When Self-Love Is Selfish -- Craig Groeschel
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00I walked into a grocery store
00:03and I was on an assignment from Amy.
00:07My assignment was simple.
00:09Get a gallon of milk.
00:12But as you know, in today's culture,
00:16that's not as easy as it sounds.
00:20Because way back in the olden days, when I was a kid,
00:23milk was mostly milk.
00:26Anybody remember?
00:28Your options, whole milk, skim milk, 1%, 2%.
00:32I always wondered about 1% and 2% milk.
00:35I always wondered what's the other 98, 99%.
00:38Who knows?
00:39But today is so much more confusing.
00:43Then there was no such thing as plant-based,
00:45lactose-free, vegan, non-GMO milk.
00:48Today, not only do you have cow's milk,
00:50but you got goat milk and oat milk and rice milk
00:53and soy milk and coconut milk and almond milk.
00:56I'm wondering, how do you milk an almond?
01:00A coconut, I can see that.
01:04An almond, how do you do that?
01:06And so I walked into the grocery store.
01:08I'm scanning the aisles from a distance,
01:10looking for the exact type that my bride desires.
01:15And I saw one.
01:16And when I say one, I mean only one.
01:17There was only one gallon left of the exact right kind.
01:21And as I took a step forward, I looked over to my side
01:24and I saw another gentleman.
01:26Very likely on an assignment from his wife,
01:30eyeing my very same gallon that Amy wanted.
01:35So what do you think I did?
01:38As a man of God, as a Christian, as a pastor,
01:42I said, sir, you take this last gallon of milk
01:45for your wife so she can be proud of you
01:47and my wife can be disappointed in me.
01:50Of course not.
01:53What do you think I did?
01:54I pushed a five-year-old out of the way.
01:57I fast walked down, put my shoulder down into him,
02:01nudged him in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
02:03out of the way, grabbed the milk, and walked away victorious.
02:08You say, are you exaggerating at all, Craig?
02:10Just a little bit.
02:10I didn't push the five-year-old,
02:12but all the rest is actually true.
02:15Why did I do that?
02:18Why do we do things like that?
02:20The answer is because putting ourselves first
02:23is one of the most natural things that we do.
02:27Raise your hand if you agree, raise your hand.
02:29Online, type in, I agree.
02:30Type it in right now, I agree.
02:32If you don't agree, I can prove it to you,
02:34because anytime there is a group photo with you in it
02:38and five other people, who do you look at first?
02:42You look at yourself, don't you?
02:44And how do you determine if it's a good photo or not?
02:47If you got one old boy like blinking
02:51and another girl has hair on her face
02:53and some guy's staring off in the distance,
02:55but it's a good photo of you, is it good or bad?
02:58It's a good photo.
03:00Because putting yourself first
03:02is the most natural thing that we do.
03:05And I can't speak for you,
03:06but the world encourages my self-obsession.
03:11Over and over again, culture tells me,
03:13do what's best for me.
03:15I deserve my me time.
03:17My needs come first.
03:19Therefore, I'm gonna focus on myself right now.
03:23Yet God's Word tells us in Philippians chapter two,
03:27that we are to do nothing out of selfish ambition.
03:33Pause on that for a moment.
03:35No behavior, no action should ever be done
03:38from selfish motives or vain conceit.
03:41But rather in humility, we value others.
03:46We consider others better than ourselves.
03:48We value others above yourselves.
03:50Scripture says, not looking to your own interests,
03:54but each of you to the interests of others.
03:58Think about that for just a moment.
04:00God's Word tells us, do nothing out of selfish ambition.
04:05And culture preaches the exact opposite.
04:09Putting myself first.
04:11It sounds good.
04:13It feels true.
04:15But it's not good.
04:17It's not true.
04:18It's almost true.
04:21And what's interesting is there's kind of a very common
04:24and almost popular teaching today that people will tell you
04:27where you can't truly love others until you love yourself.
04:33So you have to put yourself first.
04:35Treat yourself.
04:37You deserve it.
04:39Self-care is not selfish
04:41because you can't pour from an empty cup.
04:45So what should you do?
04:46You should live for yourself.
04:47You don't need to justify your actions to anyone
04:50and cut anyone out of your life
04:53that doesn't add value to your life
04:55because you don't owe anyone anything and don't feel guilty.
04:58Why?
04:59Because you come first.
05:04And this is a heartbreaking and very popular
05:07and pervasive message from culture today.
05:11We have become, for the most part,
05:14a generation obsessed with ourselves.
05:19And what does God say about that?
05:232 Timothy chapter two, verse three.
05:27But mark this, Scripture says,
05:31there will be terrible times in the last days.
05:35Are we living in the last days?
05:37I don't know.
05:38Scripture says this.
05:39People will be lovers of selfies.
05:44It doesn't say that exactly,
05:47but I think in the Greek it might say selfies.
05:49People will be lovers of themselves.
05:51Do you see that?
05:52Raise your hand if you see it.
05:54Type in the comment section if you see it.
05:56They will be lovers of money.
05:58Do you see it?
06:00They will be boastful.
06:01Do you see it?
06:03They'll be proud.
06:04Watch this.
06:05They will be lovers of pleasure
06:10rather than lovers of God.
06:12Having a form of godliness, but denying its power.
06:17Having the illusion of being Christians,
06:22but not walking in the Spirit.
06:25There is a phrase, and I'm being a little bit sarcastic,
06:27but part of the reason is because it's so pervasive.
06:30There's a phrase that just haunts me.
06:32It's unsettling to me.
06:34They will be lovers of themselves.
06:36The reason that's hard for me to read
06:38is because I am a lover of myself.
06:41I can be very obsessed with myself,
06:43like what's in it for me?
06:44What do I have to do?
06:45What am I gonna get out of this?
06:46What are they gonna think of me?
06:47And if we're not careful, and I just wanna say this,
06:50this self-love can creep into the culture of our churches.
06:55And before long, we can start serving
06:57what I would call a self-centered Christianity,
07:02where we may know in our heads
07:04that we're called to love God and serve God
07:06and lay down our lives to love Him and to love others,
07:09but we live as if God exists to serve us.
07:16And we may believe in God,
07:18but it's often this self-centered belief
07:22where we claim to love Him,
07:24but in reality, we really love ourselves.
07:29If God doesn't do what we think He should do,
07:32then God, I'm not gonna have anything to do with you.
07:36It becomes a self-centered version of Christianity.
07:39And what's interesting is it's really mind-blowing
07:41when you think about it.
07:41I mean, think about this.
07:43We are a generation, we are a culture
07:45obsessed with self-care.
07:48We're gonna prioritize ourselves,
07:50and we're gonna guard my me time,
07:52and we're gonna protect our mental health,
07:54and we're gonna do what's best for us, and we do.
07:57Yet, we're more anxious, we're more stressed,
08:02and we're more depressed.
08:05Why?
08:06Maybe our problem isn't that we don't love ourselves enough.
08:13Maybe our problem is that we love ourselves too much.
08:16That's right.
08:20And you can gently clap.
08:22Amen, because you're not sure
08:25if you wanna stick with me on this one or not.
08:27Because if I haven't stepped on your toes hard yet,
08:30I'm about to jump in your lap.
08:32Because if I haven't stepped on your toes hard yet,
08:34I'm about to jump in your lap, okay?
08:39I'm stepping on my own toes.
08:41What do we do when we find ourselves
08:44completely opposite of what Jesus says?
08:46We look to the words of Jesus.
08:48When someone asks Jesus,
08:49hey, what's the greatest command of all?
08:51This is what Jesus said at Mark 12.
08:54Jesus said, there's two things.
08:55How many are there?
08:57There's two things.
08:58Online, how many are there?
08:59There's two things.
09:00Type, I want you to make sure you know.
09:02Online, how many are there?
09:03There's two things.
09:03The first one is what?
09:05What is number one?
09:06Love the Lord your God, that's number one.
09:09With a part of your heart, whenever it's convenient.
09:13Whenever the football game's not on
09:15or the Olympics is not, no, no, no, no.
09:16Okay, love your God with all your heart and soul
09:18and mind and strength, that's number one.
09:19The second is what?
09:20Love your neighbor.
09:22There's two things, two commands.
09:23Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor.
09:25How do you love your neighbor?
09:27You love your neighbor as yourself.
09:29There is no command greater than these.
09:32The first one is what?
09:32The first one is love God.
09:35The second one is love your neighbor.
09:37How do you love your neighbor?
09:39As yourself.
09:40Here's where it gets weird.
09:42Some people conclude that Jesus is commanding you
09:45to love yourself.
09:47And the self-centered version of Christianity
09:50will preach a false gospel that goes like this.
09:53You can't really love others until you love yourself.
09:58So if you can't love others until you love yourself,
10:01you have to put yourself first.
10:02You have to focus on yourself.
10:04And I wanna remind you,
10:05Jesus didn't tell you to love yourself.
10:09Why?
10:10Because loving yourself is not a command,
10:13it's an assumption.
10:16Jesus said love your neighbor as yourself
10:18because he assumed you already do love yourselves.
10:22You guys are quiet.
10:24We love ourselves a lot.
10:27Okay, I love myself.
10:29Jesus didn't have to tell me to love myself.
10:32I already do.
10:34It's crazy.
10:35My buddy, John, one time we were out
10:37looking to buy a rent house together.
10:39And we were looking at this house,
10:40we're in the backyard,
10:41kind of looking at the house from the outside.
10:43And this dog, most ferocious looking,
10:47man-eating dog came charging straight at us.
10:50Ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh-ruh.
10:53What I would like to tell you that I did,
10:56was said, John, I love you, I honor you.
10:58You've been a good friend to me.
11:00You step out of the way,
11:01I'll stand between you and the dog,
11:04and I will give my life
11:05because greater love hath no man
11:08than he gets eaten by a dog for his friends.
11:11What do you think I did?
11:13Is there a man for himself?
11:15I took John, John was here, the dog was coming at us.
11:19I pushed off him, pushed him toward his death,
11:23and ran the other way.
11:25Thankfully, I didn't know at the time
11:27the dog was on a chain and the dog didn't have far to go,
11:30but I pushed my friend toward his certain demise.
11:34If you're wondering,
11:35we did not buy that house together on that day.
11:40When Jesus says, love your neighbor as yourself,
11:42he's not saying love yourself, prioritize yourself,
11:46because he's assuming that you already do.
11:49Now, some of you may say, okay,
11:50I'm kind of with you a little bit,
11:51but there are things I don't like about myself.
11:54How many of you agree
11:55there are things you don't like about yourself?
11:56So, maybe I don't love myself, I don't like certain things.
11:59Like you may say, I don't like my wrinkles,
12:00or I don't like my pooch, or I don't like my thicker legs,
12:03or my thinning hair, whatever it is.
12:05We all have those things.
12:06I'm not a massive fan of my nose and my toes.
12:12Thankfully, Amy does like my nose,
12:16but no one, including probably God,
12:21they're like, I have a size 12 feet,
12:24truth of the matter is, I have about a size five foot,
12:27and then the rest is toes,
12:28and it's just like, I can type books with them,
12:31I can throw baseballs with them, and I don't like them.
12:35Whenever I'm at my house,
12:37and let's just say I'm just sitting around in my shorts,
12:39I'm a regular guy when I'm not being a preacher,
12:40regular guy, someone knocks on the front door.
12:43Amy never says, quick, put on your shirt.
12:45She never says that.
12:47She says, put on your socks, quick, now do it, okay?
12:51I don't like those things.
12:53So does that mean that I don't love myself?
12:56Think about it.
12:59What we don't like about ourselves
13:02usually isn't due to a lack of self-love,
13:05it's usually a result of self-obsession.
13:09I'm obsessed with myself,
13:10therefore I don't like this about myself.
13:13So let's just talk straight.
13:15If you wanna be a disciple of Jesus,
13:19he doesn't say, whoever wants to be my disciple,
13:24must pamper himself.
13:25Culture says that, Jesus doesn't.
13:28Whoever wants to be my disciple must live for himself.
13:32Whoever wants to be my disciple must put himself first.
13:35Now, I'll show you what Jesus says,
13:37and let me give you the context.
13:39He explains that he's gonna go to Jerusalem,
13:41and he's gonna suffer horribly,
13:42and he's gonna die on a cross,
13:43and three days later, God's gonna raise him from the dead,
13:45and Peter says, no, that's not gonna happen,
13:47we love you too much, that's not gonna happen,
13:49and Jesus says, get behind me, Satan.
13:51He calls Peter Satan.
13:52On a side note, whole different sermon,
13:55but one of your goals is not for Jesus to call you Satan.
14:00Okay, that's just another thing.
14:01And so, Jesus responds in Matthew 16,
14:05and he says this to his disciples.
14:07Jesus says to his disciples,
14:10whoever wants to be my disciple must do what?
14:12Say it aloud.
14:13He must deny themselves,
14:16and take up their cross, and follow me.
14:21If you want to be my disciple, you deny yourself,
14:24take up your cross, and follow me.
14:26Now, when we read that in our culture today,
14:30we just kind of blow by it.
14:31I do, like, deny yourself, take up your cross,
14:33kind of like, try to be nice, go to church if you can,
14:37and watch your favorite YouTube preacher
14:39whenever you're on the treadmill at the gym.
14:41Deny yourself, take up your cross.
14:42We just read it like that.
14:45Whenever Jesus said, deny yourself and take up your cross,
14:49let me tell you right now, the disciples probably gasped.
14:54They were probably like, no, he did not just say that.
14:58Like, is he serious?
14:59And I'll tell you why.
15:00If you understand the context,
15:02they would have been besides themselves.
15:06And the reason that it would have been shocking
15:09is because they were hyper-aware
15:11of the most bloody uprising in Jewish history.
15:15It's actually mentioned in Acts 5.37,
15:18but for context, less than 30 years before,
15:21the Jews revolted against the Roman government.
15:24Like, their taxes are too high,
15:26so this guy named Judas,
15:27not the Judas that betrayed Jesus,
15:29another Judas said, hey, let's go and charge
15:31a Roman government, and we're gonna take them over.
15:33Big, big, big mistake.
15:35Sadly, hundreds of Jews were slaughtered,
15:39and the remaining people were captured.
15:41And the Roman soldiers said to them,
15:43and this is where the phrase became famous,
15:45take up your cross.
15:47And these Jewish people had to take up their cross,
15:51drag it across the city street
15:53in front of other Jewish people,
15:55and then the Roman soldiers would say, lay it down.
15:56Wherever they'd lay it down,
15:58they would crucify publicly, hanging naked,
16:02before the other Jews, their fellow Jews,
16:06to say, if you ever come against Rome again,
16:08this is what's gonna happen to you.
16:09Then it got crazier.
16:11The Roman government prohibited, forbid,
16:14the soldiers from taking the dead bodies down,
16:18and so the Jews saw their relatives hanging on the cross
16:22as their bodies were rotting.
16:25Historians, other historians tell us
16:27they left them there for years.
16:29Some scholars say it's very, very possible
16:33that when Jesus said these words,
16:36you must deny yourself and take up your cross,
16:38it's very, very possible that he said those exact words
16:43near the exact spot
16:46where some of the disciples' relatives
16:48were very likely crucified on a cross.
16:53And it all started with the words, take up your cross.
16:57And so Jesus said, hey, listen to me.
17:01If you wanna be my disciple,
17:05you deny yourselves.
17:07Don't pamper yourselves.
17:08You don't put yourself first.
17:11You don't say, I'm treating my, you deny yourself.
17:15You take up your cross, and then you follow Jesus.
17:19When you come to Jesus, you don't celebrate.
17:23Look how amazing I am.
17:24You don't celebrate yourself.
17:26You don't promote yourself.
17:28You don't indulge yourself.
17:30You actually die to yourself.
17:34And Paul said it this way.
17:36The apostle Paul, the guy that at one time
17:38was persecuting Christians but was changed by Jesus,
17:41he said this.
17:41He said, I've been crucified with Christ.
17:45In other words, the old me died.
17:47He said, I've been crucified with Christ,
17:49and I no longer live.
17:50Now he said, Christ lives in me,
17:53and I live by faith in the Son of God
17:56who loved me and gave himself for me.
17:59He said, I no longer live.
18:01My old life died.
18:03He's dead, he's gone.
18:04Now Christ lives through me.
18:06In other words, life isn't about me.
18:09It's not about my wants and my desires
18:11and my hopes and my dreams and my wishes.
18:14I'm dead to that sinful, selfish nature.
18:18I die to myself.
18:19Now Christ lives in me.
18:21In fact, my pastor, Pastor Nick,
18:23who's an amazing preacher, he used to do this illustration.
18:25I can't do it the way he did, but he would say,
18:27whenever selfish Nick rises up,
18:31I look at Nick and say, Nick, you died.
18:36You're dead.
18:37You're a dead man.
18:38I don't listen to dead men.
18:40Self, you're dead.
18:42I don't listen to dead men.
18:43And then he said, Christ lives in me.
18:46The way he said it, you remember, it was so amazing.
18:48It was amazing.
18:49So I wrote a sermon based on that.
18:51It was based on Romans chapter six.
18:52Why am I telling you this?
18:53Because I just remembered.
18:55Romans six says, shall we go on sinning
18:57that grace may increase?
18:58By no means we died to sin.
19:00I called the sermon, are you dead yet?
19:03I preached it at my church and it was good.
19:06Then I got invited to my first revival.
19:08I was in seminary and I got invited to do a revival
19:12in Pond Creek, Oklahoma, population 893
19:16at First Christian Church in Pond Creek, Oklahoma.
19:19I drove over there to do the revival.
19:20I looked at the crowd.
19:22There were probably 20 people, average age 80.
19:26And I announced the title of my sermon, are you dead yet?
19:29And I've never been back to Pond Creek in my life.
19:37Shall we go on sinning and living for ourselves
19:43that grace may increase?
19:45Possibly by no means we died for ourselves.
19:47I am crucified with Christ.
19:50Nevertheless, I live, but it's not my life,
19:53my desires, it's Christ living in me.
19:59Amen.
20:00Amen, amen.
20:01Amen.
20:02Amen.
20:07What's really cool is that you're clapping for this
20:10because most of us aren't living it.
20:13When I say most of us,
20:14I'm including most of us like most of us
20:18because I protect my time like nobody's business.
20:23And so what I wanna do is I wanna give you a moment
20:26for the Holy Spirit to work in you.
20:29and kind of settle in your soul.
20:31And I want you to talk about it in your life groups.
20:34And if you're not in a life group,
20:35I want you to get in a life group
20:37and talk about it in your life group.
20:39And I want you to talk about it with family
20:41or with friends over lunch or dinner,
20:43whatever it is for you.
20:45And I want you to let God do a work in this.
20:47The question I want you to answer is this,
20:49in what area of your life are you loving yourself
20:54more than loving God and loving others?
20:58I want you to ask yourself that question
21:00and just be really, really honest
21:01and see what God shows you.
21:04In what area of your life are you loving yourself
21:09more than loving God and loving others?
21:12And then ask yourself,
21:14what is God calling you to do about it?
21:17In what area of your life are you loving yourself
21:23more than you're loving God and others?
21:26And what is God calling you to do about it?
21:31It's never a real good message
21:33unless I'm honest about how God is working on me.
21:36And Amy can tell you this is true.
21:38My office team, they'll tell you this is true.
21:41I am one of the most selfish people ever with my time.
21:44Like you, my schedule is stupid intense.
21:47And so nothing gets on my calendar
21:50unless I want it on there.
21:51And I walk fast.
21:53I don't understand people that walk slow.
21:55Like when you walk slow,
21:55I'm like, don't you have anything going?
21:57God bless you, you're so slow.
22:00I walk fast, everything is urgent.
22:03I'm always under pressure.
22:05And so whenever someone says,
22:07hey, Craig, can I whatever?
22:09I go, oh, I wasn't planning on this.
22:13And then I studied Jesus.
22:15And when I look at the life of Jesus,
22:18I actually noticed that he did take care of himself.
22:20Like I want you to hear this.
22:22Like he did disconnect from the crowds
22:25and he did go and spend time with the father.
22:27He did that.
22:28He disconnected himself
22:30and went away to spend time with the father.
22:34But when he did that, it wasn't for selfish reasons.
22:38He went away to fill up so he could give out.
22:45And then as I watched Jesus,
22:47it's like every time something special happened,
22:49like he'd pray for somebody or he'd heal a woman
22:53or he would let little kids come up and hop in his lap
22:56or he would cast down a demon
22:57or he'd pray for some dad's son
23:00or he had raised a dead person.
23:01It was never planned.
23:02It was like never on the schedule.
23:04It was always when he was going somewhere else,
23:06almost every single time.
23:08And then I realized that some of the most special moments
23:14with God and with God's people,
23:16love the Lord your God
23:17with all your heart, mind, and soul, and strength
23:19and love your neighbor as you love yourself.
23:24Most of the special times are actually interruptions.
23:28So Amy will tell you, my team will tell you,
23:30I'm working really, really hard to just slow down,
23:35be in the moment.
23:36Someone stops and I'm gonna give you my full best.
23:39I'm gonna be present.
23:41I'm gonna find joy in it.
23:43Pray with you, listen to you,
23:45maybe even walk slow with you for a minute or two.
23:51Because honestly, the most important thing I do
23:55isn't what I accomplish, but how I love.
24:01Let me say it again.
24:03Some of you need to hear this.
24:04Type A mom, busy student.
24:08The most important thing we do is not what we accomplish,
24:12but how we love.
24:14I don't want people to go around and say,
24:15yeah, Craig, he accomplished and produced a lot.
24:18What I want them to say is he loved sincerely,
24:21he loved deeply, he loved well.
24:24Think about what Jesus called us to do
24:28and think about what Jesus did not call us to do.
24:32Let it sink in, let it sink in.
24:35Because culture says treat yourself, put yourself first.
24:37It's all about you.
24:38Don't let them get in the way of your schedule.
24:40Cut them out if they don't add value to your life.
24:42This culture's been over and over and over
24:44and over and over again, and this is not the gospel.
24:48What did Jesus call us to do and not?
24:50Let me put it all up here so you can see it.
24:52Jesus did not call us to promote ourselves,
24:58but to humble ourselves.
25:01He didn't call us to pamper ourselves,
25:06but to deny ourselves.
25:10Jesus didn't call us to serve ourselves.
25:15He called us to serve others.
25:16The greatest are those who serve.
25:19Jesus never told us to put ourselves first,
25:24but to put ourselves last.
25:27And Jesus didn't tell us to seek our pleasure.
25:31He told us to pursue God's purpose.
25:35Church, I mean, we gotta take the words of Jesus seriously.
25:39If we're not fighting against the lure of culture,
25:44we'll be serving the devil in the name of Jesus.
25:48We'll be doing what our enemy wants
25:52and still pretending like we're fine
25:54because we go to church every now and then.
25:56Our calling, the calling of those who follow Jesus,
26:01it is not self-love.
26:03It is not self-affirmation.
26:06It's not self-justification.
26:08It's self-denial.
26:10This doesn't mean, and please hear me,
26:12doesn't mean we don't take a day off.
26:15Doesn't mean we don't take care of ourselves.
26:17Jesus was not teaching that you shouldn't take a nap
26:20or play a video game or go get you a sweet treat.
26:24If I do good, I will eat four M&Ms, not five, but four, okay?
26:29But here's the deal.
26:30If the motive of self-care is only yourself,
26:35you are being selfish.
26:39Listen to the Holy Spirit, not me.
26:42Let him say it to you better than I can.
26:45If the motive is only for you, it's selfish.
26:49But if the motive of self-care is to be mentally healthy
26:53and emotionally strong and physically honoring God,
26:58and spiritually healthy, so that you can love the Lord,
27:04your God, with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength,
27:07and so that you can love others,
27:09then self-care isn't selfish.
27:13Here's what's crazy.
27:14Let's just call it what it is.
27:16Everybody I know in culture is prioritizing self,
27:20my time, me time.
27:22Don't get in my way.
27:24You're not adding value to my life.
27:26You're not adding value to my life.
27:28And everybody's more miserable,
27:31and more depressed, and more anxious,
27:33because our problem isn't that we don't love ourselves
27:36enough, I would submit to you our problem
27:38is that we love ourselves too much.
27:41What I hope you'll realize is you can't love yourself
27:44into happiness, and you can't self-care your way
27:48into meaningful relationships,
27:51and daily purpose, and inner peace,
27:54because self-love is always about self.
28:00And Jesus told us to deny ourselves.
28:03Self-love will never, ever fill us like God's love.
28:07So, in view of God's mercy,
28:11I offer my body as a living sacrifice.
28:14I die to myself to love the Lord, my God,
28:17with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength,
28:19and love my neighbor as myself.
28:21What is love?
28:22Love is patient, and love is kind,
28:24and it doesn't envy, and it doesn't boast,
28:27and it's not proud, and it's not rude,
28:29and it's not self-seeking.
28:32It's not easily angered, and doesn't delight in evil,
28:34but it always rejoices in the truth,
28:36and love always hopes, and always trusts,
28:39and always protects, and love never fails.
28:43So, therefore, I'm not gonna love myself,
28:46but I deny myself.
28:48I'm gonna be a living sacrifice.
28:51I'm gonna love God with everything in me,
28:54and love my neighbor as myself,
28:58because I already do love me.
29:01So, question for reflection,
29:03and let the Holy Spirit work.
29:05In what area of your life are you loving yourself
29:08more than loving God and loving others?
29:11And what is God calling you to do about it?
29:15Father, speak to us.
29:18We thank you for your loving conviction,
29:21and we thank you for your correction.
29:25God, I know there's no way I can overcome
29:28the force of culture in the lives of the enemy,
29:30but you can, your Word can, so do it.
29:32God, do it.
29:33Do it in us.
29:35God, do it in your church.
29:38God, cleanse us from selfish Christianity.
29:43God, in view of your mercy,
29:45may we be living sacrifices,
29:47holy and acceptable to you as the perfect act of worship.
29:52All I'm gonna ask, super simple,
29:54is will you sincerely just pray that prayer,
29:58and see what God shows you?
29:59If you'll do that today, all of our churches,
30:02would you just, if you're gonna do it,
30:03and listen, don't give me the whole half-hearted,
30:06yeah, yeah, yeah.
30:06If you will do it,
30:07and if you will do it,
30:08and if you will do it,
30:09and if you will do it,
30:10half-hearted, yeah, yeah, yeah.
30:11If you will do it,
30:12and you'll really listen to what God has to say,
30:13would you lift up your hands right now?
30:14Our churches, lift up, leave them up if you will.
30:16Online, type that in the comments section.
30:18I will pray that prayer.
30:19Just, I will pray that prayer.
30:21Once you leave your hands up,
30:22just make it an act of worship to God right now.
30:24God, show us.
30:25Speak to us.
30:26God, show us.
30:27Show me.
30:28Just tell, just say, God, show me.
30:30Just say that, show me.
30:31Show me any area I'm putting myself
30:36before you and before others.
30:39Now, show me, pray that, show me
30:41what you want me to do about it.
30:44Father, help us to hear you
30:46and to do what you show us to do.
30:47You can put your hands down.
30:48Now, just wait for God to speak to you.
30:49As you keep praying,
30:51and nobody looking around,
30:52let me just talk directly to you for a moment.
30:54I am, I've been a pastor for three decades,
31:00and I am concerned.
31:03Honestly, there's a lot of people
31:05that watch Christian messages and go to church,
31:10and have a selfish view of Christianity.
31:12Like, God's here for us.
31:14We need to adjust that.
31:16We're here for him.
31:17We're here to glorify him.
31:19To be a disciple of Jesus doesn't mean
31:21we add Jesus and don't subtract sin.
31:25When we surrender to him, we surrender everything.
