And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table Yet I am among you as the One who serves.”

God is not against us desiring greatness. Because our God Himself is a great God, every true believer has the seed of greatness implanted in his spirit. We dream dreams and see visions of ourselves achieving signifi cance and purpose in life.

In Luke 22, there was again a dispute among Jesus’ disciples as to which of them should be considered the greatest in the kingdom. Jesus didn’t rebuke them for their aspirations. What He wanted to prevent was their succumbing to pride and selfish ambition. Realizing their striving, Jesus once sat a little child down in the midst of the disciples, saying that in the kingdom, the great are like children—humble, trusting, and teachable (Matt. 18:4). Now that their concern for status surfaced again, Jesus elaborated the principle that the greatest in the kingdom is the servant of all (Luke 22:25-27).

This standard still works today! The greatest in our society are people who serve the sick, the needy and the wounded. These are great because they have given themselves to serve others. Jesus Christ tops the list. He is the greatest of all because He gave Himself for the sins of the world (Phil. 2:1-11).

There is a very practical outworking of this principle of greatness in our everyday world. Those who do serve the most may often become the most famous and prosperous people. But when you do a study on many of them, glory and riches are usually not their motives. Rather, the recognition and esteem of others seem to be the inevitable fruit of their self-giving, childlike service to mankind.

One pastor once said that every Christian is shaped for service, using the word “SHAPE” as an acronym. “S” stands for spiritual gifts. “H” stands for heart’s desire. “A” stands for ability. “P” stands for personality. And “E” stands for experience. When you put them all together and get into “SHAPE,” you should have a good idea
of the ministry that God has set you in so that you may become salt and light to the world.

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. Luke 18:1

Some say that when you make your first request to God it is faith; the second time you pray, it is unbelief. In other words, don’t pray more than once for something lest you are exhibiting doubt. Nothing can be further from the truth. In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus exhorts us to pray again and again, and until we get our prayer answers, we should never lose heart.

Jesus talks about a godless, city judge who had great contempt for everyone. A widow of that city came to appeal for justice, “Your Honor, there is this man who has harmed me and cheated me!” The first time the judge heard her case, he threw it out of the courtroom. Not to be deterred, this little widow came back again and again. “Oh, Judge, Judge, please mediate between me and the man who has harmed me,” she pleaded persistently.

Having the same scenario repeated all week long, the widow was really irritating the judge. Finally, at the end of the week, that persistent widow, again came screaming, “Your Honor, please, please, avenge the wrong that is done to me!” Unable to take her whining and complaints any longer, the judge gave in, “Okay, okay, this woman is bothering me so much. I’m going to see that she gets justice, for she is wearing me out with her constant coming!” (18:5 TLB).

Jesus then asked the question: “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (18:7-8).

Faith is persistent praying—crying out day and night to God for answers. The attitude of faith understands that a vision takes time to fulfill. In Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 7:7, the literal rendering of the Greek text is, “ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking.” Only by relentless persistence will you receive the answers to your prayers. No wonder blind Bartimaeus could not be silent. He was a man of faith.

When the people around warned him to be quiet, Bartimaeus cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:48). To Jesus, Bartimaeus’ persistence in petitioning prayer demonstrated the genuineness of his faith in God for healing (10:52). Faith is never a dry technique or formula. Faith is a heartfelt attitude that persists in trusting and praying no matter how tough a situation may be.

Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Numbers 22:28

A person of integrity is on the inside what he appears on the outside. Balaam was a prophet without integrity. On the surface, Balaam sounded like a man devoted to God. When Balak, king of Moab, tried to hire Balaam to pronounce a curse against Israel, the wayward prophet avowed, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more” (Num. 22:18). But those words didn’t reveal Balaams heart.

He was a man of mixture. There must have been a period of tremendous consecration to God earlier in Balaams life because he had powerful gifts from God. God Himself had even appeared to him. Although he was very gifted, his life was characterized by greed, idolatry and sexual immorality. Although he knew what the will of God was concerning Israel, he kept tempting God to see if God would allow him to put a curse on His people. So, when Balak offered him even more money and honor, Balaam tried to persuade God to change His mind. Eventually, God said, “Alright, you go with them.” This is only because God grants a person the desires of his heart. But as Balaam went, God’s anger was aroused against him (22:22).

The Angel of the Lord was sent as an adversary against him. As Balaam rode his donkey, the donkey saw the Angel with his drawn sword in his hand. Immediately the animal turned aside to avoid him. Balaam became so upset that he started arguing with the donkey. This backslidden prophet was so bent in his own ways that even when an ass started talking to him, he failed to realize that something supernatural was occurring. Eventually, Balaam seduced God’s people into idolatry and gross immorality.

Balaam’s story teaches us that there are so many Christians who know that something in their lives does not conform to the will of God. Yet they continue to ask God until He says “Yes!” Then the Christian deceives himself into thinking, “God said I could do it, and I have the prophecies to confirm it.” But what’s in store from God is a lesson, not a blessing. If you want your own will instead of His, God may say “Yes.” He may even allow you to have “confirmations.” But He will also send leanness into your soul (Ps. 106:14-15).

There are many Balaams in the Church today who lower God’s standards, endorse immorality, encourage divorce and promote lawlessness. They may be ministers who had once received great power and gifts from God, but have now drifted far away from God. Balaam showed up at the end of the wilderness journey when Gods people were ready to go into the Promised Land. Unfortunately, he was not part of that congregation and never entered into God’s blessings.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”Numbers 20:12

Numbers 20 marked the end of 38 years of wandering since Kadesh Barnea. For the second time, there was no water for the children of Israel. This time, not only did they blame Moses, they started blaming God, “If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!” (20:3). What a perverse lot! Actually, they should have already been in the Promised Land a long time ago, if only they themselves had not chosen to stay in the wilderness.

God then instructed Moses to “speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water” (20:8). The rock represented Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). The fi rst time, God told Moses to “strike” the rock (Ex. 17:6). In striking the rock, it signified that Jesus had to be crucified. Christ was stricken, smitten and afflicted so that the waters of life could flow out to a thirsty and dying humanity. But the second time when the Israelites needed water, Moses was to speak to the rock. Now for us, living after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, all that is necessary is for us to speak and life flows. But Moses lost his temper and shouted at the people, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” (Num. 20:10). Likewise, we have no right to taunt, mock or rail at other people because the only thing that makes us different is the grace of God.

However, it can be challenging to control our temper when we are leading such perverse groups. So, we still need to monitor our emotions during times of stress and beware of the dangers of making decisions when we have low emotional reserves. Moses destroyed the prophetic type. By striking the rock twice, it would mean, in effect, that Christ would have to be crucified twice. Yet, notice the greatness of God in the next verse, “Water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank” (20:11). Even though God’s type had been destroyed and God’s servant had failed, God still caused the water to flow out. That was the grace of God despite human failure!

For Moses’ indiscretion and emotional outburst, he was disqualifi ed from entering the Promised Land. Can you see the tremendous tests and standards God has for a leader? With privilege comes great responsibility. Just think of how Moses had served so tirelessly for 40 years. And then he was denied what was most precious to him—entrance into the Promised Land. In the Lord’s eyes, the measure of success is not the outcome of the effort, but the obedience of His servant.

It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is
alive again, and was lost and is found. Luke 15:32

Jesus was often accused by the Pharisees for being too welcoming with sinners like parable of the lost sheep, (2) the parable of the lost coin, and (3) the parable of the lost son. Jesus doesn’t believe in a “token hunt” for the lost. He doesn’t believe in just walking through the harvest field proclaiming that harvest time has come. Jesus believes in the actual ingathering of the lost.

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus counts the sheep in His flock every day. In church, we count people because people count! Every number represents a life that Christ died for on the cross. Without counting, how would a shepherd know if any of his sheep is missing? A good shepherd would “go after the one which is lost until he finds it”(Luke 15:4). A conscientious woman who has lost a silver coin would “light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it” (Luke 15:8). Soul-winning is too important a task to be left to half-hearted, token efforts.

In the parable of the prodigal son, after feeding swine in the pigsty, the son finally came to his senses. He would go home to his father and confess his sins to him. He would then make amends by working as a hired servant. There was true repentance and a desire to make restitution. When the lost son was still a distance from his home, his father saw him. For many months now, dad has been standing by the gate every day, waiting for his son to come home. And when the father met him, he hugged the son, gave him the best robe, put a ring on his fi nger and new sandals on his feet, killed the best calf, and threw him the best party in town. Unfortunately, the elder son didn’t share in the celebration. He was unhappy about the fuss made over the return of his lost brother.

