Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest
questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search
and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead
pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth
for the life we're searching for. So glad you're with us this morning. If you have
your Bibles, please take them and turn to Mark chapter 10 today. Mark chapter 10, Jesus
is in an incredible conversation with his disciples about the act of servant here. So
Mark chapter 10, beginning in verse 41 today. I want to talk to you about a deeper view
of serving. By the way, this Out of the Shadow series is going to take place this week and
next week and then the following week we'll be in a new series called the Holy Spirit.
So we'll be walking through John 14, 15, and 16, the three chapters of John where Jesus
spends so much time introducing the work of the Holy Spirit and what that means to our
lives and so we're coming to the conclusion of the Out of the Shadow and we're getting
ready to go into the series on the Holy Spirit. Please stand with me as we open up and read
God's word today. Mark chapter 10, verse 41. Now I'll give you some background behind this
text because the background is important to understand what Jesus is doing and saying
for these disciples. The background is that Jesus is talking about going to the cross
and he's letting his disciples know it's going to be a very quick but brutal kind of
encounter where he surrenders himself and he ends up dying on the cross and even says
he's going to rise again in three days. Well it's really interesting that the disciples
that are listening to this conversation have something in mind that's not quite in alignment
with that. James and John are talking about where they're going to be when Jesus comes
into his glory and so they make the request of Jesus, can we sit on your right and left
hand when you come into your glory? And I hope you can kind of catch the scenario, the
context of this. Jesus is having a very sober conversation and these disciples all of a
sudden are thinking about themselves. Where will we sit when you are in your glory and
that's where it picks up in verse 41 of Mark chapter 10. Hearing this, that is hearing what
James and John said, the 10 began to feel indignant with James and John calling them
to himself. Jesus said to them, you know that those who are recognized as rulers of the
Gentiles lord it over them and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is
not this way among you. But whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant
and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of man did
not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Let's pray.
Father, we want to thank you for your words today that comes from the Bible. Father, I
pray for this conversation Jesus is having with James and John to be clear to us, to
convict us, to lead, direct us. And Father, more than anything else that we can walk away
with this brilliant powerful example of what it means to serve one another that we see
in the life of Jesus Lord. Help us to walk away with that. We ask this in Jesus name
and everybody said amen. Please be seated if you would. You know not long ago the 9-11
commemoration shows took place and I happened to catch one of those. As you know 9-11 was
when the terrorist attacks on New York City and other areas of the United States happened
and the twin towers of the World Trade Center both came down during those attacks. This
particular show I was watching was talking about the first responders that made it to
the scene. Firemen and other emergency personnel that had to make the decision as they looked
at the twin towers already on fire and people already obviously perishing as to whether
they would go inside and go up all those floors up to 80, 90 floors in order to try to rescue
those that were above that floor line. And the immediate quick willing decision that
each one of them made to say yes I'll go in there and I'll do my best. I'll give my life
if necessary to find those that can be found and to bring them to safety. I thought it
was an incredible moment where this decision making had to take place on the spur of the
moment unprepared in every way but willing for people to say I'll go I'll give my life.
You may know that 343 first responders died in the twin towers when they came down. All
of them attempting to rescue people they did not know and had no other connection with
other than the fact that they were human beings in need. Now I look at that and I think what
an incredible picture of servanthood. What an amazing historical record of someone that
have given their lives to reach other people. And then I pause and I ask myself have we
lost the art of servanthood? Have we lost the joy or even the willingness to say I'll
do whatever I need to do to serve someone else? Maybe not that extreme of a need is
before you but have we lost the art of stopping long enough in our pursuit from getting point
to point A to point B and seeing the need around us and meeting that need? James and
John had missed that point in their conversation that we just read about a few moments ago.
And in Jesus' response to them we have this powerful picture of servanthood. How to go
deeper when it comes to serving others. What does it mean to have a life of servanthood?
That's what Jesus is going to answer for us today as we look at Mark chapter 10. I want
to bring out three things about this text that are really important. First of all the
warning that Jesus gives, what I call the great deception that sometimes happens when
we think we're serving Jesus. And that great deception is revealed in what the request
was that James and John had. Go back to verse 37 if you would and look at what happened
in this request. James and John come to Jesus after Jesus gives them this background. He's
about to go to the cross. He's about to die. He's about to sacrifice his life. And they
said to him, grant that we may sit one on your right and one on your left hand in your
glory. Now if you've got the chance to go back to the book of Matthew and see the parallel
passage the mother of James and John is making that same request. So here are the 12 disciples
along with a lot of others there and the mom of James and John are making this on. They're
all urging this question to come to Jesus. And the request is can you make my boys to
be able to sit on the right hand and the left hand of you Lord when you come into your kingdom.
And the disciples themselves, these two, James and John were saying I want to be in that
place of recognition when you come into your kingdom. You know there's a few places in
the Bible where a request is made of Jesus and the line is when you come into your kingdom
and one of those is when Jesus died on the cross, the two thieves on either side, remember
the one ignored Jesus or mocked Jesus. The other though said Lord remember me when you
come into your kingdom. A humble request, a request that says all I want to do, all
I want to do is know that I can be with you in eternity. But James and John are not in
that set of mind. In fact James and John are in that mindset that says listen I've got
ambition for what happens on the other side of whatever you go through Jesus. I want to
find a place of honor, not a place of humility, but I'm going for greatness in the kingdom
of God. There's no other way to translate, no other way to interpret what James and John
response is except let's see what Jesus can do for us on the other side of whatever he's
going to go through and that's the opposite of servanthood. And I think that's why this
conversation is recorded for us. So that we can see what happens on one side when human
nature takes over and then we can see what happens on the other side when we really have
our minds on the great servant Jesus Christ. So I want to look forward just a moment at
this great deception that's happening in this conversation. By the way whenever blind ambition
happens, whenever personal ambition is rising up into our heart, whenever we want honor
instead of willingness to serve we see blindness and we see division and we see all kinds of
arrogance taking place. I want to point that out to you for just a few moments. First of
all ambition for honor is blind. Now I want you to go back with me to verses 32, 33, 34.
Just look at that for a second. It says this, it says they were on the road going up to
Jerusalem and Jesus was walking on ahead of them and they were amazed and those who followed
him were fearful. And again he took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going
to happen to him. So this is a conversation with Jesus and the disciples saying behold
we're going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests
and the scribes and they will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles
and they will mock him and spit on him and scourge him and kill him and three days later
he will rise again. This is a painful kind of conversation, a shocking conversation for
disciples who weren't fully aware that Jesus was going to go through this time of suffering
and an eventual brutal sacrifice on the cross. They weren't in touch with all that but he
was telling them here's what's ahead of me, here's what I'm going to go through on your
behalf, here's all that I'm going to experience in the days ahead. Now if you can catch the
contrast here after hearing all that they are saying what's our role, what's in it
for me. Can you go ahead and promote us before you get there because we want to sit on the
right hand and the left hand. I can almost see James and John saying I've served you
for three years, we've been following you for three years, we've left everything for
three years, what are you going to do from us? Blind to what Jesus was saying eyes only
on themselves. We're seeing a picture of the opposite of servanthood. Ambition for honor
is also divisive, it's easy for us to see in verse 41, hearing this for ten began to
feel indignant. I can't think of anything that would destroy team dynamics more than
that kind of request when you've got twelve disciples and two of them are saying we want
the places of honor, we want the title, we want to be able to sit on the right hand and
the left hand, we want to be your favorite. And the Bible actually says the rest of the
ten were grieved and they were growing more resentful by the moment, present tense says
they were just growing increasingly indignant. I think you can learn a lot about team dynamics
here, you can learn a lot about organizational morale for that. Here's Jesus, the perfect
leader but the moment we began to have our eyes on ourselves, all that harmony and all
that unity begins to fall apart. It's divisive, it's also arrogant. Notice what Jesus says
in response to them in verse 42, you know that those who are recognized as rulers over
