Francis Chan - Dying To Self

it is so good to be with you is my second time to the Philippi stayed for like a day this time I got here and I've been here long enough to learn some things about your culture probably the most notable see last time I came the only thing I remembered was the traffic this time what stuck out to me is I have never taken so many selfies in my life everyone is coming up to me asking if they can take a selfie I've never seen this anywhere in fact some of you are probably going nuts right now because you can't take a selfie so I encourage you everyone take out your phone for a second everyone take out your phone and here's what I want you to do just take a selfie with the person next to you would you do that just take one right now just just take a selfie okay get it out of your system okay just one and if some of you guys are going crazy it's like yummy isn't it okay good you guys what did we do sorry my voice is gone from the week but what did we do before selfies were invented do you remember those days man I remember when I was a little kid we would go to a waterfall and you know what we used to do we used to stare at the waterfall and we used to admire the waterfall and we would just look at and say wow that is so beautiful nowadays if you go to a waterfall the first thing that goes through your mind is I should take a picture of me me and I'll have the little waterfall in the background and it's become totally normal our first thought to take a picture of ourselves you guys the Bible says in second Timothy in second Timothy chapter 3 it says this understand this that in the last days there will come times of difficulty for people will be lovers of selfies ok they will be lovers of self lovers of money proud it's amazing to me that he says in the last days the world is gonna get really bad because and here he is talking about in the church in the church people will become lovers of self is in the church people will come in thinking about themselves he goes it's gonna get really bad in the last days they're gonna be focused on self you see when I was a kid we used to have this word called narcissism have you heard of that so it used to be if you took a lot of pictures of yourself we called that narcissism today we call it Facebook it's normal it's become normal for everyone to set up a page that's all about themselves and we don't think anything of it well of course well so am I gonna take pictures of who else am I gonna post about me you guys the Bible warns that in the last days it's gonna creep into the church where people will think about themselves they'll love themselves I'm willing to bet that 90% of you at least came in this morning thinking about yourself right and you come to church you think where do I want to sit who do I want to sit with I hope the speaker says something to me and it's good to me I hope they sing a song that I like you came in maybe some of you in selfie mode and you're just looking at yourself and and and you're maybe you came in cuz you you're looking at yourself one day and you're going gosh I've got some problems in life and so you come into the church and you start getting people hey come over here look at me look at my issues come on come here look at me help me I need help look at me look at me look at me and I know this because I've been a pastor for the last thirty years and I just want to say back home some of the most miserable people I know are the people who cannot get out of selfie mode there are people in my church that come week after week and no matter what I do for them it's never enough I can't please them I've just I give up I'm not enough I'll never be enough no matter what I say it's always well but look at how it makes me feel come over here let's look at me and let me tell you how I feel and I just want to say this morning I think the best thing I can do for you today is and the best thing the staff can do for you today at this gathering is there's a little button on your phone and if you push it it takes it off of selfie mode and you can't even see yourself anymore you can try to go yeah you you can't once it's off of selfie mode because I want to teach you that the secret to life the secret of joy in Christ is to get off of selfie mode and actually look at someone better than yourself to stare at I know this is counterintuitive the best thing you can do for yourself is to get over yourself and stare at someone more beautiful than you that's what David says in Psalm 27 he goes God this is just the one thing I want I just I just want to dwell in your house and I just want to stare I just want to stare at your beauty this is something that's been lost in this generation we feel like we have to be in the center of every picture and then we wonder why we're unfulfilled because the secret to joy is pushing that button and you stare at God and you realize that in heaven right now there's an amazing being amazing being you know we pray the Lord's Supper I mean that the Lord's Supper I mean you pray before the Lord's Supper but the Lord's Prayer and what do we say thy will be done on earth as it is where in heaven do you want that you want the earth to be like it is in heaven because let me describe what heaven is like and just give me a quick snapshot in Revelation 5 verse 11 it says this then I looked and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing and I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and forever and ever and the four living creatures said amen and the elders fell down and worshipped what's going on in heaven people taking selfies people coming up to God and say hey look