November 24, 2025 • 41 mins
Pastor Jason Smith unpacks the cultural pull to “lord it over” others—chasing power, image, and control—and contrasts it with the basin-and-towel leadership of Jesus. Foot washing is not a sentimental detail; it’s a disruptive definition of authority. From there, we explore the heart of the Gospel: ransom. In a world where debt meant bondage, Jesus paid the price we could never cover, nailing our record to the cross and freeing us to serve from fullness rather than fear. That freedom turns everyday moments into holy ground: doubling back to run with a tired friend, praying through the real details of someone’s life, trading scoreboard thinking for small, faithful acts of love.
We also lift our eyes to a staggering promise: the Servant-King continues to serve his people, unfolding grace and joy into eternity. If that’s the shape of God’s greatness, we don’t need to clutch at status to matter. We can pour out, knowing the verdict over us is secure. Whether you carry spiritual fatigue, nagging comparison, or a quiet ache to matter, you’ll find clarity, conviction, and hope for a different way to live—strong and low, bold and gentle, grounded in the finished work of Jesus.
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
All right, good morning, church family.
If you are a guest with us thismorning, let me uh welcome you.
Let me uh my name is JasonSmith.
I have the awesome privilege ofbeing the pastor here, and it is
a privilege that you are with usthis morning.
Okay, so we're in the middle ofour Christmas series, Why Jesus
(00:21):
Came, looking at passages withinthe scripture that tell us
specifically a specific reasonfor why Jesus came.
So turn with me in your Biblesto Matthew chapter 20.
Matthew chapter 20.
Today we're gonna see that thescripture says specifically that
Jesus came to serve and to givehis life as a ransom for many.
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If you do not have a Bible,there is a Bible in the Purec in
front of you.
You can take that as a gift fromus to you.
So that you can have a copy ofGod's word.
We would love, we would beprivileged for you to take that
as a gift from us and keep acopy of God's word.
So as you know, this week isalso Thanksgiving week.
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The holiday built around theidea of gratitude, right?
A great attribute.
We sit around tables, we passthe food, and we rehearse all
the ways that God has been kindto us.
We thank God for our food, forour homes, for our family, for
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the Aggie's 11 and 0 season.
Just trying not to get our hopesup too high.
All right, but if we're honest,Thanksgiving often exposes
another issue within us too.
We love blessings, but we don'talways love serving.
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We love full plates, but wealways don't love being poured
out for others.
You see, it's into that tensionthat Jesus walks.
Okay?
In Matthew chapter 20, okay,Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem
to suffer and to die, but thedisciples are caught up in a
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completely other discussionabout who's the greatest, about
position, about being first.
But as we will see, Jesus has alot to teach us as he completely
redefines greatness forever.
So listen as I read, Matthewchapter 20, beginning in verse
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17, 17 through 28.
As Jesus was about to go up toJerusalem, he took the twelve
disciples aside by themselves,and on the way he said to them,
Behold, we are going up toJerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be delivered to the chiefpriests and scribes, and they
(03:06):
will condemn him to death, andwill hand him over to the
Gentiles to mock and to scourgeand to crucify him.
And on the third day he will beraised up.
Then, Matthew wants you to seethis as tied to what was just
said.
Then the mother of the sons ofZebedee came to Jesus with her
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sons, bowing down and making arequest of him.
He said to her, What do youwish?
She said to him, Command thatyour that in your kingdom these
two sons of mine may sit one onyour right and one on your left.
But Jesus answered, You don'tknow what you're asking.
Are you able to drink the cupthat I am about to drink?
(03:53):
And they said to him, We areable.
And he said to them, My cup youshall drink, but to sit on my
right and my left, this is notmine to give, but it is for
those for whom it has beenprepared by my father.
And hearing this, the ten becameindignant with the two brothers.
(04:16):
But Jesus called them to himselfand said, You know that the
rulers of the Gentiles lord itover them, and their great men
exercise authority over them.
It is not this way among you.
But whoever wishes to becomegreat among you shall be your
(04:36):
servant, and whoever wishes tobe first among you shall be your
slave.
Now listen, this is why Jesuscame.
Just as the Son of Man did notcome to be served, but to serve
and to give his life a ransomfor many.
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Will you pray with me?
Heavenly Father, as we havegathered together as your people
around your word to sing yourpraises, to pray, and to come
before your holy throne.
Father, it is our deep desirethis morning that you would
teach us.
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Father, teach us your ways.
Your ways are not like our ways.
Father, we are full ofcomparison and pride and so much
that weighs us down.
Father, teach us your ways andset us free.
Teach us why you came thismorning, Jesus.
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It is in your name we pray.
Amen.
Alright, can I confess to youguys a secret?
I want to be great.
I want to be great.
And I always have.
As a young kid in the backyard,always imagining myself as my
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sports heroes.
So when I played basketball in agrass lot in my backyard, I was
always Michael Jordan practicingthe move, getting about that
high off the ground.
And when I played woofle ball, Ialways liked to bat left-handed
for Ken Griffey Jr.
I couldn't hit that wellleft-handed.
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I got better.
Always because I and I wanted tobe great.
And guess what?
So did you.
You were always the princesswaiting to be rescued or the
prince who was brave enough tostorm the castle.
But as we grow up, right, we werealize that very few of us can
run as fast as Usain Bolt orsing like a dell.
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And we just kind of settle intothe normal life.
I guess I'm not destined forgreatness, just an ordinary
life.
But can I still confess to youthat the desire, it's still
there.
It's still deep within me.
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Now I know we're not supposed totalk that way as a culture.
We have this pseudo-falsehumility.
We would never say this outloud.
It's embarrassing that I startedthe sermon this way, but listen,
I am convinced that that desirethat is inside of me is a
God-given, God-ordained desirebecause I've been made in the
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image of God.
And as we will see this morning,Jesus came so that I and you
could be great.
Now, what I love about the Bibleis it does not hide these sorts
of issues.
Okay?
It actually speaks directly tothem.
Please note that in multiplelocations, in multiple
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locations, it says that thedisciples were walking along,
and behold, they were discussingwhich one was the greatest among
them.
