This is Monday evening, July the 3rd, 1972,
in Richmond, Virginia, ministry being given through Brother
Stephen Kong.
May we have a word of prayer.
Lord, we do thank thee for bringing us
together here tonight.
We do desire to meet thee, to see
thee, and to hear thee.
Deliver us from just having a meeting.
Hearing someone speak.
O Lord, we want to speak.
Do manifest thyself to us at this moment.
For thy word, Lord, that we may not
just touch the letter, but we may touch
thee behind the letter.
Lord, we cannot be the same if we
have met thee.
So we just commit ourselves to thee for
tonight, trusting thee to come into our midst
and reveal thyself to every one of us.
Thou knowest each one of us.
Lord, thou knowest what we need.
Thou art the one whom we really need.
So Lord, give thyself to us afresh in
a new and living way to us.
And we are ready to give thee all
the praises and the glory that is thine.
In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.
We have the whole book of the gospel
according to Mark before us tonight.
So I will not use the whole time
reading from chapter 1, verse 1 through the
last chapter, chapter 16 of Mark.
Instead, I would just like to read one
verse, which is the key, actually, to the
gospel according to Mark.
And I believe you know what verse I'm
thinking of.
Mark, chapter 10, verse 45.
This is the key verse of the gospel
according to Mark.
For also the Son of Man did not
come to be ministered to, but to minister,
and gave his life a ransom for many.
Now, if you don't like the word minister,
you can put the word serve.
Probably people are more used to the word
serve than to minister.
And we can read it.
For also the Son of Man did not
come to be served to, but to serve,
and gave his life a ransom for many.
This morning we share together on the nature
of servanthood.
Mark presents Christ to us as the servant
of the Lord.
The perfect servant.
By whom God's full purpose is realized.
And in him we see the nature of
true servanthood.
How can we be servants to God?
How can we be true servants of God?
We have to have in us this very
nature that characterizes Christ as the servant of
God.
So we mention very briefly this morning two
points.
Just two points.
One is the principle of servanthood is the
principle of son-servant.
It is the son who is the servant.
How can we serve God?
How will God accept our service to him?
Only when we serve God with the life
of God's Son we know.
And it is only when we serve God
with the Son's life we are true servants.
How often we serve God with our natural
life.
With our human natural wisdom and our carnal
mind and fleshly energy.
We cannot serve God in that way.
God will only accept the service of his
Son.
If we serve him in his Son's life
then we become true servants of God.
Then the second point is as our Lord
Jesus was baptized before he began his public
service in that manner we have to present
this body, these bodies of ours that have
been redeemed as living sacrifice.
And it is only out of this living
sacrifice God will entrust us.
And this you'll find in Romans chapter 12.
Now tonight we would like to go into
this matter of the character of the servant
of God.
When we read the gospel according to Mark
probably our whole attention will be arrested by
the words and deeds of our Lord Jesus.
As a matter of fact the gospel according
to Mark is very different in one sense.
He does more than he speaks.
You'll find in the record of Mark concerning
the life of our Lord Jesus he does
not record much of the speaking of our
Lord Jesus.
Rather you'll find he records his doings a
lot.
A good servant works more than he talks.
Suppose you have a servant who is talking
from morning to night.
He never does his job.
So here you'll find the characteristics of the
gospel according to Mark.
There is not much recordings of the speaking
of our Lord.
And yet it is filled with the doings.
But whatever it may be I think as
we read the gospel according to Mark we
will be fascinated, arrested by what the Lord
does and also of course by what he
talks, what he speaks.
But brothers and sisters is this all that
you'll find in the gospel according to Mark?
Are you just occupied with the words and
the deeds of our Lord Jesus?
Or do you?
Through these words and deeds you begin to
see the Lord.
These words and deeds are expressions of what
he is.
In other words the character of the person
shows you the type of work he does.
The man is more important than his work.
If we see only his words and deeds
and we fail to see him that is
his character.
His inward character.
You do not have the explanation.
You only see what is visible but you
do not know the soul.
All his words and deeds.
And I do believe the Holy Spirit in
giving us this record of the life of
our Lord Jesus means that we may see
Christ his character that we may be transformed
and conformed to that character more than we
just want to see what he has done.
Now not that what he does and speaks
are unimportant.
They are.
But there is more to it.
God wants us to get behind his words
and deeds and to get to know that
person.
Now unless you can see Christ in this
way unless you can read the gospel in
this way you'll miss it.
So brothers and sisters when Mark presents Christ
to us as the servant of the Lord
it is more than just giving us a
continuous record of what he does.
Thank God for all that he has done.
But it's more than that.
He is trying to show us the character
that is behind all his words and deeds.
That is the reason why he calls to
himself disciples.
When the Lord was on earth he not
only did things he not only said words
but he called people to be with him
as his disciples.
And these disciples were to stay with him.
These disciples were to go around with him.
Not just to learn the technique of work
but more to learn the life of the
Lord.
Brothers and sisters what God is interested in
is more in the worker or in the
servant than in the service or the work.
Because the kind of servant will determine the
kind.
You know our emphasis is always on the
service.
It's always on the work.
And because of that we think if we
can master the technique the art, art of
it then we will be successful in serving
God.
But brothers and sisters God's thought is very
different.
His attention is more upon the servant.
That the servant may be so transformed conformed
to him and out of that will be
service which is pleasing.
Therefore when we study the gospel according to
Mark it is just not enough just to
know what the Lord does or what he
has spoken.
We have to see the character of Christ
as the servant of the Lord.
And in seeing Christ, his character we are
to be characterized by his character.
And I believe this is the purpose of
the gospel according to Mark.
Now of course the building of a character
takes time.
There is much in our lives that has
to be satisfied.
There is much that has to be gradually
developed and built up in life.
There will be lots of adjustments and we
have to go through the school of discipline
a great deal in order that a different
kind of character which we do not have
naturally may be built up in life.
And only when we have such features of
such character we are able to serve God
in a way that will be pleasing.
So brothers and sisters that is the reason
why the Lord took some, called some to
him to be with him not just to
learn the technique but to learn him.
And after they have learned him then when
they go out to do the work that
work will be like him.
So this is actually what we wish to
see tonight.
Now when you go through the gospel according
to Mark you will see many features which
characterize Christ as a servant.
We do not have the time to go
through all these features but tonight we would
like to fellowship just on a few.
Just as a starting, you know as a
start.
And as you read the gospel according to
Mark I hope that more and more the
character of Christ may appear before you.
First of all to be a servant one
character is very basic and necessary.
And that is diligence.
When you go through the gospel according to
Mark you know there is one word that
is repeated again and again and again.
Throughout the gospel according to Mark you will
find the word immediately or straight away.
Immediately!
Straight away!
Altogether I don't know if I counted right
37 times but anyway you will find when
such word is used so much the Holy
Spirit has something to say to us.
As a servant one quality of the good
servant is that he is diligent.
He is very diligent.
Diligently doing the masters.
And that is just the thing that characterizes.
You know God never uses a lazy person.
Have you ever found in the Bible that
he calls a lazy person to be his
servant?
On the contrary you will find when God
calls for a servant usually you will find
that servant is busily occupied.
Now even in the world if you have
something you want something to be done.
You do not go to a person who
has done nothing who is doing nothing.
You go to a person who is quite
busy.
Why?
Because you know he will do it.
A lazy person will never do anything.
It is the diligence that does the work.
God never calls a lazy person.
There must be that character of diligence in
that person.
Well probably you would say now some people
may be born more diligent than other people.
Or some people may be naturally lazy.
Now brothers and sisters the point is here.
To be diligent does not mean to be
busy.
You may be very busy but you may
not be diligent.
To be
diligent is a character that we have to
learn from Christ.
Naturally no one of us is diligent.
Because we may be very diligent in a
sense to do what we want to do.
But when you come to God's will no
one is diligent.
We try to avoid it.
We try to evade it.
We try to escape it and we try
to push it to tomorrow.
Mariana, tomorrow.
When you come to spiritual things you begin
to realize that we are not naturally diligent.
No one is.
The Lord has to do something in our
lives to make us diligent.
So you find it is not just a
matter of being busy.
It is not a matter of doing what
we like to do.
No.
Diligence is a spiritual character.
God has done something in our lives to
make us very diligent.
That is to say whenever there is God's
will we do not delay it.
We do not drag along.
But we quickly follow the Lord.
Look at the life of our Lord Jesus.
How diligent he is.
In the parable our Lord Jesus gives concerning
the servants.
You know one man is leaving the country.
So he gave his sustenance to three servants.
One is given five talents.
The second is given two talents.
And the third is given one talent.
Now a talent is a lot.
A talent is not a little.
So even the one with one talent actually
is given a great deal.
But of course in comparison with the two
talents and the five talents it is little,
you know.
But the little itself is big.
But anyway you'll find these servants are entrusted
with the Master's sustenance.
And the Master said trade with it.
Be occupied with it.
The two faithful servants.
Wise and faithful servants.
They trade with the talents.
And the one with five earns another five.
The one with two earns another two.
And when the Lord comes back and takes
the account the Lord says good.
Good and faithful servants.
Well done.
They are wise because they know the Master's
heart.
They are faithful because they are diligent.
But the one with one talent he is
not only slothful, lazy, but he is foolish.
Why?
He does not know the Master.
And he does not do the Master.
And because he is slothful and foolish.
You'll find when the Master comes back even
that which was given to them is taken
up.
Now brothers and sisters the Lord has given
us much.
Even the little we have is much.
Never look down upon the grace and the
gift that God has given to you.
You know some people they are quite say
well who am I?
What do I have?
I have only one talent.
So why bother?
Remember that one talent is a lot.
We need to be wise in knowing the
Master's heart.
And we need to be diligent in doing
that.
To be diligent and to wait upon the
Lord are not contradictory.
You know sometimes we think in order to
be diligent then you have to rush here
and there and and getting even getting.
Then you are diligent.
You'll find our Lord Jesus after he has
done a day's work he rests.
From the next morning before dawn he goes
to the desert and there he prays.
Plenty of disciples come and say now a
lot of people are coming here.
They are waiting for you.
Because I'm called to do that.
In other words you'll find his work is
not governed by me.
His work is governed by the Father.
You know today our problem is our work
is governed by me.
Because there is this need because there is
that need therefore well thank God we are
willing to give ourselves to these needs.
But the result is we are doing lots
of things but what are the things that
God wants?
There is no time for waiting before the
Lord.
We think that waiting upon the Lord is
a waste.
Not so with our Lord Jesus.
He waits upon God.
He knows the Father's will and he is
diligent in doing the work.
That is something that we have to learn.
You know either we are so occupied doing
things or we are just lazy and do
nothing.
We go to extremes.
But as God's servant there is a place
for waiting.
If we do not know God's will don't
do it.
Don't rush ahead.
Because wait upon the Lord until you know
the Lord's will.
But the moment you know the Lord's will
don't be diligent in carrying.
And this is exactly what you find in
the Gospel according to me.
It is true that the Lord travels here
and there.
It is true that he does many things.
But remember he is never he is never
busy to the point that he has no
time to wait upon the Father.
You know you have heard lots of people
God's servants will say well I'm so busy
I have no time to pray.
I'm so busy serving the Lord I have
no time to wait upon the Lord.
And you know the result is many nervous
themselves.
They need that.
But this is not the character that characterizes
that servant.
So brothers and sisters in reading the life
of Christ according to Mark you'll find the
Lord he may be busy occupying but he
is never without time to wait upon the
Father.
Once he knows the Father's will he never
postpones it.
He carries it out.
So this is the first feature of the
character of a servant.
Second the Lord is full of compassion compassionate.
It is not just doing a work.
You may do a work but if your
heart is not involved it is cold it
is dead.
The work may be done but before God
there is very little work.
But here you'll find our Lord Jesus is
compassionate.
That characterizes him as the servant of the
Lord.
For instance a leper.
You know when this leper comes to the
Lord Jesus he is desperate because according to
the custom of that time according to law
a leper is not allowed to come into
the city.
And when people should approach a leper that
leper should cry out unclean, unclean don't come
near.
If a leper should dare to come into
the crowd and be discovered he will be
stoned to death.
But this leper is desperate.
No one can heal him.
No one can clean him.
And when he hears of the Lord Jesus
that is his only hope.
He believes in the power of the Lord
Jesus but he is not sure whether the
Lord is willing to do it or not.
Because he has never known the Lord Jesus.
He may think that the Lord is able
to do it but he would do it
to people who are more worthy.
He is not worthy.
But anyway he is desperate.
When he comes to the Lord you know
he put his life in his hand as
it were.
Because if the people should discover it first
he would be stoned to death.
He comes to the Lord and says Lord
if you will you can do it.
I believe in your power but I am
not sure whether you are willing or not.
I cannot force your hand.
If you think I am unworthy then I
don't deserve it.
But if you will if you are compassionate
towards me I believe you can do it.
So you must remember this leper comes to
the Lord and on the one hand he
is brave because he is desperate but on
the other hand he comes to the Lord
trembling.
He is not sure whether the Lord is
willing to do it.
The Lord can very easily say a word
and he will be cleansed.
For the Lord knows the trembling heart of
the leper.
The Lord knows that he is fearful because
the Lord is not willing.
Therefore the Lord stretches out his hand and
says your kindness.
He does not need to do that.
He can say a word and it is
done.
That's all that is required.
But why is it the Lord stretches his
hand and touches the leper?
And you know in touching the leper if
he is not able to heal the leper
he himself the Lord braves the danger of
being defiled by touching the leper.
But thank God of course he is not
defiled.
Instead he cleanses the leper.
But in this very action you can see
the compassion of our Lord.
Brothers and sisters very often when we are
entrusted with a work we can do it
technically.
Correct?
We can do it mechanically but where is
the compassion?
And if there is no compassion in the
sight of God there is very little spiritual
value in it.
Another case.
The Lord is in a house and many
people just crowd around him.
Even the door is filled with people.
And you remember, poor friends they bring a
man sick of palsy to the Lord.
But they find the door is blocked.
The place is just packed.
There is no way to get near to
the Lord.
So they go to the roof.
You know in the Orient in the land
of Judea their way of building is quite
different from ours.
You can go to the roof from outside.
There is a stairway that will go from
outside to the roof.
And usually when a person wants to seek
for privacy that you may pray or you
may be alone you go to the roof
in order to have some privacy.
Now these men they take the man sick
of palsy to the roof.
Then they break open the roof and they
lower the bed on which the man sick
of palsy sleeps.
And they lower it just before the Lord
Jesus.
Now remember this is very unconventional.
The Lord is using another person's house.
And when the roof is broken through now
who is to pay the repair?
But instead of getting angry and say now
you you just disturb our peace.
When the Lord sees this He says great
is their faith.
Your sins are forgiven.
Compassionate.
Full of compassion.
Every time you find the Lord does something
He does not do it with His hand.
He does it with His heart.
That's the servant.
A servant.
He never gives lip service.
It is a service.
How often.
We may be doing certain service.
But we just do it with our hands.
Our heart is not there.
You know a real servant of the Lord
has a heart full of compassion.
But you know compassion is more than an
emotion.
We may be emotionally stirred but compassion is
a character.
You know the difference between an emotional stirring
and a character.
An emotional stirring is you may be touched
by some environment and get stirred emotionally and
do something.
But a character is deep seated in your
life.
The Lord is compassionate.
That is His character.
Not just an emotional outburst.
A man may be very emotional and usually
when a person is emotional he is impulsive
and he is blind.
But the Lord Jesus is compassionate.
Yet He is not impulsive nor blind.
One day the Lord comes to the border
of Caesarea Caesarea Philippi and a Sidonian woman
comes to the Lord.
He cries to the Lord and says, Son
of David have mercy on me because my
child is attacked by the devil.
Have mercy on me.
Heal my child.
Son of David.
The Lord does not answer.
He is quite insistent.
Have mercy on me Son of David.
Have mercy on me.
But the Lord does not answer.
Even the disciples of our Lord get disturbed.
They do not understand why the Lord does
not answer that woman.
That doesn't look like the Lord Himself.
So they come to the Lord and say,
have you heard her?
Either you do something or you send her
away.
You just not, just cannot let her cry
out to you as if you haven't heard.
Now that doesn't, doesn't look like it.
What is it?
Now if the Lord's compassion is just an
emotion then certainly He should respond right away.
But His compassion is a character.
He knows what He is doing.
He is not blind.
That woman in crying to the Lord saying
Son of David she has limited the Lord.
She has bound the hands of the Lord.
Because as the Son of David He is
sent to the house of Israel.
And this woman is a Gentile.
He cannot do it.
He just cannot do it.
His hands are bound.
Bound by the ignorance of this woman.
So He said you cannot give the bread.
You give the bread only to the children.
I'm sent to the lost in Israel.
By saying that actually He leaves a crack
for that woman to take up.
And that woman immediately says yes Lord.
See?
Yes Lord.
Not Son of David.
Yes Lord.
The bread is for the children.
But I'm a little dog.
I'm a pet dog.
I can at least have some crumbs under
the table.
I still have a claim on you.
And the Lord said great is your faith.
Your child is healed.
Brothers and sisters you'll find He is not
only compassionate but He is very clear in
what He does.
He is not just emotionally bound up and
He will just do anything whenever His emotion
is involved.
That's a character.
Brothers and sisters that is the reason why
His work is not governed just by me.
It's governed by the Father's will.
His heart is warm but His mind is
very cold.
And that qualifies you as a servant of
the Lord.
A servant who is cold not only in
his mind but also in his heart can
never serve God.
But neither can a servant who is warm
in heart but also hot in mind can
serve the Master.
So the second point is the servant of
the Lord is compassionate.
Number three Christ as the servant of the
Lord is sacrificial.
Sacrificial.
As we find in Mark chapter 10 verse
45 the Son of Man does not come
to be ministered to but to minister and
to give His life a ransom.
The servant of the Lord has no self
-interest.
He is not seeking for personal gain.
He has no ambition of his own.
He is willing to give everything even his
life.
That's a servant.
He does not withhold anything for himself.
But he is willing to give everything.
Our Lord Jesus as the servant of God
is marked by gentleness.
Oh how gentle He is.
How do we know He is so gentle?
Look at the way He deals with children.
You know?
The Lord is busily occupied with His great
work and then the parents bring the children
to the Lord.
And the disciples push these parents away and
say our Lord is too busy for the
children.
He has no time for the children.
You better take the children away.
But the Lord says suffer the little children
to come to me for theirs is the
kingdom of God.
So the Lord even though He is busily
occupied with more important work as people would
say you'll find He set aside everything.
He takes the children in His arms and
He blesses them.
What gentleness.
Another occasion.
And this you'll find only in Mark.
In nowhere else.
After the resurrection of our Lord Jesus He
asked a woman to bring a message to
His disciples that He will meet them in
Galilee.
But in the gospel according to Mark He
said and Peter.
Now that is the reason why some people
think Mark's gospel is according to Peter.
Because this is the only place where you'll
find Him.
Peter denied the Lord three times.
Peter repented.
But even so Peter was not sure.
He was literally living in fear and trembling.
He had offended the Lord so much.
He wondered if the Lord would ever forgive
him.
If the Lord would ever remember him.
So the Lord sent a message and said
What gentleness.
But do not misunderstand.
As if gentleness is weakness.
You know sometimes we think of gentleness as
weakness.
When it comes to the matter of truth
the Lord never compromises.
You remember one day He enters into the
synagogue and there is a man with a
withered hand.
And these worshippers I don't know whether the
Pharisees plant that man there or not.
I don't know.
But they are all watching whether the Lord
will do something to the withered hand.
Man with a withered hand.
The Lord knows it.
He stands up.
And He asks a question.
What will you do on the Sabbath day?
Good thing or bad thing?
Nobody answers.
And you remember the Bible says the Lord
is angry.
He looks angrily at the congregation.
And He asks that man to stand up.
Stretch out your arms.
And the withered hand.
Gentleness does not mean weakness.
He is strong.
Brave.
Bold.
When it comes to the matter of truth.
And you know how He denounces the Pharisees?
And the scribes?
The Pharisees and the scribes they are the
elite of society.
The ruling class of His time.
If you offend them then you are doomed.
But the Lord denounces them.
And when it comes to the truth you
read the gospel according to Mark and you'll
find the Lord never tries to take away
the sharpness.
You know sometimes a person naturally can be
gentle.
But when a person is naturally gentle he
becomes...
he rounds up everything, you know.
There is no more sharpness.
Therefore this gentleness has to come from Christ.
The sharpness is still there.
Whenever the Lord speaks it cuts.
It is not blunt.
It is not round up.
Brothers and sisters, that's what it is.
A gentleness.
And yet there is no weakness.
Number five.
You'll find the Lord is single-minded.
You know a servant cannot serve two masters.
You either love the one or despise the
other.
You either listen to the one or you
don't listen to the other.
You cannot try to serve two masters.
It's impossible.
And here you'll find our Lord Jesus is
single-minded.
So out of his life he has to
do the Father's will.
That's all.
He has set his face towards Jerusalem.
Even though he knows what is waiting for
him.
He does not look back.
Three times.
He tries to tell his disciples that he
will go to Jerusalem and there he will
be killed.
But on the third day he will rise
again.
He knows.
What waits.
What is waiting for him.
But he is single-minded to it.
Every time he discloses that he will be
killed in Jerusalem.
You know, every time his disciples react in
a very different way.
The first time is found in Mark chapter
8.
You know, after Peter confessed the Lord Jesus
as the Christ, the Son of the living
God.
Then the Lord begins to open up his
heart to his disciples as they are now.
Remember.
I will go to Jerusalem.
I will be persecuted.
I will be killed.
But on the third day I will rise
again.
But when he discloses that to his disciples
Peter immediately takes hold of him.
I don't know whether Peter shakes him or
not.
And says, I'll come to your things.
Be mindful of yourself.
Have mercy.
Pity yourself.
Don't do such a thing.
You don't need to do that.
You can get the world.
You can take the throne of David without
going to the cross.
You don't need that.
And the Lord turns around and says, Satan,
get me out of here.
Because you are not mindful of the things
of God.
You are only mindful of the things of
man.
The second occasion.
In chapter 9.
When they pass through Galilee again the Lord
begins to tell them that he will go
to Jerusalem.
He will be killed.
And on the third day he will be
raised from the dead.
And you know what happens?
When the Lord is talking to them about
his cross you know what the disciples are
discussing among themselves?
They are discussing among themselves who is the
greatest.
What a contradiction.
So the Lord has to take a child
and say now put a child in their
midst and he said the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven of God is this child.
Unless you be converted and be like a
little child you cannot enter into the kingdom
of God.
Think about it.
And the third occasion in chapter 10.
When the Lord says he is going to
Jerusalem he will be killed.
You know what happens?
John and James they come to the Lord
with their mother and said now when you
sit on the throne will you please let
one son and the other son sit on
the right and the left.
And the Lord said can you drink the
cup that I drink?
Can you be baptized with the baptism that
I am going to be baptized?
Oh yes, they said yes.
Without knowing what they are.
The Lord said indeed you must.
But to sit on my right and my
left is not for me to give.
It is for the Father to give.
If anyone wants to come after me he
has to deny himself take up his cross
and follow me.
In the world those who rule over Lord
have authority over others but not among you.
He who is the greatest among the born
slaves of God.
For the Son of Man does not come
to be ministered to but to minister and
to give his life a ransom for many.
See, three times whenever the Lord discloses something
about the cross the reaction of the disciples
is just they are sitting on the throne
bypassing the cross.
But the Lord said no.
It cannot be.
Our Lord is single-minded and brothers and
sisters if we want to be servants of
the Lord we must be characterized by single.
If your eye is single your whole body
is light.
If your eye are wicked that is double
sight.
Then your whole body is dark and the
Lord said if that's the case how dark
will be that darkness.
Brothers and sisters we need to be single
-minded and because of that we have to
see the way to the throne is by
the cross.
You cannot have.
And then finally I mention one more thing
and that is the servant of the Lord
is confident not in himself but in God.
You know our trouble is we are confident
in ourselves.
We put our trust in our flesh.
I can do it, but no.
With the Lord Jesus he is a servant
full of confidence not in himself but in
God.
If you have faith in God you can
remove the mountain to the sea.
Whatever you ask if you believe that you
will receive you will receive.
Oh brothers and sisters our Lord Jesus has
full confidence and that is the reason why
he does not retreat withdraw or flee but
he can go straight forward to finish the
work that the Father had entrusted him.
Confident all the time that God will take
care.
Brothers and sisters we cannot serve God if
we have confidence in our flesh.
Neither can we serve God if we do
not have confidence because serving in God you
have to go through many things.
And if you have no confidence in God
but our Lord Jesus to the very end
you will find how confident so by just
briefly you know going through these occasions these
incidents you will find at the back of
these incidents you will find the manifestation of
us.
And this character is the character of us
and it is the will of God that
we who are called to serve God must
be characterized by these features.
Again I say we do not have them.
These character has to be built up gradually
in us.
The Holy Spirit is the one who is
to build that character in us.
How is it to be built?
First he has to put Christ before us
as in 2 Corinthians 3 says we behold
the glory of the Lord.
We have to see him first.
If we do not see him the Holy
Spirit does not have any ground to work.
We have to see Christ as he is.
His diligence.
His compassion.
His sacrifice.
Sacrificial love.
His gentleness.
His single mindedness.
His confidence in the Father.
We have to see him.
Now that is what he is.
Now as we behold him and with our
heart open to him then the Holy Spirit
is able to transform us according to his
will.
From glory to glory.
And of course in the process of transformation
there is much that has to be kept
aside.
There is much adjustment to be made.
We have to go through that which belongs
to us that which is his and gradually
be increased.
But thank God the Holy Spirit who dwells
in us has a very special job.
You know the Holy Spirit dwells in each
one of us.
He has a very special job to do.
And what is his job?
To reveal Christ.
Not just to reveal him that we may
see him but by revealing him we may
desire him.
And in desiring him we may allow the
Holy Spirit to do the work you know.
Now that is the work of the Holy
Spirit.
He is doing that work either through revelation
or through our embodiment.
But he is building that character.
Brothers and sisters God is more interested in
building the servant character in us than he
is interested in us.
Not because you are busy doing things for
him.
Therefore you are a servant.
Unless we allow him to build the servant
character in us.
Brothers and sisters, whatever we touch we spoil
it.
But when God can get that servant character
in us then whatever our hand touches it
glorifies God.
It pleases God.
So I do believe this is the reason
why Mark presents Christ in this gospel.
Not just that we may copy his work.
We may imitate his words that we may
be transformed and confront his image.
Then out of that comes God's work.
And if we can lead the gospel according
to Mark in this way I do believe
we touch what the Holy Spirit wants us
to learn.
It is Christ.
It is Christ in us.
Brothers and sisters.
Always Christ in us.
Shall we pray.
O Lord we pray that we may see
the servant character in thee.
We pray that we may open ourselves to
thee.
To allow thy spirit to work in us
that whenever whatever we touch it may be
thy work.
It may be a work that is pleasing
in thine.
O deliver us just from doing things, saying
things.
But Lord we pray whatever we do, whatever
we say may be the expression of what
we are by thy grace.
Lord we want thee to be served in
the best way.
In the right way.
So do use these feeble words.
Bless us.
And do thy work in every one of
us.
Thou art worthy to be served.
And we do desire to serve thee.
In the name of our Lord Jesus.
Amen.