WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.560 I was both sad to hear that Nathan was sick, but at the same time a little selfishly excited that that means I'll get to preach to you again. 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:12.740 I don't know if you all share that excitement, but I'm excited. 00:00:12.740 --> 00:00:22.280 And that's the main thing. No, we're going to be in Matthew chapter 20 verses 20 through 28 this morning. 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:28.600 This is a sermon I actually preached at our men's retreat two years ago, I think it was. 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:34.380 And at that time, it was maybe my third or fourth sermon total. 00:00:34.620 --> 00:00:39.560 So it's one of those ones I always wish I had back. So this is my chance. 00:00:41.500 --> 00:00:48.480 But yes, we're going to be seeing a interesting story today and somewhat approaching a little more around an idea. 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:58.039 Not necessarily my preference to preach that way, but given that we're going through Romans and we're taking a break since Nathan's not here, I thought this would be fitting. 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:04.179 So as you're turning to your text again, Matthew chapter 20 verses 20 through 28. 00:01:04.859 --> 00:01:11.900 I want to begin by considering the cultural and social pressures we face as individuals. 00:01:11.900 --> 00:01:15.859 Now, there's many of them, but one in particular, and that's this message. 00:01:15.859 --> 00:01:20.039 It's this message we hear daily. It's this message that's reinforced everywhere. 00:01:20.299 --> 00:01:23.079 It's a message we love to hear, and that's this. 00:01:23.239 --> 00:01:24.700 Serve yourself. 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:29.079 Right? Treat yourself, or however you want to put it. 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:31.939 And just think about this for a moment. 00:01:32.039 --> 00:01:35.299 We live in a technologically advanced society. 00:01:36.099 --> 00:01:39.939 We have TVs that obey our fingers, iPhones that we 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:42.680 personalize and set up to please ourselves, 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:45.500 and computers that do more or less the same. 00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:47.640 And consider food. 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:55.700 Unlike the majority of human history, we can afford to be amazingly picky about what we eat or what we will not eat. 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:55.920 Right? 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:56.840 I hate hot pot. 00:01:56.900 --> 00:01:57.719 Let's get some burgers. 00:01:57.900 --> 00:01:59.019 Or I won't eat McDonald's. 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:00.539 Let's get Chick-fil-A. 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:05.340 So it's very easy to be comfortable in our society. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:11.800 And the majority of what America produces are items that are meant to serve the individual. 00:02:12.760 --> 00:02:15.820 So from a young age, we feel entitled because as kids, 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:18.360 especially the younger crowd here, right, myself included, 00:02:19.160 --> 00:02:24.520 we grew up in homes where we had so many toys and gadgets and gizmos that do our bidding. 00:02:24.640 --> 00:02:25.580 They don't talk back. 00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:26.420 They don't fight. 00:02:26.420 --> 00:02:30.660 They do what we tell them at a press of a finger or even voice command. 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:35.620 And so it's not surprising that when many of us get older, 00:02:35.620 --> 00:02:39.040 growing up in this very comfortable, luxurious, advanced society, 00:02:39.040 --> 00:02:47.180 that we don't handle disagreement well with a spouse or with a friend or with any kind of authority figure, 00:02:47.180 --> 00:02:49.740 because we're used to being the authority. 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:52.480 We tell most things what to do. 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:55.479 It's very rare that it's the other way around for us. 00:02:56.219 --> 00:02:56.619 Right? 00:02:56.679 --> 00:03:00.419 What happens when the meal is not what you expected or what you like? 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:06.719 Well, you get angry whether you show it or not to your spouse or your mom or the waitress or whoever did the cooking. 00:03:08.359 --> 00:03:11.839 And so obviously those technologies, these options for food, 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:14.500 all these things are not inherently wrong. 00:03:14.500 --> 00:03:20.340 But this illustration shows how even in the most basic daily things, 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:27.460 we're being told a message constantly and we are hearing it consciously and subconsciously. 00:03:27.580 --> 00:03:29.139 Serve yourself. 00:03:29.620 --> 00:03:31.879 And that message is constant. 00:03:33.340 --> 00:03:37.240 And it can be seen in far more significant and dangerous ways. 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:37.599 Right? 00:03:37.659 --> 00:03:40.340 Get married only if he or she makes you happy. 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:41.500 Right? 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:41.800 You. 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:48.300 Get divorced only if he or she no longer makes you happy. 00:03:49.200 --> 00:03:52.200 Make friends with that guy only if he makes you happy. 00:03:52.340 --> 00:03:56.800 Stop being friends with that guy only if he no longer makes you happy. 00:03:57.740 --> 00:04:01.660 And so you can see the destructive sin pattern that results. 00:04:02.460 --> 00:04:06.140 So we're going to consider that sin pattern in light of our text today. 00:04:06.260 --> 00:04:10.160 And again, our text is Matthew chapter 20, verses 20 through 28. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:14.819 And we're going to see the disciples seeking to serve themselves. 00:04:15.819 --> 00:04:18.279 We're going to see the seriousness of that problem. 00:04:18.339 --> 00:04:24.240 But more importantly, we're going to see the gracious example we have in Christ to learn to deny ourselves. 00:04:24.819 --> 00:04:26.959 So let's read that text together. 00:04:27.060 --> 00:04:29.060 Matthew 20, starting verse 20. 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:30.620 Matthew writes, 00:04:30.620 --> 00:04:35.500 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him. 00:04:35.699 --> 00:04:37.000 That's came up to Jesus. 00:04:37.500 --> 00:04:39.120 They came up to Jesus with her sons. 00:04:39.220 --> 00:04:41.399 And kneeling before him, she asked him for something. 