Key points
1Cultural sayings that sound encouraging actually center on self, and selfishness never leads anywhere good
Pastor Linn lists common phrases — do whatever makes you happy, you have to love yourself first, you do you, self-care — and shows they all boil down to the same core idea: it's all about you. He asks whether selfishness actually works and answers that it always leads to destruction, pointing to rough early years of marriage, broken parenting, ruined friendships, abuse, and crime as evidence that selfishness sits at the core of each.
Selfishness always leads to destruction every time
Every single divorce, every single divorce at the core of it is selfishness
2You cannot follow Christ and live a selfish life, and studies even show selfish living produces more anxiety and depression
He argues that a life built on selfish decisions will constantly clash with Scripture's calls to wait, to tithe, and to sacrifice, putting the selfish person perpetually at war with God. He adds that research shows people who live selfishly experience more anxiety and depression than those who live with kindness and selflessness.
3Jesus said the world will know we belong to Him by our love for one another, which requires real community
Reading John 13:34, Pastor Linn explains that love for one another — not attendance, theology, or giving — is Jesus's own marker of authentic faith. He notes that sitting in a room of strangers every Sunday hides this love, but community through small groups or Bible studies lets that selfless love become visible.
4Philippians 2 shows Jesus's selflessness as the model: He set aside glory and became nothing for us
Working through Philippians 2:3-8, he unpacks 'do nothing out of selfish ambition,' valuing others above ourselves, and Christ's choice to empty Himself, take on human likeness, and become obedient to death on a cross. He illustrates the scale of that gap with a picture of a person becoming a snail to save snails, saying the gap between God and us is even greater than that.
5Selflessness always costs something and always causes discomfort — it isn't giving from your leftovers
He contrasts offering pie you've already had four pieces of with offering pie you actually wanted, and contrasts dropping $20 you won't miss with a gift that actually costs you. True selflessness, like Jesus leaving glory to be spit on and crucified, always involves real sacrifice.
You realize the gap between God and you is greater than the gap between you and snails and he selflessly set it aside for you
Nobody has ever seen a Christian be selfish and went, man, your Jesus is so cool
Illustration
A hypothetical story about becoming a snail to save snails on a sidewalk, used to illustrate the gap between God and humanity
6Because Jesus was selfless, God exalted Him — and God works the same way in an upside-down kingdom for us
Reading Philippians 2:9-11, he shows that Jesus's humbling led to His exaltation and every knee bowing. He applies this as a kingdom pattern: what looks like loss to us is actually gain, and God honors selflessness rather than selfishness.
Jesus lived the greatest life ever and he did it by being selfless
7Malinga's story shows God rewarding two years of selfless suffering with far more than it cost
He tells of Malinga, wrongly imprisoned in Tanzania, who chose to preach the gospel daily and personally care for the very smuggler who got him jailed, leading thousands of prisoners to Christ. Malinga was later given full scholarships for both a master's and a doctorate, which Pastor Linn frames as God exchanging two years of selflessness for what would have taken ten years to earn.
A story from life
The story of Malinga, a young man wrongly imprisoned in Tanzania who chose to serve and preach the gospel there and was later rewarded with a scholarship and doctorate
8Selflessness starts with practical, everyday generosity of time, talent, and treasure
He shares personal stories: Tom Lutz letting an eighth-grade Pastor Linn come to his house daily for a year and a half, Jody Newby giving a day to teach him to repair his own roof, and a young couple leaving an envelope of gas money on their windshield when they had nothing. Each illustrates ordinary, costly generosity rather than grand gestures.
He honors our selflessness, not our selfishness, our selflessness and he raises us up
A story from life
A memory of Tom Lutz, an eighth-grade teacher who let the preacher, as a boy longing for a father figure, come to his house daily for over a year
A story from life
A memory of Jody Newby, who volunteered his time and skill to repair the preacher's roof as a young homeowner
A story from life
A memory of Steve and Darlene Evers, who left money for gas under the windshield wiper of the preacher and his wife during a financially difficult season
Application
Pastor Linn frames the challenge as praying for seven days for God to show you who needs you to be selfless.
Pray for divine appointments to be selfless
For the next seven days, ask God to bring people into your life who need you to be selfless for them, and to open your eyes so you don't miss the moment.
Get into real community, not strangers
Join a women's or men's Bible study, a small group, or small church so your love for others can actually be seen and lived out, not hidden by sitting among strangers each Sunday.
Give selflessly of your time
Look for ways your time costs you something for someone else's benefit, like showing up consistently for a struggling family or a student ministry night, even when it's inconvenient.
Give selflessly of your talent and treasure
Use practical skills, like repairing someone's house or car, or give financially in a way that actually costs you, such as covering a Christmas gift or camp scholarship for someone else's child.
Take it into your week
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
