Today I want to talk about these books that people have been suggesting to me saying, “Pastor you’ve go to read this”, or “I really like that book it really changed my life. I call them “self help books” although many would call them masterpieces of literature and words that change lives. They are huge in scope and number, but my problem is that they have even entered the realm of Christianity, and have sold millions of copies among Christians. I want to speak only about two of them today although there are literally thousands of them

The first one I want to talk about is called “The Secret”. It is a book that even Oprah raved about for quite some time. What it tries to sell to us is the law of attraction. It is very simple and it makes sense. If you are nice to people and do good things, you will attract nice people and good things all around you. If you are hard working and do your job well you will attract more clients, more business, and so on. Sounds pretty reasonable right? Not always.

What happens when you are doing all the right things as it says to do in this book and still nothing good happens to you? In other words, what if you are like Job who had everything he could want, and all was taken away from him even though he did everything right? Or what if you are like Solomon who had everything he ever wanted including all of the wisdom of the world and yet, was miserable after not following God’s will concerning foreign wives and false gods.

The next book is a book by Joel Osteen called “Live Your Best Life Now”. This one isn’t much different. Think positive thoughts, have A LOT of faith, and you can achieve and have everything you could ever want. Again it has a lot of good stuff in it. But you can tell from the first page on the book is nothing more than Norman Vincent Peale warmed up and put in a colorful package.

I know I am probably ticking off quite a few of you today, but you need to be aware of what you are learning. You may think I am a bit too critical, but I have to be critical of anything that can cause harm to a person’s soul.

I could continue to list so many of these books that are flying off of the shelves in Christian bookstores everywhere. I guess they are flying off of the shelves because, just like the books, we are self centered. And who doesn’t want to live their best life now, know the Secret to a successful life, and live a life with purpose to it.

My friends, the key to happiness is not how much worldly wealth you acquire, or how much good you can do, because you will always be in want of more. Instead of being self or human centered, as if we are the center and in control of the universe, we need to be Christ centered and cross focused so that, even in the midst of pain and failure, we can have peace and joy. The key to a successful life is a life spent in the grace, mercy, and peace of Christ, knowing that even in the midst of your failures and shortcomings you have nothing to fear, the pressure to perform and do everything perfectly and in righteousness towards God and fellow man is gone.

As Paul says, “Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with Go something to be grasped, but made himself NOTHING, taking the very nature of a servant.

The problem is that these books promise success, happiness, and prosperity, when they are in no way able to fulfill these promises. What happens when the average person does what these people tell him to do in these books and no earthly good comes out of it? What happens when all they get for their $25 they spent on the book is just $25 less in their checkbook? What happens when success isn’t all its cracked up to be and a person gets to the top and realizes how lonely it is up there?

Instead of empty promises of wealth and prosperity, we need to stick to the one who keeps his promises. I am talking about our Lord Jesus Christ, who promises that if we but trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus and his death and resurrection we will soon be with him forever in paradise. We need to stick to our goal of eternal life. When we stick to this goal through the power of the Holy Spirit our lives, no matter what the circumstance, no matter how much we have in the bank, how big and beautiful our house is, no matter what our health is like, no matter how many people we can gain as friends or influence along the way, our lives will be fulfilled in the grace, mercy and peace of Christ.

A couple weeks ago, I came to the conclusion that this world just stinks! Everything about it stinks. A guy, out of his mind, shoots and kills 32 college folks. Another guy takes a hostage and kills him along with himself. Twenty people die in a car bombing in Baghdad. There are five people in my subdivision that are on the sex offender list. Wives and children are constantly being abandoned by selfish jerks who could care less about the child they helped to create as long as they get everything they want. People are starving all over the world and we throw more food away than we consume. The most popular people, at least as observed by Entertainment Tonight, are women who are having babies and then handing them over to their nannies to care for as soon as they can, all the while partying till they puke. These are the girls that our daughters are supposed to look up to? I think not! Or is it the rap artist who has been shot seven or eight times and survived? Oooo, he must be a tough guy. We better look up to him? Question, why was he in a place where he could get shot that much?

The next day I came to another conclusion. I am one of the luckiest people in the world. I have a wonderful, beautiful wife, two very good looking and above average kids (listen to Garrisson Keilor on "A Prairie Home Companion" to understand the above joke), if I do say so myself, a perfect job where I can, every minute of every day, talk about Jesus and his love, a wonderful support group of Christians all around me, and most importantly a faith that will see me through to eternity.

