This talk was delivered at a Youth Club in Sunderland in March 08

Are you Bruce Almighty?

Watch clip from Bruce Almighty - 0:27:10 - 0:31:09

Ever wondered what it might be like to have the power and resources to do whatever you like?  In many ways, that is what most western 21st Century dream of and live for.  Independence, wealth, power, status, authority and freedom.  When people seem to be living for lots of money, it is not really money they are living for.  They are living for these things.  When people desire power, what they really want is to have no constraints as to what they can do. 

To be honest, we are all like it.  Just think for a moment.  What would you like to change in your life?  What would you like to be different?  Some of those things would be good, selfless things - areas where life is hard, tough and seems unfair.  But in many other areas we would be entirely selfish (but would justify it as being reasonably selfish!).

When it comes down to it, doing whatever we like is no different from wanting to be God - whether we believe in him or not.  And the Bible is clear that this is what we are all like!

Watch clip

Near the beginning of a letter written nearly 2000 years ago, Paul who was one of the early followers of Jesus wrote about humankind, about all people by saying -

"Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead.  And instead of worshipping the glorious, ever living God, they worshipped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes."  Romans 1:22-23

'Well that is alright, that is not about me' we might say.  'I don't worship any idols at all'.  Neither did Bruce.  Bruce was worshipping something much closer to home.  A few lines later, Paul says -

"Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, the deliberately chose to believe lies.  So they worshipped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised for ever. Amen."  Romans 1:25

Worshipped the things God made - like ourselves.  The Bible is not very optimistic, but is very realistic about what sort of people we humans are.  Just look at the world around us.  Who do we all, outwardly or inwardly treat as number 1?  You don't have to look far to see the results.

Now, here is a question.  If you were God, and saw people treating themselves like deity and God as nothing - how would you respond?  Would you give people ago at being God for a day?  I don't think so.  What mess would we be in then?

Would you be rightly angry - probably.  Would you love people enough to do something about it...?  God did!

Feeling guilty yet?  We should be were it not for what Paul says elsewhere in this letter to the Romans.  Speaking of our wanting to be mini-gods as sin he says -

"Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty.  He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins."

The question is - do you want to remain guilty or not.  Carry on as a mini-god and reject the real God's offer and you will stay guilty and get the judgement being a competing God deserves.  But take off you crown, step down from your throne and worship the true God, accepting the forgiveness for sin offered by Jesus and you will be truly free.  Sounds good to me!