Its Not About Me
Sunday, April 19, 2026
Pastor Germil Agenor
Watch the full sermon in it’s entirety here:
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves;”
Philippians 2:3 (NASB)
Jesus' heart is for every member of His body to not consider other members more important than themselves because they're depending on the other to survive. We should regard each other more important than ourselves.
Have you ever experienced Road Rage before Road Rage? Maybe you can admit that you were the raging one?
About 14 years ago, while driving on I-95 near Boca Raton, I struggled to merge at a crowded exit because another driver wouldn’t let me in. After finally squeezing in, a woman pulled up beside me and flipped me off. Angry, I chased her off the exit and confronted her at a light. She admitted she was frustrated and apologized, and I thanked her and left. Looking back, she seemed like a normal, kind person who just had a bad moment—and so did I. Neither of us was thinking about what the other might be going through. If we had shown more empathy, the whole interaction could have been very different.
This is what the Lord wants from us, that we would not live our lives going off of feeling alone, just responding and reacting to everything. Imagine who Jesus is and how Jesus was when He was walking on this earth with his disciples. Jesus did not react to everything.
Jesus on the cross is an example of what He’s calling us to be — more than a conqueror.
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
Romans 8:37
Right before Paul says this, he lists a whole bunch of things that happen to him. He says “What can separate us from the love of God? What can pull the love of God out of my heart to make me not love people?” Is it or hardship? Is it all these things that people are doing to me? This cannot separate me from the love of God at all? And then he says, “Now in all these things I am not just a conqueror, but I am more than a conqueror.” So I have to ask myself, what does that even mean to be more than a conqueror?
Let me tell you what I think it means.
When you read what Paul is saying. Paul is saying this as someone who used to kill people. Paul is saying this as someone who used to persecute people. So Paul had all the power within himself to destroy, to take down, to kill, to murder. He had that power. So as a Christian now, people are persecuting him. People are causing affliction in his life. Paul has the power to destroy. Paul has the power to take them down. Paul has the power to fight back. But he says, I'm not here to conquer this. I'm here to more than conquer this.
It's just like Jesus on the cross. His hands were pinned, his feet were nailed, and He's up there looking in the eyes of those who are persecuting Him, who are about to kill Him. And He looks at them like “I can conquer this situation. But I'm not taking up this cross to conquer it. I'm taking this cross to more than conquer it. Because I'm not here to defend myself. I'm here to love you.”
This is what it means to more than conquer situations.
Now here's the thing. When we get into arguments, let's just be hones, we’re trying to conquer. When we get into fights, we're trying to conquer. When we are on a road rage situation, we want to win. We want to conquer. When we are inn a road rage situation, we want to win. We want to conquer.
But God is saying, I don't need you to do all that. I need you to do more than that. I just need you to love.
Philippians 2:3 makes it clear that it should not be about us all the time. It should not be about us.
I. Learn to give yourself a break.
Truth is, we make ourselves the main subject when we look at the Bible. We read the Bible through the lens that, “Oh, I am David and I'm conquering. I am the main character in this. God is talking about me.” No, God is talking about Jesus in most of these things. We're not the main subject or the main character here.
We need a main subject to deliver us from our filthiness in our in our rags. Amen. We are Israel. We are the ones who are shaking in our boots because Goliath is there trying to destroy us. And we need a main character. We need a Jesus.
Sometimes if we're not careful, especially when time gets difficult, we place ourselves at the center of the worst-case scenario. Because if you're used to putting yourself as the main character when things go bad, you're still the main character.
This becomes a problem, especially for the church, when we start being the main character. This means we can't put others above or show others love and treat others greater than ourselves. We begin to, in a sense, untangle what God is trying to weave in our lives.
If it's about you, nothing will ever be good enough. No matter how many times God blesses you, you're always going to see something else that you deserved.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
You don't have to worry about you because God worries about you. He cares for you. The more you let yourself enter into the center, the more you push Jesus out of it.
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20 (NASB)
That verse kicks you out and puts Christ in.
With Christ living in us, we no longer treat people according to the flesh. We treat people according to the Spirit. We see people the way God sees them. So now this changes how we have interactions not just with people you love, but with the people you hate. I’ve you’ve been offended by someone, it's time for you to see them with Christ's eyes because Christ died for them.
If you have been treated bad by someone, it's time for you to learn how to treat them well, despite how they treat you. If you have been offended by someone and they are the enemy and you’re the hero in this story, it's time for me to take a step back and show them that both of you are enemies to God. It's time to forgive the person. And Jesus talks about this all the time. But the more we become self-absorbed is, the more God steps back. And if you're looking for breakthrough, if you're looking for a win, if you're looking for change, it begins with Jesus. It begins with you sitting yourself on the bench and allowing God to do his thing.
Give yourself a break. It's not about you.
II. Make yourself submit.
Paul says “Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit. But then he goes, but with humility of mind.”
Some of us think that humility is not stepping into your gift because you don't want to shine. You see people do this all the time. They have a great voice, and when somebody encourages them to sing, they shy away and make a big deal about it. All that means is you just want somebody to keep rubbing your back because it's about them. Sometimes we think humility is just curling back and not expressing who we are for the Lord. It’s a spectrum.
On one side, you can have somebody who's all about themselves. “I could sing, I do this, I do that, I dance, and I just want to do everything so that people can glorify me, celebrate me!” But on the other side, you have another person who's always saying, “No, no, no, thank you. I'm okay. I don't want no.” They have all this gifting and never want a display it for the Lord because they want to be “humble.”
That’s not being humble, that’s being prideful.
Imagine if gave your child the best gift that you could possibly give them, only for them to take that gift and lay it on a table, and let it collect dust.
That's what it's like when God has called you to preach, but you're sitting in them seats. That's what it's like when God has called you to be in the choir, but you're still sitting in the seats. That's what it's like when God has called you to do so much more, to go out there and evangelize and reach people. He keeps pulling on your heart. But for whatever reason, you feel that it's not time. It's not right. Don't you tell God what time it is. God is eternal. He doesn't move by your time. He moves by his. If God calls you to do it, go do it. If God says for you to start that, that that ministry or that business, you go do it, lest you be prideful. Because somebody out there needs you. It's not about you.
Humility is absence of pride. It's absence of vanity. Most of all, it's considering others more than you regard yourself.
Sometimes that means taking someone's advice that you don't really like, or somebody that you don't feel like you should respect for whatever reason. Don’t just take advice from everybody; use discernment. but if God is sending them, you may miss out on the leading in the direction that God is trying to give you through them.
Take Moses for example. He's walking and he sees a bush that's on fire, and the bush starts talking to Moses supernaturally. And Moses is having this conversation, and the bush introduces itself as God. So Moses continues to have conversations with God all day on, and he is going back and forth having conversations with God. He speaks to God like a friend in a time where no one could do such a thing. Then God calls Moses to gather his people out. All of a sudden, God gives Moses all these people to to direct.
In Exodus chapter 18, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, visits and advises him to delegate judicial responsibilities. He observes Moses exhausting himself by judging disputes alone. Jethro advises appointing capable leaders to handle minor cases.
Moses could’ve easily told his father in law, “Thank you so much for your advice, but I talk to God. Who'd you talk to?” the Bible never tells us that Jethro talked to God. But Moses talked to God directly. Some of us can get to that point where pride falls so much into our hearts, that we forget to submit.
But Moses wisely followed Jethro’s council.
If you’re called to ministry, that doesn’t mean you don’t tear down chairs. You can be called to a greater place but doesn’t mean you don’t do the bare minimum. God could give you a vision of you standing before multitudes, but you can still wipe a floor. Don’t resist just because you talk to God. Just because God gave you a grand vision doesn't mean He doesn't want you to be faithful with a little more.
One time when I was in the young adult ministry, we were putting together a New Year's event called “New Years in New York.” I’m creative so I thought “Why don't we put the Empire State Building on the walls?” We had light panels that I used behind some cutouts to make it look like windows in some buildings. We put a falling ball right there on the stage. We decorated the whole space to look like Manhattan. I was there for two nights, four in the morning, cutting out cardboard pieces that I was taken from Walmart and painting them and cutting things. We put all these panels on the wall. The moment people stepped into the building, they were so impressed and thought it all looked great. At the end of the service, pastor of the ministry begins to thank everyone who was a part of it. (Disclaimer, I love this pastor and hold nothing against him but this is part of the story.) He pointed out twelve people and thanked them. Then he asks, “Am I missing anybody else?” He looks right into my eyes and says “no, all right, good night guys!”
