WEBVTT 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:06.559 You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:09.359 podcast, a ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:12.099 Church in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan 00:00:12.099 --> 00:00:14.160 Merrick, and it's our prayer that this message 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.500 strengthens your faith and draws you closer to 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:21.199 Christ. Let's dive in. All right. Good morning. 00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:23.920 Glad that you're here. This is your first time. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:26.980 Welcome. My name is Logan, and I get the great 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:29.600 opportunity to shepherd this local congregation. 00:00:31.260 --> 00:00:35.679 As we are diving into the book of Mark. If you 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:37.539 do not have a Bible, we've got some in the back 00:00:37.539 --> 00:00:39.500 there. That is our gift to you if you do not 00:00:39.500 --> 00:00:42.719 have one. We've been working through the book 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:45.859 of Mark. We're almost through chapter 10. There's 00:00:45.859 --> 00:00:50.159 only 16 chapters in Mark. So I'm really excited 00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:53.539 as we are barreling towards the end of it. We 00:00:53.539 --> 00:00:56.479 will start the book of Revelation after that. 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:01.630 So it should be interesting. If you do not have 00:01:01.630 --> 00:01:03.229 a Bible or don't want a good one from the back, 00:01:03.270 --> 00:01:07.489 we will have the words up here. And also, make 00:01:07.489 --> 00:01:09.010 sure you grab the bulletin if you'd like to keep 00:01:09.010 --> 00:01:14.569 notes to write things down. Oh, also, can we 00:01:14.569 --> 00:01:20.989 just thank the Lord for AC and the AC working, 00:01:21.109 --> 00:01:23.950 Mike? Thank you very much for calling somebody 00:01:23.950 --> 00:01:28.519 to fix the leak. because I was really nervous 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:30.780 about this Sunday. I already sat up here and 00:01:30.780 --> 00:01:32.980 I was like, man, nobody's going to come to church. 00:01:33.859 --> 00:01:36.359 We don't got AC. So thank you, Lord, for AC. 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:40.000 All right. The title of my sermon today is The 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.579 Humble Ransom. Living, serving and dying. And 00:01:44.579 --> 00:01:46.640 if you are taking notes, this is my big idea 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:52.670 that you can write down. It's gonna be right 00:01:52.670 --> 00:01:54.890 up here for you. Jesus fulfilled his purpose 00:01:54.890 --> 00:02:00.310 by humbly giving his life for others. As his 00:02:00.310 --> 00:02:03.209 followers, our purpose is not to seek recognition, 00:02:03.370 --> 00:02:06.750 but to die to ourselves and serve others so they 00:02:06.750 --> 00:02:12.110 can see him. What is something, let me ask you 00:02:12.110 --> 00:02:16.409 guys this. What is something that we continually 00:02:16.409 --> 00:02:20.349 keep seeing happening that Jesus is bringing? 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:23.759 to the disciples and they're just not getting 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:25.919 it. What is it that we keep seeing repeating? 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:29.219 Yes, exactly. He's going to the cross, right? 00:02:29.699 --> 00:02:32.939 And we saw a couple of weeks ago that he's going 00:02:32.939 --> 00:02:35.759 to the cross and Peter actually rebukes Jesus 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:38.020 for it, right? No, that's not how this is gonna 00:02:38.020 --> 00:02:40.219 work. Jesus, obviously you don't know the prophecies 00:02:40.219 --> 00:02:42.900 of the Messiah, right? Like he's very indignant 00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:49.460 about it. And so yet again, we're going to see 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:52.919 This same thing we're going to unpack this morning, 00:02:53.139 --> 00:02:56.599 along with some more fun, interesting things. 00:02:56.860 --> 00:02:58.580 But throughout our time in the book of Mark, 00:02:58.740 --> 00:03:00.680 we've seen Jesus repeatedly tell his disciples 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:03.759 that he is going to die. And every time he does, 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:05.960 they either don't understand him or like Peter, 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:08.919 they become indignant and try to correct him 00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:11.360 because it doesn't fit their understanding of 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:14.819 what the Messiah is supposed to be. And in our 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:16.400 passage today, we're gonna see that Jesus once 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:19.000 again predicts his death, but he does so this 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:22.439 time with a lot of details that we're gonna see. 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:24.460 And so, and this will actually be the third time 00:03:24.460 --> 00:03:27.340 in three chapters. So, writing this down, if 00:03:27.340 --> 00:03:29.099 you guys have heard me say it before, but I wanna 00:03:29.099 --> 00:03:31.840 remind you, when you see repeating things in 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:36.240 scripture, that is big flashing lights that this 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:39.020 is what the author is trying to drive home to 00:03:39.020 --> 00:03:42.740 you for you to understand. And so, if you'll 00:03:42.740 --> 00:03:46.340 recall, The entirety of the book of Mark is Mark 00:03:46.340 --> 00:03:49.280 showing that Jesus is the Messiah, the one true 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:53.139 King. That's his theme. And then now we're seeing 00:03:53.139 --> 00:03:56.759 Jesus repeatedly repeat that he is the Messiah, 00:03:56.780 --> 00:03:58.500 but it's not gonna look the way you thought it 00:03:58.500 --> 00:04:03.080 was going to look. And so, a question I have 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:10.680 to ask is this though. If we look, and I'm gonna 