Did you catch what I did there? I showed the contrast between the world and Christianity. I clearly delineated what it means to live in the world but not of it. This is what it means to live the Christian life.

One of the best selling books to come out recently is called "The Secret". I haven't read it and I don't care to, because I am too busy reading the BIBLE which is really no "secret" at all. Yet, what I have heard about this book is that it gives you the "secret" to a "happy" life. The problem is that this book just assumes that the key to a happy life only includes money, fame, success, a good looking spouse, and a healthy body. Sorry, but if my happiness is connected at all to what I have on this earth without first relying on the mercy, grace, and peace of God, then all is lost and I will be the poorest, most depressed sap in the world.

I'll give you the real secret to being happy or to a life worth living, or living your best life now, or how ever you want to put it. Here it is! Are you ready? Do you have paper and pencil to write it down? "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life. Now that you've heard it you realize that it is really no secret at all. All you have to do is open your ears and your eyes to the truth that is right before you in God's Word.

In the midst of a world that seems to be going downhill faster than an Olympic skier, in a personal life that will be full of ups and downs, you can be happy because you know that John 3:16 is completely true. You know that, because Jesus died on the cross, you will not die but live and proclaim what the Lord has done!

Sometimes as I am watching the late evening news I just sit there and cry. All I see and hear is one bad news story after another. Yet I have peace because I know that there will come a day when this world will end, and it is this peace that makes me, by the power of the Holy Spirit, appreciate all of the good gifts that God has given to me while I am here on this earth! I pray, out of sincere love for all of you, that you can and do know that peace and security as well, because I really want to see you in heaven with me someday! "The peace of God which transcends all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians. 4:7) Amen.

What is evangelism? Is it simply inviting someone to church? Is it just getting them into the church building, and then whatever they do see, or hear is irrelevant? Is it taking care of someone’s needs either physical or emotional? What is this thing called evangelism? Well, the actual word comes from the Greek word euangelion, which means “good news” or even “Gospel”. Evangelism is “good newsing”.

Are we “good newsing” people by only doing the things listed above? Are we sharing the Gospel by helping people with their physical needs? The answer, very plainly, is no.

We need to define what we mean by “Gospel”. Again, we go back to the Greek word “which literally means, “good news”. Well then, what is the good news that we have heard from God? It is nothing less than “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Simply put, people need to hear this message and come to believe it, or they are going to hell.

The question we all have to ask ourselves in our own Christian lives and in our Christian churches is “Have they heard the Gospel from me/us?” Do they know that Jesus died on the cross for them? Are they going to be in heaven with us?

A church can be doing all kinds of good things, bringing thousands of people into the church through all sorts of programs, feeding thousands of people through charity, and providing all manner of programs to help people make their lives better, but if they are not bringing people to the saving work of Christ they are not doing what God has called them to do.

Don’t get me wrong, all of these things are good and the church should be doing all these good things. They should be feeding the hungry, clothing those who have no clothes, helping people who need help, being a comfort to those who need comfort, providing a safe place for children to go, and so many other things. But all of these things are done so that people will be more receptive to, hear, and believe the Gospel.

Almost every other religion does good things too. I have even heard of Satanist doing good things for others. Doing good things for people does not make us Christian. Believing that Jesus Christ came to earth, suffered, died, and rose again for us does. We reach out to the “least of these” so that we may show them Christ and what he has done for us.

As Christians, we need to be all about the good news. If it means inviting them to church so that they can hear the Gospel then so be it. If it means giving them a meal so that they listen to you tell them the good news, that’s good too. If it means that it changes your relationship with someone then so be it.

Are you sharing the true and unadulterated Gospel with people? Is your church? You might not be. I can tell you that I am not always telling people about Jesus as I should. At night when we go to bed we all must confess that we are not sharing the Gospel as we should. Then, after we have confessed, we should ask God, every night, to give us the power and the strength to be bolder tomorrow.

God has truly blessed us with the most wonderful message in the world. It is a message that gives people peace on their deathbed. It is the Gospel that can calm and comfort a soldier in battle. It is the good news that Jesus has saved us that can help in all times of trouble. Thanks be to God!

May God bless all those that we love, which should be everyone, even those that the world has deemed unlovable, with that same peace that comes from knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord!