0:00 Sir, what do you wish? She said to him, "Command that in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and one on your left." 0:19 But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, 0:37 "My cup you shall drink. But to sit on my right and on my left, this is not mine to give. But it is for those of whom it has been prepared by my father." 0:55 And hearing this, the 10 became indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them 1:14 and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you. But whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever wishes to be first among you 1:34 shall be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many." Let us pray. Our dear heavenly Father, we thank you so much for you have given to us already this 1:54 morning. As we are going to meditate on what you have shared Lord, please open our understanding so that we may have a listening ears and obedient heart. In Jesus precious name 2:11 we pray. Amen. I want to start uh with something that happened recently. As a regular weekday I dropped my daughter at school. 2:29 Um general we do listen uh CFC daily devotions on our way and we pray and meditate a little bit on what we heard that morning. On the way coming back I spoke with my mother and uh she shared something which is 2:49 uh heavy on her heart. And I came back and I prayed with my wife and uh I went to uh my room about 8:30 to pray before I start my work. 3:07 I knelt down and I had no words. And I was silent. So many things were weighing on me strangely on that day and I had pressing things at work. 3:25 I had a client meeting. A very difficult matter we're dealing at church. And I'm working on my immigration papers. And there are few unresolved things in the extended 3:45 family members. I felt completely empty. That morning I sat with God and honestly said, "I don't know if I can do all of this. I don't have the strength. 4:02 And I felt weak." That moment made me to go back to this passage in Matthew chapter 20. And I have read it many times. Here in this story what I read, 4:19 Jesus is with his disciples. And the mother of John and James comes to him with a request that she want her son sons want to sit on his right and the 4:37 other to sit on his left. By hearing this, the other 10 disciples were indignant. They were not happy. Perhaps they may be coveting that position. They were upset. 4:58 But not our Lord Jesus. Jesus didn't rebuke them. Because they are wanting something greatness. But rather he he redefines it. 5:16 Verse 26. Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant. We heard from brother Robert shared with his life the Lord has laid in my heart to share 5:35 my life this morning. Through that one verse, as an ordinary man, as a husband, as a father, as a full-time employee, and someone who was recently asked to serve as an elder 5:53 in this church family. I want to bring it up. This is not the first time you had this framework. You had it uh many times, but my perspective I share 6:14 this framework briefly. I'm still learning what all of this means. And I want to share this framework that has helped me and where it still cost me something. The first thing 6:41 is the foundation. Before anything else, before I am anything to anybody or anyone, I'm trying to be a man who loves God simply. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 3 6:59 about a simple and a pure devotion to Christ. That word pure means this undivided. Not devoted when the people are watching. Not devoted because of what 7:17 it produces. Just simple. A daily loyalty to Jesus. Morning by morning. Even if I have to sacrifice a little bit of sleep and a comfort and a ease. The foundation in my life is going to 7:38 him first before anything else. Like a blind man reaches to to his king. Asking him to fill me with his Holy Spirit. And reading my daily portion, honestly asking him to help me. Help me not to be anxious 7:57 about the day. Asking for his help to please him to do his perfect will and not to grieve the Holy Spirit, the very own help he has given to me. This is my foundation and it holds everything. 8:14 If there is a crack in this foundation, everything above it cracks with it. The order has to begin here. Not at family, not at church, not at work. Alone with him, a simple and a pure devotion. I have this picture at my 8:37 uh wall uh near my office. desk where I work. A very old Latin saint by name John Chrysostom said about the year about the year 387. 87. If you know quickly if you know how 8:57 quickly people would forget about you after your death, you will not seek in your life to please anybody but God. Next, the first floor. Um what does it mean to be a servant 9:16 husband? A servant father. This is the first floor above the foundation. A servant husband. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 25, it's see. Husbands 9:34 are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. The word is gave. This is underlined for me. Not gave an advice. Not gave an 9:52 a suggestion or a opinion um about what she should do. He gave himself. I had to learn this and I'm still learning that headship 10:11 in a marriage is not about having the final word. It is about being the first to serve and the last to insist on my own comfort. Colossians chapter 3 verse 19 gives a a very direct command 10:30 to husbands. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter against them. My wife and I grew up in a different backgrounds financially 10:47 socially, economically, even in terms of faith. Obviously um we see things differently in many areas. 