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:44.220 And he said to her, what do you want? 00:04:44.899 --> 00:04:51.540 She said to him, say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom. 00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:55.600 Jesus answered, you do not know what you are asking. 00:04:56.140 --> 00:04:58.600 Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? 00:04:59.379 --> 00:05:01.980 And they said to him, we are able. 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:05.840 And he said to them, you will drink my cup. 00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:09.640 But to sit at my right hand and my left is not mine to grant. 00:05:10.259 --> 00:05:13.800 But it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my father. 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:20.920 And when the ten heard it, the other disciples, that is, when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 00:05:21.819 --> 00:05:31.340 But Jesus called them to him and said, you know that the rulers of Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. 00:05:31.960 --> 00:05:34.139 It shall not be so among you. 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:38.100 But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. 00:05:39.259 --> 00:05:42.199 And whoever would be first among you must be your slave. 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:50.300 Even as the son of man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:55.399 So where are we contextually in Matthew's gospel? 00:05:55.539 --> 00:05:58.199 We are in what is often called the fourth narrative. 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:00.639 If you study Matthew, it's structured. 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:03.019 There's five narratives, five discourses. 00:06:03.099 --> 00:06:07.079 They all kind of intermesh, bouncing back and forth, and they all play on each other. 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:15.819 So they're always connected and they're always displaying that Christ's life, his person, his works are in complete agreement with his words. 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:17.959 He does as he says and he says as he does. 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:25.060 And the last discourse in our flow of Matthew's narrative began in Matthew chapter 18, verse 1. 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:31.039 Here the disciples approached Jesus and asked him who the greatest one was in the kingdom of heaven. 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:34.379 And so they asked him the same question already in Matthew's narrative. 00:06:35.819 --> 00:06:39.100 And Jesus' immediate response in chapter 18 is, 00:06:39.319 --> 00:06:44.100 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:46.280 That's Matthew 18, verse 4. 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:52.540 However, Jesus' disciples seem to not have liked Christ's answer. 00:06:52.540 --> 00:06:56.439 After all, he goes on to teach many wonderful things. 00:06:56.560 --> 00:06:59.600 You know, Jesus teaches about God's heart for the lost. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:03.080 We see that in Matthew 18, verses 10 through 14. 00:07:03.280 --> 00:07:11.460 He talks about the process of reconciliation and forgiveness in the church in verses 15 through 35 of chapter 18. 00:07:12.259 --> 00:07:16.640 And he even talks about salvation being possible from God alone in chapter 19, 00:07:16.640 --> 00:07:20.900 just to name a few of the wonderful truths that Christ shares with the disciples. 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:26.519 And after all these lessons, after already getting an answer to their question, 00:07:27.099 --> 00:07:28.659 you know what they're still thinking about? 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:30.899 Is that same question. 00:07:31.060 --> 00:07:32.939 Who is the greatest? 00:07:33.219 --> 00:07:35.039 That's what they care about. 00:07:35.099 --> 00:07:39.819 They don't really care about God's salvation or reconciliation in the church or any of these things. 00:07:39.859 --> 00:07:43.599 They want to know who is the greatest among us. 00:07:45.259 --> 00:07:47.239 And this question shifted gears. 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:53.180 So Jesus mentioned that they would all sit on thrones with Christ in chapter 19, verse 28. 00:07:53.540 --> 00:08:00.220 So this question of who the greatest is becomes who will sit at the right and left hands. 00:08:00.280 --> 00:08:04.840 Who will be in the positions of prominence next to Christ for the eternal reign? 00:08:06.100 --> 00:08:08.840 Because whoever sits there will be the greatest. 00:08:08.980 --> 00:08:11.759 So they're still concerned with this question. 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:14.980 So this leads us to our first point this morning. 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:22.519 Self-serving by nature blinds us from Christ, his work, and his words. 00:08:22.939 --> 00:08:24.000 And I'll repeat that. 00:08:24.099 --> 00:08:30.199 Self-serving by nature blinds us from Christ, his work, and his words. 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:34.580 So to really drive this point home, let's just back up a little bit in our text. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:37.759 So Matthew chapter 20, picking up in verse 17. 00:08:37.759 --> 00:09:07.740 Matthew writes, 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:15.559 Imagine, right, for most of us, we would at least hope that if we're there, if we're one of these disciples, this is our Lord speaking to us, our Savior Christ, God incarnate. 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:19.720 And he just told us, hey, in three days I'm going to be killed and I'm going to be raised. 00:09:20.439 --> 00:09:20.620 Right? 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:23.819 I would want to hope that we'd all be just blown away by this. 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:24.200 What? 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:25.200 What do you mean? 00:09:25.259 --> 00:09:25.960 What does that mean? 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:26.299 Why? 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:27.419 Why do you have to die? 00:09:27.580 --> 00:09:28.679 How are you going to be raised? 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:30.279 I mean, so many questions. 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:35.639 And of course, we know that this is one of the essential things of our faith. 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:37.279 Christ's death and resurrection. 00:09:37.439 --> 00:09:39.799 Apart from those, our faith is in vain. 00:09:39.959 --> 00:09:43.179 So this is core of the core of the gospel. 00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:45.939 This is ground zero for being a Christian. 00:09:46.079 --> 00:09:47.100 These truths. 00:09:47.799 --> 00:09:51.299 So he's teaching these essential truths that he will be killed, that he will be raised. 00:09:51.299 --> 00:09:54.719 It's being taught in unambiguous terms. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:01.719 But then when you get to our text in verse 20, it begins with the word then. 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:10.000 So the response to Jesus teaching these core truths, these wonderful truths, these sobering truths. 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:13.479 The mother came and asked. 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:18.799 So they didn't care about anything he was saying about the gospel. 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:24.179 Essentially, James and John's response to Christ's teaching was, 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:27.159 Excuse me. 00:10:27.219 --> 00:10:32.099 Do you think now is a good time to have mom ask if we can sit next to Jesus in heaven? 00:10:34.299 --> 00:10:40.199 So we can infer that James and John put their mother up to this because it is they that Jesus responds to. 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:40.959 So the mother comes. 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:41.659 She asks. 00:10:42.479 --> 00:10:44.139 Mark's gospel omits this. 00:10:44.579 --> 00:10:46.339 The mother entirely from the account. 00:10:46.340 --> 00:10:52.360 But it's clear that the sons put her up to it and they're playing this petty little political game. 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:54.139 And it sounds petty. 00:10:54.280 --> 00:10:54.940 It sounds silly. 00:10:55.019 --> 00:10:57.080 It sounds, frankly, stupid because it is. 00:10:57.160 --> 00:10:58.680 This is unbelievable. 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:06.560 But this is what happens when we allow ourself to dominate our thinking and our desires in our hearts. 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:11.259 This self-driven consciousness of James and John is not shocking. 00:11:12.099 --> 00:11:15.119 Especially when you consider their history. 00:11:16.339 --> 00:11:21.619 They were from a wealthy family, as indicated by the common reference, the sons of Zebedee. 00:11:22.259 --> 00:11:30.119 So in the Greco-Roman world, only families of renown or prestige or wealth were referred to with such a title, the sons of so-and-so. 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:33.879 We see that in John chapter 18, verses 15 through 16. 00:11:34.779 --> 00:11:37.440 And their family was known by the high priest in that text. 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:40.720 So again, indicating they're in the upper echelon of society. 00:11:41.860 --> 00:11:45.299 Further, James and John were in the Lord's inner circle. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:46.080 Right. 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:49.940 They were always with him at key moments, even when many of the other disciples were not. 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:52.639 Such as the transfiguration in Matthew 17. 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:56.639 And clearly, James thought highly of himself. 00:11:58.199 --> 00:11:58.639 Right. 00:11:58.699 --> 00:12:05.460 If you look at Luke chapter 9, verse 54, he wanted to call down fire on a village like the prophet Elijah. 00:12:05.580 --> 00:12:09.720 So notice that he's equating himself with that great man of the Old Testament. 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:10.480 I'm like Elijah. 00:12:10.580 --> 00:12:12.419 Let me cast down fire. 00:12:12.419 --> 00:12:23.279 So all this to say, it kind of makes sense from an earthly perspective why they might think they were fit to sit at the left and right hands of Christ. 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:26.699 Positions of prominence in the ancient world. 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:28.079 Because that's what they grew up in. 00:12:28.139 --> 00:12:28.899 That's what they're used to. 00:12:28.959 --> 00:12:31.099 That's what they think they deserve. 00:12:32.759 --> 00:12:36.959 And I want to suggest that Jesus subtly and softly rebukes them in our text. 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:44.500 He brings the conversation back to his pronouncement that we just saw in 17 through 19 about his death and resurrection. 00:12:45.100 --> 00:12:48.580 By mentioning the cup in verses 22 through 23. 00:12:50.139 --> 00:12:55.660 So a cup in the Jewish world and throughout the Old Testament was symbolic for the wrath of God. 00:12:55.940 --> 00:13:02.280 So hence why our Lord asked our father if it would be possible to remove this cup on the night that he was to be betrayed. 00:13:02.379 --> 00:13:04.960 We see that in Matthew 26, verse 39. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:19.340 And the sons of Zebedee, James and John, they display their maddening focus on their self-promotion by swiftly and foolishly claiming that they can drink the cup that Jesus is to drink. 00:13:20.259 --> 00:13:30.440 So because of their sinful self-centeredness, they clearly missed the fact that Jesus is talking about bearing the wrath of God in reference to this cup. 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:35.000 They say we are able to bear the wrath of God. 00:13:35.100 --> 00:13:37.120 Doesn't that sound ridiculous? 00:13:39.580 --> 00:13:49.400 And it should have been clear to them, not only because of an entire Old Testament that testifies to the atonement and the wrath of God being poured out like a cup. 00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:57.620 But also, as we saw, Jesus literally just pronounced his death in resurrection in no uncertain terms. 00:13:58.579 --> 00:14:06.199 So self-serving by nature, it blinds us from Christ, his words, and this leads us to our second point. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:11.100 Point number two. 00:14:11.100 --> 00:14:22.840 Self-serving by nature causes divisions, distrust, and disunity. 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:24.980 Distrust, and disunity. 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:37.100 So as I alluded to earlier, we get the impression in Matthew 20, verse 20, that James and John put their mother up to this task of securing the seats at the right and left hand of Christ's throne. 00:14:37.280 --> 00:14:39.440 And the mother was clearly complicit. 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:47.780 So they're playing this political game, a scratch-and-claw mentality, to get ahead of the other disciples. 00:14:47.779 --> 00:14:52.559 Notice that the other ten are not near, but the mom goes and approaches them when the ten are not near. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:55.559 So they were in competition for these honors. 00:14:57.399 --> 00:15:03.439 And it was not James and John exclusively guilty of this sin, as we see reading further in our text. 00:15:05.179 --> 00:15:06.519 Verse 24 reads, 00:15:07.199 --> 00:15:15.419 And when the ten heard it, so after the fact, they didn't know this was happening, but when they heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 00:15:15.419 --> 00:15:22.699 So the other disciples were not experiencing a righteous anger, but a selfish and worldly anger. 