Jesus, Humble Servant — Steve Gallagher

Testimony of Transformation and the Savior Who Loves Sinners

Well, it's a wonderful blessing to be with you all, and I want to just jump right in, and we're going to take a look out of Philippians 2. So while you open up your Bibles there, I thought I should share my testimony since I forgot to do it Friday night.

It's just a good introduction, I suppose, to myself as the speaker. Twenty-three years ago, I was a cop in Los Angeles, and while my life and job and career represented law and order and decency, the reality of my life was something very different.

My heart was full of bitterness and hatred and pride and perversion, and all of that came out in my behavior, violent on the job and off the job, obsessed with sex and women and so on. That's who I am.

So, you know, you heard a nice, gracious introduction. But if you want to know who Steve Gallagher is, that's who I am. I'm just a wretch. But praise God, we have a Savior who loves sinners. Amen? He loves sinners and He loves to transform lives.

He's a friend. He's a friend of sinners. And the Lord reached down when I was in my darkest times in Los Angeles and got a hold of my life and turned it around, and I went to Bible school. And while I was in Bible school, He laid it on my heart to start a ministry to help other men in sexual sin.

That was in 1986. And I began Pure Life Ministries in Sacramento, where I'm actually from. And in 1989, we just began it as my wife and I began it as just a support group, but the word got out so quickly because of some programs I was on and so on.

And so then in 1989, the Lord had us relocate to Kentucky. Now, how many of you know you have to be called to Kentucky? You don't just move to Kentucky. But I came to understand the wisdom of it later, Pastor, you know, when we began our residential program there and men were coming from all over the country to find help for their sexual addictions.

And, you know, today it's grown to now there's 55 men in our program and 30 of us on staff full time that we all just have kind of this community right in the middle of hay country. But I came to understand the wisdom of all this later because, see, in Kentucky the girls only have three teeth, you know, so it's great for the guys.

You know, they just don't struggle with the same temptations, you know. Anyway, so that's why we're in Kentucky, and we're glad to be there. But I want to just take a look at Jesus here this morning. I hope we can just kind of get our minds and our hearts focused on Him and just don't even pay attention to the messenger this morning.

Let's just focus on Jesus. Can we do that for a few minutes? Is that okay with you? One person is on board with me. I thought that I had really, you know, got the men kind of trained. They've been poorly trained, obviously.

So I thought that I kind of worked with them all weekend. Well, what am I going to say? This is not that far from Kentucky. I just have to remind myself that. All right. I want to talk about the mind of Christ, the way that Jesus thought, the way that His mind worked, the way that He saw things, the way that He saw people, the way that He saw the Lord, His Father.

Humility as the First Mark of the Mind of Christ

And so there's three aspects to the mind of Christ brought out in this little passage of Scripture here in Philippians 2. And the first is that Jesus is humble. Jesus is humble. And the best definition of humility I've ever seen is right here in the third and the fourth verses.

And this perfectly describes the way our Savior lived His life. Paul says, Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. But with humility of mind, regard or esteem one another as more important than yourselves.

Do not merely look out for your own personal interests. All right, it's a given. We're going to take care of number one. Paul grants that to us, that no one's going to love you like you love yourself.

No one is going to meet your needs and look after your interests like you will. That's a given. But don't merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. My definition of humility would be living in a constant awareness of the importance of other people.

Just living out your life with a great concern about the well-being of others. And that's the way that Jesus lived His life. And I appreciate something Matthew did. I'm just going to blow through this real quick because we don't have much time.

Jesus’ Authority in the Sermon on the Mount

But Matthew chapters 5 -9 probably happened in a 36 hour period. So Jesus gives this wonderful sermon on the mount. And when He's done speaking, the people were so astonished at the authority that He spoke with, that they were in open mouth amazement when He was done.

I'm sure that all the people just crowded around Him and mobbed Him because they could detect something powerful in His voice. It was God in His voice. And when He spoke, there was so much power in His words that it had the power and the ability to go inside people and affect them.

And so people somehow instinctively knew that here is a man that's unlike any other man. And here is someone who can meet my needs. And so they would just kind of press in on Him. And so He heals a leper.

