Latest / Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ) / "Common Sins and Struggles" by Joey Morgan - Part 12

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"Common Sins and Struggles" by Joey Morgan - Part 12 · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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  about. We started out defining what selfishness is based on what Paul wrote in Philippians
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  2 and 3. He said let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit but in lowliness
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  of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Let each of you look out not only
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  for your own interest but also for the interest of others. So he said don't have selfish ambition
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  which he said don't let anything be done with that and he said the opposite of that is esteeming
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  others better than yourselves. So that means selfish ambition is or selfishness is esteeming
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  others or esteeming yourself better than others. That's what selfishness is. So essentially
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  it's putting yourself at the center of the universe and the most important all the time.
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  And then we saw in James 3, 14 and 15 where it comes from. He said but if you have bitter
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  envy and self-seeking in your hearts do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom
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  does not descend from above but is earthly sensual demonic for where envy and self-seeking
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  exist confusion and every evil thing are there. So he's saying it's not from the desires that
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  God has given us to be selfish. It's not from him but it's a desire within our own selves.
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  God did not basically create us to be self-seeking. He didn't create us to be that way but sometimes
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  we become that way and that's when selfishness plays its role. And then James in that next
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  chapter says what it causes when selfishness is involved and your desires within yourself
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  aren't fulfilled he said that's when conflict comes. He said where do wars and fights come
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  from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure and war within your members?
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  You lust and you do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain so then you fight
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  and war. So if you are selfish you don't fulfill your desires that's where a lot of
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  conflict is going to come in your life. Well then we finished by starting to look at biblical
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  examples of times when selfishness was involved. We started by looking at Cain and then we
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  ended up looking at who was the second one we looked at the prodigal son in Luke chapter
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  15. We looked at some examples within the writings about those that we saw selfishness
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  play a role. I've got one more that I want to look at this morning and then we're going
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  to look at what an example in which is the opposite of selfishness that we should be
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  more like. So anybody know anything about diatrophies? Who knows something about diatrophies?
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  I'll give you a hint he's in third John it says something about him. Anybody know that
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  one off the top of your head? Yeah Andy? He liked the preeminence. If you turn over to
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  John or third John we'll begin in verse 9 where it says I wrote to the church but diatrophies
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  who loves to have preeminence among them does not receive us. Therefore if I come I will
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  call to mind his deeds which he does prating against us with malicious words and not content
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  with that he himself does not receive the brethren and forbids those who wish to putting
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  them out of the church. So diatrophies has or he loves the preeminence is what it says.
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  What is what is preeminence? First place. Someone who is feels as if they are superior
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  to everyone else they're above everyone else whether it's in rank if you want to say that
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  or in importance or maybe in degree whatever it is it's someone who loves to be at the
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  top someone who loves to have be the top dog he loved being first and because of that
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  he didn't receive Paul or he didn't receive the others who were not willing to give him
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  that or John and not the others who were willing to give him that. Well selfishness is the
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  opposite of selflessness and someone who is selfless what do they seek to do typically?
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  Serve, right? They seek to serve. Seek what's best for maybe other people but selfish people
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  they're not going to want to serve that's someone who's going to want preeminence they
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  want to be at the top because if they're at the top that means everyone below them is
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  supposed to be serving them. So if you love preeminence that's going to play a role in
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  that. So what things can we look for in ourselves if we think about preeminence that will warn
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  us if possibly we might have a little bit of a struggle with selfishness because as
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  I said with all these struggles we've covered a lot of these aren't easy to see in ourselves.
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  I think a lot of us might walk around and say you know I know I don't love money and
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  you may love it a little bit or you might walk around and say I don't think I'm selfish
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  but you might be a little bit selfish and you might not see it in yourselves. So what
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  does selfishness often want? If you are someone who is if you feel yourself wanting these
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  things how would you what are those types of things where you might say oh I might have
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  a little bit of selfishness in me. Always wanting to have your own way. Control always
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  wanting to have control of the situation. Always wanting attention. Always wanting praise.
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  Always wanting power. Always wanting recognition. That's preeminence. You know someone who loves
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  the preeminence that's someone who's going to have those things and those are just a
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  few examples. I mean you could look at several so many others you know we have Diotrephes
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  who love the preeminence. We have Cain who was not willing to you know do basically other
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  than what he wanted to do even though God said you know you have the opportunity to
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  do what's right. You can you can change your your sacrifice. You can do what's right. He
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  didn't want to. We have the prodigal son who wanted what he wanted and he wanted it now.
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  Didn't matter how it might affect his family. Didn't matter anything about that. He just
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  wanted what he wanted. Many examples that we could look at and see that selfishness
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  is something that's going to seek out basically what's what you want within yourself above
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  anything else. Again if that if we go back to that's the definition. But what about the
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  opposite of that. So what should we or how should we be. What should be the attributes
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  that we have. Let's contrast selfishness with Jesus because we're supposed to become more
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  like Jesus. That's who we're supposed to become like. So let's go back to Philippians 2. We've
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  already been there. Kind of started out there whenever we were talking about selfishness.
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  We've already looked at the first first few verses to define again what selfishness is.
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  I read that this morning. But over in Philippians 2 we're going to go ahead and read it again
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  and begin in verse 1. So Philippians 2 beginning at verse 1. He says therefore if there's any
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  consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if
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  any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love being
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  of one accord of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit,
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  but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look
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  out not only for his own interest but also the interest of others. But now look at verse
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  5 through 8. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God
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  did not consider it robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation taking the form
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  of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man he
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  humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even the death on the cross. So Paul
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  starts out, let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. Paul saying if you want to be
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  selfless, if you want to put others interests before yours, if you want to have unity over
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  preeminence because that's the choice that you've got to make, you need to have the mind of who?
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  The mind of Christ. Jesus is the perfect example of selflessness. Let me ask you this, what did
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  Jesus ever do for himself or solely for his own desire? Like that was the whole purpose behind it.
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  Can anybody name something? Yeah, but is there anything that he did that was solely just just
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  for him? Anybody think of anything? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That's what you was gonna say. But you think
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  about even just in these verses that Paul just gave us. He left heaven. Did he do that for him? No.
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  Did he seek preeminence? Whenever he actually should be the one who is preeminent, did he seek it?
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  Did he come down from heaven and say, give me the preeminence. I love it. You know, no, that's not how
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  he was. He endured mockery. He suffered on the cross. Did he have to do that? He didn't have to,
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  chose to. And he did all that for who? For us. Yeah, for everybody. Not of his own, not for himself, but for others.
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  He did that seeking your interest and the world's interest, not his own. What are some examples that
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  we can think of of Jesus putting others before himself? Because if we if we want to look at
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  Christ as our example, again, these verses that Paul just gave us are telling us, you know, if
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  anybody deserved to be preeminent, if anybody had the ability to be that person, it's Jesus. But he
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  chose not to. He chose your interest over his own. But what are some other examples where we see it
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  practiced out in the life of Jesus? Yeah, the washing of the feet of the disciples' feet over
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  in John 13, 1 through 17. So that act itself is him showing this in practice. But then the purpose
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  of him showing that was to do what? To teach us that we are supposed to be the same way. We're
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  supposed to do the same thing. And we're supposed to really see within that what's the what's the
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  main lesson that Jesus teaches with the washing of the disciples' feet? I'll just give you a hint.
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  Diotrephes had a little bit of a problem with it that we talked about. It's not about rank. It's
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  not about preeminence. We're supposed to see that one is not above another. I mean, if Jesus is
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  willing to wash their feet, then shouldn't we be one who is willing to serve those that are around
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  us as well? Yes, brother. And then Paul also said not to think about not only your own interest.
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  Again, it's not that we should just totally put ourselves out of the picture and make ourselves
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  miserable and make ourselves like without anything to make other people above us. But it's like, but
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  we should be thinking about others instead of just ourselves. And that's where the problem comes in.
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  A lot of times it's all about just us. There's like examples of maybe you've, this was something
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  that's talking about somebody the other day, you know, sometimes maybe you're at work and maybe
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  someone else that does your work is about to have a surgery. I think this was Amanda that actually
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  brought this up now that I'm thinking of it, but somebody's about to have a surgery and maybe they
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  do same type of work as you, or maybe them being gone is going to impact you in some way. But
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  somebody says, oh, I'm going to be gone for two weeks. And your first thought is, oh man, I bet
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  this is going to put a lot of work on me. And as you start thinking about that, you don't even think
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  about this person's about to go have surgery on some kind of major thing or whatever it is. And
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  it's just all about, again, if that thought is what's in your mind is you only thinking about
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  how does this affect me? You've got a little bit of selfishness in you. And it's, again,
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  it's not easy for us to see sometimes, but that's the case. Yes, brother. Yeah. Yeah. And just think
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  about how that really plays out. Cause it seems like, oh, what if I got to go around and just
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  serve people all the time? I'm never going to get anything. But is it as if he just gave the
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  command to just me? I mean, what if we all do that? Doesn't that mean we're all going to have
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  our interests taken care of where, because not only am I serving, but others are going to be
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  serving it. That's the way that it's supposed to work. It's not just supposed to be a hundred.
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  There's these group of givers and a group of takers. That's not how it's meant to be. Because
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  if we all play this out, we're all serving one another with whatever we each need and all our
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  needs are being taken care of. That's the way that it should work out. It doesn't always because
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  that's not the case where somebody else is selfish in the picture, but we shouldn't still come from
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  it from the aspect of, well, if they're going to be selfish, I'm going to be selfish because that
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  doesn't work. You have something else, Russell? What in our mindset makes us think that we're
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  above that or somebody else should submit to us or, you know, it just doesn't make sense. But we
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  get that mindset sometimes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We have to be a light to the world. We have to
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  go out and share Christ with others. That's our responsibility to do that. We also do have to be
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  careful whenever we do it and don't put ourselves in a situation where we might be pulled the other
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  direction. But yeah, it is our responsibility to do so. Yes. I have a question that, I mean,
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  and maybe I can get a lot of opinions about this, but you know, when we're tempted, that means that
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  it's something that we would want. Is that correct? Because I just think about when Jesus was tempted,
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  he was tempted by Satan that he, you know, for things that were selfish. And so I just wonder
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  if those were things that actually tempted Jesus. Yeah. Or, and of course he withstood it. Yeah. But to me, that gives me hope, you know, that I could withstand the same. Yeah. Well, and a lot of the things that he was tempted with are really, if you get down to it, the core of it is the core of all things that we're all probably tempted with, whether it's the power aspect or whether it's just to fulfill your needs in that moment. Again, our needs at that moment might be
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  different than the bread or whatever it is, because we're in whatever situation we're in, but it's still just the core. These are the temptations that we all face. And him being in the human flesh, he would have had those same things, I would think. But anybody else have any comments on that? Yes.
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  Yeah. How can you talk to somebody if you think you're better than them? And, and yeah, and they can see it. Yeah. And people are pretty perspective or I don't know what the word for that is. Perceptive. There we go. I'm not, I'm not a, I'm not a brilliant vocabulary lister. Even that word is probably not a word. I don't know. But yeah. How can, how can someone, how can you talk to somebody? They're not going to be receptive of it.
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  I'll just tell you that if they feel that way, they're going to think, who's this person think that they are, you know, to talk to me in that way. Versus if we come to them humbly and in a, in a manner of servant and in a manner of humbleness, somebody is going to maybe see that you are looking out for their best interest. They're going to be a lot more receptive to that for sure. Anything else? Yes.
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  You know, when you trying to bring people to cars, you're going to approach it in a humble state, you know, not just jack it down the throat. So, and humble is of course, people that claim to not be selfish, but if they know the truth about any particular topic in life, this in our average dealings of life, if you, if you know how to do something and you see someone making a decision that you don't agree with, then you wouldn't want to jab it down the throat.
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  It would show them that they're doing deliberately wrong.
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  That's going to make somebody more perceptive to listen to the message in which you're coming to speak.
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  And that's some of the other things that I have of him putting others before himself, healing and teaching while he was exhausted and had just fed the 5,000 over Mark 6, 33, 44, you know, he was exhausted, but they kept coming to him.
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  And he just continued to do what they needed to be done.
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  Everything from the betrayal to him dying on the cross, Matthew 26, 36 through 46, none of that he did do because he wanted to and because it was something of his own that was going to give himself something.
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  It was all for us.
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  You know, he said, if possible, take this cup away, but not my will, thy will be done.
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  He did not do that for him.
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  He did that for you.
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  He did that for me.
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  And the ones even who fell asleep while they were supposed to be standing guard, he did it for them.
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  He forgave others.
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  He showed compassion.
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  He's the perfect example of us, for us, of who we're supposed to be.
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  You know, how I talked about how James said, if you have this selfishness and you seek your desires, that's not wisdom from above.
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  That's not who God created us to be.
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  He created us to be like Christ.
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  He created us to be more like him.
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  That's why he is our example to do that.
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  So the world is going to say, put yourself first.
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  That's what the world's going to say.
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  A selfish person says, I'm going to put myself first.
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  That's what I'm going to do.
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  But look at what Jesus says.
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  Turn over to Matthew 16.
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  Let's look at verses 24 through 28.
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  Matthew 16, verses 24 through 28.
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  Then Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself.
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  You know, that's pretty much the opposite of selfishness.
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  Take up his cross and follow me.
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  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it.
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  But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
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  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?
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  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
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  For the son of man will come in the glory of his father and his angels, and then he will reward each according to his works.
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  Assuredly I say to you that there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom.
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  So Jesus starts out by saying, deny yourself.
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  And that's what he did.
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  He put the father's will above his own will.
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  And he put your interest, what's best for you, above maybe what was going to end up being best for him.
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  What did Jesus say in Matthew 22, 37 through 40 when asked about the greatest commandment?
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  What did he say that those greatest commandments were?
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  He said, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
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  He said, this is the first and great commandment.
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  And the second one is like it.
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  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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  And on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
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  Did Jesus do that?
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  Did he love the Lord your God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind?
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  I believe so.
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  That's the first and greatest commandment.
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  And the second one he said, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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  What's that mean?
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  You're going to think about their interest.
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  You're going to think about what's best for them.
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  You're going to do things for them, even if maybe it might cost you something.
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  He put his will below the father's because he chose the father's over anything.
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  And he did that because of his love for others.
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  Jesus said, if you want to follow him, you're going to have to deny yourself.
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  You're going to have to deny your selfish nature because it's the direct opposite of these two commands.
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  If you're a selfish person, are you going to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind?
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  Pretty unlikely because you're kind of thinking about your needs, your wants, your desires.
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  And you can't have two. You can't have two masters.
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  You can't have two gods.
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  In a selfish person, you're a little bit of your own God.
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  Is a selfish person going to love your neighbor as yourself?
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  Pretty unlikely because you love yourself quite a bit.
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  You don't have a lot to spare, a lot to give to someone else.
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  The direct opposite of these two commands is being selfish.
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  And Jesus came and was a perfect example of selflessness.
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  So now let's talk about now that we've seen some examples of selfishness,
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  and now we see Jesus as the ultimate example of selflessness and the opposite of selfishness.
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  Why is it a big deal?
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  Some might say, what's a big deal to be a little selfish?
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  What's it really hurt?
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  But selfishness destroys a lot of things.
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  And again, as I mentioned, it's the root of all sorts of the struggles that you actually deal with.
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  Your relationship with others ends up being hurt by it.
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  Your relationship with God ends up being hurt by it.
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  You're going to end up being left with just yourself.
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  And that's not good to be alone.
