Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - When Self-Love Is Selfish | Almost True | Part 2

Episode Date: August 11, 2024

In a world that says "treat yourself" and "do you," putting yourself first seems natural. But what if prioritizing yourself sometimes does more harm than good? Could the practice of self-love be only ...almost true?ABOUT THIS MESSAGEEverywhere you turn, someone’s telling you how to live. A lot of times it's well-intentioned and Almost True, but misses the mark in ways that can hurt us. How do we know which truths will actually lead to a meaningful life? Let’s find out in our new series.PRAYERIf you're facing something difficult, you don’t have to carry it alone. If it’s on your mind, it’s on God’s heart. We want to pray with you and support you through whatever you’re facing. Share your prayer request: https://www.life.church/getprayerABOUT LIFE.CHURCHWherever you are in life, you have a purpose. Life.Church wants to help you find your next step. Our hope is that your journey will include joining us at a Life.Church location throughout the United States or globally online at https://www.live.life.churchFind locations, videos, and more info about us at https://www.life.church or download the Life.Church app at https://www.life.church/appNEXT STEPSHave you made a decision to follow Jesus? You may be wondering what’s next on your journey. We want to help! Let us guide you to your next steps in your walk with Christ: https://www.life.church/nextFIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/life.churchInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/life.churchTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifechurchYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@life.churchCONNECT WITH PASTOR CRAIGYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/craiggroeschelFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/craiggroeschelInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/craiggroeschelTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@craiggroeschel#lifechurch #craiggroeschel #almosttrue Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 I walked into a grocery store, and I was on an assignment from Amy. My assignment was simple. Get a gallon of milk. But as you know, in today's culture, that's not as easy as it sounds. Because way back into olden days when I was a kid, milk was mostly milk. Anybody remember? Your options, whole milk, skin milk, 1%, 2%. I always wondered about 1% and 2% milk.
Starting point is 00:00:34 I always wondered, what's the other 98, 99%. Who knows? But today is so much more confusing. Then there was no such thing as plant-based, lactose-free, vegan non-GMO milk. Today, not only do you have cows milk, but you've got goat milk and oat milk and rice milk and soy milk and coconut milk and almond milk. And I'm wondering, like, how do you milk an almond? A coconut? I can see that.
Starting point is 00:01:04 An almond, how do you do that? And so I walked into the grocery store. I'm scanning the aisles from a distance, looking for the exact type that my bride desires. And I saw one. And when I say one, I mean only one. There was only one gallon left of the exact right kind. And as I took a step forward,
Starting point is 00:01:22 I looked over to my side, and I saw another gentleman, very likely on an assignment from his wife. eyeing my very same gallon that Amy wanted. So what do you think I did? As a man of God, as a Christian, as a pastor, I said, sir, you take the last gallon milk for your wife so she can be proud of you, and my wife can be disappointed in me.
Starting point is 00:01:51 Of course not. What do you think I did? I pushed a five-year-old out of the way. I fast walked down, put my shoulder down into him, nudged him in the name of the father, son, out of the way, grabbed the milk, and walked away victorious. You say, are you exaggerating at all?
Starting point is 00:02:09 Craig, just a little bit. I didn't push the five-year-old, but all the rest is actually true. Why did I do that? Why do we do things like that? The answer is, because putting ourselves first is one of the most natural things that we do. Raise your hand if you agree.
Starting point is 00:02:28 Raise your hand. Online, type in, I agree. Type it in right now, I agree. If you don't agree, I can prove it to you because any time there is a group photo with you in it and five other people, who do you look at first? You look at yourself, don't you? And how do you determine if it's a good photo or not? If you got one old boy like blinking and another girl has hair in her face and some guy's staring
Starting point is 00:02:54 off in the distance, but it's a good photo of you, is it good or bad? It's a good photo. because putting yourself first is the most natural thing that we do. And I can't speak for you, but the world encourages my self-obsession. Over and over again, culture tells me, do what's best for me. I deserve my me time. My needs come first. Therefore, I'm going to focus on myself right now.
