Not to Your Own Interests (Philippians 2:1-8)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
My name is Spencer I'm one of the pastors here we are continuing to walk through the book of Philippians we're in Chapter 2 now we're going to be in verses 1-8 and uh now you thought maybe a precedent was set last week we are going to go through all eight verses y'all not one verse left behind we will finish the entire passage before I sit down so you can follow along in your Bibles yeah that was a joke one left there we go starting out right we're going to go through all eight verses and we are going to uh continue to walk through what Philippians is unpacking which is this theme of unity.
So we'll have the text on the screen also be on page 570 in your blue Bibles I think the fa the Church gets uh really an unfair generalization uh on a lot of different levels I think that in a lot of ways uh it gets generalized as a social club of of just connections that we get to make uh that there isn't a lot of depth I think that that is an accusation that gets thrown at the Church quite a bit I think another thing gets thrown at the Church is that it's just a place where uh we're just kind of concerned about money and it's just more of a of a business.
It's more self-serving I think there's a lot of different things that get thrown at the Church uh and what I've seen over the years is something something quite different my experience with the Church of Jesus Christ and the local Church is that is a beautiful place to see the Gospel in action I've seen that time and time again uh many of you some of you may not know this about uh eight years ago my wife and I we actually moved down here uh to plant our own Church um that's why we we moved back to this area was to plant our own Church and uh you know I didn't grow up Baptist and didn't know.
How Baptist did things and they said you got to have a a Church that sponsors you kind of Church that gets behind you and I was like well I don't know a lot of them cuz I didn't wasn't raised Baptist but you know I did know Chad and Matt who just started a few years before I moved down here with mil City and I was like well I I'll rock with them and uh so we moved down here and uh in that.
First year as we were getting ready to uh kind of launch out ourselves and plant our own Church right out the gate um my uh my wife had a Mis carriage and it was a painful experience and there was a medical procedure that happened after that um that left us with some uh with some medical bills and we were just kind of dealing with that grief and loss and also having to deal with those medical bills and I remember this is back.
When we were at Glenn Forest I remember in the parking lot one day chat came out and met me he's like here and he just handed me a water of cash and he said you know Church you know we want to come alongside you and this know you've got some medical bills coming out of this to pay for uh and we just want to help with this and I just in that moment just felt so deeply loved and cared for and at that point it was right out the gate of us.
So so many of the people in this Church didn't really know us that well at all and I've seen some version of that story over and over and over again I've seen people who've given up cars to uh to other Christians that are in need I've seen uh uh time and time again medic our bills or medical bills are just just paid off I've seen the Church rally in a lot of different ways I've seen people give up their Saturdays their their cherished time off to be able to take a trade that they use to help others and give it away.
For free to someone who's in need I've seen that story play out over and over and over again so in my experience the Church of Jesus Christ is a wonderful place to be it is one of the most supportive and loving and Powerful human experiences that you can be a part of and yes I do believe that there are some Churches out there uh they can be described with a lot of labels that don't seem like they really buy into the Gospel I would argue that many of those churches have lost sight of the Gospel or many of them really aren't made up of those who profess and follow Christ in a way that reflects.
The fruit that is born out in Christians but I think largely and our churches I think is no different I churches all across the world that buy into the Gospel and live it out in humility with one another and the reason that is is because of passages like the one we're going to walk through today it's passages like we're going to read and and sit in today so want to pray for us and then we're going to walk through this passage together uh Heavenly.
Father we pray that you might speak to us this morning that we might have Humble Hearts to receive your word and that we would see that this faith that we so dearly and deeply love is built upon something bigger than ourselves bigger than our individual selves and I pray you'd open our eyes to that so we might be the people that you have called us to be we ask this in Jesus name amen all right so last week Chad walked us through what it looked like to strive and unity together the Gospel is the thing that unifies us to strive and unity that theme is being pulled through the book of Philippians and it gets.
Continued to be uh uh taught in this second chapter as we pick up in verse one so if there is any encouragement in Christ any comfort from love any participation in the spirit any affection and sympathy all right let let me stop there for a moment when he says if there it's not if in in the idea of of this is a possibility like I If that you know if if that will happen this is actually if in this in the word of of sense like sense this is true what he's saying is.
If this is true and if this is true and if this is true and if this is true that's what he he's he's building upon here and if you ever been in conflict with a friend and you've ever been in argument and all of a sudden you've lost a thread on your friendship for a moment sometimes you got to State some true things you say bro I'm on your team like I'm I'm for you I'm not against you if you've been in marital conflict where the.
If you if you're married you have that's a reality which also if if you're uh if you're married you come to our training weekend it's one of the things we're going to talk about at our training weekend come up in a few weeks but if you've ever been a maral conflict where you know you've lost a thread on on things you might have to just stop and say some true things you might have to look at your spouse and say you know.
Listen I I love you I'm actually I'm for you I don't think football is more important than you I'm not going to let 19y olds ruin our our our date night tonight because they lost again no like I'm I'm you got to say some true things to make sure you're you're framing like you don't lose the threat on what you're actually uh shooting for and that's what's happening here is that there seems to be a little bit of disunity that's snuck into uh the Church at Philippi which is common to a lot of new testament churches.
And then the disunity that's happened he's stating some true things he's saying if there is an encouragement in Christ which is way of sense like yes there is if there's any encouragement in Christ if there's any comfort from his love and there is if there's any participation in the spirit and there is if there's any if there's affection which is tenderness or sympathy which is compassion if these things are true and they are verse two complete my Joy by being of the same mind having the same love being in full Accord and of one mind.
So Paul says complete my joy which I love that phrasing it shows his deep desire for this Church to be unified there's this this deep desire for them to be unified he wants this that it will complete his Joy if the Church is doing this which I feel this as a pastor because that just makes me so uh Joy filled makes me so happy when I see our Church unified striving together in love and he gives some descriptives here of what uh this Unity looks like he says having the same mind having this the same love being in full Accord of one mind that's the type of unity he's he's he wants them he desires.
For them to have this single-mindedness it's being wred in the Same Love Of Christ to have the same uh uh mindset and being a full Accord together when you see this it's beautiful like maybe you've been in a community group where all of a sudden you got a message on your group text or your group me and all of a sudden it came in and it was someone that said Hey listen I I lost I lost my job and I'm devastated you get that message that comes in and all of a sudden you get to.
See what having the same mind the same love being in full of cour you get to see that just come to life and all of a sudden someone says Hey listen I want to make you a meal I want to just I'm I'm don't don't I'm doing it I'm making it I'm bringing it over it all show up a group that week for group meeting time and everyone's cool with in the catch up and life section of your group meeting time of just this being it that we're going to talk through this everyone's.
Okay with just like I got stuff I'm working through but at the same time like I want to be able to yield some time to this because our brother is hurting our sister is hurting and then you get to see it in action when all of a sudden usually this is how it plays out is that there's two people that are kind of doing some of the talking here and caring for them and it's like this tandem this this beautiful kind of the same Spirit The Same Spirit flowing through them together where you're just kind of playing off each other's words and communicating the Gospel and applying the good news to someone who's struggling.
It's almost like you can finish each other's sentences because you're just on the same page because you're playing from the same Playbook we have the same mindset while that's going on you've got someone in uh a few chairs over that's just silently praying for this brother or sister who's struggling you got someone else who's already thinking about how how can we pull together some money to be able to help them pay pay bills while they're looking for a new job like you.
See all of this at work and it's beautiful and it's wonderful and none of that happens none of that happens if when you get that message on group me and you just go oh man this is probably going to dominate our group discussion for the next few weeks this is probably all we're going to talk about and they're probably going to need money and right now our budget is strapped and groceries cost way too much I just I don't we're have to chip in I just.
Okay well here we go because we got to care for this new situation that's popped up in our group that attitude that posture is the very thing that Paul is going to address in the next few verses that's something that kills unity in the Church verse three and four says do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interest of others.
If you want to destroy the same mind the same love this unity in the Church an easy way to do that is selfish ambition and conceit which is pride a way of saying this is that it's you wanting your own way for your own good for your own Glory so one thanks for one of things our own way for our own good for our own Glory that's our mindset that destroys this Unity that Christ has gifted to the Church now this selfish ambition this conceit is not anything new this is an ancient poison it's the reason why in the book of Proverbs 3,000 years ago Solomon was saying Pride goes before destruction and a hotty.
Spirit before a fall this is something that has existed for thousands of years in humanity this this mindset of just thinking only of ourselves for our own good for our own glory and when I hear stories of pastors who have train wrecked their churches their Ministries because they made it all about themselves that it was all about their own Glory when I when I've see this it makes me sad and it makes me sick and yet they didn't get there overnight they made a series of decisions that led them in this direction to this is where they are.
And then I look in the mirror and I see some of those same things in my own heart I see some of that same conceit that same selfish ambition and I realize I do like to get my own way I do like think to work out for my own good and my flesh really does like getting its own glory and you make decision after decision to get there which is the opposite of what he's calling us to he says but in humility count others more significant than yourselves he says Let each of you not.
