post 38. [updated!] servant leader. (servant comes before leader)
“Because we children of Adam want to become great, He became small.
Because we will not stoop, He humbled Himself.
Because we want to rule, He came to serve.”
Oswald Sanders in Spiritual Leadership
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Mark 10:42-44
42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
Christ once agains sets the example for us. ”He came not to be served, but to serve.” (see last post). My friend Peter tweeted this quote by Sanders yesterday and it reminded me of my constant self-seeking desires in life and how little I have really come to realize the gospel in my daily life. Pray that God may continue to slowly mold and reshape my heart to become more like His. To serve and humble myself in the presence of his mercy and grace.
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update – 2/8/10
The picture before on this post got deleted by the host so i had to find a new one and I really like this one. The man getting his shoe shined really fits the quote by Oswald Chambers. He looks very demanding, similar to how demanding we are with Christ. The shoe shiner looks very humble, his position in the picture represents one of humbling himself to clean the dirtiness of the mans shoe; to make it shine with perfection. Similarly, Jesus Christ humbled himself, making the ultimate sacrifice. He was perfect, clean, and King. Yet he became sin, dirty, and servant on our behalf. He came to cleanse our dirty souls. Jesus became dull, so that we could shine. As my Pastor said this past Sunday, the paradoxes of Jesus’ love don’t make sense, but that is the beauty of gospel that radically changes our hearts to get on our knees to serve Christ and those around us, as he has so graciously done for us. Thank you Jesus.
post 37. reflection
As I was reading through Mark this morning, the ESV study notes brought something to my attention that I had never really realized before.
In Mark 1:9-11 it says,
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
I was familiar with John the baptist baptizing Jesus but it never really stood out to me that… Jesus was baptized! Why is this significant?
Let’s look at Matthew 3:5-6,
5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him,
6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
And the ESV Study notes for this passage on baptism states, “When people were baptized by him, going under the water symbolized both the cleansing away of sin and a passing safely through the waters of judgment and death.”
So baptism symbolizes the cleansing away of sin and safe passage through the judgment day concluded by the confession of sins. So what does not make sense is the fact that Jesus, who was free of sin, was baptized. There is no necessary cleaning of something that is already clean. There is no necessary passage of safety when no judgment is due. It would be a pretty funny sight no? After each person is done getting baptized they confess their sins. And then Jesus goes and is like.. ummm I don’t know. Haha. But the thing is, Jesus’ baptism symbolized his identifying with the sin of his people, even though he himself was free of sin. So in reality, Jesus would be standing there after being immersed in the water, reciting all the sin of his people. The perfect, sinless Jesus, as it is said in Mark 10:45, “..came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus took our place and atoned, or made amends, for our sins. And not ONLY that.
As 2nd Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) says,
“God made him, who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
So that in HIM we might become the righteousness of God. Christ took our sin and gave us righteousness. He took our garbage and gave us gold. It was the greatest sign of mercy. It was the greatest sign of grace. As that gospel truth continues to take hold, I hope that it produces in me a greater attitude of serving, humility, and grace for the people around me. I chose that picture because it reminds me of the joy that I should have each day of Christ covering my sin and granting me righteousness. As if I he has taken my PC and given me a brand new MAC. What joy! HAHAH just kidding. I’m a geek. Probably ruined all the seriousness.
post 36. Mind, word, love, beauty.
So I finally went to Redeemer Presbyterian Church this past sunday and was lucky enough to see Pastor/Dr. Timothy Keller preach. It was a great blessing. This final song caught my heart.
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May the Mind of Christ My Savior
May the mind of Christ my Savior live in me from day to day,
By His love and pow’r controlling all I do and say.
May the Word of God dwell richly in my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph only through his pow’r.
May the love of Jesus fill me as the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting self abasing, this is victory.
May His beauty rest upon me as I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel, seeing only Him.
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I’m excited for this year.
post 35. Hello 2010.
I’m usually not one for new year’s resolutions but I felt like I wanted to make some goals for this year.
1. Read the entire ESV study bible by December 31st, 2010. Quite ambitious yes.
2. Theme of each month, day, hour, minute, and second to be brokenness that leads to renewal.
3. Become a more invested son, brother, and friend.
4. Finish books.
5. Write a song.
6. Go to seminary.
I should probably have more goals. Maybe less is more… haha
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Isaiah 53:6
“All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
ESV Study Notes for Isaiah 53:6
The servant, who alone was sinless, was uniquely qualified to bear the sins of others, and all people contributed to his pain. like sheep. Stupid and helpless.the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
post 34. valley of vision pg. 32-33
Christ is All
O LOVER TO THE UTTERMOST
May I read the meltings of thy heart to me
in the manger of thy birth
in the garden of thy agony,
in the cross of thy suffering,
in the tomb of thy resurrection,
in the heaven of thy intercession.
Bold in this thought I defy my adversary
tread down his temptations
resists his schemings,
renounce the world,
am valiant for truth.
Deepen in me a sense of my holy relationship to thee,
as spiritual Bridegroom.
as Jehovah’s Fellow,
as sinners’ Friend.
I think of thy glory and my vileness,
thy majesty and my meanness,
thy beauty and my deformity,
thy purity and my filth,
thy righteousness and my iniquity.
Thou hast loved me everlastingly, unchangeably,
may I love thee as I am loved;
Thou hast given thyself for me,
may I give myself to thee;
Thou hast died for me,
may I live to thee,
in every moment of my time,
in every moment of my mind,
in every pulse of my heart.
May I never dally with the world
and its allurements,
But walk by thy side,
listen to thy voice,
be clothed with thy graces,
and adorned with thy righteousness.
post 33. wake up call
Today while I was at work, God hit me in the face big-time. Funny it was when I was on the grill cooking up some sandwiches. It was an endless line, people just kept coming so it was a little stressful making sure all the sandwiches were right and whatnot. So there I am toiling away, when I hear that my sister needs $500 for a deposit on an apartment in NY right away. So my Dad says okay to her. Right away my mindset was.. what did she do to deserve to get that and why is she doing that? Here I am sweating on the grill and I haven’t even gotten paid yet for anything. After a good 30 seconds of complaining and muttering to myself, I think God opened my eyes to the gospel that I was forgetting. Not just that, but he basically punched me in the face, reminding me of the prodigal sons story. I was the older brother. My sister the younger “brother”. I had this feeling of deserving so much more that when my Dad just gave up money like that to her it stirred my heart. ”I deserve that.” I just kind of laughed at myself for how selfish I was. How deserving I felt. How God used something like that to remind me of his sacrifice for me. As if I had done the greatest possible deeds ever and now needed to be rewarded. It was a rather humbling experience. God reminded me of the perfect life that Christ lived yet the completely undeserved wrath he bore. How he gave up everything so that I could have all, paying the price that I could never pay. He showed me my sinfulness once again. Ownership, self-pity, pride, and impatience. I feel like my parents owe me so much its okay for me to be impatient and angry with them sometimes. I always catch myself exaggerating their mistakes as if I’m on some higher pedestal. Jesus didn’t do that to me. How could I forget such love (like post 31 bel0w). How could I express such impatience. The sin that is in me is deeper than I know. But the love that Christ gives is greater than I can dream. Hopefully I can remind myself more of that love and live it the best that I can for Jesus my Savior. Jesus, servant and king.
I’m forgiven, because You were forsaken
I’m accepted, You were condemned
I’m alive and well, Your spirit lives within me
Because You died and rose again
Amazing love, how can it be?
That You my King would die for me
Two of my favorite quotes below.. that I apparently have still not grasped and never will until they day I am with Christ.
“If we are to change we must be regularly preaching the gospel to ourselves and believing it. We must be continually showing ourselves and those we counsel, the depths and greatness of God’s love for them. We must stop wasting our time trying to convince ourselves that we are lovable, and instead rest in the glorious fact that we are loved. It is this message which God uses to change us at the motivational level.”
“Preaching the gospel to myself each day mounts a powerful assault against my pride and serves to establish humility in its place. Nothing suffocates my pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of my God, the gravity of my sins, and the crucifixion of God’s own son in my place. Also, the gracious love of God, lavished on me because of Christ’s death, is always humbling to remember, especially when viewed against the backdrop of Hell I deserve.”
Thank you Jesus.
post 31. The Gospel is for Sinners and Other Random Thoughts (Part 1)
This morning the wife of my pastor at Imago Dei mindfully tweeted:
“No one gives grace better than the person who is convinced they deeply need it themselves.” @PaulTripp
It reminded me of a couple examples in the bible of humility, conviction, and need of the gospel. The first example is the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18.
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.
31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
In the ESV study bible it notes that in Judaism forgiveness of three times is adequate to display a forgiving spirit. So when Peter asks about seven times, he is really asking if he must forgive even more than the general quota per se. And of course Jesus has to respond with some “crazy” figure like seventy-seven times (which the ESV alludes to Gen 4:24, “If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold”). I think what Jesus is saying is that true believers of Christ keep no quote or count of forgiveness. Why? Because if we as Christians, convicted and led by the power of the Holy Spirit, understand the forgiveness that is shown to us every waking moment of our lives despite the expensive, rebellious acts of sin we commit, who are we to keep a record of wrongs. Look at the unforgiving servant. Ten thousand talents was equivalent to, in today’s terms of currency, $6 billion dollars. Can you imagine having a debt of $6 billion dollars cleared? Heck, when I owe someone $10 for dinner and they say “its all good” or “I got you” I get super happy. Look how ridiculous this situation is. This servant gets basically an eternal debt erased yet has the audacity to put into prison one of his own servants over a debt of a hundred denarii (or $12,000 in todays term). If you reduced those terms it would be $6 million to $12 dollars. RIDICULOUS. But when applied to us, there is a similar story to be looked at. How many times do we say “My situation is different”? Probably more often then not we are more lenient on ourselves than upon others. We expect perfection from others yet when we make the slightest (or big) mistakes, all of a sudden enters logical reasoning and room for error. Why? It’s most likely because we feel as if we deserve such lenience and room for error because of the specific situation that were in. If that’s case, Jesus would have the best case for being unfairly treated. He lived the perfect life, yet received the ultimate death. On the other hand, we lived and continue to live a sinful life, yet have received the ultimate life. It is this truth that should change us to be “slow to anger” in understanding (Psalm 14:28). Another beautiful part about this passage is that if it were not for the grace that the unforgiving servant was shown, he would have been sold along with his family and his possessions (v. 25). He would have nothing. He would have no freedom, no home, no wealth, and not even be able to lead his family anymore. Yet because of the grace that was afforded to him by the master, he once again had everything. In essence he still had his freedom, his home, his wealth, and his family. But once again, it’s important to point out the fact that while the unforgiving servant did not have to bear this burden, someone did. It didn’t just disappear. No, in effect, by calling off the debt, the master bore the burden of the ten thousand talents. It cost him everything. Jesus, the King who had everything, gave up everything for us, so that we who have nothing, could have everything. Our sin didn’t just disappear. No it just couldn’t be brushed under the ocean floor and forgotten. There was a penalty that needed to be paid. The debt that we could never pay was paid for us by Christ on the cross. Isn’t that stunning. The man who did nothing to deserve it, willingly bore it.
The gospel is for sinners you see. For those who acknowledge their sinfulness. The righteous have no need for a savior because there is no atrocious act of rebellion that needs to be justified. Oh wait.
Romans 3:10-20
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
An excellent example of this is the apostle Peter. (This example is from a sermon by Timothy Keller entitled Jesus’ Meal with Peter) (Also this has a more direct relation to the tweety tweet up there) And since I’m tired I’m going to be hip and do a part 1/part 2 thing. More to come later. Also, here is an excellent write-up on making war with sin and not just sulking in it. Polygrafik (disregard the picture in this post). (please.) 
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Side Story
Tuesday was a crazy day. There was a lot of uncertainty in getting the loan for the business so it was at the least bit stressful for my parents that day. Thankfully everything went through and we secured the loan that will now be my slave work for the next year (not really slave work I’m looking forward to it) (kinda). Sweet. So we drove up to Flushing, NY and got all the paperwork signed. On the way back however, I was driving my Dad’s car down on Belt Parkway towards the Verrazano Bridge (which is $11? CRAZY..) Anyway, all of a sudden this car in front of me slams on the brakes entering an exit ramp, because the car in front of her slammed their brakes randomly. So evidently I rear-ended her car. And then of course the car behind us rear-ended us. Double fender-bender. The lady in the car ahead of us was trembling and the guy behind us was making sure everyone was okay. Somehow, none of the cars got even a scratch. No paint-scratches, scuff-marks, bumps. That’s three cars. Wow. It was a crazy day. Thank you Jesus. Even though tuesday everything worked out for the better, please help me to be thankful even in the crummy, horrible days because you are always good.
Songs I’m Into This Week
Phil Wickham – Because of Your Love
Hillsong United – Came to my Rescue
post 30. All Fullness Dwells in Him
source: http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/hbhymns.htm
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So the restaurant looks like it will be opening (hopefully!) on November 25th! I’m excited and apprehensive at the same time. It’s going to be a crazy, hectic week of trying to figure things out on the fly. It’s one thing to work by yourself and another to work with your parents. Hopefully I can exhibit some patience towards my parents. I don’t know why but sometimes I get so impatient with them (mostly when teaching them to use the computer, or when they keep telling me to do things). I guess it’s a lack of preaching the gospel to myself. Reminding myself of the ultimate patience Christ shows to me in my daily life as I fill and give my heart to things other than Him.
I stumbled on this hymn by Horatius Bonar last night at New Jersey Christian Fellowship (on-campus fellowship) and it reminded me that while it is supremely important to remember Christ’s redeeming sacrifice on the cross for my sin, it is a radical change of heart from this knowledge (from the Holy Spirit) that moves us to want to be like Him. Not out of a heart of that is trying to earn grace, but one that is so moved and spurred by the spirit that its only motive is to glorify. To put off the old self, and put on the new.
As Colossians 3:5-17 illustrates,
5Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
God I pray that you would constantly berate my conscience with a conviction of my depravity and my heart with an endless well of unending grace that I may seek to be like You in thought and deed. In Your name, not mine. Thank you Father.
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