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  Why are selfish people not good in relationships?
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  Because that's what it ultimately it's going to affect your relationships with other people.
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  It's going to affect those two commandments.
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  It's going to affect your relationship with God to where you can't love him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
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  It's going to also affect your relationship with your neighbors.
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  So why is why is being selfish harmful to a relationship?
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  If maybe don't call out their name, but if you know a selfish person or someone who you feel is selfish,
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  what are some attributes they have?
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  Do they listen very well when you talk to them?
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  Do they like take your advice?
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  Do they really seem like they care about you when you're talking about them?
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  Like what she mentioned, whenever you're having a conversation like and you're telling you're spilling out this problem,
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  maybe you're having a struggle and they're just like, okay.
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  And then as soon as you get done, they start talking about themselves.
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  So let me tell you about something I'm going through.
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  They don't listen well.
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  So then a relationship is not going to be great with that person.
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  Sometimes someone becomes defensive whenever they're selfish,
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  because it's as if you're trying to show them something about themselves that they don't want to change.
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  They're going to refuse to sacrifice.
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  So it's a one sided relationship typically with a selfish person.
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  They're also going to expect constant accommodation,
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  because again, it's their interest above anyone else's.
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  You need to accommodate me.
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  A selfish friend ask,
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  what can I get from this relationship?
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  It's one sided.
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  My relationship with you is a one sided relationship.
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  Basically, if I'm a selfish person,
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  a selfless friend ask,
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  what can I do for this person?
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  How can I help this person that's in need?
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  How can I help this person in the situation they're in?
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  What is it that I can do in this situation to be helpful?
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  And it doesn't have to be exclusively to the other's benefit,
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  because remember Paul said that each of you again,
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  not look out only for your own interests,
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  but also for the interest of other.
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  I'm not saying you have to go out and just 100% pour out into other people
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  and never take care of yourself like what we mentioned,
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  because we're supposed to look out for our own interests too.
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  But are you seeking something basically outside of yourself
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  is the question that you have to ask.
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  Am I seeking something outside of myself?
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  Sometimes, occasionally, or am I just solely going through life
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  and everything that I hear, I'm like, how does this affect me?
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  What's this going to do to me?
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  How's it going to benefit me?
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  If those questions go on in your head a lot,
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  you might be a little bit of a selfish person.
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  I almost feel like I'm becoming Jeff Foxworth.
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  You might be a selfish person.
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  Just some things to think about.
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  But it also plays out on an individual level,
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  but it can play out in a group level as well.
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  It may be in your work life,
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  maybe here at the congregation or in the church.
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  You can also have this same thing.
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  A selfish Christian might ask,
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  what does the church do for me?
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  And a selfless Christian might ask, how can I serve?
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  What is it that I can do?
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  How can I be a benefit to the others?
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  What is there that I can do that can help serve someone else
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  and help them in whatever way that it might be?
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  Again, it's basically two completely different mindsets
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  whenever you think about it.
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  And we have to get to the point
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  where we let this mind that was in Christ be in us.
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  Because I'll tell you, he had one of those mindsets.
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  It's a drastic mindset difference
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  between selflessness and selfishness.
• 27:58
  And Paul said we're supposed to let this mind be in you,
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  which was in Christ Jesus.
• 28:05
  And you can't have a selfish mindset
• 28:07
  and have the same mind as Christ.
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  Thinking about congregationally,
• 28:13
  so just take out the just individually wise,
• 28:16
  how can selfishness, if it's in the congregation,
• 28:20
  how can it hurt the congregation?
• 28:23
  When people choose their interest only, what can happen?
• 28:28
  There's one that's a mathematical term, division.
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  Stagnate and start to die.
• 28:38
  You'll end up having division
• 28:40
  because that's what selfishness brings.
• 28:42
  Again, remember, if you have your desires
• 28:45
  and they're not fulfilled,
• 28:48
  James said that's what brings the wars and the conflicts among you.
• 28:53
  You're going to have division
• 28:55
  because somebody's not going to get what they want.
