Stop Polishing a Resume God Already Threw Away

As I was preaching this past Sunday here in Van Buren, Missouri, I couldn’t help but look at the crowd and realize something. Every person in that room, and every person reading this right now, falls into one of two camps.

You’re either in the “I’ve Got This” camp or the “I’m a Loser” camp.

The first group is the “Success” crowd. You’ve made good decisions. You’ve got the career, the family looks good on Facebook, and you’ve generally stayed out of the ditch. Your problem is pride. You think you don’t need a Savior because your engine is still running fine.

The second group is the “Washed Up” crowd. You’ve made the dumb choices. You’re loaded with shame and guilt. You think you’re too far gone, too messy, or too broken for God to bother with. Your problem is also pride; you think your failure is bigger than His grace.

Both of you are listening to a lie from the pit.

The Resume of a Dead Man

We spend so much time polishing our resumes. We want to show God, and our neighbors, why we deserve a win. We hide our struggles behind a Sunday Evening Mask to look the part. Or, we spend all our time staring at our rap sheet, convinced that our past defines our chassis.

But The Resurrection changes the hardware of your life.

When Jesus walked out of that tomb, He didn’t just provide a “spiritual boost” for good people. He conquered the power of sin once and for all. That means the wages of your sin, all the muck and the mire, has been defeated. It also means your “success” doesn’t earn you a single point of righteousness.

Stop focusing on the surface. Focus on the Rescue.

In the Kingdom, we don’t boast in how well we’ve performed. We boast in the Hero who pulled us out of the pit. If you’ve succeeded, it’s by God’s grace. If you’ve failed, God’s grace has brought you to this moment to respond to Him again.

God is never trying to “salvage” your life. He isn’t shook by your mess, and He isn’t impressed by your trophies. He wants your heart.

Drive a Stake in the Ground

It is time to cross into a next era of how you see yourself.

You aren’t a loser. You aren’t a self-made success. You are a rescued child of the one true living God. Your name is already written in His book, and you can live with that kind of confidence starting this Wednesday.

The War is Over. The Victory is won. Now you just have to learn how to walk it out.

Your Mission This Week: Open your mouth and verbalize the Rescue.

Identify the one area where you’ve been relying on your own strength or hiding in your own shame. Stop talking about the struggle and start declaring the Promise. Tell someone(a spouse, a friend, or a brother at Bible Study)that Jesus is your righteousness, period.

Stop checking your own pulse and start looking at the Hero. He hasn’t quit on you, and He isn’t going to start now.

See you Sunday,

Pastor Jeremy