The Angels Who Announced Him
Bill Self said our culture has a distorted understanding of angels — who they are and that they do. The Bible records numerous time when angels appear as messengers of God. Such was the case at the birth of Jesus. Bill said their message was “God has invaded history. He has broken the veil. He has broken into our cave. He’s come into the darkness that we grope around in and He said, ‘Here’s the way. The light is here.’”
Where Have All the Heroes Gone?
Bill Self said the Bible is full of the great heroes, like David, Samson and Solomon, but there are also the obscure people whose dedication and commitment got the job done. These are the quiet heroes. Big or small, rich or poor, urban or country, churches are not filled with religious celebrities. Churches are filled, run, and carried by the obscure.
The Work of God's People
Bill Self said the church is here “for the worship of God, for the teaching of his people ... and we must understand that it’s not a place for me to be made happy. It’s not a place for any of us to be scratched or cajoled. It’s not a place for me to be affirmed in a minor way ... We meet once a week to be informed, to be infused, to be excited so that we can go out into the mission fields all around us that God’s given us. And if we don’t see it that way then we are taking our credentials, given to us by God, and throwing them away.”
The Worship of God
Understanding worship is sometimes difficult for Christians. In this sermon, Bill Self said the proper location is essential for meaningful worship. “Many times people will tell me, ‘I can worship God wherever I am. I don’t need to be at a place to worship.’ That’s just not true. There is no support for that. A place to worship and a place where you worship is essentially crucial to worship... We need to understand that worship is when we come before the living God with the people of God to this place to do what God has ordained.”
It's Character That Counts
Bill Self said Jesus offers us a lifetime guarantee. “He will take care of our needs and God will take care of our needs, but we will never get them without fulfilling one condition. That one condition is ‘Righteousness’ ... Righteousness comes first. Righteousness comes before anything is added on to us. That’s a spiritual law. It’s a law, like gravity.”
Here's the Church and Here's the Steeple
Throughout his long ministry, Bill Self was a staunch defender of the church. “I love the church, warts and all. It is the body of Jesus Christ. It is the family of God. It is the new Israel and I don’t like it when people criticize the church ... See, the church is part of who I am and when people denigrate, when people say things about the church that aren’t right, it bothers me ... What does the church do? It is the place where you reach up. It is the place where you reach in. It is the place where you reach out.”
I Am Somebody
Bill Self said the Bible teaches that mankind is God’s greatest creation. “We are not just wearers of watches and drivers of cars and buyers of houses, but we are the creation of God.” And one day God is going to say to each of us, “I made you. I know all about you ... What did you do with what I gave you?”
You Cannot Not Decide
Bill Self said it is impossible to live without making decisions — especially when it comes to Jesus Christ. “When you decide not to do something, you say, ‘I’m not going to make a decision on that.’ Well, by your inaction you are actually making a decision. You cannot NOT decide.”
The Secret of Significance
Bill Self said the Bible teaches that God has put a gift into each of us, and expects us to use them. “Some day God is going to say something like, ‘I gave you the gift of teaching, what did you do with it?’ or, ‘I gave you a marvelous voice, what did you do with it?’ or ‘I gave you the ability to care for and love people. What did you do with it?’”
He Is Able
Bill Self said many Christians get discouraged because we have said something that the Bible doesn’t say. “We have said, ‘I am able.’ And we find ourselves being ground up out there by the world. We think we are able. We get our energy up. We go into battle and we get destroyed. The Bible never says, ‘I am able.’ The Bible says, ‘He is able.’ And that’s where we’ve made a mistake. We somehow think that we go in to do the work of God on our own strength. Actually, we do the work of God in his name and in his strength.”
I Wonder If Jesus Was Really the Son of God
Have you ever wondered if Jesus really was the Son of God? Bill Self said that is the ultimate question all of us have to answer. "Have you ever wondered, down in your soul, about the truth of the gospel? Well, either Jesus Christ was the Son of God, or He was a lunatic and you have to make up your mind."
To Each Is Given a Day And Work to Do
Bill Self said the Bible teaches that each person receives a gift from God, and therefore, each of us will be judged by how we use those gifts. “You are only asked to take the gift God has given you and use that gift well ... We are not equal in the gifts we have been given, but we are called upon to use the gift we have been given.”
Me Almighty
In preparing Johns Creek Baptist Church to build a new sanctuary, Bill Self said, "We can't expect the blessings of God as He walks with us if we give him scraps of our time, and we cannot build a temple for worthy worship with scraps from our table." He said we have to take ourselves off the throne of our life and put God there instead.
How to be a Drum Major
Bill Self said he thinks every person is equipped for greatness. "I think every one of us, down in our hearts, wants to lead the band. Every one of us is born a drum major." But then he reminds us that Jesus said he who would be great must learn to be a servant. "Jesus said, ' If you want to be great ... let me tell you what to do. Go with the needs. Don't push yourself. Go to the lowest. Be a servant. Take that energy, put it in the right place, and serve like I say.'"
Just Imagine ...
Bill Self challenged the Johns Creek Baptist Church to "dream God's dream. I guarantee you're going to have somebody say, 'Your church has a dream, but it is too big.' But the people who can't imagine or see the future never really accomplish anything." And he urged the church not to miss God's dream for His church. "God has called us, at this time. Let's not miss God's dream."
What Kind of World Would It Be if There Were No Church?
Bill Self says the world would be unfit for living without the church and he points out some of its many significant contributions. Despite its human imperfections, he said, "when the church operates as God intended for it to operate, it is the most powerful group of people on the face of the earth. I believe that if God is going to do anything in this world, He's going to do it through His church. I think that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is the best thing God has going for Him in this world."
When All You've Ever Wanted Is Not Enough
In this sermon Bill Self said there is a real hunger in the American culture. "It is deeper than most of us imagine. Our souls are deeply, deeply hungering for meaning — a sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter. It is an unnamable hunger and it's stronger than the hunger for power. It's a hunger for meaning in our lives." The Bible addresses that hunger and Bill points to three solutions found in the books of Ecclesiastes and the Psalms.
Will It Matter That You Lived?
Bill Self asked, "Do you ever feel as though you are nothing but a meeter of quotas, a producer of programs, a consumer of goods?" He said the culture sees people as disposable quantities, to be used once and discarded. But the Bible looks at humanity differently and Bill outlines four essential biblical principles for living a meaningful life.
For Such a Time as This
Bill delivered the 1977 annual sermon at the Southern Baptist Convention in Kansas City, MO, which was the keynote sermon. He challenged the convention to expand its vision, think more creatively and minister more courageously, saying, “Who knows whether we have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
There’s No Such Thing As A Poor Christmas
What is success? Well Bill Self says it isn’t making a lot of money. "If your goal in life is just to accumulate masses of money, you’re not much different than the squirrels who are trying to accumulate acorns. Accumulating a lot of money isn’t success." Bill compares what culture says is "success" with what Jesus wants for each of us.