We're
launching a new series entitled #selfless I'm so excited to talk about this
because this is the life of our example Jesus Christ.
I mentioned
that we are going to celebrate with 30 days of #selfless! That is truly being
thankful, that is gratefulness to the highest power.
1.
There
is a better way.
1.
You're
probably gonna hear that statement throughout this series.
1.
There
is a better way.
1.
There
is a better way to serve.
2.
There
is a better way to love.
3.
There
is a better way to give.
4.
There
is a better way to minister.
5.
There
is a better way to worship.
6.
There
is a better way to study.
7.
There
is a better way to parent.
8.
There
is a better way to love, connect, and reinforce your commitment, respect, and
honor unto your wife, family, community, and church.
2.
If
you know anything about Christian culture you'll know that for hundreds and
thousands of years, an altar is a place where things die.
1.
Believers
would sacrifice something meaningful before God or lay something down before
God at an altar.
1.
Self
is referring to an ego, an ego is who we think we are, who we believe we are.
2.
A
person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance.
2.
Essentially,
some of us think too highly of ourselves; then on the other end of the
spectrum; some think too lowly of ourselves.
1.
Laying
down our self on an altar before God is one of the most difficult, #selfless
things a person could ever do.
1.
We
want to encourage you and inspire you to be what God thinks you to be.
2.
What
God wants you to be, and what God envisioned, planned and destined you to be.
3.
We
all need to sacrifice some things on the #selfless altar of God.
2.
Sacrifice
our inadequacies.
1.
I
don't know about you, but it's amazing to me how quickly I can feel incredibly
insufficient.
1.
Maybe
by comparing myself with someones financial success, and I think,
"What's wrong with me?"
2.
Maybe,
driving by a really nice neighborhood or car and your like, "What do those
people even do for a living? Why can't I have that?
3.
Or
you visit someones home and everything is perfect, the place is perfect, the
outdoor BBQ area is perfect, the smells are perfect, the vibe is perfect, the
ambiance is...yeah...!
1.
The
in home surround sound is the perfect volume, the perfect station and your
like, what is this a cruise line over here?
4.
All
of a sudden the insecurities overwhelm you with this nagging, uncontrollable,
life sucking bite.
1.
How
about when you get around "that Christian?" Give Example...
1.
I've
always felt like I had to prove myself by trying to perform up to some
standards because I never felt good enough myself.
1.
Even
with Pastoring.
1.
I've
never been old enough, or looked old enough.
2.
I've
never felt wise enough, powerful enough, prayerful enough, business minded
enough, or trained enough.
3.
It
can be relentlessly discouraging.
2.
Our
problem is that we're comparing our life's behind the scenes with their life's
highlight reels.
1.
And
suddenly, self starts to tell us what we're not when God wants to tell us what
we are.
Judges 6:11
Then the angel of the LORD came and sat beneath the great tree at (Offrah)
Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was
threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the
Midianites. 12 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, "Mighty
hero, the LORD is with you! 13 "Sir," Gideon replied, "if the
LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the
miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn't they say, 'The LORD brought us up
out of Egypt'? But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to the
Midianites." 14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go with the
strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending
you!" 15 "But Lord," Gideon replied, "how can I rescue
Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the
least in my entire family!" 16 The LORD said to him, "I will be with
you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one
man."
3.
Vs.
11 Anyone responsible threshes wheat out somewhere up high so that when they
throw it up, the wind blows the chaff away and the purest of the wheat would be
left.
1.
Yet
Gideon was in a wine press hiding because the he was afraid of his enemies, the
Midianites.
1.
Very
very afraid, trying to keep the wheat for himself. Terrified of the enemy and this is what the angel says to
him.
4.
Verse 12, "Mighty hero," He said, "the Lord is
with you."
1.
If
I would have been there, I would have told him the truth.
2.
I'd
of said "the Lord is with you, Gertrude."
1.
Hiding. Why are you being a punk?
2.
Let's
go lacy panties God is with you!
3.
God
saw something in Gideon that he didn't see in himself.
5.
Vs.
13 Self filled people say, "if?"
1.
If
you knew all I had done.
2.
If
you only knew how I really feel
2.
Self
filled people say, "why?"
1.
Why
would they ever choose me?
2.
Why
don't they ever choose me?
3.
Self
filled people say, "where?"
1.
Where
are all the resources?
2.
Where
is all the help?
4.
Self
filled people say, "didn't they say?"
1.
Didn't
they make some miraculous claims?
2.
Didn't
they say God would show up?
3.
Didn't
they say God forgives?
5.
Self
filled people say, "but."
1.
But
now that's the way it is.
2.
But
that's what you get.
3.
But
that's what they get.
6.
Self
filled people complain instead of comply.
1.
#Selfless
people step into their God purpose.
2.
We
are so filled with self we can't allow God to use His creation for His
purposes.
1.
Self-driven.
2.
Self-serving.
3.
Self-medicated.
4.
Selfie.
Over 17 million selfie's uploaded to social media every week.
Illustrate
here: Show funny
selfies.
5.
Self-esteem.
6.
Self-employed.
7.
Self-pleasure.
8.
Self-determination.
9.
Self-cleaning.
10.Self-sufficient.
6.
Vs.
14 The messenger, the angel says, "Go in the strength you have."
1.
Wow,
what more do we need to hear?
2.
What
are we waiting on?
1.
Go,
in the strength you have.
1.
I
need one more confirmation.
2.
I
need more worship encounter.
3.
I
need more training.
1.
I
need more...
1.
Go!
2.
You
need to GO in the strength you have!
3.
Sacrifice
our need for control.
1.
We
all battle with these different urges to control things.
2.
Essentially
it's a lack of faith and will only get you in trouble.
