The more Christ centered my life becomes, the less selfish I naturally am. I find looking for ways I can serve each person in my life as well as strangers helps bring gratitude for what I have and in turn I become less selfish.❤
How to kill selfishness: Love your neighbour as yourself. Understand the depths of this one short commandment and submit yourself to it, and you will kill selfishness, envy, lust, greed, covetousness, hatred, pride, arrogance etc. One example that I can give of just how deep this short commandment is, is this: Say that your child is seriously ill and needs surgery in order to live. Would you sell a piece of land or real estate or your car in order to pay for his medical fees? If you're a good parent, regardless of whether you are a believer or unbeliever, you'll even be insulted by the question. There's nothing you wouldn't exchange for your child's health, because you love your child as yourself or even more than yourself. And there's nothing that you wouldn't exchange for your own life, therefore, there's also nothing that you wouldn't exchange for your child's life, because you love him/her as yourself or more than yourself. Now, here comes the troubling part. Would you do this for your neighbour's child? Would you do it for a stranger's child? Would you even do it for your in-laws' children? If not, then why not? What is the thing that discrimates between your own child and your neighbour's child in your heart? Think very deeply about this question. If you find the answer to that question, you'll find what's keeping you from loving your neighbour as yourself, or what's keeping you from surrendering fully to God. Is it fear for your future? Is it love for yourself and your family above others? Is it fear of what people would think if you did that? Is it skepticism of the promise of God not to leave or forsake you? Is it skepticism of the wisdom of the word of God? Is it skepticism even, of the existence of God? And don't think that it's impossible for human beings to love their neighbours just as themselves. You'll find people doing just that in Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37. So the question is this: why are you powerless to do the same? What's the difference between you and them? What is it that they believed about God, about the kingdom of God, and about their neighbours that empowered them to voluntarily sacrifice so much for their neighbours wellbeing?
Who you talking to us or yourself or a little of both. Just teasing brother good points for us all to think on. Personally In all transparency the reason I do not give until I have a 0 on my bank accounts and maxed out credit is that it I don’t know how God operates totally. Sad truth is many of us lived in decades of sin before we came fully to Jesus and surrendered fully. So many of us if not all are dealing with the consequences of those sins on many fronts. Many are actually, like me, still in the process of being healed. So asking of them is like asking a one handed man to lend you a hand. As far as I can tell if your not obeying Jesus your not there yet. I’m certainly not at saint level, I am a disciple becoming like Jesus so I can only speak from this level. The reason he said to hear his words and not obey was like building a house without foundation. All things should be done for the glory of God. Not our own will or desires. I may want no one to have cancer or die of cancer but the Father finds it right in his eyes to allow it to happen because way beyond our understanding it is a good thing occurring that is happening so God can be glorified and his glory be revealed. I don’t totally understand but I get it. Like in the long run in eternity in the heavenly realms these things are working towards good and will end good so it is good. In this I feel it is worthy to think perhaps Jesus is a God that says the means justify the end. I think the cross is the most bold statement that supports this idea. If it ends good than everything that happened to make that ending hood was indeed good. Even if it appears to us as bad or evil or negative. Now why do mature fully grown Christian’s who are very well off who have the means but do not use them to help sustain others at the detriment of themselves not properly give well idk cause I’ve never met one. They can’t exist. Get what I’m saying. That’s a C.I.N.O. (Christian in name only) that isn’t a real one.
@@jdnrust1590 It was actually a little bit of both (speaking to myself and others), as it almost always is when speaking the word of God or the Gospel. And I do understand that loving one's neighbour as oneself can be difficult to do on your own. So also is giving yourself up to be arrested, tortured and killed for sinners, when you yourself haven't done anything wrong. But that's exactly the point. It's difficulty is meant to point out a number of things: 1. That we are naturally not capable of love or righteousness in our flesh as human beings. 2. When we are unable to love as we should, it is because we are in our flesh at that moment. That's where the fear of losing our stuff or getting hurt comes from, and overcomes the fear of disappointing or displeasing God. 3. That perhaps we are not all walking in the Spirit as we ought to. Love is one of the most difficult things for the flesh to do, but it's the most natural thing to God. Remember that Jesus did in fact struggle with going to the cross at the latter moments. And He didn't struggle because He was a sinner, but because His flesh was weak to do that which needed to be done. The solution? He prayed to God and God strengthened Him in His spirit. And then He was able to bear it and go through with it. It is the same with us. The weakness will always be there for as long as we are in these bodies. If that weakness was found in Jesus Christ, who committed no sin, and had nothing lacking in His faith, you can be certain that you'll never grow to the point where you feel okay doing stuff that is difficult for the flesh to do in the current body that you have. So the solution is not to wait for a time when we feel less anxious or more comfortable, but to learn to trust God through the anxiety and the discomfort, and He will give us the strength to do what needs to be done, and comfort our anxious hearts. But remember that that strength cannot come if you give up before you even try. If you're waiting for a time where it will be comfortable for you to do righteousness or practice love before you attempt to do it, you'll be waiting a very, very long time. The only way is through, not around. It's only once you start moving that God moves with you. But if you don't move, then neither will He, because that would require for Him to interfere with your will, a thing which God does not do. Don't you think that if God did that, then He would have done it for everyone already? It's not as if He's okay with people sinning and dying and going to hell. He's just enduring it for the greater good.
One quote about humility in Christ really helped me to shift in my thinking. The opposite of selfishness is humility in that you don't think highly of yourself... Rather true humility as Christ exhibits is thinking of your "self" less. In other words, your concern is the world and community around you. Jesus always looked first to the needs of the people he interacted with, committing time and effort. It's very convicting that we have such an person as our Lord.
Amen and Amen🙏🏽❤. Thank you, Pastor John, for the right word at the right time🙏🏽❤. May God be gracious to all who truly seek Him. In Jesus' Name i pray. Amen❤🙏🏽
Also,make sure, the people telling you youbare selfish shownthey are not.Not everyone who tells you you are selfish is themselves selfless.Sadly,people try to manipulate others. If your girlfriend,for example doesnt get from you what she wants,and doesnt repspect your needs and person or character, the selfish one is her! So be wise.Dont mistrust,but dont ignore warning signs either and be naive.
I love your comment, such good advice to keep in mind. I think it goes well with what Pastor John Piper said about seeking godly council from pastors and leaders who know us best and can give specific guidance in relation to the specific circumstances. Selfishness is very sneaky and seems like it often creeps up and grows undetected. God bless.
@@bryanpratt5850 sure,but how to be sure the girls telling ,or other people have theor own,maybe selfish,reasons?Its good to think both ways,not to blame others,but when you are around narcs its better to know with what kind of behaviour you are dealing with.Always lessons to learn.Not better than anyone.Also narcs are a result of their past.But its good to see a wolfe as such,and not as a sheep.
Ask God what He wants you to do because GOD means Good Orderly Direction. I have found those who called me selfish were actually projecting and manipulating me to do their bidding. So having a good sense of self and knowing self is a good skill to develop.
Revelation 22:7-21( Jesus😊1st❤ is coming) Revelation 22:7-13, "7 Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophesy in this book." 8 I, John am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he( the angel said to me "do not do it" = do not worship angel but worship Jesus :) t) said to me, " Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you ( so angel are fellow servant of God with us in Christ) and with your( our) brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book( my favorite book is the Bible, a love book from God to us in Christ). Worship God! 10 Then he told me, " Do not seal up the words of the prophesy of this book, because the time is near. 11 Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who does right 😊 continue to do right; and let him 😊❤who 😊❤ is holy continually to be holy :). " ( Jesus😊1st❤ said the following in red words in Christ) "12" Behold , I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha 😊❤and the Omega😊❤, the First 😊1st❤and the Last😊❤, the Beginning😊❤ and the End😊❤."( Jesus said in Revelation 22:12-13 Zondervan NIV Study Bible and above so far is Revelation 22:7-13 Zondervan NIV Study Bible. And parenthesis parts and symbols in Christ meant for Bible study Bible. John is not Jesus or God but He only write down what he heard from the fellow servant here and by the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ. In Jesus'name, i pray for others' healing and John 14:6. In Jesus'name, i pray( Matthew 28:19-20 😊❤ and pro- Jesus😊1st❤). Amen.
Revelation 22:7-21(Jesus😊1st❤ is coming) Revelation 22:7-13, "7 Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophesy in this book." 8 I, John am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he( the angel said to me "do not do it" = do not worship angel but worship Jesus :) t) said to me, " Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you ( so angel are fellow servant of God with us in Christ) and with your( our) brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book( my favorite book is the Bible, a love book from God to us in Christ). Worship God! 10 Then he told me, " Do not seal up the words of the prophesy of this book, because the time is near. 11 Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who does right 😊 continue to do right; and let him 😊❤who 😊❤ is holy continually to be holy :). " ( Jesus😊1st❤ said the following in red words in Christ) "12" Behold , I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha 😊❤and the Omega😊❤, the First 😊1st❤and the Last😊❤, the Beginning😊❤ and the End😊❤."( Jesus said in Revelation 22:12-13 Zondervan NIV Study Bible and above so far is Revelation 22:7-13 Zondervan NIV Study Bible. And parenthesis parts and symbols in Christ meant for Bible study Bible. John is not Jesus or God but He only write down what he heard from the fellow servant here and by the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ. In Jesus'name, i pray for others' healing and John 14:6. In Jesus'name, i pray( Matthew 28:19-20 😊❤ and pro- Jesus😊1st❤). Amen. I worship Jesus😊1st❤ in Christ too. ( John 14:6😊❤) God loves you( John 3:16😊❤) Angels are servants of God or " fellow servant"( Revelation 22:9,9a ) with us in Christ. We respect one another and love one another in Christ that what i meant in Christ. Pro- Jesus our savior( Jesus😊1st❤) in Christ. Ephesians 2:8😊❤
Philippians 4:4😊-7😊❤Revelation 22:7-21( Jesus😊1st❤ is coming) Revelation 22:7-13, "7 Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophesy in this book." 8 I, John am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he( the angel said to me "do not do it" = do not worship angel but worship Jesus :) t) said to me, " Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you ( so angel are fellow servant of God with us in Christ) and with your( our) brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book( my favorite book is the Bible, a love book from God to us in Christ). Worship God! 10 Then he told me, " Do not seal up the words of the prophesy of this book, because the time is near. 11 Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who does right 😊 continue to do right; and let him 😊❤who 😊❤ is holy continually to be holy :). " ( Jesus😊1st❤ said the following in red words in Christ) "12" Behold , I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha 😊❤and the Omega😊❤, the First 😊1st❤and the Last😊❤, the Beginning😊❤ and the End😊❤."( Jesus said in Revelation 22:12-13 Zondervan NIV Study Bible and above so far is Revelation 22:7-13 Zondervan NIV Study Bible. And parenthesis parts and symbols in Christ meant for Bible study Bible. John is not Jesus or God but He only write down what he heard from the fellow servant here and by the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ. In Jesus'name, i pray for others' healing and John 14:6. In Jesus'name, i pray( Matthew 28:19-20 😊❤ and pro- Jesus😊1st❤and Philippians 4:4😊-7😊❤). Amen.
