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But there in Isaiah 22, look at verse number 15. Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house and say. So we're introduced to this treasurer of King Hezekiah. His name is Shebna. And it says which is over the house. So he's got, you know, the household assume is King Hezekiah's house, so it's probably the palace. Maybe it's the house of law there. I'm not sure exactly. Maybe it's a temple. But you see Shebna's got authority. He's a treasurer. He's over the house. I mean, he's in charge of the finances. Like, he's not the king. But he's pretty much up there. Like, if the king needs to do a financial transaction, he's got to go to Shebna. Like, Shebna's obviously very close to King Hezekiah, prominent position. You know, he's got authority in this situation. But now we see the kind of man that Shebna is. In verse number 16, it says, What hast thou here? This is what God's asking of Shebna. What, you know, what hast thou here? Like, there's something about Shebna that is not right with the Lord. The Lord says, Shebna, what are you doing here? We say, is the problem that he's a treasurer? No, that's not a problem. That is his position. He's a treasurer. But there's something he's doing above being a treasurer that is not quite right in the eyes of the Lord. He goes, what hast thou here? And then he says, And whom hast thou here? Of who here is of your lineage, of your family, of your ancestry? Who here belongs to you, Shebna? You say, why is God asking him these questions? Well, let's keep going there. That thou, so what have you done, Shebna? That thou has hewed thee out a sepulchre or a grave, okay, here, okay, so Shebna's prepared, he's a grave, where? As he that heweth him, out of a sepulchre on high, hey, your sepulchre, it's not that high. Your position, Shebna, is not that high, but you've made it something high. You've made it something very prominent. And then he says, and that grave and habitation for himself in a rock. One thing we learn here is, you know, if you read your Bibles, there was a burial place for the kings. There was a burial place for those in high prominent positions. If you're a king of Israel, you know, we know that the king of Israel, you know, it was of the line of David. It was meant to be a descendancy of father to the son, etc., etc., being part of the family. But what Shebna had done, is he had dug out his own sepulchre, his own grave amongst the kings. But he doesn't have that authority. But he has a high authority. He's a treasurer. But he wants to be a king. He wants to be numbered amongst the kings. He wants to remember for all eternity, you know, as long as the earth remains, he wants to remember as one among the kings. And God says, what are you doing, Shebna? This is not your place. You know, who do you have here? You do not belong to the kingly line, Shebna. So what happens? We see that Shebna's trying to promote himself. He's not satisfied as a treasurer. He wants something more. He wants to be thought of as one of the kings. He doesn't have contentment for his position. And then God says this to Shebna. Because he's done that, because he's elevated himself, verse 17, Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity and will surely cover thee. Because you've tried to lift yourself up, Shebna, you're going to be taken away into captivity. You're going to be taken away. Okay? And then he keeps going there, verse 18. And he shall surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country. You're just going to be completely abused, you know, being taken advantage of. There shalt thou die. Instead of dying amongst the kings, instead of dying here, where you created your sepulchre to be here in a prominent position, no, you're going to die out in captivity. You're going to die out somewhere where no one's going to remember you. Okay? There thou shalt die. And there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy Lord's house. You're going to be brought to shame. You're going to be brought down low, Shebna. Verse number 19 is the key here. And I will drive thee from thy station. The title for the sermon tonight, brethren, is Knowing Your Station. God says, I'm going to drive thee from thy... What was his station? His station was a treasure. You know what? If he just faithfully served Hezekiah, you know, if he just realized, man, my station is a treasure, and I'm going to be the best treasure that I can be for the king, I'm going to be the best treasure that I can be for Israel, it'll be just fine in the eyes of the Lord. But lifted himself up, and God says, you know what? I'm taking away your station. You're not even going to be a treasure anymore. You're going to be taken into captivity, and there you're going to die, Shebna. And then he says at the end of verse number 19, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. You know, you've lifted yourself up. God says, I'm going to tear you down, Shebna. Okay? The title for the sermon once again is Knowing Your Station. It's part of the Perfect Man series. So important that we know our station. So important that we know our state. Okay? God is taking Shebna because Shebna tried to elevate himself. He removes all of that authority. But it's such a prominent position, though. Like, you know, I'm sure people would look up to Shebna. He's a treasure. Wow, the treasure of the king. You know, he's over the house. He's over the palace. He's in charge of the finances. What a great guy. But he elevates himself too high, and God shuts him down. Okay? And here's the thing, brethren. We all have a station. We all have a state in life, and we need to know what that is. And we need to appreciate what God has given us, and not try to promote ourselves, not try to elevate ourselves before the time. Okay? Shebna here, you can see the example. You know, he'll lose his station. When you think about the station, some of you guys, I don't know, brother, if you caught the train today or not, but, you know, we've got the train station. Okay? But it's not all that different. You know, we've all got a station in life. Okay? And a station by definition is this. The place or position in which someone stands or is assigned to stand. Let me read that again. The place or position in which someone stands or is assigned to stand. We all have stations in life. And some of us have multiple stations in life. Like, very quickly for me, one of my stations is the pastor of Blessed Baptist Church. But another station of mine is the father of my family. You know, father of my children. You know, the husband of my wife, the son of my parents. We all have different stations in different places. You guys will talk about this now. I started cleaning. Guess what? Now an employee. I've got another station. I've got someone above me. I've got, you know, people. I'm working for a company. I've got another station in life. See, we've all been assigned different places at different times in life. And we need to know our station. Okay? This is so important for you to become the perfect man. Okay? Some people despise their station. Shebna despised it. He wanted something more. And God shut him down. He didn't appreciate what he had. And you know what? If we learn to know our station, you learn to appreciate your station, then instead of God taking you down, he may very well promote you. Okay? If you make sure that you fulfill your station the way that you ought to. All right? So there's a three-part purpose to this sermon. Number one, to know your station. Okay? Number two, to appreciate your station. And number three, to not lift yourself above your station. All right? I mean, look, I've seen too many people try to lift themselves up only to be taken down. Okay? Only to be brought to shame. Okay? Because they try to elevate themselves, not because the Lord elevated them, but because they're trying to force that elevation from themselves. Okay? Now, we're going to be looking at a few different men. We looked at Shebna. Okay? That's a really interesting chapter. It goes into another man that will take over the treasury, over Shebna's position later on. And he's got a lot of similarities with Jesus Christ in the end times. But we won't touch upon that right now. It's outside the scope of this sermon. But come with me to Jeremiah. Actually, come with me to Daniel. Come with me to Daniel chapter four. Daniel chapter four, please. Let's look at another man. Daniel chapter four. Daniel chapter four and verse number 28. If you know your station and you recognize that God has given me this station, this state, Brethren, you will find contentment in life. If you recognize God has given me this position, you know, there are some people that want to be pastors, for example, okay? But maybe he's been divorced. All right? Maybe he's disqualified himself from that position. Well, you know, don't whine about not being able to be a pastor because you're disqualified. Just recognize, you know what? The best station that I can be is a faithful member at my local church. You know, serve God in that station. You don't have to desire something that may not be given to you. Knowing your station is so important for contentment. Okay? But here's what I also want to drive to you because I'm not just talking about believers here. I'm even talking about the unbelieving world because, you know, my employers, guess what? They're not saved. Okay? And you know what their station is? My boss. And you know what my position is? As their servants, their employee. Okay? Guess what? They're not saved. They're not Bible-believing Christians. They're not independent Baptist members, okay? But I still got to honor them as authority, okay? Even as unsaved people. You need to understand, we've all been given a station. And I'm going to quickly read to you. Before you read, before we look at Daniel, keep your finger there in Daniel 4, we're going to be looking at King Nebuchadnezzar, okay? Another man of a very prominent position, okay, the king of the greatest nation, the greatest kingdom on the earth at that time, the Babylonian kingdom, not just the king over Babylon, but king over several nations that they took over. I mean, very prominent position. But you'll soon see that Nebuchadnezzar tried to rise himself above his station. But before, and at this time, when he took over Judea, or Judah, I should say, he was not saved at that point in time, okay? He was an unsaved king. He was a king that worshipped false gods. And yet, this is what God says about Nebuchadnezzar in Jeremiah 27 verse 6, so I'll just read it to you. God says to Nebuchadnezzar, and now have I given all these lands, including Judah, okay, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, then the next words are amazing. My servant. What? But you're taking over the chosen holy nation. Nebuchadnezzar, you're burning down the house of the Lord. You know, you're doing these wicked things. You know, you're ripping families apart. You know, you're murdering the Jews there, you know, as you've gone in and you've conquered that city and conquered Jerusalem. And you're destroying the city of God there. And yet, God says that's my servant. God says I've given Nebuchadnezzar all these nations. Okay? You see, the station of Nebuchadnezzar was to be king. But God says he's my servant. So is there someone above Nebuchadnezzar? Well, if he's a servant, of course. God is above Nebuchadnezzar. And at this point, Nebuchadnezzar is an unsaved heathen. So the next thing I want to just drive your point, brethren, is that God gives us our station. It doesn't matter who you are, saved or unsaved. Okay? And above every single person on this world is the Lord God. The reason I can easily serve my employers, even though they're unsaved, is because I know who's above them. It's God. Okay? And God's given me that station to serve in that capacity. And this is easy for me because I just do it for God because God's above it all. Okay? It keeps going there. I didn't finish verse number six. It just continues by saying, and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him, to serve Nebuchadnezzar. So not only has God given him all the lands, but he's also given all the produce, all the things that are valuable on the land to King Nebuchadnezzar, my servant. Okay? So very clear that God has given Nebuchadnezzar the authority over these nations. Now you think that Nebuchadnezzar should be content enough to go, man, I'm the king of the whole world pretty much. Right? I mean, I'm the king of the parts of the world that matter at least, you know? You think that would be enough for him. But we get to Daniel chapter four and verse number 28. Daniel chapter four and verse number 28. It says, All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of 12 months, he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. All right? And the king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon which the God of Daniel gave me, which the God of Jeremiah gave me, because I'm his servant, the God of Ezekiel, the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, he gave me this kingdom, praise God. Is that what Nebuchadnezzar says? No. The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty? You're an idiot. Get everybody in the world. You're like, You're already the top man of the world. You're already the most important man in the world. And he goes, You know what? It's all because of me. I've done it all myself. You see, he tried to rise above his station. He should have recognized it was God that gave it to him. It was the God of the Jews. It's the God of Israel that gave it to me. You know, Jeremiah was out there preaching. You know, the preacher of Jeremiah reached the other nations. He's a prophet to the nations. Even Nebuchadnezzar knew about Jeremiah. Nebuchadnezzar knew these prophecies that he would take over Judah. But Nebuchadnezzar told me, My might, my honor, my majesty. It's all me, me, me, me, me. You see, people that are not content in their station are going to try to promote themselves. Even as high as someone as high as God. Nebuchadnezzar tries. Okay, then what happens? You guys know the story. Verse number 31. While the word was in the king's mouth. So before you even finish his sentence pretty much. Okay. The fellow voice from heaven saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee. Wow. God said, I'm taking it away. Hey, and what did we learn before? Shepner. Shepner, you're not happy to be a treasurer. You wouldn't be more than a treasurer. I'm taking that away. I'm taking your station away. I'm taking your state away. Alright. So the kingdom is departed from thee. You see, the same, the same thing happening when men rise above their station. Verse number 32. And they shall drive thee from men. And I dwell and shall be with the beasts or the animals of the field. They shall make thee to eat grass like as oxen. And seven times shall pass over thee, that's seven years by the way, until thou know that the most high, not you, the most high ruleth in the kingdom of men and give it to whomsoever he will. God says, I'm in charge of giving the kingdoms to men. This is why I don't fuss about governments, honestly. I know our government is wicked. I understand that our politicians are wicked, ungodly men. But you know, it's in the hand of God. You just have to understand, that's their station for now. And God's going to judge them for their wickedness. God's going to bless them if they do righteously and God's going to punish them if they do wickedly. It's in the hands of the Lord. Let's keep going there. Verse number 33. He became like an animal. And his body was wet with the dew of heaven, so he's pretty much, he's not walking like a man. He's, I guess, crawling all fours to get wet with the dew of heaven until his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers and his nails like birds' claws. I mean, this guy went insane. He lost his sanity for seven years because he tried to elevate himself to the station of God. Verse number 34. Now, I believe Nebuchadnezzar gets saved. Okay? Because these are the words of Nebuchadnezzar. These are his words. This isn't Daniel speaking of Nebuchadnezzar. This is Nebuchadnezzar saying these words. He says, He realized, man, I'm just boasting about this temporal kingdom that I've got here. Man, the kingdom of God is forever. He's the God above all things. You know, he finally learns his lesson, doesn't he? Verse number 35. He goes, I'm actually nothing. Isn't that awesome? All right? And none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? At the same time, my reason returned unto me and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me. God gave it back to him because Nebuchadnezzar learned the lesson. So God gives him back his honor as a king. Okay? And my counselors and my Lord sought unto me and I was established in my kingdom and excellent majesty was added unto me. But look at verse number 37. This is verse 37. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, all whose works are truth and his ways judgments. Now this is the best part. And those that walk in pride, he is able to abaze. Abaze means lower. He goes, that was me. I was walking in pride. I was lifted up. I saw myself as lofty, you know, and high. I saw myself above my station as king. He goes, nah, you know what? When I'm in pride, he's able to abaze. He's going to tear me down. He's going to tear you down when you lift with pride. You see, we learn something interesting here. When people or if you lift yourself above your station, it is out of pride. Okay? It is out of pride. You might say, no, no, no. That should be my station. I should be in that position. Well, if you're not in that position, it's not your station. Okay? And you're being lifted with pride. Be careful. Okay? Be careful when you lift. God hates pride. He hates us. It's one of those sins that he abhors. See, God's giving you a station in life. And you're saying, God, that's not enough. I want more. You're spitting in the face of God when you lift yourself up. It's an expression of pride. And God will take you down. I've seen men taken down because they try to lift themselves up when God's not lifted them up. Or it's the time to be lifted up. It's not yet. See, please, know