Stumbling Blocks to Faith: "Me" I. Introduction A. Matthew 16:13-23 1. Peter's confession and then Peter as stumbling block 2. Peter speaks for the Twelve when he says that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (vv. 13-19) 3. Jesus then begins to tell them about what will happen to Him (v. 21) 4. Peter, however, does not want to accept this teaching, and because of this our Lord called him "Satan," and charged him with having his mind on the things of man and not of God (vv.22-23) 5. We see Peter's character in these two events... 6. ...but importantly, we see that his last statement is motivated not by God nor the confession he just made, but by his own belief! 7. Peter's "me"-- his personal feelings and judgments-- came out when he rebuked the one whom he called Lord! 8. This "me" in him was called "Satan!" 9. We should see, therefore, that "me" can be a significant stumbling block to faith B. The Prevalence of "Me" 1. Our current society is obsessed with "Me" 2. The unofficial philosophy of our day-- postmodernism and its inherent relativism-- establishes "Me" as the ultimate standard for all truth 3. Our economic system-- capitalism-- establishes as its goal the enrichment of "Me" no matter what the cost to anyone else 4. Our system of government, theoretically, establishes "Me" as the basic unit of election 5. Everything around us and everyone around us live according to "me, me, me!" C. Is this the way of Christianity? D. Let us examine the Scriptures and see what they say about this "Me" attitude II. What is "Me?" A. Before we examine the Scriptures about the "Me" attitude, let us define it so none may be confused 1. "Me" is when we allow ourselves to represent the standard of judgment in matters 2. "Me" is when we think for ourselves what is right and what is wrong 3. "Me" is when we attempt to interpret the Scriptures to fit our own preconceptions, and not allow the Scriptures to change our conceptions 4. "Me" is when we allow our upbringing, society, culture, and education to establish what we believe and not the Word of God B. Different Quantities of "Me" 1, Let none think that these definitions apply only to overall beliefs 2. We can be Biblically minded in many issues but allow "Me" to govern our belief about a few 3. "Me" represents any time when we allow ourselves to be the standard as opposed to the Word of God C. Caveats 1. We are to have our own faith, and this means that many times our faith will conform to our personality 2. This is acceptable and even encouraged as long as we are not contradicting or violating the Word of God in any way 3. Romans 12:4-8/1 Corinthians 12:4-31 4. We all have different gifts and different uses in the Body, and these gifts and uses are going to be determined by our own, individual abilities 5. We also must remember that in matters of established liberties that one can be more restrictive than the word of God explicitly says and we are not to condemn as much 6. Otherwise, however, we should be wary about "Me" III. The Scriptures and "Me" A. What, then, do the Scriptures say about this "Me" attitude? B. Proverbs 3:5-8 1. We need to not lean on our own understanding, but that of the LORD's 2. He makes our paths straight when we do such 3. It is healing and refreshment to us C. Jeremiah 10:23 1. It is not within a man to direct his own steps 2. Therefore, man does best to let God direct his way D. James 4:10, 13-16 1. We are to humble ourselves before the Lord to be exalted! 2. We must recognize that the Lord directs our lives, and it is arrogance to assert that we ourselves do! E. The Depravity of the "Me" Mindset 1. The Scriptures point often to the "darkened" mind 2. Romans 1:18-23: the "Me" attitude led (and leads) people to reject God and live in their sins 3. Romans 6:15-21: those who choose to serve sin and not God are condemned, and do so because of their "Me" attitude 4. James 1:13-16: James explicitly says that sin begins with allurement according to one's own desire-- Me! F. There are also many examples in the Bible of the "Me" attitude 1. Israel in the Period of the Judges: Judges 2:10-23, Judges 21:25 a. Everyone in Israel "did what was right in his own eyes" b. This led to unauthorized practices (Judges 17-18-- Micah, his idol of YHWH, his son as priest, etc.) c. This led to Baal worship (Judges 2:10-23) d. The entire Judges cycle of disobedience -> oppression -> repentance -> deliverance by judge -> peace -> disobedience based on this "Me" attitude! 2. Jeroboam, son of Nebat: 1 Kings 12:26-33 a. Jeroboam said "in his own heart" that his people might go to Jerusalem to the Temple and want to rejoin Judah b. Therefore, he established unauthorized temples and service c. Israel was carried away by this sin throughout its existence and was delivered into captivity for it (2 Kings 17:21-23) 3. Ananias and Sapphira: Acts 5:1-10 a. They wanted to do as the other disciples and sell their property and give it to the Apostles...but they kept some back, appealing to their "Me," yet did not want to give the appearance that they were supporting their "Me" b. For their deception-- not the act of keeping some money for themselves-- they died 4. Simon Magus—Acts 8:9-24 a. Simon was once considered mighty in Samaria... b. ...but then Philip came with the power of the Holy Spirit c. When Peter and John came, Simon wanted to buy the ability to give others the Holy Spirit! d. He allowed his "Me" to make him miss the path G. Therefore, we can see from the clear commands and examples of the Scriptures that we are not to live according to "Me" IV. Resisting the "Me" Attitude A. How, then, shall we avoid living for "Me?" B. Understand that it is not within us to direct our own steps (Jeremiah 10:23) C. Remember how fundamentally wrong we were while separated from God, hostile to Him (Romans 1:18-32, 8:1-8, Ephesians 2:1-18) D. Confess the strength of the influence our culture, parents, peers, and other factors have on us, and to work to be aware of them, comparing and contrasting them with the truth of God as revealed in Christ (Colossians 2:1-10) E. Submit to God in all things-- thought, feeling, and action-- and thus truly serve Him and not our own pretenses that we imagine represent God's declarations (cf. Romans 6:16-23, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:12-13) F. Our lives should be known for their service to God and man (Romans 12:1)-- the more selfless we become in our service, the less likely we are to live for the "Me"! V. Conclusion A. John 5:19-30 1. Jesus Christ, the Son of God and God the Son, Himself did nothing of His own accord on Earth, but only the will of His Father in Heaven 2. He never allowed His "Me" to supersede the will of His Father 3. Even at His most tempted moments—in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:35-36)—in the end, the will of the Father, not the "Me" of Jesus, was to be done B. 1 Corinthians 11:1, 1 John 2:6: We are to imitate Christ, walk as He walked 1. As He never allowed His "Me" to distract Him from the will of His Father, so we are not to allow our "Me" to cause us to stumble from His path 2. We are to strive to be this way C. We must not be as Peter-- and the Israelites, and Jeroboam, and Ananias and Sapphira-- and allow our "Me" to supersede the will of God in us D. Let us serve God and not "me" today! E. Invitation