WEBVTT 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:06.679 Hey all, Pastor John here. Thanks for tuning 00:00:06.679 --> 00:00:09.759 in to the weekly sermon podcast. We pray this 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.519 message encourages you, strengthens your faith, 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.080 and helps you to take your next step with Jesus. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.239 If this content blesses you and you'd like to 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:20.339 be a part of helping us continue to bring the 00:00:20.339 --> 00:00:22.739 gospel to life, we'd love for you to consider 00:00:22.739 --> 00:00:25.760 supporting the ministry of Village. Your generosity 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.339 makes it possible for us to keep creating and 00:00:28.339 --> 00:00:31.510 sharing resources like this podcast. You can 00:00:31.510 --> 00:00:35.250 give safely and easily by visiting sacvillage 00:00:35.250 --> 00:00:39.090 .org slash give or by heading to our website 00:00:39.090 --> 00:00:43.130 at sacvillage .org. Thanks again for listening. 00:00:43.369 --> 00:00:53.450 Now let's dive into this week's message. Amen. 00:00:53.509 --> 00:00:58.250 Well, we're down to our last sermon in this series. 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:00.740 We've been in a series called True and Better. 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:03.320 It is a series on identity. How many of you guys 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:05.599 have been here for most of that series? Yeah? 00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:08.439 Yeah? Hopefully, throughout the course of that, 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:11.140 it's given you some things to reflect upon, the 00:01:11.140 --> 00:01:14.859 identity that we are given in Christ or we receive 00:01:14.859 --> 00:01:17.579 in Christ and how that contrasts with the identity 00:01:17.579 --> 00:01:21.159 that the world and our own self -centered ambition 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:24.420 wants to always construct for ourselves that 00:01:24.420 --> 00:01:27.280 fails miserably. Well, we're gonna wrap it up 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:30.019 now this morning with the final one, servant, 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:34.719 not sovereign. And so our culture around us, 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:37.000 All the messaging that we see, whether it's on 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:40.159 TV, commercials, in school, wherever we're at, 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:42.640 they seem to have a clear vision on what it means 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:47.200 to be fully and truly human. The vision that 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:49.560 we're told, the vision we're discipled into in 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:53.900 life is to be fully human is to be completely 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:58.560 sovereign over yourself. Who you are, your truth, 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:03.530 your purpose are yours to rule. You answer to 00:02:03.530 --> 00:02:08.150 no one but yourself. Autonomy is treated as the 00:02:08.150 --> 00:02:12.370 highest good, and self -rule equals freedom. 00:02:14.849 --> 00:02:19.110 And any authority outside the self... Whether 00:02:19.110 --> 00:02:21.530 it's tradition or an institution like marriage 00:02:21.530 --> 00:02:26.689 or family or the church or a community or biology 00:02:26.689 --> 00:02:31.050 or even God himself, any authority outside the 00:02:31.050 --> 00:02:33.610 self is often treated as something that limits 00:02:33.610 --> 00:02:38.370 or threatens the freedom that culture and all 00:02:38.370 --> 00:02:40.770 the messaging is discipling us into believing 00:02:40.770 --> 00:02:47.009 is good. The modern story says the best life 00:02:47.009 --> 00:02:50.189 is the life where you are in charge of yourself. 00:02:52.250 --> 00:02:54.789 But if we take a moment and we look honestly 00:02:54.789 --> 00:02:58.110 at the human story, something becomes clear, 00:02:58.310 --> 00:03:03.710 right? Human beings have been chasing self -sovereignty 00:03:03.710 --> 00:03:08.289 for a very long time. In fact, the Bible tells 00:03:08.289 --> 00:03:11.270 us exactly when it began. Nick made reference 00:03:11.270 --> 00:03:14.789 to it earlier in our moment of reflection. Genesis 00:03:14.789 --> 00:03:21.569 3, the serpent comes, begins to tempt Eve, and 00:03:21.569 --> 00:03:25.490 introduces kind of this idea subtly into the 00:03:25.490 --> 00:03:28.210 narrative and tells Eve, well, if you take of 00:03:28.210 --> 00:03:30.889 that, if you take what you want, if you take 00:03:30.889 --> 00:03:33.870 what looks good in your own eyes, if you take 00:03:33.870 --> 00:03:37.590 it for yourself, well, God knows that you'll 00:03:37.590 --> 00:03:43.169 be like him. You'll be like God. And that's the 00:03:43.169 --> 00:03:47.210 promise, not just knowledge or more knowledge 00:03:47.210 --> 00:03:50.949 or more pleasure, but supreme authority over 00:03:50.949 --> 00:03:53.909 my life, the right to decide what is good and 00:03:53.909 --> 00:03:56.830 what is bad, the right to define and redefine 00:03:56.830 --> 00:03:59.409 and keep redefining the reality that I'm willing 00:03:59.409 --> 00:04:04.590 to submit to. And ever since that moment, at 00:04:04.590 --> 00:04:06.930 the beginning, humanity has been chasing the 00:04:06.930 --> 00:04:12.710 same thing. We've been chasing the throne. The 00:04:12.710 --> 00:04:15.430 desire to be the final authority over our lives. 00:04:15.949 --> 00:04:21.449 To answer to no one. But the story of scripture 00:04:21.449 --> 00:04:25.110 reveals also something else. And man, is it the 00:04:25.110 --> 00:04:29.629 story of our lives or not? And that is whenever 00:04:29.629 --> 00:04:32.990 we try to take final authority for ourselves, 00:04:33.290 --> 00:04:39.509 every time things start to unravel. Identity. 00:04:40.029 --> 00:04:42.829 feels like barely held together and something 00:04:42.829 --> 00:04:46.230 that has to be constantly defended. And truth, 00:04:46.490 --> 00:04:49.209 well, it becomes kind of squishy, right? Your 00:04:49.209 --> 00:04:55.009 truth, my truth, what is truth? Relationships 00:04:55.009 --> 00:04:58.529 spiral into chaos and collapse because there 00:04:58.529 --> 00:05:01.370 is no constant moral bedrock on which to build 00:05:01.370 --> 00:05:06.250 them. As a result, communities disintegrate. 