Okay?
That was the topic ofconversation.
Mark 9, 34, Matthew 18, verse 1,so two chapters before ours.
Matthew 18, 1, okay?
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They're walking along discussingwhich one of them is the
greatest.
Now, in that section, okay, uh,Jesus defines, he says, listen,
the greatest in the kingdom arethose who humble themselves like
a child.
Come to God with fulldependence.
Now, to the disciples, that goesin one ear and out the other.
(08:39):
They didn't hold on to thatpart.
Now, a short bit later inMatthew chapter 19, the
disciples certainly heard thisbecause Peter asked Jesus, he
says, We've left everything tofollow you.
And Jesus says, Listen, yourheavenly Father is going to
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reward every sacrifice you'veever made.
And then he actually says to the12 disciples, and you 12
disciples, are, when I come intomy kingdom, you are going to be
seated on twelve thrones next tome and ruling over the twelve
tribes of Israel.
Now they heard that part, okay?
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They heard that part.
They didn't hear the part, theend part of that where it says
the last shall be first, okay?
They didn't hear that part, butthey heard, okay?
They've been chewing up, wait asecond.
We are gonna be ruling with you,Jesus?
Now enter our scene in Matthewchapter 20.
Because they are leavingJericho, making their way to the
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capital, Jerusalem, and theireyes begin to go big with
anticipation.
Because they expect very soonJesus is going to take the
throne.
By the way, you understand thatJesus is the anointed king, that
he is the Messiah, that the wordMessiah means anointed king, and
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they know he's the king.
They've pieced all thattogether.
So as they go to Jerusalem, theyare thinking, we're about to be
ruling with him.
This is about to get rockin'awesome.
But look again at verses 18 and19.
Jesus tells them plainly, he'sgoing to Jerusalem to suffer and
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to die.
Scourged, mocked, crucified, andresurrected.
Now, this would seem like apretty dramatic moment, wouldn't
it?
If Jesus just pulled you asideand told you these things?
You might expect that thedisciples would respond with
(10:56):
sympathy, with comfort, withquestions.
How can this be?
Is there any way we can stop it,Jesus?
Resurrected, but instead, theirresponse is a comedy of selfish
ambition.
Because James and John, okay,the sons of Zebedee, brothers,
(11:20):
okay, they're actually part ofthe inner three.
James, John, and Peter.
They got to go up on MountTransfiguration, the inner
three.
After hearing about the twelvethrones, okay, guess what
they've been thinking about?
Seat order.
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Pretty reasonable, right?
Seat order.
Who is going to be closest toJesus?
Who's going to be greatest?
When Jesus is sitting there,then there's a pecking order.
So catch this.
What do they do?
They have their mom go ask Jesusfor positions of honor.
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Now, I know you're thinking,well, different culture,
different time.
Listen, it was never cool tohave your mom go and ask
something of this sort ofprominence, right?
That was never cool.
What a lame move to have yourmom go and ask for you.
(12:26):
Jesus says to her, Listen, youguys don't know what you're
asking.
Can you drink the cup that I amabout to?
Now, the cup throughout theentire Old Testament meant
suffering and judgment.
Jesus explained that he's goingto be scourged.
(12:47):
He's going to be crucified forthe sins of mankind.
He's going to be betrayed.
He's going to sweat blood.
You see, the difference betweenJesus and them is Jesus knows
exactly what awaits him.
They, on the other hand, havegiven it zero thought.
Okay?
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They are the promises of alittle child that says, Daddy,
my room will never get dirtyagain.
It will never get dirty again.
It's always, just please buy methat giant-sized gummy bear.
Okay, I'll do whatever you want.
That's the extent of theirpromises.
And the other ten get wind ofthe conversation, and they are
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furious.
Not at the insensitivity, notat, fellas, Jesus has just told
us he's going to die, suffer anddie in Jerusalem.
No, no, no, no, no.
That's not the source of it.
They are afraid, they've gottenelbowed out because these two
beat them to the punch.
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So, Jesus, perceiving theirhearts and motives, proceeds to
again teach them about greatnessin the kingdom of God.
Now Jesus begins by defininggreatness according to the
world.
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And in doing so, he is exposingtheir selfish motives.
Look at verse 25.
But Jesus called them to himselfand says, You know that the
rulers of the Gentiles lord itover them.
Their great men exerciseauthority over them.
(14:38):
Now hear me, the disciples longto be recognized as special,
valued, honored, but theirconcept is warped with the pride
of this world.
The world says that greatness isshown by being superior because
you get to live the ideallifestyle.
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You get to have servants who getto do all the things that you
don't want to do, like take outthe trash and scrub toilets.
Who wants to do that stuff?
Get a servant to do that.
That greatness is power andcontrol of resources.
You see, the world's greatnessis rooted in pride, so that you
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can be seen as over others.
I'm special because I'm better.
The pride of comparison is asold as Cain and Abel.
And Jesus is exposing theirhearts.
Guys, your motives of positionare just so that you can lord it
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over the others.
And believers, so often theseare our same motives.
Unless you have gone through aradical change, we still believe
that greatness is defined theway the world does.
In 2018 in Santa Monica,California, all of town was
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suddenly in buzz over theopening of a new shoe store
called Pilosi.
Fashion influencers were ravingabout the must-have fresh
trends, while others werefawning over the quality.
These are the best-made shoes.
Actual quotes, they are veryupscale with a European look.
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These shoes are a setter.
Ones that you are going to getcompliments on, ranging from$300
to$650 a pair.
They were flying off the shelfas people commented, they are a
steal at this price.
So what's the catch?
Well, after each personcompleted their sale and their
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purchase and they wereinterviewed, their money was
returned to them as it wasrevealed to them that Pilosi
shoes was none other thanpayless shoes.
Now the story doesn't say, but Iwant you to guess with me.
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What do you think thoseinfluencers did with the shoes
when they got home?
I bet they felt pretty foolish.
I bet they either destroyed themor gave them away and never
mentioned the name Pilosi again.
I share that with you to revealthe pride of life, the pressure
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to keep up an image, which is atthe heart of all of this is the
pride of comparison.
Looking around and saying, I'mas good as them and I'm better
than them.
And it easily creeps into everysingle one of us.
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Do you have a critical spirit?
Do you find it so easy to findfault in others?
Are you yourself defensive andnot correctable?
Are you driven for attention,longing for the approval of
others?
Listen to me.
All of this stems from ourlonging, a God-given longing for
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greatness, to be great, butbelieving the world's
definitions that greatness isbeing better than others.
Listen to Jesus.
It is not this way among you,verse 26.
You see, Jesus is redefininggreatness according to the
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kingdom of God.
It's opposite of the world.
Please hear me.
Jesus does not chastise thedisciples for the desire of
greatness.
It's never chastised, it'sredirected, it's redefined.
But whoever wishes to becomegreat among you shall be your
(19:11):
servant.
And whoever wishes to be firstmust be your slave.
You see, in the kingdom of God,the servant is great, not the
one being served.
The slave is first, not theking.
(19:35):
See, it's not those who exaltthemselves over others, rather,
it's those that consider othersmore important than themselves
and serve.
Those who are superiorsacrifice.
You see, they don't have totake.
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Instead, they actually are fullin and of themselves and have
something to give to others.
Now they know that giving has acost.
But they are willing to denythemselves, to lay down their
rights and their preferences,and spend their limited energy
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and resources to serve others.
It was the night of thePassover.
And unusually, when thedisciples walked into the upper
room, unusually the washman thatstood by the door, he wasn't
there tonight.
The disciples chalk it up to, itmust have been an oversight.
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Jesus put this thing together.
He didn't get a washman by thedoor.
And so they recline at thetable, undoubtedly still arguing
about seat order.
And then shockingly, during themiddle of the meal, Jesus
himself stands up, walks over,takes a towel, girds himself as
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a servant, picks up a washbasin, and begins to wash each
of their feet.
Rabbi, you can't do this.
You are greater than us.
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That he took a towel, he girdedhimself, he took a wash basin,
he got down on the floor andbegan to wash your feet.
You say he wouldn't do that.
I mean, do you know how dirtyand disgusting the ancient world
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was?
No, no, no.
I mean, he wouldn't do that forme.
Listen to me.
If he would wash Judas' feet,knowing that he had already
betrayed him, he would wash yourfeet.
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For the greatest in the kingdomare servants.
Verse 28.
Just as the Son of Man did notcome to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life a ransomfor many.
(22:38):
Jesus came to serve.
From eternity past to serve.
He took on flesh to serve.
He taught.
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He healed.
He calmed the sea to serve.
And to give his life as a ransomfor many.
Ransom means to pay a price inorder that someone might be set
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free.
You see, in the ancient world,if you had a financial debt,
there was no bankruptcy.
You couldn't file chapter 9 orchapter 7 or any of those
things.
There's no bankruptcy.
Instead, you had to sellyourself into indentured
servanthood or become a slave.
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And be sold at the marketsquare.
And the tag, the price aboveyour head, was the debt you owed
and what it took in order to setyou free.
Jesus came in order to pay adebt you owe of your sins so
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that you might be set free.
It was your sin.
Your sin was the price tag aboveyour head, and the payment
required was death.
And Jesus came to pay that debtin full.
Your certificate of debt andnail it to the cross so that the
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slave might be set free.
Behold the greatness of God whocondescends into his creation.
Becoming a man, he took onlimitations.
The eternal sovereign now criedfor his mother's milk.
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You ask, did he come in exaltedroyalty?
Did he come with the privilegeof wealth or education?
No, he was born into a peasantfamily.
His earthly father was a simplecarpenter.
They were displaced as they madetheir way to Bethlehem, faceless
(25:18):
in the crowd, as he was bornamongst the animals.
Behold the greatness of God, asthe King of Kings and Lord of
Lords lays in a feeding trough.
He did not come to serve.
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But friend, his condescending,his condescension does not stop
there.
For the very night that Peterdenied him and Judas betrayed
him, he got up from the tableand he washed their feet.
For the very night that hisdisciples slept in the garden,
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he prayed alone by himself,falling to the ground, sweating
blood and agony, crying out tothe Father, if there is any
other way, would you let thiscome pass?
But not my will.
Your will be done.
(26:25):
For while Pilate washes hishands of him, Roman guard
scourged his back.
And then thrust a crown ofthorns upon his head.
For while the crowd spit uponhim, he carried his cross up
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Golgotha.
For while the soldiers, whilethey cast lots over his
garments, he was nailed to thecross.
For while the crowd mocked himand said, why don't you save
yourself?
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He laid down his life as aransom for many.
Behold the greatness of God onfull display.
Friend, do you see the humilityof God?
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Do you see his accessibleness?
Do you see his nearness?
That he knows every detail aboutyou, every thought, every
desire, and he came to save you.
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What is holding you back fromhim?
Will you allow your pride to getin the way?
Will you not surrender to him?
Will you not repent and lookupon his finished work, his
death and resurrection?
And will you not find life inhim?
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For those of us that arebelievers, can I take this
another step further?
In Luke chapter 12, one of themost ridiculous statements in
the whole of Scripture, in Lukechapter 12, Jesus is talking
about disciples be ready forwhen the king returns.
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And he says, that is like aservant that is ready for when
the master is returning from thewedding banquet.
And then there's the mostridiculous statement.
Jesus says the master willreturn.
And when he walks back, he willgird himself as a servant, and
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he will sit the servants down,and then he will again wait on
them.
Believer, do you understand?
It's not just that Jesus laiddown his life in order to save
us.
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That's not where the greatnessstops.
Do you understand that the restof eternity, because God is
great and true greatness isservanthood, that the rest of
eternity, God Almighty and JesusChrist and the Spirit of God
will continue to serve us andunfold the grace and the mercy
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of God with pleasures anddelights that you cannot even
comprehend.
Who am I that you would bemindful of?
Of me.
Who am I that you would serve meall through eternity?
That's what the scripture says.
Can you believe it?
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So the application for thebeliever, it's it's pretty
straightforward, right?
It is go and be like Jesus.
Go and be great.
