So we've been looking at this expression found
in Hebrews chapter 6, which says in the
verse first, let us press on to maturity
or perfection.
And we know that perfection is found only
in Jesus Christ.
So really, he's talking about pressing on to
become more and more like him as we
progress in the Christian life.
And that is what is God's goal for
us.
I want you to turn again to Romans
8 and 29.
In Romans 8 verse 29, we read about
the goal that God has for all of
his children.
The goal is total likeness to Jesus Christ.
It's called here pre-destination.
There's a lot of controversy concerning that word
in Christendom, but it's very simple here in
verse 29.
He predestined us to become like Jesus Christ.
That is the maturity and the perfection we
are to press on to.
We must see that clearly.
In the old covenant, they didn't have a
goal.
Well, they did have a goal in one
sense.
The goal was to possess the land of
Canaan.
It was an earthly goal.
First, their goal was to get out of
Egypt.
And then God had a goal for them
to possess Canaan, but they never got into
Canaan.
But God's will for them was to possess
something of earth.
If you read the Old Testament, in the
whole Old Testament, there's no promise of something
heavenly or change of our nature.
No.
It's only an earthly blessing that God promised
Israel, but in the new covenant, it says
God predestined us to be conformed to the
image of his Son.
So, we must never forget that.
To press on to maturity means I must
become more and more like Christ.
And like we saw earlier, the hope that
we have, you remember that, is not only
that we shall see him, but when we
see him, we shall become like him.
So, that's our goal.
And if that is our goal, then we
seek to purify ourselves more and more as
we approach that day.
So, that is why the Bible says that
this Christian life is like a race towards
perfection, where we look to Jesus as our
example.
So, I want you to turn to Hebrews
chapter 11.
In Hebrews 11, we have a great men
of faith in the Old Testament.
And some of them lived very wonderful lives.
And there are many good things we can
learn from all these people.
You know, you can take a Bible study
on Abraham or David or Elijah and learn
many, many things about the Christian life from
their faith.
In fact, all of these people had faith.
But if you look at the entire list
of the faith they had, it was mostly
for earthly things, almost entirely.
They pleased God, but we don't read much
about heaven except perhaps in one little phrase
about Abraham where it says that they were
seeking for a heavenly country in verse 14.
Otherwise, all of them were seeking, you know,
the blessings were earthly by faith.
They pulled down the walls of Jericho, they
shut the mouths of lions, they crossed the
Red Sea, they defeated their earthly enemies.
It was all earthly.
We can say it was an earthly faith
that the whole people had in the Old
Testament.
And when your faith is limited to earthly
things, it's an Old Testament faith.
Yeah, we can get a lot of earthly
things by faith.
And Hebrews 11 teaches us that.
But at the end of Hebrews 11, in
the last verse, verse 40, it says, God
has provided something better than all this for
us.
Hebrews 11, 40.
So, we must, whenever you read Hebrews 11,
every verse concerning anybody, when you read about
Abel, Abraham, anyone, always remember the last verse.
That's not the best.
God's provided something better for us.
You read Genesis to Malachi, whatever you read
there, remember this verse.
God has provided something better for us.
In fact, this is a verse that you
must remember when you read any part of
the Old Testament.
If you forget this verse, you'll get stuck
in the Old Testament and you'll think that
those blessings are the blessings God is offering
us.
And that's a mistake that lots and lots
of Christians make.
A lot of people go to the book
of Deuteronomy, chapter 28, and think of all
the blessings that God can give us on
this earth.
And there are many pastors who threaten their
congregation, saying God will curse you if you
don't pay your tithes.
It's all from the Old Testament.
So, whenever you read the Old Testament, remember
this verse, Hebrews 11, 40.
God has planned something better for us.
That is the last verse at the end
of the history of all these great Old
Testament people.
And then what is this better thing?
And the better thing is in chapter 12,
verses 1 to 3.
It says in chapter 12, verse 1, we
must run the race.
And verse 2, it says, fixing our eyes
on Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, the perfecter of our faith.
This is the perfection we aim for.
Who for the joy set before him endured
the cross and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God.
So, the goal of the Old Testament people
was Canaan.
Our goal is the throne of God.
That's where we're going.
That's in heaven.
Now, anybody can tell you the throne of
God is better than an earthly Canaan.
That's the better thing God has provided for
us.
And that's why it says that we must
press on to this goal.
And if you were to ask me in
very simple terms, what does it mean to
press on to maturity?
It means being more and more detached from
attachment to earthly things.
Till our mind becomes more and more heavenly
minded.
The more heavenly minded you are, the more
mature you are.
And the more earthly minded you are, the
more immature and carnal you are.
A lot of Christians, they have problems because
they are earthly minded.
You will fight with other people.
Most of the fights among believers, even fights
among husbands and wives at home, are all
about earthly things.
It's not about, you're not fighting about how
to reach the throne of God.
Fighting about some silly earthly thing that has
no value when we leave this earth.
So, when we think of our mind, you
know, we thought of Romans 12, where our
mind is to be renewed, to think like
God.
That is, to be more and more detached
from earthly things, to be heavenly minded.
That's how Jesus was.
That doesn't mean that we don't care for
the things of earth.
We know that Jesus worked as a carpenter.
He lived in his home as a little
boy, and he grew up as a little
boy.
He lived a very down-to-earth life,
but his mind was not on earthly things.
And he wouldn't fight for earthly things.
In the Old Testament, they fought for their
property.
Israel fought.
Anybody, enemy took their property, they'd fight to
drive them out, and God himself told them
to do that.
But now and then in the Old Testament,
you have a prophecy concerning Christ.
Like, behold my servant.
Look at my servant.
He's the one you're ultimately going to follow.
Of course, they didn't understand it, but now
through the Holy Spirit, we see that this
is what it means to press on to
perfection, to see how Jesus lived on earth
just like any other human being, but yet
he did not live for the things of
earth.
And the earth, the things of the world
could not get inside him.
I mean, the perfect description of a wonderful
illustration of a Christian is like a ship
in the water.
Surrounded by water, there's no water inside the
ship.
When the water comes inside the ship, that's
when the ship sinks, or a boat.
So when the spirit of the world comes
inside the Christian, he's a little more time
and he's sunk.
And that's what's happened to so many people.
But the solution is not to run away
from the world and live in some monastery
or in some mountain like a hermit.
Jesus did not live in a monastery.
And John the Baptist lived in the desert,
but Jesus didn't live in the desert.
We're not followers of John the Baptist.
We're followers of Jesus Christ, who lived right
in the middle of the world, and the
world did not come inside him.
This is the example we have to look
at.
We have to look at Jesus, the perfecter
of our faith, who aimed for the right
hand of the throne of God.
That was the joy set before him.
When it says there, because of this joy
set before him, he was willing to suffer
anything on the earth.
Endured the cross, despised the shame, he was
willing to suffer shame, because he said, I'm
aiming for the throne of God.
And if whatever I go through is helping
me to get to the throne of God
sooner, I'm prepared for it.
So, dear brothers and sisters, let me say
this, that if your aim is earthly, and
you're thinking of how to get more and
more earthly blessings, you're not likely to make
much progress in your Christian life to spiritual
maturity.
I mean, you can increase in a lot
of knowledge and know more of the Bible,
but you're not going to grow to maturity.
So, I want to encourage you to take
this very seriously, that Jesus lived on earth
just like a man, just like any of
us.
That's why God allowed him to be born
as a little baby, so that he could
grow up and be an example to five
-year-old boys, ten-year-old boys, twelve
-year-old boys.
He could be an example to every one
of them, to example to teenagers, example to
adult working people.
He worked as a carpenter.
He had to work hard to earn his
living, just like we have to work hard
to earn our living.
He had to work hard to earn his
living, so that he could be an example
for us.
And then he became, for three and a
half years, a full-time worker.
And there he has become an example even
to full-time preachers.
How to preach, what should be your attitude
to money, what should be your attitude to
people.
So, for every type of human being, right
from a little child to businessmen and full
-time workers, Christ has lived on earth to
be an example for us.
Many of us look at Jesus only as
hanging on the cross.
But here it says we have to look
at Jesus who was the perfecter of our
faith, the way he walked on earth.
That's where we have to look at and
follow.
So, I just want to consider a few
areas where we see what was Jesus' attitude.
I quoted this verse in Isaiah 42.
Let me just show you that, first of
all.
In Isaiah 42, the Lord says, in verse
1.
Isaiah 42, verse 1.
Behold my servant.
That's referring to Jesus Christ.
Behold means look carefully at my servant.
Just like we read in Hebrews 12.
Look carefully at my servant.
This is the one whom I uphold.
This is my chosen.
This is the one in whom my soul
is delighted.
I have put my spirit upon him.
And he will bring justice to the nations.
Behold my servant.
So, Jesus is called a servant of God.
He was a son and a servant.
Now, not just a servant.
You know, like if a man has got
a business.
And his son is a partner with him.
And he employs certain people in his shop,
in his store.
Both are serving.
The son is also serving there, maybe at
the counter.
And those servants are serving at the counter.
But there's a difference between the son and
the other people, employees in that store.
The employees are working for money.
The son is a partner.
He's not working for money.
He doesn't get a salary.
He's a partner in the business.
And his employees will work from, you know,
9 o'clock to 5 o'clock or
something like that.
And then they go.
But the son doesn't work like that.
He has no hours.
He's just all the time, he's ready to
work in the store till midnight if necessary.
Or come early in the morning for no
extra pay.
You see, both are serving.
The employees and the son.
But there's a lot of difference between a
son serving and an employee serving.
So, our service for God in the Old
Testament, it was like employees serving a master.
But now, God has become our father.
We are to serve him as a son
serving his father.
There's a lot of difference.
And you need to ask yourself, with what
spirit are you serving God?
Is it with the spirit of, Lord, I've
done this for you, what are you going
to do for me?
That's like looking for a salary.
You know, the employee telling the master, well,
I worked for you 30 days, what are
you going to give me now?
When I come to God like that, with
that spirit of, what are you going to
do for me when I've done this for
you?
You're doing business with God.
You've made an employee contract with God.
Maybe God will give you some things.
But I never want to have that relationship
with God, never.
I want to be a son.
A son doesn't go to the father at
the end of the month and say, Dad,
what's my salary?
I'm a partner with God in his business.
You remember Jesus, even at the age of
12, he said to Joseph and Mary in
the temple, didn't you know I've got to
do my father's business?
He had that sense of responsibility when he
was 12.
He was not an employee.
He wasn't sitting in the temple talking about
God's word for some type of salary.
Today you'll find, even among preachers, there are
those who do it as a calling.
It's the burden of their heart.
And there are other people who do it
only if you pay them.
They'll go where they can get the best
salary.
A lot of preachers.
They are pastors in a church, and then
they get a higher salary offered somewhere else,
and then they go there.
These are not sons.
They're employees.
And that's why Christendom has suffered.
And therefore, he says in Isaiah 42, look
at my servant, look at Jesus.
How did he serve?
He did not serve for any money.
He served in the spirit of a true
servant of God.
So when we look at Jesus Christ, we
can learn what it really means to serve
in the spirit of a son.
And as we do that, we grow up
to maturity.
So there are three areas I want to
speak about.
How to be a true servant of God.
Number one.
In Romans 6 and verse 22, how can
I be a servant of God like Jesus
Christ?
Like a son.
Romans 6 and verse 22.
It says here, having been freed from sin
and become servants of God, you derive your
fruit.
Slaves of God or servants of God, same
thing.
How do I become a servant of God
according to this verse?
I have to be free from sin.
Now, most people say today, if you want
to be a full-time servant of God,
you've got to be free from an earthly
job.
Give up your earthly job and then become
a pastor.
But the apostle Paul did not give up
his earthly job.
He was a tent maker until the end
of his life.
And he was far better than any pastor.
He was an apostle.
He worked.
He received occasional gifts, but basically he took
care of himself.
So it's not being free from a job.
There are some denominations of Christianity that say
if you serve God, you can't get married,
like the Roman Catholic priests.
You have to be free from marriage in
order to serve God.
All these are wrong.
You don't have to be free from marriage.
You don't have to be free from an
earthly job.
But you have to be free from sin.
That's the way to be a servant of
God.
That's what's written in the Bible.
So all these wrong ideas that people have,
they have come from human ideas.
Any of us can be a servant of
God if you're determined to be free from
sin.
That's why I speak so much about being
free from sin.
Because I believe all of us ought to
be servants of God.
In the Old Testament, you could be a
servant of God only if you were from
the tribe of Levi.
But now we can be a servant of
God.
Anyone can be a servant of God if
you're free from sin.
That's the number one thing.
And that's why we need to look at
Jesus as one who overcame sin, first of
all, in his life.
So I want to ask you if you
really want to be a servant of God
as a son.
And the Bible says, look carefully at my
servant.
He was free from sin.
And even though I may not be as
perfect as he was in free from sin,
like we read we are pressing on to
that perfection.
As we look at him, we can seek
to be free from sin as he was.
And the Bible says in Hebrews in chapter
4, Hebrews 4 in verse 15 and 16,
it tells us how he was free from
sin.
Hebrews 4, 15, it's talking about Jesus Christ.
We don't have a high priest who is
not able to sympathize with our weaknesses.
I'm putting it in a positive way.
We do have a high priest who can
sympathize with our weaknesses.
How can he sympathize with our struggles and
weaknesses?
Because, listen to this amazing verse which some
of you may not even have thought of
in your life.
He was tempted exactly as we are in
every area, every respect, yet without sin.
He was tempted as we are in every
area, but he did not sin.
That's why he can say to us, follow
me.
This is a great truth, my brothers and
sisters.
When you see it, you'll see the secret
of overcoming sin lies here.
Looking at Jesus and saying, Lord, you are
tempted like me.
I know when I understood this truth for
the first time many years ago, whenever I
was tempted very strongly, all of us are
tempted strongly at different times by different temptations.
It could be a temptation to be discouraged
or a temptation to sexual lust or a
temptation to anger or a temptation to have
a bitterness against somebody who hurt us or
all types of temptations.
I must say, Lord Jesus, when you were
in Nazareth as a young man, you were
also tempted exactly like I am being tempted
right now.
I want to look at you, like the
Bible says, behold my servant.
I want to look at you and see,
I want the Holy Spirit to show me
how you overcame that temptation by resisting it
and hating it and fighting against it in
the power of the Holy Spirit.
I want to do the same thing.
I want to ask God's help to do
the same thing.
So, let's get this verse clearly.
He was tempted like we are yet without
sin.
And you may say, so what?
You see in the next verse, verse 16.
Therefore, then, if that is the case, that
he was tempted and he did not sin,
then we also can come with confidence to
the throne of grace so that we can
also receive mercy and find grace to help
us in our time of need.
Now, remember, this is connected to the previous
verse.
So, the time of need it's speaking of
here is not financial need.
It's a time of temptation.
The meaning is, like he was tempted in
every point and did not sin, in our
time of temptation, let us come to the
throne of grace and ask God to give
us grace to overcome so that we also
don't sin.
I don't know whether you have a great
passion in your life to be free from
sin.
Like I often have said, the mark of
a spiritual man is that he hates sin
more than he hates sickness.
That he fears sin more than he fears
sickness.
That he fears getting angry more than he
fears getting cancer.
That he fears dirty thoughts more than AIDS.
That's the mark of a spiritual man.
You can find out right now whether you're
spiritual or not.
If a doctor gives you a diagnosis of
a sickness, an incurable sickness, would that disturb
you?
Or would you be more disturbed by the
fact that you're committing sin in different areas?
How much effort would you make to be
free from cancer in your body?
You would go to this doctor and that
doctor and if you hear that some doctor
in some other country, you'd go over there
and if you hear that you need to
spend so much money to be cured of
that cancer, you'd go there and spend it.
You'd draw out your bank account and spend
it.
What a lot of effort people make to
be free from cancer.
What about how much effort do we make
to be free from sin?
So many people so lazily sit back and
say, Oh, I'm trying but I don't get
any freedom from sin.
Well, if you tried as hard as some
people try to be free from a sickness,
you'd have got freedom from sin long, long
ago.
It's not because you can't.
It's because you don't think it's such a
serious thing.
I mean if your shirt is torn, yeah,
throw it away perhaps and get another shirt.
It's not a serious thing.
So when I treat sin like some tear
in my shirt, it's not a serious thing.
That's exactly how many Christians treat sin.
That's why they never become servants of God.
That's why they never press on to maturity.
This is very fundamental.
Let us come to the throne of grace.
And at the throne of grace, we receive
two things.
I want you to see here.
If you've heard my tapes, you know the
difference between mercy and grace.
Two different words.
But if you haven't heard it, let me
explain it to you.
Mercy refers to my past life, grace to
the future.
Mercy refers to the sins I've committed, and
grace refers to the sins I need to
overcome when I'm tempted in the future.
Jesus never needed mercy, not once, because he
never committed sin.
We need mercy.
Till our last day on earth, we need
mercy because any of us can slip up
and fall any time.
We need the blood of Jesus to cleanse
us at all times.
But in addition to mercy, we need to
get grace.
In the Old Testament, they didn't have grace.
They only had mercy.
You read words like the mercy of the
Lord endures forever.
But you never read about grace in the
Old Testament because the Bible says grace came
through Jesus Christ.
And grace is, we can look at that
last expression as a pretty good definition of
grace.
What is it?
Help in time of my need.
To me, that's a beautiful definition of grace.
It's the help that comes to me in
the time of my need.
If my need is to overcome a particular
temptation, grace is there.
If my need is to face a particular
trial and to be a conqueror, grace is
there.
You know, trials can be different from temptation.
Trials can be related to, say, a financial
difficulty in my life or a problem in
the office or problems with my relatives.
Problems, serious problems.
We live on the earth, we have so
many problems.
And grace is the help that comes to
me to help me to overcome in that
situation and to solve that problem.
So, it's not enough to get mercy.
Many Christians only ask God for mercy.
Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, forgive me.
It's good.
But they never ask for grace.
Grace is help.
Help me, Lord, to overcome.
Don't let me sink.
And one of the best examples is Peter
sinking in the sea.
You remember that time when Jesus was walking
on the water.
To me, Jesus walking on the water is
a beautiful picture of overcoming sin.
Because, you know, why we can't walk on
the water?
Because there's a law called the law of
gravity that pulls us down, down, down, down.
As soon as you step on the water,
gravity pulls you down.
And gravity is a beautiful picture of the
law of sin.
The law of sin in our bodies is
like the law of gravity.
Always pulling you down into sin.
And Jesus walking on top of the water
without sinking is a picture of overcoming that
law of gravity.
It's a picture of Jesus overcoming the law
of sin that tried to pull him down.
He did not have sinful flesh like we
have, but he did have temptation.
We know that Satan tried to pull him
down in temptation even in the wilderness.
It says he was tempted for 40 days.
He was tempted all through his life.
And it says in the previous verse, in
every way as we are, he felt that
pull.
But he did not sink.
Just like he walked on the water.
The gravity could not pull him down.
Sin could not pull him down.
And that was by the power of the
Holy Spirit.
Now the greatest miracle there is not Jesus
walking on the water.
The greatest miracle there is Peter walking on
the water.
What do you think?
Which is a greater miracle?
Jesus walking on the water or Peter walking
on the water?
Jesus walking on the water is not such
a great thing.
He is the Son of God.
But Peter, a guy like you and me,
walking on the water.
Boy, that's really a miracle.
And Jesus said, come.
What he was saying is, now you got
to take that message to yourself instead of
Peter.
You.
The Lord is saying to you.
To all of you.
Come.
You can overcome this law of sin.
Just like I overcame.
See how I am walking on the water?
See how I overcame sin?
You can do the same.
Come out and step out in faith.
And if you have faith.
And Jesus says, come.
Don't sit in the security of the boat.
Get out and say, Lord, I believe I
can be an overcomer.
Also in my life.
I can overcome.
I can't overcome the law of gravity, but
I can overcome the law of sin.
Let us find grace to help me in
my time of need.
And as I overcome sin, you know what
happened to Peter after a while?
As long as he was looking at Jesus.
He was overcoming and walking.
Overcoming the law of gravity.
But just for a short moment, he took
his eyes away from Jesus.
And looked at the wind and the waves.
And he sank.
And if you begin to look at the
seriousness of temptation.
You begin to sink.
Or you begin to look at other people.
And begin to compare yourself with them.
Say, I am better than them.
You sink immediately.
A lot of people sink just because they
are looking at other people and saying.
I am a better believer than them.
It is the easiest way to sink.
But you look at Jesus.
Like Peter, you didn't sink.
He sank when he was looking around.
And what did he do when he was
beginning to sink?
Do you know the story?
In Matthew 14.
He said, Lord, save me.
That's all he said.
Three words.
Lord, save me.
Peter stretched out his hand and held him.
And made him stand.
That is help in time of need.
When you feel, dear brothers and sisters.
Now I want to make this very practical.
Next time you are tempted.
You could be tempted when somebody provokes you
to get angry.
You could be tempted with dirty pictures.
You could be tempted when you are sitting
at the computer.
To go to sites that can pollute you.
You can be tempted to make money in
some unrighteous way.
And the temptation can be strong.
Because everybody else is also doing it.
Telling lies.
You could be tempted to have a very
bitter attitude to somebody who did great harm
to you.
All these things are temptations to make you
sink in the sea.
What should you do?
If you find it so strong.
Lord, give me grace now.
Help me to stand.
Immediately Jesus held Peter's hand and made him
stand.
I find that such a tremendously encouraging picture.
It is not a question of me overcoming
sin.
As much as it is a question of
Jesus keeping me from falling.
You know if I say I overcame sin.
The emphasis is on me.
But if I say Jesus keeps me from
falling.
Then the glory goes to God.
And I want to say to you.
Not that you can overcome sin.
But I want to say to you that
Jesus can keep you from falling.
But you ask Him for grace.
You don't have because you don't ask.
If you ask.
He will give you grace.
And it says in Romans 6 and verse
14.
That when you get grace.
This is what happens.
Romans 6.
Chapter 6 of Romans.
And verse 14.
Sin shall not rule over you.
Because you are not under law.
But under grace.
Very simple verse.
Sin cannot rule or have dominion over you.
So from that verse.
I could even ask a little child here.
If you can read and understand English.
From that verse.
Tell me.
What is the mark that you are under
grace?
Very simple.
Sin cannot rule over you.
Sin cannot have dominion over you.
From that verse.
What is the mark that you are under
law?
Sin has dominion over you.
Now whether you know it or not.
When sin rules me.
I am under law.
If I am under grace.
Sin cannot rule me.
Because if Jesus holds me up.
How can I fall?
That's grace.
Help in time of need.
I fall because I am not getting grace.
Because I don't ask him for it.
I am looking here and there.
I am looking comparing myself with other people.
And looking at the seriousness of temptation.
Or looking for some earthly gain for myself.
Then I sink.
But if I look to Jesus.
I will not sink.
And if I happen to look away.
And I am slipping and falling.
All I need to do is say.
Lord forgive me.
Help me.
Hold me up.
He will keep you from falling.
It's wonderful.
It's a wonderful message.
The message of the gospel.
So the Bible says.
Look carefully at my servant.
Being free from sin.
What's the number one condition of being a
servant of God?
Free from sin.
Okay.
Now we go to point number two.
And that's Luke 16.
Any of you can be servants of God.
I told you.
Seek to be free from sin.
Second condition.
Luke 16.
And verse 13.
Where we see.
No servant can serve two masters.
Now if you don't read further in that
verse.
And I ask you.
Who are the two masters?
You say God and Satan.
No.
The two masters in the last part of
that verse.
Is God.
And money.
Who are the two masters?
See the last three words.
God and money.
You cannot serve both masters.
You can make money your servant.
That's okay.
But don't let money be your master.
That's the point.
Jesus used money.
You know not only Jesus used money.
You know that as a carpenter.
For at least 12 years of his life.
He was a carpenter.
Maybe from the age of 18 to 30.
He was working.
How do you think he earned his living?
He had four younger brothers.
Two younger sisters.
And a widowed mother at home.
Seven people at home.
Eight members in a family.
How many of you got eight members in
your family?
Jesus had eight members in his family.
And he had to work pretty hard to
earn money for all of them.
And he worked as a carpenter.
And he made profit.
Otherwise how could he earn his living?
Teaching us.
That if you earn profit in your business,
it's not a sin.
But he was honest.
He didn't cheat anybody.
He didn't do a patchwork job and take
money from people.
He was honest and upright in his work.
And he earned his living as a carpenter.
And he used money.
He needed money to buy food, clothes for
fathers in the home, etc.
He used money.
And even as a full-time worker.
We read in Luke 8, verse 3, people
gave him money and he took it.
Because he was not working then.
And he took it in order to serve
his father.
So we see that Jesus did not allow
money.
He used money, but he did not allow
money to be his master.
In other words, he didn't live for money.
His aim was not, I must be the
richest carpenter in Nazareth.
That was not his aim.
Not at all.
Because I can imagine that if Jesus was
asked to make a table or a chair
for some poor widow.
And he made it and took to that
widow.
And the widow said, how much does it
cost?
I can imagine Jesus saying, that's a little
gift from me.
Keep it.
You think people who live like that will
end up becoming the richest carpenter in Nazareth?
Impossible.
They'll do a lot of good to the
poor and the weak and the helpless.
Behold my servant.
See what his attitude to money was.
And make that yours.
Use it.
And if somebody gives you a gift, receive
it.
But don't let it be your master.
Your master must only be God.
You cannot serve two masters.
You've got to hate the one.
In other words, to hate money means, I'm
not going to let money be my master.
That's what it means.
It's not hating money itself, but hating the
mastery of money.
I hate it.
I will not allow money to be my
master.
I will make it my slave.
In other words, money will not run my
life.
But I will use money as my servant.
What does it mean to have money as
your master?
That means all your decisions are determined by
money.
Money.
A lot of people's decisions on life are
determined by money, money, money.
But a true servant of God has to
have his decisions determined by God, God, God.
What does he tell me?
And the Bible says, if you live like
that, Matthew 6 and verse 33, well-known
verse.
Matthew 6 and verse 33.
If you're thinking of God, God, God all
the time, it says here, if you seek
the kingdom of God first and His righteousness,
all these earthly things that you need will
be added to you.
That means God will bless your business enough
for you to earn a living.
There's a very lovely verse in the Old
Testament.
I love that verse.
I love quoting it to people in times
of recession.
If there's a recession in the country, here
is the verse you must remember.
When it's difficult to get a job, difficult
to make ends meet, difficult, Psalm 37.
Wonderful verse.
Psalm 37 and verse 25.
This is David.
David wrote many psalms when he was young.
25 years old, 28 years old, he wrote
psalms, many psalms.
But this psalm he wrote when he was
nearly 70.
Psalm 37 and verse 25.
Psalm 37, verse 25.
I have been young.
Now I'm an old man, David says, but
I have never seen a righteous man forsaken
or his children begging for bread.
And the NASB is more accurate.
His descendants begging for bread.
That means my children will not beg for
bread.
My grandchildren will not beg for bread.
Condition, I must be righteous.
You know it's a wonderful thing, my brothers
and sisters, to be a righteous man.
A righteous man.
David says, in all my life, I've never
seen a righteous man's children begging for bread.
In other words, I could paraphrase it to
today's language, I've never seen a righteous man's
children hunting for a job and not getting
it.
They get jobs.
How do you get bread otherwise?
How do you get food?
You've got to have a job, right?
The opposite of begging is working hard and
earning a living.
So they don't beg, that means they earn
their living by getting a job.
So I could paraphrase this and say, if
you're righteous, your children will find jobs.
And not only that, your grandchildren will find
jobs.
Can rich people, people who are multi-millionaires,
can they say that?
No.
I've seen a lot of multi-millionaires whose
children get their millions and waste it on
drugs and ruin all that millions and become
paupers.
And their grandchildren also going on drugs and
all types of bad habits.
But not a righteous person.
A righteous person brings up his children in
a godly way.
They may not become millionaires, but they'll get
jobs.
They won't beg for bread.
Their grandchildren may not become millionaires, but they'll
have jobs.
That's a promise of God.
I believe it with all my heart.
I've seen it in a poor country like
India.
I've seen it in so many little villages
in India.
A righteous man.
I've seen it in my own life.
If you're righteous, you don't have to worry
about your earthly needs.
But don't make money your master.
You know, like fire.
Fire is a very good servant, but a
very bad master.
You know what it means for fire to
be a master?
Fire as a servant means you put it
in the stove and light the stove and
keep the fire there and you control it.
Turn it off, turn it off or simmer
it or whatever it is.
And say, you're not going to run this
house.
I'm going to control you.
I turn you off and I don't want
you.
I turn you on, I lower the flame.
I'm in control.
Fire becoming the master means it's taken over
the house and burnt the whole house.
That's the difference between controlling money and saying,
hey, you're going to be my servant.
You're not going to tell me what to
do.
You're not going to tell me run here
and run there.
That's burning up the whole house.
So please remember this because I believe this
is how so many Christians have ruined their
lives.
The world is in the pursuit of money.
And the world is in the pursuit of
sin.
Any new type of sinful pleasure.
Any new way to get money way beyond
my needs.
Of course we need money.
And if you don't get enough for your
needs, you certainly need to find ways of
making more money.
There's nothing wrong in that.
God wants us to.
God told Adam, you will earn your bread
by the sweat of your brow.
So you got to work hard.
And we must be willing to look for
ways and means to take care of a
family.
That's OK.
But don't let it be your master.
I see Jesus' attitude to money in.
There are two things.
There's a lovely verse which tells me how
Jesus used his money.
As I've tried to follow these things I'm
telling you.
I said, Lord, I want to look at
Jesus.
I saw how he was free from sin.
That he was tempted like me and he
sought for grace and he overcame.
And I said, Lord, I want to see
what was your attitude to money.
And the Lord showed me an amazing verse.
Which showed me the two things that Jesus
spent his money on.
Great verse.
Let me turn you to that verse.
In John Chapter 13.
Do you know how Jesus spent his money?
That's a good example for us to follow.
This is the time when Jesus, people asked
him, who's going to betray you?
This is the Last Supper.
And Jesus said, he took, he dipped the
bread in the morsel in the wine and
gave it to Judas.
And then he told Judas, what you do,
do quickly.
And then it says there, no one knew
what he was going for.
Now I want you to turn to John
Chapter 13 and verse 29.
John 13, 29.
Some of the disciples worse thought that because
Judas had...
They did not know what Jesus meant when
he said, go and do what you want
to do quickly.
They thought, because Judas was the treasurer and
had the money bag.
Jesus was telling him to use that money
for two things.
What are the two things?
Buy what we need.
To give to the poor.
Why did they think that that's what Jesus
was saying?
Because they had seen for three and a
half years.
That those are the two things for which
Jesus used his money.
Buy what you need.
Give to the poor.
It's a great example for me.
Now I'm not here to judge what you
need.
And I'm not here to judge anybody else.
You may have one car and you may
judge somebody else who's got two cars.
Perhaps he needs two cars.
And somebody else may need three cars in
his house because he's got two of his
children going to work.
So don't judge somebody else as to what
his need is.
You worry about your own need.
Your need may be a small house.
Somebody else may need a bigger house.
It's none of our business.
The moment you go to judge other people,
you're off track.
Buy what you need.
I mean, that's up to you.
You can need a washing machine, a dishwasher,
a dryer, and maybe three cars, and maybe
a carpet, and a curtain.
Buy whatever you need.
In other words, don't waste money on unnecessary
luxuries.
Just to show other people how rich you
are.
You think Jesus spent money to show other
people how much money he was getting?
A lot of foolish people would do that.
Jesus never did that.
He's a great example for us on how
to use our money.
Buy what you need.
And if you have plenty, give something to
the poor.
He doesn't say give all your money to
the poor.
Give something to the poor.
That will teach you to be good to
those who have less than you.
I have found this to be a great
guideline for me.
Behold my servant.
Remember we started with that verse.
Look at his attitude to sin.
That's what we saw first.
Now look at his attitude to money.
That's what I need to see, servant.
This is how to be a servant of
God.
I want to be a servant of God.
Not an employee, but a son.
A servant as a son.
And I have an example before me.
Jesus.
And I want to be a servant, so
I want to be free from sin.
And I want to be free from attachment
to money.
I don't want to serve money.
It's very, very important.
Now we come to point number three.
How to be a servant of God.
We've been looking at that word servant.
The third one is Galatians chapter 1 and
verse 10.
And if we look at Jesus' example in
all these areas, we can grow to maturity.
Because he's the ultimate example of perfection.
And I want to be like him.
Galatians 1.10, Paul is saying, Am I
seeking the approval of men or the approval
of God?
Very important question.
If I'm trying to please men, if I
was still trying to please men, I cannot
be a servant of Christ.
Again, that word servant.
How can I be a servant of God?
Do not seek to please men.
Don't seek the approval of men.
Seek the approval of God.
Seek to please God.
Do you hear what I said?
The three mocks of being a servant of
God.
One, be free from sin.
Romans 6.22. Second, Luke 16.13. Be
free from the mastery of money.
Make money your slave.
Use it by all means.
But let it be under your feet.
Third, don't seek the approval of men.
Don't seek to please men.
Don't worry about, what will so and so
think if I do this?
Never mind what he thinks.
Ask yourself, what does God think?
You know, supposing your children, you want a
good testimony for your family in the church.
So if you see your children dressing in
a certain way, and you tell your children,
what will people say?
My girl, if you dress like that.
Are you worried about that?
Or what will Jesus say?
My girl, if he sees you like that.
Which is more important for you?
Tell me.
Or your child is doing something, and you
say, what will people say?
My girl, or my son, if you do
that.
Are you worried about that?
Or what will Jesus say?
My son, if you do that.
What are you training your children for?
To behave nicely before people?
And training them to be hypocrites?
Or saying, forget about people.
What does God think about your life?
It's the only thing that matters.
Are you seeking the approval of men?
Very often we find, in our lives, the
little things we do, in the back of
our mind, we are thinking, what will people
say?
Will they accept me?
I couldn't care less whether they accept me.
I find this even as a preacher of
the Word of God, that I'm tempted, I'll
tell you honestly, not so much now, but
in my early days, lots.
But as I fought it, and fought it,
and fought it, I've become more and more
free from it.
In the early days, when I got up
to preach, you know I was young, I
started preaching when I was about 21, 22
years old.
Very young, newly converted, baptized, one or two
years earlier.
And as I started preaching, you know, people
saw me as young, 22 year old, and
I thought, these fellows think, who is this
young fellow, what has he got to teach
us?
And so I would try to preach in
a way to impress people.
With clever ideas, and clever words.
Until one day the Lord said to me,
do you want to impress people or do
you want to help them?
I said, Lord, I want to help them.
And He said, stop trying to impress them.
That's all.
God has been very patient with me.
Very patient.
I've taken time to learn some lessons, but
He's been very patient with me.
And I've come to see, I think by
the grace of God I can say today,
it's been a battle, I don't seek to
please men now.
When I stand up to speak, I don't
care what they think about me, whether they
think I'm a great preacher, or whether they
think I'm a false prophet.
It's just the same to me.
I can honestly say that.
Because the Bible says, reckon yourself dead.
And I think of that very often, you
know, Romans 8, 11 says, reckon yourself dead.
It's a great verse.
And I think of a dead man lying
here.
Supposing you tell him, you're a great prophet.
He doesn't get excited.
Or if you tell him, you're a good
for nothing rotten fellow.
It's just the same.
No change in his expression.
Whether you call him a prophet or you
call him a useless rotten fellow.
I say, Lord, I want to reach that
standard.
Of being totally dead to the opinions of
men.
What they think about me, what they speak
about me behind my back, what they say
about me, what they say about my children.
Dead.
I don't want to please men.
Dead to the world, but alive unto God.
And say, Almighty God, my father, what do
you think about me?
I remember a story I heard of a
little boy playing a violin concert.
He was just about 10 years old and
he played in such a fantastic way that
moved people.
And then they asked him at the end,
interviewed him and said, how did you play
so well?
He said, in the balcony there, my violin
teacher was sitting.
And I was only looking at him.
Saying, you think I'm playing okay?
And if he nodded his head, I was
happy.
I didn't care what all the others were
saying.
And if he faced his face, no, you've
got to improve.
I said, Lord, make me like that.
I've got a teacher up there who's looking
at me and I want to make sure
he's pleased.
Live your life like that.
You may not be a preacher, but live
all your life like that.
Wherever you are, whatever you do, your eyes
are looking at your teacher.
What do you think of me, Lord, right
now?
It doesn't matter what other people think.
I'll tell you why it doesn't matter.
When you stand at the judgment seat of
Christ and I stand at the judgment seat
of Christ, do you think he's going to
call all the people in your church and
say, well, fellas, what do you think of
this man?
Do you think they're going to ask?
He's not going to ask any of you
about your opinion of anybody here.
He says, I don't want your opinions.
I know this guy better than all of
you.
I know his private life.
I know his thought life.
I know how he lived in secret.
You guys saw 5% of his life.
What is your opinion worth?
You see how foolish it is to seek
the approval of men?
Behold my servant, Jesus never cared for the
approval of men.
There were times when they said, oh, this
is the Messiah, this is the Prophet, let's
make him a king.
He was not excited.
He'd go away.
Other times they said, Prince of Devils.
Just the same.
Whether you called him Prince of Devils or
Prophet, it was the same to him because
he was dead to the opinions of men.
So, behold my servant, God said.
Look at my son, Jesus.
You want to grow to maturity, brothers and
sisters?
Seek with all of your heart to keep
these three things before you.
To be free from sin.
To make money your slave, not your master.
And third, always to seek to please God.
Never to seek to please any man.
And to progress in these three areas.
Because Jesus is perfect in all these three
areas.
We have to press on to perfection that
each of these areas, year by year, year
by year, we're growing.
God bless you all.
Let's pray.
Let's bow our heads before God.
Our Heavenly Father, I pray that what we
have heard, we will never forget.
And we won't just think of it as
three points of a sermon, but guidelines for
our whole life.
Help us, Father.
I pray that many here will press on
to perfection and maturity.
I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.
Thank you.