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Presenter: Larry Kirkpatrick
Location: Bonners Ferry Seventh-day Adventist Church, ID, USA
Delivery: 2010-10-16
Publication: GreatControversy.org 2010-10-27 19:05Z
Type: Sermon
URL: http://www.greatcontroversy.org/gco/ser/kirl-emkcik.php
People are looking for purpose; they have an unsureness. Constantly, they hear in themselves the whisper that they are no good, there is no hope. Drink in what you can and then die. Ride hard; life’s short. They dress like flickering images from television or youtube. Why?
Are we accepting Satan’s hate-propaganda? Constantly he directs at us the message that we are worthless. Are we engaged in generating new identities so that we can become worth something?
Our adversary is expert in leading us to parrot his hate-propaganda about ourselves to ourselves. His demons are outnumbered by God’s loyal angels. It is more convenient for demons when we do their work for them. We say things to ourselves that no Christian should ever say. We are the property of God, and we’d best be careful how we treat it—in particular, psychologically. We have been bought with a price—the price of the life of Jesus—and we ought to glorify Him in body and spirit. We’re not just to eat healthfully, but to think healthfully.
What’s it All About?
What is being human about? Some say that people are fine as they are; all actually are good inside. Another theme is to make sensation the center of life. Yet these are empty paths. By the time some understand this, we are worn out and wasted.
So what if you “ride hard” because life is short? The Bible says, “God made man upright; but they have sought out many schemes” (Ecclesiastes 7:29, all Scriptures from the English standard version unless otherwise noted). And, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth with his income: this also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
We are born into a broken humanity and constantly we try to fill it with anything but God—He who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:23). We are thirsty, yes. Not for wealth or sensation; we are thirsty for God. David said: “O God, you are my God; earnestly will I seek you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).
We are designed to find fulfillment in Him. We need not replace our identity with images manufactured for us, nor fool ourselves with lies that we are good. God made humankind upright at the beginning. He gave us a built-in love for truth; He made us in His image. He gave high and holy opportunities. When Adam sinned, humanity was bent. Self-control became supremely difficult and men, slaves to their own desires. But our Father would restore us to His likeness. He sent His Son to die in our place for our return.
How Reliable is the Conscience?
How reliable is the conscience? Satan’s chief ploy is to attack us at the place of conscience. Listen:
Take your conscience to the Word of God and see if your life and character are in accordance with the standard of righteousness which God has there revealed. You can then determine whether or not you have an intelligent faith and what manner of conscience is yours. The conscience of man cannot be trusted unless it is under the influence of divine grace. Satan takes advantage of an unenlightened conscience, and thereby leads men into all manner of delusions, because they have not made the Word of God their counselor. Many have invented a gospel of their own in the same manner as they have substituted a law of their own for God’s law (Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, September 3, 1901).
The only safe plan is to grant God’s word precedence over our conscience. His Word It is an infallible external compass, a baseline.
Two Flavors of Conviction
There is a right conviction of sin and a counterfeit. One brings life, the other, not.
Under false conviction one recognizes he’s done wrong, and is fearful what will happen. Pharaoh admitted wrong but continued to disobey. Judas realized what he had done but hanged himself instead of repenting. False conviction is different from true. It is marked by an absence of hope. It brings despair. It follows this pattern:
- Conviction of sin
- Recognition of guilt
- Provocation to self-devaluation
- Hopeless despair
True conviction follows this pattern:
- Conviction of sin, righteousness, and justice
- Recognition of guilt
- Offer of reconciliation
- Hope
The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, but righteousness and judgment too (John 16:8-10). Notice:
When the heart yields to the influence of the Spirit of God, the conscience will be quickened, and the sinner will discern something of the depth and sacredness of God’s holy law, the foundation of His government in heaven and on earth. The ‘Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,’ illumines the secret chambers of the soul, and the hidden things of darkness are made manifest. John 1:9. Conviction takes hold upon the mind and heart. The sinner has a sense of the righteousness of Jehovah and feels the terror of appearing, in his own guilt and uncleanness, before the Searcher of hearts. He sees the love of God, the beauty of holiness, the joy of purity; he longs to be cleansed and to be restored to communion with heaven (Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 24).
When God brings conviction, He brings life! He shows your condition, but then says “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Jesus says, “Yes, it is true that you have sinned. But if you permit Me, I will cause you to rest from despair, remove guilt, and give all that you need.”
Satan says, “Yes, you have sinned. You are a valueless little wretch, a worm, a loser. God doesn’t love you; you will never be in the kingdom. Sin now, while you can; your position is hopeless.”
The conviction that God sends condemns sin, is honest about your guilt, but offers hope. The satanic counterfeit condemns sin, emphasizes your guilt, and then leaves you hopeless. The Bible was given so that we might have hope (Romans 15:4).
The genius and desperation of Satan meet in his skillful plan to destroy you. See, he makes this little “kick me” sign, and then, he doesn’t pin it on you. He hands it off to you, and says, “This is for you. Just pin it onto your backside.” He not only asks you to put it there, but then he wants you to contort yourself so that you do the kicking. He wants you to run his subliminal tape in your mind saying, “give up” until you do give up. He wants you to feel overwhelmed, to roll-up into a ball and assume the fetal position.
God shows you your sins to help you realize your need. Satan rubs your nose in your sins to lead you to hate yourself. God urges you to repent. Satan tells you that you are beyond salvation.
The devil has led many of us to hate ourselves. But these aren’t God’s thoughts. Hear God speak:
“For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11, margin).
O, how different from Satan’s representations! And so, we are talking about getting rid of Satan’s propaganda we’ve so long been absorbing. I am tired of him laughing at my expense. I see nothing funny in his satanic kick-me signs stuck onto my backside, or his persuasion to kick myself over and over again.
Self-condemnation and Self-atonement
Even when we do wrong, deep down inside we are inclined to try atone for our sin by ourselves. Satan encourages it. He knows that we cannot do it, that we are playing into his hands, that we are losing self-respect in the process.
And by the way, a century ago “self-respect” meant largely what “self-esteem” would mean to us today—that we should value ourselves because we are valuable in God’s sight. Back then, “self-esteem” meant to regard oneself as more important than others.
God has given an important promise in 1 John 3:20 KJV. “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” Conscience can falsely condemn us. If there is a dispute about right and wrong between my heart and God’s Word, then you know that He is greater than your heart. His view takes precedence. Why? Because He knows all things. He has taken into account every contributing factor in every situation. When we have unjustly condemned and devalued ourselves we can take refuge in our God.
There is an important passage in 1 John is dealing with how the Christian can know when he has passed from death to life.
1 John 2:28-3:12. Abide in Jesus who works to make us righteous. Assurance that we can be righteous.
1 John 3:13-3:15. The world’s response to you on its own terms should not distract you. When we love each other, it is evidence that a great change has come into us and that we are walking the pathway of life.
1 John 3:16-24. We know God loves us because He gave His life for us. We should be willing to do the same for each other. Turn your love into action—not just words.
In these lines are helpful tests. Verse 14: Do we love our fellow Christians? Verse 18: Do we do more than just talk? But we have long been in the way and absorbed this propaganda deeply. Suppose we feel that we love others, and our actions show it, but conscience still informs us that we are bad? Then we can appeal to our Maker who is greater than what we feel about ourselves. Verse 21 says that we are to live before our God so that we are not under condemnation, and more, we are to have boldness toward God.
(For insight on true versus false repentance, study Steps to Christ, pp. 26-29. In three paragraphs Ellen White states and restates that true conviction comes when the sinner first sees Jesus, then oneself.)
In true conviction, first we see Christ, then ourselves, and then experience hope in Christ. In counterfeit conviction, Satan never shows us Christ, nor does he lead us to seek for righteousness nor offer even one ray of hope.
How God Values Us
Satan wants us to think of God as just barely interested in us. God is very interested. Look at the creation account and see His love! He could have made the world in a single flash of unspeakable glory, but He savored it for six wonderful days. The universe watched as step by loving step a place was prepared for the human race. On the sixth day came Adam and Eve. Then, best of all, communion between man and Maker on the seventh. When man sinned, he was not immediately blotted out. Jesus stood ready, promising in fullness of time to expire on the cross for humankind. Our Lord was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
That’s love.
What a price Heaven paid to buy-back us back! The never-before experience of separation among the three persons of the Godhead meant suffering for the infinite God and still He followed through for His created beings.
Jesus humbled Himself and joined our race. He became as human as we are so that we could become as obedient as He is. He became a helpless child in the womb of a teenager. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). God, indifferent and uncaring? Never.
When Jesus was baptized, a voice was heard from heaven. “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). In those few words, our Father is telling us that He embraces all of humanity. He accepts Jesus, and in Jesus He accepts us. He did not cast-off the rebels, but entered in among them to restore—a far different story than the one Satan tells.
For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows His love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8).
Christ Jesus died for the ungodly—true. But so that we could live godly in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). We are valuable to God. We are not made in the image of a germ, a virus, or a show-horse; we are made in His image.
You are valuable. You are a child of the King. “Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1 KJV).
Conclusion: Healing the Heart, Reversing Satan’s Propaganda
How can we reverse Satan’s “kick-me” program? We must discover how. Remember, he wants to spread his hatred to us. Every heart in which he successfully implants the seed of hate becomes one where he rules.
First, we become aware of his devices, especially of his method for prompting self-hatred and despair in us. Second, we need to be serious about managing our heart. See what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 4:23: “Keep your heart with all vigilance; for from it flow the springs of life.” What comes out of the heart determines what goes in. If you keep living faith in your heart, you’ll be ready to receive what God wants to do there, and defend against Satan’s attempted accesses into it.
Thirdly, we need to recognize our value to God, and reclaim our self-respect. Satan wants us to sin. He knows that when we sin, we lose some portion of our self-respect. So, where do we find our value? In Christ. Recall this provocative line from Steps to Christ, p. 13:
He loved us first. Jesus didn’t have to plead with Him to love us. He loved us first, and thus sent Jesus. We find our value in Christ. God lifted up the race, He did not cast it down. He cast the accuser down, but lifts us up into heavenly places with Jesus. Ephesians 1:3, 20, 21.
Finally, We need to make lives of healing our first priority. Consider Luke 1:17.
And he [John the Baptist] will go before Him [Jesus] in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.
The Elijah message to which we have been called turns hearts back to each other. It is a way of life that says that we are so valuable to God that everything in the universe has come to a halt while He saves us. He asks us to live a message that will “make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” How can we do that if we are busy kicking ourselves? Our hearts can be healed. Its time to reverse this kick me stuff; Jesus is calling. GCO
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