And He heals a centurion servant. And I don't know what all else He did. He finally breaks away from the crowd and gets over to Peter's house that evening. And his mother-in-law is sick, so He heals her.

And it says that evening that the multitudes came out and just pressed in on the house. And He just plunged into their need and healed people and set people free of devils and met emotional needs and so on.

I don't know what all He did. But He was exhausted. And He finally said to the disciples, let's get in the boat and go to the other side. He wanted to get away because He knew He needed to get away with His Father and get that replenishment spiritually.

And so they get out on the boat. And Jesus is exhausted. He's fast asleep in the boat. And the storm comes and is just rocking the boat. He sleeps right through the whole thing. And finally, the disciples are all freaked out.

So one of them comes and runs over and grabs Him and shakes Him and says, Master, wake up! Don't you care? We're perishing. And Jesus gets up and says, Peace be still. And He went back to bed. And then they get over to the other side.

Jesus’ Authority Over Demons and Human Need

And He's probably groggy and half asleep. And He has to get out of the boat and probably had to step through the water and stuff. And immediately, this wild man comes racing at Him. And this guy's got issues.

His hair is all long and matted. He hasn't taken a shower in weeks. And he stinks to high heavens. And he's got chains hanging off him. He's all cut up from banging himself into rocks. And he probably doesn't have any clothes on.

And he just comes racing at Jesus. And I appreciate Jesus because He's always a master in control of every situation. And Jesus casts the demons out. And you know the story. They go into the herd of swine.

And the swine go into the lake. And the people come out. And they're not very happy about that. So they come out and they say, We don't want you around here. Go on. Get out of here. And Jesus responds like He always does when people ignore Him or reject Him.

He says, Oh, you don't want me here? Okay. And so He goes back. And He gets into the boat. And goes back to the other side. And there's the crowds over there waiting for Him. Because everybody wants something out of Jesus.

And so they press in on Him. And He gets over to the other side. And He heals the paralytic. And the Pharisees get ticked off. Because self-righteous people can't stand it when Jesus does something nice.

And so then Jairus comes out. And his daughter's dying. And then the woman with the issue of blood. Then the two blind men. He heals them. Just your typical day in the life of Jesus. This is the way He lived His life.

Typical day in the life of Jesus. That's the way Jesus lived His life. Just constantly giving to others. And meeting needs. And doing good. He went around doing good all the time. And isn't that the way He's been with you?

Humility Means Living for the Needs of Others

But, you know, we have this mentality. This attitude about humility. We kind of frame it in the world's way of thinking. And so, you know, maybe we know someone who's just kind of quiet by nature. Oh, that man, you know, maybe he's at your job.

That man, he's a humble man. But, you know, that's the world's mentality of humility. The kingdom of God's idea of humility is something completely different. Let me just give you an example. There's a man named Jeff Colon who runs our residential program at Pure Life Ministries.

And he's over all the counseling there and so on. And Jeff is a Puerto Rican Cuban American from New York City. And Jeff can be a little intense at times. And, you know, if you were to be around Jeff, he's kind of a big guy.

And he's sometimes a little bit loud. And if you were to be around him, you might even think that he is an arrogant man. And, you know, by contrast, his father-in-law, whose name is Jose. And I like Jose.

Jose's a very nice man. But he doesn't know the Lord. And he won't respond to the gospel. Because inside, he's an intellectual. And he just can't imagine why anyone would need this crutch of religion, you know.

So he won't respond to the gospel. But if you saw Jose, he's such a quiet, reserved sort of person and very modest. And if you saw him, you would think he's humble. And if you saw Jeff, you would think he was arrogant or prideful.

But the truth of it, dear ones, is Jose will not bow his knees to the Lord. And Jeff, I have watched this man give the best 13 years of his life to these men who no one else wants to be bothered with.

And more times than I can tell you, he's been on his face pleading with God before the throne of grace on their behalf. So who is prideful and who is humble? You see what I'm saying? Don't get taken in just by outward appearances or a person's natural temperament.

Just because they happen to be unassuming or quiet doesn't necessarily mean they're humble. Humility in the kingdom of God means that you're very concerned about other people. Now, I told our guys, I don't know, not long ago, I said, guys, if you're not involved in the lives of others, it can only mean that you are totally wrapped up in yourself and that your whole life revolves around you and yours.

