My name is Randon Schleiden. I am an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church of America, the same denomination as this church body.
I'm currently serving as a chaplain in the United States Army here at Fort Carson, and I have the privilege of opening God's word with you today.
And if you would please turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 10, and we'll be reading from verse 35 to 45. Mark chapter 10, verses 35 to 45.
As I see that most of you are there, have found it in your bulletins, let us first go to the Lord in prayer and ask his help for understanding this passage.
Father in heaven, mighty is your name. We pray that in your strength you would build us up though we are weak.
We pray that in your word and through your word you would do the work which you promise it will do, which is to rebuke us and correct us,
to reform us, to improve us, to train us in righteousness, that we would be prepared for every good work, maturing Christ.
Father, we pray that what we aren't yet, you would continue to make us through the sanctification of your word and the life that you take us through.
We pray you do this work by the power of your spirit in Christ's name. Amen.
If you would, please follow along as I read from Mark chapter 10, verses 35 to 45.
And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus and said to him,
Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.
And he said to them, What do you want me to do for you?
And they said to him, Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left in your glory.
Jesus said to 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?
And they said to him, We are able.
And Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink, you will drink.
And with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.
But to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant,
but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.
And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
And Jesus called them all to him and said to them,
You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and their great ones exercise authority over them.
But it shall not be so among you.
But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
As you look at this passage, I want you to recall another scripture that says in John 9,
We must work the works of him who sent us while it is day.
For night is coming when no one can work.
And we know that God has prepared good works beforehand,
before we even came about, that we would walk in them.
And so what I want to challenge you with is that there is work ahead for us to do as Christians,
as disciples of Christ.
And as we look towards that calling which God has called us,
we see in this passage, we are called to bear out those good works,
to walk in them which Christ has called us to,
by serving others.
And so in this passage, I would argue that at least one of the main ideas
that Christ means for us to take away from his word,
is that Christians serve.
Christians serve.
And you may think, okay, yeah, I know Christians in the church are supposed to serve.
I think this passage tells us, at least in three ways, how we are to serve,
or with what mind.
Christians serve, first of all, because Christ first served us.
Christians serve because Christ first served us.
Second, I want you to see that Christians serve in the face of trials.
Christians serve others in the face of trials.
And third, this passage tells us that Christians serve for a reward
that's prepared in advance according to the purposes of God.
Now, as we look at this passage, in this assembly, in this congregation, this flock,
I know that you all have been in Romans, and you've been running through Romans.
And then the Advent season came.
And so you've likely also been focusing on the Advent season,
the nativity scene, the birth of Christ,
the second person of the Trinity taking flesh to himself.
And then here I am coming to preach a sermon from the book of Mark.
So let me tell you a little bit about where we are in this passage.
You see, in Mark chapter 1, we find immediately that Mark is a fast-paced gospel
where Jesus is on mission, doing the work that God called him to do.
And in all the gospel accounts, essentially, there's kind of a three-phase breakdown.
The first phase is Jesus' Galilean or countryside ministry.
He ministers the gospel and the truth of who he is
and what he's about to do in the countryside.
And then you have Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, phase 2,
where Jesus is en route to Jerusalem, where he will complete phase 3,
which is going to the cross, dying, raising, ascending on high.
Where we are in this passage in chapter 10 is right at the end of phase 2.
Jesus is completing his journey or road to Jerusalem.
He is right on the cusp or right at the gates of entering the city.
Now, closer to our passage of this morning, in Mark chapter 10, verse 32,
it says the disciples were amazed at Jesus.
Now, if you've read the gospel of Mark,
you know that there's plenty recorded that the disciples had to be amazed about.
You'd see that Jesus did miracles of healing.
He healed the blind.
He healed the sick.
He healed lepers.
He forgave sin, which only God can do.
You know that Jesus exercised authority over the winds and the sea and calmed the storm,
showing that he was very God of very God, author of creation.
They had plenty to be amazed about.
But this passage tells us, in Mark chapter 10, around verse 30,
that they were amazed at Jesus' determination to fulfill the will of God.
Because Jesus said, hey, when I get to this city of Jerusalem,
I'm going to be put to death.
I'm going to be scorched.
I'm going to suffer.
I'm going to bleed.
I'm going to be spit on, and I'm going to die.
And what they saw after Jesus shared that with them,
is that he continued marching, not losing a step towards the city,
where he would be put to death for the sins of many.
And so Mark chapter 10 is right on the edge of that.
And so as you see these Advent candles,
and remember what it means that Jesus took flesh to himself,
that God was willing to go to the cross for us,
that we would have life as sinners.
I want you to link the reality of that truth,
of what those candles represent, to this one,
that Jesus was born to die, to go to a cross,
to shed his blood, and have it applied to you and me by name,
so that we would be counted as children of God.
So with that introduction, let us go into the passage.
We serve as Christians because of Christ's service,
because Christ first served.
Look at verse 45 of our passage.
It says,
The Son of Man came not to be served,
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
When it describes Jesus,
when he describes himself as the Son of Man,
that Son of Man phrase, you may know,
is one of Jesus' favorite descriptions or titles for himself.
It's pulled from a few places in scripture,
but specifically and most often referenced to Daniel chapter 7.
And without reading that passage,
the summary is that Daniel receives a vision from the Lord,
of the Messiah, the Son of Man,
the promised descendant of David,
the one who would take away the sin of the world,
that that one is in this vision given to Daniel,
receiving all authority and dominion and power from God on high,
and he's being given the throne,
and this majestic sight that Daniel gets to report to all of God's children.
And so, when Jesus says,
The Son of Man, speaking of himself,
came not to be served, but to serve,
he says the one who sits on the throne
is also going to be the one who gets lowest beneath other people in service,
to lift them up.
You see, when Jesus came from on high to low,
a king to be a servant to all,
he left what he had always enjoyed,
which was the immediate presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit
from all eternity,
to do the work of redemption that God had called him to.
Jesus left comfort.
He left the service of angels
and all other eternal created beings
that God had made to serve him
so that he could rescue you and I.
If you read passages from places like the book of Luke,
chapter 15 and elsewhere,
it says that Jesus even came
and left that glorious company
to sit in the company of drunkards
and sinners,
tax collectors
and cheats
and prostitutes.
And in the presence of a military company,
I would also say
that if Jesus came for them,
he also came
for soldiers
and for airmen
and for sailors
and Marines.
But we have an issue here
that we have to resolve.
Jesus says
he came to give his life
as a ransom for many.
For those of you
who have read through the Psalms recently,
maybe you've come across Psalm 49
where it says,
truly,
no man can ransom another
or give to God
the price of his life.
For the ransom of their life
is costly
and can never suffice.
That he should live on forever
and never see the pit.
And then it says in verse 15,
but God
will ransom my soul
from the power of Sheol
for he will receive me.
And so what Psalm 49 says
is that
if you're guilty of sin,
which each of us are,
each a sinner before God
apart from Christ,
we cannot pay the debt
that we owe God
for the sin
and our offense against him.
A debt that we cannot pay
by any work in this world,
any money in our bank account,
any good that we do,
any service we offer,
the whole of our lives
cannot purchase away
the sin debt
that we owe God.
But then in verse 15,
it says,
but God can pay that debt
if he so chooses for us.
And when you look at this passage
in verse 49,
it tells us that
Christ offers to do just that
and he accomplishes it.
But verse 45 of our passage says,
the Son of Man
came not to be served,
but to serve
and give his life
as a ransom for many.
And that might trigger again
in your mind
to go back to the Old Testament,
places like Isaiah 53,
not coincidentally called
the servant song,
referring to God's chosen servant
to redeem his people.
It says,
out of the anguish of his soul,
he shall see and be satisfied.
By his knowledge
shall the righteous one,
my servant,
make many
to be accounted righteous
and he shall bear their sins
or bear their iniquities.
Don't ever think for a moment
that because God is sovereign,
he has not made it his work
to receive many into his presence
at the command of his will.
Some people think
that because God is sovereign,
it means that only a few
will be elected to be saved.
But the most that could ever
be saved are saved
because God is sovereign
and he's chosen many
to be received into his presence
through the work of Christ.
And so I ask you at this moment,
is Christ and his service,
his suffering on your behalf,
the foundation and motive
from which you serve other people?
Is he the rock
that you build
your Christian service around?
Or is that motive other?
Is it to look good
or be thought well of by others?
Is it so that you could
be promoted one day?
Is it so that your spouse
will thank you
because you thank them?
Or is it because Christ
suffered for you
and so you would
willingly suffer for others?
Maybe in application
it looks like this.
Maybe you're a spouse
or maybe you're a wife
who willingly sacrifices
a career that you could have
in service to your family.
Or maybe you're a teenager
who willingly drives
your younger siblings
to music lessons.
Or maybe you're simply
a politician
who still willingly prays
in the name of Christ
because you know
he deserves honor and glory
in the office
he has appointed you to.
Now look at verses 43 and 44.
It says,
those that would be great,
here's Jesus' lesson
to the disciples.
Let me back up for a moment.
James and John
make their requests
and they say,
hey Jesus,
we know you're going
to be in power.
They haven't comprehended
what type of power.
They don't really understand
what Jesus' kingdom
is going to be just yet.
But they know
he's going to have a throne.
They know he's going
to be in power.
So they make their request
based on that understanding.
And Jesus says,
I'll tell you what,
I've got a lesson
for all of the disciples.
I know this is an issue
in your hearts.
So he says,
huddle up.
And he brings in
all 12 of his disciples.
And this is what he says.
Those that would be great
among you
must become your servant.
And those who would be
first among you
must be slave of all.
Here's what Jesus is saying.
There is a formula
for receiving glory from God.
There is a formula
for giving glory to God
and for receiving glory from God.
Jesus says,
there's two formulas
you can pick from.
The first formula
is the world's formula.
which says,
you lie,
you cheat,
you beg,
you borrow,
you steal,
you do whatever you need to
to get ahead
of the person next to you.
To be elevated
in the eyes of the world.
To pad your bank accounts.
To have a bigger house.
To have a greater title.
To have more power
and authority.
That's what the world
says to do.
But what Jesus says is,
here's my model.
You suffer
unto service
of other people.
And he says,
let me walk it out
in front of you.
You've heard the saying,
monkey see,
monkey do.
Jesus says,
watch what I do,
hear what I teach,
and then follow my example.
As Christians,
we are called
to be chiefly concerned
with the glory of God.
And when we're
purchased in Christ,
we are given the strength
and the spirit
to do exactly that.
To glorify him
with our heart
and with our work
and with our energy.
That's why when we say
the Lord's Prayer,
it says,
our Father in Heaven,
hallowed be your name.
We say that
every single Sunday here.
When we sing
the Gloria Patri
right before the sermon,
we say,
glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Ghost.
Glory, glory, glory
to our triune God.
And the five solas
of the Reformation,
one of them
is
sola deo gloria.
Glory to God alone
and Christ alone.
the first catechism question,
what is the chief
and a man?
To glorify God
and to enjoy him forever.
Glory to God,
glory to God,
glory to God.
No higher privilege
or calling
that a Christian
could be made for
than that work.
And God is glorified
when you willingly suffer
unto the blessing
of other people,
especially
other children of God.
J.C. Ryle,
who was an Anglican minister,
Church of England,
he said this,
kind of pointing
at the issue
of the heart
of the disciples
that Jesus was speaking to.
He said,
let all those
who desire
to please Christ
watch and pray
against self-esteem.
Now, we live in a world
where they tell you
you need to be
more confident
in yourself,
more courageous
in your own strength,
more confident
in your abilities.
Do more
from within
the strength
that you can find
within yourself.
And here we have
a renowned pastor
who understood
the gospel
with great clarity,
said,
don't trust your heart,
trust the strength
that is found
outside of you
available only
in Christ.
In Jesus' lesson,
if you think about
who the disciples became,
they were ministers.
When I was walking
through a food line
parking lot
in Mississippi
during grad school,
I bumped into a lady
where the shopping carts were
and she said,
hey young man,
thank you for this cart.