your station. Appreciate the station. I mean, look, he's the king of the world. Shouldn't that be enough for Nebuchadnezzar? For Shebna, you're the treasurer. You can't be the king. But you're pretty much next in charge there as the guy in charge of the finances. Shouldn't that be enough? Come with me to another person. Let's go to Numbers, chapter 16. Numbers 16, please, verse number 1. Numbers 16, verse number 1. I'm giving you several stories here of men. All right? And it's the same thing over and over again. It's the same story over and over again. We have so many stories in the Bible like this. I'm just choosing some of the most famous ones, I guess. And this is, of course, about Korah. This is about the rebellion against Moses and Aaron. But Numbers 16, verse 1. Now Korah, or Kori, as we read about him in the New Testament. Now Korah, the son of Isha, the son of Kohath. I want you to notice the next words. The son of Levi. See, Korah's part of the Levitical tribe. And remember, the Levites were a special tribe given the responsibility to serve the Lord, to serve in the tabernacle, to eventually serve in the temple of God. They had to look after the house of the Lord, the Old Testament house of the Lord. I mean, quite an honor. The other tribes weren't allowed to do that. If you're part of the Levites, you could be in charge, or not necessarily in charge, but taking care of the house of the Lord, taking care of the affairs there that God instructed the Levites to do. But see, not all Levites could be priests. The only ones that could be priests were who? The sons of Aaron. But hey, being a Levite's pretty good. You get to rub shoulders with the priests. You get to help out the priests. You get to serve the Lord all the days of your life. You think that's good enough for Korah? You think so. It should be. Let's keep going there. And Dathan. So he takes another guy, Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab and On, the son of Peleph, the sons of Reuben took men. So Korah gets this group together around him. They can't do it on their own. They always like to get a group. Verse number two. And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, 250 princes. Wow. He gets 250 princes. People of authority. Okay? Of the assembly. Famous in the congregation. Men of renown. And they gathered themselves together. I want you to notice the words. Okay? Because what he says sounds, oh, he's just going to be a help to Moses. No, no, no, no. It says here they gather themselves together against Moses. Okay? And against Aaron. Okay? This group does not mean well for Moses and Aaron. God's been using Moses. Okay? God's been utilizing Moses to lead these children of Israel. I mean, God's done so many miracles through Moses as his vessel, delivering these people out of the hand of the Egyptians. They rise themselves against Moses and against Aaron, the high priest. Okay? And said unto them, ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them. So what are they kind of saying? Like, Moses, Aaron, you guys aren't that special. Like, we can do the job. You take too much upon yourself. We'll be helpers. Every one of them and the Lord is among them. Now notice the next words. Wherefore, or why, then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord. He goes, why do you guys lift yourselves up so high amongst all of us? Do you think that's what Moses is doing? Do you think Moses is trying to lift himself up above his station? No, he's not. You know, he's been chosen by God. And Moses didn't even want the job, remember? He didn't want to do it. God had to get his brother Aaron to go and help him out and motivate him and utilize him. And we learned in the Bible that Moses was the most humble man at this point in time. Moses is not trying to lift himself up. He's been given a station by God to be the leader of the Israelites, to bring them out of Egypt and to lead them into the Promised Land. And Moses is just doing the best he can to serve God. He's not there trying to lift himself up above men. I think Moses would have been more than happy to stay in the wilderness and had nothing to do, more to do with Israel and Egypt. All right? But he's doing what God's asked of him. But what's Korah saying? Oh, you're so full of pride. You lift yourselves up. What makes you guys so important? We can all do the job. And now look at verse number four. And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face. Look, Moses does not retaliate immediately. He's not like, all right, I'm going to fight this. You know what? He humbles himself. Just lowers himself and goes, man. I mean, he just is like, I guess he just can't believe it. Like, why would people believe this of him? You know, he's not a man full of pride. Now, drop down to verse number nine because we're not going to read it all, but verse number nine. This is what Moses responds. This is how he responds in verse number nine. He goes, Seemeth but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel have separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them. You know what he's saying to Korah? He says, isn't nothing to you that you've been selected by God, because he's a Levite, to serve in the tabernacle, to stand there with everyone else, ministering to the congregation? Is that too little for you, Korah? I mean, what an honor to be able to do such a work. He goes, is it nothing to you, Korah? Verse number 10. So in other words, Korah doesn't appreciate. Even though he's got a very special station given to him, he doesn't appreciate it. He wants more. Verse number 10. And he brought thee near to him. So you're near to God. You get to serve God closely at his house. And all thy brethren, the sons of Levi, with thee. You don't have to go and be a farmer. You don't have to go and plant crops. You can be in the house of the God with your brethren serving the Lord. And then he says this. And this is the key. And seek ye the priesthood also. You want to be a priest also? See, Moses knows what's in the heart of Korah here. Korah's not satisfied to just be a Levite. He wants to be a priest. He wants to be like Aaron. He wants to have a higher position. This has nothing to do with trying to help Moses run the nation. This has everything to do about his station. He's not content. He wants more. He wants to be the priest. He doesn't want Aaron to be. He wants to be the one chosen by God to be the priest. Do you want the priest also? It's the same thing. Drop down to verse number 32. You know the story well. This is how God judges Korah and his rebellion. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up and their houses. And all the men that appertained unto Korah and all their goods. God just swallows them up whole in the earth. They just descend straight to hell. These guys weren't saved. Straight to hell. Korah's rebellion. And yet he was given such an honour to be one of the Levites. He did not appreciate it. He goes, it's not enough. You know, I want to be the priest. Brethren, if you get to serve in the house of God, please just appreciate whatever it is. Even if all you can do is read the Bible, read the chapter before the sermon. Appreciate it. Say, thank you, Lord, that I get the honour to just read your word to God's people. I don't need to be the preacher. Someone else can do that. Okay? Or if you get to preach. You know, you get to preach. Say, Lord, thank you for the honour of allowing me to study your word and to teach it to your people. But God, I don't need to be the pastor. I'm content where I'm at. You've given me a station. You've given me a place. Thank you, Lord, for what you've given me. And you say, pastor, I can't even stand behind the pulpit. All right, thank God that you can be a member of Blessed Hope Baptist Church. Thank God that you can be a blessing. You can be an encouragement, that you can motivate your brothers and sisters in the Lord. You know, thank God that you can be out there soul winning, preaching to the lost. That should be enough to give you contentment and satisfaction in life. You know, appreciate, know your station. Where do you belong? And appreciate it. So, you can see that not only is it pride, but it's envy. You know, Cora's looking at Aaron and Moses. I want to be like them. I want to be lifted up. How come Aaron gets to be the high priest? I want to be the priest. It's envy. Hey, why don't you rejoice in Aaron? Why don't you be thankful for God so good that you chose Aaron? You know, you utilise him to motivate Moses. And through this brotherhood, we're able to come out of Egypt Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for Aaron. You know, pray for Aaron. Pray for his sons that will take on the office following him instead of going, oh, that should be me. See, these people, they get taken down by God. I don't want to see you taken down, destroyed by God because you wanted something that did not belong to you. And I want you to be the perfect man. You know, my biggest desire is that you're just happy people. That you can live a life and just be joyful, content, appreciating everything that God has given you, even if it's little, even if it's much, whatever it is, I just want you to find contentment in life. But when you don't appreciate the station you have, you're not going to be content. Okay. Now, let's keep going there. Let's look at one more individual. Please come with me to Isaiah 14. Isaiah 14 and verse number 12. This behavior, this behavior that we've seen in men, actually comes from the devil. Okay, Isaiah 14 verse 12. Isaiah 14 verse number 12. We're looking at Satan here and Satan was cast out of heaven. Was cast down from heaven, I should say. You know, Isaiah 14 verse 12. How are the people who are cast out of heaven Isaiah 14 verse 12. I mean, that's the best place to be, heaven. Why? Why was he cast down? Why was he abased? Why was he demoted by God? Verse number 13. This is what he says. I will exhort my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high because I want to be God. I want to be like God, he goes. You know, in the book of Ezekiel, Satan is referred to, or Lucifer, referred to as the anointed cherub. Like, what an honor to be in heaven with God. A cherub being used by God's minister and to serve. And not just a cherub, the anointed cherub. Something special above all the other cherubs already. Lucifer already had a high station in heaven. But he didn't appreciate it. He goes, I want more. I want to be God. Wow. And then it says in verse number 15. Yet thou shall be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit. That's his end. Same thing. All the other men, same. Korah, brought down to hell. I'm not saying all the men here are never going to be saved obviously at the end of it all. But the pattern is there. You can see the pattern. And all of these individuals, even Satan, are given good positions. High positions. But they just want more. God, what you've given me is not enough. I want more. And brethren, yet you take that attitude, God will tear you down. I promise you it's going to happen. It's happened so many times. God's going to lower you, bring you down. And of course, if you're a wicked, false brethren, not only are you going to be taken down, in your office, but you're going to be sent down to hell. But I wanted to show you there, this attitude, this behavior, this rebellion comes from Satan. When a man starts to have this in their hearts, it's been planted there. It's been planted there by Satan or one of the devils. Now, you say, I don't want to write myself above my station. Alright, good. So how do I know my station? Well, it's simple. Where are you now in life? What are you doing? I gave my example. I'm a pastor, blessed. I've got authority there. I'm a pastor in your life. I've got authority there. I'm a husband. That's my station. I'm the head of my wife. I'm in charge of my family. I'm a father. I've got to make sure I raise my children, nurture and admission of the Lord. That's my station. I'm an employee now, so I've got to make sure I honor my employer. I've got to do the best that I can to make sure that their business stays reputable. I do things according to their standard. That's my