The Glory of Service

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.759 I think you have one of the best pastors in the OPC, let alone 2 00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:10.269 our presbytery. So just very thankful to be here. Yes, yes, 3 00:00:11.589 --> 00:00:14.990 well, brothers and sisters, friends, would you stand with me for the 4 00:00:15.150 --> 00:00:21.699 prayer of illumination and then, afterwards, the reading of God's word? Let's 5 00:00:21.739 --> 00:00:23.859 go to the Lord in prayer. Our Father, we come to you this 6 00:00:24.100 --> 00:00:28.539 morning not taking for granted that, when we hear your word read, and 7 00:00:28.699 --> 00:00:32.979 particularly as we hear it preach to us, that this is a spiritual act 8 00:00:32.979 --> 00:00:36.689 of worship in which, by faith, we receive all that you give to 9 00:00:36.770 --> 00:00:40.770 us, that when you speak, you send out your word from heaven itself, 10 00:00:40.890 --> 00:00:44.490 through the pages of Scripture and through your servant, that your word would 11 00:00:44.490 --> 00:00:48.530 go forth and it would not return unto you, void, without accomplishing all 12 00:00:48.689 --> 00:00:52.640 that you ordain it. Lord, would you call sinners to be born again? 13 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:56.880 Would you convict us of our sins? Would you remind us of what 14 00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:00.280 Jesus has done for us in the Gospel, and would you then lead us 15 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:04.909 that we might walk in newness of life? Lord, bless the Reading and 16 00:01:06.030 --> 00:01:08.870 preaching of your word. Bless your people this morning, may be profitable to 17 00:01:08.909 --> 00:01:14.709 their souls. On this wondrous occasion of the ordination of deacons. We ask 18 00:01:14.790 --> 00:01:22.219 all these things in Jesus precious name a man. Here now the reading of 19 00:01:22.299 --> 00:01:26.859 God's word, beginning in Martin, in in Verse Twenty Five of Chapter Twenty, 20 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:32.540 from Verses Twenty five to twenty eight. And this is the Little Section 21 00:01:33.290 --> 00:01:40.849 in the Gospel where where the where James and Peter, James and John's mother 22 00:01:41.569 --> 00:01:47.879 is advocating for for her son's to to sit at Jesus's right and left side. 23 00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:51.599 And this is Jesus reply to her. Here now, the reading of 24 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:56.280 God's word. But Jesus called to them, to him and said, you 25 00:01:56.400 --> 00:02:00.200 know that the rulers of the gentiles Lord it over them and they're great ones, 26 00:02:00.469 --> 00:02:07.870 exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But 27 00:02:07.030 --> 00:02:12.669 whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be 28 00:02:12.830 --> 00:02:17.620 first among you must be your slave, even as the son of man came 29 00:02:17.860 --> 00:02:24.500 not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom 30 00:02:25.139 --> 00:02:30.009 for many. The grass withers in the flower fades, but the word of 31 00:02:30.090 --> 00:02:46.879 our God stands forever. You may be seated. It is my great pleasure 32 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:52.199 to bring you God's word this morning on this occasion the that Dack in it 33 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:59.469 is not the most glamorous of offices. I was talking about that with somebody 34 00:02:59.469 --> 00:03:06.830 earlier this morning. And because of the nature of the work working with those 35 00:03:06.870 --> 00:03:14.139 who are poor and needy, those who have various needs that are sensitive in 36 00:03:14.259 --> 00:03:19.740 nature, it is by nature kind of held back. It's not trumpeted, 37 00:03:19.819 --> 00:03:24.780 it's not the most glamorous of church offices and in addition to that, I 38 00:03:24.860 --> 00:03:30.490 think it's because we normally think of leadership and power as high and exalted and 39 00:03:30.610 --> 00:03:38.330 we think of regular, everyday service, a cup of cold water if somebody 40 00:03:38.449 --> 00:03:45.080 needs some money, to give them some in their need, or even providing 41 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:50.319 them a place to to stay if they're if they're unable to make rent or 42 00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:54.080 whatever their case may be, in their poverty or in their need. We 43 00:03:54.240 --> 