[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. We will turn to Mark chapter number 10. You probably are like me and don't remember the first time that you heard about a God that loves you enough to die for you.
[0:16] You were saved if you came up in a Christian home. You were saved young, you probably don't remember the first time you heard it. Some of you were saved later in life and somebody overcame the barriers that we all have when it comes to sharing the gospel.
[0:28] Somebody came to you and shared the gospel and it is wonderful. But as we look at Mark chapter number 10, I share this story with the Connect class today. But I will share it with you as I was thinking about that God that loves us to the point that He would be willing to die for us.
[0:43] This is a story about a little old lady and Gandhi's great nephew. When Steph and I were in India, the first Sunday we went to a church service. I met a guy that lived in Canada but he grew up in Mumbai.
[0:55] And when he was 18 years old, he went to Canada to go to college. He came from a wealthy family. And while he was in college, he was staying with the family. And the family would go to church every Sunday morning.
[1:08] And he couldn't get to a temple. He couldn't drive. And there wasn't many temples in the city that he was at. And so he said, I'll go to church with you guys and you'll pray to your God and I'll pray to my God and it will be okay.
[1:19] So he did that for several weeks. He went to church and he would pray to his God and they would worship the true God of heaven. Well, they asked the young man, they said, would you like to help us with a summer camp?
[1:32] We have a bunch of kids that are coming that will speak Hindi and English and you speak Hindi and you speak English. Why don't you help us? So he was helping in that first week. And while he was there, VeggieTales came on.
[1:44] Cartoon vegetables, if you didn't know that. The VeggieTales came on and they say John 3.16. And it talked about a God that loved us so much that he died for us.
[1:54] And this young man got furiously mad. And he went into the office of this little old lady, he said. And he said he was irate. And he just began to scream at her and says, you cannot tell these little kids that the God of heaven died.
[2:08] Because they just can't handle that. But I've never heard anything like that in my whole life. I've heard about all kinds of gods. But there is not a God that loves this world and that died for us.
[2:19] And this little old lady, that was his term that he used for her. But he said that over the weeks she began to show him about the God that died for him. And he accepted Jesus as his Savior, finished his college.
[2:33] And when Steph and I met him, he was at a crisis in life. And he said, I went 18 years of my life and I never heard about Jesus. Never one time saw John 3.16. I never heard about a God that would die for me.
[2:45] And I never heard about a God that would love me. And now I'm wrestling with this idea. Do I come back to give these people that opportunity? Or do I go back where I was at and continue serving there?
[2:56] It was a phenomenal first encounter with a person in church. It really spoke to my heart as he was looking at a decision about how he should serve. And I thought about that as we sing about it.
[3:08] We sing about it. It seems common to us to say that Jesus died for us because he loved us. It was said many times in their testimonies. They would say that we know about all the gods.
[3:18] Nobody knows about the gods more than we do in India. And 33 million of them they would say. And he said, we never heard of a God that said, I love you. Until we learned of the God of Christianity. And I'm so thankful that I got to hear about him and my children do.
[3:32] In Mark chapter number 10 verses 25 through 35. You find a passage of scripture. If you turn anywhere in the gospel records. You're close to this story.
[3:44] Because it happens often. In Mark chapter number 9 verse 33. They're arguing about who is the greatest among them. They're going to argue about it now. With James and John.
[3:54] And then even all the way up to the last day at the Lord's Supper. They're going to have that same argument. So three times in the life of Jesus. We know that follows from somewhere when he's age 30.
[4:05] To some 33 and a half. In that area with the disciples following him. We find it recorded three times. So I'd say you're never far away from this argument there. And that it's recorded for us.
[4:16] And it will come once again. And it gets echoed here in Mark chapter number 10. And I said 25. But I mean verses 35 through 45. If you'll follow along with me here. And James and John the sons of Zebedee.
[4:29] Come unto him saying. Master we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them. What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him. Grant unto us that we may sit.
[4:40] One on the right hand. And the other on thy left hand. In thy glory. But Jesus said unto them. You know not what ye ask. Can you drink of the cup that I drink of? And be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
[4:53] And they said unto him. We can. And Jesus said unto him. You shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of. And with the baptism that I am baptized with all. Shall you be baptized? But the sin on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give.
[5:06] But it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. And when the ten heard it. They began to be much displeased with James and John. And Jesus called to them. To him. And saith unto him.
[5:16] You know that which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles. Exercise lordship over them. And their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you.
[5:28] But whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister. And whosoever you will be the chiefest shall be the servant of all. For even the son of man came not to be ministered unto.
[5:39] But to minister and give his life a ransom for many. So a common story here. We see James and John asking that question. How can I be the greatest? Sit on your right and left hand.
[5:49] And then Jesus answers and tells them. That they should be concerned about being a servant of all. Reading that passage in today's context. And where we're at. We've got to ask ourselves. First of all. How would we best be going about being a servant?
[6:02] And then second of all. If we're going to be a servant. How do we do it in such a way that it would be said. That we are drinking of the cup of suffering. And that we would be baptized in his suffering. As I looked at this passage.
[6:14] And I wrestled with it in my time in India. I thought about how difficult it is for us to have to suffer. And endure. In a land that doesn't want to take our lives from us. But I think we'll see here.
[6:25] As we get to 2 Timothy chapter number 2 here in a moment. How we can live a life like that. First of all. I want to just talk about a universal desire that we all have. James and John might have been the one that asked the questions.
[6:37] But any of the disciples could have asked him. And if we would have followed Jesus those days. It would have been very likely that either you or I would have asked that same questions. We see the attitude in the other disciples. Peter even said it one time.
[6:49] He says. Hey you know how much we left when it came to following you. How does it look? How is the payoff at the end? He said. I left my nets. And I left my boats to come follow you.
[6:59] Many of you know the story of Albert Noble. There's a man that got to see his obituary. He woke up one day. Opens up the newspaper Evan. And there's his obituary.
[7:10] And it was said that he was a good man. That he invented dynamite. And he read it. But he wasn't satisfied with what he read about his life. So from that day forward he said. I want to change how my true obituary would be written.
[7:21] And he set up the Nobel Peace Prize. Well most of us don't have that opportunity in life. To read our obituary and then have another chance. So we think about it at other times.
[7:32] We think about it as James and John did. As they're there with Jesus. And they should have been focusing on something else. And they want to say. How is it that I'm going to live a life that's significant? What does it look like for me if I'm going to leave a legacy?
[7:46] Zinzendorf. The guy that leads the Moravians. A group that had missionaries go all around the world. In the early days of modern missions. When he was just a young student.
[7:56] He started a society called. The Order of the Grain of the Mustard Seed. That's a good name for our next adult Bible fellowship. If somebody wants to take that. The Order of the Grain of the Mustard Seed. And the members of this society.
[8:09] They wore rings that said. No man liveth unto himself. Which is what Romans 14.7 says. That every one of us have an influence. On somebody else. And we often wonder how great our influence is.
[8:22] And how much we're doing with what God has given us. And it's a good question to ask. One of the things that motivates me. To want to spend time. And to work with teenagers.
[8:33] Is the fact that when I was 18 years old. I think most of you would know this story. That as I was going through my small town. There was an ambulance. It was Tuesday. I was supposed to graduate on Friday.
[8:44] And I saw an ambulance. And I wondered who that ambulance was for. Getting home. I found out that it was for my father. And I drive back to the court square. And it was in that moment. That I saw them putting my dad.
[8:55] The coroner had to come. And they were putting him in. The ambulance to take him off there. And I. Some of the questions. That I have been trying my best. To avoid as a teenager.
[9:07] In that moment. And I wasn't able to anymore. Those kind of questions about. What is the purpose of life? What is it I should be doing with my life? Is it okay that I'm just living for myself? Is there something greater I should be living for.
[9:19] Other than just this day? And so those questions that teenagers do such a good job at avoiding. I was unable to in that moment. And I'm thankful that I wasn't able to. At that moment.
[9:29] So as I looked at where my dad's life had ended. I asked myself. Where is my life headed? How would my life be any different than his life was?
[9:40] And there was things in my dad's life that I would like to model. But there were many things that I did not want to model. When I had a son. But it's a universal desire. It says eternity is hidden in our hearts in the book of Ecclesiastes.
[9:53] And it's something that's true about every one of us. And we'd express it differently. But we all want to make a mark in this world. And we want to do something that's significant. And we've asked this question. And if you haven't asked it recently.
[10:03] I'd like for you to reconsider it tonight. What it is that your life being spent for. How is it making a difference in this world? Jesus kept bringing up the fact that he would suffer and die.
[10:14] In Mark chapter number 9 and verse number 32. Jesus had told them in verse 31. And he taught his disciples and said unto them. The son of man is delivered into the hands of men. And they shall kill him. And after that he is killed.
[10:26] He shall rise the third day. And this is what the disciples did in verse 32. But they understood not the saying. And were afraid to ask him. They said we don't know what you're talking about Jesus. About you dying.
[10:37] This horrible death. But we're even afraid to ask you about it. Because we're not really interested in that ending of the story. We're interested in the ending where you set up a new kingdom. And we all get to sit on your right and left hand.
[10:50] So I know the disciples even dealt with that. Of not wanting to ask the hard questions about life. But there's a couple things that James and John they got right. One being the fact that Jesus was destined to glory.
[11:02] Verse number 37. Who shall receive? Verse of chapter number 10 here. They said that they knew that Jesus would sit there. And they were asking who would get the sit on the right hand.
[11:16] And then who would sit on the left hand. And so what they got right is that the fact that Jesus was destined to sit in heaven. One day. And the set in glory.
[11:27] And that's a good thing for you to know. Because you're making an investment every day of your life. Tim has a test on Tuesday with Edward Jones. And he'll advise people on how to make investments in life.
[11:40] Something he's already doing on a spiritual side when he would talk to people. But we ought to be people that know that Jesus wins. That he's winning now and that he always will win. If you knew a company stock was going to go up.
[11:51] You would be wise to invest. If you knew that there's only going to be one building left after an earthquake. You would be wise to get in it. If you knew that Jesus was going to reign in glory at the end over every rival.
[12:03] Then you would be wise to follow Jesus and not the rivals. Many of the people in India that we met that professed Christ. Did not possess a saving faith of him. I have a picture here of Jesus among other gods here.
[12:16] We went to Doss. A man I'll tell you about here in a second. But when we went to we were walking around his town. And when we went he told us about a friend that he had. And he said I'm concerned about my friend.
[12:27] I don't believe that he's really a Christian. So when we go to the man's door he gives me a greeting like a Christian would. Which is the words J. Masiki. Which means Jesus praise the Lord.
[12:38] And I got used to hearing that among the Christians. And so he greets me with that. And then he takes us up. Four. He lives on the top floor of four. And to get to his house you had to walk through people's houses to get there.
[12:50] And it was quite a sight when these people who didn't expect any guests. Had three Americans with camera equipment. Walking through their house. He should have given them a heads up. And so we get up to the top. And he shows me in his little bitty house.
[13:02] He spends. He has one corner dedicated to what he worships. And I said would you explain to me what I'm seeing. And he picks up the first picture. And he says this is the God I pray to every morning. Because I need knowledge.
[13:13] And then this is the God that I pray to because I need power. And this is the God that I need to because I need wealth. And then he picked up a picture of Jesus and held it. And he says this is the God that I pray to when I'm not feeling good.
[13:26] Because he is the God of physical healing. And I began to share with him why that is not who our Jesus is. That our Jesus was God.
[13:37] And that he is the greater among all these gods. And that he should not be placed on the table with these other gods. Because unlike James and John he had not realized that Jesus was the one that would one day set in glory.
[13:50] Here in a second we are going to get tough on James and John. At least they had that right. And I hope you have that at least right as well. And many of us aren't as far along as James and John. And if you are not following hard after Jesus then you haven't got that right either.
[14:03] That one day he will be the victorious one. So what did James and John get wrong? These men that were called the sons of thunder. Who had brought their mom into discussion at one point when they asked this question.
[14:15] These men that were called the sons of thunder. What they most likely did not understand was the cup. The baptism that awaited for them. In verse number 38 it said. But Jesus said unto them you know not what you ask.
[14:28] Can you drink of the cup that I drink? And be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him we can. And then Jesus said unto him you shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of.
[14:40] So what they probably didn't get right completely that day. And we know because so many times when he was speaking of the crucifixion. They did not seem ready for it. Was the suffering that was there. They probably didn't understand.
[14:52] In Mark 14. In Luke chapter number 12. In verse number 50.
[15:03] We find here the baptism being described. The one that he is speaking of here. When he says are you ready to take of my baptism? Luke 12. 50 says that I have a baptism. And to be baptized with.
[15:15] And how I have strained until it be accomplished. Suppose that I come to give peace on earth. And I tell you nay. But rather the vision. He was going to be baptized into suffering.
[15:25] And this is what he told them. That if they wanted to be the greatest. If they wanted to be sitting with him. On his right and left hand. That they would have to become servants of all.
[15:36] So we see something here as a universal desire. And I think every one of you would say that that's true about your life. Maybe you've given up being famous. Which would be a good thing to give up on. But every one of you want to live a life that matters.
[15:47] And you should. You were created in the image of God. He's doing a work in your life. And you should have that desire. But we see here an unusual definition given by Jesus. The disciples it said they were upset.
[15:58] When they asked the question. But Jesus then turns and answers the same question. For them as well. In verses 41 through 44 it says. And then the ten heard it. And they began to be much displeased with James and John.
[16:13] But Jesus called them to him and said. You know that which have accounted the rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them. And the greatest ones exercise authority upon them. So he begins to answer what's at their heart as well.
[16:25] He says. You see how it works in the business world. You see how it works out here in the world. That the greatest is the one with the most amount of power. But he says it's not going to be that way among us. So what he has done is take their desire for glory.
[16:38] And he showed them that the path would take through suffering and death. And then he says in verse 45. That even the son of man came not to be ministered unto. But the minister and he gave his life a ransom for many.
[16:50] And he shows here that he is the ultimate example. In verse number 38 he tells James and John. He says let me tell you an example of being a servant. And he speaks about his death. And then there in verse number 45 he does the same again.
[17:02] With speaking of the disciples. But then he says something that seems odd. Because he said I did not even come for you to serve me. When he said I didn't come to be ministered to. He is talking to them as well.
[17:14] He is speaking to us. But he is speaking to them as well. He said I came here to serve. He says even the son of man. He said I did not even come here to be served. But I came first and foremost to serve you.
[17:26] Can you imagine how wild this was for them to hear. That he said I came to serve you. And to be a ransom for many. And so this is not just only an example that Jesus is setting. But he is telling us that he came to serve the disciples.
[17:39] And ultimately us. And this is unheard of. Among the gods of India. This would be unheard of. I had an opportunity to go to this college. Where Buddhist monks were studying.
[17:50] Where they would study. And when I was there. I was supposed to be teaching an English class. And seeing that I am from Kentucky. I did not feel equipped to teach English. So I said let us have a Q&A session about Christianity.
[18:01] Anything you want to know. I will try my very best. The answer for you. And one of the many questions they said was. What made Jesus different than all the other people that said. Come and follow after me.
[18:14] And what makes it different is that Jesus came here first to serve us. And to die and be a ransom for many. And he said in verse number five. For even the son of man came not to be ministered unto.
[18:27] And what an example that would be set here. That when he entered and he came into this world. He did not come to be served. But he came to serve these men that were following him. And ask you how do you enter your world each day.
[18:40] Don't just serve Jesus. But be served by him. And I know that sounds weird. That he is saying disciples don't serve me. I came to serve you. And if you will think about it. Do you think that you can drink this cup of suffering.
[18:52] Without his help and service. Do you think you can endure the suffering of baptism. Without him serving. And helping you. Do you think you can become the kind of person. That renounces fame and human status.
[19:02] To serve all other people. Without him serving you first day and night. And the answer is you can't. John chapter number 15 verse number five. Says that if we don't abide in him.
[19:13] If we are not in him. That he cannot work through us. That we are not able to be of any use to anybody in service. Until we first recognize our need. To be served by him.
[19:23] You first must be served by him. Before you can be used. If Christianity. Like the other religions that I heard about. Were only a great. Were only great and a radical teacher. Calling for sacrificial obedience.
[19:35] And for radical disciples. That would not be good news. It would be like just any other ideology. There are so many idols that they worship there. One was a man named Sai Baba. Who two years.
[19:45] Two hundred years ago. Called people to follow after him. In his life of service. And people really liked it. They would tell you that. They would say. I follow Sai Baba. I am really into service.
[19:57] And so people. False religion. Satan knows that we. We are okay with serving. But they just doesn't want us to serve Jesus. So he created a false religion here.
[20:07] And what unites those people. Is this idea. That we are supposed to serve humanity. Which sounds good. But it is not the message that Jesus brought. The message that Jesus first brought.
[20:18] Was that I first had to serve you. Because you were dead in your trespasses and sin. And that I had to redeem you. So that you could be of any use to this world. If Christianity only meant that a man appeared on the scene of history.
[20:30] To call others to be servant. It would not be good news. We know this already. And so many religions come to the same conclusion. And that the world has no shortage of people.
[20:41] That say follow me. What we need is that someone could come. And forgive us of our sins. And provide a ransom for our guilt and death. And the wrath of God. Who can give us new life.
[20:52] With the power to die. For each other. And the service of love. So I know as you know. That we are called to be servants. I also know that Jesus said. That the type of serving that I must do.
[21:04] Is the kind of service where. It isn't kind of hard. But it is always hard. And I do not believe that. He didn't give us a different Bible. He didn't say. There will become a time in the church. Where there will be a church in America.
[21:16] And those people won't need these passages on suffering. Because they will live in such a nice place. That suffering doesn't exist anymore. So the dilemma that I came to here was.
[21:26] I want to serve Jesus in the way that he wants me to serve him. And I believe that you feel the same here with me. But I know that I don't feel the weight of the cross. Like I should. I know that I don't sweat here like I did in India.
[21:39] In many ways. I did not know that I could sweat. The way I did in India. The first few days I kept looking. Thinking something was leaking on top of me. And then I realized that I was just going through.
[21:50] Gallons and gallons a day of water. Because of the temperature. And we would go into these rooms. And we would just turn off all of the. We would turn off all of the.
[22:00] And fans that were blowing. So that we could get. The things that were there. The audio. And I would just sweat. And I don't sweat like that here. If I want to sweat here. I got to go play basketball on Tuesday night with Andrew.
[22:11] I have to work at sweating here. And this is weird for you isn't it? I'm starting to sweat as I try to describe this. Also my wife's iPad is beeping and telling me things. But I have to work.
[22:22] And I have to work at sweating. And it's also true in my spiritual life. You know there in India. I felt like it would be easy for me. The sweat. I felt like it would be easy for me.
[22:33] To be surrounded by people. Who had never heard the gospel. But I don't see a lot of sweating in service here. In America. I don't find a lot of us getting to a point.
[22:44] Where we stand before unbelievers. And so I met a young man. Named Doss. And I learned about his coming to know Christ. I learned about his desire. That was created in his life for the word.
[22:55] I learned about the demand. That was placed on his life. To tell others. I learned the discipline in his life. To continue both as a student. And as a teacher. And how the combination of those two things. Student and teacher.
[23:06] Made him the type of servant. That God had called him to be. And so the documentary that will show in January. I'm going to give you a spoiler. And I'm going to ruin it for you. But hopefully it will be much better to see it.
[23:18] But I wanted to quickly tell you about this guy Doss. And how this passage of scripture in his life. Has taught me a lesson. And I hope here in a few minutes. He'll come to the same conclusion. But there's some undeniable demands upon the life of Doss.
[23:32] Three years ago. You remember Jim Roberts came up to this pulpit. I was sitting in the back there. Where Titus is at. And I had somebody. Robert brought me this Hindi Bible.
[23:42] And he said. You're going to need this. And I'm like. I don't think I'm going to need this. The service is in English. I don't read Hindi. And the next thing I knew. Jim was up here. Saying that God had called him. To go to India.
[23:53] Him and his family. And it was a very exciting day. I came up here. And got to hug him. And we prayed as a church. And we thank God for it. And it was just a wonderful thing. It's a wonderful thing.
[24:04] That we get to be part of as a church. That prays for the world. Who prays for labors. And then when God answers them. How exciting it is. Well about that same time. Over in New Delhi. There's a young man named Das.
[24:15] 23 years of age. He had been going to different temples. He had even tried to become a Muslim. And a Sikh. And he was just looking anywhere he could. Because he knew he had questions. About the true God.
[24:26] And so one night. He didn't know where to turn. So he takes a smart phone. Which is a very basic one. And he googles Jesus. And he sits there. When his dad and three brothers are in the room.
[24:37] And he sits up in the corner. And he reads testimonies. About how a person had accepted Jesus. And it shared the gospel. And when he read about a God that loved him. God drew him.
[24:49] And convicted his heart. And he knelt there. And he accepted Jesus Christ. As his savior. And he didn't know a Christian. He didn't have a Bible. But he had read the Bible online. And the gospel. And he got saved.
[25:00] So he began looking. And he worked at a bookstore. And there were some Christian books there. So he began to teach himself English. So that he could read these Christian books. So he could learn more. About our God.
[25:11] And as he began to learn English. He met a man. At a church. And he started to begin going to. And the church was very much into. Very little into teaching scripture. Much into supernatural signs.
[25:24] And he wasn't getting fed there. Because he wanted to study the word. And they weren't into the word. They wanted to hear God speak. Outside of his word. And so he was hungry. And he kept looking. So Jim comes back to India.
[25:35] And Jim meets with. He comes and he meets. And Jim just shares. He says. Doss. Have you ever read the Bible. From beginning to end. And he's like. No. I've never done that. He said. Well let's do that. Together. And Jim starts taking him.
[25:46] Matthew chapter number one. And by the time I was there. They were almost finished. And the book of Acts. And Doss was so hungry. For the word. That he would go an hour and fifteen minutes. To sit there with Jim.
[25:58] And to study the Bible. And he does that four days. A week. So that he could get the Bible. But because he has an undeniable. Undeniable demand on his life. To get the word.
[26:08] Because he's so hungry. Now because he's studying it. So ferociously. He has to find a place. To teach it. Well he doesn't serve in a church anywhere. And nobody's going to give him a Sunday school class. So he has to start looking for places.
[26:19] So he's been teaching kids English. As he's been learning it. And now every day. When he goes and teaches English. He teaches those kids. Bible stories. And then he gets up early.
[26:30] And he takes the lessons. That he's been learning in English. Or in English. And he translates it in Hindi. Because later that night. After he's done doing his job. As a mail carrier. He goes place to place to place.
[26:42] He takes his bicycle. And he stops at this little house. And he teaches. These two young men. The Bible. And he had led one of them. To the Lord. And he's looking for more places.
[26:54] Well today. As we were here. Doss stood up. And he preached. Acts chapter number one. Verses one through eight. The first time he had ever done that. With six people in attendance. And with one goofy American named Jim.
[27:05] Who was crying his eyes out. The whole time. Because he had seen what God had done. In Doss' life. And it's a real answer. The prayer. There's so many little details about Doss' life.
[27:17] That I love. But I found myself. Being a. An American. With a passport. To go anywhere that I want to. But having a wonderful church.
[27:28] Having so many resources. Having thousands of books at my fingertips. Be given an opportunity to do this. I found myself sitting back and being jealous. Of this man who lives on $130 a month.
[27:42] Because his life was simple. And he had grasped what really mattered in life. That he was showing people who did not know God. He was showing them God. People that had been looking at statues.
[27:54] And been looking at different things. He said. Our God of heaven. The creator. Has a book. And we can read about him. And it isn't superstition. But it's written here.
[28:04] And preserved for us today. And he talks about the church. And he talks about the Bible. In a way that I had never heard anybody speak about it. It was wonderful to get to be around him.
[28:16] And it was something that did not. He did not choose for himself. He did not know how special he was. It was just an undeniable demand. That was on his life. Can I tell you Mark chapter 834.
[28:28] Demands that we would take up our cross. The cross demands our all. We are not able to give our all. Without his help. Jesus had already given his all to his disciples. Before he gave his life upon the cross.
[28:40] You know it said that Jesus only had 12. But those 12 had his entire life. We look at the life of Jesus. And we see the model when he goes. And he shed his life on the cross. If you would read the gospel records.
[28:52] You would see a Jesus that gave his life for the disciples. In every living moment of his life. He made decisions of what would be best for them. He sent large crowds away.
[29:02] So he could spend time with them. He walks everywhere he goes. Even though he is the creator of the universe. Because he was giving his life to them. Moment at a time. The gospel has an undeniable demand upon my life.
[29:15] Because it creates an appetite in our lives. For the word. That is the distinctive of a Christian. In John chapter number 6. There is a group of people. When Jesus says you have to eat my flesh. And drink my blood. They said buddy you are crazy.
[29:26] We don't want anything to do with it. But those that truly loved him. They said we don't know exactly what you are talking about. But you have the words of life. And whatever you are serving. We will take an extra portion of it.
[29:38] And that is your story too in here. If you are a believer. You may wrestle at times about feeling guilty. Because you did not read the Bible when you wanted to. Or you skipped out an opportunity. But can I tell you.
[29:48] When you get past all the things that entangle us in life. And if I was able to take your heart. I would see people that say I want the word. I want the words of God. 1 Peter 2.2 says we desire that sincere milk.
[30:01] Because we have tasted and seen that the Lord is gracious. Because of what we know about God. We want to know more about him. The gospel contains in its content an undeniable demand to be shared with others.
[30:13] Simply cannot truly be believed unless you want to share it with others. 1 Corinthians 5 says that God is pleading with the world. Verse 20. Now then we are ambassadors of Christ. It says though God did beseech you by us.
[30:26] We pray you in Christ's stead. Be you reconciled to God. Is that the God of heaven is pleading with lost sinners through us. We want to share the gospel.
[30:37] So the question is. Why don't you and why don't I feel the cross weighing upon our lives. Like we know that we should. It's not because of the abundance of food. Or our larger houses.
[30:48] Or the abundance of resources. I believe it's due to a lack of willingness for us to admit. That we have been given these things for a purpose. That is greater than ourselves.
[30:58] So when we take all that God's been given us. It is hard for us to recognize that these things do not belong to us. And it's really hard for us the older we get. When you work so hard to get them.
[31:10] To admit that even though you work really hard to get those things. And you work really hard so that now you don't have to put as many hours in at work. Or you work really hard so that the weekend would come. It's really hard for you to admit that that still does not belong to you.
[31:23] But it belongs to God. And it should be offered to Him for a purpose. We have a distorted view of our surroundings. That we have created an attempt to maintain the status quo in our lives.
[31:34] If everything is okay. Then I do not have to give up my. And you can fill in the blank. But I fill in the blank with. If everything is okay. Then I do not have to give up my time.
[31:45] And you can fill that in with the word. We work hard at convincing ourselves that everything was okay. As Doss would have. As we were with other people that had been Christians for longer.
[31:55] We had walked down the street in India. And I would see dead bodies being carried. They were going to be cremated there in Var Narci. And I was just shocked by it. But those Christians weren't shocked by it. Because they were so used to seeing it.
[32:09] And I say, I wish I could see America the same way that I get to see India. Where I can look past what's going on. And see the spiritual warfare that's going on. Because I spend so much of my time.
[32:21] And I think you would admit as well. That I spend so much of my time trying to convince myself that things are not urgent. That everything is okay. That if I want to share the gospel with my neighbor.
[32:31] It's optional. And it would be a good thing for me to do. But I don't feel any urgency. Because I've done a very good job at convincing myself that everything is okay. We're no longer baptized in the suffering.
[32:44] But we're occasionally sprinkled by it. We're enamored about this idea that we could go to the other side of the world. And dig a well for people. And in digging that well we would sweat.
[32:55] And we would give our very best. And at the end of the day it would be inconvenient. And we know we had done something. And we had met a need. Can I tell you I'm not here to discourage you from digging wells wherever you want.
[33:07] But there's another way that we can live a life at the end of the day. We know that we have sweated. And we know that we have done things that are inconvenient. And we know that we have paid a price. And we know that we have made a difference in somebody's life.
[33:19] And it doesn't require getting on an airplane always. But many times we should do that. We've been given the demand to endure. Pay attention to this. It's so important to those of us who want to drink his cup and partake in his baptism.
[33:33] What is there to endure here? As I've already said if I want to sweat I must get on a treadmill. In America we brag about cooking things from scratch. Where in India that wouldn't make a lot of sense. Because they would say what was the other option?
[33:45] Cook nothing at all. And we must take. We often feel like we have to leave the ghost somewhere. If we really want to do the hard work of Christianity. And we're impressed by this.
[33:55] We're impressed by the sweat of the person that will dig a ditch. But we're not impressed by the common discipler. 2 Timothy chapter number 2 verses 3 and 4. I want to share this with you in closing.
[34:08] And it is the main point for the night. Because I believe we've heard this morning about being a servant. I also believe that you heard about it last week. And I believe that you've heard it many times in your life.
[34:19] And if you're like me you don't always know how to make application to it. I think you're people that would like to suffer with Jesus. And you say if this is what you want for me Jesus. If you want me to take your baptism and drink of your cup.
[34:30] I want to do it. But then you run back into America. And you can't figure out how to make it happen. At least that's where I was at. But when looking at Doss' life I began to see some things.
[34:41] There 2 Timothy chapter number 2 verses number 3 and 4. Verse number 2 says we should commit unto the faithful men.
[34:51] We should commit to them what we have learned. Picture Doss here. Learning in the morning. Committing at night. Learning and teaching. Learning and teaching. That's what he was doing constantly. His heart broke because his friend that he had been teaching the Bible.
[35:04] Worshipped other gods. And he didn't know what to do about it. So he's just going to keep trying to teach that man. But the man unless he accepts Jesus will never be a faithful man. He will never be full of faith. Even though he thinks he's a religious man.
[35:15] And faithful. He's a man of little faith. Because he's got to take all the religions of the world. But there's a young man that he's teaching right now. That's a sponge. Just like Doss. And as soon as he can get it.
[35:27] He dumps it off into the sky. And then he goes back and gets more. That's the context of verse number 2. It is not building walls. And it's not digging wells. But it is discipleship.
[35:38] Verse number 3 says. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier, Jesus Christ. No man that worth entangling himself with the affairs of this life. That may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier.
[35:50] These are not passages that you would think that would be connected to discipleship. But he's saying. In your discipleship ministry. Endure hardness as a good soldier. Don't get entangled with the things of this world.
[36:02] Because God has chosen you to do this work. In closing tonight. Could I ask you to make a unified decision? I don't have a passionate emotional plea with you tonight.
[36:13] But I hope that you'll see it's simple here. All of us in here desire to be servants. But would you decide that you would be a servant of the world? We're faced with a challenge to give our lives for our community.
[36:24] Even though this community does not have a desire to take it away from us. The believers in North Africa. At any time. The culture there. The people there may take their lives. May take their lives away from them.
[36:37] Can I tell you here in Alpharetta. Our challenge is. To give our lives away to the people. Who do not care that we're here. To give our lives away to people. Who are not asking us to teach them the Bible.
[36:48] To give our lives away to people. Who do not think that they need anything. But I promise us. If we'll endure. If we'll keep looking. We'll run into somebody. We'll find somebody like Doss.
[36:59] Who was looking for Jesus. And he's going to have to Google it. Man it would break my heart. To find out that somebody had to Google Jesus. And our community. To find them. Let us recognize that we first must be served.
[37:11] By the one who is our ransom. Let's give this community. And the world what we need most. The proper understanding. Of who Jesus truly is. As only described in God's word.
[37:22] When I was a teenager. At 18 years old. And I was trying to figure out. What it is. What God wanted for me. That summer. As I was reading the Bible. And trying to ask God. To show me. In Acts 13. 1336.
[37:32] As David serves his generation. By the will of God. I decided I wanted to be a servant. And being a servant. I had to decide. What is the greatest need. In this world. And it didn't take very long.
[37:43] In my Bible. To find out. That the greatest need. In this world. Is that what people. Would have a proper understanding. Of who Jesus is. And that is how I could best serve. And it's the way that you can best serve.
[37:54] As well. Let's decide. That we should not give our lives. Just to be the best at something. But let's be willing. To give our lives. To do something. That other people. Would not be willing. To do. We need to recognize.
[38:05] That God given desires. To be students of the word. Find new ways. To get it into your life. Take radical. Changes in your schedule. To study. The words. Of life.
[38:16] Don't skip that step. The demand of the gospel. Is the demand. To know him better. Every day of our lives. We want to know him better. So we should be looking. For more and more ways. To do that.
[38:26] If you go and tackle. The problem of saying. I want to teach the bible. To people. And you skip over the step. Of accelerating. The amount of study you do. It's going to become anemic to you. And it will never happen.
[38:37] Nobody told Doss. To become a teacher. Nobody told Doss. To go teach those kids. Somebody just was pumping. The bible into him. At a rate. In which he wanted it. And it was only.
[38:48] A natural response to him. That he would go. And teach it. Be willing not to do. What others can't do. But do what others are unwilling. To do. Stop thinking about. Where you will sit.
[38:58] In the future. Stop asking yourself. Where you can. Start asking yourself. Who you can give your seat up to. How you can help move people. Forward. Become a servant. Of all.
[39:09] So there they said. God where will I sit. And Jesus said. You need to stop thinking about. Where you'll sit someday. And you need to start thinking about. Other people. Mark Tolson doesn't seem to be. Too concerned about.
[39:19] Where he's going to sit someday. He seems concerned about. Setting out 25 chairs. So that Chinese people can come. If they want to. Can I tell you that. I do not think that little old lady.
[39:31] Thought it was a great inconvenience. To set aside time. To talk to that young man. About. Jesus. I do not imagine. That the person. Or the person who set up the website.
[39:43] That shared their testimony. So that Doss could read it. Would feel like they were wasting. Their time. I do not think that Jim. Who sets aside two hours. Every day. To teach Doss.
[39:54] Where it's inconvenient. In the middle of his day. Where he wants to be studying Hindi. Really feels like it's a waste of his time. As I'm riding. At a rickshaw in India. And going to share with somebody.
[40:05] The gospel. I love it. Because I'm sweating. And it seems hard. And it seems like something. That nobody else wants to do. And I tell you that. I can know that. I come back.
[40:16] To a place here. Where I have an opportunity. To do something. That very few other people. Want to do. As well. And that's to be a servant. To this word. And I would like to encourage. All of you.
[40:26] To make that same decision. Tonight. That you would decide. That you would partake. Of the suffering. Of Jesus. And the way that you're going to go about it. Is you're going to become a servant.
[40:37] To this word. And study. When you get up. When you're tired. That's suffering. When you stay up later. That's suffering. When you bring people into your house. Even though you're embarrassed. Because you're afraid. It doesn't look as nice.
[40:48] As their house. And it's inconvenient. There's a chance. To suffer. When you spend time with people. Who you normally never spend time with. So that you can teach them the Bible. There's some suffering.
[40:59] There. When you offer yourself. And you're vulnerable to somebody. And you share the gospel to them. And they ridicule you. There's suffering there. And outside of that. It's hard to find any other place.
[41:09] But there's plenty of suffering for us. And I think we should seek it. Because in seeking it. We're going to find the type of ministry. That we should do. You know so many people say. Live life like a boss.
[41:20] Or at least I thought they did. Until I went to Zach's school the other day. I thought that was an expression. Brother John. Live life like a boss. Which shows I'm irrelevant. To so many decades. And generations of people.
[41:31] But I don't want to live life like a boss. I would like to live life like Doss. That servant. And being simple. And so my plea to you. I'm praying. And then we'll come. And you can make a decision there in your seat.
[41:42] I would like to teach you the Bible. And I would like to teach you at 1 o'clock in the morning. If that's all that you have. And I would like to teach you at 4 a.m. in the morning. And I would like to drive to the other side of Atlanta. If that works.
[41:53] And I would like to do it in the hardest way possible. If you would give that to me. Because I would like to enjoy the sufferings there. Of hardship. As a good soldier. And you're not going to give it to me.
[42:05] Because you guys. You're loving. And you have found the word. But I'm going to find somebody in this community. That's going to make it hard for me. I'm going to find somebody. That's going to cause me to stay up at night.
[42:16] And pray for them. I'm going to find somebody. Who doesn't want to know the word. As much as I want to teach them. And I'm going to let them reject me. And I'm going to keep coming back.
[42:26] And I'm going to do like Doss. And I'm going to take my bicycle. And anything else that God will give me. And I'm going to give it completely over to him. So that I can be a servant. To his word.
[42:37] And enjoy those sufferings. Heavenly Father. I thank you so much for your word. Father. I wish I could have expressed it more clearly. To them. I wish my friend Doss. Could have came tonight.
[42:49] And could have shared it with them. But I pray that you will speak to the hearts of some people. And that they will decide to make hard decisions. In the area of discipleship. I pray Lord. In a culture where we make excuses.
[43:01] And we don't make disciples. I pray that we'll decide. That we'll stop making excuses. And that we'll make disciples. Work with individual hearts. Lord. Help us. Lord. I'm praying right now.
[43:11] That there's people in this community. That will have a God given desire. To study your word. And you'll let me meet them. And you'll let other people in this church. Meet them. As well.
[43:22] And we'll trust you. Lord. We trust that you've already placed people. In our lives like that. If we would just look at. This world with a sense. Of urgency. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church.
[43:33] In Alfredo, Georgia. For more information. Log on to www.visionbaptist.com Where you can find our service times. Location. Contact information.
[43:44] And more audio and video recordings.