11:06 But I'm a servant in this. There is no room for bitterness. Because bitterness is a slow poison. First, it kills me if I carry that and also it's going to kill my marriage. I have come to see that after 13 years 11:29 of marriage the root of most of my bitterness is simply selfishness. When I feel that bitterness is coming, I'm leaning to go back to the foundation first. Back to my God 11:47 even before I can serve her well. In practice, I pray with my wife. It's nothing fancy here that I ask her how she is doing. And I help 12:06 with little cleaning in the house and with sometime cutting the vegetables wherever she need my help with. I try to speak a genuine encouragement. And I give uh a genuine apology when I fail. 12:27 In John chapter 13, we see a private ministry. The Lord calls his disciples. The ministry of the son of God in the upper room. Jesus picked up the towel. This is the job description for husbands. 12:46 Picking up the towel and to clean. And I have two daughters. They are watching me far more than they are listening to me. What they see will shape what they believe 13:05 a man and eventually what they believe God is. That is the weight I carry with gratitude and seriousness. Recently, I was driving back home with my daughter after she had a long day at school. 13:22 I wanted to tell her something which is exciting, but I think she was in a different thing and then I tapped her uh hand and I kind of felt I annoyed her. I want to serve me than serving her. I immediately I 13:42 convicted in my heart and I asked an apology right there in the car. I tried to be present with them not just in the house but actually with them. I try to know what is happening inside them not just around them. And I pray with them 14:02 not long prayers honest ones. I try my best to do discipline and instruct them in the Lord. My prayer for them is that they would be saved saved from this world and sin and they may grow up to be as the disciples and accept this Lord as 14:20 their personal savior and their heavenly father. The second floor. Um this is a floor 14:38 that is the heaviest on my heart right now and I want to be honest about why. Last year the overseers of this church and three brothers who are already shepherding this church as elders asked me to step into this role. That very day 15:00 my daily portion was Mark Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1 here we see uh verses 16 to 16 17 18 19 20 Jesus was going along the way he see of Galilee 15:20 and he sees this fisherman who are busy in fishing and mending their nets. And he said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." 15:37 Immediately, they left their nets and followed him. And he saw another to the same video brothers, sons of Zebedee, verse 19, John and James. They were in their boat mending the nets. 15:56 Immediately, he called them. And they And they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went away to follow him. I I I shared this invitation with my wife 16:14 and we prayed together and we felt God's leading. And I had no idea what was coming that day. I said yes. But I want to be honest. 16:34 I did not say yes with confidence in my ability. I know how weak I am, how timid I am to speak uh in public. And I said yes with surrender. 16:53 These are the two different things, not confidence in myself versus with the surrendered life. In the scripture portions what we read this morning, Matthew chapter 20, 25 and 26, the rulers of the Gentiles 17:12 lorded over them. It shall not be so among you. Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your servant. So, I'm clear about it shall not be so among you. That is the clearest description I knew 17:31 of what an elder is not supposed to be. And yet, I know what lives inside me. I know the part of me that wants to be seen as wise. 17:49 And part of me that wants to have the answer for every question. The part of me that wants to be the one who fixes things quickly. This James and John's instinct didn't disappear 18:08 when someone puts the word elder next to my name. I did seek I did not seek this role. It came to me. And precisely because it came to the brothers I trusted and submitted. I believe it is from God. 18:26 But doesn't make it easy. It makes it more serious. Since becoming an elder, I have had a small glimpse of how much my elders were carrying and mostly in private. Mostly without anyone seeing. It humbled me deeply. 18:46 I have felt the weight the faith the weight of having a uncomfortable conversations. Standing for truth without compromising. That is the part of the cup. 19:07 We are a multi-generational and multi-ethnic church. I love this part about us. But also it means I cannot only serve the people who are easy for me to serve. I have to bend. I have to cross the distances between 19:24 generations, cultures, and backgrounds because that is what Jesus, our Lord, did and reached reached out all of us. What we are committed here in this, we are just trying to 19:43 uh make disciples. That's our goal, not trying to make people to make uh converts. We are trying to walk with people into a life a disciple's life. 20:05 That kind of eldership costs it costs time time. Not just Sunday time, a real time. The kind of time Jesus gave to these 12 ordinary men. I'm not a finished elder. I'm a 20:24 beginner. I'm grateful for all of you, the brethren who are walking alongside of me. And I count it a great privilege to serve Jesus and his people in this way. Third floor, 20:46 as I said, I'm a full-time employee with a wonderful small team and a God-fearing leadership. What helps me here is Colossians chapter 3 verse 23. Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord than for men. 21:05 The way I try to live this verse is simple. I work as if Jesus is my real audience. The one who sees the work I do when no one else does. [snorts] I have been in the staffing industry for over 20 years. It is a demanding work. 21:24 Constantly dealing with money, people, and their emotions, and pressures. And honestly, I feel weakest here. Some time ago, I had a crucial meeting with the head of the sales 21:43 at one of my clients. He needed our help building his sales team and wanted to meet on a Monday morning. I know what was the situation he's dealing with too little bit. His boss was fired 22:03 and then he was taken that role. And he's seeking my help to build his team. We joined the call. And after greeting each other, he asked me how my weekend was. 22:22 I said I had a blessed weekend and I told him that two sisters in our church had been baptized yesterday. And hearing their testimonies of how Jesus saved them had really blessed me. After hearing this, his whole energy 22:45 changed. It was a video call. He said he had recently been baptized too along with his 13-years-old son. From that day, we became so close. Now, 23:03 our Monday [clears throat] morning weekly catch-ups never end without an encouragement or a prayer request between us. I have survived 20 years in this industry purely by God's grace. 23:21 My Lord Jesus has been faithful, not because I'm qualified. All these years and he has provided for me and my family, and he will be faithful in future, too. Again, this also goes into the same house, the framework I have showed. 23:41 Jesus is the Lord here, too, on Monday, not on just Sundays. In closing, what I'm still learning. This is the order, and this is the framework. This is my life, still under 24:01 construction. Matthew 20:22, we read, Jesus asks James and John, "Can you drink that cup?" Brothers and sisters, that was my question to me and to yourself. It's nothing wrong seeking greater 24:21 position. As we read, he didn't condemn them. He didn't He was not upset. Rather, he was asking a question, "Can you drink that cup I'm going to drink?" 24:39 They said yes quickly. I understand that. I said yes to my marriage and to fatherhood and most recently to the eldership. And then life showed me >> [snorts] >> what I had actually said yes to. But here is what I keep coming back to. 24:59 Jesus accepted their yes. He didn't say "You don't know what you are talking about. Get away from here. You don't understand that." He didn't condemn them. He said, "You shall drink it." Please see that. Matthew chapter 20. 25:19 Matthew chapter 20 23. He said to them, "My cup you shall drink." With the same intensity he said that "Sin shall not master over you." He said that "My cup you shall drink it." 25:38 And they said yes. He said, "My cup you shall drink it." I have this picture. Yeah, some of this old quotes which I like. Um I print it and I post it up. 25:57 And so I can see and get encouragement from. I tend to forget the things, but these things uh will help me. This is from David Wilkerson. When God calls you to do something, 26:14 he's not always calling you to succeed. He is calling you to obey. The success of the calling is up to him. The obedience is up to you. That morning I knelt in my office room with no words. 26:32 I had many unresolved things and I had nothing left. I had nothing left to give to God, but just in mere silence. And he held me there and he met me there anyway. And he didn't ask me to have it together before coming to 26:49 him. He just met me in my empty place. That is what drinking the cup actually looks like to me right now. Not impressive. Not finished. Just daily mundane. Just honest. 27:08 Just going back to him whether it is in the car, in the kitchen, or at work. Even in this room this morning I'm saying I don't have the strength. Fill me again. I share all of this not because 27:27 I have it right. I share it because many of you are carrying the same weight in your lives, in your homes, in your marriage, in your workplace, in the quietest place nobody else sees. 27:46 And I want you to know that you are not carrying it alone. Jesus walked the this very road first. He is our forerunner and he is patient with all of us as we are still learning and following 28:04 him. Finally, I want to read from the same portion what we read, the last verse. Matthew chapter 20 and verse 28. Just as the Son of Man did not come to 28:22 be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Amen. >> Yeah, there are a lot of things to learn 28:59 from this passage as brother David has outlined and speaking from his life. Uh Yeah, the mother comes with a great request. But Jesus quickly turns the conversation to what it takes to be a true servant. 