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:14.039 read it all in just a second. But if we look 00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:17.519 at verse 45, okay, so we're in chapter 10 I want 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:19.120 you to go to the very last verse that we're gonna 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:24.860 see that we're gonna unpack verse 45 This is 00:04:24.860 --> 00:04:28.639 Jesus talking and he says for even the Son of 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:33.060 Man came not to be served but to serve and To 00:04:33.060 --> 00:04:35.980 give his life. What is that? What does it say 00:04:35.980 --> 00:04:40.139 as a ransom for many? So let me ask you this 00:04:41.829 --> 00:04:46.370 Does it sound like to you, if Jesus continues 00:04:46.370 --> 00:04:49.329 to repeat himself of what this is gonna look 00:04:49.329 --> 00:04:54.029 like, does it sound like a man who is caught 00:04:54.029 --> 00:04:58.310 by surprise with his death? Not at all, right? 00:04:59.110 --> 00:05:02.810 Does it sound like Jesus is being forced or coerced 00:05:02.810 --> 00:05:10.370 into dying? No. So again, verse 45 gives us that 00:05:10.370 --> 00:05:13.199 answer that he came not to be served, but to 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:15.019 serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:18.560 And that one verse tells us everything we need 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:22.160 to know about why Jesus came. He knew exactly 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:25.579 what his purpose was and nothing was going to 00:05:25.579 --> 00:05:29.660 keep him from fulfilling it. What does that word, 00:05:29.660 --> 00:05:34.019 when you see the word came, what does that tell 00:05:34.019 --> 00:05:36.360 us? It's doing a lot of heavy lifting, but what 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:44.490 should it tell us about Jesus himself? Exactly. 00:05:45.870 --> 00:05:47.870 Gene's over here just killing it for everybody. 00:05:48.589 --> 00:05:51.870 If you didn't hear him, it tells us that he's 00:05:51.870 --> 00:05:55.750 always been, from the very beginning, way before 00:05:55.750 --> 00:05:58.670 Bethlehem, he has always been. And he willingly 00:05:58.670 --> 00:06:02.569 entered the world with a mission. And when he 00:06:02.569 --> 00:06:05.250 says that he came not to be served, it reminds 00:06:05.250 --> 00:06:08.209 us that although he deserved every ounce of honor, 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:11.240 glory and worship, he willingly laid aside those 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:14.259 privileges in order to serve sinners like me 00:06:14.259 --> 00:06:18.519 and you. But then Jesus tells us the heart of 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:22.579 his mission is to give his life as a ransom for 00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:27.829 many. So that word, if you... would turn there 00:06:27.829 --> 00:06:29.889 if you're still there. I want you to circle the 00:06:29.889 --> 00:06:31.790 word ransom and I want you to write next to it 00:06:31.790 --> 00:06:33.430 however you need to, if you need to draw an arrow, 00:06:33.470 --> 00:06:36.410 whatever it looks like. I want you to write the 00:06:36.410 --> 00:06:38.850 Greek word of that, which is Lutron. So it's 00:06:38.850 --> 00:06:44.230 just like it sounds, L -U -T -R -O -N, Lutron. 00:06:45.029 --> 00:06:47.250 And Lutron, because we don't really use the word 00:06:47.250 --> 00:06:49.970 ransom so much unless somebody's like kidnapped 00:06:49.970 --> 00:06:53.370 and they put up for the ransom, right? But ransom 00:06:53.370 --> 00:06:57.680 in this term in the Greek, means something similar, 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:00.939 but it's even better. It's a price that was paid 00:07:00.939 --> 00:07:03.759 to purchase the freedom of a slave or a prisoner. 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:07.240 Someone else made the payment so another person 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:11.100 could go free. So that word Lutron, again, ransom, 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:14.220 is talking about a payment that has been paid. 00:07:14.980 --> 00:07:17.939 So a few weeks ago, I talked about why Christ 00:07:17.939 --> 00:07:21.120 had to die. We looked at the personal reasons, 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:24.779 but we also looked at the cosmic reasons. Our 00:07:24.779 --> 00:07:27.160 sin created a debt that we could never repay. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:31.959 And it took a cosmic payment to satisfy the justice 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:36.680 of a holy God and to defeat a cosmic evil. And 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:38.980 Jesus made the payment on the cross and he paid 00:07:38.980 --> 00:07:41.160 the ransom that we could never pay ourselves. 00:07:42.180 --> 00:07:45.180 And that is where our passage begins. Jesus was 00:07:45.180 --> 00:07:48.160 absolutely committed to his purpose. But as we 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:51.019 will see, while Jesus is focused on giving his 00:07:51.019 --> 00:07:53.829 life away, His disciples are still focused on 00:07:53.829 --> 00:07:58.389 gaining something for themselves. And in contrast, 00:07:58.430 --> 00:08:00.910 Jesus not only reveals his purpose, but he reveals 00:08:00.910 --> 00:08:05.370 ours. So let's go to chapter 10. We're going 00:08:05.370 --> 00:08:12.110 to start in verse 32. You guys ready? Here we 00:08:12.110 --> 00:08:17.189 go. And they were on the road going to Jerusalem 00:08:17.189 --> 00:08:20.189 and Jesus was walking ahead of them and they 00:08:20.189 --> 00:08:23.300 were amazed. and those who followed were also 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:28.540 afraid. And taking the 12 again, he began to 00:08:28.540 --> 00:08:31.379 tell them what was to happen to him, saying, 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:34.000 See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:36.299 of Man will be delivered over to the chief priest 00:08:36.299 --> 00:08:38.879 and the scribes, and they will condemn him to 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:41.539 death and deliver him over the Gentiles, and 00:08:41.539 --> 00:08:44.340 they will mock him, spit on him, and flog him 00:08:44.340 --> 00:08:47.019 and kill him, and after three days will rise 00:08:47.019 --> 00:08:50.259 again." So do you see how Jesus now is prophetically 00:08:50.259 --> 00:08:53.850 speaking like specific details now. So first 00:08:53.850 --> 00:08:56.350 it was son of man's got to come and die. Now 00:08:56.350 --> 00:08:59.809 he's giving details. What about this though is 00:08:59.809 --> 00:09:02.750 interesting is notice that he says the chief 00:09:02.750 --> 00:09:07.009 priest, right? And the scribes will deliver him 00:09:07.009 --> 00:09:11.909 over to the Gentiles. Why does he give that information? 