And then she said,
what are you here
in Mississippi for?
Because she heard my accent.
She knew I wasn't from there
and I said,
oh I'm in seminary here.
I'm training to be a minister.
And she said,
oh, a holy man.
Right?
And she said it
with a southern twang
which I can't replicate.
But the implication there was
if you're going to be
a minister,
your life needs to be
above reproach
because people are watching.
And yet,
the implication of Jesus' lesson
to his disciples
is that
even you as ministers
can be guilty
of trying to climb
to the top
in the wrong way
if you are not
watching your heart
and seeking God's will
in Christ's order
for your life.
And if it's true of pastors,
it can be true of anyone.
Because if pastors
and shepherds
and elders of the flock
are supposed to be
the ones you look to
for an example
then know that
if they need to be on guard,
so do we all.
If I was going to give you
a definition of service
from this passage,
it might be something like
suffering for the good
of one another
is what Christian service is.
Suffering for the good
of one another
or for another.
R.C. Sproul,
another theologian
that many of you
know the name of,
said,
there is no theology
of glory
without a theology
of suffering.
That is,
if you don't understand
how suffering
plays into serving others,
you might not understand
Christian service
or in full yet.
And so while the Bible
isn't calling you
to make your life miserable
and even harder
in suffering
than God has already
said it would be,
the Bible does here
in this passage tell you
we need to willingly
accept suffering
as God assigns it
so we can live
and walk through
that suffering
relying on Christ's strength
to his glory
while blessing others.
And so that makes me
think of that song,
Just a Closer Walk
with Thee.
The passage says,
Through this world
of toils and snares,
if I falter,
Lord who cares?
Who with me
my burden shares?
None but Thee,
Lord,
none but Thee.
Or maybe if you're
a little younger
in this passage,
you know the children's rhyme
or song that goes,
we're going on a bear hunt?
When it comes to
Christian suffering,
it's kind of like that song
where it says,
we're going through suffering,
we can't go over it,
we can't go under it,
we're just going to have
to go through it.
And so that's our first
and majority
of our sermon points
this morning,
but I would tell you
here's our second point.
Christians serve
because Christ first served,
but second,
Christians serve
in the face of wrath
and trials.
Look at verse 39.
Jesus asked them,
he says,
can you drink the cup
that I drink?
And they say self-confidently
of self-esteem we can.
He says,
well let me tell you what,
verse 39,
the cup that I drink,
you will drink.
Now here's what Jesus
isn't saying,
he's not saying
you will also die on a cross
for the sins of many.
Only he can do that.
Only he is perfect,
only he's very God
of very God,
only his blood
is worth infinite value,
valuable enough
to cover the cost
of the sins
for the offense
we have against God.
But he says,
if you are in me,
and you receive my spirit,
and you belong to God
in Christ,
you will suffer
for my name,
in my name,
for the glory of God.
And so Jesus kind of implies
that until he drinks
his cup of dine on the cross,
they won't have the strength
of the Holy Spirit
they need in full
as it's poured out
at Pentecost
to bear the cross,
to bear the suffering
that God calls
each of the disciples to.
And many of them
were martyred.
I mean,
can you imagine,
just stop and think
for a minute,
can you imagine
suffering in this world
as if you were a Christian,
but not having the strength
of the Holy Spirit
to do so?
Suffering,
forbearing the name
of a Christian,
but not being a Christian,
how awful that would be.
And yet,
Jesus says,
I won't leave you
without the Holy Spirit.
I will drink the cup
I must drink,
so that when you are called
to drink the cup
that you're called to drink,
to God's glory
and in my name,
you will have the strength
to do so from on high.
And Jesus essentially says
by this thing
that the cup that I drink,
you will drink.
Jesus says this,
Christian suffering
is not optional.
And there aren't
two types of suffering.
There isn't suffering light
and suffering heavy.
He says there is just
Christian suffering
and you will suffer
in the way that God
has called you to
and when you suffer,
do so to service
to others.
Now,
the Bible's clear.
We don't get credit
before the Lord
for suffering
for wrong that we do.
For instance,
if you steal a car,
let's say you steal a Corvette
and you drive it
and you crash it
and you find yourself
standing before a judge
and the judge says,
you're going to suffer
for the wrong that you've done,
you're going to go to jail
and you're going to pay a fine.
You don't give glory to God
for suffering
for the wrong that you did.
You are able to glorify God
when you suffer injustices
for righteousness sake.
When you suffer injustices
so that Christ
will be glorified.
In the book of Acts,
we have a record
of Paul's ministry
and in Acts 14,
Paul is stoned
for preaching the gospel.
He's in Antioch,
he's in the city,
he's preaching the gospel
and here's what you find
is that when he's preaching,
they hate the truth
of the gospel so much
and the one who bore
that message to them,
loving the people
by being willing
to be stoned
so that they would have
life in the gospel,
carried to them,
that their ears might hear,
that their heart might beat,
relying upon Christ,
they stone Paul.
They take him out of the city
and they stone him.
They're so sure
that he's dead
that they leave him
outside the city
and when the disciples
come to get Paul's body,
they realize he's still alive
and he gets up
and he goes right back
to preaching
and he tells them
that it's through
many tribulations
that we must enter
the kingdom of God.
Yet he was willing
to serve anyone
who would listen
in Antioch
even unto the point
of death.
Now why am I sharing
this with you?
Because 2025
is essentially behind us.
But 2026
is ahead of us
and there's work
to be done
as Christians
and as a family.
There is good
that we can do
obeying the Spirit's leading,
serving others
even while we
willingly suffer.
Are you beginning
to prepare your heart
to suffer
unto the service
of others
in this body,
in your immediate family,
inside the church,
to your neighbors,
in your neighborhood?
Maybe it means
serving in the nursery
and signing up
to watch someone else's kids
who may or may not
be rambunctious
so that other adults
can attend worship together.
Would you give up
hearing the preached word
so other people
could hear it
that Sunday
without distraction?
Would you be willing
to give money
to the missionaries
that are on your board
instead of continuing
to increase
your retirement account?
Would you be willing
to honor
and applaud
and pray for other people
who are leaders
in ministry
in this church
even though you thought
you might have been
a better fit
for leading that committee
that got stood up?
Service creates discomfort
and suffering
creates discomfort.
In service,
you essentially
give away your comfort
so that others
might be comfortable.
You might pause
and think about
how you would do that
in this body.
Here's our last point.
That in Christ,
Christians serve
for a reward
prepared in advance
according to the purposes
of God.
Look at verse 40.
It says,
To sit at my right hand
or at my left
is not mine to grant,
but it is for those
for whom it has been prepared.
It is for those
for whom it has been prepared.
Does that mean
that God already knows,
has already chosen,
has already appointed
who would sit
in higher seats
of honor and glory?
That's essentially
what it means.
It's talking about
the providence of God.
That God has ordered
the events of history
from the beginning
to the end.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism
asks,
What is the providence of God?
It is his most holy,
wise,
and powerful,
preserving and governing
all his creatures
and all their actions.
That means that God
orders your life
so that you would be
matured and improved
for eternity.
Every single thing
you go through,
he's not surprised.
He allows it to happen.
He's appointed it
at the time
that you are facing it
so that you would
turn to him
and walk faithfully
through it.
It's kind of like
how your kids go to school
or how you went to school.
You went to elementary school
and then to middle school
and then to high school
and then to college
or a trade school
or into vocational training.
Why?
To be prepared
for the time
when you're done
with school,
to raise your family,
to live life,
to work in a job,
to be prepared
for that thing ahead.
The suffering
and the service
you go through now
is a schoolhouse
to be trained
in righteousness
for eternity.
So don't despise
the service
that God calls you to
but embrace it
with a grateful heart.
But I might ask you this,
how much suffering
has God appointed you
for in your life?
It's a question
we probably don't want
the answer to
because if we knew
we wouldn't run
and embrace that suffering
that he's appointed for us.
Jesus uniquely knew
what suffering he would face
because the scriptures
are primarily written
about him
and so when he read
the suffering servant
would die on a cross
and that people
would gamble
for his clothes
whenever he was being
put to death,
he knew that was about him.
