John 13:12-17 Slaves of Christ, Slaves of All

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1 Timothy 2:1–4 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Thanks for our nation and the many freedoms God has given us.

We pray for our rulers that you would bless them with wisdom and bring them to a knowledge of the truth.

We pray that they would turn to you in righteousness

Godly and righteous rulers who kiss the son (Psalm 2) and acknowledge Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

And if not that they would perish in the way and you would raise up godly rulers who worship you.

Righteousness and Justice in our land

You instructed us in the Lord’s Prayer - Kingdom Come Will be done.

Revival that all men would repent and turn to Christ and acknowledge Christ as Lord.

Psalm 22:27–28 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.

Help us to be salt and light

Scripture Reading

1 Peter 5:5 Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Intro

What does it mean to have the mind of Christ?

As Christians we are called to be Christ followers… to follow Him… think like Him… speak like Him.

That’s what the Bible talks about being conformed to the image of Christ.

Growing in Christ.

We stop living for ourselves and we live for Him.

And this can be hard.

You have to die to yourself.

Put that sin to death.

Suffer the hatred and humiliation of the world.

But right at the top of that list… one of the most difficult aspects of following Christ is following His example in loving others.

Humbling ourselves and as followers and slaves of Christ making ourselves slaves of all.

Our Big Idea that we have for today is…

To have the mind of Christ is to humbly love and serve others counting others more significant than ourselves.

This is fundamental to living in the Kingdom.

We think of the Christian life and we usually think of loving Christ.

But the Great Commandment… Kingdom Life… is you shall Love the Lord your God with all your heart mind soul and strength…

And the second is like it… you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39).

How do we love others?

How do we love others well having in ourselves the mind of Christ loving others as Christ loved us?

By counting ourselves a slave and sacrificially loving others as more significant than ourselves.

Let’s start with point number 1 of living in the Kingdom… of loving God and loving others… with our identity in Christ where…

I. Christians are Disciples and Slaves of Christ

John 13:12–14 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

We are back in the Upper Room.

Its the night Jesus is going to be betrayed.

The night He would be arrested… beaten… and handed over to be crucified to suffer and die in our place for our sins.

And we are welcomed in to Jesus’ last few words with His disciples before He goes to the cross and returns to His Father in Heaven.

Comforting words and final instructions for all who believe in Him and wait on His glorious return.

And just before these verses Jesus had just done something shocking.

He had gotten up… wrapped a towel around Himself… and washed His disciples feet.

A job for the lowest of the lowest slave.

And in doing so… Jesus gave us a picture of His glory and the gospel.

How the eternal Son of God took on Human flesh and humbled Himself to the point of death… even death on a cross… to wash and cleanse us from all our sin.

It was a living breathing parable… a sign of Christ as the Eternal Son of God and Gracious Savior who by His blood makes us clean and gives us eternal life.

But now, Jesus sits down and says Do you understand what I have done to you?

While He was washing their feet He told Peter What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand… referring to His death and resurrection because Jesus said If I do not wash you, you have no share with me… you have no eternal life (John 13:7-8 ).

But here it seems Jesus expects them to understand. To see something in what He’d just done.

What explains this paradox?

In washing their feet, Jesus showed them His glory as Savior.

And at the same time… in washing their feet… Jesus showed them their calling and identity as disciples.

As followers saved by His glory and Grace.

He said You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet (John 13:13-14).

Teacher and Lord

These words are very instructive for us and our Christian Life.

If you understand them and take them to heart… you will understand a lot of what it means to follow Christ.

Jesus identifies Himself as Teacher and Lord giving us our identity as His Disciples and Slaves.

Disciples

Students are called to learn from their teacher… Disciples are called to learn from their Rabbi.

To seek instruction from Him.

To think as He thinks and conform our thoughts to His thoughts.

As students and Disciples of our Lord and Savior, we should earnestly desire to learn from Him.

To hear His Word and abide in it… keep it and allow it to shape all of our life.

As Jesus said, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples (John 8:31).

Slaves

We are also Christ’s slaves.

This is especially poignant given that Jesus had just taken the position of a slave to wash His disciples feet.

Christ made Himself the lowest of the lowest slave doing the most menial task… nothing too far below Him.

That should be our attitude towards Christ.

Nothing too far below us… even the least of His words we will be diligent to obey.

A slave’s whole purpose… His will… His desire… all his life!… is to wholeheartedly seek the will of His Master.

We are bondservants of Christ.

And as bondservants the aim of our life… and all of our life!… is to obey His will… to serve the Lord… to carry out His will and purpose as dutifully and as faithfully as we possibly can.

Summary

With these words You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am… Jesus lays a total and absolute claim on all of our lives.

He is our Rabbi and we should seek to learn from Him.

He is our Master and we should seek to serve and obey Him.

And ultimately… He is our God and we should seek to love, worship, and live all of our lives for Him and Him alone.

As Disciples our mind is to be instructed by Him and His teaching.

To not live according to our own wisdom but to have our minds…

The way we think…

What we value…

The way we see and understand the world… to be conformed to His Word.

And then as Slaves… to live that out.

To obey Him and serve Him to carry out His will in all things in accordance to His Word.

Teacher and Lord. Disciples and Slaves.

Is that how we see our Christian life?

If we do… that begins to shape everything.

Do we have a question? Do we need Wisdom?

What does the Word say?

Do we not know what to do or is their some temptation to sin?

Obey Christ!… He is our Master.

When we see Christ as Teacher and Lord we start to recognize that all of our lives our for Him.

As Paul says 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

This is our fundamental identity as disciples of Jesus Christ.

We are not our own.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

The Christian life is all about dying to self and living for Christ.

Following Him as Teacher and Lord.

This should be our identity that marks all of our Discipleship.

I belong to Christ!

What’s His will?

Elsewhere Jesus said Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46).

And its the same question here.

Does dying to self and living for Christ mark your Christian life of Discipleship?

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (Luke 9:23-24).

So that’s point number 1…

As Christians we are Christ’s disciples and slaves.

We no longer live for or according to ourselves… but we live for Him.

And that takes us to point number 2 because if we are Christ’s Disciples and Slaves then we will model our lives after Him.

We will follow His Example and specifically in the context of John 13 follow His example in humbly and sacrificially loving others counting others more significant than ourselves.

Number 2…

II. Disciples and Slaves of Christ Must Follow Christ’s Example and Count Others More Significant than Themselves

John 13:13–16 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

Now Jesus here is not necessarily commanding us to literally get out bowls and wash one another’s feet.

There is something deeper and more profound here going on.

An even greater sacrifice He is calling us to.

He says For I have given you an example that you should do just as I have done…

He says you ought to wash one another’s feet and follow my example.

He is not necessarily calling us to do what He has done but as He has done.

Well what was that? What was His example?

Humble… Sacrificial Love.

That’s what Christ is calling us to here.

A humble… sacrificial love for others laying down our lives for their good.

This is a call to love your neighbor as yourself…

But even greater than that… to count others more significant than yourself and make yourself a slave to all humbly and sacrificially loving and serving others for their good.

That is what Christ did.

Before washing their feet John says He loved them to the end.

And then knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God… so this position of exaltation and glory… Jesus rose from supper… laid aside his outer garments, took a towel around His waist, and began to wash the disciples feet. (John 13:3-5).

He willingly… humbly… made Himself lower than low to love and serve His disciples for their good.

And Jesus says as I’ve done to you… you do the same.

Hit This!

Basically… and I think this is the key… the thing that makes all this snap into place and bring it to bear on our life in a real and meaningful way…

Jesus is saying follow my example and put others first.

Stop living for yourself… only thinking about yourself… only caring, considering, serving yourself.

Putting yourself first above all others.

Your life is not all about you and when you live for yourself you make it too much about you.

You make yourself God and you forget you are supposed to be living for me.

Count others more significant than yourself.

Humble yourself and make yourself a slave to all sacrificially loving and serving others as I have loved you.

That’s the thing that stands out to me in this passage.

Humility… Love… Serving others.

Some of the hardest… most difficult things there are to do… but they are the marks of every true disciple.

A little bit later Jesus will say John 13:34–35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Can we say that?

Can we say that the love we have for one another gives the world a picture of the love Christ has for us?

What kind of gospel are we preaching?

A humble, sacrificial, loving grace or a me-first, self-serving, self-love that follows the way of the world?

What is the aroma… the ethos… the character of our lives?

The Love of Christ or the Love of Self?

And this is hard…

Now maybe not for you… maybe you’re a great Christian… maybe you’re a saint.

But for me and the rest of us sinners… its hard to count others more significant than yourself.

To die to self and not just live for Christ… but put others first.

We are all too tempted to live for, think of, consider, and only love ourselves.

Its the way of the world and the way of the flesh.

And it’s hard to put to death.

We see how hard it is in how it was evidently a persistent problem for the disciples.

Who’s the Greatest?

All throughout the Gospels you’ll find them arguing again and again who is the greatest or seeking to put themselves first.

Mark 9:33–35 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.

That’s a weird conversation isn’t it?

I’m the greatest.

Nuh-uh… You’re just fine. I’m the greatest.

Well I’m pretty good…

Are you kidding me? You’re Judas!

But that’s what they were doing.

They were jockeying for prominence.

They were living for and exalting themselves at the expense of others.

So Jesus…

And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

That’s the same idea Jesus is getting at here. Servant of all.

Slave of all.

Loving others and putting others first.

This first will be last and last will be first is a common saying in the teaching of Jesus.

And the principle is: if you are always putting yourself first you are actually last.

That kind of thinking is the way of this world… not the Kingdom of Heaven.

But that didn’t stop the disciples.

Just a chapter later in Mark 10:35–44 we are told 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.”

Now this is just on the heels of Jesus predicting His death for a third time.

Verses 33 and 34 just before this passage: 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.

You’re meant to see a contrast between the humiliation and the humility of Christ and the pride and selfish ambition of the disciples.

And so Jesus said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”

And they basically ask, we want to be one at your right and one at your left hand in your Kingdom.

Now what’s so bad about that?

Because it wasn’t about the Kingdom… they were seeking glory for themselves.

And that takes us to the part I wanted you to see.

Mark 10:41-44 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. […You think?…] And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”

Again that theme.

Don’t live for yourself only thinking of yourself.

Wrap a towel around yourself and make yourself a slave.

Hard words.

And here’s what’s funny… I guess you could call it funny… they kept having this same argument.

In fact they had it the very night of the Last Supper.

It might have even been what led Jesus to put the towel around Himself in the first place.

I’m about to die… I got to show these knuckleheads what I mean.

Right after instituting the Lord’s Supper, Luke says…

Luke 22:24–27 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”

This dispute probably didn’t come from nowhere.

Jesus had just said the hand of the man who betrays me is on the table and this dispute likely came out of all the disciples saying “I would never betray Him! I’m the most faithful of all!”

And evidently, the disciples were two proud to serve one another.

As the Lords of the Gentiles they expected everyone else to serve them and so none of them washed one another’s or even Jesus’ feet.

That was a job too far below them… but not Jesus.

I am among you as the one who serves.

That’s the mind of Christ.

I have given you an example.

Now this way of thinking… of always putting themselves first is in direct contrast to true greatness.

The first will be last and the last will be first.

John the Baptist… the greatest man that has ever lived… He must increase I must decrease (John 3:30).

That’s it!

An ever increasing of Christ and an ever decreasing of ourselves.

Humbling ourselves… lowering ourselves… making ourselves nothing… slaves of all!

Living for the glory of God and the good of others Loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39).

Remember Jesus is Teacher and Lord… This is the way of thinking and the way of living Christ is calling us to.

A humbling, dying to self to live for the glory of God and the good of others.

Whoever would be first among you must be slave of all (Mark 10:44).

Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say?

Are we willing to humble ourselves and was one another’s feet?

John says elsewhere in 1 John 2:6 Whoever says He abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

To follow the model and example of Christ.

To be conformed to His image.

To put off the old man… the old Adam… our old, sinful flesh… and put on the New Man… the New Adam… Jesus Christ and follow Him.

Philippians 2

This is exactly what we see in Philippians 2.

As we saw last week Philippians 2 helps us understand the theological significance of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.

He wrapped a towel around Himself… He took the form of a servant… of a slave…

He emptied or nullified Himself… humbled Himself and was obedient tot He point of death even death on the cross.

But just as with our passage in John 13… Paul did not write Philippians 2 to give a bunch of theological information.

Just as John says If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet Paul says this.

Philippians 2:3–8 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 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.

This passage perfectly encapsulates Jesus’ teaching in John 13.

When Pauls says do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit… selfishness is the idea of only thinking or caring about yourself where as conceit is putting yourself before others.

So loving yourself… living for yourself…

And Paul says that’s not the mind of Christ!

Do nothing from that self loving, worldly attitude.

Rather, in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

This is the heart and mind of a servant.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests… so you do have interests and its good and right to look after them.

But look not only to your own interest… but also to the interests of others.

The idea here is not to just give everything up, never have an opinion that contradicts someone else, or just constantly wear yourself out trying to constantly serve others.

The idea for Paul… is to guard against selfishness… of thinking and living only for yourself.

Its the opposite of selfish ambition and conceit.

Sacrificially loving and serving them for their good counting yourself a slave to all.

That’s what Paul says.

Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though He was in the form of God… God Himself… did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself taking the form of a servant… the lowliest of servants stooping so low to wash the disciples feet.

If that wasn’t below Jesus then it isn’t below us.

No matter how humbling it is count others more significant than yourselves… Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus.

Make It Sharp

We can all fall into the trap of the Disciples of always putting ourselves first.

Of always loving and thinking only of ourselves… never thinking or looking outside of ourselves to say I am not my own, I was bought with a price.

My life is not all about me. My life is for loving God and loving others.

Modeling Christ… and showing His love, His grace, His mercy to the world.

Now you might thinking but I don’t do that.

I don’t constantly put myself first.

I might not think of myself as a slave but I definitely don’t go around thinking of myself the greatest?

Ok… but let me put it to you like this.

Hands and Feet

We usually think of serving others… sacrificially loving others for their good… of counting ourselves a slave as hands and feet kind of actions.

In other words, just physical acts of service.

And that’s definitely true.

James 2:15–16 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

Again 1 John 3:16–18 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. […Everything we’ve been talking about…] But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

Sacrificially loving and serving others does include taking care of practical needs.

It also includes practicing hospitality.

Romans 12:10, 13 Love one another with brotherly affection…Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

So Biblical love…. the hands and feet of serving one another looks like caring for each other and fellowshipping with another.

Care and love.

But I also want you to consider what it means to love others and count others more significant than yourselves in terms of your life on life… face to face… interpersonal interactions.

Our life together…

Your relationships with family, friends, coworkers… members of this church… people you bump into and interact with out in the world.

Do your relationships communicate you are a Slave of Christ and as a Slave of Christ a slave to all… a humble servant always seeking to love and serve others for their good?

What would your life look like if you had this sacrificial servant mentality?

How would you talk to others?

Treat others?

Think and speak of others?

Seek to love and do them good if you saw yourself as a humble slave sent by Christ… commissioned by Christ… to show the love and glory of the Master?

I can tell you what it would look like.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

It would look like Christ!

Pressure

Let me tell you the ultimate test.

How do you respond to others when the heat turns on?

When someone irritates you or sins against you?

Gets in your way or is a threat to you getting something that you want?

In those moments do you love others or do you exalt yourself?

And how you can tell is Do you respond with works of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit?

Galatians 5:19–21 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.

I want you to notice how many of the works of the flesh are social or relational sins.

Elsewhere Paul includes quarreling, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder (1 Corinthians 12:20).

This is all fruit of the flesh… the old man… putting yourself first.

How do you respond to others? Treat others?

If its bitterness, anger, and impatience then you know you are only serving and counting no one more significant than yourself.

Conversely Paul says…

Galatians 5:22–24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Again… notice the horizontal and relational nature of the fruit of the Spirit.

This is all in the context of Paul saying in Galatians 5:15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another… interpersonal relationships.

Even when wronged… the fruit of the Spirit seeks to lower the temperature in the room and refuses to respond to others in sin or retaliation but with the gentleness, love, and grace of Jesus Christ.

Counting others more significant than ourselves.

When the pressure gets ramped up… when you look at your relationships, that’s how you know if you are loving and serving others or only living for yourself.

The Works of the Flesh are the fruit of putting yourself first where as the Fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of dying to self.

Of putting off the old man and putting on the mind of Christ.

So loving and serving others… counting others more significant than yourselves and counting yourself a slave to all as a Slave of Christ looks responding with love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness and gentleness when your spouse sins against you…

When you’re kids get on your nerves…

When someone asks for your help or cuts you off…

Its an ever ever increasing of Christ and an ever decreasing of ourselves.

In our relationships… in our day to day or when the pressure is turned on… when someone sins… when you don’t get what you want…

Do you exalt yourselves over others and respond in Works of the Flesh?

Or do you count yourself a slave and others more significant than yourself and humbly love and serve them in the Fruit of the Spirit having in yourself the mind of Christ?

Transition

Remember… We started this sermon by talking about Jesus as Teacher and Lord… and as Teacher and Lord we are to learn from Him and follow His example.

As Teacher we are to have in ourselves the mind of Christ.

We are to learn from Him and count others more significant than ourselves.

And As Lord we are to live that out.

So as Teacher we are to have the mind of the Savior and as Lord we are to have the life of the Savior humbling loving and serving others with sacrificial love.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers (1 John 3:16).

Walking in the same way in which He walked (1 John 2:6).

And finally contrary to what the world says and our proud sinful flesh…

This humble, sacrificial love… slaves to all leads to blessing.

Because point number 3…

III. The Lord Opposes the Proud but Gives Grace to the Humble

John 13:17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

In these words is an important biblical principle that honestly has been lost today.

Blessings come with obedience.

Well that’s legalism!

That’s not True.

Its a biblical fact.

I tell my sons all the time… Sin brings death. Blessings come with obedience.

Now that’s not talking about salvation.

We are saved by grace, not by works.

But good works… obedience… are the evidence of our salvation… the fruit of Justification.

And if you want God’s blessing you need obedience in your life.

Just listen to how consistently the Bible teaches this.

Psalm 119:1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!

Proverbs 16:20 He who gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.

And Jesus again Luke 11:28 Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!

Blessings come with obedience.

We live in a world that says obedience counts for nothing.

We hear blessings come with obedience and immediately think of the Prosperity Gospel.

The false teaching that if you obey God you will have health, wealth and a Ferrari.

And while that’s not true… it doesn’t mean that there is not blessing.

Happy

The word Blessing here means happy.

Happy are you if you do them!

Blessings come with God’s favor and the joy and peace of a Christian life.

The hand of the Lord working for you and not against you doling out blessings.

The kind of blessings we are talking about is the life abundant (John 10:10).

Joy.

Its the idea of Green Pastures and Still Waters.

As Psalm 1 says Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked… He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Its the Wise Man who builds his house on the rock so that when the storms and wind comes its able to stand.

And the Wise Man Jesus says is the one who hears my words and does them (Matthew 7:24).

The Rock is building your life on Christ and His Word.

Now this is a general principle for all of God’s Word… but specifically here, Jesus says blessing comes with humbling yourself and serving others.

Loving others.

Laying down your life for others.

True Wisdom

This is contrary to everything the wisdom of the world has to say.

The world and our sinful flesh says put yourself first.

Get what’s yours.

Take care of yourself.

Look out for number 1.

Don

Don’t care about anyone else.

Jesus says love others.

Sacrifice yourself for others.

Humble yourself before others and make yourself a slave of all.

That’s the path of true blessing.

Loving God and loving others.

If you know these things blessed are you if you do them.

Why?

Because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Conclusion

To have the mind of Christ is to make ourself a slave and count others more significant than ourselves.

To humbly love and serve others as Slaves of Christ… and as slaves of Christ, Slaves of all.

This is upside down and backwards from the world.

This is the life of the Kingdom.

Love God and love others.

Do our lives carry to aroma of Christ?

Do they reflect the mind of Christ or are we only ever looking out for and considering ourselves?

Do our lives and our love for one another model and show the world the love of Christ.

Its difficult.

No one wants to make themselves a slave.

Humbling yourself is self-annihilation.

But Christ did for us.

He made Himself of no account to save us from our sins so that we would be free from our slavery to sin and the self to be slaves of Christ and slaves of all.

Let’s Pray