This lesson was taught during the Sunday school hour by Kris Kord as part of the series Tough Teachings of Jesus. The audio for the lesson can be found here.
· Reading through the gospels, I can't help but imagine that there were many times that Jesus' disciples had an expression on their faces similar to this one. o Not because anything Jesus had said was particularly difficult to understand, but because it was difficult for them to accept. o It didn't fit within the box of their worldview. And so, it presented our Lord with opportunity to expand that box. · Remember, the worldview of the Disciples was made up of several key factors: o They were Jews, with all the heritage and trappings that came with that religious system in the early first century. § Some of those things ought to have been to their benefit, like the sacrificial system, and all the prefigurations of Christ found in the Old Testament. § Other things, primarily those added on by men, rather than God, would be to their detriment, like ideas of what the Messiah would do, and the legalistic approach of the religious leaders. o They were under Roman occupation, which meant that one of the greatest hopes they would have had was that the Messiah would restore Israel's independence and the Davidic monarchy. This affected their views on taxes and tax collectors, as well. o Many of them were workingmen. § Andrew, Peter, James and John were fishermen. § Matthew may not have done physical labor, but he was still not an academic. He was a tax collector and as such not well thought of. § The occupations of the other disciples aren't mentioned, but they were likely tradesmen of one kind or another. § This meant that they likely had a very practical way of approaching the world around them, that would come out later in their interactions with Jesus, often making it difficult for them to accept things he said that seemed impossible.
Most importantly, though § This trust didn't mean they didn't sometimes
challenge things he had said, or have difficulty
accepting something he taught. § Indeed, there was a very rough time after Jesus
was betrayed by Judas and taken to eventually be crucified that it seemed all of them had abandoned him, because the cross truly seemed to be the utter defeat of everything they had hoped for. § However, that faith was renewed upon his resurrection. § So, for the most part, their faith in Jesus meant that in spite of their difficulty of wrapping their minds around what he said, they trusted that he was everything he said he was, and that they could rely on him. § It was the kind of faith that says, "I believe; help my unbelief." I don't have to fully understand in order to trust, but help me when my lack of understanding gets in the way of my trust. · And so, when Jesus needed to expand their worldview beyond the current borders they had placed on it, they were attentive to him. · And as we explore how many of the things Jesus said were difficult for them to accept, I want us to think about it in this context: that... o We are Disciples of Jesus too. § And just like the Disciples who followed him in his
earthly ministry, we often have a hard time accepting
Jesus' teachings, as well. § Even if we say we accept his teaching when we hear it,
we often prove we do not, because we fail to apply it to our lives. § The most fundamental reason for this is that, like his original Disciples, we have indwelling sin, which is constantly tempting us. § Indeed, it affects our very ability to think clearly concerning the things of God.
o On top of that, like the Disciples in the gospels, we bring the baggage of our worldview into the equation, as well. · We are Western Christians, and like the Jews, this comes with a rich heritage that can both help and hurt our ability to accept Christ's teaching. o There is a massive amount of information available to us to aid us in our understanding of Scripture, which was not available to the early Disciples, and is not available in much of the rest of the world. o However, the quality of any given piece of Christian literature, or DVD series, or online resource varies widely, and so it can be more a detriment than a blessing if we don't approach it like Bereans. · There has also developed, especially here in America, a kind of "Christian culture". o It's like the church has its own form of consumerism, and we can recognize other people as "Christians" more by the Jesus fish on their car, than by the salt and light in their words and actions. o Also, where faith in Jesus as the Messiah was new, undeveloped, and challenging the established status quo, in the time of the Disciples; o it is now the dominant world religion, especially in the West, and has developed many of the same pitfalls of religiosity that 1st century Judaism had in its time. o Much of Christ's words to the Pharisees and Sadducees is now more applicable to the Church. o Yet, because we identify ourselves with the Disciples, we often fail to apply these warnings to ourselves. o And with that comes an independent spirit
that is incompatible with much of Christ's teaching that makes us reliant entirely on him. o Why do you think Arminianism has become so much more prevalent in America? o As Scott pointed out, it appeals to our pride and self-righteousness, while the doctrines of grace require us to recognize our absolute dependence on the sovereignty of God. o America is saturated with a history of emphasizing independence, autonomy, and personal experience, and whether we like it or not, that affects the filters we place on our understanding of Jesus' teaching. · We are technologically advanced. o We have internet, and not only on home
computers, but in our pockets, too. o We can ask Google a question, and we
get back an answer. But how often do we consider how reliable that information actually is? o We have modes of transportation that have effectively shrunk the world, allowing us to venture much farther than most in the first century ever would have dreamed. o This means that other cultures have had far more opportunity to influence us, and the other way around, than ever before. o With so many other ideas out there to wade through, it makes for more challenges to the truth of Scripture that may have had a chance to root themselves in our worldview. o And technological advancement has its own way of feeding our pride, as well. o We are more tempted to say, "Look at what I have built. I am only a little lower than God." o Or, "Look at all my stuff. What is there that I cannot do?" o And yet, in spite of all this, if we are believers, then like the early Disciples... o Even when we come across teachings that are difficult to accept, because of our indwelling sin, and the boundaries of our worldview, we trust that he is all that he says he is, and we can rely on him. · So, as we look at some of the sayings of Jesus that were difficult for his Disciples, think about how we also may have a hard time accepting his teaching. · More than that, think about how we can express our trust in him, even when we have this difficulty. · There are two basic hurdles that the Disciples often failed to clear in accepting the teachings of Jesus. ● They overestimated themselves.
○ Either by challenging something Jesus said, giving an answer based on their own understanding, or by acting in a certain manner, they showed that... ● They believed they had the right answer, or believed they were doing the right thing, until Jesus showed them their error. The second hurdle they often failed to clear was: > ● They underestimated Jesus. > ● They would be facing some obstacle or situation they considered insurmountable, based on the limitations of their worldview, and Jesus would prove himself greater. ○ The ultimate expression of this would be in Christ's crucifixion and resurrection itself.
○ His death would seem to them like the final insurmountable obstacle to everything they thought he was going to accomplish.
○ Instead, he would rise from the dead and achieve more for them than they had ever dreamed, conquering sin and death and hell.
● Don't we struggle to clear these same two hurdles?
○ When we have trouble accepting what Jesus says, isn't it because we either overestimate ourselves or our own
understanding, or else because we underestimate him, and the grace he has made available to us?
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● Let's look at some examples of the Disciples overestimating themselves. Turn to Matthew 16. Focusing on verses 21-23.
From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Matthew 16:21-23 ● Here is Peter, being a prime example of overestimating himself. He thinks he knows better than his Lord when Jesus teaches that he must suffer and die at the hands of the religious leaders.
● Jesus even assures them of his resurrection on the third day, and still Peter is so sure that Jesus is wrong that he takes him aside and tries to convince him to stop with the crazy talk about dying and rising again.
● The placement of this passage right after Peter's confession that Jesus is "the Christ, the son of the living God," (v. 16) is no accident. ○ Indeed, it is Peter's understanding of the Messiah that led him to challenge Jesus assertion that he would suffer and die.
○ The Messiah is the hero of the story, to Peter, and if there is one thing that we all know instinctively, it's that the story has no happy ending if the hero dies.
○ Death is defeat, and there can be no defeat for the Messiah, the ultimate hero.
● Rather than stopping to ask Jesus how the two things can be true at the same time, both that he is the Christ, and that he will suffer and die, Peter thinks more highly of his own understanding, and challenges Jesus' teaching.
● Despite Jesus' sharp rebuke, he doesn't seem to learn from this exchange. ○ For we are told later in Matthew that when they came to arrest Jesus, "one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear."
○ In a parallel account in the gospel of John, we learn that it was Peter who did this.
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Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?" John 18:10-11
● You can easily imagine what Peter was thinking, here.
○ "Jesus is the hero, and if the hero is captured, then that
is the beginning of the end, because we disciples have no means to effect a rescue operation, and he will certainly be killed."
○ In fact, his worst imagining of what was to come for Jesus probably looked something like this:
>
● Ok, maybe not quite. But to Peter, Jesus was the equivalent of superman, and that he might be captured and killed was just as unthinkable. ● As a result, he impulsively leaped to his Lord's defense with violence. He was sure that under the circumstances, that was the right thing to do.
● But, it was because, once again, he had assumed that his understanding was correct, in spite of having been taught otherwise by Christ.
● Let's stop picking on Peter for a minute, and turn with me, or follow on the screen, to Mark 9, and look at verses 33-37 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."
Mark 9:33-37 ● Our natural inclination when we are part of a group is to form some sort of hierarchy. ○ We try to determine who is in charge of who, and who is the grunt that goes to fetch everyone else coffee.
○ And of course, if you have people who think too highly
of themselves, you end up with a fair amount of bickering as they try to figure out the pecking order.
○ Jesus' Disciples hadn't been behaving much better. > ● Likely, what Jesus said to correct them was a hard pill to swallow. ○ Want to be first? Then you be the grunt.
○ Don't try to figure out who is higher than you and who is
lower than you.
○ Instead act as though everyone is higher than you.
● If you have ever had chickens, you well understand the reference. ○ These two are trying to figure out who will rule the roost. ● What he was talking about is servant leadership.
● If there is any act of service to your brethren that you deem beneath you, then you are guilty of having this same mentality that the Disciples were struggling with.
● And this is not an isolated incident for the Disciples.
○ It is a lesson they proved they had not learned over and
over again. >>
● In Matthew 20:20-28 we see that James and John, the sons of Zebedee, had their mother come to Jesus and ask him to grant that her sons would sit at his right and left hand in his kingdom. ○ Once again, the Disciples overestimating themselves, even to the point of saying that they were able to drink the cup and be baptized with the same baptism that Jesus was about to endure, speaking of his suffering and death.
○ Jesus confirms that they will likewise suffer, but who will sit beside him "is not Mine to give" but rather the Father's.
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● Understandably, this attempt at obtaining special honor from James and John did not please the other Disciples, though they were not upset for the right reason. ○ They were moved by jealousy, wanting the honor for themselves. ○ This is evident from the way Jesus speaks to them, saying, ■ "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." ● Once again, Jesus emphasized that the Disciples should not be seeking to try and gain higher honor and authority over one another, but to try and outdo one another in service.
● Jesus himself demonstrates just how far this kind of servant leadership is meant to go when he washes his Disciples' feet.
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● Now we go back to Peter again, because when Jesus did this, he was not okay with it.
○ John 13:5-9 tells us that when Jesus got to Peter to wash his feet, Peter said, "Lord, are You washing my feet?", as if to say, "I should be washing yours instead."
○ On the surface, this seems like a very humble thing to say.
■ It seems like a recognition that Jesus is greater than he is.
○ However, we can see that when Jesus tells him he doesn't understand now, but he will after this, Peter's response proves his true pride.
■ He says, "You shall never wash my feet!"
● The text indicates that Jesus had washed other disciples' feet before he came to Peter, and this seems to be Peter's way of showing he is more pious than they, by refusing outright to let Jesus wash his feet, as though the others ought to have done the same.
● When Jesus corrects him saying, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me," Peter leaps to outdo the others again saying, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!"
● Peter's inflated view of himself got in the way of him seeing Christ's display of servant headship, and a picture of how he would wash them clean of their sins.
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● We do the same thing as the Disciples, though.
○ We think of ourselves and what we want more than we consider what God wants and what pleases him. ● This is especially the case when it comes to how and where we worship. ● We think worship is primarily between us and God, and so we miss the importance of corporate worship. ● We think worship is about what we get from it, and so we tailor it to suit our tastes, rather than God's prescription. ● We want to have more people in our church, so we tailor the service to attract people with cool music and non-confrontational messages. ● We like a particular preaching style, so we will leave a good church, because the pastor's style of preaching doesn't tickle our ears. ● Whatever the motivation is, if it isn't to glorify God by worshipping him as he has revealed he ought to be worshipped, then we are thinking more highly of ourselves than of God.
● We are very blessed to be in a church where the session's primary focus in the order of worship is to make sure God is honored as he has set forth in his word.
● And just as in worship on the Lord's Day, so we ought to also order our own lives as God has revealed to us, even when it is hard to accept.
○ The character of our faith is not measured by our obedience to commands that are easy, but to those that are hard.
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● On the other side of the coin, the Disciples also often underestimated Jesus.
○ If you will look with me at Matthew 14, and verses 15-20, we will see an example of this. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food." But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." He said, "Bring them here to Me." Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.
Matthew 14:15-20 ● The disciples were understandably concerned that the multitudes of people following after Jesus in the middle of nowhere would not have anything to eat. ○ Yet, despite the miracles they had already seen Jesus perform, they thought the answer would be to send them all into the villages to buy food.
○ Jesus response is to show them that their assumptions about what is possible should not be so limited with Him. ▪ He tells them, "You give them something to eat," knowing full well that they don't have enough food to go around.
▪ But he waits for them to admit their inability, and then tells them to bring what little they have to him.
● As creator of all things, he certainly had the power to take their little, and multiply it until it was more than sufficient to feed everyone. Which is exactly what he did. ○ They, however, assumed that there was no way to accomplish this, even with their Lord literally at their side. ● Very soon after this, the disciples underestimate Jesus again. ○ In verses 25-33 of the same chapter we read: >> Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." "So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." ● Jesus had sent his Disciples ahead of him by boat so he could send away the multitudes and be alone to pray. ○ When he was finished and came to them walking on the water , that was just about the last thing they were expecting.
■ They had just seen Jesus feed 5000 with next to nothing for food, but the idea that he could be walking on the water was inconceivable.
○ The closest concept that could fit within their framework of reality was that He must be a ghost. ▪ Maybe they assumed he must have died and was coming to them as an apparition in order to say his last goodbyes.
▪ More likely, they assumed it was not him, but some other man's ghost.
○ When instead he told them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid", it must have given them pause.
■ Jesus had exceeded what they had assumed him capable of again.
● Ever the bold one, Peter decides to try and go out to meet him.
○ Itevenworksforabitandheisabletowalkonthe water as well.
○ But what happens to make him begin to sink is another example of underestimating Jesus.
● His faith in Jesus has resulted in his ability to walk on water, ○ but when he notices the strength of the wind, he begins to sink because he assumes Jesus is not stronger than
the wind.
○ When Jesus asks him, " ... why did you doubt?" he
does not mean, "why did you doubt yourself?"
■ He was asking Peter "Why did you doubt me?"
■ We know this because Jesus proves his Lordship
over the wind by causing it to cease once they were in the boat.
● This display of his sovereignty over creation such that even the wind obeys him, and he could cause even water to be a secure place to tread, rightly caused his disciples to worship him as the Son of God.
○ But once again, it was only after he had proved their assumptions about what he was capable of wrong.
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● In another incident involving a boat, we have another example of the disciples underestimating Jesus.
And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" ● I am sure that many here in Olympia know all about wind after this week. ● This was my sister's back yard after the storm. You can barely see the edge of their pump house, just out of frame, that the trees narrowly missed.
● I don't think anyone who was here for it thinks there was anything "micro" about that micro-burst.
● So imagine the disciples in this boat, fighting to keep the thing from sinking with all their might. ○ The wind is howling, the waves are crashing into the sides, and over the sides of the boat.
○ You have some of them doing nothing but try to bail water out of the boat.
○ Others are trying to keep the boat on course.
○ Others are trying to keep watch for other boats, and any
obstacles.
○ Everyone is frantic, and scared, and working with all
their might to keep themselves alive,
■ except Jesus, who is asleep on a pillow in the
stern.
● I can imagine that there was more than a little frustration in their voices when they woke him up and said, "Don't you care that we're going to die?" ○ At this point, it seems that they just want him to get up and get to work helping them keep the boat from going down. ■ They don't have any idea that he is about to calm the storm. ● They are underestimating two things about Jesus at this point. ○ The obvious one is that he has the authority to tell the wind and the waves to be still, and they will obey him.
○ The other is that he was truly in control the whole time, and would not have let the boat sink.
■ This is indicated when he says to them, "How is it that you have no faith?"
● Once again, he is not asking them why their faith isn't strong enough to calm the wind and waves themselves.
● He is asking them why they have no faith in him to protect them in the midst of the storm.
● Instead, their shock at his ability to make the wind and sea obey him shows just how much they underestimated him.
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● Another example of his disciples underestimating him occurred before he went to raise Lazarus from the dead.
○ After purposefully waiting until Lazarus had died, Jesus said to his disciples: "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." Then his disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well." However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, " Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him." John 11:11-15 ● Here again, the disciples underestimate Jesus, assuming that he is just intending to go and wake Lazarus from sleep, which would be no great miracle at all. ○ Their answer is basically, "Why do that? Let the man get some rest so he can get well on his own." ● But again, it is Jesus' intention to broaden the borders of what they assume is possible with him. ○ His disciples are present later in the passage when he says, "Lazarus, come forth!" Proving that he is indeed "The resurrection and the life. He who believes in [Him], though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in [Him] shall never die." (Vv 25,26) ● For our final passage, we have an example of Jesus disciples overestimating themselves, and underestimating Jesus at the same time. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." ● The disciples are astonished at Jesus teaching, because if anyone has the means to obtain salvation according to the prevailing rabbinical teaching of the time, it was the rich man.
○ They were hoping that they would be able to effect their salvation through that system, and Jesus corrected their error by telling them that even those they thought more secure than themselves had no hope of doing so.
○ This is why they ask, "Who then can be saved?" As if to say, "If the rich man can't, then surely no one can."
● Now this is not merely a warning from Jesus against trusting in riches, though that is partly the case. ○ If that was the whole of it, he may have easily answered them, "It is much easier for a poor man to enter the kingdom."
○ That is not the case, though.
■ Instead, Jesus acknowledges the universal
impossibility for men to enter the kingdom saying, "With men it is impossible, but not with God."
● And so, he shows that they have underestimated God, and by extension Him.
○ Salvation is God's prerogative, from first to last, and he effects it through the Son, who purchased grace for us through his blood.
● So, the answer to the question of "Who then can be saved?" Is: ○ No one, if we are talking about their own efforts.
○ And yet, anyone, if the Lord regenerates their hearts so
that they believe.
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● And that serves as a good bridge to how we also often underestimate Jesus.
● We as 21st century disciples are no better or worse than those 1st century disciples who found Jesus' teachings difficult to accept.
○ For our own reasons, some of them very similar, and some very different, we also have a hard time accepting and following our Lord's teaching.
>
● Maybe we underestimate the greatness of his salvation. ○ Earlier this week I was commenting to a friend of mine
that if we don't see people truly walking in the Spirit, or if we ourselves are struggling to walk in the Spirit, it is because we don't appreciate the magnitude of what we have been saved from.
○ If we don't see our sins as great and heinous, then we will not see Christ's salvation as great and beautiful.
■ If you don't want to underestimate Jesus, then meditate on the sinfulness of sin, and on the glory of our liberation from it in the death and resurrection of our Lord. ● Maybe we underestimate the grace available to us. ○ How much of our failure to grow can be traced to not
truly believing that God will give us grace to overcome? ■ How much sin hangs onto us, because we don't
see any way out of it?
○ There is no way out by our own effort.
■ But God has not left us to our own strength.
■ He has promised us that if we trust in him, praying
to him for his aid in our time of temptation, and step out in faith to obey him, that he will meet us with the grace necessary to be victorious.
○ That is not a promise he will quickly break, as it is one sealed in blood.
■ Don't underestimate the grace of God to be found in Jesus. It is limitless. ● Maybe we underestimate his providence.
○ When trials and suffering comes, do we wonder, "Has ○ Are we anxious or do we needlessly toil because we are afraid of what tomorrow may bring?
■ Do we fret about what North Korea may do next as though God is suddenly not on his throne?
○ Or do we trust that in Jesus we can say, "All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose"?
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● Or maybe we underestimate his intercession. ○ Do we really believe that God is for us? ▪ Do we believe that Jesus is interceding on our behalf such that the Father only does for us what is best?
● Who is the Father going to listen to if not the Son?
● Is there anything that the Son could ask that the Father would not grant him?
▪ If both those things are true, and yet we don't think God is working things to our good every moment, even the painful ones, then it is because we don't really believe that Jesus is asking him for good things.
▪ But if we are his bride, then he is interceding for us for our good.
● His intention is to have a bride that has been conformed to his image, and he will not rest in his intercession for us until that goal has
been accomplished for every last one of his elect. ● It can be difficult to truly accept these truths.
○ Our remaining sin tries to get in the way.
○ Our limited worldview tries to get in the way. ▪ But if we continue to trust Jesus and allow him to break down these barriers, he will show us more and more of himself.
▪ And seeing him, we will be transformed into his likeness.
● So, as we seek to be conformed into his image, and we are presented with teachings that are difficult for us, let us remember to ask ourselves: ○ Which of the two hurdles am I struggling to clear? Maybe both? ● Am I overestimating myself? ○ Do I need to cast aside my pride and
acknowledge my complete inability?
○ Do I need to practice the teaching of servant
leadership, because I have begun to think others are there to serve me?
● Or am I underestimating Jesus? ○ Am I forgetting how great a salvation He has
accomplished?
○ Am I assuming he is too busy with other
issues to be concerned with interceding for me?
● "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think", because we all must admit that we are less than nothing apart from Christ.
● On the other hand, we can never think too highly of our Lord and Savior. No matter how great we think he is, he exceeds our comprehension.
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