Serve.
That the God who has sufferedfor me, that the God who calls
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me his own, that he redefinesgreatness.
Not the world.
I don't have to listen to theworld and the comparison of
life.
Beloved, can I share with youthe freedom in my heart?
The freedom in my heart of beingset free to know that Jesus
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defines greatness.
And he calls me into greatness,and my life can be great.
Just by using all that I am toserve, to serve others, to lift
them up, to point them to Jesus.
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So at the beginning of this yearof 25, I started working out at
Hill Country CrossFit.
All right?
And so there are a few of youhere that are Hill Country.
So Gibbs and Garrett and Markand Clay, there's a whole team
of people that work out there.
So I started.
Now, one of the reasons I I loveuh working out there is because
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uh when I work out in a group, Ipush myself quite a bit harder
than I would if I were workingout by myself.
Now, full confession, that isusing my pride for good, okay?
I'm using my pride to whipmyself into shape.
So this this week, it was onWednesday, it was it was a
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brutal workout, okay?
And I was gassed.
And I was falling behind mygroup.
I worked out at 6 a.m.
and I was falling behind mygroup.
And uh we we're doing lots of uhlots of exercises, and then we
were on this run.
And as we go on this run, I'mfalling further and further
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behind from the group.
I look like a zombie running.
I'm just I'm just dead.
And uh in my mind, the wholetime I'm thinking about man, my
my name on the scoreboard isreally gonna be it's gonna fall
down a few notches here.
But as we're running, we we runin the parking lot, and it's you
have to go down to this pointand come back.
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And so the group is ahead of me.
They've already turned thecorner and they're coming back,
and I'm coming up just lagging.
And suddenly, one of my workoutbuddies, he peels off from the
group that's already done this,and he comes along and he just
says, I'll run with you.
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It was great.
I needed the encouragement, buthonestly, like in that moment,
it's it struck me because here Iwas, like, worried about pecking
order, like the scoreboard.
And here he is, like, yeah, II've already done that, but I'll
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I'll come back and I'll I'll gowith you so that you can be
encouraged.
I share that with you becauseguys, there are opportunities to
serve everywhere.
Everywhere.
Serve your family, to serve youryour kids, your parents, to
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serve your friends, your name.
They're everywhere.
One other I I was thinking thisweek, so as a pastor, a thousand
people know me like 70% of theway.
It's probably like this in inyour life, maybe not a thousand.
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So a thousand people know me 70%of the way, but there are a few
people that that know all of me.
And there there are a few ofthose that meet with me
regularly to to pray for me.
And when they pray for me, theyknow the details of my wife and
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my kids.
They know each kid by name, theyknow them, like their
personalities.
And like so, when we sit andpray and they they press into
just the mundane things in life,I was just reflecting upon that
this week.
Like, what an act of service.
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To pray for someone, to knowthem, and to genuinely enter
into their mess and to and topray for them.
Again, I I share that becauseopportunities to serve, it it's
everywhere, right?
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You guys know the movie HacksawRidge?
Okay?
It's a great movie.
It it gets the pastor'sendorsement if you can handle
the it it's it's rated R onlybecause of the blood and guts,
okay?
If you can handle that, alright.
But it it's a movie about Armymedic uh Desmond T.
(36:01):
Daws, who served in the Pacificin World War II.
He actually became the firstAmerican in history to receive
the Medal of Honor without everfiring a shot.
Okay, he he was a conscientiousobjector, he refused to carry a
gun.
So the movie's set and the sceneis set at the Battle of Okinawa,
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where his unit is up on theisland, but uh they are getting
overrun.
They're getting pushed back bythe Japanese, and they have to
go, they have to go down theridge to safety back to home
base.
And uh Doss is there, he's amedic, but there's this
(36:46):
incredible scene in all thechaos of the war.
So imagine the scene, you'regetting overrun by the enemy.
There's there's all these bombs,and everyone is retreating, and
and they're as fast as they can,they're going down the cliff.
And Doss is sitting right at thetop of the cliff, and he is
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crying out to God.
But he says to God, God, I Idon't understand.
I can't hear you.
What is it you want me to do?
(37:29):
And suddenly at that moment, heheard cries from his fellow
soldiers who were back in thebattle.
And he lifts his chest, he getssome resolve, and he says,
Alright, Lord, I hear you.
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And then he runs into the chaos.
And I thought, what anincredible picture.
Of us hearing the voice of theLord, of us saying, You've
called me here to be a servant,and then running after whatever
God calls you to do.
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Heavenly Father, we thank youfor this day.
We thank you for your word.
God, we are not like you, but wewant to be.
And and your truth ofservanthood, of laying down your
life, your truth of the gospel,it changes everything.
It is true.
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It is true.
The lies of this world are notit.
Your truth is the truth, God.
You have set my heart free.
Father, I pray across this roomthat you would continue to set
hearts free, that your spiritwould convict us about how we
get so caught up, so caught upin comparison.
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Father, allow us to see thebeauty, the magnificence of
being a servant, of running tothose in need, of hearing your
voice and realizing you definegreatness, not this world.
(39:14):
It's not being better thanothers, it's it's actually being
able to pour into others.
Father, help us to see that.
And most of all, help us tounderstand the gospel that you
are pouring into us.
(39:36):
That nothing I've said thismorning means that we go out and
we do this in our strength, butwe do it in your strength.
Father, if there's anyone heretoday under the sound of my
voice that does not know you, Ipray right now in Jesus' name
that they would cry out to you.
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That they would be saved, thatthey would see the finished
work, the death and resurrectionof Jesus.
And that they would repent, andthat they would believe with all
of their heart.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Church family, the praise teamis gonna come and lead us in two
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songs of response, and that is achance for us to respond.
Whatever the Spirit of God haspressed upon your heart, you
must respond.
You must be obedient to the wordof God.
I can't tell you what that lookslike, but I can encourage you, I
can charge you, respond.
With abandonment, respond.
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Do not let your pride hold youback.
We'll have ministers down hereat the front who would love to
pray with you.
Okay?
We want to carry that burdenwith you.
We don't want to be here for ashow.
