Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.
Jesus turned the world on its head when He stooped to wash the disciples' feet. Superiors don't serve inferiors, do they? In the kingdom of God they do, let's go out and do what He did, and that is to practice servant leadership. Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, we're learning what happens when Jesus has your heart.
What kind of heart are we looking at today? You know, Dave, when I think of Jesus in the upper room and in His other contacts, I'm reminded that life can be very complicated because I think that all of us at times struggle between being humble, servant leadership as you described it, and the fact that we should also be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. How do we put all that together? Well, God enables us to do just that. I've written a book entitled The Church in Babylon. Now, this book deals with many issues that are within the church today, stressing the fact that yes, we should be humble, but at the same time we have to be courageous and strong. One of the chapters is entitled Jesus at the Church Door, Prayerless Pulpits, Satisfied Saints, and Spiritual Blindness. All of these issues are burdens on my heart, and for a gift of any amount, this book can be yours.
Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now let us listen carefully. You understand what God is doing in our lives? He's clearly not committed to our happiness in the sense of giving us all the happiness we possibly can. He's clearly not committed to simply taking away all the detours and all the roadblocks that we find in life and giving us health and wealth and all of the other things. We heard today these missionary reports about people living in great poverty, and obviously we should be helping them in their need, but God isn't in heaven just simply saying, now, I wonder how I can make my creation happy or I wonder how I can make the church happy, happy, happy.
Listen carefully. Jesus changed the world, but he did not change it by his miracles. He changed it by his suffering, and it is in suffering that we glorify God, and Jesus knew that that was his mission.
And washing the disciples' feet was a part of the divine program. What did Jesus know? He knew his time. He knew his mission.
He knew his destination. You'll notice the text says, knowing that the Father had put all things under his power and that he had come from God and that he was returning to God. Jesus is saying, I know that I'm going back to the Father, and the Father has all of eternity to set injustices right. The Father has all of eternity, the Father and I, for us to enjoy each other and to enjoy the people that I have come to redeem.
The Father and I are going to be back together. Let me ask you a question. Did Jesus please himself when he went to the cross? It's a trick question because you could answer yes or no and maybe be right on both counts if you understand the distinction. On the one hand, of course Jesus did exactly what he wanted to do because he wanted to please the Father. This is my desire, for I always do those things that please him, and if it involves the cross, so be it.
I'll accept the cross. Of course he pleased himself. But Paul, you remember, says, for even Christ pleased not himself. And the reason is because looked at just humanly, this was a horrendous hour through which Jesus had to pass. It was not just the physical pain. It was not just being nailed to a cross.
People had endured that for centuries, however excruciating it was. It was that at that moment he would become identified with your sin and mine. It was at that moment that fellowship would be broken with the Father. It was at that moment that darkness would be upon the face of the earth because he would be dying and making a sacrifice for our sins and becoming sin for us. That was the burden that he wrestled with in Gethsemane and took all the way to the cross. But the scripture also says, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.
Listen, I want to tell you something. You can go through anything in life. You can go through the most excruciating and difficult experience, whether it is physical or whether it is emotional. You can handle it if you can see God and eternity.
If you know it's just for a time and that a better day is coming, a better eternity is coming. So Jesus knew his destination. He was going back to the Father.
Now I want to ask you a question today. Does that mean that when Jesus goes back to the Father, one thing is sure, he's never going to have to serve again? That's what I would think. If I were writing the Bible, that's what I'd say. Jesus came to this earth. He became a servant and he served. And now that he's in heaven, nothing but glory, nothing but honor, nothing but praise.
Now folks, one of the reasons that you know that the Bible is the word of God is because it's got stuff in here that no person would ever possibly even think of making up. This is what the scripture says that Jesus said, be ready and dressed for service and keep your lamps burning like men waiting for their masters to return from a wedding banquet. So that when he comes, he knocks and they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose masters finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth that he, that is the master, will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. Do you realize that Jesus here is talking about himself really as the master? I have not checked with the experts but I really do think that what it means is that Jesus is going to serve us in the kingdom and here you and I are too proud to serve one another. No wonder Augustine said God has humbled himself but man remains proud. Jesus serving his people even in the kingdom.
We'll see him possibly as he serves us at table. What did Jesus know? He knew of course his time. He also knew his mission.
He knew his destination. What life-changing lessons are there from this passage that will change the way in which we view servanthood and hopefully perhaps change the way in which we view our vocation for as long as we live. Lesson number one is simply this, that it is not what we do but who we do it for that gives meaning to life and meaning to our service. It's not what we do.
It's what we do it for. Jesus said it does not matter to me whether I am preaching the Sermon on the Mount to five thousand people and he did that without a microphone. It doesn't matter to me whether I'm doing that or whether I'm washing the disciples feet.
That is not the point. The point is is my father glorified? The point is am I being obedient to what the father wants me to do and that's what the important issue is.
I desire to please my father and therefore if I please him I'm willing to do anything no matter how menial. You see I told you before that story that legend of the stones but I have to say it right here again. You remember the legend goes on that Jesus once asked the disciples to carry some stones and they all picked up different stones and they carried them for days and days and days and then Jesus turned them into bread and when they understood that the size of the stone determined the size of the loaf of bread they kept that in mind and then Jesus said carry stones again so they all picked up heavy boulders. And finally they walked along and they came to a river and Jesus said just roll them into the river and let them be gone and the disciples looked at each other and said what's this?
You know what a waste of energy what were we doing anyway? And then the story goes that Jesus looked at them and said for whom do you carry the stones? Who do you carry them for? Who do you go to work for tomorrow as you go on to the L to go downtown? Who do you work for?
Who do you put up with? For whom do you put up with the difficult situations of life and and the the people with whom you work and the kinds of things that go on in your job that are so difficult as long as you're working for somebody else you're going to be disappointed you're going to have all of those conflicts and see no meaning in it but if you say father this is what you have prescribed this is your will this is your work oh father I will do this for you I'll carry this stone for your glory and honor. The first lesson is it's not what we do but who we do it for that gives meaning to our lives. Secondly the deeper we go with God the deeper we go with God the lower we are willing to stoop in service. I really do believe that because the deeper we go with God you see we don't have to worry about what other people think. Now the real issue is what does the father want me to do and if I'm serving the father in what I'm doing what I'm doing whether it is significant in the eyes of the world or not really does not matter much.
That's the secret you see. That's why Christianity as it comes along it elevates all vocations and we'll never have a revival in America until every so-called layperson sees his vocation as his opportunity to serve God. You see as long as we think well it's my opportunity to earn money or it's my opportunity to advance myself or it's my opportunity that that makes no Christian witness but when you begin to see that this is your opportunity to serve God the scrub woman suddenly is exalted in the eyes of God she is honored in the eyes of God and God says this too is service and if done for me is great and wonderful and lasting service because there is no such thing then as second-class citizens in the kingdom of heaven. You're doing it for God. The passage of scripture that was read this morning was Philippians chapter 2.
Have this mind which is also in Christ Jesus in you and what is the mind well the preceding verses say esteem others better than yourself. That's something that's very hard for me to do yet that's what God wants us to do. Many years ago I told you a story that I will tell again and that is when we were at promise keepers in that great convention in Atlanta with all of those pastors something like 40,000 of them in that great Atlanta stadium all singing praises to God all learning how to be filled with the Spirit all listening to these marvelous messages and then we left it was about maybe old 930 or 10 at night and we went into the Atlanta subway and hundreds and hundreds of ministers just plugging the system there and all singing amazing grace how sweet the sound and singing how great thou art and the whole subway system just vibrating. We were so filled with a spirit I think we might have thought that we could just walk through a cement wall I mean God was there then we came to the end of the place where the subway went and we had to wait there for vans to take us to the various hotels where we were staying and every 10 minutes or so this van would pull up but there'd be dozens maybe 20, 40, 50 pastors all wanting to go to the same hotel all trying to get into a van that holds maybe a dozen people. Now remember we were all filled with the Spirit. We had all just been singing the praises of God we'd all just been hearing messages on servanthood but it was amazing indeed to see as that van pulled up to see pastors jockeying and trying to be the first ones in.
Now I of course my situation was a little different I was I had a slight cold and it was windy so I had a good excuse. Pastor Worley over here and I might say that Pastor Worley I've worked with him for a dozen years or more he is one of the most selfless men that I've ever known and that's why to this very day I'm puzzled as to how he got on the same van that I was on. I don't know how he did that I wasn't watching I just know he was there and after we were in the van I said to everyone well whatever the filling of the Spirit might mean because we had just heard about how to be filled with the Spirit apparently it doesn't mean that we esteem others better than ourselves because if we'd have really been filled with the Spirit nobody would have gotten onto the van oh you go you go no no no I'll wait for the next one you go you go van driver would have had to go back empty. What does it mean to prefer others better than ourselves? The simple fact is the deeper we go with God the deeper we go the lower we are willing to go in loving service and sacrifice to others. There's a third lesson let me give it to you and it's maybe the bottom line of the whole passage and that is that God's way up is down. I began at this message saying there's nothing wrong there's nothing wrong with wanting greatness. Jesus in fact in that discussion that we will not turn to but you are acquainted with it where they have the discussion as to who will be great in the kingdom Jesus said he that is least among you he let him be great in fact Christ said that among the Gentiles that is the pagans he who rules is great you rule over 10,000 people that's good if you rule over a hundred thousand it's better if you rule over a hundred million it's even better yet and and that's greatness but Jesus said that's among the Gentiles but he said so shall it not be among you that's the world among you the person who is great is the person who serves let him learn to serve and that is greatness in the kingdom humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up for God resists the proud but he gives grace much grace to the humble Nietzsche who predated Hitler and greatly influenced Hitler said that he would believe in the Christian Redeemer if Christians looked more redeemed now he had no right to expect that by the way because he didn't like their Redeemer and he didn't even like them like believers after they were redeemed but his statement is penetrating and and and makes us realize that the world is never going to accept us until we are willing to become servants even in our leadership we have to be servant leaders in our homes to our wives and in our churches because if not the world will simply hold its nose and turn us off for the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many and we need to look redeemed many years ago a man by the name of Flavell wrote when God intends to fill a soul he first makes it empty when he intends to enrich a soul he first makes it poor and when he intends to exalt a soul he first makes it aware of its own miseries wants and nothingness he who is to be great among you let him serve in fact Jesus said that you can't even enter into the kingdom of heaven unless you become like a little child because little children are trusting little children are willing to ask forgiveness little children have an implicit faith that recognizes a total dependence upon their parents they know that if mom and dad didn't take care of me I wouldn't be able to do anything and they come with that simplicity and faith and Jesus took a little child and put it on his lap instead of such is the kingdom of heaven what keeps us from fullness in the Christian life what keeps us from following God what keeps us in our sin and bound one little word pride and God resists fights against the proud but he gives grace to the humble let's pray our father we thank you today for your holy word and we thank you for this marvelous story a story that we confess we do not understand well Jesus washing the feet of his disciples help us Lord to know what that means in our century in our day in our churches in our families and in our country come strip us father of all of the pretense and the pride that keeps us from humbling ourselves that in your good time according to your good pleasure we shall be exalted do that Lord we pray in Jesus name on them you know my friend it might well be that one of the reasons we have not been winning a lot of battles in our culture is indeed because of our pride we simply do not know how desperately we need God now of course humility is also important but as I like to emphasize it is so important also that we be courageous that we not be cowards when it comes to representing Jesus Christ and so we have a difficult task for which God has prepared us I've written a book entitled the church in Babylon I wrote this book to give us hope to help us to understand the culture yes but at the same time to not be intimidated by it but to represent Jesus Christ well for a gift of any amount it can be yours here's what you do go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 as a matter of fact you can go to the phone right now and you can call 1-888-218-9337 ask for the book the church in Babylon and thanks in advance for helping us as running to win continues to share the gospel around the world. It's time again for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life what do you do when people abuse your generosity a listener from Connecticut asks I have a great heart for compassion but it seems anyone who comes to my church and is in need latches on to me it seems overwhelming at times I help with many events at our church to benefit those in need but sometimes I feel used it seems that I burden myself in trying to help others one example is that I do personalized Bible verse plaques I recently offered to each one at church one free plaque per person but one lady who was known around the church for always being the first in line for food and handouts has asked me for six plaques I'm looking for some advice well my dear sister the advice that I'm going to give you is simply give her one and tell her that that was the bargain that you can't provide six for everyone you know as I read your letter I thought to myself I wonder if maybe the reason that you exercise your gift of compassion is so that you might get attention and so that you might be well thought of now that of course may come to you as a surprise because we need people in our churches with the gift of compassion but it seems as if you are taking upon yourself more burdens of other people than God intended you to bear and sometimes those who have the gift of compassion do it because they receive a great deal of satisfaction by meeting other people's needs and also being thought of as being so compassionate and so generous so I simply throw that in and the reason I thought of that is because you should have the strength to be able to say no to people it's good to be compassionate but when people use you you need boundaries so exercise some of those boundaries and simply say I decided that I would make one for people but I can't do six be kind and when people come and they expect things from you that you cannot give them simply tell them that and you will be free people will still appreciate you because you'll have blessed them to the extent that you are able but on the other hand you won't be jeopardizing your own time and your own health by unreasonable requests so my sister stand your ground use compassion but also use compassion combined with some courage God bless you some wise counsel as always from Dr. Erwin Lutzer thank you All of us pick up a lot of dust in the race of life dust that clogs the pores of our souls we need to come to Christ for cleansing every day next time on running to win we go again to the upper room to learn what that process is all about and why for a believer it's not optional thanks for listening for Dr. Erwin Lutzer this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church
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