thing really yeah how did they get some and get back to see just doing the hard work. Yeah, this is fine for me.

I think a minute go with my gut and be careful about. You can't trust you is deceitful, and there is a way in my own heart and my flesh is going to respond. What you end up finding is how God says I should respond like that how my flesh diametrically opposed their very very different things. Joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana when Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word. Our world we live in a major plurality all view point of view in America are equal.

What's good for you might not be good for me. What's true for you might be too real, 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 will begin 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 time past, guess what Israel asked God for when the king got no no no no. Did you have to understand something.

I'm looking like that's a stupid game.

I want you to be king I came to see you I will and second Kings and crowns are good courts.

We want to see someone as a king actually want to follow ROK reluctantly. God said okay. Choose one and they do that you saw now I've got me before. If you're younger, I'm sorry, but if you're overloaded. Understand this, the more I study the Scripture still with us, but if you remember the old sitcom the Beverly hillbillies. I believe Saul is just throw Bodie 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 able, if you look at the history of men leading men. Men decided all the kings of the earth. How well that turned out. When you call him 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 is around a lot of trouble with this. The whole way through their history, but I want to move 1/3 point. Proverbs chapter 14 I want to talk about why 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 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 writing this 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 suggestion and ends in death because our fallen nature, believing in myself. Seems right.

It just seems right. It's the way to go.

He said yes I know it is a way that seems right on it 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 can. My religious background 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 up sitdown bile.

Whatever it is you go through the motions you go do the religion. It seems like the gods can be so impressed with your religion is a come on it and incident doesn't work seems right. Think of how incurably religious man is induced Buddhist must bellow think it's right that seems right. It does ends and 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 turned to Jeremiah chapter 17 in verse nine Jeremiah 17. In verse nine Jeremiah says in 1790 starts out with our heart and understand what Hebrew says heart he means our soul are were are mind, emotions, and will the inner part of us. The decision-making part all that. That's what he means heart 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 about it. It's more deceitful than anything else that when you want to wallow in it.

It's a little naïve but somewhat deceitful.

God says no. It's the most deceitful thing you will ever face your heart. Why would it be like that.

He said 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. I'm just you were 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's just an apparent always says the same thing why why why why did why did you do that. Why did you go there. Why seem right to me, this seem by seem like a good idea.

I can't believe you went there just seeing how many other kids were saying to seem like them to match being a teenager, but 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 that we often say what you 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 wants me 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 where your heart works yeah this is fine for me. 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 a way you see in my own heart that 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 and then Paul writes of God tells us in Philippians.

You and I need to consider everybody else is more important and 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 seems counter instinctive to me. I got to consider everybody else is more important 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. It's a terrible things back God's essay no unkind word somebody does your dirt and here's your thought. I get them back.

I for my tooth for tooth right got to hate me. Vengeance is mine says the Lord of the repaying night you see how this works is hard for us, our instincts keep telling us, and the reason is believing in ourselves is easy but it will destroy us. This completely destroys the last thing I want to say maybe the most important part is found in Matthew chapter 16 Matthew 16 in verse 24, not only to believe in ourselves is the basis of the fall believing in themselves got Israel and all kinds of trouble and believing ourselves is easy, but it will destroy us from what I said in Matthew 16. Is this Jesus says Jesus taught the exact opposite of believing in ourselves. He taught exactly the opposite, Jesus speaking to his disciples in verse 24. That's us. He says let me set up a condition here if anyone wants to come after me. How many of us want to see if you are already saved one of his disabled do you want to come after me. Yeah I want to know is that if I'm telling you, if anyone wants to come after me there. Some conditions are one. He must deny himself, to take up his cross. Three. Follow me, he must deny himself.

That's not exactly the same as fulfilling myself. You have to deny yourself this against our nature and one of the nine myself. You see, I want to lift myself up want to be. I want to believe in myself.

He says no you need to deny yourself. That's an amazing statement. In other words you say don't follow your heart. Don't follow a desperately wicked hard so you want to follow me.

Some of us do. By the way we think were following Christ because we go through a couple things were willing to tolerate see someone is a real follower of Christ or down before I ever the bubble Bible couple times in a year. I'm going to church on third of the Sundays that me some of all right long as the following him all but that's if I was much as I want to fall see I want to follow but just about that much.

I don't want to be and please understand this.

I don't want to be a fanatic but I've read the entire Bible more than one occasion. There's no such thing as a Christian fanatic okay there's no such thing. No, I don't want to be a fanatic. What's that mean I want to really follow him all the time. That's a fanatic coming on Monday you want to follow him Saturday night. You want to follow. Yeah, I want to do that. You see, that's our flesh speaking. He said you need deny yourself and then he says you need to take up your cross and please understand that on there with this meant not only may have to deny myself he said are you willing to humiliate yourself for me because that's what it means to take up your cross. When the Romans crucified you. They had the vertical pole was always in the ground and in a crossmember. You always had to carry the crossmember to the vertical pole was before the crucified and normally what they do they strip your bare naked and put a sign around her neck and then walk you through the center town. That's humiliation. That's about as humiliating as something to be Jesus said you willing to take up the cross, you will be humiliated for me. Are you willing to deny yourself for me is that after you do those two things now follow me say I can't follow him up. I don't deny myself but I don't think of the cross. I'm not following I could say I'm falling but I'm not at all.

That's what Jesus says.

The other thing to think about is Jesus said, isn't that exactly what I did for you and the son of God deny himself as he emptied himself of his divine prerogatives out of food to take up the cross was humiliated for you and me. This in his case he had no reason to be a little slow for us is I'm just asking you to do what I did for you and then he says now you can follow me now. The next verse he says let me explain something he said for whoever wishes to save his life will lose it yeah if you whoever wishes to save his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life for my sake will find wow that sounds strange how do I find my life by losing it.

She don't quite understand that if I lose my life because what I find I find my life.

In other words, what Jesus is saying is when you really believe in me, rather than believing in you really going to have life the way it's intended for you. That's what you gonna get you see and that's the life of Jesus and of come to give you life and to give it to you abundantly. That's a life of joy and peace and hope, purpose and meaning. He said that's what you have to do is but you have to lose your life in order find in other words, you have to stop believing in you and start believing in me.

He goes on explains in the use of salvation is illustration again explanatory for a car he says for what will it profit. He said a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul or what will a man give in exchange for so he said you believe in yourself.

You can try that you believe in whatever you want, you would gain the whole world in your belief system but I can tell you this, the movers, by the way, that is the axiom of all religion. I believe it. I believe it that I know how to do this.

I know what we need to do in order to save ourselves. Jesus said your luger life. I don't care how much of the world again. You gonna lose everything that's amazing to me. First Corinthians 118 Jesus said up all of this. He said the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God ever talk to a religious person about the gospel in the cross. It's always the same. That's falling you have to belong to our organization. You have to do what you're told. It's only when you do it you wanted and you get to go to think it's falling. It's not the whole thing about not believing yourself and believing in God is paradoxical.

That's why it's a problem it's paradoxical, Webster says a paradox is a tenant, contrary to received opinion or it's a statement that is seemingly contradictory to common sense and yet it's true. That's what I'm trying to say this is all paradoxical. Every bit of it for you and I do be all that we can be. We need to believe in something other than ourselves. We need to believe in something stronger and bigger than us silly.

We got saved when you are saved, you realize I can't do anything to save myself for I can receive your gift because you've done all the work.

Now what Paul is telling it out. Jesus is telling us after your sick how you live your life.

You said the same way you live my life the same way it's always paradoxical. The Bible says if you want to be exalted have to be humble, so a culture says no way I can climb right over you. People get to the top you want to be exalted going get it. That's where world cities and a need to be humble if you want to be first you have to be last. Is that makes sense to you in your you want to be first you have to be last if I want to be strong. He says you have to be weak. Remember Paul's thorn in the flesh entreated the Lord three times to get rid of gotchas you understand Paul.

It's a little different than you think whenever your week Paul, I'm strong whenever you're strong all your strong so many keep your week and Paul said okay I'll be happy with this. It's counterintuitive. It's paradoxical. Who doesn't like to receive things who want to receive as much as we can.

We love that what the Bible say you can do that how you do it by giving you have to give the receive. That's not the way. No we say you you receive by accruing you hold it for yourself. You grab all the tanning and make sure no one else gets it. Got a note exactly the opposite you give as much as you can and then you'll receive is all paradoxical. I love Rocky Balboa speech, but it's just simply not true.

I don't need to believe in me. I need to believe in him. See if the apostle Paul were going to give you and I are speech about how to motivate us to live.

Paul would give a much shorter one.

But he would've said this, he would say you can do all things through him who strengthens you. You see, you need to believe in him, rather than in you spring father. This is a difficult notion for us.

We live in a culture that never stops beating the drum that it's our self-love that should motivate us. We need to believe in ourselves. We have confidence in us that some of the word of God says the word of God says we need to have confidence in him and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and everything is there force the things we want in life meaning and purpose and joy and peace and hope they're all there force we have to defer and put our faith in him. It makes sense father because where the creature you're the creator you have created us this way, but the fall was change this and instead of believing in you. We decide to believe in us the consequences of our bad decisions are everywhere around us. Father I pray that each of us challenge ourselves in the heart and say look to. I really do this. I want to come after Christ. I want to follow Christ do I deny myself and do I take up the cross and do I make my decisions based on what God says, rather than on the basis of what father I pray that we would Christ bathrobe never on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you dislike of the sum of the method one more time. Remember, you can Google a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the Fellowship in the Word online that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of her previous audio programs as well 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 us monthly with just a one-time gift support for ministry can be centered Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is is a sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible church visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC and oh LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds pastor Bill sermon you can browse your sermon archives defined sermon series are looking for.

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Once again our website FVC Nola.org forecaster Bill Gebhardt, unseasoned. Thank you for listening to fellowship in order