Preaching The Word Of God Since 1734
“Trying To Find Yourself?”
Are you on a journey to find yourself? We live in a day when people want to “find themselves” and on the path to “self improvement” we’re told to just “follow your heart!” Those topics are the stuff of best sellers, seminars (and lots of money!) But when we get God’s take on it, we’re in for a big surprise. Please take a few moments to read these following six paragraphs. It will change your life – forever!
Most of us like to think of ourselves as being decent folks. After all, you might think to yourself, I’ve never killed anyone or cheated on my spouse or stolen anything. We just go along in life, doing the best we can, hoping that when this life is over, the good stuff we’ve done will outweigh the bad stuff, and God will surely let us into heaven. After all, God is love, right? But let’s consider what God says in His Word, the Bible, about us: Isaiah 64:6 “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” Rom. 3:23 “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Jer. 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Mark 7:21-22 “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” Matthew 5:27-28 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Oh boy! So, when I find out who I really am in God’s eyes, I realize that I am broken and I can’t fix me. It’s called sin, and we’re all born with it! Most of us don’t do anything about it. But, if you’re anything like me, you probably just want to move on and forget about those sins you’ve committed (or thought), and hope that God forgets about them too, right? I thought so! But I’ve got some bad news for you. If I just “follow my heart” it just leads me into God’s judgment. Or, if we ignore our sinful past, it will come back to haunt us and this is what we can expect:
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15
So, the bad news is that it’s all written in “the books”, every sinful thought, word and deed. History is full of people who have gotten away with it, and many are still getting away with it, BUT ONLY IN THIS LIFE! You may even know some people like that. But I have to tell you, they won’t get away with it before God on His throne at the Great White Throne Judgement! And if you or I haven’t done anything about our sin, God’s way, we won’t get away with what we’ve done either! In other words, you and I are lost, because of our sin.
But there is hope! Hey, did you notice the last sentence of that last Scripture passage? “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life…” Right there is the key to doing something about our sin before it’s too late. But when is it too late? When we’ve drawn our last breath. How do we get our name into the “Book of Life?” The only solution is knowing Christ and the result is eternal.
John 3:16; For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Phil. 3:10; I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, Rom. 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
That’s it! Profess Jesus Christ as Lord (of my life instead of me trying to be the lord of my life) and believe God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved! In other words, truly believe Who Christ is (the sinless Son of God) and what He has done (paid the price for our sin on the cross) and that God raised Him from the dead (the resurrection)! No list of our good accomplishments will take care of it. Remember, our righteous deeds are like “filthy rags” to God. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ took care of it.” John 3:18b “Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Now it’s important to mention at this point, you need to understand that God doesn’t improve us, He re-creates us. He warns me that if I follow my heart, it just leads me away from Him. 2 Cor. 5:17; “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Rom 7:18 “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” And it can hurt when God prunes my branches. John 15:2; He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. Job 1:21 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Sometimes God allows pain to drive me to my knees.
Job 2:10; Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah (my friend) died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
God even gives me the faith to see through my troubles, all the way to eternity. Job 13:15; Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; 2 Cor 4:17 our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Conclusion:
Some say, the answers to our problems can be found in science, politics or religion. But the whole world has been trying that for a very long time – and just look at the mess we’re in! As we try to “find ourselves” we can make ourselves better but not good enough to please God. And anyway, God doesn’t make us better. He makes us new - forever. And it’s paid for by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ! So, if you truly want to find yourself, in a life that brings with it eternal peace, joy and purpose, find yourself in Christ. But don’t put it off! The day is coming very soon when it will be too late!
“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.”… “And you shall know
the truth and the truth shall set you free!”…“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Isaiah 55:6; John 8:32; Romans 10:9
If you have any questions, please
Egypt Community Church | 4129 South Church Street | Whitehall, PA 18052 | 610-262-4961 | pastorbradegyptcc@gmail.com
Preaching The Word Of God Since 1734
