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Advent Productions

Benjamin Ng

The True Ministers of God

Father in heaven, thank you, O Lord, for this time.

I was about to open the Bible to read, to study together.

And most importantly, that you would convict and convert our hearts by the living spirit this morning for we pray in Jesus name amen you know friends the disciples they were always fighting amongst each other for the 3 and a half years that they were walking and ministering with Jesus.

They went out and they would go and preach and they would teach and they would heal, but yet between them there was conflict, there was rivalry, there was division, and there was always a debate.

They knew that Jesus was a great teacher.

I mean, he could walk on water, he could heal those that were sick.

The power of God was clearly with him and they were just sure that Jesus was going to come in and overcome and conquer the Romans that they had been in subjection to and he was going to take the throne and lead the nation of Israel to glory just as they had read it seemed in the Old Testament.

And they wanted to be right there, on his right hand and on his left.

And this strife got so bad amongst them that they would even bring in family.

In Matthew, oh, my slides have disappeared.

But in Matthew chapter 20, maybe you can turn your Bibles there while I fix this, but in Matthew chapter 20 and verses 20 and 21.

This is what, let me see if I can open this real quick.

Matthew 20, 20 and 21 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him and desiring a certain thing of him.

She said unto him, Grant that these my 2 sons may sit, the 1 on the right hand, the other on the left, in thy kingdom.

Even the mother of John and James came in asking for a position for her 2 sons.

And of course, you can see that this would have probably caused more strife amongst the disciples.

In verse 24 it says, when the 10 heard it, they were moved with indignation against the 2 brethren.

But look at what Jesus' response was, starting in verse 25.

But Jesus called unto him and said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and that they that are great exercise authority upon them, but it shall not be so among you.

But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant, even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many." Jesus said if we are to be great, if we are to be great, we must learn to minister.

Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister.

Jesus is telling the disciples, follow my example.

It means to be an attendant, to wait upon, to serve.

To stand there ready to serve and waiting on people like a waiter, standing there ready to help them with their every want and need.

Look, Jesus wasn't waiting on the disciples 24-7, attending to their every beckoning need, but the point he is trying to make is this.

I came to earth to serve, to live for others, to minister to people's needs, not wants.

The world's idea of how to live is really quite the opposite though, friends.

We're surrounded by influencers all our lives with the message of find out what you want to do and do it.

Find out what you like to eat and eat it.

It's all about what I want, what makes me happy, what gives me enjoyment.

For example, in marriage, you know, We have to find the girl that makes me happy or girls, we've got to find the guy that makes me happy that can make me laugh.

And that's why so many people, they look in relationships whether the other person has the same hobbies as them, whether they like the same food that they eat, whether they like to do the same things that they do.

And that sort of love, friends, is just skin-deep because before you know it, they displease them and divorce quickly becomes an option.

What I'm trying to say is marriage many times becomes selfish.

Our studies is focused on studying subjects that will get me into the career that will earn me the most money so I can buy all the toys that I want to buy.

And the focus is all about my life, my happiness, my desires, my needs, or my wants, and even my joys.

That's not the reason why God created each and every 1 of us.

The 1 who made us, made us to work in a certain way.

He didn't make us to be ministered unto, but to minister.

No matter how much money you have, whether you can even afford 400 servants like Abraham, he still ministered.

Coming back to Matthew 20 and verse 28, even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, to give His life, speaking about Jesus, a ransom for many.

He calls himself the Son of Man because he identifies himself with the human race.

Not to be ministered to like a king but to minister, to serve.

He came from heaven, a place that was full of bliss and joy and love from a good place and He gave that up.

He came not to be ministered unto but to minister and not only did he minister but he gave up his life and even today in heaven after he's died and resurrected and gone up to glory He is still ministering on our behalf in the Holy of Holies, interceding on our behalf.

This is something that we must understand if we want to live This life with joy and fulfillment.

In Romans 15, verse 1, the Bible says, We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Those that are strong, we should be bearing infirmities of the weak, not pleasing ourselves.

What does it mean to bear the infirmities?

You know there are many out there today, the moment our parents get weak and old and they're shipped off to nursing homes, pay someone to take care of them and we rationalize that they can get better service that way than staying with us.

Because we can't wake up in the middle of the night and take them to the toilet, because someone, we've paid them, that gives them 24-hour care.

They can take care of them better than we can and we rationalize it that way.

And you know today millions of people are being ministered to, being waited upon, being sustained and carried, not because of love and the ties of deep and loyal affection, but because they're getting paid so much an hour to do it.

And many people have made millions out of nursing homes.

But friends, that ought not to be the case.

We should learn to put aside our careers, our wants and desires, just so that we can learn to bear the infirmities of the weak, including our parents.

You know friends, the ones to feel sorry for are not those that are weak and sick, but for those that are living for themselves, living to please themselves, because it goes against the foundation, the very foundation of which Jesus Christ created us at the very beginning.

And when sin came in, Adam and Eve, they, what did they do?

They took the fruit, they pleased themselves.

It was all about self, their selfish desires, their selfish motives.

Eve saw the fruit that was good and it looked pleasing to the eyes and it seemed tasty so she took it and ate it.

And so he chose her over God to please himself.

People that can't give up alcohol, it tastes good.

People that can't give up smoking, it makes me feel good.

It's all about pleasing self in the society, in the day and age that we're living in.

But Romans chapter 15 and verse 1 to 3, it continues, we that strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak not to please ourselves?

But then look at this, let every 1 of us please his neighbor for his good to edification.

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The True Ministers of God

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