station. I probably have more. I'm a citizen of Australia. I'm not the government. I can't take vigilante behavior on my own. I've got to hope and rely that the justice system does what it's supposed to do. But I know my station. I know what I'm supposed to do. I know where I stand. So this is very simple. It's all about finding out who you're accountable to if you have someone over you or who you're accountable for if you have people that are under you. So family, fathers, husbands. You're the head of your wife. You're the provider. You're the breadwinner. You're the one that labors and provides for your family. That's your station. And mothers, you're there to be a help unto your husbands. But not only do you have someone over you, your husband, but if you're a mother, you've been given authority over children as well. Your station is balanced in that sense. And if you're a child, your station is to obey mum and dad. Obey mum and dad. Don't rise yourself above your station. Don't rebel against your parents. Don't take the attitude, I know more than mum and dad. Maybe you do know more than mum and dad. Maybe you do know more than them. Maybe I know more than my employer. Maybe I do. But that's not my station. I've got to submit myself under the authority that God has given me. Maybe some of you guys know more of the Bible than I do. Maybe some of you guys preach better sermons than I do. But guess what? In the house of the Lord, I have the station of a pastor. And that's just how it is. That's what life is. And be thankful for what God has given you. Church. You've got pastors. You've got deacons. You've got the average church members. Where do you sit? Workplace. Employees. You know, you probably have a supervisor over you. You might have a manager above that supervisor. And then you might have the directors of the business above that manager. Where do you sit in that line? Say, I'm just an employee. I wish I was a supervisor. Maybe if you just work hard, put your head down, and serve the Lord God at work, maybe he will make you the supervisor. And then you'll be the supervisor, I wish I was the manager. Or maybe if you just worked hard as a supervisor and did the best you can and served Jesus as a supervisor, maybe then God will promote you to manager. Oh, but I wouldn't be a director. Okay, maybe if you worked hard as a manager and served Jesus and did the best you can and showed yourself to be a valuable employer, you know what, maybe you'll be made the director. Okay? But it's up to God. You just do what you're required to do in your station. You know, the one example that I can give you is when I was a manager for a customer service centre, I had, well, he wasn't in my direct report, he was my, so I had a supervisor under me, and then under my supervisor was a man who's a church pastor, an independent Baptist pastor. Okay? So he's my employee. All right? So guess who's in charge at work? You know, from nine to five, pretend. Well, that was in the hours, but let's say nine to five, guess what, I was in charge. I did not treat that man any differently. He's my employee. I made sure he got work done as much as everybody else. Okay? And he knew. He knew that I'm the boss in those hours. And what happened after work? When the working hours were over, guess what? We hang out. We were friends. The station changed at that point in time. After work hours, I'm no longer his boss. You know, he's my friend. He's a safe believer. We talk about the Bible. I share with him my desire to be a pastor one day and he goes to that church and the sunshine goes, etc. We developed a friendship. But outside of work hours, we're just friends. The station changed. Now, I never visit his church, but guess what? If I did visit his church on a Sunday or whenever the services are on, guess what happens then? The station changes again. Now he's in charge. He's got the rule in the house of the Lord and I've got to be submissive to his authority in the house of God. It's the same man, same people, but at different times, it's like this and then this like and then it's like this. Okay? But that's the right thing to do. You know, like if I'm a church... If I work for one of my church members, I'm the pastor, I work... You know what? At church, I'm not going to respect you or elevate you higher because you're my boss or something like that. You're another church member like the rest of us. Okay? And if I ask you to do something during church time when we're gathered together, then listen, I've got the rule. I've got authority over you during that time. But when we're at work, you tell me what to do and I'll say, yes, boss, I'll do it because the stations have changed. You see, this is so important. And you know, the one that gave us the best example of this was Jesus. He's God. God. He came down to this earth and was submissive to earthly parents. Even to a stepfather that had no... Joseph was not his biological father and Jesus was submissive to his parents. But he's God. But Jesus knew when he came to this earth, he was submissive to his parents. Okay? So Jesus Christ is the perfect example of knowing his station. We're going to look at Jesus Christ soon. But come with me to Psalm 75. Psalm 75. Psalm 75. Because the question gets asked, is there anything wrong then to seek a higher station? And the answer to that, of course, is no. There's nothing wrong with that. All right? There's nothing wrong with children going, you know what? One day when I grow up, I don't want to be the child anymore. I want to get married and start my own family and I want to be in charge. If my son Nicholas goes, you know what? One day I'm going to get married. I'm no longer going to be under the authority of my parents. I'm going to be the one in charge of my family. I'm going to be the one who's the head of my wife and over my family and protective and providing for my family. That's good. That's a good desire to have. There's nothing wrong with desiring another station. Okay? But we've got to go about it the right way. Okay? It's at the Lord's timing. If the Lord sees you being faithful in the station that he's given you, then he'll give you a higher station. If it's his will. Okay? But Psalm 75 verse 6. When I talk about a higher station, we're talking about promotion. Verse number 6. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south, but God is the judge. He putteth down one and setteth up another. God is the judge. God is the one that promotes you. So you wait on God. You say, God, you've given me this station. Let's say your employee. Whatever. I want to be a supervisor one day, Lord. I need that promotion. You know, I need to be able to get a bit of my higher finances, take care of my needs, and take care of my family, Lord. I need a promotion. How do I do it, Lord? Well, God is the judge. Okay? And you say, God, you've given me this station. So I'm going to work hard here. I'm going to serve you here, right here, right now. I'm going to do the best I can, Lord. First of all, I'll be surprised if the Lord doesn't promote you, if you're doing that for him. But sometimes the Lord may not promote you. He might say, well, that's enough for you. And in that scenario, you say, well, Lord, thank you anyway. I'm not going to be like a Korah. I'm not going to be like a Nebuchadnezzar. I'm not going to be like Lucifer. I'm going to be thankful that you've given me a station anyway that I can serve you in. But I know what the world is like. You show yourself to be of value. You show yourself to be a hard worker. Even the unsafe world can't help but promote you. All the time I see it. I've experienced it so many times. But it's the Lord's hand. I did not go up to my boss and say, boss, give me promotion. Boss, make me supervisor. You know what? When it's time to apply, I applied, got some positions, didn't get some positions. And sometimes, most of the times, when I got promoted, I didn't even have to apply. My boss would bring me in. Hey, Kevin, we're really thankful for the work that you've done. You've gone above and beyond. We're giving you this promotion. We're giving you this pay rise. So thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for rising, for giving me a new position, a new station. It's in the Lord's hands. So you be patient with the Lord, okay? And serve him faithfully in the station that he's given you. Come with me to Matthew 23. Matthew 23 and verse 11. Matthew 23 and verse number 11. Matthew 23 and verse 11. Matthew 23 and verse 11. These are the words of Christ. He says, but he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. You want to be great? You want promotions? You want to be lifted up? You've got to be a servant. You've got to lower yourself. You've got to have humility. You've got to be willing to take the feedback and improve yourself and not think that you're the best in the world. Just recognize, hey, I'm just another man. I'm just another lady. I'm just doing the best I can with what God has given me. And take word. Receive the feedback. Be thankful when someone criticizes you. You know what? Sometimes people correct me when I preach because I misspeak a lot. I don't mean to say certain things, but I misspeak. I say stupid things. Someone says, oh, you said this, but you meant that. Thank you, brother. It's just a stupid mouth. Thank God that God can use me to do anything, though. Because that's how we are. We've got to be willing to accept when we're being corrected. But look at verse number 12. It says, and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased. You try to force your promotion. You try to force another station higher. You're going to be abased. And he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. See, the key to rising in your station is to be humble. What was Moses? Humble. The most humble. And God used him in such a powerful way. One of the greatest prophets we read about in the Bible is Moses. But he was humble first. And then God had him judge and rule over an entire nation. Come with me to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2, verse number 5. Philippians chapter 2, verse number 5. The Bible says, let this mind be in you. So this is what your brain ought to be working like. Your mind. This is what you need to be thinking about. 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 ick with God. You see, Jesus was ick with God. It's not robbery to be ick with God. He is God. But then he says this in verse number 7. Did he come to this earth? Alright guys, I'm God. Alright guys, that's it. Get down on your knees. Alright, just, you know, we're going to take over this earth because I'm God. You know what? Verse number 7. Whoa. I mean, if God can do this, can't you? Can't you lower yourself and make yourself of no reputation? Not think of yourself so highly? And took upon him the form of a servant. He didn't come, oh man, I'm the king, come and serve me all. He became the servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. Hey, can this be your mind? Alright, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Can you do this? Can you humble yourself? Can I humble myself? Pride is such an issue. Pride is such an issue. Honestly, brethren, we all have pride. It's a stinker. You know what? Everyone's going to recognise your pride before you recognise it. That's the problem with it. You let pride become a sin in your life, you can destroy your reputation. You've got to lower yourself. He humbled himself. Look at this. How obedient did Christ become? Verse number eight, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Isn't that what being a servant is? To be obedient to those in authority over you? I go and clean. I've got to be obedient to my boss. I don't care if they're younger than me. I don't care if they're less experienced than me. I don't care. They haven't got the wisdom of God's word in them. They don't have the love of God in their hearts that I have. But you know what? I've got to be obedient to them. Need you at this house, at this time, this many hours. Yes, sir. Done. I'm going to be obedient. And you're not going to be asked to be obedient unto death. God's not going to ask you to die for the sins of the