1.
Vs.
15 Gideon says, "but God."
1.
We
see that whenever God calls you, empowers you, leads you to do something for
Him, your external enemy tells you what you're not.
2.
And
your internal inner self, plays the negative messages that your ego has been
conditioned to approve.
1.
I'm
not that talented.
2.
I'm
not that creative.
3.
I'm
not that patient.
4.
I'm
not that kind.
5.
I'm
not that bright.
6.
I'm
not as Godly.
1.
And
all of these #selfless messages collaborate to tell you why you can't do what God already
said you could do.
4.
Sacrifice
our right to be offended.
1.
We
live in a culture where people feel like it's their right to be offended, and
people search for reasons to be offended.
2.
We
want to be upset because our ego needs that feeling of strength.
1.
Remember
that God's view of you is different than you think.
1.
I
promise you that God sees more in you than you see in yourself.
1.
Someone
told you, you can't, or you won't, or your self said, "Here's all the
reasons why I can't do what I believe God is calling me to do."
2.
Might
I remind you that God's view of you is massively different than you can dream,
think, or imagine.
Ephesians
2:10 "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ
Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago."
3.
Do
you realize that long before you were even born, God had a "to-do"
list just for you?
4.
God
created you, fully equipped you, it came standard, manufactured within you, to
do everything that He called you to do.
3.
When
everybody else looked at Rahab they saw a prostitute; they saw used goods.
1.
God
saw someone who's heart would be turned toward him, He saw divine potential.
2.
Who
would one day marry a Godly man named Salmon, get pregnant, give birth and
through generations of her genealogy, would come Jesus Christ, the Savior of the
World.
1.
From
harlot to hero.
3.
Others
looked on David as a child, they saw a little shepherd boy.
1.
God
saw a fearless warrior, able to stand up to a lion, a bear, and a giant.
2.
Whenever
David sinned everyone saw an adulterer.
1.
What
did God see?
2.
A
man who sought after the heart of God more than anything else.
3.
From
faithful shepherd to fearless king.
4.
When
Peter messed up again, and again, and again, and couldn't seem to get it right.
1.
He
wept bitterly because He betrayed the Savior of the World.
2.
Jesus
saw a rock, Jesus saw someone who would one day be the guest speaker at
Pentecost.
3.
From
denial to driven.
1.
God
sees more.
2.
God's
view of you is different than you think.
3.
God
has put more in you than you realize.
4.
God
has given you more than you think.
1.
God
says to Gideon, "Go take a class and get ready for this
calling."
2.
"Go
enroll in Vo-tech so you can be prepared."
3.
"Go
read this best selling book."
1.
No,
no, and no.
1.
God
says, "Go in the strength you have."
2.
Go
in the strength I've already given you.
3.
Withdrawal
what I have already deposited in you.
5.
Sacrifice
our longing for approval.
1.
So
many of us, we are so driven by what other people think.
1.
And
we know the quickest way to forget what God thinks about us is to become
obsessed with what people think about us.
Jeremiah
29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD.
"They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a
hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me
wholeheartedly, you will find me."
1.
God
has put in me some things I didn't even know were there.
1.
They
came standard equipment.
2.
God
has put more inside of you than you realize.
2.
I
love what scripture says; this is so powerful:
2 Peter 1:3
"By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a
godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the One who
called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence."
3.
God's
divine power has given you what?
1.
Every
thing we need!
4.
Has
God held anything back from you?
1.
No.
1.
Giving
us everything we need for life and godliness.
1.
Don't
you dare believe what somebody else said about you.
2.
Don't
you dare buy in to those negative messages that your self continues to sell.
3.
Let
us never insult God by complaining about what we don't have.
4.
God
has given us everything we need to do everything that God wants us to do.
2.
It's
less about you than you think.
1.
This
is what the Lord said to Gideon, in Vs.16, "I will be with you."
1.
It
was less about Gideon and more about God's power.
2.
When
God calls you to do something, it's more about the presence of God than it is
about your own power.
3.
It's
about His strength.
4.
It's
less about you than you think.
1.
That's
why as a Christ follower I step out of Michael Koelling into the calling of
God.
2.
And
when I step into His calling, I step into His strength, His power, His
goodness, His grace, and His resource.
3.
Because
it's less about me and it's all about Him, that's how we can do what He calls
us to do.
1.
This
is why God's love is so amazing, that God loves us still.
2.
Though
we don't deserve it, God loves us.
3.
And
His love for us is so incredible that He became one of us in the person of His
Son Jesus, who was without sin, but became sin for us on the cross.
4.
Became
#selfless as He laid down His life, #selfless as He shed His blood.
5.
Surrendered
to #selfless as He died, and rose again so that we who are sinners, we who are
inadequate, we who are far from God, when we call on Him, all our sins will be
forgiven.
1.
He
became #selfless so we could be become brand new.
Psalm
139:16 "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in
your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17 How
precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can't
even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are
still with me!"
5.
Altar
response-We deeply desire you to engage the next 30 days like you have never
engaged any thing in your life.
1.
I
truly believe with all my heart that Christ is calling us to be #selfless.
1.
Do
it with passion, do it with diligence, do it with focus and watch God do the
miraculous!
2.
Find
ways to serve people, random people.
1.
Give
examples.
3.
People
you love, people who love you, people who you respect, people who you just made
friends with, even serve your enemies.
1.
Serve
others with a #selfless mindset and experience God making an eternal
difference.
2.
If
80 of us all commit to making a difference in the lives of someone else every
day for 30 days we will have ministered to 2,400 in just 30 days.
3.
Power
of vision, power of community, power of unity is uncharted.
Thanks for reading! Connect with us online or listen to this sermon at www.cwcukiah.com cwcukiah.com
