Narcissistic Normal
Sermon - Dovedale

ISA 44:6 "This is what the LORD says--
Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.

ISA 44:7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come--
yes, let him foretell what will come.

ISA 44:8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."[NIV]

God speaking through Isaiah, gives an account of himself. He is the beginning and the end. His authenticity can be verified by the fact that he long ago he foretold what would occur today and in the yet future. The people he is speaking to can testify to his claim. He asks if there is anyone else who can make such a bold statement, He knows of none.
Then he switches tack a little, to those that pretend to occupy his throne.

ISA 44:9 All who make idols are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.
Those who would speak up for them are blind;
they are ignorant, to their own shame.

ISA 44:10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,
which can profit him nothing?
ISA 44:11 He and his kind will be put to shame;
craftsmen are nothing but men.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
they will be brought down to terror and infamy.

ISA 44:12 The blacksmith takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.

ISA 44:13 The carpenter measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in the form of man,
of man in all his glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.

ISA 44:14 He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.

ISA 44:15 It is man's fuel for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.

ISA 44:16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
"Ah! I am warm; I see the fire."

ISA 44:17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says,
"Save me; you are my god."

ISA 44:18 They know nothing, they understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.

ISA 44:19 No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
"Half of it I used for fuel;
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?"

ISA 44:20 He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
"Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?" [NIV]

Could a case for the blind ignorance of anyone who serves an idol be put more bluntly?
A mortal blacksmith, who himself needs to take sustainance, cannot fashion an immortal all powerful god by his own power. Anymore can a carpenter, take a tree that grew by chance, relying on the seasons for sustainance, fashion an immortal god from the leftovers of what he used to cook lunch.
The bread from these idols turns to ash. Compare that with The Bread of Life, who says come to me an you will not hunger.
All very impressive you say. But so what?

After all, none of you worship idols ............ right?

Who has heard of Narcissism?
Who has heard of Narcissus?
Greek legend has it that Narcissus, son of Cephalus the river god, rejected the love of the nymph Echo. And despite the warning of his friends, became fascinated with his own reflection in a pool of water. One day he lent over to kiss his reflection and drowned in the pool.

Sigmund Fraud Freud was the first to take this legend and apply the name to the disorder of loving oneself; namely narcissism.

Aaron Stern has written a book called Me: The Narcissistic American in which he explains “narcissism thrives best where the basic needs for survival have been met, and where the human struggle is no longer for mere existence but for rewards, pleasures, and amusements.”
He goes on to explain that “the takers of the world are the narcissists. The givers of the world are the loving people. The balance between the two determines the quality of social life. As society becomes more and more narcissistic, loving people are progressively eliminated. . . If enough of us choose narcissism, there will be no other alternative for the rest. Society as we know it will no longer exist.”

Stern details the way that American society is breaking down because of narcissism, in much the same way as the Roman Empire did. As brilliant as he is at seeing the impact this disorder is causing, Stern is unable to offer a credible solution.
He closes his book with these words:
So, whatever the outcome of your life may be, blame no one but yourself; it will be a result of the choices you will have made.
I, for one, would like us to maintain a more loving way of life. But none of us can to it alone. We need to help each other while there is still time.
Let us make a commitment to help each other to love more and in that way keep our narcissism under control. Before its too late.

Stern's problem is that he lives in a closed Universe. He obviously doesn't believe in an all powerful creator. As such, he cannot escape even his own narcissism. Without something beyond ourselves to focus our attention on, we will invariably become self-centered.

How does it make you feel when you read news paper headlines like “Homes further out of reach of first home buyers.” ?
When the reason for this is “foreigners” using overseas money to buy up property at record levels.
I know how I feel being a potential first home buyer.

Roy McCloughry, in his book The Eye of the Needle, informs us that “the most fundamental form of idolatry in the modern world is the belief that there is something called 'ordinary life,' which does not need to refer to God and which is 'normal'. It is a view subscribed to by the majority of 'ordinary decent people' whose major belief is that God is unnecessary. This belief, which they regard as normal belief, is regarded as harmless, since they are not evil and merely wish to 'get on with their lives.'”

Why do we get so upset about foreigners buying up land and houses pushing up prices?
Is it not because it is destroying that great kiwi dream of owning your own piece of 'God's own' with a house and pool. A dream that until recently was a reality for most hard working NZers. A dream that was our national idol.
Roy goes on to say that Christians have adapted this belief of 'ordinary life' and they call it 'ordinary religious life.'
A life that is very comfortable.
You know when newly born Christians come into the church they are all bubbly and excited and want to study the bible and conquer the world for Christ. But it is not long before they are taken under the wing of more 'mature' Christians and instructed in the way of 'normal Christian life.' Soon, they too are living the 'average' Christian life, satisfied with mediocrity.

Some one once said that where the likes of Nietzsche and Voltaire went wrong, when they claimed that God was dead, is that it wasn't God but his Church that died.

This weak mediocre religion has been replaced by the self-help culture. Go into any bookstore and see dozens of books on how improve yourself. Find the strength, find the god within.

Remember the verse - Faith, hope ,and niceness, the greatest of these being niceness. Jesus said even the pagans are nice to those they like, which is what Mr Stern was proposing with his let there be more love - he meant niceness. Try being nice to those who aren't nice, this is what Jesus requires.

We as a Church are just as guilty of narcissism as the world. If you don't believe me look at the worship songs. Once we could sing songs like “great is the Lord, He is worthy to be praised” etc. Now we have to sing “great is MY Lord, I will praise Him.”
I challenge you to count how many times I ME MY MINE is mentioned compared with God Jesus Lord - 50/50 I find to be a good day. Or even how many songs we sing, that are straight worship to God and don't mention ME I MY.

How often do you hear people talking about church make a comment like “the service did nothing for me today.” Or “I don't feel that church is meeting my needs.”

Why doesn't the Sunday worship live up to our expectations?

Is it because The Church service is viewed as an opportunity to “take a break” from our 'normal' working lives. Roy McCloughry thinks so. He says:
The concept of attending 'church worship' as a duty is doomed to failure from the outset. One cannot expect to focus on the world for six days and on God for a few hours on Sunday. God would appear alien and rituals of worship would be opaque. No, worship must be the order of every day”.

If we spent all week meditating on God's word, meeting with believers, and evangelizing the lost; then we come to church on Sunday morning to praise God for his blessings throughout the week - do you think people would be church hopping, chasing the latest 'moving of the Holy Spirit', because “that service did nothing for me.”

Idolatry does not just involve the worship of gods we have crafted with our hands. It can also be as McCloughry says “creating God in our image.” Or as Alec Motyer words it “making God what you want him to be.”
Ever listened to talk-back radio, and people ring in with the argument “my God wouldn't do that” never mind what scripture says. They have created a God they are comfortable worshiping - an idol.

Is it any wonder that our mediocre narcissistic Christianity is leaving us with the taste of ash in our mouth?


But what can we do?
Where does this leave us?

Joshua 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

It has to begin with me.
I have to make sure that my worldview is one that is coloured by the Holy Word not Hollywood.
I have to make sure I am worshiping God, that I am created in His image: not, I am worshiping a god I created in my image.

Incidentally, do you know the magic word to whisper that will inspire guilt in most Christians-- lifestyle.

Have I settled for the 'normal Christian life'?

by Dean - 02/07

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Source: http://truckdriverdevotions.com