Look only to his own interest but to the interest of others that we make these decisions over and over again for our own interest for our own good we count ourselves more significant than others all the time and and again it's it's a I think it's a series of decisions that you make over time until this is who you are happens in the Small Things the small things like cutting people off in traffic because if you ain't first you're last that's the mindset of a lot of us who drive just like I just and you just get I don't care I'm busy I'm I'm quick I I gotta I gotta get to work I got.
This and we'll cut people off left and right I think this happens in when you don't return the shopping cart back to the shopping cart rack in the parking lot oh man that's like that's a long walk I me they get paid to do this right so I'm I just I just leave it here and it's like you you consider your interest there not the interest of others also next time Pro tip just park by the rack just is that easy it's a little bit farther walk.
But you just park right there boom here you go you're welcome this happens in a lot of small ways this happens with roommates it's not a lot of pettiness can happen in in roommate situations this is not cleaning up after yourself not you know not not take care of your own dishes this is like when you when you set the milk down all the way to like the bottom but you you know if you like set the whole thing if you.
If you pour it all out like it's like I'm going have to do something about this so you leave like two sips and the next person grabs it and they like pour it into the serial and it's the saddest moment because you have no you have no cereal now because you counted yourself more significant than others this happens in bigger things this happens when we treat people like utility a means to our own end I mean if you're an employer this is treating employees like this say.
Well they work for me and what you see them as as a means to your bottom line they're a means of me making money as opposed to having a servant's mindset where it's like I to serve them and I'm serving their families by giving them good work to do and it's just seeing them as utility seeing as a means to your bottom line this happens with co-workers who climb the ladder and use the people around them to climb the ladder you might fake a friendship with somebody.
And then all of a sudden when you moved past them up a rung of that ladder it's like I you know you're not eating lunch with them anymore you're not returning calls and texts it was just for that season so that you can move ahead this happens with friendships where the only reason that you reach out to someone who you consider a friend is you need something and they kind of know it too when you call you Le hey how are you doing it's.
Okay but you won't also happens in friendships this is particularly true if you struggle with being an out of sight out of- mind person that friendships are for the season that they're with you but once you move on to something else move on to a new group move on to a new city you never think about them again because they were utility they were for That season they were for your benefit then and not later this happens in marriages seeing your spouse as a means to an end why.
Listen I I bring home the money I'm owed intimacy I'm owed companionship I'm owed child care I'm ow a clean house don't they don't don't you see everything that I do for her this happens with time and how we treat our schedules boy oh boy I feel this one that a lot of times when we think about our own schedules we don't count others interests as more significant than our own because when we think about our schedules we're the centerpiece of the schedule we're the centerpiece it's us.
And when someone asks hey look I'm really struggling with something right now would you want to eat and get lunch oh man just right now I'm so busy like I don't know like I mean I think like maybe in like four or five weeks on a Tuesday at like 11:30 I might have you know 45 minutes for you and it's like are you the president I like I look at the mirror sometimes like I'm to the president is my time so valuable that I can't make time.
For someone I can't you skip a workout or I don't work out but if I did skip a workout I can't I can't pull this I can't adjust this I can't count someone more significant than myself and make time for them and it's just like man I I I tell you what if the bank call you tomorrow and say come in on Tuesday at at 3:30 and we're going to give you $10,000 that you'd find time like that cuz you value that.
Because we value that but someone's interests above our own is like oh man I don't know I'll fit you in at some point or the reverse of that is if you're the kind of person that doesn't I I think it's good to be a person who plans I think it's good to have a schedule you might be the person that doesn't plan at all and you expect someone to drop everything immediately to meet your needs and you get frustrated when they don't I guess they what are we we're a Church family or you know we're friends it's like yeah that's fake you're not dropping everything.
For me because you are counting yourself more significant than them this happens when someone submits their humbly submits their desires or their feelings and conversation and you just dismiss it or you bulldoze over them or you don't listen this happens in social media when you know man so too often I get on Facebook which I just want to be on their less and less because it's just it's gotten to be just ugly but people just man they just say the ugliest things about family and friends and spouses making themselves the center of attention to get likes and they just trash their loved ones it maybe in like subtle ways.
But everyone knows what they're talking about they try to get everyone on their team and it's I mean it's it's self focused and it's Tacky by the way but you should do it for more biblical reasons than that it's just there's so many ways that we do this we make decision after decision after decision that's for it's our own way for our own good for our own glory and it's made worse because we live in a culture in an American culture which is we're we're kind of a post-enlightenment post-modern western culture which is basically we're the center of our universe that's what our culture sells to us you're the center of your own Universe along.
Ons side of the American dream and the pursuit of riches that really the American Dreams built upon everyone seeing themselves as the most important so they'll buy and buy and buy and buy and buy and fill in the machine and all that like just I mean all we make all these decisions and we're in a culture that just feeds this to us and then we bring that mindset of self-interest into the Church and that's why you get frustrated when you hear a song on a Sunday that you don't like I know I feel that and I have a say in what the music is sometimes every.
Now and then I'm like I wouldn't have chosen that song ever I you know I have sinfully I didn't mean I didn't mean to go here but I'm going go I've sinfully just W I've gone and gotten coffee during a song because I didn't want to worship it being petty and it's like that's so self-focused and self-interested that's we do this in a lot of different ways we do this in volunteering to bring the easiest uh item to group our volunteering.
For the easiest task to do or doing something just to be seen like I only want to serve in the Church if it's visible if I can see and be seen and get the glory we do this in community groups if you're the kind of person that dominates the discussion every week and you want to talk about and it's I got problems I need to talk about these things well so does everyone else in the room and if you struggle with being able to condense down what you need to say maybe write it down before him.
But look to the interest of others this happens in the discussion in community groups when when there's a side conversation happening over here when someone else is talking and it's like well y'all aren't being considerate of she's pouring her heart out over here and y'all just having a side conversation or you're on your phone and you're not paying attention so I'm reading the Bible maybe this happens in a lot of different ways in the Church this happens when we don't consider others words.
When we're in Conflict there are times y'all when I'm confronted in my sin or in my error and like I know about five or 10 minutes into the into the discussion that I'm wrong look it's like you've made some compelling points but there's that part of me that's like but no I'm going keep fighting for my own way this happens in a lot of different ways we bring this into the life of the Church we make decision after decision after decision after decision after decision decision after decision until we eventually become the people we never thought we would be until we become.
So self-focused and self-interested so blind to conceit and pride and we become hurtful people that are just drunk off of our own pride and selves let me tell you a story about a miserable King there once was a miserable King who woke up every day annoyed angry frustrated sad he woke up every day to his kingdom and he'd wake up first thing and he'd see his wife and his children and they weren't happy to be in his presence they were tired.
When they woke up and he was annoyed by this because don't they know that he's the king they should be happy that he Grace them with their with his presence this morning but they're not they're bickering over what to eat the wife is tired and he's like they I don't get the respect that I'm deserved and he leaves his Palace every day annoyed hops into his Chariot and goes across his kingdom and he's the kind of person who drives his Chariot weaves in and out of all the other chariots not actually getting really anywhere further or faster.
But just switching lanes all the time and then he gets to his work site where he oversees a special project and he gets there and his servants have not done the work like they're supposed to they're behind delayed yet again and an anger he lashes out at them he he he unloads on them and they respond The Recoil because they're so used to hearing this being berated by the king and then he leaves and he goes to lunch to his favorite lunch spot and his favorite lunch spot is UND Saft slow he takes it out on the waitress cuz she's not doing they're not not not bringing me the king what I want on my.
Timing I have I've got a schedule here I've got to move on to the next thing and that's how he spends his days to the next thing the next thing and then all of a sudden he's on his way home annoyed angry frustrated with the day and then his wife calls him and says can you stop by the grocery store I forgot this he's like don't you know how important my time is could you not thought about this ahead of time.
When you got groceries goes into the grocery store always in a hurry always low-key angry and then he runs to the checkout line and then he sees somebody who's also walking to the checkout line but they're like equidistant to the checkout so he speeds up because he gets in front of them and he kind of cuts them off and doesn't make eye contact because he's a coward a lot of confessions today sorry you guys and he checks out and he goes home annoyed and it's not the meal that he wanted he would have preferred something different and he sits in his throne and he surfs through his phone and watches videos until he progressingly puts.
His children to bed and then he goes to sleep angry preach this is a miserable king and a miserable Kingdom of his own making and this is how he lives his life and he's depressed and he's angry and he's frustrated and he's burned out what hope does a miserable King like this have the hope that he has is the hope that Paul points him to in verses 5-8 that's his Hope for Change verse 5 have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ.
Jesus who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped he say have this mind miserable King have this mind amongst yourself which is yours in Christ Jesus who Christ though who is in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped which Chad's going to spend more time in this next week with the phrasing here and waiting into this but what he's getting at is.
Verse 7 but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men that the God and Sovereign true king of the universe who made everything out of nothing and sovereignly rules and Reigns over every aspect of creation simultaneously before during and after the Eternal God who rules over all things loved his creation so much that he left the throne of heaven and he took on flesh and he dwelt among us and that he lived a life of perfection that we could not live and he went to.
Verse 8 being found in human form he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross that the king took on Humanity to go to the Cross to die for miserable kings and queens who were only about their own interest and their own good he looked at us in our own sin and says I will will die for your sin I will die for your rebellion and then I will bring you into Resurrection Life I will bring you into a new life in Christ.
Well you will no longer be a selfish little king or queen but you will be a servant of the most high king and you will live your life out of this picture always looking to our Savior who humbled himself always looking to our King who loved us so much that he gave up his life for us us the only hope for miserable kings and queens is to look at the true king of the universe and to look what he did for us and the own overwhelming Act of humility that he displayed.
For us when we did not deserve it and our own pride and our own selfish ambition and desires that through faith we look to him and what he did for us on the cross and we submit Our Lives to him and then we spend the rest of our day is coming back to the Gospel to have this mind among ourselves that was so poly put and poly put in verses three and four do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility the humility that Christ displays count others more significant than yourselves Let each of you.
Look not only to his own interest but also to the interest of others the way that you get there is we look to Christ who was not selfish but selflessly came to save us that we look to Christ who in humility was beaten and murdered for our sin we looked at Christ who counted us significant enough to not leave us in our sin and to damn us to hell but came to save us we look to Christ who had our interest in mind.
When he went to the cross on our behalf when we understand what Christ Our King did for us it is then that we will live not not for our own way and not for our own good and not for our own glory and then we will make all the decisions along the way to live out of that truth and it means we'll be the kind of people that though we're busy give up time out of our schedule because our dear sister is going through chemo and I want to give her a ride not.
Because she forgot how to drive when she got cancer but because I don't want her to be alone will be the kind of people that when someone is suffering is like yeah I'm Gonna Make A Meal I'm make a good meal I'm GNA spend some time and I don't have in the grocery budget but I'll go over this month because I want to love them well and it's a good meal yall know what I'm talking about too some of youall been on a meal train before and you know who's putting in the work it's like yeah they put the time in and and and we're be kind of people that refuse to leave group meeting.
Time with our group we refuse to leave that house in disarray our our kids are tornadoes of Destruction and it's like and they're tired it's 8:30 and they're they're going to be grumpy in the morning but we're going to spend the next 5 10 minutes cleaning up and helping them reset the house because I love them and I want to consider their interest above my own would be the kind of people that volunteer to watch someone else's child so they can go on a date watch watch someone else's three-year-old.
So they can go on a date because we remember what it was like to have a three-year-old because three-year-olds can be terrist or if you haven't had a three-year-old you've served in Kid City and you've seen what kind of actions happen in there right now and it's like I want to give you some time so that you can go and have just you know three hours to yourself to just enjoy each other's presence because it's good for your marriage or you're the kind of married couple that considers single people and their interest above your own and invite single people into your family dinners into your life not forgetting about them.
But bringing them into your life because we're all the family of God we're the kind of people that when they see someone struggling maybe maybe you know of a woman in your community group right now who's just she's just struggling right now like the house is a mess and she's behind on laundry like piles of laundry you know what I'm talking about when all the laundry Stacks up on the couch and it's just a mountain and you want to like you want to like approach it.
But it's just it's un approachable and you're the kind of person that says hey I'm coming over to to help you I want to clean bathrooms I'm I'm I'm fold some laundry oh no it's okay no no no you're going to have to give me a Biblical reason for why I can't come serve you and spoiler alert there is none so I'm coming I'll be there in an hour we be get to be the kind of people who when we get the text message that says can we talk and you know that message is not just can we talk.
For 5 minutes you know it's going to be 45 minutes and it's going to be a difficult conversation that we don't ignore that text that we don't put that off because we consider their interests more than our owns more than our own that we get to use our giftings as Builders and mechanics and accountants whatever God has given you to do that you're good at to serve others in the Church what you should if you're good at something if you're good at building things.
If you're good at working on cars if you're good at spreadsheets and numbers you should and you should have the mindset that doesn't like I get paid to do this you have the mindset that says man I God who do you want me to serve next you should pray joyfully God who who do you want me to serve next who needs who needs something fixed to their house who needs me to go through their budget who do who do you want me to serve next.
God we should have this mind amongst ourselves and we should prayerfully eagerly wait for the opportunity to in humility count others more significant than ourselves to let each of us not look to our own interest but the interest of others but until we see Jesus as king we will never escape the tyranny of our miserable kingdoms so we have to look to Christ as our King first and if we look to Christ truly look and behold for what he has done.
For us it is then that you get invited into a better Kingdom and that is when miserable Kings become joyful servants let me tell you how the miserable king became a joyful servant he beheld Christ for who he is he finally realized that the whole universe didn't revolve around him but it re revolved around Christ and he saw what Jesus did for him and he said I want that and he gave up his Fox kingship to become a joyful servant and every day that he woke up even.
When he was tired he was ready to give himself away that even when his children bickered at the table over who gets to look at the box of cereal he came in and and and lovingly LED them through breakfast and helped them get out the door that when he jumped into his Chariot he drove a little slower and was a little kinder to everyone else in the road and he listened to worship music and redeem the time through prayer and worship arriving 3 to four minutes later than he normally would.
But at peace and when he AR when he arrived at his work site his employees servants were excited to see him because they saw the change that he had that had happened in his heart he'd become a servant leader and actually they worked harder for him they got more done working for him because when you work for someone who's a servant leader you're ready to run for through a wall for them because you love them and you know that they love you and he left his work site he'd go to lunch and the and the waitress he used to cringe.
When he would come in was now excited to be able to serve him because he was kind with his words and he was patient and he left better tips that he went through his Day always seeking to count others more significant than himself to serve others and he went home every night to a family that loved him who was excited to see him because he was a more joyful servant who did not make his family about himself and then one day someone asked him they got the nerve to.
Finally ask hey man what what happened I I don't mean to be blunt but you used to be a jerk like what's your secret you seem so much more at peace you seem so much more joy-filled than you used to be and he cracked a smile and he said how much time do you have I'll tell you of how I became a joyful servant by submitting to the humble King that transformation is offered to all of us that can be our story I think many of us run around in life always busy always frustrated never joyful and I think that the secret is found in this text.
And if you want to be the kind of person that actually lives a life forth living that is filled with peace and joy and fulfillment and satisfaction it is found and not looking to ourselves but looking to Christ and out of looking to Christ and looking to others interests before our own let me pray heavenly father I pray that you might help us who are filled with selfish ambition and conceit I pray that you might help us look to you to what you have done.
For us as not only the hope that saves us but as the model that sanctifies us that shows us the way to live God help us be not miserable kings and queens and kingdoms that never satisfy but joyful servants in the Kingdom that you've made but that comes through believing in the Gospel and truly applying it to our lives through repentance and ultimately delighting in you over all things we ask this in Jesus name amen the choice is ours if you want to be a miserable king or.
If you want to be a joyful servant that choice is offered to everyone and the only way that you get there is in faith it is by believing in Christ and trusting in what he has done for us and when you do that you are transformed as second Corinthians says if anyone is in Christ he's a new creat the old is gone the new has come you get to be this new creation this joyful servant that's offered but you must have that through faith.
And when you finally submit to the king through faith then you get to enter into the baptism Waters which are the waters that symbolize the inward change that has happened and that's what we get to celebrate today we get to celebrate the baptism of one of our brothers in Christ and the transformation that has happened in his life so I'm going to invite Isaac to come up and he's going to introduce baptism today.
Holy Week (John 12:20-26)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Happy Palm Sunday we are taking a break from Exodus feels like we're in the thick of the Ten Commandments it's been a lot it's been a lot to digest and we said you know what let's take three weeks to just celebrate this Holy Week to celebrate Palm Sunday today and the Triumph and entry into the City and we're going to be in the Gospel of John chapter 12 verses 20-26 we're going to look at a story that directly follows the triumphant entry and celebrate Palm Sunday.
Today and then we'll have good Friday which we would love to see you here for Good Friday for our worship night and then Easter Sunday and then we're even going to spend one extra week celebrating the season we're going to have we're going to look at the Ascension the week after uh Easter so three weeks to give us a little bit of a break from Exodus and celebrate uh this season's we'll be in John chapter 12 verses 20-26 the text will be on the screen in the Gospel of John there is this building anticipation.
For when Christ is going to complete his work there's this phrasing that Jesus says my hour has not yet come the hour has not yet come my hour has not yet come there's this building anticipation for the hour to come as you read the Gospel of John and then he rides into the city on Palm Sunday and he is celebrated like a king the people chant Hosanna Hosanna this is shades of of the of of a Messianic King who is coming in to save us and they were expecting this uh this political revolution that.
Jesus was going to breathe not bring not realizing that he was actually coming to save them from their sins and there's this joyous time as Jesus triumphly enters into the city treating him like a king and then directly after that story we get this story right here which only shows up in in the Gospel of John and we're going to see as we walk through this how this uh is a celebration of the ultimate work of Christ and really a celebration of the Gospel and we get to really.
Look at this and celebrate what Jesus has done for us and then following that there's kind of two two costs that Jesus gives to his people that if he's giving up his life this is what he expects in return so we're just gonna take a moment and celebrate that and celebrate the good news of the Gospel in our lives as we walk through this we're going to be starting in verse 20. I'll read it I'll pray and then we'll walk this together in.
Verse 20 it says now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks so these came to Philip who was from bethsaida and Galilee and asked him sir we wish to see Jesus Philip went and told Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus and Jesus answered them the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified truly truly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the Earth and dies it remains alone.
But if it dies it Bears much fruit whoever loves his life loses it whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life if anyone serves me he must follow me and where I am there will my servant be also if anyone serves me the father will honor him let's pray thank you Jesus that you came and thank you for your work and I pray that you would help us receive your word this morning that you'd open our ears and our hearts to receive it and that we would celebrate and worship who you are with glad and generous hearts and we would respond in faith and In Worship and repentance and delighting.
In who you are as the God who saves thank you Jesus amen all right so this story follows right after okay Jesus rides into the city like a king verse 19 into verse 20. okay I know exactly when this story happens after the triumphant entry but this is the next story and it's significant verse 20 it says now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks now the word for Greeks there and the original Greek text is helenace.
So Greeks is what the ESV chooses because we're not really familiar with that term hellenists but the hellenists were not just Greeks they were just Greco-Roman background they were non-jewish Gentiles who were very much in Greco-Roman culture and it says that they're in town for the feast to worship at the feast which means from the context is that they seem to be as the biblical New Testament category would call them God fears these are non-jewish Gentiles that have abandoned Greco-Roman religion and the gods of greco-rominism and have seen.
God is the God of the Jews is the one true God but they're not Jewish they're Outsiders but if they're here to worship at the feast like they're they absolutely seem like God fears it's something the people that actually have abandoned their former ways and trust this is the one true God and they no doubt have heard of Jesus Jesus is a celebrity in the land at this point by the time he goes to the Cross everyone knows who Jesus is in the land of Israel and he came in like a king people chanting Hosanna Hosanna these Greeks probably either would have been there to.
See that they certainly would have heard about it because the whole city is abuzz the Rival of Jesus expecting what is this great prophet going to do and like many others they want to see Jesus in verse 21 it says so these came to Philip who was from bethsaida and Galilee and asked him sir we wish to see Jesus Philip went and told Andrew Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus so they they want to see Jesus but you can tell from the text they they can't there's some type of barrier that keeps them that they're going to fill up one of his followers to.
See if they can have access to Jesus now it's very possible the reason they can't is because at this moment Jesus might be teaching in one of the inner Temple courts so you have the temple and you have these Courtyards the three inner Temple courts are only for Jews and those who have been circumcised and then there's an outer court it's called the court of the Gentiles and that's where they could be as close they could get to the temple so it's very possible that we don't know.
If it's clear from the text that they are in the outer Temple courts Jesus was doing some teaching in the temple courts but they can't get to him and they wish to see him whatever the case we we don't know for sure they can't get to Jesus they go to Philip and I said we wish to see Jesus and here's what's peculiar about this story we don't know if they actually see Jesus that's the text doesn't tell us like it doesn't say that he met with them it's possible that he did it's possible that he didn't.
But in John's Gospel that's not what he's trying to focus on here he's not focusing on their meeting he is focusing on their request right next to how Jesus responds to this request and that's what's significant here 23 and Jesus answered them the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified Now's the Time this anticipation has been building my hour has not yet come the hour has not yet come the hour has not yet come John 2 4 John 7 30 John 8 20.
There's this theme of the hour has not yet come then Jesus triumphantly enters into the city as they chant Hosanna Hosanna what is he going to do next these hellenists want to see Jesus and in response to that he says the hour has come the son of mans be glorified what does he mean by that well he means Glory by Death the arrows come to be glorified by death it says in verse 24 truly truly Jesus says truly truly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the Earth and dies it remains alone.
But if it dies it Bears much fruit the hour has come for Jesus to die and in just a few days on Good Friday he is going to the Cross now most of us aren't from the Midwest so that grain reference may be lost on our ears because we don't grow grain down here but it would not be lost on them what he is teaching there that a seed from the grain is growing and it's alive and is a part of the grain stalk the sheep.
And then it when it falls off it's lost its life source and it dies but when it goes into the ground and the rains come it will be reborn to something brand new and Jesus is referring to that as a way of speaking about his death and answering Gentile Outsiders like that you cannot miss the significance because what he is pointing to is the Pinnacle work of redemption that all of redemption history has been moving to this point where his hours come the Scriptures have been awaiting.
For the hour to come all the way back in Genesis when Adam and Eve sinned against God and broke Fellowship by trusting the word of the serpent in that moment when the curse of sin is being told by God that sin is going to corrupt every aspect of creation we get what theologians call the proto-evangelion that's a fancy Latin way of saying the first Declaration of the Gospel where he says one day one day the seed of Eve is going to come and he is going to crush the head of the serpent the one day someone is coming in the line of eve and he's going to crush the work of evil.
And then later on in Genesis in chapter 22 as Abraham is being called we see that God has chosen of specific people a specific tribe and he says in your Offspring shall all the all the nations of the earth be blessed that one day the seed of Eve is going to come through you Abraham and through you this seed of redemption is going to bless the Nations and then we've been in Exodus we've been walking through the law and we see that Israel was called to follow the law.
But we know that they cannot follow the law we know they break Commandments over and over and over again and then even Moses prophesies in Deuteronomy 18 he says I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers there is this growing expectation that someone is going to come from amongst our people the hour is going to come where this is going to get fixed and at the right time Jesus comes and he fulfills the Old Testament law by about banging it perfectly.
And then he heals the sick and he feeds the hungry he performs Miracles he raises the dead as we saw last week in the fourth Commandment he challenges the religious establishment and they're misrepresenting the heart of God he's going to establish a new people and then the time has come for him to die and after this statement in just a few days is going to be arrested it's going to be arrested and then I'll be ashamed and he'll be beaten and I'll be flogged he'll be mocked and his flesh will be torn apart and they will force a crown of thorns on his head and they will put a wooden cross on his mangled back.
And they will send him up the hill of Golgotha or they will nail him to a cross and they will raise him in shame most likely naked and exposed and he will slowly suffocate to death to atone for the sins of man and to purchase a people for himself and then like a grain of wheat he'll be placed in the earth in a borrowed man's tomb and the seed of our Redemption will be placed in the earth as we wait as we wait.
For death to meet its conqueror and then on the first Easter morning he rises and he defeats the power of death so that Hellenist so that Outsiders so that outcasts can finally have access to Christ so that there might not be any bear they won't have to go to Philip they won't have to go to anyone they have access to Jesus because through his death and his resurrection they now have access to Christ the hour has come and you will get to experience life with.
God forever you will get access to God the Father through Christ the son by the power of the Holy Spirit that ultimately what we see here is when the text tells us when Jesus says it remains alone but if it dies it Bears much fruit that ultimately the fruit of his Redemption is us that's every Outsider that did not know Christ who finally trusted in Christ and that now that we bear the fruit of righteousness that he provides within us like that that is the fruit of redemption.
So that response to a bunch of Greek hellst who want to see Jesus it previews the whole mission of God and Jesus answered them the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified truly truly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the Earth and dies it remains alone but if it dies it Bears much fruit our hero is tipping his hand to where this is going but in just a few days he's going to die on the cross.
So that every tribe and every nation every tongue can experience God forever now the cost of redemption is his life is believing and what he has done for us following that Jesus gives a cost a cost that we bring to the table and the next two verses these two costs that he's going to outline are unbelievably important the first is your life and the second is your service so let's look at that first one in verse 25 he says whoever loves his life loses it and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it.
For eternal life what a provocative thing to say what a powerful thing the challenge us in I mean a lot of times people think of Jesus and he's they have this picture that he's just this wise Sage you as children tugging at him and he's picking them up and Swinging them around and that is our God that is Jesus but that's not the only picture of our Jesus he's a prophet and he drops prophetic truth bombs like this that mess us up he is absolutely attacking our approach to this life here on Earth.
And when he says lose in the original language in the Greek lose often means also destroy or ruin the idea here it's not just losing your life but destroying your life ruining your life if you want to ruin your life love it be about maximizing pleasure having your best life now cling to this life and you're ultimately going to lose what is truly important life with God if you love your life you will lose it you cannot have both you cannot have.
Jesus and this life is a one of the best scenes and what I would argue is the best Indiana Jones movie the Last Crusade Jenna some of you might think that's controversial we can have the argument about Raiders The Last Arc and all that stuff as long as you don't say the Crystal Skull movie which was nowhere in the stratosphere of the Last Crusade but in the Last Crusade the very end when they've been seeking the Holy Grail this treasure and in the end.
When they finally have it and the whole tomb begins to shake and this earthquake happens and it falls out of the hands of that lady and the chasm divides the the Holy Grail this treasure and her and she falls and then Indiana Jones grabs her and she's off the she's off hanging off the cliff about to fall into the abyss but she sees that treasure she sees that Holy Grail that means eternity it means life all the things that in this story it means and she sees it and she begins to reach.
For it and he's like no take my hand I can't hold you can't hold you in you grab this take my hand and she can't help herself she wants the treasure so bad and then she slips through his hands and falls into the abyss and dies and then the whole earthquake shakes it again shakes and then Indiana Jones Falls and he falls in the exact same situation but this time Sean Connery is there his dad it grabs him by the hands and Indiana Jones has the exact same Temptation he sees the Holy Grail he's it's with an Arms Reach he's just he just tries to reach he wants it and Sean Connery looks at Harrison.
Ford and he says Indiana Let It Go Let It Go you you're gonna die if you do this don't do this take my hand and he's the hero and he makes the right choice but that's us y'all that we see this life and what it has to offer and we think if we that if I cling to this life I can get pleasure and joy but we got one hand on Jesus and one hand on this life and thinking we can have both.
Jesus is saying you can't have both that if you try to cling to this life you're going to lose it you're going to ruin it don't do this ultimately Jesus wants us for himself and clinging to him is our only hope you cannot have this life and everything that it offers in comparison to Christ who offers so much more Jesus says if you love this life you're going to lose it but if you want to save your life he says you need to hate your life in this world try selling that on a t-shirt in the Etsy Marketplace Bedazzled as a provocative thing to say you need to hate this life hate is a very.
Strong word and it's also a nuanced word my my children when they were my oldest when they were three and four they would use the word hate that hear us use it and they would use it we would say don't say hate because three and four years old they weren't ready for that word they want them going in the preschool saying I hate you to a kid that took their toys like this is not no you're not ready for that word.
But that put in their mind that this was a naughty word like it was a bad word so now they're a little bit older and we've said hate and they'll say don't say hey it's a bad word and I said well it's not I've had to explain to them we've told you early on this is a word that wasn't for you but now you're getting older and you're getting a little bit of wisdom and learning the English language and now we're teaching them the hate actually is a Biblical word we're supposed to hate sin we're supposed to hate evil we're supposed to hate Injustice and I'm trying to teach that.
But it's a nuanced word and Jesus is clearly nuancing his use of the word hate here and really hate is an opposition to love here and he's doing something with that word Jesus is not literally saying you need to hate this life in the same way like he's not saying you should hate your job and hate your wife and your husband or your friends you should hate your kids you should hate your family you should hate everything you've got he's not saying it literally like that.
But while he's not using that word literally he certainly means it very seriously and how he's using hate here and the way that it's being used on opposite in the opposite of love is that you should so love Christ that you should so love the things of God love Jesus love his people love what is good that your love in comparison to the world that your approach would look like hatred of the world indifference to the world I love how one commentator puts it he says people whose priorities are right have such an attitude of love.
For the things of God that all interest in the Affairs of this life appear by comparison as hatred let me read that again people whose priorities are right have such an attitude of love for the things of God that all interest in the Affairs of this life appear by comparison as hatred that you would so love God and the things of God by comparison look like hatred you know a lot of folks don't know this the restaurant that sells the most T-bone steaks in the world is Waffle House it's Waffle House Awful Waffle Wahoo they sell the most T-bone steaks and you might think by that logic.
If you've never had a steak well if they sell the most they must be the best and you go to Waffle House the first time and you need to stay and you'd be like oh this is what it means to have a steak and you'd be so wrong you'd be so utterly mistaken you'll know a wonderful place to get a steak Raz Bradley's house as Bradley is one of our pastors and he makes wonderful steaks he makes the steak called pecania it's the steak you get at a Brazilian steakhouse that's just.
So good he makes even what uh it's called wagyu steaks okay it's fancy Japanese beef and he makes these steaks and they're so good and y'all it's one thing I love about Raz he's so hospitable he would love for every one of you to come to his house and have Wagyu steak in fact I think you should today he's out there doing security for us or whatever it's called safety for us I would love for you to go and ask him I want to come to your house and have wagyu beef make me this glorious steak.
Because once you put that in your mouth you will experience what true steak is supposed to be and you would look at Waffle House and go I hate that I don't want that I'm never eating that again because you've actually experienced what ultimately is good God wants to ruin your taste for this world by his great love he wants to ruin your taste for this world he wants you to taste and see but the Lord is good blessed is the man who takes refuge in him Psalm 34 he wants you to taste of him.
See that he's ultimately as we say all the time so much better than everything else because he is what a prayer what a prayer to pray Lord ruin my love for the ruin it because I want you and I want you alone because what he offers it is so much greater we should invite God to ruin our love for this world Jesus wants that for us that we'd so deeply love God the thanks of God that our approach to this world would be no it's not even close.
So that's the first thing it costs your life and your approach this life and the second cost is your service your service in verse 26 he says if anyone serves me he must follow me and where I am there will my servant be also if anyone serves me the father will honor him one of the problems of American Christianity is that faith in Christian faith is treated like a mere function of your life that it's a social aspect of your life as.
If that you could put on this Christian faith like a uniform on Sundays only a few times throughout the week and exchange it for whatever setting you're in that Faith Becomes of your function in our social aspect of your life and not what it's supposed to be the guiding Compass of our life that we're meant to be servants and that service is displayed through following him that we be followers of Christ who serve him like that one of the when I'm talking with people in the South about faith and I'm doing evangelism most Christians in the South are going to answer the question are you a Christian they're going to say yes most people are.
Going to claim to be Christians in the south but what I'm asking what I'm looking for what I'm seeking for and someone is not just identifying with Christ not not talking about him as he's just like a part of their life or who they identify with I'm looking for the language of the follower I'm looking for the language of a servant that Jesus they've so loved him and so believe that he is good that it changes the way they live their life they seek to serve Christ do you merely identify with Christ is it merely someone you can put on or put off given the social setting that you're in or are you a servant.
Of Christ because don't miss this he's saying this on the way to the Cross when he says where I am there will my servant be also he's on his way to the Cross as he says that so this service for for some is even unto death which we we at America are so insulated from them we have brothers and sisters across the world who are being persecuted and they take that literally that it may cost their life and serve in Christ there will my servant be also.
But I fear that many Christians in America would not be willing to serve Christ if it meant even having an uncomfortable conversation with a co-worker let alone unto death and he's calling to a deeper service and I feel this that the American part of me wants Comfort it wants it doesn't want suffering for the sake of the Gospel it doesn't want to serve in a way that would make me uncomfortable but a prayer to grow in would be Lord Where You Are there your servant will be also what a prayer to pray where you are.
God is where I want to be are you willing to serve Christ and do whatever he tells you to do that language of servant for us is difficult because we're so far removed from the New Testament world in the context of a servant class where the closest parallel I can think of is military service if you're in the military you belong to the military and your commanding officer says do something you do it you serve wherever he wants you to go or he will are we willing to have that approach to.
God that we'd serve him at a minimum that's going to be the things he tells us to do in the Scriptures at a minimum that's going to be everything from work and prayer and the disciplines all the way down to where is the Holy Spirit leading you what is he leading you to serve where is God at that you need to be at in your service to him I'm growing in as a Christian not sidestepping the Holy Spirit and it's nudging it is leading in my life.
Because there are times where God says I want you to do something and I just go well but I what kind of qualifications do we have for that as opposed to just being someone say okay no God where you are is where I want to be where you want to surf where do you want me to be are you willing to pray boldly and ask the Lord where do you want me to be Lord what do you want me to serve what do you want me to be doing.
For some of you that may be as simple as serving in Kid City or serving as a leader in training or a group leader for some of you that may be stepping in to pastoral Ministry or being a missionary and going to the ends of the Earth but here the costs that he has for us that he costs our life and it cost your service and then don't mess what he says to follow it up with he says if you do this the.
Father will honor him father will honor you which means that if you look at this in the context of the rest of the New Testament that speaks like this that it is good to be motivated to receive honor from God but that's actually a Godly motivation which is weird for for many of us I know it's weird for me it throws me off because it shouldn't I have the I don't know the internal intrinsic value of just serving Christ is it wrong to seek honor from him as.
If in some way we're robbing God of Glory it messes with because we're so we in our Church we so preach and live that we're saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God Alone there's so much of Who We Are and you hear very clearly this isn't for your salvation he's not you're not doing these things unto me to be saved safe being saved by Jesus is by believing in what he has done alone.
But once you are a Christian this is for you and what's being held out for you is in your service to Christ that you'll be honored and you should desire that and C.S Lewis's weight of Glory essay he talks about this he talks about uses the phrase I love it he says the undisguised pleasure in being praised that we should have undisguised pleasure in being praised by God and he Compares us to a dog I don't know somebody like I'm not a dog in comparison to.
God you're much worse but C.S Lewis he talks about us like we're a dog I have a dog her name is Piper she's a big Labradoodle which some of you want to know yes we did name her after John Piper it's a pastoral nerd that's what happened but her name is Piper and when I drive home and I pull up in the driveway and she hears my car pulling up which is impressive because I draw the Prius and it's real quiet and she she hears it she runs to the front of the house she gets on the couch she looks out the out the window she waits.
For me and then when I open the door she's standing in front of it and she's so excited she's got a full body waggle just just going for it just prancing her feet are prancing she just wants to be praised she has she has this uh undisguised pleasure and being praised she seeks that she wants it she wants that type of praise and love and affirmation we we should have that approach to God that in eternity we should have this undisguised pleasure in being praised it does not Rob.
God of Glory for him to honor you I mean think about the language of the parable of the talents and the parable of talents what's the language that Jesus uses the phrase that we long to hear well done good and faithful servant boy oh boy we should long for that type of Honor we should live our Christian lives longing for the day when Jesus says well done good and faithful servant where he bestows that type of on or upon us and we don't know all we don't have great vivid pictures of what that is in the New Testament of what type of Honor that is of the storing up riches in heaven that he speaks.
About we don't have the most vivid pictures of that but if Jesus says it's honor we certainly should believe that and that we shall live our lives in light of them cost your life and it costs your service but boy oh boy you will be honored I so appreciate this brief story in John's Gospel that on his way to Good Friday and on his way to Calvary colonists they just they wish to see Jesus and then we get this response that shows exactly what his work is.
For we see what it's all about that the hour has come where he will go to the cross for us because of his great love for us so that we might have our love for this life ruined by his great love and serve them into eternity and at the end of the week he takes all of our sin to the cross and he walks out of the grave and he makes a way for Outsiders like you and me to experience Our.
God forever many of you have said and expressed the same desires as these Outsiders I wish to see Jesus I wish to see Jesus I want to know him I want to be with him I longed to see him this is how let God ruin your love for this world let him ruin your love for this world serve him with all of your heart so that you might be honored that is the path that he's forging at Calvary as we head into Good Friday and we sing songs about the death of.
Jesus this is what it is for a people that he has purchased for himself that do not love the world but love him deeply and serve him and to Eternity Matt's going to come up and we get to worship and we get to take the Lord's Supper as we remember the good news of the Gospel but on the night that he was betrayed he took he took bread and he took one he took the cup of the New Covenant he took the bread he said this is my body that was broken.
For you he says often as you eat this you remember Jesus death on the cross that we take the cup the cup the New Covenant this is my blood that was shed for you he says that as often as you eat and drink this we get to proclaim the death of Jesus until he returns Christians as you come to the table you'd remember what happened on Good Friday and what Jesus did for us and that the seed of redemption was placed in the Earth and that on Easter mourn he burst forth into life making a way.
For us to experience Jesus into eternity when he says Proclaim my death until I return when he returns all things are made new and that day for those of us that have trusted in Jesus as our only hope and have laid down our lives to follow him and have served him there's an honor that is coming that we can't quite understand but it's very good and we should aim our Christian lives for that day but there are some of you there are some of you that have not actually had your love.
For this world ruined by God you have not tasted and seen that the Lord is good you have not believed in him you have not given up your life to him your life is not in service to him and it's because you don't know him and I so deeply we don't want you to come to this table I wish for you to see Jesus I want you to meet him I want you to know him I want you for the first time to lay down your life friend I want you to pray a prayer that says.
God ruin my love for this world I want you to experience the love that he poured out for us on the cross and say I want you Christ pray a prayer that says ruined for this world so that I might live for you so that you might one day experience the unmerited grace of his honor that he bestows on his people so don't come to the table right now come to Jesus heavenly father I pray that you would help us be.
So captivated by your sacrifice of the crossed it would be so overwhelmed by how you were placed like a seed in the Tomb the Obesity overjoyed by the resurrection we get to celebrate one week from now that we respond in faith that there's anyone here that does not know you I pray that they'd wish to see you and they would give their life to you God ruined their love for this world so that they might love you God there are so many of us who trust you who follow you they want one hand on this life and everything it has to offer and one hand on you.
God I pray that we cling to you ruin our love for this world over and over and over again help us die to ourselves so that we might live to you and service of you and worshiping you For Your Glory.
Service, Slavery, Death
Transcript
It's good to see you all this morning. My name is Matt. I'm one of the pastors here with Mill City. And I'm excited to get to celebrate Christmas with you guys. As you can't tell, we kind of like Christmas around here. And I'm a Christmas person.
So don't get me wrong, I like the other holidays. Like I like Thanksgiving, the 3F celebration of family and football and food. But like I'm a Christmas person. Give me Christmas. The lights and the trees and the Christmas carols and everything like that. I just love it.
And the truth is I grew up in a family that was like that too. So it's kind of ingrained in me from the very beginning. We were the family that as soon as Thanksgiving was over and as soon as like the last leftover was tucked into the fridge, like the attic door just swung open on its own and all the Christmas decorations just came pouring out. And the rest of Thanksgiving Day was spent putting up Christmas decorations and they stayed up until after the new year, depending on when we wanted to take them down. But I love Christmas.
I mean, take a look at this little guy right here. I mean, that's jubilation. There's like sleigh bells going in the background. It's funny, people tell me, Oh, Emmy looks just like you. I'm like, only mostly. Only mostly she looks just like me.
But I'm a Christmas person. Our family kind of went crazy for Christmas. And the church that I grew up in was pretty crazy about Christmas too. In fact, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, our church would have this like very formal ceremonial service called the Hanging of the Greens, which literally meant we're going to decorate the church. I mean, it was like this big service where families would walk up together and they would hang wreaths and people would hold candles and we would sing songs by a candlelight. And if it sounds crazy, that's kind of because it was.
But really, that was just the tip of the iceberg to my church's crazy experiment with Christmas. We had children's plays. I don't know if you're familiar with children's plays, but you had to have a children's play and you had to have the costumes. You had to memorize your lines and you had to learn the songs and all this kind of stuff. You had to dress up. You always had to look really good.
And of course, I'm going to try to set the standard for when you're looking good. So obviously, a hand-me-down sweater because you can't even see my hands, rocking khakis, and a tie that's for some reason missing, like missing part of it. I don't, like they're supposed to go to a point. I don't know. But I tried to look good.
And every once in a while, we do like, we do Christmas plays that had a theme. It's like metaphorically to talk about Christmas. I mean, because you could do cowboy Christmas. And of course, you wanted to look the part if you were doing that. Even if you didn't have two front teeth. Like you just whistled the music out.
But you couldn't just do a children's Christmas thing. You had to have like an adult choir cantata. And if you don't know what a cantata is, you're one of the lucky ones. We're going to spare you. We're not even going to tell you what that is. But there was just all this stuff going on.
There were practices and dress rehearsals. And it was Sunday morning and Sunday night and Wednesday night. And then extra practices during the week. And you also had the Christmas card swap. And you had the candy cane tree. You had children's storybook Christmas.
And then you had the church Christmas party. And a lot of times you got to January and you were just kind of exhausted. And the truth is, I look back on all of those things that we did and I really enjoy them. Like some of my fondest memories are from some of those times. But I have to ask myself the question, like was all the time and energy we put into that stuff worth it?
Like were we actually celebrating Christmas as we were putting on those plays? Because the point of all the stuff we were doing was for our friends to like invite people to come. Like the people that were part of our church family to invite their friends to come and to maybe get plugged in with our church. And as I think back on that, I'm like, I don't know. I don't know if the energy and time we put into it allowed people to actually hop in with us. See, the church that I grew up in kind of had a come to us mentality at Christmas.
We'll put on these great plays or we'll have these parties if you'll just come. And as I think about Christmas, as I think about the fact that God came to us at Christmas, is the correct response to then get people to come to us? Or is Jesus came on a mission for us? Are we then to turn out and go on mission for others? Should we be going to them? And really all of this and more is why we as a church from the very beginning have done our give series at Christmas.
All we're doing is we're looking at our culture and say, no, no, let's flip what our culture values at Christmas and focus on what's really important. At a time of year where it's all about me and what I can get and that kind of stuff, we just want to remember what Christmas actually is all about. It's that Jesus came for us. And the way that we do that is that we're generous to people who are in need as we do our gift project. So when our culture says, you know, get all you can, get the new Samsung virtual reality goggles or maybe some new jewelry or the new PlayStation 8, we say as a church, no, no, no, give more away.
Be generous because he who is rich became poor so that we by his poverty might be rich. That at a time of year where it's all about what you can get and all about the memories and stuff you can make, we say let's make it about others. Let's put others' interests in front of our own. Let's sacrifice so that we can do that. And so today as we kind of tie a bow, so to speak, on our Give series, I just want to continue to echo that as we follow Jesus, what we're called to is sacrificing. What we're called to is to be generous.
And my hope is that by the end of this morning, we have a clearer picture of not only what that looks like at Christmastime, but hopefully what that looks like for all of our lives. So let me pray for us and we'll jump into the Bible. God, I'm so thankful that this time of the year we get the opportunity to just stop and press pause and remember what Christmas actually is all about. To not buy into what our culture says and to remember, to reflect, and then to actually get the opportunity to see change in our lives. So God, I pray that you would just encourage us this morning.
I pray that you would help us see the joy that it is to follow Jesus. God, that we would respond by being radically generous and sacrificial with our lives. I pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Grab a Bible. Go ahead and turn to Matthew chapter 20.
If you're grabbing one of the Bibles that we have on the seats, it's going to be on page 482. If you don't have a Bible, Merry Christmas. Take that one with you today. We want you to have it. If you're looking at it going, ooh, sweet, new white Bible to go with my collection of three blue and white Bibles at home, that one can just be your Glen Forest Bible. Just leave that one here.
But the passage that we're looking at today is not your stereotypical Christmas passage. There's no baby, no shepherds, no angels bursting into robust chorus. In fact, this passage is recorded in all the Gospels the week before Jesus would go to the cross and rise from the grave. And so this is really kind of at the end of everything. And here's what we're looking for. This is what I want us to see today.
What does it look like to follow Jesus in his kingdom? So if we're going to be kingdom people, if we've decided to follow Jesus, what does it look like for us to follow him with our lives? And how does his example motivate our actions? And ultimately, how does that even like change our entire approach to life? So what does it look like to follow Jesus in his kingdom?
So Matthew chapter 20, and we'll be starting in verse 20. It says this, Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons. And kneeling before him, she asked him for something. And he said to her, What do you want? She said to him, Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom. So just to kind of set the scene, James and John come with their mom and they bow before Jesus.
And apparently their mother basically says, Can I ask you a question? Can I make a request of you? And Jesus allows her to. And she says, Grant that these sons of mine can sit in the positions of power and authority in your coming kingdom. Let them sit at your right hand and at your left hand. And it's kind of funny because the Gospels are filled with stories about James and John.
I mean, they even have nicknames. Their nicknames in the Gospels are the sons of thunder. And so we kind of see it throughout. But this one's particularly funny to me because they got their mama to go ask Jesus if they could be at his right hand and left hand. I mean, sons of thunder, more like mama's boys. Like, this is, I mean, you've got to imagine how this played out, right?
Hey, James, you know, you know who Jesus really, Jesus says a lot of hard stuff, but you know who he doesn't say hard stuff to all the time? Older women. Like, what if we got our mom to go and talk to Jesus? I mean, for real, that's how that played, that's how it played out. And what we know from the other Gospels is this question didn't originate from James and John. They put their mom up to this.
But regardless, they come before Jesus and say, the mom says, grant that my sons can sit at your right hand and at your left hand in your coming kingdom because these were positions of power. Let them have power and authority and influence in the coming kingdom. Seeing an opportunity to rise up in the ranks and have some power, they jumped on it. An opportunity to kind of get to the top. And the truth is, regardless of motivation, we're all kind of doing this in our lives if you think about it. Whether it's the opportunity to get like a promotion at work or to get a raise or maybe to get a better car or to get a better house or live in a different neighborhood.
And again, those things aren't bad in and of themselves, but I think intrinsically all of us kind of want to keep moving forward, keep achieving, keep having success is one of the things that Chet mentioned earlier in the announcements. Like, I think that's intrinsic to us because we live in a society that highly values those things. That's kind of what capitalism actually is. It's all about. It's getting to the top. It's climb the ladder of success, make the most money you can, get into the best school and get the most sought after degrees.
And in a lot of cases, regardless of what you have to do to get there. And I think that's part of the mystique behind Donald Trump being elected president. I think there were a lot of people that looked at Donald Trump and said, if he can grow this huge company and have business ventures across the world and have a last name that's synonymous with wealth and status, then of course, he can run the greatest nation in the free world. Because they look at that and they see that as kind of the pinnacle of human existence. Like, he's made it to the top. And the truth is when it comes to looking at power and authority, another term that you can throw up there that goes right along with it is wealth.
A lot of times, power and authority just kind of follow the money. And you can see that on a big scale. You can see it in the macro. So if you look at this last political cycle, you've had lots of conversations about how Wall Street and politics kind of played out. Like, what were the relationships between CEOs and the people who were running for president? Any business, the waitstaff makes less money, has less authority than the shift manager, than the manager, than the owner, than the regional vice president, than someone who's on the board, than the CEO.
It just kind of, it's a, you follow the money and you kind of find where the power and authority are. And even, and even that can be true in our lives. Like, even on the small scale. So if you've, if you've got maybe a little bit more money and a little bit more standing, maybe you can live in a different neighborhood. Maybe you can get a better Job and have more authority. And so even, even on the small scale, you can see how that affords you a little bit more opportunity.
And while James and John live in a completely different culture than ours, their, their question is still at the, at the heart of what we're going after too. James and John seeing an opportunity to kind of rise up in the ranks, to, to move their way to the top, to have more authority, more influence, seeing that opportunity, they jumped on it. So let's, let's see how Jesus responds. Verse 22. Jesus answered, you do not know what you are asking. Which is, which is actually a very gracious response from Jesus because he, he does know what they're asking.
And he's simply just pointing out that they don't, they don't know. They don't know what he knows. That there's obviously a disconnect between what power and authority look like in Jesus's kingdom and what his disciples actually expect it to be. He continues on. He says, you don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?
And they said to him, we are able. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? Now that's not like a, a turn of phrase that we would use nowadays. So we have to unpack that just a little bit. All throughout the Bible, the cup is basically used to represent someone's like God-ordained destiny. What God had for their lives.
And so if you look in the Psalms, you'll see the cup representative of like blessing or salvation. And then other times you'll see it has more of a negative connotation where it's like God's wrath or disaster. And more often than not, the cup is going to have some connotation along with it that deals with like suffering and trial and hardship. And Jesus, Jesus asked him, he says, are you able to drink from the cup? And they said, they said we are. So regardless of what James and John know at this point, so regardless of, of, of what they understand the cup to be, they respond that they're able to.
That whatever it takes to get to the top, whatever it takes to be Jesus's right-hand men, James and John are saying, we're in, we'll do this. Whatever path we have to walk, whatever we have to do, we are in. Jesus responds to him, verse 23. He said to them, you will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father. He says to them, you will drink my cup. Whatever that cup means, you're going to drink that cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand is not mine to decide.
My Father is going to decide that. And so, hang on to that little bit about James and John drinking the cup, but you've got to imagine at this point, they're disappointed. So they come with this expectation of, of maybe getting elevated to this position and it just doesn't work out for them. Jesus says that it's, it's not, it's not for them. It's not going to work out. It's not as they plan.
And then verse 24 adds to it, it says this, and when the 10 heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. The 10 being the other disciples. Okay, James and John were two of the 12 disciples and when the 10 heard it, it says they were indignant. These guys were ticked. And rightly so, I mean, think about this. Think about all that James and John and the rest of the disciples have gone through.
A lot of these guys even knew James and John before they became disciples. And so, I mean, they've walked with Jesus. They've, they've heard him teach. They've, they've gotten to be a part of these miracles and experiencing all this together. And now they're trying to jump ahead of them, trying to get to a place where even maybe they're ruling over the other 10 disciples. And they're ticked.
I mean, I would be, and I think there's a little bit of us when we read that, it's kind of like, for real? That's what you guys are doing? And the passage doesn't tell us like that they became friends immediately after that, like it wasn't all okay when Jesus stepped in. I mean, there's probably some time. But honestly, I hope, they made up.
But honestly, I hope that the disciples, the rest of the disciples never let them live that down. Like, never. James looks at Peter and says, where's Jesus off to? I don't know. Why don't you ask your mama? I mean, like, the appropriate amount of forgiveness and the appropriate level of mockery.
I feel like that probably embodies Mill City. Pretty good bit there. But regardless, Jesus saw an opportunity to teach. He saw an opportunity to correct an understanding of what it meant to be a disciple in his kingdom, what it meant to be a follower in his kingdom. And even more than that, what does it mean to be a leader and have power and authority in his kingdom? He says this in verse 25.
But Jesus called them to him and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. Jesus says, you know, I.e. I don't really have to explain this to you. You know how the rulers treat the people who are underneath them. See, Israel was occupied by Rome at the time.
So whether it's governors or administrators or maybe it was people that were in charge of the Roman military, they constantly had their authority lorded over them. It was forced on them. Like it was for shameful gain. It was oppressive misuse. Most of the leaders were just trying to, again, climb the ladder of success or just make the person who's above them happy. And he said, it shall not be so among you.
And the truth is, in a lot of ways, our culture is like this too. That's why most of us are kind of wary of politicians or people who are in like places of authority and leadership and really don't want to do it. They say, because we've seen this all too regularly. We've seen deceit and manipulation and lies and corruption, which is why we're kind of wary of people who are in leadership. And what's interesting is, even though we know that's true, what we just admitted earlier is that all of us are trying to claw our way to the top to get there. To get to that place where we know that there's abuse and misuse of authority.
But Jesus says, no, no, no, no, no. It shall not be so among you. Jesus isn't against all types of authority and influence. He's just exposing what oppressive misuse looks like. And he says, no, no, there's another way. There's another way that my disciples are to act.
He's got a different definition of what it looks like. Pick it back up, beginning of verse 26. He says, but whoever would be great among you must be your servant. And whoever would be first among you must be your slave. Here's what Jesus says. He says, greatness in his kingdom isn't measured by dollar bills or the number of people who call you boss.
He begins by saying it's about being a servant. servant. Not like a server at a restaurant. He says, servant of the servant class where your life is leveraged for whoever is above you. And to clarify, he takes it a step further. He says, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. I mean, that's picturesque.
That's service and slavery. And if you're putting it in terms of their day, he's saying that authority and power in his kingdom look way more like working long hours in the field or washing a visitor's feet when they come in from a long journey. It's way more like taking garbage out to the dung heap or cleaning a cattle stall. And you've got to imagine at this point, James and John are listening to Jesus talk. They come to Jesus with this expectation of we want to be in power and authority. And they're kind of like raising their hands at this point going, um, excuse me, I, when, when we came to you and we're talking about this, we, we, we just thought that you would be on a really big cushy seat and we, we would, we would also get cushy seats, not as big as your cushy seat because you'd be in the middle, but we'd be on the right and left and maybe, maybe the things you're saying would be what people do for us.
And Jesus says, no, you've, you've got it backwards. It's as if he's looking at them and saying, hey guys, remember, remember when you were a fisherman? Before I called you, remember when you were a fisherman? Greatness in my kingdom doesn't look like the person who owns the boat, looks way more like the peon who carries the nets off the boat and then goes back and scrubs fish guts off the deck. See, here's the problem. It's the, it's the same problem for them as it is for us.
While we read this passage and see exactly what Jesus is talking about, while we understand that a life of serving others and putting others first is, is noble and it's good and it's what Jesus did for us, we're bombarded on a regular basis with thousands of other messages that say the complete opposite. Our, our culture says, you do you, do whatever makes you happy. Whoever you've got to push down to get to the top, do that. It's all about you. It's all about autonomy. That's what Chet was talking about just a little bit ago.
It's about self. We, we use this metaphor a lot and I think it's helpful here that if our culture and what our culture values is like a driving, pouring rain and you as a Christian have an umbrella, you can't help but get wet. There are going to be times when we're so overwhelmed by what our, our culture teaches that even though we understand what Jesus is saying that it's about others, it's about serving them and putting their interests first and sacrificing for them, we can't help but let this little bit just kind of trickle into our lives while we're all going, no, no, no, serve and give our lives for others. It can trickle in.
Let me give you an example of how it does this. If you're a part of a community group, I want you to think about your group for a second. Has the thought ever popped in your mind, I wish I was in another group or maybe this, I wish I was a part of my old group maybe something like this. I would go hang out with my group but they're just not really meeting my needs. I would be open and honest but that person monopolizes all the time with all the problems they have going on. It's subtle but deadly.
At the time that we're looking at what Jesus says about serving and putting others first and that's what Raz and Josh have articulated so well the last two weeks about putting others first. It can creep in. Even though we understand what Jesus is calling us to, it can creep in. So the question becomes, how do we do that? What's our motivation? How do we begin to approach life in the same way that Jesus does and what he's calling us to?
Verse 28. In fact, we'll back it all the way up to 26 and just read the whole chunk. He said, It shall not be so among you but whoever would be great among you must be your servant and whoever would be first among you you must be your, you must, sorry, you must be your slave even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus said, Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus, the one who the disciples realized was worthy of all honor and all praise and all glory who would one day sit on a throne said he came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom.
Like he sets the example. He puts others first. He is the one who is generous and he would do so by giving his life as a ransom for many. And in that statement, Jesus sets out and shows us what his mission has been from the very beginning. He didn't come to set up an earthly throne. He's going to have a throne but it's by way of a cross and it's an eternal throne.
It wasn't to be set up here. The reason that Jesus had to go to a cross is because we had a debt that we could not pay. That we could not overcome outside of his sacrifice for us. that when Jesus is talking about that cup in a couple of verses up, he's talking about the cup of God's wrath. When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, he said, God, he said, Father, if this cup can be taken from me, let it be. But if not, your will be done and not mine.
Jesus went to the cross because he had put, he put us first. It was about sacrificing himself for us. And so when he says he came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom, we're beginning to understand that Jesus is the king of an upside down kingdom where our culture says that moving up is where greatness is. Jesus says, no, no, no. Greatness is by moving down from service to slavery and even to death. Greatness, success, and wealth, and prominence isn't measured the same way.
It's not about sitting beside him but following behind him. And the essence of what Jesus is saying this morning, this is what I want us to walk away with and realize. We could not get to God. We couldn't. We could not get to God not by our morals, not by behaving, not by anything. We could not get to God so God came to us.
It was a rescue mission. That's what we're celebrating at Christmas is that God came to us. He came as a missionary. Think about that for a minute that Jesus who spoke everything that is into existence is now in the form of a baby staring at sheep and cows in a manger in the backwoods middle of nowhere. The king of the universe humbled himself and came but he didn't stay a baby forever. He would go to a cross where he would die.
He would die for us. He would die for our sins so that we could follow after him. So the question becomes how do you respond to that? Like how do you respond to what Jesus says in these verses? We follow after him. We respond by following after Jesus in the same way that he did for us because Jesus came on a mission for us we go on a mission for others.
That rather than buying into the it's all about me nonsense that we get from our culture especially at Christmas we get to make it about others. Jesus looked at James and John and he told them you are you're going to drink the cup that I'm going to and what we know that after Jesus ascends into heaven that James and John are some of the leaders of the early church and they went out they went out from Jerusalem pursuing people spreading the gospel and for the people that were followers of Jesus it didn't always go well there were persecutions and beatings and there was jail time and some of them ended up murdered. James would be murdered for his faith and John they tried to kill John church history tells us and it didn't work and so they exiled him to an island where he would die. Service slavery and death but what James and John realized is all that Jesus had done for them and so the rest of their lives got to be this humble grateful response to what Jesus had done.
Here's the deal I want you to think about this for a second. The reason that you're sitting here this morning is because Jesus came on a mission for us and then somebody responded to Jesus' call to be on mission for others. Think about the person who told you about Jesus. If you're not a Christian think about who has invited you to hang out with our church because Jesus came on a mission and others have responded to that mission since. That's why you're sitting in this room. That's what Christmas is all about is that God came for us because we could not get to him.
So our response is not to make it all about us but to turn our eyes outward and to go and to pursue others. Our response is to have the same posture as our king. And this is so freeing. This is so freeing when we don't have to buy into everything that our culture tells us. That rising to the top that having the most money or being successful that everything else that our culture tells us to chase after isn't going to isn't going to fill us up. Isn't going to bring us joy.
And if it brings us happiness it's only temporary. But Jesus calls you into a relationship with him where he served and sacrificed and died for you. And so our response gets to be that we approach life in the same way. We're all mission to see more and more people become Christians and we go to them. Which means that your entire approach to life changes. It means you're a missionary at work.
It means when your boss asks you to do something that's degrading or menial or below your pay grade you do it. Because you're just there to serve. That when you notice someone skipping work for the second day in a row you go to them and say hey can I treat you to lunch? And instead of going to McDonald's to the value menu like you take them to Moe's. Or if you're really rolling you take them to Chipotle where they can pay more and get worse food. But you treat them.
When you realize that a co-worker's been sick all week you leave work and you go get some soup and you drive it to their house. That's going to people. It means you're a missionary in your neighborhood. If you've got a crabby neighbor that always is yelling at you about your dog using the bathroom on their lawn even though your dog's in a fence and never comes out of the fence. Can't be your dog. If you look out the window on a Saturday and see them working on their shed it means that maybe you sacrifice some of your time and you go help them.
Maybe you realize that there's a lady that's in her late 80s who can't drive that's down the street but just needs someone to come sit and to talk with her. It means we give up some of our time and we go to them. It means we're missionaries in our city especially to those that are less fortunate than us because that's who Jesus went to. Jesus went to the people who needed help that were kind of outcasts from the society. That's why we spend time trying to help people that are often just kind of neglected and forgotten. That's why we spend time at Gentle Pines because it's a part of our city that has kind of just been forgotten and overlooked and we want to go in there and tell them that we love them and that Jesus loves them and that we want them to be a part of our family.
It's why we've partnered with Samaritans well this year. We want the women and the children there to know that we love them and care about them and Jesus loves them and we're willing to leverage time and resources so that they know that. I've been so encouraged. I've had two separate group leaders in the last couple of weeks tell me that they kind of want to be in line to partner with Samaritans well long term. That's so encouraging. Man, that is so encouraging to see our church family turning our eyes outward and looking at the people that God has placed us around.
But it's all of life, guys. It's every second of every day realizing that you exist for the benefit of others. That you don't have to find your worth and your joy and your value in meeting all of your needs and making it all about you because it's ultimately bankrupt and you have everything you will ever need in Jesus which means that we get to turn our eyes out and like everything we do as a church family we get to do it together. We get to do it with our community groups that our friends and our neighbors and our coworkers we're trying to reach them for Jesus and build relationships but we get to invite our community groups into that.
And so here's I've got two ways I want us to respond this morning. Two ways that we can respond to Jesus' call to go out and to see more people become Christians and as we do it to meet people's needs. Two ways we can do that. The first one is that we do. We actually meet people's physical needs. Jesus went and he healed the sick and he spent time with those who were in poverty like Jesus met real needs and so his church meets real needs.
You can meet real needs today by giving to Samaritan's Well. I've been so proud of our church family so far and I know that we can continue to give. We've got the envelope set up over there. You can write a check. You can put cash. You can drop it in the gift box.