at me look at me look at me no everyone is staring at him and they were all there for one reason all they wanted to do was come up to the lamb and go worthy are you worthy are you Jesus you are so worthy you deserve all the attention you deserve all the glory no one's looking at themselves they've taken themselves off of selfie mode because they see someone so much more beautiful why would I want a mirror in heaven that's the last thing I want to look at I want to stare at God and all of his glory and that's what we're trying to teach you in this church this is gonna bring you so much joy in life when you recognize you're someone so much more beautiful to look at the Bible says that he dwells in unapproachable light and there are millions of angels worshipping Him staring at him and yet many of us would rather look in the mirror and then we wonder why we're miserable what we're trying to teach you it at this church is to take your eyes off of yourself look at God and look at others do you know that every one of you has been given according to first Corinthians 12 a manifestation of the Holy Spirit like there's a way that God has gift that uniquely gifted supernaturally gifted each of you to where there's a certain way that the Spirit will work through you to bless other people I believe God's given me a gift that sometimes when I start teaching it's not me anymore and somehow it's the Spirit of God speaking through me to bless other people and the Bible says everyone has a gift like that at least one where it's a manifestation of the spirit for the common good but the reason why people don't figure out what their gift is is because they're not thinking about the common good you didn't come to the gathering today saying god I love these people give me a gift because I'm thinking about them and I actually want to bless them I'm gonna bless whoever I sit next to so give me a gift why because you're not in selfie mode you're not in that picture you're looking at other people in the face and going gosh I see her I want to bless her I see him I want to bless him God give me a gift you said that you would give me a gift so that I could bless him and because I love him you've gotta help me help me that's what I pray before I get on the stage I'm looking at your faces as we're worshiping I'm going god I don't know these people I don't know if they really know you I don't know if they came in just thinking about themselves and maybe they thought I'll come to church cuz it'll help me it's all about me and maybe Churchill helped me get rich maybe the church will help me again Elfi maybe the church will fix my family and I'm praying go God give me a word help me help me show them because I can't get into your your heart maybe I can get into your head just a little bit but I can't get into your heart I'm gonna God please please please when I'm up there would you speak through me would it be supernatural because selfish people oftentimes cannot see how self-centered they are and I'm saying God can you use me to open their eyes to just how much they think about themselves and how that's the very thing that's destroying them it's a I love what it says in Philippians Philippians chapter 2 starting in verse 1 he says so if there's any encouragement in Christ any comfort from love any participation in the spirit any affection and sympathy he says complete my joy by being of the same mind having the same love being in full accord and of one mind do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves this is Scripture he's saying do you get anything from Christ you get anything from participating in his spirit as it goes then do something for me make my joy complete he goes when you gather consider others more important than yourself in fact don't do anything based on selfish ambition don't come in here on selfie mode thinking about yourself actually come in and consider others more important would it be crazy if you just parked blocks away because he thought you know I'll walk let someone else have the goods good parking spot you know how many of us I'm not gonna ask for a show of hands but I am really curious how many of you came in thinking I'm gonna bless someone today I'm thinking about others and others are more important than me and I wonder how many of us came in thinking about ourselves you guys like I said this is so counterintuitive because all of modern-day counseling seems to get you to focus on who yourself let's look deeper at you well let's go back to your childhood let's go back when you're in your mother's womb you know let's let's talk about you let's talk about you let's look deeper and deeper at you you guys and this is never ending cycle and we get caught up in it and what's sad is it even it even gets into the church where I've heard people twist the scriptures even scriptures that are meant to get us thinking about other people people turn it like love your neighbor as yourself what is Jesus saying hey love other people and people look at that and they go well it says love them as yourself and I don't love myself that much so I'm just gonna work on that part first and I'm gonna love me because until I really love me I can't love other people that's not the point of the verse you already love yourself that's why you're always thinking about yourself and that's why you're always saying yeah I think I love me and let's go get me let's look at me people go yeah I just don't love myself I go yes you do every time we get together you want to talk about you and your problems your issues why because your truly in love with yourself and what Jesus saying in this passage is get over