• 28:58
  And the person and the people who want that preeminence
• 29:01
  and want to have what they want,
• 29:04
  they're going to divide themselves among the others.
• 29:09
  A selfish person, there's going to be power
• 29:11
  or selfishness within a congregation.
• 29:13
  There might be power struggles.
• 29:15
  There's going to be a lack of unity, division.
• 29:20
  There'll be a lot of probably gossip going on.
• 29:24
  There'll be lack of service
• 29:26
  because serving requires selflessness.
• 29:31
  And whenever there's selfishness,
• 29:33
  there's going to be a lack of that.
• 29:35
  Go over to Romans 12.
• 29:39
  We're going to look at verses 9 through 21
• 29:43
  at what Paul says here.
• 29:45
  And my Bible has a bold heading above it
• 29:47
  that says behave like a Christian.
• 29:51
  So a congregation that does these things,
• 29:55
  that Paul mentions in Romans 12, 9 through 21,
• 29:59
  it's going to help them to fight off
• 30:03
  what might happen if selfishness is involved.
• 30:06
  So let's look at all these verses,
• 30:09
  Romans 12, 9 through 21,
• 30:11
  and look at what he says.
• 30:13
  See which ones don't jive with selfishness.
• 30:16
  Verse 9, he says,
• 30:18
  let love be without hypocrisy.
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  What is love with hypocrisy?
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  There's conditions to it.
• 30:27
  There's I'll love you if maybe you love me,
• 30:30
  and that's it.
• 30:32
  Selfishness leads one to love only what benefits them.
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  I'll love you if you do what I'm asking you to do.
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  Arbor what is evil, cling to what is good.
• 30:44
  Jesus said in Matthew 5, 46,
• 30:46
  for if you love those who love you,
• 30:48
  what reward have you?
• 30:49
  Don't even the tax collectors do the same.
• 30:51
  So those first couple of verses,
• 30:53
  love without hypocrisy,
• 30:55
  that doesn't jive with selflessness.
• 30:59
  Sincerity.
• 31:01
  Yeah.
• 31:02
  Yeah.
• 31:04
  Verse 10, be kindly affectionate to one another
• 31:06
  with brotherly love and honor.
• 31:08
  Give preference to one another.
• 31:10
  Give preference to one another.
• 31:12
  Not lagging in diligence,
• 31:13
  fervent in spirit,
• 31:14
  serving in the Lord,
• 31:15
  rejoicing in hope,
• 31:16
  patient in tribulation,
• 31:17
  continue steadfastly in prayer,
• 31:20
  distributing to the needs of the saints,
• 31:22
  given to hospitality.
• 31:24
  That probably doesn't jive with selfishness.
• 31:27
  Bless those who persecute you.
• 31:29
  Bless and do not curse.
• 31:31
  Rejoice with those who do rejoice.
• 31:32
  Weep with those who weep.
• 31:34
  Be of the same mind toward one another.
• 31:36
  Do not set your mind on high things,
• 31:38
  but associate with the humble.
• 31:40
  Do not be wise in your own opinion.
• 31:42
  I mean, over and over,
• 31:43
  none of those jive with selfishness.
• 31:46
  Repay no one evil for evil.
• 31:48
  Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
• 31:51
  If it's possible, as much as depends on you,
• 31:53
  live peaceably with all men.
• 31:55
  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves,
• 31:56
  but rather give place to wrath.
• 31:58
  For it is written, vengeance is mine.
• 32:00
  I will repay, says the Lord.
• 32:02
  Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him.
• 32:04
  If he's thirsty, give him a drink.
• 32:06
  For in doing so, you will reap heaps of fire on his head.
• 32:09
  Do not be overcome by evil,
• 32:12
  but overcome evil with good.
• 32:15
  Tons of things in there.
• 32:17
  Under the heading, again, in mind,
• 32:19
  it says behave like a Christian.
• 32:22
  Behave like Christ.
• 32:25
  Attributes that we should have
• 32:27
  individually and congregationally.
