Matt. 20:20-28; Luke 22:24-30
"Great service pastor! I’ve heard that a lot, especially after funerals and yes on Sundays too. I appreciate the kind words and it makes me feel good. But it takes many servants to produce a good service, and I am not really in charge of it all. I am mostly responsible for the message and prayers, but the music, the bulletin, the decorations and lights, the carpet the pews and everything else in here come from other people, who either provided it years ago or like Lynn and Kathy and the rest of the band, do it every week. I don’t really want all the credit for a good service.
You know what’s funny to me now that I got to thinking about these things this week? If I ever serve someone, you know, do them a favor, help them out or give them a ride, they say “Thank you.” But they never say, “Great service!” Waiters, waitresses and pastors hear the words, “Good service.”
On the other hand, I myself have taken to saying a particular thing when I notice someone serving. I like to tell them, “Thank you for your ministry.” I have noticed how many different kinds of jobs there are in the service industry. The first thing that came to mind was nurses. Most nurses are really great people. You know what I mean when I call them great, don’t you? Take Linda Dennis as an example. What a great phlebotomist she has been! She is famous around here for her excellent skill and kind hearted attitude while doing it. I think the reason she hasn’t quite really retired yet is that for her it’s not really work. It’s a ministry.
If you ever read the Scripture in our Sunday services, thank you for your ministry. If you take care of the kids in Sunday school or junior church, thank you for your ministry. Council members, thank you for your ministry. People who pray, thank you for your ministry. Anyone here who helps keep this place clean by volunteering your custodial service, thank you for your ministry! This place is full of great people! So many of you I know who give of yourselves for the sake of the kingdom. That’s great service!
When James and John, or was it their mother, asked about sitting at Jesus’ right and left hands, they were just doing what comes naturally. They were normal healthy and ambitious. They used to have a career lined up to do fishing for living. Then Jesus asked them to give up everything to follow him and he said he would make them fishers of men. They soon came to believe that he would become the next king of Israel. He had power. He was a great orator. He could deal with the Pharisees. He was extremely popular. Things were going great! So, in a perfectly understandable move, they put in a request for a promotion. Nothing wrong with that, right? That’s life. It’s expected.
Everybody wants to be great. Even you do. Every one of you would probably like to hear someone say of you, “What a great person!” If I were to ask you to think of the great people you know, who would come to mind? I suppose you would think of important historical figures such as Jesus, presidents, kings, rulers and famous actors and actresses. We think of them as great specifically because they are famous. We don’t know them personally, but we know their names from history books or news accounts so they must be great because they are somebody. But, except for Jesus, if you did know these great people personally, you might not really like them. As Jesus said, they are often characterized as people who will Lord it over you and care more about their own career more than they care about you.
But now, think of the great people you do know personally. Don’t you have a different way of looking at what makes them great? I mean the ones who come to mind when you think this thought, “Isn’t he or she a great person?” the great ones who are close to you may not be famous or important at all in public circles. But they can be important to you! There is something else about them that makes them great. It is how much they give of themselves to love others. Isn’t that what really makes a person great? It’s in the way pursue good character as more important than a good career.
I have a wonderful story to share with you. It comes from a Facebook post written by a young lady from West Virginia. By the time I am done reading it you will understand why this is flying around the world and hundreds of thousands of people have read it and shared it and the author has been invited to talk about her experience in the Today Show.
Here is the post, in Morgan Wheeler’s own words. I walked out of Wal-Mart today and got in my car. As I began to pull out, I had to wait for a man in a wheelchair to pass by. As I watched him, I noticed that he was missing his right leg from the knee down and was wearing, what appeared to be, old, government issued, combat boots. He was (from my guess) in his late sixties/early seventies and seemed to be stopping to take a break.
He had not realized that I had started my car and was attempting to pull out, so when he saw me, he waved in an apologetic manner and rolled forward three more times and took another break. I backed up my car the inches I had previously pulled forward, put it in park, turned off the engine, and got out. I walked up to him and introduced myself. I asked him if I could assist him with his shopping today, and he, quite grumpily, said that he was doing just fine and was not getting much anyways.
Me, being as stubborn as I am, insisted and proceeded to push him and tell him a little about myself. He interrupted me and said that he only needed help to the door, to which I picked up where I had left off before he interrupted me. I told him about Fayetteville, and my horses, and my nephews (I had parked a good ways away from the doors). And when I reached the doors, I continued to push him and talk. We reached the produce area and I asked him to tell me about himself.
He reluctantly looked at me and began telling me that he lived in Sod- Lincoln County, and that he just recently lost his wife. I asked him if he was a veteran, to which he replied that he was- but with pain on his face, so I changed the subject and asked if he had made a shopping list. He handed me a list with only four things on it: peanut butter, soup, bread, and bananas. So we began shopping and I continued to talk... hard to believe- I know.
Once we had gotten the items he needed, I asked if he needed the essentials: milk, eggs, butter. He told me that he might not make it home, without them going bad. So I questioned how he got to the store. He told me that he did what he was doing in the parking lot until he got to 119 and then hitch hiked with a trucker to the parking lot. So I called a taxi for him and grabbed the essentials plus a few other things and put them in the cart. After placing a gallon of milk in his cart he was crying.
People were passing by us, looking sideways at him. I knelt down and asked him what was wrong and he replied, that I "was doing far too much for an old man that I barely knew." I told him that where I am from, and from the family I was raised in, we help one another, no matter the task and that I had never met a stranger. I also told him that he deserved everything I was doing for him because he fought for my freedom and sacrificed so much. We made it to the check-out line and I paid for his groceries, against his request.
When we got outside, we waited for the taxi together. He thanked me over and over again and appeared- to me- to have been in a much better mood than when I found him. When the taxi arrived, I helped him load his groceries and wheelchair into the taxi and asked the driver to take him home and help him into his house with his groceries. I gave him the only cash I had on me- $44, also against his will. I told him thank you for his service before closing the door. Tears formed again and he thanked me one last time and said, "God bless you." I returned to my car, and could not help but cry.
This is the world we live in today. How many people passed him and would have continued to pass him while he struggled? How many people are willing to give their money to Vanity Fair to read all about Bruce Jenner and not help a veteran pay for his groceries? Today was a truly humbling experience for me, and I consider myself extremely blessed to have the capability of understanding what is truly important in this world. THAT man was a HERO, and far too many will say otherwise. I am sorry that this post was so long, and if you have read it to this point, I hope you are as humbled as I was. God bless the men and women who have fought for our right to view the wrong people as heroes, and thank God for the people who know better. End of story.
Now that’s a great story about a great person. Morgan’s story went viral because it is a really good picture of the kind of humble living God would like to see in us. But it lacks one thing. I wish Morgan had been just a little more humble and had found an opportunity to let the man know that the reason she wanted to bless him the way she did is because Jesus had so blessed her. Maybe Morgan is not even an evangelical Christian though. However all of us in this room are Christian. At least we say we are. And if we truly are, then we need to have the character, generosity and kindness of people like Morgan Wheeler, plus the humility to give the credit to Jesus at every opportunity, since he is the one who’s love makes us new and makes us more loving.
As Jesus said, the really great people, are the humblest servants among us. And Jesus himself was the supreme example of that humble loving service, right? Think about this. Jesus wasn’t trying to get out of parking lot when he thought of you and me. It wasn’t a chance meeting. Jesus had a plan. You were not a worthy veteran hero who had lost a leg in a war years before. You and I were just rebellious sinners who would have completely ignored God if he hadn’t come looking for us. Jesus didn’t just spend a few minutes talking and helping you out and handing over his spare cash. He literally died for you so that by faith in Him you could become a completely new creature. All the other religions in the world are focused on making bad people good. But only Jesus is intent on making dead people live!
Now observe his humble service. Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! That is what makes him truly great! That is why the Scripture goes on to say, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
As God, you might think Jesus was already great! And really he was because he does have such a great character. But we wouldn’t really know how great God is if he wasn’t willing to do what he did for us as a humble servant. Jesus’ humility makes him even greater than he would be if he were just an all-powerful being who could lord it over us. Jesus is an all-powerful being who could snuff us out for not doing what he asked of us. But he loves us instead! He came for us. He humbled himself to an infinitely more significant degree than Morgan Wheeler or any other mere human being, ever did or ever even could or would even want to.
Now believe that, with all you heart. Think it over again and let it sink in so that you truly develop an urgent desire to tell the whole world the good news that you were a dead sinner. Go ahead and humble yourself to admit that you were a filthy, rotten, stinking, no-good, lousy sinner. We all have to be humble enough to admit that, and that before faith in Jesus all our good behavior was just a cover for a selfish, manipulative person who wanted to be great or at least get other people to think so. But then you put your faith in Jesus who forgave all that sin and brought you to life to live eternally! Let people know that and you will be able to reach the lowest of the low with some credibility that you really have something they need, a Savior who can save them too! Not a plan of action, a Savior! Not a new religion, a Savior! If you can offer that to people, then I will be able to look at your life and say, “Great Service!” That’s right side up greatness!
"Great service pastor! I’ve heard that a lot, especially after funerals and yes on Sundays too. I appreciate the kind words and it makes me feel good. But it takes many servants to produce a good service, and I am not really in charge of it all. I am mostly responsible for the message and prayers, but the music, the bulletin, the decorations and lights, the carpet the pews and everything else in here come from other people, who either provided it years ago or like Lynn and Kathy and the rest of the band, do it every week. I don’t really want all the credit for a good service.
You know what’s funny to me now that I got to thinking about these things this week? If I ever serve someone, you know, do them a favor, help them out or give them a ride, they say “Thank you.” But they never say, “Great service!” Waiters, waitresses and pastors hear the words, “Good service.”
On the other hand, I myself have taken to saying a particular thing when I notice someone serving. I like to tell them, “Thank you for your ministry.” I have noticed how many different kinds of jobs there are in the service industry. The first thing that came to mind was nurses. Most nurses are really great people. You know what I mean when I call them great, don’t you? Take Linda Dennis as an example. What a great phlebotomist she has been! She is famous around here for her excellent skill and kind hearted attitude while doing it. I think the reason she hasn’t quite really retired yet is that for her it’s not really work. It’s a ministry.
If you ever read the Scripture in our Sunday services, thank you for your ministry. If you take care of the kids in Sunday school or junior church, thank you for your ministry. Council members, thank you for your ministry. People who pray, thank you for your ministry. Anyone here who helps keep this place clean by volunteering your custodial service, thank you for your ministry! This place is full of great people! So many of you I know who give of yourselves for the sake of the kingdom. That’s great service!
When James and John, or was it their mother, asked about sitting at Jesus’ right and left hands, they were just doing what comes naturally. They were normal healthy and ambitious. They used to have a career lined up to do fishing for living. Then Jesus asked them to give up everything to follow him and he said he would make them fishers of men. They soon came to believe that he would become the next king of Israel. He had power. He was a great orator. He could deal with the Pharisees. He was extremely popular. Things were going great! So, in a perfectly understandable move, they put in a request for a promotion. Nothing wrong with that, right? That’s life. It’s expected.
Everybody wants to be great. Even you do. Every one of you would probably like to hear someone say of you, “What a great person!” If I were to ask you to think of the great people you know, who would come to mind? I suppose you would think of important historical figures such as Jesus, presidents, kings, rulers and famous actors and actresses. We think of them as great specifically because they are famous. We don’t know them personally, but we know their names from history books or news accounts so they must be great because they are somebody. But, except for Jesus, if you did know these great people personally, you might not really like them. As Jesus said, they are often characterized as people who will Lord it over you and care more about their own career more than they care about you.
But now, think of the great people you do know personally. Don’t you have a different way of looking at what makes them great? I mean the ones who come to mind when you think this thought, “Isn’t he or she a great person?” the great ones who are close to you may not be famous or important at all in public circles. But they can be important to you! There is something else about them that makes them great. It is how much they give of themselves to love others. Isn’t that what really makes a person great? It’s in the way pursue good character as more important than a good career.
I have a wonderful story to share with you. It comes from a Facebook post written by a young lady from West Virginia. By the time I am done reading it you will understand why this is flying around the world and hundreds of thousands of people have read it and shared it and the author has been invited to talk about her experience in the Today Show.
Here is the post, in Morgan Wheeler’s own words. I walked out of Wal-Mart today and got in my car. As I began to pull out, I had to wait for a man in a wheelchair to pass by. As I watched him, I noticed that he was missing his right leg from the knee down and was wearing, what appeared to be, old, government issued, combat boots. He was (from my guess) in his late sixties/early seventies and seemed to be stopping to take a break.
He had not realized that I had started my car and was attempting to pull out, so when he saw me, he waved in an apologetic manner and rolled forward three more times and took another break. I backed up my car the inches I had previously pulled forward, put it in park, turned off the engine, and got out. I walked up to him and introduced myself. I asked him if I could assist him with his shopping today, and he, quite grumpily, said that he was doing just fine and was not getting much anyways.
Me, being as stubborn as I am, insisted and proceeded to push him and tell him a little about myself. He interrupted me and said that he only needed help to the door, to which I picked up where I had left off before he interrupted me. I told him about Fayetteville, and my horses, and my nephews (I had parked a good ways away from the doors). And when I reached the doors, I continued to push him and talk. We reached the produce area and I asked him to tell me about himself.
He reluctantly looked at me and began telling me that he lived in Sod- Lincoln County, and that he just recently lost his wife. I asked him if he was a veteran, to which he replied that he was- but with pain on his face, so I changed the subject and asked if he had made a shopping list. He handed me a list with only four things on it: peanut butter, soup, bread, and bananas. So we began shopping and I continued to talk... hard to believe- I know.
Once we had gotten the items he needed, I asked if he needed the essentials: milk, eggs, butter. He told me that he might not make it home, without them going bad. So I questioned how he got to the store. He told me that he did what he was doing in the parking lot until he got to 119 and then hitch hiked with a trucker to the parking lot. So I called a taxi for him and grabbed the essentials plus a few other things and put them in the cart. After placing a gallon of milk in his cart he was crying.
People were passing by us, looking sideways at him. I knelt down and asked him what was wrong and he replied, that I "was doing far too much for an old man that I barely knew." I told him that where I am from, and from the family I was raised in, we help one another, no matter the task and that I had never met a stranger. I also told him that he deserved everything I was doing for him because he fought for my freedom and sacrificed so much. We made it to the check-out line and I paid for his groceries, against his request.
When we got outside, we waited for the taxi together. He thanked me over and over again and appeared- to me- to have been in a much better mood than when I found him. When the taxi arrived, I helped him load his groceries and wheelchair into the taxi and asked the driver to take him home and help him into his house with his groceries. I gave him the only cash I had on me- $44, also against his will. I told him thank you for his service before closing the door. Tears formed again and he thanked me one last time and said, "God bless you." I returned to my car, and could not help but cry.
This is the world we live in today. How many people passed him and would have continued to pass him while he struggled? How many people are willing to give their money to Vanity Fair to read all about Bruce Jenner and not help a veteran pay for his groceries? Today was a truly humbling experience for me, and I consider myself extremely blessed to have the capability of understanding what is truly important in this world. THAT man was a HERO, and far too many will say otherwise. I am sorry that this post was so long, and if you have read it to this point, I hope you are as humbled as I was. God bless the men and women who have fought for our right to view the wrong people as heroes, and thank God for the people who know better. End of story.
Now that’s a great story about a great person. Morgan’s story went viral because it is a really good picture of the kind of humble living God would like to see in us. But it lacks one thing. I wish Morgan had been just a little more humble and had found an opportunity to let the man know that the reason she wanted to bless him the way she did is because Jesus had so blessed her. Maybe Morgan is not even an evangelical Christian though. However all of us in this room are Christian. At least we say we are. And if we truly are, then we need to have the character, generosity and kindness of people like Morgan Wheeler, plus the humility to give the credit to Jesus at every opportunity, since he is the one who’s love makes us new and makes us more loving.
As Jesus said, the really great people, are the humblest servants among us. And Jesus himself was the supreme example of that humble loving service, right? Think about this. Jesus wasn’t trying to get out of parking lot when he thought of you and me. It wasn’t a chance meeting. Jesus had a plan. You were not a worthy veteran hero who had lost a leg in a war years before. You and I were just rebellious sinners who would have completely ignored God if he hadn’t come looking for us. Jesus didn’t just spend a few minutes talking and helping you out and handing over his spare cash. He literally died for you so that by faith in Him you could become a completely new creature. All the other religions in the world are focused on making bad people good. But only Jesus is intent on making dead people live!
Now observe his humble service. Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! That is what makes him truly great! That is why the Scripture goes on to say, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
As God, you might think Jesus was already great! And really he was because he does have such a great character. But we wouldn’t really know how great God is if he wasn’t willing to do what he did for us as a humble servant. Jesus’ humility makes him even greater than he would be if he were just an all-powerful being who could lord it over us. Jesus is an all-powerful being who could snuff us out for not doing what he asked of us. But he loves us instead! He came for us. He humbled himself to an infinitely more significant degree than Morgan Wheeler or any other mere human being, ever did or ever even could or would even want to.
Now believe that, with all you heart. Think it over again and let it sink in so that you truly develop an urgent desire to tell the whole world the good news that you were a dead sinner. Go ahead and humble yourself to admit that you were a filthy, rotten, stinking, no-good, lousy sinner. We all have to be humble enough to admit that, and that before faith in Jesus all our good behavior was just a cover for a selfish, manipulative person who wanted to be great or at least get other people to think so. But then you put your faith in Jesus who forgave all that sin and brought you to life to live eternally! Let people know that and you will be able to reach the lowest of the low with some credibility that you really have something they need, a Savior who can save them too! Not a plan of action, a Savior! Not a new religion, a Savior! If you can offer that to people, then I will be able to look at your life and say, “Great Service!” That’s right side up greatness!
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