Man, the part of the chapter that I want to focus on is beginning there in verse number
32 where the Bible reads,
The place of the scripture which he read was this, he was led as a sheep to the slaughter,
and like a lamb before his shearer, as a lamb dumb before his searer, so openeth he not
his mouth.
In his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and who shall declare his generation,
for his life is taken from the earth?
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet
this, of himself, or of some other man?
Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him
Jesus.
And the word that I want to focus on is in verse 33 there where it says, in his humiliation
his judgment was taken away, and I'm going to preach this morning about the humiliation
of Christ, and specifically I just want to focus in on one aspect of Christ's humiliation,
and that would be his poverty, the fact that he was poor.
Jesus Christ was a poor man.
Go to 2 Corinthians chapter number 8, 2 Corinthians chapter number 8, as we talk about the meekness
and humility of Jesus Christ, his poverty is something that comes up over and over again.
While you're turning to 2 Corinthians chapter 8, the Bible reads in Isaiah 53, 3, he's despised
and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were
our faces from him.
He was despised and we esteemed him not, surely he had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
So Jesus Christ was a man of sorrows.
He was well acquainted with grief.
He was despised.
He was rejected.
He was humiliated, and he was definitely poor.
Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 9.
The Bible reads, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
So the Bible said he was rich.
We're talking about when he was in heaven, before he came to this earth.
He is in heaven where the streets are paved with gold.
He is rich.
He became poor for our sakes, that through his poverty we might become rich, because
one day those of us who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ have that inheritance incorruptible
in heaven, and we will be joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
Turn to Luke chapter number 6.
While you're turning there, I'll read for you Proverbs 13, 7 where the Bible reads,
there is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing.
There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
And Jesus Christ was the ultimate example of one who made himself poor, although he
had great riches, the opposite of that being a person who spends their life seeking wealth
and money and riches in this world, and at the end of the day they have nothing.
Why?
Because naked we came out of our mother's womb, and naked shall we return thither.
The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.
We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out.
You're turning to Luke 6, I'll read for you Matthew 6.
In regard to Jesus' poverty, the first point I want to make is about his preaching, his
preaching about being poor.
Matthew 6, 19 says, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
nor steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
And Jesus Christ practiced what he preached.
He preached that we should not lay up treasures for ourselves on this earth, and he did not
lay up for himself treasures on this earth, he was poor.
He said, no man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or else he will hold to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
Look at Luke 6 where you are there in verse 20, Luke 6, 20, and he lifted up his eyes
on his disciples and said, blessed be ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
That shows us that not only was Christ poor, but most of his disciples are poor.
That's why he was able to look at his disciples and say, blessed are ye poor, because that
was a lot of the people that were listening to him.
Blessed are ye that hunger now, for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh.
Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company,
and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil for the son of man's sake.
Rejoice ye in that day and leap for joy, for behold your reward is great in heaven.
For in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
Does that right there look like we as Christians should avoid humiliation or feel that the
worst thing that could happen to us is to be humiliated?
No, the Bible says that when people hate you, reproach you, separate from you, cast out
your name as evil, say all manner of evil against you falsely for Christ's sake, he
said, rejoice, leap for joy.
Jesus Christ was humiliated before you, and he gave us an example that we should follow
in his steps.
It's not about our pride.
It's not about lifting ourselves up.
It's about being humble.
And Jesus Christ here said, blessed be ye poor.
He said, do not lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
Lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.
And since we know that Jesus Christ was not a hypocrite, we know that this is the life
that he lived as well.
He was poor.
Woe unto you, verse 24, that are rich, for ye have received your consolation.
Woe unto you that are full, for ye shall hunger.
Woe unto you that laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep.
Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false
prophets.
But what is the other evidence that Jesus Christ was poor?
Well, you're in Luke 6.
Just go back a couple pages to Luke 2.
Let's start at Jesus' birth and show that Jesus was poor.
Luke chapter number 2, verse 7 says this, And she brought forth her firstborn son, and
wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room
for them in the inn.