00:05:08.620 --> 00:05:11.000 Why? Because human beings were never designed 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.980 to live as sovereign rulers over ourselves. We 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:18.060 were never designed to live as sovereign rulers 00:05:18.060 --> 00:05:20.420 over ourselves. We were created for something 00:05:20.420 --> 00:05:24.339 very different. We were created to live under 00:05:24.339 --> 00:05:29.579 God. Which means the truest version of humanity 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:35.019 was never going to look like autonomy. The truest 00:05:35.019 --> 00:05:37.899 version of humanity was going to look like life 00:05:38.649 --> 00:05:43.730 faithfully ordered under God's rule. Life lived 00:05:43.730 --> 00:05:47.329 in faithful obedience to our creator and God. 00:05:49.170 --> 00:05:50.930 And that's what we're going to look at today 00:05:50.930 --> 00:05:56.230 as we look at Jesus. As we conclude this series, 00:05:56.290 --> 00:05:57.829 True and Better, we're going to fix our eyes 00:05:57.829 --> 00:06:01.870 on him and his attitude. Jesus shows us something 00:06:01.870 --> 00:06:04.449 that the world just can't seem to understand, 00:06:04.629 --> 00:06:08.079 and that is... Jesus shows us that true humanity 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:12.480 is found in humble obedience and self -giving 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:17.740 love. And that's why the title for today is Servant 00:06:17.740 --> 00:06:20.259 Not Sovereign, and the subtitle would be something 00:06:20.259 --> 00:06:25.800 like Jesus the True Human. The goal of Christian 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:29.519 formation, the goal of walking with Christ and 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:33.259 being formed, is that we would become like Christ. 00:06:35.050 --> 00:06:36.649 So if you're taking notes, the first thing I'll 00:06:36.649 --> 00:06:38.850 have you write down is the thread running through 00:06:38.850 --> 00:06:40.730 this series. That's the first point. We're going 00:06:40.730 --> 00:06:45.290 to do just a really quick flyover. Over the last 00:06:45.290 --> 00:06:47.949 eight weeks, we've been kind of asking this one 00:06:47.949 --> 00:06:50.990 fundamental question. Who gets to define who 00:06:50.990 --> 00:06:56.600 you are? Who gets to define who you are? See, 00:06:56.660 --> 00:07:00.720 identity never stays theoretical. What do I mean 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:03.819 by identity? Identity is the fundamental story 00:07:03.819 --> 00:07:08.319 that you believe about yourself, about who you 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:12.519 are and what you're here for. Identity is the 00:07:12.519 --> 00:07:14.800 fundamental story you believe about yourself, 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:19.660 who you are and what your life is here for. And 00:07:19.660 --> 00:07:22.360 identity never stays just theoretical or some 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:25.740 pie -in -the -sky dream. It's how you see yourself. 00:07:25.899 --> 00:07:28.519 It's how you make decisions. It's how you interpret 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:30.759 suffering in your life. It's how you relate to 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:34.019 other people. It's how you live your life in 00:07:34.019 --> 00:07:37.319 your body. And ultimately, it's what kind of 00:07:37.319 --> 00:07:42.170 life you are building. And each week in this 00:07:42.170 --> 00:07:44.310 series, we've looked at two different visions 00:07:44.310 --> 00:07:48.110 of identity, a distorted identity that our culture 00:07:48.110 --> 00:07:51.189 offers to us that appeals to our self -centered 00:07:51.189 --> 00:07:55.069 nature. And we've also looked at a gospel -shaped 00:07:55.069 --> 00:08:01.129 identity that we receive in Christ Jesus. There's 00:08:01.129 --> 00:08:03.750 a quick chart, just a side -by -side of what 00:08:03.750 --> 00:08:05.430 we've looked at over the last few weeks, but 00:08:05.430 --> 00:08:07.589 there's a false identity and a true and better 00:08:07.589 --> 00:08:11.379 identity. The false identity says that our identity, 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:14.519 who we are, and what we're here for must be achieved 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:17.600 instead of the better identity that says it's 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:22.680 received. The false identity says you must earn 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:27.860 your belonging. The true identity says we live 00:08:27.860 --> 00:08:32.460 from belonging. We belong, and that is the foundation 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:36.740 from which we live our lives. The false identity 00:08:36.740 --> 00:08:40.539 says it has to be self -constructed. It's customizable 00:08:40.539 --> 00:08:44.179 however you want it to fit together. But the 00:08:44.179 --> 00:08:46.200 true and better identity, the gospel -shaped 00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:49.440 identity says we are creations that God has made 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:54.480 and fashioned together. We have a given framework 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:59.480 in which we are to live. We have boundary lines 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:02.740 that are set in pleasant places by our creator 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:07.730 for us to live within. The false identity says 00:09:07.730 --> 00:09:12.129 choice defines my reality. The freedom to choose. 00:09:12.889 --> 00:09:17.870 Choose whatever I want, whatever I desire. But 00:09:17.870 --> 00:09:20.250 the true and better one says that God's covenant 00:09:20.250 --> 00:09:23.590 and his covenantal love for his people defines 00:09:23.590 --> 00:09:28.809 the reality in which I live and operate. The 00:09:28.809 --> 00:09:31.850 false identity says feelings define self. A true 00:09:31.850 --> 00:09:34.690 and better identity says our bodies. We're embodied 00:09:34.690 --> 00:09:37.470 creatures, and our whole body reveals who we 00:09:37.470 --> 00:09:40.929 are, and also our whole body is an instrument 00:09:40.929 --> 00:09:46.629 of worship before God. The false identity says 00:09:46.629 --> 00:09:50.210 we're formed alone in isolation. The true and 00:09:50.210 --> 00:09:53.190 better identity says that we are formed in a 00:09:53.190 --> 00:09:57.230 gospel -shaped community for good works that 00:09:57.230 --> 00:10:01.480 God has prepared in advance for us. The false 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:04.779 identity says God is a therapeutic God. He is 00:10:04.779 --> 00:10:08.320 here to make me feel good about myself, to affirm 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:13.340 my choices and decisions, and to make me healthy, 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:18.139 wealthy, and wise. But the true and better identity 00:10:18.139 --> 00:10:24.620 is God is holy. In and of himself, God is holy, 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:28.820 and God is most concerned about our holiness. 00:10:35.149 --> 00:10:38.769 We are concerned about happiness. God is concerned 00:10:38.769 --> 00:10:44.029 about holiness. And the false identity says that 00:10:44.029 --> 00:10:48.929 we live a consumer life. Again, my choices, my 00:10:48.929 --> 00:10:53.210 preference, all in service of my comfort, all 00:10:53.210 --> 00:10:57.590 in service of my self -centered living. But the 00:10:57.590 --> 00:10:59.889 true and better identity is we live a pilgrim 00:10:59.889 --> 00:11:04.929 life. Exiles and strangers in this world. but 00:11:04.929 --> 00:11:07.309 not without purpose. We live a pilgrim life on 00:11:07.309 --> 00:11:11.429 assignment. And so if you look at the entire 00:11:11.429 --> 00:11:15.690 series, you will see in the false identity category 00:11:15.690 --> 00:11:18.909 that every distorted identity marker has the 00:11:18.909 --> 00:11:23.230 same center. Every distorted false identity has 00:11:23.230 --> 00:11:26.850 the self at the center. The self is on the throne. 