We all want this. Pop star Michael Jackson had it. Ed McMahon, sidekick to Johnny Carson had it. Actress Farrah Fawcett had this. Actor Patrick Swayze, who died recently at the age of 57 in LA of pancreatic cancer had this. Before he died, advertising guru Billy Mays had this. Well-known athletes possess this. Popular singers chase this. People with iconic status, thrive on this. What is it? Our culture knows what it is. Reputations are made overnight because of this. They make movies about it. Recently, in Theatres everywhere on Friday, September 25, the reinvention of the original 1980 hit film, “Fame” was released. The movie follows a talented group of dancers, singers, actors, and artists over four years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts. Students from all walks of life have the chance to live out their dreams and achieve real and lasting fame. That’s it. Fame! Our world chases and loves fame!! But is fame real and lasting, or temporary and fleeting?
As a Christian or seeker, what are you after? What wakes you up in the morning? What drives you to achieve what you pursue? Whether you perceive it or not, we all want fame. Whether it be worldly fame or Christian fame, we all want a bite of the pie of popularity. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says fame is, “a public estimation, reputation, popular acclaim, or renown.” The above names had fame, fortune, acclaim, and renown, but I wonder how happy they were. How satisfied was their soul because of the accolades that showered their image? These yearnings of the human heart are common signs that a soul won’t find rest until it rests in Christ. Many in our world are dying in their pursuit of the fleeting vapor of fame. Why? Whether you possess fame or not, the pursuit of recognition is an unmarked trap. Striving after fame has many charming, murky effects that wrap around people’s necks like a python. Anxiety, discontent, anger, depression, alienation, unhappiness, alcoholism, drug abuse, self-deception, suicide are just a few of popularities companions.
The apostle Paul pursued his own brand of “religious fame” until Jesus Christ got a hold of him on the road to Damascus in Acts 9. After Paul became a Christ follower, it was not his own fame he was after, it was the fame and knowledge of Him he was after! Paul writes in Philippians 3:8, “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.” Paul valued the knowledge of Christ. This verse shows a man not after fame, but a man after Christ.
Paul found all he needed in Jesus Christ. He knew fame was a passing breeze and a shifting shadow. He knew the wisdom of John when he wrote in I John 2:16-17, “ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” My friends, do you believe that the world is passing away? Do you believe the one who does the will of God lives forever? All worldly fame and reputation will evaporate someday. It will vanish like a vapor on a cold, winter day in Iowa. The one who loves God lives forever!
My comrades of Faith Bible Church, do you want fame or Him? I look into my heart sometimes and find many trails that lead to the alluring, hollow street of fame. People might applaud me, but how futile is the applause. Don’t misunderstand me, as a Christian, I want to be Christ like, and possess a righteous reputation. I love it when people encourage me as I serve Christ and share how I specifically have been used by God. May the encouragement we all need to share with one another daily continue (Hebrews 3:13). However, when our desire to serve, falls into a “ruling desire” for self-recognition and public adulation, it is seductive acclaim. Remember what Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” While Paul lived, Christ was his prize. If he died, that was better because it brought Him closer to Christ in heaven. Paul said in v. 23, “But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.” Friends, if you “desire to depart and be with Christ” because you know “that is very much better,” you are making great strides for Christ!
Friends, remember how passing the world is. Realize how quickly the world changes allegiances. Contemplate how swiftly their accolades switch from one person to another, as vicariously live their starving ego through the fame of others. Chide yourself for being so willing to want their dubious adulation. Humble yourself when you see people’s praise bigger than God’s glory. Excise that old man that wants endless recognition, instead of satisfaction in Christ. When you spot that lust, confess it to the Lord friends. Let Christ root out those desires. Bring those sins of wanting to be famous to Calvary where Christ paid for every one of them. Emulate Paul who inspired others to boast in Him. He said in Galatians 6: 14, “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Let’s boast in Christ friends. He loves you. He will always love you. You don’t have to impress Him or try to win His acclaim. He loves to love His children. Christ is to be your fame. He is the only “Famous One” in the universe. Let the world know you don’t need its fame. When they give you praise for some accomplishment, tell them who made it all possible. Spread the fame of the One who is truly famous, Jesus Christ. When we die someday, some of the lines in the original 1980 hit film “Fame” will be true of you and me where it states, “I'm gonna live forever.” Once you are in heaven, and people will see Him and cry, FAME!
For the Holy, Famous One Jesus Christ,
Rick Hoppe
Pastor-teacher
Faith Bible Church
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