Upside-Down Living - II

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by some special friends of this ministry pastor Greg I wanted to see a special word of thanks to the harvest partners who make this ministry possible next time your online check out Pastor Greg's personal blog@blog.greglaurie.com live.

We want to be happy we should not be so. This we need to be so was sawing Joan living Pastor Greg Maurice is the Lord wants us to live a life this humble prophetic sacrificial toward other. That's where happiness is found. It seems I don't think about yourself and run yourself doing happiness and misery in the process. But when you put others first you think about the greatest benefit is happiness and are twice as likely to end in divorce. The reason research shows the stars experience more pain-and-suffering than the rest of the people who were wealthy, famous, attractive, powerful everything the world says is supposed to make one happy or miserable today on a new beginning. Pastor Greg Laurie points out why when we look to the world officer will instead look to God for you.

Together, they pointed out earlier, the theme of this book is happiness to go to the culture and say how can they be happy person. The answer would in so many words, be be selfish person focus on yourself, love yourself. Think about yourself esteem yourself it's all about self and the Bible gives a difference.

Answer the Bible and the fact the loosely paraphrased tells us if we want to be happy we should not be selfish but brother. It tells us that we want to be happy. We need to be self less, that certainly bubbles up here in Philippians chapter 2 Jesus said it is more blessed or happy to give then it is to oversee only think know it's more happy to Stop, then it is to give sub know the opposite is the case, according to Jesus in the rest of the Bible true fulfillment does not come by putting our needs first, but it comes by putting the needs of others first and that's why I've called this message upside down living because that flies in the face of conventional wisdom. Today you probably heard of Stephen King very successful author. I don't know if you're aware this but he had a serious automobile accident. A number of years ago so he wrote an article about it. The title of the article was what you can And This Is What He Says in the Article and I'm Quoting a Couple of Years Ago I Found out What You Can't Take It with You, Me, I Found out Why Was Lying in the Ditch at the Side of a Country Road Covered in Mud and Blood with the Tibia of My Right Leg Pointing out the Side of My Jeans like a Branch of a Tree Taken down in the Thunderstorm. I Had a MasterCard in My Wallet but When You're Lying That It Did for Broken Glass in Your Hair, No One Accepts MasterCard King Continues I Got a Painful but Extremely Valuable Look at Life's Backstage Truth We Come in Naked and Broke.

We May Be Trustful We Go out, but Were Just As Bro.

Warren Buffett Is Going to Go up Broke Bill Gates Going up Broke Tom Hanks King Continues to Write Going up Broke. Steve King Broke That a Crying Time. All of the Money You Earn All the Stock to Buy All the Mutual Fund You Trade All of This Is Mostly Smoke and Mirrors. It's Still Good to Be Quarter past Getting Late, Where the You Tell the Time on a Timex or a Rolex. No Matter How Large or Big Account. No Matter How Many Credit Cards You Have, Sooner or Later Things Will Begin to Go Wrong with the Only Things You Have That You Can Really Call Your Own. Your Body, Your Spirit in Your Mind, so I Want You to Consider Making Your Life One Long Gift to Others.

King Rights and Why Not All You Have Is on Loan.

Anyway, All That Lasts Is What You Pass on. Then He Concludes, so I Ask You to Begin Giving and Continue As You Begin.

I Think You'll Find in the Yen You Got for More Than You Ever Had and Did More Good Than You Ever Dreamed." While It's Amazing.

Conclusions like I Don't Know That Stephen King Believes in Jesus Christ but I'll Say This. He Is Certainly Landed on Some Important Biblical Principles That Tell Us That It's Not about Us. The World Does Not Rub All around Us and We Try to Make It Revolve around Us. We Will Be Very Unhappy People. So Here Is What the Apostle Paul Is Saying Here in Philippians.

He's Saying You Need a New Paradigm. You Need a New Way of Thinking and Here It Is. Let's Read about It. Philippians Chapter 2 Starting in Verse One Paul Writes Therefore There Is Any Consolation in Christ, If Any Comfort of Love, If Any Fellowship of the Spirit, If Any Affection and Mercy Fulfill My Joy to Be Like-Minded, Having the Same Love, Being of One Accord, of One Mind. Let Nothing Be Done through Selfish Ambition or Conceit, but in the Lowliness of Mind Let Each Esteem Others Better Than Themselves.

Let Each of You Look out Not Only for His Own Interest, but for the Interests of Others.

