Forgetting the past, straining ahead

Well, good morning, everyone, and Happy New Year. I'll add that to everyone else's this morning.

And New Year's resolutions, I'm not sure if you're one of those people who has New Year's

resolutions. I personally highly encourage it, at least give you something to sort of work forwards,

if you like. I'd be grateful if you could turn 1 Corinthians, grab a Bible, either physical Bible

over here somewhere, and also on your app, 1 Corinthians 3 would be fantastic.

Top 10 resolutions for last year, New Year's resolutions for last year were number one,

only do exercise you enjoy. Number two, healthy eating. Number three, turn off the self-view

on your Zoom calls. Number four was review your relationship with alcohol. Number five,

find a new hobby. Number six, travel more. Number seven, volunteer. Number eight, meet someone.

I'm assuming that's romantic as opposed to just meeting someone randomly. Number nine was to sleep

more. And number 10 was to start therapy. So that's not my New Year's, that's New Year's resolutions.

Number, so my New Year's resolutions for this year, number one, and I've got five of them. Number one,

to forget about myself. Number two, to read the entire Bible and the New Testament and Psalms twice.

Number three, to not buy any new pieces of clothing. With two caveats. I don't wear secondhand underwear.

And I don't wear secondhand joggers. There's a reason for that. It has something to do with injury.

Number four for me is to run my first ever marathon. Number five is to set a PB running a marathon.

So providing I do number four, I should automatically do number five.

What are your goals for 2023? Particularly, what is your discipleship goals? In other words,

the question that we constantly ask ourselves around here is what might be your next step?

Now, our summer series here in January is called Running the Race. It's based loosely around Hebrews

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12, verses one to three, sorry, one to two, which says,

Since we are surrounded by such great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders

and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

So what we've got here in January is five standalone messages around the theme of running the race of

discipleship. A few of them will be biographies of those who have the, you know, some of the great,

greats of the faith from past eras who have run the race and set a great example for us.

What is I'm doing today, what is intriguing about today's passage is that it gives us a way to see

ourselves, to start this new year in seeing ourselves differently.

And seeing particularly how we might change.

And it's totally different than traditional culture or contemporary Western culture on how

it views we are to change. Up until the 20th century, traditional cultures believed that a

too higher view of yourself was the main cause of personal problems and the breakdown of relationships.

And society.

The Greek word for it is the word hubris, an excessive pride and arrogance and overly high confidence in oneself.

In our modern Western culture, we have developed the exact opposite cultural consensus.

Our belief today, which is deeply embedded in everything, is that people, when people feel bad about themselves,

they do bad things to others.

It's that is, the main problem is low self-esteem.

And all you have to do is to put people on the right path of self-improvement and you will advance society.

And so the question is, do we fix ourselves and fix our own issues, issues between people,

by a higher view of ourself or through a lower view of ourself?

Which one's right?

One Corinthians 3 and into 4 gives us an approach to the way of seeing ourselves that is absolutely different than the traditional way or the contemporary way.

The way that we see ourselves in 1 Corinthians is to forget ourselves.

Real enduring change can come about when we actually forget about ourselves.

So maybe 2023 is the year to find true freedom in your life by forgetting about yourself,

which is why, for me, it's number one on my New Year's resolutions.

So if you're someone who likes to take notes, I've got three points.

The fragile ego, the transformed ego, and how to get a transformed ego.

The fragile ego.

The Corinthian church, if you read earlier in 1 Corinthians 3,

you'd see that it's a church that's filled with all these divisions.

Paul shows that the real core issue of those divisions is pride and boasting.

In chapter 3, verse 6, he urges them not to take pride in one person over against another.

They're flocking to certain leaders and taking their sense of worth attached to a particular leader.

The word Paul uses here for pride in chapter 3, verse 6 is in fact an unusual word.

The word literally means to be overinflated.

It means to be swollen.

Something that is beyond its proper size.

It's swollen, inflamed, it's ready to burst.

That's the condition, it says, of the natural human ego.

And the ego is therefore empty.

The ego that is puffed up and overinflated is just a bunch of gas.

It's nothing at its centre.

The ego is empty.

The ego that is puffed up has nothing at its centre.

Spiritual pride is the illusion that we are competent to run our lives by ourselves.

Achieve our own sense of self-worth.

To find a purpose big enough to give us meaning in life without God.

Not only is it not possible, but the overinflated ego is also painful.

We do not notice our body until something goes wrong with it.

That's the nature of it.

It'd be pretty rare for us to think.

