Alright, the lesson this morning
will be taken from Luke chapter 22, verses 24 through 27. And the subject of the lesson
is about the least and the greatest. And it's a lesson in humility.
Let's read these verses together. Luke chapter 22, beginning with
verse 24. And there was also a strife among
them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, the kings
of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that exercise
authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye 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 whither is greater, he that
setteth at meat, or he that seareth? Is not he that setteth at meat?
Isn't he the greatest? But I am among you, as he that
seareth. This is a lesson that we all
need to learn. It's a lesson in humility. Now, I pray that the Lord himself
teach us these precious lessons as he taught his disciples. Now, it's difficult at best to
make any comparison between the natural and the spiritual. We have to be careful. Our Lord
was a master at it. He knew how to do it, and we
do well to follow his example, but it's difficult. And this
difficulty, I think, no doubt, is more than anything else to
blame for misinterpretation of the scriptures and misapplication
of the scriptures. We have a difficulty perceiving
these spiritual things. There's just nothing really to
compare them to. And when we do, it's just a slight
comparison. Brother Mahan used to tell me,
don't try to take these things and make them walk. They're not
whole in themselves, they're just partial things. And not only are they difficult
to compare, they are in fact the very opposite. And that's
what he just showed them about the Gentiles. The kingdom of
God is the very opposite of the way this world thinks and operates. In the natural realm, success
is measured by gain. In the spiritual realm, success
is measured by loss. Whosoever shall save his life
shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake
shall find it. In the society we live in, a
self-made man is admired. He goes out here and he has nothing
and he starts a business and he makes a business out of it.
He's admired. They call it, he's a self-made
man. But in the spiritual realm, he's
condemned. Without me, our Lord said, you
can do nothing. In this world, ambition and aggressiveness
are commendable things. in the world to come, they're
deplorable. Natural men in this natural world
who strive for advancement and promotion are admired, but not
so in the kingdom of God. There we're taught to strive
for humility and servitude. The title of the lesson today
is A Lesson in Humility. And our lesson begins with a
strife. Now, let me remind you of what
had just gone on. Our Lord had just fulfilled the
Passover. He Himself fulfilled what was
typical of Him for thousands of years. And He sent these twelve
men down at a table and ate the Passover with them and then instituted
the Lord's table. And he himself got up and broke
the bread and handed it to them, poured the wine in the cup and
passed it around, divided it out among them, and established
the Lord's supper. And then he told them, Have not
I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? One of you
is going to forsake me. One of you is going to sell me
out. One of you has a devil. On the one hand, they were exceeding
sorrowful. You can read about it in Matthew
26, 22. They were all exceeding sorrowful, and each of them humbly
asking, is it I? Is it I? And in a moment's time, they
were arguing about who's going to be greatest in the kingdom
of God. Almost unbelievable, isn't it? The bread and the wine were still
fresh in their bodies, but their minds had already vacated the
building. There was not a more monumental
occasion than what they'd just witnessed, the fulfillment of
the Passover lamb, the preparation for their exodus, their departure. They'd eaten of the typical lamb
which was served to them by the lamb. And the Son of God, in
an unprecedented act of humility and servitude, had stooped down
and washed their feet. Only twelve men in the history
of mankind were privileged to have the Son of Man, Jehovah's
servant, kneel down with a towel and wash their feet. Only twelve. And to serve them the Passover
personally, and then tell them what it meant. And they couldn't
find anything else to talk about but some future station and authority
and honor in the kingdom of God. Who's going to be the greatest?
Who's going to be the greatest? But before we slam the gavel of judgment upon man, Maybe we ought to consider ourselves. Is not this Passover lamb set
before us every time we hear the Gospel fruits? Is not that
bread broken and that wine served? Spiritually. As we sit and hear
the Word of God proclaimed, are we not being served again and
again by the Son of God? He that heareth you, heareth
me, he says. Are we few experiencing a great
privilege that millions around us will never have? God himself
is in this room bestowing his saving grace and mercy, and no
sooner than his bread and wine is eaten and drank than our minds
are drawn back into the world that we live in. We're not talking
about spiritual things. We're talking about what we're
going to do next week. If it warms up, I'm going to go fishing.
If the weather's right, I can work, you know, when we start
talking about this world. And it's vain and empty joys. Thank God for a loving, merciful,
and gracious Savior. Now listen to me. He who knew
them as they were. They didn't know themselves,
but He did. And he who knew themselves as
they were served them as they were. Boy, I tell you, if that
don't bring some comfort to your heart, he knows what we are. He knows
how we are. He knows what we're going to
do before we do it. And we need to be reminded of
this constantly. Salvation is for sinners. It's for sinners. And I don't
encourage you to sin that grace may abound. That's not what I'm
up here trying to do. Believers despise their sin.
Their sin is what nailed him to the cross. Sin lies at the root of all of
our troubles. Sin entered, death passed. We
know what sin is. Sin, when it's finished, the
scripture says, brings forth death, eternal death. Yet the
best of men are sinners at best. And sinners who shall be saved
require a servant. Do they not? They require a servant,
not one to tend their wants, but one to tend their needs.
And while our Lord was here in this world, He served His Father
by serving those given to Him, trusted, if you will, to Him
by His Father. He served the sick and the demon-possessed. He served the haught and the
blind. He served the hungry and thirsty
souls. He served the wayward and lost.
He served as a preacher. Can you imagine? The eternal
Word of God. standing behind a pulpit teaching
people. He served. He served as a preacher,
as a teacher, as a representative, as a substitute, a mediator,
prophet, priest, and king. He served. He said, I am among
you as he that serveth. And which is greater, he said.
Which is greater, to sit at the table and be served? Yes. But he said, what am I doing? I'm serving you. I'm serving
you. Now I don't know how you think about
Christ our Savior, but here he tells us how we should. Verse
25. He said unto them, The kings
of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they exercise
authority upon them, and they 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. Turn with me to Philippians chapter
2. Serving God is about an attitude. It's all in the attitude. And nowhere I know of is this
lesson stated better than Philippians chapter 2. He begins with a necessary act
of God in the hearts of believers, and without this miracle of grace,
the rest will be impossible. Philippians 2 verse 1. If there
be, therefore, If, that's a big if, if there be any consolation
in Christ, is there? Are you consoled with the person
of Christ? Is He your consolation? When
everything's going down the tube, when everything just being taken
away when everything seems like it, where is your consolation? In a bunch of facts? Or in a
person? And this is what Paul is asking.
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of
love, I tell you when the world turns
you upside down and wrings you out, There's nothing more comforting
to you than to find out the Lord loves you. When did he start? Farther back
than I can go. When did he quit? He never did.
When will he quit? He never will. What if? Read Romans chapter 8. There
is no what if. He that loved you from the beginning
will love you to the end. You comforted with that? Oh my
soul. And then he said, if any fellowship
of the Spirit. What's he talking about? He's
talking about the revelation of Christ. He's talking about
light coming into a dark soul. He's talking about everlasting
life. He's talking about understanding. To you, it's given to understand
the mysteries of the kingdom of God. It's not given to them.
Huh? Is there any fellowship? of the
Spirit, fellers in the same ship. I tell you, the Spirit of God
reveals Christ. That's what He does. When He
comes, He's not going to speak of Himself. He's going to take
the things of mine and show them unto you. If there's any fellowship,
it's fellers in that ship, in Christ. And then He said, if
any vows and mercies fulfill you, my joy, that you might be
like-minded having the same love, being of one accord, and one
mind. There's a unity of faith and
experience of grace in every believer, in every man born of
God. There's one Lord, one faith,
and one baptism. And it leaves the sinner with
a real consolation in Christ. It leaves a sinner with a real
comfort of love and real fellowship in the Spirit and equips us with
what he calls bowels and mercies. Bowels, what's that? He's talking
about the inward spleen. The spleen. He's talking about
the intestines, the guts of the body. And he uses the word bow
here to describe an inward work. This is not an outward confirmation. It's not an outward adherence to things, although
that's included in it. But it goes much further than
that. It goes clear to the inside. a new man, an inward man, a new
creation, not an outward show, but a real transformation. And
if there be any boughs of mercy, he said, fulfill ye my joy, that
you be like mine. The joy of a true servant of
God is to see that work that was performed in himself performed
in others. That's joy. Oh, that's joy. performed in those he ministers
to. And having the love of God manifested
in Christ crucified, shed abroad in the hearts of them he ministers
to. That's a joy. Being of one accord
and one mind. Now listen, verse 3. Let nothing
be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind. Let each esteem others. themselves. Beware of pointing
down. Just don't do it. Just don't
do it. Let me tell you about them people. You can't point down when you're
sitting at the bottom. No way you can point up. Isn't
it? Let each of you other better
than themselves. And as the Lord reveals to you
what you are, you'll sit on the bottom. That's where you'll sit,
and you'll be glad to sit there. Old Mephibosheth, I think about
him, they brought him in, carried him in, he couldn't walk. and
they set him down at the king's table. They dressed him both,
dressed him head to foot, put royal garments on him, and carried
him in and set him at the king's table. And the king come in and
sat down, and the king's servants come and put the food down before
him. You think he put them fingers
in there? Like he's, uh-uh, uh-uh. He's saying, who am I? to receive
mercy, to receive grace, to such a dead dog as I am. Huh? He's at the bottom. He's at the
bottom. He's blessed with God, but he's
sitting on the bottom. Imagine, if you can, a great
potentate. I mean a great potentate. And you as his servant, being
charged with the care of his future heir. We could not help but esteem
him better than ourselves, could we? We're just a servant. Here's the heir. This is the
heir. He said, Look not every man on
his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
And I'm sure the servant has needs, but no potentate will
allow his servant who ministers to his heir go unshot or naked
or hungry. He's his servant. When they see
him, it reflects on the master, it reflects on the potentate.
That man's going to be dressed sharp. He's a servant to his
future heir. He's not going to go on shot. He's not going to be barefoot.
He's not going to lack anything. He's ministering to his sons
and daughters. That servant will be well cared
for. Now, here's the crux of it. Verse
5. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. who being in the form of God,
he was the heir, wasn't he? He came down from the Godhead. He said, if God were your father,
you'd love me. I proceeded forth and came from
God. Who being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Now watch this. But made himself
of no reputation. Huh? Go to dinner. He didn't get the
prime spot. The Pharisees and the doctors
of the law and the scribes, they got the high seats. They got the choice seats. He
made himself of no reputation, and he took on him the form of
a servant, and he was made in the likeness of men. And being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and he became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Our Lord,
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God. He was and is in every wit God,
eternal God, almighty God. But assuming human flesh, He
took upon Himself the form of a servant. And everything He
did, He did as a servant, ministering to the heirs of God. That's what
He was doing. Being found in passion as a man,
he humbled himself and become obedient. Obedient how? Obedient to the redemptive will
of God. Obedient to his station as mediator,
prophet, priest, king. Obedient as Jehovah's servant,
the savior of his children. And to what extent was he obedient? unto death, even the death of
the cross. Now there's a time to serve and
a time to be served. Our Lord is a man among men,
and this world was a servant. He served his father, being entrusted
with the care of his heirs. And he served him unto death,
even the death of the cross. Knowing this, he humbled himself,
he become obedient, and the whole reason for his being in this
world was to do his father's redemptive will. And this he
did perfectly, continuously. There was never a time, Walter,
when he said, well, I'm going to let this go for a little while.
It was continuously, and it was sufficiently, even unto death. There is no other reason for
him to be here. Is there another reason why you're
here? Huh? There's no other reason for him
to be here. No other reason for him to have the being or the
form of a man. None, except to serve his Father. You and I lack nothing if we
be in Christ We are as saved as we're ever going to be. We're
fully equipped for glory and ready to meet Him in the air
when He calls. There is but one reason for us
to be here, and that is to serve our Father's will and the salvation
of chosen sinners. That's why we're here. How do
we serve? We become obedient. Obedient. Boy, I tell you, that works like
a mountain sometimes, doesn't it? Obedient to what? Well, we minister
to those who shall be heirs of salvation. Service is our calling. Is it not? In Ephesians 4 verse 1, Paul
tells us to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called. What vocation? Servants of God. That's what we are. Servants
of God. to God's heirs, and to do so with all lowliness and
meekness and long-suffering and forbearing one another in love. It shouldn't be hard for us to
minister to sinners, seeing we're sinners ourselves. It shouldn't
be hard for us to understand them. We've done the same things. We think the same things. We're
tempted by the same things. Oh, great God in heaven, teach
this poor sinner how to serve. Give me a heart of understanding
and a deep affection and a bowels of mercy and forgiveness. And
whatever else goes on in my life, let it take a back seat to this.
A lot of times people say, well,
why don't you just do that? Because that's in the back seat. Let everything else in your life
take a back seat to this. Whatever else requires my attention,
let this have the preeminence. Let my family, boy, that's a
hard thing to learn. Let my family, my friends, my
job, and my health all take a second place to this. Help me to lose my life in service
to the Heavenly Father. Just lose it. Just let it get
lost. Quit trying to preserve it. Just let it be lost. This is
what I'm called to do. How do I go about it? Be obedient. Obey the will of the Lord. Let
this mind be in me, which was also in Christ Jesus. Oh, Heavenly Father, would you
be pleased to enable us to learn, to understand, and to be His
servants of grace. For Christ's sake. Amen.