• 32:32
  And almost all of them, if not all of them,
• 32:35
  are the opposite of selfishness.
• 32:38
  Verse 10 probably says it as plain as any of them.
• 32:41
  Be kindly affectionate to one another
• 32:43
  with brotherly love and honor,
• 32:45
  and give preference to one another.
• 32:47
  To me, that's a different way of saying
• 32:50
  put others above yourselves.
• 32:53
  That verse destroys selfishness
• 32:55
  and tells us how to effectively be a person
• 32:58
  as an individual, a group of people
• 33:01
  that are going to flourish
• 33:03
  under that wisdom that's from above,
• 33:05
  God's wisdom,
• 33:07
  and not the wisdom from below.
• 33:10
  Love one another, honor one another,
• 33:13
  give preference to one another.
• 33:15
  That means I'm not going to demand my own way.
• 33:18
  I'm going to honor other people.
• 33:20
  I'm going to show humility when it's needed.
• 33:23
  That's what I need to do.
• 33:26
  That's how I have the mind of Christ inside of me
• 33:29
  because that's how he was.
• 33:31
  That's the example he gave us.
• 33:35
  So how do we overcome it?
• 33:37
  We'll finish with this.
• 33:38
  How do we overcome selfishness?
• 33:40
  If we struggle with it, how do we fight it?
• 33:45
  What are some ways that we can fight selfishness?
• 33:49
  Serve other people.
• 33:50
  Serve others intentionally.
• 33:52
  Serve even when you get no credit.
• 33:55
  Serve when you get no attention.
• 33:58
  Serve when you get no praise.
• 34:01
  That's what reveals the heart of your servanthood
• 34:04
  because you're not doing it for those things.
• 34:07
  You're doing it because you want to.
• 34:09
  Yes?
• 34:15
  Serving others is one way.
• 34:18
  I've got practice gratitude.
• 34:21
  Selfish people are going to focus on what they like,
• 34:24
  what they don't have.
• 34:26
  Grateful people focus on what they do have
• 34:29
  and it causes them to be less selfish.
• 34:32
  Learn humility
• 34:34
  because humility is going to tell you
• 34:36
  the one thing that I said is at the center of it
• 34:38
  or at the definition of it is
• 34:41
  you're not the center of the universe.
• 34:44
  You're not the creator of the universe.
• 34:47
  You need to be humble
• 34:49
  and realize who you are.
• 34:52
  Put God first daily
• 34:54
  because when you put Him first daily
• 34:56
  that means you're not putting who first daily?
• 34:59
  Yourself.
• 35:00
  So that's a good way to get yourself out of the mindset of
• 35:04
  I'm not here to serve myself.
• 35:06
  I'm here to serve Him.
• 35:08
  When you put God first
• 35:10
  it takes away that
• 35:12
  selfishness seed that grows into
• 35:14
  that tells you that you are first.
• 35:16
  Yes, Kevin?
• 35:39
  Yeah.
• 35:41
  The more you think about
• 35:42
  that was my next deal was think about others.
• 35:44
  The more we're thinking outside of ourselves
• 35:46
  the more it's going to train us to not think about
• 35:50
  inwardly just ourselves.
• 35:52
  Again, not that we don't need to think about ourselves
• 35:54
  but we don't need to think just about ourselves.
• 35:57
  Before speaking or acting on things
• 36:00
  maybe ask the questions
• 36:01
  how is this going to affect other people?
• 36:03
  Because again, if you are thinking about other people
• 36:05
  it's going to cause you to think differently
• 36:07
  am I acting out of love or am I acting out of selfishness?
• 36:10
  Am I doing these things because it benefits only me
• 36:14
  or there's that motive behind it of it's just about me
• 36:17
  or am I acting out of because I feel like this is what
• 36:20
  is needed in this situation
• 36:21
  even if it costs me something
• 36:23
  or am I also demanding my own way?
• 36:26
  Think about that when you're thinking about others as well.
