SCRIPTURE: Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any af-fection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obe-dient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
TEXT: Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
INTRODUCTION: You may have heard the story of two friends who met for dinner in a restaurant. Each requested filet of sole, and after a few minutes the waiter came back with their order. Two pieces of fish, a large and a small, were on the same platter. One of the men proceeded to serve his friend. Placing the small piece on a plate, he handed it across the table.
"Well, you certainly do have nerve!" exclaimed his friend. "
What’s troubling you?" asked the other. "Look what you’ve done," he an-swered. "You’ve given me the little piece and kept the big one for yourself." "How would you have done it?" the man asked. His friend replied, "If I were serving, I would have given you the big piece." "Well," replied the man, "I’ve got it, haven’t I?" At this, they both laughed.
Second: At a party: "My husband and I have managed to be happy together for 20 years. I guess this is because we’re both in love with the same man."
Application: We live in a day of self love, of self promotion, and of selfish living. The evidence of this truth is all around us.
Murder: US: 16,914
Aggravated Assault: US: 2,329,950
Forcible Rape: US: 93,103
Theft of Property: (Burglary, Auto Theft, Robbery) US: 10,944,590
Road Rage: Every 13 minutes one person dies in a motor vehicle crash. Aggressive driving was a factor in up to two-thirds of the highway deaths.
Aggressive drivers may exhibit the following behaviors: excessive speed, reckless lane-switching, tailgating, run-ning stoplights and signs, passing on the right, honking horns and flashing lights, screaming and making obscene gestures. The most dangerous combination is when one instigates and one retaliates -- in some cases using guns, knives or their cars to settle a dispute.
Abortion: US Abortions for Non-Medical Reasons: 1,365,700 annually
Application: All these statistic speak of only one thing, they say, I am more important than You! But now, let us consider what God has to say on the matter.
TEXT: Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
The Problem With Having A Big I and a little You is that …
I. IT GIVES YOU PERMISSION TO TREAT THE LIVES OF OTHERS AS INSIGNIFICANT
Matthew 5:21,22 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ’You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ’Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ’You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
FOOL [GR moros, mo-ros’]: Dull, stupid, insignificant nothing.
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said to him, " ’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ "This is the first and great commandment. "And the second is like it: ’You shall love your neighbor as your-self.’ "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
The Problem With Having A Big I and a little You is that …
II. IT ALLOWS YOU TO STEP ON PEOPLE WITH LITTLE REGARD FOR THE EMOTIONAL SCARING YOU’RE LIKELY TO LEAVE BEHIND
James 4:1-3 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Application: God’s commandment is to love others as we love ourselves, and in the same way that we love ourselves.
1 John 4:19-20 We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
The Problem With Having A Big I and a little You is that …
III. IT CAUSES YOU TO BECOME SELFISH WITH THE BLESSINGS GOD HAS ALLOWED IN YOUR LIFE
Isaiah 14:12-14 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ’I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
Application: God had blessed Lucifer by making him the most powerful angel in heaven. Lucifer had the respect and confidence of all who were around him. But Lucifer made a colossal mistake. He assumed that the blessings he had were a reward because of who he was. He failed to realize that the same God who had given him those things could also take them away.
The Problem With Having A Big I and a little You is that …
IV. THE BIG “I” WILL SEND THE LITTLE “U” TO HELL UNLESS YOU REPENT
Application: The biggest problem with the big I and little you is that it causes us to forget that we are NOT sovereign and that one day we will have to give an account of ourselves to the One True God who IS sovereign.
The big I will make us believe that we are able to save ourselves, or even that we don’t need saving at all. The big I tries to make God so less important that we in fact become our own god.
Psalm 14:1-3 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.
CONCLUSION:
