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Moody Presents - 2026-10-03 Seeking to Serve paret 1 · Your Network of Praise

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S1: Doctor Rick Nelson. The world's leadership paradigm that we still
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S1: live under is about hierarchy. It's about position. It's about prestige.
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S1: It's about power. But Jesus paradigm of leadership for 2000
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S1: years has been about humility and service. Jesus is saying
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S1: that the servant becomes the leader.
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S2: Celebrating 100 years of moody radio. This is Moody presents.
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S2: You know, for some 70 years, this radio program has
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S2: been presenting the Moody Bible Institute. At its core, solid
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S2: Bible teaching that has been used to train students and
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S2: staff for 140 years. And today is no different. We
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S2: continue to share clear and careful Bible teaching on moody presents.
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S2: So glad you're here now. Doctor Rick Nelson is the
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S2: newly appointed 11th president of the Moody Bible Institute. He
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S2: and his wife, Tammy, are now getting settled into life
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S2: in the city of Chicago, and you should know that
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S2: on our Chicago campus, at our Detroit Theological Seminary and
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S2: at our Spokane Missionary Flight school, all of our students,
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S2: all of our staff gather weekly for what's known as
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S2: President's Chapel. And when you hear the word president, you
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S2: probably think of leadership and power, prestige and position. But today,
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S2: Doctor Nelson brings a message of humility and service in leadership.
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S2: And that's the biblical model, a servant leader. Doctor Nelson
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S2: will help us understand why in our sinful state, we
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S2: all crave opportunities to promote ourselves, serve ourselves, looking out
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S2: for ourselves, maybe defending ourselves too. And the problem is,
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S2: no matter how many years you've known Christ, this can
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S2: still be a struggle. So what Doctor Nelson is asking
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S2: us to do is get to the Word of God.
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S2: Read it, ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand
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S2: it and then apply it. We're going to focus on
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S2: Matthew chapter 20, carefully observing the greatest leader of all
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S2: time and his humble service. And then later in the broadcast,
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S2: I'll share an important resource to help this very passage
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S2: come to life in pictures. For now, let's get started
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S2: with seeking to serve on Moody presents with Doctor Rick Nielsen.
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S1: Well, if you would take your copy of God's Word
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S1: this morning, take your Bible and turn to Matthew chapter 20,
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S1: Matthew chapter 20, and turn to verse 17, Matthew chapter 20,
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S1: verse 17. I'm going to read from 17 through 28.
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S1: And if you are taking notes, the title of this
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S1: morning's message is Seeking to Serve, seeking to serve from
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S1: Matthew 2017 through 28. Once you're there, if you would
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S1: stand for the reading of God's Word. As Jesus was
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S1: going up to Jerusalem, he took the 12 disciples aside,
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S1: and on the way he said to them, see, we
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S1: are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man
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S1: will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes,
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S1: and they will condemn him to death and deliver him
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S1: over to the Gentiles, to be mocked and flogged and crucified.
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S1: And he will be raised on the third day. Then
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S1: the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to
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S1: him with her sons. Kneeling before him, she asked him
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S1: for something. And he said to her, what do you want?
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S1: She said to him, say, these two boys of mine
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S1: are to sit one at your right hand and one
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S1: at your left in your kingdom. And Jesus answered, you
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S1: do not know what you are asking. Are you able
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S1: to drink the cup that I am to drink? Then
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S1: they said to him, we are able. And he said
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S1: to them, you will drink my cup. But to sit
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S1: at my right hand, and my left hand is not
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S1: mine to grant, but it is for those for whom
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S1: it has been prepared by my father. And when the
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S1: ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.
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S1: You know that the rulers. But Jesus called them over
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S1: and said, you know what? The rulers of the Gentiles,
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S1: they lorded over them, and their great ones exercise authority
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S1: over them. It shall not be so among you, but
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S1: whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
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S1: and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.
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S1: Even as the Son of Man came not to be served,
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S1: but to serve, and to give his life as a
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S1: ransom for many. Father, I pray that you would open
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S1: our ears this morning to hear. Open our eyes to see.
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S1: Help us to center our minds, attention and hearts affections
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S1: on you this day. In Jesus name. All God's people said, Amen.
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S1: You may be seated. So a great expositor. A friend
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S1: of mine, Steve Lawson, says, a text without a context
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S1: is a pretext. So let me give us a little
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S1: context to this text this morning. When you're reading the Gospels,
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S1: one of the things I've noticed is looking through the
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S1: Gospels about two thirds of each gospel. As you look
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S1: through them, focuses on Jesus birth and his three years
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S1: of public ministry, and then about a third of each
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S1: gospel is one week of Jesus life. And we are
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S1: right here at that transition point about to go into
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S1: the triumphal entry. So as you look at each gospel,
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S1: you'll notice this is this is true across each of them,
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S1: about two thirds of each gospel is focused on much
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S1: of Jesus life and ministry. And then it says, if
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S1: things slow down a little bit and we focus on
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S1: one very specific week, and in this text, Jesus is
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S1: giving context for the week that's about to come. And
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S1: he says to his disciples, he foretells what's about to
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S1: happen in this coming week. And as they're on their
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S1: way to Jerusalem, we know in this text that they're
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S1: coming out from Jericho. So they're about 15 miles away
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S1: from Jerusalem. They're ascending toward Jerusalem. This is literally days
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S1: before the triumphal entry. Maybe a day, maybe a couple days.
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S1: We don't have a date and time stamp on scripture,
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S1: so we don't know exactly which day this is, but
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S1: this is within days of the triumphal entry, and Jesus
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S1: foretells what is going to happen. And it's a fascinating
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S1: story to me, because Jesus tells the disciples about what's
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S1: to happen. And then immediately Jesus there. After sharing this news,
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S1: the mother of James and John come up to Jesus.
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S1: And if you look at the text, the word then
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S1: is the very first word in verse 20. So Jesus
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S1: is foretelling his death a third time. In fact, it
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S1: seems to be that they have no clue what this means.
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S1: They don't certainly understand. In fact, Luke actually tells us
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S1: that the meaning of this was hidden from them. They
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S1: didn't understand, which kind of helps us understand this word then,
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S1: because imagine this with our perspective. If Jesus were here
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S1: and he were about to tell you about the week
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S1: that was to come, that he was going to be
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S1: beaten and flogged, and that he was going to be
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S1: accused and that he was going to be crucified. It
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S1: seems to be that there would be a gravitas to
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S1: that moment. That would be a very sobering reality. But
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S1: it says there's a mother's request. It says, then the
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S1: mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him.
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S1: And what does she ask for? She says, hey, in
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S1: your kingdom, could my sons be on your left and
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S1: your right? Now, to me, this juxtaposition just seems so strange.
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S1: It seems that they should be pensive and contemplative. But
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S1: the mother of James and John seemed to only have
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S1: one thing in mind. In your kingdom. Could my sons
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S1: have position and power and prestige? Could they be at
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S1: your right hand and your left hand? And maybe that's
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S1: us as well. Maybe that is our hearts bent. Maybe
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S1: as we as we think about the kingdom of heaven,
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S1: we are thinking about what it's going to be like
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S1: to be in the presence of Christ. And we think
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S1: about the benefits of that. But yet we're given this
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S1: picture and we're given an understanding of Jesus life. Jesus,
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S1: Jesus life is not about position. Jesus life is about serving.
8:20
S2: What if you could travel to the Holy Land without
8:22
S2: a passport or plane ticket? You can. It's a virtual
8:26
S2: tour in the form of a book by Charlie Dyer.
8:28
S2: Experiencing the land of the book. Our current resource here
8:32
S2: at Moody Presents and Charlie joins us. I have to ask, Charlie,
8:35
S2: how does this book give readers the sense of what
8:38
S2: an Israel tour is actually like?
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S3: Well, it covers the sites visited not alphabetically, but in
8:44
S3: the order used by many tour groups. And it also
8:47
S3: includes maps to help readers see where the different sites are,
8:50
S3: and specific details to help anchor those sites to events
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S3: in the Bible.
8:55
S2: I love all the photos. Hundreds of them, right?
8:57
S3: 260 of.
8:58
S2: Them. So what would you say is the biggest benefit
9:00
S2: to going through this book?
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S3: Well, for those who've never had an opportunity to visit Israel,
9:05
S3: I think it provides them with an opportunity to experience
9:07
S3: the land vicariously with a group of fun and sometimes
9:11
S3: rather quirky fellow travelers. And for those planning on a
9:14
S3: trip or who've gone in the past, it can help
9:16
S3: prepare them for the trip or help relive those past experiences.
9:20
S2: Hey, why not get your copy of Experiencing the Land
9:23
S2: of the book with your gift of any amount at
9:26
S2: Moody presents.org. That's Moody presents.org. Or you can phone in
9:32
S2: your gift right now at (800) 400-7022 (800) 400-7022. Also, quick reminder,
9:44
S2: when you sign up to become a part of our
9:46
S2: advance team, these very resources will come to you every
9:49
S2: other month automatically as our. Thanks for your financial help.
9:53
S2: Find out about joining our advance team when you visit
9:56
S2: Moody presents.org. That's Moody Dot ORG. Or you can call
10:02
S2: us at (800) 400-7022. Well, speaking of learning, growing, and teaching,
10:09
S2: we want to invite you to join us on the
10:11
S2: beautiful campus of the Moody Bible Institute this fall for
10:15
S2: Founder's Week. We can promise you a remarkable time of
10:18
S2: Bible teaching with Tony Evans, Joe Stowell, Priscilla Shire, and
10:22
S2: many more. For a complete conference schedule, even practical ideas
10:26
S2: about hotels, head to founders.com. That's Founder's week.com. Now let's
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S2: get back to our message from Matthew chapter 20. Here
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S2: again is Doctor Rick Nelson on Moody Presents.
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S1: When we think of this text. Our minds, our hearts
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S1: should be focused on what's happening in Jesus life, his death,
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S1: his resurrection. It should be focused on all that he
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S1: has been doing over the past three years of serving
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S1: and meeting the needs of people, and healing disease and
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S1: healing the blind and the sick and the lame. But yet,
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S1: James and John and their mother approached Jesus, asking for
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S1: places of position, for honest. That's probably our heart very
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S1: often as well. But Jesus fortunately gives us instruction. He
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S1: helps us to understand what the Son of Man came
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S1: to do. This mother's request is is also talked about
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S1: in Mark chapter ten. In fact, the mother is not
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S1: mentioned in Mark chapter ten. I chose this text this
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S1: morning because of the interesting dynamic that's taking place here.
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S1: So James and John, two disciples are with Jesus. They're
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S1: traveling with Jesus. Uh, they are with him during these
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S1: three years. Their mother may be with them a majority
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S1: of the time or some of the time, or maybe
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S1: they're just close enough to their home that she was
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S1: there at this at this moment. It's likely, and we
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S1: understand from a historical understanding that James and John's mother
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S1: was Mary's sister, Salome, which would make James and John
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S1: Jesus cousins. So part of what's happening here is actually
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S1: kind of a a family request, so to speak. And
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S1: James and John maybe not wanting to appear too prideful
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S1: or self-serving. They invite their mom to go with them. Now,
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S1: to me, that just seems almost hilarious that James and John,
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S1: two grown men would say, hey mom, could you join us?
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S1: Or it's possible that mom says, you know, kind of
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S1: pulls the the two with her and says, hey, come on,
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S1: I think I've got an opportunity for you here. Regardless
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S1: of the circumstance or the situation, it's very clear that
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S1: this is kind of a self-serving interest here, that they're
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S1: really looking for a position and that they're really looking
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S1: for this opportunity to be named kind of the the
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S1: right hand and the left hand of Jesus. And they're
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S1: about to go into Jerusalem. And just imagine if James
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S1: and John were right there with Jesus right there by
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S1: his side. This mother's request was was certainly self-serving. I mean,
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S1: they're playing kind of the mother card, the relationship card,
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S1: the mom card, and coming to Jesus. And Jesus says
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S1: to them, what is it that you ask? He says,
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S1: and I think it's important as we understand this question,
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S1: because as as as Salome comes to them, that's James.
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S1: And John's mother comes to them, she asks a question,
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S1: and Jesus doesn't say, uh, yeah, whatever you want. I'm,
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S1: I'm happy to give it. Notice what Jesus says. Jesus says, well,
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S1: what is it that you ask? So she's obviously asking
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S1: a question, hey, is there something I have something to
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S1: ask you. Jesus doesn't just apply and say, sure, let
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S1: me know what it is. I'm happy to grant it. See,
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S1: Jesus is not our genie, even though sometimes we treat
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S1: him that way. And Salome with James and John, come
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S1: to him asking for that kind of request. He says, well,
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S1: what is it that you ask? And she says, well,
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S1: perhaps my son's right here. James and John could sit
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S1: at your left and at your right in your kingdom.
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S1: It's very clear that this self-motivated request is not a
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S1: surprise to Jesus. He's wise and discerning. He knows and
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S1: understands the request. He knows and understands the desire. He
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S1: knows the hearts of men. He knows our desires. He
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S1: knows our interests. He knows our self-serving interests. And he says,
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S1: you do not know what you are asking. He says,
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S1: are you able to drink the cup that I am
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S1: to drink? Verse 22 and they said, oh, we're able.
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S1: We're able. Now that even tells you more that they
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S1: really had no clue what Jesus was just talking about
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S1: previously in that text. Oh, we're able we'll drink the
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S1: cup with you. That's the cup of suffering. Are you
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S1: willing to go with Jesus all the way to the cross,
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S1: to be on his left and his right? When Jesus responds,
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S1: he says, you will drink my cup. Now they don't
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S1: end up on the cross with him. James becomes the
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S1: first martyr. John is persecuted, exiled into the island of
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S1: Patmos to die there. They will drink the cup. Even
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S1: Jesus submits to the father and says, listen, it's the
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S1: father's right to appoint and the authority to grant who
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S1: will be on my left and my right. Now when
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S1: I reflect in heaven and I see Jesus on the
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S1: throne and the elders there, there is no one on
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S1: his left or right. It says, the 24 elders surround him.
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S1: And I think possibly what Jesus is pointing to is
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S1: the cross. One week from this conversation that God has
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S1: already preordained, who will be on his left and who
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S1: will be on his right. Are you willing to drink
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S1: the cup? Of course we're able, we're willing. Jesus says
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S1: you do not know what you are asking. You do
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S1: not understand. For Jesus was crucified with two robbers. One
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S1: was at his left and one was at his right.
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S1: Jesus died for our sins on a cross. They were willing,
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S1: but they had no idea what they were asking. Now,
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S1: when the other ten heard this, they were indignant. The
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S1: word indignant literally means that they were feeling anger or
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S1: showing anger, an annoyance at an unfair treatment. All of
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S1: a sudden, the ten hear this and they're like, wait
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S1: a second. You took your mom to see Jesus and
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S1: asked for the positions of power and prestige on his
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S1: left and his right. And they're indignant. They're showing anger.
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S1: They're annoyed at what is happening here, perhaps because they
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S1: didn't think of it first, or perhaps because Jesus just
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S1: taught them to be. To be great is to be last.
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S1: The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.
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S1: They've been arguing about what it means to be great.
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S1: Jesus has already taught them. Maybe they're just simply annoyed
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S1: at James and John that it doesn't seem like they
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S1: really get it. It says in the text that they're
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S1: the sons of Zebedee, the sons of thunder. Uh. When
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S1: James and John were around, you would probably know they're around.
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S1: And maybe they're just annoyed at James and John. They've
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S1: spent three years very close to one another. Maybe they're
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S1: just frustrated, like James and John. You just don't get it.
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S1: Jesus has been teaching us this, but truth be told,
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S1: they're probably indignant because they want that position of power
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S1: and of prestige and of honor. So then Jesus calls
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S1: them together. And Jesus often does this when the disciples
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S1: seem to be clueless about what's going on. He draws
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S1: them closer. Oftentimes when he is preaching and he is
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S1: teaching on a parable, and they still don't get it.
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S1: He pulls them aside and he says to them, listen,
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S1: let me explain this to you. And that's what happens here.
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S1: So look at verse 25. Jesus called to them, called
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S1: them over to him, and said, you know that the
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S1: rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
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S1: great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not
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S1: be with you. Whoever would be great among you must
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S1: be your servant, and whoever would be first among you
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S1: must be your slave.
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S4: Who? Are you, Lord God Almighty? Worthy is the Lamb.
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S4: Worthy is the Lamb. You are holy. Holy, holy are you,
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S4: Lord God Almighty. For thee is the Lamb. Worthy is
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S4: the Lamb. Oh man.
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S5: Thousand generations falling down in worship to sing the song
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S5: of ages to the Lamb. And all who have gone
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S5: before us. And all who will sing the song of
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S5: ages to the Lamb. Your name is the higher. Your
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S5: name is the greatest. Your name stands above. All throne
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S5: and dominions above. And positions your name stands above the Lord.
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S4: The angels cry.
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S5: O.
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S4: All creation cry. O. You are lifted high. Holy forever.
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S5: Forgive me liberty. Sing a song forever to the Lamb.
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S4: The song forever in freedom.
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S5: If you bear his name. Sing the song forever to
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S5: the Lamb.
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S4: Sing the song forever and All.
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S5: The Angels Come Home is a creation from oh. Oh oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.
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S5: To the King of. Me you will always be.
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S4: You are.
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S5: Holy. Holy forever.
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S4: You will always be.
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S5: Holy forever. Oh. Oh. Are you Lord God Almighty? Worthy
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S5: is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. You are holy. Oh.
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S5: Are you Lord God Almighty. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy
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S5: is the Lamb. Oh. We will all praise him. Oh.
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S5: Holy moly.
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S4: Forever you are.
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S5: You will always be holy. Holy forever.
24:25
S2: What a powerful moment. We've been listening to the song
24:28
S2: Holy Forever. That's from last year's Founder's Week, and we
24:32
S2: heard the Moody Chorale and Orchestra. Hey, why not make
24:35
S2: sure you join us October 21st through the 23rd for
24:38
S2: Founder's Week 2026. More information@founders.com. You'll notice we stopped short
24:45
S2: of finishing our message today, seeking to serve. That's from
24:49
S2: the new president of Moody Bible Institute, Doctor Rick Nelson.
24:52
S2: The good news is, though, we'll get right back to
24:54
S2: it when you join us next week. Hey, if a
24:57
S2: picture paints a thousand words, what about more than 200 pictures?
25:01
S2: You'll find them all in our current resource. Experiencing the
25:05
S2: land of the book. It's like taking a tour of
25:07
S2: Israel at your own pace, minus the plane ticket or passport.
25:11
S2: This is a beautiful book by Doctor Charlie Dyer, and
25:14
S2: we'll mail you a copy as you support us with
25:16
S2: a gift of any amount at Moody presents.org. That's Moody
25:21
S2: presents.org or phone in your gift at (800) 400-7022 (800) 400-7022. You know,
25:33
S2: I hope that you're as excited as we are for
25:35
S2: the ministry of Doctor Melson. He's back with the conclusion
25:38
S2: of his message next week. I'm John Gager thanking you
25:42
S2: for your company today. Moody presents is a production of
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S2: Moody Radio, a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute.