Summary:

Selfishness hinders you from experiencing your God-given right to have positive results. Satan will try to deceive you into thinking that everyone and everything else, and not your own
selfishness, are to blame for your life's troubles. The best thing that
you can do is to cultivate the love of God within you. A heart that's
motivated by love is connected to an unlimited supply of God's
anointing.

1. Selfishness is the root of everything that goes wrong in a believer's life.
   
   1. The Devil is not your greatest enemy—you are!
      
      1. Satan wants to convince you that he's the problem so that you'll never accept responsibility for the things that have gone wrong in your life.
      
      
   2. Godly character is unselfish and is the root to the power of God.
      
      1. Applying spiritual principles to your life without first having the character of God is fruitless.
      
      
2. Various spiritual gifts are available to every believer (1 Corinthian 12).
   
   1. Spiritual gifts, or anointings, are made available to you the moment you become born again; believers are impregnated with the anointing (the
      burden-removing, yoke-destroying power of God).
      
      1. Because the Holy Spirit dwells in your born-again spirit, you have wisdom, knowledge and supernaturally ability.
      
      
   2. God wants you to experience great manifestations of the Spirit so that you can profit in every area of your life (verse 7).
      
   3. As a member of the body of Christ, you have specific assignments and have been empowered with access to spiritual gifts to accomplish them (vv.
      8-30).
      
   4. Although spiritual gifts are important, you must strive to purse the "excellent way"—a lifestyle of love (verse 31, AMP).
      
      1. The word excellent comes from the same root word as love.
         
      2. Strive to excel in developing the character of God.
         
      3. Love is the preeminent force; it is the foundation of your Christian walk.
   
   
3. Spiritual gifts fail without love as their motivating force (1 Corinthians 13:1-11).
   
   1. Character supports the love walk.
      
   2. Love never fails, because God is love; there's no failure in Him (verse 8; 1 John 4:7-8, 16).
      
   3. Like a tree, the different manifestations of the anointing—prophecy, healing, speaking in tongues and so on—are branches. God (Love) is the root and life of the tree.
      
   4. Failure is a result of living without developing in the love of God.
      
      1. God (Love) is perfect; therefore, believers should strive to perfect His love within them (Romans 5:5).
         
      2. Unfortunately, many Christians are highly developed in selfishness.
      
      
4. Love and selfishness are "reciprocal" forces—they oppose one another.
   
   1. In mathematics, reciprocals are "alternates." Example: the reciprocal of 7/1 is 1/7.
      
   2. To be selfish is to "regard one's own interest;" selfishness is "a devotion to one's own interest."
      
   3. As with Adam and Eve, Satan wants to take your focus from God; he wants you to focus on yourself.
      
      1. Adam and Eve were blinded by the idea that they could become like God, not realizing that they were already like Him (Genesis 3:1-5).
         
      2. When you're only concerned with yourself, you are no longer God-conscious; instead, you are self-conscious.
      
      
5. Your life is the sum total of operating under either the law of the Spirit of life or the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2).
   
   1. The law of the Spirit of life governs love, faith, the kingdom of God's system, the life cycle, health, prosperity, deliverance and eternal
      life.
      
   2. The law of sin and death governs selfishness, fear, the world's system, death, sickness, poverty and bondage.
      
   3. To break free from selfishness, you must stop living by the law of sin and death and begin operating in love.
      
   4. Perfected love casts out fear, selfishness and everything else that is governed by the law of sin and death (1 John 4:18).
      
   5. Cultivate the fruit of the Spirit, love, and examine your life for evidence of selfishness (Galatians 5:19-24).
      
      1. The fruit of love consists of the elements of joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and temperance (vv. 22-24).
         
      2. The fruits of the flesh (selfishness) are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
         emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envy, murders,
         drunkenness, reveling and the like (vv. 19-21).
   6. Deliver yourself from you (selfishness) so that God can deliver you from bondage.
   7. Let your actions of love be without selfishness (Romans 12:9, AMP).

Scripture References:

• 1 Corinthians 12:1-31
• 1 Corinthians 13:1-11
• 1 John 4:7-8
• Romans 5:5
• Genesis 3:1-5
• Romans 8:1-2
• 1 John 4:18
• Galatians 5:19-24
• Romans 12:9, AMP

Pastor Robert Bagonza

Redeemed Church

www,mrolec.org