Have you ever wondered what might have happened if the elder brother greeted the prodigal son first at the gate? His holier-than-thou attitude would have forever driven him back to the pigsty! It would have confirmed the negative bias that sinners like him could never start life afresh. Thank God it was the merciful father and not the harsh elder brother who greeted him at the door.

The three parables of Luke 15 tell us this: (1) soul-winning is serious work, (2) soulwinning is dedicated work, and (3) soul-winning is compassionate work. Watch your attitude the next time you meet people who are really “messed up” in life. Your attitude can give them the faith they need to start life afresh, or drive them further away from God. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” Numbers 13:30

In Numbers 13, the children of Israel had come to Kadesh Barnea, the border of the with a bad report, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants; and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Num. 13:32-33).

There are always “giants” in life. The greater the level you soar, the bigger the devil. Paul says that the life of faith is a good fi ght (1 Tim. 6:12). It is “good” because when we put our trust in the Lord, we will win at the end of every bout. But still, to win in life, you must be willing to fight.

There is no greater fear than fear itself. There is a difference between the fear of the Lord and phobia. Godly fear is reverence toward God, the desire to please Him and cautiousness not to displease Him in any way. This is a good fear that leads to wisdom and faith.

On the other hand, a phobia is a crippling and horrifying dread. Phobias lead to worry, anxiety and paranoia. Fear of men, circumstances and evil spirits paralyze you from possessing your dream. God says, “Fear not, for I am with you” (Is. 43:5).

Without faith, the children of Israel spiraled downward into widespread panic and hysteria when they heard about the giants in the Promised Land. The fi rst thought that came to their mind was, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt” (Num. 14:4). Whenever there was trouble, they wanted to go back. They may have gotten out of Egypt, but Egypt had not gotten out of them.

The word “Egypt” in Hebrew means to be hemmed in, or to be limited. The Israelites came out of the harsh bondage of Egypt where their lives, dreams, future and opportunities were severely limited. God broke those shackles of limitations and gave them freedom. But mentally, their thought pattern was still one of doubt and fear. The result? They “limited the Holy One of Israel” (Ps. 78:41). Apart from Joshua and Caleb, that entire generation of doubters didn’t enter the Promised Land.

Faith puts no limit on God, and God puts no limit on faith. Remember, God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20). The moment you succeed in breaking a limitation in your mind, there is no question whatsoever that God can follow through and make that thought a reality in your life.

And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped. Numbers 16:48

In Numbers 16, 250 Israelite leaders joined Korah, Dathan and Abiram in a rebellion against Moses. They were jealous of Moses’ authority and leadership. They wanted equal rights for all the leaders. Personally, Korah wanted a position and ministry that God had not given him.

There is always a tendency to downgrade the pastor in a church. But while the pastor is an elder, not all elders are pastors. You can’t put Moses on the same level as Korah, and you can’t put Korah on the same level as Moses.

This rebellion was a serious attack, not only against Moses, but against God Himself. The earth then opened up and fire came from heaven to consume the 250 leaders. The next day, the sympathizers of the rebels started murmuring against Moses. They felt that Moses and God were too harsh to Korah and the 250 men. By criticizing them, they were in effect saying that they had more compassion than God.

The Lord immediately spoke to Moses, “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” A plague swept through the people and 14,700 men began falling down dead. Aaron quickly took a censer, and with some fire from the altar, ran into the midst of the people and started making atonement for their wrongdoing. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped (Num. 16:48-49).

Who was Aaron? He was just one man in the midst of a terrible plague that was killing the multitude. He was an elderly man who was too old to exert himself. He was a man who bore the scars of failure in both ministry and life. Yet, he ran to the altar, caught some fi re and stood between the living and the dead. And where he stood, the plague stopped.

This simple story was the rhema that launched our “Church Without Walls” ministry to the poor and needy in 1995. The essence of Christianity is simply loving God and loving people (Matt. 22:36-40). If you are willing to go to God’s altar, catch the fire of compassion, and stand between the living and the dead in your community, you can stop the ravages of sin and death.

Can one man make a difference? Aaron was a man of limited abilities. He was a man marked with many public failures. But when he caught the fire of compassion, he stood between the living and the dead and made the difference. With God’s compassion in your heart, you too can make a difference in your world.