Are You Motivated
E.A. Johnston challenges the modern church's focus on human motivation over God-centered transformation, urging believers to seek genuine repentance and Christ-centered preaching.
In this sermon, E.A. Johnston critiques the modern church's emphasis on motivational messages that center on human happiness rather than God’s glory. He contrasts this with the approach of old-time preachers who preached for true spiritual transformation through repentance and Christ crucified. Johnston calls pastors and believers alike to examine their motives and return to a God-centered ministry that warns, instructs, and leads to salvation. The sermon includes a powerful testimony from W. Graham Scroggie illustrating the dangers of self-centered ministry and the need for God's renewing mercy.
Full Transcript
Joel Osteen doesn't operate a church. He operates a motivational business empire. His books aren't written to bring glory to God, but to motivate man with humanism.
His messages aren't expository sermons preached for spiritual change, but motivational messages to make you a better you. Unfortunately, many pastors today have rode that same bandwagon for their church. They want to motivate their membership with their messages of good and evil and God and heaven.
They want to motivate you to be good so you can go to heaven. But the problem with all this humanistic teaching is God is not the primary message. Man is.
The happiness of man is the main message taught in the modern church today. We preach a man-centered gospel to self-centered individuals so you can be your best you. And our motivational messages are no different than the secular message you could hear at a local Toastmasters club.
Are you motivated? Your happy, motivated pastor will work up his congregation with a feel-good message to get them motivated, get them motivated to serve, motivated to give, motivated to come back again next Sunday for more motivation. Your typical pastor today is no different than a secular motivational speaker like you'd hear at an insurance convention to learn to sell more insurance. Are you motivated? But old-time preachers knew better.
They knew their God, and they didn't preach for motivation. They preached for transformation. They wanted to bring a soul out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and life.
They wanted to preach hard against sin so you would stop sinning and get right with God. They wanted to elevate God in their sermons so man could see the badness of his heart. They wanted to preach Christ and him crucified so souls could be saved.
But today we just want to motivate folks, maybe even challenge them, but we stop there. I believe a pastor has an obligation to the souls of men to warn them to repent and to instruct them to be born again. But many pastors today are no different than a late-night TV talk show host.
They just want to motivate and entertain you. But God and his mercy will sometimes get men in ministry to get serious enough with him to examine themselves and take inventory of where they stand with God and men, like happened to Graham Scroggie. Listen to the words of Dr. W. Graham Scroggie as he relates a life-changing experience in his ministry.
Can I ever forget the time, long ago, when my whole life and ministry were suddenly challenged, when it was revealed to me that I was little more than a middle man between my books and my people, when it dawned upon me that I was more anxious to be a preacher than to be God's messenger, that my master passion was not the accomplishment of the will of God at any cost, and that my ruling motive was not the love of Christ? In that hour, the edifice I had been building on lay in ruins about me, and for a while all was dark despair. But into the woods my master came, and finding me there in his mercy, he brought me out, out into newness of life, out into fullness of service. And although I blush to think of much that lies between that hour and this, yet I gratefully bear testimony that his coming then, and in that way, has been the determining factor of my life.
Sermon Outline
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I
- Modern churches focus on humanistic motivation rather than God.
- Motivational messages often mimic secular self-help talks.
- This approach centers man instead of glorifying God.
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II
- Old-time preachers preached for transformation, not just motivation.
- They emphasized sin, repentance, and Christ crucified.
- Their goal was to bring souls from darkness to light.
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III
- Many pastors today prioritize entertainment over spiritual seriousness.
- There is a need to warn, instruct, and call for genuine repentance.
- True ministry requires being God's messenger, not self-promoter.
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IV
- W. Graham Scroggie's testimony highlights the danger of self-centered ministry.
- God's mercy can bring renewal and fullness of service.
- A call to examine motives and realign with God's will.
Key Quotes
“Joel Osteen doesn't operate a church. He operates a motivational business empire.” — E.A. Johnston
“Old-time preachers knew their God, and they didn't preach for motivation. They preached for transformation.” — E.A. Johnston
“Many pastors today are no different than a late-night TV talk show host. They just want to motivate and entertain you.” — E.A. Johnston
Application Points
- Evaluate your own motives to ensure they align with God's will rather than personal ambition.
- Seek sermons and teachings that focus on repentance and Christ-centered transformation.
- Encourage pastors and church leaders to prioritize God’s glory over motivational entertainment.