All right, we'll be looking at
our text in Matthew chapter 20 tonight, but for the most part,
we'll be in our handout. I want to begin with the handout,
if you would, on page one. You'll notice I've titled tonight's
study, My Ways Are Not Your Ways. And oh, how true that is. And
we're going to see that as we go into tonight's study. But
I want to begin with Romans 8, verses 5 through 10. For they
that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. but
they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For
to be carnally minded, fleshly minded of the flesh, is death. But to be spiritually minded
is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be. So then, they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin,
but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Because the
carnal mind is enmity against God. Now, I think most of you
know this, but that word enmity is a very contrary word. I don't know if that's not the
right word. That's not what I meant. It's a very strong word. That's
a better way to put it. A very strong word. that the
Word of God, the ways of God are not our ways, and our ways
are not His. And that's the problem with men,
is we think God should be like us, when in reality, we should
be like God, even though we're not. We are in our Savior, the
Lord Jesus, but in this flesh, we are not. That's why it says
there, the body is dead because of sin. But the Spirit is life
because of righteousness. Remember, Christ was made sin
that we would be made the righteousness of God in Him. So, the next paragraph,
I put this in there, Thus saith the Lord. He says, My thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith
the Lord. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts. And now we're going to see why
I've put those verses down first. I want you to start with me in
your Scriptures, beginning at verse 24. We're looking at Matthew
chapter 20, beginning at verse 24. And when the ten heard it, Now when they had heard what
the Lord had just said about the two brothers, the sons of
Zebedee, when the Lord had just finished speaking about them,
they said when they had heard it, they were moved with indignation. Now what did they hear? They
heard their two brothers' mother ask, Lord, can my son sit on
one side and one on the right and one on the other? Would you
elevate them in your kingdom of heaven? And we looked at that
in detail last week. I don't want to go back over
that too much. But we've got to set the table to understand
what it was they heard. They heard the mother of these
two brothers asking the Lord for a special treatment. For something special. To elevate
them. And it made them a little bit... well, it says here, indignation.
They were moved with indignation, which means troubled hearts,
jealousy, pride, against the two brethren. Verse 25, but Jesus
called them unto him and he said, ye know that the princes of the
Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great
exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among
you. but whosoever will be great among
you, let him be your minister. and whosoever will be chief among
you, let him be your servant, even as the Son of Man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life
a ransom for many. So that's what we're going to
be talking about tonight. It shall not be so among you,
but whomsoever be great among you, let him be your minister,
and whosoever will be chief among you, let him Be Your Servant. That's kind of our theme for
tonight. I want to begin with a quote from Brother Don Fortner.
It's here on page one of your handout, bottom paragraph. He
writes, is exactly the opposite. Do you see why I put those scriptures
there at the beginning? Our ways, His ways are not our
ways. We tend to think a different
way. We tend to think a different
way of greatness. Now, we'll look into that further.
True greatness is exactly the opposite of what the world calls
greatness. The world assesses greatness
by the number of people under a man's control. How many are
at his beck and call? How much money he has in the
bank? How much property he has listed
under his name? How many titles and degrees he
has appended to his name? How many committees and boards
is he a member of? Or how much name recognition
he has? But in the assessment of the
Lord Jesus Christ, all those things are totally irrelevant.
In Matthew 20, 24-28, He shows us what true greatness is. Page 2. These are they which
follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed
from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found
no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
Revelation 14. verses 4-5. These are they which follow the
Lamb. You want to be great? Oh, I hope
the Lord is speaking to your heart tonight on what He thinks
greatness is and what He declares greatness is. Are not the words
of these verses as plain as the nose on our face? The path to
greatness in the Kingdom of God is humble service. to the people
of God, that's important. It's not just humble service
to those around us in our world, it's to the people of God. Is
not all creation for that very purpose, God's people? When the Lord has called the
last one for whom he shed his blood, will not all the earth
and all the heavens burn? The word of truth tells us the
day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the works
that are therein shall be burned up." 2 Peter 3.10. Scriptures
are clear. God chose a people before the
world was, a people his son would redeem with his own blood, a
people his spirit would quicken, make alive, and they will sing
a new song. This people have I formed for
myself. They shall show forth my praise. Isaiah 43, 21. The Lord's disciples,
like every one of his elect, constantly struggled with a great
problem. And that problem was pride. It
says, and when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation
against the two brethren. They were jealous, not jealous
of them particularly, but jealous that they didn't think of it
and ask for it first. When the rest of the disciples
heard what James and John requested for themselves, they were filled
with hurt because of their pride. Their indignation was far from
righteous. They were not moved with indignation
because they thought such a desire was out of place. They were indignant
because each of them thought of himself deserving of the high
honor James and John openly asked for. Oh, shouldn't I be treated
better? Don't we think like that? You
know, I don't deserve people to treat me that way. I would
never be that way. That's just pride, open pride. The disciples' indignation towards
James and John clearly displays the depravity of our fallen nature. No mortal man can ever really
know the depth of our depravity because of the fall of Adam in
the garden. We just can't know it. Not until the Lord takes
us out of this world. I surprise myself all the time,
don't you? Every time we think of the depths
of our natural depravity, we should be inspired with greater
appreciation for the immense, infinite mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ in reconciling His elect. I've said this more than once.
When we think about the depth of our depravity, it magnifies
the grace of God in us. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank Jesus Christ
my Lord. The indignation of these disciples
toward their brethren demonstrate clearly that God's saints, as
long as we are in this world, dwell in the body of sin and
death. though saved by his free grace
in Christ. The disciples were men troubled
with the flesh, just as we ourselves are. Our greatest problem is
pride. Pride is the root of all sin,
did you know that? The cause of all strife, and
the most destructive of all passions. Even among true believers, pride,
jealousy, the love of preeminence, and that's what pride is, That's
what pride is. I shouldn't be treated that way.
I've never treated anybody else that way, so why should anybody
treat me like that? That's what preeminence is. It's
putting yourself before others, putting yourself before the truth,
putting yourself out there. Preeminence, it's a horrible
passion that must be constantly held back, held in check. This
horrible evil was found even among the apostles of our Lord. Those disciples were not upset
with James and John because they sought preeminence, but because
they sought preeminence above them. These, like these disciples,
we are all proud and love preeminence. We love power, preeminence, prestige,
property, position. We love these things. We seek
them. And we crave them because we are all very proud. Pride
is the oldest of all sins, and the most destructive is that.
Pride inspired the devil's revolt. Listen to this in Isaiah 14,
12-14. How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the
ground which did weaken the nations? For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High."
That's what he told Eve in the garden. He said, you shall not
surely die. You shall be as gods. You shall
know good, good and evil. And you shall be as gods, little
gods. It's exactly what this is saying
right here. He did the same thing. He put himself above God. That's
what free willism is. That's what decisionism is. That's
what works is. It's saying that our works, our
decision, our free will is above God and nothing. Absolutely nothing
is above the Creator of all creation. Pride brought down one-third
of the angels, listen to Jude 1 verse 6, and the angels which
kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,
he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the
judgment of the great day. Pride divides men. The wicked in his pride doth
persecute the poor. Let them be taken in devices
that they have imagined, for the wicked boasteth of his heart's
desire, and blessed the covetousness whom the Lord abhors." That's
Psalms 10 verses 2-3, page 4. Even among God's saints in this
world, our greatest difficulties, our greatest injuries, and our
greatest troubles arise from pride. A man by the name of Thomas
Hooker wrote these words, he said, Pride is a vice that cleaveth
so fast into the hearts of men that if we were to strip ourselves
of all faults one by one, we should undoubtedly find it the
very last and the hardest to put off. It is pride that keeps
sinners from seeking the Lord. The wicked, through pride of
his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all
his thoughts. Psalms 10 4. Of the seven things
named in the Bible that God hates, pride is listed first. We find
these in Proverbs 6, verse 16 through 19, where we read, these
six things doth the Lord hate, yea, seven, are an abomination
unto him, a proud look. Number one, a lying tongue. hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running
to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that
soweth discord among the brethren. Please allow me once again to
quote from our brother Don Fortner. He writes, a life of self-denying
kindness and service to others is the measure of true greatness. That's what our scripture is
telling us tonight. You want to be great? Look at
our Lord for our example. He goes on to say, the standard
of the world and the standard of our Lord are exact opposites.
In the kingdom of God, a person is considered great who devotes
himself to and promotes the temporal and spiritual welfare of others. Greatness is not receiving, but
giving. Greatness is not seen in what
we gather to ourselves, but in what we disperse to others. Greatness
is not being served, but serving. If we desire to be truly great
in the Kingdom of God, we must find the place where we are needed
and be a minister, a servant to others. The word minister
is the word that is elsewhere translated deacon. It refers
to a person who does menial labor, house cleaning in other words,
or serving tables, gardening, etc, etc. It is the least recognized,
but the most needed, and certainly the most basic service. If we
really want to be great, we must make ourselves servants. slaves
to the church and the kingdom of God. The word servant in Matthew
20, 27 means slave. A servant does not have much,
but a slave has nothing. And this slavery is altogether
voluntary, page five. The cost of true greatness is
humble, self-denying, sacrificial service. It is service rendered
to others for Christ's sake by men and women who have learned
that it is more blessed to give than to receive, as we read in
Acts 20 verse 35. May God enable us to shun the
greatnesses of this world and to seek this true greatness.
The angels of God see far more greatness in the work of a missionary
in New Guinea, a pastor in some remote insignificant place, or
in a poor widow giving her too might for the cause of Christ
than in all the work works of bankers, lawyers, doctors, presidents
combined, and we should as well. If you want an example to follow,
look no lower than to the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Even as
the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister
and to give his life a ransom for many. That was our closing
verses last week and again this week. Our blessed Redeemer shows
us what true greatness is by his own example. He that saith
he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. That's 1 John 2 verse 6. He who
is Jehovah's righteous servant was the servant of men. Listen
to John 13 3 through 5. Jesus, knowing that the Father
hath given all things into his hand, and that he has come from
God, and went to God, he riseth from supper, and laid aside his
garments, and took a towel, and girded himself, after that he
poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples'
feet, and to wipe them with a towel wherein he was girded." These
are things that continue to boggle my mind. The very one who put
these men, the very one who put you and I, in our mother's womb,
who created us, who made us vessels of honor according to his son,
the Lord Jesus. Not in anything that we have
done, but what he has done, this very one gets down on his knees
and washes the feet of his people. That's greatness. That's a greatness
that we can't understand of this earthly body. Only in spiritual ways of thinking
can we understand how that is great. That the majestic God
of all creation would lay down His life, would shed His blood
of His only begotten Son for you and I, is beyond anything
that we can understand. It's greater than anything we
can comprehend. That's greatness. Not only did
He get down, and listen to this, next it says in John 13, 12,
17, So after He had washed their feet, and taken His garments,
and set down again, He said unto them, Know ye what I have done
to you? Ye call Me Master and Lord, and ye say, Well, for so
I am. If I then your Lord and Master
have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
Folks, this is a prayer for me. You might need You might need
this advice from God as well, but I need it for serve. This
is a struggle that I have. Serving others. The Lord says,
for I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done
to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that sent
is sent greater than he that sent him. If we know these things,
happy are ye if you do them. Or what about these words from
Luke 22, verse 27, For weather is greater he that sitteth at
meat, or he that serveth. Not he that sitteth at meat,
but I am among you as he that serveth. In the circle of his
own disciples, our Lord always assumed a position of servitude. Again, a quote from Brother Don
Fortner where he says, where he was most master, he was most
servant. He was like a shepherd, the servant
to the sheep. He was like a nurse, servant
to the child. In the whole course of His life
on earth, our great God and Savior took the place of a servant or
a slave. If we are the servants of God,
we are the servants of men. Listen to this poem that I copied,
titled, Lord Help Me to Live from Day to Day. In such a self-forgetful
way that even when I kneel to pray, my prayer shall be for
others, help me in all the work I do. To ever be sincere and
true and know that all I do for you must needs be done for others. Savior, help me in all I do. to magnify and copy you that
I may ever live like you. Not only has the Son of God given
us a noble example of self-denying love and service, by His obedience
to God for us, He has by sacrifice of Himself ransomed us. He gave
His life a ransom for many, as we read in verse 28. The Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave his life to ransom, redeem,
and deliver God's elect. The many he came to save from
the guilt of sin and of the curse and the condemnation of God's
law and justice, and to bring us to the glorious liberty of
the sons of God. Page 7. The ransom price he paid
was his own precious blood. Listen to Ephesians 1 verse 7. In whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of His grace. Or how about these words from
1 Peter 1, 18-20, For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation
received by the tradition of your fathers, but with the precious
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot,
who was verily foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest in these last times for you. And then Revelation
5 verse 9 we read, And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art
worthy to take the book, to open the seals thereof, for thou wast
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every
kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. The ransom price
was paid for many, and paid for them in particular as the objects
of His special love. The many for whom the Lord Jesus
gave His life a ransom are the many ordained to eternal life. Acts 13 verse 48, And when the
Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of
the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. I know our belief doesn't save
us, folks. But everything about our salvation
is wrapped around our belief. Our belief, our believing who
the Lord is, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God in the flesh.
Our believing what the Lord has done. He has saved His people
from their sins. And our belief where He is right
now. sitting on His throne, making intercession for us, guiding
all things, the many given to Him in the covenant of grace. Listen to the words of John 6,
verse 37-39, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and
him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came
down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him
that sent me. And this is the Father's will
which has sent me, that of all which He has given me, I should
lose nothing." Doesn't that warm your heart? Doesn't that bless
one who fights this flesh every day? One who struggles with the
sin of the flesh? He's going to lose nothing. Everything
he shed his blood for, has been accomplished what he shed his
blood for. Cleansed, made white as snow,
righteous. Have the righteousness of God,
folks. Not a righteousness that we understand
of ourselves, but a righteousness of God. That's perfect. That's
perfection. That's what he says in Hebrews
chapter 10. He has perfected forever them
that are sanctified. Purged us with his own blood. The many for whom Christ makes
intercession, he says, I pray for them in John 17, 9. I pray
not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for
they are thine. The many who are called by God
the Holy Spirit, as we read in Revelation 19, 9. And he saith
unto me, right, blessed are they which are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. Page 8. The many who are saved
by God's free and sovereign grace. But as many as received Him,
to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on His name, which were born not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
Folks, salvation is of the Lord. I never get tired of hearing
that. I never get tired of being reminded of that. If you would
live for Christ, live for others. If you would serve Christ, serve
one another. Make Christ the example by which
your life is governed. Make Christ Himself your rule
of life. Here is your motive. You are
not your own. You are bought with a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which
are God's. What? Know ye not that your body
is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have
of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price,
therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which
are God's." 1 Corinthians 6, 19-20. Robert Hawker wrote these
words How many heartaches would it have saved me in days past
had I learnt of Jesus the humbling lesson he here taught them in
what the growth of grace consists, namely, in being more and more
lowly in heart from a conviction of unworthiness and more and
more to see my need of Jesus. The Apostle Paul under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit wrote this, look not every man on his own
things but every man also on the things of others. Let this
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in
the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God
but made himself of no reputation This one who was king of kings
got on a donkey, not a stallion, not a white or a black stallion
full of muscle, but got on a little donkey and rode into town. This one who is the majestic
lord of all that is humbled himself and became flesh. He made of
himself no reputation and took on the form of a slave, of a
servant. and was made in the likeness
of men, and being found in a fashion as a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient unto death. even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth,
and things under the earth, that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, and here to the glory of God the Father. Amen. It's fitting that We see
this study tonight with our conference only being about three weeks
away. We have a lot of people coming
to stay with us here at the church this time. It's gonna be a lot
for just a few. I'm praying the Lord will bring
out a lot of helping hands so that it'll be a little bit for
many rather than a lot for a few. I pray the Lord bless you folks.