Stop Comparing yourself with others - Dr. K. N. Jacob

the summon title today stop comparing yourself with others let me begin by asking who do you secretly compete with you may never tell us you may never confess that there is someone you are together in high school in college in your first job and you secretly wish you have a better car better house better husband better wife who do you secretly compete with that's the question i'll try to answer women for example compete over their looks my nails my hair my outfit my shoes my shape women compete of addressing they even compete over the month in their life oh my man is a governor he's an entrepreneur hey come on my my dude is a billionaire or he's six pack must he's unlucky her money is so small women compete over their children where do they go to school what sports do they do women compete over their house how neat it is in their opinion it's site it's location men compete mainly over money your bank balances what type of a car do you drive what is your rank what's your position at work men compete over investments what do you have to show for your ears men compete even over drinking there are some men who will actually host a bash just to show off it was not to entertain their friends they need to show them i'm okay man come for barbecue even sometimes in the pubs they are not buying each other drinks because of how much they love each other but how much they want to show them i'm i'm doing all right men compete over their women sometimes they even fight over ladies but as they settle down in life they want to show off their women the woman in their lives teenagers compete over how they look that's why they keep ripping off the jeans who has ripped more they compete over their school grades they compete over sports what sport do you do they imagine some sports are more prestigious than others kids get into relationships casually just to brag i have a boyfriend check me out i have a girlfriend they will get into casual sex just to maintain a fake relationship in high school they compete over the type of their phones you know we are in a comparison culture and that's what forces us to buy stuff we don't need using credit cards and pay for a lifetime to manage a plastic image people in the same career compete over positions all the companies they work they flash their business cards every time they meet on coffee table hey i'm the marketing director what are you dude people in the same industry compete amazingly enough even past us how many guys are in your church people in the same industry use a term competitive advantage we have developed enough terms how do you leverage over competition and the idea here is based on classic economics you gain a dollar when somebody else loses a dollar we were never taught that we can enlarge the cake we were taught it's only s this much big think about it from different fields think about for example in church over 90 percent of people did not go to church this morning but what do we do as pastors we are thinking about the person in who attends church rather than growing the kingdom of god how do i poach from the other place and the same is true in every industry rather than thinking of so many customers out there who are not in your insurance company in your bank who don't buy your health products so don't buy clothes from the shop you go we keep on thinking of grabbing the one who is already sold it's a comparison culture this beautiful morning i want to persuade you that you're unique from a scientific perspective at a biblical perspective there was a guy who computed the odds of your birth the odds that that spawn that photographed your mama's egg would come out as you from a scientific perspective and he concluded the odds of you becoming you a six times ten to the power negative 100 if you go back just to 10 generations just to 250 years not the 6000 years since adam was made and this is based only on one line the direct mail line ignoring your mother's contribution to your birth those who died in war and famine those who died in natural causes children who died before the age of reproduction are bottled fetuses and so on and so forth and this is where we get the concept of dna testing or dna profiling because scientists found out that all our fingerprints are unique 7.8 billion of us and not just for human beings even zebras have different stripes what a mighty god we serve can you imagine how unique you are that even twins monozygotic twins have different fingerprints i mean you look at anyone who creates stuff let's say like tesla they have an assembly line and every single car looks like the prototype but god has no assembly line you have you are nobody's prototype there is no mass production with a god we serve he made you unique the bible says you are fearfully and wonderfully made each one of us came here unique that's why copying others is an insult to who you are is an insult to your creator it is selling yourself cheap and i want to give you some three reasons why you should never compare yourself with others three reasons reason number one comparison is dangerous comparison is dangerous and i i just want to persuade you today just from the word of god comparison is born out of envy the funny thing is this comparison gives birth to envy and envy gives birth to comparison it's a catch 22 situation when you're envious of somebody's success you begin to compare yourself with what they have when you compare with them you become envious now fourth of september 2020 i was admitted i went through open heart surgery exactly one year ago yesterday exactly one year ago what surprised me i received over 35 000 comments on my facebook i've never received like that before now i want you to think critically and forgive me if i'm a critical thinker it looks like people are touched they loved me they prayed and fasted for me bless the lord for that but on the flip side of the coin if i posted how i own a home or a car or i have gotten another phd i wouldn't get those accolades you know what people identify with misery they identify with your failures the moment you're going the moment hey pastor also get sick now he will not be talking about hillary oh he's broke he's like one of us that's what people identify with so i'm telling you deep down their subconscious system they actually love it when you're down where they are that's why you you test it do very well and post however you're doing and