Ordinary Service

Well, this is the season in Western New York where roads get fixed, right? So that's a part of it. But even better, when you're driving around on the roads, what you get an opportunity to see is that usually during this timeframe, almost everywhere that you drive during a weekend in a neighborhood, you are going to see some kind of graduation celebration happening maybe out in a yard or in a cul-de-sac or in an apartment complex somewhere. Now I think they're great because these are milestones for young men and young women who are graduating high school or graduating college or whatever that may look like, and they should be celebrated. I think they're fantastic. And as I was thinking about that going on in this region and thinking about this message and kind of letting all of that run around in my head this week, here's what I was thinking about. I started asking the question like, what are the themes or the celebration themes that happen at graduation parties most? What are they most often? And I kind of looked up and did a little bit of a search, and you know, sometimes now even when you Google search, your first move is actually an AI feedback that happens. And so it kind of condenses a bunch of stuff and was basically saying usually thematically, most of the graduation celebrations are something along the line of go and change the world, that those are kind of the ideas behind these. Go do big things, go change the world. These are kind of the ideas around these celebrations. And so then I asked, I was like, okay, well are there like inspirational quotes that are used to celebrate this kind of theme that people are normally going for? And one of the most often used quotes, at least in the last three decades, was by a man named Steve Jobs who founded Apple. And here's what he said. Steve Jobs said, "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." Now I was thinking about this and I started thinking to myself, I mean largely parents and friends and everybody that's celebrating graduates, they have a right heart because they want good things for these graduates. They want them to do wonderful things. But sometimes what we're saying to them may not be exactly what we want to be saying, even though we're trying to be encouraging. We're saying go do great things. Go do big things. But really what we might be saying if we're not careful are things that could be unhelpful. Because if we're not careful, maybe what they may be deriving from this is that if I don't do incredible things to change the world, like maybe Steve Jobs did, then maybe I have failed. Or maybe if I don't do really big things, then I haven't been a success. Or if I don't pursue selfish ambition, then have I done what I should be doing? And maybe what we're doing is actually a disservice because let me ask you a question. Don't answer this by the way. I want you just to think about it. Was Steve Jobs successful? Was he great? And who says so like who determines that? Did it take the trampling of other people to become successful? I don't know by the way, was Steve Jobs, I don't know him personally, I didn't have any idea. Is life about accruing all we can or consolidating power or achieving our way to the top of our field? Now listen, I think it's great if we've been so gifted to really do well in whatever field of endeavor that we've been given to do whatever our hand finds to do, do it with all of our might and do it as unto the Lord, but who actually defines greatness? What actually defines greatness? Is it the recognition of our peers? Is it the acclaim of the world? Is it receiving certificates or degrees or is it receiving plaques and honorable memorabilia like that? Is that what it is? Who determines what greatness actually is? Well, the apostle Paul tells us and he says, it's Jesus. Jesus determines greatness. Jesus determines success. And when Paul is in a Roman jail addressing a letter to the people of Philippi, that we know as the letter called Philippians. He actually writes to them about the manner of life that they should be leading and he bases it on the manner of life that Jesus led. And so if you have a copy of the word of God, I want you to find the book of Philippians and we're going to be in chapter two. And you're saying, which part of chapter two are we going to be in? Yes, the whole chapter two. Because it's going to show us exactly what we're trying to illustrate here. And I want us to begin into what Paul says to the church at Philippi and receive it into ourselves about what he says in their ordinary living as ordinary people, what they should be doing. And that really is emulating Jesus. Here's what Philippians 2 beginning in verse number one says, "Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Now, I'm imagining when the Philippians received this from Paul that they might be responding like some of you. This feels like an impossible standard, Paul, how could I possibly live up to that? Well, first Paul says that they've been united with Christ. If you've been united with Christ. So it's not a impossible standard at all because when we've been united with Christ, then we have that ability to live out the life of Christ because it's Christ's life in us. Yes, sure, we won't have the same ministry life as Jesus, of course we won't. But we can have the same mindset. We can have