Like, I've never actually gone at the end of it.

My goodness, my elbow is working really well today.

Just, well done.

You know, it's not until something's wrong with the elbow

that you notice it's either not working or it's now working brilliantly.

The ego often hurts because of something unbelievably wrong with it.

It is always making us think about how we look and how we're treated.

It is very hard to get through a whole day without feeling snubbed,

without feeling ignored, without feeling stupid,

without getting down on ourselves in some way or another.

That's because there's something unbelievably wrong with our sense of self.

And therefore the ego is incredibly busy trying to feel the emptiness,

to deal with the pain.

It's busy comparing and boasting.

In verse 6,

there is no full stop after the word pride.

It says,

then you will not take pride in one person over against another.

And that is the very essence of the fragile ego.

It tries to feel its emptiness,

to deal with its pain by comparing itself to other people.

In his chapter on pride,

in his classic book,

Mere Christianity,

C.S. Lewis points out that pride,

by its very nature,

is competitive.

He writes,

pride gets no pleasure out of having something,

only out of having more of it than the next person.

It's competitive.

In other words,

we're only proud of being more successful,

more intelligent,

and more good looking than the next person.

That's his point.

When we're in the presence of someone

who is in fact more successful,

more intelligent,

more good looking,

then we are,

then what we have there is a loser sense of the pleasure of what we had.

It then becomes a problem with us.

And so we tend not to gravitate towards people who make us feel bad.

We gravitate towards people who make us feel better about ourselves,

because we are by nature competitive.

The hollow ego is competitive.

It's fragile.

Anything that is overinflated is always in imminent danger of being deflated.

Empty, painful, busy, and fragile.

The normal state of the human self without God.

And Paul wants the Corinthian church here,

and us,

to know the difference that Jesus Christ makes.

And how the Christian gospel

has transformed things for him,

and how it can be for us too.

Which is my second point,

the transformed ego.

In verses three and four,

Paul shows them how the Christian gospel

has transformed his sense of self-worth.

He says,

he writes there,

I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court.

Indeed, I do not even judge myself.

My conscience is clear.

But that does not make me innocent.

It is the Lord who judges me.

Now the word translated judge here,

it has the same meaning as the word verdict.

It's referring to that,

if you like,

elusive stamp of approval

that we all crave.

We all crave.

Some of us have grown up in families

where we've never had that elusive stamp of approval.

Always striving,

always seeking to fill the empty ego.

And what says here,

Paul's saying his self-worth is not tied to that.

He's not tied to the Corinthians' evaluation of him.

Now most parents would say to their child at some point,

especially when they're having problems with other kids,

you know, in the schoolyard or something like that,

we would normally say things like,

it doesn't matter what your friends think of you.

It doesn't matter what other people say about you.

Any parent ever heard them repeat those words?

It doesn't matter what other people think about you.

In our modern world,

there seems to be only one way

of dealing with low self-esteem.

And that is fix it with high self-esteem.

We tell someone

that they need to see that they are a great person.

They need to see how wonderful they are.

And Paul's approach here is very different.

He cares very little if he is judged by the Corinthians,

but he doesn't turn that around and go,

well, I think really well of myself.

So it doesn't matter what you say about me.

He says, I don't care what you think about me,

but I don't care what I think about me either.

I don't even judge myself.

It's as if he says,

I don't care what you think

and I don't care what I think.

Look carefully what he says in verse four.

My conscience is clear,

but that does not make me innocent.

Now, I'm pretty sure that Paul would not say,

or that he would say,

it's a very significant trap

to set your own standard,

your own bar of standards.

You know, the way you can feel better about yourself

is to set your standards so low

that you will meet it every time.

We feel rotten

because we often can't live up to other people's standards,

and so the answer is to boost our self-esteem

by living up to our own standards,

and we just keep dropping them.

That can't deliver either.

We cannot keep our own standards.

Did you know a little bit of a tip for you

who do set New Year's resolutions?

Only 8% of people will follow through

with their self-improving New Year's resolutions.

8%.

92% will break those resolutions,

will give up on those resolutions

by the end of January.

So what's the answer?

Set less resolutions?

Set really low resolutions.

That makes us feel terrible

because we realise that we're the type of person

who just constantly lowers the bar.

Every time we break our standards,

we just lower them.

Boosting our self-esteem

by trying to live up to our own standards

is a trap.

And Paul here does not look to the Corinthians

for the verdict that he's a somebody,

but he also doesn't look to himself

to get the verdict that he's a somebody.

Now, he's now moving into a territory

that very, very few people know anything about.

And this is the Apostle Paul,

to this day,

still rated in the top five

most influential people in human history,

to this day.

And this is what he writes

in 1 Timothy 1, verse 15.

1 Timothy 1:15

Jesus Christ came into the world

to save sinners

of whom I am the worst.

Not that I was the worst,

but of whom I am the worst.

We are simply not used to someone

who is that incredibly confident,

volunteering that sort of opinion

about themselves.

Someone who is totally honest

and aware of all sorts of moral flaws,

and yet at the same time

has incredible poise and confidence.

A man who literally changed

the course of human history.

A man who Western civilization

is built on.

When he says that he does not

let the Corinthians judge him,

nor will he judge himself,

he is saying that he knows

about his deep failures,

but he does not connect

those deep failures

to his identity,

to his sense of self.

He does not see his sin

and let it destroy his sense of self.

Nor does he look at his accomplishments

and congratulate himself.

He sees all kinds of sin in himself

and all kinds of accomplishments,

and yet he refuses to connect

any of those things

to his sense of self.

Paul is saying here

that his ego is not puffed up,

it's filled up.

It's like he's reached a place

where his ego draws no more attention

to itself.

When he does something wrong

or something good,

it's not connected

to him anymore.

C.S. Lewis again

in Mere Christianity

makes a brilliant observation

right at the very end

of his chapter on pride.

If we were to meet

a truly humble person,

we would never come away

from meeting them

thinking that they were

actually humble.

They would not be always telling us

that they were a nobody

because a person

who keeps saying

that they're a nobody

who's got low self-esteem

is actually a self-obsessed person.

The thing we would remember

about meeting a truly humble person

is how much they seem

to be totally interested

in you,

in us.

And how happy

and at peace they were

whatever the circumstances

are in life.

The essence

of a transformed ego

is not thinking

more of oneself

or thinking less

of oneself.

It's thinking

of oneself

less.

It's the freedom

of self-forgetfulness.

It's not a high self-esteem.

It's not a low self-esteem.

It's not even about self-esteem.

A truly humble person

is not a self-hating person

or a self-loving person.

They are a self-forgetful person.

For example,

the self-forgetful person

would never be devastated

by criticism

because they don't put

too much value

in other people's opinions.

The fragile

ego

is either

devastated

by criticism

or they're not

devastated

by criticism

because they do not

listen to criticism.

They won't accept

criticism.

The person

who's a self-forgetful

person

is the complete

opposite.

When someone

whose ego

is filled up

gets criticised,

they're not

devastated,

they listen to it

and they see it

as an opportunity

to change.

Wouldn't you want

2023

to be like that

for yourself?

Wouldn't you want

to be a person

who does,

who neither

needs honour

nor afraid

of it

when you receive it?

Someone

who does not

lust for recognition

nor,

on the other hand,

frighten to death

of it.

Don't you want

to be the kind

of person

who does not

admire

what they see

in the mirror

but not

cringe

by what they

see in the mirror?

Don't you want

to be the kind

of person

who in

your imaginary

life

doesn't sit

around daydreaming

about successes

that gives you

an edge

over others?

Or perhaps

you tend

to beat

yourself up

to be tormented

by the regrets

of your life?

Wouldn't you like

to be free

of all of those

things?

Wouldn't you like

to be the athlete

who wins

the bronze medal

and yet

is thrilled

to celebrate

with the gold

medal winner?

Because you've

got to be there

to experience

their brilliance.

This is the possibility

for you and for me

if we keep

on going

where Paul

is going

here.

We can start

to enjoy

things

that are

in fact

not about

me.

We can

actually enjoy

things for

what they are

or people

for who

they are.

They are

not just

there

to fill

up my

emptiness

or your

emptiness.

That's the

transformed ego.

That's the

life,

the blessed

life of

self-forgetfulness.

And our

society

has got

no categories

for this

kind of

life.

Don't know

where to put

this kind

of life.

So how

do we get

this

transformed

ego?

Paul tells

us he got

to this

place.

He says,

my conscience

is clear

but that

does not

make me

innocent.

The word

translated

innocent

comes from

the word

justify.

He's

saying that

even if

his conscience

is clear,

that does

not

justify

him.

What Paul

is looking

for is a

verdict,

the ultimate

verdict that he

is important,

that he is

valuable.

We look for

that ultimate

verdict every

single day of

our life in

all kinds of

situations and

people around

us.