Starting point is 00:03:23 Yet God's word tells us in Philippians chapter 2 that we are to do nothing out of selfish ambition. Pause on that for a moment. No behavior, no action should ever be done from selfish motives or vain conceit. But rather in humility, we value others. We consider others better than ourselves.
Starting point is 00:03:48 We value others above yourself, scripture. It says, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of others. think about that for just a moment. God's word tells us do nothing out of selfish ambition. And culture preaches the exact opposite. Putting myself first,
Starting point is 00:04:11 it sounds good, it feels true, but it's not good, it's not true. It's almost true. And what's interesting is there's kind of a very common and almost popular teaching today
Starting point is 00:04:26 that people will tell you, where you can't truly love others until you love yourself. So you have to put yourself first. Treat yourself. You deserve it. Self care is not selfish because you can't pour from an empty cup. So what should you do? You should live for yourself.
Starting point is 00:04:47 You don't need to justify your actions to anyone and cut anyone out of your life that doesn't add value to your life because you don't owe anyone anything and don't feel guilty why because you come first and this is a heartbreaking and very popular and pervasive message from culture today we have become for the most part a generation obsessed with ourselves and what does god say about that second timothy chapter two verse three. But mark this, scripture says, there will be terrible times in the last days. Are we living in the last days? I don't know. Scripture says this. People will be lovers of selfies. Doesn't say that exactly, but I think in the Greek it might say selfies. People will be lovers of
Starting point is 00:05:51 themselves. Do you see that? Raise your hand if you see it. Type in the comment section I see it. They will be lovers of money. Do you see it? They will be boastful. Do you see it? They'll be proud. Watch this. They will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
Starting point is 00:06:12 Having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Having the illusion of being Christians, but not walking in this spirit. There is a phrase. and I'm being a little bit sarcastic, but part of the reason is because it's so pervasive. There's a phrase that just haunts me. It's unsettling to me. They will be lovers of themselves.
Starting point is 00:06:36 The reason that's hard for me to read is because, like, I am a lover of myself. I can be very obsessed with myself. Like, what's in it for me? What do I have to do? What am I going to get out of this? What do they can think of me? And if we're not careful,
Starting point is 00:06:48 and I just want to say this, this self-love can creep into the culture of our churches. and before long we can start serving what I would call a self-centered Christianity, where we may know in our heads that we're called to love God and serve God and lay down our lives to love him and to love others, but we live as if God exists to serve us. And we may believe in God, but is often this self-centered belief. where we claim to love him, but in reality, we really love ourselves.
Starting point is 00:07:28 If God doesn't do what we think he should do, then God, I'm not going to have anything to do with you. It becomes a self-centered version of Christianity. And what's interesting is this really mind-blowing when you think about it. I mean, think about this. We are a generation, we are a culture obsessed with self-care. We're going to prioritize ourselves, and we're going to guard my... time, and we're going to protect our mental health, and we're going to do what's best for us. And we do. Yet, we're more anxious, we're more stressed, and we're more depressed.
Starting point is 00:08:05 Why? Maybe our problem isn't that we don't love ourselves enough. Maybe our problem is that we love ourselves too much. And you can gently clap, amen, because you're not sure. if you want to stick with me on this one or not. Because if I haven't stepped on your toes hard yet, I'm about to jump in your lap. Okay? I'm stepping on my own toes. What do we do when we find ourselves
Starting point is 00:08:43 completely opposite of what Jesus says? We look to the words of Jesus. When someone asks Jesus, hey, what's the greatest command of all? This is what Jesus said. Mark 12. Jesus said, there's two things. How many are there?
Starting point is 00:08:57 There's two things online. How many are there? There's two things. Type, I want you to make sure you know. How many are there? There's two things. The first one is what? What is number one?