the Gentiles lord it over them and their great men exercise authority over them but it's
not to be among you. In other words Jesus is saying I know what you're doing. You're
looking at the leadership model of the world, you're looking at how the Gentiles do things
and you're thinking that the way I do things in the kingdom and the way the world does
things in its organizations are going to be the same. And you're wanting that position
of authority, you're saying I want to leave this pack but I'm telling you God's got a
bigger vision than you have for His kingdom and it doesn't involve you being on the right
hand or on the left hand. I want to warn you today that no matter who you are, no matter
what group you're a part of, blind ambition can destroy relationships and morale in families,
in friendships, in marriages, in organizations, in the church. Anytime human ambition rises
up it cancels out anything God might be doing at that moment. James has an even more blunt
way of saying it in the book of James, James chapter 3 verse 16. I've always been astounded
by the brutality of some of James' words and you see them here. He says where jealousy
and selfish ambition exists there is disorder and every evil thing. James doesn't say there's
a little bit of evil going on when all this is happening. No, he says there's every evil
thing. You open the door to all kinds of horrific kind of things whenever blind ambition is
happening. So we all know what's happening. The disciples are looking at the model of
the world and thinking that's what it's going to be like. We're going to be able to have
honor and authority instead of being servants. So in the background of that great delusion
Jesus gives an incredibly great call and that's really what this heart of this text is all
about, the great call to serve Jesus. Look in verses 43 and verse 44. And instead of
a desire for honor Jesus elevates and teaches the desire for serving. The desire for ambition
means that we want to be seen as great in the eyes of others or great in our own eyes.
We want to have that kind of esteem to have that kind of position but greatness in the
kingdom of God is not like that at all. Jesus is steering the disciples towards greatness
in the eyes of God. Do you know where I get that term greatness in the eyes of God? I
get that term from the life of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was one of those men that
stood out in such a huge way as being a pure servant. He was a man filled with the Holy
Spirit from early, early on. He was a man that had one job and that job was to point
to Jesus Christ, to point out that this was the Messiah, the Lamb of God. The Bible tells
us that John's main statement that he made over and over is, I must decrease and he must
increase. In Matthew chapter 11 and verse 11 Jesus comments on John the Baptist as he's
about to die. Jesus' comment about this man, John the Baptist, is this one. It is, I say
to you, among those born of women there is not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.
And yet one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. The disciples knew
what that meant. They knew that John the Baptist was great in the eyes of God. They knew that
Jesus wanted them to be the same way. Jesus gives them this divine call that lets them
be what he really calls all of us to be. I want you to see it in two lines in verse 43
and 34. First of all, he said, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant.
Now that word servant is a word that we want to pay attention to for just a few moments.
It means that one who serves. It's really our word for deacon. You see the word deacon
translated in the New Testament. It is that word diakonos. And basically it means one
who renders an act of service. Someone is serving someone else. And so Jesus is pointing
to the disciples and saying, now it's not the position of leadership I want you to be
concerned about, but I want you to be concerned about the opportunity to serve other people
in my name. I want you to elevate that above the elevation of your own ambition and your
own desires and your own wish to be recognized. What I want you to do is lower yourself and
I want you to learn to do acts of service towards other people in my name. Do you remember
that great story Jesus told about the good Samaritan? You know, it was a story that he
told after the conversation about the greatest commandment. The lawyers come to him and say,
Lord, what's the greatest commandment in the law? He says, the greatest commandment is
to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, mark
adds and all your strength. And the second is likened to it that you love your neighbor
as yourself. In one of the gospels, the question comes back, so who is my neighbor? And Jesus
tells the story of the good Samaritan. Now the story of the good Samaritan is all about
meeting the need of a person that is a stranger to you. You don't know them, they're not in
your life. Two people walked by and left him on the roadside after he had been beaten and
been left almost for dead. And the third one, the Samaritan comes along and helps him. He
picks him up. He does his best to fix him up. It takes him and takes care of him and
says there's going to be money ahead of you if you keep taking care of him. I'm coming
back through. So he takes care of his immediate need, his future need. All these are acts
of service, all these in answer to who is my neighbor and how do I love my neighbor?