We want to bond in unity andcarrying one another's burdens.
If you want to use these stepsas an altar to pour out your
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thanksgiving to the Lord,because he is so good, then you
can do that.
If you need to come and talk toa pastor about, I need Jesus.
Today is the day of salvation.
Whatever the Spirit of God haspressed upon you, you come, you
be obedient, you sing, respondto the Lord.
All right, good morning, church family.
If you are a guest with us thismorning, let me uh welcome you.
Let me uh my name is JasonSmith.
I have the awesome privilege ofbeing the pastor here, and it is
a privilege that you are with usthis morning.
Okay, so we're in the middle ofour Christmas series, Why Jesus
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Came, looking at passages withinthe scripture that tell us
specifically a specific reasonfor why Jesus came.
So turn with me in your Biblesto Matthew chapter 20.
Matthew chapter 20.
Today we're gonna see that thescripture says specifically that
Jesus came to serve and to givehis life as a ransom for many.
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If you do not have a Bible,there is a Bible in the Purec in
front of you.
You can take that as a gift fromus to you.
So that you can have a copy ofGod's word.
We would love, we would beprivileged for you to take that
as a gift from us and keep acopy of God's word.
So as you know, this week isalso Thanksgiving week.
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The holiday built around theidea of gratitude, right?
A great attribute.
We sit around tables, we passthe food, and we rehearse all
the ways that God has been kindto us.
We thank God for our food, forour homes, for our family, for
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the Aggie's 11 and 0 season.
Just trying not to get our hopesup too high.
All right, but if we're honest,Thanksgiving often exposes
another issue within us too.
We love blessings, but we don'talways love serving.
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We love full plates, but wealways don't love being poured
out for others.
You see, it's into that tensionthat Jesus walks.
Okay?
In Matthew chapter 20, okay,Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem
to suffer and to die, but thedisciples are caught up in a
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completely other discussionabout who's the greatest, about
position, about being first.
But as we will see, Jesus has alot to teach us as he completely
redefines greatness forever.
So listen as I read, Matthewchapter 20, beginning in verse
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17, 17 through 28.
As Jesus was about to go up toJerusalem, he took the twelve
disciples aside by themselves,and on the way he said to them,
Behold, we are going up toJerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be delivered to the chiefpriests and scribes, and they
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will condemn him to death, andwill hand him over to the
Gentiles to mock and to scourgeand to crucify him.
And on the third day he will beraised up.
Then, Matthew wants you to seethis as tied to what was just
said.
Then the mother of the sons ofZebedee came to Jesus with her
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sons, bowing down and making arequest of him.
He said to her, What do youwish?
She said to him, Command thatyour that in your kingdom these
two sons of mine may sit one onyour right and one on your left.
But Jesus answered, You don'tknow what you're asking.
Are you able to drink the cupthat I am about to drink?
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And they said to him, We areable.
And he said to them, My cup youshall drink, but to sit on my
right and my left, this is notmine to give, but it is for
those for whom it has beenprepared by my father.
And hearing this, the ten becameindignant with the two brothers.
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But Jesus called them to himselfand said, You know that the
rulers of the Gentiles lord itover them, and their great men
exercise authority over them.
It is not this way among you.
But whoever wishes to becomegreat among you shall be your
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servant, and whoever wishes tobe first among you shall be your
slave.
Now listen, this is why Jesuscame.
Just as the Son of Man did notcome to be served, but to serve
and to give his life a ransomfor many.
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Will you pray with me?
Heavenly Father, as we havegathered together as your people
around your word to sing yourpraises, to pray, and to come
before your holy throne.
Father, it is our deep desirethis morning that you would
teach us.
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Father, teach us your ways.
Your ways are not like our ways.
Father, we are full ofcomparison and pride and so much
that weighs us down.
Father, teach us your ways andset us free.
Teach us why you came thismorning, Jesus.
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It is in your name we pray.
Amen.
Alright, can I confess to youguys a secret?
I want to be great.
I want to be great.
And I always have.
As a young kid in the backyard,always imagining myself as my
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sports heroes.
So when I played basketball in agrass lot in my backyard, I was
always Michael Jordan practicingthe move, getting about that
high off the ground.
And when I played woofle ball, Ialways liked to bat left-handed
for Ken Griffey Jr.
I couldn't hit that wellleft-handed.
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I got better.
Always because I and I wanted tobe great.
And guess what?
So did you.
You were always the princesswaiting to be rescued or the
prince who was brave enough tostorm the castle.
But as we grow up, right, we werealize that very few of us can
run as fast as Usain Bolt orsing like a dell.
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And we just kind of settle intothe normal life.
I guess I'm not destined forgreatness, just an ordinary
life.
But can I still confess to youthat the desire, it's still
there.
It's still deep within me.
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Now I know we're not supposed totalk that way as a culture.
We have this pseudo-falsehumility.
We would never say this outloud.
It's embarrassing that I startedthe sermon this way, but listen,
I am convinced that that desirethat is inside of me is a
God-given, God-ordained desirebecause I've been made in the
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image of God.
And as we will see this morning,Jesus came so that I and you
could be great.
Now, what I love about the Bibleis it does not hide these sorts
of issues.
Okay?
It actually speaks directly tothem.
Please note that in multiplelocations, in multiple
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locations, it says that thedisciples were walking along,
and behold, they were discussingwhich one was the greatest among
them.
Okay?
That was the topic ofconversation.
Mark 9, 34, Matthew 18, verse 1,so two chapters before ours.
Matthew 18, 1, okay?
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They're walking along discussingwhich one of them is the
greatest.
Now, in that section, okay, uh,Jesus defines, he says, listen,
the greatest in the kingdom arethose who humble themselves like
a child.
Come to God with fulldependence.
Now, to the disciples, that goesin one ear and out the other.
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They didn't hold on to thatpart.
Now, a short bit later inMatthew chapter 19, the
disciples certainly heard thisbecause Peter asked Jesus, he
says, We've left everything tofollow you.
And Jesus says, Listen, yourheavenly Father is going to
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reward every sacrifice you'veever made.
And then he actually says to the12 disciples, and you 12
disciples, are, when I come intomy kingdom, you are going to be
seated on twelve thrones next tome and ruling over the twelve
tribes of Israel.
Now they heard that part, okay?
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They heard that part.
They didn't hear the part, theend part of that where it says
the last shall be first, okay?
They didn't hear that part, butthey heard, okay?
They've been chewing up, wait asecond.
We are gonna be ruling with you,Jesus?
Now enter our scene in Matthewchapter 20.
Because they are leavingJericho, making their way to the
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capital, Jerusalem, and theireyes begin to go big with
anticipation.
Because they expect very soonJesus is going to take the
throne.
By the way, you understand thatJesus is the anointed king, that
he is the Messiah, that the wordMessiah means anointed king, and
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they know he's the king.
They've pieced all thattogether.
So as they go to Jerusalem, theyare thinking, we're about to be
ruling with him.
This is about to get rockin'awesome.
But look again at verses 18 and19.
Jesus tells them plainly, he'sgoing to Jerusalem to suffer and
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to die.
Scourged, mocked, crucified, andresurrected.
Now, this would seem like apretty dramatic moment, wouldn't
it?
If Jesus just pulled you asideand told you these things?
You might expect that thedisciples would respond with
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sympathy, with comfort, withquestions.
How can this be?
Is there any way we can stop it,Jesus?
Resurrected, but instead, theirresponse is a comedy of selfish
ambition.
Because James and John, okay,the sons of Zebedee, brothers,
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okay, they're actually part ofthe inner three.
James, John, and Peter.
They got to go up on MountTransfiguration, the inner
three.
After hearing about the twelvethrones, okay, guess what
they've been thinking about?
Seat order.
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Pretty reasonable, right?
Seat order.
Who is going to be closest toJesus?
Who's going to be greatest?
When Jesus is sitting there,then there's a pecking order.
So catch this.
What do they do?
They have their mom go ask Jesusfor positions of honor.
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Now, I know you're thinking,well, different culture,
different time.
Listen, it was never cool tohave your mom go and ask
something of this sort ofprominence, right?
That was never cool.
What a lame move to have yourmom go and ask for you.
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Jesus says to her, Listen, youguys don't know what you're
asking.
Can you drink the cup that I amabout to?
Now, the cup throughout theentire Old Testament meant
suffering and judgment.
Jesus explained that he's goingto be scourged.
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He's going to be crucified forthe sins of mankind.
He's going to be betrayed.
He's going to sweat blood.
You see, the difference betweenJesus and them is Jesus knows
exactly what awaits him.
They, on the other hand, havegiven it zero thought.
Okay?
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They are the promises of alittle child that says, Daddy,
my room will never get dirtyagain.
It will never get dirty again.
It's always, just please buy methat giant-sized gummy bear.
Okay, I'll do whatever you want.
That's the extent of theirpromises.
And the other ten get wind ofthe conversation, and they are
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furious.
Not at the insensitivity, notat, fellas, Jesus has just told
us he's going to die, suffer anddie in Jerusalem.
No, no, no, no, no.
That's not the source of it.
They are afraid, they've gottenelbowed out because these two
beat them to the punch.
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So, Jesus, perceiving theirhearts and motives, proceeds to
again teach them about greatnessin the kingdom of God.
Now Jesus begins by defininggreatness according to the
world.
(14:17):
And in doing so, he is exposingtheir selfish motives.
Look at verse 25.
But Jesus called them to himselfand says, You know that the
rulers of the Gentiles lord itover them.
Their great men exerciseauthority over them.
(14:38):
Now hear me, the disciples longto be recognized as special,
valued, honored, but theirconcept is warped with the pride
of this world.
The world says that greatness isshown by being superior because
you get to live the ideallifestyle.
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You get to have servants who getto do all the things that you
don't want to do, like take outthe trash and scrub toilets.
Who wants to do that stuff?
Get a servant to do that.
That greatness is power andcontrol of resources.
You see, the world's greatnessis rooted in pride, so that you
(15:22):
can be seen as over others.
I'm special because I'm better.
The pride of comparison is asold as Cain and Abel.
And Jesus is exposing theirhearts.
Guys, your motives of positionare just so that you can lord it
(15:46):
over the others.
And believers, so often theseare our same motives.
Unless you have gone through aradical change, we still believe
that greatness is defined theway the world does.
In 2018 in Santa Monica,California, all of town was
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suddenly in buzz over theopening of a new shoe store
called Pilosi.
Fashion influencers were ravingabout the must-have fresh
trends, while others werefawning over the quality.
These are the best-made shoes.
Actual quotes, they are veryupscale with a European look.
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These shoes are a setter.
Ones that you are going to getcompliments on, ranging from$300
to$650 a pair.
They were flying off the shelfas people commented, they are a
steal at this price.
So what's the catch?
Well, after each personcompleted their sale and their
(16:52):
purchase and they wereinterviewed, their money was
returned to them as it wasrevealed to them that Pilosi
shoes was none other thanpayless shoes.
Now the story doesn't say, but Iwant you to guess with me.
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What do you think thoseinfluencers did with the shoes
when they got home?
I bet they felt pretty foolish.
I bet they either destroyed themor gave them away and never
mentioned the name Pilosi again.
I share that with you to revealthe pride of life, the pressure
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to keep up an image, which is atthe heart of all of this is the
pride of comparison.
Looking around and saying, I'mas good as them and I'm better
than them.
And it easily creeps into everysingle one of us.
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Do you have a critical spirit?
Do you find it so easy to findfault in others?
Are you yourself defensive andnot correctable?
Are you driven for attention,longing for the approval of
others?
Listen to me.
All of this stems from ourlonging, a God-given longing for
(18:26):
greatness, to be great, butbelieving the world's
definitions that greatness isbeing better than others.
Listen to Jesus.
It is not this way among you,verse 26.
You see, Jesus is redefininggreatness according to the
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kingdom of God.
It's opposite of the world.
Please hear me.
Jesus does not chastise thedisciples for the desire of
greatness.
It's never chastised, it'sredirected, it's redefined.
But whoever wishes to becomegreat among you shall be your
(19:11):
servant.
And whoever wishes to be firstmust be your slave.
You see, in the kingdom of God,the servant is great, not the
one being served.
The slave is first, not theking.
(19:35):
See, it's not those who exaltthemselves over others, rather,
it's those that consider othersmore important than themselves
and serve.
Those who are superiorsacrifice.
You see, they don't have totake.
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Instead, they actually are fullin and of themselves and have
something to give to others.
Now they know that giving has acost.
But they are willing to denythemselves, to lay down their
rights and their preferences,and spend their limited energy
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and resources to serve others.
It was the night of thePassover.
And unusually, when thedisciples walked into the upper
room, unusually the washman thatstood by the door, he wasn't
there tonight.
The disciples chalk it up to, itmust have been an oversight.
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Jesus put this thing together.
He didn't get a washman by thedoor.
And so they recline at thetable, undoubtedly still arguing
about seat order.
And then shockingly, during themiddle of the meal, Jesus
himself stands up, walks over,takes a towel, girds himself as
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a servant, picks up a washbasin, and begins to wash each
of their feet.
Rabbi, you can't do this.
You are greater than us.
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That he took a towel, he girdedhimself, he took a wash basin,
he got down on the floor andbegan to wash your feet.
You say he wouldn't do that.
I mean, do you know how dirtyand disgusting the ancient world
(21:54):
was?
No, no, no.
I mean, he wouldn't do that forme.
Listen to me.
If he would wash Judas' feet,knowing that he had already
betrayed him, he would wash yourfeet.
(22:17):
For the greatest in the kingdomare servants.
Verse 28.
Just as the Son of Man did notcome to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life a ransomfor many.
(22:38):
Jesus came to serve.
From eternity past to serve.
He took on flesh to serve.
He taught.
(22:58):
He healed.
He calmed the sea to serve.
And to give his life as a ransomfor many.
Ransom means to pay a price inorder that someone might be set
(23:21):
free.
You see, in the ancient world,if you had a financial debt,
there was no bankruptcy.
You couldn't file chapter 9 orchapter 7 or any of those
things.
There's no bankruptcy.
Instead, you had to sellyourself into indentured
servanthood or become a slave.
(23:42):
And be sold at the marketsquare.
And the tag, the price aboveyour head, was the debt you owed
and what it took in order to setyou free.
Jesus came in order to pay adebt you owe of your sins so
(24:08):
that you might be set free.
It was your sin.
Your sin was the price tag aboveyour head, and the payment
required was death.
And Jesus came to pay that debtin full.
Your certificate of debt andnail it to the cross so that the
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slave might be set free.
Behold the greatness of God whocondescends into his creation.
Becoming a man, he took onlimitations.
The eternal sovereign now criedfor his mother's milk.
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You ask, did he come in exaltedroyalty?
Did he come with the privilegeof wealth or education?
No, he was born into a peasantfamily.
His earthly father was a simplecarpenter.
They were displaced as they madetheir way to Bethlehem, faceless
(25:18):
in the crowd, as he was bornamongst the animals.
Behold the greatness of God, asthe King of Kings and Lord of
Lords lays in a feeding trough.
He did not come to serve.
(25:42):
But friend, his condescending,his condescension does not stop
there.
For the very night that Peterdenied him and Judas betrayed
him, he got up from the tableand he washed their feet.
For the very night that hisdisciples slept in the garden,
(26:04):
he prayed alone by himself,falling to the ground, sweating
blood and agony, crying out tothe Father, if there is any
other way, would you let thiscome pass?
But not my will.
Your will be done.
(26:25):
For while Pilate washes hishands of him, Roman guard
scourged his back.
And then thrust a crown ofthorns upon his head.
For while the crowd spit uponhim, he carried his cross up
(26:46):
Golgotha.
For while the soldiers, whilethey cast lots over his
garments, he was nailed to thecross.
For while the crowd mocked himand said, why don't you save
yourself?
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He laid down his life as aransom for many.
Behold the greatness of God onfull display.
Friend, do you see the humilityof God?
(27:29):
Do you see his accessibleness?
Do you see his nearness?
That he knows every detail aboutyou, every thought, every
desire, and he came to save you.
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What is holding you back fromhim?
Will you allow your pride to getin the way?
Will you not surrender to him?
Will you not repent and lookupon his finished work, his
death and resurrection?
And will you not find life inhim?
(28:18):
For those of us that arebelievers, can I take this
another step further?
In Luke chapter 12, one of themost ridiculous statements in
the whole of Scripture, in Lukechapter 12, Jesus is talking
about disciples be ready forwhen the king returns.
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And he says, that is like aservant that is ready for when
the master is returning from thewedding banquet.
And then there's the mostridiculous statement.
Jesus says the master willreturn.
And when he walks back, he willgird himself as a servant, and
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he will sit the servants down,and then he will again wait on
them.
Believer, do you understand?
It's not just that Jesus laiddown his life in order to save
us.
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That's not where the greatnessstops.
Do you understand that the restof eternity, because God is
great and true greatness isservanthood, that the rest of
eternity, God Almighty and JesusChrist and the Spirit of God
will continue to serve us andunfold the grace and the mercy
(29:50):
of God with pleasures anddelights that you cannot even
comprehend.
Who am I that you would bemindful of?
Of me.
Who am I that you would serve meall through eternity?
That's what the scripture says.
Can you believe it?
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So the application for thebeliever, it's it's pretty
straightforward, right?
It is go and be like Jesus.
Go and be great.
Serve.
That the God who has sufferedfor me, that the God who calls
(30:34):
me his own, that he redefinesgreatness.
Not the world.
I don't have to listen to theworld and the comparison of
life.
Beloved, can I share with youthe freedom in my heart?
The freedom in my heart of beingset free to know that Jesus
(30:58):
defines greatness.
And he calls me into greatness,and my life can be great.
Just by using all that I am toserve, to serve others, to lift
them up, to point them to Jesus.
(31:20):
So at the beginning of this yearof 25, I started working out at
Hill Country CrossFit.
All right?
And so there are a few of youhere that are Hill Country.
So Gibbs and Garrett and Markand Clay, there's a whole team
of people that work out there.
So I started.
Now, one of the reasons I I loveuh working out there is because
(31:45):
uh when I work out in a group, Ipush myself quite a bit harder
than I would if I were workingout by myself.
Now, full confession, that isusing my pride for good, okay?
I'm using my pride to whipmyself into shape.
So this this week, it was onWednesday, it was it was a
(32:07):
brutal workout, okay?
And I was gassed.
And I was falling behind mygroup.
I worked out at 6 a.m.
and I was falling behind mygroup.
And uh we we're doing lots of uhlots of exercises, and then we
were on this run.
And as we go on this run, I'mfalling further and further
(32:28):
behind from the group.
I look like a zombie running.
I'm just I'm just dead.
And uh in my mind, the wholetime I'm thinking about man, my
my name on the scoreboard isreally gonna be it's gonna fall
down a few notches here.
But as we're running, we we runin the parking lot, and it's you
have to go down to this pointand come back.
(32:48):
And so the group is ahead of me.
They've already turned thecorner and they're coming back,
and I'm coming up just lagging.
And suddenly, one of my workoutbuddies, he peels off from the
group that's already done this,and he comes along and he just
says, I'll run with you.
(33:22):
It was great.
I needed the encouragement, buthonestly, like in that moment,
it's it struck me because here Iwas, like, worried about pecking
order, like the scoreboard.
And here he is, like, yeah, II've already done that, but I'll
(33:43):
I'll come back and I'll I'll gowith you so that you can be
encouraged.
I share that with you becauseguys, there are opportunities to
serve everywhere.
Everywhere.
Serve your family, to serve youryour kids, your parents, to
(34:07):
serve your friends, your name.
They're everywhere.
One other I I was thinking thisweek, so as a pastor, a thousand
people know me like 70% of theway.
It's probably like this in inyour life, maybe not a thousand.
(34:29):
So a thousand people know me 70%of the way, but there are a few
people that that know all of me.
And there there are a few ofthose that meet with me
regularly to to pray for me.
And when they pray for me, theyknow the details of my wife and
(34:54):
my kids.
They know each kid by name, theyknow them, like their
personalities.
And like so, when we sit andpray and they they press into
just the mundane things in life,I was just reflecting upon that
this week.
Like, what an act of service.
(35:19):
To pray for someone, to knowthem, and to genuinely enter
into their mess and to and topray for them.
Again, I I share that becauseopportunities to serve, it it's
everywhere, right?
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You guys know the movie HacksawRidge?
Okay?
It's a great movie.
It it gets the pastor'sendorsement if you can handle
the it it's it's rated R onlybecause of the blood and guts,
okay?
If you can handle that, alright.
But it it's a movie about Armymedic uh Desmond T.
(36:01):
Daws, who served in the Pacificin World War II.
He actually became the firstAmerican in history to receive
the Medal of Honor without everfiring a shot.
Okay, he he was a conscientiousobjector, he refused to carry a
gun.
So the movie's set and the sceneis set at the Battle of Okinawa,
(36:26):
where his unit is up on theisland, but uh they are getting
overrun.
They're getting pushed back bythe Japanese, and they have to
go, they have to go down theridge to safety back to home
base.
And uh Doss is there, he's amedic, but there's this
(36:46):
incredible scene in all thechaos of the war.
So imagine the scene, you'regetting overrun by the enemy.
There's there's all these bombs,and everyone is retreating, and
and they're as fast as they can,they're going down the cliff.
And Doss is sitting right at thetop of the cliff, and he is
(37:08):
crying out to God.
But he says to God, God, I Idon't understand.
I can't hear you.
What is it you want me to do?
(37:29):
And suddenly at that moment, heheard cries from his fellow
soldiers who were back in thebattle.
And he lifts his chest, he getssome resolve, and he says,
Alright, Lord, I hear you.
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And then he runs into the chaos.
And I thought, what anincredible picture.
Of us hearing the voice of theLord, of us saying, You've
called me here to be a servant,and then running after whatever
God calls you to do.
(38:11):
Heavenly Father, we thank youfor this day.
We thank you for your word.
God, we are not like you, but wewant to be.
And and your truth ofservanthood, of laying down your
life, your truth of the gospel,it changes everything.
It is true.
(38:32):
It is true.
The lies of this world are notit.
Your truth is the truth, God.
You have set my heart free.
Father, I pray across this roomthat you would continue to set
hearts free, that your spiritwould convict us about how we
get so caught up, so caught upin comparison.
(38:54):
Father, allow us to see thebeauty, the magnificence of
being a servant, of running tothose in need, of hearing your
voice and realizing you definegreatness, not this world.
(39:14):
It's not being better thanothers, it's it's actually being
able to pour into others.
Father, help us to see that.
And most of all, help us tounderstand the gospel that you
are pouring into us.
(39:36):
That nothing I've said thismorning means that we go out and
we do this in our strength, butwe do it in your strength.
Father, if there's anyone heretoday under the sound of my
voice that does not know you, Ipray right now in Jesus' name
that they would cry out to you.
(39:58):
That they would be saved, thatthey would see the finished
work, the death and resurrectionof Jesus.
And that they would repent, andthat they would believe with all
of their heart.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Church family, the praise teamis gonna come and lead us in two
(40:20):
songs of response, and that is achance for us to respond.
Whatever the Spirit of God haspressed upon your heart, you
must respond.
You must be obedient to the wordof God.
I can't tell you what that lookslike, but I can encourage you, I
can charge you, respond.
With abandonment, respond.
(40:42):
Do not let your pride hold youback.
We'll have ministers down hereat the front who would love to
pray with you.
Okay?
We want to carry that burdenwith you.
We don't want to be here for ashow.
We want to bond in unity andcarrying one another's burdens.
If you want to use these stepsas an altar to pour out your
(41:04):
thanksgiving to the Lord,because he is so good, then you
can do that.
If you need to come and talk toa pastor about, I need Jesus.
Today is the day of salvation.
Whatever the Spirit of God haspressed upon you, you come, you
be obedient, you sing, respondto the Lord.
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