Now, I'm just sharing with you what I told them. I'm not saying that to you. But, you know, a humble person is concerned about other people. And we didn't talk too much about it this weekend, but it's in my book, and I guess the guys will probably be reading that.

I talk about the inside world of a human. You know, everything that constitutes who you are as a person, your will, your emotions, your intellect, your soul, your heart, your spirit, everything that creates your inner man.

And, you know, we carry this consciousness around with us. Everywhere we go, you know, you can't escape you. You have your consciousness, and of course, one day, your physical body, this tent, this building is just going to go into the ground, and your spirit, your soul is going to go on into eternity.

Right? And that's one reason why color means nothing, color of skin. It just doesn't have anything to do with anything. It's who we are as people inside. A humble person goes through life, and their heart, their soul, their mind is very concerned about other people and their needs.

And they weep with those who weep, and they rejoice with those who rejoice. And when your consciousness is full, a humble person goes through life, and they are very concerned about other people, and their life, their heart is full of the needs of others.

And, you know, when your heart is full of other people, it makes you very small. But by contrast, when you go through life, and all you're concerned about is yourself, I want this, I want that, I want things to go this way, I think that everyone should notice me, my opinions are the best, what I believe is always right, and you just go through life that way, you are full of self.

And God and others become very tiny. Jesus is lowly. He's a servant by heart. Look at verses 5 -7. Have this mind, or this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, in other words, pre-incarnate Christ, He had all the power, majesty, authority, glory of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant.

Christ’s Servant-Heart and the Danger of Spiritual Celebrity

This attitude is the opposite of self-importance. Have you ever been around someone that is just so arrogant? Just dripping with arrogance. They just have a way of making you feel like you're about that big.

Jesus wasn't like that at all. When He was around you, He had a way of making you feel like you're the most important person in the entire world. And He was sincere. He meant it. He loved people. And I don't think that if Jesus were ministering on earth today in human form, that He would be some big shot, driving around in a limousine and 55 aides running behind Him and secretaries and bodyguards.

I just don't think that that's the way Jesus would be. I think that you would probably find Him feeding the poor in Calcutta or maybe running an orphanage in Mexico or ministering to lepers somewhere or something.

I think that you would find Jesus where the greatest needs were. Because He's a servant by nature and He's drawn to need. Now, I don't mean this in a critical way. Please don't misunderstand what I'm going to say.

It's just by virtue of the way things have unfolded in our country during the last hundred years. But the church has kind of been built around superstars and media personalities. And the problem with that is you can't judge them by their fruits.

Because you don't really know what that man is like when the mic is shut off or the camera stops. Right? You can judge the fruit of your pastor because you're around him, you see him, you see how he interacts with people.

And you can be around him enough to judge if he's got fruit from the Lord or not. But you really can't with big stars. Now, I know that God has raised up some of these people. I've been around quite a few big names.

And I have seen both. I have seen very godly, humble people. But I've also seen national names that I won't mention that just left you feeling like they think that if they ever died, the whole kingdom of God would just come collapsing down.

They just have that attitude. They exude that. They're full of charisma, capabilities with the Bible, preaching, teaching on the radio, whatever. But that doesn't necessarily equate with the kingdom of God.

Jesus said that if you want to be the greatest in the kingdom, then become the servant of all. He said, I am among you as one who serves. And I did not come to be served, but to serve. And that is the way Jesus lived His life.

Is there anybody that remembers Mr. Magoo? Really? Is he still on TV? No? It's been 20 years since I've even watched it, you know. But I like Mr. Magoo, you know. Mr. Magoo was such a trip. I mean, it's been 30-some years since I've seen him, so I can't really remember that well.

But I just kind of vaguely remember him like going through life oblivious. I don't know if he was blind or if his eyes were so... whatever, you know. But he'd go through life... Remember that? And he would walk in front of cars and they'd be speeding by him.

And he'd walk onto a beam that was being pulled up onto a building and he'd still be walking oblivious, you know, and just kind of going through life that way. And all this stuff is going on around him.

But you know something, dear ones, us Christians are very much that way. There is so much spiritual activity going on around us. We have a sovereign God who's overlooking everything happening in our lives.

And He sends people to us who will give us maybe a word of reproof or a word of encouragement or He'll lay something on the pastor's heart to teach something that just directly ministers to what you need.

And who knows what kind of terrible things that God spares His beloved from. You know, and all this activity going on around us and we're just kind of going through life oblivious to it. But the truth is, every day there's Jesus on His knees washing our feet, serving us.

Because He's a servant. And you know, I know He's the King of Kings and He's Almighty God and so on, but His heart, His personality, His character, He's a servant. And He loves. And He just wants to help people.

That's Jesus. I mean, that's just the way He is. Number three, Jesus is meek. And I told the guys yesterday that my definition of meekness is the willing submission of one person to the will of another.

Christ’s Meek Submission to the Father

Meaning, it was typified in the life of a servant in biblical times, and the Master would come in and His attitude, not just outwardly, not out of some kind of fear like what a Sodom's henchman or something, but from His heart.

When His Master walked in, it was, Yes, sir. Whatever you wish, sir. And He meant it from His heart. His whole life was inextricably tied into His Master's interests. And that's meekness. It's the opposite of self-will and rebellion.

Nobody tells me what to do with my life. And I'll tell you something, dear one. That attitude is in all of our hearts. This nation was born in rebellion, and it's only gone downhill since, you know. But Jesus wasn't that way.

Look at verse 8. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. Even death on a cross. Jesus lived His life in constant submission to His Father. Now, I've got a young man here somewhere.

Wesley. There's Wesley. Hey, buddy, are you going to come up and help me now? Come on. Oh, what a butt. All right, here. Take my hand right here. Okay. Okay. Now, in Luke 4 .1, it says that the Spirit led Jesus up into the wilderness.

And this is a picture of what Jesus is like with His Father. Watch where you're going. He's liking watching you. You want me to go over here? Okay. You want me to stop? Okay. You want me to go over here?

Okay. That's the way Jesus was with His Father. He lived His life that way in complete submission all the time. Now, you've seen those pictures of Jesus, you know, and He's got kind of a thing around His head and all that.

Forget about that. I'm going to show you what Jesus looks like. Oh, here's a big boy. You see this face? You know what you see in this face? Innocence. He hasn't been corrupted by sin. Now, look out there at you.

Forget it. You're a mess. But you know something, dear ones, one day when you cross that heavenly river, the first face you're going to see is going to look a lot like this. Sweet and innocent. Boy, you're a big help today, Wesley.

All right, buddy. Let's give him a hand. Okay, I'm going to wrap it up with a couple of quick little illustrations. We're told in Scripture that Jesus was tempted in all ways as we are. He was a young man, and he had hormones.

And he had to deal with those strong, young male feelings. And there were times that beautiful women would throw themselves at his feet and worship him. But you know, Jesus was so submitted to His Father, and He had such a love for His Father, that there was a boundary around His mind.

And He never one single time allowed His mind to cross that line into a lustful thought. That's meekness. And the night that He was arrested and treated shamefully, spit on and abused and slapped and beaten until His back was shredded.

Did some of you see the passion? Some of you see that? I appreciate the way they depicted Satan, you know, this creepy thing kind of going through the crowd. And I'm just convinced that is very much true to what happened.

Because it was the enemy in there trying to incite these people into a hatred for Jesus to attack Him and abuse Him because the devil wanted to provoke Jesus into responding. Just one time, Jesus. Just one time, look out for Yourself.

Just one time, respond in a retaliatory spirit. Just one time, lash out in anger. And you know that there were 10 ,000 angels in heaven watching. They must have been in open mouth astonishment. This is the King of Heaven.

They're watching. Allowing Himself to be abused by men. These nothing creatures. Waiting for one word from Jesus. And that's all it would have taken. And it would have been the instantaneous extermination of mankind.

And rightfully so. But this wonderful, wonderful Savior, Jesus, went to that cross with the prayer on His lips. Father, forgive them because they don't understand what they're doing. That's our Savior.

That's why we love Him. Not because He's all powerful. Because He's all love. And this is the conclusion. Verse 9,. For this reason also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Amen.