We'll be in Luke chapter 22 this
morning if you'd like to be turning over there Luke 22 It's good to have the
hacker family here with us this morning from Lexington, Kentucky Good to worship with you today Luke 22 24. I need to mention
also, we won't Vicki and I won't be here this coming Wednesday.
But there will be a message on YouTube like we were doing during
the quarantine. And it'll, it'll start at the
usual time of our worship seven o'clock on Wednesday evening
this this coming Wednesday. So watch. Watch that if you can. And Chuck and Judine called and said
that they won't be here this morning and for a while because
Jodi and her boyfriend are very sick right now and they think
they might have the virus. They have symptoms that look
that way and they've been tested and are waiting for results.
So we'll see about that. Luke 22 24 There was also a strife among
them that's the disciples Which of them should be accounted the
greatest? And he said unto them the kings
of the Gentiles exercised lordship over them and and they that exercise
authority upon them are called benefactors, but you shall not
be so. But he that is greatest among
you, let him be as the younger, and he that is chief as he that
doth serve. For whether is greater he that
sitteth at meat or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat?
But I am among you as he that serveth. ye are they which have
continued with me in my temptations and I appoint unto you a kingdom
as my father hath appointed unto me that you may eat and drink
at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve
tribes of Israel." Now it's remarkable, not in a good way, that these
disciples had just done what they had done and already They're
talking about who among them should be the greatest. Think
about the timing of this. They just sat at the table with
the Lord. The table which he said I've
longed with with great longing. I've desired to eat this last
supper with you. And I've actually witnessed what
we see here. What? what we're taught in the
scripture we've experienced, haven't we? You might argue that I haven't
seen it this blatant. I don't know, but we have observed
the Lord's table before and just after I've seen evil rise up. Could it be that Satan is so
incensed, so infuriated by this ordinance, and what it represents,
that he attacks especially fiercely at the time that it's observed.
I thought about that. I think that may be so. It's
at the table that we're shown what Satan was doing to and in
Judas. At the table. And it's in the context of the
table that the Lord revealed to Simon that Satan had desired
to sift him as wheat. And here at the table, in our
text, or just after, we see this discussion about who among them
should be the greatest. Isn't that Satan's tactic? Think about when they had that
discussion. That's the point. The Lord had
just shown them what greatness is. He had just shown them what's
great, what's worth praising and adoring and thinking highly
of, and the very symbols of greatness are symbols of humility. His broken body, his blood shed,
that which represents how that he was shamefully entreated and
crucified, These are they which display the greatest glory that
God has ever seen fit to display. And this represents the greatest
act of service ever done. Look at verse 27 again. For whether is greater he that
sitteth at meat or he that serveth, is not he that sitteth at meat,
but I am among you as he that serveth. Not only great humility
is seen in what the table represents, he humbled himself, didn't he?
And that's what that represents now. And think about, they're
thinking of who's gonna be greatest during this. Not only great humility,
but great service is seen here. Think about what he just served
them. I wanna say this in a, if I possibly
can, in a reverent way, but he just served them up his blood.
Isn't that what he said? This is my blood. This is my precious blood in
symbol, yes, But think about what that represents. Here is
my blood which I shed for you. And he served it to them and
said, drink all of it. And they're talking about who's
gonna be great. Though he thought it not robbery
to be equal with God, he made himself of no reputation. And
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, so that you
might have something to drink. And I say that, as I say, I want
to say that reverently if I can. I don't want to put on airs,
but how can you not say that with some degree of reverence? But that's just the truth now.
There are two basic reasons why you ever drink anything. If you
take a drink of something, there are two reasons for that. To
live, and because it makes you happy to do it. Think about it. Any other reason to drink anything?
You enjoy it, or you got to have it, which in the case of water
is both. It's both. Why did the Lord Jesus
Christ die in order to give us something to drink? That we might
live, and that we might be forever happy. He drank the cup of God's wrath
dry so that we might drink the new covenant in his blood. He
said, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
not my will, but thy will be done. And he drank that cup dry
that we might drink the cup of blessing. That's what it's called
in the cup of blessing. In first Corinthians 10, 16,
the cup of blessing, which we bless, is it not the communion
of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is
it not the communion of the blood of Christ? So they drank of that
cup, which signifies how and why every blessing God has for
sinners is ours. And then they thought, what are
we gonna talk about now? Let's talk about who's gonna
have the most jewels in their crown. How about that? Who's gonna rule over who? Who's
the most worthy? They had just before this been
asking, Lord, is it I? You remember the reason for that?
Because the Lord had said, one of you shall betray me. And they said, Lord, is it me?
Am I the one that's gonna betray you? Am I the one that you just
pronounced woe upon? He said, woe unto that man. The
son of man goeth as it is written, as it has been determined. Remember
that message? As it was determined. But woe
unto that man by whom he's betrayed. Is that me? That's a pretty good
question. Am I gonna be the greatest in
heaven? Not a pretty good question. The Lord Jesus Christ thought
it not robbery to be equal with God. You know why he thought
that way? Because he's God. The only one
who can think that way is God. Everything that Christ was and
is, he was the, Think about that with me for
a second. Everything that he was, he is, because he's the
eternal son of God. And everything he is, he is the
whatever that is. All who know the Lord are sons
of God. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. Does not yet appear,
but we shall be, but he's the son of God. We're all sons of men, but he's
the son of man. He is the man. If you remember
when Pilate said he walked out, the Lord Jesus was drug out onto
that porch, bloody, broken with that crown of thorns, having
been beaten with stripes, bloody from his head to his feet. And Pilate said, behold, the
man. Do you think he had any idea what
he was saying? I doubt it. The man. We're just pretending
to be men. When somebody does something
real, it's Father's Day today, so I'll put us in the dust where
we belong, fathers. Somebody does something real
great, we say, you're the man. No, you're not. You're not. But to me, you are. As long as we understand Who
the man is. There's only one. God created
man in his own image. Who is that? The one that thought it not robbery
to be equal with God. He created man to glorify him.
Who is that? He created man to obey him. Who
is that? Behold the man. He's the Son of Man. There are
a lot of doors. He's the door. There are those who are examples.
Simon taught us in 1 Peter 5.3 that those who have authority
in the church are not to be lords over God's flock, but examples
unto the flock. Christ is the example. And then there are things that
he is the of that there's nobody else of he's the Redeemer there
ain't no other Redeemers He's the king of kings and lord
of lords Is he great Is he great the Lord spoke of
who is greatest in verse 26, who do you think that is? He
is the greatest But also the Lord spoke of he that serveth. And he is the of that too. He is the servant. Nobody else
has ever served God but him. Not really. There's a sense in
which we are the servants of God. And there's another glorious
truth that one of these days we're actually gonna serve him.
You remember when John said his servants shall serve him? There's
a novel idea, that hadn't happened yet. It's gonna happen one of
these days though. Think of this, the Lord's greatness
consists of who he is. Now, what do I mean by that?
Well, have you ever seen somebody in authority? I suspect the answer
to this is yes, but think about the question. Have you ever seen
somebody that's in authority, that sits in a seat of authority
somewhere, speaks in a condescending voice of authority, has a title
of authority, and even moves and walks with a pretentious
air of authority? But you're looking at them, and
you know a little bit about them. You know a little bit about what
they've done and what they haven't done, and you're thinking, That
person shouldn't be in charge of a flea circus, much less some
government office. You ever seen that? They have the title, they assume
the role, but it's just not who they are. It's just not who they
are, and it's evident that it's not. King is who Christ is. He has the office because it's
who he is. It's not the other way around. Sovereign is who he is now. God
is who he is. But servant is who he is. It's who he is now. It's not
just something he did for a little while now. Think about that.
When Christ is among them as one that serveth, is it a king
that's just acting like a servant for a minute? He is king, but also he is servant. You can't be both. Maybe you
can't. You can't be either one. But
he is. He's both. Think about their discussion
for a minute. It's called a strife, their strife. In light of 1 Corinthians
13, four. And we're gonna talk more about
Christ the servant. But think with me, let's set
this scene a little bit more here. if the Lord will bless
it. Think about their strife, what
they were talking about, what they were striving about in light
of 1 Corinthians 13, 4. Love suffereth long and is canned. Love envieth not. Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. doth not behave
itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil, seeketh not her own, doesn't vaunt itself,
is not puffed up, does not envy." What does that
tell you about the state of their hearts and
how they thought about each other? when they're striving among themselves
concerning who among them should be the greatest. Love doesn't
do that. Love doesn't do that. Think about
their discussion, their strife. In light of Philippians 2.3,
let nothing be done through strife or vainglory. But in lowliness
of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own
things, but every man also on the things of others. And do you remember the context
of that? The next verse, let this man be in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus, who thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation. Think of their discussion. what
they're talking about, their strife, in light of Psalm 39.4. Lord, make me to know mine end,
and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how frail
I am. You know what that word frail
means? It doesn't just mean that you're weak and feeble. It means lacking. Lord, teach
me how lacking I am. If anybody's going to be greater
than anybody else, anywhere, anytime, it's not going to be
me. It's not going to be me. Behold
thou hast made my days as in hand breath and mine ages as
nothing before thee. Verily every man at his best
state is altogether vanity. Think about that. The word best
implies some kind of hierarchy, right? There's best, and then
there's less best, and then there's not best. It doesn't matter where
you fall on that. You're all together empty. Entirely empty. That's what that means. And then
it says, Selah. That's worth thinking about. Now the Lord draws a stark contrast
here between how the world works and how his kingdom works. We
saw that, didn't we? We all know how the world works.
What he describes in verse 25 there is familiar to all. You
got people just determined to lord it over other people. They're
just gonna be that way. You saw it, you see it in little
bitty children, you see it in elementary school, you see it
in high school, you see it as adults. That's just the way it
is. And what's interesting about
that is those who tend to rule or want to are the least worthy
to do so. almost always, almost always. But the lesson here is that the
way we know something about his kingdom here is by being familiar
with the world's way and knowing that his kingdom is not that
way. It shall not be so with you. Notice the two words used for
greatness in verse 26. You shall not be so, but he that
is greatest among you, there's one of them, let him be as the
younger, and he that is chief, there's the other one, as he
that doth serve. The greatest means elder, which
explains the word younger in the verse. In Jewish culture,
the elder was always, it was a place of status in the family. So that has to do with status.
The younger was subservient to the elder. That's the significance
of Romans 9-11 when the Lord said the elder shall serve the
younger. Because there may be Jewish custom
and all that, but the Lord decides who serves and who rules. Always
does. The word chief there means leader
or the one with authority. You were chief because you were
the elder in the Jewish hierarchy. Because of your status, you were
given the responsibility or the role of authority. So there's
a distinction there. Notice the two words our Lord
tells them to be. This is what we are as his people.
This is the hierarchy of God's kingdom. What is my role? What
is my status? Younger. I am not the elder. I don't have any status. And I'm not the chief either.
What's the word, the second word he uses for what we ought to
be, what we are going to be, if we're going to be in his kingdom?
Servant. Servant. That word means one
who ministers, one who waits at table, as opposed to the one
sitting at the table, which is the example that he used, right? There's somebody sitting at the
table being served, and then there's somebody serving. One who serves another's interests. And that's important. Now, if
you're a servant, there's somebody being served. There's no such
thing as a servant without a master, right? And let me ask you this, here's
what you're gonna be, the Lord said, in my kingdom. You're gonna
be one who serves another's interests. And you know what the teaching
there is? We're all servants of the Lord. We serve his interests. We come with his message this
morning. We come by his commission, sent by him with his message,
speaking to his people in his church. But also, he teaches
us to serve one another. We're not master in any sense
over anybody in his kingdom now. You may be greater in some temporal
way in this world. That's true, isn't it? There
are masters and servants in this world. He talked about that. That's the way it is in this
world. He said, in my kingdom, with you, not gonna be that way. Not
that way. So you may be greater in some
temporal sense in this world, and that's of him too. But in
this kingdom that he speaks of, in his spiritual world, we are
all exactly the same. Servant. There are no elders. There are no elders. Not in that
sense. Understand me. He has appointed
elders in his church. He's appointed pastors. He's
given pastors and teachers and things like that. And we're to
give honor to whom honor is due in this world, even in civil
authority. God has established it. And that's clear. But in his kingdom, And there's a real important
reason why it's got to be that way. Got to be that way. Turn with me to Matthew chapter
23. Matthew 23 verse 1. Then spake Jesus to the multitude
and to his disciples, saying, the scribes and the Pharisees
sit in Moses' seat. Okay, that's in this world, in
the kingdom of this world. And he said, all therefore whatsoever
they bid you observe, that observe and do. They were ministers of
the law and of things to do with the Old Testament. covenant but do not ye after
their works for they say and do not for they bind very heavy
burdens and grievous to be born and lay them on men's shoulders
but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers
when they Read the word of God, and that was part of their duty
in the role that they were in. Listen to the word of God. Listen
to it. It's the word of God. But don't be like them. Don't
be like the ones that are reading it. All their works they do for to
be seen of men, verse five. They make broad their phylacteries
and enlarge the borders of their garments and love the uppermost
rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues. and
greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called, Rabbi or
Master." And here's the reason, because there's only one, and
you ain't it. That's the reason, isn't it?
I believe that's the first time that he gave the reason for it,
and there it is. One is your master, even Christ,
and you're all brothers. Why in the world would I want
to be greater than you in any way? When he is the greater,
you see again the context of when they had that strife, he
just showed them who he is and what he did for them. He showed
them what true service is and what true greatness is, and it
was the same thing. It was him. And they're striving
about who's gonna be greater among them. Who among them? You're all brothers and call
no man your father on this earth. For one is your father, which
is in heaven. That doesn't mean don't call
the dad in your family father. It's okay to call it Father's
Day. He's talking about in the worship of God. In the kingdom
of God, there's one father. Neither be he called masters,
and here's why. For one is your master, even
Christ. But he that is greatest among
you shall be your servant. He that is greatest among you
in earthly office and hierarchy and whatever, Is there a sense
in which God has given greater authority to some than others?
Yes, but whoever that is, he's your servant. A father serves
his family, does he not? He goes out and works hard for
them. Why is he doing that? To provide for them, that's honorable
and godly to do that. That's a service for them. that's what it means to be a
father. You see how the people say the service and the greatness
are two different things. You know religion talks about
well we've got to serve for a while here but then we're going to
be you know great and then we won't. You know what John said
in the book of Revelation? His servant shall serve him.
We're not ever going to stop doing that. And whosoever shall exalt himself God knows how to bring you down,
doesn't he? He knows how to knock the stuffing out of you now. And he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. Back in our
text, verse 27, for weather is greater. He that
sitteth at meat, or he that serveth, is not he that sitteth at meat,
but I am among you as he that serveth. Now this is simple language,
but we're not gonna get it unless the Lord teaches us. The entire
concept of greatness and service, of greatness and lowliness, of
authority, and subservience is established in that the one who
owns and runs everything is greater. The head of a household or the
owner of a vineyard, for example, as the Lord used in the text,
there are those who serve him. That one whose servant the Lord
saved, he said, I'm a master too. I know what it means to
be a master. I say to one, go, and he goes. And I say to one, come, and he
comes. And I know this, all you've got to do is say the word, Lord,
and it'll be done. So that whole concept is the
one that's in charge, the one who owns everything and is in
charge is the greater. Why do I do what somebody else
says? Because they're in charge. The one who waits table for somebody
else, and that's the example here. Does so because that person
sitting at the table, he owns the table. He owns the food,
he owns the house, he owns the property, and whatever he says
goes. It's that simple. Now when the
Lord says, but I am among you as one that serveth, is he saying
that he's not the one who owns everything? Of course not. On the contrary, this is why
what he did was so great, because of his status. This is glory,
and this is hard to understand, but if a servant washes feet,
that's not a big deal, is it? That's what, you know, if you
want your servant, if that was the custom, and they were servants,
part of their job was to wash your feet, and they wash your
feet, you're just saying, well, that's as it should be. but the glory of God is seen
in that the king washes feet. Turn to John 13 and let's look
at that now. John chapter 13. And this is doubly important
because this is the context of our text. going to see that when
the Lord washed the disciples feet, what was He doing? That
was before they sat at the table and had that supper together
that the Lord said, with desire, I have desire to eat this supper
with you. This is what happened right before
that. Look at, and we'll see that in John 13, 1. Now before
the feast of the Passover, which is our text, right? They ate
the Passover together. When Jesus knew that His hour
was come and that he should depart out of this world unto the Father,
having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto
the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into
the heart of Judas Iscariot Simon's son to betray him, there's our
text also, Jesus knowing that the father had given all things
into his hands and that he was come from God and went to God,
he riseth from supper and laid at that, knowing that he was
Lord, knowing that he was master, knowing that he owned everything
and ran everything, he got a basin of water Isn't that beautiful? He laid aside his garments, and
took a towel, and girded himself. And after
that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples'
feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. And then cometh he to Simon Peter. And you know Simon always had
something to say, didn't he? He's always the one that spoke
up, for better or for worse. Sometimes he spoke up and said,
Lord, we believe that thou art that Christ. Who do men say that
I am? Simon had something to say about
that. Who do you say I am? Simon said, here's what I say.
He was the one that always had something to say, didn't he?
But it wasn't always good. Peter saith unto him, Lord, do
you wash my feet? Now, there is some good in this
because he realized that the master typically doesn't wash
feet. Why do you think he's questioning
this? Because he knows something about who he is. If some servant
had come in there and began to wash Simon's feet, he would have
said, well, my feet aren't that dirty, but go ahead, you know.
But no, this is the Lord of glory, and he had some understanding
of that. And he said, are you going to wash my feet, Lord?
Lord? Jesus answered him, answered
and said unto him, what I do thou knowest not now, but thou
shalt know hereafter. You know, I get a sense of that
sometimes. That even when I study the scripture and the Lord gives
me some light and I have some light, I have a sense that I
don't have all of it yet. You ever feel like that? One
of these days I'm gonna really know what was being taught here. And Peter saith unto him, Thou
shalt never wash my feet. And Jesus answered him, If I
wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. And Simon Peter saith
unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
I need to be washed all over. You see, it wasn't that Simon
didn't know he needed to be washed. He knew he did. But it was repulsive
to him to think that the Lord would stoop. You're not gonna
be washed unless he does. That's the thing. We're never
gonna be washed from our sins unless he humbles himself and
becomes obedient. And that's what he's saying here
in verse 10. Jesus saith unto him, he that
is washed needeth not save to wash his feet. But it's clean
every whit, and you're clean. In other words, I've already
done that, Simon. I've already done that. If he hadn't washed our head,
we wouldn't know who he is. If he hadn't washed our hands,
we couldn't serve him. But as we walk through this world,
he's still washing our feet, isn't he? He's still doing that.
He's clean everywhere, and you're clean, but not all, for he knew
who should betray him, therefore said he, you're not all clean. So after he had washed their
feet and had taken his garments and was set down again, he said
unto them, know ye what I have done to you? Do you understand?
And again, he's asking them, do you see the spiritual truth
here? that the Son of Man must become
of no reputation, though He is God's Son. He's got to serve. You call me Master and Lord,
and you say, well, it's not about that. It's not about Him becoming
something less than He was. He can't do that. He's the eternal
Son of God. You say, well, for that's who
I am. If I then, your Lord and master,
have washed your feet, you ought also to wash one another's feet. How can we sit around talking
about who among us is the greatest when the Son of God, in all of
his greatness and glory, stooped lower than any man has ever stooped? Became obedient unto death. Has
anybody ever been humiliated and covered with shame like him? He's the man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. For I've given you an example
that you should do as I've done unto you. Verily I say unto you,
the servant is not greater than his Lord. It's not about that.
Neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. And look
at this last verse 17 here, if you know these things, happy
are ye if you do them. James said, be ye doers of the
word. He washed their feet in preparation
for that last supper that's in our text. And the rest of John
13 shows that if you want to read the rest of that. Chapter
later, so he washed them saying you're clean every wit You're
clean every wit. What do you think he meant by
that? You're totally you're completely utterly clean And then he served them the table
That's why you're clean that's how And if you understand What happened He's saying, do
you understand this? Happy are you, if you know what
I just did, happy. If you understand what happened
when God the Son humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
became the obedient servant of his Father, the one whom all
the angels of heaven obey, became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. Here's what happened. Do you
understand what I've done unto you? Here's what he's done unto
us. John said in Revelation 1 5,
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness and the first begotten
of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth unto him
that loved us. See, that's how it is in his
kingdom. You know why we serve the Lord? You remember that law of the
bond slave? That on the seventh year, all
slaves go free, but if the servant, if the slave, if the one owned
says, I love my master. I love my master. And I love
my family. I love his people. I will not
go free. Because you see, being free from
him is not free. It's just not, is it? It's just
not. That's what it is. He loved us
and washed us from our sins. That's what's being pictured
by him washing their feet. He humbled himself and washed
them and said, you're completely clean. Washed us from our sins in his
own blood. Now you understand what he's
done unto us? If you understand it, happy are you. But think
about it. If you know these things, you're
happy, but not if you just know them up here. Happy are ye if you know these
things, and by God's grace, you know them in such a way that
it changes who you are. Happy are you if you do them. You do what you do because of
what you are. Happier if you know the, if you
understand, and if you understand it in such a way that you're
a new creation in Christ Jesus. It's one thing to know it up
here. It's one thing for God, another thing for God to reveal
it in your heart, who Christ is, what he did, why he did it,
and where he is now. And that'll change who you are. Because he changes us. Are you
a chief or a servant? If you are a servant of Jesus
Christ and his people, in his kingdom, happy are you. Happy are you. And understand
something else now. I want to stress this. Being
his servant is not a temporary status. As I said, you know,
religion seems to have the idea that we've got to drudge through
this service thing for a while so that we can just be free of
that, you know. Let me say it this way. Service
is not something that you put up with so that you can achieve
greatness. The service is the greatness. What is the greatest thing that
the Lord ever did? You ever think about that? The
greatest thing that the Son of God ever did? He created a universe,
that might be on the list. Does that make the list? Yeah,
is that the greatest thing that he ever did? Making everything
and everybody? He runs that universe. That's
pretty great. By him, all things consist. That's pretty great. But when
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
that's the glory, that's the riches of his glory. And Paul said, God forbid that
we should glory. anything else save Christ crucified Truly we shall be exalted Then
when we're with him that's clear in the scripture. We will be
exalted We read well ago that he that humbleth himself shall
be exalted. Isn't that what he said? What does that mean? Revelation
22 3 and there shall be no more curse and but the throne of God
and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve
him." That's what greatness is. That's what exalted is now. Don't
think that this is just something, we gotta drudge through this
so we're gonna be great. Greatness is serving him like
he ought to be served. That's what it is. Our place
in the garden was to serve him. Isn't that right? He said, you
dress my garden and keep it. And that's what we were to do.
He's the master. We're the servant. But you know
what the problem was? What became the problem? Satan
said, you shall be his gods. You're the servant now, but I
don't know about that. Is that what you want to always
just be the servant, you know? And we fell. We fell. But there,
it won't be like that. Exalted servants and happy. If we had just kept serving him,
we would have been perfectly happy forever, wouldn't we? The
problem is, we didn't like that. That wasn't enough. Turn with
me to Revelation chapter seven. I'm gonna close with this. I
know we've looked at a lot of scripture this morning. But let's just close with Revelation
7.13. Revelation 7.13, And one of the
elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are
arrayed in white robes? And where did they come from? And I said unto him, sir, thou
knowest. And he said unto me, these are
they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. This is why he's worthy to be
served. And this is why we serve him. Look at the word therefore
in verse 15. They've washed their robes and
made them white in the precious blood of the Lamb, God the Son. Took upon him the form of a servant. And humbled himself. And bore
our sins in his own body on the tree. We did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God and afflicted, but he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. And with his stripes we're healed.
Therefore, are they before the throne of God and serve him day
and night in his temple. That's why. That's why we're
there. And that's why we're doing what
we're doing there. And he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them. Boy, that's enough, isn't it?
That's enough just to be with him. To be with him is far greater. And they shall hunger no more.
That's not just talking about food. You're never going to desire
anything else. Hunger is a need, and there's
a lot of different kinds of hunger in there. There's not going to be any of
them anymore, because in every way, we're going to have what
we need and what we want, just in that He dwells among us. No
more hunger. And no more thirst, neither shall
the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the lamb which is in
the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them
unto living fountains of waters. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes." Don't think of serving Christ
as some laborious burden that we bear now so that we can one
day be relieved of that. No, his yoke even now is easy,
and his burden even now is light. And so far from thinking of serving
him as a drudgery, we ought to think of glory. We ought by his
grace to think of heaven itself as when we will be able to serve
him as he ought to be served. Amen.