tell me how many comments you will receive because misery loves company why deep down people's heart they don't want you to do well they are jealous they are jealous that's why it's easier for them to stand up with you when you're going through pain they are literally not standing up with you many of them are actually identifying oh you're just like us that's the reality let me show you how dangerous comparison is cain killed his brother abel why because abel had favor with god think about that they had the whole world in their hands a family of four people comparison made a brother kill a sibling to date siblings kill each other they bewitch each other because of envy why comparison but if this guy was doing just like we are doing nobody is concerned with bewitching him but seems he's doing better than us how can we bring him down let's try any tool joseph out of jealous and envy was sold by his brothers because his father favored him remember all the cases you fight about jealous it is a judgement on god it's a judgment that god is not fair why did you favor him god favored abel god favored joseph induced his father jacob and his brothers decided to sell him to slavery david was favored by god anointed as a teenager and because of god's favor saul went out to kill him through a javelin and mist launched a manhunt an entire army to hunt for david in the caves and kill him it only took divine intervention for david's life to be saved jesus was literally killed by the pharisees because of envy they wanted the power and the fame that jesus had and because they didn't have the power do you know what triggered the death of christ it is the miracle of raising lizards from the dead this was just two miles from the city center jerusalem the news broke loose and they knew they cannot silence the story of jesus any longer that's when the chief priest caiaphas gathered all these religious leaders and said we have to silence this guy once and for all trust me they knew that they knew that they knew this is a righteous man his actions speak spoke volumes but because of envy they plotted the death of jesus by the way in all the four cases i gave you they are cases of murder only that god miraculously saved joseph when they put him in a pete to die as far as his father jacob was concerned his son joseph was dead they even moaned him david case only a miracle rescued him especially when there were just the two of them with saul so was a well-built guy strong he knew how to kill that's why he was picked to be the king it was not his custom to miss the target it is god who shielded david in all these cases we are discussing murder cases out of envy birthed by comparison it's a catch-22 situation so when you begin comparing yourself with someone whether a sibling a former college mate the enemy is nurturing the spirit of murder in your heart that's what jesus said as long as you're envious of them you have already committed murder that's god's standard just like adultery so long as you look at someone lustfully and desire to sleep with them it's only that you're not getting a chance in as far as god's status are concerned you've already done it god's standards for jealous and envy is equal to murder because if you had the chance to kill them and not be jailed you would kill them lesson number two comparison distracts you that means that it destroys you it distracts you from focusing on your agenda from focusing on your purpose from focusing on your goals from pursuing your dreams as long as you compare yourself with someone else either you'll hit below the target because their performance may not be the very best or you will be discouraged because they are so blessed by god and you know who can be like warren buffett who can be like joel osteen who can climb up politically like joe biden because you have forgotten god never called us to acquire the same positions scripture says he gave son son son to the apostles prophets evangelists teachers and pastors ephesians 4 11 some not all of them for the equipping of the body god has allocated gifts according to his wisdom he wired you he created you specifically to carry those gifts to execute a defined specific mission and if you're given somebody else's work you may admire them you may end with them if you're given their responsibility you might do it so badly you mean as good focus on your dreams focus on your purpose comparison obscures vision it bless our vision it blights us from seeing right jesus gave one of one of the most fascinating stories i i nobody ever knew how to give stories like jesus there was never a public speaker like jesus in fact some soldiers were sent to arrest him and they went back and reported to the teachers of the lord no man never spoke like this man we listen to him and we are unable to arrest him i'm going to give you two of the stories he gave here is one a story you all know a master was gay was traveling to a distant country and he decided to give some talents a gold a bag of gold sorry to his servants and one he gave five bugs and another one two bugs and another one one bag guy who was given five bucks worked so hard when the master came back he had ten the one who was given two worked so hard when the master came back he had four in both situations the master commanded them for their holy work and he said well done thou good and faithful servant entity into the joy of the lord then the story takes a different twist the guy who was given one talent said to the master i knew you're a hard man i knew you like reaping where you did also this is the reason i decided not to get into the market and trade the gold you gave me you are such a bad employer you like making the profit out of your employees you make money but out of our box you kill us for your profits i know your heart i decided you can misuse others you won't misuse me for me take back the bag you gave me the master said okay here's the deal get into hell where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth you are a lazy and a worthless servant now that's not king james version that's jacob's version but here is the deal he was judged for his laziness for his attitude for his fear to invest for whatever reason the master is making it clear he will demurred a return on his investment he does not waste his investment you perform you're rewarded you don't perform your reprimanded the carrot and the stick with our master they are not two ways he demands performance and the reason this guy didn't perform is because of two things one he compared himself with the other guys how much was i given and two he was envious of the master success how can i give you back double what you gave me it's interesting that the master was not both that with the guy who returned four he was awarded as much as the guy who returned ten they didn't perform equally but they were committed equally why the master knew he didn't equip them equally he didn't expect equal returns on his investment and the message is this god will never expect from you from what he has not given you he will never demand out of us from what he has not already given us he expects it returns from what he has given commensurate to the investment he has made to whomever much is given much will be required lesson 3 god hates comparison god hates comparison one of the most fascinating stories jesus ever gave was about workers in the vineyard in your devotional time you might want to go into details matthew 20 1 to 16. now here there was a lad owner a guy with a large plantation if you may and he was looking for people to till the land at six in the morning he got some guys who are jobless and frustrated and he asked them why are you not working that's a weird question to ask people and they say the obvious of course no one has hired us all right how much do you want one denarius are you sure you want one denarius yes here's the deal come work in my farm at nine o'clock he went back to the shopping center where they were drinking their local brew guys why are you i don't know a job these days the economy is bad how much do you want one denali has come work he went back at noon and he asked a question that was offensive guys why are you i doing around the shopping center nobody has hired us master oh come over he went back at 3pm can you imagine the tension jesus was creating he went back at 5 pm and the job is supposed to close at 6. i wonder how jesus used to create these scenes 5 p.m you're collecting guys and telling them you're jobless yeah come over by the time they walked and reached the farm maybe it was 5 30. now it's six o'clock time for payments and he deliberately started with the guys who came at five here is your one dinner yes maybe one hundred dollars take your money go home thank you so the guys who came out three expected to receive to deny us they were given one they couldn't believe it the ones who came at noon by the time he gave one denarius to the guys who came at six they mobilized all the people who came before noon for a industrial strike how how can you give me one denarius the guys who came at five walk for half an hour you give them one denarius who are an unfair master come on guys did i negotiate with you did we agree did we make a deal how much do you agree okay but why did you give them one denarius like us when you gave them one denarius without now you're paying per hour so we thought we are going to get 12 denalia's listen guys he says this in matthew 20 15 don't i have a right to do what i want with my money or are you envious because i'm generous have i shall change you what's the deal we agreed one denarius with you at six in the morning and jesus was using very interesting examples to teach about the kingdom of god and there are many lessons out of this of course number one there are people who complain have been a good girl since sunday school i grew up as a christian and this holy god has just come to church and now he's married and i'm still saying go god you're unfair that's exactly how the disciples behaved when paul became a christian how can you save such a guy who killed stephen how can you save such a guy who went onto those zealously looking for believers looking for us who have been praying and fasting for the kingdom how can you give him the holy spirit and god used this from a crook than any other believer in christian history opening up churches all over europe and asia minor god goes beyond that and even picks one who did not even preach like paul one who was killing murdering repent crucified with him no time for catechism classes no time for baptism no time for holy communion and he tells him this day you will be with me in paradise this is the kingdom of god it doesn't matter what time you came this is the kingdom of god he is the master heaven is not yours it is and he's saying even this guy who comes and i'm dying and he has repented today you will be with me in paradise not in purgatory in paradise where i am you will be this was very uncomfortable to the jewish leaders who had fasted three days a week who had tried their entire lifetime these lessons were very disturbing they were not ready to accommodate prostitutes like mary magdalene people who had stolen like zacchaeus everybody knew the record of this guy do you know how zacchaeus used to do his business he managed to purchase the license to correct taxes on behalf of caesar the romans didn't care what you do with that license they were very corrupt so he used to charge four times the required taxes the romans didn't care so long as they got the money they wanted so if they were supposed to collect if he was supposed to collect one hundred dollars from you he will demand four hundred dollars or you'll be beaten himself he had a huge system cartel he used to pay a number of brokers he was the richest man in that place and jesus says today i'm taking dinner with you in your house the pharisees said we have to kill this jesus how on earth can he validate such a corrupt man and jesus goes beyond that and says the chaos salvation has come today to your house because the son of man came for sick people like you spiritually sick not for those who think they have already acquired their righteousness zacchaeus was so rich so hated by everyone they kept thinking jesus if only you knew the kind of a guy you are talking about and jesus makes it worse he even takes wine with him and they labeled him a drunkard jesus was using these stories to annoy the established religious system and to show them this is a paradigm shift things have changed upside down the kingdom of god is totally different from your religious practices and i'm saying all this to tell you god favors whom whoever he wants he's sovereign whenever you see someone blessed of god and you have worked for so many years and then they started a business just two years ago in their 50s or like carl sanders who started kfc when you were 65 