NOTE TO SELF: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself

In his book Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself, Joe Thorn powerfully communicates the importance of something that every professing Christian must become a master of, and that is the discipline of preaching to ourselves! 

We live in a fallen world, and part of the effect that our fallenness has upon our lives is that we are constantly being influenced by negative self-talk, which in most cases causes us to begin believing the negative influences that bombard our hearts and minds every day. This can have a disastrous effect upon us if we allow it to influence us to begin doubting God's love for us, or God's ability to work through us (cf. Matthew 13:58; Hebrews 11:6). There is nothing more dangerous to the life of a Christian, than to allow this type of negative faith-killing, self-destructive talk, cause us to stop trusting wholeheartedly in God.

This book is a wonderful tool for you to begin developing the art and discipline of daily preaching to yourself. It is a very quick read, and if you are not careful you could miss out on its incredibly powerful purpose, which is to not only inform you about the art of preaching to yourself, but actually developing the preacher that lies within yourself by applying it to your daily discussions with yourself. 

There are 48 chapters which are designed to be daily readings to be meditated upon and used as a model for you to begin mastering this essential art. 

I highly recommend this book to you. 

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QUOTES FROM NOTE TO SELF INTRODUCTION:

Preaching to ourselves is the personal act of applying the law and the gospel to our own lives with the aim of experiencing the transforming grace of God leading to ongoing faith, repentance, and greater godliness. It is critically important to sit under the preaching of the Word in your local church. Additionally, we can listen to podcasts and read books as God continues to work through His Word to impact our lives. But even in the midst of all of this listening, it is not enough to hear; we must take the Word preached and continue to preach it to ourselves. (p.24)

Good preaching always shows how truth is relevant, applicable, or experiential, but preachers can only take the Word so far... Therefore, my explanation of preaching to ourselves is applicable to those times when we hear another preach the Word to us, as well as when we take in God’s Word privately. (p.24)

This personal, devotional work is essential to our own health, but also to our effectiveness in sharing the law and the gospel with others. The more deeply we understand and experience law and gospel, the more capable we become in communicating and applying it to those around us. A good teacher or evangelist is first a good preacher to himself. (p24)

Essentially, the law shows us three things: it shows us what’s right, what’s wrong, and what’s needed. (p.25)

The Law Shows us What’s Right

The commands of God reveal His will to us and serve as a rule for godly living. This is in itself, grace. It means that God has not left us alone in ignorance concerning what is truly right or wrong. (p.25)

The Law Shows us What’s Wrong

The law functions like a window opening up the truth of God’s will for us, but, it also works like a mirror reflecting our own failure and corruption back to us. (p.26)

The Law Shows us What’s Needed

In exposing our own corruption, the law of God leaves us guilty and points us to our need for redemption... In preaching the law to ourselves we see and admire God’s will and way, while exposing and confessing our sinfulness. This leads us toward the gospel where we find our only hope of redemption and restoration. Preaching the law to ourselves breaks our pride, leads to humility, and calls us to cry out to God and depend on his mercy. (p.27)

Preaching the Gospel to Ourselves

We cannot properly preach the law without also preaching the gospel, for God has not given us His law as the end. (p.29)

When we get to the business of preaching this good news to ourselves, we are essentially denying self and resting in the grace of Christ in his life, death, and resurrection. But this means we have to know how the gospel addresses our current spiritual state, whether happy, sad, afraid, broken, proud, weak, or self-righteous. (p.30) ... Jesus is your Righteousness (His Life)... Jesus is your Forgiveness (His Death)... Jesus is your Victory (His Resurrection). (p.31)

The law is given to show us God’s way and our brokenness, so that we will see our need for redemption. In the gospel we find our redemption, but we are then eager to look afresh at the law. Now we see it as a delight to carry out, because even thought we cannot keep the law perfectly, Jesus has kept is perfectly for us. Our imperfect obedience brings pleasure to God because of Christ’s substitution. (p.32)