HE WAS NOT SELFISH
1. A novelist once said down with a friend.
2. This writer began to talk about himself.
3. For two solid hours he spoke about his life, his writings, and his successes.
4. After two hours of boasting about himself He turned to His friend and said this:
5. “We have talked about me long enough. Let’s talk about you.”
6. “What do you think of ‘my most recent book’? ”
THERE ARE PEOPLE IN LIFE WHO ARE STUCK ON THEMSELVES.
A. There are people in all walks of life who cannot see too far beyond themselves.
B. At times people ask, “What has been done for me?”
C. “How will this help me?”
D. “What will I get out of it?”
E. “Will this benefit me?”
F. “They don’t treat me well.”
G. People can become obsessed with me, my, I, and mine.
2. If we are a Christian (or are interested in Christianity) we can learn some things from Jesus.
3. One of the things that we can learn from and about the Lord is related to selfishness.
4. Jesus of Nazareth was not a self-centered person.
5. John
6. Many of us at one time or another have entered into an unnatural environment.
A. Within
the last month I received an e-mail from a man who was in
B. This man is probably in his 60’s.
C. While
in
D. For two weeks we lived in a former prison.
E. We stayed in what had formerly been some jail cells.
F. In these rooms we put bedding on the concrete floors.
G. I still remember this man trying to get his body moving each morning.
H. He wasn’t used to sleeping on concrete.
I. The members of this group were in an unnatural environment.
7. In the opening verses of the book of John we are told that Jesus came to an unnatural environment.
8. Jesus also assumed an unnatural form.
9. The
being we know as God is composed of Spirit (Jn.
10. Yet, Jesus assumed a human body that had flesh, bone, and blood.
11. The Lord’s place of residence is heaven; John said that He came to the earth.
12. Jesus left His natural and very pleasant home for an earth that has been stained with sin.
13. The Lord’s descent to our planet is one proof that He was not self-centered.
14. As we look at the Bible we find some other indications of the Lord’s giving nature.
15. In
Mt.
16. The Lord didn’t come to make a name for Himself.
17. He didn’t come to have men praise Him.
18. His purpose was not to bolster His ego and find people to honor Him.
19. Jesus of Nazareth came on a mission of mercy; He came to help people.
20. Heaven saw a lost and dying world and Jesus came to this planet to deal with the problem.
21. When we think about what Jesus did we can expand the thought by citing Rom. 5:6.
A. Here is what Paul wrote to these Christians – READ
B. Jesus came to help people.
C. In life the assistance that people receive is sometimes limited to a certain class.
D. In other words, there are cases where people say, “We do not want to aid those people.”
E. “We refuse to help the members of that group.”
F. According to Paul, Jesus came to help the world; He came to aid even the worst offenders.
G. Paul said He came to help the ungodly.
H. Matthew
describes this (
22. LET’S CONTRAST THE LORD’S LIFE TO SOME OF THE TEACHING THAT JESUS DID.
A. When we look at the Lord’s life we find that He paid some attention to the subject of selfishness.
B. We find that Jesus did not have good things to say to and about selfish people.
C. Most of us are familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10).
D. A man was beaten and robbed.
E. He was left half dead.
F. A priest (verse 31) passed by this man.
G. This man even went to the other side of the road.
H. A man who should have been very religious (a Levite, verse 32) also bypassed him.
I. He too went to the other side of the road.
J. These men were selfish and inconsiderate.
K. The only man who stopped to help was a reject from Jewish society.
23. The third man was not selfish; he stopped and took the time to help.
24. Jesus
said (Lk.
25. A little later in Luke’s gospel (Lk. 18) we read about a ruler.
26. This man said (verse 18), “What must I do to have eternal life?”
A. Jesus told him to keep the commandments.
B. The young man said that he had done this.
C. He said he had kept all the laws. From his youth he had been obedient.
D. Jesus told him that there was only one thing left to do (this man was close), verse 22 – READ
E. We know how the rest of the story goes.
F. This man went away sorrowful because He was not willing to sell what he had.
G. This man was both covetous and selfish.
27. While Jesus was on the earth He warned people about selfishness.
28. After He returned to heaven these warnings continued.
29. At the end of Acts 4 we read about some people who were generous.
A. The 32nd verse says that the multitude (church) was “of one heart and soul.”
B. This verse shows that the first Christians were not selfish – READ verse 32.
C. The people of God were clearly not selfish.
D. The first Christians were people who shared and gave.
E. This thought is repeated in verse 34 – READ
F. Barnabas had a field that he sold and he brought the proceeds from it - (verses 36-37).
30. Notice the first word in Acts 5 – READ
31. Most translations begin with the word “but.”
32. Barnabas
sold some land and brought the money to the apostles (Acts
33. The couple described in Act 5 did the same thing (1b, 8) – READ
34. Since Luke described the same activity why did he use the word but in 1a?
35. This word indicates a contrast; it expresses a strong contrast.
A. Barnabas was not selfish. He brought the proceeds because he wanted to help people.
B. Ananias and Sapphira brought money for a different purpose.
C. Barnabas wanted to help others; the couple in Acts 5 wanted to help and promote themselves.
D. The actions of Ananias and Sapphira were a type of selfishness.
E. Jesus warned against this sin while He was upon the earth.
F. What happened to church members who engaged in this type of sin after His church began?
G. The text tells us – Verses 9-10 – READ
H. This couple lied to God and they died.
I. Some of their sin was certainly associated with lying.
J. We cannot overlook the fact that their transgression was also joined with selfishness.
WHEN
WE LOOK AT THE PEOPLE IN SCRIPTURE THAT GOD HONORED AND BLESSED WE OFTEN FIND
THAT THEY WERE GENEROUS.
A. Think about Abraham. He was a great man.
B. Was Abraham selfish or was he a generous and giving man?
C. There
was a dispute between his herdsmen and the herdsmen that worked for
D. Abraham took charge of the matter.
E. He
told
F. Abraham would take what was left.
G. God used the “leftovers” to prosper Abraham.
H. God was pleased by Abraham’s generosity.
2. Most are familiar with the scene of judgment in Mt. 25.
A. Jesus spoke of people who took the time to help someone.
B. It may have been a drink of water or a visit.
C. It may have been a meal or a supper invitation.
D. God pays attention to how giving and generous His people are.
E. This generosity extends to every area of life; it is not just related to money.
3. A study of the New Testament shows that God really does pay attention to our generosity.
A. Think about Cornelius (Acts 10).
B. This man was not a Christian. He was an unsaved Gentile.
C. Yet, this man was a generous man.
D. Acts 10:4 says that he prayed and “gave alms.”
E. He devoted some time to God.
F. There were plenty of things that he didn’t know, but he spent some time in prayer.
G. This time didn’t save Him but it did cause God to send him a special helper.
H. This man was generous in other ways. He helped people.
I. Generosity will not save us.
J. When the unsaved practice it Acts 10 says that God is very aware of that.
4. If God classifies generosity from the unsaved as a “memorial” (Acts 10:4), what about us?
5. God is pleased and glorified when His people are generous.
6. Someone has well said that if we want to be rich (not necessarily financially) we must give.
7. If we wish to be poor we should grasp.
8. If we want abundance we must scatter.
9. If we want to be needy, hoard.
10. This is not always an accurate description of giving but it is generally true.
11. We find examples of these four ways of life in scripture.
12. Are we as a group and as individuals generous?
13. Is this how others see us?
14. If we are a Christian we need to be generous.
15. If we are not a Christian but we are generous we possess a wonderful quality.
16. We possess a Christian quality but we are not a Christian.
17.