Whose Kingdom Are You serving?

Introduction: (Write This Later) 1. (Matthew 20:17-19) – Emphasis on the mindset of Jesus going to the cross. There is the momentum leading Jesus towards Jerusalem obedience to the will of the father, the crowds pressing in around him who desire to make him king. There is a lot left to do this last week and very little time. On top of all of this is the weight of the cross looming in the mind of Jesus. (Raymond Foster) 2. Explain “Doulas/Bondservant”- One who is subservient to and entirely at the disposal of his master. (Eli Maynard) 3. (Matthew 20:25-28) – “Last will be first” Jesus has come to serve and give His life as a ransom for many” He is here to accomplish the will of the Father. (Bryan West) CIT: Jesus is not like worldly rulers, He is here to Serve, and obey the will of the father. Transition: As we read through chapters 19 and 20 of Matthew we find the narrative has begun to build momentum as Jesus reaches the end of his Journey up towards Jerusalem. Jesus has made it known to his disciples that he will be handed over and crucified, Jesus has set his face towards Jerusalem, Isaiah says he has set his face like flint/stone to obedience to the will of the father. Verse: (Matthew 20:29) “And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him.” (Paint the Picture!) • This crowd has been with Jesus for awhile now. • We have learned that anywhere Jesus goes Crowds seem to multiply. • We have also learned that the crowd and Jesus always have different goals/motivations. • The crowd was desiring a physical kingdom / Jesus was here to establish a spiritual one • The crowd thought they were following a conquering king / Jesus was leading as a suffering servant. • The crowd wanted to be put in a position of being served / Jesus had humbled himself in order to serve. • Jesus knows this crowd who will soon be shouting “Hosanna/ save us” will be the very ones soon shouting “Crucify”. Transition Because we live in a very physically driven world and we wrestle with the pride of our flesh, I think that many times we lose sight of our role in the kingdom of God. We lose sight of the example set by Christ, so let me ask you this morning (Point 1) Whose kingdom are you serving? • Are you following the Jesus that is going to build up your own personal kingdom (Career/ Home/ Finances/ Family) • OR are you following the Jesus that says to “take up your cross and follow me?” • Is your face set like stone to carry out the will of God in your life? 1. Relationships- Are they honoring to the Lord? 2. Finances-Are you trusting and giving like you should be? 3. Time- Is all of your time wasted and never given towards kingdom things? 4. Work-Are you honest and giving your best? Every area of your life is surrendered to Christ. You are a slave to righteousness; you are not your own any longer. Story Time: I was speaking to a friend the other day and I was talking with her about this passage of scripture and how it was really challenging me to focus on surrendering to God in certain areas of my life. As I was discussing this she made the comment “yeah, you preachers have to give up a lot, I couldn’t imagine that.” This was really strange to me because I immediately thought…wait…this isn’t just about preachers, this is for every Christian who has been saved by the grace and kindness of God. You don’t get a special pass to be a “regular” Christian. • (Philippians 2:5-8) “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. • If we are unwilling to follow the example set before us then we are exalting ourselves above Christ. You think that you are better than God. • If we as a church do not learn to humble ourselves before the cross, then we are nothing more than a crowd. “I am so sick of comfortable Christianity in my own life.” • Let me remind you that you are not your own, you have been ransomed from slavery, and are now a bondservant to righteousness. • “If you want to be great in the kingdom of heaven you must be a servant.” Transition And as we continue reading, Jesus is fixing to demonstrate to the crowd/us what the heart of a servant truly looks like. Verse: (Matthew 20:30-32) “And Behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” • Blind men, helpless, dependent, worthless, disgusting, unclean, failures • People in this condition many times would be thought to have some sort of secret sin being punished • These men were hopeless, helpless, and hurting. But then Jesus came walking by. • Why are they yelling? • Crowds rebuke/ Threatening • We continue to see the contrast between Jesus and the crowd. • Jesus/ Crucifixion/ Teaching/Little Time/ On this mission from God…stops • The crowd sees trash/ Jesus sees treasure • The crowd sees a problem / Jesus sees an opportunity to serve Transition This crowd was not interested in serving; they were only concerned with being served. A lack of humility creates a lack of valuing people. So let me ask you… Point 2: Do you value people? • There is a whole world of people crying out for Truth and Love and there are not near enough people answering that call. / Many times we are the crowd./ Be quiet I am busy building my own kingdom. • It is our responsibility TO STOP in the moments in our busy lives and tells people about Jesus. At one time we were the helpless blind men! Who stopped for you? Examples; Ron and Allen • We are called to make disciples, teach, correct, rebuke… this requires loving people enough to tell them about Jesus • This is not just your pastor’s responsibility./ Church • Jesus values people… • You may be thinking this morning “HOW DO I KNOW GOD VALUES ME, How do I know He will hear me why I cry out?” • {Personal Testimony: 2016} Let me tell you what He has done for me. In September of 2016 my life officially fell apart. I lost everything. I was broken in a way I didn’t know was possible. During this time I was having panic attacks so severe it would be a struggle for sometimes hours to even really catch my breath. I had considered suicide several times, my self-worth was gone, and the feeling of isolation and depression was overwhelming. I was blind with grief and in a dark place and I was crying with everything I had in me. “Lord, have mercy on me, Son of David.” I remember vividly when I moved in to Littlerock in November I sat on the floor of my apartment with the furniture and the boxes containing the ruins of my life, and the sound of my mourning and grief was loud it was drowning out everything I knew was true about God. “You deserve this!” “JUST BE QUIET!” “You are worthless” “Jesus doesn’t care about you” But as I cried out, in that dark hopeless place, the overwhelming almost tangible love of God met me in those moments and supported me in a way I cant really fully explain. I have no doubt that Jesus stopped for me. He met me in that dark place, he heard my desperate cry for help. I have no doubts now three years later that when I cried out, JESUS DID NOT PASS ME BY. • I don’t know where you are in your life right now but I promise when you cry out to Jesus. He will not pass you by. You are valuable. • How dare I ever walk by someone who is broken and hurting and not see the love of God on that person. The potential that this person has on the kingdom of God. • How dare I not give my best and serve the one who gave me everything • The more you value what Christ has done for you, the more you are going to value people. Transition When you take time out of your life to stop and value people, then comes the responsibility to invest in those people. Our service to others is what makes disciples. So let me ask you.. Point 3: Are you investing in people? Verse: (Matthew 20:33-34) “They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.” • These men asked God to meet them where they were and fix the things in their lives that they couldn’t fix. • They cried out to the only one who could take away their darkness/hurting/despair/helplessness. • Then Jesus was moved with compassion. “your pain in my heart” • Jesus when he heals people many times in the gospels Jesus gets really into people’s personal space. • In Mark 7 He sticks fingers in guy’s ear, spits and touches his tongue. • Because Jesus invested in these men they got up and followed him. • When you cry out to God you better prepare for Jesus to start getting involved in the personal areas of your life. • It may make you uncomfortable, but He will personally work and perfect those areas in your life. It will make you want to follow him. • Church can I tell you today that when we start serving, when we start valuing people, that’s when we will start making disciples. That’s when you will see people’s lives changed in our church and community/world. (This may be taking a young guy fishing and getting involved in their lives) (Chocolate Gravy and feeding HighSchoolers) • It starts with us telling them about Jesus and then investing in their lives. What do I do? 1. Humble yourself 2. Remember how much God values you, and start valuing people. 3. Invest in others