Self Centeredness - Sparks

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AbideinHim Apr 24, 2011

April 24 "Open Windows" by T. Austin Sparks

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I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk! (Acts 3:6 NLT)

The members of the new heavenly Israel are people who have been delivered from self-interest into God's interest, who have been put on their spiritual feet by Jesus Christ and are walking in strength in the way of the Lord. Do you not think it is a very significant thing that the first miracle after the Day of Pentecost was the raising of an impotent man at the gate of the temple in Jerusalem? These are not just pretty stories put together to make an interesting book. God knows what He is doing, and when He makes the first miracle of the Christian era the raising of an impotent cripple, He is saying that the people of this new Israel are people who have been delivered from this impotence and put on their feet spiritually.

There are a lot of Christian cripples about! They cannot get on their own feet, nor can other people put them there. You try to pick them up! They may take a step or two, and then down they go again. There are many like that, and you can spend your life trying to get them up on their feet. What is it that is eating the very life out of them? What is it that is making them such helpless cripples that they cannot walk? It is self-centeredness. Make no mistake about it, it is self in some form. It is self that wants to be taken notice of. It is self in the form of pride. This poor man was delivered because he knew his own helplessness and he believed what Jesus said. He believed on to Jesus Christ, which means that he believed out of himself. Yes, that is the secret - that we shall turn from our miserable selves and cease to be occupied with them, saying once and for all: "I am done with you, wretched self. I throw myself on to Jesus Christ. I take the one great step of committal." Jesus never lets such a person down.

By T. Austin-Sparks from: The On-High Calling - Chapter 2

sermonindex Apr 25, 2011

Mat 16:24 Then said 'Jesus' unto His disciples,
If any man will come after Me,
let him deny himself,
and take up his cross,
and follow Me.

THIS is the ROOT of ALL of our 'Problems'. Thank you Brother!

IF left on-checked - there is the potential to become so 'self-absorbed', in one way or another - by desire for position, to be followed, to be respected by others, or just to seek attention of any sort - that the person can become what the world calls a "sociopath".

Using the world's terminology - What is a sociopath?

1 - someone who is entirely self orientated. That even their good deeds are for 'self' reward, of one type or another.

2 - that see others as something to profit off of and not necessarily financially and that see those who get in their way of profiting off of others, as enemies to them and their motives and can attempt to injure that other person, in one way or another.

3 - those who's conscience is seared, because of these first two reasons.

4 - those who believe their own lies are those who the Bible says "..Loveth and maketh a lie." [Rev 22:15]
These are beyond an occasional lie, but one who's life is a complete lie, because they are constantly "scheming" and planning their next move or 'story' in order to promote their plans - even at other's expense.

This [the sociopath] is the full-blown results of self-centeredness.

The way of out of the dangers of being given over to sin or believing the lie [or becoming a 'sociopath'] -

Quote:

"There are a lot of Christian cripples about! They cannot get on their own feet, nor can other people put them there.

You try to pick them up! They may take a step or two, and then down they go again.

There are many like that, and you can spend your life trying to get them up on their feet. What is it that is eating the very life out of them? What is it that is making them such helpless cripples that they cannot walk? It is self-centeredness.

Make no mistake about it, it is self in some form. It is self that wants to be taken notice of. It is self in the form of pride.

This poor man was delivered because he knew his own helplessness and he believed what Jesus said. He believed on to Jesus Christ, which means that he believed out of himself.
Yes, that is the secret - that we shall turn from our miserable selves and cease to be occupied with them, saying once and for all: "I am done with you, wretched self.
I throw myself on to Jesus Christ. I take the one great step of committal."
Jesus never lets such a person down."

- T. Austin-Sparks

Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:
and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

J

jimp Apr 25, 2011

hi, ego is the problem and humility is the answer...no one can humble themselves to the point where you have something that will impact the world. you must have God forced humility.a good example is milton greens testimony. biblical examples are peter who after denying Jesus by the fire saw himself as a weakling and a poor example of a follower of Christ and it changed his life...isaiah,when he saw the Lord high and lifted up, saw himself as wretch and cried out woe is me...the firery coals from the altar of God cleansed his lips and his life was changed. the blinding of saul of tarsus and being knocked down to the ground got paul attention.jimp

sermonindex Apr 25, 2011

True Jim. The LORD has especially exposed me to what I described above and why I posted what I did.
It's pandemic anymore. We see it in the Corporate world, where it's dog-eat-dog and competition is cut-throat and on the rise.
Unfortunately, it's the main problem that has hit the Church as well - as men and women are falling away to false doctrines and sin. In order to 'remain' in communication with the Saints - these liars are having to truly do some under-handed slip of the hand (actually 'mouth') to remain amongst the Saints.
Those that I know in Ministry are seeing such an epidemic of this phenomena that I used a secular term for - but it's merely the Epitome of "Self" centeredness that T. A. Sparks was describing here. "Men will be lovers of themselves" and on and on in the context of where that verse is found ... and That is what we are seeing at work now, more than ever.

Allowing even one lie to come out of our mouths - opens the door to more and if the lie is for 'self-serving purposes' - this Really opens the door to all of the above, that is described as sociopathic behavior - but is just a term that can be used for those who are described by Paul in 2 Timothy 3 - men and women alike. If you put this description on paper and gave it to someone in psychiatry - they'd say that even if only half of that description of a person were true - the person is sociopathic - so I used that term for a lack of any other way to describe this group that Paul is discussing. They need not even be sexually immoral as such, but yet have a seared conscience.

No lie is of the truth and we truly need to raise our children well to understand the extreme danger of lying in the first place.
People think that they can control lying - but after not that long of a period of time - it too becomes second nature to a person, until they finally believe their own lies and then are 'given over' to believe satan's lies.
Self-centeredness and lying are a lethal combination, spiritually. It's advisable to check our hearts and motives with GOD's help and Light and ask Him to show us our true hearts, No Matter the Cost - in these, just beginning of spiritually perilous times.

Deception is rampant and ramping up. Truly a time to stay on our faces in fasting and prayer to have GOD deal with "any" wicked way in us that we may or may not be aware of - before it gets any darker in this present evil world. The heart is deceitful and can't truly be trusted to know itself.

We Trust Him to shed His Light on those who ask in Sincerity and pray one for another - considering ourselves, lest we be tempted - knowing that The LORD knows those that are His and we need not fear others.

This post by Sparks is a true gem
and we pray that GOD Bless our Brother Mike with a physical healing of his fractured ribs, in Jesus Name we ask and use it to Your Glory LORD GOD and his long-term Blessing. Amen!