and succeeded and you have labored and toiled with your business and the best you have done after all years is to own a house god is god there is your part but there is a divine role to everything you have there is a divine favor to everything you have god blesses whom whoever he wants to bless and jesus made it clear so the moment you're jealous with others you compare with others and become envious the problem you have is not with your brother or your sister you need to pick up the beef with god the problem you have is with the blesser so jesus made it clear this kingdom of god has nothing to do with the time you came or how much you have worked in the land it has everything to do it's at the description of the master do you know practically speaking even landlords on this planet they really don't care who did the job they want the job done they don't care who did it what they care they need if they're harvesting coffee they need the coffee harvested so if he detects by 5 pm the guys i have are not likely to finish i didn't do my mother right the number of workers i have are not likely to finish the job and tomorrow if this coffee is not picked i used to export fresh produce to five countries some fresh produce like french beans if you don't pick them on the d-day they are called overgrown and they cannot be exported again they are used in the local market and the price drops by almost 90 percent they have to be picked on the d-day so they must have figured out unless i get other guys to pick the french beans i'm going to mess with my harvest so the master does not really focus on what time you came he needs the job done the question is what was the what did he agree with you you came you came to the vineyard to the master's vineyard when you're a child like me in sunday school the deal was eternal life another person will do it today the deal still remains eternal life what's my country have i been denied what we agreed that's the question now these problems of comparison are very ancient john and james felt special they didn't feel like they were like other brothers the other disciples and when they tried to explain how special they were to jesus and jesus didn't seem to understand they actually told the mother to go and speak on their behalf matthew 20 in verse 21 jesus asks the mother of these two boys the sons of zebedee what is that you want he asked she said grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom jesus said to them you will indeed drink from my cup but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant these places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my father so jesus said are you ready to drink of my cup for you to demand to be on my right hand and my left they said we are ready okay you will drink of my cup hot cup death they never understood the manner of death jesus was describing okay you drink of that cup but even if you do you cannot determine where you will sit in the kingdom of god all they wanted was to frustrate the other 10 disciples us we are the sons of zebedee you guys jesus doesn't treat us like you peter had a problem with john let me give you the context the story is too long peter denied jesus three times look at me don't look at the screen look at me for a few peter denies jesus three times jesus comes back from the grave and decides to reinstate peter three times simon peter do you love me more than this i don't know what jesus meant whether it's more than the fish whether it's more than the disciples i don't know what he meant by more than this could be any but do you love me more than this yes lord i do he asked him three times for every single time he denied jesus jesus reinstated him and then jesus told him how he's going to die he told him he's going to die in such a manner that he'll be taken by his killers his assassins to a place he does not want he'll be helpless peter was very sad then he asked jesus what about this guy what about this guy because jesus looked like he used to have a special place in his heart for john what about john how will he die if i'm going to die like that i expect a more brutal death for john jesus said what is that to you even if i say this guy will never die until i return what's your business you follow me do the mission i call you to do now we can read john 21 18-22 very truly i tell you when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted but when you are old you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go jesus said this to educate or rather to describe the kind of death by which peter would glorify god then he said to him follow me peter turned and saw that the disciple whom jesus loved was following them this was the one who had leaned back against jesus at the supper that's the last supper and had said lord who is going to betray you when peter saw him he asked lord what about him jesus answered if i want him to remain alive until i return what is that to you you must follow me in other words focus on your business your business your assignment is independent of john's assignment part in short what would you do if you are not bothered by what others think about you let me even ask a different question what wouldn't you do if you are not bothered by what others think about you what wouldn't you buy if you are not bothered with who is watching you what are some of the expenses what are some of the things you buy unnecessarily to show off what are some of the things you wouldn't do if you are not bothered who is looking at you how would you dress what where would you eat where would you live maybe you'd scale down your expenses i want to study this while you're bothered what others think about you i conclude by saying nobody is thinking about you they are so busy thinking about themselves believe me nobody lacks sleep because of what you have bought or you have not bought nobody is concerned you have created a forced narrative in your might of how people see me and my family you are torturing yourself with a story you have created nobody is bothered with what you do with your money with your time pursue your purpose don't be distracted by what others think about you will you receive it you

Channel: Dr. K. N. Jacob

Views: 9,656

Rating: 4.9125681 out of 5

Keywords: Motivational, talk;, Inspiration;, Preaching;, Teaching;, Personal, Growth;, Development;

Id: hygTLvx3uQg

Length: 34min 26sec (2066 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 07 2021