Sunday, February 27, 2022

Responding to the Living Word




This is the manuscript of the fourth sermon in the series "Responding to the Living Word".  

When things run out, whether it’s wine, justice, or health or hope or bread or life itself, Jesus is the true source of abundance for life. In a world where there is never enough, Jesus is all-sufficient, He is more than enough.  In Jesus there is the abundance of life, a new way, a new hope, a new gospel, a new freedom for all of life. You, too, may now believe and be invited to join in the joy of the party of life.

A link for an audio recording of the sermon is at the end of the manuscript.

You can watch a video recording of the entire service on the Christ Church YouTube Channel  https://youtu.be/Ld5o9s2SMTc


Scripture:


John 2:1‭-‬11 NIV On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.


Text


John 2:10 NLT “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”


The key theme in the gospel of John is found at; 


John 10:10 NIV  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.


So what does this verse have to do with our text?  Stick with me this morning and you will get it.


Throughout this gospel, written by John we are presented with signs that vividly illustrate the abundance Jesus brings to life. 


The miracle that Jean read this morning is the first of those signs recorded for us by John.


Jesus, his mother, and his disciples were invited to a wedding feast. It could very well have been the wedding of a relative, since Mary seemed to have some influence on the servants, and took a personal interest in the embarrassment to the family when the wine ran out. 


Everybody who works with nervous families at wedding celebrations knows how uneasy they can become if everything does not go well. 


This wedding celebration was about to be a disaster. It appeared that the groom’s family had not made adequate preparation; they may have tried to skimp on the expenses. Their social embarrassment would be remembered in the community. It would be a long time before they would be able to live this down.


I. What Jesus did to solve their problem shows that in a  world where things run out, Jesus is the abundance of life (John 2:3). 


In his gospel John recorded the great signs Jesus did to demonstrate his power over the world. 


He brought joy to this wedding party. Jean read about that joy in our Scripture this morning in John 2:1–11.


In John 2:13-16 John recorded the judgment Jesus brought to the temple officials.  


John 2:13‭-‬16 NIV  When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 


He brought healing to a nobleman’s son;


John 4:46‭-‬52 NIV Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.”


He gave a man sick for thirty-eight years a new chance at life 


One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

John 5:5‭-‬10 NIV


He fed more than  five thousand people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. 


John 6:8‭-‬13 NIV Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.


he walked on the water


John 6:16‭-‬21 NIV When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.


he gave sight to blind eyes (9:1–17); 


John 9:1‭-‬7 NIV As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.


and he showed his power to give life by raising Lazarus from the dead


John 11:38‭-‬44 NIV Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”


What's the point of reading all these Scriptures?  The connecting theme of these signs is that when things run out, whether it’s wine or justice or health or hope or bread or life itself, Jesus is the true source of abundance for life. In a world where there is never enough, Jesus is all-sufficient, He is more than enough. 





II. In a world where people are just satisfied with just getting by, Jesus goes beyond just providing; he improves on life (John 2:10). 


The steward of the wedding feast was obviously surprised because he called to the bridegroom and said 


John 2:10 NIV… “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”


When the most important celebration in the lives of these two families was about to disintegrate because there was not enough wine, Jesus not only rescued the party, but he also improved upon it! 


If this is not an accurate picture of how Jesus deals with life, there isn’t one in all the Gospels. Jesus comes to us when everything appears to be lost and turns what could have been disaster into a miracle of abundance. 


Has this ever happened in your life? Perhaps it was the loss of a job, a failed test, a broken promise, a divorce, a financial disaster, or a death that left you feeling that life had caved in on you. I have personally experienced all of those.  At these kinds of moments, Jesus brings to our lives not just rescue but grace sufficient to bring us finally to victory and joy again.


Romans 8:35‭-‬39 NIV Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


 He does not simply “help us get through the night”; he improves on our situation. 


Hebrews 13:5‭-‬6 MSG Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?



III. In a world living by ritual, or ceremony, or a prescribed order Jesus becomes the source of true life and joy (John 2:6). 


John 2:6 NIV Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.


The six stone jars were there because of the Jewish ceremonial laws. They were there for the cleansing rites. The water from them was used to wash the feet and cleanse the hands of the guests. The number six is an incomplete number, being one less than the sacred and complete number seven. So you could say that Jesus is the One who completes what is lacking in the Jewish ritualistic ceremonies. 


John 2:7‭-‬8 NIV Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so,


B. F. Westcott, who was a British bishop, biblical scholar and theologian perhaps most known for co-editing The New Testament in the Original Greek in 1881, suggests that the water used to make wine did not come from the stone jars, but from the well. The Greek word for draw out, in verse 8, Westcott insists, is the word for taking water from a well, not dipping from a jar. 


The symbolism according to Westcott is that after the ceremonial activities had been completed, what was needed was “a spring of water welling up to eternal life”


You remember the encounter and conversation that Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at a well when he asked her to give Him a drink. The full story is in John chapter 4 but I want to read just a few verses about what Jesus said about water welling up to eternal life.


John 4:11‭-‬14 NIV “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”


So, Westcott says that from the well they drew the water that Jesus then transformed into the new wine, the best wine.


The gospel is new wine that requires new wineskins 


Matthew 9:16‭-‬17 NIV “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”


Mark 2:21‭-‬22 NIV “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”


Luke 5:36‭-‬37 NIV He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.


The old Jewish legal system for righteousness was not able to hold the new wine of grace


Hebrews 10:1‭-‬7 NIV The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.’ ”


God’s grace is exemplified in Jesus Christ, the giver of abundant life. 


John 15:1 NIV “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.


The implication is that He was the vine from which the true wine would come. 


Jesus does away with all substitutes for the abundant life. He is the true vine giving the new wine that frees people from the wine that runs out. He is the water of life in the ceremonial jars that can cleanse but never satisfy by itself. 


IV. In a world where there is little real joy, Jesus brings true joy to the party of life. 


Jesus is no killjoy. He enjoys the celebration of life. Wine is a symbol of joy and of the blessings of God.


Psalms 104:13‭-‬15 NIV He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.


Ecclesiastes 9:7 NIV Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.


The Bible also points out the dangers of alcoholic beverages.


Proverbs 23:29‭-‬32 NIV Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.


Ephesians 5:18‭-‬20 NIV Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.


God is in favor of joy, but he is opposed to everything that works against the people he loves. God is for everything that is good, but he is against everything that harms life and tears people apart. When God is against something, it is because he is for us. 



Christians instinctively know that the greatest joy at the party is the presence of Christ who is the new wine that satisfies our every craving for joy and laughter. The disciples saw the glory of God in Jesus as he changed the water into wine. They knew that in Jesus, God was acting to provide abundance for their scarcity, joy for their ordinary lives.


John 2:11 NIV What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.



Conclusion 


In Jesus there is the abundance of life, a new way, a new hope, a new gospel, a new freedom for all of life. You, too, may now believe and be invited to join in the joy of the party of life.


Sermon Audio





Sunday, February 20, 2022

Playing Second Fiddle

 


This is the manuscript of the third sermon in the series "Responding to the Living Word".  

John 1:26‭-‬27 NIV “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

Most people do not like playing second fiddle. Most vice presidents dream of being the president. Most backup quarterbacks eagerly await their chance to be number one, most understudies aspire to become the star the headliner. 


At one time John the Baptist had been the one the crowds came to hear. He was the best preacher for God in all the country. And then along came Jesus. When you understand God’s plan, you can accept the role you have, whether it be first chair or second, third, or even last. You'll find that you are able operate in God in the place he has put you and that you can be effective in that place.


A link for an audio recording of the sermon is at the end of the manuscript.

You can watch a video recording of the entire service on the Christ Church YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/LVJtYQpKsOw

Scripture

John 1:6‭-‬8‭, ‬19‭-‬28 NIV There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ” Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.



Text: 


John 1:26‭-‬27 NIV “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”


Introduction 


Most people do not like playing second fiddle. Most vice presidents dream of being the president. Most backup quarterbacks eagerly await their chance to be number one, most understudies aspire to become the star the headliner. 


The term “second fiddle” comes from the practice of having the best player of each instrument in an orchestra sit in the first-chair position while the second-best player sits in the second chair.  For instance, the best violinist plays first chair, while the second-best player sits in the second chair and plays “second fiddle” (fiddle of course is slang for a violin). 


When I was in my high school band, I was the second chair trumpet player.  Which meant that I was the second-best trumpet player in the high school band.  I was also the second chair trumpet player in the Morehouse College band.  


I wanted to be the first chair, but I wasn’t good enough.  Like many I had a tough time playing a secondary role to someone else’s first chair!  It would have been even more difficult if I had been downgraded to second chair after I had been in the first chair.  To be sure, some people delight in being the backup person, the substitute, the one who makes the leader effective in his or her work, but that wasn't me. I wanted to be first chair. 


What’s my point?  At one time John the Baptist had

been the one the crowds came to hear. He was the best preacher for God in all the country. And then along came Jesus. 


I wonder how John felt about stepping aside and pointing his disciples to Jesus?  Well we don’t have to wonder because Scripture tells us.


John 1:35‭-‬39 NIV The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.


It’s no wonder Jesus could say about John the Baptist what is recorded at, 


Luke 7:28 NIV I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”


Remember the end of that verse “yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”  I will get back to that later.


So what was John’s secret to humbly becoming “second fiddle”?


I. To play second fiddle, you must first know yourself. 


Socrates was not a follower of Jesus but something that he said is especially important here.  Socrates suggested that the key to wisdom is to “know thyself.” 


As it said in our scripture, this morning, John was asked if he was the Christ, Elijah, or the prophet.  When he said No, those sent by the Jewish leaders asked him who he really was, and his reply is our first clue as to how he was able to play well from the second position.


John 1:21‭-‬22 NIV They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”


John’s response to the question “Who are you” was an intriguing one.  John said I am just a “voice”.  


John, with all his oratorical gifts, his large following, his amazing sense of the righteous call of God, said simply, “I am a voice”.  I’m not a man, I’m not a preacher, I’m just a voice. He knew his role in God’s plan for redemption.


A little bit about John.  He lived a strong and independent life. He lived in the wilderness and ate honey and locusts. He preached  boldly, in calling all Israel to repentance. 


Matthew 3:1‭-‬4 NIV In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.


He was very bold in his preaching and his call for everyone to repent.   He was so bold that even a powerful man like Herod who ruled Galilee as a client state of the Roman Empire did’t stop him.  


Matthew 14:3‭-‬5 NIV Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.


Great crowds gathered to hear John preach, and he baptized many people, but when Jesus came into his life, he knew that he had found his purpose for living—he was a voice preparing the way for the Lamb of God.


Luke 3:7‭, NIV John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 


‬12‭-‬16 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.


John the Baptist knew why he was alive, he knew who he was. 


So to be able to play second fiddle you must know and be comfortable with yourself. 





II. To play second fiddle well, you must be willing to lose yourself. 


John was able to say that he was unworthy to untie the thong of Jesus’ sandal.


John 1:27 NIV He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”


He could easily say as he did in,


John 3:29‭-‬30 NIV The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”


John was willing to lose himself in Jesus Christ. 


Jesus would later say that losing yourself in Him is the only way to greatness.


John 12:25‭-‬26 NIV Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.


John the Baptist understood that serving Jesus was the way to receive honor from the Father.


John the Baptist was willing to lose himself, he was willing to become second fiddle, so that he might find himself; he was willing to give himself away for Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. 


In losing his life, John found it. Every Christian knows about John the Baptist because he gave up his place that Jesus might become first chair. Because he was willing to play a secondary role to Jesus, John the Baptist’s name is known and honored. 


Think about what Jesus our Lord had to say about John’s life. 


Luke 7:24‭-‬28 NIV After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”


Remember I told you that I would get back to the end of Luke 7:28, "yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”


Why is that? 


John’s faith was not less than ours, but we have received a more vivid picture of Jesus. 


1 Corinthians 2:10‭-‬16 NIV these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.


So we who Jesus said, are greater than John should not be proud of being greater, but we should be humbled by it.  If we have the mind of Christ, we want to participate in and  further His ministry. 


Jesus’ ministry revolved around the theme of servanthood.   John the Baptist said he had to become less so that Jesus becomes more.  We have the mind of Christ, the mind of one who serves.  


Matthew 20:25‭-‬28 NIV Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 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.”


Nothing goes more against the grain in our society than this call to be a servant. People struggle with each other to find the key to becoming the first chair, they want the invitation to the next honor. Too many of us are willing to put our foot on someone else’s neck if it will get us ahead. But Jesus said that his people must not engage in this kind of behavior. 


John 13:34‭-‬35 NIV “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”


We have to become comfortable playing second fiddle. 

  

You may be asking yourself if you can really deal with the idea of 

losing yourself, of playing second fiddle. Sometimes it is hard just to do God’s will anyway, but I’m talking about having to play second fiddle to another person who is as frail as you. They have faults just like you and you may have to play second fiddle to them. It’s easy to play second fiddle to Jesus, but I don’t know if I want to be second fiddle to anybody else.” 


III. Let me see if I help you with that.  You can find the grace to play second fiddle if you are willing to look for God’s plan in it.  If you are willing to look at it from. God's perspective. 


You must be willing to see God at work in your life the way that He wants to do it.  Let me give you an example.  


An evangelist had gone through an exceedingly tough time before he became an evangelist. He started out as a pastor at a small church and It had not been easy for him, but God moved him into the itinerant ministry of church-to-church evangelism.  Which meant that he traveled around from church to church preaching.  


My grandfather was an itinerant preacher in Mississippi; he had a circuit of three churches he went to each month. That was a tough job dealing with three different congregations at the same time.    After some years in evangelism, the evangelist I’m talking about was able to look back upon his earlier experience and affirm that God had taught him some things he would never have known in any other way. He felt that his experiences had taught him compassion and enabled him to minister in churches where things were sometimes difficult. 


That story itself is not so remarkable. What is remarkable is that statements like this come from Christians over and over as they look back on a difficult period in their lives.  I can personally say that that God used the most difficult times in my life, many of them self-inflicted, to shape my life today.  I can really testify.


Romans 8:28‭-‬30 NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.


When you understand God’s plan, you can accept the role you have, whether it be first chair or second, third, or even last. You'll find that you are able operate in the place He has put you and that you can be effective in that place. 


Romans 12:4‭-‬8 NIV For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.


Conclusion 


No one is great or small in the service of our Lord, He is only concerned about our faithfulness to the work he gives us. 


1 Corinthians 12:15‭-‬27 NIV Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.


If you want to be great in God’s kingdom, you must be a servant you must be willing to play second fiddle.


By God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can play second fiddle and harmonize with the whole orchestra. 

John 13:34‭-‬35 MSG “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”


Then all the world can know that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.


Invitation 


If you have never accepted Jesus as Savior you are not even in the orchestra.


The Bible says, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, [Jesus Christ], that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).


Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”—a complete life full of purpose (John 10:10).


But here’s the problem:


We have all done, thought or said bad things, which the Bible calls “sin.” The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).


The result of sin is death, spiritual separation from God (Romans 6:23).


But here's the good news


Jesus died in our place so we could have a relationship with God and be with Him forever.


“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).


But it didn’t end with His death on the cross. He rose again and still lives!


“Christ died for our sins. … He was buried. … He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).


Jesus is the only way to God. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6).


We can’t earn salvation; we are saved by God’s grace when we have faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. All you have to do is believe you are a sinner, that Christ died for your sins, and ask His forgiveness. Then turn from your sins—that’s called repentance. Jesus Christ knows you and loves you. What matters to Him is the attitude of your heart, your honesty. 


Romans 10:9‭-‬10‭, ‬13 NIV If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”


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