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Moody Presents - 2026-10-10 Seeking to Serve part 2 · Disciple Radio

• 0:00
  S1: Doctor Rick Nelson, 11th president of the Moody Bible Institute
• 0:04
  S1: on Leading and Managing.
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  S2: Too often, when we think of leadership, we think of
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  S2: position that a leader is someone who has a position.
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  S2: They have authority. The servant leader is servant first. It
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  S2: begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve.
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  S1: It's time for Moody Presents, serving listeners like you for
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  S1: more than 70 years. And did you know that at
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  S1: this moment, Moody Radio is celebrating 100 years on the
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  S1: air for God's glory and the furthering of the gospel?
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  S1: And I want to make sure you know, too, that
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  S1: we've appointed a new president to continue on with the
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  S1: Ministry of Leadership and Service. That doctor Mark Jobe modeled
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  S1: so well for the past seven years. This new season
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  S1: at Moody promises continuing encouragement from God's Word that we
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  S1: will always feature here on Moody Presents. That is our
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  S1: commitment to you. You've already enjoyed his teaching, and you've
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  S1: grown in your appreciation for Doctor Rick Nelson, our new president.
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  S1: And Moody. Why not get to know him just a
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  S1: bit better with us right now? Good to have you
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  S1: in the studio, Doctor Nelson.
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  S2: Well, John, thank you for inviting me. It's always a
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  S2: joy to be here.
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  S1: We got to know where did you grow up?
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  S2: Well, I grew up in southwest Ohio. My family moved
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  S2: there in 1971, and we joined a wonderful church there,
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  S2: Crestview Baptist Church, and I grew up there. My mom
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  S2: still is in that same church, still sings in the choir.
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  S2: And it's just an incredible place where we grew up
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  S2: with a very special place, southwest Ohio.
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  S1: All right. Favorite memory as a kid would be what?
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  S2: Oh. Favorite memory as a kid? That's really a good one,
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  S2: I think. You know, for me, um, you know, church
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  S2: was such a central part. All the things that we
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  S2: did in church. I remember vacation Bible school and youth
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  S2: camps and special places that we would go. We'd go
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  S2: off to Seneca Lake up in Midwest, Ohio. And, you know,
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  S2: our lives are really transformed because of those great experiences and, uh, really,
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  S2: really grateful for the, the context, the church, the family
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  S2: that I grew up in that pointed me to Christ
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  S2: and pointed me to His word.
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  S1: How did you meet your wife, Tammy? We got to know.
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  S2: Well at church. You know, my whole life seems to
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  S2: kind of center around church, which I'm really incredibly grateful for.
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  S2: You know, there was a Sunday night, we were part
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  S2: of a church that had Sunday night gatherings, and we
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  S2: gathered together. And I remember when her family came to
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  S2: visit our church, and I looked across the room and
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  S2: I saw her and I elbowed my buddy and I said,
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  S2: see that girl over there? I'm going to marry her.
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  S2: And the first time that her family ever visited our church,
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  S2: and it did take a little longer for her to
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  S2: notice me. But after a season, we began to date.
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  S2: And you know what? This is really crazy. 40 years
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  S2: ago this October, we went on our very first date.
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  S1: Wow. Now I have to ask, did she likewise share
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  S1: the same perspective? First meeting you, I'm going to marry
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  S1: that guy.
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  S2: Yeah, I don't think so. Uh, we were sitting next
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  S2: to each other at church one Sunday, and I went
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  S2: up to play the piano for an offertory, and she
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  S2: looked at me and she said, where are you going?
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  S2: I said, I'm going to play the piano for the offertory.
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  S2: She said, I didn't know you played the piano. I said, well,
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  S2: there's probably a lot of things you don't know about me.
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  S2: So that was kind of, you know, a tease to
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  S2: try to encourage her to get to know me a
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  S2: bit more.
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  S1: Okay. Musically, where do you where do you land? What
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  S1: do you like?
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  S2: Oh, boy, I love everything. So, you know, I grew
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  S2: up loving music. In fact, when I was called to ministry,
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  S2: I actually started out in worship ministry and studied music
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  S2: and really have a wide array of music that I enjoy.
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  S2: Still listening to all kinds of music. You know, I
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  S2: don't really have one particular style or that or the other.
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  S2: I kind of just enjoy everything.
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  S1: All right. What about your educational journey? You have been
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  S1: on a on a long and great road.
