It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,It shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister;
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… The call of Christ is a call to enslavement. Make me a captive, Lord, we say, and then I shall be free. Force me to render up my sword, and I shall conqueror be. Jesus says, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. Then he says, think about it. Even the Son of Man, talking about himself, didn't come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. The same principle runs through the epistles. Paul in 1 Corinthians 9 and in verse 19 says, Though I am free, I belong to no man. I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To win as many as possible. What are you doing, Paul? Well, I'm trying to win as many as possible. What do you mean? Well, I'm trying to see unbelieving people become committed followers of Jesus Christ. Why? So that they might prove themselves to be the worshipers from John 4 that the Father seeks. …
… Here's what he said. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be first must become the slave of all. This means one thing to us that meant something entirely different in the first century. But here's his point. kingdom great is a race to the back of the line. And the more influence and resources we have, the faster we should run. And before they can raise their hand and object, Jesus removes all of their excuses and removes all of my excuses. He says, four, I'm not done. He says, I'm not just asking you to do this. Even, even, referring to himself, even the son of man, this is a phrase from the book of Daniel, where Daniel refers to the son of man, the one that God will send to rule and judge over all of man, to judge all of mankind in the end. And he takes on this brand, this title over and over. He says, for even the son of man, talking about himself, even I did not come to be served. …
I titled today's message, The Way Up is Down. In Matthew chapter 20, verses 26 to 27, Jesus said, It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. notice jesus says there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be successful in life there's nothing wrong with wanting to be great but what jesus said is if you really want to be great and important and significant you need to follow a different path to success than that which the world offers for example the world says look out for number one jesus says look out for others The world says, destroy your opposition. Jesus says, love your opposition. The world says, hold on to your rights. Don't let them go. Jesus said, let go of your rights. The world says, if you want to be great, rule other people. Jesus said, if you want to be great, serve other people. …
… has to do with the subject we're looking at today. In Matthew chapter 20, verses 26 to 27, Jesus said, It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant. And whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Notice Jesus says there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be successful in life. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be great. But what Jesus said is if you really want to be great and important and significant, you need to follow a different path to success than that which the world offers. For example, the world says, look out for number one. Jesus says, look out for others. The world says, destroy your opposition. Jesus says, love your opposition. The world says, hold on to your rights. Don't let them go. Jesus said, let go of your rights. The world says, if you want to be great, rule other people. Jesus said, if you want to be great, serve other people. …
… yet listen to verse 26 yet it shall not be so among you let me break that down for you this is how this is supposed to be in people who are going to be a part of my kingdom yet it shall not be so among you but whoever desires to be great among you, if you want to be great in my kingdom, is what he's saying, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Do y'all see that right there? Are y'all following me? Have I confused you yet? Okay, let me try a little harder. Jesus is dialoguing with his disciples and here's what he is saying. If you're going to be a part of my kingdom and you want to be great, there's so much discussion about who is the greatest and who's going to be great and who wants to be great. …
… And then again, in Mark chapter 10, verse 43, but so shall it not be among you, but whosoever will be great among you shall be your deacon, your servant. A service makes you like Jesus. If you want to be great, learn to serve. Now, what qualities does it take to be a deacon? Look again in verse 3. First of all, a man must have an honest report. He must have an established testimony. Look ye out among you seven men of honest report. That is, he already has a track record. He already has an established testimony. testimony. Leadership, whether it be deacon or pastor, functions on the basis of confidence. You ought to have confidence in the men of God that are deacons. And you men have to be worthy of confidence. A little boy saw the deacons coming forward in a service one time, and he said, here comes the beacons. And that's what you are. You are a beacon of light. And there must be an established testimony. Number two, you're to be full of the Holy Spirit. Look at it again in verse 3, full of the Holy Ghost. If you're going to serve, if you're going to serve tables, if you're going to serve in whatever capacity, you cannot do it unless you're filled with the Holy Spirit of God. No one is fit for any job in this church who's not filled with the Holy Spirit. I don't care what it is. And say, how can you tell …