By Pastor Bobby Blakey
Slave Esteem
Believing It Is Better To Give Than To Receive
The gospel of self-esteem is proudly preached at the high schools of Orange Country. Students are encouraged to look inside, find the good and follow their hearts. The way to greatness, they are told, is in being yourself.
Jesus had something radically different to say. He said the way to greatness wasn’t in regarding yourself highly, but esteeming yourself as a slave.
Matthew 10:26-28 - Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Jesus says that to be first, we must become slaves. I’m trying to think how this line would come across at high school graduation ceremonies in Orange County. Students are incessantly told that everything they need is within them and to spend their life pursuing their own dreams. Instead, Jesus commands a life of servitude.
As Christians, the challenge for us is who are we going to believe: the popular worldly wisdom or the paradoxical truth of Jesus. While it is easy to say Jesus is right, do our lives show a servant’s heart? Do we wake up in the morning thinking about what we want to do that day or how we can help others? Do we walk into a room looking for what we are going to get or what we are going to give? We show that we understand Jesus when we do what he says.
Towards the end of the book of Acts, there is a quote from our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not a quote from any of the gospel books. In fact, I don’t even know when Jesus said it. But as the apostle Paul is talking to the leaders of the church in Ephesus, he quotes Jesus as saying:
Acts 20:35 - “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Jesus was living proof of this. Philippians 2:6-7 says that even though Jesus was by nature God he took on the nature of a slave. He served us by dying on the cross for our sin. Because of this God has now exalted him to the highest place and given him the name above all names. Someday every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Let us follow his example and become slaves ourselves. Let all of us esteem service as the more blessed way to live.
Take a moment right now to think about how you can serve someone today!
Pastor Bobby,
I was reading this morning in the Gospel of Luke the sacrificial nature that is required in being a slave for Christ:
“As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” - Luke 9:57-62
Thank you for posting this important blog.
Very true Pastor Bobby, so many schools, and society in general instill in the students lives that in order for them to be considered someone in this world they need to succeed in wealth or their own selfish goals. As Christ’s followers we have a huge task before us to reveal what is important to God, and not what is important in getting us ahead in the world.
This was a great sermon Pastor Bobby and very appropriate given our 21st century American culture!
Home run! What a perfect lesson, not only for the High Schoolers, but to us as adults who would like to forget this message…But not me! I’m committed to serving our great Lord. And that my friend, is thanks to the teaching I have recieved right here at home, within the walls of where ever Pastor Mike has set up camp. Praise God. Seriously…go Praise God!
Amen and Amen…no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness….dead to sin , alive to God! Preach it on the roof tops! Praise to the Lord
Bobby, great blog! I was thinking about what I enjoyed more the other day, mission’s trip or revival, and relized that I enjoyed the mission’s trip more because I was serving other people instead of serving myself and what I want. Doing things for others is way more of a blessing, and it encourages me that I know God commands me to do it.
Great message Pastor Bobby. Christ showed us His example by humbling Himself and became nothing. And by God’s grace, we as parents and leaders can also show our kids that we need to have that same servant’s heart that Christ did. Although I find it hard at times, I know I need to be more humble. And as our kids and students see our humbleness and service to them, they will follow suit.
That scripture in Philippians 2 is amazing. And verses 1-5 add:
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus”
Very humbling to all of us. Especially us men. Let’s thank God that Christ was able to live the life we couldn’t live and helps us to live for Him!