Starting point is 00:09:06 Love the Lord your God. That's number one. With a part of your heart, whenever it's convenient. Whenever the football game's not on. Or the Olympics, not, no, no, no, no. Okay, love your heart and soul and mind your string. That's number one.
Starting point is 00:09:19 The second is what? Love your neighbor. There's two things, two commands. Love Lord of God and love your neighbor. How do you love your neighbor? You love your neighbor as yourself. There is no command greater than these. The first one is what?
Starting point is 00:09:32 The first one is love God. The second one is love your neighbor. How do you love your neighbor? As yourself. Here's where it gets weird. Some people conclude that Jesus is commanding you to love yourself. And the self-centered version of Christianity will preach a false gospel that goes like this. You can't really love others until you love yourself.
Starting point is 00:09:57 So if you can't love others until you love yourself, you have to put yourself first. You have to focus on yourself. And I want to remind you, Jesus didn't tell you to love yourself. Why? Because loving yourself is not a command. It's an assumption. Jesus said love your neighbor as yourself because he assumed you already do love yourselves. You guys are quiet.
Starting point is 00:10:24 We love ourselves a lot. Okay, I love myself. Jesus didn't have to tell me to love myself. I already do. It's crazy. My buddy, John, one time we were out looking to buy a rent house together, and we were looking at this house. We're in the backyard, kind of looking at the house from the outside.
Starting point is 00:10:43 And this dog, most ferocious-looking, man-eating dog, came charging straight at us. What I would like to tell you that I did, which said, John, I love you, I honor you. You've been a good friend to me. You step out of the way. I'll stand between you and the dog, and I will give my life, because greater love hath no man than he gets eaten by a dog for his friends. What do you think I did? It's every man for himself. I took John, John was here, the dog was coming at us. I pushed off him, pushed him toward his death, and ran the other way.
Starting point is 00:11:26 Thankfully, I didn't know at the time the dog was on a chain and the dog didn't have far to go, but I pushed my friend toward his certain demise. If you're wondering, we did not buy that house together on that day. When Jesus says, love your neighbor is yourself, he's not saying love yourself, prioritize yourself, because he's assuming that you already do. Now, some of you may say, okay, I'm kind of with you.
Starting point is 00:11:52 you a little bit, but there are things I don't like about myself. How many of you agree there are things you don't like yourself? So maybe I don't love myself. I don't like certain things. Like you may say, I don't like my wrinkles or I don't like my pooch or my thicker legs or my thinning hair, whatever it is. We all have those things. I'm not a massive fan of my nose and my toes. Thankfully, Amy does like my nose. But no one, including probably God, They're like, I have a size 12 feet. Truth of matter is I have about a size five foot. And then the rest is toes.
Starting point is 00:12:28 And it's just like I can type books with them. I can throw baseballs with them. And I don't like them. Whenever I'm at my house, let's just say I'm just sitting around in my shorts. I'm a regular guy when I'm not being a preacher. Right away. Someone knocks on the front door.
Starting point is 00:12:43 Amy never says, quick, put on your shirt. She never says that. She says, put on your socks. Quick, now do it. Okay. I don't like those things. So does that mean that I don't love myself? Think about it.
Starting point is 00:12:58 What we don't like about ourselves usually isn't due to a lack of self-love. It's usually a result of self-obsession. I'm obsessed with myself. Therefore, I don't like this about myself. So let's just talk straight. If you want to be a disciple of Jesus, He doesn't say, whoever wants to be my disciple
Starting point is 00:13:22 must pamper himself. Culture says that, Jesus doesn't. Whoever wants to be my disciple must live for himself. Whoever wants to be my disciple must put himself first. Now I'll show you what Jesus says, and let me give you the context.