yourself and love others same thing Paul saying here the Philippians consider others more important than yourself that was the example of Jesus Christ he didn't come to be served he came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many and if he really is our role model and we take on the name of Christ this is what's gonna bring us life Jesus came to rescue me it came to rescue me from myself and Francis Chan was leading me into misery he was Francis Chan was just always telling me to look in the mirror and God had a solution for that God had a suggesting he goes how about we kill Francis Chan that's what it means to become a believer I'm an agreement with God have gone I really don't like Francis he is gonna lead me to destruction and that's why in galatians chapter 2 verse 20 Paul says I've been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me do you understand that's a picture of baptism is that you know what I don't want Francis in charge anymore I want him crucified would you kill God would you kill Francis Chan Francis Chan hurts people Francis Chan's always thinking about himself Francis Chan just wants to do whatever he feels like doing we need to kill him so that the spirit now will enter into and start living through me so that I'm not always staring at myself it's actually Christ who lives through me and lives in me and Christ would not come in this room thinking about himself Christ would come in looking at everyone else Christ would come in and go hey this is my father's temple he would stare at the Father he would stare at your needs and that's what the spirit can do in your life he can save you from yourself he can save you from this selfishness because you're never gonna be happy as long as you're staring at yourself and it's then and only then I mean can you imagine if everyone in this room had the same mindset like it says in Philippians could you imagine if everyone walked in with the same mindset where they said I'm not gonna do anything anything out of selfish ambition could you imagine what an amazing church this would be if everyone came in thinking about others there's this passage and there's this passage in Hebrews does this look weird well so does this when people come in and this is the only time they eat okay this looks weird I should not be drinking out of a baby bottle right that's the same thing Paul says in Hebrews he says for though well the writer of Hebrews which I think as well for though by this time you ought to be teachers you need someone to teach you the basic principles of the Oracles of God you need milk not solid food for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled and in a word of righteousness since he's a child Paul says some of you should have been teachers by now like you've been going to these gatherings and pastored Peters like come up here come up here come here suck on this bottle let me feed you and for some of you this is the only time you eat all week long you don't even know how to pick up this book and feed yourself that's what we're trying to do is get you to memorize some verses get in this book so many of you have never even read this book you come here and go well I'd rather come and have Peter feed me and I'm just telling you that's weird that looks really weird for him to stand here every week come on up come on up and then you complain goon you didn't feed me enough impulses are you kidding me is this really going on this is really going on you should have been a teacher and you're up there complaining that you didn't give you the little Baba for long enough you didn't feed me enough pastor I heard this my whole life you come in like I'll I didn't get enough from the worship I didn't get enough from the sermon he didn't feed me enough well well and they're like well your sermon wasn't good enough it's like no you know why you're unhappy it's your fault it's you you suck you do you come and you suck out of this bottle every week and you suck all the life out of me and it's still not enough and you start sucking from everyone else have you ever considered the reason why you're not happy is because you suck you do it's not the life out of people that's the reason why your marriage sucks is because you suck you don't have enough God says in Jeremiah 2 he goes don't you understand I'm a spring of living water but you're going and you're trying to dig these cisterns and try to get life from all of these other people and it doesn't hold water but I'm a spring of living water that's why David says the Lord is my shepherd I don't suck I found that suck I don't want from other people he was in fact I've got this cup and it's like spilling over onto everyone around me why because I'm so fulfilled in this look other people are never gonna give you the life you expect some of you suck as parents you're not fulfilled in Christ so you want you need something from your kids some of you guys suck as children that you don't even found your own relationship with God so you demand so much from your parents and so what happens when we are empty people we start trying to leech from other people and this is what causes the divorces this is what caused all the broken families and then everyone comes in the church wanting something for themselves and then we end up with a church that sucks right rather than a church that's overflowing with life where everyone comes in like my wife and I we've been married for 25 years and it's just awesome we just celebrate to two weeks ago our 25 year anniversary and as we're praying my yeah yeah clap that it's seven children amazing life and she's saying during prayer skills she