What does Jesus mean by then principle ''The last shall be the first''?

In today's exaltation, Ghislam Iwona discusses the biblical principle of "the last will be the first." He explains that in society, people strive to be first and seek personal gain, but spiritually, the natural order is different. Jesus taught his disciples that many who are first will be last and vice versa. He uses the example of James and John asking for positions of honor in the kingdom of heaven to illustrate this principle. Jesus emphasizes the importance of humility and serving others. He teaches that those who are humble and recognize their spiritual poverty will inherit the kingdom of heaven. Jesus sets the example of humility by serving others and sacrificing himself. To be the last means to be a servant to all. The message encourages choosing humility over pride and recognizing our need for God's help and forgiveness. Jesus promises that those who are last in this world will be first in the kingdom of heaven. The path to becoming the last is through repentance and seeking fo Welcome to our weekly exaltation. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for your time. My name is Ghislam Iwona, Servant of God, Servant of Jesus Christ. In our today's exaltation, we are going to look at the meaning of the Biblical principle, the last will be the first. We hope you enjoy today's message. Praise the Lord. In life, the social rank that a person occupies is determined in relation to the work well done. In society, men naturally seek to be the first, to increase their influence, to avail themselves of their position for their own interest. For example, we hear people say, I have a house, I have a car, I have a cattle, and I even am in the process of building a second house. This is all good, but there is a feeling of superiority when someone talks like that. It is not difficult to guess that these people have the feeling to have achieved something. Spiritually speaking, the natural order of things is different. We are first, not because we have made progress, but we are first precisely because we were not able to make the good choice. It is in this perspective that the Lord Jesus said to his disciples, but many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first. What does he mean precisely? Praise the Lord. You know, Jesus and his disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was explaining to them how he would be handed over to the chief priest and to the scribe to be condemned to death, but he reassured them, I mean he reassured his disciples that he would rise again on the third day. It was then that John and James approached Jesus to ask him to allow them to sit down, one on his right and one on his left, in his glory. John and James wanted Jesus to give them first place in the kingdom of heaven. In fact, the Lord Jesus had already taught his disciples the principle of first last when they discussed who was the greatest. Listen to what he told them in Matthew, Matthew 19 verse 30, but many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Jesus' response to John and James' request was emphatic. He tells them, what you are asking doesn't make any sense. You seem to have forgotten the principle of the first and the last. Let me remind you of this. He says, if you want to be first in my kingdom, you must be the last. What message did Jesus want to convey? In fact, occupying the last place means that you have to know how to handle yourself. See the principle of the first last leads us to make a decision, that of being the first or the last. So, what does it mean to be the last as opposed to being the first? In fact, in Luke chapter 6 verse 20, Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, praise the Lord. You know, in the Hebrew language, the word poor means to be humble in heart or to be mixed in character. In Isaiah chapter 66 verse 2, God said, but on this one will I look, on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at my word. We should note that according to this passage, the poor are those who show humility and grieve for their sin. Jesus is particularly talking to them because the poor present such modesty and welcome the gospel easily. If we want to rewrite this verse, I mean Luke chapter 6 verse 20, we will have something like this, blessed are the humble or blessed are the last, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. See, the principle of last first is so important to Jesus because the last are those who are receptive to the word of God and do it. That is why the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Now, to whom is the kingdom of God reserved? Of course, the kingdom of God is reserved to the poor in spirit, to those who are last, to the humble, to those who show humility and grieve for their sins, hallelujah. We make the decision to be first or last, to be served or to serve. Another part of Christ's teaching is about saving our life or losing it. The law asks us to choose the last place, which is to devote our life to serving others, not to lose our life for the good of others. Friend, do you know that in Christianity, you win by losing? Here, you have to agree to be in the last position to see the glory of God. If you want to be the first in the kingdom of God, you have to accept humility. And why so? Well, because God says so. David says, God exalts the humble, Psalm 113. If God resists the pride but gives grace to the humble, as the apostle James wrote, James chapter 4 verse 6, then we will have to choose between pride and humility. Friend, if you are asked to, which one are you going to choose, pride, humility? The law of Jesus asks us to choose the last place, which is to devote our life to serving others, to lose our life for the good of others. See, this notion of helpfulness is so important for Jesus that he links it to his death on the cross, like he said in Mark chapter 10 verse 45. Because also the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life ransom for many, Jesus gives himself as an example to show the spirit that must reign in his kingdom, the spirit of humility. Notice that during his earthly ministry, Jesus never asked to be served. He never used his power for his own benefit. Throughout his life, it was he who gave himself to others. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Jesus goes on in Mark 9 verse 35 and says, If any man desires to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. In this verse, Jesus explains what to be last of all means. He says to be last is to be the servant of all. And that is what he said exactly in Mark chapter 10. In fact, to be the last is to take the path of humility by putting oneself at the service of others. To be the last is to show poverty of spirit. Look, when you recognize your spiritual bankruptcy before God, when you become aware of the state of sin in which you find yourself, you realize then that divine wrath hovers over you, and yet you deserve nothing but to suffer God's punishment. Hallelujah. To conclude this message, I would like to say that the last, according to the word of Jesus, is the one who shows humility. When we choose to be last in this world by showing humility before God and men, we have chosen to be first in the kingdom of heaven. When we choose to be last, we are demonstrating poverty of spirit before God. We recognize our poor spiritual condition. We realize how weak we are, how helpless we are to change the course of our lives in our own power. When Jesus said that the last shall be the first, he means to emphasize a person's humility, a spiritual humility that leads that person to trust in the Lord for help and comfort. The poor are those who feel their need and feel the need to ask for help. The poor is that person who realizes that without the presence of God in his life, he is lost. He then begs heaven to save him. One could paraphrase this beatitude by saying, blessed are those who experience a deep sense of spiritual failure before God. So how do we become the last? Well, there is only one path that leads to this spiritual position. It is the one followed by the penitent heart. Only repentance allows the regeneration of the soul and gives birth to a new creature in Christ. If you have the desire to become this type of person, if you want to be the last, if you wonder how one can be among the last, you must first confess your sins painfully to God and ask for forgiveness. You know, many who now seem to be first in faith or think being the first will eventually be among those who the Lord has never known. Conversely, many of those who are spiritually last in man's estimation will be first in God's estimation at the time of judgment. At the last judgment, there will be great surprises, confusion for some, consolation for others. Yes. Friend, please tell me, for whom is the kingdom prepared? Is it for the humble or for the pride? Of course, it is for the humble, right? Praise the Lord. I just want to say that let's clothe ourselves with humility toward one another because that is the will of God. That's what the apostle Peter said in 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 5. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Well, this was the message I wanted to get out about the principle of first and last talk about in Matthew chapter 19, verse 30. I hope you enjoyed this message. If God wills it, we will be together next week for more. Abundant blessing. Shalom.