Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Almighty God, you welcome you. Hey, there. If you're new to Restored Church, we want to welcome you and thank you for tuning in. You're listening to a portion of our Sunday worship gathering. We believe the church is not an event, but a family you belong to, so we would love the opportunity to connect with you. If you want to learn more about our church or if we can help you in any way, please Visit our website, www.restoredtemecula.church, and click on Contact. With all that said, we can. We hope you enjoy the message.
[00:00:35] All right, everybody.
[00:00:40] So, big news, huh? Like, it's pretty big.
[00:00:43] Quick. I just. Before I jump into today's sermon, as people are trickling to their seats, I just want to take a moment. Some of the staff and the teams outside, but want to honor Mike and the work that he's done, the staff and the work that they've done. As you can imagine, getting news that we need to move is there's all sorts of responses that we could have with that. We've been here for a long time. God's been very kind to us here. He's met with us here.
[00:01:09] It's been really special.
[00:01:12] And I don't know, I just. It feels.
[00:01:18] Feels like a new season. But what I want to encourage you to do is I want to encourage you to be praying, but I also want to encourage you, in two weeks from now, I want to encourage you to invite people that you love.
[00:01:32] This is not like a.
[00:01:34] I'm not saying that because I'm trying to, like, oh, let's get the church all big and stuff. I'm saying that because we have more space.
[00:01:41] And you guys, I think you know this, but you really are an amazing community.
[00:01:47] You're an incredible church.
[00:01:50] And the best thing about you is that God's present among you.
[00:01:54] It's by far the best thing. You guys are gifted, you're talented, you're fun, you're generous, you're wonderful like you really are. But the best thing about this church is the presence of God among you.
[00:02:05] And there are a lot of people that you live around, a lot of people in your lives that maybe, just maybe, they haven't experienced God's presence in the way that you have.
[00:02:14] And I can't think of a more loving thing to do than to invite a loved one into a space where the gospel is preached, where the people of God are praising him and his presence is among them. It's what their hearts are longing for. And the cool thing is we have more space. So it's not like you invite them here and it's like, well, maybe, just maybe you could stand in the back because we're running out of chairs and, you know, that kind of thing. Encourage you. Invite your friends. Okay. All right. That being said, I'm going to jump right in because I got a lot for you this morning. Grab your bibles. Matthew, chapter 20.
[00:02:44] We are continuing on in our series, the King and His Kingdom, Going through Matthew's gospel, his eyewitness account of the life of Jesus, the death of Jesus, the ministry of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, the ascension of Jesus, like it's all about Jesus. And we're going through this gospel because we want to learn as much as we can about the king of the universe, of all creation, Jesus Christ, and what his kingdom is like, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. Those phrases are synonymous. And when we talk about the kingdom, we're not talking about this ethereal thing that we go to, you know, after we pass away. No, no, no, no. We're talking about the rule and the reign of a king, the rule and the reign of Jesus. What does it look like when God gets his way both in everything and here, now on the earth? And so that's kind of what we're up to if you've been journeying with us. You know, we've been doing this for several, several. Gosh, I mean, this is. We're almost getting message 100 in this series, which is pretty cool. And so go ahead and flip over Matthew chapter 20. We're going to be verses 20 through 28 this morning before we jump into God's Word. I want to pray for us, and I want to invite you to join me in prayer. So if you wouldn't mind, let's pray.
[00:04:18] I'm just reminded of your strength in this morning, Father, and I want to.
[00:04:26] As we go through your Word, I just want to take a moment and I feel led by your spirit to pray for those of us who are maybe feeling weak this morning.
[00:04:40] I fall into that category.
[00:04:46] I thank you that in our weakness, we experience your profound strength, your glory, your goodness, your power, your might, your majesty. All these words to describe the indescribable glory that you are.
[00:05:03] And so I'm asking humbly that you would reveal more of yourself to us this morning through your word. And it would radically comfort us and challenge us, even and guide us and shape us and mold us into the men and the women that you've created us to be. Because you're worthy of our whole life, Jesus.
[00:05:21] You're wonderful.
[00:05:24] You're kind, you're faithful, you're good, you're so worthy.
[00:05:29] So teach us, show us, lead us. We pray.
[00:05:32] And all God's people said together, Amen.
[00:05:35] Okay, so starting here in verse 20, let me bring you up to speed, give you a little context here. Jesus and a group of his followers, they're traveling to Jerusalem. Okay? They're walking on a path to Jerusalem. They're on their way.
[00:05:48] And what he does. This is last week, but I want to let you, want you to know what's happening now in this week.
[00:05:54] So they're on their way, and he explains to the 12 disciples that are among him, he goes, there's more than just 12. But he pulls them aside and he says, this is what's about to happen. And he breaks down with them. He says that he's about to be betrayed, he's about to be rejected, he's about to be condemned, he's about to be mocked, he's about to be flogged, and he's about to be crucified. And after three days, what's going to happen to him?
[00:06:15] Yeah, he's going to be resurrected, right? Really heavy stuff.
[00:06:20] We jump in right here. Verse 20, verse 20. Starting in. Yeah, chapter 20, verse 20.
[00:06:29] Then the mother of Zebedee. That's a fun name.
[00:06:32] The mother of Zebedee's sons approached him, Jesus, with her sons. She knelt down to ask him for something. Okay, pause for a second.
[00:06:43] Can I just nerd out for just a second? Can I, like, press pause on, like, the sermon quote unquote, and just do, like, a quick little Bible study with you and nerd out with you for a second? Cause I learned something this week that kind of blew my mind. Okay?
[00:06:54] This woman, the mother of Zebedee's sons. So she is Zebedee's wife, Zebedee's sons. Does anybody know who Zebedee's sons are?
[00:07:03] James and John. Well done. I see you. Okay, James and John, they're part of the 12 disciples. They're the original 12. James and John, they're brothers, the sons of thunder. They're two of Jesus closest.
[00:07:14] Jesus had, like, a group of three that he was really close with. Peter, James and John. So James and John, these brothers, the mother of Zebedee, that's their mom. Okay, James and John's mom, they are sons to Zebedee and his wife Salome, which is the same woman, right?
[00:07:32] So, yeah, her name's Salome. We know her name's Salome from the other. Some of the other gospel accounts. Now, if you're familiar with, you know, the ministry of Jesus and his story in the Gospels, there are these. There's this small group of four women, okay, who stayed with Jesus while he's on the cross. You guys remember this story? He's literally. He's hanging on the cross. And there's this group of four women that are there in close proximity while he was hanging on the cross. And it also describes that these four women were there in his resurrection. They were like the first ones to go to the tomb. You guys remember these stories? Okay, so one of those women was this woman, Solomon, James and John's mom. Are you tracking with me? I know I'm using names and you can kind of get lost in the family tree, but. So Solomon, she's one of that small group of four women who were there. All right, Now, Matthew and Mark, they kind of. They describe these events and they list those four women.
[00:08:31] And this is how they list them. Matthew and Mark list three different Marys and Salome, James and John's mom. You with me? So those three different Marys and Solomon, that makes up four. So that's Matthew and Mark. This is what I learned this week in John, chapter 19, verse 25. Can you throw that up there for me, Everett? This is how John describes that group of four women standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother. Who's Jesus mother? What's her name? Mary. That's one Mary. Right.
[00:09:06] His mother's sister Mary, the wife of Clopas. That's the second Mary and Mary Magdalene. So you have what? You have three Marys and Mary the mother of Jesus sister, which would be Jesus aunt.
[00:09:22] Are you seeing what I'm seeing?
[00:09:25] Yeah. Okay, so three Marys and Jesus mother's sister. Jesus aunt. Who is Salome? Here's the point, okay? The mother of James and John is most likely Jesus aunt. That means Zebedee is his uncle.
[00:09:42] Here's what that means. That blew my mind that I didn't know this. Maybe you knew this and you're cooler than me, but there's a high likelihood that James and John are Jesus cousins.
[00:09:53] Some of you knew that. I did not know. After all these years of studying the Bible, I just.
[00:09:58] Fun little Bible study for you. Okay, so let's keep going. So Salome comes to Jesus in our passage here comes to Jesus with James and John. Her sons kneels before Jesus and asks for something. Keep reading. Verse 21.
[00:10:12] What do you want? Jesus asked her Promise. She said to him that these two sons of Mine may sit one on your right and the other on your left in your kingdom.
[00:10:25] Verse 22, Jesus answered, you don't know what you're asking.
[00:10:31] Are you able to drink the cup that I'm about to drink?
[00:10:36] We are able. They said to him, okay, pause.
[00:10:39] So you have this request that comes in, right? And the request is for James and John to sit at the right and the left of Jesus.
[00:10:49] Now, to sit at his right and to sit at his left. It wasn't just about proximity.
[00:10:54] It was about prominence.
[00:10:56] Okay? So at this time in this culture, to sit at the right and to sit at the left, that means you are. You are. Just because you're at close proximity, but you're like. You're prominent, right? So they're like, hey, Jesus, we wanna be on your right and your left. And Jesus responds. He says, you don't know what you're asking, guys.
[00:11:13] And then he references something. Did you catch it? He references the cup.
[00:11:17] Many of you know what he's talking about here, but in case you don't, the cup, it shows up all throughout the Bible.
[00:11:25] It's symbolic and it's powerful and it's a big deal. But the cup, the Old Testament describes the cup of God's fury being poured out, the cup of God's wrath being poured out.
[00:11:38] And in the New Testament, Jesus, he references the cup multiple times, and most famously in the Garden of Gethsemane, right? Like the night before, Jesus goes to the cross, literally in hours, he's gonna go to the cross. He's in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is praying. The scriptures say he's sweating blood. It's an intense moment. He knows what's literally what's gonna happen to him in a matter of hours.
[00:12:03] And do you remember his prayer right, in Matthew 26, six chapters ahead of where we are right now. But Matthew 26:39, he's like, Father, he goes, if it's at all possible, if it's at all possible, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me.
[00:12:21] But then what does he say? He says, but not my will be done, but yours.
[00:12:26] The cup, it's symbolic of the suffering that lies ahead for Jesus. So the cup is the cross, huh? You guys see this? Yeah. The cups of the cross, okay? Where the wrath of God for sin would be poured out on him. So I want you to get the picture here. You got Mama and her boys, right? They make their request to Jesus, and Jesus responds. He's like, you have no idea what you're Asking for. Keep in mind where we are in Matthew's gospel, right here in chapter 20, the cross is a week away.
[00:12:54] This is the last week of Jesus life. So within the week, at the place that we call Calvary, the place known as Calvary, Jesus is going to be nailed to a cross.
[00:13:06] And if you know the story, you know there's not just one cross on Calvary, is there?
[00:13:10] There's three.
[00:13:13] There'll be one on his right and one on his left.
[00:13:20] Do you see it?
[00:13:23] Jesus in the middle.
[00:13:25] Two other men crucified next to him, to James and John. They have no idea what they just asked Jesus for, but Jesus does.
[00:13:37] You know, it can be frustrating when we ask God for something and he doesn't give it to us.
[00:13:52] But friends, like God sees what we don't see. You know, he knows things that we don't know. His vantage point is a little different.
[00:14:04] And sometimes God says no because we don't know what we're asking for sometimes. Hear me, the most gracious thing God can do is say no to what we ask for.
[00:14:20] No's can be disappointing, can't they?
[00:14:23] But a no coming from a heavenly father who knows all and loves you dearly, I'm here to tell you, every no is protection in disguise.
[00:14:34] So maybe you're in a season where you're like, I've been asking God for something and he's been saying no.
[00:14:39] Maybe, just maybe, it's the most gracious answer he could give you.
[00:14:44] Because oftentimes we don't know what we ask for. Let's keep reading verse 23.
[00:14:50] So they ask him. He tells them, you don't know what you're asking for.
[00:14:54] He told them, you will indeed drink my cup.
[00:14:58] But to sit at my right hand and left, to sit at my right and left is not mine to give. Instead, it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my father.
[00:15:07] When the 10 disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. Okay, so the two brothers make that request, right? The other 10, it says they become indignant. What does indignant mean? They got angry, okay? They're upset. Why?
[00:15:22] Little jealousy, man. Wait a second. I wanted to sit at his right hand.
[00:15:26] I wanted to sit at his left. What if you give it to them, that means. I don't get it.
[00:15:31] Little scarcity mentality creeping into the disciples here, huh?
[00:15:35] So what I want you to see is that this selfish ambition, it wasn't unique to James and John, was it?
[00:15:42] They all wanted the prominence. They all wanted the honor. They all wanted the status, if you will.
[00:15:47] Let's keep going. Verse 25.
[00:15:51] Jesus called them over and said, gosh, man, this is so powerful. Guys, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles, the non Jews, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them.
[00:16:10] It must not be like that among you.
[00:16:15] On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.
[00:16:23] And whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.
[00:16:27] Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
[00:16:39] That's our passage. There's 10 sermons in those verses. I just finished reading to you. I have time for maybe three quarters of one right now.
[00:16:48] These disciples of Jesus, they wanted something that you and I both want.
[00:16:54] They wanted something that all people want. They wanted to be significant.
[00:17:02] They wanted to be significant.
[00:17:03] Listen, nobody wants to feel insignificant.
[00:17:09] You want to have a bad day, feel insignificant. It's the worst. Nobody wants that all people want to feel significant.
[00:17:18] I want to just take a moment and affirm you.
[00:17:31] There's a lot of things I really love and admire about you. I mentioned it. God's presence among you is the best thing.
[00:17:38] Another thing that's wonderful is how welcoming you guys are.
[00:17:47] Like, when new people roll up, you, like, actually embrace people you actually like. What you do is you don't reinforce the lie in their life that they're insignificant. You with me, do you have any idea how powerful that is? To just be a welcoming opening, like, open community, that, like, actually cares about people, doesn't just treat them like, you know, whatever? Like, I see this in you guys.
[00:18:12] I see the way that just your simple interactions with people who aren't as connected, maybe to the body of Christ, maybe they're not connected in the same way that you are. I see how you're open to them. I see how you're welcoming to them. I see how you're hospitable to them. I see how you're, like, dare I say, even loving to people that you haven't met yet. It reminds me of Jesus. And so I just want to. Before I move on, I just want to tell you, like, it's really cool.
[00:18:36] And it makes me proud. Like, not like, sinful pride. Like, I take pleasure in that.
[00:18:41] I'm part of this church.
[00:18:43] And so to know that that's happening, it just makes me happy.
[00:18:46] I just want to take a moment and tell you that you make them feel significant.
[00:18:53] These disciples they wanted to be significant.
[00:18:58] The text uses the word great. Did you catch that? Jesus just has that word, great. Now, I want you to notice something here, because this is big, okay? Jesus, he doesn't rebuke them for wanting to be significant.
[00:19:11] He doesn't rebuke them for wanting to be great.
[00:19:15] No. Instead, what he does is he corrects them on how greatness is actually achieved.
[00:19:20] Do you catch it?
[00:19:23] Any sports fans in the room?
[00:19:25] Many. Okay. You have to participate in this. Okay.
[00:19:29] All right, so let's just use the three major sports. Basketball, baseball, football. Okay? Now, depending on what you watch, and if you don't watch sports, that's. Okay. That you'll track with this. But there's all sorts of debates that break out in each of these sports as to who the goat is.
[00:19:45] Okay? You guys know what the goat is?
[00:19:47] The greatest of all time. Okay? So there's all sorts of people who make a lot of money on TV arguing about who the goat is. Who the greatest of all time is in basketball, who the greatest of all time is in baseball. Who the greatest of all time is in football. And we're gonna do that right now. We're gonna argue about it. Okay?
[00:20:05] Who's the greatest of all time in basketball?
[00:20:08] Okay, so we got an mj. Who else? Anybody say somebody else?
[00:20:13] Magic Johnson, Kobe? Okay, so we got some.
[00:20:16] There's space for some debate. Okay, so we got MJ, we got Magic, we got Kobe.
[00:20:21] Anybody voting for LeBron?
[00:20:24] Larry Bird. Okay, who else?
[00:20:28] Kareem Shaq. Okay, so I just want you to get the picture.
[00:20:34] So we have at least six names that have been proposed as the greatest of all time in basketball. What about baseball?
[00:20:44] Babe Ruth, Ohtani. Those are really the two in my mind.
[00:20:49] Barry Bonds. Somebody said Barry Bonds.
[00:20:53] Mike Trout. The greatest of all time.
[00:20:56] That's a hot take, bro. You can make money on tv, dude. You could get people really riled up.
[00:21:01] Okay, so what about football?
[00:21:04] Justin Jefferson. Hey, dude, that was quick. Well done, Kade.
[00:21:08] Anybody else?
[00:21:10] Tom Brady. Okay, that's. Yeah. Who else?
[00:21:13] Troy Palomalu. Yeah.
[00:21:16] John Elway. All right.
[00:21:19] Joe Montana. Okay. All right, so just check this out. We just did the three major sports, and we have at least 20 names among the three sports of people that are proposing that they're the greatest of all time right now. There's different philosophies when we talk about who the greatest of all time is. Everybody gave different reasons. Everybody gave different people because they may or may not have a different philosophy as to what determines the greatest of all time. Some people say it's rings.
[00:21:44] You gotta get that chip, you gotta get that championship. If you don't have the most championships, don't even talk to me about whether you're the greatest. So some people think it's the ring, some people think it's the record, right? Hey, man, if you lost the big game, no.
[00:21:58] How many wins do you have in the regular season? How many losses do you have? Like, the record? Some people say it's the individual stats, how many points you score, how many home runs you hit, how many touchdowns you throw.
[00:22:08] Some people think it's longevity.
[00:22:11] Like, yeah, you could be really, really good for five years, but that's different than if you're, like, exceptional for 20.
[00:22:19] What's the criteria? Like, what's the measurement for the greatest of all time in sports?
[00:22:26] Listen with these disciples.
[00:22:29] I need you to hear me say this. Jesus is not rebuking the disciples desire for greatness. He's correcting them on how greatness is actually achieved. What the measurement of heaven is. Listen to this. William Barclay says this quote, I think you guys have it. I'll read it. Yes, thank you. He says this. The world may assess people's greatness by the number of people whom they control and who are at their beck and call, or by their intellectual standing and their academic eminence, or by the number of committees of which they are members, or by the size of their bank balances and the material possessions which they have amassed. Listen to this. But in the assessment of Jesus Christ, these things are irrelevant.
[00:23:15] His assessment is quite simply, how many people have they helped?
[00:23:21] End quote.
[00:23:24] Hmm.
[00:23:29] What do I want you to see here?
[00:23:31] I want you to see that greatness isn't achieved through worldly measurements.
[00:23:37] Touchdowns and points and bank account balances and. Fill in the blank if you're taking notes. My first point for you is true greatness is achieved through service.
[00:23:52] Like actual greatness, lasting greatness, eternal greatness. True greatness is achieved through service, right? Look what Jesus said. He said, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Guys, if I've learned anything in my life, it's that greatness in the eyes of man is different than greatness in the eyes of God.
[00:24:15] Greatness in the eyes of man is different than greatness in the eyes of God. Now listen, you can apply this to practically, dare I say anything. All right?
[00:24:24] Now let's just have some fun and let's apply this to churches for a second. Greatness. Let's apply this to churches, Christians, and not just Christians, but even People that are exploring Jesus or open to participating in the life of a church or whatever.
[00:24:39] People. But let's just talk about Christians for a second.
[00:24:42] Christians will measure churches by all sorts of things.
[00:24:45] The music, what's it like? What's the quality like? What's the song selection, what's the instruments on stage, what's the style, right? The music, the preaching.
[00:24:56] How about how many people are attending, right? And not just how many people are attending. How many people are like me, how many people think like me, how many people act like me or look like me or like the same things that I want or have the same hobbies that I have, or even like the programs, right? Like, what does the church offer?
[00:25:20] The facility is another one. The budget, you know, what their social media is like, their design, they're forward facing, all that stuff. The list goes on and on and on and on and on.
[00:25:34] But greatness in the eyes of man is different than greatness in of the eyes. In the eyes of God.
[00:25:40] Listen, what if those things that we just listed off, what if they weren't actually what determined whether or not our church is a great church?
[00:25:51] Those things aren't bad.
[00:25:54] Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. They're not bad at all. None of those things I listed are bad.
[00:26:00] They aren't unimportant. There's a lot of value to those things.
[00:26:05] Like those things actually matter. But friends, greatness in the eyes of man is different than greatness in the eyes of God.
[00:26:13] Greatness isn't achieved through worldly measurements.
[00:26:18] True greatness is achieved through what?
[00:26:22] Service according to Jesus, According to the maker of heaven and earth, according to the person who's responsible for everything.
[00:26:32] He says true greatness is achieved through service.
[00:26:37] And again, I'm on like this campaign of affirming you this morning. I'm gonna affirm you in this too. The ways you guys serve one another, like, it's worthy of applause.
[00:26:47] I'm not sucking up to you. I'm encouraging you to like keep that going. Cause it's great.
[00:26:53] It's really powerful, it's really meaningful. Raise your hand in the room and don't force this. Like actually raise your hand in the room. If your life has genuinely been touched or the life of somebody in your household has genuinely been touched by the service of somebody else who's a member of this church, raise your hand.
[00:27:10] Beautiful.
[00:27:12] It's amazing.
[00:27:13] It's awesome. It's wonderful, you guys. The ways that you guys serve each other's practical needs. The ways that you serve each other financially. That's huge. You know, people are very reluctant to help other people out when it comes to money. And I watch it happen all the time in the life of this church.
[00:27:28] Oh, God bless you. You can hear it in me. My mom.
[00:27:31] My mom, she can hear me pushing my voice. Thank you.
[00:27:39] Okay. But genuinely, like, the ways that you guys serve one another. Practical, financial. The ways that you guys serve each other in prayer.
[00:27:48] We meet in a school.
[00:27:50] We're going to go in two weeks. We're going to meet in another school.
[00:27:54] Just the amount of service that needs to happen to put on a Sunday gathering.
[00:28:00] It's a lot. We don't just, like, roll in, turn on the lights, turn on the sound and. Okay, we're ready.
[00:28:06] No, it's like sweat and effort and labor.
[00:28:14] I love you guys a lot. The ways you serve one another, it's beautiful. I think we're on the right track with this one.
[00:28:20] I see it. I see the fruit.
[00:28:23] Do we have room to grow? Absolutely. But we're like, it's happening. It's beautiful. It's good. Keep it up. Because true greatness is achieved through service.
[00:28:35] Now, one of my favorite things about Jesus, and you see it here in this passage so.
[00:28:42] So clearly one of my favorite things about Jesus is he doesn't just teach truth.
[00:28:48] He models it.
[00:28:50] Like, he doesn't just teach his disciples concepts. He doesn't just give them information.
[00:28:55] He gives them demonstration. You with me?
[00:28:58] It's awesome. Look again at verse 28, right? So he gets done saying, true greatness is achieved through service. Verse 28. Just as two incredibly powerful words right there. Okay. We could do a series, a preaching series for months on just those two words. The first two words of verse 28. Just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many, those two words have been just in my mind just as. Just as for this whole week, incredibly powerful words.
[00:29:37] Jesus, he doesn't just give his disciples information. He gives them demonstration. He models it for them. Service and listen. He's the greatest teacher of all time.
[00:29:47] He's the greatest teacher of all time in that verse. Verse 28.
[00:29:53] It's loaded. It's so loaded. It's the gospel in one verse.
[00:29:59] If you ever, like, if you ever need that refresher, if you ever, like, yeah, the good news of Jesus. Gospel means good news, right? Like, what is it again? Like, there it is. It's in one verse. It's the good news. The news is A report. It's. It's not advice.
[00:30:15] It's a report on what's happened, Right?
[00:30:18] It's a news report of what has taken place. And Jesus says here in this verse 28, and this is part of the gospel, he says that he came.
[00:30:29] Like, think about the implications of that.
[00:30:33] That means he existed before he was incarnate. He pre existed. He was the pre incarnate Christ in heaven. He wasn't like God created him there he is like, no, he existed in eternity past.
[00:30:50] And he came the King of the universe, all authority in heaven on earth, like the VIP of all things, the King of the universe. He leaves the perfection of heaven. And it says that he came. And it says that he came for a reason. Here in verse 28. Why? Why?
[00:31:11] Yeah.
[00:31:12] To serve and give his life as a ransom for many.
[00:31:18] Ransom for many. Those three words that we see in English. One of the things that I try to do whenever I study the Bible is as much as I can, I want to get underneath the English and try to get into the original language. I'm not a biblical scholar. Like, I'm not like, I don't speak Greek fluently, I don't speak Hebrew fluently, but I know my way around, like some different Bible study tools to be able to understand or try to understand more about the original languages. And every time I study the Bible, I want to do that because there's so much depth and beauty that we miss. And this is one example, one of a ton of examples.
[00:31:52] Ransom for many. That word, ransom, it's the Greek word lutron.
[00:31:58] It means payment.
[00:32:01] But hear me specifically, it's a payment given to release someone held captive.
[00:32:13] Think about that.
[00:32:16] Ransom for many. Lutron for many. That word for.
[00:32:21] It's the Greek word anti.
[00:32:28] It means instead of.
[00:32:32] It means in exchange for.
[00:32:38] So these are the words, like, hear me, this is big. These are the words that were used to describe when a person is bought out of slavery.
[00:32:51] So do you see what Jesus is saying here?
[00:32:56] He's like, there's a lot of people, there's many people who are enslaved.
[00:33:06] There are many people who are slaves. They're slaves to selfishness. They're slaves to sin.
[00:33:13] But I came to buy their freedom.
[00:33:20] And the price that I paid is my blood.
[00:33:29] Again, William Barclay says this. I love his stuff on Matthew. He says this quote, jesus came to give his life as a ransom for many. What does it mean?
[00:33:41] It means quite simply this.
[00:33:44] Men and women were in the grip of a power of evil which they could not break.
[00:33:49] Their sins dragged Them down.
[00:33:51] Their sins separated them from God. Their sins wrecked life for themselves and for the world and for God himself.
[00:33:59] A ransom is something paid or given to liberate people from. Listen to this. From a situation from which it is impossible for them to free themselves.
[00:34:12] He's hammering religion right here. Religion says you can free yourself. Just try harder, be smarter, do better.
[00:34:19] Therefore, what this is saying.
[00:34:23] Sorry, what this saying means is quite simply it costs the life and the death of Jesus Christ to bring men and women back to God.
[00:34:36] Verse 28 is one of the most incredible verses in the entire Bible.
[00:34:45] Because it says something profound and it's my second point. It says that Jesus came to serve you.
[00:34:58] Like, Can we just sit with that for a second as your mind drifts off for what you're going to have to lunch. Just come back for just a second.
[00:35:16] Jesus came to serve you.
[00:35:23] It's personal.
[00:35:28] Because you need serving, because there are things that you can't do yourself.
[00:35:38] He came to meet your greatest need, to not give you instructions on how you should do it.
[00:35:47] That's religion.
[00:35:48] Religion is, here's the steps you need to do to get yourself right with God. Here's the steps that you need to do.
[00:35:54] That's not what Jesus came to do.
[00:35:58] No? What did he do? He came to do it for you.
[00:36:02] He came to serve you.
[00:36:06] To do for you what you could never do for yourself.
[00:36:10] To literally buy you, to purchase you out of slavery to sin and slavery to self and bring you back to himself.
[00:36:19] Do you have any idea what this says about your value?
[00:36:26] Jesus came to serve you.
[00:36:29] Can I preach to you for just a second?
[00:36:32] Nobody loves you like Jesus loves you.
[00:36:35] Listen to me.
[00:36:37] Nobody loves you like Jesus loves you. If you're in this room, chances are you've experienced love through another human being that's been meaningful and powerful. No doubt. It's wonderful. It's awesome. It's great. I'm not throwing shade at that. It is beautiful.
[00:36:53] We should live that way. We should promote that. It's incredible. But no one has ever loved you like Jesus loves you.
[00:37:00] That means no one's as trustworthy in your life as Jesus is. Because nobody cares more deeply about your well being, both presently and eternally than Jesus. How do we know? Cause he came to serve you.
[00:37:13] He served you in ways that no other person could even serve you. So even if the people in your life that love you more like more than life with your kids, your parents like that parental love, that unfathomable love, like they can't even love, they're not capable. Not cause they're bad, not cause they're less than. Well, they are less than we all are, but they can't do it.
[00:37:36] Nobody loves you like Jesus loves you, friend.
[00:37:43] And I think more than I want anything this morning, I want you to feel that.
[00:37:47] Like I want you to have assurance in your heart.
[00:37:52] I know it's so cheesy.
[00:37:54] And there's bumper stickers and there's coffee cups and there's like, he loves you and he proved it and he wants you to know it this morning.
[00:38:08] There's no one like Jesus.
[00:38:11] Can I challenge you to meditate on that verse this week?
[00:38:14] Just meditate on verse 28.
[00:38:17] Meditate on God serving you.
[00:38:21] Watch what happens.
[00:38:23] Alright, I'm running low on time, but before I finish up here, I want to tell you a story. Actually, I don't want to tell you. I guess it's kind of. It's like a visual story.
[00:38:34] This last Christmas, we all got sick. It was terrible. We had to cancel Christmas. Aunt and Papa got sick, our household got sick. Some of Martin Cassie's household got it sucked.
[00:38:47] And we had to reschedule Christmas. And when we did as much of a bummer as it was to kind of reschedule Christmas, one of the bright spots of this Christmas was Millie got a gift that she had been wanting for a long time.
[00:39:02] Okay.
[00:39:04] And it didn't come from mom and dad. It came from Nana and Papa, which you parents in the room when Nana and Papa give good gifts.
[00:39:15] And so what they got, she'd been wanting like a GoPro, you know, like the cameras that you can kind of take anywhere underwater and on a mountain and whatever, but they make them. Now, you guys know what an Insta360 camera is?
[00:39:29] Just so I can get a pulse. Raise your hand if you know what that is.
[00:39:33] Maybe half the room. Okay, so those of you that don't know what an Insta360 camera is, it is unbelievable.
[00:39:41] It's a camera that you just, you mount it somewhere or you hold it or whatever and it films video in 360 degrees.
[00:39:52] And you're like, why would you want that? That's like looking into a ball. No, because you can film it and then you can go in afterwards, look at the footage and then frame it however you want so you don't have to like get the right shot. You just hit record and you go get the right shot after the fact. You tracking with me.
[00:40:09] So Nan and Papa got her this insta360 camera, okay? It was a Christmas and birthday gift. So they, like, they went. It was. God bless you. It was wonderful. It was cool. Millie was stoked.
[00:40:22] And so she's playing around with the house. But the first time that she actually used this camera kind of outside the house, outside of kind of learning, it was.
[00:40:30] We went on a family ski trip with our cousins. We love our cousins. They're incredible. They're super generous to us. And so we go.
[00:40:38] And it happened to be Millie's birthday, too, a couple weeks ago, actually.
[00:40:41] And so we went to Whistler in British Columbia in Canada, just like, two hours north of Vancouver. I think I told you guys this a couple sermons ago, but. So that was, like, the first time that she actually used the camera, the action camera, for something that she's, you know, doing action, guys.
[00:41:00] What we did was we got a cheap mount on Amazon to just, like, stick to her ski helmet, and we just mounted it on top of her helmet. So she kind of looks like a unicorn, but it's awesome. So we mounted it on her helmet, and, guys, 360. Like, it works.
[00:41:18] It's profound. It's magic. It's really, really cool. Okay, so the footage. We came back home, we plugged it into the computer, we looked at a lot of the footage, and she just wore it skiing for three days.
[00:41:31] The footage is so cool.
[00:41:35] It's shocking how good the camera is. It's just this little thing on her head. It's unbelievable. Okay.
[00:41:42] So I asked Amelia's permission. I said, hey, babe, can I share some of the footage with the church?
[00:41:50] And she generously and graciously said, yes. Okay.
[00:41:54] And so what I did was I went in and I chose our favorite ski run.
[00:41:59] It's this ski run. I'm running out of time. I'll spare you the details. It's awesome.
[00:42:04] It's incredible.
[00:42:06] It's fantastic. It's called Burnt Stew. You can look it up. It's wonderful. Okay, so we go to the peak. Like, there's two ways to get to it. You can go the regular way, or you can go all the way to the top to Whistler Peak and take the back way down and just mountain ranges.
[00:42:21] It's incredible. Okay, so we go on this. Views are spectacular. Like, you're gonna see the footage in a second. The footage doesn't do it justice, but you'll see. I want you to get a feel for it. Now, you're gonna notice some things when we play this for you.
[00:42:32] You're gonna notice that the camera is gonna pan around to different things. Okay. She didn't do that. When she was recording, she just hit record. And it does the 360, right? I went in after the fact and I panned it around and framed it so that you guys could get a feel for what it was like. All right, so, Amelia, camera mounted on her head, on her helmet, recording in 360 degrees. You're see Vivian skiing in there. You're going to see our cousins, Jason and Gwen and Edie. They're incredible. We love them so much. You're going to maybe even see yours truly make an appearance.
[00:43:05] And you also.
[00:43:07] Our cousins introduced us to these really cool radios. They're called Milos, and they're not like a walkie talkie where you have to push a button to talk. They're, like, open.
[00:43:18] Like, we all just talk and we can hear each other. It's really, really. Especially with kids, it's awesome. So you'll hear kids hooting and hollering in the radio. I think one of the girls even starts singing out of nowhere. It wasn't Amelia. Don't worry.
[00:43:30] But you'll hear just some funny, silly things. All right? We're having lots of fun. Remember, 360 degrees. See, we're about to play this. Everett, if you can cue it up, I want you to see if you can notice when I change the framing, when I go in and change it. Okay? Can you play that for us, guys?
[00:43:58] It's.
[00:45:00] Okay.
[00:45:02] Oh, that's cool. You're clapping. I saw.
[00:45:05] You're not clapping at my skiing. I'm not very good skier. Millie's a better skier than I am.
[00:45:09] Thank you. That's true. Jamie knows. Jamie knows.
[00:45:14] Is that not spectacularly beautiful?
[00:45:16] Like, it's unreal. Guys, if you ever have the opportunity, you need to go. It's unreal.
[00:45:25] Remember, Amelia's recording 360 degrees. Right? Here's what I'm gonna do. I want to play the same footage for you again. Okay? I'm gonna play the same footage this time. I went in and I framed it a little differently.
[00:45:36] And I want you to tell me if you can notice anything different this. This time.
[00:45:41] Okay?
[00:45:42] Go for it.
[00:46:05] Oh, I was just gonna say the same thing I asked for.
[00:46:42] It has roller.
[00:46:56] Can you tell the difference?
[00:47:02] I think that's how most people live their lives.
[00:47:06] Not Millie. I'm just using her footage. Pretend it was me.
[00:47:11] I think most people, our default is to live our lives where we take up most of the frame.
[00:47:22] Focus on ourselves, listen.
[00:47:26] When we live that way, which we all do, we all do. When we live that way, hear me. It makes serving God and serving others practically impossible.
[00:47:42] Can I give you just an example?
[00:47:46] So the scripture, if you read it front to back, I mean, it's full of commands for God's people to serve him. Hear me. By singing to him, by praising him, to serve him in those ways. By praising him even with our bodies, by like, literally, in the language it talks about, lifting our hands. Praise him, Serve him with praise. That's with lifted hands, by kneeling, even by shouting. Like, shouting. Like shouts of praise.
[00:48:17] There we go, Mark.
[00:48:19] But this is all throughout the Scriptures.
[00:48:21] Serve God in these ways, right? And yet, let's be real, some of us. I'll just. I'm actually not going to include myself in this one. Some of you don't do it.
[00:48:33] Some of you, you don't serve him by singing. You don't serve him by praising him. Like that way. Now listen, he doesn't need our praise.
[00:48:43] He doesn't need our singing. It's not like he's void and he, oh, I need you to praise me, dude. God's in heaven. There's a multitude, a countless number of angels, and what are they doing, 24, 7? They're praising him.
[00:48:55] He's not, like, needing more praise, okay? He knows it's not.
[00:49:00] He knows it's more for you than it is for him.
[00:49:03] Hear me. I heard a pastor describe it this way. God knows you can't authentically sing God's praises and be depressed the same time.
[00:49:12] God knows that you can't authentically sing God's praises and be anxious at the same time. He knows that you can't authentically sing God's praises and be greedy at the same time or bitter at the same time, or arrogant at the same time, or proud at the same time. It's way more for you and I than it is for God. Friends, God knows that praising him is a form of deliverance for us.
[00:49:35] Are you seeing this?
[00:49:38] Oh, the room just got quiet. Some of you are mad at me. That's fine. Listen to me.
[00:49:43] I'm coming at you because I love you. Some of you don't serve God by singing him, singing to him and praising him because you're so concerned with how you look.
[00:49:53] You're so concerned with how you feel.
[00:49:55] You're so concerned with how you sound.
[00:50:02] Do you see it, guys?
[00:50:04] Some of you don't serve God in these ways that are actually beneficial for you. Some of you don't serve God in these ways because you don't take yourself out of the frame because the Focus is on you.
[00:50:21] Listen to me. The reason we don't serve God with singing and praise is because we don't take ourselves out of the frame. The reason we don't serve serve God with our money is because we don't take ourselves out of the frame. The reason we don't serve the needs. We don't serve God by serving the needs of other people is because we don't take ourselves out of the frame. The list could go on and go on and go on and go on.
[00:50:43] I'm just as guilty as you.
[00:50:45] The reason people don't serve God and they don't serve others is because they have framed their lives around themselves. My question for you this morning in light of this glorious passage is what? What about you?
[00:51:04] Like, if we had access to your heart, the footage of your heart, what would be found?
[00:51:15] Like, who's in the frame?
[00:51:21] I know that you're just like me.
[00:51:23] I know that the frame is mostly full of self because I know you're a human being just like me.
[00:51:34] It's like we're captives.
[00:51:37] It's like we're, dare I say, slaves. We can't seem to take ourselves out of the frame, at least not for very long.
[00:51:48] But there's really, really, really incredibly good news.
[00:51:54] My final point for you. The Gospel of Jesus Christ reframes your life.
[00:52:07] The Gospel of Jesus Christ, it reframes your life. The good news of Jesus serving you, ransoming you, it reframes a person's life.
[00:52:19] When a person receives the gospel like it does things to them, it changes a person. It's powerful.
[00:52:26] One thing it does is the focus becomes less on self and more on God and others. A reframing takes place. Listen to me. Not sometimes. Every time the gospel is actually received, a reframing takes place.
[00:52:41] Guys, this concept, it's the core of what it means to serve, which is what this passage is regarding. It's the core of what it means to serve. And it's the core. Listen to me. It's the core of what it means to be a Christian.
[00:52:53] It's the core of what it means to be a Christian. If you study the origin of the word Christian, it just means little Christ, like a mini me.
[00:53:04] Hear me. A life of service is evidence of a gospel changed life.
[00:53:15] Has the gospel changed your life?
[00:53:24] Has the gospel changed your life?
[00:53:30] Or are you still taking up most of the frame?
[00:53:36] Friends, acknowledging the gospel is true. We talk about this often, but I need to say it again. Acknowledging the gospel is true is different than faith in the gospel.
[00:53:45] Satan acknowledges that the gospel is true. He's at war for your soul, and he's doing everything he possibly can to get you to not actually put your faith in it. Yeah, go ahead, acknowledge that it's real and that it's true. That's fine. Just don't put your faith in it. Don't act, actually trust in it.
[00:54:09] You probably know the right answer to the test.
[00:54:13] You know, you get the Scantron and it asks you the question. You could fill in the right answer.
[00:54:19] Yeah, Jesus died for my sins.
[00:54:22] God loves me.
[00:54:24] You could write the right answer in.
[00:54:26] But has the gospel changed you?
[00:54:31] Has it reframed your life?
[00:54:40] Are you a Christian?
[00:54:44] Like, I don't say that with arrogance.
[00:54:48] I don't say that to be rude or mean or confrontational.
[00:54:52] Lord knows I say that like, in genuine love and like, and care for you.
[00:55:06] Christians are people that are served by Christ.
[00:55:09] He came to serve. They're people who are served by Christ and who respond to that service by serving like Christ.
[00:55:16] Like, do you see how powerful that is? It's an infiltration.
[00:55:22] It's a conquering with love and mercy and grace through service.
[00:55:30] Verse 28. It begins with those two powerful words, just as.
[00:55:39] In love. Like, are you a Christian.
[00:55:45] Now? The first step in Christianity is to allow Jesus to serve you.
[00:55:50] How spectacular is that? The first step is not like, get yourself cleaned up, doctor yourself up, make yourself look presentable, get your resume in order. You know what I'm saying? Like, uh, literally, the first step in Christianity is, I'm gonna let you serve me.
[00:56:13] I'm going to allow you, Jesus, to buy me out of slavery to myself and slavery to sin with your blood.
[00:56:25] When a person does that, it radically humbles a person because you're like, I can't do this.
[00:56:34] Like, he did for me, something I could never do for myself. I'm humble. Whoa.
[00:56:41] I'm not good enough. I'm not smart enough. I'm not strong enough. I'm not powerful enough. But he is and he was, and holy smokes.
[00:56:50] And in response to allowing Jesus to serve you, in response as an act of love and appreciation for receiving such grace. What happens supernaturally as you begin to reframe your life around God and other people just as just like him.
[00:57:13] Do you see this?
[00:57:16] It's not just information.
[00:57:18] It's demonstration.
[00:57:21] There's nobody like Jesus.
[00:57:26] A life of service is evidence of a gospel changed life.
[00:57:32] Friend in the room, has the gospel changed your life?
[00:57:40] Listen to me.
[00:57:42] Human beings aren't meant to frame their lives around themselves.
[00:57:48] Why?
[00:57:50] Because human beings were made for greatness.
[00:57:55] And true greatness is achieved through what?
[00:57:59] Through service. You see it.
[00:58:03] Will you let Jesus lead your life?
[00:58:06] Will you let Jesus change your life? Will you let Jesus serve you? Will you let him change you? Will you let him reframe everything?
[00:58:13] Because if you do, there's a greatness for you that transcends any definition or measurement of worldly grace. Greatness.
[00:58:27] All right, I'm going to close. Ben, will you come up?
[00:58:54] I really wrestled with this this week because if I'm honest, if I'm really honest in my prayers to him and in my just self reflection, I'm like, I take up too much of the frame too.
[00:59:15] But Jesus serves me in those moments. It's crazy.
[00:59:19] He reminds me of who he is.
[00:59:22] I read the Bible and he's like, hey, remember, I came not to be served. I didn't demand that you serve me. I actually came to serve you and to give my life as a ransom for you. Isn't that great? And I'm like, oh, yeah, that's really great.
[00:59:37] Because what does that do? It frees me.
[00:59:40] It frees me from taking on the condemnation of the footage of my life, the footage of my heart.
[00:59:48] Are you carrying condemnation that Jesus doesn't want you to carry? This morning, even right now, I come hot. I come in hot with this truth, and you're like, crap, I am pretty selfish and I feel it. And I don't want anybody else in the room to look at me because I feel weird.
[01:00:03] Hey, are you, in this moment carrying any condemnation that Jesus doesn't want you to carry?
[01:00:17] Take it off.
[01:00:19] You've been permitted.
[01:00:22] Why?
[01:00:23] Because he was condemned in your place.
[01:00:26] Because he served you. He came and he served you. Isn't that awesome? Isn't it spectacular?
[01:00:36] I think he wants to teach us the same thing that he was teaching the disciples in this passage. He goes, guys, you think greatness is achieved in possessions?
[01:00:45] You think greatness is achieved in positions or touchdowns or money or your grades or your looks? Ha.
[01:00:55] Those things are fine, guys, but they got nothing on people who reframe their lives around God and others.
[01:01:08] He goes, you think achieving worldly greatness is difficult?
[01:01:13] Dude, try taking the focus off of yourself.
[01:01:18] Try actually reframing your life around God and others.
[01:01:22] Hear me. That's true greatness, friends. Because there's nothing more difficult for the human to do.
[01:01:28] Dare I say, with man, it's impossible. But with God, you know it.
[01:01:37] Even the impossible, even the seemingly impossible is possible with him.
[01:01:43] Are you carrying condemnation because you don't have to.
[01:01:54] It's true greatness. Because there's nothing more difficult for a human to do. Now hear me, the only way to do it is to look to Jesus.
[01:02:02] The only way to not live a life with you occupying most of the frame is to look to Jesus and listen to me. Takes time, takes energy, takes attention, the most valuable resources you have.
[01:02:23] You can't out give him though.
[01:02:27] The only way to do it is look to Jesus. Because hear me, when you see him clearly, like when you see how he's ransomed you, how he came to serve you and you receive him in that, you accept it, you embrace him in that, you are then empowered to do what he did.
[01:02:51] Those two powerful words.
[01:02:54] Just as it's his will for your life, it's his agenda for your life, it's his agenda. Every time we gather together as his body, as a church on Sunday mornings, Will we yield to that?
[01:03:14] Will we settle for lesser greatness?
[01:03:20] I don't want to.
[01:03:22] I blow it all the time, but I don't want to. I want greatness in the eyes of God. Will you stand with me? Let's pray.
[01:03:34] It.
[01:04:13] Spirit, I want you to do the vast majority of the speaking in this moment.
[01:04:28] And so I just want to pray a blessing over all of us. And I want to be included in this blessing. Please, Father, include me too.
[01:04:41] May we be people who live lives.
[01:04:47] That are framed around you and other people.
[01:04:52] And may we experience the same pleasure that you experience in seeing more and more of your kingdom come on the earth.
[01:05:01] And the pleasure of knowing how radically loved we are and included because you came to serve us.
[01:05:10] We worship you, Jesus.
[01:05:13] There's nobody like you.
[01:05:17] You're holy.
[01:05:20] It's in your name that we pray. Amen.
[01:05:24] If you're on the prayer team this morning, would you make your way to the front and make yourself available for folks, we got about 10 minutes before we're going to close.
[01:05:38] And so for the next 10 minutes, I want to, I want to encourage you.
[01:05:45] Maybe you're here, maybe you're here. And maybe it's time for you to start serving God with your voice, with your singing.
[01:05:54] Not to get something from him, but just because he's worthy.
[01:05:58] Dude, I put some of you on the spot. It's going to require you take yourself out of the frame. I'm not going to condemn you if you don't, but there's a blessing in it for you.
[01:06:08] Maybe you're here, you need to serve him with your voice. Maybe you're here, you need to serve him with your body.
[01:06:12] Maybe you're here and you're walking with some condemnation that Jesus died to remove off of you.
[01:06:18] Maybe you're here and you're weary.
[01:06:25] Maybe you're here and you want to, like, recommit your life to reframing it around God and other people.
[01:06:31] Maybe you're here and you're like.
[01:06:34] I'm not sure I'm a Christian, but I want to be.
[01:06:38] Come receive prayer. Let God minister to you and touch you through these incredible men and women that would love to pray over you.
[01:06:46] And let's fill this room with praise, okay? Because he's worthy. I love you guys very much. Enjoy him.
