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Now let's dive into this week's message. Amen.
Well, we're down to our last sermon in this series.
We've been in a series called True and Better.
It is a series on identity. How many of you guys
have been here for most of that series? Yeah?
Yeah? Hopefully, throughout the course of that,
it's given you some things to reflect upon, the
identity that we are given in Christ or we receive
in Christ and how that contrasts with the identity
that the world and our own self -centered ambition
wants to always construct for ourselves that
fails miserably. Well, we're gonna wrap it up
now this morning with the final one, servant,
not sovereign. And so our culture around us,
All the messaging that we see, whether it's on
TV, commercials, in school, wherever we're at,
they seem to have a clear vision on what it means
to be fully and truly human. The vision that
we're told, the vision we're discipled into in
life is to be fully human is to be completely
sovereign over yourself. Who you are, your truth,
your purpose are yours to rule. You answer to
no one but yourself. Autonomy is treated as the
highest good, and self -rule equals freedom.
And any authority outside the self... Whether
it's tradition or an institution like marriage
or family or the church or a community or biology
or even God himself, any authority outside the
self is often treated as something that limits
or threatens the freedom that culture and all
the messaging is discipling us into believing
is good. The modern story says the best life
is the life where you are in charge of yourself.
But if we take a moment and we look honestly
at the human story, something becomes clear,
right? Human beings have been chasing self -sovereignty
for a very long time. In fact, the Bible tells
us exactly when it began. Nick made reference
to it earlier in our moment of reflection. Genesis
3, the serpent comes, begins to tempt Eve, and
introduces kind of this idea subtly into the
narrative and tells Eve, well, if you take of
that, if you take what you want, if you take
what looks good in your own eyes, if you take
it for yourself, well, God knows that you'll
be like him. You'll be like God. And that's the
promise, not just knowledge or more knowledge
or more pleasure, but supreme authority over
my life, the right to decide what is good and
what is bad, the right to define and redefine
and keep redefining the reality that I'm willing
to submit to. And ever since that moment, at
the beginning, humanity has been chasing the
same thing. We've been chasing the throne. The
desire to be the final authority over our lives.
To answer to no one. But the story of scripture
reveals also something else. And man, is it the
story of our lives or not? And that is whenever
we try to take final authority for ourselves,
every time things start to unravel. Identity.
feels like barely held together and something
that has to be constantly defended. And truth,
well, it becomes kind of squishy, right? Your
truth, my truth, what is truth? Relationships
spiral into chaos and collapse because there
is no constant moral bedrock on which to build
them. As a result, communities disintegrate.
Why? Because human beings were never designed
to live as sovereign rulers over ourselves. We
were never designed to live as sovereign rulers
over ourselves. We were created for something
very different. We were created to live under
God. Which means the truest version of humanity
was never going to look like autonomy. The truest
version of humanity was going to look like life
faithfully ordered under God's rule. Life lived
in faithful obedience to our creator and God.
And that's what we're going to look at today
as we look at Jesus. As we conclude this series,
True and Better, we're going to fix our eyes
on him and his attitude. Jesus shows us something
that the world just can't seem to understand,
and that is... Jesus shows us that true humanity
is found in humble obedience and self -giving
love. And that's why the title for today is Servant
Not Sovereign, and the subtitle would be something
like Jesus the True Human. The goal of Christian
formation, the goal of walking with Christ and
being formed, is that we would become like Christ.
So if you're taking notes, the first thing I'll
have you write down is the thread running through
this series. That's the first point. We're going
to do just a really quick flyover. Over the last
eight weeks, we've been kind of asking this one
fundamental question. Who gets to define who
you are? Who gets to define who you are? See,
identity never stays theoretical. What do I mean
by identity? Identity is the fundamental story
that you believe about yourself, about who you
are and what you're here for. Identity is the
fundamental story you believe about yourself,
who you are and what your life is here for. And
identity never stays just theoretical or some
pie -in -the -sky dream. It's how you see yourself.