• 36:28
  So selfishness, again, one of the greatest enemies
• 36:31
  of spiritual maturity
• 36:33
  it's going to destroy homes
• 36:35
  it's going to destroy friendships
• 36:36
  it's going to destroy churches
• 36:38
  it's going to destroy ultimately your relationship with God
• 36:41
  that's what it's going to do.
• 36:43
  But Christianity calls us to do something higher.
• 36:46
  Paul said in Galatians 2.20
• 36:48
  I have been crucified with Christ
• 36:51
  it is no longer I who live
• 36:53
  but Christ lives in me
• 36:55
  and the life which I now live in the flesh
• 36:57
  I live by faith in the Son of God
• 36:59
  who loved me and gave himself for me.
• 37:02
  What Paul is saying there to me is
• 37:05
  my life is no longer about me.
• 37:08
  He came to that realization.
• 37:10
  My life is not about me.
• 37:13
  It's no longer a life of self-centered living
• 37:16
  but it's a life of Christ-centered living.
• 37:19
  That's what we're supposed to be.
• 37:21
  The real question for you to ask at the end of this particular study
• 37:25
  with this struggle and even the other ones
• 37:28
  that we discussed
• 37:30
  is not really
• 37:32
  am I lazy sometimes?
• 37:34
  Yes, I'm lazy sometimes.
• 37:37
  Am I angry sometimes?
• 37:40
  Yeah, I'm angry sometimes.
• 37:42
  Am I prideful sometimes?
• 37:44
  Yes.
• 37:45
  Do I gossip sometimes?
• 37:46
  Maybe so.
• 37:47
  Do I swear occasionally?
• 37:48
  Am I critical?
• 37:50
  Do I love money?
• 37:52
  The answer to that question
• 37:54
  is that we are all likely a yes
• 37:57
  on all those
• 38:00
  sometimes
• 38:02
  because we all struggle with them.
• 38:03
  The real question is
• 38:05
  to deal with these struggles
• 38:07
  the answer is the same for all of them.
• 38:10
  Who am I living my life for?
• 38:13
  Am I living my life for myself
• 38:16
  or for God?
• 38:18
  Paul said it is no longer I who live
• 38:21
  but Christ who lives in me.
• 38:24
  That's the goal of the Christian life.
• 38:27
  Less self, more Christ.
• 38:30
  That's what we're supposed to be doing
• 38:32
  as we're walking on this earth.
• 38:34
  Less self, more Christ.
• 38:37
  That's the transformation
• 38:39
  that if we allow to take place
• 38:42
  the laziness, the anger,
• 38:45
  the pridefulness,
• 38:47
  the being overly critical,
• 38:49
  the being selfish,
• 38:51
  the love of money,
• 38:53
  it all gets dealt with
• 38:55
  if it's less self, more Christ.
• 39:00
  That's the transformation that needs to take place.
• 39:02
  That's why I said
• 39:04
  selfishness is the root
• 39:07
  of all sins and struggles
• 39:09
  because it's really too much self
• 39:13
  and too little Christ
• 39:15
  that's in us.
• 39:17
  We don't have that mind in us.
• 39:19
  We're not practicing the things that he has showed us.
• 39:22
  We're not letting him be the example.
• 39:24
  We're not letting him lead us.
• 39:27
  That's the goal ultimately.
• 39:30
  Transformed
• 39:32
  into what Christ has shown us
• 39:35
  and become more like him.
• 39:37
  If any struggle,
• 39:38
  maybe we didn't cover
• 39:40
  whatever that main struggle is
• 39:42
  that you're dealing with
• 39:43
  in this class and this quarter,
• 39:45
  the answer is still the same for all of them.
• 39:49
  More Christ, less self.
• 39:52
  It helps you deal with all those.
• 39:54
  Appreciate y'all's comments on the quarter.
• 39:56
  Appreciate you sticking through it.
• 39:58
  And again, I've helped you achieve
• 40:00
  at least the conquering of one struggle,
• 40:02
  making it through my class.