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  S2: Yeah, God's really been kind. My worship pastor at my
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  S2: home church had gone to Murray State University, which is
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  S2: in Western Kentucky, and we made a visit there. And
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  S2: I was just so impressed by the people there. And
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  S2: I remember when I left, they all sent me personal,
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  S2: handwritten notes, and that really touched me, as you know,
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  S2: someone looking for university and where I would go and,
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  S2: and I ended up going to Murray State. I studied
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  S2: music there and still stay connected to my voice teacher,
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  S2: Miss Kay Bates, who's 80 some years old. So, Miss Bates,
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  S2: if you're listening, she's been so encouraging to me. She
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  S2: even reached out to me when I became president here
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  S2: at Moody. Then I went to Southern Seminary, Southern Baptist
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  S2: Theological Seminary in the early 90s, and was there with
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  S2: Doctor Mohler during the time that he was just became president,
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  S2: which was such a life transforming experience for me. And
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  S2: then later in life started feeling a sense of calling
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  S2: in after serving the church for many years into a
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  S2: calling to serve colleges and universities and Christian higher education,
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  S2: and pursued a PhD in leadership at Dallas Baptist University.
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  S2: And that has really prepared me and equipped me, even
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  S2: for the work that I do here today at Moody.
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  S1: Today on Moody Presents, we're visiting with the 11th president
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  S1: of Moody Bible Institute, Doctor Rick Nelson. Uh, you know,
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  S1: you don't just wake up one day and say, I
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  S1: think God's calling me to be president of Moody. What
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  S1: was that like?
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  S2: You know, when this opportunity comes and someone reaches out
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  S2: to you and says, hey, we've got an opportunity for
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  S2: you to consider, would you pray about it? Uh, they
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  S2: mentioned that it was Moody Bible Institute. And I said, listen,
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  S2: I know there's going to be a lot of people
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  S2: interested in this opportunity, but sure, we'll pray about it.
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  S2: So we prayed for several months. And, you know, God
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  S2: just continued to incline our hearts in this direction and
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  S2: continue to open the door. And we just really had
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  S2: one posture. We just said, God, we want to be
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  S2: open to you. We were loving and thriving where we
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  S2: were at Southwest Baptist University. I was serving as president
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  S2: where I felt called, and then we just were open
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  S2: handed to say, God, where might you have us serve?
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  S2: And just over the next months, you know, over multiple months,
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  S2: God just continued to open the door, open the door,
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  S2: open the door, and went from, you know, a handful
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  S2: of people to us. And we accepted that call. And
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  S2: we're incredibly grateful.
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  S1: And we're grateful to.
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  S2: Well, thank you, John.
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  S1: We just love having you on the campus. What about
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  S1: a spiritual passion or two that we might see coming
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  S1: out in your leadership of the school and some of
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  S1: the messages that we might be hearing in the weeks
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  S1: and months ahead?
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  S2: Yeah, absolutely. You know, one of my deepest passions is
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  S2: seeing the next generation grounded in Scripture, centered in Christ,
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  S2: equipped to serve the church and ultimately to carry the
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  S2: gospel to the world. So everything, Lord willing, that I
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  S2: speak and preach on and equip our students is going
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  S2: to be centered on God's Word. I want them to
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  S2: be Bible saturated people. I want them to be Christ centered.
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  S2: I want them to be equipped to serve the church.
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  S2: You know, Moody is not the church. We come alongside
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  S2: the church to ultimately carry the gospel to the world.
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  S2: And that really is my heart for Moody. You know,
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  S2: this is a historic mission to make the gospel available
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  S2: to every person. And I believe it's just incredibly important
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  S2: right now. And being able to equip this generation to
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  S2: continue that work for the next decades is super encouraging.
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  S2: So whether through education or radio or publishing or aviation
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  S2: or global ministry, I just want us to be about
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  S2: one mission that God has called us to. That's to
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  S2: make the gospel available to every person.
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  S1: And we love that mission. Thanks, Doctor Nelson. And as
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  S1: you listen to that conversation, I'm sure you sensed his energy.
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  S1: You can enjoy his Bible teaching, by the way, in
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  S1: person when you join us for Founder's Week 2026, where
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  S1: Doctor Nelson speaks on Friday, October the 23rd at Founder's week.org,
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  S1: you'll learn all you need to know about our annual
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  S1: Bible conference happening right here on our beautiful campus, downtown Chicago.
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  S1: You can join in person or online, complete details@founders.org. We'll
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  S1: even help you find a hotel in the area. Founders week.org. Now,
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  S1: today's message is anchored in Matthew chapter 20. If you
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  S1: can open your Bible to Matthew 20. And maybe you
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  S1: missed last week's message, no problem. You can visit us
• 7:27
  S1: at Moody presents.org and hear all of our messages. That's
• 7:32
  S1: moody presents.org. All right, let's get started now with the
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  S1: second part of Seeking to Serve. Here's Doctor Rick Nelson.
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  S2: Jesus paradigm of leadership for 2000 years has been about
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  S2: humility and service. Jesus is saying that the servant becomes
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  S2: the leader. His model of servant leadership is radical and revolutionary.
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  S2: Now it's familiar to us because we've grown up hearing
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  S2: about it. But to the disciples and to those who
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  S2: are listening, this is a radical and revolutionary concept. In fact,
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  S2: I would suggest that just as Jesus was foretelling his
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  S2: death and burial and resurrection, I would suggest they probably
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  S2: still don't understand it. And Jesus closes this portion of
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  S2: Scripture by saying, even as the Son of Man came
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  S2: not to be served, but to serve, and to give
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  S2: his life as a ransom for many. Jesus model of
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  S2: leadership is serving. He went as far to give his
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  S2: own life a ransom, literally to pay the price that
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  S2: one could not pay for ourselves. He willingly paid our debts.
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  S2: He took the wrath of God upon his shoulders. That
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  S2: was meant for you, and that was meant for me.
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  S2: He took it upon himself. There's no greater sacrifice of
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  S2: service than to give your life for another. Romans five
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  S2: six and nine says this for while we were still
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  S2: weak at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
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  S2: That's you and that's me. That was the thief on
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  S2: the cross. That's each of us. For one will scarcely
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  S2: die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person,
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  S2: one would even dare to die. But God shows his
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  S2: love to us that while we were still sinners, Christ
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  S2: died for us. That's the ultimate sacrifice. That's the ultimate service.
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  S2: Nothing could be greater than giving your life for another.
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  S2: So Jesus tells of his death, burial, and resurrection. We
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  S2: find that the disciples still are looking toward power and
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  S2: prestige and leadership because again, they're looking for a conquering Messiah.
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  S2: They're not looking for a servant Messiah. They're looking for
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  S2: a conquering messiah, someone who's going to come in and
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  S2: take over the the Romans. But Jesus is going to
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  S2: give his life. He's already demonstrated this, and he continues
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  S2: to show this to the disciples. So a few observations
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  S2: from this text. The first observation is this. The disciples
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  S2: just seem clueless. They seem clueless about the meaning of
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  S2: Jesus death, his resurrection, his future kingdom. In fact, the
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  S2: first time Jesus foretells of his death and resurrection, Peter
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  S2: rebukes Jesus and says, far be it from you, Lord.
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  S2: This will never happen to you. The second time Jesus
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  S2: foretells his death and resurrection, the disciples argue about who
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  S2: is the greatest. And the third time in this text
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  S2: he foretells of his death and resurrection, the mother of
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  S2: James and John asks for positions of honor and power
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  S2: and prestige. They're clueless. They just don't get it. Although,
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  S2: as I told you earlier, Mark tells us they didn't
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  S2: understand the saying when Jesus is telling them, they just
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  S2: don't get it. They don't understand it. In fact, it
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  S2: even says they were afraid to ask him. They didn't
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  S2: understand what Jesus was telling them. They had no context. See,
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  S2: for us, we have 2000 years of context. We have
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  S2: the scriptures that tell the whole story. But the disciples
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  S2: are walking with Jesus. He's explaining and telling, but they
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  S2: still don't understand. Luke 1834 says they understood none of
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  S2: these things. This saying was hidden from them and they
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  S2: did not grasp what he said. So how is this possible? Well,
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  S2: partly because their eyes were blind, partly because they had
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  S2: no context. When you were kids, there was a there
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  S2: was a a big picture, a picture puzzle called a
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  S2: magic eye illusion. Some of you might remember this. It
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  S2: was a. It was a very fuzzy picture, and if
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  S2: you stared at it long enough, you would be able
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  S2: to see an image, maybe a number or an animal
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  S2: or something in that fuzzy image, and you would continue
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  S2: to stare at it and then you could see it.