says to me do you know if anyone is blessed as we are like I'm sure there's someone on the earth but it's hard to fathom why is that it's because she's got everything she needs in Christ and I have everything I need it I don't need from her I love her it's a blast there's no one I'd rather be with I don't need her I'm overflowing I get along with the creator of the universe and he fills me up and he is my shepherd to where I don't want I'm off of selfie mode and I I just get alone and I just stare through the Scriptures and I look at all the passages that talk about God and I'm just like you're amazing you're amazing you got a hundred million angels worshiping you they're bowing down to you like right now you're like an atomic bomb where where no one could even approach you and yet you sacrifice for me you saw me in all of my sin and you went after me and you had your one and only son on a cross for me no one's ever loved me like this and you're telling me right now you're looking at me as your son and you're gonna take me to be with you forever this is incredible this is overwhelming like we have this relationship so I'm so full man I don't come in here dry I don't go to my kids dry I'll go to my wife dry I'm overflowing why because I'm staring at him and he is so fulfilling no one else is gonna fulfill you like that we've got to stop driving the people around us crazy by expecting too much of them see some of you have really bought into a lie it's the same lie from the beginning the devil has been saying the same thing from day one what did he say to Eve he says that fruit looks good come on come on think about yourself just take it don't worry about what God wants he just doesn't want you to eat of that tree because he knows if you eat him then you become like him and now you're in charge and you get to decide what to do don't stay under his leadership go out you do you if you do you do what makes you feel good then when that sense all Satan was doing Satan was not saying hey look at me worship me it's just like no look at yourself and whatever you do let's get away from that God over there who's telling you to come under his leadership and those commands and him deciding what's good he has no right to tell you what's right for you you do you it's the same thing same thing thousands of years later here we are again and everyone's taking pictures themselves sharing their thoughts what they feel is right because they have the knowledge of good and evil and we as Christians were say no no this is different I don't want to look in the mirror I don't want to look at myself I want to look at him the Bible says you guys know the verse hopefully you know at least this one John 10:10 the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy and Jesus as I came to give you life the thief came to steal life from you you know how he does it he hands you a mirror he goes just keep looking at yourself tell yourself you're beautiful tell yourself you're gorgeous tell yourself that you have wisdom just look in that mirror and go you know you've got some pretty profound thoughts you better tweet those out that's how Satan destroys you he gets you thinking about self and Jesus says stop looking at yourself come to me you tired of it you you you just tired heavy laden come stare at me you know it's interesting I was just thinking about in Isaiah six when Isaiah saw God and all of his glory and the angels are screaming holy holy holy what is the first thing Isaiah says is woe is me a man of unclean lips it's like when he was staring at God in all of his glory his only thought about self was I am ugly I am disgusting I am dead you see when you see God in all of his glory then suddenly you see all of your imperfections and the beautiful thing about God is at that moment he sends an angel over there and says you got it you got it you understand now so let me take a coal from the altar let me touch your lips and cleanse you of all that unrighteousness now let me turn in you into something really beautiful now that you understand that it's not about you it's about this God and all of his glory see Jesus says not look at yourself he says deny yourself that was the message of Christ it's not you do you because you stopped doing yourself deny yourself pick up your cross and follow me and if you're gonna try to save your own life and show everyone your life you're gonna lose it but if you lose your life if you let go of yourself you deny yourself that's how you're gonna find life as I look at this crowd just keep thinking I don't know anything about your lives we know so little about each other some of you've gone through some pain some hurt and please I'm not trying to diminish that okay and I'm not saying that there aren't times when we throw out the truth about our lives to other people that's what the church is for but there has to come a point where you stop looking inward for the solution I want us to stare at him right now this holy holy God that says I want to enter into you I want to come in and push that button that takes it off of yourself and on to others and I just if I were really thinking about you right now I'm just Lourdes convicting me right now it's like Francis are you really thinking about them and saying everything they need to hear I know how easy it is to just go to a service I know how easy it is to just come and be fed and leave here feeling a little bit better because you were nourished it's not we're gone once for you it's not enough he wants you to know him to love him men to you longed to be alone with God like I said in that video there's just something strange when people who say they love Jesus don't long for his return I mean honestly when's the last time you're just longing for him to come back not because you were depressed not because you had a rough day but because you're in love I mean this morning I'm getting text from my kids you know back home and I'm texting I'm back and I just smile because I just picture their faces back home and I can't wait to get back to them in a couple that's what you do when you're in love but I meet so many people who call themselves Christians and they don't long for the return of Christ they'll be honest and tell me gosh it's been years since I've wanted him to return some of you can go a whole week and go man I can't wait till next Sunday where I get fed again and I can come into the presence of God okay last thing I'm gonna say I I used to love doing this I still do them this is cool but I used to love feeding people and I kind of saw myself as Moses you know how in the Old Testament Moses goes up the mountain it's a crazy scene okay you got yeah we got five minutes okay and in Exodus Exodus chapter 19 verse 9 it says the Lord said to Moses behold I'm coming to you and if they cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you and you may also and and may also believe you forever verse 10 the Lord said to Moses go to the people consecrate them today and tomorrow let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people and you shall set limits for the people all around saying take care don't go up the mountain or touch the edge of it whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death no hand shall touch him he shall be stoned or shot whoever whether beast or man he shall not live but when the trumpet sounds a long sounds a long blast they shall come to the mountain so then on veut in verse 16 gym 216 on the morning of the third day there was thunder lightning a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast so all the people in the camp trembled then Moses brought the people out to the camp to meet God they took their stand at the front of the mountain now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord descended on it and fire the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln and the whole mountain trembled greatly and as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder Moses spoke and God answered him in Thunder the Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up okay isn't that a great scene like when you imagine if I said hey this morning is there a mountain nearby I don't know your mountains mounts you know whatever lumpia we're gonna go over there and and we're gonna meet God and I say stay down here if you go up even a little bit you'll die and he says Francis come up and you're listening to thunder coming from the mountain you're seeing fire and here I go up the mountain I am gonna meet with God I mean you're looking you go that's insane Francis is going up there and the whole time you're going oh I can't wait till he gets back I want to know what God said what did God say what did God say and I come down the mouth because this is what God said this is what I did week after week after week and I don't mind I like the one up the mountain I'd like going in the presence of God but you guys when I realized just a couple weeks ago as God has not called me to be Moses to anyone because we're in the New Testament now and something happened when Jesus died on the cross the veil was torn the veil to the holy holy meaning not just the high priest goes in there once a year but everyone has access to the mountaintop so the worst thing I can do is be your Moses you are supposed to go into his presence you can enter in his presence by the blood of Jesus Christ and until you start doing this and you start gazing at his beauty until you do that you're never gonna be fulfilled and you'll be sucking the life out of everyone but when you've been on that mountaintop and you've been in the presence of God your cup overflows and you know I really don't need anything else so my prayer for you this morning is that any of you that go I've never been to the mountain I don't enjoy speaking to him he's scared for you because the Bible says there were many people who did a lot of things and Jesus isn't last day when you come to judgment Jesus gonna say I never knew you he never even came up halfway to the mountain or you that one that just kept sucking off of the sermons I never knew you you guys that needs to change don't you want it to change doesn't it sound exciting to go up the mountain top yourself this is what God wants from you that's when you begin to spill over that's when you become teachers rather than eating milk anymore because you know him I could leave you with anything if you don't know him get that right if you've been stuck on selfie mode talk to a leader here and say it's time to kill me how about we kill some people this morning why don't we kill him by baptized let's drown them to where they're dead and they come back alive in Christ and Christ starts flowing through us and we create a church that does not suck a church where everyone is just spilling over with spiritual gifts blessing one and for the common good father would you please do that miracle here if not here somewhere Lord I just want to see a church where everyone is a giver I pray that could be here Lord in Jesus name Amen [Applause]

Channel: Crazy Love

Views: 359,940

Rating: 4.9245205 out of 5

Keywords: francis chan, church, GOD, Jesus, Crazy Love, Crazy, Love, Dying to self

Id: l-jpc1pU-_w

Length: 41min 25sec (2485 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 24 2019