Starting point is 00:13:38 He explains that he's going to go to Jerusalem and he's going to suffer horribly, and he's going to die on the cross. And three days later, God's going to raise him from the dead. And Peter says, no, that's not going to happen. love you too much, that's not going to happen. And Jesus says, get behind me, Satan. He calls Peter Satan. On a side note, a whole different sermon, but one of your goals is not for Jesus
Starting point is 00:13:57 to call you Satan. Okay, this is another thing. And so Jesus responds in Matthew 16, and he says this to his disciples. Jesus says to his disciples, whoever wants to be my disciple must do what? Say it He must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. If you want to be my disciple, you deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. Now, when we read that in our culture today, we just kind of blow by it. I do. Like deny yourself, take up your cross. Kind of like, try to be nice.
Starting point is 00:14:35 Go to church if you can and watch your favorite YouTube preacher whenever you're on the treadmill, the gym. Deny yourself, take up your cross. We just read it like that. Whenever Jesus said, deny yourself and take up your cross, let me tell you right now, the disciples probably gasped. They're probably like, no, he did not just say that. Like, is he serious?
Starting point is 00:14:59 And I'll tell you why, if you understand the context, they would have been besides themselves. And the reason that it would have been shocking is because they were hyper aware of the most bloody, uprising in Jewish history. It's actually mentioned in Acts 537, but for context, less than 30 years before the Jews revolted against the Roman government. Like their taxes are too high, so this guy named Judas, not the Judas that betrayed Jesus,
Starting point is 00:15:28 another Judas said, hey, let's go in charge a Roman government, and we're going to take them over. Big, big, big, big mistake. Sadly, hundreds of Jews were slaughtered, and the remaining people were captured, and the Roman soldiers said to them, and this is where the phrase became famous, take up your cross. And these Jewish people had to take up their cross, drag it across the city street in front of other Jewish people, and then the Roman soldier would say, lay it down. Wherever they'd lay it down, they would crucify publicly hanging naked before the other Jews, their fellow Jews,
Starting point is 00:16:06 to say, if you ever come against Rome again, this is what's going to happen to you. Then it got crazier. The Roman government prohibited, forbid the soldiers from taking the dead bodies down, and so the Jews saw their relatives hanging on the cross as their bodies were
Starting point is 00:16:23 rotting. Historians, other historians tell us they left them there for years. Some scholars say, it's very, very possible that when Jesus said these words, you must deny yourself and take up your cross. It's very, very possible.
Starting point is 00:16:40 that he said those exact words near the exact spot where some of the disciples' relatives were very likely crucified on a cross. And it all started with the words, take up your cross. And so Jesus said, hey, listen to me, if you want to be my disciple, you deny yourselves. You don't pamper yourselves. You don't put yourself first. You don't say, I'm treating my, you deny. deny yourself, you take up your cross, and then you follow Jesus. When you come to Jesus,
Starting point is 00:17:21 you don't celebrate, look how amazing I am, you don't celebrate yourself, you don't promote yourself, you don't indulge yourself, you actually die to yourself. And Paul said it this way. The Apostle Paul, the guy that at one time was like persecuting Christians, but was changed by Jesus, he said this. He said, I've been crucified with Christ. In other words, the old me died. He said, I've been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live. Now he said, Christ lives in me, and I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Starting point is 00:17:59 He said, I no longer live. My old life died. He's dead. He's gone. Now Christ lives through me. In other words, life isn't about me. It's not about my one, to my desire. and my hopes and my dreams and my wishes, I'm dead to that sinful, selfish nature.
Starting point is 00:18:17 I die to myself. Now Christ lives in me. In fact, my pastor, Pastor Nick, who was an amazing preacher, he used to do this illustration. I can't do it the way he did, but he would say, whenever selfish Nick rises up, I look at Nick and say, Nick, you died. You're dead. You're a dead man. I don't listen to dead men. Self, you're a dead man. Self, you're a dead man. Self, You're dead. I don't listen to dead men. And then he said, Christ lives in me. The way he said it, you remember, it was so amazing. It was amazing. So I wrote a sermon based on that. It was based on Romans chapter six, why am I telling you this? Because I just remember it. Romans 6 says, shall we go on sinning that grace may increase? By no means we died to sin. I called the sermon,
Starting point is 00:19:01 are you dead yet? I preached it up my church, and it was good. Then I got invited to my first revival. I was in seminary, and I got invited to do a revival in Pond Creek, Oklahoma, population 893, at First Christian Church in Pond Creek, Oklahoma. I drove over there to do the revival. I looked at the crowd. There were probably 20 people, average age 80, and I announced the title of my sermon, Are you dead yet? And I've never been back to Pond Creek in my life.
Starting point is 00:19:36 Shall we go on sinning? and living for ourselves, that grace may increase? Paul said by no means we died to ourselves. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, but it's not my life, my desires, is Christ living in me. It's really cool as that you're clapping for this, because most of us aren't living it.
Starting point is 00:20:10 When I say most of us, I'm including most of us, like most of us, because I protect my time like nobody's business. And so what I want to do is I want to give you a moment for the Holy Spirit to work in you. And I'm going to ask you a question. And I want you to let this question kind of settle in your soul. And I want you to talk about it in your life groups. And if you're not in a life group,
Starting point is 00:20:35 I want you to get in a life group. And talk about it in your life group. And I want you to talk about it with family or with friends over lunch or dinner or whatever. it is for you, and I want you to let God do a work in this. The question I want you to answer is this. In what area of your life are you loving yourself more than loving God and loving others? I want you to ask yourself that question and just be really, really honest and see what God shows you. In what area of your life are you loving yourself more than loving God and loving
Starting point is 00:21:11 others and then ask yourself, what is God calling you to do about it? In what area of your life are you loving yourself more than you're loving God and others? And what is God calling you to do about it? It's never a real good message unless I'm honest about how God is working on me. And Amy can tell you this is true. My office team, they'll tell you this is true. I am one of the selfish people ever with my time. Like you, my schedule is stupid intense. And so nothing gets on my calendar list I wanted on there. And I walk fast. I don't understand people that walk slow. Like when you walk slow, I'm like going, don't you have anything going. God bless you, you're so slow. I walk fast. Everything is urgent. I'm always under pressure. And so whenever someone says,
Starting point is 00:22:07 hey, Craig, can I, whatever. I go, oh, I wasn't planning on this. and then I studied Jesus. And when I look at the life of Jesus, I actually noticed that he did take care of himself. Like, I want you to hear this. Like, he did disconnect from the crowds, and he did go and spend time with the father. He did that.
Starting point is 00:22:28 He disconnected himself and went away to spend time with the father. But when he did that, it wasn't for selfish reasons. He went away to fill up so he could give out. And then as I watched Jesus, it's like every time something special happened, like he'd pray for somebody,
Starting point is 00:22:50 or he'd heal a woman, or he would let little kids come up and hop in his lap, or he would cast down a demon, or he'd pray for some dad's son, or he had raised a dead person. It was never planned. It was never on the schedule. It was always when he was going somewhere else,
Starting point is 00:23:06 almost every single time. And then I realized that, some of the most special moments with God and with God's people, love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. Most of the special times are actually interruptions. So, Amy will tell you, my team will tell you, I'm working really, really hard to just slow down,
Starting point is 00:23:34 be in the moment. Someone stops, and I'm going to give you my full best, I'm going to be present. I'm going to find joy in it. Pray with you, listen to you. Maybe even walk slow with you for a minute or two. Because, honestly, the most important thing I do isn't what I accomplish, but how I love. Let me say it again.
Starting point is 00:24:02 Some of you need to hear this. Type A mom. Busy student. The most important thing we do is not, what we accomplish, but how we love. I don't want people to go around and say, yeah, Craig, he accomplished and produced a lot. What I want them to say is he loved sincerely,
Starting point is 00:24:21 he loved deeply, he loved well. Think about what Jesus called us to do, and think about what Jesus did not call us to do. Let it sink in. Let it sink in. Because culture says treat yourself, put yourself first. It's all about you. Don't let them get in the way of your schedule.
Starting point is 00:24:40 them out if they don't add value to your life. This culture is over and over and over and over again, and this is not the gospel. What did Jesus call us to do and not? Let me put it all up here so you can see it. Jesus did not call us to promote ourselves, but to humble ourselves. We didn't call us to pamper ourselves, but to deny ourselves. Jesus didn't call us to serve ourselves. He called us to serve others. The greatest are those who serve. Jesus never told us to put ourselves first, but to put ourselves last. And Jesus didn't tell us to seek our pleasure.
Starting point is 00:25:31 He told us to pursue God's purpose. Church, I mean, we've got to take the words of Jesus seriously. If we're not fighting against the lure of culture, We'll be serving the devil in the name of Jesus. We'll be doing what our enemy wants and still pretending like we're fine because we go to church every now and then. Our calling, the calling of those who follow Jesus,
Starting point is 00:26:01 it is not self-love. It is not self-affirmation. It's not self-justification. It's self-denial. This doesn't mean, and please hear me, doesn't mean we don't take a day off. Doesn't mean we don't take care of ourselves. Jesus was not teaching that you shouldn't take a nap or play a video game or go get you a sweet treat.
Starting point is 00:26:26 If I do good, I will eat four M&Ms, not five, but four, okay? But here's the deal. If the motive of self-care is only yourself, you are being selfish. Listen to the Holy Spirit, not me. Let him say it to you better than I can. If the motive is only for you, it's selfish. But if the motive of self-care is to be mentally healthy and emotionally strong and physically honoring to God
Starting point is 00:27:00 and spiritually healthy so that you can love the Lord of God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and so that you can love others, then self-care isn't selfish. Here's what's crazy. Let's just call it what it is. Everybody I know in culture is prioritizing self. My time.
Starting point is 00:27:24 Me time. Don't get in my way. You're not adding value to my life. And everybody's more miserable and more depressed and more anxious. Because our problem isn't that we don't love ourselves enough. I would submit to you our problem is that we love ourselves too much. And what I hope you'll realize is you can't love yourself into happiness. and you can't self-care your way into meaningful relationships and daily purpose and inner peace
Starting point is 00:27:53 because self-love is always about self. And Jesus told us to deny ourselves. Self-love will never, ever fill us like God's love. So, in view of God's mercy, I offer my bodies a living sacrifice. I die to myself to love the Lord. my God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength, and love my neighbor as myself. What is love? Love is patient and love is kind and it doesn't envy and it doesn't boast and it's not proud and it's not rude and it's not self-seeking. It's not easily angered and doesn't light and evil,
Starting point is 00:28:34 but it always rejoices in the truth and love always hopes and always trust and always protects. And love never fails. So therefore, I'm not going to love myself. But to deny myself, I'm going to be a living sacrifice. I'm going to love God with everything in me. And love my neighbor as myself, because I already do love me. So, question for reflection. And let the Holy Spirit work. In what area of your life?
Starting point is 00:29:07 Are you loving yourself more than loving God and loving others? And what is God calling you to do about it? Father speak to us. We thank you for your loving conviction, and we thank you for your correction. God, I know there's no way I can overcome the force of culture and the lives of the enemy,
Starting point is 00:29:33 but you can, your word can, so do it. God, do it. Do it in us. God, do it in your church. God cleanse us from selfish Christianity. God, in view of your mercy, may we be living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to you as the perfect act of worship.
Starting point is 00:29:56 All I'm going to ask, super simple, is will you sincerely just pray that prayer and see what God shows you? If you'll do that today, all of our churches, would you just, if you're going to do it, and listen, don't give me the whole half-hearted, yeah, yeah, yeah. If you will do it and you'll really listen to what God has to say, would you lift up your hands right now? Our church is lift up, leave them up, if you will.
