“Jesus made Himself less than a doormat.”
“God doesn’t expect me to be a doormat.” When I hear that phrase, I cringe. So much is wrapped up in that mentality. The main word it conjures up in my mind is “entitlement.” Jesus made Himself less than a doormat. A doormat only gets feet wiped on it. It only gets dirty. Much worse happened to Jesus… by choice.
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant….
Philippians 2:6-9
“He who was everything, made Himself nothing.”
He who was everything, made Himself nothing. So we who are nothing, can become everything He created us to be.
Only people who know who they are can cease fighting for position. In John 13, we see Jesus wash the disciples’ feet. There was no servant lower than the foot washer. Yet, Jesus got up and went around the room and washed each pair of feet (even Judas’). The disciples were interested in who would be greatest in the kingdom to come. Jesus tried many times to tell them to be the greatest, they should become a servant. His words were not sinking in. He had to show them.
The Kingdom a Christian lives in is the opposite of the kingdom of earth. The greatest in God’s Kingdom is the one who is a servant… a slave. A slave has no rights. A slave belongs to another.
The Greek word is “doulos.” That’s what Jesus became.
Jesus showed us exactly how to live down here. We are to be vessels (like a waterhose) that hook into another world (like the spigot) and let that world flow through us into this world (like water to a garden). We are not to assert ourselves, fight “the man”, or try to set up our own kingdom. We are to walk through this world, listening to the still small voice behind us saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)
“The point is, we aren’t to fight for ourselves. We are to fight for God’s kingdom. When we live in that mentality, all of heaven will fight for us.”
That voice may tell us to confront people, cleanse the temple (figuratively speaking), and fearlessly go into dangerous situations. The point is, we aren’t to fight for ourselves. We are to fight for God’s kingdom. When we live in that mentality, all of heaven will fight for us.
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14:14
Jesus was Son of Man and Son of God. As Son of Man, He walked by faith. He prayed a lot, put His will aside to do the will of God, and left every other thing up to God. He was unfazed by power and position. He would steal away by Himself when people wanted to make Him King. Man’s praise meant nothing to Him because He knew what was inside of man.
“He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.” (John 2:25)
“Jesus loves us with perfect love even though He knows us with perfect knowledge.”
Jesus loves us with perfect love even though He knows us with perfect knowledge. We should all tremble with humility and gratitude because of that statement. Who else would love us perfectly if they could read our minds and see everything we do?
“Only a man or woman who knows exactly who they are and who they belong to, can choose to be a nobody and find joy in that position.”
Insecurity and pride (the two come as a pair) are the reason we live offended and fighting for position. When I observe the life of Jesus, I see such refreshing rest. Only a man or woman who knows exactly who they are and who they belong to, can choose to be a nobody and find joy in that position.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
John 13:3-5
What would the world look like if we actually lived as if this earth were temporary and God’s Kingdom were eternal? Our hearts will be where our treasure is. (Matthew 6:21)
That is a fact.
“To be a part of God’s Kingdom, Jesus showed us (by example) what it would look like.”
To be a part of God’s Kingdom, Jesus showed us (by example) what it would look like. The King of that Kingdom was a servant, a foot washer. He did the unthinkable dirty work. He embarrassed the disciples by being so humble and inappropriate. They wouldn’t have dared to stoop to the level of a foot washer.
“God is the only Being on the planet who has nothing to be humble about, yet He is humble. He became less than a doormat.”
Do we even know Jesus? Do we understand on any level the depth of the humility of God? God is the only Being on the planet who has nothing to be humble about, yet He is humble. He became less than a doormat.
“This is not our kingdom. We are to fight for the real kingdom.”
He, the One with all power, was beaten beyond recognition, spit upon, made fun of, and hung naked on a cross with nails through His hands and feet. Yet we spend our days arguing about stuff no one will remember in a few years. Who cares what we lose down here? This is not our home? This is not our kingdom. We are to fight for the real kingdom. While we are here, we are to walk like Jesus did. He was a vessel, hooked up to the kingdom of God, and Living Water flowed to a dying world.
“No king or kingdom can stop a real woman or man of God from doing His will.”
The Roman government (talk about brutal) did not stop Jesus from doing one single thing. They couldn’t. He brought the greater Kingdom to earth. This earthly kingdom can’t stop the Kingdom of God from advancing. No king or kingdom can stop a real woman or man of God from doing His will.
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.
Psalm 2:1-4
Do we know why God laughs at them? Because all our strutting, posturing and worrying is a joke. God could speak and wipe the world clean of all of us in a half a second. In the book of Acts the disciples quoted the above passage and prayed for boldness to keep speaking in the face of tyranny, imprisonment, beatings, and death. (Acts 4:26) As they prayed, the Holy Spirit shook the place where they were meeting and filled them with boldness. They didn’t ask for freedom, blessing, safety or their rights. Therefore, they received what God wanted to give… supernatural power from another kingdom.
“What would God do in us if we changed our focus from this kingdom to the Kingdom of Heaven?”
What would God do in us if we changed our focus from this kingdom to the Kingdom of Heaven? What if we quit worrying about the future and our freedom and started to pray for boldness to proclaim God’s Kingdom. When things heat up, the truth comes out of us. What we treasure is what we protect.
Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would fight to prevent me being handed over to the Jewish authorities. But now my kingdom is not from here.” (John 18:36)
In God’s Kingdom, the King is a doulos (slave). If we aren’t willing to be the same, it’s not His Kingdom we want.