00:11:26.929 --> 00:11:30.330 The self is defining reality. The self is authorizing 00:11:30.330 --> 00:11:32.850 what is true. The self is determining purpose. 00:11:33.029 --> 00:11:35.690 The self is determining or demanding satisfaction 00:11:35.690 --> 00:11:39.690 and comfort. But the gospel offers us something 00:11:39.690 --> 00:11:43.429 completely different. The gospel gives us a new 00:11:43.429 --> 00:11:48.210 center. The gospel gives us a new center to live 00:11:48.210 --> 00:11:52.049 from, a new story about who I am and what I'm 00:11:52.049 --> 00:11:56.629 here for. And that center is Christ himself. 00:11:58.210 --> 00:12:03.190 Not myself, but Christ. What does it actually 00:12:03.190 --> 00:12:05.649 mean to say that Christ is the new center? What 00:12:05.649 --> 00:12:08.730 it means is that the defining reference point 00:12:08.730 --> 00:12:15.090 of your and my life is no longer you or me. The 00:12:15.090 --> 00:12:17.950 defining reference point as to whether I'm fulfilling 00:12:17.950 --> 00:12:21.009 my life or I'm fulfilling my calling or I'm happy. 00:12:23.080 --> 00:12:28.840 It's no longer me. Christ now determines how 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:31.679 you understand who you are. Christ now determines 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:34.960 what is true and what is not. Christ now determines 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:38.580 what your life is here for and how you live in 00:12:38.580 --> 00:12:41.220 this world. That's the new center point we're 00:12:41.220 --> 00:12:44.779 offered in the gospel. Your identity is no longer 00:12:44.779 --> 00:12:47.639 something you construct. It is something you 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:52.019 receive in him. Your purpose is no longer self 00:12:52.019 --> 00:12:55.740 -determination. It is shaped by his mission. 00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:59.919 Your desires are no longer the final authority 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:03.679 in your life. They are reordered according to 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:07.940 his kingdom. Your life is no longer oriented 00:13:07.940 --> 00:13:11.460 around your own glory and achievement. Your life 00:13:11.460 --> 00:13:16.659 is now oriented around his glory. In other words, 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:18.720 the Christian life is not simply about adding 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:21.539 Jesus to your life, the life that you're already 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:26.139 building for yourself. The Christian life is 00:13:26.139 --> 00:13:29.340 about re -centering your entire life around him, 00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:33.000 around his kingdom, around his mission, around 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:36.139 his ambition, around his truth, around his glory 00:13:36.139 --> 00:13:41.639 alone. And so the question for all of us is, 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:47.600 is Jesus the center of our life? Is his mission 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:53.519 what shapes what we do, what we long for? Is 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:58.679 his kingdom reordering our desires? Is his glory 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:02.220 what we work for? Is his glory our ambition? 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:08.539 Is Jesus the center of your life? Is the gospel, 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:13.500 is the gospel story? that there is a God in heaven 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:16.860 who is creator and all of creation is accountable 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:22.440 to that God. But that God has also shown us how 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:25.860 to live in relation to him. But humanity chose 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:28.679 to live outside of God's good creation, his design, 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:32.080 and instead fell into what we call sin. And in 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:35.539 that place of sin, brokenness and chaos ensued 00:14:35.539 --> 00:14:37.720 and relational strife and all kinds of things 00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:40.039 fell apart because it was outside of the good 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:43.779 design of God. But God did not abandon his creation. 00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:46.700 He did not leave them to their own devices, but 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:49.679 he stepped into the world in Jesus Christ, took 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:52.539 on flesh, dwelt among us so that he might save 00:14:52.539 --> 00:14:55.440 his creation and restore them back to himself 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:58.379 and give them new purpose and new life, form 00:14:58.379 --> 00:15:00.820 them in his image so that they might live in 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:04.659 glory with him. He's making a people. We are 00:15:04.659 --> 00:15:08.279 that people, church. Is Jesus the center of your 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:13.440 life? Is Jesus the center of your life? Is the 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:16.340 gospel the defining story now in your life that 00:15:16.340 --> 00:15:18.879 you look to to shape your attitude, that you 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:20.899 look to to shape your desires and shape your 00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:28.899 actions? We're going to look at Jesus, number 00:15:28.899 --> 00:15:33.139 two, Jesus, the true human. In Philippians chapter 00:15:33.139 --> 00:15:40.139 two, beginning in verse five, we read this. adopt 00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:45.000 the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:47.360 existing in the form of God did not consider 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.240 equality with God as something to be exploited. 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:53.600 Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:56.320 of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. 00:15:56.620 --> 00:15:59.419 And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself 00:15:59.419 --> 00:16:03.019 by becoming obedient to the point of death, even 00:16:03.019 --> 00:16:10.679 to death on a cross. If you and I want to understand 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:15.759 what a truly human life looks like, there's only 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:18.779 one place we have to look, and that's to Jesus. 00:16:21.379 --> 00:16:24.860 Jesus is our savior, yes. Jesus is our teacher 00:16:24.860 --> 00:16:29.460 and our rabbi, yes. Jesus is also the true human. 00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:34.240 And Paul says, adopt the same attitude as that 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:36.639 of Christ. Jesus, and that sickness tells us 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:38.480 something very crucial about what the Christian 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:41.440 life is like. Following Jesus is not only about 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:43.659 believing certain truths and having all your 00:16:43.659 --> 00:16:48.919 doctrinal ducks in a row. It's not just about 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:53.580 that. Following Jesus is also about being reshaped 00:16:53.580 --> 00:16:57.940 into his likeness. The goal of Christian formation 00:16:57.940 --> 00:17:00.940 is that our lives begin to reflect the life of 00:17:00.940 --> 00:17:05.819 Christ. And Paul shows us exactly what that life 00:17:05.819 --> 00:17:08.980 will look like. He writes, Jesus, who existing 00:17:08.980 --> 00:17:11.579 in the form of God, did not consider equality 00:17:11.579 --> 00:17:16.559 with God something to be exploited. You think 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:19.539 about what Paul is trying to say here in Philippians, 00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:22.680 that Jesus existed in the very form God, the 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:25.779 essence God, truly God, as the old confessions 00:17:25.779 --> 00:17:30.069 say. Truly God. He possessed divine authority, 00:17:30.390 --> 00:17:33.970 glory, and power. If anyone in all of human history 00:17:33.970 --> 00:17:38.869 had the right to grasp power, it was Jesus. Truly 00:17:38.869 --> 00:17:44.130 God, truly man. But Paul tells us that Jesus 00:17:44.130 --> 00:17:46.049 did something completely unexpected, completely 00:17:46.049 --> 00:17:48.869 different. He did not grasp for power. He didn't 00:17:48.869 --> 00:17:52.150 exploit his status. Instead, Paul says he emptied 00:17:52.150 --> 00:17:58.710 himself by assuming the form of a servant. And 00:17:58.710 --> 00:18:00.789 I think the word servant is so important to what 00:18:00.789 --> 00:18:02.970 we're talking about. It tells us something about 00:18:02.970 --> 00:18:07.309 the very nature of Christ's mission. That in 00:18:07.309 --> 00:18:09.869 the incarnation, when Jesus took on flesh and 00:18:09.869 --> 00:18:12.630 dwelt among us, truly God and truly man, he did 00:18:12.630 --> 00:18:15.089 not enter the world to dominate it. He didn't 00:18:15.089 --> 00:18:18.809 arrive on the scene as a conquering ruler. He 00:18:18.809 --> 00:18:25.740 came as a servant. The eternal son of God stepped 00:18:25.740 --> 00:18:29.279 into his own creation that had fallen so short 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:31.779 of the glory of God, stepped into his creation, 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:34.799 and instead of wiping it clean with one whack 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:37.839 of the sword, right, whoosh, all humanity gone, 00:18:38.019 --> 00:18:44.720 he steps in, not to be served, but to serve. 00:18:47.819 --> 00:18:51.119 Paul says he humbled himself and he became obedient 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:54.920 to the point of death, even to death on a cross. 00:18:57.279 --> 00:19:00.420 And that's a complete reversal of the story of 00:19:00.420 --> 00:19:04.799 the garden, isn't it? In Genesis, humanity reaches 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:08.240 upward. We try to grasp the right for self -definition, 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:11.200 the right for self -rule. We try to become like 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:14.809 God. But in Jesus, we see the opposite is true. 00:19:14.990 --> 00:19:17.869 We see the opposite movement of Christ. The Son 00:19:17.869 --> 00:19:22.390 of God steps downward. He humbles himself. He 00:19:22.390 --> 00:19:30.470 obeys the Father. He serves his creation. Where 00:19:30.470 --> 00:19:34.450 humanity grasped for sovereignty and glory, Jesus 00:19:34.450 --> 00:19:40.150 embraced obedience and humility. Jesus chose 00:19:40.150 --> 00:19:45.480 to serve. And in doing so, Jesus shows us that 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:48.980 true humanity is not found in autonomy. True 00:19:48.980 --> 00:19:52.259 humanity is found in faithful obedience to God. 00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:58.279 The most human life ever lived was not self -sovereign. 00:19:58.299 --> 00:20:04.680 It was self -giving. The cross is the climax 00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:09.339 of the story, but even in Jesus' life, we see 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:13.500 that he is self -giving. Think about when Jesus 00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:16.640 was tired. We have a story in Mark 6. After a 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:18.799 long stretch of ministry, Jesus tells his disciples, 00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:22.880 hey, let's get away. Let's head over to the beach. 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:26.079 Let's go to Cabo. Let's kick back, quiet place, 00:20:26.180 --> 00:20:27.960 and rest for a little while. Let's restore, right? 00:20:28.019 --> 00:20:30.279 He doesn't say Cabo. He says, let's go to a quiet 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:33.059 place and restore. It was probably a wilderness 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:36.579 desert somewhere, right? Let's go to the quiet 00:20:36.579 --> 00:20:38.880 place, and let's get away for a little while 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:41.309 and rest. They're exhausted, man. They've been 00:20:41.309 --> 00:20:44.269 doing ministry hardcore. But guess who shows 00:20:44.269 --> 00:20:48.230 up in the quiet place? The crowds. The crowds 00:20:48.230 --> 00:20:50.650 show up. And what does Mark chapter six say? 00:20:50.750 --> 00:20:52.869 It says instead of sending them away, it says 00:20:52.869 --> 00:20:55.809 that Jesus looked at them and he had compassion 00:20:55.809 --> 00:20:59.609 on them and he began to teach them many things. 00:21:00.890 --> 00:21:04.609 Like even in exhaustion, Jesus gives himself 00:21:04.609 --> 00:21:11.329 away. Husbands, even in exhaustion, Jesus gives 00:21:11.329 --> 00:21:17.190 himself away. Wives, even in exhaustion, Jesus 00:21:17.190 --> 00:21:21.250 gives himself away. You hear me? You hear me? 00:21:21.329 --> 00:21:25.130 You hear me? Okay, you hear me. One of you is 00:21:25.130 --> 00:21:31.829 listening. Some of y 'all skip lunch and you're 00:21:31.829 --> 00:21:35.789 a completely different person, right? We have 00:21:35.789 --> 00:21:38.269 the word hangry, right? Anyone ever been hangry? 00:21:40.470 --> 00:21:44.109 Jesus is exhausted, and what comes out of him? 00:21:45.329 --> 00:21:50.089 Compassion. You know our story is different than 00:21:50.089 --> 00:21:55.630 that, right? When he's grieving, and we hear 00:21:55.630 --> 00:21:57.950 in Matthew 14 that Jesus receives the news that 00:21:57.950 --> 00:22:00.970 John the Baptist has been executed. Someone who's 00:22:00.970 --> 00:22:04.069 very dear to him, John the Baptist. And so what 00:22:04.069 --> 00:22:06.390 does Jesus do? He withdraws to a solitary place. 00:22:07.950 --> 00:22:09.970 He withdraws. He wants to be alone. But what 00:22:09.970 --> 00:22:14.410 happens? The crowds follow him. The crowds follow 00:22:14.410 --> 00:22:16.509 him. And when Jesus sees them again, the text 00:22:16.509 --> 00:22:19.410 says in Matthew 14, he had compassion on them 00:22:19.410 --> 00:22:25.470 and healed their sick. See, even in grief, Jesus 00:22:25.470 --> 00:22:29.690 is giving himself away. Jesus is grieving. And 00:22:29.690 --> 00:22:32.799 what comes out of him? Mercy and compassion. 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:38.759 I think about when Jesus was betrayed. The very 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:40.920 night when he was betrayed, when he was arrested 00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:45.519 and began the march to the cross. That very night, 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:48.059 Jesus kneels down and does something just astounding. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:53.180 That very night, Jesus begins to wash the feet 00:22:53.180 --> 00:22:56.619 of the disciples. And as he goes, one disciple 00:22:56.619 --> 00:23:00.240 after another, he comes to a pair of feet. that 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:04.220 belong to a disciple named Judas, who only hours 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:10.180 from now will betray Jesus to death. And does 00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:15.000 Jesus say, I ain't washing your feet? No, he 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.119 says, even in betrayal, we find Jesus on his 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:25.339 knees giving himself away. I think Jesus knew. 00:23:25.950 --> 00:23:27.990 He knew what was coming. He knew the hour was 00:23:27.990 --> 00:23:33.049 at hand, and yet he still served. And when you 00:23:33.049 --> 00:23:35.829 step back and you look at his life, the pattern 00:23:35.829 --> 00:23:39.369 of his life is clear that Jesus did not live 00:23:39.369 --> 00:23:44.950 for himself. He lived for the glory of the Father 00:23:44.950 --> 00:23:50.930 and for the good of others. And that is why Jesus 00:23:50.930 --> 00:23:54.589 is... is not only our savior, but he is also 00:23:54.589 --> 00:24:00.069 our pattern for life. Athanasius said, he's a 00:24:00.069 --> 00:24:02.150 church father from the third century, third, 00:24:02.230 --> 00:24:05.450 fourth century. He became what we are that he 00:24:05.450 --> 00:24:08.390 might, he became what we are that he might make 00:24:08.390 --> 00:24:13.950 us what he is. He became what we are that he 00:24:13.950 --> 00:24:16.690 might make us what he is. The life he lived is 00:24:16.690 --> 00:24:21.019 the life we are being formed into. Which means 00:24:21.019 --> 00:24:23.319 the goal of the Christian life is not becoming 00:24:23.319 --> 00:24:26.460 more and more autonomous or self -constructed. 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:29.619 It's about becoming more like him. And Jesus 00:24:29.619 --> 00:24:35.819 did not live for himself. Number three, Jesus 00:24:35.819 --> 00:24:40.700 came to serve. Mark chapter 10, listen to this. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:44.619 Jesus called them, he's talking about his disciples. 00:24:44.819 --> 00:24:47.559 Jesus called them over and said to them, You 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:50.420 know that those who are regarded as rulers of 00:24:50.420 --> 00:24:53.079 the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in 00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:55.859 high positions act as tyrants over them. But 00:24:55.859 --> 00:24:58.940 it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever 00:24:58.940 --> 00:25:01.660 wants to become great among you will be your 00:25:01.660 --> 00:25:03.940 servant, and whoever wants to be first among 00:25:03.940 --> 00:25:07.720 you will be a slave to all. For even the Son 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:11.940 of Man did not come to be served, but to serve 00:25:11.940 --> 00:25:19.029 and give his life as a ransom for many. The setting 00:25:19.029 --> 00:25:21.190 here in Mark chapter 10 is kind of interesting 00:25:21.190 --> 00:25:23.849 because just before Jesus says this, you've got 00:25:23.849 --> 00:25:27.769 two disciples, James and John, right? And they 00:25:27.769 --> 00:25:30.509 came to Jesus and they're like, hey, Jesus, we 00:25:30.509 --> 00:25:33.670 got a request here. It's just a little request. 00:25:33.950 --> 00:25:35.930 Like we know you're gonna sit on a throne one 00:25:35.930 --> 00:25:38.250 day in your kingdom and your throne's gonna be 00:25:38.250 --> 00:25:41.529 the biggest, that's fine. But we also know someone 00:25:41.529 --> 00:25:43.750 might get to sit to your right and to your left. 00:25:43.890 --> 00:25:47.400 And we were thinking, hey, two seats, Two of 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:49.480 us, maybe you could let us sit to your right 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:51.539 and left in these seats of honor. What do you 00:25:51.539 --> 00:25:54.539 think, right? Don't worry about those other guys, 00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:58.900 you know. They want the position of honor. They 00:25:58.900 --> 00:26:01.119 want the right and the left hand in the kingdom 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:04.259 of God. They want power and influence. They want 00:26:04.259 --> 00:26:06.180 status. They want association. Whatever they 00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:10.160 want, they want it for themselves. And it says 00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:12.160 the other disciples, well, they get kind of upset 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:15.220 about that. But you know, they're not upset about 00:26:15.220 --> 00:26:17.279 it because they disagree with the idea. They're 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:23.240 upset because they didn't have it first. I mean, 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:27.740 even among the 12, the instincts toward that 00:26:27.740 --> 00:26:35.980 status and power is alive and well. Maybe even 00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:42.160 in this room, right? And so Jesus gathers his 00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:45.039 disciples together and he begins to completely 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:48.740 overturn their understanding of what greatness 00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:52.259 looks like in the kingdom of God. And he begins 00:26:52.259 --> 00:26:54.640 by saying, hey, you know, the rulers over the 00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:57.079 Gentiles, you know, the rulers out there, they 00:26:57.079 --> 00:26:59.700 lorded over them and those in high positions 00:26:59.700 --> 00:27:04.980 act as tyrants over those they lead. Jesus is 00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:07.180 describing the way power normally works in the 00:27:07.180 --> 00:27:11.690 world, right? Authority. Equals domination. Leadership 00:27:11.690 --> 00:27:15.630 equals control. Status is about your ability 00:27:15.630 --> 00:27:18.549 to bend someone else's will to your own will. 00:27:20.869 --> 00:27:24.089 When our kids was, probably still even happens 00:27:24.089 --> 00:27:25.730 because we got two of them still at home even 00:27:25.730 --> 00:27:29.190 though they're adults. We always had this thing 00:27:29.190 --> 00:27:31.309 where if one of us was taking the boys anywhere, 00:27:31.509 --> 00:27:34.450 it was whoever made it to the front seat got 00:27:34.450 --> 00:27:37.470 the front seat, right? Anyone had the racing 00:27:37.470 --> 00:27:39.869 kids run to the front seat or do that when you're 00:27:39.869 --> 00:27:42.950 a kid, right? Shotgun, yeah, right. We didn't 00:27:42.950 --> 00:27:46.529 allow calling. You had to make it there. And 00:27:46.529 --> 00:27:49.190 fight to get that door open and fight to get 00:27:49.190 --> 00:27:50.829 into the seat while you're pushing your brothers 00:27:50.829 --> 00:27:55.160 off. But once they got there, there was a certain 00:27:55.160 --> 00:27:56.599 privilege that came with sitting in the front 00:27:56.599 --> 00:27:59.019 seat because we were kind of a music family. 00:27:59.259 --> 00:28:01.039 And so whoever got to sit in the front seat got 00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:04.619 to pick the music, right? And you know my boys, 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:07.240 right? Pastors' kids, sweet little boys. You 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:09.460 guys know them, right? Sweet, sweet boys, right? 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:12.700 I'm sure when they got into that front seat and 00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:15.119 they had the power, they turned around to their 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:16.380 brothers in the back seat and said, what do you 00:28:16.380 --> 00:28:20.099 guys want to listen to, right? No, that's not 00:28:20.099 --> 00:28:23.779 how it went, right? I win, I dominate. And so 00:28:23.779 --> 00:28:26.339 my youngest would put on like this Japanese stuff 00:28:26.339 --> 00:28:28.819 where we're driving around with like Japanese 00:28:28.819 --> 00:28:32.680 anime, rock, video game music. I'm like, what 00:28:32.680 --> 00:28:37.740 on earth is going on? And yeah, there was a whole 00:28:37.740 --> 00:28:39.759 lot of torturing in that front seat, right? But 00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:45.940 even my kids, like they operated in that scenario 00:28:45.940 --> 00:28:50.349 the way the world operates, right? I won, I got 00:28:50.349 --> 00:28:53.930 there, you are subjected now to my Japanese anime 00:28:53.930 --> 00:28:59.049 video game music. And we drive an hour from home. 00:28:59.230 --> 00:29:02.289 It's not like up to the store, right? It's an 00:29:02.289 --> 00:29:06.730 hour here and an hour back. Stupid on us for 00:29:06.730 --> 00:29:11.890 allowing that, having that rule, right? No, but 00:29:11.890 --> 00:29:14.349 the world says the higher someone rises, the 00:29:14.349 --> 00:29:17.980 more other people serve them, right? The more 00:29:17.980 --> 00:29:20.980 power they have, that's the normal pattern of 00:29:20.980 --> 00:29:24.079 power in this world. But Jesus says to his disciples, 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:30.000 not so among you. In other words, my kingdom 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:32.559 does not operate that way and will not operate 00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:35.799 that way. My people will live by a completely 00:29:35.799 --> 00:29:40.240 different pattern. And Jesus says, the greatest 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:42.680 among you, well, they're gonna be a servant. 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:45.720 And those who wanna be first, You're going to 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:49.720 be a slave to all. That's greatness in the kingdom 00:29:49.720 --> 00:29:52.480 of God. That's complete reversal of the world's 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:56.000 logic. In the kingdom, greatness means serving 00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:00.279 others. Greatness means setting aside your preferences, 00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:02.940 setting aside your desire, setting aside your 00:30:02.940 --> 00:30:05.079 comfort for the sake of others. That's what greatness 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:07.380 means in the kingdom of God. You want to be great 00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:12.329 in the kingdom? Follow the pattern. For even, 00:30:12.430 --> 00:30:14.750 and then he doesn't just tell us, hey, this is 00:30:14.750 --> 00:30:16.609 the instruction, this is the command, this is 00:30:16.609 --> 00:30:19.650 what you have to do. He points them to an example. 00:30:19.690 --> 00:30:26.170 He says, even the Son of Man came not to be served, 00:30:26.230 --> 00:30:29.349 but to serve and to give his life. as a ransom 00:30:29.349 --> 00:30:32.029 for many. And what is this Son of Man title? 00:30:32.150 --> 00:30:34.450 Well, the Son of Man is this kind of often used 00:30:34.450 --> 00:30:37.269 title Jesus uses of himself. The Son of Man is 00:30:37.269 --> 00:30:39.630 the one with authority. The Son of Man is the 00:30:39.630 --> 00:30:42.470 one with the glory, the one with the power, with 00:30:42.470 --> 00:30:44.809 the power to judge the nations at the end of 00:30:44.809 --> 00:30:46.849 time. That's the Son of Man. And he says the 00:30:46.849 --> 00:30:50.029 Son of Man didn't come to be served. He came 00:30:50.029 --> 00:30:54.569 to serve. And not only that, he came to give 00:30:54.569 --> 00:30:59.470 his life as a ransom for many. He came to pay 00:30:59.470 --> 00:31:02.789 the debt on behalf of others, the sin debt that 00:31:02.789 --> 00:31:05.369 every one of us incurred. He didn't just come. 00:31:05.750 --> 00:31:08.130 He didn't come to be served. He came to serve 00:31:08.130 --> 00:31:13.150 and to pay the debt that you and I owed. And 00:31:13.150 --> 00:31:16.130 the ultimate expression of service was the cross. 00:31:18.190 --> 00:31:20.549 And the cross is not just the place where Jesus 00:31:20.549 --> 00:31:23.670 saves us, but the cross is also the place where 00:31:23.670 --> 00:31:27.980 Jesus reveals the true shape of humanity. The 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:31.019 true human Jesus on the cross is showing us the 00:31:31.019 --> 00:31:34.779 true shape of humanity, that humanity in its 00:31:34.779 --> 00:31:39.019 ideal, what we should all look to is a self -giving 00:31:39.019 --> 00:31:43.299 love, a sacrificial laying down of our lives 00:31:43.299 --> 00:31:48.339 for others. The truest human life is not one 00:31:48.339 --> 00:31:51.019 that grasps power. It is one that gives itself 00:31:51.019 --> 00:31:59.240 away in love. If Jesus is the true human and 00:31:59.240 --> 00:32:03.400 we look to Jesus and to the cross and we receive 00:32:03.400 --> 00:32:06.420 salvation from him, we also receive formation 00:32:06.420 --> 00:32:10.359 from him. We are made and conformed into the 00:32:10.359 --> 00:32:14.460 likeness of Christ. And so the goal of Christian 00:32:14.460 --> 00:32:16.740 formation is to become like him. That's what 00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:19.119 we're told in Romans chapter eight. Romans 8, 00:32:19.180 --> 00:32:22.599 29 says, for those he foreknew, he also predestined 00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:26.700 to what? To be conformed to the image of his 00:32:26.700 --> 00:32:31.740 son. Those he foreknew, those he has justified, 00:32:32.140 --> 00:32:36.339 those he has ransomed and saved, he also predestined 00:32:36.339 --> 00:32:40.480 to become like Christ, to be conformed to the 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:44.079 image of his son. God's plan for his people was 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:46.500 not simply forgiveness. It is transformation. 00:32:48.240 --> 00:32:50.960 And the aim of the Christian life is to become 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:53.559 like Christ, which means Christian formation 00:32:53.559 --> 00:32:57.240 is not about becoming more myself or doubling 00:32:57.240 --> 00:33:00.700 down on my own identity or autonomy or self -expression. 00:33:02.299 --> 00:33:04.740 It's not about building the life that feels most 00:33:04.740 --> 00:33:09.700 authentic to me. Christian formation is the slow 00:33:09.700 --> 00:33:13.619 reshaping. of our lives into the pattern of Christ? 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:21.180 From self -rule to obedience, from self -protection, 00:33:21.180 --> 00:33:24.480 be it in our relationship with God, but also 00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:26.539 in our relationship with one another, in our 00:33:26.539 --> 00:33:28.880 relationships in our families, with our kids, 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:31.539 with our spouses, with our neighbors, with our 00:33:31.539 --> 00:33:34.420 friends, is it moving from self -protection to 00:33:34.420 --> 00:33:40.910 self -giving love? From self -sovereignty, my 00:33:40.910 --> 00:33:44.289 choice, my feeling, my perspective is sovereign. 00:33:44.349 --> 00:33:49.589 It rules my life. To self -sacrificial service. 00:33:50.609 --> 00:33:56.549 I lay all that down for the sake of others. The 00:33:56.549 --> 00:33:59.450 more we submit our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, 00:33:59.710 --> 00:34:02.569 and actions to the life and pattern of Christ, 00:34:02.809 --> 00:34:05.309 the more our lives begin to take on the shape 00:34:05.309 --> 00:34:10.039 of his life. And it begins in our minds, these 00:34:10.039 --> 00:34:11.980 thoughts and these emotions, but it works its 00:34:11.980 --> 00:34:14.760 way out into our actions, how we actually live 00:34:14.760 --> 00:34:17.760 in this world. In Christ, we are not simply invited 00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:21.800 to believe in him. We are invited into a lifelong 00:34:21.800 --> 00:34:28.420 journey of becoming like him. And so in conclusion, 00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:31.420 when you step back and look at the whole series, 00:34:31.559 --> 00:34:34.260 this single question has kind of been underneath 00:34:34.260 --> 00:34:37.579 it all. Who sits on the throne of your life? 00:34:39.400 --> 00:34:42.760 Who sits on the throne of your life? Is it the 00:34:42.760 --> 00:34:46.000 self? Is it the self that you have constructed? 00:34:46.039 --> 00:34:49.139 I define who I am. I determine what is true. 00:34:49.260 --> 00:34:52.199 I determine why I'm here. I determine the mission, 00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:58.760 the ambition. I decide what is good for me. That 00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:01.539 story is all around us, people. It's everywhere. 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:05.139 I just drove by a Burger King and I'm pretty 00:35:05.139 --> 00:35:07.860 sure it said, hunger is king or something like 00:35:07.860 --> 00:35:10.659 that. Or you are king or something like that. 00:35:10.739 --> 00:35:12.659 It made me feel really good as I drove by the 00:35:12.659 --> 00:35:15.980 Burger King. The message is everywhere. You're 00:35:15.980 --> 00:35:18.860 the sovereign self. Take a hold of your life 00:35:18.860 --> 00:35:22.719 and rule. I think it said hunger or thirst. Hunger 00:35:22.719 --> 00:35:28.460 is king. I'm pretty sure there's a scripture 00:35:28.460 --> 00:35:30.679 that talks about evil people and their God is 00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:38.619 their stomach. Like, wow. As if we didn't know, 00:35:38.659 --> 00:35:41.519 right? But a sign like that, you know what they're 00:35:41.519 --> 00:35:45.300 thinking? They're thinking freedom. The feeling 00:35:45.300 --> 00:35:48.599 of like, I control my life. I'm the king of my 00:35:48.599 --> 00:35:54.260 kingdom, right? My domain. See, the story always 00:35:54.260 --> 00:35:59.250 promises freedom. Extraordinary freedom. But 00:35:59.250 --> 00:36:02.570 what it does in return is it places on the self, 00:36:02.809 --> 00:36:06.070 on you and on me, a weight that we were never 00:36:06.070 --> 00:36:09.610 meant to carry. We were never meant to design 00:36:09.610 --> 00:36:12.550 our lives or establish what is true and right 00:36:12.550 --> 00:36:17.130 or even why we're here. The sense or purpose 00:36:17.130 --> 00:36:20.369 of meaning is not supposed to be found, the locus 00:36:20.369 --> 00:36:24.639 of it here in ourselves. It is received outside 00:36:24.639 --> 00:36:27.519 of us. Humans were never designed to be ultimate, 00:36:27.619 --> 00:36:30.440 to be sovereign, to be ruler over themselves. 00:36:30.559 --> 00:36:34.260 We were created, are very fabricated. You guys 00:36:34.260 --> 00:36:36.619 ever done any creating, whether it's woodworking 00:36:36.619 --> 00:36:39.159 or you've done a model or you made anything? 00:36:39.260 --> 00:36:41.380 Usually there's a blueprint of some sort. You've 00:36:41.380 --> 00:36:44.639 put together Ikea furniture, right? If you could 00:36:44.639 --> 00:36:48.139 read the instructions, right? Have you ever done 00:36:48.139 --> 00:36:50.460 anything like that, right? There's a design, 00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:53.349 there's a purpose. It doesn't look right if you 00:36:53.349 --> 00:36:56.090 put it together wrong, right? The leg sticking 00:36:56.090 --> 00:36:59.050 up in the sky, right? No, it doesn't look right. 00:36:59.510 --> 00:37:01.730 It doesn't look right because it's not designed. 00:37:01.769 --> 00:37:04.030 It's designed to be subordinate to its plans, 00:37:04.130 --> 00:37:07.789 to its purpose, to live under the rule of its 00:37:07.789 --> 00:37:11.949 blueprint. And you and I are created also. You 00:37:11.949 --> 00:37:14.210 and I are designed to be subordinate. You and 00:37:14.210 --> 00:37:18.230 I are designed to live under God's rule within 00:37:18.230 --> 00:37:21.630 the boundaries that God has set. And these are 00:37:21.630 --> 00:37:26.989 good for us, right? You build the Ikea table, 00:37:27.090 --> 00:37:29.510 right? It's a good table for a while, a little 00:37:29.510 --> 00:37:34.329 while, right? It's good, it's good to look at, 00:37:34.409 --> 00:37:38.570 it's good to use. Humans who operate in the proper 00:37:38.570 --> 00:37:42.889 boundaries, in the proper context, subordinate, 00:37:43.010 --> 00:37:46.150 created, under God's rule, within his boundary, 00:37:46.349 --> 00:37:49.409 receiving our identity, our identity, who am 00:37:49.409 --> 00:37:57.090 I? What am I here for? Who are then called to 00:37:57.090 --> 00:37:59.510 go reflect his character and his goodness and 00:37:59.510 --> 00:38:03.309 his life into this world. We're created for that. 00:38:03.889 --> 00:38:06.809 And when we look at Jesus, we see exactly what 00:38:06.809 --> 00:38:12.010 that life looks like. Jesus had every right to 00:38:12.010 --> 00:38:14.190 claim authority. He had every right to grasp 00:38:14.190 --> 00:38:17.230 power and every right to demand all the service, 00:38:17.269 --> 00:38:20.619 like bring out. Bring out the tri -tip, right? 00:38:20.719 --> 00:38:22.420 Bring out the bonbons, bring out the grapes, 00:38:22.539 --> 00:38:24.280 bring out something, right? He had the right 00:38:24.280 --> 00:38:27.340 to claim every service, every pampering, every 00:38:27.340 --> 00:38:32.440 comfort as king of the universe. And instead, 00:38:32.500 --> 00:38:36.400 what does he do? He humbles himself. He humbles 00:38:36.400 --> 00:38:41.800 himself. The truest version of yourself will 00:38:41.800 --> 00:38:46.489 never be found by ruling your own life. It will 00:38:46.489 --> 00:38:52.150 be found by following Jesus. By surrendering 00:38:52.150 --> 00:38:55.949 yourself to the pattern of Jesus' life. By learning 00:38:55.949 --> 00:39:00.190 his humility and then living that humility in 00:39:00.190 --> 00:39:03.050 your marriage. By living that humility in your 00:39:03.050 --> 00:39:05.030 child rearing with your kids. By living that 00:39:05.030 --> 00:39:07.949 humility at work or in community with others. 00:39:08.869 --> 00:39:12.179 Learning Jesus' obedience. The obedience that's 00:39:12.179 --> 00:39:14.659 listed right there in Philippians chapter two, 00:39:14.699 --> 00:39:17.280 meditating on that until your heart burns for 00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:19.559 that kind of obedience and living out of that 00:39:19.559 --> 00:39:22.699 obedience in everyday life. This is what we call 00:39:22.699 --> 00:39:24.760 here at Village, bringing the gospel to life. 00:39:26.159 --> 00:39:29.360 It's living out the life of Christ in our everyday 00:39:29.360 --> 00:39:35.539 life. His humility, his obedience, his self -giving 00:39:35.539 --> 00:39:40.710 love. The goal of the Christian life is not self 00:39:40.710 --> 00:39:44.510 -sovereignty, it is Christ -likeness. And you 00:39:44.510 --> 00:39:46.269 might have noticed something in Philippians 2 00:39:46.269 --> 00:39:50.090 if you kept reading. Jesus did not seize glory, 00:39:50.230 --> 00:39:52.570 he did not grasp for power, he did not elevate 00:39:52.570 --> 00:39:54.949 himself. Instead, we're told by Paul in Philippians 00:39:54.949 --> 00:39:57.849 chapter 2, Jesus humbled himself, he obeyed the 00:39:57.849 --> 00:40:01.449 Father, and he served you and I even to the point 00:40:01.449 --> 00:40:05.210 of death on the cross. And what is the very next 00:40:05.210 --> 00:40:08.460 verse? Verse 9, which we didn't read. The next 00:40:08.460 --> 00:40:10.239 verse in Philippians chapter two, verse nine 00:40:10.239 --> 00:40:13.840 says, for this reason, because he lived that 00:40:13.840 --> 00:40:17.500 way, for this reason, God highly exalted him 00:40:17.500 --> 00:40:20.199 and gave him the name that is above every name 00:40:20.199 --> 00:40:22.539 so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will 00:40:22.539 --> 00:40:24.659 bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth 00:40:24.659 --> 00:40:27.739 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ 00:40:27.739 --> 00:40:34.789 is Lord to the glory of the Father. You see, 00:40:34.789 --> 00:40:37.190 the glory that followed Jesus' obedience was 00:40:37.190 --> 00:40:41.369 not self -taken. It was given by the Father. 00:40:42.989 --> 00:40:45.409 Jesus shows us something about the kingdom of 00:40:45.409 --> 00:40:48.469 God here, that glory is not something you seize. 00:40:49.710 --> 00:40:52.869 It is something that God gives to the faithful. 00:40:55.230 --> 00:40:58.510 In God's kingdom, the path of exaltation is not 00:40:58.510 --> 00:41:04.380 self -sovereignty. It is humble obedience. The 00:41:04.380 --> 00:41:08.039 gospel says the fully alive human is the one 00:41:08.039 --> 00:41:11.679 who becomes like Jesus. And that's the invitation 00:41:11.679 --> 00:41:16.820 for all of us to become like Jesus, to be formed 00:41:16.820 --> 00:41:21.280 and shaped by his life, his death, and the pattern 00:41:21.280 --> 00:41:26.239 of his life becoming ours. So as we kind of wrap 00:41:26.239 --> 00:41:28.659 this series up, it was good the last few weeks, 00:41:28.699 --> 00:41:31.659 nine weeks or however long it's been. Feels like 00:41:31.659 --> 00:41:34.400 all we've been doing. And we get ready to kind 00:41:34.400 --> 00:41:38.559 of turn the corner and move into the season of 00:41:38.559 --> 00:41:41.460 Easter coming up and Resurrection Sunday and 00:41:41.460 --> 00:41:43.960 Good Friday and all of that. That's coming down 00:41:43.960 --> 00:41:46.800 the pipeline. But I want us to sit for a moment 00:41:46.800 --> 00:41:49.820 in this as we wrap it up and as we consider that 00:41:49.820 --> 00:41:53.019 question, who sits on the throne of your life? 00:41:54.440 --> 00:41:58.539 Who is at the center? What story are you believing 00:41:58.539 --> 00:42:04.489 about who you are? and why you are here. Who's 00:42:04.489 --> 00:42:09.530 at the center of your identity? I think the invitation 00:42:09.530 --> 00:42:13.170 for all of us is to respond and to allow Christ 00:42:13.170 --> 00:42:17.650 to begin to move to the center. That means some 00:42:17.650 --> 00:42:20.489 things are going to have to go. That means some 00:42:20.489 --> 00:42:22.849 thoughts and attitudes and emotions and behaviors 00:42:22.849 --> 00:42:26.389 are going to have to change. And part of the 00:42:26.389 --> 00:42:28.769 act of surrender is starting there and saying, 00:42:29.289 --> 00:42:32.170 Yeah, I know the thing. I can name it. I can 00:42:32.170 --> 00:42:34.250 name the thing that needs to begin to shift and 00:42:34.250 --> 00:42:38.349 change, and I lay it on your altar today. Begin 00:42:38.349 --> 00:42:41.710 to change that in me. It's always interesting 00:42:41.710 --> 00:42:44.070 when people are like, how do I know what God 00:42:44.070 --> 00:42:46.710 wants to work on in me? It's like, you'll know. 00:42:47.469 --> 00:42:50.170 It's whatever you're thinking of right now, right? 00:42:50.650 --> 00:42:53.130 Whatever that thing is, that hang up, that issue 00:42:53.130 --> 00:42:55.030 that's going on, that's the thing that God's 00:42:55.030 --> 00:42:57.050 bringing to the surface through all of your life 00:42:57.050 --> 00:42:59.429 and circumstances because he wants to deal with 00:42:59.429 --> 00:43:02.650 that today. Today's the day of surrender. Today's 00:43:02.650 --> 00:43:04.610 the day of becoming like Christ a little bit 00:43:04.610 --> 00:43:04.849 more.