"To Sit High, You Must Pay High"

Scripture: "The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." -Matthew 23:11-12, NIV

During the earlier part of this decade, I hung around a pastor who loved to leave great sacrificial offerings and gifts to churches where he preached. Whenever the Lord laid it on his Spirit, he would say, "I would like to leave this ministry a great seed that can be sown into fertile ground". As he said that, the trustees, the ministers, and the leaders/members of the church, knew how much they had to give apiece. He would ask for those who could to sow an additional $20 outside of the offering you gave earlier. While the leaders and the ministers were getting their money, the pastor would tell the congregation he's visiting that "I tell my leaders that in order to sit high, you must pay high". With this thought, it brings into effect today's topic. In the Kingdom of God, if you want to be considered "great" or to "sit high", there's a price you must pay. Today's text will convey the "price" one musts pay.

Today's main scripture is located in the first Gospel account listed in the New Testament, Matthew. Within this book, we learn about the genealogy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through His life, death, burial, and resurrection, the lessons He taught through His parables (earthly story with a heavenly meaning) and acts, how to pray, and other important things for us as Christians today. Within this particular chapter, Jesus discussed the seven woes with His disciples and the crowds who surround Him. Anytime you heard woe in the Bible days, it meant bad news was on the horizon and what you did then was wrong. However, in the midst of these woes, Jesus provides us some meat, some substance that will help us along our journey.

Jesus begins today's thought with this: "The greatest among you will be your servant". What a simple, but yet profound piece of scripture. Many of us see our pastors and renowned preachers who preach God's Word until Heaven itself wants to come down. We often revere these men and women of God because of how beautiful a church looks and how many people attends that church. In order for all of that to occur, the man of God had to work! He had to prove himself to his deacons, his congregation, and anyone else that God was using him to do a greater work. Not only does he preach, he teaches, he visits the sick, he is there when your family member passes, he is there for your successes, and he is there when you fail. With all of this being said, the pastor can be the pastor because he pays a price! The price he pays is working for his congregation in every way they need! The price he pays is sacrificing family time with wife and kids to be with people like us at church! He sacrifices his desires in order to feed our wants! If you want to sit high, then you must be a servant! You cannot be afraid to get down in the muck and the miry and not get your hands dirty! Your greatest blessings come when you serve others!

Jesus completes the text by letting the disciples and the crowds around them know "for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted". As a leader in the Kingdom of God or whatever venue for that matter, it's imperative that you do not think of yourself higher than what you are. God blesses us to get to a point to be a blessing, not to just to sit on our perch and do nothing! That's why Jesus warned them by saying if you exalt yourself, you will be humbled. I have known many a person who was "high on the hog" and high on themselves, but God brought them back to life, and because of that, they are better than they were previously!

On the other hand, if you are humble, then God will exalt you or raise you up. You are looking at a prime example of a man who has put these principles to work. Growing up in the church, I strived to respect my elders, follow God's Word, and support the man of God in whatever form or fashion I could. There were times where I sacrificed me time to serve God, but then again, God's time is all the time! To make a long story short, due to my humility and service to my fellow man, God has raised me up to become a doctor of Mechanical Engineering, a minister of the Gospel, a loving husband, an encourager, and other things. I would never have these things if I did not apply the principle of humility. I would never have these things if I did not take the time to serve others. For those of you who have not reached where you want to be, keep living and keep serving because God has a special blessing with your name on it! Continue to remain loyal to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! Continue to serve your fellow man and fellow woman! As you continue to do these things, you will understand the price it took for you to receive your blessings. Even when you receive your blessings, don't sit on your laurels, keep moving and keep serving!

In closing, being considered as a great man/woman of God has a price attached to it. The price attached to it is serving God and His people and to remain humble in the process. The disciples wanted the fame and glory and recognition from Jesus to know they were the greatest. However, they were not as gun ho to get into the work to reach that status. Are you like the disciples who desire the fame and glory and do not want to work or are you like your Savior, who was the greatest among His people, and yet served His people and remained humble in the process?