world, all right? But Jesus Christ was willing to do it. Jesus Christ was willing to say, not my will, but thy will be done to the Father, even the death of the cross. And then notice in verse number nine, once you humble yourself, wherefore God have also highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. Praise God. The Father exalts the Son. You know, he lifts up the Son. He glorifies the Son because the Son was willing to make himself of no reputation to be obedient unto death to be made a servant. Listen, why do you think it's different for you? It's not. It's going to be the same. You're children of God. You're a son or daughter of God, all right? So you want to upgrade the station? Be obedient. Be obedient to the authorities that God has given you in life, okay? Stop rebelling. I know you're smarter than your boss. I know that already, okay? And if you're not, then, you know, maybe you're not. Maybe you're not smarter than your boss, but I'm going to pretend you are smarter. I don't care how much smarter you are than your boss. Be obedient to them. And my kids, if they're listening, you probably are smarter than me, okay? Mom and dad, okay? Maybe you are more just than what we are, but we're your parents, okay? We've got authority over you. You want things to go well with you? You want to have a long life? We saw this last time. Be obedient to your parents. Honour mother and father, okay? That's what God requires of you. Let's keep going there. Matthew chapter 20, please. Matthew chapter 20. Matthew chapter 20, and we'll end on this one. Matthew chapter 20. There's nothing wrong with desire in a higher station, but you have to wait on the Lord. That's my point, okay? Be patient. Just serve God the best you can in your current station, and let's see what God's going to do for you. Matthew 20. Then came to Him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshiping Him, worshiping Jesus, and desiring a certain thing of Him. She desires something. She wants something for her sons. Some people look at this as though the mother of Zebedee's children here as like a bit of a selfish woman. I don't believe that. I believe she just wants the best for her children when I read this passage. Verse number 21. And He said unto her, What wilt thou? He says to the mother, Hey, what do you want? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand and the other on the left in thy kingdom. Is that a horrible request? God, Jesus, I want my sons to sit right next to you. I want my sons to be close to you in your kingdom. That's a good request. All right? She's asking for something positive. But look how Jesus Christ answers. Verse number 22. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am to be baptized with? And they saith unto him, We are able. Verse number 23. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. Now this is the part that I wanted to get to. He goes, But to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give. God, what do you mean Jesus? You're God. How can it not be yours to give? How can you not decide who's going to sit right next to you in your kingdom? The reason is because that's not his station. The one that decides that is a station above him, the Father. He then says, But it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. You see, the reason it's so important that you know your station, and don't rise yourself above it, is because Jesus knew his station. He goes, Choosing who's going to sit right next to me is not mine to give. That belongs to another. That belongs to the one that has authority even over me, the Father. The Father gets to choose. Alright? So we see very different attitudes. Jesus Christ knows his station. Jesus Christ knows he's under the authority of the Father. There are certain things that only the Father can do that he cannot do. And he honours the authority that is over him. Even though Jesus Christ is God. And then we have the opposite. Lucifer. Okay? He has no desire, no love, no contentment in his station. He says, I want to be as high as God. Completely different to Jesus. Completely different attitude. It's so important that we know our station. And that we stay subjected in that station. Because Jesus Christ came and served as our example. Didn't he? You know, we're to walk in his footsteps. Jesus knew his station. And we came to decisions made by an authority greater than him. He left it there with that authority. He did not try to take authority for himself. He did not try to lift himself above his station. And brethren, that is the best example that we can have in the Bible. So in conclusion, this is kind of part one. There is another, like this whole series is the perfect man. But this is really groundwork for the next sermon in this series. But in conclusion, number one. Know your station. Work out where you belong in life. Okay? Number two. Obey. Serve. Those that are in authority over you. Be productive. Do the best you can for those that are over you. Point number three. Do all things unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Because it's not always easy to serve a man. But it is easy to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I've covered this before in previous sermons, okay? Number four. Be content in the state that you are in. Please don't have the attitude, I want more, I can't stand this. God's given it to you. Be thankful to God. Serve him. Do the best you can. Be content. Look, if you can't be content in the station you're in now, then I promise you, even if you force a promotion, you're not going to be content in the station that comes next. You've got to learn contentment. And number five. Wait. Wait. Wait for the Lord to promote. Wait for him. Say, pastor, I've been waiting so long. Well, maybe the Lord doesn't want to promote. Okay? Maybe that's not in his agenda. Maybe that's not his will. But learn to be content where you are. But I think, more often than not, you give the best you've got to serve Jesus, you will be elevated. You will be promoted, okay? Because you're serving the Lord God. All right, brethren, let's pray.