Philippians 4:4😊-7😊❤Revelation 22:7-21( Jesus😊1st❤ is coming) Revelation 22:7-13, "7 Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophesy in this book." 8 I, John am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he( the angel said to me "do not do it" = do not worship angel but worship Jesus :) t) said to me, " Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you ( so angel are fellow servant of God with us in Christ) and with your( our) brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book( my favorite book is the Bible, a love book from God to us in Christ). Worship God! 10 Then he told me, " Do not seal up the words of the prophesy of this book, because the time is near. 11 Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who does right 😊 continue to do right; and let him 😊❤who 😊❤ is holy continually to be holy :). " ( Jesus😊1st❤ said the following in red words in Christ) "12" Behold , I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha 😊❤and the Omega😊❤, the First 😊1st❤and the Last😊❤, the Beginning😊❤ and the End😊❤."( Jesus said in Revelation 22:12-13 Zondervan NIV Study Bible and above so far is Revelation 22:7-13 Zondervan NIV Study Bible. And parenthesis parts and symbols in Christ meant for Bible study Bible. John is not Jesus or God but He only write down what he heard from the fellow servant here and by the power of the Holy Spirit in Christ. In Jesus'name, i pray for others' healing and John 14:6. In Jesus'name, i pray( Matthew 28:19-20 😊❤ and pro- Jesus😊1st❤and Philippians 4:4😊-7😊❤). Amen.
Great video. You might want to change the name on this video. I'm sure it's just me but I read "How can I kill myself" maybe something like "How can I become selfless with a selfish heart" or something like that. Great video as always.
I simply cannot believe I have to school an educated man, ostensibly “scripture-saturated”, in the very basic tenet of Christianity is stunning. Yes, Piper, life is precious: human life doesn’t cease to matter if you don’t like the personality of “a certain kind of person.”
Don't make Christ an idol. Selfishness will keep you from living a holy life centered on helping others. Ignoring yourself and focusing on others will be very difficult for people since this world trains you to be a self-centered pleasure seeker.
You have this backwards. Christ is like the paper that our priorities are written on. He is the center of our lives and the source and object of our worship.
John Piper: your comments on “a certain kind of person” were so horrible you must have known you were going to anger prolifer’s. I can only assume you were trying to winnow your audience a bit. Has it worked? Or have people rallied around your brand of wokism, which denigrates life and freedom? (What a strange thing for a preacher to attack!). Can you please clarify your statement: “Christians communicate a falsehood to unbelievers…when we act as if policies and laws that protect life and freedom are more precious than being a certain kind of person.” After all, what is a few million pre-born murders here and there? And freedom? An antiquated concept, right? As an ethnic Armenian whose ancestors fled to this country after the 1915 genocide, this assertion is pathetic beyond all reason. You speak so cavalierly because you have no idea of the pain the peoples of the world have gone through. Life and freedom ARE precious, apparently a lot more precious than you could ever conceive. The stories of the forced marches into the desert, the rapes, the bayoneting of pregnant women still ring in my ears. Your followers want to believe you didn’t mean what you said. After 3 years of silence, it indicates you believe every word with a huge exclamation mark. That is a problem. A huge problem.
@@user-xq2bm3nq8y Ok, fair enough. Maybe it's because english is not my native language. Enlighten me then..if you can and want to. What has John Piper done, or failed to do , according to your opinion?
@@melaniek.h. He effectively supported Biden. Biden is a butcher: abortions, wars, transgender surgeries for children, inflation that beggars the poor, crime (letting criminals run free in an attempt to achieve “equity” in prison populations), etc. He despises Trump so much that he thinks Trump-disdain must take precedence over laws that protect freedom and life itself. He has never apologized for his beliefs that were distributed to 2 million people two weeks before the 2020 election. Did I like Trump? No. But he was a staunch Christian ally.