And when there's no room for you in the inn, and when you're spending the night in a barn,
and laying your newborn baby in a manger, you're poor.
If someone who was wealthy would have come to that town, they'd find a place for them.
They'll find a place in someone's home.
They'll find a place at the bed and breakfast, or at the hotel, or somewhere.
The fact that there's no room for them, and that they're lodging in a barn, and that Jesus
Christ's first bed, it wasn't some designer cradle from some fancy store in the mall,
some $2,500 cradle that he was put in, with, you know, some sheet that was designed by
John Lennon or something, or the fancy, expensive, artistic sheets.
He was laid in a manger.
That's something that you feed animals with.
That's a little trough that you would put an animal's food in, so that it could eat
out of it.
So it provided the straw bedding to lay a child comfortably in.
So Jesus Christ did not grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth.
He was laid in a manger.
He was poor, even from the very beginning.
Please take the crying children out into the mother baby room, or at least beyond that,
if we can't get them quiet, please.
We like having the babies in the service, amen?
Right?
We need to keep them under control.
It's funny.
My son, I was reading the book of Jonah to my two youngest sons, Stephen and Boaz, and
my two-year-old, you know, was kind of just giving me some pearls of wisdom as I read
him the Bible.
And he said, you know, God is in the Bible.
And I said, yeah, that's right.
You know?
And he said, God is Jesus.
And I'm like, yeah, that's true, too.
What was the other thing he said?
Help me out.
Where's my wife?
She was really profound this morning.
What was the third thing that he said?
Oh, yeah, he said, God has the key to hell.
That's what my two-year-old said.
He said, God is in the Bible.
God is Jesus.
And God has the key to hell.
That's a three-point sermon outline.
He's only two years old.
But, you know, the reason I bring that up, it has nothing to do with my sermon, but it
just shows that kids pick up more than you think.
That's a two-year-old.
So don't tell me to ship the kids off to some junior church and give them Kool-Aid and animal
crackers.
I want them in here, here in the real preaching.
So let's get back to the sermon here.
That was a brief word from our sponsor.
So we're in Luke 2.7.
Jesus Christ's life began in poverty, laid in a manger.
But not only that, go down in the chapter to verse number 22.
And it says again about his mother Mary.
It says, and when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished,
they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth the womb shall be called
holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law
of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
Keep your finger in Luke chapter 2.
Go back to Leviticus chapter 12, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, right toward the beginning
of your Bible.
Leviticus chapter number 12.
Keep your finger in Luke 2.
Leviticus chapter 12 verse 6 has the law regarding a woman who gives birth to a baby.
And it says in verse 6, when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son or for
a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering.
So the offering that's prescribed is a lamb of the first year.
But it says, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering under the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation under the priest.
So what's she supposed to bring?
A lamb and also a bird.
And those are the two offerings to make unto the Lord.
It says in verse 7, who shall offer it before the Lord and make an atonement for her, and
she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood.
This is the law for her that is born a male or a female.
And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, meaning turtledoves,
not the amphibians or reptiles or whatever they are, or two young pigeons, the one for
the burnt offering and the other for a sin offering, and the priest shall make an atonement
for her and she shall be clean.
You say, well, why do you show us this, Pastor Anderson?
To show you that Mary is poor, because she was not able to bring the preferred offering
of the lamb and the bird, so she did the poor man's offering, two birds, right?
Again, showing that they were poor.
Go if you would to Luke chapter 8.
So not only did Jesus preach about being poor, not only did 2 Corinthians chapter 8 tell
us that he made himself poor and that he lived in poverty, not only was he born and laid
in a manger, not only did his parents bring the poor man's offering when he was born unto
the temple, but also Jesus slept outside, according to the Bible.
It says in Matthew 8.20, you're going to Luke 8, Matthew 8.20, and Jesus saith unto
him, the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath
not where to lay his head.
He was basically saying, I have no lodging, I have no place to stay, I have no place to
lay my head.
There were times when Jesus Christ slept outside.
