Christ, the Servant

What we can say is, wow, what a wonderful beginning for this Sabbath service. Happy feast! We couldn't have planned it any better, but actually we did plan the theme for this day, and we'll be hearing about the greatest servant of all, Jesus Christ. We welcome everyone who is connected to this service to hear the same messages, the same music, and the same prayers. If you really aren't connected into this service, you are really part of this service, because we are all praying together, we are all listening to the same message. We are one. Whether you are here in Panama City Beach with more than 1,000 in attendance, or at another feast site internationally, you may be hearing this by delayed broadcast, or in a motel or hotel room, which may be a necessary way to see this program, or whether you are at home, we welcome you to this very special service. Through modern streaming technology, we are able to connect now to all four corners of the earth. Yesterday, we were able to conduct a service to our brethren in Myanmar in four locations. It's a country that's under lockdown, not only with COVID, but locked down with the civil war. And yet, it's amazing that we can reach these people and reach our brethren there and have a wonderful service with smiling people. We asked them what the weather was like. They said it's cloudy, but the political climate, she says, is more cloudy. Speaking of technology, I would like to express gratitude to all of our sound and video staff who make things work. Sometimes, the only time they're noticed is if something goes wrong. But most of what they do, everything turns out fine. And we appreciate their sacrifice, their hours of time and service for the feast. So we thank you for that. And we also want to thank everyone who has made this feast truly a spiritual, memorable experience. Also, it's been wonderful to reconnect with so many people and also to spend time with family. And I can't say enough about the special music. Take my life. When Steve Myers told me, we're going to do a song, a special song for the Sabbath service of the... Wow! The Myers brothers. I've got all their albums. I'm going to add this one to my playlist as well. I invite you to turn to Isaiah 42, beginning with verse 1. The title of my sermon is Christ the Servant. Let's start reading in Isaiah 42.

He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait for his law.

I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I will take you by the hand and keep you. I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations. To open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. This is a clear reference to Jesus Christ, the servant, by the way that this chapter begins. It speaks about his nature, his work, his first and second coming. Isaiah makes 23 references to servant in his book, either servant or my servant, and many of these are clearly speaking of Jesus Christ, who endorses them. Turn with me now to Philippians 2. Philippians 2 and verse 5, because Jesus Christ is also called servant in the New Testament. Philippians 2 and verse 5.

I'm reading from the English Standard Version. Christ has many names, many titles, and many identities. He is called King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Messiah, the Alpha and the Omega, the Bread of Life, Chief Shepherd, God, the I Am, the High Priest, Emmanuel, the Word. And there are more than 100 more other titles and names and identities for Jesus Christ. And today I want to talk to you about how Jesus Christ fulfilled the role and title of servant and what we should be learning from him. At the Feast of Tabernacles, we celebrate the triumphant kingdom of God coming to this earth. We've heard sermons about this, and we'll continue to hear more about this. This is a time when the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord. But at the same time, at the same exact time, the same part on the timeline, we see this other identity of Christ. And that's what I want to share with you, Christ the servant. And this was spoken of so well in the sermonette video that we had just seen. When Jesus Christ returns, and the time period that's referred to here is when the Son of Man comes in His glory. This is the resurrection. He comes to this earth, and there is a resurrection. He says, I was hungry. He gave me food. I was thirsty. You gave me a drink. I was a stranger. You took me in. I was naked. You clothed me. I was sick. You visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me. Now, why is this so important? Romans 8, verse 21, we'll put together the kingdom of God returning to this earth. When the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and also with this event in Matthew 25. Attention is brought to us because of a priority at this time in Romans 8, verse 21. Now, as much as political and governmental reform is necessary, and we know that. We know it very well. As every day ticks by, we know the kingdom of God needs to come to this world. Relief for this groaning world is also becoming very, very important because Christ will not only rule. Christ is coming to set aside and put aside the worldly governments. But He's also coming to restore and rehabilitate a world that is about to destroy itself. Romans 8, verse 21. Romans 8, verse 21. The Apostle Paul writes about the end times, about the creation, about the world. Because the creation, verse 21, itself will also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. This explains, really, the transition from this world into the kingdom of God, into a new world, a new environment.

For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. This world is sighing. This world is gasping. This world is about to come to an end of its own doing. When Jesus Christ returns to this earth, the entire world will be in refugee status, disoriented, lost. The world will be one big Afghanistan, and this world will need fixing. It will have gone through plagues, wars, terrorism, natural disasters, loss, grief, billions of stories that are written. A big percentage of the people on this earth before the return of Christ that are living now will die. It will die in a lot of the plagues that will take place. A big percentage will have perished. Millions, perhaps even a few billion people, will die before the return of Jesus Christ in the end-time events. Civilization will be on the brink of destruction, extinction, and it will be just in time that Christ comes. And these people who Christ returns to, this world, these refugees, we might be among some of them, are not just statistics. They are not just millions and millions of people. These are all people who had a mother that loved them. They are people just like you and me who have had a miserable life. And Jesus Christ is coming back to save these people and to bring His plan to fruition. Ruling over many cities, as we look forward to, will not just be sitting in an ivory tower, ruling over five cities, ten cities, with our little round of iron. That's not what it's about. It will be doing the ministry of Jesus Christ as servant. We have a lot of service. The change of regime will be one event. The rebuilding of the earth will take some time. We will be doing the ministry of Jesus Christ as servant, which is the essence of His leadership. Rebuilding, restoring, rehabilitating, recovering the earth, and bringing reconciliation. That's a big, big job. Before I go to the examples of Jesus Christ as servant, of which there are many, I'd like to give an example of what Christ said as servant is not. It's a very interesting illustration that is in Matthew 20, beginning with verse 20.

Jesus Christ lays out very, very clearly and almost humorously what a servant is not. Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him, to Jesus, with her sons. Now we know that they were James and John's. The sons of Zebedee were James and John. They were called the sons of thunder. And she was kneeling down and asking something from Him. She was coming down sheepishly, coming down to where the apostles were gathered. And she came to Jesus, kind of pulled Him off to the side, and knelt down before Him, and had a question. Now Salome may very well have been the half-sister or even sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. And of course, her sons James and John, John would have become a half-cousin, or cousin of Jesus Christ Himself. She knelt down and asked something from Him. And He said to her, What do you wish? And she said to Him, Jesus, grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and the other on the left, in your kingdom. They wanted position. They already understood what Christ was saying about the kingdom that would rule this earth. They knew what Jesus Christ was talking about as far as a kingdom was concerned. And He had a plan for the apostles. But she was wanting to get the best spots right there.

She may be one of them to say, Look, can one be president and could one be chairman of the 24 elders? Why not? You know, Jesus, we're family.

But Jesus, in verse 22, answered and said, You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

He says, Listen, lady, this is not that easy. You don't know what you're asking. To ask for those positions and what those men have to go through right now is very, very tough. You'll be drinking a cup of bitterness, of persecution, of criticism, of abuse and martyrdom. Are you prepared for that?

They said to Him, continuing in verse 22, Are you able to do this? The three of them, they said it isn't just Salome. It's Salome, James and John. They said, We are able to miss a beat because they wanted that status and importance and prestige, that profile and that position. They didn't realize that there was also going to be pain with it.

Another P that Jesus Christ added. So He said to them, You will indeed drink my cup, the bitterness, and be baptized, be immersed with a baptism that I am baptized with. Historically, we know that at least 11 of the 12 disciples died as martyrs, all except perhaps John. But to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by my Father. Lady, you are a bit presumptuous. That's another P. And when the 10 heard it, the others are wondering, what is this going on over there? Salome brought her sons, who were part of the 12 apostles. When the 10 heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. Who do they think they are? Were they displeased because of their presumptuousness? Most likely not. They probably thought, well, who do they think they are? What about us? How are those jobs going to be meted out? And aren't we eligible for those jobs? They were jockeying for position and posturing.

Jesus then teaches an important lesson about being a servant right here at this point. Verse 25. Jesus called them to Himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them.

And those who are great, as far as the world is concerned, exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not so be so among you. This is not the way we govern. This is not the way we manage people. Not the way that the Gentile rulers. Not the way that the Roman government. Not the way Caesar handles things. Yet it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. A person who thinks of himself as being important will be brought down. But a person who will be godly, and this is explained further, will be exalted. And whoever desires to be first among you, or to be a leader, 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. This is the very essence, the very heart of Christ-centered servant leadership. This is the way Jesus Christ served, the way he viewed himself, and the information and the instruction that he was giving his disciples and instruction that he's giving to us right now.

To be this kind of servant requires sacrifice.

This was determined by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, before the foundations of the world. In Revelation 13, verse 8, there's a reference made that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. The Lamb is one of the identities of Jesus Christ. He was slain from the foundation of the world. Long before man was created, already a plan was in motion to have Jesus Christ be a sacrifice, to be a servant for mankind. Mankind would be created in the image of God. And he would sacrifice himself for them. This was always his purpose and his essence. He was a sacrificial servant. So, Godly servants are not about themselves, not about their own ideas, their own rule, their prestige, lording over others, using their authority. That's the way the Gentiles do it. And that is not something that we should be. We should get away from that in every way. And to become like Jesus Christ, we need to learn from this example here in Matthew chapter 20, and from the life of Jesus Christ and the things that he did. Servants are not selfish or inward. They serve without a hidden motive, except for the well-being of the person served. They lose their life in order to gain it. True service is sacrificial service, not show service. And we, as God's people, as ministers, need to be able to exhibit that kind of leadership, not bold, blustery, selfish, with mind only upon ourselves. Sometimes it's the most compelling speakers. It's the most compelling people that like to rise up and become those that people follow. But who is the true servant? Is how he conducts himself. Let's take a further look at Christ's example and his mindset in John chapter 13. This was brought out in the sermon as well. In John chapter 13, a further look at Christ's example and mindset. The feasts of the Lord. One thing that is the beauty of the feasts is what they portray and what they show us. Lay out a plan and progressive steps to man's destiny. It starts out very small, very tiny, with the Passover. And it finally culminates in the eighth day. It starts off with a very personal relationship with Jesus Christ of the forgiveness of our sins. Going on to salvation being open for all mankind. It's a fantastic plan. It's a fantastic plan that God has for us. It's from few to many, from small to great. But interestingly enough, that this process, even the Passover, begins with a service called the foot washing. Because it reveals the character of Jesus Christ, the foot washing introduces the symbols of Christ's life and has shed blood for us. John 13, verse 3. John 13, verse 3.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things, He knew they had all power, He said that in Matthew 28, verse 18. Into His hands and that He had come from God and that He was going to God. He rose from supper, this is the chronology now, there was supper, and then He rose up from supper, and laid aside His garments and took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel with which He was girded. A bit of a strange ceremony from someone who had already told them that He had all power.

He didn't wash their face, He didn't wash their shoulders, He didn't tap them on the head with water of some sort. No, He went for the feet. He went down to the very lowest part of the human body, the feet. It's a little bit uncomfortable. We have kept the Passover many times with the foot washing. It's a little bit uneasy as we sit down and wash some person's feet. And some groups have wanted to do away with that ceremony. It is a very important ceremony because the essence of servant leadership is contained in that. Verse 12. So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, Christ used this as a teaching moment again, do you know what I have done to you? Do you know what this is all about? You call Me, verse 13, teacher and Lord. And you say, well, for so I am. Christ did not diminish His authority, His power, and who He was by washing their feet. If I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. This teaching experience is so that not only do you see what I have done to you, but what you ought to be doing to one another. What you are to proliferate, perpetuate. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly I say that a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. I did not diminish my role as master and Lord of the universe by washing your feet.

If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. This is our lesson. This is the practice. This is the application. So when we see Christ begin his ministry, right from the very beginning, we see these aspects of service brought in. Luke 4 and verse 14. Luke 4 and verse 14. Jesus begins his Galilean ministry. And we see what some of the elements of that were. Luke 4 and verse 14.

Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of him went out throughout all the surrounding region, and he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. So he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as his custom was, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah, and when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written. And here he quotes from Isaiah 49, verse 8, and also Isaiah 61, verse 1 and beyond. Christ gave authority to the book of Isaiah, speaking about himself.

And here's what he read. Verse 18. A foremost activity in Christ's earthly ministry was attending to the needs of human beings.

If you take a look at the Gospels and just page through them, start with Matthew and page all the way through, you will see story after story about him attending to the needs of human beings. His healings, his casting out demons, his feeding masses. One humanitarian thing after another, he cared about people. He would preach to them, spiritual concepts, and then he would feed them. He would heal them. Let's take a brief look at some of the examples of Christ's service. Because it tells us not only what Christ did, but who he was in the example for us. Because we see that he was filled with compassion for people, and that's why he did what he did. There's no way I could go through too many. I'll skip through these rather quickly. Let's take a look at Christ's encounter with a man who was paralyzed. Mark 2, Mark 2, and verse 1. Mark is called the impressionable miracle writer. He was a young man. His book is the shortest of the Gospels. It's only 16 chapters. But in his Gospel, he records 10 miracles. He was just impressed by them. They made an impression on him, so he recorded them.

There are 10 specific healing miracles recorded with their lessons.

Mark 2, verse 3. They came to him, bringing him a paralytic carried by four men. So a paralyzed person was brought to Jesus. When they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him. When they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. Verse 10. He said to the paralytic, Jesus said to him, I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.

And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them, so that they were all amazed and glorified, God saying, we never saw anything like this. That was her way of saying, wow, we hadn't seen anything quite like this. We have other examples of him healing. A person who had a hearing impediment in Mark 7, verse 31. He told him, Be opened, let your ears be opened. And immediately his ears were opened. But there's another story that I'd like to tell. Maybe this is what I would like to read. In Luke chapter 13, in Luke chapter 13, verse 10, about an amazing healing that took place on the Sabbath day, which brought Jesus in conflict with the religious leaders of the time, who had imposed severe restrictions on what could be done on the Sabbath day. The story is almost absurd, but two stories similar to this are included in the Gospels. One about the withered hand being healed in Matthew 12, which was also on the Sabbath day, and this one here in Luke chapter 13. Verse 13 and chapter 13, verse 10, Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, and behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years. And was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. Poor lady. Just walking in pain, she couldn't even stand up straight. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said to her, Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity. Jesus was aware of other people's needs, saw this poor woman. And he laid hands on her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation. He was livid, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. And he said to the crowd, There are six days in which men ought to work, therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day. He had lost sight of the miracle of healing of a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years. This story is ridiculous, absurd. It's almost like a far-side cartoon.

Criticism and inner motives of jealousy brought about his resentment. And this was truth all throughout Christ's ministry. What did Christ do? He just kept doing what he was doing. He showed an example of service and doing good to others, spiritually and physically. The story of the Ten Lepers is in Luke 17, which I will not read, but you ought to read it, because it's another lesson of helping people who aren't always grateful to you for what they have done. Would Jesus Christ ever back away from service because of criticism, because of persecution, because of people who want to destroy him because of what he did? No, not at all.

While many of Christ's miracles were one-on-one, he also had miracles that involved large groups. Mark 6, verse 34. This is another Mark story. Mark 6, verse 34. And when Christ went ashore and saw a great crowd, he had compassion on them. He had compassion on them because he had been preaching to them, preaching what might have been, again, snippets of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7. And people were interested. People had questions. He was interactive with them. He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, Christ went overtime. His disciples came to him and said, Hey, this is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat. But Jesus answered them, verse 37, You give them something to eat. And they said to him, Shall we go and buy with two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat? Two hundred denarii in today's terms is four hundred and forty dollars. He said to them, How many loaves do you have? Come and see. When they found, he said, We have five loaves and two fish. Verse 39. Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups by hundreds and fifties. And taking the five loaves and two fish, he looked up to heaven, gave a blessing, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all, and they all ate and were satisfied. He had compassion for these people who were desperate seekers of meaning in life. Although he had slipped away to get some time for himself, the crowds followed him. He had compassion on them and served them. Jesus Christ's compassion led to other acts of grace, kindness, and love. Including the raising of people from the dead. In one of those stories in Luke 7, verse 11-17, that you can read. There are other examples, so many of them, about how he had done a work, a humanitarian work, of serving the people. Not only preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, but also caring for people's needs. Hunger, thirst, nakedness, mental disorders. The New Testament Church continued on with the spirit of helping people in need. One of the stories is a very interesting one in 1 Corinthians 16. 1 Corinthians 16, because there was a collection, there was a fundraiser, there was a drive to help the saints in Jerusalem. There was a famine in Jerusalem. And so the Apostle Paul all of a sudden became an organizer of an event to raise money and to collect food for the brethren in Judea, in Jerusalem.

It was famine-stricken. So he writes to them in 1 Corinthians 16, verse 1, concerning the collection for the saints as I directed the churches in Galatia. So this was a major drive because it involved two continents. It involved Asia Minor, Asia, it involved Europe and congregations in Northern Greece, in Macedonia, and in Southern Greece, in Achaia, and also Galatia. Those are the records that we have.

On the first day of the week, verse 2, each of you is to put something aside and to store it up so he may prosper so there will be no collecting when I come. The context of this is in Romans 15, and I'll just give you the verse, verse 28, that this was a collection for fruit. Some translations have it for contributions or for money, but nonetheless it was to help people who were in distress physically.

But then the story continues in 2 Corinthians 8. Moreover, brethren, 2 Corinthians 8, verse 1, Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. He writes to the Corinthians, the church in the south, about the work that was done up north in the poorer churches in Macedonia, that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.

So the churches up north have made a very, very generous contribution for the brethren in Judea. The story continues in 2 Corinthians 9, next chapter, Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you, for I know your willingness, I know that you really want to help out, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians.

I've told the people up north, the poor people up there, that you people here in this very, very rich area of Corinth, a major port on the Aegean Sea, that you were making a pledge to help the people out in Jerusalem. That Achaia, same thing as Corinth, was ready a year ago. A year ago, you had already said, yes, we'll do it. And your zeal has stirred up the majority. So the fact that you were going to really support this really caused the people up north to really give.

Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready. I want you to be ready now to come up with what you had promised, lest if some Macedonians come with me from up north, after they're making their generous contribution, and find you unprepared. We, not to mention you, should be ashamed of this confident boasting. Therefore, I found it necessary to exhort the brethren to go ahead of time and prepare your generous gift, down south, beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be as a matter of generosity and not a grudging obligation.

But this I say, verse 6, and we use this passage, the time memorial in a church for the Holy Day offering collection principle, He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, because God loves a cheerful giver. The original context was for this collection for the saints. So how are we now following these examples? How are we following these biblical examples of compassion and service to mankind?

First of all, I would like to say to the church, kudos to the many who have done just that. You have a generous church that has never left any of our brethren behind. You have helped those going through hardship by following Christ's example over and over and over again. We may not be able to do healings. We may not be able to start even a nonprofit. But we can certainly do quite a few things that indicate the same spirit that Christ Jesus had, the service to mankind of looking out for other people's needs.

Our people, you, have been personally accountable to and responsible to help those less fortunate in your community and in your families. I've seen that over and over again. Your outward expression of concern through prayers, encouraging cards, and phone calls has been noted.

We have some tremendous examples of people who have been not wanting to give, like, say, a lot of money. I don't have much money to give. There's lots of other things that you can give. There's a wonderful example just recently here of a person at work who his co-worker had a daughter who was dying of cancer, age 20. She had no vacation time. She needed to be with her daughter. And so he donated a week's worth of vacation time that he had to her. To me, this is what Christianity is about. Our people have written to prisoners. In some churches, we have, like, a little club, you know, people that write to prisoners in various places and even develop a friendship and a relationship and having the same one that they write to back and forth.

We have events such as the ABC annual charity evening where we are aware of international needs. And we certainly in the church have been very, very responsible and accountable to people who need help overseas. This last year, we helped Ghana build a church building and repair another church building. Last year, the ABC fundraiser raised $33,000 for building a school in Angola.

This last year, we participated in the CARES Act Farmers for Families Food Box program, where we distributed hundreds of tons of food in our community in Cincinnati from the home office. And we had more than a thousand, maybe upwards of 2,000 cars that drove through our property at the home office and were able to take food and give it to the poor.

Because we had a warehouse, we had a forklift, and we had brethren who were willing to work for eight straight weeks or for an eight-week period to help out with this. Another way in which we have been helpful to our brethren overseas is right now at the Feast of Tabernacles. Many members have made it possible for our brethren overseas to have a slightly better feast in countries like Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and in West Africa as well.

I know my wife and I have been in Africa for several feasts, and we have seen contributions that have really made a difference. In some of those countries, Zambia and Malawi are among the poorest countries in the world. People's diets for the entire week are nothing but Encima, which is ground corn, some greens, and maybe a little bit of meat once a week.

When they come to the Feast of Tabernacles, they are so thrilled that under normal conditions they can have one meal every two days that has meat in it. And we changed that. We made it possible for them to have chicken, to have something else with their every day during the feast. That has made a big difference.

It might be a small thing for us, but it's really, really big for them. Several years back, Bevanai did a special surprise for them. On the eighth day, between services, we had ice cream brought in from Lusaka, the capital, from 20 miles away to the feast site. They had never seen ice cream. This was a big event. So we had 180 people lined up for ice cream between services. The first people got ice cream, the last group got soup.

There at the very end. But I still recall the people there coming through the line who had never tasted ice cream, never put anything cold in their mouth before. What's happening to my teeth? I'm losing my teeth! Easy, easy, easy. It'll go away. The pain will go away. But it was just interesting to see people who had not had ice cream before. But that was a big event for us. It was a joyous event. Americans spoiling our Zambians.

The people are so poor. Let me tell you this. I'll confide with you. They are people who are very poor. Making $70 a month is a lot. Many people make only $40 to $50 a month. But they had a collection of the offering. They know that they've heard how in America they announced the per-person contribution. So they did the same thing themselves. Oh no. What's this going to be? They said, we are happy to report that our per-person contribution was $0.47.

And everybody cheered. I thought that is $0.47. But that was their contribution, and they were happy to do it. God looks upon the heart of these people as very valuable. Just like the widow, the widow's might that she's cast into the temple. She threw in one eighth of one cent is what a might was. Yet Christ says she gave a lot.

She gave more than these people that gave of their excess, because she gave from her heart. I really do appreciate working overseas. These people will never be rich. We will never raise their standard of living in this age. But these people are all very, very important to God. These are all potential sons and daughters of God. And we need to respect what God is doing. Through good works and through life nets, we have a history of many years of helping a diversity of people with their needs.

We have a very good record of helping with health, food security. Whenever there's been a famine, we've had several famines that we have provided food security for. Clean water, we've dug a lot of boreholes, many boreholes. Education, we have provided scholarships to hundreds of young people in these countries to be able to continue on to college and then remain in their country and not be hopeless. We've also provided for decent places to meet and as well as helping with disaster. Why do we do this? Because you are compassionate. Because we are compassionate. And we are doing it for Jesus Christ.

As we have done it to these, we are doing it for Jesus Christ following His example. James 1, verse 27. What is pure religion? What is pure religion? Is it knowing a lot of theological things and having prophecy all figured out, being very knowledgeable in that way? When it really boils down to it, pure religion and undefiled before God, James 1, verse 27, is this. Before God and the Father is this.

To visit orphans means to help them, to help the vulnerable in our midst of society and widows, in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. That's pure religion. You are ready then to serve when Jesus Christ returns because you'll be given and assigned lots of jobs in rebuilding, refurbishing, and reconciling this earth. The training comes from that compassion to help those people who are vulnerable. The Bible especially speaks both from Old Testament and New Testament about caring for widows because they are vulnerable, the fatherless.

They are the vulnerable and the people who need help. Then I like 1 John 3, verse 16. I love John 3, verse 16. For God so loves the world, but I love this one as much. 1 John 3, verse 16. By this we know love because he laid down his life for us. We also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

Do we have the mindset of compassion? Again, I give kudos to what the Church has done individually, from congregations, and from our Church overall. But also, there is some training that we might be able to benefit from in how we relate to one another. Do we take an interest in other people? Ask about them and talk to them. These are skills that we can certainly continue to develop. Because, as I mentioned from the beginning, service is not about you. Or being a servant is not about being important.

Service is about them, the people you help. Can you give a kind word to someone? A thank you, a compliment, and encourage people. There are some people that are just aching to hear a kind word, even among us. I wish that somebody could just say something nice to me. A thank you, a compliment, words of encouragement, a kind word. Having a cheerful and positive disposition, making people feel comfortable around you. Some people say, I love humanity. I just don't like being around people.

They think in terms, in very general theoretical terms, but down at the people level. They may not like it or enjoy it. We have to learn to love the people around us. How many people have you talked to here? Have you asked them more questions? Have you asked follow-up questions when they talk? Or are you talking about yourself? One of the sweetest words a person can hear is the sound of their own name.

I regret that we don't have name tags. As I get older, I'm just not remembering names as well. My facial recognition software in my head needs to be updated. But nonetheless, I just wish that we could just use their name. Hi Mary, and just use it in conversation. The everyday kindnesses that we practice may never be seen by the public and never be known by the majority of people. But let me say this.

I have been to two funerals here recently before the feast. One of them was Glen Creech in Cincinnati. The other one was Ken Martin in Georgia. The tributes to them by the people that spoke afterwards were, This person did this. He did this kind act.

He was like the Tabitha of she did kind things. And it all came out after she died. But what a wonderful, caring lady she was to others. It all came out. It was wonderful to hear people speak so highly. We finally come to the point of where we put together the Feast of Tabernacles, the new earth coming, the restoration of the earth, with caring for people.

Turn with me to Isaiah 58. Isaiah 58, verse 10. Because this passage here is a message of caring for people in a devastated world that we will be restoring. I love this passage in this context. If you extend your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be in the noonday.

If you extend your soul to the hungry. Now they say that a hungry man has no ears. We're not going to start an evangelistic work when Christ returns directly. We've got to feed these people first. How can they even function unless they have their human needs covered? We know these people aren't going to be saying, I was hungry, and you gave me a booklet.

It's just absurd. They will need food. When Christ returns, He said that I was hungry, and you gave me food. Then, verse 12, those from among you shall build the old waste places. You shall raise up the foundations of many generations, and you shall be called the repair of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. This is what's going to happen when Jesus Christ returns. We care for people. Then we're going to go through a process of rebuilding the old waste places, the repair of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

That's what this Feast of Tabernacles is about, the restoration of the earth, the kingdom of God, the world tomorrow. And I'll end with Philippians 2, where we start. Circle back to that chapter. Read a little bit more, a few more verses. Philippians 2, verse 1. Because this is the summary of the compassionate mindset of Jesus Christ, who is our soon-coming King. The way the Apostle Paul writes about this, where he identifies Christ as servant, but also how it relates to us.

Philippians 2, verse 1. So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy, verse 2, by being of the same mind, having the same love, being of full accord and of one mind. Okay, that's a general statement, but then he gets specific. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit. But in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Do we do that? Whoever we meet, this person is more significant than I am.

They have gifts, they have abilities, they have looks, whatever it is, they're better than I am. And they look at you and say, he's better than I am. We need to be thinking in those terms. Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit. That's the way the apostles were at the beginning there.

They were rivals of one another. Do nothing of rivalry, conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Verse 4, let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Don't just think about your life. If you hear a sad story from somebody else, ask them about it. Sound caring. Don't just brush them off. Be concerned about the interests of others. Those are the best leaders. Those are the best servants.

Those are the servant leaders who really do care about the interests of others instead of position and prestige. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. Who? Verse 6, though he was in the form of God, he was God, he was the Word, the Word was made flesh, the Word was with God and was God.

Did not count equality with God a thing or position to be grasped. It's something you couldn't let go of. And actually he never did. It's just that he came down to humanity. Not just to be made to look like a human being, but to come to the point of where the evening before his crucifixion, he was able to wash the feet of humanity, showing symbolically what he was about. Is that you? Is that me? Am I willing to stoop down to that level?

You know, you really have a hard time washing somebody's feet, not kneeling down before them. Now, I know we have got to face chairs towards one another, but it's really kind of a humiliating task. Some places in Africa, I'm on my knees washing people's feet. They wash my feet. That really shows the way that we are to look to our fellow human being. But he made himself nothing for seven, taking the form of a servant.