00:04:00.629 think of service this everyday kind of temporal need service. We think of it 44 00:04:00.710 --> 00:04:05.150 as Lower and lesser. But if God's kingdom, as we've seen throughout the 45 00:04:05.189 --> 00:04:11.580 gospels, is an upside down kingdom that overturns the values of this world and 46 00:04:12.659 --> 00:04:15.900 reminds us of the values of grace and the Kingdom of Heaven and of God, 47 00:04:15.899 --> 00:04:21.740 then it is the service of diaconal ministry that manifests the kingdom, the 48 00:04:21.860 --> 00:04:27.769 nature of the Kingdom of God, that it manifests kingdom leadership in a way 49 00:04:28.089 --> 00:04:32.610 that the other office offices of the church, the other jobs in the church, 50 00:04:32.730 --> 00:04:39.399 do not and cannot. It manifests the glory of Christ in a way 51 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:47.000 that that ministers and elders cannot. And this is what I want us to 52 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:50.959 consider this morning, on this occasion, as we look at our passage, 53 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:57.509 that, when the World Thinks of glory as a high and exalted power to 54 00:04:57.670 --> 00:05:02.189 be served, Jesus came to show us a different kind of glory, a 55 00:05:03.430 --> 00:05:09.699 hidden glory, a Kingdom Glory, a Gospel Glory, who came not to 56 00:05:09.939 --> 00:05:15.139 be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. 57 00:05:15.259 --> 00:05:19.339 This is the nature of diaconal ministry, not just for the officers, 58 00:05:20.259 --> 00:05:27.050 but for each and every one of you. If Jesus has redeemed you in 59 00:05:27.250 --> 00:05:31.490 body and soul, then the Lord calls us to love one another as he 60 00:05:31.730 --> 00:05:36.439 loved us, both in body and in soul. So this morning I want 61 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:44.199 to look at the glory of Christian Service, hidden in the glory of Christ 62 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:48.240 Service for us in the Gospel. So let's see what that means. Let's 63 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:54.750 see what that looks like. First we see glory of Jesus's Humble Service. 64 00:05:55.750 --> 00:06:00.509 Jesus is explaining the character of his kingdom and his kingship and he's responding to 65 00:06:00.750 --> 00:06:08.980 a fundamental misunderstanding of that kingship by James and John's mother. Right. She, 66 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:13.819 she, she's the one who who's advocating and maybe you know, some 67 00:06:13.980 --> 00:06:17.810 of US know mothers who are very pushy and and you know I mean there's 68 00:06:17.850 --> 00:06:24.850 reality shows named after moms who are are really advocating to the point of being 69 00:06:25.050 --> 00:06:29.930 pushy for their kids. And James and John's mothers is not out of the 70 00:06:29.970 --> 00:06:32.800 ordinary. And she's talking to Jesus. Jesus, you know my son's can 71 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:35.240 they be on your right and left hand? Can you live up? Can 72 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:40.160 you elevate them in leadership and in honor above the rest? You know my 73 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:46.879 son's and in Jesus rebukes her in his kind and gentle way as he could, 74 00:06:46.949 --> 00:06:51.509 and and tells her, yeah, exactly what that means, of what 75 00:06:51.670 --> 00:06:57.230 she's asking for. And as a part of his overall answer to address this 76 00:06:57.670 --> 00:07:03.060 misunderstanding, he gives us this short and most beautiful definition of the glory of 77 00:07:03.139 --> 00:07:12.420 serve us and so so she so he tells so Jesus tells her what his 78 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:16.569 kingdom is all about and what it means to sit at his sides, his 79 00:07:16.649 --> 00:07:20.490 left and right sides, and it's not way to expect. It's not what 80 00:07:20.649 --> 00:07:26.769 she expected. I'm sure he came down from heaven and he humbled himself. 81 00:07:27.089 --> 00:07:30.199 That's what that's the that's what it means that at the first part here, 82 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:34.120 look at Verse Twenty Eight, even as the son of man came right. 83 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:38.720 How did he come? He came down from heaven, and this is kind 84 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:44.350 of why we celebrate advent before, or we consider advent before Christmas, in 85 00:07:44.509 --> 00:07:47.149 preparation for his coming. This is what is coming in tails is what it's 86 00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:53.670 coming brings to us, and it's a reference then to his divine and human 87 00:07:53.709 --> 00:08:00.060 nature. The son of man prophesied through visions in the book of Daniel. 88 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:03.579 He is the one, like the son of man in human form, who 89 00:08:03.660 --> 00:08:07.939 receives from God, the ancient of days, all authority and power. And 90 00:08:09.100 --> 00:08:11.500 here we have a reference then to the incarnation, in the coming down, 91 00:08:11.620 --> 00:08:16.050 of the son of God, who took upon himself our human nature, our 92 00:08:16.129 --> 00:08:22.529 weakness, our frailty and became a son of man, and this is the 93 00:08:22.689 --> 00:08:26.800 heart of why he came down, not in power or in glory to exercise 94 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:35.559 Lordship, but in humility and service, in weakness. This is the mystery 95 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:39.399 of all mysteries, that God, the son, who sat atop the highest 96 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:45.190 of heavens and the highest throne, the king of kings and Lord of Lords, 97 00:08:45.750 --> 00:08:52.429 came down, came down and humbled himself. He who was clothed in 98 00:08:52.750 --> 00:09:01.940 Majesty and in Glory, condescended down, down, down to become one of 99 00:09:01.059 --> 00:09:09.460 us, me and lowly, poor and needy. Service is by its very 100 00:09:09.500 --> 00:09:16.490 nature a coming down, a condescension of love, patterned after this very divine 101 00:09:16.649 --> 00:09:26.960 act, patterned after Christ incarnate love for you and for me. He also 102 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:33.000 came down and in Humble Lordship, not human leadership. Jesus can trast his 103 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:39.789 kingship over the prevailing notion of kingship in that day, even to this day, 104 00:09:41.110 --> 00:09:45.470 you know that the rulers of the gentiles Lord it over them and they're 105 00:09:45.549 --> 00:09:50.590 great ones exercise authority over them. This is how the rest of the world 106 00:09:50.710 --> 00:09:56.100 considers kingship, leadership, how everyone else sees what it means to be a 107 00:09:56.179 --> 00:10:01.620 leader. It's a matter of exercising power, Lording it over them, exercising 108 00:10:01.820 --> 00:10:07.690 power and authority over them. But that is not what Christian leadership is about. 109 00:10:09.009 --> 00:10:13.129 Look at Verse Twenty Six. With me, it shall not be so 110 00:10:15.129 --> 00:10:22.320 among you. He goes on to describe the upside down, countercultural character of 111 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:26.399 this kingdom. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 112 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:33.440 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. Do you see 113 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:39.470 that? When the prevailing notion of leadership is exercising power over others, Christ 114 00:10:39.590 --> 00:10:46.669 kingship is turns that upside down. That leadership is serving and serving his leadership. 115 00:10:50.139 --> 00:10:54.620 It means that the last and the least shall be the greatest and the 116 00:10:54.779 --> 00:10:58.899 first, and the greatest and the first shall be the last and the least. 117 00:11:00.700 --> 00:11:05.009 If you want to be great, if you want to be great in 118 00:11:05.129 --> 00:11:13.409 the Kingdom of Heaven, you must humble yourself and be the least. If 119 00:11:13.450 --> 00:11:18.519 you want to be first, you must stoop down low and be last. 120 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:31.240 We also see the glory of his self sacrificial service. Jesus addresses a a 121 00:11:31.950 --> 00:11:39.110 secondman misunderstanding by his disciples. He gives us the sacrificial nature of his kingship. 122 00:11:39.190 --> 00:11:41.110 Right. It's not just to condescend and to serve and to be last, 123 00:11:43.990 --> 00:11:48.259 but it is to sacrifice. You see, the prevailing notion of kingship 124 00:11:48.379 --> 00:11:54.340 is that everyone lives to serve the king. It is a me centered approach 125 00:11:54.539 --> 00:11:58.820 to life, not the other way around. See, this is the picture 126 00:11:58.820 --> 00:12:01.809 of what we see throughout humans history and and this is this is the way 127 00:12:01.850 --> 00:12:09.490 in which you can gage the worldliness, that the the fallenness of the institutions 128 00:12:09.610 --> 00:12:20.559 and organizations in the world, that whoever rules over a people is where the 129 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:28.600 people serve the ruler. The people, the servants, sacrifice their lives for 130 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:33.429 the sake of the king. They pay taxes to Phill his coffers, they 131 00:12:33.590 --> 00:12:37.269 live on his land and give them a portion of their produce. They live 132 00:12:37.629 --> 00:12:43.629 to serve the king. But that's not what Jesus is kingship and kingdom is 133 00:12:43.710 --> 00:12:48.980 about. It's a different kind of service, a different kind of sacrifice. 134 00:12:48.059 --> 00:12:54.419 Again, it's an upside down ethics of life in the Kingdom. And what 135 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:58.929 does that look like? What does it mean? Than for this this upside 136 00:12:58.970 --> 00:13:03.929 down kingdom, the this kingdom life in which Jesus came not to be served 137 00:13:05.009 --> 00:13:09.970 but to serve. He came not to be served. Right, he's he 138 00:13:09.490 --> 00:13:13.360 is king, but but the way that the kingdom works is that the people 139 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:18.639 don't live to serve him in the way that rulers of this world serve them. 140 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:22.480 He he's overturning what it means to be a king who doesn't Lord it 141 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:28.710 over as people, but loves them by serving them. Look at what he 142 00:13:28.789 --> 00:13:33.990 says. They're whoever, he says, whoever would be great among you, 143 00:13:33.149 --> 00:13:41.700 must be your servants. The language of being great, right of being great, 144 00:13:41.820 --> 00:13:50.259 is the language of kingship here, and so he's turning everything we think 145 00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:54.220 about the nature of leadership and power and turning it on its head. This 146 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:58.210 disciple still don't get it. They think Jesus came to be like all other 147 00:13:58.289 --> 00:14:03.649 kings and rulers of this world. They think he came to exercise his power 148 00:14:03.009 --> 00:14:07.169 to kick the Romans out and restore the glory of Israel, as in the 149 00:14:07.250 --> 00:14:13.000 days of David Solomon. No, he came to be a completely different type 150 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:18.360 of king. He came to usher in a totally different kind of kingdom that 151 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:22.240 is not of this world. John One thousand eight hundred and thirty six. 152 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:26.990 He came to be great by becoming least, to be first, by becoming 153 00:14:28.029 --> 00:14:33.590 last. He came to be sovereign over all by becoming servant of all. 154 00:14:35.950 --> 00:14:39.539 He came not to be served but to serve and to give his life, 155 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:43.940 to give his life. That's that's part of the sacrifice here. This is 156 00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:50.379 the nature of his kingship. Instead of his subject serving him, he came 157 00:14:50.899 --> 00:14:56.889 to serve his subjects. This is important because when we think of service, 158 00:14:56.649 --> 00:15:03.049 we think of something commercial or transactional. We think of service as a kind 159 00:15:03.090 --> 00:15:05.850 of works. If you will right, you do this for me, then 160 00:15:05.889 --> 00:15:09.799 I will do this for you, or vice versa. Right, you scratch 161 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:11.679 my back, I scratch yours. You helped me, now I'll help you. 162 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:18.279 Gospel Service means providing for someone in their need by grace, as a 163 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:26.830 totally and completely free gift of love. Maybe one of the ways in which 164 00:15:26.830 --> 00:15:31.750 we exemplify this idea sometimes, and we kind of sneak in an idea of 165 00:15:31.230 --> 00:15:35.059 of of obligation and works and duty, is that you know, if you 166 00:15:35.100 --> 00:15:39.259 go out for coffee with a friend and and they decide to buy you a 167 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:46.539 nice, big large Mocha Frappuccino from starbucks that you know and not che it's 168 00:15:46.620 --> 00:15:52.129 way over over price, I think. And and you know that the person 169 00:15:52.330 --> 00:15:56.129 you know has has to. You know they're not rich, and so you 170 00:15:56.250 --> 00:16:00.330 feel bad that they bought you one, including one for themselves, and you 171 00:16:00.370 --> 00:16:03.679 say, you know what, I'll get you next time. You know when 172 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:11.480 the person wanted to just share a free gift of love for you. And 173 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:17.559 I think we think of service in that transactional way. If someone cares for 174 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:19.669 you, you think, well, I owe them, and then it becomes 175 00:16:22.389 --> 00:16:26.230 the Kingdom of Heaven is absolutely not like that. Gospel Ministry and Service is 176 00:16:26.269 --> 00:16:32.230 absolutely not like that because it is a free gift of God's grace and love 177 00:16:32.750 --> 00:16:37.580 to you and to me, and it began with Jesus as gift and service 178 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:45.620 to us. You know, one of the mindsets that I think we have 179 00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:52.289 as churches is that, you know, this idea of this transactional commercial approach 180 00:16:52.409 --> 00:16:57.730 to service applied to churches is when people walk into church, what are some 181 00:16:57.809 --> 00:17:02.399 of the first things that people ask about a church? Right? What can 182 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:07.240 what can this church provide for me? How is their child cares there? 183 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:11.680 It does. Isn't it a full service church. Will they change my oil 184 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:15.319 while I'm in while I'm in service? Will they fill up my gas tank? 185 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:18.829 And there are churches like that, and I don't mean to to grade 186 00:17:19.309 --> 00:17:25.069 honest ministries that try to minister to people in their need. All I'm trying 187 00:17:25.109 --> 00:17:29.950 to say here is that if you come to church wondering how they can serve 188 00:17:30.059 --> 00:17:36.619 you, right, then it then then you know. Then it is a 189 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:41.940 transactional ministry. But but how about a few came and you said, how 190 00:17:41.980 --> 00:17:45.210 can I serve people in their need? Here? There are people who need 191 00:17:47.450 --> 00:17:51.410 my gifts. How can I help them? There are people here who need 192 00:17:51.569 --> 00:18:00.079 my help. How can I help them? In the Gospel, what Jesus 193 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:03.200 says here ought to be how we ought to approach ministry in the Church, 194 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:07.039 in this church and in every church, that I came not to be served 195 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:14.549 but to serve and to give my life for the blessing of others. Right 196 00:18:14.630 --> 00:18:18.109 Consumerism, for example, right kind of that? Other mindset is I came 197 00:18:18.230 --> 00:18:21.710 not to serve but to be served for others, so that others can give 198 00:18:21.710 --> 00:18:26.430 their lives for me. Do you see that? There's there's a completely different 199 00:18:26.470 --> 00:18:30.619 mindset. So my question to you this morning is which one describes you, 200 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:41.009 which approach describes you? Have you come this morning to be served or to 201 00:18:41.210 --> 00:18:47.769 serve like Jesus did? Are You living as as a Christ centered servant for 202 00:18:47.890 --> 00:18:53.650 others or as a self centered Lord to be served by others? The way 203 00:18:53.690 --> 00:19:00.839 we turn from a consumer to a Christ centered her is to serve, to 204 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:04.359 remember what Jesus has done for you and then to turn around and to do 205 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:10.470 that for others. Right, there's a lot of different aspects. When Jesus 206 00:19:10.670 --> 00:19:14.150 loved one another, just as I have loved you. What does that look 207 00:19:14.269 --> 00:19:21.269 like? Service, and this is what deacons do in their special office and 208 00:19:21.390 --> 00:19:26.859 calling, and I'm so privileged to be here to witness that ordination. But 209 00:19:27.059 --> 00:19:33.220 this is what also every Christian is is, is also called to do, 210 00:19:34.019 --> 00:19:41.089 and that deacons in their special office, help administer and organize the whole church 211 00:19:41.410 --> 00:19:47.410 to serve one another. Right, it's not sometimes. It's sometimes, and 212 00:19:47.569 --> 00:19:52.170 I've heard this from other deacons, it sometimes they ordained, there ordained and 213 00:19:52.289 --> 00:19:53.759 then all of a sudden the rest of Churchi okay, now you go ahead 214 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:57.119 and do it, you do it for us. I can just sit back 215 00:19:57.720 --> 00:20:02.119 and just give my money, but not my time, not my energy, 216 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:06.839 not my resources. That's what you're there for. No, friends, brothers 217 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:12.710 and sisters, the deacons are here to help you serve one another, and 218 00:20:12.829 --> 00:20:18.869 they do it themselves directly. Right, but, but there is no office 219 00:20:18.950 --> 00:20:22.579 of Professional Deacon so that you can sit back and do nothing. So this 220 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:26.339 is a this is a call for all of you to help the deacons do 221 00:20:26.579 --> 00:20:30.980 what they're supposed to do as a ministry of this church, as a service 222 00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:33.859 to this church. And this brings us, then, to my last point. 223 00:20:34.809 --> 00:20:38.609 We not only see the glory of his humble and self sacrificial service, 224 00:20:40.329 --> 00:20:45.930 but we see the glory of his cell, of his substitutionary service to his 225 00:20:45.009 --> 00:20:49.279 people. And what is that? This brings us to the question of how 226 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:56.119 does Jesus actually give his life in service for others? He gave it as 227 00:20:56.359 --> 00:21:03.160 is, as a substitutionary act of service for you and for me. Again, 228 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:10.589 service is not service if we do not substitute ourselves for others. See, 229 00:21:10.589 --> 00:21:12.190 this is the heart of service. And let think about it. If 230 00:21:12.309 --> 00:21:18.430 someone could do something for themselves, they would not need you to serve them, 231 00:21:18.470 --> 00:21:23.099 they would not need your help, they would not need your resources. 232 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:30.059 It is precisely because they cannot do it themselves that they need to see they 233 00:21:30.140 --> 00:21:34.849 need you to substitute yourself for them and to do it in their place. 234 00:21:38.130 --> 00:21:42.369 That's what it means to serve others. I mean serving the place of others 235 00:21:42.410 --> 00:21:48.119 when they can't or won't do it for themselves. You know, at my 236 00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:53.240 church in Long Beach we had they went to be at the Lord. Rob 237 00:21:53.440 --> 00:22:00.720 and Melva a long time, long time members of our church and Melva was 238 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:06.309 stricken with a viral infection early in her life in their marriage to where she 239 00:22:06.349 --> 00:22:11.789 became a quadriplegic for for her the last thirty, forty years of their marriage 240 00:22:11.789 --> 00:22:15.539 together, their lives together, and when I first came we had a senior 241 00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:19.579 lunch where all the the elderly folks in our church would all have a meal 242 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:25.420 together and we would minister to each other and she couldn't use her hands or 243 00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:33.609 her feet and rob makes me think about what a beautiful picture was and how 244 00:22:33.609 --> 00:22:37.809 much I loved them. Rob would he would go and he was elderly himself. 245 00:22:37.849 --> 00:22:41.769 He would go to the buffet line and he would get all the food 246 00:22:41.849 --> 00:22:48.359 that that that melva loved. Then he would come over. He would come 247 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:52.640 over and he would cut each little piece and he would put it. He 248 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:55.880 would, you know, put it on the spoon of the fork and he 249 00:22:55.920 --> 00:23:00.509 would feed her in right into her mouth, because she can use her hands. 250 00:23:00.029 --> 00:23:04.069 He became her hands when she couldn't walk, he walked for her. 251 00:23:04.109 --> 00:23:11.509 He did everything for her and he substituted himself for her because he could never 252 00:23:11.549 --> 00:23:17.420 eat himself, because she had to. He needed to feed her. And 253 00:23:17.539 --> 00:23:22.460 so we all know this kind of substitutionary love and service in our lives and 254 00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:30.609 it is a manifestation of Jesus's love for you and for me. He sacrificed 255 00:23:30.089 --> 00:23:36.130 his life so that we could live ours, and that's what service is, 256 00:23:36.410 --> 00:23:40.369 that's what Gospel Service in the Kingdom of God is, the sacrifice your own 257 00:23:40.490 --> 00:23:45.799 life, your own comfort, your own time and energy and resources for the 258 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:52.240 blessing and benefit of others, so that others could live their life. He 259 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:59.269 also gave it as a substitutionary sacrifice for us. Look at the end of 260 00:23:59.269 --> 00:24:04.670 Verse Twenty Eight. Here he gives his life as a ransom for many. 261 00:24:06.470 --> 00:24:10.700 Right in the Bible, a ransom was a price that was paid to set 262 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:14.779 a slave free. Night. So if you are a slave, someone else 263 00:24:14.819 --> 00:24:18.339 had to pay a ransom to set you free, and this is why he 264 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:22.940 came into the world, to be the son of man, not to be 265 00:24:22.140 --> 00:24:26.529 served, but to serve, and he came to give us the supreme sacrifice 266 00:24:27.009 --> 00:24:40.279 of his own service, climaxing in his own life. He came to be 267 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:45.759 a ransom price for you and me, to set us free. He paid 268 00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:52.279 the price for us by substituting himself in our place, and this is why 269 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:56.029 the son of God came, became a man, to take our place and 270 00:24:56.109 --> 00:25:02.349 pay our ransom for the many who would come to put their faith in him. 271 00:25:03.630 --> 00:25:07.779 This is the glory of his humble service and self sacrifice that saves us 272 00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:14.099 from the just wrath that we deserve for our sins. He came to sacrifice 273 00:25:14.180 --> 00:25:18.859 and substitute himself to do what we could not do, to live a perfect, 274 00:25:18.900 --> 00:25:23.569 righteous life in obedience to God, to live a sinless life without spot 275 00:25:23.609 --> 00:25:27.410 or blemish, and to pay the penalty and the punishment in the wrath that 276 00:25:27.569 --> 00:25:34.210 we deserved, and to rise from the dead as a reward and as a 277 00:25:34.329 --> 00:25:41.240 blessing to save us from eternal life to eternal from eternal death to eternal life. 278 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:48.920 He came as a ransom for you and for me. Isn't this a 279 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:55.750 King Worthy of your faith? Isn't this isn't isn't he worthy of your loyalty 280 00:25:55.910 --> 00:26:02.109 and service? When was the last time that a king laid down his life 281 00:26:02.710 --> 00:26:08.619 for his subjects, laid down his life, let alone for you? I 282 00:26:08.740 --> 00:26:14.740 know King has never done that for me, except for Jesus. This is 283 00:26:15.019 --> 00:26:19.289 the glory of Christian service that Jesus calls us to today. If he has 284 00:26:19.369 --> 00:26:23.490 so loved us, friends, brothers and sisters, then let us love one 285 00:26:23.529 --> 00:26:30.569 another in the very same way. Let us serve one another as he served 286 00:26:30.650 --> 00:26:37.400 us. Let us give our lives as an act of substitutionary love and service 287 00:26:37.079 --> 00:26:42.880 for the blessing of one another. Deacons, this is how you are ambassadors 288 00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:48.910 to everyone around you. You're not an afterthought or a lesser office, but 289 00:26:48.069 --> 00:26:52.630 you are, in my opinion, servants of Christ to the church into the 290 00:26:52.750 --> 00:27:00.309 world, and it is a glorious office. I think if you if you 291 00:27:00.430 --> 00:27:03.059 apply the upside down nature of the Kingdom of God in the life of the 292 00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:08.700 church, the deacons ought to have all the glory on Judgment Day when everything 293 00:27:08.740 --> 00:27:15.890 is revealed. I think the hidden members of the body Paul says in First 294 00:27:15.970 --> 00:27:22.970 Corinthians thirteen are the most important. I think on Judgment Day, when everything 295 00:27:22.009 --> 00:27:27.369 is revealed, I will have done wonderful things for the kingdom and and and 296 00:27:29.049 --> 00:27:33.359 and I'm looking forward to all the people who who were converted under my ministry, 297 00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:37.160 all the people who are saved under my ministry, all the people who 298 00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:42.279 have struggled but one the victory over their sins through my ministry, and those 299 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:47.029 who are faithful even unto death, through my ministry. And I can see 300 00:27:47.029 --> 00:27:51.069 them, I can welcome them and I I'm looking forward to seeing that. 301 00:27:52.269 --> 00:27:56.789 But I also think that one day, when the Deacons Ministry is revealed, 302 00:27:56.950 --> 00:28:07.779 I think it will be far larger of an impact as a way to humble 303 00:28:07.740 --> 00:28:15.930 the more, the more or upfront public servants of the ministry. Jesus came 304 00:28:17.089 --> 00:28:22.130 not to be Sir but to serve, to give his life for the many, 305 00:28:22.009 --> 00:28:25.450 and this is what all of what God calls all of you to do 306 00:28:25.569 --> 00:28:30.599 as well. All of you, the reason why diachyl ministry has such a 307 00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:34.880 special place in my heart and in my life I want to share with you 308 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:41.589 before we close. So my father, soon after the Korean War, ran 309 00:28:41.710 --> 00:28:47.670 away from home because he it was the one of the most impoverished areas of 310 00:28:47.789 --> 00:28:53.069 Korea postwar, Korean War Korea. He ran away from home and lived in 311 00:28:53.190 --> 00:28:57.180 the city, on the streets, trying to put himself through through a middle 312 00:28:57.220 --> 00:29:02.700 school, in high school at the age of thirteen. And he was on 313 00:29:02.859 --> 00:29:10.250 the streets, eating, begging, digging through trash, the leftovers in front 314 00:29:10.250 --> 00:29:15.690 of a restaurant so that he could eat in a Christian family. A Christian 315 00:29:15.730 --> 00:29:26.480 family brought him in, fed him, clothed him, housed him, even 316 00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:32.839 adopted him in a sense, treated him as their very own son. And 317 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:38.069 they did it because they loved Jesus. They did it because they knew what 318 00:29:38.190 --> 00:29:41.470 it meant to be saved both in body and soul, and would Jesus done 319 00:29:41.549 --> 00:29:48.390 for them. And it is that sacrificial love and service of diaconal ministry to 320 00:29:48.470 --> 00:29:53.980 my father outside of the Church that brought him into the church to where he 321 00:29:55.059 --> 00:30:00.259 heard the Gospel, repented and put his faith in Jesus Christ. And I 322 00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:07.450 stand before you here today as the son of a Christian through that diaconal Ministry 323 00:30:07.490 --> 00:30:12.289 of the Gospel. So, friends, brothers and sisters, what a wonderful, 324 00:30:12.329 --> 00:30:18.890 glorious thing it is to serve the poor and the needy among you and 325 00:30:19.089 --> 00:30:26.920 outside in the community, do so in the spirit of Christ. Why? 326 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:33.599 Because he came not to be served but to serve and to give his life 327 00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:40.630 as a ransom for you. Let us now go and do the same. 328 00:30:40.670 --> 00:30:45.150 Amen. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank you. We thank 329 00:30:45.230 --> 00:30:48.789 you for this wonderful truth of what Jesus done for us. Lord help us 330 00:30:48.789 --> 00:30:53.099 then to do that, to express that same manifest that seeing love, that 331 00:30:53.299 --> 00:31:00.339 Gospel Love, through the diaconal Ministry of this church here. Bless us this 332 00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:03.890 morning write those truths and imprint them into our hearts. In his name, 333 00:31:03.890 --> 00:31:06.450 we pray. Amen.