So Jesus tells that story that helps us understand what an act of service looks like. And at
the end of that he says you go and do likewise. I love that little line at the end of the
good Samaritan, go and do likewise. This is not just a fancy story. This is not just some
neat little novel that I'm making up. This is not just some example I'm telling you about.
This is how you're supposed to live. You're supposed to live looking at people and seeing
what needs they may have and how you might be able to meet that need in the name of Jesus
Christ. So in essence Jesus is saying at this point to his disciples in Mark chapter 10,
however you're going to stand out, stand out as one who is willing to serve other people.
Lead the way in serving and meeting needs and render service all along the way. There's
so many ways that we can do that day in and day out. So many ways on a day by day basis
we not looking just at ourselves but looking at the need others have. It means being aware
of those around me who need someone to help them, someone to encourage them, someone to
point them to resources. It means my main ambition can't be just to get from point A
to point B on my journey through that particular day or on my journey through life. It means
being aware of everyone around me. After all the good Samaritan was on his way and was
on a journey and had to stop and look at the man that was beaten and left at the roadside
and Jesus says you do that same thing whatever you do, do the same thing. So Jesus' great
call begins with being willing to be a servant to those around you. So you should render
service, render service. But digging deeper Jesus makes another statement and that statement
takes us even deeper into the life of servanthood even more than rendering an act of servant,
be a servant, be a servant. Look at verse 44, whoever wishes to be first among you shall
be slave of all. Now a slave is someone who is bound to serve. Now the word has a bad
connotation in every era. So Jesus is actually using a word with a bad connotation in that
era as well as this era and he is giving a radical picture of what it means to serve
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's saying be a slave to all servants who are bound to serve their
master and Jesus gives us very much a permanent picture of servanthood in our life. It's
not just a matter of looking around every once in a while, you are bound to serve. You
know early in the morning I often get outside my house and I look up into the skies and
today was a beautiful day. Sixty-six degrees this morning, yes you heard me right, sixty-six
degrees this morning. Somebody say amen. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad for the weather
change every once in a while? Sixty-six degrees. I mean it's almost Christmas so it's about
time right? But not only was it nice and cool but man the skies were clear, crystal clear.
A few clouds floating by but man I could see the stars. I could see the stars and along
about six fifteen or so sitting on my front porch I could watch that sun come up and I
could see all of glory for a moment worshiping the Lord. Did it ever occur to you that the
sun, the moon, the stars, the clouds and everything God has created exists to serve our creator?
You want a good picture of servanthood? Look at everything God created and put in the heavens.
I mean how fateful does the sun come up? How fateful are the clouds move across the sky,
the stars out to point our way. They do everything they were designed to do because their creator
has asked them to do it. And as I've said before human beings are the only ones that
really argue with God about their purpose in life. But we're called to be servants of
the Most High God. To be as faithful in serving as the sun is in coming up every day as the
stars are in making their trek across the sky. We're called to be a servant for the
purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is saying to the disciples live your life this
way. See yourself as a servant. They were really quickly trying to see themselves as
leaders but he says no no I want you to see yourself as a servant. Now next week we'll
get into leadership because we'll talk about what it means to take a deeper dive into leading
but I'm going to tell you today what I'm going to say next week. That means you still
need to come back and find out what it means but here's what I'm going to say next week.
That serving well is leading well and leading well is serving well. They're practically
synonymous. So here's Jesus saying to the disciples who later became very much the pillars
of the New Testament church I want you before I put you in a position to lead to learn to
follow and learn to serve well. No leader can lead well if he has not learned to follow
well until he's learned to serve well. So you should render servants but even more than
that you should be a servant. Serve me by serving others Jesus is saying. By the way
as you think about what it means to serve one another and as you think about what it
means to love one another these two are hand in hand. I love one another is to serve one
another. You literally cannot love someone without serving them. The word for agape the
word love in the New Testament is not a feeling word it's not an emotion word it's not a word
that means I get anything in return it's a word that says I'm going to do whatever I
need to do for their betterment. So to love one another is to serve one another. And when
you read the rest of the New Testament there's no doubt that this conversation in Mark chapter
10 has impacted the disciples. This and many others that Jesus had in the way of conversations
about servanthood have impacted them. For example I look in the book of 1 Peter chapter
4 the epazopeter said as each one of you has received a special gift employ it in serving
one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whatever gift you have whatever
passion you have whatever opportunity you have you serve one another as someone who's
been given the grace to do that by God. Or Paul says it really well in Galatians chapter
5 verse 13 talking about being free from sin he said you're called to freedom brethren
but don't turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh but through love serve one another.
Paul gets it Peter gets it why don't we get it why didn't James and John get that
the opportunity we have is to serve one another. Now I see service going on all around me I
mean I don't know if you realize this but it takes hundreds of people to serve the Lord
every single week in a church like ours and they are serving all over the place many of
you in this room are serving in one way or another. It's powerful to see people step
up and say you know I'm here I want to serve someone I want to help meet the need of someone
I want to answer questions I want to lead people to the place where they can hear the
gospel of Jesus or get connected to somebody else in the church. I want to work with children
or preschool or student ministry I want to work with adults I want to do something for
the kingdom of God. I've been saved by Jesus I want to serve Jesus and I'd love to watch
that unfold. Literally we all have that opportunity. Others say you know I have a certain vocation
and I want that vocation or whatever I am able to do through that vocation to help further
the kingdom of God. We recently went through a rebuilding process of our buildings and
it was astounding for me to see different people of different professions and backgrounds
in the building industry in the banking industry and the financial wisdom industry step up
and help us see something great happen here through the willingness to serve for that
particular project here the Generations Project in our church. I'm just astounded by that.
And the truth is that when people have connected with us and done that they walk away saying
man it blessed me to be a part of something like that. That's what it means to serve it
means to help advance the cause of those around you and advance the cause of the gospel in
your area of concentration in some way serving really makes a difference. That's why Jesus
wants us to serve. Besides that serving others is providing goodwill and is contagious. Have
you ever noticed when someone serves you with a smile and they encourage you and help you
in some way it's actually contagious. You want to frown off your face and you want to
help somebody else right. Just one word that describes that Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A. Anybody
in the room not know what a Chick-fil-A is. Most of you know what a Chick-fil-A is. Somehow
Chick-fil-A has managed to train their people to serve with gratitude. Serve with gratitude.
And they even have three words they use at the end of that. You know what those three
words are at the end of their service. You get your food you pay the money. They say
it's my pleasure. My pleasure right. And you hear that every single one of them. Did you
know that that in Chick-fil-A restaurants and I'm not trying to advocate where you're
going to eat today because they're closed today. You cannot be a franchisee unless you
work in the store. You can't be a remote owner. You can't just own a Chick-fil-A. You have
to put your blood sweat and tears into that. You have to put your hands to the side. In
other words you have to serve your clientele your customers. You wonder why it's so successful.
That may be why it's so successful. It uses a little bit of Jesus leadership model. And
that leadership model is we're in this for the long haul for you. It's so important for
us to learn to serve. That we need to be asking questions of ourselves. How can we treat people
today in a way that reflects Christ. In a way that's encouraging. In a way that makes
them want to know him more. How can we do that. Let's do it that way. Let's do it that
way. Last week I shared with you some statistics about those that have left the church over
the years and those that have left the faith after they've left the church. And for many
of them whether we believe that that survey is completely valid or not for many of them
how the church treats their friends was a big reason why they left. In other words what
they saw instead of kindness instead of friendliness instead of a smile there was a judgmentalism
about it. That's when they said I'm going to distance myself from the church and I'm
going to distance my friends from the church. The argument wasn't about whether something
was morally right or wrong or whether the Bible was true or not. It was the attitude
through which it was conveyed. Servanthood doesn't have to be mean. Servanthood doesn't
have to have a frown on his face. Servanthood doesn't have to say I told you so. Servanthood
doesn't have to play the part of the Holy Spirit in someone's lives and I absolutely
believe there's absolute truth in the Holy Spirit. I absolutely convicts that we are
to represent Jesus well by serving other people in that kind of a heart. Towards the end of
Jesus earthly ministry before he went to the cross he gathered his disciples again for
another one of these conversations. This conversation is recorded in Matthew chapter 25. He's actually
going into a future conversation that will be held in heaven. In Matthew chapter 25 Jesus
says this to his disciples before he goes to the cross. I'm just going to read some
verses to you. It won't be on the screen but Matthew 25 beginning in verse 31. When the
Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him then he will sit on his glorious
throne. That's a conversation the disciples are having as well. And all the nations will
be gathered before him and he will separate them one from another as the shepherd separates
the sheep from the goats and he will put the sheep on one side and the goats on the left.
Then the king will say to those on his right, to the sheep, come you who are blessed of
my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And
then here it is. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat and I was thirsty
and you gave me something to drink and I was a stranger and you invited me in. I was naked
and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Can
you imagine the disciples some of them having just argued about wanting to be on the right
hand and left hand but most of them not really thinking about servanthood yet still. Can
you imagine those disciples being perplexed by why Jesus was bringing this up? And so
one of them actually articulates through thoughts, Lord when did we do that to you? When did
we bring you something to eat? When did we bring you water? When did we bring you clothing?
When was all this? And Jesus responded, truly I say to you to the extent that you did it
to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me. In other
words, serving is not an end in itself. I am the end to which you are to serve. That
when you serve someone else, an act of service, when you consider yourself to be one who has
a life of servanthood, you're doing it to me. You're doing it for me. You're representing
me on this earth. And when we do this, we serve Jesus by representing Him to people.
Wow, we've got a big job. And that big job is not sitting on the right hand or the left
hand. The big job is being out there with people, are representing Jesus well with people.
And then Jesus gives us a great example. See this passage in Mark chapter 10 comes around
to one of the greatest statements in the Bible that we quote all the time, but I want you
to see why Jesus said what He said here in verse 45. He said, for even the Son of Man
did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. I'm going
to paraphrase what I believe Jesus is saying to these disciples, but this is my paraphrase.
You've been watching me serve others for three years. You're convinced that I'm the Messiah
and the coming King. Over and over, you've seen me put others first. I've served the
lowest and the most lost. I've been getting my hands dirty to help others. I'm telling
you memorable stories about sacrifice and service. Now the day before I die, I'm going
to get on my hands and knees and I'm going to wash your feet and then I'm going to get
on the cross and I'm going to wash your heart. I'm the example of what a servant is. Serve
people like I've served you. That's what Jesus is saying. Even the Son of Man didn't come
to be served, but to serve. And then that last line, man, that last line is the exclamation
point that every act of service that's ever been rendered, it's the greatest act of service
that could ever possibly have been rendered to the most undeserving of us all. And it
says this, and to give his life a ransom for many. Now we know what the word ransom mean.
The idea behind ransom is a substitute. Jesus used this word for a very real purpose. And
that substitution demands that it be provided before we be released. Ransom is one of the
ways and one of the many pictures of salvation is explained in the New Testament. It means
to get the buying back of people who are in bondage otherwise. Or they may be in prison,
but the ransom is given, the price is paid and they're released. And we're familiar with
the idea of ransom because of kidnappings that we read about in the news or years ago,
hijackings, skyjackings that we've heard of in the past where ransom dollars were required.
Anybody remember the name J. Paul Getty? That phrase, that name, some of you remember that?
