Matt 20
25 But Jesus called them unto him,and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles
exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be
great among you, let him be your minister;
27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him
be your servant:
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
The Lord Jesus said this after the mother of James and John came
to Him and had a request. She asked that her one son might sit at the right of Jesus'
throne and the other at the left.
Whenever Jesus did something He always included Peter. This mother
was so true to man's nature. She just wanted the best for her children and only thought
that they are special. She acted in a human way.
The other disciples were just as dedicated to the Lord as these
two.
It's not evil when a mother wants the best for her children, but
it's not good if she forgets the others.
Do you want the best for the children of the Lord, or are you only
interested in your own family?
We should love one another as Jesus loved us.
What was also bad was the reaction of the other disciples when
they heard of it. They became indignant and quarrelled with James and John.
But the reaction of Jesus amazes one. He didn't reprimand the
mother or John and James. He answered them in a kind way, saying that what they asked were
outside of His jurisdiction. That request was up to His Father.
Jesus also did not quarrel with the other disciples for their bad
reaction, but He called them to Himself and taught them these important lessons we just
read in our text.
We so often make this mistake that we try to correct things by
force and exercise authority. But Jesus said that it should not be so among us. The one
that wants to be greatest must become the servant of all.
It's so interesting that while we have those that wanted to be
great and sit at Jesus' right and left hand and the others being angry about that, Jesus
didn't pick sides but taught them a lesson about their wrong desires.
May we heed Jesus' words, that we respect one another, and be the
slave of my brother and sister. That we might be able to bow and be the least. A servant
has no say, no right to open his mouth and demand his right.
That's what the Lord Jesus teach them here, and puts them back in
their rightful place as disciples of Jesus Christ. They must become the servant of all.
We must become the servant of all if we want to be disciples of
Jesus Christ, and only do what the Master tells us to do.
This is so difficult for us to do. We fight for our rights, in
stead of viewing and submitting and leaving our case and rights over to the Lord.
There's a story about a beautiful bamboo. The gardener one day
came by and said, 'I want to use you'. The bamboo was very happy. Then the gardener said,
'but to use you, I have to prune you'. But the bamboo plant didn't want to be pruned. Then
the gardener said, 'if I don't prune you, I can't use you'. Then the bamboo submitted'.
Lastly the gardener said, 'still one thing remains that I must cut you down, split you
open and take out your heart. Only then can I use you.' It was difficult but eventually
the bamboo bowed, and the gardener could use him.
The hollow bamboo was used to channel water to the dry fields and
many other plants got watered.
The Lord hears when we sing, 'take my life and let it be,
consecrated Lord to Thee'. Are we prepared that the Lord prunes us? Only then can He use
us.
I must allow Him to cut away that which is beautiful to me, my
beauty, my success, my intellect, so that He can use me.
Do you understand the spiritual lessons? If the Lord cannot attain
that in your life He cannot use you. You can pray and pray and try other things, but it
won't help if you don't allow the Lord to cut away and prune you.
As with the bamboo our old heart must be removed and we must
receive the nature and heart of Christ.
Many Christians cannot understand that their life is not changed,
but it is because their old nature had never been dealt with.
The problem with us is that we all say we want to serve the Lord,
but with an old heart. We don't allow the Lord full control in our lives to remove
whatever we trust in and give us His nature. This is essential for each and every person.
We all want to follow the Lord, but our very nature has to change. If that doesn't happen
we will remain fruitless and useless in the Kingdom of God.
You can preach the Gospel and dedicate your life to the Lord but
if the old heart is not removed, He cannot use you.
The Lord tells us what He expects from us, but He never forces His
way upon us. He sets before us life and death but we still have to make the decision.
Only when the bamboo submitted was it a blessing to so many
plants. Do you want to be such a blessing? Many people are thirsty. Are you a channel of
life to them?
The Lord Jesus is the Gardener. Allow Him to change you, your very
nature.
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