The Quest for Today's Church, Part 7

Pray with me, would you please? Father, we thank you, Lord, for this opportunity we have to worship you as the King. To realize, Lord, that as we gather together to celebrate you, God became man and dwelt among us. And for that, Lord, we are grateful. For without that, there would be no salvation for our souls. So we thank you, Lord, for all that you've done for us. And today, as we examine your life and your ministry, even all the more, we pray that we would model ourselves after you, our King. And we would be followers of our Lord.

We thank you for a chance to worship you today. In Jesus' name, amen. 11 months ago, we began this year, 2016. And as we began this year, we started with a topic called Sanctify Christ as Lord in Your Hearts. It was to be a one-week sermon. It ended up being a five-month series that we covered through the first five months of this year.

The whole purpose behind that was because we needed to make sure that our lives were right with God so that when we faced whatever situation we faced throughout the year, we would be able to give an answer to anyone who asks of the hope that lies within because we had already sanctified Christ as Lord. We had looked at him as the preeminent one in our lives. From there, we looked at the ministry and message of Christ to his church. You need to sanctify Christ as Lord so you can understand the ministry and message of Christ to his church.

And we looked at Revelation 1, 2, and 3 to examine what that ministry was that Christ had with his church. And then the message he gave to those seven churches at Asia Minor, seven churches that are real churches, literal churches, but are representative of all the churches that have ever existed in the history of the church age. Having concluded that, we embarked on a journey, the question and quest for today's church. What's the question we must ask so that we are not condemned like those five churches in Asia Minor were, five of the seven were condemned?

What question do we ask of ourselves? And what is the quest that we are to be on as a church so that we can represent our God? And so that's where we've been this entire year. And we've looked at that quest and we've looked at the integrity of the church, the purity of the church. We've looked at the spirituality and ministry of the church, the vulnerability of the church. And last week, we looked at the humility of the church, the humility that preserves the partnership that we have one with another.

And we looked at that because there was so much arrogance and pride that wells up within us, so much so that we don't even recognize it anymore. I told you last week that what we were saying really applied more to the second service than it did to you guys because they were a little bit more arrogant than you were.

And so I told them that. And they said, that's not true. They said the first service was much more arrogant than they were.

And so we know that it's a pervasive problem in our hearts and minds. We know that because we looked at the disciples and we saw where they would argue about who was the greatest in the kingdom. They wanted to know that they were better than someone else that they ministered alongside of. And these men were with the Christ every day for three years. And you would think that of all the people that would know more about humility than anybody else, it would be the men who associated themselves with the King of glory who humbled himself and became a servant, became a man and served his fellow man.

But they did not grasp that aspect of his character because they were so filled with pride and arrogance. And so we looked at pride and we looked at what it does to us. And we looked at Luke chapter nine because there we were able to understand that pride is that which destroys unity. An argument arose among these men, not the first time it arose.

It was at least the second time as recorded in scripture. There were probably a myriad of times that this discussion happened with these disciples of the Lord Jesus. And so we saw last week that pride is that which destroys unity because pride is that which declares superiority. There was an argument that arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. They were in to how great they were. They were very self-serving. They were very into themselves. And because this is not something new to us, it's something that's existed from the fall of man, we realize that pride destroys our unity.

And if we are to have a humility that preserves our partnership, we must understand that what destroys that unity is our pride. That's why Paul says in Ephesians four, endeavor to keep the unity, the spirit and the bond of peace. You must work hard at keeping it because Christ prayed for it. So pride is that which destroys our unity, declares our spirituality. And thirdly, we saw where pride was that which demonstrates our depravity.

For Christ did not hear the conversation, but Christ knew of the conversation because Christ knows everything. And so when they got into the house there in Capernaum, Christ asked them what they were discussing on the way. Now, he didn't ask that for his instruction nor for his illumination because he knows everything, but he wants them to recognize where they are at. And so we know that pride is that which demonstrates our depravity because in the heart of every man is his self. And he says, he knew what they were discussing.

He knew what was in their heart. It was singular heart, not hearts, not each individual heart that was there, but the heart as a collective unit because they all had the same passion. They all had the same desire, the same drive, and that was to be the best. And so pride is that which demonstrates depravity. Then we saw where pride was that which disdains deity because he would take a child, he'd place that child among them, and he would tell them these words in Luke 9, whoever receives his child in my name receives me.

And whoever receives me receives him who sent me. In other words, if you don't receive this little one, this little one who has no accomplishments and no achievements, because children were looked down upon in Judaism at that time because rabbis would not even teach a child that was under the age of 12 because the mortality rate was so high, they spent very little time with children. They were something that did not add to society. But Christ would take the child, the toddler, put him in his presence and say, this becomes the example.

Whoever receives this little one receives me. In other words, if you reject the little one, you reject Christ, you rebel against the Christ. And so we see where pride disdains deity. Pride is that which defiles ministry. He says these words, he says, for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is the greatest. If you're not seeking to be the least, you will defile all ministry. And then we saw where pride is that which drives exclusivity because John would pipe up and say these words.

Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us. But Jesus said to him, do not hinder him for he who is not against you is for you. Pride drives exclusivity. We wanna be separate, we wanna be better. This person, how dare he try to do what we do, what you've commissioned us to do. Why would he want to be a part of what we are doing as if we are better than somebody else? And one more thing we didn't discuss last week, and that is this, that pride is always that which depicts our adversary.

Pride is that which depicts our adversary. Nothing represents Satan more than an arrogant attitude. If you go back and read Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, the Lord God compares in Isaiah 14, the King of Babylon and Ezekiel chapter 28, the King of Tyre with Satan because they both exemplified the arrogance and pride that Satan himself exemplified. The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 2, 22, 23 and 24 and 25, that when we are saved, we are saved out of the snare of the devil, the evil one, because he's taken us captive to do his will.

And there's nothing that depicts our enemy, our adversary more so than an arrogant attitude, a prideful attitude, because that's what Satan's sin was. That's why the Bible says in Proverbs 6 that God hates pride.

He hates the haughty look. Why does he hate us so bad? Because it reminds him of Satan in his rebellion against the authority of God in his life. So the question comes, how is it we are to live lives that represent our God in humility, in lowliness, in gentleness that will preserve the partnership that we have because of Christ? Let me give you some principles that will help you understand that so that we can truly follow the word of the Lord.

Number one is this, humility rejects any compromise to the scriptural standard. Humility rejects any compromise to the scriptural standard. Remember, the Bible is a standard. Another person, another ministry is not the standard, but the Bible is. And a true humble spirit will reject any compromise to what the Bible says.

So if you got your Bible, turn me to Mark chapter 10. Mark chapter 10. In Mark chapter 10, you have the second verse, which is the same as the first, just a little bit worse.

And that is, sorry about that, but that's just the way it is. And the Bible says in Mark chapter 10, this is the second record of their arrogant attitude.

James and John, the two sons of Zebedee came to Jesus saying, teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. Really? Not Lord, what do you want us to do for you? It's Lord, we want you to do for us. And I know we're not that way, but the disciples are that way. They really wanted Christ to do for them. Now remember, the Bible tells us in the gospels that it wasn't necessarily James and John who came, but it was their mother who came. The mother of James and John. If you read Matthew's account, it's the mother of James and John who came to Jesus and asked Jesus to do something for her boys.

Now that means that when the Bible says James and John came to him, they were the ones who prompted their mother to come and ask Jesus this question.

Now remember, the mother of James and John is the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. So James and John are the cousins of Jesus. This is a family thing. So Lord, we want you to do for us because we wanna keep all this greatness. There's just so much greatness, we wanna keep it in the family. We wanna go outside the family. We wanna keep all the greatness in the family. So we want you to do for us something really, really special. After all, we are a part of the same family. And so he said to them, what do you want me to do for you?

They said to him, grant that we may sit on your right and on your left in your glory. We wanna have a place of prominence in the kingdom, in your glory. We want one on the right and one on the left. We want to be seated with you in the kingdom. We want a place of prominence. And Christ says these words, you do not know what you are asking.

Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? The cup referenced to wrath and indignation as per the Old Testament and what it says. Baptism meaning fully immersed. Are you able to be fully immersed in the wrath and indignation, in the suffering that I am going to be immersed in? And they said to him, we are able. This is where their arrogance reigns supreme. Of course, we can. Of course, we're like you. Of course, we can endure suffering.

Of course, we can endure. Lord, we're a part of the same family. We can do this thing. And Jesus says, the cup that I drink, you shall drink and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.

Remember the first martyr. The first martyr of the church was James. The last apostle to be martyred was John. He was exiled to the island of Patmos. But to sit on my right hand or on my left, this is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Know this, that prominence is always designed by providence. Prominence is always designed by providence. Christ says, it's not mine to give, but it is for those of whom it has been prepared.

Well, who prepared it? The Lord God of Israel prepared it, okay? And then he says this, then he says this. Hearing this, the 10 began to feel indignant with James and John. Why were the other disciples indignant with James and John? It's because they wanted to be on the right and the left as well. They didn't have their mother around to ask Jesus about who could sit on the right or who could sit on the left. They didn't have their mother around, so they became indignant because they didn't ask it first.

They became indignant because they were left out. They became indignant because it wasn't a family thing with them, it just was with James and John. They were indignant because their pride was as bad as James and John's pride. And so Christ says, calling them to himself, he said to them, you know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great men exercise authority over them, but it's not this way among you.

But whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be a slave of all.

For even the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Humility rejects any compromise to that passage of scripture. It rejects any compromise to the scriptural standard. Christ says, here's the standard.

You wanna be great, you gotta be the least. You wanna be great, you need to serve your fellow man because the son of man did that. So you reject anything that compromises that standard. That's humility. That's what needs to happen in your life and in my life. That's why Paul would say that he was the chief of all sinners. He was the prominent of all sinners. He recognized his pride. He recognized that God allowed Satan to buffet him so that he would not exalt himself because he knew how easy it was to exalt himself.

After all, he was the one who received the vision of heaven. He was the one caught up to the third heaven.

He was the one who would write the majority of our New Testament. He knew how easy it was to exalt himself. And so there was a thorn given to him so that wouldn't, that would not happen. And so true humility will reject any compromise to the scriptural standard as it is proclaimed in the Bible. And the standard is you must be a servant of all. You must learn to be the least and not the most. And then number two, humility is that which remembers the command of scripture.

It remembers the commands in scripture. What commands? Commands like Proverbs 18, verse number 12. Before destruction, the heart of a man is haughty, prideful, but humility goes before honor. Humility remembers that. Humility remembers Proverbs 25, verse number 27, which says, it is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glory to search out one's own glory. It's not glory to seek your own glory because you are to seek the glory of God. True humility remembers the commands of scripture. Proverbs 27, verse number two, let another man praise you and not your own mouth, a stranger and not your own lips.

Let another man praise you and not your own mouth. Or in other words, let another man praise you and not your Facebook praise you. That's the modern translation. Let another man praise you, not your Instagram praise you. See, we like to flaunt ourselves, put ourselves out there for all to see. But another man is to praise you, not your own lips. See, so true humility remembers the commands of scripture. And not only does true humility remember those commands, but it rejects any compromise to those standards.

And then the Bible says in Proverbs 29, verse number 23, these words, a man's pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.

A man's pride brings him low, but a humble spirit will bring him honor. It remembers what the Bible says in Philippians 2, verse number three, do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourself.

How do you do that? How do you regard someone else as more important than yourself? When you walk into the room, you walk in the room with this perception, you are the lowest in the room, not the highest. You are the least important in the room, not the most important in the room. That's how you esteem others higher than yourself. You're always looking up, you're never looking down. So when you walk into the room, you are at the lowest point. We don't like to walk into a room and be the lowest point.

We don't walk into the room and make a splash. We don't wanna walk into the room and be the one that everybody's talking about. But we are to regard others as more important than ourselves. That's why Romans 12, three says, we're not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, but we do. So Paul says in Ephesians four, these words, he says, therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love.

With all humility, comes from two Greek words, two words, one, to be low, and the other, to think. To think of yourself as low. That's lowliness of mind, humility of mind. Think of yourself that way. But we think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think instead of thinking of ourselves as low. But I wanna remember the commands of scripture because that helps me understand my true identity. And as a believer, I am to live a life of humility because I wanna preserve the partnership that you and I have.

When we, as husbands, we tend to think of ourselves as higher than our wives because we are the leaders. And so the partnership that we have with our wives is destroyed because we think of ourselves better or higher than them, instead of looking at ourselves as lower than them and looking up at them and lifting them high. Humility is that which preserves our partnership. Humility happens when I reject any compromise to the scriptural standard and remember, remember the commands that are stated in the scriptures.

Number three, humility is that which relishes my call to serve. Humility is that which relishes my call to serve. Christ already said, he's been called to serve. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve. He set himself up as an example. So the humble person relishes the opportunity to serve. Remember Elijah and Elisha, they both said the same thing. Elijah to King Ahab and Elisha to King Jehoshaphat. Both said the same thing to kings. They said, it's the Lord God of Israel for whom I serve.

You see, they relished the call to serve. They wanted to serve the king. They didn't want to serve Ahab. They didn't want to serve Jehoshaphat. Both Elijah and Elisha recognized the fact that they were called to serve the King of glory. And that's what made their ministry so effective. And because Elisha, because there's more stories about Elisha, more examples of Elisha, Elisha becomes the man who serves anybody and everybody. He doesn't just serve the prominent, the kings of Israel, the kings of Judah.

He serves widows with no names. He serves people who are not recognized by others because he came to serve. We need to relish the call we have to serve one another. For example, Philippians chapter two, verse number 19. Paul says this, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

Here was a young man named Timothy who truly was exemplified by the fact that he wanted to serve others. Paul says, I'm gonna send Timothy to you because truly this man has a genuine concern for you. Simply because he looks out for your interest. I have nobody else like that. There's nobody else I can point to, nobody else I can think of I can send to you who truly is concerned about your interest. Just Timothy. Because everybody else is concerned with their own interests. If Paul was to send somebody from our church, who would he send?

Would he send you because you are so consumed and concerned with everybody else's interest? Or would he not send you because you're totally enthralled with your own interests? See, Timothy was that kind of guy. He relished the call to serve. And you read on. Verse 25, but I thought it necessary to send to you Paphroditus, my brother, and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.

He was upset because somebody heard he was sick. Not just that he had the cold or had a flu, but he was about to die. Read on. For indeed he was sick to the point of death. The guy was about to die and he was upset that those in Philippi had heard he was gonna die. That means he didn't want anybody to know he was sick unto death. Now how many of you are like that? When you get sick unto death, how many people do you call and let them know that's your condition? If Paphroditus was one that says, I don't want anybody to know I'm sick.

I don't want anybody to know I'm gonna die. It's none of their business. It's between me and the Lord. I know some of you are thinking, well, wait a minute. Well, aren't we supposed to pray for one another? Yes. Aren't we to be concerned about others? Yes. And don't we wanna pray for our brothers and sisters who are dying and need our support? Yes. It's one thing to pray for those people. It's another thing to want everybody else to know of your situation so that somehow you will receive sympathy, you will receive cards, you will receive all the accolades so that you now become the central focus of their lives.

Big difference. Paphroditus didn't wanna be the focus of anybody's life. He didn't want that. So it says, indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but also on me so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore, I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again, you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. Receive him then in the Lord with all joy and hold men like him in high regard. Hold the person in high regard who doesn't want everybody else to know his physical condition.

Don't hold in high regard the person who wants everybody to know their physical condition. Now, think about that in your own life. Think about that. It's very humiliating, isn't it? When you think, how much I want others to know what's happening to me. Paul says, hold this guy in high regard. Esteem this guy. Lift him up. Because he, like Timothy, is unlike anybody else. And he says this, because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service.

To me, this man risked his life to help others, but did not want anybody else to know about the risk involved. He relished his call to serve. Do you do that? Do you do that? See, that's humility. Humility at its highest point. These guys aren't looking for recognition. He paparazzi and say, hey, Paul, would you write to the people in Philippi and let them know that I'm to be held in high regard? No, he didn't do that. Paul does it because he's so overwhelmed by this guy who is in this situation. I think that Paul was so overwhelmed with this man, he could not help but write about him.

Because he was so unique. You just don't find people like that today. So hard to find. So humility truly relishes the call to serve. Because Timothy wanted to serve. Didn't look out for his interests, but the interests of others. He relished the call to serve because he was interested in people's spiritual welfare. Same with Epaphroditus. How about you? Do you relish that call? Do you live in the realm of that call? That somehow I can serve my fellow man? In your families, as husbands, we serve our wives.

Do you relish the call to serve them? To help them? To lead them? To love them? To sacrifice for them? And vice versa, wives for husbands. See, humility preserves the partnership. Humility keeps the partnership so intact, so strong, so together, but we don't wanna pay the price to live that way. And then we wonder why things are so fractured and things are failing. It's because we have such arrogance and pride that we don't wanna humble ourselves before the Lord and do what he says. So pride is that which rejects any compromise to the scriptural standard, remembers the commands in scripture, relishes the call to serve.

And fourthly, releases all control to the sovereign creator. Humility releases all control to the sovereign creator. Peter said it this way. 1 Peter chapter five, verse number six. He said, already you younger men likewise, in verse five, be subject to your elders and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. For God has opposed the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. God's mighty hand is the hand that controls your destiny.

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God's all controlling power. He would exalt you in due time, but relinquish your will. Relinquish all control to your sovereign creator. Quit trying to fix everything. Quit trying to be in control of every relationship, of every employee, of every situation at work and at school. Stop trying to manipulate and contrive every situation so it comes out your way. Release all control to your sovereign creator. Listen, we all like to be in charge. We all want to manipulate the events.

We all want the outcome to be pleasing to us. And then when it doesn't come out the way we want it to come out, let me guarantee it, it's Thanksgiving week.

It's not gonna work out the way you want it to work out. It never does. It's Christmas vacation. It's not gonna work out the way you want it to work out. It just never does. Okay, you set it up just perfectly, just right for everything to fall in place. And next thing you know, it's haywire. It goes all over the place. And you wonder why. Release all control to your sovereign creator. Lord, it's your mighty hand. I'm just subject to your control. I'm just subject to who you are. I need to rest in your sovereignty.

Rest in your sovereignty. Rest in the fact that you're in charge, that you have it all under control. That's why Paul says, or James says, I'm sorry. James says this. Verse six, he gives greater grace. Therefore it says God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Same thing that Peter quotes from the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament. God opposes the pride. He opposes those who want to be arrogant, but he gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit yourselves to God. The first order of business in becoming humble is to submit yourselves to God because he's in charge.

And then at the end in verse 10, he says, humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt you. You see, we just don't want to wait for God to exalt us. We don't have the patience for that. We want to be exalted now.

We don't want to wait till next week or next year or five years. We want to be exalted right now. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and he will exalt you in due time. So if humility preserves our partnership, we must reject any compromise to the scriptural standard. We must remember the commands in scripture. About pride and arrogance and how we are to serve one another. We relish the call to serve. We are to release all controls to our sovereign creator. Release all controls. Listen, the relinquished life is the distinguished life.

Paul says, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. The relinquished life is the extinguished life. And the extinguished life is the distinguished life. Do you get that? The relinquished life says, I'm crucified with Christ. I'm willing to give up myself, deny myself, take up my cross and follow him. The relinquished life is the extinguished life. It's gone. Self is gone. And that's the distinguished life. That's what Galatians 2.20 says. And so Paul says, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain.

For me to live is all about the Christ. So when I die, it's gain. That's releasing all controls to my sovereign creator. Next, respond to the challenge of simplicity. Respond to the challenge of simplicity. Remember the Shunammite woman? 2 Kings chapter four. Those of you who were with us on Wednesday nights, the Shunammite woman watches this bald man walk by with Elijah's mantle on every day. As he walks by her home, she sees him. She goes out and compels him to come in to eat at her home. She truly is hospitable.

She is a lover of strangers. She doesn't know who Elisha is. She doesn't know who Elisha is. She just knows and will perceive that he's a man of God by the way he eats his meals, but she just sees him passing by. And she sees him and she compels him to come in and eat and says that whenever you pass by, you come on in. You eat at my house. You stay in my house. And so he does. And the Bible records no commentary between Elisha and the Shunammite woman. He just comes and eats. She goes to her husband, she goes, I perceive that this is a holy man of God.

How? Because I watched him eat. And her husband says, you watched him eat and now you perceive he's a holy man of God. Absolutely. Let's build on top of our house. Let's build a room for him. Let's give him a bed, a lamp, a table, and a chair. So when he comes by, he can stay here. She truly was hospitable. She didn't go out of her way and do something huge. She just did something very simple. She gave him a meal. And then it progressed to building something on top of their home so that Elisha would have a place to stay.

She still does not know that this is the prophet of God. She just wants to serve this man. She looked at the challenge, embraced the challenge of simplicity. She did not know what Matthew 25 says. When Christ says, when I was a stranger, you took me in.

She didn't know that verse. Hadn't been recorded yet. But see, she was one who truly responded to the challenge of simplicity because that's what servants do. Servants aren't looking for big jobs to serve in. I want to serve in the White House. That's where I want to serve. If I can serve in the White House, or I guess now it's the Trump House. If I can serve in that house, then that'll be a place of prominence. Nobody wants to serve in the ghettos of LA, but they want to serve in the White House.

They want to serve in places of prominence. But you need to respond to the challenge of simplicity, the simple things in life. When I was a stranger, you took me in. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. And they said in response to that, Lord, tell us, when did we see you naked? When did we see you thirsty? When did we see you hungry? When did we see you a stranger? And pray tell, Lord, when did we ever see you in prison? And Christ said, when you did it to the least of these my brethren, you did it unto me.

In other words, they were so in the realm of service that they didn't even stop to think about who they were serving because service was a part of their identity. See, that's humility. Humility responds to the challenge of simplicity. There are people that need you. There are ways that you can serve others. And you do it in very simple yet profound ways. And that helps you understand humility. It was William Law who was a priest in the Church of England. And in his book, The Serious Call, said this.

Let every day be a day of humility. Condescend to all the weaknesses and infirmities of your fellow creatures. Cover their frailties. Love their excellencies. Encourage their virtues. Relieve their wants. Rejoice in their prosperities. Compassionate their distresses. Receive their friendship. Overlook their unkindness. Forgive their malice. Be a servant of servants and condescend to do the lowliest offices of the lowest of mankind. That's someone who responds to the challenge of simplicity. It's the simple things in life that allow us to look always up at others, never down upon them.

Because the humble person is always looking up to others. Never looking down. The humble person is always thinking they are the lowest in the room. Not thinking they are the highest in the room. So any menial task is a major task to them because they recognize the need to serve their fellow man. And then humility reveres the cup of suffering. Humility reveres the cup of suffering. So you go back to the text that we read earlier in Mark chapter 10. Grant us Lord that we may sit on your right and on your left and the Lord says that's not mine to give, okay?

But there is a cup and there is a baptism of that cup which I will partake in. Are you able to do that? We are able. They had no idea what they were saying. Had no idea what that entailed. And Christ promised them you will indeed drink of the cup that I drink of and you will indeed be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. That's going to happen. You see the humble person reveres that cup of suffering. The humble person wants so desperately to be like his Christ that he will endure whatever it costs to be like the Christ because that's all that matters to him.

He glories in Christ Jesus, not in himself. And so that leads us to our sixth and final point and that is this, radiate the character of your savior. If the first five are fulfilled, you will radiate the character of your savior.

Christ said in Matthew 11, I am meek and lowly in heart. Philippians two says very clearly that we are to have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus through although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself, taking the form of his bondservant and being made in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. In other words, we who seek to be like Christ, radiate the character of Christ.

That's what we want to have happen in our lives. John the Baptist said it this way, he must increase, I must decrease. Let me give you this challenge.

If you have a Facebook or Instagram, that should be the hallmark of it. So when it comes up, everybody sees John 3.30. He must increase, I must decrease. And then that will govern every post you place there. Will you do that? Who will rise to that challenge? Are my posts on Instagram or Facebook or on my social media, is Christ being increased or am I being increased? Do people see Christ or do they see me? John, the greatest prophet who ever lived, the greatest man born of a woman, according to the words of Christ, said he must increase, I must decrease.

He must be in the forefront, I've got to go to the back. And he was the top dog prophet. He was the main prophet. He was calling everybody into account. Droves of people were coming down, being baptized by John the Baptist. He was the guy. He was receiving all the press, all the print in Jerusalem Post. He was everywhere, splashed across, if there was social media in those days, across everything. John the Baptist, the great prophet. Now he says, I got to take a back seat. He must increase, I must decrease.

Think about that. You see, our problem is we so desperately want to be seen, but we are not as desperate to have Christ be seen in us. That's our problem. And one author said it this way, A.W. Pink. He says, the more I am preoccupied with Christ, the less shall I be occupied with myself. Humility is not the result of direct cultivation. Rather, it's the byproduct. In other words, humility doesn't come because I say I want to cultivate humility. Humility comes because I am so preoccupied with the Christ that I cannot even spend time on myself.

And then you begin to radiate the character of the Christ. My friends, humility is that which preserves our partnership. Are you willing to embrace the challenge? Are you willing to live according to what the word of the Lord says? Said truly, when we gather together, we are one, partnered together, same ambitions, same drives, same excitements because we want to glorify our Christ more than anything else. Let me pray with you.

Father, thank you for today and the chance to be in your word. You remind us so much of how far short we fall of being like our king. It is a lifelong pursuit, Lord, granted it is that. And yet, Lord, may we begin to take those steps that truly, truly would examine not just our hearts, but allow us to change those things that keep us from being like the Christ. Lord, every one of us so desperately has this innate desire to be recognized. And yet, we are your children, ambassadors of your kingdom, here to put you on display.

I pray, Lord, that every one of us would get out of the way. And truly, Lord, you would be magnified in our lives. So when people see us, they don't really see us, they see the Christ who lives in us, the Christ who rules and reigns. They see that we're a part of a different kingdom because we serve an eternal king. We thank you for our time. In Jesus' name, amen.