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 EMPOWERED UNITED

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SELFLESS IN CHRIST.

Before one can speak about selflessness in Christ, one must first know what it means to be selfless.
Selflessness can be defined in the dictionary as this ‘the opposite to someone who is selfish, it is to think more about others and less about yourself, to be giving, caring and always willing to put others before yourself.’ When you are selfless your act of giving carries no ulterior motives, you do not look for personal gain to see what you can get out of it, but you do it out of the goodness of your heart.

To be selfish is to be unholy especially in Christ, selfish behaviour is not an act praised or encouraged. But rather being selfless works towards the thoughts and wellbeing of others first, put in another way to self- sacrifice.

As a SELFLESS CHRISTIAN you do things for others not expecting to be praised, pulled out to be rewarded or bought to the attention of others. Because you know deep within that it is not our will to glorify the flesh but to uplift and feed the spirit, the inner being. Let Christ alone within you be glorified.

Take a look at what it says in Luke 9: 23 ‘and He said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ This scripture is a good example of what it means to be selfless, the way of a Christian is to put aside their own selfish desires, shouldering your own cross daily to follow Him, to say that you know who God is and in Christ you stand for what it means to be a Christian and are ready to serve wholeheartedly, to live for the purpose God has for us all here on earth.



An interesting question for you... ‘DO YOU THINK OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IN TERMS OF WHAT IS IN IT FOR YOU, OR IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR HIM?’ ‘ARE YOU WILLING TO DENY YOURSELF AND TAKE UP THE CROSS DAILY TO FOLLOW HIM IF YOU HAVENT DONE SO ALREADY?’ Because anything less than this commitment is not discipleship but living you led life of following what you want in life and not the truth. Superficial actions and lip service is not what we are called to do. Our Christian walks should be an ongoing selfless lifestyle, because it is this same attribute Yeshua had that took Him to die for our sins.

Another good example of being selfless in Christ can be found in John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ This shows you God’s love is far from self-centred or selfish, but has always reached out to help others, true love for others willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. God paid the highest price anyone could pay and Yeshua accepted this and died for our sins and on top of that offered us new life that He bought for us.

This shows us to willingly give things up to leave our comfort zones and security, so that others can also have the chance to receive God’s love.

A selfless lifestyle must be shown to others to set a good example that we are not only Christians But know the origin of how selflessness came about to serve others. So if in Christ selflessness is a major attribute why then are ‘some Christians’ not living this way but the opposite? Where does it say it is acceptable in the bible to be selfish? Especially when we serve a selfless God.

Not everyone who says they are a Christian really are and that is why there is confusion in the masses because people are not living it but simply using it like it’s a brand name to try to cover their ungodly ways, which is not right at all. Let us take them up in prayer and not judge them because many are still lost and yet to find themselves.
Sadly we live in a world where it’s a ‘me first’ dominated way of living, ‘everyone is in it for themselves lifestyle.’

Selfish behaviour is common and no one wants to lose or come last in anything, so they are content with stepping on other peoples toes to make sure they make it to the top where they feel they belong, regardless of how they got there. Once upon a time and I hope I am speaking correctly for most if not all of you reading this, we all had that selfish mentality of wanting things for ourselves, not sharing and giving back to those who also need it.


BUT as time passed and we got older to learn more along the way, dropped those selfish habits and became selfless especially after becoming born again Christians. Many are struggling in selfishness and self-centred ways but refuse to see the error of their ways and so will continue to stay at a standstill until they realise. One can only go so far with that mentality and behaviour, and it is not worth losing yourself over along the way.

Romans 8:14 says ‘For as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God.’ This is a clear indication and a behavioural check to check that all our motives are good and of God, led by the spirit and not the flesh and a good representation of Christ and not the world. The ways of the flesh is not meant to make us feel good or yearn to have a status to fit in and suit others, it is the spirit we must work on and be led by but not what people will think and say.

Selflessness will take you out of your you centred comfort zone to help and support your neighbour’s needs, to move as led to put your needs second to others who come your way. This way of acting will always keep you in line to avoid falling victim of abusing your position handed down to you from God to help others. Most importantly too it will help churches and church leaders think twice before putting themselves highly above God and the word, the church is not a business and should never be seen as one.

You shouldn’t be moved by anything or anyone that will cause instant gratification of self-destroying the good works God alone has called us to do. We will be more effective carriers of the good news of the gospel if in our individual lives learn to be selfless and not selfish.

 BOAZ
BOAZ IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF ONE WHO LIVES SELFLESSLY TO HELP OTHERS. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN ONLY PEOPLE YOU KNOW, BUT ALSO PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW.

 
Boaz was a man of his word, sensitive to those in need, caring and loving, with a sense of integrity and his responsibilities, a successful business man and always did what must be done the right way.
 
Before the elders, Boaz proclaimed his intentions to buy Elimelech’s property, care for his surviving family and marry Ruth. He was willing to take over as kinsman-redeemer, even though it would come at a cost. He would have to provide food and shelter for both Naomi and Ruth. He would have to make sure their interests were looked after and they were safe. But to no surprise due to his selfless nature he was already providing for them without having to be told to do so, it was out of the goodness of his heart. Boaz is a model of what selflessness looks like, his God honouring ways showed this throughout.

Boaz is an example many can learn from, he was a living illustration of serving others despite the personal cost he would incur later. His motivation for acting as kinsman-redeemer was not driven by what he could gain but it was about what others could gain. This is the type of selflessness God desires from his people. It’s the kind of selflessness He gave to his people through Yeshua. It is important that as people filled with the life of Christ within, we are to be empowered to imitate His selflessness in our love for and interactions with others.


Both Yeshua and Boaz are awesome examples of what it means to live and love selflessly, our actions are to point outwards to others in need and not to ourselves alone. So when you are serving others, do not expect anything in return, God sees your heart and will bless you. Learn to think of it as serving others with a loving heart as a service of sacrifice to others in Christ. It should be able to be easy for you to do because isn’t that the loving nature we receive from God too?

Sometimes I hear people say, ‘but if I help you that will eat into my own time and I have things to do too’. Yes helping people will require you to give your time, but when it is being used for a great purpose that shouldn’t be an issue to be honest, because in Christ we are called to serve. It will be worth it because you are making a change in another person’s life no matter how big or small it’s a change.

Selflessness, can also push you to deal with people who aren’t so easy to deal with, you may be pushed to the limit at times, but in Christ not everyone you help will have an easy going mentality or positivity. But when you think back to all Yeshua did for us, you will learn to put aside your complaints about that person and help them more. When they begin to see your efforts and appreciate it will they come around. Sometimes the difficult people we interact with just need someone to show them genuine love.
Maybe they don’t have the assurance of knowing that they matter to someone. Perhaps they are going through a difficult struggle at home and need someone to reach out to them instead of writing them off as “unapproachable”

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi, ‘Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Yeshua’
All that is written in the bible should be our guide in how to be selfless to others, after all we belong to a selfless Saviour so we must also possess the same attitude of selflessness.
 
GOD BLESS YOU ALL 
Be sure to stay connected to the Ministry
WILLIAM McDowell - Here I am to worship.
Father we worship you alone, please have your way in our lives and may we continue to do what will glorify you alone. Amen
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