Why We Need to Preach the Gospel to Ourselves

I’ve often heard a story about a church member who asked Martin Luther why he preached the gospel each Sunday. Luther’s response? “Because each week, you keep forgetting it.”

And so it is with all of us.

I have the privilege of sitting under excellent preaching every week at my church. Our senior pastor and the others on the preaching team are among the best gospel communicators a community of believers could hope for. For a little over an hour each week, our congregation gathers to worship, pray, listen to the Scriptures be expounded upon, participate in the Lord’s Supper, and fellowship with other believers. If I don’t leave the service strengthened in the faith, it’s because I wasn’t paying attention.

But a typical worship service lasts only an hour a week. The other 167 hours I’m on my own. And by the time I finish Sunday’s lunch, it’s not uncommon to have doubts, worry, and a litany of “what if’s” bombarding my brain.

So, what’s a believer to do? Limp through the week? Maintain the status quo?  Accept the reality that this is how most people live?

A better option comes from the life of King David. If you are familiar with David, you know he experienced several seasons in his life when he had good reason to be worried. Before David became the king of Israel, he was the target of king Saul and his men, who planned to kill him. The threats David faced were real, and without God’s provision, he had no chance of survival. But in times of anxiety, David learned to manage his thinking. In the midst of one such season, the Bible says, “But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” (1 Sam 30:6).

Practically speaking, what does this look like?  I think David gave us at least three-pointers in the book of Psalms that demonstrate how to “strengthen ourselves in the LORD” by preaching the truths of Scripture to ourselves. David wrote:

• I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart: I will recount all your wonderful deeds (Psalm 9:1). David made it a point to take inventory of all the ways God had blessed him, and he gave thanks for God’s provision. Notice the text says, he “recounted” or rehearsed all the ways God had come through for him in the past. Taking inventory of God’s faithfulness undoubtedly stirred David’s faith and built his confidence that God would continue to be faithful in his present circumstances. Certainly, it’s wise to remind ourselves how God has worked on our behalf in this lifetime. But we’d also do well to recount the ways God has been providing a way for us to be in relationship with Him since before creation. Thinking about these realities is one way we preach the gospel to ourselves and remind ourselves of our identity in Jesus Christ.
• May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer (Psalm 19:14). David understood that the words he spoke and the thoughts he allowed to linger were crucial if he wanted to have a vibrant spiritual life, so he prayed God would help him manage his mouth and mind. Meditating on the truths of Scripture is one of the primary ways we preach the gospel to ourselves. Our minds are seldom quiet, and we have the ability to choose what we dwell on. As we think about the Word of God, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to impart new spiritual insight and increase our understanding of the Scriptures. (Psalm 119:18). Our role is to spend time calling God’s Word to mind and meditating on it.
• But I will sing of our strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning (Psalm 59:16). David was a man who dwelled on the attributes of God, and worship was the inevitable result. For better or worse, whatever we dwell on, tends to grow more prominent in our minds. David kept his eyes focused on God and couldn’t help but live a life filled with worship. Worship aligns our thinking by putting God in His rightful place as ruler over all. Worship is a way we remind ourselves that God is sovereign over all things, and every problem we face is under His domain.

There’s so much in this world we can’t control.  We can’t control other people, we can’t prevent bad things from happening, and we can’t predict the future. But we can control how we respond to our circumstances. We can control what we dwell on. We have the option of entertaining negative thoughts and living lives of worry and defeat or we can dwell on the truths of Scripture and the promises of God.  Lies or truth. Fear or faith. It’s our choice.