There Right so Let's Identify Some Key Points Here from Philippians Chapter 2 If You're Taking Notes. Write This down. Never Let Selfishness or Conceit Your Motive Again. Never Let Selfishness or Conceit Be Your Motive Again. Verse Three Let Nothing Be Done through Selfish Ambition or Conceit Is a New Living Translation Puts It, Don't Be Selfish. Don't Live to Make a Good Impression on Others. So First I Start Was Supplemented Justly before Anything Also Said Paul Sorted Drills down on This Because the Love of Self Is Probably at the Root of Maybe All of My Problems, but If Not All Certainly Most of Them Because We Want Our Own Way. I Mean Think of All the Problems We Have in Our Culture Today Think of Immorality As an Example Why Do People Have Sex before Marriage, Selfishness. Why Do They Commit Adultery against Selfishness. Why Do Most Marriages Fall Apart If I Did Pick One Word to Sum It up, so Persist. Oh Yeah, We Could Talk about Communication Breakdown, We Could Talk about Financial Disagreements but Really If You Get to the Bottom like It Selfish. This I Want That Person to Do What I Want Them to Do. We Want with That Person.

First We Want to Put Ourselves First. Point Number Two Always Regard Others As More Important Than Yourself Again. Look at Verse Three in the Lowliness of Mind Let Each Esteem Others Better Than Themselves Always Regard Others As More Important Than Yourself, Not by the Way This Is Important Because It Speaks of Thinking. Thinking about Others Is Better Than Yourself in the Were the Paul Uses Here for Thinking Is from a Verb That Means More Than Just Having an Opinion and Refers to a Carefully Thought out Conclusion Based on the True so Here's What It Say Don't Just Pretend Others Are More Important Than You Actually Believe There Are More Important Than You Because They Are More Important Than You. Let Me Warn We Get off Thinking Were Better Than Somebody Else Think about the Thoughts That Go through Our Minds.

The Evil Thoughts the Horrible Things You Know If You Want to Know How to Best Consider Someone above Yourself. Just Take a Hard Look at Yourself. Consider Your Own Sin. I Mean Really Knowing This about Ourselves. How to We Be so Hard on Others Jeremiah 17 Nine Makes a Statement the Human Heart Is so Desperate and It's so Deceitful and Wicked Who Really Knows How Bad It Gets. The Great Evangelist Neil Moody Once Said, Quote I Have More Trouble with DL Moody Than Any Other Man I Know." As True Are More Trouble with Greg Laurie Than Any Man I Know You Probably Have More Trouble with Yourself As Well. I like the Statement of Andrew Murray, a Great Writer Who Said and I Quote the Humble Person Is Not One Who Thinks Meanly of Himself. He Simply Does Not Think of Himself at All." That's Really Humility You Just Honestly Are Thinking about Others. All of the Time. But Here's the Super Cool Thing about That the Fringe Benefit Is Happiness.

It Seems I Don't Think about Yourself.

Make the World Revolve around Yourself. All Only Indulge Yourself That Leads to Unhappiness and Misery and Depression, but When You Put Others First You Think about Them As above You, Because You Realize They Are above You. Suddenly You Find Yourself a Happy Person.

As a Result Is Not Interesting It Upside down, Living the Way to Happiness Is Sadness. The Way Is down, We All Learned That by Following Someone Else's Example.

So Pastor Greg Gives Us an Example of Self-Sacrifice in Just a Moment.

Stay with Us Listeners Are Finding Their Faith in Christ by Hearing the Studies and Reading God's Word, Even in the Most Unlikely of Places. This Listener Contacted Us Last Thanksgiving, Pastor Greg, Thank You for Guiding Me through the Bible, Your Notes and the New Believers by Will Really Help Me Understand What I Needed to Understand. I Was Born to a Religious Family and Even Spent a Year in Seminary before Eventually Walking Away from God, Spent More Than 25 Years Away from Him Currently Serving a Prison Sentence in the State of Minnesota.

But I Was in County Jail. I Picked up a Copy of Your Bible between Your Study Helps in a Fantastic Jail Ministry Team My Study of the Bible Brought Me Back to Belief This Morning, Thanksgiving Day, I Caught a New Beginning on the Local Radio Station and I Really Enjoyed Listening to Your Sermon on What Could Be a Very Depressing and Lonely Thanksgiving Day. I Have so Much to Thank God for This Is the First Thanksgiving in Which I Can Honestly Look into Myself and Count All My Blessings. I Won't Be Defined by My past, but I Will Let God Transform Me into a New Person. Thank You and God Bless Your Life Is Changed to Pastor Greg's Teaching You Let Us Know When You Get in Touch Ask about Our New Believers Bible Just Dropped Greg an Email at greg@harvest.org again, that's great@harvest.org Pastor Greg is giving us some practical pointers on how to live a life of happiness by following the biblical prescription prescription.

That's the opposite of what the culture tells us that's why today's message is called upside down, living point number three. Don't limit your attention to your own personal interests. Again, don't limit your attention to your own personal interests.

Look at verse four it says look out not only for your own interest, but for the interests of others says look out not only for your own interest you know you do need to look up for some of your own interests. Hey we want you to look out for your own interest. We want you to take a shower we we want you to pay your bills.

We want you to be a respectable member of society.

But for some people that so hard because there are so self absorbed.

All they want to do is think about them something to talk about themselves as Benjamin Disraeli once said, quote talk to a man about himself and he'll listen for hours." So this is a tall order. Admittedly, and that's not easy for me and it's not easy for anyone. So how do we do this. What we need an example that we need more than an example, we need help.

Who is the greatest example of selflessness and sacrifice lion and non-you know that's not true.

Alright so who is the greatest example, but I think we know it's Jesus Christ let's read about that now go to Philippians 2. Look at verse five 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 underline that phrase if you would 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 obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross verse nine therefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those in heaven and those on earth, those under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father. So here's the example now how my the live a selfless life. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. By the way, this is like theology 101 Paulas describing the mystery of the incarnation. When examining the incarnation is the biblical truth that God was supernaturally conceived in the womb of Mary, who was a virgin. This baby, this young man was God.

He was fully God 100% God, yet at the same time he was fully man. He was not man, becoming a God that's impossible. He was God becoming a man for success. He was equal with God. That's very important. If there was not a moment when Jesus became God nor was there a moment when Jesus sees to be God's deity was prehuman pre-earthly pre-Bethlehem pre-Mary any sort to give a glimpse of his deity on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Remember that he stood up there with Moses on one side and Elijah on the other, and member Peter was sleeping and he woke up and Jesus was shining as brightly as the sun. Have you ever tried to look straight up the sun don't do that okay but if you ever have its blinding right so there was Jesus. It's almost as though he was think this is so, I am.

Here's a quick glimpse but most of the time he walked among us. He he did not shine like the sun. Otherwise, when Judas came to betray him in the garden of Gethsemane do this because I just settled for the guy that glows in the dark. He's not hard to spot. No, Jesus sprouted glory. He failed the glory he was God. But as the old hymn says veiled in flash the Godhead see hail incarnate deity. Make no mistake about it, Jesus claim to be God. Member the story that crippled man was lowered to the roof before Christ, and he said your sins are forgiven you, and then the Pharisees said who can forgive sins but God alone. And Jesus went on to say Jesse you know that the Son of Man is power. Not only to heal but also to forgive sins I say to this man get up, take your bed and walk and he did. You see he was God. He claimed to be God. In fact, John 517 says the Pharisees sought to kill them because he said God was his father continually making himself equal with God is able why you bringing this up because some people would say Jesus never claimed to be God but he did not have an established fact that he was God. He also was a man verse seven he made himself of no reputation taken himself on himself the form of a bondservant, this word no reputation is from the term can know says it means an emptying of himself. He did not empty himself of his divine attributes, but he emptied himself of privilege, meaning he walked among us as a man.

When Jesus walked this earth. It was started like any man member when he fell asleep. The lower part of the boat. He was hungry.

Like any man like in the temptation of the wilderness, or read that after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. Afterwards he hungered he was thirsty. Like any man member. He was there with the woman at the well, and he said can you give me a drink, listen, he felt sorrow like any man at the tomb of Lazarus, we read that Jesus wept. He also wept over the city of Jerusalem and I bring this out because sometimes we might say well, God doesn't know what it's like to live in the server is up there in heaven surrounded by angels.

He doesn't know what it's like to be tempted in go through hardship and trials. Nothing could be further from the truth. He knows exactly what it's like and then some Hebrews 217 says it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect. Like us, his brothers and sisters so he could be our merciful and faithful high priest before God get offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people, since he himself is gone through suffering and temptation is able to help us when were tempted are you being tempted right now are you going through hardship right now. Maybe you been abandoned by friends or even family and you say God doesn't know what it's like he knows exactly what it's like.

Jesus was the loneliest man whoever lived because when he hung there on the cross and the sin of the world was placed upon him would never send in any way shape or form and and Jesus cried out my God my God why have you forsaken me. There's never been a lonelier man when even the father momentarily turned his face away from the sun so you have a friend in high places. You have someone that understands what you're going through right now but yet Jesus was a servant in John chapter 13 there is a remarkable story about the sermon hundred Jesus, the disciples come together with him and he gets down and washes their feet now and our culture today. We don't really do this anymore, but back in those days. This was done, you know, with all that dust and dirt out on the streets of Jerusalem in Galilee and elsewhere.

They their feet would be dirty so the role of his servants was to wash the feet of people when they came in. Again, the role of a servant, not the role of the host they hired the servant to do that, but the disciples walk-in and Jesus gets down in his hands and his knees and he washes their feet. By the way, this included Judas Iscariot, and Jesus knew Judas would betray if I knew Judas was going to betray me. I would not wash his feet. I would break his speech. But Jesus washed showing us what a servant looks like. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Look, as I said earlier, this is a tall order.

We can do this on our own.

We need God's help we don't need imitation we need in impartation. By that I mean we don't need it is they will all try to do like Jesus didn't. I just hope I can do it not up Lord you need to impart to me the power to love the unlovable people you need to help me to put the needs of others above myself. I need your help so to pray a prayer along the lines of Lord I'm not happy with my selfish me first attitude I want to live your way, not the world's way. I want to esteem others better than myself. I want this mind be in me, which was also in you impart to me your power that I might live the way that you want me to live when we just pray about that right now. Let's all pray father we can't do this on our own. We need divine help. So even at this moment we would pray you would give us a love for the on lovable that you would help us to not be so self absorbed at the put the needs of others above our needs and see them as you see them. We want this mind be in us, which was also in Christ Jesus.

We ask for this in Jesus name, amen Greg Laurie important prayer to live the kind of life God meant for us to live a life of generosity and self-sacrifice, as were learning. That's the road to happiness. Today, study here on a new beginning as part of Pastor Greg series called happiness and hear this inside again go online to harvest.org look for the message called upside down, living you can download an MP3 or request the CD again go to harvest.org or call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300 Prof. Greg evangelism is really the heartbeat of this ministry and Dr. mission statement is knowing him and making him known. That's right, we seen hundreds and thousands of people make commitments to the Lord. Over the years, but we don't just ask him to come forward. We help them go forward. Yes, and you have a brand-new resource one that were mentioning for the first time today that really serves that meet yes I do and it's a it's a title you've heard before, but this is as a see of those commercials new and improved. Now when they say new and improved. Sometimes it just means the packaging is newer maybe the added one more ingredient to the soap that you're buying but this is different. This is literally rebuild from ground up. It's the latest addition of. Are you ready for it.

Drumroll please the new believers Bible that I wrote this many years ago I as a resource to give to someone who is new in the faith that would help them to get grounded, spiritually, and Davidson amazing thing to think that over 10 million copies of the new believers Bible have sold over the years so we decided to go back to the drawing board and build it up from scratch, so there are elements from the original new believers Bible certainly serve the temple.

We had the beginning is still there, but I wrote many many new notes and I re-edited the notes out already written and not to make it more complex.

Listen I wanted to make it even simpler even easier to understand. Let me explain. In some ways, calling it a new believers Bible is misleading and I say this for this reason, it's really for all believers. It is great for a new believer, I don't deny that.

But the fact is this is a great resource to help a person reestablish their own foundation. It's a good refreshment course if you're older. If you're young in the faith, and so it comes down to this.

If you want to understand the Bible better.

If you want to know what the foundations of the Christian life are if you want to grow stronger in your faith.

You need to order a copy of this and let me underscore this. It's the new believers Bible. Some of our listeners may remember we offered the new believers New Testament a few months ago but this now is the whole Bible Genesis to Revelation.

So it's filled with notes commentary and it's filled with what we call tracks that go through the Bible dealing with various topics showing you where the passages are that explain this topic to you along with very easy to understand commentary and I supplied so I hope that our listeners will get a copy of this brand-new resource.

The new believers Bible and if they order a copy right now will actually include a second resource to help other people undergird their faith is not correct yet that's right Dave, we have what is called the start to follow companion resource to go along with the release of the new believers Bible.

This is basically a companion resource are growing believers to go deeper in to their faith. It contains seven foundational basics that every Christian needs to know so were talking about the new believers Bible and were talking about the start to follow course that we want to send to you so you can get deeper roots as a follower of Jesus Christ. All right well will be glad to get both of these resources on their way to you as soon as you contact us were sending them to say thank you for your contribution of any size that helps us continue to reach people as we do each day here on a new beginning and through our nationwide harvest crusades so you can make your donation while you have us on the phone at 1-800-821-3300.

That's 1-800-821-3300 or write a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or even order online@harvest.org. The Bible tells us to work out our own salvation. Fear and trembling, found that first puzzling Pastor Greg has some clear insight for you next time. As he continues his happiness series here on new beginning and possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God sign up for pastor greats free daily email, devotions@harvest.org