00:15:22.819 --> 00:15:27.000 They, too, were asking in chapter 18, verse 1, who is the greatest? 00:15:27.139 --> 00:15:30.419 They want the answer to be them just as much as John and James want it to be them. 00:15:32.079 --> 00:15:37.679 They want that honor just as badly, but James and John strike first. 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:45.019 And we can also see that even at the Lord's Supper, all the disciples were concerned about this question, 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:49.259 not the new covenant being inaugurated in Luke 22, verse 24. 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:53.519 So clearly, this is not a James and John issue. 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:56.819 All the disciples were concerned with the self. 00:15:57.959 --> 00:15:59.819 And this is all of mankind's nature. 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:00.679 This is true of you. 00:16:00.839 --> 00:16:02.240 This is true of me, everybody. 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:06.539 The second commandment assumes this self-love. 00:16:06.680 --> 00:16:08.759 Love your neighbor as yourself. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:11.700 Jesus repeats that in Matthew 22, verse 39. 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:19.659 So being that it is within all of us, it is no surprise to see the early church have this same problem. 00:16:20.659 --> 00:16:24.019 Paul wrote to the Corinthian church because of such issues. 00:16:24.019 --> 00:16:28.899 As he states in 1 Corinthians 1, verses 10 through 11, 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:34.319 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:39.980 and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:46.039 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:55.500 This quarreling was due to a number of factors, such as picking particular leaders or shunning the poor during the Lord's Supper, 00:16:56.199 --> 00:17:03.639 incest, sexual promiscuity, all of which is the result of self-interest and selfish desires, sin. 00:17:06.119 --> 00:17:09.839 And the Apostle James, a different James from the brother of John, he wrote, 00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:13.639 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:15.779 This is James 4, verses 1 through 2. 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:17.019 He goes on, 00:17:17.659 --> 00:17:21.299 Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:24.139 You desire and do not have, so you murder. 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:27.859 You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:32.299 And you do not have because you do not ask. 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:34.460 So notice what James is saying. 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:39.980 Our fights and quarrels are always the result of our self-interest, our desires, our sin. 00:17:39.980 --> 00:17:49.259 And further, notice the implicit reference that James is making to his audience not paying attention to God, but to themselves. 00:17:49.360 --> 00:17:49.720 He says, 00:17:50.200 --> 00:17:57.240 You do not have because you do not ask, indicating they're not fixated on Christ. 00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:02.220 And so it is with the disciples in Matthew 20, verses 20 through 28. 00:18:02.339 --> 00:18:09.640 Their quarreling is the result of wrongful desires, wrongful motives, and wrongful ambitions. 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:15.460 So this leads me to my last point about self-serving, and then we'll discuss self-denial. 00:18:17.520 --> 00:18:24.440 But point number three, self-serving is antithetical to being a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. 00:18:24.540 --> 00:18:30.880 Self-serving is antithetical, or it's opposite, to being a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:39.000 So we just saw how division, disunity, and distrust are the result of self-serving desires and ambitions. 00:18:39.800 --> 00:18:40.500 So think about it. 00:18:40.520 --> 00:18:44.400 When everybody in the kingdom has their own objectives, their own goals, their own desires, 00:18:44.760 --> 00:18:49.240 then the problem of disunity, distrust, and division is compounded. 00:18:50.440 --> 00:18:56.160 And this is why at the very foundation of self-serving, no matter what self-serving entails of, 00:18:56.160 --> 00:19:00.560 it is antithetical to being a true citizen of the kingdom of heaven. 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:08.300 So a major theme in Matthew's gospel is the concept of true disciples opposed to false disciples. 00:19:08.420 --> 00:19:10.260 This is all over Matthew's gospel. 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:16.960 But perhaps the clearest expression of this can be found in contrasting the Sermon on the Mount 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:19.840 with the Seven Woes Discourse in Matthew 23. 00:19:21.180 --> 00:19:27.320 So the Sermon on the Mount heavily emphasizes the characteristics of the true citizens of the kingdom of heaven. 00:19:27.319 --> 00:19:32.859 Hence why it begins with the Beatitudes, which reveal many of those characteristics. 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:34.599 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:19:34.779 --> 00:19:35.439 Blessed are the meek. 00:19:35.539 --> 00:19:36.480 Blessed are the persecuted. 00:19:36.639 --> 00:19:37.359 And so forth. 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:44.419 So the Sermon on the Mount outlines the heart dispositions of true believers, especially chapter 5. 00:19:45.299 --> 00:19:50.119 So we're not merely to avoid murder, but even anger, which is the heart of a murderer. 00:19:50.119 --> 00:19:57.739 And ultimately, this heart of the true citizen of the kingdom of heaven will result in this person taking the narrow path, 00:19:57.779 --> 00:20:01.139 as the Sermon closes in Matthew 7, verse 13. 00:20:01.819 --> 00:20:06.659 And narrow path is a way of expressing single-minded devotion to God, 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:12.699 to his plan, to his will, on his terms, to conforming to his righteousness. 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:22.200 But in the Seven Woes Discourse in Matthew chapter 23, we see false conversion and religiosity in full. 00:20:23.860 --> 00:20:29.660 And it is interesting to note that before the Seven Woes Discourse begins, Jesus reaffirms his teaching. 00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:31.000 He says, 00:20:31.100 --> 00:20:34.860 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 00:20:35.860 --> 00:20:42.080 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 00:20:42.700 --> 00:20:45.000 That's Matthew 23, verse 11 through 12. 00:20:45.779 --> 00:20:51.380 So this serves as a textual clue that Matthew sees the teaching here, chapter 23, 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:56.100 closely related to our text in Matthew 20, 20 through 28. 00:20:57.019 --> 00:21:01.240 So the scribes and the Pharisees, you don't have time to read chapter 23, but I'll summarize. 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:05.980 The scribes and Pharisees were self-serving hypocrites. 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:12.720 Due to their self-serving ways, they were guilty of, one, being a barrier to others entering the kingdom of heaven. 00:21:12.819 --> 00:21:14.860 We see that in verse 14 of chapter 23. 00:21:15.660 --> 00:21:19.120 They're guilty of damning proselytes with false teaching. 00:21:19.259 --> 00:21:20.440 We see that in verse 15. 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:22.500 They're guilty of sacrilege. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:23.640 We see that in verse 16. 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:26.480 They're guilty of neglecting justice and mercy. 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:30.339 Let me tell you, if you read the Old Testament, that is not something you want to be guilty of. 00:21:30.339 --> 00:21:31.839 That's in verse 23. 00:21:32.699 --> 00:21:38.039 We see that these scribes and Pharisees were being inwardly wicked in verse 25. 00:21:39.259 --> 00:21:43.599 In verse 28, Jesus says, and these are all accusations made by Jesus, by the way. 00:21:44.059 --> 00:21:48.279 In verse 28, Jesus says they were practicing hypocrisy and lawlessness. 00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:56.079 And then in verses 29 through 33, Jesus says they were murderers of God's prophets. 00:21:58.339 --> 00:22:08.039 So it is right and just that on each of these accounts, Jesus says, woe to you, which would have stung a Pharisee's ear, much the same way as today we might say, damn you to hell. 00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:12.940 That line stings because that's what it means. 00:22:12.940 --> 00:22:16.779 So these are traits. 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:20.580 These traits here, being inwardly wicked, being hypocritical, being murderers in the heart. 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:25.240 These kinds of traits are traits of citizens of the kingdom of Satan. 00:22:25.360 --> 00:22:27.519 This is Satan's fruit. 00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:31.779 In Matthew chapter 4, verse 9, Satan is tempting Jesus in the wilderness. 00:22:32.019 --> 00:22:41.400 And he says to our Lord, all these I will give you if you, referring to Jesus, if you, Jesus, will fall down and worship me. 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:44.400 Satan serves himself. 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:47.200 He does not care for nor love God. 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:51.019 And likewise, the seed of the serpent, right? 00:22:51.080 --> 00:22:57.900 All those who follow in his ways, the Pharisees, the scribes, the false converts, they too serve only themselves. 00:22:58.340 --> 00:22:59.860 It's a divided kingdom. 00:23:02.120 --> 00:23:06.580 God seeks true worshipers who will worship in spirit and in truth. 00:23:06.660 --> 00:23:08.880 We know this from John 4, 24. 00:23:08.880 --> 00:23:16.160 So it is quite literally impossible for self-serving Satan to worship God. 00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:20.800 And it is impossible for the sons of Satan to worship God as well. 00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:26.960 This is why they are known by their disunity, their hate, and their wickedness. 00:23:27.020 --> 00:23:35.940 That kingdom, that city, has a compounded problem of competing selves rather than worshiping the one true God. 00:23:35.940 --> 00:23:44.120 In Augustine's famous work, The City of God, he wrote a line. 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:51.720 And this line, if you've not heard it before, is probably one of those lines that is the most important line for any Christian to know outside of Scripture itself. 00:23:51.720 --> 00:24:21.700 He wrote, 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:24.640 Two cities have been formed by two loves. 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:29.100 The earthly city by the love of self, even to the contempt of God. 00:24:29.900 --> 00:24:35.240 The heavenly city by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. 00:24:35.240 --> 00:24:46.720 So we now see one foundational difference between true citizens of the kingdom of heaven and the false citizens who inwardly are ravenous wolves. 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:53.460 The latter is characterized by self-serving, but the first is characterized by self-denial. 00:24:54.460 --> 00:24:56.859 And this leads us to our fourth point. 00:24:57.720 --> 00:24:58.759 Point number four. 00:24:59.960 --> 00:25:03.519 Self-denial means servanthood and slavery to God. 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:08.859 Self-denial means servanthood and slavery to God. 00:25:09.619 --> 00:25:12.660 Let's look back at Matthew 20, verse 25 again. 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:13.900 I'm going to read two verses. 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:17.379 Matthew writes, 00:25:17.380 --> 00:25:27.320 But Jesus called them to him and said, so Jesus called the disciples and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them. 00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:31.120 And remember, for Jews, Gentile means sinner always. 00:25:31.760 --> 00:25:35.960 So you know that the rulers of the sinners lord it over them. 00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:41.779 And their great ones, the great ones in the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of Satan, right? 00:25:42.059 --> 00:25:45.720 Their great ones exercise authority over them. 00:25:47.220 --> 00:25:49.299 It shall not be so among you. 00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:52.779 But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. 00:25:53.120 --> 00:25:57.660 And whoever would be first among you must be your slave. 00:25:57.660 --> 00:26:04.740 So in our text, verse 25, the phrase lord it over them is a single Greek word. 00:26:05.740 --> 00:26:09.800 Okay, and this word has a prefix, kata, which in Greek means down. 00:26:10.700 --> 00:26:15.360 In other words, you could translate this as one who is lording down on someone. 00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:22.240 And it creates a picture of a leader on top who deals harshly with those underneath him. 00:26:22.579 --> 00:26:26.199 They use their position to bear down on those beneath them. 00:26:26.359 --> 00:26:32.699 In fact, the phrase even implies that they view themselves above those whom they're pushing down on. 00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:35.379 But what does Christ say about this? 00:26:35.419 --> 00:26:38.899 He says, it shall not be so among you. 00:26:38.900 --> 00:26:45.460 It will be so among the kingdom of Satan, the kingdom of hell, but not so for the kingdom of heaven. 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:48.480 So what then shall it be like? 00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:50.460 How then will we live? 00:26:51.780 --> 00:26:58.160 Well, he says, verse 26 and verse 27, the greatest among us shall live like a servant and a slave. 00:26:59.360 --> 00:27:02.820 When you think about the perfect slave or the perfect servant, 00:27:02.819 --> 00:27:10.980 you think of someone who has the exact same desires as you do, but not for themselves, but for you. 00:27:12.460 --> 00:27:16.779 Okay, in other words, if my desire is for a stake and I have a servant slave, right? 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:24.619 If my desire is for a stake, then the perfect servant or slave's desire should be for me to have that stake. 00:27:25.379 --> 00:27:31.480 The perfect servant slave has no concept of self other than self-denial. 00:27:32.819 --> 00:27:38.200 So this servant slave finds satisfaction only in pleasing his master. 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:49.359 And praise God for his grace and mercy to not only save us, but to transform our hearts so that we would have our desires reoriented to serve him alone. 00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:56.519 And this might really be rubbing against your sense of freedom right now, but let's think about this for a moment. 00:27:56.519 --> 00:28:00.160 God created us and loves us. 00:28:00.420 --> 00:28:08.639 So surely he knows what's best for us, which in this case is self-denial and total devotion to serving him. 00:28:10.819 --> 00:28:16.519 Furthermore, you cannot understand sanctification apart from this servant slave concept. 00:28:16.519 --> 00:28:20.819 Paul writes in Romans chapter 6, verses 17 through 18, 00:28:20.819 --> 00:28:22.980 But thanks be to God. 00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:23.940 So he's thankful. 00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:34.579 Thanks be to God that you who are once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed. 00:28:35.420 --> 00:28:39.819 And having been set free from sin, freedom free from sin, 00:28:39.819 --> 00:28:45.079 You have become slaves, bondage, slaves of righteousness. 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:48.220 That is good news. 00:28:48.539 --> 00:28:54.059 And God prophesying the new covenant, which we are under, said in Jeremiah 32, verse 40, 00:28:54.139 --> 00:28:59.259 He said, I will make with them, he's referring to his saints, the church, the believers. 00:28:59.579 --> 00:29:06.419 He said, I will make with them an everlasting covenant that I will not turn away from doing good to them. 00:29:06.420 --> 00:29:11.420 And I will put the fear of me in their hearts that they may not turn from me. 00:29:12.460 --> 00:29:16.640 So notice first the promise that God will only do good to us. 00:29:16.759 --> 00:29:17.539 What a blessing. 00:29:18.360 --> 00:29:25.820 But recognize this blessing also necessitates God transforming our hearts' desires so that we will not turn from him. 00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:28.900 We will become this perfect servant slave. 00:29:29.539 --> 00:29:35.400 When we are fully glorified and sanctified, we will worship and think of nothing but God. 00:29:35.400 --> 00:29:37.720 And that is very good news. 00:29:39.580 --> 00:29:43.600 And we have a glimpse of this future reality from the Apostle John. 00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:48.080 He witnessed the great multitude cry out in Revelation 19, 6 through 8. 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:53.320 They cried out, Hallelujah, for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 00:29:53.860 --> 00:29:56.240 Let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory. 00:29:56.560 --> 00:30:00.060 For the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. 00:30:00.620 --> 00:30:05.000 It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure. 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:10.279 So again, notice the single-minded devotion to worshiping God. 00:30:10.380 --> 00:30:16.640 Not the angels, not other saints, not heaven itself, creation or anything, but God. 00:30:17.960 --> 00:30:26.359 And these prophecies, these descriptions can only come true if our hearts are radically and totally transformed by gracious God Almighty. 00:30:26.359 --> 00:30:43.959 So an ounce of wisdom, an ounce of humility would teach us that we all want to fully entrust ourselves to the infinite, eternal, kind, gracious, compassionate, merciful, sovereign, just, loving, relational creator God. 00:30:43.960 --> 00:30:48.460 Why do we think we know better about what would serve us best? 00:30:50.140 --> 00:30:54.759 And 1 Corinthians 6, 20 makes it clear we were bought with a price. 00:30:55.360 --> 00:30:59.960 Meaning God doubly owns us, both as his creation and his redeemed. 00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:03.279 We are no longer our own, but Christ. 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:10.940 And a final note on this point, we know that we are to suffer as Christ followers. 00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:13.680 Matthew 5, 10, blessed are the persecuted. 00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:17.200 All of God's people are persecuted without exception. 00:31:17.899 --> 00:31:20.420 Though persecution may look different for everyone. 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:23.920 Jesus warned his disciples to count the cost. 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:25.680 He said in Matthew 16, 24, 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:36.660 So again, there is implied suffering here as we all have crosses to bear. 00:31:38.600 --> 00:31:44.180 And despite these constant warnings and teachings, the disciples of Matthew 20 do not get the picture. 00:31:44.299 --> 00:31:46.400 They were caught up with notions of thrones. 00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:51.360 So Matthew uses similar language from our text later on in the gospel. 00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:55.879 The phrase in chapter 20, verse 21 of our text, one on the right and one on the left. 00:31:56.219 --> 00:31:56.439 Right? 00:31:56.500 --> 00:31:58.799 These thrones that James and John want. 00:31:59.459 --> 00:32:02.779 Matthew uses this phrase verbatim only one other time in his gospel. 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:05.539 And that's in Matthew 27, verse 38. 00:32:06.059 --> 00:32:11.479 Referring to the two thieves crucified to the left and to the right of our Lord. 00:32:12.619 --> 00:32:18.819 So rather artistically, Matthew is echoing Jesus' lesson in his gospel account by signifying that this, 00:32:19.159 --> 00:32:20.899 this is the way of Christ. 00:32:21.359 --> 00:32:24.199 Self-denial, suffering, and death. 