Who do You Serve?

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