It's how you make decisions. It's how you interpret
suffering in your life. It's how you relate to
other people. It's how you live your life in
your body. And ultimately, it's what kind of
life you are building. And each week in this
series, we've looked at two different visions
of identity, a distorted identity that our culture
offers to us that appeals to our self -centered
nature. And we've also looked at a gospel -shaped
identity that we receive in Christ Jesus. There's
a quick chart, just a side -by -side of what
we've looked at over the last few weeks, but
there's a false identity and a true and better
identity. The false identity says that our identity,
who we are, and what we're here for must be achieved
instead of the better identity that says it's
received. The false identity says you must earn
your belonging. The true identity says we live
from belonging. We belong, and that is the foundation
from which we live our lives. The false identity
says it has to be self -constructed. It's customizable
however you want it to fit together. But the
true and better identity, the gospel -shaped
identity says we are creations that God has made
and fashioned together. We have a given framework
in which we are to live. We have boundary lines
that are set in pleasant places by our creator
for us to live within. The false identity says
choice defines my reality. The freedom to choose.
Choose whatever I want, whatever I desire. But
the true and better one says that God's covenant
and his covenantal love for his people defines
the reality in which I live and operate. The
false identity says feelings define self. A true
and better identity says our bodies. We're embodied
creatures, and our whole body reveals who we
are, and also our whole body is an instrument
of worship before God. The false identity says
we're formed alone in isolation. The true and
better identity says that we are formed in a
gospel -shaped community for good works that
God has prepared in advance for us. The false
identity says God is a therapeutic God. He is
here to make me feel good about myself, to affirm
my choices and decisions, and to make me healthy,
wealthy, and wise. But the true and better identity
is God is holy. In and of himself, God is holy,
and God is most concerned about our holiness.
We are concerned about happiness. God is concerned
about holiness. And the false identity says that
we live a consumer life. Again, my choices, my
preference, all in service of my comfort, all
in service of my self -centered living. But the
true and better identity is we live a pilgrim
life. Exiles and strangers in this world. but
not without purpose. We live a pilgrim life on
assignment. And so if you look at the entire
series, you will see in the false identity category
that every distorted identity marker has the
same center. Every distorted false identity has
the self at the center. The self is on the throne.
The self is defining reality. The self is authorizing
what is true. The self is determining purpose.
The self is determining or demanding satisfaction
and comfort. But the gospel offers us something
completely different. The gospel gives us a new
center. The gospel gives us a new center to live
from, a new story about who I am and what I'm
here for. And that center is Christ himself.
Not myself, but Christ. What does it actually
mean to say that Christ is the new center? What
it means is that the defining reference point
of your and my life is no longer you or me. The
defining reference point as to whether I'm fulfilling
my life or I'm fulfilling my calling or I'm happy.
It's no longer me. Christ now determines how
you understand who you are. Christ now determines
what is true and what is not. Christ now determines
what your life is here for and how you live in
this world. That's the new center point we're
offered in the gospel. Your identity is no longer
something you construct. It is something you
receive in him. Your purpose is no longer self
-determination. It is shaped by his mission.
Your desires are no longer the final authority
in your life. They are reordered according to
his kingdom. Your life is no longer oriented
around your own glory and achievement. Your life
is now oriented around his glory. In other words,
the Christian life is not simply about adding
Jesus to your life, the life that you're already
building for yourself. The Christian life is
about re -centering your entire life around him,
around his kingdom, around his mission, around
his ambition, around his truth, around his glory
alone. And so the question for all of us is,
is Jesus the center of our life? Is his mission
what shapes what we do, what we long for? Is
his kingdom reordering our desires? Is his glory
what we work for? Is his glory our ambition?
Is Jesus the center of your life? Is the gospel,
is the gospel story? that there is a God in heaven
who is creator and all of creation is accountable
to that God. But that God has also shown us how
to live in relation to him. But humanity chose
to live outside of God's good creation, his design,
and instead fell into what we call sin. And in
that place of sin, brokenness and chaos ensued
and relational strife and all kinds of things
fell apart because it was outside of the good
design of God. But God did not abandon his creation.
He did not leave them to their own devices, but
he stepped into the world in Jesus Christ, took
on flesh, dwelt among us so that he might save
his creation and restore them back to himself
and give them new purpose and new life, form
them in his image so that they might live in
glory with him. He's making a people. We are
that people, church. Is Jesus the center of your
life? Is Jesus the center of your life? Is the
gospel the defining story now in your life that
you look to to shape your attitude, that you
look to to shape your desires and shape your
actions? We're going to look at Jesus, number
two, Jesus, the true human. In Philippians chapter
two, beginning in verse five, we read this. adopt
the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who
existing in the form of God did not consider
equality with God as something to be exploited.
Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form
of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity.