And so he had to face
those sufferings
in his heart
and his mind
advance of when he faced
them in his body.
When you read
about the martyrs,
here's an example
of what Jesus means.
When he says,
it's not mine to grant
whether you sit
at my right hand
or my left hand
in glory.
If you were to go
to Revelation 6,
it says this
about the martyrs.
It says,
John recording this,
when he opened
the fifth scroll,
I saw under the altar
the souls of those
who had been slain
for the word of God
and for the witness
they had borne.
They cried out
with a loud voice,
O sovereign Lord,
holy and true,
how long before
you will judge
and avenge our blood
on those who dwell
on the earth?
Then they were each
given a white robe
and told to rest
a little longer.
Until the number
of their fellow servants
and their brothers
should be complete
who were to be killed
as they themselves
had been.
What this says
is that God knows
who will be slain
as martyrs,
who will be slain
in faithfulness,
who will suffer
for Christ's name.
And in this account
you see that
those faithful
who died as martyrs
bearing the testimony
of Christ's death
and resurrection
and his sufficiency,
they are surrounded
around the altar
where the scroll
is being opened
and where the throne
of Christ is.
There's not much
closer to Christ's throne
in this depiction
in Revelation
of Jesus' court,
of his throne room.
There's not much
closer to Jesus' throne
than the altar.
And the people
that are closer
to the altar
are those who died
in faithfulness
in a very special way.
And so Jesus
is just saying
they were appointed
to that death
that God might be glorified.
God might be glorified.
It's also important
for you to remember
that as you're called
to serve others,
even through suffering,
that what Christ
desires for you,
even in that suffering,
is greater than
what you desire
for yourself.
James and John
wanted glory for themselves.
Jesus says,
I've got something
much greater for you
and it looks much different
than what you think
it'll look like.
That's why Ephesians 3,
describing what Christ
has for us,
says,
You see,
because here's part
of the reward.
Jesus says in John 14,
I go to prepare
a place for you.
He knows how many rooms
he needs to prepare.
Whose name is going
to go on that door?
Your name and your name
and your name,
they're all going to go
on places Jesus
has prepared for you.
It's like a soldier
who goes to war.
He willingly fights
with more vigor
because he knows
that there may be
peace and resolution
of conflict ahead.
He fights so that
there might be peace.
And yet,
a soldier is most miserable
when he loses hope of peace.
Don't lose sight
of the reward
that Christ has for you
even while you suffer.
That there is a room
prepared for you.
Peace.
I think about faithful ministers
like John MacArthur
who just passed away
this last year.
He preached
until the very end.
He was faithful
and ministering
and active in the church
and active in his body
and active in his family
until the very end.
R.C. Sproul,
the same way.
Alistair Begg
is exemplifying that as well.
They are preaching
to the end
and the only way
that they have
the strength of body
and the strength of will
to continue ministering
the gospel
until the day they die
is because they know
there is a reward
worth much more
than the suffering
they face.
So your reward
is the full presence
of God
in Christ,
a room with your name on it,
a crown of glory,
peace after a short life
of suffering
and service to others,
and fellowship
with other saints
for all eternity
who have also endured
as you have.
This is why Psalm 11 says,
the Lord is righteous
and he loves righteous deeds
and the upright in heart
will behold his face.
So as I close with this comment,
think about this.
Are you prepared
for good works?
Are you prepared
to serve others
through suffering?
Will you rely upon
the sufficiency
of Christ's work
and build upon
the foundation
of his work
and joyfully fulfill
your Christian calling
and the privilege
of the duty
that you can fulfill
in the strength
of the Spirit
this year?
Let us pray.
Father in heaven,
I thank you for the glory
of the work of Christ.
I thank you for him coming,
taking on flesh
and being born.
I thank you for his willingness,
his determination
to go to the cross
and to follow your will
that we would be redeemed.
Sinners reconciled
to a holy God.
I pray that you would
bless his work
in his name
and that he would be glorified
and that we would adore him more
even as we serve others
in the Christian family
and in this world
through the suffering
that you call us to.
We pray this in Christ's name.
Amen.