We are facing one of the great realities of salvation. Do you know what it is? The purpose of Christ is to save us from being selfish, self-important little people. This is all around us and it comes up in the church as well. There are people who are fighting for the throne rather than fighting for the towel. Small people, because Jesus says, you want to know the real path to greatness? There are also people who strive for greatness in the wrong places. What he’s really saying is, you’re not great. You’re the smallest of all people. Small people strive for importance.
It is possible to preach a sermon like this and have someone listen to it. Instead of hearing how it applies to you, you think, “Oh, I’m glad so and so is realizing they need to straighten out their life over there.”
My brethren, how disgusting it is to find people who are just hung up on what other people do or don’t do for them among those who are supposed to be imitators of Christ. Do you know what? There are thin-skinned people in the church who are always uptight. They are always angry. Something doesn’t seem right. It seems like people aren’t doing things in a way that appeases them.=
“Well, they didn’t greet me.”
“They didn’t talk to me.”
What happens next? People walk around, hurt. They walk around depressed and self-pitying. What’s the reason? I don’t get greeted by others. I am not talked to by them. I am not served by them. I don’t get anything from them. I am not respected by them. As a result, we get people who mope around. It makes them pout. As a result, they become childishly vengeful. “Well, if they’re going to treat me, that way, then I’m going to do this to them.”
You see what Jesus is saying, guys, You were just at that table and you guys were asked, Seriously, I’m going to the cross in a few hours. You guys are always there arguing about who’s going to be greatest. He walks around and washes all of their feet. What is it? Let me ask you this. What is it people that are pursuing when they want to be important when they want to be great, what are they after in this quest for importance? Well, you know what it is. People think that that’s where they’re going to find happiness. They’re going to be happy because they get recognized. They’re there. Someone knows. Somebody pats them on the back. But I think the thing we have to ask is, does it really bring fulfilled it? I mean, are your best days really the days that somebody complimented you for something? I know that could be encouraging. I’m not talking about encouragement here. I’m talking about people that are running around seeking to be great all the time and who are uptight when that doesn’t happen. People who are not willing to serve others, people who are constantly measuring everything by what they can get, get, get, get. That’s this mindset. I’m going to be great. I don’t know if Peter would have got to bent out of shape if one of the other guys might have to all of a sudden started washing everybody’s feet. Why? Because he was just arguing with that guy about who is going to be the greatest. And yeah, I might embarrass him a little bit, but people want to be happy. They think they’re going to find it this way. And you know what Jesus says in the midst of all of this? Listen to what he says. If you know these things, what things If you know these things, blessed are you. If you do that blessed. Blessed, that means you’ll be glad, you’ll be happy, you’ll be joyful, you’ll be fulfilled. If you know these things, if you know that the way to greatness is by serving others. And that’s the way to happiness and that’s the way to joy, and that’s to wish those things. If you really get that, it’s not having the highest position, it’s not getting people to talk about you. You remember what happened. Jesus looked at people that sought the glory of men, and he didn’t count that as a high thing.
This excerpt was taken from the full sermon Go Low like Christ The Upper Room Discourse Part 2 by Tim Conway.
