========================================================================
  FOR THY SAKE
  by K.P. Yohannan
========================================================================

Summary: The sermon emphasizes the importance of living for God's sake
and prioritizing His will in all aspects of life.

Topics: "Living For God", "Selflessness"
Scripture References: Matthew 6:1, John 4:34, Philippians 1:21

------------------------------------------------------------------------
DESCRIPTION
------------------------------------------------------------------------

K.P. Yohannan emphasizes the emptiness of living for oneself,
illustrating how self-centeredness leads to unhappiness and spiritual
decay. He warns against the false sense of fulfillment that comes from
doing good deeds for personal glory rather than for God's sake. True joy
and purpose are found when we prioritize God's will and live to please
Him, as exemplified by Jesus' own mission. By shifting our focus from
self to God, we can experience genuine happiness and fulfillment in our
lives. The sermon challenges us to reflect on our motives and to commit
to living for Christ's sake.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENT
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work"
(John 4:34)

The most unhappy people in the world are the ones who live only for
themselves. All that they do, they do only for their own sake. For these
self- centered individuals, the most precious things in the world is
their "self." Like a cancer that eats and destroys its own cells, the
self-centered individual is slowly dying inwardly.

Sometimes these self-centered individuals mask their concern for their
own physical and mental welfare by insisting that it is for "their
family." They are blinded by the pleasures and comforts of this world,
and seek only to gratify themselves as they hoard luxuries within their
households. Blinded to the truth of eternity, they cannot see either
their own true needs or the needs of the multitudes around them.

Sometimes, out of guilt, they will "do something good." But when they
do, it is with one eye toward the glory that will come to their name,
and the praise, influence and power that will hopefully follow. And if
these glories do not follow, the self-centered "do-gooder" then becomes
insolent, upset and unhappy. Bitterness replaces joy, because while the
deeds were good, the inner motive was corrupt.

But what a change when we come to the place in our life when we put
Jesus in the center--when we can honestly say, "Lord, for thy sake I am
glad to do all that pleases you." Our priority must not be our own joy
and happiness, but God's will, His name, His cause. Doing anything we do
for His sake makes all the difference in the world. Then, without
seeking it, the joy and happiness follow.

It is well to ask ourselves, "Why am I doing what I do. And why am I not
doing some things I know need to be done? Why is there no joy in my
heart and I feel empty, even doing good?" The answer could very well be
this: our good works are no longer being done for His sake, but for our
own pleasure. It is possible, as Watchman Nee once suggested, to be
serving the house of God and to have forgotten the Lord who is Master of
the house. "For me to live is Christ," wrote the Apostle Paul. He said
he did all things; "For Thy Sake." May we this day--and always--live to
do all things for His

========================================================================
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/kp-yohannan/for-thy-sake/
========================================================================