Okay brethren, I'm going to ask
you to turn to Philippians chapter 1. Go ahead while you're turning,
you can mark your place in Exodus chapter 21. We'll look at a few
other scriptures, but those will be our two primary scriptures. Philippians chapter 1 in verse
1, begins this way, Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus
Christ. The servants of Jesus Christ. You know, the disciples were
arguing over who should be the greatest in the kingdom of God. And Jesus called unto them, and
He said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles, those who rule
over the Gentiles, they exercise dominion over them. And they that are great exercise
authority over them. And He said, Whosoever will be
chief among you, Let Him be your servant. Now, understand that's
not us trying to pick out who's chief and saying, okay, you'll
be the servant. He's speaking to you and He's speaking to me.
So let me hear what He's saying and you hear what He's saying.
He's saying, if you'll be chief in the kingdom of heaven among
the Lord's people, be their servant. Be the least among them. be their
servant. And he said, even as the Son
of Man came not to be ministered unto. In other words, I'm not to be ministered
unto. It's not my desire to be ministered
unto. What a servant's desire is not
to be ministered unto. The Son of Man came not to be
ministered unto. But to minister. to serve and
to give his life a ransom for many. A servant in God's kingdom
is one who esteems everyone else better than himself. And he seeks
to bring glory to God, to his master who served him. who ministered
and ministers to Him. He seeks to do that by faithfully
declaring Him and His authority and His example and His salvation,
what He's accomplished. And we do this by serving others
even in the midst of reproach and difficulty and great opposition. That's what our Lord did. That's
what He faced. Every person is a servant. Every
person, without exception, is a servant. We're either the slaves
to sin under the power of the Prince of the air, subject in
submission to the bondage of Satan, or we're the servants
of Jesus Christ. overcome and bound by the loving
kindness of our Master, by the faithfulness of our Master. Ephesians
2 says, among whom also we all had our conversation in times
past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the mind, were by nature the children of wrath,
even as others. Wrathful children, hateful children,
towards God and towards others, But God, who is rich in mercy,
with His great love wherewith He loved us even when we were
dead in sins, He quickened us together with Christ and raised
us up together with Him, that in the ages to come He might
show to us the exceeding riches of His grace so freely, freely,
freely purposed by Him, purchased by Him, and applied by Him. Everything by Him. All grace
from beginning to end. And those whom God's made a new
creation, those whom He has worked this work of grace in their heart,
they've been brought under a different kind of yoke. It's a light and
it's an easy yoke because we're following the Master who is doing
everything. We have a very simple, simple
ministry. Very simple. Remember the priests
that went to the River Jordan and they just held up the ark
and waited until the Lord dried up the water and they went across. It's so simple. Hold up the ark
and He'll dry up the water. He'll dry it up and you'll go
across. In every trial, in every flood
of affliction and adversity, in every high and low, in every
every path. That's the case. That's the case. Well, in Philippians 2 chapter
3, Paul says this. He says, let's begin in verse
1, chapter 2 verse 1. If there be any consolation in
Christ, any comfort of love, any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any bowels and mercies, that is, if this inward creation is
there, this inward man is there and we're constrained and we're
kept and we're under His power, His dominion. He says, fulfill
you my joy that you be like-minded, having the same love of one accord. of one mind. Let nothing be done
through strife or vain glory. And that's what strife is. It's vain, seeking vain glory. Really. And any glory that we're
seeking for ourselves is vanity because we're trying to be like
the Jindal. We're trying to exercise dominion
and be great by the same manner that this world tries to be great. That's not how the children in
the kingdom are great. The greatest in the kingdom is
Christ, and we'll see how he's greatest, how he's greatest.
He says, 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. In other
words, be not self-serving, but serving others. the good of others.
Let this man be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Now
here we have the master. Who being in the form of God, that is, he is God, thought it
not robbery something to be reached after to be equal with God. He
is the second person in the Trinity. He is the Son of God. But made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Now, let's hold our place right
here. We'll come back at the end. Let's
go to Exodus 21. Exodus chapter 21. Exodus 21
verse 1. Now, we're looking at Christ. We're looking at Christ. This
One is the greatest in the kingdom. This One who came not to be ministered
to, but to minister, to give His life a ransom for many. Exodus 21 verse 1, Now these
are the judgments which thou shalt set before them, if thou
buy a Hebrew servant. Hebrew means from beyond. From beyond. Christ Jesus is
from beyond. He took upon Him the form of
a servant, but He is God. Before time and after time, He's
God eternal. Not robbery to be equal with
God from beyond. But He took the form of a servant,
made Himself of no reputation, took the form of a servant, made
in the likeness of men. If you buy a Hebrew, serve it.
Six years shall he serve, and in the seventh he shall go out
free for nothing. Being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient. The Master did this. The Lord did this. Christ Jesus
served His Father faithfully six years, six days, a full week
of service. And He fulfilled everything He
came to do, the work of His Father in those six days. He fully finished
everything without sin from beginning to end. Completely, perfectly
fulfilling all righteousness, fulfilling all that was written,
calling out His apostles, setting up His church, doing everything
He was sent to do on the earth. Before His cross work, before
He went to the cross, He said this. He prayed to the Father
concerning this service, this full week of service He had given
as the servant from beyond, the Hebrew servant. And He said,
I have glorified Thee on the earth. I have finished the work
which thou gavest me to do." He hasn't gone to the cross yet,
but he had finished the work God gave him to do during his
life of service on this earth. Now, he was free to go out for
nothing. He was absolutely free to go out for nothing. He had
done no sin. There was no sin in him. There
was no guile in him. Nothing whatsoever. He was blameless. He was free to go out for nothing.
without paying any price. That's what it means. Without
paying any price. Look at verse 3, Exodus 21, 3. If he came in by himself, he
shall go out by himself. If he were married, then his
wife shall go out with him. Now look at verse 4. If his master
hath given him a wife, and if she hath borne him sons or daughters,
the wife and her children shall be her masters. They remain with
the Master and He shall go out by Himself. Now He had a bride
before He came, the children of God chosen and given Him before
the foundation of the world. And here we see Him serving this
full service just as this Hebrew servant had come to the end and
He had served. He was free to go out. This is
true of our Lord also. Our Master gave Him a bride. He gave Him sons and daughters.
And if He went out alone, if He went out alone, the wife and
her children would remain under that Master that they were under. And He'd go out by Himself. And
our Lord wouldn't go out by Himself. He wouldn't go out by Himself.
He came to save that bride. Now look at verse 5. If the servant
shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children,
I will not go out for him. I will not go out for him. Then
his master shall bring him unto the judges. He shall also bring
him to the door or into the doorpost, and his master shall bore his
ear through with an awe, and he shall serve him forever."
Look at Isaiah chapter 50, verse 5. This is the prophecy of our Lord.
This is our Lord Jesus Christ speaking. Isaiah 50, verse 5. He says, the Lord God hath opened
mine ear. His master shall bore his ear
through with an awe. Open up his ear. He's going to
put a mark on him. He's going to put a mark on him
and everybody's going to know this is my servant. He opened
his ear. He made Himself of no reputation.
He took upon Him the form of a servant, and He was obedient even unto death, even the death
of the cross. He says here in Isaiah 50, The
Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither
turned away back, but He was brought to the judges. The judges
of the earth Sinful men who exercised dominion and authority and said,
we will not have this man to reign over us. They said what
we deem as just is to crucify him. Pluck out his beard, spit
in his face, beat him, whip him, and nail him to a cursed tree.
That's what we deem best. And he said, I gave my back to
the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair.
I hid not my face from shame and spitting. And there, before
the judges of the earth, he hung before the judge of all the earth. And he, having bore the sins
of his people in his own body on the tree, he answered to the judge of the
earth. And the Lord God turned His back
upon His servant. And He paid the price. He paid
the debt His children owed. Eternal separation from God. He paid the debt. And as He did
that, brethren, He said this in verse 7 of Isaiah 50, For
the Lord God will help me. Therefore shall I not be confounded.
Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that
I shall not be ashamed." The fulfillment of the law is seen in every regard on the
cross. In every regard. The Lord Jesus
Christ, as the servant of His Master, the servant of His Father,
come to do the work given Him of His Father, loved His Father,
and He loved the bride the Father had given Him, the children the
Father had given Him. And therefore, in absolute perfect
faithfulness, trusting the Father completely, the fulfillment of
the law, is to bear the burden of those you love. That's the
fulfillment of the law in precept. And that's what he was doing.
The burden that was given him of the father was to fulfill
that law for people who couldn't fulfill it, to love a people
who couldn't love their father as their father demanded them
to love him. That burden was given to him from the father,
and he bore that burden for his father. And at the same time,
he was bearing that burden for the children, because they couldn't
do it. And he loved them, that bride
and those children that couldn't do for themselves. He loved them,
and he wouldn't go out free. And he bore that burden, and
he satisfied that law perfectly, faithfully in precept. And at
the same time that he did that, he was bearing the very penalty
of that law. And justly, God was pouring out
the judgment that was due to them on him. And at the same
time, he was declaring God just and the justifier. That's more wisdom than I... There's everything That the law
demands of me and you, in precept and penalty, being fulfilled
in perfect faithfulness, in perfect righteousness, in perfect justice,
on Calvary's tree. This is the servant. This is
the servant. He shall serve him forever. He shall be taken before the
judges, He shall have His ear open, and He'll be marked from
then on. And He'll be that one's servant
forever. Turn back to Philippians 2. Wherefore, verse 9, God also
hath exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name. We see why, don't we? You see,
He made Himself of no name to do this. No name whatsoever. And He's the greatest. God's
given Him a name above every name. Every name. That at the
name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven and
in earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
What are the mark? What's the mark? That servant
that was brought would be marked. His ear would be opened up and
he would have a mark so that everybody knew, that's my servant. That's my servant. What's the
mark of God the Father's righteous servant? He said, Thomas, reach
your hand right here and touch these marks in my hand. thrust
your hand right in here and feel this hole in my side. You know what you're gonna see
when you get to glory? We're gonna see those marks.
We're gonna see those marks. You know what? I guess that'll be the only reminder
of this place. Those marks. Those marks. The Lord has exalted Him. He
is the greatest in the kingdom of God. He gave His life a ransom
for many. And He perfectly, completely
fulfilled everything God required of His bride, of His children.
He is the fulfillment of it. That's why God the Father says,
This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. Hear ye Him." You see how foolish
it was when the disciples started arguing with each other over
who should be the greatest in the kingdom? Do you know why they did that?
Do you know why they did that? They took their eye off of Him
who is the greatest in the kingdom, standing right there in their
midst. But you know what this One who
came to serve did? turned their eye right back to
him. And you know what they did? Peter said, humble yourselves
in the sight of God. Cast all your care on him, for
he careth. He really does. He really does. So, as the servant of Christ,
Paul says, I'm sending Timothy to you. And he tells him this. He tells him this. Wherefore,
my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, verse 12, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence. You know where
Paul was. He's where we saw him last at
the end of Acts. He's bound with a chain at Rome.
And He says, now, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Everything that has to be carried
out amongst you and done amongst you, do it with fear, great fear
and great trembling. Esteeming others, everybody else, as Him who is the greatest. as
Christ the Lord Himself in your midst. Why? Why? Verse 13, For
it is God, it is God which worketh in you, in the hearts of His
children, and in our midst, both to will and to do His good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings
and disputings, In other words, you know, I don't
understand why such and such is doing what he's doing. But
you know what? God does. And God's working in
our midst. It's going to be okay. Let's
just remember whose he is and who bought him and who served
for him and who purchased him and who's governing him and whose
he is and just trust that the Lord's going to bless. He's going
to bless. Those murmurings and disputings
will turn into us arguing over who's going to be the greatest
in the kingdom. Verse 15, that you may be blameless
and harmless, sincere. You know why we love newborn
babies so much? We hadn't taught them anything
yet. We hadn't taught them how to
be men yet. The sons of God. Just babies. Harmless babies. Without rebuke,
in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation who's doing everything
they can, climbing up on top of one another, murmuring and
disputing. I was thinking of this I was
looking at Peter, 1 Peter, and I was thinking where he said,
as free as the servants of God, not using liberty as a cloak
of maliciousness. I was thinking, naturally speaking,
when we turn on our television and we see In this country, in
this nation, I love liberty. I'm thankful we live in a free
country. But do we not see natural liberty
right now just being used as a way to just murmur and dispute
and try to get every faction and every party just trying to
have their way come hell or high water? That's liberty being used
as a cloak, a disguise for just malice. malice, to get game,
to politically come out ahead of somebody so we can get reelected,
or our company gets the most benefits, or we end up getting
the biggest bang for our buck, and
our service, and all that. Our God's ruling. He's reigning
everything. We don't have to murmur and dispute,
do we? It's always going to turn out
for our good. in His glory, always. We use this liberty harmlessly
to just esteem others better than ourselves and serve one
another. Among whom you shine as lights
in the world, that's how you're going to shine. That's altogether
peculiar. That's altogether light in a
dark world, perverse world. Holding forth the word of life,
There we go. There we go. Remember how they
held up Moses' hand, one on one side and one on the other, that
he might hold up that staff. And as long as that was being
held up, Israel was conquering the enemy. This is what he's
talking about. Holding forth the Word of Life. Helping each other. This is our
purpose, is to help each other to help this one united body
to hold forth the Word of Life. That's it. And when we start
murmuring and disputing, the hands start hanging down, and
everybody gets tired and feeble and wobbly and looking away,
and the Word of Life's not held forth. Is it not before our own
eyes, not before our own hearts, not before one another, not before
anybody? Who's held forth then? Me, myself,
and I. Holding forth the Word of life,
Paul says that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have
not done in vain, neither labored in vain. Yea, and if I be offered
upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice
with you all. For the same cause also do you
joy and rejoice with me. And he says, but I trust in the
Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be
of good comfort when I know your state." This young person he's
going to send to them. And he says, for I have no man
like-minded with me who will naturally care for your state.
For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ. Now Timothy didn't say that about
himself, but what a great estimation of this great apostle, this aged
believer of this young Timothy in saying, I have nobody like-minded
with me. He cares for Jesus Christ. That's a good thing. Somebody begins to want to bend
my ear and say, you know, I don't like what such and such and such
is doing. You know, I don't have anybody
as like-minded with me as that one. They care for Christ only. I mean, me say that about you.
If somebody's criticizing you, me say to them, I don't have
anybody who's like my way. That person cares for Christ
only. That's a good commendation. Put
the best construction on each other. Put the best That's how
our hands and our ear and our eyes are going to be closed from
the adversary, from the oppression, and is to esteem other better
than ourselves. It's not that rebellious thing
that's going on outwardly. That's not my brother. That's
the flesh. My brother, he's in there somewhere. God's reigning in him, and God's
going to keep him. He's caring for Christ only.
I know that. I know that. I tell you, when
God gives us that mind, we can do all things through
Christ who strengthens us. When we're weak, absolutely weak,
and everybody else is better than ourselves, we'll be servants. We'll be servants together. I
want to end with this, John 15, 11. John 15, 11. This is what the Lord said to those
who served with Him. These things have I spoken unto
you that my joy might remain in you. and that your joy might
be full. This is my commandment, that
ye love one another as I have loved you. How is that? Greater love hath
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever
I command you. In other words, that's going
to be the proof that you are, is that you're going to lay down
your life. Henceforth, I call you not servants. We do. We call ourselves. Paul said
we're the servants of Jesus Christ. That's all I want to be, is His
servant. I don't want to go out free. All to Him I owe. I want to serve Him. Not as a
willing bondservant. He's opened my ear. He's opened
my ear. He's put His mark on me. He made
me to behold what He's done for me. And I want to serve Him. I serve Him, His bride, His children. And He says, Henceforth I call
you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. But I have called you friends.
For all things that I have heard of my Father, I have made known
unto you. You have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring
forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever
you shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you.
These things I command you. that you love one another. He's
teaching us how to love one another. Greater love hath no man than
this. He lays down his life for his friend. Well, we see why he's the greatest,
don't we? He's the greatest. Let's pray. Lord, forgive us. Forgive us of this flesh that wars against
our soul, wars against that which You've created within us, full of all envy and malice and
evil speaking and evil surmisings. Turn us now and cause us to behold this faithful, loving, sacrificing,
all-sufficient Savior who ransomed us from everything we are. And teach us, Lord, that by this
sight, this look, Communicating in our hearts this
engrafted word, this indeed is how this old man is laid aside
with all his deeds and how we indeed put on the new man and
follow after Christ our righteousness and our holiness and how we are
kept from being conformed again to this sinful, disputing world,
and indeed made light in Christ the light. Father, forgive us. Thank you for continuing to teach
us. And Lord, these trials are painful, but if need be, if need
be. What an end. What an end to bring
us to the feet of Him who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our
souls, to Him to whom all dominion has been given, to whom all powers
and principalities are in subjection, that we might indeed know, Lord,
You are King of kings and Lord of lords. and you will do right
in our midst. Give us this fear and trembling
to know you're right here with us. Thank you, Lord. In Christ we
ask it. Amen.