#1 Sin Thats Killing The Church

The Sin That Bleeds The Church Dry

Jeremiah 45:5

And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11

9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

INTRO:

Man is vulnerable to the attack from Satan our adversary.

To avoid his snare’s we must keep a watch 24/7 to avoid being sabotaged by him.

His methods sometimes are harsh, pointed, and forceful;

while at other times they are subtle, sneaky and clever.

A study of Satan’s methods of tempting man reveals all the sins that need to be exposed.

And a strong wall of resistance must also be erected to prevent our destruction.

One of these sins is, “The Sin That Bleeds the church dry today —Selfishness.”

It Bleeds the spiritual life from not only individuals but also the work of God.

I. SELFISHNESS DEFINED

What is selfishness?

A. It is the act of caring for one’s own comfort, advantage, above others.

B. It is an effort to draw attention to one’s self in disregard of, and at the expense of others.

C. It is the always taking in like the Dead Sea, and never giving out.

D. Selfishness in short is sin.

1. Paul classifies selfishness right alongside of:

a. Stealing, Idolaters, covetousness, liars

b. Adultery, Homosexuality,fornicators

c. Drunkenness, revilers speaking with contempt of others/ slanderer

II. Lets look at SELFISHNESS

A. It breeds self-glorification and substitutes an I for we, us, and ours.

B. The world calls a man smart who looks out for himself, even at the expense of others,

But God calls him selfish, and says that he is guilty of sin.

This is Illustrated in Luke 12:16-21

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Prov.13:22

22  A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children:

And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

C. Selfishness is the taproot of all sin

1. Every declaration of war has its beginning in the selfishness.

2. Every lie and impure thought finds it’s birth in selfishness.

3. The basis for every murder and every act of adultery is found in selfishness.

4. Every sinful act and every evil deed is the offspring of selfishness.

D. Selfishness is the breeding house for discord, and division( American Problem)

1. Everywhere you find confusion, selfishness Steered it up.

2. Every sinful act and every evil deed in the church is the result of selfishness.

3. In the clamorous and rowdiness of every riot is the voice of selfishness.

E. Selfishness hinders cooperation and brings division Why?

1. It puts an I before a you and destroys the very possibility of an us or a we.

2. It prevents an individual from accepting the another man’s point of view.

3. Selfishness is the reservoir of complaints.

III. SELFISHNESS BLEEDS THE WORK OF GOD

A. Court records show , and volumes of books contain the history of individuals

and the sad commentary of church growth,

because selfishness has sapped the life from them and the work of the Lord.

B. Missionaries are kept from the field and souls lost in darkness because of selfishness.

C. Selfishness blinds the eyes to the opportunities for evangelism and revival.

D. Church growth is stymied, and stewardship destroyed through selfishness.

E. Love, concern, and compassion are lost in selfishness.

F. All of the trouble and problems within the church are all filtered through selfishness.

John Wesley said that

“selfishness is touchiness.”

IV. SELFISHNESS PRODUCES SPIRITUAL DEFEAT

A. All the graces of salvation and spiritual gifts lose their ability when the sin of selfishness is in one’s life.

1. This is Illustrated by the story of Abraham and Lot;

Genesis 13: 8-12

8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be †brethren.

9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

Lot’s Eyes on the natural things!

11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

B. King Saul failed to kill King Agag and took of the land the spoil for selfish and personal reasons—

for his selfishness his kingdom was ripped from him.

C. To follow selfishness, is to be defeated in spiritual life.

We should Be someone who is unselfish, generous, loving and kind.

4. Purpose in your heart to be a leader, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you be a person who others will want to follow.

Jesus said; Mt.23:11-12

11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

CONCLUSION:

The following is a prayer that was recorded and written down by a blind lady in a prayer meeting in her home in Athens, Tennessee:

“O my God, selfishness is thy enemy.

It is also my mortal enemy bent on my destruction. You hate selfishness, and I desire to hate it too.

You commanded the destruction of Agag. Grant me grace not to allow the foe of selfishness in my life, but permit You to wage war upon it.

If it hungers, may I never feed it.

If it thirsts, may I never give it drink.

Help me, my God, and circumcise my heart with your two-edged sword of the spirit, that I might from this time forward be Yours, and Yours alone.”