Greetings MOL Family!
We who live on this planet have two great ideas of what constitutes successful living. Both of them are presented in our opening text. We have our choice, and they’re mutually exclusive. So, we have either one or the other.
To Minister…
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. – Matthew 20:28
What’s another word for minister? Serve; live for others. Now, some people, Jesus tells us here, live what for? To be ministered unto. They want to be waited on. They want other people to do for them all the time. That’s one way of living. And the person who has that goal, he thinks “how to live” means how to get other people to do what I want; to cook what I like to eat; to play the kind of music I like to hear; and so on, and on and on.
Did you ever hear somebody ask a little child, “What would you like to be when you grow up?” That’s catering to this very idea. What would you like to do? We’re surrounded with that influence all our lives, friends. The idea that successful living is to find out what you want and do it, to find out what you like to eat and have it.
When it comes to the question of marriage, the average young man is looking for someone that will do things the way he likes. And of course, the young woman, the other way around. It’s tragic. The thing is downright tragic because it results in disappointment and failure 99 times out of 100, in a marriage. That’s why we’re told that there is not one marriage in a hundred that results happily.
You see the one who made us, made us to work in a certain way. Just like a clock, it’s made to be wound, and it’s made to be oiled. When it’s wound and oiled, why, it generally can tell us the time for many days. But it takes just a few simple things; and so, the One who made us, made us to tick in a certain way. He didn’t make us to be ministered unto. He made us to what? — Minister.
Now, it’s true that in the process we receive the benefits of the ministry of other people. But that isn’t our goal. That isn’t what we are living for. We can take that, or get along without it as God’s providence arranges it, if we’re truly converted, if we are Christians.
Now, this verse, the primary statement in the verse is about somebody. Who is it? Jesus. He calls Himself here what? — The Son of man. And He came for what purpose? — To minister. And that means what? — To serve. He came where? — To this earth, from where? — From Heaven. Was that a bad place, or a good place? — A good place. You mean He gave up a good place? Well, the best place in the universe. I wonder whatever, as we would say, got into Him – Love…that’s it! It was there all the time and when the need arose, He was on His way.
He came not to be ministered unto, but to what? — Minister. And what’s the rest of it? –To give His life, not loan it, but to give His life. Did He give Himself to this world? Is He still ours? He hasn’t gotten tired of that? Has He? He still chooses to do that? Oh, friends, what a life!
How to Live
Well, I can tell you dear friends, how you can tell whether you’re converted or not: if that appeals to you; if it’s something desirable for you to have a part in, then you’re converted. If it doesn’t, then you’re not converted. It’s that simple. I hope that every one of you will find out whether you’re converted or not. And if you are not, you can seek for that conversion.
Turn to Romans 15, beginning with the first verse: “We that are strong out to make people please us.” Is that what it says? If we’re strong in money can’t we buy it? If we’re strong in physical strength can’t we make people do it? If we’re strong in intellect can’t we overpower them with our great wisdom?
We then that are strong ought to [do what?] bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. – Romans 15:1
What does bear mean? Carry. You and I are supposed to be carrying around what? — The infirmities of others. What are infirmities? — Weaknesses. Yes, you know, it’s an interesting civilization we’re living in. Today, in thousands of homes, as soon as some member of the home gets weak and infirm what do they do with them? Put them out. The government can take care of that, or even if they have to pay out money, get rid of them. Why? “Well, we don’t want to be bothered; on with the dance, on with the show, on with the party.” We don’t want wet blankets around. We want to do what? Please ourselves. And it might interfere with that to have someone around that’s old or sick, infirm and weak. “Ship them off.” And today millions of human beings are being waited on in their weakness and infirmity, not by those that should have deep, loyal ties of love and devotion, but just by people who are paid so much an hour to go in there and take care of some of their elementary needs.
But I want to tell you something, friends. The people to feel sorry for aren’t the infirm and weak ones. Yes, feel sorry for them. But you know the main ones to feel sorry for? — The folks that are living what for? — To please themselves.
Of course, in your homes or institutions, there’s no danger of that, is there? No danger of pleasing yourselves? Everybody is living a life of unselfish service? If it isn’t Heaven, it’s almost there, isn’t it?
I want to tell you something, the Lord allowed the serpent to come even into where? Eden. And do you know what the essential temptation was? It was this very issue, whether you were going to live to please God or please yourself. That was it. And Eve decided to do what? Please herself. She got Adam to join in that deception. It happened to be a piece of fruit. It could have been any one of a hundred other things. God choose that test. And what God was seeking to do was to give Adam and Eve the same opportunity He has given to every intelligent creature He ever made: the opportunity to choose which way he wanted to go.
Now, some people can’t give up alcohol. Do you know why? They want to please themselves. They get a certain kind of pleasure. Some people can’t give up tobacco. Do you know why? Well, they want to please themselves. Most people are not willing to go through the struggle, if they can avoid it, of stopping to do the thing they like.
“Well”, someone says, “why should I?” Well, that’s it. Why should you? This takes a miracle of conversion.
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself… – Romans 15:1-3
Wait a minute. Who didn’t? Christ, even Christ. Why does it say, “even Christ?” He is God. He is the King of the universe. And the King of this universe doesn’t live to please Himself. And when He came here, in a world all polluted with sin and the curse, He spent His whole life doing what? Pleasing others.
Now, you notice, it says there in the second verse, “please his neighbor for his good to edification.” This doesn’t necessarily mean giving the crying baby the scissors or matches, or a lot of things it might cry for. We’re to please people for their good. We’re to do the thing that is best for them, whether they have sense enough to know it or not. But we are living all the while, what for? — For others.
To Do Service For God
Now, this marvelous textbook on how to live — Ministry of Healing. Oh folks, I’m so thankful for it. And notice how this keynote is brought to us in such a clear way. If you turn to page 395 (in The Wisdom of the Great Physician, pg. 129): What are we called to? — To be missionaries. Do you know what a missionary is? Well, a missionary is somebody that’s on a mission. Jesus is the great Missionary. He came on a mission. Where to? — This world. We’ve already seen what His mission was. What was it? —To minister to others.
Now, just hold your finger in page 395, and turn over to page 409 (The Wisdom of the Great Physician, pg. 133): What’s the first word? Like.
Like our Saviour, we are in this world to do service for God. – Ministry of Healing, pg. 409 {The Wisdom of the Great Physician, pg. 133}
Did you know that is how you happened to get born? You’ve come on a mission. Most people never find it out. That’s why they go through life unhappy, dissatisfied, frustrated, always looking for something, never finding it. We have been born for what? — For service.
Like our Saviour, we are in this world to do service for God. We are here to become like God in character and by a life of service to reveal Him to the world. – Ibid
All right, now let’s go back to page 395:
True education is missionary training. Every son and daughter of God is called to be a missionary; we are called to the service of God and our fellow men; and to fit us for this service should be the object of our education. – Ibid., pg. 395{The Wisdom of the Great Physician, pg. 129}
I want to ask you something. Do you think the world can teach us how to do this? Could the world teach us how to live a life of unselfish service, service for God and humanity? Is that what the world is doing? Why, no. The world isn’t doing that at all. And true education, Christian education is going in an entirely opposite direction. It isn’t just speed that’s different; faster or slower. It isn’t the method; the whole objective is fundamentally different.
Sometimes people that don’t know much about what it means to be a missionary, after someone gets training in medical missionary work, they ask, “So, now what can you do? What job can you get? How are you going to make a living after you get through?”
I just have to smile at the utter unawareness of what this whole thing is about. We’re not here just to go out and make a living in the sense of getting a job and getting money for it. My dear friends, think of it. Your life is so precious that it was bought by the sufferings of Christ in Gethsemane and Calvary. He bought and paid for your service. And now you mean to tell me that a person who knows that will go out here and put that life, that precious life that cost so much on the auction block and say, “Who will bid the most for my time and service? Where can I go where I can get more money, more fringe benefits?”
Oh, friends, to think of it. Don’t misunderstand me; I am not blaming the people of the world. If I was going to work for the world I would say, “Ok, the higher the bidder the better.” Why not, if you’re going that road?
But bless the Lord; we’re not on that road. We’re not on that road at all. It’s a wonderful thing to be in something that no amount of money could lure you away from. What is it? Why it’s living for Jesus and others. Doing the work for which you were born, the work of ministry.
This is what got hold of Matthew, and he never went back to tax collecting. He had been handling money, money, money. And you know, that gets into a fellow’s blood. But something happened to Matthew. He got with Jesus, and he never went back to money collecting. He went into men collecting, soul collecting. He became a collector of the most valuable thing in this universe, human souls. You can. That’s your calling. That’s your destiny.
Join us next week, to learn more about this high and holy calling. Invite a friend, and we’ll see you then…
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Unselfish service – that’s your mission and why you were born, following the example of Christ. Are you interested in this work of relieving the suffering of humanity? >> Learn More
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*This study has been adapted from classes taken by Elder W.D. Frazee.