There are times that the Bible records him going up into a mountain and the next morning
he comes down.
So he actually slept outside.
He was that poor.
He did not have a secure lodging.
He would often stay at the homes of other people.
As he would go around preaching, people would receive him into their home, but there were
times when he actually lodged outside.
Look at Luke chapter 8, verse 1.
And it came to pass afterward that he went throughout every city and village preaching
and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God and the 12 were with him, and certain
women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out
of whom went seven devils, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna,
and many others.
Look at this last phrase, which ministered unto him of their substance.
So Jesus was so poor that he was supported by women.
Women paid for him.
I mean, basically, these ladies that were some of his devout disciples and those who
followed his preaching, they actually ministered unto Jesus of their substance.
I mean, he was basically being supported partially by Joanna and Susanna and Mary.
Here's the thing.
As a man, we have such pride in the fact that we do everything for ourselves, right?
And we pick ourselves up by our own bootstraps, and we make our own money.
And obviously, the Bible does command us as men, of course, to go to work, and God does
command us to provide for our family and to provide for our household.
That's very important.
Jesus Christ wasn't sitting around being idle or lazy.
He wasn't being ineffective at his job.
It's just that Jesus Christ was preaching full time.
Jesus Christ was just nonstop going around preaching, soul winning, teaching the Word
of God.
He worked so hard.
There are times when people are begging him to take a break and begging him to rest and
telling him he's crazy, he's beside himself, and that he needs to have a little bit of
refreshment and take it easy, have something to eat, go to sleep, relax.
Jesus wasn't a freeloader.
He wasn't lazy.
But he was humble enough to actually receive sustenance and receive substance from these
ladies that actually supported him.
He was humble.
He was so poor that he's actually supported by women.
Look at Mark Chapter 6.
Not only did Jesus often sleep outside, not only was he supported by women even, but he
also carried no cash.
He had no cash on him.
Look at Mark Chapter 6, Verse 7.
The Bible reads, And he called unto him the twelve and began to send them forth by two
and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits, and commanded them that they should
take nothing for their journey, save a staff only, no scrip, no bread, no bread, and no
money in their purse, but be shod with sandals, and not put on two coats.
Now, if you would flip over to Matthew Chapter 10, parallel passage, Matthew Chapter 10,
a few pages to the left in your Bible.
When Jesus sends out the apostles two by two, he tells them, Don't bring any money.
Don't bring any food.
Don't bring your wallet.
Don't even bring staves.
Don't put on two coats.
Don't even put shoes on, he said.
Be shod with sandals.
Look at Matthew Chapter 10, Verse 9.
This is the same injunction in Matthew Chapter 10, Verse 9 to his disciples when he's
sending them out to preach.
Verse 9, Provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your
journey.
So he's saying, Don't use coins.
Don't use paper money.
Don't bring any of it, he said.
Don't use nor yet staves, for the workman is worthy of his meat, and into whatsoever
city or town ye shall enter, inquire ye who in it is worthy, and thereby till ye go thence.
So he's telling them to rely on hospitality from others.
Don't bring any money or food because you're just going to rely on hospitality from others.
You're just going to show up, you're going to preach, and somebody is going to take you
into their home to feed you and lodge you for the night.
And they're going to go out in faith believing that God would go before them and provide
these people that would take care of them and lodge them and give them what they needed.
And it also takes humility to accept hospitality instead of just, Oh, well, you know, I've
already got my room booked out at the Holiday Inn.
No thanks.
I've already got reservations at, you know, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, you know.
Thank you for inviting me over for dinner.
No, he was telling them to rely on the hospitality of others.
He wasn't even carrying any cash.
You say, well, that's what he told them to do.
How do you know he did it?
Well, because Jesus obviously practiced what he preached, number one.
But number two, look at chapter 11 verse one.
At the end of these instructions, the Bible teaches that he went out and did the same
thing.
And it came to pass, Matthew 11 one, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his 12
disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.
He did the same work that he told them to do.
Go to Matthew chapter 17.
I'm going to show you a further example of Jesus Christ not having cash on hand.
When the time came to pay tribute, to pay taxes, the IRS man came to the door.
He didn't have the cash to take care of the bill.
He had to perform a miracle to pay his bill.
Look at Matthew chapter 17 verse 24.
Some of you are like, this is what I need.
April 15th is coming, you know.
Some people are kind of zoned out in the sermon.
They just kind of tuned in like, oh, man, how do we get it paid?
But Matthew 17, 24, when they were come to Capernaum, Matthew 17, 24, when they were
come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter and said, doth not your
master pay tribute?
Doesn't he pay taxes?
He saith, yes.
And when he was coming to the house, Jesus prevented him saying, what thinkest thou,
Simon, of whom do the kings of the earth take customer tribute, of their own children or
of strangers?
Peter saith unto him, of strangers.
Jesus saith unto him, then are the children free.
Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea and cast an hook and take
up the fish that first cometh up, and when thou has opened his mouth, thou shalt find
a piece of money that take and give unto them for me and thee.
So he performs this miracle where he tells Peter, go fishing.
The first fish you catch, when you open its mouth, you're going to find a coin in its
mouth that that fish had eaten.
That's the money that you're going to need both to pay my taxes and your taxes.
Okay?
So that's, you know, would to God one coin would cover it all for us, right?
Those were the days.
But there's a symbolic meaning here, too.
First of all, we see another example that Jesus was poor and had no cash.
He had to send him to go gut a fish to get the coin.
But another thing that we can get from this is symbolically that if Christ calls us to
be a fisher of men, that those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
So he received the money that he needed to provide his needs through fishing, which is
symbolic of being a fisher of men or preaching the gospel.
Look at Luke chapter 22.
Luke chapter 22.
Now, I don't want you to get the wrong idea that Christ has instructed us to carry no
cash because that is not true.
I have cash in my wallet right now.
God is not trying to teach us here that we should not carry any cash.
And I'll prove that to you.
Look at Luke chapter 22 verse 35.
And he said unto them, when I sent you without purse and scrip and shoes, you remember that?
We just read it.
When I sent you without purse and scrip and shoes, lacked you anything?
And they said, nothing.
They said, we had everything we needed.
Then said he unto them, but now he that hath the purse, let him take it.
And likewise his scrip, and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
For I say unto you that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me that he was
reckoned among the transgressors, for the things concerning me have an end.
And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords.
And he said unto them, it is enough.
So Christ is not teaching us that we should not carry cash.
Don't wear shoes.
Don't carry a weapon.
Don't carry any money.
Because he said that was a specific mission that he sent them on.
You know, at that time, he specifically sent them on a mission without those things.
And God prepared people to take care of them.
And when they went out, they lacked nothing.
They had everything that they needed.
And he had not given us that commission to go out in that way and carry no cash.
He said, look, if you have cash, bring it.
Put on your shoes.
And if you don't have a sword, buy one.
Right?
Because remember before he told them don't bring staves.
That could be a weapon.
Right?
I think that's what he's referring to there with the staves.
But what it does illustrate, it's not a command unto us not to carry cash, but it shows that
Jesus carried no cash multiple times in the Bible.
His disciples carried no cash.
They did not have treasures on this earth.
And there were times when they were specifically instructed to have nothing but the shirt on
their back and to just be provided for by working for the Lord, by faith, by hospitality.
There's no evidence of Jesus Christ ever being a rich man.
He was clearly poor.
Everything about his life shows us that.
The next thing I want to show you, look at Luke chapter 13.
The next thing I want to show you is that Jesus Christ traveled on foot by walking.
He did not travel on horseback as someone who had money would have.
Today we would drive in cars.
Back then people who had money would have a horse and ride horses around.
But you'll never one time find Jesus Christ and his disciples getting on horses and riding
to the next town to preach.
Jesus always traveled by walking.
He traveled on foot.
The Bible says in Luke 13, 33,
Nevertheless, I must walk today and tomorrow and the day following,
for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
What's he doing?
He's doing a three-day walk.
He's saying, you know what I'm going to be doing today?
Walking all day.
You know what I'm going to do tomorrow?
Walk.
You know what I'm going to do the day after that?
I'm walking because I have to get to Jerusalem.
I have a schedule to keep.
That's a long walk.
Walk all day for three days in a row and let's see how you feel at the end of it.
You said right because you went on one of my long, crazy walks.
How far did we walk?
30 miles or 20?
Yeah, we walked 31 miles.
And Brother Foster walked 40 miles.
We walked 31.
We were just testing ourselves and we were walking.
You know, walking 30 miles, it's torture at the end and you can barely even walk when you're done.
Unless you're very well trained for that.
Jesus could do that kind of walking three days in a row.
Why?
Because he walked everywhere he went because he didn't have a horse.
In fact, the only time we see Jesus Christ mount up onto a beast is when it's borrowed from someone else.
Look at Luke chapter 19.
Luke chapter 19, while you're turning to Luke chapter 19, John 7, 1 says,
After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for he would not walk in Jewry because the Jews sought to kill him.
It doesn't say he didn't ride there.
He walked.
He was always walking.
And in Ecclesiastes 10 verse 6, the Bible reads,
Folly is set in great dignity and the rich sit in low place,
for I have seen servants upon horses and princes walking as servants upon the earth.
What he's saying there is that walking on the earth is humble.
Riding on a horse is an elevated status of a rich person or nobility.
And he's saying, I've seen princes walking as servants upon the earth.
That's a great verse about Jesus.
Because he walked as a servant upon the earth, although he was what?
The Prince of Peace.
When he was born, his name was called the Prince of Peace, but he walked as a servant upon the earth.
Luke chapter 19 verse 29,
It came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany at the mount called the Mount of Olives,
he sent two of his disciples, saying,
Go ye into the village over against you, in the which at your entering.
Ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat.
Loose him and bring him hither.
And if any man ask you, Why do you loose him?
Thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord wants to use this colt instead of all the stallions that he has.
Is that what it says?
It says that you shall say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.
Meaning that Jesus Christ, in order to fulfill this prophecy of riding into Jerusalem,
he had to borrow it.
In order to fulfill prophecy, he had to borrow an animal, because he didn't even own anything.
He had nothing.
The Lord had need of him.
Not just he wanted it, or at his caprice he wanted this particular beast.
No, he needed it. It's all that he could use.
And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them,
And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them,
You know, this is what usually happens when you just start taking someone's stuff,
and the owner's right there.
As they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them,
Why loose ye the colt?
Whoa, why are you taking my bike out of the bike lock?
Why are you unloosing my animal there?
What are you doing?
And they said, The Lord hath need of him.
And Jesus told them that when you say that, they will let you take it.
They will give it unto you.
In a parallel passage.
And they said, The Lord hath need of him.
And they brought him to Jesus, and they set their garments upon the colt,
and they set Jesus thereon.
Not only that, Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb.
Look at Matthew chapter 27, Matthew 27.
He had to borrow the colt to ride in on, on the triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
because he did not own his own beast.
He only traveled on foot by walking throughout scripture.
And he went into all the towns and villages.
I mean, that's a lot of walking.
From Dan even unto Beersheba is a term that's used throughout the Bible
about the expanse of Israel, the length of it,
from the northern part of Dan to the southern part of Beersheba.
I just went on a map and just measured, you know,
how far is it from Dan to Beersheba?
It's about 144 miles.
So it's not super far, but when you're walking, it's pretty far.
You know, walking up and down the length and breadth,
hitting all the towns and villages, he did a lot of walking.
He was a poor man.
Look at Matthew 27, verse 57.
When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea,
named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple.
He went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus.
Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
And when Joseph had taken the body,
he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb.
So Joseph of Arimathea lays Jesus in his own new tomb,
Joseph's new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock
and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher and departed.
This is also a fulfillment of Isaiah 53, verse 9.
Of course, Isaiah 53 is a prophetic passage about Christ
that specifically discusses his humiliation,
his sorrow, his grief being despised.
It says in Isaiah 53, 9 of Jesus,
And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death.
Did you hear that?
He made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death
because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
So the Bible prophesied that Jesus Christ would be buried among the rich.
Even though he was a poor man,
he borrowed the tomb of a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea,
because he had no tomb of his own.
He had no family plot that they would have normally buried him in
because he was a poor man.
Philippians chapter 2, Philippians chapter 2, Philippians chapter number 2.
We started out with the scripture in Acts chapter 8
where the Bible said,
In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away
and who shall declare his generation for his life is taken from the earth?
Jesus Christ was humiliated in many ways.
He was spat upon, he was hated, he was lied about,
he was tortured, crucified.
There were many humiliations in the life of Christ,
many times where he was rejected, lied about, despised, attacked, persecuted.
But one of his major humiliations was living a life of poverty from start to finish.
And what does the Bible say in Philippians chapter 2 verse 5?
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus
who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
but made himself of no reputation
and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men.
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth
and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.
The Bible says let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
He made himself of no reputation.
He took upon himself the form of a sermon.
Though he was rich, he made himself poor for our sakes.
He walked as a servant upon the earth although he was the Prince of Peace,
although he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
We should follow that same example that Christ has left us
and be humble people.
Humble.
Not proud, not arrogant, not seeking riches, not seeking wealth,
but distributing freely of our goods
and being one who lives life to serve the Lord,
not to serve our own bellies
and not to store up treasures upon this earth, gold, silver and precious stones.
And there are going to be times in life when you serve the Lord
that you're going to go through various humiliations
and you're going to go through various trials and tribulations.
And some people when they go through these type of things
they will fall away from the faith, fall away from serving Christ, fall away from church
because they didn't sign up for that.
But the Bible says that it's given unto us on the behalf of Christ
not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake.
We need to be ready to make sacrifices for the Lord.
We need to be ready to be humble and meek servants of the Lord on the earth.
And if you have your sights set on riches and fame and popularity and wealth and comfort
then you cannot be Christ's disciple.
Now you can be saved.
All you have to do to be saved is just believe on Christ.
I mean there were lots of people in the Bible who believed on Christ
but they weren't willing to give up anything.
They didn't really want to follow him with their lives.
They're still going to heaven of course
because whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.
What must I do to be saved?
They said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
But when it comes to being a disciple of Christ
which is much different than just believing on Christ.
Huge difference.
When it comes to being a disciple of Christ
you have to deny self and take up the cross daily and follow him.
And you cannot be Christ's disciple if you love mammon, if you love money
and if you want to be proud and lifted up and exalted you cannot be Christ's disciple.
How can you follow someone who is this poor and be rich yourself?
You know, the disciple is not above his master nor is the servant above his Lord.
It's enough for the disciple to be as his master and the servant as his Lord.
If Jesus can walk, you can walk.
I can walk.
If Jesus could live by faith, if Jesus could live a modest, humble life, so can we.
And Jesus isn't saying not to provide our needs.
He said, hey, there's a time, yeah, you do take your wallet, you do take the sword, you do take the coat, you do put the nicer shoes on.
But I'm telling you, there are people today who don't want to follow in Christ's steps
but then they claim that they want to follow Christ.
But yet they want to have it all.
Did Jesus have it all?
No way.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
Be a servant, be humble, be meek, be like Jesus Christ.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you so much for the example that you gave us in the life of Christ
and thank you so much for showing us this great example of Christ's poverty
from his birth, his parents, his upbringing, his lifestyle, his possessions or lack thereof, Lord.
Thank you for giving us that example so that we could help, we could be able to understand what is important in life
and not to live our lives on things that are not important but rather follow in your steps
and serve you and serve others and not serve our own belly, Lord.
Help us to make ourselves poor that we might make others rich in the kingdom of God.
In Jesus' name we pray.