The problem

with self-esteem,

whether it's

high or whether

it's low,

is that every

single day we

are on

trial.

Every single

day you're

on trial.

There is this

prosecution and

there is defense

sitting on either

shoulder.

Everything we do

is providing

evidence for the

prosecution or

evidence for the

defense.

And some days we

feel like we're

winning the trial

and other days we

feel like we're

losing the trial.

And Paul says

for him the

trial is over.

It's done.

He is out of

the courtroom

because the

ultimate verdict

has come in

for him.

He knows that

the Corinthians

can't justify

him and he

knows that he

can't justify

himself.

He says it

is the Lord

who judges

him.

What Paul is

saying here,

it is only,

only in the

gospel of the

Lord Jesus

Christ that Paul

and us get

the final

verdict.

And crucially,

he says,

it comes before

any performance

on our behalf.

Most people

get their

self-image

from being a

good person

and hope that

eventually they

will get a

verdict that

confirms that

they are a

good person.

Performance

leads to a

verdict, in

other words.

All the

great religions

and philosophies

of this world

work on that

principle.

Performance

leads to the

verdict.

It is only

in the

Christian faith,

only in the

Christian faith,

does the

verdict lead

to performance.

in Christianity,

the moment we

believe, God

says, you

are my

beloved

child, in

whom I am

well pleased.

Only in

Christianity do

you get the

praise of the

praiseworthy

before anything

that you've

done.

And in

spite of all

the things that

you have done

that you

shouldn't have

done.

or Romans

Romans 8:1

8 verse 1

which says,

therefore, there

is now no

condemnation for

those who are in

Christ Jesus.

The moment you

trust in Jesus

Christ, God

credits Jesus'

perfect performance

to you as if it

was your own.

And he adopts us

into his family.

The verdict is in.

And now we

perform on that

basis.

because he

loves us and

he accepts us.

We don't have to

do things that

just build up our

reputation.

We are free now

to do things

for the joy of

them, simply for

the joy of

them.

Free to help

other people in

order to help

them, not

because it makes

us feel better

about ourselves,

not because it's

filling up our

emptiness and

building up our

ego.

In

Christianity,

Jesus Christ

went on trial

instead.

Jesus went into

the courtroom

on our behalf.

He faced the

trial that should

be ours so

that we don't

have to face

that trial

ever.

He took the

condemnation that

we deserve for

our lack of

performing to

God's standards

of perfection.

perfection.

And we just

simply need to

ask God to

accept us on

the basis of

Jesus.

That's it.

And when we

do, the only

person whose

opinion actually

matters looks at

us and he finds

in us a person

more valuable than

all the jewels of

the earth.

Now, perhaps

that's brand new

for some of you

here today.

Don't let this

moment pass you

at the beginning

of 2023.

This is

fundamentally

revolutionary,

as it has been

for millions of

people for

centuries.

Keep looking,

keep digging,

keep asking

questions.

There's a lot to

discover.

I've covered a

lot of ground

in a very short

space of time.

There are lots

of pieces of the

jigsaw puzzle to

put together.

But keep looking,

keep searching,

keep exploring the

Christian faith.

Understand the

whole picture.

Make it, can I

encourage you to

make it of central

importance in

2023.

But maybe you're

in a different

position.

maybe you've

already trusted in

Jesus, maybe

done so for many,

many years.

But every single

day you find

yourself being

sucked back into

that courtroom.

Keep getting

sucked back into

it.

And all I can

tell you is

that you must

relive the

gospel every

single day.

We must live

the gospel every

single, every

moment we pray,

every time we

gather as a

church, every

time we feel

rejected.

Forgetting

self-remembering

the gospel of

Jesus Christ is

the key to

treasuring Jesus

and embracing

diversity and

discomfort for us

as a church.

It's the key to

letting go and

finding true and

enduring rest.

We have to

relive the

gospel in every

single experience

of life.

life.

We need to relive the

Christian gospel on

the spot and

ask ourselves, am

I putting myself

back into the

courtroom here?

Am I turning this

around to be about

me again?

Like Paul, we can

actually live day by

day saying, I

don't care about

what you think.

I don't even care

what I think.

only care what the

Lord thinks.

And he's the one

who has said, you

put your trust in

Jesus, you are my

much loved child.

The verdict is in.

So embrace Jesus and

all of his work more

and more each day

this year.

Put self-forgetfulness

at the top of your

new year's resolutions

and pray for the help

to remember Jesus

moment by moment, to

preach the gospel to

yourself moment by

moment and what he

has achieved for you.