WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:04.400 Mark 10 verses 32 through 45. 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:15.199 And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them, and they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:38.399 And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him. 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:41.520 And after three days he will rise. 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:51.200 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:55.119 And he said to them, What do you want me to do for you? 00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:02.399 And they said to him, Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory. 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:06.319 Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:13.599 Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:16.560 And they said to him, We are able. 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:28.719 Like Zach said, I'm an elder here. 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:35.199 And like Zach also said, if you're new or visiting with us, we're really glad that you're here. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:44.639 I'm filling in for James, our lead pastor tonight, and I'm excited to be with you continuing our Redemption Applied sermon series. 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:49.039 This is the first sermon that I've preached here at Redemption. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:52.240 In fact, uh it's the first sermon I've ever preached. 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:56.240 So uh Yeah, thanks. 00:02:56.479 --> 00:02:57.199 Good luck. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:00.159 I made it up the stairs okay, so we're doing okay. 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:06.400 Um as a brief introduction to myself, I've been coming to Redemption for about two years. 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:12.560 My wife Beth and I and our two kids moved here uh from Seattle about two years ago. 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:25.360 And we're still getting to know Denver, but we're excited to be a part of everything that's going on here and get to know the city and see what the Lord is doing here in Denver and at our church. 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:27.039 Uh I'm an architect. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:30.159 I work at a local Denver architecture firm here. 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:38.000 And um, if we haven't met yet, or uh if you have any questions or would just like to talk, I'll be down here after the service. 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:41.680 And I'd love to get to know you or just answer any questions. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:46.639 Uh lastly, I want you to know that I'm up here as a sinner. 00:03:46.800 --> 00:04:02.000 Um I'm not preaching out of any kind of mastery of the things that we'll be talking about tonight, uh, but rather looking to the Bible for the way to live, um for the way to serve God, serve one another, serve our neighbors and city. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:07.759 Um so I think that all of the ideas I'll be talking about are straight from Scripture. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:09.759 Um if they're not, disregard them. 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:16.560 But uh that's that's what the hope is that we're talking about scripture tonight. 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:20.639 Um so that's that's kind of me uh briefly. 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:24.480 Um but and then I have one quick announcement. 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:37.199 It's the same as last week's announcement, but uh as you may have heard, we have been uh looking for a church, a new church location, new location for our church uh to meet. 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:43.279 So as James announced last week, we've narrowed our search down to the Berkeley neighborhood. 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:53.040 Um so we're really excited to start to kind of build roots in that neighborhood and um get to know the people and the rhythm of life there. 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:59.439 Um so we want to be great neighbors, we want to be a benefit to Berkeley. 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:18.560 And uh so I'd ask that you guys start to just think about what that looks like and um start joining us in praying for not just our transition as a church, but praying also that God would be moving in the hearts of the people there in the Berkeley neighborhood. 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:30.959 Uh so we've been moving through this Redemption Applied sermon series where we're trying to start to kind of lay the groundwork for what it means to be a part of Redemption Church Denver. 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:35.439 We've walked through uh the three spheres of church life. 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:43.839 The first sphere being our hearts, the second sphere being our community, and the third sphere being our city, Denver. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:55.439 We've been looking at the typical way that our culture operates, and then looking at how the Bible would have us operate as a church, and set out the goals for what kind of culture we want to have at redemption. 00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:00.959 And today we're wrapping up the city portion, and next week James will be concluding the series. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:11.759 Today we'll be looking at Mark 10, as you know, and talking about how we as Denverites tend to view power and then see the radical way that God calls us to view power. 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:23.759 In the context that the New Testament was written, that is, Roman life in the early first century, power, prestige, and social status were the currency of the day. 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:28.399 Roman life was divided very starkly into social orders. 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:33.600 People paid large sums of money to become Roman citizens to gain status. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:48.079 Roman citizens used their money to pay for public monuments, aqueducts, or benefits for the poor, not for the good of the city, not for the benefit of the people, simply to have their name, family lineage, and accomplishments listed for all to see. 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:57.600 People who were seen as weaker, people with illnesses, disability, women and children, were seen as disposable. 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:03.360 The father of each family had absolute rule over his household and children. 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:10.240 If they angered him, he had the legal right to disown them, sell them into slavery, or even have them killed. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:14.079 After birth, the midwife would place babies on the ground. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:19.279 Only if the father picked it up was the baby formally accepted into the family. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:43.040 If the decision went the other way, because the baby had a defect, or she was a girl, or the father felt like the family just couldn't afford another mouth to feed, the baby was exposed, deliberately abandoned outside, sometimes picked up by another family to become a slave, sometimes just left to die. 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:57.920 This sounds insane, but I think it illustrates the kind of absolute power that a Roman man, especially had, power over even who lived and who died, power at the expense of everything else in life. 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:01.839 And this is the context in which Jesus entered the world. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:10.959 And I think this context makes it that much more radical when Jesus says things like, I have come not to be served, but to serve, or the first shall be last. 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:27.199 Or the Apostle Paul, who was born a Roman citizen and was a premier Jewish leader before he met Jesus, says things like, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, which he wrote from prison, and he did indeed lose all things. 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:30.319 Or he says, Pray for those who persecute you. 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:38.480 These ideas are counter-cultural today, but in Roman times they'd be almost unthinkably radical. 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:51.279 Today we'll be looking at Jesus' reorienting, reorienting of our views of power, status, reputation, and how it shapes our lives as Christians and our vision for the church. 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:54.960 But before we do, let's ask him for help this evening. 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:56.320 Would you pray with me? 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:04.399 Lord, uh thank you that you are sovereign, that you are in control. 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:14.639 Thank you for your word that we can turn to for life and truth, that is a lamp to our feet and a light to our eyes. 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:25.759 Would you um work through my stumbling words to reveal your glory and your truth? 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:28.799 And would you work in our hearts and minds? 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:32.879 Uh open them to see clearly what you would have for us tonight. 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:37.120 It's in your name and for your glory that we pray. 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:38.080 Amen. 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:47.600 So would you turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter 10, verse 33 through 30 45? 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:50.240 Sorry, 32 through 45. 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:54.799 Uh pick up the story in verse 32. 00:09:55.360 --> 00:10:03.759 And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them, and they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:05.519 Let's pause there. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:19.360 Jesus, his disciples, and a crowd of followers were headed up to Jerusalem, where they are anticipating Jesus as the Jewish Messiah finally overthrowing the Romans and assuming his rightful place on the throne. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.080 Everyone is assuming Jesus is about to lead a political revolution. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:27.279 Some are amazed, some are terrified of this prospect. 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:35.039 But Jesus is trying to explain to them that his plan is much different, much bigger and grander, actually, than a political takeover. 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:36.559 Let's pick it up again. 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:37.840 Still verse 32. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:58.000 And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him, and after three days he will rise. 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:04.879 This is the third time that Jesus has revealed his impending death and resurrection in the Book of Mark. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:11.679 The first time is in Mark 8, and then again in Mark 9, and then here in Mark chapter 10. 00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:20.559 Each time that Jesus makes this prediction, it's followed by the disciples' hope for status, prestige, and greatness, and this time is no different. 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:24.960 The disciples don't understand what he means by foretelling his death. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:29.279 They're chiefly seem to be concerned with their own place in the story. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:35.360 Their desire for power makes them callous to Jesus' reality of suffering on the cross. 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:43.440 Earlier in Mark, Mark chapter 9, Peter famously rebukes Jesus for talking about his own death, saying, Get behind me, Satan. 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:45.759 And then Jesus says, Get behind me, Satan. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:51.120 And then here, James and John find an opportune time to talk to Jesus with no one else around. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:52.480 Verse 35. 00:11:52.960 --> 00:12:01.519 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, Teacher, we want to do for us, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:07.840 Just pause there, because I think this is a ridiculous question to ask Jesus. 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:11.360 I think it kind of sounds like my three-year-old son. 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:14.960 Okay, Dad, I want you to do something for me. 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:16.799 And you have to say yes. 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:23.120 One thing that I love about the Bible is how the disciples come off as such idiots. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:28.960 Mark wrote this text about 30 to 40 years after Jesus' death. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:33.279 By that point, John and James had become pillars of the faith. 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:36.080 But here, they look like toddlers. 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:39.759 And I think it's easy from our point of view to laugh at James and John. 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:43.679 In fact, I think that's exactly what Mark wants us to do. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:47.600 But is this not exactly how we often relate to God? 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:50.480 God, I want you to give me a good life. 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:52.000 Just keep me healthy. 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:53.279 Give me that promotion. 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:56.240 I'll serve you if you just grant me whatever I ask. 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:03.360 Whether it's power or comfort or safety, don't we often go to God as sort of a cosmic vending machine? 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:06.240 Just looking to Him for granting our wishes? 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:09.120 Let's get back to our story. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:10.399 Verse 36. 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:13.519 And he said to them, What do you want me to do for you? 00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:18.240 And they said to him, Grant us to sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your glory. 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:22.000 Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:27.519 Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or to be baptized with the baptism with with which I am baptized? 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:29.360 And they said to him, We are able. 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:35.519 And Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized. 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:42.240 But to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:46.080 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:54.720 Here we get a glimpse into the disciples' hearts, and observe how they are seeking idols even while trying to be close to Jesus. 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:59.440 James and John are anticipating Jesus becoming a powerful king. 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:09.279 They know their Jewish texts well enough to know that the Messiah will be ushering in a peaceful reign, which he will, but very differently than they think. 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:19.200 They are guessing that they are on their way to break the Jews free from Roman rule, and they want to make sure that they're rightfully honored as Jesus' closest followers. 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:22.879 The ten other disciples are also complicit. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.200 They're indignant at James and John. 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:31.919 But clearly they're indignant that they didn't ask Jesus first, or indignant that they may be left out of the inner circle. 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:37.120 They're not indignant that James and John have approached Jesus with such self-centered motives. 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:50.879 All of the his disciples, all of the disciples are jostling to be best positioned, and they know, or they think they know, that they're getting in at the ground floor, and they see Jesus as their ticket to power, prestige, and the good life. 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:54.639 And I want to point out one more thing before we move on. 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:57.200 Did you note Jesus' response? 00:14:57.679 --> 00:15:01.120 Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:04.320 And he said to them, What do you want me to do for you? 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:09.600 His response is full of mercy and service, not how dare you, not get out of my sight. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:11.279 Do you know who I am? 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:14.080 But first, what do you want from me? 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:17.600 Even in this question, he's implying service towards James and John. 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:20.480 Then you do not know what you're asking. 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:26.080 James and John's pitch to Jesus is so clearly self-serving. 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:29.840 Yet Jesus is kind even in pointing out their errors. 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:39.679 And then when all the disciples are bickering over who gets to sit next to Jesus when he overthrows the Romans, he reveals to the disciples the nature of how to live. 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:45.440 He reorients there in our perspective on power, privilege, and greatness. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:48.080 Let's see what he says, verse 42. 00:15:49.679 --> 00:16:00.000 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, You know that those who are considered rulers over of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:02.240 But it shall not be so among you. 00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:08.080 But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:14.000 For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.559 This is flipping our worldview right side up. 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:23.360 Human nature in our sin is wholly self-centered. 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:26.480 But Jesus is saying that we must be other-centered. 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:32.240 Jesus, through whom all of creation was created, knows the keys to the good life. 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:37.440 But we, as humans, have distorted that way and flipped everything upside down. 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:43.360 We, like James and John, are always on the lookout for ways to build up our own little kingdom. 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.480 But Jesus is flipping our view right side up. 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:54.799 Note too that Jesus did not tell the disciples not to pursue greatness, but rather he's telling us how to be great. 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:58.559 Often we think service means being a doormat to others. 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:02.960 But service is using our strength and resources for the good of others. 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:05.279 I think that's a really helpful definition. 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:09.359 Service is using our strength and resources for the good of others. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:13.359 And this is where Jesus is saying true greatness lies. 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:18.480 Not in seeking our own good, not in amassing as much power as we can. 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:25.200 True greatness comes from a place of strength, but using that strength for the glory of God and the flourishing of others. 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:28.720 And Jesus is the ultimate example of this service. 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:56.240 In Philippians 2, 5 through 8, Paul writes, Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:07.599 Jesus, prior to being born as a baby on our earth, as a human, existed in perfect communion with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:17.039 But he chose to leave that infinitely wonderful existence and come to earth, still fully God, but also fully man. 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:24.240 And he came not as a king, but he was born in a barn, and shared his first bed with animals. 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:33.680 He spent his ministry serving, not serving those who were above him, but women, children, the diseased, and the sick. 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:37.279 He served prostitutes, criminals, sinners. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:41.359 Do you remember the Roman culture that we talked about earlier? 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:45.200 Do you see the kind of service that Jesus practiced? 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:48.000 But he didn't stop there. 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:52.880 He also served the people who were oppressing and enslaving his people. 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:56.559 He healed the daughter of a Roman centurion. 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:01.440 He shared a meal with a tax collector, one of the most hated traitors to the Jewish people. 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:09.039 And as we saw last week, he crossed sacred religious lines in order to bring living water to Samaritans and Gentiles. 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:12.079 Jesus was radical in his service. 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:21.440 And this is what Jesus is calling us to to serve as we have been served, using our strength and resources for the good of others. 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:26.960 This is not just serving once a month at the homeless shelter or even just serving at church here. 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:30.720 But this is a life dedicated to the good of the other. 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:37.039 This means we must be using our influence for service at all scales and spheres of our lives. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:47.039 We as Christians must serve in public offices and at high-ranking jobs in order to fight for justice for the poor and the marginalized, the refugee and the widow. 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:52.559 And we must serve at the most basic, day-to-day, mundane level of human interactions. 00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:58.720 In short, we must be like William Wilberforce and Dwight Shroot. 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:03.119 The most unlikely pairing of sermon illustrations, I think. 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:08.400 William Wilberforce was a British politician in the late 18th and 19th century. 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:15.920 After he converted to Christianity, he became one of the leading voices in fighting for the ending of slavery in Britain. 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:23.279 Historians say that this movement offered no economic or social benefit to the British Empire or to Wilberforce personally. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:30.880 But he persisted because of his faith in God and his belief in the innate value of every human life. 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:48.160 After successfully abolishing the slave trade in Britain, he continued to fight for the rights of African peoples by ensuring the enforcement of abolition and promoting promoting abolitionist negotiations negotiations with other countries. 00:20:48.640 --> 00:21:00.319 Wilberforce and many others used his place of power and status in British Parliament to serve others, others who were considered below his station and not worth defending by most of his culture. 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:08.319 Dwight Schroot is a character on the television show The Office, in case you didn't know. 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:16.559 He is the assistant regional man, sorry, assistant to the regional manager at the paper and office supply distribution company Dunder Mifflin. 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:23.279 In one episode, Dwight briefly quits his job at Dunder Mifflin and takes a job at Staples. 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:36.720 While he's gone, it's revealed that he's been watering the office plant, arranging the toys on his boss's desk in a manner that makes him happy, and generally just doing things around the office that no one has noticed until he was gone. 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:40.559 This is the kind of service that we must also have as Christians. 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:43.039 Maybe small, maybe unnoticed. 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:47.359 But when we leave a place, people notice and miss our contributions. 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:52.960 So, what does this look like here at Redemption Church Denver? 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:59.759 If you're a Christian and consider yourself a part of Redemption Church, then our hope is that you would find joy. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.200 In serving. 00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:04.640 Serving with your skills, with your time, and with your money. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:10.880 And doing so here with the church, in your personal life, at your job, and in your greater community. 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:15.519 I have some examples of people that I've seen here serving. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:18.400 I think this could look like Bo and Carolyn. 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:27.839 Bo and Carolyn haven't been around redemption for more than a year, but if you've been here longer than a few weeks, I'm sure that you've been welcomed by them as you come in the door. 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:33.039 Or if you have kids, I'm sure you've seen Carolyn downstairs caring for our children on Sundays. 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:38.880 Pretty much from day one of them coming here, Bo and Carolyn have joyfully jumped into serving. 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:42.799 Our service also extends into our working life. 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:50.640 We hope that some of you may intentionally enter into vocations that directly allow you to serve our community for eight hours a day or more. 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:59.519 This could look like someone like Becca Breen, who works as a high school counselor, allowing her to serve vulnerable teenagers in our community. 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:06.880 We need Christians to serve well as doctors, nurses, counselors, teachers, police officers, garbage men. 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:10.480 Christians who will serve our communities sacrificially. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:22.319 We also need Christians as CEOs in public offices, working as engineers and at tech companies, in banking, who are dedicated to serving and loving people and shaping our society. 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:31.200 This could also look like using the skills and talents that you develop in your working life to serve others outside of your work. 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:40.480 This could look like Matthew Haggerty, who works full-time as an attorney, but donates some of his time to represent undocumented women and children. 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:45.359 Or maybe this looks like simply serving your city when you see a need. 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:54.640 Like the Gossets who are serving a huge need in our community through foster care, by providing a home to a child who has no other safe place to stay. 00:23:55.839 --> 00:24:02.319 These are just a few examples of people I know, and I know there are many others of you who are similarly serving. 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:10.960 But we desire to continue to build a culture where serving others is at the core of our church, both individually and corporately. 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:13.759 Our city is full of need. 00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:18.720 We as Christians should be stepping in to sacrificially serve our city. 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:22.960 All we have to do to find opportunities, I think, is walk down the street. 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:49.200 We as Christians must be serving the oppressed, the marginalized, the widows, the homeless, those without a voice to defend themselves, the single moms, the elderly, the housebound, must be picking up trash in the streets, serving on neighborhood boards, helping out at the PTA, fighting systemic racism, fighting injustice, fighting sex trafficking, serving refugees, serving in foster care and adoption. 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:50.799 Those are just a few ideas. 00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:52.400 I'm sure you can think of more. 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:35.680 We've struck up a friendship. 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:41.920 And when they had their second child a few months ago, Beth created a sign-up for people to bring them meals. 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:45.920 And do you know who brought them meals? 00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:47.519 It was you. 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:53.440 It was women of Redemption Church Denver who had never met this mom before. 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:56.480 And it brought that family to tears. 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:03.839 These are the kind of things that we want to become commonplace in our redemption groups and at our church. 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:15.200 And the only way that this works is if we're engaging with people in our lives in ways that knows and acknowledges their needs, and then we're open to bringing these needs into our redemption groups. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:19.519 We have around 10 to 15 people in most redemption groups. 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:23.920 If each of us are involved in just five people's lives, that's like 60 people. 00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:27.759 I'm sure we can find needs in a group of 60 people. 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:34.000 As an elder board, we are committed to serving you. 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:39.519 We want you to know that you can always pick up the phone and call us. 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:43.119 Especially if there's anything that you need. 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:47.039 And we personally are working on growing in our own lives of service. 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:53.440 If you're moving or having a baby or going through a crisis, we want to be there serving you. 00:26:55.039 --> 00:27:00.480 We're also serving you by praying for you by name each week. 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:09.839 If you're a part of this church, then we commit to you that there's an elder, probably one that you know, who is praying for you every week. 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:24.000 And finally, as a church and as an elder board, we're working on a strategy where we will give 10% of all of our tithes incoming for the furthering of the gospel around the world and in our city. 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:31.599 This will include other churches, church plants, missionaries, nonprofits, and even non-Christian organizations. 00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:42.000 As we start to kind of roll this out and incorporate this idea into our budget, we're hoping that this year a lot of that funds will go to the Berkeley neighborhood. 00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:48.880 So this is the kind of culture that we hope to work towards here's at redemption. 00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:58.640 And I have a few questions, sort of self-reflection questions, that I think could be helpful in self-diagnosing as you go out to serve. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:03.519 When it comes to our church, are you on a service team? 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:05.359 And are you serving consistently? 00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:07.279 Are you serving joyfully? 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:13.680 When it comes to your work, is your office environment a better and cleaner place because you are there? 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:15.599 Is it a more joyful place? 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:17.680 Think Dwight Fruit level. 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:21.359 Do you think there are tasks that are too low for you to do? 00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:30.480 If you're a stay-at-home mom, or even just in your home life, do you seek to serve your children or your spouse in a way that is glorifying Jesus? 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:34.480 Are you simply trying to get things done as efficiently as possible? 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:42.079 Or if you're single, do you think of the ways that Jesus has deeply served you before you're doing your roommate's dishes again? 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:55.440 Or when it comes to your redemption group, what would it look like for everyone to come this week with someone in mind that is in a time of need and you talk together about how you can serve that person and pray for them? 00:28:56.079 --> 00:29:01.279 Or what would it look like to make sure that you serve that one person well in your redemption group? 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:07.039 The one who didn't mention anyone, because they're new to Denver and they literally know no one. 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:10.799 What would it look like to serve them by inviting them to coffee this week? 00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:19.839 This is crucial for us to understand as Christians, to see how Christ calls us to serve and to radically follow his lead. 00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:30.240 But if we just leave it there, I think we may be simply burdened with yet a longer to-do list or left with guilt over how incapable we are. 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:38.160 Like the Romans, we are still operating in the currency of power and prestige. 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:52.720 While our society may not be as openly power-hungry or blatantly cruel to the weak, I think we can all agree that power still plays a huge role in each of our lives, even if we're not politicians or high-powered CEOs. 00:29:54.079 --> 00:30:02.160 Philosophers and psychologists, both secular and Christian, have helped us to see that power may be a hidden motivation in a lot of what we do. 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:05.519 Nietzsche popularized this idea. 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:14.240 He suggests that we might look at someone gossiping and say that the underlying desire is to exercise power over the group. 00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:22.559 Or look at a husband's anger towards his wife and see that he's just trying to show power and dominance because he feels powerless at work. 00:30:23.920 --> 00:30:29.119 Nietzsche despised religion because he saw it all as a power grab. 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:36.079 And surprisingly, Nietzsche and Jesus agree much more than you might think on this point. 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:41.200 Jesus was kind and merciful to most he interacted with. 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:45.839 But he went after the religious leaders of his day with a vengeance. 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:55.200 And one of his points in doing so is that even things that are apparently good may be done to gain power, authority, or honor. 00:30:56.720 --> 00:31:00.640 Let's say that you do something for your husband or friend and he doesn't notice. 00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:06.640 You then get upset, which reveals that you are really just doing it for yourself, for your own recognition. 00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:19.039 Or you make sure that you always post that selfie from your time serving at the homeless shelter, revealing that your time there wasn't to serve the poor, but it was just to impress others. 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:24.720 In fact, even more than Nietzsche, the Bible calls us to examine our hearts and motivations. 00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:31.680 We should examine our motives, both for our bad actions, but perhaps even more for our good ones. 00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:35.279 What are you hoping to get out of your relationship with God? 00:31:35.839 --> 00:31:37.279 Why do you serve others? 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:39.279 Why do you forgive your enemy? 00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:41.759 Why are you here this evening? 00:31:42.640 --> 00:31:50.720 Do you do these things to promote your own agenda, to build your reputation, to look good before others, or to gain power? 00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:59.279 When we, you and I, delve deep enough, I think we will often find that our motives are shockingly self-centered. 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:06.400 Jesus' final statement in our passage today, I think, is key to our service. 00:32:07.599 --> 00:32:14.160 It reads, For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:19.680 We do not need just an example to follow. 00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:24.720 We need someone to turn our selfish serving into selflessness. 00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:34.559 The Bible tells us there is no one who is without sin, meaning that all of our hearts are bent and twisted inwards towards our own glory. 00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:44.319 In Isaiah, Isaiah 64, 6, he says, all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. 00:32:45.680 --> 00:32:51.039 Outside of Christ, our motivations when we serve are corrupted right from the get-go. 00:32:51.759 --> 00:33:09.359 Whether they are corrupted by serving so that others might see us and approve, that is, using our strength and resources to impress others, or we are serving so that we can gain power, that is, using our strength and resources to control others. 00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:14.960 Or they are corrupt because we are trying to earn our way to God and get Him to owe us. 00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:20.160 That is, using our strength and resources to get to God. 00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:28.319 We cannot earn our way to God because our hearts and our motivations are operating out of a sinful condition. 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:31.839 All of our righteousness is a filthy rag. 00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:36.079 We do not just need an example to follow because we can't. 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:37.440 We're broken. 00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:43.359 We're in a condition in which we cannot remove ourselves without someone else's rescue. 00:33:45.680 --> 00:33:53.359 You might have noticed that when I was describing Jesus' life of service, I left out the biggest way that Jesus has served us. 00:33:54.480 --> 00:34:01.440 As I said a few minutes ago, Jesus radically humbled himself and came to earth to serve people who most considered unworthy. 00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:04.720 And he served people who most considered his enemy. 00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:07.039 But he didn't stop there. 00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:13.360 Jesus positioned himself perfectly to be condemned as a criminal. 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:27.840 By pushing the buttons of the religious leaders of his time in just the right ways, Jesus brought upon himself accusations of high treason, punishable by the death penalty through a torturous method called crucifixion. 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:29.280 Why? 00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:35.199 To serve you and me, to pay our ransom. 00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:48.239 You see, we are enslaved in our own sin, in our own selfishness and corruption, where everything we do is centered around glorifying ourselves and rejecting God. 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:54.719 We need someone to save us, to give us a new heart, to reorient our motivations. 00:34:55.840 --> 00:35:02.400 So Jesus came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:35:04.559 --> 00:35:05.440 Do you see how? 00:35:05.599 --> 00:35:16.079 Because Jesus has paid your ransom, you are freed from bondage, freed from the need to seek power, reputation, affirmation, control, comfort, safety, money. 00:35:17.599 --> 00:35:36.000 And that freedom enables you to serve others with less concern for your own needs, not serving out of selfish ambition or out of obligation or duty, but using your strength and your resources for the good of others, joyfully, because you see how much Jesus has served you. 00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:51.920 And when you screw that up, when you examine your heart after a day of sacrificial serving and realize that you are still just serving for your own gain, the gospel offers us fresh grace to cleanse our filthy rags again and again and again. 00:35:52.239 --> 00:35:54.239 So let us run to Him. 00:35:55.039 --> 00:35:58.320 I'll leave you with a few more questions of self-reflection. 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.800 If you are a Christian, are you serving because of duty or self-centeredness? 00:36:05.360 --> 00:36:11.840 Or are you serving because you see how much you have been served by Jesus and joyfully want to see others served? 00:36:13.679 --> 00:36:14.880 Non-Christian. 00:36:15.360 --> 00:36:18.159 Is this the conception of Jesus that you've heard before? 00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:22.320 One who asks you not to serve more, but who serves you? 00:36:24.800 --> 00:36:27.360 And with that, I'll take one question. 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:29.360 If we have one. 00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:35.039 What is the elder board position on church-sponsored service projects? 00:36:35.199 --> 00:36:39.360 Are there any organizations the church is formally partnering with? 00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:45.679 That's a really good question, and uh I think one that's sort of in line with exactly what we talked about. 00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:50.880 Um and honestly, one that we're still kind of figuring out what the the answer is. 00:36:51.119 --> 00:36:56.559 Um the uh so short answer is no. 00:36:56.880 --> 00:37:02.320 Currently, we're there's nothing that we're formally partnering with, or anyone that we're formally partnering with. 00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:16.719 Um so I think uh but in general, that that would be something that we're definitely open to doing, um, and uh something that could be in our future. 00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:42.320 However, I I think that my hope is that we would be a church where those kind of things are happening at a sort of organic level, that uh a formal thing is sort of a cherry on top, that um service would be something that's just part of our DNA, and that serving once a month or once a year as a church would be something that would be really meaningful, but not the only ways that we are serving. 00:37:42.960 --> 00:37:54.400 Um so uh yeah, if if you want to talk about that more, we as a board would love to talk about any kind of organizations that you're excited about or would like for us to be thinking about partnering. 00:37:54.639 --> 00:37:58.079 Um so we'd love to kind of continue those conversations. 00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:03.840 I made it, we made it. 00:38:06.800 --> 00:38:09.280 Uh I forgot to, I don't was that really fast? 00:38:09.440 --> 00:38:10.559 I feel like I was really fast. 00:38:10.719 --> 00:38:11.440 I don't know. 00:38:11.679 --> 00:38:20.079 Uh but I I do I want to kind of close in just saying uh how hard it is to come up here and preach. 00:38:20.239 --> 00:38:23.920 And James does it makes it look so easy every week. 00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:29.199 Um, so you should definitely thank him the next time that you see him. 00:38:29.599 --> 00:38:39.280 Uh and um I mean seriously thank him, but but also I think a way that we can serve as a church is kind of a small way. 00:38:39.360 --> 00:38:55.760 It's just praying for him or whoever's praying each week, um, to just whether you when you come in on Sunday or just throughout the week, to just know that he is working really hard to serve and encourage and exhort us with God's word every week so we can be praying for him. 00:38:57.039 --> 00:39:02.239 Uh so now let's move into a time of communion. 00:39:02.800 --> 00:39:14.400 Um, I'd ask that as you're just reflecting before taking the bread and the wine, that you confess your temptations and sins of using your own skills and abilities to not need God. 00:39:15.039 --> 00:39:20.480 Ask him to purify your motivations and help you to grow in a life of serving others. 00:39:21.760 --> 00:39:23.199 Let me pray for us. 00:39:26.320 --> 00:39:28.639 God, we are sinners in need of your help. 00:39:29.920 --> 00:39:31.280 We need your rescue. 00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:36.400 We have motivations that are twisted and corrupt. 00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:48.719 Thank you for sending Jesus to live a perfect life that we cannot live and to die a death in our place, and then to be resurrected so that we could have life with you. 00:39:50.880 --> 00:40:03.679 Would you reveal the reality of your deep service towards us and help us to be motivated by your good and great love towards us to go out and serve one another and serve your city? 00:40:05.519 --> 00:40:07.119 It's in your name that we pray. 00:40:07.360 --> 00:40:07.920 Amen.