So, I'm just going to pray as we come to think about God's Word.
To begin, let's just bow our heads in prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are our great God and King,
that you reveal yourself through your Word,
and we can understand what you expect and want from us.
We apologise, Lord, for all the times when we fail at this
and go so far astray from you and your Word,
Lord, we thank you, Lord, that you bring us back,
that you're forgiving, kind and gentle with us.
We pray tonight that this time of worship would be pleasing to you.
We pray for your Holy Spirit to come and equip us to listen, Lord,
and understand so that we would become more moulded to the image of your Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Amen.
So, tonight we'll be continuing our series on distinct discipleship
and being distinct disciples.
And the question I want to start with, to focus our subject on service,
and the question is, who do you serve?
So, I want us to think about that tonight.
Who are we serving?
Because everyone is serving someone.
And I hope by the end of the sermon that we'll all be saying
that we're serving God more, and we're not serving ourselves,
and we're serving his kingdom and not our own kingdom.
In C.S. Lewis's famous work,
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,
which some of us might have read,
and some of us will watch the film,
I've watched the film and not read the book,
We see an act and an example of self-service right away,
in the very beginning,
from this character, who is Edmund,
the younger of the two brothers,
for those of us who really know our stuff on it.
Edmund goes through the wardrobe by himself,
and he gets lost in the forest that's frozen and snowy,
and begins to walk through it to try and find his way home.
He's alone, and he gets cold,
and he gets hungry and disorientated.
And he must have been miserable,
wondering how am I going to get home,
where am I,
and what's going to happen to me now.
And then he encounters the villain of the peace,
the White Witch,
and she offers him his favourite sweet,
Turkish delight.
And with the circumstances,
it is easy to see why Edmund accepted
this supposedly very kind offer,
and his circumstances.
But this leads Edmund later to be captured by the White Witch,
because he's wrapped up in his own circumstances,
and then from there,
his siblings have to come and rescue him,
and in the process,
risk themselves for him.
And I was thinking about this,
because we can all be like Edmund,
we can be wrapped up in our own selves,
and in our own circumstances,
and we can want to serve ourselves,
and make a priority of our own needs.
But this isn't the way of the Lord Jesus,
and this isn't the way of his kingdom,
and it's not the way of his people,
us, the church.
Or at least it shouldn't be.
But as we heard from our reading tonight,
even the disciples had this sinful tendency,
and this weakness,
and this failing,
that they sought to serve themselves.
These men that we hold up in church,
as paradigms and examples to follow,
of Christian service,
didn't always demonstrate their service
to God,
or to their brothers.
And in this reading,
it's quite the opposite.
In this passage from the Gospel of Mark,
we see James and John,
the two brothers,
seek their own good,
and their own advantage,
over the Lord's,
over the Lord Jesus,
and their brothers.
And it's bookended at the end as well,
by their brother's response to this,
and how the Lord Jesus responds.
And from there we should see,
and how we should respond to our desire
to serve ourselves.
So, self-service.
Or selfless service.
When the passage opens in verse 32,
the Lord Jesus and his disciples
are making their final climactic journey
to Jerusalem.
James and John followed the Lord Jesus
from the very beginning
of his earthly ministry.
And they've seen how the Lord Jesus
is completely different from everyone else,
in every way that they've ever met.
they've seen the Lord Jesus
show real power
in his works,
and in his words,
in comparison with the other leaders
of the day.
And you would hope that this group of men,
above everyone else,
above all others,
would see
and understand
who Jesus is,
why he came,
and what he came to do.
He's the king
come to establish his kingdom
on the earth.
And although he is a king,
he's not a king like any earthly monarch,
and he won't establish his kingdom
like any other earthly king would.
He won't establish it with force
and with might,
but he'll establish it
with weakness
and humility.
In verse 33,
the Lord Jesus tells the disciples
in no uncertain terms
that he's going to be tortured
and killed.
And we, like the disciples,
are so selfish
as people that our brains
have natural inbuilt instincts
when we're in risky situations.
Fight or flight,
the Lord Jesus was in this situation.
One of us would have fought
or fled,
and our brains tell us
to do this
in this sort of instinct.
And these aren't always wrong.
They take us out of risk,
which is sometimes right.
But the Lord Jesus,
instead of fighting
or flying,
running away,
he still,
instinct,
went up to Jerusalem
purposefully,
even though he knew
what was going to happen there.
He lays aside his status
and his power
and his authority
and makes the decision
to go up to Jerusalem
to hand himself over
and to die the death
of a criminal
for sinful people.
For the sinful people
he's met and spoken to
on the way to Jerusalem,
the sinful people
who are following him,
and all of us
sitting here tonight,
this is the great service
he performed
and the greatest service.
There will be no
active service
greater.
And we could not
do this ourselves.
only the Lord Jesus
can do this.
And only he came
to do it
to serve us all
by dying on the cross.
And we have this example
to follow now,
but we won't ever be able
to follow it perfectly
as we are sinful,
limited,
and finite.
So there are things
we just cannot do
that the Lord Jesus did,
including this.
and it also means
that we will inevitably
fail and fall into
either serving
ourselves
or something else
or not serving at all
or serving
for the wrong reasons.
And I think,
in my thinking
for this sermon,
that it's easier
for us
in Britain
where we have
a culture
of hard work
and volunteering
and serving others
to fall into
serving
for the wrong reasons.
And hard work
and volunteering
are both good things.
I'm not saying
go into work tomorrow
and just sit on your computer
and watch YouTube videos.
And I'm not saying
stay in bed.
And I'm not saying
if you volunteer somewhere
to just quit
because I've made you feel guilty.
Don't do either of those.
Keep going to work.
Keep volunteering.
But for the right reasons.
Because these are both
good things
that God gives us
where we're supposed
to be distinct disciples
and where we worship God
in our thought,
our word,
and our conduct.
But if we listen
to the world
about our work
or our service
and work
or volunteering
organizations
or in church as well,
we'll fall into thinking
that these things
are for us,
to benefit us,
that we are part
of these bigger organizations
and do our part,
but we're actually there
to benefit ourselves
and for our own gain.
That we're there
to purely go to our desk,
to get our head down,
do our work,
and get paid
at the end of the month.
While avoiding
as much trouble
and inconvenience
from our colleagues
as possible.
Whereas what the Lord
Jesus is saying,
we should be doing
the opposite of this.
We should be
the best employees
and the best servants
of the people
we work with
and our colleagues with
and let them know
that through
our service,
our attitudes,
and our demeanors,
and that we will
serve them
even at cost
to ourselves
because of who
we serve.
In a volunteering role,
we can begin
as well to think
rather than God
putting us into
that place
and in that role
to spread
his fame and renown,
that we are there
to just pass time
or pursue
our interests
or our hobbies.
But that's not the case.
God puts us
into that situation
to serve him,
to serve the people
we're there with,
and serve the organization
we're members of.
And this isn't a small task,
any of this.
However,
this is the way
the Lord has created
the world to be.
So by accepting Jesus
and his service,
we are fulfilling
what God has intended
and how the world
has been created
to be.
And the Lord Jesus says
his yoke is easy
and his burden is light.
So if you're sitting here
tonight
and you don't know
the Lord Jesus,
don't be discouraged
or put off
by anything I'm saying
because Jesus himself
is not a hard taskmaster
who press gangs people
into service,
but rather his yoke
is easy
and his burden
is light.
And then we see
selfish service
in the next part
of the passage.
Selfish service.
And James and John,
they haven't paid attention
clearly to anything
that the Lord Jesus
has just said to them
in the previous verses
when in verse 35,
they approach
the Lord Jesus
and they ask him
to do for us
whatever we ask of you.
They're speaking
to Jesus like
up on the slide
like he's a genie
or a wizard
and it reminded me
of how
in Aladdin,
Aladdin finds a lamp
and rubs it
and then the genie
pops out
and grants him
three wishes
to fulfill
his earthly desires.
But the Lord Jesus
isn't a genie
or a wizard
in any sense.
So as we think
about our service,
we shouldn't be thinking
about any gain
or any reward
from it.
And James and John
want the Lord Jesus
to use his power
to just conjure up
whatever they want
upon their request.
From a sinful,
limited,
human perspective,
all of our perspectives,
we can maybe
get on board
with that thinking
because they've been
following the Lord Jesus
and they've seen him
perform these great miracles
and they think of him
as a great man of God
rather than the son of God
at this point
and in theory
in their thinking
in their minds
that he could use
that power
to do whatever
they would like of him.
Two sinful creatures
approach their creator
and make a demand
of him
for their own gain.
They're wrapped up
in their own desires
and they can't see
anything outside
of themselves.
James and John
try to advance themselves
at the expense
of the Lord himself
and they don't consider
what the Lord's purpose
is in Jerusalem
for the Lord Jesus
and for them
going forward.
They try to advance
themselves
at the Lord Jesus' expense
forgetting that
he's the one
that they've been following
and he's been supplying
all their needs
along the way
as they make their way
to Jerusalem
and they also make
a request
and try and
advance themselves
at the expense
of their brothers
trying to clamber
over the other disciples
to try and become
their rulers
and this will look
different in all our lives
we weren't there
doing this
but we still do this.
We are called
to be humble servants
but all too often
we become arrogant rulers.
We can fall into
the thinking
that we are better
than other people
because we are Christians
then seek to get
into positions of power
of authority
positions of power
and authority
over others.
Once a person
becomes a Christian
he's called to the opposite
of that mindset.
He was once
that way
and God
has saved him from it
and called him
into this new
service.
He is called
to go into all the world
to spread the gospel
and a key element
of that
and that witness
is humble service.
However
just like James and John
we all try
and advance ourselves
at the expense
of people around us.
Even in church
we can lose sight
of where we are
who we're supposed to be
and who we're supposed
to be serving
and why.
And although I've said that
I'm not grandstanding.
I'm really talking to myself
there primarily.
It's all too easy
for someone in my position
in ministry training
and theological education
to think of service
and turn it into
a sort of spiritual CV
where I attend church
I get involved
in church life
and in service
and going along
to class
and all these other things
conferences
and talks
to catch the attention
of someone
to boost
my own reputation
and to try
and get ahead
of other people.
and to
think of the future
jobs I could get
if these people
see me
in these places.
So it can be
all too easy
to apply the principles
of secular
corporate networking
to church life
for some of us
and me
most included
which is sinful
and falling right along
in the footsteps
of James and John
rather than
our King Jesus.
So we need to see
this in ourselves
repent
and ask the Lord
to renew our hearts
so we can serve
faithfully
as we are supposed to
without any idea
or thought
of reward
or gain
for ourselves.
Then moving down
in verse 36
the Lord Jesus
replies
to James and John
and asks them
what they would like
him to do for them
and this reveals
James and John's
heart
and reason
for serving.
In verse 37
James and John
make their request
they want to
flank the Lord Jesus
at the earthly banquet
they're expecting
will be held
in his honour
when he arrives
in Jerusalem.
However there wasn't
going to be
any earthly banquet
party
or festival
or big event
thrown
to celebrate
the Lord Jesus
entering Jerusalem.
He's just told them
that the exact opposite
is going to happen.
That's just
the first problem
with the request though
there's more to it.
the next problem
comes at the end
of the verse
when they say
to sit
in your glory.
So they're expecting
that this
big party
will be thrown
they'll sit
at either side
of Jesus
and they'll share
in his glory.
That that can't happen.
You can't take
no one
not even James and John
these disciples
or the others
can take a share
in God's glory
and none of us
can either.
He's the son of God
come to rescue men
from their sins
by being physically
put to death
and then
rising again.
This is where
the whole of history
has been leading
to this moment
where Lord Jesus
will be crucified
and rise.
So James and John
just like us
don't deserve
any share
in this glory.
This is not
a team effort
it is a work
of God alone.
And then Jesus replies
as you can see
on the screen
in the next verse
as he often
answer people
who are questioning
him with a question
he asked them
you do not know
what you are asking
are you able
to drink
the cup
that I drink
or to be baptized
with the baptism
with which I am baptized?
The background
of the phrase
in Jesus' question
is important
as it shows us
his meaning
and the full extent
of how unqualified
James and John were.
The cup
he refers to
is the cup
of God's wrath.
In the Old Testament
the prophets
pictured God's wrath
as a cup
a cup
full of all
of God's hatred
for sin
and his righteous
anger
with sinners.
The Lord Jesus
is going up
to Jerusalem
to drink that cup
and to have it
poured out on him
for all of our sin.
And the baptism
he speaks of here
as well
is another reference
to the Old Testament.
This baptism
refers to
the Lord Jesus
death and resurrection.
Just like in baptism
here
where a person
is lowered
under the water
and rises up
the Lord Jesus
will be killed
be put in the earth
and then
he will rise again
out of the earth
to be his people's
living saviour
to continue
to serve his people
to serve us
by standing
in heaven for us.
And then
James and John
have the nerve
to answer Jesus
that they can
drink this cup
and be baptised
with this baptism
almost in an attempt
to claw back
please let us
have those places.
Jesus almost
corrects them
and says
without them fully
knowing what
he means
that they will
go through
similar hardship
as well
for their service
to the king
and that actually
the honour
James and John
asked for
cannot be given
by Jesus
even Jesus
God the son
God in the flesh
cannot give
these places
further saying
that Jesus
is that perfect servant
although he's
God in the flesh
he's still
putting himself
under the authority
of God the father
and serving
and then
as I clicked
on to
earlier
a minute ago
we see
the other
disciples
weigh in
in the conversation
and they're
not happy
and an argument
breaks out
between the
brothers
but not for
the same reasons
as you might
hope
I sort of
picture it
as friends
coming in
and telling
their other
friends
no you've
said the wrong
thing
draw back
stop talking
shut up
come away
but it's not
for that
reason
unfortunately
it's
because
James and John
have got in there
before them
because they
asked for those
places
before the other
disciples got the
chance
the other
disciples are in
the thinking
we wanted
those places
we wanted
that honour
we wanted
that glory
we wanted
that power
that would
come
with those
places
instead of
seeing them
all seeing
themselves
as unworthy
of those
places of
honour
and as
servants of
God
they want
to propel
themselves
into those
places of
honour
at Jesus
right and
left
it shows
as well
that they
don't understand
who Jesus
is and
what he's
come to
do
rather than
use his
power and
pose his
rightful rule
on the
earth
he came
he's going
to be
crushed
sorry
this incident
in the
gospel
and the
rest of
the gospel
shows
who Jesus
is and
what he
has done
so we
have no
excuse to
act like
James and
John and
the other
disciples
Jesus never
tried to
undermine
anyone for
his own
gain
and as I
was looking
through
things to
speak with
this sermon
I came across
a lot of
self-help
books and
self-help
and self-improvement
websites
they're everywhere
now it seems
like every
bookshop
in the
city and
through the
country is
packed with
lots of
these things
and it's
permeated our
culture and
our society
and our
thinking and
the way we
operate as
a culture
and one
website I
looked up in
particular had
across the top
of it
serve yourself
first
these things
are in all
these books
and websites
it's not
usually as
explicit as
that but it
is marketed
in a gentle
way so it's
not marketed
as the
selfishness
it is
but these
things all
logically lead
in the same
direction
into one
place
looking out
for yourself
at the
expense of
others
to undermining
and trying to
get ahead of
other people
for your own
gain and for
your own
benefit
and James
and John
were buying
in to this
here
and the other
disciples then
came at their
back and did
the same
thing and
bought into
this thinking
and into
this mindset
trying to
outmaneuver
anyone for
their own
gain
especially here
in church
especially among
our brothers
and sisters
in Christ
is not
Jesus way
it's not
the way of
his kingdom
and then
in the next
few verses
towards the
end of our
passage
Jesus
reiterates
his teaching
and further
explains it
from the
beginning
of the
passage
in verse
42
he calls
them all
to him
to settle
the debate
that is
going on
between them
you know
that those
who are
considered
rulers of
the Gentiles
lord are
over them
and their
great ones
exercise
authority
over them
the Lord
Jesus is
essentially
saying here
that his
disciples are
behaving
according to
the pattern
of the
world
the rulers
of the day
made sure
that the
people that
they were
ruling
knew who
was in
charge
and who
they were
to be
serving
and then
the Lord
Jesus
continues
and says
but it
shall not
be so
among you
the Lord
Jesus is
saying here
that they
are to be
different
that we
are to be
different
that the
people of
God
the church
are to be
different
out in the
world
we're constantly
being told
to strive
for promotions
and for pay
rises
as we
look
when we
leave
school
for
university
and
college
courses
we're
encouraged
to go
to the
best
college
we can
the best
university
we can
for what
we can
get out
of it
it will
serve
us
better
as we
train
and it
will
stand
us
in
better
stead
when we
leave
to find
jobs
and
careers
so often
all these
things
of life
are sold
to us
in a
packaging
that's
for us
for
ourselves
for our
improvement
for our
gain
what we
can get
from
something
how it
will help
us
in our
next
endeavour
or project
and there's
nothing wrong
with going to
good universities
or good
colleges
and doing
these good
courses
but we
shouldn't
just see
these places
as stepping
stones
because that
leads us
logically
to see
the people
that we
are there
with
the people
we study
under
the people
we work
with
as stepping
stones
and as
we know
the thing
with stepping
stones
is
we step
on the
top
of them
and we
aren't
called
to step
on the
top
of anyone
and then
the next
part
of verse
43
the Lord
Jesus
actually
states
the opposite
which is
totally
against
our
culture's
thinking
and our
way of
doing
things
but whoever
would be
great
among you
must be
your servant
if you
want to be
great in the
kingdom of
God
as we
should
rightly
you
must
put
yourself
to the
bottom
of the
pile
instead
of trying
to get
to the
top
and stop
striving
for the
top
spot
or to be
top dog
or trying
to get
into the
spotlight
God's
kingdom
doesn't
work that
way
and we
should
praise
God
that it
doesn't
and then
he goes
even further
in the last
part of the
verse
and calls
them to be
slaves of
each other
not in the
21st century
sense
we hear this
word slave
and our
minds go
to the
American
south
and the
terrible
things that
happened there
to people
but it's
being said
in the
first century
context
and the
Lord Jesus
is emphasizing
that they
must be
at each
other
service
as a
slave
was always
at the
service
of his
master
in that
day
then he
reiterates
his previous
teaching
from verses
33
and 34
that he's
freely giving
himself
over to be
killed for
them and
for us
with the
result that
we are
brought into
God's
family
we're
ransomed
from death
and destruction
and we're
brought into
life
we're made
friends of
God
where we
were once
enemies
that we'll
not have to
pay the
price for
our sin
as Jesus
has already
taken the
punishment
and was
with God
the Father
speaking on
our behalf
meaning we
can stand
before God
and be
counted as
righteous
if the
life of a
humble servant
is good
enough for
the Lord
Jesus
the King
of the
universe
God
in the
flesh
is good
enough for
the disciples
as we
see in
this
passage
if it's
good enough
for Jesus
and the
disciples
it's also
good enough
for us
both in
our service
of God
the church
and others
outside the
church
so just
to go back
to our
previous
idea
who are
you serving
are you
going to
be like
Edmund
are you
going to
be like
James and
John
in this
passage
or are
you going
to follow
the example
of our
master
are we
going to
serve
ourselves
and our
own
kingdoms
or are
we going
to serve
Jesus
and his
kingdom
I would
encourage
and implore
the Christian
sitting here
tonight
to more
and more
serve
the Lord
Jesus
wholeheartedly
to build
up his
kingdom
and his
fame
and renown
and if
you're not
a Christian
sitting here
tonight
I would
encourage
you
not to
be put
off
this is
the way
the world
has been
made
we are
to be
servants
of God
servants
of his
kingdom
servants
of his
glory
and not
our own
and to
serve
his
kingdom
so
as we
think
about that
I'm just
going to
pray
to close
heavenly
father
we give
you praise
and honour
you're so
high and
far above
our ways
but you
come down
to us
by sending
the Lord
Jesus
to clearly
tell us
what we
must do
to be
saved
and we
thank you
as well
that is a
free offer
you make
to us
we ask
forgiveness
Lord
when we
sin against
you
in your
name
we
we ask
Lord
that you
continue
to draw
us back
to yourself
and show
us our
error
through your
word
and through
your people
we thank
you for
your word
Lord
and how
it teaches
and instructs
us
we also
pray that you
continue to
mould us
into the
image of
the Lord
Jesus
Christ
we would
just ask
you to
bless us
now
Lord
as we
part
company
and go
into the
rest of
the week
and we
just ask
and thank
you for
all these
things
in the
worthy
and precious
name of
the Lord
Jesus
Christ
Amen