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  S2: And once you could see it, you could always see it,
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  S2: and then you'd bring other people to that, that magic
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  S2: eye illusion. And they would stare at it and say,
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  S2: I don't see it. You say it's right there. But
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  S2: they couldn't see it. Their eyes were not yet focused
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  S2: into what it was. Or perhaps it would be like
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  S2: a jigsaw puzzle. If you've ever put together a jigsaw puzzle,
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  S2: you know that you have a picture to look at
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  S2: to put all the pieces together, right? Imagine if you
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  S2: didn't have the picture, but still needed to put together
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  S2: the jigsaw puzzle. Imagine how challenging that would be. So
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  S2: the disciples are getting all the pieces. They just don't
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  S2: have the big picture. Does that make sense? They hear
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  S2: Jesus words, but they haven't heard. They haven't understood observation
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  S2: number two, even though their request was ill conceived and
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  S2: filled with selfish ambition. Their request demonstrates that they clearly
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  S2: recognize Jesus as Messiah. He is Messiah. He is the
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  S2: promised one. He is the long awaited Messiah, and the
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  S2: disciples recognized that. How did they recognize it? Because they said,
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  S2: in your kingdom, when. When your kingdom comes. They understood
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  S2: that his kingdom was coming. They didn't understand what his
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  S2: kingdom was, but they understood that it was coming. And
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  S2: they understood that he was the Messiah.
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  S1: Seeking to serve. That's our message today on Moody presents
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  S1: with Doctor Rick Nelson. More of that message in a moment.
• 13:53
  S1: Right now, I want to mention our current resource for
• 13:55
  S1: Moody Presents. It's called Experiencing the Land of the book.
• 13:59
  S1: Doctor Charlie Dyer has put this together after leading more
• 14:02
  S1: than 100 trips to Israel. Charlie, what will this book
• 14:05
  S1: do for anybody who reads it?
• 14:07
  S3: Well, it'll take a reader on a virtual tour through
• 14:09
  S3: the land of Israel. If anybody wanted to go to Israel,
• 14:12
  S3: this book will take them there. It's literally the trip
• 14:14
  S3: I led for thousands of people, and it's condensed into
• 14:17
  S3: one volume in one read. They can go from Dan
• 14:20
  S3: to Beersheba.
• 14:21
  S1: Get your copy of Experiencing the Land of the book
• 14:24
  S1: right now with your gift of any amount at Moody presents.org,
• 14:30
  S1: or call us at (800) 400-7022, that's (800) 400-7022. Let me also
• 14:40
  S1: mention that you can have these resources come to you
• 14:42
  S1: automatically every other month. If you sign up now to
• 14:45
  S1: become part of our advance team, that's someone who gives
• 14:48
  S1: a monthly gift. And with your gift of, say, $30
• 14:51
  S1: a month or more, you'll receive a 50% discount off
• 14:55
  S1: of each and every Moody Publishers product. You can join
• 14:58
  S1: our advanced team now at Moody presents dot moody presents.org.
• 15:04
  S1: And we'll start you off with a copy of our
• 15:05
  S1: current feature, Experiencing the Land of the book. Now back
• 15:09
  S1: to Doctor Rick Nelson on Moody Presents.
• 15:16
  S2: John Calvin says the request reveals their selfish ambition, but
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  S2: it recognizes their belief that Jesus is the Messiah. Even so,
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  S2: even their response when Jesus asked the question, are you
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  S2: able to drink the cup that I am to drink?
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  S2: He says, we are able. They show their loyalty to him,
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  S2: their willingness to endure suffering for him and with him.
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  S2: Observation number three. Jesus paradigm of leadership was radical and revolutionary,
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  S2: unlike anything the world had ever known up until this point.
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  S2: They had one idea of leadership. When you were a kid,
• 16:00
  S2: you probably played King of the Hill. Maybe you still
• 16:02
  S2: play King of the Hill as you're playing King of
• 16:05
  S2: the hill. What is everyone wanting to do? They're wanting
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  S2: to get to the top of the hill. They're wanting
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  S2: the position of power for if you're at the top
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  S2: of the hill, you are king of the hill and
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  S2: you will fight, and you will pull, and you will
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  S2: do everything you can to get to the top of
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  S2: that hill. It's the only paradigm the disciples understood. King
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  S2: of the hill. Jesus had come to be King of
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  S2: the hill. No, Jesus came to die on a hill.
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  S2: They were looking for Jesus to come as king of
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  S2: the hill. And oh, he is King, and he will
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  S2: come as King of kings and Lord of lords. James
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  S2: and John were true disciples. They're true Christ followers. They
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  S2: had a clear understanding that Jesus is the Messiah. Yet,
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  S2: on the other hand, they did not understand this idea
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  S2: that was radical and revolutionary to them as a servant leader. See,
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  S2: leadership and servant leadership is an action. It's not a position.
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  S2: Too often when we think of leadership, we think of
• 17:10
  S2: position that a leader is someone who has a position.
• 17:15
  S2: They have authority. But Robert Greenleaf, in the 1970 pamphlet
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  S2: called The Servant Leader, he writes a monograph and he
• 17:23
  S2: says this the servant leader is servant first. It begins
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  S2: with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to
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  S2: serve first, then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.
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  S2: This is sharply different from the person who is leader first,
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  S2: perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power
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  S2: drive or to acquire material possessions. See, the King of
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  S2: the hill is leader first. The servant leader is servant first.
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  S2: The needs of others first. Jesus. Model of leadership. Jesus
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  S2: model of servant leadership is a model of serving. First,
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  S2: Robert Greenleaf is known as the person who coined the
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  S2: word servant leader. We know what the word servant leader.
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  S2: We hear it often. But Jesus was the original servant leader.
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  S2: Perhaps the words aren't used, but Jesus epitomizes. He is
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  S2: the original servant leader. Gennarino says this. The best leaders
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  S2: I have known not only serve when they have the opportunity,
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  S2: but they look for opportunities to serve. Serving is one thing,
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  S2: but seeking to serve is another. To look for opportunities
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  S2: to serve is quite different from serving when opportunities present themselves.
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  S2: The former tells of one attitude, the latter of one's willingness.
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  S2: Doing what others ask or suggest is beneficial and commendable.
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  S2: Doing what others need but have not asked for is
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  S2: something else entirely. See, Jesus understood this. Jesus was seeking
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  S2: to serve. He's pointing all this time to the cross.
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  S2: He's pointing all of this time to seek to serve
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  S2: what the disciples did not even know they needed. I
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  S2: mentioned that this verse, these verses are this transition point
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  S2: going right into the triumphal entry, going right into the
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  S2: the Passover. And when Jesus gathers his disciples in the
• 19:29
  S2: upper room, just probably a week from this text, he
• 19:34
  S2: doesn't gather them in an upper room and and have
• 19:37
  S2: a plan to become king of the hill. In fact,
• 19:40
  S2: what does Jesus do when he gathers with his disciples
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  S2: in the upper room? It says that he got down
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  S2: from his position at the table of position. He was
• 19:49
  S2: seated there in position. He took away from his position
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  S2: and he stepped aside. He took off his outer garment.
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  S2: He took a towel and he wrapped it around him,
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  S2: a sign of humility. And he got down and he
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  S2: began to wash the disciples feet. Jesus said, to be
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  S2: the greatest is to become a servant or a slave.
• 20:14
  S2: Jesus doesn't just tell us, he shows us. Jesus showed
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  S2: his disciples what it means to serve. See, in New
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  S2: Testament times, the lowest servant of the house had one responsibility.
• 20:30
  S2: It was to wash people's feet. And Jesus took the
• 20:37
  S2: lowest position possible to wash the disciples feet. Even Peter said, no, Jesus,
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  S2: you can't do this. They recognized the humility that Jesus
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  S2: had to show dirty feet that had walked through roads
• 20:56
  S2: and all kinds of things. Jesus got down. He took
• 21:00
  S2: a bowl. He filled it with water. He took that
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  S2: towel that he had wrapped around himself, and he began
• 21:05
  S2: to wash the disciples feet. See? They see him as teacher,
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  S2: as Rabbi, as Messiah. What does he show them? He
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  S2: shows them that the leader is servant first. He washes
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  S2: their feet. It's a remarkable display. It's a remarkable display
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  S2: of humility. It's a remarkable display of servant leadership. It's
• 21:28
  S2: a remarkable display of seeking to serve. One last observation.
• 21:36
  S2: Jesus is not saying that you should not aspire to leadership.
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  S2: He's not saying this, but what he is saying is
• 21:46
  S2: that in God's economy, to be great is to be
• 21:50
  S2: a servant. This is a radical paradigm. To be great
• 21:56
  S2: is to be a servant. You all are arguing about
• 21:59
  S2: who's the greatest. Let me show you who's the greatest.
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  S2: I will serve you. I will wash your feet. I
• 22:05
  S2: will demonstrate what a servant leader is. He doesn't rebuke
• 22:11
  S2: the disciples for their desire for position. God is equipping
• 22:15
  S2: you right now in your thousand days in this place
• 22:18
  S2: so that you can go out to lead. But the
• 22:20
  S2: mission of this institution is that you would go out
• 22:23
  S2: and serve and lead. You are being equipped as servant
• 22:27
  S2: leaders that whatever sphere of life God calls you to,
• 22:30
  S2: whatever place he calls you to, whatever opportunity he calls
• 22:33
  S2: you to, it's for you to serve. It's for you
• 22:36
  S2: to lead. God is raising up you as leaders, as
• 22:40
  S2: world changers, prepared and equipped to go from this place
• 22:43
  S2: to make a difference in the world for Christ. Jesus
• 22:47
  S2: is not saying that don't go and aspire to leadership.
• 22:50
  S2: We need leaders. Jesus is equipping you as a leader.
• 22:52
  S2: He's preparing you as a leader to go from this place,
• 22:56
  S2: to serve and to lead What he's calling you to, though,
• 23:02
  S2: is to serve as a leader, to be a servant leader.
• 23:08
  S2: Philippians two gives us a beautiful picture of this. It says,
• 23:11
  S2: Jesus left the position of heaven. He emptied himself by
• 23:15
  S2: taking the form of a servant, being the born of
• 23:18
  S2: the likeness of men. He found himself in human form.
• 23:22
  S2: He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
• 23:26
  S2: even death on a cross. So this morning, the question
• 23:31
  S2: I have for you are you seeking to serve or
• 23:36
  S2: are you self serving? Are you more like James and
• 23:40
  S2: John and the mother of James and John? Are you
• 23:43
  S2: more concerned about the welfare for others, or are you
• 23:47
  S2: seeking to serve the interest of yourself? Do you crave
• 23:52
  S2: position and power and prestige? If so, Jesus gives us
• 23:56
  S2: the solution. He gives us the solution to serve. To
• 24:00
  S2: serve others, to seek, to serve. We have to be
• 24:03
  S2: intentionally thinking about how to seek and serve. Ultimately, we
• 24:08
  S2: are motivated by God's glory. If you're motivated by your
• 24:13
  S2: own glory, you're looking for position. If you're motivated by
• 24:16
  S2: God's glory, you're looking to serve. Do you desire to serve?
• 24:21
  S2: If not, pray that God will change your heart. Take
• 24:25
  S2: opportunities to seek to serve. And this morning, I pray
• 24:30
  S2: that as you are transformed by the renewing of your mind,
• 24:33
  S2: by the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ,
• 24:36
  S2: that you'll be equipped in this place to go out
• 24:39
  S2: and change the world for God's glory.
• 24:45
  S1: Wow. Powerful teaching from Doctor Rick Nelson here on Moody Presents.
• 24:49
  S1: You can enjoy his Bible teaching, by the way, in
• 24:52
  S1: person when you join us for Founder's Week 2026. Complete
• 24:56
  S1: information at Founder's week.org. G. Founders week.org. Doctor Rick Nelson
• 25:02
  S1: will be speaking Friday night. Doctor Tony Evans will be there.
• 25:05
  S1: Priscilla Shire Joe stole a whole lot more of the
• 25:08
  S1: names you know and love. Founders week.org. Let me encourage
• 25:13
  S1: you one more time to join our advance team. It's
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  S1: a great opportunity to help our ministry while at the
• 25:19
  S1: same time, you get to enjoy some really great benefits.
• 25:21
  S1: And one of those benefits is our current resource, Experiencing
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  S1: the Land of the Book by Doctor Charlie Dyer. Get
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  S1: your copy of Experiencing the Land of the book. When
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  S1: you become an advanced team member at Moody presents.org, Moody presents.org,
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  S1: or give us a call at (800) 400-7022. It's been a
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  S1: full program today. Hope you've enjoyed the broadcast, I sure did.
• 25:47
  S1: I'm John Gager and Moody Presents is a production of
• 25:50
  S1: Moody Radio, a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute.