Sermon
Christ Is Servant | February 15, 2026 AM
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives.
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The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist
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Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us
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or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look
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us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this
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message from God's Word will be a blessing to you.
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Well, again, we're in Mark chapter 10, and I alluded to
Mark 10 chapter mention
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just a few moments ago, not just in the introduction but also in
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the song as well, that we're going to look at the fact that
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Christ is servant. Now, this might be the most
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startling of all of the titles of the messages we've looked at
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so far. And I was talking about actually
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this morning with the men during men's prayer, because when we
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consider that Christ is omnipotent, we remember looking
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at that last week, the idea that Christ is all powerful.
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That doesn't surprise us. We know that Christ.
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Is all powerful. We're not surprised of the fact
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that Christ is healing. We know that through the Gospels
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that Christ is the healer. In fact, we're not even really
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surprised that Christ is meek. Well, we might be at first, but
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that's because we don't understand often times what true
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meekness is. But we understand that it's
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power under his control. Of course, it just makes sense
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that Christ is healer as well, or rather, Christ is meek as
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well. But yet you get to the place
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where we say Christ is servant. And we got to stop for a moment
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ago. What the fact that Christ is a
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servant because it doesn't seem like omnipotence and meekness
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with power being under control would seem to go together with
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the fact that Christ is a servant.
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But yet, as we're going to see from Mark chapter 10 this
Mark 10 chapter mention
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morning, the concept of Christ being servant is not something
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that someone else has laid upon Jesus Christ, but rather
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something that he is going to communicate to us through his
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own words. And those red letter words that
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we're going to find in the book of Mark in chapter #10 that
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Jesus reminds us that he, he is a servant.
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And this morning, as we see the fact that he is the servant of
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all, we need to be reminded that the servant of all is calling us
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to servants, That the servant of all, Jesus Christ is also
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calling. Us to live the servant's life as
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well. For truly, if he can live the
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servant's life, we should be able to live the servant's life.
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So let's all stand together again.
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Mark chapter 10, beginning in verse #42 And as always, we'll
Mark 10 chapter mention
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read a shorter section, focus on what the word we're looking at
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is, and then we will broaden our scope to be able to understand
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why Jesus is even saying this in the 1st place.
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Mark chapter 10 beginning in verse #42 As soon as I get there
Mark 10 chapter mention
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and I am there, all right. The word God says, but Jesus
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called unto, called them, rather than understanding them, being
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the disciples to him, and saith unto them, You know that they
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which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles, exercise lordship
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over them, and they're great ones, exercise authority upon
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them. But so shall it not be among
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you. But whosoever will be great
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among you shall be your minister, and whosoever of you
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shall be the chiefest shall be servant of all, for even the Son
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of Man. Came not to be ministered unto,
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but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
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Let's look again at verse #45. For even the Son of Man came not
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to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a
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ransom for many. That word ministers often
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communicated just as the idea of, well, what I do as a
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minister, a pastor. But it really gets down to the
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idea of being a servant. And in that case, we're all
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called to be ministers and we're all called to be servants of
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Jesus Christ. For if the servant of all can be
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a minister, that we must be ministers and servants as well.
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Why don't you be seated as we pray together?
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Heavenly Father, we do thank you for this morning and I do thank
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you again for the opportunity to preach and understanding what a
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privilege it is and what a responsibility it is to be able
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to stand behind this desk. I pray that you give me the
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words to communicate the words of life, the words of healing,
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or this comes from your gospel. Be at the same time to
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understand that that gospel comes through a Christ who was a
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minister who gave his life as a ransom for many.
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And Lord, may we focus on this, dwell on this, and may it change
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us this morning to be the servants that we are called to
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be. And we ask it in Jesus name and
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Amen. Mark 10 verse 45 has been called
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the key to the book of Mark, and some could even argue that it
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would be the key to the entire gospel as well, where it says
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for even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to
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minister and to give his life a ransom for many.
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And in that short sentence, in that short verse, Jesus tells us
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three different things. He says what he didn't come to
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do. He says what he did come to do.
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And why he came to do it. And all three of these are.
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Important for us to understand not just the gospel, but our
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relationship with the gospel as well.
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First of all, he said what he didn't come to do.
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Well, what is that? For even the Son of Man came not
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to be ministered unto. If there was anyone who deserved
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to be ministered unto, it was Jesus Christ.
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Why? Because he is the Son of God.
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Why? He is God the Son, the Son of
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God, God the Son, the triune God in the flesh here on this earth.
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If there is ever anyone who should have been minister,
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ministered unto, it was Jesus Christ.
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But what does he say? Right after the chute?
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He says this I didn't come to be ministered unto.
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So he says, this is what I did not come for.
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But then he says in a very brief phrase, what He did come to do,
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and that was but to minister. The idea of the contrast that
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the Creator of all things came to serve His creation.
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Let's just stop about that for a moment, because it is.
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And a lot of times we get to this place where we just are
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used to the fact that Jesus did what He did.
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And certainly it should be something that we dwell on in a
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way that becomes commonplace. But even as we commonly dwell
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upon it, it should never become a common thought in our life.
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The idea that we just get used to the fact that the Creator of
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all decided to dwell with mankind and literally minister
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to that same mankind is something that ought to blow the
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mind of mankind if He really dwells on it for any length of
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time. He says I didn't come to be
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ministered unto even though He deserved that ministration.
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However He came to be a minister and then He said why He was
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ministering? What was that reason to give His
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life a ransom for many? The word ransom for many needs
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special attention. That word ransom, it comes from
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the Greek word lutron, which is the price for redeeming the
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ransom paid for slaves. There was a price that would
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need to be paid that was often talked about with slavery, that
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there would be this idea, this concept of someone who had been
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enslaved and a price would need to be paid to free them.
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Julius Caesar, at one point, before he was the first, Caesar
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was attacked by pirates on a ship and was held captive.
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During that captivity, he was told that he had to raise funds
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to be able to be freed. And so he had those who were his
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associates, those who believed in him and his leader.
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Leadership ability and they raised what the called what we
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would call the ransom to be able to pay so that he would be
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freed. By the way, when he was freed,
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he ended up killing all the pirates who took him.
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And so there's a whole different story that probably doesn't want
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to take us in a direction that we're going here with our text,
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but that is that is literally what happened.
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The idea of a ransom is something that Jesus is
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presenting to us for us to understand because it helps us
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to understand not just why Jesus did what he did, but also the
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predicament of which we have. Well, who is the one who's in
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captivity? Who is the one who has judgment
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laid upon them? Who is the one that has no hope
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for eternity? Friend, that's you and that's
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me. This is where we are and we need
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someone to pay the ransom. And here's the problem, not many
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people want to pay the ransom. And even if they could pay the
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ransom, they couldn't pay. Only Jesus has the ability to
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pay through his precious. Blood.
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How do you remember the old song, that old folk song?
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Charlie and the MTA? They may remember that.
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There's a few of you that do. All right.
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I do. I didn't hear, I've never heard
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of it till I moved up to Boston for obvious reasons.
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But the story was based on the fact that there's this guy named
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Charlie back before he was even called the MBTA and he's riding
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down on the Green Line. I think it's going down to
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Leechmere or something like that and he has enough money for the.
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Fair. But back then you also had to
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have a token for the exit fair as well.
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Well, Charlie went down to the green line and he had a token
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for the fair, but he had no token for the exit fair.
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So what happened to Charlie? You just kept riding around on
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the MTA over and over again, day by day because he couldn't get
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out. You know what the interesting
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part about that song is? Somewhere near the end where it
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says that his wife came down every.
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Every day and gave him a sandwich and a bag of lunch.
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And I'm thinking, you know what, if his wife really loved him,
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why didn't she give him a token to get him out?
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Forget the sandwich. Put a token in that bag.
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Lady, I want to get out of here. There's a lot of people who are
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just like that. They're trapped and there's
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nobody that can pay the ransom. There's nobody that wants to pay
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the ransom. Nobody even understands what the
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ransom is, but there's Jesus Christ that here we are.
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We're riding around in the endlessness of life and we don't
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know which way to go and we don't know which way to turn it.
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Here's people who try to give us the advice of self help.
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Maybe that will get you out. And here's the someone who will
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give you the advice of false religions and maybe that will
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get you out. And there's some people who will
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give you the advice of just trusting the God within you and
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maybe that will get you out. And that's just the same as
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someone coming down and giving you a sandwich and having you
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keep riding around and. Circle but nobody wants to help,
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but there's Jesus Christ who gave his life as the ransom for
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many. By the way, we believe in a
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whosoever gospel and Jesus believed in a whosoever gospel
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when it talks about many who is that many people?
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Well, the many people of the all people who ever lived.
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That's many people. That's all whosoever gospel we
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believe. Don't get worried because it
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says many how many people lived on this earth?
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Many and Jesus died for them all.
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Amen. He gave his life a ransom for
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many. He paid the money he paid, or
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rather He paid the ransom of which we could not pay.
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How did He pay? Well, first Peter one verse 18
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and 19 say, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed
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with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain
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conversation, retrieved by received by tradition from your
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Father's, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb.
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Without blemish and without spot, that is what the ransom
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was paid with, not with silver or gold.
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Corruptible meaning this it goes away, but with the precious
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blood of Jesus Christ. And what's amazing about this is
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Jesus didn't just do this for the people who loved him.
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In fact he did it for the world who did not love him.
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You say, well I love Jesus and my answer to that would be you
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love him now, but you didn't always love him.
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I didn't always love him before we knew him.
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First John verse four, or First John chapter 4 verse 19 says we
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love him because He first loved us.
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Romans 5, verses 6 through 9. For when we were yet without
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strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
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For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet for
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peradventure a good man, some would even dare to die, but God
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commendeth. God showed His love toward us in
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that why we were yet sinners, even knowing who we were.
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Christ died for us much more than being now justified by His
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blood. We shall be saved from wrath
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through Him. Some of us have been in
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situations before where perhaps debts have started to mount up,
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where there was difficulty in being able to pay those debts
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that start to accumulate through credit cards or through loans or
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whatever it might be. And you get in those situations,
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what do you have to do? Well, I've always been told that
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if you have a income problem, your income needs to go up or
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your outgo needs to go down. And when it comes to debt, all
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you got to do is get your income up.
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So what do you do? Maybe start working nights,
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maybe start working overtime, maybe find a second job.
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Maybe you get a side hustle. That's what they call that
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today, going out and do an Uber or those kind of things.
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Maybe that's what you need to do and you do that because you need
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to be able to get yourself out of that financial hole.
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But imagine that you did that. You work nights, you worked
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overtime, you worked a second job, you worked yourself down to
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the bone, not just for days or weeks or months, but for years.
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But you didn't do it for yourself, you did it for
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somebody else. How many people would do that?
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I'd say very few. Let me ask you this, How many
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people would do that for someone that actively hated them?
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Nobody do that. Nobody in their right mind would
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do that. Be it.
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Jesus endured hardship of which this world has never seen before
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and this world will never see again.
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The brutality. Of the cross.
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And yet he did it. The Bible says in Hebrews
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chapter 12 verse 2 for the joy that was set before him.
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Not the joy of the pain, not the joy of the suffering, not the
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joy of the mocking, but the joy of having restoration with
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mankind because he was able to pay the ransom.
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This is what our servant did for us.
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This is what he came to do. He didn't come to be ministered
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unto, but he came to minister. And why do you do it?
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To give his life as a ransom for many.
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And listen, if that was the end of the message right there,
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praise the Lord, but you're not that lucky.
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You're not even close to. That lucky you, say pastors. 20
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minutes left. You go circle around for 20
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minutes. I got plenty more.
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Like they used to say, I got a lot of MO.
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I can go for a while all right? But there's there's a couple
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things that you have to understand because really we
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need to kind of plant a flag here for just a second and
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remind you the Bible says you must be saved and that you must
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be born again, that you are a Sinner, that judgment is real.
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Did you see that word wrath? That the wrath of God abideth on
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you if you don't know. Jesus Christ, your Savior,
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because you have a penalty to pay that you can't pay.
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You can't work enough nights, you can't work enough weekends,
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you can't work enough overtime, you can't work enough Grubhub,
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Uber, or whatever you want to call.
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It to pay for the sin debt that's upon your life In fact,
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you can't work at all to pay the sin debt of your life because
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the Bible says that salvation is the gift of.
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God not of works. Best any man should boast if you
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work for your salvation, you can be proud of what you earned and
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what you achieved look at the salvation that I have achieved.
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But all we can do is say, look at the salvation that God has
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given me, that I am undeserving of, that I am but a worm.
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But. I'm to dust, but he took pity
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upon me. He brought me up out of the pit,
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out of the miry clay Psalm chapter 40, set my feet upon the
Psalms 40 chapter mention
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rock and established my goings. This is what God did for us.
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And if you don't know where you're going to spend eternity,
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you may have been coming here for months or even years, and
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you just still, maybe you would just try to put this part of the
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message out of the way. You like the parts where I'm
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funny and there's a lot of those.
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Amen. But you, that wasn't one of the
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funny parts, all right. I wasn't expecting you to laugh
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there. There's a lot of parts where
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there's places that maybe make you feel good inside and helpful
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for you, but you just want to put away this idea that you
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don't know where you're going to spend eternity.
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You cannot take just part of the message and focus on that,
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because the parts that you like about the message, the parts
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that encourage you, the parts that help you, the parts that
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motivate you are only dependent upon the fact that you need to
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be saved. Because there's not enough
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motivation in this world to be able to have you pay the ransom
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yourself. Only Jesus paid that ransom.
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And so you could try to put it off to the side as much as you
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want. But the fact of the matter is,
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you will be presented with the fact, And we saw in Revelation
Revelation 20 chapter mention
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Chapter 20 on Wednesday and Revelation chapter #21 that if
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you refuse to be confronted with this idea, this reality of the
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Lake of Fire, you will be confronted with the reality of
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the Lake of Fire once you were at the Great White Throne
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Judgment, and it'll be everlastingly too late to do
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anything about it. What do you need to do?
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The ransom's been paid. You just need to accept the free
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gift of salvation. When ransom is paid, when a
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pardon is given, it still must be received, still must be
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accepted. We talked a few days ago during
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our Soul Winning conference about the idea that particularly
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during Civil War times, there were issues and times when
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Abraham Lincoln would issue pardons for men who had done
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certain deeds, maybe had been on gallant on the battlefield, but
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yet for some reason had received a pardon to spare their life.
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And they refused it because they said I deserve that which I'm
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about to receive. A pardon is no pardon if it's
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not received, and a ransom is not your ransom if it is not
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received. So you must receive the gift of
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salvation today. You must trust in Jesus Christ
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as your Savior today. But as usual, we have to ask
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ourselves this question. It's incredible that Jesus said
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that. The amount of truth in just
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verse 45 is immense. But why did he say it?
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Where did this come from with his walking down the road one
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day and all of a sudden he turned around and he said, let's
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talk about ServiceNow. There were times that he popped
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some questions on the disciples just like that.
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But in this case, this was precipitated by a conversation
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that took place that showed the disciples truly didn't
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understand what ministry and service was all about.
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So what I need you to do is I need to go back up to verse #25
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we're going to stay in Mark chapter 10.
Mark 10 chapter mention
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Actually, I want you to verse 35.
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Don't go to verse 25. Verse #35 and let's review this
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because as we've done before, we kind of focus on the word.
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We focus on what the characteristic is, but then we
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broaden our scope to see why is this here?
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Why is this even a discussion? Because as we broaden, it helps
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us to understand how this applies to our life.
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Verse #35 says And James and John the sons of Zebedee, come
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unto him again, being Jesus, saying, Master, we would that
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thou should US do for us whatsoever we shall desire.
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Now this is a bold statement to make to Jesus Christ right off
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the bat, but I will tell you there is something that is not
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found in the book of Mark that is found in an adjoining passage
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in Matthew chapter 20. And that is the fact that it is
Matthew 20 chapter mention
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not just James and John who are approaching Jesus Christ.
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It is also their mother. Now James and John probably
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thought, you know, maybe Jesus isn't going to hear this request
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as well, but I bet he'll say yes to our mother.
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This ought to tell you this is a bad start right here.
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This is when you're trying to manipulate Jesus Christ, say,
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well, he couldn't say no to an old lady.
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It's not a good start. And it says, And he said to
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them, What would ye that I should do unto you?
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And they said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit one on
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the right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in glory.
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Now there's a fundamental problem with what they are
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asking here. One, they are asking for
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something of which they have no understanding of, because
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they're talking about glory. We could even put it this way.
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They're talking about the Kingdom, but yet they don't even
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understand what the Kingdom is. In fact, you're going to get to
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Acts chapter one, verse 6, and Jesus is ascending into heaven
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and they're still asking is it time for the Kingdom?
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And they do not understand the concept of the Kingdom that is
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to come as they should. So they're asking for something
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here. They do not know the time, they
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do not know the place, and they don't even know what they're
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asking for. And it says next in verse 37.
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Verse #38 rather, But Jesus said unto them, You know not what you
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ask, Can you drink of the cup that I drink of and be baptized
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with the baptism that I am baptized with?
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Now he's Speaking of the suffering that is to come to
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baptize, to be immersed in the suffering that is to come.
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Can you drink of the cup of suffering of which is to come,
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that cup of suffering that Jesus even prayed in the garden that
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it could pass from him? But nevertheless, not my will
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Father, but your will be done. And it says are you able to
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Verse 40 sit on my right hand and on my left hand.
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It's not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom
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it is prepared. Now this conversation was one
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that showed these two men were concerned with what leadership
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and not service they were wanting to serve.
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They were wanting to be served. They had some fundamental
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misunderstandings. Now this is bad enough, but look
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at what it says in verse 41. And when the 10 heard it, they
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began to be much displeased with James and John.
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I bet they weren't because here's in James and John behind
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their back going to Jesus and saying basically when it comes
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to glory, when it comes to Kingdom, could you make sure
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we're ahead of the other 12 or the other 10?
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Now they're going to be ahead of one of them, that's for sure,
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because one of them was the devil.
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But there's nine others that definitely had some issues with
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what's being said. I can only imagine.
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I wish the Bible had told us. I would love to ask the Lord
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when we get to heaven someday. What did Peter?
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Have to say about this. Perhaps it's not recorded
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because we should know what Peter said about this here in
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this life, because it probably wasn't good.
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James and John, the sons of Thunder, please put us on your
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right hand and on your left, and Jesus says, do you think you can
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handle? It they say we can handle it,
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but they don't know what they're handling, They don't know what
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they're talking about, and they're asking a fundamentally
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flawed question because we understand from what we just
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read in verse 45, they're called to be servants, not to be
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served. And so Jesus has to get the
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disciples. That's why he tells them all to
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come to him. And he says, you know, that
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they, which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles, exercise
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lordship over them and they're great ones, exercise authority
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upon them. He says this type of thinking,
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boys, it comes from the world. What you guys are talking about
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right now is exactly the way the world thinks.
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You ever wonder why people pay, why people donate?
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People give billions upon billions upon billions of
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dollars to be able to win a presidential race, of which the
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salary costs only $250,000 a year.
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Why would people pay billions and billions and billions and
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billions and billions of dollars donations, all of that?
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Because it's all about power. You know, I'm not talking about
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politics. I'm just talking about the
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reality of the situation. That's just all about power.
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And here's what Jesus says. Say you're thinking like the
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Gentiles think. You're thinking like the world
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thinks. Your thought process as a
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believer is fundamentally flawed.
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And he says it in this phrase in verse #43 but so shall it not be
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among you. He says let them think that way,
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but you think differently. They're going to think that way,
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but you think differently. But whosoever will be great
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among you shall be your minister, and whosoever you will
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be the chiefest shall be servant of all.
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Jesus is asking to do the exact opposite of what their flesh
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wants to do. What does their flesh want?
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Their flesh wants to be at the top.
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And Jesus says if you want to be at the top, be at the bottom.
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If you want to be served, then you just need to serve.
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Now coming from Jesus, that could be something that maybe
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they would be even offended by. Well Jesus, who are you to give
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us this kind of teaching? Why would you ask us to do
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something like this? Nobody teaches this way.
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But then in verse #45 Jesus gives them the kicker.
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He says, you may not think this is the way to live, but I'm
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telling you this is the way that I live.
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And if I can live this way, I came not to minister unto or to
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be ministered unto, but to minister and to give my life a
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ransom for many. It's as if Jesus saying, if I
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can do this, you don't think that you can do this.
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If I can come and serve my own creation that will by and large
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reject me, then you think that you have a right to do that
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which is above even that which I am doing.
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It's lunacy, but yet Jesus makes clear this is what He was called
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to do and what we're called to do.
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That last part is important. It's what we're called to do.
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So you thought this was just about the disciples?
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He called the disciples to come. He talked to them, but no doubt
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He's also speaking to us today. The idea of servanthood and
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ministry is not just for rugged fishermen some 2000 years ago,
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but it's the calling that the Lord has placed upon us today as
-
well. For certainly if Christ was a
-
servant, then we must be servants as well.
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But Pastor, you say if I serve like Jesus said, that I'll never
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get anywhere in life, I'll get run over, I'll get abused, I'll
-
never get ahead. And certainly there'd be many
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that would think that. And I would agree with you
-
except for the fact of, well, I'd answer by saying this, it
-
depends on what you define as getting ahead.
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Do you define it the way James and John we're trying to get
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ahead, which was trying to bypass 10 other disciples and
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all other believers and to become sitting at the right hand
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and the left hand of Jesus? Do you define as the Gentiles,
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as Jesus said, as he talks to the disciples, which of the
-
Gentiles exercise leadership and lordship over all?
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This is what they want. If you define that as getting
-
ahead, then yes, as a servant of God you will not get ahead.
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But what does he do? He readjusts their thinking of
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who he is to remind us how who he is effects Our Calling.
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He says I want you to be reminded who I am because who I
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am should make you rethink how you are called and what your
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calling is to this world. That is to be a servant.
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In essence, he's saying if I can serve.
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You can serve. Jesus was the one who washed the
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disciples feet. Jesus was the one who fed the
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5000 and by the way, that 5000 with 5000 men when you had women
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and children, it likely was well over 10,000 that he served and
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that he fed. Jesus was the one who healed and
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touched the leper, the one who was physically and spiritually
-
compromised, but yet Jesus reached out to him.
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Jesus is the one who calmed the storm when he was trying to rest
-
but yet saw the needs of the disciples.
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Jesus was always serving. You find Him in man, Matthew and
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Mark and Luke and John, and all He ever did was serve and serve
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and serve all the way to the cross, when He gave His greatest
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act of service that He ever gave and that mankind will ever see,
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and that is to give His life on the.
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Cross so that we could be saved to give his life a ransom for
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many. So I ask you, what do you have
-
to give up compared to him? So I got a lot to give up
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Pastor. I mean, he gave up the
-
prerogatives of glory, proximity with the Father to spend around
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33 years with people who by and large didn't listen to him and
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it crucified him. But if knowing the end from the
-
beginning as He did, may I remind you that Jesus in his 33
-
years was not on the edge of His seat wondering what would happen
-
next? You know, I'm not trying to be
-
sarcastic about it. I'm trying to remind you it
-
wasn't as Jesus was walking around during His earthly
-
ministry and was wondering what was ahead around every corner.
-
Jesus knew before the beginning what the plan was, and yet
-
knowing what the plan was, was willing to do it and knew that
-
He'd be mistreated and mischaracterized and ultimately
-
give his life on the cross. But how can we understand this
-
further? You're called to be a servant.
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I'm called to be a servant. How can we understand this
-
further? There's a text that we have to
-
go to this morning. I mentioned I believe on Friday
-
night. There's a text we have to go to
-
today because I really governs the way we understand the mind
-
of Christ and how we are to be able to have that mind of
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service ourselves. So if you would turn to
-
Philippians chapter #2 we don't have to go back to Mark chapter
Mark 10 chapter mention
-
10. You don't need to hold your
-
place there. Philippians chapter #2 For some
-
of you, this is a foundation, foundational set of verses.
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You've read this many times. I'm always reminded there are
-
new believers that are with us. There's some who are younger in
-
the faith. And I want to reintroduce you or
-
rather to introduce you to some of the foundational passages of
-
the Word of God. What we're about to read right
-
now, new believer, is 1 of what I would call the foundational
-
passages of the Word of God. Who is Jesus and how does it
-
affect how we live, particularly in this area of service?
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Let's start verse #1 it says Philippians 2 verse one.
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If there be there for any consolation in Christ, if any
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comfort of love, any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and
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mercies fulfill ye, my joy that ye be like minded having the
-
same love being of 1 accord. Of one mind, he's talking to the
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church and he's saying this. I want you to be have the same
-
love be of 1 accord, of one mind.
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He's saying this. You need to have the right
-
mindset as a church and as a church.
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Liberty Baptist Church today, we're not the Church of
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Philippi, but we are a church that should also have the same
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love being of 1 accord and one mind.
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This should be the most harmonious place on the.
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Planet at least tied with other Bible believing churches.
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Often that's not the case. I thank the Lord for the
-
wonderful unity that God has given us at liberty, but at the
-
same time, we must guard ourselves because this is not
-
what the world wants us to have, certainly not what Satan wants
-
us to have. Let nothing be done through
-
strife or Vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, there we go,
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lowliness of mind that we could start to see something forming.
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When it comes to service, let each esteem other better than
-
themselves. Isn't service about the fact
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that I see your needs to be more important than my own needs?
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Look, not every man to his own things, but every man on the
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things of others. Now maybe you'd get to verse #4
-
and you'd say, how is this even possible?
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How could I even get to the place where everyone else's
-
needs are more important than my own?
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Well, that's where verse 5 opens up and again, if you're in the
-
habit of marking your Bible, you could just underline from verse
-
5 and verse 10 and don't stop. In fact, I just take out a
-
highlighter and highlight till it runs out of highlighter
-
because that's what we're looking at in the Word of God
-
right now. It's that good.
-
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who,
-
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
-
equal with God. That talks about the deity of
-
Christ, but made himself of no reputation, took upon him the
-
form of a What's that next word, servant, and was made in the
-
likeness of men. Being found in the fashion of a
-
man, he humbled himself, became obedient unto death, even the
-
death of the cross. Wherefore God has also highly
-
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name,
-
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
-
Of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the
-
earth. To be able to from verse 6 to
-
verse 8 truly to understand how low Jesus Christ brought himself
-
to be to this earth is unbelievable.
-
That yet is 100% God and 100% man.
-
All God and all man at the same time came to this world, humbled
-
Himself as a fashion of man, became obedient unto.
-
Death. Look at He was not forced to
-
death, he was not tricked into death, A Judas did not put him
-
in a corner and there was no way for him to be able to extra
-
extradite himself. This is not checkmate placed
-
upon Jesus. He became obedient to that which
-
his Father had even the death of the cross.
-
Consider what the psalmist said about God and His greatness.
-
Psalm 113 verses 4 through 6. The Lord is high above all
-
nations, and His glory above the heavens, who is like under the
-
Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humble with himself to
-
behold the things that are in heaven and the things in earth.
-
Contrast those words to and being found in fashion as a man,
-
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the
-
death of the cross. This explains what kind of
-
minister he was. This explains his mindset.
-
But what does that have to do with us?
-
Go back to verse #5 will you read it with me?
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Let this mind be in you. Well, let's try that again.
-
Let's just pretend I just said, will you read that with me?
-
OK, good. All right, will you read verse 5
-
with me? Let this mind be in you, which
-
was also in Christ Jesus. Read it again up to the comma
-
and stop. Ready.
-
Let this mind be in you. Stop.
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What's this message about? Could you summarize it in one
-
sentence, Pastor? If I was to summarize it, I
-
would let the Word of God summarize it and it would be
-
this, let this mind be in you. What are we to do?
-
Let this mind be in you. Now let me make some application
-
and we'll be done. Just say there's some of you
-
that are probably thinking, oh, pastor, I know what I know what
-
this message is about. You need more people to help out
-
the church. And so this is one of those
-
messages where you know you. Just afterwards, you can say,
-
oh, if people want to help clean up, how many people want to be
-
greeters? How maybe you want to go in the
-
parking lot. And guess what?
-
We need people to help clean. We need people in the parking
-
lot. We need people that are
-
greeters. We need people to help with
-
visitation. We need people in the nursery.
-
We need junior church workers and Sunday school workers and
-
helpers. We need all that.
-
We need all of that and more. But that's really not what the
-
thrust of the message is about because we can be busy around
-
the church doing all of those things and more, where everybody
-
has an agenda that's filled with this and that going here and
-
there, doing all the things at the church and everything is
-
field. We don't need any workers
-
because everybody's working. But yet that doesn't mean that
-
we are truly servants at heart. Because really, if we want to
-
solve the problems of having enough people at church doing
-
that which is needed, or problems of being servants in a
-
home or servants in a workplace or servants at a school, what we
-
really have to do is this. We have to address.
-
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,
-
because otherwise we just get you performing for the sake of
-
performing instead of really getting down to the heart of I
-
want to serve because I want to be like Jesus.
-
I want to serve because I want to think like Jesus thinks.
-
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
-
It's not just about the church. Sure, we need help with the
-
church. I can't imagine a time when we
-
didn't. Need help with the church but
-
it's so much. More than the church.
-
Husbands, you know what your wife needs.
-
She needs you to be a servant. Oh, Pastor.
-
OK, I know what the proper order is biblically, pastor, that the
-
man is the head, that he is the one that is in charge and he is
-
the one that takes care of the little woman.
-
All right. And like it's often said that
-
the man may be the head, but the woman is the neck that turns the
-
head. Amen.
-
Some I'll give you a minute. Let that roll through.
-
All right, go through one more time with that one.
-
Is there a biblical order to the family?
-
There is. That doesn't mean that there is
-
a difference in value because the man and the woman are of the
-
same value. Yet God does assign positions of
-
authority. So yes, Sir, you have authority
-
in the home. Checkmate, you got me.
-
But who else had all authority? Hold on a second, was it Jesus
-
and he decided to be a servant to those that he led And if we
-
are to in our marriage relationships, Ephesians chapter
Ephesians 5 chapter mention
-
5, go home and read it yourself if you'd like.
-
We are to be that which is like Christ in the home.
-
No, no, I'm not trying to give you weird theology.
-
I'm just telling you that we are to be His representative in the
-
home. Then what are we to do?
-
Well that we are to be the chief servant in the home and that's
-
not popular teaching, but it's Bible was first Peter 37 say
-
likewise he husbands dwell with them according to knowledge,
-
giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel.
-
Whoa, hold on, pastor, the lady say the.
-
Weaker vessel. Haven't you heard of feminism,
-
Pastor? Oh, yeah.
-
Yeah, Ralph and I've. We've heard of feminism.
-
I'll tell you what he he'll tell you about after church if you
-
want to. But I would tell you this.
-
Is the woman the weaker vessel? The Bible says yes, but does
-
weaker mean of less value? In fact, I could make an
-
argument that a lot of things that are quote UN quote weaker
-
are actually a very high value. But the God understand there's a
-
need for protection and then he's an honor and of love in a
-
very unique and special way. And Sir, God has called you to
-
be that servant to your wife. Wives, God has called you to be
-
a servant as well, to serve your husband, to serve your family.
-
Ephesians 524 Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ,
-
so let their wives be subject unto their own husbands.
-
And everything get not popular today.
-
Get the Bible gives us the order for life.
-
And really the way it makes sense is if the husband serves
-
the wife and the wife serves the husband, doesn't it just kind of
-
work itself out? This is what God has called us
-
to do. So I'm not going to serve her
-
until she serves me. Maybe you ought to start and do
-
your part and not worry about what other people are doing and
-
got to work out the rest. Matthew Henry put it this way,
-
and I love this. The woman was made of a rib out
-
of the side of Adam. Not out of his head to rule over
-
him, not out of his feet to be trampled by him, but out of his
-
side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, near
-
his heart to be beloved. I believe that's what God has
-
intended to have in the home. I don't care if it's popular out
-
there. I don't say, well, the world
-
doesn't like that. Well, the world doesn't like
-
anything in this book, to be quite honest with you.
-
So I'm not going to change this to make them happy, because if I
-
change it to make them happy, they're going to be unhappy with
-
the rest of the stuff in the Bible.
-
So why don't we just believe the Bible?
-
Young people, God served you to called you to serve your parents
-
and your teachers well. I'm, I'm very busy.
-
I, I don't know I can serve my parents well.
-
You, you, you can find some time.
-
I don't know if I could serve my teachers.
-
That's not what that's not what students say.
-
That's that's what teachers pet does.
-
No, that's what someone who's trying to be like Christ will
-
do. You're trying to be a servant
-
employees. God's called you to give an
-
honest day for an honest wage. You.
-
Need to be the best servant that you can in the office or in the
-
job site. The Christian ought to be the
-
hardest worker at every job. The Christian ought to be the
-
most honest person at every job. The Christian ought to be the
-
one that everyone in the workplace can say, that is
-
someone who understands what it is to be an employee.
-
Why? Because they understand how to
-
be a servant. Colossians 322 Servants obey in
-
all things your masters according to the flesh, not with
-
eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing
-
God. You see, service isn't just
-
something that we do at church, it's a life.
-
And if you only serve when you want to, you're really serving
-
yourself more than you're serving others.
-
I even challenge you, the places that you enjoy to serve.
-
If you only serve and the places you enjoy serving, are you
-
really serving the way that God intends you to?
-
Because service is about, I'm going outside of my comfort
-
zone, trusting that the Holy Spirit will help me with that
-
which He's called me to do. This should be something we do
-
on a daily basis, serve even to strangers.
-
We show deference in all things. Letting someone ahead at the
-
checkout, holding the door for somebody that's behind you,
-
offering your seat to someone who is elderly, listening
-
without interrupting when someone else is speaking,
-
allowing someone else to merge into your lane and traffic.
-
I know I had a hard one driving that one too.
-
Take the less desirable task so someone else won't have to do
-
it. If there's one piece of pizza
-
and two people, you don't have to be the one to take it.
-
This is what services. But you see our mindset.
-
There's one piece. I'm kind of edging my hand up
-
like Diane, you don't want that, do you?
-
You don't want that, do you? What is that?
-
Service is something of the mind before it's something of the
-
body. Let this mind be in you, which
-
was also in Christ Jesus. And when you know who you serve
-
and why you serve, it changes everything.
-
Let me give you this illustration.
-
We'll be done. I read this many years ago.
-
It's it's so good. John Kenneth Galbraith, in his
-
autobiography A Life in Our Times, illustrates the devotion
-
of his family's housekeeper named Emily Gloria Wilson in
-
this way, he said. It had been a wearying day, and
-
I asked Emily, his housekeeper, to hold all telephone calls
-
while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter, the phone
-
rang. Lyndon Johnson, the president,
-
was calling from the White House.
-
Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson, she
-
responded. He is sleeping, Mr. President.
-
He said not to disturb him. We'll wake him up.
-
I want to talk to him. No, Mr. President.
-
I work for him, not for you. When I called the president
-
back, he could scarcely control his pleasure.
-
Tell that woman I want her here at the White House.
-
Why? Because she understood who she
-
served. Who do you serve?
-
One higher than the President, the King of Kings, and the Lord
-
of Lords. How many of our problems will be
-
solved if we would just let this mind be in you, which was also
-
in Christ Jesus, the servant of all is calling us to service.
-
Will you answer? Thank you for listening to the
-
sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church.
-
If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we
-
can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at
-
[email protected]. Or you can visit us this Sunday
-
at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA.
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May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.