31:27We step away from our sinful nature.
31:29We die to ourselves.
31:31Jesus said it very simply.
31:32You wanna be my disciple, what do you do?
31:33It starts with, you deny yourself.
31:37When he says, take up your cross,
31:38what he's saying is, you're literally dying to yourself.
31:41Then you follow me.
31:42In other words, from now on, it's not about us.
31:46We're gonna glorify him in all we do.
31:48Does that mean we're saved by being good
31:50and by not being bad?
31:51No, no, we're really, really clear.
31:52We're not saved by any works.
31:54We're saved by the grace of Jesus.
31:56His work on the cross was perfect.
31:58Jesus went to the cross.
31:59They told him, hey, take up your cross.
32:01He did.
32:02He gave his life on the cross.
32:03His death paid the penalty for our sins.
32:09God raised him from the dead
32:09so that anyone who calls on his name would be saved.
32:12And that's why Romans 12 says, in view of God's mercy,
32:15in view of what he did, in view of who Jesus is,
32:18what do you do?
32:18Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.
32:20You're still alive, but you sacrifice.
32:22You're dying to yourself daily.
32:23It's no longer about me.
32:24I wanna follow Jesus.
32:25There's some of you, you're hearing the gospel
32:27for the first time in a way you've never heard it before.
32:30It's not about you.
32:31We turn from our sins.
32:32We repent.
32:33We call on Jesus.
32:35When we do, he forgives our sins.
32:36Then, guess what?
32:38Then he starts like, the big word is sanctifying.
32:41He's changing us.
32:42He's making us more like Jesus.
32:46We're denying ourselves.
32:46We're gonna follow him.
32:47Today, at all of our churches,
32:48some of you are gonna recognize
32:49you got a self-centered version.
32:51It's not the real thing.
32:53And today, it's gonna be the real thing, the real thing.
32:55I'm denying myself.
32:56I'm turning from my sins.
32:58I'm calling on Jesus.
32:58When you do that, good news.
33:00Heaven goes crazy.
33:02God forgives your sins.
33:03You're born anew.
33:05You're no longer the same
33:06because of the perfect work of Jesus on the cross.
33:08Today, all of our churches, those who say, I need that.
33:11I'm not playing to sit and pretend
33:13to sit in churchianity.
33:14This is all in, full on.
33:16I wanna know Jesus.
33:16I wanna follow him.
33:17I'm denying myself.
33:18I'm dying to myself.
33:20I wanna know Jesus.
33:21I give my life to him.
33:22That's your prayer.
33:23Lift your hands high right now.
33:24All over the place, and say, yes, that's my prayer.
33:26Right back over there.
33:27God bless you guys.
33:28Others today saying, right back up here,
33:30praise God for you.
33:31Others, Jesus, I wanna know you.
33:34I wanna see you lift your hands and say,
33:35I surrender my life to follow Jesus.
33:38Right back over here.
33:39Thank God for his work.
33:41And you, online, just type in the comments section,
33:44I'm denying myself and following Jesus.
33:47I'm denying myself and following Jesus.
33:49Church, would you pray aloud?
33:50Nobody prays alone.
33:51Pray, Heavenly Father.
33:53I deny myself.
33:56It's not about me.
33:58I turn from my sins, and I turn toward you,
34:02and I ask for forgiveness.
34:04I receive your forgiveness.
34:06I don't deserve it, but I receive it.
34:10Thank you for your grace.
34:12Thank you for your love.
34:14Thank you for salvation.
34:16In view of your mercy, I offer my life
34:20as a living sacrifice.
34:23I give it all to you, because you gave it all for me.
34:28Take my life.
34:30Fill me with your spirit.
34:33I choose to follow you.
34:35In Jesus' name, I pray.
34:37And the saints went wild, and the people praised God,
34:40and the church shouted, thank God, we praise God.
34:45Come on, church.
34:46Wasn't that an amazing message?
34:48You know this, our lives can feel so rushed
34:50that it seems like we're just going through the motions
34:53and running on empty.
34:54But Jesus calls us to live differently.
34:57Tap here to keep learning more from our series,
34:59A Better Way.