REALITIES OF SELFISHNESS – Wednesday November 29th 2017
Memorise:
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. 2nd Timothy 3:2
12:28 And
one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and
perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first
commandment of all?
12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
12:30 And
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the
first commandment.
12:31 And
the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
MESSAGE:
On the 22nd of
this month, we saw that those Christians who always want everything to
revolve around them and who always want to be in charge are yet to be
broken. Another sign of not being broken is selfishness. The Holy
Spirit, speaking through Paul, has forewarned the Church of God that selfishness will be the hallmark of sins committed during the last days. 2nd Timothy 3:2 says,
“For
men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,”
Selfishness
is all about falling in love with oneself to a point where everyone and
everything else is second place. The height of selfishness is when you
love yourself to the point of idolizing yourself; this is a form of
idolatry. The Holy Spirit reveals one class of such people in Philippians 3:19, where He said:
“Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.”
It’s
unfortunate that a lot of selfish people are mounting the pulpit of God
today, parading themselves as ministers of the gospel. Such people do
not serve the God of Heaven, but rather they serve their own stomachs.
The goal and desires of selfish people revolve around the mundane things
of this world. They can never be heavenly-minded.
Selfishness negates God’s eternal word in Mark 12:30 which says:
“And
thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the
first commandment.”
God
says you should love Him with all you have, but selfishness says “No,
how can I love you when I have not even loved myself enough.” If you are
a lover of self, you will always run into problems with God. To obey
divine instructions and commands, you will often be required to
displease yourself, and that is what a selfish person cannot do. If you
are selfish, you will find it almost impossible to please God. A selfish
person will hear messages on tithing but will find it difficult to
tithe. Why? He would be calculating what he would lose if he gives up
the tithe, and what he stands to gain from keeping these funds. A
selfish person has no understanding of spiritual things. Are you
controlled by love for God or by selfishness?
Key Point
As
a young convert, you are allowed to focus more on yourself in prayer.
However, as you grow in the Lord, you are to focus more on others.
Open
Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye,
the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the
largest evangelical Church in the world and also the President of
Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy.
hymn 6
HYMN 6: DEEPER, DEEPER
1. Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
More of grace to know.
Chorus:
O deeper yet, I pray,
And higher every day,
And wiser, blessed Lord,
In Thy precious, holy Word.
2. Deeper, deeper, blessed Holy Spirit,
Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
And His perfect will.
Chorus:
3. Deeper, deeper! though it cost hard trials,
Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
Let me fruitful grow.
Chorus:
4. Deeper, higher, every day in Jesus,
Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu'ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last.
Chorus:
5. Deeper, deeper in the faith of Jesus,
Holy faith and true;
In His pow'r and soul exulting wisdom
Let me peace pursue.
Chorus.
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