Starting point is 00:30:16 Online, type that in the comment section. I will pray that prayer. Just I will pray that prayer. Why don't you leave your hands up, just make an act of worship to God right now? God, show us. Speak to us. God, show us. Show me.
Starting point is 00:30:28 Just tell us. Just say, God, show me. Just say that. Show me. Show me. Any area I'm putting myself before you and before others. Now show me, pray that, show me what you want me to do about it. Father, help us to hear you and to do what you show us to do.
Starting point is 00:30:47 You can put your hands down. Now just wait for God to speak. to you as you keep praying and nobody looking around. Let me just talk directly to you for a moment. I am, I've been a pastor for three decades. And I am concerned, honestly, there's a lot of people that watch Christian messages and go to church and have a selfish view of Christianity. Like, God's here for us. We need to, we need to adjust that. We're here for him. We're here to glorify him. to be a disciple of Jesus doesn't mean we add Jesus and don't subtract sin. When we surrender to him, we surrender everything.
Starting point is 00:31:27 We step away from our sinful nature. We die to ourselves. Jesus said it very simply, you want to be my disciple. What do you do? It starts with you deny yourself. When he says, take up your cross, what he's saying is like you're literally dying to yourself. Then you follow me. In other words, from now, one is not about us.
Starting point is 00:31:46 We're going to glorify him and all we do. Does that mean we're saved by being good and by not being bad? No, no. We're really, really clear. We're not saved by any works. We're saved by the grace of Jesus. His work on the cross was perfect. Jesus went to the cross.
Starting point is 00:31:59 They told him, hey, take up your cross. He did. He gave his life on the cross. His death paid the penalty for our sins. God raised him from the dead so that anyone who calls in his name would be saved. And that's why Romans 12 says, in view of God's mercy, in view of what he did, who Jesus is. What do you do? Off of your bodies is a living sacrifice. You're still alive, but you sacrifice.
Starting point is 00:32:21 You're dying to yourself daily. It's no longer about me. I want to follow Jesus. There's some of you. You're hearing the gospel for the first time in a way you've never heard it before. It's not about you. We turn from our sins. We repent. We call on Jesus. When we do, he forgives our sins. Then, guess what? Then he starts like, the big word is sanctifying. He's changing us. He's making us more like Jesus. We're denying ourselves. We're going to follow him. Today at all of our own. our church is somebody going to recognize you got a self-centered version it's not the real thing and today it's going to be the real thing the real thing I'm denying myself I'm turning for my sins I'm calling on Jesus when you do that good news heaven goes crazy God forgives your sins
Starting point is 00:33:03 you're born anew you're no longer the same because of the perfect work of Jesus on the cross today all of our churches those who say I need that I'm not playing to sit and pretend this isn't church humanity this is all in full on I want to know Jesus I want to follow him I'm denying myself, I'm dying to myself. I want to know Jesus. I give my life to him. That's your prayer. Lift your hands high right now. All over the place and say, yes, that's my prayer. Right back over there. God bless you guys. Others today saying right back up here, praise God for you. Others, Jesus, I want to know you. I want to start you to lift your hands and say, I surrender my life to follow Jesus. Right back over here. Thank God for his work and you online. Just type in the
Starting point is 00:33:42 comment section, I'm denying myself and following Jesus. I'm denying myself. I'm denying myself. and following Jesus. Church, would you pray aloud? Nobody prays alone. Pray Heavenly Father. I deny myself. It's not about me. I turn for my sins and I turn toward you and I ask for forgiveness. I receive your forgiveness. I don't deserve it, but I receive it. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your love. Thank you for salvation. In view of your mercy, I offer my life as a living sacrifice. I give it all to you because you gave it all for me. Take my life.
Starting point is 00:34:30 Fill me with your spirit. I choose to follow you. In Jesus' name, I pray. And the saints went wild, and the people praise God. And the church shouted. Thank God we praise God. Come on, church.

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