Good morning. Let's all stand
together. We're going to sing our first hymn of the day out
of the bulletin. The tune Doxology. We're going
to sing that first. Hymn of the day in the bulletin. Oh, Lord, our hearts and souls
aspire to lift up from this earth O may we think on heavenly things,
and know the joy thy presence brings. Lord, let us see the
Savior's face. and let us taste of thy sweet
grace. May open ears thy glories hear,
and may we smell thy fragrance near. Be pleased to open heaven's
door, And on our heads Thy blessing pour. All wretched, poor, and
needy we, Where can we go if not to Thee? Oh may this day
be blessed the most that Jesus Christ becomes the host to feed
our souls with living bread and with our souls in joy to win. Be seated we'll sing Hymn number
106. Number 106. Tell me the story of Jesus Write
on my heart every word Tell me the story most precious Sweetest
that ever was heard Tell how the angels in chorus Sang as
they welcomed his birth Glory to God in the highest Peace and
good tidings to earth Tell me the story of Jesus, write on
my heart every word. Tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard. Fasting alone in the desert,
Tell of the days that are past. How for our sins He was tempted,
Yet was triumphant at last. Tell of the years of his labor,
tell of the sorrow he bore. He was despised and afflicted,
homeless, rejected, and poor. Tell me the story of Jesus Write
on my heart every word Tell me the story most precious Sweetest
that ever was heard Tell of the cross where they
nailed Him, writhing in anguish and pain. Tell of the grave where
they laid Him, tell how He liveth again. Love in that story so tender,
clearer than ever I see. Stay, let me weep while you whisper,
love paid the ransom for me. Tell me the story of Jesus Write
on my heart every word Tell me the story most precious Sweetest
that ever was heard Mark chapter 10. Mark chapter
10. Read from 35 to 45. Mark 10. And James and John, the sons
of Zebedee, came unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldst
do for us whatever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would
ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto
us that we may sit, one on the right hand, and the other on
the left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, you
know not what you ask. Can you drink of the cup that
I drank of, be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized
with? And they said unto him, we can. And Jesus said unto them, you
shall indeed drink of the cup that I drank. and with the baptism
that I am baptized with shall you be baptized. But to sit on
my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it shall
be given to them for whom it is prepared. And when the ten
heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to him
and saith unto them, you know, that they which are accounted
to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their
great one exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be
so among you, but whosoever shall be great among you shall be your
minister, and whosoever you will be the chiefest shall be your
servant of all. For even the Son of Man came
not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life
a ransom for many. Our great, glorious, blessed
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. who he himself is God
over all, blessed forever. Oh, Lord, ye cannot praise ye,
exalt ye, speak of ye as ye ought to be spoken of. All's we can
do is come to you as ye are, high and holy, lifted up. Oh, Lord, you inhabit eternity. You're holy in all three persons.
You're good, you have your way in the whirlwind. No man can stay your hand or
say unto you what you're doing. Because you will do your will.
You will do your will. And your will be accomplished
in this world. And in this world. And Lord,
we long for the day where we live in that eternal glory. where,
Lord, this flesh will never interfere with us ever again, where this
old body and this old mind and this old sinful flesh will never,
ever be a burden to us again, never hurt us again, never be
burdened again, never had a heartache again, never worry about someone
again, never have to deal with sin again, never, ever have to
deal with this world. Lord, we're gonna be like John. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus,
come quickly. And Lord, we pray for the meeting
today, that you'd be pleased to meet among us, that you'd
be pleased to come and give us your presence. I know some people
have the great confidence that you'll always be here, but Lord,
I don't have that. I have that confidence for everybody
else, but not for myself. Lord, I don't want to stand here
alone. I don't want to stand here in this flesh. I don't want
to stand here in my own understanding, in my own wisdom. I want that
wisdom that comes from above, that power that comes from God.
And Lord, we do ask for mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy upon our
lost loved ones, sons and daughters, grandchildren, husbands and wives. And those that's in this service,
God please, for Christ's sake, move upon the heart, bring glory
to yourself and the salvation of your people. In our Lord Jesus'
name we pray, amen. Be Thou my vision, O Lord of
my heart. Not be all else to me, save that
Thou art. Thou my best thought, by day
or by night. Waking or sleeping, thy presence
my light. Be thou my wisdom and thou my
true word. I ever with Thee, and Thou with
me, Lord, Thou my great Father and Thy true Son. Thou in me dwelling, and I with
Thee one. Riches I did not, nor man's empty
praise, Thou mine inheritance, Now and always, thou and thou
only, first in my heart. High King of heaven, my treasure
thou art. High King of heaven, my victory
won. May I reach heaven's joys, O
bright, fair sun. Heart of my own heart, whatever
befall. Oh, so ruler of all. I hope you're still in Mark chapter
10. I want you to notice a couple of
things. Our Lord, but right before this, had been talking about
going to the cross. You know that he'd be delivered
up by the chief priests and they'd condemn him to death and they
would kill him. All the things that would happen
to him. And after that, They said, James and John, verse 35,
James and John, the subservient, he said, Master, we would that
you desire for us whatever we shall desire. And he said, what
would it that we grant that's set on your right hand and on
your left? Now look over with me in Mark chapter nine. The same thing happens. Every
time he talked about, when he talked about his death, talked
about his sacrificial death, and what the men and women would
do to him, what the people would do to him. And it said here in verse 31,
and he taught his disciples and said unto them, the son of man
is delivered into the hands of men and they shall kill him. After that he is killed, he shall
rise the third day. But they understood not that
saying and were afraid to ask him. And he came to Capernaum,
and being in the house, he asked him, what was it that disputed
among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace, for
they had disputed among themselves who should be the greatest. So
after every time our Lord talked about his death, these fellas
became selfish, started disputing among themselves. Our Lord talks
about his death. And they said, they's talking
about who's going to be the greatest, who's going to be the greatest
among them. And here our Lord talked about his death. We'd
talked about that last week and he no sooner got with through
with that and James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Zebedee,
they were, they were fishermen and they left their boats and
they followed the Lord Jesus Christ. And they asked the Lord
that he would do something for them. And oh, what is it you
want me to do? Oh Lord, grant that we may sit
on the right hand and the other on the left in thy glory. The
title of my message this morning is Selfish Self. Selfish Self. You know anything about him?
You know anything about him? The cult of self here is so clearly,
clearly seen. They said, oh Lord, we want to
sit on you there in verse... They wanted something that nobody
else had. They said, Lord, we want to sit
on your right. They had something they wanted.
And they said, we want to sit on your right hand and on your
left. How self-indulgent. Self-promotion. self-advantage,
all born out of love of self, all born out of love of self.
And you know, and thus so look at self-deception here, down
in verse 38 and 39. When they asked to set one on
the right hand, the other on the glory, our Lord said, do
you know what you're asking? Do you have any idea what you're
asking for? You know, they were so deceived
in their power and their ability and their self-interest and their
selfishness that they had no idea what they was asking the
Lord to do. When you get up on there on your throne and you
come in your kingdom, I want John over here and I want me
over there. Our Lord said, do you know what
you're asking? Do you have a clue what you're
talking about? Oh, how self-deceived they were. And then look down
here in verse 41, and here we have self-interest. And when
the ten heard it, they became much displeased. Who with? James and John. What about us? What about us? They got aggravated, they got
mad, they got upset with James and John. They was interested
in self. Where are we at in this whole
equation? What is our interest in this
whole equation? What is going on with us that
we, they want something, what are we gonna get? What are we
gonna get? And oh my, just always, and what
they're doing, and when they said that, you know, they began
displeased with James and John and very angry with him, upset
with him. And what they're saying is, is
when they said that there, that John and James are seeking the
position we deserve, and they thought that, yes, we're seeking
the position that we actually deserve. You think self is not
a rotten thing? What they're saying is, is that
we seek a position that we really do deserve. We've earned this.
We've got a right to this. And then the other 10 that was
left, they was upset with them, said, they're trying to get something
that's our rightful, that's right for us to have. It's right for
us to have. And you know, look over with
me in Luke 22. This went on right to the very
end. These fellas went to the very
end. Look in Luke 22 in verse 19. they're seeking the position
we deserve. And oh my, this was going on right up here to the
end. Look what he said here in verse
19. Now this is the last supper,
this is the last time they're gonna eat with our Lord Jesus
Christ. He took bread, gave thanks, break
it, gave unto them, saying, this is my body, which is given for
you, this do in remembrance of me. Likewise, also the cup after
supper, saying, this cup is the New Testament in my blood, which
is shed for you. But the hand of him that betrays
me is with me on the table. And the Son of Man goes as it
was determined, woe unto that man by whom it is betrayed. Now
listen to the next one. And they began to inquire among
themselves which of them should be accounted the greatest. Can you imagine? They just got
through breaking bread. The last supper, our Lord Jesus
Christ got up and started, said, which one of us is the greatest?
Who's the biggest, who's the main piston rod in this outfit?
Selfish self. You know, I don't know about
you, but I can see myself in this mess. I can. But let me give you three little
points that I want us to see this morning, if I can. Through
what happened here, about these men seeking this high position. Our Lord is teaching us first
what union with Himself is, what union with Himself is, how gloriously
united we are with our Lord Jesus Christ. And then He teaches us
what it takes to be great. They want to know who's the greatest.
They want to have a position in the kingdom of glory. And
then he tells us why he came. He tells us why he came. But
here, starting verse 35, and let's go down through these things
and make a few comments on them. And James and John, the sons
of Zebedee, they was a wealthy family. They had servants. They
left the ships and the servants. his father's servants was on
the ship. So these fellas come from a pretty
wealthy family, and they come unto him and say, Master, we would that thou shouldest
doest for us what we should desire. Well, we see on the very surface
here the self-indulgence and foolishness of this request. What an awful request, what a
foolish request, what a selfish request, oh, what a self-indulgent
request. In verse 36 and 37, they say
unto him, our Lord said, What would you that I should do for
you? What do you want me to do? And they said unto him, Grant
unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, the other
on thy left, in thy glory. Now in Matthew's account, his
mother is the one that makes this request. She comes and said,
Lord, I want you to do something for my two sons. And this is
an act of self-shameless, self-promotion and self-love. It really is. And then our Lord said in verse
38, you don't know what in the world you're asking for. Oh my,
you don't have any idea. Any idea what you're asking for? And then he says, can you drink
the cup that I drink of? Now, what cup is our Lord talking
about here? What cup is he talking about?
There's only one cup our Lord talked about in his life, in
his ministry. And then he went off into Gethsemane.
He went in there with James, John, and Peter. They fell asleep. But our Lord, He went and He
began to pray. And He became to pray so earnestly
that His sweat became, as it were, great drops of blood. And
He said, Father, if it be possible, take this cup
from Me. What was that cup that our Lord
was gonna take? What cup is He talking about?
He's talking about a cup that the Father put in His hands,
that the Father gave Him to drink, and it was the cup of wrath. It was a cup full of sin. Oh,
all the sins of His elect were in that cup, our guilt, our shame,
our sin. These men's selfishness and self-promotion
was in that cup. Our pride was in that cup. Our hatred for God was in that
cup. Everything that was against God
was in that cup. The wrath of God, the vengeance
of God, the judgment of God, the justice of God. was in that
cup. And our Lord went off and prayed,
if it'd be possible, and then the drops of blood began to come
out of his pores. He was in such agony, such agony,
such agony. Oh my. And he said, Oh, can you
drink that cup? And he said, Father, nevertheless,
Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. My cup. I want you to look in
Luke chapter 12, you know, and when we'll talk about baptism,
well, no, let's wait a minute here. Let's go to Isaiah 63.
Look at this. Look in Isaiah 63 about this
cup. Now, our Lord's talking about
a cup. So that's what he's telling these people, said these two
men. You don't know what you're asking. You don't know what you're
asking. You just don't know. You don't
know. Look what he said here. You've
seen this many times. Who is this that cometh from
Edom? with dyed garments from Basra,
this that is glorious in his apparel. Traveling in the greatness
of his death, I this speak in righteousness mighty to say,
why are you red in your apparel? Why are your garments like him
that treadeth in the wine press, wine fat? I've trodden the wine
press alone. And of the people, there was
none with me, for I tread them in my anger, trample them in
my fury. Their blood shall be sprinkled
upon my garments. And I will stain all my raiment,
for the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my
redeemed is come. And there was none to help, none
to help. Oh my. So Lord, think about this cup.
He said, Are you able to drink this cup? This cup of God's wrath? This
cup of God's judgment? This cup of God's indignation?
This cup of God's vengeance? Are you able to drink it? Are
you able to drink it? And then He said, And be baptized
with the baptism that I shall be baptized with. Now, what baptism
is He talking about? Oh, look over in Luke 10, 12,
excuse me, Luke 12. You know, what is this baptism?
What is this baptism our Lord's talking about here? Look what he said here in verse
50. But I have a baptism to be baptized
with. And how am I straightened? And
you look at that in the margin. How am I pained till it be accomplished? What is this baptism that he's
talking about? It's being immersed, immersed
into the sufferings that he has to face. How many times did he
say, my hour has not come yet? And how many times did He talk
about His suffering? How many times did He talk about
His death? How many times did He talk about what He would have
to go through in the end of His life? You know, our Lord Jesus
Christ, when He would come into flesh, what a baptism was that!
But our Lord's talking about how He's gonna be so immersed
into the will of God into the doing what God willed for him
to do, so immersed in the salvation of his people, so immersed in
his suffering, so immersed in his death, so immersed in suffering
on that cross that he said, are you able to be immersed in all
the sufferings that I'm gonna suffer? Will you be able to be
immersed in that? Will you be able to be dipped
in that, suffer in that baptism with me? Now you see what it means. You
able to do that? You fellas don't know what you're
asking. You don't know what you're asking. Huh? Oh, my. Look what they said. And they
said unto him, oh, we able to do that. That ain't nothing for
us. Oh, we can do that. Oh, we can
do that. Oh, we're up to the task. We're
up to the task. We can do this. We can do this. Oh, my. What self-deception. What ignorance. What ignorance. What self-righteousness
and pride. We're up to it. We can take care
of this. We can handle this. Oh, we can handle this. Oh, how
many of us think we can handle things? How many of us think we're strong
enough to deal with anything or everything? Oh, we're up to the task. Well, what does our Lord tell
them? In verse 39, and our Lord said unto them, You shall indeed
drink of that cup that I drank of. And with the baptism I'm
baptized with, withal shall you be baptized. This is talking
about our union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Huh? And we're taught here that our
union with Christ and what it means. He said, you shall indeed. You shall indeed. There is a
people that are in him YOU SHALL INDEED BE BAPTIZED WITH THE BAPTIZE
OF MY HANDS. And there s a people that are
in Him, have a union with Him. There s a people that were chosen
in Him and you know the Apostle says this that we were chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world. There was a people
in Him that was eternally with Him, eternally united to Him. There's a people that Christ
had a seed of, and Christ come into this world to save those
people. And He said, You shall indeed.
And oh my, and let me tell you, you've got so many illustrations
in the Bible. So many illustrations how people
are so united and how thou Lord Jesus Christ. You know, Abraham
paid tithes in Levi. Now, Levi hadn't even been born. It was centuries before Levi
would be born. But when Abraham met Melchizedek,
and the high priest of God Almighty, Master of God, he paid tithes
to him, and how did he do it? He done it in Levi, the descendant
of his. That's how close people are to
one another. And how about the people in the
ark? Were they inside the ark? Were they saved in that ark?
Was that ark sure for them? Were they CHOSEN to be in that
ark? Were they PURPOSED to be in that
ark? Was they SAVED in that ark? Our Lord said, Come thou into
the ark! He didn't say, Go in! He said,
Come in! And that's the way it is with
people in Christ. Christ is there, and He said,
Come in, and we're in Him! And where the wrath of God was,
it fell on the ark. And everybody that's in there,
the wrath of God fell on the ark, but it didn't fall on him.
And oh my. And then what about the Israelites? When that blood was put over
the door, everybody inside that, everybody under that blood was
saved. God said, I'll pass over you.
When I see the blood, I'll be the blood. So I tell you what,
all those people were saved. All those people were in Christ. All those people, that's why
everything was provided for them, for His people. You shall indeed,
you shall indeed. And John the Baptist, when our
Lord come to John the Baptist, and he said, oh Lord, I need
to be baptized of you. Our Lord said to him, said, it
becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. Now who in the world he's talking
about us? He wasn't talking about John needing to be made righteous. It becometh us to fulfill all
righteousness. And so when our Lord Jesus Christ
was baptized there in the River Jordan, our Lord, he was fulfilling
all righteousness for us, for us. And oh my, and for everybody
that was in him, everybody that was in him. We were so united
to Christ that when He kept the law, we kept the law. When our Lord Jesus Christ drank
that cup, we're so united with Him that we drank that cup. We drank that cup. That's how united we was. Whatever
Christ did, we did. Everything he was involved in,
we were involved in. And oh my, bless his name, I'm
so thankful that our Lord has made us so one with him. If you
know what he says, we're called his body. We're called his body. And when he's kept every jot
and every tittle of the law, we kept it too. We kept it too. You know, it amazes me that people
think that they could keep one jot or one tittle of God's love,
and it's more than the Ten Commandments. It's more than that. It's all
the ordinances and all the washings and feasts and all the things.
But our Lord Jesus Christ, when He kept it all, we did too. That's why I said, Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Why not? It's Christ
that died. It's Christ that died. And when
he drank that cup, I tell you what, we drank that cup with
him. God's wrath, God's vengeance, God's judgment fell on us in
him. We drank that cup. We drank that
cup. Have you ever had a bitter cup?
God ever put a cup in your hand that was so bitter? So distasteful? And when our Lord Jesus Christ
was immersed under the wrath of God, immersed under the wrath
of God, we were immersed in Him. God has no more wrath for us,
no more wrath for Him. When He was immersed in that
wrath of God, when He was immersed under the judgment of God, we
was under the wrath of God in Him. We was under the wrath of
God in him. And when our Lord was nailed
to the cross, we were too. Paul said, I'm crucified with
Christ. Crucified with Christ. Nevertheless,
I live. I live. I crucified with him.
Crucified with him. When Christ was nailed to the
cross, we were too. And when our Lord Jesus Christ
died, we died in Him. We died too. We died also. You know, He died under sin once.
We died under sin once. He died under the judgment of
God. We died under the judgment of God. When He died on the cross,
we died with Him. Everything that I, we were so
in union with Christ. He said, you shall indeed do
this. You shall indeed drink of the
cup and be baptized with the baptism. And when our Lord was
laid in the grave, we were laid there with him. We were laid
there with him. I mean, we know as he died, we
died. When he was buried, we was buried. And when he lay in that tomb
lifeless, oh my, we were in him. And when He arose, we arose with
Him. We arose with Him. And oh my,
when He ascended and sat at the Father's right hand, and sat
at His Father's right hand, we're seated with Him. That's why there's
no condemnation of them that are in Christ. Look in Ephesians
2 with me. Look in Ephesians 2. Oh my. Look here, Ephesians 2. Oh, we had such a union with
Christ, we're so united to Christ. He said in verse 4, Ephesians
2, 4, but God, but God, he's wealthy, wealthy, wealthy in
mercy. And he is so wealthy in mercy
with a great love wherewith he loved us. And listen when He
loved us, even when we were dead with sins. Listen to this, hath
quickened us together with Christ. When Christ was raised from the
dead, that's what He's talking about here. By grace are you
saved and hath raised us up together. When He was raised up, we was
raised up together with Him. And when He ascended on high
and set in heavenly places, we sat there together with Him.
Do you see that? Everything's with Him, together
with Him. And here's what He's gonna do. And in the ages to come, that
means when this world's wrapped up, He's gonna show the exceeding
of His grace and kindness towards us through Jesus Christ. Oh my,
I tell you, beloved, everything Christ did, we did. That cannot
be denied. that cannot be denied. When our
Lord talked about marriage as being a typical, we're called
bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. When He talked about
marriage to becoming one, well in Christ we became one. Christ was one, we became one
in Him. Everything he is, we are. Everything
he did, we did. It's his righteousness we stand
in. It's his death we is immersed in. It's his cup that we drink
when he drank it. And there's nothing, nothing
that can hurt us again. And that's why they had no idea
what they was talking about. But they would, they would, they
would. And then he says in verse 40,
they had no idea Well, he says in verse 40, but to sit on my
right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it shall
be given to them that is for whom it is prepared. Has somebody
been, who is these people that's prepared? Who are these people
that's gonna sit there? Who are they? Well, I believe
the same ones who's been made set together in heavenly places.
He raised us up and made us set together in heavenly places.
Wherever He's at, they says we are. And where's He at? He's
at the right hand of God. So we're there, we do know that. And I also think that the same
one who Christ said, I go to prepare a place for you. I go to prepare a place for who?
For you. FOR YOU WHO BELIEVE IN GOD, AND
YOU THAT BELIEVE ALSO IN ME." HE SAID, THIS PLACE IS PREPARED,
I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU. AND OH, MY! AND I TELL YOU WHAT,
IT MAY MEAN OTHER SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS, I DON'T KNOW. BUT HE SAID, IT
WILL BE GIVEN TO WHOM IT IS PREPARED. IT MAY BE THE WHOLE NUMBER OF
GOD'S ELECT. It may be all the number of God's
elect. Look over in Matthew 25. Matthew
25. Verse 34. It may be all the number of God's
elect, but I know it's been prepared for, you know, gonna be for who
it's prepared for. Look what our Lord Jesus said
here, Then shall the king say unto
them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. I believe he's got me a place
prepared for him at his right hand. He went to the cross and prepared
that place, and if I was in Him, wherever He's gonna be, that's
where I'm gonna be. The body's gotta be where the
head is. Oh, the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. It may be the number of all of
God's elect, I don't know, but I do know this, that He's got
it prepared, and every time you look at something He's prepared,
it's prepared for His people. his people. And oh my, then look
what happens here in verse 41. And oh, they were moved with
indignation, and the ten heard it. They heard what John and
them were asking for. They was all there, and they
heard this conversation. They heard everything about it.
And they began to be much displeased. They began to be moved with indignation. They were so upset with these
two men. And oh, what they're saying is
they're seeking a place above us. They won't be above us. They think they're better than
we are. They think they know more than we do. They think they've
got greater privileges than we have. They were certainly seeking
the greatest. And oh, look what our master
said to them in verse 42. But Jesus called to them and
saith unto them, oh my, you know that they which are
counted to rule. And he said, oh, they which are
counted to rule. Ain't this what John and James
was asking for? We want to be in the position
of being rulers. We want to rule. We want to rule
with you at your right hand on your left hand. When you say
something's done, we want to be the one doing it. Isn't this what James and John
wanted? Oh, James and John want to have the
highest position in the kingdom of grace. And oh my, and they actually,
you know, counted Debrew. Boy, I tell you what, very few
people, very few people have the ability to be nothing, be
nothing. But oh my, and our Lord goes
on to say, you know that they which are counted to rule, to
rule. You know to rule over something,
it means you got some power, you got some authority, you got
some rights, You got great power. They call our, whoever's president
say he's the greatest power in the world. Got the greatest power
and authority in the world. Do you reckon that's right? I
don't think that's right. I don't think that's right. But
oh my, look what he goes on to say. And they exercise lordship over them. They exercise great
authority, great power. They exercise, I'm Lord over
you! I'm Lord over you! Great ones, they exercise authority
on them, and that's the way it is here in this world right here.
I mean, you know, somebody's got the power and got the authority,
they can do some things to us. They can get by with doing things.
Just a couple of years ago, they had the authority to tell us
not to meet in church anymore. They had the authority to tell
us to wear a mask. and everybody kowtowed to it,
everybody gave in to it. Now that s exercising Lordship,
that s ruling, and that s what these fellas are thinking about,
Oh my, we can rule here, we got this power, and that s what I
want, James, and that s what John wants, and that s what we
want you to give us, Lord. And I tell you, our Lord was
amazed at a man one time. He had a servant, just a servant
that was sick, And I, Lord, sent some men to tell the Lord Jesus
Christ to come. He said, I've got a servant that's
sick. And they went and told him, and
they said, Lord, this centurion has a servant that's sick, and
he wants you to heal him. And this man is worthy. This
man is worthy of this. He's built synagogues for us.
He's built big places for us to worship. So I, Lord, Started
that way. And you know what that centurion
said when he got there? He said, Lord, I'm not worthy
that you should come under my house, under my room. Everybody else said he was, but
he said, I'm not. He said, Lord, I'm a man of authority. When
I tell somebody to go, they go. When I tell somebody to come,
they come. When I tell somebody to do something,
they do it. All you got to do is speak your
word and he'll be healed. Be healed. And our Lord said
I've never seen such, now he knew what authority was. And
he exercised that authority. Herod, oh he had authority. He had great authority. He was
the political ruler over each, over Israel at that time. daughter done a wonderful dance,
his stepdaughter done a wonderful dance, he said you ask me what
you want up to half of the kingdom that's where he had authority,
he said I can give you half of everything in this place if you
want it I got authority, I got power mama what should I ask for? I
want John the Baptist's head on a platter go and get it That's authority. That's what Gentiles, he said,
that's the way they act. That's the way they act. And
oh, they're talking about have power over you. When John and
James talk about having power over you, that's what they're
saying. They have power over this ten. And this is what people
that have power, they try to exercise. And oh, I know something
you don't know. I know someone you don't know.
I have something you don't have.
And there's people that have power by association. You know
I know so and so. So they get this power by association. They get this authority by association. They have some, you know, they
get, they know somebody that knows somebody that knows somebody,
and I know somebody that knows somebody. That's power. That's pride and self-righteousness. Oh my, but now look what our
Lord said next. Verse 43, but so it shall not
be among you. John and James, Peter and Andrew,
Matthew, Bartholomew, Judas, That's not the way you fellas
gonna act. You're not gonna act this way.
This is not the way you're all gonna be. You're not gonna be
like this. You're not gonna be this way.
Oh, you're not gonna be this way. Now these fellas were in
competition, but there's no competition in the body of Christ. There's
no competition in the body of Christ. Anybody here in competition?
Anybody here out trying to do anybody else? Anybody trying to be Lord over
anybody else? Oh my. Talking to a dear brother
yesterday and he said, to preachers or anybody, To be
in competition with one another is the most despicable crime. It's awful, awful, it's a shameful,
it's just most God-dishonoring, Christ-dishonoring, scripture-dishonoring,
scripture-denying thing that somebody can do. And these fellas
were so up, they, I want this position. Oh no, I tell you,
it's, you're upset with you. But that, they went, we're not
in competition in the body of Christ. We're not. We're members of the same body.
We're members of the same body. But you know, our Lord gives
us the key to being great. He gives us the key to being
great. In verse 43, not be among you, but whosoever
will be, verse 43, whosoever be great among you, He's the
one that's gonna take care of things for you. Gonna minister.
Whatever your needs are, he's gonna minister your needs. Oh
my. And here's the key to greatness
right here. And whosoever you be chief. John James, you wanna be chief?
Peter, you wanna be chief? Y'all wanna know which one's
the greatest? I'm gonna tell you who can be the greatest.
Whosoever you be the chiefest. That's going to be your servant.
You serve. You serve. Don't ask for that
position here. Don't ask for that position there.
Don't try to be big shot over here. Don't try to be something
over there. Oh, my. Servant, if you want to be great,
all it takes to be great is to be a servant. Of who? Everybody. Everybody. Everybody. And then look what our Lord gives
us, our Lord tells us why He came, why He came, why He came. Verse 45, for even the Son of
Man came, not to be ministered unto, but to minister, to serve. Our Lord, remember when He took
off, going to wash the disciples' feet and John, girded himself
with a towel and got a basin of water, and he's gonna wash
those disciples' feet. And they all, oh, Lord, you can't
do that, you can't do that. He said, if I don't, you don't
have no part in me. Oh, Lord, wash me, wash me, wash
me. He's talking about a servant. Our Lord. And then what a servant
to put up with men like that. Oh, my. He gave himself as an
example. He came and he said, not to be
ministered unto, but to minister, to wait on people. And look what
he says, and to give his life a ransom for me. He gave himself
as an example. First of all, he said, I came.
The Son of Man came. I came. Where'd you come from,
Lord? I came down from heaven. I came down from the Father's
glory. I left my position in heaven and came down here. And
then he called himself the son of man in his humanity, talking
about being a man. And he said, I didn't come here
to minister, but to minister. And then he said, this is what
I've done. This is how I'm going to serve you. I'm going to really
serve you. I'm going to give my life a ransom.
You're held captive. You're held captive by law and
justice and the wrath of God, the judgment of God. And he said,
I'm going to pay everything that it'll take to set you free. And who the son sets free is
free indeed. Our Father, in the precious name
of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you'd be pleased to use this,
and I pray you'd be pleased to use it to your glory, the good
of the hearers. And I pray that I honored you
and exalted you. And I thank you that you taught
us these blessed truths. Lord, let us never exalt ourselves. Seek honor for ourselves. Let
us never brag on ourselves. Let us never put ourselves forward
until someone invites us or asks us. Lord, help us to be as the
Apostle, to be nothing that you may be everything. Lord, if we
exalt ourselves, please humble us. If we seek recognition, oh, Lord,
shame our face, put shame on us. Save us from ourselves, save
us from pride and self-righteousness, and have mercy on us. And now,
Lord, I thank you for this food. I thank you for the food we're
about to enjoy, and thank you for the hands that prepared it,
the love that went into it. Thank you for everyone who's
done something, and thank you for this congregation. Bring
glory to yourself through us for Christ's sake. Amen. Amen. There is, you girls can
go on. There is a name I love to hear. I love to sing his praise. It sounds like music in my ear. The sweetest name on earth. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Because he first loved me. Well, they'll let us know when
they get ready to eat.