Selfishness
Notes
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Early this morning as I drove through the fog. I though to myself wow what a place to live. The Lord just revealed to me that once the fog lifts I would be able to see clearly the trash on the side of the road and other things that might not look so great.
So it is with our lives we need the Bible to lift the fog of our lives so that we can see ourselves clearly.
My prayer this morning is that we can do just that and the fog in our lives would be lifted so that we could see clearly the areas in our life God needs to refine.
As we have looked at the journey of the Israelites throughout Exodus, we see a theme that is common in their lives and as their story is our story I see this theme that is common in our lives.
Selfishness: A self-centred concern for oneself, without due regard to the needs of others. Scripture treats selfishness as an aspect of sin.
1 But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
2 Timothy
Exodus 4
The burning bush
7 Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of My people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I know about their sufferings.
8 I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey —the territory of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
9 The Israelites’ cry for help has come to Me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10 Therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
Exodus 3:7-
Staff becomes a snake and hand is cleansed
1 Then Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
Exodus 4:
10 But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since You have been speaking to Your servant —because I am slow and hesitant in speech.”
11 Yahweh said to him, “Who made the human mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh?
12 Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.”
13 Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”
Exodus 4:10-
Moses does not regard the plans of the Lord and is only concerned about himself.
Selfishness
The Israelites
19 The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You cannot reduce your daily quota of bricks.”
20 When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.
21 “May the Lord take note of you and judge,” they said to them, “because you have made us reek in front of Pharaoh and his officials—putting a sword in their hand to kill us!”
22 So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have You caused trouble for this people? And why did You ever send me?
23 Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in Your name he has caused trouble for this people, and You haven’t delivered Your people at all.”
Exodus 5:19-2
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help.
11 They said to Moses: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
12 Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
Exodus 14:10-
2 The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!”
Exodus 16:2-
27 They reported to Moses: “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit.
28 However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger than we are!”
32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size.
33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”
Selfishness sometimes shows itself through pride
Insecurity often looks like pride
Numbers 13:27-
1 Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night.
2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!
3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell down with their faces to the ground in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community.
6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes
7 and said to the entire Israelite community: “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land.
8 If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us.
9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”
10 While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.
Let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt.
1 One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.
Numbers 14:1-
The antidote to selfishness
The antidote to selfishness
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it.
25 What is a man benefited if he gains the whole world, yet loses or forfeits himself?
Luke 9:23
Selfishness must fall as a Christ follower
You can’t be a Christ follower and remain selfish
Deny Self
take up his cross DAILY
Follow me
15 And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.
2 Corinthians
As the fog lifts, it calls for action. Action in the city and action in our hearts.
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,
Romans 6
24 No one should seek his own good, but the good of the other person.