29:17 Do you Do you even know uh what you're asking? Are you able to drink the cup I'm about to drink? Um And then the rest of the verses as David has taken us through with the foundation 29:36 of our devotion to it. Jesus first, that comes before we do anything, before we serve others. Our relationship with Jesus must be growing. Um must be the foundation of everything that we do. 29:53 Not just as an elder, not just as any uh you know, in any position, but for anything to be a blessing to others. That is a right foundation. That's where we start. If there is any crack in any of the floors in our building, the root cause could be the 30:12 foundation most likely. So, we have to go back and living with a clear conscience before God, living before the face of God, judging ourselves, and growing in love for Jesus. And that's where everything will stem. Uh the desire to serve others, desire to 30:28 desire to be a blessing to others. And um without that, everything else will fall apart. Um we We've got to keep going back to that devotion to Jesus first and foremost because that's where we'll be deceived a lot by the enemy to 30:43 the ministry is more important. We got to go do do a lot of things. That's what many churches are [clears throat] emphasizing. But we got to come back to the foundation. And what with that foundation as I seek to be a servant in the home 30:58 being in the role of a husband role of wife for sisters or to our spouses and then to our children. That's where our servant hood starts first. And Jesus contrasts what it means to be a leader in the world to be a leader in the 31:18 church. In the church it is a servant leader or in the in Christianity the servant leadership. You become a leader by being a servant by going down to lift others up. The race to become zero not to go up but to become zero so that we can go 31:33 down and lift others up. That's what a true servant would do. But we are also living in this world where people constantly seek to climb up. Anyone who is in the corporate world we we know how people seek to go up in the ladder. If you go to LinkedIn you 31:49 see how much of I don't know what is a term to the self promotion that happens there. In the world that could be a good glimpse of to climb up in the ladder but people who are truly working for the Lord and for his children they do a lot of things 32:07 silently. I have seen that. I came to appreciation of all of that and people who suffer who go through a lot of things but they don't speak up. Like people who do many things at home and the church many are hidden. The labors of love and 32:25 the sacrifices they do as wife and husband or parents they are hidden. Only the Lord knows and the Lord will reward at the right time. Even as in the church also as As elder I have come to the appreciation of all that goes on behind 32:39 the scenes. Before I was an elder, I did I did not have any clue. And there was one time I was invited to elders meeting. I was not elder at the time and based on all the questions that were asked, I went to brother Zach and said, 32:51 "Now I see how much how much goes on behind the scenes, how much struggles elders have and they go through." And I came to appreciation of that. And then I got a taste of it when I became an elder and I saw that um how [clears throat] my fellow brothers 33:05 and and the other brothers who guide us, all that load they um take through um in being the good servant that God wants us to be, not just on the spiritual side. I have seen um elders doing all sorts of things where 33:23 they become tax consultants, uh they become car mechanics, and uh you know, they become immigration uh you know, consultants and helping people to find matches, uh you know, all the care that they go take in finding the 33:41 right person if someone is seeking to get married, spiritual counseling, and many other things. I mean, I just the list goes on. This goes on and all that happens behind the scenes. And uh I have come to appreciation to all of that 33:56 because it's uh it's a lot of things are hidden, thankfully. And what I want to say is being a servant, yeah, we we're we're all called to be servants in many areas of our lives. We seek to go down and to help each one. And um 34:11 literally, I think in the in the in the olden days, in the days of Jesus, people used to wash each other's feet when they when they come home because the feet are dirty. Uh they were not It is a [clears throat] hot and humid. 34:27 Uh that's what we do when we go and wash each other's feet, each other's uh clean each other's messes uh things like that. So we refresh each other and to do that we need to go down. That's that's a true definition of being 34:40 a servant. So it is not the way among you but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. The first shall be last like I want to be if I want to be the first I need to 34:59 be the servant I need to be the slave and and Jesus did not leave us without an example. We have a great great example. Jesus being God he emptied himself. He became a man he became a servant to the point he died on the 35:13 cross. That's what verse 28 says just as the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many to serve to serve. So great great calling for us to be servants in every part of our lives 35:30 wherever we are but let's do it in a way Christ has done in a hidden way depending on God all the time and seeking not no glory no honor no respect from the people whom you are serving and wait for the reward from the Lord at the 35:47 right time and and then everything stems out because of all that God has done for me not even seeking any reward. Lord you loved me so much. You did not father you did not spare your own son. You have given himself for me. He died for me so 36:02 help me to do out of gratitude for all that you have done and even if no one remembers that that's fine. You know it and that's all matters to me and yes as David has explained many times we all go through the times of dryness times of intense pressure in all 36:20 sorts of every sometimes everything comes at the same time the pressure comes from all directions in every part of our lives but remember God is with us. He will not test us beyond what we are able. And when God calls us to 36:32 serve, he will also provide the resources. And I I often come to Luke 11. Uh in in all the responsibilities I have as husband, as father, as elder, or uh worker in my office, as son and brother to others, physical brothers, 36:51 and even church. Uh >> [clears throat] >> In Luke 11, Jesus talks about prayer, and then immediately he talks about uh a a parable. Um when a friend uh in goes to another friend's house, and he has nothing to do nothing to give nothing to 37:08 offer, he goes to his neighbor and knocks in the middle of the night, and shamelessly, "Lord, give me something well uh in in in the neighbor is asking, "Give me something I need to feed." That's how I want to go to the Lord. 37:20 Lord, give me something. I I have nothing to give to this person, but you fill me you fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me a word to speak a word of encouragement so that I can help my brother or sister, I can help my wife 37:32 or child. This di- difficulty I I cannot handle. You have to help me. Lord, I don't have wisdom. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. So, I go to him. I come to him. Many times when someone calls me and say, "I I want to 37:45 chat with you. I want to talk to you." First thing I pray, "Lord, I don't know what this person needs, but you know, and please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Give me the right words to speak so that I can be a blessing to this 37:55 person." Uh the needs in our lives like that will drive us closer to closer to God. And when our desire is to be a servant, servant the way Jesus served, hidden and depending on God, and only giving honor and glory to God. And at 38:11 the end, I just want to read one quote. Um I don't know how many of you heard about a saint called Polycarp. Polycarp. Anybody heard about him? Okay. He was a disciple of John. Um and then he was persecuted. [clears throat] 38:31 Uh before his martyrdom, Polycarp uh famously told this to the Roman council pre-council. He said >> [snorts] >> He was asked to renounce his faith in Jesus. This uh quote uh always challenges me. 86 years I have served him. He's talking 38:49 about serving in Jesus. And he has never done anything wrong to me. He's never harmed me. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me? 86 years I have served him. He has never done any wrong thing to me. How can I blaspheme my king who saved 39:07 me? The faithfulness of God he has tasted. He has served him all those years and Jesus has done nothing wrong to him and how can he blaspheme? Likewise, when you see the goodness of God, when you see the kindness of Jesus, his mercy and 39:22 compassion in our lives, how can I not be How can I How can I not serve him? And uh serve him in the way he wants me to serve uh even if it means give up everything, our conveniences and comforts. May the Lord help us um 39:38 help us to start with that foundation uh with a with Jesus uh with deep devotion and then uh serving him in every responsibility God has called us to. Not with our power, not with our human strength, but with God's power, God's strength, with 39:55 his Holy Spirit. Uh coming to the end of ourselves and just like the helpless branch as Brother Zac explains many times, just like the helpless branch trying to abide in the tree and bear fruit. And God will help us and he will 40:07 give us every resource uh to serve each other um through his power. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this great reminders about being a true servant. Um yeah, Lord, in the responsibilities you have called us to. Please help us to 40:26 be faithful to your calling and to do it everything as if you are doing it to you, Lord, because of our love relationship with you, because of all that you have done for us. And I pray, Father, that you'd equip each one of us, 40:38 every member of the body of Christ to serve you, Lord, um uh through your power and help us to honor you and glorify you and be hidden and do everything in a hidden way and giving you all the glory and honor and praise, 40:51 Lord, that that you deserve uh that you alone deserve. Please help us. Bless our church, Lord. Continue to help us to grow into your image and to uh do your will and do everything that is pleasing to you. As we enter a new week, equip 41:05 us, Lord, with your Holy Spirit. Give us the grace we need to overcome sin uh and wisdom in every situation we are dealing with and uh patience when we are dealing with trials and help us, Lord, to be rooted and grounded in your word, in 41:20 your love and being secured like a small child. Uh Lord, help us to be close to you and no matter what how tough the situation may be, Lord, help us to look onto you, fixing our eyes on you, the ancient of the days. Lord, uh let our 41:34 hope be only set on you, Lord, and not on men. Uh Father, please help us. Continue to fill us with your Holy Spirit. Remove all fears, anxieties about our future, about our jobs and about the situations in the world. Help 41:48 us to know that you are in control. You are on the throne in heaven, not anyone else. Help us, Lord, to be completely secured in your love. We ask all these things in the mighty name of our Lord and our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. 42:02 Okay, it's 12:30 and uh we'll break for fellowship and we'll have