That name was prominent in 1975 when I was a kid. A teenage grandson of J. Paul Getty
was actually kidnapped and held for $3 million ransom. And the kidnapper said we're going
to take his life if you don't provide the ransom money. And they actually cut off his
ear and mailed it to a newspaper to help them know how serious they really were. Provide
the ransom or you'll never see the release of this young man. And I remember seeing the
headlines once that ransom money was paid and that boy was actually released and we
were all celebrating. It was one of those things that everybody kind of stopped and
watched as it unfolded back when I was a teenager. That idea of ransom is what Jesus is bringing
up and applying to us. And here's what he's saying. Mankind is in bondage. Mankind is
locked up in the sand, all of us held by the grips of sin and Satan. And I'm going to give
my life as a payment for, as a ransom for sin and Satan's bondage that he has us set.
And you're only going to be set free when I give my life for you. And the price of that
ransom? It was the entire life, the physical life of the sinless son of God. Man, what
a picture. What a picture of servitude. Jesus said I'm going to give everything I have so
that you might be set free. Like the ultimate first responder, Jesus went to the cross knowing
that his act on the cross will be of self-sacrifice and he would bear the sins of all mankind
on his shoulders for us. How can we forget that act of service? Every time I think about
my salvation, I think about how unworthy I was to accept the gift of eternal life or
to be forgiven for my sin. I think about how not only unworthy but undeserving and I couldn't
possibly pay it back. I realized how far I was from God. I mean, every one of us that
have come to faith in Jesus Christ understand that there's no way we could save ourselves.
No amount of religion, no amount of doing good, no amount of changing in our lives can
make us righteous enough for a holy God. But Jesus gave his whole life so that we might
be made right with God. So having had that happen to us as believers in Jesus Christ
should powerfully impress upon us our call to serve others in his name. He saved me so
I serve him. He saved you so you serve him. Just before Jesus went to the cross, now moments
before he goes to the cross, he's washed the disciples feet. They've had the Passover
meal and he greets them in that upper room for the Passover meal and he's talking to
them about servanthood one more time. I mean, he was always talking about servanthood. But
that's one last time he leaves this indelible impression upon them with this line. He said,
I am among you as one who serves. And then he went to the garden of Gethsemane and then
he went to the cross. Is there any doubt about what Jesus is calling us to do? To serve him
and to serve others as we serve him. In just a few moments I'm going to give an invitation
to you. One of those is to come to Christ to secure the freedom that he paid for, for
you to have. We have decision stations at the back of the room. The reason we have those
decision stations is because we would love to have a conversation with you about whether
you know for sure that you have eternal life or not. Now sometimes people attend church
and they say, you know, I don't really know if I've ever been at that moment in my life
where I have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior or I have some doubts about whether I've ever
been there. And maybe somebody came in today and said, you know, I just never really have
ever had anybody encourage me to put my faith and trust in Christ. But we're going to encourage
you to do that today. Jesus paid the ransom, the price for your sin so that you might be
set free. Accepting Jesus accepts the freedom that his ransom secures for you. It's a simple
act of asking him to be your Lord and Savior, forgiving you of your sins and giving you
the gift of eternal life. We'd like to have that conversation with you at our decision
station. That is the first decision and the first invitation I give you. The second one
is this, I encourage you to come to our guest reception center just outside the center exit
doors and across the hallway. I'd love to tell you more about Cross City Church and
about the things ahead for our church. Love to visit with you personally. The third invite
is I invite you to reach out to somebody else and bring them with you as you come to worship
and gather with God's family next week as we look at leadership and what servanthood
and leadership have to do with each other. Would you stand with me as we close this day
in prayer? Father, I want to thank you today that you are the ultimate service through
Jesus Christ the Son. You gave your son's life on the cross. Thank you Lord Jesus for
doing that for us. Thank you for paying the price, the ransom for our sin. Father, I pray
today that you would help us understand and grasp this meaning of servanthood, this life
you've called us to. Father, help us know what that means in our life, what kind of adjustments
we need to make, what kind of opportunities we need to look for. Lord, for every one of
us it's the same call but has different applications. You use us everywhere. Father, we have this
gratitude in our heart that you security turned a light for us. We have a home in heaven for
us after we die. Lord, we want to serve you while we're here. Help us to do that well.
Thank you so much for this congregation today. Help us to go out to serve you well. In Jesus
name we pray, amen.