And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
to death on a cross. If you and I want to understand
what a truly human life looks like, there's only
one place we have to look, and that's to Jesus.
Jesus is our savior, yes. Jesus is our teacher
and our rabbi, yes. Jesus is also the true human.
And Paul says, adopt the same attitude as that
of Christ. Jesus, and that sickness tells us
something very crucial about what the Christian
life is like. Following Jesus is not only about
believing certain truths and having all your
doctrinal ducks in a row. It's not just about
that. Following Jesus is also about being reshaped
into his likeness. The goal of Christian formation
is that our lives begin to reflect the life of
Christ. And Paul shows us exactly what that life
will look like. He writes, Jesus, who existing
in the form of God, did not consider equality
with God something to be exploited. You think
about what Paul is trying to say here in Philippians,
that Jesus existed in the very form God, the
essence God, truly God, as the old confessions
say. Truly God. He possessed divine authority,
glory, and power. If anyone in all of human history
had the right to grasp power, it was Jesus. Truly
God, truly man. But Paul tells us that Jesus
did something completely unexpected, completely
different. He did not grasp for power. He didn't
exploit his status. Instead, Paul says he emptied
himself by assuming the form of a servant. And
I think the word servant is so important to what
we're talking about. It tells us something about
the very nature of Christ's mission. That in
the incarnation, when Jesus took on flesh and
dwelt among us, truly God and truly man, he did
not enter the world to dominate it. He didn't
arrive on the scene as a conquering ruler. He
came as a servant. The eternal son of God stepped
into his own creation that had fallen so short
of the glory of God, stepped into his creation,
and instead of wiping it clean with one whack
of the sword, right, whoosh, all humanity gone,
he steps in, not to be served, but to serve.
Paul says he humbled himself and he became obedient
to the point of death, even to death on a cross.
And that's a complete reversal of the story of
the garden, isn't it? In Genesis, humanity reaches
upward. We try to grasp the right for self -definition,
the right for self -rule. We try to become like
God. But in Jesus, we see the opposite is true.
We see the opposite movement of Christ. The Son
of God steps downward. He humbles himself. He
obeys the Father. He serves his creation. Where
humanity grasped for sovereignty and glory, Jesus
embraced obedience and humility. Jesus chose
to serve. And in doing so, Jesus shows us that
true humanity is not found in autonomy. True
humanity is found in faithful obedience to God.
The most human life ever lived was not self -sovereign.
It was self -giving. The cross is the climax
of the story, but even in Jesus' life, we see
that he is self -giving. Think about when Jesus
was tired. We have a story in Mark 6. After a
long stretch of ministry, Jesus tells his disciples,
hey, let's get away. Let's head over to the beach.
Let's go to Cabo. Let's kick back, quiet place,
and rest for a little while. Let's restore, right?
He doesn't say Cabo. He says, let's go to a quiet
place and restore. It was probably a wilderness
desert somewhere, right? Let's go to the quiet
place, and let's get away for a little while
and rest. They're exhausted, man. They've been
doing ministry hardcore. But guess who shows
up in the quiet place? The crowds. The crowds
show up. And what does Mark chapter six say?
It says instead of sending them away, it says
that Jesus looked at them and he had compassion
on them and he began to teach them many things.
Like even in exhaustion, Jesus gives himself
away. Husbands, even in exhaustion, Jesus gives
himself away. Wives, even in exhaustion, Jesus
gives himself away. You hear me? You hear me?
You hear me? Okay, you hear me. One of you is
listening. Some of y 'all skip lunch and you're
a completely different person, right? We have
the word hangry, right? Anyone ever been hangry?
Jesus is exhausted, and what comes out of him?
Compassion. You know our story is different than
that, right? When he's grieving, and we hear
in Matthew 14 that Jesus receives the news that
John the Baptist has been executed. Someone who's
very dear to him, John the Baptist. And so what
does Jesus do? He withdraws to a solitary place.
He withdraws. He wants to be alone. But what
happens? The crowds follow him. The crowds follow
him. And when Jesus sees them again, the text
says in Matthew 14, he had compassion on them
and healed their sick. See, even in grief, Jesus
is giving himself away. Jesus is grieving. And
what comes out of him? Mercy and compassion.
I think about when Jesus was betrayed. The very
night when he was betrayed, when he was arrested
and began the march to the cross. That very night,
Jesus kneels down and does something just astounding.
That very night, Jesus begins to wash the feet
of the disciples. And as he goes, one disciple
after another, he comes to a pair of feet. that
belong to a disciple named Judas, who only hours
from now will betray Jesus to death. And does
Jesus say, I ain't washing your feet? No, he
says, even in betrayal, we find Jesus on his
knees giving himself away. I think Jesus knew.
He knew what was coming. He knew the hour was
at hand, and yet he still served. And when you
step back and you look at his life, the pattern
of his life is clear that Jesus did not live
for himself. He lived for the glory of the Father
and for the good of others. And that is why Jesus
is... is not only our savior, but he is also
our pattern for life. Athanasius said, he's a
church father from the third century, third,
fourth century. He became what we are that he
might, he became what we are that he might make
us what he is. He became what we are that he
might make us what he is. The life he lived is
the life we are being formed into. Which means
the goal of the Christian life is not becoming
more and more autonomous or self -constructed.
It's about becoming more like him. And Jesus
did not live for himself. Number three, Jesus
came to serve. Mark chapter 10, listen to this.
Jesus called them, he's talking about his disciples.
Jesus called them over and said to them, You
know that those who are regarded as rulers of
the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in
high positions act as tyrants over them. But
it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever
wants to become great among you will be your
servant, and whoever wants to be first among
you will be a slave to all. For even the Son
of Man did not come to be served, but to serve
and give his life as a ransom for many. The setting
here in Mark chapter 10 is kind of interesting
because just before Jesus says this, you've got
two disciples, James and John, right? And they
came to Jesus and they're like, hey, Jesus, we
got a request here. It's just a little request.
Like we know you're gonna sit on a throne one
day in your kingdom and your throne's gonna be
the biggest, that's fine. But we also know someone
might get to sit to your right and to your left.
And we were thinking, hey, two seats, Two of
us, maybe you could let us sit to your right
and left in these seats of honor. What do you
think, right? Don't worry about those other guys,
you know. They want the position of honor. They
want the right and the left hand in the kingdom
of God. They want power and influence. They want
status. They want association. Whatever they
want, they want it for themselves. And it says
the other disciples, well, they get kind of upset
about that. But you know, they're not upset about
it because they disagree with the idea. They're
upset because they didn't have it first. I mean,
even among the 12, the instincts toward that
status and power is alive and well. Maybe even
in this room, right? And so Jesus gathers his
disciples together and he begins to completely
overturn their understanding of what greatness
looks like in the kingdom of God. And he begins
by saying, hey, you know, the rulers over the
Gentiles, you know, the rulers out there, they
lorded over them and those in high positions
act as tyrants over those they lead. Jesus is
describing the way power normally works in the
world, right? Authority. Equals domination. Leadership
equals control. Status is about your ability
to bend someone else's will to your own will.
When our kids was, probably still even happens
because we got two of them still at home even
though they're adults. We always had this thing
where if one of us was taking the boys anywhere,
it was whoever made it to the front seat got
the front seat, right? Anyone had the racing
kids run to the front seat or do that when you're
a kid, right? Shotgun, yeah, right. We didn't
allow calling. You had to make it there. And
fight to get that door open and fight to get
into the seat while you're pushing your brothers
off. But once they got there, there was a certain
privilege that came with sitting in the front
seat because we were kind of a music family.
And so whoever got to sit in the front seat got
to pick the music, right? And you know my boys,
right? Pastors' kids, sweet little boys. You
guys know them, right? Sweet, sweet boys, right?
I'm sure when they got into that front seat and
they had the power, they turned around to their
brothers in the back seat and said, what do you
guys want to listen to, right? No, that's not
how it went, right? I win, I dominate. And so
my youngest would put on like this Japanese stuff
where we're driving around with like Japanese
anime, rock, video game music. I'm like, what
on earth is going on? And yeah, there was a whole
lot of torturing in that front seat, right? But
even my kids, like they operated in that scenario
the way the world operates, right? I won, I got
there, you are subjected now to my Japanese anime
video game music. And we drive an hour from home.
It's not like up to the store, right? It's an
hour here and an hour back. Stupid on us for
allowing that, having that rule, right? No, but
the world says the higher someone rises, the
more other people serve them, right? The more
power they have, that's the normal pattern of
power in this world. But Jesus says to his disciples,
not so among you. In other words, my kingdom
does not operate that way and will not operate
that way. My people will live by a completely
different pattern. And Jesus says, the greatest
among you, well, they're gonna be a servant.
And those who wanna be first, You're going to
be a slave to all. That's greatness in the kingdom
of God. That's complete reversal of the world's
logic. In the kingdom, greatness means serving
others. Greatness means setting aside your preferences,
setting aside your desire, setting aside your
comfort for the sake of others. That's what greatness
means in the kingdom of God. You want to be great
in the kingdom? Follow the pattern. For even,
and then he doesn't just tell us, hey, this is
the instruction, this is the command, this is
what you have to do. He points them to an example.
He says, even the Son of Man came not to be served,
but to serve and to give his life. as a ransom
for many. And what is this Son of Man title?
Well, the Son of Man is this kind of often used
title Jesus uses of himself. The Son of Man is
the one with authority. The Son of Man is the
one with the glory, the one with the power, with
the power to judge the nations at the end of
time. That's the Son of Man. And he says the
Son of Man didn't come to be served. He came
to serve. And not only that, he came to give
his life as a ransom for many. He came to pay
the debt on behalf of others, the sin debt that
every one of us incurred. He didn't just come.
He didn't come to be served. He came to serve
and to pay the debt that you and I owed. And
the ultimate expression of service was the cross.
And the cross is not just the place where Jesus
saves us, but the cross is also the place where
Jesus reveals the true shape of humanity. The
true human Jesus on the cross is showing us the
true shape of humanity, that humanity in its
ideal, what we should all look to is a self -giving
love, a sacrificial laying down of our lives
for others. The truest human life is not one
that grasps power. It is one that gives itself
away in love. If Jesus is the true human and
we look to Jesus and to the cross and we receive
salvation from him, we also receive formation
from him. We are made and conformed into the
likeness of Christ. And so the goal of Christian
formation is to become like him. That's what
we're told in Romans chapter eight. Romans 8,
29 says, for those he foreknew, he also predestined
to what? To be conformed to the image of his
son. Those he foreknew, those he has justified,
those he has ransomed and saved, he also predestined
to become like Christ, to be conformed to the
image of his son. God's plan for his people was
not simply forgiveness. It is transformation.
And the aim of the Christian life is to become
like Christ, which means Christian formation
is not about becoming more myself or doubling
down on my own identity or autonomy or self -expression.
It's not about building the life that feels most
authentic to me. Christian formation is the slow
reshaping. of our lives into the pattern of Christ?
From self -rule to obedience, from self -protection,
be it in our relationship with God, but also
in our relationship with one another, in our
relationships in our families, with our kids,
with our spouses, with our neighbors, with our
friends, is it moving from self -protection to
self -giving love? From self -sovereignty, my
choice, my feeling, my perspective is sovereign.
It rules my life. To self -sacrificial service.
I lay all that down for the sake of others. The
more we submit our thoughts, emotions, behaviors,
and actions to the life and pattern of Christ,
the more our lives begin to take on the shape
of his life. And it begins in our minds, these
thoughts and these emotions, but it works its
way out into our actions, how we actually live
in this world. In Christ, we are not simply invited
to believe in him. We are invited into a lifelong
journey of becoming like him. And so in conclusion,
when you step back and look at the whole series,
this single question has kind of been underneath
it all. Who sits on the throne of your life?
Who sits on the throne of your life? Is it the
self? Is it the self that you have constructed?
I define who I am. I determine what is true.
I determine why I'm here. I determine the mission,
the ambition. I decide what is good for me. That
story is all around us, people. It's everywhere.
I just drove by a Burger King and I'm pretty
sure it said, hunger is king or something like
that. Or you are king or something like that.
It made me feel really good as I drove by the
Burger King. The message is everywhere. You're
the sovereign self. Take a hold of your life
and rule. I think it said hunger or thirst. Hunger
is king. I'm pretty sure there's a scripture
that talks about evil people and their God is
their stomach. Like, wow. As if we didn't know,
right? But a sign like that, you know what they're
thinking? They're thinking freedom. The feeling
of like, I control my life. I'm the king of my
kingdom, right? My domain. See, the story always
promises freedom. Extraordinary freedom. But
what it does in return is it places on the self,
on you and on me, a weight that we were never
meant to carry. We were never meant to design
our lives or establish what is true and right
or even why we're here. The sense or purpose
of meaning is not supposed to be found, the locus
of it here in ourselves. It is received outside
of us. Humans were never designed to be ultimate,
to be sovereign, to be ruler over themselves.
We were created, are very fabricated. You guys
ever done any creating, whether it's woodworking
or you've done a model or you made anything?
Usually there's a blueprint of some sort. You've
put together Ikea furniture, right? If you could
read the instructions, right? Have you ever done
anything like that, right? There's a design,
there's a purpose. It doesn't look right if you
put it together wrong, right? The leg sticking
up in the sky, right? No, it doesn't look right.
It doesn't look right because it's not designed.
It's designed to be subordinate to its plans,
to its purpose, to live under the rule of its
blueprint. And you and I are created also. You
and I are designed to be subordinate. You and
I are designed to live under God's rule within
the boundaries that God has set. And these are
good for us, right? You build the Ikea table,
right? It's a good table for a while, a little
while, right? It's good, it's good to look at,
it's good to use. Humans who operate in the proper
boundaries, in the proper context, subordinate,
created, under God's rule, within his boundary,
receiving our identity, our identity, who am
I? What am I here for? Who are then called to
go reflect his character and his goodness and
his life into this world. We're created for that.
And when we look at Jesus, we see exactly what
that life looks like. Jesus had every right to
claim authority. He had every right to grasp
power and every right to demand all the service,
like bring out. Bring out the tri -tip, right?
Bring out the bonbons, bring out the grapes,
bring out something, right? He had the right
to claim every service, every pampering, every
comfort as king of the universe. And instead,
what does he do? He humbles himself. He humbles
himself. The truest version of yourself will
never be found by ruling your own life. It will
be found by following Jesus. By surrendering
yourself to the pattern of Jesus' life. By learning
his humility and then living that humility in
your marriage. By living that humility in your
child rearing with your kids. By living that
humility at work or in community with others.
Learning Jesus' obedience. The obedience that's
listed right there in Philippians chapter two,
meditating on that until your heart burns for
that kind of obedience and living out of that
obedience in everyday life. This is what we call
here at Village, bringing the gospel to life.
It's living out the life of Christ in our everyday
life. His humility, his obedience, his self -giving
love. The goal of the Christian life is not self
-sovereignty, it is Christ -likeness. And you
might have noticed something in Philippians 2
if you kept reading. Jesus did not seize glory,
he did not grasp for power, he did not elevate
himself. Instead, we're told by Paul in Philippians
chapter 2, Jesus humbled himself, he obeyed the
Father, and he served you and I even to the point
of death on the cross. And what is the very next
verse? Verse 9, which we didn't read. The next
verse in Philippians chapter two, verse nine
says, for this reason, because he lived that
way, for this reason, God highly exalted him
and gave him the name that is above every name
so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will
bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth
and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord to the glory of the Father. You see,
the glory that followed Jesus' obedience was
not self -taken. It was given by the Father.
Jesus shows us something about the kingdom of
God here, that glory is not something you seize.
It is something that God gives to the faithful.
In God's kingdom, the path of exaltation is not
self -sovereignty. It is humble obedience. The
gospel says the fully alive human is the one
who becomes like Jesus. And that's the invitation
for all of us to become like Jesus, to be formed
and shaped by his life, his death, and the pattern
of his life becoming ours. So as we kind of wrap
this series up, it was good the last few weeks,
nine weeks or however long it's been. Feels like
all we've been doing. And we get ready to kind
of turn the corner and move into the season of
Easter coming up and Resurrection Sunday and
Good Friday and all of that. That's coming down
the pipeline. But I want us to sit for a moment
in this as we wrap it up and as we consider that
question, who sits on the throne of your life?
Who is at the center? What story are you believing
about who you are? and why you are here. Who's
at the center of your identity? I think the invitation
for all of us is to respond and to allow Christ
to begin to move to the center. That means some
things are going to have to go. That means some
thoughts and attitudes and emotions and behaviors
are going to have to change. And part of the
act of surrender is starting there and saying,
Yeah, I know the thing. I can name it. I can
name the thing that needs to begin to shift and
change, and I lay it on your altar today. Begin
to change that in me. It's always interesting
when people are like, how do I know what God
wants to work on in me? It's like, you'll know.
It's whatever you're thinking of right now, right?
Whatever that thing is, that hang up, that issue
that's going on, that's the thing that God's
bringing to the surface through all of your life
and circumstances because he wants to deal with
that today. Today's the day of surrender. Today's
the day of becoming like Christ a little bit
more.