00:09:12.850 --> 00:09:21.879 What do you think? Is it? Is it the role of a 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:24.659 chief priest and the scribes to kill someone? 00:09:25.639 --> 00:09:29.620 Nope. So they take him, but they have to give 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:32.759 him over to the Roman guards, right? To the Romans 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:35.259 in order for him to be killed. And so that's 00:09:35.259 --> 00:09:37.340 why Jesus is giving you this information. Cause 00:09:37.340 --> 00:09:39.960 if he just said, the chief priests, they're going 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:43.620 to kill me. They'd be like, that doesn't make 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:46.440 much sense. They can't do that. Right? So he's 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:48.220 giving us a little bit more detail. Let's keep 00:09:48.220 --> 00:09:52.120 going. And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, 00:09:52.259 --> 00:09:55.259 came up to him and said to him, Teacher, we want 00:09:55.259 --> 00:10:01.240 you to do for us whatever we ask of you. Hilarious, 00:10:01.240 --> 00:10:04.679 by the way. And he said to them, what do you 00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:07.159 want me to do for you? And they said to him, 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:10.059 grant us to sit one at your right hand and one 00:10:10.059 --> 00:10:13.480 at your left in your glory. And Jesus said to 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:16.279 them, you do not know what you are asking. Are 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:19.309 you able to drink the cup that I drink? or to 00:10:19.309 --> 00:10:21.590 be baptized with the baptism with which I am 00:10:21.590 --> 00:10:24.509 baptized. And they said to him, we are able. 00:10:25.090 --> 00:10:27.450 And Jesus said to them, the cup that I drink, 00:10:27.649 --> 00:10:30.809 you will drink. And with baptism with which I 00:10:30.809 --> 00:10:33.990 am baptized, you will be baptized. But to sit 00:10:33.990 --> 00:10:37.730 at my right hand or at my left hand is not mine 00:10:37.730 --> 00:10:40.870 to grant, but it is for those for whom it has 00:10:40.870 --> 00:10:43.610 been granted or been prepared. In Matthew it 00:10:43.610 --> 00:10:47.830 says that God had ordained. So if you read the 00:10:47.830 --> 00:10:50.850 Matthew account of this, he says, God has ordained 00:10:50.850 --> 00:10:57.009 those to be at my right or my left. And when 00:10:57.009 --> 00:10:59.789 the 10 heard it, they began to be indignant at 00:10:59.789 --> 00:11:03.830 James and John. And Jesus called to them and 00:11:03.830 --> 00:11:06.549 he said, you know that those who are considered 00:11:06.549 --> 00:11:09.690 rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and 00:11:09.690 --> 00:11:12.509 their great ones exercise authority over them. 00:11:12.850 --> 00:11:16.379 But it not. it, but it shall not be so among 00:11:16.379 --> 00:11:20.080 you. But whoever be great among you must be your 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:22.799 servant and whoever be first among you must be 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:27.379 slave of all. For even the son of man came not 00:11:27.379 --> 00:11:30.480 to be served, but to serve and to give his life 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:37.000 as a ransom for many. All right. If you are taking 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:42.980 notes, that first line is a willing sacrifice. 00:11:44.620 --> 00:11:56.620 A willing sacrifice. There's a documentary, I've 00:11:56.620 --> 00:12:01.399 been thinking about having it, showing it here, 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:06.759 because we own it, for us to see. There's a series 00:12:06.759 --> 00:12:08.360 of them, but they're called the American Gospel. 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:10.799 The seminary I went to, Southern Seminary in 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:13.879 Louisville. was the ones that produced these, 00:12:13.940 --> 00:12:15.860 and it's called the American Gospel, and then 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:18.220 it always has like, you know, whatever the kind 00:12:18.220 --> 00:12:21.620 of theme is. And so, is anybody familiar with 00:12:21.620 --> 00:12:24.899 those? Those documentaries? They're really, really 00:12:24.899 --> 00:12:27.480 good. They're on Amazon Prime. Super, super, 00:12:27.480 --> 00:12:30.960 super good. But this one in particular that I'm 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:35.580 thinking of is American Gospel Christ Crucified. 00:12:36.299 --> 00:12:38.679 And so, as I said, there's multiple of the American 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:41.240 Gospel series, but this one specifically deals 00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:43.820 with Christ's willingness to go to the cross. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:48.919 And there's a reason for that. Because throughout 00:12:48.919 --> 00:12:51.960 the documentaries, they're interviewing several 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:55.620 liberal theologians and pastors. And I went through 00:12:55.620 --> 00:12:58.259 yesterday and rewatched it just to take down 00:12:58.259 --> 00:13:00.539 some quotes for you. And I'm gonna have them 00:13:00.539 --> 00:13:03.860 right up here. so you can read them as I go along. 00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:08.320 So the first one is from Bart Campolo. His father 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:14.139 is Tony Campolo, who is a famous, famous pastor, 00:13:14.419 --> 00:13:17.980 writer, theologian, who has, he recently passed 00:13:17.980 --> 00:13:20.840 away about two or three years ago. And he ultimately, 00:13:21.059 --> 00:13:23.740 because of his son, Bart, who became an atheist, 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:26.899 he ultimately became, Tony himself went from 00:13:26.899 --> 00:13:29.500 being very conservative to very progressive. 