the same attitude as Jesus. And that's what Paul was speaking about because listen to what he says, as he moves forward in verse number five, he says, "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus." What is that mindset? What is that attitude? Well, he is already described it. It's an attitude that puts others first. Or maybe we could say it this way, it's the attitude of a servant. You see, Jesus, listen to this. Jesus didn't come as Lord so to speak. Now he was and always will be Lord, but he came as a servant. in time he would be honored as Lord, but he came as a servant. So I wanna remind you of this truth. A servant mindset is the mindset of Jesus. You see, Paul writes to the church of Philippi and he says, have the same mindset or the same attitude as Christ Jesus. And what was that? It was a servant mindset. That is the mindset of Jesus. Now, as Paul embarks on the next set of verses, many scholars have called this a Christ hymn, H-Y-M-N, and not H-I-M, a Christ hymn. In other words, this is something that many scholars believe in the ancient church may have been sung in the early church as worship of Jesus, and it is loaded with doctrinal truth. But as the majesty of Jesus is described in the next few verses, it's set in relief against the sacrificial, servant hearted actions of this majestic glorious savior. So I want us to look, and I want us to pull out of these next few verses some truths about what Jesus as servant teaches us about being a servant and about what it means to share his mindset, his attitude. Here's the first, what does Jesus as a servant teach us? Here's the first thing, servants set aside rights. That's what servants do. They set aside rites. And Jesus modeled this. In fact, you see it when we continue reading in verse number six, and it says this. It says in verse number six, "Who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. That is a remarkable statement that Paul wrote. Now, I don't have adequate time for the purpose of this message to talk as richly and as deeply as this verse alone deserves. This verse not only argues that Jesus is indeed God. Notice what he says. He says, "Who being in very nature God," speaking of Jesus, right? But it also gives us insight into what theologians call the hypostatic union. Now, some of you're going what? Well, let me break it down for you. The hypostatic union hypostasis in the Greek is just simply a Greek word that speaks about individual existence or subsistence, that there is an individual existence. That's what hypostasis means in Greek. Okay? What is the union part talking about in hypostatic union? Well, it's talking about the two natures of Jesus. In other words, there is a divine nature in Jesus and there is a human nature in Jesus. So fundamentally, this idea of a hypostatic union, as we describe it in theological terms, it means that the divine and human natures of Jesus, truly God and truly man dwell in one single person the Lord Jesus Christ. And as the Chalcedon definition says, that these two natures are without confusion, without change, without division, and without separation. Now, what's so magnificent and awe-inspiring here is not only this majestic description of Jesus as the God man, but the fact that Jesus did not cling to his rights to glory. That's what's so amazing about this. He didn't clinging to his rights to glory. He set them aside. He served humanity by putting aside the privilege of dwelling in glory as God in order to identify with us as human in order to save us. Servants like Jesus are willing to set aside some of their rights and some of their privileges to serve others. That's the first truth we see here. But let me show you a second one, servants pour themselves out. Servants not only set aside rights, but servants pour themselves out. Listen to how Paul describes this in verse number seven, he says this, "Rather, Jesus made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness." Now, this is also another extraordinary reminder of the humility and servant heart of Jesus who is the God man. Instead of remaining in his glory as God. Here's what Paul says, he made himself nothing. Now that phrase is from a Greek word ekenosen. And it's where scholars get the idea of what's called Kenosis Theory. See, listen, Philippians 2 is so loaded with doctrine and theology like it is a theologian's dream chapter, right? And so theologians use this word ekenosen to get what we call Kenosis theory. It's from that same word, and Kenosis is a Greek term meaning to empty oneself. That's the idea of Kenosis, to empty oneself, to make void or to pour out. That's the idea here. Now listen carefully though. This is where sometimes people get in a wrong space theologically. This does not mean that Jesus emptied himself of his divinity or that he ceased to be God at any point. He didn't, because to do that would misunderstand the hypostatic union that was just described in the verses before it. It means simply that Jesus became human. In other words, he poured himself out so to speak, by taking the form of a servant being made in human likeness. It's what we would call in kind of modern day parlance. It's an enigma. An enigma is kind of a mystery, something that's really hard for us to wrap our minds around, that the one who was God became flesh and made his dwelling among us and his divine nature and his human nature dwelled together without confusion. To the exclusion of neither, all in one man, Jesus the Christ. It's remarkable, and I love how pastor H.B. Charles points out this great enigma of what Jesus did. Listen to his words, he said, "Christ who in eternity rested on the bosom of the Father without a mother, in time rested on the bosom of a mother without an earthly Father. God, who in Eden's garden took from a man, a motherless woman. In Bethlehem's barn took from a woman a fatherless man. Jesus, the ancient of days became the infant of days. A baby as old as his heavenly Father, but ages older than his human mother, Mary. Jesus, who created the angels was made a little lower than the angels. Jesus who said before Abraham was, I am was born 2,000 years after Abraham died." This is the great enigma of who Jesus is as the God man. And that's why it's all the more remarkable that his mindset was that of a servant. Who set aside his rights to dwell in glory as God and instead poured himself out becoming human so that he could save us. It's remarkable and it's glorious and it's beautiful. But let me show you a third truth in this set of verses, and it's this, that servants humbly obey at whatever cost. This is what we see in the life of Jesus. Servants humbly obey at whatever cost. Look at verse number eight. Our text says it this way. "And being found in appearance as a man, Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross." You see, the service of obedience meant great cost to Jesus. It was the cost of his life on the cross, but it was out of loving service to us. Listen to this, God served us. That's a startling thing to think about, isn't it? We always think about our job is to serve God, and certainly it is. But the reason that we serve him is because he first served us. The reason that we love him is because he first loved us. You see, it was out of loving service to us. Jesus died to satisfy the justice of God against our sin, and it was indeed our sin, not his. Yet he died for us anyway out of loving service to us and willing obedience to the Father. Even though the cost was immeasurably high. Jesus did it. Why? Because that's what servants do. That's what servants do. They set aside their rights, they pour themselves out, and they humbly obey at whatever cost is laid out for them. It's remarkable. Lemme show you a fourth truth here. Servants will be honored. This is what we see as this set of verses in this beautiful hymn close. Here's what it says, beginning in verse number nine says, "Therefore, God exalted Jesus 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, and acknowledge or confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." See friends, God the Father will never cease to honor the obedience of the Son. Jesus is glorified and vindicated as Lord and all will acknowledge it at some point. Right now, it doesn't feel that way. It feels like the world that we live in does not acknowledge Jesus as Lord. But everybody's going to at some point, unfortunately for many, it's going to be past the point where they've rejected him and then they're gonna realize after their death and after their separation, they're gonna realize just who they rejected. The one who made everything, in whom through whom for whom. That everything has come to be. But see what we look in this passage, we see that God sees the heart of the obedience of the great servant Jesus, and God honors it. What a glorious hymn about a glorious savior this is. It's extraordinary. Now I know that we look at this and some of us may still be a little bit intimidated. How can I live up to this standard? How can I possibly have this mindset, the mindset of Jesus? I'm gonna have to work on my willpower. That's not gonna get you anywhere. But I'll tell you what will. God's power. God's power. You see, you may be thinking to yourself, did he say anything about God's power in this whole passage? Thank you for asking. Answer is yes, right after seeing this and how intimidating it could be that Paul says that this is what we are to emulate, this mindset, this attitude is what we're supposed to have. Listen to how he continues on in verse number 12, here's what it says. "Therefore, my dear friends, as you've always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Watch this, "For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." Now, some of you're still saying to yourself, well sure Paul's writing this, but he's a super Christian. He's an apostle. He saw Jesus personally in a vision. He's been to the third heaven. What about the rest of us ordinary Christians? That's who Paul's writing to. Paul's just an ordinary man, by the way, complete with struggles that he outlines all the time. If you read Romans 7, here's what you hear Paul saying, the good I wanna do, I don't end up doing, but the very thing I don't wanna do is the thing that I end up doing. And you just read it and go, yes, yes, Paul, we all understand one another at this point. Paul is just a man. He's an ordinary person and he's writing to ordinary people, people like me and you. And listen, here's what he's trying to remind us of of this truth. God's power works for ordinary servants. God's power works for ordinary servants. That's right. He works in us to will and to act to fulfill his good purpose. You friend, listen, ordinary as you are, and ordinary as I am, we have access to the mind of Christ because of God's power at work in us. And the more we are filled with the life of God, the more you will have the heart and the mind of Jesus as one who serves. You'll have his mindset, you'll have his attitude. Now, I know you may view Paul as a super Christian, I understand. I kind of do too. But he was just a man and he needed the life of God in him to do what he did. And by God's power in him, he had the same heart as Jesus, Paul did. In fact, watch, listen to the words Paul says in the next few verses in chapter two, picking up in verse number 14, he says this, "Do everything without grumbling or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you'll shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain." Watch this phrase. "But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I'm glad and I rejoice with all of you, so you too should be glad and rejoice with me." Did you hear that phrase? It's coming from the mindset of Christ, but Paul's not the only ordinary example of God's power allowing us to share Jesus' mindset as servants. He also illustrates this power of God for ordinary servants in the next verses that follow this in chapter two, it's why I'm covering the whole chapter. It's interesting 'cause after this great theological writing that we just have read about here in chapter two, rich with theological depth, it seems odd at first glance, that Paul then discusses the travel plans of two ordinary people. 'Cause that's what happens next. In the next set of verses, it's like, wait a second. He now talking about the travel plans of Timothy and Epaphroditus. Two regular dudes, two ordinary people, but this is not Paul just throwing some logistics into the letter. Oh, by the way, I wanted to just consult Google Maps for a second and tell you what my guys are gonna be doing. That's not what he's doing. He's illustrating what he's teaching to the Philippians about servanthood. Watch this, for Timothy as an example. Timothy like Jesus, he looks to the interests of others. That's what Timothy does. And Paul makes it clear. Remember, he's already told us that when we emulate Jesus, we'll not be filled with vain conceit or selfish ambition, but we'll look to the interest of the others, right? Well, here's what he says. He says, Timothy does that. Watch what he says in verse number 19. Here's what he says. "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him who will show genuine concern for your welfare, for everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ." So what he's saying here is that what Timothy does, is Timothy emulates the mindset of Jesus because he doesn't look just to his own interest. He looks to the welfare of others like Jesus does. But he shows us a second thing about Timothy as well. Like Jesus. He's also a proven servant. Watch what he says. Watch what he says in verse number 22. Here's what he says. "But you know that Timothy has proved himself because as a son with his father, he has served with me in the work of the gospel. And I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me and I'm confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon." You know what Paul's doing here? He's writing to show us an illustration of regular person named Timothy. Paul's already tried to illustrate, I'm a regular person and I can have the mindset of Jesus because of God's power at work in me. And by the way, Timothy, he also has the mindset of Jesus. He's proven as a servant and he doesn't look to his own interests. He looks to the interests of others. You know what Paul's doing here? He's writing to show us an illustration of regular person named Timothy. Paul's already tried to illustrate, I'm a regular person and I can have the mindset of Jesus because of God's power at work in me. And by the way, Timothy, he also has the mindset of Jesus. He's proven as a servant and he doesn't look to his own interests. He looks to the interests of others. And then he says, oh, by the way, Epaphroditus is also gonna be doing some traveling as well. And what do we know about Epaphroditus? He's the other guy except for the fact that it's hard to spell his name right. What do we know about Epaphroditus? Well, here's what we know. Like Jesus, he left comfort to serve others even at great cost. This is what Epaphroditus did. In fact, listen to how Paul writes about it in beginning in verse number 25. He says, "But I think it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill and almost died. But God had mercy on him and not on him only, but also on me to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore, I'm all the more eager to send him so that when you see him again, you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. See, here's what happened. Watch this. Epaphroditus left Philippi to travel 800 miles. I don't know if you know this, no Delta. To travel 800 miles to Rome because Paul was imprisoned there. And he brought a monetary gift to Paul from the church at Philippi. And also came to personally care for and minister to Paul. 800 miles this man traveled on foot and on donkey. Donkeys also, not fast, just as a heads up, you ever been on a donkey? No, you haven't been on a donkey. 'Cause you can walk faster, right? And Epaphroditus almost died doing this. Probably got an illness on his way or when he got to Rome and he nearly died. And it was apparently an illness that was months long. But God showed mercy to him and healed him eventually. But Epaphroditus was willing to give up his own comfort in service to the gospel and in service to Paul. And it came with a high cost. Why? 'Cause that's the heart and mindset of Jesus. But you know what else we know about Epaphroditus? Like Jesus, he was honored for his service. Listen to what Paul says, verse number 29. He says, "So then welcome Epaphroditus in the Lord with great joy and honor people like him because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me." Listen friends, I don't wanna say to you that every time you serve with the heart and the mindset of Jesus. That you will be honored in the present. That won't always be the case. It may go without being seen. But Paul told the Philippians to honor Epaphroditus because of his service to the Lord and to Paul. He almost died for the work of Christ. Listen to this, God's power worked in ordinary Paul to make him a servant like Jesus. God's power worked in ordinary Timothy to make him a servant like Jesus. God's power worked in ordinary Epaphroditus to make him a servant like Jesus. And God's power can work in ordinary you to make you a servant like Jesus. Friends, it doesn't have to be huge acts of service. You don't have to be intimidated that your service may not change the whole world. Listen to me, I want to take some pressure off. God is already changing the world. He's just asking you to join him. So you don't have to have visions of grandeur about your selfish ambition. You can trust that God is changing the world and you can come alongside and serve him and serve others in his program of the kingdom. Just start where you are. Start by pressing into Jesus. Read his word, spend time listening to his voice through the word resting in his presence. Ask him to fill you with his heart and fill you with his spirit. And you'll begin to think his thoughts and you'll begin to have his mindset, the mindset of a servant. And listen to me. Anybody can do this, anybody can. I was reading a story that a pediatrician wrote. His name is David Cicada, and he was writing about this little girl named Sarah. So his wife, this pediatrician's wife in their church taught a second grade girls class. So these girls were about, I'm seven years old, right? Second grade. That's probably a rough estimate. It's been a long time since I had second graders. I'm gonna have some coming up as grandkids, right? And this particular lesson that his wife was teaching on was a lesson on servanthood and usefulness to God. And as she concluded the lesson, a little girl named Sarah piped in who was relatively new, but who was there in the group. And she piped in and she said, I'm just a kid. I don't know what I can do. How can I be useful? And so the wife of this pediatrician, the teacher, she said, well, let's look around and see. And she saw on the window sill in the little classroom they were in, there was an empty vase. And she said, that vase is just sitting empty. What if you put some things in that to be able to help the other people that are here feel like this is a warm and inviting place? Sarah said, well, I can do that. So every week she would bring in a dandelion and she would just put it in there every single week. And it got to the point where she was just doing it unprompted. Every single week this girl was showing up and she was putting a dandelion in there to beautify the place for other people. The pastor heard about this and he took that vase with the dandelions in it, and he put it right next to the pulpit. And he used it as an illustration of what servanthood is supposed to look like. Shortly thereafter, Sarah felt ill. And the family called the doctor that wrote this article. He's a pediatrician. He was their pediatrician. And they called and they said, she's not feeling well. He came by to see her and then he brought her in for some testing and all of that stuff. And he had some really bad news. And he said it was one of the worst conversations he's ever had to have with a family. That he ended up having to tell them and her that she had leukemia and that she didn't have months. She probably had weeks or days to live. So she was at home trying to rest and to get better. And he visited her from time to time and he was just broken up about it. And they were in church and they were singing. And then the pastor preached, and his heart was just really heavy for Sarah. And at the close, almost of the sermon, the pastor looked down the middle aisle and he saw Sarah's family come in and they had Sarah wrapped up in a blanket and they brought her in and they put her down. And she walked down the middle of the aisle and she came and she put a dandelion in the vase and left a piece of paper next to it. This pediatrician said four days later she died. They had a beautiful service for her. The whole church turned out because truthfully, they had been inspired about what it means to be a servant. And after the funeral, the pastor came up to Dr. Cicada and his wife, and he said, you might wanna read this note just as an encouragement. And I think he said it was written in crayon. And here's what the note said. "Dear God, this vase was the greatest honor of my life. Love, Sarah." Let me ask you a question. What's your vase? Anyone can serve. Anyone that understands the heart of the savior. You may think it's small, but it may be what God uses for great things to impact loads and loads of life. Her story is still being told. And all she did was put dandelions in a vase to beautify the place for others. But she did it as service to the Lord. And God took this small thing and made it great. I was preaching on Father's Day. The church had asked me if I was going to be in town in the Atlanta area. And I said, it's the only Sunday in the entire month of June. 'Cause I was preaching here most of the month of June. And I said, it's the only Sunday I'm there. They said, we had a scheduling snafu. Would you preach for us? I did. Everything went well. It was wonderful. Well received all of that. At the end of the service, a young man who's 17 years old comes up to me and he shakes my hand and he says, "Pastor Jerry." And I said, "Yeah." And he said, "Me and my mom used to go to The chapel." I was like, "Say that again." Me and my mom used to go to The Chapel. I said, "How long ago?" He said, "Like 10 years ago." And I said, "So you were like seven when you left?" And he said Yes. And he talked about the impact of the children's ministry on his life. And that day that young man was a part of a group that was being commissioned to go on a mission trip to Guatemala. And so all of you folks that have served children and thought to yourself, I could not with a sledgehammer get through to those hard skulls. You have no idea. You have no idea of what your service might yield fruit in. No idea. So how are you serving the Lord by allowing his power to work in your ordinary every day tasks? Where can you set aside your privileges and your rights and pour yourself out and obey the Lord no matter what the cost? Because that is when we start understanding the mind and the attitude of Jesus Christ. And it's his power at work in us to be able to do that. There may be actions big. There may be actions small that we can take. You can serve at eight days of hope, super easy. No one has to be, as Steve likes to say it, the very skilled and the lesser skilled can serve there. He doesn't ever say no skilled. Because he knows that that's me, right? I'm gonna serve a day. You can serve a day or a few. Maybe you could work with students, maybe you could work with children. Maybe you could volunteer helping to beautify the grounds. Maybe you could surrender your life to the foreign mission field. Maybe you could join on going a short term mission trip. Maybe you could give generously and sacrificially like the Philippians did, if you continue reading. Maybe you take a parent into your home. I don't know what it looks like for you. And it's not just a one-off event. It literally is a mindset that leaks into everything we are and every place we are and everything we do. So you're willing to ask the Lord how much selfish ambition is driving your life. Instead of having his heart and his mind as a servant. Are we willing to ask him to purify our hearts so that we share his heart and his mind, the heart of a servant? And then are we willing to look around with Jesus' eyes and ask, how can I serve? And then are we willing to take an action, to sign up, to volunteer, to check in on the neighbor, to have that conversation with the parent, to do whatever that may look like. This is not something that we just listen to and do nothing with. This is something that we respond to and ask for God's power in our life to make us like Jesus. Because God's power works in ordinary servants like me and you. Let's bow our heads for prayer. As our heads are bowed and eyes are closed. For just a moment, I wanna say this to those of you who are here, there's the chance that you may be here and have never surrendered your life to Jesus. Here's what I want you to know. God served you. God served you. His only son came, died in your place to satisfy his justice against sin. So that you might have an opportunity to put your faith and trust in Jesus and be reconciled to God. God served us. That's a remarkable thought, isn't it? And he did it because his desire is that you are in relationship with him. His desire is that you experience a brand new kind of eternal life now and one that goes on into eternity. And so if that's your need, when we dismiss in just a moment, there'll be some men and women down front. And I would love for you to come by, take one of their hands and just say, I want to know what it means to follow Jesus. We'd love to talk to you about that. And Father, for those of us who claim to know you, I pray that you would remind us that our hearts can get misaligned very quickly. And I pray, God, where repentance is needed in my own heart or in the heart of any of the people under the sound of my voice, where we have maybe been filled with selfish ambition or plans that are focused on self, instead of having the mind the same mind as Jesus, I pray that you'd help us. You'd help us to be people who set aside our rights, who pour ourselves out and who obey it. Whatever the cost to honor you and the mission you've called us to, and to serve other people so that they can see the true life of who Jesus actually is. Would you help us to be that kind of people so that a world would see the glory of your name? And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.