“With Ourselves”

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Dan Newburg

First Baptist Church of Devine

Renewed Relationship • Sermon • Submitted 7 months ago • Presented 7 months ago • 35:36

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Today I want to talk to you about how in God’s kingdom, we are given a renewed relationship with ourselves and you’ll find that as we go along, I will raise a couple of questions for you to ask yourself.

Sometimes too many questions can become a little irritating. If you have ever been on a long trip and had little kids in the back seat, you know they constantly ask, “Are we there yet? How much farther do we have to go?” I heard about a man who had driven all day with his three children in the back seat. They had not been gone five minutes when they started asking, “Daddy, are we there yet? Daddy, how much longer? Daddy are we there yet?” Finally, he had all he could take. He turned and pointed his fingers to those kids and said, “It is going to take us all day to get there. We won’t get there until it is dark, so stop asking, ‘Are we almost there?’” It was quiet for about five minutes and one little voice in the back seat said, “Daddy, is it almost dark yet?”

I hope these questions that we ask today are not irritating. I hope that they are informing and help us understand who we are in relationship to King Jesus. Last week we talked about how if we are going to be totally committed to Jesus, it means that we offer our bodies to God once and for all in saying, “God, I am yours.” In order to do that, Romans 12:2 says that we must not allow the world out there to conform us, to press us into their mold. Instead, we ought to be allowing God to transform us by changing the way we think about things.

Immediately you may be thinking, “All right, if I am supposed to think differently, give me an example of how I should be thinking differently.” We have it right here in this passage.

Let’s answer two questions today. You are the only one who can answer these questions. The first question we need to ask our self is

“Who am I?”

I’m going to encourage you to know yourself realistically, to develop an honest, serious evaluation of who you are. Somebody said “I’m not who I think I am and I’m not who you think I am. I am who I think you think I am.” In other words, you must understand how other people see you, but more importantly, you must understand how God sees you so you can see yourself realistically.

If you will look at verse three Paul says there is a real danger here. If you’re not careful you will think too highly of yourself. Let me mention two extremes.

“Who am I?” Extreme Answer #1: Over-Estimation

Extreme number one is what I call over-estimation. Many people overestimate their value and their worth. They say, “I’m somebody. I’m the cat’s meow.” The person in this extreme thinks they are right and everybody else is wrong. They think they are the only one who can do the job right. Nobody else can do it any better than they can. They are the kind of people that stand in front of the mirror, look at themselves and sing “How Great Thou Art.” They may not say that out loud, but secretly they really think they are the greatest on earth. Satan comes up and whispers this to people who are prone in that direction. Satan says, “You are better than everybody else, in fact you’re as good as God.” Satan doesn’t want you to worship Satan. Satan wants you to worship yourself. He wants to let you believe that you’re just as good as God and if you’re not careful, you will fall into that trap of thinking that you are so special.

I heard about a man who was driving down the expressway in rush hour traffic. Suddenly his cell phone rings and his wife says, “Honey, you need to be careful driving home because I just heard on the news that there is an idiot going in the wrong direction on the same expressway you’re on.” He said, “It’s not just one; there are hundreds of them!”

Some people are that way. They think they are the only one right and everybody else is wrong. Now some of you may think, “You know, God I’m doing you a favor. Here I am. I’m in church today. God, you are so fortunate that you’ve got me.” Some people think that they are totally indispensable and irreplaceable. I came across an interesting little poem:

Sometime when your feeling important,

Sometime when your ego is up,

Sometime when you take it for granted

That you’re the only prize-winning pup,

Sometime when you feel that your absence

Would leave an unfillable hole,

Just follow these simple instructions

And see if it humbles your soul.

Take a bucket and fill it with water,

Put your hand in it up to the wrist.

Now pull it up fast and the hole that remains

Is the measure of how you’ll be missed.

You may splash all you please,

As you enter and stir up the water galore,

But stop and you’ll find in a minute

It’s back where it was before.

Now throughout history there are always been individuals who thought they were indispensable. Winston Churchill said, “The cemeteries are filled with men who thought that they were indispensable.” There is only one indispensable member of the body of Christ and it is the head, Jesus Christ himself. So don’t make the mistake of overestimating your worth. If you lean in that direction I want to give you something.

Ego-Bursting confession: I am a fallen, deformed sinner.

There is still something in my personality, my sinful nature that I cannot completely trust. We need to make that affirmation about who we are.

Did you know there is one particular member of First Baptist Church that gives me fits all the time? The guy that gives me more trouble than anybody else is the guy who started dating my wife 21 years ago and still lurks around our home today. I have a lot of trouble with that guy because sometimes I don’t like what he does and the way he thinks. Even though I’ve been a Christian now for many years, I feel that in me there is still something I can’t really trust. It is that old sinful nature. You say, “Aren’t we forgiven sinners?” Yes, we are.

The Apostle Paul, when he was writing to Timothy, said this,

1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV)

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

He said, “I am the chief of sinners.”

Friends, we need to be careful about over-estimating our value and our worth. The Bible says, “Let him who stands take heed lest he fall.” It says, Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” That is one extreme.

“Who am I?” Extreme Answer #2: Under-valuation

There are many in this room who say, “That’s not my problem; my problem is the other extreme.” I call it “under-valuation.” You say, “I don’t think I’m somebody big. I just think I’m worthless. I think I’m no good.” By the way friend, if you grow up and your parents, teachers and friends say to you, “You good for nothing! You are a worthless piece of trash!” you’re going to grow up believing that about yourself. That’s not true either. Sometimes people walk around with their shoulders slumped saying, “I’m nothing. I’m nothing.” And they think it’s humility. That’s not humility. It’s poor posture. God doesn’t want you to walk around saying you are nothing. You are somebody in Christ.

Now I have something else for you. If your problem is in this extreme, I have what I call a

Head-Raising confession: I am a loved, cherished, child of God.

Where you say, “I now stand before God covered in the perfect righteousness of Jesus.”

I’m talking to those of you who are saved. God looks at me right now covered in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. So don’t go around saying, “I’m nothing. I’m nothing.” You are a child of God and that’s important. I like the last verse of the hymn, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less.” It reads:

When he shall come with trumpet sound,

O may I then in him be found,

dressed in his righteousness alone

faultless to stand before the throne.

It’s true when Jesus comes back you want to be in Christ, but the glorious truth is: right now, this moment, if you are a Christian, you are in Christ and you are dressed in his righteousness alone and when God looks at you, He says, “There is a faultless, forgiven child of mine.” So, don’t make the mistake of either one of these extremes.

Romans 12:3 (ESV)

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

“Who am I?” Extreme Answer #3: Proper self-esteem: Confidence without deceit

Let me describe a proper self-esteem or self-image. You can come to such a proper view of yourself when you have an unshakable confidence in God, but you won’t be conceited about it because the confidence is in God, not in yourself. You might think of me, “Dan, you look like you’ve got a lot of self-confidence.” My reply would be, “That’s funny because I have absolutely no self-confidence. I don’t have any more confidence in Dan Newburg than I have in the devil himself,” and that’s true. But I have great unshakable confidence in Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:3 (ESV)

[We]...worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh...

I think a good example of the proper self-image of who we are in Christ can be seen in the life of John the Baptist. He was out there preaching in the Judean wilderness and thousands of people were flocking out from Jerusalem. He was preaching. He was baptizing. He was the most prominent, famous preacher of his time. Some of the Pharisees came to interview him – I imagine it was like a reporter from the Jerusalem Post – they came with their notepads and said, “John tell us . . . who are you? Now that’s the same question we are answering here. John could have gone to this extreme and said, “Hey, I’m the most famous preacher in Judea. Just look at the crowds.”

“Are you the Messiah, John?” John could have said, like others have said before and after, “Yes, I’m the anointed of God.” But he didn’t say that. But when they said, “John, who are you?” He also didn’t say, “I’m nobody. I’m nothing.” He didn’t say that either. They said, “John, who are you?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord because Jesus is coming!’ My job is to get the way ready for him, to point people to Jesus.” You see friend, that’s a positive self-image. Some people would have looked at John and said, “He is so cocky.” Well, he wasn’t. He knew who he was in Christ Jesus. He wasn’t over-valuing himself, nor was he undervaluing himself.

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart. Then he said the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. The reason some of us cannot love other people is because we really don’t love ourselves. I’m not talk about being in love with yourself. Loving yourself means that you see yourself as God sees you, a child of God. You’ve got to answer the question, “Who am I?” And you can do that when you “know yourself realistically.”

How do I fit in?

The second question we’re going to answer this morning is, “how do I fit in? How do I fit into the body of Christ?”

I call this to see yourself relationally, how you relate to others around you. We’re going to be talking about the body of Christ. Look at

Romans 12:4–5 (ESV)

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

If you want to know what this passage is saying, you need to make these three statements about who you are.

How do I fit in? I am a member of the body of Christ

If you are a Christian you can say, “I’m a member of the body of Christ.” In the New Testament, there are three analogies of what the church is. They start with the letter ‘B.’ The Body of Christ. Also, the church is called the Bride of Christ. Jesus is the Bridegroom; we are the Bride. One day the bridegroom, Jesus, is going the come back and take us to his Father’s house and we will have a great wedding celebration.

The second picture of the church is that we are a building. I’m not talking about a physical building with a steeple. The Bible says in 1 Peter that we are all each living stones that make up the building of Christ. That’s a picture of a church. When we say, “Welcome to the house of the Lord.” we’re not talking about these walls and windows and pews. We’re talking about this group that comprise the House of the Lord.

Finally, there is this analogy of the church being the body. Do you want to know how the church of King Jesus functions? Well, you talk about a great example of form following function, just look at your body. Don’t laugh, but just look at your body. Just as you have body parts, that is the way the church is formed. Just as each part of your body has a different function, that is the way the members of the church function.

In my head there is a brain, a nerve center, and when the Bible says that Christ is the Head of the church, it doesn’t mean he is the skull. It means he is the brain center. He is the nerve center of the church, and what Jesus says is just like my brain giving messages through my nerves, telling parts of the body what to do. That is how Jesus wants to function in your life and my life.

Here is a hand. A hand is for grabbing things, picking things up and it is made just for that. Aren’t you glad we’ve got a thumb? God designed it perfectly. Look at these feet. These feet are to walk on. They are to stand on. If you all of a sudden decided you wanted to walk around on your hands all the time, can you imagine how uncomfortable and inefficient it would be to walk on your hands? Can you imagine how uncomfortable it would be to use your feet to pick up things? Some people do that, but it’s just not the best use of the form and the function. We’re talking about the church here. There are some feet in the body of Christ who are trying to act like a hand. And there are some hands that are trying to act like a foot. Without this arm and this elbow and this shoulder, that hand would be worthless. Without this leg and this kneecap that foot could be totally useless.

Right now I am calling us to focus on our relationship to this local body of Christ, because Jesus Christ is the head, the nerve center, of this body called First Baptist Church.

Sometimes people don’t think they have to affiliate with a church. Sometimes people think they don’t have to relate to a local church. They say, “I’m a Christian, isn’t that all that matters?” That is the main thing that matters but listen to me, and listen to me good. You cannot be a growing, mature Christian and be alienated or separated from a local body of believers. Sometimes people say, “Well, I love Jesus, but I don’t have to go down there to that church. I can just meet in my house with my family and we can read the Bible and we can sing songs. Isn’t that a church?”

Well, you need to apply these three words to every group that calls themselves a church. They all start with the letter “O.”

Organization - Are they organized as a church?

According to the New Testament, a church has pastors and deacons. It has those two officers. Are the home worshipers organized as a church? If they are not, they can’t call themselves a church.

Ordinances - Do they practice the ordinances of a church, meaning baptism and the Lord’s Supper?

Those are the two New Testament ordinances, and if those meeting in a home or on the lake are not practicing the ordinances, they cannot call themselves a church.

Outreach - Are they trying to bring people to Christ?

Some of these groups are fellowship groups and they are not reaching out and fulfilling the Great Commission. They are not trying to bring people to Christ. You can’t call yourself a church if you are so self-focused and so self-centered that you are never trying to reach out to others.

Having said all of that, listen to me. There are some meetings in homes that are churches or are going to become churches and many, many great churches started in a home, but they organized according to the Bible. They practiced the ordinances and they were so outreach oriented that they brought people in until they outgrew the house. Every believer must be affiliated with a local body of Christ because you are a member of the body of Christ.

How do I fit in? I am a dependent member of the Body!

We all need each other. I need you and you need me. That’s why it says in

Romans 12:5 (ESV)

so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Some times I struggle with the thought that I have to do all of the work of the ministry. The thought that I have to do everything. You know what? That’ll just wear you out. God has given me certain functions and gifts and he has given other people certain gifts and functions, and when I do my job and you do your job, the body of Christ moves together.

Let me ask you what would happen in your physical body if suddenly your right arm just decided it was going to stop doing anything? The head could be giving it all kinds of messages. We call that paralyzed. We call that poor health. Did you know the rest of the body would be handicapped or crippled if one part of your body decided to quit doing what it was designed to do? This is a great church but do you know why this church isn’t an even greater church? It is because there are many members of this body who are not following the function God has given them in this body. You are basically a spectator. You are basically a pew-warmer. You come and sit and watch and give a little bit here and there, but you are not really involved in some kind of ministry. You are like a part of the body that is paralyzed and it affects the rest of the body.

You may think your church doesn’t need you. Yes, we do. We are dependent on you, every member of the body. We need you. Now, I’ll grant you this, that some members of the body are more visible and prominent than others. I’m up here all the time, like a big old nose. You can’t miss it. Here I am! Some of you may be like a little toe. What is the little toe for? Well, it’s to give you balance. If you had your little toe removed you will have all kinds of trouble keeping balance.

We are a dependent member of the body. We need each other. I need you and you need me.

How do I fit in? I am a gifted member of the Body

Let’s look at

Romans 12:6 (ESV)

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them...

I don’t have time to go deeply into the list of spiritual gifts, but let me address this by pointing out to you that a gift is not like a birthday present or something. A gift is a God-given special capacity to serve. If you don’t know what God has gifted you to do you, you are going to be totally frustrated in the body of Christ. I will tell you this, one of the most liberating, energizing experiences in the Christian life is to discover what your gifts are and begin to exercise your gifts in the body of Christ.

Now could I just ask you what would happen to First Baptist Church if every member of this local body suddenly began to understand, “I am a finger. I am an elbow. I am a kneecap. I am a foot. This is my job. This is my function.” And you just started doing it. You talk about a mighty moving force of God, accomplishing more than we could ever even imagine in our wildest dreams! That’s the body of Christ set free to move and to grow.

I like what F.B. Meyer wrote: “It is urgently needful that the Christian people in our churches should come to understand that they are not a company of invalids to be wheeled about or fed by hand, nursed and comforted, but a garrison, a battalion, in enemy country, every one of which should have some post of duty at which he should be prepared to make any sacrifice rather than quitting.” My friend, God has given you a job in First Baptist Church and if you’re not doing that job, it’s not getting done. You are unique; there is nobody else exactly like you. You see you have value, but the sad thing is, sometimes your value is covered up.

God designed and built you to do something in the church of King Jesus, but maybe through the years you’ve been covered up with the vines of tradition or the vines of thinking that you’re not worthy or you don’t have a place. You need to tear those vines away and understand that there is something valuable that God has given you, a gift. You need to be restored to the ministry that God has called you to, and when you do that, you will begin to understand why God placed you in the body and how you function. That will be the most liberating experience you will ever have in the Christian life.