00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:34.120 in order to try to mend fences with his son. 00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:37.940 But Bart says this, why would I serve the God 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:40.240 of the Bible when I can imagine a much better 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:45.980 God in my mind? Then Tony Jones, who's another 00:13:45.980 --> 00:13:50.519 famous liberal theologian, progressive theologian, 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:53.879 he says this, how does Jesus dying take care 00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:57.759 of your personal sins? By what cosmic mechanism? 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:01.860 It doesn't just or it doesn't make sense. And 00:14:01.860 --> 00:14:04.139 that is not in the Bible, and that is most certainly 00:14:04.139 --> 00:14:08.500 not the God I see there or worship. Yeah, because 00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:11.720 the one that you worship is not the one true 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:14.220 God, it's the one you made up in your head, like 00:14:14.220 --> 00:14:19.379 Bart Campolo. This next one is from a woman you 00:14:19.379 --> 00:14:21.860 have seen, I know you have, you just don't realize 00:14:21.860 --> 00:14:26.980 it before. She is a priestess, she's covered 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:32.730 in tattoos. She writes a lot of theological books 00:14:32.730 --> 00:14:41.250 on sex. But she says this in the documentary, 00:14:41.529 --> 00:14:48.009 it turns God, so the Christ sacrifice turns God 00:14:48.009 --> 00:14:51.710 into some sort of cosmic divine child abuser. 00:14:51.970 --> 00:14:55.429 And that's Nadia Bowles Weber is her name. And 00:14:55.429 --> 00:14:58.879 then the last one is a guy who is Very, very 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:01.600 famous. And the funny thing is, his church is 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:07.320 in St. Joe. Big church. I say big church. It's 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:09.480 a big building, but not a lot of people in it. 00:15:10.779 --> 00:15:14.559 And his name is Brian Zond, and he believes he 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:20.120 is God's gift to the Bible. But he says, if you 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:23.799 believe that Christ's atonement and sacrifice, 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:27.779 was necessary, then you have to ask the question, 00:15:28.299 --> 00:15:32.080 does God really love me or has he simply been 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:37.240 paid off? So every one of those objections is 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:39.740 aimed at the very truth we find in our passage 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:44.820 today. Too many people, or too many people, the 00:15:44.820 --> 00:15:47.759 idea of Christ dying on the cross to satisfy 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:51.639 God's justice sounds primitive, barbaric, or 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:54.559 like something straight out of an antiquitic 00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:58.320 story. And the question usually becomes, why 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:00.700 wouldn't God just forgive everyone and be done 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:05.279 with it? Why would he require sacrifice? And 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:07.480 if you remember that sermon I preached a couple 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:10.120 of weeks ago, I answered that question and you 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:12.259 should go back and listen to that sermon again 00:16:12.259 --> 00:16:14.259 if you don't remember, but I'm going to bring 00:16:14.259 --> 00:16:17.480 it. fresh back to your memory. If you'll recall, 00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:19.919 I used an illustration of a broken lamp and it 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:22.899 was Scott's broken lamp. And I said, Scott, if 00:16:22.899 --> 00:16:25.899 I come to your house and I accidentally knock 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:29.600 over your wife's reading lamp and it breaks, 00:16:30.519 --> 00:16:33.259 we have two choices. Right. And I said, either 00:16:33.259 --> 00:16:38.899 I pay for it. Right. Or Scott says, no, I forgive 00:16:38.899 --> 00:16:42.779 you. But he still absorbs the cost of the broken 00:16:42.779 --> 00:16:44.179 lamp, right? Because he's still got to go get 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:47.200 another one. He paid for it once, probably paid. 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:49.620 See what I'm saying? So if you guys will remember 00:16:49.620 --> 00:16:54.120 that, forgiveness doesn't erase the cost. It 00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:58.139 simply determines who absorbs it. And so the 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:01.159 cross is no different. Jesus didn't have to die 00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:05.559 despite God's love. He had to die because of 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:08.539 God's love. I'll say that again so it clicks 00:17:08.539 --> 00:17:12.660 in your brain. Jesus didn't die despite God's 00:17:12.660 --> 00:17:17.380 love. He had to die because of God's love. And 00:17:17.380 --> 00:17:19.960 that's because real life changing love is always 00:17:19.960 --> 00:17:23.900 substitutionary. Someone bears the cost so someone 00:17:23.900 --> 00:17:26.819 else can go free. I want you to think about it 00:17:26.819 --> 00:17:29.779 in another way. I want you to think about parenting. 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:33.819 Children enter the world completely independent, 00:17:33.819 --> 00:17:40.000 right? Thank you. There's one person. No, they're 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:43.599 completely dependent, right? So if they're completely 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:46.579 dependent, they can't survive on their own. They 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:49.960 don't magically grow into mature adults by themselves. 00:17:50.039 --> 00:17:51.920 And the only way they can become independent 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:54.799 is if someone else willingly gives up a great 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:56.559 deal of their life and their own independence 00:17:56.559 --> 00:18:03.680 for years. Right? You read the same books over 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:06.279 and over and over again, not because they're 00:18:06.279 --> 00:18:08.579 gripping literature, but because that's how children 00:18:08.579 --> 00:18:11.640 develop language, imagination, and understanding. 00:18:13.319 --> 00:18:17.039 You lose sleep, you sacrifice time, money, hobbies, 00:18:17.099 --> 00:18:19.900 and dreams, and you absorb the cost so they can 00:18:19.900 --> 00:18:25.319 grow. I'll give you more of an example of that. 00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:29.440 It has not been easy for my wife. to put her 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:33.180 own dreams on hold to homeschool our kids. She 00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:37.759 had big dreams and plans. When we first started 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:40.420 dating and getting married, she wanted to be 00:18:40.420 --> 00:18:45.400 a licensed therapist. And she had to put all 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:48.680 of those dreams on hold in order to navigate 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:52.299 homeschooling. There have been extra sacrifices 00:18:52.299 --> 00:18:56.000 or there have been sacrifices like no extra income. 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:59.279 her personal goals, opportunities she could have 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:02.079 pursued. But I know she would tell you today 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:04.640 that while it has been hard, it has been absolutely 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:07.940 worth it. Just spend a few minutes with my kids 00:19:07.940 --> 00:19:10.920 and you'll see what I'm saying. I'm pretty proud 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:13.299 of them, but mostly because she's done a great 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:16.559 job. They're growing in God's word, they're growing 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:18.980 intellectually, and they're growing to be wonderful 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:22.759 young men and a wonderful young lady. And that's 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:28.279 what love does. Write this down. Sacrifice is 00:19:28.279 --> 00:19:35.220 always at the heart of genuine love. Sacrifice 00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:39.359 is always at the heart of genuine love. So it 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:42.420 shouldn't be a surprise to us that a God whose 00:19:42.420 --> 00:19:45.000 love is infinitely greater than ours would make 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:47.299 the ultimate sacrifice to deal with the ultimate 00:19:47.299 --> 00:19:50.359 problem. Sin created a debt that we could never 00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:54.279 pay, so God paid it himself. Think about this 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:57.710 for a moment. God could speak light into existence, 00:19:57.789 --> 00:20:00.089 he could speak stars into existence and oceans 00:20:00.089 --> 00:20:02.269 and mountains and platypuses and giraffes and 00:20:02.269 --> 00:20:04.970 all the crazy stuff, but he could not simply 00:20:04.970 --> 00:20:10.650 say, let there be forgiveness. Because justice 00:20:10.650 --> 00:20:13.690 demanded that the debt be paid. Who was going 00:20:13.690 --> 00:20:16.869 to absorb the cost? And he loved us too much 00:20:16.869 --> 00:20:19.150 to leave us to pay the debt he knew we could 00:20:19.150 --> 00:20:23.400 not. And so sometimes people say, I've never 00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:25.460 asked God, like if you've ever talked to anybody 00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:27.579 that's not a believer, you know, and you're like, 00:20:27.579 --> 00:20:29.579 you know, Christ has come, forgive your sins. 00:20:29.579 --> 00:20:31.660 He died for you. Well, I never asked him to do 00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:33.900 that for me. I've never heard that. Have I ever 00:20:33.900 --> 00:20:38.339 said that to you? I have. My response is always 00:20:38.339 --> 00:20:41.720 the same. No, you didn't. But he did it anyway. 00:20:44.460 --> 00:20:47.319 C .S. Lewis actually captures this beautifully 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:49.259 in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as Aslan 00:20:49.259 --> 00:20:52.839 gives his life in Edmund's place. C .S. Lewis 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:57.759 writes this, when a willing victim who had committed 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:00.660 no treachery was killed in a trader's stead, 00:21:01.339 --> 00:21:04.019 the table would crack and death itself would 00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:07.680 start working backwards. And that is exactly 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:11.400 what Jesus came to do. He wasn't forced to the 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:14.480 cross. He walked there willingly knowing that 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:17.839 his death would become our life. And so when 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:20.660 someone says, is Jesus or God is some sort of 00:21:20.650 --> 00:21:23.509 cosmic child abuser, you can look back at them 00:21:23.509 --> 00:21:26.670 and say, last I checked, he's always been here. 00:21:27.509 --> 00:21:30.230 And he willingly went. He signed up for it. He 00:21:30.230 --> 00:21:34.710 knew the mission. If you go back in chapter 10, 00:21:35.329 --> 00:21:38.710 verse 32, and they were on the road going to 00:21:38.710 --> 00:21:41.950 Jerusalem. Why were they going to Jerusalem? 00:21:42.509 --> 00:21:48.210 Because Jesus knew he had a mission. So it didn't 00:21:48.210 --> 00:21:53.920 catch him off guard. Point number two, a humble 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:59.779 sacrifice. But now we come to the part of the 00:21:59.779 --> 00:22:02.180 passage where once again, the disciples just 00:22:02.180 --> 00:22:05.420 do not get it. And it's funny because it's easy 00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:08.819 to shake our heads at them and be like, dude, 00:22:08.839 --> 00:22:11.799 what is the problem here? But if you're anything 00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:15.299 like me, and I'm sure some of you are, I have 00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:18.240 to take the long way around with Jesus sometimes. 00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:22.569 He has to like, Say it and repeat it over and 00:22:22.569 --> 00:22:24.470 over before I finally go and then sometimes I 00:22:24.470 --> 00:22:27.890 put myself in bad situations Bad life circumstances, 00:22:27.910 --> 00:22:30.230 and that's the thing that usually wakes me up 00:22:30.230 --> 00:22:34.549 and then I'm like, oh Now I get it. Why didn't 00:22:34.549 --> 00:22:36.349 you just say it Jesus? You know what I mean? 00:22:36.390 --> 00:22:42.410 He's like, okay Jesus has just told the disciples 00:22:42.410 --> 00:22:44.329 that he's going to suffer and die instead of 00:22:44.329 --> 00:22:47.589 asking questions about his suffering James and 00:22:47.589 --> 00:22:51.309 John step forward and ask if they can sit at 00:22:51.309 --> 00:22:58.009 his right and left in his glory. I want you to 00:22:58.009 --> 00:23:05.670 think about the audacity of that request. They 00:23:05.670 --> 00:23:08.650 basically say, teacher, what would they say? 00:23:08.809 --> 00:23:15.210 Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask. If 00:23:15.210 --> 00:23:18.289 my kids came to me with that line, I would literally 00:23:18.289 --> 00:23:22.190 do the exact opposite. Just because I'm like, 00:23:22.210 --> 00:23:28.109 nah, nah. But he doesn't snap at them. You actually 00:23:28.109 --> 00:23:30.509 see Jesus's patience, and he simply asks, what 00:23:30.509 --> 00:23:35.769 do you want me to do for you? Now, if I'm like 00:23:35.769 --> 00:23:40.829 Jesus, or if I was Jesus, I should say, I'm giving 00:23:40.829 --> 00:23:42.910 these two goobers a smack on the back of the 00:23:42.910 --> 00:23:45.109 head and like, guys, I'm literally talking to 00:23:45.109 --> 00:23:48.809 you about my death, my death for you and you 00:23:48.809 --> 00:23:55.430 guys wanna know what I'm gonna do for you. But 00:23:55.430 --> 00:23:59.430 as I looked more and more at this part of the 00:23:59.430 --> 00:24:02.670 passage, I couldn't help but hear the Holy Spirit 00:24:02.670 --> 00:24:05.950 going and yet still you always come to me in 00:24:05.950 --> 00:24:08.190 prayer. Here's what I need you to do for me. 00:24:10.360 --> 00:24:17.299 Anybody else? But Jesus patiently listens and 00:24:17.299 --> 00:24:19.680 after hearing their request, he simply says, 00:24:20.099 --> 00:24:22.680 you don't know what you're asking. And then he 00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:25.900 asked, can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:29.759 with the baptism I am baptized with? And so James 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:32.980 and John, when they think glory, they're thinking 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:35.240 thrones, they're thinking powers, they're thinking 00:24:35.240 --> 00:24:39.629 prestige, and they're thinking influence. They're 00:24:39.629 --> 00:24:42.269 picturing cabinet positions in the kingdom, but 00:24:42.269 --> 00:24:45.210 Jesus is teaching them that His greatest glory 00:24:45.210 --> 00:24:50.210 will actually be revealed where? On the cross. 00:24:52.849 --> 00:24:56.710 You can write this down. The place where the 00:24:56.710 --> 00:24:59.710 world sees weakness is the very place where God 00:24:59.710 --> 00:25:04.150 displays His greatest love. In fact, when Jesus 00:25:04.150 --> 00:25:06.809 is lifted up in His greatest moment of glory, 00:25:07.210 --> 00:25:10.470 There will indeed be someone at his right and 00:25:10.470 --> 00:25:13.250 his left, but they aren't honored officials. 00:25:13.809 --> 00:25:18.569 Who are they? When Christ is lifted up onto that 00:25:18.569 --> 00:25:22.069 cross, who are the ones that God ordains to be 00:25:22.069 --> 00:25:29.589 at his right and his left? Criminals. Those who 00:25:29.589 --> 00:25:32.750 are ordained to be there are criminals hanging 00:25:32.750 --> 00:25:37.059 on a cross. The cup and the baptism both point 00:25:37.059 --> 00:25:40.160 to the judgment of God against sin that Jesus 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:42.779 is about to bear. That James and John have no 00:25:42.779 --> 00:25:45.039 idea what they're asking because they still don't 00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:48.880 understand the cross because before we're too 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:51.160 hard on them, we should admit that we're often 00:25:51.160 --> 00:25:54.339 just like them. At some level, our pride blinds 00:25:54.339 --> 00:25:59.299 us too. Scott was talking about pride this morning 00:25:59.299 --> 00:26:02.380 and I couldn't help but kind of like chuckle 00:26:02.380 --> 00:26:04.490 to myself because I'm like, oh man. I saw my 00:26:04.490 --> 00:26:09.930 notes. But our pride blinds us too. We naturally 00:26:09.930 --> 00:26:13.069 assume we know how our lives should go, and when 00:26:13.069 --> 00:26:17.529 they don't, we question God. So take worry, for 00:26:17.529 --> 00:26:21.210 example. We worry because we love people, and 00:26:21.210 --> 00:26:23.390 that's understandable, but constant worry often 00:26:23.390 --> 00:26:26.730 reveals something deeper. It quietly says, I 00:26:26.730 --> 00:26:29.670 know how the situation should turn out, and God 00:26:29.670 --> 00:26:33.190 isn't getting it right. That's pride dressed 00:26:33.190 --> 00:26:38.509 up as concern. Real humility loosens its grip. 00:26:38.970 --> 00:26:41.349 It allows us to laugh at ourselves, to be honest 00:26:41.349 --> 00:26:43.869 about our weaknesses, and to trust that God's 00:26:43.869 --> 00:26:47.430 wisdom is better than ours. And that's what the 00:26:47.430 --> 00:26:50.430 cross produces in us. When you realize that the 00:26:50.430 --> 00:26:52.970 Son of God willingly took your place, it's hard 00:26:52.970 --> 00:26:54.670 to keep pretending that you're the center of 00:26:54.670 --> 00:27:01.470 the story. I'm gonna repeat that. When you realize 00:27:01.470 --> 00:27:03.670 that the Son of God willingly took your place, 00:27:03.789 --> 00:27:05.829 it's hard to keep pretending that you're the 00:27:05.829 --> 00:27:10.250 center of the story. But humility doesn't stop 00:27:10.250 --> 00:27:13.109 with seeing ourselves rightly. It always moves 00:27:13.109 --> 00:27:15.309 outward in service, and that's exactly where 00:27:15.309 --> 00:27:19.509 Jesus takes the disciples next. He gathers them 00:27:19.509 --> 00:27:22.869 together and he says, the rulers of the Gentiles 00:27:22.869 --> 00:27:26.470 lord it over them, not so much with you. The 00:27:26.470 --> 00:27:29.609 world gains influence through power, wealth, 00:27:29.710 --> 00:27:32.789 and position and control. It says, if I have 00:27:32.789 --> 00:27:34.890 enough money, if I have enough influence and 00:27:34.890 --> 00:27:42.609 enough connections, then I can get my way. I've 00:27:42.609 --> 00:27:44.349 definitely lived that way. You guys have heard 00:27:44.349 --> 00:27:46.490 me talk about my time in the Christian music 00:27:46.490 --> 00:27:49.009 industry. It was all, the entire thing was about 00:27:49.009 --> 00:27:51.609 gaining as much influence and money and success 00:27:51.609 --> 00:27:56.220 as I possibly could. just so it would slap Jesus 00:27:56.220 --> 00:28:01.380 on it, but really so it could be about me. But 00:28:01.380 --> 00:28:04.819 just as Jesus said to the disciples, so Jesus 00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:09.779 said to me when he said, not so with you. Jesus 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:12.680 isn't calling us to withdraw from society. He's 00:28:12.680 --> 00:28:16.180 calling us to engage it differently. It's the 00:28:16.180 --> 00:28:18.980 same principle we saw in Jeremiah in our verse 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:20.799 of the week. Bring that back up for me, bud, 00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:33.079 please. Let's look at this again together. If 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:36.380 you look at the top, not the one, not but seek 00:28:36.380 --> 00:28:38.160 the welfare, but if you go up the verse ahead 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:41.720 of that, God has sent them into exile and he's 00:28:41.720 --> 00:28:45.599 telling them, don't shut yourself off. I'm the 00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:48.400 one who sent you there. Here's what you're gonna 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:52.299 do. You're going to take sons and you're going 00:28:52.299 --> 00:28:53.960 or you're gonna take wives and you're gonna take 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:55.759 husbands and you're going to plant gardens and 00:28:55.759 --> 00:28:58.440 you're gonna have babies. And you're going to 00:28:58.440 --> 00:29:02.579 multiply there and do not decrease but seek the 00:29:02.579 --> 00:29:07.200 welfare of the what? City where I have sent you 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:10.039 into exile notice that it says where I have sent 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:14.160 you it wasn't by accident and Pray to the Lord 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:18.519 on its behalf for in its what's that say? welfare 00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:24.740 you will find your Doesn't say as much as I would 00:29:24.740 --> 00:29:30.150 like to create my own commune doesn't say to 00:29:30.150 --> 00:29:38.789 do that. And so it says to seek, serve lovers, 00:29:39.849 --> 00:29:42.329 seek the good of the place where God has planted 00:29:42.329 --> 00:29:45.250 you, not out of obligation, but out of love for 00:29:45.250 --> 00:29:48.970 Christ and love for them. The world believes 00:29:48.970 --> 00:29:51.930 influence comes through power. Jesus says influence 00:29:51.930 --> 00:29:56.019 comes through sacrifice. Power might change behavior 00:29:56.019 --> 00:29:58.700 for a while, but it never changes a heart, but 00:29:58.700 --> 00:30:04.160 sacrificial love does. And Jesus is saying, I'm 00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:06.819 calling you to a different way of living. Love 00:30:06.819 --> 00:30:09.200 people so deeply and serve them so faithfully 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:11.180 that they cannot imagine this community without 00:30:11.180 --> 00:30:13.599 you. So here's a question I have for us as a 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:16.319 church and a question that every church should 00:30:16.319 --> 00:30:18.940 wrestle with. And I want you to think deeply 00:30:18.940 --> 00:30:25.380 about this. If we closed up this church tomorrow. 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:38.019 Would this town even notice? If you didn't hear, 00:30:38.119 --> 00:30:39.700 Scott said probably not. I saw a couple others 00:30:39.700 --> 00:30:44.079 shake their head no. That is a problem. Don't 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:48.500 you guys agree? Because as the church, we should 00:30:48.500 --> 00:30:55.019 so seek its welfare. So seek its goodness, that 00:30:55.019 --> 00:31:01.359 if we closed its doors, they would mourn. They 00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:04.579 wouldn't mourn because a building is gone. They 00:31:04.579 --> 00:31:07.519 would mourn because the love of Christ is gone. 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:10.779 Would they miss meals, prayers, encouragement? 00:31:12.119 --> 00:31:15.480 Would they miss a people that looked like Jesus? 00:31:18.299 --> 00:31:21.900 Write this down. James and John thought their 00:31:21.900 --> 00:31:26.059 purpose was to become important. Jesus knew his 00:31:26.059 --> 00:31:29.839 purpose was to become a ransom. Our purpose isn't 00:31:29.839 --> 00:31:32.099 to build our own little kingdoms. Our purpose 00:31:32.099 --> 00:31:35.519 is to spend our lives pointing people to his. 00:31:38.180 --> 00:31:41.140 Growing this church isn't for the sake of growing 00:31:41.140 --> 00:31:47.730 a church. It's not about bigger numbers. this 00:31:47.730 --> 00:31:51.049 church is about growing the kingdom and seeing 00:31:51.049 --> 00:31:54.349 people come to Christ and ultimately seeing a 00:31:54.349 --> 00:31:57.150 town be completely changed by the love of Jesus, 00:31:57.410 --> 00:32:00.369 not through political influence, because that's 00:32:00.369 --> 00:32:02.650 the thing that's getting me right now is I'm 00:32:02.650 --> 00:32:05.009 seeing, and listen to me, be involved in politics. 