00:32:25.259 --> 00:32:30.319 So truly, as we see in verse 22, the disciples will drink from Christ's cup. 00:32:31.019 --> 00:32:33.799 In the sense that they will be martyred. 00:32:35.099 --> 00:32:37.779 So whoever will be greatest among you must be least. 00:32:37.879 --> 00:32:39.759 Must be servant of all. 00:32:40.959 --> 00:32:43.599 And this leads to our final point for this morning. 00:32:43.719 --> 00:32:44.579 Point number five. 00:32:45.019 --> 00:32:46.319 It's in verse 28 of our text. 00:32:46.479 --> 00:32:47.199 Point number five. 00:32:47.200 --> 00:32:52.100 Christ is our great example of self-denial. 00:32:52.660 --> 00:32:55.539 Christ is our great example of self-denial. 00:32:56.759 --> 00:32:58.480 So verse 28, Matthew writes, 00:32:58.600 --> 00:33:01.759 Even as the Son of Man came, not to be served, but to serve. 00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:06.200 And to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:33:06.660 --> 00:33:07.960 So two things here. 00:33:08.099 --> 00:33:11.240 First, we see that Christ came to serve. 00:33:12.339 --> 00:33:15.220 Paul writes in Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 7. 00:33:15.339 --> 00:33:16.379 Gary read it this morning. 00:33:16.380 --> 00:33:38.040 God incarnate took the form of a slave. 00:33:38.039 --> 00:33:41.920 He serves us, though we are created to serve him. 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:44.859 He has every right to cast us aside. 00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:48.799 And yet he saves us, loves us, and serves us. 00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:57.700 So only a God who is willing to deny his rights immediately could have accomplished the incarnated work of Christ. 00:33:58.159 --> 00:34:00.639 There was no need for him to become a man. 00:34:00.740 --> 00:34:02.399 No need for him to train disciples. 00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:04.159 No need for him to suffer. 00:34:04.319 --> 00:34:06.139 No need for him to sacrifice himself. 00:34:06.140 --> 00:34:06.300 No need for him to save himself. 00:34:07.300 --> 00:34:11.099 Apart from the fact that he is gentle and lowly in heart. 00:34:11.220 --> 00:34:14.960 Desiring to save those whom the Father has given him. 00:34:16.039 --> 00:34:20.640 He added 100% humanity to his 100% deity. 00:34:20.820 --> 00:34:22.780 Which is subtraction by addition, right? 00:34:22.820 --> 00:34:26.720 It did not diminish his glory, but he covered it for a time. 00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:29.619 As seen in the transfiguration, Matthew 17. 00:34:30.500 --> 00:34:36.119 So none of us will ever know what it means to deny ourselves the way our Lord did. 00:34:36.139 --> 00:34:37.139 In the incarnation. 00:34:37.139 --> 00:34:42.719 We have never been so high and we will never have to drop so low. 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:49.219 And second, it is interesting that Jesus ties everything back to his death and resurrection. 00:34:50.099 --> 00:34:52.980 As he began teaching on it in verses 17 through 19. 00:34:53.219 --> 00:34:59.500 He brings it back by mentioning that he himself will give his life as a ransom for many. 00:34:59.500 --> 00:35:02.000 So why is Jesus mentioning the atonement here again? 00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:03.519 Why is he mentioning his death? 00:35:04.460 --> 00:35:08.880 I do not think he is primarily making a comment on limited atonement or unlimited atonement. 00:35:08.940 --> 00:35:10.599 Though it's obvious that there's only the many. 00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:14.420 No, I think he is saying something more pointed. 00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:18.239 I think he is saying, he is doing this subtly. 00:35:18.360 --> 00:35:22.159 I mean, he is bringing the conversation full circle to make his point. 00:35:22.159 --> 00:35:27.779 And what he is saying is that, excuse me, everything went blank. 00:35:30.420 --> 00:35:31.039 There it is. 00:35:31.339 --> 00:35:32.460 He is coming to die for them. 00:35:33.379 --> 00:35:38.920 And in this moment, these disciples were not even willing to give up a seat for the other. 00:35:39.259 --> 00:35:41.279 Much less die for one another. 00:35:41.359 --> 00:35:42.099 So I am going to repeat that. 00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:46.079 He is making the point that I am here, God incarnate, to die for you. 00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:47.759 And you are arguing about seats. 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:52.440 But you are not even willing to die for one another. 00:35:52.559 --> 00:35:53.779 You are competing for chairs. 00:35:55.739 --> 00:36:02.880 So we need to recognize that we only have salvation because we serve a God who was and is willing to deny himself. 00:36:04.059 --> 00:36:09.900 We have grace upon grace because of this servant attitude that our God willingly has provided. 00:36:09.900 --> 00:36:20.039 And let me add to that because the disciples were blinded by their selfish ambitions, they failed to see that Christ was the greatest among them. 00:36:20.119 --> 00:36:22.599 What's the point in arguing about second place? 00:36:23.559 --> 00:36:25.500 Christ is the greatest among them. 00:36:28.500 --> 00:36:35.260 And so looking at that Philippians text one more time that I mentioned a moment ago, Philippians chapter 2, verses 8 through 11, Paul writes, 00:36:35.260 --> 00:36:47.520 And being found in human form, he's talking about Christ still, being found in human form, Christ humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:36:48.380 --> 00:36:58.540 Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. 00:36:58.540 --> 00:37:04.480 And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father. 00:37:05.260 --> 00:37:12.840 So to speak extremely reductionally about Paul's words above, he is saying Christ serve others at the expense of his own comfort and stature. 00:37:15.040 --> 00:37:23.100 And I think it is so fitting that Jesus is gracious in our passage today to not outright rebuke the disciples in a very blunt fashion. 00:37:24.540 --> 00:37:33.140 More fitting that in the immediate preceding text, we see our Lord have mercy on two blind men by stopping and asking. 00:37:33.139 --> 00:37:35.799 And this is Matthew chapter 20, verses 32 through 34. 00:37:36.279 --> 00:37:41.059 He sees two blind beggars, stops, asks them, what do you want me? 00:37:41.619 --> 00:37:42.480 This is Jesus talking. 00:37:42.559 --> 00:37:45.920 What do you want me to do for you? 00:37:46.980 --> 00:37:50.039 And they said to him, Lord, let our eyes be opened. 00:37:50.139 --> 00:37:52.879 And Jesus, in pity, touched their eyes. 00:37:53.359 --> 00:37:56.579 And immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. 00:37:56.579 --> 00:38:07.639 So in closing, I just want to offer some simple applications for being believers characterized by self-denial. 00:38:08.500 --> 00:38:12.739 And this is one of those things that there are so many applications. 00:38:12.960 --> 00:38:17.619 I mean, every moment, every day, there's opportunity to deny self. 00:38:17.619 --> 00:38:22.199 But to speak more generally, to speak more broadly, application number one. 00:38:23.619 --> 00:38:31.559 There's nothing we are too good to give up or sacrifice, especially considering Christ, our Lord, who gave himself up. 00:38:32.779 --> 00:38:39.139 There are so many selves in our society today, and they are astonishingly celebrated as virtues. 00:38:39.139 --> 00:38:47.719 Self-love, self-care, self-service, self-esteem, self-respect, self-worth, self-pity, and so many other selves. 00:38:48.359 --> 00:38:52.159 And I'm telling you right now, you have to kill every one of those. 00:38:53.119 --> 00:38:56.000 The Bible never commands us to love ourselves. 00:38:56.119 --> 00:38:57.879 It assumes we love ourselves. 00:38:58.299 --> 00:39:02.059 And that very self-love is a part of our problem, sin. 00:39:02.059 --> 00:39:08.820 The concept of self-care is mocked throughout Scripture as the practice of an ignorant fool. 00:39:09.579 --> 00:39:16.139 We are to look to our providential God and pray that he care for us as he does the sparrows and the lilies of the field. 00:39:17.279 --> 00:39:19.699 We just saw how deadly self-service is. 00:39:20.699 --> 00:39:24.619 And where in the Bible does God ever say, my servants, make sure you esteem yourselves? 00:39:25.599 --> 00:39:29.900 The Bible is consistently telling us to not even consider ourselves. 00:39:29.900 --> 00:39:35.760 And further, the Bible consistently commands us to esteem only one, and that's God. 00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:40.180 The concept of self-respect is a foreign concept to the Bible. 00:39:40.920 --> 00:39:45.440 The concept of self-worth for mankind is antithetical to the Bible. 00:39:45.579 --> 00:39:51.099 Paul writes of mankind in Romans 3, verse 12, that together we have become worthless. 00:39:51.760 --> 00:39:54.059 We become worthless in our sins. 00:39:55.059 --> 00:39:58.180 Of course, this is prior to salvation, but the point stands. 00:39:58.179 --> 00:40:01.399 And I could go on, but I think you get the point. 00:40:01.519 --> 00:40:05.119 Christian living, the Bible, none of this is about us. 00:40:05.359 --> 00:40:11.559 It's about God, loving him, serving him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. 00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:13.960 So give all of that up. 00:40:14.019 --> 00:40:17.480 It only leads to death, ruin, and destruction. 00:40:17.480 --> 00:40:24.500 And this leads to our second application, application number two, consider Christ. 00:40:25.719 --> 00:40:30.440 So when I say consider, I do not mean for a brief moment or that you give him a slight ode in your mind. 00:40:31.019 --> 00:40:35.800 But I mean exclusively, constantly, always consider Christ. 00:40:35.920 --> 00:40:39.280 We are called to live not for ourselves, but for him. 00:40:39.920 --> 00:40:40.980 So what does that look like? 00:40:40.980 --> 00:40:43.360 Well, obviously, as I said earlier, it looks like a lot of things. 00:40:45.019 --> 00:40:53.699 But for the sake of this application, speaking broadly, we are to consciously reorient our minds to think about Christ in everything we do. 00:40:53.760 --> 00:40:57.800 So something as seemingly small and minor as folding the laundry, right? 00:40:57.820 --> 00:40:58.519 Which has worth. 00:40:58.599 --> 00:40:59.199 It has dignity. 00:40:59.199 --> 00:41:04.699 How can I fold laundry in a manner that reflects Christ's humble serving and makes me love him more? 00:41:04.939 --> 00:41:10.679 How can I fold my laundry in a way that replicates Christ's love in washing his disciples' feet? 00:41:12.139 --> 00:41:14.599 Or think about stewarding your resources, right? 00:41:14.659 --> 00:41:24.099 How am I using my financial assets, my belongings, my time, my home, and so on in such a way that is Christ-oriented? 00:41:24.099 --> 00:41:29.960 Right, that question alone should eliminate much of what we do. 00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:31.759 You don't need the fancy car. 00:41:31.880 --> 00:41:36.279 You don't need the beach house for your biannual vacations that the rest of your family doesn't even want to go on. 00:41:36.819 --> 00:41:42.219 I mean, seriously, let me channel some John Piper here until you quit wasting your life on that stuff. 00:41:42.839 --> 00:41:46.639 It's a pathetic legacy, and there's no return on investment. 00:41:48.119 --> 00:41:53.460 So everything you've been given has been given to you by God, and you will give an account to him for your stewardship. 00:41:54.099 --> 00:42:02.119 And you know what he will test your stewardship on, whether or not you stewarded everything you've been given to exalt Christ and obey him. 00:42:02.119 --> 00:42:07.940 The Father loves the Son and wants his name to be above every name. 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:11.159 Who cares what name is on the right or the left? 00:42:11.159 --> 00:42:25.799 So we could go on and on with examples like these things, but the point is we need to consciously be orienting everything in our lives towards serving and exalting Christ, forgetting ourselves, considering Christ. 00:42:27.159 --> 00:42:32.859 And this leads to our final application that I'm bringing from outside our text, but certainly throughout the Bible. 00:42:32.860 --> 00:42:40.740 And that's application number three, recognize Christ is worth living for in a perpetual state of self-denial. 00:42:42.480 --> 00:42:46.760 Christ is worth living for in a perpetual state of self-denial. 00:42:47.300 --> 00:42:48.640 Believe that. 00:42:49.200 --> 00:42:57.500 No other person, no other thing will satisfy in the slightest, whereas Christ satisfies in the fullest sense and beyond. 00:42:57.500 --> 00:43:03.699 And Psalm 23, second half of verse 5 through 6, the psalmist writes, 00:43:04.400 --> 00:43:13.800 My cup overflows, meaning our satisfaction, our joy, our deepest needs, all of these things are met with overwhelming provision. 00:43:15.380 --> 00:43:16.239 And he goes on, he says, 00:43:16.239 --> 00:43:25.919 As my cup overflows, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 00:43:26.559 --> 00:43:28.979 So this is very good news. 00:43:29.639 --> 00:43:33.939 The life of self-denial is not one of constant disappointment or lack. 00:43:34.819 --> 00:43:37.739 We have Christ, and what more could we want? 00:43:37.819 --> 00:43:40.099 What more could we desire or need? 00:43:40.099 --> 00:43:47.779 And Christ will surely satisfy your every true craving if you would only look to him and no other. 00:43:50.539 --> 00:43:53.099 So I just want to close with this quote from George Mueller. 00:43:53.219 --> 00:43:55.839 I'm sure you've heard it before, but it's worth repeating. 00:43:56.460 --> 00:43:59.420 And my hope is that this would be true for all of us. 00:43:59.539 --> 00:44:03.319 George Mueller, he once wrote, of his own conversion experience, he wrote, 00:44:03.320 --> 00:44:27.559 Let's pray. 00:44:27.559 --> 00:44:27.559 00:44:27.559 --> 00:44:57.539 Let's pray.