Christ In Me (Part 1)
Where is Your Legacy
March 10, 2019
Sermon Series: Christ
in Me
Inspired by:
“Only Jesus” CD by
Casting Crowns
“Only Jesus Devotional”
by Pastor Mark Hall
With Tim Luke
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Acts 20:24
“Only Jesus” Casting
Crowns
What is Your Legacy?
Let us pray…pray for the Spirits
leading
A
reading from the book of Acts, chapter 20 verse 24. Hear the words of Paul as
he proclaims the purpose of all who believe…
Acts 20:24 The Voice (VOICE)
24 But that’s OK. That’s no tragedy
for me because I don’t cling to my life for my own sake. The only value I
place on my life is that I may finish my race, that I may fulfill the ministry
that Jesus our King has given me, that I may gladly tell the good news of God’s
grace.
Good
morning. This is the first Sunday…the first step on our journey towards the
cross. Lent is a time of soul searching and confession as we search our hearts
and prepare it for the new life, we rise to on Resurrection Sunday. We think
about what Jesus did for us. We contemplate the great love that was shown on Calvary’s
Cross for you and me.
I
am so thankful for what this season stands for. I am so thankful for the gift
that I am offered. As my gratitude overflows, I can’t help but think of how I
can somehow…in some way…thank God and Jesus for the unmerited grace that this
sin-sick soul received and continues to receive. This grace that is new each
day dawning…is something I can’t do without. So, I figured I would be a
faithful follower. I am going to live my life for Jesus. No matter what I am
going to be out there do His work, no matter what that looks like. Then I received
the epiphany…many years later…
Have
you ever read something or heard something that makes you stop in your tracks
and question all that you believed? Have you ever had that epiphany moment that
brings you to your knees in:
1. Awe and
wonder
2. Asking
for forgiveness for being so blind
3. Wanting
to rededicate your life
4. All
of the Above…
Mine
was a number 4. It happened in the middle of a concert. As I listened to the
lead singer…who is also a pastor…speak
I was brought to tears. You see…I had been living my life for Jesus. I am a
professed “Sold Out Chick for Jesus”. There is nothing that I would not do for
Him… Except one thing I held back from the One I professed to be my All-In-All…
I have been living my life for Jesus but not letting Him live His life through
me… Are you living for Christ or are you
letting Christ live through you?
We
are here at the beginning of the time when we journey to the place of
redemption…where God’s greatest work was done…to the place where we surrender
ourselves to the One who surrendered Himself for all of humanity. But what does
it look like when we begin to become the glove that the hand of our Savior can
wear for His glory? What does it look like when we surrender ourselves and not
live for Jesus but let Jesus live through us? I want Christ to be seen in me
but is it more important for Christ to be seen through me? One is about me…the other about Christ…
In
His devotional “Only Jesus”, Pastor…and
lead singer of Casting Crowns…Mark
Hall talks about just that…what does it mean to let Jesus live through us. What
it looks like as we surrender ourselves to the one who surrendered Himself for
you and me. It is a powerful and life changing devotional… This is going to be our guide as we travel this season together.
So
as we begin that journey from self to Jesus, we need to look at our motives…why
we do what we do. In this world, we are told that we need to leave a legacy. My
question is, what or whose legacy are we leaving?
Legacy,
Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives us this definition:
1: a gift by will especially of money or other personal property.
2: something transmitted by or
received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past.
3: a candidate for membership in
an organization (such as a school or fraternal order) who is given special status
because of a familial relationship to a member
So,
essentially, it is something left by someone for future generation…to put it
short. So, what is your legacy? Are you and I leaving a legacy with our name or
in Jesus’ name? We are told by the world that you have to be someone, leave a
name for yourself. My question is this, is that what is most important, is that
what you and I are here for, or is there something or someone else that needs
to be lifted higher than our ego’s? In God’s Word, He states that we are to “Put
no other gods before me.” How are we doing on that…are we putting ourselves and
our ego’s before God? Are we needing to open our bibles to refocus ourselves
off ourselves and magnify God instead?
As
we read God’s Word, we come to realize…if we don’t already…that none of the
real heroes of the bible didn’t wake up one day and thought “I want to be a
hero.”
†Mary –
Had no idea she was going to be called to carry God’s Son. She was just going
about doing what she always did…living to magnify God.
†David –
Was just taking lunch for his brothers to the battle field. He had no idea that
he would slay a giant or eventually become the King of God’s people. He was
just a simple shepherd boy who trusted in God.
†Abraham
– Lied, took short cuts to get what he thought was best. Trying to live his
life for God’s purpose. Through him God blessed the world.
They
were even reluctant in some ways…Moses for example… But they knew the secret…there
view of themselves was this…I got nothing…I
have no business here…they were humble…they weren’t looking to leave a legacy…they
were looking to live for God…
Not
leaving a legacy goes against the flesh… The scripture I read this morning,
Paul states…considers…his life of no value and the only value us to bring Jesus…his
life not lived for today but for eternity…not before men but before God and His
purposes. Unfortunately, we tend to not be able to be still before God and
content to let Jesus live through us. We go after what the world says success
is…
ü Glorify
ourselves
ü Elevate
the individual
ü “Look
At ME!”
Beloved,
God is always…constantly…reaching out to rescue us from ourselves…our drives…our
passion for self…our need to find meaning in the promises of the world. Which by the way is completely opposed to
what Jesus modeled…Not my will but Your own… Beloved…all we build…all we
have…all we have done…all of our trophies and accolades we have received…is
truly nothing but dust when it’s all done…when life is over. The important thing…what
we need to strive for is this…, “have our lives been lived in a way that lives
out God’s truth to the people we love, and the ones God puts in our path…”?
What
is the focus of your legacy? You or Jesus? In the end, all that matters…all
that I want to point to…to me…now…the legacy I want to leave is not about me…Only
Jesus…
AMEN!
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