I got so upset and discouraged because I was burned out. I started to think “Is this what church is all about?” For me to do all this work and just not really be recognized? Is this what this is, God? (Keep in mind, I'm four months saved.) I thought, “No, I'm good. I had a good job that paid well. I had friends that recognize me. I had people in my life who rubbed my back and told me I did a good job. And now I did all this to get no credit for the thing.” I walked out of those doors and I got into my car and began to drive.
My destination was to go get drunk, but then God spoken to my heart. God said, “What did you do this for?” I responded “God, I did it for you.”
He said, “You sure?”
I said “Yes, I did it for you.”
“Good,” He said, “Because I saw what you did. And I loved it. I appreciated it.”
Then He said, “Now, if you did it for me, it doesn’t matter what they think and whether they saw it or not.”
He said “If you did it, why does it matter if anyone else recognizes it?”
God checked my heart and I turned my car around and went home.
You have a one-person audience in his life as a Christian, the only one that matters. In everything you do, do it for the glory of God. You know you’ve made it all about you when you care about what man thinks.
I want you to realize when you're doing this work, that it's not about you and the kudos that you're going to get and the good feelings that you because that's going to keep you up and down and it's going to ultimately kick you out the church. Because if you're depending on man to be your support, every single one of them are going to fail you.
God will never fail you. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. He will always see the work that you do. He will always be in it.
We have to get rid of the pride that is in our hearts. We have to wring our hearts of pride. Get rid of it. It's dangerous.
Pride says I know better. Humility says even though I know maybe I could still learn something. Pride says I'll never. Humility says God, whenever, whatever. Pride says, that's not my problem. Humility says, what's the problem? What do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? God, what do you want from me?
If we can get to that point where we're just completely surrendered to Him, our lives will be on the right path.
III. Leave Yourself Behind.
In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus teaches us the art of humility. Actually, Matthew chapters 5 through 7 is something we should all consume and have engrained in us. We should meditate on it and really live our lives that way. It's important to just be who you are in Jesus Christ. Let Him be the main focus. Leave yourself behind.
If the church did this we would simply be in harmony. No one would be in the need of anything if we just left ourselves behind.
We cannot put ourselves as number one. God is number one.
It's a problem for many of us. What need to do is read the Word of God, take it as a commandment. It’s not a suggestion. We need to live by the commandment and see how God blesses our live, blesses our relationships, blesses our finances, and blesses us in general.
Know that you have a hope and a future. Know that you have a God who will always take care of you. It doesn’t matter what you are going through right now. It’s not about you.
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
Philipians 2:5–7
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are equal to one another. They love each other. They're in community. They don't regard one as more important. We need to think about each other in order to be equal. God wants His church to be one. You can no longer think about yourself. You have to look at the body. How does this affect his body? How does it affect the body of Christ? How does this unify us? And it's not just what we do inside the building, it's what we do outside the building. How do we act and how does it affect the body?
The same verse that we talked about Jesus not regarding himself, even though He's equal with the Father. It continues and says that the father gave him a name that is above every name, so that every knee should bow. Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Even though it’s all about God’s will, Jesus still came down to serve and take care of us. Jesus gets all the glory. He's trying to show us something. Get rid of yourself and you will find yourself. Lose yourself to find yourself. Get rid of your will to find His. And you'll find yourself.
Have you felt like you haven't been you recently? This is an opportunity to get rid of yourself.
Maybe you haven't found yourself yet because you don't even know that you're saved. Maybe you don't really have a true relationship with Jesus Christ. Maybe you've been living for yourself. Jesus said, if you just give yourself to me, I will help you find the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
You can’t truly call yourself a Christian if you don’t walk with Christ. You can’t just add a sprinkle of Christ to your life. If you want your life to change, you need to make God the center of your life.
If you want to give your life to Jesus and make Him Lord of your life, pray this prayer today:
Father God,
I come before you today as a sinner in need of salvation. I've done some things in my life that I'm not proud of, but today I ask for Your forgiveness. I ask that You would deliver me. I ask that You would heal me, and that You would set me free. Father, thank You for Your Son, Jesus, who came down, and died on an old rugged cross. Thank You for being buried and resurrecting three days later for me to have life and life more abundant. Jesus, I believe in You and I make You the Lord of my life. Lead me, guide me as I leave myself behind. In Jesus name, I pray.
Amen.