00:32:05.250 --> 00:32:07.750 That's good. I'm not saying that Christians shouldn't 00:32:07.750 --> 00:32:09.690 be involved in politics. They should. But what 00:32:09.690 --> 00:32:13.329 I'm tired of seeing is pastors, good pastors, 00:32:13.609 --> 00:32:16.849 leave the pastorate in order to become a governor, 00:32:17.130 --> 00:32:19.390 a senator, or whatever else, and notice that 00:32:19.390 --> 00:32:24.289 they don't go back to serving people. So is it 00:32:24.289 --> 00:32:27.329 really about influencing the country for the 00:32:27.329 --> 00:32:28.869 kingdom, or is it really about gaining power 00:32:28.869 --> 00:32:31.210 and influence for yourself? Do you understand 00:32:31.210 --> 00:32:34.809 what I'm saying? So as the people of God, we 00:32:34.809 --> 00:32:37.490 have to see that this is what Jesus is telling 00:32:37.490 --> 00:32:40.269 us. James and John are going, Give us power and 00:32:40.269 --> 00:32:42.809 influence. And Jesus goes, yeah, power and influence 00:32:42.809 --> 00:32:46.269 don't come that way. It comes to dying to yourself. 00:32:49.569 --> 00:32:55.809 So in closing. You've probably heard the studies 00:32:55.809 --> 00:32:57.990 that say if you spend your life chasing your 00:32:57.990 --> 00:32:59.769 own happiness, you'll actually become miserable. 00:32:59.849 --> 00:33:02.390 Have you guys seen those studies? There's a lot 00:33:02.390 --> 00:33:04.950 of psychological studies that talk about that. 00:33:05.109 --> 00:33:08.539 If you. live your life for your own passions 00:33:08.539 --> 00:33:10.880 and desires, you will ultimately become miserable. 00:33:12.140 --> 00:33:14.799 Just go read an autobiography of any famous person. 00:33:18.420 --> 00:33:21.539 So they say instead, if you serve other people, 00:33:22.539 --> 00:33:26.980 you will actually find happiness. Sounds good, 00:33:27.460 --> 00:33:29.720 right? Yeah, go serve people, you will find happiness. 00:33:29.779 --> 00:33:33.430 But here's the question. If you're serving people 00:33:33.430 --> 00:33:35.170 in order to find your own happiness, are you 00:33:35.170 --> 00:33:36.950 really serving them for them or are you serving 00:33:36.950 --> 00:33:43.589 them for yourself? Are you doing it because it 00:33:43.589 --> 00:33:45.970 makes you happier? And so you can pet yourself 00:33:45.970 --> 00:33:50.609 on the back or are you really serving them? We 00:33:50.609 --> 00:33:55.130 don't serve in order to earn God's favor either. 00:33:56.420 --> 00:33:58.880 We serve because we've already been loved and 00:33:58.880 --> 00:34:01.160 we don't serve to become accepted by God. We 00:34:01.160 --> 00:34:05.579 serve because in Christ we already are. So when 00:34:05.579 --> 00:34:07.920 you truly understand the cross, when you understand 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:10.820 that Jesus willingly gave his life as a ransom 00:34:10.820 --> 00:34:13.920 for you, it changes everything. You don't need 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:16.619 to prove yourself anymore. You don't need to 00:34:16.619 --> 00:34:19.059 gain recognition for anything. You don't need 00:34:19.059 --> 00:34:21.260 power and you don't need to make a name for yourself 00:34:21.260 --> 00:34:27.289 because why? Because you're free. And free people 00:34:27.289 --> 00:34:38.030 serve. So there is a there's a statue. That is 00:34:38.030 --> 00:34:41.750 sorry. It sounded like I was calling a turkey 00:34:41.750 --> 00:34:47.130 over there. So there's a there's a statue at 00:34:47.130 --> 00:34:49.610 Southeastern University in Lakeland, which is 00:34:49.610 --> 00:34:53.809 where Tracy graduated from. I started my bachelor's 00:34:53.809 --> 00:34:56.340 degree there. And they have this big, I don't 00:34:56.340 --> 00:34:58.059 know if they still do, but they did in the center 00:34:58.059 --> 00:35:01.059 of campus, they had this big fountain. And then 00:35:01.059 --> 00:35:05.940 the big fountain is a statue of Jesus washing 00:35:05.940 --> 00:35:10.099 the feet of the disciples. So it's got the towel 00:35:10.099 --> 00:35:11.679 around him and he's bent over and he's washing 00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:14.139 the feet of the disciples. And I, for many, many 00:35:14.139 --> 00:35:17.719 days when I would be there on campus for classes, 00:35:17.739 --> 00:35:19.400 I would go and I would sit there in front of 00:35:19.400 --> 00:35:23.239 it and I would pray and I would just be like, 00:35:23.380 --> 00:35:26.750 Lord, would you let me give my life to just serve 00:35:26.750 --> 00:35:32.150 the church? Let me just give my life to serving 00:35:32.150 --> 00:35:36.590 the church. And then it was really funny, because 00:35:36.590 --> 00:35:40.949 like 20 years later, I see this statue again, 00:35:40.989 --> 00:35:43.530 but I see this statue not at Southeastern University, 00:35:43.929 --> 00:35:45.949 not at a church. You want to know where I saw 00:35:45.949 --> 00:35:51.780 it? In Atlanta, Georgia. The Chick -fil -A corporate 00:35:51.780 --> 00:35:54.400 center, when I'm going through the last bit of 00:35:54.400 --> 00:35:56.980 interviews, when you go through the security, 00:35:57.059 --> 00:35:59.599 by the way, the Chick -fil -A corporate is gigantic. 00:35:59.619 --> 00:36:01.800 Like it's massive and they got all this acreage 00:36:01.800 --> 00:36:05.179 and it's really pretty. And you go through the 00:36:05.179 --> 00:36:06.980 security and as you go through the security, 00:36:07.139 --> 00:36:11.219 it then opens up and right in front of you is 00:36:11.219 --> 00:36:15.639 the statue of Jesus washing the disciples feet. 00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:19.039 And the purpose of it being there is true and 00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:21.650 Kathy believed that as Christians, this is what 00:36:21.650 --> 00:36:24.489 we're called to do, to serve others. But it stopped 00:36:24.489 --> 00:36:27.730 me and made me remember back to when I would 00:36:27.730 --> 00:36:30.190 sit at that statue and just pray to the Lord 00:36:30.190 --> 00:36:33.869 about a prayer to serve the church. And it hit 00:36:33.869 --> 00:36:41.150 me. Serving isn't about being just limited to 00:36:41.150 --> 00:36:45.150 the church. It's not being limited to a church 00:36:45.150 --> 00:36:48.369 building or a ministry position. It doesn't matter 00:36:48.369 --> 00:36:51.150 if you're a pastor, a teacher, a rancher, a nurse, 00:36:51.369 --> 00:36:54.030 a mechanic, a bread guy, didn't forget about 00:36:54.030 --> 00:36:58.349 you, a stay at home mom, or a student, God has 00:36:58.349 --> 00:37:01.090 placed you exactly where you are for a purpose, 00:37:01.570 --> 00:37:06.269 not to be served, but to serve. In church, that's 00:37:06.269 --> 00:37:10.570 our king. He came not to be served, but to serve 00:37:10.570 --> 00:37:13.480 and to give his life as a ransom for many. and 00:37:13.480 --> 00:37:16.460 may we joyfully spend our lives doing the same. 00:37:16.619 --> 00:37:17.000 Let's pray.