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[0:00] Welcome to Ontario Community Church Sermon Podcast. My name is Pastor Patrick Daly, and wherever or whenever you're listening from today, I would like to invite you to slow down for a moment and center your heart on Christ.

[0:15] Today's message is rooted in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, verses 35 through 45, where Jesus redefines leadership, not as power over others, but as service for others.

[0:28] In a world that constantly tells us that greatness is about position, control, or visibility, Jesus offers a radically different way. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.

[0:43] This message continues our journey as a church, learning what it means to belong to Christ, to grow in maturity, and now to lead through humble, faithful service.

[0:54] Leadership in the kingdom of God doesn't begin with authority. It begins with love, sacrifice, and presence. As you listen today, I encourage you not to hear these words, but to ask yourself, How is Christ inviting me?

[1:10] Inviting me to live, to love, and lead like Him, right where I am. Let us open God's Word together, and listen for what the Lord is teaching us today.

[1:23] Alright, well, good morning everyone. Good morning. Today we are doing a message titled, How We Lead. Called to lead through service.

[1:36] Since the beginning of the year, we've been kind of going over the mission, the vision, who we are as a church, and how we grow here at Ontario Community Church.

[1:49] Part of this is knowing that as we hear the Word of God, as we come together and we belong to Christ, as we make a decision for Christ, we grow.

[2:01] And as we grow, there is a call for each and every one of us to act, to live out the faith, and to serve God as well as serving people.

[2:13] Many of you know the famous saying, the great commandment, to love God and to love others, right? To love God and to love neighbor. And there's sufficient amount of Scripture that would show that as we love God and as we love other people, we are called to serve the Lord and to serve other people.

[2:32] To have that heart of service. And this notion of servant leadership is very important for us. And I want to go to this next slide here, and I want to ask you this question.

[2:45] And this question will be, as we're going along, to think of this question. How can we lead like Christ?

[2:57] It's a very important question for us to think about, because we think of Jesus Christ as being the Savior of the world. The one who fulfilled promises and prophecy.

[3:09] But he also teaches us so many things. Teaches us how we can come to know him and grow in him in discipleship, but also the idea and the notion of service is so important.

[3:25] And you know, throughout Scripture, it's important for us to know that God calls everyday, ordinary people for extraordinary purpose.

[3:36] Because God has a plan for each and every one of us to be saved and to reach our God-given potential. And part of that is knowing that God's plans, God's ways are higher than ours.

[3:52] Higher than the ways of the world. And as you come to know him, right, as you grow in him, you bear fruit. You are molded and transformed. And this molding process, well, certainly there's a lot of movement that happens in our very lives.

[4:10] And we think for a moment how we are called to serve others just as Christ served humanity. We think about that to care for the least of these.

[4:25] And I want you to think about how has God called you to live and love, to lead and to serve as Christ did. Many of us have grown in our own faith journey, in our own walk with the Lord.

[4:40] For many of us, we may have learned Scripture. For many of us, we may have habits of prayer and been formed in Christ. But it's important to know that when you believe in Christ, that's not the end.

[4:53] That is the beginning of your new life in Christ. And as you grow, you continue to grow and to be molded. It's not the end of the journey. We bear fruit and growth produces fruit.

[5:07] And Jesus shows us in the word we will be turning to the gospel of Mark. But I want you to think about, before we turn there, is how Christ served.

[5:21] Even in the famous example of Christ washing the disciples' feet. How many of you guys know of that one? Or at least have the idea? You think of the idea of washing someone's feet.

[5:32] Some people may be grossed out by that very idea. Even nowadays, I don't know about you, it would be very difficult for me to wash someone's feet. Not that I can't do it, but kind of a germ kind of thing, as I admit.

[5:47] But we have to think, nonetheless, of how Christ had this heart to serve. His love and his sacrifice for all of us. Just as we think of how God so loved the world that he gave his only son.

[6:00] That whosoever believes shall not perish, but have eternal life. We are called to belong to Christ and to grow in him. And as we grow, we are called to serve others and to lead others to Christ.

[6:14] To make an impact, a greater impact upon the community, as well as serving the church through humility, through service, and through love.

[6:25] I want us to pray, and we'll go ahead and we'll keep going. Father, we thank you just for us gathering today. As we're going over this important truth.

[6:40] That not only are we called to receive salvation, this gift that is available for all. But we're also called to grow. And as we are called to grow, we're called to serve and to be servant leaders, as Christ has shown us.

[6:56] Bless this time together. I pray for everyone who is here this morning. And pray for those that are there online. And even those who will be watching or listening to this later.

[7:08] May God bless you. And may you grow to understand more of God's word. May you come to know him. And may you be on a spiritual journey of growth and formation.

[7:21] It is in the name of Jesus that we pray and we all say together, church, amen? Amen. And so last week we talked about how to grow, right? How Christ forms us, matures us, and shapes us.

[7:34] We have to think for a moment how when we are as children, the idea is that your parents are to show you right from wrong.

[7:45] To show you not to go certain ways and to do certain things. I think of, there's a book, I don't remember the name of the book, but it was this idea that we teach our children to one day become parents themselves.

[8:00] And I think of that idea of passing the torch and focusing on the next generation. Focusing on our children to come as well to know Christ and to be, to know that difference between right and wrong.

[8:15] And to be able to live in society and all these different things. And when we think about that, just as we have physical children, well, we become as spiritual infants, right?

[8:28] Knowing the ways of the Lord. And as we grow in our understanding, this idea that we lead, we serve, and we teach other people is so important for us.

[8:38] And we have to think, this question that I brought up in the beginning is, what does it mean to lead like Christ? Well, many people, they grow spiritually, but they don't act upon their faith.

[8:52] And it's a call for us that as we grow, we've got to share and we've got to live it out. And many people, when we think of this idea of serving or even leading, we may have a misunderstanding of what leadership actually is.

[9:04] If you think of militaries or corporations, sometimes you don't have the best idea of what a leader is, right? You think of bosses or politicians and CEOs, they're not always the best of people, right?

[9:20] We can understand that. That they're human, right? And we may associate leadership with position or control. And we can even think of titles, right?

[9:31] If you think of a big corporation out there, right? All the fancy titles, the vice president of cultural development and people, and the list goes on and on, right? We have all of these different things in the world that we live in.

[9:45] But when we think of the kingdom of God, when we think about serving and the idea of leadership, it's something that is very different. It is about being equipped to serve, right?

[9:56] And that service is leading like Christ. It's very different, right? When you think of those in leadership, unfortunately, when I'm mentioning politicians and all these CEOs, very often, you don't always think of service.

[10:13] You should. You certainly should. But you don't always think about that. But when it comes to leading like Christ, it's the idea of service. And what matters for us is to be led by Christ so that we can lead others to Christ, but also we can serve others in the same capacity as Christ did.

[10:32] And God gives us the resources, the tools, the training, and the equipping so that we can lead in excellence, turning to the Lord. Now, I want us to let's I have this slide up here.

[10:46] Let's turn our Bibles, then it's going to be on page 1006 in your ESVP Bible or your Bible of choice, the Gospel of Mark. And I know if you guys have been paying attention, I said we're going to go over Mark chapter 10, verses 42 through 45.

[11:04] But we're going to read from 35 to 45 to understand what exactly is going on here, right? Sometimes it's important. It's very important to know the context of what is happening here.

[11:18] And so we have in the Gospel of Mark, right, where Jesus is teaching about divorce, where the children coming to him and the rich young man.

[11:29] And we have in, are we all there in Gospel of Mark chapter 10, right? So we're starting at verse 35, where you have the request of James and John.

[11:39] So let's read it together. You can read out loud or or quietly, but we're going to read together. Nonetheless, it starts off by saying, and James and John, right, the sons of Zebedee came up to him and said, pay attention to this teacher.

[11:54] We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. What? Did I read that right? They're saying, Jesus, hey, how about you are going to be my genie for a moment here, right?

[12:08] I want you to do everything I want you to do, right? That's what's happening here. Well, what does Jesus say? He said to them, well, what do you want me to do for you, right? It's important. Verse 37.

[12:19] And they said to him, grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left in your glory. What are they wanting? They're wanting positions of power, right?

[12:30] Positions of authority, right? You think of a King Jesus or you think of a monarch, right, to sit on your right and your left hand. It's a pretty high authority that you have in there, right? Well, what does Jesus say?

[12:41] Verse 38. Jesus said to them, what? You do not know what you're asking. That's, we could just stop right there, right? Jesus is saying, you have no idea what you're asking me to do, right?

[12:51] Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? We can go on and on into all of that, but it's saying, look, there's something more than what you're actually asking here, okay?

[13:09] Verse 39. They said to him, we are able. And Jesus said to them, what? The cup that I drink, you will drink. And with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.

[13:22] But to sit at my right hand and my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Well, that's pretty powerful, right? So it goes on in there.

[13:35] Verse 41. And when the 10 had heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John, right? There's some humor in the Bible, isn't there, right?

[13:47] And in verse 42, and this is where we kind of focus in on, right? So what's happening here? We see that the disciples are wanting power. And it's talking about, are you able to drink of the cup and to be baptized, which I have?

[14:00] Yes. The answer is yes. But to sit at the right and the left hand of Christ, that's not for you to decide, essentially, right? And so, verse 42.

[14:13] This is the important part. And Jesus called them to him and said to him, you know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles, what do they do? They lorded over them, right?

[14:26] And their great ones exercise authority over them. So he's dealing with power. We'll go into that, right? Verse 43. But it shall not be so among you, right?

[14:39] But whoever would be great among you must be your what, church? Servant, right? So immediately here, Jesus is addressing this idea of authority and power, right?

[14:50] I mean, let's be honest here. The world that we live in, we want to have nice fancy titles, right? We want to be at the top. Or at least a lot of us do at one point or another. Maybe someone's like, no, Pastor, I don't know.

[15:02] I don't want to be at the top. But you think about that. There's a lot of people who have the desire to have power, status, authority, right? All these different things. And Jesus is putting it on its head.

[15:14] It shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you must be your servant. So it's this idea. If you want to lead, you have got to serve. That's important.

[15:25] Verse 44. And whoever would be first among you must be a slave of all. It's still this idea of service to other people.

[15:37] Verse 45. Can we read this together? For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

[15:48] Isn't that interesting? That even Christ is giving the example saying, look, I'm going to serve humanity by being that ransom for many.

[15:58] I'm going to give my life in service to people. And in turn, that's how Christ is the greatest. Isn't that interesting? It's very different than, you know, climbing the corporate ladder.

[16:12] It's very different than using force or fighting to get to the top, right? There's a lot of things in the world that we live in where it's that way as well. And so, when we go in this, these verses explain why leadership is so different in the eyes of God rather than what the world says, right?

[16:32] The disciples wanted power, but they misunderstood leadership. They viewed leadership as what the world is. And to me, that's very interesting because it's the same just as it was back then, as it is now, right?

[16:47] Very similar, right? When we find patterns like that, it's very important for us. Christ explains then what leadership is. It is something that is greater than worldly power.

[17:00] It is focusing on service. And Christ is saying, look, the Son of Man, look at what I'm doing. I'm going to serve you. And so, we go through verse 42, right?

[17:12] Those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, right? Well, this idea of lording is, right, authority is used as control. How many of you guys ever played King of the Mountain before?

[17:26] Or King of the Castle? My daughters, they play King of the Castle. I don't know why, but they do, right? And it's always, this is my castle and you got to get out of here, right?

[17:37] I am ruling the castle, right? And you think as adults, you would think that would only be with children. But sometimes adults are like that too, right? Let's be honest here, right? We think about this that with children and even with adults, it's, you know, this is mine.

[17:51] I'm going to rule and I'm going to reign. And, you know, it's all this kind of me, me, me kind of language that happens, right? And the power then is by having that status or the title. That's where the power is flowing from.

[18:04] We think about bosses. We can even think about people who are in control in the world around us. But again, it's important for us to know, is every ruler on earth a good person?

[18:17] No. No. Okay. That's a very quick answer, right? Okay. I just wanted to make sure we understood that, right? In fact, more often than not, there's a bunch of, well, not so good people, right?

[18:29] You hear about all the scandals and all the things that are going on in the news. And yeah, I don't want to go further into that. So Jesus at this point is acknowledging the model, right? He's recognizing that this is how the world is, right?

[18:42] It's about who has control or power and I'm going to force my power over you. But it's not so, right? Jesus is honest about how the world leads, but yet he is clear that regarding him and his people, they are fundamentally different.

[18:57] For in the same way that Christ is providing a better way for our individual lives, right? Providing a better way for the body of Christ. He provides a better way when it comes to serving others first.

[19:08] Not force, not titles, not positions, but rather the idea of service, right? The second thing is, so the first thing I put, right?

[19:19] The world defines leadership through power, right? The second thing is Jesus changes the what? The definition of leadership, right? In verse 43 through 44, but it shall not be so among you, right?

[19:31] We observe that in this sense, to serve one another is to have more of a relationship, right? When we think of Christ having a relationship with each and every one of us, and so too how we become brothers and sisters in Christ, how we are to encourage one another, how we are to build up one another, it's this idea of service.

[19:54] And that's very interesting, right? That in the kingdom of God, leadership is given through your ability to serve. We think about that, how important it is for us not only to serve in the local church, but also when it comes to the community or those in need, right?

[20:11] You think of the parable of the Good Samaritan, right? You guys remember that? The guy is left for dead on the side of the road, and you have these religious people who walk by and they don't have a care in the world.

[20:24] But the Samaritan, the guy who is the least likely to help someone out, is the one who helps out. And then Christ says, go and be like the Samaritan. Could you imagine being taught that?

[20:36] That, oh, none of you guys are like that, but you need to be like this one. You need to serve others, right? To be there for people, right? The third thing then is Jesus models leadership through sacrifice, right?

[20:48] And we find in verse 45, for the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. So Jesus does not exempt himself.

[21:01] Isn't that interesting, right? He is showing the example. Follow in Christ's footsteps and look at what he's doing. The same thing, to come and to serve.

[21:11] And so we think of even the life, the ministry of Jesus, the cross, right? The death, the burial, and the resurrection. It is a leadership model where Christ is sacrificing himself because of the love that he has for others.

[21:28] And so it's important for us to know that Jesus is not only teaching leadership, go be like this. He is showing it how to do so. And that's very important for us to know that Jesus is redefining leadership in that point.

[21:45] And so when we're reading that, what does all of this mean? What are the lessons then that we can learn? We've seen through the text that you have these disciples that are wanting power and they're wanting to be on the right and left side of Christ.

[22:02] And he's saying that that's not so. For leadership is very different, right? So what are the lessons then, right? The first thing then is leadership what to people? It influences people to change and not force.

[22:15] And this is something that's very important. You find in Philippians where it's talking about that Christ is emptying himself for on, right? Taking on the form of a servant, right?

[22:26] You find throughout scripture this idea where Christ coming down in humble beginnings, right? To become a person in flesh, right?

[22:38] The word made flesh. That is a lowly position, as it were, to be a human like us. You think about that. And that Christ chooses to submit to the Father.

[22:50] And in the same way, just as Christ even submits to the Father, we're to submit to what the Lord has for us, right? And so when we're thinking about this, this idea of influence and not force, I think is something that's very important because very often you hear about, can we force people to believe in Christ?

[23:16] Well, the answer is no, okay? It's very important that we understand the difference between building a relationship and influencing someone rather than forcing someone.

[23:26] And it's very unfortunate when sometimes people, I understand at times we can get so excited to share the gospel message, but we should never do it by forcing it upon people.

[23:38] Because you think about it, does God force us to choose him? It's important for us that every single one of us has a choice and it's what we do in response to Christ's salvation for us, right?

[23:55] And in the same way, if the Lord doesn't force us to make a decision, what in the world are we forcing people? We influence, we motivate, we encourage, we even at times through us inspire people.

[24:10] We don't force people to change, but we influence people by showing them the better way. And that's so important for us to know because you think Christ leads by invitation, inviting all of us to the wedding feast, right?

[24:24] And even by showing the example rather than by force or coercion. And so when we think of leadership then, again, it's about service and through service comes influence.

[24:38] Does that make sense? You know, when I got married, it wasn't a forced marriage. And I hope none of you had a forced marriage, right?

[24:49] It's very important that you are choosing to get married, right? Choosing into that relationship, choosing in that marriage covenant, as it were.

[24:59] And that's so important that you think of marriage, you think of any sort of relationship that there's so much choice rather than force and control.

[25:11] The second thing then, we read this together. All believers are called to servant leadership, right? That's very important, right?

[25:21] We're all invited to believe in Christ. We're all invited to grow, to be transformed, right? To have our minds and our hearts changed and through that to act upon our faith.

[25:35] It's just like how it's mentioned in quite a few verses where we are called into a royal priesthood in Christ, which is a higher calling, right?

[25:45] Or how the language talks about putting on the new self, right? Putting on new clothing, right? There's so many different language, there's so many different references that happen within Scripture.

[25:58] We're equipped to serve in ministry, right? It's not we're just equipped just for the sake of, you know, for no reason or whatnot. When you're trained in, you know, whether it's vocational training or education, hopefully you use that training for what you're going to do.

[26:14] It wouldn't really make sense for you to get training in something and do it for nothing, right? Well, you think about that. When we're being equipped, when we're being trained, the ability to discern, to seek the higher things, to build upon the foundation that exists in Christ, it's so important for us to live it out and to act accordingly, to live as changed people, right?

[26:42] We are all called to serve in ministry, the whole body, not just a select few. Now, how we serve is different. We all have different spiritual gifts.

[26:55] We all have different talents, different abilities, different capacities in which we can serve the church as well as how we can serve the community. Very important.

[27:06] We are all, just as we are called individually, we are called as a group to do good in the name of Christ. And so we think about this call to serve Christ, leading others, because so many times you think about the culture in which we live in, about our testimony, about how we interact with people.

[27:28] Just as that song says, they'll know we are Christians by our love. I wouldn't want people to know we are Christians by our anger and hatred and aggression and division in the world, but rather for people to know who we are because we are set apart, because there is something that God is doing in each and every one of us by changing and transforming us to become more like him.

[27:54] How many of you, before you were a Christian, knew someone who was Christian and you knew something was different about them? I have some very distinct memories of that. When it's like, I can't put my finger on it.

[28:09] There's something about you, right? You have all these different, it's kind of like you think of the light that is shining, right? I'm going to let my light shine, not hiding it under a bushel, right?

[28:24] It's as though that light is shining in a spiritual sense and it's drawing people near towards the light. It's very important for us. And so servant leadership, then it flows through service and responsibility.

[28:37] And we think of this idea of responsibility as our ability to respond to what God has in store for us. And so we are all called to lead like Christ.

[28:50] The third thing then is that leadership is personal and communal. What's important about that is that Jesus is washing in community, right?

[29:01] Serving others. And we think how important it is that leadership happens through presence with others and not away from it. So as God is working in you and developing you, you serve people individually as well as within the body of Christ, within the community.

[29:19] And so it grows best within the body of Christ, not apart from it. It's so important for us when we think of growth and development and leadership and even when we receive salvation, for us to come together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, for us to be a part of the local body, to be a part of the church.

[29:39] Because how easy is it for us to get distracted by things? How easy is it for us to not want to get up in the morning?

[29:49] Let's all admit here, right? Sometimes we're like, I could just use another 30 minutes and then that 30 minutes turns into 45 and you're running late. I get it.

[30:00] It gets very easy to fall into those kind of things, but it's still important to the life givingness, the encouragement, the inspiration, and even at times correction can be good.

[30:14] Sometimes when we're doing the wrong thing, we need to be shown the truth in love, the right thing. You know, many years ago I got rebuked and I did not like it.

[30:26] But it did a lot of good for me. Sometimes we can remember when we have been corrected or rebuked and that's okay. There's so much change that happens with us to become more like Christ.

[30:43] And to think, to be separated from that, you become vulnerable. You become susceptible to attack, as it were.

[30:53] And so it's very important for us, even if someone is sick or missing, that's why we pray for them. That's why we keep in contact with them. Because what happens in a church is very different than really anywhere in the world, any place in the world.

[31:09] You think you're going to find that in a bar? Or in a club? The answer's no. Right? And so, leadership then is spiritual formation, right?

[31:20] God is continuing to mold you as you serve others. Very often when you are ministering, when you're caring for someone, you'd be surprised the lessons you learn.

[31:32] You'd be surprised how God will speak to you through someone as you're serving them. It may be teaching you patience. It may be teaching you how to love someone through sickness.

[31:43] It may be, there's all different kinds of scenarios and situations that you can think about. All of this is important when we think of this. Let's go to our application then, which is, so what do we do about this?

[31:58] How do we live this out? All right, pastor. You mentioned that the disciples wanted power and Jesus corrected them. And there's these lessons that we're all called to lead. So what does that look like then?

[32:10] Well, the first thing is to lead by what? I made it short and sweet for you guys, right? Only a couple words here. Lead by serving others, right? It begins by showing up and offering help to those in need, right?

[32:24] We think about this church. The Lord's doing an amazing thing in this place. To think that when Amber and I are doing these steam nights, to know that 40 to 50 people show up every single time and it's continuing to grow, that we tell people, if you don't know the Lord, you should come to believe in the Lord.

[32:51] We will pray with them. We will say, hey, if you don't have a church home, come and join us. And it's a good way to establish relationships over food, as well as fun for the kiddos, a safe place and environment for people within the community.

[33:07] I can tell you from my own experience that meeting people who either don't know the Lord or might have grown up a little bit and then just stopped going.

[33:18] And that's important because every single person needs to know the Lord and to be in a place where they are safe, where they know that they are safe. Safe to ask questions, just like how we're going to have that Q&A.

[33:35] I'm dreading those questions, but you know what? We're going to answer. I'm going to answer those questions, Lord willing. And if I don't know, then Lord, give me the wisdom and the insight to be able to answer the questions. But the thing is, it's okay to have questions.

[33:50] It's okay to not know the answer to everything. The most important things is knowing that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. His death, burial, and resurrection.

[34:03] That's the most important piece. Who the Nephilim are, people debate about that all the time. Are they giants? Are they, is it a tribe?

[34:15] Some people scratch their head, the Nephilim who? Right? We think about this and that it's okay to have those kind of questions and even debate upon it. To be in a safe place, right?

[34:28] Serving others. As the Lord is doing a wonderful thing in this church, it is important for us as the church, as this congregation, for us to think of how can we serve in the church and to be active and to help and contribute.

[34:46] And look, with all the things that are starting now, we have our Sunday school that's happening. We have Bible studies that are happening. Even this youth event.

[34:58] Once a month, we're going to have a youth event for teenagers. You know how quickly word spreads among young people? It's different when you're a child.

[35:09] You can't really spread the word. I mean, I guess you kind of can, right? But it's so important for us to share the love of Christ and for us to help each other as we are growing this church.

[35:21] God is doing a wonderful and remarkable thing in this place. And when I think of how this congregation, this church body has been faithful to God and his word, and how God is doing a new thing in this new season, what a remarkable thing for each and every one of us to know and to ask how we can serve.

[35:44] It may just be, you know, maybe talking to Nora a little bit about singing and helping with the worship team. It may be talking to Tim or Aaron or Jose back there about the sound system.

[35:56] It may be helping as a greeter. It may be helping with social media. I know I've been lacking on that, but it may be all these different things here. And then also how we can serve our community is another thing that's important.

[36:09] There are so many ways in which we can serve. Let us remember that Christ showed us leadership defined as through service.

[36:20] Very important for us. So serving, serving others without the need to control. I know for a lot of us, you may be a type A personality.

[36:32] I know I am. But you still serve because that's what God calls for you to do. Let the Lord work through you. You'd be amazed the outcome or how things will happen.

[36:47] Be amazed by that. Having a heart for God and people and a willingness to go where God leads. It's just like that prayer. Speak to me, Lord.

[36:58] How will you have me serve? What do you want me to do? Do you want me to do anything? Or how can I encourage someone and help build up the body? Ask yourself the question then, where is God inviting me to serve?

[37:13] Is he inviting you to serve? The second thing is three words, church. Lead by example, right? Important. In Zechariah, many of you know the Zechariah 4, 6 verse, right?

[37:28] Not by power, not by might, but by the Spirit. It's a very quoted verse, right? Where it's talking about the temple. How it will be built by the working of the Holy Spirit, right?

[37:40] When you're talking about the second temple being built. And how the Holy Spirit was working in the heart of pagan kings to have the people of God return from exile.

[37:53] You find that in Ezra. You find that in Nehemiah. Wonderful stories if you haven't read them. I encourage you to. But in all of this, in the same way, the working of the Holy Spirit.

[38:06] Let the Holy Spirit work through you, right? And leading by example, when I say you'd be amazed at how God will work through you, oftentimes, as you are serving someone, the Holy Spirit will speak through you.

[38:21] Sometimes it's through the words that you're speaking. Other times, it's through the actions that you're doing. It's kind of like the famous, I saw Christ through that person.

[38:33] I saw the Lord work, speak to me through this person. And I had no idea who they were, right? How many of you had that happen? It's the one person you've never seen before. You know, you go to Walmart the same time of day.

[38:47] You go to Albertsons the same time of day, right? And you finally talk to one person who you just see once, and they disappear, and you're like, all right, God, you were doing something there, and I need to pay attention to that, right?

[38:59] We need to pay attention to those kind of moments. And it's also, when we're leading by example, it's having our words and our actions in alignment, right? To not be double-minded, as Scripture talks about, right?

[39:12] To not be a hypocrite. And certainly, we are all imperfect. At times, we may, you know, we have our moments, but it's important to have that intentionality and focus, that dedication, your words and your actions to be in alignment with each other.

[39:30] Very important for us. And so, when we are, Christ was leading, he was showing a better way, right? Not by force or by might, but showing us by example in the same way.

[39:43] We lead by example, not by force, but let the Spirit work through you. You'd be amazed at how people will follow, will come to the Lord by knowing who you are and how you live your life.

[39:59] You'd be amazed by that. And ask yourself the question, is my life pointing people to Christ? You don't have to answer that right now, but reflect on that.

[40:11] What is the life that you're living? Is it pointing people to Christ or is it pointing people away? In other words, is it pointing people to the truth or is it pointing people to lies? Is it pointing people to light or darkness?

[40:25] Only you can answer that question. And the third thing then is lead by bearing fruit, right? We've talked so much about fruit in this sermon series. That's okay.

[40:35] It goes to show how important it is, right? And I keep mentioning Ephesians, many of you guys know it, Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 through 9, right? That we are saved by grace, right?

[40:49] Not by works. So that no one can boast, right? When you think about that, I'm better than you. Look at what I've done, right? Keep going. Keep going.

[41:01] How we were made, we were created for good works. How tragic is it to just kind of stop at verse 9 there, right? For by grace you've been saved, not by works so no one can boast.

[41:15] Case closed. Uh-uh. You keep going. That we have been created by God, right? Saved by grace so that we can do good in the name of Christ. So that we can live out our faith.

[41:26] And also about how in John 15, 8, that fruit glorifies the Lord. We can think about how all of this is connected, right? We have faith as the foundation.

[41:38] We live with confidence in God and we serve others. And let the Holy Spirit work in and through us. Let us continue to bear fruit. Let us continue to do good in the name of Christ.

[41:49] We lead so that we can live in love like Christ. We serve so that others can grow. Right? So that they can know the Lord, so that they can grow and develop, and they too can lead.

[42:01] Just think about the disciples. How the Lord called. Were the disciples perfect in any stretch of the imagination? And you have a tax collector, right?

[42:13] You have a teacher. You have all these people that are incredibly imperfect. Peter denying the Lord three times. Let's not forget that, right?

[42:25] They were imperfect people, but yet God used them for extraordinary purpose. When we read the gospel stories, when we read about just all the things that go on, the imperfection of people, but yet how God still works through them.

[42:40] Right? We're all imperfect. Nobody should raise their hand if I ask. Is anyone perfect here, right? But we're a work in progress. God continues to work in our lives every single day.

[42:52] And so, I want to go to this next slide here. And it's this closing question. What if Christ is calling you into greater works in his name? There's a very interesting verse in the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 12.

[43:08] And the verse is talking about how you will do greater works. You know what? I'm going to turn there. If you guys want to turn there, you're welcome to.

[43:18] You don't have to. It's the Gospel of John. It's very interesting. Right after where, when Christ is talking about how he is the way, the truth, and the life.

[43:40] In verse 11, it says, Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on the account of the works themselves. He goes on, Christ is saying, Truly I say to you, whoever believes in me, right?

[43:55] You've got to have belief, will also do the works that I do, right? Living it out. Word and deed. And then it goes on. And greater works than these will he do.

[44:07] Because I am going to the Father. It is a very challenging verse. It's such a short one in there. What do you mean, Christ, we're going to do greater works? What? You're the Christ.

[44:18] You're the Son of the living God. How could we possibly do greater things? Whenever I've read that, I used to struggle with this verse so much, thinking, how in the world could we possibly do anything greater?

[44:29] But when we think about this, we continue the Great Commission, right? To spread the gospel to others. We continue in the Great Commandment to love God and to love people.

[44:44] Through us, through the working of the Holy Spirit, we change culture and community by serving God and serving others. And in turn, we will do greater works in the name of Christ.

[44:55] Christ. It's something that's very heavy. It's something that's very challenging. But we have to think that if Christ himself is saying that, how important it is for us to respond to not only salvation, growth, and development, but by sharing in the gospel message, by serving others as well, so that they too may come to know the Lord.

[45:20] Isn't that a challenging verse? You can raise your hand on that one. It's really a challenging one. I read it now and it's still a hard one. Still in Scripture, though, and as I said, we continue the Great Commission, the Great Commandment, and through the working of the Holy Spirit, we serve God and we serve others.

[45:38] Just imagine how God can work in and through you and inspire people to change. Just imagine the lives of people that don't know the Lord, how important it is for them to know the Lord.

[45:51] In other words, greater works than are about Christ working through everyday people to accomplish extraordinary purpose. Let me say that one more time.

[46:03] Greater works are about Christ working through everyday people to accomplish extraordinary purpose. It is working through us to accomplish His purpose.

[46:14] And so when we think of all this as we close, then, may you believe and trust in Jesus Christ as the servant, the Savior, and the King.

[46:29] And may you grow to lead others through service, humility, and through love. And may you lead like Christ, in a Christ-like way, shining the light, the love, and the truth for others to see.

[46:46] and may you respond to Christ's call, not to be served, but to serve others. Let's pray together. And Father, we thank you for us going over your word today, how we've been talking about the gospel of Mark and how important it is for us to serve just like you have served, to have that heart for service.

[47:19] May we not seek power for our own honor and glory, but for your honor and your glory. I pray that everyone who is here today, may they understand this message, may they understand the message through the gospel of Mark, and also the call for us to do good in your holy name.

[47:40] I pray for all of those who are watching or listening online, that they may come to know you, that they may believe in the Lord, they may be motivated to grow and to act and to live accordingly.

[47:57] And may we all live and love like your son Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life. May your Holy Spirit lead us to do those greater works in and through us.

[48:10] For it's not about what we do, but what has been done in your son and how you work in and through us to accomplish your purpose. It is in the name of Jesus Christ that we pray.

[48:25] And we all say together, church, amen. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's message from Ontario Community Church. In today's sermon, we were reminded that Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve.

[48:40] And he calls his followers to lead in the same way. True Christian leadership isn't about titles. It's not about control or recognition. It is about faithful presence, humble obedience, and loving service.

[48:55] As we continue our journey together, learning about how to belong, how to grow, and how to lead, I want to encourage you to take one simple step this week.

[49:06] Ask the Lord this question. where are you inviting me to serve? Who are you inviting me to love more intentionally? Leadership in God's kingdom often looks small, unseen, or ordinary, but God uses those moments to accomplish extraordinary things.

[49:25] If today's message encouraged you or challenged you, you can find sermon notes, slides, Bible studies, and additional resources at sermons.ontariocommunitychurch.org.

[49:37] You can also visit our website at ontariocommunitychurch.org. You can even connect with us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

[49:49] May the peace of Christ rule in your heart. May you grow in wisdom and humility, and may you live and lead in the way of Jesus through service, love, and faith.

[50:01] God bless you, and thank you for listening. God bless you, God bless you,

[51:03] God bless you, God bless you, Thank you.

[52:06] Thank you.